help needed - how to improve this photo?

[jackmate]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum.

I just took a picture of my kid and would like to know how can I improve it?
What elements can I change to imrpove it? And advice would be appricated.
I might have taken it with the wrong settings....should I change the settings in the future?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/227/471404639_5a226513eb.jpg

Thanks in advance,
Jackmate.

[Rusty]

Hello, Jackmate,

Welcome to the Forum ... lots of talented people here are generous with help.

That's a great picture - you sure captured the moment. You have perfect focus and it's tack sharp. So sharp that I find the nice green leaves at right-center pulling attention from the focus of the image, the child's face.

If you are a Subscriber there are videos that discuss this as well as at least one article I can recall in the Newsletter. If you are not a subscriber, take a look at this thread:
http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20176&highlight=Depth+Field

Rusty

PS - we are going to find out if that link works; this is the very first time I have tried to post such a link into a post :)

[Bayla]

Hi Jackmate,

Firstly, welcome to the forum!

Well IMHO I think that is a wonderful picture & is perfect as is! The colours are vibrant & I just love it! As a fledgling digital scrapbooker though I can think of a zillion ways to display it so that it tells a story:D

Bayla

[kroberts]

Hi Jackmate,

http://bestsmileys.com/welcome/1.gif

The picture is wonderful--the colors, the composition, the clarity. I love the look on your child's face, one of pure enjoyment. You captured the moment so well!:)

[jackmate]

Hello, Jackmate,

Welcome to the Forum ... lots of talented people here are generous with help.

That's a great picture - you sure captured the moment. You have perfect focus and it's tack sharp. So sharp that I find the nice green leaves at right-center pulling attention from the focus of the image, the child's face.

If you are a Subscriber there are videos that discuss this as well as at least one article I can recall in the Newsletter. If you are not a subscriber, take a look at this thread:
http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20176&highlight=Depth+Field

Rusty

PS - we are going to find out if that link works; this is the very first time I have tried to post such a link into a post :)


I will probably start with the link, it works, just got me into a "How to Soften or blur just the background of photo? " thread. I will look into it tommorow.. its getting late here. :)

Thanks you all for your feedbacks, I won't touch the picture probably.

Well I just followed some links in the thread and saw the there is a blur method which might imrpove it alot. I will try that tommorow and let you know the results.

[Elemobe]

Hi Jackmate, welcome to the forum

What an amazing photo. I wouldn't change much but agree with Rusty, a little blurring of the background may help to keep the focus on your little one.

Look forward to seeing the end result

[AngelicKim]

I have to agree that it is a great shot the way it is. Getting such a crisp clear splash is not an easy thing to photogragh. I also agree with Rusty and Linda on blurring the bacjground a little.

Oh, I almost forgot, Welcome to the best place on the web.

[GaryK]

Hi Jackmate

Weclome to the forums.:)

Great shot!!!

If you are going to blur the background a bit, just make sure it is on a duplicate of the original. ;)

[Cmcburnett]

I like the photo just the way it is. Great shot.:D

[Shari]

Jack - it is a great photo. Welcome to the forum. Blurring is the first thing that came to mind for me too. Another alternative is to make part of the background black and white. Another thing I sometimes do is instead of blurring I use the impressionist brush and just kind of blur things that way. It would only be the leaves to make his face stand out more. The photo is great just as it is too. Looking forward to seeing more of your work.
Shari

[Daviskw]

Hi Jack

I think it is a good shot as well... But to me it has a slight cyan caste... what do you think?
I corrected it below but maybe it is just my personal preference.. I over warmed this example a little just so the difference can be seen... I think the correct adjustment would not be quite so warm.

Butch

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1pbqHZd7AYPGjpQbsDDIMXMLNZvn0F_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1pbqHZd7AYPGjpQbsDDIMXMLNZvn0F)

[Andyd]

Jackmate,

I'd agree with a few others by bluring the background a bit would be a good idea. Using a spot highlight on your son may look good also. Having said that, the picture as is looks real good and if you did nothing to it, it would still be a great shot.

[Cmcburnett]

Butch, I like what you did with the picture. I thought the picture was a great shot and didn't think it needed inproving until I saw how you brightened up the red hair on the little boy. Nice touch:D

[patreyn]

This is a great shot, Jackie! In the future you might want to get to try to get a uncluttered background and avoid merges like the slide pole directly behind your child's head. You can clean it up in Elements in several ways but it is still a great shot, as others have said. patreyn

[jackmate]

Jack - it is a great photo. Welcome to the forum. Blurring is the first thing that came to mind for me too. Another alternative is to make part of the background black and white. Another thing I sometimes do is instead of blurring I use the impressionist brush and just kind of blur things that way. It would only be the leaves to make his face stand out more. The photo is great just as it is too. Looking forward to seeing more of your work.
Shari

Well I started doing some layer manipulation with blur effect but its my first time doing layers and its complicated. I tried to use the impressionist brush and it seems to do that job pretty easy. I guess I will stick with that brush.

I didn't like the colors change by Butch, my son is not red headed. :) altough he has some red genes. But his hair color is mostly light brown. I might need to add some more light but I guess I won't touch it.

Thank you all for the support, I have a lot to learn but its a start.....

Jackmate (my real name Zvika).

[nkeevers]

Jackmate, great shot! You captured it perfectly! I might blur the background a little but it's also great as is.

Butch, as usual, I like how you nudged the color! Shows off that great red hair!

[Andyd]

Here is something you might like to try. I did a quick blur of the background, keeping your son in focus. It helps draw attention to him.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/11U58ZqVleM3Wi0N2KDxp4d40KvK_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=11U58ZqVleM3Wi0N2KDxp4d40KvK)

Good luck!

Andy

[jackmate]

Here is something you might like to try. I did a quick blur of the background, keeping your son in focus. It helps draw attention to him.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/11U58ZqVleM3Wi0N2KDxp4d40KvK_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=11U58ZqVleM3Wi0N2KDxp4d40KvK)

Good luck!

Andy

WOW, thats looks great! How did you do that? Working with layers?
I started bluring but so far it aint quite as you did. Also I guess you played a little bit with contrast, right (on the bottom layer only)?

[niecole]

To do this I would create a duplicate layer and then do a Gaussian Blur which will make the entire picture blurry…Once that is done I get the eraser and start erasing the parts I do not want blurry, the original clear photo comes through in the background…

I am sure there are other ways to do it but this way works for me...

[Rusty]

Jackmate,

Look at the thread with "Homework" in the name. It's in the Challenge/Contest Forum. When I started here I didn't even look at that because I was sure it was obviously beyond my abilities to even try.

Not true, and not true for you either. Start trying that stuff - ask questions. You will see it common for somebody to ask, "I don't understand step 7..." You'll be amazed how fast you start understanding things.

Rusty

[jackmate]

Hello all, :)

Well after trying and trying finally we did something (me and wife). We really liked the edited photo with the blur and tried to do something similar.
I'm not sure its the final cut but anyway, here it is:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/189/473753773_a31d6fde6d.jpg

We used a nice magic extractor tool to seperate the two layers and then geocian blur (thanks for the advice) and finally merged the two layers. Oh, and also removed the sticky hand on the left (with healing brush or something similar).

So what do you think?

[Bayla]

Jack,

Brilliant! I didn't even notice the hand until you pointed it out, but it certainly looks better now you've removed it. Now the next step is to create a gallery and put your picture there for posterity!:)

Bayla

[Shari]

Terrific - Now have the photo blown up and framed!
Shari

[sdewenter]

Excellent photo! I love it with the blurred background. It is stunning! You should be really proud...shots like this don't happen often...at least not for me!!! Keep up the great work!

Susan D:)

[Rusty]

I think it's great - kudos to both you and your wife!

What I think really funny is you, self-describes as inexperienced, are charging in and using -- with good results -- two tools that many people on the forum claim to be very difficult to use: Magic Extractor and Impressionist Brush.

The obvious point is, don't hesitate to try different things. Stick around and keep showing us your work. You are a good addition to this group.

Rusty

[Andyd]

Jackmate,

Sorry I'm just responding now, I was away from the computer for a day or so. I think someone responded to how I did it. I made a duplicate layer of the photo (Ctrl J) added a gaussian blur then used the eraser tool to "paint" over the parts to unblur.

There are many ways to do the same thing. The one you did looks great. I've found the best way is the one you feel most comfortable doing. Practice, practice, practice.

Best of luck! This is a great place to get answers and suggestions and tips.