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09/28/2005 03:47:33 PM · #76 |
Basic Photoshop Workflow — Continued, Part IV
In Part I we uploaded and image from the camera into an organized file structure on our hard drive. We then saved the image as a .psd file so that we could work on it in a format that allowed us to keep layers and so forth intact in the saved version. We learned that we will NEVER do any work on our original file, but instead will clone off new copies of this file as needed to experiment with. We learned that our basic workflow is Open/save as .psd/adjust image/save final version at full size with layers intact/resize and adjust/publish to web. We looked at the concept of saving more than one version of an image, and why we'd do that.
In Part II we discussed what the Photoshop tool IS from a basic, photographic point of view, and how we would be using it as a part of our basic workflow for presenting images. We touched on what might best be done in-camera and what might best be left "neutral" so we could fine-tune it in Photoshop. We listed 7 basic things that Photoshop is used for by photographers. Finally, we promised the next section of this tutorial would discuss actual Photoshop workflow, the order in which we do things.
In Part III we took a diversion and discussed the basic use of "layers" in Photoshop. We showed how layers are not as complicated a concept as they seem at first glance, and why they are vital to an organized workflow in image editing.
Now we are going to look at a simple Photoshop "workflow"; among the many things we can/should do in Photoshop, in what order should we do them?
Photoshop Workflow: Where Do We Start and How Do We Proceed?
NB: this discussion will presume that our goal is to edit an image for DPC Basic Editing rules. Accordingly we will actually be doing a certain amount of editing on our base layer. In a more general workflow, we'd clone the base layer each time we wanted to apply "destructive" editing (editing that changes the pixels of the image directly), so that we could more easily revert to the original pixel state, and so that we could have several variations up and toggle between them for comparison.
In the basic-editing workflow, it's a good idea to clone off a whole new copy of the image (karma_IMG_0001 becomes karma_sharpened_IMG_001) before proceeding with destructive editing. You can also make "snapshots" of image states in Photoshop, which works well as long as the image is left open, but the snapshots are lost when the image is closed, so you can't revert in a second editing session the way you can with layers. This is why I prefer keeping several cloned copies of a basic-editing image until I'm done with my work, at which time I toss all but the final version.
We will also assume, because this is a "basic" tutorial, that you are working from jpeg originals. The workflow is different when working from RAW, because many adjustments are made in the RAW converter before the image even sees Photoshop.
Oh, one more thing: In most windows programs, including Photoshop, hitting cntrl-z reverses the previous action. You can do something extreme just to see hwo it looks, then hit cntrl-z to go back to the prior state. Remember this.
Fundamental Issue: In Photoshop, everything is interrelated to some degree; increasing contrast makes things look sharper, adjusting levels affects colors, changes in hue/saturation often require changes in selective color, resizing images affects the appearance of sharpness, and so forth. So the goal is to create a workflow that minimizes the amount of backtracking you have to do. For this basic tutorial, we will concentrate on the following areas: sharpening, contrast/brightness, color control, cropping, resizing the image, and adding a border to the image.
OK, you have your image open, and you have done a save-as to a distinct filename so you are no longer working from the original, which you are making sure remains pristine because it is your digital "negative" and because DPC requires an unedited file for verification/validation of challenge entries. Now it's time to start work. Here's what I like to do:
NB: I'm well aware there are more sophisticated ways to deal with all the issues we will be discussing. But this is a "basic" class and the following workflow will work for the majority of decently-exposed images.
Absolute first step: Square your image up! If you have a horizon, make it level. If you have verticals, make them vertical. If you have converging verticals, make the implied vertical halfway between them a true vertical. To do this, go to your tool palette and mouse the eyedropper tool; a little box will drop down with a ruler on it. Activate this ruler tool and use it to draw a line paralleling your horizon or your desired vertical, as the case may be. Next go to "Image/Rotate Image" and select "arbitrary"; the dialogue box will show a value that's equal to how much rotation is needed to square up the indicated line. Click OK and your image will level itself. The use the crop tool to crop out the blank wedges you are left with on all 4 sides of the image and you're good to go.
1. Go to "Image/Adjustments" and hit "auto level"; take a close look at what this does. In a surprising number of cases, this gives you a much better base image from which to work. If that's the case here, leave the autolevel in place and move on. If it's not right (and it often isn't) then hit cntrl-z to revert.
2. Go to "Image/adjustments" and hit "auto color"; same thing as before. If it's a step in the right direction, keep it. If it isn't, revert with cntrl-z.
3. Your next step is to adjust the brightness and tonal range of your image on a new adjustment layer for levels. Go to "Layers/New Adjustment Layer" and select "levels". Our basic approach is to look at the histogram (the graph) and slide the right pointer to the left until it is level with the rightmost tone, then slide the left pointer right until it's level with the leftmost tone. This ensures that the brightest values in the image are white and the darkest values are black, basically. Now slide the middle pointer right to darken the mid-tones or left to lighten them. Play with these pointers until the tonal range/contrast of your image is where you want it to be. Don't worry about colors while you're doing this. Click OK when you're done.
Notice how you now have a new layer in your layers palette called "levels". Click the eyeball to the left of that layer to toggle it on and off and see the effect of your work. You may also click the opacity slider (upper right) and fade the layer for a more subtle effect. I'll typically overcook the effect a little then fade down to what seems nominal to me. This gives me a little wiggle-room later on for subtle adjustments to the finished image. You may also click the little "picture" (icon) in the adjustment layer and the whole levels dialogue box will open back up so you can make further adjustments there.
4. Now, take a look at the colors on this leveled image. If you see an overall color cast to the image, it's usually best to do selective color next. If the overall color balance is close to what you want, your next stop will be hue/saturation.
5. Let's assume that this particular image looks a little yellowish overall; perhaps your white balance was a little off in the camera. We'll fix that by going to "Layers/New Adjustment Layer" and selecting "Selective Color". When the dialogue box opens up, note that there's a field that shows a red square and the word "red"; next to that is a down-arrow. Click the arrow and see options for many colors plus "neutral", "white", and "black".
I usually do my selective color work with the "absolute" variable checked; "relative" is more subtle. For now let's use "absolute". These options are at the bottom of the dialogue box.
Click on "neutral" to work on the mid-range tones. Take the yellow slider and move it all the way right, then all the way left. See the changes? What you want to do is move the yellow slider left a bit, then fiddle with the cyan and magenta sliders in very small increments until the color looks natural to you. You may also add or subtract a little black here as needed. When the neutrals look right, check the "white" and "black" channels the same way. Typically the white channel may need a little less yellow and the black channel may need no adjusting. Click OK when you're done and the dialogue box collapses.
Your layers palette now has a second adjustment layer visible, "selective color", and you may work with it as described for the levels layer.
6. Now that your basic color balancing is done (or if you saw no need for any), go to "Layers/New Adjustment Layer" and select "Hue/Saturation". When the dialogue box pops up, notice that it is set by default to "master"; any adjustments you make will affect ALL the colors in the image. Beneath that are sliders for hue, saturation, and brightness. Slide them back and forth to their extremes and watch what happens. Hue changes the actual color, saturation changes the intensity of the color, and brightness changes the overall brightness of the color. In this case, of course, that's "of all the colors".
Return all sliders to zero and click on the arrow to get the drop-down list. Let's assume we have some dull-looking greens in our image we want to goose up a little. Select the yellow channel and slide the saturation slider to the right; see the greens get warmer? Pump them up quite a bit and then move the brightness slider to darken the yellows, then to lighten them. See the interrelationship? You can also use the hue slider to make the yellows warmer or cooler. Fiddle with all this until it looks good, then select the green channel. Pump the saturation on that, then adjust the brightness. Note how you can make the green component of the grass darker than the yellow component, adding a sense of relief and texture to the grass. This is just one option, of course, but you get the idea.
Is the sky sort of greenish/cyan looking? Pull up the blue channel and adjust hue a little to the right; too far and it goes purple on you, but a little nudge will clean up the blues. Dose it with some saturation and brightness work as needed, and when it looks "clean" go to the cyan channel and do the same thing. When working on blue skies it's almost always necessary to work cyan and blue in tandem; if you don't, you'll get noise.
You get the idea now; you can use hue/saturation to subtly (or not so subtly) enhance or tone down any and all colors that are present in the original image, independently or collectively. Skilled use of hue/saturation is perhaps the single, most effective means of adding visual impact to your color images.
When you're done, click OK and notice you now yet another layer in the layer palette, the "hue/saturation" layer. It can be manipulated exactly as the others.
7. At this point we have a "corrected image" that's ready to be fine-tuned. It's now time to sharpen, resize, border, and save for web. Issues of sharpening are a subject unto themselves, and they interrelate with sizing, so we will come to that with the next section of the tutorial. For now, be aware that the sharpener-of-choice is "Unsharp Mask" and take care to examine your image very closely as you sharpen it so you avoid introducing "artifacts" (usually halos between bright & dark areas) during the sharpening process.
Whoot! This subject is so big, and I'm trying so hard to keep it simple. Once more, my disclaimer: to you experienced 'shoppers who are reading this, I'm well aware there are other approaches, many of them more sophisticated, but I'm trying to detail a plain-vanilla "starter" workflow for Photoshop neophytes. Thanks for understanding!
Robt.
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09/28/2005 05:30:01 PM · #77 |
| Tahnks Bear it would really help if you posted a photo that we had to work on , like before. At the moment it's gobbledy gook to me and has no meaning untill I am forced to use it!!! |
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09/28/2005 07:06:21 PM · #78 |
Originally posted by joynim:
Tahnks Bear it would really help if you posted a photo that we had to work on , like before. At the moment it's gobbledy gook to me and has no meaning untill I am forced to use it!!! |
OK. You can really follow this with any photo od your own, but you may try using the following image. Use levels to adjust contrast and tonalities. Use selective color to add color to the sky and the water. Then flatten the image (layers/flatten image) and use hue/saturation to kick it up a notch.
I realize I haven't discussed "flatten image" yet. Try foing the above without flattening image, then doing it again using hue/sat after flatten image, to see what the difference is. We'll discuss it in the next phase. This one happened to be handy in my workshop.
Robt.
Message edited by author 2005-09-28 19:06:53.
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09/29/2005 06:34:46 AM · #79 |
bear_music, just wanted to say that this is a fantastic mentorship!
Here is my attempt at your suggested image. It's the first time I use the meassuring tool to straighten a shot and what do you know, it is already straight... :)
Message edited by author 2005-09-29 06:35:58. |
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09/29/2005 08:16:25 AM · #80 |
| Robert: I don't want to seem OTT about this, but this stuff is just terrific for the PS bunnies among us (& I'm glad to see I'm not the only one). What I appreciate most is the feeling of order that your guidance is imposing on what I had laughingly called my workflow. Order begets confidence! I know it is taking a huge effort to do what you're doing, and as this is not a mentorship thread that is necessarily going to generate a lot of public responses by way of posts, I want to be sure you are aware that we're out here lapping it all up. Bravo bear! |
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09/29/2005 08:48:50 AM · #81 |
Here's my shot at the tower. I tried unsuccessfully to use selective colour to enhance water & sky, but was able to at least find and boost some detail there (at the cost of some loss of detail in the tower itself - a reasonable trade in this case I hope). Excellent workflow exercise.
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09/29/2005 03:34:19 PM · #82 |
| Bear just to let you know I am here and taking it all in ,just a bit busy for next couple of days. Will attempt exercise soon. Thanks :) |
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09/29/2005 04:04:12 PM · #83 |
| Robert, Keep up the good work. |
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09/29/2005 05:06:06 PM · #84 |
I have seen this on the homepage a few times when people respond. Today I had time to sit down and read it. I a blown away at the detail, organization and level of knowledge you are sharing with us. I will continue to follow this thread and hopefully get time to do some of the assignments. The layers section was exactly what I needed and I am dieing to get home and try it out now. Thanks so much for your time and kindness in sharing your knowledge. I am sure there are many people out there like me reading and hopefully are just as excited as I am to have this thread.
I seriously hope that once this series is complete you consider teaching an advanced(dpc compliant) course. I would definitely sign up for it.
Thanks from a loyal supporter of da Bear!
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09/29/2005 06:25:41 PM · #85 |
| Thanks again, I love the cntrl-z and eyedropper tool-like tips! |
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09/29/2005 06:29:23 PM · #86 |
This is the first thread I've ever followed on DPC and I'm sure enjoying it. I'm positive that had I noticed it a bit earlier I could have bumped my score on the "From the ground up" challenge 1 point with just the third installment. Keep up the good work.
Message edited by author 2005-09-29 18:29:58.
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09/29/2005 06:48:01 PM · #87 |
| Bear, yet another fantastic lesson. There are so many more subtle ways of doing things than the way I have been doing them. I hope that you will someday also offer a level 2 version of this mentorship to cover some of these things that you are saying you can do in addition to this. I really appreciate all of your work. Thanks again. |
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09/30/2005 12:25:07 AM · #88 |
I appreciate all the kind words of support, but I wish to make one thing perfectly clear:
What's being taught here does NOT "qualify" me as some sort of Photoshop expert. This is very fundamental stuff, and it's all stuff I taught myself over years and years of using Photoshop. The only thing I'm bringing to the party is a sense of ORGANIZATION and an approach that ignores peripheral issues and zeros in on what we need in DPC to do a decent, workmanlike job of preparing simple images for web display.
I understand the desire to have a more advanced course in the future, but there are others more qualified than I to teach it I believe. Lord knows I've learned an amazing amount from others in my time here. There are current mentorship threads covering more advanced topics; "digital color" comes to mind.
It may be that when the time comes to do this, I'll be the mots-qualified volunteer and I might, in fact, do it, BUT:
I don't want ANYONE to think I'm putting myself on a pedestal as the local photoshop expert. I don't have a big head about this. I'm worried that people will think I do, frankly. To reiterate, as far as I'm concerned all I'm bringing to the party that your average advanced photoshop user might not be able to bring is organization and an ability to express myself clearly.
Now, back to your usual programming :-)
R.
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09/30/2005 12:32:29 AM · #89 |
One of our participants in this thread PM'd me asking if I'd be "teaching" more keyboard shortcuts like cntrl-z to undo an edit. He mentioned sevral of his favorite shortcuts.
To answer that publicly, it's been my experience that the introduction of keyboard shortcuts tends to confuse Photoshop neophytes, so I won't be mentioning many of them. Two that I use all the time are cntrl-A to select everything int he image and cntrl-D to deselct whatever is selected (get rid of the "marching ants"), but those aren't real relevant here 'cuz we are not using selections in the basic editing workflow.
Here's one that's worth mentioning though;
When you're in selective color, say, or levels, or hue/sat, you have these little sliders, tight? To adjust values on specific fields? You drag 'em left or right to decrease or increase the relative value, and a number changes on the far right of that line. You can use the ARROW KEYS, up-arrow and down-arrow to adjust the numbers directly. Very useful if you have a value of, say, 22 and you think you may want 23 or 25, some small change; each click on up-arrow increases the value by one unit, and the down-arrow decreases it likewise.
Robt.
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09/30/2005 01:14:16 AM · #90 |
Originally posted by bear_music:
workflow.
Here's one that's worth mentioning though;
When you're in selective color, say, or levels, or hue/sat, you have these little sliders, tight? To adjust values on specific fields? You drag 'em left or right to decrease or increase the relative value, and a number changes on the far right of that line. You can use the ARROW KEYS, up-arrow and down-arrow to adjust the numbers directly. Very useful if you have a value of, say, 22 and you think you may want 23 or 25, some small change; each click on up-arrow increases the value by one unit, and the down-arrow decreases it likewise.
Robt. |
Wow! I do feel like an idiot now, but Robert, you are now my friend for life :-P You don't know how many times I have almost smashed my mouse against the wall, trying to hit a 'in between number'. I like to slide back and forth, seeing the difference, and to go in small increments to see the subtleties, and I usually end up typing in the numbers. Sheesh, where was this tip a YEAR ago!!! :-P thanks |
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09/30/2005 02:25:49 AM · #91 |
Originally posted by bear_music:
.... all I'm bringing to the party .... is organization and an ability to express myself clearly. |
Having purchased several Photoshop books only to find they were incomprehensible gibberish, all you're bringing is just fine by me. |
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10/01/2005 04:47:58 PM · #92 |
Originally posted by ubique:
Originally posted by bear_music:
.... all I'm bringing to the party .... is organization and an ability to express myself clearly. |
Having purchased several Photoshop books only to find they were incomprehensible gibberish, all you're bringing is just fine by me. |
I agree. Most books and tutorials stick to just explaining tools, without coherence. |
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10/02/2005 07:22:40 PM · #93 |
Although I know my way around photoshop, I am still learning new things all the time :0)
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10/02/2005 09:14:25 PM · #94 |
OK here's my go at this. A pretty poor attempt but at least it is making me use and learn about photoshop more :) |
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10/03/2005 02:48:38 AM · #95 |
Here's my try:
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10/03/2005 03:16:13 AM · #96 |
Just for the purpose of kicking you people in a stronger direction, here's the water tower image adjusted by me using the parameters proposed below. It's not "good", it's just "different", and it hints at how much you can alter an image with these basic tools.
Selective color layer was used to add blue to the bright areas. When I had it basically "colored" I flattened the image. (In a more normal workflow I'd have cloned a copy of the BG and done the selective color directly on that). The image was flattened so the "new" colors would get locked into the base layer and be adjustable by hue/saturation from that point on. If you do color flipping with selective color adjustment layer and then do hue/sat over that, the colors you';re adjusting aren't the ones you're seeing and it gets weird. For example, if you shifted yellow to blue with selective color, then wanted to mess around with the blue saturation, you'd have to adjust the YELLOW saturation in hue/sat. When you merge the selective color adjustment into the base layer, the visible blue becomes an actual blue.
Anyway, once I flattened it, I used hue/sat to adjust all the channels individually for saturation, hue, and brightness and then I used levels to set the contrast where I wanted it.
Robt.
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10/03/2005 03:20:23 AM · #97 |
I couldn't get a reasonable blue no matter what....will go back and give it another go.
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10/03/2005 03:22:19 AM · #98 |
Originally posted by suemack:
I couldn't get a reasonable blue no matter what....will go back and give it another go. |
It's a 2-step process; shift the whites towards blue, merge 'em down, and use hue/sat to adjust from that point on. Pat special attention to the brightness slider in the cyan channel (hint). Note that the more you saturate the cyan the darker you can make it and still have color.
R.
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10/03/2005 03:41:11 AM · #99 |
Originally posted by bear_music:
Robt. |
Well, sheeeeit! You do know what you're talkin' about! Just kidding ... thanks; I'll have a shot at that. |
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10/03/2005 05:05:03 AM · #100 |
well I got a blue tower....
back to the drawing board!
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