Tips for Using Photoshop Creatively

[jchambers]

^ Sorry Don, I have never seen Phyllis lie. And I have never read anyone else say she is a lier either.

[minoltaman]

Ok...you must not have read the posts in this theads. I'll leave it at that.

Why don't you go read any number of the threads Joe. i can show at least 40 lies I bet and link them all.


BTW...20 straight picture posts in one topic thread might be a bit much on one page you think?

[minoltaman]

Geez joe...you missed this lie earlier in the thread.

This is not intended to be a technical column, but tips for creative use of Photoshop.

short memory?

[minoltaman]

geez Joe , here is a hole long list of technical tips she gave in this thread.

Today's tip has to do with sharpening photos so they don't have that "sharpened" look. I have had to learn a variety of ways for retouching pics, but I found this week that I really had to use everything and anything to save some 25-year-old pics of countryside and kids. These had to be scanned from shiny rough linen finish paper, and though the descreening feature of the scanner got rid of the texture it left the pics soft and even blurrier than a normal scan. So, since I've been doing so much sharpening lately, it's on my mind.

Sharpening with Photoshop Unsharp Mask Filter:

Tip-1: Try to sharpen only once if possible, after you have done your tone and color work is usually best. If the pic is more blurry you can sharpen twice, doing the first one softer with top slider under 100 and a pixel radius up to 1.0. The final sharpening should be very fine, top slider 400-500 and middle 0.2 - 0.4 on a pic that's 700-800 pixels wide, and you may want to fade it a bit.

Tip-2: To avoid haloes, fade the USM to either dark or light, whichever looks better.

Sharpening with High Pass Filter:

Tip-3: Choose high pass from "other" in filter menu, set to 0.3 to 0.5 or until the edges of the image are visible in the gray screen, then fade to Overlay mode. This will not leave haloes.

Sharpening with KPT6 Equalizer:

Tip-4: This, and plug-ins like it, can individually select the pixel areas to be sharpened, and the finest is very fine! I don't know what I would do without this great plug-in! Set the right hand slider about 3/4 the way up, and the next slider about 3/4 the way down, and you get a softness around the sharpness...a great look that's both soft and sharp and fairly natural looking to boot, good for many pics.

Sharpening with burn and dodge:

Tip-5: This, like all sharpening methods, increases contrast. It is most useful for eyes and other areas of a pic that need to stand out crisply. Go over eyes with burn set to shadows at opacity less than 12% and follow with dodge set to highlights. Fade at luminosity mode to avoid getting overly saturated colors.

Channel sharpening:

Tip-6: Instead of sharpening the whole image, sharpen just the black channel in CYMK, or just the lightness channel in LAB mode, or the cleanest channel you can find in RGB. Fade to luminosity mode when sharpening the red, green, or blue channels to keep color from oozing around the edges.

Sharpen Tool:

Tip-7: Don't be afraid to use this. At low opacity it's very useful as a finisher to touch up and highlight certain small areas. Used in lighten mode it can add sparkle too.

General:

Tip-8: Allow for distance and depth of field differences. Don't sharpen a blurred background too much or it will look unnatural. Best to make a dupe of the image, sharpen the top one, then use a soft low opacity (less than 20%) eraser to remove some of the sharpening from clouds and soft parts, like cheeks in pics of people. Go over areas as much as needed to get a gradual effect. Sometimes it's also helpful to go over clouds or skin with the blur tool using a soft brush and low opacity. You can go over harsh over-sharpened edges too without ruining the sharp look...just use a small blur brush with a very low opacity.

Tip-9: Fading. You get a different effect by sharpening with lower numbers in amount (such as 100) than you do by sharpening finer with high amount (such as 500) and then fading back the opacity with edit>fade. The first method gives less noise and a softer look overall, while the second combines the super-sharp version with the unsharpened version, as if you had placed a sharpened layer above it and reduced opacity. The second method gives the illusion of finer sharpness overall while the pixel noise is reduced by fading. See the next topic for similar but more pronounced effects that actually use two layers.

I hope you find something useful here. For some examples of how those old blurry pics turned out, look at the sharpened photos in these two galleries:

http://www.pbase.com/pstewart/kids
http://www.pbase.com/pstewart/scenics

Phyllis
http://www.innographx.com/forum

Last edited by pstewart on 28 Nov 2003 07:37 pm; edited 2 times in total

[minoltaman]

here is another lie in this thread Joe...

To all: Since Don has decided to disrupt yet another of my threads, I will have to discontinue this little Tips column I've been writing for everyone. If you would like to learn more about easy ways to enhance your photos, you may still do so in the discussion and tutorial forums on my Innographx site, url under my name.

I asked a question...duhhhhhh

i suuggest you reread the thread.

Thank you jo

[minoltaman]

ok Joe...I guess this is'nt technical either hu...

Today’s tips are about subtly enhancing and often even saving, difficult photos. This technique can solve three common problems with photos:

1. A pic is too grainy, such as one underexposed in low light.
2. A pic comes out with less than perfect focus, so we sharpen it, only to find it looks sharpened because of all the speckly sharpened pixels we’ve added.
3. A pic contains way too much fine detail that is distracting, a common problem with nature shots, especially in the woods where every little leaf and trillium bud competes for the eye’s attention.

Here is a simple and effective technique that can lessen those flaws significantly, while actually enhancing the photo in the process.

Let’s start with problem #3. Here is a sample of a repaired nature scene that had way too much detail in the leaves and growth all over the place, cluttering the view and distracting from the falls. It was easily fixed in Photoshop by making a dupe, using fine unsharp mask (“fine” has settings about like this: amount=400-500, radius=0.3-0.7, threshold=zero), then using a mild amount of gaussian blur on the top layer, and fading back the opacity of the blurred layer until the main forms looked clear but the smaller distractions were sufficiently softened.

For a subject like woods or falls the slightly misty look this gives fits the setting, so it can be a nice enhancement too:

http://www.pbase.com/image/23641600

Now that in that pic the final version had noticeable blurring/haziness, but we don’t always want it that noticeable. Here are two examples where the sharpening on the bottom layer was VERY fine (amount=500, radius=0.3, threshold=zero)and the blurred top layer had just slight opacity, just enough to cancel out the bright pixel speckles that a high amount of USM with a tiny radius can create:

http://www.pbase.com/image/23440007
http://www.pbase.com/image/23579679

As you can see, the blur is barely noticeable, and the picture ends up look soft and sharp and the same time. These photos actually had unacceptably soft focus due to scanning with descreening on a linen finish print. But now they look almost as crisp as the originals.

Sometimes you want a bit more haze and a “soft focus” look, or want the lights in a picture to glow. This is easy to do by simply increasing the opacity of the top layer in the above steps. Notice the effect:

http://www.pbase.com/image/23612808
http://www.pbase.com/image/23628630

In the first, the glow suggests the sunlight is reflecting off the hayseed dust, which is always present in a hayloft but seldom picked up well by cameras. In the second, there is just enough glow to enhance the candlelight. This blurring also served the purpose of hiding all the grain that appeared on the pumpkin surface and floor due to unusual lighting conditions and underexposure of surfaces.

Last, there is a small change you can make in the process to produce an even more pronounced glow, a neon effect if used on bright colored lights--try it on your Xmas tree pics! All you need to do is set the top layer to Lighten mode instead of Normal mode. Here are examples:

http://www.pbase.com/image/23663460
http://www.pbase.com/image/21182091

The first photo had lens flare from shooting into the sun, so instead of trying to fight it, I enhanced the effect to make his hair glow even more. The second is actually from my photo art gallery and as you can see the horse had been smudged first before the effect was applied. This is the only other photo I could find for an example, but it would do pretty much the same thing on a normal white horse photo as well.

NOTE: If you don't want to make two layers, you can just apply gaussian blur after sharpening then use edit>fade to reduce opacity of the blur, or change to lighten mode, or both. I prefer making separate layers, however, since I like having the option of combining modes/effects in a stack.

I hope you find something useful here. To learn more ways to repair and enhance photos, visit my site at http://www.innographx.com/forum

[minoltaman]

Hmmm.... this looks technical to me Joe...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This particular tip may not live up to the thread name, since it's not really "creative." It's just common sense, and it's a chore, but an important chore that can improve the quality of your photos considerably.

Those of you who are scanning prints or negatives or slides will certainly need to do this. Even digital camera users will have some degree of this chore if they want their pics to look their best.

There are two kinds of annoying "specks" that I notice on a lot of images, even the great photos here on pbase 1- dust and lint specks from scanning, and 2-"in the picture" specks of light, lint, fuzz, dirt, flaws.

Both kinds are easily removed, and really should be, since a lot of folks are like me and those little dots of light and dark pixels pop right out and hit us in the eye and we say "ouch!" Even if specks don't ruin a picture, they do have the effect of making it seem untidy and thus unprofessional.

They are easy to get rid of...takes about five minutes usually. Just use the Photoshop clone tool with a soft brush setting, make it not too small and not too large for the size of the specks you are getting rid of...either extreme will make the patch noticeable. You could use the patch tool too, but I find it can blur areas of a pic that shouldn't be blurred...best to save that one for faces. Clean up all the specks you see before sharpening, then go over the image again after sharpening, since more will become noticeable.

The kind of specks you might find IN the picture itself, not just scanner dust, are: lint on clothing and furniture, blemishes of course, dirt marks on walls, scratches on table/chair/wood surfaces, tiny spots of light that look like they don't belong in a scenic, etc. Don't get carried away and overdo it, but give it a once over anyway. You'll really notice the difference when you compare the cleaned pic to the original.

I even remove bits of unnecessary distracting items from the edges and corners of pics that cropping alone can't remove, like the corner of another chair for example in a pic of someone sitting by a table, or a candy wrapper on the floor in a cute kid shot, etc. These are just little things, but being aware of them and dealing can work wonders on the finished picture

[minoltaman]

and this one she says is not creative herself....

Ya, not creative, I know, but this retouching info is in here because I've had so many requests asking how to do this or that. So here is a continuation of "Eyes." This time it's eyelashes. See this new image in my retouching gallery for the example:

http://www.pbase.com/image/24096721

It's actually very easy to add eyelashes...

1. First use a tiny brush in overlay mode to go over the edge of the eyelid with low op brownish black, unless that area is already dark (it usually is). If the edge is already the right color, then you may just use a tiny burn tool brush set to low opacity shadows if you need to darken it more. The idea is to have a line of dark enough color from which to create the lashes in step 3.

2. Set the smudge tool as follows:

Darken mode (so that no light colors are smudged, only the darks)
Soft brush
1 to 4 pixel size (depends on image size and resolution)
Opacity approx. 50-75%

3. Brush outward from eyelid edge in quick curved strokes. You will need to undo often and try again to get a natural look. Do not space evenly, and vary direction slightly. For a guide as to how eyelashes grow and should look, refer to mascara ads or other close-up eye pics.

4. Work at 100%, or more for a small file, and zoom out often to get the true effect.

You don't need to set your stylus pressure in any special way...you can even do this easily with a mouse, since the lash strokes will fade to nothing on their own.

Hope you found this tip useful. See these pages for more ideas on retouching:

[minoltaman]

OHHHH...can't forget theis little technical gem...

This came up yesterday, so I'll talk about it now before I forget.

1) If you find your photos are flat in tone with disappointing color, as when taken on a cloudy day for example, here's a quick fix: Just hit PS autolevels, and fade back a bit.

If you are more used to using levels or curves, of course you will do it manually, but for those who are new to using PS for correcting tones, the auto feature can be very helpful.

2) If you like the color shades, but not the flat tones, do the same with "auto contrast, " again fading back a little.

3) Last, if you like the contrast and tone, but think the colors look a bit off, before doing any manual color adjustments, see what "auto color" will do. Sometimes it helps a lot. Sometimes not. But one click is worth a try, and might at least give you a good start.

The fading back in the first two is useful if you plan to print the image because the full "auto" on levels and contrast puts pure black and pure white into the image, and prints should have about 3%-5% less black or white on the two extremes.

And keep in mind that before attempting to correct color on any image, whether it's a scenic to be brightened or a portrait to be retouched, always correct the tones first. Get the b/w/gray values right with levels or curves before you proceed to work on color, because you can never get good color otherwise.

Hope someone found this helpful.

[minoltaman]

Posted: 20 Dec 2003 04:20 pm Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is not intended to be a technical column, but tips for creative use of Photoshop.

I hope you can find the answers to your questions somewhere.
_________________
Phyllis Stewart
http://www.pbase.com/pstewart
http://www.innographx.com/forum

There it is Jo..Creative use of photoshop.

Sharpening and noise reduction go hand in hand. Toothcombing is a harsh side effect or using levels reopeatedly on 8 bit images. These question are just as creative as sharpening and using levels for toneal correction and the other tips she posted. Matter o' fact with digital cameras you almost always talk about noise and sharpeing as closely related subjects.

To add...she has almost no cretive speaks at all on the board. Almost all technical general photoshop stuff.

[minoltaman]

Here is another one in another thread Jo. Read it and weep. Her bad memory is a bold faced lie. She runs a photo-art forum and has used the filter countless times. Follow the link to find more lies..
http://forum.pbase.com/viewtopic.php?t=1648

[ugot2bkdng]

So there you are Jo,

I leave it to you and the rest of the world to decide who the jerk is.

PS,

I found your photos a relief from the endless barrage of fish, birds, and graffiti.

Chuck

[minoltaman]

Not a lie but supporting a fellow "cheater here"...http://forum.pbase.com/viewtopic.php?t=1385&highlight=matson

[minoltaman]

One man's jerk is anothe man's honest angel. Otherwise known as trollbuster. You can call me Bobby Hammer if you like. That's what my friends call me when they see me correcting the record around here(non-net turf).

[minoltaman]

This may not be a lie but it sure is a whole lot of ignorance, stupidity, and lack of common sense and about 100 other things.

In this thread, she blatently and repeadedly disregards and ignores, sue, shiela, me, s, and probably others while spewing her babble. It is the way she operates period....with much babble.

http://forum.pbase.com/viewtopic.php?t=1526&start=0