5D MKIII - 100-400 MKII - 1.4x MKIII

[Rose]

I'm considering removing the twig, but there's a lot of it and I don't want to end up with obvious signs of cloning. I only have PSE 12, not the full version of PS so not sure how well it'll do it. An option might be to remove just the top half ?

[Mike Farley]

I have done a quick edit in PSE 9, which has all the required tools, so you will definitely be OK with PSE 12.

• First step was to remove the twig using the Healing Brush, selecting the reference point to the right of the twig.
• This removed the twig, but left the out of focus area looking untidy. See example below.
  

  

  After removing twig with the Healing Brush

  Chaffinch-(web) copy.jpg (109.06 KiB) Viewed 3889 times

• I then copied the layer and applied some Gaussian Blur across the entire image.
• Finally I added a Layer Mask and rubbed through on the bird.

What do you think? There is a bright area at lower right which could do with toning down and some dark patches which were already there and have become more obvious, but hopefully you get the idea.

Final edited version

Chaffinch-(web) copy.jpg (90.59 KiB) Viewed 3889 times

[Rose]

Gosh, that's impressive Mike, thanks for the tips ! I'm sure I wouldn't have got such a good result, I just don't know enough about PS tools to make the most of them. I should perhaps sign up for a class after I retire ! How much do you charge...

[davidb]

Nice one Mike. I have a little program (TouchRetouch) which does a good job of removing unwanted items but I don't think it could have done as well as your PSE jobbie

Rose, good luck in your attempts at duplicating Mike's example. Getting some tuition on Photoshop sounds like a good idea; I wish I could afford to do a course or two!

[Mike Farley]

I have a talk called Photoshop FTJ which I am thinking of rewriting. Would its first outing in updated form be of interest for a club night?

[davidb]

I have a talk called Photoshop FTJ which I am thinking of rewriting. Would its first outing in updated form be of interest for a club night?

Yes please!!

[Rose]

Does it focus only on PS or is it applicable to PSE too ?

[Mike Farley]

Does it focus only on PS or is it applicable to PSE too ?

It's PSE only, which is more than sufficiently capable for most requirements.

[davidc]

Did you add a white vignette?

[Mike Farley]

Did you add a white vignette?

If that question is directed at me, I did not make any changes to the original other than those I described. These days I routinely apply a modest amount of dark vignetting to many images, but not so much to be noticeable. I find that it helps focus the viewer's attention on the subject and I suspect that the image would benefit in this instance.