February 2015 Photoshop Magazine
February 2015 Photoshop Magazine
February 2015 Photoshop Magazine
How to process
challenging winter
scenes in Lightroom
H O W -T 0 M A G A Z I N E
UNDER
THE LOUPE
Create realistic-looking
shadows in Photoshop
for killer composites
FE B R UA RY
201 5
DYNAMIC
RANGE
IN-DEPTH
ST E P - BY- ST E P
TUTO R I A LS
P H OTOS H O P
DOWN AND
DIRTY TRICKS
NE WS, REVIE WS
A N D OTH E R
COOL STUFF
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FEBRUARY 2015
FEATURE
48
Photography,
Branding & Design
Branding and design for a photography business goes way beyond
just creating nice-looking logos, websites, and marketing collateral. A photographer really needs to understand who he or she
is and his or her style of photography. You also need to decide
if youre going to go it alone or employ the services of a professional designer. Paul Hebron sat down with designer Meg Long
and photographers Pam Conchas and Tara Nalani to discuss all of
these topics and more.
LIGHTROOM FEATURE
6 44
10
12
Columns
Artists Statement
62
PHOTOGRAPHY SECRETS
Stock Photography for Designers
KelbyOne Community
14 102
PHOTOSHOP TIPS
20 110
24 68
LIGHT IT
LIGHTROOM
TIPS & TRICKS
Landscape Portrait
32 90
38
BEGINNERS WORKSHOP
58 93
BEYOND PHOTOSHOP
83 101
DYNAMIC
RANGE
84
How-To
DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS
99
DESIGN MAKEOVER
100
Paul Hebron
98
Rory Holmes
Contributing Writers
78
Reviews
Understanding Frequency
Composing 3D Scenes
Elaine Erskine
Departments
72 96
97
Lightroom
KELBYONE.COM
KEY CONCEPTS
These icons at the beginning of columns indicate theres a short video on a tool
or function used in that tutorial at the Key Concepts KelbyOne member webpage
at http://kelbyone.com/keyconcepts.
Dodge & Burn tools
Lasso tool
Layer masks
Pen tool
Smart objects
DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT
SCOTT KELBY
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
welcome to super
photoshop world
006
Its a brand-new year, and theres so much cool stuff to share, but I want to start with some pretty big news. Were excited to
announce that for the first time ever were combining our East and West Coast Photoshop World Conferences into one mega show
this August 1013, 2015, in Las Vegas. (Dont worrywere not going to call it Mega Photoshop World, but I have to admit, the
thought did cross my mind.)
This is a first for us on so many levels. Its the first time weve been able to hold the conference in August, which will enable many
more educators to attend the conference who normally miss out because school is already in session. It also allows us to offer more
training than ever with more instructors and to expand our video training, making the best conference of its kind even bigger and
better. Lastly, it lets us focus our energy on one show per year, rather than splitting our efforts, and audience, between the two
coasts, allowing us much more time to focus on providing the best way to learn Photoshop, photography, Lightroom, and design
all year long.
What else does this year have in store? A lot more full-length online training courses are already in the works. We now have more
than 500 in-depth, full-length classes, and our library of classes keeps growing every week. By the way, Thursday is new class day at
KelbyOne, and we release anywhere between one to three new classes created exclusively for KelbyOne members.
How about here in the mag? Were adding more Lightroom tutorials and training, more on the Creative Cloud apps, and of
course, loads and loads of Photoshop (but you knew that part, right?). With Adobe releasing new features to Creative Cloud users
(there are well more than three million Creative Cloud subscribers and growing), it keeps us jumping staying on top of it all, but hey,
were not complainingthats our job (plus, its nice not having to wait 18 months for new features). Of course, well still have loads
of tutorials for users of CS6, as well, so dont worry, we have everybody covered in 2015.
To kick off the new year, we launched the KelbyOne Blog, and with it, we brought Julio Aguilar onboard as a new team member
to host it. Julio will be joining RC Concepcion, Pete Collins, Corey Barker, and me in creating an absolutely kick-butt blog, packed
with tutorials, news, reviews, and everything cool in Photoshop, Lightroom, photography, and design (are you picking up on a theme
here?). Julio is an awesome guy, and we think youre totally going to dig hearing from him every day on the blog. If you havent
checked it out yet, head over to kelbyone.com/blog.
In this issue, theres a lot of awesome stuff. Our cover story is from Paul Hebron and its called Photography, Branding, and
Design. It has some great advice on when photographers should try to create their own branding and when its time to hire a
designer. But no matter which path you choose, this article offers some great tips on things you should think about when creating
your brand.
One of my favorites this issue is Scott Valentines article on one of the hottest portrait-retouching techniques for working with skin:
frequency separation. Scott teaches you how to identify the frequencies in your images to make this technique even more effective. It
will change how you retouch skin from here on out. In our Dynamic Range column, Uli Staiger shows us How to Create Shadows
in Composed Scenes (shadows are key to making composites look realistic). Theres a bunch more, from our Beginners Workshop
column to Lightroom to lighting, and its all right here, so turn the page and get right to it.
Were going to have a kick-butt 2015, and Im very grateful youre here with us on this educational journey. We have lots of
exciting new courses, tutorials, articles, news, reviews, a brand-new blog, new ways to learn, and a mega conference in Vegas, and
we want you to be a part of every bit of it as we inform, inspire, connect, and take the creative world by storm. The year 2015 is
going to rock!
All my best,
Scott Kelby
KelbyOne President & CEO
Editor & Publisher, Photoshop User
LANDSCAPE
PHO OGRAPHY
EDITORIAL:
Scott Kelby, Editor-in-Chief
Chris Main, Managing Editor
Mike Mackenzie, Senior Editor
Contributing Writers
Steve Baczewski Corey Barker Peter Bauer Tom Bol
Pete Collins Michael Corsentino Sen Duggan Daniel East
Paul Hebron Scott Onstott Heather Shortt Colin Smith
Lesa Snider Uli Staiger Rob Sylvan Scott Valentine
Erik Vlietinck Jake Widman
GRAPHICS:
Felix Nelson, Creative Director
Dave Damstra, Production Manager
Taffy Clifford, Senior Associate Designer
Dave Korman, Senior Premedia Specialist
Margie Rosenstein, Senior Graphic Designer
Eduardo Lowe Jessica Maldonado Angela Naymick
MARKETING:
WEB:
PUBLISHING:
Scott Kelby, Publisher
David Moser, Executive Publisher
Kalebra Kelby, Executive V.P.
Jean A. Kendra, Business Manager
ADVERTISING:
Kevin Agren, V.P., Sales 813-433-2370
Jeanne Jilleba, Advertising Coordinator 800-738-8513 ext. 152
Veronica (Ronni) ONeil, Director of Circulation/Distribution
800-738-8513 ext. 235
shopuser.com
COLOPHON:
This seal indicates that all content provided herein is produced by KelbyOne, LLC
and follows the most stringent standards for educational resources. KelbyOne is
the premier source for instructional books, DVDs, online classes, and live seminars for
creative professionals.
All contents COPYRIGHT 2015 KelbyOne, LLC. All rights reserved. Any use of the
contents of this publication without the written permission of the publisher is strictly
prohibited. Photoshop User is an independent journal, not affiliated in any way with
Adobe Systems, Inc. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, Illustrator, InDesign, Lightroom,
and Photoshop are registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc. in
the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks mentioned belong to
their respective owners. Some of the views expressed by contributors may not be the
representative views of the publisher. ISSN 1535-4687
Contributing
Writers
STEVE BACZEWSKI
is a freelance writer, professional photographer, graphic designer, and
consultant. He also teaches classes in traditional and digital fine arts photography.
His company, Sore Tooth Productions, is based in Albany, California.
PETER BAUER
is an Adobe Certified Expert that does computer graphics consulting for a select
group of corporate clients. His latest book is Photoshop CC for Dummies. He was
inducted into the Photoshop Hall of Fame in 2010.
TOM BOL
is an editorial and commercial photographer specializing in adventure sports, portraits, and outdoor lifestyle photography. His images and stories are used worldwide.
You can see more of his work at www.tombolphoto.com.
PETE COLLINS
is an education and curriculum developer and website overseer for KelbyOne. He is one
of the Photoshop Guys and co-hosts Photoshop User TV. With a fine arts background,
Pete is well versed in photography, graphic design, and illustration.
MICHAEL CORSENTINO
is an award-winning wedding and portrait photographer, Photoshop and Lightroom
expert, author, columnist for Shutter Magazine and Resource Magazine, and speaker and
international workshop leader. Learn more at www.michaelcorsentino.com.
SEN DUGGAN
is the co-author of Photoshop Masking & Compositing, Real World Digital
Photography, and The Creative Digital Darkroom. He leads workshops on digital
photography, Photoshop, and Lightroom (SeanDuggan.com).
DANIEL EAST
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
is an author, freelance writer, presenter/trainer, and consultant with more than 20 years
experience in photography, pro-audio, and marketing. Daniel is also founder and president
of The Apple Groups Team support network for user groups.
010
PAUL HEBRON
is a freelance consultant in the Seattle area. He has worked as a graphic designer,
an art director, and a creative director. For more information about Paul, visit
http://about.me/paulhebron.
SCOTT ONSTOTT
is the creator of Photoshop for Architects: CC Edition and author of Enhancing Arch
itectural Drawings and Models with Photoshop, Taking Measure (secretsinplainsight
.com), and other books and videos. See what hes up to at ScottOnstott.com.
COLIN SMITH
is an award-winning digital artist, photographer, and lecturer who has authored
18 books and has created a series of training videos. Colin is also the founder of
the online resource PhotoshopCAFE.com and president of Software-Cinema.com.
LESA SNIDER
is the author of Photoshop CC: The Missing Manual, several eBooks, and video
courses, as well as co-author of iPhoto: The Missing Manual. Shes also a columnist for
Macworld and Photographic Elements Techniques. For more info, visit PhotoLesa.com.
ULI STAIGER
started out as a photographer in 1990. After traveling through Europe and the Americas, he opened his own studio in Berlin, Germany. Since 2004, Uli has worked as a
Photoshop artist, author, and trainer. For more, visit www.dielichtgestalten.de.
ROB SYLVAN
is the Lightroom Help Desk Specialist for KelbyOne, on staff at the Digital Photo
Workshops, and the author of Lightroom 5: Streamlining Your Digital Photography
Process. You can learn more at www.lightroomers.com.
SCOTT VALENTINE
is an Adobe Community Professional and Photoshop author. His latest book
is The Hidden Power of Adjustment Layers (Adobe Press). Keep up with him
at scoxel.com.
ERIK VLIETINCK
founded IT Enquirer in 1999 (http://it-enquirer.com). A J.D. by education, Erik
has been a freelance technology editor for more than 20 years. He has written
for Macworld, Computer Arts, Windows NT Magazine, and many others.
JAKE WIDMAN
is a writer and editor who lives in San Francisco. Hes been covering the intersection
of computers and graphic design for about 25 years nowsince back when it was
called desktop publishing and Photoshop was just a piece of scanning software.
Photoshop User
Magazine
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KelbyOne. As a KelbyOne member, you automatically
receive Photoshop User delivered right to your door (or
digitally) ten times a year. Each issue features in-depth
Photoshop, Lightroom, and photography tutorials written by the most talented designers, photographers, and
leading authors in the industry.
About KelbyOne
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p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
012
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KelbyOne Community
Inspiration, information, and member musings to fuel your creative think tank
BY HEATHER SHORTT
Filmmaking
made easy
One hot topic youll be seeing a lot from us this year is DSLR
filmmaking. Over the past few years, shooting high-definition video with your DSLR has been relatively popular. It even
became the fast choice for indie cinematographers around
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
014
help you tap into this bonus feature, and who knows,
editing, and audio for video. But for now, we have a whole
batch of content that can help you get started with film-
tive editing.
dropping more classes on this topic, but you can find the
using-video-feature-new-dslr.
Kelbyone.com.
Who's Who
in the kelbyone community
Meet Claudia McKinney. This five-year KelbyOne alum has
been making a successful mark as a digital artist focused on
best-selling book covers. She caught the eye of Pete Collins
as a recent Image of the Week pick at http://members
.photoshopuser.com with her depiction of childlike wonder in Marias Angel. Take a look inside the magical world
of Claudia.
Tell us about Marias Angel. Was it work or play?
I must admit that 99% of my work is funeven when its
for work. Occasionally, I will have one of those odd pieces
where its like pulling hair, but those are a rarity for me.
This image was done for a very dear friend and author,
Maria Hooley. This is her beautiful daughter. The minute
she showed me the raw image, I knew I wanted an angel
made. So this piece was a total labor of love.
What keeps you inspired in your work?
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT JASON B. WHITMAN
MEMBER SINCE 2014 | WWW.JASONWHITMANPHOTO.COM
Claudia McKinney
you. The rest will fall into place as you learn and grow as
an artist.
superpower be?
a superpower?
his songs.
k e l b yo n e . c o m
017
Spread the
good word
Teaching is our passion. Its in everything we do. And hearing your
success validates the very reason why were here. So preach on about
the good word. Were all ears.
Happy New Year! I am looking forward to more learning with
you during the course of the new year!Arthur B.
Ive been a member for a week or two now. In such a short time
I have learned sooooooo much more about 2 programs Ive had
for years. Thank you all.Alan P.
I love street photography, not something I get to do that often.
However, Jay Maisel, albeit controversial at times, might be one
of my favorite photographers at all time. If you have a KelbyOne
NOTABLE
TWEETS
e x p o s e d: i n d u st ry n e w s
Adobe to
acquire fotolia
Recently, Adobe announced that it entered into an agreement to acquire Fotolia, a leading provider of royalty-free photos, images,
graphics, and HD videos. Adobe will integrate Fotolia into the Adobe Creative Cloud, providing current and future Creative Cloud
members with the ability to access and purchase images and videos for their projects. The move bolsters Creative Clouds mar-
Nikon Announces
new dslr and two lenses
ketplace for creatives to buy and sell assets, as well as showcase their talent to a global audience. Adobe also plans to continue
operating Fotolia as a standalone stock service thats accessible to anyone.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of Adobes fiscal first quarter 2015. Until the closing, both companies
will continue to operate independently. After closing, Fotolia CEO Oleg Tscheltzoff will continue to lead the Fotolia team as part of
Adobes Digital Media business. For further details about the acquisition, visit www.adobe.com.
D5500 is a lightweight, DX-format camera with a 24.2-megapixel CMOS sensor. The removal of the optical low-pass
filter allows for sharp, detailed photos, and the EXPEED 4
image processing engine gives the D5500 improved speed
and performance.
Other features of the D5500 include a 3.2" Vari-angle touch
LCD display; an ISO range from 10025,600; HD 1080/60p video
capture with full-time autofocus and stereo sound; a 39-point autofocus system with 9 cross-type sensors; and a durable monocoque
structure that keeps the camera safe. Photographers also benefit from 16 scene modes, more effects modes, and enhanced picture
controls. The D5500 also includes built-in Wi-Fi that allows photographers to easily share photos with friends.
The D5500 is available in early February, comes in black or red, and costs $899.95 for the body only, $999.95 with the AF-S DX
NIKKOR 1855mm f/3.55.6G VR II lens, or $1,199.95 with the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18140mm f/3.55.6G ED VR lens.
On the lens front, Nikon announced the AF-S NIKKOR 55200mm f/45.6G ED VR II zoom lens for DX-format cameras, and
the FX-format AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR lens. The 55200mm is a kit lens thats compact, lightweight, has 3 stops of
Vibration Reduction stabilization, and a Silent Wave Motor, making it a great choice for photographing school functions, sports,
and people.
The 300mm f/4 lens is billed as the worlds lightest 300mm, full-frame, fixed focal length, AF lens. Its nearly 30% shorter and
1.5 lbs lighter than its predecessor, so it should be easy to handle. The lens uses Phase Fresnel optical technology to help correct
chromatic aberration. It also features up to 4.5 stops of Vibration Reduction stabilization, VR sport mode, VR tripod detection,
electromagnetic aperture control, a Silent Wave Motor, ED glass to further control chromatic aberrations, and Nano Crystal Coat
for superior image quality.
The AF-S DX NIKKOR 55200mm f/45.6G ED VR II and AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR lenses will also be available in
early February for $349.95 and $1,999.95, respectively. For more information, visit www.nikonusa.com.
Canon Announces
five new powershot cameras
Canon (www.usa.canon.com) has been busy fortifying its line of PowerShot
compact cameras, announcing that five new models will be available in February.
The PowerShot SX530 HS has a 50x optical zoom lens (equivalent to 241200mm)
with Optical Image Stabilization, making it a great choice for photographing wildlife and adventures. It combines a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor and DIGIC 4+ Image
Processor, allowing for excellent low-light performance. The SX530 HS includes
Canons Zoom Framing Assist feature that intelligently controls the lens, making it
easy to identify the subject, even when its in motion. It also captures 1080p Full
HD video and is Wi-Fi and NFC capable. The PowerShot SX530 HS costs $429.99.
Next up is the PowerShot SX710 HS with a 30x optical zoom lens (25750mm equivalent), Intelligent IS, 20.3-megapixel CMOS
sensor, and DIGIC 6 Image Processor. The SX710 HS also includes Zoom Framing Assist, 1080p Full HD video at up to 60 frames per
second, and Creative Shot and Short Clip modes for artistic and creative photos and videos. An interesting feature is Story Highlights
mode, where the camera creates a highlight reel of selected images to create a unique imaging experience. Photographers can then
share their photos via built-in Wi-Fi. The PowerShot SX710 HS goes for $349.99.
The PowerShot SX610 HS is a 20.2-megapixel compact camera with a DIGIC 4+ Image Processor, 18x optical zoom lens (equivalent to 25450mm), and Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity. Its available in red, white, or black and costs $249.99.
Rounding out the new releases is a pair of PowerShot ELPH cameras: the ELPH 170 IS and ELPH 160. The ELPH 170 IS has a
12x optical zoom lens (25300mm equivalent), 20-megapixel CCD sensor, Intelligent IS, 720p HD video capture, a Smart AUTO
mode that chooses optimal settings for photos, and creative effects, such as Toy Camera and Monochrome. It comes in blue,
silver, or black and costs $149.99.
The ELPH 160 has an 8x optical zoom lens (28224mm equivalent), 20-megapixel CCD sensor, and 720p HD video capture. Its
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
As we were going to press, Adorama (www.adorama.com) announced the immediate availability of Flashpoint Zoom Li-on Flashes
020
and Commander Transmitter and Receiver Set. The Zoom Li-on Flash is a hot-shoe flash available in Manual, Canon TTL, and Nikon
TTL models. It runs off an internal lithium-ion battery, giving it the benefits of an external battery pack without the cables. It has
a recycle time of 1.5 seconds, and it can fire up to 350 full-power shots on a battery charge. The flash head rotates 360 and tilts
At CES 2015, Wacom announced the new Cintiq 27QHD and Cintiq 27QHD touch, as well as the Cintiq Companion 2. The Cintiq
27QHD displays 1.07 billion colors and 97% of Adobes color gamut with a resolution of 2560x1440. Using different pen nibs,
The TTL models offer the extra features of proprietary TTL flash units, such as high-speed sync (HSS) up to 1/8000, exposure
including felt nibs, designers, artists, and game developers can work directly onscreen with a natural pen-on-paper feel. The touch
compensation, exposure bracketing, automatic zoom, and exposure lock. Theyre integrated with proprietary TTL strobe IR remote
version allows users to manipulate images onscreen with their fingers on one hand while sculpting or sketching with the pen in
The Zoom Li-on Flash comes with a lithium-ion battery pack, charger, mini stand, case, and instruction manual. The Manual flash
costs $99.95, and the Canon TTL and Nikon TTL models go for $179.95.
Accompanying the Zoom Li-on Flash is the new Zoom Li-on Flash Commander Transmitter and Receiver Set. The set allows
The Cintiqs also come with the new ExpressKey Remote. The remote, which can be placed onscreen or next to the keyboard,
provides users with a customized set of keyboard shortcuts. The Cintiq 27QHD will retail for $2,299.99 and the touch version will
be $2,799.99. They will replace the Cintiq 24HD and should be available in late January.
for control from 150' away, and you can adjust the flash remotely. It has 16 channels and 16 groups, so you can control
The new Cintiq Companion 2 is a mobile solution that works either as a Windows 8 tablet with all the capabilities of a Cintiq, or
individual units or groups and not interfere with other photographers. The Command Transmitter and Receiver Set sells
you can connect it to a Mac or PC and use it as a secondary Cintiq display. Several configurations of the Cintiq Companion 2 will
for $69.95.
be available in February, with prices starting at $1,299.99. For more information on all Cintiq models, visit www.wacom.com.
k e l b yo n e . c o m
021
HOW TO
Alexander Yakovlev/Fotolia
Step One
Step Three: Now choose Select>Inverse. This will flip the selection around, leaving the background unselected and the subject
mostly selected. With the selection inverted, click the Create New
Channel icon at the bottom of Channels panel to add a new
alpha channel. Press Shift-Delete (PC: Shift-Backspace) to open
Step Three
Mode set to Normal, and Opacity at 100%. Click OK. You should
BY COREY BARKER
ages floating around with dresses made from splashes and such.
Well, heres a quick and easy way to get that look with a few simple
Step Four
k e l b yo n e . c o m
Down
&Dirty
Tricks
the Fill dialog. Choose White from the Contents menu, leave the
025
Eye icon next to the Blue channel to turn it off. Now choose
the Overlay fill again to force the gray areas of the splash to
the
Background
Step Eleven: Choose the Lasso tool (L) and draw a selection
Step Five
around the middle-right splash. Grab the Move tool and clickand-drag the selection to the main working file. Once there,
youll need to rotate the object to determine the best position for
Step Eleven
jects right leg. Press Command-T (PC: Ctrl-T) to enter Free Trans-
form and resize and reposition the splash. Now Right-click in the
Step Six
the left side to make space for the splashes well add in a bit.
color of the subjects leggings, which are a rather hot pink. Press
Command-U (PC: Ctrl-U) to open the Hue/Saturation dialog.
Click the Colorize checkbox in the bottom-right corner, set the
able to see through the splash a little so I can see the legs. For
that, well use a feature that has been in Photoshop pretty much
since the beginning. Select the layer containing the splash, click
the Add a Layer Style icon (x) at the bottom of the Layers panel,
Step Eight: Now open the file containing the set of three
Step Eight
026
click the empty box to the left to make it visible, and click the
Options, youll see the Blend If section where you can blend two
layers based on the range of tones. In this case, go to the Underlying Layer sliders, hold down the Option (PC: Alt) key, and click
on the black slider to split it. Now drag the right half of the black
Step Thirteen
slider to around 128. This will allow for the darker shadow areas
of the subject to peer through the splash. Click OK to close the
ments like this. You can always change the color. I like the
Step Fourteen: Lets fade out the right side of the splash, as its
merely excess that we dont need. Click the Add Layer Mask icon
(circle in a square) at the bottom of the Layers panel. Choose the
k e l b yo n e . c o m
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
splash elements. Notice these splashes are red, but you dont
need to concern yourself with color when searching for ele-
Step Twelve
used earlier, but a bit different. Go ahead and open the Chan-
the Blue channel, click the Channels panel flyout menu, choose
Gradient Editor, and click the Radial Gradient icon (also the sec-
Duplicate Channel, and click OK. Select the Blue copy channel,
Step Fourteen
027
Step Fifteen
click the Add a Layer Style icon and choose Blending Options.
Again, split the black Underlying Layer slider and drag the right
half to help blend the shadow areas of the subject with the
splash, and click OK to close the Layer Style dialog. Use a layer
mask if you need to hide any areas of the splash.
Step Seventeen
the original. Choose the Quick Selection tool (W) and click-anddrag over the subjects left arm, making sure to get the entire
hand and arm, at least as far as the elbow. Now click the Refine
Edge button in the Options Bar. Nudge the Radius setting under
Edge Detection up a little, set the Output To menu to New Layer,
and click OK.
Step Eighteen
Step Nineteen: Return to the splash file, select the final splash,
028
teen to resize, reposition, and change the color of the splash as you
see here. We also have another splash file thats similar to one of
mitev/Fotolia
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
and drag it into the working file. Follow Steps Eleven through Thir-
the splashes in the set, but this one has more detail and more scattered elements. Repeat Steps Nine and Ten to extract this splash,
then change the color and position this one under the previous
splash to add volume to the overall effect. If these splashes cover
the subjects hand, simply drag the arm layer to the top of the layer
stack. Now it looks more like a splash dress with multiple levels.
Once you have the blending and color matching sorted, you can
continue to play with different arrangements of the splash, or even
add more to it depending on the effect youre going for.
Step Nineteen
HOW TO
Step Two: Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on the Path 2 thumbnail in the Paths panel (Window>Paths) to load it as a selection.
Choose the Gradient tool (G) from the Toolbox. Now click the
gradient thumbnail in the Options Bar, choose the Foreground
to Background preset, and click OK to close the Gradient Editor.
Click the Linear Gradient icon on the left in the Options Bar.
Click-and-drag a gradient from the top toward the bottom of
the selection. Press Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect.
BY FELIX NELSON
Were constantly showing you how to create effects with the latest and
greatest Photoshop features. Thats awesome, but many of our members (readers) are fairly new to Photoshop and havent learned some of
the basic techniques we use daily (and sometimes take for granted).
Even though layer styles have become a staple of our Photoshop work-
Emboss.
time to time. These techniques are basic by design, but they can also be
extremely effective and eye-catching. The logo for the new Annie movie
is a great example of how simplicity can be effective. Lets get back to
basics and well show you how we re-created it.
Choose
Smooth
k e l b yo n e . c o m
Down
&Dirty
Tricks
033
word
the
Contour
in
choose Ring Double. Turn on Antialiased, and enter 50% for Range. Were still not ready to click
OK yet.
034
Go to Select>Modify>Expand.
k e l b yo n e . c o m
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
035
Step Ten: Add another layer (Layer 4). Change the layer blend
mode to Overlay near the top left of the Layers panel. Load
Path 2 as a selection. Choose the Brush tool (B) from the
Toolbox. Using a large, soft-edged brush (about 300 pixels),
paint a bright highlight area on the upper-center portion of
the letters. Deselect.
036
HOW TO
Step One: Start with a portrait. Youre going to want to use one
thats high contrast with a good bit of shadows and a pure white
background. You can take a regular portrait and knock out the
background and use dodging and burning to get the right look,
but if youre the photographer, try to shoot on a white background and light it appropriately. If youre a graphic designer or
just want to practice to see how things work, you can find great
examples on stock sites. For this image, the search parameters
were shadow and portrait with the added criteria of isosnaptitude/Fotolia
Step One
Step Two: We need to make sure that the background is completely white, so open the Levels dialog by pressing Command-L
(PC: Ctrl-L). Choose the white Eyedropper icon on the right side
of the dialog. With that Eyedropper over the background, click
in an area that is supposed to be white. Click OK to close the
Levels dialog.
landscape portrait
BY PETE COLLINS
Step Three: If there are any little stubborn areas that are still
slightly off-white, simply grab the Brush tool (B), press D then
X to set the Foreground color to white, and change its blend
areas and only the parts that are lighter than medium gray will be
it. This tutorial will show you an easy way to incorporate this
technique into your own images. The goal of this exercise is to
add drama and visual interest to your work with only a few key
steps. The result will be a stunning, one-of-a-kind image that
will have a lasting impact on both the audience and hopefully,
if youre the photographer, the subject of the portrait.
Step Three
k e l b yo n e . c o m
Down
&Dirty
Tricks
Step Two
039
Step Four: Find the appropriate background image. You can get
creative and use many different types of images for this, such
ing for autumn and branches will help you find some good
Kochergin/Fotolia
Step Four
Step Eight: Make the tree layer active and press Command-T
(PC: Ctrl-T) for Free Transform. Now you can rotate, flip, or even
warp the branches to help accentuate the drama of the portrait.
In this example, we moved the tree layer slightly down and to the
Step Seven
left and increased its size a little. Press Enter to commit the trans-
040
Step Five
Step Six: Using the Move tool (V), drag the tree image into the
portrait image. If the portrait image still has the Background layer
locked, click on the Lock icon to the right of its name in the
Layers panel and it will change to a regular layer. Now you can
drag the tree layer below the portrait layer. Since youre probably
going to manipulate the size of this image, it might not hurt to
Step Nine: Once you have the branches set where you want
them, go to the duplicated portrait layer, click where its Eye icon
used to be to reveal it, and make it the active layer. Change the
blend mode of this layer to Multiply. Press-and-hold Option (PC:
Step Six
Alt) and click on the Add Layer Mask icon (circle in a square) at
the bottom of the Layers panel. This will add a mask filled with
black, which hides the entire layer.
Step Eight
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p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
041
Step Ten: Now simply choose a softedged white Brush. In the Options Bar,
set the blend Mode to Normal and the
Opacity to a low amount. Paint in the
areas that you want to reveal of the
models face and clothing. Paint multiple strokes to reveal more of an area.
If you get too heavy-handed just press
X to switch to black and paint away
any extra parts. This is where you get to add your artistic tastes to
how the images interact.
Step Eleven: Now add some simple, elegant text for a wonderful advertising piece or a poster, or try it with a color image
instead of black and whiteit still works the same. This would
make a great option for a mom or dad to create portraits of their
kids using background images and textures that tell a bit about
the personality of each kid.
Now that you know how to make this wonderful image, the
quest is going to be to find the right combination of images that
creates the biggest impact. It may even lead to you seeking out
textures and taking pictures of things that you want to use for the
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
042
Step Eleven
Step Ten
COLUMN
DesignMakeover
JAKE WIDMAN
DESIGN MAKEOVER
DESIGNER
CLIENT
Angela Maternowski
http://elavcreative.com
Charley Paff
http://sites.google.com/site/charleypaff/art
artists statement
before
Charley Paff is the nom de pinceau of Charley Paffenbarger, a computer systems and network administrator at the University of California, Berkeley Seismological Lab. Since he moved to California in the
1960s, hes been introducing himself as Charley Paff, and when he
took up painting in 2001, he adopted it as the name hed paint under.
My artistic background started when I was very young, says
Paff. He took art classes in high school and worked in architecture
through the 1980s. After being away from it for a while as he pursued
his IT career, he realized he missed it and started taking figure drawing
and painting classes. Call it a midlife adult reeducation, he says.
Paff put up a website via Google Sites around 2008 to give himself the opportunity to communicate and explain what he doeshe
compares it to an art blog. At the moment, he doesnt try to sell his
art through the site: I have a day job, so Im not as focused on trying
to sell, though I am open to it. But he doesnt think his work looks
like what people shop for on art-for-sale websites, and he relishes
the freedom to experiment that the lack of a commercial purpose
gives him.
He also makes ad hoc business cards himself to hand out at his
exhibitions and to leave a business card at the occasional juried show
he participates in.
He recognizes that his current site doesnt represent his art very
well. Visually, it has next to no appeal, he says. He blames it on his
scientific backgroundmuch of his work for the past two decades
has involved sitting in front of text-heavy webpages. Ideally, hed like
something engaging that has some wit. A new site should put a
smile on somebodys face, he says. We asked three designers to give
Paff a wittier Web presence with business cards to match.
044
makeover submissions
WERE LOOKING FOR PRODUCT PACKAGING OR LABELS, PRINT ADVERTISEMENTS, WEBSITES, AND MAGAZINE COVERS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN THE MARKETPLACE FOR FUTURE DESIGN MAKEOVERS. SO IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW HAS A DESIGN THAT YOUD LIKE US TO CONSIDER MAKING OVER, OR
IF YOURE A DESIGNER AND YOUD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR A FUTURE DESIGN MAKEOVER, SEND US AN EMAIL AT [email protected].
(NOTE: THIS IS PURELY A DESIGN EXERCISE AND THE DESIGNERS DO NOT WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE CLIENT, CREATE FUNTIONING WEBSITES, ETC.)
Angela Maternowski, owner of Ela V Creative, is a creative thinker, big dreamer, and active doer. She enjoys being bound into creative knots, just
to process how they become unraveled. She awakens daily with a burning passion to create, whether its placing a bit of wit throughout copy,
developing a branding system for a nonprofit, or carefully blending enough skim milk to her coffee to uncover a light-hearted caramel tone.
Besides design, she is on her way to becoming a yoga instructor. Despite her gypsy soul, Angela is a bit of a homebody, with a few quirky
life objectives. She believes in giving it your all, and presenting the best of you that you can each and every day, professionally as well as
personally. Her creativity is as necessary to her life as breath.
k e l b yo n e . c o m
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
after
045
DESIGNER
DESIGNER
Thom Vallance
www.thomvallance.com
after
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
046
Michael Sarcone
https://www.behance.net/gallery/Michael-Sarcones-Portfolio/959996
after
DESIGN MAKEOVER
Creating any sort of marketing materials for a fine artist begins with
determining what is unique about his product and then finding a
creative way to present that to the viewer. Every artist has an individual style and method, so that makes it easyand at the same
time, challenging.
In creating a landing page for Charley Paffenbarger (who goes
by the name Charley Paff), I wanted to showcase his unique style
and use of color. But at the same time, I felt it would be to his
advantage to place multiple samples of his artwork on the page,
like paintings in a gallery. Of course, space is always at a premium,
so the sample images I chose are carefully cropped to offer the
viewer a partial look at the entire piece, with the full image just a
click away.
As for fonts, a simple sans-serif Helvetica works well, reversed
from the solid black background, and the Paff signature is lifted
directly from the canvas.
On some of my preliminary designs, I explored a different
approach that included a more corporate logo, but decided on one
that would be unique and personal, which is the Paff brushstroke
logo. Its the one constant that would appear on every painting,
and like a fingerprint belongs to the artist. And I think people like
that personal touch.
I included these elements on the business card to tie in with his
landing page. The small thumbnails of some of his artwork tell the
viewer who he is and what he doesno title necessary.
THOM VALLANCE
MICHAEL SARCONE
Thom discovered his interest in graphic design as a kid, illustrating and writing his own childrens books. In tenth grade, his commercial art
teacher, Paul Ender, began grooming Thoms talents, introducing him to layout and identity design, then eventually publication design as the
chief editor of the 300+ page yearbook. Mr. Ender transitioned Thom to California State University, Chico, where he got his communication
degree with Greg Berryman.
As an art director, his work has appeared in The Art of the Gun: Magnificent Colts (Yellowstone Press), which has been on exhibit at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Nevada Museum of Art. As a freelancer, he has worked with Aflac Insurance, Alpine Meadows Resort,
Cisco Systems, Peppermill Casino, and VisitAuburnCA.com.
Thom enjoys living in south Reno, Nevada, with his wife and three kids, where they love to ski, hike, bike, and hang out on Lake Tahoe beaches.
Michael Sarcone is a graduate of the College of Design at Iowa State University and now lives in West Des Moines, Iowa. He has more than
30 years of experience in design and art direction and has spent the last seven at FBL Financial Group, Inc., a large insurance and financial
products company, where hes an art director. In addition to his 85 job, he has a diverse list of freelance clients who provide him with a variety
of ongoing projects. Not surprisingly, many of his clients are agriculture and insurance relatedbusinesses that drive the economy of Iowa.
When not in front of the Mac, Mike can be found in the garage tinkering on an old British sports car, going to a farmers market, or working on a never-ending list of home-improvement projects. Hes married with three children, all currently in college or graduate school. n
k e l b yo n e . c o m
DESIGN MAKEOVER
047
048
a creative who seeks collaboration. This is extremely important to me because I dont like
working in a vacuum. I have several go-to friends that I can call on for brainstorming and
bouncing around ideas. Most designers I know do the same thing, especially when it comes
to self-branding. If theres a time when I second-guess my decisions, its when Im working
on my own promotional material. Even though I can use the same processes I use for clients, its still hard to be objective on my
own brand.
How about you? As a photographer, do you hire or consult with a designer when you work on your own promotional
material? What should you consider when creating your brand? Are you able to be objective when trying to create your
own branding material? Do you know how to position your business? Whats the first step in your process?
Well find out why one photography business decided to use a designer. Then well ask that very same designer to
give some tips that might be helpful toward you making a decision to either do it yourself or call on a designer to help
your brand.
Images: Pam & Tara Photography Except Where Noted
Intro Art: Dollar Photo Club; Layout Design: Taffy Clifford
PAM
TARA
PHOTOGRAPHY:
WWW.PAMANDTARA.COM
Tara Nalani started with photography in her teenage years. Her dad
grow organically from there. Friends and family would say, Hey,
Tara, you have a camera; you should take our pictures. She
out of the brides face, and that sort of thing. She remembers going
learned from her dad. Eventually, she began trying out new
with him to drop off film back in those days and having to wait for
things with the camera. Having friends and family that allowed
her to experiment on was fun. The next thing she knew she was
digital, were a bit spoiled, being able to see images instantly in the
k e l b yo n e . c o m
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By Paul Hebron
049
p h ot o s h o p u s e r F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5
050
PAM TARA
PHOTOGRAPHY HIRE
SOMEONE TO CREATE
A BRAND
When I asked Pam and Tara why they chose to hire someone to do
their branding, Tara said, If you look at us, were very different. Even
our likes are different, but because weve been friends for so long,
edit and share them, but branding and trying to present ourselves as
if you base it only on what you see online. One day Tara was
Tara discovered Meg Long who was one of the designers on the
show. Meg designed the visual brand for Nikki Closser, a Wash-
end results but also how Nikki described the working relationship.
Megs design work and she began freelancing on the side. Eventually,
90% of Megs freelance clients were photographers.
boards, such as fonts that we liked, colors, and other things that
would reflect our individual personality. We also had a few Goo- Restart with Jasmine Star. Meg was paired with a photographer
gle chats and communicated via email. Im not super hip on social
out of Washington to design her site. Meg says she got about a
site, which enabled her to quit her full-time job and she began her
knowing us.
k e l b yo n e . c o m
look with a nontraditional eye. Her goal is to capture the right shot at the right moment to create
051
a better fit for them. Im always eager to make sure theyre fitted
with a designer that will be equally enthusiastic about the vibe that
they want to go for.
After a client books Meg, shell invite them to Basecamp, the proj-
But I think once you start to refine your photography and editing style
and know who your ideal client is, sometimes its really helpful to have
that person to bounce ideas off of. Its hard to make those decisions
avoid having hundreds of emails floating back and forth. Once the
objective. At that point, its really helpful to have some kind of brand-
where you are at this point, especially if youre ready to compete and
links. From there the questions are, can you tell me about your
does your brand stand for, etc.? I want to know what makes
them unique and sets them apart. Who is their target customer
sure on the design process and thats not really good. I especially
and so on.
money to start with and theyre not sure if they should invest in
improve their craft, then take the workshop or something that will
build your photography skills. Design isnt the silver bullet thats
going to grow your business if you have other things that youre
not confident in. Ive had people wait, focus on their skills, and
The initial creative questionnaire that Meg sent to Pam and Tara. This provides basic business info and then helps them verbalize their vision, goals, and
brand aesthetic.
052
Pinterest board Meg created where she consolidated some of the ideas, colors, textures, and
typography from both Pam and Tara's individual boards into a more unified direction.
financially stable and you know what your brand is and the direction you want to go; know what kind of photography you want to
focus on and then contact a designer. Sometimes I get inquiries like
that and I try to steer them to some lower-cost options to get them
started. Occasionally, Ill have somebody who really wants a particular style, say super minimalistic or masculine style. If their vibe
is such that Im not going to honor as well as some other designer,
Ill usually refer them to one of my designer friends that might be
One of Taras Instagram posts where she was doing the brand safari prompts.
Some of the brand safari photos ended up on the website.
k e l b yo n e . c o m
want it to be.
Tara Nalani
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
months in the business. I think its better for them to invest in their
053
safari. The mood board also includes her suggested fonts along with a suggested color
palette. Mood boards may go through a few
revisions until Meg and her client are in total
agreement about the visual look and feel of
the brand. After all this, Meg will then go into
the actual logo and website design.
Most of my clients will hire me to do brand
identity, research, logos, secondary logo and
brand elements, the portfolio website, and a
separate blog. Meg says the process after
the research can take 46 weeks, depending
if theyre doing a blog along with the website.
I asked Meg if she ever gets requests from
photographers to create a website in a very
short amount of time? She replied, Yes, and
actually this is where I should talk about Go
The logo concepts Meg presented for the first round of the logo design phase.
Live HQ, a creative firm I now work with fulltime. Something Im really passionate about
is improving the design process so that it
isnt so longto make it more fun and efficient, because the sooner a business gets a
great website, the sooner their business can
grow and attract their target clients. I feel like
theres a space for a long, drawn-out branding process, but for a lot of small businesses,
they just need something up that looks amazingand they want it fast. Go Live HQcomprised of creative director Promise Tangeman,
me, another designer named Liz Grant, and
our creative manager Ash Gardneris a
firm dedicated to helping entrepreneurs go
live with a knockout site very quickly. Weve
refined a homework process that is very similar to what I did with Pam and Tara: question-
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
054
The final website design that can be seen at www.pamandtara.com, including the homepage, a gallery page, and their blog.
Finally, I asked Meg what was it like working with Pam and Tara,
business partners located in different states?
dont have to go into this 100% sure what they want, but I think
of my clients are remote. Ive only worked with one other client
times people hire a designer and they want the designer to take
the entire design process away from them and do everything. Its
making sure we were all on the same page with the direction and
the visuals. Whenever you have more than one decision maker,
there is the potential for one person to have an idea for the brand
and the other person has a different idea. It can be a little difficult
Research who you are, your personality, and what vision youre
had to address.
Pam and Tara were super thoughtful about doing their home-
was amazing to see how Meg nailed Tara and me. I dont think
their different ideas and their vision for the brand. Because they
have such a good connection with each other, I think that made
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
it a lot easier to get us all on the same page and get excited about
056
designer. Let the designer know if the work doesnt reflect what
you cant afford to hire a designer, dont go broke trying. You might
think youll hurt the designers feelings if you dont like some-
do the work yourself, ask your clients and friends to help you identify
trouble making decisions and you have no idea what you want at
all, then before you hire a designer, you might want to do some
soul searching and think about your business goals, if this is the
makes you unique. You should already know what style of pho-
the designer can help you hone in on making your brand unique.
and dont know what they want and I can help them understand
what they want if they are able to participate in the process. They
BEGINNERS' WORKSHOP
HOW TO
Beginners' Workshop
eight mistakes in Photoshop
tings shown on the previous page to turn on the tools Sample All
Layers checkbox or set its Sample drop-down menu to Current &
LESA SNIDER
Below or All Layers. This trick works with the Spot and Healing Brush tools, the Patch tool (set its mode drop-down menu
to Content-Aware to reveal the Sample All Layers checkbox),
Each version of Photoshop comes with new features that let you work smarter instead of harder; however, old
editing habits are hard to break, especially if youve been using the program for a long time. In this column, youll
learn how to avoid several mistakes that siphon the editing flexibility from your documents.
the Content-Aware Move tool, the Clone Stamp tools, and the
Sharpen tool. Unfortunately, the Fill dialogs (Edit>Fill) ContentAware option in the Contents drop-down menu cant be used
on an empty layer, so use it on a duplicate layer or stamped copy
instead (described next).
ping blemishes on another, etc., you can back out of any edit
ing filters, only work on single layers, but if you merge or flatten
them, you lose edibility. The solution is to create one layer from
from the Layers panel flyout menu shown here, or press Shift-
bines all visible layer content onto a new layer; just drag it to the
layers also come with a layer mask, saving you the step of adding
one in order to hide that layers content from parts of the image.
ers disappear from view in the Layers panel. Expand the smart
Use fill layers: Instead of adding an image layer and filling it with a
pressmaster/Fotolia
058
or Gradient Picker. Second, fill layers come with a mask that lets
sandwiches them into a smart object. Now after you apply cer-
you hide the fill from parts of your image, which is perfect for add-
tain filters from the Filter menu, you can reopen the filter anytime
ing digital makeup, as shown in the first image and Layers panel
for more editing (double-click its name in the Layers panel); hide
the filters effect from parts of your image using the included
if you create a selection prior to adding the fill layer, the fill is visible
mask (circled and used here to lessen the filter effect on her
only inside the selection). Third, fill layers automatically resize them-
selves to match canvas size when you increase it. Hip hip hooray!
the icon to the filters right to open the Blending Options dialog);
photoguns/Fotolia
mand. How is this exciting? Let us count the ways. First, fill layers
cate the whole thing. This maneuver keeps your document size
lean by having fewer pixels on layers (note the two healing brush
layers in the first Layers panel shown above) and makes it easy
time you transform an image layer to resize it, you lose qual-
ity. After as few as three size changes, quality loss can become
layers visibility Eye icon to see only its content). Position the empty
layer at the top of your layer stack and use the Options Bar set-
object as described earlier and resize that instead. Due to its pro-
k e l b yo n e . c o m
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
solid color, gradient, or pattern, use the Layer>New Fill Layer com-
059
BEGINNERS' WORKSHOP
tective wrapping, you can resize smart object content until the
Aware Scale command in the Edit menu doesnt work with smart
create split tones and black and whites; sharpen; and add edge
because you get a preview and you can alter feather amount after
tion, say, for a soft oval vignette collage, create a selection with
database that you can use to import and organize your images.
quee tool [M] in the Toolbox), click the Add Layer Mask icon (circle
ple photos, heal and clone, create virtual image copies for experi-
the Feather slider to feather on the fly. The Density slider is handy
phy and full Creative Cloud subscriptions. Any edits you make in
060
always the best place to edit imagery. For example, its far easier in
As you can see, these tips will keep your documents as flexible
as they can possibly be. Until next time, may the creative force
and overexposed skies (use the Graduated Filter [G]); remove sen-
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
Alexander Yakovlev/Fotolia
PHOTOGRAPHY SECRETS
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mo_g/Dol
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get the best image possible, I not only need to find the right subject, but it also
needs to be shot in a way that makes the compositing task easier. Im going to
extract the subject from whatever background theyre on, so its best to find a
subject thats been shot in a studio setting with very basic lighting on a white or
ground. Look for images that are isolated on white or gray backgrounds; for examollar
lub
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ns/Dolla
Productio
Stillkost / Dollar Photo Club
Syda Image:
Layout Design: Taffy Clifford
ens/D
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ple, Ill do a search for a businesswoman on a white background. This helps narrow
the search to what Im looking for. If I just searched for businesswoman, then
I would get back thousands of results.
This makes the process of extraction much easier than if the subject were shot
in a crowded party, or where theres little contrast between the subject and back-
kelbyone.com
063
Another thing to consider is design elements. In a lot of my work, I use people and elements like fire, water, or any object
that might be relevant to my project. Lets say I need to find a picture of a piece of tape so I can make something look like it
was taped to a wall. I could do a search for a specific type of tape and that will be all I get, but heres a cool tip: When youre
searching for elements, try to find images that have a large variety of that element in one file like the stock image shown here
of many different kinds of tape in a single image. The beauty here is that youre only paying for a single image but you get a
collection of design elements. I do this all the time with elements that I need for a project like this example of brushes shown
here. Its just about being a little bit smarter when youre doing your initial search.
Lighting:
Be sure to light your subjects very evenly. Avoid overly
dramatic lighting scenarios as this limits the designers options. That doesnt mean there isnt a place for
images with dramatic light; just keep in mind that they
tend to get overlooked by designers. For example, this
image would be great if the background were simpler
for the purpose of extracting. Its just too dark, especially at the bottom, which leaves very little contrast of
picsfive/Fotolia
iadams/Fotolia
Backgrounds:
Another thing a designer or artist might consider is video. Many stock sites offer short video clips and animations in various
resolutions. Ive used many stock video clips for many reasons, but a video clip is merely a series of stills that show some pro-
gression. Ive actually downloaded time-lapse videos, such as rolling clouds, and extracted frames from these high-resolution
clips to use as backgrounds in static designs. That means I have several hundred cloud images. With Photoshop being able to
open and edit video clips, you can extract several different cloud configurations from a single video clip.
Ivan Bliznetsov
Lets
k e l b yo n e . c o m
mik_cz/Fotolia
064
Buriy/Fotolia
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
065
Corey Barker
Imaster/Fotolia Moenez/Fotolia
Textures:
Textures are a big deal with designers these days and you can never have too many in your arsenal. Like people,
you want to shoot textures with even lighting and preferably straight on, meaning you need to be perpendicular
to the texture youre shooting to get an even texture. I shoot a lot of textures with my DSLR and even with my
iPhone. I also use a lot of stock textures. The best kind is seamless textures, which will tile in Photoshop with no
Collections:
As I mentioned earlier, its of great benefit to the designer to offer elements that are part of a collection contained in a single image. If youre the photographer putting together these collections, you
can assemble them on one set and shoot them, or you can shoot the individual elements and then
assemble them into a single document in post.
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
Clipping paths:
066
Another thing to consider, especially with products and other elements, is to create a clipping path
for the object. Its a little more work but it will be a better option for designers, as they wont have
to deal with the labor of extracting the element themselves. In many cases, designers will choose
these types of images over others just for the timesaving aspect.
Hopefully this gives you a better idea of what to consider, whether youre looking for stock images for your design work or
if youre shooting stock images for designers. Efficiency is key, and as the photographer, the easier you make it for the end user the
better chance your images will sell.
donatas1205/Fotolia
hr
is
Ta
ylo
r/D
ol
VectorShots/Fotolia
la
rP
ho
to
Cl
ub
obvious seams.
LIGHT IT
>>LIGHT IT
HIGH
BEING AN ADVENTURE SPORTS PHOTO
GRAPHER, MY STUDIO CHANGES ON A
By
Tom Bol
STEP ONE
STEP THREE
Available light would not work for this shot. The overhead
clouds created soft, flat light. While soft light might work
fine for some portraits, I wanted dramatic shadows and
contrast to match the thrill of mountain biking. I brought
my Elinchrom Rangers along to light the shot. These packs
have 1,100 watts of power, which is plenty of juice to overpower the bright sun. To trigger the lights, I used Elinchrom
Skyports, which also allowed me to adjust power from the
transmitter on my Nikon D800. I used Elinchrom Free Lite
S heads with the Rangers. The S heads have a slower flash
duration than the A heads, but because this was a static
shot, it didnt matter.
STEP TWO
Casey, the mountain biker, arrived and we were ready to go.
Casey is classic Colorado: healthy, fit, and loves any outdoor
activity in the mountains. Ive photographed her many times,
k e l b yo n e . c o m
ROCKY
MOUNTAIN
069
LIGHT IT
STEP FOUR
For the first image, I used an Elinchrom 39" Rotalux Deep OctaBox, my favorite softbox for athletic portraits. The deep profile of
this softbox adds a nice edge to the light, somewhere between a
traditional softbox and a beauty dish.
LIGHT IT
STEP SIX
I moved Casey for a different angle and changed the
power on my lights so I could shoot at f/5.6. Shooting at ISO
100 under a dark sky allowed me to shoot at f/5.6 and still
have a correct background exposure. If it had been brighter, or
had I wanted to use a wider aperture opening, I would have
attached a two-stop neutral-density (ND) filter and powered
up my lights to compensate for the ND filter.
STEP SEVEN
In the final shot, I like the balance and overall feel created by the
scenic location and edgy cross-lighting. I processed my favorite
images with Topaz Adjust 5 using the Dynamic Pop II preset set
to about 50% Opacity. This action adds grit to the image and
enhances the clouds, which works well for an adventure sports
environmental portrait.
070
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STEP FIVE
Honestly, I was already feeling like I had a good shot. The OctaBox illuminated Casey with a nice specular light, and the darkened background and clouds gave the image an edgy feel.
But Im always game for more lights! I decided to add a second
071
ALL IMAGES BY TOM BOL
BY SEN DUGGAN
with settings that please you for this image, but I set Exposure
shadows of the rocks get too dark, so lighten these by raising the
edges, set the Clarity to +40, and add some pop to the colors by
progress of an image.
white interpretation.
long way to making the image look much better, but theres still
more we can do. Before moving on, save a new snapshot and
name it 02_Basic.
how each of the four major tonal regions is affected. The name
to 30. (Note: If you dont see the four sliders in the panel,
step three: Next, open the Basic panel to adjust the overall
brightness and contrast for the photo. Feel free to experiment
k e l b yo n e . c o m
Developing
Landscapes
and Taking
Snapshots
lightroom
073
click the little curve icon at the bottom right of the panel.) Save
the adjustment sliders after youve defined the area that will be
step seven: Press Y to see a Before and After view. The im-
lightroom
have a good color version, its time to branch out and explore an-
to the image. Now its time to get local with changes that we
can apply to specific areas of the photo. Click the icon for the
compare our different versions side by side, well use virtual cop-
Graduated Filter (fourth from the left just under the Histogram),
Ctrl-), or you can also find this command in the Photo menu, or
mately halfway between the top of the image and the top of the
island and drag down until the bottom line of the Graduated
Filter is a short distance below the horizon (hold the Shift key
to constrain the filter to a horizontal orientation). Create a new
section, set Hue to 210 and Saturation to 10. This adds a sepia
the original colors in the image. For instance, with this image,
I moved the Orange, Yellow, and Aqua sliders to the right to light-
en the sand and the lighter parts of the water near the beach, and
dragged the Blue slider to the left to darken the ocean, as well
the Exposure to 0.88 and the Shadows to 66. Place the cur-
Before
If any previous settings are still in place, you can reset all the slid-
ers for this tool by double-clicking the word Effect at the top
of the panel (this also works for the Graduated and Radial Filters).
Set the Exposure to 0.75 and the Shadows to 30. The brush Size
should be about 7.0, the Feather 100, and Flow and Density can
After adjustment
Lighten the Rocks: Paint over the dark rocks to lighten them.
Once you start to see changes appear, you can adjust the sliders
Mask view
brush on the area you want to affect. The Auto Mask setting
will prevent it from spilling outside that area. Press O to see the
lighten the island cliffs some more. Create a snapshot for this
then press O again to hide it and resume your work. The nice
thing about the Adjustment Brush is that you can always refine
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the left just under the Histogram, or press Shift-M) and set
from the left just under the Histogram), or press the letter K.
074
075
sky area above the horizon and just above the island (the Expo-
sure was set to 0.80 for this change). Thats it. If you saved snap-
Before
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
After
Black-and-white interpretation
076
ALL IMAGES BY SEN DUGGAN
Under
the
Loupe
balancing act
White balance can be tricky for snow scenes due to the
reflective nature of snow and the evocative nature of color
casts on the viewer. Its no surprise that snow looks blue
under a clear blue sky, while it can look a soupy grayishyellow under overcast skies. Since snow scenes depict a
cold environment, I prefer a white balance that is a tad
cooler than neutral to help convey that feeling of coldness. I had the in-camera white balance set to Daylight in
this photo, and thats not too bad. If I were to switch it
to Cloudy, it would go too warm for my taste. If theres
something in the scene thats neutral, you can use that
with the White Balance Selector tool (W), but clicking on
the snow itself can yield mixed results.
k e l b yo n e . c o m
One of the things I love most about living in New Hampshire is that we get to experience the best that all four
seasons have to offer. One of my favorite seasons for getting out of doors is winter because even the most ordinary scene can become magical after being draped with a
blanket of snow. And there are no mosquitoes!
lightroom
079
a time to sharpen
make it curvy
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080
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lightroom
081
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP
&
TipsTricks
SEN DUGGAN
Lets face it, calamities sometimes happen, in real life and in our
digital lives. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do in
Lightroom to mitigate any digital disasters that may befall your
image catalog.
cially for new users. Always have at least one backup of your
the catalog. I have mine set to Every Time Lightroom Exits. That
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
ule, or the Photo menu in the Develop module. You can also have
Lightroom automatically write all changes to XMP by choosing this
in the Metadata section of the Catalog Settings dialog. Catalog
Settings can be found
in the Lightroom menu
on a Mac, or in the Edit
menu on a PC (or it can
also be accessed via
a button in the lower
right of the General section of the Preferences).
process, thats a big blow to lose all that work if you have to start
Lightroom stores the changes you make to the file (i.e., keywords,
where you have to ditch the catalog and reimport images into
useful to have a collection setting that did this for you automati-
Then, just highlight and copy (Command-C [PC: Ctrl-C]) the name
same folder as the images. When these images are imported into
with the images in Grid view (G) in the Library module, select all
a new catalog, Lightroom will see those XMP files and all your
into the keywords field in the Keywording panel for all the files
has saved the day when they had to reimport images they had
to Files and can be found in the Metadata menu in the Library mod-
082
shortcut (PC: Ctrl-S). The menu command for this is Save Metadata
you can then use the keyword search capabilities to isolate just
those images and rebuild your collection structure.
ALL IMAGES BY SAN DUGGAN
k e l b yo n e . c o m
Lightroom Section
083
DYNAMIC RANGE
id you ever compose an image and ask yourself why the composed objects look sort of fake? Well, maybe it was because they
dont have the right shadows. Its not complicated to create a physically correct shadow, but there are a few things that you
should consider. There are three types of shadows, and the good news is all three of them can be created in Photoshop.
Lets start with shadowed areas on buildings or other objects. Imagine a tall building thats lit by the sun from the left. The side facing the sun
is brightly lit; the side not facing the sun is a lot darker and has considerably less contrast. This type of shadow can simply be painted onto the
building using a Levels adjustment layer and a layer mask. But thats not all: the building itself creates a shadow, as well. This type, the so-called
drop shadow, is a bit more complex to build, but with a little Photoshop strategy its not a big problem. The third type of shadow is an effect
you can see. For example, if you observe a cup on a table, theres a thin black line between the cup and the table surface. This thin black line
is very important to make a shadow look real. Lets begin by taking a look at all three types of shadows.
[KelbyOne members may download the files used in this tutorial at http://kelbyone.com/magazine/issue/february-2015. All files
are for personal use only.]
In this simple image, you can see all three types of shadows. The
main light source comes from the upper-left corner and divides the
sphere in a bright, sunlit part (1) and a darker one that has a lower
contrast (2). On the right side of the sphere we see the cast shadow,
which is basically a projection of the spheres shape (3), and right
underneath the sphere theres the deep shadow that leads from middle gray into deep black (4).
084
k e l b yo n e . c o m
By Uli Staiger
IN A COMPOSED SCENE
Gary/Fotolia
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f
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rr
cu
ha2
r0
y12
30 1 5
HOW TO CREATE
085
(press Command-I [PC: Ctrl-I]). In this scene, I decided to let the sun-
100% and instead change the blend mode from Normal to Multiply
light come from the right side. That means that the shadow areas can
at the top of the Layers panel. Considering the sun as the projection
only be on the parts of the buildings that look to the left. Just take
the Brush tool (B), use a soft brush with a Hardness of 3050%, and
begin to paint the shadows onto the layer mask. (Note: You can find
The models left foot is positioned slightly behind her right foot.
Unfortunately, this means that the foot and its shadow have a different level, so we have to pull the shadow toward the models left
foot. This is a great task for the Puppet Warp tool, which youll find in
the Edit menu. Just click on five or six spots on the shadow that you
Before you even think of building a drop shadow, you should analyze
want to lock into position (you dont have to click on the intersection
the position of the main light source in your picture. In the picture
of the lines), then click on the spot representing the foot and pull it
here, we have two light sources: the sky, which lights the whole
right underneath the models foot. Done! Press enter to commit the
scene without producing any hard shadows; and the sun, which is
Puppet Warp.
because we can use the silhouette of the model to create the shadow.
meet the road is necessary to nail the model to the ground. Create a
new layer above the shadow model layer, and paint right underneath
Ctrl) key and clicking on the models thumbnail in the Layers panel.
her shoes with a small brush set to black with a Hardness of 0% and
an Opacity of 20%. You get an even better result if you do the same
to the Lasso tool, hold down the Option (PC: Alt) key, and drag
to the models shoes in a separate layer above the models layer. Hold
around the various sections of the whip to remove it from the selec-
the Option (PC: Alt) key and click on the line between these two
layers, to add a clipping mask; otherwise, you darken not only the
the Create a New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
its very important: The thin line of the deep shadow where her shoes
on her own layer, this is easy to get by holding the Command (PC:
086
and click OK to fill the selection with 50% gray. Press Command-D
Still, our shadow doesnt look very natural. Theres a physical effect
called diffraction, which simply means that the light collides with
the layer vertically. Then, move the shadow down with the Move
tool (V) until the bottom of its right foot touches the bottom of the
the object, this effect is hardly visible (1). The further away from the
models right foot. (Note: Weve lowered the Opacity of the Back-
object, the more the shadow gets blurred (2). On the end of the
ground layer in the image here so you can better see the shadow.)
shadow that represents the top edge of the object, the blur reaches
its maximum (3).
k e l b yo n e . c o m
087
Step Six:
Creating Softness by Using the Filter Gallery
There are two different ways of creating this kind of blur in relation to
the distance between model and shadow. The easiest way is to use
the Tilt-Shift filter, which you find in the Filter>Blur Gallery. If youre
not sure yet how much blur you want to apply, convert the models
shadow layer into a smart object (Filter>Convert for Smart Filters)
before applying the filter. Then, open the filter and move the solid
bottom line close to the shoes and the bottom dashed line toward
the end of the shadow. A Blur of around 20 px in the Blur Tools panel
is perfect. Click OK in the Options Bar to apply the blur.
Step Seven:
Creating Softness
by Using the Lens
Blur Filter
If youre using Photoshop CS6 or older, you
can choose another way.
First, switch to Quick
Mask mode by pressing
Q. Then, using the Gradient tool (G), create a linear gradient that starts at the shoes and
reaches all the way down to the bottom of the image. (Note: If your
red overlay doesnt match the one shown here, dont worry, well fix
that in Lens Blur.) Press Q to change back to normal mode, save the
selection as a channel (Selection>Save Selection), give the selection
a name such as gradient, and click OK. Then, open the Lens Blur
filter (Filter>Blur>Lens Blur) and make sure the channel you saved
is selected in the Source drop-down menu (unfortunately, this filter
doesnt work with a smart object). Use a blur Radius between 60
and 90. If for any reason the blur appears on the wrong end of the
shadow, just click Invert. Click OK to apply the blur.
Step Eight:
Color Adaption
Were almost there; we just have to take a final look at the color.
The shadow we created is a projection of the models silhouette.
Although not hit by any sunlight, shadows are never black, but translucent. Theres always a surrounding light source: the sky
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
088
HOW TO
SCOTT VALENTINE
understanding frequency
Frequency separation is one of the hottest topics in portrait retouching, even though the technique has been around
for years. The idea is as simple as it is powerful: by splitting high and low frequencies into different layers, we can
work with each frequency individually and be more precise while working more quickly. Thats pretty cool, but do
you really know how to visualize and identify frequency in your images? After you read this article you will.
pixels involved.
supplement to this article [see next page] includes this PSD file so
you can see more details). Each one of these can be edited indi-
low-frequency component.
view of the sky, uneven skin tones, and soft ripples in fabric. Transi-
This leads me to the first of two major concepts I want you keep
picture from the Valles Grande Caldera in New Mexico (see top
of next page), the dirt and rocks in the foreground are visually
about the same size as the larger branches in the middle ground
090
the background, entire trees are about the same size as the fore-
k e l b yo n e . c o m
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
091
HOW TO
Beyond Photoshop
SCOTT ONSTOTT
composing 3d scenes
Three-dimensional models representing architectural complexes contain the textures and geometry that are needed to describe them; however, 3D models are rarely displayed in a way that would please a photographers trained
eye. Here we learn to adapt our eyes for composing a 3D scene to a virtual camera lens.
the directional details. Note that the larger and smaller features
load link near the top right of the page, and select KMZ from
are all still there. And I can in fact repeat the process to remove
downloaded and open it in Photoshop. In the New dialog, specify 2000x2000 Pixels; leave the 3D Units set to Millimeters, which
Homework Assignment
are what was used to model the structures on Romes tiny island;
For homework, I want you to try out some ways to visualize fre-
quency in your images. Here are some simple filters you can use
to help you in this task. Some have options to refine the results,
and while theyre helpful for this exercise, they arent directly
aware of the differences will allow you to work more quickly
give you a way to see new things in your images. (Note: If you
out this image of raw silk. There are strong vertical lines where
some threads are much thicker. There are horizontal lines as well,
but theyre less pronounced. The undulations in the fabric are, of
Filter>Sketch>Bas Relief
in the Options Bar, make sure the Orbit the 3D Camera tool (the
Filter>Stylize>Find Edges
Filter>Stylize>Emboss
course, low frequency, and theyre mostly vertical. The finest detail
threads are both horizontal and vertical, and are more or less uni-
left the rest alone. The original is on top; the edit is on the bottom.
092
Step Two
https://humidfruit.wordpress.com/category/silk
Emboss: 3px
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p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
Find Edges
saikindi
Bas Relief
Id love to see what you come up with! Please share your experi-
Step Three
093
BEYOND PHOTOSHOP
Step Four: Press C for the Crop tool and crop away the expanse
Step Eight: The lighting is now too blue for my taste and thats
scape proportions). Press V to select the Move tool and click on the
the Map for Image Based Lighting icon next to IBL and select
Sergio Alvarez/
CC-BY-SA 2.0
BEYOND PHOTOSHOP
Step Eight
Step Nine: Were going to create a two-color gradient to simulate the sky. Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) the Tiber Island layer
Step Five: This low-poly 3D model will look better with a depth-
Step Four
thumbnail in the Layers panel to select all of the pixels in the model.
Click OK, and then in the resulting Gradient Fill dialog, click the
the top of the 3D panel and select Current View. In the Proper-
(its the first one), double-click the left color stop below the gradi-
ties panel, set Depth of Field to 0.8 and Distance to 0.28 in order
ent bar, enter #effeff at the bottom of the resulting Color Picker,
and click OK to close the Color Picker. Double-click the color stop
on the right, enter #8ab1f1 in the Color Picker, and click OK.
Name the Gradient Sky, and click OK twice.
Step Nine
tion tool (W) set to Sample All Layers in the Options Bar, paint
the Model node in the 3D panel and select Infinite Light 1. Drag
over the vertical wall at the bottom of the 3D model and the
the light so that the virtual sun is overhead but slightly behind the
Step Six
default name, set Scale to 200% in the Pattern Fill dialog, and
click OK. Press V for the Move tool and drag the water surface
down slightly. If you see a white line running through the water,
sity but well get better results by using image-based lighting (IBL)
active, switch to the Brush tool (B), press X until the Foreground
entire model and uses the color and luminosity of each pixel to
tutorial at http://kelbyone.com/magazine/issue/february-2015.
Step Eleven: The water surface needs blur to match the field
above the top of the waters edge. In the Blur Tools panel, set
k e l b yo n e . c o m
Moonik/
CC-BY-SA 3.0
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094
Step Ten
Step Eleven
095
Product Reviews
Price: $389.99
Web: www.sandisk.com
Rating:
Rating:
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
Price: $199
Web: www.dxo.com
096
Not:
E
pson Metallic Photo Paper
Luster and Glossy
Epson recently added two metallic resin-coated papers to their inventory: Metallic Photo Paper Luster and Metallic Photo Paper Glossy.
The glossy paper has a smooth texture with a high reflectance.
The luster paper has a subtle textured surface, and reflectance is
similar to Epsons popular Premium Luster Photo Paper. Of the
two papers, the metallic glossy appears to have slightly richer
blacks with colors appearing more vibrant and saturated. Both
papers have a pearl surface, slightly warm tone, and both use
minimal Optical Brightener Additives (OBAs). Epson supplies ICC
paper profiles for download from their website for both papers.
I printed a standard reference target on both papers. The reference target is comprised of various skin tones, color patches,
grayscale ramps, and assorted color and black-and-white images.
The results are both papers have a wide color gamut, deep blacks
(Dmax 2.3), and excellent color fidelity. Both papers display images
with sharp, rich detail in the shadow areas. The metallic substance
appears uniformly distributed in both papers and has a characteristic that gives the paper a shimmer, adding a sense of dimensionality and depth. The metallic characteristic becomes apparent
when you hold the papers and light plays off the surface.
Web: www.epson.com
Rating:
You can quickly go through all film presets, but you can adjust
the image either with film and grain settings or from scratch.
In both scenarios, the panel changes to creative controls, where
youll find a new micro-contrast tool that brings out relief and
details in images. The effects remained subtle and natural, and
never got so far as to mimic faux HDR.
A new Toning tool lets you apply a color effect separately
to highlights and shadows, bringing the simulation of historical
photo colors within easy reach. The Blur tool has been simplified
and offers two modes: Vignetting and Soft Focus, for creating an
artistic blur effect thats ideal for portraits.
Company: DxO Labs
Price: $129
Web: www.dxo.com
Rating:
Not:
k e l b yo n e . c o m
097
REVIEWS
Acers B286HK 4K ultra high-definition display has an impressive native resolution of 3840x2160 pixels, which is great news
for graphic artists and photographers wanting to work in fine
detail. There are, however, other considerations to think about
before buying.
The B286HK has a 28" nonglare-coated screen supported by
a sturdy stand that allows the display to move smoothly when
adjusting the screens height, swivel, tilt, or orientation to either
landscape or portrait mode. The large screen is perfect for simultaneously viewing multiple documents. It supports broad connectivity with DVI, full and mini DisplayPorts, HDMI, and four USB 3
ports. It has an onscreen manager with a six-button control panel
on the bezels lower-right corner. The control panel includes five
color screen presets and adjustments for brightness, sharpness,
contrast, and color temperature.
Using Datacolor software and colorimeter, I measured the
color space to be 75% of Adobe RGB 1998, well below the usual
98%-wide color gamut used by most photography professionals.
There are several other considerations before buying a 4K display.
The first regards content availability and, at this point, 4K displays
arent supported by Adobe for Lightroom or Photoshop, and there
Its true that good things do come in small packages. I dont think
a better statement exists to sum up the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. This tiny, dedicated cinema-quality video camera
packs a wallop in the quality and features versus size department.
The Pocket Cinema Camera allows you to carry the creative
power of high-resolution 1080HD capture, a Super 16mm-sized
sensor, and a staggering 13 stops of dynamic range, all in the
palm of your hand. Thirteen stops of dynamic range translates
into superior image detail and the film look Blackmagic cameras are known for. Along with its support for RAW capture, the
Pocket Cinema Cameras dynamic range also provides a greater
latitude for color grading and other postproduction tasks. In fact,
the Pocket Cinema Camera shares many features with its larger
and costlier brethren.
A Micro Four Thirds lens mount means compatibility with a
wide range of high-quality lenses. Its also compatible with PL
mount and Super 16 cine lenses via common available third-party
adapters. The Pocket Cinema Cameras built-in SD card recorder
makes long recordings easy and its numerous open file formats,
Price: $599.99
Web: www.acer.com
Rating:
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Web: www.blackmagicdesign.com
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098
Price: $149
Web: http://colorright.com
Rating:
Web: www.lupolux.com
Rating:
k e l b yo n e . c o m
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
099
REVIEWS
BOOK REVIEWS
PETER BAUER
Exposure 7
Analog Effects for Digital Images
Review by Daniel M. East
Even though it has only been a brief amount of time since the
release of Exposure 6, Alien Skin isnt a company that releases
service updates. Their continuing full version updates offer real
feature changes, improvements, and performance upgrades.
Already a longtime favorite for photographers who want to emulate their beloved analog film emulsions and create detailed digital effects, Exposure 7 steps up as must-have software, even if
youre too young to have ever used analog film.
Exposure offers high-quality analog film, lens, and bokeh emulation effects in Photoshop and Lightroom, or as a stand-alone
application. Since it requires more recent operating systems, host
software versions, and hardware, using the desktop version may
be your only option if you dont meet the system requirements.
Its worthwhile, though, given the quality of the output.
Alien Skin has added an image browser so theres no need for
the open file command. It does take a second to realize this, but
its easy to navigate, especially with external drives and servers.
The new film types added include some popular favorites of both
consumers and pros. As a former manager of professional analog
photo labs, I can tell you that the presets are remarkably true to
the emulsion types of the original films. The new ability to crop
and rotate your image in the software saves both time and steps
when editing your images.
If you havent tried Exposure, Alien Skin offers free online
video tutorials and a free trial version. From retro effects to
abstract concepts and more, Alien Skin Exposure 7 goes beyond
its origins and takes digital imaging to a place where past, present, and future combine. For the longtime or first-time user, you
may find yourself creating presets, or just playing with settings,
to bring new life to your images.
Company: Alien Skin Software, LLC
Web: www.alienskin.com
Rating:
tures added to that version up until press time), this is the most
helps keep the price down.) The website includes image files
so you can follow along using the same photos with which
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
By Lesa Snider
Topaz Glow
100
tions and articles that didnt fit in the print versionafter you
they both work well). The author has chosen to use only gray-
buy this book visit the website right away to see whats there.
scale images in the book, which helps keep the focus on the
Topaz Glow is almost like Auto-Tune for music. You can take a
decent image and modify the output to be beautiful if you make
the effects either nearly seamless or obvious to the extremes. It
may not be for everyone, but Topaz Labs Glow makes for some
delicious eye candy. From funky to fantasy, and with lots of presets to start you on your path, Glow allows your minds eye to
look beyond traditional effects.
From sketch-like looks to nearly cartoon styling, the user can
customize the effects with a very simple (and familiar-looking)
slider-based interface. Depending on your personal preference,
Glow seems to offer its best results from either minimal opacity or extremely intense effects. Plus, its ability to go beyond the
traditional Photoshop effects really gets exciting as you become
more familiar with customizing the presets. Adding the effect to
a specific element of your image, like a guitars pickguard or a
window reflection, can add a stunning focal point to your images.
Beware the temptation to go too far, though. Theres no
wrong image for these effects, as you have excellent control over
the blur or detail of nearly any image you choose; however, if
Photoshop users.
Price: $69.99
Web: www.topazlabs.com
Rating:
Pages: 955
Website: www.oreilly.com
Website: www.rockynook.com
Price: $39.95
Pages: 185
Rating:
PHOTOSHOP TIPS
D E PA R T M E N T
Photoshop Tips
Splitting Hairs
COLIN SMITH
anyone
to
great most of the time. There are times when you need a layer
thats filled with a neutral color for more control over different
special effects (dodge and burn, lens flares, etc.). The quickest
way to do this is to hold down Option (PC: Alt) as you click the
Create a New Layer icon. When you do this, a dialog will appear
planes with the Create Plane tool (C). When you create a plane,
tips. Many of the tools that you use every day have hidden and
you need to click carefully to precisely place each corner for the
sibilities and cool things that you probably didnt know you could
Hold down the X key and it zooms in and makes it easier for you
Motion Control
and tried to set its Angle to exactly 0 or 90, its like trying to put
exactly $40 of gas into your car. You release too soon and youre
slightly under, then you give it a nudge and youre slightly over.
The way they work by default is fine about half the time.
the numbers, but that takes time and effort. The tip is this: hold
The rest of the time, dont you wish they were slower or
down the Shift key and the angles will now be constrained to
or Option (PC: Alt). Shift will speed up the slider 10x, while
Option (PC: Alt) will slow it down 10x. I use this one every
day in my workflow.
try and explain them all in this paragraph. The most common
use is to drag the black slider below Underlying Layer to let the
shadows come through from the layer below, or move the white
slider to let the highlights come through from below. To enter
this mode, make the layer youre working on active, click on the
Add a Layer Style icon (x) at the bottom of the Layers panel, and
choose Blending Options. No matter how you choose to use this
tool, youll get harsh transitions with the triangle sliders. The trick
is to hold down the Option (PC: Alt) key to split the triangles in
half and drag one side only, making a smoother transition.
inside the circle in the Iris Blur, youll see four dots. You can drag
Precise Cursor
the dots toward the outer circle to make a harder edge between
all four dots move together, no matter which one you drag. You
The first thing you have to do is tell Vanishing Point what surface
shape. If you turn on the Caps Lock, youll get a crosshair for your
this, hold down our good friend the Option (PC: Alt) key. Now,
you can drag each dot independently from the others.
102
Alt) key while dragging the sliders, youll get a visual indication
The Eyedropper tool (I) is a useful tool for grabbing colors from
when the highlights and shadows are past their limits (known as
an image. With the Eyedropper, you click on the color that you
clipping). This gives you a good idea how far to move a slider if
youre going for maximum contrast while still keeping the details
in an image.
the current one? You can sample a color and change the Background to that new color instead of the Foreground. All you have
to do is, you guessed it, hold down Option (PC: Alt) and click on
To create new layers quickly, click the Create a New Layer icon at
the bottom of the Layers panel. You can also use the keyboard
k e l b yo n e . c o m
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
103
ALL IMAGES BY COLIN SMITH
Photoshop
February 2015
I N D E X
O F
A D V E R T I S E R S
For advertising information, please contact Kevin Agren, V.P. Sales, at 813-433-2370.
email: [email protected]
4 Over, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC
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[E]
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Epson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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[A]
[J]
Professional Sports Photography Workflow . . . . . . . . 108
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JixiPix Software* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
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Profoto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BC
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Adorama* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
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[K]
[R]
Anthropics/Portrait Pro* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
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KelbyOne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 57, 77, 108
http://kelbyone.com
[B]
[T]
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
104
Tamron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
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[L]
Topaz Labs* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
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[D]
[M]
Manfrotto Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
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[W]
Westcott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
www.fjwestcott.com
*Advertiser offers discount to KelbyOne members. Visit http://kelbyone.com/discounts for more information.
While every attempt has been made to make this listing as complete as possible, its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
COLUMN
From
The Help Desk
p h ot o s h o p u s e r f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5
To: William
From: KelbyOne Help Desk
110
store assets that can be used over and over again. You
layer styles.
can also get free high-quality assets through the Creative Cloud Manager.
Are you taking advantage of the Help Desks at the KelbyOne member website? This is the place where you can get all of your
Photoshop and Lightroom questions answered either by other KelbyOne members or by our Help Desk experts. Not only that, you
can get photo and computer gear help and advice, as well. What are you waiting for? Visit the Community section on the
KelbyOne member site today!
www.kelbyone.com