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Author Topic: When does a photo become a digital painting?  (Read 9892 times)

Steven Draper

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When does a photo become a digital painting?
« on: December 02, 2008, 11:34:53 pm »

I was having a discussion the other day about my PP techniques and it was suggested that what I'm doing is actually digitally 'painting' over my original by creating and blending layers, pushing colours etc. I don't 'change the light,' move trees about or add skies etc, what you see is what I experienced, but this may be different to what was optically captured on film or sensor.

Haven't a problem with that, but was wondering if there was an established point at which a photographic processing session officially turns into a digital painting, in a similar way to how some painters photograph the scene and then project the slide onto a canvas.

Many thanks for your thoughts.
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bill t.

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When does a photo become a digital painting?
« Reply #1 on: December 03, 2008, 01:08:14 am »

Quote from: Steven Draper
I was having a discussion the other day about my PP techniques and it was suggested that what I'm doing is actually digitally 'painting' over my original by creating and blending layers, pushing colours etc. I don't 'change the light,' move trees about or add skies etc, what you see is what I experienced, but this may be different to what was optically captured on film or sensor.

Haven't a problem with that, but was wondering if there was an established point at which a photographic processing session officially turns into a digital painting, in a similar way to how some painters photograph the scene and then project the slide onto a canvas.

Many thanks for your thoughts.

When your photographs starts to look like a pretty good photorealistic painting, you're there!

I judge myself at that point when I have adjusted the tonality of the image in a way that exceeds the normal range of a photograph, as by bringing out details in shadows and highlights that transcends the "normal" tonality of a unprocessed photograph.  ie...when every part of the photograph reveals the amount of information the eye perceives when it looks at only that area in the original scene.  Subtle HDR and Tufuse and Enfuse techniques are helpful in this regard.
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sesshin

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When does a photo become a digital painting?
« Reply #2 on: December 03, 2008, 05:20:41 pm »

IMO digital painting is using a wacom tablet to brush pixels into creation from a blank canvas, like with Painter, not necessarily just altering a photo composed of pre-existing pixels (assuming with an extreme amount of post-processing the photo is still recognizable as a photo). I could see a photo turning into a "digital composition" rather than a painting once you start adding in different elements, but this might just be getting into semantics.

As far how much PP is allowed on a photo before it crosses over from a purely photographic realm to, um, something else... well thats very subjective. I think a photo is a photo is a photo. If it has PP, it's a photo with PP. Its never something else. A purist might answer differently though.
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Gordon Buck

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When does a photo become a digital painting?
« Reply #3 on: December 03, 2008, 09:32:56 pm »

There is the story of the fisherman who built his own wooden boat.  After a few years, he noticed a rotten board and replaced it.  The next year, he had to replace a few more boards.  Repairs continued for many years until he realized that the last of the original boards was being replaced.  Did he then have a new boat?
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PhillyPhotographer

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When does a photo become a digital painting?
« Reply #4 on: December 04, 2008, 12:58:57 am »

Quote from: Steven Draper
Haven't a problem with that, but was wondering if there was an established point at which a photographic processing session officially turns into a digital painting, in a similar way to how some painters photograph the scene and then project the slide onto a canvas.

The established point is going to differ for every photographer and even for every person that looks at your photography. Don't worry about the point or even what people say, you are the artist and it's your vision.

I recently shot this photo that was a three exposure HDR and the first two people that looked at it tore me a new one, it just wasn't to their liking but the next twelve loved it and I've sold a couple. This is my vision  and I'm not going to change it because someone said I took it too far or it's not realistic. Some of the best modern photography out there today is by a photographer who took it over" the line".



PhillyPhotographer

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When does a photo become a digital painting?
« Reply #5 on: December 04, 2008, 01:05:07 am »

Also here is one of my friends on Flickr, He does some of the most incredible Photography, photo art, digital art or whatever else you want to call it. Some are a montage but some use hdr and textures that add a level of realness to them.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skyshaper/2999161863/

wolfnowl

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When does a photo become a digital painting?
« Reply #6 on: December 05, 2008, 04:51:18 am »

One of my contacts over on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28416483@N02/

Mike.
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bill t.

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When does a photo become a digital painting?
« Reply #7 on: December 05, 2008, 01:04:40 pm »

I like the Philly shots!

Let us not forget the great, pre-digital grand-daddy of all this stuff.  Photo painting does not require a computer...

http://www.thescreamonline.com/photo/photo...sen_images.html
http://thispublicaddress.com/tPA4/archives...tensen/2006/01/

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dalethorn

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When does a photo become a digital painting?
« Reply #8 on: December 05, 2008, 01:52:54 pm »

I use the clone brush quite a bit for minor fixes, but there can come a point when there are so many fixes that the "randomness" of a natural subject is smeared to the point it looks more like a painting than a photo.

Attached is a good example, before and after, of fixes that I think work well.
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