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Photoshop

ASSIGNMENT
PREPPING PHOTOS FOR THE WEB
REVIEW

ADJUSTMENT LAYERS
BLENDING MODES
CLONE STAMP TOOL
ERASER TOOLS
HISTORY BRUSH
LEVELS & CURVES
OPEN AND ENLARGE A PHOTO
PANORAMA
RED EYE IN PEOPLE
RESOLUTION & IMAGE SIZE
SELECTION TOOLS
REMOVE A COLOR CAST
REPLACE COLORS
SPOT HEALING BRUSH VS. HEALING BRUSH
UNDO ACTIONS

REVIEW (OPTIONAL)

ASSIGNMENT 1

PURPOSE
IMPORTANT! This graded exercise will help you recognize photos that have been doctored so you can ferret out the fakes. As a journalist, however, you must NEVER do this. Most photojournalists agree that these techniques are OK: dodging and burning, sizing, cropping and correcting the color balance. You may adjust skin tones to avoid green faces or lighten a person’s face in a contrasty photo so long as the manipulation does not deceive readers.


Will Kirkland More than 9,000 feet above sea level, Quito is South America’s second highest capital city (after La Paz, Bolivia).

INSTRUCTIONS (before class)

  1. Find and download a large news photo (not a thumbnail) suitable for digital manipulation. Look for a photo that includes small elements, which can be easier to manipulate than larger objects.
  2. Pretend you are an unscrupulous photographer by doing at least three of the following so the changes look realistic. Note: If you delete one face by replacing it with a different face, that counts ONLY as removing an element or person. You must also add something elsewhere.
    • Add an element or person (cloned smoke in Lebanon).
    • Remove an element or person (Coke can).
    • Darken or lighten the color of a person’s face (O.J. Simpson).
    • Change the color of an element (tulip exercise in class).
  3. Do NOT work in the original. Apple + J to duplicate layer.
  4. Do all your work on one image. Make each change in a separate layer. You will, therefore, need at least three additional layers.
  5. Do any of the following in adjustment layers (ying-yang icon at bottom of Layers):
    • Curves
    • Layers
    • Hue/Saturation
  6. IMPORTANT! Label each layer with a word describing what you did (gone, new, add, lighten, darken, etc.).
  7. Save your image as a Photoshop file (.psd). Do NOT save it as a .jpg.
  8. At the beginning of class, put two things in your STUDENT folder in a folder called PHOTO FAKE:
    • an electronic version (.psd)
    • the original version

TIPS

  1. It’s easier to remove something from a pale sky rather than a bright blue sky.
  2. It’s easier to remove something from a patterned background.
  3. It’s easier to change the color of something smaller rather than larger.
  4. Watch out for remnants of a former color, especially along the edge.
  5. If you outline and change the color of someone’s face, feather the edges for a more realistic look.
  6. Proportions can be tricky.
  7. Make sure the lighting and shadows are the same if you’re copying to another image.
  8. Watch out for artifacts from the other photo.

INSTRUCTIONS (during class)

  1. We’ll look at all the photo fakes during class.
  2. What was done to the photo? How was it done? How could it be improved? Why should this NOT be done to a photo?

GRADING 25 points

  • 5 points: overall appearance (Did you fool us? The better a job you do, the more difficult it will be to recognize the deception.)
  • 10 points: technical proficiency with Photoshop (Did you do your work on a duplicate layer rather than the original photo? Did you do Levels and/or Curves in an adjustment layer?)
  • 10 points: complexity (The more you do, the better your grade, so long as you do a good job!)

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Lexie Sifford Founded in the 16th century, Quito brims with Spanish colonial buildings.

PREPPING PHOTOS FOR THE WEB

  • Mode
  • Resolution
  • Levels vs. Curves
  • Adjustment layers
  • Undoing actions (single, multiple)
  • Unsharp Mask
  • Clone Stamp tool (repair areas)
  • Spot Healing Brush vs. Healing Brush (repair flaws)
  • History Brush (partly restore image to previous state)
  • Red Eye tool
  • Layers and blending modes
  • Eraser tool vs. Background Eraser tool
  • Selection tools

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OPEN AND ENLARGE A PHOTO

  1. Copy Photoshop in JMC 494 folder onto your desktop.
  2. Double-click Tulips_Start.psd and Tulips_End.psd.
    Tip: Never work on the original image. Make a copy in a new layer by using APPLE + J or dragging the image layer down onto the icon to the left of the trash can.
  3. After opening your images, notice the % at the bottom let of the image. You can make the image bigger by clicking on the magnifying glass and then the photo. To shrink the image, click the magnifying glass and hold down OPTION.

REMOVE A COLOR CAST

  1. This photo has a red cast.
  2. Image > Adjustments > Auto Color
  3. File > Save
  4. NOTE: THIS DOES NOT ALWAYS WORK! Try it first. If it does NOT, then try to Levels and Curves.

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ADJUSTMENT LAYERS
Adjustment layers make changes without permanent to the pixels. The adjustment layers have an attached mask that you can paint with white to reveal the effect, black to conceal the effect or gray to mute the effect.

To add an adjustment layer, click on the ying-yang icon on the bottom of the layers palette or choose Layer > New Adjustment Layer > whatever you want to use.

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LEVELS & CURVES

  1. Levels and Curves improve tonality (the range of tones from white to black). They can also affect the color scheme.
  2. Levels (sledge hammer)
    Move the sliders in from the left edge and right edge to where the histogram begins to rise. The midpoint moves whenever you move the white or black slider because it’s trying to find the midpoint between the new black or white set points. The midpoint slider moves independently of the black and white point slides. Moving it to the right darkens the image; moving it to the left lightens it.
  3. Curves (scalpel)
    Dark tones are at the bottom, midtones in the middle and light tones at the top. The cool thing is that you can change more than just the three points you did in Levels. You can affect 16 points. If you click in the middle of the diagonal line and drag the point up
    and down, you’re doing the same thing you did when you pulled the midpoint slider in Levels.
  4. By clicking on the line between the midpoint and the end point, you can change the tones. If you place a point halfway between the end point and the middle point on both ends of the graph, you can adjust the points to form a small S curve that will improve the contrast and saturation in the image if the layer is at Normal in the blending
    modes. If you set the blending mode to Luminosity, you affect only the contrast.

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REPLACE COLORS

  1. With Rectangular Marquee tool, draw a border around the yellow tulip in lower left.
  2. Images > Adjustments > Replace Color.
  3. The left eyedropper selects a color. The middle eyedropper adds a color. The right eyedropper removes a color.
  4. With the left eyedropper, click anywhere in the yellow tulip to sample the color.
  5. Use the middle eyedropper to sample other areas of the yellow tulip until the entire flower is selected and highlighted in the mask display in the Replace Color dialog box.
  6. Fuzziness > 45. Fuzziness controls the degree to which related colors are included in the mask.
  7. If the mask display includes any white areas that are not part of the tulip, get rid of them by selected the right eyedropper and clicking those areas in either the image itself or the Replace Color mask display. (It’s OK if a few remain in the selection.)
  8. Move the sliders to turn the rose rose. Try Hue > -40, Saturation > -10, Lightness > 0.
  9. OK.
  10. Select > Deselect
  11. File > Save

UNDO ACTIONS (SINGLE, MULTIPLE)

  1. Single
    Edit > Undo OR Command + Z will undo your last step.
    If you press it again, it will redo the last step.
    Apple + option + Z will undo the steps that preceded your last command.
  2. Multiple
    History palette

ADJUST RESOLUTION FOR WEB

  1. Image > Image Size > 72 ppi
    Slimming photos down to 72 ppi makes files download faster.
  2. Alter size of image (width and height).
  3. Make sure Constrain Proportions is checked

MAKE THE START TULIP IMAGE LOOK LIKE THE END TULIP IMAGE

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CLONE STAMP TOOL (to repair areas)
This tool clones pixels from one spot on the image to another.

  1. Drag the Retouching folder onto your desktop.
  2. Open Crew_Start.psd and Crew_End.psd.
  3. Make a new layer above the layer where you want to do your cloning.
  4. Select the Clone Stamp tool from the toolbar.
    • To make the target area larger, press ]
    • To make is smaller, press [
    • The more you press, the larger or smaller the brush becomes.
    • HINT: Make your brush as large as possible so you have to make fewer strokes.
  5. In the top menu bar, make sure the Sample All Layers box is checked.
  6. To repair the torn corner, drag the Clone Stamp tool over the spot you want to clone from. Hold the option key while you click. This will sample the pixels you want to clone.
  7. Move the Clone Stamp tool to torn corner.
  8. Click and drag. The next pixels will be placed on the layer. Using the Clone Stamp tool takes a lot of practice to look even decent, so practice.

CLONE STAMP TOOL (to combine elements from two images)

  1. Open two images, one with the object you want to put into the other image. Make sure the lighting and shadows are similar.
  2. Make sure Aligned and Sample All Layers are checked in the top bar.
  3. Go to the image with the object you want to transfer. Click on the Clone Stamp tool. Option + Click on the object you want to copy.
  4. Go to the other image where you want to add the cloned object. Add a new layer.
  5. Start painting in the spot where you want to add the cloned object.

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SPOT HEALING BRUSH VS. HEALING BRUSH (to repair flaws)

  1. Spot Healing Brush
    • Make a new layer for your work.
    • Click Sample All Layers on the top menu.
    • Increase or decrease the size of the healing brush be using [ and ]
    • Drag with the Spot Healing Brush across the wake and the small motorboat in the background. As you drag, the stroke at first appears dark gray, but when you release the mouse, the painted area is “healed.” The problem is this blends pixels and doesn’t always look good.
  2. Healing Brush
    • The Healing Brush works a lot like the Clone Stamp too, but instead of cloning pixels, it blends textures. Say you want to get rid of a huge zit on your nose.
    • Select the Healing Brush from the toolbar. If you click and hold the Spot Healing Brush, the Healing Brush is right under it.
    • Option + click on the area without a zit, then move your brush over the area you want to repair.
    • Click. It does a very good—just not all the time. There are other ways to do this if it does’t work as you thought it would.

USE THE SPOT HEALING BRUSH AND/OR THE HEALING BRUSH TO REMOVE THE GRAFFITI IN THE CLIMBER IMAGE.

USE THE SPOT HEALING BRUSH AND/OR HEALING BRUSH TO REMOVE THE WRINKLES AND FURROWS BETWEEN THE BROWS IN THE GUY IMAGE.

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RED EYE IN PEOPLE

  1. Open REDEYE.jpg.
  2. Make a new layer (APPLE + J).
  3. Select the red in the eyes by drawing a loose selection with the Lasso tool around
    the red part.
  4. Hold the shift key while circling the other eye. This allows you to add to your original
    selection, but only the eyes are selected.
  5. Image> Apply Image.
  6. Select the green channel under the drop down menu in the dialog box marked Channel.
  7. Set the Blending to Darken.
  8. OK.
  9. Deselect or APPLE + H.

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SELECTION TOOLS

  • The Magic Wand is only good for large flat colors. It’s also called the tragic wand for that reason.
  • The Lasso tool allows you to outline shapes in a freeform way. It’s hard to be precise, so you spend time either adding to the selection by holding the shift key or subtracting by holding the option key.
  • The Magnetic Lasso tool will select along the edges of an object as you drag and click where you think you might need a point. Select the brush tool. Press the Q key to enter the quick mask mode. Select black as your foreground color. Paint what you want to select with the brush. It will turn red. If you need to fix the mask, paint with white. Once
    you’re done, press the Q key again. A selection with appear where ever you painted.

HISTORY BRUSH is very cool (partly restore an image to its previous state)
You can use this brush to restore an image to a previous state without affecting the entire image. The history brush is located below the brush tool in the toolbar. It has a little curved
arrow along with a brush icon on it. A history brush will paint back only to the last state chosen in the History palette. Click in the left box next to the state you want to use to activate the brush.

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ERASER TOOL
The Eraser tool erases pixels and restores parts of an image to a previously saved state.

BLENDING MODES
Layers enable you to make changes or add elements to an image without destroying pixels. Blending modes treat tonal elements in different ways. Multiply makes things darker and ignores the white. Screen ignores black and makes things lighter. Overlay ignores gray and makes things darker or lighter by increasing the contrast.

  1. Open the photo.
  2. Make a new layer.
  3. Change the blending mode at the top of the Layers palette by going to where it says Normal. That will give you a drop down menu.
  4. If you set the blending mode to Screen, anything that is dark will turn transparent or become lighter.
  5. If you set the blending mode to Multiply, anything that is light will become darker.
  6. If you set the blending mode to Overlay, you can change the contrast.

HOW TO CREATE A PANORAMA by Serena Carpenter

  1. Set your camera on a tripod or hold it very steady and at the same height. Take pictures slightly turning in one direction. You want the photos to overlap one another. You may even want to take two pictures per shot as back up. It is best to shoot in a location that is larger, rather than a smaller location such as an office because it will be difficult to capture the entire room when standing in one location because you cannot zoom or move to fit each shot in the frame. It is best not to shoot zoomed all the way out, but instead shoot medium shots when shooting a panorama. Also, try not to shoot scenes with a lot of detail such as fruit stands with lots of fruit because the pictures will have difficulty stitching together. You also want to pick a location that is even in lighting, or you can fix the photos in Photoshop.
  2. Place pictures that you want to keep in a newly created folder. Place them in the order that they will turn in the room.
  3. In Photoshop, go to File > Automate > Photomerge
  4. In dropdown menu, select Folder, rather than File > Select Browse > Find
    your folder > Okay
  5. Then you will export your Panorama into a player: File > Export > Zoomify
  6. Select a background color > Folder (create folder) > Select quality (8-10) > Select browser size option (650X400 for larger) > Okay
  7. Find your file in the location you saved it. The .html file is your panorama, but you will want to keep all of the files to incorporate the panorama into your Web page.

PANORAMA TIPS

Do not to shoot with your lens zoomed all the way out. Instead, take medium shots.

Do not shoot scenes with a lot of detail, such as fruit stands, because the pictures will have difficulty stitching together. This can be fixed in Photoshop, but it takes time.

COOL PANORAMAS by Mindy McAdams

I came across this blog again recently—The Panoramist. Photographer Gary O’Brien links to and comments about panoramas he finds online.

Other panos included View of Sarah Palin’s Speech, with audio (New York Times). It’s a nifty view from the peanut gallery at the convention, with a good view of some VERY long lenses!

O’Brien also serves up tips, tools, and tutorials in his posts — for example, his experience with the Flash Panorama Player.

I’d also like to recommend Cocodrie, La., after Hurricane Gustav, a memorable panorama from USA Today. I’m not a big fan of panos, but this one is something special.

And one more that I just love: Venice Gondolas and the Rialto, by Hans Nyberg.

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© 2008-2009 Carol B. Schwalbe