Steve and Kassey

[BigD73ot]

So I had been told I was washing to much out in my last post....I was wondering if I did any better with this before and after. I'm using GIMP and an Olympus e-500 camera.

[BigD73ot]

57 views and no comments...come on..please help me out.

[CheaperKings]

Well, this is the first time I've viewed it so...anyhow, I looked at the 'after' image first and I already knew it was touched up and where. Go back and try it again. Using the "stamp" is the best tool for the job but, you need to use it correctly. There are many settings for that tool - check'em out. You can clearly see the where it was worked on her shirt...

[SandeeWig]

I didn't see your last post, so I'm not 100% sure what you mean by "washing out"...if you are talking about color/contrast, I think that your edits look much better. The colors pop more and the contrast looks good.

I agree, the clone job on her shirt needs work, but you did well removing the buoys in the water. Also, I'd suggest straightening the horizon line so the water doesn't slant.

[BigD73ot]

On the shirt I tried doing like I did with the buoys but couldn't get it to look right so I just used the smudge tool. I have no idea how to fix the horizon.

[RLucas]

Originally Posted by BigD73ot

On the shirt I tried doing like I did with the buoys but couldn't get it to look right so I just used the smudge tool. I have no idea how to fix the horizon.

In, Gimp, use the rotate tool. It is on the left in the tool box. It looks like a little blue screen with directional arrows around it. Click on that tool, and place your pointer on one corner of the image. If you are using a mouse, left click on it, and drag the corner in whatever direction you want to rotate. There will be a pop up window that has stats, like how many degrees you have rotated, etc... There should be a button that says "rotate". Click on it, and it will rotate the image to the specs that you dragged it to. When you are done, it will leave some nasty corners, with parts of the checkerboard pallate showing. You will have to re crop to clean the edges up.

Go real easy when using the smudge tool. Use a soft brush, and turn the opacity back to about 20%, and work your way up from there. It's best to create a duplicate layer before doing so, that way you don't have to go back and undo 100 times if it doesnt look right.

Always do your global edits first, like cropping, color correction, and contrast adjustments. Do your smaller edits last, like cloning, smudging, dodge and burn.

The last step is to sharpen if it needs any.
Good luck with it. Gimp is a great program! It has a huge learning curve, but there are more and more tutorials being made for it everyday.