Rejected again. I thought I finally had a clue, but it appears I'm still missing the point. This one Sushi (all are reduce to 640) was rejected for background cleanup. The advise was use the burn tool.

I tried that and it just makes really ugly dark blobs. I was using brush, clone, eraser and for de-speckling, magic healing tool. (I've given up on paint bucket because it usually makes things worse, but maybe it's just me?)

The foreground texture was intentional. Is that a mistake?



I tried Plexiglas last weekend, and it's too reflective. Might be nice if used for intended reflections.

Any tips from the pros here on cleaning up spots, flares, hot spots and backgrounds, so I get nice clean isolations?

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Hi,

The reject actually surprises me ... i sometimes also use reflective material and didn't have problems with rejection, see latest approved below... SS...


Patrick.

ps : i made a note for the reviewer this is a sort of high key technique on a reflective surface.

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Well...I'm the reviewer who rejected the photos and mentioned the burn tool. The reflective surfaces weren't the problem. The problem areas were above the food where it appeared you were trying to clean up some stray something-or-others with either a clone tool or paint brush. I could clearly see brush strokes in the black areas above the food.

If the burn tool is leaving ugly blobs, try adjusting it for highlights, midtones, and shadows...as well as adjusting the percentage. It just takes some practice. Too bad my computer is in the shop...I'd show you some before and after shots and some screen shots of how to do it.

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Yes, the reflection image, was rejected for messy background, and I agree. Not for reflections. Now that I'm awake, it was kind of tacky anyway.

Last one was an example of a photo that I never submitted, because I rejected it. Wasn't sure about a textured background?

I don't mind the good advise or trying to take it, and use it. I wasn't disputing the comments or rejection. I'm just wondering what I should be doing?

The background is not solid black, so when I burn, it just makes lines. What I took out was a reflection from the fill flash, and some "something or others" of a mysterious nature. Good call.

What I did do on the original: removed and errant spot of wasabi, a couple of reflective or white spots on the fish, dark dot on the left side of the fish on the right, white dots on the black on the lower left, reflection of the flash diffuser (or maybe some other lights in the lounge?) and dot next to it, (healing brush) brown spots on the wasabi were re-colored to green, hit it with 10 on the saturation to bring out the color of the fish.

Here's the original, nothing done to it except converted from RAW to JPG and resized to 640 x ?


After (as submitted)


I'm not criticizing the review.

I'm asking, how do I remove these things, so I don't leave lines and residual editing artifacts? I've been using clone, because it copies the same texture and tones. Sometimes, eraser set to the background color, where I need a clean edge. Sometimes paint, where soft edges don't matter. Larger areas, select and use paint bucket.

Settings on the burn tool, second set which is fuzzy edges, shadows, exposure 50%. Could be that I need to use something less severe for a gentle adjustment?

ps Shot on location, with two slave flashes and a flash on the hot shoe, then eaten... Table was, what was there. Back when I first came here, my question was, how do I shoot food, on location? I can't carry a carload of equipment into a restaurant and shoot a plate of food, with a light tent, double diffusers, lights on boom stands... I need portable and simple.

Four months later, and I'm still working on that one question.:wink:

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I'd select the image, invert the selection, add some feathering then I would paint the background black (#000000). Putting a new white layer just under this 'black" one to see places you miss helps alot. Using the burn tool IMHO doesn't work very well to get a background black.

The reflections are interesting, but your exposure is just off bit causing hot spots.

If you are using the camera's meter, or any reflective light meter, you must remember that they will always try to expose for Zone 5 or neutral gray. Hence the black background becomes gray. You need to use some kind of incident meter to get an accurate measurement. If you don't have one get a hold of a Zone 5 card and place it in your scene to meter off. If you are good at reading the histogram (I'm not) you could shot a frame, chimp it, shot another etc until you get a good one, with digital this isn't such a big deal. Along the same lines, having the correct white balance can make a big difference in how your image will come out.

Jack

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Less severe would be good. For the outer areas, a high percentage is fine, but as you move closer to the edges, go no higher than 20%. The burn tool shouldn't be leaving any lines...it should be a nice smooth black area just like if you had used the paint tool.

And don't worry...I know you're not criticizing the review. :-) Just thought I'd point out the problem areas for reference.

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Create a duplicate layer, use the threshold button to highlight the lightest area of the black background, then click the 'color sampler' tool on that lightest area, this will leave a little target, then dump the threshold.

Go to levels, pick the black eyedropper, click it on the little target left by the color sampler, and then hey presto you'll have a perfect black background and the plate and it's contents will remain the same. Hit clear to get rid of the target and flatten the layers, if it effects the food just use the eraser to bring back the original layer before flattening.

Hope I've explained that easily I'm not that good at teaching, but that's what you need to do, don't bother with burning,paint bucket or anything else, you just need to tell the image where the darkest part of the image is.

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Taking notes. I'm at my night job right now. Because I'm on the laptop, the colors are never right, so I'm not going to waste time trying the advise.

After my lack of success with white backgrounds, I tried black, and I'm finding that maybe I should avoid both and shoot for something in between.

Submitted 8 pictures this afternoon, one a re-work of the Sushi, which, if it gets rejected again, I can work on again, with the proper methods.

I'm trying to find a Photoshop class, but with working days and nights, and from April until October... weekends too, I really haven't found anything that fits into my schedule. :-? The one weekend class I did find, was aimed towards business, and they just switched to CS3. (rats!) Plus it's a two day weekend, intro and then two days of intermediate, on another date, and the photo editing parts are a little in both.

Night school just went out the window, because I got the last night of the week added at the hotel, which only needs someone four nights a week. Good news is, I'm it, and the cook is amused by my photography of his food.

No I don't have a light meter anymore, (I own about six) because they don't make batteries for any that I own. Something about Mercury? I took in the area of 70 photos on Sunday, testing lighting setups. (and taking notes) Then changed everything, and started again today. It's pretty funny, but in the end, I'm getting photos that don't have the need for huge editing of the background, because I'm making better exposures to start with.

Ah, display dinner just came out. Gotta run, get the camera, tripod, new diffusers, slave strobes, plastic background, and take some pictures.

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Last weeks step forward. Chicken Parmesan, shot on location, with very limited resources. Removed some hot spots and splattering of sauce on the plate, plus a dark area in the chicken, that I didn't think was appealing. White balance based on plate.



Lighting is two mini-strobes plus the on camera flash. On camera has two diffusers taped on it to reduce the light and soften. Slave strobes have one diffuser and the bottom of a polypropylene container (dumpster diving :-D ) as the second diffusion.



Oh by the way, the stands are custom made aluminum tripod risers with 1/4 x 20 studs, and tapped for tripod threads on both ends. I was going to use them for a telephoto handle, but didn't like the balance. Green clamps 99c each at Home Depot. Podium is not mine, it was at the hotel, along with the erasers holding it up, so the plate doesn't slide off.

Advise for improvements?

I'm trying to find a more subtle background. White is bad because the plate gets lost. I think black is a little stark, but it does give good isolation. Table clothes the texture shows, I don't like it.

I'm thinking maybe a piece of plastic painted flat Eggshell or a light grey?

Keep in mind, this is on location, hand carried in, small subjects. Same setup I used to take the wildflower shots, but the slaves didn't sync, so all of them have shadows, where the fill was supposed to be.

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