Feedback on Work in Progress Please

Dany · July 25, 2011, 03:10:06 PM

I have been working on this one for a while. Kind of being a perfectionist. I had a couple of questions. The original reminds of a photo from the forties where the color wasn't always exacting. Is that assessment correct? I wasn't sure if I should go ahead and try to get all the color information in the final or do it in black and white. The right (viewer's) side of her face pretty much has no color information as well as her forehead. The colors I have so far seem too saturated to me??? I also wasn't 100% certain on her eye color...green, hazel or blue?? I get the sense that she has light colored eyes.

Also had a question about background color. I thought the green may be due to damage. Is it green or that pinkish color you see on the left? or Both?

I am pretty using clone, healing, smudge and on occasion paint brush tools for this one and lots of layering for texture. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Original:

Work in Progress:

kiska · July 25, 2011, 04:49:58 PM

I think I would take it to b/w. The color is too far gone. Also, her shoulders seem too narrow. This is a toughie.

Oldfaded · July 25, 2011, 06:24:35 PM

Oh My! Your braver than I am! doing well so far, I see the narrow shoulders but in the original they seem right. Could the damage have 'moved' them in to appear smaller? and you need to make them wider?
I agree with the black and white. Then I would do a colorization to it...
I would guess the pinkish or coral as its close to the hair where there is not damage.
I once had a photo that only showed half of the girl, I took a copy mirrored it and cloned in her other half of her head and body. came out well. its tricky, cant just do a full clone, I had to chop here and there to get it to look natural.
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warning: Kates methods are unorthodox
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I would do a search for a woman that has on a shoulder fitting dress and use that to clone to her head.. Id do the same as well with the hair.
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google 'Barbara Stanwyck' and click on images.
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Oldfaded · July 25, 2011, 06:50:16 PM

Heres a sample of what I was talking about by mirroring. Its a really bad version but it will give you the idea of what I meant.
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Dany · July 25, 2011, 09:20:47 PM

Thank you both for the feedback. I will definitely adjust.

glennab · July 25, 2011, 09:47:31 PM

Dany, I'd hesitate to use parts of another person to complete this portrait. Use what you have - go through your channels to get the outline of her shoulders, and repair what's there. Otherwise you're not doing a true restoration. She appears to be just a bit sideways, and that may enhance the slim shouldered look. Besides, many people don't have "football player shoulders." You can use other photos in similar positions as templates. I pull mine from the photo web sites - the watermark doesn't matter, because you're just using the photo to find the correct position - to try to determine if the proportions look right, but use the information in the photo as best you can. You really are a brave soul. This is a stinker! Good luck!

Here's a down-and-dirty effort. And a reminder - please remove the file information from your images before you post them. This one still has the owner's info in the file.

GK

P.S. Note to self: don't try to post when a 22-pound cats is lying on your hands and keyboard. Typo upon typo. Or as I used to call it: "creative typography." Arghhhhh!

Oldfaded · July 25, 2011, 10:13:50 PM

22Pounds? ugh, mine is 17lbs and I thought he was bad. I put in a desk for him with a soft blanket on it and he lays there and watches me now instead of on my computer desk or lap, well most of the time any way...haha

I still say she reminds me a lot of Barbara Stanwyck even the poses...

glennab · July 25, 2011, 10:34:31 PM

No doubt, she's absolutely gorgeous. I should have such a voluptuous mouth! I couldn't really make out her clothing, but channel surfing might pull something up. It's pretty easy to see the outline of her hair. That helps! Onward and upward!

The cat thing is very problematic. I've had an Intuous tablet for a couple of years. I don't use it, because i don't want it to be cat damaged. When I got it, I had 11 cats - all of whom liked to help with restorations. I only have 4 left and just one sits on the desk. But I think I've figured out a remedy for that. I'll let you know if it works. My old guys get pretty much whatever they want, as I know they won't be with me much longer. I lost 7 last year, so the decimation has made me very aware that I want the remainder of the pride to be especially spoiled rotten.

GK

Margery44 · July 26, 2011, 10:22:38 PM

Wow.....there really isn't a lot for you to work with especially when you have no other image as a reference point. Were there other images of this woman submitted by this family? At least if you have some reference you would know what to build off of. Or is there a before and after of this woman in the gallery that you can reference? As for color, well, I can't speak for anyone else but I have worked on some older images that have been manually touched up either in the dark room or with an airbrush. Trying to duplicate manual color is a total bear! I would convert to black and white, restore what you can and then add the color in layers with a lower opacity so the details of the original come through. Your efforts are admirable. You are one brave soul :)

Dany · July 28, 2011, 06:44:26 PM

There's isn't any reference pictures as far as I know. I went ahead and made it black and white and am now working on the eyes. I'll post again when I get a bit further along. Thank you for all your input.

GK...Lol to your cat. They love to be right on top things, especially when working. Mine used to do that all the time.

Johnboy · July 29, 2011, 01:25:50 PM

Seeing Kate's reply about using other body parts to help the restoration, reminded me that when you do that drop the opacity of the layer being fitted so you can better see how things line up. Of course return the opacity to 100% when you are finished. Also when doing this with an eye, anchor the image at the corner near the nose and adjust from there. You may need to use Free Form to accomplish this. The tip comes from Katrine Eismann's book Photoshop Restoration & Retouching.

I realize there are many out there that may already know this, but thought I would share it for those who may not be aware of the tip. I know I would not have thought of doing this until I read it in Katrine's book. While I haven't done this to a restoration I did practice it on one of the sample photos that comes with the book.

Johnboy