Following on from the recent blog post, The camera never lies..., I was emailed by a couple of different friends saying here was an opportunity to use my Photoshop skills to spruce up other people’s photos.
So if someone has an image of themselves or a loved one they would like enhanced – perhaps as a gift for the coming gifty season - if it is emailed to me, for a very reasonable fee I can make any adjustments and email it back.
Ideas include:
Glamourising images – removing or reducing spots, wrinkles grey and stray hairs; changing hair and/or eye colour; softening skin; and straightening and whitening teeth
Fantasy images – turning people into elves, trolls, space aliens, cartoons, vampires, Japanese manga, etc
Photo Restoration – cleaning up old photos – removing creases or stains, giving faded tones more depth, and the like.
The final image can then be printed out and framed, uploaded to your favourite social networking sites, printed onto a mug or a t-shirt, or even turned into a jigsaw puzzle
I’ve put up a page on my Photography Website going into a bit more detail.
However, as a promotional act, I thought I could do a prize draw here on the blog.
So, if you have an image you’d like adjusted, enhanced or restored, then email it to me at kimayres – squiggly AT symbol – gmail.com with an outline of what you’d like done to it, and “Prize Draw” in the subject bar.
The draw will be closed at 9am on Tuesday 30th November (or sooner if I get hit by too many requests to keep up with), after which I will randomly select a name using an online generator such as this one.
Once I have completed the adjustments I will email the image to the winner, and put before & after copies on the blog.
With this in mind, please make sure:
a) for copyright purposes, the image is yours or you have permission to use it
b) for decency purposes, you don’t send any images that are illegal, pornographic, or distasteful (“risqué” is a matter of interpretation, but do you want your image displayed on my blog? – think carefully before you send it)
c) for effective use afterwards, the image is high resolution (but please not more than 10Mb big)
d) only one entry per person - however, you can use the service at my Photography Website for as many images as you like.
So, dig out an image of yourself, your loved one, or an old pic you’d like restored, and email it to me with instructions on what adjustments you'd like done to it.
A few examples

Japanese Manga Style

The Joker

Cartoon

The square-jawed hero

Adding 20 years

We come in peace...
I have no idea whether I will be swamped with entries, or left twiddling my thumbs. Guess I'll find out soon enough...
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Humm, I don't normally go in for competitions, but your tempting me Kim. I wonder who should be the lucky victim?
ReplyDeleteBy the way I am finally about to join the ranks of your minions and become a follower! Saves me checking every half hour for three days - joke :)
Fun Xmas idea Kim. No more twiddling thumbs (hey that's a thought - but damn! I dont have any recent photos of jesus himself)
Your Google ads are competing with you.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'm ready to see myself as a manga character just yet, but it is tempting to get elf ears. But whoever saw an elf with glasses?
Katie - you could always ask a hippy friend or hairy biker to act as a stand in... :)
ReplyDeletePollinatrix - the google ads for me are offering me B&B in Dumfries. And I don't see why you wouldn't get elves with glasses - surely they would move with the times too :)
Hey Bearded One - love the manga look!I was thinking that we could just bypass the photo idea and go to work on the original. I'd like about 20kg off and 10 cm added. Is that possible through photoshop?.......
ReplyDeleteUmmm I know a few hippies... ;)
ReplyDeleteHelen - I can in fact knock of 20kg and add 10cm to which ever bit you want it added to. In Photoshop, anyway :)
ReplyDeleteKatie - so long as I don't get burned at the stake for blasphemy...
I'm glad it wasn't a guy wanting the extra 10cm!
ReplyDeleteYes, perhaps its just my mind, but are we getting a bit pornographic and 'blasphemous'? (i must admit I am curbing my usual humor so as not to offend - but I just cant help it!) Apologies if I offend anyone.
I have a visual mind and the photoshop enhanced morphing of religious icons into aliens, demons and other things are all springing to mind, and something disturbing to do with father christmas that wont quite come to the surface!
I know you don't mind a little unsanctamonious humor Kim ;) (but I'm sure if they still employ the burning at the stake trick we're both in trouble)
Your scaring me with your Joker. You'll frighten the horses.
ReplyDeleteTo clarify, if it goes on the blog it can't be copyrighted. But if I needed a copyrighted photo cleaned up, you could do that?
ReplyDeleteKatie - I enjoy unsanctimonious humour, but for taste and decency, I'll have to restrict what images I put on the blog :)
ReplyDeletePat - I'll stay out of the fields...
Anna - copyright of images is all to do with who owns it. All the photos I've taken and posted on my blog are my own and thus are copyrighted to me. Just because they are in a public domain does not mean anyone can copy them and use them for their own purposes - they still specifically need my permission to do that.
So, what I mean about the images is - if you have taken the photo - or have been given permission by the copyright owner of the image - then I can make the adjustments and would want the permission to post the image on my blog.
What I can't do is adjust and publish an image that neither of us has permission to use. So we can't just grab an image off Flickr to use, for example.
If you have an old family photo you want restored - yes I can do that, no problem, so long as the original photographer doesn't decide to track me down and sue me :)
I'm just trying to use a bit of common sense about it - but feel free to email me if there's a specific project you wish to discuss
LOL @ Pat's "scaring the horses" comment. :D
ReplyDeleteKim, you're a lovely man.
'We come in peace' just cracked me up. I love that!
ReplyDeleteI'm not ready for this yet myself (took me that long to get a decent portrait, after all), but I can't wait to see what you're going to do with these photos!
The way things are going my friend, I'll be handing my pile of shite across in response to your kind offer of a makeover.
ReplyDeletethe square jawed hero freaks me out
ReplyDeleteTalesNtypos - thank you :)
ReplyDeleteMary - do you still have a copy of your resident alien?
Jimmy - you have my email :)
NurseMyra - more than aliens and manga?
Those are great Kim.. I am sure you would love to get ahold of my families new photos and make your own additions haha
ReplyDeleteAmy - if you want to enter one into the prize draw - I could turn your son into an alien :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not entirely sure what picture I would use.... maybe after the big bird is eaten I'll pick through and see if I can find something, that way I won't be entering just for the sake of entering.
ReplyDeleteDid that make sense?
Cannwin - If you're going to enter, you may as well make sure it's a photo you'd like to have fun with :)
ReplyDeleteKim, hello there, I am tempted by your free offer, so count me in please!
ReplyDeleteTitus - if you want to enter, you'll need to email me the pic you want enhanced before 9am this Tuesday :)
ReplyDelete