dtcracer

I took this picture of my 2 youngest sons that I would like to frame. I guess my oldest son moved, because the picture is blurred around his eyes. How can I fix that? The other 2 pictures are of them separate with our little dog, and I think they came out ok. Any advice?

Janice Loc: Kentucky

I think all 3 pictures look really good. I don't see any blur around his eyes but that may just be me. I hope someone will find this and help you out. The only thing that I can think of that might help would be unsharp mask but I don't know how or if you can localize it to just the eye area... and if you can, I don't know if it will help

Cha

Great shots of your boys & the pup. I think your shot of the two boys is alittle out of focus. I look at the hair to tell. See how sharp the hair is in the other to pics. I dont know much about the new darkroom (the computer) but I,m sure you can sharpen it up with some kind of photo porgram, or just take somemore shots of your great subjects. Take care

BGenie Loc: Sacramento, CA

For the first photo, you should be able to sharpen it with just about any photo editing software, usually comes free with your computer purchase, but there are other free ones you can download from the internet. Also, it's a bit over exposed, which is something else the program should be able to adjust.

Ideas for improvement in the future:
Iron the sheet before hanging it, I can see the wrinkles (coming out of his head) and they are distracting.

Use a fill-flash. Either bounce it off the ceiling (if you have a flash with this ability) or if you have a pop-up flash, use a diffuser over it. You can spend money buying one or just find a light-weight piece of white cloth (like satin), and secure it over the flash with a rubber-band (I've been known to use a kleenex when in a bind, it's helpful!).
This will do several things for you. It will make the boys stand out from the background more. It'll give you a little more light so you can increase your shutter speed which reduces blur. It'll help reduce shadowing on the backdrop, which is also distracting. It will also give a shine/sparkle to their eyes that is appealing in portraits.
...since you probably are not used to using a flash in this fashion, I'd strongly suggest taking practice shots before adding the dog into the mix, they are sensitive to flashes and it may become agitated.

Have them hold the dog a little lower so it does not cover up their faces. And if possible, remove the leash and collar from the dog because the spots of color through the fur is also distracting.

One more... choose colors that make their eyes stand out, the yellow does not work, it makes his skin tone off. I think I'd like to see the older one in a dark green. The blue shirt is good, but it drowns out his eyes instead of bringing them into the shot, maybe try a blue shirt that is not so vibrant.

...yeah I know, it's a lot to think about! but...
Once the setup is done, the rest is fun, so enjoy!

... and post your re-takes, I'd love to see them!

ok, one more thing, throw the same color sheet over the chair he is sitting on, so it blends into the background, or preferably use a stool that has no back. You can pick up a small folding stool from walmart for $10.

dtcracer

Thanks for the great advice, I'll have to try it.

These pictures actually weren't planned, I was helping my youngest with a school project, where he had to make a video book talk, and I started messing around with it, and the rest just kind of happened! I thought the pics turned out too good to just delete.

Mary P

I like what BGenie had to say. Didn't read it all, but I would suggest pulling them at least 4' out from the background which would help to blur it and not show the shadows as much. Always focus on the eyes...

dtcracer

Thank you

photogrl57 Loc: Tennessee

That is easily fixable. I'm not sure what editing software you have but in photoshop... here are the steps.

open file ... ctrl/j to copy it .. on the copy layer
filter menu/sharpen/unsharpen mask .....amt 100, radius 1.0, threshold 0, click ok.
This will sharpen everything which is not what you want so to that copy layer ...
hold the alt and push the layer mask icon (this will put a black mask over the entire photo)
brush tool and white on the foreground color... paint over just the eyes of the oldest boy.
Flatten the image and save.

here is an example

dtcracer

That looks a lot better! Thank you. Unfortunately, I do not have Photoshop, I do have GIMP. Does it work the same way?

photogrl57 Loc: Tennessee

I don't use gimp but I would have to say yes pretty much the same ... They pride themselves on being close to photoshop in features.

Turb0 Loc: San Antonio, Texas

Yes, Gimp uses the same filter.
Go to Filters-> Enhance -> Unsharp Mask
Adjust the Radius and Amount by moving the slidebars and leave the Threshold at 0 for best results. You can watch your changes in the preview window as you adjust. That's all there is to it! Good luck.

PlushToy Loc: Nebraska

I use PS tiffen filters, this is the result

KrazyKyngeKorny

Try a photo editor, and, use "Sharpen", but, don't overdo it.