Orchid Creation

[ljphoto]

Before:


After:


Here's what I did to get this after shot (using Photoshop):
First I made a copy the background. Then I created a layer under the copy and filled it with black. Next, and the longest part, I removed all the other flowers besides the two main orchids. Having the black layer below helped me get a better idea of how the edges were looking. You have to be really careful doing this so you don't make it look unrealistic. Change up the eraser if you need to in order to get into all the little cracks. Next I adjusted the chanel mixer on the cut-out orchids to get the right b/w levels. Then I used that background copy to cut out a section of the flowers and paste it to a top layer. Next I played with the chanel mixer again on the new top layer, but instead of converting to b/w, i adjusted it so there was more of a blue tint. Then I set the blending mode for the top layer to "Darken" - this removed everything except the cut out of the orchid. Add an inner glow to the top layer and that's it.

There are two more orchids done this way on my flickr. I took them at the new Orchid Conservatory at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens near Charlotte, NC. If you're ever in the area, it's a great place to get some nice shots.

Questions/comments welcome.

[oriolhdz]

Hi ljphoto:
I like what you did on post-processing. You got a clean and nice final image. Like the color range you pick for it. Thanks for sharing it!

[Japaslavian]

Looks like something that could be used in a website design template.
Pretty nifty.

[Father Bob]

Why is there a blue horizontal stripe.

[ljphoto]

Originally Posted by Father Bob

Why is there a blue horizontal stripe.

That is the top-most layer that was cut from the original background and channel-mixed to a bluish tint. The b/w orchid on black looked nice, but I thought the blue added something interesting to the composition.

[wanelad]

Hmmm personally prefer the origional in my mind flowers are colorful but i guess all about personal preference

[prince]

I like the pp work. Perfect for a website design..

[Skarlett]

Did you do this with any purpose in mind (other then the "hmm.. I wonder if I could..." urges that we all get here on DPS )?

[ljphoto]

Originally Posted by Skarlett

Did you do this with any purpose in mind (other then the "hmm.. I wonder if I could..." urges that we all get here on DPS )?

Yep, it was pretty much an urge, though the urge came after a several month photography hiatus (or what I call a dry spell) after my son was born. I was really just playing around at first, but the finished product revived my inspiration. Thanks so much for asking!