Damien Symonds

Yeah, gosh, that might do it! What do you think of this?

Such is the price of masterpieces. If making beautiful art was easy, everyone would do it.

Oh gee, this is difficult. Do you have any photos of him standing, that might provide some extra denim to work with?

I would say the texture is artificial in most cases, but the background itself (its colour and shadows) are probably real, or at least real-ish.

Interesting. Can you post one of each photo? (Colour with skin, and a black-and-white)

That's because you have the mask selected, most likely. I wrote about it here. I'll need to see a screenshot of what you're working on. It's unusual for this to be the correct solution for cast removal.

No, just go to Image>Resize>Canvas Size. Make it as big as you want - in fact, make it bigger than you want. At the bottom, make sure the "Canvas Extension Color" is white. I know it's tempting to make it black, but it's risky. Leave it white. Once you've done that, and hit OK, add a black Solid Color layer, then invert the mask, then paint the black onto those outside areas. Use a nice biggish soft brush, so the new black blends with the existing black. Lastly, turn that layer on and off a few times, to make darn sure none of your new black has encroached onto the baby.

No, not screwed, but it makes things harder. I think you'll need to clone the floor upwards. Clone it further than you need, then mask a crisp line across.

May I see a 100% crop of the child's face?

DO.NOT.ADJUST.YOUR.SCREEN'S.BRIGHTNESS.FOR.ANY.REASON.EVER.AGAIN.

This looks quite normal. May I see a screenshot of your Proof Setup dialog?

Looks great!!!

Do you have a photo of the setup (floor and backdrop) without any subjects in it?

No, I'd say what you've done is perfect. It adheres perfectly to the non-destructive principles.

I generally start with a bright rainbow-type one. Have I shown you this article?

What you "prefer" is completely irrelevant. Once your screen is calibrated and matches your prints exactly, THAT'S WHERE IT STAYS. Did you follow my instructions?

Yeah, the soft-proofing will tell you if the printer can't handle something.

For the first one, may I see a closeup of the back of her head?

I think this could work for the second one: But if you're new to Photoshop, this is going to be darned hard. This is the method I used. But it's not for the faint of heart.

Best in the business, I promise: http://www.damiensymonds.net/training.html These are not simple at all. Don't feel bad that you haven't been able to achieve them. Let me play a little and see what's possible.

Oh, this is such a great question! There are two aspects to this. The first is clipping. The second is print gamut. It's possible for colours to not be clipped, yet still be unprintable. But the shirt definitely is clipped here.

Just cloning there too.

Alas, no, sorry. Painstaking cloning it will have to be.

Once you get the basics right like white balance and exposure, you'll find the hands and teeth are far less bad than you think.

Ok, what other photos do you have that might provide detail we can borrow?