The Photoshop Darkroom Creative Digital Post-Processing.pdf

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Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier

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Copyright © 2010, Harold Davis and Phyllis Davis.

Published by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Davis, Harold, 1953-

The Photoshop darkroom / Harold Davis, Phyllis Davis.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-240-81259-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Photography--Processing. 2. Photography--Special

effects. 3. Computer graphics. 4. Adobe Photoshop.

I. Davis, Phyllis, 1963- II. Title.

TR287.D423 2010

771’.4--dc22

200902625

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the

British Library.

ISBN 978-0-240-81259-5

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our website at www.focalpress.com

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Printed in China



6 The Photoshop Darkroom

>> Introduction

Working in the darkroom I’dmarvel at the moments of magic:the image unfolding under

the light of the enlarger, andappearing from nothing on thepaper in the tray of developer.

The magic when I process adigital image is comparable—but, for me, more powerful.

The Photoshop Darkroom shares these revelations withyou: the great moments in

which an apparently mundaneor dark capture comes alive.Digital photography is one partphotography and one part software

alchemy: creative post-processing.

A digital photographer who missesthe opportunities that come after

the photo is taken loses much ofthe power of the new medium.

Therefore, a goal of The Photoshop

Darkroom is to provide a frameworkof fundamental techniques you canuse to enrich your creative work.

Ansel Adams compared his work

to musical composition, sayinghis photographic negatives werethe score and his prints the

performance. With a digital photo,the RAW negative is the score,and how you post-process isthe performance. The Photoshop

Darkroom will jump start you on

your journey towards peak post-processing performances.

Make no mistake: The Photoshop

Darkroom is for photographers.Photoshop is a tool, just like

the enlarger and chemicals inan old-fashioned darkroom.

Unlike some Photoshop books,in The Photoshop Darkroom Idon’t care about Photoshopexcept as a tool. Our concernis solely the ultimate image.

This is not a book about the

latest bells and whistles inPhotoshop. Almost everything Iexplain can be done with olderversions of the program.

Depending on the version ofPhotoshop and operating system

you are using, your functional-ity and appearance may change abit from that shown in this book,

although the fundamental tech-

niques that I present will not vary.

There’s always more than one way

to do anything in Photoshop. I

make no claim that my way is theonly way, or the best: only thatmy way works. Hopefully, seeing

my way will spark your creativity.

In The Photoshop Darkroom Iam blessed with the perfect co-author (who also happens to bemy wife). Like me, Phyllis believes

that before explaining something,one has to fully understand it.

For us, a book that encourageslearning is about the student’swork, not the teacher’s. We

will have done our job if thisbook gives you the techniquesyou need and the creativeinspiration to have fun while

making potent digital imagery.

Art, being bartender, is never drunk. —Randall Jarrell





F r o m S c o r e t o

P e r f o r m a n c e




>> Input devices: Cameras and scanners

What devices can you use?

Before you can work in the Photo-shop darkroom, you need some-thing to process—in other words,

an image. The usual way you getan image is to take a photo with acamera.

But, think about what a digital cam-era really is: it is a special purpose

computer with a lens on the frontand a sensor in the back. However,that sensor really is a special pur-pose scanner just in the same way

that the computer in the camera isa special purpose computer.

What you also need with a digitalcamera is a way to save the lesthat result from the camera’s cap-

ture. Usually, this is a memory card.

There’s no reason you always have

to use a camera. If you have aatbed scanner (and this can be aninexpensive one—nothing fancy),

you can also use it to scan andcapture images.

Getting ready for scanning

Before using a scanner, make surethe glass scanning surface is as

clean as possible. Anything thatis on the glass will show up inyour scan.

Make a black box and put it overthe object you are scanning to

keep as much ambient light outas possible.

You should also know that there isno depth of eld to speak of, sothe object that you scan can’t be

very tall.

I f y o u ’ r e a n a r t i s t w i t h a

t a b l e t a nd s t y l u s,

y o u c o u ld a l s o d r a w t h e

i m a g e y o u w a n t

Make your own black box

At an art supply store, buy a piece of black foam board that is 1/4" thick, blackmasking tape, and an X-Acto knife for cutting the foam board (be careful!).

At home, cut four pieces for the sides of the box: two that are 5" x 8" and twothat are 5" x 11". Then cut one piece for the top that is 8" x 11".

Use the black masking tape to put the box together.

“Arts & Crafts” project

A n i r i s read y

fo r sca n n i ngA black bo x p laced o v er t he ir is keep s ambient light o u t



11From Score to Performance

You cou ld a lso com b ine

a a t bed scan w i t h a

p ho tograp h us ing

la yers and pa in t ing.

Turn to page 50 for

more a bou t pa in t ing o

n la yers.

Scanning objects

In Photoshop, choose File ►Import,

and select the scanner from the list.Use the scanner’s software to do a

preview scan, cropping in as close asyou can to the object. Since the lescreated by the scanner are very large,

you don’t want too much extra blackarea around the object.

Choose the highest bit-depth and

resolution possible (the scanner’ssoftware will tell you if you have

selected a setting that is too highfor the size of the area that is to bescanned). You’ll probably end up withsomething like 48-bit color at 3200ppi for an image that is a few inches

in either dimension.

Your scanner’s software might let you

adjust the exposure histogram andcurves. If you would like, adjust these

settings.

Once you have everything as you want

it, scan the image. The unnamed im-age will appear in Photoshop, readyfor you to save it.

Fo r mo re a bou t h is t og rams, t u r n

t o page 1 9. C hec k ou t pages

1 9 4 – 1 9 7 t o f nd ou t a bou t cu r ves

Y o u ne e d t o ma k e s u r e y o u r s ca nne r ’ s s o f t w a r e is p r o p e r l y ins t a l l e d b e f o r e y o u ca n u s e it in P ho t o s ho p

T h i s i r i s wa s sca n ned a t

3 2 0 0 p p i w i t h 4 8 - b i t co lo r

C h o o se y o u r s c a n ne r f r o m

t he I m p o r t me n u




What is a RAW capture?A digital RAW le is a complete

record of the data captured bythe sensor. What makes theconcept of RAW a little confusingis that it is a general concept in

the sense that there is no onesingle RAW le format—eachcamera manufacturer implementsthe concept somewhat differently.

For that matter, the differentcamera manufacturers name theirproprietary RAW les differently:for example, Canon’s RAW format

les are designated .CRW and.CR2, and Nikon’s RAW formatles have a .NEF le sufx.

To restate this, each man-

ufacturer’s RAW le formatamounts to an unprocessed

record of the sensor data froma capture encoded into a le.

Note: Adobe has helped tosponsor the open source Digital

Negative (DNG) format, whichis a manufacturer-independentRAW format. A number ofcameras now directly support

DNG, instead of or in additionto a proprietary RAW le format.

Some photographers like toarchive their RAW les in the

DNG format, an option that ismade more attractive becauseAdobe makes a RAW le to DNG

conversion tool available for free.Note on the Note: My personalrecommendation is to archive acopy in the native RAW format

of your camera; you may also

decide to archive in DNG, but youshouldn’t trash your original les.

I n l m p h o t o g r a p h y, A n se l Ad a m s (

w h o w a s a p i a n i s t

a s we l l a s a p h o t o g r a p he r ) s a id t h

a t t he ne g a t i ve

w a s t he s c o re a nd t he p r i n t w a s

t he pe r f o r m a n ce. I n

d i g i t a l p h o t o g r a p h y, t he R A W c a p t u re i s t he s

c o re

a nd t he p o s t - p r o ce s s i n g i s t he pe

r f o r m a n ce.

I f y o u o n l y s a v ed J P E

G l e s, t h i s

i s w h a t y o u w o u ld g e t . T h e p o s t -

p r o c e s s ed R A W l e i s o v e r h

e r e

>> Working in RAW

Why do you want to shoot in RAW?

If you set your camera to shoot in JPEG, the most common option other than RAW,you are accepting the computer-in-the-camera’s idea of how to process your photofor color, white balance, contrast, noise, and so on. Even worse, you are throwingaway all the data in your image except that single JPEG rendition. There’s a vast

range of exposure and color data in every RAW le that gets trashed forever whenthe capture is saved as a JPEG. Finally, the JPEG format compression itself involvessome data loss.

Is there any downside to shooting in RAW?

RAW les do take up more space than JPEGs, although for a serious photographerthis should not be the most important concern, particularly since data storage has

become much less expensive in recent years.

In addition, RAW les are potentiality : they are not ready to go. They need to be

converted to some other format (such as Photoshop’s PSD, TIFF, or JPEG) beforethey are usable.




How do you work in RAW?

Set your camera to shoot in RAW. It’sthat simple, although usually the de-fault (even for fancy DSLRs) is JPEG.

Most cameras have an option whereeach capture is done in RAW andconverted to JPEG at the same time.

This is great because you have a JPEGready for immediate use (the onlydownside is that the JPEG le takes

a little extra space on your memorycard).

When you set your camera to capturein RAW, you should choose the highest

bit depth possible (this will dependon your camera). If your camera has

a color space setting, you should setthis to a color space with as wide agamut as possible to get an accuratedisplay on the LCD. Usually this means

selecting Adobe RGB rather than sRGB.

(sRGB is a garbage lowest commondenominator gamut designed for moni-

tors and will limit the range of colorsyou have available.)

Why your camera doesn’t showyou the RAW truth

Particularly when you shoot RAW, the

LCD version of the RAW capture thatyou can see on the little screen onyour camera is actually a JPEG version

of the image. This is what you wouldget if you had told the camera to savethe image as a JPEG. It’s not the actual

RAW image. The camera has no wayto show you the RAW image. And you

have no idea, based on the camera’sdisplay, what you really have to work

with. You need to open the RAW imagein Photoshop to see what you reallyhave.

The preview on your LCD, combinedwith the exposure histogram that your

camera will show you, does give yousome idea of the data available in theRAW le. (To nd out how histograms

work, turn to page 19.)




>> Case Study: Converting a RAW photo

A memo ry card reader is an inexpensive device t hat can read ash memo ry cards and t ransf er t heir co nt ent s t o a co mpu t er. If y o u w o u ld like t o bu y a card reader, y o u can t y pe “ memo ry card reader” int o t he Go o gle search bo x t o see a list o f su ppliers

I d o n ’ t u se t he s o f t w a re t h a t c a me w i t h m y c a me r a

t o ge t t he le s f r o m t he me m o r

y c a rd o n t o m y

h a rd d r i ve. I n s t e ad I u se a me m o r

y c a rd re ade r.

S t e p 1Getting RAW les off your

camera’s memory card andonto your computer

The software for your camera will

do this for you, BUT (here’s theproblem) it will also try to doother things for you at the sametime—for example, not give you a

choice about where les are saved.The software may also start toprocess and lter the les.

Surprisingly, few people realizethat the memory card in a camera

is just a virtual hard drive. WhatI do is use a memory card reader to transfer the images from the

memory card to the computer.

To use a card reader: take the

memory card out of your cameraand put it in the card reader. The

memory card then appears on yourcomputer as a drive. (On the Mac

it will show up on the desktop.In Windows, you will see it inWindows Explorer.)

Use the Finder on the Mac or

Explorer in Windows to copy andpaste the RAW image les into aproperly named and located folder.

T u r n t o p a g e 2 4 f o r m o r e

a b o u t n a m i n g a nd l o c a

t i n g

i m a g e l e s a

nd f o ld e r s

s y s t e m a t i c a l l y

A dobe C amer a Raw ( A C R ) Plug -inMake sur e you have the cor r ect ver sion of the Adobe Camer a Raw ( ACR ) plug -in installed on your computer . Dif f er ent versions of Photoshop use dif f erent ver sions of ACR and in some cases ACR

doesn’t g et installed when Photoshop is installed. Go to www.adobe.com / downloads to nd the most r ecent ver sion of ACR f or yourver sion of Photoshop and oper ating system.

I u s e m y c o m p u t e r ’ s l e s

y s t e m

t o c o p y a nd p a s t e i m a g e

l e s




B r id ge co me s w it h P ho t o s ho p a nd is ins t a l l e d w he n y o u ins t a l l P ho t o s ho p

S im i la r s

>> Opening your RAW le in ACRT his is t he best t hing t o do

o r

Launch Adobe Bridge, locate the foldercontaining the image les, and lookthrough your similars. All experiencedphotographers try to shoot similars ofany subject they are interested in. These

may have slightly different exposure set-tings, different composition, or may have

changed over the course of time as lightchanged. Your rst job is to look throughthese images in Bridge and nd the oneyou want to work on.

After you nd the image you want towork on, double-click on the image and it

will open in the ACR application window.

In the folder where yourimage le is located,double-click on the imagele and it will open in theACR application window.

He re ’ s t he i mage I ’ m go i ng t o u se

Cus t omizing Bridge

You can se t Bridge up to displa y your im

ages in

man y dif f eren t wa ys—f or e x ample, as a “ligh tbo x ” or a

slidesho w. I pref er a cus tom version of the slide

sho w vie w

because i t le ts me see each image as a thumbnail,

and also in a larger size.

step 2

case study: converting a raw photo




case study : converting a raw photo

T u r n t o p a ge 1 9 f o r

m o re a b o u t h i s t o g r a m s

a nd e x p o s u re

Selecting resolution in the Workow Options dialog

The best idea here is to accept the native resolution suggested byACR (as shown with a check next to it). If there’s a minus sign to the

right of the resolution, this means that the setting down samples theimage. You don’t want to do this because you will lose image resolu-tion. If there’s a plus sign to the right of the resolution, this meansthat the image is up sampled.

There are certainly times when you do want to decrease or increase

the size and/or resolution of an image. However, it’s best to do thisafter you have nalized work on the image (not before).

s t e ps 3-8>> Using the ACR application window:

Processing an image

C l ic k he re t o access t he Wo r k o w O p t io ns d ia log

De f a u l t i m a ge

s i z e s u g ge s t ed b y AC R

Depending on the se t tings you

choose in the ACR windo w, a

n image can

end up looking man y dif f eren t w

a ys




ACR o pens wit h t he image set wit h “ As Sho t ” defau lt valu es. It wo u ld lo o k like

t he camera-generat ed JPEG.

You ca n c l ic k t he se t a b s t o acce s s o t he r

k i nd s o f ad ju s t me n t s suc h a s: To ne

Cu r ve, H SL/G ra y sca le, S p l i t To n i ng, Le n s

Co r rec t io n s, a nd Ca me ra Ca l i b ra t io n T h i s t i n y b u t t o n

o pe n s a y- o u t me n u t h a t

a l l o w s y o u t o s a ve a nd l o ad i m a ge se

t t i n g s i n a

se p a r a t e XM P le ( m o re a b o u t t h i s o n p a ge 2

3 )

7 Open the image in

Photoshop (page 23)

8Save and archive

the image using Digital

Asset Management

(pages 24–27)

5Use the Tint and Saturationsliders to adjust the color of

the image (page 22)

4Adjust the white balance of the image

using the Temperature slider (page 20)

3Use the Exposure slider to adjust how

light or dark the image is (pages 18–19)

s t e ps:

Save the ACR image

settings (page 23)

6

Y o u d o n ’ t h a v e t o

d o s t e p s 3 – 5 i n a n y

p a r t i c u l a r o rd e r

case study: converting a raw photo




st e p 3 >> Using the ACR application window:

Adjusting exposure

E x po su re + 3

E x p o s u r e - 3

T his is t he e x p o s u r e “ A s S ho t ” w it h t he e x p o s u r e s l id e r u nt o u che d a t 0

RAW and exposure range

Within each RAW capture there is anexposure range from –4 f-stops to +4 f-stops.

You primarily control this range using theExposure slider. Often, not all of the entirerange is usable. It will usually be too dark ortoo light at the extreme ends. In addition, in

the darker settings there is a great deal ofincrease of noise in the image.

Photographers know that f-stops are not a

linear scale. Each successive f-stop lets in halfthe light of the preceding f-stop. Therefore,the –4 to +4 f-stop range represented by

the Exposure slider is enormous. This is a 28 range of potential exposure values: 256 timesfrom darkest to lightest (although as noted

not all of these values will be usable).

If there’s one thing to point out as theimmense power of a RAW capture, it’s thisvast range of potential exposure values

included in every RAW le.

Setting the Exposure slider

Using the Exposure slider is pretty

straightforward. When an image opens inACR, the Exposure slider is set at zero withthe image “As Shot.” Moving the slider to

the right increases f-stops and brightensthe image. Moving the slider left decreases

f-stops and darkens the image.Keeping the Sneak Preview over there inmind (using multiple exposures of one

image), think about how you want to exposean image. Do you want to process the imageso the sky looks good or so the detail in theforeground is visible? You can do both!

Move the slider until the lights and darks ofthe image are where you want them. There is

no specic number or formula that you need

to use to get the right exposure. Just trustyour eyes.





T h i s l a r ge m o u n t a i n re p re se n t s a l l t he

d a r ke r

a re a s i n t he i m a ge

T his lit t le sp ike r ep r esent s t he b lo w n-o u t p o r t io n o f clo u d in t he image

S ne ak P r e v i e w It ’ s possi bl e t o c ombi ne sev er al e x posur es f r om a si ng l e R AW c apt ur e usi ng

mul t i -R AW pr oc essi ng , g r eat l y i nc r easi ng t he d y nami c

r ang e of t he c omposi t e i mag e. F or e x ampl e, y ou

c an hav e an i mag e t hat show s bot h d et ai l i n a d ar k

shad ow ed ar ea and br i g ht sun on a mount ai nsi d e.

T ak e a l ook at pag es 30 – 67 t o l ear n mor e about mul t i -R AW pr oc essi ng .

The histogram in the ACR window

The histogram that appears in the

ACR window with an image showshow the light and dark values inthe image are distributed when theimage was shot. The left side of the

histogram represents the darkestareas in the image, progressingacross the histogram through the

image midtones at the middle of thehistogram to the lightest areas of theimage on the extreme right of thehistogram.

Since the image to the right (shownas it opened in the ACR window on

page 16) is largely dark, the histo-gram that appears in the ACR windowwith the image is largely bunched

over on the left side.

An average correct exposure (such asyour camera would generate on Auto)would produce a histogram with amountain in the middle like this one.

The reason that I tend to exposewith histograms that are pushed to

the left is that it is easier to rescueunderexposed areas of a photo thanit is to save blown-out highlights(even though darker images do tend

to have more noise).The Fill Light, Blacks, and Brightness sliders

There are other sliders on the ACR window that impact

overall exposure—the apparent overall lightness anddarkness of an image.

In addition to the Exposure slider, I often use three othersliders to control the range of darkness and lightness inan image. They are: Fill Light, Blacks, and Brightness.

Increasing the Fill Light by moving the slider to the rightbrightens shadow areas. You can increase or decrease the

overall strength of the dark areas in an image using the

Blacks slider. The Brightness slider increases or decreasesthe amount of brightness in an image.

T h i s h i s t og ra m s ho w s

a n a ve rage e x po su re l i ke

you wou ld ge t w he n you r

ca me ra i s o n Au t o

T his is t he image “ As S ho t ” as it r st ap p ear s in t he ACR w indo w


step 4




White balance and your camera

When you set the white balance in your camera,you are telling your camera the color temper-ature of the light source used to illuminateyour subject. The color temperature of light isexpressed in degrees Kelvin. For example, 5500

degrees Kelvin is usually the color temperatureof daylight towards the middle of the day.

There are two points here. The rst is thatmeasuring the color temperature of light is nota simple issue as you will often have light from

a variety of sources. In addition, light changes.Daylight towards early evening is very differentfrom daylight in the middle of the day. Withouta color spectrometer, you can’t really measure

color temperature accurately.

The second point is that cameras have an Autowhite balance setting. This lets the camerameasure the light and do the best it can.

Whatever white balance setting was used toshoot the picture (whether the camera was seton Auto white balance or not) is what shows up

in ACR as the default “As Shot” value.

Despite white balance being a huge bugaboofor many photographers, what you set it to inthe camera doesn’t really matter much becauseit is completely adjustable in ACR after the fact.

The only two things your in-camera white bal-ance affects are the appearance of the image onthe LCD screen of your camera and the setting

of the image when it rst opens in ACR.

Using the Temperature slider

I suggest using the Temperature slider to makethe colors in the image appealing and the wayyou would like them. Some folks justify this

adjustment by saying that they are recreatingthe scene as it appeared to them, but you don’treally need an excuse. Don’t worry about thetechnicalities of accurate temperature measure-

ment and white balance.

D o n’ t w o r r y ab o u t in-came r a w hit e b al ance se t t ings! L e av e it o n A u t o !

W he n t he w h i t e b a l a n ce o f

T u n g s t e n i s se le c t ed f r o m t he d r o p-d o w n

l i s t , t he

c o l o r t e m pe r a t u re i s se t t o

2 8 5 0 de g ree s Ke l v i n. T he

i m a ge be c o me s ve r y b l ue.

W it h a co lo r t emp er at u r e set t ing o f 15 ,0 0 0 degr ees K elv in, t he image get s v er y y ello w .

>> Using the ACR application window: Adjusting white balance with the Temperature slider

T he image “ A s S ho t ” is 6 5 5 0 de gr e e s K e l v in.

s t e p 4




T he W hit e B a l a nce T o o l ca n b e f o u nd in t he l it t l e t o o l b a r a t t he u p p e r l e f t co r ne r o f t he A C R w ind o w

Ho w l o ng do e s i t t ak e t o p r o c e ss a p ho t o ? W hen I g i v e w or kshops, people ar e somet i mes st unned

t o hear t hat i t c an t ake me hour s and ev en day s t o pr oc ess

a si ng le phot o. T hi s amount of t i me c annot be j ust i ed i n a

pr oduc t i on env i r onment . How ev er , i f y ou look at w hat y ou’ r e

doi ng as a c r eat i v e and ar t i st i c endeav our , t hen i t ’ s not r eally a g r eat deal of t i me t o spend per i mag e.

Using Flickr to stay organized

After I nish processing images, I takean additional step that is somewhatunusual. I make sure to upload a low

resolution version to Flickr (any otherphoto le sharing service would workas well). Then, I tag each photo withpertinent words or phrases. I can now

use the excellent search facilities avail-able on Flickr and the web to nd mytagged images. Once I’ve located animage on Flickr, I can use the date it

was uploaded to locate the high resolu-tion source les in my archive. For moreabout managing your image les and

Digital Asset Management , take a lookat pages 24–27.

Color temperature and yourcamera

The camera’s measurement of the color

temperature of light assumes that thelight is being reected off an 18% neu-tral gray surface. If there is a situation

where you need to accurately measure

color temperature and white balance,then you should include an 18% neutralgray card (available from photo suppli-

ers) in one of your captures. You canthen use the White Balance Tool in ACRto nd the exact color temperature byclicking on the neutral gray card in theimage.

Here’s a seat-of-the-pants trick: if you

don’t have a neutral gray card (perhapsyou are photographing on the top of

Mount Everest), any area that is closeto the 18% neutral gray value will do ina pinch.

This is 18% gray


s




Using the Tint and Saturation

slidersThe Tint and Saturation sliders are the

main controls that you have to adjustthe overall color of an image.

The Tint slider should be used rstbecause small adjustments of Tinthave a dramatic impact. (Note that theTint slider is located right next to the

Temperature slider. If you select oneof the White Balance presets from the

drop-down list, it may set a Tint setting

as well as a Temperature setting.)

The Tint slider moves through a colorspectrum from green on the left tomagenta on the right. Often, I nd that

I use a Tint setting of about +10. Butthis is something that depends on theimage and your taste. So, you should

play with the Tint slider to see whatimpact it has on your image.

Once you have set the Temperatureslider and the Tint slider, it’s time to

work with the Saturation slider. As

opposed to the Tint slider which

changes the color spectrum in your im-

age, the Saturation slider changes theapparent richness of the color spectrumin the image.

While it is all a matter of taste, it isworth noting that the Saturation slider

can be overused. Sometimes heavilysaturated imagery is done by choice tocreate a specic effect; however, thiskind of saturation can look articial

and unnatural.

Using the Vibrance slider

The Vibrance slider works in a similarfashion to the Saturation slider but

primarily operates on low saturationcolors. The Vibrance slider doesn’t

change colors that are already highly

saturated. Much of the time, you’ll wantto move the Vibrance slider along with

the Saturation slider. However, there aresome situations where you’ll want to

adjust the Vibrance slider without

the Saturation slider—for example,increasing the saturation in a photo

with people when you don’t want tomake skin tones look weird.

>> Using the ACR application window: Adjusting color with the Tint and Saturation sliders

st e p 5

O nc e y ou hav e mul t i -R AW pr oc essi ng und er y our bel t ( pag es 30 – 67 ), y ou c an use v ar i at i ons

i n T i nt set t i ng s so one ar ea of t he nal c omposi t e i mag e has one t i nt set t i ng w hi l e anot her ar ea has a d i f f er ent set t i ng .

6




S t e p 6W hen y o u cho o se S ave S et t ings, t his dialo g o pens. I u se t he “ Basic S u bset ” and t hen save t he set t ings in t he same f o lder w it h t he image.

A f t e r y o u s a ve se t t i n g s, y o u c a n

se le c t L o ad Se t t i n g s t o a p p l y

t he m t o a n o t he r i m a ge o r t o a

c o p y o f t he s a me i m a ge

Saving your ACR settings

When you nish processing an image,make sure to save the ACR settings.That way, if you have another image

you want to process in exactly the sameway (or you want to open another copyof the same image), you can just loadthe settings instead of reinventing the

wheel.

To do this, click the tiny button at theright of the ACR window and choose

Save Settings from the y-out menu.

In the Save Settings dialog that opens,

select Basic from the Subset drop-downlist, then click Save and save the le inthe same folder where the image is (soyou’ll know where to nd it again—ACR

will try to make you save it in a generalsettings folder).

Opening your image inPhotoshop

Once you have all the sliders set theway you want them, it’s time to openyour processed image in Photoshop.

Don’t just click the Open Image button,

however. If you do that, all the original

“As Shot” settings (the way the settingsare when the image originally opens

in ACR) will be overwritten with thecurrent slider settings.

What you want to do is open a copy ofthe image. To do this, hold down theAlt key and notice that the Open Image

button at the lower right corner of theACR window changes to Open Copy.Continue to hold down the Alt key

while clicking Open Copy. Ho ld do w n A l t ke y a nd t he O pe n I mage bu t t o n c ha nge s

t o O pe n Co p y.

St ep 7

N o m a t t e r h o w y o u o pe n a n i m a ge

u s i n g AC R, P h o t o s h o p w i l l n o t

o ve r w r i t e t he R A W i m a ge

C lick t his t iny b u t t o n at t he r ight o f t he A C R w indo w


S




St ep 8>> Digital Asset Management (DAM):Saving your images

Saving les logically

Sure, it’s easy to select File►Save in

Photoshop to save the image le youjust nished processing. But where areyou going to put the le so you know

where it is and know whether youhave worked on it or not?

In this day and age it’s really easy toget overwhelmed with digital informa-tion—tunes, videos, images, whatever.

When you get inventive and creativewith your images in the Photoshop

darkroom, the number of versions canreally explode. You’ll need to set up

a le structure that will always be inplace so you don’t lose images and soyou can nd various versions.

Over the years, I’ve created a workowthat lets me logically take care of

archiving and versioning my digitalles while I process them.

It’s not important that you exactly

follow my workow, but it is importantthat you do have a workow in placethat you follow. If you use a workow,then you’ll be able to let your

inspiration and creativity soar.

Organizing les and folders

Check out the folder structure shownin the Finder window below (if you’reusing a Windows machine, Window

Explorer would look much the samewith a tree-type le structure). Set up

something similar to keep yourselforganized.

The scheme I use is to create a chron-ological hierarchy of folders by year.

Within each year, each folder is namedwith the year, month, and date so theyare listed chronologically. In addition, Iadd a few words to the folder name to

describe what images are in the folder.This way, if I know the date when Itook an image, I can nd the relatedles. The descriptive words let me

search by keyword, using a commontool like Finder on the Mac and Searchon the main Windows taskbar.

Creating a comprehensive, organizedfolder structure like this is part of

Digital Asset Management (DAM).

º Here’s how I have my folder hierarchy set up:M ain p ho t o f o l de r

F o l d e r s s o r t e d b y y e a r

F o lder s named b y dat e w it h a f ew descr ip t iv e w o r ds

H e r e a r e t h e R A W i ma ge s . A l s o , t w o f o l d e r s I a l w a y s cr e a t e : W I P f o r W o r k i n P r o gr e s s a n d F i n a l f o r s t o r i n g n i s h e d i ma ge s .

As you work t h roug h T he P ho t o sho p t




Managing your image les

You may have heard a lot about non-

destructive image editing. The idea ofnon-destructive editing is that youredits are created separately from the

original le so that the original itselfis never changed. Examples includethe separate XMP le that ACR createsfrom a RAW original and adjustment

layers in Photoshop. In these cases,the separate le or adjustment layeris a kind of gloss or annotation. You

don’t change the original; instead youprovide instructions about how theoriginal should be changed.

In some ways, the concept of non-destructive editing has things exactlyright. You should never alter an origi-nal image le (it’s actually quite hardto do this using Photoshop, becausePhotoshop saves your RAW les as

PSD or TIFF les without the ability to

overwrite the original le).

However, I don’t nd that editingwith a base image and a stack ofadjustment layers on top works for

me, because some of the Photoshop

darkroom work I do is quite complex.It simply gets too complicated, and

too slow once you have more than10 layers or adjustment layers in any

image stack.

Something needs to take the placeof non-destructive image editing. Thecriteria of this something must meetfour points:

The original has to be completely

untouched

Every major step during editing has

to be saved and archived

It should be possible to track theediting to understand how theresults in any of the intermediatesteps were obtained

No single le should get so big andcomplicated as to be difcult to

work on. (This, of course, dependson the hardware you are using.)

Also, as a practical matter, youprobably don’t want more than 10layers in any image le.

My answer to this problem is a systemof checkpoints. Every time I hit a major

1.

2.

3.

4.

step in the editing process, I save aversion of the le. Usually the version

is multi-layered. As a next step, I at-ten the layers so I’m back to a singlelayer image and then I save a copy un-der another name. The internal layers(of the prior saved le) allow me to

track my progress and let me go backto an earlier “checkpoint” if I need to.

For a typical image conversion, I endup saving 4 or 5 work-in-progressles. Each one of these les contains

from 2 to 10 layers. The downside ofthis is that I take up more hard drivespace than if I were using adjustmentlayers. As opposed to an adjustment

layer, each regular layer doubles theimage le size. If I was doing this witha single layer document, instead of4 les with 5 layers, I’d end up with

1 le with 20 layers. The problem isthat the 20 layer le, while being moreexible, is too much for most comput-

ers to handle nicely (it also doesn’tgive you a hard checkpoint in caseyou want to go back to a previous

version).

>> Digital Asset Management:Understanding necessary checkpoints

I n a m e t h e f

l e t h a t I s a v e

a t e a c h c h e c

k p o i n t w i t h

a

s e q u e n t i a l a l p

h a b e t l e t t e r

A s you wo r k g

D ar kr o o m, a n y s t e p t ha t co n t a i n s a

c hec k po i n t w i l l s ho w t h i s ico n

✔ C h e c k p o i n t





Copyrighting images

Another part of Digital AssetManagement is protectingyour images so they are lesslikely to be used without your

permission.

It is possible to add a

watermark to your photos asa deterrent to theft. There areseveral methods you coulduse to add watermarks to

your photos. But my ownopinion is that the estheticsof watermarks are obnoxiousenough that I don’t do it.

However, there’s no excuse

for not marking your image ascopyrighted in Photoshop. Tomark an image as copyrighted,choose File � File Info. On theDescription tab of the File Info

dialog, choose the CopyrightStatus drop-down list and

select Copyrighted (by defaultthis is set to Unknown). Youshould also add a web linkin the Copyright Info URL text

box. You should enter yourname as the Author of the im-age. One other thing I always

do is add my copyright notice

to the Description text box.

Once you have entered yourinfo, click OK. The title bar ofthe image will now show thatit is copyrighted.

>> Digital Asset Management:Protecting your images

Be su re t o select Co py right ed fro m t he Co py right St at u s dro p-do wn list becau se t he defau lt set t ing is Unkno wn

A f t e r s e t t i n g t h e C o p y r i g h

t S t a t u s

a s C o p y r i g h t ed a nd c l i c k i n g

O K, a

c o p y r i g h t s y m b o l a p p e a r s b e

f o r e t h e

l e n a m e i n t h e t i t l e b a r

T o add a co p y r ight sy mb o l ( © ) o n t he Mac, p r ess A lt + G . F o r W indo w s, p r ess A lt + N u mLo ck + 0 169




RA I D 5 is a go o d co mp r o mise b e t w e e n r e du ndancy and saf e t y

This photo is the nished version ofthe one you’ve been seeing in thissection since page 15. (Take a look atthe original RAW capture in Bridge on

page 15.)

I processed the same image twice inACR—I made one version for the sky(ignoring the dark foreground) andthe second version for the foreground

(ignoring the blown-out sky). Then, Ilayered the two images in Photoshopand used a layer mask and gradient to

blend the two versions together. This iscalled multi-RAW processing.

You can use these same layeringtechniques to enhance your photos.So turn the page and get ready towork, create, and play with multi-RAW

processing in the Photoshop darkroom.

>> Digital Asset Management:Making sure your les don’t get destroyed

Archiving your les

There’s no perfect way to archiveany digital le. Contrary to what

many people believe, CD-ROM andDVD disks are inherently unstable,generally rated with a shelf life of only10 years.

The good news is that storage media

is becoming a lot less expensive. Agood thing indeed when you consider

that digital photo les themselves are

getting larger (some of my processed

images are more than 1GB). Whenyou work on a le in the Photoshopdarkroom, you get multiple versions,

often with increased le size (forinstance, each layer in an imagealmost doubles the le size).

You should have at least 3 copies ofevery digital le you are archiving.Preferably, you should keep one copy

off-site. I recom-

mend network

attached storageunits in RAID 5conguration

like the BuffaloTechnology unit shown here.

I have two of these units in my ofcefor a total of 8TB of storage. However,they are lling up so I will be adding

another two units soon.





T h e A r t o f I m a gi n a t i o n



Process the same photo

TWICE, (creating2 images) in AdobeCamera RAW (ACR)—once for the sky andonce for the foreground

Combine the two imagesas layers in Photoshop

Use layers, a layermask, and a gradient tocombine the two images

>> Multi-RAW Processing:Expanding tonal range

RAW capture “As Shot”

Processed for the sky

Processed for the foreground






>> Multi-RAW case study:Combining two processed versions from the same capture

Why multi-RAW processing?

The true power, magic, and beauty ofRAW processing happens when you doit more than once.

You found out that when you open aRAW le in ACR that there are manyways to change the exposure andcolor of an image (pages 16–23).

What would you say if you knew thatyou could change different parts of an

image in different ways with incredibleexibility, ease, and pinpoint accuracy?

That’s what multi-RAW processing isall about.

Take the classical case: you are pho-tographing a beautiful landscape withbright sunlight in the clouds and deepshadows in the rolling hills. There’sno single exposure that will work forboth the dark, shadowed hills and the

bright sky. An exposure that averagesthe two, will give you “blah” results

for both, but “blah” is not an option!What do you do?

The answer is to process the samecapture twice in ACR—once for thesky and once for the hills—and thenput the two exposures together usinglayers, a layer mask, and a gradient inPhotoshop.

T h i s i s t he image I am go i ng t o mu l t i-R A W p roce s s

T h e h i l l s i n t h e f o r e g r o u n d a r e t o o d a r k

S o m e o f t h e s k y

i s b l o w n- o u t



33The Art of Imagination

In ACR, use the Temperature, Tint, andVibrance sliders to make the original imagemore attractively colored. Next, use theExposure slider to set the exposure for thesky and let the hills go dark. Then, holddown the Alt key and open the image asa copy in Photoshop.

1

2Now the magic begins (I promise!). Go backto Bridge and double-click the same imageagain to open the same RAW le a secondtime in ACR.

This time, use the Exposure slider to makethe hills in the foreground lighter, ignoringhow bright this makes the sky. Next, use theTemperature, Contrast, and Saturation slidersto make the foreground more vibrant. Then,open the image as a copy in Photoshop.

T his v er sio n o f t he image is p r o cessed f o r t he sky

T h i s ve r s io n o f t he image i s p roce s sed fo r t he fo reg

rou nd

T o nd o u t m o re a b o u t o pe n i n g

a n i m a g e a s a c o p y, t a ke a l o o k

a t S t e p 7 o n p a g e 2 3

Ne x t S t ep

A t this poin t you ha ve t wo versio

ns of the same

image open in dif f eren t windo ws in Pho tosho

p.

The ne x t s tep is to combine them in one

image windo w ( pages 34 –35 ).

V er sio n # 2

V e r s i o n # 1

>> Processing the same image twice in ACR

multi-raw case study : combining two processed versions from the same capture




I t ’ s a l wa y s a good idea t o g i ve eac h

la ye r a na me t ha t le t s you k no w

w ha t t ha t la ye r i s fo r

O n t he L a ye r me n u c h o o se Ne w > L a ye r

f r o m B a c k g r o u nd t o m a ke a re g u l a r

l a ye r a nd re n a me t he l a ye r “ H i

l l s ”

2

Layers in Photoshop

Combining two versions—one specically processed for thesky and one specically processed for the hills—will create acomposite image with a greater tonal range.

In Photoshop, when one image is placed on a layer over anotherimage on a different layer, by default it will completely hide thelayer underneath. Later on, a layer mask and gradient will be usedto blend the two layers, letting the best of each image show.

>> Combining the two versions as layers in Photoshop

C lick o n t he v er sio n t hat w as p r o cessed f o r t he hills

H e r e ’ s h o w 1

W h e n y o u c l i c k t h e

i m a g e, i t a p p e a r s a s a

B a c k g r o u nd l a y e r i n

t h e L a y e r s p a l e t t e

If y o u do n’t see t he Lay ers palet t e, press F 7 t o o pen it .

B ef o r e go ing any f u r t her , sav e y o u r w o r k as a P S D le ( t his is t he nat iv e P ho t o sho p le f o r mat )




N e x t S t ep

Use a la yer mas k and grad ien t to b lend

t he t wo la yers, le t t ing t he bes t o f eac h

la yer s ho w t hroug h ( pages 36 – 38 ).

5

N o w t h e r e a r e

t w o l a y e r s : “ S k y ”

a nd “ H i l l s ”

C h o o s e t h e M o v

e t o o l

f r o m t h e T o o l b o

x 4

N o w , go t o t he o t her w indo w t hat is o p en in P ho t o sho p and click t he v er sio n t hat w as p r o cessed f o r t he sky . I n t he L ay er s

p alet t e, t his v er sio n is also a B ackgr o u nd lay er . Use t he same menu select io n ex p lained in st ep 2 t o change t he lay er t o a r egu lar lay er . Rename it “ S ky .”

3

Hold down the Shift key and uset he Move tool to drag the Sky image onto theHills image window. Release the Shift key onlyafter you release the mouse button or thet wo versions won’t be perfectly aligned.

T he t wo la ye r s w i l l be pe r fec t l y a l ig ned I F

t he S h i f t ke y i s he ld do w n w he n t he “ S k y ”

la ye r i s mo ved o n t o p o f t he H i l l s la ye r


O t

2




Hiding and revealing with layer masks

A layer mask is used to hide or show parts of a layer.At this point the “Sky” layer is completely hidingthe “Hills” layer. Adding a layer mask that hides the“Sky” layer will let you see the “Hills” layer.

N o w y o u can s e e t he “ H il l s ” l ay e r and t he “ S ky ” l ay e r is hid d e n

N e x t S t e p

D r a w a g r ad ie n t o n t he l a y

e r

m a s k so t he be s t p a r t s o f e ac h

l a ye r a re v i s i b le ( p age s

3 7 – 39 ).

A b l a ck l a y e r ma s k a p p e a r s o n t h e “ S k y ”

l a y e r , co mp l e t e l y h i d i n g t h e “ S k y ” l a y e r ,

ma k i n g t h e “ H i l l s ” l a y e r v i s i b l e

O n t he Lay er menu cho o se Lay er Mask > H ide All2

M a k e s u r e t h e “ S k y ”

l a y e r i s s e l e c t ed 1

H e r e ’ s h o w

>> Add a layer mask

A gradient is an area that smoothly bl df




C l i c k h e r e i n t h e T o o l b o x t o

s e t

w h i t e a s t h e f o r e g r o u nd c o l o

r

a nd b l a c k a s t h e b a c k g r o u nd

c o l o r

S elect t he G r adient T o o l f r o m t he T o o lbo x

Understanding layer masks

When working with a layer mask, remember that“white reveals and black conceals” the layer themask is on. So any area on the layer mask that iswhite will reveal that area of the layer. Also, any areaon the layer mask that is black will hide that area ofthe layer. Therefore, where the layer mask is black,the layer underneath shows, and where the layermask is white, the layer underneath does not.

The gray areas in between will be less or more trans-lucent depending upon whether they are closer to

white (light gray) or closer to black (dark gray).Drawing a gradient that blends from top to bottom,white to black on the Sky layer mask will makethe vibrant blue sky from the “Sky” layer visible. Itwill also hide the lower portion of the “Sky” layer,making the hill area from the “Hills” layer visible.This will create a composite image with a largertonal range in just a few seconds.

4

1C l ic k t he “ S k y ” la ye r

ma s k t o se lec t i t

3

Keep going on thenext page

S t a r t h e r e

On the Opt ions Bar make sure a lineargradient is select ed (this is t he default )2

>> Draw a gradient on the layer mask

area t hat smo o t hly blends f ro m o ne co lo r t o ano t her, f o r example f ro m black t o w hit e o n a lay er mask





A w h i t e t o b lac k g rad ie n t a p pea r s o n t he

la ye r ma s k ico n i n t he La ye r s pa le t t e

T he t o p o f t he “ S ky ” l ay e r ap p e ar s in t he image w ind o w af t e r y o u r e l e as e t he mo u s e

I n t he image w i ndo w, cl ic k a nd d rag t he

G rad ie n t t ool f rom t o p t o bo t t om

5

If you want to see theactual gradient you drew,open the Channels paletteby selecting Channels fromthe Window menu. To takea look at the “Sky Mask,”

click the eye icon at theleft of the “Sky Mask”channel to turn it on, andthen click the eye to theleft of the RGB channel toturn it off. The gradientwill appear in the imagewindow. For more aboutchannels, take a look atpage 153.

u n d e r t

h e

h o o d




S k y

H i l l s

T h i s i s t he ve r s io n t ha t wa s p roce s sed

fo r t he s k y ( t he “ S k y ” la ye r)

T his versio n w as pro cessed f o r t he hills ( t he “ H ills” lay er)

After adding the gradient to the Skylayer mask, the composite image has a largerdynamic range than the individual Hills and

Sky versions. (To see a larger version of thisnished image, turn to page 31.)

Here’s the nished image

nward &Upwar d

I nd t his mo re int u it iv ely ap p ealingand oft k b




O n w a r d & U p w a r

More multi-RAW processing

The example shown on pages 32 – 39is one of the simplest demonstrationsof the benets and techniques ofmulti-RAW processing. Once you getthe hang of it, it literally only takesseconds to rescue overly bright anddark areas of a landscape photo bycombining two versions as explained.

It’s pretty easy to see how you dothis when you have a foreground that

is overly dark and sky that is overlybright. But, many photographic situa-tions are more complex than this. Thegood news is that multi-raw process-ing is powerful and exible enough torise to almost any occasion. For onething, you’re not limited to two ver-sions on two layers. You could processan image any number of times, eachtime including it on a different layerwith a layer mask.

Also, as you’ll see in the next case

study starting on page 42, it is pos-sible to paint on layer masks. Thisgives a great deal more exibility andpin-point accuracy about how much orhow little you reveal on a given layer.If this sounds like a big deal, it is!

But wait! There’s more…as you will seewhen you throw different blendingmodes into the soup (blending modescontrol how layers combine), the sky’sthe limit! A case study featuring this

technique starts on page 62.

y pp g and o f t en w o rks bet t er f o r me excep t in t he simp lest examp les

Have a plan!

It’s a good idea to start out with aplan when you approach multi-RAWprocessing. You should start by pre-visualizing the end result you wouldlike.

When I start multi-RAW processing, themost common scenarios I use are thesetwo (both use layers and masking):

A three layer scenario that startswith a “background” layer that isgenerally the most attractive versionof the image. Then, I add two layerson top that are partially masked—one layer adds in brighter areas and

the other layer adds in darker areas.A second approach that is alsointuitively appealing is to startwith a very dark version as the“background” (which is used forthe brightest area in the image).I then add layers on top to maskin successively lighter versions, asmany layers and masks as needed.

This second approach is shown in thenext case study starting on page 42.

1.

2.

No -r i sk e x pe r i me nt i ng I’m a g r eat believ er in planning in P hot oshop. How ev er , don’t let y our plan st op y ou f r om e x per iment ing ! If y ou’r e c ur ious about w hat somet hing w ill do, t r y it and see.

Y ou c an alw ay s undo using my g r eat f r iend t he Hist or y palet t e.

Also if y ou hav e est ablished a sy st em of c hec kpoint s as show n

on pag e 25, t hen it should be easy t o g et bac k t o a pr ev ious v er sion of y our imag e.

P ho t o s ho p i s a v i sua l

p rog ra m. You ca n see w ha t

you ge t . I n s p i ra t io n co me s

w i t h i m p ro v i sa t io n. I u rge

you t o e x pe r i me n t !




Another multi-RAW processing scenario

If you are trying for a high-key lighting effect (by photographing for transparency perhaps using a lightbox)and you are intentionally overexposing, then a good plan is to start with the lightest version of the image

and layer on successively darker versions as you go along. The Rose Cone ower shown above and theAnemone to the left use this technique.



I LEARNED THAT A FAMILY of Great Horned Owls had moved into the

eucalyptus forest in Claremont Canyon in the hills above the city of

Oakland, California. So I spent a happy afternoon photographing the

owl chicks in their nest. The photos were taken from the top of a

small hill at the same height as the chicks. A very protective mother

owl hovered in the background above the nest, while dad occupied a

perch a few trees away.

Even though I was shooting with a long telephoto lens (600mm in35mm terms) on a tripod, I knew that I would want to crop in on

the image to exclude everything but the owls. I also wanted to make

sure that the vibrant colors in the owl chicks’ eyes and feathers were

featured in the nal image. It was time for multi-RAW processing

using layer masks and the Brush Tool for pin-point accuracy.

My strategy in post-processing this image was to start with a good

overall version of the RAW capture and then to layer in successively

lighter versions for the eyes and feathers.

>> Multi-RAW Processing:Selective exposure control



multi-raw case study : painting on a layer mask for pin-point control

i h d k i i C




H ere’s t he image t hat I’m go ing t o pro cess. All t hree pairs o f o wl ey es are visible and it ’s sharp.

Coming up with a strategy

Photographing these owl chicks was

like photographing human kids—justas with children, it was hard to get theowls to all look at the camera at thesame time!

To start post-processing the owls, Ipicked a capture that was sharp andwith all three owls looking in my

direction. If you check out the similarsshown in Bridge below, you can seethe owl chicks looking every which

way.

My strategy for multiple processingthis image in ACR was to start withthe darkest layer and then putsuccessively lighter layers on top,painting in the details using layermasks and the Brush Tool.

The rst version of the image thatI needed to process in ACR was thedarkest version that was going to

become the Background (bottom-most) layer in Photoshop. This versionneeded to have a good overallexposure. In addition, I used ACR toadjust the Temperature and Tint togive the image a warmer and brighterfeeling.

>> Processing the darkest version in ACR




The “As Shot” exposure

This is the way the image opens in ACR.

You can see that the image is a bit dark,and this is conrmed by the histogram. Theoverall underexposure of this version of thecapture ts in well with the plan to layer onsuccessively lighter versions featuring the owls.

Leaving the background dark and making theowls lighter focuses the viewer’s attention onthe owls.

Color adjustments

By adjusting the Temperature and Tint slidersyou can make the image warmer overall. Iused these controls to make the image closerto the way that it actually looked in the lateafternoon sun.

When you’re done adjusting the image, openit as a copy in Photoshop (for info about this,look at step 7 on page 23).

I m o ved t he T i n t s

l ide r t o t he r i g h t

t o g i ve t he i m a ge a w a r me r t o ne.

I m o ved t he Te m pe r a t u re u p f r o m

5 0 0 0 0

t o 5 8 0 0

0

. 5 8 0 0 0 i s m o re o r le

s s

t he c o l o r t e m pe r a t u re o f l a t e a f t e r n o o n

s u n l i g h t . ( A s a f t e r n o o n p r o g re s se s

t o w a rd s u n se t , t he c o l o r t e m pe r a t u

re

g oe s u p a b i t m o re t o a r o u nd 6 2 0 0

0. )

I m a ge o pe n s “ A s S h o t ” i n AC R


>> Processing a second version in ACR andlayering the versions in Photoshop




layering the versions in Photoshop

1A f t e r opening t he ini t ial da r k ve rsion in P ho t os hop, save it in a “ WI P ” (wo r k-

in-p rog ress) folde r as a P S D le. ( To

nd ou t a bou t c rea t ing wo r k folde rs and

saving images logicall y, t u rn t o page 24.)

2Go back t o Bridge

and do u ble-click t he same image again t o

o pen it in ACR. N o w , make a light er v ersio n o f t he o w ls w it h t heir

bo dies and f eat her det ail in mind.

To make the

lighter version,I used theTemperature,Exposure,

Blacks, andBrightness

sliders

T he ima ge a p p e a r s a s t he B a ck gr o u nd l a y e r in t he L a y e r s p a l e t t e in P ho t o s ho p

Workow

The idea is to add a lighter layer with

a layer mask that hides the layer ontop. Then, paint on the layer maskwith the Brush Tool to reveal theportions of the layer you want.

The initial steps to set this up aredescribed on pages 32–36. They arepresented in overview here as well.

3 Open t his ligh t e r ve rsion as a cop y in th h it f 4 N ext , ho ld do wn t he Shift key and u se t he Mo ve To l t d th “O l l ”




3 Pho t oshop, and t hen change it f rom a Backg round la ye r in t o a regula r la ye r

named “Owls ligh t e r ”. (To nd ou t how t o do t his, t u rn t o page 34.)

4 yT o o l t o drag t he “ Owls light er” versio n fro m it s image windo w int o t he image windo w co nt aining t he darker “ Backgro u nd,” making t wo lay ers. (T u rn t o page 35 fo r direct io ns o n ho w t o do

t his.)

5 F inall y, ma ke su re t he “O wls l ig h t e

r ” la ye r

is selec t ed and add a la ye r mas k, h id ing t he

la ye r. ( Ta ke a loo k a t page 36 t o nd ou t

ho w t o add a la ye r mas k.) Save t he le.

What is open in Photoshop?

There’s a saved image with two layers,“Background” and “Owls lighter”

The “Owls lighter” layer has a layer mask on itThere’s the lighter owl image (the secondversion open in its own image window).Don’t close it; you’re going to need it in a fewminutes!

Next Step

Now that you have all the preliminaries nished,it’s time to get the Brush Tool ready for paintingon the layer mask (pages 48 –49).

•

••

“O w l s l i g h t e r ” l a ye r

T here are no w t w o lay ers: “ O w ls light er” and “ Backgro u nd”

H e r e ’ s t h e H i d e

A l l l a y e r m a s k

o n t h e “ O w l s

l i g h t e r ” l a y e r


>> Getting the Brush Tool ready




>> Getting the Brush Tool ready

Brush Tool settings

When I’m getting ready to paint on alayer mask, I usually use Brush Toolsettings that slowly paint an area. If anarea needs heavier coverage, I’ll paintover it several times instead of usinghigher settings. Here are some of mythoughts about Brush Tool settings.

Brush Diameter: The width of yourbrush really depends on the area youneed to paint. Don’t make the mistakehere, however, of being hasty. It’s easy

to look at an image and say “I wantto blow out that area” and use a bigbrush that works fast. This will makefor results that are a lot cruder thanthey ought to be.

Images look very different close-up and far away. To really do good,accurate brushwork, you need tosee the impact at both kinds ofmagnications. Most of the time you

will want to do your work zoomed in,but you also want to check what itlooks like further away.

Brush Hardness: You need to beaware that even a minimal percentageHardness setting will leave anapparent visual line when painting.This might be good for something

like a pen and ink drawing, but for aphotograph even minimal Hardnessintroduces a new visual element

you don’t necessarily want. Veryoccasionally, I raise the Hardnesssetting when I want to paint a newelement into an image, but that’s notsomething I do often. Painting withany kind of Hardness setting (except0%) has to be done with great care.Most of the time I use a 0% Hardnesssetting because I don’t want edges toshow.

Brush Opacity: It’s better to start witha lower Opacity setting and paint overan area several times instead of usinga higher Opacity setting and paintingonce. Generally, for a typical multi-RAWadjustment, I use an Opacity setting ofar ound 25% –30%.

Brush Flow: The settings for thisfeature really depend on your personaltaste and input device—a stylus and

tablet work pretty differently than amouse. When I use a mouse, I almostalways set the Flow to around 50%.This lets the Brush Tool do its thing,but slowly enough that I have somecontrol. You need to experiment andnd the right ow setting for yourworking environment.

T ablet or mouse?Many people pr ef er t o paint in Phot oshop using a st y lus and t ablet r at her t han a mouse.If y ou use a t ablet and nd t hat t he plast ic sur f ac e is

t oo smoot h, making y ou lose c ont r ol w hen y ou dr aw , y ou c an t ape a piec e of paper ov er t he t ablet t o add f r ic t ion t o t he sur f ac e.

1 Selec t t he B rus h Tool f rom t he Tool box

H e r e ’ s h o w

t fS e t the Flow of th b

2




U se t h i s s l ide r t o se t

ho w w ide t he b ru s h i s

Use t his slide r t o se t how fuz z y t he edges

o f t he b rus h a re (I usually se t it a t 0 %)

You can c hoose a b rus h s ha pe b y cl ic k ing he re.

No t ice ho w some b rus hes have a ha rde r edge o r a

so f t e r edge. I almos t al wa ys use a round b rus h.

S e t t h e O p a c i t y o f

t h e b r u s h w a y d o w n

t he F lo w o f t he b r u sh ( ho w mu ch p aint co me s o u t ) at ar o u nd 5 0 % O n t he lef t side o f t he P ho t o sho p O pt io ns Bar, click here t o o pen t he Bru sh P reset P icker

T h i s i s t h e B r u s h P r e s e t P i ck e r

Setting the Brush Tool for control

in the creative darkroom

When Photoshop is installed,the default Brush Toolcursor looks like this

While this little paintbrush is cute, itdoesn’t accurately show the diameter

of the brush you are working with. Iprefer to set the Brush Tool cursor so Ican see the exact area I am painting.

To set your cursor this way:

On Mac select the Photoshop menuand choose Preferences► Display& Cursors; in Windows selectthe Edit menu and choosePreferences► Cursors. ThePreferences dialog opens with

the cursor options.

1.

In the Painting Cursors area, selectthe Full Size Brush Tip optionbutton, and then click OK.

2.

2


>> Painting on a layer mask




2

Click o n t he lay er mask t o make su re it ’ s select ed

g y

K no w i ng W he re t o P a i

n t

I f you ’re go ing to pa in

t on a la yer mas k

t ha t h ides a la yer, you

can ’ t see t he la yer!

So ho w w i l l you kno w

w here to pa in t ?

Keep an image w indo w open to t he s

ide o f

your screen t ha t con ta

ins t he image on t he

h idden la yer. T ha t wa

y, you can re fer

to i t as you pa in t.

Pa i n t r ig h t o n t he image w i ndo w.

S i nce t he “O wls l ig h t e r ” la ye r is

h idde n b y t he la ye r mas k, kee p t he l ig h t e r ve rs io n o f t he o wls o

pe n i n

i t s o w n image w i ndo w fo r re fe re nce4

T his is t he Bru sh T o o l cu rso r at w o rk. (T o fnd o u t abo u t set t ing t he cu rso r, t u rn t o page 4 9 .)

H e r e ’ s h o w

Click he re in t he Toolbox t o se t whi t e as t he fo reg round colo r

and black as t he backg round colo r3

1 Se lec t t he B ru s h Too l

f rom t he Too l bo x

When you paint on a layer mask, youdon’t see the mask in the image win-dow as you paint on it; instead you

see the visible layer (in this case theBackground layer). As you paint onthe black layer mask with white, theareas of the hidden layer (the “Owlslighter” layer) are revealed.

A f t e r pa i n t i ng o n t he bod ie s a nd e ye s o f t he

l hicks here’s what the image loo k s l i ke

W at c h T ho s e E d g e s ! W hen y ou pai nt on a l ay er mask , be espec i al l y c ar ef ul about ed g es!

G ener al l y , y ou w i l l want tomasks wi h




I f you loo k in t he C hannels pale t t e,

you can see t he la ye r mas k

If y o u lo o k ju st at t he “ O w ls light er” lay er ( w it ho u t t he Backgro u nd lay er v isible) t his is ho w mu ch o f t he lay er is blending int o t he Backgro u nd lay er u nderneat hNext Steps

After painting on the “Owls lighter”layer, these same steps will berepeated twice more. First, processtwo more versions of the GreatHorned Owl Chick image in ACR—one

version to lighten the owls’ breastfeathers and a second version justfor the eyes.

Next, after opening the two versionsin Photoshop, they will be placed inlayers on top of the “Owls lighter”layer.

Then, using the Brush Tool and layermasks, areas of the two new versionswill be painted in (pages 52 – 53).

No t ice how t he whi t e pain t ing is heavie r in some

a reas and ligh t e r in o t he rs. The whit e r an a rea

is, t he mo re o f t he la ye r is revealed. Also a b rush wi t h a sha rpe r edge was used in t he e ye a rea.

o w l c h ic k s, he re s w ha t t he g

T h e l a y e r ma s k i co n s h o w s a t h u mb n a i l o f t h e p a i n t i n g

Co m pa re t he i mage

be fo re pa i n t i ng o n t he la ye r ma s k a nd

a f t e r pa i n t i ng o n

t he la ye r ma s k

l w ant t o pai nt l ay er

mask s w i t h g r ad uat ed ed g es. T hat w ay ,

y ou w on’ t hav e a t r ansi t i on t hat l ook s t oo abr upt and ar t i c i al .

>> Adding two more lighter layers andpainting in more details


1b




P ro cess t his v ersio n f o r t he breast f eat hers

P roce s s t h i s ve r s io n

fo r t he e ye s

Using the same techniques shown on pages 46 – 51,create two new versions of the same image in ACR.The rst version is exposed for the breast feathers

and the second version is exposed for the eyes.

s

t e p 1

s

t e p 2

O pe n a s a co p y i n

P ho t o s ho p ( t u r n t o page 2 3 fo r mo re i n fo )

1 a

P u t t his versio n o n a regu lar lay er and rename it “ Breast F eat hers” . T hen, drag t he image int o t he image w indo w t hat already co nt ains t he “ Ow ls light er” and “ Backgro u nd” lay ers. ( T ake a lo o k at pages 34 –35 f o r mo re inf o .)

1b

O pe n a co p y i n P ho t o s ho p

2 a

Pu t t h i s ve r s io n o n a regu la r la ye r

a nd na me i t “ H ig h l ig h t s a nd e ye s ”.

T he n, d rag i t i n t o t he i mage w i ndo w

co n t a i n i ng t he o t he r t h ree ve r s io n s.

2 b

S t a r t he re

Add a H ide A l l la ye r ma s k t o t he “ B rea s t

d i t it using the Bru s h H e r e ’ s what thl




H e r e ’ s t h e f n i s h e d

i m a g e w i t h t h e e y

e s a n d

h i g h l i g h t s p a i n t e d i n

N e x t S t e p s F lat t eni ng t he lay

er s and c r oppi ng t he i mag e ( pag es 54– 55 )

A Fea t he r s ” la ye r a nd pa i

n t o n i t u s i ng t he B

Too l t o l ig h t e n a nd em p ha s i z e t he o w l s ’ c he s t

fea t he r s. ( Page s 46 – 51 s ho w you ho w t o do

t h i s.) 1 c

Add a la ye r mask t o t he “Highligh t s and e yes ”

la ye r, and t hen pain t on t he la ye r mask t o reveal t he e ye a rea and highligh t s 2 c

M o v e o n t o S t e p 2

w h a t t h e i ma ge l o o k s l i k e a f t e r p a i nt i ng o n t h e l a y e r ma s k


>> Flattening layers

2Choose Flatten Image




C o r e P ho t o sho p w o r k Af t er t he lay er s hav e been at t ened and

t he imag e has been c r opped, any w or k y ou do on t he imag e is c or e P hot oshop w or k. Y ou’ll nd ideas about how t o c r eat iv ely enhanc e imag es af t er t hey ’v e been pr oc essed f r om RAW int o P hot oshop st ar t ing on pag e 70 .

I wou ld n ’ t e ve n co n s ide r c ro p p i ng t he image be fo re a l l t he d i f fe re n t

R A W ve r s io n s

we re com b i ned becau se c ro p p i ng wou ld lead

t o a l ig nme n t p ro b lem s co p y i ng a la ye r f rom

o ne image w i ndo w t o a no t he r

Going on a diet

Since the RAW processing is nished,to take the image forward from thispoint, I would want to merge the layerstogether into one Background layer,and then crop the image. Flattening thelayers will cut down the le size 75%—from 320MB to 70MB. (Each layer addsas much to le size as the Backgroundlayer, no matter what’s on the layer.)

Before merging the layers together,save a checkpoint version of the lebecause merging together layers is apixel destructive action in Photoshop.You can’t go home again. Once youclose the image following the merge,the information in the separate layers islost. So you will want to save a versionthat contains all the layers and layermasks in case you need to go back tothat version.

Bef o re y o u f lat t en t he lay ers sav e t he image! ( F o r mo re abo u t checkp o int s, t ake a lo o k at p age 2 5 .)

1✔ C h ec k p o int

T h i s i s w h a t t h e L a y

e r s

p a l e t t e l o o k s l i k e b e f o r e a t t e n i n g t

h e l a y e r s

A f t e r at t e ning, t he o nl y l ay e r l e f t is t he B ackgr o u nd

2C hoose Fla t t g f rom t he La ye r menu H e r e ’ s

h o w

>> Cropping an image

You ca n c l ic k he re t o c ha nge

t he co lo r o f t he a rea s ho w i ng

wha t w i l l be c ro p ped

C l ick he r e t o cance l t he cr o p




w at

Cl ic k t he c hec k t o comm i t t o t he c ro p o r

p ress Re t u rn/ En t e r

Figuring out what to crop

It’s sometimes hard to know howto crop an image. Often this comesdown to a matter of taste and com-position. Of course, I try to makethe best possible compositionin-camera—but this is not alwayspossible.

When I make the decision to crop

an image, I try to understand rstwhat is most visually compellingabout an image. Cropping shouldemphasize the compelling aspect ofa photo and minimize the parts ofthe photo that are not important.

In the case of the owls, it was clearto me that I cared about the owls,but not the scraggly eucalyptus

background. That’s why I was so

sure that I would want to crop.

Fortunately, the Photoshop CropTool makes it pretty easy to experi-ment with a variety of crops beforeactually committing to a crop, soyou can see what works best. If youdo commit to a crop that you don’tlike, you can always use the Historypalette (or your saved checkpoint

version) to reverse the crop.

Ready, set, crop!

From the moment I pressed theshutter, my plan was to cropin on this image. Now that theimage has been processed fromthe RAW, it’s time to crop.

2S elect t he Cro p T o o l f ro m t he T o o lbo x

4

B e f o r e y o u c r o p s a v e

y o u r i m a g e! ( F o r m o r e

a b o u t c h e c k p o i n t s, t a k e

a l o o k a t p a g e 2 5. )

1

3Click and drag a marq u ee o f “ marching ant s” aro u nd t he area y o u w ant t o keep ( t he area t hat w ill be c

ro pped w ill be shaded w it h a co lo r shield) ✔ C h e c k p o i n t

5 S ave y o u r image again aft er cro pping. Cro pping is a pixel

dest ru ct ive act io n, so be su re t o save y o u r image befo re and aft er cro pping

✔ C h ec k poi n t

>> Compare these settings and histograms




Small changes in ACR settingshave a big impact

The different versions of the RAWle that I combined to create theowl image are really pretty similarto each other. If you look below youcan see them going from darker tolighter. Combining them is a simple

but extraordinarily powerful concept.You’ll get a great deal of mileage usingthe same straightforward technique on

many RAW images with subject mattervarying from nature to portraits toarchitecture.

Take a moment to look at theexposure and color settings for each

version in the ACR window. You caneasily see the impact of the settingson the image itself. You can also see

what changing the settings does to theexposure histogram. Roughly speaking,these kinds of changes are what youshould look for when you plan tomulti-RAW process a single image legoing from darker to lighter.

Version #1

This RAW image was underexposed, so I raisedthe Temperature and Tint to make it look morelike it was in real life. This version is the darkestone and it became the Background layer.

Version #2

This next version was processed for the owlsin general. I lightened up the image using theExposure slider. Also, I adjusted the Temperatureto give it an overall warm look. This versionbecame the “Owls lighter” layer.

T his hist o gram is pu shed o ver t o t he lef t side, sho w ing t hat mo st o f t he image is u nderexpo sed

T h is t i n y s p i ke o n t he r ig h t

re p rese n t s t he blo w n ou t

a rea o n t he t ree t ru n k

A single one of t he se ve r s io n s o f t he ” d

Hi st og r ams t ell t he st or y C ompar e t he histograms on th f




A n y s i ng le o ne o f t

ca p t u re wou ld be p re t t y “ b la h ” a nd

du l l b y i t se l f. W he n t he y a re co m b i ned,

t he y c rea t e a s t r i k i ng i mage.

hist og r ams on t hese f our v er sions of t he same imag e. Not ic e how t he mount ain t hat st ar t s out on t he lef t side in t he r st v er sion, mov es t o t he r ig ht t hr oug h t he suc c essiv e v er sions as t hey g et lig ht e

r . T he mount ain also bec omes a hill. T he lig ht est v er sion ( # 4 ) no long er has t he c omplet e t onal r ang e in t he midt ones.

Version #3

This version of the owl chick image wasprocessed with the breast feathers in mind.It didn’t matter to me that the upper rightcorner of the image was becoming more blownout. What was important was the texture and

colors of the feathers. This version became the“Breast Feathers” layer.

Version #4

This nal version was processed specicallyfor the eyes. As I moved the Brightness andExposure sliders, all I paid attention to wasthe eye color. This lightest version became the“Highlights and eyes” layer.

If y o u had y o u r camera set o n Au t o expo su re, t he “ As S ho t ” RAW image

w o u ld pro bably lo o k clo se t o t his o ne

Fo r mo re a bou t h i s t og ra m s a nd

ACR, t a ke a loo k a t page 1 9

Onwa r d & U p w a r

d




O n w a

S t ay T une d! Mult i -RAW pr oc essi ng and blendi ng modes ar e c omi ng up ne x t , st ar t i ng on pag e 60 !

Next steps with processing

Okay, we’re going to take multi-RAWprocessing one step further.

First you processed two versions of thesame landscape image using a gradienton a layer mask (pages 30 – 39). Next,you processed four versions of thesame owl chick image and painted inthe details using layer masks (pages42 – 55). Now you’re moving on to

process four versions of a sunowerimage and you are going to combinethem with a new twist—using blendingmodes (pages 60 – 67).

But before you move on, let’s go back

to the owl chicks for a moment.

Once you have cropped an image theway you like, there are many furthersteps you can take with an image inthe Photoshop darkroom. It dependsupon the image but you might want to:

Burn or dodge portions of the image(pages 72 –73)

Process the image for excess noise

(pages 78 – 81)

Convert the image to black andwhite (pages 84 – 100)

•

•

•

Combine the image with another

image to make a photo-composition(pages 120 –129)

Use LAB color to add color effectsto the image (pages 154–180)

Use lters to add effects to theimage (page 182)

Paint on the image (pages 188 –191)

In any case, you will almost certainly

want to “nish” the image by adjustingthe image’s LAB curves (pages 194 –197) and applying selective sharpening(pages 198 –200).

•

•

•

•

I t ’s usuall y im poss i ble t o com b i ne mul t i ple ca p t u res

o f peo ple because t he y move. T ha t ’s w he re mul t i-

R A W p rocess i ng, w h ic h o nl y uses a s i ngle ca p t u re,

comes i n t o pla y.

I p rocessed t h is p ho t o o f a fou r- yea r-old i n t he

same wa y as t he o wl c h ic ks, s t a r t i ng w i t h a da r k

bac kg rou nd la ye r a nd us i ng t wo l ig h t e r la ye rs t o

“ pa i n t ” i n t he c h ild ’s e yes, l i ps, a nd c hee ks.




I SHOT THIS IMAGE looking up one of the stairs that Frank Lloyd Wright designed in the MarinCenter in San Rafael, California.

To bring out the spiral form of the stairs, I used the same multi-RAW processing techniquesthat were used on the owl chick image. I started with a dark version for the Background layerand layered in successively lighter versions for the spiral area of the stairs.



I WAS COMMISSIONED TO shoot a series of natural but colorful images

for a series of book covers. One of the images the client wanted was

of a sunower. I went out to my local supermarket and bought several

likely suspects —ah, sunowers—and brought them home.

In my studio, I draped a chair with black velvet cloth and photographed

one of the sunowers in natural sunlight.

When I approached the multi-RAW processing for this image, I knew

I would have to start from darkest to lightest and build the ower up

once I had the black background in place.

I also realized that the rather large and dark center of the sunower

would be a special problem. There was no way to light the center of

the sunower to make it sufciently bright without also destroying the

delicacy of the petals. I knew I would have to tackle this issue using thepower of Photoshop blending modes in addition to “standard” multi-

RAW processing.

>> Multi-RAW Processing:Using blending modes



multi-raw case study : using the screen blending mode

>> Making the sunower center pop

Post processing strategy Here I did the same thing with a I then layered in the lighter ower




Post-processing strategy

The center of a sunower is naturallya fairly dark area. To make the image

glow in the way that my client wanted,I would need to substantially brightenthe center without destroying the colorvalues in the rest of the ower.

In the owl chick example (pages42 – 57), my strategy was to start witha dark version and layer successivelylighter versions on top.

Here I did the same thing, with acouple of twists. When shooting on ablack background, you really have to

go very dark to make sure distract-ing details, such as lint and hairs onthe black velvet cloth, don’t show. Iprocessed the rst version in ACR withthis in mind.

I only processed two versions: one forthe dark background and the other forthe ower.

I then layered in the lighter owerversion using a screen blending modetwice to get the lighter effect in the

center of the ower while keepingcolors attractive.

Screen blending mode works tolighten all the pixels in the unmaskedareas of a layer. For more about thevarious blending modes and how theywor k, turn to pages 70 – 71.

H e r e ’ s t h e

s u n o w e r

c a p t u r e I u s ed

The darker version

T h i s s p i ke o n t he le f t

re p re se n t s t he b lac k

bac kg rou nd




The darker version

This version was processed for thebackground. For the White Balance,

I used the default Daylight setting of5500 Kelvin. The only other changesI made were to slightly brighten theexposure (by 0.25 of a stop) andincrease the color saturation.

If you look at the histogram, you cansee that this version of the imagehardly has a pulse. It’s almost atlining,with very little distribution of valuesexcept on the extreme left, which

represents the black background.

F o r t his image, I really increased t he S at u rat io n and V ibrance

I t ’ s rea l l y a ma z i ng t ha t a ve r s io n

o f t he su n o we r t ha t i s so du l l

ca n beco me t he bac kg rou nd fo r a

co lo r fu l a nd pu b l i s ha b le i mageThe lighter version

As opposed to the darker version, thelighter version has some signs of life.

Looking at the histogram, you can seethe yellow mountain on the left thatrepresents the ower.

With this version, I completely ignoredthe background and worked on theower. In fact, if you magnify thebackground in this version, you wouldbe able to see surface details that areundesirable.

The main move I made here was touse the Exposure slider to make theimage much brighter. Increasing FillLight, reducing Blacks, and increasingBrightness added to this effect.

I didn’t worry too much about someoverall loss of detail in the owerpetals, because I knew that the petalswould be blending with the darkerversion.

I reall y i nc reased t he

E x posu re a nd used t he

F ill L ig h t , Blac ks, a nd

B r ig h t ness co n t rols t o

move fu r t he r i n t he

same d i rec t io n

I u s e d t he T int s l id e r t o int r o d u ce a s l ight mage nt a cas t ar o u nd t he ce nt e r o f t he o w e r


>> Making the sunower center pop

Layer the two versions, add a




Layer the two versions, add alayer mask, and paint on it

After opening both versions in

Photoshop, do the following:

Change the lighter ower versionfrom a Background layer into aregular layer and rename the layer“Flower” (turn to page 34 fordirections on how to do this).

Drag the “Flower” layer into theimage window containing the darker“Background” layer (for directions on

this technique, turn to page 35).Add a Hide All layer mask to hidethe “Flower” layer (take a look atpage 36 for directions).

Choose the Brush Tool from theToolbox and get it ready to go(turn to page 48 for directions).

Click the layer mask on the “Flower”layer to select it and paint on the

layer mask to reveal the lighterower (take a look at page 50for directions on painting on alayer mask).

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

W hen y o u have fnished t hese

st eps, y o u r Lay ers palet t e sho u ld lo o k like t his

A f t e r pain t ing on t he la ye r mask, t he

sun owe r looks like t his. No t ice t ha t t he owe r is ligh t e r, bu t t he pe t al t ips, s t em,

and cen t e r is no t ligh t enough, ye t …

He re ’ s h o w I p a i n t ed

o n t he l a ye r m a s k

T his is t he F lo w er lay er sho w ing ju st w hat t he lay er mask r ev eals

Layer it again, Sam

>> Duplicating the Flower layer

2In t he Du plicat e Lay er dialo g t hat opens na e th l “P t




Layer it again, Sam

In order to continue lightening theower, a copy of the “Flower” layer

with an unused layer mask needs tobe added to the image.

Ne x t St epC hang e t he blending mode of t he “Pet als and c ent er ” lay er ( pag es 66 – 67 )

1Ma ke su re t he “ Flowe r ” la ye r is

selec t ed in t he La ye rs pale t t e,

and t hen c hoose Duplica t e

La ye r f rom t he La ye r menu

4 Add a ne w blac k H ide All

la ye r mas k t o t he “ Pe t als

a nd ce n t e r ” la ye r b y

selec t i ng La ye r > La ye r

Mas k > H ide All

2 o pens, name t he new lay er “ P et als and cent er” , t hen click OK

He re ’s how t he La ye rs pale t t e looks a f t e r duplica t ing

t he la ye r. Howeve r, t he “ Pe t als and cen t e r ” la ye r s t ill

has t he old la ye r mask f rom t he Flowe r la ye r. Y ou ’llneed t o remove i t and add a new black la ye r mask.

You can also delete the layer mask using theLayers palette. Drag the layer mask onto the

tiny trash can icon at the lower right cornerof the palette. If you do this, a dialog willopen asking if you want to apply the layermask before it’s removed … click Delete.

3 Remo ve t he lay er mask by select ing t he “ P et als and cent er” lay er in t he Lay ers palet t e, and t hen cho o sing Lay er > Lay er Mask > Delet e

>> Setting the blending mode to Screen

Making the sunower lighter exactly which portions of the nished

T





g g

The Screen blending mode works tomake every non-white pixel in the com-

bined layers lighter. Blending a layerwith itself using the Screen blendingmode is a great way to lighten a photo.

You can use a layer mask to control

image are lightened. This is thetechnique used here on the sunower,and also used in preference toconventional dodging (see pages 72 –73for a discussion about using blendingmodes instead of the Photoshop Burnand Dodge Tools).

2C l ic k t he B le nd i ng

Mode d ro p-do w n l i s t

a nd se lec t Sc ree n

C lick her e t o access t he blending mo des

He re ’ s w ha t t he “ Pe t a l s a nd ce n t e r ”

la ye r loo k s l i ke a f t e r se lec t i ng t he

Sc ree n b le nd i ng mode

1Du plicat e t he “ F lo w er” lay er, call it “ P et als and cent er” , and t hen delet e t he lay er mask t ha

t w as creat ed w hen y o u du plicat ed t he lay er. ( F o r direct io ns o n ho w t o do t his, t u rn t o page 65 .)

H er e’ s ho w t he Lay er s p alet t e lo o ks af t er

du p licat ing t he lay er

T h e l a y e r ’ s

b l e nd i n g m od e s e t t i n g i s

N o r m a l

B y de fau l t

t he No r ma l

b le nd i ng mode i s a p p l ied t o

e ve r y la ye r

T his is t he me t ho d I u se t o light e n an ar e a w it hin an image inst e ad o f u sing t he D o dge T o o l

>> Painting in the details to nish the image

Painting in details and

T he su no w er is really co ming t o lif e, bu t t he cent er is st ill a bit dark and lacks det ail




3Duplicate the “Petals and center” la yer and call the

ne w la yer “Center and stem”. Then, remo ve the duplicated

la yer mask and add a ne w black Hide All la yer mask to the ne w

la yer ( turn to page 36 f or directions ). The la yer’s blending mode is

alread y set to Screen ( which is e x actl y what you want ).

4 Get t he Br ush T ool out one last t ime and lig ht en t he c ent er and st em by paint ing in t hose ar eas. Not ic e how muc h lig ht er t he c ent er is now .

Use the Br ush T ool to paint in the center , petal tips, and stem on the lay er mask ( take a look

at pag es 48 – 51 f or inf o )

duplicating the layer again

Finishing the image uses the same

painting and layering techniques thatthis case study has already used.

1Add a black la

yer mask to

the “Pe tals and cen ter ” la yer

( look a t s tep 4 on page 65

f or direc tions )

He re a re t he

la ye r ma s k a nd

t he “Ce n t e r a nd

s t e m ” la ye r

H e r e ’ s h o w I p a i n t ed

o n t h e l a y e r m a s k

A f t e r pa i n t i ng o n t he la ye r ma s k, t he su n o w

e r

image loo k s l i ke t h i s

T his is t he “ P et als and cent er” lay er sho w ing w hat t he lay er mask rev eals

2

Shooting against black velvet

You can get a great deal of mileage out of an inexpensive piece of blacke c t




You can get a great deal of mileage out of an inexpensive piece of blackvelvet cloth, available at most fabric stores. The piece I used was two yardslong and 50" wide and cost less than $10. Compared to other fabrics, black

velvet is particularly good at absorbing light and is non-reective. It comesthrough in a photo as very black, so that objects seem to oat on it.

You can put any kind of object or still life on black velvet cloth. It works wellto drape the cloth over a chair or to put it on a table.

Many kinds of light sources will work. For the sunower shown on page 61,I used sunlight coming through a window. But I’ve also successfully used anLED headlamp and a low wattage common household lamp.

If you’re using an overall average exposure reading, you’ll want to “underex-pose” signicantly so the velvet really appears black and so the subject of

the photo isn’t overexposed. Alternatively, you can take a spot meter readingon the subject itself.

You’ll probably want to do this kind of photography using a tripod so youcan shoot at a slow shutter speed and a low ISO with the lens stopped downfor high depth-of-eld. “ A

r t s &

C r a f t s ” p r

o j e

To the left is the original dandelion photo. To the rightis an image made from the photo in the Photoshopdarkroom. I used layers, layer masks, blending modesand painting to create the nished version.

S hoo t i ng o n b lac k ve l ve t p re se n t s a

g rea t o p po r t u n i t y fo r ha nd H DR wo r k

i f you s hoo t mu l t i p le e x po su re s a t

succe s s i ve l y s lo we r s hu t t e r s peed s ( t he

f- s t o p s t a y s t he same). Ha nd H DR i s

e x p la i ned s t a r t i ng o n page 1 06.




IN THE EARLY MORNING a eld was covered with a dense mist. I photographed the dandelion shown at the left covered withwater drops up close and personal with a macro lens, extension tubes, and a tripod. In Photoshop, using a combination of layersand different blending modes, I transformed the relatively bland original photo into the colorful, striking image you see here.

>> How blending modes af fect a layer

Click here t o access blending mo des in t he Lay ers p alet t e

Darks, lights, and midtones




H e r e ’ s t h e “ T e s t

s t r i p s ” l a y e r

T h i s i s t he Bac kg rou nd la ye r

co n t a i n i ng t he po p p y i mage

Blending modes are one of thekey features you can use in

Photoshop to impact how yourimages look. A blending modecontrols the way the pixels fromone layer blend with the pixels inthe layer beneath.

If you’ve never taken your blend-ing mode off Normal, you’re in fora wonderful surprise.

Photoshop is a visual program.I’m all in favor of nding out whatdifferent blending modes do bytesting them out. After all, there’snothing like seeing somethingfor yourself. That said, thereare some relationships betweenblending modes that you shouldknow about.

On the Blending Mode drop-down list, the blending modes

are divided into categoriesfor darkening, lightening, andincreasing contrast. In addition,there are some specializedblending modes—Difference andExclusion—and blending modesthat primarily impact color.

Blending mode test

On the next page is a quick

test to see how a few blendingmodes affect lights, midtones,and darks. I’m using the yellowpoppy image from pages 6 – 7.This image includes shadowedareas with lights and darks as theBackground layer. On the layerabove, called “Test strips”, I’veput three rectangles: one white,one 50% gray, and one black.

T h e s e a r e t h e

l a y e r s f o r t h e

b l e nd i n g m od e t e s t

T he se b le nd i ng mode s da r ke n

T hese blending mo des light en

Mid t one blending modes inc rease con t ras t

T hese blending mo des primarily impact co lo r

T hese blend ing modes a re we i rd: see page 1 7 5

fo r mo re a bou t t hem

Normal

This is ho w the image looks

wi th the Normal blending

mode selec ted.

Mult iply

Her e’s the imag e with the Multiply blending mode selected. Since this blending mode af fects dark ar eas, the white str ip

disappear s and has no eff ect on the imag e.The blending mode dar kens the ar ea

under the gray st i




So f t Ligh t

Sof t Light is a blending mode that works on

the portions of an image that include gra y

. Sof t Light

and the other midtone blending modes increase contrast.

Here the gra y strip disappears, the white strip lightens

the area it is o ver, and the black strip

darkens the area it is o ver.

Sc r een

W hen I select the Scr een blend-ing mode, w hich af f ects lig hts, the black str ip disappear s. T his blending

mode lig htens the ar ea under the g r ay str ip.

under the g r ay str ip.

>> Burning and dodging

The right way to burn anddodge 1

This colum bine is a bi t da rk on t he lowe r inne r petals and the stamens.

Du plicat e t he backgro u nd lay er,change t he blending mo de t o Screen, and add a H ide All lay er mask (direct io ns on page 36)

2 D od g i n g




I phot og r aphed t his c olumbine out door s in a g ar den hang ing f r om it s ow n st em. W it h lig ht behind, t he pet als w er e in shadow . T he shadow ed ar eas of t he pet als needed some selec t iv e and c ar ef ul

br ig ht ening .

dodge

In the chemical darkroom, one of the

most fun parts of making a print wasbringing out details by burning anddodging.

Burning used an enlarger to exposea specic area of a print through ahole of some kind in black card-board, constantly kept in motion soits edge did not show. The resultwas a darkened area.

Dodging was the opposite: whilethe enlarger was exposing, a blackcardboard disk on some kind ofstick (often a wire coat hanger!) wascontinually waved above an areathat needed lightening.

Coming to Photoshop with fondmemories of jiggling coat hangersin the darkroom, I naturally turnedto the Burn Tool and the Dodge

Tool when I needed to do thedigital analog of chemical darkroomburning and dodging.

But today, I do not use the Burn orDodge Tools. Once you know howto use blending modes and layermasks, you’ll nd that they are amore powerful and exible way toget the results you want. Unlike theBurn and Dodge Tools, using blend-

ing modes and layer masks to light-en and darken specic areas withinan image is non-destructive. It’s alsogreat that you can easily modify yourburn or dodge if you decide that youhave gone a bit too far.

Once you try burning and dodgingthe masking and blending modeway, I bet that you won’t go backto the “old fashioned” Burn and

Dodge Tools.

3Use t he B rush To

ol and gen t l y pain t on t he la ye r mask t o ligh t en t he pe t als and s t amens. (In fo abou t pain t ing on a la ye r mask is on pages 48 – 51.)

pe t als and t he s t a e t n o n page 36).

Bu rning

1T he t iny o wer in t he cent er o f thi b ll

Duplica t e t he Backg round la ye r, change t he blending

de to Multiply and

2




The whi te ef orescence wi thin

this balloon o wer is a tin y o wer wi th

in

a o wer. An o verall e x posure f or the

o wer

made the ef orescence too brigh t and

caused a loss of de tail. To adjus t this i

ssue,

I needed to “burn” the inner o wer.

What size Brush Tool should you use?

As I showed you before (pages 48 – 51), I usually burn and dodge with a0% Hardness setting. To nd the size brush you should use, look at thearea you need to burn or dodge. You really need to be able to see whatyou’re going to work on, which means you’ll probably want to magnify the

area. Choose a brush size that is proportional to the area you want to burnor dodge. If your brush is too big, you’ll change areas you don’t want totouch. And if your brush is too small, you risk creating lines in your photo.

3

Use t he Bru sh T o o l t o darken t he

cent er by paint ing o n t he lay er mask (info o n pages 4 8 – 51).

1 t his ballo o n o wer

is t o o light and lacks det ail.

mode t o Mul t ipl y, and

add a Hide All la ye r mask

(di rec t ions on page 36).

>> Working with noise



YOU CAN THINK OF noise as static in a digital photo. All digital signals

and communication will create some noise as an inherent and often

unwanted side effect—and this includes digital photographic capture.

There are several different kinds of noise. From a practical viewpoint,

without going into the general theory, you need to know what causes

noise (see page 76), when noise is useful (and when it is not), and how

to remove it when you don’t want it.

Surprise! Noise can be a good thing. An image without noise can look

“toothless”—at and lacking in texture. There are times where I eitherleave noise in a high noise image, or add noise on purpose. The photo

to the right was taken in extremely low light conditions at ISO 2000.

When I processed it in the digital darkroom, I decided that the noise

was really an integral part of the image so I left it in.

When it comes to processing a noisy image, you should know thatremoving noise inherently unsharpens—this is just the way it is. It’s

rarely a good idea to uniformly remove noise from an entire image.

Instead, noise removal should be done on one or more duplicate layers.

Using layer masks, you can perform stronger noise processing in areas

that need it most, taking care not to remove the noise from areas that

should stay sharp.



What causes noise?

As a matter of physics, the smallerthe sensor, the more noise there is

The overall exposure settings inrelation to the brightness of thesubject. Underexposed areas tend

h i

•



the sensor, the more noise there isfor a given capture size. There are

many other causes of noise in a digitalcapture including:

The native ability of the sensor andthe camera’s processing software.

The ISO setting used. The higher theISO is, the more noise there will be.

The size of the image. The larger theimage, the more noise.

The exposure time. Exposures thatare longer than about 5 secondsbegin to greatly increase the noisein an image.

•

•

•

•

to have more noise.

As a practical matter, you have thecamera that you have, so the causes ofnoise that you can do something aboutare the ISO and exposure settings. (Formore info about exposing for post-pro-cessing, take a look at page 104).

Many cameras have settings thatwill reduce noise in high ISO or longexposure situations. You should referto your camera manual to nd out how

to use these settings.

The photo of the Poppy emerging(left) and the tiny Lobelia ower

(right) share a Photoshopdarkroom characteristic. Bothhave added noise.

Looking at these images on mycomputer, I felt that the noise Isaw enhanced the images ratherthan detracting from them. SoI actually increased the noiselevel in each image using thePhotoshop Add Noise lter.



case

study

:working

with

noise

Post-processing to remove noise

Once I nish the RAW processing of ani if I i t i

add a Hide All layer mask, and paintin the areas that need noise removal.Next, if the image has areas of extreme-

Noise, and then play with the settingsin the Reduce Noise dialog. I prefer touse the Noise Ninja Photoshop plug-

>> Noise processing tools and Photoshop




image, if I am going to remove noise,

I like to do the noise processing as anearly step in the Photoshop darkroom.The reason for this is that if you leavenoise in, it can get multiplied in latersteps when blending layers together.

The general scheme for removing noiseis to duplicate the Background layer,use a noise reduction tool to processthe duplicate layer for moderate noise,

, gly high noise, duplicate the Background

layer again. Drag this new duplicateto the top of the layer stack and usea noise reduction tool to process theduplicate for high noise. Then, paint ona Hide All layer mask to remove noise.

Now, about those noise reduction tools.There are quite a few good tools forprocessing noise. In Photoshop, fromthe Filter menu select Noise►Reduce

j p p gin. You can download a trial version at

http://www.picturecode.com/download.htm. Once Noise Ninja is installed it willappear on the Photoshop Filters menu.

It doesn’t really matter what tools youuse to process noise. What does matteris how you use your tool of choice.The way to remove noise is to paintsuccessively strong noise processing onlayers—only in the areas that need it.

H e r e ’ s t he a r e a a t t he b a s e o f t he cl if f ma gnie d t o s ho w t he no is e p a t t e r n

T he R A W co n ve r s io n fo r t h i s image i s

n i s hed. T he ne x t s t e p i s t o

se lec t i ve l y

reduce t he no i se i n t he image.

He re ’ s h o w

Selectively processing an imagefor noise

Th Ni ht Sh i h t th

right areas, and moderate noiseprocessing on the sky—will leave animage that has texture, plenty of detail,

1Duplicate the

Backg r ound layer and name it “Moder ate” ( f or inf o tur n to pag e 65 )



79The Art of Imagination3

The Noise Ninja window opens

with the Profle tab selected. Click

Profle Image to adjust the noise

processing to the image.

2With the Moderate layer selected,

open Noise Ninja by choosing

Filter ► PictureCode ► Noise Ninja

The Night Shore image shown at the

left is pretty noisy. You could processthe entire image at once for noise, butthat would make the image too smoothand lose a lot of the detail.

Instead, selectively processing theimage for noise—using heavy noisereduction on the cliff, hill, and lower

and is aesthetically pleasing.

The way to go about selectivelyprocessing an image for noise is touse a noise processing tool combinedwith the same techniques you usedfor multi-RAW processing: layers, layermasks, and painting.

Inst ead y o u co u ld u se P ho t o sho p’ s no ise pro cessing t o o l by select ing F ilt er > N o ise > Redu ce N o ise

T he y e llo w sq u ar e s sho w t he ar e as t hat N o ise N in ja is samp ling

Keep going on the

next page

case study : working with noise

Click the Filter tab and accept the

default values. ( If def ault values aren’t

showing, click Reset to get moderate

noise settings back ).4

Click OK in the Noise Ninja dialog to apply the

noise reduction to the “Moderate” layer.5




Duplicate the Backgr ound layer and name it “Heavy.” Then, drag the layer to the top of the

layer stack.6

T he mo derat e no ise pro cessing lo o ks go o d o v erall, so t here’ s no need t o add a H ide All lay er mask t o t he lay er and paint in po rt io ns o f t he lay er.

T he s k y cl i f f and lo we r r ig h t a rea s t ill loo k

l i ke

t he y need mo re no ise p rocess ing so i t ’s t ime t o do some heav ie r no ise reduc t ion o

n ano t he r la ye r

Open Noise Ninja again ( Filter► PictureCode ► Noise Ninja )

and click the Filter tab. Move the Strength, Smoothness, and

Colors sliders to the right and the Contrast slider to the lef t for

heavier noise reduction. Make sure Coarse Noise is checked. Adjust the sliders until the image looks good.

7

Click OK in the Noise Ninja

dialog to apply the noise

reduction to the “Heav y” la yer.

8




Add a Hide All layer mask to the “Heavy” layer (inf o pag e 36 ) and paint in the noise

reduction onto the cliff , sky, and lower r ig ht with the Br ush Tool set at 0% Har dness, 100% Opacity, and 100%

Flow ( info f or Br ush Tool setting s on pag e 48 ).

9

T he sky her e lo o ks mu ch smo o t her t han t he B ackgr o u nd lay er w it h no no ise r edu ct io n, sho w n o n p age 7 6

P r o c e ss i t ag ai n, S am! Y ou c an pr oc ess an i

mag e f or noise mor e t han onc e. As I appr oac hed t he end of my P hot oshop dar kr oom w or kow w it h t his phot o, I f elt t hat t he noise on t he c lif f and t he low er r ig ht w as st ill a bit t oo heav y . So I pr oc essed t he imag e f or selec t iv e noise r educ t ion ag ain—using lay er s, of c our se!—c onc ent r at ing on t hat low er r ig ht quadr ant and t he c lif f . T he r esult s ar e show n on pag e 82.





>> Black and white



84 T Ptsp Dkm

MonochroMe iMagery—blk d wt—sts wt t

st f ptp. ev pt fm t sst wt t ld

msts f ptp, t’s t dl f pw blk d

wt ptp. T bs f l lts t mpst d

ls f t subjt m tu wt mplt lt.

Blk d wt m dtl ptp qus w

pp. it’s mstk t st u m t st Blk &

Wt md s ts just svs t dp t l fmt. (T

l s f d ts s t t pvw f wt u m

mt lk lk blk d wt.) it’s ls mstk t s

blk d wt vs tqu t Ptsp dkm

tt smpl dps t l fmt.

T bst pp s t st u m l d pss

t t tk full dvt f t l fmt. o u

pp wt t m, u t us sltv blk d wt

vs multpl ls t tl xtl w pt fu m vts t blk d wt. Ts llws u t v

xtml xpdd tl u mm m wt

v wt wts, v blk blks, d subtl dts btw

t tw xtms.



85T at f imt

case study : converting to black and white using the channel mixer

>> Using color information to convert to black and white

Black and white nirvana

o t d t blk d wtv, t m sd ptstt tk u dw t pvbl

wt. Wt d blk d wt m- ll s mm s stkus f lt tt s t dpdt

t l vlus f tt lt.

Lk t Pul Sm s 50 Ways to

Leave Your Lover , Ptsp pvdsm ws t d t tul blk d

wt vs. Uftutl, t



86 T Ptsp Dkm

The Ugly

h’s w:

ct w l t t tp f tl stk t Ls pltt.

Us t Pt Bukt Tl t ll t

l wt blk.

i t Ls pltt, slt t

cl bld md.

1.

2.

3.

T h i s m e t h od c a n c r e a t e

i n t e r e s t i n g b l a c k &

w h i t e e f f e c t s b u t i t

d o e s n ’ t u s e a l l t h e c o

l o r

i n f o r m a t i o n e x i b l y

The Bad

Wt rgB m sltim►Md►gsl

Wt rgB m slt im►

adjustmts►Dstut

cvt t LaB l d dltt a d B ls

•

•

•

T h e s e m e t h od s d r o p

c o l o r i n f o r m a t i o n

Showdown at the Photoshop

Black & White Corral: ☞

tt tk u dw t pvblut t hds. S w u stt t

t blk d wt m, kpbt u l d t mtds ttu t us ll md.

Mm m stts wt p-vsulzt. F t mst pt w s

l d t ll l vws sutbl f blk d wt dt.yu d t lk full t mps

ms tt wll wk blk d

as u pss u m tt wll

d up blk d wt acr dPtsp, u d t b v wtt u tls f mdf t m-

d ts tl f mxtsv w t s multpl -ls—.. rgB—t w t ls sl l—.. sl.

Tf, t bulk f u wk t m ds t b d before

u vt t t blk d wt.

mst smpl f ts vs t-qus smpl dp l fmtstd f us t l fmt

xbl u vs pss.S d’t t sdud b t s fts tqus.

Tul stk blk d wt mqus just lttl bt m wk.

T he se me t hod s u se a l l

t he co lo r i n fo rma t io n t o

ge t t he b lac k a nd w h i t e

co n ve r s io n you wa n t

The Good

Us t cl Mx duplt l (im►adjustmts►cl Mx) djustmt l

(L►nw adjustmt L►cl Mx)

cvt duplt l t blk d wt (im►adjustmts►Blk & Wt)

add blk d wt djustmt l (L►nwadjustmt L►Blk & Wt)

Us td pt blk d wt lt, su s niKSlv efx P

•

•

•

•

Black & Whiteadjustment layersare available inPhotoshop CS3

and later

H er e’ s ho w

1Duplica t e t he Backg round la ye r and call it “Channel Mix ”

Playing with the Red, Green, andBlue sliders

i lk ts mtd bus t blt

>> Using the Channel Mixer



87T at f imt

Co lo rs ha ve t o add u p

t o 1 0 0 %, bu t you ca n

use nega t i ve pe rce n t ages

t o ge t t he re

3Check t he Mo no chro me check bo x and t hen u se t he Red, Green, and Blu e

sliders t o get t he resu lt s y o u want

F o r t h i s i m a ge, I u sed

7 0 % Red, 5 0 % G ree n,

a nd - 2 0 % B l ue. I a l s o r a i sed t he C o n s t a n t

b y 5 % t o l i g h t e n t he

i m a ge s l i g h t l y

2

Click t he Add new ll o r ad just ment la ye r but t on at t he bot t om o f t he

La ye rs palet t e and select Channel Mixe r f rom t he d rop-down list

You ca n also add a n ad jus t me n t la ye r b y

selec t i ng La ye rs > Ne w

Ad jus t me n t La ye r >

C ha n nel M i xe r

t twk t rd, g, d Bluls us slds, wt

l tbut t t sult,sms v xbl d tutv.nmll, u wt t kp t ttl ft t slds t 100%. it’s pssbl

t t dmt ffts b dvtfm ts. T t ts kd f dm,u tpll s tw ls v

, d mpst b mk ttd l tv pt.

Turn the page to

see the results

F o r inf o o n du p licat ing lay er s, t u r n t o p age 6 5

N o t ice t hat t he ad ju st me nt lay e r au t o mat ically adds a Re v e al A ll ( w hit e ) lay e r mas

H ere’s t he way t he image lo o ks wit h t he Channel Mixer set t ings applied t o t he ad ju st ment lay er

case study : converting to black and white using the channel mixer



88 T Ptsp Dkm

A C hannel M ixe r se t t ing t ha t has been called t he “Ansel Adams ” e f fec t is 16 0 % Red,

14 0 % G reen, and -2 0 0 % Blue. T h is s t ill

t o t als 1 0 0 %, bu t w hen I t r ied t he se t t ings

on t h is p ho t o, t he resul t s loo ked ga r is h t o me

k

If y o u w ant t o ad ju st t he Channel Mixer set t ings, do u ble-click here

See ho w t he “ Ansel Adams” effect increases t he t o nal range bet ween t he whit es and blacks — perhaps in t his case t o o mu ch!

Choosing an image forconversion

Sttld wk d bl-d, iwlkd t ysmt Vll s

m (w ll ds t kwt bk st but t k sldd m st ut t t bf

st sts?). hwv, i uld’t

T st stp t vspss ws t mult-raW psst m s tu t w ml

rgB l m. Ts ws s

>> Converting to black and white with an adjustment layer



89T at f imt

k sld lld t tmsp wt

dust. T s su td pus-ul s s t s tu tdwd ts.

W i lkd t t ss f mssw t sult s tu

t fst adb Bd, i wsstuk wt t sptul qult f t

s mu l. apt fm lttl blu t sk d bt f sp tptp t d, ts ws

sstll mm m.

Ts tw fts—t sptul

tu f t m d t lk fl—vd m tt ts ws t ddt f blk d wt

vs.

t ml vs pssbus i dd’t v t w butps l us, l dts f

lt d dk. if t blu t skbm utttv blu, t lldd’t mtt bus t ws tblk d wt twd t d f t

vs pss w.

He re ’ s t he i m a g e

I ’ m g o i n g t o u se

i made many c apt ur es of t he ear ly mor nng sun c omng t hr oug h t he t r ees on t he f or est oor . But , only one or t w o had a per son n t hem. T he human beng adds a sense of sc ale and makes t he phot o muc h mor e nt er est ng .

case study : converting using black and white adjustment layers

>> Part 1: Multi-RAW processing

Exaggerating lights and darks

W i lkd t ts m acr, i kw tt i wuld bultmtl vt t t blk d wt; tf, i ddt mult-raW pss t xt t lt d sdw

T t t l m t t pl tt i wtd tk tvss acr d v ls Ptsp. Bsds tBkud l, tw f ts ls svd t sltvl



90 T Ptsp Dkm

s wtut w but t qult f t l. lt t m, d tw svd t sltvl dk t.

Version #1

Background Layer

i pkd ts s t Bk-

ud l bus t s d vll xpsu. itll sws t pslk up t t lt. T

sult s’t bt u t ts d t ts t dk, but ts b xd b pss t

vss acr.

Version #2

“Sunbeams” and“Highlights” layers

i usd ts vs f twls. T “Subms” llts t s f t sud t “hlts” l

dds dtls sltds f t m.

T “Subms” lbld md s nml;t “hlts” l

s st t S.

F o r mo r e abo u t t he mu lt i-RAW p r o cessing t echniq u es sho w n o n t hese t w o p ages, check o u t t he mu lt i-RAW case st u dy st ar t ing o n p age 4 4

Be fo re conve r t ing t his image t o blac k

and whi t e, I p rocessed t he image t o ex t end t he pho t o ’s t onal range



91T at f imt

Composite image

h’s t w t ls lk put tt.i wuld’t b v pp wt ts s lm—t t muk qult f t sp

d t ptt blu t sk—but t’s d bss f blk d wt vs.

Version #3

“Darken Sunbeams” and“Tree Trunks” layers

T pm pups fts vs, t “DkSubms” l, ws tsltvl dk sm

s f t subms wd bm t bt. ils usd sd l,

“T Tuks”, md fmts vs t stlpt sltv dk ls

td b t tuks.

>> Part 2: The black and white conversion


Doing it more than once

Blk d wt m dpds fftv p mpst twk. T ls, “bs,” f upt dspld t t wld

ttt t mpsz u m-pst w u vt mt blk d wt. Smtms ll

ts tks s t t blk d wt

vs pss But m ft

Just s mult-raW pss vlvst m t vs f m fm raW l, ptml blk

d wt vs usull qus

m0 t blk d wt v



92 T Ptsp Dkm

pt dspld t t wld

blk d wt; ws, l tsstl fm f t m s ftlkd wt tttv d sdutvl vlus.

T stk tu f blk d wt

ms tt u v t p spl

vs pss. But, m ft sl vs pss s t wk vll. i ts s, t w-

stt s t stt wt t bstvll vs u d dt l supplmtl v-

ss t mpv t mpst dtl .

m0 t blk d wt v-s f t l m. as wt mult-raW pss t dfft blk

d wt vss put ttus ls, msk, dts, dt Bus Tl. yu tk f tss mult-B&W pss!

He re ’ s h o w

Before you st art the blackand whit e conversion, save offa copy of t he color image wit h

it s layers u nmerged. Then, flatt en t he layers t o make a single layer image and save itwit h a new name. (For moreabout at tening layers, checkout page 54 . To nd ou t abou t workow, t urn to page 25.)

1✔ C h ec k poi n t

As a ma t t e r o f good p rac t ice w hen do ing blac k

and w h i t e conve rs ions, dupl ica t e t he Bac kg round

la ye r and leave t he colo r in fo rma t ion in t he

Bac kg round la ye r alone. T he un t ouc hed colo r

Bac kg round la ye r se rves as ano t he r bac kup.

2Du plicat e t he Backgro u nd lay er and name t he du plicat e lay er “Max Black”(fo r info , t ake a lo o k at page 65)

T he du p licat e backgr o u nd lay er w ill beco me t he black and w hit e backgr o u nd f o r t he co nv er t ed image.

3Cl k th Add ll d t t

Black and W hit e ad ju st ment lay er s ar e av ailable in P ho t o sho p CS 3 and lat er

4

I n t he Blac k a nd W h i t e d ialog,

h M i Bl k f tht d th



93T at f imt

3Click t he Add new ll o r ad ju st ment lay er bu t t o n at t he bo t t o m o f t he Lay ers palet t e and select Black & W hit e fro m t he dro p-do wn list

Pla y Wi t h Those Prese t s!

Snce you want the duplcate Background la yer n

your stack to be a good overall converson, you’ll need to

nd the best overall Black & Whte preset f or the converson

( n

ths case, the “Ma x Black” la yer ). What i nd m yself of ten dong s

scrollng through the presets and ndng whch works best

overall.

To the e x tent that you succeed and have a good overall

converson, you’ll have less work to d

o when addng

la yers on top of t.

Tu rn t he page t o see how t he Maximum Black p rese t

a f fec t ed t he image

You can also add t he ad jus t men t la ye r b y selec t ing La ye rs > Ne w Ad jus t men t La ye r >

Blac k & W h i t e

S o me o f t he names o f t he p r eset s mimic t r adit io nal dar kr o o m t echniq u es. F o r ex amp le, t he Red F ilt er p r eset simu lat es w hat it w o u ld hav e been like t o p u t a r ed lt er o v er an

enlar ger lens.

4c hoose Ma x imum Blac k f rom t he P rese t d ro p-do w n l is t , a nd t he n

cl ic k OK t o a p pl y t he p rese t

U nche ck a nd che ck t he P r e v ie w b o x t o s e e s e e w ha t e f f e ct t he a d ju s t me nt l a y e r h

a s o n y o u r ima ge


W her e do y ou g o f r om her e?W hle t he mag e does look pr et t y g ood, i t hnk t w ould look ev en bet t er f t he sunbeams w er e br g ht er . T hat

w ould add mor e dr ama and c ompost onal f oc us. So ne x t , i’m g ong t o duplc at e t he Bac kg r ound lay er ag an, nd a Blac k & W ht e adjust ment lay er pr eset t ha

t emphaszes the sunbeamsadd a layer mask and pant th



94 T Ptsp Dkm

5 W i t h t he ad jus t me n t la ye r

se lec t ed,

a t t e n t he B lac k & W h i t e ad jus t me n t

la ye r do w n o n t o t he “Ma x B lac k ” la ye r

b y se lec t i ng La ye r > Me rge Do w n

T he Maximu m Black preset do es a pret t y go o d jo b o f creat ing a nice black and whit e image (t ho u gh a few lay ers wit h so me paint ing o n lay er masks will enhance t he image even mo re)

T h i s lea ve s you

w i t h t wo la ye r s:

“ Bac kg rou nd ” a nd

“Ma x B lac k ”

t emphaszes t he sunbeams, add a lay er mask, and pant n t he sunbeams ( st eps 6 – 10 on pag es 95– 97 ).

T he ad j u s t me n t l a ye r

a u t o m a t i c a l l y add s a w h i t e

Re ve a l A l l l a ye r m a s k

T o nd o u t my t hinking abo u t w hy I merge do w n t he ad ju st ment lay er, t ake a lo o k at “ H aro ld, w hy t he heck...” o n page 9 6

6Du plicat e t he Backgro u nd lay er, name t he new lay er “ Max W hit e” and drag it t o t he t o p o f t he lay er st ack in t he Lay ers palet t e

D th layer Notice ho w t he Ma x i mu m W h i t e

preset really brings out thel



95T at f imt

7Click t he Add new ll o r ad just ment la ye r but t on at t he bot t om o f t he La ye rs palet t e and select Black & Whit e f rom t he d rop-down list (see st ep 3 on page 9 3 fo r in fo)

8In t he Black and W hit e dialo g, cho ose Maximu m W hit e from t he Preset dro p-do wn list , and t hen click OK t o apply t he preset

D rag t he ne w la ye r u p t o t he t o p o f t he la ye r s t ac k

No t i p re se t rea l l y b r i ng s ou t t he su n bea m s o n t he Ma x W h i t e la ye r

Harold, why the heck did youjust flatten the Black & Whiteadjustment layer down onto the“Max White” layer, and then add aHide All layer mask? You don’t need

to do that—the adjustment layer!


9 Selec t La ye r > Me rge Down t o a t t en t he Black &

Whit e ad jus t men t la ye r down on t o t he “Max Whi t e ”

la ye r. Then, choose La ye rs > La ye r Mask > Hide All

t o add a la ye r mask t o t he “Max Whit e ” la ye r

T ke a look at step 5



96 T Ptsp Dkm

to do that — the adjustment layeralready had a layer mask!gd qust! Ts s just f mfbls (u d’t v t d t lk m!).adjustmt ls utmtll dd

wt rvl all l msk, but f blkd wt vss, i pf t pt blk hd all l msk. Ts sbus i v t bs blk d

wt l pl, i smpl wt t mksmll, mtl djustmts. Tsdjustmts s t mpls b

painting in wt i d wt w l

std f painting out vt tt id’t wt.

Su, i uld tu t wt rvl alll msk t hd all l msk bslt t msk d t s

im►adjustmts► ivt. But tt’s

ul mpbl t t mut f wkvlvd m dw djustmt

l d dd hd all l msk.

T t’s t h Ptt w-ds-

t-kp-ts-b-ssu, s “v tustt tt tk f tslf f u’t s w t kps ts b.”

i kw i’m suppsd t lk djustmtls. ad, i d! T ll usful

d i’m us Blk & Wt djustmt

ls f ts s stud. But stll, td tt djustmt l s smpl “lss” t udl l s bt

md bl ptull w u bt wk m tt ts stkf m ls. (im w fus 10ls d 10 djustmt ls wuld b!)

i just pf t wk “l ls” wi s wt s , v f i tkt t bus m l sz s l.

Ta ke a loo k a t s t e p 5 o n page 9 4 fo r i n fo

a bou t me rg i ng la ye r s

T u r n t o p age 36 f o r mo r e abo u t adding H ide All lay er masks

T h i s i s t heo re t ica l

a nd i s n ’ t rea l l y

p rac t ica l, so s k i p

i t i f you wa n t !

“Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see

where it keeps its brain.”

— Arthur Weasley

10 Select t he Bru sh T o o l fro m t he T o o lbo x and paint in t he su nbeams o n t he lay er mask

wit h t he Bru sh T o o l set at 0% H ardness, 5 0% Opacit y , and

5 0% F lo w (det ails abo u t Bru sh T o o l set t ings are o n page 4 8)

A f t e r pa i n t i ng o n t he Ma x W h i t e

la ye r ma s k, t he su n bea m s a re

de n i t e l y mo re i n t e re s t i ng



97T at f imt

Ne x t S t e psT hs mag e s defnt ely shapng up, but a lt t le mor e w or k needs t o be done on t he

sunbeams and hg hlg ht s. it ’ s t me t o add mor e lay er s usng v ar ous Blac k & W ht e ad just ment lay er pr eset s, and t hen pant n t he det als on lay er masks ( pag es 98 – 99 ).

T his “ Max W hit e” lay er is pro bably t he mo st impo rt ant o ne in t he

co nversio n. F o r t he “ Max Black” lay er, y o u co u ld u se any decent co nversio n. T his lay er lay s t he fo u ndat io n fo r a su bt le and dist inct ive co nv

ersio n pro cess.I like t he gener al light ness o n t he f o r est o o r , bu t I co u ld u se mo r e t o nal gr adat io ns, cr eat ing t he illu sio n o f mo r e det ail

He re’s t he la ye r mask and he re’s t he pa rt o f t he “Max Whit e” la ye r t hat shows

T he se a re k i nd o f g h o s t t ree s

o n a t r a n s p a re n t e ld, b u t I

g ue s s t h a t ’ s t he ide a

11 12Repea t s t eps 6 - 1 0 on pages 95 - 96 excep t name t he la ye r “In f ra red ” and selec t t he

In f ra red p rese t in t he Black & Whit e

adjustmen t la ye r dialog.

Repeat st eps 6 - 10 o n pages 95 - 96 except name t he lay er “Red” and select t he Red F ilt er preset in t he Black &

W hit e ad ju st ment lay er dialog




98 T Ptsp Dkm

ad jus t meer dialo g

I cho se t he Red F ilt er fo r t his lay er becau se I want ed t o bring o u t

co nt rast in t he midt o ne areas

The In f ra red p rese t o f t en func t ions b y

inve rsion. The t onal values can be close

t o t he opposi t e o f whe re t he y s t a r t ed

be fo re t he ad jus t men t la ye r was applied

13 14Duplica t e t he “High Con t ras t Red ” la ye r and name t he duplica t e “ Sc reen Mode ”. Pu t t he new la ye r a t t he t op o f t he la ye r s t ack and

change t he la ye r ’s blending mode t o Sc reen. Repeat steps 9 & 10 on page 96.

Repeat st eps 6 - 10 o n pages 95 - 96 except name t he lay er “H igh Co nt rast Red” and select

t he H igh Co nt rast Red F ilt er preset in t he Black & W hit e ad ju st ment lay er dialo g.



99T at f imt

S ix lay er s lat er , t he black and w hit e image is nished. I t hink t he ef f o r t w as w o r t h it ; t o ju dge f o r y o u r self , check o u t t he f u ll siz e v er sio n o n p age 10 3

g t y g tRepea t s t eps 9 & 1 0 on page 9

W it h t he H igh Co nt rast Red F ilt er, Iadded a lit t le mo re variat io n t han t he

st raight Red F ilt er in t he midt o nes

Sc reen mode selec t ivel y l ig h t ened t he ac t ion pe r fo rmed

b y t he H ig h Con t ras t Red F il t e r

Layering: Strategies and tactics

gll, t lps t v vllstt w wk kdf vs tt vlvs multpl

ls. Ts s tu wt u tlk but mult-raW pss

vt pt wt lfmt t blk d wt.

stk u , t m sp dlmtd t s b twkd.

i’m t s tt ts s t l w

t but ts. But, mtt wtu vll pl, t ds lp t bzd wt sstt pss.

Tt w, w u m bk dlk t u l stk lt, u’ll

m, t’s d pt t us twls std f . Tt w, u’ll

b bl t kp btt tk f tmpt f u ls. M mpttl,f u d t djust t vll ptf t fft, u twk

l dpdtl.

o l suld b stblsd f



100 T Ptsp Dkm

a d w t , d t i us

m blk d wt vss, st t t blk d wt vsll t t st dupltf t Bkud l. o t

vs s t t bllpk, i t dd sussv ls tttwk sp s.

yu tk f ts s pmd

pp. T fut up t l

b bl t pk up t st f wtu’v d.

at mptt d s t kp tfutlt f l t sl

pups s mu s pssbl. Fxmpl, f i wt t us djustmtl wt t Mxmum Wt pst,t lt bt t fud wt

dt d t us t Bus Tl tdd lts t upp pt f t

jb d f u d t jbd, smpl duplt t l tmpls t w tsk.

Ts pt s lus t mputsftw pmm ppl: t

t t t m multpl futst sl vbl, vblsuld d l jb. if u d

smt ls mplsd, us w vbl.

Layer stack

Top

Bottom

Details

Overalladjustment

Backgrund layer

Layer 1 – overall adjustment

Layer 2

Layer 3

A s ma ny l a y e r s in t he s t a ck a s it t a k e s

About the photos on pages 101 – 103

Span (p 101) s 10-sd xp-su f s t gld gt Bd.i flt t pt ws pft f blkd wt vs bus t

m tslf d v blk blks dv bt lts—t d-lts d stt lts. Wl t pt

ws ls fftv l, t wst sstl but t l t tm. cvt t blk d wtddd wdful, f tmsp

qult.

Woodland Path (p 102) ws tk

f m t slps fMut Tmlps, clf. i lkd tfft f t pt d tu t

fst t l vs, butw i vtd t pt t blkd wt, t sd t dmtmpt f t mpst.

Glory (sd vs, p 103) s

t subjt f t blk d wtvs s stud ps 89 –99.



101T at f imt





Shooting for the Photoshop darkroom

as fm lm ptp, i v fud tt id t tk but ptp dfftl wt

dtl d t Ptsp dkm md. Tsm xtt t dff bls dw t t-l xsttl ptp qust: W d w

tk ptus? is t t “ptu lt” f sm

t s?

M xtsv wk t Ptsp dkm s



M xtsv wk t Ptsp dkm sld m t blv tt t’s pssbl ss w can ptu lt, v f tt s wt

wtd t d. i v t smpl l: tt stk d butful ms.

Ts l mpls t mtds i us t t t.Wv i m lk t stut wt mm, i m tk but wt i tu t

t us pst-pss. Tf, i d tmps d xps f t mxmum umbf pssblts t mput. Smtms i’llst dfft ps wt t d f mb

tm. at t tms, i kw tt i’ll l bus pt f m. ev f smlvtl ldsps, lk t vw f t gdc fm nvj Pt t t t, i’ll st

multpl xpsus wt t pl f mbtm lt (s hd hDr stt p 106).

i d’t ud lk t t wld s t s.rt, i lk t t wld s t uld b, s tsuld b, s i mk t.

it ds tk bt f tm t sft ’s psp-

tv fm vtl ptp t t lstmb f dtl ptu d sftw pst-p-ss. i t mtm, wt u mb tPtsp dkm s mu s i v t, t

mks ss t ptp s wll s u t m. i d lk t mk su tt ws

tt m m ptus b djustd lt Ptsp. F xmpl, m tt s t

dk usull b ltd sussfull. i ft, ift td t udxps, pt t td-fff m vl stutd ls x f

t ddd s.

nt tt t t u t x t P-tsp dkm blw ut lts, bust’s dt pst. Mk su t udxpsul bt subjts lk t stt su.



>> Hand HDR (High Dynamic Range) Imaging



UP earLy in The Morning ysmt Vll, t su ws s bd

t fst d v t Md rv. T ts w us, d

i wtd t t pt tt swd t ts t v d

t muts d blu sk.

The ProBLeM: T um tk b tst t

m. n dtl xpsu ppl ptu bt t bt

s d dp sdws, v us mult-raW pss t t mx.

The SoLUTion: Bkt xpsus d mb multpl xpsus

Ptsp us ls, l msks, dts, d pt. Ts s

d pp t hDr m.

yoU ShoULD: i stut tt vlvs st dks d lts,

st raW d bkt t sutt spd u xpsus, pvdd

t subjt s t mt.



case study : hand hdr imaging

Bracketing the full dynamicrange

W u wt t ptp s tt ts mxd lt,

u suld kw tt m ptu t full dm fmlt t dk tt u s

raW pss tk u s f.

T slut s t tk svlxpsus f lt s, dks s,d s tt btw. Ts s

lld bracketing.

Combining exposures

t mv. M ms vbkt mds but ts d’tusull v u u xpsu

lttud. yu suld pl t bktmull wt t m st tMul xpsu.

T ptu stt usull ds t

>> Photograph dif ferent exposuresto capture a full dynamic range



108 T Ptsp Dkm

lt t dk tt u s.

ev f u us t bst xpsuvlus, u’ll l m up wt v xpsu sl st.

yu xps f lt s dks, but t’s t pssbl t xpsf bt t t sm tm. ev mult-

g p

T bst pts f xpsu b mbd Ptsp usls t t sl mpst

m.

Ts tqu wks bst w tm s tpd d t subjts

p st stt ss t dfft x-

psus. T s f ts s tt fu t ptu stt, uwll t dpt-f-ld d tpp f t ptu. S w

u bkt, t wks bst t djustsutt spd t t ptu.

Y o u c a n r e ad t h e

c a m e r a s e t t i n g s

h e r e f r o m t h e

m e t a d a t a

P ho t os t a ken a t s hu t t e r speeds

f rom 1/1 3 o f a second t o 1 second

A l l p ho t o s t a k e n a t f / 2 2 f o r ma x imu m d e p t h - o f - e l d

Use ma nual e x posu re se t t i ngs t o

b rac ke t (came ra b rac ke t p rog rams

do n ’ t g ive e noug h e x posu re ra nge fo r

t h is t ec h n iq ue). Kee p t he a pe r t u re t he

same, a nd c ha nge t he s hu t t e r s peeds

±



109T at f imt

S hu t t e r s peed:

1/1 3 o f a seco nd

S h u t t e r s

p e e d :

1 s e c o n d

The best of both worlds

it’s t “t ” stu-t. yu d’t v t

s btw mult-raWpss d d hDr.

M stuts tt pst dm wtbkt multpl xpsuss t slut ls ll ut

f mult-raW pss.

yu us t xpsulttud wt sl raWptu (s p 32) txtd t dm

u bktd xpsusv fut. i ddt, u us t sfts lbl t mult-raW

pss t tl t wsp s f u dhDr m lk.

i ft, t’s stut

w i us d hDr wtutls us sm f t t-qus tt i’v sw u t sts mult-raW

pss.

Ts xmpl fuss dhDr t mk t tqupftl l. But, t“l wld,” i lmst lws

mb t tqus.

T h i s o n e w o r k s f o r t h e

s k y, b u t n o t t h e w a t e r

T his image w o r ks f o r t he w at er , b u t no t t he sky


>> Selecting and processing several images

Extending the dynamic range

yu v svl ptus tt bktt dm f m. But sl ptu ts t t dm

tt u sw wt u sw u tk t pt. yu pdu t t dm tt

Layering captures

Pk ptu d t xtd tsdm b l tptus tt dk lt t

t l . F xmpl, ft bktd xpsus mt ptubt su s u pt bst

cvt t us acr d t p t Ptsp. (T d ut w t vt ptu us acr d p

t Ptsp, tu t p 16.)

nxt, slt t ptus u wtt us t djust sp s f tm, su s lt dk s.



110 T Ptsp Dkm

Fo r mo re a bou t t he se s l ide r s

a nd co n ve r t i ng i mage s i n

ACR, t u r n t o page s 1 5

- 2 3

This is t he best overall phot o. I’ll u se it for t he wat er. N ot ice how blown ou t t he sky is. I need to nd and convert a phot o t hat capt ures t he t onal range of t he sky . Then, I’ll convert t wo more photos: one t o

enhance light areas fu rt her and one t o enhance dark areas fu rt her.

u sw b mb t bktdxpsus wt ls Ptsp t

t mpst m wt tdm t sl m.

wl t xpsu mt ptudk sdd s bst.

Stt wt t bst vll ptu.

cvt t ptus us acr d

p tm Ptsp.

I f y o u w ant , y o u can ap p l y t he s ame s e t t ings t o mu l t ip l e image s in A C R

N e x t S t e p s S t ar t w i t h t he best ov er all c apt ur e, ad use i t

as t he bot t om lay er i P hot oshop. n e x t , ad d a

i mag e i a lay er abov e i t t o e x t ed t he t oal r ag e of t he sk y ( pag es 112 – 113 ).



111T at f imt

I p icke d t his p ho t o and p r o ce sse d it t o ge t t he b e st b lu e f o r t he sky . W he n I lay e r t his p ho t o in P ho t o sho p o v e r t he w at e r image ( sho w n t o t he le f t ) , I ’ ll u se it t o e nhance t he sky .

S K Y

LIG H T

D A RK

A f t e r co m b i n i ng t he wa t e r a nd s k y p ho

t o s, I ’ l l

add t h i s p ho t o a s a la ye r a nd u se i t t o

e n ha nce

t ree s a nd t he i r re ec t io n i n t he wa t e r

I ’ m g o i n g t o l a y e r t h i s p h o t o o v e r t h e c o mp o s i t e a n d u s e i t t o

e n h a n c e t h e d a r k t o n e s

Combining Sky and Water

cmb tw pts—spll pssd f t wt

d spll pssdf t sk—wll b t stt f

mpst pt wt ttl t sl pt

t ss.

W pt s pld

l v t pt

l, b dfult t wll mpltld t l udt. Lt, l msk d dt wll

b usd t bld t tw ls

(ps 36–39).


>> Layering photos and adding a layer mask



112 T Ptsp Dkm

C hoo se La ye r > Ne w >

La ye r f rom Bac kg rou nd t o

ma ke a regu la r la ye r a nd re name t he la ye r “ Wa t e r ”

2

W h e n y o u o p e n t h e

p h o t o, i t a p p e a r s a s a

B a c k g r o u nd l a y e r i n

t h e L a y e r s p a l e t t e

O p en t he p ho t o t hat w as p r o cessed f o r t he w at er

1

Open t he pho t o t hat was pro cessed fo r t he sky . T his pho t o will also appear as a Backgro u nd lay er.

Use t he same menu select io n fro m st ep 2 t o change t he lay er t o a regu lar lay er. Rename it “ Sky .”

3

He re ’ s h o w

N o w t h e r e a r e

t w o l a y e r s : “ S k y ”

a nd “ W a t e r ”

Se lec t t he Mo ve t oo l

f ro m t he Too l bo x

4



113T at f imt

Hold down the Shift key and usethe Move tool to drag the Sky

photo onto the Water photo window

Ne x t St epD w g dent on t e “Sk ” l e msk t o blend t e t w o l e s, let t ng t e best of e pot o sow t oug ( pg es 114 – 115 ).

5

Release the Shift key after yourelease the mouse button or the twophotos won’t be perfectly aligned.

W i t h t he “ S k y ” la ye r se lec t ed

i n t he La ye rs pa le t t e, c hoose

La ye r > La ye r Mas k > H ide A l l. A b lac k la ye r mas k a p pea rs

o n t he S k y la ye r, com p le t e l y

h id i ng t he S k y la ye r, ma k i ng

t he Wa t e r la ye r v is i b le

F o r mo re abo u t lay er masks, t u rn t o page 36


>> Drawing a gradient on a layer mask

Revealing the sky

it’s v d t v blw-ut sk pt. But, st tw vss wt ppl xpsd f t sk, mb tm,

d us l msk d dt t vl

t sk, d vlà! Ts tqu tks ll fbut 30 sds u t t ft. cmb d ptp tqu

wt t Ptsp dkm ts wllws u t ptu m tt wuld

v b ut f t qust lm.

T o nd o u t mo r e abo u t t he Gr adient T o o l and u sing it w it h lay er masks, check o u t p ages 37 – 38



114 T Ptsp Dkm

A w h i t e t o blac k g rad ien t a p pea rs on t he la ye r mas k

icon in t he La ye rs pale t t e

1

In t he La ye rs pale t t e,

cl ic k t he S k y la ye r mas k t o selec t i t

T he t o p o f t he S ky lay er appears in t he image w indo w af t er y o u release t he mo u se

I n t he image w i ndo w, cl ic k

a nd d rag t he G rad ie n t

Tool f rom t o p t o bo t t om

4

Select t he Gradient

T o o l fro m t he T o o lbo x and make su re t he linear gradient is select ed o n t he Opt io ns Bar

2

Se t w h i t e as t he Fo reg rou nd colo r b y cl ic k i ng he re3

S k y

i the photo

Here’s the composite photo



115T at f imt

Water

T h i s i s t he p h o t o

t h a t w a s p r o ce s sed

f o r t he s k y ( t he

“ S k y ” l a ye r )

T his p ho t o w as p r o cessed f o r t he w at er ( t he “ W at er ” lay er )

After adding the gradient to the

Sky layer mask, the composite photohas a greater dynamic range than theindividual Water and Sky photos

Ne x t S t e psadd t w o mor phot os t o t h ompos t

m t o h l ht d dr k t os us ly r msks, p t , d bld mods ( p

s 116 – 117 ).


>> Painting in lights and darks

Finishing the image

Smtms w t s bf u

psts ll t tl ,d u’v bktd lk z, u

d t pss xtm xpsuvss f sp s.

i t s f t ysmt s

t ts d t ts

xtml dk v ft “pp”xpsu f t l s m-bd t t l stk.

T slut s t tu t xtml

“vxpsd” vs, d dltlpt fw sp spts tl msk.

Smll t muts d ks

lttl bt m tst s tt smdk s wk t lt tbt s.

T mpls ts l, i usd ll

dk ptu tp f t l stk,usd t Multpl bld md, d

ptd upl f dlt, lwpt bus stks t l



116 T Ptsp Dkm

, t ts d t ts Smll, t muts d ks’t bd, but t uld us just

msk.

Open t he ligh t pho t o, hold down t he Shi f t ke y,

and d rag t he pho t o f rom i t s image window on t o

t he composit e pho t o. Name t he la ye r “Ligh t .” Add a Hide All la ye r mask t o t he “Ligh t ” la ye r

and pain t in t he t rees and t he t rees ’ re ec t ions1

T he “L ig h t ” la ye r is used t o l ig h t e n

t he t rees a nd t he i r re ec t io n alo ng

t he wa t e r ’s edge (com pa re w i t h t he

com pos i t e p ho t o o n page 11 5)

T o nd o u t ho w t o dr ag an image f r o m o ne w indo w t o ano t her , t u r n t o p age 35 Fo r mo re a bou t us i ng t he B ru

s h

Tool a nd pa i n t i ng o n a la ye r

mas k, c hec k ou t pages 4 8- 51T he st eps fo r adding a H ide

All lay er mask are o n page 36

+ =

S t a r t h e r e

Automated HDR Processing

Ptsp s hDr t tt utmtsmb bktd pts t xtd dm. it’s t fu t pl wt. Sftw fmPtmtx, www.photomatix.com, ds vbtt jb t Ptsp f ts.

But wtv sftw u us, t tus ut ttum bs tull btt t mputst sm ts. if u t ll d wt

t sults f u hDr pss lk tu-l, u d btt jb mull mb

xpsu vss us t tqus sw

t utmtd hDr pm utlvlbl.

Tt sd, t s stutv t xpmt wt tdfft ws utmtd hDr pms txtdd dm ms. yu ls

us utmtd hDr bld s pt f d-td hDr m. it s smtms dvs-bl t us utmtd hDr pm su

s Ptmtx t pss mplx s sus ts wt t dl f lt d sdw,w d pss wuld tk lt f tm.



117T at f imt

2

Open the dark pho t o, ho ld do wn t he Shift key , and drag t he pho t o from it s image windo w o nt o t he co mpo sit e pho t o . N ame t he lay er “Dar

k.” Change t he layer’s blending mo de t o Multiply (fo r mo re abo u t blending mo des, t urn t o page 70). Add a H ide All lay er mask t o t he lay er and gent ly paint o n t he ro cks and mo u nt ainside

The “Dark” lay er is used t o slight ly darken t he ro ckso n t he lo wer right and t he

mo unt ainside at t he u pper left

T he “ D ar k” l ay e r u s e s t he M u l t ip l y b l e nd ing mo d e t o make t he d ar k ar e as d ar ke r

T h i s i s a m o re s u b t le

ad j u s t me n t t h a n t he

p re v i o u s o ne o n p a g e 11 6

( c o m p a re t he l a ye r m a s k s )

F inished hand H DR

+ =

HDR doesn’t have to be justlandscapes

T t ts m f mdl f

ppps, i ptpd t wsus dlt-bld lt bx.T ws w pld t

ltbx d spd wt wt ts t tsp.

Wt m m tpd pstd

dtl bv t ws, i stppd

tlpt m ls ll t wdw t ts smllst p. i kw iwuld d t bkt t xpsusf subsqut d hDr pss

t mxmz t ppt tspf t m. S i md v dfftxpsus, ll t iSo 100 d f/51, wtxpsu tms btw 1/2 f

sd d 8 sds.

T’s tst pt butw u d f ts bkts f

tsp. yu wt t stt t t“pp” xpsu d “vxps”fm t. i t wds, txpsu tt t m tks s

t s tull t dk t b f us d wll b t dkst xpsu u .



118 T Ptsp Dkm

i used l e s, l e msks, g dent s, nd t e B us T ool t o ombne t ese df f e ent e x posu es n t e sme w s t e y osemt e nd hDr se st ud does on pg es 106 – 119

H ere are so me o f t he expo su res I co mbined t o creat e t he image



Since The DaWn oF ptp, ptts v wtd tmb dspt ptp lmts t t ul d

sul m. Sm f t mst mplsd ptps

>> Photo Compositing



w usd pt mpst p t t dtl Ptsp

dkm w M r d J Ulsm. M r td

spsttd d stk sul ms wl Ulsm usd

s vtust t ml dkm t t wd d

mpll lttv uvss.

T t f putt tt m t m t t w

m s lld photo compositing, smtms compositing

f st.

Wl M r d J Ulsm wkd xtml d

t mll put tt t pt mpsts, t

mpbl tsks t Ptsp dkm vstl s.T tls dd ls d msk—t t

tp-d-ssss ls d msk f M r d Ulsm,

but t t vtul ls d msk tt i’v sw u

ts bk.

of us, s f tqu s substtut f vs. Just

bus t’s s t t ftst lttv uvss

Ptsp ds’t m t’s d d ulss u v sv vsul pt.

if u’v md t ts f The Photoshop Darkroom, u

suld’t v t mu pblm wt t ms f dtl

pt mpst. assmbl pt mpsts tt

mful d stk s dfft mtt, d qus

tst vs.



case study : photo compositing

How different can you be?

it’s d t m tw pts sdfft s t tw usd ts sstud. T st pt sws dk,

bk stw t embdct S Fs. i usd s ls d l xpsu tpd t lt lsd- d

pptl d s.

d f tmslvs. i ft, t utlussll s b publsd s t s umb f tms.

S w dd i m t tk f putt

t tw tt?

it ws dk d t. B t

lk t ws 3 .m. d i uld’tslp. i ws lk tu m mls Suddl spt t

pl t smk-db t mddl ft embd sts, d bld t smlssl. hlp wt ts d wst tl smlts f t ms.

T l vlus w v ls.

Ts kd f mbt f twms wt mpltl dfftsubjt mtt s tk t. it lwks smll pt f ss.

>> Combining two different photos



122 T Ptsp Dkm

pp

T utlus sll s mbt f

stud st blk vlvt wt tbd s f t t f t sll.

Bt ms pttll wt

ls. Suddl, spt tm— ws t t sm bvd

f dsp?

it bm l t m tt f i ttdt sll d dud t sz, i uld

But w t ds wk, u llt m u.

T mpltd m sw ts s stud, Spls, s bpublsd, xbtd, d w pzs.

It ’s really impo rt ant t o t hink ca re fully about colo r values and the way composit es t toget he r i f you’re planning t o combine t wo phot os. These photos wo rk

t ogether because t he colors a re simila r and because the spirals work well t ogether. The di ffe rences in scale bet ween t he two phot os can be easily ad justed.

1 Select t he Move Tool in t he Toolbox and d rag t he shell image int o t he St airs image. Name t he new t op la ye r “ Shell ”

S T he re a re t wo la ye r s:

“Stair” and “ S he l l ”

G e t s t a r t e d



123T at f imt

2

In t he Lay ers palet t e, lo wer t he o pacit y o f t he “ Shells” lay er do wn t o 65%. That way , y o u ’ll be able t o see t he “ St airs” lay er while wo rking o n t he “ Shells” lay er fo r t he next few st eps. (W hen t he co mpo sit io n is co mplet e, y o u ’ll pu t t he o pacit y back at 100%)

U s e t h e s l id e

r t o

s e t t h e o p a c i t yNe x t S t eps

To t the cen ter of the shell in

the s tair well, you ’re going to need to

resize the image b y scaling i t do wn,

and ro ta te i t ( pages 124 – 125 )

S ince t he S hell image is sq u ar e and t he S t air w ay image is no t , t he shell w o n’ t t ex act ly in t he image w indo w ( t hat ’ s o k! )

S t a i r a n

Click her e t o o p en t he O p acit y slider


>> Scaling and rotating a layer

Transforming a layer

nw tt u v t Sll m tp f t Stw m, u dt tt t sll d mk t smlls t t f t sll wll t sm-

lssl t t stwll.

Ptsp mks ts s busu bk d ft btw

tt d sl s u djust t“Sll” l.

Stt ff b b t sz f tsll dw bt, t tt t sllt t t ls t pst. nxt,

sz t sll dw bt m utlt ts t t stwll, d stt t sll t pst.

Make su r e t he “ S hell” lay er is select ed in t he Lay er s p alet t e bef o r e y o u st ar t



124 T Ptsp Dkm

1 To ro t a t e t he “ S hell ” la ye r, s t a r t b y c hoos ing

Ed i t > T rans fo rm > Scale. Small sq ua res, called handles,

appea r a t t he co rne rs o f t he la ye r. Hold down t he

S h i f t ke y and d rag a co rne r handle t owa rds t he

cen t e r o f t he “ S hell” la ye r, ma k ing it smalle r

H o l d d o w n t h e S h i f t k e y a s y o u d r a g . T h a t w a y , t h e i ma g e r e s i z e s p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y

d r a g

Ha ndle

2 Right -click (o r Co nt ro l + click) o n t he Shell t o o pen t he Transfo rm po p-u p menu . Select Ro t at e fro m t he menu . Po sit io n t he mo u se o ver o ne o f t he handles and click and drag t o ro t at e t he shell. Use t he po p-u p menu t o swit ch bet ween scaling and ro t at ing

D r a g d o w n t o r o t a t e t h e

t clockwise dra g



125T at f imt

As you scale and ro t a t e t he “ Shell ” la ye r,

reposi t ion t he la ye r close r t o t he s t ai rwell b y

placing t he cu rso r a t t he cen t e r o f t he la ye r, clicking, and d ragging it in t o a new posi t ion3 4

Repeat steps 1–3 unt il t he “ Shell”

lay er is po sitioned exact ly wherey o u want it , then click the check bu t to n o n the Options Bar

Ne x t S t eps

add re vel all l ye msk

nd pin t ou t the p ts of the shell

th t you don’t wn t to see

( pges 126 –127 )

D g s h e l l c o u n t e r c

l o c k w i s e d r ag


>> Adding a Reveal All layer mask and painting

Finishing the image

i mst f t xmpls t bk s f,

i’v sw u l msk wt blkhd all l msk bus t ws s tpt t s u dd wt t tpt ut t uwtd s.

i tst, ts xmpl uss wt rvl

all l msk. yu d wt t lud l

pt f t mskd l. i ts stutf u d t l tl, t wuld b xtt mpssbl t “s” w s dd t

b ptd . a wt rvl all l msk

slvs ts pblm bus u s wtu d s u pt ut t s ud’t wt.



126 T Ptsp Dkm

1W it h t he “ S hell” lay er select ed in t he Lay ers palet t e, select Lay er > Lay er Mask >

Reveal All

A w h i t e l a ye r m a s k

a p pe a r s o n t he l a ye r

2

Selec t t he B rus h Tool f rom t he Tool box and se t i t t o 0 % Ha rdness,

3 0 % Opac it y, and 5 0 % Flow ( t hese

se t t ings a re a good s t a r t ing place,

bu t you s hould ad jus t t hem as

necessa r y w h ile you pa in t )

3 Click her e t o set black as t he F o r egr o u nd co lo r . As y o u p aint , u se v ar io u s shades o f gr ay as w ell t o cr eat e t r ansp ar ent ar eas ( t he dar ker t he gr ay , t he mo r e t r ansp ar ent t he lay er w ill be)

F o r mo r e abo u t Br u sh T o o l set t ings, t ake a lo o k at p ages 4 8 – 4 9

4 Selec t t he Z oom Tool f rom t he

Tool box and magn i f y t he image

so you can see w ha t you ’ re do ing.

You s hould be wo r k ing close t o t he p ixel-level t o ac h ieve smoo t h

t rans i t ions be t ween la ye rs

I t ’ s r e a l l y imp o r t a nt w he n co mp o s it ing t o z o o m in cl o s e e no u gh t o s e e e d ge a r e a s



127T at f imt

5 Paint o u t t he part s o f t he shell t hat y o u do n’t want t o see

6On t he La ye rs pale t t e,

change t he opaci t y o f t he “ Shell ” la ye r bac k t o 1 0 0 %

T ur t h p t o s t h shd m .

Z o o m i n a s m u c h a s

y o u n e ed t o i n o rd e r

t o c l e a r l y s e e t h e

ed g e s o f t h e s h e l l

H e r e ’ s w ha t t he l a y e r ma s k l o o k s l ik e a f t e r t he p a int ing is d o ne





ThiS PhoTo coMPoSiTe WorKS bus t ltdvsul spls pptl bsud. a mbdutlus sll s t t d wt spl sts,

t t tw bld t t smlssl. Tsvsul dubl-tk, pdx, s wt vs tm ts pw.

Compositing an image with itself

at st l, t m t t t pps t

b tulst vw dw tul f cpusPs. atull, t m s pt mpsttt uss pt mbd wt—tslf!

Lk t m p 121, ts m uss slf-plt t t m pwful mbd

m. Ws t pt f t mbt p 121 s t t sul d dmlkfft, t pt s t lt t tul,



pptl tull.

T kd f slf plt sw s bt

s t mpls d pttll v vsullfftv. yu d t pk subjt mtt w

sms t pt. Tt w, t s s t mbt pt pts f t m t vus

szs.

Wt pppt m s, duplt tm. nxt, du l t duplt tmt t ptt f t l. T, d ddp t duplt s l v t l,

d us t msk tqus tt i’v swu t pt t pppt pts.

T l m bf mpult s’t bd

tslf. yu s t blw. W u lk btts judmt ll, but f u mp t tw

vss, u’ll tl t ss f wt u d w u mb m wt tslfus sl d slf-plt.





i LiKe To SPenD TiMe ptp t wldss t t.T m t lft ws st t gl Pt ysmt

ntl Pk, d sws hlf Dm d ysmt Vll.

a t dl f wt i ptu m t ssss s t d

>> Colors of the night



a t dl f wt i ptu m t ssss s t d

wt sts, stlt, d st tls.

W i sttd ut wt t ptp, i ptud st

tls us xtml l xpsus, smtms s ls svl us. Wl ms ptud us ts l

xpsus b v fftv, xtm lvls f s

usd b t l xpsu tm lws pblm.

i ws v xtd t l but t w t ptu

st tls t t— stacking. Stk s tull fm f

mpst d s usd w t’s mt t subjt

mtt. T d s t substtut m st xpsus f

sl l xpsu. Ts m ws td us 12 fu

mut xpsus, wt xpsu t iSo 200 d f/4.

Stk sftw, su s t Ptsp Sttsts spt tt

i usd t t ts m, mbs t dvdul ptus

t t sl m tt sws t mt f t sts

v tm.

if u lk t t m, u’ll t tt t’s tst

pupl t f t m. Ts ws usd b

t m ss vt. i tull lk t fft, d

sd t ls t “ftu” t “bu.”

F t xmpl f st stk, k ut t m f

t bd bt d st tls p 4.

case study : capturing star trails

Segmenting long exposures

Stk sftw td stms’ ds t ptu sts mt. T d s t mbm ltvl st xpsus t

t tk l xpsu. advt f ts pp s ttt s lss s t l m.

T pt f stk s t t xtddm . rt, pxl-b-

s t dspps bd t st tls.

F dtls but w t t u

w stk f ms, s t “ats &cfts” pjt p 144. i usd 12ms, sw p 136, t mk

t stk usd ts s stud. em ws st t 4 muts, f/4, diSo 100. Ts s ptt d lxpsu f stlt.

o pblm wt stk td t t t t f d

ld d mskd v t stk.

T stt ts s stud, u d

t pp t raW m ls fstk b us acr t vttm t PSD ls. aft tt stp s

mpltd, u’ll mb tm tt u stk mpst usPtsp’s Sttsts spt. nxt,pss spt lt xpsuf t fud acr d p

t Ptsp. T, mb t

>> Stacking



134 T Ptsp Dkm

pxl lult s md. Tpll,t btst pxl fm m ssltd. Ts wks xtml wll fsts mt dk sk bus

t st tl wll lws b tbtst t t. T sk s dk

ts w s tt t fud s

t b dk. T xpsu i justmtd s t u t pplxps dk ldsp t t. Sll, m stkd st tl ms

lud fud ptu tt s

t Ptsp. T, mb tfud m wt t stkdmpst us ls, l msk,pt, d dt t t

m tt sws bt st tls d

dtl t fud.

A f t e r c hoos ing F ile > Open in P ho t os hop, in t he

Open d ialog selec t t he 12 RA W images t ha t

need t o be p rocessed a t t he same t ime in ACR

W hi c h P ho t o sho p v e r si o ns hav e t he S t at i st i c s S c r i pt ?not ll v r s os of P hot oshop om w t h t h St t st s

s r pt . St t st s s v lbl P hot oshop c S3 e x t dd d

lt r . if y ou do’ t hv e x t dd v r s o of P hot oshop,

t hr r som ot hr sof t w r pr o r ms v lbl o t h w b

t ht y ou us t o st k st r t r ls. T y p “ st kd st r t r ls” t o goo l f or som poss b l t s. F or t h most

pr t , ll st k sof t w r w or ks pr t t y mu h t h sm w y .

1Y o u can also o p en t hese images in ACR by mu lt i-select ing t hem in Ado be Br idge

Click Selec t All a t t he uppe r le f t o f t he ACR

window. This wa y, t he se t t ings you selec t in ACR

will be applied t o all t he images a t t he same t ime

2



135T at f imt

4Hold down the Alt /Option key and openthe 12 images as copies in Phot oshop (formore about this, t urn t o page 23)3

Use t he sliders in t he ACR w indo w t o cho o se t he set t ings y o u ’ d like ( f o r mo re abo u t ACR set t ings, t u rn t o pages 16 – 17 )

All 12 RAW capt u res w ill be pro cessed u sing t he

same set t ings

T u rn t he page t o see t he 12 pro cessed images


# 1 # 6 # 11

Here are the 12 RAW les processed using the same settings in ACR



136 T Ptsp Dkm

# 2

# 3

# 4

# 5

# 7

# 8

# 9

# 10

# 12

Ne x t St epStack the 12 imag es

tog ether using Photoshop’s Statistics scr ipt

( pag es 137 – 138 ).

I so met imes nd t hat t he defau lt ACR set t ings wo rk we

ll eno u gh fo r st acked st ar t rail images. T here’s o ft en no real reaso n t o fu ss t o o

mu ch o ver t he ACR set t ings fo r images go ing int o a st ack

>> Stacking with Statistics

1From the File ch

Just what the heck is skewness?

i lk t us Ptsp’s Sttsts spt tt m stkd mpsts. Ts spt lts

u s sttstl mtd t dtmw t pxls t ls tull bldd.

yu fl ud wt t lst f mtdsvlbl, but wt i’v fud s tt t t

bst s Mxmum, r, d M.

Psll, i d’t mmb m ll sttstsus wll u t kw wt sttstl

mtds lk Kurtosis Skewness d, dt’s t wll dumtd Ptsp, s t

l w t ll d ut s t t sttd s.



137T at f imt

1F ro m t he F ile menu , cho o se

Script s > St at ist ics

5Go fo r a walk and ge t a cup o f co f fee.

Depending upon t he num be r o f images t o be

st ac ked and t he speed o f you r compu t e r,

t he p rocessing could t a ke q ui t e a while!

2

3

4 Click OK t opro ce

ss t he les

Selec t Maximum f rom t he Choose S t ac k Mode d rop-down lis t

C hoose Folde r f rom t he Use

d rop-down lis t and t hen clic k

B rowse t o selec t t he folde r wi t h t he s t a r t rail p ho t os

Turn the page to

see the resul t of

the s tacking.

Assu ming y o u u sed a t ripo d and y o u r images are aligned,

y o u sho u ld no t check t his bo x

Y o u can also cho o se les indiv idu ally r at her t han by f o lder , o r y o u can add o p en les


T he result o f t he S t a t is t ics sc r ip t appea rs

as a sma r t o b jec t in P ho t os hop

The sta t l



138 T Ptsp Dkm

Ne x t St epsP o ess t e raW f o eg ound mg e n ac r, s pen t , nd t en pnt n t e lg t ouse f o sele t v e s penng ( pg es 139– 140 ).

T he st ar t r ails lo o k r e ally nice ...b u t ...t he f o r e gr o u nd ne e ds so me w o r k in o r de r t o cle ar ly se e t he light ho u se and t he o ce an in t he f o r e gr o u nd

You can ’ t pain t o r c hange t he pixels

on a sma r t o b jec t , so you will need

t o conve r t i t t o a regula r la ye r

Cho o se Lay er > F lat t en Image t o change t he smart o b ject int o a Backgro u nd lay er, and t hen sav e t he st acked image

6

>> Working on the foreground image

Selectively sharpening thelighthouse

Lk t t fud l,i ddd t wuld b ll tt b su tt t ltus

ws xtml sp d sp. ilzd tt t ltus s

smll dtl ts vwlm-l vst m f sts d tt i ll Edge of Night .

i lkd t d f spdtl tt sws m d

m t ls u lk t t.

M tqu f sp

uss LaB l d s xpldstt p 198. yu w’tb supsd t l tt tppl ts kd f sp

i wk duplt l,

dd l msk, d pt t i wt t sltvl

sp.



139T at f imt

2 Save t he image y o u ju st pro cessed as

“Edge o f N ight .psd”

1Put t he st acked image aside fo r right now. Open t he special 10 minut e exposu re t hat I shot fo r

t he fo reg round in ACR. Ad just t he slide rs t o p rocess fo r t he fo reg round o f t he image, and t hen open t he image as a cop y in Phot oshop

Keep going


3 Dupl ica t e t he Bac kg round

la ye r and name t he new la ye r “L ig h t house ” 4

S harpen t he “ Light ho u se” lay er u sing t he LAB co lo r met ho d described o n pages 19 8 – 2 01.

Select ively sharpening t he light ho u se, fo cu ses attention it Y tThis i th



140 T Ptsp Dkm

5Add a H ide All la ye r mas k t o t he “L ig h

t house ” la ye r.

Z oom in on t he l ig h t house and pa in t in t he l ig h t house

t o selec t ivel y s ha rpen i t us ing B rus h Tool se t t ings o f

0 % Ha rdness, 1 0 0 % Opac i t y, and 1 0 0 % Flow

at t ent io n o n it . Y o u can see t he det ail o f t he specially sharpened light ho u se o n page 14 3

O nly t he shar p ened light ho u se is p aint ed in

H e r e ’ s t h e l a y e r m a s k.

T h e a r e a p a i n t ed i n i s

a v e r y s m a l l d o t w i t h

s o f t ed g e s

T his is t he du p licat e

“ Light ho u se”

lay er

Ne x t S t epsPut t he st ac ked imag e in a lay er on t op of t he “Lig ht house” lay er and blend t he t w o lay er s t og et her using a lay er mask and g r adient ( pag e 141 ).

>> Putting it all together

You know what to do …

cmb t “St tl” l wt t “Ltus” l s b dl f u bw. it’s t sm tqu tt i swd u t st mult-raW s stud , ps 32 – 39.

T s t m, dd hd all l msk t t “St tls” l. nxt, us t

gdt Tl t dw dt l msk t bld t tw ms tt.

1Holding down t he Shi f t ke y, d rag t he s t acked composi t e

image from its image window in t o t he window wi t h t he



141T at f imt

1 image f rom i t s image “Ligh t house ” la ye r. Rename t his la ye r “ S t a r t rails ”

2Add a H ide All lay er mask t o t he “ St ar t rails” lay er, t hen u se t he Gradient T o o l t o drag a whit e -

t o -black gradient do wn t he mask

O nly t he sky and st ar s t r ails ar e

v isible o n t he lay er

Turn the page to see

a large version of the

nished E dge o f Night



LooKing aT ThiS iMage f t ltus

Pt rs ntl Ss, u m tsmt dd but t st tls T’s



smt dd but t st tls. T s sp btw t st st tls d tl st tls.

ok, s i td. W t ms t t

dtl dkm, i v sm. i fsstt i ldd t 10 mut “fud”xpsu t m stk. T st sttls fm t fu mut xpsus d

t l tls fm t 10 mutxpsu.

T upl f ts i lk but tsm tt v t t d wt st tls.i lv t w t l tm xpsu sftd

d ttd t pud suf.i ls tk t sp usd tltus s v fftv. T ls ulk t t ltus, t m u s.

Shooting your own star trail stack

if u wt t mk u w st tl stk, tst t u d t tk but s, “hw dk sdk?” St tl ptp s l ll fftvw t t s ll blk. yu d t b su

tt t m s’t up, d u w’t b bl tt fftv st tls w t lts.

T ls u m s ptd twds dut, t t uvtu u’ll t u sttls. S t nt St ds’t mv ltv t

ll d

Plu u pmmbl tvl tm t um. St t tm t st t umb f

xpsus u wt u stk t 4 muts pxpsu. St t tvl t 4 muts, 1 sd.

Ts ms tt subsqut xpsu wllstt 1 sd ft t pvus xpsu ssd.

W wm lt, b up f ff, dmb fd f vst wl t stk sb ptud, d d’t fll t pts t

dk lk i’v d umb f tms (but lvd

“Arts & Crafts” project



144 T Ptsp Dkm

t et, t wll pp s stt dt su -udd b uv st tls.

a wd-l ls wll v u l st tls. i

lk t st st tls wt m 10.5mm dtl s- ls f mxmum uvtu d lt f

st tls.

B md tt ptpsmpl f t sk wt sttls s pbbl ttt tst-

. yu d tmps u sttl ptp wt

smt tst t fud s wlls t sk.

Bsds m d stud t-pd, ul p f qupmttt u wll d s pm-

mbl tvl tm, su s tnk Mc – 36 sw .

Mk su u put fs btt

u m. Tu l-xp-su s pss ff bus

t tfs wt t st tvlbtw xpsu ss f stkxpsus. Wt u m st t Mul

xpsu, tu t sutt spd t t Bulbstt. St t ptu t stt t f/2.8 tf/5.6 , d t iSo t 100 200.

dk lk i v d umb f tms (but lvdt tll t tl s wtssd b t wt f tsbk!).

T h e N i k o

n M C - 3 6 i s

a

p r o g r a m m

a b l e i n t e r

v a l t i m e r

t h a t w o r

k s w i t h s o

m e N i k o n

D S L R s . C

o m p a r a b l e

i n t e r v a l

t i m e r s

c a n b e f o

u n d f o r

m o s t D S L R

c a m e r a s .



WhiLe i WaS PhoTograPhing t Pt rs Ltus sw ps 142 –143, i lkd

v m suld d sw ts vw t twds Bd B, clf. Ftutl, i d sd m, tpd, d pmmbl tm wt m. i st t ms t utmtllptu t tw dfft stks tw dts t t sm tm.



ThiS iS an iMage f t nt Fk f Pt rsntl Ss clf, lttl t f SFs. T vw pts t wt Pls tt f mxmum st tls.

i dv ut blm t wt m 11 -ld sd st t pmmbl tvl tm t stk 16

fu mut xpsus. Wl t sutt ws lkw, m s d i l bk t ss slp dwtd t sts.







A P i x e l D



D o

e s N o t K n o w I t s O r i gi n

If you thInk about Psp, ’ll see ere re rell wver diere ids ls ville i e swre. oe sri Psp g ssmes re wrig wi pgrp

wi e ide lerig r imprvig i. te er pprc is pir drw i Psp rm e grd p. Wi rwr de is w, re cmplee crer limied l r sill d visi.

Srprise! te w pprces re s diere s mig i.We re wrig i rell clse pgrp d ediig

e pixel-level, e ls re es se re se ls wr cree imges rm scrc. I er wrds, pixel des w isrigi. a pixel des w i i cme rm digil cpre r rme brs tl. a pixel is js pixel mer w i ges ere.

fr me, m digil pgrpic imger cverges wi digil piig.

Sme pgrpers d’ lie lerig ps s mer priciple

>> A digital image has a father and a mother



On a field trip to downtown Oakland, California, I photographed

reflections of office buildings shown on the left. A series of photocompositing and LAB channel moves produced the image to the right.

Sme pgrpers d’ lie lerig ps s mer priciple, I d eel is w. o crse, is depeds p cex, djrlism sld impl iegri.

I pprecie i ver mc we smee ss e m imgesls mre lie piig pgrp. te c is m m imges re s mc digil piig s pgrp.

as I ve mred wi e Psp drrm, m vrie

eciqes r mvig m imges lg e prgressi rm p piig ivlve cverig e imges Lab clr, ppligdjsmes cels wii Lab, d e ledig e djsedlers c i e rigil. y will see e specics w d

is i e cse sd srig pge 170. b ere we ge ere,

le’s ve l sme e cceps I’ve js meied.

Channels

Ever imge i Psp is divided i cels. Cels re crcil ccep e Psp drrm. RGb clr imges, me e displed mir, re divided i red (R), gree (G), d

le (b) cels. yr cmer cpres pgrps s RGb imges.

CMyk imges, me r reprdci i pri medi sc s ThePhotoshop Darkroom, re divided i c (C), mge (M), ellw(y), d lc (k) cels. as exmple, sice is is eigreprdced sig CMyk is, ll e imges i is ve ee

prepred sig e CMyk clr spce.

y c see e cels sscied wi imge e Celsplee.

Continued on page 153





Continued from page 150

LAB color

Lab clr is lerive clr mdel RGb d CMyk. y reprl less milir wi Lab clr e er mdels ecse

Lab clr is sed wi cl p devices. I’s ime gever riedl wi cels d Lab clr ecse i d’ ww se em, re sre missig l!

Lab preses ppriies ve pwer RGb d CMyk d’.te ccepl rillice Lab is ppre i e cs P-sp’s ierl clr clclis re de i Lab clr, Lab clrprvides wider clr gm er clr spce, d Labclr wrs ver mc e w m visi wrs.

te srcre Lab csiss ree cels:

te L cel, r Ligess cel, cis lmice irmi ld l d

•



The image shown on page 151 turned out not to be my final variation.Some additional LAB channel operations produced the pink and blue

versions you see here.

wic is er w sig i lds e lc d wieirmi r imge. a gre del e pwer Lab clr

cmes rm e sepri lmice rm clr irmi.te a cel cis gree d mge irmi. a givepixel pi, a cel vle zer mes e pixel is eiergree r mge. – 128 e a cel scle i Psp mes e pixel is eirel gree, d +127 mes e pixel is

eirel mge. tis id clr rgizi is clled opponentcolor ecse e clrs i e cel re ppsie eds eclr scle rm e er.

te b cel cis le d ellw irmi. I Psp,we e b cel vle is zer, e pixel is erl ewee ellw

d le. – 128 e b cel scle represes pre le, d+127 represes pre ellw.

Blending channels

te geerl prcess r ledig cel i imge is sr dplicig e imge. y c djs e cel re ier-esed i sig i e dplice. te cp e eire djsed imge

(ll cels) c ver e rigil imge s ler. tis prcess willecme clerer s llw e cse sd srs pge 170.

oce ’ve cpied e imge wi e djsed cel ver erigil imge s ler, c cge e ledig mde gee eec w, d se ler ms selecivel pi i i.

•

•

LAB channel adjustments

te rs sep i wrig wi Lab

clr is cverig r imge eLab clr spce. I’s es d d I’llsw w.

te ex sep is dplice eimge s ve cp d

creive Lab wr . te ide is ce ’ve perrmed Lab celdjsmes e cp, c drgi ver e rigil s ler, selec

ledig mde, d i ecessrse msig cieve e ec wld lie.

I’ll wl rg is prcess ie cex prcicl exmple:

Cverig e ppp imge swelw sig iversi s seler s e pppies pper res lc cgrd. te cse sd

srs pge 170.

bere sr e cse sd

eed w w wr wi smeLab clr djsmes d e prcess se cieve ese djsmes.tis seci sws e seve

ms sel Lab cel djsmes.

I se ese djsmes i m m imges. y c se esedjsmes ver sccessll i rw creive wr i e Psp

drrm. y c ls se em s srig plce r Lab djsmes cme p wi r w.

>> Working creatively with LAB color

f the case



154 te Psp Drrm

C o n ve r t t o L A B

c o l o r b y se le c t i n g

I m a ge > M ode > L a b C o l o r

Y o u can also co nvert t o LAB co lo r by select ing

Edit > Co nvert t o P ro le and cho o sing LAB fro m t he P ro le dro p-do wn list in

t he Dest inat io n Space area

Converting to LABLab clr ses ree cels:Ligess r e lc d wieirmi, a r gree d mge

irmi, d b r e le d

ellw irmi. Ec cel is grscle imge represes is

clr irmi. te Lab clr spcews creed pprxime e wwe see clr wi r ees.

T h i s i s t he s t a r t i ng image fo r t he ca se

s t ud y t ha t s t a r t s o n page 1 7 0. T h i s

image i s s ho w n la rge r o n page 11 9

T h is is t he C ha n ne ls

pa le t t e s ho w i ng L A B co lo r

>> Getting to know the Channels palette

Playing with eyeballs

te Lab clr spce, lie e RGbclr spce, cis ree cels.CMyk cis r cels.

y c view ec cel idivid-

ll clicig i i e Cels

plee. We selec cel,e er cels re deseleced

d e i eells e le ecel me disppers (meig cel is visile). Wi ecel seleced, c clic e

eell x me secd cel

visile (g e cel will eseleced less clic is me).t me ll e cels visile d

selec ll em s well, clic ecmpsie cel e p eCels plee.

T his sho w s t he L o r Light ness channel. By def au lt indiv idu al channels are sho w n in gray scale

open t he C hnnels plet t e y select ing W indw s ► C hnnels

T he i mage ’ s co lo r s pace i s

s ho w n i n t he t i t le ba r



155a Pixel Des n kw Is origi

Click o n an indiv idu al channel t o select it ( it ’ s blu e w hen select ed)

C l ic k t he e ye ba l l bo x

t o ma ke a c ha n ne l

v i s i b le o r i n v i s i b le

Each Channels palet t e belo w sho ws t he P o ppy image in a different co lo r space

C M Y K

R G B

L A B

T h i s i s h o w t he C h a n ne l s

p a le t t e l o o k s w he n a l l c h a n ne l s

a re v i s i b le a nd se le c t ed

C l ick he r e t o ma k e a l l cha nne l s v is ib l e a nd s e l e ct e d

>> Duplicating an image

Working on a duplicate

aer I cver imge Labclr, I me dplice eimge. tis is’ e sme igs dplicig ler.

W’s e dierece? Dplicig ler des js : i mes

dplice seleced ler

within the same image. Weres,dplicig eire imge createsa completely new image (lei e is excl e sme) I cwr i Lab.

aer I is wrig edplice I drg i i e rigil

imge widw were i ecmesjs er ler.

oe er ig sld pei : e dplice imge is micll sved. Depedig

p w re gig d wii, m w sve i ere wr i.

C hoose Image > Du pl ica t e, and t hen t y pe in a

name fo r t he image, and cl ic k OK.Remem be r

t t d li t i t automatically saved



156 te Psp Drrm

t ha t t he du pl ica t e is no t au t oma t icall y saved

I creat ed t his image o f an Anemo ne primarily u sing eq u aliz at io ns o f t he L and B channels o f t he pho t o in LAB co lo r

Just what is an inversion?

Iverig mes replcig ec clrpixel wi pixel is ppsie

clr. blc ecmes wie, dwie ecmes lc. I Lab clr,pre mge ecmes pre gree

d vice vers; similrl, pre leecmes pre ellw d vice vers.

y c iver ll e cels i imge, r sigle cel. I’sperecl pssile iver imgesd cels i RGb, i’s mre

pwerl dig i i Lab ecse e clr ppe srcre ecclr cel.

>> Inversions

Using LAB channel adjustmentsto enhance color

o e ex ew pges I’ll sw mer djsmes Lab clrimges d cels, pplied e

dplice imge ’ve mde.“W,” m e iig, “is epi is?”

I se e seqece Lab celdjsmes I m swig ere s clr plee I c

se i cjci wi vrie ledig mdes ece—d eve

cmpleel ler—e clr vles im imges.

I’ve wrie Psp ci perrms ll seve Lab djsmessw pges 168 – 169. Ec

djsme will pper s is wdplice imge. I riel r isci dplice imge msps I e. I e ispec e

resls d see wic Lab celdjsme I w se.

M ci is ville r dwldd islli i Psp rm

e we pge sscied wiis , www.focalpress.com/ photoshopdarkroom.

Inverting all LAB channels

te rs djsme is i sme wse simples. t cree w is lws

sriig eec, iver e eireimge i Lab clr. We perrmis djsme, wies will ecme

lc, d lcs will ecme wie.oe is djsme prdces exicd elecric les c e sed dd excieme imge.




g

Make su re all t he channels a re selec t ed in t he Channels pale t t e

C l ic k he re t o

se lec t a l l c ha n ne l s

Select Image > Ad ju st ment s > Invert 21

He re ’ s t he

i n ve r t ed i mage

Co mpare bo t h Channels palet t es. All t he channels are t he o ppo sit e o f each o t her. Y o u can see t his

really clearly in t he L channel t hu mbnail

>> Inverting the L channel

Painting with LAB

Iversi specic Lab celreplces e pixels i cel, e er cels. te ms

sel sigle cel cversi is

iver l e L cel.I se iversi e L cel weI w p imge is wie lc cgrd. tis is

pre cmm mve r me, d lesme cieve “w-er.” b ig ep, I c cme p wi w reled

imges lie wers sw e p pges 168–169.

a d b cel iversis re gd

r ddig specic clrs c i imge. fr exmple, i sr wired i r imge, iversi ea cel will give gree. y

c e “pi” e gree i specicres.

Sice e pplici e “ew”clr is de creig ler scd sig ler mss d piig,

i’s pssile cieve gre eecswi vig e priclrl

gd piig ecse e spesre excl e sme. tis is epi dersd. b iverig e

cel, ’ve cged e clrs,

e cmpsii is sill e sme.

I er wrds, Lab celdjsmes llw ddicredil cl risic eecs rps wi vig ve mc

i e w ml piig sills.



158 te Psp Drrm

Ge t t i ng s t a r t ed

1 Selec t t he L c hannel in t he C hannels pale t t e

W he n y o u s e l e ct t he L channe l , t he gr ay s cal e channe l s ho w s in t he image w indo w

H e r e ’ s w ha t t he i nv e r t e d L cha nne l l o o k s l i k e

2Cho o se Image > Ad ju st ment s > Invert t o invert t he L channel

3Clic k t he compos i t e c hannel a t t he

t op o f t he C hannels pale t t e t o

selec t all t he c hannels and see how

t he inve rs ion a f fec t s t he image

C l i c k he re t o se le c t

a l l t he c h a n ne l s

Clematis duet te clemis sw elw wi e wiecgrd ws s wie ligx. Icmied mer diere expsres

sig d-hDR (s explied srig pge106) ece e ppre rsprec e imge.

aer prcessig e clemis wie, I dpli-ced e imge d ivered e L cel. as

sl, e L cel isel lced crs dsle i e liger res. S e wr remied ws dd c w ws missig:

sme e ligess e wer d mrecrs i e pels.

te clemis lc, sw e m, ise resl. I ve d imges pired isw re vrl received s pri des.




I nv er t ing t he L channel cr eat es an ent ir ely new image o n black

Se lec t a l l c hanne ls be f ore d

ragg ing

af ter in ver ting chnnel, m

ke sure to selec t ll

chnnels bef ore drgging the

imge in to no ther

imge windo w s l yer ( o t

her wise, you ge t

gr yscle piece of nonsense

— we ’ ve ll done i t! )

2 Choose Img e ► adjustments ► Inver t to inver t the a chnnel

>> Inverting the A channel

Green and magenta

te a cel cis e greed mge irmi i

imge. We iver e cel,mge pixels re cged

gree d vice vers.

1Select the a chnnel in the C hnnels plette H e r e ’ s w ha t t he invertedA h



160 te Psp Drrm

I nv er t ing t he A channel cr eat es a v er y gr een image

Because t he o r ig inal po p p y

image con t a ins a lo t o f

magen t a, t he inve rs ion o f t he

A c hannel ma kes a lo t o f g reen

e i nv e r t e d A cha nne l l o o k s l i k e

W he n y o u s e l e ct t he A channe l , t he gr ay s cal e channe l s ho w s in t he image w indo w

Click the composite

channel at the top of the

Channels palette to select all

the channels and see how the

in version af f ects the image

3



>> Inverting the B channel

Blue and yellow

te b cel cis e led ellw irmi i imge.We iver e cel, lepixels re cged ellw d

vice vers.

2 Choose Imge ► adjus tmen ts ►

In ver t to in ver t the b chnnel

He re ’ s w h a t t he i n ve r t ed

B c h a n ne l l o o k s l i ke

Select the b channel in

the Channels palette

1




Click the composite

channel at the top of the

Channels palette to select all

the channels and see how the

in version af f ects the image

C lick he r e t o se le ct all t he channe ls

3

W hen y o u select t he B channel, t he gray scale channel sho w s in t he image w indo w

Inve r t ing t he B c hannel ma kes

t he pe t als t u rn viole t because

t he B c hannel pe t als a re blue

and t his colo r mixes wi t h t he

magen t a pe t als o f t he A c hannel

T he cent ers o f t he po ppies in t he o riginal image are y ello w , so t hey co nv ert t o blu e in t he inv ersio n

>> Equalizing the L channel

Taking colors and contrast tothe max

Eqlizig idividl Lab cels is

s sel—me mre sel—iverig cels.

We se e eqlize djsmePsp grs e liges pixeld cges i wie d grse dres pixel d cges

e lc. te ll e vles iewee re redisried eseew ed pis. I er wrds, e

exisig vles re exggered i direcis.

spredig e rge vleswii e cel is gig spred

e rge ppe clrswii cel. tis ieresig eecc e ver sel.

I e a cel s lile i greed lile i mge i diere

res, ce eqlize e cel,ere will e wle l gree dmge i ese res.

I e b cel s i i ellw d le i diere lcis,

e eqlizig e b cel willcree ellw d le iese lcis

iclde verll eqlizi i isseqece djsmes.

te impc expdig e wie-

lc clr ppe rge, wic isw eqlizi e L cel(r e eire Lab imge) des, is exed d expd e crs rge

imge. Wile is eec des’l gd 100% pci, I empl eqlized L cel lw pcii lms ll m imges. Specicll, I

eqlize e L cel, gr e eireimge, d drg i i e rigilimge s ler. I e se S Lig

ledig mde 10% – 12% pci



162 te Psp Drrm

We eqlize Lab cel

igs ge mc mre ieresig.I csider e clr ppe

re Lab cel, ’ll see

ese lcis.

Eqlizig e L cel des excle sme ig s eqlizig e eire

Lab imge, wic is w I d

p ver e eire imge. tis gel

icreses e crs rges i mimges wi mig ig l

rs.

W he n y o u se le c t t he L

c h a n ne l, t he g r a y s c a le

c h a n ne l s h o w s i n t he

i m a ge w i nd o w

1 Selec t t he L c hannel in t he C hannels pale t t e

H er e’ s w hat t he eq u aliz ed L channel lo o ks like

2Cho o se Image > Ad ju st ment s > Eq u aliz e t o eq u aliz e t he L channel

3Clic k t he compos i t e c hannel a t t he

t op o f t he C hannels pale t t e t o

selec t all t he c hannels and see how

t he eq ual iz a t ion a f fec t s t he image



Why equalize the L channel?

Eqlizig e L cel s e sme impc s eqlizig

e eire Lab imge. te eec is spred e lcd wie vles, creig iger crs imge. I led e eqlized L cel c i imge sig eS Lig ledig mde, e mides e imge will

sw expded l rge. (t dersd we S Lig ledig mde wrs, r pge 71).

be crel we se S Lig led i e L celeqlizi d’ verd e eec ecse i cl gris. We I d is mve, I sll eep e opcii e 10% –15% rge wic leds sle eec.




Becau se t he eq u aliz at io n sp r eads o u t t he r ange o f p ix el v alu es, t he magent a p o p p y p et als o f t he o r iginal image beco me a dar ker br ick co lo r w hen t he L channel is eq u aliz ed

O r i g i n a l p o p p y i m a ge

An eq u aliz ed L channel has

been added u sing

t he S o f t Light blending mo de f o r great er co nt rast

>> Equalizing the A channel

Expanding the green and magenta

Eqlizi spreds e pixel rge rm e dres pixel eliges pixel. S we e a cel is eqlized, l mre greeppers er e djsme. tis is ecse ere is s lile gree d

s mc mge i e rigil e pixel redisrii is drmic,

siig e cel ver wrds e gree ed e specrm.

1 S elect t he A channel in t he Channels palet t e

2Choose Image > Ad jus t men t s > Eq ualiz e t o eq ualiz e t he A channel



164 te Psp Drrm

W he n y o u s e l e ct t he A channe l , t he gr ay s cal e channe l s ho w s in t he image w indo w

H er e’ s w hat t he eq u aliz ed A

channel lo o ks like

You ca n rea l l y see t he wa y

t he l ig h t a nd da r k va lue s

ha ve bee n s p read ou t t o i nc rea se co n t ra s t . T he

da r k

g ra y ha s become b lac k, t he

l ig h t g ra y ha s become w h i t e,

a nd t he va lue s i n be t wee n

a re s p read ou t

3Click t he co mpo sit e channel at t he t o p o f t he Channels palet t e t o select all t he channels and see ho w t he inversio n af f ect s t he image



Why equalize the A channel?

te pi eqlizig e a cel is e le dd i sigic selecive clrs i egree mge rge. We I led a cel

eqlizi c i e rigil, I se e Clrledig mde.

y sld e wre Clr led i e Lab

clr spce is srprisigl pwerl. y w se ler ms (r selecivi) d e brs tl

wi e opci se elw 10%. a iger seig 10% d ris vig r clrs lrl d gris.




E q u aliz ing t he A channel adds a lo t o f gr een

S ince t he o r ig inal po p p y image con t a ins ve r y l i t t le

g reen, t he eq ual i z a t ion o f t he A c hannel pus hes

t he image ove r t o t he g reen s ide o f t he s pec t rum

O r ig i na l po p p y i mage

An eq u aliz ed A channel has been added u sing t he Co lo r blending

mo de t o amplif y t he green and magent a

>> Equalizing the B channel

Expanding the blue and yellow

te ppp imge cis ver lile le, msl sme ver ligsdig e pels. Sice ere is s lile le i e imge,eqlizig e b cel icreses e le pr e specrm

wile mig e ellw smes i e imge ver ellw.

Selec t t he B c hannel in

t he C hannels pale t t e1

2Cho o se Image > Ad ju st ment s > Eq u aliz e t o eq u aliz e t he B channel



166 te Psp Drrm

all sev en Lab chnnel inv er sin nd eqlizt in djst ment s r e shw n t g et her n pg es 168 – 169.

W hen y o u select t he B channel, t he gray scale channel sho w s in t he image w indo w

H er e’ s w hat t he eq u aliz ed B

channel lo o ks like

T he ce n t e r o f t he o we r

w h i c h w a s l i g h t g r a y h a s

s h i f t ed t o w h i t e ; t he

b a c k g r o u nd w h i c h w a s d a r k

g r a y h a s s h i f t ed t o b l a c k

3Click t he composi t e channel a t t he t op o f t he Channels pale t t e t o selec t all t he channels and see how t he inve rsion a f fec t s t he image

C l i c k he re t o se le c t a l l t he c h a n ne l s

Why equalize the B channel?

as wi e a cel, e pi eqlizig e bcel is e le ler r dd clrs. I ecse e b cel, e clrs gi re

e eds e ellw le rge i e imge.We I led b cel eqlizi c ie rigil, I se e Clr ledig mde.

as I’ve ed, Clr leds re ver pwerl iLab. use ler ms d selecivel pi i w

w wi opci seig 10% r less.




T he o r ig inal po p p y image con t a ins ve r y l i t t le blue,

so t he eq ual iz a t ion o f t he B c hannel pus hes t he

image ove r t o t he blue s ide o f t he s pec t rum

E q u aliz ing t he B channel adds a lo t o f blu e

O r i g i n a l p o p p y i m a g e

An eq u aliz ed B channel has been added u sing t he

Co lo r blending mo de t o amp lif y t he y ello w and blu e



all Lab cels ivered

tis djsme eds give ieresig eecs

re ppsie e clrvles i e se imge.

L cel ivered

Gd r pig wieimge lc r lc

imge wie.

a cel ivered

Gd r ddig clrsppsie e previlig

gree/mge vles e imge.

origil versi

tis is pgrp medle pppies

wie cgrd.

here’s e w is rspre wer led er I pgrped i wie ligx.



b cel ivered

tis e is gd rddig clrs ppsie

e previlig le/ellwvles e imge.

L cel eqlized

tis cel is gd rddig crs imge,

d r specil eecs. Gds e sis r ew imge.

a cel eqlized

tis is gd r ddiggree d mge

vles imge.

b cel eqlized

tis cel djsme isgd r ddig le d

ellw vles imge.

usig e Lab L cel iversi s e sis r ew imge, I creed is ver specil wer lc.

Working with the L channelinversion

We I led e Lab celiversis d eqlizis ePpp Medle Wie, I ws src

e iversi e L cel. asis e e cse, is cel mverspsed e imge wi sriiglc cgrd eec.

tis L cel iversi is e srig

plce r e cse sd. Lig e L cel iversi, ere re cple prlems wi i. b ese

c e xed.

te pr e imge swig ecre e wer—smes d

pisils—is lger cceple. tisc e remedied piig i sme

e rigil imge cpresese deils icel.

te imge ls lcs verll crs.I’ll sw cple Lab celeciqes vercme is prlem.

fill, sme e pels ie imge eed pper mr erspre. I’ll sw

ieresig d eecive w pirsprec i imge wi

lc cgrd.

>> Recap: Starting in the middle

T his is t he image w it h t he L channel inv ert ed so it

case study : inverting an image using lab channels and blending modes



170 te Psp Drrm

H e r e ’ s t he o r igina l “ P o p p y M e d l e y o n W hit e .” Y o u ca n s e e it l a r ge r o n p a ge 119

t ap p ears t o be o n black. T his is t he st art ing p lace f o r t he case st u dy

T u rn t o pages 15 8 – 15 9 t o nd o u t ho w t his inv ersio n w as made

Selectively painting

te rs d ms impr mvewi e iversi is drg erigil wie versi ver e lcversi, dd hide all ler ms

e ler, d selecivel pi

i e pels d er res eed ligeig d rsprec.Ec djsme m seem mir,

cmied e d creesigic cges.

>> Painting some details back in

T h i s i m a ge i s i n L A B

1Hold down Shi ft and d rag t he whit e ve rsion o f t he image ont o t he black

ve rsion and name it “Whit e ve rsion ” ( fo r mo re about t his, t u rn t o page 35)

Add a H ide All lay er mask t o




Even t hough t his image is RG B, when you d rag i t in t o t his window,

i t au t oma t icall y changes t o LA B

Direct io ns fo r adding a H ide All lay er mask are o n page 36

2t he “W hit e versio n” lay er

Ge n t l y pa i n t i n t he pe t als

t o l ig h t e n t hem a nd a p pea r mo re t ra ns pa re n t

3

F o r inf o abo u t t he Bru sh T o o l and paint ing o n a lay er mask, t u rn t o page 4 8

He re ’ s t he la ye r ma s k

a nd t h i s i s w ha t

s ho w s o n t he la ye r

N o w t he image is ready fo r t he next st ep, so t u rn t he page ...


Doing it more than once

oce I’m i e rig llpr wi m

imge d I’m eded r e wrp-p,i’s ime ( gessed i) r mre Labiversis d eqlizi.

W I geerll d is dplice eimge gi d r ll seve sic

Lab mves e dplice, d esee w I c se.

I’s prcess c g lg,lg ime: creig ew imge sed Lab cel peris, ereig e imge wi er se

Lab mves (d e reled lersc).

oe e rdes igs is decidigwe e imge is ised. tis isver mc jdgeme cll.

oce p ime, I sed pi wiil pis. Smeimes I cme p wi piig ws’ l d, Iwld g r d i wld ge

mdd. te sme ig c ppewi Lab cel ler sc. I

see r imge is srig gemr, ’ve prl ge r

d sld rever c r lscecpi.

>> LAB channels as your palette

Save t he image o f f as a checkpoin t , ✔ C h e c k poi n t

2Du plicat e t he image by cho o sing Image > Du plicat e



172 te Psp Drrm

3Using t he du plicat e y o u ju st made, ru n t he fo u r LAB inversio ns sho wn o n pages 15 7 –161 and t he

t hree LAB eq u aliz at io ns described o n pages 162-167. W hen y o u are nished, clo se t he du plicat e,

bu t keep t he eight o t her windo ws o pen

1and t hen a t t en t he la ye rs (di rec t ions on page 54), and t hen save a new ve rsion o f t he image

Af t er at t ening t he lay ers, o nly t he

Backgro u nd lay er is lef t

T his image is in t he LAB co lo r space

Fo r mo re a bou t du pl ica t ing

an image, t u rn t o page 1 56

See p a ge 2 5

f o r c he c k p o i n t s

Here are the 8 images that are open right now




T hese inve rsions and eq ualiz a t ions based on t he blac k bac kg round

ve rsion o f t he popp y image resem ble, bu t a re no t exac t l y

t he same as, t he inve rsions and eq ualiz a t ions f rom t he w hi t e

bac kg round ve rsion on pages 1 5 7 –16 7. Compa re t hem and see.

Black version fromstep 1 on page 172 L channel equalized A channel equalized B channel equalized

LAB channels inverted L channel inverted A channel inverted B channel inverted

I lws r ll seve Lab mves eve i I’m l gig se e r w em. te Lab cel iversis deqlizis re e clr plee I ve pi wi.I cmii wi e ledig mdes, ese cels

cr ee erms mer pssiiliies. y c ser visi d imgii s r gide.

Keep going


4No w, you ’ re go ing t o use t he LA B inve rs ion o f t he

o r ig inal w h i t e po p p y image t ha t you c rea t ed on page

1 5 7. Hold do wn t he S h i f t ke y and d rag i t f rom i t s

image w indo w on t o t he a t t ened blac k ve rs ion

W hen I lo o ked at t he LAB inversio n fro m t he black versio n, I realiz ed t hat it had a whit e backgro u nd and I needed a black backgro u nd. Sf



174 te Psp Drrm

Using a LAB inversion for lightening

I sed is cmii dd exic pi dlige specic res sc s e cre e werd sme pels. I l e led ’ll see is is ver disicive id ligeig wi

is elecric le i e sdws. I did’ pii i ver srgl were d cmied wi iswe piig, I e pci dw 57%.

S c i is s ddig c Labiversi leded wi Exclsi. as I e i esider pge 175, ever w w ’reg ge wi e Exclsi r Dierece ledig

mdes. a l e ime e d prdce verieresig ligeig eec, priclrl we eledig ler is ll-cel Lab iversi.

5Change t he black versio n wit h it s new LAB inversio n lay er fro m LAB mo de t o RGB co lo r mo de by select ing Image > Mo de > RGB

o I went back t o t he previo u s inversio n made fro m t he whit e po ppy image and u sed it inst ead. It ’s o ft en t he case t hat I have many LAB inversio ns and eq u aliz at io ns o pen — so met imes as many as 20 o r 30 — at a t ime.

Why I use the Difference andExclusion blending modes

I sied RGb ecse c’se e Exclsi ledig mde

(r e Dierece ledig mder mer) i Lab clr. W?I d’ w w. I’s js P-

sp ig.

bc pge 70, I sid e

Exclsi d Dierece ledigmdes re “weird.” tis ws lilege-i-cee s, i c, ed ve sme prcicl ses r

cmprig w imges.

Dierece d Exclsi ls pl rle we re cmiig Lab

iversis d eqli is wi

In t he La ye rs pale t t e, change

t he blending mode t o Exclusion6

F o r mo re abo u t blending mo des, t u rn t 7 71

He re ’s w ha t t he L A B

i n ve rs io n la ye r loo ks

l i ke w i t h t he E xc lus io n b le nd i ng mode a p p l ied




iversis d eqlizis wi rigil imge. tese e ecs repredicle (wic m e werem “weird” cme rm), els c e exremel vlle,

ld imes, d sle we les expec i.

I is cse, I sed e Diereceledig mde dd rellrcive pi d eecivel lige

e imge wi ig crs.I’s rell pssile, i m

pii, pre-vislize e impc pplig Dierece d Exclsiledig mdes give Lab

mipli. terere, eed r i d see.

t o pages 7 0 –7 1

Gent ly paint in t he pet als o n t he lay er mask. F inally , lower t he Opacit y t o 57%7

He re ’ s w ha t s ho w s

t h roug h o n t he la ye r

a f t e r pa i n t i ng o n t he

la ye r ma s k

Ne x t St epsuse mr e f t he Lab clr mv es cr et ed n pg es 172 – 173 w it h lending mdes t r n specic r es nd cr et e mr e t r nspr ency in t he pet ls

( pg es 176 – 177 ).


8

Duplica t e t he Bac kg round la ye r and d rag

i t t o t he t op o f t he la ye r s t ac k in t he

La ye rs pale t t e. Add a Hide All la ye r

mas k, and c hange t he blending mode t o

Mul t ipl y. Pain t on t he la ye r mas k t o bu rn

in da r ke r a reas fo r con t ras t , and t hen

lowe r t he Opaci t y t o 44 %.

Wi is ler I esseill rsme res i (see pges 72 – 73r mre rig). te

pi ere is cree e ill-si ligess. Lig l p-pers lig we i is i crs smeig dr. Prdxicll,

dreig crell selecedrge res, e cmprivellig res e imge l

riger



176 te Psp Drrm

riger.

bledig L cel eqlizi sig S Lig ledig mde is e mms cmm eciqes r icresig l rge crss imge. W’s lile sl ere is e 24% pci wic is iger I wld rmll g.I picll d is cmii 10%–12% pci. te er ig ’s qie picl ere is I msed e ler. M rml prcess wld e

ppl eqlizi ler sig S Lig led 10% pci crss eeire imge. I is cse, I l wed icrese e crs i e pelswic is w I sed ler ms d selecive piig.

9

Drag t he L channel eq u aliz at io n int o t he windo w t hat y o u’ve been wo rking o n and add a H ide All lay er mask. Change t o t he So ft Light blending mo de and paint o n t he lay er mask t o add co nt rast t o t he edges o f t he pet als. Lo wer t he opacit y t o 24 %.

1 0D rag t he L channel inve rsion in t o t he image window

you ’ve been wo rking on and add a Hide All la ye r mask.

Pain t on t he la ye r mask t o ligh t en t he cen t e r o f t he

owe rs, and t hen se t t he Opaci t y t o 1 0 %




Ne x t St epPaint on t he pet als using a w hit e fll lay er ( pag es 178– 180 ).

Js spice igs p, I sede L cel iversi eimge lc. tis iversiecme imge wie.

hwever, sice i’s ee rge Lab cel mill ew imesw, i is s pre wies i sred . I priclr,

e pels ve disicl grcs em. I sed is c-el iversi 10% pci

sligl lige e ierir res e pels.

L channel inverted

These ad jus t men t s b y t hemselves a re ve r y su b t le. And wi t h t he Opaci t y

fo r t he la ye r reduced t o 1 0 %, t he ad jus t men t s become ve r y sligh t indeed

T his is w hat sho w s t hro u gh o n t he lay er af t er p aint ing o n

t he lay er mask

T he o v erall image lo o ks pret t y go o d, bu t I’ d like t o see mo re t ransparency in t he pet als, part icu larly t his area


Creating transparent petals

Lig e imge s i sds,I m plesed wi e lgrdis i e wers. hwever,

I’d lie cree e illsi mrersprec e pels.

te esies w cieve e illsi rsprec is “pi” epels i wie. te ms eecive

w pi e pels i wie is dd slid wie ler wi hideall ler ms. y c e crell

pi i e rsprec wldlie.

te sme eciqe c e sed

pi i lc lies i eed em.o crse, ll e ler re gig se wi lc. fr mer,

mig w pi i lies wi smeer clr sc s gree r r ed. yc se e Eedrpper tl picp e exc clr eed rm e

imge, ll ler wi e clr, mse ler, d pi.

oe e dvges piig

sig slid ll ler d lerms is c verd igs

i wi wrrig. I d I sll ed p piig i lies,weer e re wie r lc, evil. t x is ce I is

piig, I e l e verllimge d e simpl redce epci e ler wi e piig

i.

tis is srprisigl simple eciqe

c ve ge impc i ePsp drrm.

>> Painting using ll layers

✔Ch k i t



178 te Psp Drrm

1

Af t er at t ening t he lay ers, o nly t he

Backgro u nd lay er is lef t

2Click t he Creat e A N ew Lay er

bu t t o n at t he bo t t o m o f t he Lay ers palet t e. A t ransparent lay er will

appear abo ve t he Backgro u nd lay er.

N ame t he new lay er “W hit e ll”

C lick he r e t o cr e at e a ne w lay e r

Save t he image o f f as a checkpoin t , and t hen a t t en t he la ye rs (direc t ions on page 54), and t hen save a new ve rsion o f t he image

✔ C h e c k poi n t

See p a ge 2 5

f o r c he c k p o i n t s

3 Selec t t he Pa in t Buc ke t

Tool f rom t he Tool box and

ma ke su re Fo reg round is

selected in the Options Bar

6W it h t he “ W hit e ll” lay er select ed in t he Lay ers palet t e, click in t he image w indo w w it h t he P aint Bu cket T o o l




selec t ed in t he O p t ions Ba r

4Click here t o set t he def au lt co lo rs ( black in t he f o regro u nd and w hit e in t he backgro u nd)

5Click here to set whiteas the foreground color

A f t e r clic king wi t h t he Pain t Buc ke t Tool t he

en t i re window is w hit e. You ma y t hin k you r image

is gone. Don ’ t wo r r y! T he blac k popp y image is

s t ill unde r t he re in t he Bac kg round la ye r

Paint ing o n t he next page


7Add a H ide All lay er mask t o t he “W hit e fll” lay er. T he whit e lay er beco mes t ransparent so y o u can see t he Backgro u nd lay er again

8C hoose t he B rus h Tool f rom t he To

ol box and

selec t 5 % Ha rdness, 2 5 % O pac i t y, and 5 0 %

Flo w in t he O p t ions ba r as a s t a r t ing place.

With the layer mask selected on the “W h i t e

ll” l i t i the details on the petals



180 te Psp Drrm

9On t he Lay ers palet t e, lo wer t he Opacit y o f t he “W hit e ll” lay er t o 4 6% t o blend in t he paint ing

W i t h t he la ye r mas k selec t ed on t he W ll ” la ye r, pa in t in t he de t a ils on t he pe t als

He re ’s w he re de t ail was pain t ed

in on t he popp y pe t al. I t ’s a li t t le

o bvious, so i t ’s t ime t o reduce t he

opaci t y o f t he w hit e la ye r



As I’ve become comfortable with LAB

color, channels, an blening moes,I foun that I use Photoshop ltersless an less. However, there are many

Photoshop lters an thir-party ltersthat are worth exploring.

Here are some of the lters that I likefor creative effects. It’s important to useany lter on a uplicate layer so youcan paint on a layer mask to control

the exact areas of application of thecreative effect.

NIK ltersThe NIK Color Efex collection inclues

can also use it to globally lighten animage.

Glamour Glow: This lter as a warm

saturate glow. It is best to paint it in

carefully on a layer mask only whereyou really want it because it alsosoftens the image an can egrae

the image.

Photoshop lters

The lters that come with Photoshopitself are a mixe bag. You shoul knowthat not all Photoshop lters work with

all bit-epth images, so you may haveto convert your images to a lower bit-

Once again, I suggest working on a

layer so you can precisely control theimpact of this powerful lter. You alsonee to carefully observe the irection,

intensity, an quality of the light in theimage an make sure that your use ofthe Lighting Effects lter complimentsan oes not etract from the existinglight.

The Liquify lter (foun uner Filter►

Liquify) is great for those occasionswhere you nee to transform acurvilinear shape. I’ve use this lter

successfully in a number of photo

composites.

>> Filters in Photoshop



The NIK Color Efex collection incluessome spectacular lters. The ones I n

myself using often are:

Color Replacement: This lter allows

you to replace colors in an image withany color you want. This is very usefulfor changing colors in a specic area

Cross Processing: Back in the ays

of lm photography, cross processingreferre to using chemistry meant forone kin of lm for another kin oflm. This prouce unusual shifts incolor. The NIK lter simulates some of

these effects an provies you with aselection of color shifts that you cana selectively into your image.

Fog: Well, I use Fog to a, ah, foginto some of my lanscapes. This oneshoul be use with a light touch. You

to convert your images to a lower bit-epth to use a particular lter.

One Photoshop lter that I use withalmost every single image that I process

is the Unsharp Mask (foun unerFilter►Sharpen►Unsharp Mask). I usethe Unsharp Mask selectively in LABcolor applie only to the Luminance

channel as explaine on pages 198 –201.

Another Photoshop lter that I usefrequently is Lighting Effects (foununer Filter►Rener►Lighting Effects).This one is great for either changing the

irection of the light hitting the subjectof an image or for emphasizing existinglight an the irection of that light.

I’ve use the Lighting Effects lter oneverything from portraits an still lifes

to sunset lanscapes in the mountains.

In the Butterfly image shown on pages186 – 187, I use several Photoshoplters incluing Glowing Eges (foununer Filter ►Stylize►Glowing Eges),Ink Outlines (foun uner, Filter►BrushStrokes► Ink Outlines) an Neon Glow(foun uner Filter►Artistic►Neon

Glow).

When possible, I prefer to use channels,blening moes, an painting insteaof Photoshop lters. However, thereare times, as with the Butterfly image,that these Photoshop lters are

har to beat. They are kin of like acheep sugar rush. You on’t want toovero them or you’ll get an ice cream

heaache. But sometimes it’s har topass up a brownie all-the-way with ice

cream an hot fuge sauce.

To create Papaver Fireworks , a core of a poppy gone to seed, I used

approximately 24 different LAB channel inversions and equalizations.





LAB L channel inversions aren’t just for

photographs on a white backgroun. I photo-graphe this Papaver Rhoeus ‘Falling in Love’ on a black velvet backgroun (see page 68 foran explanation of this technique). Using an L

channel inversion, I ippe the poppy image soI ha a secon version on a white backgroun.



I coul have accomplishe the same result byselecting the poppy, cutting it out an placing

it on a white backgroun. This wouln’t havebeen impossible, but it was easier to o aninversion. Cutting out the hairs on the stemwoul have been particularly ifcult. Using

the inversion meant that I i have to paintthe colors of the ower back in.

I PHOTOGRAPHEd A BUTTERFLY specimen using a lightbox to

create a transparent backgroun as shown below. The nisheimage on the right was create using LAB channel operations



image on the right was create using LAB channel operations,several Photoshop lters, an irect painting on a layer.

It’s a very long way from the photo to the nishe butteryimage. This process shows that you can a a great eal of

color into an image that starts out fairly plain.

I think the nishe image, which has been publishe a numberof times, is as much a igital painting as it is a photograph.



Why

As part of an assignment, Ineee to create a colorful

ragony image that lookemore like a painting than aphoto.

How

I looke through my library ofexisting ragony captures to

n a starting place. I quicklyrealize they just woul not obecause of the position of theinsects, backgrouns an lack

of transparency in the wings.

I bought this ragony at a

>> Capturing the dragony

case study : creating a colorful dragonfly



188 The Photoshop darkroom

P u s h p i n

g g ynatural specimens store, anphotographe it straight ownusing a lightbox as the lighting

source. I use a telephotomacro lens an a tripo.I expose the image for 2secons at f/32 an ISO 100.

Next Step

In some ways this captureis munane, but I knew Icoul work on it an make itinteresting in the Photoshop

arkroom. To start with,the push pin place by thestore ha to be clone out. Iin’t just pull it out because

the ragony woul haveisintegrate.

Besies minor aitionalretouching, the image neeeto be rotate an croppe.

C l o ne o u t t he p u s h p in and add de ns it y t o t he w ings

R o t a t e a n d c r o p

Why

The removal of the push pin set thestage for an insect that has been

l l h h

>> Retouch and adjust luminosity



189A Pixel does Not Know Its Origin

release to apparently y, rather thanone hel to earth. Once I completethe RAW conversion an cosmeticsteps, I coul then crop an format

the image.

How

I create a new layer an clone outthe hea of the push pin. At the sametime, I took care of minor cosmetic

retouching. I mae the wings arkerby blening a arker version of theragony with itself using a luminos-ity blen. I maske out the new layer,

an painte in the areas I wante.

I use a straightforwar rotation an

crop to position the ragony.

Next Steps

The image neee to be inverte toappear on a black backgroun, ancolor neee to be ae. This was a

job for LAB inversion an equalizationchannel blening

I use a layer mask with some of the channel

operations so I in’t have to worry when thebackgroun color change. The layer mask wascreate from the L channel of the ragony

itself, using the Threshol ajustment. I thenmaske layers using Image► Apply Image.

>> Adding color to the dragony



LAB Inversions, equalizations, andblending modes

Top: Inversion of the image on page 189.

Second down: B channel inversion ipsblue an yellow values.

Third down: Combining LAB channelsusing ifferent blening moes gives

a huge variety of color possibilities.

Bottom: More LAB inversions anequalizations a aitional color.

Far right: Several more inversions,with colors painte in, lea to thenal result approve by the client.



Capture as shot L channel equalization



Making beautiful landscapes with LAB

don’t think that the LAB channel ajustmentsthat I showe you on pages 158 – 172 areonly for owers an insects! In fact, theseajustments work well to increase the color

an rama of many kins of images, incluinglanscapes like the one shown here.

On the top left, you can see the original imageof clous an water as shot, followe by themulti-RAW processe version. I use the three

equalize LAB channels shown to the right topaint in the colors an contrast you can see inthe nal image to the far right.

Image following multi-RAW processing A channel equalization

B channel equalization



Using curves to improve images

As part of my workow, when I amalmost one with an image before Iconvert back from LAB into RGB orCMYK, I ajust the LAB curves of the

image.

An L channel curve ajustmentincreases the contrast in an

image. The A an B channel curveajustments make the colors in animage more intense.

If one correctly, this is a subtleajustment. If applie with brute force,

a LAB curve ajustment can amount to

an inversion: swapping white for blackor green for magenta. I’ve come torecognize the shape of an appropriate

LAB curve. I apply the appropriatecurve to each of the three LABchannels an then verify the resultsvisually.

Although this is a close-to-nal step

in my workow, you shoul know that

LAB curve ajustments can be oneearlier in the workow, an more thanonce for that matter.

>> Setting up the Curves dialog

Open the C ur ves dialog by selecting Imag e ►

Adjustments ► C ur ves

Set t ing up t he E yed roppe r Tool

Select the Ey edr opper T ool f r om the Toolb d i

1

3




the T oolbo x and in the Options Bar set the Sample Size to “3 by 3

Aver ag e” or “5 by 5 Aver ag e”

If your image is not already

in LAB, convert it by selecting

Image ► Mode ► LAB

2

W he n sam pl i ng p i xels fo r

Cu rves, you need t o be su re t o p ic k u p a n ave rage

o f t he a rea— i f you o nl y

sam ple a s i ngle p i xel, you r

resul t s m ig h t be wa y o f f

C l ic k he re t o

acce s s o p t io n s

1

Click here toselect a channel

Setting Up the Curves Dialog

I f you need t o s t a r t o ve r,

ho ld do w n t he O p t io n/ A l t

ke y a nd t he Ca nce l bu t t o n

t u r ns i n t o a Rese t bu t t o n

T h is g r id s ho ws values in 1 0 % inc remen t s

This his t og ram shows luminance values f rom da r k t o ligh t

Cu r v e line t hat y o u dr ag t o make ad ju st ment s

Click here to see

dialog options

Set y our C hannels opt ions like t his

4

C l ic k he re t o d is p la y

a de t a i led g r id

5




Y o u w ill u se t he Black P o int Ey edro pper t o sample t he darkest pixels in t he image

You w i l l use t he L ig h t Po i n t

E yed ro p pe r t o sam p le t he

l ig h t es t p i xe ls i n t he image

double-click the Black Point Eyeropper to

open the Select Tar get Shaow Color ialog.

Set the ar kest pi xels in the image to L= 6

double-click the Light Point Eyer opper to open the Select Tar get Highlight Color ialog.Set the lightest pi x els in the image to L = 97

No w t o ad jus t an image

67

B y se t t ing t he blac k po in t and w h i t e po in t , you a re cons t ra in ing t he t onal range so t he blac ks and w h it es don ’ t lose de t a il

5

Click the lig htest ar ea in the imag e with the Lig ht

Point Eyedr opper 2

Select “Lightness” f rom the

Channel drop-do wn list and

adjust the L channel cur ve3

Click the darkest area in

the image with the Black

Point E yedropper1

This is a nice s-shaped cu rve shape fo r a ligh t image

t i t to

>> Adjusting LAB curves

Getting down to business

Now that you have the Curves ialogcongure, here’s how to apply a curveajustment to an image in LAB color.You shoul start with the L channel.

I spend a lo t o f t ime jus t ddling wi t h LA B cu rves. I t ’s amaz ing wha t you can do wi t h t his ad jus t men t

.




Y ou’ll pr obably want to apply an s-shaped cur ve that looks something

like this to the L channel of a darker imag e

Leftwar-biase histogram

(unerexpose)

Mo ve t h i s po i n t t o

t he le f t , no t do w n

Mo ve t his po int t o t he right , no t u p

T ry t o draw t he cu rv e t o basically f o llo w t he shape o f t he hist o gram

U nc hec k a nd c hec k P re v ie w

t o see w ha t i s ha p pe n i ng. You

s hou ld v i sua l l y ve r i f y t ha t you l i ke t he c ha nge s be i ng ma

de

w i t h t he cu r ve s ad ju s t me n t s

Click o n t he cu rv e line and drag t o shape t he cu rv e. Click t o add po int s. A po int co nst rains t he shape o f t he cu rv e

Sl ig h t l y r ig h t wa rd- b iased

h is t og ram (ove rexposed)

Select “a” f r om the Channel dr op-down list and adjust the

A channel cur ve

Select “b” f rom the Channel

drop-do wn list and adjust

the B channel cur ve

5

Move thispoint to the

left, not down

Move this point tothe right not up

Blue

Yellow

Move thispoint to the

left, not down

Mo v e t his p o int t o the right t

Green

Magenta

∫ I no rmally make t hese st andard, bu t mino r, A

and B channel ad ju st ment s , bu t t hey are no t nearly as ext reme as sho wn here in

t he Cu rves dialo gs4




the right, not upt he r ight , no t u p

Using Threshold to nd light and dark

If you have trouble using the EyeropperTools in the Curves ialog because youcan’t see the lightest an arkest areas

of your image, you can use the Thresholajustment to help. Choose Image►

Ajustment► Threshol. In the Thresholialog, move the slier to the left to n

the arkest area an the right to n thelightest area. Click Cancel when you’reone so the Threshol ajustment isnot applie.

I photographed this

Great Basin Spadef oot f rog in

the palm of an ecologist’s hand at the

Bureau of Land Management of ces in Kanab,

Utah. Collected when he was merel y a tadpole

in a rain puddle in the desert slickrock, this

little gu y was sh y, so I didn’t ha ve much

time to get a good shot.

Compositional sharpening

There are quite a few goo waysto sharpen in Photoshop. You cansharpen in Aobe Camera RAW (ACR),use the Photoshop Smart Sharpen

Filter, or sharpen with tools provie

by thir-parties.However, I prefer to sharpen usingLAB color an the goo ol-fashioneUnsharp Mask lter. My metho is to

apply the Unsharp Mask only to theLightness channel. I believe that thistechnique prouces a more attractive

sharpening effect than any of the othertools available.

But more important than the tool youuse is to be selective about what yousharpen.

I sharpen on a uplicate layer an

paint in the area I want to sharpenusing a layer mask. The point of thiskin of sharpening is compositional.

I’m not sharpening overall for a spe-cic output evice (which also may benecessary epening upon the situa-

tion). Rather, I am sharpening specic

areas to raw the viewer’s attention to

those areas of the image.

For example, consier the image ofthe Point Reyes Lighthouse at night onpages 142 – 143. In that image, I onlysharpene the lighthouse.

different kins of images call forcompositional sharpening of ifferentareas. For example, in portraits Itypically only sharpen the subject’s

eyes. In a photograph of a bee on aower, I may sharpen just the bee annot the ower.

>> Selective sharpening in LAB color

1Conve r t you r image t o LA B colo r if you need to by selecting

2Duplicate the layer you




1 need t o b y selec t ing Image > Mode > La b

Du plicat e t he lay er y o u want t o sharpen (fo r

direct io ns o n ho w t o dot his, t u rn t o page 65)

3In the Channels palette, selectthe L channel, and then click theeyeball in the LAB channel on top

C l ic k he re r s t

C lick her e seco nd

Y o u do n’t want t he A o r B channels select ed

T his is a clo se u p o f t he st ar t rails in t he pho t o o n page 19 8 t hat have no t been sharpened y et

T he h ig he r t he Rad iu s se t t i ng, t he mo re

s ha r pe n i ng. T he lo we r t he T h re s ho ld

se t t i ng, t he s ha r pe r t he i mage.

4W it h t he lay er y o u want t o sharpen select ed in t he Lay ers palet t e, cho o se

Filt ers > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask. In t he Unsharp Mask dialo g, I set t he Radiu s t o 2 .7 and t he Thresho ld t o 9 as my st art ing place. I t hen u se t he Amo u nt slider t o sharpen t he lay er. N o rmally , I set t he Amo u nt bet ween 50% and

120%. Experiment wit h t hese set t ings and nd o u t what wo rks fo r y o u r image




Sharpening with 100% Amount Sharpening with 200% Amount Sharpening with 300% Amount

T his is w ay t o o mu ch sharpening. N o ise lo o ks part icu larly u nat t ract ive w hen it is o ver-sharpened t his mu ch

5A f t e r s ha

rpen ing, add a H ide All la ye r mas k t o

t he la ye r, and t hen pa in t in t he a reas you wan t t o

selec t ivel y s ha rpen

H ere’ s w hat sho w s t




I photog r aphe this 30 minute e x posur e of Half dome in Y osemite V alley , C alif or nia in the mile of the nig ht f r om Glacier Point. W hen I pr ocesse the imag e in the Photoshop ar kr oom, I neee to keep the sof t f eatur es of the lanscape by star lig ht while selectively shar pening the star tr ails.

Aft er y o u are do ne sharpening in LAB, remember t o change

t he co lo r mo de back t o RGB o r CMY K depending o n ho w t he image is go ing t o be u sed

6

o n t he lay er

L a ye r m a s k Onl y t he s t a r t rails in t he s k y have been s ha rpened. I f I had s ha rpened t he

en t i re la ye r, t he noise in t he fo reg round

would have been s ha rpened as well and

t his would be unaccep t a ble—w ho needs

s ha rpened pixela t ed do t s in t heir image?





HIKING ALONG THE RUGGEd outer coast in theMarin Healans in California, I photographe this

wave crashing into a ark shore.



Originally publishe as a color image which youcan see below, when I took a look at the imagerecently, it seeme to have black an whitepotential.

I converte this photograph of a breaking wave

in the Photoshop arkroom using the techniques

explaine on pages 86 – 99.



Adjustment layer: A special kind oflayer that holds information aboutthe changes made to the associated

layer rather than the entire layer’sinformation.

Adobe Camera Raw (ACR): Usedto convert RAW les into les thatPhotoshop can open.

Ambient light: The general backgroundlight in a given situation.

Aperture: The size of the opening in a

camera lens.

Blending mode: Determines how two

layers in Photoshop will combine.

Bracketing: Shooting many exposures ata range of settings. It is more commonto bracket shutter speed than aperture.

Burn: To selectively darken an area in

Dodge: To selectively lighten an area inan image.

DSLR: Digital single lens reex camera.

Equalization: A Photoshop adjustmentthat maximizes the color in a channelor channels.

Gradient: A gradual blend, often usedwhen working with layer masks in

Photoshop.

Hand HDR: The process of creating HDRimages using Photoshop layers andmasking without using automation tocombine the images.

Histogram: A graph that represents

a distribution of values; an exposurehistogram is used to display thedistribution of lights and darks inan image.

selectively reveal or hide layers inPhotoshop.

Multi-RAW Processing: Combining twoor more different versions of the sameRAW le.

Noise: Static in a digital photo that

appears as unexpected, and usuallyunwanted, pixels.

Overexpose: An overexposed photoappears too bright; the exposurehistogram is bunched towards the

right side.

Photo compositing: Combining one or

more photos to create an image thatis often impossible or unreal.

Programmable interval timer: Usedfor a wide variety of tasks especiallyastronomical photography. With the

camera on a Bulb setting the interval

>> Glossary




yan image.

Channel: In Photoshop, a channel isa grayscale representation of color (or

black) information. In RGB color thereare three channels, red, green, and

blue.

Checkpoint: A step in post-processing inwhich good workow requires archiving

a copy prior to continuing work.

Color temperature: The apparent

warmth or coolness of a light source,as indicated in degrees Kelvin.

Compositing: See Photo compositing.

Curve: An adjustment used to makeprecise color corrections.

Depth-of-eld: The distance in frontand behind a subject that is apparentlyin focus.

HDR: High Dynamic Range images

combine multiple captures at bracketedexposures to have greater tonal rangethan conventional photos.

Inversion: A Photoshop adjustment

that inverts the color in a channelor channels.

ISO: Scale used to set a camera’s

sensitivity to light.

LAB color: A color model consisting of

three channels. The L channel containsthe luminance (black and white)information, the A channel containsmagenta and green, and the B channel

holds blue and yellow.

Layer: Photoshop documents arecomprised of layers stacked on topof each other.

Layer mask: Masks are used to

camera on a Bulb setting, the intervaltimer allows you to specify an intervalbefore an exposure starts, the lengthof an exposure, the length of time

between exposures, and the numberof exposures.

“Proper” exposure: A proper exposureis an exposure that is theoreticallycorrect for a given subject based on

overall or average light readings. Witha proper exposure, the histogram isusually a bell-shaped curve in themiddle of the graph. Often compared

with a “creative” exposure, which isused for creative purposes but mayappear too dark or bright in some or all

portions of an image.

RAW: A digital RAW le is a complete

record of the data captured by thesensor. The details of RAW le formatsvary between camera manufacturers.

Shutter Speed: The interval of time forwhich the camera shutter is open.

Similars: Closely related captures fromthe same photo shoot.

Stacking: A process derived fromastronomical imaging that displays the

brightest pixels in a stack of images.

Tonal range: The range of color and

light and dark values in an image.

Underexpose: An underexposedphoto appears too dark; the exposurehistogram is bunched towards the left

side.

White Balance: The color temperatureof the light source of a photo.

Workow: The process that starts witha RAW digital capture and concludeswith a nished and archived image le.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to Katie Rose, our little miracle.

Acknowledgments

S i l th k t A B k i M k B k i M ti D i



205

Case study images

Personally, I would prefer you to try the techniques I explain in The Photoshop

Darkroom on your own photos. However, I know that some folks will like tofollow the steps using the exact images in an example.

If you’re one of these people, you’ll be happy to know that I have made lowresolution versions of the photos used in every case study in The Photoshop

Darkroom available for download.

You can download the images from www.focalpress.com/photoshopdarkroom

Okay. Here’s the legal stuff: These image les have been watermarked andare licensed to you for your use in conjunction with learning the techniques I

explain in The Photoshop Darkroom. I maintain full copyright in these imagesand you are not authorized to use them for any other purpose whatsoever.

Special thanks to Amy Brokering, Mark Brokering, Martin Davis,Valerie Geary, Randall Hake, Mónica Mendoza, Carlin Reagan, and Matt Wagner.

Shutter Speed: The interval of time forwhich the camera shutter is open.

Similars: Closely related captures fromthe same photo shoot.

Stacking: A process derived fromastronomical imaging that displays the

brightest pixels in a stack of images.

Tonal range: The range of color and

light and dark values in an image.

Underexpose: An underexposedphoto appears too dark; the exposurehistogram is bunched towards the left

side.

White Balance: The color temperatureof the light source of a photo.

Workow: The process that starts witha RAW digital capture and concludeswith a nished and archived image le.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to Katie Rose, our little miracle.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Amy Brokering Mark Brokering Martin Davis



205

Case study images

Personally, I would prefer you to try the techniques I explain in The Photoshop

Darkroom on your own photos. However, I know that some folks will like tofollow the steps using the exact images in an example.

If you’re one of these people, you’ll be happy to know that I have made lowresolution versions of the photos used in every case study in The PhotoshopDarkroom available for download.

You can download the images from www.focalpress.com/photoshopdarkroom

Okay. Here’s the legal stuff: These image les have been watermarked andare licensed to you for your use in conjunction with learning the techniques I

explain in The Photoshop Darkroom. I maintain full copyright in these imagesand you are not authorized to use them for any other purpose whatsoever.

Special thanks to Amy Brokering, Mark Brokering, Martin Davis,Valerie Geary, Randall Hake, Mónica Mendoza, Carlin Reagan, and Matt Wagner.

>> Index

A A channel, 153

equalizing, 164, 165inverting, 160

ACR (Adobe Camera RAW),15–25, 27, 30–65adjusting white bal-

ance, 17exposure, adjusting, 18

histograms in, 56–57multi-selecting images,134–135

selecting and processingseveral images in, 110

selecting resolution, 16settings, saving, 23strategy, 44Workflow Options

dialog, 16Adams, Ansel, 12

effect, 88Adjustment layers, 87

adding, 87Black and White, 89–100,

92–99presets, 93–99

versus layers, 96Adj t t

ef fective composition, 92Black and White dialog,

93–99High Contrast Red

preset, 99Infrared preset, 98Maximum Black preset,

93–94, 97Maximum White preset,

95–97, 97

Red Filter preset, 93, 98Black background

inverting an image toappear on, 170–181

shooting on, 68Black box, 10Blacks slider, ACR, 19, 46,

63Blending channels, 153Blending modes, 40, 60,

69, 70–71, 175Difference, 175

Exclusion, 175Multiply, 70–71, 73, 116Normal, 70–71Screen, 62, 66, 72, 90,

99Soft Light, 70–71, 163,

blending, 153making visible, 155selecting, 155

before draggingimage, 159

viewing, 38Channels palette, 38, 51,

155selecting

all channels, 157A channel, 165B channel, 166L channel, 158

showing CMYK, 155showing LAB, 154, 155showing RGB, 155

Checkpoints, 25, 55CMYK, 150, 153Color

adjustments, 17, 20, 33and maximizing contrast,

162

gamut, LAB, 153spectrometer, 20temperature, 17, 20, 33

and your camera, 21daylight, 63of light, 20

DDarkening, selective, 73Desaturate adjustment, 86Difference blending mode,

175Digital Asset Management

(DAM), 24–27DNG file format, 12Dodge Tool, 66, 72

Dodging, 72–73Duplicatingan image, 156layers, 65, 140

Dynamic rangeextending, 39, 110full, 108

EEqualizations and inver-

sions compared, 168–169Equalize adjustment,

explained, 162Equalizing

A channel, 164–165B channel, 166–167L channel, 162–163

Exclusion blending mode,

Glowing Edges, 182Lighting Effects, 182Liquify, 182Neon Glow, 182Unsharp Mask, 182, 199

NIK, 182Flatbed scanner, 10Flattening layers, 54, 92Flickr, 21Foreground color, 50, 126

GGradient, 27, 30, 37–39,

39, 114Gradient Tool, 38, 114

drawing on layer mask,114

Grayscale, 86

HHand HDR, 68, 106–119

compared to automatedHDR, 117

keeping the f-stopconstant, 68

HDR (High Dynamic Range),106, 109id ll l k




AdjustmentsInvert, 96LAB channel, 154

Adobe Bridge, 15, 27, 89Adobe Camera RAW.See ACR

Adobe RGB, 13

Archiving digital files, 24“As Shot” exposure, 19,

45, 57

BBackground

color, 50layer, 34–35, 40, 44, 112

B channel, 153equalizing, 166, 167inverting, 161

Black and white, 84–103

adjustment layers, 86,89–100, 92–99presets, 93–99

conversion, 203color information, 86previsualization, 86techniques, 86with Channel Mixer,

86–88

g , 7 7 , 3,176

Bracketing exposures, 106,109

Brightening, selective, 72Brightness slider, ACR, 19,

46Brush Tool, 42, 44, 46, 48–

49, 64, 67, 72–73, 96,126, 140Diameter, 48, 73Flow, 48Hardness, 48Opacity, 48painting on layer mask,

50–53, 126, 126–127Preset Picker, 49setting cursor shape, 49settings, 49, 81, 96

Burning, 72–73, 176

Burn Tool, 66, 72

CCamera, 10–11

Black & White mode, 84Card reader, 14–24Channel Mixer, 86, 86–88

RGB sliders, 87Channels, 150

of light, 20Composite image, 39Compositing, 120–131

and color values, 122an image with itself, 130photo, 120–131

Compositional sharpening,198–201

Contrast slider, ACR, 33Converting to black and

white, 84–102, 203Converting to LAB, 154Convert to Profile, 154Converting to RGB from

LAB, 175Copying a layer, 47Copyright in Photoshop, 26CR2 file, 12Cropping, 55Crop Tool, 55

CRW file, 12Curves, 194–197

adjustment in LAB,194–197

dialog, 194–195s-shaped curve in, 196setting up, 195

using to improveimages, 194

175Experimenting, 40Exposure

“As Shot” in ACR, 19,45, 57

histogram, 13tproper, 116, 118

Exposuresbracketing, 106, 109combining, 108multiple, 106

Exposure slider, ACR, 17, 18,46, 63

Extending dynamic range,110

Eyedropper Tool, 194

FF-stop, 18

Filesarchiving, 27organizing, 24saving logically, 24

Fill layers, painting with,178

Fill Light slider, ACR, 19, 63Filters

Photoshop, 182

Hide All layer mask, 36, 37,53, 64, 65, 140, 180

High Dynamic Range (HDR),106, 109automated processing,

117Histograms, 19, 45, 56–57,

63exposure, 13in ACR, 19, 56–57scanner, 11

History palette, 55

IImage

composite, 39copyrighting, 26editing, non-destruc-

tive, 25

files, managing, 25opening in Photoshop, 23protecting, 26

Input devices, 10–11Interval timer, 144Inversions, 157

and equalizationscompared, 168–169

definition, 156

Invert adjustment, 96Inverting

A channel, 160all LAB channels, 157B channel, 161color image, to appear

on black background,170–181

L channel, 158, 184–185

J JPEG file format, 12

LLAB, 150, 153

channel adjustments, 154channels as a palette,

172–173color gamut, 153converting to, 154defined, 153inversion, using for

lightening, 174painting with, 158selective sharpening in,

198–201using, 150–180

i dj t t

fill, 178flattening, 54, 92merging, 54, 92strategies and tactics, 100versus adjustment

layers, 96Layers palette, 35, 38, 46,

54, 64, 65, 112setting opacity, 123

L (Lightness) channel, 153equalizing, 162, 163inverting, 158, 184–185

Lightbox, 41photographing on, 118,

188Lights and darks, exagger-

ating, 90–91Long exposures, segment-

ing, 134Luminosity, adjusting, 189

MMan Ray, 120Mask. See Layer maskMemory card, 10Merging layers, 54, 92Modes. See Blending

modes

Photoshop, 78removing unsharpens, 74selectively processing,

79–81, 83working with, 74

Noise Ninja, 78–81Filter tab, 80Profile tab, 79

Normal blending mode,70–71

OOpacity

setting using Layerspalette, 123

slider, 123Options Bar, 37, 49, 55, 179Overexposure, 56, 116, 118

intentional, 41

PPaint Bucket Tool, 86, 179Painting, 64, 67

details, 52–53, 67digital, 186edges, 51hidden layer, on, 50hi hli ht

Post-processingremoving noise, 78–81strategies, 62

Processing, next steps, 58Programmable interval

timer, 144Proper exposure, 116, 118PSD file format, 12, 25, 34

RRAID 5, network attachedstorage, 27

RAW, 12–13, 27capture, 12–13exposure range, 18file, 12–13, 15–25original, 25photo, converting, 14–24

Reduce Noise filter, 79Resizing a layer, 124–125Reveal All layer mask, 36,

37, 88, 94, 126

RGB, 150, 153Rotating a layer, 124–125

SSaturation slider, ACR, 17,

6

Statistics, Photoshop script,133, 134using, 137–138

Strategieslayers, and, 100post-processing, and, 62

T Tablet, 48

Temperature, color, 45Temperature slider, ACR, 17,

20, 33, 44, 45, 46, 63Threshold adjustment, 197TIFF file format, 12, 25Tint slider, ACR, 17, 22, 33,

44, 45, 63Tonal range, expanding, 30,

84, 90–91in black and white, 84

Toolbox, 37, 48, 50Transforming a layer,

124–125Transparency

creating apparent, 118,178

photographing for, 41



207

using curves adjustments,194–197

using with landscapes,192–193

working creatively with,154

LAB color. See LAB

Layer mask, 27, 30, 36, 44,46, 50–53, 72adding, 36, 65, 113creating with L

channel, 189drawing a gradient on,

114Hide All (black), 36, 37,

53, 64, 65, 140, 180painting on, 50–53, 64Reveal All (white), 36, 37,

88, 94, 126

selecting, 37thumbnail, 51understanding, 37

Layer stack, 100, 116Layers, 30, 34–35

aligning, 35Background, 34–35copying, 47duplicating, 65

modesMouse versus tablet, 48Move Tool, 35, 113, 123Multi-B&W processing, 92Multi-RAW processing, 19,

22, 27, 30–65, 89–91combining two processed

versions, 32–39compared to Hand HDR,

109planning, 40portraits, 58

Multiple exposures, 106Multiply blending mode,

70–71, 73, 116

NNEF file, 12Network attached

storage, 27Neutral gray card, 21NIK filters, 182NIK Silver Efex Pro, 86Noise, 74–81

causes, 76good, 74, 76in-camera reduction, 76processing tools and

highlights, 53layer mask, on, 50–53,

64selective, 171to expand tonal range,

90–91using fill layers, 178

using LAB channels, 158,172–173

Photo compositing, 120–131Photo files, managing, 25Photographing

for Photoshop darkroom,104

on black background, 68on lightbox, 118

Photomatix, 117Photos

combining two different,

122, 122–129marking as copyright-

ed, 26opening in Photoshop, 23protecting, 26planning, multi-RAW

processing, 40, 44Polaris, centering for

maximum star trails, 146

22, 33, 63Scaling a layer, 124–125Scanners, 10–11

bit-depth, 11using in Photoshop, 11

Screen blending mode, 62,66, 70–71, 72, 90, 99

Selectivepainting, 171sharpening, 139, 140,

198–201Sharpening

compositional, 198–201selective, 139, 140,

198–201Smart object, 138Soft Light blending mode,

70–71, 163, 176with L channel equaliza-

tion, 163sRGB, 13Stacked composite, 141Stacking, 133–147

software, 133, 134Star trails, 133–147

selectively sharpening,198–201

shooting a stack, 144

UUelsmann, Jerry, 120Underexposure, 45, 56Unsharp Mask filter, 199

V

Versioning, digital files, 24Vibrance slider, ACR, 22,

33, 63

WWeasley, Arthur, 96White balance, 20, 21, 63

adjusting with Tempera-ture slider, 20

and your camera, 20preset, ACR, 22setting, auto, 20

White Balance Tool, ACR, 21Workflow, 24, 46

X XMP file, 17, 25

ZZoom Tool, 127

Index

Documents

The Photoshop Darkroom Creative Digital Post-Processing.pdf