Photoshop CS4 Studio Techniques- P11 ppt

286 Chapter 8 Color Manipulation With this select-and-adjust approach, you use the adjust- ment layer to mask out areas of color (Figure 8.32), and then you refi ne the result by painting on the adjustment layer’s mask with a black brush. If you remove too much of the colorization, just paint with white. Painting with white causes the adjustment to apply to a larger area of the image, whereas black limits which areas are adjusted. If the color is too intense, simply paint with a shade of gray on the adjust- ment layer, which causes the adjustment to apply in dif- fering amounts. The darker the shade of gray, the less the adjustment will apply. Another option is to double-click the thumbnail icon for the adjustment layer (to the left of the layer name) to modify the settings that are being applied. With this type of adjustment, usually there will be too much color in the darkest and brightest areas of the image. To limit the amount of color applied to these areas, choose Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options while the adjust- ment layer is active (Figure 8.33). Pull in the lower-left slider in the Blend If area until all the color is disappear- ing from the darkest areas of the image. You don’t want to remove the color completely, so hold down Option/ Alt and drag the left edge of the slider that you just moved until you get a smooth transition in the shadow areas of the image. Before you click OK, move the right slider a short distance and then Option/Alt-drag its right edge until the color blends into the brightest parts of the image. With a little experimentation, you’ll be able to fi nd the setting that looks best for the image (Figures 8.34 and 8.35). Figure 8.32 By using the Adjustments panel, you can instantly create an adjustment layer to mask out areas of color. Figure 8.33 Use the Blending Options to balance areas with too much color. 287 III: Grayscale, Color, and Print Figure 8.34 The color of the backdrop could be a little less saturated. Figure 8.35 After reducing the amount of color in the shadow areas, the image looks better. Replacing Color If you like the general ideas discussed so far, but didn’t have complete success isolating areas based on hues, try choosing Image > Adjustments > Replace Color (Figure 8.36). In essence, Replace Color combines the Color Range command with the color-shifting capability found in the Hue/Saturation controls. The advantage of using Replace Color is that instead of having to fi gure out the exact Hue, Saturation, and Lightness settings necessary to get the desired result, you just defi ne the desired color by clicking the color swatch at lower right in the dialog. Figure 8.36 The Replace Color dialog is a combination of the Color Range command and the Hue/Saturation controls in the Adjustments panel. Here, the green leaves are selected, and the hue is adjusted to make them purple. (©2008 Dan Ablan.) 288 Chapter 8 Color Manipulation Unfortunately, Replace Color is not available as an adjust- ment layer, so you might not want to use it often. You might prefer to use the Color Range command (Select > Color Range) and then create a Hue/Saturation adjust- ment layer, which gives you much more fl exibility if you ever need to fi ne-tune the initial adjustment. Another option is to duplicate a layer, apply Replace Color, and create a layer mask for added blending control. Both Hue/Saturation and Replace Color effectively rotate the color wheel to shift the colors in an image. Now let’s take a look at how we can shift the general color of an image toward one of the primary colors (red, yellow, green, cyan, blue, magenta). Variations If you like simple and easy features, you’ll enjoy using the Variations command (Image > Adjustments > Variations). The Variations dialog displays your original image in the middle of a seven-image cluster (Figure 8.37). When you click one of the surrounding images, Variations replaces the one in the middle and repopulates the surrounding views with new alternatives (Figure 8.38). To control how different the alternatives are from the center image, adjust the Fine/Coarse slider at upper right in the dialog. This type of adjustment concentrates on either the bright- est areas of the image (highlights), the middle brightness levels (midtones), or the dark areas of the image (shad- ows). You can adjust all three areas with one adjustment, but you’ll have to choose them one at a time and make an adjustment before clicking OK. After you’ve made a change to the image, you’ll be able to compare the original to your current selection by comparing the two images that appear at upper left in the dialog. Variations can change the brightness and saturation of the image. However, Levels and Curves are far superior for adjusting brightness, and Hue/Saturation gives you much more control over which colors become saturated. But the techniques discussed here provide a quick way to adjust color. Figure 8.37 The Variations dialog presents simple previews of multiple adjustments. Figure 8.38 After you click one of the choices, the surrounding views repopulate with new choices. 289 III: Grayscale, Color, and Print If you notice intense colors in areas where they don’t belong (Figure 8.39), Photoshop most likely is warning you that you might be losing detail in that area. If you’d rather not see those unusual colors, turn off the Show Clipping option at upper right in the dialog. Use Variations for very basic chores where you might pre- fer a simple visual interface; for example, when you want to tint a grayscale photo. All you have to do is change the mode of the image to RGB (Image > Mode > RGB), go to Variations (Image > Adjustments > Variations), and click away until you get the color tint you want (Figure 8.40). Figure 8.39 If colors look out of place, it’s usually an indication that clipping has occurred, which is a sign that you might be losing detail in those areas. (©2008 Dan Ablan.) Figure 8.40 Adding color to a gray- scale image is easy with Variations. (©2008 Dan Ablan.) Color Balance Most of the time, you might pass over Variations in favor of the Color Balance controls in the Adjustments panel (Figure 8.41), which make future changes much easier. Just as in Variations, the Color Balance controls allow you to shift the color of highlights, midtones, or shadows toward one of the primary colors; the only difference is that you’ll have to look at the main screen to get a preview. Moving a Figure 8.41 The Color Balance panel is a good alternative to the Variations dialog. 290 Chapter 8 Color Manipulation slider to +15 or –15 is approximately the same as making one click in the Variations dialog with the default setting on the Fine/Coarse slider. But because you’re not forced to make adjustments in preset increments, it’s much easier to be precise with Color Balance than with Variations. Both Variations and Color Balance effectively shift the colors of the image toward one side of the color wheel. It’s almost as if you start at the center of the color wheel and then shift toward one of the primary colors (Figure 8.42). All the colors in the image move toward that color, whereas Hue/Saturation and Replace Color spin the color wheel, which shifts all the colors in unusual ways (not just toward one particular color). A bunch of other commands allow you to shift toward cyan or red, magenta or green, and yellow or blue in a less obvi- ous way. Let’s take a look at a few of the adjustments that allow you to work with those primary colors. Levels/Curves and Color Choosing Image > Adjustments > Curves (or selecting Curves in the Adjustments panel) allows you to pick between red, green, and blue; or cyan, magenta, and yel- low (depending on which mode the image uses) in the Channel pop-up menu (Figure 8.43). When you work on the Red channel, you’ll be able to shift the overall color of the image toward either red or cyan by moving the curve up or down; if you work on the Green channel, you’ll be able to shift toward green and magenta; and the Blue chan- nel allows you to shift toward blue and yellow. Command/Ctrl-click the area of the image where you’d like to concentrate the adjustment. That action will add a point to the curve in the specifi c location needed to focus accurately on the area you clicked. Once you’ve done that, use the up- and down-arrow keys to shift the colors toward one of the primary colors—which one depends on the choice you made in the Channel pop-up menu (Figure 8.44). Figure 8.42 Color Balance pushes the colors in the image toward one of the primary colors. Figure 8.43 Move the curve up or down to push the colors in the image toward or away from the color you chose in the Channel pop-up menu. (©2008 Dan Ablan.) 291 III: Grayscale, Color, and Print Figure 8.44 Command/Ctrl-click the image to add a point to the curve; then use the arrow keys to shift the color. (©2008 Dan Ablan.) You can make similar changes by using the Levels com- mand (Image > Adjustments > Levels). This technique also allows you to choose from the channels (RGB or CMYK) that make up the image (Figure 8.45). With an image in RGB mode, moving any of the upper sliders toward the left will push the color of the image toward the color you have chosen from the Channel pop-up menu. Moving the sliders toward the right will shift the colors toward the opposite color. Auto Color Correction Using Levels or Curves to make color adjustments might be problematic because the image can change in unex- pected ways, due to the fact that you’re not just controlling the highlights/midtones/shadows, as with many other adjustments. If you’re having trouble getting the overall look you want, click the Options button in either Levels or Curves to open the Auto Color Correction Options dialog. Set the Algorithms setting to Enhance Monochromatic Contrast to avoid getting rid of color in the highlights or shadows of the image. Then, to shift the overall color of the image, turn on the Snap Neutral Midtones check box and click the color swatch next to Midtones. It should start with gray, but if you shift that color toward another color, the general atmosphere of the photo should change as you introduce a color cast (Figures 8.46 and 8.47). This tech- nique is great for changing the overall feeling of a photo Figure 8.45 Levels can make adjust- ments similar to those available with Curves. The Options button appears in a dialog when you access it via the Image > Adjustments menu. However, you need to Alt/Option- click the Auto button when using an adjustment layer. 292 Chapter 8 Color Manipulation to make it appear more warm (toward red/orange) or cool (toward blue/cyan). Check Save as Defaults in the dialog (Figure 8.48) only if you plan to shift the overall look of a large number of photos. Otherwise, when you use Auto Color for color correction, it will introduce color casts instead of getting rid of them. Auto Color also is handy when you’re combining two images that differ in general color (Figures 8.49 and 8.50). If one image has a desirable color cast and the Figure 8.46 The original image. (©2008 Dan Ablan.) Figure 8.47 Using Auto Color to shift the image toward warm tones. Figure 8.48 Don’t check Save as Defaults unless you want to introduce a color cast to every image you adjust with Auto Color. 293 III: Grayscale, Color, and Print other doesn’t, the two images won’t look like they belong together (Figure 8.51). You want Photoshop to transfer the desirable color cast to the second image by analyzing what’s going on in the brightest and darkest areas of the image, because a color cast contaminates those areas that otherwise wouldn’t contain any color. Here’s how to do it. Place the images side by side so both documents are visible at the same time. Then, with the image that doesn’t have a color cast active, choose Image > Adjustments > Curves, click the Options button, set Algorithms to Find Dark & Light Colors, and turn off the Snap Neutral Midtones check box (Figure 8.52). Figure 8.50 This image is more cool (blue) than the one in Figure 8.49. (©2008 Dan Ablan.) Figure 8.51 When the two images are combined, they don’t look like they belong together. Now all you have to do is plug in the right colors in the highlights and shadows. Click the Shadows color swatch to access the color picker, move your mouse over the image containing the desirable color cast, and click the darkest area of the image (Figure 8.53). Next, click the Highlights color swatch to access the color picker again, and this time click the brightest area of the image that contains the desirable color cast (Figure 8.54)—avoiding areas that are blown out to pure white—and then click OK. That action should change the color of the active photo so that it will have a color cast similar to that of the other image (Figure 8.55). In this example, the devil girl now looks as if she’s photographed outside with a fi ll fl ash. Figure 8.49 This image has a warm color cast. (©2008 Dan Ablan.) Figure 8.52 Auto settings for match- ing two images. 294 Chapter 8 Color Manipulation Figure 8.53 Click the Shadows swatch and then click the darkest part of the image that has the color cast. Figure 8.54 Click the Highlights swatch and then click the brightest area of the image. Figure 8.55 After adjusting the color, the two images have similar color qualities. Selective Color Auto Color isn’t the only way to force colors into the brightest, darkest, and neutral gray areas of an image. If you choose Image > Adjustments > Selective Color, you can select which general colors you’d like to change from the Colors pop-up menu and then shift them toward a primary color (Figure 8.56). Moving the sliders toward the right shifts the selected color toward the color listed to the left 295 III: Grayscale, Color, and Print of the slider. Moving the slider toward the left shifts it away from the color listed and toward its exact opposite. So, even though this dialog only lists cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, you can still shift toward red, green, and blue by mov- ing the sliders toward the left. If the Relative radio button is selected, you’ll change areas relative to where they started. If you have 50% cyan and you move the Cyan slider to 10%, for instance, you’ll end up with 55% cyan, because 10% of 50% is 5%. On the other hand, if you use the Absolute setting, you’ll simply add the exact amount that you select. For example, if you have 50% cyan and you move the Cyan slider to 10%, you’ll end up with 60% cyan, because Photo- shop added the exact amount of cyan that you selected. One nice aspect of Selective Color is the capacity to shift the color of the blacks in an image. All you have to do is choose Blacks from the Colors pop-up menu, move the Black slider toward the left to lighten the area, and then move whichever color sliders you’d like to use toward the right to push color into those areas (Figures 8.57 and 8.58). If you’re working in CMYK mode, moving the Cyan slider toward the right makes the black areas of the image richer. This adjustment is commonly used when creating large areas of black in an image that will be printed on a commercial printing press. For those areas, 40% cyan is a good setting. Figure 8.58 Use Selective Color to shift the color of black areas. Figure 8.57 The original image. (©2008 Dan Ablan.) Figure 8.56 With Selective Color, you can push certain colors toward any of the primary colors. [...]... but let’s see how you might use it with Photoshop s filters Suppose you’ve chosen Filter > Pixelate > Pointillize, but IV: Creative Techniques you don’t like all the white areas that show up (Figure 9.14) Choose Edit > Fade Pointillize immediately after applying the filter, and then you can tell Photoshop how to apply that filter to the original If you choose Darken, Photoshop compares the filtered result... selection, and then match the color (©2008 Dan Ablan.) 298 III: Grayscale, Color, and Print Red Eye Tool Photoshop s Red Eye tool (which is grouped with the Healing Brush and Patch tool) is designed to quickly and easily remove red eye (Figure 8.68) All you have to do is click near the eye and Photoshop will search for the closest red circle, remove all the color, and then darken the area This tool... affect the painted area Photoshop will replace only the colors that you mouse over with the crosshair that shows up in the center of the brush cursor This tool applies your foreground color to the active layer, so remember that you can change the foreground color by holding down the Option/Alt key and clicking an area in the image that contains the desired color When you paint, Photoshop uses your foreground... Channel Mixer So far, most of the adjustments in this chapter have been relatively straightforward You tell Photoshop what you want to change (midtones, highlights, and so on) and what direction to shift the colors But the Channel Mixer is a different beast (Figure 8.76) It forces you to think about how Photoshop works behind the scenes The Channel Mixer lets you literally mix the contents of the channels... Channel Mixer But before you get started, go open the Channels panel and click through all the channels You’ll need to start with one of those channels as the base of your grayscale conversion, With Photoshop CS4, the Black and White adjustment is the best option, but the Channel Mixer is a good alternative to other grayscale conversion methods 303 Chapter 8 Color Manipulation so make note of which one... the possibilities are endless, limited only by your willingness to experiment This chapter is filled with enhancement techniques Photoshop s blending modes kick off the chapter, followed by information on layer masks Blending modes comprise one of the most powerful features in Photoshop and, when mixed with layer masks, provide tremendous opportunities for image manipulation, color correction, and more... six sections Figure 9.2 Text with drop shadow created in Photoshop s default blending mode Figure 9.3 Choose Dissolve from the Blend Mode pop-up menu in the Layer Style dialog Figure 9.4 The drop shadow from Figure 9.2 in Dissolve mode 311 Chapter 9 Enhancements and Masking Behind Mode The Behind blending mode shows up in only a few areas of Photoshop Behind mode limits the changes you make to a layer... you set the top layer to Darken mode, Photoshop compares the red, green, and blue components of each layer and uses the darkest of each In this case, the red information on the top layer is darker—50 versus 230 (lower numbers mean less light) When comparing the green components, the bottom layer is darker, and the blue component is darkest on the bottom layer Once Photoshop picked the darkest of each... that contains both bright and dark areas) so Photoshop knows what you’d like to match (Figure 8.66) Then switch to the grayscale photo and choose Image > Mode > RGB so that the image is in a mode that can contain color Now make a very precise selection of the area where you’d like to add color, and choose Image > Adjustments > Match Color To make sure that Photoshop colors only the selected areas, turn... you want to match; then click the Save Statistics button and name that preset Now, at any time in the future, you can click the Load Statistics button to use the general feeling of that photo again, and Photoshop won’t need to open the file It’s easy to have a bunch of these files saved—one for warm, sunset-like images; another for cool, water-like images; yet another for high-contrast, less-colorful images; . affect the painted area. Photoshop will replace only the colors that you mouse over with the crosshair that shows up in the center of the brush cursor. When you paint, Photoshop uses your foreground. need to start with one of those channels as the base of your grayscale conversion, With Photoshop CS4, the Black and White adjustment is the best option, but the Channel Mixer is a good. you can click the Load Statistics button to use the general feeling of that photo again, and Photoshop won’t need to open the fi le. It’s easy to have a bunch of these fi les saved—one for warm,