Ausimax's Newest

[Ausimax]

Hi,
This is my latest photo, have a look and tell me what need fixing, I'm getting to the stage of spots before the eyes.







Max

[Dave]

Looks good to me. I'd say job well done Max.

Dave

[glennab]

Hello my Aussie pal

Great job!  I would only change a few things:  I'd downplay the shine on his forehead just a bit, get some highlights into his hair to make it look less flat and make it a little less hard-edged on the right of his face as we view him.  The rest is wonderfully rendered.  What a star you are!

Do something about those spots (the ones before your eyes! not in the restoration).  Maybe step away from the computer for a little while!  You've been going like gangbusters lately.

Have a wonderful day!

GG

[Ziaphra]

Good job...my only nitpick is the green/yellow and purple colour casts in the red circle I've drawn.

[Kenny]

Good job...my only nitpick is the green/yellow and purple colour casts in the red circle I've drawn.

Ziaphra, what do you do in situations like that?

What I usually do is desaturate the area then create a new layer with the blending mode set on color. Then I sample the color I want and replace the desaturated parts using a soft brush. I usually get some darker areas doing that, so I use the dodge tool set on shadows to even it out.

I'm curious to hear what others are doing.


Kenny

[Ziaphra]

I use PSPv9 so I have a 'change to target' brush that I use at about 10% opacity and brush over and over the colour cast til it looks right.

[Kenny]

I use PSPv9 so I have a 'change to target' brush that I use at about 10% opacity and brush over and over the colour cast til it looks right.

That sounds like a handy tool!

[Ziaphra]

It is and has saved my bacon often!

[RosyBijou]

Looking great!

I didn't notice the cast that Ziaphra pointed out until she circled it--but indeed, it looks like part of the drip that's going across the man's front--  I second Glenna's advice!  (think I need to take a computer break too!  :D)

I might play around with different techniques & opacities and then apply a layer mask--use a soft brush to blend in your changes so you can control the edge opacities.  (I might use the same technique as you:  desat layer with color mode.  I might also use multiple layers with the color blending mode, masking out different gradients.)

Another thing to consider,  is to use the patch tool.  Clone in two ends of the strip so you have a consistent sample and patch away... (I'd clone in little strips with a soft brush around the curls so I have patchable areas.  Then I'd try the patch using the shadows to the left as my samples...)

[Ziaphra]

Another thing I would do is use the smudge tool at about 48% opacity and soften the edges of his hair. If you're feeling really brave, burn some darker areas in his hair and smudge them at varying opacities to pull and blend them into a semblance of highlights/lowlights in a hairstyle.

[RosyBijou]

For the man's hair, I might try to exploit the highlights that are already there.  Make a copy of that little shine on his head on a new layer and put it above your repaired version.  Then tinker with it, different color modes and adjustments.  I'd also try to duplicate that little part a few times, warping and rotating the layers to see if they work to add some depth around his head, where you'd naturally see highlights from the light...

 

[glennab]

Well Max,

you asked!

GG

[RosyBijou]

 :)  (Well said, Glenna!) 

I think that with each & every restoration, there is always "just one more thing that might make it just a little better..."  but the truth is that we have to stop somewhere...  I think it takes a huge amount of bravery to post when images are finished (or nearly finished), asking for feedback on restoration work, because we put so much of ourselves into it that, even though we want the input, (or we wouldn't have asked), there's this little voice that wants to hear that it's perfect--simply because there is so much of us invested in it. 

I think, the bottom line, is that if you're the one with the high resolution image, you have the best vantage point--sometimes 5 different ideas spark a sixth that you end up using--or you use one of those other ideas on your next project...

Anyway, Max-- you've done an awesome job (as always!) regardless of whether you decide to play around with our suggestions.    yup,  definitely a nice job!

[Ausimax]

Hi Folks,

Glenna, your right I asked for it and got it! Thanks to all for your help, I'm beginning to think the alter ego from Ziaphra's avatar has infected her monitor, first she sees negative images none of the rest of us can see then she sees colour casts in my hair, :D Seriously though I had been looking at that all day and hadn't seen them, at full res and this is a 13" x 19" photo. :-[

Thanks for all the methods of dealing with the hair, for the colour cast I added a new layer and set it to colour, then selected a mid brown out of her hair and painted the colour out, the man I managed to get a bit of texture and hi-light into his hair and blended it with his face, with smudging, burning and blurring so it looks more natural.

I also pulled the colour of the whole image back a bit to reduce burn out of hi-lights. At this stage I think I have done as much as I can to restore it and will send it home.

Thank you all so much for sharing your methods and skill, I never come to this site that I don't learn something new.


Max