Processing a High-Contrast Image
by Adrienne Cleveland
I wrote this in response to a request to discuss how I processed this shot.
On this particular day, the sunlight
came through a few holes in the leafy canopy, creating a high-contrast
situation. I like this kind of light for the drama it adds, but it adds
exposure challenges, too. My way of dealing with this was to take two exposures, one for
the majority of the scene, and one for the sunlit areas.
The Original Exposure
I used an exposure compensation of -1 on the original exposure,
but even so, the areas in direct sunlight are overexposed.
Shutter Speed: 1.3, Aperture: 22, ISO: 200
Lens: 50mm
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After Masking
I copied a second, shorter exposure (0.5 seconds) into a layer and used masking to apply it only in the areas where
the background layer was overexposed.
For details on this procedure, see
our Tips on two-exposure contrast masking
for Photoshop and
for Photoshop Elements
explain how the masking and erasing are done.
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After Selective Color
I made tweaks to the colors with Selective Color.
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After Levels
Since the original exposure was underexposed by one stop,
I brought up the levels a little to make the shot look more like reality, and
so the effect of the sunlight shows better.
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A Piece of Advice
Use a tripod :)