A Few Questions

[Stacey]

I have a couple questions and I'm hoping that this is the right place to post them! First off, I've been doing some Fall Family Portraits for some friends of mine and the only times that they can do them is the weekends (we work until dark during the week) and the time that I have been doing them is early in the afternoon when there is some harsh lighting. Is there any way to work with the lighting? Alot of my pictures are of them squinting and if I stick them in the shade, its too dark. I use my fill flash in post processing for when it is too dark but is there anything I can do/use to help with the harsh lighting? Keep in mind, money is an issue so I can't go out and buy any expensive stuff!

To go with that, a friend of mine wants me to shoot her engagement pictures in the winter when there is either snow on the ground or when it is snowing...now I know that there can be a bad glare off the snow, so I assume I would need to get out when it is overcast to help keep down the glare? Does anyone have any tips/tricks on shooting in the snow?

Okay, now these have to do with post-processing! LOL, so I hope these are in the right place...first off, is it possible to get rid of braces in a picture? A son of a friend of mine is supposed to get his braces off but now there are some issues with getting them removed but he doesn't wanted the braces in the picture. Is there any way to remove them in post-processing?

And here is the last one! Can someone help me use the liquify tool in CS2? A friend of mine wants me to get rid of her double-chin (which isn't that bad) in a picture of her and her daughter...i was playing with the tool ( I'm an idiot when it comes to photoshop) and I can trim some of her chin off but it distorts the background around whatever I'm liquifying...is this normal? Chances are that I'm doing something wrong but....just so I know. I know if would probably be quite alot of work for someone to help me with that but if anyone knows a good tutorial that I could follow that is idiot-safe, I'd be greatly appreciative!

Thanks so much for all your help!

 

[Big Mike]

Is there any way to work with the lighting? Alot of my pictures are of them squinting and if I stick them in the shade, its too dark. I use my fill flash in post processing for when it is too dark but is there anything I can do/use to help with the harsh lighting? Keep in mind, money is an issue so I can't go out and buy any expensive stuff!

You can try to keep them out of direct sun light. That will help with squinting and dark shadows. Shooting in the shade is usually a good idea, but you need to expose for the lower light levels. Rather than using 'fill flash in post processing'...what about actually using fill flash when shooting? That's what I would do.

To go with that, a friend of mine wants me to shoot her engagement pictures in the winter when there is either snow on the ground or when it is snowing...now I know that there can be a bad glare off the snow, so I assume I would need to get out when it is overcast to help keep down the glare? Does anyone have any tips/tricks on shooting in the snow?

Generally, an overcast day is good for shooting people...winter or not. While snow may cause glare with bright sunlight, the reflection off light off of the snow should give your subjects some nice fill light. You should be concerned with how the subject looks, and not how the snow looks.

is it possible to get rid of braces in a picture? A son of a friend of mine is supposed to get his braces off but now there are some issues with getting them removed but he doesn't wanted the braces in the picture. Is there any way to remove them in post-processing?

It's certainly possible. I'd try the clone tool and the healing brush (in Photoshop).

As for the liquefy tool...practice makes perfect. Although, you may want to try different methods rather than the liquefy tool alone. Use the clone tool and healing brush for color, lines and texture...and use the liquefy tool for shape.

I'm sure a simple Google search will turn up thousands of tutorials.