Fade out baby dry skin

Seajay

Seajay

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Cathy
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Hi all,
Another baby picture I am having trouble with.
This was not the best image taken on the day but mum wants it to be printed.
I have no idea how to fade out the dry skin on the legs without losing sharpness any suggestions please.

Ava by Cooriedoon, on Flickr
 
I can hardly see it at the resolution and JPEG compression you've posted it at :) The heal tool would be the most likely tool for that kind of thing though.
 
David you are right sorry I will post it again.
I did try the heal tool but it was not quite getting it for me as there is so much dry skin.
The image is not the best to begin with and there is a huge shadow in the area where her little legs are.



Ava no edit by Cooriedoon, on Flickr
 
In Photoshop duplicate the background layer and to this add some Gaussian blur to smooth the dry skin . Then convert theni layer to a mask and simply paint through the soften image

Look up tutorials on softening wrinkles and skin blemishes with Photoshop if you've not done this before. Adjusting the level of blur and opacity in the layer gives you some control.

Don't try to remove the dry skin all together as this can make the image look odd.
 
I'd leave it alone. Barely noticeable and only because you've told us.
 
Thanks all.
I have been trying several ways and it truly has been messing up the image making her legs looks plastic.
However i am off to try the blur John that is a good idea
Cathy
 
Just a quick thought on this. A word of caution on editing this after the client has chosen it. She may have chosen this particular image partly because of the skin and as it is a true likeness of how her newborn child looks. As photographers we are very critical of minor things and seek perfect skin and with the invention of photoshop we can create it, even if it isn't actually there. To others these imperfections could be endearing especially if the connection is emotional
 
The quality of that compared to the slightly lower res one you posted earlier (not the OP screen res one) is pretty terrible! It's ultra grainy and noisy when viewed at print res, but there are patches of the image that have no grain whatsoever. I've no idea how big the client has ordered that, but I'd not be happy with that.

Image from post #3
Capture2.JPG

Image from post #9
Capture.JPG


What's caused that? It's definitely VERY over sharpened. Click the images to view larger. There's some part of your processing technique you need to look at I think.
 
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Oh dear!
I will start over as I see what you mean.
I did run the coffee shop action fir the first time so not sure if I did it right.
Then when I brushed around the edges with a light colour I sharpened that layer
Then when I finished and flattened I did an unsharp mask.
David it will not be too large an image but I have to learn to get it right.
This is why this forum is so helpful and you get an honest opinion which I like!
Cathy
 
At 300ppi, that would be noticable at less than A4.

It shouldn't really need any sharpening at all, or at least very, very little.

You've done a pretty good job of removing the dry skin though :) Just lay off that sharpening, and whatever that action is doing, as it's clearly pants :)

The quality you had in post #3 was nice. Just retouch the skin, and do no more, it doesn't need it, and even small prints are adept at revealing detail a monitor never can.
 
David thank you and I will have another practice run with it over the weekend.
I probably did sharpen it way too much as it was not a great capture to begin with.
This is for a friend who knows I am still learning.Not that I use this as an excuse for my effort but I don't charge
The images are purely for learning.
 
Don't forget you'll NEVER learn if you get it right first time every time.
 
Can i ask what your lighting setup is?
 
Well! Yes but please note this was my first try using my wonderful new Lencarta studio lights.

I only used the soft box for my first go and had the baby facing my window with the soft box to the right of her at approx 45 degree angle, the light shining down her body from her head.
This is why I have that horrid shadow. I see that I should have placed my reflector at the other side beside her feet to bounce some light back.

I have a long way to go with my lights and probably camera settings but I enjoy trying :)
 
This sort of image looks best slightly softened anyway. We photographer are too obsessed about getting ultimate sharpness in an image that we forget about what looks best for the subjects we have captured.
Great Photo by the way. Well posed and nicely lit. Well done Cathy.
 
Just a little update re my original post.

Thanks to all of you for your help and advice.

Due to listening and a little more work I finally received two beautiful canvas prints of this image from Ben at Tradecanvasprint .
I have to say they provide a first class service and the canvas looks great. This was a pleasure to receive for a happy snapper like me.
Cathy:)
 
another way is in ACR. use the selective tool, adjust bush size to suit and then adjust clarity to -25. then brush over the areas
 
Dean I have many more images to play with so I will be trying this way too.
Thank you :)
 
hope you dont mind, had a quick play just using ACR.
only the above Jpeg . with the raw file could work a little more on it.

14419510530_a5d6fce7de_b.jpg
 
Dean looks fab! I am going to open this image again in raw and try this using ACR
Did you just use -25 then brush onto her skin.
Thank you
Cathy :)
 
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hi Cathy. yes. you can go to -50 if you want as the process isnt applied until you click open image at the end so you can see how much adjustment is done in real time.. i also set feather to 100% and just use a brush radius around 1/5 size of the width of arm to give an idea.
also made slight alteration to the exposure to bring out the rug , again with the sliders in acr.
 
A genuine question... the child has dry skin, the parents know the child has dry skin, the parents know the photograph was taken when the child had dry skin, so why try to hide the dry skin?

I can understand 'fixing' exposure or lighting problems, but digital skin grafts?
 
ive had this on a photoshoot before where the child who was a downs syndrome sufferer got breakouts of excema every now and again and unfortunately the photoshoot coincided with a breakout, so they asked if i could "smooth" the skin to remove it . this could be a similar scenario. and end of the day what portrait shot isnt airbrushed and shopped these days, after all everyone wants to look there best when hung on the wall.. even babies !.. heck ive even shopped my own portrait to take a few years off ( ugly old git need all the help photoshop can give me! )
 
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digital said:
A genuine question... the child has dry skin, the parents know the child has dry skin, the parents know the photograph was taken when the child had dry skin, so why try to hide the dry skin?

I can understand 'fixing' exposure or lighting problems, but digital skin grafts?
Click to expand...


You'd just ask if they want it or not.. simple. Most would. It's a temporary thing usually, so why preserve it as the main record of their child at that age? Same with spots on teenagers... usually temporary... we're not talking about removing birth marks, moles, or permanent characteristics that define you here. Dry skin does not define you.

I think you're just being a bit of a curmudgeon :) I think most photographers would have asked if they want retouching done or not. I've done a LOT of social portraiture... for my sins... LOL.... and from experience, most would want it retouched. You'd still ask though. You should never retouch anything without the client's permission, or at least inform them that you usually do, and give them the opportunity to request that you don't.
 
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Pookeyhead said:
I think you're just being a bit of a curmudgeon :)
Click to expand...

I don't think so. I see it as a matter of honesty: this is how the child was at this time. I would expect, in years to come, that it would be a reminder to the parents of how their child was and how they had changed. Something positive.

I have images of my grandson with some scratches on his face. Something perfectly normal in babies as they wave their arms around. I could remove them, but I won't. They are part of him being just a few months old.

I work on the basis 'Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should'.

All that said, if the parents ask, then I suppose the parents should get...
 
digital said:
A genuine question... the child has dry skin, the parents know the child has dry skin, the parents know the photograph was taken when the child had dry skin, so why try to hide the dry skin?

I can understand 'fixing' exposure or lighting problems, but digital skin grafts?
Click to expand...



You will have to excuse me if I laugh :) Only because My grandkids ask me to remove spots bruises etc even before I take a picture now. The youngest 5 years old. This is just because they see it all the time even their parents run their snaps through Instagram making huge changes to daily snaps. Their childhood cameras allow them to make changes to their own images adding frames stretched or faded faces etc.

However I hear what you are saying .

This photo session was for a friend and was purely to allow me to practice with my new studio lights and to enjoy capturing a new baby. This would also allow me to have a go at making edits should it be required.
.
As you will see on an earlier post. Chris very kindly mentioned this type of question already, suggesting that the parents may like the dry skin as it is. I quickly followed his advice and asked. Parents gave me their permission to do whatever I felt was required.
After following my information gathered here and lots of practise I showed them a before and after they decided on the image I softened.
It would always be what the parents want as the child is theirs and the memories created are theirs to keep forever.

Just my opinion but I would have wanted some of her skin softened too and the colour adjusted as she was very red.
Looking forward to doing some more in the future.
Cathy :)
 
Seajay said:
You will have to excuse me if I laugh :) Only because My grandkids ask me to remove spots bruises etc even before I take a picture now. The youngest 5 years old. This is just because they see it all the time even their parents run their snaps through Instagram making huge changes to daily snaps. Their childhood cameras allow them to make changes to their own images adding frames stretched or faded faces etc.
Click to expand...

I find that quite worrying (not the fun image changes, that's completely different). Can they not accept that that is how they are?

I thought we had got on top of issues like size 0 clothing and models' airbrushing that caused body image problems for youngsters in the past. It seems not.
 
you can hardly classify a few scratches, bruises, spots and the like as body image problems. you may as well just say any model in makeup shouldnt be accepted either.
 
Digital sadly this is just the way of it especially if the children have knowledge of it all. I take many images of my family and I don't edit them all but if I see that little something that annoys me off it goes into my healing brush and most of the time it is not noticeable.
Anyway we are slightly moving off topic really but like the rest of us you too have your opinion which I do get!
All information here has been most welcome so thank you all :)
 
digital said:
I don't think so. I see it as a matter of honesty: .
Click to expand...

Like I said... just ask them. It's not dishonest if you ask them, and they inform you that they want it, is it?
 
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