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]

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.

[rs-eos]

You can get PS and LR separately, but IMO, you just cannot beat the combo "Photography Package" for the aforementioned 10 USD per month.

[ebiggs1]

"EB, are PS and LR separate or as a package?"

I do not think they are offered separately. However, you can still find CS6 for purchase. It will get no updates or new camera model support. But other than that it is essentially the full blown PS. It will not have LR but it does come with Bridge. Bridge does exactly the same functions as LR.

The newest versions of PS do nothing more than what can be done in CS6 but they do streamline it more.

If you can only have one or the other you want PS with Bridge.

[Tintype_18]

I have emailed the president of a local photography club. They will be having a virtual meeting 5/20. In-person meeting are getting close. I'm joining and stated I would like to contact someone who is well-versed in PS and any recommendations by that person/persons.