next »

Total Members: 1579
New This Month: 8
New This Week: 2
New Today: 1

Gators? Nah!

Holding Hands

Dashing man with white fedora

Mother and child

[Ausimax]

This is my second difficult image, and one that has given me no end of trouble ( the one I posted for help in the Photoshop Forum on) , I  could only recover the white of the dress and the colour of the faces by setting the colour points in Curves and that made everything else in the image worse.
What makes it hard is that I don't think it was a good photo in the first place, it was over exposed and took all the detail out of the dress and bouquet, and what makes it even worse is you realise this may be the ONLY photo of that event that survived.

Nearly every aspect of the image had to be individually treated on its own layer until the image size grew to 164 MB and my system virtually ground to a halt, eventually had to work with each section as an individual image and combine them into one at the end.

I would like your opinions and ideas on this image, I had to import a cloth for what appeared to be a gifts table, behind the couple, as it is against the wall, there is what looks like a pedestal cake plate and a candelabra on the table, I could not identify any other objects in the damage.

I searched for a plate and candelabra and imported the closest matches I could find, not perfect matches I am afraid, the only other option would be to crop that area out.

I also had to import a bouquet as there was no detail in the original and so much damage that it would just have ended up a white blob, there is also a lot of damage around the faces, mainly crackling of the surface, I left it as is, as I don't think it will be visible at printing resolution and trying to "fix" it would have destroyed too much detail.

If you don't think this restoration works, I will return it and let someone with more experience restore it, apart from some minor tweaking, I think I have taken it as far as I can go, I have put in over 40 hours on it, have 21 versions or parts there of and they total 903 MB and after all that, I don't feel I can do any better.

Thanks for your input on this, it all helps and is a great part of the learning curve for me.






Max

[milanab]

hey max...I applaud your effort and can greatly sympathize with having to send back a difficult image as i have had to do the same thing.  i think you  have done a tremendous amount of work and certainly it is appreciated.  However i think you suffer from the same "affliction" that i do.....trying to do too much to an image in order to get it in a more perfect state.  this one  needs less than you think  in order to be acceptable.  and it will probably be an easy fix for those among us with the knowledge and experience that we are trying to gain.  easy images are not as abundant right now and we feel a little helpless, but i  am sure we will get some more chances to help.  take a deep breath, be satisfied that you gave it your best, and clear off the 164mb and be ready for the next one.   

[Ausimax]

This is the alternate version, Comments on both would be welcome.



The faces are not as blotchy or the outlines as jagged in the high res image.


Max

[Ausimax]

Shows how you can suffer from selective vision, after all the time spent on this image, I didn't notice the bit missing from her dress on the left shoulder until I had actually posted the image, by then it was too late and i was to tired to redo it.

Still haven't had a chance to fix it, life keeps intruding. I would really like some input on this image, suggestions of how I may improve it, and honest opinions as to whether it is of suitable quality to return.

It is hard to know how to deal with an image like this, trying the complete restoration as in the first image requires a lot of assumptions as to what was in the image, and I was not happy with the result, the second image I decided to crop out all the extraneous detail and concentrate the focus on the couple as it should be, thought it would be better to extend the brick wall rather than include the table with no detail, what are your thoughts on this?

Max

[glennab]

Hi Max

You're a trooper for sticking with this one.

I like the fact that you got rid of the table, as there didn't appear to be anything discernable on it, and now the focus is REALLY on the couple.  You mentioned that their faces aren't as blotchy in the hi-res version.  I know that is one thing that I'd be sure of, because the guy, especially, looks multi-colored on my monitor.

I think the edges of her dress could use more definition, and there's a bluish-green cast to her veil and the fabric on her chest (I assume that's lace or something translucent.  It's hard to tell.)

I think you've kept the essence of the photo, and that's what we're trying to accomplish.  Judging when to stop is a real bear.  I think there's a point at which to return the restoration and let admin decide whether you need to go further.  I've been at that point with the evey restoration I've returned.

This is not only a "professional" judgement, but also an emotional one.  I'm moved to tears every time I go through the photos that are still waiting to be retouched and contemplate the importance of each one to the families who have submitted them.  One of the things I love about being part of this effort is the awareness that all the volunteers have of the value of these images to their owners.

You're obviously one of them, and you're exceedingly special for working so hard on your restorations.  All I can say is keep on keepin' on!

My very best to you,

GG

[Ausimax]

Hi glennab

Thanks for your comments, you were right the faces were not right, I had treated them on a separate layer and had them looking good, don't know what happened, I could have deleted the wrong layer before I flattened the image, shouldn't do things like this when you are tired.

Anyway here it is again with a rework, I think I shall upload this one and Mike can decide its fate, I would like to thank you and milanab for your help and advice, it has been invaluable.



Max

[glennab]

Hi Max

They look great!  I'd send them to Mike at this point, as well.  I'm gratified that I was able to help, because I'm very aware that fresh eyes can sometimes catch things that tired, burned-out ones overlook.  Besides, we oldsters need to give each other all the support we can!

My very best to you, as always,

GG

[milanab]

max this looks pretty good, the only thing i keep coming back to is the contrast differences between his hair and face.  in the original there is the detail of his waves and it is a lighter shade, closer to the tones in the face.  can you clone in the original hair or modify the new?  it really is not that bad in the original photo from what i can tell.  other than that i think it looks pretty good.