I need some help please!

Blacktop

Senior Member
Took this shot at the Zoo Sunday. Unfortunately with the way the light was I was getting some harsh stuff. This is the only shot I have of this Hawk and I have the cropping just the way i want, but there is this ugly blue shadow on the girls face that I just cant get rid of.

Been watching videos for hours on PS color replacement but I just can't seem to get it right.
Here is the link to the full size jpeg. I have it processed just the way I want it, the only thing is this blue shadow (?) on her face I can't seem to fix.
Any help would be appreciated.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1oo1qiixg8jwc7k/Knoxville Zoo--4.jpg?dl=0
 

480sparky

Senior Member
I was able to remove the blue from her nose with the clone & heal tools.

Knoxville Zoo--5.jpg
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Took this shot at the Zoo Sunday. Unfortunately with the way the light was I was getting some harsh stuff. This is the only shot I have of this Hawk and I have the cropping just the way i want, but there is this ugly blue shadow on the girls face that I just cant get rid of.

Been watching videos for hours on PS color replacement but I just can't seem to get it right.
Here is the link to the full size jpeg. I have it processed just the way I want it, the only thing is this blue shadow (?) on her face I can't seem to fix.
Any help would be appreciated.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1oo1qiixg8jwc7k/Knoxville Zoo--4.jpg?dl=0
Are you talking about the rather large blob of shadow under her left eye (as viewed)?
 

Slipperman

Senior Member
was this HDR'd before the crop? looks like it could have been. i've had issues in the past where the HDR process creates these weird aberrations in certain colors that don't show up when processed normally.. i usually take another NEF from the same series and try processing that by itself.
 

Blacktop

Senior Member
was this HDR'd before the crop? looks like it could have been. i've had issues in the past where the HDR process creates these weird aberrations in certain colors that don't show up when processed normally.. i usually take another NEF from the same series and try processing that by itself.
No, just a single shot.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Yes, and her nose.
The nose is not too bad, that will be the easy part; the shadow under her eye, though, would be tough as nails (at least for me) to correct. There's a technique called "frequency separation" that might work for this for this if you want to Google that and give it a go. I've used it a few times but in my experience FS works best when you have proper exposure to begin with. The issue with this shot is that you're going to have to deal with not only the with color but also the underlying texture if you want it look right. I could correct the color easily enough using the Healing Brush Tool, alternating the the mode between Lighten and Color, and maybe use the Clone Stamp a little, but skin retouching is hard and I don't think my skill's are up to this particular task.

I'll play with it, though, and see what I can do.

EDIT: Just realized your upload is a .JPG and not a raw file, which changes everything..:(
You're going to need someone with much better skills than what I can offer for this. Maybe page Jake to the thread?
 
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Blacktop

Senior Member
The nose is not too bad, that will be the easy part; the shadow under her eye, though, would be tough as nails (at least for me) to correct. There's a technique called "frequency separation" that might work for this for this if you want to Google that and give it a go. I've used it a few times but in my experience FS works best when you have proper exposure to begin with. The issue with this shot is that you're going to have to deal with not only the with color but also the underlying texture if you want it look right. I could correct the color easily enough using the Healing Brush Tool, alternating the the mode between Lighten and Color, and maybe use the Clone Stamp a little, but skin retouching is hard and I don't think my skill's are up to this particular task.

I'll play with it, though, and see what I can do.

Thanks Fish, I'll give that a look and see. Even if it doesn't work I'll learn something about this FS which I never heard of before.

Appreciate you giving it a go. Here is the original NEF file in case that would be easier to deal with.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3cfusrncg37wlg9/_DSC6799.NEF?dl=0
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Thanks Fish, I'll give that a look and see. Even if it doesn't work I'll learn something about this FS which I never heard of before.

Appreciate you giving it a go. Here is the original NEF file in case that would be easier to deal with.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3cfusrncg37wlg9/_DSC6799.NEF?dl=0
Having the raw file makes a huge difference. I'll play with it and see what I can do. If I get a result I'm not too embarrassed to post I'll let you know. Don't get your hopes up, though... Really good skin retouching is something I'm working on myself and I'm finding it's an entire art unto itself.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Okay, here's a quick and dirty retouch. NO PIXEL PEEPING! . :D

Fortunately there wasn't much texture on her face to worry about, which made this easier than expected. I could spend more time on getting the skin looking smoother and more natural but I thought this was a good start. I think the nose is starting to disappear so some shadowing along the edge of her nose would probably help define it. I wasn't sure what to do with her eye because it looks like she's wearing really dark eye makeup (??). Not being sure I just kinda 'went with that' when working around the eye. If she wasn't wearing heavy, dark eye makeup when you took the shot, she is now. Her chin and neckline probably need some attention as well...
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Your Original:
_DSC6799 - Original.jpg

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Q&D Retouch Version:
_DSC6799-Retouch.jpg
 

Blacktop

Senior Member
Okay, here's a quick and dirty retouch. NO PIXEL PEEPING! . :D

Fortunately there wasn't much texture on her face to worry about, which made this easier than expected. I could spend more time on getting the skin looking smoother and more natural but I thought this was a good start. I think the nose is starting to disappear so some shadowing along the edge of her nose would probably help define it. I wasn't sure what to do with her eye because it looks like she's wearing really dark eye makeup (??). Not being sure I just kinda 'went with that' when working around the eye. If she wasn't wearing heavy, dark eye makeup when you took the shot, she is now. Her chin and neckline probably need some attention as well...
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Your Original:
View attachment 263685
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.....
Q&D Retouch Version:
View attachment 263687
Thanks for giving it a go. I guess its just one of those shots that needs to be re taken. I'll play with it some more when I have some time.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk
 

Slipperman

Senior Member
Thanks for giving it a go. I guess its just one of those shots that needs to be re taken. I'll play with it some more when I have some time.
is it possible that the bird being in that position caused a shadow to be cast on her face? maybe on next attempt, try shooting from a different angle that shows more or all of the girls face and the bird in the same shot. just a suggestion..
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Thanks for giving it a go. I guess its just one of those shots that needs to be re taken. I'll play with it some more when I have some time.
A much cleaner result could be gotten by someone willing to invest the time. The face is a little less-than tack sharp which works in your favor when it comes to correcting since there really isn't much texture to be concerned with.
 
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