Can these harsh shadows be repaired?

Nickc84 · 5th of October 2010 (Tue)

I like this image but the shadow on the grooms face looks awful and I have tried everything in CS5 with no luck. Anyone?

Peano · 5th of October 2010 (Tue)

Most likely no fix. It appears that you didn't shoot raw.

chestercopperpot · 5th of October 2010 (Tue)

I don't think it looks horrendous. Certainly not ideal, but I don't think the picture is totally worthless. Just a thought - and it may not work at all - but since you cant lighten the dark areas, did you try darkening the light areas on the guy to make it less of a transition?

katodog · 5th of October 2010 (Tue)

It can be fixed, somewhat, but with the JPG image you won't like the results. You'll get imperfections in the image trying to recover shadows and such with a JPG. It can be done with pretty good results though, if you don't blow the image up too much. If you have a RAW it can be fixed with better results though, and probably easier than doing a JPG too.

For this shot, I opened it in Lightroom, upped the exposure by 1 and the fill by 35. I then export it as a new image so as not to overwrite the original. I take the saved image and copy it, then paste it as a new layer over the original in PSPX2. Then, it's just a matter of using the eraser tool to go over the spots i want to keep original, and then dodge the shadows to make them look a bit better.

The animation makes the shot look like crap, but you get the idea. with a RAW you would have a much broader spectrum of what you could do, and it would be a lot easier to recover areas and brighten areas, etc.. with my edit it looks similar to what you might get with a reflector aimed at them from the right, so it doesn't end up looking too bad. A little bit of work to smooth out any imperfections in the JPG and it might not look too bad. But, like I said, you wouldn't get away with blowing it up very much, if at all. Sadly, there's no way to completely get rid of the shadows in the JPG, at least not without a boatload of work.

ChasP505 · 5th of October 2010 (Tue)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nickc84

Anyone?

If you're asking for editing help, please enable "Image Editing OK" and post a link to the original image file.

Bobster · 5th of October 2010 (Tue)

is it even your image? seems it was taken with a Pentax K20D, your sig says 7D...

Nickc84 · 5th of October 2010 (Tue)

Yeah, I had a k20 few months back. Ill try to link the raw file

5th of October 2010 (Tue)	#1
Nickc84 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 1,932 IMAGE EDITING OK	Can these harsh shadows be repaired? I like this image but the shadow on the grooms face looks awful and I have tried everything in CS5 with no luck. Anyone? __________________ www.CaputoPhotography.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicholascaputo/ Facebook

5th of October 2010 (Tue)	#2
Peano Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 1,552 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Can these harsh shadows be repaired? Most likely no fix. It appears that you didn't shoot raw. __________________ --- Peano RadiantPics.com

5th of October 2010 (Tue)	#3
chestercopperpot Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 991	Re: Can these harsh shadows be repaired? I don't think it looks horrendous. Certainly not ideal, but I don't think the picture is totally worthless. Just a thought - and it may not work at all - but since you cant lighten the dark areas, did you try darkening the light areas on the guy to make it less of a transition? __________________ Michael 5D Mark II 16-35mm 2.8L II; 35mm 1.4L; 85 1.2L II; 70-200 2.8L IS II

5th of October 2010 (Tue)	#4
katodog Goldmember Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Carol Stream, Illinois Posts: 3,920 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Can these harsh shadows be repaired? It can be fixed, somewhat, but with the JPG image you won't like the results. You'll get imperfections in the image trying to recover shadows and such with a JPG. It can be done with pretty good results though, if you don't blow the image up too much. If you have a RAW it can be fixed with better results though, and probably easier than doing a JPG too. For this shot, I opened it in Lightroom, upped the exposure by 1 and the fill by 35. I then export it as a new image so as not to overwrite the original. I take the saved image and copy it, then paste it as a new layer over the original in PSPX2. Then, it's just a matter of using the eraser tool to go over the spots i want to keep original, and then dodge the shadows to make them look a bit better. The animation makes the shot look like crap, but you get the idea. with a RAW you would have a much broader spectrum of what you could do, and it would be a lot easier to recover areas and brighten areas, etc.. with my edit it looks similar to what you might get with a reflector aimed at them from the right, so it doesn't end up looking too bad. A little bit of work to smooth out any imperfections in the JPG and it might not look too bad. But, like I said, you wouldn't get away with blowing it up very much, if at all. Sadly, there's no way to completely get rid of the shadows in the JPG, at least not without a boatload of work. __________________ The only stupid question is the one that goes unasked - Photographers shoot to thrill, not to kill My Gear - Flickr - Facebook Smoke Photography - Sound-Activated Paint

5th of October 2010 (Tue)	#6
Bobster Goldmember Join Date: May 2006 Location: Dorset, England Posts: 4,548	Re: Can these harsh shadows be repaired? is it even your image? seems it was taken with a Pentax K20D, your sig says 7D... __________________ Robert Whetton Dorset Portrait & Events Photographer \| Photoshop Guru DIY Monitor Hood \| Gear \| Tweet \| Google+ \| Get your focus spot on

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