need help fixing this

[mschall]

My sister had this photo framed and I told her I could make it better. Well, let's just say that I'm in over my head, but I knew where to turn! :) Dad's bald head is shiny per usual, but I made the baby too bright or something?! I'd like to fix the brightness of the baby and the spot on her forehead. Is there an easy fix for the all over speckles that are more obvious now than before I monkeyed with it?

Thanks for any tips. Please be very specific, so this newbie can try to duplicate.

Mary Ellen

before
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1Lexz88nG4cw0BIVtJzTfvlyclPE_thumb.gif (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1Lexz88nG4cw0BIVtJzTfvlyclPE)

after my attempt
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/17bbf0AJAleWVv4TmBP76Khkn6XaDN_thumb.gif (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=17bbf0AJAleWVv4TmBP76Khkn6XaDN)

[Juergen D]

Your original is in Grayscale. I converted to RGB before starting to work on it. Now the image can be darkened by using Levels. A little contrast was also added.

The baby is mostly overexposed. So I selected it and placed it on a new layer, which I changed to Multiply.

The right side of the image is lighter than the rest of it. Some burning (done with a 50% gray layer set to Overlay) helped out here.

The white spot on the baby's forehead was cloned out. A little texture was cloned also on its forehead.

The whole image is very lightly sharpened. Most speckles were taken out with the Noise Filer, Dust and Scratches, Radius 1 px, Threshold 0 levels.

Juergen

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1RRajCL2FtT2utmaAM7OAZesK3sqRk_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1RRajCL2FtT2utmaAM7OAZesK3sqRk)

[mschall]

OMG that looks fantastic. I'm afraid I'm lost right off the bat:

where do I go to change to RGB?
after I select the baby how do I get it on a new layer?
what do you mean by multiply?

There are more ?, but I'll start with these. I'm afraid every step is something I've never done before. Sure appreciate you taking the time to help.

Mary Ellen

[GaryK]

seems like Juergen is away for now..he did such a great job. I'll try to answer your questions.

at the top menu bar......Image>mode (check RGB)

Select the baby..ctrl-J puts the selection (baby) on its own layer above
At the top of the layers pallet you will see a dropdown box with the word normal in the box...hit the arrow and change that to multiply (need to have the selected baby layer active)

Hope this gets you started,:)

[mschall]

Yes, you've gotten me started. What did the multiply actually do? I think it looks better.

Next:
"The right side of the image is lighter than the rest of it. Some burning (done with a 50% gray layer set to Overlay) helped out here."

This might as well be a foreign language.

Mary Ellen

[frank abramonte]

Mary Ellen, here is a b/w with improved shine on your fathers head. You can take it from here.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1bFiq1021Jf2iLW3OSp23H6msYpnqz1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1bFiq1021Jf2iLW3OSp23H6msYpnqz1)


I had some time to spare so I did a little colorizing. If you prefer here is a colorized version which you can add to or use as is. There was no detail in the baby's clothes so I had to add some sort of texture to carry the color.
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/12nu8JPKZ9dixjDlhZfB7kGGYvH6Mp1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=12nu8JPKZ9dixjDlhZfB7kGGYvH6Mp1)

Based on your level of experience I would recommend that you use the version as submitted. It would take too long to instruct you, especially if you don't know where to locate tools.

Perhaps some contributor can submit a sepia tone version.

[Juergen D]

Some burning (done with a 50% gray layer set to Overlay) helped out here
Mary Ellen,
You can darken or lighten certain areas of an image by dodging and burning. There are tools for that in Elements. However, I really like the 50% Gray Layer set to either Soft Light or Overlay (Overlay gives more contrast).
You do that by opening a new blank layer above your image layer. Then go to >Edit >Fill Layer and choose 50% Gray. Then you set this new layer to Overlay (in the layers palette). Next you activate the Brush Tool, set it to soft, about 25% opacity and now you can paint on that layer either with white or black. The white painting will lighten things up and black will darken them. It sounds more complicated than it really is... :)

Juergen

[Juergen D]

seems like Juergen is away for now..he did such a great job. I'll try to answer your questions.
Thank you, Gary.

Juergen

[Juergen D]

Frank,
That looks quite nice! I think Sepia may be a bit easier though... :D

Juergen

[mschall]

Juergen,
I'm with you so far. I'm working on painting on my overlay. Having a hard time getting it to look right. I'm painting with black. Did you go over the whole thing, or just the right side?

Mary Ellen

[Juergen D]

Just the right side, and be sure you have the brush opacity set fairly low.

Juergen

[Juergen D]

Also, if it gets too dark, you can go back and paint with white. Certain areas may not need to be darkened.

Juergen

[nu2scene]

Here's my attempt.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/15fiAbhdY6wmNrUxaqp6bvhIE3fZc1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=15fiAbhdY6wmNrUxaqp6bvhIE3fZc1)

[mschall]

Thank you Juergen and Rob. Man you guys can just kick this stuff out. Here is my attempt. When I try to use the clone stamp tool to fix baby's forehead, I get an error message that I can't use it due to a program error.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1rARO1T6WpAUnfK3HL3ujeshBy03sJ_thumb.gif (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1rARO1T6WpAUnfK3HL3ujeshBy03sJ)

[frank abramonte]

mschall, here's your 8x10 version


http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1ARso5vCWFYoNUZAWdqbsk9NcgCta_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1ARso5vCWFYoNUZAWdqbsk9NcgCta)

[mschall]

Frank,
My sister (the baby 50+ years ago) is going to love this! I wish my dad who was an artist and amateur photographer could have seen this redo!

Mary Ellen

[Juergen D]

When I try to use the clone stamp tool to fix baby's forehead, I get an error message that I can't use it due to a program error.Mary Ellen,
Looking around for the clone stamp error I found this thread in the Adobe forums:
http://adobeforums.com/webx?7@@.3c05a472/10
Resetting the preferences is always worth a try. Then, post #10 looks interesting, too, if it applies in your situation.

Juergen

[mschall]

Juergen,
I don't have any of those plug ins. The ctl alt shift thing doesn't work. I see preferences under edit. Can I reset there?

I don't think I've ever been able to use the clone stamp tool.

Mary Ellen

[Juergen D]

No, you can't reset the prefs other than the two ways described. The CTRL - SHIFT - ALT thing is a bit tricky, you have to hit the key combination quickly as soon as you start launching the Editor. You have to hold the keys until the pop-up appears, which asks if you want to delete the settings. You do.

If you have a way to start the Editor from the Windows Start Menu, you can actually press and hold the keys before clicking on the Editor icon.

Juergen

[emkayess65]

Hi, regarding the clone stamp tool.
I am speaking from personal experience, had a hard time "getting it".
You have to Alt +click to tell the computer where you want it to sample from.
Then you click on the damaged spot.
You are transferring a sample from one place to another.
You have to frequently resample(Alt+click) when the need changes.
You can do all your cloning on a blank layer if you select "Use all layers" in the option bar.
Then you can trash the layer if you don't like it.
Start over. No damage done.
It is worth the time to really investigate the clone stamp tool.
For restoring pictures it is the most important tool.

Good luck with your project.
mks

[mschall]

Juergen,
Holding the keys before clicking PSE in the start menu did the trick. Glad you mentioned that technique.

MKS,
Thanks for telling me about the alt key for sampling. I've used clone tool in other programs by just clicking to sample. Elements seems to add a lot of extra steps. I guess I should actually read all the books I've purchased instead of just going for it which is my preferred method of learning a program. It's finally getting through to me that is not the way to learn Elements.

Not sure if it was the resetting preferences or the alt step, but I'm finally cloning! I agree, MKS, it is an important tool!

thank you everyone.
Mary Ellen

[mschall]

Marie,
You have some beautiful images. I want to learn all that stuff RIGHT NOW! heehee

Was the little bird really on the big bird's wing? How cool was it to catch that shot! Or was it PSE wizardry?

Mary Ellen

[emkayess65]

Hi Mary Ellen,
I'm so glad you are cloning now.
PSE is a funny program. For weeks I don't get it.
Then somethings clicks. Oh, yeah!
And then it's: What ever was my problem here?

Thanks for looking at my pictures.
If you mean the seagull picture.
That was taken when I took a film and darkroom class 2 yrs ago.
Cleaning out a cabinet I found a camera the kids left behind:rolleyes:
Free tuition for seniors over 65.
Well I always did want to take a class on photography;)

Lucky shot on the seagull.

mks