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nbiebach
Joined: 28 Dec 2011
Posts: 55
Location: Canada, BC
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 6:31 pm
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Trying some more isolation techniques in PS. Are road signs like this OK for first ten or are they too common?
Also, not sure if feathering the edges makes the image look more out of focus.
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hhltdave5
Joined: 20 Jun 2006
Posts: 24312
Location: Our Stock, Food & Portrait photography books at www.rindersmithphotography.com
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 6:41 pm
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Very over done. People were submitting them in large amounts for years. There are about 58,000 road sign images in the database so far. Unless they are unique I would stay away from them or they will just get buried among the rest.
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nbiebach
Joined: 28 Dec 2011
Posts: 55
Location: Canada, BC
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 7:17 pm
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So its a no go for first 10 then?
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semmickphoto
Joined: 12 Feb 2012
Posts: 6632
Location: Stuck between a shutter and a hard place
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 7:20 pm
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| hhltdave5 wrote: | | Very over done. People were submitting them in large amounts for years. There are about 58,000 road sign images in the database so far. Unless they are unique I would stay away from them or they will just get buried among the rest. |
I have a question on this, Dave. What if I take a shot of a road sign with a nice street and roundabout at the end. And then remove the names from the sign, leaving empty squares. Is that something that would be accepted?
Something like this. Only 10.000 like these :) 
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ruxpriencdiam
Joined: 07 May 2009
Posts: 26840
Location: Third Stone from the Sun
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 7:25 pm
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| nbiebach wrote: | | So its a no go for first 10 then? |
No yours is OOF as well.
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hhltdave5
Joined: 20 Jun 2006
Posts: 24312
Location: Our Stock, Food & Portrait photography books at www.rindersmithphotography.com
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 7:34 pm
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| semmickphoto wrote: | | hhltdave5 wrote: | | Very over done. People were submitting them in large amounts for years. There are about 58,000 road sign images in the database so far. Unless they are unique I would stay away from them or they will just get buried among the rest. |
I have a question on this, Dave. What if I take a shot of a road sign with a nice street and roundabout at the end. And then remove the names from the sign, leaving empty squares. Is that something that would be accepted?
Something like this. Only 10.000 like these :) |
That is what I meant about doing a shot like this in a unique or different way. The standard shot of nothing more than a roadway sign is way over done. But, if you can put something different in it that can give it additional commercial value then you have a better chance of getting some sales out of it.
For instance I have a couple of roadway signs in my port but the only one that has done anything sales wise was one that was in the town I worked for as a police officer. I was the traffic safety coordinator for many years and wanted to make stop signs more effective so I ordered a small little attachment that went on the sign. Here is the shot.
http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?gallery_username=hhltdave5&safesearch=1&prev_sort_method=popular&sort_method=newest&page=15#id=2644178
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semmickphoto
Joined: 12 Feb 2012
Posts: 6632
Location: Stuck between a shutter and a hard place
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 7:42 pm
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ROFL... that sherrif means business. Haha. Thanks for the answer. Going to try out a shot tomorrow here in my neighbourhood. Massive traffic sign here, hoping to get a good angle and hoping the sky is blue. That has proven to be a challenge here in Dublin, Ireland.
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nbiebach
Joined: 28 Dec 2011
Posts: 55
Location: Canada, BC
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 9:05 pm
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Thanks Dave, I see what you mean now and after searching, I see how insignificant my picture would look among the thousands already out there.
Barry, your right it is really out of focus...I see that now. Will definitely not be using this one as one of my first 10.
More to come soon.
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pharm
Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 9423
Location: Never quite sure
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 1:09 am
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Also, re:your comment about feathering the edges, yes, you've feathered them too much. If you're going to feather the edges on an image like this at all, I wouldn't feather more than 1 pixel.
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nbiebach
Joined: 28 Dec 2011
Posts: 55
Location: Canada, BC
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 1:40 am
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Thanks for the tip. As mentioned I'm just learning the basics of isolating so advice is very much appreciated!
| pharm wrote: | | Also, re:your comment about feathering the edges, yes, you've feathered them too much. If you're going to feather the edges on an image like this at all, I wouldn't feather more than 1 pixel. |
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themightyshrub
Joined: 21 Jan 2009
Posts: 943
Location: www.heathergreig.co.uk
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 6:21 am
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Dave's definitely right about needed to make it stand out. You could try taking the image with a background and cloning out the text - that makes a good image because buyers can insert whatevr copy they want in to the space.
You could also try something similar to an image I used just after I passed my first 10 that got in. This is a photoshop illustration, not a photograph, but the concept works for both.
So instead of a nice new, plain sign, try one that's really old and bent up, maybe covered in dead plants or something. It's a completely different concept, and it might not sell great (that image has only sold a handfull of times in a couple of years, but it's not a very good image), but it's always good to have a bit of diversity in your port, and you might just hit upon the exact picture that a designer somewhere needs.
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