Damien Symonds

Hi Ali, I'm sure I can help with this. But you have a much bigger problem to address first. Please follow every single step of this. Once you've got the colour space problem fixed, re-process the raw file with the noise removed correctly. Then post the close-up for me again, as well as the whole photo for context.

Download the PSD file

I don't think you should flip. Just copy the closed one. It's sure as heck not perfect, but is it passable?

No, not as easy as that, sadly. Here's the file.

Just by using the Crop Tool to crop it to the exact size and resolution needed. http://www.damiensymonds.net/2011/09/cropping-tutorial.html

Good job!

This is the best I can manage. I realise it's a fairly weak colour, but it's the strongest I can manage.

Time for a new lab. That is appalling advice. Sharpening is vital when printing. Any size, not just enlargements.

I'm so sorry, I've got nothing. Just really patient cloning.

It had me stumped for a while too. Glad we got there.

Ok, see if the troubleshooting section of these instructions can help at all.

The gamut warning is really unreliable. Never use it. Only use soft-proofing.

Yes, I can help with this. First, go ahead and re-do the raw processing properly, then post the section again, and we'll discuss those things.

How many other prints do you have with you?

Yay! Yep, leave it on Bicubic permanently.

That should be ok, but can you chance it to Bicubic, just to check?

That's perfect, I reckon. You should be able to use the left-hand side of that photo (or the right-hand side flipped) and rotate it a bit, and mask it in to the main photo.

No, it doesn't do it for me. Exactly the same after cropping as before. In Preferences>General, what is your "Image Interpolation" setting set to?

Can you re-do the raw edit, then post the closeup again?

Gee, don't feel bad. This is not easy. Do you have any other photos with nice bokeh, that you might be able to use?

Ok, let's work through this. It's very rare to crop before flattening. It certainly shouldn't happen in this case. So flatten first, then check for clipping. Then crop, and check again. Report what you see.

Are you sure you're viewing at 100% in both cases??

It matters a LOT. And those numbers are vague suggestions only. Please don't wait a moment longer to take the Print Sharpening Class. It will blow your mind.

Yeah, the pattern was my concern. As long as the pattern disappears, we're rosy. For the colour, just add a new blank layer, then use the eyedropper tool to sample a bit of good colour, then add a Solid Color layer of that colour (the blank layer will turn into the SolCol layer automatically) and set its blend mode to "Color", then mask it on.

Ok, I need to see a 100% crop of an area where it doesn't disappear.