I really need some help...

[Steve01]

Steve, ...Thank you.

Can I ask what you did? If you don't want to share, I understand.

Sure, I'd be glad to tell you.
I opened the image twice in Adobe Camera Raw.
Once for the background to cut the highlight clipping, and a second time to get a reasonable exposure of the two of you.

Shift drag one image over the other and added a layer mask.
With the mask I put you two (brightened up) in the darkened background.

Three layers to paint in skin, hair, and lips along with a Vibrance layer and a Brightness and Contrast layer.

I then combined all the layers and used a lot of clone stamp, healing, and blur around the edges rough edges where the original layer and masked layer were.

Probably more than you wanted to know huh?

Basically that's what I did for both photos but the first one I posted had a lot more detail so it was way easier.

 

[smokinphoto]

It's amazing how talented some of these people are on these forums.
Photos in Sun are always tricky. When it comes to the sun you just have to work with what you have. Try to get a subject well lit, but not in the direct sunlight. On a very sunny day, having your subject in the shade should be fine. On a day when the sun is less bright it may be alright to have your subject in direct sunlight. Overcast or cloudy days are great for photography because everything is evenly lit

 

[Ratman667]

Steve, ...Thank you.

Can I ask what you did? If you don't want to share, I understand.

Sure, I'd be glad to tell you.
I opened the image twice in Adobe Camera Raw.
Once for the background to cut the highlight clipping, and a second time to get a reasonable exposure of the two of you.

Shift drag one image over the other and added a layer mask.
With the mask I put you two (brightened up) in the darkened background.

Three layers to paint in skin, hair, and lips along with a Vibrance layer and a Brightness and Contrast layer.

I then combined all the layers and used a lot of clone stamp, healing, and blur around the edges rough edges where the original layer and masked layer were.

Probably more than you wanted to know huh?

Basically that's what I did for both photos but the first one I posted had a lot more detail so it was way easier.

Did you see that? That was the top of my head blowing off.

I am going to keep trying just to learn. Thanks again.

It's amazing how talented some of these people are on these forums.
Photos in Sun are always tricky. When it comes to the sun you just have to work with what you have. Try to get a subject well lit, but not in the direct sunlight. On a very sunny day, having your subject in the shade should be fine. On a day when the sun is less bright it may be alright to have your subject in direct sunlight. Overcast or cloudy days are great for photography because everything is evenly lit

I wanted to wait until late evening and use the setting sun for the photos. Melanie insisted that she wanted one of us with the rising sun behind us.

 

[Steve01]

I wanted to wait until late evening and use the setting sun for the photos. Melanie insisted that she wanted one of us with the rising sun behind us.

It's not tough to do, but you need to make a couple of test shots for the right balance. Set the camera to Av and turn on the flash.

Shoot the scene with several aperture settings and check the results on the camera display until it looks right. The proper aperture (based on the test shots) will get you a good exposure of the background.

The flash should properly light you and Melanie.

You need plan the shot and take a little time to get it right.
Steve

 

[Ratman667]

I will have to keep that in mind for future shots. To be perfectly honest, I didn't even look at the photos until we got home.

I'm trying to talk some friends into letting me practice on them.

 

[Steve01]

I will have to keep that in mind for future shots. To be perfectly honest, I didn't even look at the photos until we got home.

I'm trying to talk some friends into letting me practice on them.

I know, click off a few snap shots, whatever, right?
I do it all the time too, but a little pre-planning on some shots could really pay off.

Steve

 

[Ratman667]

Steve, I just wanted to say thank you one more time. Melanie got home yesterday and loves the photos.

 

[Steve01]

I'm glad I could help out.
Steve