Damien Symonds

What wasn't working, exactly? What went wrong?

Hi Danielle, there are some print lab reviews here. Well, for your first prints for calibration, you don't need to worry about the technicalities too much. The most important thing is to confirm your file is in the correct colour space. To do that, follow these instructions. Let me know when you've done that. I urge you not to worry about anything at all for a few hours. Concentrate on reading the Bridge Class. Nothing else matters too much for now.

Gosh, I think it's looking really good! Now it's time to add the cloning layer and clone those corners.

Out of interest, did you also see this tutorial?

One year.

You're welcome. I'm so glad it's sufficient. Yes.

When you use the white eyedropper in Levels, it adjusts each of the three individual channels. Take a look and you'll see what I mean. Pull down the little "RGB" dropdown menu at the top of the Levels window, and examine each of the three channels.

As I said, I hope you will take the Raw Class so I can improve your work, but this will do for now. Obviously the hair is the only tricky part here. So you'd select each little area (don't attempt this until you've read the Levels Class) then add a Levels layer and use the white eyedropper on the background just beside the hair to drop it to white. Download PSD After that, it's a simple matter of adding a white Solid Color layer and masking it around the rest of him. Of course this will take a little time, but as long as you use the Shift Key in the correct manner, it won't be burdensome. The only fiddly part is at the end of the tassles. Unfortunately there's no shortcut for that, it'll just have to be painstaking masking.

The tutorial is specifically written for photos which are taken against a white backdrop. The first paragraph of the tutorial: It doesn't apply to this outdoor photo, sorry.

Yes, as I said, I'm happy to discuss that one. I just need you to do the raw editing first (of course we must never do Photoshop work until the raw work is done) and post it for me.

Sorry, it's impossible to remove it. All I can do is suggest adding a Levels layer for that area, and move the white Output slider on each channel: R223, G192, B190.

Of course the wire will be visible, but it will be thin enough to clone out easily.

It'll be really hard, though. Making a wire foot shape will take a lot of patience.

It'll have to be done with wire. I can't think of any other way.

May I see what your shoes look like?

You just do. It works exactly as demonstrated, I promise. If it's not working, it means you're trying it on an inappropriate photo. That's why I need to see it.

You're welcome. Let me know how you go. And I'd really love it if you could provide a white background photo at some stage, so we can address your original question.

Needless to say, we have no wandered a long way from your original question. The approach for a coloured background is much different from a black or a white one.

I'll press ahead ... let me show you one of my favourite methods: Download PSD file It will perhaps look more complicated than it truly is. Basically, you choose a colour which is most desirable for the background (that is, most similar to the existing background, or an average thereof) and add a Solid Color layer of that colour. Then immediately invert the mask of that layer to black, then duplicate the layer three times. So you will have four identical Solid Color layers, all of them hidden by their black masks. Then: change the blend mode of the first layer to "Multiply". That will be the layer that you use to gently darken the too-light areas change the blend mode of the second layer to "Screen". That one will be for lightening too-dark areas change the blend mode of the third layer to "Color". That will be the layer you use to fix any wrong-coloured areas leave the blend mode of the fourth layer on "Normal". That will be your actual backdrop layer. Then paint on the mask of the top layer everywhere, and close to the hair, but don't quite touch the hair. Then use a very low opacity brush to "massage" the other three layers as needed, until everything blends nicely. (I've also added one more layer at the top of the file, to demonstrate changing the colour of the finished background.)

The catchlight from your flash is a bit more elongated in his eyes than hers. He must have moved a bit in this one.

This one definitely is a DOF issue. The boy's right (our left) shoulder is in good focus, and it's on about the same plane as the girl's face. The boy's face, however, being a bit further forward, has missed out.

That's because you're used to taking much closer photos, of course.

Really? May I see another example? No. Well, only in desperation.

In that case, I'll move this post into Brian's area.

Well, if you want no shadows, you're pretty much committed to the Solid Color layer method for everything. If you're happy to have shadows, you can also use the Solid Color layer method, but you might also have options to use Levels with the eyedropper, akin to this, if you choose. But as I just mentioned on your other thread, any kind of Levels method would only work for darker fabrics, not for very light ones.