using my modLCS filter with the following preset:
action = strong
luma = 120
contrast = 120
sat = 104



edit: you may play yourself, Sally, with this filter, experimenting different presets and even using it more than once (with changed preset)

Probably looks more natural but I thought it was still too glary in the background.

Best I could manage, using Photivo for most of the adjustment, then in GIMP lightening the lady on the right on a new layer with a layer-mask.


Kevin

A couple of attempts using multiple, modified, layer masks. Not very good. Others are achieving much better results!

david.

Nice Kevin and David. I found it hard not to give the guy on the left a halo. I might try that one day dinasset.

This is what I came up with using GIMP and G'MIC. I tried luminosity masks and curves to brighten the foreground without losing the darks, but nothing worked globally. I don't think there's any way to avoid making three separate layers, each masked for a different person, because each subject needs different adjustments. Value and RGB curves, lots of dodging and burning. And my secret weapon for emphasizing facial detail: run G'MIC Test-Photocomix-wild cartoonizer, set that layer to "darken only" and turn the opacity down until it doesn't look obvious. Sort of like taking an eyeliner pencil and drawing what you want to emphasize (can you tell I've done theatrical makeup?) While I was at it, I masked in a sky.

Because I was experimenting (which means I had no idea what I was doing) this is overbaked. I tried some sharpening and noise reduction, but probably shouldn't have. I went ahead and embraced the artificiality of the lighting, pretending the photographer had mongo big reflectors because there's no way this lighting could be natural. I tried toning down the halo on the left, but that looked less natural given the bright backlight. Person on the left needs still more color correction -- I've seen tutorials about how to add sunglow, but how do you remove it?

So many layers, and no time to go back and do it right. But maybe this helps...

Nice job, Acmespace

Nice job Acmespace

Either that, or I was thinking some silly person tried to take a photo with the sun behind them....Sun up maybe?
Unless using extra equipment I thought it was the natural thing to have the sun at the back/to the side of the photographer!?

Yep, it would be entirely natural and also good planning to have the sun at the back of the photographer. It's that second sun behind the subjects and providing the strong backlighting that's hard to explain! On this planet anyway. Someone with better PP skills than I have would need to eliminate all traces of the backlighting -- not just in the hair but also on the shoulders and the background -- to argue this was naturally lit on Earth and not Tatooine. I kinda like Tatooine anyway.