Help - LAB mode retouching

Hi all,

I´m reading this article about LAB color mode by the color-correction guru Dan Margulis:

http://www.ledet.com/margulis/LABCorrection.pdf

Now, on page 4/4 he explains how to erase type from an image and he tells us to use the smudge tool on channels a and b instead of using the clone tool directly on the composite channel of other color modes (i.e. RGB). OK but I don´t seem to be successful only by smudging the type on said channels and leaving the L channel intact. Am I missing something?

could you maybe explaion your problem a little better...

Go to the channel and command click it to make the running ants go. Make sure that the text layer only has text in it by using this selection technique. I dont know if this is what oyu mean though..

I have an image with text, but it´s flattened...no layers. And he explains how to erase the text using the smudge tool in LAB color mode (not RGB).

On page 4 of the .pdf above, he tells us to smudge the text in the a and b channels of the image but I tried that and it doesn´t work here. I think that without using something like the clone tool in the L channel, this is impossible.

O_o I lost you at this is going to be easy

I would suggest just using the clone stamp, or even better, the patch tool/healing brush if you have Photoshop 7.

Lab channel retouching is just as tedious and haphazard as using a clone brush, IMO.

try duplicating your L channel as an alpha, then I think it's editable.

the important thing to take from these high-end experts is that there are many, many ways to achieve one effect or technique.

They have the time (translation: money) to spend one entire day on correcting a single image. Most of us don't.

I'd say, clone it, then go into LAB and use some of Margulis' methods to "touch up" your clone work.

good luck!