I need that POP!

[BellaAz]

Im trying to find a easy way in photoshop to make my photos crisp and POP! Any ideas ......here is a pic Im working with for example......

[Trader]

Do you mean something like this?



All I did was add a High Pass Filter in Photoshop. You can see that made her hair a little too dark but you can go back and lighten that up with some tweaking.

Steps: Copy the background layer. Turn off the copy. On the original layer, go to Filter > Other > High Pass .... I chose 75%. Go back to the copied layer and change it's mode to Overlay. Turn the layer back on. That's it. Hope that helps.

[private]

Duplicate layer, gaucian blur (3pxl) set to soft light flatten image

[BellaAz]

great thank you! I like both! I tried to do that blur thing and it didnt work well for me!

Are there any other quick PS tips to inhance photos....with out knowing it all that well?? I'm teaching myself and it isn't going all that great!!

[private]

what softweare are you using. But you HAVE to duplicate the layer in order for it to work?

[PrimeTime]

I'm using gimp right now, but most things can be transferred over to photoshop. Here is the 3 things i use most , processing a pic.

First is the curves tool. The top part of line is the highlights------center is mid tones-----bottom is shadows and dark areas. Most pictures you just make a S shape with the line, but not that severe. Just a flattened out s shape. Your picture with using the curves tool (took about 30 seconds to do)

Second is a contrast layer mask. This is a little more involved, but gives excellent results. What it does is similar to overlaying mode like the others sugested. The thing with overlaying, is it makes everything darker. The layer mask makes the darks lighter and the lights darker, giving a more ballanced picture. Start by duplicating layer twice (you have 3 layers) Click on top layer ---click on colors- desaturate---colors---invert---filters---gaussian blurr(set to about 330)----turn opacity slider down to about 85%(it will very from pic to pic, but 85 will be close)---set mode to soft light-----layer merge down---set opacity slider to where you like the colors ----image flatten Here is your image with the curves tool and the contrast layer mask.



Third i sharpen using edge detect and unsharp mask

copy layer----add layer mask- make shure you are clicked on the mask--blurr---edge detect---edge---colors--curves tool ( make a good s curve to make darks darker and whites whiter ---view the mask and you can control what is getting sharpened ----anything in white will get sharpened)----blurr---gaussian blurr (about 9 to 12%)---click on picture to left of mask--filters---blurr--unsharp mask set to 1.0 250 0.0----use opacity slider to adjust to a level you like. Here is your pic with all three steps



Hope this helps

[Snowdust]

Originally Posted by private

Duplicate layer, gaucian blur (3pxl) set to soft light flatten image

What type of image have you found this works best on? It does seem to pop the colors, but I find it comprises detail and demension. For the same pop, I find other ways don't do that.

[Kewish]

Download either Portrait Pop or Landscape Pop Photoshop Actions from the link below.

Photoshop Free Actions

You'll find some wonderful stuff there!!!

Good luck.

[chalkie7]

Originally Posted by Kewish

Download either Portrait Pop or Landscape Pop Photoshop Actions from the link below.

Photoshop Free Actions

You'll find some wonderful stuff there!!!

Good luck.

I for one appreciate this link...looks very interesting and I'll definitely be having a play!

[Evan Taylor]

Ah don't use actions! They mearly destroy pixels. Play with adjustments such as Levels and the Contrast. These will boost your image quality quite a bit. If you are using the image for the web only then resize it to 800x600 pixels and a resolution of 96. Then flatten the image. Then go to Filter>Sharpen>Unsharpen Mask. Adjust the 'amount' to somewhere between 80-120, keep the radius at 1.0 and Threshold at 4. This step will really make your image "POP". If you want it for print then don't resize. Flatten your image. Then go to Filter>Sharpen> Smart Sharpen. Hope this helps.