Post-edit HELP of a personal nature

RovingEyePhoto

I know this is a strange one, but clock's running and I'm on the spot (family spot, lol). My wife's running for Mayor of our Chicago suburb, pop around 18,000. Right off the bat, it's a payless job, as are all other elected positions here, a paid Village Manager and staff run day-to-day operations, elected positions ate based strictly on desire to serve and willingness to contribute smarts and time (she abounds in the smarts, and somehow finds the time, with is considerable). She's one of the "good guys", 24 years as Councilwoman, 24 years on Finance Committee (our town shares the highest municipal credit rating in the state along with a small handful of others, and Committee makes the decisions, not a rubber stamp, so she obviously knows her stuff), chaired our Plan Commission before that, active with League of Woman Voters before that, chaired all Board Redevelopment Committees when completely redeveloped our town center a decade or so ago, a truly capable/visionary/respected/trusted leader. How I ever got her, long story, but basically blind good luck. Anyway, we're in kind of an Obama scenario, I and most others know she'll clobber her opponents, but don't want to jinx the deal by saying so or lessening our efforts. There are two other candidates: one never has served on any town commission or committee ever, just thinks it would be neat to be mayor; the other is a current councilman of 8 years, petty, paranoid and delusional about his popularity, a great many of his personal friends already have quietly told my wife she's getting their votes. I know, all one-sided here, but hey, I love her, and she's quite a gal.

My need is to get a pic prepared for her election web site. Sounds simple, we have jillions of family pics and I've been using Photoshop for some time, but all I've been doing with it is ACR Basic, Curves and Sharpen adjustments, a little red-eye reduction, some simple grayscale conversion, that's about it, all I've ever had time for. Never have used the wonders of Photoshop. Anyway, my wife's narrowed the issue down to one shot, wants the other person in the shot cropped out, which I did; needs color adjustment and sharpening, which I did; needs red eye correction, which I did; needs some softening of wrinkles which I did with ACR Basic clarity and contrast sliders; and wants a grayscale alternative, which I did. I know all this could be done with more artistry in PS, but no time right now for me to get through Finishing School, so working with what I've got. The things I can't do in ACR are: cut her away from the harsh shadow on a near-back wall (I didn't take the shot, even I know not to do that), and replace the distracting back wall with some sort of interesting and non-distracting deep bokeh. I know, I could just shoot a bunch of proper shots with my E-3 and get a good one, but that requires the full hair and make-up and clothes routine, and my wife right now just hasn't the time for all that, and clock is running on getting campaign website up.

So, what I'm fishing for here is a good soul willing to spend what I expect would be a nominal amount of time resolving the back-shadow and surround problems with her chosen pic, either starting from scratch if you want (I'm not proud, the steps I've already performed took about ten minutes, sure you could do them in two). I'd like to email in TIF format both as originally shot (3.1 mp file) and as I've processed to this point, and have you work from whichever is easiest. My wife thinks she'd prefer color, but doesn't really know, so a quick grayscale conversion also would be helpful, that way she could choose.

I'd consider this a great favor, if not in magnitude then in sheer taking-me-off-the-hook. I spend an inglorious amount of time on my photographic pursuits, and am looking mighty lame here in the eyes of the mother of my kids. A more-than-logical amount of my time is spent on Dgrin, mostly following and learning from tech and gear and processing threads, but also contributing when I have the knowledge to do so, and of course asking for advice when I'm up against it.

So please, if one of you talented guys out there would help me out, I'd consider it a favor owed. Just send your email address and I'll get the two files right off. I had the good fortune to be able to haul myself downtown Chicago to be in Grant Park election night, and you can imagine the feeling. Well, our little election here is the same democratic process, just on a much smaller scale, but in its own way just as righteous.

Thanks for bothering to read, and thanks in advance to whomever takes on the job.

du8die

Could you post the photo so we can see what we'd have to work with?

Sam

Please post both the original, and your processed version, (down sized for the forum), so we see what we have to work with.

Also, why not take a little time, and take a nice portrait rather than work from what sounds like a snapshot?

Sam

pathfinder

Photoshop editing will never make a bad photo look really good.

Why not take a really good shot and make it great with editing?

RovingEyePhoto

pathfinder wrote:

Photoshop editing will never make a bad photo look really good.

Why not take a really good shot and make it great with editing?

It's the pic she wants, kind of out of my control. Please tell me how to post pic in string, and I'll do it. Thanks to all of you for putting up with this. Kind of offbeat, but it is what it is.

RovingEyePhoto

RovingEyePhoto wrote:

It's the pic she wants, kind of out of my control. Please tell me how to post pic in string, and I'll do it. Thanks to all of you for putting up with this. Kind of offbeat, but it is what it is.

Pic on mailer is going to be only prox 1 1/4 x 1 1/2", and on screen about prox 2x3" so obviously no full size perfection needed.

RovingEyePhoto

RovingEyePhoto wrote:

Pic on mailer is going to be only prox 1 1/4 x 1 1/2", and on screen about prox 2x3" so obviously no full size perfection needed.

Think I have it. Here goes:

[IMG]file:///C:/My%20Documents/Harriet%20Documents/PicFromHakafa/DSC04419_192k.jpg[/IMG]

pathfinder

Your code looks correct, but I see no picie.

Do you have external links enabled or disabled, perhaps?

RovingEyePhoto

pathfinder wrote:

Your code looks correct, but I see no picie.

Do you have external links enabled or disabled, perhaps?

Trying again, this time using "Image properties: Location", not "Link properties: address", although I think that's what I did the first time. Here goes:



Both images show in my "Preview Post". So clicking "Submit Reply", lets see what happens. I'm not sure what yo mean about having external links enabled or disabled. If images now show, can I assume I have them right, or is this a setting I overtly should be checking?

Thanks for the help. Making progress here step by step, just which direction?

jfriend

RovingEyePhoto wrote:

Trying again, this time using "Image properties: Location", not "Link properties: address", although I think that's what I did the first time. Here goes:
Both images show in my "Preview Post". So clicking "Submit Reply", lets see what happens. I'm not sure what yo mean about having external links enabled or disabled. If images now show, can I assume I have them right, or is this a setting I overtly should be checking?

Thanks for the help. Making progress here step by step, just which direction?

They are not showing for us. For others, here's are the gallery links to them:

http://rovingeyephoto.smugmug.com/gallery/6796360_EG3QC#434312041_4TgXV-A-LB

http://rovingeyephoto.smugmug.com/gallery/6796360_EG3QC#434312030_HUCrW-A-LB

RovingEyePhoto

jfriend wrote:

They are not showing for us. For others, here's are the gallery links to them:

http://rovingeyephoto.smugmug.com/gallery/6796360_EG3QC#434312041_4TgXV-A-LB

http://rovingeyephoto.smugmug.com/gallery/6796360_EG3QC#434312030_HUCrW-A-LB

Tried again using these links, and clicking them brings up pics, but pics don't just appear in thread. What in the world am I doing wrong? Does this have something to do with the "enabling links" mentioned before. Still don't know how to do that or how it works. Obviously still have something balled up.

But at least those asking can see the pics I'm trying to work on. Any help out there?

Vanquiz

I can see the images just fine from the previous 2 posts.

RovingEyePhoto wrote:

Trying again, this time using "Image properties: Location", not "Link properties: address", although I think that's what I did the first time. Here goes:



Both images show in my "Preview Post". So clicking "Submit Reply", lets see what happens. I'm not sure what yo mean about having external links enabled or disabled. If images now show, can I assume I have them right, or is this a setting I overtly should be checking?

Thanks for the help. Making progress here step by step, just which direction?

Richard

RovingEyePhoto wrote:

You need to use a forward slash, not a backslash to close the IMG tags.

ziggy53

RovingEyePhoto wrote:

It's the pic she wants, kind of out of my control. Please tell me how to post pic in string, and I'll do it. Thanks to all of you for putting up with this. Kind of offbeat, but it is what it is.

Please explain to your wife that she really "needs" to have a formal image taken. She has only one opportunity to make the correct impression about herself and a professionally done portrait, even if it is designed to look informal, is one of the best things she can do to make a positive statement about herself.

She can bring that previous image to the photographer to show the pose she wants.

RovingEyePhoto

Richard wrote:

You need to use a forward slash, not a backslash to close the IMG tags.

Thanks. Strange thing is that I did get one of them to show on the preview pane, but never made it through to actual forum post. Ah well, some have clicked on link and seen her pics, not happy about them and no offers to work with them, but at least got them looked at.

RovingEyePhoto

ziggy53 wrote:

Please explain to your wife that she really "needs" to have a formal image taken. She has only one opportunity to make the correct impression about herself and a professionally done portrait, even if it is designed to look informal, is one of the best things she can do to make a positive statement about herself.

She can bring that previous image to the photographer to show the pose she wants.

Thanks. You married? You older? No knock, you went out of your way to look at this and give reasoned advice, and you're right in what you say. Love her to pieces, incredibly competent, but just won't happen. Life's sometimes like that, right? I've suggested to her just getting rid of the dark back-shadow, taking out a bit of vibrancy (which I can do), and possibly converting the whole thing to grayscale (also which I can do). What I can't do is deal with the back-shadow and background in general, and those are the biggest shortcomings in my mind. At the sizes she'll be displaying, sharpness will snap-in, be OK. Even for less formal look she wants, though, the back-shadow and background are killers. We'll see what happens.

Again, thanks for sticking with this.

RovingEyePhoto

Vanquiz wrote:

I can see the images just fine from the previous 2 posts.

Did you click link, are do photos show on forum page? I saw them in preview pane, but not on forum page. Thanks for input.

Nikolai

RovingEyePhoto wrote:

Think I have it. Here goes:

[IMG]file:///C:/My%20Documents/Harriet%20Documents/PicFromHakafa/DSC04419_192k.jpg[/IMG]

It's a link to a local file, man, this will never work
Either upload it to your site if you have one, or resize and attach here.

RovingEyePhoto

Nikolai wrote:

It's a link to a local file, man, this will never work
Either upload it to your site if you have one, or resize and attach here.

Thanks for looking, and man, am I trying. The only site I have is Smugmug and Flickr, no private site. so question is, attach here. I know how to re-size through Photoshop and "save for web and web devices", so how do I attach here? That's what I'm missing. I am trying, honest, just not getting it.

Nikolai

RovingEyePhoto wrote:

Thanks for looking, and man, am I trying. The only site I have is Smugmug and Flickr, no private site. so question is, attach here. I know how to re-size through Photoshop and "save for web and web devices", so how do I attach here? That's what I'm missing. I am trying, honest, just not getting it.

If you have smugmug just upload it there, make sure the external links are enabled in the gallery, and then do what you did with the IMG tag.

RovingEyePhoto

Nikolai wrote:

If you have smugmug just upload it there, make sure the external links are enabled in the gallery, and then do what you did with the IMG tag.

Bingo! This looks like what I need. Working to build Smugmug account as we speak, so that's underway. Important thing apparently is to enable external links in Smugmug gallery. I'll be sure to do that. Smugmug pics show two urls, one I think entitled "linked" and the other I think "location". Which do I use with the

Vanquiz

RovingEyePhoto wrote:

Did you click link, are do photos show on forum page? I saw them in preview pane, but not on forum page. Thanks for input.

This is so weird, I saw the photos on forum page, and Im sure Im not the only one , but why everyone else that posted on this cannot see the embedded photos?

jfriend

Vanquiz wrote:

This is so weird, I saw the photos on forum page, and Im sure Im not the only one , but why everyone else that posted on this cannot see the embedded photos?

It can be because the images are in your browser cache and thus your browser will show them to you, but they are not in our browser cache so our browser has to get them directly from the gallery where we don't have permission to fetch them directly so we don't see anything.

For direct links to the forum to work, these must all be true:

• The image is not marked [X] Hidden in the gallery
• External linking must be on in the customize gallery page
• The gallery must not have a password
• The direct link URL must be correct

RovingEyePhoto

jfriend wrote:

It can be because the images are in your browser cache and thus your browser will show them to you, but they are not in our browser cache so our browser has to get them directly from the gallery where we don't have permission to fetch them directly so we don't see anything.

For direct links to the forum to work, these must all be true:

• The image is not marked [X] Hidden in the gallery
• External linking must be on in the customize gallery page
• The gallery must not have a password
• The direct link URL must be correct

If this doesn't get me there, nothing will. Thanks, thanks, thanks. Meanwhile, any takers on fixing that image I put up? No worries if not, just trying all sources I have access to. She'll get elected, pic is just trimming.

sfdavis

I needed the practice so I gave it a try. I made a mask starting with the red channel, increased contrast with overlay blends and curves, painted out the background , fine tuned around her face and blurred the mask. The hair was tricky because shadows in the hair are as dark as the shadow on the wall behind her and I'm not that great with a Wacom tablet.

IMHO the shadow isn't the only problem. At the least, the eyes should be sharper.

RovingEyePhoto

sfdavis wrote:

I needed the practice so I gave it a try. I made a mask starting with the red channel, increased contrast with overlay blends and curves, painted out the background , fine tuned around her face and blurred the mask. The hair was tricky because shadows in the hair are as dark as the shadow on the wall behind her and I'm not that great with a Wacom tablet.

IMHO the shadow isn't the only problem. At the least, the eyes should be sharper.

You did above and beyond. Great effort. Many thanks. I'll run it by her.