Editing Suggestions Wanted (wedding dress)

OK, I'll start by saying -- UGH!!! The primary photographer at this wedding did not take any getting ready shots, so it was me or NOTHING. OK, I tried. Here is the only shot I could get of the wedding dress, but I really hate those black doors! Should I just leave them? Or does anyone have any good suggestions for what to do here (editing-wise)? Would it be better to just go black-and-white (but that doesn't help with the black doors.)

I am pretty competent in LR and have learned a lot in PSE and am willing to try anything. I can't even crop this down without losing more of the dress.

Well, the bride is content with anything, but it's the photographer in me that is in angst.

So, any advice would be welcomed.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/yankeemom/83923​01861/

Take a look at the recent thread titled "Something for Nothing" -- might give you some ideas for compositing: https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1266962

Hmmm . . . interesting. I am thinking of maybe extending/stretching the windows in order to eliminate the black altogether, but I'll have to figure out how to do that on PSE 9. Thanks for the link!

OK, this is a total quick hack job, but might give you some ideas to start with. For sure you would need to be much more careful with your selections. Most of it wasn't too difficult, but I started getting lazy and sloppy at the top around the straps, and I wasn't completely sure what was strap and what was snowy background in some cases. (Might look better with the straps removed, I suppose, and I don't know if that "triangle" in the back is part of the dress or not.) Anyway, I masked out the background, added a new background and applied a sort of gold color to it, did a little dodging and burning, added a slight vignette, etc. I worked a bit at adding a spotlight effect but gave up on it.

Having the original file to work with so you can adjust the exposure and contrast and white balance of the dress before you start other edits should help. (Not saying that's needed, but worth checking.) If you try this don't forget to feather the edge of your selection a bit and defringe the selection, too.

Beautiful job, Ace! Thanks for doing all that and showing me the possibilities. I've never done anything like that, but I've been faced with several PS challenges lately, so ready to try. You are great.

I actually like the window in the background......would it be possible to stretch or clone the sides of the background to give the appearance of a full window?....the snow should make it fairly simple for the bottom part of the image....the trees will be a little more difficult but I don't think too much so

Just playing around to give you an ideal.

Very nice, Dennis!

D Thompson wrote in post #15507179
Just playing around to give you an ideal.

Interesting play with color. I'll look into stretching the background, too. Thanks, everyone!

Rimmer wrote in post #15508238
Very nice, Dennis!

YankeeMom wrote in post #15508320
Interesting play with color.

Thank you both.

If you plan to composite onto another background find one with the light striking it in a way that is consistent with the light on the dress. That, combined with a good cut out, are the biggest hurdles to believable composites.

The other option, which Dennis pulled of with some flair is to find a new wall and window frame to replace the door, leaving the outdoor scene in tact.

YankeeMom, I just saw your site and you really have a nice PP touch. It has a nice smooth contrast feel to them with great lighting. Any suggestions on where/how you learned to edit like that?

I'm really surprised your in a rut trying to figure how to fix this wedding dress picture! Hope you figure it out soon. Let us know what you decided on.

Hi, Corndog (sorry, didn't get your name! ) Thanks so much! I assume you are talking about my Flickr? Yes, lighting is definitely the key to everything I do. I've learned from many different sources, but mostly from trial-and-error. I have used Lightroom almost exclusively -- until the past few months where I am quickly getting schooled in PSE! (Thus my struggles. Things like this dress are not doable in Lightroom.)

Anyway, I watch tutorials all over the web, have learned a lot by reading and asking questions here, I have a few books that help (but not as much as I thought, though I like them a lot. I just don't have a lot of reading time. They are all Scott Kelby books.)

Definitely learning how to "see" light and how it plays with your camera/settings/lenses is key! Most of the photos on my sites were taken with a Canon T2i and 85 1.8.