black dog / blue pool / lots of water / sunny day

[KimC]

I encountered a problem yesterday that I don't know how to resolve and I'm seeking some guidance. Raven was in a small kiddie pool yesterday playing and I decided to photograph her. It was one of those hazy humid days. The light blue pool reflected up onto parts of her fur and nose; the reflection actually changed her brown eyes a bluish color in one image. In addition, the water droplets also picked up blue and also seem to have blown out on her fur a bit - she looks like she is sparkling in some.

Here's a picture for illustration purposes. I know conditions were poor, but she is only a puppy once and I did not want to miss out on the memories. Any guidance would be appreciated as to how to handle this either while shooting, or PP.

Thank you

[Shadowman]

Nice, you've got a great big blue reflector the same as if you'd held one off to the side, plus a pet with dark fur that just absorbs light. Have you tried using a custom white balance setting?

[KimC]

aka - nightmare!

I did try changing the WB on the whole image and I wasn't happy. But now that you said that, I do have the capability to change the WB on only select areas. Perhaps that would be better.

Nice, you've got a great big blue reflector the same as if you'd held one off to the side, plus a pet with dark fur that just absorbs light. Have you tried using a custom white balance setting?

[deetheturk]

Hi Kim, very quick edit- auto white balance-adjustment brush set to de-saturate over blue area on your baby, then reduced highlights, all lightroom 5, any better? like I said just a quicky

[KimC]

Thank you David -- when I changed the WB, it was turning Raven brownish black like this (her coloring is like the original). You def got rid of the blue cast, is there a way to keep her black?

Hi Kim, very quick edit- auto white balance-adjustment brush set to de-saturate over blue area on your baby, then reduced highlights, all lightroom 5, any better? like I said just a quicky

[deetheturk]

Again a quick edit Kim, I'm no expert but what iv'e done here is reduce saturation on the brown-black bits?





The more experienced members will have a better way than I have Kim! Give me a bug anyday

[Mike Buckley]

Please make a public promise to all of us that you will apologize to your dog for calling its hair fur. Would you also call your horse's hair fur?

You def got rid of the blue cast, is there a way to keep her black?

Select the pertinent part of the hair and adjust the color balance in the opposite direction and to the same degree that you altered the white balance.

By the way, the next time you see an opportunity like this, move the pool to an area that presents less of a photography headache.

[KimC]

Oh my Mike, I could get in big trouble for that. I was previously specifically told by her breeder that it was hair!!!!

Another lesson learned; why shooting as much as you can is helpful. Thankfully the sun was behind the clouds for a few shots, but yes, next time I will know better.

I'll play with this some more to tonight...

Please make a public promise to all of us that you will apologize to your dog for calling its hair fur. Would you also call your horse's hair fur?



Select the pertinent part of the hair and adjust the color balance in the opposite direction and to the same degree that you altered the white balance.

By the way, the next time you see an opportunity like this, move the pool to an area that presents less of a photography headache.

[KimC]

Thanks David, now she's looking black.

Good thing bugs stay out of pools on bright sunny days ;-). Thanks for be help.

Again a quick edit Kim, I'm no expert but what iv'e done here is reduce saturation on the brown-black bits?





The more experienced members will have a better way than I have Kim! Give me a bug anyday

[Mike Buckley]

Oh my Mike, I could get in big trouble for that.

Ahem. You already did.

[Loose Canon]

Hey Kim!

Cute shot of the puppy! Its hard to resist cool puppy shots! And I hear ya knockin’ on the “puppy only once” so get ‘em while the getting’s good!

What you are asking is very doable. I wouldn’t go about it with an eye toward white balance though. Especially if you are happy with the global WB. It would look a bit off having differing WB's in the shot.

The following example is just a Theory and a very quickie (and a bit sloppy) at that. Add H/S layer. Bring down the blues and cyans to suit. Mask and brush that in. Burn according to where you like her paws and anything else that warrants. You keep the global WB. You lose the blue on the hair/fur/coif/do. You burn back in to suit the loss of color and she's back in black!



I use one of these wading pools in my studio “wet” work along with the BRT when I hose the place. There are available white, as well as gray, as well as black small tarps that will cover the pool and give you a more controllable color-neutral starting point. You get reflector (white) flag (black) close to neutral (gray). When it is critical for lighting, as in your case, I use these in the pool. But what you have is such an easy fix I’d just let Miss Raven romp, forget the tarps, and let Mommy fix her up in post!

But what I wouldn’t do under any circumstances is miss a shot worrying about it!

[IzzieK]

Kim -- this kid is going to be a good swimmer just like our Coopers. Bring her to the pool or a lake. Attach her collar to a 20 ft or longer rope which you can buy at a hardware store ... our Coopers loves water and swimming, apart from lightning and thunderstorms. We bring him to the lake near the airport everyday. If I can find a shot of him on how angry he was when we did not take him to lake once, I will show you...being a rottie, I also have a small container for him to play around but he didn't like it....

Your shot is sure to be memorable...I just love it very much...reminded me so much of my boy's antic.

[KimC]

Thanks for your comments Terry. I was happy with the overall WB. Sorry, but what's H/S stand for? I don't use LR or PS, so I need to figure out what's comparable in Capture One to give it a try.

Hey Kim!

Cute shot of the puppy! Its hard to resist cool puppy shots! And I hear ya knockin’ on the “puppy only once” so get ‘em while the getting’s good!

What you are asking is very doable. I wouldn’t go about it with an eye toward white balance though. Especially if you are happy with the global WB. It would look a bit off having differing WB's in the shot.

The following example is just a Theory and a very quickie (and a bit sloppy) at that. Add H/S layer. Bring down the blues and cyans to suit. Mask and brush that in. Burn according to where you like her paws and anything else that warrants. You keep the global WB. You lose the blue on the hair/fur/coif/do. You burn back in to suit the loss of color and she's back in black!



I use one of these wading pools in my studio “wet” work along with the BRT when I hose the place. There are available white, as well as gray, as well as black small tarps that will cover the pool and give you a more controllable color-neutral starting point. You get reflector (white) flag (black) close to neutral (gray). When it is critical for lighting, as in your case, I use these in the pool. But what you have is such an easy fix I’d just let Miss Raven romp, forget the tarps, and let Mommy fix her up in post!

But what I wouldn’t do under any circumstances is miss a shot worrying about it!

[KimC]

Oh how I wish I could find a place for her to swim Izzie. All ponds and beaches are closed to dogs in the summer unless they are private. So, we will have to wait for the fall when they are once again open to dogs. I do have one of those long leads and love it!

She played in her pool for 3 hours -- she had a blast. Would like too see a shot of your Coopers. :-)

Kim -- this kid is going to be a good swimmer just like our Coopers. Bring her to the pool or a lake. Attach her collar to a 20 ft or longer rope which you can buy at a hardware store ... our Coopers loves water and swimming, apart from lightning and thunderstorms. We bring him to the lake near the airport everyday. If I can find a shot of him on how angry he was when we did not take him to lake once, I will show you...being a rottie, I also have a small container for him to play around but he didn't like it....

Your shot is sure to be memorable...I just love it very much...reminded me so much of my boy's antic.

[bnnrcn]

H/S Stands for 'Hue and Saturation' Kim. Raven looks so busy and happy

Thanks for your comments Terry. I was happy with the overall WB. Sorry, but what's H/S stand for? I don't use LR or PS, so I need to figure out what's comparable in Capture One to give it a try.

[KimC]

Ah, thanks :-)

That she is!

H/S Stands for 'Hue and Saturation' Kim. Raven looks so busy and happy

[Loose Canon]

I’m sorry Kim. I must’ve thought you were a PS user for some reason. Been in the airports all day so I couldn’t get back to you.

Binnur is, of course, correct. Here is the “theory”:

I added a Hue/Saturation layer. Then I essentially de-saturated the blues and cyans and applied that locally by masking and brushing to Miss Raven’s paws, collar tag, and whatever else looked like it might need it. Was kind of sloppy about it but it was just an illustration and hopefully you can see the drift.

Because things looked a little funny after that I used a burn tool to burn back in where I selectively desaturated. In each of the prior examples posted the result was that the target fur/hair/coat/coiffure/do areas looked like it had been corrected because those areas looked “washed out” to me and not as I would expect to see it live. She is a black puppy. Because Raven is black burning/dodging is a breeze and will look good on her. Again, I was a little sloppy with it but just for the general idea I hoped it illustrated a possible solution.

Again I apologize for confusing the issue Kim. I wouldn’t know how to get ‘er done in Capture One, but hopefully if you are interested in this “theory” you’ll find CO’s equivalent. Lots of ways to get to where you want to go with this one.