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Help with maternity pic!


Mmglaude

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Can someone try to remove the hair that is blowing across my neck and chin please and thank you I'd really appreciate it!!!!
 

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Argos

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Maybe i'm wrong but what you ask it's a tremendous amount of work to maybe look decent...in my opinion it's almost imposible not to look photoshophed, maybe removing less hair and make it look natural....

As i said, maybe i'm wrong and someone try it and looks good XD.

Cheers!!

Ps:Sorry for my english XD
 

Tom Mann

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You may also want to consider some other modifications to this image:

a) You only occupy a small fraction of the original image, yet you are the subject of the photo, so unless all that background is of importance to you, I would suggest cropping it out.

b) The background is considerably brighter than it should be. This pulls the viewer's eyes towards the background and away from you. I would suggest darkening it.

c) The photo was taken with a lens with poor rendition of the out-of-focus areas. They should be smoother -- not so jittery and contrasty.

d) There are spots of lint on your clothing. They should be removed.

My suggested approach is to take Jerry's very nice job and tweak it just slightly to accomplish the above, ie,
...


Tom M

PS - I intentionally brought out more color (ie, more saturation) in the image. That's a personal preference for images that are likely to be viewed only on the web and catch viewer's eyes (versus printed on paper). You may want my version a bit less saturated if you are going to print it.

PS #2 - I made my changes very quickly just as suggestions. If you like these, you should have someone re-do the masking. I paid minimal attention to this.
 

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Argos

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Very nice job jerry, awesome work on colour and texture and shadow/lights recreation on the face, for me need's a little work on the right cheek shape, but as i said, awesome.

Tom, i agree with the suggestions, but it does not convince me the example, she doesnt look natural for me. The dark on the background make her look pasted on the picture.

Hope is understandable with my english.

Cheers!
 

Tom Mann

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Argos - This is an area of personal preference. My preference when producing an image of this type using Photoshop is trying to approximate what a photographer could achieve if he or she had used correctly balanced, off-camera fill flash in broad daylight to make the subject "pop" against a darkened background.

There is a nice, moderate example of this in the tutorial:
Lighting 101: Balancing Flash and Ambient, Pt 1

Nikon often uses images with outdoor fill flash in both broad daylight, as well as closer to sunset, for their advertising, and many pro photographers prefer such a more theatrical / dramatic lighting look for their commericial work, e.g.,
http://blog.joemcnally.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Tasmania_2012_0232.jpg
http://www.daveblackphotography.com/workshop-at-the-ranch-july-2009-foursquare-sensation/

Of course, none of the above examples look anywhere near "natural", and many folks who have never personally experimented with off camera daylight flash would say that they look like a composite, as a creative photographer, is "natural" really the best test for the appeal and effectiveness of a photograph?

Personally, for this sort of job, if it's OK with the client, I feel free to separately adjust contrast, brightness & color in different areas of the image (in PP) to achieve my goal, especially if it would have been too costly or time consuming to do so on location using multiple flashes, scrims, reflectors, etc.

All the best,

Tom M
 
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Tom Mann

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I would go further and say that in this particular image, no matter one's preference for or against the use of strong daylight fill flash, the extreme contrast range of the background absolutely must be controlled. The flecks of black and the blown and nearly blown areas (eg, the RHS of the tree) are, to me, simply hideous. Unfortunately, when shooting with the uncontrolled light outside of a studio, this is an all-too-common problem.

Not taming these contrast extremes guarantees that the viewer's attention will be pulled away from the subject, and no one wants that to happen (in this type of photo). Of course, doing so will make the background look more like a painted, theatrical background, but, to me, for a portrait, that is often a very good look to impart. Portrait painters and photographers have been doing it (ie, using less obtrusive backgrounds) for centuries.

Of course, some artists want drama throughout an image, especially for their personal creative work, but my experience is that 99% of all commercial family portrait clients will choose more soothing, less obtrusive backgrounds. That's why I reduced the contrast of the background, but did not go to the extremes (ie, of background darkness) shown in some of the examples I cited earlier.

Cheers,

Tom M
 
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Argos

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Hi Tom, i also like the teatrical/drama effect, nothing against it, my objection was only in this case, because in my opinion being the background so brighter and blury the darkening effect make it look kinda fake.

In the example of the webpage hes comparing a natural light scene with a set of flashes but i dont think it's aplicable in this case because the background is an overexposed forest and you cant add a simulation of a set lights in that and make it look realistic (natural), thats what i mean before.

It's really hard for me express what i want to say in english, so if something dont make sense sorry in advance XD.

Cheers!
 
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Tom Mann

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Argos - Another reason you may feel that the subject looks "pasted on" is that in my tweaked version, I decided to slightly blur the background separately from the subject to make her look like she is fully separated from the background.

This way of separating the subject from the background is precisely why pro photographers are willing to pay many times more for a single focal length lens with good bokeh (very smooth rendition of the out of focus areas, and large blur circles) compared to the nervous bokeh of the zoom lens likely used for this photo. Unfortunately, this look is seen in very few amateur photos. Unfortunately, I didn't do myself any favors by doing such a poor job on the selection of the subject, but not knowing what the subject was looking for, or, even if she would ever reappear, I just didn't want to put any effort into the masking process.

T
 
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Tom Mann

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Hi Tom ...In the example of the webpage hes comparing a natural light scene with a set of flashes but i dont think it's aplicable in this case because the background is an overexposed forest and you cant add a simulation of a set lights in that and make it look realistic (natural), thats what i mean before....
That's a good point, Argos. It IS always much more difficult, if not impossible, to try to rescue an image with blown highlights after the fact, using Photoshop, compared to getting it right in the camera in the first place. But, I thought I would try, LOL.

T

PS - Your English is wonderful -- stop apologizing, LOL. I'm sorry I can't speak your native tongue at all. BTW, I'm absolutely delighted to have such a discussion with someone who actually cares how a decent image should look instead of the usual junk we get handed.
 
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Mmglaude

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I'm late but Thank you everyone for your attempts they look great I wish I had another clear picture of myself to show the shape of my face from the same angle I don't know if that would have helped or not but thanks so much for your help!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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