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Bit of photoshopping help if you please.
Customer came in with this picture…expecting the earth…and a next day service on a canvas (oh, how I laughed). Now a week later…so suppose i’d better get it done…
Top of head missing, chair in background, red-eye, food / drink stains on clothes and a few other bits….got that sorted.
But – here’s the biggie. They’d prefer a lighter background colour – cream / taupe would be the ideal but the wispy hair is killing me….can get it looking pretty much fine over 95% of the image – but the blue tint comes through the hair…and it’ll look daft with it all trimmed back.
So….if any kind soul would like to have a go at even lightening the background to a paler blue without losing the ‘realism’ too much…please do! I’ve been at this long enough – can face it any more!
The tiny details are no big deal as the texture of the fabric hides a multitude of sins.
Thanks in advance.
ps. when saving / sending it back – please don’t compress the jpg file!.
Dave
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25 Replies
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I’ll have a go mate. I like helping.
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This any good?
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Bl@@dy hell…he’s gone to bed!
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better than mine karl so i am off the bed.
chris
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At least you had a go mate. Night. 😉
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Thanks Karl – you see what I mean about the wispy hair (on the right) though!
Cheers
Dave
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Dave…….You’ve just got to know what your doing mate! 😀 😀 😀
Yes, i know what you mean. Thing is you’ve probably spent that much time on it you’ve got fed up sorting all the other bits out.
Hope the customer’s happy with it. 😉 -
David,
Just had a look in a book I use which says use the extract tool, but it’s too long to read and retype here, however I found a reference to the same problem here: – http://www.russellbrown.com/tips_tech.html
Scroll down to:- extracting monster backgrounds
It looks like it could be what you’re after -
Steve great link thanks mate
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Good site but having had a closer look at the pic David has to alter I’m not sure that the method will be any help.
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Was the customer happy with it Dave?
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Hi Karl,
after you uploaded yours and read your comments about being fed up of it I decided to have another crack at it as the contrast between her wispy hair & the lighter background was a bit too much and looked overly artificial.
So…new day and all…took it just 1/2 way lighter so the hair was less of an issue. And played around with the brightness & contrast to get the best printed result to what I know she’ll be looking for.Loaded below.
She’ll live with it….not seen it yet as she’s now collecting Friday, but did offer me more money on the phone for the hassle. When I suggested another £50 or £60 for the time I could almost hear her heart stop. Took another £5…more as a token good will gesture.
Thanks for the input guys. Appreciated.
Dave
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not being picky, but could you not get a bit more neater round the arms and the bottom of the hair at the left? 😀
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I’m not being picky either, but the "shopped" images are really unacceptable if you are selling them as professionally re-touched.
It is very obvious in where the hair has been cloned, and the mask, as Nik points out is very coarse and the shadow appears in two directions.Dave, the customer is no doubt happy, but she will only be looking at her little darling, and wont see the imperfections, but how will other see the print, and will they then commission you to do theirs?
Retouching can take hours, but customers fail to realise the time it takes to do a good job, its just pressing a few buttons, isnt it?
I have fallen into the same pit myself, so not criticizing, just airing comments,
Customer may be happy, but were you?Many of my customers complain of the "extortionate" rates photographers charge for canvas prints, but then they get the picture right in the first place with perhaps only the slightest bit of computer retouching.
Peter
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Not being picky here David But why have you asked for help on this? You put the request on late last night and I know Chris had a go and so did I.
Not being biased here towards my effort but i think my result came out better than yours, but still you have a go yourself. My effort’s not 100% perfect but it took time to do just to be met with "I’ve done it myself". Am I missing something or did you just want others to put themselves out for the fun of it? 😕 -
I will continue to be devils advocate,
Karl,
I think Dave’s original picture was ok with the the hair to the right, but the shadow and clipping on the left was pants. Your help to change the background colour, actually resulted in the whispy hair on the right looking worse,
Hair is one of the worst things to extract onto a background, and go back to what I said, a good photo, is worth the price.Chill out, Dave asked for help, thanked you for yours and gained inspiration from what you said, and did some more work on the project
Group Hug?
Peter
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this is what i would have test printed the levels in my opinion were out compressing the high lights.
chris
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I reckon the shadow spoils it
Peter -
you are of cause quite correct about the shadow but it is part of the lighting and to remove it would make it unnatural in other parts.
i enjoy photography but have always struggled with portraits where as my daughter inlaw who has a degree in photography just gets it right first time. she just says its all in the lighting.
chris
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I stand to be corrected, and Dave has the original image, but the shadow is not a shadow, it just does not look right
Peter
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beggars cant be choosers and i think for a budget canvas job ide have brightened it up, adjusted contrast etc and that’s it…
its all fine and dandy nit-picking help submissions here, but if they are not willing to pay for modifications and they provided the picture. then ide hit the rip button and get on with something else..
i don’t mean this is my typical customer approach/attitude, of course we can spend time on things and improve it to get it just right, but this isnt a charity… tart it up and move on. no disrespect to dave but i wouldn’t have even taken the time to ask for help on the boards for something like this.dont get me wrong, its great to see these posts and we all learn from them which is the point in having this particular forum…
just giving my view looking in on the thread. -
Sheesh – where to start.
Did I EXPECT as a God given right help…no.
Was it offered freely and (apparently) without a contract that I should HAVE to use it…yes.
Karl.
I thanked everyone for their input & help. Took your advice on board and took a fresh look at it as (whether apparently appreciated / biased or not) I though your version was lacking as a final image that I’d be willing to print. Should I settle for whatever you, Chris or anybody else drops in front of me and be thankful for ever more – unable to decline your "I’ll have a go mate. I like helping" and suggestions that "You’ve just got to know what your doing mate" when clearly both of us have made the decision that our own efforts are "not 100% perfect". I did my own the next morning principally because as our own devil’s advocate says "I think Dave’s original picture was ok with the the hair to the right, but the shadow and clipping on the left was pants. Your help to change the background colour, actually resulted in the whispy hair on the right looking worse". Did I post it for fun – no. I can’t recall when I’ve ever thought "gee, I’ll waste some people’s time…they’ve nothing better to do…"
Helping anybody on here carries the possibility that they might not think it was "the dog’s"…I don’t advertise a full photoshopping, photo rebuild service – or purport to being the worlds foremost photograph manipulator, but this was for the daughter of one of our employees so pandered to her requests best I could. Upon hitting a brick wall – threw it in here for inspiration / help. If there was the ideal image it would have been used 100%. So, I got said help, but in the fresh light of day reasoned I could get a more subtle result in the RHS hair than had been provided.
The original photo was a joke…10 seconds to compose it right would have save me having to type this.
Am I happy with the printed end result from a technical point of view – not entirely, but it will suffice for that particular job.
Rob.
No disrespect taken, it’s been a learning experience. Whether I posted or not, whether I DIDN’T get any help on this or not, I wouldn’t have been given to take offence. If Karl, Chris, Nic, Peter or You didn’t look at this thread or give it the time of day to cast an opinion I wouldn’t be sitting in a corner sobbing myself to sleep or feel the need to post sarcastic lines such as "545 views and not one bit of help". I’m a big boy…help comes in various different form – including…DIY.
The "bit of help if you please" was followed by "So….if any kind soul would like to have a go at even lightening the background to a paler blue without losing the ‘realism’ too much…please do!" ie. a simple request that if anybody could be bothered and fancied ‘having a go’ to get a better result that i currently could – feel free…otherwise…no biggie.
Honestly – who would have thought a simple "want to see if you can get a better result than I can?" would result in such (frankly) venomous words.
Let’s put it to bed – I’m through with it…
Thanks for the input in whatever form it took – practical or critical.
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Venomous words? Bit harsh Dave. And i’m not bothered whether it was used or not. And yes I do like to help were I can. It’s one of the reasons I come on here. But hey…it’s your call…your job.
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Hi Karl
I’ve PM’d you.
Let’s just scratch this one up to experience and get on with life eh.
It’s hard enough without stupid stuff like this getting in the way.
Dave
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PM returned in good faith Mr. Rogers! 😉
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