[joip]

I shot some pics of my daughters college graduation BUT one side of everyone's face is in pretty harsh sunlight while the other side is normal. I used flash & the shots looked fine on my screen. What can I do to save them? I have Lightroom & a Mac. Thanks for any suggestions.

[lithedreamer]

I shot some pics of my daughters college graduation BUT one side of everyone's face is in pretty harsh sunlight while the other side is normal. I used flash & the shots looked fine on my screen. What can I do to save them? I have Lightroom & a Mac. Thanks for any suggestions.

Sounds important. Maybe try a graduated filter in Lightroom?

[j0n4hpk]

I hope you shoot in RAW. If that's the case, try lowering contrast as much as you can and then compensate exposure. If you shoot JPEG, it's more difficult, but if your JPEG software allows it, try something similar.

[lithedreamer]

I hope you shoot in RAW. If that's the case, try lowering contrast as much as you can and then compensate exposure. If you shoot JPEG, it's more difficult, but if your JPEG software allows it, try something similar.

Lightroom gives the same controls for JPEGs, they just have a much more limited...tolerance?

[Paul the Sunman]

If detail is gone, it's gone! Certainly though, it is important to shoot RAW in those circumstances (personally, I can't think of a reason I'd ever shoot jpeg), and I would also expose to the left. You can drag an impressive range of detail from the shadows in RAW, but not from blown highlights. So in very bright sunlight, it is generally a good idea to expose for the highlights if you can, or at least apply a -1 ev correction when shooting.

[bschriver11]

I think seeing what your trying to fix would be helpful. I've used the adjustment brush to increase or decrease the exposure on part of the face to balance it out but i'm sure there are experts here that know far more than i.

[mattt]

Joi, reduce contrast, bump up the shadow slider, and pull down highlights and whites. You'll probably have to increase saturation some, and fiddle with clarity a smidge.

Alternatively, you can convert it to black and white and crank the clarity and contrast... just go with it

[redcat]

Someone wrote an excellent article on how to save images from harsh light here : How I Post-Process Hard Light and Overwhelming Tones
The results are mind blowing

[wildman]

one side of everyone's face is in pretty harsh sunlight while the other side is normal.

post an original file somewhere on the net

[joip]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I do shoot in RAW. Tried some fixes last night but I was so frustrated & devastated that I just went to bed. If anyone can offer me any hope I'd really appreciate it. This shot is the important one.

[C_Jones]

Hi. I don't want to seem intrusive, and this does not have much to do with repairing the shot, which really does not seem that bad,it is just an example of what natural light can do. You may already know this also. Your Exposure (1/1600) and your Aperture (F/2.0) seem a little extreme for a sunny day situation. Also, if you want a more evenly lighted subject(s), you could have the subjects either face the available sun directly or face the other way, depending on which seems the most accommodating as far as the available light. I know sometimes it is difficult to review shots after they have been taken in the rear lcd due to the light reflective factor when outdoors. I do not utilize post processing on an ongoing basis, I mostly rely on in camera settings and review for immediate results. Anyway, I hope you are able to repair the shot as best you can if you have to, good luck, and like I mentioned just ignore me if I am not being relatively informative.

[lithedreamer]

Wow, this is a tricky shot to fix in post. If you're comfortable, posting the raw somewhere would let us take a stab at it.

[joip]

Hi. I don't want to seem intrusive, and this does not have much to do with repairing the shot, which really does not seem that bad,it is just an example of what natural light can do. You may already know this also. Your Exposure (1/1600) and your Aperture (F/2.0) seem a little extreme for a sunny day situation. Also, if you want a more evenly lighted subject(s), you could have the subjects either face the available sun directly or face the other way, depending on which seems the most accommodating as far as the available light. I know sometimes it is difficult to review shots after they have been taken in the rear lcd due to the light reflective factor when outdoors. I do not utilize post processing on an ongoing basis, I mostly rely on in camera settings and review for immediate results. Anyway, I hope you are able to repair the shot as best you can if you have to, good luck, and like I mentioned just ignore me if I am not being relatively informative.

99.9% of the time I shoot manual because it helps me learn. But for these shots I set the camera on green mode. (I don't even LIKE green mode!) I had no clue the ISO was at 1600 one because I didn't look & two because I trusted the camera - now I know better I may just do a B&W conversion & leave it at that. Thanks for your input though - I'm always open to advice & the knowledge on this forum is amazing!

---------- Post added 12-12-16 at 04:59 PM ----------

Wow, this is a tricky shot to fix in post. If you're comfortable, posting the raw somewhere would let us take a stab at it.

I don't know how to copy a RAW image from LR to the forum. I keep getting a PEF.

[lithedreamer]

I don't know how to copy a RAW image from LR to the forum. I keep getting a PEF.

People usually upload the PEF (that's your raw file) to somewhere like Dropbox or Google Drive, then share a link to it here.

[C_Jones]

99.9% of the time I shoot manual because it helps me learn. But for these shots I set the camera on green mode. (I don't even LIKE green mode!) I had no clue the ISO was at 1600 one because I didn't look & two because I trusted the camera - now I know better I may just do a B&W conversion & leave it at that. Thanks for your input though - I'm always open to advice & the knowledge on this forum is amazing!

You're welcome.