Deleting an object in the background?

[Tintype_18]

I took several photos of my grandson and his hyper-hound for a magazine article. However, the return air grate is behind his head! Other positions and backrounds were not conducive for this "theme" of the article,"How to watch an outdoor video." Your help is, as always, most appreciated. This is the worst of several photos but wanted to use it to illlustrate the problem and as an example of what to do. BTW, have the photos in jpg and RAW. This is the jpg; not sure if the RAW would show up.

[kvbarkley]

PhotoShop Elements does all of this for much cheaper.

[ebiggs1]

"Would it pay to keep DPP4 or delete it and go 100% with PS?"

I have DPP4 on my computer but basically just to see if Canon has finally turned it in to a real full post editor. So far they have not seen fit to do so. Photoshop is the industry standard not only in raster graphics editing, but in digital art, too.   There is no second place.

If you are an amateur or even advanced enthusiasts DPP4 is probably the way to go simply because it is free and does 80% of what most people want. If on the other hand you are a full time photographer or even wanting to be in the photography business you need PS and LR. 

[rs-eos]

Photoshop doesn't have any organization features.  I guess it does come with Bridge which does, but I never liked Bridge so just use Lightroom.

[ebiggs1]

"Photoshop doesn't have any organization features.  I guess it does come with Bridge which does..."

The PS combo along with Bridge do exactly the same operations and features as LR and PS does together. How they go about handling the job at hand and your procedures is quite different. If you are simply looking for software that will alter and/or tweak or otherwise enhance your photographs, either one will work.

[ebiggs1]

PhotoShop Elements does all "most" of this for much cheaper. And, for most folks it is the way to go, I agree.

[Tintype_18]

My photos are submitted along with magazine articles so good editing is a must. Also, want to sell photos to the publications. I'm sure there is a lot of competition for them but cover photos and archived photos can bring some big bucks. Any advice here is most welcome.

Will look at all suggestions given here.

[ebiggs1]

I have a question.  Just curious but have you ever done any of this kind of work before?  I can tell you from years of experience it is very difficult to break in to.

[Tintype_18]

ebiggs1, writing and photography for a bit over three years- magazines, online TV news, online magazines. Made some good connections at the beginning. Joining two outdoor writing organizations opened a lot of doors. As the late Paul Harvey would say, "Now you know the rest of the story." Got three baking in the oven right now. One story is based on the crappy photo I attached. The other photos are much better but have the grill in the background. As mentioned, need to go back and get a better background.

It is difficult to break into the big magazines as Outdoor Life, etc. I would rather write for smaller publications and get paid than be ignored by the big publications and not get paid.

Which leads to the 64 cent question- I did some searching and it seems that PS Elements must be purchased at a retailer as Staples. A download asked for a serial number so that must be on  the box or disk. I can download free for a trail but then the price kicks in. Seems it is about $100+ for the software. Advice here????? Thanks two bunches!

[ebiggs1]

Sounds like you are on the road. Yes, PSE is a purchase only software and it is in the $100 buck range. You can buy it from several sources.  It is a somewhat crippled version of PS. But it is usually enough for most folks and applications. PS and LR on the other hand are subscription based products. They run $10 per month but you can stop any time you please. They are the industry standards.

DPP4 is free form Canon. It has a much more limited editing ability than PS does. Gimpshop is an open source software and is also free. Gimp is somewhat like PS but to me is much more difficult to master. Perhaps because I have been with PS since it started.  Keep in mind the more any software package does the more difficult to learn and the longer the learning curve will be.

[Tintype_18]

EB, are PS and LR separate or as a package? May save some search time.