Cincinnati Photographer Ryan R. Dlugosz :: Portrait, Wedding, Event, Product, Digital Imaging- powered by SmugMug

Cincinnati Photographer Ryan R. Dlugosz :: Portrait, Wedding, Event, Product, Digital Imaging

My submission in the CameraPorn Blog "Revisit and Retouch" challenge. For a high level overview and commentary, please see my blog post on the retouch - you should really start there! Then, for the nitty-gritty, browse through this collection of screen shots that detail some of the steps.

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RRD Photo > The -2EV exposure. I used the sky from this image.

RRD Photo > The initial (0EV) exposure. This is what the rocks & containers are built from.

RRD Photo > The super-bright +2EV exposure. :)

The water was used from this shot, however with the 1sec exposure time there was some significant motion blur on the rocks (presumably from camera shake).

RRD Photo > After exporting the three RAWs as TIFFs, open them all into Photoshop. Then, drag two of the images onto the third (so that they all end up on one image as three layers) by using the Move Tool with the key held down (which ensures that the images register properly).

Next, we'll align the layers.

RRD Photo > Here you can see the various layers & their masks. From top down:
1. Lightening Curve: A curve that's pushing the brightness in selective areas (front of main container, water splashes, some rocks)
2. Darkening curve: Opposite of #1; burn down some of the water (we wanted the blurriness, but not the brightness so much)
3. +2EV - the water
4&5. -2EV in Soft Light Mode: This does the sky. I didn't end up using the full sky from the -2EV; just blended it in soft light. This made for easier transitions & a more natural look. I made a copy of it to intensify the right-most section of the sky.
6. 0EV: The base exposure.

RRD Photo > Here you can see that I've gone ahead and ditched our other layers & have started anew with our merged, saturated image. Again, if this were a real job then you'd be well advised to have saved off the old image pre-Lab conversion.

The final image... This is where we end up after my edits. (Click for a larger view)

RRD Photo > The final image... This is where we end up after my edits. (Click for a larger view)

The final image... This is where we end up after my edits. (Click for a larger view)

Camera: Canon (Canon Eos 30d) |

more details: exif |

original size: 3447px x 1939px |

Current: 600px x 338px |

Other sizes: S · Medium · L |

filename: CaymanFuelDepot-2EV-Edit |

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For licensing information please contact ryan@rrdphoto.com