Need help with Shadows

[Jonelle]

Ok I know this picture sucks and the lighting is way off but for some reason my clients really like it. I have tried everything that I know to fix the shadows but this is the best I can do. HELP!

 

[Josh66]

Do you have other similar ones without the shadows?

What is it that they love about it? Just that they're all together, or is there something else? Do you have any better pictures that they might also 'love'?

 

[Jonelle]

I did a two hour photo shoot with this family. This was near the end of the day and this is the only one I got of the grandma with the grandkids exclusively, I was too tired and did realize how made this was until I started editing. sucks.

 

[BillM]

The blown highlights are a big issue with this shot, i'm not sure I would have shown it to them.

But with PS and some time you could fill in Grandmas face. Here is a quick shot at it. Not good but at my limited skill level it would take a long long time to do it right lol

 

[D-B-J]

Yeah this photo has wayyyyy to many highlights and shadows on their faces for me to think its salvageable. Is there a reason you shot in this light? It's much much better/easier to shoot in a nicely diffused patch of shade, say under a tree. That way the exposure is the same across all of the subjects, with no harsh shadows or highlights.

 

[dannylightning]

unfortunately the highlights are blown big time and you also have very heavy shade on some parts of the subject. you did not pick a good spot to take this photo due to the lightning. you have lots of shade and lots of sunlight falling on the subjects. you should have chose a more shaded spot. the biggest issue is the face of the woman standing on front, half of her face is blown out really bad.

I decided to take a crack at fixing it up and this was about the best I could do to get everyone looking good as possible, unfortunately the lady in front is not fixable but I think I got the rest of them looking half way descent.

 

[tirediron]

How to properly fix it: "I'm very sorry Mrs Jones, but that last family image just wasn't up to my standards. I would like to arrange a convenient time to reshoot it, and to make up for the annoyance, I'll be pleased to offer you four complimentary 8x10s from the session."

 

[D-B-J]

How to properly fix it: "I'm very sorry Mrs Jones, but that last family image just wasn't up to my standards. I would like to arrange a convenient time to reshoot it, and to make up for the annoyance, I'll be pleased to offer you four complimentary 8x10s from the session."

Perfect. Like you know what you're doing!

 

[tirediron]

How to properly fix it: "I'm very sorry Mrs Jones, but that last family image just wasn't up to my standards. I would like to arrange a convenient time to reshoot it, and to make up for the annoyance, I'll be pleased to offer you four complimentary 8x10s from the session."

Perfect. Like you know what you're doing!

I might know someone who's had to do this...

 

[D-B-J]

How to properly fix it: "I'm very sorry Mrs Jones, but that last family image just wasn't up to my standards. I would like to arrange a convenient time to reshoot it, and to make up for the annoyance, I'll be pleased to offer you four complimentary 8x10s from the session."

Perfect. Like you know what you're doing!

I might know someone who's had to do this...

You back in the early days?

 

[tirediron]

How to properly fix it: "I'm very sorry Mrs Jones, but that last family image just wasn't up to my standards. I would like to arrange a convenient time to reshoot it, and to make up for the annoyance, I'll be pleased to offer you four complimentary 8x10s from the session."

Perfect. Like you know what you're doing!

I might know someone who's had to do this...

You back in the early days?

Maybe even not so early... Had a session only a few months ago where the Mother was so busy checking the children's hair that she forgot about her own, and I had been so busy talking to her husband, that I totally missed the fact that her hair was... well.. interesting. Looked at the files when I got home, binned 'em and called them up and said, "Sorry... "

IMO, customer service is not so much about not making mistakes ('though of course, the fewer the better), but how you rectify the mistakes you do make. I will lose money on a session to correct a mistake I've made if it means the clients go away happy with the final result.

 

[D-B-J]

How to properly fix it: "I'm very sorry Mrs Jones, but that last family image just wasn't up to my standards. I would like to arrange a convenient time to reshoot it, and to make up for the annoyance, I'll be pleased to offer you four complimentary 8x10s from the session."

Perfect. Like you know what you're doing!

I might know someone who's had to do this...

You back in the early days?

Maybe even not so early... Had a session only a few months ago where the Mother was so busy checking the children's hair that she forgot about her own, and I had been so busy talking to her husband, that I totally missed the fact that her hair was... well.. interesting. Looked at the files when I got home, binned 'em and called them up and said, "Sorry... "

IMO, customer service is not so much about not making mistakes ('though of course, the fewer the better), but how you rectify the mistakes you do make. I will lose money on a session to correct a mistake I've made if it means the clients go away happy with the final result.

Which is how it should be. Sh*t happens, and it's you're job to make it right [emoji106]

 

[Jonelle]

thank you guys! They just liked the steps in this-I shouldn't have shown it to them. Unfortunately they were in from out of town so no reshoot. However, I did get quite a few good shots of everyone together. so it is what it is I guess. I'll offer a free 8x10 for messing up. I really appreciate the advice!

 

[The_Traveler]

post a link to the fullsize original rather than the conversion

 

[bianni]

Tirediron's advice is the best. But anyway, here is an attempt