PS Experts - Here's a challenge

[RagingInMiami]

Can you take this photo and remove that annoying, bright light and make it look natural? This is a photo I took in an assignment, and I've been working on it for two days, and I think I might have something, but there just has to be a better way. I will post mine later today hopefully.

[GOPFighter]

1. I like it just the way it is

The symmetry of the light rays make it appealing to me.

Too bad the light didn't come from the sun shining through a window.

[TahitiNut]

2. So do I. I like the symbolism, too.

[NV Whino]

3. Remove the pole and leave the light.

[mogster]

4. You beat me to it!

Look ;-)



I didn't process to much, but just adjusted the levels a bit, then copied pieces of column structure to a new layer to cover the upper part of the pole. Then copied the pole and rotated it, to make a cross.

[RagingInMiami]

9. Nice

But the guy speaking is not a preacher or anything. He is Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, one of the largest unions in the country. The union hired me to take some shots of a march that took place on MLK Day. It started off with speeches at this church on Miami Beach.

They wanted a bunch of photos of Stern and the crowd. Due to lens width restraints, the only photo of him speaking before the march that showed a significant portion of the crowd -- and not just the back of his head -- was this photo.

ButI wasn't sure how they were going to like the light, so I removed it and sent them both photos to let them know what I had done, and to give them the choice of either one.

BTW, Stern is Jewish so the cross might not be the most suitable for him. This took place in a community church that stresses acceptance of all religions.

[mogster]

16. Ah, I see

OK, here's another one without the cross, just for fun:



And me too started on cleaning out the light, pretty difficult I'd say. I got bored too :P

[F.Gordon]

5. Why?

I'm not a PS expert so I shouldn't be posting here... but why do you want to remove the light? I think it makes the shot. But I'm one that has always had a hard time following "photography rules".

"Purity" is highly over-rated.:)

On Edit: The light draws my eye to that side and tells me that this is a news worthy event. I'm not a photo journalist but isn't that the objective? To tell a story?
:shrug:

[RagingInMiami]

11. Yes, removing the light is a big no-no in photojournalism

But in this case, I was hired by the Service Employee International Union to photograph a rally on MLK Day. The guy speaking in Andy Stern, president of the union. They want the photos for their website and brochures, so I look at it more as a corporate photography than photojournalism even though the union is technically not a corporation.

In the end, I sent them both photos, one with the light and one without the light, to make a full disclosure as to what I had done.

The union (SEIU) is one of the fastest-growing unions in the world. And Andy Stern has been written about thousands of times in newspapers. I think he is somebody that is on his way to becoming a household name.

So my decision to remove the light was strictly a business decision. It was the only photo of him in that church where it showed him speaking to the crowd, the size of the crowd and at least some of his face.

[F.Gordon]

13. Ahhh... I see

Then I definitely say keep the light and I hope the SEIU accepts that shot. It gives importance to the speaker; Andy Stern. IMHO

I'm very excited for you dude. Wish all the best to ya in this biz venture of yours.

[RagingInMiami]

14. Thanks, this was my first major photo assignment

Signs of a good year to come, I hope.

[RagingInMiami]

12. P.S.

This was one of those times when I really needed a real wide-angle, not just a WAINO. My 20 mm on my 10D is nothing but a Wide-Angle In Name Only.

[DS1]

6. I made it this far and got bored

someone else can finish it

[RagingInMiami]

7. Good job

How did you that?

[DS1]

8. copied the close arch over the lighted one

blended it in, lots of patch tool, healing brush, cloning, and recreation of little heads where the pole was

[RagingInMiami]

10. You make it so sound so easy

I managed to remove the light, but only after several hours spread over two days of frustration. I'm trying to post it but photobucket is having trouble uploading photos right now.

The guy in the picture is Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, one of the largest unions in the country. The union hired me to take some shots of a march that took place on MLK Day. It started off with speeches at this church on Miami Beach.

They wanted a bunch of photos of Stern and the crowd. Due to lens width restraints, the only photo of him speaking before the march that showed a significant portion of the crowd -- and not just the back of his head -- was this photo.

ButI wasn't sure how they were going to like the light, so I removed it and sent them both photos to let them know what I had done, and to give them the choice of either one.

[CC]

17. I saw where you sent

them both photos but I am another I like the light. It does bring attention to the speaker and his importance. Also the importance of the event. It even draws attention to the (guessing here) news photogs. Looks like one of their flashes fired into you camera. Hate when that happens. But in this case it works.

[bvar22]

15. Quick and Dirty.

Quick and Dirty 5 min patch job using Corel Paint Shop Pro X


I used the "Scratch Remover" tool to eliminate the rays. (This tool is MAGIC!)
Then the "Clone" tool to clone a couple of sections of the arch over the bright spot.
This is about 5 mins of work.
The light fixture would need to be resized and moved slightly, the lamp reflection on the wall muted some, and a more precise use of the "Clone Tool" with respect to the archway could make it perfect.

[ConsAreLiars]

18. In my view, the light makes the photo more "attention-grabbing."

It does distract the eye from the true subject matter, the speaker and crowd, but "speaker and crowd" shots are notoriously dull and uninspiring. Your photo, as is, is interesting to look at, and, given how subconscious associations work, the "bright light" connotations may very well transfer to the viewer's impression of the speaker and the event. My opinion is that removing the light, apart from depriving the viewer of documentation of what was actually there, would make the photo more "ordinary," less interesting, less flattering, and less true.

[Boo_Radley]

19. The only way I know . . .

Is to piece it back together by hand. Take parts from the good area, alter them to fit the bad area, and keep stacking. The process is tedious and time consuming, and the results are questionable, but you can eventually get it put back together. I did a rough start on this one, so you can see what I mean. You have to remember, though, that this would still require an awful lot of work to remove the problematic foreground image completely.



You just keep moving parts that you want over the parts that you don't want, making extensive use of layers, stretch/skew, light/dark/hue/saturation, perspective, layer opacity, and a low opacity eraser.

[DoYouEverWonder]

20. I would try making a mask

of the beams of light that you want to fix, so that you can manipulate just that area of the picture. Then pull a curve or mess with the levels to darken the area to match the rest of the picture.

Good luck.

[Whoa_Nelly]

21. In my humble and amateur opinion

Keep the light, but reduce it, tone down the spectrum from it and minimize the rays. IMO, the light is part and parcel of the directional light on the speaker.

Am not on my computer that has my major edit program, or I would give it a try to give some sort of example redo.

Here's sending you good vibes on a very good year in photojournalism! :woohoo:

[RagingInMiami]

22. This is the other one I sent them

After reading everybody's comments on this thread, I realized that the light actually made the picture more interesting.

I think I just had a negative view of it from the moment I snapped the photo because I remember the ligiht being there, and I remember not being able to find another angle that would include the crowd and the speaker and not the light.

So this is my version of it without the light. Cleaner, but a more generic shot. Nothing memorable about it.