Another one of Ani for you to correct / post edit :)

who10, how do you do that ?

Quickben,

Used Photoshop CS as follows:

1st adjusted the overall color balance with levels, moved the black point (left arrow) to the beginning of the histogram data - then set gray (center eye dropper) on what I guessed was neutral (selected Ani's shirt collar).

2nd I made two copies of the image. To the first I added a softlight layer and adjusted the opacity to accentuate Ani and the foreground. To the second I added a multiply layer and adjusted the opacity to accentuate the tree shadows in the background. This leaves you with a slightly overexposed image of Ani in a very overexposed background, and a slightly dark background image with Ani covered in deep shadows.

3rd I blended the two copies together into one image and balanced this one with the shadow/highlight adjustment, and tweaked the contrast a bit.

The process takes about ten minutes after you get the hang of it.

This was kind of an experiment for me, so I may have left out a couple minor tweaks, but those I described are certainly the most relevant steps.

Later tonight I going to try something similar using the actual raw image (this will produce much better results)... and I'll keep better track of what I do in each step this time!

David

Thanks David,

I'll try it with a couple of images i have that are a bit flat.



Gary.

Thanks a lot, Ani! When the subject is also the ‘client’, it’s usually 10 times as hard to get a compliment!

P$hop 7: Dupe the Bkg layer in case I screw up & need to start over. On the ‘Bkg Copy’…
I used adjustment layers to set Levels & Color Balance JUST for the face of the “Flower� in the center. (Adjustment layers because I can easily go back & tweak them).
Saved a History Snapshot.
Undo the pic History back to ‘Open’.
Use Levels to darken the whole pic to knock down the bright leaves in the bkg.
Activate the History snapshot, chose the History Brush @ about 25%, & paint in the “Flower� & some of the surrounding area. Leave the edges a bit dark.
Crop. Done.

What I might do different:
Use a hard brush to paint in the face. I used a large soft one, & see a bit of a halo at the top right of the head now.
Save another History Snapshot of brighter flowers to touch them up at the end.
Knock down the bright leaves & white flowers in the bkg some more. They still look a bit hot & the contrast with the darker face tends to draw attention away from it.
Paint a red circle on the lens for the “L�-Junkies out there!

The great thing about P$hop is that there are about 17 different ways to get something done! As they used to say on “The Naked City�, this has been one of them.

Frank... I really like the composition you chose, excellent work!

David

who10 wrote:

MrsChevy wrote:

Here's a quick and dirty attempt; think I'll try again when I get home and have access to a calibrated monitor...

David

David, I like your work too. wow!

Glad you liked my first attempt... here's the final version

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

David

WOW!!

That looks awesome... I love the saturation and color!

....


Can you give me a mini-tutorial?

Here is my version

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

And a warmer version

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

Thanks for posting the RAW file, that makes things much easier.

So here is my (revised) version taken from the RAW

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif'

How do you blend layers together ? Does PS do it automatically ?

Gary.