Help with RAW cake please!

[trefor]

Hi, my daughter Lisa was recently engaged and I took some photos at the happy couple's party. Most shots were good but I managed to mess up the cake. I can't retake the photo as the cake was quickly cut and eaten by the guests!!

If anyone can tell me how to rid the shot of the terrible colourcast I (and Lisa) will be delighted. The cake should be white with Pink trimmings

http://www.btinternet.com/~judoclub/cake.zip

Thank you very much

Trefor
:)

[blue_max]

I would imagine that would be fairly straightforeward to sort out. I get a 'can't open because it is not the right kind of document' message unfortunately.

If you post a low res jpg file for us to view, we may be able to talk you through it (always better to know how to do it yourself).

Graham

[trefor]

yes i wasn't sure how to attach the raw file, try this low res jpeg

[AjP]

here is fast correction version. shot is ok, the light condition wasn't too good.
http://st.a-j-p.net/pic/cake.jpg

[trefor]

Thank you very much, it is much better, but has lost the pink bits. That is why I thought i had to do something clever before it became a jpeg?

[GoneFission]

Perhaps something like this?

http://www.gonefission.us/Uploads/POTN/trefor_cake_small.jpg

Full-size image here (http://www.gonefission.us/Uploads/POTN/trefor_cake.jpg).
Using bibble (you can download a free 15-day trial), I:
1. Cranked up the exposure 2 stops
2. Adjusted white balance using one of the small flowers as the reference (click white). If I use the top of the cake as a reference, the sides get a very noticeable blue tint (different light sources, I imagine).
3. Applied 25% noise reduction
4. Applied sharpening at 200%

Still not great, but maybe I've given you a place to start.

[trefor]

Thanks I will look for Bibble:D and get cracking

[GoneFission]

Oops, sorry, forgot the link:
http://www.bibblelabs.com/

[Radioham]

Heres my go i used Raw shooter and PS cs2 very noisy thru
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stephen.bates590/cake.jpg

[yb98]

http://bellik.free.fr/gateau.jpg

[jfrancho]

I thought I'd get a little creative. This is an engagement memory, after all. The capture isn't as bad as it would seem, there is some very slight clipping in the shadows, and maybe 20 pixels clipped in the highlights. Overall, this follows the "expose to right" rule when shooting RAW. I don't care for the angle in frame filling shot. I'd say next time, shoot driectly overhead if you are going to fill the frame. Then you can crop it to size. This angle wouls have been nice with the couple's hands in it or some other composition, though. The lighting is nice and accentuates the writing and decoration well. Not a bad job. I highly recommend Real World Camera Raw (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/032127878X/002-5006800-0799222?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance). I also recommend the Kelby Book (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0735714118/002-5006800-0799222?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance). I actually use a variation of his "glamour skin" techniques on the cake.

http://plan-b.smugmug.com/photos/26702559-L.jpg

[trefor]

A big thanks to everyone for their help/advice. All the efforts were heaps better than mine :o

I will spend the weekend trying various suggestions, when Lisa gets married (3 years time) I will make sure either she has a different colour cake or I have a DSLR

Or even better I will get a Pro to take the pictures :lol:

Once again thanks
These forums are the bees knees

Kind regards
Trefor

[EOSAddict]

Is it just me that's getting hungry? Interesting thread and great learning from someone just getting into RAW - thanks!

[TonyKInTexas]

jfrancho, I like the effect on this one.

I thought I'd get a little creative. This is an engagement memory, after all. The capture isn't as bad as it would seem, there is some very slight clipping in the shadows, and maybe 20 pixels clipped in the highlights. Overall, this follows the "expose to right" rule when shooting RAW. I don't care for the angle in frame filling shot. I'd say next time, shoot driectly overhead if you are going to fill the frame. Then you can crop it to size. This angle wouls have been nice with the couple's hands in it or some other composition, though. The lighting is nice and accentuates the writing and decoration well. Not a bad job. I highly recommend Real World Camera Raw (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/032127878X/002-5006800-0799222?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance). I also recommend the Kelby Book (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0735714118/002-5006800-0799222?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance). I actually use a variation of his "glamour skin" techniques on the cake.

http://plan-b.smugmug.com/photos/26702559-L.jpg

[TonyKInTexas]

yb98,

What was your workflow for this? This is a very good rendition.

http://bellik.free.fr/gateau.jpg

[jfrancho]

jfrancho, I like the effect on this one.Thanks Tony. I'll post one without the soft focus effect later this evening.

[yb98]

yb98,

What was your workflow for this? This is a very good rendition.

Thanks, I used Adobe Camera Raw with the following parameters :

Temperature : 3500
Tint : -3
Exposure : 3,30
Shadows : 0
Brightness : 42
Contrast : 40
Saturation : 0

Yacine.

[jfrancho]

Thanks, I used Adobe Camera Raw with the following parameters :

Temperature : 3500
Tint : -3
Exposure : 3,30
Shadows : 0
Brightness : 42
Contrast : 40
Saturation : 0

Yacine.Yacine, your conversion is very similar to mine. My only concern would be the noise that is noticable in the dark regions in the upper left, and oddly enough the pink ribbon. I had some trouble with the ribbon too, but found that the luminance smoothing to be helpful. Using niose reduction in the raw converter is always the best path to follow. Sharpening is quite the contrary, as ACR sharpening is rather crude. Here is my version with no processing after the raw conversion.

http://plan-b.smugmug.com/photos/26839914-L.jpg

[PhotosGuy]

Heres my go i used Raw shooter and PS cs2 very noisy thru Why? RSE has sliders for 2 kinds of noise reduction. Wasn't that enough?

Trefor, you could make 2 different colored tiffs & blend them in PS using a Layer Mask. Maybe that would help.
I kind of like jfrancho's treatment. It would make a great opening page for an album.