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Sony Forums Challenges | all galleries >> Challenge 107: Greeting Cards (hosted by MFC & Sonny Asehan) >> Challenge 107: Eligible > edit image
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02-DEC-2005 Katherine Stanback's Photos

10th Place (tie)
Xmas Greetings
by Katherine Stanback's Photos

I tried to fix it - the retakes didn't look the same, so I cloned out the fake tree and pasted in a real branch from another shot. It probably looks fake, but it's the best I can do. I sharpened before adding the text, so I think the jaggies are gone.

Sony DSC-F828
1/5s f/5.0 at 18.9mm iso64 with Flash hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time02-Dec-2005 17:25:29
MakeSony
ModelDSC-F828
Flash UsedYes
Focal Length18.9 mm
Exposure Time1/5 sec
Aperturef/5
ISO Equivalent64
Exposure Bias
White Balance (4)
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programmanual (1)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Guest 14-Dec-2005 00:33
Katherine, this card is incredibly beautiful - it just glows. Replacing the branch just added to it's beauty. A Hallmark must-see! Bev
Jerry Curtis13-Dec-2005 01:45
Simple and simply beautiful, Katherine. Love the fabulous brokeh and the placement of each element - including the text.
Guest 12-Dec-2005 20:19
Katherine, as Sonny said, this is the classic Christmas card. It's great.
Guest 09-Dec-2005 05:17
Classic! Love the adjustments, Katherine. It is simply beautiful!
Denise08-Dec-2005 19:15
Katherine, this one is great. Beautiful, beautiful photograph.
Guest 08-Dec-2005 18:36
Definitely an improvement Katherine. Nothing looks fake to me, in fact I'm quite impressed with your post processing. This is really a beautiful greeting card; I like that soft background and cool border! Very nice indeed.
Katherine Stanback's Photos08-Dec-2005 05:41
Helen, to get the soft background, I used a white cardboard background, shone a bright flashlight on it, and set white balance so that it looked yellow. Then in photoshop, I added a duplicate layer, set blending mode to soft light, and did a gaussian blur with radius of about 20.
mlynn 08-Dec-2005 00:52
Lovely image Katherine, beautiful ornament and a beautiful, soft background. --Melanie
Helen Betts06-Dec-2005 18:59
This is lovely, Katherine, and elegant in its simplicity. I love the soft, dreamy backgrond: How did you do that? Helen
Guest 06-Dec-2005 03:56
Without doing anything (reshoot), this image is classic. Love the composition, colors and presentation. If you're going to re-shoot this, I would do as Braonm suggested regarding the usage of real leaves and re-typing the text so make it smoother (unless the jagged edges of the text is intentional).
Katherine Stanback's Photos05-Dec-2005 04:39
Thanks for the comments. Braonm, I retook some pics with a small branch from a real tree, but I can't seem to get the lighting and background the same. I'll keep trying :)
Guest 04-Dec-2005 17:08
Text is pixellated, at least on my screen. Background is lovely/dreamy. Please don't grumble at me, but do you have the chance to reshoot with a real tree for touch of green on top? Very nice card.
Guest 04-Dec-2005 01:00
A lovely card, Katherine. The simplicity of design and beautiful lighting make it really stand out. ...and a Merry Christmas to you, too. Bev
Sony Forums Challenges03-Dec-2005 12:12
Katherine, this makes a beautiful Christmas card. Love the composition, crop, and lighting here. The design painted onto the ornament is very artistic and elegant. Your subject is really enhanced by the bright, blurred background...the subtle differences in color/tone are very appealing. Nice card...well taken. MFC