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The Ladies

End of summer carnival

I Do!

Newborn in the family

[smceachron]

Hi All,  I'm working on a side of a brick facade of a home and I'm having problems matching colors.  Is there a better way to work other than creating each brick?  Thank you for any help.
Going crazy ~ Sandi

[Tess (Tassie D)]

Sandi can you post the photo you are working on so we can see what the colour problem is?

[smceachron]

This is the photo.  The bricks are under the front windows. Thx, Sandi

[Hannie]

Sandi, it would help if we can see the original also!

Thanks,

Hannie

[smceachron]

Here is the original photo. ~ Sandi

[Mhayes]

Sandi, while your photo is nice on the eyes it is not color corrected to the actual photo. It looks like bright sunlight and the bricks are yellow and brown. You have recolored the stork to a different color on his legs and head. He has orange feet and beak and blue eye. The blanket he is holding is blue which probably means he is delivering a boy. On the bird's chest where it was yellow and you now have is gray needs to be removed as it is damage. It does not show up on all the channels which is a clue that is is damage like the rest of the yellow in the center. You extended the bricks and that is not the same on the original, but it does help and will allow. Nice clean up, but don't cause yourself more work when there are shadows that can stay and not be treated as damage.

Margie

[smceachron]

Margie,  Maybe I bit off more than I can handle. I wasn't sure of the over all yellow cast of the photo and thought it might need to be tamed down.  Taking out the blue channel took out the duck's yellow vest, the legs,(I wasn't finished with the stork yet) the yellow damage in the middle of the photo as well as  the yellow over-all cast.  I'll put the yellow cast back.  Maybe I should just put the photo back and try something less damaged?  Thx, Sandi

[Mhayes]

Hi Sandi, it's fine to send a photo back and try another. When you do these photos, first do a color correction by either a Levels Adjustment or a Curves Adjustment. You want to see what the actual photo should be, not retouch to where you like it better. Yes, the yellow in the center is damage and needs to be taken out. I'm not sure why you are taking out the blue channel as that took out the stork's yellow legs and the blue blanket in his beak? The broom by the door has yellow on the brush part. It' s not a case of taking out a cast if that is what the original had because that was its color or the lightening conditions. Changing a cast because of water damage is different. By doing either the Level's Adjustment or the Curves will tone the bricks some. However, the color of the bricks, dead grass, and bright sun makes this photo what it is.

Margie

[smceachron]

Margie,  I know I can put back photos, but it is difficult to tell just how much needs to be done just from the gallery.  I have already had this photo for a week and I feel there maybe someone out there better than me that can restore this photo faster and I hate taking up more time as I'm sure you want these photos back as soon as possible.  Thx, Sandi

[Hannie]

Sandi, don't feel bad returning a photo, there are still lots of nice photos to pick from. 
I have taken lots of photos and returned them to the gallery or have someone else do the difficult parts!  

Hannie

[Mhayes]

Sandi, please don't feel bad about returning this photo. You did a great job on the brickwork which took some time and skill. My problem was that the family would know it didn't look the same. This is not an easy photo and will take some time. With more experience you will feel more comfortable with this kind of photo.

Believe me when I say you are not the first to say the downloaded version didn't look like what was in the gallery. We have been accused of bait and switch.  

Thanks,

Margie

[Mhayes]

Hi Sandi,

I have had a change of heart and the desire to not let you off the hook so easily.    OK, just kidding. What I would like to do is show you another way to handle a photo like this. I know you have spent a lot of time on this already, but this will give you a chance to approach handling a photo damaged like this from another angle.

I am tied up a bit this morning and afternoon, but I would like to post a tutorial on this photo and see what you think and also let others give their thoughts on how they would approach it.

I think you will find this fun, <please everyone, no eyes rolling in disbelief> and it will give you a chance to see how to use the blue channel to your advantage, but totally different than how you did it. I will show you how to use the blending option and coloring the photo, but using the colors from the photo that has been color corrected.

Sandi, our you game?

Margie

*Footnote: The stork has a bow tie and I think what I viewed as damage is a pouch or bib.

[kiska]

I think the yellow on the stork's chest is a vest.

[Mhayes]

Kiska, I agree and so is the bow tie. Question: You have done it before where you take the blue channel and then copy all and paste on top as another layer and change the layer to luminosity and then tweak from there. I tried that and it didn't look the way I wanted to go. Basically what I want to do is correct the color first and maybe save that one as a .psd for reference. I will then make a 2nd copy which will be the one I colorize on. On it I will change the photo to a B/W (still in RGB mode) and then add many blending adjustment modes (with layer masks) where I can correct the under layer for gray and each adjustment layer will have a different color to use. Before I do that I will correct the damage in the B/W version before coloring.

I know this is clear as mud, but will show what I mean unless you can think of a better way? One reason I will tweak the sliders in the Blending Options is so that color can be added in some areas and not touched in others.

Margie

[kiska]

mmmm. Sounds like a mighty round about way. Here's a quickie.