Blow out

[kat]

Is there a way to fix it? I took these shots of my nephew and neice during fall and of course the sun just had to come out at one point.

I never really noticed the blow out until I got into reading and now can spot in my photos. Now it drives me nuts.

I can't redo these now but would if possible like to make them the best they can be..until next years shoot. (Which should be better..pleaaassse)

Hmm..I just realized my photos aren't the same on here as on my screen. Ahh either way you can see the blow out. Hellp please!!!

[Mad Aussie]

Sorry Kat ... no way to 'recover' that lost info. And that's what it is I'm afraid. Being a digital file it's actually lost info.

About the only thing you might be able to do, if you were patient enough, would be to manually colour and layer in some elements.

Here's how I would probably attack this ...

I'd open this image in PS and then dump another photo with a nice water surface (lake or sea) in it. I'd put that image below your people shot there.

Then I'd add a layer mask to the people shot.

Select the brush tool and make sure the colour is black and carefully begin to 'paint' on the blown out water areas. The lake or sea from underneath will start to show through. Use white to correct any mistakes you make.

Then do the same thing with another image (or the same image if it has good sky as well) for the sky.

Time consuming but about the only way I can see to achieve a decent result.

[kat]

Boooo!

Yay..I figured as much.

You know sometimes I think life would of been easier if I didn't want to get better at this..in my own bubble thinking any shot is good.

Every shot I take I see something now.

[Mad Aussie]

Boooo!

Yay..I figured as much.

You know sometimes I think life would of been easier if I didn't want to get better at this..in my own bubble thinking any shot is good.

Every shot I take I see something now.

Always UNDER expose rather than OVER expose. It's always easier and more likely that you will be able to recover detail from areas a bit dark than from areas too bright. It's a digital thing.

[kat]

Thanks for the tip!

I was try to do these shots in the shade on a cloudy day but you know what.. sometimes one forgets about what's behind the shade

Ahh..the joys of learning! I took some 300+ photos that day of them. So I'm gonna go back to the CD and revisit the photos. I may have some new insight that would make me get different photos out and work on them. Never know!

[Mad Aussie]

Absolutely ... look for some darker ones and maybe try to work with those.

If you used a tripod and rattled off several at different settings then you should be able to get a really nice shot of those.
If you do have some like that and need help I'd be happy to grab a few and have a go when I have time.

[kat]

Absolutely ... look for some darker ones and maybe try to work with those.

If you used a tripod and rattled off several at different settings then you should be able to get a really nice shot of those.
If you do have some like that and need help I'd be happy to grab a few and have a go when I have time.

Sounds good!

I have to find the CD first..lol. Still in a box somewhere. Bad Kat!!!
I would love to get a camera that does auto-bracketing. Next one I get has to have it or I'm not getting it!!!

[Mad Aussie]

Yep, handy feature ... BUT ... easy to do manually anyhow.

I just take one to see if I'm close and once I have that in the can I then just adjust the shutter speed or aperture a click or two either way.

You do need to be on manual for that though because otherwise the camera just keeps trying to expose for the same exposure and you get 3 shots looking the same.

[kat]

Yep, handy feature ... BUT ... easy to do manually anyhow.

I just take one to see if I'm close and once I have that in the can I then just adjust the shutter speed or aperture a click or two either way.

You do need to be on manual for that though because otherwise the camera just keeps trying to expose for the same exposure and you get 3 shots looking the same.

Only started the manual lately..and wow. What a difference. Just being able to get more control of everything is sweet. Now if it only didn't take an hour to get what I want..lol

Pretty soon that auto button wont get touched..! Well..almost never touched

[Mad Aussie]

On rare occasions I will use the auto button to get a 'safety shot' which is snapping one off quickly to ensure you have some sort of half decent photo before trying something more technical. I find sometimes looking at what the auto setting did helps to give me a starting point for my manual settings.

Mostly though I use Shutter Priority or Aperture Priority for the same reason.