I need help fast with sun spots, but I don't have time to work with it.

[EvaRogers]

I have a picture I took for a family, but it has sun spots on the face of the boy. I need it fixed before Thanksgiving because I want to show the entire family. I have no clue how to fix it. I'm a new photographer and just starting out. I could really use some help. If anyone is willing to fix this for me that would be amazing! Thanks bunches.

Here is the picture ~

 

[AndreasM]

Hi Eva,

Paintshop is probably better suited for such a thing, but that's what I could do with Lightroom so far:

 

[Tony Jay]

Eva, I understand that you are a beginner so please take what I say in the right spirit!
And, welcome to Lightroom Forums!

The dilemma that you have posed is not primarily a Lightroom problem or a post-processing issue in general.
The problem with the posted image needed to be solved in-camera.

I see that you have decided to shoot directly into the sun. Several problems emerged. The one that has troubled you is the sunspots however it also seems that you elected to use an "auto" mode for exposure and the result is a terribly underexposed subject (family and dogs) and a hopelessly overexposed sky in the background. I don't know if the original image was a JPEG: if it was then the white balance is all wrong.

In general, the best way to solve these kinds of post-processing issues to avoid them in the first place. No amount of post-processing can substitute for understanding light (an absolute prerequisite for good photography) and camera technique. Simple attention to detail, with camera in hand, could have resulted in a brilliant image with no post-processing issues.

Whether anyone will be able to acceptably rescue this image - we will wait and see.
Possibly for yourself this issue should be viewed as a learning opportunity to improve your photography.

Tony Jay

 

[EvaRogers]

Hi Eva,

Paintshop is probably better suited for such a thing, but that's what I could do with Lightroom so far:

Thank you so much for helping me. I am completely new to all of this and really appreciate all the tips and help.

 

[EvaRogers]

By the way Tony Jay I had to shoot in that direction because we were taking it in a field that had cows in it and the dogs did not want to cooperate. So the woman in the picture asked me if we could try it that way, so I did. The family really liked the outcome of all the pictures as well they didn't even mind the sun spots, but me having a bit of OCD I wanted the picture to be nice as possible. Thank you though Tony for for the pointers and I will take them into account in the future.

 

[Tony Jay]

By the way Tony Jay I had to shoot in that direction because we were taking it in a field that had cows in it and the dogs did not want to cooperate. So the woman in the picture asked me if we could try it that way, so I did. The family really liked the outcome of all the pictures as well they didn't even mind the sun spots, but me having a bit of OCD I wanted the picture to be nice as possible. Thank you though Tony for for the pointers and I will take them into account in the future.

Yes, I did not mention the importance of psychology and doggology (is that a word!) in photography! You will learn that sometimes the suggestions of your subjects are not always helpful...

Anyway, lots of lessons to be learned here!

Tony Jay

 

[Replytoken]

By the way Tony Jay I had to shoot in that direction because we were taking it in a field that had cows in it and the dogs did not want to cooperate. So the woman in the picture asked me if we could try it that way, so I did. The family really liked the outcome of all the pictures as well they didn't even mind the sun spots, but me having a bit of OCD I wanted the picture to be nice as possible. Thank you though Tony for for the pointers and I will take them into account in the future.

True, we sometimes have limited choices, and keeping subjects happy is something that should not be ignored. As you mentioned that you are just starting out, one easy suggestion I would recommend for these situations is to use a bit of fill flash to balance out the lighting. There are other techniques that would have also helped, but, as Tony indicated in his post above, you would not have had an underexposed image, and that would have helped the situation, and any post processing, greatly.

Good luck,

--Ken

 

[LouieSherwin]

Eva,

Technically speaking the "sun spots" are lens flair caused by the sun light directly striking the lens. Given the constraints you were given you could also try to physically shade the front of the lens with your hand or a hat. This can be challenging to do if you are hand holding unless you can enlist the help of an assistant because you have to get shade on the lens but not have the hand/hat show in the photo. This combined with a fill flash (does your camera have a popup flash?) will make it possible to take very nice photos even in a strongly back lit situation like this.

-louie

 

[jerry12953]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to get the picture looking as nice as possible. That's what we all do. In time you will learn what works and what doesn't (photographically speaking) in any given situation. Then you can take control......

 

[Roelof Moorlag]

Apart from the problems you have seen (lens flare and exposure) there are also advantages to shoot groups in backlight: no hard shadows on their faces and no pinched eyes.
Particulary when you have no portable flash equipment to control the lightning conditions, backlight is a good option. Just keep in mind the mentioned tips to prevent lens flare (always use a lens hood) and compensate for the exposure (You can hold your camera right in front of the face of one of the persons so you can only see skin. See what your camera measures and use that combination of diafragm and shutterspeed in manual mode. Then shoot the whole group)

 

[LRList001]

Apart from the problems you have seen (lens flair and exposure) there are also advantages to shoot groups in backlight: no hard shadows on their faces and no pinched eyes.
Particulary when you have no portable flash equipment to control the lightning conditions, backlight is a good option. Just keep in mind the mentioned tips to prevent lens flair (always use a lens hood) and compensate for the exposure (You can hold your camera right in front of the face of one of the persons so you can only see skin. See what your camera measures and use that combination of diafragm and shutterspeed in manual mode. Then shoot the whole group)

Whilst we might have a flair for photography, lens flare is a different topic. Sorry.

 

[bfu396]

Eva, I understand that you are a beginner so please take what I say in the right spirit!
And, welcome to Lightroom Forums!

The dilemma that you have posed is not primarily a Lightroom problem or a post-processing issue in general.
The problem with the posted image needed to be solved in-camera.

I see that you have decided to shoot directly into the sun. Several problems emerged. The one that has troubled you is the sunspots however it also seems that you elected to use an "auto" mode for exposure and the result is a terribly underexposed subject (family and dogs) and a hopelessly overexposed sky in the background. I don't know if the original image was a JPEG: if it was then the white balance is all wrong.

In general, the best way to solve these kinds of post-processing issues to avoid them in the first place. No amount of post-processing can substitute for understanding light (an absolute prerequisite for good photography) and camera technique. Simple attention to detail, with camera in hand, could have resulted in a brilliant image with no post-processing issues.

Whether anyone will be able to acceptably rescue this image - we will wait and see.
Possibly for yourself this issue should be viewed as a learning opportunity to improve your photography.

Tony Jay

 

[bfu396]

Here is a quick stab at recovering the photo, It is not sharp and may not usable but you can at least recognize the people. I just did a little taking out the shadows, and used the clarity and dehaze tool. I also use the spot removal tool to get rid of the sun spots. Again, it is not a great recovery but maybe you can use it.