Is this image too dark?

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AWills

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Hi everyone! I'm a newbie. This is an image that I really love but I'm a bit concerned it may be too dark, how does it look to you? If it is too dark, how would I go about lightening it without ruining the look? I edit in Lightroom and would like to print and frame it. Many thanks for any responses! p.s I uploaded a low quality version as the original file was too big.

1-WEB.jpg
 
I can see why you love it!

The highlights look about right for screen but the eyes are quite dark. And you may find it comes out darker than you expect when printed, depending on which lab you use. If you're printing big then smaller test prints can be a good idea.

Simplest 'fix' would be the shadows slider in LR. Or use the tone curve - click on the little square icon so you can drag the curve around - and drag the lowest 1/3 point up a little.
 
not too dark but some highlights in the eyes would have removed that 'darkness'
skin tones well balanced and the sky fairly light
i can see the stitching on the cuffs so its not muddy

try fill in flash or a white card reflector held by an assistant
fill in is better as you only need two hands...:D

you can control the amount of fill by using a manual setting for exposure and manipulating the aperture setting
or if you have a thyristor flash...it will do it for you

cheers
geof
 
gremlin16 said:
Use the brush tool in LR and burn the eyes a little. Don't go mad with it, and it should bring up some nice detail without spoiling what is a lovely image.
Click to expand...

Would be better to use the DODGE tool in Lightroom to lighten the eyes up.

If using Lightrooms brush, at 0.25 or 0.50 exposure adjustment, use a low flow around 10, density at 100, 50 feather and build up the affect, or you'll get glowing eyes, that's a good start. Also pay more attention to the IRIS not the whites of the eye

Buy a small reflector that you can take out with you too in future, something like a small round 8 inch with silver & white sides, then you can hand hold it while using your camera, and bounce some light back into the face of your subject.

Quick and dirty edit with your posted JPEG.

1-WEB.jpg
 
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As above, it's well enough exposed but some help for the shadows would improve it, either a pop of flash or a reflector, but even a subtle tilt upwards of the head would help.
 
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