Touch-it-up Tuesday, episode 2

"Touch-it-up" sounds better with Tuesday than Thursday, so I'm hereby rescheduling this weekly feature.

Here are a few more before and afters from the "I'll do my best to fix your photo" contest.

Clairz sent me this gorgeous sunrise she took from her patio. Quick...guess which state she lives in. New Mexico! This is what I call a "pajama shot" - a photograph taken on the spur of the moment in one's nightclothes because the light would be gone in the time it would take to get dressed. Had Clairz been appropriately attired, she might have been able to race across the street to capture the moment without the utility poles and wires in the way.


So through the magic of Photoshop's clone tool, spot healing brush, and patch tool, I tore down the poles and removed the wires, being careful to remove their corresponding reflections in the water below. It doesn't take any rocket science to do this sort of retouching - just alot of patience, with an emphasis on the "alot" part.



Pat in east TN sent me this note with the photo below: Just wondering if you can do anything with this picture of my beloved Doberman, Tori? A new background? Take away shadows? I have no clue and just thought maybe you could fix this up so I could get it printed and framed. She's been gone over 2 years now but holds such a special place in my heart.


This was going to be a tough one because the original image was small and of low resolution – 3.2" wide and 200 dpi. I would have to dive deep into my bag of tricks to give Pat something worth framing.


In this first attempt (above), I straightened the image, then removed the background and replaced it with another of Shadowhouse Creations' fabulous free textures. I also toned down the highlights on Tori's beautiful coat with PW's Dim the Lights action and popped the color with PW's Boost action. Then I sharpened here and sharpened there and lightened here and lightened there, but I still wasn't happy with the results. If this were printed no larger than 6" wide and I didn't wear my glasses, maybe it would be ok.

So I tried one more thing. I went into Photoshop's filter gallery and messed around until I found a combination of settings that turned the photograph into more of a representational image, leaving out the details which weren't really there to begin with.


I sent these to Pat and received this note: I love them both and thank you SO much for your time in making these unbelievable pictures of our special girl. You'll never know what this means to me.

And that, my friends, is why I love Photoshop.