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Please help!

Started by Sillymilly, January 28, 2015, 10:49:11 AM

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Sillymilly

hi guys

ive been working on this pic for quite a while now but i just cant come up with a possibility to restore the blanket to my liking. it still looks fake. also the foot was giving me a hard time. although i think the blue channel suggests the position like that, it just looks weird. any ideas how i could get those parts better? or something else ive overseen?

thanks for your help! :hug: sandra






dle

Well, to me it looks as though you've done awfully well with this one. The placement and integration of the blanket portion between the baby's legs is quite believable. And to fresh eyes, the foot placement doesn't jump out -- I don't think there's much if any weight being put on it. And since you have essentially no information about what was there before the damage, that's what's important.

The only thing I can think of that might be worth a try is to make some of the greenish parts on on the cloned patch a bit duller (i.e., by reducing the brightness and, maybe, the saturation just a bit).

As a side note, I'm struggling with many of the same issues on another photo of this same child wearing the same hat with the same blanket in the background around the edges where most of the damage is.
Dave

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.
-- Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut (1953–1994)

Tori803

Looks great! My only pick would be the finger on the left at the girl's elbow. It doesn't quite seem to be attached to anything. Perhaps a touch of shading would help?
Tori
"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence." -Calvin Coolidge

lurch

I'd fix the red-eye. I know it was there in the original, but it's distracting. and the baby's skin is way too red. It's that way in the original, but I'd fix it anyway - call it color correction . . .
<C>

Sillymilly

Thank you all so much for the help! Much appreciated!  :)

tried out all of your suggestions and im pretty happy with the results.

still not liking that finger TORI803 mentioned. it still looks weird. somehow the posing of the finger  looks unnatural anyway,  would like to completely erase it but guess im not allowed to do that.  ;)

@DLE ur suggestion to make the green parts duller did look better, but with your side note uve lead me to a another experiment.  :) since uve mentioned there are other pics with the very same blanket i went back to the gallery and screenshot parts of other pics, which gave me a way better idea on how the blanket should look like than i received outta my picture. so thanks for mentioning that!!  :up2:

so, what do u think of the latest edit? and how bout the new blanket? does it look better, or have i worsen it? (happens to me quite often after working on the same pic for a few hrs)





dle

I'd say you nailed it.

I know exactly what you're saying about not being able to decide whether changes are making the picture better or worse. In this case, your changes have definitely made it better.

As for the finger, the odd positioning is just the way it is in the original. Like you, I'd leave it as is even though it would be easy to "fix."

Your point about getting "reference material" from other photos from the same series is a good one to highlight. Such material is often available from the distributors, you just need to ask. But when you're in the middle of a restoration it's hard to remember to do so. Also, the way the distribution system works it's often not possible to know that such material exists since photos disappear from the galleries as they are sent out for restoration.

I guess the lesson here is to ask for reference material more often than we do.

In any case, your restoration is lovely. I hope the one I'm working on comes out as well.
Dave

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.
-- Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut (1953–1994)

Hannie

Wow, what a beautiful restore Sandra!  (I love your eye for detail)
Baby's face looks better now that it is not so red, to make up for the loss of color you could add a Vibrancy layer and up the vibrancy a little only in the face.
The finger looks good to me, you could taper the very end just a tad, not sure if that would be an improvement?  (I tried it below)

:up:


Hannie


Hannie Scheltema
Distribution Coordinator
[email protected]

Sillymilly

  :) Thank you so much!! really happy u experienced guys approve my edit!

@ hannie..unfortunately ive alredy sent the pic back when i read your post. but i really like your idea with the shades. it does look way better! but i dont wanna cause any more trouble and ask for my sent restoration to get deleted bc i already had to do this before bc ive uploaded the pic to the wrong place at first.    :-\ but ill keep your tip in mind in case i stumble over a similar case in futur restorations. so thanks a lot!


@ DLE yeah its too bad the pics are gone once theyre sent out. wondering if it wasnt possible to make a new folder "in progress" or sth so other volunteers could check if they could use sth. sometimes the end result becomes so much better when ref material is available.
in any case, since uve mentioned that ur working with the same blanket, i figured i could upload the edited pic ive been working with. (especially since the pics with the same blanket might be gone soon, if they arent already) its not done really well and precisely, but though it gave me a pretty well idea bout the blanket. i dunno how much info u have on your pic, but maybe this could be of a lil help for you too.



dle

Thanks!

As it turns out, your original post reminded me to ask the distributor for reference material and now I have it -- the same one you used.

Hope to see lots more restorations from you here in the OPR forums. Clearly you have an eye and hand for this sort of work.
Dave

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.
-- Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut (1953–1994)

Mhayes

#9
Sandra, beautiful restore and great post for tips. Dave brought up a good point about checking with your distributor for reference. When you are working a photo, sometimes you will luck out and there will be other photos taken during that same time frame. All of those photos will be in folders--one for the originals and the second for the finished restoration. None of those photos are sent back until all of them are done. From there they go to Quality Control to be checked out and then mailed on to the family. Sometimes we don't luck out by having a single photo for reference, but in this case we did.  :up:

This is an example of how great the Forum can be and how it helps others pick up some valuable tips.  :loveit:

Margie

P.S. Even if you have sent your restore back, you can still upload a revised one (add a number on the extension or rev) back.
"carpe diem"

Margie Hayes
OPR President
[email protected]

Sillymilly

Hii all :)


back from vaca and really motivated to start my second edit :)
wanted to thank you all for your big help and support with my first edit. much appreciated!! :loveit:
and thank you as well for your kind words, im thrilled to be able to help you out!

margie, good to know bout the ref material. the distributor...would this be the one who sent me the invitation to download the picture? oh and awesome its possible to resend a second edited pic if there has been another improvement.  :up2: thanks a lot for the info!



Mhayes

Sandra, yes, the distributor you got the invitation from is the one to ask about reference material as all photos for that family will be in her/his folder. If there is a similar finished one, that can be used as a reference too.

Have fun on your next restore.

Margie
"carpe diem"

Margie Hayes
OPR President
[email protected]