Can this Father's Day Portrait be fixed?

My mother insisted I take a family portrait, so everyone piles into the back yard (dogs included) and with no real good location because of some harsh sunlight she decides to have everyone stand under this tree. I didn't have my flash with me so no fill light available. The first pic was the result. Now, naturally, she loves the pic and wants a gallary wrap on canvas made. My PP skills are rudamentary at best but my lame attempt is the second pic. Can anyone give me any suggestions to PP either the first or second shot and do you think a canvas print would come out OK?

Untouched Original. RAW to JPEG only.

i would blur the background it is busy. i dont know if it would be that much work to get them all together again to get a nicer picture. im gonna d/l it and just play a bit with it. I never got a gallery wrap yet but idk about this. Also if she likes it even though its busy like this oviously it dont really bother her.

Tweak the curves just a bit for a little more warmth and contrast.

I'm not totally sure how it works - but I think if you do get this put on canvas, you'll probably want to leave more room at the top, so the head in the back doesn't get wrapped onto the sides.

here is a very quick fix

like your lighting better ( i just played around with brightness and render->lighting using omnis), but i did quick

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also looking closer

its natural but if you want to be rough on the pic you could stamp the lines on the siding out that could cause a distraction. but thats getting a bit excessive.

and yes what suzyb said make sure you check with the company how much spacing you need to leave on all edges... (it will depend on the thickness of the mounting foam they put it on)

I would do a square crop; not to be rude to Justin above me, but his edit is truly horrible. (Sorry man but that's a bad clone job mixed with some blown highlights and poor lighting caused by the lighting effects filter) Simply duplicate background layer then do a lens blur and mask or erase the top blurred layer to "paint back sharpness" to the original layer over the faces, bodies, etc. Then bump saturation a bit. Then color balance. (Little more yellow in the shadows, little less red in the midtones, little more green in the highlights would be a good start on this image) Also, Levels tweak and contrast bump will make it really pop. The square crop will give it a more "arty" feel with the gallery wrap.

More tips for next time:
Try not to have grown people on their knees, it makes them look dwarfed and awkward; the little girl clinging to his neck looks painful; man in blue is grabbing sons chest, try to hide hand behind back, will look more natural; lady and man in back should be in their "windows". These are all things to look for before pushing the shutter button. (or running into the pic for a group shot)

Overall, looks like a point and shoot image, but it can be salvaged to make a nice gallery wrap for mom.

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Thanks for all the help and tips are duly noted. In all honesty this really was a point and shoot kind of moment and thats how it turned out. But how can you tell mom no.

Boxmann - your fix looks great, just add a bit of contrast. Size the picture according to the instructions you should get for the gallery wrap...your mother will love it.

anglext - i spent about 30 seconds with a 200kb file cant expect alot it was for referance purposes which also had to be converted down to fit on the forum

Also i CHECK on size before you go croping away if you would go with a square crop the lab i work would wouldnt be able to do it. I work with millers and mpix (same lab) but your choices would be 8x10, 11x14, 16x20, 20x30, 24x30, 30x40 <---millers (mpix is minus the 8x10 and 30x40s)

hope this helps

Well, you can always go with the bokeh+pop look

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can you upload the raw?