330 c h a p t e r 8: COM P OSI T E S ■ For Photoshop Elements Users: Creating a Selection within a Channel Although Elements does not have a Channels panel, we can fake this selection method by con- verting our image to black and white. 1. Duplicate the layer you wish to select in by selecting it and choosing Layer > Duplicate Layer. 2. Select Enhance > Convert to Black and White on the duplicate layer. 3. Experiment with different combinations of the Red, Green, and Blue channels (such as a value of 100 for Red and 0 for Green and Blue to let you just see the Red channel). The sidebar “For Elements Users: Matching Exposures” earlier in this chapter shows what selecting just the Red channel looks like. 4. Click OK. 5. Select Enhance > Adjust Lighting > Levels, and follow Steps 3 and 4 from the Photoshop instructions. 6. Use your favorite selection technique, such as the Magic Wand or Quick Selection tool, to select the part of the image you wish to be selected. 7. From the menu bar, choose Select > Save Selection and save this selection. 8. Delete the duplicate layer. 9. In the original layer, choose Select > Load Selection from the menu bar, and load the selection from Step 7. 10. Click on the layer mask and choose Edit > Paste from the menu bar. If you plan to use your selection in a layer mask, replace Steps 7–9 as follows: 7. Choose Select > All from the menu bar. 8. Choose Edit > Copy. 9. Delete the duplicate layer. Compositing the Elements Perhaps you have several images, each containing elements that you would like to combine into a single image. Often, the relative sizes of the various elements need to be modified—you can take care of that during the process of compositing the ele- ments. In the next example, we’ll create a composite of some birds, a background, and a moon: 1. Open your destination photo (the photo that you are going to use as the main photo), set its resolution to 300 dpi (or your preferred printing resolution) by choosing Image > Image Size, and uncheck the Resample Image option. You don’t want to interpolate the file now; just set it to the same resolution. See Fig- ure 8.22 for our destination photo. For Photoshop Elements Users: Creating a Selection within a Channel Although Elements does not have a Channels panel, we can fake this selection method by con - verting our image to black and white. 1. Duplicate the layer you wish to select in by selecting it and choosing Layer > Duplicate Layer. 2. Select Enhance > Convert to Black and White on the duplicate layer. 3. Experiment with different combinations of the Red, Green, and Blue channels (such as a value of 100 for Red and 0 for Green and Blue to let you just see the Red channel). The sidebar “For Elements Users: Matching Exposures” earlier in this chapter shows what selecting just the Red channel looks like. 4. Click OK. 5. Select Enhance > Adjust Lighting > Levels, and follow Steps 3 and 4 from the Photoshop instructions. 6. Use your favorite selection technique, such as the Magic Wand or Quick Selection tool, to select the part of the image you wish to be selected. 7. From the menu bar, choose Select > Save Selection and save this selection. 8. Delete the duplicate layer. 9. In the original layer, choose Select > Load Selection from the menu bar, and load the selection from Step 7. 10. Click on the layer mask and choose Edit > Paste from the menu bar. If you plan to use your selection in a layer mask, replace Steps 7–9 as follows: 7. Choose Select > All from the menu bar. 8. Choose Edit > Copy. 9. Delete the duplicate layer. 607343c08.indd 330 4/11/10 11:06:58 PM 331 ■ COMBINING ELEMENTS FROM MULTIPLE PICTURES Figure 8.22 This is the destination photo that we’ll use as the foundation for this composite. Ph o to by Ell En An o n 2. Open a file containing an element you’re going to use, and also set it to a reso- lution of 300 ppi. In our example, we’ll use an image with a group of cranes flying (see Figure 8.23). Figure 8.23 We’re going to select these ying cranes to use in the composite. Ph o to by Ell En An o n 3. Use your preferred selection tool to isolate the element. In this case, it’s easy to use the Color Range tool to select the cranes. Don’t forget to use Refine Edges to soften the edges so that they look natural, rather than cut out and pasted. 4. Choose Select > Save Selection, and type a name for the selection. This enables you to return to this selection at any time by choosing Select > Load Selection. (Note that you must save the image in order for the selection to be saved after you close the image.) 5. Use the Move tool, and drag the selection you just made to the destination image. 6. Use the Edit > Free Transform tools to size, rotate, and place the element (see Figure 8.24) or elements. Holding down the Shift key while you grab a corner and drag it in or out will enable you to maintain the same aspect ratio and not distort the object being transformed. 607343c08.indd 331 4/11/10 11:06:59 PM 332 c h a p t e r 8: COMPOSITES ■ Figure 8.24 Size, rotate, and place the new elements using the Free Transform tool. 7. Note that the elements you just dragged in are on their own layers. It’s quite possible they may need some tonal or color adjustments to match the destina- tion image. To make an adjustment layer that affects only a specific layer, hold down the Alt/Option key while clicking the icon to make a new adjustment layer. Check the box that says Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask, as shown in Figure 8.25. Figure 8.25 By holding down the Alt/Option key while creating a new adjustment layer, you can check the option to have only the previous layer aected by the adjustments you make. 8. Repeat this process if there are other elements from other pictures you want to include. In this case, we added a moon as well (see Figure 8.26). Figure 8.26 The nal image also contains a moon that Ellen added. 607343c08.indd 332 4/11/10 11:06:59 PM 333 ■ C OMBI N I NG EL E M E N TS FROM MULT I PLE PICTURES 9. You may want to save the composite with the layers intact as a master file so you can further modify it in the future. It’s quite possible that you may want to slightly adjust the position of one of the composited items or its size. 10. Proceed with your normal workflow. For Photoshop Elements Users: Combining Components of Various Images In Elements, there is no option for Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask (Step 7). Instead, select the Group with Previous Layer check box. Lighting Angles Matter It’s important to pay attention to lighting angles. Many Photoshop novices create composites that would require the earth to have several suns. This detracts from the impact of the final image. Paying attention to subtle details can make the difference between an impressive image and one that evokes comments of “Oh, that was Photoshopped.” Although you will be ethical and indicate when an image is a composite, you still want to elicit reactions of “Wow!” Replacing a Sky or Other Background Now that you’ve learned a variety of methods for selecting a sky, you’re going to put them to use. Nature photographers often find they have a great subject with a boring sky (or other background). It’s wonderful when things naturally come together and the subject, lighting, and background are all perfect. But realistically, all too often the sky or background may be great when there are no subjects, and the subjects may be great when the sky is not. Sometimes the sky is plain blue when some billowy clouds would be more interesting. This happens on African safaris, it happens while photographing birds anywhere…you name the situation, and you can bet there will be times when the sky/background just doesn’t cooperate. Photoshop makes it easy to replace the dull background with one that enhances your subject matter. To replace a sky (you can follow along using the images ReplaceSky1 and ReplaceSky2 on www.sybex.com/go/photoshopnature), follow these steps: 1. Open an image that needs a new sky (your destination image), and set it to a resolution of 300 ppi. 2. Open an image of a preferred sky (or other background), and set it to a resolu- tion of 300 ppi as well. Make sure that your new sky is at least as large as the destination image; in fact, making it slightly larger can be helpful so that you can move the new sky to position the clouds or lighting precisely where you want them. As you can see in Figure 8.27, the sky image should be a picture of just a sky and should not include other subject elements. For Photoshop Elements Users: Combining Components of Various Images In Elements, there is no option for Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask (Step 7). Instead, select the Group with Previous Layer check box. Lighting Angles Matter It’s important to pay attention to lighting angles. Many Photoshop novices create composites that would require the earth to have several suns. This detracts from the impact of the final image. Paying attention to subtle details can make the difference between an impressive image and one that evokes comments of “Oh, that was Photoshopped.” Although you will be ethical and indicate when an image is a composite, you still want to elicit reactions of “Wow!” Figure 8.24 Size, rotate, and place the new elements using the Free Transform tool. 7. Note that the elements you just dragged in are on their own layers. It’s quite possible they may need some tonal or color adjustments to match the destina- tion image. To make an adjustment layer that affects only a specific layer, hold down the Alt/Option key while clicking the icon to make a new adjustment layer. Check the box that says Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask, as shown in Figure 8.25. 8. Repeat this process if there are other elements from other pictures you want to include. In this case, we added a moon as well (see Figure 8.26). Figure 8.26 The nal image also contains a moon that Ellen added. 607343c08.indd 333 4/11/10 11:07:00 PM 334 c h a p t e r 8: COMPOSITES ■ Figure 8.27 Open an image with a sky that needs to be replaced, and open an image with a better sky. Ph o to by Ell En An o n Note: Sometimes the better sky may simply be a more dramatic cloudy sky. You don’t want to combine a bright blue sky with billowy clouds and a foreground taken on a very cloudy day unless you’re prepared to make some sophisticated color changes to your foreground. Paying attention to the subtleties of color will make your composites more believable. 3. Click the destination image, and make a selection of the dull sky using your preferred selection method. The Color Range tool is often the most efficient choice for selecting the sky. 4. Access the Refine Edge control by choosing Select > Refine Edge to soften and slightly expand the edges of your selection to help ensure that there are no sky pixels left. 5. Click your good sky image, and use the Move tool to drag the new sky image on top of the destination image. 6. Rename the sky image layer New Sky. 7. Create a layer mask on the New Sky layer by clicking the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. Magic! Your new sky replaces the old one, since the layer mask reflects the selection you just made, as shown in Fig- ure 8.28. 8. Sometimes you’ll still need to soften or move the edges of the selection to make the transition to the new sky more natural. Click the layer mask to select it, and make certain the layer mask is highlighted, not the image thumbnail. Choose Refine Mask and modify the sliders as needed. 9. You can choose which area of the new sky (the background) you want to show by unlinking the layer mask on the New Sky layer. To do this, click directly on the link icon between the New Sky image thumbnail and the New Sky layer mask, as shown in Figure 8.29. Now click the image thumbnail, and choose the Move tool. You can move the new sky without affecting the mask, so you get to choose which part of the sky to show. Very cool! 607343c08.indd 334 4/11/10 11:07:01 PM 335 ■ C OMBI N I NG EL E M E N TS FROM MULT I PLE PICTURES Figure 8.28 When you create a layer mask on the New Sky layer, it reects the selection of the old sky you already made, and magically the new sky appears. Figure 8.29 By unlinking the image thumbnail and the layer mask, you can move the new sky to reveal whatever part of it best complements your picture. For Photoshop Elements Users: Replacing a Sky In Step 7, Elements users will again need to fake a layer mask by using an adjustment layer, as we have done in previous sections throughout this chapter. Once you grasp the basics of compositing, you’re free to create images that more accurately reflect the realities of some situations, as well as images that reflect your imagination and subjective experiences. Experiment and have fun! For Photoshop Elements Users: Replacing a Sky In Step 7, Elements users will again need to fake a layer mask by using an adjustment layer, as we have done in previous sections throughout this chapter. 607343c08.indd 335 4/11/10 11:07:03 PM 9 Ph o to by Ell En An o n 607343c09.indd 336 4/11/10 11:07:16 PM 337 ■ Creative effeCts 9 Creative Effects For some nature photographers, the goal is simply to take the best shot they can to document what they see and then to optimize it in Adobe Photoshop. That’s fine. Other photographers are latent artists at heart but may believe (rightly or wrongly) that they have no inherent ability to create art from a blank canvas. But given a camera as the starting point and a digital darkroom, they can make magic. Of course, creativity is an artistic form; not every technique appeals to every photo- grapher, and some images are more suited for one approach than another. As you read through this chapter, consider each technique as a jumping-off point for your own ideas rather than a cookbook approach to creative imagery. Chapter Contents Black and White Painterly Images Filters Digital Montages Digital Multiple Exposures Content-Aware Scaling 607343c09.indd 337 4/11/10 11:07:16 PM . layer mask and choose Edit > Paste from the menu bar. If you plan to use your selection in a layer mask, replace Steps 7–9 as follows: 7. Choose Select > All from the menu bar. 8. Choose Edit. mask and choose Edit > Paste from the menu bar. If you plan to use your selection in a layer mask, replace Steps 7–9 as follows: 7. Choose Select > All from the menu bar. 8. Choose Edit. Figure 8.29. Now click the image thumbnail, and choose the Move tool. You can move the new sky without affecting the mask, so you get to choose which part of the sky to show. Very cool! 607343c08.indd