|
The Idiot’s way round Photoshop |
|
|
Page 3 of 4
Another useful feature is the ability to remove unwanted things from
the image, telegraph poles and overhead lines often intrude but so does
the boil that has just erupted on Aunt Ethel’s nose. It’s the same sort
of principle but using a couple of different tools. I like to select
the area that requires work so that any alterations don’t spill over.
To do this the “lasso” tool is applied, it can be found on the left
hand side of the floating tool bar, two down and looks like a demented
Hornet. Click on and three alternatives appear, try them all out and
pick the one that you think makes life easiest. Then draw round the
area in which you wish to work. When the indicated line you are drawing
is complete a tiny circle appears; a left click on the mouse then
freezes the area and it is shown with a load of flashing dots. Then
select an area which will match and merge in, pick it up and merely
drop it onto the area selected. When it has done the job go to “select”
from the top menu and click on “deselect”.
In this example to remove the Taj the “magic wand” was used rather than
the “lasso”. The “Magic Wand” is the second one down on the right and
looks like a Roman Candle. Picking this tool and clicking on an area
will automatically select it. You might have to play with the
intensity; this control is located in the new range that appeared when
you selected the “Magic Wand” and is at the top of the page. The
control you need is called “Tolerance” just type in a value and try it.
It’s much easier than it sounds to use.
Now it’s about time we looked at the actual reproduction of the image.
Firstly the photograph was taken on a very misty, dull February day and
there is a slight blue caste, and the colours are also a bit washed
out. One problem we all have is seeing colour; in fact I read the other
day that the only person who could actually see colour properly was a
female aged eleven. How many times have you nearly fallen out with
somebody re colour matching something? So we can only do our best.
The first thing is to adjust the colour balance. Select
“image”>”adjustment”>”colour balance”. I applied + 5% Red and -5%
Blue. Then click “O.K”. The next thing was to add a little colour.
Again “image” > “adjustment” > ”hue saturation.” Here I added +10
to the saturation level. The brightness and contrast was then lifted
using Select “image” > levels. This command brings up an extremely
useful tool, it shows in a graphic the tonal range of the image. The
tonal range is represented with a blacked out area that looks like a
range of mountains. Underneath there are three triangular sliders;
black on the left, which controls the shadow areas; a clear one on the
right, for the highlights; and a grey central one for the mid tones.
Moving these sliders will alter the contrast of the image. But for the
sake of this demonstration I just brought in the pointers to the
maximum shadow and highlight detail
Lastly I put a thin black border around the picture. This is very
much a matter of taste but I have always done it in the wet darkroom
with a piece of card and a pencil torchlight. Here with digital it is
somewhat easier and a slip doesn’t mean a sheet of fogged paper. Select
“All” on the top toolbar. Go to “Edit” then down to “stroke”.
This brings up a sub menu. Look at the top two items, width and colour.
In the top box select the width of the border in pixels, start with
about 4/5. The box just underneath shows the colour of the border,
click on it and you will be shown a rainbow. Move the little circle to
the colour required and click. So there we are, simple but there is one
thing we have forgotten....to focus the enlarging lens, silly me.
No I didn’t really forget but whereas in the darkroom one of the first
stages in the printing process is to focus the lens, with digital
imaging the one thing that everyone agrees on is that focussing should
be the last operation in the work flow. And take heed, it is the only
thing that any two digital experts do agree on. There are more add-on
and plug-in programmes for sharpening then anything else. Some
programmes cost an absolute arm and leg and need someone with a brain
the size of a planet to operate. Even the name of the P.S sharpening
tool is confusing, it’s “Unsharp”. O.K. if we want to go into the
history of typesetting then all right but why couldn’t it just be
called focus or sharpen?
|
|
Newsl Updates
Sign up for our quarterly News Updates
|
Copyright (C) 2003 - 2007 World Photo Adventure. All rights reserved.
