strahm Posted December 18, 2012 Report Share Posted December 18, 2012 New guy here. I have made one photo finish bait, which turned out decent. I have done tons of searching, and have pretty much mastered the steps, of printing, glueing, etc. to the bait. the only thing i would like some help on is the software part. i have been using gimp 2 a free photo editor. does anyone have any tips, to make the photo fit the bait better? a step by step guide of what you guys do would be perfect, even though i would have to manipulate my individual picture atleast i would have an idea of where to start. specifically i would like some tips on, making the picture fit the bait, and making the picture look more appealing rather than just blending together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catchemall Posted December 18, 2013 Report Share Posted December 18, 2013 Why not take a picture off the internet of the bait your gonna to glue the image to so you can adjust the photo to the image of the bait. Then use the scale to make it whatever size you want Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAswimmers Posted December 18, 2013 Report Share Posted December 18, 2013 (edited) Hi Strahm, I haven't actuality photo finished a bait but I have done a lot of photo editing. I use photoshop which is a very expensive program which can be downloaded as a free trial. This program is complicated if your new to it so it would take some getting used to but it all allow you to scale your image up or down and edu just about every aspect of the image. If your no into that I would recommend a program named Picasa, it's free and very user friendly. just google free Picasa download and it should pop up. To make the image look better all depends on the starting image you'll really just have to play around with it to see what desired look your going for . Picasa is great if you just starting out because it gives you little thumbnail views of what it will look like if you click on that effect. It will also let you brighten, add contrast, crop along with many other filters who's intensity are adjustable. the only down side is that I don't think it will let you resizes the image. I've attached an image of the interface, good luck. If you have any question let me know and i'll try and answer them. Edited December 18, 2013 by paustin1982 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandlercustoms Posted December 18, 2013 Report Share Posted December 18, 2013 I have never heard of photo finishing a lure, what is it and what does it do? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdL Posted December 18, 2013 Report Share Posted December 18, 2013 photo finishing a lure is where you get an image (pic) of a fish such as a shad or perch-both sides, manipulate it for size to fit on a lure body and then affix each side to the body. Then you clear coat finish the lure. Basically you are using a picture of a fish instead of having to paint it. Suppose to be more realistic. Do an internet search as there are several how-to out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted December 18, 2013 Report Share Posted December 18, 2013 (edited) Husky has a tutorial in Hard Bait How To tutorial section here at TU on how to do it. I think he may have been the first at TU to start doing this. You will need photo editing software to do this process. If the software has a "mirror" function then all you need is a picture of one side of the fish your going to use. When one side is printed you "mirror" the image and it will print a mirror image of the first picture when can then be used for the opposite side of the lure. This way you only have to manipulate one image to fit the lure your putting it on and it also insures you have two exact copies. Ben Edited December 18, 2013 by RayburnGuy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincoya Posted December 25, 2013 Report Share Posted December 25, 2013 Actually Ben, I was the first to photo finish a lure on TU. Riverman was right there with me. I just happen to post it before he did. Gene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted December 25, 2013 Report Share Posted December 25, 2013 My apologies Gene. Having only been here 4 1/2 years I sometimes get the cart before the horse and that can lead to getting my foot stuck in my mouth. Good to see you back at TU. Don't stay gone so long next time. The knowledge of you "old timers" is surely missed around here. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sallystrothers Posted December 25, 2013 Report Share Posted December 25, 2013 One method is to cover the bait in foil, mark all of the necessary identification lines (gill plates, eyes, fins, etc.) with a sharpie, remove the foil, and then scan the foil. You can then use your software to know exactly where to place the features. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted December 26, 2013 Report Share Posted December 26, 2013 I've seen the beautiful photo finishes you guys do here. How do you get the photo film to follow the curves of a bait? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sallystrothers Posted December 29, 2013 Report Share Posted December 29, 2013 I've seen the beautiful photo finishes you guys do here. How do you get the photo film to follow the curves of a bait? I may write up a tutorial on that in the next couple weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted December 29, 2013 Report Share Posted December 29, 2013 With photo editing software you can make the image longer, shorter, fatter, skinnier, etc. Of course it's easier if you choose a picture whose shape is close to the shape of the bait you plan on putting it on. Trying to use the long and slender image of a minnow for a bait that's short and fat isn't going to be as easy as if you put it on a jerk bait. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhersh Posted December 29, 2013 Report Share Posted December 29, 2013 I may write up a tutorial on that in the next couple weeks. Please do that would be very kind of you. Thank you in advance Sally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
