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High Key background #1
Darrell H's picture
by Darrell H
November 26, 2012 - 11:27am

Hi everyone
I just got finished taking Christmas photos of my kids. I used a simple white sheet as a back drop. Unfortunately I didn't have enough room to move them far enough from the back drop to drop the wrinkles in the sheet.

Is there a way in Aperture 3 to completely over expose the backdrop but leave the rest of the photo at the correct exposure? Doesn't look like you can have multiple exposure bricks and highlight compensation isn't working. I tried retouch brush (repair didn't work and clone would take all day and still not look right).
If anyone has any other ideas on how to make this work within Aperture I would love the help.
Thanks

Stuart Burrill's picture
by Stuart Burrill
November 30, 2012 - 8:42pm

I like the tools in Aperture for White Seamless. As has been suggested, I frequently use Levels & brush in with detect edges. If I want a completely blown out background I often enable the “Highlight Hot & Cold Areas” too - it helps to make sure you haven’t missed anything.

I often find, particularly for shoots where kids are being encouraged to have fun and they occasionally get nearer the background, the contrast on the edges becomes less and the detect edges is less effective. This is certainly the case where they have blonde hair. …. In this case I will zoom right in and toggle using the ALT key when brushing between brush-in and brush-out. Sometimes I have to zoom into 600-1000%. Feather brush can help it look more natural too.

(Oh yes … and selecting highlights only for the brush is a must for this).

Hope this helps.

Thomas Emmerich's picture
by Thomas Emmerich
November 26, 2012 - 11:55am

Add a levels adjustment, make the overexposure of the highlights with it and then brush it into the background only. (Gear menu on the levels brick - brush in levels)

Thomas

Darrell H's picture
by Darrell H
November 26, 2012 - 12:35pm

Thank you very much for the quick reply. I actually tried to do something similar with curves (and just tried levels after I read your post). For some pictures it worked great but the ones with my daughter in them I couldn’t paint in around her hair very well (her hair is very curly).
I was hoping that there was a way to choose the white back ground and only effect that one color. I have CS5 but use it very sparingly. If I can’t figure out how to handle this within Aperture that will be my next try, but I’d rather handle everything right within A3 if possible.
Thanks again for the idea though.

Thomas Emmerich's picture
by Thomas Emmerich
November 26, 2012 - 12:43pm

If you have a difficult selection to make, Photoshop is what you need. The brush tools in Aperture are not sophisticated enough for difficult selections.

Have you enabled Detect Edges when brushing the effect in? When this is enabled, the brush only affects colors/luminance similar to what is originally clicked on.

Thomas

Darrell H's picture
by Darrell H
November 26, 2012 - 12:59pm

I did use detect edge. Hair line became very blotchy. Thanks for the help. I guess I will have to figure out how to do this in CS5 then.

David Edge's picture
by David Edge
November 27, 2012 - 4:06am

Suggest set the brush range to highlights only. That should improve discrimination between sheet and subject.

Also you might be easier doing a reshoot than playing around in Photoshop!

d.

d.

Trevor Ager's picture
by Trevor Ager
November 27, 2012 - 9:10am

You can use levels to completely blow the background out and then select ‘Brush levels away’. Use a soft brush over your subjects to bring them back.

This may be easier than trying to brush levels in around your subjects.
Don’t forget that you can use the strength setting on the brush too.

Darrell H's picture
by Darrell H
November 27, 2012 - 12:16pm

I ended up using a combination of clone, repair, and levels brushed in. Not perfect but will work for what I’m using them for.

David, reshoot wouldn’t work. I just don’t have enough room in basement to separate them from background and still be far enough away from them. Besides they are 3 yrs and 2 months old so I’m limited attention wise.

Thanks everyone for the help.

David Edge's picture
by David Edge
November 27, 2012 - 5:41pm

Darrell
Assuming you’ll be doing this again next year, suggest - if you’re using off-camera flash - moving the the flash as far back as the basement will allow thus minimising fall-off between the subject and the background.
cheers
d.

d.

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