I took this yesterday and really could use some feedback! I am a amateur photographer/retoucher with A LOT to learn!

The first is the original (with a slight level adjustment)
I thought the shadow area on her cheek was just too dark and tried to correct this a bit.
I made a selection of the shadow area and feathered it, then put it on a new layer. Then ran the Virtual photographer plugin (bright shade, changed the effect to clear) then adjusted levels on this layer. It seems to help, but is it enough?

Also, do you think the background is too blah? think I might try a slight gradient?

ALL comments will be appreciated, I would really like to make this photo the best I can!

Sherry, I haven't had any "formal" training, but I've been told that I have a good "eye". I think you're on the right track with this photo. I would actually darken the background to black though. I say that only because I was on a website yesterday (can't remember which one) and saw some portraits that were almost all black except for the side of the face which had been illuminated. It was a very dramatic effect. I think it would work here.

Here's my take on it using your photo. I did a simple levels correction to darken the background - also moved the middle slider to darken the midtones. Then removed the levels correction on the dark side/neck of the dog using the layer mask on the levels adjustment layer.

HTH,
Jeanie

I'm not sure if this is what you are after, but I lightened up her dark cheek/side, added a circular radient around her head, lighting up the left side only, and added a little sharpening.

To lighten up her dark cheek/side, I first selected the luminicity (ctrl + alt + ~ for the PC), inverted it and copied the selection to a new layer. I masked out the background so it was not lightened. I duplicated this layer to strengthen the lightening effect. I added a circular gradient on a new layer, and then created a new merged layer and used the unsharp mask with an amount of 50 and radius of 1.

Alan

Jeanie,
your suggestion to darken the background worked just beautifully, THANK YOU! :happy:

Alan, I was trying to lighten the dark side too but was having trouble keeping it subtle and natural, the file below is where I got to with Jeanie's help and before I saw your post. I don't want to lose the eye and cheek detail in the shadow side completely it seems to add some anchorage? I am going to try your method, I'll see how much I can lighten it without going to far...

Thank you! I am learning a lot!

Sherry, a really simple way to brighten up the shadow is to copy to a new layer. Desaturate, inverse, set layer mode to soft light, then adjust opacity to get lightness you want. I have done it at 80%, which is a bit too much, but was done to illustrate the method rather than as a finished job.

Ok, not much time spent on this, but basically is this what you are lookign for ?

Duplicated layer
Desaturated layer
Set blend mode to Screen
Copied original layer on top of desaturated layer and play with curves a little to get your desired result
Copied original layer on top again and run hipass with a low setting, set blend mode to overlay to give come extra contrast
Added some eye in the shadow
Flattened image
Added warm filter to give it some ambience back

This is a quick example and you may nit want so much contrast, but having a little play with the settings will help you.

I think this is it! couldn't have done near this well without you people!
Gary, your method seemed to give the most natural look, it works beautifully.
Started all over with the base file and adjusted the levels to darken and saved as as a new file. Then used Gary's method on the base and saved as another new file. I was having trouble getting the selection and transparency to what I wanted in Photoshop (rookie user! :ditsy: ) so opened 1st new file in Painter and cloned what I wanted from the lightened file. and also added a touch of contrast in the shadow eye.

Thanks sooo much!

Love the final picture Sherry, it's posterised a bit on the 100K post, but have no doubt this is not the case with the original. Glad I could help a little.

Nice facial study of your pooch. :happy:

This is just "another" possibility to try.

There wasn't much resolution on your posted photo, so my effort to show another direction to go is somewhat limited. A higher resolution photo would have been better. I think the idea is there though.

This was done by a curve adjustment, to bring out some shadow detail.
Hue & Sat to tone down some of the colors that were blown out.
Several contrast adjustments.
Lightened center with high feather.
Darkened edges with high feather.

used my Paint With Light Actions at www.atncentral.com.

This is great, I like the effect! used my Paint With Light Actions at www.atncentral.com.