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Posts Tagged ‘Photoshop’

How to Use the NIK Filter Collection with Photoshop

23 Dec

The post How to Use the NIK Filter Collection with Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

Have you downloaded the NIK filter collection but now you don’t know how to use it? It’s great to have all these tools available, but they can be daunting to use for the first time. When there are so many choices available, it’s difficult to choose or even figure out where to start. So, keep reading for a quick introductory guide to the Nik filter interface.

Launch Photoshop

When you launch Photoshop, the Nik Filter Panel launches too. This panel is independent of the Photoshop interface. You can move it around your screen, minimize or close it without affecting Photoshop.

1 - How to Use the NIK Filter Collection with Photoshop

If you close it and want to open it again without re-launching Photoshop, go to Menu -> File -> Automate -> Nik Collection Selective Tool. If you don’t want the entire panel, but a specific filter you can go to Menu -> Filters -> Nik Collection and choose the one you want from the menu. However, keep in mind that this option is only active if you have already opened an image.

2 - How to Use the NIK Filter Collection with Photoshop - launch

While I’m using Color Efex Pro to show you around, this tutorial is an introduction to the entire collection. Therefore, I won’t go into much detail about this or any other particular filter. Instead, I discuss only what they share. When you launch the desired filter, a window pops up. This window has a canvas area where you can see the image and one or two adjustment panels on the side.

3 - How to Use the NIK Filter Collection with Photoshop - Interface

*Note that Dfine, Viveza and Sharpener Pro only have the adjustment panel on the right.

Canvas

Let’s start with the Canvas. Canvas is the area where you can see your image and the adjustments you’re making to it. First of all, you can change the background color so that you can best appreciate the photo. By clicking the button on top that has a lightbulb in it, you can switch to black, white or grey.

4 - How to Use the NIK Filter Collection with Photoshop - background colour

The default setting displays the canvas and the panels, that way you can see what you’re doing. However, you can hide the panels at any time by clicking the buttons on the top corner(s). You can also press the Tab key on your keyboard for this.

5 - How to Use the NIK Filter Collection with Photoshop - hide panels

View Modes

Still on the top bar, and regardless of how many panels you have shown, there’s always the display choices. You can have the Single Image Mode that shows your entire image with the adjustments. To see the original image, you can click the Compare button.

6 - How to Use the NIK Filter Collection with Photoshop - change view

Using the Compare button gives you a side by side comparison or a split image comparison. The two buttons are on top next to the Single View one.

7 - How to Use the NIK Filter Collection with Photoshop - view modes

Categories

Regarding panels, on the left, you’ll have the available filters when you are in Color Efex Pro, HDR Efex Pro, Analogue Pro, Silver Efex Pro. In this section, you can see all the possible filters or narrow down the choices by category.

Also, in most of them (except Color Efex Pro), you’ll have a thumbnail preview of them.

8 - How to Use the NIK Filter Collection with Photoshop - categories

Recipes

Below the categories and filters, you’ll find the Recipes. Presets and Recipes are a combination of filters that allow you to apply multiple filters and adjustments with one click. These are handy if you’re a beginner and want to have options that are more automized. However, you can create your own so that you can apply the same adjustments to multiple images. It’s a very useful tool.

Be careful not to apply it after you’ve already made some adjustments because they get overwritten by the recipe.

9 - How to Use the NIK Filter Collection with Photoshop - recipes

Note: If you change your mind about the recipe or anything else you’ve done, you’ll find the History button at the bottom where you can retrace your steps and go back.

Adjustments

On the right panel, you’ll have all the adjustments to personalize the filter or effect that you’re working on. This is available in all of the filters, but each one has different choices and possibilities.

10 - How to Use the NIK Filter Collection with Photoshop - adjustments

 

Finally, when you click OK at the bottom, the changes get applied as a new layer on top of the original image.

11 - How to Use the NIK Filter Collection with Photoshop - apply

Brush

However, if you only want to apply it to specific areas, click on Brush instead of clicking OK. That way, it gets applied as a layer mask. Then you can ‘paint’ the changes onto the desired parts. When you’re done, click Apply on the bottom of the Nik panel.

12 - How to Use the NIK Filter Collection with Photoshop - apply brush

Conclusion

I hope you feel a bit more confident to start moving around the settings and finding your way into all the potential these filters offer. Remember, you can always go back a step or two when making changes. Also, don’t be afraid of damaging your original file while you learn because any changes are made on a separate layer. Most of all get creative and enjoy.

Have you used the collection? What are your thoughts?

You may also find these articles helpful:

How to Boost Your Creativity with Lightroom Presets

How to Use Import and Export Presets in Lightroom Classic CC

How to Make Creative Lightroom Develop Presets for Portraits

The post How to Use the NIK Filter Collection with Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.


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How to Mimic a Digital Cyanotype Using Photoshop with Ease

15 Dec

The post How to Mimic a Digital Cyanotype Using Photoshop with Ease appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.

A Cyanotype was a popular film printing process that gave an appealing, beautiful cyan-colored tone to an image. Sounds nice right? Would you like to create one? Don’t worry – you don’t have to go back to the darkroom or become a chemist and waste tons of material to do it. I’ll show you how to create a digital Cyanotype using Photoshop.

EXTRA TIP: Because you achieved a Cyanotype by applying light-sensitive emulsion onto the paper (or surface) you were going to print on, the first thing you need is a background that mimics this effect. If you’re feeling crafty, you can buy yourself a brush, some paint and physically do your background. Then scan it and make it the size and resolution that better fits the image you’re going to use.

However, if doing so is a hassle, you can create your background digitally. Because I promised you digital Cyanotype, I’ll show you the latter.

Step 1:

First, pick the Brush tool from the Toolbox. Here, you’ll be able to pick the size and type of brush. From the Options Bar that is now active, choose your color. Select a brush with a wide tip, like a fan, so that the effect emulates brushstrokes and not a pen or a marker. The brush size depends on the size of your document.

It’s okay to make it uneven. Remember, the original method used hand-made techniques, so uneven gives it a nice unique look. For now, use black because the tone is applied later. Since we’re discussing color, I’ll use this space to tell you that, in my experience, any photo with a black or dark background blends easily. However, it’s possible to use any image.

Step 2:

Open the image you are turning into a Cyanotype and desaturate it. To achieve this, you need to go to Menu -> Adjustments -> Image -> Hue/Saturation. Move the Saturation slider all the way down to the left.

Once you have your image, drag it into the canvas where you created the brushstroke background. It gets pasted as a new layer in that document. Drag the corners to make it the right size for your background and click on the check mark to apply.

Step 3:

Select the layer with the brushstrokes and add an Adjustment layer of Levels. Move the black and the middle tones to lighten the color so that your black becomes dark grey.

Step 4:

Next, select the top layer – the one with your image, and add another Adjustment layer. This time choose Color Balance. Here you can make a combination to find the right tone of blue you want. As a starting point, use the ones I’m using: Cyan -62 and Blue +95.

Step 5:

Once you’re satisfied with the color of your image, you can choose to make it less intense by adding another Adjustment layer. Always keep the layer on top selected so that the new Adjustment layer covers all layers. Add a Hue/Saturation Adjustment layer and move the Saturation slider a little bit to the left. Be careful not to go too much into the gray because it may no longer resemble a Cyanotype.

Step 6:

If you can see the borders of the image you pasted, the balance isn’t right. It’s not incorporating well with the background. To fix this issue,  change the layer Blending Mode. Select the image layer and open the Blending Mode menu. Choose Lighten or Screen to achieve a better result.

However, if there is still some evidence of the border, choose the Eraser tool from the Tool Box and lower the opacity. Choose a brush with soft borders and erase so that you can defuse the border and make it a smoother transition.

Your finished Cyanotype

You should now have your finished Cyanotype. I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and gave it a go. Please share your results in the comment section below.

More retro photography techniques

If you like retro photography techniques, you may also find these articles useful:

How to Create a Lithography Effect Using Photoshop

How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

How To Mimic a Cross-Processing Effect in Photoshop

How to Mimic Lomography in Photoshop with Ease

The post How to Mimic a Digital Cyanotype Using Photoshop with Ease appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.


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Loupedeck adds Photoshop CC 2019 support to its latest editing console

15 Dec

Loupedeck has announced its Loupedeck+ editing console now supports Photoshop CC 2019. The new support is the result of feedback from Loupedeck customers, according to the company, and joins the Adobe Premiere Pro CC compatibility released in September. With this new support, Photoshop CC 2019 users can edit their images using the software and Loupedeck+ console.

The updated Loupedeck+ editing console was launched in June, adding support for Capture One and Aurora HDR in addition to hardware improvements. With this latest compatibility update, Loupedeck+ can be used with multiple Adobe Creative Suite products, including Lightroom Classic CC, Premiere Pro CC, and Photoshop CC 2019.

The new Photoshop support provides editors with direct access to the photo software’s tools and functions, as well as layer control, configurable buttons for custom actions, smart filter access, and more. Loupedeck+’s hardware controls include buttons, dials, and wheels.

Loupedeck+ is available now for $ 249 USD.

Loupedeck+ Announces First Integration with Adobe Photoshop

The photo & video editing console continues to evolve based on community feedback, now even more adaptable to photographers’ needs

HELSINKI, Finland – December 14, 2018 – Loupedeck, the custom photo & video editing console built with an intuitive design that makes editing faster and more creative, has announced its first integration with Adobe Photoshop CC 2019. This compatibility further expands the product’s utility for editing in several Adobe Creative Suite applications, including: Adobe Lightroom Classic CC and Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

After this year’s launch of the Loupedeck+, the decision to integrate with Photoshop is exclusively based on feedback from Loupedeck’s invested community, many of whom utilize the imaging and graphic design software in their editing workflow. The Loupedeck+ will permit more intuitive and faster editing, providing more accuracy on controlling Photoshop’s functions.

New Adobe Photoshop editing functionalities of the Loupedeck+ include:

  • Total flexibility with Photoshop CC, allowing image editors to configure Loupedeck+ to match their personal workflow
  • Intuitive features that make editing faster: swap between current and previous tools, reset blending or to fit image on screen by just a press of a button
  • Ability to focus on the image instead of navigating: minimize mouse pointing, list scrolling and target practicing with tiny icons
  • More direct access to tools, functions, layers and other Photoshop options to save time
  • Excellent layer control by moving, grouping, merging, adjusting opacity, fill, visibility or masking
  • Ability to run smart filter with Loupedeck+’s configurable buttons
  • Custom mode that gives even more possibilities for mapping different Photoshop functions on Loupedeck+
  • Ability to create your own actions and run them with Loupedeck+’s configurable buttons

“In our ongoing mission to make the editing processes of both professional and amateur photographers more intuitive and efficient, we continually work to integrate Loupedeck+ with the editing suites they utilize and cherish most in their workflows,” said Mikko Kesti, Founder and CEO of Loupedeck.

“Members of our dedicated user community emphasized their eagerness to use the console to edit with Photoshop and we listened. Following Loupedeck’s original integration with Adobe Lightroom and recent foray into video editing by way of Adobe Premiere Pro, this next stage of our partnership will continue to support photographers worldwide.”

In addition to its Adobe integrations, Loupedeck+ is compatible with Skylum Aurora HDR while future integrations with Skylum’s other products, including Skylum Luminar, are expected as well.

The device is available for purchase in the Loupedeck Online Store, B&H Photo and Amazon.com for $ 249. For more information visit www.loupedeck.com.

About Loupedeck

Loupedeck, the company behind the Loupedeck+, is the only editing console custom-built to improve the Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Premiere Pro CC, and Skylum Aurora HDR experience, with an intuitive design that makes editing faster and more creative. It allows both professional and amateur photographers to improve the ergonomics of editing, comfortably increasing output. Loupedeck’s hands-on and highly intuitive console minimizes the use the mouse and keyboard, and it works seamlessly with Apple and PC operating systems.

Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Loupedeck was founded in 2016 with a highly successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that exceeded its original target by 488 percent. For more information, visit www.loupedeck.com.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Photoshop Focus Stacking for Still Life and Product Photography

09 Dec

The post Photoshop Focus Stacking for Still Life and Product Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.

1 - Photoshop Focus Stacking by Darina Kopcok for DPS

Still life and product photography often require that your entire subject be sharp.

This can be difficult to achieve in-camera because if you’re shooting up-close, you can’t always get a lot of your subject in focus.

Stopping down to a smaller aperture (higher F-stop number) will not necessarily help you get a sharper image.

Enter Photoshop and focus stacking.

Focus stacking is a post-production technique of blending several images with different focus points to create one image that is sharp and in focus throughout the entire subject.

It’s the ultimate way to get the sharpest images, and it’s a crucial technique to know for still life photography.

2 - Photoshop Focus Stacking by Darina Kopcok for DPS

Why you can’t get razor sharp photos

Your aperture, focal length and the distance from your subject all impact the sharpness of your image.

Shooting at a higher F-stop number like f/22 won’t help you get sharper images in still life photography because of lens diffraction.

Lens diffraction in a phenomenon of optical physics that occurs in the lens and camera sensor.

When you shoot at f/2.8 or f/4, a lot of light hits your camera sensor directly. At apertures like f/16, the light hits the subject less precisely and causes a loss of sharpness.

It doesn’t matter how good your lens is – your images will be less sharp at apertures of f/16 and higher due to this law of physics.

The more you stop down, the finer details will blur out further.

Lens diffraction tends to be worse in zoom lenses than prime lenses because zooms have several moving parts.

3 - Photoshop Focus Stacking by Darina Kopcok for DPS

The depth-of-field problem

In still life and product photography, you often need to get pretty close to your subject. This means a shallower depth-of-field.

If you’re shooting small objects like jewelry, or objects that need to fill the frame, you’re usually so close that its entire depth cannot be in focus.

Using a macro lens like a 100mm or 110mm will also give you a shallow depth-of-field.

This is great if you’re doing food photography and want that blurred out background that is sought after in that genre, but for other types of still life, it creates a problem.

4 - Photoshop Focus Stacking by Darina Kopcok for DPS

Shooting for focus stacking

In order to focus stack in Photoshop, you need to shoot in a certain way with certain tools.

First of all, you need a sturdy tripod because your subject must be in exactly the same position from shot to shot in order to be successfully blended later in Photoshop.

If you accidentally bump your tripod, you’ll need to start all over again.

A shutter release is recommended to activate the shutter. Pressing the shutter by hand will introduce a small vibration that can introduce camera shake into the image and cause them to be misaligned in Photoshop.

That being said, Photoshop does a good job with aligning layers that are slightly off.

Personally, I like to tether my camera to Lightroom or Capture One and activate the shutter from within the program.

To shoot for focus stacking, start off by composing your shots and determining your exposure. You should use manual mode so that your exposure is the same from shot to shot.

  • Choose a point on your subject to focus on and take a shot.
  • Focus on a different point on your subject without moving the camera or adjusting any setting
  • Choose the next point and take the final exposure.

Three images will often be enough to cover each area of depth-of-field but it will vary by image

5 - Photoshop Focus Stacking by Darina Kopcok for DPS

Focus stacking in Photoshop

To blend the images together in Photoshop, start off by exporting PSD files into a folder or onto your desktop where you can easily find them.

  • Open Photoshop.
  • Go to File and choose Scripts.
  • Select Load Files into Stack.
  • Click Browse and select all the images from where you saved them initially.
  • Check the Box for Attempt to Automatically Align Source Images.
  • Click OK. Each of the images will open as a new layer in Photoshop.
  • Hold down Shift and click on the top layer in the Layers panel to highlight all the layers.
  • Under Edit, select Auto Blend-Layers.
  • Check the box for Stack Images and also for Seamless Tones and Colors. DO NOT check ‘Content Aware.’ Click OK.
  • Save the final image.

If you have uploaded a lot of images, flatten the final image by selecting Layer -> Flatten Image -> Save.

6 - Photoshop Focus Stacking by Darina Kopcok for DPS

Conclusion

Focus stacking is necessary for product photography but also very useful for other types of still life photography – even food photography.

If you’re fairly new to Photoshop, don’t be intimidated.

Focus stacking is a lot easier than you might think and you will undoubtedly be pleased with your results.

Have you used photoshop focus stacking? If so, share with us your thoughts and images below.

 

The post Photoshop Focus Stacking for Still Life and Product Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.


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How to Create a Lithography Effect Using Photoshop

05 Dec

The post How to Create a Lithography Effect Using Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.

1- How to Create a Lithography Effect Using Photoshop

I love getting inspiration from darkroom techniques and applying original effects to digital photos. If you’re like me and want to give your images a vintage look, this tutorial is for you. I’ll show you how to get a beautiful creamy-caramel tone that mimics Lithography (or Lith for short) printing.

Lith printing is a monochrome technique that consists of overexposing the paper and then underdeveloping it. By doing this, your photograph gets warm colors with strong shadows but with aerial highlights. That explained, now let’s get into Photoshop.

1.  Choose Your Image and Create a Black and White Adjustment Layer

To create a Lithography Effect Using Photoshop, choose the image you want to work with and open it in Photoshop. There’s no need to duplicate it or save an extra copy as you’re not going to touch this original image. Everything is done using layers and adjustment layers. Working this way not only protects your original image, but it also allows you to go back and adjust or modify every step if you wish to.

2 -How to Create a Lithography Effect Using Photoshop

 

The first step is to create an adjustment Black and White Adjustment layer. To do this, click on the ‘Add Adjustment Layer’ button from the bottom of the layers panel. It’s the one with the symbol of a half dark – half light circle. A pop-up menu appears with all your choices. Choose the Black and White one. Now the properties panel allows you to adjust it through the use of sliders. You can move the green and the yellow sliders to lighten it a little bit like I’m doing. However, this depends on the photo you’re using.

3 - How to Create a Lithography Effect Using Photoshop

2. Create a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer

Next, add another adjustment layer. This time choose ‘Hue/Saturation’ from the menu to achieve the tones you want. Ensure the ‘Colorize’ box is checked and move the ‘Hue’ slider. In the original technique, the tone depended on the type of paper, the specific blend of developer and the time you left it to process, so you can also be flexible here. In any case aim for a soft brown or caramel, For my taste, something between 20 or 30 on the slider works well.

4 - How to Create a Lithography Effect Using Photoshop

3. Create a Brightness/Contrast Adjustment Layer

Create another adjustment layer and choose ‘Brightness/Contrast’ from the menu. Click the ‘Legacy’ box and drag the contrast slider to the left to flatten your mid-tones.

5 - How to Create a Lithography Effect Using Photoshop

4. Create a Curves Adjustment Layer

The last adjustment layer is meant to adjust the shadows. Add a ‘Curves’ adjustment layer and anchor the lightest part by clicking on the top right corner. Drag the darkest one (on the bottom left) to the right until you reach the first quadrant. Finally, create an anchor point in the middle and drag it upwards for the mid-tones. It may sound complicated, but you can see it in the screenshot below. There is also no need to replicate exactly. It also depends on your image and your liking.

6 - How to Create a Lithography Effect Using Photoshop

5. Create a New Layer

That is all for the adjustment layers. Now create a new layer. This button is also on the bottom of the panel; however, the symbol is a square with one corner bent. Color this layer by going to Menu -> Edit -> Fill, choose 50% Gray and apply. This layer should completely cover your image but don’t worry; you’ll fix that later.

7 - How to Create a Lithography Effect Using Photoshop

6. Add Noise

While still in this layer, go to Menu -> Filter -> Noise -> Add Noise. In the pop-up window, choose ‘Monochrome’ and slide up to about 140% because you need to distress the image.

8 - How to Create a Lithography Effect Using Photoshop

6. Add Blur and Soft Light

Next, go to Menu -> Filter -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur and set it to ‘4.’ This softens the noise.

9 - How to Create a Lithography Effect Using Photoshop

Now change the Blending Mode from the drop-down menu that you’ll see on the top of the panel, and choose ‘Soft Light.’

10 - How to Create a Lithography Effect Using Photoshop

7. Add a Layer Mask

Now your image is distressed as desired, but the effect needs to be contained only into the darkest areas because Lithography prints are characteristic for their grittiness within the shadows. To achieve this effect, you need to add a layer mask to it. Go to Menu -> Select -> Color Range and sample the darkest areas by clicking on one of them. You can fine-tune this selection by dragging the fuzziness slider.

11 - How to Create a Lithography Effect Using Photoshop

Now click on the Layer Mask button and see the results or your finished digital Lith. Please give it a try and share your results in the comment section.

12 - How to Create a Lithography Effect Using Photoshop

The post How to Create a Lithography Effect Using Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.


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Using Photoshop Filters During Post-Processing to Correct and Enhance Images

24 Nov

When you think of filters in photography, your first thought might be those specialized glass pieces you affix to the end of your lens. Most of these filters serve a specific purpose (e.g. a polarizing filter to reduce glare), although some are for artistic effects (e.g. colored filters).

But if you want to apply artistic/special effects in post-processing, Photoshop has a number of filters you can apply during this stage of your workflow. They can also be used to clean up or retouch images.

Recommendation

When working with an image, it’s good practice to work non-destructively (i.e. you don’t change the pixels). Using Photoshop filters directly on a pixel layer will change the pixels, so wherever possible you should use Smart Filters.

A Smart Filter is a filter that’s applied to a Smart Object – a layer that saves the image’s source information with its original characteristics and allows you to edit non-destructively. So before you start applying filters, convert the layer you’re working on to a Smart Object.

Note: Depending on your version of Photoshop, you may not be able to apply some filters as Smart Filters.

Filter Gallery

The filter gallery in Photoshop gives you quick access to a number of filters. From the menu choose Filter, and then Filter Gallery to view them on the screen. It’s an easy way to see the effect a filter would have without changing the original image. Here you can apply one or a combination of filters to your image.

The easiest way to understand what they all do is to select each one and look at the preview. It’s a simple artistic edit that can come in handy when used selectively.

The Filter Gallery showing the options that can be applied.

Adaptive Wide Angle Filter

This is also available in the Filter menu and can be useful for correcting distortion issues resulting from wide-angle or fisheye lenses. These lenses sometimes introduce curves that weren’t actually there. You can also use the adaptive wide angle filter to straighten lines that appear curved in panoramic shots.

To straighten a curved horizon, click and drag from the left side of the horizon to the right. This adds a blue line (called a constraint) around the area of distortion. The constraint marks the area and straightens it.

An image taken with a fish-eye lens

This filter has a number of correction types:

  • Fisheye corrects those extreme curves made with a fisheye lens
  • Perspective corrects converging lines resulting from your angle of view or camera tilt
  • Full Spherical corrects 360-degree panoramas with a 1:2 aspect ratio
  • Auto applies what Photoshop deems an appropriate correction

Image adjusted using Adaptive Wide Angle filter

Note: The Panorama correction type is also available if you apply this filter to a photomerged panorama.

Lens Correction

The Lens Correction filter fixes different kinds of distortions. Similar to the Adaptive Wide Angle filter, it remedies distortion created by wide-angle and fisheye lenses. It can also straighten images taken at an angle and make them appear as if shot straight on. One of the great things with this filter is you can choose to either manually correct the image or have Photoshop correct it automatically.

Angled image.

  • Geometric Distortion is another easy way to remove a fish-eye effect.
  • Chromatic Aberration can remove any colored fringes around your subjects on high contrast edges.
  • Vignette does a good job of adding a vignette.
  • Transform gives you sliders to help you correct perspectives, with options for vertical and horizontal perspectives, as well as rotating to compensate for camera tilt.

Edited with the Lens Correction filter.

Liquify

The Liquify filter can be used to push and pull pixels around and is one of the most powerful filters under the Filter menu. You may associate liquify with body transformations, but it can do much more than that.

Within the liquify filter menu, the forward warp tool (at the top left) is the most popular. The key to using this tool successfully is to use a brush size slightly larger than you think you need. You should also use a lower pressure brush (for more subtlety) and increase your density (to affect a bigger area within your brush circle).

The Liquify Tool used to reshape a piece of fruit.

Vanishing Point

The Vanishing Point filter brings an image in line with the perspective of another. For example, if you want to composite a picture frame into a room, this filter will help you match the perspective of the frame to any wall in the right perspective.

Third-Party Filters

Photoshop lets you easily add hundreds of third-party filters (available via plugins) to your arsenal.

These can help you make the most of your images or get super creative. Many simplify the steps Photoshop is capable of achieving so you can perform them in a shorter time. Some of these include the Nik Collection, Topaz and ON1.

Above Image with two Nik filters applied: Paper Toner and Vignette

Conclusion

Using Photoshop Filters is an easy option if you want to get creative. Photoshop has a few standard ones you can experiment with, and stacking them can create a unique image.

Which filters do you use? Share some of your results with us.

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How to Batch Resize Your Images Quickly Using Photoshop

17 Nov

While it’s relatively easy to write an Action to resize a series of images in Photoshop, it’s easier still to get Photoshop to do all the work for you. Photoshop comes with an image processor script that will open, resize, and save a series of images for you – very quickly. Here are the steps to make the batch resize process work for your images.

How to Batch Resize Your Images Using Photoshop

Batch resizing images in PS CC 2019 is fast and easy – no need to run an action. You can just run a script in the Image Processor menu option.

Step 1 – Image Processor

How to Batch Resize Your Images Using Photoshop

The Image Processor option lives under the Scripts tab in the main File menu of Photoshop.

Choose File -> Scripts -> Image Processor. The image processor dialog shows a simple four-step process for resizing the images.

Step 2 – Choose images

In Section 1 of the Image Processor dialog, select to either resize the images already open in Photoshop (if you have them open) or click ‘Select Folder’ and choose a folder of images to resize. Select ‘Include all Subfolders’ if you wish to also include them.

How to Batch Resize Your Images Using Photoshop

I prefer to open my images prior to resizing in Photoshop. That way I am not hunting for the folder I need. But if you have all your images organized in a folder you can choose the ‘Select Folder’ option in Step 1 of the Image Processor window.

Step 3 – Save images location

In Section 2 of the Image Processor dialog box, you can select where to save the images. When selecting ‘Save in Same Location,’ Photoshop creates a subfolder to save the images in so you don’t have to worry about overwriting them. When a subfolder of the same name already exists with images of the same names in it, Photoshop saves to that folder but adds a sequential number to the file. That way, you won’t lose your other files. Alternatively, you can select a different folder for the resized images.

How to Batch Resize Your Images Using Photoshop

Indicate where you want Photoshop to save the resized images.

Step 4 – File Type and Size

In Section 3 of the Image Processor dialog box, select the file type you want Photoshop to save your image as. For the web ‘Save as JPEG’ is the obvious choice. You can set a Quality value in the range 0 to 12 where 12 is the highest quality and 0 the lowest.

For better color on the web, you can also select ‘Convert profile to sRGB.’ Ensure that ‘Include ICC Profile’ at the foot of the dialog is checked so the profile will be saved with the image.

How to Batch Resize Your Images Using Photoshop

Option 3 in the Image Processor dialog box is where you can select the type of file you want to save the resized image. You can choose the size in terms of W (width) and H (height) in pixels.

To batch resize the images, select the ‘Resize to Fit’ checkbox. Set the desired maximum width and height for the final image. For example, if you type ‘300’ for the width and ‘300’ for the height, the image will be resized so that the longest side of the image (whether it be in portrait or landscape orientation) will be 300 pixels.

The images are scaled in proportion so they aren’t skewed out of shape. If desired, you can save in another format as well. Just select its checkbox so you can save the same image in different formats and at different sizes in the one process.

The Width and Height measurements do not have to be the same. So you could, for example, specify a Width of 500 and a Height of 700 and no image will have a width greater than 500 or a height greater than 700.

Step 5 – Run Action

In Section 4 of the Image Processor panel, you can also select ‘Run an Action’ on the images if desired.

Step 6 – Run

Once you’re ready, click ‘Run’ and the images are automatically opened (if they are not already), resized, saved, and closed.

To see your resized images, choose File -> Open and navigate to the folder that you specified the images to be saved to. If you chose to save as a JPEG, the images will be in a subfolder called JPEG. PSDs are in a folder called PSD and so on.

How to Batch Resize Your Images Using Photoshop

In conclusion, whenever you need to resize a large number of images for uploading to the web, for example, the batch resize in the Photoshop Image Processor script makes the job fast, efficient, and painless.

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Photoshop Smart Objects for Beginners

15 Nov

 

1 - Photoshop Smart Objects for Beginners

When editing in Photoshop, it is nice to know how the edits affect your image. Edits that you make directly to an image write over the original image. Edits also change its pixels. The opposite of editing directly is the practice of non-destructive editing. This is where the edits on the image are on a separate layer, which preserves both the edited and original image.

Using Smart Objects in Photoshop allows you to edit an image in a non-destructive way. A Smart Object is a layer that saves your image’s original state and permits editing without changing or destroying pixels. It also means you can undo any changes you make.

Why Use Smart Objects?

The main reason to use Smart Objects is to perform non-destructive editing. This means you can scale, skew, rotate, or warp an image without compromising its original pixels or quality. Simply put any transformation you do to the image does not affect the original data.

2 - Photoshop Smart Objects for Beginners

By right clicking on the mirror image layer of the hummingbird, you can convert it to a Smart Object.

3 - Photoshop Smart Objects for Beginners

Here the image is resized to be a smaller scale. The red circle shows that only the right side is a Smart Object

4 - Photoshop Smart Objects for Beginners

When the image is returned to its original size, the Smart Object (right) is unaffected, while the left side shows destructive editing and decreased pixel clarity.

Advanced Photoshop users are fans of linking ‘Smart Objects.’ This is where you use a single image or file in several Photoshop projects. This is very beneficial when you make changes to the original file. The changes are instantly reflected across all the linked referenced files. In the design world, this is a huge time-saver! It can be useful to photographers who want to change a logo/watermark across a multitude of images too.

Smart Filters

When you apply a filter to a ‘Smart Object,’ it becomes a ‘Smart Filter.’ What this means is, that the filter is not altering the pixels and you can adjust/change them later on if need be.

To create a ‘Smart Filter,’ select your ‘Smart Object,’ choose your desired filter and set your requirement options. To edit any of the applied filters, simply double-click on it and enter your adjustment. You can also change the order of filters or delete them from here. The ease of adjusting a filter/filter values is another great reason to use Smart Objects.

Note: Within the different versions of Photoshop, there are a few filters that cannot be applied as a Smart Filter

5 - Photoshop Smart Objects for Beginners

The same filter is applied to both sides, but the Smart Filter is highlighted under the Smart Object on the right image.

6 - Photoshop Smart Objects for Beginners

When you uncheck the eyeball next to the filter, your original layer is revealed unaffected.

7 - Photoshop Smart Objects for Beginners

Using Smart Filters, stacking and adjusting filters independently of each other is easy.

Masking Smart Filters

When a filter is applied to a ‘Smart Object,’ Photoshop shows you a white mask thumbnail on the ‘Smart Filter’ line. This Smart Filter mask works the same way that Layer masks work, where you paint black to hide and white to reveal.

8 - Photoshop Smart Objects for Beginners

Filter Masks works the same way as Layer Masks.

How to Create a Smart Object?

Two easy ways to create Smart Objects are:

1. You can open a file as a Smart Object.
From the Photoshop menu, choose File -> Open as Smart Object. Choose your file and click ‘Open.’

9 - Photoshop Smart Objects for Beginners

2. You can convert a layer to a Smart Object.
Select the Layer you want to convert and from the Photoshop menu, choose Layer -> Smart Object -> Convert to Smart Object. The shortcut for this is right-clicking on the layer and choosing ‘Convert to Smart Object.’

Note: Smart Objects can be created on a layer, a layer group or on multiple layers.

Smart Object Shortcomings

Files that contain ‘Smart Objects’ are larger and therefore require more system resources to open, work with and save. So these can certainly slow down your computer while it processes.

While ‘Smart Objects’ work with the different types of transformations, they do not work with those operations that alter pixel data. So you will not able to dodge, burn, clone or paint directly to a ‘Smart Object’ unless it is first converted to a regular layer. This conversion nullifies the effects of using ‘Smart Objects’ in the first place. If you have to alter pixel data, it is recommended you edit a duplicate layer of the ‘Smart Object’ or create a new layer.

10 - Photoshop Smart Objects for Beginners

Smart Filters also make it easy to add and remove applied filters e.g. this vignette added to the image above.

Conclusion

Using Smart Objects is a very powerful tool and a great approach to editing in Photoshop. It allows you to preserve your original image data and work non-destructively. Even though the files are large and can slow down your processing, it retains the quality of your images.

How do you use Smart Objects?

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How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

13 Nov

There is an incredible array of color in our world, so it’s no wonder that it plays such a significant role in photography. However, have you ever considered narrowing your pallet down to just two colors? A duotone image is just that – an image made up of two individual tones. A duotone scheme can highlight subtle detail or boast a vivacious color combination that can make an image pop! Here’s how to make use of Photoshop’s Duotone tool to create a beautiful duotone look.

1 - How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

Select an image with a good tonal range so that the duotone can take full effect.

How to Duotone a Photograph

Step 1 – Preparing an Image

First, select an image with a good tonal range and open it in Photoshop. I chose this image of a flower because it has a range of dark shadows through to bright highlights.

In order to apply a duotone effect to your photograph, you convert it to a greyscale image first. Select ‘Image’ in the top Photoshop menu bar, followed by ‘Mode -> Grayscale.’

2 - How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

A prompt will appear, asking if you want to discard color information. Click ‘Discard’ and your image will be converted to Grayscale.

3 - How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

Click the ‘Discard’ button and your image will be converted to grayscale.

After you have converted your image to grayscale, you may notice that your image looks a bit flat. Open a ‘Curves’ adjustment layer by clicking on the ‘Curves’ icon in the Adjustments tab.

4 - How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

Adjust your contrast with the ‘Curves’ adjustment layer until you are happy with the level of contrast in your image.

5 - How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

Adjust your contrast with the ‘Curves’ adjustment layer until you are happy with the result.

Step 2- Converting to Duotone

The next step is to convert your image to duotone. Make sure you have your original image layer selected and click on ‘Image’ in the top Photoshop menu bar. Select ‘Mode ->Duotone.’

6 - How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

Once you’ve selected ‘Duotone’ from the menu a Duotone Options window will open.

7 - How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

If it isn’t already set, click on the ‘Type’drop-down menu and select ‘Duotone.’ Selecting ‘Tritone’ and ‘Quadtone’ will allow you to add three and four colors respectively, but we’ll just stick with the two colors for now.

8 - How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

Click on the ‘Type’ drop-down menu and select ‘Duotone.’

Step 3 – Making Adjustments

Once you’ve selected ‘Duotone’ from the ‘Type’ drop-down menu, you’ll see two channels are available: one for ‘Ink 1’ and one for ‘Ink 2’. Traditionally ‘Ink 1’ is set to black, as it defines the shadows in your image, so start with that. Ink 2 is for filling in the mid tones and highlights with your selected color.

9 - How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

The ‘Ink 1’ and ‘Ink 2’ channels.

There are two ways to go about applying a Duotone effect to your image. The first method is to click on the ‘Preset’ drop-down menu and select a color scheme from the available options. To preview your adjustments as you go, make sure the ‘Preview’ box is checked.

11 - How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

Click on the ‘Preset’ drop-down menu and select a color scheme from the options available.

However, if you aren’t keen on the preset options, you can always select your own custom colors. Click on the colored box for ‘Ink 2’ and you will bring up the ‘Color Libraries’ window.

12 - How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

Click on the color box for ‘Ink 2’ to bring up the ‘Color Libraries’ window.

The ‘Color Libraries’ window groups colors into certain printing prerequisites, so have a browse and find a color you like. You can also click the ‘Picker’ button to bring up the standard ‘Color Picker’ window. Once you have found a color you like, click OK.

13 - How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

You can adjust the contrast of each channel individually. Click on the curve window to the left of the color boxes and fine-tune your contrast as you would adjust a Curves adjustment layer.

14 - How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

Click on the curves windows to adjust the contrast in each channel.

15 - How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

Fine-tune your contrast as you would adjust a ‘Curves’ adjustment layer.

Once you are happy with the result, give a name to each channel (I usually just name them Ink 1 and 2) and click OK!

Step 4- Experiment!

Now you have the basics down, its time to experiment! Here are a few of my own examples below.

16 - How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

Here is a more traditional application of the duotone tool. I added this sepia tone by selecting a deep brown from the Color Library.

17 - How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

This evocative color scheme was made up of a deep red color for the shadows and a blue tint for the midtones and highlights.

18 - How to Duotone a Photograph in Photoshop

Traditionally, a duotone image is toned with black for the shadows. But that doesn’t mean you can’t experiment! I got this rich, pop-arty effect by combining red with magenta.

Please share your creations below!

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How To Mimic a Cross-Processing Effect in Photoshop

11 Nov

How To Mimic a Cross-Processing Effect in Photoshop

Cross-processing is a technique that comes from the darkroom days. You would purposely develop film in the wrong chemicals to achieve special color effects. When no film or chemicals are involved in digital processing, it is possible to mimic a cross-processing effect in Photoshop. I’ll show you how in a few easy steps.

The technique is called cross-processing because it referred to the processing of negative film with a chemical developer designed for reversal film. Or vice versa. You will also find it under the name ‘x-pro’ or ‘Xpro.’

Of course, replicating this effect directly in camera isn’t possible, but you can reproduce the results with Photoshop. You can make your image look like it’s the result of cross-processing.

In Photoshop there’s often a preset that solves your problems. Cross-processing is no exception. I will show you a step-by-step way to do it so that you can have more control over the end result. There is no right or wrong. One is no better than the other. It’s about giving you a choice so you can decide what works best for you.

So, let’s get started.

The Cross-Processing  Preset

To find the ‘Cross-processing’ preset add an ‘Adjustment’ layer. Click the button at the bottom of the layers panel and choose ‘Curves’ from the pop-up menu.

Curves - How To Mimic a Cross-Processing Effect in Photoshop

From the ‘Properties’ panel open the ‘Preset’ menu. Change it from ‘Default’ to ‘Cross-Process (RGB).’

Cross Process RGB - How To Mimic a Cross-Processing Effect in Photoshop

Notice the colors of the image are very saturated and have a definite green color cast. The graph now has three colored lines: Red, Green and Blue. Each line has a different shape.

Graph - How To Mimic a Cross-Processing Effect in Photoshop

Those three colored lines represent the three channels (Red, Blue and Green) adjusted by the Preset to create the effect. Therefore, you may create this effect manually without using the preset. You can achieve this manually by tampering with each color channel separately.

Using Curve Properties to Achieve the Cross-Processing Effect

For this, instead of changing the preset menu, open the ‘RGB menu.’ Go into each color and move the curve in the graph.

Curves - How To Mimic a Cross-Processing Effect in Photoshop

However, many people don’t find the ‘Curves’ tool very comfortable. So I’ll show you a tool to work with sliders to achieve similar results.

Discard the ‘Curves’ layer or hide it by clicking the ‘Eye’ symbol to the left of the layer. That way you can work with the original image. Now add an ‘Adjustment’ Layer with a ‘Channel Mixer.’

Channel Mixer - How To Mimic a Cross-Processing Effect in Photoshop

In the Properties panel, find the ‘Output Channel.’ Here, open the drop-down menu to change from one color channel to another.

Output Channels - How To Mimic a Cross-Processing Effect in Photoshop

In each color output channel, you can see the corresponding color slider will be at 100%, while the other two are set to ‘0.’ So, in the ‘Red’ channel, the Red slider is set at ‘100’ while Green and Blue are at ‘0.’ In the ‘Green’ channel, the green is set at ‘100’ and the Red and Blue are at ‘0.’ In the ‘Blue’ channel, the blue is set at ‘100’ with Red and Green at ‘0.’

Move the sliders to create your own cross-processed image. Move all three channels sliders around until you’re satisfied.

Red color cast - How To Mimic a Cross-Processing Effect in Photoshop

Remember, you don’t need to duplicate the result that the Preset proposed. But if that is your objective, you don’t need to go into moving any setting individually.

To reiterate, to achieve an image that suggests cross-processing, more than one formula exists.

Green Color Cast - How To Mimic a Cross-Processing Effect in Photoshop

A few things to keep in mind:

  • Cross-processing was initially a ‘mistake’ (even if done on purpose) causing unpredictable results. Thus, feel free to experiment and be creative because there is no wrong answer.
  • Cross-processed images look oversaturated with a distinct color cast.
  • Using the wrong chemical would often distress the image, to mimic this you can introduce some noise.

Adding Noise to Your Image

To add noise to your image, select your image layer and go to Menu -> Filters -> Noise -> Add Noise. A pop-up window will open giving you a preview of the filter you are applying and the sliders to adjust it. Make adjustments to your preference.

Adding Noise - How To Mimic a Cross-Processing Effect in Photoshop

Keep experimenting and have fun!

If you have you experimented with cross-processing effects in Photoshop, please share with us in the comments below.

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