Can you make this picture better?

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

11/08/2003 07:05:32 PM · #1

I took this picture on a basketball game today and I'm wondering if somebody could make it better.
You may edit this like you want, but don't use any special effect like PS filters. Crop, contrast, anything :)
The link is to a bigger version of the picture and is 1MB

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

11/08/2003 07:20:42 PM · #2

My first impression involves adding type -- can you tell me the name and city of the school (or suitable pseudonyms)?

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

11/08/2003 07:41:32 PM · #3

Originally posted by GeneralE:

My first impression involves adding type -- can you tell me the name and city of the school (or suitable pseudonyms)?

The blue ones are KFÍ and the red ones are Haukar

Imagineer

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

11/08/2003 09:07:23 PM · #4

Birgir, I think this is really an extremely hi-res snapshot (most people will struggle opening this unless on broadband!).

The focus is not good and the foundation image is too poor. While it's a good capture of action there is no substitute for a good photo - and hard work in PS or equivalent would only be damage limitation. Just my opinion though. ; )

ChrisW123

Canon EOS-1000D Rebel XS

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

11/08/2003 11:23:11 PM · #5

I think it's a decent image. The lighting is pretty good because of the flash or whatever you used and the action of the players is really good... I also like the reflection off of the hardwood floor.

To enhance this pic I'd use the clone tool to remove the shadow on the walls behind the players. This is the biggest improvement you could make. Then maybe use USM afterwards to sharpen it a little, based off of Jon's comment on the focus.

jaimeegrl

Canon PowerShot A70

11/09/2003 11:10:09 AM · #6

I corrected the contrast balance, and blurred the background a bit to help the subjects pop, and croped. took about 5 min. Could be better if it was worked on some more.

~jae

evmariedogs

Canon PowerShot Pro 90 IS

11/09/2003 12:57:20 PM · #7

nice job Jae!!

johnmk

Ricoh Caplio RR1

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

11/09/2003 01:29:44 PM · #8

Originally posted by jaimeegrl:

I corrected the contrast balance, and blurred the background a bit to help the subjects pop, and croped. took about 5 min. Could be better if it was worked on some more.

~jae

Please, could you explain how you blurred the background? It did wonders for this picture.

johnmk

Ricoh Caplio RR1

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

11/09/2003 06:04:05 PM · #9

bump :-)

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

11/09/2003 06:06:32 PM · #10

Nice job jaimeegrl ... the blured background dose some nice thing for this picture.

Thank you

GinaRothfels

Olympus 8mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital ED Fisheye PRO Lens

11/09/2003 07:07:20 PM · #11

I tried something a bit different - adjusted levels to darken the background so that the players stand out more. Otherwise I just resized and used unsharp mask.

Hope the thumbnail works, it's the first time I'm trying this.

Damn thing didn't work, maybe this link will.

Nope, what about this one //myalbum.mweb.co.za/uploaded/763f1601-b144-11d4-b41d-0008c791f55a/632040266288178640.html , then click on the first image offered.

Message edited by author 2003-11-09 19:15:58.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

11/09/2003 07:20:24 PM · #12

Thank you Gina. I see that I have to do something with the background to get the players to stand out more.
I realy like what you did. This dark background just looks great.

GinaRothfels

Olympus 8mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital ED Fisheye PRO Lens

11/09/2003 07:24:06 PM · #13

Glad you like it. I really wasn't sure I was going to get that link to work.

Zeissman

Canon EOS-500D Rebel T1i

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

11/09/2003 07:40:08 PM · #14

Originally posted by johnmk:

Originally posted by jaimeegrl:

I corrected the contrast balance, and blurred the background a bit to help the subjects pop, and croped. took about 5 min. Could be better if it was worked on some more.

~jae

Please, could you explain how you blurred the background? It did wonders for this picture.

I did this recently, I did a blur on the whole image, than using the erase to history feature in PS, erased the area I wanted sharp. I would like to know how sh did it though.

jaimeegrl

Canon PowerShot A70

11/09/2003 10:13:34 PM · #15

I will explain more in depth what I have done with this photo.
Step one. I croped!
Then I used a technique to help balance the contrast levels in the photo. I used the CTRL/ALT/~ method or the "improving shadow and highlight detail" as stated in the tutorial here
Tutorial
Next I used the lasso tool and selected the ball, and the two players. Rember you can select a portion of a photo and then use SHIFT to add other parts of a picture or ALT to subtract from your selection.
I feathered about 10 pixels I think the selected inverse. I then cut and repasted to create another layer. you could also just type CTRL + J.
I then used gaussian blur to blur the background.
That's it!
Hope this helps.

~jae

johnmk

Ricoh Caplio RR1

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

11/10/2003 04:21:32 AM · #16

Thank you, very helpful indeed.