How best the Lighting on the Subject can be improved in this Photo ? (.afphoto file attached)

[augustya]

Hi Guys,

Looking for some suggestions here. I have attached this .afphoto file so please feel free to try out and let me know what suits/fits best for this photo. I know it is not a very ideally taken photo in terms of the lighting conditions available. But if you were to correct it using some adjustments here, what best could be done in such a situation? I have made this .afphoto file using a Mask Layer and some adjustment and applying the Mask only to the left side of the subject's photo. As that is the area I think and feel needs some light correction.

Please feel free to try it out and kindly let me know what best can be done in this Photo.

TIA !

1666531718773.afphoto

[walt.farrell]

Thanks for including the .afphoto file.

It would also be helpful to include a screenshot of the image itself, or a JPG or PNG version of the image. Those would display directly in the forum, and give readers an idea of what you're starting with. That way they would not have to download the .afphoto file, start the application, etc. That makes it much easier for someone to decide whether they can help with your question, and more users might try.

[augustya]

53 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

Thanks for including the .afphoto file.

It would also be helpful to include a screenshot of the image itself, or a JPG or PNG version of the image. Those would display directly in the forum, and give readers an idea of what you're starting with. That way they would not have to download the .afphoto file, start the application, etc. That makes it much easier for someone to decide whether they can help with your question, and more users might try.

It is a RAW Photo File. Nevertheless here you go...

IMG_20221023_171300_1.dng

IMG_20221023_171300_1.dng

[walt.farrell]

1 minute ago, augustya said:

Nevertheless here you go...

Thanks for trying, but that does not help. It must be a screenshot of the opened image, or a JPG or PNG to satisfy my request. Otherwise, you end up with another file that must be downloaded (as you can see just above in your post).

[augustya]

Just now, walt.farrell said:

Thanks for trying, but that does not help. It must be a screenshot of the opened image, or a JPG or PNG to satisfy my request. Otherwise, you end up with another file that must be downloaded (as you can see just above in your post).

But that is all that I have. Can we not have a JPG file by uploading the file in Affinity Photo and then exporting it. Without making any changes to it ?

[NathanC]

Hi @augustya,

Method 2 in the linked video below can give some good results without resulting in the image being overexposed or needing to use a gradient mask.

Using this method I was able to create the attached which kept the lighting fairly natural.

Adjusted:

Blend Ranges and Curves.afphoto

[walt.farrell]

You could make a screenshot of your Affinity Photo screen with the image file opened. 

But yes, you could also export a JPG from Photo after clicking Develop and without making any changes.

Both approaches will give an image that will display directly in the forums.

[augustya]

3 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

You could make a screenshot of your Affinity Photo screen with the image file opened. 

But yes, you could also export a JPG from Photo after clicking Develop and without making any changes.

Both approaches will give an image that will display directly in the forums.

Attached is the Photo in PNG format

[smadell]

I took this as a challenge! But, I have to say up front – the best place to correct the lighting is before you develop it from a raw file! Afterward, you're fighting a (generally) losing battle. Also, as a sort-of disclaimer, I don't particularly care for Affinity Photo's Develop persona, as I think it makes the shadows and highlights far too "gray" when they are adjusted. That having been said, I'm including a couple of screenshots and the final .afphoto file.

I opened your DNG file into Affinity's Develop persona. My goal was simply to develop the file into something fairly flat and lifeless, but with less contrast to the highlights and shadows in the face. Here's a screenshot of my settings (in the Basic and Tone Curves panels):

And here's the final result, after some editing in the Photo persona:

I've attached the .afphoto file for you. Note that there are 2 HSL layers – one is masked to just the face (where I lightened and desaturated) and the other is masked to include everything else (where I increased saturation somewhat).

smadell edit.afphoto

[augustya]

16 minutes ago, smadell said:

I took this as a challenge! But, I have to say up front – the best place to correct the lighting is before you develop it from a raw file! Afterward, you're fighting a (generally) losing battle. Also, as a sort-of disclaimer, I don't particularly care for Affinity Photo's Develop persona, as I think it makes the shadows and highlights far too "gray" when they are adjusted. That having been said, I'm including a couple of screenshots and the final .afphoto file.

I opened your DNG file into Affinity's Develop persona. My goal was simply to develop the file into something fairly flat and lifeless, but with less contrast to the highlights and shadows in the face. Here's a screenshot of my settings (in the Basic and Tone Curves panels):

And here's the final result, after some editing in the Photo persona:

I've attached the .afphoto file for you. Note that there are 2 HSL layers – one is masked to just the face (where I lightened and desaturated) and the other is masked to include everything else (where I increased saturation somewhat).

smadell edit.afphoto 79.04 MB · 0 downloads

I have still not got to used to make changes to the RAW Photo file in Develop Persona, hence dont know the route that you have decided to use make sense, but as a end result this is way too bright and unnatural to my eyes. I am sorry but that is what it looks to me. It is a very harsh end result. Especially the Hair looks as if it got tinted in a Salon or highlighted.

[smadell]

I actually agree with you, @augustya. Maybe I am just not very good with Affinity Photo's Develop persona, or maybe it's just not as good as I'd like. Anyway, I opened your DNG into Capture One (version 21) and was able to export the following after about 4 minutes of work. To my eye, far more natural. Capture One is my raw processor of choice, and I find it exceedingly easy to get far better results. (And I love Affinity Photo, and finish all of my work using it. I just don't like its raw capabilities).

[augustya]

4 minutes ago, smadell said:

I actually agree with you, @augustya. Maybe I am just not very good with Affinity Photo's Develop persona, or maybe it's just not as good as I'd like. Anyway, I opened your DNG into Capture One (version 21) and was able to export the following after about 4 minutes of work. To my eye, far more natural. Capture One is my raw processor of choice, and I find it exceedingly easy to get far better results. (And I love Affinity Photo, and finish all of my work using it. I just don't like its raw capabilities).

Yes, this looks far more natural and better. is capture one a Software ?

[smadell]

Capture One is separate software. It”s generally pretty highly regarded, but quite pricey. It positions itself largely as a Lightroom competitor, and has a Catalogue function (which I don’t use). I usually use Capture One to develop my raw files, export them as TIFF’s (as an intermediate) and then open the TIFF files in Affinity for final work.

[augustya]

31 minutes ago, smadell said:

Capture One is separate software. It”s generally pretty highly regarded, but quite pricey. It positions itself largely as a Lightroom competitor, and has a Catalogue function (which I don’t use). I usually use Capture One to develop my raw files, export them as TIFF’s (as an intermediate) and then open the TIFF files in Affinity for final work.

Just one question here, why has the skin started looking worst than before. I mean the skin was not very great to begin with, But in the sample picture that you have posted after using Capture One the Skin is looking like Craters on Moon. Especially the Forehead, is it a side effect of trying to normalize too much of bad lighting in Capture One ?

It has done a wonderful job in terms of making the Photo look light wise good. But has made some harsh effects on the skin texture.

[smadell]

The reason the acne scars, etc. are so prominent in the Capture One output is (to be honest…) because I was in a rush. I masked the face into a new layer, and only adjusted shadows and highlights. I went back to that and added a luminosity mask to that layer (to target the blacks and shadows) and, instead of fiddling with shadows and highlights I simply added brightness (but only to the shadows, thanks to the luminosity masking). I also used the "Skin Tone" section of the Color Editor to make the lightness and hue of the facial colors more uniform. Here's a side by side after taking a bit more time with it.

[augustya]

2 minutes ago, smadell said:

The reason the acne scars, etc. are so prominent in the Capture One output is (to be honest…) because I was in a rush. I masked the face into a new layer, and only adjusted shadows and highlights. I went back to that and added a luminosity mask to that layer (to target the blacks and shadows) and, instead of fiddling with shadows and highlights I simply added brightness (but only to the shadows, thanks to the luminosity masking). I also used the "Skin Tone" section of the Color Editor to make the lightness and hue of the facial colors more uniform. Here's a side by side after taking a bit more time with it.

Ok now but the thing is I do not have Capture One :-( So I am stuck here. I was looking for a solution from Affinity Photo. Now I need to spend for Capture One. For One Photo I dont think it makes sense...

[smadell]

Obviously, it makes no sense at all to spend that sort of money for Capture One if you’re not going to use it consistently. Inside of Affinity Photo, the solution offered by @NathanC (above), based on the Olivio Sarikas tutorial, makes the most sense.

As time goes forward, you’re obviously shooting raw. You should practice doing some raw developing to maximize the potential in your images. Use AP or anything you like; raw will seem like a no-brainer after you get used to it.