Suggestions for correcting lighting.

[naeno]

I really like this picture, but she is turned away from the light source. Can any of you make suggestions for how to make the lighting better in post? OR do you not find her being turned the way she is turned as a detraction? Thanks.



Camera: Olympus E-510
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 40 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: On, Did not fire

[zona5101]

I like it as it is. I think the back/side light adds to the feeling and conveys this moment in time. I might try and warm her skin tone a tad but that's being picky. Compositionally, the tree competes with her a bit too much so that might be a fun PP activity to try (and more acceptable than a chain saw I'd guess). But the big emotion is there - the connection to her and what she must be thinking and feeling is in the shot - for me that is what it's about and you have it.

[naeno]

Thanks for pointing out the tree! I was so nervous about the lighting I overlooked the tree. I did some editing. What do you think about the update? Is it too much?

[Trader]

Removing the tree is a big improvement to the shot. I also like the way you did enhance the lighting, I would go even a step further with it to try and work some of the shadows out of her face. Possibly a Shadows/Highlights adjustment would help. I tend to use that a lot in post.

[zona5101]

waabam! Taking the tree out was the ticket. I see you had a bit of a time with it... but the nice thing about PP in a computer is it's easy to try again....Give Trader's suggestion a try too and see if you like the change. Me, I like the shadows as they are...but it matter less what we like - it's all about YOU

[newPerspective]

Very nice capture. I think taking out the tree made a huge difference. Its looking good. I know it not easy cleaning and cloning out the background but if you look carefully in this picture the sky looks different above and below her left arm. You may want to try the gradient map or something.

[Ludy Mennie]

WOW!!!! I love the post editing you did compared to the original!!! Do you mind me asking what editing software you use? It looks so sharp...do you have a plug in that you use? It's just got that "magazine" look to it, which I'm struggling to achieve with my photos.

[naeno]

Originally Posted by Ludy Mennie

WOW!!!! I love the post editing you did compared to the original!!! Do you mind me asking what editing software you use? It looks so sharp...do you have a plug in that you use? It's just got that "magazine" look to it, which I'm struggling to achieve with my photos.

Hi Ludy. Welcome to the group!

I use GIMP. It's open software, so it's a free download. It can do almost everything that Photoshop can do.

No plug-ins. I'm part of a group on flickr called Textures for Layers. It wonderful!! You can download any texture you even wanted for free.

All I did to this picture was clone out the tree, opened two textures as layers and set them to overlay mode. I did some light masking on her face and body because the gold layer was a bit too much. Does this make sense to you? If not, I'll gladly go into more detail.

[stevoarnold]

Hey there,

It might just be my monitor as no-one seems to have picked up on how the cloning out of the tree really stands out like a sore thumb, it looks smudgy unfortunately. Also something funny has happened in the sky with some white streaks appearing. I do like the overall improvement of the tones though as you have made the image much warmer. Just try again with the cloning and it will be great I reckon.

Cheers

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by stevoarnold

Hey there,

It might just be my monitor as no-one seems to have picked up on how the cloning out of the tree really stands out like a sore thumb, it looks smudgy unfortunately. Also something funny has happened in the sky with some white streaks appearing. I do like the overall improvement of the tones though as you have made the image much warmer. Just try again with the cloning and it will be great I reckon.

Cheers

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