As I was walking around the large greenhouse at the beautiful Longwood Gardens (west of Philadelphia, PA), my eyes were captured by a lovely young lady looking intently at my smiling face or my long-lens camera (Sony rx10). I wasted no time in capturing her image.
The photo was taken at these settings: 1/60 sec at f / 5.6, ISO 800, 33 mm (24-600mm lens). In Lightroom, I had to decide whether to crop out all around her, or crop more severely - to the bottom of her scarf. Obviously, I chose the latter, but wonder what my viewers would choose.
I moved the photo to Photoshop, selected the "Subject", then the Inverse, and blurred the background with a Gaussian blur. I used the Clone tool to remove all but the greenery. I left the Inverse to edit her face, and used the Dodge tool to lighten her eyes. There is probably a better way to do that.
I returned to Lightroom and edited the color of the green background. I still need to add a border.
This round’s discussion is now closed! 8 comments posted
Bogdan Bricelj
Cute girl!
Background was too distractive. You have processed it good.
I would lighten her eyes a little bit and also the jacket.
Dear collegues from study group, I would like to thank you very much for all the help improving my photos. After 20 years of membership I decided to leave PSA. I wish you all the best. Posted: 01/10/2025 17:05:10
Terry Campanella
Bogdan, so sorry that you are leaving the group. I have enjoyed see your images over the years. All the best to you.
Terry Posted: 01/12/2025 23:03:58
Joan Funk
Thank you, Bogdan, for this and all of your other comments. I will miss your beautiful photos and helpful comments. I will lighten her eyes and jacket more. Posted: 01/22/2025 13:53:12
Bogdan Bricelj
Dear Joan,
thank you! I'm also happy, that I was a part of this friendly group for years.
Posted: 01/27/2025 17:34:36
Terry Campanella
Jaon, what a beautiful capture! The eyes tell the story. I have processed the suggestions Bogdan made using Luminar and ON1. I do think they improved the image. I feel your dilemma about cropping. I love the blue of her skirt but I do think you made the right decision. The way she is standing looks a bit stiff compared to what I see when you cropped just to the edge of her scarf. Well done! Posted: 01/12/2025 23:01:07
Joan Funk
Terry, thank you for your comments and edits, which did improve the image. Good to know you like the crop. Posted: 01/22/2025 13:56:44
Dr V G Mohanan Nair
Nice shot. I liked the expression of the child. Your cropping is perfect for the image. The blurred background looks good. I feel that the child's face is not fully standing out from the background. I quickly tried with Topaz Sharpen AI and a little curve adjustment in PS. The resulting image is given below, even though I am not fully satisfied with the processing. Posted: 01/21/2025 06:31:49
Joan Funk
Mohanan, thank you for your edit, making the subject stand out more from the background. The concept is a good one. Posted: 01/22/2025 13:59:19
