Photoshop Help - Shadows :-(

[rjtyrell]

Hi,

I have a few pictures like the attached where my standard D40 flash cast a shadow.

Can I do anything to get rid off it in photoshop?

[Martin.D]

very difficult, but why not bounce the flash from above, that way less shadow...

[rjtyrell]

Hi,

At the time I wasn't thinking about the flash, and went with a portrait shot.

I need to invest in an add on flash.

Any advice on removing the shadow would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Richard

[Martin.D]

Using Adobe photoshop you could try to lighten the dark areas...

[Chumpalot]

I had a quick play with photoshop but couldn't get it right. The harsh lines of the selection tool will highlight any change in shade or colour. I'm a novice at this though so there might be a better way of doing it.

[ryart]

Assuming you are talking about the harsh shadows to the right of faces, and assuming you know how to make a layer and mask.

Make a duplicate layer.

With the duplicate layer selected use the clone (AKA as Stamp) tool to clone from the areas above the shadow over the offending area. Don't worry about going over part of their heads.

With the duplicate layer still selected, create a mask. Zoom in to at least 200% so that you see what you are doing and using the brush tool, set to black and small, paint over the areas of the head that you cloned over so that the head reappears. If you overdo it so that the shadow reappears press X and paint over the shadow area.

When finished flatten the image, (levels > flatten) and save as a new file.

With care the harsh shadow can be removed.

It's much easier to do than explain, but might require some practice to get the hang of it.

Hope this helps rather than confuses.

[John7]

Using Photoshop, a quick and dirty fix.....

Cropped
adjusted levels
Applied shadow/highlight function
little bit of dodging to shadow area
A touch of desaturation............voila!

[rjtyrell]

Thanks for the tips, will have a play tonight

[ryart]

Afternoon, had a few minutes to spare before going out so had a quick play to show what results from what I was trying to describe. With time and care the result could be much better of course and with more time the shadow cast by the cup and bottles could be removed although the sharp shadows behind the heads seems the most distracting. You can of course use various methods of selection in conjunction with the mask but that can be quite tricky unless using the latest CS4 where this sort of thing is much improved.



Hope it helps, Malcolm