NEWBIE: Help with some pictures please

[mikemeister_admin]

I have been using photoshop on and off for a few years now just to do some basic things.  I have recently been trying to do a scrapbook for my baby (well she's almost 21 months now but still my baby!)  and just bought a new canon pixma printer.  The images print out very red so I need some help in trying to fix her skin tone.  She has a tendency to turn red when she cries so a lot of times her eyes are red. 

The first picture is from when she was just born, she had slight jaundice and was very dark in skin tone.

The second picture is a scan from a picture that her aunt took with a plain old 35 mm camera (her aunt still hasn't caught up with technology yet).  I cut out the background because I thought it was too distracting but the shadow under her hat and her overall skin tone needs help.

I really don't know what I am doing.  Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

I found this tutorial http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1170442/1/54688008/Medium which is exactly what I need to do with these pictures but it doesn't seem to work the way it should.  I don't know if I'm choosing the wrong colors to match or that I'm picking the wrong midpoints but I bought a wacom tablet to hopefully help with the "painting" but to no avail.

Again I would really appreciate any input.  I downloaded the trial version but I just don't know what I'm doing and I don't know if it will help with what I need help with.

[ggroess]

Greetings

I have a few questions for you...

When you say they print too red is that over the entire image or just the face of the baby?
Is there a deadline as to when you need to fix these? 


I and others will be glad to help you...
Greg

[mikemeister_admin]

bought a new canon pixma printer.  The images print out very red so I need some help in trying to fix her skin tone.  She has a tendency to turn red when she cries so a lot of times her eyes are red. 

Newbie, besides that the picture needs improvement, I recognised the problem.
Some sort of problems I had myself.
I have experimented a lot  with  on the internet fetched solutions to calibrate my monitor and after that making the colors and skintones right. therefore I  bought also CM.
But I was not satisfied with the printings.
indeed also to red.
Again experimenting. I could give the  picture less red or do some manipulation with the printing-modes.
But do it the right way I bought me print fix pro. Very expensive, but you can make a printer profile for your printer.
After that, there is ver little modification needed for your printings.

But let we start with making the photo better. ( I will try it)
frits

[mikemeister_admin]

First try.
the picture is very small.
It seems diificult to vanish the gray, without loosing detail in the white.
A mark on the gray is about 85-2-2 in Lab mode.
Can jou send a bigger picture.

frits

[mikemeister_admin]

baby 2.
Is also a small picture.
I have spent not mutxh time on it.
You extracted the baby not carefully enough.
there are black borders. I have taken it away. ( not enough)
You forgotten to soften the edges.
But mostly I do that with a other background.
I have done Noise Ninja on the picture. There is no noise, but it helps to better the face.

Frits

[mikemeister_admin]

cap 61801.

i have tried it  also with portrait professional on the face.
the gray tones I left.
Also with this PP program you can do a lot on face and tonals.
the adres P.P is
http://www.portraitprofessional.com/index.php
you can try it yourself there for free a couple of pictures.
It is a nice prgr. But CM also and can do immensely  more things.
I advise you to buy CM and  do a free course ( also when you don't buy it ).
It helps you a lot in making colours much better then standard procedures
Frits

[mikemeister_admin]

There is no deadline (I'm going back to work in Sept. so I would like to have it done before then) and the red parts are just on the face.  Thanks so much for the input so far!!

[mikemeister_admin]

I do have larger pictures but I though the max was 200 kb so I shrunk them down.  Which leads me to another question I have about photoshop.  Is there any way to resize a picture to a specific output ie I wanted them to be 200 kb, without have to resize, save, check file size, resize, save, check filesize, etc.?

[mikemeister_admin]

I do have larger pictures but I though the max was 200 kb so I shrunk them down.  Which leads me to another question I have about photoshop.  Is there any way to resize a picture to a specific output ie I wanted them to be 200 kb, without have to resize, save, check file size, resize, save, check filesize, etc.?

indeed.!
I do saving it and check filesize. If it is to big, I set the slider to 10  ( 12 is max) and so on.
You have always a little work to do.
you can also use Irfanview 399 if you do something with resizing.
But you have always check the 200 KB border yourself.
Frits

[mikemeister_admin]

cap61801,

i will do another approach on the first picture.
I got to wgcmyk in CM an to black.
block the whole curve and placed 2 marks on the most grays.
then vanish blocvked points around the gray marks.

frits