Photoshop tips and links to free photoshop plug-ins
Tips from Don thank you.
In reference to an offhand remark I made a few days ago, Angel wrote me a PM and asked me if I really thought her images were too gray. I wrote back a short note telling her it wasn't just a problem with HER images, but with many images captured by photographers of all skill levels. And I gave her a really nice trick to help remove polluting grey casts and improve overall contrast. She jumped all over me once about not sharing more Photoshop knowledge, so I figure I'll just put this nice little trick out there. When you open an image for the first time, change the mode immediately to LAB. This "gamut" is a range that is defined by three channels, two devoted to color and one to tone. The "L" stands for "Lightness". Once in LAB mode, apply the CURVE command, and play with the two extremes of the curve, especially the highlight end.What happens is a shift in grey without affecting the actual colors. The LAB gammut (a gammut is a range, in this case a range of grey values) is larger than both the CMYK and RGB gammuts, giving more flexibility to change colors and tones.By changing the Lightness curve one can remove grey casts while improving contrast and allowing color to come out more vibrantly. When turns back to RGB or CMYK one will find the changes have been non-destructive to the histograms, leaving one with the full range of gray values. I've prepared a before/after to show several different images, and what happens on blanket, non masked processing using this technique. You'll see how it cleans up many areas, making it much more pleasant, while other areas are harmed. Changes may not be totally obvious at first glance, but these two images would print with amazing differences.http://www.s30d.com/sxc/lab.htmTo localize the effect, simply click on the "Create new fill or adjustment" icon on the layer palette, choose curves, apply the desired curve, then airbrush onto the layer to eliminate where you don't want it applied.It's quick, it's easy, and you'll be amazed at the non-destructive improvement in quality.
Want a soft, rich photo done easily? This is a really basic tip that will make lights lighter, darks darker, and colors colorer. Not for every picture, not for every occasion, and when used in moderation is quite nice. I will use this trick to pleasantly saturate while (often) removing polutant blacks and cyans in highlights. It is best to scale your image to the 100% output size and work from there. Duplicate image to a second layer. Gaussian blur the image on the second layer to the point where it's not recognizable. (Play with this as different blurs will give different final effects.) On the layer palette, turn the mode of the second layer to "overlay." Play with the opacity slider until you get what you like best.You're done.This isn't an uncommon trick, and many users who are even novices will say "hey, I know that one!" It's quick, simple, and one of the most satisfying PS quicktricks to improve shots.
In reference to an offhand remark I made a few days ago, Angel wrote me a PM and asked me if I really thought her images were too gray. I wrote back a short note telling her it wasn't just a problem with HER images, but with many images captured by photographers of all skill levels. And I gave her a really nice trick to help remove polluting grey casts and improve overall contrast. She jumped all over me once about not sharing more Photoshop knowledge, so I figure I'll just put this nice little trick out there. When you open an image for the first time, change the mode immediately to LAB. This "gamut" is a range that is defined by three channels, two devoted to color and one to tone. The "L" stands for "Lightness". Once in LAB mode, apply the CURVE command, and play with the two extremes of the curve, especially the highlight end.What happens is a shift in grey without affecting the actual colors. The LAB gammut (a gammut is a range, in this case a range of grey values) is larger than both the CMYK and RGB gammuts, giving more flexibility to change colors and tones.By changing the Lightness curve one can remove grey casts while improving contrast and allowing color to come out more vibrantly. When turns back to RGB or CMYK one will find the changes have been non-destructive to the histograms, leaving one with the full range of gray values. I've prepared a before/after to show several different images, and what happens on blanket, non masked processing using this technique. You'll see how it cleans up many areas, making it much more pleasant, while other areas are harmed. Changes may not be totally obvious at first glance, but these two images would print with amazing differences.http://www.s30d.com/sxc/lab.htmTo localize the effect, simply click on the "Create new fill or adjustment" icon on the layer palette, choose curves, apply the desired curve, then airbrush onto the layer to eliminate where you don't want it applied.It's quick, it's easy, and you'll be amazed at the non-destructive improvement in quality.
PHOTOSHOP TIP # 2
Want a soft, rich photo done easily? This is a really basic tip that will make lights lighter, darks darker, and colors colorer. Not for every picture, not for every occasion, and when used in moderation is quite nice. I will use this trick to pleasantly saturate while (often) removing polutant blacks and cyans in highlights. It is best to scale your image to the 100% output size and work from there. Duplicate image to a second layer. Gaussian blur the image on the second layer to the point where it's not recognizable. (Play with this as different blurs will give different final effects.) On the layer palette, turn the mode of the second layer to "overlay." Play with the opacity slider until you get what you like best.You're done.This isn't an uncommon trick, and many users who are even novices will say "hey, I know that one!" It's quick, simple, and one of the most satisfying PS quicktricks to improve shots.
A few Plug- ins
offering free plugins for any adobe-compliant image editor.
posted by Corena at 8:02 PM
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