Damien Symonds

Next, have you read this? https://www.damiensymonds.net/2014/06/the-wide-gamut-myth.html

First, have you read this? https://www.damiensymonds.net/examining-the-complexities-of-an-acr-workflow/

I've moved this question into Brian's section. It's definitely not a Damien question.

PLEASE hurry up and dive into your class!

What did he say, @Eva Fifer?

Don't keep me in suspense, @meaghancarr! How did it turn out?

That's ok, it's all about the d&b from here. https://www.damiensymonds.net/simple-dodge-and-burn-tutorial/

Ok, so how about this? https://max.mailbigfile.com/2af97d8ff66f24df97f4c157c9991f86/listFiles.php

Now, talk to me. Do you still think the body needs to be darkened? Or do you share my point of view that the sweet spot is actually somewhere in between the two areas? I think the body should be darkened a bit, and the face lightened a bit.

Ok, can you update your profile details with your calibrator information? You definitely didn't need to do all that stuff with turning the blue areas to grey in the background. You're simply going to add a black Solid Color layer and carefully mask it around the whole horse. And you definitely need to do that first, before we discuss the imbalances in the coat.

No, that's ok, just checking. Can you do this for me?

Thanks. Did you shoot raw?

First of all, please read and acknowledge understanding: https://www.damiensymonds.net/2011/09/cropping-tutorial.html

What a load of old nonsense. Ctrl R is still working perfectly for me.

Oh, phew!

Those specs should be fine. Go ahead and restart, then if the problem still exists, show me a screenshot.

https://www.damiensymonds.net/thread1.html

I'm sure he will be very grateful.

I think your masking needs to be more subtle, so it blends better.

That middle layer must NOT be clipped to the base layer, by the way. The top layer should be clipped to the middle layer (which you've done correctly), but the middle layer must NOT be clipped to the bottom layer.

Can you show me a screenshot after you've added the mask to the layer?

@Eva Fifer here are the instructions for the beard ... Duplicate the Background layer. Immediately convert that layer to a Smart Object. Duplicate that layer again. Now you have the Background layer, plus two identical Smart Object layers above it. Clip the top layer to the middle layer. Apply Dust & Scratches filter to the top layer, with values 20/0. Then change that layer's blend mode to "Multiply". (At this stage, the whole photo will look weirdly dark and glowy and blurry.) Return to the middle layer, and run High Pass filter at 0.8 radius. (Now the photo will look less glowy, but still awfully dark and blurry.) Add a black mask to that layer. (Now the photo looks normal again.) Use a low opacity white brush to paint onto the beard. Let me know how it goes.

In that case, you'd better try resetting Bridge's preferences. Hopefully that works, because if not, the next option is to reset Photoshop's preferences.

I definitely don't have a better suggestion than that. It looks flawless.

You've double-checked that both Bridge and Photoshop are completely updated?