Zen

[Quo Fan]

So last weekend, my son decides to come by for a visit. We go on a short hike and photo shoot. There was a cabin-like structure we stopped at, and my son was doing some meditation. I shot this with the on-board flash, but it didn't come out the way I wanted it to. I shoot raw, so I thought "I can fix this".

Strait from the camera, converted to jpeg.


No crop. I started with a lightened version, adjusting the exposure so he was more properly exposed. I then opened a second copy of the photo and adjusted the exposure for the sky.

I copied the second image onto a new layer in the first image and masked the dark areas.

Made a few curves adjustments, and flattened the image.

I know there are some halos, and I'll keep trying to work them out. I'm still learning PP and CS3, so I can get better at this stuff.

Current "happy with this"

[wulf]

It is amazing just how much information lurks in a dark picture, isn't it? I think I wouldn't have brightened the top part so much (it seems too washed out in contrast with the more vivid colours lower down) but you have certainly managed to pull a lot out of what almost a silhouette in the original.

Wulf

[Quo Fan]

Originally Posted by wulf

It is amazing just how much information lurks in a dark picture, isn't it? ... but you have certainly managed to pull a lot out of what almost a silhouette in the original.

Wulf

That is the beauty of shooting RAW. This was all done with one shot.

[ditch_azeroth]

Originally Posted by wulf

It is amazing just how much information lurks in a dark picture, isn't it?

a long, long time ago, i read somewhere that it is better to have an underexposed shot than an overexposed one - i guess this is another instance why.