First Shot at Colorization

[maverick911]

Here is my first shot at colorization. I am quite pleased with it, thanks to all the help and resources on this site, without which I wouldn't have known where to start.

I would welcome any comments (good or not so good) or suggestions.

[SMETZ99]

I think it looks great from the low res version you posted. Would love to see a higher res one if you have it.

[maverick911]

Thanks SMETZ, the original was saved from an Internet site so the resolution was low. I enlarged it. Heres a link to the original.

http://markwebb.smugmug.com/photos/1...6_XqRV9-X3.jpg

[sergio2263]

Originally Posted by maverick911

Thanks SMETZ, the original was saved from an Internet site so the resolution was low. I enlarged it. Heres a link to the original.

http://markwebb.smugmug.com/photos/1...6_XqRV9-X3.jpg

It's a good try for your first time, you need to also concentrate on the lips, mouth and eyes. I've had a quick go to show you other possibilities. Below is the tutorial I follow for my colourisations.

http://www.worth1000.com/tutorials/1...ary-colorizing

[Carol Heath]

I would say well done for your first attempt. Overall, i think the image needs more contrast. it is looking a little flat. The image could also do with some buring-in in the shadowed areas, esp beneath the chair / skirt and on the bottom portion of the backdrop.

[maverick911]

Thanks for feedback.

[plugsnpixels]

Great job, the photo just pops! I love the concept of updating these old photos. I'm not sure why the before and after dates don't match though (1936/39).

I've got tons of old family photos and need to work with this technique. sergio2263, thanks for the link!

[Kraellin]

no big complaints here. you've done well for a first time. if you want to go for better, take either an airbrush or smudge tool and on separate blank layers, smooth out her dress a bit and any other little areas where the cloning didnt quite get to. the biggest secret to a good colorization is a good restoration. get that right and the colorizing tends to be pretty easy.

you've done a good job in handling all the major restoration points but parts of it look like a restoration, like her dress. you want it to look like a photo. i can see clone marks or parts that werent removed all the way, not sure, but it's not quite there. the boy's face and the man's could stand some noise removal or something. not much, just a touch to smooth out the noise there a bit.

your skin colors look good, but i'd add a touch more color to the woman's face, if possible. careful with that, though. it's easy to go overboard.

as someone else pointed out, lips and eyes could stand a touch more, but if this is the largest photo, done worry about it too much as it wont really show up much in this low a resolution.

i'm also more a purest on the restoration parts. i tend to leave writing that is pertinent to the time or place or people as it is on the photo. i dont remove it, unless the client specifically asks for it. yes, i know, it's not truly being pure in that it wasnt there when the photo was taken, but if it has become 'part of the history of the image' now, then i leave it alone and even restore it if it needs it.

i like the background. nice job there.

you missed a bit on the shadows on the floor. the floor itself is fine, but it appears you were having trouble distinguishing the shadows from the feet and legs a bit. sometimes the data just isnt there and you have to improvise and do a LOT of guessing. it's not real bad but could stand improvement.

ok, so even though this may look like a lot of criticisms, you're basically 90 to 95% there and for a first job, that's pretty damn good the tendency is to overdo in the early learning stages and you didnt fall prey to that. if i were giving a grade based on first time work, A-

[plugsnpixels]

As for the writing on old photos, think about that for a moment. From our vantage point as descendants it's fantastic our relatives made that effort, otherwise our job of identifying people would be that much harder. But how often to you label your own family photos? It seems weird to do so, because we all know who we are! At most we might put places and dates. Or rather, we probably don't even have many prints made anymore and unless we keyword our digital images, it's all over.

It seems sometimes that it's the children of the older generations who took the time to identify photos if their parents didn't. Or in the case of many of my family photos, my grandmother wrote dates and comments on the back my father's baby photos to send to her husband abroad during WWII. (This is a large part of the reason the photos exist in the first place! Once the war ended, so did the steady stream of photos.)

[maverick911]

Thanks Craig and plugsnpixels

[chinchillakilla]

well put craig. You have done great for a first attempt practice will get you where you wanna be also a little tip try and do a bit of research into the time and see if you can see similar images and then you can see how the skin tones and fabric should go if you get stuck but well done keep it up and you will get better and better.

[maverick911]

Thanks chincillakilla.