Does anyone know how to lighten up a dark shadow on a picture? Thanks1

Jen

Here is the picture i have come to the conclusion that this can't be fixed. :angry:

Hi Jen, lightened your shadow a little by doing the following.

Duplicate background.
Invert new layer. Set blend mode to Soft Light.
Duplicate this layer, adjust opacity of layer to get desired effect (I used 10%).
Levels adj layer, adjust contrast a little.

Haven't attempted to take out any of the dust or scratches, or adjust picture in any other way.

Hope this helps.

OK, I hope this image is large enough to see! It's the first time I've tried ot post an image attachment.

Anyway, heres' my try...

Maureen

Thanks I never thought of that method. Man there sure is alot to know.

Jen

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on printing this one out. I know the blacks in the shadows are blown out but if you lighten it up it looks blotchy and bad. When i print this one out it looks worse and blotchy anyway all over. I wish what you see on the screen would be how it prints. Any advice would help.

I used a levels adjustment layer and masked out some of the highlights. I then copied the layer using screen blending mode and masked out the hightlights again.

gary, when you say you inverted the layer, what do you mean? you inverted to a negative image or what?

Craig

I used a custom RGB gamma profile of 1.4 (ala D.Margulis) to simply shift the pixels into a lighter direction... Took only 30 seconds...

->image->mode->LAB
->image->mode->RGB
->edit->assign profile->gamma-1.4 profile
->image->mode->LAB
->image->mode->RGB

Seems like trougle, but it's not

-heyrad

Hi Jen

I used the same method as Gary but if you apply it to the shadow area only you can apply a much stronger effect.

There is a good tutorial here
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/contrast_masking.shtml

Or just Google ‘Contrast Mask’

My picture is probably way too much but it demonstrates what can be done with a contrast mask applied to the shadows. And, yes Craig it is a negative which some would then Gaussian Blur.

I have no luck printing this type of picture. I get it like I want it on the screen then take it to the local camera shop for printing. I get much better results.
If you must print it on your printer then make sure your printer is set to B&W and Not colour.

Heyrad.
Welcome to RP
That method sounds interesting but please can you post the results.


Ken

I used a custom RGB gamma profile of 1.4 (ala D.Margulis) to simply shift the pixels into a lighter direction... Took only 30 seconds...

-heyrad

Good one. I use that technique a lot too. However, the Highlight/Shadows dialogue is quite useful, particularly in an image like this with decent midtones and highlights.

I used a setting of 50 50 30, then duped the layer and ran dust and scratches, filled a layer mask with black and then painted back over the scratches. Add'l retouching is called for to smooth out the blotches, but this is definitely a useful tool.

Hi Craig,

Just spotted this one, it's months since I did this.

Yes, that's exactly right, by inverting the image you've got a negative. But because the blend mode is Soft Light, the darker bits of the underlying layer get lighter, and the lighter bits get darker (in other words it reduces contrast).

If you don't invert the layer, the result is an increase in contrast.

You don't have to use "Soft Light" blend, similar (but harsher) effect is obtained using "Overlay" or "Hard Light" blend modes.

Gary


have cleaned up original post a little.

thanks gary (and ken).

and ken, you said make sure the printer is on B&W, but i think it's the opposite for some printers. some do better on B&W's by printing in color. for instance, i print all my B&W's on color settings for the printer. they just seem better to me that way. it may be the inks. i think the HP printers want you to change cartridge types if you print in B&W and i just find that annoying.

Craig

I found that using shadow/highlight worked fairly well. I moved to lab first, and made my edits in the lightness channel. Once in lab, I realized that only the lightness channel had any real detail, so once back in RGB I chose to dump the extra channels and work on the image as a greyscale. That way I could dodge and burn without worrying about 'channel chatter'. After the edits were complete, I cropped it and made it a duotone.

I found that using shadow/highlight worked fairly well. I moved to lab first, and made my edits in the lightness channel. Once in lab, I realized that only the lightness channel had any real detail, so once back in RGB I chose to dump the extra channels and work on the image as a greyscale. That way I could dodge and burn without worrying about 'channel chatter'. After the edits were complete, I cropped it and made it a duotone.


I think the best thing to do with this one is to make a selection of the scratchy shadow area and fill it with a dark colour, hard light, and flatten and blur the edges. It worked fine for me but I can't get the image size to 100 kb to post it here.

Maureen :wink:

Thank you everyone for all your advice.