Pucker up!

[Reef Bass]

Clammy wants a kiss
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk247/KenBull/Clams/Puckerup14s.jpg

[Recty]

Nice lip shot.

Just my 2 cents, I think you would have a lot more "powerful" shot with a background that doesnt match the clam's mantle so closely.

[Reef Bass]

Thanks for the feedback. How's this?
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk247/KenBull/Clams/Maximalips214s.jpg

[Recty]

Definitely better in my eyes :)

[Reef Bass]

I have to say you're right. Thanks again.

What do you think of my edging along the upper mantle? I zoomed in a whole lot and "painted" the edge with the smart brush to define the area I darkened.

[Recty]

Looks good to me, I certainly wouldnt know it was "fixed" in photoshop if I hadnt read this thread ;)

[klepto]

Ken- that's a beautiful clam you've got.. and your shot does it justice I imagine! your color edit was a great improvement!

your edging looks great for the majority of the mantle.. except on the left hand side and a few other bumps.. that last slope looks especially jagged to me..

there are lots of ways to smooth out your lines.. layering/blurring/smudging/blending could all potentially help.. If you look at your first image, the rim of the mantle looks very smooth.. not sharp and jagged like the second.. mostly I think this was because of the smart brush selection which cannot come close to the sensitivity of our eyes..

what editing program are you using? Im not sure what your options are.. but just zoom in till you cant stand it any more and go for a manual selection of your background if possible- that way you can maintain control of pixel selection. It takes way more time yes.. but its worth it in the end I think... on CS3 you can create layer masks and blend multiple layers with great control and results to avoid a 'tweaked' look.. I honestly haven't done much layer masking myself, but it could be effective for this image.


just my thoughts.. thanks for sharing

[Reef Bass]

Thanks klepto. The proper thinking to change the background color I have to credit to Recty. I see that background all the freakin time so it has become transparent to me. I need to pay closer attention to it. And it's not the first time that changing / removing it has been suggested to me (in other pics).

Your comments about the edging are great, thanks. This type of manipulation can look so obvious if not done carefully. I'm using PS Elements 7. This is the first time I have tried something like this and I'm ok with it as a first attempt. Your observations about the left edge are right on.

I appreciate the feedback gentlemen.