Suggestions on retouching point & shoot pics

crabshell wrote:

Can anyone suggest a curve, filter or other that can make a photo taken by a point & shoot camera with a flash look a tad more professional? The exposures are good but they have that "cheap camera" look that just isn’t suitable for a professional brochure. A little too contrasty with the harsh, dark shadows and star bright highlights and all. Thanks!

I’d suggest hiring a professional photographer for that "professional feel" you are looking for.
Don’t expect a Photoshop miracle-one-button-push-trick to turn you images shot with the camera pop up flash into something good enough for your brochure.

Stephan

"crabshell" wrote in message

Can anyone suggest a curve, filter or other that can make a photo taken by a point & shoot camera with a flash look a tad more professional? The exposures are good but they have that "cheap camera" look that just isn’t suitable for a professional brochure. A little too contrasty with the harsh, dark shadows and star bright highlights and all. Thanks!
-crabshell

You could try here for some basic retouching tips.
http://www.good-tutorials.com/track/6615

Can anyone suggest a curve, filter or other that can make a photo taken by a point & shoot camera with a flash look a tad more professional? The exposures are good but they have that "cheap camera" look that just isn’t suitable for a professional brochure. A little too contrasty with the harsh, dark shadows and star bright highlights and all. Thanks!

I find that an adjustment layer set to reduce the contrast and masked to only affect the nearer (ie brightest) subjects helps.

Better yet, though, carry a piece of tinfoil and hold it in front of the flash so it bounces indirectly off the ceiling if shooting indoors. It looks 20 times better.

Ewan

"crabshell" wrote in message

Can anyone suggest a curve, filter or other that can make a photo taken by a point & shoot camera with a flash look a tad more professional? The exposures are good but they have that "cheap camera" look that just isn’t suitable for a professional brochure. A little too contrasty with the harsh, dark shadows and star bright highlights and all. Thanks!
-crabshell

Get a professional photographer!!! it’s not the camera that takes the photograph, it’s the photographer.
this posting it typical of many people who think they can get a shitty little digital camera and become a professional photographer. It there was a photoshop filter that could make you a professional photographer, I for one would not have spent three years at university studying art and photography!

"Captain Blammo" wrote in
news:DW4Md.224089$:

Can anyone suggest a curve, filter or other that can make a photo taken by a point & shoot camera with a flash look a tad more professional? The exposures are good but they have that "cheap camera" look that just isn’t suitable for a professional brochure. A little too contrasty with the harsh, dark shadows and star bright highlights and all. Thanks!

I find that an adjustment layer set to reduce the contrast and masked to only affect the nearer (ie brightest) subjects helps.
Better yet, though, carry a piece of tinfoil and hold it in front of the flash so it bounces indirectly off the ceiling if shooting indoors. It looks 20 times better.

Ewan

Great idea about the foil — and I’ll try the adjustment layer. I’m stuck doing a favor for a friend of a friend and I’m stuck with the photos he’s given me to work with — which generally suck.

-crabshell

"MOP" wrote in
news:6A6Md.2112$:

"crabshell" wrote in message

Can anyone suggest a curve, filter or other that can make a photo taken by a point & shoot camera with a flash look a tad more professional? The exposures are good but they have that "cheap camera" look that just isn’t suitable for a professional brochure. A little too contrasty with the harsh, dark shadows and star bright highlights and all. Thanks!

-crabshell

Get a professional photographer!!! it’s not the camera that takes the photograph, it’s the photographer.
this posting it typical of many people who think they can get a shitty little digital camera and become a professional photographer. It there was a photoshop filter that could make you a professional photographer, I for one would not have spent three years at university studying art and photography!

Yes, I’m well aware, but I do know that with some effort, chicken salad can be made from chicken —-. But I don’t expect to make the chicken salad into Chicken Fricassee. Believe me, whatever I give them will be a vast improvement.

-cs

why not send me the image I will see what I can do with it? "crabshell" wrote in message

Can anyone suggest a curve, filter or other that can make a photo taken by a point & shoot camera with a flash look a tad more professional? The exposures are good but they have that "cheap camera" look that just isn’t suitable for a professional brochure. A little too contrasty with the harsh, dark shadows and star bright highlights and all. Thanks!
-crabshell

crabshell wrote:

Can anyone suggest a curve, filter or other that can make a photo taken by a point & shoot camera with a flash look a tad more professional? The exposures are good but they have that "cheap camera" look that just isn’t suitable for a professional brochure. A little too contrasty with the harsh, dark shadows and star bright highlights and all. Thanks!

Whatever your images may look like, you can make them substantially better with Photoshop. Here’s a tutorial on how to help certain "challenged" images, including "Faded Images" from a camera with a plastic lens. http://www.curvemeister.com/tutorials/misfortunate/index.htm

The tutorial is for curvemeister, and the techniques are easily adapted to curves in Photoshop.
—

Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com
www.geigy.2y.net

"MOP" wrote in message

Get a professional photographer!!! it’s not the camera that takes the photograph, it’s the photographer.
this posting it typical of many people who think they can get a shitty little digital camera and become a professional photographer. It there was a photoshop filter that could make you a professional photographer, I for one would not have spent three years at university studying art and photography!

Get over it ! The OP is asking for ways to improve his photo’s appearance (given the restraints he has to work with).
In case you hadn’t heard that is what Photoshop does.

Sam

"Sam" wrote in message

"MOP" wrote in message

Get a professional photographer!!! it’s not the camera that takes the photograph, it’s the photographer.
this posting it typical of many people who think they can get a shitty little digital camera and become a professional photographer. It there was a photoshop filter that could make you a professional photographer, I for one would not have spent three years at university studying art and photography!

Get over it ! The OP is asking for ways to improve his photo’s appearance (given the restraints he has to work with).
In case you hadn’t heard that is what Photoshop does.

Actually I use Photoshop extensively to improve photos.
and am fully aware of it’s potential. it’s one of the things Professional Photographers do 🙂