Editing Help? - DPChallenge Forums

Nikon AF-S DX 18-105 f/3.5-5.6 ED VR

03/15/2011 08:01:54 AM · #1

Last week I took a series of photos at an Italian restaurant to be used in their advertising. These girls are the daughters of the restaurant owners. My Photoshop (CS4 by the way) skills are limited, but what I want to accomplish is to remove all of the dead space between Angie (pink) and Kelly (purple), probably loosing the front wine glass and sliding Kelly's forearm in front of Angie's hand. Any quick pointers to get me started will be very helpful... thanks in advance. -Ray

Editing Help by rtru, on Flickr

JimiRose

Nikon D90

03/15/2011 08:45:46 AM · #2

Probably the easiest way of doing everything you've described would be a reshoot! My Photoshop skills are not exactly Kung-Fu master level but I'd struggle to do all that and come away with a result I'd be happy to see published. As you have a good idea of the final result you'd like perhaps you could go back to the owner and say you'd like to give it another shot? I did some similar shots once upon a time that were taken up by a local "what's on" magazine as well as the restaurant so they're definitely worth having.

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

03/15/2011 09:01:29 AM · #3

Ah, so definitely not an easy fix, eh James? This is only one of about 15 shots that they have selected, so I don't anticipate a reshoot. I know what you mean about being less than masterful with Photoshop, but the things that some people can do made me think it was worth trying. Or asking, anyway. If I can just figure out how to close the gap, I think I may be able to disguise the seam with cloning etc. since I have had pretty good success with that sort of thing.

Thanks for the reply, really appreciated.

Kelli

Canon EOS-D60

03/15/2011 09:14:19 AM · #4

Quick and dirty. It's just a matter of cut, paste and mask.

Canon EOS-5D Mark IV

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

03/15/2011 09:16:29 AM · #5

I don't think it is that hard; unfortunately i don't have the time to do it. All you have to do is make a selection of the left half, starting right of the higher vase, down to the point on the wine glass, where the left girl's finger touches it, along the right side of the glass and around the plate. Then move the selection to the right and a small portion up, then all you'd need would be a little retouching of the background.

Canon EOS-5D Mark IV

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

03/15/2011 09:17:34 AM · #6

Originally posted by h2:

Proably what

Kelli just did.

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

03/15/2011 09:29:21 AM · #7

Thank you Kelli! Believe me when I say I'm intimidated by Photoshop and lacking in basic skills, despite having dinked with it for years. When I hear "cut & paste" I think of text editing. And I've never figured out what masking was. But seeing your results, and having those terms (cut, paste, mask) to work with, I'll do a little more self-educating and see if I can't learn something new. Thank you again!

and thank you too, h2. I'll be working on this today and definitely referring to your instructions.

Message edited by author 2011-03-15 09:37:09.

Kelli

Canon EOS-D60

03/15/2011 09:35:48 AM · #8

Basically what I did was select the area I wanted to move, ctrl+c, ctrl+v, which puts it on it's own layer. Move the layer over to where you want to position it. Change the layer to overlay mode so you can see through it. Then while still on the layer click the mask button. It will put up a blank mask. Click the mask. Then choose either a white or black brush and paint over the areas you want to show or hide (black will bring up the bottom layer, white will hide the bottom layer). I know it sounds complicated, but once you try it you'll see how simple it really is. Once you have the layer's masked out the way you want, change the opacity of the top layer back to normal. Then you can clean it up.

Nikon AF-S DX 18-105 f/3.5-5.6 ED VR

03/15/2011 09:39:19 AM · #9

Ok Kelli, I'll give it a whirl. You've been more than helpful!

JimiRose

Nikon D90

03/15/2011 11:26:24 AM · #10

Now that's Kung-fu ;-)

BrennanOB

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

03/15/2011 11:27:01 AM · #11

Originally posted by nova:

And I've never figured out what masking was.

It is the single best tool in photoshop. Simple graphic explanations are around on the web; not using it really limits the kind of editing you can do, after all masking is the main difference between the basic and advanced rule sets for challenges.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

03/15/2011 12:01:07 PM · #12

Ok, here is the "After". Thanks for all of the help, and most of all thank you Kelli. New trick for an old (or is it dumb) dog!

After Kelli's Help by rtru, on Flickr

Hiii YAH!

Covert_Oddity

Nikon D700

03/15/2011 12:06:25 PM · #13

Nicely done for someone who claims to not understand basic photoshop terms :)

To look at it I wouldn't know it had been edited.

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

03/15/2011 12:16:42 PM · #14

Originally posted by Covert_Oddity:

Nicely done for someone who claims to not understand basic photoshop terms :)

To look at it I wouldn't know it had been edited.

Thanks Iain. Like I said, I have fiddled with Photoshop for several years, but it's just my nature to tend to do what I already know how to do.

Kelli

Canon EOS-D60

03/15/2011 12:17:04 PM · #15

Looks great!

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

03/15/2011 12:22:14 PM · #16

Originally posted by Kelli:

Looks great!

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

03/15/2011 12:52:46 PM · #17

Originally posted by Kelli:

Change the layer to overlay mode so you can see through it.

Rather than changing the mode you can also reduce the opacity of the top layer by whatever amount works to let you line up the images as desired.

If you are going to do much masking and/or cloning/retouching (or Dodge/Burn), a small tablet/stylus will make the job much easier and more accurate than using a mouse, trackball, or touchpad; even the best 4x5 tablets should be under $100.