Terrible exposure...help me save it!

[caseyscamera]

The details:
Nikon D40
55mm
f/8.0
ISO 800
flash w/diffuser

Please help me save this photo. The only thing I have done to it is change the WB. The exposure is awful, the ISO was way too high and it shows noise.... There are so many things wrong with it. Any suggestions for post processing would be greatly appreciated!

[Sime]

Hi. Welcome.

Iron your backdrop.
The lamp is very distracting.
Line your backdrop up.

Why don't you post a link to a large version that people might be able to have a crack at for you? could be helpful.

If you blew your background out the crinkles wouldn't be so bad, get rid of the gap between black and white. If you're going to use the lamp, fix that wonky piece so it doesn't look like it's trying to attack the young woman's head.

Did you ramp the iso up because you ran out of available light? Maybe try knock your f stop to 5.6 and step in some... worth a shot...

did I mention 'iron that backdrop' :-) ...try and try again! Thanks for sharing.

Sime

[caseyscamera]

Thank you....
I realize the backdrop and lamp are crappy...but those were things beyond my control (school dance setup). However, I do take full responsiblity for how terribly I took the picture. It was setup in a gym, and the available light was awful, so I boosted my ISO - big mistake I guess. Here is a link to the original size if anyone wants to take a crack at editing it!
DSC_0020 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
If you do, please let me know how you do it...! Thank you all so much for the honest critique and help!

[Sime]

Howdy, well, high iso isn't always a deal breaker - it's nice to keep it low, but you know, it's OK...

I will try have a crack at your image (thanks for linking a larger) if I get some time - though I don't know where the hours go these days!

S

[caseyscamera]

i know what you mean...time flies, especially around the holidays. If you do have time, that would be amazing...I'd love to see what you can do with it. I am frustrated with my own efforts. Thanks so much for the help!

[DestinDave]

Well.. here is a fairly quick makeover.. and, it isn't great by any means but it may give you some ideas.. BTW - what are you using for post-processing? This was done with PS-CS3.

And here's basically what I did..
Created new background layer and filled with gradient.
Lasso around lopsided lantern, new layer from cut, rotated and adjusted into place.
Merge that layer down, lasso around the entire lightpost and adjusted tilt.
Merge down then duplicate layer. (for non-destructive update)
Select background (via magic wand, then quick mask) then delete. Turn off original to check.
Touch up with erase tool as needed.
Use smudge tool, dodge/burn tools to smooth out wrinkles in dress.
Duplicate layer. Apply Blur/Median 3px to image.
Erase blur from the everything but the dress.
Flatten image.
Adjust levels, brightness and contrast slightly.

[edbayani]

edit 1, i rearranged the arms because i feel she's trying to hold back something heavy. i also legthened the gown and removed the lampost



edit 2, i did not change the arm position and did not lengthen the gown and made the lampost a bit smaller and soft.

[Photologyst]

I decided that the background needed to be obscured and to make the whole photo a bit soft and painterly. I rather liked the lamp post, but it needed to blur in order to have the focus on the girl.

Layer, select lamp post, rotate to straighten.

Select single lamp, copy, paste and move into position in order to balance lamp post.

Select floor and clone or background to floor.

Select bottom of dress, above slip, copy, paste and move down just above shoes.

Merge layers

New background layer to adjust face.

New background layer, gradient blur with color of your choice. I used black & white as well as pink & fuchsia. Lower the opacity to abut 80% so you can see what is underneath for erasing.

Erase her face, body and lamp post at varying opacities moving from 100% at the center and lowering the opacity as you move out.

“Iron” the dress with the smudge tool for a painterly effect.

Adjust the gradient layer to 100% opacity.

To correct the shadows under the hands that distort them, use the Smudge tool to push the shadow pixels of the hand up or you can select and clone.

I used a couple of different lighting effects under the Filter, Render, Lighting menus with a Soft Spotlight to make it seem as if the light is coming from the lamp post. If you want this effect you can adjust the sliders until you are satisfied. My preference is for the last one because it focuses on her face and obscures the awkwardly placed feet.

I did not sharpen, but you will probably want to sharpen at least the eyes.

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I did these rather fast. If you take your time and work on the high quality original I think that you can make a very nice portrait out of this.

[caseyscamera]

Thank you all for the tips and help...it is greatly appreciated!

[Sterling]

edbayani, those are the best of the edits by far. Super job!