Well, I'm working on a new image here and it's a toughie! It's a portrait of a bride and bridesmaid. All I've done so far is work on the faces and the bride's veil. I started by isolating the Green channel, which seemed to show the most detail. Then dialing up the contrast to show as much as possible. The final may not be as contrasty as my "progress" image. The dresses will be very difficult I'm afraid. Let me know what you see in this muck - the more eyes the better!
Original:
(http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/9867/brideandbridesmaidorigiem3.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
My Restoration Progress:
(http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/2394/brideandbridesmaid71620vi9.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
Thanks for looking!
Kurt
Hi Kurt,
You are a hero taking this one on, nice work on the faces so far, they both seem to be holding bouquets in front of them to my eyes, the dresses will be a challenge, not a lot of detail present, the bridesmaids dress could be a dark colour, when you look at the area near her arm, yet it seems to have a dark panel on either side down the skirt.
This is another that fits the impossible category I think, whatever you produce is mainly guesswork.Though knowing you it will probably end up looking pristine, good luck with it.
Max
I agree with the bridesmaid dress Max. It was either a panel dress or there is a long ribbon from the bouquet?
I think the bride is wearing a necklace and her gown is a V covering the bust...and the bridesmaid dress well..I thought round neck but then I thought I saw a V neck as well..( I like to confuse myself and others!) Definitely looks like folds...But good luck with this..it's a ripper!!
(http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g320/Sanbie2/brideandbridesmaid71620vi9-1.jpg)
Oh and the bridesmaid looks like her hands are together!
Sanbie
I sewed some bridesmaid dresses last year and they requested matching scarves or shawls because it was outside in January. To me it looks like it could be a draped scarf which is on her shoulder on our left side and not the other. Only suggesting this as a possibility. I haven't been here long and have little experience analyzing such pictures. It seems a little more likely to me than dark panels in a light dress. I have been looking at all the restorations I could find in the forum and I am bowled over with amiration of your work. Do you work with this kind of task as work as well? Ruth
(http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n95/pcysmith/Untitled-1.jpg)
I did some work with this bride. Her dress is lace and the neckline is scalloped. The bridesmaid dress is velvet, I think, and has a round neckline.
It looks to me like a round neckline on the bridesmaid dress and it is possibly made from some sort of shiny material. I think its more likely that the areas of light and dark are folds in the material rather than different colored panels.
I think Paula's bride photo should help tremendously. I don't know if anyone would have found the dress to look like that from the info in this pic.
Thanks for the input, guys! I very much appreciate it. Sanbie, I think you're right about the V-neck on the bride's dress. Good eye. I think it's probably a v-neck with a sheer material like organza above it, similar to Paula's photo. I agree that the bridesmaid dress has some sort of long ribbon on it. Probably tied around the waist. I don't think it's just darker panels, because it doesn't go all the way down to the hem. The neck of her dress looks like a small collar, similar to a polo shirt. I think both of the girls are probably holding bouquets, however I can't see any details of them at all. The bridesmaid's "bouquet" almost looks like a fur muff or something. Ruth, thank you for the compliment! I don't do restorations as a career, but I do spend most of my days working in Photoshop. I'm an Architect by training, but now I do Architectural renderings.
Although this is a severely damaged photo, I'm kind of taking a minimalistic approach to restoring it. There just isn't a lot of information in many parts of the photo, so I'll probably leave them fairly vague.
Thanks for looking! Keep the comments coming, and I'll post my progress soon.
Kurt
(http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n95/pcysmith/bride.jpg)
(http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n95/pcysmith/bridesmaid.2.jpg)
As you can see from the originals, the bride does not have a ve neckline. The bridesmaid has a round neckline with a piping tie and no collar.
Oh, I'm sorry Paula. I misunderstood you. I thought you were just showing it as an example. It's the very same bride! I get it now. Sometimes I'm a little slow. Thanks for the reference photos!
Kurt
Paula,
How did you end up restoring the bridesmaid hair? That's something in my original photo that I can't see at all. Is she wearing something on top of her head? Is her hair in an updo? It almost looks like she's wearing aviator goggles or something.
Kurt
To my eyes she looks like she's wearing a hat with piping ties/bows on each side like the neckline. The hat and dress look like velvet to me for some reason. Her hair looks like it is done up in back and there are soft waves around her face.
(http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n95/pcysmith/HAIRDO.j2.jpg)
Here's the progress I've been able to make on this photo. I've started to work some of the dress details back into the image. I haven't done a whole lot of work on it the past few days because I've been overloaded at work and now I have to go to L.A. for a meeting. This weekend I'll get back on it!
Progress:
(http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/396/bridecloseup7192007yj0.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
Thanks for looking!
Kurt
It really seems to be coming together well. One thing that sticks out to me is the lace flower that comes off of her neckline has switched sides from the reference picture.
Yeah, I know. I was slapping it together kind of quickly and didn't bother to flip that portion of the dress (I've since fixed it). I flipped it because the reference photo I used had her torso facing the other direction relative to this one. Good eye, though!
Right now I've been working on the bridesmaid and the background. I'll post more progress soon!
Thanks guys,
Kurt
Hi Kurt
I'm looking forward to seeing your work as you clean up this one. You did such a beautiful job on the last couple you posted. Your art background really shows, and this one appears to have a lot of missing information, as did the last one. You're an inspiration and a much appreciated source of information, tips & tricks. I'll be monitoring your progress with great interest.
Cheers!
Glenna
Well I'm making some progress on this picture, but I'm having a hard time with the bridesmaid's feet - they just don't show up at all in the original or in any of the channels. So the more I restore it and remove the damage in the background, the more it looks like she's floating in mid-air. Eventually I'll have to at least suggest the presence of feet. Anyway, here's what it's looking like now:
(http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/861/brideandbridesmaid72520op8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
What do you guys think? How would you handle the case of the missing feet? :huh:
Thanks!
Kurt
Hey Kurt :)
It's great to see you back at work here! I hear rumors you got married and I would like to congratulate you and your lovely wife and wish you all the best for your future.
You did a great job on this restoration already, it's amazing how much you were able to recover!
I'm not sure what to suggest regarding the bridesmaid's feet. Is there maybe a different photo you could borrow from? Paula was working on some other photos from this wedding.
You could maybe keep that area as dark as possible and cover it a bit more with the bride's dress. The bridesmaid's dress could also be a bit longer without being to obvious.
Sorry to be of not of much help with this, but I'm sure you will come up with a solution eventually. ;)
Gerlinde
You have it coming along well Kurt, the feet and legs do present a problem when you have no indication of shoe style or the like, and I can think of no feature that you could logically use to screen her legs from view, other perhaps than having the bride sitting on a bench type seat, not a lot of use I know.
Max
Wow let me say first off I think you are doing a brilliant job on this...Would have been way beyond me!! so I bow in awe of what you have achieved so far :wnw:
Ok I brightened things way up and do you think the red cirlcle may be her shoes?
(http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g320/Sanbie2/brideandbridesmaid72520op8-shoes.jpg)
Sanbie
Great job so far. Sanbie that does look like a pair of feet.
You could well be right Sanbie, I see it as her wearing open toed high-heeled shoes with a broad single strap across the foot, her right foot facing straight ahead, her toes visible just below your circle, and the left foot at an angle to the left.
How's that for good eyesight, or imagination or just plain delusion. :-\
Max
I don't really see shoes there. I think that's damage being creatively interpreted as shoes. :) One thing I've noticed is that it the bride's dress is too angular. In the original her dress falls more rounded on her right side. Also I think that I can see the leg of the stool or chair that she is sitting on.
(http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/8196/stoolvr4.th.jpg) (http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/8196/stoolvr4.jpg)
Hey thanks for all the input, folks! I agree, Phischer that the dress is probably too angular right now. I don't agree that what you're seeing in the lower left is a stool that she's sitting on. It's part of her dress. Here's a hi-res crop of that area:
(http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/6179/bridebridesmaidlowerlefaw1.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
The folds of her dress can clearly be seen in the (relatively) undamaged area in the shadows. I probably don't have the hemline correct yet, but I'll keep working on it. I think right now, the contrast is too high between the dress and the background and that is partially why it seems so stark and angular. I'll have to adjust the shading on it.
This is also the area where the bridesmaid's feet should be, and that area is covered with damage. But I think if I can come up with something subtle that suggests feet and blends into the darkness, as Gerlinde suggested, that will be about all I can do for her, feet-wise.
Thanks!
Kurt
Ahh, I see it better now. You are correct. No stool. I don't see any feet either. I'm sure you can do something to give the suggestion of feet in a shadowy area, though. Nice job so far. This is definitely a tough one.
Hi Kurt
I did some "scanning" of your image this morning, and I agree with you that there's absolutely nada at the lower left. (Aaron Neville was sitting on the desk with me, so I guess you could call it a "cat scan.") None of my tricks pulled up a single detail. I think you're right about having to keep the dark background and maybe (?) have a subtle hint of legs & feet, but nothing distinct.
I also agree that the darker area at the bottom edge of the bride's dress on the left as we see her is actually discolored dress, not a stool leg.
I'll be very interested in how many hours you put into this restoration. We've been discussing in different threads how much time a restoration should take, and this is definitely one of the most challenging ones I've seen and is being worked on by one of our top-notch artists (I think!). There seems to be much concern that the restoration work is taking longer than it should, but I'd think that this sort of work would have to take as long as it takes -- and we shouldn't try to "beat the clock" (or calendar, in my case). Some things just fall into place and others are totally baffling. I hope this becomes an ongoing discussion and eases the concern of some of the volunteers that they're taking longer than 2 hours to do a restoration.
At any rate, good luck on this one. Getting detail is going to be rough.
Cheers!
Glenna
OMG I see a chihauhau...I think my imagination is soaring!! :funny:
Sanbie
As for the time issues, I know that the OPR guidelines are to return the photo in a week, but we ALL know that can't be done on a lot of these photos. The one week guideline is encouragement to begin work on your photo as soon as you receive it, and not to stick it off to the side to pick up later in a couple of weeks. And yes, I'd love to have all of these photos returned within a week. However, we all need to give our eyes a break from the restorations, and with something as difficult as Kurt's photo is, I don't see how it can be done in a week. Mind you....for those that have had their photos 6+ weeks, I usually follow up with the volunteer to find out what the status is, if I've not been updated on the progress beforehand.
All in all, I'd MUCH rather have someone take a couple of weeks to work on a photo, with a lot of patience and time, and get it right, than to rush through the restoration and have it at sub par quality.
Kurt, your photo restoration is coming along beautifully, and I know you'll find a way to pull it all together!
Christine
Thank you guys so much for your input and compliments!
Glenna, I'm not really sure how many hours I have into this one so far. If I were beaten with a wet noodle, pinned to the ground and had a gun pointed to my head, I'd guess I'd say about 10 hours. (Sorry Christine, I know I've had it for two weeks!) I've worked on it maybe every other day for 1.5 hours at a time - on average. The problem with these tough ones - as everyone knows - you have to give your eyes a break and then come back to it and give it a fresh look. You can't do it all in one continuous stretch.
Well I hope to work on it a little more during my lunch hour today and I'll post my progress when I've made a significant step forward.
Thanks,
Kurt
Hi Kurt... I'd think with the amazing quality of your restorations, no one is going to complain
about the time involved or set critical time limits... Keep up the good work... :up:
Regards,
Robert
I think I'm finally in the final stretch on this photo. There is still more work to be done on the bride's dress, the bridesmaid's dress and flowers, and some other details like the bridesmaid's arms. How do the bridesmaid's new legs look? I'm thinking of making her shoes a dark color to help them recede more.
(http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/6199/bridebridesmaid822007yz8.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
The background has been totally replaced as you can see. I just did a gradient with the lightest areas being up front on the bottom and on the right side. I tried to keep the background as nondescript as possible and still seem realistic. What do you guys think of how it's all coming together?
Thanks!
Kurt
Hi Kurt,
I think it looks great. One suggestion -- you might want to eliminate the "stuff" under the bride's gown in the forefront of the photo. Just make it look like the gown goes to the floor.
Great work.
Lorraine
Thanks Lorraine,
Yeah, I'm still working on that area of the bride's dress. I'm still trying to figure out the extents of her dress in that damaged area.
Kurt
Hi Kurt
It's amazing! Not that I'd expect any less. I'd definitely go with darker shoes for the bridesmaid. They're not overly prominent now, but darker would be better in my opinion.
Glenna
Wow this is coming along so well..it looks great!...I love what you have done with the legs and shoes...but I to think darker shoes may be best...
Sanbie
:up: Better you than me! Love your work.
I second the darker shoes, you have done such an amazing job on an impossible photo, I love the new legs!
Hannie
I know a lot of women that would like to sign up for a new pair of legs...Seriously though, nice work.
Thanks guys!
I think this is nearing completion now. I'm at the point where I'm mostly just finessing things here and there. I've darkened the bridesmaid's shoes, cleaned up the bottom of the bride's dress, cleaned up the bridesmaid's arms and fixed some other details. How's it looking now?
(http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/184/bridebridesmaid832007kn7.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
Thanks for looking and offering so many great comments and compliments!
Kurt
P.S. Now that I'm looking at it, I think I need to darken the area near the bride's right elbow near her torso. It should be in more shadow there.
Looks nice. I'd soften up the line of the bride's dress where it covers the bridesmaid but other than that it looks good to go! :up2:
The bridesmaid might be floating a little bit.
Hi Kurt - fantastic job :up:
I don't know how much more effort you would like to put into this restoration, but just in case you are bored and don't know what else to do: I see 2 dark spots on the bride's dress/skirt right in the middle, there is also a dark line on the maids sleeve, her right shoulder and a couple of dark spots on the "thing?" she is holding in front of her. Kiska - good catch, I had that impression too. Maybe it is the background, there is no break between the wall and the floor.
Gerlinde :)
This is looking beautiful Kurt! My only comment is that I agree with Kiska...the bridesmaid needs perhaps some shadowing around her feet. You've done a beautiful job on the dresses.
Christine
Hi Kurt,
Everybody seems to have covered most of the bases, my only other pick is that I think you have made the bridesmaids chin too pointed, when I check the first two photos you posted it looks more rounded in the original, other than that you have done a great job of dragging so much detail out of the mess. :up2:
Max
Hi Kurt
You've done your usual wonderful job on this toughie. I agree with Max that the bridesmaid's chin looks a bit too pointed, and the ladies appear to be floating. The only other thing I think I'd change would be to lighten the darker spots in the bridesmaid's bouquet to make it look less damaged. For some reason those areas jump out at me. I think a more ethereal look would enhance the effect of the bouquet, since you don't have any detail.
Cheers! Kudos!
Glenna
Your usual high standard Kurt, it looks great. It always amazes me what you manage to pull out of the muck! :up:
Thanks for the eyes, guys. Hey that rhymes! I'll fix it up per your comments and post another version for final looksies. Thanks again for all your help guys!
Kurt
Hi, I'm new, only done 3 pix. I live in Florida and do digital art.
Awesome work on the bride and bridesmaid! :wnw:
Here is my progress on this photo. I've tried to pick up all of your comments and suggestions. I've darkened the floor around the bridesmaid's feet, created a "corner" where the floor meets the wall, I've lightened the dark spots in the bridesmaid's bouquet, rounded off her chin, lightened the two dark spots on the bride (they are shadow areas under her bouquet, but they were distracting as dark as they were), and adjusted the dark line on the bridesmaid's sleeve.
(http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/4273/bridebridesmaid862007ik7.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
Can anyone see anything else that's blatantly wrong, or doesn't seem quite right about this photo? If not, I'm thinking that it's pretty much complete and I'll upload it. Thanks!
Kurt
Wow, beautiful Kurt!! This looks wonderful!
Christine
Very very nice! :up2: Considering what you started with, you've done a fabulous job.
Kurt,
you nailed it, no more complains! :up: It turned out beautiful.
Gerlinde ;D
Okay guys, thank you very much for all of your help. I've uploaded it to Photoshelter! Done and done.
Kurt
Kurt, you've returned a treasure to the owners of this photo. You are amazing.
Glenna
Kurt,
It's beautiful. You do wonderful work.
Lorraine