Can I please get help?

[Coastal_Mandy]

I recently got photoshop, and my camera. haha

I went out Thursday to play with both things, the sun was SO harsh, I didn't get much that would be usable (glare, shadows, my son's expressions... ), but I figured it be a good opportunity to at least play with software if nothing else.

I took this one, and the sky is WHITE...waaaaay over exposed, and I know there is a way to fix it from PS, but I dunno how. Even using the smart brush blue skies option.

Can anyone play with it and/or give me some tips? step-by-step instructions? I'm really walking in the dark with this program. If all I wanted to do was crop and adjust color, I woulda kept picasa. I know what PS is capable of, at least I think so, I just wanna know how to do it! (trying not to sound too whiney or frustrated).

Keep in mind, I'm just a newbie and just trying to start somewhere!

[carrbowl]

Did you capture the photo in RAW or just JPEG?

[jonnydonut]

I don't know much about software and sky brush strokes. As far as I know, it's probably not possible to recover this photo.

I would def recommend using a flash for a photo like this one. Also, tame the sun. Trees make splotty shadows are are extremely difficult to work with.

[Dawn U]

If you shot RAW, you might be able to salvage *some* sky, but not what you're wanting.

Photoshop is not a very intuitive program - or at least, it wasn't for me. I spent lots of time in Barnes & Noble's Photoshop section finding a book that would be the most help. I bought several of Scott Kelby's books and like the way he works through the examples he gives and the pictures you can download to work through with him.

[J Eddington]

Mandy. I am affraid from the looks of this one Photoshop is not going to help you. The sky looks blown out. Which means that the info is not there. Next time use a little fill flash to help with the shadows on your sons face.
You might want to use the display mode where you can see the photo along with the histogram after you take the photo. In the photo if you see a blinking area. That area is blown out and will be white. This will allow you to adjust your setting. Read your manuel, it is your best friend!

[KenJulio]

With me being a little green here and me loaning out one of my books, if the image was taken in a jpg, couldnt you open it in Adobe Bridge and from there open in Adobe Raw? This would give you more flexibility if I'm not mistaken. The chapter which comes to mind in the Scott Kelby Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers is the one where the shot was taken in the living room towards the ocean with the sky blown such as the OP image.

Hope that helps.

Also, the book I'm referencing is: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The...1580092/?itm=2

[Coastal_Mandy]

okay, okay, this is all USEFUL!

Learning learning! Thanks a bunch!!!

off to add notes!

[J Eddington]

Originally Posted by ken74

if the image was taken in a jpg, couldnt you open it in Adobe Bridge and from there open in Adobe Raw?

You must shoot in Raw to get a raw file. You cannot shoot in JPEG and then convert to a raw file. The data that is recorded in a raw file will not be there. Even in a raw file, if the data is blown you cannot recover it. If it is just over exposed you may be able to recover some of it.

[KenJulio]

Originally Posted by J Eddington

You must shoot in Raw to get a raw file. You cannot shoot in JPEG and then convert to a raw file. The data that is recorded in a raw file will not be there. Even in a raw file, if the data is blown you cannot recover it. If it is just over exposed you may be able to recover some of it.

No disagreement there. But opening a jpg in Adobe Raw would give you more flexibility than just the jpg? Do correct me if I'm mistaken :)

[dtscds]

like the others have said, I doubt there is any saving that sky. In photoshop you can 'replace' the sky with something more interesting. Here is a link to a really great tutorial on how to do that.
If you figure out the secret to how to make the sky great in every shot let me know! That is one of my biggest struggles...Along with how to be more creative...and how to get more "keepers"...and how to handle bad lighting situations...and how to.... (I think you get the point!)
Keep it up and good luck

[mmuhlenkamp]

Well, you can sort of enhance a sky by making another layer in photoshop and do a black to transparent gradient down and then mess with the layer settings and opacity. That requires some blue to the sky though, this pic is pretty much lost there.

I was able to bring back some detail in his face using the shadow/highlight tool, but the colors were getting screwy. It looks okay black and white now, but it's still pretty busy with all the splotchy shadows.

[Coastal_Mandy]

thanks! I knew the lighting was bad. It was just a bad day generally. But I did learn a lesson... what kinda days not to shoot on. LOL Plus all the advice so far!

I didn't think I would shoot in RAW, not looking for any professionalism out of my shots, but now that I've got some decent software, I may go back over that "chapter" again. ;)

thanks again!

[CaptainTom]

The sky is the least of the problems with this image. What does this kid look like? Can't see his face.

With digital, underexposure is much preferred to over exposure.
The sky is gone. There is no information that can be retrieved by photoshop.
The underexposed face is a different matter. The information is there, you just have to open up the shadows and make it visible.

[mmuhlenkamp]

Everyone's gotta learn those lessons, it really does make you better. I know I was pretty happy when I started figuring when and what direction to shoot to get blue skies in my shots. Good luck!

[kenmyers70]

Trust us. You really want to shoot RAW. DDP comes with your Rebel and can be used to convert the RAW file to a jpg. What's great about raw is the extra information you get for each pixel. In jpg, your pixel values can range from 0 to 255. With RAW on a XTi you get 0 to 4095. In DPP you can adjust the brightness and contrast on the RAW file to create the JPG. If you don't shoot raw, the camera assumes it knows how to do that conversion itself. Its not always right. You can use this extra information to keep shadow detail or highlight detail in the cases where the camera throws it away. This can allow you to recover an image that appears slightly over or under exposed. Its worth taking a couple of raw files and playing with them in DPP to see what I'm talking about.
In the case of this photo, I don't think raw would help since the sky is completely blown. Like the others said, improving your lighting would help the most. On bright sunny days seek good shade and don't be afraid to use a fill flash. Yes, it is counter-intuitive to use flash on a sunny day but it works. Set the camera to expose the sky properly and use the flash to illuminate your subject. Practice with this at home until you feel comfortable.