Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2018 i Practical Photoshop

This classic darkroom effect results in a partially positive, partially negative image. Normally we’d apply it to a black-and-white image, but it can yield interesting results on colour photos too. Portraits are usually good candidates to try out, as their range of light and dark tones suit the effect. Open the image into Photoshop then go to the Layers panel, click the Adjustment Layer icon and choose Curves. In the Curves box, click the pencil icon. Click in the top-left corner of the Curves box, then hold Shift and click in the bottom-middle, then Shift-click again in the top-right. This creates a V-shaped curve line that inverts the darker half of the tonal range. WATCH THE VIDEO https://goo.gl/VsSb59…

It’s very easy to recreate the double exposure look in Photoshop: simply drop one image on top of another, and set the Blending Mode to Screen. The results look just as if the images were exposed to the same frame of film, which is how it was done in the old days. If you want to take it a stage further, try blending several images together, carefully masked and positioned to create an effect like this. To do so, drop in several images, each set to the Screen Blending Mode. Add a Layer Mask to each layer, and paint with black using a soft-edged brush tip to blend the images into one seamless whole. Here we’ve blended an image of a tree and clouds, then downloaded a couple of high-res…

One of the most useful, and simplest, ‘rules’ of photography is that every shot should have a subject. This is true whether you’re shooting a portrait or a landscape. Even abstract photos work best when they have a point of focus – something to draw the eye to a certain part of the image. Sure, all rules were meant to be broken, but having a subject to draw the eye can lead to a stronger shot. But what if there’s no subject in sight? We’ve surely all come across beautiful scenes or gorgeous moments of light that don’t have a point of interest, but we go ahead and shoot anyway. Like our starting photo here, the resulting image will probably be decent enough, but slightly bland. Thankfully you can use…

01 FRAME SILHOUETTES Each figure will be in silhouette, so place them side-on to make strong shapes. Consider how you’ll separate them from the background and leave room behind each to allow for the smoke. This is how our scene looks with the lights on. 02 CREATE BILLOWING SMOKE EFFECTS We used a vape to create our smoky effect (filled with a nicotine-free e-liquid). It’s best not to inhale as the vapor is thicker when blown out instantly. Aim the vapor behind the figures, which is what we need for silhouettes. 03 SET THE EXPOSURE With our camera set up on a tripod and the room made dark, we set our SLR to Manual, then use a low ISO of 100 and a narrow aperture of f/20 to maximize depth…

Open the portrait, then go to Image > Mode > Lab Color. Press Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate the layer, then go to the Channels panel and click the Lightness Channel. Grab the Burn tool and set Range: Shadows, then zoom in and paint over the face wrinkles to emphasize them. Switch to the Dodge tool and set Range: Highlights, then paint to lift the brighter patches on the face. When you’re happy, click on the Lab channel then go to Image > Mode > RGB. Next go to Filter > Camera Raw Filter. Increase Clarity and Shadows, then add a toning effect of your choice within the Profile Browser. WATCH THE VIDEO https://goo.gl/6brdTo…

To create this fun contact sheet effect, you first need to find an existing contact sheet scan and erase the original frames to leave empty openings (or use the one we’ve supplied). Once done, drop in your portrait, drag it below the contact sheet layer and press Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate it. Make a copy for every frame. Next, highlight the top copy, grab the Rectangular Marquee tool and draw a selection over one of the frames. Click the Add Layer Mask icon to convert the selection to a mask, then click the link between the image and mask thumbnail in the Layers panel to unlink them. Highlight the image thumbnail. Press Cmd/Ctrl+T and resize it to change the position. Repeat with all the other frames to build up the effect…

Most of us probably have a few old toy figures tucked away that would be perfect for a fun project like this. But this isn’t just an excuse to get out some cherished playthings: it’s also a lesson in the power of mood lighting. By illuminating a tabletop toy scene with a couple of torches, you can evoke a powerful, cinematic atmosphere. Here we’ll explain how it’s done, using a long exposure so that we can ‘paint’ with light. If you’re not into the war theme, these tricks could be used to create a Jurassic scene, or to bring a Lego landscape to life. Our finished image here is a composite of several frames. By doing it like this, we can have as many attempts at light painting as we…

01 CHOOSE YOUR SHOTS Open the images into Bridge. Go through and add a star rating to the photos you’d like to use (leave out the red LED ones), then go to the Filter panel (Window > Filter) and click on the stars to filter the shots so you can see your favorite ones. 02 LOAD INTO LAYERS Click on the first image in the sequence, then Shift-click the last to select them all. Go to Tools > Photoshop > Load Files into Photoshop Layers. This opens all the images into Photoshop in a single document, with each on a separate layer. 03 ADD A BLACK MASK Go to the Layers panel (Window > Layers). Click the eye icon to hide all but the bottom two layers, then look over…

01 CUT OUT THE SUBJECT Grab the Quick Selection tool from the Tools panel and paint over the subject to select them, then click the Select And Mask button at the top. Paint around the edges of the hair with the Refine Radius brush and increase the radius to perfect the selection, then choose Output To: Layer Mask and click OK to confirm. 02 DROP IN A BACKGROUND Open an image for the background and use the Move tool to drag it in, then drag the layer below the cutout layer in the stack. Highlight the cutout layer and press Cmd/Ctrl+T to transform and reposition it. Once done, hold down Cmd/Ctrl and click on the layer mask thumbnail to load a selection of the shape. 03 SKEW THE SHADOW Highlight…

01 CUT OUT THE BODY Open your image and go to Select > Subject. Improve the selection with the Select And Mask command if necessary, then click the Add Layer Mask icon to hide the original backdrop. Next, make a new layer and drag it to the bottom, then go to Edit >Fill, choose Use: White and click OK. 02 USE THRESHOLD Click the Create Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and choose Threshold. Drag the Threshold Level slider along until you have the right mix between black and white detail. Next, look online and download an image of watercolor paint on paper. We used the image 2681039 from pixabay.com. 03 BLEND THE IMAGE Open the watercolor image and drag it into your portrait with the…

1 GET STARTED WITH THE PEN TOOL If you’re new to the Pen tool, grab the tool then click the cog icon in the tool settings and turn on Rubber Band. This attaches a line to your cursor, giving you a better idea of how the tool will behave when you plot anchor points. Set it to Path in the tool options, then zoom in close and click on a corner of an object to add your first anchor point. 2 MASTER BÉZIER CURVES When you drag an anchor point, two handles will grow out either side of it. These are Bézier curve handles. The distance and angle of each handle defines the shape of the curve. You can hold Ctrl (Cmd in macOS) and drag to move the handles,…

1 TOYS AND PROPS We set up our battlefield with toy soldiers. It helps to have an array of poses to add variety. We also sprinkled some soil in the foreground along with sticks, then used other props for the backdrop. 2 SCENE DEPTH To give our scene some depth, we posed our figures and scenery on three planes: the foreground (the frontmost soldiers), the midground (distant soldiers) and the background (hills, statue and trees). 3 TRIPOD We’ll build our image by capturing several different shots, so we need a tripod to keep them in alignment. It must all stay in the same position, so be careful not to nudge the table or figures between shots. 4 CABLE RELEASE A cable release enables us to shoot without having to touch…

Photoshop has many types of layers and adjustment layers available, but there are six that you’ll find you need to use again and again. Learning how they should be used may seem a little daunting for beginners, but once you’ve got to grips with them, you’ll find they play a part in the creative process of almost every image you make. 01 LEVELS This should be the first layer you add to an image, because it fundamentally alters the tonal range of the entire image. Create a Levels Adjustment Layer, drag the Black Point slider inwards until it touches the left-hand edge of the histogram, and drag the White Point slider inwards to the right-hand edge. This remaps the tones of the image to make more of the available tonal…