Help me fix the shadow in this photo

[rusty2192]

I really like this photo I took of my cousin on Easter. The only problem for me is the excessively dark shadow over the right half of her face.



Does anyone have any advice on how to try to bring up the shadows, if it is even possible. I have tried the basic dodge brush in Aperture, but it doesn't really seem to be able to help much. Is there anything else I can try or will I just have to live with the shadow?

Thanks for any help.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

What is the source file format of that image? Is it a compressed JPEG or a less compressed RAW (.NEF or .CR2 or ...) photo?

Is this the full resolution photo?

 

[dakduel]

do you happen to have a raw file of that photo somewhere? it would give us some more flexibility with the shadows.

 

[G.House]

Is this what you were looking for?

 

[rusty2192]

What is the source file format of that image? Is it a compressed JPEG or a less compressed RAW (.NEF or .CR2 or ...) photo?

Is this the full resolution photo?

do you happen to have a raw file of that photo somewhere? it would give us some more flexibility with the shadows.

Sorry, I thought about that as I was going to bed last night. The JPEG isn't going to do much good with that type of work. The master is a Canon RAW file from my T2i. Here is a direct link to link to it.

Link removed

Is this what you were looking for?

Image

That is a little better, but then the rest of the photo is over exposed and much of the depth and contrast is lost. Part of that is probably due to working with the compressed JPEG.

Oh, I also forgot to mention that I use Aperture 3 for all of my photo management and editing. I don't have photoshop nor do I have any clue how to use it. I could always try to learn gimp if necessary.

 

[guy curlewis]

is this better?

 

[guy curlewis]

have straightened as well in this one. Also added some vignette to focus the eye

 

[whodareswins]

Do you use Aperture? If so on the adjustments tab there is a section 'Highlights and Shadows. Upping the Shadows bar will give you your desired outcome.

 

[snberk103]

Looks like you are getting the fixes you need. Photographers are nice people, eh?

May I make a suggestion? When you have the image you are happy with ask to have the thread locked or deleted, and the image in your dropbox removed.

1) You've linked to a large photo of (presumably) your daughter. It's only a matter of It is only a matter of time before someone with less than good intentions finds the photo.
2) Besides being nice, we also have a sense of humour. It's just a matter of time before someone "fixes" the photo with stars, and rainbows, and a comic sans caption, and adds a purple unicorn and a flame breathing kitten.

#2 will be done in good humour of course.... #1 is, unfortunately, a sign of our times.




ps Anyone have a link to an image of a flame breathing kitten?

 

[guy curlewis]

I used Nik Viveza control points to get localised increases in brightness and contrast to bring out the girls face.

Cheers

 

[rusty2192]

have straightened as well in this one. Also added some vignette to focus the eye

I used Nik Viveza control points to get localised increases in brightness and contrast to bring out the girls face.

Cheers

This is perfect and exactly the kind of fix I was looking for. Thanks! The editing built into Aperture can only do so much and I haven't ventured into add-ons or plug-ins yet. And yeah, wow, I didn't even realize how crooked it was until you fixed it. I had been going off the vertical edge of the slide which seemed to be pretty straight until I saw the horizontal board on the slide.

Now, can I ask one more favor? Since you have been nice enough to take the time to do the edit, would it be possible for me to get a copy of it? I can PM you with my email address or we could do it any other way. Thanks again.

 

[guy curlewis]

I have PM you with dropbox link - let me know when you have the file so I can delete

Cheers

 

[Parkin Pig]

Another version

Hi - as has been mentioned before, shadows and highlight sliders in Aperture are very useful for this type of adjustment - but did you know they also exist in 'Preview'?

I adjusted the highlights and shadows in Preview, which evened the lighting in the photo but left it a little washed out. I corrected this by layering 2 copies in Photoshop Elements with a blend type of 'Multiply'. I then adjusted the opacity of the top layer until I was happy with the result.

It's a little different to the previous solution, but I thought you might like to see a selection of what can be done with a photo you're not entirely happy with straight from the camera. You may not have been happy with the shadow, but the composition and colour made this a very easy photo to spruce up.

I had to reduce the size a little to get it within the limits for MacRumors, but it's still a decent size.

 

[guy curlewis]

by the way i use the following in post processing:

Aperture 3 - for nearly everything
NIK complete collection - mainly for B&W conversions and Viveza because easier that CS5 (not a fan of layers)
CS5 - very rarely used although nice to have on the odd occasion.

Take the time to learn A3 - it is a great program

 

[Dark slide]

re: shadow fix

I tried some adjustments in PS for you.