Some questions before I start on this

[philbach]

Well off and running on the latest from the gallery.  It looks to me like this is a photo of the boy and the photo has a Matte around it that is signed.  Clearly some sort of water damage has blurred a few areas of the image. It looks like the "matte" is composed of some sort of fibrous material.

So should I convert this to a black and white?
Should I convert boy photo to black and white and leave a little color in the matte.

Just Wondering.  Thanks.

Phil ^-^

[Mhayes]

Hi Phil,

Convert to B/W but keep in sRGB mode. This is a very old photo and the yellow color is from age and also water damage.

Margie

[philbach]

Thanks, Margie.  Will do.

[philbach]

Well here is where I am now.   Blending the boy into the background without getting a cutout has been a problem.  Just wondering what you think.

[Mhayes]

Phil, I think you have done a great job on this one. Very nice job with the subtle background with just enough difference to separate the boy and not look cutout. The one thing that does catch my eye and I downloaded your version with the original to compare the white streaks across the boy's shirt. I wondered why since it didn't seem like there should be highlights there. When I looked at the original it became apparent that this was water damage. This is such a minor pic, but my eyes are drawn to it.

Margie