Can someone help me with this picture please..

[KCW]

I have tried just about everything in photoshop and lightroom, and I am not able to make this picture look good (more color) without making it look fake... Is this picture over exposed? Any help would be appreciated...



Thanks.

KC

[castman]

Did you want someone to try to fix it or did you want someone to tell you how? If you want us to play with the photo you will have to unlock your photo know one can down load it.

[KCW]

I didn't realize it was locked.. I think I have it unlocked now...

If possible, I would like it fixed, and to know how to do it, I have a few other photos from this same day that turned out the same way )-:... I have CS3 and lightroom 2 that I can use...

Thanks..

KC

[wulf]

The problem with this image (now included in the post - see the FAQ for the best way to show images from Flickr) is that it is overexposed. Too much light hit the sensor so large areas have reached maximum brightness. That limits your choices because, while you can use tools like Curves, to make most of the colours richer, that will just make the blown highlights more apparent.

It will be interesting to see what ideas people come up with for post-processing but it is definitely worth learning how to avoid over-exposing in the first place. Flickr says you used a Nikon D80 for this shot so you certainly have an adequate tool to work with.

Wulf

[harrypalmer044]

Hi there,
Have to say Wulf is right, this image is well over exposed but I have had a try at adjusting it slightly and the result is below, hope its what your after.
Looking forward to seeing more....
David.

[castman]

Did you take this photo in Raw?If you didn't you may think about it. So it this happens again it will be not that hard to fix. I try to fix the color but it is to overexposed. You can try making it B/W?

[wulf]

I think that any fix to this image is going to require:

a) Adjusting the colours

AND

b) painting in (possibly using other sources) appropriate colours / textures to fill the blown areas

I suspect that even with RAW images this would still be a problem. Fixing it might be a good learning exercise but the time it would take to do a thorough job is probably better spent:

a) learning more about setting a suitable exposure

AND

b) going out and taking more pictures.

Wulf

[KCW]

Thanks for the help everyone !!...I kinda thought this one would be extremely hard to fix...
I have thought about the black and white version as a last resort... That's probably where I will end up.

I have been reading about shooting in RAW, and that from there you can change the exposures of different parts of the image, and blend them together?? I will look into it more, and maybe try that.

Thinking I need some help on white balance too.. )-:

Thanks again..

KC

[Jim Bryant]

I went into curves and brought down the mid tones a bit. Hope it helps.

[Snowdust]

Here is my version. I really was trying to bring the face back in, and make the background not look so flat. Let me know what you think.

Also, I looked at your exif and my guess is having the camera in spot metering is what caused the over exposure. My guess is possible the meter reading was taken off of the black jacket, or some other dark area. That caused the camera to open up to try to expose for the dark area, and blew out the lighter areas. For shot like this, matrix metering would have been better.