Digital makeup!

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2005-11-19 09:20pm

I showed this pic to Lord Poe, Brian Young, and a few other notables via E-mail a while ago, but I thought I'd share. I've been trying to convince Rebecca to wear lipstick, so I cropped this picture, which was taken a couple of months ago:

Then I used GIMP's "freehand select" and "colorize" tools to give her digital lipstick so she could see what she would look like:

The picture on the left is raw; the picture on the right has been altered with the local "colorize" function to give her digital red lipstick. I am not really an expert with digital photo manipulation, but I was quite pleased with the result. Free-hand painting on top of digital images tends to look like shit, but simple colour alteration works really well.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2005-11-19 09:25pm

It's quite good, it does look like maroon lipstick. Not the most particularly flattering color on her, since with her looks, she works better without it, but the manipulation you did was commendable.

If shown without the raw photo, it would've been difficult to say otherwise.

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2005-11-19 09:34pm

It might be slightly softened about the edges very slightly and the color toned down a bit (maroon doesn't work with her skin tone, she needs something more natural), but that's pretty good.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2005-11-19 09:38pm

I wonder if anyone else can do a better job, or choose a better colour. I am, as I said before, not exactly an expert at this sort of thing, although I was fairly pleased with the results given my level of competence.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2005-11-19 09:40pm

Try peach, it works for her complexion...

*looks around, remembers where he is, wanders off*

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2005-11-19 09:52pm

With those shades, she looks like Sara Conner.

Soontir C'boath · Post by **Soontir C'boath** » 2005-11-19 10:01pm

Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:With those shades, she looks like Sara Conner.

She looks like Sigourney Weaver to me.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2005-11-19 10:50pm

Maybe I should find pictures of Sigourney Weaver and Linda Hamilton for comparison

Of course, both of them always have studio makeup on when they're in movies, so they don't have that slightly reddish sunburn that Rebecca has in that picture.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2005-11-20 12:42am

Actually, she looks more like Susan Sarandon in that image to me than Weaver or Hamilton.

Guy N. Cognito · Post by **Guy N. Cognito** » 2005-11-20 12:02pm

Adjusting hues and colour balances is the only way to manipulate digital photography if you want a good picture in the end. I ended up "altering" about 90% of my wedding pictures in some way shape or form and most of it was adjusting hues and value. I'll see if I can scrounge up some of my works.

Guy N. Cognito · Post by **Guy N. Cognito** » 2005-11-20 12:28pm

The orginal

And a modified version

This isn't the best example, but it shows that with limited selection and adjusting hues, saturation and values, you get a quality result

Mrs Kendall · Post by **Mrs Kendall** » 2005-11-20 12:31pm

I, being the only female to respond so far, say that if she's gonna wear lipstick she should wear a lighter shade like maybe a light brown or tan colour. But if she's really against wearing lipstick don't push it man. She's obviously comfy with how well she looks without it (and I think she looks awesome without any) Maybe you guys could compromise and she could wear a lightly shaded lipgloss instead. Being a woman, i know it's hard to find a good lipstick that suits you well as well as one that will stay on without staining your lips. This is probably just one of the reasons she just doesn't bother with makeup.

Good luck

Let us know what ends up happening with this. She's a beautiful woman, let her know I said that if you'd like

Not that it really matters coming from some random woman on your site though

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2005-11-20 03:10pm

This is how I'd play it. I did this last night, but my FTP server was acting up.

(the one on the left is doctored, the one on the right is natural)

Light pinkish tone, little glossy. Unfortunately, I don't know the names of the actual lipstick color or that, but your wife has approximately the same skin tone as my ex-girlfriend (Mandy was a little paler), so I'm going from memory about what she wore and general color theory.

I'd hope people with actual makeup experience can chime in on this.

Incidently, what camera did you use to shoot it? The close ups are really good, so you must have taken a really high resolution picture initally. Just curious.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2005-11-20 04:02pm

You guys don't travel light.

Elheru Aran · Post by **Elheru Aran** » 2005-11-20 04:08pm

HemlockGrey wrote:You guys don't travel light.

Considering they've got two kids and a dog, as well as what looks like a jacket there... it's a parent thing

Post by **Mr Bean** » 2005-11-20 04:12pm

Elheru Aran wrote:
HemlockGrey wrote:You guys don't travel light.
Considering they've got two kids and a dog, as well as what looks like a jacket there... it's a parent thing

And not a scuba suit or surface to air missle to be see, of course they are traveling pretty light considering two kids and two adults.

Mrs Kendall · Post by **Mrs Kendall** » 2005-11-20 04:34pm

Gil Hamilton wrote:This is how I'd play it. I did this last night, but my FTP server was acting up.

(the one on the left is doctored, the one on the right is natural)

I'd hope people with actual makeup experience can chime in on this.

I'll chime in and say that looks awesome!! The exact look I was trying to describe.

Incidently, what camera did you use to shoot it? The close ups are really good, so you must have taken a really high resolution picture initally. Just curious.

Yeah, what is the make and model of your camera Mike? We're looking into buying one for a family Christmas gift this year. Can you recommend a good one?

Oh and they are traveling lite, you should see what we take along for two smaller kids and two adults. Mike and his family don't need to carry a diaper bag around. It probably comes to about as much as they carry cause we don't have a dog though.

Edited once.

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2005-11-20 08:04pm

That appears to be her bag, a hat, and a jacket.

Of course, based on my experiences with women and purses, even a tiny purse could potentially contain a hairbrush, makeup compact, cell phone, package of tissues, spare tampon, address book, digital camera and a delicious snack. All of which measured individually exceeds the volume of the purse but when packed doesn't produce bulges. Based on the bag in the photo, Mrs. Wong very well could be carrying a living room set in there.

As for cameras, Mrs. Kendall, it all depends on what you want and how much you are willing to pay. The law of cameras is that you get what you pay for. If you are just taking photos and don't particularly care about the images looking spectacular, not to mention you don't want a bulky camera, there are plenty of compact digicams on the market that are cheap and effect. For instance, the Fujifilm Finepix F10 is a nice little camera. 6.3 MP and can even take viewable photos at ISO 1600 (which is the setting for really low light situations) thanks to a noise reduction system. You can easily get away with paying 320 bucks for it.

But if you want to move up to the big boys and pick up a camera with a bit more wang and are willing to pay for it, I'd recommend the Nikon D50. It's a Digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) that's a baby version of D70. Fantastic amatuer camera that can take decent shots even in really melvin light conditions, particularly with a good lens and has lots of features. It definately gets the job done, unless you are a professional photographer.

It's important to read consumer reports to get the camera that's right for you though.

J · Post by J » 2005-11-20 08:35pm

Hmmm...the location looks familiar...on the lakeshore somewhere near Sunnyside park? I bike past there a lot during the summer with my BF, maybe we'll run into each other one day...

Anyway, I agree with Mrs. Kendall and Gil Hamilton, the peachy tan lipstick works really well with Rebecca's skin tone and complexion. I'd actually go with something just a tad lighter but a bit more pink.

BTW, your wife looks great, it might be just me but she actually looks to be getting younger.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2005-11-20 09:41pm

Gil Hamilton wrote:Based on the bag in the photo, Mrs. Wong very well could be carrying a living room set in there.

You'd be amazed

But if you want to move up to the big boys and pick up a camera with a bit more wang and are willing to pay for it, I'd recommend the Nikon D50.

By interesting coincidence, that's my camera. I also got a speedlight, although that's obviously unnecessary in natural sunlight.

J wrote:Hmmm...the location looks familiar...on the lakeshore somewhere near Sunnyside park?

Indeed it is. There's always convenient playground facilities there, and it's a pleasant walk on a weekend afternoon, although not when the temperature drops below freezing.

J wrote:BTW, your wife looks great, it might be just me but she actually looks to be getting younger.

She would disagree with you on that, but I'll pass along the compliments anyway

Mike and his family don't need to carry a diaper bag around. It probably comes to about as much as they carry cause we don't have a dog though.

The old diaper bag was insane. But with the dog, we need to carry spare bottles of water, a drinking bowl, and bags for picking up after him. It's always a funny feeling when we leave the kids with my parents and go out by ourselves; it always feels like we've forgotten something because we're not carrying all kinds of shit with us.

PS. Thanks to everyone who chimed in with suggestions about colour, particularly Gil for making a picture. I'll pass them along to Rebecca.

Mrs Kendall · Post by **Mrs Kendall** » 2005-11-21 12:25pm

Thanks for the camera suggestions. We don't want to pay too much and just want it for taking pics of the kids and family get togethers. We want something that's easy to figure out and whatnot. We're seriously looking at getting this one... like I mean today, in the next few hours

HP Photosmart M415

What do you think?

Oh and Mike, the diaper bag has a bunch of stuff in it that we don't need everytime but we carry just in case... like 15 diapers

and a full box of wipes

we carry around a normal size backpack

Plus my purse and any of the kids toys that they want. I know what you mean about feeling like you're missing something when you leave the kids somewhere. I just had that feeling when we went on our date on friday. wandering around christmas shopping without the kids was a wonderful but sort of empty feeling.

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2005-11-21 01:35pm

You may have already bought it, so the point is likely moot, but the reviews and technical specs on the camera point to it being a nice little digicam. They say it's easy to use and doesn't deliver bad picture quality. However, they say that the ISO of the camera only goes to 400, which means that indoor and low light shots might be on the poor side with it. However, don't let that stop you, because it's got plenty of the good features and that printer dock thing is a neat toy all told. It looks like a decent value.

If you read this before you buy, be sure to get it in your hands and hold it, see how it feels, and maybe play with it a little. Any store should let you hold the working product and play with the buttons. If it's the right camera for you, it will feel right in your hands.

Mrs Kendall · Post by **Mrs Kendall** » 2005-11-21 01:45pm

Thanks

And no we haven't bought it yet, we're on our way to do so though

Thanks for your advice. We planned on trying it out before buying it as well

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2005-11-21 06:19pm

The Gods of Photography consider it a mitzvah, to borrow a Jewish term, whenever a person has a union with a camera. I hope you two are very happy and your shots blessed/in focus.

Mrs Kendall · Post by **Mrs Kendall** » 2005-11-21 07:05pm

Actually the store in our town has none in stock so we didn't get it today like we planned. I also did a search on epinions.com for it and basically they say it's nothing special and my mother told me that when they shopped for their camera the guy (ok yeah I know he's a salesman, I know I know) said that HP makes good printers but they suck at making digital cameras. I don't know who to believe here and I don't want to buy it and find out I don't like it so I'm gonna take a little while longer to decide what brand and model to buy.

If anyone has any suggestions they would be very much appreciated

We are now thinking of either Fuji or Canon brand but have a lot of searching to do before we choose a model.

Thanks to anyone who helps us decide.