Photo Effects (original link here)

HDR-Style Results Using Layers in Photoshop
Learn how to achieve HDR results in Photoshop using bracketed exposures during the production process and then Photoshop layers afterwards.

How to Create Professional HDR Images
Here’s an excellent (and very popular) tutorial on creating high dynamic range (HDR) images; the author focuses on realism instead of going overboard with the application of HDR.

Photoshop HDR tutorial
This tutorial shows you how to create true HDR using bracketed exposure and Photoshop for post-production.

Using the HDR Feature in Photoshop CS2/CS3
This thorough tutorial walks you through the basic concept of HDR photography and how to use Photoshop to make your photographs pop.

How to Make Digital Photos Look like Lomo Photography
In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to apply the “lomography” effect to your digital photos.

Infrared Photo Effect in Photoshop
This tutorial shows you a way to simulate the infrared effect with photos taken using point-and-shoot cameras.

Exposure blending tutorial
Create an HDR photo by blending exposures with this Photoshop tutorial.

Your photos, 300-style!
Give photographs the sepia-toned 300 movie effect.

How to Use Photoshop’s Lens Blur Tool for Tilt-Shift Fakery
Tilt-shift lenses are expensive and not very versatile. Save some money by checking out this Photoshop tutorial on how to fake tilt-shift photography.

Tilt Shift Photoshop Tutorial: How to Make Fake Miniature Scenes
Here’s another method for faking tilt-shift photography.

The Tilt-Shift Miniature Fake Technique
This tutorial walks you through the basics of picking a subject for the tilt-shift effect and using Photoshop’s blur and gradient tools to fake it.

Vignette 2.0
Give your photos a natural-looking vignette effect by following along in this Photoshop tutorial.

Adding a Diffuse Glow to Your Images
Apply diffuse glow to your photographs to create a dreamy effect with this Photoshop tutorial.

Image Enhancement and Correction

Improving Landscape Photographs
Enhance your landscape images by reading through this Photoshop tutorial.

Using Masks to Improve Landscape Images
Use the masking feature in Photoshop to improve your landscape images.

Color Correction, by the Numbers
Use CMYK values (obtained with the eyedropper tool in Photoshop) to correct colors in a photograph.

Color Correction Using Levels and Eyedroppers
In this Photoshop tutorial, you’ll see another method of correcting colors by using the levels-adjustment feature and by sampling colors with the eyedropper tool.

Enhance Your Image with Selective Color Adjustments
This tutorial uses a “non-destructive” and selective method for enhancing colors in a photograph.

Black and White Is the Key to Better Color
Temporarily convert your image to black and white to improve color enhancement methods in Photoshop.

Understanding Local Contrast Enhancement
This excellent Photoshop tutorial explains local contrast enhancement and a method for using the unsharp mask feature.

Local Contrast Enhancement
Learn the theory behind local contrast enhancement and learn a practical way of applying the method to enhance images.

Sharpening Using an Unsharp Mask
Learn the concept behind the unsharp mask feature in Photoshop to sharpen photographs.

Sharpen Those Photos: Unsharp Mask
This tutorial shares a brief history of traditional photo sharpening techniques and how to sharpen images digitally in Photoshop.

Noise Reduction by Image Averaging
Reduce image noise in Photoshop by following this in-depth tutorial.

Using the Photoshop Levels Tool
This tutorial discusses the concept behind Photoshop’s levels tool, as well as how to use it effectively to enhance photographs.

Using the Photoshop Curves Tool
In this Photoshop tutorial, you’ll learn about the curves tool in Photoshop and how to use it to improve photographs.

Advanced Photo Sharpening
This Photoshop tutorial shares a more complex method for sharpening photos using a variety of techniques such as using filters and setting threshold adjustments.

Controlled Image Sharpening
Learn another method of controlled image sharpening via this Photoshop tutorial.

Digital Blending
Learn how to enhance dynamic range by reading through this excellent Photoshop tutorial.

Gaussian Blur
Learn how to use Gaussian blur to enhance and soften photographs in Photoshop.

Lens Correction Filter in Photoshop CS2
Learn about the lens correction filter in Photoshop to fix image distortions.

Photo Manipulation and Retouching

Add Dynamic Lighting to a Flat Photograph
Add dynamic lighting to a photograph to make it pop in this Photoshop tutorial.

Getting a Grip on the Vanishing Point Filter
Learn how to use Photoshop’s vanishing point filter to extend certain areas in the photograph.

How to Stitch Photos in Photoshop
Learn a method of stitching together two photographs using Photoshop.

Super-Fast and Easy Facial Retouching
In this tutorial, you’ll learn a method for hassle-free and speedy facial retouching.

Quick and Effective Facial Photo Retouching
Here’s another method for quick and easy facial retouching.

Four Easy Photoshop Techniques to Make Your Pictures Pop!
This tutorial shares four simple but effective Photoshop techniques for isolating a subject.

Awesome Photo-Realistic Coloring Techniques
Learn the basics of coloring techniques via a practical example (coloring the hair of a black-and-white photograph) in this wonderful Photoshop tutorial.

Removing Objects From Photos
Learn the basics of removing objects you don’t want to be seen in your photographs by following along in this Photoshop tutorial.

Black and White with a Splash of Color
In this tutorial, you’ll see a method for the selective coloring of a black-and-white photo.

Hand-Colouring a Black-and-White Photo in Photoshop
Learn a method of manually coloring a black-and-white photo in Photoshop.

Converting a Digital Color Photo to Black and White
Here is another effective method of converting colored photographs to black and white.

Colour to Black and White Using Channel Mixer
Convert photos from color to black and white using Photoshop’s channel mixer.

Quick Fix for Cluttered Backgrounds
Cluttered backgrounds can be a distraction from the photo’s subject. Here’s an introductory-level tutorial on reducing visual clutter in the background of a photograph.

Antiquing Digital Images in Photoshop
You don’t have to wait decades for your photographs to fade in color; simulate the effect using Photoshop.

Change Hair Color Photoshop Tutorial
Learn a method of retouching a subject’s hair color via this excellent Photoshop tutorial.

Creating a Sunset Effect in Photoshop Tutorial
Give photographs taken in the middle of the day a sunset effect by following along in this Photoshop tutorial.

Photo Retouching: Spotlight Effect
In this Photoshop tutorial, you’ll learn how to highlight parts of a subject by giving the area a digitally placed, but natural-looking, spotlight.

Image Retouching: Advanced Skin Softening
Learn a method of removing skin blemishes by softening the skin using the surface blur filter in Photoshop.

Nesting Smart Objects for Multi-Mask Effects in Photoshop
Learn all about nesting smart objects in Photoshop to smoothen and sharpen details in a photo.

En dan doe je je een bak moeite om een 3 tal foto’s te combineren tot 1 HDR foto en dan blijkt de lucht nogal saai te zijn.

Saaier dan saaie lucht

We zoeken een foto van een mooie lucht,..eentje uit Veere (Veerse meer) en plakken deze erachter. Layer Masking en poetsen maar….kost wat tijd maar dan hebben we toch nog een aardige foto gecreeerd;

Behoorlijk minder saai

Klik er maar eens op….

8-12-2008 Topaz Adjusted

Topazzed

Na een tijdje afzien….duinen oplopen,..duinen aflopen (met kinderwagen en lui mannetje)… is dit de entree van het Nieuw-Haamstede strand,..dat maakt veel goed naar wij dachten;

Entree Haamstede Beach

Geen statief bij me,..dan maar op het dak van de auto. 30 sec. sluitertijd en wat photoshop levert het volgende plaatje op;

Middelburg by Night 2

Onderweg naar Veere City zien we een DAF,…even een kiekje maken.

Waar vind je die nog,…

Nostalgie

Nog een paar Vuurtoren foto’tjes voor m’n Zus,…..

Het is een mooie winter zondag,..Vinnie slaapt, Sjerrie is werken, niks op TV, Photosjoppe dan maar,…?!

Speciaal voor Suzanne een fijn bewerkte foto van de vuurtoren in Nieuw Haamstede.

Vuurtoren Nieuw-Haamstede

A short how-to on making a horizon level.

Step 1

Open an image with a horizon that’s not level. Instead of having to guess the angle to fix this at, here’s a short method that is lot more effective. You can use this image and save it to the computer and open in Photoshop.

Step 2

Click-and-hold the Eyedropper tool to pull out the menu. Click on the Ruler tool.

Step 3

Click-and-drag the Ruler tool along the crooked horizon.

Step 4

Go to Image>Rotate Canvas>Arbitrary.

Step 5

The degree of angle will be set to change the ruler to being level. Press OK.

Step 6

Now we have some areas to crop out. Select the Crop tool.

Step 7

Finally, we have a level horizon. We did change the composition though because areas had to be cropped out, so weigh the pros and cons before adjusting a horizon.

As many of you know, it is difficult to obtain good exposure in both the highlights and shadows of scenes that exhibit a high dynamic range of light. Often, photographers will post-process using an HDR converter to achieve the desired exposure. However, there is another way to achieve correct exposure in both the highlights and shadows without using HDR.

This technique begins in the camera. Using a tripod, take two exposures of the same scene. Expose your first image to capture detail in the highlights. Expose your second image to capture shadow detail.

(Image 1 above contains the shadow detail, Image 2 below contains the highlight detail)

Note: Unlike most HDR processing methods, this technique works better when there is a large difference in light between shadow and highlight. For example, a sunrise or sunset shot would work better than a shot taken in overcast conditions.

Once back at your computer, upload your images making sure to label the images in the order they were taken.

Select two sequential exposures, one for highlights and one for shadows. Open them both in Adobe Camera RAW. (Note: CS3 Camera Raw is now an option for both TIFF and JPEG files). Select your shadows exposure and make adjustments that enhance the shadow details. Then select your highlights exposure and make adjustments that enhance your highlight details. Once you are happy with these adjustments save them and then open both images in Photoshop.

With both images open in Photoshop, hit the ‘F’ key to toggle through the screen modes until you are in Standard Screen Mode where you are able to see each image with a menu bar at the top.

Select the Move tool and click on one of the images. Then hold down the Shift key and click-and-drag that image into the other one so that the two are now part of the same document. By holding down the Shift key you are ensuring that both images will line up properly. However, since a perfect set of exposures is often hard to capture in the field, I often follow this step by using CS3s new Auto-Align Layers tool.

To take advantage of the Auto-Align tool, the first thing you will need to do is double-click on your background layer and make the background an editable layer. Now you have two editable layers.

Next, select both layers by holding down the Shift key and clicking on both. Then, go to the Edit menu and select Auto-Align Layers from the drop down menu. (Use the ‘Auto’ Projection option) Now you have two perfectly aligned exposures.

Again, select both layers in the Layers palette and drag them down to the New Layer icon. This will produce two copies of your active layers. Hide your two newly-created layers by clicking the Eye icon next to them in the Layers Pallete.

Next, blend the two layers together. Select the top layer, in this case the highlight detail, and select Blending Options from the Layers Style menu inside the Layers drop-down menu.

Inside the Blending Options menu, at the very bottom, you will see two sliders underneath a “blend if” dialog.

Move the menu box to the side, making sure you can see your image clearly. Then holding down the Alt key (Option on a Mac) grab the white arrow at the end of the top slider. Holding down the Alt key will split that white arrow in half.

Move that half of the arrow toward the black end of the slider. You will notice your image begin to blend.

Move the arrow until you feel the correct amount of blending has occurred. Keep in mind the image will appear very flat. Don’t worry, that will be corrected later.

Now that you have partially blended the original layers, move back to your unblended layer copies.

Make both visible again by clicking to the left of the thumbnail and bringing back the Eye icon.

Next, make sure these layers are above your masked layers.

One at a time, select the layer, hold the Alt key (Option on a Mac) and click the Add Layer Mask icon. Holding down the Alt key fills the layer masks with black. Add a black layer mask to both of the unblended layer copies. You have just hidden these layers again. However, this time you are able to selectively bring them back.

Selectively go through your image adding back pieces of the original exposure where you deem necessary. (I like to use a very low opacity brush, 40 or 50 percent usually works fine.)

Make sure to use a large, soft-edged brush to help prevent obvious brush lines in your image. Notice that by gently adding pieces of the original exposure you have already helped add contrast to the scene.

Now we are going to create what I like to call a ‘working layer’. Once you have blended the layers to your liking, select all the layers using the Shift key and make a copy of each. Select these newly-created copies and use the Fly Out menu at the upper right of your Menu Pallet to select Merge Layers. You have just created a working layer. It is from this layer that dust removal and/or lens corrections are made.

Now is the time that you add contrast to your final image. Select a soft-edged brush and go into the Quick Mask mode by pressing ‘Q’. Select portions of the image where you want to add contrast by painting on the image. The areas will show uup red in Quick mask mode. When you have selected the areas that need a boost in contrast, hit ‘Q’ again and go back to regular view. You will see all of the areas that you painted in red are now selected.

In most cases I find a simple curves adjustment layer is all that is necessary. However, this is a good place to experiment with levels as well. Apply your adjustment layer and tweak the settings to your liking.

Finish things up with a global curves and levels adjustment to your working layer.

Voila! You have yourself a natural High Dynamic Range image without using an HDR converter.

One classic technique that digital cameras make very easy is blending more than one exposure together for contrast control, increased dynamic range, or creative purposes. A variation on this technique is to apply different RAW-conversion settings to a single RAW file and then combine the files into a single image. Let’s explore both approaches and look at the proper camera technique behind the scenes.

Camera Technique for Capturing Two Exposures

1 Set up on Tripod
Before you start in Photoshop, you have to create the files so that each has a good exposure for a specific part of the image. For the files to align properly, it’s best to be on a tripod. Although handheld, rapid-fire, auto-exposure bracketing may work in some cases, I prefer the tripod approach. The tripod is definitely a must for long exposures, such as the photos in this example, which had shutter speeds of 13 and 25 seconds. I used a 5-stop, solid, neutral-density filter to force a long exposure time that would totally blur the surf.

2 Use Remote Shutter Release
In the images of Makapuu Point on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, the sky and most of the ocean looks better in the 13-second exposure, while the longer one reveals better detail in the dark foreground rocks. I also like the way the incoming surf is blurred into a fine mist in the 25-second shot. To minimize any chance of vibration that might yield a soft shot, I turned off lens stabilization and used an electronic cable release. For the purposes of this tutorial, the files are JPEGs, but I recommend you shoot RAW for the most control and quality.

Blend the Two Exposures

1 Bring Exposures Into One File
The first step is to bring the two exposures into a single layered file. For this example, we’re adding the darker exposure to the lighter image so that it will be the top layer. Select the Move tool (V), hold down the Shift key, and drag-and-drop the darker image onto the lighter one. Hold down the Shift key until the image appears in the lighter file as a new layer. This ensures that the two pictures are perfectly aligned.

2 Add a Layer Mask
Now we’ll add a layer mask to show only the “good” areas of the top layer. Depending on the nature of the images you’re combining and the complexity of the edge, this is the part of the process that will be different for each image. Some scenes may require intricate and precise masks, while for others a soft-edged mask will do; we’ll use a soft-edged mask for this image. With the top layer active, click the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.

3 Paint the Layer Mask to Reveal the Lighter Image
Choose the Brush tool (B) from the Toolbox and set the Foreground color to black. In the Options Bar, set the Opacity to 50% and choose a soft-edged brush that’s large enough to cover the bottom part of the image (ours is 300 pixels). Check the Layers panel to make sure the layer mask is active (look for the highlight border around the thumbnail). Paint over the image where you want to reveal the lighter tones from the bottom layer (paint multiple strokes to reveal more of the lighter layer). Reduce the brush size to work on the areas where the two images meet at the edge of the rocks.

4 Add a Grouped Adjustment Layer
We lowered the Opacity to 20% and painted with black over the distant hill to show more detail there. To reverse the mask edits, press X to switch the Foreground and Background colors, and paint with white to bring back the darker layer. To add a contrast punch to the top layer, Option-click (PC: Alt-click) on the Create New Adjustment Layer icon in the Layers panel and choose Curves. Turn on the Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask checkbox and click OK. Adjust the curve as shown. The clipping mask means that it affects only the underlying layer.

5 Debriefing
If you click on the Background layer’s Eye icon, you can see how the layer mask controls which parts of the top darker layer are visible in the final composite. Click again to turn on the Background layer’s visibility, then Shift-click the layer mask to temporarily disable it and view the darker image without the lighter foreground. Shift-click the layer mask again to turn it on. The soft-edged layer mask we used here works well because the long exposure times blurred the water and we don’t have to be concerned with lining up the waves.

Dual-Process Raw

1 Raw Exposure Strategies for Dual Processing
If you have a single exposure, and it’s a RAW exposure, then you can create essentially the same effect as in the previous steps. This is useful for scenes that contain moving subjects or where a tripod is impractical or simply not an option. The main thing you need to do in terms of exposure is bias the histogram as far to the right as possible without clipping the highlights (i.e., forcing the brightest areas to a total white). This ensures you have the best exposure possible for the shadows, which will help minimize noise in those areas.

2 Process Raw Files as Smart Objects
Process the first version of the image in Adobe Camera Raw for a specific area (in our example, we’re keeping the sky from getting too washed out). To preserve maximum flexibility, click on the blue Workflow Options link below the preview and turn on the Open in Photoshop as Smart Objects checkbox. Click OK then Open Object to bring the file into Photoshop. Choose Layer>Smart Objects>New Smart Object via Copy to create a duplicate smart object of the embedded RAW file (the smart object duplication must be done this way to apply different RAW develop settings).

3 Process and Combine with Layer Masks
Double-click on the thumbnail for the duplicate smart object layer to access the Camera Raw dialog and adjust as needed for specific areas. We used the Exposure, Fill Light, and Brightness sliders to show more detail on the rental surfboards. Click OK to apply these new settings. Now it’s just a masking job to combine the two. We used the Quick Selection tool (W) to make a basic selection of the bright sky, then used that to make a layer mask for the top Smart Object layer. We then fine-tuned the edges using a Brush tool at varying opacities.

Adding a stroke to some text in Adobe Photoshop can be an effective technique, but most strokes stop at just one. Some designers may try to add another stroke and end up just editing the original one. But there’s an easy technique to add a stroke onto another stroke, and three or four or more strokes on the same text.

Preview of Final Results

Double and Triple Strokes Photoshop Tutorial

Step 1

Open Photoshop and go to File>New for a new file at this size and click OK.

Step 2

Click the Text tool in the toolbar and click anywhere and type in some text. Don’t click-and-drag a text box, but instead just click once and then type so we can click-and-drag a corner to resize it later. I set the color of mine to #4891dc by highlighting the text and then clicking the color on the Options palette.

Step 3

Change the font to something that will look good with strokes, such as an san serif font (arial or verdana instead of times new roman). I set it to Maiandra GD. Then click the Move tool and click-and-drag a corner to make it a little bit bigger. Remember to hold Shift to maintain proportion. After resizing, press Return (PC: Enter) to apply resize.

Step 4

Go to Layer>Layer Style>Stroke.

Step 5

The Position should be set to Outside and set the size to 3. Change the color to one that looks good with the original text color.

Step 6

It should look something like this, depending on the colors you selected.

Step 7

Now if we went to Layer>Layer Style>Stroke again, we’d just bring up the options to edit the original stroke. Instead, click-and-drag the text layer to the New Layer icon the Layers palette (or press Command-J (PC: Control-J)). This duplicates the text layer.

Step 8

Now we need to edit the stroke on the lower, original text layer to make it larger. Double-click on the Stroke effect listed on the bottom text layer.

Step 9

Set the size to something larger, such as 6 pixels, and change the color to something that looks good with the other two colors. You could use Adobe Illustrator’s Color Guide palette or just wing it by sight or use a color wheel. Click OK.

Step 10

It should look something like this.

Step 11

Repeat the steps of duplicating a layer and changing the size and color of the stroke to add a third, fourth, or fifth stroke. Remember to edit the lower layer when wanting to make the stroke larger to show past the layer on top of it. Click-and-drag a layer below another if they get arrange in the wrong order. In this example, I gradually went from a royal blue to a different hue blue, creating a retro gradient.

Step 12

Of course, each stroke doesn’t have to have a color, just one to hide the color behind it. Try setting the first stroke to white, and then setting the second stroke to the same color as the text by hovering over the text when selecting the color (it will convert to an Eyedropper tool).

ge-Photoshopped. HDR met aangepaste Curves. Extra Vignetering,…

Strand Nieuw Haamstede

Foto’s van Vinnie bewerkt;

We gaan naar het bos en nemen de Camera mee.

Beetje Photoshoppe en zie hier het resultaat (klik op de foto’s),……

Jawel, we hebben een nieuwe versie van Lightroom…2.0. Dit betekent dat er getest moet worden. En als we dan toch bezig zijn vervangen we natuurlijk tevens de Sjwets.nl achtergrond.

De eerste is in Grijstinten dmv het aanbrengen van een Black & White masker. Vervolgens is hier weer een masker overheen gelegd en zijn de ogen “uitgegumd”. De laatste is een Aged filter.