"Halos" around subjects?

[kyl3e]

What is the actual term for the halo effects in this photo, and what causes it? I know it happens in PP, but is it from too much dodge/burn or what? Thanks.

 

[icassell]

I don't know about a name for it, but it is often a function of over-sharpening in pp.

 

[marp]

These seem to be from over-sharpening. You can also get similar when stacking more images (like when creating a panorama), when they are not perfectly aligned (or the subject moved between the two shots).

If you want to avoid them in sharpening, use smaller radius, or amount of sharpening (if you use unsharp mask).

 

[musicaleCA]

Halos can also be created by interpolation of the image.

 

[invisible]

I get the halos when darkening highlights using the quick-fix menu on Photoshop Elements 5.

 

[mar1u5]

HDR used incorrectly also gives you halos.

 

[musicaleCA]

HDR used incorrectly also gives you halos.

Or a bad HDR program. Or ghosting. Bah. I hate wrestling with HDR for those reasons. Grrr.

 

[mar1u5]

HDR is photographic cancer that's mostly used by beginners with no sense or talent to try and make their turd shine.

 

[BoostedHoo]

HDR is photographic cancer that's mostly used by beginners with no sense or talent to try and make their turd shine.

whoa harsh... i agree that most HDR are waaay over done and are indeed crap. but used sparingly i think it can have some value

 

[mar1u5]

HDR is photographic cancer that's mostly used by beginners with no sense or talent to try and make their turd shine.

whoa harsh... i agree that most HDR are waaay over done and are indeed crap. but used sparingly i think it can have some value

Sure. But that's mostly not how you see HDR beeing used. And there are examples of heavily processed HDR pictures that look fantastic. But mostly I see beginners with less sense than a dog eating its own feces trying to make that turd taste like a chocolate cake by applying as much HDR as possible.

But we're moving really off topic here

 

[Dwig]

HDR is photographic cancer that's mostly used by beginners with no sense or talent to try and make their turd shine.

whoa harsh... i agree that most HDR are waaay over done and are indeed crap. but used sparingly i think it can have some value

I feel that there are two errors in the analogy. One, "cancer" is universally evil and the photographic technique refered to is not. Something more like a benificial drug that can also be abused would be a better comparison. I do agree that the fad of overly processed grungy and ugle "HDR" images has spread like a cancer. It seems to be the first trick that the artistically impaired grab to give their otherwise boring images some attention getting attribute. I have seen "overdone" "HDR" used creatively, but in my opinion 99.8% out their are junk.

Two, HDR is not the evil at all. What is evil in the "ugly, grungy" (my personal opinion) "HDR" images is not really HDR, its the Tone Mapping that is necessary to reduce a true HDR image (48 bit per pixel) to a viewable and printable 8 bit per pixel image without producing a bland, flat image.

Tone Mapping, whether done on a true HDR composited image or a plain single image, can be benificial (benificial drug used properly) and can produce image characteristics that look odd (same drug, abused). The halo seen in the OP's image results from some excessively applied setting. In Photoshop's simple Shadow/Highlight adjustment, setting the Radius setting to wide will make these halos larger and more noticable.

 

[johngpt]

What is the actual term for the halo effects in this photo, and what causes it? I know it happens in PP, but is it from too much dodge/burn or what? Thanks.

Halo is the term commonly used for this.

It often occurs following excessive religious indulgence. :mrgreen:

Just kidding.

As everyone above has mentioned, all over processing can create a halo. It will tend to occur at the edges of extreme contrast. Sharpening enhances edge contrast to give the illusion of greater sharpness, so halo-ing is common when an image is over sharpened. But any over processing can create it.

To fix it, we can avoid over processing. Or we can add a layer mask to that layer, and paint along the halo line to diminish the processing effect locally, and allow it to be seen where it doesn't appear over processed.

 

[Sleepy_Sentry]

Could someone please show me where the halo is? Is it that bit of light on the subject's hair? The only thing the OP's camera seems to have done is add about 20 pounds to that woman's posterior.

 

[Josh66]

Could someone please show me where the halo is? Is it that bit of light on the subject's hair? The only thing the OP's camera seems to have done is add about 20 pounds to that woman's posterior.

Look at the buildings and the sky.

 

[Sleepy_Sentry]

Could someone please show me where the halo is? Is it that bit of light on the subject's hair? The only thing the OP's camera seems to have done is add about 20 pounds to that woman's posterior.

Look at the buildings and the sky.

I see it now. It's that line of light around the buildings, right?

It's very hard to notice, at least on my monitor. I couldn't see it without looking very, very hard.