Problems with my first wedding assignment

[kellyLynne]

racoon eyes....and faces with some sun and some shade...I should have known better to evaluate before i clicked, but i was sooooooooo nervous and the bridal party were evil lil brats who would not listen and my nerves were shot, LOL. Any ideas? i tried selecting and using the highlight/shadow , that only helps a little.

[frank abramonte]

Post some of the problem photos so that we can see the best way of helping them.

[RonH]

Sorry you had such a bad experience. I know you had posted about concerns. Hang in there several people will come along with post-production assistance and you will survive to that much better of a photographer.

RonH

[msbrad]

Oh, I do feel for you! I'm working on some wedding edits now. We took LOTS of pictures at the last one!!
3 weddings in one month:eek:
Here are a couple of things I've done on photos that sound like what you are describing:
Levels adjustment and make it lighter than you really would want.
Then duplicate the photo layer, change blend mode to multiply (yes it is dark and ugly), < the opacity to what looks good.
Then add brightness/contrast adj. layer and > the contrast.
You may need to also: filter > noise >dust and scratches, and then filter >sharpen >unsharp mask.

Another is to lighten the photo with screen blending mode and mask out the parts that are now too bright.
Or even do levels adj, and then mask it to keep the parts you want.
I'm home all day...editing. Give a holler, if I can be of more assistance.
m

[NMarti]

KellyLynne you might try duplicating the layer and play with blend modes. Mask out the areas you don't want adjusted. I've had some success with that method.

[kellyLynne]

im working with elements 4...blend modes? wow, either i dont have that, or ive never discovered it can someone explain if i can do all that with el4?...here is an example pic...

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=jzb03t&s=3

its sideways, lol...major racoon eyes.

ALSO, the groom is overexposed in almost EVERY pic, and he, and only he is blurry in every pic...i dont get it. He does have some major acne, could that be tricking the camera?

[Byron Gale]

KellyLynne,

If you look at the Layers palette, you will probably see a field near the top which says "Normal". If you open that field list, you will find all of the other Blend Mode settings to which people refer.

Byron

[Diana]

KellyLynne,

Here are where the Blend Modes are found in the Layers Palette:

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1JqYcjsTQxBdt27TY5LH6OfWSir1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1JqYcjsTQxBdt27TY5LH6OfWSir1)

You create a duplicate layer of the photo using Ctrl-J, then apply the blend mode to the top copy layer, then you can lower the opacity if needed. You can also apply the blend mode to a layer, then add a layer mask and mask the parts of the effect you wish to add or take out.

It's will be very hard to blend between the highlights and shadows in photos such as this one and have it look natural. I tried with this one and this is as good as I could get it (I worked on the face and neck only).

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1VRhQS6sCO978cVs9Oi8gUPagJUyZ_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1VRhQS6sCO978cVs9Oi8gUPagJUyZ)

Here are a couple links to more information on blend modes:

http://www.photokaboom.com/photography/learn/Photoshop_Elements/blending_modes/1_blending_modes_introduction.htm

http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/glossary/ig/Blending-Modes/index.htm (http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/glossary/ig/Blending-Modes/index.htm)

http://www.photoshopgurus.com/tutorials/t010.html

http://www.northlite.net/ps/blend.htm

Hope this helps.

Diana

[douglas m scott]

KellyLynne,

Could you grab a pair of "good eyes" from another picture??

doug

[kellyLynne]

i dont have any eyes of hers looking down...um..i dont think pse4 can do layer masks can it?

[frank abramonte]

Here is a quick fix showing the improvements that can be made. I just applied a little highlights and shadows. Working the eyes any more will require some skill.
I imagine you will need someone with lot of experience to save them with any quality.
This is my first upload via this site so I hope it works.

http://i32.tinypic.com/2bwe9y.jpg

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2bwe9y&s=3

[Raivyn]

Hi Frank,

Sorry, I couldn't tell. Are the two photos you posted the same? Thanks!

[msbrad]

Kelly-
I've DL the one you posted. Shall have a play with it in the morning.

Frank did a nice job with his example.

Another thought, and I know you do not wish to spend hours per photo...is to do an 'artsy' something with them. That worked for me on one that was totally blown out (wonder what I was thinking) and it turned out to be a favorite.
m

[frank abramonte]

Raivyn, they are the same photos. I didn't know which link worked so I included both links, but they were to the same photo.

[ljameso1]

Kelly, you can either install Grant's tools for a free mask plug in or hijack an adjustment layer mask. Add a levels layer and click ok without making any changes. Drag the layer below the layer you want to mask, then hold the alt/option key while hovering the cursor over the dividing line between the 2 layers. When the double moons show up click to link the 2 layers. Now that mask belongs to the above layer.

[Diana]

KellyLynne,

Here's another way to apply an effect to part of an image without using an add-on layer mask:

Ctrl-J to make a duplicate of the image

Apply effect(s) to the duplicate

Click on the original background layer

From the Layers Palette open a Levels Adjustment Layer, make no changes, click OK

Click back on the top layer, press Ctrl-G to group with previous

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1lgUweXYOT1vMCeNfHMfINvyTxLU_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1lgUweXYOT1vMCeNfHMfINvyTxLU)

Click on the white Mask of the Levels Adjustment layer

Ctrl-I to invert (turns the mask black)

Using White as the foreground color and a soft brush, paint on the image in the workspace with white where you want the effect to come through

If you reveal more of the effect than you want, change foreground color to black and paint on the mask to conceal the effect where desired on the image

Diana

[frank abramonte]

I did some additional work to minimize shadows around the eyes. You should always use a fill flash in bright sunlight. Needs some contrast and/or color saturation without affecting the eyes.

http://i26.tinypic.com/do0x9g.jpg

[msbrad]

This looks very nice Frank!

[kellyLynne]

okay thanks everyone, ill get to work trying these things out.

Frank, it looks great , now i just have to duplicate what you did if i can. And adding an "artsy" effect is just what i may have to do with the ceremony pics.

My assistant got sick once we got to the park for the outdoor pics, so i had no one to hold my reflector, i see now...reflectors are life-savers, and it was stupid of me to think "oh well, ill fix shadows in post processing", i learned a valuable lesson.