Help with glasses 'tinge'

Snowgirl · June 26, 2012

A couple of weeks ago I did a family portrait session. The grandmother's glasses are the non-glare type (and I thought -yippee). Anyway, two of the six subjects wore glasses, and I asked them both to tip their frames slightly to avoid glare.

It was an outdoor shoot at mid-afternoon on a bright sunny day. The location was their choosing and I got them as much shade as I could. Also, I had no influence on their wardrobe choices. They were colour coordinated but 1/3 of the family (1/2 of the participants) wore sleeveless tops that were less than flattering. But, c'est la vie. There is only so much one can do.

So, the problem is the grandmother's glasses (she's the one kneeling). There is a green tinge around her eyes. I tried my darndest in PS to eliminate it but can't get rid of it completely. I haven't yet figured out how to make the client happy.

She won a free photoshoot at a charity event that I support. It included one 8x10 print but the family has, obviously purchased more prints and I provided a CD with web-ready version for them to share.

So, I have two questions:

First, what can I do to avoid this situation in the future? I've shot people with glasses before without issue so this is totally new to me.

And second, any suggestions as to what I could / should do to make the client happy?

Here is one of the photos:

Qarik · June 26, 2012

well usually just a slight angle change can clear up the issue as you mentioned. Otherwise a take few shots with no glasses as well. The above shot the tinging is not terrible and I suspect they could live with it..I can't really help in cleaning it up

Hackbone · June 26, 2012

As Quarik already said, take the exact shot with no glasses and do a quick lasso and put the new selection over the old glasses and your done. Might have to do some cleaning up but that is it.
You could use a shadier spot but with all that green around the ambient light is reflected back green.

thonsu · June 27, 2012

1. Zoom in close.

2. Lasso the area.

3. Select > Refine Edge to feather it.

4. Click on a Selective Color or Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and target the greens and cyans (looks more like cyan). Maybe use both types of adjustments (duplicate the mask created by your selection).

5. Play around with the sliders until you're happy.

6. Enjoy having a happy client!

Snowgirl · June 27, 2012

Thank you everyone. Assistance gratefully accepted. I'll let you know if I can appease the client.

bobcool · June 27, 2012

thonsu wrote: »

1. Zoom in close.

2. Lasso the area.

3. Select > Refine Edge to feather it.

4. Click on a Selective Color or Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and target the greens and cyans (looks more like cyan). Maybe use both types of adjustments (duplicate the mask created by your selection).

5. Play around with the sliders until you're happy.

6. Enjoy having a happy client!

Great tip above. For fun, I downloaded your low-res copy and using the admustment layer/hue&saturation, I desaturated Blue and Cyan channels and the tinge was mostly gone. The only thing you may want to bring back (depending on the crop and eye detail) is the color of her eyes if they happen to be blue. I simply used the eraser on each iris, worked great.

Snowgirl · June 27, 2012

bobcool wrote: »

Great tip above. For fun, I downloaded your low-res copy and using the admustment layer/hue&saturation, I desaturated Blue and Cyan channels and the tinge was mostly gone. The only thing you may want to bring back (depending on the crop and eye detail) is the color of her eyes if they happen to be blue. I simply used the eraser on each iris, worked great.

Nice job. It seems to be a good technique.

Cowboydoug · June 28, 2012

No one else said it so I will... The glasses are the least of the problems with this SHOT...
Never pose heavy people at the angle you have them at now.
Heavy people and some photographers wrongfully think turning sideways to the camera will make them look better/thinner and
this is just not true. The closest one to being acceptable is the younger gal in purple. The way gramma is
Posed is... quite frankly terrible. This group picture could have become a nice and fairly flattering PORTRAIT
were the subjects seated on the ground and posed correctly. I think you missed a really great opportunity here to make a silk purse out of a sows ear...
Last thought... Whatever they ordered from you would have been doubled or tripled were this SHOT an actual PORTRAIT.
Remember... Anyone can take a picture...
Love me or hate me... I hope this helps

Snowgirl · June 28, 2012

Cowboydoug wrote: »

No one else said it so I will... The glasses are the least of the problems with this SHOT...
Never pose heavy people at the angle you have them at now.
Heavy people and some photographers wrongfully think turning sideways to the camera will make them look better/thinner and
this is just not true. The closest one to being acceptable is the younger gal in purple. The way gramma is
Posed is... quite frankly terrible. This group picture could have become a nice and fairly flattering PORTRAIT
were the subjects seated on the ground and posed correctly. I think you missed a really great opportunity here to make a silk purse out of a sows ear...
Last thought... Whatever they ordered from you would have been doubled or tripled were this SHOT an actual PORTRAIT.
Remember... Anyone can take a picture...
Love me or hate me... I hope this helps

Thank you. I never take offense at constructive criticism. In terms of the posing, I don't totally disagree with you, and there were others done that day that were more flattering to the participants, but this is one that they specifically set up themselves and wanted done. Of all of the choices they had, this was the one they wanted for a grroup print. And for the grandmother, who is paying for this, the only issue was her glasses.

How would you have posed the group on the ground? It would be good to have ideas for the future.

Cowboydoug · June 29, 2012

Hi Ceci,
Thanks for responding. Maybe I can share what I use in situations like this. Way back in '86 I bought a pet rock & it's not one of the tiny ones you put in your pocket but a good size posing rock. My particular one has 2 levels & is an indispensable tool for environmental portraits. Here is a link to a similar one but unlike mine it has just one level, but you get the idea.
http://www.americanlisted.com/indiana_14/photo_cameras_38/photo_prop_posing_rock_60_eaton_12130404.html
Another search revealed a site called Pictus... If you type in rock posing prop or a similar search you will find it & others I'm sure.
I'll take a snapshot of mine and post it later. I'm not a fan of some of the prop rocks that are nothing more than a rock... You'll see what I mean... The good rocks will stand out when you look.
As for posing... High low high low or even a pyramid works wonders on a group. In your search you will see a couple of groups sitting on these rocks, notice the posing...
Another tool I use is mini wooden step ladders & while they may seem out of place in outdoor settings they do the trick nicely & are great for building a pyramid around.
I was going to and did write further a suggestion of what I would do with your recent clients... It was more of a challenge but I decided it was advice not asked for & as hard as it is I decided to shut my mouth... Haha
I hope you like the rocks

Snowgirl · June 29, 2012

Thanks again. I see what you mean about the rock and the pyramid structure. Ideas always welcomed!

Cowboydoug wrote: »

Hi Ceci,
Thanks for responding. Maybe I can share what I use in situations like this. Way back in '86 I bought a pet rock & it's not one of the tiny ones you put in your pocket but a good size posing rock. My particular one has 2 levels & is an indispensable tool for environmental portraits. Here is a link to a similar one but unlike mine it has just one level, but you get the idea.
http://www.americanlisted.com/indiana_14/photo_cameras_38/photo_prop_posing_rock_60_eaton_12130404.html
Another search revealed a site called Pictus... If you type in rock posing prop or a similar search you will find it & others I'm sure.
I'll take a snapshot of mine and post it later. I'm not a fan of some of the prop rocks that are nothing more than a rock... You'll see what I mean... The good rocks will stand out when you look.
As for posing... High low high low or even a pyramid works wonders on a group. In your search you will see a couple of groups sitting on these rocks, notice the posing...
Another tool I use is mini wooden step ladders & while they may seem out of place in outdoor settings they do the trick nicely & are great for building a pyramid around.
I was going to and did write further a suggestion of what I would do with your recent clients... It was more of a challenge but I decided it was advice not asked for & as hard as it is I decided to shut my mouth... Haha
I hope you like the rocks

Cowboydoug · July 2, 2012

The ROCK

Snowgirl wrote: »

Thanks again. I see what you mean about the rock and the pyramid structure. Ideas always welcomed!

Here is my pet rock... It's about 3'

http://db.tt/xtd9MOac

Sorry for the link but for whatever reason adding a link from my Dropbox was working when I tried to include image... Must be pilot error and or my iPad

Help with glasses 'tinge'

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