step By step now photoshop your raw image!

With your image in adobe camera raw, you can brighten specific areas for a better reflection

don’t shoot in raw?

if you prefer to shoot Jpegs, you can still selectively boost areas of your images using the dodge and Burn tools in photoshop. however, for more control and better results, shoot two images on a tripod, one darker for the main part of the image, and one 2/3 stops lighter for the reflection in the sunglasses. in photoshop, cut and paste the darker image on top of the lighter image. add a layer mask on the top image, and then use a black brush tool at around 60% opacity to gradually reveal the lighter reflected areas.

01 initial raw enhancements

With our slightly underexposed Raw image in Adobe Camera Raw, we need to boost certain areas and darken others. First, we lift Exposure to +0.75, Contrast to +16 and Shadows to +9, then reduce Highlights to -18, Whites to -12 and Blacks to -17.

02 adjustment brush

Click on the Adjustment Brush tool on the top bar, and set the Exposure to around +2 to +3, depending on how much brighter you want the reflection in the sunglasses. Also boost Shadows to around +40. We reduced Contrast to -5, too, for a less harsh finish.

03 Clean away The reflections

It’s unavoidable that you get some unwanted reflections in the glasses. With the Spot Removal tool, we can quickly remove major reflections by cloning parts of the reflected sky. We also give the image a first clean-up to remove major distractions.

04 Tidy up The spots

Click on Open Image to move to the main Photoshop workspace, grab the Spot Healing Brush tool, zoom in to 100% and get to work cleaning up smaller and stubborn spots and scratches. Use the Clone Stamp Tool as well, if that works better for certain areas.