levels adj

[sydneysnana]

Ok, back to basics, I've been busy and not been able to ask questions and work on improving.. and now this darling is crying to get up.....
Here is a shot right out of my camera.
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1XiD2tywJ7PSlH8ImpjaG0yWwzclu0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1XiD2tywJ7PSlH8ImpjaG0yWwzclu0)

If I do a levels, using the eyedropper on what I know is white I get this, and some of her shirt is blown out.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1CbUsbXWBKxCfIsEDyJ77hoqI9Ju_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1CbUsbXWBKxCfIsEDyJ77hoqI9Ju)

What is the answer to best working with this??
Michelle

[frank abramonte]

sydneysnana, you could try pointing to a darker part of the scene to set the exposure, this will give you a wider aperture, but it's a hit and miss.
Your best bet is to invest in an off the camera flash that you can position as you wish or use as a bounce light.

Using levels is not alway the best way to correct a photo.
Try selecting the shirt with the lasso tool, and doing a select>inverse. This will allow you to correct the rest of the photo without the shirt.
I duplicated the photo and changed the mode to screen at a 65% opacity.
I then adjusted brightness/contrast at +45 brightness and +10 contrast.
You can adjust these figures to suit you.
You can then do another select>inverse so you can work on the shirt alone.

There are a lot of other ways of correcting a photo other than levels. Each photo has to be treated separately as each may require a different or combinations of adjustments. I didn't take the time to check them all, I did this to show that there are other ways you can go.

Your corrected version shows the baby's cheeks getting a little ruddy.

Hope this helps.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1vXFwR4ItBKYuYGGPdWeIlrSEQC9Z_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1vXFwR4ItBKYuYGGPdWeIlrSEQC9Z)


Here's the same as above but with a levels adjustment.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/14IXgGOrY8KvjkkIRm6dUlekEWRTo_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=14IXgGOrY8KvjkkIRm6dUlekEWRTo)

[adelbrecht]

I used your photo to adjust it simply using levels and it looks at least better. Using levels never move the triangles under the graph. Or use alt to see when clipping occurs. Avoid clipping especially in highlights.
Regards

[sydneysnana]

Thanks for the answers. I just put my external flash on and am working with that.

I don't understand "Using levels never move the triangles under the graph. Or use alt to see when clipping occurs. Avoid clipping especially in highlights." I always move the triangles under the graph.???? and I don't know about using alt to see when clipping but I think I need that piece.

The girls are up and going so I'm off...yet again...
Michelle

[adelbrecht]

I'm sorry I couldn't make myself clear. These things can be explained in a minute by showing and could take hours to explain this way. Have a look at this
http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/elements/tone-color/
which gives you more than you need, but that won't hurt :). It works all the same from version 3 to 7.

[Jeff Perry]

Michelle, in your original post you mentioned trying to use the eye dropper in Levels, sampling something you knew should be white and getting a mess. Remember that the white and black eye droppers are to set the white point and black point respectively. That means the whitest white pixels on the image are what you should be aiming for, and like wise setting the black point you need to find the darkest pixels. Everything between those to "end points" will be adjusted automatically. The gray point eye dropper, used last, helps to define what should be a "neutral gray" color in the image and hopefully reduce any color cast.

Jeff