Nicole in a church foyer.

The Graceland University choir were performing at a church in Grove City Ohio, and I was in the foyer to take casual photos of some of the choir members. The cool colored evening light was streaming in the north facing foyer windows, turning everything blue. I clicked the shutter at 7:08:40 pm.  The light is not good. Sometimes I love blue, but not for this image. The image also looks hazy and lacking in contrast.

As the choir moved closer to the sanctuary doors and away from the bluish outdoor light, Nicole, who is in the middle of the above photo, stepped into the sunlight that was steaming in a west facing foyer window.

Casual lobby portrait, Grove City Ohio.

Wow!  The sunlight made all the difference in the world. My next click of the shutter was at 7:09:10 pm, just 30 seconds later.  The first photo is a throwaway. This is a keeper. All because of the light. Not only that, this is one of my favorite casual portraits.

What if I didn’t have the second shot in the sunlight?  What if I tried to fix the first photo in Photoshop?

First image after Photoshop corrections.

I opened the first image in Photoshop and tried out the sliders in Adobe Camera Raw. (To see how to use the Adobe Camera Raw sliders, go to this article.) I worked to improve the colors and I increased the contrast. This is a better version of the first image, but it doesn’t have the magic of Nicole in the sunlight.

I took the sunlit image of Nicole and changed the background. You can see how in this article (which is also the first article linked below).

In photography it really is all about the light!

Links

Photoshop’s Easy To Use Background Removal Tool

Selective Color Removal, How to Use Layer Masks to Remove Part of a Layer

How To Optimize a Photo with Adobe Camera Raw