Photo editing question

[ianmeg]

Apologies if this is in the wrong section of the site but was hoping someone with photo editing knowledge could assist...

I used my Mini 3 Pro to take this photo of a lighthouse and as part of its design you can see the lighthouse has many horizontal 'lines' all the way up. These lines look a bit 'faded' especially down the left hand side of the lighthouse where the sun is hitting it. I am trying to edit the photo so that these lines become more prominent and easier to see but I don't know how.

I have selected the lighthouse then experimented by changing different values (e.g. exposure, brightness, contrast, shadows/highlights etc) but with no luck. The closest I got to making these lines more visible unfortunately also turned the lighthouse itself a darker grey but I was wanting to keep the lighthouse white.

Does anyone know how to go about this? (I'm using Affinity Photo but assume the process would be similar to other editing programs)

Thanks

 

[DesertWindAero]

Apologies if this is in the wrong section of the site but was hoping someone with photo editing knowledge could assist...

I used my Mini 3 Pro to take this photo of a lighthouse and as part of its design you can see the lighthouse has many horizontal 'lines' all the way up. These lines look a bit 'faded' especially down the left hand side of the lighthouse where the sun is hitting it. I am trying to edit the photo so that these lines become more prominent and easier to see but I don't know how.

I have selected the lighthouse then experimented by changing different values (e.g. exposure, brightness, contrast, shadows/highlights etc) but with no luck. The closest I got to making these lines more visible unfortunately also turned the lighthouse itself a darker grey but I was wanting to keep the lighthouse white.

Does anyone know how to go about this? (I'm using Affinity Photo but assume the process would be similar to other editing programs)

Thanks

View attachment 162911

A caveat, I know just enough about editing software to be dangerous and I'm not an artist by any means.

I think what you're after will take some very heavy editing. If you're not an artist, it would be even more difficult.

In any event, I think it would detract from the photo and not look "natural." From what I can see (even though it's a low resolution post), the photo is fine.

If I were you, I'd go back to the lighthouse and take more photos with different settings to see if you can capture those lines naturally.

 

[Deleted member 162835]

You could apply a layer and use your selection tool to pick out the lines specifically and darken them. Might also look up dodge and burn and try that technique on the lit face.

 

[Meta4]

Does anyone know how to go about this?

The 243 x 480 image you posted isn't big enough to call a thumbnail.
If you post the original, full-size jpg, I could have a go at it to see what works.
Upload to Google Drive or similar and post a link.

 

[ianmeg]

The 243 x 480 image you posted isn't big enough to call a thumbnail.
If you post the original, full-size jpg, I could have a go at it to see what works.
Upload to Google Drive or similar and post a link.

Thanks, I've tried to add it to One Drive...

default

003.JPG

1drv.ms

 

[Meta4]

Thanks, I've tried to add it to One Drive...

Unfortunately the detail on the left side has been lost due to overexposure.
This is a common problem with small white areas in a scene that's darker overall, and bright light.
It's easier to extract details from underexposed areas than to recover them from overexposure.
In those situations, bracketing exposure gives you other exposure options to work with.

This is as good as I could do.

Here's a link to the file if it's of use for you:

003a.jpg

default

drive.google.com

 

[Tufargon]

Unfortunately the detail on the left side has been lost due to overexposure.
This is a common problem with small white areas in a scene that's darker overall, and bright light.
It's easier to extract details from underexposed areas than to recover them from overexposure.
In those situations, bracketing exposure gives you other exposure options to work with.

This is as good as I could do.

Here's a link to the file if it's of use for you:

003a.jpg

default

drive.google.com

That looks amazing to me.

 

[Dave Maine]

Learn to use the histogram tool when you are setting up the shot. Set your exposure so that the highlights are not bunched at the extreme right.

 

[REStewart]

I've done quite a bit of Photoshop fixes. As Meta4 states the only real fix is an HDR approach where you take multiple exposures at different exposure levels, one of which shows the burned out lines and then combine the exposures in some form of HDR. I did open the image and put some faint lines where they would be. Looked okay from a distance but when you zoomed in it was clearly a photoshop thing. My wife and I have photographed nearly 400 lighthouses and what you have experienced is typical on a sunny day with a white lighthouse. By the way, other than the burnt out lines It's a beautiful shot.

Lighthouses (Alphabetical)

Based in Lansing but covering most of lower Michigan and southeast Missouri.

capturedmemoriesphoto.smugmug.com

 

[maggior]

Learn to use the histogram tool when you are setting up the shot. Set your exposure so that the highlights are not bunched at the extreme right.

Additionally you can change a setting in DJIFly to show overexposed areas and you can adjust your camera settings to alleviate it. You can also take bracketed shots (3 or 5) that you can merge in post to get a wider dynamic range. The bracketed shots take shots with slightly higher exposer and slightly lower.

 

[Dale D]

Apologies if this is in the wrong section of the site but was hoping someone with photo editing knowledge could assist...

I used my Mini 3 Pro to take this photo of a lighthouse and as part of its design you can see the lighthouse has many horizontal 'lines' all the way up. These lines look a bit 'faded' especially down the left hand side of the lighthouse where the sun is hitting it. I am trying to edit the photo so that these lines become more prominent and easier to see but I don't know how.

I have selected the lighthouse then experimented by changing different values (e.g. exposure, brightness, contrast, shadows/highlights etc) but with no luck. The closest I got to making these lines more visible unfortunately also turned the lighthouse itself a darker grey but I was wanting to keep the lighthouse white.

Does anyone know how to go about this? (I'm using Affinity Photo but assume the process would be similar to other editing programs)

Thanks

View attachment 162911

I worked for about 20 minutes on this
I did a screen shot and took your image into Adobe Camera RAW and opened the image with the MASKING TOOL. See the settings. Your image is in soft focus and I preferred to leave the lighthouse absolutely vertical rather straighten the horizon which is tilted.

Here are the settingsI selected the lighthouse as the subject under the masking tool.
1. Open image in ACR
2. Select lighthouse as SUBJECT
3. Decreased exposure
4. Increased contrast
5. Decreased highlights
6. Decreased shadows
7. Increased whites
8. Crop to straight lighthouse-- see my attachments- let me know. Hope this helps.

Dale
Miami

 

[JimSteadman]

I upsized in Topaz Gigapixel to increase the size of the image, then went into photoshop, adjusted the highlights, decreased the exposure a bit. Not sure how the horizon is tilted, but left the lighthouse vertical. The result was unsatisfactory. The photo is overexposed and once you have clipped your highlights, it is almost impossible to recover them. I would suggest adjusting the drone so you can see the histogram and you will know if part of the image is overexposed and can compensate for it by adjusting your exposure in the camera. A quick fix, which may not work is to either wait for a cloudier day or position your drone so the sun is directly behind you. If you are using the auto settings and focus on that part of the image, that should properly expose the brightest part of the image.

 

[waynorth]

I used my Mini 3 Pro to take this photo of a lighthouse and as part of its design you can see the lighthouse has many horizontal 'lines' all the way up. These lines look a bit 'faded' especially down the left hand side of the lighthouse where the sun is hitting it. I am trying to edit the photo so that these lines become more prominent and easier to see but I don't know how.

Did you shoot this in RAW or only in JPG?
With a RAW file you have far more room for adjustments of shadows and highlights. Details that look burnt out or totally black in the JPG, may be recoverable in a raw converter.
Have a look at these photos, taken with an old Samsung S7 phone. One is a jpg straight out of camera. The other is the raw file edited in Adobe Camera Raw.Parts of the sky in the jpg is burnt out and unrecoverable. But the raw file still had so much more image data that it it was possible to recover it.

 

[Felix le Chat]

Apologies if this is in the wrong section of the site but was hoping someone with photo editing knowledge could assist...

I used my Mini 3 Pro to take this photo of a lighthouse and as part of its design you can see the lighthouse has many horizontal 'lines' all the way up. These lines look a bit 'faded' especially down the left hand side of the lighthouse where the sun is hitting it. I am trying to edit the photo so that these lines become more prominent and easier to see but I don't know how.

I have selected the lighthouse then experimented by changing different values (e.g. exposure, brightness, contrast, shadows/highlights etc) but with no luck. The closest I got to making these lines more visible unfortunately also turned the lighthouse itself a darker grey but I was wanting to keep the lighthouse white.

Does anyone know how to go about this? (I'm using Affinity Photo but assume the process would be similar to other editing programs)

Thanks

View attachment 162911

Because of the wide fixed aperture, the Mini 3 pro will always give you an ETTR exposure (blown whites & highlights). Set your E.V. value to at least -1 before you take the shot, otherwise use a high strength ND filter (ND32/64) you can then adjust in post to lift any shadows to exaggerate the details.

 

[Meta4]

Because of the wide fixed aperture, the Mini 3 pro will always give you an ETTR exposure (blown whites & highlights). Set your E.V. value to at least -1 before you take the shot, otherwise use a high strength ND filter (ND32/64) you can then adjust in post to lift any shadows to exaggerate the details.

Using an ND filter wouldn't reduce highlight overexposure.

 

[rickmurray1989]

Shoot RAW and use negative EV compensation to prevent blown out highlights. You can recover underexposed shadows relatively easily, but blown highlights, not so much.

 

[bobmacd]

A caveat, I know just enough about editing software to be dangerous and I'm not an artist by any means.

I think what you're after will take some very heavy editing. If you're not an artist, it would be even more difficult.

In any event, I think it would detract from the photo and not look "natural." From what I can see (even though it's a low resolution post), the photo is fine.

If I were you, I'd go back to the lighthouse and take more photos with different settings to see if you can capture those lines naturally.

I think it is fine 'as is' also!

 

[mereflyer]

Did you shoot this in RAW or only in JPG?
With a RAW file you have far more room for adjustments of shadows and highlights. Details that look burnt out or totally black in the JPG, may be recoverable in a raw converter.
Have a look at these photos, taken with an old Samsung S7 phone. One is a jpg straight out of camera. The other is the raw file edited in Adobe Camera Raw.Parts of the sky in the jpg is burnt out and unrecoverable. But the raw file still had so much more image data that it it was possible to recover it.

View attachment 162943View attachment 162942

Certainly a big improvement!

 

[Donnie Frank]

I haven't read the entire thread so someone may have pointed this out already.

You're chasing your tail. The original photo is over-exposed. The left side of the building is blown out. You'll never recover that from a compressed photo and MIGHT recover it from a RAW photo, but doubtful. You'll have to reshoot it properly-exposed to get what you're after.

D

 

[pzampino]

Even with the RAW photo, if your highlights are blown out, there is no recovering the details in those areas.
Next time, either adjust your overall exposure so you're not clipping the highlights, or employ exposure bracketing and blend the properly exposed parts into a single image.