Fixing a Photo

[kb522]

Hey gals. We had the photo (link below) taken while on vacation. It was one of those deals where the tourist place took the photo. The camera they used didn't look like a good one (looked like an inexpensive P&S) but it was the only way I could get a picture of the 3 of us... they wouldn't use my camera! Anyway. It looks like it was printed on an ink jet printer or something. I have scanned the image and thought I might be able to fix it in LR or PSE. Any suggestions? I really appreciate your help!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kami52275/2772588397/


Thanks again!

[katrinak]

I think running it through Noiseware might due the trick.

[hguenthe]

Here is a suggested fix for it.



Use LR or I used CS3 as I don't have LR yet, to adjust your photo for the sky and water colors.

Then use noiseware to get rid of as much of the banding as possible (if you don't have this yet, there are lots of posts around here telling you about it and there is a free version if you use Windows or free trials if you use Mac).

Then create a duplicate layer of your photo and turn it to black and white - I used an infrared filter when doing the black & white to get the emphasis for the mountains that I was looking for.

Then I did an adjustment layer over the black & white turning it a light shade of green to help cut the redness left over from the printing banding.

Merge the black & white and green layer together and set its blend mode to multiply. I found this helped to get rid of the red overtone to the photo.

Once that was done, it left the photo a bit muted all over so I went back in and did a Filter -> Render -> Lighting Effect and added in an Omni light source centered right around your family in the canoe. You can play with how small or big you want it to adjust the focus on your family or how dark the rest of the photo is.

So there is my playing with it. You have the good backbones to a photo still that I think if you play with it, you can find an option that you will fall in love with to savor the memories.

PS. I thought it was Lake Louise so was happy to see that confirmed when I visited the photo... old family childhood vacation destination each year.

[kb522]

Thanks, Katrina and Heather. I have been thinking about Noiseware for a while as I have been reading all the great reviews on this site. Now I guess I have the perfect reason to purchase it!

Wow, thanks for the hard work, Heather. It does look much better. I will get Nosieware and start playing I guess. So Noiseware is the first step then?

And, Heather, We had an absolutely wonderful vacation in Banff. One of the most beautiful places I have ever been to... actually THE most beautiful place I think I've seen. :-)

Thanks!

[hguenthe]

Since I don't have LR to use it for adjustments, I import the photo into CS3 and do the brightness, contrast, etc to get the light balance/colors closer to what I want first. Then I do noiseware but if you have LR, you probably can do the noiseware first and then all of your adjustments.

Noiseware got rid of a lot of the banding but not all, which is why I used the infrared black & white filter as it made the mountain on the left a lot darker without losing all of its definition which helped to mask the rest of the banding. You could also use a gaussian blur on a layer and erase all but the area which still has banding with a large soft brush so you are only softening the banding and not losing your sharpness in your photo.

Play around.. it's fun That suggestion maybe took 5 mins and there is always the undo button or duplicate layers and hide them so you have copies to go back to. I ended up with 1 layer shown in the end up about 10 hidden layers of different steps and trials.

[deanie]

Just to let you know, Noiseware rocks!! I'm working on a birth book for DD-she turns 27 tomorrow, and it has been wonderful with the scanned photos I am working with.

[RatherBScrappin]

I've heard great things about this program...I'll have to check it out!

[kb522]

What's the main difference between professional and standard?

[hguenthe]

This post kind of discusses it... either way, am sure you will be happy with it.

Remember to do a quick google search for "noiseware coupon code" and you are likely to find one that will work for around 20% off. One that used to work and may still work is TS2008 (Kathie02) used this one not that long ago and posted about it.

[bluelemur01]

I added a color adjustment layer in PHotoshop and added some blues/greens, and decreased the red. I'm not sure if it was just the scanning process, or if the original was that red, but the image you posted was high on reds/magentas. I then added a curves layer to lighten up the mountain side. good luck!

[kb522]

oh, jennifer. that looks good. did you use PS i suppose? i think i can do a curves adjustment in PSE.

[bluelemur01]

I did use Photoshop CS3. The first option I used was Image --> Adjustments --> Color Balance. I then pulled the sliders to -17, +57, and +17 respectively. (I eyeballed it...if you do it, you may prefer slightly different values.) I don't have PSE so I'm not sure which option would come closest to this.

Curves doesn't change the colors dramatically, and for me, the color seemed to be the biggest challenge. But I did add a curves layer, made it lighter, then masked it and painted over the appropriate areas just to lighten up the mountains.

Maybe someone else can help with what options in PSE could so something similar? If you want to email the photo, I could try to adjust it for you & sent it back, too...let me know!
Jennifer

[kb522]

Wow! Thanks, guys. I appreciate all the replies. I told my husband "I'm going to take this photo to my photography board!" LOL he thinks I'm nuts, but I knew you all would know what to do.

Jennifer, I appreciate the offer. I'l try to mess with it this weekend and get back to you. I found a 10% off coupon for Noiseware (pnp2008) so I'm hoping to purchase it this weekend!