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Blown-out Highlights Processing Help PLEASE!


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Hi everyone

I am not very experienced at post processing. I have a photo that I took. Processing the Raw file and I need to bring up the image as it is rather lack-lustre at the moment, but when doing that the waterfall becomes blown-out as I didn't have a CPL on when taking the shot. 

Can anyone advise me the steps I should take to bring this image to life without the waterfall having blown-out highlights.

Thank you so much in advance if you are able and willing to assist. I have uploaded the Raw CR2 file. 

Cheers

Nerrel

IMG_1862.CR2

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When your photo has a fairly wide dynamic range (which is common for landscapes) I have found that first "squeezing" the histogram in from the sides is needed. Basically, you want to bring the highlights down and make them darker, and bring the shadows up to make them lighter. You can do this most easily with the Shadows and Highlights sliders. Bring the Highlights all the way down and bring the Shadows up (but more gently, since this can make your photo really awful if you overdo it). This results in a terrible looking photo, since it is flat, drab, and unappealing. However, you can re-introduce contrast with (i) the Tones curve; (ii) the Brightness slider; and (iii) the Contrast slider. I've attached a screenshot of what I've done to your Raw file. (I also warmed up the photo, which I thought was way too blue.) Obviously, more editing can be done after you hit the Develop button.

809432200_RAWSettings.jpg.6a9e59582d343483bb7a03b2dc1b2cd3.jpg

Affinity Photo 2, Affinity Publisher 2, Affinity Designer 2 (latest retail versions) - desktop & iPad
Culling - FastRawViewer; Raw Developer - Capture One Pro; Asset Management - Photo Supreme
Mac Studio with M2 Max (2023}; 64 GB RAM; macOS 13 (Ventura); Mac Studio Display - iPad Air 4th Gen; iPadOS 17

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@smadell Thank you so very much. I so appreciate the time you took to provide me with this advice. I have done the Learning videos but I do find it difficult when they apply tutorials to perfect photos and not real life not so great photos. I took another photo looking down onto a little waterfall (a creative shot) and with your advice here, I have managed to make that one look much better also. Thank you for your assistance and showing kindness to a stranger. Much happiness and blessings to you. Cheers, N.

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On 3/27/2020 at 5:49 AM, REL said:

Can anyone advise me the steps I should take to bring this image to life without the waterfall having blown-out highlights.

I wonder if blown out  highlights might be a good thing?  The waterfall already has a blurred, creamy look to it, so maybe a bit of judicious dodging would make it more of a feature?

IMG_1862.jpg

AP, AD & APub user, running Win10

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