Suggestions on what else to do for the shadows without changing much else

Zone99

Hi,

I'm working Lightroom (2.7) and developing a workflow and familiarizing myself with a number of the features. One area I'm really trying to get down is the histogram, black levels, etc.

I wanted to see what I could do with this shot:



Personally, I liked it. The player is getting ready to head out to the field, obviously very serious and I liked the contrast of the red hair and the blue uniform.

The major problem for me: the eyes -- to much shadow.

I cropped this down a bit and then used the Adjustment brush to lighten the area under the bill of the cap around the eyes. Very little other adjustments.

So, the question I have is: what else would I do with this shot? How can I bring out the eyes a bit more or...should I? Any other suggestions overall?

The post-processed shot:



I think I managed to get the eyes back in a bit without losing too much of the darker colors.

Thoughts? Keep as is?

Thanks!

pathfinder

As you have learned, faces hidden in the shadow of a ball cap bill can be way darker than you would prefer. One way to deal with this is fill flash in sunlight of course, but may not be appreciated or easily done at the ball field. An assistant can hold a reflector - white foam board or Impact reflector, for fill light also.

After the fact, you are left with image editing in some manner.

In files shot in RAW, you can bring back the lower quarter tones, with the Fill slider. In jpgs, you will have to use the Shadow/Highlight command in PS, ideally in the LAB channel with a mask.

Or use the Adjustment brush in LR like you did.

I think you improved the shot a bit with what you did.