DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register) 
 

DPChallenge Forums >> Individual Photograph Discussion >> Bad shots need help
Pages:  
Showing posts 1 - 25 of 25, (reverse)
AuthorThread
 04/25/2007 04:23:27 AM · #1




I apologize for being unable to figure out how to upload these photos to the forums..I have tried all the methods and advice without any success. These photos may just need to be thrown in the waste basket anyway
 04/25/2007 04:27:36 AM · #2




Here they are
 04/25/2007 04:28:36 AM · #3
My guess would be camera shake due to not enough light. Did you use the onboard flash or an external one?
 04/25/2007 04:36:04 AM · #4
looks like bad focus.
dont think you can salvage them.
 04/25/2007 05:30:13 AM · #5
They can be improved, but will never be much in the way of anything printable anyway.
--- to this --->

--- to this --->

--- to this ---> -- and -->

Only so much that can be done with the resolution,
compression on the originals and the overall lack of sharpness.

Message edited by author 2007-04-25 21:40:22.
 04/25/2007 05:51:45 AM · #6
yeah, like resize them at another 50% reduction and use them as handheld wallpapers or something.
 04/25/2007 09:04:58 AM · #7
Originally posted by jan_vdw:
My guess would be camera shake due to not enough light. Did you use the onboard flash or an external one?


No flash-I set the camera dial on "P" and set the iso at 800(1600 apears too grainy)I used a Fuji Finepix S9000
 04/25/2007 09:06:40 AM · #8
Originally posted by crayon:
looks like bad focus.
dont think you can salvage them.


Thanks crayon..I just thought I would give this a try. I appreciate ya'll taking a gander at them
 04/25/2007 09:12:18 AM · #9
Thank you , jan_vdw for uploading these photos into the forums for me.
And thanks Brad for trying to improve these photos. I don't photoshop, so maybe it is time for me to take a class on photoshopping. I just wanted to give these photos one last try before throwing them away
 04/25/2007 09:12:21 AM · #10
Remember that the purpose of this type of shot is to help stir/recall memories of the event -- I find that even a slightly OOF shot will do this just fine. These are not scientific photos for forensic analysis where extreme sharpness makes a huge difference. Also, I bet they look better when printed than when you check every detail up close on your computer.
 04/25/2007 09:42:27 AM · #11
-->>

I just had to play. :)
 04/25/2007 09:15:48 PM · #12
My goodness.. KaDi-the final results are the best so far!! I have seen results when some people have the talent to restore old wrinkled photos, so I was hoping there was some salvaging these two very critical photos. I was a little embarrassed that the photos of the Husband and Wife with her family turned out so good and the ones with the Groom's family were few and fuzzy.(By the way-this was a free photoshoot as a gift to the bride and groom)
 04/25/2007 09:47:23 PM · #13
Originally posted by Brad:
They can be improved, but will never be much in the way of anything printable anyway.


Only so much that can be done with the resolution,
compression on the originals and the overall lack of sharpness.


Damn...if thats what a blurry image looks like when it is downsized....then I might just go and downsize all of my images...hehehehehe!! That's just cheating Brad....lmao!!
 04/25/2007 10:01:29 PM · #14
I dont know if will help, but there is plugin for PS called Focus Magic, that may help..
FM
 04/25/2007 10:31:07 PM · #15
Wow KaDi - care to sare your secret? I would never have imagined there was that much information to be extracted from those shots. That's amazing.
 04/25/2007 11:03:07 PM · #16
Originally posted by eamurdock:
Wow KaDi - care to sare your secret? I would never have imagined there was that much information to be extracted from those shots. That's amazing.


lemme guess - high sharpening, high contrast, then remove the "noise" or grain using glow, or selective blur. but nice work!
 04/26/2007 08:07:21 AM · #17
Originally posted by eamurdock:
Wow KaDi - care to sare your secret? I would never have imagined there was that much information to be extracted from those shots. That's amazing.


<> gee...thanks...

I'm happy to share what I did...as best I can remember. I really was just playing around with the image. I should say that I have Elements 2 which is missing some of the more commonly used tools (such as curves and layer masks) but sometimes you can use work-arounds.

I took care of contrast using a levels layer set to luminosity (that keeps the colors from drifting with the contrast). I created another levels layer and set it to color, then tweaked the RGB (mostly the R). I was being lazy and quick, normally I would have used multiple hue/saturation layers. I simplified the layers.

Smoothing the tones: I duped the (now merged) background layer and used a technique I learned in these forums from kiwiness.
1. Filter > Artistic > Cutout (levels 4, edge simplicity 4, fidelity 2)
settings vary depending on the image you're working with
2. Remove color from layer
3. Set layer to soft light
4. Blur layer using Gaussian Blur set to around 20 - 30 pixels (it all depends on the image)...you can watch the changes

Blurring the background: I think I merged the layers again and duped the background.
1. Apply lots of Gaussian blur to new layer (about 8 pixel radius)
2. Fade blurred layer to tastes
(next part makes a layer mask for the blurred layer...necessary in Elements)
3. Create new hue/sat layer and check OK without making any other changes
4. Drag hue/sat layer below blurred layer and link the two together
5. Paint on the hue/sat layer mask to vary the amount of effect on the image (I used 100% black on faces and tapered off toward the edges.

Tweaking:
I created a new layer set to softlight for dodge and burn. I lightened teeth and some whites of eyes. I darkened lips and brows.
I created a new (normal) layer for cloning and cloned the light spot from the top of the bride's head (wondering all the time if it was a tiara and should be there).
Finally, I used a last duped layer (I'm sure I merged before this) to help ease the pixelation on the man to the groom's right. I just used the smudge tool on select parts of his face and neck (touched up groom and bride a bit too) then faded the layer until I was happy with the result.

When I went to save the file I saw it was only 72dpi...and I thought I could squeeze an increase out of it...so I set it to 100dpi and reduced the overall dimensions. (I'm still not sure that this would make a great print...)

Hope that's all understandable. If anyone wants clarification it'll have to wait until I finish this cup of coffee. :)
 04/26/2007 07:13:21 PM · #18
Wonderful job, KaDi !!
 04/26/2007 07:14:36 PM · #19
And Brad -you did an excellent job also-Thank ya'll so much!!
 04/27/2007 12:38:09 AM · #20
Originally posted by Madukes:
Wonderful job, KaDi !!

Thanks! Wondering if you got my reply to the PM you sent...?
 04/27/2007 08:52:37 PM · #21
No I didn't receive your pm-I think my pm thingy ain't working-but go to my profile and email me. I also sent you a pm..did you receive yours?
 04/27/2007 09:19:02 PM · #22
Looking at the image with the ring on the man in the right edge, I can see that it is evenly blurred, not smeared, which makes me think that it is a focus problem.
A couple of things come to mind when looking at the originals. First, if you are holding the camera pointed at the floor, and have the shutter partly depressed while you are raising it up to shoot, it might stay focused for the distance to the floor.
There may be a focus lock button that you are accidentally holding while holding the camera, which could cause the same situation.
You may have taken the camera off autofocus accidentally, or on purpose, and forgot to reset that.
I am not familiar with the FP 9000. If it is an SLR, then the diopter adjustment may be off at the viewfinder, leading you to focus incorrectly on manual focus.
I have done all of the above with my S3 Fuji, so "it" happens.
KaDi , That was a fine recovery process that you applied, a very interesting technique with impressive results.
Brad, Your fix got them looking a lot better too, and very natural looking.

Message edited by author 2007-04-27 21:24:58.
 04/27/2007 10:31:59 PM · #23
I juast thought I'd throw my attempt into the mix. I used an emboss technique that sometimes works on badly out of focus images. I started with Brad's image.
04/27/2007 10:34:23 PM · #24
Originally posted by jemison:
I juast thought I'd throw my attempt into the mix. I used an emboss technique that sometimes works on badly out of focus images. I started with Brad's image.


Would it be rude to say it looks horrible? I definatley like the other attempts but this looks about as bad as the original.

Then again using an original maybe it would have helped?
 04/27/2007 10:58:15 PM · #25
Originally posted by RainMotorsports:


Would it be rude to say it looks horrible?


Why would you ask?
Pages:  
Current Server Time: 08/27/2025 07:54:27 PM

Please log in or register to post to the forums.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 08/27/2025 07:54:27 PM EDT.