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Post by Tpgettys on Apr 20, 2023 19:14:38 GMT
I have been trying NIK Silver Efx, but really don't know what I am doing. A few of the presets certainly improve this image, but the graininess is also boosted. Suggestions?  |
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Post by hmca on Apr 20, 2023 19:34:20 GMT
Tom, a few questions:
is the original in color or black and white?
have you tried any noise reduction?
Before taking an image into Silver Efex, I usually try to use an image that I have edited first to give it a good base to work from.
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Post by hmca on Apr 20, 2023 19:39:44 GMT
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pontiac1940
CE Members
Posts: 6,359
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by pontiac1940 on Apr 20, 2023 20:06:29 GMT
Tom Scans of older prints can be difficult depending on the size and quality of the print. FWIW. I opened in PSE and saved the file and then opened in ACR and fiddled with levels and did a slight denoising. Then opened again in PSE and did a B&W conversion using the gradient map with B&W are the fore and background colors. That seemed to help the contrast a wee bit. I then denoised the entire image and then applied an ever so slight sharpening to just the head and body. Something like that. Not sure if it is an improvement or not. Clive  |
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Post by Lillias on Apr 20, 2023 20:50:55 GMT
I opened in PSE and duplicated the image. I applied a Haze Reduction to the image and duplicated that copy. I then applied some noise reduction and this is the result. I'm not sure how good the noise reduction is!
And this next one is the one above with a levels adjustment to lighten it slightly...
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Post by Tpgettys on Apr 20, 2023 20:52:05 GMT
is the original in color or black and white? have you tried any noise reduction?
Oh, I forgot to mention the source! It is an old B&W which I scanned in.
Not sure about noise reduction. PSE has a haze-removal option; could that be what you mean?
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Post by Tpgettys on Apr 20, 2023 20:55:00 GMT
Something like that. Not sure if it is an improvement or not.
It definitely looks smoother without loss of detail Clive. Thanks for the steps you used. I always forget about ACR.
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Post by Tpgettys on Apr 20, 2023 20:59:07 GMT
I then applied some noise reduction and this is the result.
Your note jogged my memory; I was looking under the Enhance menu and forgot about looking at the Filters. Found the noise reduction, but yes, it doesn't seem to make any difference that I can see.
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Post by hmca on Apr 20, 2023 21:03:05 GMT
Sorry....I didn't quite follow your question, Tom. I think Clive and Lillias have created two nice edits. Just because I always think this thread is a great learning experience I'll see what I can get after dinner. If you have the NIK suite. Define is something you might try for noise reduction as well.
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Post by fotofrank on Apr 20, 2023 22:20:16 GMT
 I duplicated the layer changed the blend mode to Multiply and lower the opacity. Clean up the edges and spots and used Topaz Photo AI. |
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Post by hmca on Apr 20, 2023 23:06:54 GMT
Here's my attempt.... I started out by using Define and sampling just her forehead.   Below are my RAW Layers  Used NIK Pro Contrast....dynamic contrast full strength. Ended with High Pass Sharpening at 5 pixels but only applied to her eyes....and half strength on her teeth. Think that's it. |
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Post by Tpgettys on Apr 21, 2023 2:45:27 GMT
That's some fine work! Thanks Frank and Helen for more great suggestions.
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Post by Tpgettys on Apr 21, 2023 23:43:37 GMT
I want to thank everyone that contributed to this thread, and share with you the final result. At my wife's mother's The service for my wife's mother is going to be in May, and one of the memorabilia that will be handed out is this picture along with a poem and a lottery ticket (which she dearly loved to play, nearly daily!). I used the AI colorization site shared by Chris to colorize a processed B&W version. It is sorta spooky how much this looks like an actual color photo! |
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Post by hmca on Apr 22, 2023 0:40:10 GMT
Looks great, Tom! So nice when everything comes together. I remember that post but can't find it. Could you add the link?
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Post by Tpgettys on Apr 22, 2023 1:43:17 GMT
Looks great, Tom! So nice when everything comes together. I remember that post but can't find it. Could you add the link?
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