[Alfisti]

Actually, the RAW image gives a very nice photo by default (on my screen)..

Yipes, time for a new screen

[Clicker]

[JeffJS]

Yipes, time for a new screen

Yours or mine? Mine Is new (18" laptop) And calibrated. I guess it's a matter of preference.

[twokatmew]

Thank you all so much for your thoughtful responses and for your renderings of my original photo!

When I opened the PEF in Pentax Digital Camera Util 4, it looks really good! So I saved it as a DNG and opened it in PSP X3's camera raw util. It looked really good there too, so I just corrected the color cast a bit, cropped and saved as JPGs.

When I look at the PEF and DNG in ACDSee 3, it looks very dark. Opening the PEF in PSP_X3 made it look blue. (I don't believe PSP_X3 supports the K-x PEF though.)

Anyway, I was shooting just JPG there for a while, as I wasn't using the RAW files. But ... the processed RAWs look so much better than the camera JPGs (at least for this less-than-perfect photo), so I'll definitely be shooting RAW+ with DNG from now on.

Nesster, your comment about the couch bringing out the color of Boris' eyes struck home. They're actually green though! I'd been trying to draw the entire focus to Boris, which meant the couch was a distraction. Instead of nearly cropping it out or erasing it, I could leave more of it in and hopefully imply that I was sitting on the couch, and Boris was looking at me curiously. Plus, I retain some color balance between the couch and his eyes. Pasipasi, your b&w crop helped with that realization too.

Anyway, I'm posting two new crops from the original RAW. The color is not so washed out and looks like my Boris (and my horrid living room rug)! Opinions on these?

Attached Images

   

[atupdate]

Ok, here is what I was able to do with the full size jpeg on my home computer. I did a color adjustment off the black of his eyes. If the eyes aren't green enough, let me know and I can tweak the color. The eyes in the full size file I emailed you look a lot more natural than the images posted here. I think I over sharpened after down sizing.



The full size file should be big enough for a 5x7 print like this.



Edited to add: I just read your post closer and see that you are using PSP X3. I used PSP X and can give you more detail on the processing steps if you would like. For example: when I removed the couch, I used the object remover tool without the blend box checked then again with it checked. I then used the clone tool to complete the blend and add texture where I wanted it.

Tim

[twokatmew]

Ok, here is what I was able to do with the full size jpeg on my home computer. I did a color adjustment off the black of his eyes. If the eyes aren't green enough, let me know and I can tweak the color. The eyes in the full size file I emailed you look a lot more natural than the images posted here. I think I over sharpened after down sizing.

<photos snipped>

Edited to add: I just read your post closer and see that you are using PSP X3. I used PSP X and can give you more detail on the processing steps if you would like. For example: when I removed the couch, I used the object remover tool without the blend box checked then again with it checked. I then used the clone tool to complete the blend and add texture where I wanted it.

Thanks so very much Tim! Boris' eyes look just right.

I would indeed like more detail on how you used PXP X. I just upgraded to X3, and I've been using PSP since v9, but I'm still far from an expert.

[atupdate]

I would indeed like more detail on how you used PXP X. I just upgraded to X3, and I've been using PSP since v9, but I'm still far from an expert.

I normally do each step on a duplicate layer to give me the option of changing the opacity if I want. Item separated with a / are drop down toolbar menu options.

PP Steps in PSP X:

- Adjust/Color Balance - Smart White Balance box checked then move the eye dropper to the black part of Boris' eye.

- Lighten the face via this tutorial: Move the Light - Tutorials

- Get rid of the couch with Object Remover Tool - No feather and no Blend. Sometimes you need to blend a couple of times and sometimes moving the Source Box to different places. Then use the Clone Tool at 50% opacity or less to clean up the transition lines from the Object Remover Tool. You can also use the clone brush at 50% opacity with the Blend Mode set to Lighten or Darken to transfer texture to the object remover area.

- Add 460 pixel white border to the bottom of the image (This will merge all the layers you have - I normally save my work as a PSPI file before adding the border in case I want to change something later.

- Use the Object Remover Tool & Cloning on the white border to fill it in with carpet

- Click on the Edit Selection Button on the Layer Palette and paint the back foot with a white paint brush. When you click on the Edit Selection Button again, the foot will be selected and can be copied.

- After you copy the back foot, unselect it by Selection/Select None

- To paste it on the front foot, Edit/Paste As New Selection and move it where it fits the best then unselect it by Selection/Select None.

- Use the clone tool @ 50 % opacity to blend the toes to the foot and to remove the fur color patterns that make it look the back foot. Please note: I should have copied more of the shadow of the back foot when I did the image above as the front foot should have a shadow.

- Save as a PSPI file if desired and merge all layers. Crop and Sharpen to taste with Unsharp Mask [I used Radius 1 - Strength 100 - Clipping 0]

The Object Removal Tool + Cloning will take practice.

Tim