Unwanted guests in your photos

[Penopolypants]

What do you do when an unwanted guest shows up in your photos?

Do you:

a) toss the image and use that as an excuse to go diving for another one?
b) photoshop the bugger out?
c) find a way to make him/her a better part of the picture?

Below I have an image of a jelly that I love...but I'm not crazy about the fish who popped in to wave hi to mom while I was taking it. If he weren't blurry, I'd be thrilled, but he's out of focus and therefore irritating.

I'm terrible at taking pics of jellyfish - for some strange reason they insist on going about their business while I'm trying to take my picture, and they come out blurry, or slighty out of the frame, or there's awful backscatter. I love this one and would like to make it better. Suggestions? I have photoshop and am comfortable using it.

 

[ScottB]

I vote A... however.. I was bored... so I went and played with photoshop a little bit to see if I could sharpen the intruder up a little bit.. it didnt come out perfect, but I'm also not a PS guru... let me know if you'd like me to email you the photo, or if it is ok to post it here..

Take care,

 

[alcina]

It really depends. Usually I accept the fact that I am not shooting in a studio but in the wild and try to make the best of the image.

I also try to shoot it again.

You could try ps. The first thing I would try here would be burning. You would get a nice black background for the jellie. Will it be perfect? No, when an image needs massive PS work it never is, but it can still be nice.

 

[HowardE]

I would do this.

If it was my only shot of the jellyfish, and I really wanted a good one.

Otherwise, I'd probably toss it.

 

[OHGoDive]

So, now, does the modified photo belong to the OP or Howard? Are there ethics involved here?

 

[Penopolypants]

Thanks Scott! It's okay to post it here if you want, show off those skills!

I photoshopped him out, and cleaned up the background.

I didn't think about the burn tool....I'll have to try that too. Ooh, new skills!

But I'm definitely going to keep trying. Like I need an excuse to go diving. This one was taken at the end of a long dive, and my battery was pooped. I couldn't get my camera to work quickly enough to take another.

How did you do that Howard?

(Please know that I'm not asking to give up trade secrets or anything, I'm just curious if you don't mind sharing.)

 

[alcina]

The copyright to the photo remains with the OP.

As the OP asked for suggestions, it is ok to ps and post the image in this thread. It would not be OK to use the modified image for anything else.

 

[HowardE]

How did you do that Howard?

(Please know that I'm not asking to give up trade secrets or anything, I'm just curious if you don't mind sharing.)

I used the "Clone Tool" and the spot healing brush to clean out the fish completely. I darkened the background a little - using curves, and also sharpened the image a bit to make the jellyfish "pop" but still be in it's original background.

Then I cropped it to enhance the composition. Maybe about 5 minutes total of Photoshop on it, and I'm no expert. With a lot of practice, I'm sure someone could do that faster.

Personally, I wouldn't post anyone else's photo (photoshopped by me or not) without permission of the owner of the photo. The photo was still taken by the OP, thus their property. Since they were asking for input, i thought it would be ok to show an example.

 

[OHGoDive]

The copyright to the photo remains with the OP.

As the OP asked for suggestions, it is ok to ps and post the image in this thread. It would not be OK to use the modified image for anything else.

Thanks! Very nice work by the way, to both the OP and Howard.

 

[Penopolypants]

So, now, does the modified photo belong to the OP or Howard? Are there ethics involved here?

I would be honored if someone wanted any of my photos....I'm new at this, not a professional, and not very good. But I'm having loads of fun trying!