Help with PP and some C&C welcome (warning HDR)!!

[Mark von Kanel]

This a local image taken at the GIG club on the Rame peninsular in Cornwall its a 9 shot bracket HDR done in Nik softs HDR pro. All feed back and opinions are welcome but what i would really like to do is remove the posts under the trailer and maybe the block of polystyrene under the LH gig as well.

i have attempted to clone out the posts in Photoshop as you can see from the second image but i didnt do it on a layer and it was tedious work. Is their a more effective way of doing this?

[Andrew76]

Hey Mark, my selection, and cloning skills leave a lot to be desired. So I'm not going to help you there. I have a couple questions for you though...

1) Even with 9 bracketed shots, there is still quite a dark bit to the photo on the left, and towards the back. Would it be worth increasing the gap in EV between shots to try and brighten this a bit? Granted, I wasn't there, but the amount of dynamic range you have here looks like it could have been achieved with 3 shots or so.

2) This is purely personal - I'm not a huge fan of vignettes on HDRs, just because again, your adding an element that reduces that dynamic range you've just tried so hard to get! I can't really tell if you've added a vignette, or if it's an effect of the processing, but something looks funny around the edges....

Looks good!!

[Shadowman]

Nice shot. Have you tried using the healing brush and clone stamp tool?

[Nigel]

Hi Mark
I would use the lasso tool in photoshop and select the area from the edge of the posts to the keel and from the tow bar down to the base of the image. Then copy and paste over the posts, you will have to do this a few times to cover the area (you can then save the layers) flatten the image then use the clone stamp tool and blend in the overlay edges etc. As for the foam at the back use the lasso tool with 1x or 2x feather draw around the foam then use clone stamp tool and paint in using surrounding shade.
Cheers Nigel

[Colin Southern]

Here you go ..



By the way, I really doubt that you'd have needed a bracket of 9 shots - I've been doing a lot of this kind of thing recently and generally 3 are enough.

[Mark von Kanel]

ok guys, ill have a go at this, im actually not sure about brightening the left hand side up i like the mood of the original, thanks for the edit colin but you missed a bit !!

Yes i now shoot 3 shots at 2 stop intervals and it works well but when i first researched the technique they advised a 9 shot bracket at 1 stop intervals so thats what i did when i shot these 2 years ago. i guess it was a throw back from when cameras have a lot less dynamic range than the do now and software wasnt as well developed?

Colin in your opinion what is the best technique to remove these unwanted items in an image? ive never tried the lasso tool or used layers, does anyone know of an appropriate you tube video that can put me on the right track?

[Nigel]

Mark
this may be of help http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txk0qW5_q5g as you can see in Colin's image there is some duplications of the floor pattern, you would need to use the clone tool to copy some random areas so as not too obvious. I use this technique as I photograph commercial property which usually have commercial sign boards etc on the brick work that need to be removed.
Nigel

[Mark von Kanel]

Thanks Nigel i will try this on Monday and post my efforts. im visiting relatives at the moment so my pc time is limited until im home. (ive never understood why my family think im being ignorant by doing PP when im visiting..... unless the images are of them of course...)

[Colin Southern]

ok guys, ill have a go at this, im actually not sure about brightening the left hand side up i like the mood of the original, thanks for the edit colin but you missed a bit !!

Hi Mark,

Sorry - I've been documenting a multi-million dollar refit for a client and doing a lot of this sort of thing - and the objective is more to "show the detail" than it is to achieve "artistic merit" - hence the reason I revealed the detail. If you don't need the detail then (to my mind anyway) I'd have to wonder if HDR was required).

Which bit did I miss?

Yes i now shoot 3 shots at 2 stop intervals and it works well but when i first researched the technique they advised a 9 shot bracket at 1 stop intervals so thats what i did when i shot these 2 years ago. i guess it was a throw back from when cameras have a lot less dynamic range than the do now and software wasnt as well developed?

3 shots at 2 stops works well for many things, but ultimately, the dynamic range of the scene dictates the number of shots you'll need. 2 stops apart is always about right though -- never 1 stop. I was actually shooting brackets of 5x 2 stops the other day, but only needed 3 of them.

Colin in your opinion what is the best technique to remove these unwanted items in an image? ive never tried the lasso tool or used layers, does anyone know of an appropriate you tube video that can put me on the right track?

In the example above I ...

- Created a new layer

- Used the stamp tool set at 12% to continually sample a "good area" and stamp all over the "bad area", being sure to brush in the direction that maintained the 'flow"

- Used the eraser tool to erage any over-painting (saves having to be so precise)

- Added noise to blend it in a little.

Hope this helps

[Mark von Kanel]

Sorry - I've been documenting a multi-million dollar refit for a client and doing a lot of this sort of thing - and the objective is more to "show the detail" than it is to achieve "artistic merit" - hence the reason I revealed the detail. If you don't need the detail then (to my mind anyway) I'd have to wonder if HDR was required).

Which bit did I miss?

Colin my brother prefers your edit to mine, its just down to taste i guess no one edit will be right for all people, the more i look at your edit the more i like it and im going to have another go when im home.

How do you add the frame?

if you look at your edit, on the RH Gig just to the right and above the number plate there are the remains of a couple of disembodied logs

Thanks for your help Colin, hows the FB page working out?

[Colin Southern]

Colin my brother prefers your edit to mine, its just down to taste i guess no one edit will be right for all people, the more i look at your edit the more i like it and im going to have another go when im home.

I like him already

How do you add the frame?

Expand the canvas size and add a drop shadow.

if you look at your edit, on the RH Gig just to the right and above the number plate there are the remains of a couple of disembodied logs

Now that I've shown you how to do it, I deliberately left those there for you to practice on. OOps - my nose is growing!

Thanks for your help Colin, hows the FB page working out?

No worries. It's OK - haven't had much time to "feed the monster" of recent, so not much is happening (too much time with the RC helicopters -- just had another crash -- grub screw in pinion came loose - looks like thread locker was never used on it One loose screw cost me 1x Set blades - 1 main shaft - 1 set main bearings - 1 main gear - 2 umbrella gears - 1 torque tube - 1 boom - 1 set tail blades - and a whole lot of time )

[Mark von Kanel]

No worries. It's OK - haven't had much time to "feed the monster" of recent, so not much is happening (too much time with the RC helicopters -- just had another crash -- grub screw in pinion came loose - looks like thread locker was never used on it One loose screw cost me 1x Set blades - 1 main shaft - 1 set main bearings - 1 main gear - 2 umbrella gears - 1 torque tube - 1 boom - 1 set tail blades - and a whole lot of time )

Man you have some expensive hobbies!

[Colin Southern]

Man you have some expensive hobbies!

Well hobby anyway (can't afford more than 1!)