Go from this-to-this with only ONE PHOTO. It’s quick and it’s easy to do.
Ah, yes...overexposed windows. This seems to be one of the most common problems you see in many listing photos. Images where the room exposure looks good, but the windows are overexposed. Or, you can see what’s outside just fine, but the room is underexposed and way too dark. But we’ll talk about fixing that in a different tutorial
The reason this happens is simply because the light coming through the window is brighter than the light inside the house. And if you were a professional photographer, with the proper lighting equipment, you could probably get the light perfectly balanced for that perfect shot.
Or, you could shoot multiple shots with different exposures, and then use some form of HDR, tonemapping, image blending, layer blending, or whatever, to merge the best exposures. And I’ve seen about a zillion tutorials on how to do just it. But they all have to do with using multiple images or multiple exposures.
But what if you only have one shot, and the windows come out overexposed? Well, if they’re completely blown-out and look pure white, you may be out of luck. However, if you can see anything through those windows, you may be able to do something to make them look better. And that’s what we’re going to address in this tutorial.
First, I picked an actual listing photo I found online, as it seemed to be a pretty typical example and will serve well to demonstrate the technique we are going to use. Notice how the window is not completely blown-out, as you can still see outside. But it is definitely overexposed.
Step1: Using your ‘Lasso Tool’ outline just the area of the window you can see through. I usually set the ‘Feather’ amount to 1-2 pixels. This will help soften the edges and blend it in.
Also, you may have noticed that the selected area is actually two different sections, as there are two separate windowpanes. To select multiple areas, just outline one with your Lasso, then hold down the SHIFT key when you start to outline the next area. By holding the SHIFT key, you can add as many selections as you like.
Step 2: Next, go to Image>Adjustments>Shadow/Highlight (Photoshop CS), or Enhance>Adjust Lighting>Shadow/Highlights (Photoshop Elements). It should open your control panel with default amounts set at around 50% for the Tonal Width, and 30 pixels for the Radius. Just leave those at the default amounts.
Step 2 (cont): Set the Shadows>Amount to 0%, and increase the Highlights>Amount until it looks right. It will usually end up around 80%-100%, depending on your photo. As you increase the highlight amount, you will see detail emerge through the windows.
If after adjusting these settings the contrast looks off, try adjusting the Adjustments>Midtone Contrast slider until it looks right.
Just click OK and you’re done.
That’s all there is to it. You now have a nice detail through the window that was previously overexposed. As mentioned above, this technique doesn’t always work. It all depends on how ‘blow-out’ the windows are. But it’s always worth a try.
Now, if you want to take it to the next level, you can always add a little blue sky. And maybe this link will help explain how to do that. Quick Fix – Turn Gray Skies Blue in less than a Minute
Hopefully you found this tutorial helpful. It’s just another Quick Tip that is easy to do, and is meant to help make your photos just a little bit better.
(Note: By the way, this technique isn’t necessarily the easiest, but the Shadow/Highlight tool is a great tool to get familiar with – which is why I used it for this tutorial)
OTHER TUTORIALS
CPG Tours
Hi Michael:
;)
;)
Geez...talk about giving away the keys to the Kingdom...=P IS NOTHING SACRED ANYMORE?!?! He he he he...
Clouds, clouds, we want clouds!!!