Image Edit request {Free}

[Manda Hess]

My mom was in town last weekend and I'd like to make the pictures of her and my son and niece really pop and have a better look to them than just snapshots. I picture a solid background free of distractions, eyes popping and even skin tones. Both my son and my niece have dark brown eyes and I am having issues getting them to stand out.

I'm still learning how to do some things in photoshop but do know how to navigate mostly! Any critique is welcome or advice even! I want to learn, and with these pictures I'm not sure what I need to do to make them pop lol.

Thank you in advance!

 

[ALB68]

Had a little time so I worked on this one for you. I don't know your end use for these but they are low resolution and won't print real well at current. If using only online they will be fine for that.

 

[Tom Mann]

Larry: "...I don't know your end use for these but they are low resolution..."

Nice work, but the image you worked on is 2300px x 3500 px. That's hardly low resolution. Did you forget to click through to the full rez version?

Tom

 

[ALB68]

Probably Tom, been real busy with another project today on the laser and grabbed this in between. Sorry :banghead:

Larry: "...I don't know your end use for these but they are low resolution..."

Nice work, but the image you worked on is 2300px x 3500 px. That's hardly low resolution. Did you forget to click through to the full rez version?

Tom

 

[TonyCooper]

This will sound harsh, but you need to give more thought when taking the photograph.
By posing your subject in front of distracting background clutter, you create the need for
time-consuming modifications in PS to correct problems that could be avoided. The door
frame, the open door, and the light switch are distractions.

A tilted photograph, unless it is done on purpose for special effect, is a distraction. Hold
your camera level. Generally, your photograph will be better if your camera is at the
level of the subject's face or below. Shooting down on the subject is seldom better.

I've modified one of these for you using the same wallpaper as background. I'd prefer a
lighter background, but I wanted to keep with your version. The "Trick or Treat" sign can
be omitted, but that kinda dates the image for you. Personally, I'd take it out. In PS,
that just means deleting a layer so it's easy to do.

This is cropped to 6" x 4" for a standard print size.

 

[Paul]

TC very nicely done, one small issue i see with your version is the blown out hair of the boy and his shoulder too, considering you removed the back ground and gave it a new darker tone like the one behind the lady and little girl that is, just seems odd against the darker back drop.

 

[TonyCooper]

TC very nicely done, one small issue i see with your version is the blown out hair of the boy and his shoulder too, considering you removed the back ground and gave it a new darker tone like the one behind the lady and little girl that is, just seems odd against the darker back drop.

Thanks, and you are correct. The boy was sitting next to the open door, and that light blew out
his hair somewhat and also brightened his back unnaturally.

This is one of problems of not giving consideration to the setting when taking the photograph
in the first place. Problems are created that make the PS adjustments more difficult.

This was my first edit for this group, so I appreciate your comment.

 

[Paul]

Thanks, and you are correct. The boy was sitting next to the open door, and that light blew out
his hair somewhat and also brightened his back unnaturally.

This is one of problems of not giving consideration to the setting when taking the photograph
in the first place. Problems are created that make the PS adjustments more difficult.

This was my first edit for this group, so I appreciate your comment.

Your comments about thinking before you point and shoot are correct, but we get a lot of images for correction that are from anothers camera/phone or just someones old photo they need improving on, but your point is taken.

 

[IamSam]

I agree with Paul and I also concede your point TonyCooper.

The question is what can be done with the image provided.

 

[Paul]

I only did a quick screen capture (this is just to show what you can do) and cropped it to bring the image in and make it slightly tighter looking, boosted the colours and removed the halloween poster.

 

[Tom Mann]

Personally, I really like the work Tony did on the photo.

I have zero problem with the small brighter areas on the shoulder and hair of the boy. To me, these bright areas help give the image depth. In fact, they look like highly desirable rim lighting used in better studio shots to increase the sense of three dimensionality, and help separate subjects from the background. If I was forced to nit-pick Tony's tweaked version, my only comment would be that his selection gets a bit too sharp and artificial looking in some areas. OTOH, hey, this is a freebie, and we all have limited time to give to requests like this.

With respect to his suggestions to the OP on how to improve her photography, I also have no problem when someone does this in a kind and gentle manner, which he did. Many, many people incorrectly think that it takes hardly any time or effort to fix anything in PS, so why learn basic photographic technique. In reality, kneeling down to be on the same level (or slightly below the subject), leveling the camera, and selecting a less confusing background might take seconds, whereas it could take many tens of minutes to correct such problems after the fact in PS, and the results will rarely be as good as getting it right in the first place. So, I think it's entirely appropriate to toss in a bit of photography education when someone asks for help with their picture. Doing so will likely help this particular person with future photos she takes, as well as get the message out to others who may read this thread.

Just my $0.02,

Tom

 

[Manda Hess]

Thank you Tom Mann & Other Posters. These were just snapshots but I was trying to make them look better for my mom. She is going through a rough time now with her husband and I know these pictures would mean the world to her. I take better pictures than these look and do know to avoid background clutter as it is harder to fix when post processing an image. I'm not completely new to taking pictures just still learning all of photoshop.

Again Thank you guys for playing! I would if anyone still is interested and can give me tips as to fix my nieces hand around my mom's shoulders in the picture of just them. It's blurry and I'd like to fix that! Thank you thank you thank you!

 

[TonyCooper]

Again Thank you guys for playing! I would if anyone still is interested and can give me tips as to fix my nieces hand around my mom's shoulders in the picture of just them. It's blurry and I'd like to fix that! Thank you thank you thank you!

The hand was moving when the photo was taken, and evidently the shutter speed was slow.
That kind of blur can't be repaired in PS unless there's another hand that can be used to
copy/paste over the hand and blend it in.

What I did was add a background under a Layer Mask and created a "hole" that cut away
some of the blur. It doesn't un-blur the hand, but it is some improvement. I also removed
the doorway parts in doing this. The background color on the left and the right
aren't as matched as I would like, but I had to grab a section and free transform it to fit
and that changes the color.

I didn't do anything to change the appearance of the subjects themselves.
I don't think they need any modification. I did try to burn the area of the
dress that's washed out from the light of the door, but there's nothing
there to expose more detail in the dress.

You may not like it, but I cropped the image in order to present a more
flattering view of your mother.

The problem with having someone else do your editing is that they
do it the way they think the image looks best, and that may not be
your opinion.

 

[Tom Mann]

One can, of course, tweak an image endlessly, and, as Tony said, exactly what to do and where to stop is very subjective. Here's a further tweak on Tony's last version.

Tom