The Princess and the Pea

It’s Friday and that can mean only one thing. Actually, it could mean countless other things, I really don’t know who came up with that saying. Anyhow, it is Friday and in my little blogging world it is a perfect time for another entry in AfterBeforeFriday forum, hosted by one and only Stacy Fischer on her blog Visual Venturing (again, it is entirely possible she is not the only Stacy Fischer in the world).

If you are wondering what we are doing over there, don’t rack your pretty little brains anymore, the mystery shall be revealed. Other people are showcasing their exceptional work in the world of post-processing by publishing their before and after images, with very detailed and interesting explanations on the entire process.

I, on the other hand, am winging it week after week, pretending I know what I am doing. Half the time I forget what I do or in what order I do things, so I just say something smart, mentioning exposure, highlights, POW, DOF…You know, like a pro. Don’t tell anyone, but it seems they are buying it. 😀

But enough about me, let’s talk about my wonderful work. I discovered something amazing this week, a little free program called FotoSketcher and used it to convert a regular photo into an oil painting look-a-like.

This is Berta. Lying on my sofa. On my favorite blanket. Using and abusing my soft heart. I snapped this image with my old HTC phone. It seems I am mentioning that old phone much lately, maybe I should go and fish it out of one of the drawers it got lost in. My point is, no fancy work here, no post-processing…nada…ziltch. I mean, look at her. She’s a princess. Hence the title. Hans Christian Andersen connection.

So, I uploaded the image into FotoSketcher. As you can see in the screenshot below, it is a very simple program, where you get side by side before/after image and you can observe all the changes you are doing. I chose “painting – oil”, “hard texture” and added a frame. I also adjusted strength of effect, image simplification and brushstrokes intensity. There are no rules (at least I couldn’t find any), you play with it until you get what you want.

I adore this program so much, it may happen that in the future all my photos are converted into “paintings”. Jokes aside, I really think that this experiment worked on this particular image. That rich red color and in particularly those blanket folds make it look like a real painting.

So, what do you think…am I amazing or what? 😀 I even posted some screenshots this week, so there may be hope for me.