Your thoughts?

remer

I really need some help with this photo....or maybe it can't be fixed...but worth a try to ask you pros!!!! I hate it that I blew out this picture so bad...is there any hope for it?:dunno

NateW

If ti were me, the first thing I'd check is whether I shot in RAW or jpg.
If it's in raw, you've got a little more latitude.

Otherwise, it may not be perfect, but it's not bad, either; the eyes have it!

(having recently read how it's contrast that draws the eye around in an image, this one's biggest contrast seems to be right where you want it: on the eyes.)

Not a bad shot at all!

Ann McRae

What corrections have you made so far? If RAW, and even if not, I think you can pull those blown highlights down some more.

ann

Flutist

I hope that you don't mind my attempt. I'm certainly not the best person to try this for you, but I thought I would give it a try, it is a very sweet photo. It may not be able to be saved to perfect picture quality, but it is a sweet picture nonetheless and should be cherished!!

bobcool

I agree with Shannon - great picture! Here's my quick attempt:



You did blow out two sections on the baby's face, which I hastily cloned back from the existing facial area. A much better job could be done than mine if you took more time to fine-tune it. This is a photo worth saving!

Qarik

lol..the baby looks so pensive..deep in thought, like he is pondering the ills of the world. When in reality he probably just pooped his diaper.

Mike J

Qarik wrote:

lol..the baby looks so pensive..deep in thought, like he is pondering the ills of the world. When in reality he probably just pooped his diaper.

Rolled over with laughter... This shot is so worth making something out of. This is one that will be looked at 20 years for now. It won't be perfect but we already have 2 examples of what could be done. Please share the end result.

Jaro

I like the shot and like all the changes that others have done to it!

remer

Your thoughts....
THANK YOU all for your comments! I'm going to share the original photo....lesson learned that you don't just toss those "bad" blown out shots!!! Challenge is on...who can make the most out of this. The family LOVES the picture and I need some help with it! I have adobe CS2 and have tried the cloning but it looks too fake afterwards because the rest of her outfit is blown out too much so it makes it look like her head is floating.

HELP me save this picture so it will always be cherished!!!!!

Had to laugh at the comment of her pondering thoughts....no dirty diaper....just a very content little girl who was probably getting tired of my camera in her face!

Flutist

I am so not good at this, but at least you are giving me a reason to practice. I know there are far better people on here to help you. But this is my attempt!

ccasey

Tough one, because it is such a nice moment. Here's my attempt, in b&w and color.

The most important part, to me, was reconstructing the cheek. I used Clone Stamp to clone in some color from higher up on the cheek, then History brush to shape the cheek, and then some high radius USM to give the cheek a shadow. It could probably use a bit more sharpening so it's not so blurry at the edge. I also allowed this sharpening to show through on the eyes and lips to make them pop a bit more.

Then I thought Dad's shirt needed some detail, but I'm terrible at this. I suspect there's an easier way, but I created several layers with bits of shirt pasted on them and rotated somewhat appropriately. Then I Guassian blurred the shirt work - heavily, because you really don't want to see the edges, and on the blur layer I masked it so it was very blurry at the bottom, but with the blur fading out as it approached Dad's face.

The baby's shirt needs similar work, but that would probably be easier because it's just color, not texture.

Finally I added a Black and White layer and a Contrast layer.




It's going to take a lot of time to get it perfect, but I'm sure you could do it.

Good luck!

-Chris