mailin 0 #1 January 17, 2004 I just recently got my first digital camera. My cats are my life, and as such I take lots of pictures of them. They are siamese, and have blue eyes, which don't photograph well. I know that I need to keep steady light at camera level when taking their picture so that their eyes don't look like those in the attached picture... but thats not always ideal. I want to edit the pictures so they look more 'normal'. I have photoshop 7 but am not very skilled in using it for photo editing - can anyone give me tips? Thanks all! JenniferArianna Frances Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DJatLarge 0 #2 January 17, 2004 I hate to say this to you, but siamese cats are evil and you can't fix their eyes when you take a picture of them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lummy 4 #3 January 17, 2004 hmmm... for that pic, I'd find a round fuzzy brush about the same size as the eyeballs and paint them in. You could also find a pic of cat eyes, and cut them out by using the lasso tool. create a layer underneath your pic and paste the eyes onto it. Go back to your pic layer, using the magic wand, click on the white eyeballs to highlight and delete making a window to see the eyes underneathI promise not to TP Davis under canopy.. I promise not to TP Davis under canopy.. eat sushi, get smoochieTTK#1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bch7773 0 #4 January 17, 2004 I say leave em like that... makes em look all creepy and sinister, like how cats really are! MB 3528, RB 1182 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shotgun 1 #5 January 17, 2004 I take a lot of pictures of my cats too. And if you are gonna use the flash, it might work better if you can time it when they're not looking directly at the camera. I'm no photography expert, but these are some things I've found when taking pics of my kitties. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites bobsled92 0 #6 January 17, 2004 QuoteI say leave em like that... makes em look all creepy and sinister, like how cats really are! naw, just cross-eed from inbreeding. (and they're not really born in Siam!)_______________________________ If I could be a Super Hero, I chose to be: "GRANT-A-CLAUS". and work 365 days a Year. http://www.hangout.no/speednews/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites fasterfaller 0 #7 January 17, 2004 Flash kills on shots where eyes are involved . Try shooting in a light source that is constant and from a closer distance or use a telephoto lens . Eye shots on this kind of cat but it will take you a few trys to get it right . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites cruzlite 0 #8 January 17, 2004 PS 7? Don't you have to be a PHD or something? I can't even claim to know how to work PS elements 2.0 to it's potential, but I digress... There are some very capable PSrs here. If you don't get satisfaction on that subject here try putting a rig on your cat & posting in the photo forum. However if you want to get a shot that captures the depth & color of your cat's eyes, I would suggest turnning your flash off and using an indirect light source, (both to the cat's eyes & the camera), I'm guessing here, but I would think the right amount of light (enough to keep cats pupils small), in the right place off to one side, (try distracting the cat so he's not looking into the camera & [cat's pupils being vertical]) or ambiant might work. May need a tripod. Questions; Is shot in post w/flash or light from behind camera? What kind of camera? I know this can be done. Check this sitehttp://www.dpreview.com Lu7k D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites FrogNog 1 #9 January 17, 2004 Try drawing lightning bolts coming out of the eyes. -=-=-=-=- Pull. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites harro 0 #10 January 17, 2004 Gee, In Oz we call them Burmese. I had one of them for a while. They are extremely faithful and buy the same accounts very jealous of any other animal that comes in to the house.Jumpy Jumpy?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites quade 4 #11 January 17, 2004 What you are seeing is the reflective coating on the back side of the cat retinas. This reflective coating is similar to the reflective tape on some garments. Its purpose is to reflect the light back through the retina and give it another shot at capturing some photons. This helps give cats better night vision. Turning up the light level in the room as much as possible so that you'll be using the flash as little as possible will help. This also helps to narrow the cat's iris which shows more eye color and less reflected light coming back out of the eyes.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites FunBobby 0 #12 January 17, 2004 Jennifer - If you can get your cats to stay still, I might suggest you use the "night scene" mode of your camera. You might have to steady the camera on a tripod (the mini tripods you can get at WalMart work really well) because the shutter will open for a full 2 seconds. The camera will also use the largest aperture setting. What's that all mean? No flash, but awesome lighting with no harsh shadows and no red (or in the case of pets, green) eyes. Look at this picture I took of the living room on Christmas Eve ... the room was lit by nothing but the Christmas tree lights and the fire, but the picture looks great. No harsh shadows, and soft lighting. And look at this picture of me and some of my skydiving friends at a very nice (and expen$ive!!) dinner on New Year's Eve. I told everyone to hold really still for the picture. The shutter was open for 2 seconds. Look at how everyone else is blurred. But look at the lighting! No flash, no harsh shadows, no red eyes, and the lighting looks great even in that dimly (and softly) lit room. During the daytime in less than ideally lit rooms, if your subjects (i.e. your cats) hold still, you can use the night mode to get great lighting and colors in your photos without a flash, shadows, and green eyes. Most digital cameras have some sort of "night scene" mode, and using it is usually as simple as flipping the selector switch to "night scene" or selecting it from a menu, pointing, and shooting. Try it. Good luck. FunBobby Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites FunBobby 0 #13 January 17, 2004 PS - stay warm! FunBobby Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites mailin 0 #14 January 17, 2004 Thanks so much for the advice everyone! I think I"m going to refrain from taking pictures of them with a flash. I haven't fiddled with night mode on this camera yet (which is a Kodak 5 mpx btw), but will plan to in the future - those pictures must look great (can't get into the site actually)! One neat thing about PS is that I can fiddle with the light levels, and did so on the before and after pics you'll see attached, and I can live with that. They're not as crisp as I'd like them to be, but its just for my scrapbook, so they'll do Btw, Siamese and Burmese are two different breeds of cat. Burmese cats have gold eyes. I've been owned by siamese cats my entire life... they've got great personalities! Thanks for the advice - I'll be trying lots of new things! JenniferArianna Frances Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Flare 0 #15 January 17, 2004 hey mailin, I know a little photoshop..so i added the pic for you..hope you like it..<-- if not..feel free to say so.. here's how i did it: Get a pic of a Siamese cat(who has about the same eyes as your own cat has), open them both in photoshop(image has to be (almost) the same size), next use you healing brush --> press ALT and select the corner of and eye (in the image where the eyes are normal blue) Next up: use your healing brush in the picture where the eyes whited out (if this has not happened, try to white them out a little, so the colors remain the same when u brush), start at the same corner as you selcted in the other pic...now go over the eye untill it has filled... hope this 'll help, good luck photographing last edit: try sticking a pice of normal paper in front of your flash, it will make the flash less sharp (soften the light somewhat) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites mailin 0 #16 January 17, 2004 Woah! Thats AWESOME! I know the healing brush is new to 7 - I really didn't know how to use it! Wow! Thanks a bunch! He looks so serious in that picture... and hes really not, he's such a goof ball JenniferArianna Frances Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites cruzlite 0 #17 January 17, 2004 I agree. Nicely done Flare! Bums me you can't access site though... Link is working... Site does attempt to load many adds/cookies... Probably firewall/security settings on your pc... Worth getting help with. D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Flare 0 #18 January 17, 2004 no i can't load it either.. no firewall, no virusscanner.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites cruzlite 0 #19 January 17, 2004 Damn ! I just tried it, worked fine. Might try googling it up, but I know there was a architectural site w/ almost identical name (url?)... Posibly ..try typing in url???? It really is a worthwhile site. Very frustrated now, D edit; will try again-- http://www.dpreview.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Shotgun 1 #20 January 18, 2004 I think they're talking about the links in FunBobby's post - I can't open those either (says "Forbidden"). Your link works though... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Flare 0 #21 January 18, 2004 QuoteJennifer - If you can get your cats to stay still, I might suggest you use the "night scene" mode of your camera. You might have to steady the camera on a tripod (the mini tripods you can get at WalMart work really well) because the shutter will open for a full 2 seconds. The camera will also use the largest aperture setting. What's that all mean? No flash, but awesome lighting with no harsh shadows and no red (or in the case of pets, green) eyes. Look at this picture I took of the living room on Christmas Eve ... the room was lit by nothing but the Christmas tree lights and the fire, but the picture looks great. No harsh shadows, and soft lighting. And look at this picture of me and some of my skydiving friends at a very nice (and expen$ive!!) dinner on New Year's Eve. I told everyone to hold really still for the picture. The shutter was open for 2 seconds. Look at how everyone else is blurred. But look at the lighting! No flash, no harsh shadows, no red eyes, and the lighting looks great even in that dimly (and softly) lit room. During the daytime in less than ideally lit rooms, if your subjects (i.e. your cats) hold still, you can use the night mode to get great lighting and colors in your photos without a flash, shadows, and green eyes. Most digital cameras have some sort of "night scene" mode, and using it is usually as simple as flipping the selector switch to "night scene" or selecting it from a menu, pointing, and shooting. Try it. Good luck. ok..since i got nothing to do, i changed the link (click on them in the quote) and put them on my own website (they will be there one day...hopefully Mailin sees em before that) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites cruzlite 0 #22 January 18, 2004 Thanks Keely! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites mailin 0 #23 January 18, 2004 ooh thanks! I'm a real avid scrapbooker, so I take a ton of what could be considered worthless pictures - but I want to make sure that I get all the details to pass down to the next generation - and I was trying to get a picture of my xmas tree that looked just like that link! Never could do it - and know I know why! Thanks so much guys - you rock! JenniferArianna Frances Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites lemonjelly 0 #24 January 18, 2004 HER IS THE SOLUTION TO YOUR PROBLEMS..************************************************* RED LIGHTS & OFF LANDINGS ARE JUST MY THANG http://www.redlightrob.co.uk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
bobsled92 0 #6 January 17, 2004 QuoteI say leave em like that... makes em look all creepy and sinister, like how cats really are! naw, just cross-eed from inbreeding. (and they're not really born in Siam!)_______________________________ If I could be a Super Hero, I chose to be: "GRANT-A-CLAUS". and work 365 days a Year. http://www.hangout.no/speednews/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fasterfaller 0 #7 January 17, 2004 Flash kills on shots where eyes are involved . Try shooting in a light source that is constant and from a closer distance or use a telephoto lens . Eye shots on this kind of cat but it will take you a few trys to get it right . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cruzlite 0 #8 January 17, 2004 PS 7? Don't you have to be a PHD or something? I can't even claim to know how to work PS elements 2.0 to it's potential, but I digress... There are some very capable PSrs here. If you don't get satisfaction on that subject here try putting a rig on your cat & posting in the photo forum. However if you want to get a shot that captures the depth & color of your cat's eyes, I would suggest turnning your flash off and using an indirect light source, (both to the cat's eyes & the camera), I'm guessing here, but I would think the right amount of light (enough to keep cats pupils small), in the right place off to one side, (try distracting the cat so he's not looking into the camera & [cat's pupils being vertical]) or ambiant might work. May need a tripod. Questions; Is shot in post w/flash or light from behind camera? What kind of camera? I know this can be done. Check this sitehttp://www.dpreview.com Lu7k D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FrogNog 1 #9 January 17, 2004 Try drawing lightning bolts coming out of the eyes. -=-=-=-=- Pull. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
harro 0 #10 January 17, 2004 Gee, In Oz we call them Burmese. I had one of them for a while. They are extremely faithful and buy the same accounts very jealous of any other animal that comes in to the house.Jumpy Jumpy?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #11 January 17, 2004 What you are seeing is the reflective coating on the back side of the cat retinas. This reflective coating is similar to the reflective tape on some garments. Its purpose is to reflect the light back through the retina and give it another shot at capturing some photons. This helps give cats better night vision. Turning up the light level in the room as much as possible so that you'll be using the flash as little as possible will help. This also helps to narrow the cat's iris which shows more eye color and less reflected light coming back out of the eyes.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FunBobby 0 #12 January 17, 2004 Jennifer - If you can get your cats to stay still, I might suggest you use the "night scene" mode of your camera. You might have to steady the camera on a tripod (the mini tripods you can get at WalMart work really well) because the shutter will open for a full 2 seconds. The camera will also use the largest aperture setting. What's that all mean? No flash, but awesome lighting with no harsh shadows and no red (or in the case of pets, green) eyes. Look at this picture I took of the living room on Christmas Eve ... the room was lit by nothing but the Christmas tree lights and the fire, but the picture looks great. No harsh shadows, and soft lighting. And look at this picture of me and some of my skydiving friends at a very nice (and expen$ive!!) dinner on New Year's Eve. I told everyone to hold really still for the picture. The shutter was open for 2 seconds. Look at how everyone else is blurred. But look at the lighting! No flash, no harsh shadows, no red eyes, and the lighting looks great even in that dimly (and softly) lit room. During the daytime in less than ideally lit rooms, if your subjects (i.e. your cats) hold still, you can use the night mode to get great lighting and colors in your photos without a flash, shadows, and green eyes. Most digital cameras have some sort of "night scene" mode, and using it is usually as simple as flipping the selector switch to "night scene" or selecting it from a menu, pointing, and shooting. Try it. Good luck. FunBobby Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FunBobby 0 #13 January 17, 2004 PS - stay warm! FunBobby Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mailin 0 #14 January 17, 2004 Thanks so much for the advice everyone! I think I"m going to refrain from taking pictures of them with a flash. I haven't fiddled with night mode on this camera yet (which is a Kodak 5 mpx btw), but will plan to in the future - those pictures must look great (can't get into the site actually)! One neat thing about PS is that I can fiddle with the light levels, and did so on the before and after pics you'll see attached, and I can live with that. They're not as crisp as I'd like them to be, but its just for my scrapbook, so they'll do Btw, Siamese and Burmese are two different breeds of cat. Burmese cats have gold eyes. I've been owned by siamese cats my entire life... they've got great personalities! Thanks for the advice - I'll be trying lots of new things! JenniferArianna Frances Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flare 0 #15 January 17, 2004 hey mailin, I know a little photoshop..so i added the pic for you..hope you like it..<-- if not..feel free to say so.. here's how i did it: Get a pic of a Siamese cat(who has about the same eyes as your own cat has), open them both in photoshop(image has to be (almost) the same size), next use you healing brush --> press ALT and select the corner of and eye (in the image where the eyes are normal blue) Next up: use your healing brush in the picture where the eyes whited out (if this has not happened, try to white them out a little, so the colors remain the same when u brush), start at the same corner as you selcted in the other pic...now go over the eye untill it has filled... hope this 'll help, good luck photographing last edit: try sticking a pice of normal paper in front of your flash, it will make the flash less sharp (soften the light somewhat) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mailin 0 #16 January 17, 2004 Woah! Thats AWESOME! I know the healing brush is new to 7 - I really didn't know how to use it! Wow! Thanks a bunch! He looks so serious in that picture... and hes really not, he's such a goof ball JenniferArianna Frances Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cruzlite 0 #17 January 17, 2004 I agree. Nicely done Flare! Bums me you can't access site though... Link is working... Site does attempt to load many adds/cookies... Probably firewall/security settings on your pc... Worth getting help with. D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flare 0 #18 January 17, 2004 no i can't load it either.. no firewall, no virusscanner.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cruzlite 0 #19 January 17, 2004 Damn ! I just tried it, worked fine. Might try googling it up, but I know there was a architectural site w/ almost identical name (url?)... Posibly ..try typing in url???? It really is a worthwhile site. Very frustrated now, D edit; will try again-- http://www.dpreview.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shotgun 1 #20 January 18, 2004 I think they're talking about the links in FunBobby's post - I can't open those either (says "Forbidden"). Your link works though... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flare 0 #21 January 18, 2004 QuoteJennifer - If you can get your cats to stay still, I might suggest you use the "night scene" mode of your camera. You might have to steady the camera on a tripod (the mini tripods you can get at WalMart work really well) because the shutter will open for a full 2 seconds. The camera will also use the largest aperture setting. What's that all mean? No flash, but awesome lighting with no harsh shadows and no red (or in the case of pets, green) eyes. Look at this picture I took of the living room on Christmas Eve ... the room was lit by nothing but the Christmas tree lights and the fire, but the picture looks great. No harsh shadows, and soft lighting. And look at this picture of me and some of my skydiving friends at a very nice (and expen$ive!!) dinner on New Year's Eve. I told everyone to hold really still for the picture. The shutter was open for 2 seconds. Look at how everyone else is blurred. But look at the lighting! No flash, no harsh shadows, no red eyes, and the lighting looks great even in that dimly (and softly) lit room. During the daytime in less than ideally lit rooms, if your subjects (i.e. your cats) hold still, you can use the night mode to get great lighting and colors in your photos without a flash, shadows, and green eyes. Most digital cameras have some sort of "night scene" mode, and using it is usually as simple as flipping the selector switch to "night scene" or selecting it from a menu, pointing, and shooting. Try it. Good luck. ok..since i got nothing to do, i changed the link (click on them in the quote) and put them on my own website (they will be there one day...hopefully Mailin sees em before that) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cruzlite 0 #22 January 18, 2004 Thanks Keely! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mailin 0 #23 January 18, 2004 ooh thanks! I'm a real avid scrapbooker, so I take a ton of what could be considered worthless pictures - but I want to make sure that I get all the details to pass down to the next generation - and I was trying to get a picture of my xmas tree that looked just like that link! Never could do it - and know I know why! Thanks so much guys - you rock! JenniferArianna Frances Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lemonjelly 0 #24 January 18, 2004 HER IS THE SOLUTION TO YOUR PROBLEMS..************************************************* RED LIGHTS & OFF LANDINGS ARE JUST MY THANG http://www.redlightrob.co.uk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
