PS 22 CC on a Mac.
Is there a simple way to add some directional light or other lighting effect that would give a bit of depth to a product photo that is a bit flat and dull? I found some videos about the Lighting Effects Filter, but it seems to not work in my copy of PS 22.
I'm attaching an example of an image that is a bit "meh".
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Wow, you have some work cut out for you there. It is doable, but will take a lot of work and the Shoot-it-again filter would be quicker and potentially give much better results.
If I absolutely had to rescue that image, the first step would be to separate its elements with the Pen tool, and use effects to give you the depth. I've done it on the leathher(?) lace support and use Bevel & Emboss layer style with Texture to lift it from the background. I have clipped a layer to the lace support layer, ran a lighter beigh along it and blurred to make it look curved. Note: I made that layer a Smart Object so I could fine tune the blur. You'd still need to correct some aspects like painting in shadows on layers further up the stack to hide some of the bevel & emboss.
The problem is that it would take a lot of time, need advanced skills, and you'd still end up with something that looked more like an illustration than a photograph.
A more realistic approch would be to use extreme Curves layers set to Luminosity. You'd still need to target elements individually using the curves layer's mask, but you can see I have got some life into the sole below.
I have now masked out the upper in the first curves layer. Added another curves layer (also set to Luminosity) and targeted the fabric upper. I used the mask from the first curves layer to mask out the heel, and then used a low opacity brush to mask in/out the upper selectively. It needs more work, but is getting close to a useable image.
Looking at this some more, with the extreme settings used I'd be nervous about trusting colour accuracy. Especially if this was a commercial shot destined for advertizing. I'd prefer to have the shoe in my hand to check the colour against, and if I had the shoe I would retake the photograph.
I call this big octo box my secret weapon (the set up below was used to photograph a highly reflective trophy), but if you don't have this sort of kit you can get away with a speedlite and large sheet (or two) of white foamboard.
EDIT: My first question should have been: do you have a raw camera image (NEF, CR2, ORF etc).
It is always best to get the lighting right at capture, otherwise, there is a lot left to do in post and results may never be as good. That being said, the following is an overall/global exaggeration of texture/tone without any masking, which can be blended back into the original at different opacity in different areas with masks.
Agree with all the others.
One, get the basic exposure right. Switch the camera from Auto to Manual!
Two, get a display calibrator so that you see a correct representation on screen.
Adjusting basic exposure with a Curves layer goes a long way, but I still wouldn't put any money on the color here. There seem to be some funky color casts:
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