Not really sure what this pic needs........

[Stephinal]

I am brand new here and apologize if I haven't posted the attatchment correctly. I am also new to photo editing and have just started playing around with NX2. This picture is for a graduation announcement. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

[Stephinal]

Re: Not really sure what this pic needs........

I have this in jpeg and raw image format, even though I really don't what that means! Just wondering which one I should use for editing.

[Tareq]

Re: Not really sure what this pic needs........

I have this in jpeg and raw image format, even though I really don't what that means! Just wondering which one I should use for editing.

Definitely use RAW, give you full and more room and control than JPEG.

[Stephinal]

Re: Not really sure what this pic needs........

O.K.. I think I would like to fill in the top with all grass instead of the ugly little bushes. Also, I'm not sure what to do with the shadows. Anyone know how to do that with NX2?

[Daviskw]

Re: Not really sure what this pic needs........

Hi there

To me it just needs some color correction and a little selective lighting.

Butch

[Stephinal]

Re: Not really sure what this pic needs........

I think I figured out the color, but when I adjust the lighting, it just gets weird. Did you do something to her eyes or did the lighting change them?

[holgaman]

Re: Not really sure what this pic needs........

Just a few things i did here - warmed it up a bit and cleaned up and blurred the background. I did a little retouching and shaping on the face and hair and darkened a bit around the edges.

[Daviskw]

Re: Not really sure what this pic needs........

Yes I use a curves layer set to luminosity to lighten the eye area then hid all and painted the lightness in. I added just a small amount of highlight to the eyes...just a little.

Butch

I think I figured out the color, but when I adjust the lighting, it just gets weird. Did you do something to her eyes or did the lighting change them?

[bgates87]

Re: Not really sure what this pic needs........

First I removed some of the noise and compression artifacts (are you going to post a hi-res version?) using a dust & scratches filter on selected parts of the image. Then I did some color correction using a combination of color balance, hue/saturation and selective color adjustment layers. Then I used the clone stamp tool to remove the leaves from the grass in the foreground and copy and pasted large sections of grass and blended them together to extend the grass into the background.

For some aesthetic touches I also hid the foot and darkened the area where the right earring meets the face to better define the outline of her face. On her eyes I added some color (blue on the sides reflected from the shirt and greenish on the bottom reflected from the grass) and darkened the top of the eye and lightened the bottom to make them "pop." I added a little bit of a yellow cast to the highlights of the image to give it a warmer feeling as a final touch.

I had to compress the file to get it under 100k so some of the noise I removed is back, I guess if I had been thinking I wouldn't have bothered removing it in the first place. Anyways enjoy!

[Stephinal]

Re: Not really sure what this pic needs........

You guys are amazing! I will be spending all day trying out all the things you did. I have so much to learn.

are you going to post a hi-res version

Sorry, I am so clueless. What is that?

Edited to say I know you mean a "high resolution", but don't know where to find it?

I am downloading a trial of Photoshop Elements to compare it to the Capture I currently have. I am not a professional by any stretch of the imagination, and didn't think I could maneuver a more advanced version of Photoshop. It seems like some of the editing terms you guys mentioned are from Photoshop editing.

[holgaman]

Re: Not really sure what this pic needs........

Hi Steph,
The high resolution version is your original image file straight out of the camera. If you only shoot jpeg, always save any work done on the file with another name so as not to change the original. The best solution would be to shoot RAW because there is so much more to work with in the file, and it never gets permanently changed.

Photoshop does seem rather daunting and expensive, but just learning a few basics first is not difficult at all. I've tried to show some friends a few tricks on Elements and was very frustrated because there are a lot of things you just can't do in Elements, or it's actually more difficult. Don't try to do everything at first, just add to your knowledge as new challenges arise. Photoshop help has gotten pretty good, it's online now and you can search for information on specific tools, etc. and the answers that come up are both from Adobe and many others, often with video tutorials. Scott Kelby's book Photoshop CS4 for Photographers (also available for earlier versions) is one of the best and easiest to follow and includes tips and tricks that are actually useful in real life. Lynda.com has tons of Photoshop video tutorials for all levels of expertise. It is a pay site, but well worth it. Just remember to take one hurdle at a time and congratulate yourself on every one you clear. You'll get there, just have fun.

[mepaulus]

Re: Not really sure what this pic needs........

I had to have a go at this , what a great pic shame about the resolution , i used stoik smart resizer to up it to 600dpi and basically did a combination of what the others did but i noticed a reddish tinge around her right ear so tried to fix that.Great post Stephinal.

[Algarve Images]

Re: Not really sure what this pic needs........

I cropped it a little tighter then applied curves and a touch of high pass to make it pop a little, blurred the extended grass, it's a really nice photo,
Gary...