Saturday 12 December 2015

Creating Images


Several 'bloggers' have expressed an interest in my images - this tutorial may help you experiment and make your own
A couple of years ago I removed all borders/frames & edges from around my photos on this blog. You may not have realised but most of the blogspot templates automatically have photo edges so unless you remove them you will not get the seamless look that I have. If you have a white background and perfectly plain white frames to your photos (no thin black lines or shadowy edges) then yours should look seamless too. I cannot remember how I got rid of the borders but you can google how to do it - there are plenty of people on the internet who will give you a step by step guide - it must be simple as I managed to do it. I do recall that I eliminated the frame but was left with a shadowy edge which I then had to google again to find out how to remove. If you prefer to have borders and edges to your photos then leave them as they are, and if you are not confident about removing them then please don't do it
Go into PicMonkey here 
Select Design and choose whichever canvass you want to use
You have a choice of leaving it white, giving it a colour or making it transparent - when you have made your choice press apply. I normally choose to use the transparent mode. If you leave the canvass white and have a blog with a white background, and plain white frames as mentioned above then once again yours should look transparent.
On the lefthand side you will see Basic Edits - go into the butterfly image and scroll down until you find an image you want to use - I have used one leaf only for this demonstration
My chosen leaf
Now you can alter it in various ways, change the basic colour, make the veins invisible or colour them or if you don't want veins make them the same colour as the leaf. Turn the leaf around, make it bigger or smaller. Add more leaves and create a design - I like to overlap them and use the fade gadget in order to give the image depth and create a more interesting effect

When you are happy with the results go into Basic Edits and resize your image by making it 800 pixels or less
Once you become familiar with how to change the colours etc the choices and permutations are endless

41 comments:

  1. A great tutorial Rosemary! I think that I used to have no borders around my pictures and I added them in when I made my background white as I thought that the photos popped a bit more, but if I had your background - which I love by the way! - I would have done what you have done. I love your leaf pictures, they are so pretty aren't they, you can do some great things in picmonkey can't you. xx

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    1. Dear Amy - from time to time I love experimenting with PicMonkey - a great resource that is free.

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  2. Dear Rosemary, You and Pic Monkey need to team up. You are the Pic Monkey master and innovator. I love all of your creations. I remember when you invented the roundel and how everyone loved it...
    xo Gina

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    1. Dear Gina - it is you that I am forever grateful to for introducing me to PicMonkey. I would be lost without it and use it for all my photos to resize and watermark them. I have recently added Add Blocker to the computer and accidentally blocked PicMonkey so nearly lost the facility, and was horrified. I had to go all through the "blocker" and find the writing to eliminate and reinstate it.

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    2. Ouch! I wlll not install Blocker.

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    3. It is fine to install AddBlocker as long as you don't do what I did. After installing it I was saving a photo on PicMonkey and a little tab came up saying 'block' which I ignored a few times but then was tempted to press it - that was my error.
      I am really pleased with the AddBlocker as all the adverts have now disappeared from the computer, it looks cleaner and less cluttered.

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  3. Wonderful images there Rosemary.
    I too have fiddled in the Advanced settings of my blog over the years, it's amazing what one can remove or keep.

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    1. I don't think that a lot of people realise just how much you can actually change.

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  4. Thank you Rosemary. You have given me something else to think about even if I'm slow with the editing and creative side of blogging! The look of your blog is especially attractive. Your images and writing is so clear which helps someone like me who has eyesight problems. The information is always interesting. Please may I know the camera you use as I'm considering purchasing a better one mid range price. I think you mentioned once before, but didn't take note at the time. Thank you once again as I don't always comment, but do read your articles.

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    1. Thank you Linda - I am pleased that you find the writing clear to read. I actually changed it from the original after I had been blogging for a while as I realised how difficult it was to see the writing on some blogs.
      The camera I have is just a small one but I like it. It is a Sony Cyber-shot, DSC-WX350. I bought it at Jessops and if you get the bundle which includes the memory card it comes to less than £150. This camera was something like £400 when it first came out but has now been superseeded. However, I don't need or want all of the extra fancy things that the newer camera can do. The memory card holds about 4,000 images, and the included battery last for about 500 images which is also good when travelling. The battery is not taken out of the camera to recharge but charges up on the computer as you upload your photos although it comes with a separate charger which you can use if you prefer. Hope that this helps.
      http://www.jessops.com/online.store/categories/products/Sony/Cyber-shot-DSC-WX-350-Digital-Camera-90365/Show.html?nst=0&gclid=CIXauc2o1skCFcm6GwodB10LQQ

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    2. Thank you Rosemary for the information about the camera which has features I'm looking for at a good price. Also thank you for the link.

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  5. Hello Rosemary, I have often had that experience of spending hours to get some advanced feature on the computer working, then a year later not having the foggiest idea how to duplicate the instructions. Also, it's odd how the main program's (Blogger, Word, etc.) help screen is usually worthless--the step-by-step directions are usually found through a general internet query.
    --Jim

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    1. Hello Jim - I find that the easiest to follow and understand help comes from other Bloggers. Invariably if I have a problem it is another blogger who offers the advice I am seeking.

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  6. Interesting tutorial, may give it a go one day.

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    1. It gets quicker to use PicMonkey once you become familiar with it

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  7. HI Rosemary...
    I use Pic Monkey....love it!
    Wishing you a Merry Christmas...all the best!
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

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    1. It's a great free tool - Happy Christmas to you all and especially that dear little granddaughter of yours, Miss V.

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    2. Thanks Rosemary....very sweet of you!

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  8. Pic Monkey looks like a lot of fun. Something I could spend a lot of time experimenting with - when I should be doing other things!!

    Thanks Rosemary.

    Ms soup

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    1. It seems quite complicated at the beginning but once you find your way around then the images above can be created very quickly.

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  9. What a lovely post Rosemary!
    Have a wonderful sunday.

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    1. Thanks Marijke - hope all is well with you

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  10. Hmmm. I am still such a novice, but I am going at lt least look at that site.

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    1. It is a good site to use anyway for reducing the pixels on your photos and watermarking them.

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  11. I love picmonkey, You can do so much with that website. These are great ideas!

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  12. Wow this looks like real fun...once you get to really understanding how to. Thanks for all the the explanation !

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    1. Being so artistic I am sure that you could do wonders with PicMonkey Jane.

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  13. Hello, I have just discovered your blog and am so pleased to have found it!

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    1. Thank you for visiting Jane - do call again.

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  14. It is difficult to understand the teaching, because my English language is not so good and google translator translates always so funny.
    So I will confine myself only to admire these nice pictures.

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    1. I know exactly what you mean Google translator tool needs some serious attention to improve and update it.
      Sometimes I write on a blog from another country and then when I look later at my comment it doesn't even make sense to me.

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  15. Now that is interesting, Rosemary - I'm not very good at using the finer ways of the web (I never use 'Photoshop', but that is conviction, not a I-don't-know-how), but your explanation here are so alluring that I will try to put them into practise.

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    1. I shall watch for your results Britta - its a bit of creative fun so hope you enjoy.

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  16. Thank you for your kindness, Rosemary, to let us know how to create images. So far I’m simply interested in seeing your creative works and don’t intend to make for myself, but someday when I feel inclined to, this post would be a help.

    Yoko

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    1. Thank you Yoko - I am pleased that you enjoyed seeing the images. Sometimes I enjoy experimenting with PicMonkey.

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  17. Dear Rosemary!

    Such beautiful and creative images. You've such an eye for colour and form. A true artist. :) And a great tutorial as well. You've a big warm heart sweet Rosemary. I hope you and your loved ones will have a lovely Christmas. Take care sweetie.

    Charlie
    xx

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    1. Dear Charlie - enjoy a wonderful and very special Christmas this year with all your loving and supportive family around you. Wishing you lots of happiness in 2016♡

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  18. PicMonkey is my go-to for most editing - it is really wonderful what one can accomplish playing about with a silly monkey, LOL! I would suggest to anyone thinking of adding PM to go for the 'Royale' subscription - a small annual fee but really worth the extras it allows.
    Regarding framing pix Rosemary - I love that you don't with your dark background - all yours look amazing (mainly because you definitely have 'the eye' as a photographer), but with my white background many of my pix have lost edges and look like they're floating if I don't at least put a very light thin frame. Sometimes that effect does work depending on the subject of the pic, but other times I do like to see it anchored.

    Great tutorial - you are the best!
    Hugs - Mary

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