Technique on PIXLS.US

A Chiaroscuro Portrait

Wed, 27 Jul 2016 13:16:07 -0500

Introduction (Concept/Theory)

The term Chiaroscuro is derived from the Italian chiaro meaning ‘clear, bright’ and oscuro meaning ‘dark, obscure’. In art the term has come to refer to the use of bold contrasts between light and shadow, particularly across an entire composition, where they are a prominent feature of the work.

This interplay of shadow and light is particularly important in allowing the viewer to extrapolate volume from a flat image. The use of a single light source helps to accentuate the perception of volume as well as adding drama and dynamics to the scene.

A Blended Panorama with PhotoFlow

Fri, 26 Jun 2015 11:31:39 -0500

The goal of this tutorial is to show how to create a sort-of-HDR panoramic image using only Free and Open Source tools. To explain my workflow I will use the image below as an example.

This panorama was obtained from the combination of six views, each consisting of three bracketed shots at -1EV, 0EV and +1EV exposure. The three exposures are stitched together with the Hugin suite, and then exposure-blended with enfuse . The PhotoFlow RAW editor is used to prepare the initial images and to finalize the processing of the assembled panorama. The final result of the post-processing is below:

Basic Landscape Exposure Blending with GIMP and G'MIC

Tue, 09 Jun 2015 10:34:49 -0500

Photographer Ian Hex had previously explored the topic of exposure blending with us by using luminosity masks in darktable . For his first video tutorial he’s revisiting the subject entirely in GIMP and G’MIC .

Have a look and let him know what you think in the forum. He’s promised more if he gets a good response from people - so let’s give him some encouragement!

An Open Source Portrait (Mairi)

Mon, 18 May 2015 12:04:49 -0500

This is an article I had written long ago (originally published in 2013). The material is still quite relevant and the workflow hasn’t really changed, so I am republishing it here for posterity and those that may have missed it the first time around.

The previous post for this article went over the shoot that led to this image.

If you’d like to follow along with the image of Mairi, you can download the files from the links below.

Skin Retouching with Wavelet Decompose

Mon, 20 Apr 2015 11:47:07 -0500

Skin retouching is a delicate art.

Effective skin retouching can feel like a black art.

There have been various methods detailed in the past for ways to “smooth” skin in GIMP . Those methods ranged from disappointing at best to downright ridiculous at worst. The disappointing methods were simply a product of the best methods available at the time. The ridiculous ones seemed to be due to a lack of subtlety.