Major Sun Spots on Boy's Face: First - I KNOW the quick answer is that I should avoid sunspots. But this shot just happened and couldn't be recreated in a better place because the...

amanda303

First - I KNOW the quick answer is that I should avoid sunspots. But this shot just happened and couldn't be recreated in a better place because the older boy wanted nothing to do with his brother; this was a fleeting moment.

I've tried cloning and also tried to lasso the sunspots and darkened the highlights but it doesn't have the look that I want.

Does anyone have another tool suggestion? I have PS9 and LR.

If I invest in Portrait Professionals or other software, can this picture be salvaged?

original

adjusted

PhotogJoe Loc: Miami, Florida

Hi, open image, create a new empty layer, change that layers blending mode to darken, take your dropper and sample a good area close to were the spots are, get a soft brush and turn the brush opacity down to 20 percent and paint away. You can always go to the layers opacity slide and turn it down if needed. Good luck.

ndlaw

To be honest with you, I like the sunspot version the best. I don't think it detracts from the quality of the image. Nice capture, by the way!

GTinSoCal Loc: Palmdale, CA

I agree, I like the original better.
If this were a posed portrait, you would have avoided the issue, but since it is a grab shot, it looks candin and natural.

Gordon

photoman315

It's not perfect, but it looks natural. If you try to correct it with photoshop, you will lose the natural look.

wilsondl2 Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

You can do what you can do after you have taken the picture. I always have a golf umbrela that I use to block sunspots. Just have someone hold the umbrela to shade the supject and out of the picture. - Dave

Nightwatch Loc: Missouri

wilsondl2 wrote:

You can do what you can do after you have taken the picture. I always have a golf umbrela that I use to block sunspots. Just have someone hold the umbrela to shade the supject and out of the picture. - Dave

Golf umbrella... eureka! That's a good idea. Why did I not think of it? Any problems with shadows from the umbrella?

MWAC Loc: Somewhere East Of Crazy

I don't have any advice, but just take comfort in knowing we all have done this. ;)

Dale Loc: Round Rock, Texas

If I see lens flair I put up my hand out of view of the finder to block the sun from the flair in the lense.

Sensei

you can do a quick fix with the spot healing brush in Picasa. Be sure to save the new image using Save as or it will only be a logical change that may get lost if you try posting on the web.

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

amanda303 wrote:

First - I KNOW the quick answer is that I should a... (show quote)

Try a blur or smudge tool on the sunspot. It might smudge the darker skin and lighter spot into something that is acceptable to your eye. Having taken the shot, you're obsessing on the spots but the rest of us see it for what they are.

Portrait Professional wouldn't do anything for this that a healing tool can't do. If you're going to use it for other portraits, buy PP10 because it's awesome, but not just to do this...

amanda303

Everyone - Thanks for the comments and tips! I've been playing around with various ones to see how to get the best result. As everyone most likely suspected, there doesn't seem to be a way to eliminate the problem. But by changing it just a little, the boy doesn't look so ghostly and the focus is more on his smile when the "hot spot" isn't so prominent.

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

amanda303 wrote:

Everyone - Thanks for the comments and tips! I've been playing around with various ones to see how to get the best result. As everyone most likely suspected, there doesn't seem to be a way to eliminate the problem. But by changing it just a little, the boy doesn't look so ghostly and the focus is more on his smile when the "hot spot" isn't so prominent.

Personally, I wouldn't have any problem with enlarging your edited version to a 16X20, matting it to 20X24, and hanging this prominently in the family living room. It's an exceptionally good casual portrait composition to be proud of.

kimberliswenson Loc: Ridgefield, WA

I like the original better. The sun spots are not too prominent and do not detract from the image. In some cases, they give that
"magical" or "forresty" feel....which works here because they are sitting in the trees on a fall day. I really like this image and would be proud of it!

visualconnections Loc: Boerne, texas

Original is good! I hate the sun but the set shoot where the umbrella is used is perfect. I have a larger beach umbrella that I rig to an old tripod and its easier to move around. I love the cloning and never used it for that and I have Picasa and use it for general use and just got PSE 9 for my MAC. I use I photo too on the MAC. It didn't like picasa. Good luck!