1.4. Stage 4

1.4.1. Cropping and corrections

I re-cropped the entire panorama to eliminate the parts I didn't want, then flattened the final image.

Be careful—once an image is flattened, there's no going back. It's a good idea to first save the image with all its layers in PSD format.

The resulting image was 29.5 × 13.7 in. (75 × 35 cm) at 300 dpi. I had to change this to a 1:3 ratio for the assignment, so I cropped it to 29.5 × 9.8 in. (75 × 25 cm). The resulting file size was big enough that I could create a banner-sized digital print (8 × 25 ft. or 2.7 × 7.5 m) for an outdoor display.

I copied the background, created a new layer, then used the Clone Stamp tool to eliminate some dust that showed up on the camera's CCD sensor. I also had to erase a few water droplets; water in the ice cave had dripped onto the protruding 14mm lens, despite my efforts to protect it.

The Shadow/Highlight command sliders.

The resulting photograph was beginning to look the way I'd hoped. All I had to do now was adjust the color. I then called on Photoshop CS's powerful Shadow/Highlight tool, which made it easy to correct under- and over-exposed areas.

Lighten

Fix water droplets

Remove overall cyan cast

Dust marks

Water droplets

Dust marks

Remove overall cyan cast

Lighten

Lighten