ANM 328 Project 1 Critique

 

Project one is a great introduction to the basic skills in Photoshop that you will typically use on most images you work with.  Whether youÕre repairing a damaged photo or simply resizing a great digital image, PhotoshopÕs tools will help you understand its characteristics and offer you a smorgasbord of options to enhance or modify.     

 

 Regarding project grades:  I gave each project a level of difficulty rating from 1-10.  10 would be impossible to repair. If no repair work is required it would have a value of 1.  My assessment of your final image and the level of difficulty are combined to make-up the project grade.

Late projects -10

 

No Critique -5  I check the critiques the day after they are due. No late critiques accepted.

 

95-100  Very successfully repaired major flaws and tonal deficiencies in a very challenging image

90-94  Image not as challenging but skillfully repaired flaws and exposure problems

85-89 Less challenging photo with minor flaws and tonal repairs. Mostly successful with repairs and adjustments

80-84 Photo is not very challenging. Repairs are minor and adjustments to tone and exposure are incomplete.

70-79 Photo not challenging.  Flaws repaired but very minor. Does not demonstrate skill with the restore tools

 

Note: My assessment of difficulty level is at the start of your critique: As a group you all did a very good job with your image restorations. Many were outstanding, As you compare my comments with your grade, please realize that although the results may look perfect I take into consideration what skill it took to get there and how challenging I thought your image was to work with. The first number is the level of difficulty.

Adams Group

 

Tanner-7+/10  The tears in your photo made it significantly more challenging. The trick with torn pieces it to make selections out of the pieces and then do your best to realign as closely as possible to the original photo and then do your repairs. It looks like you did this. The torn chunk seems to fit pretty accurately.  Your cloning/repairs on the left half look very good. On the right side, his shirt collar and nose look over manipulated. His nose is quite distorted. Because you have good quality image on the left side, I would consider copying the left collar and left side of his nose and ÒtransplantingÓ on the right.  Flecks and discoloration in the background look like they have been resolved. I still see a slight stain in the upper left.  No group critique -5.

 

Natricia-6/10  Your original image had flecks and scratches but no significant flaws over or across the baby where they would be more difficult to repair.  Having said that, youÕve done a good job with the repair job. I especially like your clean-up of the blanket and bedding.  It looks like you made a minor correction to the levels to improve the dark areas. The resulting photo looks very good!

 

Godfrey-8+/10  Your photo was one of the most challenging in class with significant creases and tears.  The original had excellent detail and good tonal range, which makes it somewhat easier to repair. It was also an advantage to not have significant flaws across her face, which would definitely add to the challenge.  Your repairs look great! YouÕve fixed all the visible flaws and reconstructed the missing top corners. I especially like the slightly improved tonal range, which has brought out a hint of brightness that helps bring the photo to life. Best repair was on the gold chainÉwow! Excellent job!  No group critique -5.

 

Mutter Group

 

Shayesteh-7/10  IÕm sure thereÕs a interesting family story with this image which appears to be a wedding. The original has some minor creases at the top but the major challenge was the carpet at the bottom, which looks rather odd.  IÕm impressed with the carpet..it looks very good and youÕve managed to repair and fill-in without any obvious adverse pattern.  The retouch of the background looks very good too.  It looks like a family heirloom has been saved!

 

Nicole-6/10 This is a classic travel photo..it would be interesting to learn more about the vintage.  The photo itself had a couple significant flaws with the long vertical crease on the left and the diagonal scratch at the upper right.  It looks like the flaws have been fixed although I think there are still the remnants of that vertical scratch at the left edge of the roof. The most challenging part of the repair was to adjust the tonal range and color balance that had been lost due to age in the original.  Color is very subjective but the tones youÕve set look good to meÉperhaps it could be a touch darker and the sky a bit more blue.  Overall youÕve done a good job with the restoration

 

Elizabeth-8/10 This is a great photo that has excellent detail and lots of flaws to repair. YouÕve done a great job cloning-out all those flaws. There are a few very minor scratches remaining on the wheels but all the major ceases have been fixed. I especially like your repair of the background sky, which is rather challenging with all the fixes in that area. YouÕve restored the full rectangle with a cropÉoverall, the restoration looks excellent!

 

Monroy Group

 

Kacie 7/10  Your outdoor image primarily suffered from the wrath of age on these old prints. The color has been leached and there are stains in the upper left.  YouÕve done an excellent job of removing the stains and creating a believable background in its place. Recreating a clean border also helps the overall look.  Your color adjustments look very good. Color is very subjective but the green of the trees helps establish a realistic color tone for the background and the lady and baby in the scene.

 

La 8/10 The scratches and missing areas of the photo make this image quite challenging. YouÕve demonstrated good skill with the clone and healing brush to remove the scratches. Fortunately they were not across the childÕs face which would make them much more difficult to fix. The completed image looks very good. I especially like the repair to the lower right. YouÕve reinvented that area but it looks believable. Good work!

 

 

Manuel  6/10 The primary concern with your stating image was the tonal range. The original is quite flat due to lack of contrast. The adjustment you made has helped the image considerably. I canÕt see any other flaws that would ÒtestÓ your repair skills. I had suggested that you remove the background decoration on the wall to both simplify and demonstrate your use of the cloning tool.  The image is much brighter with improved levels and the crop as helped compose the image and make the background less intrusive.

 

Abigail 8/10  I really like this old photo. In spite of the flaws and discolorations it has lots of potential and is repairable. YouÕve done a good job with all those flecks and scratches. I can still see a very small flaw to the left ear area of the girl with the bow. I can also see the dark streaks at the lower leftÉ.by adjusting the levels I can see that these are flaws not part of the image.  Other than those two points, the repairs are excellent. I am assuming you desaturated the image to remove the blue tint and then once finished you tinted with the adjustments>hue/saturation. I think you got about as much out of this image as possible considering the image source. Nice work! No group critique -5.

 

Taylor Group

 

Crystal 7/10  This was an interesting old photoÉIÕd be interested in its date which I would think would be in 1920Õs based on tie and hair style. The detail and tonal range in the original, especially the face is excellent. The flaws were basically small flecks but you took on the extra challenge of replacing the corners that were covered by the oval frame. I like the fact that you chose to colorize the photoÉyouÕve added hints of color to the face and tie. ItÕs just enough tinting to give it a more contemporary look. I see one Òhot spotÓ to the right of his ear that could easily be cloned out. The final image looks very clean with no obvious signs of repair or overworking.  Excellent work!

 

Kimberly 9/10 Your photo was by far the most challenging in the class. I have to give you credit for taking on this mass of creases and cracks in the original.  Considering the difficulty, youÕve done a good job of establishing a much better tonal range. The brickwork and shrubs in the background look much more natural. I think the difficulty was increased with the pixilation of the originalÉhad it been scanned at a higher resolution such as 200-300 pixels per inch, there would have been more digital detail to work with. The image of the woman was just too damaged to restore to a pristine original condition. Her face is especially difficult and IÕm not sure if any retoucher could rescue it fully.  I would like to see the bands of light across her coat a bit less visible. The burn tool would be a good choice for smoothing this out.  WowÉIÕd like to give this one to the whole class to try!

 

Evan  7/10 This is a great military photo. The original suffered from some significant tears and the line (looks like a pen mark) across his face definitely adds to the level of difficulty. The repairs are very goodÉI  zoomed-in on the lips where the pen mark was most obvious and it looks great. The overall tonal range of the final picture is rather flatÉI would suggest a levels adjustment to enhance brightness and contrast. ItÕs a very sensitive adjustment that can easily be overdone and make the image look artificial.

 

Nicholas 8/10 This old photo clearly had some issues with the bright stain-like mark on the right and a streak down the middle.  This would have been easier to work with it there had been more resolution in the photo.  YouÕve done a great job replacing the wood background and post. It would have been a good finishing touch to put the shadow of the man back against the wall. The easiest way to do this is to draw a selection of the shadow, before the replacement of the wood, with the lasso tool then layer it above the wood, fill with black and adjust the transparency to match the tone of the visible shadow on the wood deck.