Can someone please Photoshop this for me?

[The Ever Optimist]

Hello to all
As a digital newbie ( though i have been shooting film for years), i dont really know how to or even understand what photoshop can do....
I have a list of questions which i would appreciate greatly if u all could help me with them
0. At 4 MP my Olympus allows me to shoot pics as HQ ( 800 KB) or SHQ (2.5 MB) JPEGS... my cards isnt that big so i would rather shoot HQ BUT i want to take 8X12 prints so will it be enough?
1. In the sunrise picture, as darkrainfall put it ' the colors are washed out' - can u show me how to make the colours more saturated....
2. In the next one, the sky has a dirty spot on the right and is too bright as compared to the lower 1/3 rd of the pic... how do i selectively make parts brighter and have a better balanced picture?
3. What is channels and why are they used to make a pic B&W?

Last but not the least - is there a site which will tell methe utter basics of PS? I have PS7 btw...and its as intimidating as they come

Please feel free to do what u want to do with the pictures as long as u tell me how u did it!!

Thanks a million
Kunal

[TJM]

Hi Kunal!

There are better people at this than me but since nobody has responded yet...

For the first pic try this: Image/Adjustments/"Auto Contrast", or press Alt+Shift+Ctrl+L at the same time.
Next Image/Adjustments/"Hue/Saturation", or press Ctrl+U. This opens the Hue/Saturation adjustment box. Select the "Preview" check box to see the effects before you apply them, and move the Saturation slider left and right to change saturation. If you open the drop down menu (which should say "Master") you can select colour channels to change their saturation/hue/lightness individualy. Master applies changes to all colours.

To remove the dust particle from the second pic: If you have Photoshop 7 or Photoshop CS, use the healing brush (press J). Once selected hold down Alt and click an area of clear sky next to the dust particle. Next click on the dust particle, and it should copy the part of the sky you clicked while holding Alt over the old part. If you have an earlier version of photoshop you will have to use the Clone tool (press S). It works the same way, except the healing tool will automatically match the brighness of the surrounding area. Using the clone tool you have to be careful to select an area of sky as your source with the same brightness as the part surrounding the dust spec. Might sound complex but play around and you will see what i mean

Good luck, I love that first photo

[Pose]

Yep.
Open the first pic:
Image>Adjustments>Auto Contrast

Open the second pic:
Select the Clone Stamp-
Hold down the ALT button and click on an area near the dust spot and then release ALT and the mouse button. Next you just have to hold down the left mouse button and go over the dust spot, it will paint over it with the area you selected with ALT.
For the brightness:
You can either mess with the 'auto' settings under Adjustments, or you can select the Rectangular Marquee tool (press M), click & drag to select the area of the image that is too bright, then go to Image>Adjustments>Hue&Saturation and slide the Lightness bar over to the left to make the area you selected darker.
Tip: Make sure not to make the area inside the rectangle too dark or it won't blend.

[Chunk]

I often find that the Adjustment/Curves is the only stop I need to make. When the dialog box opens the curve is straight from corner to corner and you can clik on the curve to add a node that can be dragged around. Often making the curve into a slight "S" shape does what I want. Play around with it and watch the changes as you move the curve around.

Here is a slight adjustment to your first shot. I wouldn't want to big a change to lose the great color in your beautiful shot, just a little more contrast. The change may not be very noticable without them side by side.

[ACArmstrong]

I tweaked this version by playing around with the neutrals, yellows, and reds in Selective Color and then the Channel Mixer - and then after those two, I up'ed the saturation just a hair. My take on the picture was hazy golden light - but that's just what I saw - your changes are really up to your preferences.

[Young Shooter]

i got bored and tweaked on this one tell me what u think please

[The Ever Optimist]

I often find that the Adjustment/Curves is the only stop I need to make. When the dialog box opens the curve is straight from corner to corner and you can clik on the curve to add a node that can be dragged around. Often making the curve into a slight "S" shape does what I want. Play around with it and watch the changes as you move the curve around.

Here is a slight adjustment to your first shot. I wouldn't want to big a change to lose the great color in your beautiful shot, just a little more contrast. The change may not be very noticable without them side by side.

Thanks a lot!

[mtbbrian]

Next time, please post PhotoShop and camera specific questions in their repective forums, either the Digital Photography Forum or the Digital Camera forum.

You may even repost this thread there.

This is the Critique Forum, for critiquing and feed back on the aesthetic and technical aspects of photography.

Thanks!
I look forward to seeing more of your photography.
Brian

[Chunk]

Thanks a lot!

Your welcome. Keep posting, you have a good eye.