Shepherd holding animal while the calf sucks

[The amateur]

This is one of those photographs that you capture with a bit of luck, but which are only possible when you are in the right place at the right time.

However, it didn't go entirely well, or at least, it didn't go as I would have liked it to go, as I would have liked there not to be such a strong backlight, which led to an under-exposure of the entire scene.
I really like the action when the shepherd is holding the animal while the calf is suckling. On the left, an animal watches the scene.

I tried to save the photo, but it seems to me that I didn't manage to do it completely. I am learning to work with the curves, but I find such an approach terribly difficult, especially when you want to recover a certain and specific point and, when selecting it, it doesn't stay there, but rather next to it, which spoils everything. But anyway... I'll keep trying.

[DanK]

Antonio,

I hope you won't mind this comment. I mean it only in a positive way.

In my opinion, it's clearly time for you to learn more about editing. You have a very good eye and produce some stunning captures, but then you get stuck trying to finish them. To paraphrase Ansel Adams, the capture is the score, while the final edited image is the performance.

This is not a particularly difficult image to edit, once you know the basics. It mostly just needs dodging and burning. The curves tool is one of the most basic and important tools, so if you are not yet comfortable using it, it's time (in my opinion) to devote time to learning more about editing.

One very basic issue is whether you use what's called a "parametric" editor like Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw or a "pixel" editor like photoshop because I would handle this image differently in those two types of software. In Lightroom, I would rely mostly on the adjustment brush (now accessed through the masking function), although I think the software might do a decent job of selecting the sky using its automatic sky selection function. In photoshop, I would use a curves layer with a black mask and a brush. I use those examples only to show that for people to give you suggestions about how to edit, it would be helpful to know what software you use.

If (and only if) this would be helpful you: If you post the original, I'd be happy to try editing it tomorrow, when we expect to be stuck at home because of a snow and ice storm and can explain what I did when I'm done. This assumes we don't lose power during the storm. But please don't bother if this wouldn't be helpful.

Dan