What can be done to save this photo? The Nyala is usually found in heavy brush and poor lighting conditions but I really fouled up this shot. I'd like to try to make the animal stand out and to fix the sky. How can the sky be selected? As you can tell, I'm really new at this and need a lot of help. I am using PhotoShop Elements. Thanks very much. Tom

Tom - welcome to RetouchPro, I tried to use your link but got the following error:

"Forbidden

You don't have permission to access /u29/flight1/medium/17381429.Nyalafornet.jpg on this server. "

Can you attach the image to your post?

I am trying to find the link with instructions --- IF I do not find it one of the better searchers will!

Thanks for the reply, Jill. I'm new to all this and will try again to send photo. Tom

Tom -- Welcome to RetouchPRO!

As Chuck mentioned, we can't get a good look at the image or show what you can do to improve it until you upload a larger resolution version. It can be confusing at first, but it happens a lot when we're newbies -- it gets better with practice. ;)

Usually the photo will upload at a good size if you make the pixel width no more than 800 pixels. Your upload was waaaay smaller.

I don't have Elements, but we do have a forum for Elements users -- one a Q and A forum and one for members who are using a book by Richard Lynch to learn -- and Richard is the moderator of both forums. Here's a link to the Q/A:

Photoshop Elements - Q and A (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5273)

Have you learned about making selections of parts of an image yet? You can select the sky and then add a layer above your original photo layer and add a sky-blue color (or clouds or whatever) to that layer so that you won't just see the blown-out highlights. You can select the Nyala or parts of it to make the color show better.

You're in a good place to get information and help as well as meet other folks who share some of your interests!

Thanks CJ and Chuck - knew one of you guys would come to the rescue.
I saved the image to try and get a look at it. As Chuck said need more pixels.

Tom, welcome to RP

The first step will be how to lighten the image so as to bring out the detail (when you are working on your larger image). I don't know Elements, but I have been told that it is similar to Photoshop in the basics.

There is a lot to learn, so pace yourself to learn each tool and technique that you find / discover. Trust me, it will all come together.

So, just focusing on lightening the photo, I have attached 3 different ways with Photoshop, one or all of them might apply to Elements.

Brightness / Contrast: Menu Commands: Image > Adjust > Brightness/Contrast, move the sliders to your preference. This technique works but can loose more detail in the light or dark areas.

Screen: Duplicate your backgroud layer (easiest way is to drag the background layer with the mouse to the new layer icon in the layers pallette), change the new layer's blending mode to "Screen".

Curves: Menu Command: Image > Adjust > Curves, Click on the middle of the line and drag it in the direction that lightens the image. There is more control if you do this in a Curves adjustment layer.

I know some of this will be "greek" to you. Keeping it handy and picking away at it is a good way to learn because you will know that you are headed in the right direction for what you want to accomplish.

There are always multiple ways to do things - usually it is just personal preference, with no one way being right or wrong, I just wanted to give you a sense of this starting out. I was confused when I started with a sense of "wait, I thought this was how that was done".

In Photoshop learning comes from playing! Photoshop is like a tool box, some of the tools are more obvious in usage than others (we are all still discovering new ways of doing things). This forum, books and your Elements Help files will give you the resources to experiment and figure out how the different tools can be applied to your images.

Have FUN, -Roger

Good job, Roger!
Excellent information also.


You made me go back and give it a try even at this resolution -- using a bit of Color Range Selecting with Hue/Saturation correction/manipulation.

Flight1.

What a great shot.... would love to see this enlarged.


Very nice, Roger.... Yours is much clearer than I could get with just using curves.

C J.... you did very well, so much greenery shows up in yours.

My effort with this...

Unfortunately, as Chuck said, we need more pixels to be of real assistance

I have a feeling that the nyala may be a bit small in the frame - you possibly needed to be a bit closer or have used a bigger lens. But having been in similar situations many times, I know how difficult it is to get that right :(

Anyway, here (http://goldilux.up.ac.za/alan/pers/Antelope.htm) is a kudu and a nyala (both of which required some drastic adjustments).

Thanks to everyone for your help. I am trying once more to send a usual image. It's great to find a place with so many friendly and knowledgeable people. Tom

Chuck...

How did you get such a great close up of this guy? Great looking recovery.

Mine....

I was not able to get the clearity and good color that Chuck has gotten with the image.

I also used levels, curves, brightness/contrast, and some hue/sat.
I used the screen blend mode and unsharpen mask.

Chuck is the USM the key to getting the clearity?


I also cropped.

Thanks Chuck --- that did it!

Also did minor hue/sat and brightness/contrast

You guys are all doing great at saving the endangered Nyala!

I cropped to hopefully place the subject in a location to catch the eye, then did some Color Range Selections, and tried to bring out, rather than change, the colors-- other than the sky, to which I added some blue.

After looking at Chuck's BIG version, I got jealous ;) and RE-sampled the image larger after the crop, then sharpened. Not a practice I recommend.

Feivel.... Offered me some addition improvement help with my first rendition.

Previously had used the Photoshop 7 tools, mostly curves and contrast. Cloned away most of his surrounding scrub and the tree close behind him... Then using the magic wand - had put a very pale blue sky in place.

This was what Fievel wrote.....quoted

"take your excellent retouching job, as is, and do the following to it.
i think it will improve it further.

called: "contrast mask" technique
duplicate the layer
while the new layer is still active:
image>adjust>desaturate
image>adjust>invert
set blending mode of layer to overlay
give a very heavy gaussian blur to the top layer

see how that looks ."


This was the results......

Chuck,

I'm not jealous -- I was kidding about that, but I do admire and envy (there's a difference) your photography. Even though this is mixing subjects in a thread, I'll warn you that I borrowed the use of a photo you submitted for our play -- it's the twins, again! ;)


Froggy went a courtin' (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=53278#post53278)

Now, back to this thread before I get my knuckles rapped! ;)

Goldcoin, the use of the contrast mask is indeed a handy tool.

Contrast Masking (http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/contrast_masking.shtml)

Tom......

Decided to scrape the others, and start all over again.

This is the outcome of my final one.....

For a larger view
http://www.pbase.com/goldcoin/inbox

Well Goldcoin - I see you saved the best for last! Very nice!

Thanks Jill....... Nice to hear a positive comment, when one has worked hard.

CJ post a great link, it had a more detailed tut. for that contrast mask technique.

Another person named Vernon posted this technique for this pix ....didn't get a chance to get it a try....

"I used Photoshop 7.

1. Open Image
2. Layer> Duplicate Layer
3 Image> Adjustments> Invert
4 Image> Adjustments> Levels and adjust to 0 0.75 255
5 Image> Adjustments> Desaturate
6 Set Layers Blending Mode (Top of Layers Palette) and select OVERLAY
7 Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur -- set Radius (slider) to 76 Pixels
8 Layer> Flatten Image
9 Image> Adjustments> Levels and adjust to 0 1.70 255

10 Image> Adjustments> Brightness/Contrast and set Brightness to +5 and Contrast to +20

11 ----- NOTE: I skipped step 12. See comment below regarding sharpening -----

12 Filter> Sharpen> Unsharp Mask and set Amount 35%, Radius 5 Pixels, Threshold 0 (zero)

13 Save Image

Save the image (13 -- is just for precaution) to come back to it if needed.

Then, do the following:

Image-> Adjustment-> Selective Colors – than select Neutrals and make the following changes:

ALL are (minus) adjustments: Cyan – 6, Magenta -10, Black -6 .

Next: Image-> Adjustment-> Levels and change to: 49 -- 1.00 -- 228 .


This completes the adjusted image unless you desire to apply some sharpening to your liking.

Note: Below are the substitution steps for use in Photoshop Elements 1 (I don’t have Ver 2 to test)

4. Enhance> Brightness/Contrast> Levels -- 0, 0.75, 255

5. Enhance> Color> Remove Color -- (I think this should be the same thing as DESATURATE in PS7)

9. Enhance> Brightness/Contrast> Levels -- 0, 1.70, 255
10. Enhance> Brightness/Contrast> -- Brightness +5 and Contrast +20 "

Vernon...
http://www.pbase.com/vrain

First I enlarged it to about 180%, cropped, then selected the sky with Color Range. Did an inverse, which left me with everything BUT sky, then did an auto Levels, which brought out the detail. Some Unsharp Mask and hue/sat and resized to 800 pixels wide.

Hi Tom,

Here's the straight dope on this...

What you want to do is learn how to colour correct every scan you come across. This is the most important thing, in my opinion. There are tutorials all over the net on how to do this. It's actually quite simple, but difficult to explain; you're better off following a tutorial. Do a search on google for 'levels correction'. Elements and photoshop are probably similar in this vein, although I'm guessing.

The attached version of Nyala was done with two adjustment layers. One was a levels correction, the other was with selective colour. You want to make big global adjustments like this first, then move in to smaller parts if you think it's necessary.

I don't know elements, but to select the sky, look on the toolbar of Elements for Select>Color Range. If it's there, a dialogue box will pop up. Take your cursor and click on your picture where the sky is and click OK in the dialogue box. That's an easy way to select the sky.

Another way to make a change to your sky is to make a change to your pic via Selective Color, which is an adjustment layer. Find where it is in Elements, bring up the dialogue box, pull the menu down to where it says Whites, go to Whites, then play with the sliders until you get the sky the way you want it, by lightening it and changing the colour.

Bringing focus to the animal is difficult here because the beast has hundreds of years of evolution working in its favour, but the initial Levels (or Curves) correction will take it about as far as it should go.

Good luck,

Mig

here's a link I found on elements,
http://www.arraich.com/elements/psE_intro.htm

Great Job MIG!

Here is my razzed-up version, just for fun
-Roger

Chuck :nod: :nod: :lol:


Roger L ......How did you do the sky, looks great??? Actually, I went back and looked again ...darn good.

Remember how you did it?

Thanks everyone, for your help. Here is my latest version using ideas from the fine people on this forum. I've learned a lot. Tom

Well Tom I would say you have SAVED your Nyala!!
Very good job :bigthmb:

Tom - Good Job!

Looks a little low in contrast on my monitor. It may be that you are more focused on detail than tonal range, which is understandable, but I think it needs a little more 'snap', either levels or curves ...

If you want to keep the tones about where they are in your Nyala you can burn in where natural shadows would be and dodge out where natural highlights would be (Burn/Dodge tools or paint with white or black on an empty layer set to overlay blending mode). This manually extends the tonal range and adds 'Pop'. You don't need to do big areas, just a lot of little edges.

Goldcoin - Sky was done with a layer filled with a sky blue color, set to color mode. Then ran Filter > Render > Clouds and masked layer to apply it to the sky area only. Lightened / Darkened with an Overlay Layer.

Thanks, Roger

Nice one Tom. :thumbsup:

A couple of thoughts though, the greens are a bit too green and the pink on the tips of the horns and the ears worry me a bit. The tips of the horns should be white and the foliage in Africa is usually more blue-green.