Family Shoot vs. Inverse Square Law

[Azriel]

I recently shot a family group and I had my softboxes too close to them, so there's a guy in the back who's probably a stop darker than the rest.

What are some good tools to fix this in photoshop? I have CS4.

(nest time it's a bigger softbox moved further back, I promise)

 

[Peano]

Hard to say without seeing the image, but I would guess curves or shadow/highlights filter. In either case, you will probably need to use a mask to apply the effect selectively. If you shot raw, there are tools in ACR for making local adjustments to exposure.

 

[Big Mike]

If it's a simple brightness issue, simply using the dodge & burn tools might be enough.

Or you could use layer masks to selectively edit the different faces. Using levels and/or curves etc.

 

[SrBiscuit]

if you have the raws, as im sure you do...you might want to just bump up the exposure a stop for the dark subject(s) and layer them in pshop masking out to reveal the better exposure of the problem area(s).

 

[Azriel]

if you have the raws, as im sure you do...you might want to just bump up the exposure a stop for the dark subject(s) and layer them in pshop masking out to reveal the better exposure of the problem area(s).

I do have the raw files.

So let me get this straight. I brighten the exposure by a stop, make a copy, and layer them in photoshop with a mask?

 

[KmH]

Consider selecting just the one face, open an Exposure adjustment layer, and adjusting the exposure slider.

A pixel mask will have been automatically been made and you can see it if you click on the Masks tab at the top of the Exposure dialog box. You can then increase the exposure of just that one face.

 

[SrBiscuit]

kmh, are you talking about doing that during converting the raw? or after its already in PS?
i think we have the same idea, but yours sounds more efficient if im understanding it right. :thumbup: