PS Elements 15 Reduction of Reflected Sunlight Glare

[billr65377976]

As a PS Elements 15 newbie, what editing capability should I use to reduce scattered sunlight reflected glare spots in an otherwise decently exposed photo?

[hatstead]

Try the clone stamp tool for small areas. It is good practice to do the cloning on a blank layer above the background layer, as you can adjust the layer opacity, if desired.

For larger areas, I like to select an unaffected area as a "digital patch". You can use one of the selection tools, e.g.  rectangular marquee tool, to select the 'good' area, place the selection on its own layer (CTRL+J), and use the move tool to position the selection over the glare spot(s).

With these types of manipulation, it is prudent to feather the selection slightly so that it will blend in.

[Mark_Sand]

You might want to post your picture so we can offer specific advise. To upload the picture into a message, click the Insert Image icon just above the message box.

[billr65377976]

Thank you and halstead for the tip. This is my first post.

[Mark_Sand]

As Hatstead suggested using a "digital patch", here is a way to remove that glare spot in the lower right corner.

1. First I selected a portion of the leaf above the glare:

2. Feathered the selection 3 px and copied/pasted the selection to a new layer.

3. Activated the Move tool and moved the new layer down to cover the glare. You can use the mouse to move the layer, but for fine-tuning the move it's best to use the arrow keys.

4.  Rotated the layer so that the curve of the leaf aligns with the curve above the patch. To rotate, hover the mouse next to either center handle of the bounding box until a double arrow appears, then drag the mouse to rotate. I also had to move the side handles inward a bit to scrunch the layer so that the grooves align properly.

Here is the result. Note, however, that the top edge of the patch is visible.

To eliminate that I used the Clone tool.

Since you are a newbie, feel free to ask for any clarification.

If you like I can upload my change for you.

[billr65377976]

Thanks very much, Mark. I'll try it.

[billr65377976]

Hi Mark,

One more thing.... As to the many overly bright spots in the upper left corner of the photo (as it sits, unrotated), do I use the same technique for those or is there a way to do something to them as a group?

Thanks in advance.

[Mark_Sand]

Try this:

Select the bright portion. The Magnetic Lasso works well for this:

Add a blank layer, and fill the selection with green. Lower the Opacity of the layer to reveal the details. I used 60%.

From afar:

I hope that's the area you were talking about.  If not, this method might work elsewhere.

[billr65377976]

Thanks so much!