How to Remove Shadow of branch on bird?

I have a nice Eastern blue bird picture but unfortunately this was captured in harsh sunlight and there is branch shadow on the bird from neck to tail.

I need to remove that shadow from the birds back.

Can you guys help me? I am very new to Post processing.

Thanks in advance for the help.

duplicate the layer in PS, set to multiply and mask out the parts you dont' want?

Hard to say without an example to look at.

Thanks for your help.

Here is the picture I was talking about.

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

Yikes! I don't know what to suggest!

There are some Photoshop experts here, masters in things like retouching photos, doing great jobs at cloning and such, maybe they can help...

I'm no expert at those things, and if it were my photo, the most I woud do is do what I could to boost the shadows enough to bring out some detail there. Trying a "fancy" approach would, for me, risk blotching the rest of the detail on the body of the bird, something I would avoid like the plague!

But in a Raw processor you can boost shadows, or with something more advanced you can do that selectively.

What software do you have for your editing?

it is a nice picture...hard to say...it would take very looong time to do what you want...to do a good job removing the shadow...

svarley wrote in post #12167058
duplicate the layer in PS, set to multiply and mask out the parts you dont' want?.

That's an option, but you'll need more then one layer.

Quick and dirty:

Just a suggestion: It would take less time to capture another bluebird than to fix this image, because it needs a lot more work
than just the shadow. That bright, vertical band in the background is a deal-breaker and needs to be cloned out. So is the branch
on the left that merges with the bird's bill.

Listen to the people. Toss it away.
Plenty of little blue bird out there.
More than that, you missed the focus on this one.

I guess we should ask "Why do you need to do this?". Is it worth the work and loss of IQ? Do you hope to print it large enough to show that loss of IQ? Is it possible that you can go for another bird shot that won't have this problem?

Just show you know, I think some of the best small bird shots I've seen have been from people who have set up bird feeders of different types in a setting close enough to grab a shot from, say, an open window or door. They set up branches as perches so they can get a capture that "looks natural" but after looking at many such images, you kinda know! It's not like encountering a bald eagle in the wild, but at least you are putting forth a creative effort!

Thanks everyone. Your comments and suggestions really helped me learn a lot about PP.

I agree, it really is difficult to correct this picture. I have few good keepers of this bird but I asked this Question as I am very frequently in this situation where just a spot of shadow ruins my efforts.


Thanks everyone for your help.

tcssas wrote in post #12193935
I agree, it really is difficult to correct this picture. I have few good keepers of this bird but I asked this Question as I am very frequently in this situation where just a spot of shadow ruins my efforts.

I think it goes with the territory. Birds are really difficult to shoot well. I work with one photographer who is an ace at birds, but it takes her hundreds of shots to get just a few keepers. You can find useful guidance at birdphotographers.net.

Really appreciate your help...trying to learn the DPP with new CS5...I would like to take one step at a time and hence first thing first...Want to learn some standard steps to create effective workflow for underexposed and overexposed images...

best choice is to toss it and shoot other one. harsh, but the best way.

I did shoot another few pictures today. As it was a very cloudy and gloomy day and came home with underexposed files...

shot nothing but blue birds

Now trying hard to bring out the details from those underexposed RAW file.

If I fail I will turn to all you masters of DPP on the forum for help...Thanks

Well, yes, a good exposure is the best place to start!

But, as you are learning the Raw workflow, I'd say don't just toss things but use them as a learning project. Learn to use the DPP tools, and then learn to use similar tools in CS5/Camer Raw, and over time you will find effective approaches to all kinds of images.

Check out our RAW Conversion Thread for a whole lot of great "projects" posted by many members to share with all what is possible with Raw and Raw processing!