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Posted on 03/02/07 11:06:21 PM |
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Riki63
* Posts: 12 Reply |
Help me make a duet
He's in NY, she's in KC, but they will be performing at a charity event together. Please help me unite them. It will be reproduced only in BW.  |
Posted on 04/02/07 5:31:23 PM |
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Pierre
Constructional Confabulator Posts: 637 Reply  |
Re: Help me make a duet
Your result actually looks quite nice! A couple of comments to make it look even better. The gentleman's head is a bit too biig compared to the lady's (measure the height, you will see). The contrast of the lady's skin is a bit higher then the one on the gentleman, so select the guy and push the contrast up a bit. Finally, create some soft shadow of the lady on the man's chest. If you can find a man's hand somewhere to put on the right shoulder of the lady, it would be a nice touch... let us see the result!   _________________ |
Posted on 04/02/07 6:00:34 PM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 3883 Reply  |
Re: Help me make a duet
Hi Riki, I agree with Pierre. I would also make the comment that the lighting is different on the two shots. That on the man is more frontal than on the lady where it is coming from slightly above and left. It would be easier to adjust the lighting on the man to suit that on the lady rather than the other way round. To do this create a new layer filled with 50% grey and change the mode to overlay. Then use a very soft edged brush at low opacity to gently add highlights (white brush) or darken (black brush). It looks as though there is also a top light to give the sheen to the lady's hair so you might want to cater for that when adding that little sheen to the man's head. The 'catchlights' on the eyes look different also so you might want to tweak one of them to match the other. I would probably also lighten the background behind the man's head a little. If you look at the shot of the lady you can see that the photographer has placed a flash behind her to help pull her away from the background. If you extend that lightened area the same amount-ish to the left of the shot it will help separate his head from the background also. Be subtle with it, though. You've done a pretty good job so far. Gordon |
Posted on 04/02/07 9:15:05 PM |
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Riki63
* Posts: 12 Reply |
Re: Help me make a duet
Thank you so much for your suggestions, I am doing my best to implement them. However, when I push his contrast up any more he seems to "come into focus" too much. Tiny wrinkles and the areas of shine are so obvious that it is distracting. I wonder if there is maybe a filter or blur I should try to apply afterwards? Gordon - thank you for the clear instruction re: the overlay layer. I had been relying on dodge and burn, your way was soooo much better. Pierre - I am waiting for my husband to get home to photograph his hand, I really want to try that! I will post it when I am finished. |
Posted on 04/02/07 9:52:27 PM |
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Pierre
Constructional Confabulator Posts: 637 Reply |
Re: Help me make a duet
Try the filter>>Blur>Gaussian blur with just a few percent (make sure the "monochromatic" box is checked) to remove the harshness after applying the contrast, it mey help... Have fun and good luck! _________________ |
Posted on 05/02/07 00:21:51 AM |
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David Asch
Tech Support Posts: 1913 Reply  |
Re: Help me make a duet
You mean Add Noise, of course? _________________ If you hold on to the past, sooner or later you'll lose your grip. |
Posted on 05/02/07 01:47:14 AM |
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Riki63
* Posts: 12 Reply |
Re: Help me make a duet
Here's where I'm at now . . . Gaussian blur didn't have mono box, but I did it at 3 pixels.  |
Posted on 05/02/07 08:33:23 AM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 3883 Reply |
Re: Help me make a duet
Hi Riki, It's coming along nicely. I can't quite see on this low res image but I think that it might help if you softened up the lady's right shoulder a little by making a selection of the edge and contracting it by, say, a couple of pixels then feathering it by one pixel, selecting 'inverse' and then deleting the edge. Or you can do it with a layer mask so that it is not destructive. This will give a less harsh edge to her jacket in front of the man. Exactly how much you contract and feather by depends, of course, on the resolution of the image. It does look as though that catchlight in the man's eyes will have to be softened a little as it is drawing ones eyes away from the rest of the photograph. I think then you are pretty much there. Gordon |
Posted on 05/02/07 12:54:51 PM |
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Riki63
* Posts: 12 Reply |
Re: Help me make a duet
Thank you Pierre, David and Gordon, I will use your suggestions. I am actually (and thankfully) working with a high res photos, but as you know, can't post such a big file here. I will make those changes right away . . . the first flyer goes to print today. Oh yeah, the hand thing, I need more practice before I do that. I tried, but had to decide that if I didn't have the time to do it right, better to omit it. Thank you again. |
Posted on 14/02/07 2:15:32 PM |
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Riki63
* Posts: 12 Reply |
Re: Help me make a duet
Here is the result, as it will appear on the program cover. |
Posted on 14/02/07 2:18:57 PM |
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Riki63
* Posts: 12 Reply |
Re: Help me make a duet
It says the upload directory "does not exist" . . . Don't know how to do it. |
Posted on 14/02/07 6:28:53 PM |
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Riki63
* Posts: 12 Reply |
Re: Help me make a duet
Trying again . . .  |
Posted on 15/02/07 3:48:56 PM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 3883 Reply |
Re: Help me make a duet
Very nice Riki |