# Can't decide myself, did I overdo this?



## Chris_M (May 18, 2011)

This picture was a Lightroom & Photoshop edit, and I can't decide if I overdid the silver ribbon thingy.

Links: *ORIGINAL* vs. *EDITED*

Opinions?

*[CLARIFICATION EDIT]*
The idea here was I wanted to bring out the silver color of the ribbon thingy,
which looked kinda gold in the original, whilst keeping the overall warm look of the original.


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## Mark Sirota (May 19, 2011)

Overdone, IMHO.  You've got nice warm candlelight there, the neutral silver thing should look warm.

Instead of trying to bring out the ribbon thingie by changing its color, brightening it up a bit and emphasizing its contrast/clarity.  A little local sharpening might bring the eye to it too.  Similarly, do the opposite to the eye-catching things near it (e.g. the label on the bottle).

All that said, that's a balloon weight, isn't it?  Is that really the subject of the photo?  Why are you trying to emphasize it?


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## Chris_M (May 19, 2011)

It was indeed a baloon weight, the way I changed it was I made a selection of it in Photoshop,
duplicated it to it's own layer, and used the HSL control for saturation, I didn't actually change it's color it WAS silver anyway.
I am not _trying_ to emphasize it, that wasn't the plan at all,
 I just wanted to try to get it back to looking silver, because in the original, it looks gold-colored to me.

The picture happened during a lull in the party, I looked at the area you see in the photo,
noticed there was nobody in the background, quickly killed the flash, did a reading and shot the photo.

I'll be doing it again, any other suggestions of how to do what I want to do?


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## Chris_M (May 21, 2011)

Ooops I did it again...
Actually I didn't, just couldn't resist that.

Anyway, I tried again, and I think I got it now.
I can recognize the ballon weight as being silver now, without detracting from the overall warmth.
Whatcha think?

Links: *ORIGINAL* vs. *EDIT2*


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## gmailer (Jun 17, 2011)

IMO the first one is OK - although I am not an expert.


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## brians101 (Jul 25, 2011)

I like the 2nd edit. Keeps some of the warmth. Nice shot.


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## LesHoward (Aug 16, 2011)

Personally, I like the original better than either of the edits.

The silver ribbon thingy is highly reflective and is lit by the warm ambient candlelight. In my opinion, any attempt to change the color of that ribbon without altering the whole scene will look un-natural.

If you really want to make the ribbon look more silvery, I recommend you do it using the white balance control in LR. Of course, that will also alter the ambient light.

You might want to try using a local adjustment brush to lower the exposure on the candle flame.


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## gregDT (Aug 18, 2011)

I can see what you're trying to do but as a consequence I agree you're loosing out elsewhere in the images. The edit looks softer and lacks the richness of colour the original has. Specifically I can see it in red velvet cushion and in the detail on the red candle holder base. IMHO this shot needs to be rich and 'contrasty' By all means work on the ribbons but don't sacrifice the punch and vibrancy if the original.


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