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potential to emulate Sony A7's "picture effects"?


quixotic

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Hi Folks,

I have a Sony A7S camera, which spits out images such as those below. However, these special effects are only possible in jpeg form from the camera. Therefore, I'm wondering if Photoshop can do something similar with a RAW file. If so, is there an artistic effects tool that I can try?

I already have Elements 9, so I know that the selective desaturation is possible. However, that tool means manually desaturating, which, with all those flowers, could take quite a while.

The other effect is kind of like a water color effect, but with emphasized borders.

I know that I should really just lease a copy of PHotoshop and play around with it for a while, but I thought that someone here who is knowledgeable might be able to tell me right away whether something similar to the A7S effects are readily doable in Photoshop or not...and if so, what the tool name might be.horse and rider cartoon.jpghorse and rider desaturate.JPG

Thanks in advance.

Evan
 
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If Elements 9 has a filter gallery, check the different filter options and see if one gives you results similar to your camera. The first image you posted almost looks like a combination of filters - maybe a pencil sketch filter and a palette knife-style filter.


Agent
 

quixotic

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Thanks Agent. I'll have a look. Up until now, I've been having fun with the Nik Collection, but it would be nice to expand my options.
 

quixotic

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Hoogle

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Topaz simplify will do it as a plugin, or if you have photoshop cs6 and 1st edition of cc you can use the oil paint filter directly in photoshop,

for effects then topaz adjust is also a good plugin
 

quixotic

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Topaz simplify will do it as a plugin, or if you have photoshop cs6 and 1st edition of cc you can use the oil paint filter directly in photoshop,

for effects then topaz adjust is also a good plugin

Thanks. I hadn't thought of that. I already have Topaz Denoise, so I'm familiar with the software. I'll have to try Simplify and Adjust. Impression also looks very intriguing.
 

Tom Mann

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Sorry it took me so long to respond, but I had to go looking for a particular experiment that I tried around 2009 that was something like what you are looking for. Yup, Topaz Simpify is the way to go.

I started with this photo:

00
00-Original.jpg

To get the dark lines, I first tried PS's "Glowing Edges" filter (inverted). I was not satisfied with the results because, basically, it did not provide enough adjustability so I could achieve the degree of simplification I was looking for:

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01-Glowing_edges_not_enough_adjustments.jpg


Eventually, I tried Topaz "Simplify" and got the following

02a
02a-Result_of_Topaz_simplify_lines_only.jpg

I used the following settings to emphasize the black lines

02b
02b-Topaz_simplify_settings.jpg


My next step was to give the colors a painterly look. I realize that this is different from the more "blobs of color" look you are trying to achieve, but I didn't go in this direction in that experiment. I initially tried PS's Surface Blur filter, but it wasn't painterly enough for my tastes.

03
03-Surface_blur_not_quite_good_enough.jpg

So, when I put the Topaz Simplify result on a layer above the Surface Blur layer, and set its blending mode to "Darken", I got this:

04
04-Surface_blur_then_Topaz_simplify(lines_only, darken).jpg

However, I got what I was looking for by using Corel Painter and hand painting in the brush strokes:

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05-Corel_Painter.jpg

Then when I put the Topaz Simplify layer (darken blending mode) above the Corel Painter layer and made some other minor tweaks, I got this:

06
06-Corel_Painter_then_Topaz_Simplify(lines only, darken).jpg

I realize that the painterly look isn't what you are looking for, but in the next few days, I'll try to post how you can get a "blobs of color" look instead of the brush strokes look to go under the sharp black lines.

HTH,

Tom M
 

quixotic

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Thanks Tom. Simplify seems to be just the right tool. I just purchased it, and I see the Topaz has a very comprehensive user guide, as well as a great set of tutorials and webinars. So I'll have no shortage of inspiration and guides for dabbling and experimenting.

The precise look of the horse and rider above isn't necessarily the exact look I'm after, but at least I now know that I can shoot RAW with the camera and still be able to come up with some very interesting results.
 

quixotic

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Looks like even just the pre-sets will keep me happy for long, long while. Here's one with the oil pre-set (photo of the ancient cemetery in Clifden, Ireland, where it is said that some mass graves holding famine victims are). Clifden mass grave oil.JPG
 

Tom Mann

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Glad to have helped, Quix. As a photographer with a reputation of realism (whatever that is ;-) ), I don't get much of a chance to play with efx like these, but I try to keep up with what's available, & Topaz Simplify is one of my favorites. Once, using "Simplify", I coaxed a beautiful scales-on-a-butterfly-wing effect out of a posterized sunset. If I can find it, I'll post it. I'm sure u will have lots of fun with this plugin!

Cheers,

Tom M
 
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