In today’s episode we turn a portrait into a wonderful work of art using Photoshop custom Brushes, various Filters, and mixing blending modes. The first and most important step is to start with a photograph you love because this tutorial is a bit more in-Depth than a few in the past. The reason I decided to post this tutorial is because of a recent job I used these techniques for. It was a lot of work, a lot of fun, and a lot of phlearning. You can use this processing technique as we do in today’s episode, or apply it to your own images such as Graphics and Action shots. This can be used in a way to spice up a portrait that needs that extra kick.
In this tutorial we will cover how to enlarge your eyes. There are a couple of important things to keep in mind when doing this. The first is that you don’t want to distort the pupil because if done improperly it’s an unrealistic indicator. The second is to keep a natural Proportion of the eyelids so the eyes don’t look out of place. Using liquify we shape the eyes correctly, and also enlarge the iris’ to the same degree using the Transform dialog.
Today we decided to change it up a bit by doing an impromptu photo shoot. It’s important to try to keep the photography juices flowing so you’re excited to work in Photoshop every day. We decided to attempt a shoot Style like that of Lady Gaga’s single releases (all Black & White with basic Text placement).
Building upon what we discussed on Monday, today we will actually Composite an image that one of you chose! First, we start off by picking the best photo from the submissions. It seems like that largest struggle in the submissions was matching the lighting to the photograph we took. Although it is possible to change Light direction in a photograph it is very hard and time consuming. One of the biggest challenges after applying the new Background was making the grass line look realistic. In order to complete that task we create a new custom Brush from existing grass shapes, which is then used to define a Layer Mask.
Y’all asked to add an animal into the image, and to make things even a bit more difficult we decided to add a cat into the foreground. First, we found an image of a cat that works for the photograph. You can take your own image as long as you remember to Light it all the same. We made a selection around the cat using the Magic Wand Tool, and with the Outline selected all we have to do is fill in the middle to make a quick, easy, and perfect selection. In order to make the cat seem natural we then use a combination of Levels, Hue, and Saturation to make sure we get the Color right. And we use a few special techniques to check the values of each. And finally a custom Brush with the Clone Stamp tool to add more grass in front of the cat.
Today we are covering what you should do when you FIRST open an image in Photoshop. These are things I have learned, and I would love to hear what you have learned helps you. We start off by putting the image into Black and White. Doing this strips a lot of visual Distraction from the image, and allows you to focus on form & tone. It becomes a lot easier to see what is right and wrong with your image.
Today we cover why some things are best saved for the END of an edit. Throughout my history of learning Photoshop and Photography, I have a tendency to rush things. With editing, this can really hurt good process. There are things that need to be done first and things that need to be done last in order for everything to come out right. Experience is the best teacher, and I am sharing mine. Doing things the wrong way around is like putting frosting on a cake before you put it in the oven. Not gonna work.
Your memories are important, and deserve to be displayed as best they can. Many people find older photos in boxes, albums, shoes, and they are torn, or folded. These things happen, don’t feel bad, just learn how to repair the damage on Phlearn. In Part 1 we are covering how to repair the border of the photo, and some great ways to blend layers together. Part 2 will focus on the Photo itself, and in Part 3 we are taking this photo and using it to make another photo look aged.
Often times finding Textures on the internet will mean that they come with a few restrictions. The biggest restriction is often resolution. Very few textures are at a high enough resolution to fit on a full Size image without being scaled up. Scaling a photo up too far can really take away a lot of the details that make textures nice in the first place. The second restriction is copyright. If you do not own the texture you place over your image, you can get in trouble legally, and that is not a place we want to be in. Be sure to credit the person who provided the Texture if you do choose to use one you have found online.
Philippe and I are proud to bring you the first ever Portfolio Critique on Phlearn. Philippe contacted me a couple of weeks ago with the same issue that many of us Face. People around you tell you that you are doing great, but you know you can do better. You just don’t know how. The purpose of this critique is to help the phamily learn to see what it takes to improve, and how to succeed in business and photography.
Have you ever tried to take a picture of someone and they gave you a fake smile that looked HORRIBLE on camera? Maybe you can’t figure out why you always look fake in photos. Today’s episode is perfect for YOU. I will teach you how to fake a real smile, and give you some AMAZING tips on how to get your subjects to get more comfortable in front of the camera, and smile for REAL.
Combining multiple Exposures is a great way to get unique images. This can be done with traditional film, by partially exposing 2 photos onto the same piece of film. Some modern Nikon digital cameras also allow you to do this in camera. We are making a similar effect in Photoshop, which will give you a bit more control over how everything turns out. It also gives you the ability to combine images that were taken years apart.
The right one for the job of course. Knowing what that is can be a headache however. Today we are going through the rest of the Adjustment Layers, and showing you which ones should be used in what circumstances. You will be able to make your images much better in less time by knowing the right layer to grab.
Hues are much like Saturation in that they can completely change the look and feel of a photo. It’s easy to leave the Colors the way they were shot, but here we show you how to use them in a way that will help your work. Hue has the power to change the emotional feel of an image as well as make something stand out from its Background.
Studium is the element that initially gets your attention. It can be Colors, a cool Background, a pose, really anything. But the punctum is what Roland describes as the thing that “pricks or bruises.” It’s that rare detail that makes the viewer feel something and pushes the photo even further. The punctum can be an object or expression on someone’s Face, something you wouldn’t naturally expect that makes the image more effective.
In today’s episode see a cool way to add different tones into your image with a couple easy steps using Duotone. The colors in these Presets determine what your Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights will look like. You can also choose your own Color palette, and combine the layers using different Blend Mode and Opacity combinations.
There are a lot of options to check when you are editing your images. Choosing the right ones will make sure your images will look great no matter where they are viewed. In this episode we cover 16bit vs 8bit and colorspace. These may sound boring, but they do make a big Difference in your final image.
Chimping is when you don’t use a Light meter but determine exposure based on what the image looks like on the LCD. This isn’t the best way to shoot because its so difficult to tell exactly. Checking your Histogram will help you get the best results without using a Light meter. This chart shows how much detail you are getting in the light and dark areas, see how to read it accurately to make sure you’re getting the right Exposure.
The best way to avoid what looks like stretched Faces is by shooting with the right lens. However it’s also possible to fix this problem in post, here we show you how to correct the portrait we shot yesterday with a 16-35mm lens. A longer focal length flattens out a person’s Face, while one that is too to short bows it out. There are programs out there that will help, here we show you how to fix it using a corrective Filter.
In this episode we show you how using a bigger, higher power fill Light will help fill in detail when taking photos of someone with brown Skin tones. It’s always better to add Contrast and Darken your Shadows in Photoshop so you don’t lose information in the Shadows. This way you can be sure you’re getting the best Exposure since Light Colors reflect light and dark Colors absorb it.
This image was shot for a campaign to raise awareness for STDs and encourage people to get tested. A friendly reminder that some trash can’t be taken out but remains with you. The final photo is a Composite of Sarah and each head, all photographed separately and put together in Photoshop. We wanted to make an image that is glamorous but also a little twisted, using lots of detail and dramatic lighting.
From Colors to Adjusting Shadows and Highlights Curves basically allow you to change the information on your Histogram, altering how an image looks. When used simply, you can make an image brighter or darker, or add some Color. Today we are going into a little more Depth with Curves, showing how to adjust Highlights and Shadows separately and how to use the different Color Channels!
In this episode I cover the best ways to Sharpen your images for the Web using the Unsharp Mask and High Pass Filter in different Blend Modes. These effects can also be used to Soften an image creating a focal point. The best way to know how much or little to add depends on the resolution, so its always a good idea to edit them based on the Size they will be viewed later.
The biggest reason to shoot in RAW is the amount of control it gives you in post since it captures so much more information. This means it’s much easier to fix Color and Exposure problems. I convert all my images in as DNG file to save space, and edit the RAW file before I open it in Photoshop. Sometimes these small changes are all you need to do to an image, and the settings you use can be synced with your other photos as well.
Our focus for this photo was to edit it using a high fashion, slightly desaturated look as a reference. This episode is the first in a 3 part series where I take you through every detail; from Retouching to overall Color effects. In this segment I’ll cover how to Lighten Shadows, Skin Retouching, and start on some Color effects and brightening the eyes.
Today I’ll finish it up by editing the Colors using Adjustment Layers, Blend Modes, and gradients.Building these effects slowly with many different layers will give you the chance to go back and make subtle changes later, and help achieve a softer look. Also see how to add in Linear gradients, then crop and Sharpen the image to complete it for the Web.
Today Roxanne and I will show you how to take a good portrait, especially for a profile picture, using a standard lamp from Ikea. The Light on your Face can make your features look great or awful depending on where you position your Light source. The Distance you are from your camera and Depth of field can also really help you out.
In today’s episode I’ll edit two different photos by showing you a few tips to make your photo amazing. Each image has a few issues that could be improved, and we can fix this by tweaking our settings without having to even open it up in photoshop. Editing in Lightroom is a quick easy way to fix Exposure, Color, and white balance issues with your handsome Face.
In episode 66 I covered my Workflow with Skin, and today we’ll move on to the Hair. We had an amazing hairstylist for this shoot, and so all we need to fix are the strands that fell out of place and brighten up a few spots. The best way I’ve found to do this is with the Clone Stamp tool and adding some Variation with the Brush Tool.
Sometimes it’s easy to edit an image to 90% and feel that it is complete, only to wish later that you had tweaked it just a little further. In today’s episode I’ll finish up by showing you the last steps you can take to push a photo from good to great using sharpening, vignetting, and Color Balance techniques.
Opacity and fill both have very different effects on a layer, but you have to do something special in order to see what that Difference is. You will only see the effects of using fill if you have activated some layer FX, such as Drop Shadow or Bevel And Emboss. When using these layer FX, dropping the fill will make what ever is actually on the layer lower in visibility, while leaving the FX just as they were. Opacity is the master switch, and will bring the visibility of everything up or down!
See how to add a watermark to your images using Lightroom and which preferences are best for using it on the Web. I didn’t use Photoshop for this because I wasn’t able to create an Action that would determine the Size of my image and place it accordingly, if you know a solution tell me! Lightroom will also apply that same watermark to many images simply by setting a preference, which makes it much more convenient.
Today I’m editing Zach’s image for a sock company, and because this image will be used to advertise the socks and not the bike he wants to get rid of all the Logos. See the best ways to select, paint, and mask out certain areas of an image and add detail back in. There are a few different Logos we need to get rid of so we’ll use a combination of methods to get the same result.
Today is all about the new blur effects in CS6. This is the thing I am MOST excited about since you can now have much more control over faking Depth of field without purchasing a plugin. There are 3 different effects to choose from- Iris, Field, and Tilt Shift. These are much more helpful than masking in blurs since they Render much more realistically using bokeh and other options.
The best way to get faster at editing is to practice and practice some more, but once you nail the command keys in Photoshop you will be much quicker and enjoy editing more. In this episode I’ll show you a few that most people don’t know, and the ones I work with the most so I can help you spend less time staring at the monitor.
See the best ways to work with Filters by building them up in layers and changing Blend Modes. I don’t use many of the ones that are available in Photoshop, but there are certain types of photos where those work great and I’ll cover that as well. Today I’ll show you a couple new techniques you can use and experiment with the new Oil Paint Filter to give an artistic feel to our image.
See how to add interest and create an artistic feel to your photos using Color toning. First we’ll analyze what could help the overall composition and use rocks that are already in the image to replace the bright sky. By burning in the edges the subject becomes even more of a focal point, and you can use Apply Image and Layer Masks to make sure it looks natural. Curves are a great way to add color to certain areas and are easy to adjust and work with.
Pocket Wizards can be used in a few different ways- as a remote, with speedlights, and for firing strobes. They’ve worked much more effectively for me than Infrared remotes or cheaper versions and can send signals from up to half a mile away. Not to mention you usually only need 2 of them since strobes will optically slave, meaning you can use as many Lights as you want.
Clamshell is an easy setup you can do with softboxes or umbrellas that will always give you good results. you only need two Lights, one as your key, angled above your subject, and the fill Light below. Its great for shooting someone who is older because it fills in lines and wrinkles, it can make anyone look good! The key is to keep your main Light a little higher power than your fill, here I’ll show you how this effects the image.
Because the wardrobe and headpiece was so colorful and large for this shot we wanted to the final image to reflect that dramatic look. We custom built a headpiece for this shoot using foam and our hairstylist attached fabric and wrapped the Hair around it to form the base using lots of staples and bobby pins! We then added in all the feathers to complete the peacock look. The focal point for the final image will be all of the feathers so it was important to make sure our lighting showed it off well.
There are many different options when it comes to adding Textures to your image in the Highlights and Shadows. This episode will go through how each one will affect your image using a dark and a Light Texture, and some tricks to make them interact well with the image beneath. The best way to get used to each is to try them all out, but they are grouped according to similarites. All of the darker blend modes, lighter blend ones, and Color and Hue are near eachother in the dropdown menu. You can have even more control over the final look by using Blend If and lowering your Opacity.
Today we had a huge shoot in the studio with four photographers and two helping out. Rio let me borrow his 85mm 1.2 lens to get some headshots, and here I’ll show you our lighting setup and go over a few tricks for opening up our aperture. You don’t want lights that put out a lot of Light, we lowered them down to minimum power to open up more. Bringing the ISO down to 50 will give you another stop, and you can also use a ND Density filter. We’re using a 50inch softbox as our main light and a gridded softbox for fill. Here’s my favorite shot!
Natalie Dybisz AKA Miss Aniela is an amazing photographer. Her work has been viewed by millions online, exhibited in galleries and fairs worldwide, and she has been described as a “star” by both American Photo and Photoicon. She works with commercial clients, fashion shoots, and has a personal fine art portfolio. Her new book covers it all. In today’s episode we’ll ask her about her best pieces of advice, the featured photographers, how she feels about giving away her secrets, and more.
Today we are covering how to cut a person out of their Background in Photoshop. The techniques used in today’s episode actually apply to just about anything you would want to cut out. One of the trickiest parts about cutting a person out is getting a great selection around the Hair. Today we use Channels to make a Layer Mask that includes a very good selection around the subject’s Hair. After applying the selection to the Layer Mask, her Hair is masked out well but still retains a bit of fringing around the edges.
IR photos have dark skies and white foliage and look amazing in Black and White. There are a few different ways to get these effects, you can shoot with IR film and a red Filter, convert a digital camera, OR get the same type of look in post. Today’s episode will show you how you can experiment with this Style with your own images.
Today we did a photoshoot with a custom designed, high fashion dress with a 25ft long train. We worked closely with a stylist, who then worked with Alex, to make the whole thing happen. In this episode he’ll share what photo shoots are like from his point of view and some advice for collaborating with designers for your own images.
It is ALWAYS better to shoot at a low ISO if you don’t want a lot of grain in your images. 100 or 200 are the best to work with if you don’t want any grain. The more light you have the less chance you have of shooting a large ISO. If you can’t afford strobes you can look for cheap work Lights work Lights from Home Depot or a hardware store.
The first thing I noticed when looking at this photo is that the paintings in the Background are a little distracting. By using the Brush Tool and sampling the Colors from the wall it’s easy to simply paint over them and then mask out the subjects. This helps Draw attention directly to the focal point and creates a cleaner photo.
Today will cover all the pre-production.
Today we’re photographing wall tiles to Composite into the final image as they are falling.
The first thing tip for replacing a Background is to use a solid backdrop. Try to choose something similar to the Background you will then be placing your subject on since Color and Light will reflect (Ex: using a green backdrop will give a slightly green tint to the model).
In this episode we’re showing you how to cut out the square tiles in a manner that will look the best.
In today’s episode we’re doing a lot of Photoshop. We will be working with the Background, showing you how to smoothly integrate that with the foreground, we will be adding blurs, and we will also be working on the coloring, to give the the mood of the photo a more of a “movie poster feel”. We will also finish it off by adding Text.
At the Phlearn studio we love to Photoshop. At the Phlearn studio we ESPECIALLY love to Photoshop when a unicorn is involved.
Today’s episode will cover all the techniques you need to make a great business Card for your photography!
These will make the biggest Difference! Curves can be used to easily adjust Light Levels and Colors in your images. We don’t have ay Lights or darks, so I’m going to bring down the Shadows and brighten up the Highlight areas under the RGB dropdown option. This is known as an “S Curve,” which adds Contrast.
In this episode Aaron Nace goes in depth with Camera RAW in Photoshop, ○ 0:42 Basic Adjustments ○ 6:51 Camera RAW Menus ○ 17:44 Camera RAW Tools ○ 23:50 Local Adjustments ○ 28:40 Graduated Filters
In this episode Aaron Nace goes in depth with the Brush Tool in Photoshop, ○ 2:32 Basic Brush Tool Settings ○ 8:54 Flow vs. Opacity ○ 13:20 Brush Tool Advanced Options ○ 33:49 Brush Tool Advanced Options 2 ○ 48:19 How to Create a Custom Brush Shape
In this episode Aaron Nace goes in depth with Layer FX in Photoshop, ○ 0:22 Image Breakdown ○ 6:07 Blending Modes ○ 18:10 Layer FX Pt.1 ○ 29:36 Layer FX Pt.2 ○ 37:22 Layer Styles
In this episode Aaron Nace goes in depth with Actions in Photoshop, ○ 0:48 Intro to Actions ○ 5:49 Creating a Simple Action ○ 16:47 Editing an Action ○ 18:18 Creating a Complex Action ○ 21:51 Layer Organization ○ 29:04 Action Controls & Instruction ○ 31:55 Action Menu Pt.1 ○ 40:55 Action Menu Pt.2
In this episode Aaron Nace goes in depth with Filters in Photoshop, ○ 0:28 Image Breakdown ○ 7:20 Smart Objects & Smart Filters ○ 10:12 Filter Gallery ○ 20:36 Filter Menu Section 1 ○ 23:18 Liquify Tool ○ 35:53 Filter Menu Section 2 ○ 47:14 Blur Gallery ○ 53:30 Sharpening ○ 1:02 Filter Menu Section 3
In this extra long episode Aaron Nace goes in depth with Adjustment Layers in Photoshop, ○ 2:57 Fill Layers ○ 17:40 Adjustment Layers Pt.1 ○ 20:07 Clipping Masks ○ 26:03 Levels ○ 30:00 RGB Color Channels ○ 34:32 Curves ○ 43:34 Adjustment Layers Pt.2 ○ 46:01 Hue/Saturation ○ 57:47 Color Balance ○ 1:06:21 Channel Mixer ○ 1:11:26 Adjustment Layers Pt.3 ○ 1:17:37 Selective Color ○ 1:21:36 Adjustments Pt.1 ○ 1:26:36 Adjustments Pt.2
In this episode Aaron Nace goes in depth with Blending Modes in Photoshop, ○ 00:13 Image Breakdown ○ 18:36 Smart Objects & Blending Modes ○ 20:40 Background Design ○ 30:06 Clipping Adjustment Layers
In this episode Aaron Nace Shows an Complete Edit from start to finish in Photoshop, ○ 2:02 Separate Layers ○ 7:54 Background Design ○ 11:14 Subject Retouching ○ 29:31 Precise Skin Retouching