Photo Stop James Davidson

Lost the light?

I chose a really tough photo for this one.  This wedding shot was taking with the light streaming right at the bride as she walked in.  The white of her dress reflected it back essentially leaving no light in the photo.  Although it can be improved, it will lose quite a bit of clarity and end up pixelated.  By walking you through a really bad shot, you will be better able to fix your "just a touch" bad ones.

Because even with work, this photo will never be high quality, I will make sure to scrap it at a smaller size to work with the pixels.  The larger the photo, the better the quality needs to be.

 1. Open a new Levels adjustment layer.

2. Then use the black eye dropper and click it on what you think is the blackest part of the picture, then slide the arrows over watching what happens to your picture. You can move the black arrow to darken, the white to lighten, and the grey for midtones. Experiment with it.

 3. Create a new Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer. Slide along changing contrast or brightness. Usually these are very slight adjustments.

4. If your picture still needs a few touch ups, use your grey levels from last month’s class: here. So far, we are here with our picture. Better, but not beautiful.

5.  Correcting photos almost always increases the red tones in the photo.  To correct, go to Enhance--enhance color--variations.  Play with decreasing red and increasing your blues and greens until you find the right look for your photo.

4. For a finishing touch, we are going to use my favorite free plug in filter.  Head to http://www.optikvervelabs.com/ and download your copy.  I am using the softest filter to add some glow to the bride.

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