First efforts...

[DailyLunatic]

This is a first effort on several fronts...

First U/W photos...
First image post to this forum...
First attempt at enhancing photos...

I scanned a couple of the prints from my trip to the GBR. I was using a small Sea & Sea and small strobe (YS something?) They were taken as slides during an U/W Photography class.

My dive log has been lost so information on things like depth will have to come from memory (lotsa luck) I belive they were both taken in about 30-40 ft on a bright day, but don't hold me to it.

I'm trying to teach myself how to handle digital images. I am using Photoshop LE and have so far adjusted the Color Balance Color Levels MidTones Cyan/Red +50, Magenta/Green -25, & Yellow/blue -25 on both of the below images.

I'm not really satisfied with the results and am looking for suggestions on how to improve them with a goal toward being able to do it for myself in the future.

before - Note the hand in the lower right. I've been judging my success at color correction by the tones on this hand. Is this a fair expectation?

after

before

after


Thanks all,
DL

 

[Dee]

First thing I can suggest is to get Photoshop Elements. I used LE too and never could get it to do what I needed. With Elements, it's so much easier. You can do most of what PS does except the graphic printing stuff. Regular retail is $99 but Circuit City has it on sale or with rebates frequently for a final cost of $30-50.

 

[DailyLunatic]

Dee once bubbled...
First thing I can suggest is to get Photoshop Elements. I used LE too and never could get it to do what I needed. With Elements, it's so much easier. You can do most of what PS does except the graphic printing stuff. Regular retail is $99 but Circuit City has it on sale or with rebates frequently for a final cost of $30-50.

So, as I understand what you saying...

You're saying that if I used Adobe PS Elements and told it the same thing (Color Balance Color Levels MidTones Cyan/Red +50, Magenta/Green -25, & Yellow/blue -25) as I have told Adobe PS LE, I would get different results?

DL

 

[James connell]

i really don't whant to harp on this but the first pix is an example of where a filter would have been a god thing - IF hte overall exposure worked. in order to not blast out (overexpose) blue, the red/yellows in ther shot had to be sacrificed. @ 40 ft they would have been faint anyway but if blue had been cut down( by 2 stops or so) they would show on the film. even photoshop can't recover color that isn't on the film.

the second shot has been over worked, it had the shadows blocked up to start with ( that's usualy the Dmax of the scanner's fault ). after 'enhancment' they or really blocked ( look at the lower left center ).

try this - scan the pix twice once for highlights and once for shadows then combine the to scans in PS. you can also recover the reds this way if your scanner will let you 'detune' a particular color(s).

 

[Dee]

I've gotten better results with less steps. Maybe it's just me and LE, who knows.

In my opinion.....
The top picture has nothing but blue in it so it's hard to expect any other colors to appear. If that small object in the lower right corner is the hand you're talking about, there's not enough there to show anything. All you did wad darken and change the color of the blue.

The bottom picture is way too red, there's nothing natural looking about it. Looks like it was hit with a red light.

I tried copying both these pictures and try what I could with them but they are too pixelated to see any improvement.

 

[DailyLunatic]

Dee once bubbled...
I've gotten better results with less steps. Maybe it's just me and LE, who knows.

Ow... I am after all a rank beginner you know. Besides, just three settings in the one step. How many steps were you thinking this was.

I didn't want to be doing a lot of fiddling with the original until I had a good idea what direction I needed to go.

The top picture has nothing but blue in it so it's hard to expect any other colors to appear. If that small object in the lower right corner is the hand you're talking about, there's not enough there to show anything. All you did wad darken and change the color of the blue.

The slide showed a little more red in it than the print did, then lost more after the scan. I was disappointed and surprised how much was lost going slide to print. I'm in the process of looking for a place local I can take my slides to convert to digital without having to go through the print stage (I don't know anyone with a slide scanner) I guess I'll have to table this one till I get a better scan.

I tried copying both these pictures and try what I could with them but they are too pixelated to see any improvement.

Yeah, they were reduced for the web. I scanned the original 4x6 at 600dpi and got a file about 1mb.

James connell once bubbled...
the second shot has been over worked, it had the shadows blocked up to start with ( that's usualy the Dmax of the scanner's fault ). after 'enhancment' they or really blocked ( look at the lower left center ).

try this - scan the pix twice once for highlights and once for shadows then combine the to scans in PS. you can also recover the reds this way if your scanner will let you 'detune' a particular color(s).

Thank you. I would if I could. Espcially since I was looking for different things to try, but you are way, way above my head. Not sure some of the terms you used (blocked, Dmax). "Over worked" to my limited painting background means 'you fiddled with it repeatedly and got the colors all mixed up'. Only did the one adjustment, so not sure how to avoid this over working. Lastly, not sure even how to start doing what you're talking about with the two scans thing. Wish I did. Any ideas where I could go to learn more about this meathod?

Thanks,
DL

 

[James connell]

i'm working on an answer for you on DMAX and blocking, which wasn't the best term - 'posterized' would have been better. i'll try to explain that too.

here's my correction of your shot.

compare the lower left with your correction, the "oversaturated" reds and blues are an example of posterizing. you've push the colors past a point PS can work with.

 

[DailyLunatic]

sorry to have been away so long, and I understand it you don't remember... but without knowing what you did to correct shot I have no way of reproducing it. Other than knowing that it can be done, I know nothing. Any idea what you have done to this?

Thanx

here's my correction of your shot.

compare the lower left with your correction, the "oversaturated" reds and blues are an example of posterizing. you've push the colors past a point PS can work with.