Is there any hope for this?

[NicholsonPhotography]

This family just had to be on these darn rocks...Editing help desperately needed...I've tried a few different things, any advice?

[LeuceDeuce]

Not really sure how much can be done for this image. Once the highlights are gone, they're pretty much gone for good.

[NicholsonPhotography]

I know...I hate it! What do you think about the 3rd picture I posted? Better than the others?

[ypx3]

Im no pp expert but i think this is a little...different

[SwingBopper]

Yeah the last one looks pretty good. Next time try not to have "trees growing out of their heads" though.

[joedlh]

The third one is okay, given the harsh side lighting. Don't show anybody the first two, which make them look like ghosts. Did you try Adobe's fill shadows adjustment (fill flash in Elements, I think)? This might have lightened the faces without blowing out the highlights. Put a gaussian blur on the trees to address the comment about trees growing out of their heads. (Dude, they were in a wooded area!) You might also try a little desaturation to lower the effect of the blue clothes.

[NicholsonPhotography]

I hadn't even given a thought to the trees...This is what they wanted, and they were pretty proud of their blue clothes! Believe it or not, they actually ordered 2 16x20's of this horrible shot!!

[tdodd]

I'm not a Photoshopper, so I don't know how practical it would be to try to clone or paint in some colour to the blown out skin and hair. Probably with enough time, patience and skill, something could be done, but whether you'd get away with it at 16*20 I somehow doubt.

As for the trees growing from their heads - a selective gaussian blur of the background would diminish the effect and also put the emphasis on the people.

The fact that the family ordered a couple of large prints supports my belief that, in photography, the subject choice is more important than the perfect technical execution of the photograph. I'd rather watch a good TV series in standard def than a bad one in hi def.

OK, I've had a bit of a play in Lightroom, just cloning bits of skin and hair about. It is super crude and some bits look better than others but just as a taster of what might be possible here is my rough and ready edit. Sadly there is nothing I can do about the trees, but in Photoshop.......