uneven lighting concert photos

[jazzfisher]

Ok here are some photos I'm having trouble correcting. As you can see one person's face is blown out by the lighting, the other person in photo looks more natural. I would like to make the blown out person look more natural----I realize that some of the stage lighting should still be apparent.
http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/5918/imgp14237lo.th.jpg (http://img83.imageshack.us/my.php?image=imgp14237lo.jpg)

http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/9418/imgp1423edited11wn.th.jpg (http://img83.imageshack.us/my.php?image=imgp1423edited11wn.jpg)

I'm not thrilled with my editing--so any help is welcome.

[MikeH]

Sherry,

The highlights look blown out to me.. I'm not sure there is anything that can be done with the face.

Mike

[jazzfisher]

Mike,
Bummer, I was hoping there was something I could do.
I was exploring with the dodge & burn tools--never really used before--but I noticed if I tried to darken te highlights it made it look gray.

[GaryK]

Sherry

I agree with Mike.. no info to get back in the blown out parts.

You could always try a levels adjustment layer (in case your photo has a bit more information in the highlights)

Duplicte the backgound layer
Do a levels or maybe hightlights/shadows adjustment layer and adjust for Peters face.
Then use the mask to bring back the rest of the photo.

Worth a shot. :rolleyes:

[jazzfisher]

Gary,
Did do that pretty much on the "after". I selected Peters face--did shadows/highlights & also levels-then deselected. Do you think the mask would give any different results?

[Ward Grant]

Sherry
Does this do anything for you? If not, don't be nice and say "Yes". I personally rate it about a C, but it is an idea. I thought maybe an electronic skin graft might be truer colors.

I used the lasso tool to sample the left side of the face and copied that to its own layer.
Use Transform Tool to stretch the image to cover the right side and then erased the "overhang"
Played around with different blending modes and opacity. Ended with Linear Burn at 42%.


http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/7642/wardstry1fk.th.jpg (http://img222.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wardstry1fk.jpg)

[jazzfisher]

Ward,
Haven't tried that--but I could give it a go.
In my "after" I had also sampled the skintone, then painted the face/arms at a very low opacity.

[GaryK]

Sherry

sorry..been in and out. If you did a selction then probably it would be similar results.. I'm just a fan of layer masks. :D

[jazzfisher]

Gary,
And I haven't gotten the hang of masks yet---I need to work on that.

[GaryK]

Sherry

I have a hard time feathering .. Like I always forget :D so my selctions are usually VERY noticable.

[Daviskw]

Hi Sherry

I think you did a very good job considering the highlights are blown out. I added a little color and texture to the face and arm then equalized the lighting. A little blur on the face does a good job of evening the color out some. Try a little blur on your photo and it will be just fine.

Butch

http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/7869/original5kz.th.jpg (http://img56.imageshack.us/my.php?image=original5kz.jpg)

[Daviskw]

Hi Sherry

This does not have a lot to do with the photo at hand but the other day when you said you were going to post I printed the info below… Might as well post it maybe someone can get a little use from it. I see you are beyond this advice you did a very good job on a hard photo.

Butch…………………………..



Did you take the sledgehammer to the computer at work?… I solve many problems that way.

Dodge and burn are good tools but they work directly on your photo. Corrections are hard to make except by the history pallet. If you like….. here is a better way with lots more control.


Open a blank layer at the top of your layer pallet or above the layer you want to adjust lighting.

Press Layer>New> Layer…. Change the mode to “Soft Light” then click the Fill with Soft light neutral color (50% gray)… then OK

Set your colors to defaults by pressing the letter “D”

Now pick a brush and when you paint with black you will darken and when you use white you will lighten just like dodge and burn but with control.

You can correct the results by lowering opacity on the layer…. Or selecting 128 gray with the color picker and painting over the changed area….or using the history pallet…. Or just erasing the layer and starting over. But your original photo will not be affected.

Another way;

Select an area…..say a too dark area on the face. Give the selection plenty of feathering so it will blend. Open an adjustment layer with the selection active… If you like change the mode to Multiply, screen or any mode that will help... Now adjust the gamma until the light in that area is good. If the area is still active deselect it.

Click on the layer mask it should be black except for the area you have selected. Change your foreground color to white. Choose a soft brush and lower its opacity to 20 % or so. Now when you paint with white you will slowly lighten the area under your brush. With the 20 % opacity of the brush you can build the affect slowly. You can apply up to the levels lighting amount anywhere in your photo. If you see any areas with sharp or hard edges then apply Gaussian blur to the layer mask to blend the lighting even more. If you need brighter or darker areas start another levels adjustment layer with a new selection.

This sounds complicated but it is not and gives you great control.

[jazzfisher]

Butch,
Thank you for reprinting what you told me the other day....
Explain to me please---How did you add texture?
how do you "equalize" the lighting??

Thank youfor saying a did a pretty good job on it!:) Always ready to learn & do better.

[Daviskw]

Hi Sherry

The idea for me was to lower highlights on one musician and slightly raise highlights on the other. I set the selection brush to mask mode and with a large soft brush I surrounded the guitar player loosely. With all the black a loose selection works just fine.

With the selection active I opened a levels adjustment layer for the too bright musician then I inverted the selection and opened another levels adjustment layer for the too dark musician. I adjusted gamma and contrast as I liked and if necessary I painted on the masks for fine adjustments.

Because the highlights on the face were lacking detail I used the selection brush to select skin from the forehead of the player on the right. I placed the skin on its own layer so I could duplicate it if needed. I roughly moved this skin or copies over the areas that need texture. Then I used a mask from an adjustment layer, grouped it with a skin layer. Pressed Ctrl+I to hide the skin with the mask. Set a soft brush to white then clicking on the mask I painted the face in exposing the skin where needed. If you want you can group a hue/saturation layer to the skin layers to get the color of the skin close.

Just to help things blend I opened a blank layer at the top and used the blur tool set to all layers to blend things in a little.

Butch

[jazzfisher]

Butch,
Thank you for the explanation--for as much as I do know --there is so much that I don't know..... I'm not up to speed on using masks so I need to go back to those lessons to relearn this. I think I follow most of your explanation, but it brings up even more questions!:o I'm going to read thru what you did several times & see if I can figure it all out.:) Thanks for hanging in here with me---unfortunately I have several more pics like this with the same problem---of course, I was behind to begin with photographing a "white" British guy. He started out pale anyway!