Exposure problem

[andydo]

hiya im trying to sort out a picture from a wedding i was at last week but never had time to adjust my settings and the pic i want is totally under exposed when i try adding exposure it still doesnt get light enough but the wedding dress is too exposed any ideas

[donoreo]

Was it shot in RAW? That will make things easier. These are very basic instructions, I am sure someone will have better.

You can make more than one adjustment. Adjust the exposure so that the dress is correct, save that. Open the original again and adjust that for what ever else and save as another copy. Do this for as many as you need to and then open them all in PS at one time. Then cut and paste one over the other. From here....I am not as sure.

Sorry for the incomplete, but it can get you started. I know you will have do them one at a time and erase or mask parts of some versions on top of others.

[GeoffWessex]

"it still doesnt get light enough but the wedding dress is too exposed"

The age-old problem of wedding photography - the groom's in black, the bride's in white. If it's taken in direct sunlight you will get a huge contrast.... which can only be avoided by careful use of flash or taking the couple aside and into the shade. I'm assuming that the camera's meter, unaltered, has seen a generally dark shot so has given a little more exposure.... but that blows out the dress. You may be able to rescue the shots with Donoreo's advice, above, but I dare say 'something has to give'... either a blown out dress or a very dark picture.

Ah well, that's why professional wedding photographers charge big money.... it's not as easy as it looks. I think you said last week that you'd been invited to take "the" wedding pics.... certainly not something I'd do without a lot of planning, some experience, and a few bobs' worth of kit.

[markgozz]

Andy some basic adjustments can be made to JPEG's in Photoshop or Elements .I know Photoshop has something called Shadow/Highlight it's very good at lightening shadows and darkening highlights all at one go , I'm sure Elements has something along the same line but I haven't got it so I can't point you in the right direction on that one .

Mark

[amk1977]

As Donoreo says, using the multiple exposures technique is probably the best bet. I'd recommend you do this in Camera Raw, to get the exposure for the dress, suit and any other elements that need to be adjusted to get the correct exposure.

Open then all as individual files in Photoshop. Then use CTRL + A to select the whole image of each file, then CTRL + C to copy it, then move to the first file and press CTRL+ V to paste it into it as a separate layer. Then use layer masks to blend the exposures together.

You'll probably have more success doing this image as a black and white, as you'll most likely get a severe amount of noise produced, trying to shove the exposure values way above what they were originally shot at.

You could also try using the shadow/highlights feature in adjustments, to lighten the shadows, which would in turn increase the exposure on the black suit.

As Geoff rightly says, wedding photography can and does present a lot of issues to overcome, which is why the pro's charge big money for doing it and have top notch kit.

[jet_kit]

Hi Andydo,
You haven't posted the picture so we're a bit in the dark as to how to salvage the image.
The other tips are well founded, but you could try this as well for an easy fix:
In Photoshop open the image as a JPEG and go to Image/Adjustments/Shadows & Highlights.
Check 'Show More Options' and set Shadows 50 30 50, Highlights 60 40 200, Colour Correction 0. Ignore the Clips.
The picture will now look pretty flat and uninteresting, but crucially will have a lot more detail in the dark and light areas. Go back to Image/Adjustments and play with Brightness & Contrast, and Hue & Saturation until the image has some life injected back into it.

[andydo]

[andydo]

the shot is taken in jpeg as its the only setting i have and dare i say it this is the pic im tryin to sort

[andydo]

Originally Posted by GeoffWessex

I think you said last week that you'd been invited to take "the" wedding pics.... certainly not something I'd do without a lot of planning, some experience, and a few bobs' worth of kit.

i was asked to be a back up if the photographer didnt turn up as it was an old mate and he was doing it for free depending on what he had on tbh i think it was just panic talk settin in

[amk1977]

I had a quick play with the image in PS but, with it being in Jpeg format, there just isn't the data contained in the file to begin to retrieve anything from the shadows, Andy. Although I could improve the lighting overall, her face is completely darkened. Its a no goer I'm afraid.