New topic, same image

[G3User]

I have a complete computer though still have issues with the monitor calibration.

I have spent some more time on this image and with the input I received last time, I think the result is better though it is still a work in progress.




Mary, your method for repairing the background was excellent and I used Glenna's colour correction method as well.
I tried working on the repair without extracting parts of the image as many suggested but without much success at defining and shading edges so a little blurring of his shirt and outline will still be needed.

I still haven't been able to capture his smile but think his nose is better than last time

I am inclined to crop just below the fingers of his right hand as I can't see anything in the original to show anything useful below that level. Though the image is described as 4 x 6 the aspect ratio suggest that it is 4 x 5.26 so the crop is compatible with the likely final print.

Thanks for the reminder Chris, I haven't given up yet :-X

Athol

[glennab]

Hi Athol

I can certainly see much improvement since I last visited this little guy.  I have a few suggestions.  First of all, his shirt looks too stark - i.e. the edges are too well defined.  I suspect if you put a slight blur on the shirt it would take care of that problem.  Also I noticed in the original that there are buttons on the shirt.  And his smile is broader in the original.

I know many of our volunteers don't like cutting portions from an image, or separating a person from a mucky background, but I do it all the time at work, and there's no way to tell the photo wasn't integrated to begin with.  You can mask your person from the background and then put a slight blur on the mask.  That will soften the edges.  If you've actually eliminated the background, you can, in Photoshop, go under layers, and at the bottom of the list you'll see matting.  Within matting is "defringe," and often if  you defringe by 1 or 2 pixels your cutout blends really well with the background (you'll need a solid background, rather than one with the cut-out).  That doesn't always work, but there are many ways to get the background and main subject to blend.  The main thing is to find a way to soften the edge by 1 or 2 pixels.

A lot depends on your subject matter and how complex it is.  Hair is always a bear.  I select it as best I can, then once the person is cut from the background, I use the smudge tool to soften the edges and pull out wisps of hair that will encroach on the background. That also works well on any other area that gives you problems.

I'm going to post a down-and-dirty version of the little boy with his shirt slightly blurred (you can see where I missed a couple of small areas around his collar).  And I created a new background to have solid color against which to defringe, blur and smudge.  It's far from perfect, but gives you an idea of the possibilities.

I hope this helps.

Cheers!

Glenna

[Hannie]

Hi Athol,

Your restoration is coming along great!  I like the new background a lot and Glenna's blurring of the shirt is a real improvement.  I tried one of Glenna's tips on blurring/smudging and used it on the hairline.  (I also made his pupils a tiny bit larger.)

:loveit:

Hannie

edit: oh yes, about the bottom part of the photo, I would try to fix his hands as much as possible, keeping it pretty dark and then give it a good blur. 
If you decide to crop the Olan Mills logo should probably move up a bit

[glennab]

Hannie, you've improved him so much with the burn on his cheeks.  All of a sudden he has more dimension.  And your continuation of the hair smudging that I started makes him even more part of the photo. 

Nice work.  One would think you've done this before!

Cheers

Glenna

[laportelj]

just playing with your photo here, trying to find his smile ,hope you don't mind . What I usually do is take my restore place it on top of the original , change the opacity of the restore so I can see both to try to see whether I am straying from the information that is there . As I get closer to the image I increase the opacity and click on and off to see if there is movement in the features. If there is then I know something is off . I then go to the original and lasso a copy of the area that is off ,place it over my restore and try to get closer to what should be there.   Trial and error I guess you could say , that and a huge file as I go along.

Jane

[G3User]

Thanks everyone for the input

Glenna I have tried matting as you suggested and it certainly helped. I have blurred his shirt and reduced the brightness slightly and it seem to blend in better. And added the buttons which I kept forgetting to do.
I have really been hung up on finding his smile, it is obvious in the original but!

Hannie, you and Glenna make a great team, just keep passing the image back and forth and it will be done in no time. The shading look much better than my attempt

I can't believe how you recovered his smile Jane. I have been using the method you suggest and you won't believe how much time I have spent sitting back from the monitor with my eyes half closed moving his new eye around. It still looked wrong. Same with the shape of his mouth.

You have even managed to capture the smile in his eyes! Is the new eye just a flipped copy of his left with the width reduced?

Will press on this weekend and post again next week

Cheers

Athol

[laportelj]

no I didn' t flip it , there is a tiny bit of his eye still there in the original . I used the method I mentioned and placed your eye on it keeping all the information that was in the original ,( I found less distraction  by carefully patching out those blue blobs) and yes I reduced the width as you mentioned.  The hair line and his left ear helped in getting the eye width more true I think.
  I know what you mean about squinting and standing back, a lot of these images truly attest to the saying "you cant see the forest for the trees ( or the mold on the trees) LOL.
  You are doing great and all of us are getting better with all this practice, I for one owe so much to OPR, and this experience. What a wonderful fullfilling way to learn!!!!
I never considered or even thought of what I might get out of this endeavor other than being able to do something that might ease a little of the pain in losing so much.

Jane

[Mhayes]

This has been fun post to watch the WIP. Athol, you have done a great job and then seeing how Glenna, Hannie and Jane's suggestions have improved the photo, is like the icing on the cake. Great tips!

Margie

[G3User]

Afraid I am the point where I seem to be going backwards. After seriously thinking of pinching Jane's face I worked on his smile some more. I think it looks a bit better than my earlier attempts.

I have darkened the bottom of the image, particularly his hands as you suggested Hannie and I will run off a print this evening to see how it compares with what I am seeing on this monitor.

Comments appreciated as usual.

Cheers

Athol

[Hannie]

Hi Athol,

That  looks really great,  I think you got the smile back on the boys' face!
Just for fun I put together the 3 versions of the smile.  I put yellow arrows in the spots where you could add a little more burn if  you wish.  The blue arrow shows where both Jane and I have thinned the lower lip a little (extend the skin upward a tiny bit).
All this seems not very important, you have done a wonderful job on this restoration, the owner will be so pleased!
:up2:

Hannie

[glennab]

Hi Athol

Wow, this has definitely been a masterpiece in the making – by committee.  You've done a wonderful job, especially on his hands, which I consider one of the toughest body parts to get right, and the darkening of the bottom background makes him look less like a floating torso.

I'd only do one more thing.  I think his hair looks less part of the background than the rest of him, and his bangs are too even – like a "bowl cut".  My suggestion would be to use the smudge tool to pull the bangs into more wisps (you can even smudge backward and pull some of the forehead color into the hairline).  Jane's version of his hair shows a more natural line than any others I've seen so far.  If you use a small, low opacity brush, you can smudge a blur between his hair and the background so there's a better blend.  (I wish I could explain that better.  I've done it twice this week at work, but it just takes practice and a very gentle and steady hand.)

At any rate, those are small picks on a great restoration.  Kudos!

Bless,

Glenna

[Tess (Tassie D)]

You've done a great job on a really messy pic. :up:

[Ratz]

Great job Athol, your determiation has paid off!

[laportelj]

I have been away for four days, moving my mom in Ohio, so I'm just catching up here.
  He sure is looking good, I believe his family will be veryyyyy  happy with the work you have done.

Jane

[G3User]

Hi committee members,

Will return this today.



The new monitor seems to emphasize the shading compared with what I see when I print the image so I am not sure if I have gone as far as I could have. However a print looks reasonable here so it looks like I have come to the end.

As you can imagine I have a tear in my eye. :'(

I haven't been able to settle on a monitor calibrator yet but that is the next thing to do

To the committee and those who commented I can only say a big thank you and ask that you share the these equitably between you ie. no fighting.



Cheers

Athol