Photo Retouching - - From snapshot to portraiture - Is it possible?

solitear · #1 01-19-2007, 11:41 PM

I'm going to start by saying that I know less about photography and cameras than I do about the dietary habits of the endangered southcentral Australian Numbat..... but, after months of researching camera features and scary letters like ISO I followed up with an 8 weeks camera course and chose my first digital camera ..... a Sony Cyber-shot W70 because it was tiny and shiny..... so here comes my ignorant question....

If I take a snapshot (say in portrait mode) would I be able to turn it into one of those beautiful portraiture photos using Photoshop?

I'm attaching a photo of 'one of my little reasons for breathing' as an example of the look I'm interested in. It looks soft and a bit desaturated.......

Could someone .... like one of you Supreme Commanders of Photoshop...... transform a nice digital photo into something professional looking....... can it be done ?????

Now I'll sit here and hum the Jeopardy song until I hear from someone.....

Thanks for any insight,
Beth

skydog · #2 01-20-2007, 03:36 AM

I really like your photo and the composition! Now that you have the camera you just need to practice your photoshop!

skydog · #3 01-20-2007, 03:37 AM

I forgot to add this...opps!

Ziaphra · #4 01-20-2007, 05:40 AM

Thought I'd give it a go!

Bojin Taylor · #5 01-20-2007, 06:28 AM

Well Beth I think you got a great start. Shooting on a seamless in a studio yet! What I think happpened to this image is called lens flare. Your light source spilled into the lens and caused this lack of contrast you see. A gobo (something placed to block out light) can help you there. To improve the image open up a curve in your layers pallet and pull down on the diagonal line.
as i did here.

mistermonday · #6 01-20-2007, 08:51 AM

Beth,
I think the folks above have captured the low contrast issue. I have attached a curve as one example to adjust the contrast, although as you know there are many other ways to accomplish this in PS.
The only other suggestion I would add is regarding you attachment. Your image was a very large size and very highly compressed, which resulted in severe jpg pixellation - those are the little square blocks you see if you zoom in or worse if you try to sharpen the image. You would be much better off if you saved a copy of your image for posting by reducing the size to something like 8 x5 @ 72 DPI and then saved it on a jpeg compression of 7 or 8 or the highest you could get and still have it fall within the 100KB limit.
Regards, Murray

Kraellin · #7 01-20-2007, 09:20 AM

well, since beth has probably now gone insane from listening to the jeopardy song she's been humming all night and since this seems to be my day for learning new terms (numbat:picture here ) (gobo: definition here ) and since others have answered the picture taking part so well, i'll just add a question for beth, did you want to use the full shot or did you want something more of a head and shoulders portrait?

CJ Swartz · #8 01-20-2007, 09:33 AM

Beth, your "reasons for breathing" are among the most beautiful/handsome I've ever laid eyes on!

I'm not sure just what you want -- you said this photo was an example of a look you want to copy. It's a nice look, and you have said before you like the soft looks, so is this photo done by someone else and you're wondering if you can get a similar one out of your new camera? With a similar background, careful lighting (the harder part), and your camera, it would be possible to get a nice 8x10 or so from your camera. The lighting setup would require extra lights.

Or did you want this photo changed in some way like the other folks have already done?

Craig -- thanks for the picture of the numbat -- I was going to have to look that up also.

solitear · #9 01-20-2007, 11:46 AM

Hi Everyone! To everyone who's responded, thank you for your help and I do appreciate it; however, I feel like I've wasted excellent information on my clumsily worded question...... not only that, I'm embarrassed that I failed to say that I didn't take that picture....... I posted it so as to show the kind of look I wanted to achieve.... Murry, in getting ready to respond to your info. about size I remembered I was going to crop it to just a head shot but stopped because it wouldn't get across the "feel" ........ so that tells me it's also a composition thing (I didn't realize that until just now, Wow...... thank you).

Bojin..... when I started reading your post and saw phrases like "len's flarin' up and spilling all over my nice 'seamless studio'" .... whew, I knew I had some explaining to do...... I sure didn't take the picture, it was Caden's school picture.... my photo would have looked a lot like a big tennis shoe..... never mind, I'll attach it.......

CJ...... I'd like to employ your translating services..... that's exactly what I meant to ask....... thank you and thank you for your sweet comment re: Caden ...... I guess Photoshop's Filter > Render > Lighting Effects is no match for real lighting..... and interesting cropping is no match for composition...... Gahhhhhh man...... now I gotta' learn something else......

Craig......... I'm still laughin' my guts out ........ last night, when I was writing my post, I Googled ...um....... "EndangeredRareAnimalsInAfrica" ....... a list of animals appeared so I scanned down and clicked the funniest sounding one, Numbat. There was a short paragraph about it's range and diet....... which was fine since I was only after it's funny name ........ THEN ...... I was reading your post and clicked on your Numbat link and have been laughing ever since....... I love you!

A huge thank you to each of you.

Beth

CJ Swartz · #10 01-20-2007, 12:07 PM

Beth -- I wasn't being "sweet"

when I said he was handsome -- it's just the simple truth.

Window lighting could be the best for a head/shoulders portrait, and would be possible without having to buy equipment. You need an uncluttered background, a chair a few feet from the window, and a chance to read/think a bit about it before you do it. I'll look for a nice summary for you to look at.

I love the sneakers photo, and you did get her face in the shot -- this will probably be one of those treasures in the years to come -- a special moment remembered in a funny way.

You and Craig may keep this up -- you're a good comedy team!

solitear · #11 01-20-2007, 02:00 PM

Thank you, CJ.... Caden is our oldest grandbaby (3 yrs) and thinks I'm his toy.... even drags me around around the house like one......

Thanks for the info. about getting a head/shoulders shot..... it not only gives me practical tips for capturing a nice shot but the feedback has helped me understand some things about my perception.

I'm seeing that I want to create a feeling in the person looking at my "photography". Until you said you loved the sneaker photo .... it could become a treasure in years to come... a special moment captured in a funny way....... I had only kept it because it was what that day was, fun! Nothing pretty about the shot for sure..... big ole' tennis shoes..... half of a face.....

I had thought the emotions I felt when looking at someone's work was due to some technique, film or camera..... I didn't get that it is the capturing of the moment (whatever moment) that means most to me....... I now realize I liked the school photo because it captured Caden's serious side without him looking angry........ WOW, what clarity now ........ I CAN SEE ...... I'M HEALED ....... hehehe ..... but seriously, it does feel good to be able to get to the root of this thing....... thank you, CJ...... oxoxo!

I also see I needed to post this in a different thread....... but if I had, Craig might never have seen it.........

Beth

superkoax · #12 01-20-2007, 02:50 PM

well it's possible to get som enice portraits out of these cameras the only flaw is that the noise ratios is much higher and resolution on big size isn't good...

here is my try

Duffy Pratt · #13 01-20-2007, 06:56 PM

I gave this one a try. Contrast was a bit off, and the skin tones were too strong in both cyan and magenta. All it takes are some fairly simple curves to fix that. The mystery to me in this shot is what color the sweatshirt is. I decided its not black, and probably some deep greem. But it's very hard to tell, and I thought it would be a mistake to set a black point on it.

I think you have a good start. Practice more, think about what you are doing and what you want to see, and you can do very nice work with what you have.

Duffy

solitear · #14 01-20-2007, 07:09 PM

Thanks superkoax and Duffy....... Duffy, his shirt is supposed to be navy blue... but I'm thinking about somehow trying to stop this thread because very kind people, like yourselves, are taking time to correct this photo and I realized along the way in this thread, that my question was probably more suited for a photography thread......

I truly appreciate the results and instructions from everyone and knew I would be able to tap into a wealth of talent, knowledge and experience..... but I feel like I wasted it all with the wrong question...... that'll teach me to run it by my hubby before I post it......

Still...... I liked seeing my little fellow through others eyes....

Beth

Kraellin · #15 01-20-2007, 10:15 PM

beth

when you first posted 'numbat' i thought you were making it up, which is why i had to look it up. so, i had a bit of a chuckle also

and you already know i love your wit

and cj, you're welcome

so, in appreciation of beth falling in love with me (do let your hubby down gently), here's one possible rendition which might handle what crop to use.