HELP! Problems trying to reduce highlights.

[inskip]

I'm trying to remove the highlight from my daughters chest area. I have my Katrin Eisman R & R book (2nd edition) out and on pg.84 it gives you the steps for removing/reducing these kinds of highlights. It says to add a new layer>mode to darken>clone stamp>use all layers>clone good skin info over highlight. You can use separate layers to build up density. Well, it's not working for me-the right side refuses to be cloned over. It worked somewhat on the left side as you can see. But still, in some areas it's almost like my opacity is set really low-it hardly shows up when I try to clone over some areas, as a matter of fact, it was almost lightening the area instead of darkening it...strange...I'm following the instructions exactly.

My opacitys are at 100%. I'm in darken mode. I'm using all layers. I have nothing selected. What can I be doing wrong??? Anyone?

[CJ Swartz]

Have you been watching where the "+" sign is while you're using the clone tool -- the "+" sign will show where the tool is cloning from, and sometimes we can end up moving it into an area of the image that makes it pick up the wrong color/tone for us. Have you tried adding another layer to your stack, and cloning over the area that isn't working for you on that new layer -- sometimes that can help.

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Oh yes, the "+" sign that's probably what the deal is. I don't get as much time to work in photoshop as I'd like and I forget things... Why does it do this(move)? Why doesn't it just clone what I sampled (option clicked) originally?

[Gary Richardson]

You can use the Clone tool in two different modes, Aligned and Non-Aligned.

In Aligned the clone source moves relative to the point you are cloning to. In non-aligned, the clone source stays static unless you re-sample another source.

To switch between the two, look for the Aligned check box on your tool bar when you are using the Clone Tool, and tick or not as appropriate.

There is also a check box that allows you to source from just your current layer, or from all layers, check as appropriate to your need.

Hope this helps you.

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Thanks for the replies. I tried the suggestions but it still seems to be acting funny. I've used the clone stamp before-I sample an area and then stamp that info over another area-it usually works. I don't know what the deal is w/ this image...I have a curves adjustment layer on top of the stack, that isn't causing a problem, is it? When you say add another layer to the stack, do you mean a duplicate of the background(image), or a blank layer w/ use all layers selected? Does it matter? In Katrin Eismann's book, she uses several blank layers to stamp on to build up density. I've been trying to do this but for some reason it isn't working???

Is there another way to get rid of these highlights?

[Duv]

Duplicate your background. Go to Filter: Dust & Scratches, setting about 20 pixels. Go to Edit: Define Pattern. Give it a name then undo Dust & Scratches. Go to Tools: Healing Brush and on the top tool bar set it to Pattern. Go to Patterns and highlite the one you just made. With the Healing Brush, paint over your highlight with short strokes. Hope this helps.

Dave

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Well, I'm starting to feel like an idiot, everyone else seems to be able to fix my glare issue except me. I tried the technique w/ the Dust & Scratches but it's coming out a little splotchy and I keep getting black lines here and there. Also, the glare is still showing through like the opacity is set low. This technique looks promising though...You said the filters radius should be set to about 20px, what about the threshold? The image I'm actually working with is about 300ppi but this shouldn't make a difference, right?

thanks

[philbach]

Another Way

Well another way that you might try is to make a new layer and then select a soft brush with low opacity. Sample the luminosity adjacent to the highlight and slowly paint the highlight.

[Gary Richardson]

Hi Inskip, yet another way to remove/reduce your highlights.

Open a new layer, then select brush tool. Hold down Alt key and brush becomes sampler, take colour sample from skin area of choice, and paint into highlit areas. Repeat sampling from different areas. Now apply Gaussian blur to new layer to help it blend. Lastly apply noise to simulate grain.

I used this technique seperately on each area. Not too happy with leg, but was only a quick and rough job, a bit more care would get a better blend.

Lastly I ran it through Neat Image.

[hpycmpr]

From another idiot

Well, I'm starting to feel like an idiot, everyone else seems to be able to fix my glare issue except me. I tried the technique w/ the Dust & Scratches but it's coming out a little splotchy and I keep getting black lines here and there. Also, the glare is still showing through like the opacity is set low. This technique looks promising though...You said the filters radius should be set to about 20px, what about the threshold? The image I'm actually working with is about 300ppi but this shouldn't make a difference, right?

thanks

I know how you feel. But I think the experts here probably all went through this stage, or they were born with a PS manual in their hands.

Eismann's book is excellent in its own ways. But PS Artistry may be more suited for the absolute beginners. The tutorials are in much more detail, and are better organized. They progress from easy to more challenging, and each one leads you through from beginning to end in editing an image. All the images are on a CD. After working through the first half dozen tutorials (out of 40), I was able to tackle ~80% of the problems I normally face. But just like with any skill, the last ~20% is what separates the experts from the idiots.