I need some help with this one. Here forehead and upper lip her are splotchy with damage. I am at a loss on how to solve this. I know the rest of the photo needs some work but my big problem is with her complexion.
Before
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w97/david_gr/Restores/McLaughlinC37_09_10x13_zps50291750.jpg) (http://s174.photobucket.com/user/david_gr/media/Restores/McLaughlinC37_09_10x13_zps50291750.jpg.html)
What I have now
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w97/david_gr/Restores/McLaughlinC37_09_10x13copy2_zps6d08cc18.jpg) (http://s174.photobucket.com/user/david_gr/media/Restores/McLaughlinC37_09_10x13copy2_zps6d08cc18.jpg.html)
I will appreciate any suggestions and help I can get with this.
David, what a lovely photo and I see you have both head photos of her. This photo is really in pretty good shape. You are off to a good start on her head. You have done a good job on your left side by her eye and ear, but I would not make the shadows so wide from half way up her ear and the hair line. This appears to be a high key photo and I would not make her blouse such a sharp cutout. You need to continue to get rid of the spots.
On your WIP I would do more clean up on the spots with the healing brush. Next duplicate your layer and do a Filter>Blue>Gaussian Blur about 2.9 (you will need to decide) and then do a layer mask to conceal all. Next a soft brush on the layer mask, changing it conceal all (hit X and your foreground will be white) and paint back in starting at 30% opacity (up in the brush menu) and working your way up to a higher opacity. You do NOT want it to be a plastic looking face, but rather to blend in the shading. Also, DO NOT do this on anything other than skin. This is something that Katrin Eismann touched up on Chapter 9 Portrait Retouching in her book Photoshop Restoration & Retouching.
One word of caution and that is to have your layers and layer mask saved in case you need to go back. If you overdo this it will not make it past Quality Control. You also need to go back and have her sweater-blouse fade into the background so that she doesn't look like a head statue.
Margie
Maybe this will help. I think the darker area around the neck is a mesh, part of the dress.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm81/kiskaopr/ScreenShot2014-10-20at84825AM_zps6df285c0.png) (http://s294.photobucket.com/user/kiskaopr/media/ScreenShot2014-10-20at84825AM_zps6df285c0.png.html)
Well, this one has certainly been a challenge. I learned a lot about masks on this one. I've been avoiding them but I guess they are not as bad as I thought. Please let me know what you think. I thought about her bottom. I really to prefer to have the softer edge as opposed to the hard one suggested. The filter helped. Hopefully, it did the job. Here it is.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w97/david_gr/Restores/McLaughlinC37_09_10x13copy7_zps644e4d78.jpg) (http://s174.photobucket.com/user/david_gr/media/Restores/McLaughlinC37_09_10x13copy7_zps644e4d78.jpg.html)
QuoteI really to prefer to have the softer edge as opposed to the hard one suggested.
David, having soft edges on her sweater would be okay, but what you have done is just the V part and nothing to suggest more of the sweater. As it stands now she looks like a floating head. Look at Kiska's suggestion and bring more of her sweater out with sharp edges on the V, but soft edges on the sweater. The sweater can be a partial, but it needs to show the shoulders and come down a little from the V at the bottom.
Her face looks good here, but when I download her I see splotches everywhere. Glad to see you are learning how to use masks as they will make your job a lot easier.
Margie
:police: I am the background replacement police. This is a good example. It is always better to repair than replace. But, if you must, select the subject and Refine Edge +33 Feather 11 and save the selection. that way you can preserve the delicate transition areas between the subject and the background. Select a background color from that margin and use it to fill. You will still lose the texture in the background, but the subject won't look cut out.
Bambi
David, what a beautiful damage repair you did on this lovely lady!
Like Margie I also like Kiska's tip to faintly paint (oh dread!) back in part of the dress, even if only a hint of the outline.
Bambi is right about background replacement, it hardly ever looks the way you want it to look.
What if you try to get the background a little less white, for instance slightly darken an oval section in the middle? (subject can be masked out)
Hannie
(http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb18/marijtje2/lady3_zpsc9d7ea4c.jpg)
Hannie, this is beautiful!
Margie
Yes, Hannie. Great work. I tried to duplicate it. Here is what I came up with. Hopefully, it is good enough.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w97/david_gr/Restores/McLaughlinC37_09_10x13copy8_zps88584aa1.jpg) (http://s174.photobucket.com/user/david_gr/media/Restores/McLaughlinC37_09_10x13copy8_zps88584aa1.jpg.html)
What do you all think?
David, much improved but look at Hannie's and how well she blended in with the background and there is no white edging like yours. Also, read Bambi's post above on how to feather so it will blend in. Not sure how you got the white edging on the bottom of sweater, bottom of V, and neckline?
Great to see her head is no longer floating. ;)
Margie
David, I used the Gradient (radial shape) tool in a layer mask, that way the transition from dark to light is barely noticeable.
Looking really good though!
Hannie
Thank you all for your patience. Here is my most current version. I hope it works. This restore has really stretched me. Hannie, I tried the gradient tool with no success but I think I have corrected the problem fairly well. Here is what I have. Let me know if there are some fairly simple fixes. If I still haven't addressed the major issues I think you need to pass this on to someone else. I don't want these folks waiting unnecessarily.
(http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w97/david_gr/Restores/McLaughlinC37_09_10x13copy8_zpse09531bc.jpg) (http://s174.photobucket.com/user/david_gr/media/Restores/McLaughlinC37_09_10x13copy8_zpse09531bc.jpg.html)
:-\
David, I think you have done a great job and along the way have picked up some new skills (layer masks) that will be helpful on other restores. The only thing I see that I would change would be the white edging around the bottom between the woman and the background. I think Hannie's suggestion would have worked had you done that before you had the white edging, but since I don't really know your work flow I can't really give a fix. I would upload it back to your distributor and it does not need to be put out for another volunteer to work. Quality Control may decided to tweak out the white at the bottom (a minor pic), but otherwise a great restore!
Thanks for hanging in there as I'm sure you felt frustrated at times. ;)
Margie
You've been a real trooper with this one David; thank you so much for all the hard work, as it has really paid off.
Pat
Thank you all for your patience and understanding on this. I will upload what I have to Bambi and she can do what is appropriate. I feel bad that I could not have done better with them. But you are right Margie, I did learn from this experience. :)
David, you are being too hard on yourself. You have done an amazing job! :)
You only need to lessen the whitish edging just a little.
Below is 1 way to achieve that:
(make sure that the Curves Layer Mask is active when you draw the gradient)
(http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb18/marijtje2/gradient2_zps67912e2b.jpg)
Hannie
David,
Ditto for what Hannie said and I couldn't have said it better. You should feel proud about this restore, not apologetic and I'm sorry if my remarks sounded like you fell short of the mark.
:hug:
Margie
OK. It's my turn to have a shot at this image.
Is it just me, or was the original a sepia tone?
I assume we want to maintain the original sepia tone?
I usually average blur the original to get the color for the sepia, and then add a layer of that color and reduce the opacity until it looks right (on the final image) I also thought I might try using that derived color in Lightroom's split toning panel.
Do we normally convert sepia-looking originals to pure B+W? I'm thinking maybe the sepia is just ageing, and not expected in the final version??
As I said, I usually reapply the sepia tone, at the end.
Eric.
I have a policy question on this one. I have checked the original by stacking several original (background) layers in multiply mode, and there is no sign of any image below the cutout "V" part of the neck. So it looks like a floating head.
However, that's how the original was. Do we "improve" on the original, by creating more of the sweater, below the 'V' cutout, or do we reproduce the original "floating head?"
I have always tried to reproduce the original, because I thought that was the policy.
Eric.
Eric, you did bring up an interesting point and I wish now that I would have contacted the owner at the beginning. I did get a hold of her and I had her look at her original and also at what was posted in the Forum. Here is her reply by email:
QuoteThis is my mother's engagement photo taken probably in 1943. It is not sepia but pretty much the ashen/sepia tone of your digital draft image.
The only thing I would hope to see changed is her right eyebrow. It is identical to the left one and not blotched at the outward end as shown in your processed image. Her two brows were mirror images, and she was meticulous about her personal grooming. I think the blotch is an artifact of water damage--a water stain that stuck the photo to the frame.
The bodice of this dress may have had a lace overlay on top of a v-neck, but that is unimportant. The neckline looks fine to me.
If you could make her brows more symmetrical, that would capture the original image beautifully. This was taken by a famous photographer in New York and is one of the few formal portraits I have of her as a young woman.
Thanks for checking with me.
The photo would have been more sepia and a very light one. Also, there is
Not the 2nd "V" neckline, only the lace around the collar. What she is referring to is around the neck, not the V neckline below which is caused by water damaged. I mentioned to her that we really didn't have enough info to reproduce the lace like it was in the original. Since we can't there is not a problem with leaving the neckline rounded. I also asked her if in the original in looked like the head was floating and she said definitely not! However, the background would have blended with the head and shoulders. The photographer was well known at that time.
The owner thought the details on David's first WIP and Tori's did a good job of keeping the definition of the face, but still needs the background to be the same. She also asked that on the woman's right eyebrow it be symmetrical to the other and that there was no dark smudge (or from what I can see a thicker eyebrow). Also, on the woman's right temple the darkness is water damage.
She also didn't want the photo to go "high key" where the face is so light and only eyes and nostrils showing. Otherwise she was very pleased with the results.
Thanks for getting me to check this out and perhaps a discussion with the distributor on this one would be good.
Margie
Eric, my apologies for assuming this photo was accepted by the distributor and was not put out in the gallery for further work when it actually was. Unfortunately the distributor was out of town and out of WiFi range and was not able to confirm that David wanted to send this one back. Good luck and hope to see your work in progress.
Margie