need help with overexposed section

[mapgirl]

I'm totally new to PhotoShop Elements 4 (and pretty new to digital photography :mrgreen.
How can I bring up the texture in the towels in the South-East quadrant of this photo?

 

[NeoDude]

Short answer, you can't.

 

[darin3200]

That area of the the towel was so bright it was "off the chart". Normally your camera will render different colors. Some pixels might be totally white, while others around those might be gray. If you darken that the white ones would be gray, and the gray ones would be black. In this photo the towel was so bright the camera couldn't notice any difference between different shades of white and just set it all as white and the detail was lost. If you try to darken that area it will all just become grey.

 

[Tiberius]

You can compensate for underexposed areas, but blown highlights are lost forever. This is why it's important to never overexpose whenever possible, even at the cost of underexposing large chunks of a picture.

 

[dsp921]

If you are patient you can try to clone some of the textured towels from the left over to the right side. Might take a while and a few attempts, but it's worth a try.

Here is a very quick attempt I made. Only took a minute so you can spend more time and make it better.
I'll remove the edit if you prefer.

 

[Digital Matt]

How can I bring up the texture in the towels in the South-East quadrant of this photo?

Shoot raw if your camera allows it. That would be your only chance of salvaging this area.

 

[mapgirl]

Thank you all so much for your help! As I said, I'm new to PhotoShop, so I'm using images with problems to try and teach myself what I can and can't do with the program. And the user's guide isn't always all that helpful . Your explanations for what happened are all very helpful. I usually try to get the picture in the camera, but accidents happen.

Matt, I've heard about the advantages of shooting raw, but my Canon PowerShot A70 doesn't have that option. That will be for my next camera.

If you are patient you can try to clone some of the textured towels from the left over to the right side. Might take a while and a few attempts, but it's worth a try.

Here is a very quick attempt I made. Only took a minute so you can spend more time and make it better.
I'll remove the edit if you prefer.

Dave, this is great! Now I have a new tool to practice :thumbup: . No need to remove the edit. I posted here to get help. This photo is just a learning opportunity for me. Thanks!

 

[dsp921]

Thank you all so much for your help! As I said, I'm new to PhotoShop, so I'm using images with problems to try and teach myself what I can and can't do with the program. And the user's guide isn't always all that helpful . Your explanations for what happened are all very helpful. I usually try to get the picture in the camera, but accidents happen.

Matt, I've heard about the advantages of shooting raw, but my Canon PowerShot A70 doesn't have that option. That will be for my next camera.



Dave, this is great! Now I have a new tool to practice :thumbup: . No need to remove the edit. I posted here to get help. This photo is just a learning opportunity for me. Thanks!

It's always fun to learn a new technique and/or tool. Some people can get a little touchy about having their images edited, just want to make sure it was OK. Glad it helped, have fun practicing.