This was a less comprehensive edit than some on here, but it did have a few little things that I tried for the first time. My favorite part of the edit was what I did to the floor. To get the lighter floor, I desaturated the yellows, which I had never done to get such an effect. Beyond that, it was a fairly basic edit. Cropping, white-balance, etc. Any thoughts from the group? How would you have approached this edit?
Edit: I added a third version, in which I removed the distracting player using ON1 Photo Raw 2020's perfect object removal tool and the clone stamp tool. How does it stack up? Do I need to refine the floor more?
I definitely like the edit better. The dribbler's complexion looks more natural but the guy on the bottom looks a little less natural than the original. I like the slightly desaturated floor too but try to see how it may affect other areas of the image. And like the shot with the guy driving to the hoop you've made him stand out more here also. The crop gives the impression he has more space (lead room from my TV days) to run.
I think I know what the issue with the guy on the bottom's skin is. I forgot to mention it in my post, but I did add a vignette around the subject, so possibly the darkening from that affected his skin.
Maybe less vignette or changing the midpoint?
Yeah. I hadn't even noticed it. The details tend to get me. I'll see what I can do to fix it though.
I have added a third version.
Hey Matthew. I looked at the third image on my phone and thought it looked great but looking on my monitor I can see some artifacts left behind where the player used to be. Was this content aware in Photoshop?
Similar concept, but not in Photoshop. I personally edit with ON1 Photo Raw 2020. I did notice the error, and went through with the clone brush and made a better version. The one I added here was an incomplete one intended to see what people thought of the player being removed. I had forgotten about this post, so I didn't update it when the final version was completed. Here's the final one if you're interested. I also added it as a 4th version on the post.
https://fstoppers.com/photo/495888