Brightening a part of an image...??

Hi All

Can anyone let me know if this can be done? i.e. select a certain part of an image - either circular/rectangular or with magic wand tool area - and then be able to 'sort of' brighten just that selection...?

I say 'sort of'; because what I actually want to be able to do is to increase the exposure of a selection of an image. I have this image below, where the camera has auto exposed the flash on the plant bud - but I have caught the bug in focus due to it being in the same depth of field. However, the bug being slightly darker in colour than the bud... is slightly underexposed and hence wanting to know if I can do this with Phototshop or Lightroom.
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/500/Buggy_1.jpg

Thanks.

are you wanting to brighten the bug? or parts of the bug? or the plant bud?
You should be able to do this easily with the magic wand in Photoshop.

John I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of working on this a bit. I singled out the insect, adjusting color, brightness and sharpness. This is the best I could do without losing contrast.


http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b91/babydoll2u/Buggy_2.jpg

I don't mind at all Peggy... my Photoshop skills are extremely limited - so be my guest :)

In this image the bug is too dark and I'd like to get that selection brighter - not necessarily in contrast - but in terms of exposure i.e. levels.

Well, we're not going to get him much brighter - he's a dark bug. :giggle:
But I'll try again.

Here ya go, how's this? using the lasso tool, I did his head first, allowing for contrast, then his body, not allowing for contrast, but adjusting color a bit (he was blending in with the color beneath him too much), brightness, and sharpening him a bit.


http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b91/babydoll2u/Buggy_3.jpg

You did great, my photoshop skills aren't that great either.

Nice stuff there Peggy, thanks for having a go at this.

You're welcome John. That's as bright as I could get the bug without it looking really REALLY tacky.

I am going to have to work on my photography skills so as to avoid this issue in the future Peggy. The camera set the correct exposure for the general image, but I should have 'spot metered' i.e. set the exposure specifically based on the bug itself, then everything would have been fine.

On a very steep learning curve this weekend, have been taking loads of pics, setting up my gear, purchased several lenses, setting up Lightroom (which is an excellent app for photographers) and thoroughly enjoying time-out for myself for a change.

Here's a portrait of Heather I took earlier..

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/500/heather_bw3_copy.jpg

Loads wrong with it apparently, but for my very first portrait shot using my own gear, a made up black back-drop and all done myself - I am pleased with it.

You SHOULD be pleased with this... you did a really NICE job!

When I was shooting fulltime, I loved doing B&W and sepia pics. Sometimes the ones caught off-guard, such as this one, are the best.

Are you shooting digi or film?

Digi work Peggy - my very first foray in to Digital SLR's - Jen bought me one for my birthday last week.

Heather wasn't caught off-guard on that pic, she was a brilliant model. She posed for me beautifully and really enjoyed the fun we had doing it.

I purchased 3M * 2M of gorgeous matte black cloth from our local mill store to use as a back-drop, then placed that over the French doors we have going from our hallway into our living area. I used my Olympus Zuiko 17 - 45mm zoom, with flash, on tripod, about 7' away from Heather.

I took about 30 pics, and then picked the best. Loved every minute of it, Lloyd next weekend - he wants 'hunk shots'...;)

That makes this even better - she's a natural. It's very hard to get poses that look like candids. My digi is an Olympus, as well. I used to have a canon rebel, but Olympus is just my favorite, so versatile.

I'm looking forward to seeing more :yes:

Ahhh photography love it. I used to develop film for Kroger's and loved it there was so much you can do with those machines lol. But, I love taking pictures too. Love love sepia.

great picture John!

John, check this out. I played with it in PSP7 - this is the result of sepia, then layered in black pencil. ;)

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b91/babydoll2u/heather_blackpencil.jpg


I love the results - a textured/stroked, almost 3-D effect.