Pretty in Pink

[coopmj]

Hi everyone,

I definitely think this needs a little something color-wise (and probably some other corrections, too.) Have at it!

As always, thank you!

Mary

Original


WIP

[Shadow]

What a cutie. Looking really good so far Mary. On my screen the dark shadow on her dress on the right has shifted to blue and seems a bit dark compared to the original.

[Jo Ann Snover]

I think this must have been a hand-colored photograph - at first I thought it was a doll! Look at what was done to the eyes and the lips - which is to say that there'll be a somewhat artificial quality to a good restore because of how the original was.

And I think if you look at the original in the shadows under the arms, they're odd, blue-ish and grainy. So I think that making the rest of the image look right and then desaturating whatever color (it was blue for me) ends up there with an adjustment layer is the way to go.

Your current WIP looks a bit as if it's floating in space because in cleaning up the damage you've eliminated many of the shadows - plus quite a bit of the flyaway hair around her head. I agree with you that the color looks a bit flat, but some of that is the hand colored look, not you :)

Take a look at two versions I did - from the original and with only the roughest of cleanup - to show what I think it should look like. The first version keeps the original background but mostly desaturates it (with a gradient map adjustment layer). That keeps the shadows but means more damage needs to be cloned out.



The second version I have made a fake "studio backdrop" and faded that in for a lot of the background - avoids much of the cleanup



Here's some explanations that may be helpful



Hope this helps a bit with the coloring and grounding the image

[Bambi]

Jo Ann, how did you keep the wispy hairs intact when you replaced the background? I select the background then Lasso out any areas around stray hairs and feather the background selection. Then do repairs on the areas around the hairs.

[Mhayes]

Yes, without a doubt this is hand-colored photograph. Really coming a long nicely, but on her hand on your right side it looks dirty and I think that could be because of water damage. Know from the angle more of a shadow, but the color looks dirty.

This next question I'm not sure of, but I have been hesitant of using a gradient mask adjustment layer for fear of banding when the photo is sent out to print. Any comments on this?

Thanks Mary and Jo Ann.

[kiska]

I rarely use a gradient.

[Jo Ann Snover]

I meant a Gradient Map adjustment layer - not mask. I'll edit the text above to correct it.

It isn't a Gradient as a solid object but a way of mapping colors acrosss a spectrum - so the pixels in the midtones will have a new color which will be based on the ramp of colors in the gradient. Banding shouldn't be an issue.

If you do black to white it can make some nice conversions although there are gazillions of other color to monochrome options.

You can use the Gradient Map adjustment layer to do really interesting color grading (not generally applicable to restorations) or produce sepia versions

http://blogs.adobe.com/jkost/2016/02/gradient-map-adjustment-layer-in-photoshop.html

https://phlearn.com/tutorial/color-tone-using-gradient-maps/

[Jo Ann Snover]

Jo Ann, how did you keep the wispy hairs intact when you replaced the background? I select the background then Lasso out any areas around stray hairs and feather the background selection. Then do repairs on the areas around the hairs.

If it was really precise work, assuming I couldn't make a mask with a channel, I use the smudge tool on a layer mask to paint in the stray hairs by hand. Tedious, but if you think like a hairdresser while working you get the right vibe going :) The key there is to make the mask initially where the solid hairs are and then draw outward (with the smudge tool set to lighten). You can see some examples and more details in an old blog post of mine.

For this, I didn't take a precise route. The original background  was feathered into the new one enough to preserve the hairs. If the original background had been more damaged that wouldn't have worked. If the hairs are there but just a little less colored than they were originally, it'll still look believable.

[Jo Ann Snover]

Here is a quick comparison of making monochrome with various techniques

[coopmj]

Thank you Jo Ann for taking so much time to help me!  I have to admit, the gradiant map is boggling my pea-sized brain but I'm going to do a little research on that. I think it would be a great technique to have in my toolbox.  In the meantime, am I on the right track here? (Still some clean up to do...)

[Jo Ann Snover]

That looks really good - no longer floating in the ether as you've brought back some shadows.

I think a bit of contrast, especially in the dress, would be good - possibly just pull down the mid tones (in a curves adjustment layer). The blue shadows under her arms need to go away and I see some hard edged artifacts on the left side of the background, near the table edge.

If you can nudge back a little more of the wispy hair, even better. If you look at the original, there's a bit more shadow on the background behind her versus at the edges; if you can do something like that on your new background it'd look great.

[Mhayes]

Great post everyone! I feel like I have gained more from the tips on the Forum than what I get from the self help books out there. Don't get me wrong, they helped me get to the point I am now, but as far as help in the type of disaster damaged photos we restore--they're not as relevant, and I find myself sometime bored with their examples. I appreciate everyone that puts their work out there and everyone that offers their help. Not every photo is going to be a roaring success and some of these photos are pretty close to toast right out of the gate, but so often I'm amazed at what we pull off.

So we don't end up with our images held hostage like what has happened in the earlier days of the Forum; I would ask everyone to keep their images they post to the Forum in a special folder on their hard drive and not move them. If moved unless you go back in and edit the new link--the image will be gone.

The other request I would like to make is that when you have an image that you are especially proud of that you have restored--keep in special folder with that image and all its layers. At some point in time I would like to present to the public a collection of our work.

Margie

[Lynnya]

Thanks Margie.. :up:

[coopmj]

Thanks everyone! Jo Ann I will make these additional corrections. I really appreciate your help. One day soon I hope to wow everyone with my gradient map skills!  :)

Cheers! Mary