Fix my feisty feathered friend (or the parrot who hates paparazzi!)

[eosmurf]

I was taking a picture of this bird stting in a tree and just as I was pressing the button it dived straight at me :eek: (I don't think he wanted his picture taken!). I managed to get this snap before ducking quickly. Can anybody "fix" this to make it a better pic. I will upload the uncropped original version to allow for more to work with. I have managed to improve on it by cropping and a few basic adjustments to brightness, contrast etc and got a reasonable result but I'm not sure how to sharpen effectively so it looks natural and think that may improve the pic further. Thanks, Ciara :)

[mingkywingky]

Hi Ciara,
I'm not a photoshop expert, but I've tried to edit your picture. I'm not sure if I could make it better. It's a bit hard to make the blur object to become sharp though. There's not much I could do.
I just made the background blur and sharpened the main object, after I cropped it first. Then I just played around the new layer adjustment like contrast, brightness, selective colour, etc until I got this result. Hope that helps.

[eosmurf]

Hi Tenny,
Thanks for having a go at my pic - I never thought of blurring more of the background but it looks good. I have just started the Photoshop course but have no idea about any of it yet. I am intrigued to know how much it is possible to "rescue" photos if you really know what you are doing. In a way I quite like the little blur tunnel as it conveys the speed but the parrot itself is tricky. I wish it was possible to sharpen part but not all eg when you have a shallow depth of field so its face could be focused more but the rest could stay blurry. Not sure if I am explaining it properly. I think it can work as it is to a point (I put it on Facebook for a friend I was telling about the parrot and she loved it) but it wouldn't stand up among the good photographers on here. Blurring the background like you did has really made the parrot stand out more and sharpening it seems to bring out it's colours.

It is great to be able to put it up on here and see what everyone comes up with - it is a good learning experience for me because I'm never really quite sure how best to crop and how much "tweaking" to do. I am always worried that I am going to overdo things.
Thanks again, Ciara

[Pat]

Nice job, Tenny. You took the right and probably the only available course.
Actually Ciara, the is no such thing as "sharpening" in Photoshop. An out of focus photo can't be brought into focus. What "sharpening" actually does (and is) is increase in contrast between adjacent pixels of different luminesent values (lighter and darker). It is this increased contrast between neighboring light and dark pixels that give an impression of increased sharpness.

[eosmurf]

Thanks Pat, I was wondering if it was possible at all because any time I tried I got the effect you were talking about - it never really looks natural because the pixels seem more distinct. I suppose if something is only slightly blurred maybe it can be improved without starting to look wrong but I suppose I sort of wonder why / how it would be used if it can't sharpen without looking unnatural? I thought maybe the skilled photoshop operators could pull off a miracle :)
I still like my little parrot (both versions of the photo, thanks Tenny!) because it will always be a funny memory for me having it swoop at me while i was trying to take the pic (and actually the photo is clearer than i can remember seeing it!). Thanks for all your help, both of you.
Cheers, Ciara

[DoctorJazz]

Hi eosmurf,

I didn't try to fix anything, but took Tenny's edit and played with a different, less realistic look for fun....I use CS4, and applied the "Find Edges" filter, then changed blending mode to Color Burn, and then desaturated the background a bit and put a little blur on it to make the bird stand out a little more. Last step, I used the "Underpainting" filter on the background to give it that textured look.

[eosmurf]

Hi Sandy,
Thank you! Like both versions but think the first one makes the parrot look "meaner". I am new to Photoshop so haven't even heard of some of those techniques you mentioned. I think it is great to see all the different ways one image can be presented. Tennys edit really brought out the colours and this gives it yet another twist. I liked the picture and wondered if it could be salvaged in any way, both your and Tenys versions are great.
Cheers, Ciara

[Kaye]

Nice job, Tenny. You took the right and probably the only available course.
Actually Ciara, the is no such thing as "sharpening" in Photoshop. An out of focus photo can't be brought into focus. What "sharpening" actually does (and is) is increase in contrast between adjacent pixels of different luminesent values (lighter and darker). It is this increased contrast between neighboring light and dark pixels that give an impression of increased sharpness.

Pat, what a great explanation. Thanks.

[DoctorJazz]

Re: Fix my feisty feathered friend (or the parrot who hates paparazzi!)
"Hi Sandy,
Thank you! Like both versions but think the first one makes the parrot look "meaner". I am new to Photoshop so haven't even heard of some of those techniques you mentioned. I think it is great to see all the different ways one image can be presented. Tennys edit really brought out the colours and this gives it yet another twist. I liked the picture and wondered if it could be salvaged in any way, both your and Tenys versions are great.
Cheers, Ciara"

Hi Ciara,
You're welcome and I'm glad you didn't mind an unrealistic edit of an edit of your photo! It was great fun, and thanks for the opportunity.
It really doesn't matter which software program you use for editing. None of them are substitutes for us taking good photos, but all of them are great tools for developing the creative side. I hope you enjoy the Photoshop course, and maybe we'll see some of your posts in the Before and After game?? :)
Sandy

[eosmurf]

Thanks Sandy,
It is great to see an "unrealistic edit" - it is a reminder that photography is "art" and the possibilities are endless :) I think it might be a while before I am up to the Before and After but will keep an eye on the threads as I go through the Photoshop Course. Ciara