Today I decided to do some experimenting in Photoshop and NIK software using one of my orchids as the subject. I took several different photos using different exposures, a couple of different lenses, a shallow depth of field, and various white balance settings. The background was a muted yellow and the walls in the room are a light brown, so there was a lot of yellow reflecting onto the white orchids.
The first photo is pretty much how it came out of the camera with a little soft focus added in NIK Color Efex.
The second photo is focused on the center of one of the orchids and I put a white vignette around it.
For the third photo, I made a copy of the photos in NIK Silver Efex to turn it into black and white. Then I took the black and white photo and the original photo into Photoshop and combined them. I lowered the opacity just a bit to show a little color and then “painted” in the yellow and red in the center.
On the last photo, I did basically the same as I did for the third photo, but then took the final photo into NIK Color Efex and added a glow.
I’ll be doing more experimenting in the future with different NIK programs.
Maralee
Through My Lens 
Wow ~ gorgeous!
Thank you so much. It means a lot coming from someone with so much talent.
It is fun to play around with stuff. I keep saying I will, and one of these days I’ll act on it.
I have fun trying out new things. I just wish I had more free time to experiment more.
The last photo is my favorite – it’s like there is a shadow on the wall – soft and gentle. VERY romantic.
Thanks, Viveka.
Love the first one – the warmth of it appeals to me. 🙂
Thanks for sharing these photo tips. I enjoy reading them. I’m not familiar with NIK.
NIK is a plugin I used. They have a 15 day trial if you ever want to try it out. Here’s their website:
http://www.niksoftware.com/downloads/usa/entry.php?view=software
Really like the 2nd and 4th ones the most (they are all good). very nice. Keep it up.
Thank you. I’m learning a lot through experimenting with different things.
wonderful skill that makes these look like a great painting.
Very vice. I’m still just trying to get good before I play around with my photos.
NICE. Not VICE. Oy.