Please Critique My First Post.

[fat0n3s]

This is my first time posting a picture here.

There is a before and after of this picture.

The only things I have worked on are:

1. Contrast and Tone

2. Color

3. Noise and Artifacts


The main reason I am posting this one is because of the color of the baby, who is my great niece. I am only 29, but yes, I am a great uncle.

I plan on working on her eyes, along with some very light sharpening.

My main question is, what do you think of the color? What else am I missing?

Thanks to all who give there opinion.

[Kraellin]

hi fat0n3s,

basically, a good job. the noise reduction is fine. good skin tone and texture all around.

but, you've got a few problem areas. basically, you've got some washed out areas from too much light. the left upper forehead is the worst, then the left cheek and left shoulder. and, the color overall is a bit weak, though not bad.

the biggest problem is the forehead. there's no color left. it's just white. so if you use a 'curves' to bring this down, it's still not going to have much color. the other areas might correct ok with just curves, but the forehead, i dont think so. what you can do to fix this is a bit of light cloning of nearby areas to fill the washed area. use a very light opacity setting on the clone and dab it in little by little till it looks ok. you can do this before a curves adjustment or after. try both.

the weak coloration overall is a bit of a judgement/opinion call. babies tend to have less pigment than adults, but i believe i'd either add a bit more saturation or red hue....just a bit, but that part is up to you. you could also try adding a duplicate layer with a very light 'burn' blend mode. this might also help add back some color to the forehead area.

as for the eyes and sharpening. you might want to just sharpen the eyes and not the whole body. sharpening is going to add back noise to some extent. you can do this with a mask or just a selection of each eye and then sharpen that.

(i'd also remove those knees on the left when you get a chance )

Craig

[fat0n3s]

Thanks alot Craig.

I know what you mean about the color.

I am going to give your tips a try, and see what I get.

Thanks for taking the time to give your opinion.


BTW,

Does anyone have any ideas on how to bring out the eye color more? It seems the picture lacks any real eye color.

[Gary Richardson]

Hi,

had a quick go with the eyes.

Apply levels adj layer, black mask except for irises of eyes. Adjust to lighten.
New adj layer (hue/sat), same mask as before, increase sat of irises.

Hope this helps.

[fat0n3s]

That looks great gary.


I didn't realize I could use clone stamp to clone color, and it works well.

I will post my updated version of this picture later.