Uncertain about this shot, hightlights are blown, and the fg bushes are really dark. Looking for any suggestions on how I might fix this, or if it's even worth pursuing in your opinion.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks,
Kevin
Arches Nat. Park.
Canon 50d
Sigma 17-70
ISO 100
Posted by Todd Caudle on April 29, 2009 at 12:28 PM
...and the fg bushes are really dark.
Bushes? What bushes? I don't mind the blown highlights around the sun, because that's kind of what you expect when looking at the sun. If there's any shadow detail in the original file, I'd suggest reprocessing just for the shadows, lighten them up some -- not too much, but enough that detail is easily recognizable -- and then combine the sky from this one with the foreground from the other one. If there's not enough detail in the original file, you might be out of luck.
Posted by Tim Visser on April 29, 2009 at 12:30 PM
Kevin,
Did you shoot this image in RAW? If you did, one aspect would be to adjust the image for highlights and save and then adjust for shadows and save. Then you can merge the two together in photoshop. Another option is when you shoot the image to look at the highlights and shadows to see how many stops you are apart. I have found like with Plus-x film you can adjust the shadows up to 2 stops. Anything more than that you will overexpose the highlights. I have seen that digital is about the same. You will need to ensure what is important so you do not blow out the shadows and the same for the highlights.
Another option is to bracket and merge together.
Those are the areas that I would consider.
Tim
Posted by Joshua Hardin on April 29, 2009 at 1:34 PM
Kevin, I commend you for attempting a unique comp at this location, but honestly this one isn't working for me. In addition to the shadow & highlight challenges already mentioned, I'm not quite feeling anything from all that blue sky. In most cases I would say skies low in clouds don't necessarily detract from a photo, but on this one there is just too much empty space. I really think this angle could work with different cloud conditions though. Then again, that's just my opinion I could be wrong.
I've never tried double processing a RAW file, I might have to give that a shot.
Do you find that better than using the recovery/fill sliders in ACR?
I'm not very good with blending so I should probably get some practice anyway, any suggestions?
Joshua, I appreciate the honest feedback, exactly what I was looking for. I agree about all the empty space in the sky, wasn't sure if the sun was enough to hold it together.
Kevin, I just feel there is too much mass on the right, and too much empty on the left. Wait shouldn't that balance out? Sometimes, but I would try a modified pano with much of both of those removed. Then try the double processing. I found some tutorials on the web for manually blending 2 images, or it would work for double processing I'm guessing, that really made it easier for me. I haven't had much luck with the recovery/fill sliders or with shadow/highlight adjustment in ps with my limited skills keeping it natural looking.
I have to agree with Morris and Joshua's views here, Kevin.
A simple tutorial to get you started with blending two RAW images is titled 'Two RAWs Make A Right'.
This method works best with two RAW images of differing exposures, but developing one RAW image twice will work, too.
Much better than the Shadow/Highlight tool (which I like quite a bit, actually).
This image you posted is a perfect one to practice on.
Discussion
6 repliesUncertain about this shot, hightlights are blown, and the fg bushes are really dark. Looking for any suggestions on how I might fix this, or if it's even worth pursuing in your opinion.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks,
Kevin
Arches Nat. Park.
Canon 50d
Sigma 17-70
ISO 100
Bushes? What bushes? I don't mind the blown highlights around the sun, because that's kind of what you expect when looking at the sun. If there's any shadow detail in the original file, I'd suggest reprocessing just for the shadows, lighten them up some -- not too much, but enough that detail is easily recognizable -- and then combine the sky from this one with the foreground from the other one. If there's not enough detail in the original file, you might be out of luck.
Did you shoot this image in RAW? If you did, one aspect would be to adjust the image for highlights and save and then adjust for shadows and save. Then you can merge the two together in photoshop. Another option is when you shoot the image to look at the highlights and shadows to see how many stops you are apart. I have found like with Plus-x film you can adjust the shadows up to 2 stops. Anything more than that you will overexpose the highlights. I have seen that digital is about the same. You will need to ensure what is important so you do not blow out the shadows and the same for the highlights.
Another option is to bracket and merge together.
Those are the areas that I would consider.
Tim
I've never tried double processing a RAW file, I might have to give that a shot.
Do you find that better than using the recovery/fill sliders in ACR?
I'm not very good with blending so I should probably get some practice anyway, any suggestions?
Joshua, I appreciate the honest feedback, exactly what I was looking for. I agree about all the empty space in the sky, wasn't sure if the sun was enough to hold it together.
A simple tutorial to get you started with blending two RAW images is titled 'Two RAWs Make A Right'.
This method works best with two RAW images of differing exposures, but developing one RAW image twice will work, too.
Much better than the Shadow/Highlight tool (which I like quite a bit, actually).
This image you posted is a perfect one to practice on.