Photoshop Basics

[bdbolin]

Hey, I've started writing a photoshop book - right from the beginning

I know a lot of people don't know much about photoshop, so I thought I'd post a link here.
Photoshop Day One | Red Pixel Media

[brandywine9699]

I haven't had a chance to look at it yet but I did download it. Thank you in advance for sharing your knowledge!

[kencaleno]

Here's my recipes for Photoshop:

Photoshop Recipes:



1- Noise Control -(Chroma-colour noise)


- Image> Mode> LAB Colour> Channels
Channel “a” Gaussian blur 5 pixels
Channel “b” Gaussian blur 5 pixels
Channel “lightness” Filter> noise> despeckle
Image> Mode> RGB colour

2-Noise Control -(Luma -Grainy noise)

-lasso area and apply smart blur at default setting (For small areas)
-Or Ctrl+J
-Smart blur-Then eraser tool to expose background features


3- Lateral chromatic aberration (fringing) Removal

Ctrl+J select brush tool and click on the quick mask tool.
Choose a brush size to match the width of the fringe.
Draw all the areas that have fringing. When done, click icon next to quick mask
Select> Inverse.
Image> Adjustments> Hue/Saturation and pick the color closest to your fringe color Click eyedropper on the fringe color on your image.
drag Saturation slider to the left until the fringing goes.
Select> deselect
Save

4- Quick method for fringe elimination

Using lasso tool select area with fringing
Image> adjustments> Hue/Saturation
De saturate fringe color
Select> Deselect
save

5- Transverse chromatic aberration (Moire banding) Elimination

- Filters/blur/Gaussian Blur at 1.5 pixels radius

6-HDR

(Camera on tripod
Expose for highlights-take a shot
Expose for shadows-take a shot
Add highlight image to shadow image as a new layer (hold “shift” and drag move tool)
Select> Color Range, Click “highlights” check “invert”, click “OK”
Add layer mask.
Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur 250 pixels.
Flatten and save.


7- Local Contrast Enhancement (Defog)

Ctrl+J
Filter> sharpen> Unsharp Mask
Amount 10
Radius 50 pixels
Threshold 0
Flatten and save


8-“Pop”

Ctrl+J
Filter> Sharpen> Unsharp mask
Amount 30
Radius 60 pixels
Threshold 10
Blend mode> Luminosity- Flatten

9- To sharpen - Smart sharpen

Ctrl+J
Unsharp mask amount 18%
Radius 40 pxls
Threshold 0
Unsharp mask amount 150%
Radius 0.3 pxls
Threshold 0
Edit> fade Unsharp mask 100% Darken
Unsharp mask amount 150%
Radius 0.3 pxls
Threshold 0
Edit> fade Unsharp mask 50% Lighten


10- Smart sharpen ( Alternative)

Ctrl+J
Select> All> Edit> Copy
Channels> New channel (alpha 1)> Edit> paste
Filter> Stylize> Find edges
Ctrl+L move sliders for clean edges
Filters> Blur Gaussian blur1.5 pixels
Select> Load selection-Check “invert” click “ok”
Select RGB channel
View> Show> “selection edges” uncheck
Filter> Sharpen> Unsharp mask- Amount 500
Radius 0.2
Threshold 0
3

Select> deselect> dump alpha channel
Blend mode “luminosity”
Ctrl+shift+E




11- To lighten under-exposed images

Ctrl+J
Blend mode Screen
Adjust opacity to suit before flattening/save


12- To darken over-exposed images

Ctrl+J
Blend mode Multiply
Adjust opacity to suit before flattening/save

13- To Vignette portrait images

Create an ellipse around subject, using elliptical Marquee tool
Select> Inverse
Feather radius 250 pixels
Edit> Cut

14- To reduce skin redness in portraits

Add new adjustment layer> selective color
Set to Reds
Click, hold drag magenta slider to left

15-To smooth skin in portraits

Ctrl+J
Click on quick mask
Brush tool 35 soft
Press ”D” Paint face except for eyes, eyebrows and nostrils, and lips
(If you go over the edges, press X and erase, then x again to continue…)
Press “Q
Select “inverse”
Select> feather 10 pixels
Filters> Blur> Gaussian Blur 3 pixels
Filter> Noise> Add noise 2.5%
“uniformed” and “monochrome” checked
Flatten/save

16-Polarizer

1.Ctrl+J
2. Window> Channels
3. Red Channel
4. Ctrl+A; Ctrl+C
5. Lab Colour (Don’t Flatten)
6. Channel> Lightness
7. Ctrl+V
8. Image> Mode> RGB (Don’t Flatten)
4

9. Select top layer- Layer> Layer mask Reveal All
10. Click on layer mask thumbnail
11. Image> Apply Image
12. Layer-background; channel red; “Invert” Ticked Blending-Multiply-opacity 100% Flatten and save.




17-Polarizer (Alternative)

1. Ctrl+J
2. Mode> soft light-click “OK”
3. Press ”D”
4. Press ”G” for gradient tool - Select Black to transparent Linear gradient
5. Mouse cursor at top of image, click-hold-drag down to horizon-release
6. Click on background layer; Click, hold on b/w circle
7. Choose selective colour Cyan/magenta 100/100 (Cyans)
Cyan/magenta 100/100 (Blues)

8.Flatten and save



18-Graduated Neutral Density Filter effect

Add adjustment layer> levels
Drag right slider to left
Drag middle slider to left (These moves enable you to get the ground or sea how you want it)
Press “D” or "X" to make foreground color black
Press “G” for gradient
Choose linear gradient -black to transparent-2nd icon from left
Drag cursor from top of image down to horizon
flatten/save

19- Black & White conversion from colour

Ctrl+J
Image> Calculations
Background layer
Red
Background Layer
Red
Multiply
New channel
Image> Mode> Greyscale
flatten/save

Ken Part two to follow......

[kencaleno]

My Photoshop recipes-part two:

20- To black & White Quadtone

Ctrl+J
Image> Mode> Duotone
Choose type: Quadtone
Load> quadtones> pantones
Select last option Bl 541 513 5773. Hit LOAD. Hit OK.
Image> Mode> RGB Color
Flatten/save

5

21- To convert to Black & White then selectively colourize

New adjustment layer> Hue/Saturation
De-saturate
F7 (or click on layer mask)
Press ”D”
Click on brush tool
Brush over parts to colourize
Flatten/Save

22-To Isolate Objects against a white background:

First,Photograph your object using any background, Then:

a) Zoom in 200-300%.
b) Use the pen selection tool to chart an exact path around the object.
Get it perfect.
c) Click on working path Icon in paths palette
d) Select> Modify> Contract by 2 pixels.
e) Select> modify> Smooth by 3-5 pixels.
f) Select> Inverse-.
g) Select> Feather by 0.2 - 0.5 pixels.
h) Make sure foreground black/background white - Press Delete.
You now have isolated object on white background.

23-To Correct Converging verticals

"Select > All"
"View > Fit on Screen"
"View > Show > Grid" .
"Edit > Transform > Perspective"
Eight small squares will appear around the image edges.
Using the Left mouse button select the small square
at the top left or right corner and drag in the opposite
direction to the way the verticals are tilting.


24-Sepia/color

1 duplicate layer,
2. then select background copy layer and select background layer invisible
3. select layer and go
image -> adjustments -> Match color...
4. then set luminance to 200 and color intensity to 1
5. then select background layer to visible and take the eraser tool
6 on "background copy" layer start delete the all what you want in real colors

For landscapes

25-Step one- To bring out detail 1.

Ctrl+J
2. filter> other> high pass 1.7 pixels
3. Change blend mode to "hard light"
4. Ctrl+Shift+N
5. Edit> Fill - black 100%
6. Click on eraser tool-set brush size 300
7. Click once in centre of blacked-out image
6


8. change blend mode to "soft light" Adjust opacity to suit
9. Flatten and save

26-Step two- To enhance colors: 1.

Ctrl+J
2. Image> adjustments> Match Color
Luminance 119
Color intensity 126
3. Flatten/save


27- Soft light portrait

Press ctrl+j to duplicate the layer and press shift +control +u to de-saturate the new layer.
Click on Add layer mask button
Click on layer mask thumbnail to active it and go to Image> Apply image :-
Layer- merged
RGB
Multiply
100%
Now, click on image thumbnail to active it. ( It is located just before the layer mask thumbnail ). Now do two things :-
1. Go to filter> Blur> Gaussian blur and give 2.5 radius.
2. Change the blending mode of the layer to Multiply.
Duplicate this layer again and change its blending mode to Linear dodge. You now have soft light effect on your image. If you want more light than change the blending mode to Color Dodge.

28-Infra-red Effect

1. Ctrl+j
2. New adjustment layer-Channel mixer
Check "monochrome"
3. Set Red to +100
Green to +200
Blue to -200
Set constant to between 27 and 32
Click “ok”
Flatten and save.

29-Faux F1.8 D.O.F.

1. Ctrl+J ; Add a layer mask-Using Pen tool, draw a path around subject, Edit> fill Black 100%
2. Selection> save selection, save to new channel
3. Select gradient tool, black to white, linear
4. From the area you want in focus, draw a line vertically downwards (1/3 in front;
5. Using gradient tool again, layer mode Screen, drawing a line upwards 2/3ds behind)
6. Channels-click on saved mask Ctrl+ click-select gradient mask, mask only
7. Set background color to black. Ctrl+ backspace
8. Click on original duplicated layer with its mask-name it “Gaussian Blur”
9. Now select image-not mask.-Lock Transparency. click little chequerboard, at top of layer palette
10. Filter> Blur> Gaussian blur 40-50 pixels
11. Repeat step 8,but name layer “Lens Blur”-Filter> blur> lens blur, and in the dialogue box:
12. “faster”, depth map source “layer mask” Blur focal distance-adjust to suit
13. Set iris shape to number of diaphragm blades of your lens. Radius 100%
7

14. Don’t play with “blade curvature or rotation” Brightness 2;Threshold 180
15. Click Ok-Flatten and save

30-Red eye Reduction

Double click Quick mask icon
Change masking color to green-opacity 60%
Paint mask over eyes
Click icon next to Quick mask
Select> Inverse
Image> adjustments> Desaturate
Add new adjustment layer-Levels
Move both input sliders towards the centre of the range until you are satisfied.
Layers> Flatten image

31-To Whiten Teeth

Ctrl+j
Select quick mask icon
Select brush tool 13 pixels soft
Brush over teeth
Click icon next to quick mask
Select> Inverse
Image> adjustments> Hue/Saturation -60
Add new adjustment layer-Levels
Click and drag right slider to left until whiteness looks good
Flatten and save

32-To “POP”Color Using Lab mode

Here's how to "pop" the color using LAB (Lightness-Alpha-Beta; Not"Lab") color.

Image>mode>Lab color

Ctrl+ M -This brings up a grid-by holding the "Alt" button and clicking on the grid,you will get either large or small squares

Press "alt" and click on diagram to get small squares.

Selecting Channel "a",Hold and drag cursor a short distance ( about one and a half squares-right to left) along top right corner of grid,and do the same to bottom left corner(left to right). Channel "a" allows to to fine tune reds and greens. Just adjust until the color is good for you.

Repeat the exercise using channel "b"-this fine tunes the blues and yellows.

When you have got it how you want: Click "OK"

Image>Mode>RGB color




33-To Emulate Kodak Tri-X 35mm Black & White film

1. Desaturate color
Use either the hue/saturation or desaturate command to remove all color from the image. This will turn the digital image to black-and-white.
2. Add monochrome noise
The amount of noise you add is up to you, but I would suggest adding enough so that you can just start to detect it.
Be sure to use the "monochrome" option, otherwise the film grain will have random color.
3. Adjust levels
Although optional, this step can really add to the mood of the shot. Experiment using the adjust levels command to change the brightness and contrast of the image. Remember that each image is unique, and the best way to find the best level settings is to experiment.
Bleach Highlights
move the highlight slider to the left - this will start to cause the highlights to overexpose
Deepen Shadows
move the shadow slider a very small amount to the right - this will make the shadows a bit darker and increase the image contrast. Be careful not to overdo it, ideally you should barely be able to detect some grain in the black areas.
Adjust Midtones
adjust the midtone slider to taste - moving the midtone slider affects the overall brightness of the image.



34-To Emulate Fuji Velvia slide film

1. increase color saturation (optional)

To further exaggerate the color, increase the saturation by a few percent. This is optional as you will already see stronger color from step 1.

2. Sharpen (optional)

3. add monochrome noise (optional)
If you choose to add noise/film grain, try the "monochrome" noise option. In my opinion, this monochrome noise looks similar to the nice grain structure of some slide films.

4. adjust brightness/contrast
Increase the image contrast by a small amount - experiment with moving the brightness - also a slight amount. There is no perfect formula, trust your eye! You will see the colors already start to get more vivid with the slight increase in contrast.

Regards, Ken

[Marija]

@ bdbolin I've red your book. Thanks!
@ kencaleno I've saved your recipes. They will be great for my learning! Thanks!

[louraine]

thank you sir, I learned something from your notes..

hugz and kisses

[LeeR]

Thanks, Ken, some of these are new to me and I can't wait to give your recipes a try.

One of the problems in Photoshop is that you can start at almost any point and spend the rest of your life mastering that section. That makes PS a very powerful program, but it also presents a formidable learning curve. Having a few "recipes" as you have presented should help anyone get a good start and then pursue the areas of most interest on their own.

[wannabephotographer]

Ken - nice summary.

[Beccah]

Originally Posted by bdbolin

Hey, I've started writing a photoshop book - right from the beginning

I know a lot of people don't know much about photoshop, so I thought I'd post a link here.
Photoshop Day One | Red Pixel Media

Brilliant, thanks! I've downloaded and had a quick look through, and it looks easy to understand and really helpful. Thank you very much for writing this.

[bdbolin]

Thank's for the comments. At the moment it's really only an understanding on the individual tools instead of editing techniques. It's a great reference for tool shortcut's and such.