Save my Image.....

[ggroess]

Keep the highlights in control, and make the boys skin a nice medium tan.

Have fun....

Greg

[mikemeister_admin]

I got an odd  brightness curve trying to get some detailto the far shore.A lift and slight shift to the left for the sat curve in HSB
Second image has Red channel dropped 5 points to 219 in RGB,less red sails in the sunset.GreM

[mikemeister_admin]

Just gave it a try - worked on the highlights/shadows in PS to decrease contrast a little bit, then used the CM wizard - lab mode, black point, no white point, pin for skin tones then adjusted the sliders.

Joe

[mikemeister_admin]

Hi everybody, I used Shadow/Highlight to brighten up shadows, CM in Lab mode to increase colors, then again CM to pin skin colors plus mask skin tones, CM does excellent job on masking skin. Then I set Highlight, Shadow, Neutral in RGB mode, and finally USM.

[mikemeister_admin]

My last mail disapeared? New try.

Made a copy of background layer in PSE. Applied CM corrections to this layer. Neutral, highlight and shadow tool. Applied skin pin.
Adjusted foreground light and colours in lab mode.

Back to PSE and made selection and new layer "Boys". Adjusted this layer with levels. Increased the saturation of the Background copy with a Hue/saturation adj layer.

Question: Could I have got same or better results by only using PSE?

Regards
Thomas

[ggroess]

You might be able to get there all the way in PSE but without direct curves support you will fight it hard... you have so much more control over the image in CM. 
You can set the levels, adjust the color and saturation, set the skin tones and still be in the CM plug-in.


Greg

[mikemeister_admin]

How to pin/mask skin and adjust the rest of picture in CM in one go? I used it twice once for skin and second time for overall adjustment.

[mikemeister_admin]

Sorry Greg.:( I ment the opposite. Could you achieve same or better results only with CM only?
//Thomas

[ggroess]

You can but it might take 2 passes with CM to get it; especially if you use the masking.  If you create a mask in CM you have to exit to apply the mask to the layer.  CM can also serve as a smart filter, but that is in PS not PSE.

Many images we are going to look at in the coming weeks require you to make a RGB pass then a LAB pass or some other combination to try to get the most out of an image.  You can make the work flow fit your needs.  You can even switch color spaces in mid correction if you are fighting LAB; you can click on the radio button and try RGB.  The LAB correction is not applied.

Some of the corrections like levels and saturation can be done in 1 pass easily in fact that is one of the strongest features. 

BTW I keep coming back to your correction...I like it...Good Job....
Greg

[ggroess]

Hi everybody, I used Shadow/Highlight to brighten up shadows, CM in Lab mode to increase colors, then again CM to pin skin colors plus mask skin tones, CM does excellent job on masking skin. Then I set Highlight, Shadow, Neutral in RGB mode, and finally USM.

You can adjust the strength of the edge in mask by adjusting the curve a bit.  It takes some practice but you can lose the cookie cutter effect after some practice...you can also use the mask menu from the ribbon bar and change the edge hardness
See screen shot.

Greg