Processing Advice Needed

[mark_harrington1]

<p>I took some shots into the sun with only my SB 900 for fill light. I like this shot but it is too washed out and I can't seem to find a place to start correcting. Can someone share their experience and get me started on the right path, or let me know it just isn't possible. I have several shots from this series I'd like to work on. Thanks.</p><div></div>

[mark_sirota1]

<p>What you're seeing is primarily veiling flare from shooting into the sun. What software are you using, and did you shoot in raw or JPEG?</p>

[mark_harrington1]

<p>I shot in raw, I have PSCS3, but and can increase contrast and lower saturation, but just can't make it look good. Here's my try.</p>

[steve_wagner1]

<p>Hi Mark, my correction is attached, with the steps I took. After the initial contrast correction I went into quick mask, made a big soft mask to include just the center area with the people, then corrected contrast again.</p>

[steve_wagner1]

<p>edit attached</p>

[mark_harrington1]

<p>Here is my feeble attempt (before seeing Brett's work): I still think there is too much magenta in Brett's, but maybe its me. BTW thanks Brett, I appreciate the pointers, its how we all learn and improve.<br>

Mark</p><div></div>

[mark_sirota1]

<p>In the raw conversion stage, start with Blacks, then contrast (or the curve) and clarity. Applying contrast and clarity in a local adjustment, as Brett did, is probably a good idea.</p>

[steve_wagner1]

<p>I think it's good in terms of color Mark. I've got a calibrated high end NEC LCD and it's a pretty neutral image. You could drop the magenta a bit to taste. Too much and the faces will turn orange.</p>

<p>White shirts on a sunny day is a tough job as far as exposure, but this is actually quite well controlled.</p>

[new_haven]

<p>I used a lot of the recovery and clarity sliders in ACR and darkened the shadows with curves. The red channel has most of the problem so in PS, I copied the green channel to a new layer and changed the blend mode to luminosity and opacity to 50%.<br>

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v732/glenngaryglenross/washedout_web1.jpg" alt="" /></p>

[tom_mann1]

<p>As you know, you need to tame the background ... it's still so bright, IMHO, it pulls the viewer's eye away from the subjects. One suggestion: In such bright light, make sure your shutter speed is set to the absolute fastest speed your sb900 can synch to, probably 1/250 sec. This will decrease the ambient exposure during the duration of the flash. If this doesn't do it, you need a more powerful strobe or need to move in a bit closer to take advantage of the 1/r-squared fall off from a point source. Also, to get the maximum output from your sb-900, make sure all light modifiers are removed (eg, sto-fens, mini-softboxes, etc.) from your strobe and point it directly at the subjects.</p>

<p>To give you some idea of what a darker background and more fill light would look like, here is a PS simulation.</p>

<p>HTH,</p>

<p>Tom M</p><div></div>

[wogears]

<p>Not too bad. Havinga larger file would help a good deal. Duplicate Layer, change blend mode to Multiply, lower opacity to taste. USM at 20-50-0, once. Levels to correct white balance.</p><div></div>

[MichaelChang]

<p>Here's a tweak using only Histogram adjustment -<br>

<img src="../users/MichaelChang/Images/Image1.jpg" alt="" width="774" height="518" /></p>

[steve_wagner1]

<p>Mark, here's my crack at it with a little less magenta as you eluded to</p>

<div></div>

[mark_harrington1]

<p>Thanks everyone for your efforts and help. I'll post my final version when I'm done with it.<br>

Mark</p>

[r_johnston]

<p>IF you have Lightroom, use all features in the develop menus, basic, tone curve, and a lot of corrections can be made in the HSL menu (with 8 individual colors.) The more you practice in this menu, the better or more uses you will find.<br>

You can get rid of colors or reduce them, increase or decrease Luminance as necessary, etc. Have rescued lots of images shooting into the sun. Haven't learned HOW to move it yet. ;) Id rather rescue it, than lose it. </p>