What’s wrong with this picture?
T
his is the bottom of a remarkable staircase in a small bookstore in Porto, Portugal. It has become quite famous, and hundres of people flock here daily to photograph it and to take selfies in front of it.
I cloned out a few people seen through the railing, but the one problem left is the sheen on the steps. It’s not terrible, but it is distracting. It constantly diverts our attention from the rest of the composition. The image on the next page shows the repair. Note there are still highlights on the steps, albeit a lot more subtle. I wanted to retain the effect of the diffused window light on the steps, but the overexposed highlights had to be toned down to make this perfect.
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