14. Manipulating Images with Filters

The potential combination of filters and images literally runs into the millions. This means that Photoshop filters are truly an undiscovered territory. As a matter of fact, the Filter Gallery lets you view the effects of one or more filters on the active document. This level of power gives you unbelievable creative control over your images.

Other commands, such as the Fade command, let you reduce the effect of the applied filter. You can even apply a blending mode to the final image. In addition, you can utilize a channel mask to control how the filter is applied to the image. You could also use a black to white gradient channel mask to slowly fade the effects of the filter from left to right.

Photoshop even lets you protect your intellectual property by embedding a customizable watermark into the image that is almost invisible to see, and virtually impossible to remove. In fact, you can print an image that contains a watermark, run it off on a copy machine and rescan it, and the watermark is still there. Now that’s protection.

Take a moment to view some of the various filter effects that Photoshop offers. Because there are so many filters available, we can’t show you all of them, but we think you’ll enjoy viewing the selection at the end of the chapter.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer you want to modify with a filter effect.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Filter Gallery.

Change the image preview by clicking the plus or minus zoom buttons, or by clicking the black triangle and selecting from the preset zoom sizes.

If necessary, drag the lower right corner in or out to resize the Filter Gallery dialog box.

Click the expand triangle, located to the left of the individual categories, to expand a filter category. Filter categories include:

♦ Artistic

♦ Brush Strokes

♦ Distort

♦ Sketch

♦ Stylize

♦ Texture

Click a filter from the expanded list to view its default effects on the image.

Modify the effects of the filter using the filter controls.

To temporarily hide the Filter Selections, click the Show/Hide Filter Thumbnails button, located to the left of the OK button.

Click OK.

Use one of the following to create a Smart Filter:

♦ Smart Object layer. Select a Smart Object layer, click the Filter menu, select a filter, then specify the options you want.

♦ Normal layer. Select the layer, click the Filter menu, click Convert for Smart Filters, and then click OK.

Select the layer with the Smart Filters in the Layers panel.

Click the arrow to the right of the layer to display the filter effects.

Use any of the following to work with the smart layers:

♦ Show or Hide. Click the eye icon.

♦ Move. Drag the effect up or down the list.

♦ Delete. Drag the effect to the Delete icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.

♦ Duplicate. Hold down Alt (Win) or Option (Mac), and then drag the Smart Filter from one Smart Object to another, or to a new location in the Smart Filters list.

♦ Edit Options. Double-click the icon to edit blending filter options.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object to which you want to apply a filter.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Filter Gallery.

Select the filter you want.

Adjust the filter as necessary.

Click the New Effect Layer button, located at the bottom of the Filter Adjustments section. You can add as many effects layers as needed.

Select and adjust a second filter (repeat steps 4 and 5).

Adjust each individual effect by clicking on the effect layer you want to change.

To change the filter’s influence on the image, drag an effect layer to another position in the stack.

To temporarily show or hide the effect on the image, click the Show/Hide button.

To delete a selected effect layer, click the Delete button.

Click OK.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object on which you want to use the liquify tool.

♦ If you convert the layer to a Smart Object (New!), it keeps the original layer intact.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Liquify.

Select the Advanced Mode check box, and then select from the following Liquify tools:

♦ Forward Warp. Pushes pixels in front of the brush as you drag.

♦ Reconstruct. Drag inside the image, using a specific brush size to restore previously modified areas of the image.

Hold down Alt (Win) or Option (Mac), and drag across a warp with the Reconstruct tool (New!) to smooth a warp rather than scaling back or removing it.

♦ Smooth (Advanced). Drag inside the image to smooth out areas of the image (New!).

♦ Twirl Clockwise (Advanced). Click in an area to twirl the pixels (contained inside the brush tip) clockwise. To twirl counter clockwise, hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key.

♦ Pucker. Click and hold to move pixels towards the center of the brush tip.

♦ Bloat. Click and hold to move pixels away from the center of the brush tip.

♦ Push Left. Drag to push pixels to the left of the brush tip. For example, dragging straight up pushes pixels to the left, and dragging to the right pushes pixels up.

♦ Freeze Mask (Advanced). Paints a mask over an area of the image, and then protects that area from change.

♦ Thaw Mask (Advanced). Erases the protective mask created with the Freeze tool.

♦ Hand. Drag to move the visible image. Useful if the image is larger than the physical document window.

♦ Zoom. Click to zoom in on a specific area of the image. Click and drag to define an area to zoom in on. Hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key and click to zoom out.

Click OK.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object on which you want to use the liquify tool.

♦ If you convert the layer to a Smart Object (New!), it keeps the original layer intact.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Liquify.

Select the Advanced Mode check box, and then select from the following Liquify tools:

♦ Brush Size. Select a value (1 to 15,000).

♦ Brush Density (Advanced). Select a value (0 to 100). Brush Density controls how much the brush feathers at the ends. Lower values equal increased feathering.

♦ Brush Pressure. Select a value (1 to 100). Determines how quickly a liquify effect is applied to the image when the brush is moving. The lower the value, the slower the effect.

♦ Brush Rate (Advanced). Select a value (0 to 100). Determines how quickly a liquify effect is applied to the image when the brush is stationary. The lower the value, the slower the effect.

♦ Stylus Pressure. Select the check box if you’re using a drawing tablet. The pressure you apply to the drawing tablet will now control the pressure applied with the Liquify brush.

♦ Reconstruct (Advanced). Click the button to reconstruct the image stage by stage.

♦ Restore All. Click the button to restore the image to its original state.

Click OK.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object containing a selection or mask.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Liquify.

Select the Advanced Mode check box, and then select from the following Liquify Mask options:

♦ Replace Selection. Shows the selection, transparency or layer mask in the original image.

♦ Add To Selection. Shows the mask in the original image, so you can then add to the selection using the Freeze tool.

♦ Subtract From Selection. Subtracts pixels in selection from current protection created with the Freeze tool.

♦ Intersect With Selection. Uses only pixels that are selected and currently frozen.

♦ Invert Selection. Uses your selection to invert the currently frozen area.

Click OK.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object containing a selection or mask.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Liquify.

Select the Advanced Mode check box, and then select from the following Liquify View options:

♦ Show Image. Shows/hides the active image preview.

♦ Show Mesh. Displays a mesh (grid) over the image preview.

♦ Mesh Size. Select between a Small, Medium, or Large mesh.

♦ Mesh Color. Select a color for the mesh.

♦ Show Mask. Shows/hides the mask.

♦ Mask Color. Select a color for the mask.

♦ Show Backdrop. Shows/hides the backdrop.

♦ Use. Select what layers are displayed in the image preview.

♦ Mode. Displays the active layer either In Front, Behind, or Blended with the other layers.

♦ Opacity. Determines the blending opacity between the individual layers.

Click OK.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object on which you want to use the Liquify tool.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Liquify.

Select the Advanced Mode check box, and then select the Show Mesh check box.

Use the Liquify tools to adjust the image.

Click Save Mesh.

Enter a descriptive name for the mesh.

Click Save.

Click OK.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object on which you want to use the Liquify tool.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Liquify.

Select the Advanced Mode check box, and then select the Show Mesh check box.

To load the last used mesh, click Last Load Mesh.

If this is not the mesh you want, you can continue and select the one you want to use.

Click Load Mesh.

Select a mesh file.

Click Open.

The distortions generated by the mesh are applied to the image.

Click OK.

Select the Layers panel, and then select layer or Smart Object to which you want to apply the filter.

♦ If you convert the layer to a Smart Object, it keeps the original layer intact.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Camera Raw.

Click a tab: Basic, Tone Curve, Detail (Sharpen & Noise Reduction), HSL / Grayscale, Split Toning, Lens Corrections (New!), Effects, Camera Calibration, Presets, or Snapshots.

Use tools to modify the image:

♦ Use the Zoom, Hand, Rotate, Crop, and Straighten tools to change the size, orientation, and position of the image.

♦ Use the White Balance tool to adjust color cast or the Color Sampler tool to sample a color from the image.

♦ Use the Spot Removal (New!) (Heal or Clone) or Red Eye Removal tool to fix the image.

♦ Use the Adjustment Brush, Graduated Filter, Radial Filter (New!), or Targeted Adjustment tool to make adjustments to exposure, brightness, contrast, saturation, clarity, sharpness, and color.

Click OK or Cancel to accept or reject changes.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object to which you want to apply the filter.

♦ If you convert the layer to a Smart Object, it keeps the original layer intact.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Camera Raw.

Select the Preview check box to view the results.

Click the Lens Correction tab.

Click the Manual tab.

Click any of the following Upright (New!) options:

♦ None. Removes all changes.

♦ Automatic. Let’s Photoshop level and balance the image.

♦ Level. Levels the horizontal of the image.

♦ Vertical. Levels the vertical of the image.

♦ Full. Levels the horizontal and vertical of the image.

Drag sliders to manually adjust Distortion, Vertical, Horizontal, Rotate, Scale, and Aspect (New!).

To show a grid to preview the alignment, select the Show Grid check box.

Click OK.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object to which you want to apply the filter.

♦ If you convert the layer to a Smart Object, it keeps the original layer intact.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Camera Raw.

Select the Preview check box to view the results.

Select the Radial Filter tool on the toolbox.

Drag from the center to create a radial filter region. You can drag a resize handle to adjust the region.

To show or hide the radial filter regions, select or clear the Show Overlay check box.

To move the radial filter region, click the circle in the middle to select it, and then drag it.

Click the Inside or Outside option to specify where to apply the adjustments.

Drag sliders to manually adjust settings, such as Exposure, Sharpness, Contrast, and Feather.

To add another radial section region, click the New option, and then repeat Steps 5 thru 8.

Click OK.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object to which you want to apply the filter.

♦ If you convert the layer to a Smart Object, it keeps the original layer intact.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Camera Raw.

Select the Preview check box to view the results.

Select the Spot Removal tool on the toolbox.

Click the Type list arrow, and then click Heal or Clone.

To display spots in the image to make them easier to fix, select the Visualize Spots check box (New!), and then drag the slider to display spots in white.

Drag the image to fix spots with any shape you want (New!).

To display the spot fix selections and selection source points in the image, select the Show Overlay check box.

To move the selection source point, drag a pin (New!).

Click OK.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object to which you want to apply the filter.

♦ If you convert the layer to a Smart Object, it keeps the original layer intact.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Adaptive Wide Angle Filter.

If the program recognizes lens data, it automatically provides a suitable profile and selects Auto under Correction.

Click the Correction list arrow, and then select a correction method: Fisheye, Perspective, Auto, or Full Spherical.

♦ If you select Fisheye or Perspective, the filter tries to read image metadata and automatically set Focal Length and Crop Factor as well as select the As Shot check box.

Select the Constraint or the Polygon Constraint tool on the toolbox.

Click and drag or click, move and click to create a constraint line or polygon. If you want a straight line, press Shift as you draw.

If the constraint line curves, the filter is using lens data.

If you want to straighten a drawn constraint line, right-click the line, and then click Horizontal, Vertical, or Arbitrary.

To adjust the constraint line, use any of the following:

♦ Length. Drag a white square handle at either end.

♦ Angle. Drag a white circle handle (which are connected by a bigger circle).

♦ Focal Length. If a white square handle appears in the middle, drag it.

Use the following tools to move the image or change the view:

♦ Move. Drag the image to move it around in the canvas.

♦ Hand. Drag to move the visible image.

♦ Zoom. Click to zoom in on a specific area of the image. Click and drag to define an area to zoom in on. Hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key and click to zoom out.

Use the following options:

♦ Preview. Select to display the image with changes.

♦ Show Constraints. Select to show the constraint lines.

♦ Show Mesh. Select to show a grid mesh.

To delete a constraint, click the line to select it, and then Delete.

Click OK.

♦ Reset. When you hold Alt (Win) or Option (Mac), the Cancel button changes to Reset.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object to which you want to apply the filter.

♦ If you convert the layer to a Smart Object, it keeps the original layer intact.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Oil Paint Filter.

Drag any of the following sliders to adjust Brush and Lighting options:

♦ Stylization. Specifies the style of brush stroke (.1 to 10). Provides a stucco to long brush stroke effect.

♦ Cleanliness. Provides a grainy to smooth effect.

♦ Scale. Specifies the scale of the brush stroke (.1 to 10). Scales the brush stroke from the upper left part of the image.

♦ Bristle Detail. Specifies the depth of the brush strokes (.1 to 10).

♦ Angular Direction. Specifies the angle of the brush stroke and the angle of the light to the brush stroke (0 to 360 degrees).

♦ Shine. Specifies a reflection of light on the image (0 to 10).

Click OK.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object to which you want to apply the filter.

♦ If you convert the layer to a Smart Object, it keeps the original layer intact.

Click the Filter menu, point to Render, and then click Lighting Effects.

Two elliptical selections appear around a pin. The inner ellipse is the light hotspot, while the outer one is the overall light.

To use a preset, click the Presets list arrow on the Options bar, and then select a preset.

Drag a white circle handle to adjust the scale (width or length) or rotation of the light. To move the light, point inside the light or to the pin, and drag it.

Drag any of the following sliders to adjust the lighting effects:

♦ Color, Intensity, and Hotspot. These affect the active light. You can also drag the outer pin circle to adjust intensity.

♦ Colorize, Exposure, Gloss, Metallic, Ambience, and Texture. These affect the image.

To add a light source, click the Spot Light, Point Light, or Infinite Light button on the Options bar.

Click OK or Cancel on the Options bar to accept or reject changes.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object on which you want to use the filter.

♦ If you convert the layer to a Smart Object (New!), it keeps the original layer intact.

Click the Filter menu, point to Blur, and then click Field Blur, Iris Blur, or Tilt-Shift.

The Blur Tools and Blur Effects panels appear as well as a pin point within the image.

To adjust the blur, click to place a pin (the blur point), and then drag a blur slider (sharper focus to the left or more blurry to the right) or enter a specific value in the Blur Tools panel. You can click to set multiple blur points.

♦ Field Blur. A pin appears in the image with a bull’s eye, indicating it’s selected.

♦ Iris Blur. An elliptical selection appears around a pin with four circle handles inside. Drag the white diamond handle to adjust the region corners or the gray circle handles to adjust the region shape. Drag the white circle handles to adjust the focus of the region.

♦ Tilt-Shift. Straight lines appear above and below a pin. The non-dotted lines represent the top and bottom of the blur, while the top and bottom dotted lines represent the background and foreground distortion. Select the Symmetric Distortion check box to apply the foreground setting to the background.

Use the following to work with pins:

♦ Add. Click in the image.

♦ Select. Click the pin (appears as a bull’s eye).

♦ Hide/Show. Press Ctrl (Win) or (Mac)+H. Also hides/shows any selections.

♦ Remove. Click the Remove All Pins button on the Options bar.

To add blur effects, use any of the following in the Blur Effects panel:

♦ Light Bokeh. Drag slider or enter value to control the amount of highlights in the blur.

♦ Bokeh Color. Drag slider or enter value to control the colorfulness of the bokeh.

♦ Light Range. Drag slider to control the luminous level for the bokeh color.

To switch between blur tools, click the Expand/Collapse arrow in the Blur Tools panel.

To enable or disable individual blur tools or effects, select or deselect the check box to the right of the item in the panel.

Click OK or Cancel on the Options bar to accept or reject changes.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object to which you want to apply the Lens Blur.

♦ If you convert the layer to a Smart Object, it keeps the original layer intact.

Create a selection or alpha mask to control the blur.

Click the Filter menu, point to Blur, and then click Lens Blur.

The Lens Blur dialog box opens.

Select from the following options:

♦ Preview. Select Faster to generate quicker preview, or More Accurate to view the image with the filter applied.

♦ Depth Map. Select a source from the Source list arrow.

♦ Blur Focal Distance. Drag the slider to set the depth at which pixels are in focus. The higher the value, the greater the effect.

♦ Invert. Inverts the selection or alpha channel.

♦ Shape. Select an iris option from the Shape list arrow.

♦ Radius. Drag the slider to add more blur.

♦ Blade Curvature. Drag the slider to smooth out the edges of the iris.

♦ Rotation. Drag the slider to rotate the iris.

♦ Brightness. Drag the slider to increase the brightness of the highlights.

♦ Threshold. Drag the slider to select a brightness cutoff so that all the pixels that are brighter than that value are treated as highlights.

♦ Amount. Drag the slider to add or remove noise.

♦ Uniform or Gaussian. Select one method to add noise to an image.

♦ Monochromatic. Adds noise without affecting the color in your image.

Click OK.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object to which you want to apply the filter.

♦ If you convert the layer to a Smart Object, it keeps the original layer intact.

Click the Image menu, point to Adjustments, and then click Photo Filter.

Select the Preview check box to view the results in the active document window.

Select from the following options:

♦ Filter. Click the list arrow, and then select from the available filter presets.

♦ Color. Click the color box, and then select a color using the Color Picker dialog box.

♦ Density. Drag the slider to increase or decrease the impact the color has on the image.

♦ Preserve Luminosity. Select the check box to prevent the image’s lightness values from being changed as a result of adding a color filter (recommended).

Click OK.

Select the layer or Smart Object to which you want to apply a blending mode and filter.

Press Ctrl+J (Win) or +J (Mac) to create a copy of the selected layer.

Select the layers one at a time and apply a different filter to each layer.

Select the top layer.

Click the Blending Modes list arrow and experiment with the various blending options.

In this example, the Cutout and Find Edges filters were used on the separate layers, and then combined with the Linear Light Blending Mode.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object you want to use to create a pattern.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Pattern Maker.

The optional filter is available at www.adobe.com. Search for the filter, and then download it.

Select the Rectangular Marquee tool on the toolbox, and then select a portion of the image.

Select the portion of the image you want to use to generate an image.

Click Generate to create a random pattern based on the selected sample.

Click Generate Again to generate another random pattern.

Select from the available Tile Generation options:

♦ Use Clipboard As Sample. Uses the pixel information contained in the Clipboard as the tile-generating pattern.

♦ Use Image Size. Creates a tile pattern the size of the original image.

♦ Width. Enter a value (1 to 800), or click the black triangle and drag the slider left or right to define a width.

♦ Height. Enter a value (1 to 800), or click the black triangle and drag the slider left or right to define a height.

♦ Offset. Click the list arrow, and then click None, Horizontal, or Vertical.

♦ Amount. Enter a percentage value (1% to 100%), or click the black triangle and drag the slider left or right.

♦ Smoothness. Click the list arrow, and then select a value of 1, 2, or 3.

♦ Sample Detail. Enter a value from 3 to 21, or click the black triangle and drag the slider left or right.

♦ Show. Click the list arrow, and then select between the generated sample and the original image.

♦ Tile Boundaries. Select the check box to view the tile edges in the preview window. Click on the color box, and then select an alternate color.

Scroll through your tile patterns using the left/right arrow keys underneath the Tile History preview. Stop when you see the pattern you want.

Click OK.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object to which you want to apply a filter.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Filter Gallery.

Apply any of Photoshop’s filters to the active image.

Click OK.

Click the Edit menu, and then click Fade. The Fade command includes the name of the applied filter.

Change the Opacity and Mode settings until you see the effect you’re after.

Click OK.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer or Smart Object to which you want to apply a filter.

Click one of the selection tools on the toolbox, and then create a selection in the document window.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Filter Gallery.

Select any of Photoshop’s filters.

Adjust the filter options until you see the effect you want.

Click OK.

The filter is only applied to the selected areas of the image.

Click the Channels panel, and then click the Add New Channel button.

Select the Gradient tool on the toolbox, click a linear gradient, select the default foreground and background colors of black and white, and then drag right to left across the new channel mask.

Photoshop creates a horizontal, black to white channel mask.

Select the Layers panel, and then select the layer containing the image you want to modify.

Click the Select menu, and then click Load Selection.

Click the Channel list arrow, select the new channel, and leave the other options at their default values.

Click OK.

Click the Filter menu, and then click Filter Gallery.

Click any of the available filters, and then adjust the options until you are satisfied with the result.

Click OK.

The gradient mask (black to white) creates a ramped percentage selection. The white area of the mask is fully selected and the black area is fully masked. As the mask moves to black, the image becomes less and less selected. When the filter is applied, it loses strength from left to right (matching the shades of gray in the mask).

If you’re working with a layered image, you should flatten the image before watermarking it; otherwise, the watermark will affect the active layer only.

Click the Filter menu, point to Digimarc, and then click Embed Watermark.

♦ If prompted, click OK to the warning alert.

If you’re using the watermark for the first time, click Personalize. Get a Digimarc ID by clicking Info to launch your web browser and visit the Digimarc web site at www.digimarc.com.

Enter a Digimarc ID and any other necessary information, and then click OK.

The Personalize button becomes a Change button, allowing you to enter a new Digimarc ID.

Click the Image Information list arrow, select an option, and then enter a copyright year, Transaction ID, or Image ID for the image.

Select any of the following Image Attributes check boxes:

♦ Restricted Use. Select the check box to limit the use of the image.

♦ Do Not Copy. Select the check box to specify that the image should not be copied.

♦ Adult Content. Select the check box to label the image contents as suitable for adults only.

Choose a level of durability (visibility) for the watermark.

Drag the slider, or enter a value (1 to 4). The higher the number, the more aggressive the watermark.

To automatically assess the watermark’s viability after it’s embedded, select the Verify check box.

Click OK.