Go Ahead...Rip It Apart

[CyberSteak]

I think maybe I stuck this post in the wrong section the first time (People) so figured I'd try it out here...

Ok let me start this off by doing a little self critique...

The compositions a mess
The background is cluttered and distracting
It looks right amature-ish (it should since I'm quite the amature still)

Ok now that that's out of the way. I'm trying to salvage this photo as best as I can. Though I'm now starting to wonder if it's worth the work in trying.

- I corrected the white balance from daylight (what it was taken at) to cloudy (which it was).

- Added fill light to brighten things up (went up to 30 in Elements when I opened the RAW file)

- took out any distracting elements (blanket and half the white car)

- and eliminated most of the road running through their heads

But still it looks...bad. Maybe it's just me. But go ahead and be brutally honest. It won't break my will to get better...much.
Original
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/CyberSteak/IMG_4135copy.jpg
Edit
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/CyberSteak/IMG_4135Editcopy.jpg

[DonRicklin]

Nice edit for the subjects. But if done in PS, should have used layers and kept the work all on the subjects and with a mask kept it off the background which was fine, though even more seperation by de focusing the background, how ever you do that would help.


Don

[craig_d]

Actually, I like the original better than the brightened-up version, though you're right that it's a bit murky. The white balance looks better in the original; things really do look just a little blueish on cloudy days. The second version seems less solid, and very slightly washed out, due to excessive brightening. I would have been inclined to just bring the shadow tones up a little.

The background is not as bad as you think. The lamp-post sticking up between their heads was distracting, so just as well you took it out. The white car doesn't bother me. The little bit of road between their heads actually isn't all that noticeable. One thing you didn't change is the way the road coming in from the left seems to continue through the subtle shadings of her forehead. That's awkward, but subtle.

The biggest problem I see here is the way his left arm and lower leg combine to make a really strong diagonal that draws attention away from their faces. His hair is a bit messy, too, but if it always looks like that, then so be it.

On the plus side, their smiles look pleasant, and even the child is smiling.

[CyberSteak]

Nice edit for the subjects. But if done in PS, should have used layers and kept the work all on the subjects and with a mask kept it off the background which was fine, though even more seperation by de focusing the background, how ever you do that would help.


Don

Don, still rather new to these programs I'm working with right now and honestly, a lot of the steps I'm fumbling through at the moment. I've only been using Elements and Lightroom for about a month if that. Up until then, any photo editing I've done has been done in Microsoft Picture It 99 (yep...it's outdated but it worked well for what I did with it until recently). I definately agree though that the background aside from a bit of cloning and such was alright the way it was.

[CyberSteak]

Actually, I like the original better than the brightened-up version, though you're right that it's a bit murky. The white balance looks better in the original; things really do look just a little blueish on cloudy days. The second version seems less solid, and very slightly washed out, due to excessive brightening. I would have been inclined to just bring the shadow tones up a little.

The background is not as bad as you think. The lamp-post sticking up between their heads was distracting, so just as well you took it out. The white car doesn't bother me. The little bit of road between their heads actually isn't all that noticeable. One thing you didn't change is the way the road coming in from the left seems to continue through the subtle shadings of her forehead. That's awkward, but subtle.

The biggest problem I see here is the way his left arm and lower leg combine to make a really strong diagonal that draws attention away from their faces. His hair is a bit messy, too, but if it always looks like that, then so be it.

On the plus side, their smiles look pleasant, and even the child is smiling.

Yeah I'm in the process of trying this again. And never even notice that the road looks like it's passing through the mother's forhead. Now I can stop nocticinge it. :huh Not sure how I'll remedy that one. Thanks for the input though.

[Miguel Delinquento]

Go easy on yourself. This is a sweet shot of a beautiful family. They all look happy and smiling and that's what matters most.
The whole setup looks informal so limit your expectations a bit.

I think the changes you made in version 2 are very good. Around here it's what the image is rather than how it is executed that matters most. My only technical advice is to reduce either the vibrance or saturation in Lightroom some until their skin tones look more natural.

You did just fine.

M

[CyberSteak]

Ok...here's my second attempt at fixing this up. Tell me what you think please and thank you.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/CyberSteak/IMG_4135SecondTryWatermarked.jpg

I left the white balance as it was and brightened up the family and the shadows on the father's face. I cleaned up the background a bit more. Nore sure if there's anything else I should tweek so if there is, please let me know.

Oh and I took care of the weird shadows and highlights on the mom's forhead. I think it worked.

[CyberSteak]

Ok...here's my second attempt at fixing this up. Tell me what you think please and thank you.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/CyberSteak/IMG_4135SecondTryWatermarked.jpg

I left the white balance as it was and brightened up the family and the shadows on the father's face. I cleaned up the background a bit more. Nore sure if there's anything else I should tweek so if there is, please let me know.

Oh and I took care of the weird shadows and highlights on the mom's forhead. I think it worked.

*sits and waits* *refresh*...*refresh*...*refresh*...

[craig_d]

*sits and waits* *refresh*...*refresh*...*refresh*...

I thought I commented on the new version already. Removing the whole road is a cute touch and makes the background less distracting. The subtle smoothing of the mother's forehead helps as well.