first photo edit ever comments welcome

mosteller wrote in post #11828208
this pic was taken by me jumping out of the car freezing , snaping the pic and getting back in the car....I just wanted something to edit

Then I would throw it in Av mode or even P mode for a snapshot instead of manual mode

Sdiver2489 wrote in post #11828213
Then I would throw it in Av mode or even P mode for a snapshot instead of manual mode

I know it was stupid but my brain was frozen ...i m just tryin to learn this post process editing thing

mosteller wrote in post #11828238
I know it was stupid but my brain was frozen ...i m just tryin to learn this post process editing thing

Strap in and hold on! It's going to be a wild ride. Fun? Well most of the time.

mosteller wrote in post #11828194
how did you do that?

The key is to first make a mask of the subject. In Photoshop, this allows you to adjust either
the background or the subject separately. I used curves and the shadows/highlights filter to brighten
the subject, and curves to darken the background.

This is what can be done using DPP's curve editor:

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tzalman wrote in post #11828331
This is what can be done using DPP's curve editor:

This illustrates why you need an editor that can make localized adjustments.
The original problem is that the background is much brighter than the face.
Globally increasing brightness doesn't solve that problems.

At bottom is my edit using a layer mask. These are the brightness values
as measured on the Info panel (the B in the HSB readouts):

Of course it can be done better with masks and layers, but the OP does not have access to that technology. He is trying to learn what can be done in DPP and advice that ignores that fact may demonstrate your mastery of advanced techniques (which I acknowledge and salute) but seems out of place. We both know DPP's limitations, but it is also true that less than perfect but decent editing can be done in that application. And I did not globally increase brightness as can be seen below:

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I've never had much luck with the curves editor in DPP, but must admit that I've never spent much time learning it, either. This discussion inspired me to give it a try earlier today. Unfortunately, I didn't make any notes regarding what I did.

I also gave it a try with PSE9 and found that a couple of quick adjustments with Shadows/Highlights was a big help but, as has been said, that's really not pertinent to this discussion.

(Edit: So, to clarify, the attached image is from DPP.)
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tzalman wrote in post #11828648
Of course it can be done better with masks and layers, but the OP does not have access to that technology. He is trying to learn what can be done in DPP and advice that ignores that fact may demonstrate your mastery of advanced techniques (which I acknowledge and salute) but seems out of place.

Cool your jets there, sparky. My advice is not out of place. I'm making the point that no matter how much you learn to do in DPP, if you can't make localized adjustments, you can't fix an image like this. It isn't out of place to tell a newbie the limitations of the software he's using. If he wants to do serious editing, he'll need different software.

Your edit illustrates my point. This isn't decent editing for this particular image. When you reduced the slope of the curve in the zone I've highlighted here, you reduced the contrast in the luminance levels of the face. The result is flatness; it wiped out facial contours. What's needed here is more contrast rather than less.

Peano wrote in post #11828422
This illustrates why you need an editor that can make localized adjustments.
The original problem is that the background is much brighter than the face.
Globally increasing brightness doesn't solve that problems.

At bottom is my edit using a layer mask. These are the brightness values
as measured on the Info panel (the B in the HSB readouts):

which software was used for this edit

mosteller wrote in post #11828922
which software was used for this edit

Photoshop. Here's the advantage of being able to make local edits.

On the curves layer 1, the black part of the mask protects the background. The white part allows the curves adjustment to affect only that part of the image. Consequently, you can brighten the face and increase contrast in facial tones without affecting the background at all.

On curves layer 2, the white part allows you to adjust the background without affecting the subject.

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You guys are going WAY over his head it seems like.

OP (that means original poster), instead of having your girl with her back to the sun, turn her around and make her face the sun while you have your back to the sun, then take the picture and expose for the face.

Try that then come back. The more stuff you get in the camera, the less time you have to spend editing. I edit video for a living, and I would prefer to edit as little as possible. Doesn't mean I don't like it, it means that getting it in the camera helps a LOT.

LiberationFrequency wrote in post #11829281
You guys are going WAY over his head it seems like.

Probably, but he said he wants to learn about this post-processing stuff, and it's no help to tell him it's easy when it ain't.

Good advice, but it doesn't address his question. He wants to learn about post-processing.

You should be able to get a good result with the original raw file in DPP. I would do as much as you can with the raw file, then Convert and Save as either a JPG or TIF. Then open the new image file in DPP once more for a final go with the tone curve controls.

And it may sound wishy-washy, but I agree with both Elie AND Peano. Until you decide to get an editing application like Photoshop Elements, Canon has a great series of video tutorials for DPP:

http://www.usa.canon.c​om …ArticleAct&arti​cleID=1228

mosteller wrote in post #11828922
which software was used for this edit

Heh! You at this point need to know that people are using sophisticated software when they show you these dramatically improved images -- the apps allow you to change selected portions of an image in any number of ways using "layers and masks". People have mentioned Photoshop because PS is the "king of the hill" when it comes to this kind of thing. And, someone mentioned "ACR" because it is the Raw processor that is built-in to Photoshop CSx and it has the ability to apply "local adjustments" using brushes.

Of course the "gotcha" here is that Photoshop CSx (the current version of which is CS5) is a very spendy "professional" product, retailing for about $700 USD, so most people who are just starting out with either shooting or post-processing won't grab PS right off the bat (unless they are itching to spend a lot of money). Photoshop has become part of the photography "culture" to the point that as you've seen in some of the responses many people just assume that you have Photoshop or at least understand what they are talking about when they mention things like "layers" and "masks".

So, Photoshop has had a "Photoshop Lite" product for a lot of years called Photoshop Elements (the current version is #9) which has many good tools inherited from PS CS5. It retails for less than $100 USD.

Or, if you are a student or have a family member who is a student you can actually get these products for a hefty discount.

Also by Adobe is Lightroom, which packs the Camera Raw with organizational tools and output tools -- a lot of photogs do most of their work in Lightroom.

You don't say whether you shot this in Raw or in jpeg, though.

Since you have DPP and are learning to use it, I'd suggest you look at Photoshop Elements as a "companion app" with DPP so you can do some of the powerful things that people here have shown you without going over your head with the full Photoshop CSx app. Just my advice...