retouching projects

 

 

 

essential skills

• Develop skills using layers, adjustment layers, channels and layer masks.
• Retouch and enhance images using the following techniques and tools:

– Adjustments in Adobe Camera Raw

– Lens Correction Filter and Warp

– Adjustment layers and layer masks

– Target tones

– Healing Brush, Clone Stamp Tool and Stamp Tool

– Shadow/Highlight adjustment

– High Pass, Unsharp Mask and Smart Sharpen.

 

Basic adjustments – Project 1

Most images that have come straight off the memory card of a camera benefit from some minor adjustments. These adjustments enable the images to be optimized for screen or print, or corrected for any in-camera auto settings that were not appropriate. Traditionally these adjustments were always carried out inside the main editing space of Photoshop. These included setting the white and black points, adjusting the brightness and contrast and optimizing the white balance of the image (ensuring the image does not have a color cast). These adjustments are now faster and easier to make in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) even if the image is a JPEG file that has already been optimized in-camera.

The Yarra river from the Princes bridge, Melbourne.

ACR has been around since Photoshop 7 and was created as a gateway for all Raw files so that they could be optimized before they were opened in the main editing space of Photoshop (Unlike JPEGs, Raw files are saved in the camera without any processing). The new revolutionary approach (or workflow) is to use ACR for Raw and JPEGs. ACR is nondestructive, simple and fast. The editing space of Photoshop is best used for specialized tasks. In this project we will perform the basic editing tasks to a JPEG image in ACR and complete the project with a single adjustment layer in the main editing space of Photoshop.

1. Raw images open automatically in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) but JPEGs or TIFFs need to be coerced into opening into ACR. Go to File > Open (Mac) or File > Open As (PC), browse to the JPEG you want to open in ACR, and then from the Format menu in the Open dialog choose Camera Raw. If you are viewing the images in Adobe Bridge, right-click on the image and choose Open in Camera Raw.

Note > The R1 project image is a very low contrast image due to the hazy day and excessive amounts of UV light. If we look at the histogram in the top right-hand corner of the ACR dialog you can see the lack of shadow tones (on the extreme left) and highlight tones (on the extreme right of the histogram). Although this is how the camera has interpreted the scene it is very unlikely that this is the way the human vision would have remembered this scene. The adjustments that follow are designed to restore the image to how we remember it, rather than create something surreal.

2. Click the two clipping triangles above the histogram so that we can see if our attempts to increase contrast in this image will clip the luminance values (remove detail in the brightest and darkest tones). Luminance clipping is when shadows are pushed to black (level 0) and/or highlight tones are pushed to white (level 255). When this happens the shadows will appear with a blue overlay and the highlights with a red overlay. If you move the Exposure and Blacks sliders to the right you will see the overlay colors and you will also notice that the clipping triangles now appear white.

3. We need to return the Exposure slider all the way to 0.00 if we are to preserve the highlight tones in the lamp in the foreground (on the right side of the image). If you can still see some tiny spots of highlight clipping on the white glass on the lamp you will need to raise the Recovery slider to restore this detail. We can also raise the Blacks slider from its default position of 5 to a value of 10 before any shadow clipping occurs. Setting the black and white points is a basic adjustment that we tend to do to 99% of all images. The Exposure slider controls the white point while the Blacks slider controls the Black point. In the main editing space of Photoshop, the task of setting a black and white point in an image is most often performed using a Levels adjustment.

 

Localized levels with layer masks

Sometimes when the levels are optimized for the entire image a portion of the image still appears flat. A close examination of the image used in this illustration (also on the DVD) will reveal that the range of levels on the right of the histogram belong only to the sky. None of the highlights in the foreground have been rendered higher than level 200, even after the Highlight slider has been adjusted. Greater contrast can be achieved if the user ignores the sky when setting the Highlight levels slider and then masks the sky later by painting into the layer mask to restore the tonality to this area of the image (preventing the highlights in the sky from becoming clipped by the adjustment). In this example a black/white gradient has been applied to the upper portion of the layer mask. The mode of the Levels adjustment has been set to Luminosity to prevent the color saturation rising.

4. Although we now have a black and white point in this image, the contrast is still very low and the image appears a little too dark. This can be corrected by raising the Brightness and Contrast sliders. These sliders are usually non-destructive, i.e. they are slow to clip the shadow and highlight tones. If you do notice the clipping triangles above the histogram are no longer black, then you may need to fine-tune the Exposure and/or Blacks slider. If a clipping triangle appears as a color, then this indicates that one or more of the RGB channels are clipping. These colors may appear just prior to luminance clipping (all three channels are clipped) or because one or more of the colors in the image are very saturated or vibrant.

5. The image appears a little too blue or ‘cold’ for a sunny summers day. We can correct this by dragging the temperature slider to the right or by selecting the White Balance Tool in the top left-hand corner of the ACR dialog and then clicking on a neutral tone inside the image preview. I have clicked on the light gray tone in the glass of the lamp to correct the white balance automatically.

6. Just to the right of the White Balance Tool is the Targeted Adjustment Tool (TAT). If we click and hold on the TAT icon the drop-down menu will appear. Select the Luminance option and then move into the image preview and drag down on the sky to make all the blues in this image darker. Note how the HSL (Hue Saturation and Luminance) tab to the right is automatically selected.

Note > The Parametric Curve option is another great way of adjusting contrast in the image. Click up on a highlight tone and down on a shadow tone to increase contrast.

7. Return to the TAT menu and choose the Saturation option. Click on one of the warmer tones within the image (I have clicked on the brown wall in the foreground) and drag up to raise the saturation of all of the warmer tones within the image (yellows and oranges). This will retrieve the summer warmth to this image.

8. From the TAT menu choose the Hue option (color) and click and drag up on the sky to shift the hue of the blues to remove the cyan colorcast in the sky. With all of these HSL adjustments the user must take care not to ‘verdo’ the changes.

9. We can preview how dark and how bright the tones are within this image by selecting the Color Sampler Tool (next to the White Balance Tool) and clicking on the brightest and darkest tones within the image. A shadow sampler is especially useful if you intend to print an image as the printing process easily clips dark shadow tones if they are too dark. If the shadow tones are in the low single figures, they are too low. Raise the Fill Light slider slightly until one or more of the RGB figures in the high teens or low twenties.

10. Click on the blue writing at the bottom of the ACR dialog to open the Workflow Options dialog. We can use this dialog to set the appropriate color space for the file when it is opened in the main editing space (usually sRGB for screen and Adobe RGB for print). If the image requires no further editing in the main space select OK and then hit the Save button in the bottom right-hand corner of the ACR dialog. It is possible to apply output sharpening in the Workflow Options dialog if you are not going to edit the file further in the main editing space. To continue editing this file in Photoshop select OK in the workflow options dialog and then select the Open Image button or Open Object button (select this option in the Workflow Options dialog or hold down the Shift key and to access the Open Object button). Opening as an Object (Smart Object) allows the user to return to any of these settings in ACR to fine-tune the adjustments at a later date. This is a little like using an adjustment layer instead of applying the adjustment directly to the pixels. These are termed ‘non-destructive’ approaches to image editing. If you like the idea of always being able to return to ACR then select the Open in Photoshop as Smart Objects checkbox in the Workflow Options.

Note > All adjustments can be reset in ACR (go to the fly-out menu to the right of the Basic tab). No pixels in a JPEG, TIFF or Raw file are directly altered by these adjustments until we save a separate file from ACR (click the Save Image button in ACR). Another file is then processed from the master file with the adjustments ‘baked in’.

11. Choosing the Open Object button in ACR will open a layer in the Layers panel. The layer in the Layers panel will appear with the name of the file and the thumbnail will have a Smart Object icon in the bottom right-hand corner. Double clicking the thumbnail will open the Raw file that has been embedded in the layer. From the Adjustments panel select a Curves adjustment layer so that we can fine-tune this image for print.

12. In the next two steps we will place color samplers in the image to target the darkest and lightest tones in the image. To help find these tones we will temporarily increase the contrast of the image using this Curves adjustment layer. In the Curves dialog move the black Input Levels slider under the bottom left-hand corner of the histogram to the right, and the white Input Levels slider under the bottom right-hand corner of the histogram to the left. This will clip both the highlights and shadows to help you locate the darkest and lightest tones within the image. Select the black eyedropper in the Curves dialog and then move your mouse cursor into the image preview and hold down both the Alt/Option key and the Shift key to see a threshold view of your image. An eyedropper icon will appear with a + icon and a target icon. When you click your mouse over one of the darkest shadows you will take a color sample.

13. Select the white eyedropper, hold down the Alt/Option and Shift keys, move into the image preview and take a color sample from one of the brightest highlights (you are probably getting a good idea where these tones in this image live now). In the bottom right-hand corner of the Curves dialog click on the Reset to adjustment defaults icon so that your shadows and highlights are no longer clipped. We are now ready to set appropriate output values to the tones we have targeted.

14. Open the Info panel and locate the two color samples ‘#1’ and ‘#2’. Right-click on the tiny eyedropper icon underneath each of the # symbols and in the context menu change the RGB readout to HSB (Hue, Saturation and Brightness). It is easier to work out whether a shadow will print if we can see a brightness value rather than trying to average out three separate RGB values. To raise the Brightness value to 8% you may need to select the black point on the curve and raise the Output from 0 to something higher (highlight the Output field and use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to alter the Output value). Monitor the changing Brightness value in the Info panel to see when it reaches 8%.

Note > The value of 8% is an average figure for shadow tones that can be printed with detail on an average printer. This value will need to be adjusted for specific output devices.

Tina Lorien (www.iStockphoto.com)

 

Adjusting narrow ranges of color

The Hue/Saturation adjustment can target a very narrow range of color values and then adjust them to match other colors within the image. In the example above the sunburn is targeted and then matched with the surrounding skin colors. To achieve this level of control the user must first select the broad color range that the color belongs to from the Edit menu inside the Hue/Saturation panel, e.g. reds, yellows, greens, cyans, etc. By clicking and dragging the sliders that sit between the two color ramps (at the base of the dialog box) closer together, or by using the ‘Add to Sample’ or ‘Subtract from Sample’ eyedroppers, the precise colors can be targeted. Moving the Saturation slider temporarily to −100 or +100 can help determine when the target colors have been isolated from their neighboring colors of a similar hue. Be sure to return the Saturation slider to 0 before moving the Hue slider to achieve the required match. Some fine-tuning using the Saturation and Lightness sliders will usually be required before the match to the surrounding skin is perfect.

15. If you double-click the Smart Object thumbnail in the Layers panel (it is important to click the thumbnail and not the layer itself ) then the Raw file embedded in the layer will open in ACR. This will allow us to sharpen the image when we have determined what the output device is (screen or print). In this image I have raised the Amount slider to 70% in the Sharpening section of the Detail tab so that this image has an appropriate amount of sharpening for print. The precise value for the Amount slider will vary depending on how much sharpening was applied to the JPEG image in camera. Raw images may require higher settings for the Amount slider as they have not previously been sharpened at all.

16. In the Basic panel I have raised the Clarity and Vibrance sliders to fine-tune the image. It is important to note that now we have optimized the image for print, any adjustment to the sliders above the Clarity slider could change the Color Sampler readouts in the main editing space. It is also important to note that if the Color Samplers are placed very close to an edge within the image, the process of sharpening could also change these output values (check the values in the Info dialog after applying these changes in ACR). Select OK in the bottom right hand corner of the ACR dialog to update the preview in the main editing space.

17. Although the file has been optimized for print, it is easy to create a screen or web version by going to File > Save for Web & Devices. Select the file format (usually JPEG) and a compression setting (usually High). Check the Convert to sRGB checkbox and enter in the new size in the Image Size section. Set the Quality setting to Bicubic Sharper and preview the image in the Optimized tab (top right-hand corner of the dialog). Select Save to export a web version of your master file (the one you have been working on) and be sure to save this master file as a Photoshop (PSD) file.

 

Correcting perspective – Project 2

Many photographers prematurely jump to the conclusion that Photoshop is solely a tool for distorting reality or fabricating an alternative reality (the expression ‘it’s been photo shopped ‘it’still has negative connotations for some photographers). Although this may be the case in some instances, Photoshop can be used as a tool to correct the distortions introduced by the camera and lens. These corrections can return an image back to how we remember the original subject or location, rather than how the camera interpreted it.

The Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne – Nikon D200, Nikkor 12–24 mm 1:4 G ED @ 12 mm.

Wide-angle lenses are an essential tool for the commercial photographer but they can introduce an unnatural and unnerving sense of perspective. In the natural landscape this exaggerated perspective may go unnoticed but when the photographer is in the urban environment and the photographer has to tilt the camera up in order to frame the shot, the verticals will lean inwards – sometimes to an alarming extent. Architectural photographers may go into this environment equipped with specialized equipment such as shift lenses and large-format cameras (some even take their own ladders). This specialized equipment allows the photographer to frame the view they need without tilting the camera from the horizontal axis. There is, however, a postproduction answer that allows the photographer to create a more natural sense of perspective. This first project focuses its attention on correcting rather than distorting images and will look at perspective correction and chromatic aberration (the misalignment of colors commonly found in the corners of an image). Photoshop CS5 is now capable of using specific lens profiles to correct lens distortions but sometimes we still need to perfect some images using the custom adjustments inside the Lens Correction dialog.

 

Auto Correction

The Lens Correction Filter now has a new Auto Correction tab. This filter can apply corrections to your image that are specific to the lens and lens settings you have been using. If a profile is not listed for your camera and lens combination you can hit the Search Online button to access additional online profiles. These in turn can be saved to your computer for future use.

In the example above the Geometric distortion has been removed but the chromatic aberration is actually made worse by the auto setting. When this occurs, use the settings in the custom tab. Moving the sliders in the Custom tab will override the auto settings.

 

Lens Correction in Adobe Camera Raw 6.1

Lens Correction is also available in Adobe Camera Raw if you update your camera Raw plug-in to version 6.1 or later. The Auto setting can only be used if Photoshop can locate a profile for the lens you are using. In the example above a small amount of distortion was still present in the image after the Auto setting was applied. Raising the Distortion slider in the Correction Amount section fixed the problem.

The vertical distortion, caused by the camera being tilted up, was corrected by going to the Manual tab and dragging the Vertical slider to the left. The image then had to be scaled up slightly (using the Scale slider) to ensure the final image fitted the frame.

1. Open the project image from the supporting DVD (R2_Correcting_Perspective.tif ). Start the process by selecting an appropriate screen mode in the Options bar. Choosing the ‘Full Screen Mode With Menu Bar’ option will allow you to reposition the image anywhere on your screen by holding down the spacebar and dragging the image. This will be useful as we access the edges and corners of the image. Create a duplicate layer by dragging the Background layer in the Layers panel to the New Layer icon at the base of the panel (alternatively you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + J (PC) or Command + J (Mac)). Select Filter > Lens Correction to open the Lens Correction dialog box.

2. At the time of writing this book there was no lens profile available for the Nikon 12–24mm DX f/4 lens that was used to capture the image used in this project. This project is designed to demonstrate how a manual lens correction can be made in the event that there is no profile available for the lens you are using. In the Auto Correction section of the Lens Correction dialog it is therefore important to deselect all of the Auto checkboxes including the Auto Scale Image. Then select the Custom tab. At the base of the Lens Correction dialog box make sure the Show Grid option is checked. Move your mouse cursor over the word ‘Size’ to the right of this checkbox. You should notice two arrows appear from the hand icon that indicate you can change the value in the field to the right (this tool for changing values in any numerical field is called a scrubby slider). If you now click and drag to the right the size of the grid will increase. Set the value to around 40.

3. To check for chromatic aberration (color fringing as a result of misalignment of color channels) we will need to zoom in to 100% or 200% and view the edge detail in the corners of the image. Click on the Zoom Tool in the upper left-hand corner of the dialog box or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Spacebar (PC) or Command + Spacebar (Mac) to access the Zoom Tool and then click and drag to target a zoom area in the upper left-hand corner of the image (where the dominant vertical line meets the dominant horizontal line). Click on the tab to the right of the magnification size (underneath the image in the Lens Correction dialog box) and select 200% from the menu of sizes. This will ensure that we get an accurate view of any chromatic aberration that is present in this image.

4. The chromatic aberration, if present, can be seen as a fringe running alongside the edges of lines within the corners of the image. The amount of aberration visible depends on the camera and lens used to capture the image and also, to a large extent, on the size of the reproduction of the image. By slowly moving the Fix Green/Magenta Fringe and Fix Blue/Yellow Fringe sliders it should be possible to greatly reduce the width of the color fringing, if not eliminate it altogether

Note > As well as chromatic aberration some lenses will produce noticeable darkening in the corners (especially at wide apertures). These overly dark corners can be removed using the Vignette slider. The Set Lens Default option is able to record these settings and apply them to subsequent images taken with the same lens. This feature is most useful where the chromatic aberration and vignetting do not vary as a result of zooming to a different focal length or by using a different aperture.

5. Now that the chromatic aberration is under control we can move on to the Transform section of the dialog box. Zoom out or select Fit in View. The sliders found in the Transform section are required to correct conversing verticals. Converging verticals are not corrected by the lens profile. In this image the Vertical Perspective slider is moved to the left (between –45 and –50) so that the verticals align with the grid lines that overlay this image. When a numerical field is highlighted you can use the up or down keyboard arrow keys to nudge a precise adjustment. Hold down the Shift key as you press an arrow key to increase or decrease the value in units of 10.

Note > There is a limit to the amount of correction that can be undertaken before some shapes within the subject become distorted. When the converging verticals are very pronounced it may be possible to reduce, but not eliminate, the distortion. It is worth remembering that verticals converge even when using standard focal length lenses.

6. For an accurate assessment of the degree of correction you should click the Move Grid Tool and click and drag the grid so that it aligns with edges within the image that are meant to be vertical and horizontal.

7. Use the Straighten Tool if the image appears slightly crooked when compared to the grid lines. Click on the tool located in the upper left-hand corner of the dialog box and then click and drag along either a vertical or horizontal line. Let go of the mouse button when you get to the other end of the straight line to automatically straighten the image.

 

Pincushion distortion and barrel distortion

If the vertical or horizontal lines with the image appear to be curved rather than straight this is an indication that either ‘barrel distortion’ or ‘pincushion distortion’ is present within the image as a result of the lens that has been used. The Geometric Distortion slider needed to correct this distortion appears at the top of the control panel but is sometimes best implemented after the image has first been straightened and the vertical perspective corrected. The image used in the illustration above is a typical example where the horizon line curves excessively. After first straightening the image a small amount of barrel distortion is corrected. Pincushion distortion can be found in some images where a long telephoto lens has been used to capture the image. The image used in this illustration can also be found on the supporting DVD.

8. As a result of being slightly off-center when photographed it will be impossible to align both the horizontals and verticals that frame the sky without one further adjustment. Moving the Horizontal Perspective slider slightly to the right will ensure everything aligns to the grid lines. You may need to revisit some of the sliders a second time to perfect the alignment.

9. Large transformations will soften image detail. If the scale of the image is reduced this will help retain image sharpness. High-resolution images may have sufficient pixels to allow a reduction in scale and yet still meet the final output requirements. Use the Scale slider in the bottom right-hand corner of the dialog box to reduce this image to 95%. Select OK to apply the changes and pass the corrected image back to the main Photoshop workspace.

10. After the Lens Correction filter has been applied it is still possible to fine-tune the correction in Photoshop’s main workspace. Choose ‘Rulers’ from the View menu and then use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + T (PC) or Command + T (Mac) to access the Free Transform command. Some images appear squashed after perspective correction so dragging the center handle of the transform bounding box either up or down can restore a more natural appearance to the image. The Transform command can correct lines that were not possible to correct using the Lens Correction filter.

Turn the rulers on (Ctrl/Command + R) and click and drag a guide from the vertical rule to each side of the entrance. Click on the top rule and drag in a guide to the top of the entrance and then drag a fourth guide to the lower portion of the image to align it with either end of the horizontal line on the concrete slab. You will notice how these lines in the lower portion of the image appear curved, even though the horizontal line in the top portion of the image appears comparatively straight. This is not something that the barrel distortion slider in the Lens Correction filter could compensate for (the uneven distortion is due to the fact that the horizontal lines near the base of the image are closer to the camera lens than the horizontal lines in the upper portion of the image, and have therefore been subject to a greater degree of barrel distortion). Click on the Warp icon in the Options bar and then move your mouse cursor over one of the curved lines in the central lower portion of the image. You can then click and drag gently upwards until the curved lines align with the guide you dragged into the image. To complete the process hit the Return/Enter key to accept the warp when everything is aligned. You can either hide or delete the guides by going to View > Show > Guides or View > Clear Guides.

11. Switch off the visibility of the background layer so that you can clearly see the part of the image that must be cropped. Select the Crop Tool and drag a cropping marquee around the picture area to be retained. If you are already know the final image requirements, you can enter the crop dimensions and resolution in the Options bar. Hit the Enter/Return key to apply the crop.

Move your cursor over the background layer and then right-click (PC) or Command-click (Mac) on the layer to open the context-sensitive menu. This menu will give you the option to flatten the image if you are now happy with the corrections. Select OK if you are presented with a warning dialog box asking you whether you want to discard the hidden layers

12. To complete the project we need to sharpen this image as it has not been sharpened in-camera or in ACR (Adobe Camera Raw). Sharpening is a normal corrective process that must be performed either in-camera or in post-production to all images. The Smart Sharpen filter and the Unsharp Mask filter offer greater control than sharpening in either the camera or in ACR. Since CS3 we can apply filters non-destructively by first converting the layer for Smart Filters (Filter > Convert for Smart Filters). After converting the layer for Smart Filters (the layer is now known as a Smart Object) choose Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen. We can use any filter on a Smart Object, not just the ones that have smart in their name.

 

Working spaces – Project 3

For Photographers shooting in the Raw format we can now optimize and enhance images either in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) or in the main editing space of Photoshop. Increased flexibility and options brings increased confusion as to where is the best place to edit. Am I in the right space for the right job? What if I change my mind? Decisions, decisions.

Cowboy – Fort Worth, Texas.

The un-edited Raw file leaves a little to be desired in terms of exposure and framing. This project corrects the exposure and explains how the decisions were made as to where to edit the file in order to achieve the best possible outcomes.

The project will also show how we can edit a single file in both spaces (ACR and the main editing space). The workflow outlined will give you the flexibility to return to ACR to tweak some of those initial settings – providing additional flexibility for those photographers (or art directors) who can never make up their mind.

 

Quick adjustments using Adobe Camera Raw

Adobe Camera Raw can offer fast and convenient control over tones that need adjustment, without the need for extended editing procedures in the main editing space. Using the Fill Light and Recovery sliders in Adobe Camera Raw the user can lighten the deep shadows and recover the bright highlight tones in this image. Localized contrast can be increased using the Clarity slider and finally the excessive saturation that results from these adjustments is put back in check by lowering the Saturation slider. The convenience and speed, however, come at a price – quality and control. Use the R3-Shadows.DNG file on the supporting DVD to try this technique.

The example on the left is a close-up view (the top of the dog’s head) taken from the image edited in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). Notice the dark line surrounding the window frame and the top of the fur – an artifact from the aggressive editing procedure in ACR. On the right is the same image edited in the main editing space using the Shadow/Highlight adjustment.

Note > Although the Recovery and Fill Light sliders in ACR are very powerful adjustment tools, when used aggressively together they can lead to image artifacts. When this is the case it is recommended to use the Shadows/Highlights adjustment feature in the main editing space.

 

Underexposure – the Achilles heel of digital exposure

The illustration above shows the poor quality of underexposed shadow information captured on a full-frame 35 mm CMOS sensor at 200 ISO. Shadows in digital images contain low-quality data and the shadows of most digital images cannot always be rescued without compromising the quality. Shadow information will tend to be superior if the image is captured at low ISO on a large 14- or 16-bit image sensor.

In Adobe Camera Raw the noise can be reduced by raising the Color and Luminance Noise Reduction sliders. The effects of these sliders in ACR can only be viewed at magnifications of 100% and above. Ideally the photographer should raise the exposure at the time of capture to avoid underexposure (see Adobe Camera Raw) or capture multiple exposures (see HDR).

1. Open the project image into Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). Select the Crop Tool and create a tighter composition by dragging the tool over the head and shoulders of the cowboy. If required, move your cursor to a position just outside one of the corner handles to rotate the crop marquee. Select the Hand Tool or Zoom tool to apply this crop. It is important to remember that pixels are not discarded in the cropping process in ACR – just hidden from view. This is an advantage to using ACR rather than the main editing space for this task.

2. No fill flash reached the subject in any usable strength and the exposure compensation used in-camera was insufficient to lighten the dark shadows. Overall Luminance can be increased by raising the Exposure slider to +1.5, the Fill Light slider to +15 and the Brightness slider to +70. Contrast can also be increased by raising the Contrast slider to +50 and the Clarity slider to +20. As contrast increases so does saturation, so this needs to be controlled by reducing the Vibrance slider to −10. The Blacks slider also needs to be raised slightly to +7 so that the image still has a black point. Open the Image as a Smart Object (set this option in the Workflow Options, accessed from the base of the ACR dialog, or hold down the Shift key to access the Open Object button).

3. When the file opens in the main editing space of Photoshop go to the Layers panel and right-click on the Fill-Light Smart Object to access the context menu (be sure to right-click on the layer rather than the image thumbnail). Choose the New Smart Object via Copy command. This is not the same as dragging the Smart Object to the Create a layer icon in the Layers panel or using the duplicate layer shortcut. The New Smart Object via Copy command ensures that we can open the embedded Raw file back into Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and adjust the settings without affecting the original smart object.

4. We can now use this copy layer to optimize the Raw file for the sky so that it does not appear clipped or ‘blown out’ in the final version. Double-click on the Fill-Light copy smart object thumbnail to open the embedded raw file in ACR. When the Raw file opens for the second time the Raw file will appear with all of the settings you used to optimize the shadow tones of this image.

5. Click on the Default button to reset all of the sliders except for Clarity and Vibrance and then lower the exposure slider to -2.00 stops and the Brightness slider to +25 to darken the sky. You will see that the sky is no longer clipped in the histogram in the top right-hand corner of the ACR dialog (an advantage of the extended dynamic range of the Raw format).

6. Go to the Effects panel and add a Post Crop Vignette to darken the edges of the sky even further. Select OK in the bottom right-hand corner of the ACR dialog to update the settings of the Fill-Light copy layer.

7. We now need to create a mask so that we can balance the two exposures. Select the Quick Selection Tool from the Tools panel and then click and drag over the sky to make a selection. If the selection invades the subject just hold down the Alt key (PC) or Option key (Mac) and drag over these areas to exclude them from the initial selection. Click on the Add layer mask icon from the base of the Layers panel.

8. The layer mask on the Fill-Light copy layer will now mask the dark cowboy on the top layer to reveal the lighter cowboy on the background layer. The extreme exposure variation between the two layers will, however, create an unsightly hard edge around the subject. By softening the layer mask we will create a more gradual transition between the two exposures. Check that the layer mask is the active component of the layer (you should see a dark line around the layer mask thumbnail). Click on the layer mask thumbnail to make it the active component if it is not already selected. Go to Filter > Other > Minimum and raise the Radius slider to 30 pixels and select OK. This will expand the mask. Don’t worry about the white band, we will take care of that in the next step.

9. Go to Filter > Blur Gaussian Blur and apply a 250 pixel Gaussian Blur to the layer mask to soften the edge of the mask. Select OK to apply the adjustment to the layer mask.

10. The blur will create a gradual transition between the two layers that is effective over much of the image. Some of the dark tones from the top layer are, however, bleeding over the shoulders of the cowboy so we need to clean this area. Select the Quick Selection Tool from the Tools panel and check the Auto-Enhance and the Sample All Layers checkboxes in the Options bar. Select the cowboy’s white shirt and then from the Edit menu choose Fill. In the Fill dialog choose Black in the Contents section and then select OK.

11. The white shirt is now too light against the dark sky so we will now do some localized tonal control of just the highlights on this layer. Select the Fill-Light layer (the bottom layer) and then go to Image > Adjustments > Shadows/Highlights. Check the Show More Options checkbox. Set the Amount slider in the Shadows section to 0% and raise the Amount slider in the Highlights section to 25%. Reduce the Tonal Width slider in the Highlights section to 25% to limit the darkening effect to just the white shirt. Select OK to apply the adjustment.

12. Select the Smart Filters mask and then click the Invert button in the Masks panel or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + I (PC) or Command + I (Mac). The mask should now appear black instead of white and the effects of the smart filter will be removed. Select the Brush Tool from the Tools panel and set white as the foreground color. Use a soft-edged brush to paint in this adjustment over the shirt.

13. If some of the edges appear a little too hard select the Blur Tool from the Tools panel, set the strength to 100% in the Options bar and paint over any edges in the fill-light copy mask that require softening.

14. To increase contrast in just the midtones of the image (leaving the darkest shadow tones and brightest highlights unaffected), we can add a Levels adjustment layer. Set the mode of this adjustment layer to Soft Light (one of the contrast blend modes). Moving the Output Levels sliders to 80 and 180 will protect the shadows and highlights from contrast that results from the Soft Light blend mode.

15. If the Saturation climbs a little too high (a result of the increase in contrast) add a Hue/ Saturation adjustment layer and drag the Saturation slider to the left slightly.

 

Smart Filter masks

The problem with the mask that accompanies a Smart Filter is that there is only one. If you wanted to apply a second smart filter it would have to share the same mask that has already been optimized for the Shadows/Highlights adjustment. It is possible, however, to obtain a clean mask that is dedicated a the new smart filter by embedding the Smart Object into another Smart Object. To try this out, select the Fill-Light layer and go to Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to Smart Object. This may sound a little strange as the layer is already a Smart Object but this action will give us the option to apply a new smart filter with a new layer mask. If we needed to edit the original Smart Filter at any time we would need to double-click the Smart Object thumbnail to reveal the original Smart Object and the original Smart Filter. Another option open to us is to Rasterize the smart object, which in turn applies the Shadows/ Highlights adjustment settings to the pixels and breaks the link with the Raw file and original data. This would, however, be a destructive edit as it would bake in the changes to the pixels.

16. With such an underexposed file the noise levels are starting to become a little aggressive. In ACR 6 we have some very sophisticated Noise Reduction controls that will be able to create much smoother tones. To access these controls double-click the Fill-Light Smart Object thumbnail (the base layer) to open the Raw file in ACR. Go to the Detail tab and raise the Luminance slider in the Noise Reduction section to 65. Raising the Luminance Detail slider to 75 will help restore some of the fine detail in this image. Click the OK button to update these changes in the composite file.

17. Click on the Create a new layer icon at the base of the Layers panel and set the mode of this layer to Overlay. Select the Brush Tool from the Tools panel and set white as the foreground color. Set the Opacity to 10% and set the Brush Hardness to 0 in the Options bar. Paint over the highlights on the face to ‘dodge’ these tones (make lighter). You can also ‘burn’ or make selected tones darker by switching the foreground color to black and then painting in localized areas.

18. The non-destructive workflow in this project allows us to make adjustments to any of the editing steps to fine-tune the visual outcome. Double-click the Shadows/Highlights smart filter instead to open the Shadows/Highlights adjustment dialog. Move the Amounts slider in the Highlights section to 60% and select OK to apply these changes.

19. If we double-click the layer thumbnail of the Fill-Light copy smart object the embedded Raw file opens in ACR. Lower the brightness slider to 0 to darken the sky even further. Select OK to apply the changes and update the visual appearance of the multilayered file open in the main editing space of Photoshop.

Although this workflow may seem unduly complex to basic Photoshop users it does offer the advanced user a completely non-destructive workflow that allows full control over every element of the editing workflow. No changes are baked into any of the pixels and therefore every element can either be deleted or modified.

The horizontal format image is transformed into a vertical format image with the careful relocation of the life-ring and the sign declaring that the water (or is it the paint) is indeed ‘wet’.

 

Clone and stamp – Project 4

It has become a common retouching task in image editing to move, remove or replace details within an image to fine-tune the composition or clean the image area so everything is in its right place and there is no superfluous detail to detract from the composition or distract the viewer’s attention. The Clone Stamp Tool is the Tool that is most often used for this task. With Photoshop CS3 a new panel called Clone Source appeared. This enabled a more controlled approach to copying pixels and painting them into a new location or into a new image. There is, however, a Stamp Tool that offers an additional performance feature that few photographers know about. The Vanishing Point dialog is a highly specialized editing space for working with perspective. The Stamp Tool that resides here has additional Heal feature that is not matched by the Clone Stamp Tool in the main editing space. Many photographers haven’t known about the Stamp Tool in Vanishing Point because they may never have had the need to ‘edit in perspective’.

1. A new feature for the Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop CS4 was the ability to see a preview of what you are cloning to enable precise alignment without having to use the Clone Source panel that was introduced with CS3. Open the supporting image (R4_clone_stamp.tif) and click on the New Layer icon in the Layers panel to create an empty new layer. Click on the Clone Stamp Tool in the Tools panel. Choose a small soft-edged brush from the Options bar and set the Clone Stamp Tool Opacity to 10%. Choose All Layers from the ‘Sample’ options. Hold down the Option/Alt key and click on the top of the Wet sign where it meets the horizon. Move the mouse cursor over to the right side of the image and align the horizon line and side of the white pole before you click to paint or clone the sign into position. Although it is now easier to achieve precise alignment between the cloned pixel and the background layer the lack of a healing option makes it difficult to achieve a seamless result (the ocean and sky are slightly different tones).

2. Discard Layer 1 in the Layers panel by dragging it to the trash can icon at the base of the Layers panel. Create another new empty layer by clicking on the New Layer icon. All of the modifications will be stamped into this layer, leaving the background layer unaffected. Go to the Filter menu and choose ‘Vanishing Point’. Be prepared for a short wait while Photoshop opens the image into the Vanishing Point dialog box.

3. When the dialog box opens, Vanishing Point tries to be really helpful by giving you advice as to what to do next – sound advice that we will now ignore (unless of course you would like to ‘tear off your perpendicular planes from the stretch nodes of existing planes’). What I would like you to do instead is to simply double-click the second icon from the top in the left-hand corner of the dialog box (the Create Plane Tool). This completely ignores Adobe’s invitation to locate any planes of perspective (parallel lines that converge as they recede into the distance – a particularly rare animal in natural landscape and portrait photography) and instead just drops a nice blue grid over your entire image. This blue grid serves absolutely no purpose in this project – but is of course an essential step before Adobe will allow us to utilize the Stamp Tool.

4. Now select the Stamp Tool in the Vanishing Point dialog box. Set the Opacity of the tool to 100% and switch the Heal option to ‘On’. Reduce the Hardness of the brush to around 60 and then increase the Diameter of the brush to around 150.

Note > If the complex process of creating the ‘planes of perspective’ on your first visit to Vanishing Point seemed more trouble than it is was worth then you probably missed the significant difference between the seemingly identical Stamp Tool in Vanishing Point and the our old friend that resides in the Tools panel of the main editing space. On closer inspection they are not the same animal at all. The luminosity or healing options in the Options bar within the dialog box enable the cloned pixels to achieve a seamless blend with the surrounding pixels. This is achieved when the tool draws in the hue and luminosity values of the surrounding pixels (or just the luminosity values as is the case with the Luminosity option) into the feathered edge of the brush you are using. The softer the brush the broader the area of healing that occurs, but this may also increase the risk of drawing in adjacent values of an inappropriate value. Care must be taken to adapt the brush size and hardness to the area you are cloning into.

5. Alt/Option-click on the horizon line where it meets the upright pole, just above the sign ‘wet’, to select a source point for the pixels you wish to clone. Now move over to the vertical pole on the right side of the image and click on the similar intersection point where the horizon line meets the pole. Hold down the mouse clicker as you paint; stamp or clone just enough pixels to reveal the sign and its shadow into its new location.

Note > Choosing a precise intersection of horizontal and vertical lines as your initial source point is critical when attempting to clone pixels into another area of the image that shares these strong geometric lines.

6. Turn your attention to cloning the life-ring when the sign has been relocated. To prevent the horizontal edge above the life-ring being cloned out of alignment it will be necessary to reduce the size of the brush and increase its hardness to 80%.

7. Increase the size of the brush and decrease the hardness once again before selecting a new source point from the foreground concrete to the left of the life-ring. Proceed to remove the original life-ring from the image. If the left side of the original life-ring starts to reappear when attempting to remove the life-ring try selecting a source point further over to the left side of the image. When the original life-ring has been successfully removed click OK to apply the changes made by the Stamp Tool. You will notice that all of your changes now appear in the new layer you created before using Vanishing Point and can be removed if you are not entirely happy by simply switching off the layer visibility.

8. With the changes isolated to their own layer you have the option to erase or mask just a few of the changes that are not entirely convincing. In this image when the white pole and horizon line are aligned there is a small amount of alignment error just to the left of the sign. This can be masked by clicking on the ‘Add layer mask’ icon in the Layers panel and masking the error using the Brush Tool. Choose black as the foreground color and set the Opacity in the Options bar to 100%. Paint with a small brush to mask the alignment error.

9. It is possible to crop an image without discarding the pixels. This allows the user to recompose the composition, if required, even after cropping. To achieve this non-destructive crop in the main editing space, drag the lock on the background layer to the trash can in the Layers panel or hold down the Alt/Option key and double-click the background layer. Select the Crop Tool from the Tools panel and make a vertical composition from this horizontal image. In the Options bar select the Hide rather than the Delete radio button and then hit the commit icon in the Options bar or press the Return/Enter key. Hold down the Shift key and select both layers in the Layers panel. Select the Move Tool and drag to adjust the composition if required.

10. We will now complete this project by making the sky a little darker. From the Adjustments panel choose a Curves adjustment.

11. Select the On-Image Tool in the top left-hand corner of the Curves dialog. Click on a dark shadow and then a bright highlight in the image to set adjustment points on the curve. These will serve to anchor these tones when we adjust the midtones. Click on the sky in the image preview and drag down to make the sky a little darker.

12. The adjustment to the sky can be further restricted by going to the Masks panel and selecting Color Range. In the Color Range dialog select the Add to Sample eyedropper underneath the Save button. Click in the sky in the image preview to sample a blue color. Return to the Color Range dialog and make sure the Localized Color Clusters option is checked and then lower the Range slider to 50%. Drag across the sky, either in the Image itself or in the preview in the Color Range dialog to clear the mask from this area of the image. Adjust the Fuzziness slider so that all of the sky is white and then select OK. The Color Range feature offers a quick and easy way to make a mask that will restrict the adjustment. The mask can be further refined by painting directly into the mask with either black or white as the foreground color.

 

Clone or Heal

When cleaning an image of superfluous detail the question often arises as to which is the best tool for the job. When working in broad areas of texture to remove small blemishes the Spot Healing Brush Tool is hard to beat for speed and ease of use. As the areas requiring removal get larger, switching to the Healing Brush and selecting a source point avoids the errors that occur when using the Spot Healing Brush for this task. The limitations of the Healing Brush (and Spot Healing Brush) become apparent when working up against tones or colors that are markedly different to the area being cleaned. The Healing process draws luminance and color values from the surrounding area and when these colors are very different they contaminate the area to be healed. Problems can often be avoided in these instances by either using a harder brush or making a selection that excludes the neighboring tones that are different. When working up against a sharp edge even these actions may not be enough to avoid contamination – this is the time to switch to the Clone Stamp Tool. A selection will help to contain the repair while the Clone Source panel or Stamp Tool in Vanishing Point will help to align edges so that the repair is seamless.

 

Gradients and vignettes – Project 5

One of the top ten most powerful editing tools for Photoshop users, that’s been around since the dawn of Photoshop time, is the mighty Gradient Tool. This project shows you how you can breathe drama into seemingly lifeless images using some of Mark Galer’s super special tips and techniques, designed to extract the maximum performance from your images.

St Paul’s Cathedral from Millennium Bridge, London.

This project explores how we can use a gradient in an Adjustment Layer Mask to merge the same Raw file processed in two different ways. The project will also utilize a colored gradient applied to two new layers that, in turn, have been set to two different blend modes. The idea is to extract every ounce of life from this underexposed image captured on a gray and wet day in London (nothing new here).

1. Open the Raw file in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and then optimize the image for the foreground content. Raise the Exposure Slider to +1.75, the Fill Light slider to +50, the Brightness slider to +25, the Contrast slider to +70, the Clarity and Vibrance sliders to +25. Then hit the Open Object button (hold down the Shift key if the button reads Open Image) to open this file into the main editing space of Photoshop (got to love ACR for fast editing!).

 

Graduated Filters

The Graduated Filter in ACR can be used to lower the exposure and increase the saturation and contrast of the sky. Although there is a lot of control over how the sky appears we are a few sliders short of a full load when compared to the sliders in the Basic panel. In this project we will open the file without applying a graduated filter here in ACR.

2. When we choose the Open Object button in ACR the Raw file is embedded in the layer. In the Layers panel right-click on the Millennium-Bridge smart object (not the layer thumbnail) and choose the command ‘New Smart Object via Copy’. This allows us to open the Raw file embedded in the copy layer into ACR and change its settings without affecting the appearance of the original smart object. Now double-click on the Millennium-Bridge copy layer thumbnail to open the Raw image into ACR.

3. When the Raw file opens for the second time you will see all of the settings you used to optimize the image for the foreground. To clear all of these settings click the blue word ‘Default’. This will clear all of the settings except for the Clarity, Vibrance and Saturation sliders. Optimize the image for the sky by reducing the Exposure slider to −1.75 stops and raising the blacks slider to +27, the Brightness and Contrast sliders to +100. Reset the Clarity and Vibrance sliders to 0 by double-clicking each slider control and then raise the Saturation slider to +100.

4. Select the Detail tab and reduce the Sharpening Amount to 0 and raise the Luminance slider in the Noise Reduction section to +50. This will ensure the sky is free from excessive noise. Now select the OK button to update the Millennium-Bridge copy smart object.

5. Add a layer mask to the Millennium-Bridge copy smart object by clicking the Add layer mask icon at the base of the Layers panel. Select the Gradient Tool from the Tools panel. In the Options bar click on the little triangle next to the Gradient ramp to open the gradient picker. Select the third gradient (the Black, White gradient). Select the Linear Gradient option, make sure the Opacity is set to 100% and make sure the Reverse option is NOT checked. Click on the layer mask to make this the active component of the copy layer and then click and drag a gradient from the people in the center of the image to a position just above the top of the spire on St Paul’s cathedral. If you hold down the Shift key as you drag a gradient it will constrain it so that it is perfectly vertical. If the top of the cathedral still appears a little dark after dragging this gradient, drag a second one slightly higher in the sky.

6. We will now increase the intensity of the warm colors in the sky. Select the Eyedropper Tool from the Tools panel and in the Options bar select 5 by 5 Average from the Sample Size dropdown menu. This will ensure we can sample a color within the image when either the Gradient Tool or Brush Tool is selected. This setting is ‘sticky’ so you will not have to do this action again unless you choose Reset Tool or Reset All Tools. Click on the Create a new layer icon at the base of the Layers panel to add an empty new layer.

7. Set the mode of the new layer to Multiply (one of the darkening blend modes) in the Layers panel. Select the Gradient Tool and then hold down the Alt key (PC) or Option key (Mac) and click on the orange color in the sky to load this as the foreground color (otherwise known as ‘sampling’). Make sure the Transparency option in the Options bar is checked.

8. Select the second gradient (the Foreground to Transparent gradient) from the gradient presets. While holding down the Shift key, drag a gradient from the top of the image window to a position just below the top of the spire on St Paul’s cathedral. This will enhance the warm colors that are already an important aspect in this dramatic sky.

9. Add another new layer (click on the Create a new layer icon in the Layers panel) and set the mode to Overlay (one of the contrast blend modes). Hold down the Alt key (PC) or Option key (Mac) and take a sample of the darker orange color that has appeared in the sky after applying the first gradient. While holding down the Shift key drag a gradient from the base of the image window to a position just higher than the feet of the people in the center of the image. This will mirror the warm colors that are in the sky in the wet pavement.

10. It is possible to fine-tune the effects of a gradient using the Hue/Saturation adjustment feature. Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + U (PC) or Command + U (Mac) to open the Hue/ Saturation dialog. Adjust the Saturation and/or Lightness sliders to adjust the impact of this gradient on the composite view.

11. We can make the image more dramatic by adding a contrast vignette. Select the Rectangular Marquee Tool from the Tools panel and set a Feather value of 250 px in the Options bar. Click and drag 10% in from the top left-hand corner of the image to a position just short of 10% from the bottom right-hand corner of the image. This will create a selection with rounded corners.

12. From the Select menu choose ‘Inverse’. We will now copy the visible pixels (rather than the pixels on a single layer) by going to Edit > Copy Merged. Again from the Edit menu choose Paste. This will paste the pixels from the clipboard onto a new layer. There will be no visible change in the image window at this point until we change the blend mode of the layer.

13. It is common to use either the Multiply or Screen blend modes when creating a vignette in this manner (to darken or lighten the edges of the image), but with this project we will use the Soft Light blend mode instead to increase contrast and color saturation at the edges of the image. If you find the effect is a little excessive, you have the choice to lower the opacity of the layer in the Layers panel. To increase the effect, change the blend mode from Soft Light to Overlay. To retain the increased levels of contrast but remove the changes in saturation, desaturate the layer using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + U (PC) or Command + Shift + U (Mac).

14. To complete the project we will give the tonality a little bit of a lift, courtesy of a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer. From the Adjustments panel choose Brightness/Contrast. Raise the Brightness to a value of +20 and the Contrast to a value of +10. Hold down the Alt key (PC) or Option key (Mac) and click on the visibility icon (the eye) on the bottom layer in the Layers panel so that you can see just how far we have come. Alt-click (PC) or Option-click (Mac) the visibility icon a second time to switch the visibility of all of the layers back on.

 

Advanced sharpening techniques – Project 6

Most, if not all, digital images require sharpening – even if shot on a state-of-the-art digital mega-resolution SLR with pin-sharp focusing. Most cameras or scanners can sharpen as the image is captured but the highest quality sharpening is to be found in the image-editing software. Sharpening in the image-editing software will allow you to select the precise amount of sharpening and the areas of the image that require sharpening most. When you are sharpening for the screen, it is very much a case of ‘what you see is what you get’. For images destined for print, however, the monitor preview is just that – a preview. The actual amount of sharpening required for optimum image quality is usually a little more than looks comfortable on screen – especially when using an LCD monitor (TFT flat panel).

The basic concept of sharpening is to send the Unsharp Mask filter or Smart Sharpen filter on a ‘seek and manipulate’ mission. These filters make the pixels on the lighter side of the edge lighter still, and the pixels on the darker side of the edge darker. Think of it as a localized contrast control. Too much and people in your images start to look radioactive (they glow), not enough and the viewers of your images start reaching for the reading glasses they might not own. The best sharpening techniques to use with sharpening filters are those that prioritize the important areas for sharpening and leave the smoother areas of the image well alone, e.g. sharpening the eyes of a portrait but avoiding the skin texture. These advanced techniques are essential when sharpening images that have been scanned from film or have excessive noise, neither of which will benefit from a simple application of the Unsharp Mask filter. So let the project begin.

Note > If you have any sharpening options in your capture device it is important to switch them off or set them to minimum or low (if using Camera Raw set the sharpening amount to 0). The sharpening features found in most capture devices are often very crude when compared to the following technique. It is also not advisable to sharpen images that have been saved as JPEG files using high compression/low quality settings. The sharpening process that follows should also come at the end of the editing process, i.e. adjust the color and tonality of the image before starting this advanced sharpening technique. Reduce the levels of sharpening later if it proves too much.

 

Technique 1 – High Pass

1. Open the project image (R5_Sharpen-crop.tif ). Duplicate the background layer and set the blend mode to Soft Light from the blend modes menu in the Layers panel. Change the name of this layer to High Pass. Go to Filter > Other > High Pass.

2. Choose a 5.0 pixels Radius for this project. A pixel Radius between 1.0 and 5.0 would be considered normal if you were not going to proceed beyond Step 4 in this project.

Note > Use lower Radius values when printing to Gloss paper and higher values if printing to Matte paper. To adjust the level of sharpening later you can either lower the opacity of the High Pass layer (to decrease the amount of sharpening) or set the blend mode of the ‘High Pass’ layer to ‘Overlay’ or ‘Hard Light’ (to increase the level of sharpening).

3. Click on the foreground color swatch in the Tools panel to open the Color Picker. To choose a midtone gray, enter 0 in the Hue and Saturation fields and 50% in the Brightness field. Select OK. Paint the High Pass layer to remove any sharpening that is not required, e.g. skin tones, skies, etc. Zoom in to 100 or 200% to obtain a clear view of the skin detail. This technique is especially useful for limiting the visual appearance of noise or film grain. Turn off the background layer momentarily to observe any areas you may have missed.

Detail from a portrait captured on a Nikon D1x. The Raw image was processed with 15% sharpening. First test has no subsequent sharpening. Second test uses a High Pass layer (3 pixel radius) in Soft Light mode. Third test has had the blend mode of the High Pass layer changed to Overlay mode. Fourth test has sharpening via a localized Unsharp Mask (100%) in Luminosity mode. The Opacity slider could be used to fine-tune the preferred sharpening routine.

4. Remember at this point the settings you have selected are being viewed on a monitor as a preview of the actual print. To complete the process it is important to print the image and then decide whether the image could stand additional sharpening or whether the amount used was excessive. If the settings are excessive you can choose to lower the opacity of the ‘High Pass’ layer.

 

Saturation and sharpening

Most techniques to increase the contrast of an image will also have a knock-on effect of increasing color saturation. As the High Pass and Unsharp Mask filters both increase local contrast there is an additional technique if this increased color saturation becomes problematic. You may not notice this in general image editing, but if you become aware of color fringing after applying the High Pass technique you should consider the following technique to limit its effects.

 

Technique 2 – Unsharp Mask/Smart Sharpen

The second technique is a continuation of the first technique. i.e complete the first four steps before commencing Step 5. This alternative technique is intended to address the issues of increased saturation leading to the effect of color fringing. This second technique looks at how the benefits of localized sharpening and Luminosity sharpening can be combined.

5. Change the blend mode of the High Pass layer back to Normal mode. Then apply a Threshold adjustment to the High Pass layer. Go to Image > Adjustments > Threshold.

6. Drag the slider just below the histogram to isolate the edges that require sharpening. The goal of moving these sliders is to render all of those areas you do not want to sharpen white. Select ‘OK’ when you are done. Paint out, with a white brush, any black pixel areas that you do not want sharpened, e.g. in the portrait used in this example any pixels remaining in the skin away from the eyes, mouth and nose were painted over using the Paintbrush Tool with white selected as the foreground color.

7. Go to the Channels panel and either Ctrl-click (PC) or Command-click (Mac) the RGB thumbnail or click on the ‘Load channel as selection’ icon from the base of the Channels panel to load the edge detail as a selection. Go to Select > Modify > Contract. Enter 1 pixel in the Contract dialog box and select OK. Click on the ‘Save selection as channel’ icon at the base of the Channels panel to save this modified selection as a channel. Go to Select > Deselect.

8. Switch off the visibility of the High Pass layer. Select the background layer in the Layers panel. Click on the ‘Create a new layer’ icon at the base of the Layers panel and then select the Spot Healing Brush Tool in the Tools panel. Select Sample All Layers in the Options bar and then spot any minor defects you can find in the image, e.g. there is a light spot in each eye that can be removed.

9. When your editing of the file is complete and you are ready for sharpening, stamp the visible elements to a new layer by holding down the Command, Option and Shift keys on a Mac or Ctrl, Alt and Shift keys on a PC and then pressing the letter E on the keyboard. This layer contains the combined elements from the layers below. Go to the Channels panel and load the Alpha channel you saved in Step 7 as a selection (drag the Alpha channel to the Load channel as selection icon or hold down the Command/Ctrl key and click on the Alpha channel. Make sure the Master RGB channel is the active component before returning to the Layers panel.

10. With the selection active hold down the Alt/Option key and click on the ‘Add layer mask’ icon. In the Masks panel increase the Feather of the mask to 5 pixels to soften the hard edges.

11. Now click on the image thumbnail rather than the layer mask in the Layers panel to make this the active component. Ensure the image is zoomed in to 100% for a small image or 50% for a larger print resolution image (200–300 ppi). Go to ‘Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen or Unsharp Mask’. Adjust the ‘Amount’ slider to between 100 and 300%. This controls how much darker or lighter the pixels at the edges are rendered. Choose an amount slightly more than looks comfortable on screen if the image is destined for print rather than screen. The Radius should be kept low, around 0.5 to 1.5 pixels. The mask protects the skin from the sharpening process but the Threshold can be raised to 3 or 4 to keep any noise in the image appearing soft.

12. Change the blend mode of the sharpening layer (the Stamp Visible) to Luminosity mode. Luminosity mode will restrict the contrast changes to brightness only, and will remove any changes in saturation that have occurred due to the use of the Unsharp Mask. The changes are often very subtle but this technique is recommended for all images and is a fast alternative to a technique that advocates changing the mode of the image to Lab and then sharpening the L channel only (L for Luminosity).

Darkened edge exhibits increased saturation prior to changing the blend mode to Luminosity.

The illustration above is a magnified view of the effects of changing the blend to Luminosity. These two cutting-edge sharpening techniques are capable of producing razor-sharp images that will really put the finishing touches to a folio-quality image.

Original photography by Scott Hirko

 

Replace color and tone – Project 7

This project will change the background color of a studio image and change target colors of the subject itself. The essential skill in this project is how to handle the shadows in the process. The preservation of the original shadows when the background color changes or the subject gets transported to a new location is one of the most essential ingredients for creating a realistic montage. The quickest way to destroy the dimensional illusion of the montage is to have conflicting light sources and shadows. Graphic designers all too often resort to recreating a shadow from scratch rather than preserving the original shadow, thereby creating a graphic, rather than a photographic, effect. When capturing a subject for a montage project try to capture all of the shadow on a smooth textured surface or on a surface with a similar texture to the new location. It is difficult to light a white backdrop so that it is white rather than gray but as shadows are always darker than the backdrop tone they can be separated quite easily if you know the technique to achieve this. The primary skills we will utilize in this tutorial are the controlled clipping of tones using Levels, the Hue/Saturation adjustment feature, duplicating and inverting layer masks, and a few blend modes thrown in.

Note > The studio backdrop does not have to be white in order to isolate the shadow from the surrounding background. Subjects are often photographed against a blue or green screen (chroma blue or chroma green) for video compositing but this can prove problematic when replacing backgrounds using Photoshop if the blue or background is not lit correctly.

1. Make a selection of the studio background surrounding the bike using the skills used in the Selections chapter. The selection can be created using a range of selection tools but if you are using the Pen Tool or Magic Wand as one of the selection tools you will need to use the other selection tools with a feather radius set to zero. When the selection is complete click on the ‘Save selection as channel’ icon at the base of the Channels panel. Alternatively use the saved selection that is available with the TIFF file on the DVD. The saved selection has had a 1-pixel feather applied to soften the edge of the mask.

2. With the selection still active (Ctrl- or Command-click the alpha channel in the Channels panel if the selection is NOT active) choose Levels from the Adjustments panel and set the mode of the resulting Adjustment layer in the Layers panel to Luminosity*. In the Layers dialog hold down the Alt key (PC) or Option key (Mac) and drag the white highlights slider underneath the histogram to clip the tones surrounding the shadow under the bike to white. As soon as the shadow becomes an island stop dragging the highlight slider. We can clip the rest of the tones behind the bike to white using the technique outlined in the next step.

* Note > The Luminosity mode will protect the existing saturation levels on the underlying layer when we make the following adjustment.

3. Hold down the Ctrl key (PC) or Command key (Mac) and click on the layer mask thumbnail to load the mask as a selection. Click on the ‘Create new fill or adjustment layer’ icon at the base of the Layers panel and choose ‘Solid color’. Enter 255 in all three of the RGB fields in the Pick a Solid Color dialog (Color Picker) and select OK. Lower the opacity of the Color Fill adjustment layer to around 50% so that you can see the shadows on the underlying layer. Choose the Brush Tool and select black as the foreground color and then in the Color Fill layer mask paint over the faint shadows under the bike (including their soft edges). Be careful not to paint over any areas of the studio backdrop that were not rendered 255 by the Levels adjustment layer. When the painting is complete return the opacity of the layer back to 100%. The shadows should now appear natural with soft edges and the rest of the backdrop is white.

4. You can change the color of the paintwork quickly by selecting a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer from the Adjustments panel. Select Reds in the Edit menu and then move the Hue slider to – 20 or just select the on-image tool, hold down the Ctrl key (PC) or Command key (Mac) and click on the paintwork and drag left. Lower the Saturation by dragging left without holding down the modifier key (Ctrl/Command key). As the center of the wheels are very close to red you may also notice these changing color along with the bright red paintwork. This will be corrected in the next step.

5. The observant among you will have noticed that we now have a blue tail-light and discolored wheels. This can be quickly restored to the original color by selecting the Brush Tool from the Tools palette, choosing black as the foreground color (press D on the keyboard) and then painting over the tail-light and the center of each wheel in the image preview to mask the adjustment in this area.

6. The following step shows how we can change the color of the background and yet still retain the original shadows. This is a useful technique that allows us to preview how the subject will appear if placed against a darker background in a montage or composite image (see the Montage Projects chapter). Load the Levels adjustment mask as a selection and then create another Color Fill (Solid Color) adjustment layer and this time choose a darker color from the Color Picker. In the illustration above the color is around 40% Brightness and Saturation. The mode of the adjustment layer has to be set to Multiply in order to preserve the original shadows.

7. A white line will appear around the motorcycle after applying this second Color Fill adjustment layer. If we shrink or choke the Color Fill mask this will allow the fill color to replace this white line. Click on the color fill 2 mask, go to Image > Adjustments > Levels and drag the center gamma slider beneath the histogram to the left. This adjustment can also be achieved using the Expand/Contract slider in the Refine Edge dialog (Select > Refine Edge).

8. Some parts of the bike will now appear too light as they were collecting some light reflected from the original white backdrop. We can create a layer to darken areas of the underlying image. Holding down the Alt key (PC) or Option key (Mac) click on the ‘Create a new layer’ icon at the base of the Layers panel. In the New Layer dialog box set the Mode to Overlay and check the ‘Fill with Overlay-neutral color (50% gray)’ option. Name the layer Burn and select OK to create this new layer.

9. Hold down the Alt key (PC) or Option key (Mac) and drag the layer mask from the Levels 2 layer to the ‘Burn’ layer to duplicate it. Use the keyboard shortcut (Ctrl + I for PC or Command + I for Mac) to invert the mask. Select the layer thumbnail rather than the Layer mask thumbnail (when selected it will have a second line running around the thumbnail icon). Select the Brush Tool from the Tools palette and Black as the foreground color (press the letter D key on the keyboard). Choose a large soft-edged brush and set the Opacity between 10 and 20% in the Options bar. Paint the underside of the tires and the bike darker so that the effect is consistent with the new background tone. If you should lighten the fill color or place the bike against a background with a lighter tone in a composite image the opacity of this burn layer can be adjusted.

10. The easiest way to transplant all of these layers into another image when we come to create a montage is to create a group from these layers. The first step is to double-click the background layer and select OK in the New Layer dialog (or drag the lock down to the trash). Now select Layer 0 and hold down the Shift key as you select the top layer (the Burn layer) so that all layers are selected. Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + G (PC) or Command + G (Mac) to load the layers into the group.