Photoshop Techniques

[GB1]

Amazing what can be done!

Design a Surreal Desert Scene in Photoshop | Tutorial9

[MaxDaniel]

Photoshop is very good software for a photographer. I am a starter in Photoshop so, can you advice me nice material for learning Photoshop.

[Orrin]

That's fantastic. I wish I had the patience and perseverance to make something as remarkable as that

[nekonelac]

These are my photoshop recipes for jpeg manipulation-they all work from CS(1) upwards:

. Digital darkroom Basics

IMPORTANT: Always view images at 100%

a) Check Levels -(Histogram)

b) At 100% (Actual Pixels) check for:


- Noise (Chroma-colour noise)


- Image> Mode> LAB Colour> Channels
Channel “a” Gaussian blur 5 pixels
Channel “b” Gaussian blur 5 pixels
Channel “lightness” Filter> noise> despeckle
Image> Mode> RGB colour

-Noise (Luma -Grainy noise)

-lasso area and apply smart blur at default setting (For small areas)
-Or Ctrl+J
-Smart blur-Then eraser tool to expose background features


- Lateral chromatic aberration (fringing) Removal

Ctrl+J select brush tool and click on the quick mask tool.
Choose a brush size to match the width of the fringe.
Draw all the areas that have fringing. When done, click icon next to quick mask
Select> Inverse.
Image> Adjustments> Hue/Saturation and pick the color closest to your fringe color Click eyedropper on the fringe color on your image.
drag Saturation slider to the left until the fringing goes.
Select> deselect
Save

Quick method for fringe elimination

Using lasso tool select area with fringing
Image> adjustments> Hue/Saturation
De saturate fringe color
Select> Deselect
save

- Transverse chromatic aberration (Moire banding) Elimination

- Filters/blur/Gaussian Blur at 1.5 pixels radius
HDR

(Camera on tripod )
Expose for highlights-take a shot
Expose for shadows-take a shot
Add highlight image to shadow image as a new layer (hold “shift” and drag move tool)
Select> Color Range, Click “highlights” check “invert”, click “OK”
Add layer mask.
Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur 250 pixels.
Flatten and save.




- Local Contrast Enhancement

Ctrl+J
Filter> sharpen> Unsharp Mask
Amount 10
Radius 50 pixels
Threshold 0
Flatten and save


“Pop”

Ctrl+J
Filter> Sharpen> Unsharp mask
Amount 30
Radius 60 pixels
Threshold 10
Blend mode> Luminosity- Flatten

- To sharpen - Smart sharpen

Ctrl+J
Unsharp mask amount 18%
Radius 40 pxls
Threshold 0
Unsharp mask amount 150%
Radius 0.3 pxls
Threshold 0
Edit> fade Unsharp mask 100% Darken
Unsharp mask amount 150%
Radius 0.3 pxls
Threshold 0
Edit> fade Unsharp mask 50% Lighten

- Smart sharpen ( Alternative)

- To sharpen - Smart sharpen
Ctrl+J
Select> All> Edit> Copy
Channels> New channel (alpha 1)> Edit> paste
Filter> Stylize> Find edges
Ctrl+L move sliders for clean edges
Filters> Blur Gaussian blur1.5 pixels
Select> Load selection-Check “invert” click “ok”
Select RGB channel
View> Show> “selection edges” uncheck
Filter> Sharpen> Unsharp mask- Amount 500
Radius 0.2
Threshold 0
Select> deselect> dump alpha channel
Blend mode “luminosity”
Ctrl+shift+E




- To lighten under-exposed images

Ctrl+J
Blend mode Screen
Adjust opacity to suit before flattening/save

- To darken over-exposed images

Ctrl+J
Blend mode Multiply
Adjust opacity to suit before flattening/save

- To Vignette portrait images

Create an ellipse around subject, using elliptical Marquee tool
Select> Inverse
Feather radius 250 pixels
Edit> Cut

- To reduce skin redness in portraits

Add new adjustment layer> selective color
Set to Reds
Click, hold drag magenta slider to left

-To smooth skin in portraits

Ctrl+J
Click on quick mask
Brush tool 35 soft
Press ”D” Paint face except for eyes, eyebrows and nostrils, and lips
(If you go over the edges, press X and erase, then x again to continue…)
Press “Q
Select “inverse”
Select> feather 10 pixels
Filters> Blur> Gaussian Blur 3 pixels
Filter> Noise> Add noise 2.5%
“uniformed” and “monochrome” checked
Flatten/save

Polarizer

1.Ctrl+J
2. Window> Channels
3. Red Channel
4. Ctrl+A; Ctrl+C
5. Lab Colour (Don’t Flatten)
6. Channel> Lightness
7. Ctrl+V
8. Image> Mode> RGB (Don’t Flatten)
9. Select top layer- Layer> Layer mask Reveal All
10. Click on layer mask thumbnail
11. Image> Apply Image
12. Layer-background; channel red; “Invert” Ticked Blending-Multiply-opacity 100% Flatten and save.




Polarizer (Alternative)

1. Ctrl+J
2. Mode> soft light-click “OK”
3. Press ”D”
4. Press ”G” for gradient tool - Select Black to transparent Linear gradient
5. Mouse cursor at top of image, click-hold-drag down to horizon-release
6. Click on background layer; Click, hold on b/w circle in layer palette
7. Choose selective colour Cyan/magenta 100/100 (Cyans)
Cyan/magenta 100/100 (Blues)

8.Flatten and save



Graduated Neutral Density Filter effect

Add adjustment layer> levels
Drag right slider to left
Drag middle slider to left (These moves enable you to get the foreground how you want it)
Press “D” or "X" to make foreground color black
Press “G” for gradient
Choose linear gradient -black to transparent-2nd icon from left
Drag cursor from top of image down to horizon
flatten/save

- Black & White conversion from colour #1

Ctrl+J
Image> Calculations
Background layer
Red
Background Layer
Red
Multiply
New channel
Image> Mode> Greyscale
flatten/save

- To black & White Quadtone

Ctrl+J
Image> Mode> Duotone
Choose type: Quadtone
Load> quadtones> pantones
Select last option Bl 541 513 5773. Hit LOAD. Hit OK.
Image> Mode> RGB Color
Flatten/save

- To convert to Black & White then selectively colourize

New adjustment layer> Hue/Saturation
De-saturate
F7 (or click on layer mask)
Press ”D”
Click on brush tool
Brush over parts to colourize
Flatten/Save

-To Isolate Objects against a white background:

Photograph your object using any background, Then:

a) Zoom in 200-300%.
b) Use the pen selection tool to chart an exact path around the object.
Get it perfect.
c) Click on working path Icon in paths palette
d) Select> Modify> Contract by 2 pixels.
e) Select> modify> Smooth by 3-5 pixels.
f) Select> Inverse-.
g) Select> Feather by 0.2 - 0.5 pixels.
h) Make sure foreground black/background white - Press Delete.
You now have isolated object on white background.

-To Correct Converging verticals

"Select > All"
"View > Fit on Screen"
"View > Show > Grid" .
"Edit > Transform > Perspective"
Eight small squares will appear around the image edges.
Using the Left mouse button select the small square
at the top left or right corner and drag in the opposite
direction to the way the verticals are tilting.


Sepia/color

1 duplicate layer,
2. then select background copy layer and select background layer invisible
3. select layer and go
image -> adjustments -> Match color...
4. then set luminance to 200 and color intensity to 1
5. then select background layer to visible and take the eraser tool
6 on "background copy" layer start delete the all what you want in real colors

For landscapes

Step one- To bring out detail

1. Ctrl+J
2. filter> other> high pass 1.7 pixels
3. Change blend mode to "hard light"
4. Ctrl+Shift+N
5. Edit> Fill - black 100%
6. Click on eraser tool-set brush size 300
7. Click once in centre of blacked-out image
8. change blend mode to "soft light" Adjust opacity to suit
9. Flatten and save

Step two- To enhance colors:

1. Ctrl+J
2. Image> adjustments> Match Color
Luminance 119
Color intensity 126
3. Flatten/save


- Soft light portrait

Press ctrl+j to duplicate the layer and press shift +control +u to de-saturate the new layer.
Click on Add layer mask button
Click on layer mask thumbnail to active it and go to Image> Apply image :-
Layer- merged
RGB
Multiply
100%
Now, click on image thumbnail to active it. ( It is located just before the layer mask thumbnail ). Now do two things :-
1. Go to filter> Blur> Gaussian blur and give 2.5 radius.
2. Change the blending mode of the layer to Multiply.
Duplicate this layer again and change its blending mode to Linear dodge. You now have soft light effect on your image. If you want more light than change the blending mode to Color Dodge.

Infra-red

1. Ctrl+j
2. New adjustment layer-Channel mixer
Check "monochrome"
3. Set Red to +100
Green to +200
Blue to -200
Set constant to between 27 and 32
Click “ok”
Flatten and save.

Faux F1.8 D.O.F.

1. Ctrl+J ; Add a layer mask-Using Pen tool, draw a path around subject, Edit> fill Black 100%
2. Selection> save selection, save to new channel
3. Select gradient tool, black to white, linear
4. From the area you want in focus, draw a line vertically downwards (1/3 in front;
5. Using gradient tool again, layer mode Screen, drawing a line upwards 2/3ds behind)
6. Channels-click on saved mask Ctrl+ click-select gradient mask, mask only
7. Set background color to black. Ctrl+ backspace
8. Click on original duplicated layer with its mask-name it “Gaussian Blur”
9. Now select image-not mask.-Lock Transparency. click little chequerboard, at top of layer palette
10. Filter> Blur> Gaussian blur 40-50 pixels
11. Repeat step 8,but name layer “Lens Blur”-Filter> blur> lens blur, and in the dialogue box:
12. “faster”, depth map source “layer mask” Blur focal distance-adjust to suit
13. Set iris shape to number of diaphragm blades of your lens. Radius 100%
14. Don’t play with “blade curvature or rotation” Brightness 2;Threshold 180
15. Click Ok-Flatten and save

Red eye Reduction
Double click Quick mask icon
Change masking color to green-opacity 60%
Paint mask over eyes
Click icon next to Quick mask
Select> Inverse
Image> adjustments> Desaturate
Add new adjustment layer-Levels
Move both input sliders towards the centre of the range until you are satisfied.
Layers> Flatten image

To Whiten Teeth

Ctrl+j
Select quick mask icon
Select brush tool 13 pixels soft
Brush over teeth
Click icon next to quick mask
Select> Inverse
Image> adjustments> Hue/Saturation -60
Add new adjustment layer-Levels
Click and drag right slider to left until whiteness looks good
Flatten and save

To “POP”Color Using Lab mode

Here's how to "pop" the color using LAB (Lightness-Alpha-Beta; Not"Lab") color.

Image>mode>Lab color

Ctrl+ M -This brings up a grid-by holding the "Alt" button and clicking on the grid, you will get either large or small squares

Press "alt" and click on grid to get small squares.

Selecting Channel "a",Hold and drag cursor a short distance ( about one and a half squares-right to left) along top right corner of grid, and do the same to bottom left corner (left to right). Channel "a" allows you to fine tune reds and greens. Just adjust until the color is good for you.

Repeat the exercise using channel "b"-this fine tunes the blues and yellows.

When you have got it how you want: Click "OK"

Image>Mode>RGB color


Correcting Colour Balance

Hover your mouse over a pure grey area on your image
Use the info palette and note down the red green and blue values of the grey area
average out the greys (r+g+b/3)
Open a curves adjustment layer and select the red channel
click anywhere on the curve line and then enter the original red value into the input box
Enter averaged value in the output box
Repeat last two steps for the green and blue channels
Click ok and you're done







Tri-X

1. Desaturate color

Use either the hue/saturation or de-saturate command to remove all color from the image.

2. Add monochrome noise (about 3-5%)



3. Adjust levels

This step can really add to the mood of the shot

Overexpose Highlights

move the highlight slider to the left

Darken Shadows

move the shadow slider a very small amount to the right - this will make the shadows a bit darker and increase the image contrast; ideally you should barely be able to detect some grain in the black areas.
Adjust Mid-tones

adjust the mid-tone slider to taste - affects the overall brightness of the image.


Digital Velvia

1. increase color saturation (optional)

To further exaggerate the color, increase the saturation by a few percent.
2. Sharpen (optional)

3. add monochrome noise If you choose to add noise/film grain, try the "monochrome" noise option. this monochrome noise looks similar to the grain structure of some slide films.

4. adjust brightness/contrast
Increase the image contrast by a small amount - experiment with moving the brightness - also a slight amount.

Copyright: © Kenneth William Caleno (Dip Phot) 2010 and beyond....

[benlinus]

That's really awesome, love to see this. This ll really gonna help me out in many ways, i think so its a best tutorial among all of them, you have a nice threads, best way/ complete guide line to edit an complete image with all effects.

[pipi99]

thanks for tutor

[pravin0123]

Layer Shortcuts and Tasks

Rename layers by double-clicking on the layer name.
Change the transparency of a layer by changing its opacity with the Opacity slider, or typing a value into the Opacity box (which is visible when you have the Selection, Move, or Crop tools selected).
Duplicate a selected layer by pressing Ctrl-J (Command-J on a Mac). You can also duplicate a layer by dragging it while pressing the Alt (Option) key.
Select multiple layers by holding down Ctrl (Command on a Mac) and clicking the layer names. This forms a temporary link between the selected layers that allows you to move them as one unit, delete them all, and so on.
You can also link layers together. Select layers by clicking on them while holding down Shift or Ctrl (Command on a Mac). Once you have selected all the layers you wish to link, click the Link Layers button at the bottom-left of the Layers palette (signified by the chain). Linking layers allows the link relationship to remain even after you select a different layer (unlike the process of simply selecting multiple layers).
To unlink all the layers, select one of the linked layers and go to Layer > Unlink Layers. To unlink a single layer, select the layer you wish to remove from the link and click its corresponding link icon; the other layers will stay linked. To temporarily unlink a layer, hold down Shift and click on its link icon (a red “X” will appear over the link icon). Reactivate the link by holding down Shift and clicking the link icon again.
Rearrange layers by dragging the layer above or below other layers. Use the “move down” shortcut Ctrl-[ (Command-[ on a Mac) and the "move up" shortcut Ctrl-] (Command-]) to move selected layers up and down. Shift-Ctrl-[ and Shift-Ctrl-] (Shift-Command-[ and Shift-Command-] on a Mac) will bring layers to the very top or the very bottom of the stack.
Select a layer by using the keyboard shortcuts Alt-[ and Alt-] (Option-[ and Option-] on a Mac). These keystrokes let you move up and down through the layers in the Layers palette.
Create a new layer by pressing Shift-Ctrl-N (Shift-Command-N on a Mac). This will bring up the New Layer dialog box. Want to create new layers quickly without having to deal with the dialogue box? Simply press Shift-Ctrl-Alt-N (Shift-Command-Option-N).

[jogeshocp]

That might be a good technique. But need the patience to do it.