Help With This Photo

smoke665 · Dec 13, 2016

My model, is a ping pong ball in hurricane, everywhere at once, so lighting is a pain. This is the only shot like this I have and would really like to save it. There is a shadow on the upper (image) right side of the face that almost looks like a birth mark (it isn't) I've tried everything to minimize it and this is the best I've done I can fix the other things, but the shadow is driving my OCD off the charts. Any suggesstions?????

View attachment 131552

tirediron · Dec 13, 2016

Do you mean the area directly above her left eye?

smoke665 · Dec 13, 2016

Yes, sorry, it's got me frustrated.

OGsPhotography · Dec 13, 2016

Clone it away or use frequency separation. Or dont worry about it it looks fine. OR take some more photos!

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smoke665 · Dec 13, 2016

Tried cloning, there were some other blemishes there, which were easy to correct, but the color of the shadow didn't clone out. Tried Frequency separation but the shadow seems to fall mainly in the midtones, and again it didn't want to go away. The last effort was with the Adjustments-Highlight, Shadow, Midtone corrections. Maybe I just need to put it away for a bit, and come back later.

OGsPhotography · Dec 13, 2016

Cloning will change the color and textures too. Doesnt make much sense that it wont move a shadow. Sleep on it, watch a few youtube tutorials, and try again. Copy the tutorial verbatim if your having a really hard time.

KmH · Dec 14, 2016

I think what you are seeing there is posterization.
Posterization is also very noticeable on the red flower in the background on the Christmas tree.
A reflector or fill light camera right would have helped prevent the shadow causing your problem..

Open the photo in ACR (Camera Raw or Lr Develop Module).
Activate the Adjustment Brush in the Basics panel.
Make sure everything above the Color chooser is set to zero. Leave the Color at it's default.
Set the Brush settings to: Size - 14, Feather - 45, Flow - 50, Density - 100.
Set the Dehaze slider to -34.
Move the brush to the area you want to edit and click there.
Once you have placed the edit you can move it to fine tune it's placement, or you can erase the edit and use somewhat different Brush settings.

smoke665 · Dec 14, 2016

@KmH I hadn't thought of that but I believe you may be right. I had a large white reflector on her right but she had moved to far away from it. Out of town today but can't wait to try your suggestion tonight. Thank you!

smoke665 · Dec 14, 2016

@KmH thanks to your suggestions, I made some progress, not quite done yet but getting closer than I was.

greybeard · Dec 15, 2016

I used the clone stamp in LR 5.1. I set the hardness to zero, magnified the area and feathered the shadow out.

smoke665 · Dec 15, 2016

@greybeard "Her" Mama and Grandmothers would chew on you awhile if they heard you refer to there little girl as a "little boy". LOL I will admit that without much hair or one of those huge frilly bows they like to put on them, it makes it a little more difficult.

I do appreciate the effort. I've went back through other shots and determined, that she still has slight indentations on each side, that depending on the light show up as shadows. Below is a clip from a shot in October that better illustrates the problem area.

View attachment 131642
Below is a clip of your edit. I've circled the area that still shows up almost like a birth mark. This is what I encountered with clone stamp. When I tried the patch tool, trying to replace the whole area it looked out of place.

View attachment 131643

@KmH pretty much nailed it with the posteration comment. By using his suggestios I was able to reduce it. Used a frequency mask to make an exposure adjustment to the side of the face, then added a warming filter, to even out the color. Still not perfect but better. Mama happy, grandmothers happy, my life is good LOL

View attachment 131646

In addition to learning some new techniques for PS, I've also learned that it's a good idea to do a once over on the model, before you shoot, to see if there are things like this that might cause problems later. Had my reflector been higher and angled differently it probably wouldn't have shown as much either.

KmH · Dec 15, 2016

Pro portrait photographers quickly scan and check 30 to 40 details when they look in the camera viewfinder before they release the shutter.
Amateur portrait photographers might check 3 to 5 details when they look in the camera viewfinder before they release the shutter.

greybeard · Dec 16, 2016

@greybeard "Her" Mama and Grandmothers would chew on you awhile if they heard you refer to there little girl as a "little boy". LOL I will admit that without much hair or one of those huge frilly bows they like to put on them, it makes it a little more difficult.

Sorry about that, she sure is cute.

smoke665 · Dec 16, 2016

greybeard said:
Sorry about that, she sure is cute.

No problem and thank you. This was one of those rare moments when the women didn't have one of those humongous hair bows on her. I'm not sure what it is about the current trend with hair bows, our nephew and his wife have a new baby daughter, and in the very first pictures, the poor thing had a hair bow bigger than her head.