Rough shadows, any help? :)

Hey guys!

I took this picture the other weekend for some friends. I didn't use a flash or a bounce and they were walking away and decided to look back (I didn't pose this) and they gave me like 2 shots and this is the better one...well I didn't take the time to put them into the light (Shame on me I know I know)

I know I have a lot of work to do (learning lighting and such) but this is the image I got and this is the one I hope to use if possible!

Here's what I've done with the photo so far, but his face...it stand out SO bad with the lighting the way it is...is there a way to "fix" this....that sounds terrible and I know, get it right in camera, but I didn't and would like to use this so if I could get some help that'd be awesome!

Try using nik software's viveza. It will help darken the top of his face and lighten the bottom. I think a 30 day free trial is available but not sure since google bought nik.

here's a very quick edit:

I think sometimes you just have to leave it as is. Which mixed lighting landing on their face like that, any exposure corrections will really make their face stand out (in a bad way) and look very unnatural.

The lighting may not be ideal in your image but at least it's "natural". I would just pull back highlights a tad

CanonVsNikon wrote in post #16445052
I think sometimes you just have to leave it as is. Which mixed lighting landing on their face like that, any exposure corrections will really make their face stand out (in a bad way) and look very unnatural.

The lighting may not be ideal in your image but at least it's "natural". I would just pull back highlights a tad

Yeah.
Thus the trials and tribulations working in dappled light Gotta go all shadow or all sun. Live and learn

Happens =) might leave what I got here then. Not much to do really

you might consider re-shooting this. Neither the original nor the edited version make the cut for me.

Not a viable option fxdb, they liked the image the way it was and I already showed them this edit. The colors are gone and they are busy people. This isn't the only picture I got

You cant really fix this one. You can dodge and burn and make it a bit better, but its still going to be bad. You can lighten her face, but evening out his face is not going to be very good.

Yeh :/ I guess I'll leave it how it is. She didn't seem to mind at all and this is like 1 of 30 or so

I'd trash it. Pay close attention at all times when looking through the viewfinder, take your time, and get it done in camera.

You can try to correct some in the PP but the results wont be as good - This situation specifically calls for getting it right in camera.

Multiple options are:
1. Shoot with subjects in full shadow
2. Use OCF / Strobe
3. Use a Scrim to create soft light on the subject/s

Option 2 will help you achieve a good balance between subject and background if metered correctly. Most importantly it will keep your subjects from getting a color cast of the surroundings.

I actually just picked up two flashes two days ago (TT520 Speedlites from Neewer) and they are full manual flashes. I need a lot of practice before I incorporate them into a client shoot (Last one is this weekend) but I hope I can figure them out...gotta find some triggers, will they work with off brand flashes?

xarik wrote in post #16451345
I actually just picked up two flashes two days ago (TT520 Speedlites from Neewer) and they are full manual flashes. I need a lot of practice before I incorporate them into a client shoot (Last one is this weekend) but I hope I can figure them out...gotta find some triggers, will they work with off brand flashes?

Even with fill flash you want to avoid scenes like the one if the photo above. Splotchy light is hard to fill in, because light is additive, adding flash to the bring up the shadows just adds light to the sunny part. You could underexpose the scene to the point it doesnt matter then add the flash, but that would change the nature of the background. So regardless you want to have your subjects in even light if you can.

So a better choice would be a 5 in 1 or a 4 in one and use it as a block for the sun in this case and in this exact location

Thats one option, to scrim them to keep them in even light, or move them to the left where they would both be in the same shadow. The problem with using scrims and fill flash is that you end up needing a team of assistants to get it all done. Sometimes its more practical to change the angle.