Day 1.jpg
by joynim

Comment by Ja-9:
3 overlays...never thought of that!!! you are really going to stretch my mind...this would have done well in the Green* Challenge...but I take it overlays are a no, no? Really stunning

Day 1.jpg
by joynim

Comment by Kelli:
Beautiful! Like a linen cloth print or a vintage postcard! Well done!

Day 1.jpg
by joynim

Comment by Niten:
I like this alot!

Day 1.jpg
by joynim

Comment by Lelez:
Great work!! seems an old post card.

Week-3.jpg
by joynim

Comment by Kelli:
She is so very adorable! I like what you came up with.

Week-3.jpg
by joynim

Comment by Ken:
Good job on the contrast and deepening the colors. You can bring back some of highlights in Photoshop RAW if all the channels are now blown out, but it looks like you'd be stuck in this instance.

Week 2.jpg
by joynim

Comment by Ken:
You did a very good job bringing this to life. I like the hair and eyes and it seems natural. If I were to nitpick the brightness on the forehead seems a bit uneven (noticeable when you click back and forth). It's just a nitpick and not a big issue.

Week-3.jpg
by joynim

Comment by bvy:
I agree with Deb, though I think painting with a lighter color might work too. The fuzzy hat is cute but I think you can keep attention on her face and deal with the blown highlights in the hat in one fell swoop by cropping the top off. If you crop it right, the remianing blown hat highlights get relegated to the background with the other blown areas and can be dealt with by painiting as described. Just another option.

I'll try to do a quick edit and post back...

ETA: As promised. Very quick and dirty, but it illustrates my proposed strategy.


Maybe the bokeh is still too distracting, but I think using too dark a color will make it look unnatural. I'm sure I can be proven wrong though...

Message edited by author 2009-02-14 13:50:51.

Week-3.jpg
by joynim

Comment by Melethia:
If the highlights are truly blown, the information simply isn't there to bring back. What you can do is create a bit of information, perhaps by using a brush and painting in a bit of color. But I don't think it's too bad on her hat in this one. The reflections in the background are more of a problem here and they could be fixed by painting a bit - create a new empty layer and pick a color like dark brown (you can use the eyedropper tool to pick a color from within the photograph, then paint over the highlights at about 50% opacity. Once you've done that (don't worry about missing a little here and there), add Gaussian blur to that layer and it will smooth out the edges for you. You can also change the opacity of that layer to tone it down a bit if needed.

Week 2.jpg
by joynim

Comment by Melethia:
Very nice work with the painting with light - you've brightened up her face very nicely, very naturally! I personally like the wisps of hair and wouldn't clone them out at all. As for the eyes, I think they look good the way you have them. (And you'd want to "dodge" them to bring out highlights, not burn them. You can do that on the main layer if you wish - I think Cindi recommends a duplicate layer so you have more control if you want to go back or reduce the effect.)