the photographer's guide to photoshop - photoshop 3, 2013

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P H O T O S HC S & E LE M E T U T O R I A LO U R E X P E R T S S HY O U H O W T O M AS T EP H O T O S H O P S K IL

IntroductiontoPhotoshopNavigate yourwaythroughPhotoshops

toolbarandinterface with ourin-depthguide

MasteradvancedskillsGeta betterunderstanding ofhow features

workandcan help improveyourphotography

HowtohandleRawfilesFindouthow toget themaximuminformatiofromyourRaw les for optimumimagequal

PowerfulPhotoshopfiltersLearn tomaster lter functionsincludingBlur,

Liquify andHigh Passfor trulystunningresults

Step-by-steptechniquesFollowourexpertadvice andlearnhowto

produceprofessionalresultsquicklyandeasily

Masterblack&whiteDiscoverthebest waystoconvertcolour to

monochromeandachieveamazingimages

FROM THE EXPERTSATINSIDE !OVER50EXPERTSTEP BY STEPTUTORIALS

T H E I

D E A L

CO M P

A N I O N

F O R

YOU R D I G

I T A L C

A M E R

A !

THE PHOTOGRAPHERS GUIDE TO


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All our experts are team members or regular contributors to Digital SLR Photography magazine.For more expert advice and inspiration, pick up the latest issue available on the second Tuesdayof every month. For further information visit the magazines website at www.digitalslrphoto.com

MeetourteamofPhotoshopexperts

CAROLINEWILKINSONAn avid enthusiast photographerfor several years, Carolineusesher in-depthknowledge ofPhotoshopand creativeskills inpost-production toaddextraimpact andpolish topictures.

LUKEMARSHA keen DSLRphotographer,Lukes alsothe creativegeniusbehindthe look ofDigital SLR Photography magazineand thisMagBook as wellas aPhotoshop expert.

DANIELLEZANOEditorLezanos passionateabout photographyand is theauthor of several books. HisPhotoshopexpertisecentresaroundthe core techniquesusedby DSLR photographers.

LEEFROSTA professional photographerandwriter for twodecades, Leeregularlycombines his in-camera skills withPhotoshop toget theverybestfromhisimages. www.leefrost.co.uk

Editorspag

Welcome ...To capture stunning pictures, photographers need a creative eye aswell as a rm grasp of in-camera techniques. More than ever though,the very best images are produced by those who have a good grasp ofpost-production and understand Photoshop. Regardless of the type ofdigital camera you use, once you have your images on your computer,Photoshop allows you to experiment, enhance and manipulate to yourhearts content. Whether youre using Adobes affordable Photoshop

Elements package or the more powerful but pricey Creative Suite, there arecountless ways in which you can improve or completely transform your photographs.Of course, such a sophisticated tool requires time and effort to master, which iswhere The Photographers Guide to Photoshop will help. Produced by photographersfor photographers, this guide is the perfect introduction to Photoshop, guiding youthrough the key features and tools that you need to use, as well as providing youwith a variety of techniques geared towards helping you make the most of your

digital images. By following the jargon-free advice given by our team of experts,you can look forward to mastering many of the key Photoshop techniques everyphotographer should know, while having fun as you learn new skills along the way.Weve covered various techniques, from basic skills that enhance images to moreadvanced options that transform them. All the best!DANIEL LEZANO, EDITOR

Whenyouvenishedenjoythismagazine pleaserecycle

THEPHOTOGRAPHERSGUIDETO PHOTOSHOPProduced by Digital SLR Photography at:6 Swan Court, Cygnet Park,Peterborough,Cambs PE7 8GXPhone: 01733 567401.Fax01733 352650Email: [email protected]: www.digitalslrphoto.com

EditorialTo contacteditorial phone: 01733567401Editor Daniel [email protected] Editor Luke [email protected]

Features Editor [email protected] Luke [email protected] Co-ordinator Jo [email protected]

Editorial contributors:MarkBauer, IanFarrell,LeeFrost andMattHenry

Advertising&ProductionDisplay & Classield Sales: 0207 9076651AdvertisingSales Guy [email protected] Joshua [email protected] [email protected]

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Allrightsin thelicensed materialbelongtoFelix Dennis,Halo orDennisPublishing andmaynot bereproduced,whetherin wholeorpart,without theirpriorwrittenconsent.

DigitalSLR Photography isa registeredtrademark.Thepublishermakeseveryeffortto ensurethe magazinescontentiscorrect.All materialpublished in The PhotographersGuideToPhotoshop and DigitalSLR Photography is copyrightandunauthorisedreproductionis forbidden.The editors andpublishersofthis magazinegive nowarranties,guaranteesor assurancesandmakeno representationsregardingany goodsor servicesadvertisedinthis edition.No responsibilitycanbe acceptedfor imagesorcorrespondencelost ordamagedin postor transit.Forlicensing contactHannahHeagneyon +44(0)2079076134oremail [email protected]+44 (0)2079076132oremail [email protected]

TheMagbook brandis atrademarkofDennisPublishingLtd. 30ClevelandSt,LondonW1T

4JD.Companyregisteredin England.All material DennisPublishing Ltd, licensed byFelden2009,andmay notbereproducedinwholeorpart withouttheconsentof thepublishers.Whileevery carewastakenduringtheproductionof thisMagbook,the publisherscannotbeheld responsiblefor theaccuracyofthe informationor anyconsequencearising fromit.DennisPublishing takes noresponsibilityforthe companiesadvertisingin thisMagbook.ThepaperusedwithinthisMagbookisproducedfromsustainablebre,manufacturedby millswitha validchainof custody.ThePhotographersGuide ToPhotoshop ISBN 1-907779-42-Printedby Benham GoodheadPrint(BGP)

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4 Whatsinside ThePhotographersGuideto Photoshop 3rdEdition

6 IntroductionWelcome toPhotoshop andawealthof creative opportunities!

10 ThefundamentalsLearn how tousethe tools atthe heartofPhotoshops successanduncovera

few hiddensecrets along theway12 CROPTOOL14 SHARPENING16 NOISE18 TRANSFORM20 CLONESTAMP& HEALING BRUSH22 LAYERS& LAYER MASKS24 ADJUSTMENT LAYERS26 LAYERBLENDMODES28 LEVELS& CURVES32 DODGE& BURN34 BLACK & WHITE36 HUE/SATURATION38 SELECTIONTOOLS

46 TheRawessentialsHow using Photoshop with Rawlescanimproveyourphotography48 INTRODUCTIONTORAW50 HOWTO PROCESSRAW FILES52 CREATE PERFECTEXPOSURES

55 BasictechniquesTop tutorialscoveringa range ofessentialPhotoshoptechniques56 EXTENDDYNAMICRANGE58 APPLY A DIGITALGRADFILTER60 RETOUCHYOUR PORTRAITS62 RESTOREOLD PHOTOS64 CREATEA PROFESSIONALSTILL-LIFE66 REPLACEA SKY68 MASTERCROSS-PROCESSING70 COMPOSITETHEPERFECTPORTRAIT72 STITCHA PANORAMIC74 CREATE A PHOTOSPHERE

77 WorkingwithfiltersA varietyofweirdand wacky effectstoadd some funto your photos78 INTRODUCTION TOBLUR80 MIMIC SHALLOWDEPTH-OF-FIELD

82 MASTER MINATURISATION84 ADD MOVEMENT86 CREATE A ZOOM BURST88 REPLICATE A TEN-STOPND FILTER90 SHARPEN WITHHIGHPASS92 LEARNTOUSE LIQUIFY94 CREATE A CARICATURE96 REPLICATE A REFLECTION98 LEARN TOUSE LENS FLARE100 GETTO GRIPSWITH DIFFUSE GLOW102 ADD LIGHTINGEFFECTS

105 ArteffectsOurtop choices for special effectstoget your creativejuices owing106 GET A GRAPHIC INTERPRETATION108 SKETCH EFFECT110 REPLICATE 80SPOPART112 ADDTEXTUREDLAYERS114 CREATE A RETROPORTRAIT116 HIGH-KEYEFFECT

119 Masterblack&whiteLoads of information tohelp improveyourblack& white conversions120 HOWTO CONVERT TOB&W122 ADDDETAILWITHDODGE& BURN124 BLENDCOLOUR ANDMONO126 CREATE A MOODY PORTRAIT128 HOW TOTONE ANIMAGE130 MASTER DUOTONES132 REPLICATE INFRARED134 ADDNOISE FORA FILM EFFECT136 MASTER SOLARISATION

139 PresentationideasOnce you have a great image, spendsome time onhow topresent it!140 ADD A FRAME& TEXT142 CREATE A TRIPTYCH144 MONTAGE MAGIC!

146 GearguideGetthe most from yourediting withour recommended accessories

147 UsefulshortcutsA selection ofuseful PCand MacKeyboard shortcuts tohelp improveyourPhotoshop workow

ContentsTHEPHOTOGRAPHERSGUIDETOPHOTOSHOP 3RDEDITION

12 CROPTOOL

20 CLONESTAMPTOOL

31 CURVES 46 RAW

60 RETOUCHING

108 CREATEASKETCH84 ADDMOVEMENT 140 ADDAFRAME


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Whatsinside3rdEdition ThePhotographersGuideto Photoshop

119 BLACK&WHITE

14 8 P AG EO F E X P E RP H O T O S H OA D V I C E


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6 Introduction ThePhotographersGuideto Photoshop 3rdEdition


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Introduction3rdEdition The PhotographersGuidetoPhotoshop

PHOTOSHOP.THEDIGITALPHOTOGRAPHERSCHOICE!PHOTOGRAPHY IS ABOUT CREATIVITY, alwayshas been. Since its inception, photographers

havent simply been content to document theirsurroundings but have sought to enhance,embellish, beautify and distort their imagery,be it via the darkroom or with in-cameratechniques. Photoshop is just another tool inthe creative arsenal, though it happens to be adamn good one, the best possible. Everythingthat was done in the lm darkroom can berecreated in Photoshop, and far more besides.Images that are now appearing in this digitalage are really pushing the boundaries of theimagination. So if you havent already jumpedon the Photoshop bandwagon, its really time totake that leap. Youre missing out on the chanceto really explore your creative self. Even if yourambitions are a little more modest, youll ndthat there isnt an image in the world that cantbe improved by Photoshop in some manner,even if its a matter of a simple contrast tweakor basic blemish removal. And the best wayto learn is just to get stuck in. After, of course,youve familiarised yourself with the basics inour feature-packed guide to the best imagingsoftware on the planet! Here are our favouritereasons for using Photoshop...

1) RAW CONVERSION: All digital cameras comewith their own brand software to help convertRaw les into an editable image state (ie JPEGor TIFF). However, not all are straightforward touse. Photoshop and Photoshop Elements comewith their own Raw converter, Adobe CameraRaw (ACR), which just happens to be rathergood at the job. Most people tend to plumpfor the Adobe engine rather than the cameramanufacturers own, not least because of itsseamless integration with Photoshop.

2) EXPOSURE CONTROL: Photoshop gives youthe kind of control over exposure that darkroomenthusiasts could have only dreamed of. Notonly can you lighten or darken the image asa whole, but you can work on specic tones,lightening the highlights or darkening shadows,for example. You can also work on specic areasto dodge and burn in the traditional darkroommanner darkening a sky perhaps, or bringingout a bit more detail in a landscape foreground.

3) COLOUR CONTROL: Were not just talkingabout warming things up or cooling them down.You can tweak colours in any way imaginableand locally as well as globally, changing thecolour of someones eyes, hair, or perhaps thecolour of a particularly bad tie. And you cancontrol colour saturation as well as hue, so youcan make those sunsets really burn.

4) BETTER BLACK AND WHITE: Yes, you canshoot black and white in camera but, no, itwont do. First, youll be shooting JPEG andsecondly, all youre doing is performing a basicdesaturation, which means youll be discardingvital information. Anyone whos printed in thetraditional darkroom knows theres a bit moreto mastering monochrome. Photoshop lets youcontrol specic colour channels in the way that

black and white lters did for lm cameras.

5) BLEMISH REMOVAL: On a basic level, thismeans polishing portraits a little by removingspots, moles and wrinkles, but this process canbe extended to pretty much anything with theclever combination of Clone Stamp and HealingBrush tools. You can remove a telegraph polefrom an otherwise picture-perfect landscape, anunwanted reection from a window, and so on.

6) MONTAGE: Layers allow you to montage(otherwise known as composite) differentimages, in the same way that you mighthave once cut and pasted family photos. But

Photoshop allows you to go that extra mile. Youcan change a cloudy sky for a clear one, addtrees where there were none, or even place aperson in a completely different backgroundscene. This type of montage is also known ascompositing and has grown in popularity withamateur users and professionals alike.

7) SUBJECT ENHANCEMENT: As well as taout aspects you dont really like and stickingin stuff that wasnt really there, you can alsoenhance what youve already got. Aside fromthe colour and exposure controls for whiteningteeth or pulling out grey hairs, you could changthe shape and size of parts of your image withvarious Transform commands. And yes, thatcan mean slimmer hips and bigger biceps, butit could also mean ironing out the converging

verticals of a tall building or scaling down a hanthats too close to a wide-angle lens.

8) WEB PREPARATION: If you want to postphotos in a forum, an online gallery or your owwebsite, Photoshop is certainly going to comein handy. You can resize them, sharpen them,convert them to sRGB mode and save themwith the appropriate JPEG quality setting.

9) SPECIAL EFFECTS: Photoshop has a massarray of lters to enable you to achieve specialeffects. Turn photos into watercolour paintings,add frames and borders, add rain to a cloudscene, the list goes on.

O r ig i na l

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8 Introduction The Photographers Guideto Photoshop 3rd Edition

WhichPhotoshop:Neworold?IF YOURE A FIRST-TIME buyer, theres little incentiveto buy earlier versions of either Photoshop or PhotoshopElements as there appears to be little difference inprices and you have the added compatibility problemswith newer digital cameras (for which updates areoften only released for the latest versions). Owners

of older versions may be forced to upgrade theircopies for this reason. If youre not planning to investin the latest and greatest digital camera and alreadyown a copy of CS, CS2, CS3 or CS4, youll have toweigh the upgrade price against new features.

Its worth noting that theres certainly nothing spectacularthat you couldnt be without in earlier versions there areplenty of pro retouchers and photographers who refuse toupgrade. Many of the new features are quite gimmicky, thoughthe Photomerge advancements were a big improvement forpanoramic enthusiasts in CS3, CS4s Clone Stamp Tooloverlay and CS5s Content-Aware Fill function alone make theupgrade worth considering if you do a lot of clean-up work.Also, the addition of Layer Masks in Elements 9 is a big bonus.

FileformatsCheck out the File Format drop-down list inthe Photoshop Save As dialogue and get ashock at the multitude of options available.Panic not though; there are only really fourformats worth discussing.

WhichPhotoshop:ElementsorCS?PHOTOSHOP COMES IN two distinct avours.Firstly, youve got the full-blown Creative Suiteprofessional version, which has run from its rstinstallment back in 1990 all the way toPhotoshop 7, then CS, CS2, CS3, CS4 and nowCS5 (effectively Photoshop 12). Then theres thecut-down, beginner-friendly, consumer versioncalled Photoshop Elements, now at version 9.To give you an idea of the price difference, youcan pick up a copy of Photoshop CS5 foranything between 200 and 600 online,whereas you can get hold of the latest version ofElements for around 60.

Truth be told, unless youre planning complexcomposites that involve cutting out intricateshapes, youll be ne with Elements. If youre at

the stage where youre good enough to be doingdetailed cut-outs, youll already know what thePen Tool and the Channels palette are and howto use them and will probably already haveaccess to a copy of Photoshop. You can performall the basic edits youll need as a beginner inElements and a few intermediate edits,especially as Elements 9 now it features LayerMasks, As a rst-time buyer, the only occasionyou might want to plump for the full version is ifyou plan to use retouching as part of a semi- orfully-professional photographic workow or haveambitions for advanced retouching. In this case,its perhaps better to familiarise yourself withPhotoshop from the start to save making thetransition later on.

Whilethe Elementsinterface is a littledifferent to that foundonCreative Suite, there areenough similaritiesso thatphotographers migratingfromone tothe otherwont nd it too alien.


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Introduction3rdEdition ThePhotographersGuideto Photoshop

RAWThis is the catch-all term givento the different proprietary leformats that come directly out ofa digital camera when shooting inRaw (a Canon EOS 5D MkII Rawle, for example, has the extension.CR2). These les need convertinginto editable information via aRaw converter, such as AdobeCamera Raw (ACR), which comespackaged with both Photoshopand Elements. Shooting Rawallows access to the full rangeof information recorded by thecamera sensor, giving more roomto correct for exposure mistakesand to make edits to yourimage without chancing visibledegradation. Raw les give youaccess to 16-bits of information,as opposed to a JPEGs 8-bits.

PSDThe PSD le is a Photoshopformat that allows all Photoshopinformation, such as layers andsaved selections, to be easilystored and re-accessed at a laterdate. Its an uncompressedformat and maintains the full16-bits of information. WhileTIFF les do give you theoption of including Photoshoplayers, the le size increasesdisproportionately, making PSDthe le format of choice forediting your images. When theimage is nally attened, it canbe saved as a TIFF or JPEG,although its always a good ideato keep the PSD le with all thelayers work youve done in caseyou need to make any additionalchanges at a later date.

JPEGThe JPEG is a compressed leformat, designed to keep le sizeas low as possible with as littlequality loss as possible. It useswhats termed a lossy versionof compression, meaning imageinformation is thrown away forgood. The amount discardeddepends on the compressionsetting. A JPEG le retains only8-bits rather than 16-bits ofinformation, making it less usefulas a format for image editing; thedecrease in available informationcan produce signs of degradationif adjustments are pushedparticularly hard. The reducedle size makes JPEG great forweb reproduction, email and evenmagazine reproduction with aquality setting of 9 or more.

TIFFThe TIFF is generally anuncompressed le format (thoughthere is a lossless compressionoption), and an alternative tothe JPEG for distributing imagesonce youve made all your editsin Photoshop and attened thelayers. File sizes are considerablybigger than JPEGs, so its usedas a maximum quality optionif youre prepared to distributeimages on a CD or upload themvia FTP forget email! Thosewithout a copy of Photoshop arenormally able to open a TIFF lewithout any problems. It can hold16-bits of information, but as itsnot generally used for editing, itsbetter to convert your images to8-bits before saving as a TIFF tokeep down the le size.

Y ou c an use shor t c ut s f or some c omma

Most Mac shor t c ut s use t he C m d ( Appl

k ey . W her e it s not spec ied , w e v e st at eMac shor t c ut s in t he t ex t but if y ou use aP C , sw ap t he C m d but t on f or C t r l . B ot hP C & Mac use Al t and S h i f t k ey s, t oo

P C & M a c s h o r t c u t s


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10 NavigatingPhotoshop ThePhotographersGuideto Photoshop 3rdEdition

TheToolbar

MOVE Can be used to move pixelinformation on a layer, text or an activeselection. Just click and drag.ZOOM Click to zoom in, or Alt and click tozoom out. You may also choose to use Ctrl (PC)or Cmd (Mac) plus the + or keys.HAND Used for moving around yourimage when zoomed in or access quicklyby holding down the spacebar instead.EYEDROPPER Select a colour from your image byclicking on the areas or hold it down to reveal any ofthe three tools housed underneath, including Ruler.MARQUEE Use these tools to make aselection based on a shape such as arectangle or ellipse. Simply drag to size.

LASSO Draw your own custom selectionswith this tool, either freehand or usingmagnetic polygon points.

QUICKSELECTION Houses both the Quick Selectionand Magic Wand Tool for a semi-automated selections.Use by adjusting the Tolerance in the Options bar.

TEXT Type text directly onto your image using anyof the installed fonts. Type horizontally or verticallyand create selections based on your type.

CROP Crop out unwanted aspects from theedges of your image. Set a specic width toheight ratio if needed in the Options bar.

HEALINGBRUSH Replace blemishes withnearby clean pixel information and have it blendin with surrounding pixels. Also houses the

Spot Healing Brush Tool, Patch Tool and Red Eye in CS4/5.CLONESTAMP Allows you to copy andpaste pixels from one area to another withoutthe blending of the Healing Tool.

ERASER Remove pixel information manually

or in a semi-automated manner using theBackground or Magic Eraser Tool.

BRUSH One of the most often used tools, particularlyfor painting information in and out on of an imagewhen combined with a Layer Mask. You control its

opacity and edge Hardness via the Options bar. The Pencil Tooland Color Replacement Tool sit underneath.

GRADIENT Draw gradients directly ontolayers or their masks. Also houses the PaintBucket Tool for single colour ll.

BLUR Soften selected areas of your image orsharpen and smudge them with the two otheruseful tools housed underneath Blur.

SHAPE Draw shapes or lines using anyone of the default shapes, or choose anotherwith the Custom Shape Tool.DODGE&BURN The Dodge Tool lightens and theBurn Tool darkens depending on the Exposure level setin the Options bar. You can choose whether to focus on

Shadows, Mid-tones or Highlights and theres also a SpongeTool for increasing or decreasing colour saturation.

HISTORYBRUSH CS4/5ONLY Go back intime by painting previous states into your imagein conjunction with the History palette.

PEN CS4/5ONLY Allows the user to createcurved as well as straight-edge selections toaccurately outline solid-edge subjects.

DIRECTSELECTION CS4/5ONLY This tool andthe one it hides are for selecting and moving pathscreated with the Pen and Shape Tool.

QUICKMASKMODE CS4/5ONLY View selections as a translucentred mask rather than marching ants. When active, you can paint ontoyour image with a black or white brush to add or subtract from the

selection. Press Q to turn it on and off.

Photoshops Tools are generally quick and easy tounderstand as their descriptions usually outlinetheir function well. A small black arrow to thebottom right of a tool icon indicates a sub-menuwith further tools accessed by clicking and holding.

Menus,toolsandpalettesTHE PHOTOSHOP WORKSPACE can be a daunting place at rst, with itsvast array of features. However, once you grasp a basic understanding ofjust a few key areas, youll be up and running in no time. Here well belooking at the workspace of Photoshop Elements and although there aredifferences between this interface and that of CS3, CS4 or CS5, Adobedoes a great job with crossover between packages to encourage aprogression for users as they become more experienced. The three keyareas to understand are the Toolbar, which runs vertically on the left sideand incorporates the Options bar running horizontally above it; the Menubar, which runs horizontally along the top of the workspace and nally, thepalettes. All these items can be hidden or made visible via the Window tab,allowing users to customise the workspace to their individual needs.


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12 Photoshopfundamentals ThePhotographersGuideto Photoshop 3rdEdition

There isa lot ofpower inthe CropTool thatnot manypeopleknowabout,and yet its probablyone ofthe mostusedtoolsbyphotographers.Many peopleuse theCropTooltoremoveelementsofapicture,butthereare a lotofhiddensecrets, too,manyofwhichwecover in this feature.Readontondouthow tocorrectconvergingverticals, expand,rotateandstraighten animage,aswellaswaystoimprovethecompositionofyour images

CropTool

CROPPINGFORCOMPOSITION

Experiment withdifferentcropshapes tostrengthenyourimagescomposition.Here, wevetried puttingthe focalpoint in thebottomthirdofthe image, producinga square crop withthefocalpoint in thecentreofthe frameand creatinga panoramic toshow offthevista.Forportraitsespecially, a tightcroponthesubjectcanimprovean image.

C r o p # 1

C r o p # 2

C r o p # 3

Toolpresetpicker:Click the arrow toshow a listofpreloadedCrop Tool presets.

Heightand Width: Type inthe dimensionsthat youwantto constrain thecropto.

Resolution: Use toset thecrops resolution.For the bestquality,type 300pixels/inch.

Shieldoptions: You canchange thecolour ofthe shieldandalso adjustits opacity.

FrontImageandClear: FrontImage will load the imagesdimensions. Cleardeletes them.

Perspective: By checking thisbox, youcan skew the imageto

correct converging verticals.

WHAT ISIT?

TheCropShieldWith theShieldbox ticked,a

mask willappear over your image,soyoucan seetheimage asit wouldbeonceyouapply the crop. Youcanalso adjustthe opacity of theShield,

allowing you toseemoreof theoriginalimage, andhelp you

judge andadjustthe cropforthe best results.

=PC& MAC QUICK SELECT KEYFORPHOTOSHOP CS & ELEMENTS

Croptool

Options2

Options1


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Withsomanyways tosharpen animage,itshard toknowwhichonewill give you thebestresults. Wetellyouwhich touse andhow

Sharpening

Sharpening is designed toincreasethe clarity ofanimageby increasing the contrast between pixels.The aim isto sharpen eachimage justenoughtocompensate for the loss of sharpnessthat naturallyoccurswhen an image is captured.Sharpeningshouldbe done with a scalpel: nota hammer. Whilethere are a myriadof ways to sharpen an image most ofwhich can befound viathe Filter>Sharpenmenu forultimate control, photographersshoulduseSmartSharpen.The lter buildsupon theexcellentUnsharp Mask,providing the toolsyouneedto get rid ofcertain types ofblur, and workontheshadows andhighlights independently. As arule, do notsharpen in-camera, as youcannotcorrect it later, andwhile you canuse the Clarityand Sharpening toolsin AdobePhotoshop Raw,youare working directly with theimagespixels. Ifyouwaitto do sharpening in Photoshop, you canadd a Smart Filterwhich,in much thesame way asadjustmentlayers, creates a veneerover the image,so sharpening is non-destructive.

WARNING: OVERSHARPENINGWhen you sharpen an image toomuch, youllndthat areasof colouror tonal changebecomepixelated. You mayalso ndthatblack andwhitemarks, known as artefacts,start to show up in the image. Anotherindicatorof oversharpeningis when a haloappears around the subjects.

THESMARTWAYTOFILTERWhenever youuse a lter, itsa good idea toconvert your imageto a Smart Filterrst byclicking Filter>Convert to SmartFilter . Like anadjustment layer, a Smart Filterallows youto

makealterations without affecting the originalpixelsof theimageand allows you to revertback toediting the lter later, no matterhow faryouve gone into theediting process. Once youconvert your imagelayer to a Smart Filter, youcanpick your chosenlter in this case,Filter>Sharpen and makeyour adjustments.When youclick OK andthe dialogue boxcloses,youllnd your Layerspalette hasan extralayercalledSmartFiltersand below that thename ofthe lter youve applied (eg Unsharp Mask). Ifyouever need to make further adjustments,double-clickon thepart labelled Unsharp Mask.You canalso adjustthe opacity of the lter byclicking on the symbol to itsright.

SHARPENTOOLHistorically, theSharpen Toolis theeasiestbutworstmethod ofsharpeningan image,as it introducesa host ofartefacts. Now, withCS5, it hasnew algorithmsthat have made it

themost powerful way tosharpen,as youcansharpenselectivelyand preciselyusingitsbrush.Its alsotuned soitdoesnot create artefacts.

SecretsunlockedTooledup!

1) SharpenandSharpenMore While thesemayseemthemost obviouslters topick fromthe list, theyre actually theworst.The SharpenMore lter appliesa stronger sharpeningeffectthanSharpen,but both offer no control over theway youapply themand directly affectthe pixels.2) SharpenEdges This lter againdirectlyaffects theoriginal pixels ofan imageandtargetsareasin the imagewheresignicantcolourchanges occurand sharpensthem.Unliketheother lters, it onlysharpens theedgesofanimage while preservingits overall smoothness.3) UnsharpMask... This is probably themostwidely used way ofsharpeningand, until SmartSharpen appeared,was thebest method. WhileSmart Sharpenis consideredthe betteroptionforphotographersas it offers more control, youcanstillget great resultsfromUnsharp Mask.It adjuststhe contrastof theedge detailandcreates the illusionof a sharperimage. You canalsoadd a SmartFilter tomake your

adjustments non-destructive to yourimage. Youhave three sliders: Amount,which determineshowmuch sharpeningis applied; Radius, thatcontrols how manypixels areaffected; andThreshold,whichdetermines howfardifferentpixelsmust be from thesurrounding areabeforethey are considerededgepixelsand sharpened.To access UnsharpMask in PhotoshopElements9, goto Enhance>UnsharpMask .

4) SmartSharpen... Statedto be thebestway tosharpen photos by Adobe dueto itsprecise control,Smart Sharpen buildson thefeatures in UnsharpMask,but with the addedoptionof being able to sharpen the highlightsand shadows separately and to remove certaintypes of blur. Similar settings found in SmartSharpen can be accessed in Element9 byclicking Enhance>AdjustSharpness , althoughyou cannot target shadows and highlightsindependently,but youcan targetareas in needof sharpening by clicking MoreRened .

WHEREDOIFINDITANDWHICHSHARPENISBESTFORME?


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SharpeningyourimagesUnsharpMaskisanage-oldfavouriteformostphotographersandcan give great results, butfor ultimatecontrolandabilitytoreduce destructive artefacts, its time tosmartenupaboutthewayyou sharpen

1 UNSHARPMASKGOOD SHARPEN FORALL LEVELSForthe majority of photographers, this lteroffersadequate control oversharpening.Before youmake anyadjustments,enlarge thePreview image to100% tosee the effects ofthesharpening. While each image is different, for ahigh-resolution image its best to adjustthe Amount between 150% and200%, settheRadius to1 or2 pixelsandthe Thresholdbetween 2 and20. When sharpening fortheweb, increase the Amount to around 400%,reduce the Radius toless than 1 pixel and theThreshold to 0,as theresless information.

2 SMARTSHARPENONCEMASTERED, THE BEST SHARPENTheSmartSharpen dialogue boxhas severalcontrols, including tabsBasic and Advanced.So youcan focus on thebasicadjustmentsrst,click on the Advanced tab and set all theslidersto 0.Back atthe Sharpen tab,at thebottomof thedialogue boxis a drop-downmenucalled Remove, which offers three waysof sharpeningan image:GaussianBlur, LensBlur andMotion Blur. UnsharpMask works toremove Gaussian Blur, but theresactually verylittle Gaussian Blur in an image andmuch moreLens Blur which, if reduced, targets halos andthe ner details. MotionBlur is brilliant forreducing ghosting and slightcamera shake.Unfortunately, its not very intuitive, so youneedto specify theangle ofthe motion. Youcaneitherdo this by trial anderror, moving theangle dial around until you cansee the blurreducein thepreview, or usethe Ruler Tool inthe toolbar to measure the direction ofthemotion blurand theninput the degreein theSmart Sharpen Angle box. Make sure theboxcalled More Accurate is checked, too, beforeyouadjust thesettings, as this will ensureonlythe areasthat need sharpeninghave it applied.

Thesliders work in the same way as UnsharpMask in that theresan Amount(setbetween50% and 150%) and Radius(1 - 2 pixels).Now,to targetany artefactsor halos causedby thesharpening, click on the Advanced tabandeither Shadows or Highlights (dependingonwhere theartefacts are). You canthen usetheFade Amount slider to selectively reduce thesharpening in that area andthe Tonal Width tocontrol thetonalrange modied andthe radius.You mayneed to enlarge the preview to 200%to really judge the effects.

DIALOGUEBOX: You canset thesharpeningalgorithm to control theamountof clarity inthe shadow andhighlight areas.

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Previewthe originalIfyouwant tosee theimagebeforesharpening wasapplied, hoveroverthepreview imageuntil a hand cursorappears andthenholdit downtotemporarilychangethe image back.

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Noise can bethe baneofdigitalphotographers.We tellyou how tominimisenoisetoimprovequality

Noise

Noise is an unsightly andso far unavoidable side

effect of digital capture. This form of electronicinterference is usually revealedby underexposure,high ISOs andshootingin dark environmentswitha long shutter speed.Much ofan imagesnoiseisembedded in the shadows, which is why if youreshooting in Raw, its always betterto slightlyoverexpose a scene than underexposeit, as long asyoure carefulnot to blow the highlights. When animageis darkened,the tonal rangeis compressed,hidingthe noise, butif youtry to lighten a digitalimagein Photoshop, youllnd coloured andlightspecksemerge from theshadowsas thetonalrange is expanded,making it look grainy.

Thereare two types ofnoise:chromaticthatappears as red, green andblue specks; andluminance, which is when an imagelooks like itsbeen sprinkled with salt andpepper. Reducingeithertype of noise improvesimage quality,but canalso softenthe image, so youneed to nda balance

between noisecontrol and retainingedgedetail.Photoshop CS4 andElements9 handlenoisereduction in the samewayanddo a fairlygood jobofit. There are plug-insand software that arededicatedto noise reduction, too, such as NoiseNinja andNik Softwares Dne 2.0, which mayhandle high levels ofnoise better. Since CS5,Adobe Camera Rawoffers a lotmorecontrol overnoise reduction, which is ideal because youllbeworking on an imagewhen it hasthe maximuminformation. For CS4and Elements, though, wedadviseusing Photoshop lters as you can apply aSmartFilter rst,allowingyou toedit changes laterand leave the original image pixels untouched.

NOISEANDADOBECAMERARAW

When you open your image in Adobe CameraRaw, underthe Detail tab youll ndnoisereduction options have beenexpanded toinclude more controls in addition to CS4sLuminance and Color, allowing forsimilarcontrol as you would get with theReduceNoiselterin Photoshop. Zoom in to an areaof shadowat least 200% andset allthe sliders to 0.Dragthe Color sliderto theright untilall thered, blueand green specks disappear. Next, move theLuminance slider until thewhite specks arereduced, being carefulto watchfor lossin detail.Then use a combination of Luminance Detail ,Luminance Contrast and Color Detail to bringback some of theedgedetailsyou may havelost.

Secretsunlocked

1) AddNoise... Thisappliesrandomlycolouredor monochromaticpixels toan image andismainly usedforcreative effect.

2) Despeckle Directlyaffecting the imagespixels,Despeckle targets luminance noise but istheonlynoiselternot toofferphotographerscontrol over howitsapplied.3) DustandScratches... Enablesyou tohidepicturefaults suchas hair, scratchesand dustusing twosliders: RadiusandThreshold. TheRadiusdeterminesthe size of thearea thatssearched fordissimilar pixels.The Thresholdvalue determineshow dissimilar thepixels shouldbe before theyre eliminated.4) Median... Althoughit onlyhas onecontrol(Radius), Median is widelyusedand does a goodjobof smoothing outnoise while automaticallypreserving edgedetail.5) ReduceNoise... For themost control overhowyou reducenoise,retain detail andto targetthe differentcolourchannels independently, theReduce Noise lteris theoneto use.

FINDINGTHE NOISEFILTER

HOTTIP

Smart FilterBeforeyou apply alter, its a goodideato convertyourimage toaSmart Filteras itallowsyouto makealterationswithoutaffecting theimages originalpixels,as well ascorrect anyadjustments later.To dothis, with the

image layerselected, clickFilter>Convert toSmart Filter thenselect thelteryouwishto apply. Formoreinformationon howto createanduse SmartFilters, refer topage78-79 .

NOISETIP: IMAGESTACKS

USE: TOCOMPRISE A NOISE-FREEIMAGE

As noise appearsdifferentlyin every frame,if you shoota seriesof images from thesameviewpoint and stackthem inPhotoshop CS4or CS5(Extended), it canautomaticallycreate an image withminimalnoise by selectingareasthat holdthe leastamount of noise.Click File>Scripts>LoadImages into Stack and selectyour images byclicking Browse . Tick Attempt to Automatically Align and Create SmartObject , andthen OK . Once its nishedprocessing, go to Layer>Smart Object>StackMode where a menu of optionsappear, eacha commandthat determineshow each layerinteracts.Select Median as this targets thetransparent pixelsand smoothsout anynoisein theshadows. It also removes anyunwantedelements, such as moving subjects that

arent present in everyimage.

NOISETIP: DUSTANDSCRATCHES...

USE: REMOVE SMALL MARKSFROM AN IMAGE

To get ridof noise andsmallimperfections, liketheones you get from scanningin an oldphoto,select Filter>Noise>Dust & Scratches . Set aRadius between 1 and4 toeliminate defects(anybiggerandthe image willblur), andadjusttheThreshold between 0 and128 tobring back detail.

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Howtoreduce(oradd)noiseinyourpicturesNoise has the power tomakeorbreak a picture.Findout the bestwaytoreducechromatic & luminancenoise inPhotoshop aswellashow itcan beusedcreativelytogiveanimage a gritty, old-timeedge

1 REDUCENOISE FILTERIMPROVE IMAGESSHOT AT A HIGH ISOThisis oneof themost effective waysof reducingnoise as it offersa lotof control, enablingphotographersto preserve detailas well as targetnoise. In itsbasic form,youhavefour controls:Strength, PreserveDetails, Reduce ColorNoiseand SharpenDetails.

Strength: This controls the impactof thelterandyoullnoticethe higheryousetit, themore animage is softened anddetailis reduced.

Preserve Details: Using thiscontrol,you canspecifythe level ofdetail that shouldbe keptso animage is notrendered blurry when noisereduction is applied.

Reduce ColorNoise: Controls howmuchchromaticnoise is reduced.

SharpenDetail: Restoressharpness in placesnoise reduction softens.Forthe bestresults, takeall thesliders backto 0andzoom into theimagepreview toat least

200%; you wantto see thelterseffect onthepixels.Adjustthe Strength settingrst,checkingthe imagesshadows,highlights andmidtone areasfor noise.Ifyourimagehasa lotof colour noise,youshouldadjustthe Reduce ColorNoise slider in conjunction withtheStrength slider until youre happywiththenoise level.Nowslowly drag thePreserveDetail slider to the right untilyou startto seethenoise reappearinthe image. A value of100will preservethemost imagedetailbut reduceluminance noise the least.

Whenusing the Reduce Noise lter,makesure you clickon the Remove JPEG Artifact option.One of theside effects ofcompressingyour image toJPEGformatis it willcreatebox-likepatternsof pixels.Using thissetting, Photoshoptries tosmoothover theartifactsto make themlesspronounced.

DIALOGUEBOX: Clickthe Advanced button to accessoptions for more targetednoise reductionin theseparatecolour channels.

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2 ADDNOISEFILTERGIVE YOURIMAGESAN OLDFILM EFFECTMost ofthe time, photographers want tominimisenoise,but there are occasionswhen it canbe usedfor creative effect, such asif you wantto makeablack& whitepicture lookolder than it is. Itsalsouseful toblend areas thathavebeenretouched.Forinstance, if youpaintover an area orapply blur,chances areyou will have areasthat looksmoothamongst areas ofnoise.Addinga bit ofnoise totheretouchedareacan helpit look less obvious. Whenadding noise, its a good ideato work ona duplicateimage layerso youre notaffectingthe imagesoriginal pixelsandcan undoany adjustments youmake.Withyour imageopen, goto Layer>

DuplicateLayer andthen click Filter>Noise>AddNoise andadjustthe lters settings asyousee t,before clicking OK .These are the three main settings:

Amount: Usethis slider tocontrolhowmuch noise is applied.

Distribution: Thisdetermines howthenoise is applied. Uniformkeepsnoiseconsistent throughout the image, whileGaussian producesa morespeckledeffectthat in some casesmakesthenoisemorepronounced. Experiment toseewhat suits your image.

Monochromatic: Makes thenoiseblack & white.

HOTTIP

Previewthe originalIfyouwant tosee theimage before noisewasapplied, hoverover thepreviewimageuntil a handcursor appears andthen holdit downtotemporarily changetheimageback.

HOTKEY

Altto resetIfyouholddown AtheCancelbutton inthedialogue boxwillchangeto Reset soyoucan revertbackto theoriginal imageandstartagain.This willworkformost of thedialogueboxes youuse.

Forthe moreadvanced...Ifyouclick Advanced inthe Reduce Noisedialogue box, twotabswillappear: Overall andPerChannel. Its thelatterthat holds thepower,enabling youto targetnoise in the red, greenandbluechannels independently formorepreciseadjustments. You maynd thatluminancenoise ismore prominentin theBlue channel. Once youpick your Channelfromthe drop-downmenu,youneedto adjustthe twosliders: Strength andPreserve Detail . For thebest results,balance boththesesliders. Strength determinesthe amountofnoisereduction appliedwhile PreserveDetailmellows theeffect bymaintaining edge details.


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Learnhowtoscale, skew, rotateandgenerallytransformyourimage togivea betterresult

Transform

Each ofthe Transformcommandsenableyou to

changea different geometricaspectof a layer orpixelselection. Theyare powerfulbut destructivetools, working by manipulating pixels, butcan alsobe very usefulif youneed to correct lens distortionorif you haveto changethe shape and sizeof asubject. Among the commands that allow youtomanually adjust layers arepreset commands forcommon rotationsand ip orientations.

Transform only affects layers selected in theLayers palette ( Window>Layers ).If you wanttoadjust all yourimageslayers simultaneously,click on the toplayer, then the bottom layer whileholding down Shift . Orhold Cmd andselect thelayersyou want to alter individually. For youtotransform any image in PhotoshopCS4,you willrst needto unlock theBackground Layer in yourLayers palette by double-clicking on it,givingit aname when thedialogue boxappears, then clickingOK. In Photoshop Elements 9,however, it

automatically unlocksthe Background Layer onceyou tryto usethe Transformcommands.To accessthe commands in PhotoshopCS4,

click Edit>Transform for thedrop-down menutoappear. Once youve selected yourtool, a boundingbox appears around the image.If youre usingElements 9,you canaccess thecommandsviaImage>Transform . Both packages offerFreeTransform, which well coverlater, andis themostpowerfulcommand comprising all of the Transformcommands (except Warp),but itsalso the trickiesttouse. To get started,you may nd iteasierto useoneof the specialised commands detailed here sothat youdo nothave to worryaboutinadvertentlyadjustingthe picture in thewrongdirection.

1) Again (Ctrl, Shift, T ) Onceyouve appliedatransform command, click Again to repeatthecommand. Its useful if youneed tomake thesame,precise adjustments to several images.2) Scale Resize theimage byclickingon thecorneranchorpointsof theboundingbox,holding Shift to constrain the proportions.3) Rotate This enablesyou tomanually turnanimage orselection, asopposed tousing thepreset 90incrementsfoundlaterdown theTransformmenu. Place thecursoroutside thebounding boxand rotate the image leftor right.You canhold down Shift to constrain the rotationto15increments.4) Skew Thiscan beusedto corrector applyslantsin an image.For instance, if an image hasa buildingthat looks like its leaning,you canusethiscommand tostraightenit.5) Distort Usethe commandto stretch theimagein any directionyou pull itin. Holddownthe Ctrl keywhileadjusting theboundingbox todistort the layeror holddown Alt ifyou wanttomakethe distortion symmetrical.6) Perspective Youcaneithermake objectslook liketheyrefurtheraway from youor closertoyouby stretchingor compressing the image.Drag thecorneranchorpoints toadjusttheperspectiveof the image.7) Warp Manipulateup toninesectorsofanimageby pushing and pulling thepixelsin anydirection using theWarpcommand. It willcurveand bend theedgesof animage orselection.PhotoshopElements 9 doesnt have thiscommand, butyou canuse theLiquifyFilterforsimilareffects.

8) Rotate&Flip Thebottom twosections ofthemenuhold some commonpresetcommands forquickadjustments. They includerotating layersin 90incrementsand ippingthem vertically or horizontally.

WHEREDO I FINDTHE COMMANDSANDWHATDO THEYDO?

HOTTIP

Adjust theOpacityWhen transforminga selection, andtryingto align itwiththe layer beneath,try adjustingthe layers opacityusing theOpacityslider atthe top ofthe Layers palette.Itwillmakethe layersemi-transparent soyou can see theimage beneathit.

HOTKEY

Ctrl+0Often if youretransformingan image, theboundingbox willbecomelarger thanthecanvasmakingit difcultto get totheanchorpoints.If youpress Cmd+0(Ctrl+0 forPC),youwillquicklyzoomoutofyour imagefarenoughto revealthe transformboundingbox.

TRANSFORMTIP2: PERSPECTIVE

USE: CORRECT LENSDISTORTION CAUSED BY CAMERA TILTWhen using a wide-angle lensfor landscapes, at itswidest focallengthyou maynd your image suffers from either barrel distortion (when theimage looks like its been mappedaround a sphere, ie curvesextendoutwards)or keystoning (when thesubject looks narrowerat thetopthan thebottom).Tocorrectthis type of distortion, open your image andactivate the rulers ( View>Rulers ).Pulla guide fromthe rulerto matchupwitha subject inthe image that shouldbe straight,suchas a wall oratree.Now click Edit>Transform>Perspective to activate the boundingbox anddragthe corneranchor pointsinwards or outwards toadjust theimagesperspective. Usethe guide as a markerto tell when thedistortedimage has been straightened correctly.

TRANSFORMTIP1: WARP

USE: CHANGE A SUBJECTSSHAPE

TheWarptransformis suitedto changing theshape of large parts of a picture, compared tothe Liquify Filterthat is betterfor applyingintricatedistortions. Warp is infamouslyusedto make subjects look slimmerin portraits.

You canaccess it via Edit>Transform or, ifyoure already using the Transform tools, byclickingthe Switch BetweenFreeTransformand Warp Mode buttonin thetop toolbar.Byusing thisbutton, itmeans you can makeFree Transform adjustmentsand Warpadjustments in one transformation, reducingthe degradationof the image.

Thetoolbar also offers a selection ofpresetwarp options for youto use. When in Warpmode, youcan control theshape ofthe imageby moving theBezier handles at each cornerof the bounding box, which comprisesninesections that youcan adjust.

NO KEYBOARDSHORTCUTS

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Takecomplete controloverreshaping yourimageusing theFreeTransform command

FreeTransform

USINGSMARTOBJECTSByconvertingyour layersin to a SmartObject beforeyouuse theTransformcommands, anytransformation is appliedto theSmart Object andnot theoriginalpixels. It also means you can goback andedit theadjustment after youve committedto it. Do this byselectingthe layersin theLayerspalettethat youwant to transform,then click on the layers paneloptionsandchoose Convertto SmartObject .

Secretsunlocked

Free Transformis themost versatilecommand, butalso the toughest touse, allowingyou toscale,distort, rotate, skew andadjustperspective using acombination ofmodierkey combinations (seebelow)in conjunctionwith movingdifferentanchorpoints.Youcan accessthis via Edit>Free Transformorclickingon the Move Tool andcheckingthe ShowTransform Controls boxin the toptoolbar.

You canalso apply transforms to individualselections, using the TransformSelection command.This tool works exactlythe same way as FreeTransformand youare ableto usethe same modierkeycombinations listed below. Make your selectionusing a selection tool suchas theMagnetic Lasso,andclick Select>Transform Selection . Beforeyouare ableto make anytransform adjustments, youllneedto commit to theselection bypressing Enter .You thenhave a number ofoptions, depending onwhat youwantto achieve:

Change theheight andwidth: Click ananchor

pointon any side ofthe boundingboxand dragtoadjustthe height or width separately.Scale: Click a corneranchorpoint ifyou wantto

adjustthe height andwidth simultaneouslyand holddown the Shift key ifat thesame ifyou wantto locktheproportions toavoid distortingthe image.Alternatively, holddownthe Alt key while dragging acorneranchorpoint toscale theselection aroundthecrosshair in thecentreof thebounding box,which youcan move anywhere in theselection tochange thepoint of transformation. Hold down Shiftand Alt toconstrain theproportions of thescale.

Rotate: Click outsidethe boundingboxby oneoftheanchorpoints anda curved arrowwill appear,click androtate leftor right.

Skew: Holddownthe Cmd (Mac)or Ctrl (PC) keyand draga side anchor pointin, out, upand down.

Distort: Hold down the Cmd (Mac)or Ctrl (PC) keyanddraga corneranchorpoint in anydirection.

Perspective: Holddownthe Cmd (Mac)or Ctrl key(PC) anddragboundingboxesfourcorneranchorpoints inwards oroutto adjust perspective.

HOTKEY

Undolastcommand

You canundoyourlastadjustmusinga transformcommandbyclicking Ctrl+Zor Cmd+Z (MaYoucan also userevertback to thoriginal image othe transformcommandhas beapplied. Anylosqualitycaused btransformcommwillalsobe resto

FREETRANSFORMTIP: CTRL+CLICKUSE: MULTIPLECOMMANDSTO PRESERVE QUALITY

As the Transform commandsdirectly affectthe pixels ofyourimage, every time youapplyatransformation, you degrade theimage quality. You canminimisethe destruction by applying allyourtransformations beforecommittingto the adjustments, for instancechange the perspective, scale androtationbefore pressing Enter .When in Free Transform, you canswitch to the moreconstrainedtransform commandssuch asSkew andScale, by holding Ctrlandclickingon the image.

=MAC QUICKSELECTKEYS

3 Holdthe Cmd key anddragaanchorpoint todistortthe image.

1 To use Free Transform,selectfromthe editmenuor use Ctrl+ T withthe image selected.

2 Holdoutsideoneof theanchorpointsandmovecursorto rotate.

4 Draganycorneror side tab toadjust image heightandwidth.

=PC QUICKSELECTKEYS

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20 Photoshopfundamentals ThePhotographersGuideto Photoshop 3rd Edition

CloneStampTool

Toolpresetpicker:Clickthearrowto showa list ofpreloadedClone Tool presets.

Brushpresetpicker: Hereyoucan selectbrushpresetsandcontrol its sizeand hardness.

Adjustments: Alter thewaythe cloning sample interactswith the target layer.

Clonesamplemode:Select what layer is used to takeyourcloning sample from.

=PC& MAC QUICKSELECT KEYFORPHOTOSHOPCS & ELEMENTS

Findout thehiddensecretsoftheCloneStampTool thatwill makereplacingpixelsthat mucheasierTheCloneStamp Toolis oneof themost powerful retouching tools in Photoshopsarsenal. Andwhile it canget ridof distractingelements in a photograph,it canalso addpartsto an image tomake it more interesting. TheCloneStamp Toolworks bysampling pixels from a source layer andapplying themto a targetlayer(the targetlayercan be thesame layer ora different layer). To make a source

sample, click Alt andclick on theareayouwantto replace. Its a powerful toolthat, ratherthan masking thearea like other retouching tools,copiesand replacespixels. Before you start anyretouching, create a newlayer ( Layer>New ) andselect Sample: All Layers in the toptoolbar. By cloningto a newlayer, youprotect theoriginal image pixelsso youcan reverse any changes you make.

CLONETIP:CLONEFROMANOTHERIMAGEUSE: ADDELEMENTS TOAN IMAGE

Open thesource image andthe targetimagein Photoshop andthen align the documentsside by side, by dragging oneoff the other.Nowselect the CloneStampTool andtickthe Aligned box in thetop toolbar. Select asoft brush andtake a selectionfrom thesample picture, in thiscasethe clouds, andthenpaintthe source whereyou want it onthe targetimage. You maynd adjusting theOpacity helps improve the results.

WORKFLOWASSISTANCE

1)CreateashadowwindowClick Window>Arrange>NewWindow for[lename]to createa shadowimage. Nowyoucan zoomintothe workingimage andhave theshadowimage open toseethe overall effect,savingyoufromzooming in andout.

2)CreateapreviewoverlayActivate the ShowOverlay andthe Clippedcheckbox in theClone Source panel ( Window>CloneSource or Shift + Alt) tosee anoverlay oftheimage asyou clone it.

Secretsunlocked

1 Create a new layer ( Layer>New ) andselecttheCloneStampTool and AllLayers from theSamplemenu in theOptionstoolbar. Zoominto theareato cloneout andsetthe Opacity to100%.

4 Cloningin a differentarea cancreate a repeatpatternif thesampleis tooclose tothe target. If thishappens,undoyour changesand thenclonefromanarea furtherawayfrom thetargetbut on thesame plane offocus.

2 Takea sourcesampleof pixelsfromnearthetargetarea byholding Alt andbrushover thetargetareausingsmall stroking motionsto avoidleavingsignsof clickingthe mouse.

3 Theedgesof cloningcan lookquiteharsh,soreducethe brushs Hardness to20%, leavingthe Opacity at 100%.Also tryadjustingthe Flow formore subtlecontrol over thecloning.

HOTKEY

BracketsBrushesareaccessed viathetoptoolbarorviaWindow>Brushes .Whileyoure workingonan image, ifyouneed toalter the sizeofyour brush,presstheright orthe leftbrackets(nextto theletterP).

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HealingBrushTool

Toolpresetpicker:Click thearrowto showa listofpreloadedHealing Brushpresets.

Brushpresetpicker: Hereyoucan selectbrushpresetsandcontrol its sizeand hardness.

Setsource: When doingretouching, makesure Sampledis selected as thesource.

Clonesamplemode:Selectwhat layer is used to takeyourcloning sample from.

=PC& MAC QUICK SELECT KEYFORPHOTOSHOP CS & ELEMENTS

Learnhow tousetheHealingBrushToolanditsvarioussub-tools toimproveyourretouchingtechniquesImages often haveunwanted marks, whileportraitshave imperfections likespots or wrinkles,that allneed minimising. TheHealing Brush Toolis the maindevicefor doing this kind of retouching,but there are several sub-toolssuch asthe Patch Tooland Spot HealingBrush Toolthat do thesame thing:hidingunwantedelements, but working in different ways and having different effects.

TheHealing Brush Toolworksby matching the texture, luminosityand colourofthesamplewiththetarget area, soit blendswith thepixelsaroundit.As theHealingBrushspreads, its useful tousea hard-edgedbrush. Thetool alsostruggleson edgesor areas ofhighcontrastas itdoesnot know how toblendtones,and it doesnt have theOpacitysetting foundon theClone StampTool.

CS5s CONTENTAWAREFILLIf you want easy, cleanremoval of unwantedphoto elements, then youneed to try CS5s Content-Aware Fill option, whichautomatically removesobjects by lling the areawith the pixels aroundit, matching the lighting,tone and noise of thesurrounding area. It can beachieved by either usingthe Spot Healing Brush Tool and tickingthe Content-Aware Fill option in the toptoolbar, or by making a selection using atool such as the Lasso Tool, then clickingEdit>Fill>Content Aware Fill .

Secretsunlocked

1 Createa new layer ( Layer>New ), selecttheHealingBrush Tool anda hard-edgedbrush,andclick AllLayers fromthe Sample menu inthetoptoolbar. Zoominto theareasyou want tocleanup.

4 Becarefulnot tooverdo theHealingBrushTools effect:youdontwant toeliminate allimperfectionsas your subjectwill look like a porcelaindoll.Toavoid this, varythe opacityby clicking Edit>FadeHealingBrush .

2 Takea sample from close tothe area thatyouwant toclear upbyclicking Alt/Option . Brushover theareaswith theblemishesand alter thesizeandhardnessof thebrush asyougo along.

3 AstheHealingBrushToolbrushesoveran areaofcontrast,it cansmudgeas it struggles tomatch thevaryingtonality. Its best totakesamplesclose tothe targetarea.

HOTTIP

AlignedWhenthis optionisticked inthe toptoolbar, the samplepointsare alignedwith the toolas itmoves.This meansevery timeyourelease themouseyou need totake anewsample. When Aligned isdeselected, theoriginal selection islocked in andusedforeverynew stroke.

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Hea led

SUBTOOL: SPOTHEALINGBRUSHUSE: CLEANUP DUST SPECKS

Thistoolworksbeston areas oflowdetailas itlackstheusercontrol oftheother retouching tools.Instead ofbeingableto takea sample, you clickon theareayou wantto hide and this toolwillautomaticallytake a sampleof thepixelsaroundit tomatch the targetarea.Itsideal forcleaningup dustspecks.

SUBTOOL: PATCHTOOLUSE: BE MORESELECTIVE

Oneofthe more intelligenttools, thePatchTool usesa selection insteadofa brush. There are two waysyoucan applythistool:draw a selection ofa goodareaand dragit ontop ofa damaged areaandselect Destination inthe top toolbar; orselect abad areaand dragit onto a goodarea andselect Source in the toolbar.

SUBTOOL: RED EYETOOLUSE: CORRECTRED-EYE

Whena subject looks directly into acamerason-cameraash it oftencausesthem toget red-eye (wherethepupilsarerenderedred). To correct thisandreturnthe subjectseye colourback tonormal,select theRed-EyeTool,zoomin to thesubjectseye andclick onthe red pupilonce tosee thecolour disappear.


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Workingwith Layersisnot essential for basicimage editing,but forthosephotographerswhowanttotaketheirimages tothenext level,theyarea fundamental partofyoureditingworkowLayersare thebuildingblocksof non-destructiveimageediting, givingyouthe opportunityto

construct an image in stagesand theexibilityto makeany editsat any time. Withthisin mind,hopefully bythe endof this feature youll havea better understandingof how togetthe mostfromLayersso your editingcanbecomemore selective andsophisticated whether using Elements or CS.

When youopen an image in Photoshop,your image automatically becomes theBackgroundLayerin theLayerspalette (accessiblevia Windows>Layers ),which islocated viathe Tools menu. Youcannotedit theBackgroundLayer as its locked,butyoucan make it editable by double-clickingonthepadlocksymbol. Most of the time its advisable to keep this Background Layer locked and,instead, createa duplicate layer ( Layer>DuplicateLayer ) toworkon. By doingthis, itmeans atleastone layer ofyourimage still retainsthe unedited,originalpixels,so ifyou makea mistakeand want tostartagain,allyou need todo isdeletethe extra layersand yourebackwhere you started.

Its best tothink oflayersas clearsheets ofacetate stackedon top ofeachother, each featuringapartof your image (object or effect) that, whenmerged together, createyour nalpicture.The threetypes of layerswellbe covering here aretransparent layers(layers withoutany pixels) thatyou canaddpixelsto, image layers that containduplicate pixels from theoriginalimageor parts ofa differentphoto, andAdjustmentLayers, which well cover in depth later on.Layersallowyouto combinepartsofdifferent photos,but forbasic photography editing, thisusually doesntstretch further thanreplacinga skyin a dulllandscape, addinga fewextrapeopleto a street scene or switching frowningfaces in a group shotfor smiles.However, there aresome photographers anddigital artiststhat take ittoa higher level,using multiplelayers andobjectsfrom different images to literallyconstruct theirpicture from scratch. Wellonly cover the basicshere,but the internet andAdobes website is burstingwith more advanced techniques if youwish todelve in to thisrealmcalledcompositing.

Layers&LayerMasks

THELAYERSPALETTE

1) BlendMode Thisaccesses the drop-downmenuof layer blendingmodesthat control howthe layers interact withone another.

2) Opacity Usethis slider toadjustthetransparency of the layer, controllinghow muchof the layer beneathit showsthrough.

3) Locktransparentpixels/imagepixelsThese two buttons enableyouto lock anindividual layer soonlyimageor transparentpixelscan be edited,respectively.

4) Lockposition Usethis topreventyourimagefrom moving rank in theLayerspalette.Clickonceto lock and again tounlock.

5) Lockall Applythislock toany layer youwant to protectfrom editing.Tounlocka layer,highlight it andpress the lockbutton again.

6) Layervisibility Click theeyeiconto maketheadjacent layer invisible.Click it again tomake the layer visible.

7) Link Usethistolinkmultiplelayerstogether.8) Selectlayers You cantell which layeryouve gotselected by whether its highlightedblue. Selectmultiple layersby holdingdownCmd andclicking on each toselect them.

9) BackgroundLayer This is your originalimage.Keepit locked soit cannot be edited.

10) AddLayerStyle Accessa variety ofstylesfrom blend modes to drop shadows andouter glows.Theyre specialeffects thatwork

well with objectsand text.11) NewAdjustmentLayer Click heretoaccessa list ofallthe AdjustmentLayers.

12) CreateNewGroup Use this togrouplayerstogether into a folder tocontain youreditingto a fewselected layers.

13) CreateNewLayer Clickto apply anempty, transparent layer. Or click anddrag animage layer down on tothe icon toduplicate it.

14) TrashCan Highlight the layer, or layermask,andclickthe binto delete itor clickanddragthemon tothe TrashCan.

HOWTOCREATEA NEWLAYER

If youwant a transparent layer, either click theCreate NewLayer iconat thebottom oftheLayerspalette or go to Layer>New>Layer . Ifyou want a layer with thesame pixelsas youroriginal image, youcan duplicate theBackgroundLayer by dragging it down to theCreate NewLayer button or by clicking Layer>DuplicateLayer . To copyparts ofone imageontoanother, yourst needto make yourselection from thesourceimageand thenpress Ctrl/Cmd+C tocopyit.Revert back toyour destinationimageand press Ctrl/Cmd+V topaste iton theimage.Or usingthe MoveTool , clickand dragthe selectionfromthesourceimageto thedestinationimage(pressCtrl/Cmd+A tomove the whole picture). Thenewimagewill immediately createa newlayerabove thedestination image.Then use theMove Tool to reposition yourselection.

HOWLAYER ORDERWORKS

Every new layerthats created automaticallysitson top ofthe layer before itin the Layerspalette and itseffector pixelswill affect everylayer thatsunderneathit. Usethe MoveTool tore-order the layers.

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EditingimagesusingLayersandLayerMasksLearn toimprove yourphotospost-capturebyreplacingunwantedpartswithsomethingmoreappealing

1 Here,wehavea landscapeimage with a dullskybut animpressiveforeground. Byexchanging thesky foronewithmoreinterest, it shoulddramaticallyimprovetheimage.Open bothimages inPhotoshopand, using the MoveTool , drag thelandscapeimageon topof thesky picture.

3 Movetheimage sothenewsky coversthe old oneentirely.Now selectthe BrushTool andreduce theHardness tobelow10%to giveit a softedge, andselect blackasyour foregroundcolour. With theLayerMaskselected,paint onthe image tohidetheoldskyand revealthe new one.

2 Thesky image nowfeaturestwo layersin itsLayerspalette,with thelandscapepicture on top. With thatlayer selected,applya Layer Mask byclickingon the AddLayerMask icon at thebottomof theLayerspalette. Reducetheopacity ofthe toplayerso thesky image showsthrough.

4 Once youve nishedand roughlygonearoundtheobjectson thehorizon, increase thelayers Opacitybackto100%.Nowzoom into thehorizon and, usinga smallerbrush,goaroundthe areasofthe landscapeyoumighthavemissed.Use white paint torestoreany foreground.

LAYERMASKS

Layer Masks areextremelypowerful editingtools as they enable youto localise your editstospecic partsof an image.You can applythemto anylayer AdjustmentLayers haveonealready attached (see next page formoredetails) anduse theBrush Toolto paintareas inor outof thelayer that you want tomake visible in your nalimage. Layer Masksare a newfeature toElements 9 andareaccessible in thesame way asCS viathe AddLayer Mask iconat thebottom ofthe Layerspalette or Layer>Layer Mask>RevealAl l orHide All . When added, a Layer Maskappearsnextto the layer its linked toin theLayerspalette.As itsdefault, or whenset to Reveal All, a Layer Mask appearswhiteanddoesntaffectany pixel untilyou paint on it. When setto HideAll , a Layer Mask islled with blackandwill hide all thepixelsin theimage layer

untilyou use whitepaint onthe maskto revealthepixels. Its a forgiving process foreditingyour layers, although it does take practice andrequires youto adjust thesize andsoftness ofyour brush togeta smooth,accurate nish.Another way isto selectand renethe areayouwant tokeepvisible, thenapply the layermask.You can do this byclickingLayer>Layer Mask>Reveal Selection or HideSelection , if its thearea youwant invisible.

Workflowtools Secretsunlocked

LAYERMASKHOTKEYS

SHIFT To temporarilydisable a mask, hold

Shift and click on the LayerMask thumbnail so a red crossappears through it. Click thethumbnail again to restore it.

ALT The Layer Maskthumbnail gives a smallindication of what yourepainting on the mask. To see animage-sized version, hold down Alt and click on the thumbnail.

COMMAND Once youvepainted the areas you

want to adjust on the layermask, hold Cmd and click onthe mask to convert the areainto a selection.

H0TKEY

To decreaseor increasethesize ofyour brush,click [ or ] respectively.To togglebetweenblack andwhitepaint,tohideor revealdetail,simplypress X.

HOWDOI

Deletea Layer Mask?Clickon thelink(lookslikea paperclip icon)inbetween theimageandLayerMaskthumbnail.This willunlinkthe two soyoucan clickand dragtheLayer Maskin tothetrashat thebottomoftheLayerspalette.Orhold Ctrl and click theLayerMask toaccessamenuthat hasDelete

LayerMask.

H0TTIP

By default,theLayerMask buttonin theLayers palette createsa RevealAll mask.Ifyou wantto add a HideAllLayerMask,holddown Alt while clickinthesame button.


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Fornon-destructiveediting,you cannotbeat AdjustmentLayersforeaseofuse andexibility. Here,weexplainthebasics tousingtheseinvaluablelayersandgive you somepointersonhowtopracticallyuse themforwhenyouwant tobemore selectivewithyour editing

BeforeAdjustmentLayers were introduced,photographers would have toduplicate theBackgroundLayer toavoid editingor damaging theoriginal image. While youcan still do this, AdjustmentLayersallowyouto apply adjustments like Curves,Levels or Hue/Saturation, as a separate layer that youcanrene,changeor deleteat anytime during your editingprocess.

Thealternative would be to apply an adjustmentcommandvia Image>Adjustments directly toaduplicatedimage layer, but thiswontgive youthe exibility of editingthe effectafter youvecommittedto it.Plus,if youwant togetrid of theadjustments effect,youll have todelete the wholeimage layer, which canbe frustratingif youveapplied differentadjustmentsto the image layer youneedto delete. Most of theusual adjustmentcommands areavailable as an AdjustmentLayer,making it a muchmore favourable way toeditpictures,but its still worth checkingout the Adjustments menufor those commandsyou cant accessas a separate layer.

Being able tocontrol howan adjustment affectsyour imagepost-application means yourenotcommittedto anyadjustmentcommand youuse, making theprocess a lotmore forgiving anduid.Notonly canyou reverse or delete an adjustment,you cantemporarily hidethem thesame way youwould an image layer, youcan apply a blendingmode or ne-tunethe effectby changingthe opacityandyou canrestrict theeffectusing layer masks.

You cancreate an AdjustmentLayer in one of three ways:by clicking Layer>New Adjustment Layerandselecting your required adjustment;clicking on the Adjustment icon (half black/halfwhite circle)atthe bottom ofthe Layerspalette toaccessthe same listof options;or byopeningthe Adjustmentspanel viathe Windows menu.Any ofthose work,but some are quicker than others andoffer you moreoptions: you just need tond theone you workwith the mostefciently.

AdjustmentLayers

GROUPINGLAYERS

If youwantyour AdjustmentLayer toaffect,say,two ofthe layersin yourimage,youcan groupthemby clickingthe Createa NewGroup buttonat thebottomof theLayerspalette so it containsthemin a folder. Click anddrag the layersyouwant togroup in to that folder, addyourAdjustmentLayerto thefolder, too, andchangetheBlend Mode from PassThrough to Normal .Theadjustmentwill onlybe appliedto that group.

Secretsunlocked

HOWTO... SAVELAYEREDIMAGES

When you apply multiple layers toyour image, beit image layers or Adjustment Layers, thesize ofyourle will increaseaccordingly. To compresstheimagefor printing or webuse,once yourehappywith thenal editedimage gotoLayer>Flatten Image tomerge allthe layers backin tothe Background Layer. Then save theimageas a JPEG or TIFF. Its a good idea to always keepa Photoshop version of yourimage (.PSD),whichretains thevariouslayersin your image, sothatyou have theoption ofre-editing thepicturedifferentlylaterif youneed to.

ELEMENTS9Elements featuresAdjustmentLayers and theyreaccessible the sameway as they are inCS via the Layerspalette. However,you only haveaccess to a small

proportion of theadjustments foundin CS4. You havethe basic Levels,Brightness/Contrast,Hue/Saturationand Solid Coloralong with sevenothers, but you lack the versatility of Exposure,Selective Color, Black & White, Curves andmany others. Elements 9 is ne for basicadjustments, but if you want to get in to morecomplex and sophisticated editing, then youmay want to upgrade to the full Photoshop.

SoftwarehighlightsADJUSTMENTLAYERSPANELBy openingthe Adjustmentspanel,you getimmediate accessto alladjustmentpresetsand the 15 coreAdjustment Layersat a click ofa button. Whenyou selectan AdjustmentLayerfrom thepanel, the Adjustments panelconverts in toa control panel forthe commandwith thetoolsto rene theeffect. Click back onto theLayerspalette to close andconvertthecontrol panel back to theAdjustmentspanel.Havea gotoseewhat wemean

1) Addanadjustment: Clickon thehalfwhite/halfblack icon at thebottomof theLayers palette to access Adjustment Layers.Click on theadjustment youwant to apply.2) Presets: Click thedrop-down menus ofeachof theAdjustmentLayers toaccesstheirloadedpresets, normally located at the topofthespecicAdjustmentLayers control panel.3) ExpandView: Click hereto enlarge theAdjustmentpanel. It canbe useful if youreworkingwithCurvesor Levelsand need alargerarea toviewthe adjustmentgraphs.4) CliptheAdjustmentLayer: Click heretoclipan AdjustmentLayer to the layer directlybelowit inthe Layerspalette soits the onlyone thatsaffected by theadjustment.5) Layervisibility: Clickon theeyetotemporarilyswitchoff the Adjustment Layer.Its useful to togglebetween visibleandinvisible tosee theeffectof theAdjustmentLayer on theoriginalimage.6) Review: If youre-edit an AdjustmentLayer,click and hold this button torevert back totheAdjustmentLayers originalstate toseewhether your re-editinghasimproved orworsened the overall effect.7) Reset: Click hereto reset theAdjustmentLayer back to itsdefault settings.8) Delete: Click the trash can todeletethecurrentAdjustment Layer.

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Photoshopfundamentals3rdEdition The Photographers Guideto Photoshop

ThreemorewaysforyoutouseanAdjustmentLayerFormore precision editing,master thesethreetechniquesforimproved resultsandaddedexibility

UsinganAdjustmentLayerwithaLayerMaskLearnhow toselectivelycontrol theeffects ofanAdjustment Layer bypainting ona LayerMask

1 REDUCETHEADJUSTMENTCONTROL THE EFFECTSSTRENGTHHowever youapplyan Adjustment Layer, youllnotice thefull extentof itseffecton your imageinstantly. Sometimes, though, thiseffect is toostrong for the nish you want. Aneasywaytocontrol thestrength of theeffecton the imageis to reducethe opacityof theAdjustmentLayer. Onceyouve made youradjustments,select theAdjustment Layer so its highlighted

blue anddrag the Opacity slider atthe top oftheLayerspalettegradually down from 100%until youreachthe desired strength.

2 BESELECTIVEMAKE LOCALISEDADJUSTMENTSFor a slightlymoreadvanced,butprecise,waytoselectivelyapply an adjustment toan areaof an image using an AdjustmentLayer, simplycreatethe selection andrene theedge (seepages 38-45 for more detailson how todothis). Here,weveused theQuick SelectionTool.Then apply theAdjustmentLayerofchoice.This instantly llsthe attached LayerMaskwith black, blocking anyadjustmentsyou then mightmakein areas otherthanwhatyouhaveselected.

3 CLIPLAYERSTOGETHERAPPLY TO ONLY CERTAIN LAYERSClippingan AdjustmentLayermeans that itaffectsonly thelayerdirectly beneathit in theLayerspalette. Its handy if youhavean imagemadeup ofmultiplelayers withseparatecomponents, butyou want toapply anAdjustmentLayerto onlyone of them. Youcanclip thelayers together byeither pressingthe Clip buttonat thebottom of theAdjustments panel or byholdingdown Altwhile youclick on the linethat separatesthetwolayers in theLayers palette.

1 Openyourimagein Photoshopandthen duplicate theBackgroundLayerso youreworkingon a copy( Layer>DuplicateLayer ).Nowapply anAdjustmentLayerof choice.HerewevechosenHue/Saturation.

2 Makeyournecessaryadjustments.Weveboostedthecolourin thisportraitbut, as youcansee, italsomake theskin tonesveryunnatural.We needto neutralisethecolouron thefacewhile retainingthe saturationelsewhere.

3 Attached to theAdjustmentLayer in theLayerspalette isaLayer Mask, which looks like anemptywhite box.Click onit tomakeit active.Thenselectyour BrushToolfrom thetoolbar, witha soft-edgemedium-sized brush setto black.

4 Using the BrushTool , painover theareasof theimageyouwant torevertback totheir originalstate,varying theopacity tocontrolbyhow much. TheLayerMask turnsblack where youre painting.Usewhite paint toreverse theeffect.


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AlongwithLayersandAdjustmentLayers,BlendModesare essentialpartsofPhotoshopsediting arsenal.Knowinghowandwhen touse themcan openaworldofcreativepossibilities, especiallywhencombinedwithLayerMasksNowyouve gotto grips with theprinciples of Layersand

AdjustmentLayers, its a good place to introduceBlendModes,which allow you tocontrol how thecontentof alayer blends withthe layer or layersdirectly below it.When you add a newlayer tothe Layerspalette,asdefault, theblendingmode is setto Normal,which hidesthelower layer with thecontent inthe layer above it.

Withoutusing a blendingmode,the onlyway tomergelayers together is to reduce theOpacity or Fill of anylayerso the layer underneath shows through, but thisalonedoesnt yield very effective results.

There are25 blendingmodes, which areall accessiblefroma drop-down menu atthe top ofthe Layerspalette,eachaffectingthe way pixels interact.Theyre divided intosixgroups:Normaland Dissolve;Darken;Lighten;

Contrast; Comparative;andHSL. While we advise you

playabout with all themodes togeta feel for theireffects, in real editingterms,there areonly a dozenblendingmodes that a photographer might useon aregularbasis forimageediting. These areDarken,Multiply,Lighten, Screen,Overlay,Soft Light,Difference,Luminosity and Color.

You canapply blendingmodesto anylayerorAdjustmentLayer. For instance,you could useLuminositywith an AdjustmentLayerso it doesnt affectthecolourcomponentsof theimage.As a quick way topreviewthe effectsof thevarious modes on your image,make sure theBrush Tool isnt selected, thenhold downShift andpress the + key toscrolldownthe listofblendingmodesand the - key toscrollup it.

LayerBlendModes

FOURBASICWAYSTOUSEBLENDMODES

To helpyou understandhowblending modes work, hereare four commonlyused modes andways toapply themtoyour images. Overlay superimposes the toplayeron the base layer, while preserving thehighlightsandshadowsof thebottomlayer; Color replaces thehue andsaturation of thebase layer with the toplayer;Darkenreplaces lighter pixels from the base layer withdarkerones from the toplayer; andLighten is theopposite.

1) NormalandDissolve: InNormal mode,the top layer isnotaffected by the layer beneathunless Opacity is less than100%.TheDissolve modeturns somepixelsof the toplayertransparent.2) Darkenmodes: Darken,Multiply, Color Burn, Linear Burn,DarkerColor. These modes giveprominence to dark-coloured pixelsat varyingdegrees.3) Lightenmodes: Lighten,Screen,Color Dodge, Linear Dodge(Add), Lighter Color. Thesemodesgiveprominence to light-colouredpixelsfor different effects.4) Contrastmodes: Overlay,SoftLight,Hard Light,VividLight, LinearLight,Pin Light,Hard Mix. Thesemodes vary in strength whenitcomesto boosting contrast.5) Comparativemodes:Differenceand Exclusion. Thesemodes createcolours based on thedifferencebetween the topandbase layer.6) HSLmodes: Hue,Saturation,Color, Luminosity. Thesemodesreplace thebase layer pixelswiththe toplayerpixels, depending onwhich modeis chosen.

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ThreewaysBlendModescanenhanceyourimagesHere are a few ways ofworking withsomeofthe mostpopular blendingmodes duringphoto editing

1 HIGHCONTRASTUSEIT TO DESATURATEByblending a black& white imagewitha colourversion using Hard Light,

grey willbe added to theresultingcolourcausing theimageto becomeslightlydesaturated. Thismodealsoblends thecolourfromthebase layerwith the monochrome layer,darkening and lightening the shadowsandhighlightsto boost thecontrast.

2 APPLYTEXTUREUSEIT TOADD INTERESTSoftLight worksin the samewayasHard Light andOverlay,but deliversmuch gentlerresults.By blendingthisimage ofwood overthe top ofthestill-life image, the texture showsthrough subtly bydarkening theblendingpixels thatare more than50%greyandlighteningthosethatareless than50% grey.

3 MERGINGIMAGESUSE ITTO REPLACE A SKYMultiplyworksby multiplying thebase colourwiththe topcolour togetthe resulting colour. Every pixelgetsdarker, except for white, whichremains unchanged. Itsgreat fordarkening overexposed areasand

building updetail.Here,the whitepixelsarediscarded andreplaced withdarker pixels, lling in thesky.

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Boost thecontrast andcorrectthecolourofyourimagesusingoneofthemostpopularadjustmentsinthePhotoshoparsenal: Levels

Levels

Levels controls the histogram, which holds alltheexposureand colourdetail in an image.Its primaryrole is to adjustthe luminosity of a picture; itsbrightness, darkness, contrast and colour. Its asubsetof Curvesand a step up from Brightness/Contrast, allowing formoreprecision in youradjustments.Levels is available as an imageadjustment that directly affects an images pixels(Image>Adjustments ) or as an Adjustment Layer,which gives youthe same experience, butis aveneerover the image. Its advisableto usethelatteroption whenever you can, as itsnon-destructive andgivesyou the exibility to editandrevisit changes or to deletethem at a laterdate; giving youa lotmore creative control.Youcanselect an Adjustment Layer from theLayers paletteor by clicking Layer>New Adjustment Layer .

LEVELSTIP: WHITEPOINT

USE: PERFECT PRODUCT SHOTS

Product shots look greaton a whitebackdrop,but more often than not even if theimage is correctly exposed the backdrop canrenderas off-white or grey. Levels hasa quickandeasy way to correct this: using the whiteeyedropper, click on thegreyestpart of thebackground. This will turn it white, leaving theproduct relativelyunaffected. Carefullyadjustthe midpoint andblacksliders to bring any lostdetailback in to theproduct.Great for eBay!

THELEVELSDIALOGUEBOX

1) Auto The Autofunction takes a look attheimageand maps pointsfromblack towhite to trytogive thebest tonal range.2) Presets These functions arethereto get youstartedquickly andeasily, butwhile theywork,theyre notperfect. Its advisable tomanuallyadjustthe histogramusing thesliders instead.3) Histogram This black bumpymoundreectsthe distributionof tones in yourphotograph. It showsthe brightness rangefromdark to light andthe peaks andtroughs reecthowmanypixelshave thatparticularlevelofbrightness. A well exposed imageshouldhave aneven spreadof peaks andtroughs.4) Theeyedroppers TherealpowerofLevelsisin thethreeeyedroppers they can set the

black,mid-tone andthe white point in thehistogram,by clickingthem on thedarkest andlightest part ofthe image. Thegreyeyedropperalso hasthe power toalter colourbalance.5) Inputslider By far themost popularmethodofadjusting thehistogram. Movingthe three littletriangles allowsyouto manually adjusttheshadows,mid-tonesand highlights toget a verybalanced exposure.6) Outputlevels Adjusts theoutput shadowsandhighlights. Leave thisaloneunlessyoudeliberately want toadjust theoutputcontrast,such aswhenworkingwitha grayscale image.7) Options Clickto openthe AutoColorCorrections Optionsdialogue box. It givesyoudifferentoptionsforadjusting thecolourin a lessprecise mannerthan thegrey eyedropper, butitwillgo some way tocorrectinga colourcast.

HIGHLIGHTWARNING

As you adjustthe sliders, it canbe easyto losedetail ineither thehighlights or shadows,knownasclipping. To check for clipping,holddown Alt while clicking on theblackor white slidertriangle. Theimagewill changeto show a thresholdview with hotspots that indicatewhere detailhas been lost.

Secretsunlocked

Viaimagemenu ViaLayersmenu

ViaLayerspalette

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=MAC QUICK SELECT KEY FORPHOTOSHOPCS & ELEMENTS=PC QUICK SELECT KEYFORPHOTOSHOPCS & ELEMENTS


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ThreewaystouseLevelsAsyou gainPhotoshopexperienceandwanttohavemorecontrolovercolourcorrectionandcontrast,differentwaysofapplying theadjustments are availabletosuit yourability level andneed forcontrol

1 USETHEAUTOOPTIONONE-CLICKAUTOMATICRESULTOnce youopen Levels, youll be presented witha histogram. Pressingthe Auto buttonis agoodplace tostartas it takes a lookat theimage andmaps pointsfrom black to white toget the besttonalrange. A lot ofthe time,if youhave an under or overexposedimage, Auto willmakeit looka lot better. Ifyouhold Alt , whileclickingon Auto , the Auto Color CorrectionsOptions dialogue boxwill appear, giving youoptions to adjustthe colourbalance.

2 EYEDROPPERAUTOMATED WITH USER INVOLVEMENTThese can seta pictures tonal rangeby clickingon the imagedirectly. To setblack,clickon thedarkest area of the imagewith theblackeyedropper. If its lighterthan anyotherpart,youllndthe whole imagewilldarken tocompensate. Thereversehappenswith thewhite eyedropper if youdo notselectthe lightestpart of the image. Thegreyeyedropper selectsthemidpoint, butcan also correct colourcasts,depending on what neutral areayouclickon.

3 SLIDERSFULLCONTROLFOR THEEXPERIENCED USEROn theInput Levels slider, youhave three triangles: black forshadows; grey for Gamma,which controls the relativeimagebrightness between theshadowsand highlights; andwhiteforthe highlights. Theidea is to move these trianglesto expandthecontrastwithout losing any detailin eitherthe shadows orhighlights (knownas clipping). Therstthing to do is bring theblack andwhitetrianglesin to align with the edges ofthehistogram this will automatically move the Gamma slider, too.

To intensifythe highlightsor shadows, move the Gamma sliderandthen usethe grey eyedropper to correct anycolour cast.

O r ig i na l

O r ig i na l

O r ig i na l

HOTKEY

Altto resetIfyouholddown AtheCancelbutton inthedialogue boxwillchangeto Reset soyoucan revertbackto theoriginal imageandstart again.Thiswill workformost ofthe dialogue boxesyouuse.

OPTIONS

ControllingcolourTo accessthe AutoColorCorrectionOptionsin anAdjustment Layer,youneed toclick Auto while holdingdown Alt. To adjustthe colour, clickSnapNeutral

Midtones andthenexperimentwith thealgorithmsto ndwhat works best.


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Photoshopfundamentals3rdEdition ThePhotographers Guideto Photoshop

Ifyouwantmorecontrolovercontrast, then get familiar withCurvesandyour imagesare sure toimproveCurves is probably the most powerful adjustment feature in Photoshop andalsoone ofthe mostadvanced,but once youve got togrips with ityoullndyourself using it timeand timeagain. Justlike Levels, Curves canbe appliedasan Adjustmentor an AdjustmentLayer( Layer

the photographer's guide to photoshop - photoshop 3, 2013

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