Cloning NIGHTMARE.

[Rachelmse]

This kid's face was atrocious. Scabs, crust, boogers, and in this particular shot a big clump of sticky hair on her cheek. I liked the DOF and her angelic expression so decided to edit it best I could. Of course, my eye goes RIGHT to the area I cloned but I'm wondering if it jumps out at anybody else. I know it's a weird crop but I also know the mom will appreciate this face, so it's getting presented with the rest of the set.

I might crop it waaaay down into portrait dimensions, I dunno.

Nikon D90
1/250
f3.5
70mm
ISO 200

[redartsjr]

you can tell you touched up the cheeks a bit only because the forehead is still dirty. Is the kid OK? You mentioned "Scabs" on the face, I dint have any kids but that doesn't sound very good. Boogies and crust I can understand. But Scabs? Cropping it to portrait might look nice.
Rick

[Rachelmse]

Thanks for the reply! I see what you mean regarding the contrast between forehead and cheeks. And LOL @ scabs - kiddos get scabby things on their face when they get bad colds, the child is very well cared for.

[redartsjr]

I am very glad to hear that this beautiful child is well taken care of. In this day and age that is not always the case. Kids and clowns scare me so I try to avoid them as much as possible. I would much rather chase a butterfly around for an hour and a half to get one good picture than to try and get a child to sit still for five minutes. You seem to have a eye for child portraits so keep up the good work and I will continue chasing butterfly's and avoiding clowns. Editing the forehead will be tricky but if you zoom in real close in your editor you might be able to reduce some of the smudges.
Rick

[emm5]

Nice job cleaning her up, next time carry some tissues or wet wipes before taking the picture I always carry them in my camera bag just in case. Its not apparent that you cloned and the only thing you see when zooming in, is a little dirt under hair. Cute expression!

[soph98]

Actually it doesn't bother me at all. I understand the messy thing. It's what kids do, right? =) I think you did a great job.

[Rachelmse]

Thanks for the feedback, guys & gals. Here's a fresh edit. Whaddya think? Holy cow, I hate when I can't stop with a portrait - I've been cloning baby hair off this kid's forehead for an hour.

[rspears]

Wow... nice job. I love the crop. It's an interesting portrait, and she has a great expression. Beautiful eyes. The first version didn't really bother me, but your second version looks good. I know what a headache it is to clone large areas like that and smooth it out. Nice job.

[Rachelmse]

Wow... nice job. I love the crop. It's an interesting portrait, and she has a great expression. Beautiful eyes. The first version didn't really bother me, but your second version looks good. I know what a headache it is to clone large areas like that and smooth it out. Nice job.

Thank you. That kind of feedback warms my heart.