Calendar Photo help, please

[ginger_55]

My daughter really likes this photo of the geese, so I made it up as a calendar cover, all the other pages were taken. I had one copy printed. The green trees in back did not come out well. They had that funny film, color change, look about them. I tried making them lighter, but I am not sure what the problem is. Does anyone have a suggestion? I would like to use the photo for her, but I only have time to make one more experiment.

Suggestions would be appreciated. Is this just a color that does not print well? I had the calendar made with another cover entirely, the whole thing printed beautifully.

http://people.lulu.com/users/index.php?fHomepage=95477 (http://people.lulu.com/users/index.php?fHomepage=95477)

That is the link to the storefront with that cover on it, it doesn't show anything that would have led me to think it would not print. Also, I did preview the PDF thing.

ginger

http://gingersnap.smugmug.com/photos/11572898-M.jpg

[Andy]

ginger, you might try posting a link to a larger or full size file, so folks who want to can try to help you...

and, i moved this here, becuase it's nothing to do with smugmug support :D

My daughter really likes this photo of the geese, so I made it up as a calendar cover, all the other pages were taken. I had one copy printed. The green trees in back did not come out well. They had that funny film, color change, look about them. I tried making them lighter, but I am not sure what the problem is. Does anyone have a suggestion? I would like to use the photo for her, but I only have time to make one more experiment.

Suggestions would be appreciated. Is this just a color that does not print well? I had the calendar made with another cover entirely, the whole thing printed beautifully.

http://people.lulu.com/users/index.php?fHomepage=95477 (http://people.lulu.com/users/index.php?fHomepage=95477)

That is the link to the storefront with that cover on it, it doesn't show anything that would have led me to think it would not print. Also, I did preview the PDF thing.

ginger

http://gingersnap.smugmug.com/photos/11572898-M.jpg

[ginger_55]

The Calendar Photo I used is in this gallery at smugmug.

This is just the photo.


http://gingerSnap.smugmug.com/gallery/286485/1/11381133 (http://gingersnap.smugmug.com/gallery/286485/1/11381133)


Full sized. In fact, I just made the original available.

ginger

[pathfinder]

The Calendar Photo I used is in this gallery at smugmug.

This is just the photo.


http://gingerSnap.smugmug.com/gallery/286485/1/11381133 (http://gingersnap.smugmug.com/gallery/286485/1/11381133)

http://gingersnap.smugmug.com/gallery/286485/1/11381133
Full sized. In fact, I just made the original available.

ginger

Ginger
I downloded your image and I think it suffers from underexposure and overexposure - eg: you had to deal with greatly varying contrast range. You would not happen to have this image as a RAW file would you?

When I examined the histogram for the image after loading it into PS, most of the curve is way to the left indicating underexposure, and then there is a bare area and a spike on the right showing overexposure of the sky. The trees tend to be grey green and black at the bottoms, and the sky is a mottled grey - not blue. Thee is little color in the trees.
I first rebalanced the image by threshold and the switched the color space to lab for a slight curve adjustment and increased the slope of the "'a" space ( green magenta balance ) ( Rutt's usual trick for vegetation as you know)

I then added an adjustment layer and dodged the trees lighter and the forground darker. I then increased the saturation of the trees with the saturation brush. I added a blue-grey gradient to the sky to diminish the mottled grey look to the sky.

This is my result....
http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/11575296-L.jpg


This is your image....
http://gingersnap.smugmug.com/photos/11572898-L.jpg


Did I improve it at all? If you think so, the full sized edited image is here.
Your comments pro and con are welcomed of course. smile! - for ginger

http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/11575296-O.jpg






:D :D

[ginger_55]

Gee, Thanks, Pathfinder! It looks better to me, but I am not sure on the printing process at LULU, I had no warning it was not going to print well, and I don't know now. I originally put this on smugmug help as I thought Baldy might know........not that he is there often.

Darn my daughter, I should just make her a print from Smugmug....originally, that way I worked it up was just something like a 3 X 7. The orig is extremely dark. It was done RAW. I did not know how to get that to you. I still don't. I made the orig into a jpeg and put it in the same place as the others. Plus the two other Calendar covers I have made. Originally, it was to be Silly Bird, and that printed well.

Anyway, the orig jpeg made straight from the RAW is on that site along with the other covers. Would you try to get it printed, or just go with Silly Bird or the girl, my personal favorite, but does not go as well with the stuff inside.


http://gingerSnap.smugmug.com/gallery/286485/1/11583310 (http://gingersnap.smugmug.com/gallery/286485/1/11583310)


That is the site again. With the added jpegs.......... I am going to talk to Julie today, I know she really wants that photo, she is the only one who knows about the calendars, but it may not be possible, smile.

Please let me know what you think. The problem is in the printing.

ginger

And if you want the RAW let me know how to get it to you.


I just talked to my daughter, and I am going to go with a different cover, one that I had printed, and I know works. I would still like to give her a print of this, but it is not an immediate problem now.

Thanks so much.

[pathfinder]

Gee, Thanks, Pathfinder! It looks better to me, but I am not sure on the printing process at LULU, I had no warning it was not going to print well, and I don't know now. I originally put this on smugmug help as I thought Baldy might know........not that he is there often.

Darn my daughter, I should just make her a print from Smugmug....originally, that way I worked it up was just something like a 3 X 7. The orig is extremely dark. It was done RAW. I did not know how to get that to you. I still don't. I made the orig into a jpeg and put it in the same place as the others. Plus the two other Calendar covers I have made. Originally, it was to be Silly Bird, and that printed well.

Anyway, the orig jpeg made straight from the RAW is on that site along with the other covers. Would you try to get it printed, or just go with Silly Bird or the girl, my personal favorite, but does not go as well with the stuff inside.


http://gingerSnap.smugmug.com/gallery/286485/1/11583310 (http://gingersnap.smugmug.com/gallery/286485/1/11583310)


That is the site again. With the added jpegs.......... I am going to talk to Julie today, I know she really wants that photo, she is the only one who knows about the calendars, but it may not be possible, smile.

Please let me know what you think. The problem is in the printing.

ginger

And if you want the RAW let me know how to get it to you.


I just talked to my daughter, and I am going to go with a different cover, one that I had printed, and I know works. I would still like to give her a print of this, but it is not an immediate problem now.

Thanks so much.

I PM'd you how to send me the RAW file, but I have to say I found this tighter cropped image on your smugmug site and I think it is a better image all around - the sky really did not add anything to the image - This image makes much more sense, visually, to me
http://gingersnap.smugmug.com/photos/11381132-L.jpg