photoshop design: Photo Manipulation

Showing posts with label Photo Manipulation. Show all posts

CS5 HDR Tutorial

photographydesign

In this easy CS5 HDR tutorial I'm going to show you how to make one cool image effect with few easy Photoshop CS5 manipulations.

HDR or HDRi stands for High Dynamic Range imaging which in the digital photography and computer graphics means a set of techniques allowing a greater dynamic range of luminance between the lightest and darkest areas of an image.

For the CS5 HDR tutorial I'm going to use this photo of the beautiful Bulgarian nature.

1. The first thing we have to do is to duplicate the original layer by right clicking on the layer an choosing "Duplicate Layer". We can name our first layer "original" and our duplicated layer "black and white" or just "B&W".

2. Now we have to adjust our "B&W" layer. First we will change the layer's blending mode to "Overlay".

Next we have to desaturate the layer. We can do this by going to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate.

Or we can use the keyboard shortcut combination Shift+Ctrl+U.

Now we're going to invert the "B&W" layer: Image > Adjustments > Invert

Or we can use the keyboard shortcut combination Ctrl+I.

3. It's time to add some Gaussian Blur to our "B&W" Layer. We'll do this by going to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur.

Tweak the blur radius around 30 pixels. You can adjust this to fit your own taste. Anywhere between 20 and 50 pixels will create the "glow" around the edges.

Now if you have followed right our CS5 HDR tutorial, you will have an image similar to this:

4. The next thing to do is to duplicate again the original layer and to drag it on top of all layers. We can name this layer "Linear".

We have to change the layer's blending mode to "Linear Light".

Now tweak the opacity of the "Linear" layer until you are satisfied with the final result. For my image I set it to 60%.

At the end you have to get an image that looks something like this:

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Labels: Color Management, Effect, Photo Effect, Photo Manipulation, Photo Retouch

Bring Colors to a normal image

photographydesign

In this tutorial I will show you a non-destructive technique to add vivid colors to your scene, turning it into a spectacular image that can impress your audience easily

Before & After:
Here is the image we will work with

And what we are going to create:

Step 1: Before walking into the main step, we should enhance its brightness and contrast a bit by going to Image>Adjustments>Color Balance. We can find here three options: Shadows, Midtones and Highlights. Adjust each of them as following:

It now looks better:

Step 2: Our scene has three parts: sky, trees and yard. First we will deal with the sky, enhance it by adding blue to the clouds. Use the Pen tool and make a closed path on the sky area, no need to be too exact.

Right click on the sky and choose Make Selection

The path is now changed into a selection (with moving dots)
Step 3: Create a new layer and select the Gradient Tool, set the gradient color from #066caa to white and Reflected Gradient. You should use Reflected Gradient instead of Linear Gradient to enhance its contrast.

Step 4: Press Ctrl-D to deselect the selected area. Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and use a radius of 25.2 pixels

Step 5: Now change the blending mode of this layer to Overlay. This mode keeps the color of your current layer and adding it to the below layer so we can see blue in our sky

Step 6: Repeat this technique (from step 2) with the yard but you should use orange gradient instead of blue gradient. If you feel a bit confused, follow the images below:
+ Make a closed path and turn it into a selection:

+ Add a suitable gradient:

+ Blur it and change the blending mode to Overlay:

Step 7: Repeat this technique one more time with the trees, you should use a small radius of Gaussian Blur

And here is the dreamy result we will acquire:

This technique produces a stunning photo effect without destroying the original background. It's based on Blur effect and Overlay mode. Remember you can easily adjust the colors and brightness in each layer by reducing its Opacity and Fill parameters.