Can this be fixed?

[baillie117]

I have a co-worker who was asked to take some pictures for a staff retirement party. She is in the learning process. I was telling her how helpful everyone is on this forum so she wondered if I would post a picture and ask for help. The biggest problem is the backdrop which is wrinkled. And it wasn't big enough so there is a bit of a green flag as well. I thought it might be easiest to take them into PS and drop in a new background. Any ideas anyone?

Thanks for looking and any suggestions.

[epmi314]

Cindy,

I would say that it depends if it can be fixed. If it is a keepsake that needs some improvement then I would say, yes, it can be improved. If you are looking for a more professional type image for a website or publication then I would say no, it would need to be reshot. My sense is you are looking for the former which is good news. While I am not a post processing expert I thought chiming in would get things started.

The background and lighting is off. At first, I thought it was natrual light but the shadows seem to indicate an on camera flash. I assume this is not what you were looking for. The background is also severely wrinkled which is a problem.

Again, if this is just a keepsake then I would suggest using the lasso tool to isolate the two of them and take a smallish crop of the background. Enlarge the background and remove the harsh light. This will also solve the issue with the wrinkles. Then reinsert the two of them and touch it up a bit.

I think this will get you a picture worthy of documenting the moment though not a wonderful image from a photographic standpoint.

Below is a really quick example. I need some shut-eye so no time to really work on it but this is just a quick edit...



Again, a final product needs more attention. You'll note the transition is still harsh but hopefully you get the gist of what I was trying to accomplish.

Hope this helps a bit.

S

[baillie117]

Thank you Scott. I probably should have given a little more detail. This was shot in an old bar and my co-worker, Colleen, was using her SB-600 flash bounced off the ceiling. However, I know that bar and it has a very low ceiling. These pictures are by no means for anything professional. They are going in a scrapbook for the retiring staff member. They are strictly keepsakes as she was employed at the credit union for about 25 years. Colleen was just asked if she could "tidy" them up a bit. She asked for my help so I turned to CIC. I think you have us headed in the right direction. Thanks so much. And if anyone else has some input it would be greatly appreciated.

[FrankMi]

Hi Cindy, if you have the post processing capability to select the subjects, you could consider replacing the background with a another image, perhaps one of another shot inside the bar that would be recognizable as the location where the party took place?