Retouching and correcting overexposed photos is quite challenging task. Not all photographs with exposed areas can be restored.

First, let's figure out what overexposed or overexposed areas are, how to find them in a photo, and how to find out whether a given image can be restored.
Overexposed areas are areas of the image where there is no color information (all three channels, R, G, B, show a value of 255, that is, pure White color, or close to it), which, if the image was taken with normal exposure, should be present. An example would be exposed areas of skin on the face. After all, skin is never white.

If there are few of these areas in the image, and they do not affect significant facial features or body shapes, you can try to restore the photo.
If the white areas cover most of the image, then, alas, nothing can be done with it. The only thing you can try is to borrow a face from another photograph of the same person from a similar angle.
Below are examples of images with exposed areas: on the left is a photo with which you can still do something, on the right is a photo that cannot be restored.

How can you find out exactly where the exposed areas are located? You can simply move the cursor over them, checking the palette Info. The values ​​of all three channels should not be close to 255

If you check the table of memorable colors that color correction specialists use, then the requirements for the white point are even higher. The channel value in this case should not exceed 247. This is due to the need to preserve all colors when printing, but we will not adhere to such strict requirements. You can download the table of memorable flowers Here.

You can find out which areas of the image lack color information using the command Isohelium(Threshold). To do this you need to either call the command through the menu Image - Correction - Isohelium(Image - Adjustment - Threshold), or create an appropriate adjustment layer. Then in the command dialog box, move the slider to the highlight value, within 250-255. White areas will indicate that there are no pixels below this value in the image. A value of 255 indicates complete absence colored pixels.

You can do the same operation separately with each channel, this will give more accurate information.

For comparison, the figure below shows the same photos after using the command Isohelium. As you can see, in the first case, the facial features of the boy in the man’s arms are almost completely lost. In the second photo, significant facial features are preserved, so you can work with it.

To correct this photo, I turn to the Lab mode. So,
Step 1. Switching the image to Lab mode Image - Mode -Lab(Image - Mode - Lab)

Step 2. Choosing a tool Pipette(Eyedropper), put a control point in the area on the face where there is color. It is advisable that the point is not located in the shade or in the area where cosmetics are used.

Step 3. Create an adjustment layer Curves(Curves). To do this, click on the black and white circle at the bottom of the layers palette

From the drop-down list, select Curves.

Step 4. We will make corrections based on memorable colors. For light skin, the Lab channel values ​​are: L = 77, a = 18, b = 25. We must bring the channel values ​​at the control point to these values; differences of one or two points are not critical. Let's do this using curves. To find out where the point corresponding to the control point is located on the channel curve, you need to click on the point with the left mouse button, then a circle will appear on the curve showing the position of the point. Let's lower the upper end of the L curve a little, checking the palette Info

Raise the areas of curves a and b corresponding to the control point

Checking the palette Info

As you can see, now at this point the colors correspond to the memorable ones with a slight difference (I lightened the L channel a little). In addition, color appeared in the overexposed areas, which is what we wanted. Unfortunately, we will not be able to restore the structure of the volume of the face, determined by chiaroscuro, in these areas, but if you know how to draw well, you can try. To do this you can use the tool Clarifier and/or Dimmer(Dodge/Burn)

Step 5. Since using an adjustment layer automatically creates a mask, we can select the areas that will be affected by the adjustment. In this case, I painted over the eye area with a black brush to return the whites to their natural color.

The color of other objects in this image is not critical for me, since the main thing here is the girl’s face.
Now let's compare the images before and after correction.

Hope, this lesson will help you improve some of your favorite photos. This is just one of the restoration options; each image needs to be worked individually; there is no recipe for all occasions.

Wish creative success.
Evgeniy Kartashov

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This lesson continues the series on the basics of working in the Lab color space. I present here only the main points of the work, without dwelling on the subtleties and particulars. Those wishing to study the work in the Lab in more detail can purchase the book "Photoshop Lab Color. The Riddle of the Canyon and Other Adventures in the Most Powerful Color Space" by Dan Margulis

We continue our acquaintance with image correction methods in the Lab color space. The lesson is purely practical, so I won’t give detailed explanations on the topic: how and why this or that technique works. Those wishing to study theoretical aspects and more complex methods I recommend studying the works of the famous guru in the field of color correction Dan Margulis.

In this lesson we will learn how to make interesting photo processing; such effects are often found in many photographs on the Internet. A similar effect can be achieved using various plugins.

I have nothing against using plugins, but only if a person knows how to reproduce such an effect without them, and uses it only to save time. For beginners, before taking a lesson, I advise you to first study the theory and basics well.

In this tutorial we will process a photo in the style of photographer Brett Walker. I’ll say right away: not all images are suitable for processing in this style. The photo should be sharp, with a clear skin structure (it is advisable to use a flash for this), without overexposure (pure white areas containing no information). After studying this lesson, you will learn interesting way

correction of photographs taken at sunset. The method is quite simple, but nevertheless gives a high-quality result, and, importantly, allows you to quickly make changes, since adjustment layers are used.

Forgot to set up your camera in time and the pictures turned out to be overexposed? Don't rush to delete them. Try instead. In this article we will tell you how to remove overexposure from photos and improve their quality in the PhotoMASTER editor. Just a couple of minutes of working in the program - and your photos will take on a decent look!

When setting up a photo in the editor, you can focus on your preferences, but it is better to use a special tool - a histogram. This graph will tell you whether your photo is underexposed or overexposed, and how much light, dark, and midtone it has.


The horizontal line shows the brightness level of the pixels, the vertical line shows the number of pixels corresponding to each of the brightness levels shown on the graph. For a good photograph, the histogram should fit into the range of the graph and not go beyond it. Compare two photographs:



Sometimes photographers deliberately leave “overexposure” in their photographs if they emphasize their original intent. In other cases, highlights are considered a defect, which is better to get rid of.

An integrated approach: setting up the exposure

The easiest way to improve a blown-out photo is to adjust its exposure in a photo editor. Grab the slider on the scale of the same name with your mouse and slowly begin to move it to the left. Observe the behavior of the photograph. The further away the slider is, the darker it will become.



As you might have guessed, using exposure you can not only remove overexposure in a photo, but also lighten too dark areas. To do this, you need to pull the slider not to the left, but to the right.

Highlights and Highlights Tools: What's the Difference?

Unfortunately, in some cases, the “Exposure” setting can only partially improve the photo, and sometimes even completely ruin it. This is due to the fact that when adjusting exposure, not only the areas with highlights change, but the entire image at once. You may be able to get rid of the overexposed areas, but the initially dark parts will also be darkened. It is best to avoid such a situation and immediately adjust the “Highlights” and “Highlights” parameters instead of “Exposure”.

Using the Highlights scale, you can adjust all the light tones in a photo at once. Just like when adjusting exposure, move the slider to the left. All light areas in the photo will be darkened. Compare:



Adjusting the exposure helped get rid of the overly bright areas, but the photo now looked dark. After adjusting the Highlights, the photo became more expressive without any unpleasant consequences.

The Highlight scale adjusts only the most overexposed areas, without affecting the bright areas where everything is fine. For example, this way you can dim the glare on your face and various objects. Compare photos:



The Highlights correction helped restore detail, but the Highlight correction made the photo look more dimensional by affecting only the lightest areas. This tool can be used alone or in combination with the Highlights and Exposure options, depending on the photo you want to process.

Features of adjusting the exposure of landscape photographs

You can correct overexposed photographs without Photoshop and other complex editors, even if you need to change not the entire image, but only a fragment of it. For example, this may be very relevant for landscape photos, when the sky is overexposed due to bright daylight. To correct exposure in such a situation, we recommend using a gradient filter. You can find this tool in the “Retouching” section.

Using the mouse, mark the area you want to process. Three stripes will instantly appear over the photo. The middle one is the center of the gradient. The brightest line marks the point where the filter will have maximum strength, and the remaining third line is where the gradient finally fades out. After marking your photo, adjust the tonal settings in the panel on the right.


Other features: global photo enhancement

In the program, you can adjust the saturation and color tone of photos, adjust the sharpness of the photo, or slightly blur it. Adjust the composition of the image: crop it, process the edges of the photo using vignetting, and correct geometric distortions. And this is only a small part of the possibilities that you will find in the PhotoMASTER program. The quality of your photos will be much better!


Where can I download?

Now you know what to do with an overexposed photo. All you have to do is try to apply the acquired knowledge in practice. Improve your photos using the tools of the PhotoMASTER program, because it is so simple and accessible to each of us!

The human eye is able to distinguish the texture of objects, even if their illumination varies widely: from bright sun glare to deep shadows in the midday heat.

Your camera offers a variety of exposure metering modes. They help pass just the right amount of light onto the sensor to capture detail in both the light and dark areas of the scene. However, the camera has difficulty recognizing the “details” of highly lit and very dark objects at the same time.

The plot depicted below is just an “extreme” situation. "Automation" is trying to find " golden mean": Show shadow detail in your photo while preserving highlight detail.

Our original photo.

The result is not encouraging. In pursuit of highlight areas, the camera sacrifices the interesting texture of shadowed objects. Look, it barely shows up. In addition, most of the details in the bright areas are still indistinguishable. Overexposed “volumes” are depicted as “flat” spots painted in flashy colors. For example, pay attention to the boats: flooded sunlight curved sides and decks complex shape, not at all flat in reality, are depicted as “pancakes” that have lost all texture.

Luckily, Photoshop Elements has tools that can help you even out the lighting in your photo and restore texture and relief to overexposed areas.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how to use a histogram and the Levels tool to identify overexposed areas and then use the Shadows/Highlights tool to bring out the detail in them.

Healing with the Shadows/Highlights tool can result in an unnatural outline - a halo - around areas that contrast with each other. Therefore, in addition, in this lesson we will be smart: we will use a brush to clean our photo from the ugly distortions that inevitably arise during “restoration work”.

To wrap up the tutorial, after we show you the first technique using standard Photoshop Elements tools, you'll see an alternative technique in action. We'll open our JPEG image in the RAW photo editor Camera Raw, and achieve the same result using more visual and convenient tools.

Restoring highlights in photos using Photoshop Elements

Step 1. Open the original image

Launch Photoshop Elements. Use the File > Open command to select the photo. Click Open, and when the photo appears, click Expert (in older versions of Photoshop Elements, this workspace is called Full). Choose Window > Layers to display the Layers panel.

Step #2. Duplicate the layer

Before performing any actions on the original image, create a copy of the “Background” layer. You will have the opportunity to compare the final and original images. In the Layers panel, left-click on the icon with the background layer to make it active. Then press the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl” (“CMD”) and “J” to duplicate the selected layer. A copy layer named “Layer 1” will appear in the Layers panel above the “Background” layer.

Step #3. Use a histogram as your assistant

To evaluate the distribution of tones in your photo, turn on the histogram: Window > Histogram. On the channel-by-channel histogram (color graphs) you can see that our photo contains intense highlights in “blue” colors: high peaks are concentrated at the right edge of the histogram. The areas of the image that are described by these peaks are overexposed and are nothing more than single-color spots. Any detail in these areas will disappear on the print.

Step #4. Create an adjustment layer

Select Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels. Click OK. The brightness histogram (black and white graph) shows the “vastness” of tones in the photo, as well as which tones are more and which are less. The left edge of the histogram displays shadows, dark areas in the image, and the right edge displays highlights, light areas. Look, just like in the channel histogram, in the brightness histogram the graph is “cut off” at the right edge: the highlights are too intense.

Step #5. Take advantage of highlighting overexposed areas

To pinpoint which areas of the photo are overexposed, highlight the “damaged” areas using a Levels adjustment layer. Hold down the “Alt” key on your keyboard and hold down the left mouse button on the white triangle immediately below the graph. The overexposed areas, in our image this is the sky, will be painted in different colors, and the preserved areas will be black.

Step #6. Feel the limits of "Levels"

The white triangle slider - it is responsible for selecting the maximum tone displayed in the image - does not solve the problem. If you move the slider to the left, the overexposed areas only increase. Therefore, leave it in its original, far right position (the value is 255).

Thus, we will only need the “Levels” adjustment layer to highlight the overexposed areas. To restore the parts we will use another tool.

Step #7. Apply “Shadows/Highlights”

In the Layers panel, select Layer 1. Then you will need the command “Enhance” > “Adjust Lighting” > “Shadows/Highlights”. By default, the tool brightens dark, shadowed areas of the photo, assuming the original photo is underexposed. Therefore, the “Lighten Shadows” slider is opposite the “35%” value. Return it to the initial position - “0%”. Our task is to concentrate on the overexposed areas of the image.

Step #8. Beware of strong halos

Set the “Darken Highlights” slider to “65%”. In this way, you will restore detail in overexposed areas, for example, in the highlights on the girl’s leg in the middle ground. At the same time, observe the appearance of a halo at the boundaries of contrasting areas, for example, roof and sky, street lamp and sky.

Step #9. Compare before and after images

The “blue” graph of the channel histogram has shifted to the left, which means: the details in the “blue” channel are preserved. To be sure, double-click the left mouse button on the “Levels” adjustment layer. Then hold down the “Alt” key on your keyboard and hold down the left mouse button on the white triangle slider immediately below the graph. Notice that the overexposed areas have been significantly reduced.

Step #11. Work with contrast

To lighten the shadowed areas, move the middle, gray, triangle slider to the left to the 1.51 mark. Details in dark parts of buildings will appear. Move the left, black, triangle slider to the right to a value of 4 so that areas of the image appear completely black. This will increase the overall contrast of the photo, but keep its tonal range healthy.

Step #12. Warm up the picture

The colors in the original photo may look too cold, bluish, especially in a “sunny” scene like ours. To warm up the colors, go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Photo Filter. Click OK. Set the filter value to "Warm Filter (LBA)" and reduce the "Density" value to 20%. The effect created by the filter will be soft.

Step #13. Saturate the colors

Make the flowers look rich. Select Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation. Click OK. Make sure the Channel setting is set to All (Master), then move the Saturation slider to +16. Be moderate, otherwise as saturation increases, the restored details may disappear again.

Step #14. Set up the Brush

There is a faint halo in our image, look at the lamppost. Let's correct this distortion.

Create a new layer: Choose Layer > New > Layer. Click OK. Layer 2 will appear at the top of the Layers panel.

Take the Brush tool. In the options bar located at the bottom of the main program window, set the brush to soft edges and set its size to 200 pixels. Set the Opacity to 100%.

Step #15. Remove the halo

Place the cursor next to the image of the lamppost, but not on the halo - the brightened area around the lamppost. Hold down the Alt key on your keyboard to activate the Eyedropper tool. Click the left mouse button and select a color as a sample blue sky: This is what actually surrounds the lamppost. Paint around the lamppost with a brush. To hide the halo, set the Blending Mode of the current layer (“Layer 2”) to “Darken” and the Opacity (“Opacity”) to 29% ( approx. translator - in Russian versionP.E.14 layer parameter "Opacity" translated as "Transparency").

Step #16. Save the edited photo

All corrections have been made. Save the result using the File > Save As command, after selecting the PSD (Photoshop) file type in the dialog box. You will save the layers in a file of this format.

Alternatively, save the result as a JPEG. This way you will create a picture that can be published on Odnoklassniki, VKontakte and others in social networks or send by e-mail friends and family.

Step #17. Do the same thing using Camera Raw

Open the original JPEG photo in Camera Raw. To do this, choose File > Open in Camera Raw. Press the key on your keyboard Latin letter"O" to highlight overexposed areas in red. And “littered” areas can be detected by pressing the “U” key - they will turn blue in the photo.

Step #18. Eliminate overexposure and add richness to colors

To restore detail in the light areas of the image, move the Highlights slider to the left, to -22. In older versions of Photoshop Elements, the “Recovery” slider is responsible for the same operation.

And use the “Shadows” slider to restore detail in the dark areas of the image. Set the value to +55. In older versions of the program, the “Fill Light” slider performs the same function.

As a final touch, move the Vibrance slider slightly to the right, to +20. Ready!

When processing images, you often come across photos with overexposure in the face area. This can happen from choosing the wrong exposure or setting the flash incorrectly. This mistake can ruin a lot of good shots. You can return both color and texture to your face. We will look at how to do this in our article.

The main method for skin restoration that you will have to use is the frequency decomposition method. If you are not familiar with it, then you definitely need to master it. A detailed lesson on using the frequency decomposition method is available. The principle of frequency decomposition makes it possible to preserve a texture of a certain size. For example, skin pores, which directly create texture, are much smaller than pimples. This means that it is possible to create a certain condition under which the texture of the skin will be separated from its imperfections. The texture of the skin consists of very small elements that evenly cover the entire skin covering. This means that the texture itself can be transplanted to any place.

Areas where the texture of the skin is lost are highlighted in red. Skin needs to be transplanted to problem areas from those places where the texture has best view. In this case left cheek will optimal choice source of donor skin. Skin grafting can be done using the stamp tool (S) or a cloning brush. This is what should happen after sketching all the areas with overexposure:

The following photo shows what the strokes themselves look like with a stamp or cloning brush.

Now we move on to the main stage of processing - frequency decomposition.
Let's take a quick look at the method: Two copies of the layer are created. A Gaussian Blur filter is applied to the bottom layer. In this particular case, a radius of 0.7 was used. A Hi-Pass filter is applied to the top layer. The radius should be the same as for blur. An adjustment layer of curves is created above all layers, which need to lower the contrast. The adjustment layer, together with the layer to which the Hi-Pass filter was applied, is combined into a group and the blending mode is set to Linear Light for the entire group.
Now you can return to the blur layer and eliminate all the unevenness that resulted from skin grafting. You can work on the blur layer or on a new empty layer.

After eliminating the irregularities, you need to merge all the layers that lie under the group, create a copy of the merged layer and apply a Gaussian blur with a large radius to the copy. IN in this example a radius of 5 pixels was used. Blurring should make the edges of the transplanted areas smoother so that they blend harmoniously with the overall complexion of the face.

After the manipulations have been completed, you can combine all layers and continue processing. The picture clearly shows that the face has become flat. This is especially noticeable on the nose. To eliminate this shortcoming, you need to perform a light-and-shadow correction. Any method can be used.

An example of creating a cut-off pattern : Create an empty layer and set the blending mode to Soft Light. Fill it with neutral gray. Using a black and white brush with low transparency, paint in those places that need to be darkened or lightened.
Final result:

The photo can be made more contrasty. This will allow for a stronger expression of the pattern of light and shadow and give more volume. Further processing can be done at your discretion.

Based on materials from the site:

The sun is a very warm and bright word! Beautiful silhouettes at sunset, unique photographs at sunrise, and these cheerful photographs in the midst of a hot summer? The sun sets the mood for the photographs: light, clear, joyful! The main thing for a photographer is to create wisely, otherwise all the work can go down the drain!

Everything is in the hands of the photographer: it has always been so and will always be so!

In your hands is a camera, in your head is an idea that you are going to turn into reality! And each photographer has his own area of ​​work, in which he is a real ace! To do this you need to practice, and practice a lot!The day will come and you will feel like you are working on autopilot!

But working with photographs in the sun is not the case; here you will not be able to develop a specific technique or method of shooting. Many people refuse to take photographs in the sun; novice photographers are even dissuaded from this idea.

You may know what kind of photos you can get in the sun: at sunrise, sunset, at the zenith, but believe me - all photos will be different!

We invite you to familiarize yourself with 8 basic tips when working in the sun!

Tip 1: Settings!

The very first thing a photographer should pay attention to is the operating mode! It is very important that you shoot in manual mode . The photographer must see, feel and understand what he is working with! You can’t set up the camera once and work from one point, and get a hundred good pictures. Within a minute, the rays of the sun change their angle, therefore, it is necessary to change either the angle or the settings.

Most cameras today allow you to adjust the light balance. Try adjusting it on your camera. Of course, the situation can always be corrected using Photoshop, but why waste time if everything can be done using a camera.

Tip 2: Use filters.

Use a polarizing filter, it allows you to use a low shutter speed, and the filter significantly reduces the amount of glare! You can also experiment with different color filters!

Tip 3: Work in the shade.

When filming in the sun, go into the shade, this will make it easier for you to work. In the shade, the eyes perceive bright light more easily. If this is not possible, then use a lens hood. A lens hood is a kind of overlay on the lens that acts as a visor, thus protecting you from glare and overexposed photographs.

As for the subject of the photo shoot, you have three shooting options:

  1. Put a person with his back to the sun - this way he will not squint, wince, or close his eyes.
  2. Place the person in a shady area. For example, half the face is in the shade, half is in the sun.
  3. If when photographing a person stands facing the sun, and you are doing portrait photography, then work according to a proven technique. Man stands with eyes closed. Count out loud: “One, two...” to the count of “Three!” he opens his eyes, and at that second you take a photo.

Tip 4: ISO and flash.

The ISO value indicated is the same as in any daylight, 100-200.

Flash operation is necessary. If the sun's rays hit the object directly. This way you can avoid unnecessary shadows.

Tip 5: Keep track of the time.

The best option for working in the sun is to work at sunset or sunrise. But for example, you need to do a photo shoot at the zenith, other options are not considered. Remember that from one to three o'clock in the afternoon you will catch direct rays, after three - the sun is already starting to set.

Tip 6: Exposure metering.

Don't forget about exposure metering. Use spot measurement mode. In this mode, lighting data is read over a relatively small radius around the center. The center is determined in different ways in cameras: it can be the metering frame or the circle of the viewfinder of an SLR camera.

Tip 7: Use a reflector!

If you are photographing against the sun, use a reflector or reflector. It will help you illuminate the shadow areas on the subject's face. There are large reflectors, but many photographers use a small reflector. This reflector is about the size of a palm.