Salvaging bad photo

[ajax]

This photo was ready for the scrap heap not long ago due to the busy and unattractive background.

However, this photo has now become important to me. I tried to blur the background a bit in PhotoShop, but, whatever I do, it seems to look artificial.

Whaddya think? Should I PS it more?...or leave it alone? [I was able to crop out the polyester-clad person strolling by.]


my pop (http://home.attbi.com/~scout-222/dad2002_bigger.jpg)

[Don Ellis]

Hi Ajax,

Nice photo. I would lose the background entirely and put Pop against something nice.

Here he is against white but that's because the Photoshop file was converted to JPG. The PS file is transparent so you can experiment by sliding different background behind him.

http://www.kleptography.com/dl/dad2002_bigger3.jpg

I also duplicated the layer and set the new layer to Screen and reduced the Opacity to 50% to lighten him up.

You'll also want to rubberstamp that white spot out of his sweater.

It was quickly done, so you might want to touch it up -- or do it on the original if there is one.

Cheers,

Don

[gucio321]

here (http://www.pbase.com/image/6194946/original) is my take on the subject, I guess we were both working on it at the same time. Since Don gave all the advice I will not repeat the same thing. This is just to show you an alternate look. To be honest I never thought of just white background, but it looks good.

[Don Ellis]

gucio321 wrote: To be honest I never thought of just white background, but it looks good.

White is simply the color that transparent turns to when you convert the Photoshop file to JPG.

One of the nice things about the transparent Photoshop file is that you can experiment with different backgrounds. An extreme example (since I don't have a lot of backgrounds lying around), would be this...

http://www.kleptography.com/dl/dad5fire.jpg

Because of the dark background, I deleted the Screened layer that made everything lighter in the picture above. Then selected just the sweater and duplicated that, used Soft Light, and then Curves to lower the color a little more. And I dropped the Screen on his face to 20% from 50%. And becasue this is done quickly, the hair has too much of a scissors-cut-out look to it, but the theory is there.

Also, as soon as you put the downloadable PS file I linked to onto a black background, you see how much more you need to erase around Pop's face. [That's been somewhat fixed in this PS file of Pop above, without the fireworks.] (http://www.kleptography.com/dl/dad5plain.psd)

Cheers,

Don

[ltdedorc]

Ajax,

You could turn it into a 'portrait' in PS. Selecting a background color close to the original color which shows thru his hair and texturizing it. By magic wanding the white area which someone already did and painting & texturizing, I then expanded the area within the marching ants by 1 px, selected inverse & feathered pop by 5 px. Here's the result:

http://a1.cpimg.com/image/4B/F1/13673291-1b4f-02090209-.jpg

[ajax]

Oh my gosh! You people are amaaaazing! You all must have hand-eye coordination that far surpasses mine.

Thanks so much. I'm spurred on to tackle this some more and I might even [*gasp*] read the PhotoShop manual.

I cannot thank you enough.

Laurie

[gucio321]

Laurie, if you have problems using the "lasso tool" in PS you can always use the "pen tool", zoom in and go slowly point to point, when you are done, you just go paths and convert your drawing into a selction. If you need ideas and explanations on how to do things this site (http://www.bbdigital.co.uk/tutorials/ps5/photoshop_page_1.htm) might help.

[NewG2]

Here's what I've been able to do with it....taking an unremarkable photo of my own, paired with your photo:

http://pyro.brainphase.com/images/oldmanandriver.jpg

[Conk]

Hey, what the heck! I sent this to Ajax via e-mail right after her first post but may as well put it up also seeing how we've got something going here.
I managed to keep the background but removed the plants and extended the fence to the bottom, blurred it a little and there you have it. I even went around the subject with a blurr tool at 70% opacity to eliminate the fake look. :)
http://www.pbase.com/image/6217357.jpg

[ajax]

Don: I never reallly thanked you properly for that photo with the white background. I saved it and twiddled with it endlessly and ended up with a few variations that work great.

I reaaaaaaally appreciate it. :-)

Laurie

[Leighow]

Thanks everyone for this informative posting. I am a PS newbie and when I get some time I hope to learn your lesson.

TY

HOWIE

[Don Ellis]

ajax wrote:
Don: I never reallly thanked you properly for that photo with the white background. I saved it and twiddled with it endlessly and ended up with a few variations that work great.

I reaaaaaaally appreciate it. :-)
You're very welcome... I'm glad you got some use out of it. I think everyone realized it was a special photo.

What I didn't mention in all of this is the handwork involved. People who are new to Photoshop think that the Magic Wand is magic or that Lasso or Extract will solve their selection problems. Not really.

Once you get involved in something like dropping an object out of a photograph, it helps to have a graphics tablet and pen. Using a mouse under these circumstances is like writing with a brick. And even my attempt could be better by going around the outline with a small brush with a soft edge to lessen the visual change between the two images.

Cheers,

Don

[ltdedorc]

Don,

I've been thinking about getting a graphics tablet. What size would you recommend to do this kind of work to extract / lift images out of a pix? A 4 x 5 or larger? Thx...Harvey

[Don Ellis]

ltdedorc wrote: I've been thinking about getting a graphics tablet. What size would you recommend to do this kind of work to extract / lift images out of a pix? A 4 x 5 or larger? Thx...Harvey
Although the Graphire works and is less expensive than the Wacom Intuous, the Intuous is the tablet of choice, not only for me but for many Photoshop users. This is a regular question on the newsgroups and I've read a lot of replies.

I've owned the 9x12 but I think it's much too large. I now have the 6x8 and love it. Smaller might work but it's a matter of personal preference. In those same newsgroup responses, the 6x8 got the most votes.

Keep in mind, 6x8 is the working dimension -- it actually takes 10x13 inches of your desk. You can either pull it towards you when you need it and send it to the background to use your regular mouse, or you can buy the Intuos mouse that works on the tablet. Unless things have changed, however, the Intuous mouse doesn't have a wheel which I can no longer live without.

Cheers,

Don

[Conk]

Hi Don,
Just read your post on the tablet and went to their site. The scroll mouse is available for 50 bucks.
http://www.wacom.com/productinfo/accessories.cfm?access=2dmouse
What a cool item. I never gave something like this too much thought. Now I definately want one. At $349.00 U.S. it's a little out of my reach ecpecially when I'm paying CDN dollars. :(

[ajax]

Colin: Keep your eyes on eBay--someone had recommended tablets to me, also, and they frequently pop up on eBay.

Laurie

[Don Ellis]

Conk wrote:
Hi Don,
Just read your post on the tablet and went to their site. The scroll mouse is available for 50 bucks.
http://www.wacom.com/productinfo/accessories.cfm?access=2dmouse
What a cool item. I never gave something like this too much thought. Now I definately want one. At $349.00 U.S. it's a little out of my reach ecpecially when I'm paying CDN dollars. :(
Oh, great... now something else I want. Thanks, Colin. :p