help me fix the most poorly lit picture ever? please?! :)

[ibclare]

But you can use a cooling photo filter and lower the opacity

[Steve]

OK lacking a response from the OP I'll just say what I did.
The correct white balance is what was asked for.
The best method I know is to find the lightest and darkest parts of the image and mark them using Image|Adjustments|Threshold and marking those areas with the eyedropper tool and Shift+Click.
Then cancel out of Threshold and use Curves to adjust each color to 10-Black 245-White.

No subjective adjustments strictly by the numbers -good or bad.

[Stric9]

This was done using a single levels adjustment layer.


Similar to what Steve described.
1 Create a new layer above the image.
2 Fill with 50% Grey
3 Change blend mode to difference
4 use blend if and the color picker tool find and mark the darkest, lightest and middle point of the image.
5 use levels and set the points according to the info gained in previous steps

Can give more details if desired.

[jady717]

ok thank you all soooo much for your help! it is much appreciated. some of it was a bit over my head lol, but it was helpful. i dont remember exactly everything i did, but here it is as best as i can remember lol.

basically what i was trying to accomplish was to make this picture look professional, and not like a shmuck with a camera took it in her dining room lol.

for the background:
took another pic of the background and replaced it using a vector mask. the reshoot was still a bit yellow (thats just apparently how the fabric is... barf). i got a more natural looking color by doing first a red filter (helped the warmth not feel so empty), and then a purple filter to cool it. i tinkered around with curves for lightening.

for the child:
i filled in some of the glare spots by using the healing brush and patch tool, and blurred/masked some of the skin. i added another layer, then did a purple filter, and masked it on to some of the yellower parts of the skin to neutralize the tone. to neutralize the yellow on the pants and shoes i used the sponge tool to selectively desaturate. also did some lightening.

then when all was said and done i did a slight edge burn (seems to always help distract from flaws)

any thoughts?

thanks again!

[Hoogle]

it has come a long way from the image you posted originally well done maybe add some colour into the eyes and give them a bit of a sparkle.

[Hoogle]

Or maybe if you want the full photography studio look you could do something like this added some sharpening a black and white adlustment layer for colour enhancement set to luminosity and also did a white background.

[jady717]

i think i do like it with the all white! i'm on it! thanks

[jady717]

yeah i think the washed out background is best! should have just done that from the beginning haha.

[Paulie1108]

here you go.

[sprucemagoo1]

All you do is duplicate the layer that the image is on, and set the blending to screen.