Fixing reflections on glasses

hamster · November 19, 2007

I've been working on this first image for a few hours and I'm getting pretty frustrated. While these are technically not the best images, I really like them because it's my kid. You know how it is.

Anyway, I've been using this tutorial (it's for elements, but I am using CS2):
http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1025305&seqNum=2&rl=1

I'm ready to give it up as a lost cause. Anyone know of any other tutorials/tips/tricks I could try? I really appreciate it!

Perhaps this one is a better candidate to work on?

BinaryFx · November 19, 2007

hamster, I would add a new layer set to darken blend mode.

I would then sample some unaffected skin colour from near the flare that was darker than the flare. Next I would paint in this colour over the flare on the darken blend retouching layer.

Then I would use clone stamp and or healing tools to mask any junk from the darken blend painting retouching.

No time for a sample now, I will demonstrate later if required.

Hope this helps,

Stephen Marsh.
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/

hamster · November 19, 2007

Wow, thanks! I have just done a few spots and I got a lot further than I did with the other tutorial. Fantastic. I will post a corrected copy when I finish. Thank you, Stephen!

pathfinder · November 19, 2007

Hamster,

I have a gentle suggestion.

As you have learned, sometimes, fixing images in Photoshop is no bed of roses.

The next time you photograph your son, try keeping the following secret in mind. You are going to be shooting more shots of him as he continues to grow up, so the problem might recur.

The secret to lighting a person with glasses is called "broad lighting" which is having the main light illuminate the side of the face with the exposed ear when the face is turned slightly away ~30 degrees, from the camera axis.

Have the child look ~30 degrees to your left, and use a main light ~45 degrees from your right, and the reflections from the spectacles will not be captured by your camera. The light comes across his left shoulder ( on your right side of the frame)

This trick is courtesy of "Light - Science and Magic" 3rd edition p 194-196.

Then you won't have to "rescue" the image after shooting.

Don't fret too much about the reflections though, all of us have had to clone them out from time to time.

I posted this as a way of reinforcing myself to memorize this trick, so that I can use it when shooting the bespectacled in the future also.

BinaryFx · November 20, 2007

hamster wrote:

Wow, thanks! I have just done a few spots and I got a lot further than I did with the other tutorial. Fantastic. I will post a corrected copy when I finish. Thank you, Stephen!

Not a problem hamster, I am glad to be able to offer some advice.

Pathfinder offers sage council, it is best to get this right in the shoot than to try to do work in post (for future shots).

One can also use the brush or stamp tool set to darken blend mode - or lighten, depending on the task at hand and not just the layer (it depends on the what you are trying to do). Darken and lighten blending modes are critical for retouching (and in many other areas of Photoshop too).

I forgot to mention that you could make a rough selection, dupe, flip and rotate the good content over the bad areas, add a mask and then paint in the duped content where needed, which can speed up some of the correction over retouching with the clone stamp, brush and or healing tools (all methods come into play in such a correction).

Have fun!

EDIT: The files that you posted appear to have some sharpening applied and JPEG artifacts, with luck your originals are at a higher resolution, less compression and unsharpened, which will make retouching easier.

Stephen Marsh.
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/

BinaryFx · November 20, 2007

hamster, here is an example. It took me about 20 minutes, for a paying job or my own flesh and blood, I would put more effort in...but this should give you an idea of what I was talking about in my previous post. It is not final but good enough to illustrate.

Basic Edit Steps for Landscape Image:

1. Minor JPEG artifact reduction applied

2. The original background layer was left untouched. A new blank layer set to darken mode was then added.

3. Basic retouching was performed in this darken blend layer, as outlined previously.

4. Add a new blank normal blend layer above the darken one, tidy up any remaining retouching that darken blend does not solve (it only takes one so far in this case).

Optional Step (for the more advanced):

I found the background distracting, having similar colour and tone as the clothing.

Quick fix - dupe the original background layer below the previous blank retouching layers. Set to luminosity blend mode. Add a layer mask and paint out the face area, just in case it changes too much. I then used the Apply Image command to blend the B channel of the duped background layer into the ~composite/master RGB channel of the duped background layer in Pin Light blending mode. I then adjusted the layer opacity to taste, using 33%.

This significantly darkens the background, more so than the clothing (which gets a little darker and also picks up a creative sharpening effect from the channel blend). There is now more contrast between the face, and clothing and the background. All without using a selection or mask or painting with a tool. Another alternative or addition would be to slightly desaturate the background (shifting green to red would not be appropriate in this case).

Portrait Image:

I ran out of time after 25 minutes, so only reduced the glare, not fully removed, far from complete - but again, you should get the idea from the work done so far what is possible.

Regards,

Stephen Marsh.
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/

EDIT:

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pathfinder · November 20, 2007

Stephan, your darkened background, and the increased tonality of the face, due to the B channel blend, are a nice improvement of this cute kids image.

zacker · November 20, 2007

also a good tip for shooting glasses is to "lift" up the ear piece a bit so the glasses tilt downward, just a touch will do it.

good luck!

BinaryFx · November 20, 2007

pathfinder wrote:

Stephan, your darkened background, and the increased tonality of the face, due to the B channel blend, are a nice improvement of this cute kids image.

Thanks pathfinder. This is the great thing about channel blends! When I applied in Pin Light mode the Blue channel to the RGB channel of the duped luminosity blend layer - the clothing and background darkened and desaturated slightly...but the face did not change (some darker hair went greenish, thus the mask and luminosity blend). The layer mask for the face is not required, the channel blend naturally isolates the darkening to the required areas.

Two possible explanations for the apparent contrast change in the face:

i) LCD type monitor viewing that may not be stable in luminosity over the entire surface and thus a 2up image may appear to have different tones.

ii) The wonderful human visual system (apparent contrast and other optical effects).

This thread is still not accepting image attachments from me, please refer to this image:

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/DigitalGrin_Channel_Blend_InfoPalette_BinaryFX.gif

As the animation shows, the colour sampler info palette readings for the face do not change when the channel blend and retouching layers are toggled on and off, while the clothing and background do change. Colour sampler 1 reading is for the background. 2 and 3 are for the face. 4 is hidden from view under the info palette, on the far right sleeve.

Sincerely,

Stephen Marsh.
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx

hamster · November 20, 2007

Everyone, thanks so much for your help and advice. I agree wholeheartedly that I should have got this right when I took the photos. I offer no excuses, except that I believe I'm getting better, and I will continue to do so.

I will be working on the images today, and later in the week maybe I'll get some even better ones of the kid the right way.

Pathfinder, that book has been on my list for a few weeks - looks like it's time to order.

Fixing reflections on glasses

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