Replichrome by Totally Rad--Bringing the Look of Film to Digital

by Kristina

If you follow this blog, you may know that I am a big fan of RadLab from Totally Rad.  I love how easy it is to process my images using this fantastic tool.  So when I was recently contacted to try out their latest offering, Replichrome, I jumped at the chance.

Replichrome is a post processing tool that is used to edit RAW photos (it does not work accurately on jpeg images) in Lightroom and ACR.  It includes 134 presets that brings the look of film to digital photography.

The dudes at Totally Rad went through a lot of work to develop these presets to make them as accurate as possible.  They knew that film lovers would want the very best and went through painstaking steps to create this product.  You can read about how they developed Replichrome here.

Honestly, I am new to film presets, but I have to say that after trying out Replichrome, I am hooked.  I love the artistic look I can achieve with this editing tool.  I will say that I am not a huge fan of grain and found myself tweaking that on most of my images, but other than that I loved the effect I got on my photos with just a simple click.  

As you will see below in some of my images the effect is subtle but in others there is a little more punch.  You can also see more samples on my business blog, Kristina Rust Photography.

SOOC

After with Kodak Porta 160

Edited with Kodak BW 400CN

SOOC

After with Fuji 160

SOOC

After Fuji Pro 400 

Improve Your Workflow with Retouchup.com

A few weeks ago I had a photo shoot with an adorable family who wanted to commemorate their son's first birthday with a shoot that involved balloons.....lots of them.

We set up the shot and placed all the balloons around the sweet little guy and he grinned from ear to ear.   I got a lot of great shots but unfortunately having so many balloons and not enough lighting on the backdrop created a bunch of shadows.

Now my Photoshop skills are pretty good but going through these images and trying to erase each shadow was going to be too time consuming.  So on the advice from fellow photographer and past Behind the Lens interviewee, Eva Creel, I tried out Retouchup.com and I was thrilled with the results.

Retouchup.com is a great service for those of you who want to spend less time editing photos and more time snapping them.  It is a low cost service (touchups start at $2.50 per image) with no contracts or minimums and turn around time is less than 48 hours.

Retouchup.com has an interesting story.  It was created by the team at Hollywood Fotofix, Inc. to provide photo retouching solutions for professional photographers and has been in business since 1993.  The owner's family is multi-cultural and uses artists located in Lima, Peru.  You can read more about them here.

For me it is the perfect service to use for those tricky to edit photos.   The process is simple.  Just upload your images and provide a brief description of what you'd like fixed.  The artist then emails you within 24-48 hours with your edited image.  Super easy!

Here is a sample of what they did for me.   I definitely felt that it was worth the $2.50 to fix up this photo.  As I mentioned, I'm still learning all the ins and outs of Photoshop Elements and honestly, the time it would have taken me to fix this would have been huge.

I am so glad Eva told me about this great service....it was a true time saver!

Before:

After:

Friday Find--Pic Tap Go from @Radlab

by Kristina

Today instead of a Friday Freebie, we have a Friday Find we wanted to share.  For only $1.99 you can download the very cool app from Radlab called Pic, Tap, Go.   If you are a Radlab user, you are going to LOVE this app.  And for those of you not familiar with Radlab, you should definitely go and check out their site.  We've done a post about it here if you want to read more.

Pic Tap Go, allows you to layer filters, save recipes, and develop your own unique style.  The interface is easy to use and once you're satisfied with your image you can easily share it on your social media sites.

Anyway, here is a terrific video from Radlab that provides you with an overview of Pic, Tap, Go....

Get ready to have the power of Radlab in your pocket!  You can download it in the app store here.

Behind the Scenes--Still Life Set-Up

by Kristina

Inspired by Kim Klassen's Beyond, Beyond course (affectionately known as 2B), I thought I'd show you how I set up the still life pictured above for this week's assignment.  It is actually a set up that I have used for a few product photography gigs that I've done in the past (one where I shot baked goods...yum! and another where I shot pieces of a children's game that is soon to be released).  

Anyway, the set up is super simple.  Basically all you need is a good natural light source.  In the morning I have the best light near a window in my front room which faces East and in the afternoon, I get lovely light by a window in my family room which faces....West.

Next, using two pieces of foam core board found at Michaels for around $5.00 for a two pack and a couple of clamps that I purchased on Amazon 6 for $4.50, I put together this set-up.

After shooting a few dozen images (you know how that goes), I uploaded the photos into Lightroom and did a little post processing.  I then brought the image into Photoshop Elements 10 and added one of Kim's textures (Sybil from her Downton Abbey collection) and used her quote brush (A Touch of Whimsy) to add the quote. Voila, the lovely image that you see above was created.

Note:  the final image shown at the beginning of this post was taken in my family room and the shots of my set up were done the next day in my front room, after I realized that showing you the method to the madness might make for a good post. :)  Oh and in case you are wondering where I found that cute mug....TJMAXX... $4.99.  Love that place!

I'm Lovin' Radlab for Photo Editing

I have said this before and I'll say it again, "I love Radlab."  Radlab is one of the easiest ways to edit your photos and improve your workflow.   And the totally awesome dudes and dude-ettes at Radlab are giving our Moms Who Click readers a 15% off discount by using the code 1346MOMSWHOCLICK at checkout.  

If you are not familiar with RadLab,  it is a filter plug-in available for Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and Lightroom that simplifies photo effects and makes retouching your photos a breeze.  It is a great way to juice up and fix up your photos without spending hours in front of your computer.

What I love most about RadLab is that once I upload a photo and choose Radlab (found in the filters menu), a separate window opens showing me my image as well as a preview of what the 78 different effects will look like on my image.    It is a much more visual way of editing.

Here is a peek at the preview interface...pretty cool, huh?

The other great aspect about RadLab is that each stylet has it's own set of controls, so you can tweak it to your liking.  The sliders make adjusting brightness, saturation, etc...quick and simple.  You can also combine any number of different stylets to create your own look and save your editing recipe so that you can use it again and again.

My personal favorite stylets are Claire-ify, Oh, Snap! &  Lights On.  I tend to go for a  clean, crisp edit and that is exactly what I get with these.  However, when I'm looking for a little extra oomph or want to get a bit more creative, I can do that too.  Using stylets like Troy, Grandma's Tap Shoes, and Pistachio, I can create all kinds of great effects.   Check out these samples below:

Sunflower Before

Sunflower After--With a Little Grandma's Tap Shoes

Dad at the Beach Before

Dad at the Beach After--Using Troy and Get Faded Summer
I love this vintage effect!

Radlab is great for "fixing" photos too.  For example, the photo below was one that I took in the shade.  I had been taking photos only moments before in an area that had more light and forgot to adjust my ISO.  Needless to say, what I got was a photo that needed a little work and with a few simple clicks, I was able to create a photo that went from this.....

to this.....

A little Oh Snap!  Lights On and Claire-fy, totally saved this image

It's hard to believe it is the same photo, right?

I love how easy RadLab is to use and am so glad I have it as part of my editing toolkit.   If you want to give it a test drive you can try it out for 30 days by clicking here.

Disclosure:  I am a Radvocate which means I receive a commission should you decide to purchase RadLab using the links in this post or the link located in the sidebar.  However, I am a HUGE fan of this product.  I totally love it and think it is truly RAD.   As always, I only recommend vendors and companies that I personally use and love!

How to Make an Animated Gif

Making an animated gif is easier than you think and is a fun way to showcase a sequence of photos.   A great site to use which does not require any knowledge of Photoshop is Makeagif.  Just upload your photos and it creates the animation for you.  Super simple and free!

I made the one above in Photoshop Elements using layers and you can find a basic tutorial here.   These photos were taken at our neighborhood block party that we had over the weekend.  If I did it all over again, I would have my camera on a tripod to avoid the shake......are you getting dizzy yet?

Fun with Text

This week in Kim Klassen's Beyond Layers class, she posted an amazing tutorial on how to use text and a clipping mask to create some fun photos.  I seriously love this class!  It has been a great way to feed my creative soul!

DIY Bokeh

by Tina

With the many lights of the season it's particularly fun to play with BOKEH.  Bokeh is a word which is derived from Japanese which means "out-of-focus."   My daughters found a fun site called Color Me Katie.  Both her blog and this wonderful YouTube link below show you step-by-step instructions for creating your own bokeh shape.



I played around with it and these directions from YouTube were super simple.  Once you get the hang of it, it's easy and fun. I like the way Bryant Truong designed this so you can interchange shapes rather than making a whole fitted cover for each shape.

Here's an example of what I did, do you see the tiny sparkles in heart shapes - appropriate for this gift?

I also played around taking photos of the moon and the planet right next to it.  It happens to be the planet Venus, appropriately named after the Goddess of Love.

Next I took photos of our Christmas lights (or do I need to be politically correct and say Holiday Lights?) and got this image:

If you are looking for some fun ways to play with bokeh, try this out!

RadLab--Is TOTALLY RAD!

I was introduced to RadLab while at Shutter Sister's Camp by our texture lovin' friend Kim Klassen.   She raved about it  and suggested we give their 30 DAY free test drive a spin.   And I have to tell you I LOVE it!

RadLab is an easy way to add photo effects to your images without complicated lists of actions or presets.  It is an interface that provides "stylets" and lets you try different combinations until you find the perfect recipe.   The best part is you get to actually see thumbnail previews of all the stylets you are using in your library.  You can even adjust each stylet to create your own unique twist.

Here is a sample photo where RadLab helped save the day.  The photo was underexposed but with just a few clicks, I was able to get an image I really liked.

Here is a photo with a variety of stylets in the review section, just to give you an idea of how the thumbnails look.

RadLab is compatible with Photoshop Elements 8 and up and Photoshop CS3 and up.  To see a tutorial from Kim Klassen, visit Shutter Sisters.  Give their 30 Day trial a spin, we have a feeling you are going to LOVE it!  My 30 Day trial ends in two days and I'll be signing up for sure!