EDD1IGG0IUVTIIDTIIDEOAESONL 5 CREATIVE TECHNIQUES TO TRY NOWIssue 29August 2013£4 99Get a retro look with Turn a raw file into an VITAL split-toning effects HDR image SKILLS Discover layers, masks and selections Learn non-destructive editing Enhance your photos today! Make beautifully toned monochromes PRO SECRETS BPMEHTSAOHTGT-ESAOUEZSLKIHNL’OSIENPGCOMPOSITESOur expert guide shows you how to createthe perfect scene by merging images SPECIAL EFFECTS PHOTOSHOP SKILLS MAKING MASTER RAW MOVIES Transform your images in Camera Raw with the Clarity slider and more... All you need to know about shooting and HOW TO... editing a time-lapse FUNDAMENTALS YOU CAN CREATE... PERFECT MASKSAMAZING ART Make accurate selections from detailedMake an authentic-looking pastel portrait subjects with the Refine Edge toolusing Photoshop’s erodible brush tips TOOL SCHOOL BOOST YOUR SKIES Understand how to use the Graduated and Radial Filter tools in Lightroom and Camera Raw
Iqmupicrkoavnedyoeuarsyphspoetocsiawl ith Looking for inspiration? effects on page 26 Take in our galleries starting on page 8Mwadahvkitieceesptoruninnpntsaingwgeitb2hl8aocukr-aenxdp-ert WelcomeMeet yourPhotoshop geniuses… Anyone vaguely familiar with Photoshop will soon realise that more often than not there are several Steven Raynes Matt Henry ways to perform the same task. Everyone uses Steven has Matt is a Photoshop differently, and we all have our secret techniques for special effects, nifty workarounds contributed to arts Brighton-based and cunning shortcuts. So this month we’ve and technology photographer who gathered together 50 of our favourite tips, tricksmagazines for the past 14 specialises in fictional retro and creative techniques into our jam-packed mainyears. He reveals how to Americana imagery. He feature. We’d love to know what some of yourshoot and process a reveals how to composite favourites are too, so why not pop over to www.time-lapse film on page 32. two images on page 46. facebook.com/practicalphotoshop, join the discussion and let us know. Steve Caplin George Cairns Steve has had George has As usual this issue, there are videos for all the tutorials, which you’ll find on the free disc, so you can watch and learn if you his satirical photo been using prefer. These include a complete guide to making a time-lapse movie and an montage work Photoshop since in-depth look at erodible brush tips and how to use them to transform yourpublished worldwide. This version one. This month, he photos into striking pastel artwork.issue he recreates a Pure reveals how to use theEvil Nightmare-style Pattern Stamp tool to draw If it’s inspiration you’re after check out our galleries, where there’s plenty ofartwork on page 58. a pastel sketch on page 52. great work to get your creative juices flowing. And if you’d like to see some of your work featured, send me a link using the email below. Claire Gillo Rod Lawton Claire is the Rod is a Ben Brain, Editor ben@practicalphotoshopmag.com technique editor freelance on PhotoPlus photographer and Find us here… Facebookmagazine. This issue she writer. This issue he revealsreveals how to shoot and how to adjust key settings in Twitter Visit Facebook.com/process a focus-stacked Photoshop to speed up practicalphotoshopmacro on page 63. everyday work on page 60. Visit Twitter.com/ PracPhotoshop Angela Rob Carney Nicholson Rob Carney has Our Head of worked in Future Testing has used Publishing’s DigitalPhotoshop since version Design Division for over 124.0. This month, she years. He shows how to useexplains how to use layer Kuler to create colourmasks on page 40. swatches on page 61.www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
Issue Twenty Nine August 2013 http://bit.ly/12FXttzInside issue 29 Photoshop tips & tricks07 Disc Contents 20 Work faster and smarter with our 50 top tips for editing in PhotoshopFind out what’s on your free disc, which ispacked with superb Photoshop tutorials 08Be inspired by our reader galleries08 The World of Photoshop Find out how our readers shot andGet inspired by the very best Photoshop processed the five stunning images in thisimagery from around the globe issue’s World of Photoshop gallery14 PortfolioWe showcase and critique the fantasycomposites of Nathan Spotts18 Readers’ LettersMake yourself heard and enter the debatein Practical Photoshop’s Noise section30 Reader ChallengeTake this month’s Challenge and pushyour Photoshop skills to the limit31 Challenge winnersFind out who won issue 26’s digitalpainting Reader Challenge39 GeniusLearn key Photoshop concepts andtechniques from seasoned pros58 Artist InsightOur top Photoshop gurus share somefascinating tricks of the trade64 Image ReviewGet your shots critiqued by our team ofexperts, and learn new skills in the process69 FilterAll the latest Photoshop gear testedand rated by our crew of top experts82 Personal SelectionsForensic photographer Eric Johnson sharesthe secrets of recording crime scenes4 PracticalPhotoshop August2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
START IMAGES YOUR CREATIVE 32 Speed MANUAL! up time See page 39 for more… Shoot and process your own time-lapse film using an ordinary SLR and Photoshop START IMAGE timhUesagedeisthocen! 11 PAGES OF IN-DEPTH TECHNIQUES, TRICKS & TIPS INCLUDING: Master layer masks ACR’s Clarity slider Get perfect selections Composite images ACR’s filter tools Spooky reflections And much more… 52Draw an NEXT oil pastel MONTH sketch For a sneak preview Create an authentic-looking turn to page 51 pastel portrait using the Pattern Stamp tool and erodible brush tips New to Photoshop? Get up to speed fast in… YOUR PHOTOSHOP QUICK-START GUIDE 76 Take a tour of Elements and CS, and learn the principles of image editing www.practicalphotoshopmag.com August 2013 PracticalPhotoshop 59000
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D SCCONTENTSIUUQCJUMZ'9UU[ Look for the logo! Whenever o7vf5ieOdxmvepeoienrsrst you see this graphic in the magazine, you’ll find a tutorial on your video discLEARN PHOTOSHOP FASTWITH OUR VIDEO LESSONSStart creating amazing imagery by following our expert advicet (FU CFUUFS CMFOET JO DPNQPTJUFT NPWF t $POWFSU BO JNBHF UP NPOP EPEHF BOE t .BLF WJHOFUUFT HFU B SFUSP MPPL XJUI TQMJU B NBTL JOEFQFOEFOUMZ BQQMZ B NBTL CVSO UP JNQSPWF UIF UPOFT BOE BEE HSBJO UPOJOH HFU QVODIZ PVUMJOFT BOE DSFBUF B HSBEJFOU BOE NPSF with George Cairns BOEBLFZMJOFCPSEFS withGeorgeCairns UJMUTIJGU FGGFDU with George Cairnst 3FTUPSF CSJHIU TLJFT DBMJCSBUF \"$3 t .BLF B UJNFMBQTF WJEFP GSPN B TFSJFT t 6TF 1IPUPTIPQ $4T FSPEJCMF CSVTI UJQT BEKVTU UPOFT BOE DPMPVS BOE JODSFBTF PG TUJMMT VTJOH #SJEHF $BNFSB 3BX BOE XJUIUIF 1BUUFSO4UBNQUPPMUPDSFBUFBO NJEUPOF DPOUSBTU with George Cairns 1IPUPTIPQ with Steven Raynes PJM QBTUFM ESBXJOH with George Cairnst .BLF MJHIU XPSL PG DSFBUJOH t \"EE QVODI UP ZPVS JNBHFT t 3FQMBDF B CBDLHSPVOE t 6TF UIF (SBEVBUFE BOE 3BEJBM DPNQPTJUF JNBHFT VTJOH JO \"$3 VTJOH UIF (SBEVBUFE BOE QSPEVDF B TVDDFTTGVM 'JMUFST UP NBLF TFMFDUJWF FEJUT masks with Angela Nicholson Filtertool withJamesPaterson composite with Matt Henry to images with George CairnsPLUS Creative resourcesStart images for Texture packevery tutorial 15 free distressed wall textures Follow along with us to use in your creative projectsin Photoshop using ourstarting images as youlearn with our expertvideo tutorialswww.practicalphotoshopmag.com SAumugmuestr2013 PracticalPhotoshop 7
8 PracticalPhotoshop August 2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
Compositionally, tonally, and emotionally, this evocative landscape is simply stunning! Ben Brain, Editorwww.practicalphotoshopmag.com August 2013 PracticalPhotoshop 9
PREVIOUS PAGE Morning Walk My BC By Jean Bruno Martin, Australia By Ursula Abresch, Canada Using Lightroom 4 Using Photoshop CS61 I’m very passionate about photography, it started to 2 My BC is two photos combined develop almost a year ago when I got inspired by a into one. It’s intended as anFrench photographer called Serge Ramelli. How he works abstract interpretation of a beautifulimages in Lightroom blew me away. Morning Walk is one of morning on the British Columbia coast.my first landscapes. I took it in the high countries of Victoria The two pictures are a close-up oflast November. I used Lightroom 4 to process the image, water in a pan and a shot of land in theand It helped me bring life back to this photo. I just love distance as seen from the ferry on thewhat Lightroom does with photography. Inside Passage.http://500px.com/photo/36682910 www.ursulasphotos.com210 PracticalPhotoshop August2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
3 Rocio Daniel’s powerful image is a gritty, fun and creative take on By Daniel Mellado, Palma de Mallorca a fantasy survival theme, with a Using Photoshop CS6 transient, dreamlike quality3 This photo is one of a series created during a ‘Lara Rebecca Shaw, Art Editor Croft’ fantasy studio session in collaboration with August 2013 PracticalPhotoshop 11Rosana Misscolorin (make-up) and Alejandro Gil Rivero(from JobPhoto) with whom I work regularly on sessions.www.danielmellado.eswww.practicalphotoshopmag.com
12 PracticalPhotoshop August 2013 Icebreaker By Christian Bothner, Germany Using Adobe Camera Raw 4 I took this image in Marken in the Netherlands. Marken is located in the northern part of the country. I saw a great photo spot – the icebreaker. When I saw this, I immediately thought of doing a long exposure. For this I have the Big Stopper, and used a reverse graduated filter to get an exposure time of 70 secs. www.bothner-foto.de www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
5 Taty By Patrizia Burra , Italy Using Photoshop CS65 I built this image from two photos. I photographed the model on a white background lying down on a couch. I then cut outthe model, turned her upside down and repositioned her over See your images in print!a light blue background. I photographed the mineral water in a Do you want the chance to see your images printed in our gallery? Just email them totransparent container and I placed the photograph under the layer images@practicalphotoshopmag.com, putting ‘Gallery’ in the subject line. Please limitof the model in Soft Light mode. I duplicated the layer with the the size of your images to 2MB each in the first instance and, if we’re going to feature your work,photograph of the water and placed it over the photo of the model we’ll contact you to request the original artwork.in Soft Light mode. I added a grey layer in Overlay mode. I converted August 2013 PracticalPhotoshop 13the image from RGB to LAB mode, and used the Dodge and Burntools to fine-tune the brightness. Then I converted back to RGB.www.patriziaburra.comwww.practicalphotoshopmag.com
PortfolioNathan Spotts Profile everything around me, particularly the beautiful places I go, the wonderful people in my life, and Name Nathan Spotts, USA the dreams of the human race. I’ve studied at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and my Uses Photoshop CS6 works have been shown and published in multiple art and design magazines, books, and exhibitions. Visit www.nathanspotts.com I am an adventurous image maker who aims to create fresh and unique artworkscombining elements of photography, 3D design,and illustration. Throughout my life, photographyhas been with me. My initial inspiration came frommy parents. My current inspiration comes from1Battle at New Wisdom Dreams of Aero Plains1 This image is the first collaboration between 2 The location of the original photo is almost myself and photographer Lauren Kinkade. The otherworldly by itself, and it only took a fewconcept is the ‘wisdoms’ of our current age: while edits in Photoshop to add to it even more. Thissome people hold peaceful ideas, others hold only piece evokes in me a sense of wonder in scale, aswar in their minds. This image holds a special place shown in this massive man-made object, yet behindin my heart due to its philosophical nature, and it is a looming natural object, and further are evenbecause I made it with my best friend. more massive stars in an ever-growing universe.14 PracticalPhotoshop August2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
Nathan’s considered blends of the elemental and the fantastic are inspired! Ben Brain, Editor2
3The Rift In The Sea 43 This is part of the mini-series ‘The Adventures of Mack Ford’ within my series‘Adventures in UnReality.’ It started out as a jokebetween our friends, poorly Photoshoppingour stoic friend into various locales around theworld. I took it seriously with a series of fiveimages, each getting increasingly outlandish andout of this world.Sea Maiden4 I returned to the traditional medium of film photography in 2010, and since then, 90per cent of my images are made from non-digitalphotos. Therefore, the monochrome images aremonochrome by nature of chemistry, not by anadjustment in Photoshop. Colouring the imagecan be done in Photoshop if necessary, whichsometimes adds a nice impact.The Road5 I’ve been told that I have a “very classical sense of composition”. I notice that this isparticularly evident in this almost symmetricalimage. Wide angle is also a staple of my work,and even more so in my Unrealistic Scenes, withthe stretching perspective. Imagine the imagesas if you were tilting your head, looking up intothe sky.16 PracticalPhotoshop August2013
5See more onlineIf you’d like to see more ofNathan Spotts’s amazingPhotoshop work, log on towww.nathanspotts.com
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PHOTOSHOPTIPS & TRICKS Why spend hours on complex, technical processes when you can achieve a similar effect with just a few mouse clicks? Work fasterand smarter with our 50 top tips for getting more out of PhotoshopE veryone uses Photoshop differently, and do with your photographs that are easier to achieve we all have our secret techniques for special here than in Photoshop itself. effects, neat fixes or crafty workarounds. We’ve gathered together 50 of our own The advantage is, of course, that you’re working with favourite Photoshop secrets for getting the raw image data rather than a version that’s already better results faster. Some of these tips use been processed, which means that your adjustments tools introduced in Photoshop CS6 and newer versions are less destructive, and can exploit more of the latent of Adobe Camera Raw, but many are ‘universal’ and image data in your files. Adobe Bridge shouldn’t be can be used with older versions of Photoshop too, and overlooked either. It’s more than just a file browser, and even Photoshop Elements, so no matter which version it can work alongside Camera Raw so effectively that of Photoshop you have, you’ll find plenty here that will for many everyday tasks you might not need to use improve your image-editing workflow. Photoshop at all. We’ve collected the tips into four broad categories, and we’ve been sure to include Adobe Camera Raw. You’ll need Photoshop, of course, for layers, montages, Camera Raw is rapidly emerging as an important creative special image effects and the vast majority of your tool in its own right, and there are many things you can creative digital editing. What’s astonishing here isn’t just the sheer breadth of effects you can achieve, but the myriad ways in which you can achieve them.
Discover the best tools for selecting individual coloursDwhoitdighghoeluigtahnctdlsipbpauninrdng shadows Neutralise colours using the eyedropperin a Levels adjustment
50 PHOTOSHOP TIPS ADOBE CAMERA RAW http://bit.ly/12FXttzAdjust the tone or colour ofany region of an image usingthe Targeted Adjustment tool Add localised contrast intuitively using ClarityCalibrate ACR to yourcamera for increased colour fidelityFOUR MUST-KNOW TECHNIQUES FOR ACR01 Recover bright 02 Calibrate ACR 03 Make quick 04 Add punch toskies in raw files to your camera local adjustments your photosMake the best use of the Adobe Camera Raw’s default Use the Targeted Adjustment The Clarity slider adds ahighlight detail in your raw conversions can look bland. tool in Adobe Camera Raw to localised contrast effect tofiles using the Graduated Filter The Camera Calibration adjust the hue, saturation or make objects stand out muchtool in Adobe Camera Raw to section has profiles that luminance of an area just by more clearly, adding punch torecover bright skies. closely match your camera. dragging up and down. flat-looking pictures.05Keep Snapshots forever 06Save your effects as presets 07Copy adjustments across multiple files Like in Photoshop, Adobe Camera Raw can Adobe Camera Raw offers powerful editing With Adobe Camera Raw you can apply therecord Snapshots of current image states in case you tools that you can use in combination to create subtle same settings across a whole batch of files. Open themwant to go back to them later. The difference is that and complex effects you can reuse in future on other all in ACR and apply your adjustments to the first in thewhereas Photoshop loses them when you close the images. To do this, open the drop-down menu at the list. Click the Select All button, then click Synchronize.file, Adobe Camera Raw keeps your Snapshots forever right-hand end of any of ACR’s adjustment tabs and You’ll be prompted to choose which of your adjustmentsin a sidecar file so you can always revert to them. choose Save settings. you want to sync.22 PracticalPhotoshop August2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
50 PHOTOSHOP TIPSBRIDGE WORK LENS CORRECTIONS08 Find photos 10 Share 13 Fix your lens’s faults 15Remove colour fringing with filters contact Adobe Camera Raw comes with Early versions of Adobe Camera Raw’s sheets as PDFs lens-specific profiles to fix lens distortion and Lens Correction tools used manual sliders to fixUse the Filter tab in Adobe vignetting. To see if your lens is supported, chromatic aberration (colour fringing), whichBridge to filter your files by Need to send a set of click the Lens Corrections tab and then the could be a complicated and time-consumingtype, keywords, or camera images to a client or Enable Lens Profile Corrections box. ACR business, with adjustments that varied fromsettings such as shutter workmate? Click the should now identify your lens automatically one shot to the next. Now, though, there’s aspeed, lens aperture or ISO Output tab in Adobe from the image metadata – if not, try selecting simple Remove Chromatic Aberration checksensitivity. You can Bridge, then the PDF your lens make and model from the Lens box that operates independently of the Lenscombine different filter button below. You can now Profile section below. Correction profiles.parameters, too. choose how many thumbnails you want to 14Fix wide-angle distortions 16Perfect your perspectives09 Use ACR as print on a sheet. The Adaptive Wide Angle filter Adobe Camera Raw can correct lens your editor introduced in Photoshop CS6 takes distortions, but this isn’t the same asfor non-raw files 11Create and perspective correction a lot further. You mark perspective distortion, which is caused by upload a web out curved lines in the image that ought to be tilting the camera – the most common exampleWho needs Photoshop? gallery with Bridge to straight, then Photoshop works out the is converging verticals in shots of tall buildings.You can open and edit any distortion characteristics of the lens and fixes You can fix this via ACR’s Lens Corrections tabimage – even a JPEG – in Adobe Bridge can also the image. It’s a much more powerful and with the Manual controls. Once you’ve fixedCamera Raw by right- generate web galleries, controllable alternative to the regular the distortion, crop out the missing edges orclicking it in Adobe Bridge and upload them directly perspective tools. fill them in using Content-Aware Fill.and choosing Open in to your web host via FTP.Camera Raw. Your Click the Output tab, thenadjustments are either the Web Gallery buttonembedded in the image or below. The layout optionssaved in a sidecar file. are basic, but effective. Correct distortions using Photoshop CS6’s moreadvanced perspective controls12 Check your conversion 17 Batch-processing is easy in Camera Raw The Adobe Camera Raw window Adobe Camera Raw can batch-process whole folders full of images. Opendisplays important raw conversion information at them in ACR, click the Select All button and then the Save Images button, bottomthe bottom. The three most important settings left. You’ll be prompted to choose a file format and a location.are the colour space (sRGB or Adobe RGB), the bitdepth (8-bit or 16-bit) and the image size (original August2013 PracticalPhotoshop 23or resized). Click the text to change the settings. www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
50 PHOTOSHOP TIPS LAYERS, MASKS & SELECTIONS http://bit.ly/12FXttz Experiment with Blend Modes when dropping in texturesSTART IMAGES Move the boat’s mask around independently by unlinking it from the attached layerFOUR MUST-KNOW TIPS FOR LAYERS & MASKS18 Create more 19 Move layers, 20 Texture effects 21 Add to masksrealistic blends not your masks made simple the easy wayIf you replace a featureless If you’ve created a complex Add a texture image to a new If you have a mask with awhite sky in a landscape shot, mask for a new sky, then layer and then set the Blend sharp cut-out for a foregroundyou can get a more realistic decide you want to reposition Mode to Soft Light, Overlay or shape and you want to add ablend with tricky tree lines and the sky, unlink the sky from its Multiply mode (each gives a gradated blend for the sky,other horizon details by using mask by clicking the chain icon slightly different effect), then apply the gradient in Multiplythe Multiply Blend Mode and a between the layer and mask in use an adjustment layer to fix mode – it’s added to the maskgradient layer mask. the Layers panel. any brightness change. instead of replacing it.24 PracticalPhotoshop August2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
50 PHOTOSHOP TIPS QUICK FIXESMake rapid tonal 25 Clone non-destructively 27 Blot out sensor spotschanges using just When you’re cloning out defects or with a single dab unwanted objects, create a new blank layer Blend Modes first and select Sample all layers on the Options Sensor spots aren’t always obvious, and it’s bar. Your repairs are now added to the new often easier to dab them out when they layer, leaving your original layer untouched. appear than to keep cleaning your sensor. This makes it much easier to redo any areas The best tool for this is the Spot Healing Brush. that are hard to get right. One dab and the spot is gone without a trace.22Make quick tonal 26 Enlarge your images 28 Patch up photos the easy adjustments Need to make a 3:2 ratio image fit the way in Photoshop 16:9 format? Enlarge the canvas to theYou can use Blend Modes for fast and effective everyday required size, select the blank areas and use The Patch tool is perfect for removing largeimage adjustments. Create a new Levels adjustment the Content-Aware Fill tool (Edit>Fill). It unwanted objects from images because oncelayer, then set the Blend Mode to Screen for an overall doesn’t always work because you have no you’ve selected the area to remove bylightening effect, Multiply for a darkening effect, or Soft control over the areas used for the ‘fill’, but it’s dragging out a selection, you can move aroundLight or Overlay for a contrast boost. amazing when it does. the ‘source’ area to find the best match from the surrounding parts of the picture before START IMAGE you commit to the repair.23See which areas are clipped in PhotoshopIf you rely solely on the histogram to adjust Levels youmay be keeping details that you don’t need. Hold downAlt when you drag the Levels sliders, and the regionsthat are clipping will be revealed. You can then decidewhether they need to be preserved.24 Select using Color RangePhotoshop’s Color Range tool can get you usefulselections where regular selection tools fail. Youuse the eyedropper to select the tones you want,and the Fuzziness slider to adjust the tolerance.See page 46 for more on this. www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
50 PHOTOSHOP TIPS SPECIAL EFFECTSSplit-tone your image http://bit.ly/12FXttzusing a simple Curves adjustment layer Apply a vignette in seconds using a Radial gradient and the Overlay Blend ModeFOUR AMAZING PHOTOSHOP EFFECTS29 Create instant 30 Make quick and 31 Get a retro look 32 Create outlinestilt-shift effects easy vignettes with split-toning with punchDuplicate your image layer, Select the Gradient tool and Split-toning is a well-known The Unsharp Mask tool isn’tthen apply a Gaussian Blur a black-to-white gradient, effect in mono photography, just for fine detail! If you(or Lens Blur – it’s better but choose Radial mode and set but it can work well in colour, choose a high Radius (100slower). Now add a layer mask the Blend Mode to Overlay. too. Add a Curves adjustment pixels or more) and a lowand use a black-to-white Drag outwards from the layer and plot an inverted percentage, say 25-50%, yougradient in ‘mirrored’ mode to centre of the image – the S-shape in the Blue channel to get a localised contrast boosthide a strip in the centre – your centre is lightened while the add yellow to the highlights that can make the flattestsharp zone. edges are darkened. and blue to the shadows. images pop.33 Turn a raw file into an HDR image 34 Get easy HDR effects 35Give your photos an edge Sometimes the entire dynamic range of a You can create a ‘luminance mask’ from an Duplicate your background image layer bylow-contrast scene can be captured in a single raw file, image itself. Simply select and copy the whole image, pressing Cmd/Ctrl+J, then set this layer’s Blend Modewhich enables you to use Adobe Camera Raw to create a new adjustment layer, then hold down Alt and to Overlay. Go to Filter>Other>High Pass and enter aprepare two or more JPEG versions at different click the mask to paste the image as a mask. You’ll need Radius of about 20 pixels, then increase or decrease to‘exposures’, then use the HDR tools in Photoshop to blur the mask to make your subsequent suit your taste. If you don’t like the saturation increase,to merge them. adjustments blend in. knock it back with a Hue/Saturation layer.26 PracticalPhotoshop August2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
INSTANT EFFECTS 50 PHOTOSHOP TIPS37 Soft-focus portraits of 20 pixels to start with. Set this layer’s 41 Create a collage Adobe Camera Raw’s Clarity slider Blend Mode to Multiply. Panoramas don’t have to be seamless! Why notworks in the opposite direction too produce a David Hockney-style montage of individual frames– negative Clarity produces much softer and 39 A solarisation effect with no attempt at blending. These ‘panographs’ aremore flattering skin tones for female you can readjust fascinating and easy to do with Photomerge – just select theportraits without sacrificing the underlying Collage mode and disable all the blending options.definition. It’s a really quick way to get a Create a Gradient Map adjustment layer,soft-focus effect. then adjust the gradient so that you have black stops at each end and a white stop in38 Get the Orton effect the middle. You can adjust the positions of The Orton effect is named after the stops to vary the solarisation effect onphotographer Michael Orton, who came up the layer below.with a technique of sandwiching twoover-exposed slides of the same subject in 40 Add a colour gradientthe same mount. You can recreate the effect You can add instant colour toby duplicating the image layer and selecting flat-looking images by adding a GradientImage>Apply Image. Set Layer to adjustment layer and setting the BlendBackground Copy, Channel to RGB and Blend Mode to Overlay. Try out the existing presetMode to Screen. Click OK. Duplicate the layer gradients or make your own. Feel free toagain and apply a Gaussian Blur – try a value experiment, but keep in mind that subtle colours work best.oGfcoiavldoeduimerdeadgzegipsrawadiibtehintta36 Reuse your selections 42 Get the XPan look in Photoshop If you’ve created a complex mask to make Not all panoramas have to be in the letterbox format – you can useadjustments to one area of an image, hold down Ctrl/Cmd the same technique to produce extra-wide images in the Hasselblad XPan style.and click the mask in the Layers panel to load it as a new Simply shoot two overlapping images on manual to prevent any tone or colourselection. Use the Select>Inverse command, then create a variations, then stitch them together using Photomerge. Alternatively, crop thenew adjustment layer with a negative ‘complementary’ top and bottom edges from a single image.mask to adjust the rest of the image. August2013 PracticalPhotoshop 27 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
50 PHOTOSHOP TIPS COLOUR AND BLACK & WHITE Protect your highlights and shadows while dodging and burning using the Range parameter Use a Gradient Map to http://bit.ly/12FXttz convert a colour image to monochrome for a quick, punchy resultFOUR BRILLIANT BLACK-AND-WHITE TIPS43 Better dodging 44 Make your 45 Get perfect 46 Make bolderand burning grain look real keylines quickly black and whitesAdjust the Range (Shadows, It sounds like wanton To add a thin, black keyline to There are many different waysMidtones, Highlights) when destruction of detail, but a photo, go to Image>Canvas to convert a colour image tousing the Dodge and Burn adding grain can be effective. Size, set the Canvas extension black and white, but Gradienttools, as well as the Exposure. Apply the Noise filter (around color to black, then enlarge Maps deliver a particularlyThis way, you can build up 20% for strong grain), apply the canvas by the requisite rich and punchy result. Yousubtle effects with precision, a 1-pixel Gaussian blur, then amount – 10 pixels, say. It’s can apply them as adjustmentwithout the risk of over- or apply the Unsharp Mask filter a quick and easy way to add layers – just choose a simpleunder-exposing the image. (100%, 1-pixel Radius). frames to a picture. black-to-white gradient.28 PracticalPhotoshop August2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
50 PHOTOSHOP TIPS 47 Three-click colour correction This is a quick and easy way to maximise contrast and neutralise colours at the same time. Create a Levels adjustment layer, then click the darkest part of the picture with the black eyedropper, the brightest part with the white eyedropper and a neutral tone with the grey eyedropper. 48 Boost colour without artefacts Increasing the saturation of images can lead to clipping and unpleasant artefacts – so try Lab mode instead. Open the a and b channels and adjust the Levels, moving the white and black sliders towards the centre by the same amount for both. This produces a strong saturation increase with fewer artefacts. Add intensity to your skies using a Selective Color adjustment layer SaStueeyrleeacdttiroocnpolapodeujrrussintumaseiHnngutelt/ahyeer49 Polarise your skies with Selective Color 50Change colours the easy way Forget to pack your polarising filter on a landscape shoot? Use a Selective Pick the nearest colour from the list in a Hue/Saturation adjustment layerColor adjustment layer to darken blue skies instead. Select the Blues and Cyans and panel, then use the eyedropper to click an area of the image to make the selectionmove the Black slider to maximum for both. more exact, then adjust the Hue/Saturation/Lightness sliders as required.www.practicalphotoshopmag.com August2013 PracticalPhotoshop 29
READER CHALLWENGETPahkeotthoesPhroapccthicaalllenge! WIN! Show us your best minimal art work IntpuAeonWs5taatcbooluemcth S for a chance to win our great prize! worth£199! This month’s creative Reader Challenge is What you can win How to enter to produce a minimalist artwork. Minimalism You can use any imagein art emerged in the second half of the 20th In addition to featuring as the best image you like to enter ourcentury. It’s proponents sought to strip subjects in Practical Photoshop, you’ll also bag an Reader Challenge. Please noteof complexity to reveal the essential, often using Intuos5 touch S pen tablet from Wacom. This pen though that you must own thelimited palettes and basic geometric forms. Your tablet combines the high performance of the copyright. You can also makeminimalist piece could be a photograph, a graphic professional Intuos5 range with a small footprint, use of the Resources sectionmade from scratch, or a manipulated photo such which makes it a perfect device for limited in our project files to make youras the one below. As usual, you can use your own desktop areas or mobile work. For further details minimalist entry.images, or images we’ve supplied on our video about the Intuos5 touch S pen tablet, visit thediscs to complete your project. official website at www.wacom.eu. Enter by email to challenge@ If you’d like to use practicalphotoshopmag.comadditional images, please or by sending a CD to:make sure you own thecopyright. Our favourite Practical Photoshop,images will feature in issue 32 Future Publishing, 30 Monmouthof Practical Photoshop, which Street, Bath BA1 2BW.goes on sale on 17 October 2013. Theclosing date for entries is 27 September Give your image a title, and2013. The overall winner will walk away with please supply a headshot ofa Wacom Intuos5 touch S pen tablet worth £199. yourself including 80 words to describe what you did. Also, please tell us the version of Photoshop you used. The closing date is 27 September 2013. Five ideas for… Minimalist art For this colour field image we took a photo of a tulip, made a thin vertical selection, copied it, and then used Free Transform to stretch the graphic to the edges of the photo. We then applied a few masked adjustments to tweak the colours and tones. The aim was to create a simplified abstraction that was aesthetically pleasing and that retained one of the subject’s key characteristics (the colour). Other things you can try include using slow shutter speeds to smooth movement (of water or traffic, for example), simple still-life setups, close-up abstracts of modern or industrial architecture, or simple geometric forms created from scratch. No matter what you choose to do, keep your forms and backgrounds simple and clean. A Wacom Intuos5 touch S pen tablet would help you to quickly and intuitively remove unwanted elements.30 PracticalPhotoshop August2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
.ISnSUeE 2t6’S CHALLENGE DIGITAL PAINTING1 The winner! Sunset Drive By Paul Aldis, UK Using Photoshop CS6 1 First I used the Clone Stamp finished painting I felt it was tool to clean up the overall missing something so I added a gradient with Gaussian blur for image, then applied the Cutout a sunset effect. Finally, I used a Stylize filter to get a pencil effect. filter and began painting using thick, heavy strokes. Once I Nuto By Katarzyna Žurawska, UK Using Photoshop CS6 3 My painting contains three the ferret on the left I set the pictures of a ferret, meshed Blend Mode to Multiply, to make it stand out less. I applied Color Burn together in Photoshop. To make to the centre of the canvas. I went for the splattered effect so that it them appear painted I used the appears the image was created in a bit of ‘creative fury’. Dry Brush filter and multiple watercolour brushes to blend them with the background. For 32 Marie Antoinette By Ken Coleman , Ireland Using PhotoshopCS62 This piece started from my own This gave me the oil-painted look I portrait shot. I edited it in Camera was after. To get the painted effect I combined sections of the flattenedRaw using Sharpness and Clarity. I then image with custom brushes, as well as a layer set to the Overlay Blend Modeopened it in Photoshop and rendered painted with black and white for the final lighting.it using a combination of Quick maskwith the Surface Blur, Unsharp Mask,and Median filters.www.practicalphotoshopmag.com August2013 PracticalPhotoshop 31
CREATIVE PROJWECTTIME-LAPSE PHOTOGRAPHYSpeed up time http://bit.ly/12FXttzProcess a short time-lapse film from a series of stillsusing Adobe Bridge, Camera Raw and PhotoshopPROJECT INFO Godfrey Reggio demonstrated the The following two pages lead you through creative possibilities of time-lapse film the process of setting up your equipment forYou’ll learn in his groundbreaking experimental time-lapse photography. If you’re a beginner documentary Koyaanisqatsi back in photographer, or you exclusively use a semi- How to shoot and 1982. Using spliced sequences of time-lapsed automatic shooting mode such as apertureprocess a time-lapsed and slow-motion footage, scored by Philip Glass, priority, take your camera’s manual with you onsequence of images and Reggio’s film is a monumental study of man’s the shoot in case you come unstuck. Learningrender it as a short film technological development in the 20th century. how to set your camera’s interval timer feature inusing Photoshop advance is also well worth the effort. With the extended shooting capabilities ofYou’ll need modern cameras, the negligible ongoing costs of The next two pages reveal how to turn your digital photography, and the ease of processing in image sequence into a short film in Photoshop. Camera, tripod, Photoshop, nowadays anyone with a camera and We cropped the stills, removed a persistentPhotoshop CS6 or CC tripod can have a stab at time-lapse film-making. sensor spot and added a couple of adjustment It will take creative vision, practice, and of course layers to improve the tones in our example video,It’ll take time to match Reggio’s standards, but you’ll be but you could go a lot further with your own films surprised by the quality of the results you can get by adding subtle transitions, titles, and music – 30 minutes even after just a couple of efforts. all in Photoshop. Turn over to get started… YOUR GENIUSSTEVEN RAYNES Steven has beenworking on arts andtechnology magazines forthe past 14 years, and hasused Photoshop for workand personal projectssince version 7.32 PracticalPhotoshop August2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
CeREtATIVE PROJECT TIME-LAPSE PHOTOGRAPHYSTART IMAGESwww.practicalphotoshopmag.com August2013 PracticalPhotoshop 33
CREATIVE PROJECTTIME-LAPSE PHOTOGRAPHYStep-by-step Shoot a time-lapse sequenceFollow our expert advice to set up your camera for time-lapse photography01Choose a subject Anything that moves over timecan be a good subject for a time-lapsefilm. The speed at which it moves willdictate the shot interval you’ll chooseto use, and consequently the length oftime the series will take to complete.So your choice of subject is limited bythe length of time you’re prepared tostand by your camera while shooting ina public place, or by what opportunitiesthere are for unattended shoots ina secure location. Our unattendedOrlando skyline at dusk sequence tookjust over two hours to capture from alocked hotel room.02 Setupyour 03 SetupyourSLR equipment Full-size stills from modern SLRs are much larger than they need to be for video.A tripod is vital to prevent the camera You can save time at the editing stage (andfrom moving during or between increase the capacity of your memory card)exposures. If you’re shooting outdoors, by recording your images as small JPEGs. Asadd some weight to the tripod by long as the resolution is greater than HDsuspending your bag from it. You’ll also (1,920x1,080), then the smaller, the better.need a fully charged battery, a piece Because you’re shooting JPEGs, you’ll needof Blu Tack, and a memory card with to manually set the white balance to ensureenough capacity to capture your entire consistent colour temperature.sequence. A set of neutral densityfilters may also be useful to keepshutter speeds low in bright conditions.If your camera doesn’t have a built-ininterval timer (almost all Nikons do),you’ll also need an intervalometercompatible with your SLR.34 PracticalPhotoshop August2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
CREATIVE PROJECT TIME-LAPSE PHOTOGRAPHY Intervals and shutter speeds Your choice of interval for a scene choose, it must be at least as long as the determines the speed of movement in shutter speed you’re going to use, or the the resulting film. Shorter intervals create camera will drop frames. slower and smoother movement. Your distance from the subject is also a factor – Ideally, you should use a shutter speed the further from your subject you are, the that introduces motion blur to your smoother the movement. Look through the stills, which will create more film-like viewfinder and consider the relative speed smoothness in the resulting footage. of your subject across the frame, rather Video cameras expose frames for half the than its absolute speed, then estimate the length of the interval, creating smooth, appropriate interval. One to three seconds flicker-free film, so as a rule of thumb, aim is a good starting point for moving traffic, for a shutter speed of half of the interval clouds and crowds. For growing plants, you’ve chosen. If your scene is too bright construction sites and other slow-moving to achieve shutter speeds slow enough phenomena, you’ll need an interval of a to blur the motion, stop down to a narrow minute upwards. Whatever interval you aperture or fit a strong neutral density filter to your lens.04 Set your exposure 05 Set your interval If your subject requires exposures that Focus on your subject, thenvary (such as in a day-to-night sequence like ours) switch the lens to manual focus to ensurethen switch to aperture priority mode, open your consistency throughout the sequence.aperture to the maximum size (that is, set the Cover the viewfinder with a blob of Blulowest f-stop number) then determine the correct Tack to prevent a light leak, then set yourexposure for the first frame of your scene. The interval and fire away. See the box abovecamera will adjust the shutter speed for you as for advice on choosing an appropriatethe light changes. For scenes with consistent interval for your subject.lighting, use manual shooting mode instead, whichwill ensure flicker-free video (see the interval and August2013 PracticalPhotoshop 35shutter speeds box for more on this).www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
CREATIVE PROJWECTTIME-LAPSE PHOTOGRAPHYStep-by-step Process a time-lapse film01Preview the footage 02Top and tail the footage Start by dragging the timelapse folder from the Project section Move back and forth through the series using the left andof the resources on the disc to your desktop. Open the copied folder and right cursor keys, and pick the starting frame for your film – I chosedrag one of the files into Bridge. Once Bridge has created the thumbnails _DSC1700.jpg. Highlight the preceding frame, scroll to the top of thefor all the images, hold down the right cursor key and watch the display in series, hold down Shift, click the first image, press Delete, click Delete,the Preview window. This will give you an impression of how the film will and OK. Using the same technique, cut a little from the end of the serieslook once converted to video. at around _DSC1860.03Crop to HD resolutionOur next task is to resizeand crop the stills to HDvideo resolution. PressCmd/Ctrl+A, then rightclick one of the images andchoose Open in CameraRaw. Press Cmd/Ctrl+A,then click and hold theCrop tool icon and chooseCustom from the list.Select Pixels from theCrop menu and enter thedimensions of 1920x1080.Click OK, and drag out yourcrop over the image.GENIUS TIP! 04Remove dust and saveFINE-TUNETHE SPEED Select the Spot Removal tool and use the square If your film is too slow, brackets to increase the you could speed it up by size of the brush until itdeleting every other frame in encircles the dust mark,the sequence. This doubles the then click it. Click Savespeed of the footage. If your Images, click Select Folder,film is too fast, choose a slower and double-click the HDframe rate when you import folder at the bottom of thethe stills into Photoshop. list. Select JPEG from theFrame rates slower than 24fps Format menu, type 12 inrun the risk of appearing the Quality box, and clickflickery, however. Save. There are some 160 images to process so this will take a few minutes to complete. When it’s finished click Done to close Camera Raw.36 PracticalPhotoshop August2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
05Set the CeREtATIVE PROJECT frame rate TIME-LAPSE PHOTOGRAPHYLaunch Photoshop andchoose File>Open. Navigate GENIUS TIP!to the cropped stills in theHD folder, select the first VIDEO EDITINGfile in the list, click the IN PHOTOSHOPImage Sequence box, thenOpen. Enter a frame rate The video-editing tools inin the fps box. Remember the Timeline panel enablethat the higher the frame you to preview the video, torate, the faster the action refine the beginning and endand the shorter the film. points (by moving the greyI chose 24 frames per stops on the Timeline), or tosecond, which will create a add an audio track or transitionfilm lasting just under seven such as a fade (click the two-seconds from our files. tone square icon and drag theClick OK and the stills load desired transition to a positioninto Photoshop as a on the Timeline).video group.06Adjust the Levels 07Preview the improved video Choose Window>Histogram, then drag the playhead control Click the Play transport control to preview the change. You can’tthrough the film, stopping intermittently to update the histogram. You’ll toggle the adjustment layer on and off while the video’s running so you’llnotice that there’s a little wasted dynamic range on the far right of the need to click the Stop control first, then toggle the layer visibility to seegraph throughout most of the sequence, so let’s fix that with a Levels before and after stills.adjustment layer. Click the Create a new adjustment layer icon at the footof the Layers panel and choose Levels, then drag the black and whitesliders inwards to meet the edges of the graph.08Brighten the midtonesMost of the foreground detailis lost in the first half of thefilm, so let’s also add a Curvesadjustment layer to boostthe midtones.Drag the line up inthe centre to givethe twilight skyand foregroundbuildings a boost.Once you’rehappy with youradjustments, clickFile>Export>Render Video,then click Renderto create thevideo file.www.practicalphotoshopmag.com August2013 PracticalPhotoshop 37
DIGITAL E I IONThe world’s best Photoshop magazine! Now available to read on your iPad wEaaitcnhhdliissnoskuusertcoiesaicmlol amvgipdeleseotseSTOSJOUPUFDSBETAFSYC£CE1FRI2RRAIB.O4!EL9M To buy your digital copy of Practical Photoshopand get a full free back issue visit http://goo.gl/dDvsS You can now purchase a digital edit o f y u fav i agazi e ready t r ad whenever you want. Both single issues and subscriptions are available and each purchas permanently stored in your own magazine library forever. Once the magazine has downloaded, an internet connection is not required.
MTHAWENCUALAFTOIoVREALLPHOTOSHOP USERSFUNDAMENTALS http://bit.ly/12FXttzMASTER LAYER MASKSPhotoshop’s layers and masks are vital for any type of creative image work,so it’s well worth spending the time to understand how to use them Layers and masks set to do a variety of things, such as layers in the layer stack. Masks add opacity of a layer to be selectively Photoshop apart from many create composite pictures from an extra element of sophistication and reversibly edited.of the alternative image-editing several images, or merge shots to layers because they can besoftware packages available. taken at different exposures to applied to any layer individually, One click is all that’s required toLayers can be explained in simple create images with greater and rather than simply erasing create a mask, and once that’sterms as a stack of images, with dynamic range. Furthermore, each image data to reveal the layer done, it’s simply a question ofthe top layer the one that’s visible. layer can be moved and adjusted beneath, they hide it. painting it in using a brush or theIf the opacity of that top image is independently from the others. Gradient tool. A black brush paintsreduced, or sections of it are They can also be modified by Masks are also editable, so if you in the mask (increasing the opacityerased, the layer beneath will be multiple adjustment layers, which mask off too much of an image, it of the attached layer) while arevealed. This concept enables us are positioned above the target can be painted back in quickly and white one removes it (decreasing easily. Essentially, they enable the the opacity of the attached layer).40 PracticalPhotoshop August2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
Make a compositeLayer masks can be created with a single click,and are edited with the painting tools The first step in creating a composite START IMAGES image from two or more shots is tocreate a multi-layered file by dragging thelayer from the Layers panel in one image tothe other image, or by simply copying andpasting it in. Next, click the Add layer maskicon at the bottom of the Layers panel. You’llsee the mask thumbnail adjacent to theselected layer in the Layers panel. Choose theBrush tool from the Tools panel, press D toensure the brush is set to black, then start topaint over the areas you want to mask in theattached layer. Choose a soft-edged brush tocreate a mask with a soft edge, or a hard one togive a clean edge. As you paint, notice how themask thumbnail changes in the Layers panel.Press X to switch to a white brush, then paintout the mask if necessary. You can also apply a gradient to a mask. Justpick the Gradient tool from the Tools panel anddrag across the image. Essentially, masks enablethe opacity of a layer to beselectively editedMasking adjustment layers GENIUS TIP!Adjustment layer masks enable you to restrict the adjustments to select parts of the layer beneath INVERT THE MASK You can use a mask to apply Painting in a mask to an adjustment layer hide the impact of anselectively so that only specific adjustment layer is a littleparts of the layer it’s adjusting counterintuitive. Invert theare modified. This can be useful mask by clicking it in the Layerswith landscape images, for panel and pressing Cmd/Ctrl+I.example, where you may want to This applies the mask to thedarken the sky without changing whole layer. You can then paintthe brightness of the in the adjustment using a whiteforeground. In this case, once brush. If you make a mistake,you’ve created the adjustment switch to a black brush and paintlayer, make the adjustment so the mask back in.that the sky looks the way youwant and ignore what happensto the foreground. Then, click theadjustment layer mask thumbnailin the Layers panel and use ablack brush to paint over theforeground. As you paint in themask the ground will be returnedto its original brightness.www.practicalphotoshopmag.com August2013 PracticalPhotoshop 41
MTHAWENCUALAFTOIoVREALLPHOTOSHOP USERSRefine your masksMake light work of masking Photoshop’s Refine Mask controls can help you to accuratelyaround intricate detail such as mask objects that have lots of fine detail such as hairloose strands of hair usingthe Refine Mask controls Photoshop’s Refine Mask controls can help you toaccurately mask objects that havelots of fine detail such as hair.After creating and roughlypainting in the mask, right-clickthe mask in the Layers panel andselect the Refine Mask option. Puta tick in the Smart Radius box totell Photoshop to select the radiusfor you, and paint in the maskalong the edges of the object. Ifnecessary, set the Radius yourselfusing a small radius (1 or 2 pixels)for areas with a clean edge, or alarge Radius where there’s lots offine detail breaking into thebackground. It’s also helpful toselect the Decontaminate Colorsoption because this will removeany overspill of background colouronto the subject. The controls in the Adjust Edgesection enable you to tweak themask, smoothing out jaggy areas,feathering the edge andincreasing the contrast to addpartially selected (grey) areas. TheShift Edge control expands orcontracts the mask depending onwhether a negative or positivefigure is used.GENIUS TIP! Make masks from Alpha channelsCLIPPING MASKS Alpha channels enable masks to be created from channels and selections A clipping mask can be created easily from a Channels contain the brightnesslayer with transparent areas via information for the colours that makeLayer>Create Clipping Mask. It up an image. An RGB image, for example, hasmasks off the image beneath it in four channels – one for each colour and athe Layers panel, showing only global RGB channel. Clicking a channelthose areas that are overlaid by thumbnail in the Channels panel reveals aan object in the clipping mask monochrome image, showing the brightnesslayer. If a clipping mask is created distribution of that channel. Alpha channels,from a layer containing text, for however, are created when selections areexample, then the letters will be saved or masks are created.created using the image beneath. They also display 8-bit monochrome images, and they can be edited using the painting tools before being turned back into a selection and used to create a mask.42 PracticalPhotoshop August2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
.TnIMEeFOtR REFLECTION Make a spooky composite! – find out more on p50FAST FIXESADD PUNCH TOYOUR IMAGESImprove your photos usingthe Graduated Filter tooland the Clarity slider in ACR START IMAGE01 ADJUST THE TONESOpen clarity_before.dng in ACR. In the http://bit.ly/12FXttzBasic panel set the Highlights to -80 and set theShadows to +80. To boost the saturation of theduller colours, increase the Vibrance to +32. Tocool down the tones slightly. set theTemperature to -8.02 BOOSTTHECONTRAST 03 DARKENTHEFOREGROUND 04 ADDTHEFINISHINGTOUCHES To boost the tones and contrast set the Add more gradients outside the frame, Grab the Crop tool, hold down A for theClarity to +100. To increase it further select the above and below to add more punch to the Straighten tool and draw a line across the top ofGraduated Filter tool, set Clarity to +100, and tones. To darken the foreground, draw a the row of bricks. Click the Lens Selection panel,make sure all the other settings are set to zero. gradient on the image, this time from the select the Manual tab, and set distortion to +3.Drag a thin gradient away from the image just bottom of the frame to the wheels of the cars. Select the Tone Curve panel, select the Pointabove the image frame to boost the contrast. Reset Clarity to 0 and reduce Exposure to -2.00. tab and draw an S-curve to add extra punch and boost the saturation.www.practicalphotoshopmag.com August2013 PracticalPhotoshop 43
MTHAWENCUALAFTOIoVREALL PHOTOSHOP USERSWHY IT WORKS…FLOAT AWAYEvery issue we uncover the secretsbehind a cutting-edge digital image…ARTIST INFO This is one of a series of four pieces Karl created for aName Karl Baird range of dresses by fashionLocation Huddersfield, UK designer Joanna Lomas. “We wanted the images to be shot in anHuddersfield- English wood for an otherworldlybased professional atmosphere, but Mother Naturephotographer Karl Baird had other ideas, and the springspecialises in alternative weather graced us with snow andcommercial portraiture. rain for weeks,” Karl says.He’s been exhibited “I’d wanted to work on somethroughout the UK, and levitation photography for a while,is about to start work on and felt we needed a room withhis latest piece, entitled tall, south-facing windows for‘Project Hero’. plenty of natural light,” he goes on.www.karlbaird.com “Luckily, my friend owns a wool shop in a Victorian building in Huddersfield, which was ideal. I think we managed to create the magical, melancholic atmosphere we were looking for.”IDEAS YOU CAN STEAL! #01INTEGRATING THE MODELThe Quick Selection and Refine Edge tools enable Karlto extract the model from the background quickly02REFINE EDGE 01QUICK SELECTION PLANNING THE STORY With a rough With theselection in place, Karl background digitally Karl had ‘story sheets’used the Refine Edge tool altered, Karl began work provided for each of Joannato smooth the outline. “It on the model. “I opened Lomas’s outfits to help developsaves to a new layer with up the original image, and conceptual ideas for the shoots,a mask already applied, carefully drew around but decided to combine severalwhich really helps if you’ve the model using the Quick elements into a single shot instead.missed out a small element Selection tool with a small “Story sheets are a great wayof your subject,” he says. brush size, to get as much to make sure that you stick to detail as possible.” an idea, and see it through to its conclusion,” Karl believes. “Our Story sheets are a great model, Jess, was very patient as way to make sure that you she was propped up with various stick to an idea stools, chairs and hands as we worked to achieve our final image.”44 PracticalPhotoshop August2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
gWsAN.TnMOeREtPRO ADVICE? See our Artist Insight section on p58 IDEAS YOU CAN STEAL! #02 GET CARRIED AWAY Karl added stock pictures of butterflies to the image, using Transform to make each insect look unique 02 TRANSFORMING 01STOCK RESPONSE Karl used the To emphasise the Transform tool to make ‘weightless’ feel of the each one look unique. “I model, Karl added stock repositioned each one images of butterflies. using Distort, Perspective, “Stock is brilliant,” he Scale and Warp to make says, “and it saves you them look as if they were patrolling the garden cascading upwards.” with your camera.” 04 ADDING SHADOW 03ADDING DEPTH Karl painted in Karl brushed over the shadows with a soft, some of the smaller black brush, and then butterflies using the Blur softened them using tool, helping to fade them a 4.8-pixel Gaussian into the distance. Finally, Blur. Finally, he dropped he added shadows to the the opacity to 68% to butterflies resting on the balance out the shadows. model, shoes and chair.DUPLICATING THE GENIUS TIP!WINDOWS FUN WITH CURVES Besides working out the levitation, Karl’s other “Curves gives you a wealth ofchallenge was to double the options in your images – there’samount of windows in the room. so much you can do with this“To achieve this, I cleared the room incredible tool,” Karl says. ”You canof obstacles, took a photograph of boost contrast, tweak colourthe two main windows, and added saturation, crunch gamma andthis on top of my background control brightness to give any imageimage,” he explains. a great deal of depth and punch.” Next it was a case of selectingthe area needed using the Quick August2013 PracticalPhotoshop 45Selection tool, then using theTransform, Perspective and Distorttools to re-orientate the wall,creating another two windows onthe adjacent side.www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
TMHAWENCUALAFTOIoVREALLPHOTOSHOP USERSGET THE LOOKCOMPOSITE TWOIMAGES TOGETHERProduce a successful composite image that’sgreater than the sum of its parts The human element can The Select>Color Range feature http://bit.ly/12FXttz transform an ordinary of Photoshop is the go-to tooloutdoor scene into something a for dropping in new backdropslot more intriguing. Leave a hint of because it makes quick work ofambiguity, and the viewers begin complex and tricky detailed edgesto construct their own imaginary such as the bushes and trees instories. Constructing a filmic this image, which would be nearlyscenario requires a little more impossible to cut out using manualeffort than wandering around methods. It’s a case of working thelandscapes and waiting for the + eyedropper and the Fuzzinesssun to do its thing. You need your and Range sliders to isolate themodel and some props – in this case blue sky from the surroundinga 1968 Ford Mercury Cougar and a foliage and foreground, beforepiece of vintage luggage. Getting using the Paste>Into featureall these elements positioned to drop in your new vista. A bitagainst the perfect backdrop is of dodging and burning aroundalways a tricky task, and budget the areas where the foliage andand time can often work against backdrop meet, as well as someyou, but if you opt instead to exposure and colour tweaks on theshoot against an easily found and backdrop itself are usually all that’sreasonably plain backdrop, you required to make a scene lookcan drop in something far more perfectly real, and improve yourinteresting later on down the line. original image tenfold.01 SELECTTHESKY 02 DROPINTHENEWSKY 03 TONE THE SKYAddaCurvesadjustmentlayer,holddown Open new_backdrop_start.jpg and go to Click OK, open new_backdrop_start2.jpg,Select>Color Range. Change Selection Preview press Cmd/Ctrl+A, and then Cmd/Ctrl+C, to Alt, and click between this and the layer belowto None, and choose Selection. Check LocalizedColor Clusters, set Fuzziness to 50% and Range copy it. Go back to the original picture and choose to create a clipping mask. Lighten the sky with ato 10%. Select the + eyedropper and click aroundthe sky area until it’s all white in the dialog. Edit>Paste Special>Paste Into. Press V for the single point. Select Blue instead of RGB and push Move tool, then reposition the sky, resizing it up. Select Red and pull down a fraction. with Cmd/Ctrl+T.46 PracticalPhotoshop August2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
GENIUS TIP! QUICK MASK MODE EDITING It’s not always possible to completely isolate specific areas with Select>Color Range, even with Localized Color Clusters checked. You may find very small areas in other parts of the background with similar tones are included. But they may not be obvious straight off. Double-check your selection by selecting the layer mask and pressing \. A red mask will appear, showing all the areas masked out. Use a black brush to brush out any areas included by mistake, then press \ again to return to the normal view. START IMAGES04 BURN THE EDGESNoticethattheedgesofthebusheshave 05 DODGETHESEA 06 IMPROVETHESATURATION The edges still look a little too light. Finally, we improve the colour. Add aa white fringe. Add a Curves adjustment layer The solution is to meet half-way by lightening Hue/Saturation layer above the Background the sea above. Add a Curves layer above the layer. Select Yellows and shift Hue to +26 for thebelow the new sky layer. Darken it, invert the new backdrop, with a clipping mask. Lighten it, foliage. Next, select Reds and set Saturation tomask with Cmd/Ctrl+I, take a large white brush invert the mask, then brush over the area +30 for the rear lights. Brush it out of the soil around the bush edges. with a black brush on the layer mask.and brush over the top half of the bushes.www.practicalphotoshopmag.com August 2013 PracticalPhotoshop 47
MTHAWENCUALAFTOIoVREALLPHOTOSHOP USERS START IMAGETOOL SCHOOLGRADUATED & RADIAL FILTER http://bit.ly/12FXttzMake selective adjustments to your raw images with these ACR tools When shooting high-contrast with ease, especially if you’re adjacent to each other on the gradient, and will gradually reduce scenes it can be a challenge using the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw 8.0 toolbar. in strength towards the end point,to get a balanced exposure, Camera Raw. enabling you to seamlessly blendespecially if you tend to shoot in How do they work? the edited area with the rest of theAuto mode. The camera may decide Camera Raw 8.0 is bundled with As its name suggests, the scene. The Radial Filter tool does athat the bright sky is the most Lightroom 5 and Photoshop CC. The Graduated Filter tool enables you similar job to the Graduated Filterimportant feature, and plunge an Graduated Filter tool (which you’ll to make a gradual linear tool, but it draws elliptical shapesinteresting foreground landscape find in older versions of Camera adjustment to the colours or tones instead of a straight line. With thisinto shadow. Alternatively, your Raw) has been joined by a new in a raw file. You can click and drag tool, the tonal or colour changeslandscape may be correctly Radial Filter tool. The Graduated the tool to draw a vertical or are strongest at the central point,exposed at the cost of blowing and Radial Filter tools enable you to diagonal line, and then adjust the and fade out towards the edges ofout the sky’s highlights. However, make selective (and gradated) Exposure slider to darken the the ellipse. You can use this tool toif you shoot in raw format, you adjustments to a wide range of edited area by an f-stop, for selectively dodge or burn tones incan tease out missing tonal details image properties, including example. The Exposure adjustment specific parts of an image, or toin the shadows and highlights Exposure and Saturation. Both will be strongest at the start of the create a quick vignette. tools do a similar job so they sit48 PracticalPhotoshop August2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
Photoshop Anatomy Gradual adjustmentsAdjust colours and tones selectively with the Graduated Filter toolGRADUATED FILTER NEUTRAL DENSITY EFFECTThe Graduated filter tool is found on the Camera Raw Here we’ve drawn a linear gradient with the Graduatedtoolbar, just to the left of the newer and similar Filter tool. By reducing Exposure to –1.65 we’ve darkened the sky atRadial Filter tool. the top of the frame to mimic the effect of a graduated ND filter. NEW ADJUSTMENT After drawing a linear gradient to make a gradual adjustment to the sky,we clicked the New button and drew another gradient to alter the detail at the bottom of the frame. CLARITY By increasing the Clarity for our second gradient adjustment, we’ve boosted the contrast of the midtones near the bottom of the frame, which helps the delicate details to stand out.REVEALING DETAIL TEMPERATURE COLOUR BOOSTBy drawing a gradient up from the bottom of the We cooled the temperature of the sky When you brighten under-exposed shadows,frame we’ve selectively lightened the under- gradient to –13 to make the colours look their colours can look rather drab, so we’veexposed details in the gondolas without altering more blue. We warmed the lower gradient’s increased Saturation to give the foregroundthe exposure in the rest of the shot. temperature to +21 for a warmer sea. colours more impact.Understanding… 01 AGED0N2DIUASDTJIUPS! TMENTS03THE RADIAL FILTER Once you’ve drawn anDodge and burn in Camera Raw with this new tool 02 ellipse with the Radial 03 Filter tool and adjusted the Our high-contrast ellipse [02] to rotate it. By sliders to lighten or darken a image is missing boosting Clarity [03] we 04 region, click outside the ellipseshadow detail, so we used were able to reveal more and draw another. The newthe Radial Filter tool [01] to architectural detail in the Radial Filter adjustment willmake a gradual elliptical shadows. After lightening use the same slider settings asadjustment that selectively the shadows we dropped the previous one, so you mayreveals missing shadow the Noise Reduction slider need to tweak the appropriatedetail without changing the [04] to –50 to smooth out slider settings to fine-tune thecorrectly exposed the newly introduced colours and tones.highlights. Drag outside the picture noise.www.practicalphotoshopmag.com August2013 PracticalPhotoshop 49
MTHAWENCUALAFTOIoVREALLPHOTOSHOP USERSJUST FOR FUN!CREATE A SPOOKYREFLECTIONCombine two images to create a http://bit.ly/12FXttzquick, stylish spooky effect START IMAGES Pictures that at first glance appear normal, then, when put under close scrutiny, reveala more sinister side can be a real talking point, aswell as great fun to produce. The results of thetechnique here are striking, yet the technique itselfis really straightforward. The trick requires twoimages – one with, and one without the full subject.These are then blended together using layers andmasks, resulting in the ghostly effect on the right.01 OPEN IMAGES FROM BRIDGEIn Bridge select reflection_before01.jpg, 02 COMBINE THE IMAGES 03 ADD A LAYER MASK Using the Move tool, drag the first image Use the Move tool to reposition the imagethen hold down Cmd/Ctrl, select reflection_ into the tab of the second image. When the so that both images are aligned. Add a layerbefore02.jpg, then right click and select Open second image appears, move the cursor onto mask to the top layer. Select the Brush tool andto open both images in Photoshop. the image and release the mouse button to from the Brush Preset picker select a soft-edged drop the image in. circular brush tip.04RESET THE COLOUR PALETTE 05 REDUCE THE SATURATION 06 ENHANCE THE MIDTONESToimprovetheoveralltone,createa Press D to reset the colour palette, To help add to the spooky atmospherefollowed by X to set the foreground colour to and reinforce the look, create a new Hue/ Curves adjustment layer and set two pointsblack. Make sure the mask in the top layer is Saturation adjustment layer and decrease theselected, and paint over the legs to remove Saturation slightly, muting the colour and tone. on the graph – one in the lower shadowthem from the image. quarter and one in the upper highlight quarter. Create a subtle S-curve.50 PracticalPhotoshop August2013 www.practicalphotoshopmag.com
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