Damien Symonds

I need you to know that I'm ignoring all the photos you've taken of your photos. Sadly, they're meaningless to me. It would be great if I could trust them, but I can't. Screens don't photograph well. I just need to know the answer to my question.

Ok, I get it. Is the comparison the same in daylight (if you open your blinds during the day) as it is under your lights?

Are you saying that your monitor is warmer than your ProDPI prints?

Ok. So what I tend to do in these situations ... after cloning, I use the Spot Healing Brush tool to replace texture in the blurry areas.

Millers is always too warm, you must never use them.

Can you remind me - does your version of Elements have the Healing Brush Tool?

This is going to be insanely hard.

Gee ... you kinda need to flip the dog horizontally, don't you? So that the shadows go the right way?

You're not doing anything wrong, I assure you. That's just what the clone tool does. It's one of its shortcomings. https://www.damiensymonds.net/tut_clone.html

No, it's ok to calibrate during the day,as long as you've closed those blinds and turned off the lights.

On modern screens, Contrast should pretty much always be left at the factory default setting. It mightn't be a bad idea, just before your next calibration (which will be when you get the DVI cable) to find the "Reset factory defaults" button in your Dell's menu, to make sure Contrast is at default. Yeah, it's fairly normal for it to be in the teens for those screens.

I'm so sorry to be a pain, but it's polite not to upload other people's photos directly. None of us would like it if we found out that other people were downloading our photos, then posting them elsewhere. Can you provide links to them instead? So the photographers get the credit and traffic they deserve. Thanks for understanding.

Yeah, it sounds bright. But gee, if you're having to go as low as 61 during calibration, to get a print match, that's a worry. You said it's a Dell, right? What brightness setting do you have the Dell at, to get the 61 reading?

And the light? Can you boost it at all?

In answer to your question in your email (not mentioned here) yes, a DVI cable really can make a difference. No guarantees, but it is definitely something you should try if possible. 61 brightness is far too low. You need to get some more light in your room if at all possible.

Hi Maria, Can you give me any links to "flowing dress" photos which inspired you for this shoot? So I have a better idea of what you desire?

Yes, and yes. But PLEASE take the Layers & Masks Class as well, if you think you're lacking in that area. It's only a small & cheap class, full of very important fundamentals.

I don't know if you need the masking one. But yes, the Levels one will blow.your.mind. Still too precise. It should blend in to the hair much more smoothly than this.

It should look like this:

Yep. Now do you understand the problem?

Right. So for banding to have occurred where you showed me, it must have been caused by your masking. So, Alt-click on the mask of the levels layer you used to darken the background, and show me a screenshot of it.

Well, it's "smooth" because there is literally no detail, right? It's completely blown out?

Ok, so if you add that same test Levels layer to the SOOR, and pull the black slider in aggressively, was there ANY detail in that area? When I try it, I can't see any.

Ok ... so this is a question I should have asked earlier. Exactly how many of your adjustment layers are affecting that background area?

Yep, for sure. The problem is that the banding is occurring right where the edge of your mask is, yes? Your mask fell off just before the hair started.