This How To uses the simpler program of Paint Shop. I’m no geekdom expert - just someone who plays like a crazy monkey, pushing all the buttons, experimenting along the way and having a great time. Lucky you! Now you can have the benefit of my trial and error if you wish to achieve the same result as it is nothing more than just a simple recipe.
1. Here’s the original camera phone photo taken of a day lily in the garden this spring:
Photo 1 by Denny Lyon
2. Now go to the top tool bar to Effects, and on the drop down menu go to Enhance Photo, Automatic Color Balance, choose warmer temperature and press OK.
Most people like to look at warmer colors, especially on a monitor which tends to make photos look cooler. Besides, by the time we are finished it will have toned down.
Photo 2 by Denny Lyon
3. Again go to Effects, the drop down menu of Enhance Photo, Automatic Contrast Enhancement - Bias: darker - Strength: normal - Appearance: bold. Do you see how you diminished some of the warmth if you had too much?
Photo 3 by Denny Lyon
4. One more time go to Effects, the drop down menu of Enhance Photo, Automatic Saturation Enhancement - Bias: more colorful - Strength: strong - And check the box for: skin tones present. This warms the temperature of the photo creating a sunnier look associated with flowers. It also is a more subtle change visually.
Photo 4 by Denny Lyon
5. Now it is time to use the Crop tool which looks like a ragged square with uneven edges and a diagonal line marching through it, usually off to the side tool bar. Decide what it is you like about your photo and focus upon that area. Try to get rid of excess visual distraction like too many lines going off in erratic directions that pull your eye away from what you desire as your focus. In this case it’s the spikey leaves. Also, lose the background clutter, especially if it does not contribute to the story you are trying to express. Once you have decided upon your cropped area, press the check mark button on the above tool bar.
Photo 5 by Denny Lyon
6. Now it’s time for Effects, Edge, to the drop down menu to the Enhance More choice. See how this option traces ever so lightly the edges of the flower petals and even the stamens? This is the subtle version; you can always add more for added drama. You could just stop here at this level. However, I’m all for “gilding the lily.” Read on if you want to kick it up a couple of notches.
Photo 6 by Denny Lyon
7. Now let’s add some borders! Go to the top tool bar to Image, on the drop down menu choose Add Borders, choose the size in pixels you want – here it was 45, decide if you want it to be symmetric (the same on all sides) and I said yes on this photo. Now take a look at the big box of color those borders will be; do you like it? If not, run your mouse over it and you will see an eye dropper icon and then point it to whichever color that suits your fancy. In this case I went all the way to the right of the color palette and down 3 spaces for the darkest Medium Dark Gray for borders.
Photo 7 by Denny Lyon
8. Final operation is to go to the top tool bar to Image, choose Picture Frame, then Edge Circles 01. Press OK. You are done!
Photo 8 by Denny Lyon
When you go to save this image a dialog box will come up and say: “Because of the limited specifications of the style format (and possibly the save options you’ve selected), the saved file will be limited to a merged image. Would you like to continue?” Press yes and your image is happy, you are happy, the whole world is deliriously happy! Congratulations! You are an artist!
Here’s the visual progression of your photo:
Also, related: Eight Easy Steps: Take Your Pet Photo From Dull to Wow for Halloween!
Comments are welcome!
