Damien Symonds

Download the PSD file Done using this method, and as you'll see, the addition of some Levels layers to make sure the background around the hair blended perfectly.

Oops, I forgot to darken the area between her legs. I think this is better:

Hi Dayna, as the others have said, process your raw file flatter before attempting any Photoshop work on this.

Looks good.

How about this?

I cannot stress this enough. If a lab asks you to convert to their profile, RUN AWAY FROM THAT LAB AS FAST AS YOU CAN. Lab profiles are for soft-proofing, NOT for conversion.

Download the PSD file Done using this method.

I'm so sorry about the delay. Your edit was the last thing I did before I went to bed last night. Give me a few minutes, I'll upload the file.

It looks very ... circular, doesn't it? What about this?

Oh, sorry, on a Mac it's in the actual "Adobe Bridge CC" menu.

Darn it Nery, STOP THINKING. Just do every step of this, and all your problems (present and future) will disappear. No, this is a massive and damaging myth. It's screwed you up, just like it's screwed up thousands before you.

Ok, great, because the first step has to be getting the white balance right for all of them. Even for the jpegs, you can still do this. Once you've balanced them, post them again and we'll discuss the background tweaking.

Hi Helen, did you shoot them in raw format?

As long as you follow this method exactly, including the noise layer, it won't band. From my files, you'll see I used 150% scale, and of course radial.

No, it won't band. You already read the tutorial, you linked it in your original post. DO NOT MAKE THE BACKGROUND ENTIRELY BLACK. I can't stress this enough. The baby's hair will disappear completely, and it will look ridiculous. NEVER quick selection or magic wand. And definitely never the stupid Refine Edge feature.

Download the PSD of the lighter one Download the PSD of the darker one

It probably goes without saying that the easiest option is to keep the background exactly as it already is around the hair. Masking around the rest is quite easy, using the Shift key, but it's easiest if we can avoid masking around hair at all. Here it is with the background kept the same around the hair: But I'm pleased to say it's not too difficult if you wish to make it darker, either. Just the addition of another Levels layer. Do either of those suit you?

There aren't shades of black. Black is black. Do you mean a darker grey background?

Hi Cathy, what would you like to replace the background with, exactly?

Well, gosh, I'd hope that you don't have to do it very often. This was a special case - a combination of the fake tan, and your decision to shoot her outdoors amid so much cast-throwing foliage.

No, you're a bit confused here. The monitor calibration profile isn't sRGB, or Adobe RGB, or any other standard form of RGB. It's very unique to your screen, and it'll be whatever you named it. More info here. The one you're seeing at the bottom of Photoshop is the image profile. And yes, it must be sRGB. Use this troubleshooter if it's not.

Let me know how it goes for you.

Can you see this one? http://www.damiensymonds.net/art_tscs2.html

It's looking a bit unnatural around the boy's hair.

This troubleshooter will help you decide that.