Need ideas for post editing a girls soccer team

[theantiquetiger]

I am building a yearbook for my daughter's soccer team, but with my limited post work skills and limited postwork software (Gimp), I have very little ideas on snazzing up the images.

Basically for each individual girl, I selective colored the image, did a hard vignetting, and airbrushed the vignetting the team color and added their names,

Example:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7248/6891745596_cb88d9f636_c.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7241/6891744680_2a29b6c2e8_c.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7226/7037829357_a0e1eccb05_c.jpg


Than for some action shots, all I have done is add vignetting and play with the saturation some,

Examples:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7057/6891743144_7beaaa6991_c.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7136/7037833097_70afa571a5_c.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7044/6844806720_c2c2e278c0_c.jpg


Here is an image that I have yet to any post work. If you have an idea, feel free to edit it, to show me some good ideas. I'm not asking people to just edit my images for me, I just need some good basic ideas that I could possible do.

Here is a link to a bigger version of the following image if you need it:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7098/7037868799_803c70327a_o.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7098/7037868799_b11f9f47d2_b.jpg

[Runmonty]

I think you are doing fine so far AT. They are some great images and memories - I am sure the girls and the families will really appreciate it.

I have done something similar with my sons football over the past couple of years. Last year I started for the first time posting the images on Flickr. It got so popular the hits were going through the roof, and the boys were linking through Facebook. If it took longer than a couple of hours for me to get the images up I was getting in trouble with the kids.

At the end of the year I burnt a DVD with all the images from the year, and made a slideshow with the best images. Because they are getting so cheap, this year I am thinking of a bound photo book that the kids can order if they want. I have given the boys a printed enlargement of a shot where they have a had special game (e.g. getting chaired off by the other players at their 100th game for example)

Unfortunately the Flickr display ran foul of the league's new photographic and privacy policy preventing public display of images from the games, so now I am limited to the school games where they don't currently have a policy. Unfortunately this competition isn't as good as his club football though.

Just a couple of suggestions for what it is worth.

With the vignetting my personal preference is for significant feathering. I prefer the vignetting on the 4th & 5th to the first couple
I note your selecting coloring. Whilst I don't mind that, you may also want to experiment with only partially de-saturating the background.
As we cant choose our backgrounds and the opposition players keep getting in shot (how rude of them) you may consider a light Gaussian blur to all but the main subject, to make the main subject pop. You do need to be careful with the edge feathering though otherwise it can look unnatural.

If I get a chance over the next couple of days I might have a play with your image - but no guarantees about the result.

[theantiquetiger]

Thanks.

I am only selective coloring one image of each girl on the team and adding the name etc(ten girls). The rest will be action shots like the last few images above. Like I said, other than adding some vignetting and playing with the saturation, I don't know what else to do.

I am making a soft cover yearbook on line for the team. Like you said, it is not very expensive, about $18 each right now and if they don't want one, they don't have to get it.

[Runmonty]

I don't know what else to do.

I don't think you need to do much in PP. They are strong action images - I would just let the action speak for itself.

I generally just crop, sharpen and adjust highlights and shadows if there is hard light. Sometimes I might tweak saturation or add a light vignette to concentrate the eye on the action. But hey - I'm no expert

Recently I have tried to add more "off-field" images to try to convey the whole experience of the sport. Intermingled with the action shots I have included photos of the coach addressing the players, some of the parents cheering on the sidelines, or the kids singing the team song at the end of the game. For example:

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6208/6084501423_8dac729735.jpg

I am sorry, I feel I haven't answered your question or helped very much, but just thought I would share my approach.

[theantiquetiger]

I am very happy with the action shots I am coming up with, but just looking different because they all look the same. One image I did, I selective colored the girl and did a faux abstract texturing of everything else in BW. It wasn't quite what I was looking for. Back in the 80's, there was an artist that did alot of Olympic prints of athletes. They were very colorful but abstract. I cannot remember his nam (Nemoy or Nemits, something like that).

Anyone know who I'm talking about?

[theantiquetiger]

I figured out the artist name, it is Leroy Neiman. Google his name and check out his artwork. I want to try and do something similar to his work.

[belliveau]

Have you looked at ideas for old hockey cards or stuff like that? I always like the 2 photos on one card idea. One pic would be a portrait and the other would be a play of some sort. Here is a link to what it may look like. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_NrpT_TQO3k/TkcExm7C2_I/AAAAAAAAAH0/4djVxepV-g4/s640/1.jpg or http://images-02.delcampe-static.net/img_large/auction/000/154/941/874_001.jpg

[lindsayb]

I've been looking at ways to play with some of my images and for Photoshop there are actions you can download and apply to your photos. Turns out GIMP has a registry for scripts that people add to fairly regularly. There are some really cool ones and you might find one that piques your interest: GIMP Plugin Registry | A repository of optional extensions for the GIMP. (http://registry.gimp.org/)

You can also search 'GIMP scripts for photographers' online and there are a few sites that have some decent links to the worthwhile ones. There are instructions on GIMp how to add the scripts, and though it was confusing at first, now that I have it figured out it really just takes seconds to upload your library and refresh. :)

[edbayani11]

This is very late. How about removing the coolers and people in the background like these