old photo edit

D

debrito

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Name
Paul
Edit My Images
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Hi i lost my mojo but have a feeling im going to get it back on this project (none payment job may i add)
a dear friend of mine has asked me if i can cut the old lady out of this image and mount it her on a white or off whit background ,also if possible blow it up to say 12x16 lol
what do we think people is it poss and if so has anyone got any tips on how to do it , i i thought of taking the shot of the image then doing it ?
photobooie.jpg
 
Perhaps if you cropped from the waist up otherwise I think it'll look "odd" where her hands are.
Of course doing that reduces your enlarging potential. If you could provide a link to a full resolution copy Im sure someone will be able to have a go for you.
 
A couple of minutes' work with Elements 10's Magic Extractor on the above image produced this, which needs a bit of cleaning up. I'd say it shouldn't be more than a half-hour to an hour's work to do a proper job. But as to whether it could be blown up to 12 x 16 (and are we talking about inches or centimetres?), that depends on the pixel resolution of the original photo. To print it at, say, 200 pixels per inch, you'd need the original to be (12x200) by (16x200), or 2400 by 3200 pixels.

xqmbro.jpg
 
garryknight said:
A couple of minutes' work with Elements 10's Magic Extractor on the above image produced this, which needs a bit of cleaning up. I'd say it shouldn't be more than a half-hour to an hour's work to do a proper job. But as to whether it could be blown up to 12 x 16 (and are we talking about inches or centimetres?), that depends on the pixel resolution of the original photo. To print it at, say, 200 pixels per inch, you'd need the original to be (12x200) by (16x200), or 2400 by 3200 pixels.

xqmbro.jpg
Click to expand...

hi sizes are 12 inch x 16 inch sorry i have cs5 ext software) i also think original is only only a 6x4 i had a idea that if i took a new shot of the pic it would be easier to enlarge
 
DorsetDude said:
Perhaps if you cropped from the waist up otherwise I think it'll look "odd" where her hands are.
Of course doing that reduces your enlarging potential. If you could provide a link to a full resolution copy Im sure someone will be able to have a go for you.
Click to expand...

yes i think maybe waist up how about some creativity with a black and white and darkened edges
 
i had a quick go i know its not good cut out but just as a idea of what he is after,
canvaskim.jpg
 
You could scan it at, say, 300 dpi. If you take a new photo of the existing photo it could work though you'd have to watch for reflections, so don't use flash, take it in flat but bright light, make sure the lens is parallel with the surface of the original, use a tripod if possible and use the lowest ISO possible.

In CS5 your best bet would be to use the Quick Selection Tool with about 80% hardness to create a selection around the subject, go in at 1:1 to refine the selection paying close attention to the hair and making sure to leave out the shadow, then do a Ctrl+J to put the selection on a new layer. You can tidy up any rough edges either using the Eraser tool or better still a layer mask. Then you can replace the Background with whatever you like: a gradient fill, a texture, a single colour, a complete new photo if you like. With the QS Tool set to 80% hardness you'll get a nice soft edge around the subject to blend in better with the new background.

If you decide to resize the original instead, do so before doing any PS work on it, and make sure you select Bicubic Smoother for the resampling method.

I hope all this makes sense. If not, ask questions. If I'm not online there will be people far more expert at PS than I am.
 
Just seen your first go at it, Paul. Good try but if I were you I'd work with a bigger version. You didn't say anything about wanting it in mono but if you do you'll probably want to tweak the contrast a bit and some sharpening.
 
The resolution just isn't there for a 16x12 (inch?) head shot print, it'll look grim, I just tried resizing using S spline max and reducing the artifacts but it still looked pretty bad, needs a decent scan for a big print really.
 
Had a little play and here is what I came out with

381055_10150446237304450_686584449_8253491_120292811_n.jpg


took about 15 mins
 
On another non photographic site I often get requests from members to work on very old B/W photos which have crease marks -faded -turned to sepia colour and often badly out of focus. I do it for nothing as it for me a pleasure to see what can be done and only costs a little time.

Yes one can get improvements with editing software but it always boils down to how good the original picture was. I have never yet been able to enlarge one of these pictures to the standard of a picture taken with a modern camera.

Realspeed
 
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That really looks great, Darren. Only problem is the shadow behind her head. In the original photo, you can see more of the shadow further down. I would take the original shadow out entirely and create a new one.
 
swanseamale47 said:
The resolution just isn't there for a 16x12 (inch?) head shot print, it'll look grim, I just tried resizing using S spline max and reducing the artifacts but it still looked pretty bad, needs a decent scan for a big print really.
Click to expand...

hi would a scan be better then a new shot of the photo ?
 
garryknight said:
Just seen your first go at it, Paul. Good try but if I were you I'd work with a bigger version. You didn't say anything about wanting it in mono but if you do you'll probably want to tweak the contrast a bit and some sharpening.
Click to expand...

yes sorry would be ok in mono ill try that thanks
 
garryknight said:
You could scan it at, say, 300 dpi. If you take a new photo of the existing photo it could work though you'd have to watch for reflections, so don't use flash, take it in flat but bright light, make sure the lens is parallel with the surface of the original, use a tripod if possible and use the lowest ISO possible.

In CS5 your best bet would be to use the Quick Selection Tool with about 80% hardness to create a selection around the subject, go in at 1:1 to refine the selection paying close attention to the hair and making sure to leave out the shadow, then do a Ctrl+J to put the selection on a new layer. You can tidy up any rough edges either using the Eraser tool or better still a layer mask. Then you can replace the Background with whatever you like: a gradient fill, a texture, a single colour, a complete new photo if you like. With the QS Tool set to 80% hardness you'll get a nice soft edge around the subject to blend in better with the new background.

If you decide to resize the original instead, do so before doing any PS work on it, and make sure you select Bicubic Smoother for the resampling method.

I hope all this makes sense. If not, ask questions. If I'm not online there will be people far more expert at PS than I am.
Click to expand...

superb just read your 1st reply and had ago your tip on 80% woked a treat thanks
 
debrito said:
that's a great job please can you tell me your process so i can at least try and match it whow :thumbs:
Click to expand...

I used the quick selection tool to go around the old lady. I then use the colour selection tool to select the colour of the wall and then paint what was selected. I then used the clone tool to clone parts of the clothing on the legs. and also the chair
 
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