Haunting Eyes (and an exercise in patience) Please view large.

Please help me with this image. I spent bloody FOREVER editing this.

There must be a quicker way. I'll post the original as well, and I

would appreciate any suggestions on how to do this better/faster. Thanks!

I'll attach the original of this. As you can see, the background was distracting. What would you have done to improve the background? Because it's Halloween and the purple is a nice contrast with the green eyes, I decided to make the entire background purple. I mostly used the Cloning tool, and it took me forever! Can you suggest a better (or faster) way? Thanks so much for any help.

My dear Christal i think the original is just fine. I don't see why you want to alter it.

I agree with Michael.  Purple Haze overwhelms when it's solid, but, I offer a slight revision attached.  Here's a version with a slight crop, some vignette and a tad of midtone dodging.  Cute cat though... Mike

I also prefer the original (or Michael's modification).  No need to make b/g a solid color.  As Michael as already stated, it is to overpowering.  

Hi Christal,

  Wow....beautiful creative image with wonderful colors, details & powerful background.  Take care, Patsy

Michail, Mike and Bill.....okay....you have the heart to tell me it's awful after all the work I put into it?  I'm TOTALLY joking of course!  I get that you prefer the original and think there is a preponderance of purple.  But I honestly like the purple contrast.  And though I put very little weight on ratings, this image has a higher rating than all of my recent postings.  Go figure!  I guess it's really a subjective thing.

I guess what I should have stated more clearly in my original post is:  Often times I find myself wanting to change a background or eliminate something large in the background, and I'm not sure the best way to do that.  This was an experiment in that more than anything.  I actually started out trying something like you did, Mike (thanks, BTW).....but I couldn't get it looking right.  I think what I dislike most about the original is WHERE the line falls separating the purple from the lighter colors......right at the top of the cat's head.  I thought it was a detraction. 

So anyway, it's good to hear your opinions, and I appreciate your honest assessments.  Actually, it's nice to get some criticism.....wish there was more of that kind of thing here on PN.

Glad you like this, Patsy.  I'm not really a 'cat person'......Give me a dog any day (no offense to cat lovers though).  Still, this cat had the most amazing eyes and looked straight at me, which I found remarkable.  So I couldn't resist.

He was trying to decide if he could eat you with one bite ;-).  Yeah, dogs rule, cats drool... Mike

Hi Christal,

I like both versions of this. To me they are two very different images of the same subject, one with a "studio" or even poster-like effect and the other just more natural, casual. I have to say, the all-purple background does make his features really pop, and as a portrait may be my favorite.

It is a great photo either way, and one handsome cat!

Perhaps the question is, which does the kitty prefer?

Tim

Christal, Agree with previous, nice shot either way.  Since you asked, I took your unedited shot, did a quick selection in photoshop to create a layer mask (could have done a better job with the mask if I took more time).  Then used the clone stamp tool to paint the underlying layer purple.  The mask allows you to paint the background layer quickly without having to be careful since you can't paint over the cat.  The whole edit took about three minutes.

Maybe even hellish! I think that you made quite something different from the original, Christal! And I agree with Michael and ML M that the background on the original isn't distracting! In two words you have two very good pictures of a different kind here!

 

Best regards

 

PDE

Tim....this cat was so human-like....I think it could almost really answer that question.  Haha!  I value your opinion, so thanks for weighing in.

 

Charles.....I have no idea how to create a layer mask, although I know it's probably a basic thing I need to learn.  I will!  I knew there had to be a better way than my method.  Thanks so much for spending time on this and explaining your technique.  It's greatly appreciated.

 

Pierre.....hmmm...hellish....I like that adjective and that was precisely why I posted it around Halloween.  Glad to hear you like both versions.....I value your opinion!

 

 

Great presentation of this human cat...I feel cats have personalities similar to humans...they use you and they drop you...wonderful you made my day! Warm regards.