Creating an Even Background in Gimp

[SYMBOLICinteraction]

I have a less than optimal lighting situation for my art and I am getting a lot of shadows in the background which I would like to clean up: http://www.etsy.com/listing/68914507/abstract-art-painting-deconstructed-teal

I have been trying different tools but I am not quite getting there. I am a novice at using photo editing software beyond lightening images and color adjusting. Is there a feature in Gimp that will help me blend out the the distracting shadows from these images.

Thanks very much for your help and suggestions.

[Former_Member]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60013369@N03/5480119776/

I played with your photo a bit. Hope you don't mind. You really just need more lighting. If you have any natural light bulbs I would pull them over to either side of your fireplace. I personally like workign with natural light (so maybe try and find a setup closer to a window?)

You can lighten up the shadows like i did with your picture by selecting the background and overlaying it with the lightest colour of the wall (i filtered it to be about 60% opaque so some shadow still showed) then I filled in some "Faux" shadows to match it all up. Then i just brightened the original image layer by 30% to make the white pop more.

I did it quickly but you can improve it with these methods. I would however try and get the best lighting as it makes the editing much easier.

[Former_Member]

oh and that was using photoshop. I've never used gimp but i'm sure its possible to do with it.

[SYMBOLICinteraction]

Thank you very much for your help! I wish I had a better place with more natural light where I can stage the painting in a room setting but I don't. The image was taken with natural light and with a white board capturing sunlight directed at the painting/mantel. That is what is casting shadows, but I don't have enough natural light to take a picture otherwise. I will continue working on solutions for lighting and try to work with layers in the meantime. Thanks again for working on that image for me. I really appreciate it.

[hennesseyjewelry]

I'm of the school that it's better (and faster) to get the lighting right when photographing than to try to fix it with an editor.

Handmadeology has done a couple of great articles recently on how to get great lighting with sunlight, cardboard, and aluminum foil. These might help. I've linked to two of the articles, check the site for more.

http://www.handmadeology.com/studio-quality-product-photography-with-a-12-set-up/

http://www.handmadeology.com/product-photography-sometimes-it%E2%80%99s-all-done-with-smoke-and-mirr...

[SYMBOLICinteraction]

Thanks bowersstudio. I look forward to reading them.

[cutependants]

I would try the dodge/burn tool to selectively lighten the shadow areas on the wall- try it with a fairly low opacity level and make repeated passes...