Turning 10

[KimberlyH]

My daughter recently turned 10 and had a huge makeover party. I wanted to get a picture of her with her tiara and makeup on. I'm concerned about the background above and behind her head. I realize it's totally blown out, but she was in the shade under a tree with a wide strip of sunshine falling on the yard past her. Is there a way to fix this in Photoshop or should I just crop down closer to hopefully make it not as noticable?





EXIF info
Canon Rebel xsi
Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 II lens
Shutter speed 1/200
f/2.2
100 ISO
AE mode
Flash - yes (I fired it to fill in some of the shadows on her face)
Also, I used Photoshop Elements to adjust the contrast a little.

The original was shot in RAW format so I can go back and make adjustments if needed. Thanks so much for any input you have.

[hciere]

I'm not sure if the sky can be saved (it's certainly beyond my expertise) but a nice tight square crop and possibly even a B&W conversion might make it less distracting. I did a quick edit to show you what I mean (attached).

Great expression on her face - she clearly had an awesome birthday party!

[hciere]

Hmm. Apparently attaching photos is down again, but I'm sure you know what I mean.

[NicolaB]

Happy new year.

I can only see the small image in B&W (won't enlarge) but I agree with hciere in the square crop and b&w conversion.

As you daughter is underexposed and the background blown, you could use layers to correct each area to improve it further.

If you are feeling adventurous you could take the flash reflection off her glasses.

Nice image to keep.

[KimberlyH]

Thanks so much for the input so far. I can't believe I didn't even notice the glare on her glasses. I've fixed 99% of that. Also, I whitened her teeth a very little bit and I took care of the dark splotch on her hand (thinking that was the result of a rub-on tattoo). I still can't seem to do anything with the background. When I select it and try to adjust the levels it makes it browner but that's about it. On my monitor she doesn't seem to look underexposed...just the background is over exposed due to the harsh sunlight. Anything that I could be missing?

[monkeygirl123]

It's a gorgeous picture!

I simply cloned out the blown bits of the background which I think makes it less distracting. It's not perfect, but you get the idea.

[KimberlyH]

MonkeyGirl123...thanks! I'm partial to this photo. She looks so happy in it. As teenage years get here I may not have many of these left!LOL

[SwissJon]

This converts very nicely into black and white. Adjust the colour levels afterward and you'll get a really nice photo out of it.. (I can't attach anything either, sorry)

Next time be aware of the background, the stark difference between the bright bit and the edge of the grass bisects her head at eye level where the glasses meet the ear and it's really distracting and accentuates her glasses not her eyes.. Because the grass is out of focus there, with a bit of clever cloning you could probably move this edge up so it doesn't draw the eye so much.. It's a real shame because I like the overall composition.. You were right to crop and tighten.. But I would crop a bitmore from the top.. so that her eyes are at the magic third. A square crop doesn't work on this photo, you need the grass in the foreground.

A nice photo that a bit of careful post processing could improve.

[KimberlyH]

Thanks for the suggestions, Swiss Jon. I agree about the square crop. However, I'm not the one who posted that reply. I'm off to try your suggestions. Those sound like exatly what the photo needs. Thanks!