Editing Blown-out Areas

[bayhli]

Is there any other method to fix the blown-out and the distracting sun-lit areas of this image, other than cloning? I tried darkening the highlights of each area but it doesn't do it.

I'm thinking I may want to print this one and since the areas are so large it may not print well with the cloning method?

Thanks for any advice you can offer. :)

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/14/bfly0dq.th.jpg (http://img255.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bfly0dq.jpg)

[Dorrie H.]

Pat,
Just a thought...after viewing todays video of Dave Cross on Shadows, maybe you could use a Pattern like he did in the movie to remove the dark shadow.

Dorrie

[Daviskw]

Hi there

I am not good with color at all so forgive this picture but how I changed things you can do properly...lol

Just try this;

Open a blank layer set to luminosity

Think tone and not color... select the paint tool and alt click a tone value somewhere else in your picture. I chose the light green for the blown out sky area. Now paint the area you want to adjust with a soft brush. It will appear gray that is oK.

When you have the areas covered now open a blank layer set to color mode. Now experiment and select any color in your photo and paint over the gray areas… I used the same green.

By doing it this way you can delete the color layer and try another color or attach adjustment layers to it.

Remember strictly speaking you can not apply color to white or black. You must have a tone before you can fill these areas.

Hope this helps Butch

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1NcHH3pYCv69cyeBMf3jmEsu5bDiE1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1NcHH3pYCv69cyeBMf3jmEsu5bDiE1)

[Wendy]

Hi Pat ...

I tried a few methods but apart from the clone tool I didn't have a great deal of sucess:

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1ZIuzNVnZ9StUUduDYm8plp296XSN_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1ZIuzNVnZ9StUUduDYm8plp296XSN)

Wendy

[Dorrie H.]

Wendy,
If that was the clone tool, it looks like it worked pretty good to me. Much improved.

Dorrie

[Wendy]

Hi Dorrie ...

Yes that was the clone tool one ... with the background being blurred it made using the clone tool pretty easy :)

Wendy

[bayhli]

Thanks everybody, great ideas to try! You sure did a better job of cloning than I did Wendy...

[JonE]

I tried darkening the highlights of each area but it doesn't do it.



Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think you need to "darken" the highlights so maybe that's the trouble you are having. Just use normal mode cloning but set it way down to say 20% to just put a small touch of detail onto the blown out area. I'm assuming you don't want to kill the highlight, just have it not be blown out.

[ljameso1]

In the subscriber area under videos>Layer Masks, it talks about using a mask combined with the gradient tool to darken the background. You could then paint out the effect on the areas don't want. I tried it on a photo of my own with similar issues and thought it worked well. Linda

[bayhli]

You just might be on to something Jon... I was playing with it all last nite and stumbled into using a low opacity to clone, in combination with a couple of Butch's suggestions. It's starting to look better but still not satisfactory.
I'll start a fresh one and see how it goes with just the low-opacity clone.
Thanks!

I'll look at that video Linda, thanks. It sounds promising as well.

The background is just so busy on this photo that I'm growing to dislike it now, but it sure is good learning ground for me.

Many thanks for offering your great suggestions!