Help! Tips on a distracting background

  • Thread starter Thread starter Vic
  • Start date Start date
V

Vic

Suspended / Banned
Messages
1,067
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi all,

Took my first pictures of children the other day. Unfortunatey due to my apprehension and the parents re-decorating I have some ok shots but with very distracting backgrounds. Any ideas of how to clear the background up?

I have tried to clone tool but it ends up looking quite mucky.

3983997992_7b346f77b9.jpg


Thanks
Vicky.
 
You could try creating more blur for the background (inverse extract around subject, then apply a gradient blur to the background). This is a bit fiddly so I use the alienskin bokeh filter to do it very quickly and easily.

Also, the colours on the subject are a bit washed out so maybe a soft light pass would add some pop to the foreground. I've done an edit but you don't seem to have edit option marked so let me know if you wish to see what I've done and I'l post it up.
 
kman said:
You could try creating more blur for the background (inverse extract around subject, then apply a gradient blur to the background). This is a bit fiddly so I use the alienskin bokeh filter to do it very quickly and easily.

Also, the colours on the subject are a bit washed out so maybe a soft light pass would add some pop to the foreground. I've done an edit but you don't seem to have edit option marked so let me know if you wish to see what I've done and I'l post it up.
Click to expand...


Hi Kman, thanks for the advice! I'd love to see your edit, is there something I need to change on my flickr or this account for editing? Also can you explain what a soft light pass is?

Make a dup layer bottom layer desat to about 25% add a Gaussian bluer top layer add a mask paint a black to white grad top to bottom then mask out the girl and this is what I got
Any good?
Click to expand...

Hi Chaz, your edit looks great. I got as far as desaturating a layer then reducing it. However I got confused about a "bluer" gaussian layer and I am not so great with the gradients. Could you explain a bit more? I've googled some of this but cant find anything.

Thanks
 
In all honesty the picture is perfect the way it is.
Little girl posing with her toys out of focus in the background..Its all relative and perfect the way it is.

Actually..this says to me..Ok..i will pose but i want to go play with my toys..
Slightly sad look...Light coming from room as if to beckon her to her room..
 
I do like the original- however i had a little tweak of the 2nd image:
2009-10-05_205445.jpg


I by no means know how to use photoshop correctly.
 
To have the edit thing displayed, go to user cp, edit profile details and check the last box on the page (scroll right down).

This is my edit (I could have created a stronger blur if you still think its too much but I think its ok). The soft light is just a duplicate layer in photoshop with blending mode changed to soft light. You can alter the intensity with the opacity slider or repeat with more duplicate layers for a stronger effect.

39839979927b346f77b9edi.jpg
 
Vic said:
Hi Chaz, your edit looks great. I got as far as desaturating a layer then reducing it. However I got confused about a "bluer" gaussian layer and I am not so great with the gradients. Could you explain a bit more? I've googled some of this but cant find anything.

Thanks
Click to expand...

HI
Ok I try to tell you
You have made a copy layer (Ctrl +J) background layer desat about 25% then add a Gaussian blur (not too much)
Top layer now
Add mask make sure you re on the mask get the gradient tool with black set to foreground and white as background Now draw a line down the MASK from top to nearly the bottom this will show the background layer through the top one
BUT the girl is now also blurred
So now get a paint brush with a soft edge and paint On to the mask White over the girl to let the sharp photo of the girl show.
Hope this helps as typing it all down is not as easy as talking some one through it.
 
Very nicely done Chaz, removing the bright colors make a huge difference.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top