Help with editing this image, suggestions please

[CrackedButter]

I took this image, it is part of my series of images in the other thread (street photography). I'm having trouble because it has been overexposed but the detail is there. I reckon I could bring it back but I would lose the colour and need to know how to go about bringing it back.

It works as a black and white image however so it isn't a total loss, but all the images I've taken in the street photography project are in colour so it wouldn't work being in Black and White.

The first one represents the untouched Raw, the second one is the Black and White version and the last version shows the detail that is there having underexposed by 4 stops in LR. As you can see, the colour isn't present and I would need to add that back in some how without making it look crap.

 

[CrackedButter]

Come on guys, one of you HDR pro's at least must be able to chip in some advice here?

 

[Doylem]

Unless I'm missing something here, the RAW file seems to be a pretty accurate representation of Caucasian skin. I'd saturate the colours a tad, but that's it.

 

[CrackedButter]

Really, those white spots just seem so distracting to me!

 

[7031]

Just try messing around with the brightness, saturation and contrast controls.

 

[skaliwag]

My take

in Aperture
increase recovery to 0.50
increase black point to 12.00
reduce brightness to 0.007
increase definition to 0.40
increase saturation to 1.40
increase highlights to 40.0
increase shadow to 30.0

I think this gives it a bit of extra effect

 

[CrackedButter]

Just try messing around with the brightness, saturation and contrast controls.

Yeah I already did that, that is what got me so fixated on recovering the lost detail but keeping the colours in the first place!
Thanks Skaliwag for the effort, I'm going to let go and just increase the saturation like Doylem suggested.

 

[alembic]

I like the "RAW" rendition too although looking at your B&W I can see why you like it better.

I took the former and reduced the highlights slightly and also the overall exposure even less. That left her skin a bit ruddy in the darker areas so I had to de-saturate corresponding hues. To completely recover details in the blown highlights, that would result in something like you got with LR. But I like the highlights as they are, actually.

Is this more what you had in mind? Honestly, I like your version better.

If you send me the RAW file I can try an HDR rendition.

 

[CrackedButter]

I like the "RAW" rendition too although looking at your B&W I can see why you like it better.

I took the former and reduced the highlights slightly and also the overall exposure even less. That left her skin a bit ruddy in the darker areas so I had to de-saturate corresponding hues. To completely recover details in the blown highlights, that would result in something like you got with LR. But I like the highlights as they are, actually.

Is this more what you had in mind? Honestly, I like your version better.

If you send me the RAW file I can try an HDR rendition.

That is pretty good. Do you have an email address?

 

[skaliwag]

thanks. I guess i am looking at the whole frame to balance out the colours to spread out what the eye is attracted to. If you like just the center aspect I would crop so that is all that is in the shot.

Maybe put some flare off the gold ring to draw the attention to the centre.

 

[CrackedButter]

thanks. I guess i am looking at the whole frame to balance out the colours to spread out what the eye is attracted to. If you like just the center aspect I would crop so that is all that is in the shot.

Maybe put some flare off the gold ring to draw the attention to the centre.

I can't add a flare, though it would prettyfy it. This is part of a documentary so everything should be seen as shot bar some adjustments that would normally be made in a traditional darkroom. Neat idea though.

 

[stevooo]

had a few spare mins so heres my quick attempt in CS3

pasted your four stop under one into the original as a new layer with a layer mask to allow the 'underexposed' skin to show through, used a masked solid colour adjustment layer sampled from some skin with the right colour and then a bit of healing brush to bring some texture back and a little dodge to bring a small bit of form back.

 

[onomatopoeia]

Go with the B&W version.

 

[anubis]

It's hard to do multiple exposure HDR when the pics were taken hand-held with a moving (breathing) scene. It works the best when the camera is tripod mounted (or pressed up against a wall to keep it still, e.g.) and the scene is still... otherwise scene detail can be impossible to recover... At any rate, I agree with Doylem

 

[CrackedButter]

It's hard to do multiple exposure HDR when the pics were taken hand-held with a moving (breathing) scene. It works the best when the camera is tripod mounted (or pressed up against a wall to keep it still, e.g.) and the scene is still... otherwise scene detail can be impossible to recover... At any rate, I agree with Doylem

I think some people might have been confused with what I was asking. I don't want this image to be a HDR image I just want the detail brought back from the breasts and the best way to do it. I made the comment about the 'HDR pro's' as a joke since they would have had been good people to ask about a blown detail like this.

I just want that skin detail rescued if it is at all possible.

 

[stevooo]

i still reckon photoshop is your friend here, if not a similar method to the one i used quick and dirty above then there are other ways to save it in PS

 

[Phrasikleia]

i still reckon photoshop is your friend here, if not a similar method to the one i used quick and dirty above then there are other ways to save it in PS

Yeah, you have lots of options in Photoshop, but this might be the easiest: combine the BW and the color versions as two layers, setting the BW to "luminosity" (it should be the top layer of the two), with all but the skin masked out on that layer.

I don't have the time or inclination to perfect this image, but my attachment will show you what about three minutes of Photoshopping can do.

 

[termina3]

I don't have the time or inclination to perfect this image, but my attachment will show you what about three minutes of Photoshopping can do.

I think he's on to something with this one.

 

[Phrasikleia]

I think he's on to something with this one.

Thanks, but that would be "she".