OK - I need some help here please...

[mattman]

OK - I really like this shot, but it needs help. I have photoshop CS3 and I need help on cleaning up this image. Anyone that wants to edit this pix can do so, just tell me what you did to get the end result. Two things - I do want the lens flare to go away and of course, the excessive amount of NOISE. Thanks and ready...set....go!

matt

ps - and for those skate rats out there - yes, that is the great Bucky Lasek!

[mattman]

any suggestions?

[carrbowl]

Sorry I couldn't help, I was in the same position today trying to get rid of a lens flare. Luckily I was able to clone mine out...there are several noise removal programs people have talked about. In fact I think some are free...you might try to search them.

[Charles Putnam]

Did you shoot this in RAW or as a JPEG? Send me the full file (bigc_pushinpixels@att.net). I have some ideas. BTW, I'd leave the lens flare - it actually gives a better perspective of just how high up the skateboarder is.

What I'll do is post here what changes I made to the file.

[barP]

to quote the great band, filter....hey, man, nice shot!

i think we met at lg. i was blasting the place with a quantum.

as to your fix, i think the lens flair is going to be brute force ps work, but the noise is a snap for noise ninja. i use it and love it!

where are the rest of your lg shots?

wp.

[rltaylor4]

Here is my shot at it. I imported into Lightroom, made a virtual copy, edited in CS2 and took out the glare with the clone, brought back into lightroom and did a white balance adjustment and increased the clarity.

[Gabby498]

Matt, I hope you do not mind if I attempt to learn a new software using your image. I assume you mean removing the flare so I wanted to see what could be done in Nikon’s Capture NX. I used two control points, one on the purple just to the left of his leg and one on the green near the top of the flare. Using the color picker I selected a portion of the darker background and changed both the purple and the green to match. Took about three to four seconds and I was amazed how well it worked. I also cloned out (in PSP) the distractions around his head and below him. Thanks for posting and the opportunity to try out something new.

[Charles Putnam]

OK...here's my take. What I did:
1. Open in Camera RAW to adjust the color temperature, along with slight changes by increasing Blacks and Clarity.
2. In Photoshop, I converted to Smart Objects and applied Shadow/Highlight to bring out the skateboarder.
3. From there, I added a black mask, and painted with white to bring out the skateboarder, and leave the background slightly darker. I personally like the lens flare, and wanted to accentuate it.
4. From there, I changed to LAB and did Apply Image and used Soft Light on the "b" channel.
5. Used Neat Image and the Unsharp Mask, and immediately Fade Unsharp Mask and selected Luminosity.

The above are some of the techniques from the 7 Point System.

[z-monster]

Nicley done Putnam! I agree with you about the lens flare.

Mattman, you might view the lens flare as a potential error. However in this case, trying to rid of it will be a daunting task. Make it work for you.

Major thumbs up for a cool shot though. I'm a tech-nerd so I gotta ask for the specs on this shot.

[Gabby498]

Matt, a few additional control points to clean up some of the flair left at the trailing edge of the board and on the sole of the shoe. Added cooler white balance and some work with control points to bring the black up in the lower part of the image. I was pleased with the ability and ease of control points to correct the flair. I suspect that it would not have been as easy without the fairly solid background.

[mattman]

WOW - thanks alot! These are all alot better than I envisioned.

Will - yeah, I remember you. When the LG or Dew tours come through, I am always blown away at the talent and skill level these athletes have. I got more pixs, I just need to post them and I guess I need to buy noise ninja now.

Rick - thanks for making some enhancements. I'm not familiar with lightroom but I understand alot of people like it.

Gary - I love the fact you took out all the additional lights in the background, I would have never even thought of that. Outstanding with everything, much more clearer - thanks!

Charles - I actually like what you've done with the flare. I thought it was really a nuisance but the way you worked it, it looks great.

Justin - specs: Canon 20D 1/250th @ f4.5 and 3200 ISO (yeah I know, I really pushed it)

Thanks to everyone for working this pix. Being a sports shooter, I don't spend alot of time in the "post-processing" arena, so I'm trying to learn a few tricks because sometimes there's a shot I really want to use but it was just not quite right and I wasn't sure how to fix it the correct way. One thing I've learned, I gotta get "layers" working the correct way. I'm still alittle confused about layers. Again, thanks for all the tips!

matt

[barP]

you guys keep wanting to change the white balance, but his original was spot on. it is a little yellow, but that's what color the light was in the arena.



wp.

[mattman]

Will - nice shot of Andy. I have a few of him I'll post later. I missed the bikes this year, do you shoot any of Dave Mirra? I thought I heard he was there....

[barP]

thanks! unfortunately i missed the bikes as well.

wp.