©2002 john g. hendron | [email protected] photographic treatments with adobe photoshop john...
TRANSCRIPT
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
Photographic Treatmentswith Adobe Photoshop
John HendronGoochland County Public
Schools
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
Why Treatments?
• It’s been done to Photographs for about as long as photography has existed
• Enhance the creative potential of the image
• It’s now easy and inexpensive to do• Preps the image as a design element
for print, web, or video• Can create a sense of style for a
project when applied consistently
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
Step One
• Begin with a digital image in RGB color space with a resolution that matches the requirements for your final output– flatbed scan– drum scan– negative scan– digital picture– PhotoCD and Stock Art
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
Treatments
• Conversion to Grayscale
• Toning• Layering and
Sandwiching• Duo-, Tri- and
Quad-Tone• Solarization
• Vignettes• TV Scan Lines• Handcoloring• Lithographic
Posterization• Focus and Blur• Soft Glow (the
Barbara Walters effect)
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
1. Conversion to Grayscale
• Open your three-channel (RGB) color photograph in Photoshop
• We will use the Channel Mixer to convert the photograph to black and white
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
1. Conversion to Grayscale
• Do not use “Mode > Grayscale”, bad contrast almost always is a symptom of this technique
• Click on the ‘Monochrome’ option
• Select percentages of red, blue, and green
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
1. Conversion to Grayscale
• Try and get the channels to equal 100
• Red and Blue many times may contain “noise” favoring a higher percentage in the Green channel
• Leave Preview checked so you can monitor your changes
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
1. Conversion to Grayscale
• Several of the following treatments will begin with this basic treatment: a high contrast, black and white photograph
• Save your B/W photograph as a separate file in PSD or TIFF format.
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
2. Toning
• Toning is the act of giving the cast of a particular hue across the photograph
• The most popular example of toning is sepia tone
• For a more creative approach, other tones may be used for a modern twist on a old-fashioned technique
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
2. Toning
• Open your image (converted to grayscale, but still in RGB mode)
• Open the Hue/Saturation control panel under Adjustments
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
2. Toning
• Check both the Preview and Colorize options
• Move the Saturation and Hue Sliders to tone your image
• Click OK when your desired result has been achieved
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
2. Toning
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
3. Layering / Sandwiching
• Photoshop’s real hallmark is its ability to work with layers
• Really an old fashioned technique, this mimics exposing two negatives on paper
• With Photoshop’s layering modes, you can depart from the traditional method and create more complex results
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
3. Layering / Sandwiching
• Start with your original photograph (color) and a second photograph, imported as a second layer
• At first, the second photo on Layer 1 will completely mask your first photo
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
3. Layering / Sandwiching
• Next, change the opacity of the top layer
• Notice in this example, I’ve changed the Blending Mode for the Layer
• Experiment. Masking and Gradient masking can also be used to combine two or more images
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
3. Layering / Sandwiching
• Here, masking was used to only have a portion of the top layer show-through.
• Try combining disparate subjects, or very alike subjects depending upon your project
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
4. Duotone
• This technique has roots in printing, but when converted back to RGB mode, still makes for a great effect.
• Duotone uses two ink colors to create a continuous-tone image
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
4. Duotone
• Start in Grayscale Mode (after using the first technique) and select Duotone Mode.
• You can choose between monotone, duotone, tritone, and quadtone. We’ll use Duotone here.
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
4. Duotone
• From here you can also adjust how the two colors behave with curves, and which two colors you’d like to combine.
• Traditionally, black is your first (darker) color, but any two can be used.
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
4. Duotone
• When you’ve completed the duo-, tri-, or quad-tone you like, convert the mode back to RGB for use on the web.
• At high resolutions, Duotone-class images can be separated for use on a press and actually printed with those two spot colors.
• Try enhancing brightness and contrast once in RGB mode
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
5. Solarization
• Solarization was born out of a process of exposing half-treated photo paper to light
• The underlying image was changed due to this chemical process
• This technique is also called the Sabbatier Effect and traditionally is done with black and white images
• It can also be done with color images from within Photoshop
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
5. Solarization
• Under Filters > Stylize, try the Solarize filter
• You may wish to fade the filter back depending upon the contrast of your initial image
• For further effect, you may wish to tone the solarized result for color addition
• This example was done in Grayscale mode
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
5. Solarization
• In this example, a color original was used, and the effect faded with a different blending mode
• Effective treatment for objects and landscapes; avoid for people
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
6. Vignette
• There are two types of vignette: – low key– high key
• Low key darkens the area around a subject
• High key lightens the area around a subject
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
6. Vignette
• Start with your photograph in either RGB or Grayscale Mode
• Create an elliptical selection around your subject, and feather the selection
• Invert the Selection (Shift-Command-I)
• Use Levels and/or Brightness/Contrast to darken the background area
• This is a low-key vignette
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
6. Vignette
• Vignettes can also fade to complete black or white—in this instance, before you invert the selection, copy the subject in the oval selection
• Paste it over a new document with a black or white background
• A high-key vignette fades to white, or a bright color
• This is an alternative used when you have a light background.
• An example is on the next slide…
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
6. Vignette
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
7. TV Scan Lines
• Simulate the “look” of images seen on a TV screen with horizontal lines that grace a photograph
• It starts with the creation of a pattern…
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
7. TV Scan Lines
• Create single, double, or triple thick lines on a small (4-6 pixel high) document over transparency
• Leave a transparent row of pixels; the others are colored medium-gray
• Define the entire document as a pattern
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
7. TV Scan Lines
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
7. TV Scan Lines
• Open a photograph, RGB mode
• Create a new layer, and fill with your pattern of lines
• Adjust the blending mode to overlay or screen, and adjust opacity
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
7. TV Scan Lines
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
8. Handcoloring
• The earliest color photographs were painted: black and white prints were painted to add color
• In recent years, this technique has proven to be of interest
• It’s easy to do in Photoshop
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
8. Handcoloring
• Tips for hand coloring:– use a different layer
for each section you paint
– for the layers you create for painting color, use the COLOR blending mode
– use a feathered-edge brush to paint on color
– modify the opacity of the layer to reduce or control saturation
– use black to “erase” any mistakes you make using the color
– the color won’t cover extremely bright areas, such as white
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
8. Handcoloring
• Begin in RGB color mode with a photograph that’s been coverted to gray tones (Treatment 1)
• Be careful with people--hints of colors are most effective
• Using bold, saturated colors lends a different, but interesting look
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
9. Posterize
• This technique came about from the use of lithographic films and processes
• This technique is often used with large format prints, or posters
• It reduces the number of “inks” or “shades” that can be used in the print
• It’s an effective way to add interest to a photograph
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
9. Posterize
• The Quick RGB Way:– Image >
Adjustments > Posterize
– Choose the number of levels you want
– Try changing levels, curves, or make adjustments in the channel mixer after this process
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
9. Posterize
• Another method involves Treatment 1
• Next, decrease contrast through Brightness/Contrast
• Posterize to 8-11 levels
• Add color (Treatment 2)
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
10. Focus and Blur
• Focus and Blur is a technique that simulates an advanced treatment that is traditionally done with lenses on a camera
• It isolates areas of a photograph that are in focus, and other areas which become blurry
First: Isolate the area you’d like to blur, or move
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
10. Focus and Blur
• I used the magnetic pen tool to isolate a head.
• Next, turn the path into a selection
• Feather the selection (Select > Feather)
• Copy the selection and duplicate it on 3-4 layers
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
10. Focus and Blur
• Next, apply different levels of blur to the individual head layers
• Change the opacity of the layers as well
• Finally, rotate & resize (Free Transform) different “versions” of the head to mimic movement
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
10. Focus and Blur
• You can also leave portions of a picture “in focus”’ while you blur the background
• Use selection techniques appropriate to the picture (such as a gradient mask) and apply Gaussian Blur
For this selection, a radial gradient was applied in QuickMask mode. Exiting QuickMask will make our selection.
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
10. Focus and Blur
• Once the selection is made, you can apply any number of effects or filters to the selected (background) region.
• We will use a blur, and later desaturate the background to heighten the effect
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
10. Focus and Blur
• The finished project:– focus is made upon
the subject at the computer
– the farther away from the subject, the more blur was applied due to the gradient mask
– color is intensified too at the subject’s location
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
11. Barbara Walters
• I call this last effect “Barbara Walters” because this technique—the use of a soft focus lens filter—is always used on her famous television interviews.
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
11. Soft Focus
• Soft Focus is achieved by duplicating the image onto a second layer.
• Gaussian blur the top layer and reduce opacity
• Sharpen the original layer underneath
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
11. Soft Focus
©2002 John G. Hendron | [email protected]
Photographic Techniques
• This is just the beginning! The history of photography is rich, and new digital tools open up new possibilities.
• Use these techniques as a starting point, or as the beginning of your own creative process.
• Some sites on photography of interest:– http://www.rleggat.co
m/photohistory/– http://www.urtonart.c
om/history/photography.htm
– http://www.niepce.com/home-us.html
– http://www.photo.net/history/timeline