Okay, I am still waiting for my copy of Scott Kelby’s 7-Point System for Photoshop CS3. I was so thoroughly inspired by Shrew’s Photoshop adventures that I went ahead and ordered the book. And I don’t even have Photoshop CS3. Nor do I have the OS required for CS3. (Excuse my while I lament my situation.)

To make the wait a little more bearable, I went ahead and borrowed Scott Kelby’s The Photoshop Elements 3 Book for Digital Photographers from the local library. And no, I don’t have Photoshop Elements 3 either. (Feeling sorry for me yet?)

But if what I learned from reading that over the weekend is any indication, then I’m banking on at least quadrupling whatever I’ve managed to learn on my own using CS2. (Okay, I’m not that pitiful.)

So here are the mums from my previous post. Remember? The ones I said were perhaps the best straight out of the camera shots I’ve taken with my camera?

Here’s the before:

And here it is after some ninja Photoshopping. (Except this ninja often ends up nicking herself and overdoing things before she learns patience and self-control, but that’s beside the point.)

Thank you, Mr. Kelby, for including actual Unsharp Mask values to experiment with in your Elements book, because if you had simply told me to trust my eye, I’d still be sitting here with trackball in hand moving those sliders back and forth trying to figure out at what point it becomes too much.

Here’s another one before:

And here it is again after:

What do you think? Did I change it too much? I tried to be subtle and make only light changes to enhance the photo. Which one looks more real to you? Which one makes you want to get closer to your screen and sniff it? (I know these mums aren’t really known for their scent, but just play along with me for a while.) Which one makes you think, “Is that real? Did she go get some fake flowers and spray them with water? Does she have that much time and impish deceit in her life?”

And here’s another photo for you. Because I was bored, and it was dark outside, and I happened to be in the kitchen with my camera. (I know that sounds weird, but it’s all part of the playing-along-with-me thing.)

Pretty bubbles, eh?

That’s all for today! Thanks for playing along!