Shooting under harsh sunlight-Processing challenge

[Alis]

Hi Everyone,

I know they say you should take a nap and not a picture under the harsh mid day sunlight but I had to do this. Instead of shooting at the usual aperture (well my usual apreture which is not very far from 2.8) and a super high shutter speed of about 1/8000 I thought I spent some of that shutter speed and go up on f (sometimes I discover things in the field ).

Anyway, this is the result (http://www.mediafire.com/?yj2ejk2mxwk):



I am not sure what the best way is to process it to look like what you see in outside world. I though I ask you guys to give it a shot and let me know what steps you have taken. It has small clipped areas but it is very sharp. I am not looking for details under the sunglasses and stuff like that. I want to know what kind of global adjustment you guys would use to make it look less harsh than it is right now. And I don't want it to look too different from what you see in these situations in outside world.


Thanks!

[carregwen]

Hey! we should do this more often...

Alis,

You didn't include a snapshot of the original RAW (for comparison) Hope you don't mind but I did one. Put it to your post if you want to save you doing one. This is the code (take out the two spaces)
[IMG ]http://backup.cambridgeincolour.com/farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4488778138_c11dc3f336.jpg[/IMG ]

Original shot


Here's what I did in PS CS4:

ACR:
1. Cropped image as you see. Too much background which looked too 'busy'. It also removed some of the shirt which was too bright. It also moves him to the left as he was too central in original.
2. Recovery slider +60, and Black 0. Fill light =+5. That got rid of the clipping.
3. Vibrance =+16 to give some more colour.
4. Used adjustment brush with mask on to paint whole of shirt, and then reduced exposure a few clicks.
5. Curve tone to give some mid-tone contrast back.

Photoshop
1. Cloned out the tree on his shoulder.
2. I had removed most of the distracting blue TL corner with the crop. But burnt it some more to reduce further. Burnt forehead which was too bright.
3. Selected head and feathered. Applied slight curves layer to give back some contrast to face. Sharpened the head only.

Did you want general comments? I would have either have reduced aperture from f/6.3 down to say f/4 or lower to get rid of that background, or, would have stood him (if it was posed) against an interesting backdrop - even a wall would have done. I would have zoomed in more, and not had him central.

I think he looks younger in my version Must be the fill-light that did that.

My version

[pwnage101]

I'm not a strict believer of the rule of thirds, and I don't think it applies to this particular image. Here's my shot:

I did the following in photoshop:
-adjust brightness/shadows (in Edit > adjustments)
-vignette (filters > distort > lens correction)
-levels (clipped blacks and whites)
-curves (contrast with luminance)
-vibrance
-USM 0.3px 300%
-resize bicubic sharper
-USM 25px 10%

Edit: sorry, I didn't read your whole post. you want it to be less harsh? the original didn't seem too harsh to me, so I ramped up the detail everywhere I could look
Sorry, but what in the image do you find too harsh? Are you talking about an overexposed face/shirt? If that is the case, then I guess i solved that with brightness/shadows adjustment and darkened the face and shirt.

[arith]

I had a go if you don't mind

[arith]

I was thinking about getting a 5D until I processed this; my pano's are smaller and DeNoise took a whole minute on full power, 7.2 GHz approx maybe theoretical.

[Alis]

I was thinking about getting a 5D until I processed this; my pano's are smaller and DeNoise took a whole minute on full power, 7.2 GHz approx maybe theoretical.

Wait until you process a video from it and you will have to get a new system

[Alis]

I had a go if you don't mind

Of course I don't mind and thanks. I think it looks too yellow but you took care of a lot of the white area on the forehead.

[arith]

I'm going to get a 7D now; you know it was my dream camera but I can't stand waiting. The fans on the computer turn up 5 of them to full speed and I'm biting my fingernails waiting waiting. I expect it on a panorama but image no thanks. It is not as if I want a lifesize print. Lovely quality though and very nice pic. I was thinking golfer but what the hell, I did it as if he was a stranger on a golf course. Not as if I've ever been on one. That is why I didn't quite catch his eye, but that is a strong enough feature to avoid successfully. cheers I've learned a lot about the 5D, I was saving for a lens but noticed I only have to save a little longer for a used 5D and I've got a nifty fifty which is now reckoned to be sharper than an L type. So maybe I just get a 7D I don't know.

[arith]

Of course I don't mind and thanks. I think it looks too yellow but you took care of a lot of the white area on the forehead.

I thought that and it is easily fixed. I like the shirt so much cos I got one just like it.

[Radu Dinu Cordeanu]

I'm not a strict believer of the rule of thirds, and I don't think it applies to this particular image. Here's my shot:

I did the following in photoshop:
-adjust brightness/shadows (in Edit > adjustments)
-vignette (filters > distort > lens correction)
-levels (clipped blacks and whites)
-curves (contrast with luminance)
-vibrance
-USM 0.3px 300%
-resize bicubic sharper
-USM 25px 10%

Edit: sorry, I didn't read your whole post. you want it to be less harsh? the original didn't seem too harsh to me, so I ramped up the detail everywhere I could look
Sorry, but what in the image do you find too harsh? Are you talking about an overexposed face/shirt? If that is the case, then I guess i solved that with brightness/shadows adjustment and darkened the face and shirt.

Hi,



As You could see on mine the difference is a eyes only.
Radu Dinu

[arith]

Hi,



As You could see on mine the difference is a eyes only.
Radu Dinu

Twins. You are the winner I don't care about processing, this beats the hell out of me and I never ever thought of it, or ever will do.

[carregwen]

Been looking at the others, and realized I may have lost some of the yellow in the shirt. So I put it back.

[pwnage101]

rob i understand that you used ACR and photoshop, but where's the exif? i used ACR 5.6 and photoshop cs4 and exif data intact

[arith]

Been looking at the others, and realized I may have lost some of the yellow in the shirt. So I put it back.

Didn't know if you was allowed second goes;

[carregwen]

Didn't know if you was allowed second goes;

Life is a series of continual refinements and improvements.

... and then you peg it

[arith]

I hardly ever take photo's outside of 10am - 3pm because I just don't like soft light, but I don't normally have people in mine. Just for fun I can't say what processing is involved because it is just too much so isn't entered in the comp.

[Alis]

Been looking at the others, and realized I may have lost some of the yellow in the shirt. So I put it back.

Thanks, Rob. this is actually very nice. Exactly what I like. I was in the middle of replying to your previous post this morning when I was distracted. I think this gives the impression that it was actually underharsh mid day sunlight but with a lot of details and colors protected. The only thing I see is the white area on the forehead that seems to have resisted your skills

[Alis]

Sorry, but what in the image do you find too harsh? Are you talking about an overexposed face/shirt? If that is the case, then I guess i solved that with brightness/shadows adjustment and darkened the face and shirt.

Thanks, pwnage! It looks a little bit unnatural, don't you think. By harsh I mean everything you don't see in the unprocessed version that you can see in Rob's version

[Alis]

so isn't entered in the comp.

I am glad it isn't since it would not pass my criteria. It is not really what the guy looks like.

About shooting time and conditions, I guess my main objective here is to find out what makes those conditions so harsh.

Part of the problem is with the people's expressions, squinting and harsh shaddows under the chin and eyebrows. But rest should be things we can compensate for to some extent in PP. I am not that good with expression those but I recognize them when I see them. To me the sunlight should not be much worse or more powerfull than a very strong strobe. I went down to a very narrow aperture to compensate for that although I am not sure if it make other optical problems in the lens more exaggerated, like diffraction, under these harsh condition?

[arith]

We don't get sun that bright around here but you could use a neutral density filter. The sun is brighter and shadows shorter giving wider ev span around midday and that is about it. I like the baked look, the shiny sparkly light on water and dark shadows. But I don't do people unless by accident.

Only mad dogs and englishmen go out in the midday sun, so you should be able to get some interesting pictures.