Any suggestions? - DPChallenge Forums

03/15/2008 11:00:58 PM · #1

I started a thread about this earlier but for some reason it is nowhere to be found!
Anyway, I got this wonderful shot of my dog Lucy jumping over a creek. For some reason when I go to edit it, it just doesn't look very good to me. I can't quite put my finger on it, it just looks a little off or something. I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a better way to go about this. I am using PS Elements, not sure if that makes any difference.. I would really appreciate the help! Thanks!

original:

my attempt:

Man_Called_Horse

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

03/15/2008 11:04:15 PM · #2

The stick is hugely distracting, and a tighter crop may be in order.

Also, are you using a USM? The sharpness looks forced, not natural.

In my opinion.

03/15/2008 11:05:00 PM · #3

Hi I tried to post a reply but it disappear before I could say anything! The biggest distraction I feel is that tree next to lucy. Maybe try a tighter crop to get rid of that bench also? or clone it out? But yeah the tree is really distracting. Did you use un sharp mask as well? if not give it a light run

Otherwise nice shot I thought he was laying down at first! its awesome that he is looking right at you also.

03/15/2008 11:06:59 PM · #4

Horse our posts are identical! We both noticed the same things! I didn't look at yours we most have been typing at the same time!

03/15/2008 11:09:18 PM · #5

Originally posted by Man_Called_Horse:

The stick is hugely distracting, and a tighter crop may be in order.

Also, are you using a USM? The sharpness looks forced, not natural.

In my opinion.

I'm still pretty new at this and I'm not sure what a USM is!

I feel silly! :)

Yeh, I know I definetly need to figure out a way to get that darn stick out of there, this was the only shot I took of her jumping over the creek, kinda a freak accident, I had pretty much put zero thought into composition... I mainly would like to get the sharpness under control, and the colors look off to me.

Message edited by author 2008-03-15 23:10:46.

03/15/2008 11:19:29 PM · #6

Just clone the stick out like the boyfriend. I actually just did it to your image on my pc for fun and its much better! Also unsharp mask or USM is just a better way of sharpening. it should be under filters in photoshop. Just toy with the settings till you're happy

03/15/2008 11:20:59 PM · #7

Oh and NEVER feel dumb or silly asking questions. Thats what we are here for. There is no such thing as a dumb question. Well I'm sure there is but if you honestly dont know then it cant be dumb.

Man_Called_Horse

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

03/15/2008 11:29:59 PM · #8

If you are going to play with USM, first convert your image to Lab color, then pick lightness from your channels pallet.

Go to filters/sharpen/unsharp mask, and look at the contrast of your image. The contrast is the whole key to a good sharpen. You don't want to over contrast, you want a subtlety when using this filter.

This is a basic procedure.

There are more advanced ways to sharpen, but try this for now, and we can get more technical later.

Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO M.Zuiko

03/16/2008 12:27:06 PM · #9

thanks everybody!! I'm going to work on it later tonight! :)

Brad

Olympus OM-D E-M1

03/16/2008 02:03:24 PM · #10

Without cropping, removal of the stick and gentleman in the background being obvious, this was done by some levels adjustments, a duplicate layer in multiply mode on the dog mostly to bring out the details in the dog, some color hue shifts in the foliage to take more into the green realm, a slight tonal shift in the water to shift to a bit more blue, some light vignetting to deepen it, a slight soft focus for the background and a little bit of warming filter.

One of the problems here is that with the angle shot and little sense of motion captured, it really kinda' looks like the dog was pasted in the shot. Motion blur added to the image might help a bit.

joynim

Olympus E-500 EVOLT

Olympus 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5 Zuiko Digital

03/16/2008 02:18:43 PM · #11

Originally posted by Man_Called_Horse:

Hey thanks for that Horse I just had a go worked pretty good. Just a couple of questions...

Do you convert back to RGB when you have finished?
Seems like this would be legal in basic editing is that correct?

Man_Called_Horse

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

03/16/2008 05:14:31 PM · #12

Yes on both accounts.

Hope this helps.

joynim

Olympus E-500 EVOLT

Olympus 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5 Zuiko Digital

03/16/2008 05:21:24 PM · #13

Thanks I find little nuggets of information like yours very very helpful helps me to step up my photography....I love this site D

AndyMac24

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

03/16/2008 05:51:44 PM · #14

Check out a book called Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 Maximum Performance. It is great at showing how to sidestep many of the missing aspects from CS3. It also comes with a DVD that gives you some really nice presets, MP6 actions and Files you can practice on. If you want to maximize Elements, I strongly suggest this book.