camera raw with photoshop for dummies (isbn - 0471774820)

by Kevin L Moss

Camera Rawwith Photoshopreg

FOR

DUMmIESpermil

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File Attachment
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by Kevin L Moss


FOR

DUMmIESpermil


Camera Raw with Photoshopreg For Dummiesreg

Published byWiley Publishing Inc111 River StreetHoboken NJ 07030-5774wwwwileycom

Copyright copy 2006 by Wiley Publishing Inc Indianapolis Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing Inc Indianapolis Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form orby any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording scanning or otherwise except as permit-ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without either the prior writtenpermission of the Publisher or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to theCopyright Clearance Center 222 Rosewood Drive Danvers MA 01923 (978) 750-8400 fax (978) 646-8600Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department Wiley PublishingInc 10475 Crosspoint Blvd Indianapolis IN 46256 (317) 572-3447 fax (317) 572-4355 or online athttpwwwwileycomgopermissions

Trademarks Wiley the Wiley Publishing logo For Dummies the Dummies Man logo A Reference for theRest of Us The Dummies Way Dummies Daily The Fun and Easy Way Dummiescom and related tradedress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley amp Sons Inc andor its affiliates in the UnitedStates and other countries and may not be used without written permission Photoshop is a registeredtrademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States andor other countries All other trademarksare the property of their respective owners Wiley Publishing Inc is not associated with any product orvendor mentioned in this book

LIMIT OF LIABILITYDISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REP-RESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THECONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES INCLUDING WITHOUTLIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATEDOR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINEDHEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDER-STANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL ACCOUNTING OR OTHERPROFESSIONAL SERVICES IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED THE SERVICES OF A COM-PETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHORSHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION ORWEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION ANDOR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHERINFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMA-TION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKEFURTHER READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVECHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ

For general information on our other products and services please contact our Customer CareDepartment within the US at 800-762-2974 outside the US at 317-572-3993 or fax 317-572-4002

For technical support please visit wwwwileycomtechsupport

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats Some content that appears in print maynot be available in electronic books

Library of Congress Control Number

ISBN-13 978-0-471-77482-2

ISBN-10 0-471-77482-0

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1KQSQSQWIN

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About the AuthorKevin Moss is a photographer author and expert in digital photography per-sonal computing and the World Wide Web An early adopter and long-timeuser of Photoshop Kevin has specialized in combining traditional photographywith the latest in computer and digital technologies Kevin is also the authorof Photoshop CS2 and Digital Photography For Dummies and 50 Fast DigitalCamera Techniques 2nd Edition

Kevin specializes in fine-art landscape abstract and portrait photographyFor more information about Kevinrsquos photographic work or to contact himregarding this book visit his Web site at wwwkevinmossphotographycom

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DedicationFor my wonderful wife Amy who has supported me all along in my new endeav-ors and our children Amanda Emily and David You have all supported methrough this project and helped me make it happen Thanks for taking suchgood care of me while I spent all those days and evenings writing taking napstaking photos and messing around with Photoshop I love you all

Authorrsquos AcknowledgmentsPutting a book together is a large effort and the author isnrsquot the only one whospends a lot of time and dedication moving it toward completion I have manypeople to thank for their hard work and dedication to this project I especiallywant to thank Laura Lewin from Studio B and Bob Woerner at Wiley for givingme this opportunity You are both a pleasure to work with and I especiallyappreciate your professionalism

I would like to personally acknowledge my Project Editor Nicole Sholly whogave me tremendous support on a daily basis to help me through all the intri-cacies of writing a technical manuscript plus helping me keep on scheduleand always being available at any time when I needed some help

I would like to acknowledge the copyediting work of Barry Childs-HeltonBarryrsquos eloquent suggestions for tweaks to my otherwise-plain language havehelped me take my writing to a new level Barry worked extremely hard makingsure words werenrsquot a tangled mess explanations were understandable andhumor was on--target I think Barry worked as hard on this book as I did andI am very grateful for the effort

Any technical book especially one written about complex softwarelike Photoshop needs a great technical editor My special thanks to RonRockwell mdash whom I rely on to advise me about technical issues offer greatalternatives and help keep my techniques correct Itrsquos professionals likeNicole Barry and Ron that make the editing process fun and productive

I would also like to acknowledge the rest of the team at Wiley who get thingsdone behind the scenes including Kevin Kirschner and Amanda FoxworthThank you all for your efforts to make sure my writing images and figuresare all formatted arranged correctly and understandable

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Publisherrsquos AcknowledgmentsWersquore proud of this book please send us your comments through our online registration formlocated at wwwdummiescomregister

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following

Acquisitions Editorial and Media Development

Project Editor Nicole Sholly

Senior Acquisitions Editor Bob Woerner

Senior Copy Editor Barry Childs-Helton

Technical Editor Ron Rockwell

Editorial Manager Kevin Kirschner

Media Development Manager Laura VanWinkle

Media Development Supervisor Richard Graves

Editorial Assistant Amanda Foxworth

Cartoons Rich Tennant (wwwthe5thwavecom)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator Maridee Ennis

Layout and Graphics Lauren Goddard Denny Hager Melanee Prendergast Heather Ryan Erin Zeltner

Proofreaders Leeann Harney Tricia LiebigDwight Ramsey

Indexer Steve Rath

Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies

Richard Swadley Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Andy Cummings Vice President and Publisher

Mary Bednarek Executive Acquisitions Director

Mary C Corder Editorial Director

Publishing for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele Vice President and Publisher

Joyce Pepple Acquisitions Director


Gerry Fahey Vice President of Production Services

Debbie Stailey Director of Composition Services

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Table of ContentsIntroduction1

About This Book1Foolish Assumptions 2How This Book Is Organized3

Part I Getting Your Feet Wet4Part II Image-Management Workflow with Adobe Bridge4Part III Working with Raw Images4Part IV Photoshop CS2 Image-Processing Workflows4Part V The Part of Tens5

Icons Used in This Book5Where to Go from Here5

Part I Getting Your Feet Wet7

Chapter 1 Getting to Know Bridge Camera Raw and Photoshop 9Shooting in the Raw 10

Why raw 10Not all raw files are the same11

Transferring Image Files To Your Computer12Working with Images in Bridge14

Starting Bridge 14Browsing folders and opening images15

Using Camera Raw 17Becoming familiar with Camera Raw 19Adjusting images in Camera Raw 19

Hello Photoshop CS2 22Whatrsquos new 22Getting around Photoshop CS2 25Making adjustments 26

Chapter 2 Enlightened by Raw 31Whatrsquos Raw32Raw versus Other Formats 34Advantages and Disadvantages to Raw36

Taking advantage of raw format 37A few potential drawbacks39

Introducing the Digital Negative (DNG) 40

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viiiChapter 3 Applying Color Management 43

Coloring Your World 44Making Photoshop Color Settings46

Exploring (color and working) space 46Applying Photoshop color settings 47Assigning color profiles 50

Getting Calibrated 52Calibrating with Adobe Gamma52Calibrating with a colorimeter60

Proofing 61

Chapter 4 Using Workflows to Process Images 63Image Management as a Workflow64

Organizing images 64Backing up images67Managing images with Bridge68Managing images with a workflow 69

Raw Conversion as a Workflow 71Correcting Images in Photoshop as a Workflow 74Editing Images as a Workflow 77Reviewing Workflows79

Part II Image-Management Workflow with Adobe Bridge81

Chapter 5 Getting Around Across Under and Over Adobe Bridge 83

Introducing Bridge 84Getting Acquainted with Bridge 86

Getting the lay of the land87Would you like to see a menu 89Using Bridge panels 94

Customizing Bridge96Changing workspaces and views96Changing Bridge preferences98

Chapter 6 Managing Images 103Managing Images with Bridge103

Navigating and creating image folders 104Creating folders 105Organizing images in folders107

Camera Raw with Photoshop For Dummies

02_774820 ftocqxp 1306 612 PM Page viii

ixAdding Information to Imagesrsquo Metadata108Applying Labels and Ratings 110

Applying color labels 110Applying ratings to images112Sorting and searching photos112

Loading Photos to Camera Raw and Photoshop 113

Part III Working with Raw Images 115

Chapter 7 Understanding Exposure and Color 117Getting to Know Color and Tonality 117

Color is everything118Understanding tone 120

Evaluating Color and Tonality 122Doing the evaluation 123The breakfast-by-the-lake example 124

Chapter 8 Getting Acquainted with Camera Raw 127Looking at Camera Raw127Working with the Toolbar controls 128Reading the Histogram and RGB Values130Image Settings130Camera Raw menu 131Camera Raw Workflow Settings134Camera Raw Controls 134Control Buttons 136

Chapter 9 Processing Raw Images 137Using a Step-by-Step Raw Process 138Evaluating Images 141Adjusting the Image with the Adjust Tab143

Adjusting white balance 144Correcting indecent exposure 146Using the histogram150Lurking in the shadows 151Adjusting brightness153Increasing and decreasing contrast 154Adding color with the Saturation control 154

Its All in the Details 156Sharpening things up 157Getting smooth with Luminance Smoothing 157Reducing color noise 159

Table of Contents

02_774820 ftocqxp 1306 612 PM Page ix

xWorking with the Lens Tab 159

Those chromatic aberrations 160Reducing vignetting 161

Love Them Curves 163Caught Calibrating Again164

Part IV Photoshop CS2 Image-Processing Workflows167

Chapter 10 Adjusting Color and Tone in Photoshop 169Overall Adjustments as a Workflow170

Implementing color management first171Developing an Overall Corrections workflow173

Just Layering Around175Getting around the Layers palette 176Creating adjustment and fill layers 178

Making Overall Adjustments 180Evaluating images using Variations180Adjusting levels 181How rsquobout them curves184Adding color with the HueSaturation adjustment layer 186

Chapter 11 Editing Images 189Using an Image-Editing Workflow189Getting to Know Your Tools193

Using the Marquee tool 194The Lasso tool 195Snip-snipping with the Crop tool195Editing with the Healing Brush196Cloning around with the Clone Stamp tool 196Removing pixels with the Eraser tool196Sharpen or blur with the Blur tool 197Drawing shapes with the Pen tool197Making selections with the Magic Wand tool 198Painting with the Brush tool 198Dodging and burning using Dodge and Burn tools 199Writing text with the Type tools200Shaping things up with the Shape tools 201Zooming in and out 202Using tool presets202

Making Selections 204Making selections with the Magic Wand tool 205Lasso this208Selection options209


02_774820 ftocqxp 1306 612 PM Page x

xiEditing Techniques 210

Getting the red (eye) out 210Removing spots 212Dodging and burning to make your images pop 215

Using Layer Masks 217

Chapter 12 Preparing Photos for Output 221Using an Output Workflow 222A Little Color-Management Reminder 223Sizing Images 225

Resolution of sorts 226Understanding interpolation 227Resizing using the Crop tool 229Resize using Image Size 231

Sharpen Up232Printing the Final Stop 236

Choosing papers236Letting Photoshop do the printing237Letting your printer do the printing 242

Understanding Image Permanence 246

Part V The Part of Tens 249

Chapter 13 Ten Ways to Improve Your Photos and Show Off Your Work 251

Creating Black and White from Color 251Quickie BampW from color252Using the Channel Mixer to convert to BampW253Desaturating color using HueSaturation255

Selective Color256Creating a Cool Blurring Effect 258Creating Abstracts with Extreme Cropping 261Stitching Panoramas263

Shooting panoramas 264Using Photomerge 265

Creating a Thin Black Line 268Creating a Photo Web site 269Creating a Fine Art Poster 273Creating Slideshows275Mount and Frame Your Photos278

Table of Contents

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xiiChapter 14 Ten Great Photoshop Filters 279

A-Morphing We Will Go279Getting Artsy with the Chalk amp Charcoal Filter 281Creating the Look of a Drawing with the Graphic Pen 282Adding Artistic Effects with the Glass Filter284Caught Reticulating285Painting with Brush Stroke Filters 287Adding Texture to Photos 288Bring Out the Artist in You with the Watercolor Filter289Adding Cool Glowing Edges290Using the Lighting Effects Filter 291

Index295


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Introduction

Digital photography has come a long way in the last few years When digi-tal cameras broke the 3-megapixel barrier I strongly considered jumping

in and retiring my film gear By the time 5-megapixel digital cameras hit thestreet I was hooked Then just a few years ago the raw file format startedbeing offered and Adobe Camera Raw was born To me this was digitalheaven mdash to have full control over how digital images are processed fromcamera all the way to print

If yoursquore shooting raw now yoursquove probably figured out the advantages ofworking in that format Being able to correct image exposure and white bal-ance is enough to sell me but you can also make overall adjustments in colorand tone without the danger of destroying valuable image data mdash and thatrsquosthe biggest gift the format gives us Camera Raw ties the process together let-ting photographers bypass using third-party software so we can process rawfiles within the same software we use to edit our photos

This book gives you a detailed explanation of the entire end-to-end process mdashfrom capturing raw images with your digital camera to organizing your files inBridge converting your images in Adobe Camera Raw and then processingthem in Photoshop I explain each individual procedure as a workflow mdash a setof useful habits to develop in sequence Okay sure the term has been a buzz-word in photography trade rags over the past few years but truly this conceptis the path toward more consistent processes for getting your images fromcamera to print mdash resulting in more consistent quality Your photography willimprove just by following the steps provided in this book as you develop yourworkflows

About This BookIrsquove spent the past few years perfecting my processes with Photoshop mdashwhich can be a very intimidating software program The last few versionsoffered even more capability to master mdash the File Browser the new Bridge pro-gram and Camera Raw now in its third or fourth version This book gives methe opportunity to share that knowledge with photographers who shoot in rawformat and want to get up to speed with these new Photoshop capabilities

03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM

2 Camera Raw with Photoshop For Dummies

Irsquove selected the content of this book based on whatrsquos most important to usas photographers The chapters are also organized in a manner in which weuse parts of Photoshop according to order or in an overall workflow Some ofthese topics include

The importance of and implementing color management

The importance of and implementing workflows

Using Bridge and managing digital images

Understanding color

Using Camera Raw

Making overall color and tonal corrections in Photoshop

Making edits in Photoshop

Mastering the skills in these areas of Photoshop and digital photography willhelp you organize and streamline your digital photography processesmaking digital photography even more fun and gratifying

Foolish AssumptionsThis book is intended as a Camera Raw and Photoshop CS2 reference forthose digital photographers who want to develop efficient workflows for pro-cessing raw images organizing files and making corrections and edits inPhotoshop If you have an advanced digital camera or digital SLR that can cap-ture images in raw format a computer (with a lot of memory and storagespace) Photoshop CS2 and even a photo-quality printer you probably haveall you need to get started

Here is a list of things I assume you already have (or will be adding to yourcollection shortly)

Digital SLR or advanced compact digital camera For digital photogra-phers who want to shoot in raw format having a digital camera that canproduce raw files is a pretty good idea Most of the newer (and moreadvanced) compact digital cameras mdash and to my knowledge all recent-model digital SLRs mdash offer the raw format If your digital camera is abrand-spanking-new model (if so congratulations) it may take Adobe afew months to come out with an update to Camera Raw that includesyour new model One thing is certain Yoursquore going to need some big-honkinrsquo memory cards for your digital camera Raw files can get prettybig mdash from 5 megabytes each on up mdash depending on how many mega-pixels your digital camera can handle So Irsquod also suggest a dedicated

03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 2

card reader to transfer those big files to your computer Transferringfiles to your computer by attaching a USB cable from your camera canbe a slow and tedious process getting a card reader is a great invest-ment and they donrsquot cost much (especially when you consider that yourtime is valuable)

Computer To work with Photoshop you need a computer with enoughmemory and a decent monitor Photoshop CS2 requires that your com-puter have at least 384 megabytes of memory (And remember As a ruleminimum requirements barely get the job done try to exceed thosespecs whenever possible) If you are shooting and processing raw filesIrsquod recommend at least 1 gigabyte of memory for your computer Digitalphoto files especially raw gobble up disk space (Irsquod recommend at least100 gigabytes for starters) Yoursquoll be surprised at how fast disk spacegets used up

Colorimeter Color management is a super-important part of your over-all workflow If yoursquore not using color-management tools I strongly sug-gest you look into purchasing a colorimeter and a software package thatwill allow you to calibrate your monitor If you can ensure that what yousee on your computer is what prints on your printer yoursquore better offcalibration makes it possible

Photoshop CS2 Photoshop CS2 is the central part of your digital dark-room Just as Windows or Mac OS functions as your computerrsquos operatingsystem Photoshop CS2 is your digital-photography operating systemNew features in CS2 include Adobe Bridge for image management mdash andCamera Raw is included

If yoursquore still using Photoshop CS donrsquot fret For the most part the work-flows in this book apply to you as well the version of Camera Raw isvery similar and the File Browser concept of managing files is the same

Photo-quality printer Irsquom assuming yoursquore using Photoshop to processfiles for printing but lots of folks use it for publishing in different mediaas well Still itrsquos nice to have one of those superior new photo printersour manufactures have blessed us with These days for under $100 youcan find a printer that will more than meet your needs If yoursquore makingphotos primarily for use on the Web having a printer on hand helps ifyou want an actual photo you can hold frame or keep in your wallet

How This Book Is OrganizedThis book is divided into parts that address general areas such as organizingphotos converting raw files or working with Photoshop I even include somefun chapters in The Part of Tens Feel free to skip around and if you have thetime read the book from beginning to end

3Introduction

03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 3


Part I Getting Your Feet WetOkay not all of us plunge right into digital photography (underwater or other-wise) So Part I offers an overview for the Photoshop and Camera Raw con-cepts covered in the rest of the book Itrsquos a quick-start for shooting in rawformat and getting your images into your computer Chapter 1 briefly intro-duces shooting raw using Bridge and then using Camera Raw and Photoshopto process your images Chapter 2 goes into more detail about the benefits ofraw format and takes a look at Adobersquos new DNG file format Chapter 3 speaksto a topic near and dear to my heart mdash color management Chapter 4 explainsthe workflows covered throughout the book and why they can improve youroverall photography and your Photoshop skills

Part II Image-Management Workflowwith Adobe BridgeAdobe Bridge is what ties together all the Photoshop processes your habitsof image management and the tweaks you make in Camera Raw andPhotoshop Image management in essence is keeping your digital files orga-nized and backed up for safekeeping After all before you can use rsquoem youhave to be able to find rsquoem and they have to be where you put rsquoem SoChapter 5 shows you how to get around Bridge and take advantage of its file-management functions Chapter 6 shows you how to add information to digi-tal images to organize and reference them even better for future usage

Part III Working with Raw ImagesCamera Raw is the program yoursquoll use to process all your raw images andPart III shows you how to do just that in a smooth raw-imagendashprocessingworkflow Chapter 7 starts you out with understanding color the basis of pro-cessing raw images Chapter 8 gives you a tour of Camera Raw while Chapter9 shows you how to use all the tools and controls Camera Raw has to offer

Part IV Photoshop CS2 Image-Processing WorkflowsAll aspects of processing images in this book are presented in separate work-flows that make up your overall image-processing activities This part explainsthe workflows needed to process images in Photoshop after yoursquove convertedthem in Camera Raw Chapter 10 shows you workflows for correcting colorand tone in Photoshop Chapter 11 explains image editing as a workflow mdashyou know removing red eye blemishes and miscellaneous unwanted partsof your image (use your imagination) Chapter 12 is dedicated toward prepar-ing images for output by correctly sizing them applying color profiles androuting them through an efficient printing workflow

03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 4

Part V The Part of TensAlways the favorite part of any For Dummies book The Part of Tens providesyou with a few chapters that add to your growing technical knowledge (andmight enhance your reputation as a guru) Chapter 13 provides you with 10cool things to do with your photos mdash such as creating abstracts creating aphoto Web site and stitching panoramas Chapter 14 shows you 10 coolPhotoshop filters to use when you want to add special effects to your imagesYou know The fun stuff (Always my favorite subjects to show)

Icons Used in This BookWhatrsquos a For Dummies book without icons pointing you in the right directionThis section shows and describes the five icons I use in this book

This icon alerts you to some of the great new features available in CS2 Ifyoursquore still using CS you get a peek at the features that are waiting for youwhen you upgrade

Use the text next to this icon as a guide for doing something better with yourimages Often I add tips to the step-by-step instructions to give you some goodideas on the spot as you work with Bridge Camera Raw and Photoshop

This icon is used to alert you to a topic thatrsquos important for you not to forgetCommit these to memory

What you find next to this icon often helps explain technical topics in clearerterms The information provided may not be critical but the odd nice-to-knowtechnical facts will make you look real smart in front of your friends

When you see one of these donrsquot run the sky is not falling (Not yet anyway)Itrsquos simply a way to stay out of the way of potential trouble when hassles andglitches are lurking around the corner

Where to Go from HereThis book isnrsquot intended to be read from beginning to end like a mystery itrsquosa reference Drop into it whenever you need a hand getting some pesky tech-nique to work right This book is organized to reflect the overall order in whichyoursquod normally be working with digital images feel free to look up any topic inthe index and go right to that chapter to find out what you want to know

5Introduction

03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 5


To make things even easier processes are broken down into step-by-stepworkflows (gotta love that word) with a bunch of actual Photoshop screen-shots and photos to provide visual cues If you want to skip right to the parton using Bridge (Part II) go ahead Want to see how to process images inCamera Raw (Part III) You can skip to that step too Irsquove also offereddetailed workflows for making overall corrections edits and preparingimages for output in Photoshop (Part IV) Consider this book an end-to-endguide for using Photoshop and Camera Raw to transform your raw imagesinto exactly what you want to see

03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 6

Part IGetting Your

Feet Wet

04_774820 pt1qxp 1306 616 PM Page 7

In this part

Digital photography has offered old-school filmphotographers more tools and capabilities

than you can shake a stick at You have some greatdigital cameras powerful computers that are afford-able and some rockinrsquo software like Photoshop CS2that you can use to tweak retouch and even morphyour photos One rule remains true whether youshoot film or digital Better photographs startwith the photographer True software utilities andtechniques help make a normal blah photo a littlebetter but images well exposed composed andfocused make much better prints

After yoursquove taken some great photos therersquosmore fun to be had Well some folks have fun orga-nizing and downloading images converting the rawones and making further corrections and edits inPhotoshop Okay itrsquos an acquired taste mdash a bitmore complex than driving a roll of film down to thecorner drugstore for processing But think of thecontrol you now have over how your images turnout Thatrsquos where some real creativity with digitalphotography begins mdash in the ldquodigital darkroomrdquo mdashand thatrsquos what this book is all about The chaptersin this part help get you started working with thetools and established processes of the digitaldarkroom Bridge Camera Raw Photoshop andthe workflows that give you consistently impres-sive results

04_774820 pt1qxp 1306 616 PM Page 8

1Getting to Know Bridge

Camera Raw and Photoshop In This Chapter Shooting raw images

Getting images to your computer

Viewing organizing and opening images in Bridge

Processing images in Camera Raw

Adjusting images in Photoshop CS2

Remember the days (just a few years ago) when digital photography con-sisted of having fun shooting photos transferring them to your com-

puter and enhancing them using Photoshop The choices weresimple shoot in JPEG or TIFF format JPEG format is prettygood but TIFF was supposed to be better (even though theresulting image files were huge) Before long we figuredout that JPEG quality was pretty close to TIFF qualityfor the most part shooting images in TIFF reallydidnrsquot offer much advantage

Discerning digital photographers have always wanteda file format that works like a digital equivalent of atraditional negative mdash giving the photographer totalcontrol over processing the image data captured by adigital camera (Sure you could skip the tweaking andleave it all up to the camerarsquos internal processing soft-ware mdash but why settle for blah results) In the past fewyears new digital camera models have delivered just that mdashthe raw image format The software that gives you control ofthose raw images is called (logically enough) Camera Raw

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 9

10 Part I Getting Your Feet Wet

Shooting in the RawWell no you donrsquot have to walk around wearing only your camera when youtake photographs Irsquom referring to shooting photos in the raw format withyour digital camera Todayrsquos digital SLR and advanced compact cameras(also called prosumer because their features are in-between ldquoprordquo and ldquocon-sumerrdquo) can capture images in raw format leaving the enhancements up tothe digital photographer That unprocessed image file mdash a digital negative mdashprovides more artistic control An example is the image shown in Figure 1-1

Figure 1-1 Raw format gives photographers more creative control in processing images

Why rawAs a photographer I shoot in raw format because it gives me better creativecontrol over the image data captured by my digital camera Raw format givesme an image file created exactly as the digital camerarsquos sensor captured it Ican adjust white balance tint brightnesscontrast and huesaturationexactly the way I want I donrsquot have to settle for what my digital camerarsquosfirmware (built-in internal software) does to the image

As an added bonus shooting images in raw format gives me a huge advan-tage over JPEG I can correct nearly any incorrect exposure or off-kilter whitebalance I may have made while shooting Donrsquot get me wrong getting the cor-rect exposure and white balance is still just good photographic practice andwell worth the effort mdash you have less tweaking to do later mdash but sometimeswhen yoursquore out in the field taking photos and (say) that bright green UFOlands right over there you may have to shoot first and ask questions later

Also getting an accurate reading of the exposure is tricky if yoursquore simplysquinting at the images yoursquove just taken (and their tiny histograms) on yourdigital camerarsquos LCD screen mdash especially if yoursquore shooting outdoors on a

Unprocessed raw image Processed in Camera Raw andPhotoshop CS2

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 10

bright sunny day When you download those images to your computer andview them in Photoshop you may discover that your image is either under-or overexposed (It happens) Raw format lets you use the capabilities ofPhotoshop to compensate for under- or overexposed photos without degrad-ing the quality of the image Itrsquos a nice backup if you ever need it

Not all raw files are the sameContrary to popular belief not all raw images are the same after all not allimages mdash and not all cameras mdash are the same The actual image data col-lected by a digital camerarsquos image sensor can vary noticeably from one manu-facturer to another the electronics are different from model to model Forthat reason camera manufacturers offer their own proprietary software toprocess the raw images produced by their cameras

If you purchase (for example) aNikon digital camera such as themodel shown in Figure 1-2 and thatmodel offers the ability to captureraw images you can process thoseraw files with a proprietary pro-gram either Nikon Picture Projector Nikon Capture (advanced raw-conversion software available at anadditional cost) If you also own aCanon digital camera that producesraw images however you wonrsquot beable to use Nikonrsquos software toprocess them For those images youhave to use Canonrsquos proprietary soft-ware Digital Photo Professional mdashbut you canrsquot process Nikon imagesusing Canonrsquos software And if (like the pros) you also have other cameras by other makers you get the idea So did Adobe Thatrsquos why Camera Rawexists

I detail the advantages and disadvantages (yes there are some) of shootingraw images in Chapter 2

Though different camera manufactures have their own versions of ldquotherdquo rawformat Photoshop CS2 provides a standard platform you can use to processjust about any raw image regardless of all that proprietary fuss As an addedbonus Camera Raw can handle the whole process of adjusting and editingyour raw images (called workflow) with no need to add other software pro-grams (Imagine that mdash something about photography has actually becomesimpler) Adobe provides a list of the digital cameras with which Camera Rawis compatible at httpadobecom (For more about workflow conceptsspin through Part IV)

11Chapter 1 Getting to Know Bridge Camera Raw and Photoshop

Figure 1-2 Newer advanced digital camerascan capture images in raw format

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 11


Transferring Image Files to Your ComputerIf yoursquore already well versed in transferring images to your computer feel freeto skip to the next section (I wonrsquot even be offended Honest) If yoursquore stillwrestling with transferring images from your camera to your computer youcan use any of several methods but these two are the most common

Connecting your digital camera directly to your computer When youfirst get your digital camera home from the camera store you have tounpack all those manuals CDs and cables that come in the box TheCDs include a software utilityused to transfer images to yourcomputer one of the cables isfor plugging your digital camerainto your computer so you cantransfer the images (Refer toyour camerarsquos ownerrsquos manualto figure out which connectionon the camera to plug the cableinto The other end of the cableconnects to your computerrsquosFireWire or USB port)

Using a card reader The fastestway to download images toyour computer is to use a cardreader Card readers (such asthe one shown in Figure 1-3) are devices that plug into your computerrsquosUSB port or (with some models) the faster FireWire port providing anefficient way to transfer images mdash often from various cards with differ-ent formats such as Compact Flash SD (secure digital) or memory stick

Using a card reader to download images to your computer also offers addedsecurity With a direct connection therersquos often the worry that your digitalcamerarsquos battery might go dead while the image transfer is going on A cardreader can be especially reassuring if you have a large batch of images totransfer and want it to happen correctly the first time

To download images to your computer follow these steps

1 Determine where you want the downloaded images to go on yourcomputer

If yoursquore a Windows user the easiest place to put your downloadedimages is in the My Pictures folder (opened by choosing My ComputerMy Pictures) You can also create a new folder to hold your images(More information on image management and creating image folders canbe found in Chapter 4) On a Mac running OS X the Pictures folder is aconvenient location for downloading your images to

Figure 1-3 Card readers are the fastest safestway to download images to your computer

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 12

2 Plug your digital camera into the computer using the supplied USB orFireWire cable

Before you connect make sure your digital camera is turned off If youare using a card reader make sure itrsquos plugged into an available USB orFireWire port on you computer

3 Turn on your digital camera orinsert a card into your cardreader

Turning on your digital camerawill automatically start thedownloading process on yourcomputer If yoursquore using a cardreader inserting a memory cardinto the card reader starts thedownloading process automati-cally Your computer recognizesthe digital camera or cardreader as an external deviceand displays the window shownin Figure 1-4

4 Copy images to your computer

Choose to open your folderusing Windows Explorer asshown in Figure 1-4 As yourcomputer recognizes your digital camera or card reader as an externaldevice (or drive) choose to open Windows Explorer to view your imagesCopy all the images shown to a folder of your choice on your hard drive

To better organize image folders on your computer create a new folder todownload each memory card to Give each folder a name such as ldquoGrandCanyon photosrdquo to describe whatrsquos inside Itrsquos a lot better than copying all ofyour images to the same folder every time (trust me on this one) and it helpsyou organize and find your original images later

Never move images directly from your memory card to a folder If you use theMove command the images will be removed from the memory card as they arecopied to the folder you chose to copy to If the copying process is interruptedduring copying you can potentially lose images Additionally itrsquos better toformat your memory cards in your camera to remove old images rather thanerase them with your computer By using your digital camera to format yourcards yoursquoll ensure you are using the correct formatting algorithm your digitalcamera uses

To help ensure regret-free image transfer make it a habit to format yourmemory cards only after yoursquove downloaded the images to your computer mdashand have made a backup to CD or DVD (I cover backing up images in Chapter 4)


Figure 1-4 After your computer automaticallyrecognizes your digital camera you canchoose how to download your images

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 13


Working with Images in BridgeWhen yoursquove successfully transferred that batch of raw images to a folderwhere they just wait for a good tweaking theyrsquore in Adobe territory Herersquoswhere some handy new Photoshop CS2 and Camera Raw capabilities comeinto play mdash in particular Bridge

New to Photoshop CS2 is Adobe Bridge Bridge is an upgrade to the FileBrowser we came to love in previous versions of Photoshop mdash but itrsquos betterBridge is now a standalone application that can be launched independent ofthe Creative Suite programs or from within Photoshop CS2 Illustrator CS2GoLive CS2 and InDesign CS2 Bridge provides better integration betweenthe Creative Suite programs but if you use only Photoshop CS2 it worksgreat as your standalone or integrated program to organize browse orlocate photos Bridge also serves as the launching point to process rawimages in Camera Raw

Starting BridgeBridge can be started independent of Photoshop CS2 Itrsquos set up as any otherprogram in Windows or on the Mac The other way to start Bridge is throughPhotoshop CS2

1 Start Photoshop CS2 by either double-clicking the icon on your desk-top or by choosing StartPhotoshop CS2

You can also press Alt+Ctrl+O (Option+Ocirc+O on a Mac)

2 From Photoshop choose FileBrowse or just click the Go to Bridgebutton

The Go to Bridge button is located on the right side of the PhotoshopCS2 Option bar shown in Figure 1-5 On a Mac double-click the Bridgeicon (located in the ApplicationsAdobe Bridge folder)

Figure 1-5 To start Bridge simply click the Go To Bridge button located on the CS2 Option bar

Go to BridgeOption bar

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 14

Browsing folders and opening imagesOkay file management is always an issue when yoursquore dealing with applica-tions that generate scads of files and copies-of-files (as Photoshop does)Chapters 5 and 6 plunge into the details of file management and reveal thewonders using all the major features of Adobe Bridge For the moment Ishow you how to do a quick browse through the folders mdash and when you findan image you want how to open it in Camera Raw and Photoshop CS2 Soherersquos Square One Figure 1-6 shows how the Bridge window looks right afteryou open Bridge

Figure 1-6 Bridge provides everything you need to view open and organize all of your photos

Menu bar

Metadata

Option bar

Folders tab Look In menu

Thumbnails Selected image Close Bridge

Resize thumbnails Content area


05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 15


To browse image folders located on your computer with Bridge

1 Click the Folders tab

Clicking the Folders tab showsyou your computerrsquos drives andfolders (as shown in Figure 1-7)enabling you to navigate yourcomputerrsquos folders to locate thefolder you want to view mdash say afolder you recently downloadednew images to

2 Choose the image folder youwish to view

Figure 1-8 shows a series of folders I created to hold myimages Click a folder to view its contents in the BridgeContent area

Creating your image folders anddownloading images to thesame area on your computermakes it easier for you to locateimages in Bridge

3 Select an image

Single-clicking an image in theBridge Content area shows youan imagersquos metadata (informa-tion such as the camera settingsyou used when you shot thephoto) in the Metadata tabalong with a thumbnail of theimage in the Preview area

When yoursquove selected a photoslide the Resize Thumbnailsslider all the way to the right toenlarge the thumbnail to get abetter view of the image Yoursquollbe able to see more detail of the image to better judge whether or notthe image is sharp enough or focused correctly Images can look greatwhen they are viewed as smaller thumbnails but when you view them atlarger sizes you can better judge whether the images are good enough

Figure 1-7 The Bridge Folders tab

Figure 1-8 Clicking through folders allow youto locate your image files

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 16

to use Figure 1-9 shows a photoof little duckies (Actually theseare baby swans but I like duck-ies Humor me)

Those (ahem) duckies lookedgood in the thumbnail butenlarging the thumbnail viewgives me a closer look Is thephoto focused properly and isits overall detail sharp

By the way the reason I knowtheyrsquore swans is because themother swan was only a few feetaway and she would actuallygrowl at me if I got too close toher babies Lucky I was toting a70-300mm lens for my Nikon D70 that day so I could shoot the photofrom a swan-safe distance

4 Open the image

After yoursquove browsed images in Bridge and have chosen an image to editdouble-click the thumbnail If the image is a raw file it opens automati-cally in Camera Raw If the image is in another format (such as JPEG TIFFor PSD) it opens automatically in Photoshop You can also right-click(Control+click a Mac) and choose Open from the menu to open the image

Using Camera RawAdobe first introduced Camera Raw with Photoshop version 7 and has consis-tently improved this tool with the next versions CS and CS2 Improvementssuch as clipping warnings (when Camera Raw indicates part of an image whereover-underexposure occurs thus eliminating otherwise good image informa-tion) curves and the addition of auto-adjustments have made Camera Raw apowerful tool to process your raw images Camera Rawrsquos seamless integrationwith Adobe Bridge and Photoshop makes it the tool of choice for many pho-tographers who shoot raw and use Photoshop No surprise there

For me Camera Raw is a powerful enough tool that I ignore the raw-image-conversion software from the manufacturers of the digital cameras I use(Sure I keep the discs mdash thatrsquos just a good practice mdash but I donrsquot use them) I like the idea of using one program that allows me to use raw files from differ-ent manufacturersrsquo cameras and to work directly with Bridge and PhotoshopCS2 so my choice is simple I use Camera Raw


Figure 1-9 Enlarge the thumbnails to betterview and judge the quality of your images inBridge

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 17


I recently had the opportunity to photograph many historic sites and spec-tacular gardens in England and Wales Figure 1-10 shows one of those photosopened in the Camera Raw window mdash a scene photographed in a difficultlighting situation bright late-morning sun Adjusting some exposure andcolor for this image in Camera Raw enables me to make overall color adjust-ments without degrading the information contained in the image

Figure 1-10 The Camera Raw window

One advantage of making overall adjustments (also referred to as tonal adjust-ments) in Camera Raw is that doing so keeps the overall quality of the imageintact Whenever you adjust the exposure brightness contrast hue and saturationin Photoshop you actually destroy information in the image file The more adjust-ments you make to the image the more information you potentially destroydegrading the overall quality of the image Making as many of these overalladjustments as you can in Camera Raw will guarantee that you retain the datathat makes up the image file Consider it a route to a higher-quality end product

Option bar

Image Open in Photoshop

Overall adjustments

View Shadow Clipping

View Highlights Clipping Temperature control

Tint control White Balance

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 18

Becoming familiar with Camera RawThe Camera Raw window is laid out simply Commands arenrsquot buried in aseries of menus and the Adjustment tabs are visible (refer to Figure 1-10)when you first open an image in Camera Raw Commonly used tools are easilyavailable to you on the Camera Raw Option bar and the Image window issimple to operate (with zoom controls laid out at the bottom of the image)The Camera Raw window is made up of these sections

Option bar The Option bar provides tools to help you move aroundselect a white point of the image (to correct white balance) cropstraighten and rotate an image The Option bar also includes checkboxes you can use to toggle the image preview on and off mdash an easy wayto switch between the original (unadjusted) image and the image as itappears while yoursquore making adjustments

Image window The area where you can view zoom crop straightenand rotate your image using the tools in the Option bar

Workflow options The area at the bottom of the Camera Raw windowwhere you can modify the color space size and resolution of an image(Chapter 8 provides more detail on workflow options)

Histogram The histogram is the graph displayed in the upper-right partof the Camera Raw menu a graphical view of how much red green andblue make up the image and how each color is distributed

Adjustment tabs The area to the right of the Camera Raw window containstabs where Adjust Detail Lens Curve and Calibrate controls are located

Adjusting images in Camera RawCamera Raw is a powerful enough tool that itrsquos a good idea to get a handle onsome of its new features before you go on a tweaking rampage Herersquos thequick tour mdash followed by a small rampage

One of the new convenient features of Photoshop CS2 is the addition of autoadjustments in Camera Raw When you open a raw image in Camera Rawauto adjustments for Exposure Shadows Brightness and Contrast are auto-matically made For some images auto settings for these adjustments may besufficient however I encourage you to look at each one and move the slidersto the left or right to see whether you can get a better result

The steps to make overall adjustments in Camera Raw include these

1 Adjust White Balance and Tint

White balance can be adjusted using either the White Balance selectionbox or the Temperature control Both will adjust the white balance of theimage if needed Changing the settings in the White Balance selection box will adjust both the Temperature and Tint to match the Camera Raw


05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 19


pre-determined color conditions for that particular setting As an exam-ple the Daylight white balance setting changes the (virtual) Temperatureto 5500K and the Tint to a setting of +10 For finer tuning of the white bal-ance you can adjust the Temperature and Tint separately by using theadjustment sliders for both of those adjustments

This adjustment is best used on photos that used the wrong white bal-ance setting when they were shot mdash say a photo shot in bright sunlightwhile the digital camerarsquos white balance was set to Florescent (Yikes)The wrong white balance setting results in odd color shifts as in thephoto shown in Figure 1-11 For this photo I actually like the result I gotas shot where the Cloudy and Florescent settings show incorrect colorfor the photo But strictly realistic it isnrsquot

Figure 1-11 Adjusting the white balance

2 Adjust Exposure

The Exposure control is a digital camera userrsquos best friend Irsquom not one toabdicate the fact that all of your photos have to be properly exposed whenyou click that camera shutter (Hey we all know that doesnrsquot happen in thereal world At least nowhere near often enough) The biggest challenge forphotographers is capturing images that are correctly exposed and sharpYou canrsquot really correct unfocused images but the Exposure adjustmentallows you to correct an image thatrsquos under- or overexposed As with otheradjustments in Camera Raw increasing or decreasing the exposure toobtain the results you want doesnrsquot degrade the quality of the image file

Click the Auto check box to let Camera Raw automatically adjust yourexposure Camera Raw will choose the optimum setting to the point atwhich the image isnrsquot under- or overexposed just shy of the point atwhich the shadows and highlights start to lose definition (called clipping)

As shot Cloudy Fluorescent

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 20

Changing any of the control settings in Camera Raw can cause clippingClipping occurs when too much of an adjustment mdash such as adding toomuch brightness or contrast mdash renders parts of an image unusable bycreating areas that are (for example) too light or too dark Areas that aretoo bright and contain no detail are called blown out

You can monitor if your changesare causing clipping by clickingthe Shadows and Highlightscheck boxes located on theCamera Raw palette Clickingthese boxes will show you areasof the image that are too light ortoo dark Shadow areas that areclipped appear in blue highlightareas that experience clippingshow up in red as Figure 1-12shows in an enlarged portion ofthe image

3 Adjust Shadows

Camera Raw lets you adjustshadow areas (the verydark parts) of your image byincreasing or decreasing thebrightness in these areaswhile not affecting the highlightareas Try the Auto setting forShadows first or you can move the slider to the left or right to get theeffect you want Make sure you keep the Shadows check box checked tolimit and monitor clipping If clipping occurs while yoursquore making aShadows adjustment move the slider until the clipping in the shadowedareas disappears

4 Adjust Brightness

The Brightness control allows you to increase or decrease how brightyour image appears independent of the Exposure setting TheBrightness setting is best used in conjunction with other Camera Rawadjustments such as Contrast and Saturation Changing the contrastand saturation may require you to increase or decrease the brightnessof the image slightly to compensate for the harsher changes

5 Adjust Contrast

The Contrast control simply allows you to darken the dark areas of animage while brightening the lighter areas of an image The Auto settingfor Contrast may be the optimum setting for Contrast but feel free tomove the slider to the right to increase contrast in the image until youget the result you want


Figure 1-12 Clipping in the highlight areasappears in red if the Highlights check box ischecked

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 21


6 Adjust Saturation

Before you adjust a raw photo it may appeardull and lacking in contrast Donrsquot worry Thecolor information is still in the file mdash all youhave to do is increase the Saturation control tobring out the color (Personally the Saturationcontrol is my favorite I canrsquot wait to get intoCamera Raw tweak my Exposure ShadowsBrightness Contrast and then increase the sat-uration and watch my photos ldquocome aliverdquo)

There isnrsquot an Auto setting for saturation Youhave to do it by hand increasing color satura-tion by moving the Saturation slider to theright Figure 1-13 shows the original image andthe image adjusted in Camera Raw

7 Click Open

Clicking the Open button will then open yourconverted raw image into the Photoshopwindow where you can make further adjust-ments and edits to your heartrsquos content Youcan also click the Done button to save yourCamera Raw settings for the image and return toBridge without opening the image in Photoshop

At this point Camera Raw saves your changes butnot to the original raw file Camera Raw leaves theoriginal alone but it does add your changes to asidecar file a file created to contain changes yoursquoveadded to the original raw image These files aresmall and are given an XMP file extension

Hello Photoshop CS2I bet you were wondering when Irsquod get to PhotoshopCS2 (Well back to it anyway) Thanks for being patient but in this chapter itrsquosfirst things first Bridge and Camera Raw are after all the first steps you takeas you get into processing raw images When yoursquore familiar with browsingimages opening them and then converting them in Camera Raw yoursquore readyto poke around in Photoshop CS2 check out the new features and dive backinto processing your images with a slew of new tools to use

Whatrsquos newThe Photoshop version CS2 hasnrsquot changed much from the past few versions(CS2 is actually version 9) but a whole slew of new features have appearedunder the hood

As shot

Adjusted in Camera Raw

Figure 1-13 Original imageand the image adjusted inCamera Raw

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 22

I cover these features in Part III but here are a few popular new ones

New Exposure control Photoshop now includes a new control that letsyou adjust exposure outside of Camera Raw that can be used for JPEGor TIFF images

New Blur and Sharpen filters CS2 provides us with more Blur andSharpen tools I cover both in more detail in Chapters 11 and 12Figure 1-14 shows the new Smart Sharpen filter mdash bound to be thenew photographerrsquos favorite CS2 sharpening tool for photos

Figure 1-14 The new Smart Sharpen tool provides the photographer with more options for sharpening photos

Vanishing Point filter This feature is tailored to advanced users whoseek to edit images in perfect perspective

Smart Objects Using these you can make edits to an image file whilelinking the image to the original Linking to the original lets you maintainthe quality of an image your photos remain sharp even after extensiveedits because the linked original remains unchanged Irsquove found thateven some older low-resolution digital images can benefit from this fea-ture especially those Irsquove edited extensively

Lens Correction filter The new Lens Correction filter provides the capability to correct lens shortcomings such as barrel distortion andvignetting Those of you who are familiar with those problems probablyfeel like cheering Herersquos the gist Some lenses at extreme settings createslight darkened borders around an image called vignetting Also you cansee visible distortion at extreme zoom settings especially wide angle

Red Eye tool The new Red Eye tool lets you easily correct the red eyeeffect that plagues so many snapshots of family and friends who reallydonrsquot want to look like insomniacs or vampires


05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 23


Spot Healing Brush tool I use this tool a lot to correct blemishes onskin or get rid of stray gum wrappers on the floors of architecturalimages (such as the example shown in Figure 1-15) Nothing can ruin aphotographerrsquos mood like traveling a few thousand miles taking photosof historic sites and then viewing images littered with garbage on thefloor The Spot Healing Brush comes in handy for just those situations(Too bad there isnrsquot a real-life equivalent)

Figure 1-15 The Spot Healing Brush is a great tool to help clean up parts of a photo

A cleaned floor

Spot Healing Brush

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 24

WYSIWYG fonts Great acronym but what does it mean (Just kiddingWhat You See Is What You Get has been around for a few years)Photoshop now shows you exactly what the font will look like when you add text to a Photoshop document using the Text tool

Getting around Photoshop CS2Getting around Photoshop can seem a little intimidating at first but afteryou get used to working with menus palettes and the Toolbox yoursquoll getcomfortable pretty quickly The trick is knowing what features are availableand where to find them So by way of a little exploration Figure 1-16 showsthe Photoshop window and these essential areas

Menus In the menu bar yoursquoll find a whole slew of utilities commandsfilters and settings Familiar menus such as File Edit View Windowand Help are there and if yoursquore used to working in Windows or the Mac yoursquoll be instantly comfortable with these

Option bar The Option bar resides just below the menu bar and isreserved for settings related to tools chosen from the Toolbox

Toolbox The Toolbox is (well yeah) a collection of tools you use toedit images Many of those tools are like camping knives they havemultiple tools inside them Just right-click a tool and yoursquoll see a flyoutmenu that shows you more tools

I sometimes refer to these tools as ldquomy little friendsrdquo mdash they donrsquottalk to me but I can talk to them No really You can use one ofthese tools mdash the Audio Annotation tool mdash to record audiomessages and attach the recordings to an image Talking picturesanyone

Image window The Image window is where the image you openedin Bridge or from Camera Raw resides

Palettes Palettes are control panels that provide information toyou or enable you to perform specific editing processes to yourimage For instance the Info palette provides color informationregarding specific areas of an image where the Layers paletteenables you to view edit and create the needed fill and adjustmentlayers


05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 25


Figure 1-16 The Photoshop CS2 window

Making adjustmentsThough the goal with making overall adjustments in Camera Raw is to reducethe sheer number of overall adjustments needed in Photoshop there is stillmuch creative work to do Photoshop is actually where you take the steps tocomplete the adjusting and editing of your image The following overview ofthis process (known as ldquoworkflowrdquo) summarizes the steps for making quicktonal adjustments and edits to an image

Menu bar

Layers palette

Option bar

Toolbox

Image window Go to Bridge

Palette well

Info palette

Paintbrush

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 26

1 Open an image in Photoshop

Using Bridge open an image in Camera Raw make adjustments andthen click the Open button The image opens in Photoshop

2 Save the image as a PSD file

After opening an image in Photoshop from Camera Raw the file is stillin the digital format native to the camera that took the picture mdash forexample NEF for a Nikon digital camera or CRW for a Canon modelAdditionally you donrsquot want to adjust or edit the original file thatprocess destroys some of theoriginal data and you shouldonly do that with a copy Savingthe image to another folder inPhotoshop format is the bestmethod of keeping your imagesorganized and your originalimage preserved

Select FileSave As or pressShift+Ctrl+S (Shift+Ocirc+S on aMac) The Save As windowshown in Figure 1-17 gives you the choices to select afolder change the filename ifyou choose and most impor-tantly change the file formatSelect the folder you want tosave your working file to andthen click the Format selection box to select Photoshop(PSDPDD) as the file format Click the Save buttonto save your working file

3 Duplicate the background layer

As yoursquoll discover Irsquom a stickler for making backups and protecting origi-nal files mdash and layers In Photoshop images are adjusted and edited inseparate layers When you open an image all the image information iscontained in the background layer Each adjustment you make should bemade in its own layer That way if you need to correct an adjustment


Figure 1-17 The Save As window

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 27


you can always go back to thatparticular layer and makechanges without affecting theother layers You can also deletea layer if you donrsquot like anadjustment you made mdash andkeep the original image intactWhen yoursquove finished makingchanges to your image yoursquollhave a number of layers eachwith its own adjustment oredit (Working in layers getsthe detailed treatment inChapter 10)

To back up and protect the orig-inal ldquobackgroundrdquo layer chooseLayerDuplicate

4 Adjust Color Levels

Create a Levels adjustment layerby clicking the Create Layerbutton located on the bottomof the Layers palette (seeFigure 1-18)

Shown in Figure 1-19 the Levelsadjustment window shows youa graphical representation ofthe color (red green and bluechannels) distribution of theimage also referred to as thehistogram Under the histogramare three sliders The slider on the left controls the shadow portions of the image the middle sliderthe midtones (also called gamma) of the image and the slider on theright controls the amount of color in the highlight areas of the imageWith the default Channel set to RGB move the left and right sliders to thepoint of the histogram where pixels begin to show up clearly Moving themiddle slider to the right increases contrast in the image by darkeningthe highlight areas Experiment with moving the sliders until you get theresult you want

Figure 1-18 Creating a new Levels adjustmentlayer

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 28

Figure 1-19 Adjusting Levels

5 Adjust Saturation

My favorite adjustment can be found in the Saturation layer Saturationallows you to increase color in your image To make your images ldquopoprdquowith some color click the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer button onthe Layers palette and choose HueSaturation In the HueSaturationwindow (shown in Figure 1-20) move the Saturation slider to the right toincrease color in your image Be careful not to add too much color ifyou do clipping can occur Sometimes a little goes a long way

6 Save the image

After making adjustments savethe image by choosing FileSave or by clicking the Savebutton on the Option bar


Figure 1-20 Increasing saturation in an imagewith the HueSaturation adjustment

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 29


Figure 1-21 shows you how making Levels and Saturation adjustments candramatically change the appearance of an image (Chapter 10 has the detailsof making overall adjustments)

Figure 1-21 Original image and the image with levels and saturation adjustments

Original image Adjusted image

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 30

2Enlightened by Raw

In This Chapter Describing raw format

Comparing raw to JPEG and TIFF

Balancing the advantages of doing raw against the convenience of JPEG

Checking out the DNG format

Luckily for shutterbugs the technology of digital photography is alwaysevolving Earlier compact digital cameras were pretty advanced their

3-to-5-megapixel capability produced pretty good JPEG images But thesecameras have now evolved to 7-to-9-megapixel sensors bigger lenses (withvibration reduction) and greater ease of use You can even shoot in auto-matic mode or set aperture priority or shutter priority to whet your creativeshooting tastes As a bonus the macro capabilities of these cameras arephenomenal

These advances mean you have more choices in equip-ment and capabilities Todayrsquos affordable digital SLRs(and advanced compact ldquoprosumerrdquo cameras) boastcapabilities we only dreamed of a few years ago mdashbut their biggest advantage is that the latest modelscan shoot in raw format

Raw format provides the photographer with moreoptions for bringing out the best in digital imagesYou get more control over color exposure andsharpness mdash and if yoursquore like me the more controlthe better If you give a painter a greater selection ofbetter paints more brushes and a bigger canvas to workwith yoursquoll notice the difference in the paintings Raw givesthe photographer exactly that mdash a wider range of creativechoices more detailed control over color and tones and a bigger canvasto work with

06_774820 ch02qxp 1306 633 PM Page 31


Whatrsquos RawQuite simply a raw file can be described in the same terms as a film negativethat hasnrsquot been processed yet mdash only without the chemical stink The imagedata is there but it needs to be developed In effect Camera Raw is the vir-tual equivalent of the film-development chemicals that were the only way todevelop color images before digital cameras You could say that shooting inraw is environmentally friendly too No toxic gunk to bite your fingers or pol-lute the environment mdash just you your computer and Photoshop CS2

When you shoot a raw image your digital camera collects data The rawimage file is just a recording of what the image sensor has collected In rawmode your digital camera doesnrsquot do anything with the data it just saves itto a file No processing is performed like when you shoot in TIFF or JPEGformat The file doesnrsquot become an image until the photographer processesit Figure 2-1 shows just what a raw file looks like without being processedItrsquos dull lifeless and without vibrant color

Figure 2-1 An unprocessed raw file just waiting for you to develop it

Because I brought up the topic of film there is a huge difference between thechemical processing of film and the digital processing of raw-format filesWith film you get only one chance at processing the file If the temperature of the chemicals are wrong or the length of time in processing is wrong thenegatives get ruined You canrsquot go back and do anything to fix that You only

06_774820 ch02qxp 1306 633 PM Page 32

get one shot at developing film If you make a mistake your film mdash and thephotos you shot on it mdash are (technically speaking) hosed wasted toast destroyed With digital raw files you can process your images many times Goahead and make some mistakes it doesnrsquot matter You can always go back tothe original digital raw image and process the image again

Being an old film guy whorsquos developed many rolls of film in my old chemicaldarkroom I think raw is a beautiful thing

One of the reasons the raw photos first appear dull and lifeless is becauseraw files are for the most part captured in grayscale Donrsquot get me wrong mdashthere is color information in a raw file you can see some in the photo inFigure 2-1 which shows how the image looks when first opened in CameraRaw Color characteristics are recorded for each pixel as red green or blue araw-converter program such as Camera Raw will interpret the color duringconversion Thatrsquos why more color becomes visible as you make adjustmentsin Camera Raw

Camera Raw converts a raw file by interpolating color information The raw converter knows the color associated with a particular pixel but ldquoborrowsrdquo color from neighboring pixels to create the needed colorAdditionally Camera Raw opens a raw image with some automatic tonaladjustments made for you however saturation is not automatically addedFigure 2-2 shows the same image as in Figure 2-1 after color is extracted inCamera Raw

Figure 2-2 The processed raw file shows the true color of the original image

33Chapter 2 Enlightened by Raw

06_774820 ch02qxp 1306 633 PM Page 33


Raw versus Other FormatsOkay raw format may not be idealfor every photographic situation Ishot thousands of images in JPEGformat before the raw format made itinto advanced compact digital SLRcameras Many of those photos arepermanent staples in my portfolioAnd yes I admit it I still shoot JPEGssometimes I carry around a compactdigital camera that produces great 7megapixel images (Figure 2-3 forexample) My compact camera isconvenient for snapshots or interest-ing subjects I come across while dri-ving around town mdash and it serves asa backup while Irsquom shooting naturephotos But for those images (as forall my more serious shooting) I usemy digital SLR mdash in raw format ofcourse

Though I have a nice collection ofimages from earlier digital cameras(and I still carry a compact aroundin my pocket) I often run intothe limitations of shooting inJPEG or TIFF format mdash thesefor instance

Loss of image data while making adjustments in Photoshop ShootingJPEG you can run into this problem a lot Without the lossless overallcolor and tonal adjustments that yoursquod get in Camera Raw you haveto make those adjustments in Photoshop mdash and theyrsquod better beright the first time You lose image data every time you save reopenand readjust a JPEG in Photoshop In essence every adjustmentaffects the tonal range of the image yoursquore throwing away bits ofinformation leaving less data available for creating the image (adestructive effect)

Figure 2-3 Shooting in JPEG can producegreat images but you canrsquot do as much tothem

06_774820 ch02qxp 1306 633 PM Page 34

When shooting in raw format you have the advantage of making adjust-ments in Camera Raw to white balance tint exposure shadows curvesbrightness contrast and color saturation mdash without the risk of losingimage data (and some image quality along with it)

Limited white-balance adjustment When Irsquom out in the field shooting(with my digital camera always) Irsquoll often set the white balance on thecamera to best match the lighting conditions Irsquom faced with Irsquoll use theauto-white balance setting in some situations as well If Irsquom shootingJPEG or TIFF and discover later when editing those images in Photoshopthat the white balance needs adjustment it will take a lot of work tomake those corrections If Irsquom shooting raw I can easily adjust the whitebalance any way I need to

Limited exposure adjustment I hear this argument all the time ldquoGoodphotographers should always get the right exposure when they shootphotos so they donrsquot have to make adjustments in software laterrdquo Thatrsquosgood advice and should always be suggested as a goal mdash but in the realworld sometimes a perfect exposure just doesnrsquot happen Even the bestphotographers shoot photos that need some exposure adjustment insoftware If Irsquom shooting in JPEG or TIFF format and I need to adjustexposure after the fact I have to use Photoshop CS2 Exposure adjust-ment to do the job mdash and although this feature is a welcome addition forJPEGs it can still degrade image quality

Shooting in raw format means you donrsquot have to settle for the exposureyou get with the shot you can fix under- or overexposed photos inCamera Raw using its Exposure adjustment Even better you can do thatwithout losing image data (which is what happens if you shoot in JPEGand use the Photoshop Exposure feature to tweak exposure later)

Limited image quality due to compression JPEG is a compressed fileformat When you shoot a JPEG image your digital camera processesthe image and then compresses it One of the side effects of compres-sion is the fact that you lose image data in the process Itrsquos really notnoticeable but when yoursquore using an 8-bit file format such as JPEG youneed all the image data you can get

When you open JPEG images in Photoshop to begin adjusting and edit-ing make sure you save them as a file format other than JPEG when youimport them into Photoshop Converting the images to PSD or TIFFformat will help avoid the image degradation that happens everytime you save a JPEG file Figure 2-4 shows the effects of resavingJPEG images while editing them in Photoshop More artifacts creepinto the image after itrsquos been resaved a few times


06_774820 ch02qxp 1306 633 PM Page 35


Figure 2-4 Resaving JPEGs reduces overall image quality

Advantages and Disadvantages to RawOkay even though this book is about shooting images in raw format and follow-ing the steps to completing your images for display by using Bridge CameraRaw and Photoshop letrsquos keep it real There are both advantages and disad-vantages to shooting and processing raw images Many pro-level photogra-phers donrsquot mind taking the few extra steps that raw format entails mdash generallythey get higher-quality images that way mdash but JPEG images are often faster totake if the opportunity to get a shot is fleeting Bottom line Itrsquos a three-waytradeoff The individual photographer has to balance the speed and conve-nience of JPEG against the greater control and image quality that are possiblein raw format

06_774820 ch02qxp 1306 633 PM Page 36

Taking advantage of raw formatOf all the advantages that shooting raw offers compared to JPEG the biggest iscontrol When shooting photos for my fine-art portfolio or for portraits I wantcomplete control over the tonal adjustments to my images Even though thelatest digital cameras are pretty handy at processing images almost all needpost-processing help in Photoshop Shooting in raw format lets me judge andadjust color and exposure for each individual photo if I choose I donrsquot have totrust blindly that my digital camera automatically produces images that matchmy taste I have the data I need to make them look right

In addition to giving you control over the processing of your images in rawformat Camera Raw provides other advantages over JPEGs or TIFFs

Full use of all the information captured Shooting in raw format givesthe photographer all the data the digital camerarsquos image sensor cap-tures thus providing the photographer with more data to work with tomake adjustments edits and sizing later in Photoshop Yoursquore not lim-ited to the reduced data in a compressed 8-bit JPEG file (as detailed inthe next section)

Easy exposure adjustment without losing image data Figure 2-5 showsa photo I shot at dusk (a difficult lighting situation) to capture the reflec-tion of the sky on a pond It was a tough task to get the right exposurefor the image in a neutral part of the image As it turned out I was off alittle in my exposure setting but no problem I used the Camera RawExposure control to increase the exposure by 1 12 f-stops

Figure 2-5 Adjusting exposure ldquoafter the factrdquo is one advantage to shooting raw


06_774820 ch02qxp 1306 633 PM Page 37


Some digital SLRs underexpose photos by about one f-stop when shoot-ing in raw mode Thatrsquos by design it prevents you from blowing out partsof the image (that is overexposing certain parts of the image so nousable image data emerges) Such underexposure saves you from endingup with (say) unusable pure white as part of a sky You could deal withextremes of exposure by using exposure compensation (if your camerahas that feature) mdash or you could use Camera Raw to adjust the exposureafter you shoot mdash and probably get better results Keep in mind that itrsquosoften easier to compensate for underexposed areas than overexposedareas

Easy adjustment of white balance White balance (or color temperatureand tint if you want to get real technical) is sometimes difficult to getright when yoursquore out shooting with your digital camera You can use theauto adjustment but sometimes the color and tint of the images areslightly off when you view them in Bridge or Camera Raw If Irsquom shootingraw Irsquom not going to sweat too much I can easily make a change in thewhite balance of the image later in Camera Raw Figure 2-6 shows threeversions of the same image displayed in Camera Raw as shot in the digi-tal camera using three settings (from left to right) Auto Cloudy andShade If I were shooting JPEG Irsquod have to jump through hoops to makethe same adjustments in Photoshop

Non-destructive adjustment of tone and color This is the real kickerBy shooting raw mdash and converting the images later in Camera Raw mdashthe photographer can make changes to brightness contrast curve taband color saturation without the risk of losing valuable bits of imagedata

Figure 2-6 As Shot Cloudy and Shade white balance settings

As shot Cloudy Shade

06_774820 ch02qxp 1306 633 PM Page 38

A few potential drawbacksEven with all the great capabilities the raw image format provides itactually does have a few disadvantages mdash not many mdash but a few are worthmentioning

File size Raw images arenrsquot compressed like JPEGs The file sizes aremuch larger mdash and they take longer to download to your computer A typ-ical 8-megapixel raw image will be saved at a size of about 7 megabytesThe same 8-megapixel image shot in JPEG format will create a file lessthan half that size around 3 megabytes If yoursquore cramped for memory-card space yoursquoll be able to fit at least twice as many JPEGs as raw fileson your memory card Just remember JPEG compression loses somequality

Extra step in processing Unlike JPEGs (which you can view immediatelyin Photoshop) raw images require an extra step Opening them in CameraRaw and processing them If your workflow is pretty close to the oneexplained in Chapter 4 mdash and you process raw images as shown inChapter 9 mdash then the extra step will be worth the effort the timesavingbatch processes offered in Bridge can help you make up for lost time


The 16-bit advantageWhen yoursquore shooting in raw format you areessentially capturing all the data that yoursensor can capture mdash and todayrsquos digital cam-eras can capture at least 12 bits per channel(that is per each red green and blue channel)for each pixel When you shoot JPEGs you cap-ture images at only 8 bits per channel for eachpixel mdash yoursquore already working with less dataand your digital camera had better processthose 8-bit images correctly Donrsquot get mewrong you can still get great photos working inthe 8-bit world of JPEGs but after you get theminto Photoshop you can do only a limitedamount of processing before image qualitystarts to degrade

When quality counts more than speed shootingin raw format mdash and then editing the photos inPhotoshop in 16 bit-mode mdash gives you a largeadvantage over JPEGs Thatrsquos because JPEGquality is no more than what you get via yourdigital camerarsquos software algorithms mdash resultsthat are automatic and fast but maybe not quitewhat you want With raw format you can makemore accurate adjustments to the image andhave a lot of image data left over to give youmore options You can do more extensive editscrop or enlarge mdash while maintaining imagequality throughout your image

06_774820 ch02qxp 1306 633 PM Page 39


Slower processing in your digital camera Some older camera modelsthat feature the raw format may take a few seconds to process the rawimage before yoursquore able to shoot another Too if yoursquore shooting rawand JPEG (some digital cameras can produce two images for one shot)your digital camera will have additional work to do to produce both theraw and JPEG files

Lack of raw-format standards Each digital camera manufacturer hasits own version of raw format proprietary formats reign right nowSo far those who shoot in raw have only one option that offers someversatility mdash Camera Raw along with a new digital negative (DNG)format (see the next section) mdash currently endorsed by Adobe Itrsquos nota big issue now but some photographers worry about what mighthappen years down the road Will future software be able to recognizecurrent raw images Adobe seems to be the only company addressingthis issue right now

The present drawbacks to shooting and processing raw-format images maynot outweigh the advantages for many photographers And why notCheaper large-capacity memory cards can handle the extra card spaceneeded to handle larger files The extra step in processing really doesnrsquot costyou much time mdash in fact processing images in Camera Raw can save youfrom having to perform similar adjustments in Photoshop mdash and you canmake adjustments without throwing away valuable bits of data The finaldrawback to raw format (lack of firm industry standards) will most likely beovercome as technology develops and as more and more photographers usethe raw format

Introducing the Digital Negative (DNG)Up to this point in the digital-photography era raw file formats havenrsquot beenuniform Each digital camera manufacturer that offers raw in its digital cam-eras maintains a proprietary format (Imagine what it would have been like ifall camera makers designed their cameras only to work with their own pro-prietary film Or how about driving cars that only run on one brand of fuelYou get the idea) Unfortunately due to a lack of industry standards cameramanufacturers are forced to offer their own versions of raw images

As if to add confusion for photographers manufacturers package softwarewith their digital cameras mdash and it only converts raw images shot in theirversion of raw format Some of these programs work very well but if you alsoshoot raw images using other digital cameras from other manufacturers youcanrsquot use the software to convert those images Camera Raw at least workswith raw images from most makersrsquo digital cameras mdash a step in the rightdirection

06_774820 ch02qxp 1306 633 PM Page 40

Adobe has recently announced and released its attempt at coming up withone standard file format for raw images mdash digital negative (DNG) The intro-duction of DNG recognizes the need for an industry-standard format for rawimages mdash and it is indeed a major step forward But a true industry standardhasnrsquot arrived yet camera manufacturers as a whole have yet to buy in onDNG But donrsquot be too harsh on the industry The technology is evolvingrapidly and leading manufacturers have done a terrific job delivering prod-ucts that photographers want and rather quickly Until a raw-image stan-dard is developed Adobersquos DNG format and the Digital Negative Convertersoftware utility (shown in Figure 2-7) make a great first step You can get acopy of the Adobe Digital Negative Converter at Adobersquos Web site (go towwwadobecom)

Figure 2-7 The Adobe Digital Negative Converter utility


06_774820 ch02qxp 1306 633 PM Page 41


The potential advantages of using DNG include the following

Common raw format If yoursquore shooting professionally and need to submitimages to publishers (or other clients who require raw images) DNG pro-vides a common format for these images DNG is a non-proprietary formatand itrsquos publicly documented

Changes and additions to the raw image are embedded within theDNG With other raw formats when you make adjustments or add meta-data to the raw files those changes arenrsquot saved to the actual raw fileInstead theyrsquore saved to additional files called sidecar files With DNGraw format all changes and metadata additions are stored within theDNG file This reduces the chance of the sidecar files not being copied orbacked up with the original raw files when you move files around duringimage management

Longer-term compatibility If it were easy to predict the future wewould all be millionaires It seems likely though that software and com-puters will be able to read standard file formats (such as JPEG TIFF andpossibly the new DNG) 10 or 15 years from now mdash maybe not so likelytheyrsquoll be able to read the obscure (and proprietary) raw formats pro-duced by some digital cameras

One vital capability mdash available now mdash is software thatrsquos compatibleacross all digital camera platforms with no delays between updates foryour digital camera equipment and software

06_774820 ch02qxp 1306 633 PM Page 42

3Applying Color Management

In This Chapter Introducing color management

Choosing Photoshop CS2 color settings

Assigning profiles

Calibrating your monitor

Proofing

Digital photography costs a lot of money for one that wants to get seriouswith the craft Therersquos always the latest digital camera to buy the next

lens in your collection memory cards gadgets and other gizmos Ah buttherersquos more to contend with that will draw resources from your wallet

If you do a lot of printing like I do yoursquore constantly running to thecomputer store or getting on to the Web to purchase inkjet car-tridges and photo paper I figure Irsquom spending at least adollar per 8times10 print plus a lot more when Irsquom printingup to 13times19 inch prints Printing one series of printscan get quite expensive mdash and if yoursquore not using acolor-managed workflow your costs can skyrocket

When adjusting and editing images in Photoshopyou want to make sure that the images you print onyour printer match exactly the image yoursquove beenviewing on your computerrsquos display Otherwiseyoursquoll be throwing money out the window every timeyou make a ldquotestrdquo print that doesnrsquot match not to men-tion the level of aggravation you have to put up withduring the neverending trial-and-error method of printingTo guarantee your sanity you need to implement color man-agement and forever say goodbye to the expensive trial-and-errormethod of printing As a bonus you can buy some more of those gizmos withthe money yoursquoll save in ink and paper

07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 43


Coloring Your WorldIf you talk to digital photographers who have lots of experience shootingphotos working with Photoshop and printing their images yoursquoll find oneconsensus among them The hardest thing to accomplish in digital photogra-phy is managing color When you think about all the steps involved mdash firstshooting an image with particular light in mind converting the raw filemaking further adjustments and edits in Photoshop and then sending theimage to a printer mdash itrsquos a miracle that the final print even resembles whatwas first envisioned

One of the most difficult types of images to color manage is portraits Letrsquosface it (sorry about that) we human beings know the color range of skintones mdash and if theyrsquore off just a little we notice Figure 3-1 shows a portraitas seen on a computer monitor and then shown as printed Managing colorhelps you create prints that closely match what the colors should look like

Figure 3-1 Maintaining the correct skin tone in portraits reinforces the need for colormanagement

As seen on the monitor As printed

07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 44

Color management is the process of producing images with the correct colorwhere color is predictable throughout the image capture editing and print-ing processes

1 Image capture This is a fancy way of saying ldquoshooting photosrdquo Makingcolor space settings in your digital camera is the first step in your color-management workflow Digital cameras actually have settings that deter-mine the type of color they produce This setting is known as colorspace Many digital cameras operate in one color space sRGB sRGB is acolor space intended for images to be viewed on your computer notprints This doesnrsquot mean that images from most digital cameras wonrsquotmake good prints Photoshop will convert the images to any color spaceyou choose If your digital camera offers only sRGB as its color spacedonrsquot worry mdash you can always convert your files to another color spacesuch as Adobe RGB (1998) when you open them in Photoshop

If your camera has the option of setting its color space to somethingother than sRGB set your digital camera to Adobe RGB (1998) Doing sowill ensure that yoursquore shooting images in the same color space used forworking with photos in Photoshop that are intended for printing

2 Applying color settings in Photoshop After you install Photoshop CS2on your computer it isnrsquot exactly ldquoready to rockrdquo Yoursquoll have a littlework to do to make sure color settings are applied correctly

3 Viewing images on your computer monitor Most of your time is spentin the digital darkroom working with images in Photoshop The mostcritical element in implementing color management is calibrating yourmonitor (I discuss that issue further in the ldquoGetting Calibratedrdquo sectiona bit later in this chapter)

4 Printing In effect itrsquos the final destination for all your efforts mdash andprinting can be considered an art in itself During the printing process(explained in more detail in Chapter 12) color settings need to be pre-cisely applied by you Photoshoppers (another one of my original techni-cal terms) out there so that Photoshop is able to properly convert colorthat will correctly be applied by the printer when producing prints

By applying the color-management processes described in this chapteryou get your images closer to digital-photography nirvana Your prints willlook more like what you originally envisioned while shooting your imagesand working with them in Photoshop Yoursquoll save a bunch of time moneyand sedatives in the process Color management is your guiding light (nopun intended) toward total inner peace and visual tranquility About imagesanyway

45Chapter 3 Applying Color Management

07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 45


Making Photoshop Color SettingsIn addition to making monitor calibration part of your color managementworkflow itrsquos equally as important to make sure the Photoshop color settingsare correct for the type of images you normally process If you work withphotographs that are meant for a variety of output methods you need thecustom color settings in Photoshop

You donrsquot want to expend a lot of energy shooting photos only to have themturn out wrong when you output your images to print or screen Managingcolor properly can save you the hassle by getting your colors right mdash somake color settings the very first stop in your image-editing workflow

Exploring (color and working) spaceColor space is the range of colors available to you for editing your imagesItrsquos like the colors you used in your old paint-by-numbers set mdash only insteadof 12 colors you have millions Working space is a Photoshop term usedto describe which color space is assigned to an image Yoursquoll find thesetwo terms mdash working space and color space mdash used interchangeably inPhotoshop

CMYK (a working space for press-type printing) and grayscale (used for edit-ing black-and-white images) are working spaces targeted toward specific pur-poses CMYK is defined as a full-color representation of a printing press theacronym CMYK defines cyan magenta yellow and black inks for the printingpress

For photographers the most important working space you use is RGB Mostof the photographerrsquos work is geared toward printing on ink jet printers firstand going to press for magazine book or other types of publications (or to the Web) second Digital photographers who incorporate a color-management workflow opt to use Adobe RGB (1998) first to edit images and then convert to different color spaces if a particular output requires it

The list that follows explains the differences and different uses of the workingspaces available in Photoshop while Figure 3-2 shows how using differentcolor spaces for a photo affect how they look

Adobe RGB (1998) This color space is designed to match the colorgamut of inkjet printers Highly recommended for use with images to beprinted on (well yeah) inkjet printers

07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 46

sRGB This color space is designed for displaying photos on computermonitors such as Web graphics and Web photos

Colormatch RGB This color space is designed for a color gamutbetween sRGB and Adobe RGB (1998) Use for images with multiple pur-poses and output

Figure 3-2 Different color spaces affect how color is rendered in an image

As part of your overall color-management workflow I recommend alwaysediting your photographs in the Adobe RGB (1998) color space and savingthat image as a master file Adobe RGB (1998) provides the widest colorgamut available when itrsquos time to edit your images For output destined forthe Web or for special printing save a copy of your master to an sRGB orCMYK version of the file for output later Even while outputting your imagesin black and white I recommend using an RGB color space for your masterimage

Applying Photoshop color settingsIn this section I explain how to specify each setting in the Photoshop ColorSettings window This is one of the most overlooked steps in color manage-ment mdash and it makes a huge difference when used properly Additionally Iexplain when and how to assign a color profile to an image

If most of your work involves preparing images for the Web for printing orfor publishing each of those tasks will need a different monitor setting Thefirst step after calibrating your monitor (which I show you how to do in thelater section ldquoGetting Calibratedrdquo) is to set up your default color settings inPhotoshop Herersquos how

Adobe RGB (1998) sRGB Colormatch RGB


07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 47


1 Choose EditColor Settings orpress Ctrl+Shift+K (Ocirc+Shift+Kon the Mac) to bring up theColor Settings dialog box

2 Click the More Options button

This expands the Color Settingsdialog box so that you can seeall the options as shown inFigure 3-3

3 From the Settings drop-downlist at the top choose NorthAmerica Prepress 2

The default for Settings isthe North America GeneralPurpose 2 which isnrsquot verygood for photographersSelect North America Prepress 2 (as shown inFigure 3-4) this setting worksbest for photographers

4 Set the Working Spaces

Change the Photoshop defaultfor the RGB working space toAdobe RGB (1998) as shownin Figure 3-5 Adobe RGB (1998)is the best working space forphotographers providing thewidest color gamut for color sat-uration Make sure to leave theCMYK Gray and Spot selectionsset at the defaults

For most of your image editinguse Adobe RGB (1998) to edityour master images If you needto you can convert to the sRGBworking space for the finaloutput of Web images

Figure 3-3 The Photoshop Color Settingsdialog box

Figure 3-4 Changing the Settings to NorthAmerica Prepress 2

07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 48

5 Set Color Management Policies

Make sure to leave RGB CMYKand Gray set to PreserveEmbedded Profiles Thisensures that color settings aremaintained in images that youopen in Photoshop

Leave the three ProfileMismatches and MissingProfiles check boxes selectedThese settings ensure thatyoursquore prompted to choose acolor space to apply when youopen an image in Photoshopthat doesnrsquot match your defaultworking space

6 Set Conversion Options settings

I recommend leaving thedefaults for these settings toAdobe (Ace) for the Engineand Relative Colorimetric forthe Intent

The Engine setting controls Photoshop methods used for convertingcolors from one profile to another The Intent setting specifies what youwant the rendering to accomplish for conversions from one profile toanother The bottom line Adobe (ACE) and Relative Colorimetric areoptimal conversion settings for photographs

For editing photographs in Photoshop you get the best results by leav-ing the defaults (Use Black Point Compensation and Use Dither)selected This option ensures the black point of your image matches the black point of your print (or output) I normally leave the advanced con-trols set to their default settings of not selected

7 Click OK to save your color settings

In the next section I show you how to ensure that your color settingsare properly applied to your workflow


Figure 3-5 Setting the RGB Working Space toAdobe RGB (1998)

07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 49


Assigning color profilesThe final step to ensuring a propercolor workflow is to make sure thatthe images you open in Photoshopcontain the correct color profileyoursquove set up in the Color Settingsdialog box (see the steps in the preceding section) When youopen an image that doesnrsquot matchthat default color space yoursquoreprompted with the EmbeddedProfile Mismatch dialog box shownin Figure 3-6

In this dialog box you can choose one of three options

Use the Embedded Profile Select this option if you want to leave theimagersquos working space as is

Remember that if you leave this option selected you wonrsquot be workingin the default color space you indicated in the Color Settings window

Convert Documentrsquos Colors to the Working Space Select this option ifyou want to use your default color space This is recommended for mostimages

Discard the Embedded Profile Select this option if you donrsquot want touse a color profile for the image

Sometimes when yoursquore working on an image in Photoshop you need to con-vert the image to another working space to get a task done To get the bestcolor workflow in a situation like this first edit your images in Adobe RGB(1998) and then convert them later to meet your specific output needs Thecombination of using monitor profiles (explained in the next section on cali-brating your monitor) and assigning color profiles will help ensure an efficientcolor-management workflow

The process to assign color profiles to an image is as follows

1 Choose EditAssign Profile

The Assign Profile windowappears

2 Select the Working RGB option

Figure 3-7 shows the WorkingRGB set to Adobe RGB (1998) (Use the Donrsquot Color ManageThis Document selection only if you might want to submit your images to athird party and you donrsquot know how your images will be color managed)

Figure 3-6 Setting an image that has the RGBWorking space to Adobe RGB (1998)

Figure 3-7 Assigning a color profile to aphotograph

07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 50

3 Select another profile from thedrop-down list provided by thethird option (see Figure 3-8) ifyou desire

This choice is rare for most pho-tographers but you can use thisoption to assign a specific pro-file For example a printingcompany for press services mayhave supplied you with arequired profile You may alsowant to convert an existingimage to sRGB if you are goingto save a version of the imagefor viewing on the Web but Iusually use the FileSave forWeb command for that

For most photographs you want to select the Working RGB option thesame option I recommend you choose in the Color Settings dialog box asyour default working space (See the steps in the earlier sectionldquoApplying Photoshop color settingsrdquo)


Figure 3-8 Selecting another profile

The PhotoDisc target imageThe PhotoDisc Target image (also called the PDItest image) comes with a number of color-management products such as the ColorVisionSpyder 2 Itrsquos also included in the Mac OS Itrsquosan industry-standard test image used to giveyou a direct view of how accurately the colorsdisplayed on your monitor match what youprint or prepare for the Web

Try using this image as a visual test to comparewhatrsquos on your monitor and whatrsquos actuallycoming out of your printer The image is royalty-free and can be easily obtained

To get a copy you can download the image frommy Web site at httpkevinmossphotographycomphotodisctestimagehtmor search for PhotoDisc Target Image on theWeb

07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 51


Getting CalibratedAs a photographer you have to visualize the changes yoursquore making to yourimages mdash and the key component that allows you to do that is your com-puter monitor Itrsquos also the only device that stands between the digitalcamera and your final print displaying your images accurately on your moni-tor is critical Properly profiling and adjusting mdash calibrating mdash your monitorensures that what you see is what yoursquore going to get in your final output ofthe image

The most important step of implementing color management into your work-flow is to calibrate your monitor Calibrating on a regular basis is importantbecause the colors brightness and contrast of your monitor change overtime Whether you use one of those big clunky computer monitors (calledCRTs) one of those sleek new LCD monitors or a laptop computer the ruleremains the same Calibrate on a regular basis

Most laptop (and some LCD) monitors wonrsquot let you adjust color balance andcontrast with some of them only brightness can be adjusted If you have anLCD monitor you should still calibrate to ensure optimal brightness settingsCalibrating is important to ensure that colors are completely accurate do asmuch of it as you can on your machine

When you calibrate your monitor you make adjustments to the brightnesscontrast and color balance to match what your calibration software uses asits standard These adjustments are actual physical changes to the operationof the monitor (but not to the image files you are viewing) Theyrsquore necessaryto produce an accurate profile that your computer then uses to determinewhat prints out

By calibrating your monitor you are effectively setting the stage for a suc-cessful color-managed workflow If you skip this step you end up makingadjustments to your digital files on the basis of false information The result-ing prints wonrsquot match what you see on your monitor

Calibrating with Adobe GammaAdobe Gamma is a Windows software utility (included with Photoshop CS2)that you can use to calibrate your monitor and to create a profile that yourcomputer will use The Mac version of Adobe Gamma was available with pre-vious versions of Photoshop and is no longer included with Photoshop CS2Instead Mac users can use the Apple Display Calibrator Assistant found inthe System Preferences folder

07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 52

For best results let your monitor warm up for 30 minutes before you startany calibration procedure

To calibrate your monitor using Adobe Gamma follow these steps

1 Open the Windows ControlPanel by clickingStartControl Panel

2 Open the Adobe GammaWizard

Double-click the Adobe Gammaicon located in the WindowsControl Panel (shown inFigure 3-9) to start Gamma

3 Choose the Step-by-Step (Wizard) version (see Figure 3-10) and thenclick Next

You are asked to choose either the Step By Step (Wizard) method or theControl Panel method I recommend choosing the Step By Step methodas in Figure 3-10 itrsquos a lot easier

Figure 3-10 Choose the Step By Step (Wizard) version

4 Click Load (see Figure 3-11) to choose your monitor type and thenclick Next


Figure 3-9 The Windows Control Panel andAdobe Gamma icon

07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 53


Figure 3-11 Click Load to choose your monitor type instead of the default setting

You are presented with the Open Monitor Profile window

5 Choose a profile that matches your monitor or one that is similar to it(see Figure 3-12) and then click Open

This selection is used only as a starting point for the process After click-ing Open yoursquore sent back to the Adobe Gamma window shown inFigure 3-11

Figure 3-12 Select a Monitor Profile that matches your displayor is a close match

07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 54

Select a profile that best matches the monitor you are using on yourcomputer by clicking the display type name in the list of profiles shownin Figure 3-12 If your computer monitor is not listed in the profile listyou can always choose the default setting provided in the list of profilesAfter your selection click the Open button and you are sent back to theAdobe Gamma window shown in Figure 3-11

6 Type a unique description with a date and then click Next to proceedto the next window

The profile you chose in Step 5 doesnrsquot appear in the Description fieldDonrsquot worry The monitor you chose in Step 5 is still associated with theprocess Just type a unique name with a date such as the name shownin Figure 3-13

Figure 3-13 Include a date reference for your description

7 Adjust brightness and contrast and click Next to continue

The Adobe Gamma window shown in Figure 3-14 instructs you to use thecontrast adjustment on your monitor and set the contrast to maximum

Next adjust the brightness control until the inside gray square is barelyvisible against the black surround (Keep the lighting in the room as darkas possible)

Note that you can click Back at any time to make changes to a previousscreen


07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 55


Figure 3-14 Adjust the contrast of your display in the Adobe Gamma window

8 Choose the phosphor type for your monitor and then click Next

If (in Step 5) you chose the type of monitor yoursquore using leave this set-ting as it appears If you chose the default setting in Step 5 you canchoose Trinitron as shown in Figure 3-15 If you know the actual phos-phor values of your monitor choose Custom and enter those values(You can look them up in your monitorrsquos manual)

Figure 3-15 Most users can accept the default monitor profiles that appear in this step

07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 56

9 Adjust gamma settings and then click Next

Keeping View Single Gamma Only selected (as shown in Figure 3-16)move the adjustment slider to the right or left until the center gray boxbegins fading into the outer box This adjustment sets the relativebrightness of your monitor Make sure to choose Macintosh Default orWindows Default in the Gamma field Before clicking Next deselect theView Single Gamma Only check box

10 Adjust red green and blue gamma and then click Next

In this step eliminate color imbalances by adjusting each RGB (redblue and green) slider shown in Figure 3-17 until the color box in themiddle blends in with the outer box

Figure 3-16 Making single gamma settings

Figure 3-17 Adjust relative brightness


07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 57


11 Set the hardware white point (see Figure 3-18) to 6500degK and thenclick Next to continue

Most monitors are set with a native white point of 9300degK For photogra-phers 6500degK provides the cleanest and brightest white point thatmatches daylight the closest

12 Set the adjusted white point (see Figure 3-19) the same as the hard-ware white point and again click Next to continue

I recommend that you set the adjusted white point to match the hardwarewhite point Choosing another setting can result in unpredictable resultsFor most applications you can just leave this set as Same as Hardware

Figure 3-18 Setting the desired white point of your monitor to 6500degK

Figure 3-19 Setting the adjusted white point to Same as Hardware

07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 58

13 View your changes by clicking the Before and After radio buttonsclick Finish

You have adjusted the brightness contrast and color settings of yourmonitor to the optimum values Clicking the Before and After optionsshown in Figure 3-20 shows you the difference

Figure 3-20 Use these options to view how the new adjustments look on your monitor

14 Save your new profile by typing a new profile name in the File Namefield (shown in Figure 3-21) leaving the file type as ICC Profiles thenclick Save to complete the calibration

This is an important step because mdash now that yoursquove calibrated yourmonitor with Adobe Gamma mdash saving the information into a new moni-tor profile ensures that your computer and Photoshop CS2 can later usethe profile correctly

Keep the existing profiles intact by using a unique profile name youcan easily identify Make sure you include the date of the profile inthe filename as shown in Figure 3-21 This identifies your uniqueprofile with a date so you know the last time you calibrated your monitor


07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 59


Figure 3-21 Saving the new monitor profile

Adobe Gamma is a decent tool for calibrating your monitor if yoursquore a casualPhotoshop user and donrsquot print a lot of photographs If yoursquore more seriousabout digital photography and regularly produce prints on a photo-qualityprinter you should strongly consider purchasing a more advanced colorime-ter and the software to go with it Yoursquoll get significantly better results withthis equipment saving time money paper and ink cartridges The next sec-tion covers colorimeters and other such advanced calibration tools

When you calibrate your monitor with Adobe Gamma a color profile is auto-matically loaded into your Windows Startup Menu every time you turn onyour computer If you graduate to a more sophisticated colorimeter and useit to create a monitor profile for your computer make sure you delete AdobeGamma from your computerrsquos Startup Menu to prevent Adobe Gamma frominterfering with your new monitor-profile setup

Calibrating with a colorimeterThe best solution for calibrating your monitor is specialized software used inconjunction with a colorimeter that reads the actual color values produced byyour monitor Todayrsquos top monitor-calibration systems include the ColorVisionSpyder2 the ColorVision Color Plus Monaco Systems MonacoOPTIX andGretag Macbeth Eye-One Display

07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 60

Prices for these products vary but if you are on abudget consider the ColorVision Color Plus Thissoftware-and-colorimeter system offers good value for the money for most home systems ColorPlus provides much more accurate calibrationthan Gamma or Colorsync for the Mac Professionalor serious photographers may opt for themore high-end ColorVision (shown in Figure 3-22)Gretag Macbeth or Monaco products

Here are some important points to keep in mindwhen using a monitor-calibration package to cali-brate your monitor

Colorimeters read color from your monitormuch more accurately than you can when youlook at your monitor they provide a precisecolor profile

All the monitor-calibration products mentioned include colorimetersthat attach to LCD monitors as well as to CRTs

The software programs are easy to use and provide step-by-step instruc-tions while performing the calibration of your monitor Usually the stepsto calibrate your monitor with any of these products arenrsquot any more dif-ficult than using Gamma or Colorsync on the Mac

Most monitor-calibration solutions automatically remind you to cali-brate your monitor every few weeks This is important because monitorcharacteristics change over time if you donrsquot recalibrate on a regularbasis your settings start to look like bad science fiction

Calibrating your monitor every two to four weeks is recommended

Make sure the lights in the room yoursquore working in are dimmed and theblinds are closed when you calibrate your monitor (Lighting candlesand incense can be cool but keep rsquoem far enough away from the com-puter so the particles they give off donrsquot gum up the works)

ProofingAfter making sure your color settings are correct in Photoshop mdash and thatyoursquove at least calibrated your monitor to give your computer a good profileto set your display to mdash yoursquore ready to get into your color-managed work-flow (Part IV provides details of working with images in Photoshop) Whileworking with images itrsquos important to proof your images to make sure thatwhat yoursquore viewing on your monitor closely matches the type of output youintend for the image


Figure 3-22 The ColorVisionSpyder 2 colorimeter attachedto a laptop display

07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 61


Proofing in Photoshop is actually a pretty simple process First you need toset up your proofing profile to match the exact output your image is intendedfor When I use the term output Irsquom referring to a printer a specific type ofpaper yoursquore using in the printer or even output intended for viewing on theWeb or a PDF presentation Turn on proofing in Photoshop so the imageyoursquore working in is simulated as viewed on your monitor mdash and what yoursquoreseeing closely matches what should be printed Herersquos how

1 Choose ViewProof SetupCustom

2 In the Customize ProofCondition dialog box thatappears select the output pro-file that best simulates thecolor on your computerrsquos dis-play and then click OK

Figure 3-23 shows theCustomized Proof Conditionwith the Epson R1800 PrinterPremium Luster paper profileselected I chose that selectionbecause that is the particularprinter and paper combination Iactually use Your printer andpaper combination will proba-bly be different

3 Toggle Proof Colors on bychoosing ViewProof Colors orpress Ctrl+Y (Ocirc+Y on the Mac)

Selecting the profile doesnrsquot change your monitor display which is whyyou must perform this step to get the right results To view the differ-ence between how your image looks on-screen and how it should lookwhen printed (or saved as a Web image if you chose sRGB as a profile)toggle Proof Colors on and off (press Ctrl+Y [Windows] or Ocirc+Y [Mac] to toggle) When Proof Colors is on the image yoursquore viewing on themonitor will closely match what should be printed

Figure 3-23 Selecting a profile to simulate onyour monitor

07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 62

4Using Workflows to Process

ImagesIn This Chapter Standardizing your image management

Loading and organizing images

Rediscovering (and improving) older images

Backing up and archiving images

Processing raw images efficiently

Correcting images in Photoshop with minimum data loss

Editing your images as a workflow made up of best practices

Natural-born talent has always been an asset to the bestartists including photographers Now that photogra-

phy has transitioned to the technical realm of computersand software however talent alone wonrsquot get photogra-phers through image management mdash or reveal howbest to use Camera Raw and Photoshop What willget you consistently good results however is a littlepractice with some of the techniques covered inthe chapters of this book mdash and repeating them till theyrsquore second nature Doing the same processesthe same way every time reduces the effort required the result is a consistent set of efficienthabits called a workflow

Workflow is the approach I take to every technique in thisbook It works equally well whether yoursquore managing imagesusing Camera Raw or making adjustments and editing images inPhotoshop Okay a step-by-step approach isnrsquot rocket science but if youstick to the steps that create each workflow mdash consistently mdash yoursquoll noticeimprovements in your productivity and in the quality to your photographicwork Best of all it isnrsquot a gadget mdash workflow doesnrsquot require you to spendmore money

08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 63


Image Management as a WorkflowItrsquos a familiar scenario You go out and shoot some stunning photos and itchto get back to the digital darkroom so you can work rsquoem up You canrsquot wait toopen Bridge view what yoursquove shot and process the best ones Before youknow it yoursquove run a few images through Photoshop made a few prints andthen maybe moved on to cruising the Web to check up on your fantasy foot-ball team tomorrowrsquos weather or your bid on that Elvis coffee mug on eBayThe downloaded image is forgotten it sits there

If yoursquove been using a digital camera for a while now and take photos fre-quently yoursquove probably noticed how quickly images pile up on your harddrive Every time you download photos from a memory card to your harddrive you can be adding hundreds of digital images to an already-crowdedstorage space And they sit there and pile up

Yoursquove got potential trouble there One of the biggest challenges digital pho-tographers face is coming up with a system to manage all these files It maysound about as exciting as watching reruns on TV but image managementshould be exciting to the digital photographer mdash it means you can actuallyfind your best work Read on for helpful tips and a painless workflow that getyou to this worry-free image-organized state

Organizing imagesThe image-management workflow isnrsquot some industry-standard step-by-steprequirement itrsquos yours to create But donrsquot panic As a photographer yoursquollhave your own specific needs for managing images and each reflects yourwork categories topics clients file formats and so on so thatrsquos where youstart How you organize your images depends (at least in part) on the type ofphotography yoursquore into A professional portrait photographer for instancemay want to organize images by client a fine-art nature photographer mightorganize pictures by topic

You can mdash and should mdash tailor your image management to accommodate thespecific work you do The best tool for this purpose is a system of organizingimages mdash creating one following it consistently and setting up a standardworkflow for the images moving through it

Creating an image-management systemDonrsquot let that pile of miscellaneous images throw you Implementing animage-management system starts with two straightforward tasks

Planning how you want to organize your images Herersquos where yourknowledge of your photographic work comes into play A nature photog-rapher might separate images into categories (say plants animals andgeographic features) or by region (American Southwest Arctic tundratropical islands )

08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 64

Creating folders to hold the categorized images Whether yoursquore usinga Windows computer or a Mac first create a master folder to contain allyour original working and final output images (I call mine DigitalImages but you can name it anything you want) Then create subfolderswithin your main images folder mdash for example classified by where theyare in their development (working and output images)

Trust me mdash the shots will keepcoming so theyrsquod better have a placeto go I shoot raw images mdash a lot ofraw images mdash and I save every onethatrsquos downloaded to my computerfrom my memory card Irsquove plannedmy image folders in three basic areas(shown in Figure 4-1) OriginalImages Working Images and Output

I load each memory card into its ownfolder Each ldquodownloadrdquo is given asequential name such as IMG0001lake michigan IMG0002 fallcolor and so on This system helpsme organize original raw images bydownload in a sequential orderwhile noting whatrsquos in the folder SeeFigure 4-2 for an example of settingup and naming image folders

Keep your original images original Icreate a Working Images folder thatcontains all the images Irsquom workingon in Photoshop Whenever I openan image in Camera Raw process itand then open it in Photoshop Iimmediately save the file as aPhotoshop image (in PSD format) toone of my Working Images folders You really canrsquot mistakenly change a rawfile but you can a JPEG or TIFF so by using this practice you wonrsquot risk alter-ing an original in any way

Finding lost treasures while reorganizingRecently while using the new Photoshop Bridge feature to migrate images tonew computers and external hard drives (for backups and offline image stor-age) I decided to go back to my old image files and reorganize them I hadstored CD after CD of older digital images along with some of my favorite35mm slides that I had scanned to digital files I spent a few evenings viewingthem printing a few oldies-but-goodies of the family and adding a few to myportfolio folder

65Chapter 4 Using Workflows to Process Images

Figure 4-1 Folders set up for original workingand output images

Figure 4-2 Name your folders so you knowwhat types of image files are stored there

08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 65


Just by viewing and organizing my old images I discovered some greatphotos that Irsquod never had a chance to process or print mdash for instance thephoto of the creek during autumn a few years ago (shown in Figure 4-3)

Figure 4-3 Organize your older images and rediscover good photos

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When organizing your digital photos donrsquot forget to include all of the imagesyoursquove downloaded to your computer in the past If you had already archivedthese files to CD or DVD take some time to view each disc and copy theimages that you never worked with before to your working images folder Ifyou take the time to review all of your older work yoursquoll be surprised howmany gems yoursquoll find

Backing up imagesOne advantage to keeping all your original working and output images in afolder structure (also called a directory tree) is that theyrsquore easy to back upthat way Yes you heard me right mdash back up your images Digital photogra-phers work in a digital world and digital data is vulnerable We rely on ourcomputers and hard drives for the well-being of our images mdash and computerscrash As manmade things machines are practically guaranteed to fail at acertain point Computer techies like to say ldquoThere are two kinds of peopleThose who have lost all their data and those that willrdquo

To protect your images back them up The bestmethod is to copy your image folder directly to abackup device such as an external hard drive (thedevice shown on the left in Figure 4-4) Thesedevices are becoming very affordable and easilyattach to your computer via a USB or FireWirecable

Backing up your images to an external hard drive isa good short-term solution mdash but you still need toarchive your images to make sure you can accessthem over the longer term Computers today comestandard with CD-writable optical drives (knowncasually as burners) that can write to blank CDs easily storing more than 500megabytes of data DVD-writable drives (refer to Figure 4-4) are becomingpopular Now a standard compact disc (CD) can store 700MB but storing one512-megabyte memory card per CD may be convenient If archive CDs start toproliferate remember One DVD can store more than 45 gigabytes of files

Whatever type of optical drive you have at your disposal I strongly recom-mend that you copy all your original images to a CD or DVD immediately afteryou download those images to your computer

Donrsquot stop at one copy make two One copy should be kept close by theother taken to your safety-deposit box (if you have one) or stored in a firesafe in your home or office Making two copies of your original images willhelp guarantee that you can recover all that work in case your hard drivecrashes your computer fails or a meteor lands on the office


Figure 4-4 Back up all of youroriginal images yoursquoll be gladyou did

08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 67


Managing images with BridgeBridge serves as your virtual light table but also allows you to do much morewith your images than view thumbnails Bridge gives you the tools to get con-trol of image management before you wind up with a mess on your harddrive Integrating Bridge to view and retrieve photos (as shown in Figure 4-5)makes them a lot easier to keep tidy mdash especially down the road when youhave accumulated thousands of images on your computer

As a software program Bridge doesnrsquot just sit there showing you row afterrow of images it gives you the tools to manage images by

Navigating image folders Use Bridge to view photos that you downloadUse Bridge as your digital light table You can even create folders mdash andcopy images between folders mdash using the Edit menu in Bridge

Loading photos into Camera Raw or Photoshop You can load rawimages directly into Camera Raw just by double-clicking the thumbnailsof the photos in Bridge If your original images were in TIFF or JPEGformat your images will load directly into Photoshop

Adding information with Metadata View technical information pro-vided by your digital camera and add additional information for eachphoto

This is your cataloging step in the image-management workflow

Applying labels and ratings Color-code andor apply ratings to yourphotos for easy retrieval later The idea is to come up with a system ofcategorizing your images that makes them easy to find and evaluate

Sorting and renaming photos By adding keywords labels and ratingsto your photos you can easily sort files at a later time

Protecting your images with quality mediaYou can purchase blank CDs or DVDs inexpen-sively now and great bargains are available atyour local computer or office supply storesWhether yoursquore using CDs or DVDs to archiveyour images be aware that optical discs are notall alike CDs and DVDs like many things areavailable in different levels of quality

There are some cheap discs on the market butthey may be cheap for a reason They mayscratch easily or may be susceptible to quickerchemical deterioration than other discs When

buying blank CDsor DVDs to usefor archiving yourimages buy aname-brand pre-mium disc (suchas Delkin ArchivalGold or VerbatimDatalife) These discs are said to hold up formany years even decades if theyrsquore carefullyhandled and stored

08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 68

Figure 4-5 Bridge is your virtual light table

Managing images with a workflowOkay suppose the basics are in place You keep your images in organizedfolders you back up all your originals and yoursquore using Bridge to furtherview and organize your files What keeps all that working well is force ofhabit Following the same procedure mdash every time you add images to yourcollection mdash is the best way to maintain your images efficiently So herewithout further ado is the image-management workflow

1 Organize your files for image management

The earlier section ldquoOrganizing imagesrdquo shows you how I set up onefolder to store images in my Original Working and Output folders Yourwork may dictate different needs for setting up working and output fold-ers For instance if yoursquore a portrait photographer or shoot commer-cially yoursquoll be setting up separate folders for each of your clients andsubfolders for the jobs you do for each client

However you decide to set up your folder tree always keep your originalfiles separate from files that you work on in Photoshop You donrsquot want tomake a mistake and then save that mistake to your original file


Using a card reader (or directly connecting your digital camera to yourcomputer) download your images to your Original Images folder Get in


08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 69


the habit of creating separate folders for each download create foldernames that follow a numerical order in addition to providing a bit ofinformation about the images yoursquore downloading

3 Back up your files to a backup device and to optical media

You can never have enough backups I use external hard drives as bothbackup devices and offline storage but the first thing I do after down-loading my original images from memory cards is to copy them immedi-ately to CD or DVD Use premium optical media so your discs are usable(as something other than coasters) in the foreseeable future

Using a laptop in my travels puts a practical limit on how much diskspace I have available Using an external disk to back up images (and tostore large image libraries) adds extra insurance for my images whileproviding convenient offline storage capacity

4 (Optional) Convert raw images to DNG format

Irsquove recently begun converting my original raw files to Adobe DNGformat as part of my image-management workflow Though the DNGformat is new and has yet to become a de-facto standard as a raw-imagefile format itrsquos the best we have right now

Irsquove also found that converting these raw images to DNG format and copy-ing the resulting files to CD or DVD gives me a little more protection alittle better chance that my images will be compatible with image-editingsoftware in the distant future

5 Add metadata to the files

Adding descriptions to your files helps you identify them and providepractical information about your images for later use I can look at animage thatrsquos a couple of years old and still know where I took it the timeof day and what camera I used If I view images that are 5 or 10 years old(before I developed the metadata habit) I may recognize where I tookthe photo but probably not much else about it Use Bridge to adddescriptive information to your images Yoursquoll be glad you did

6 Apply labels and ratings

Though you may have hundreds or thousands of images stored andarchived offline you can still have hundreds or thousands of photos onyour computer that need managing Bridgersquos color coding and ratingfunctions can help you tell winners from losers in your image collectionapplying color tags or numerical ratings to your imagesrsquo metadata

By following this workflow or modifying it to fit your particular needs yoursquollbe taking a huge step toward making your digital photography better orga-nized and protected mdash while saving yourself time in the long run becauseyour organizing system will prevent unsightly file buildup as your imagelibrary grows Yoursquoll be able to keep track of those old treasures and have aneasy way of finding images that yoursquove taken stored and backed up

08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 70

When it comes to managing digital images I donrsquot really want to throw acheesy clicheacute at you but (ack here it comes) ldquoan ounce of prevention isworth more than a pound of cure (or for that matter cheese)rdquo

Raw Conversion as a WorkflowOkay suppose yoursquove just downloaded and organized a slew of raw images mdasheither in the native format from your digital camera or converted to the DNGformat Yoursquove beaten back the chaos with your image-management work-flow all right but chaos never sleeps So the next step is to transform theprocess of raw conversion into a workflow Details of using Camera Rawappear in Chapters 8 and 9 here however is the raw-conversion workflow

1 Open a raw image using Bridge

Start Bridge by choosing FileBrowse or by clicking the Go to Bridgebutton on the Photoshop Option bar Choose a raw image you want toprocess by double-clicking the thumbnail of the image (or you can right-click the image and choose Open with Camera Raw from the flyoutmenu) Figure 4-6 shows the image loaded in the Camera Raw window


The red indicates highlight clipping


08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 71


2 Click the Shadows and Highlights check boxes (next to the Previewcheck box) to turn on the clipping warnings

Keeping these two check boxes checked is a good habit to developThey call your attention to the parts of your image where shadow andhighlight areas of the image are being clipped mdash that is losing usableimage data due to under- or overadjustment to exposure shadows orbrightness Such warnings help you adjust the image in Camera Raw

When the Shadows and Highlights check boxes are checked clippedshadow areas of the image show up in blue highlight clipping is indi-cated in red as shown in the portion of the sky in Figure 4-6

3 Turn on Auto Adjustments

CS2 brings us a new feature Auto Adjustments in Camera Raw If you useit Camera Raw automatically adjusts color and tone to what it considersoptimum for the image Honestly Auto Adjustments works pretty wellYou just press Ctrl+U on a Windows computer or Ocirc+U on a Mac andyoursquove got a good start in making adjustments I use it when I first openraw images in Camera Raw

4 Make overall tonal and coloradjustments in the Adjust tab(see Figure 4-7)

When you open an image inCamera Raw the Adjust tab isautomatically selected TheAdjust tab contains all the con-trols yoursquoll use to adjust WhiteBalance Temperature TintExposure Shadows BrightnessContrast and Saturation UsingAuto Adjustments in Step 3 willautomatically assign values toExposure Shadows Brightnessand Contrast mdash but you donrsquothave to settle for the automaticsettings You can tweak till youget the result you want (Yoursquollhave to set White Balance Tintand Saturation on your ownCamera Raw leaves those adjust-ments to the photographer)

Figure 4-7 The Adjust tab contains controlsfor overall adjustments

08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 72

5 Apply sharpness and luminancecolor noise adjustments (see Figure 4-8)

The Camera Raw Detail tab(shown in Figure 4-8) offersthree controls for applyingsharpness and noise reductionto both the luminance and thecolor of the image Okay whatdoes that techno-babble reallymean Simply that you cansharpen the outlines of theimage and reduce those tinymessy bits in the grayscaleareas and get rid of the color-speckle thingies that show up inthe color areas of the imageBoth are referred to as noise

The Luminance Smoothingslider is sheer death tograyscale noise while the ColorNoise Reduction slider is a heftyweapon against the color noisethat can plague images shot inhigh-ISO settings or long expo-sures

Reducing luminance and color noise during the raw conversion work-flow should be your preferred method for handling noise ThoughPhotoshop CS2 offers the new Reduce Noise filter the goal is to be ableto make as many adjustments as possible before you open images inPhotoshop

Save the sharpening of any image for the very last steps in your image-processing workflow Use the Sharpness adjustment only for previewingimages in Camera Raw (Therersquos more about sharpening images inChapter 12 you might want to review it when preparing images foroutput)

You can set Camera Raw Preferences to limit the application of sharpen-ing to Preview Only (I show you how to set Camera Raw Preferences inChapter 9)


Figure 4-8 The Detail tab contains controls forsharpness and noise reduction

08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 73


6 Fine-tune the tonality and con-trast using the Curve tab

The Curve tab (shown in Figure4-9) lets you fine-tune an imagersquoscolor characteristics (tonality)Unlike the Curves adjustment inPhotoshop the Camera RawCurves adjustment works ontop of the adjustments made inthe Adjust tab it works like anadjustmentrsquos own ldquofine-tuningrdquo Ifind that making careful changesin the Adjust tab reduces anyneed to make changes in theCurve tab

Though most of your tonaladjustments should be madeusing the Adjust tab try usingthe Curve tabrsquos Tone Curveselection box to view yourimage using the MediumContrast and Strong Contrastpreset adjustment If you donrsquotlike the results of either you can always leave the Curve adjustment setto its default (Linear)

7 Click Open to open the image in Photoshop CS2

You can also click Done but that will just save the Camera Raw settingsfor that image yoursquove just made and then take you back to BridgeClicking the Save button will allow you to save the raw file (and its side-car file with your adjustments) to a folder of your choosing You can alsospecify another format for the file mdash raw DNG TIFF JPEG or PSD mdash butfor the most part yoursquoll be opening the image in Photoshop for overallcorrection and image editing

You may have noticed I didnrsquot include the Lens or Calibrate tabs in theCamera Raw workflow described here Thatrsquos because normally these con-trols are used sparingly you wonrsquot need them for most of your images (Evenso I cover those tabs and their controls in Chapter 9)

Correcting Images in Photoshop as a WorkflowIrsquove found that the more practice I got making adjustments in Camera Rawthe fewer corrections I had to make in Photoshop Better still accuratelyadjusting white balance exposure shadows brightness contrast and color

Figure 4-9 The Curve tab

08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 74

saturation in Camera Raw isnrsquot destructive Making those same adjustmentsin Photoshop can destroy valuable image data that might affect the quality ofmy images especially if I print them larger than 8times10 inches

Unfortunately not all images can be adjusted in Camera Raw mdash only (wellyeah) the raw ones Letrsquos not forget all those JPEGs and TIFFs that we shot inour misspent youth or perhaps are even still producing (Okay I admit it Myeveryday compact camera doesnrsquot have raw as an option mdash only JPEG mdash andI take photos with that Nikon 7900 almost every day)

But we can still make the best of theimages we have Behold For fine-tuning images processed in CameraRaw mdash or photos shot originally inJPEG or TIFF format (such as the onein Figure 4-10) mdash I offer thePhotoshop image-correction workflow(applause please)

1 Open the image in Photoshopand evaluate the image todetermine your plan of attack

Does the image show an overallcolor cast (too blue magentayellow and so on) Is the imagetoo light or too dark Do youwant to increase the contrastDo you want to add color satu-ration Take a few moments tovisualize how you want yourimage to appear itrsquoll help youdetermine which adjustmentsbelong in the workflow

2 Create a Levels adjustmentlayer to correct color

Use this layer to adjust the amount of color in each of the Red Greenand Blue channels using these levels to compensate for incorrect colorYou can change the saturation or lightness for individual colors or theentire color range at once (RGB) If yoursquore just getting used to adjustinglevels simply make an overall correction in the combined RGB channel

I show you how to create adjustment layers in Chapter 10

3 Create a Curves adjustment layer to make finer color level adjustments

Experiment with slight adjustments across the tonal range of the imageYou can for example use the Curves adjustment layer to adjust the con-trast of the image mdash avoiding the BrightnessContrast adjustment(which is a more destructive way to adjust contrast)


Figure 4-10 A brand new JPEG image justwaiting to be adjusted

08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 75


4 Punch up the color in your image using the HueSaturation adjust-ment layer

As with Saturation adjustment in Camera Raw you can move theSaturation slider to the right to increase the amount of color in yourimage Figure 4-11 shows the adjusted image the Layers palette showsadjustment layers created for Levels Curves and HueSaturation

Figure 4-11 The adjusted image (and its adjustment layers) after image correction

08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 76

Consistently following the same steps mdash turning them into a familiar work-flow mdash as you make overall adjustments to images in Photoshop can vastlyincrease your efficiency mdash especially when you make those corrections inseparate layers Down the road you can go in and change individual adjust-ments as needed instead of having to redo the entire image

When yoursquore making overall adjustments to your image less is more Formany images slight adjustments do the trick Overdoing it can make yourphotos look fake and unrealistic

Editing Images as a WorkflowMaking adjustments to your images is a start but editing images can involvea lot of small specific changes to certain pixels mdash for example removing red-eye erasing chewing-gum wrappers or soda cans from the grass in a naturephoto or even making somebodyrsquos nose look twice as big (which can be funbut be careful not to insult anyone) Nailing down one procedure to handleimage editing can seem as complex as mapping out an entire step-by-stepprocess for life mdash it may sound impossible Not so Here are some basic stepsto help you reinforce best practices they make up your image-editing work-flow and they look like this

1 After you finish your overall adjustments in Photoshop create a newlayer and combine the previous layers into the new layer by pressingCtrl+Shift+Alt+E (Ocirc+Shift+Option+E on the Mac)

2 For each edit you make create a separate layer

Creating separate layers for each edit enables you to go back to just thatedit and remove or change it

3 Name each layer

Click the layer name in the Layers palette and type the new name for thelayer Name the layer to indicate the type of edit made using that layer(for example Healing Brush Dodge Burn Black-and-White or Red-Eye Removal)

4 Save the file in your Working Images folder

After the overall adjustments and image edits are made to the fileyoursquove created many layers Save the image by choosing FileSave Asand save the file in PSD (Photoshop) format Saving the file in Photoshopformat preserves the adjustments and edits yoursquove made in layersSaving the file in your Working Images folder is a good standard image-management practice


08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 77


By practicing these five basic steps for each edit yoursquoll find that your fileswill be more organized making it easier to track changes for editing at a latertime (Handy if you get the itch to change your changes)

Figure 4-12 shows the same image used to illustrate the image-correctionworkflow with some new edits (courtesy of the image-editing workflow) Irsquoveadded layers to provide selective blur (one of my favorite effects) and toclean up some spots using the Spot Healing Brush

Figure 4-12 Create layers to add edits to an image

08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 78

Reviewing WorkflowsAs you use this book as a reference for converting raw images and usingmany Photoshop features to adjust and edit your images use the workflowsdescribed in this chapter as your roadmap Repetitive processes that usebest practices create good habits make you more efficient and consistentlyboost the quality of your photos

Figure 4-13 summarizes workflows for image management Camera Rawimage adjustment and image editing

Figure 4-13 Summary of four workflows

ImageManagementWorkflow

Plan your imagemanagement fileorganizational structure

Copy images to your computer

Back up your files to a backup device and optical media

(Optional) Convert raw images to DNG format

Add metadata information

Apply labels and ratings

RawConversionWorkflow

Open a raw image using Bridge

Select the Shadows and Highlights check boxes to turn on clipping warnings

Turn on Auto Adjustments

Make overall tonal and color adjustments in the Adjust tab

Apply sharpness and luminancecolor noise adjustments

Fine-tune tonality and contrast using the Curve tab

Click Open to open the image in Photoshop CS2

ImageCorrectionWorkflow

Open the image in Photoshop and evaluate the image to determine your plan of attack

Create a Levels adjustment layer to correct color

Create a Curves adjustment layer to make finer color level adjustments

Punch up the color in your image using the HueSaturation adjustment layer


ImageEditingWorkflow

Create a new layer

Fill the layer merging previous layers

Rename the layer

Perform the Photoshop edit

Save the image file

Workflow Summary


08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 79


08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 80

Part IIImage-Management

Workflow withAdobe Bridge

09_774820 pt2qxp 1306 632 PM Page 81

In this part

As you know digital cameras offer photogra-phers a huge advantage over film You can

shoot and shoot while reusing the same memorycards You donrsquot have to buy film anymore justcarry enough memory cards to do the job Onthe flipside of all that uninhibited shooting at agreatly reduced cost what are you to do with allthose digital image files The answer (drum rollplease) Organize your best practices into animage-management workflow with Adobe BridgeThis part shows you how

If you want to avoid the nightmare of shootingmore images than you can handle in PhotoshopChapters 6 and 7 can help you make sense of it allI show you how to set up folders to store youroriginal images and how to keep them separatefrom the images yoursquore working on Next I showyou around Bridge introduce you to all its mostuseful functions and apply those to managingyour growing number of images Organizing yourimages (and knowing how to take advantage ofall the features Bridge offers the photographer)enables you to manage your images like a pro

09_774820 pt2qxp 1306 632 PM Page 82

5Getting Around Across Under

and Over Adobe Bridge In This Chapter Explaining Bridge

Finding your way around

Using menus and panels

Changing the look of Bridge

Modifying Bridge preferences

Before digital photography I would view my 35mm slides on a light tableIrsquod carefully take them out of their protective sleeves and view them a

few at a time with a loupe (a little magnifying glass) Keepers wentin one slide file the rest were relegated to the other file If itsounds archaic it is but thatrsquos how we viewed photos andorganized them back then mdash with a light table and a filecabinet

The timing couldnrsquot have been more perfect whenAdobe first offered the file browser in Photoshop 7which has evolved into Bridge with the release ofCS2 Now working with thousands of digital files Ican use Bridge for almost all of my image manage-ment mdash including viewing my images on my virtuallight table the computer monitor Many of my bestpractices from pre-digital days were easy to adapt Thisbook stresses the need for an image-management work-flow and Bridge is your tool for managing your increasinghorde of digital images

10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 83

84 Part II Image-Management Workflow with Adobe Bridge

Introducing BridgeBridge is a standalone application that can be started in Windows or on theMac independently of Photoshop If yoursquore running other software in theAdobe Creative Suite such as Illustrator or GoLive you can use Bridge tomanage files for all of them including Photoshop mdash so it serves (aha) as abridge between them You can use Bridge to perform quite a range of tasks asyou organize your photos mdash including these

Browse your computer for images First and foremost Bridge is a greatimage-browsing program You can easily navigate all the hard drives andfolders in your system for images Figure 5-1 shows the Bridge windowwith a thumbnail selected

Figure 5-1 The Bridge window

Open images directly into Camera Raw or Photoshop Bridge serves asfile menu for both Camera Raw and Photoshop Double-clicking raw-image thumbnails in Bridge will automatically open images in CameraRaw If the image selected is another file format (such as JPEG TIFF orPSD) the image will be loaded directly into Photoshop

If you have other raw converters loaded on your computer double-clicking raw-image thumbnails might open your images in one of thoseother raw converters instead of Camera Raw You can always click animage and then press Ctrl+R (Ocirc+R on a Mac) to open an image inCamera Raw

10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 84

Add metadata to images For my commercial work one of the first thingsI do when first viewing a fresh download of images is to add metadata toeach image mdash data about data (in this case about images) that helps meorganize the files Your digital camera provides some metadata mdash forexample the date and shooting information such as shutter speed aper-ture and ISO setting You can add more metadata in Bridge (say copyrightinformation and a text description of the photo)

Metadata information is stored in a sidecar file kept with your imagesWhether yoursquore viewing thumbnails in Bridge or editing photos inPhotoshop that metadata is retained If yoursquore using DNG format (whichI discuss further in Chapter 2) metadata is stored directly in the imagefile (no sidecar file)

Add ratings and color labels to images One cool feature of Bridge isthe convenient way to rate rank and label your images You can indi-cate a rating to an image of one to five stars and even apply a color codeto an image Both ratings and color labels are good tools to use in con-junction with Bridgersquos image search features which allows you to searchfor images based on ratings and labels

Rename a bunch of images at once Bridge offers the ability to batchand rename images giving you the choice to both rename those imagesand then store the renamed images in a folder of your choosing Thisfeature comes in handy when you have a number of images yoursquoll wantto send to a client (or a friend for that matter) but donrsquot want to use thesame filename for the images that your digital camera provides

Choose workspaces Depending on what yoursquore doing with your imagesyou can use Bridge to switch between workspaces mdash different workingviews of Bridge If for example yoursquore creating a filmstrip-style presenta-tion you can use the Filmstrip workspace shown in Figure 5-2 For othertasks you can change workspaces easily by choosing WindowWorkspace (or by clicking the Workspace icons in the lower-right cornerof the Bridge window)

Run Photoshop automation features from Bridge These automatic fea-tures that can be run directly from Bridge include creating a PDF presen-tation creating a Web photo gallery and stitching together panoramas(using Photomerge) But the crown jewel of these features is the power-ful and time-saving Image Processor where you can batch-convert anynumber of images from one format to another while choosing a separatedestination folder for those files

With all the image-management functions that Bridge offers the photogra-pher itrsquos worth taking some time to get to know If you read up on using itsfeatures play around with it some and fit it into your workflow yoursquoll save alot of time in the long run and your images will be a lot better managed andorganized Just as Windows or Mac OS is the operating system for your com-puter consider Bridge the operating system for your images and Photoshop

85Chapter 5 Getting Around Across Under and Over Adobe Bridge

10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 85


Figure 5-2 The Filmstrip workspace one of many

Getting Acquainted with BridgeThe Bridge window is the gateway to where all the goodies are but therersquosone immediate piece of business to take care of How do you start Bridge(Oh yeah that ) There are actually three ways to fire it up

Start Bridge from your computer

Bridge is an independent software program just like Word Excel orPhotoshop From a computer running Windows choose StartAdobeBridge From the Mac Desktop double-click the Bridge icon(ApplicationsAdobe Bridge)

You can start Bridge by pressing Ctrl+Alt+O (Windows) or Ocirc+Option+O(on the Mac)

Start Bridge from the Photoshop File menu

From Photoshop CS2 simply choose FileBrowse shown in Figure 5-3

Start Bridge from the Go to Bridge button

From Photoshop just click the Go to Bridge button on the Option barshown in Figure 5-3

10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 86

Figure 5-3 Starting Bridge from the File menu or the Go to Bridge button

Getting the lay of the landBridge is indeed a powerful standalone program mdash complete with menustabs work areas and a range of specialized views to fit your work Before youjump into the details of how to manage images however take a look at thecomponents of the Bridge work area shown in Figure 5-4

Menu bar Contains Bridge commands within the File Edit Tools LabelView Window and Help menus Just about everything you want to do inBridge is found in these menus I sum up those commands in the nextsection

Option bar Contains the Look In menu Go Up a Folder theFilteredUnfiltered Images button the New Folder button RotateLeftRight Trash and Switch to Compact Mode buttons

Look In menu Displays the folder hierarchy favorites and the foldersyoursquove used most recently Itrsquos a fast way to locate folders that containimages

Favorites panel Gives you fast access to folders Version Cue (used tomanage the versions of files throughout the Adobe software suite) StockPhotos and Collections

File menu

Go to Bridge button

Option bar


10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 87



Folders panel Shows folder hierarchies and lets you navigate folders

Preview panel Shows a preview of the selected image

Metadata panel Contains information about the selected image (includ-ing data from your digital camera on how the photo was shot apertureshutter speed ISO settings and such) You can add various types ofinformation about the file in multiple areas

Keywords panel Lets you add keywords to the image information soyou can organize images by keyword (which really eases file searches)

Content area Displays resizable thumbnails of images and basic fileinformation

Menus

Versions and Alternates view

Details view

Filmstrip view

Thumbnail size slider

Metadata panel

Keywords panel

Image Preview panel

Menu bar

Favorites panel Look In menu

Thumbnails

Folders panel

Content area

Filter menu

Create Folder button

Rotate Image

CloseBridge

Switch to Compact Mode

10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 88

Would you like to see a menuAs with any typical Windows or Mac program Bridge comes equipped with afull set of menus mdash offering just about every function yoursquoll want to perform(except maybe brewing coffee) For example if you want to open an imageclick the thumbnail choose FileOpen and voilagrave

You could also just double-click the thumbnail to open the document Oftenyou have many ways to perform the same or similar functions in Bridge mdashand for that matter in Photoshop The functions you choose from otherparts of Bridge can also be found in the menus

File menu If yoursquore used toworking with Windows or Macprograms the File menu shouldbe familiar to you Shown inFigure 5-5 the File menu iswhere you can open a newBridge window create a folderopen a file or choose which pro-gram to open it in close Bridgeor send a file to the RecycleBinTrash You can also addinformation about the file (meta-data) to an image via the FileInfo command

Edit menu Irsquom a frequent visi-tor to the Edit menu (see Figure5-6) mainly because thatrsquoswhere the Undo command isSure the Bridge menus showyou the keyboard shortcuts butfor casual users using themenus is easier than memoriz-ing all those keyboard com-mands such as Undo Ctrl+Z(Ocirc+Z on the Mac) Yoursquoll alsofind the familiar Cut Copy andPaste commands here in theEdit menu

One command I use frequentlyis Apply Camera Raw SettingsIt copies the exact Camera Rawsettings made to one imageand applies them to multiple images mdash a great timesaver (Therersquos moreabout that technique in Chapter 6)


Figure 5-5 The Bridge File menu

Figure 5-6 The Edit menu

10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 89


An especially nifty Edit menu command that I use often is Duplicate(Ctrl+D [Windows] or Ocirc+D [Mac]) Using it you can easily make anexact copy of an image mdash handy for creating more than one version towork on at the same time The Duplicate command is also the very thingwhen you want to create a ldquoworkingrdquo version of an image while leavingthe original in pristine untouched condition Bridge automatically addscopy to the filename of the newly created duplicate

Tools menu The Tools menu(shown in Figure 5-7) is home tomany of the Bridge andPhotoshop automation featuresBatch Rename (for example) is ahuge timesaver mdash you can reuseit to rename any number of filesyoursquove selected in the Contentarea and save those files toanother folder And thePhotoshop Services commandlinks you to Web resourceswhere you can upload yourimages to have them printed mdashas proofs or in book calendar or greeting-card format

Choosing the Photoshop command will take you to Photoshoprsquos automa-tion features including

bull Batch Run Photoshop Actions on any number of images selectedin the Content area

bull Contact Sheet II Irsquom sure yoursquore curious to what happened toContact Sheet I but Irsquom sure II is better Herersquos where you canselect any number of images in the Content area and almostinstantly create contact sheets from those images

bull Image Processor Yet another great timesaver If you want to con-vert a number of images from one format to another (say PSD toJPEG) the Image Processor is the Photoshop automation tool foryou

bull Merge to HDR Using this new feature in Photoshop CS2 you canmerge a number of images into one HDR (high dynamic range)image Itrsquos an advanced command that can be a powerful tech-nique Combining different versions of a same image taken at dif-ferent exposures can help you compensate for difficult lightingsituations Merging underexposed and overexposed versions of animage together (using Merge to HDR) would give you a single imagefrom two or three mdash maybe with striking results

Figure 5-7 The Tools menu

10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 90

bull PDF Presentation After selecting images in the Content area usePDF Presentation to create presentations of those images that youcan post to a Web site or e-mail to friends family or clients

bull Photomerge Stitching together images to create panoramas iseasy using Photomerge I show you that feature in more detail inChapter 13

bull Picture Package If you remember school pictures from back in theday or currently have your own kids in school Picture Package iswhere you can create your own 8times10-inch print it includes varioussizes of your chosen photos

bull Web Photo Gallery This is one of my favorite automation featuresof Photoshop Quickly and easily create your own photo Web siteAs a guy whorsquos developed many Web sites over the years I can tellyou this utility really works well You can choose a Web site tem-plate select photos to display by selecting thumbnails in Bridge andtherersquos your gallery Hey itrsquos so easy mdash and this Web site doesnrsquoteven have to send development offshore to be completed UsingWeb Photo Gallery is a no-brainer way to share admire or justshow off your photos

Label menu (see Figure 5-8) The Label menuprovides all the options for applying ratingsand labels to images (I show you how to usethese features in Chapter 6)

The View menu The View menu is where youfind the options that control how Bridge dis-plays itself on-screen The commands to dis-play your thumbnails in Thumbnail Filmstripor Details mode are in this menu as well Youcan also sort your thumbnails or show onlycertain types of images (such as all filesgraphic files or Camera Raw files only) byusing this menu

One neat feature I recently discovered whileplaying with the View menu is Slide Show(Ctrl+L Ocirc+L on a Mac) Starting Slide Showallows you to view your thumbnails in full-screen mode (as in Figure 5-9) Slide Show canbe another way to view and evaluate imagesin Bridge or simply to show off some coolphotos on your computer


Figure 5-8 The Label menu

10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 91


Figure 5-9 The Label menu and Slide Show

Window menu The Window menu contains all the different workspaces(different views of Bridge see Figure 5-10) that you can choose whileworking in Bridge Letrsquos face it mdash digital photographers have differentpersonal tastes when it comes to working in Bridge and Photoshop theWindow menu accommodates them by letting you specify differentworking conditions

bull Default (Ctrl+F1 Ocirc+F1 on a Mac) The Default workspace providesthe best of everything Bridge has to provide The FavoritesFolders Preview Metadata and Keywords panels are displayedalong with thumbnails

bull Lightbox (Ctrl+F2 Ocirc+F2 on a Mac) The Lightbox workspacechanges your Bridge view to Thumbnails only You still haveaccess to all Bridge menus but the panels are gone

bull File Navigator (Ctrl+F3 Ocirc+F3 on a Mac) The File Navigator work-space shows you thumbnails in the Content area and the Favoritesand Folders panel This view allows you to view thumbnails in fold-ers that you can navigate in the Folders panel

bull Metadata Focus (Ctrl+F4 Ocirc+F4 on a Mac) The Metadata Focusworkspace presents Bridge with a smaller thumbnail view with theFavorites Metadata and Keyword panels displayed

bull Filmstrip Focus (Ctrl+F5 Ocirc+F5 on a Mac) The Filmstrip Focusworkspace provides a thumbnail view of your images with a largerpreview of a selected image in the main portion of the Contentarea No panels are displayed

10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 92

Figure 5-10 The Window menu

Help menu The Bridge Helpmenu gives you links toPhotoshoprsquos updated Help program and the convenientUpdates command Bridgedoesnrsquot really have its ownhelp section but Bridge Help(F1) does link you directly to the Bridge section of thePhotoshop Help application(shown in Figure 5-11)

The Updates command in the BridgeHelp menu links you directly to theAdobe Photoshop updates area ofadobecom This useful feature makes getting software updates forPhotoshop Bridge and Camera Raw easy I recommend checking for updatesevery month

Default workspace Lightbox workspace File Navigator workspace

Metadata Focus workspace Filmstrip Focus workspace


Figure 5-11 Bridge Help

10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 93


Using Bridge panelsLocated below the menus and Option bar is the panel area The default work-space of Bridge will show the Favorites Folders Preview Metadata andKeywords panels Each panel has a specific function

The Favorites panel The Favorites panelshares the same space in Bridge as theFolders panel Shown in Figure 5-12 Favoritesis an ldquoareardquo browser Instead of rummagingaround in one folder at a time you canbrowse specific areas mdash say your computerAdobe Stock Photos (Adobersquos new stock-photo service) Version Cue and Collections(I show you how to customize Favorites in thenext section ldquoCustomizing Bridgerdquo)

The Favorites panel saves you time by lettingyou just drag a folder in from the Content areawhen you want to create a Favorites shortcutIf you work mainly from a few image foldersyou simply click My Computer find the folderyou want to drag to the Favorites panel anddrag it Finding that folder becomes a loteasier as you work in Bridge (or when youfirst start it up) mdash not a drag at all

The Folders panel (see Figure 5-13) As a userof multiple image folders I rely on the Folderspanel to navigate mdash and itrsquos where I managethe folders on my computer Similar toWindows Explorer the Folders panel lets youclick through drives and folders or move themaround by or dragging them to other foldersor drives

You can make just as many mistakes in the Folders panel as you can inWindows Explorer Be careful when you move folders around or sendfolders or files to the Recycle Bin or Trash You can inadvertentlydelete folders and files you want to keep

The Preview panel The Preview panel displays an image that isselected in the work area Right-click (Ocirc+click a Mac) to show the pre-view image (and all the options shown in Figure 5-14) on-screen muchthe same as when you preview an image in the work area

Figure 5-12 Favorites panel

Figure 5-13 Folders panel

10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 94

Figure 5-14 Preview panel

The Metadata panel You canview information about a select-ed image in the Metadata panelFigure 5-15 shows basic imagemetadata but you can also addEXIF information (data your dig-ital camera saves with the imagemdash aperture shutter speed ISOand such) and other importantprofessional tidbits such ascopyright

The IPTC section is the place toadd copyright and other infor-mation (for instance moreabout the photographer andthe images) following IPTC stan-dards If yoursquore wondering whothe heck the IPTC is itrsquos aLondon-based press-and-telecommunications organization that setsstandards for news-media data You can check out this organization atwwwiptcorg


Figure 5-15 Metadata panel

10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 95


The Keywords panel A goodimage management process thatI recommend in Chapter 6 isadding keywords to your imagesusing the Keywords panel (Iguess Irsquom recommending it heretoo) Adding keywords to yourimages makes all the differencewhen yoursquore organizing them (orsearching for them later)Getting in the habit of associat-ing keywords with images gives you a powerful image-management tool yoursquoll thankyourself in the future

Figure 5-16 shows a keywordIrsquove added to indicate where theselected image was taken

Customizing BridgeOne of my favorite things about Photoshop and Bridge is that they let meeasily customize my view of the software Sure a lot of computer programslet you add toolbars change fonts or fluff the cosmetics but when yoursquorecrafting an image you may want to change the look of Bridge entirely to fitthe work in hand

Bridge gives you power over how itrsquos displayed when you choose and tweakyour workspaces Many programs donrsquot let you customize panels and workareas but Adobe has gone out of its way to make Bridge customizable to fityour tastes or needs Changing the background color of the work area is kindof cool (your only choices are black white and grayscale) you can put a lotof detailed information in metadata mdash and manage it with Bridge mdash or evenspecify which metadata fields are viewable Bridge is a tweakerrsquos paradiseyou may not use even a fraction of the options but you have rsquoem if you needrsquoem If the designers and developers at Adobe wanted to ease the artistrsquosmind well mdash congratulations on a job well done

Changing workspaces and viewsPhotographers can be picky I guess itrsquos the nature of an artist who demandsperfection down to the slightest detail Bridge workspaces and views offerenough options to reasonably satisfy the most discerning taste (Okay maybemost digital photographers donrsquot really get that finicky about Bridge work-spaces but having options sure is nice)

Figure 5-16 Keywords panel

10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 96

This list highlights some of the ways you can change the way Bridge and itssections appear

Change your workspace The Window menu offers a useful range ofworkspaces but the one I use most is the default shown in Figure 5-17It includes the FavoritesFolders section a small preview Metadata andKeywords panels mdash everything I need for my work

Figure 5-17 Customizing the Bridge workspace

Minimize windowDrag to resize

Maximize window


Drag to resize

Smallest thumbnail size

Slide to resize thumbnails

Largest thumbnail size

Thumbnail view

Filmstrip view

Details view

Duplicate and Alternates view

Drag to resize Bridge window


10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 97


Resize panels and the Content area You caneasily resize your panels and the size of theContent area by dragging the borders (refer toFigure 5-17)

Resize the Bridge window In the bottom-right area of the Bridge window you can dragthe corner to resize the entire Bridge window(unless yoursquove maximized it already by click-ing the Maximize button in the upper-rightcorner of the window)

Change to Filmstrip view If you like the defaultworkspace (the way I do) but yoursquod rather lookat your thumbnails in Filmstrip view shown inFigure 5-18 click the Filmstrip view button atthe bottom-right of the Bridge window

Change to Details view If yoursquore comparingand analyzing your images yoursquoll want to viewthem with more image data displayed TheDetails view provides a view of each image inthe work area showing more file propertiesthan are displayed in the other views

Change to the Versions and Alternates viewIf yoursquore working with images in Version Cueyou can use this view to compare the differentversions or alternatives that were created

Changing Bridge preferencesJust when you thought it was safe to go back toyour computer therersquos more customization to doBridge gives you some detailed options for changingwindow colors and specifying which metadata fieldsto display with thumbnails To change Bridge preferences follow these steps

1 Start Preferences by choosingEditPreferences or pressCtrl+K (Ocirc+K on a Mac)

The Preferences window givesyou various ways (in the leftcolumn) to modify your prefer-ence settings GeneralMetadata Labels File TypeAssociations Advanced andAdobe Stock Photos The defaultchoice is General Preferencesshown in Figure 5-19

Figure 5-18 Filmstrip Detailsand Versions and Alternatesviews

Figure 5-19 The General Preferences window

10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 98

2 Change the Content area background to black white or gray

One cosmetic change you can make to Bridge is to change the back-ground of the Content area You canrsquot specify a color but you can usethe Background slider in the Thumbnails section to adjust from black(at left) all the way to the right for white

A neutral gray background is actually best for viewing image thumbnails mdash and thatrsquos true whether yoursquore viewing images inPhotoshop Bridge or even prints on your desk Your eyes canbest judge colors without the interference of a white black or colorbackground For most images leave the background of the Contentarea gray

3 Modify information to be displayed under thumbnails

By default thumbnails appear with the filename datetime the imagewas taken image dimensions and keywords Figure 5-20 shows a fourthline change to show copyright information which I specified usingAdditional Lines of Thumbnail Metadata in the third selection box

Figure 5-20 Changing thumbnail-image informationin Preferences

4 Customize Favorites

Remember the Favorites Panel You can specify the areas of your com-puter that appear in Favorites by selecting what you want in the FavoriteItems area of Preferences Figure 5-21 shows how selected Favorite Itemsappear on-screen in the Favorites panel


10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 99


Figure 5-21 Changing whatrsquos displayed in the Favorites panel

5 Customize Metadata Preferences

Click Metadata in the Preferences window to show the available meta-data selections There you can select and deselect the metadata fieldsyou want to appear in the Metadata panel

Review that slew of metadata default fields carefully Decide which fieldsyou will and wonrsquot be using mdash and then select or deselect them accord-ingly in Metadata Preferences (shown in Figure 5-22)

Figure 5-22 Changing whatrsquos displayed in the Metadata panel

10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 100

6 Modify Label definitions

Chapter 6 shows you how to apply color labels to your images but youcan customize the descriptions of your color labels in the Labels sectionof Preferences (shown in Figure 5-23) The default for each color label issimply the color name but you can customize these names any time youwant to fit your own labeling system Knock yourself out


7 Modify File Type associations

You may want to leave this section of Preferences as is Though you canchange the software programs associated with file types why do that ifyoursquore happy with the way things are working on your computer Yoursquoreunlikely to need this section unless something unusual is going on Forexample if your JPEGs are opening automatically in Word instead ofPhotoshop you can change that setting here

8 Change miscellaneous settings

The Advanced preferences are further ways to customize how Bridgeworks You can set the largest file yoursquoll let Bridge open how manyrecently viewed folders the Look In pop-up shows you and whether touse double-clicking to edit Camera Raw settings I tend to leave thesesettings alone but some are like parachutes When you need them noth-ing else does the job For example if you work with Bridge in a languageother than English you can select from many languages by clicking theLanguage selection box shown in Figure 5-24


10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 101


Figure 5-24 Changing the language setting in Preferences

10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 102

6Managing Images

In This Chapter Managing photos with Bridge

Developing an image-management workflow

Navigating folders

Applying labels and ratings

Adding metadata

Opening images

If you went through Chapter 5 you got a look at how powerful Bridge is forworking with images Irsquove been using only Bridge mdash ever since it was in

beta mdash to manage my images until now itrsquos my primary tool for keeping myever-growing image library under control Windows Explorer used to be mytool of choice for organizing and managing my images for one whorsquosbeen using Windows for more than a dozen years it took a program like Bridge to get me to break old habits

If yoursquore new to digital cameras and Photoshop you mayhave only a few hundred photos to manage So far But ifyou take a few weeksrsquo vacation to that exotic islandyoursquove always dreamed about (and if you do congrat-ulations) you could come home with hundreds moredigital images Those images add up quick mdash and canfill up your hard drive in a hurry Solution Manageyour images with Bridge Then go take a vacation

Managing Images with BridgeIn Chapter 5 I show you just about every menu commandpanel and change to workspaces and preferences to Bridge now itrsquostime to put this software to work managing images As with every processcovered in this book I take the same approach setting up and using a work-flow (in fact the same one mentioned in Chapter 4) for image management

Herersquos the image-management workflow you can implement with Bridge stepby step

11_774820 ch06qxp 1306 617 PM Page 103


1 Navigate and create image folders

You can view photos that you download directly from your digitalcamera or card reader This is a lot better than the old light tables thatused to be used to view those little negatives and slides

2 Organize images

Organize your images into Original Working and Output folders Use theFolders panel and the Edit menu (Copy and Paste commands) to moveimages into their designated folders mdash or drag and drop images fromfolder to folder

3 Add information with the Metadata panel

You can view the information provided by your digital camera mdash in par-ticular technical data for each photo mdash and add information about eachimage in the Metadata panel


You can color-code your photos for easier retrieval later mdash and rateyour photos (from one to five stars) and save the ratings so you can getto the best ones quickly

5 Sort and rename photos

By adding keywords labels and ratings to your photos you can easilysort files later Renaming files is a snap using Bridge Double-click the file-name and then type a new name

6 Load images to Camera Raw or Photoshop

After yoursquove properly organizedyour image files (and viewedtheir thumbnails in the Contentarea) is the time to load yourraw images into Camera Raw oryour other images directly intoPhotoshop

Navigating and creatingimage foldersUsing the Bridge Folders panel is justlike navigating folders via WindowsExplorer My Computer or the MacFinder The Folders panel gives youan Explorer-like view of your com-puter and your storage devices (suchas a CD-ROM drive or an externalhard drive) Figure 6-1 shows howyou can view folders using theFolders panel Figure 6-1 Viewing folders in the Folders panel

11_774820 ch06qxp 1306 617 PM Page 104

Another way to view folders and their contents through Bridge is to use theLook In menu on the Option bar as shown in Figure 6-2

Figure 6-2 The Look In menu

The Look In menu gives you a hierarchical view of the folders contained inyour Desktop Favorites and most Recent folders Click a folder in the LookIn menu and the contents of that folder are displayed in the viewing area

Creating foldersIf you havenrsquot yet created your Original Working and Output folders hereare the steps that create these folders using Bridge

1 Using the Folders panel select the drive where you want to create thenew folder

2 Create a new images folder

Choose FileNew Folder or press Ctrl+Shift+N (Ocirc+Shift+N on a Mac)You can also click the Create New Folder icon on the Bridge Option bar

Look In menu

105Chapter 6 Managing Images

11_774820 ch06qxp 1306 617 PM Page 105


3 Name the folder

Figure 6-3 shows you the newly created folderin the Content area Type a folder name overthe highlighted text New Folder This iswhere your creativity comes into play youcan name the images folder anything youwant Just donrsquot get too silly (Personally I callmy main images folder by the boring but prac-tical name ldquoImagesrdquo)

4 Create working and output folders

Click the new Images folder just created andrepeat Steps 2 and 3 creating subfolderswithin this folder Yoursquove just taken a hugestep toward getting control of that unrulyhorde of images

Digging for lost treasuresWhile yoursquore busy implementing a workflow tomanage your images take time to organizesome of your older images as well If yoursquore likeme you have years of valuable photos that needto be organized and archived Not only is goingback and viewing older images fun it can beproductive

Currently Irsquom in the process of scanning myolder 35mm slides Some of those photos matchor exceed my quality expectations today butwere never processed and printed for a varietyof reasons (but none of them very goodexcuses) The same story goes for some of myearly digital photos Itrsquos a long process but witha solid image-management strategy you canprobably identify many of your older images toadd to your portfolio

Go ahead and start digging for lost treasuresBridge makes it fun and easy

Figure 6-3 Naming a newfolder

11_774820 ch06qxp 1306 617 PM Page 106

Organizing images in foldersAfter setting up folders for storing your digital images you can get down tobusiness organizing your images into those folders You may have many fold-ers already in various areas of your hard drive but take this opportunity tomove those folders into the new structure yoursquove set up for image manage-ment Organized folders are great for peace of mind As Irsquove demonstrated Iset up three basic areas to store my images Herersquos how

1 Copy your original images to your Original Image folders

I always leave my original images as originals I donrsquot like to makechanges to these files I want to keep them intact as you would a filmnegative I simply download images from memory cards each one intoits own subfolder in my Original Images folder and then back up the newimage folder to DVD

Give each folder a name thatcombines chronologicalsequence with a few descriptivewords so you have a clue to itscontents (as with the foldersshown in Figure 6-4) Suchfolder names make it easier torecognize folder contents laterwhen you view them in BridgeWhen your number of originalimage folders grows to the hun-dreds the chronology anddescriptions included in foldernames will come in handy

2 If you have some unfinishedldquoimages in progressrdquo savethem to your ldquoworkingrdquo imagefolders

Create your working image fold-ers to match the targeted pur-pose of your images If (forexample) you do mostly personal work such as pictures of familynature or pets then create a working folder for each category If yoursquoretaking photos professionally create a separate folder for each client orjob yoursquore working on

When first you open images in Camera Raw and Photoshop get into thehabit of immediately saving the image file to a working image folder inPhotoshoprsquos PSD format That way the saved image becomes the oneyoursquore working on and resides in the working folder The original staysintact and you eliminate the risk of altering the original accidentally


Figure 6-4 Assigning chronological anddescriptive folder names to your original imagefolders

11_774820 ch06qxp 1306 617 PM Page 107


3 If you have images you want to print or publish save them to ldquooutputrdquoimage folders

When yoursquove finished adjusting and editing your images yoursquoll want tosave specialized versions of them to specific output folders mdash say forprint Web or publication mdash with each version sized differently andquite possibly assigned a different color space (I cover creating outputimages in more detail in Chapter 12)

Adding Information to Imagesrsquo MetadataMetadata is information that describes an image file mdash and it can encompassnot only the information provided by your digital camera but also such tid-bits as author information your copyright and keywords Normally metadataisnrsquot stored inside your image file but instead in a standard ExtensibleMetadata Platform (XMP) format in a separate sidecar file mdash unless yoursquoreusing DNG files (which store metadata along with the image)

You can use metadata information you add to an image later to organize andkeep track of files and versions as well as search and sort images The moreimages you have the more valuable this information becomes as a tool tohelp manage your image library This is one of the features that makes Bridgeso powerful

You add metadata information toimages by typing the information inthe Metadata panel in Bridge asshown in Figure 6-5

File Info offers you an easier andmore efficient method for addingmetadata information You canaccess File Info by choosing FileFileInfo or by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Alt+I(Ocirc+Shift+Option+I on the Mac) TheFile Info window (the PicturesndashAdobeBridge window on the Mac) appearsas shown in Figure 6-6

The Description window is the firstto show up on-screen On its leftside yoursquoll see a number of pages inwhich you can view or add metadata

Figure 6-5 The Metadata panel in Bridge

11_774820 ch06qxp 1306 617 PM Page 108

Figure 6-6 Entering data into the File Info window

As you click through each page of the File Info window adding or viewingdata you can always click OK to save your added information (or clickCancel to quit)

The different File Info metadata pages include these

Description You can add general information about your image here

Camera Data 1 Displays information provided by your digital camera

Camera Data 2 Displays more information provided by your digitalcamera (some models are just pickier about details)

Categories You can enter information based on Associated Press categories

History Displays Photoshop history information if the image was previ-ously edited in Photoshop

IPTC Information Pages You can enter information about the photo-grapher and images per IPTC standards

Adobe Stock Photos Provides information for images obtained throughAdobe Stock Photos


11_774820 ch06qxp 1306 617 PM Page 109


Origin Here you can enter additional information for images targeted tothe news media

Advanced Here you can view EXIF data about the image yoursquore workingwith The camera information includes zoom setting shutter speedaperture white balance and even the type of lens you used

For the most part the File Info and Metadata fields were built around IPTCstandards which cater to the international press community (Hey why not mdashtheyrsquore one of the largest groups of professional photographers around theworld) Take advantage of the standards that IPTC has put forth and increasethe manageability of your growing image library You can visit the IPTC(International Press Telecommunications Council) site at wwwiptcorg

Applying Labels and RatingsOrganizing and searching a large number of digital photos in a detailedmanner can be a daunting task Thankfully Bridge provides some simplemethods of applying tags to images mdash which easily categorizes them for laterviewing

Make a habit of applying ratings or labels to your photos when you first trans-fer the images to your computer View these new images with Bridge and applyyour labels and ratings at the same time you apply any metadata informationYoursquoll be thankful in later months and years that you took a little time to addthis information (Think of the savings on aspirin alone)

Applying color labelsIn previous versions of Photoshop you could flag an image (toggle a specialindicator on or off) to determine which images were keepers Bridge nowoffers more advanced ways to organize and search images by applying colorlabels mdash which helps you develop a system of organizing images to reflectyour priorities and choices with more options

Figure 6-7 shows where to apply color labels to images in Bridge For theexample shown I applied color labels to the images in the Bridge Contentarea (not hard mdash you just choose the Label menu and then select the colorlabel for the image) Here I use green to mean ldquogordquo (that is use the image andprint it) red is a ldquono-gordquo (donrsquot use the image) and yellow as a ldquomayberdquo (con-sider using this image later)

Applying color labels makes photos much easier to view and organize laterWhen you want to view only the images in a folder labeled with a particularcolor you just click the Unfiltered button on the Bridge Option bar and thenchoose that color as shown in Figure 6-8

11_774820 ch06qxp 1306 617 PM Page 110

Figure 6-7 Applying color labels to images

Figure 6-8 Applying a filter to view images only with a certain color label


11_774820 ch06qxp 1306 617 PM Page 111


If you want you can change the labels to descriptive names such as ldquoflowerslandscapes keepers possible or printrdquo Just choose EditPreferences inBridge and choose the Labels category to change the default names

Applying ratings to imagesAnother way to organize and viewimages is to apply a rating to yourimages You can apply ratings toyour images from one star to fivestars as shown in Figure 6-9 I applyhigh ratings mdash four or five stars mdash toimages I intend to process print orpost to the Web Images that I rate atthree stars or fewer may never getprocessed (Feel free to come upwith your own system of ratingimages)

Two quick steps apply ratings toyour images

1 Select images that you want to rate with the same rating

Click the images while holding down the Ctrl key on a PC or the Ocirc keyon a Mac

2 Choose LabelRating

You can apply ratings from one star to five stars You can also choosecolor labels

Sorting and searching photosApplying labels and ratings to your photos is a great method to sort andsearch for photos later To sort photos in Bridge choose ViewSort Selectthe sort method you want from the Sort menu (I chose to sort by rating inFigure 6-10)

You have various ways to sort images in a folder using the sort methodsavailable in the Sort menu mdash including by rating and by label

Toggle your sorts by selecting and deselecting Ascending Order in the Sortmenu In Bridge the default setting is Ascending your highest-rated imagesappear at the bottom

Figure 6-9 Applying ratings to selected images

11_774820 ch06qxp 1306 617 PM Page 112

Figure 6-10 Sorting photos by rating

Loading Photos to Camera Raw and PhotoshopSome digital photographers like to load their photos into Photoshop the old-fashioned way by using the FileOpen command in Photoshop Many othershowever prefer the visual displays and search methods offered in BridgeBridge is so versatile it can accommodate many personal preferences

To load photos into Photoshop using Bridge follow these steps

1 Use the Bridge Folders panel (or the Look In menu) to find the folderwhere the desired image files are stored

2 View the images stored in the Content area of Bridge

You can use the scrollbar to view the images that do not appear in theContent area


11_774820 ch06qxp 1306 617 PM Page 113


3 Double-click the image youwant to load in Photoshop orclick the file and then pressCtrl+O (Ocirc+O on a Mac)

The image loads into aPhotoshop image window Ifyou havenrsquot already startedPhotoshop it starts automati-cally and displays the selectedimage ready to edit

There is no steadfast rule for howto browse and open images inPhotoshop Itrsquos totally up to personalpreference Play around with Bridgeto find out the best way for you tobrowse and open images Figure 6-11shows another way of openingimages in Bridge which is to right-click the image thumbnail in Bridgeand choose Open in Camera Raw

Figure 6-11 Opening images in Bridge

11_774820 ch06qxp 1306 617 PM Page 114

Part IIIWorking with Raw Images

12_774820 pt3qxp 1306 621 PM Page 115

In this part

When I first switched from film to shoot-ing digital I was amazed at the quality of

the photos I was getting from those older 3- and 5-megapixel sensors The JPEGs I produced arestill staples in my portfolio today When I gradu-ated to more advanced digital cameras and startedshooting photos in raw format however I felt thatmy photographic capabilities had suddenly shotthrough the roof

I played and experimented with other raw convert-ers when I started but always used Camera Rawfor my more serious work Why bother masteringanother software program when I could just useCamera Raw After all I was perfectly happy withthe results I was getting from converting my rawimages with Camera Raw

Irsquove reached the point where I can open a raw filein Camera Raw make color and tonal adjustmentsand then open the image in Photoshop to makeany necessary edits and apply finishing touchesOften the color and tonal values I worked up inCamera Raw are right on mdash and those adjustmentsare a lot quicker to make than the same adjust-ments in Photoshop After you get some practicewith the steps in this partrsquos chapters I suspectyoursquoll come to the same conclusion

12_774820 pt3qxp 1306 621 PM Page 116

7Understanding Exposure and ColorIn This Chapter Explaining color and tonality

Adjusting color

Understanding white balance and saturation

Making tonal adjustments

Evaluating images

As you can probably tell by now Irsquom a huge fan of Camera Raw andPhotoshop It rates right up there with football big lenses ice cream

and good science fiction on TV (Live long and prosper) Though you can dosome amazing things with Camera Raw and Photoshop the key to really get-ting the most out of your images is mdash first mdash to understand exposure colorand tonality After you get those down the rest becomes easier and alot more fun

The purpose of this chapter isnrsquot to dazzle you with technical terms and the scientific background of imagesensors light and color Instead I explain the differentcolor adjustments and then get into what the toolsare for adjusting tonality Understanding both colorand tonality sorts out what tasks need to be donewhen processing images in Camera Raw and fine-tuning your images in Photoshop

Getting to Know Color and TonalityCamera Raw gives you control of a lot of important adjust-ments in your photos but before you dive into your raw images Iexplain what you need to look for and evaluate in your images before youstart making adjustments to white balance tint exposure shadows bright-ness contrast and saturation Collectively those adjustments are referred toas overall adjustments (Gotta love those fancy technical terms)

13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 117

118 Part III Working with Raw Images

Itrsquos important to understand each ofthese areas so yoursquoll know what todo to an image to ldquomake it look rightrdquowhen you print it or prepare it forviewing If yoursquore into photos ofpeople you need to pay specialattention to the skin tones of thepeople yoursquore photographingWhether your subjects are AsianCaucasian or even Martian the lastthing you want is to process a photothat makes your subjectsrsquo skin looktoo yellow or red (or too green orblue depending on where theirancestors lived on this planet oranother) You want to make surethe ldquoskin tonerdquo the right amount ofcolor in the skin looks the way itrsquossupposed to as in the portrait inFigure 7-1

Color is everythingOften yoursquoll see the terms color and tone used in the same sentence to describecolor mdash which isnrsquot exactly accurate Color adjustments refer to making changesto a particular color in the entire image Changing white balance adjusting tintand increasing color saturation are examples of changing color in an image(When you adjust tone yoursquore changing the way those colors are distributedacross different parts of the image See the next section ldquoUnderstanding tonerdquofor more details)

When you first open a raw image in Camera Raw chances are yoursquoll need toadjust color in the image Your digital camera collects color information foreach pixel but doesnrsquot process the image to adjust the color to any knownstandard Itrsquos up to you to adjust the amount of color in your image The con-trols you use in Camera Raw to change and adjust color include

White Balance White balance is first adjusted in your digital camera soyou can properly set up your camera for the type of lighting conditionsyoursquore shooting in

The white balance setting in your digital camera (or the equivalent adjust-ment in Camera Raw) is actually a combination of color temperature andtint In Camera Raw you can actually set those two adjustments separatelyDigital cameras today usually do a great job when you set them to do thewhite balance setting automatically the camera adjusts both the colortemperature and tint for the image For instance a room illuminated with

Figure 7-1 Itrsquos important to properly evaluateskin tones for portraits

13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 118

fluorescent lighting gives a particular look to the color of the images shotthere mdash and itrsquos different from what yoursquod get in the same room illuminatedwith ambient lighting Same goes for the great outdoors Your digitalcamera automatically adjusts color temperature and tint differently fordirect sunlight shade or cloudy conditions

Temperature Temperature is the precise measurement of light using theKelvin scale (thatrsquos Kelvin not Kevin) For instance daylight is measuredat 5500deg and fluorescent light is measured at 3800deg An outdoor phototaken with a ldquofluorescentrdquo color temperature of 3800deg will have a blue castto it as shown in Figure 7-2 If your image appears blue in Camera Rawyou can adjust the color temperature to compensate for the blue cast

Figure 7-2 An outdoor photo with different color temperature settings

Tint Tint is another control you can use to tweak the look of a color inan image The Camera Raw tint adjustment allows you to fine-tune whitebalance by increasing or decreasing the amount of green or magenta

Saturation Saturation is simply the degree of intensity applied to a color inan image Increasing or decreasing overall color (equal red blue and greenchannels) in an image is accomplished by using the Saturation slider inCamera Raw In Photoshop you can increase the Red Green or Blue (RGB)colors in the image individually or by using the combined RGB adjustment

In addition to the Saturation control in Camera Raw the Calibration tab(shown in detail in Chapters 8 and 9) lets you fine-tune Red Green andBlue hues and saturation mdash as well as adjust for any color cast in theshadows

Outdoor setting at 5500deg Flourescent setting at 3800deg

119Chapter 7 Understanding Exposure and Color

13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 119


Understanding toneAfter yoursquove adjusted the white balance tint and saturation of your imagersquoscolors in Camera Raw you can make tonal adjustments to distribute thosecolors across different parts of the image Yoursquore not changing any coloryoursquore changing the way it appears in the light tone dark tone and midtone(in-between) areas of the image as shown in Figure 7-3

Figure 7-3 Light dark and midtone areas of an image

Light

Dark

Midtones

13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 120

Think of tone as not changing color within an image but how you dis-tribute color across it When you adjust exposure shadows brightness contrast and curves in Camera Raw you are making tonal changes to theimage

Tonal adjustments to your images are made by using these controls inCamera Raw and Photoshop

Exposure Worth the price of Photoshop CS2 all by itself the CameraRaw Exposure control allows you to increase or decrease the actualexposure of an image Getting a good exposure with your digital camerais important but itrsquos nice to be able to increase or decrease the amountof exposure digitally That capability helps prevent processing an imagethatrsquos overexposed (too dark) or underexposed (too light) Check outthe examples in Figure 7-4 to see what I mean

Figure 7-4 Underexposed overexposed and just right

A new feature in CS2 is the Exposure adjustment Itrsquos a nice addition toPhotoshop similar to a feature used in Camera Raw for non-raw imagessuch as JPEGs or TIFFs The drawback to using the Photoshop Exposureadjustment is that itrsquos considered destructive yoursquore potentially throw-ing away pixels

If yoursquore shooting raw always adjust exposure using Camera Rawreserve the Photoshop Exposure adjustment for other file formats

Underexposed Overexposed Just right


13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 121


Shadows Camera Raw gives us the ability to increase or decrease areasof the image that are mapped (assigned as black) Increasing Shadows inCamera Raw has a benefit of making the image appear as if it has morecontrast I recommend that you increase Shadows only until clipping(loss of detail) occurs I explain more about the Shadows adjustmentand clipping in Chapter 9

Brightness In Photoshop brightness is combined with the BrightnessContrast adjustment In Camera Raw the Brightness adjustment is astandalone control

Contrast The Contrast control allows you to increase or decrease con-trast in the midtones of the image you can make your light areas lighterand your dark areas darker Another advantage to shooting raw is thatyou can adjust contrast in Camera Raw without throwing away anyimage data Like the other color and tonal controls in Camera Raw theContrast control changes your images non-destructively

As with the Shadows adjustment be sure you monitor any clipping thatmay occur when you increase or decrease the contrast in an image

Evaluating Color and TonalityWhen yoursquove got a good handle on what color and tonality means as appliedto Camera Raw and Photoshop the next skill to master is evaluating imagesThankfully Camera Raw and Photoshop offer the photographer such tools ashistograms (which I get to in Chapter 8) and clipping warnings to help youevaluate color and tonality But donrsquot forget the best judge of all mdash yourself

Yes itrsquos true that Camera Raw and Photoshop enable you to make preciseoverall adjustments but sometimes the dominant factor in adjusting colorand tone must be the artistic taste of the photographer Camera Raw andPhotoshop are artistic tools after all the completed image should reflectyour personal interpretation Sometimes that means adding a touch morecolor saturation or contrast to an image to get a specific effect

Personally I tend to enhance shadows and color saturation a tad more thanthe norm in some of my nature and abstract images (such as the one shown inFigure 7-5) Hey I like color For my portraits skin tones are far less forgivingI tend to make my overall adjustments exactly as the portrait dictates mdash tomatch the photo I viewed through the lens of my digital camera Skin tonesneed to be exact or the portrait just wonrsquot look right

13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 122

Figure 7-5 Color and tonality can be a matter of the photographerrsquos personal vision of the image

Doing the evaluationBefore beginning any adjustments in Camera Raw or Photoshop take thesesteps to evaluate your image

1 Open the image in Camera Raw

To do that find the thumbnail in Bridge of the image you want to evalu-ate and click it Then you can choose FileOpen In Camera Raw orpress Ctrl+R (Ocirc+R on a Mac)

2 View the image in the Camera Raw window and evaluate white balance

Yoursquoll get more proficient at judging white balance of an image with practice Taking this step for every image you process will get youthere quicker Look for a portion of the image that is supposed to bewhite Does that area have a blue or orangeyellow tint to it If soyour white balance needs to be adjusted


13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 123


Color temperature will become more blue when decreased and moreorangeyellow in cast when increased If your image has a blue colorcast increase the color temperature in Camera Raw If the imageappears too yellow in cast decrease the color temperature

3 Evaluate the image for correct exposure

Judging whether an image looks too dark or too light seems an easy wayto judge exposure For some photographs Irsquom sure thatrsquos fine mdash butCamera Raw offers features that really let you fine-tune exposure I showyou those foolproof techniques in Chapter 9

4 Evaluate shadows

As explained earlier in this chapter evaluating shadows is judgingwhether the midtones of the image should be lighter or darker CameraRaw lets you adjust this to your personal taste but it also shows youwhen your adjustment is causing clipping (loss of detail) in the shadowareas of your image

5 Evaluate Brightness

Though I often adjust exposure just up to where clipping is introduced Imay want to make an image lighter or darker depending on what I wantto convey I use the Camera Raw Brightness control to increase or decreasebrightness to my taste

6 Evaluate Contrast

For my scenic photos whether they be cityscapes or landscapes I tendto lean more toward higher contrast For portraits Irsquoll only increase con-trast if there is not enough contrast in the image making the skin tonesunrealistic

7 Determine how much color you want to add or subtract to the image

The last evaluation I make to an image is saturation With raw imagesoften the way to reveal the color in the image as you had envisionedwhile taking the photo is to move the Saturation slider higher

The breakfast-by-the-lake exampleI have a great shooting arrangement with Bambi one of my favorite modelsI show up every Saturday morning at 730 am at the park with my digitalcamera tripod and backpack and hike over to the part of the lake where shehas breakfast On cue she then hides behind some trees and I take photos ofher Strictly professional

13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 124

Figure 7-6 shows an original image of Bambi and the same image adjusted forcolor and tonality in Camera Raw I first evaluated the white balance of theimage and decided to increase the temperature slightly to add a little ldquowarmthrdquo(a little more orange and yellow) I then actually decreased exposure not tocorrect the image but to make it slightly darker I decided to increase shad-ows a bit (remember I like my dark areas to be a little darker than normalsometimes) and then increased the saturation to bring out some color

Figure 7-6 Original image and the same image after evaluating and making adjustments

Except for an out-of-focus branch or two I liked the way Bambi turned out(Of course I can always get rid of some of the branches covering her facewith the nifty Healing Brush tool which I further explain in Chapter 11) Irsquomgoing to bring her a print next Saturday (I hope she doesnrsquot think Irsquom bring-ing her breakfast)

Original Evaluated and adjusted


13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 125


Itrsquos easy to go bonkers with color and tonal adjustments in both Camera Rawand Photoshop In Figure 7-5 for example the background color is slightlyexaggerated but thatrsquos an effect I wanted for that particular photo For otherphotos I may not exaggerate saturation or contrast at all it depends on howI want my image to be viewed Be careful you donrsquot make adjustments soextreme that your photos start to appear unrealistic mdash unless of coursesome of you Surrealists want them to be like that

13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 126

8Getting Acquainted with Camera Raw

In This Chapter Viewing Camera Raw window

Using the toolbar

Looking at the histogram

Using the menu

Clicking through image panels

Choosing workflow settings

Going through the tabs and controls

ldquoPressingrdquo on-screen buttons

If you shoot raw images (or are planning on doing so in thenear future) yoursquore going to find Camera Raw as your

best friend As a photographer Irsquove used Camera Rawexclusively to make my color and tonal adjustmentssince I switched to the raw format some time ago

The more proficient you become at making adjust-ments in Camera Raw the less yoursquoll depend onPhotoshop to make those corrections Yoursquoll reachthat level of ldquoenlightenmentrdquo the moment you dis-cover that after getting a raw image into Photoshopyou donrsquot need to adjust any levels curves brightnesscontrast or saturation All of your Camera Raw adjust-ments were right on You have arrived

Looking at Camera RawWhen you first load Camera Raw by opening a raw image the first thing yoursquollnotice is a large image preview (unobstructed by toolbars and palettes)Controls for adjusting images surround the image preview on the topbottom and right as shown in Figure 8-1

14_774820 ch08qxp 1306 611 PM Page 127


Figure 8-1 The Camera Raw tools and controls

On top of the image preview is the Camera Raw Tool palette and Option barThe Tool palette contains controls for zooming moving white balance colorsampling cropping straightening and rotating To the bottom of the imageyoursquoll find workflow settings that let you set the color space to work in imagesize and bit depth At the right of the image are the histogram settingsCamera Raw menus and Camera Raw control tabs

Working with the Toolbar ControlsThe Camera Raw toolbar shown in Figure 8-2 consists of the basic toolsneeded to edit an image Herersquos a rundown

Toolbar

Workflow settings

Rotate Image Preview Preview check boxes Control Tabs

Settings selection

Camera Raw menu

Histogram

Image zoom controls File control buttons

14_774820 ch08qxp 1306 611 PM Page 128

Figure 8-2 Tool palette and Option bar in Camera Raw

Zoom tool (press Z) Use this tool to enlarge your view of the imageshown in the Image Preview

Hand tool (press H) If you zoom in to the image you can move theimage around by dragging it with the Hand tool (Wouldnrsquot it be nice tohave one of these in real life when somebody nabs your parking spot)

White Balance tool (press I) Use this tool to select a neutral gray areaof the image to use in improving the white balance

Color Sampler tool (press S) Use this one to select pixels whose RGBvalues you want displayed on-screen

Crop tool (press C) You can use this new tool to crop images in CameraRaw instead of waiting until the image is loaded into Photoshop

Straighten tool (press A) Cool tool alert This is a great addition toCamera Raw mdash you can use it to straighten images without the hassle ofstraightening in Photoshop Now making that horizon straight is easierthan ever

Rotate buttons (press L for left R for right) Rotate your image clockwiseor counterclockwise with one click of the left or right Rotate buttons

Preview check box Preview is a fun feature to use If you want to com-pare what your image looks like with and without adjustments made inCamera Raw you can toggle the image between those views by checkingand unchecking the Preview check box

Shadows check box I recommend this a few times in the next chapterbut Irsquoll say it now Make sure this check box is checked before you adjustimages in Raw When itrsquos checked Camera Raw shows you the clippedshadow areas of the image (pixels that contain no detail due to under-or overexposure in that part of the image)

Highlights check box As with the Shadows check box make sure thisone is checked before you tweak an image in Raw that way you can viewclippings in the highlight areas of the image

Zoomtool

White Balance tool

Hand tool

Color Sampler tool

Straighten tool

Crop tool Rotate tool

Show shadow clippings

Show highlight clippings

RGB valuesPreview image adjustments

129Chapter 8 Getting Acquainted with Camera Raw

14_774820 ch08qxp 1306 611 PM Page 129


Reading the Histogram and RGB ValuesThe histogram and the RGB readoutgive you information about the colorand exposure values of the image asit appears in the Camera Raw ImagePreview The RGB readout displaysthe Red Green and Blue color valueswhen you point to a selection in theImage Preview with any of four tools(Zoom Hand White Balance orColor Sampler) The histogram asshown in Figure 8-3 shows the cur-rent exposure setting of the image

Reading the RGB values and viewingthe histogram is cool but what doesit all mean to the photographerwhorsquos processing images in Camera Raw In essence they are both visualtools you can use to evaluate the adjustments yoursquore making to the image

The histogram shows you the current individual Red- Green- and Blue-channelhistograms you use it to evaluate exposure White and colored spikes at eitherthe left or right of the histogram indicate clipping With that information youcan better judge where to adjust the tonal values of the image

Image SettingsThe Image Settings selection box(see Figure 8-4) lets you view differ-ent versions of the image as youmake adjustments Choosing ImageSettings for example shows you theimage as it was before you madeadjustments Choosing Camera RawDefaults restores the default imagesettings in Camera Raw And choos-ing Previous Conversion applies theCamera Raw settings from the lastimage you worked on in Camera RawThe Custom selection shows how theimage looks after applying theadjustments yoursquove made

Red green and blue readout

Histogram

Figure 8-3 The Camera Raw Histogram andRGB readout

Figure 8-4 The Image Settings selection box inCamera Raw

14_774820 ch08qxp 1306 611 PM Page 130

Camera Raw MenuFor some reason they almost hid theCamera Raw menu If you look hardenough next to the Image Settingsselection therersquos that little trianglethingie button thatrsquos the CameraRaw menu shown in Figure 8-5 Themenu includes commands to loadsave or delete settings or subsets ofsettings

Itrsquos an impressive list of alternativesfor applying settings including somereally helpful timesaving commandsto use on your raw images I describeeach Camera Raw menu setting inthis list

Load Settings This commandmakes a lot more sense whenyoursquove reviewed the other menu options in this list When you chooseLoad Settings you can choose from saved Camera Raw settings youmade in previous images

If you have a slew of images to convert and not much time saving thesettings from one image and loading them into another can not onlysave you time but also give the converted raw images some overallvisual consistency

Save Settings This command saves the settings yoursquove made to animage in Camera Raw with the intention of reusing those settings inother (similar) images When yoursquove finished making the Camera Rawadjustments choose the Save Settings command and name the settingsor leave their default name (that of the image filename) in place

Save Settings Subset If you donrsquot want to save all of an imagersquos settingsyou can save subsets of the adjustments you make in Camera Raw Youchoose those adjustments in the Subset window (see Figure 8-6) whenyou choose Save Settings Subset


Figure 8-5 The Camera Raw menu

14_774820 ch08qxp 1306 611 PM Page 131


Export Settings This is an espe-cially useful command whenyoursquore copying images to a CDor sending a batch of images viae-mail to an agency (or to othersto work on your images) andyou want to retain the adjust-ments yoursquove made in CameraRaw The Export Settings com-mand lets you create a sidecarXMP file that can be copied withthe image so it can be loadedwith the image later ExportSettings will create sidecar filesonly if none exists as in thecase of the raw file being in DNG format

Use Auto Adjustments With the improvements in CS2 including a newCamera Raw one of the nice additions is Auto Adjustments By defaultCamera Raw applies auto adjustments to an image when itrsquos first loadedAuto adjustments works pretty well sometimes I donrsquot even have to doany tweaking at all

I suggest leaving Use Auto Adjustments turned on but if you want youcan turn Auto Adjustments off by pressing Ctrl+U (Ocirc+U on a Mac) ortoggling it on or off in the Camera Raw menu

Save New Camera Raw Defaults Camera Raw bases its default settingson the model of digital camera thatrsquos producing your raw images For eachdifferent digital camera that Camera Raw supports it uses a specific setof adjustments tailored for each When you open a raw file produced bya Canon EOS 350D for example (or a Nikon N70s or any other digitalcamera supported) Camera Raw applies the corresponding adjustmentsIf you want to use your own set of defaults just make whatever adjust-ments you want in your new default set and then choose Save NewCamera Raw Defaults from the Camera Raw menu

Reset Camera Raw Defaults Although you can save new Camera Rawdefault settings for your specific model of digital camera you can alwaysswitch back to the original defaults by choosing Reset Camera RawDefaults from the Camera Raw menu

Preferences Thankfully there arenrsquot a lot of settings to change in theCamera Raw Preferences window (shown in Figure 8-7) but some of thechanges you can make in Preferences are very important

Figure 8-6 Using Save Settings Subset to saveselected adjustments

14_774820 ch08qxp 1306 611 PM Page 132

Preferences lets you specifywhere to save Camera Rawadjustments (to a sidecar file ora database) and apply sharpen-ing adjustments made in CameraRaw (to the raw image or forpreview only) as well as tweakthe Camera Raw cache andchoose how sidecar files arestored Herersquos the list

bull Save Image Settings InIn this selection you canindicate whether you want to save Camera Raw settings for imagesin the Camera Raw database or sidecar (XMP) files The default set-ting is XMP which allows you to copy raw settings along with files

Camera Raw doesnrsquot make any physical changes to your raw imagesit saves any adjustments you make to sidecar files (which can laterbe copied with the raw images) If you change Save Image SettingsIn so your changes are saved to the Camera Raw database you canstill view your changes but you canrsquot copy those changes to othercomputers CDs or DVDs later on

bull Apply Sharpening To This is actually the only change to preferencesI make I make sure that I set this preference to apply sharpeningto preview images only If you set sharpening to preview imagesonly you can preview in Camera Raw what the image will look likesharpened but not apply sharpening before opening the image inPhotoshop

Sharpening images is a workflow step best saved for last To maxi-mize the quality of a final image do your sharpening after yoursquovedone your editing and re-sizing in Photoshop (I cover sharpeningin Chapter 12)

bull Camera Raw Cache Cache is a term used to describe storagespace (in this case storage on your hard drive) where image datafor recently viewed and adjusted images is stored for fast retrievalThe default cache is 1GB mdash and one gigabyte is sufficient for mostimage processing needs mdash but if you work with hundreds of rawfiles at one time you may want to increase the Camera Raw Cachesetting

bull DNG File Handling Settings for ignoring XMP sidecar files andupdating image previews can be turned on in this section by click-ing on the respective selection boxes If yoursquore working with DNGfiles there really isnrsquot any advantage to ignoring previous XMPsidecar files so Irsquod leave that defaulted to not selected I also leavethe Update Embedded JPEG Previews option unchecked as I usu-ally donrsquot have a need to update raw file JPEG preview images(after all they are just previews)


Figure 8-7 The Camera Raw Preferenceswindow

14_774820 ch08qxp 1306 611 PM Page 133


Camera Raw Workflow SettingsAt the lower-left corner of the CameraRaw window is a set of Workflowoptions (see Figure 8-8) Unlike othersettings that are image-specific youcan change or retain the Workflowsettings for all the images yoursquove worked on in Camera Raw These settingsinclude the color space you want your images to be converted to when theyrsquoreopened in Photoshop as well as the bit depth of the files the image size andthe resolution in which to open the image Herersquos the lineup

Space Choose one of four color spaces to use when converting theimage Adobe RGB (1998) Colormatch RGB ProPhoto RGB or SRGBI always leave this setting at Adobe RGB (1998) as most of my work isprepared for printing or press If your photographs are being preparedexclusively for the Web you may want to choose the sRGB option

Depth Raw images are typically set to 16-bits per channel which givesyou 128 times the tonal range of 8-bit images Thatrsquos a lot more informa-tion (hence more detail) to work with in Photoshop Because most ofyour images will be further adjusted in Photoshop I recommend leavingthis set to 16-bits per channel

Size Camera Raw will set the size to the default resolution of your digitalcamera If you know yoursquore going to be producing large prints or smallerimages for your image you can set the resolution higher or lower andlet Camera Raw do the resampling (which is quicker than resizing theimage later in Photoshop) This feature can come in handy when youhave to process multiple images in Camera Raw For individual imagessome photographers save resizing for later as a step in their output-preparation workflow

Resolution If you have determined the final resolution you want for yourimage you can make that change in the Resolution setting (I usually pre-pare my images for printing so I set the resolution to 360 pixels per inch)

Camera Raw ControlsThe Camera Raw control panels also known as tabs (see Figure 8-9) arewhere most of your work will happen when you process images Color tonedetail lens curve and calibration adjustments are available in each tab

Figure 8-8 Camera Raw Workflow options

14_774820 ch08qxp 1306 611 PM Page 134

Figure 8-9 Camera Raw controls

I show you the details of how to use them in Chapter 9 for now herersquos asummary of what they do

Adjust tab (Ctrl+Alt+1 Ocirc+Option+1 on a Mac) This tab contains allthe controls that adjust color and tonal values in an image WhiteBalance Temperature Tint Exposure Shadows Brightness Contrastand Saturation

Detail tab (Ctrl+Alt+2 Ocirc+Option+2 on a Mac) This tab is home to theSharpness Luminance Smoothing and Color Noise Reduction controlsThough I recommend that you use Camera Raw sharpening only forviewing images (save the real sharpening for later in Photoshop) youcan use this tab to reduce grayscale noise (with Luminance Smoothing)and turn down the color noise (with the Color Noise control) mdash a verywelcome feature

Lens tab (Ctrl+Alt+3 Ocirc+Option+3 on a Mac) The Lens Tab includessome advanced controls that let you make corrections to images thatcontain chromatic aberrations (also called lens artifacts) and vignetting(dark or light borders around an image)

Vignetting can actually become an artistic effect you can add to imagesespecially portraits Sometimes I use the Vignetting control to actuallyintroduce vignetting into an image


14_774820 ch08qxp 1306 611 PM Page 135


Curve tab (Ctrl+Alt+4 Ocirc+Option+4 on a Mac) I find this control invalu-able The curve adjustment is a tool used to fine-tune the tonality of animage You still need to make tonal adjustments in the Adjust tab butthe Curve tab is where you finish it off Three preset curve adjustmentsare available Linear (default) Medium Contrast and Strong ContrastYou can also customize the curve by dragging different points on thegraph

Use the Curve tab to make your final brightness and contrast adjustmentsinstead of using the Photoshop BrightnessContrast control (which actu-ally causes the image to lose detail in the form of valuable data)

Calibrate tab (Ctrl+Alt+5 Ocirc+Option+5 on a Mac) The controls in theCalibrate tab let you adjust the Camera Raw camera model (as recog-nized by the image yoursquove loaded in Camera Raw) so you get the bestshadow tint plus red green and blue hues and saturation

Control ButtonsAll these wonderful controls prefer-ences and settings really wonrsquot helpyou unless you have a way of savingopening canceling (which yoursquoll findyou can do a lot of) and closingadjusted images mdash without havingto open them in Photoshop To therescue come the Camera Raw control buttons located to the lower right ofthe Camera Raw window as shown in Figure 8-10

Each control button has a specific function

Save (Ctrl+Alt+S Ocirc+Option+S on a Mac) This button saves the adjust-ments to the image while leaving the Camera Raw window open

Open (Ctrl+O Ocirc+O on a Mac) Use this one only when you want to openthe image in Photoshop because thatrsquos what it does mdash and then it closesthe Camera Raw window

Cancel (Esc) Click this button when you want to exit from adjusting theopened image without saving any changes yoursquove made

Done (Enter) This button saves the adjustments and returns you toBridge without opening the converted image in Photoshop

Figure 8-10 Control buttons for Camera Raw

14_774820 ch08qxp 1306 611 PM Page 136

9Processing Raw Images

In This Chapter Implementing a workflow for raw images

Evaluating images

Adjusting the tab controls

Sharpening and reducing noise

Correcting lens shortcomings

Calibrating color creatively

Saving your settings subsets and labor

Using Bridge to apply raw settings

On to the raw workflow In Chapter 8 I show you all the neat tools and con-trols Camera Raw has to offer Herersquos where those tools go to

work processing raw images Developing and using a consistentworkflow to process your raw images (while taking advan-tage of Bridge automation features) will help you becomemore efficient

Camera Raw gives the photographer some serioustools for correcting color and tone If you take thetime to get some practice at using them properlyyoursquoll find these corrections are actually easier tomake in Camera Raw than in Photoshop Irsquove gottento the point that many of the images I process inCamera Raw are pretty much ready for prime timewhen I open them in Photoshop As yoursquoll find thebetter you get at making these adjustments in CameraRaw the less you have to do later

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 137


Using a Step-by-Step Raw ProcessIrsquove gone over workflows in Chapter 4 but here is where we really dive into theldquorawrdquo details of Camera Raw As with all the processes I show you throughoutthis book processing images in raw requires its own step-by-step progressionof tasks

1 Evaluate your image

Take a look at your image as opened in Camera Raw Be sure to takeadvantage of the histogram the shadows and highlights and the clipping warnings

2 Correct the white balance

White balance (the combination of temperature and tint) takes a littlegetting used to adjusting The best way to become proficient is to experiment using the different white balance choices Camera Raw provides

3 Adjust exposure using the Exposure control

It bears repeating This control is extremely valuable Thatrsquos because itrsquoshard to get dead-on exposures with your digital camera in some lightingconditions The Exposure control lets you fine-tune the exposure of theimage as yoursquove envisioned it

4 Adjust shadows using theShadows control

Those dark areas of the imagecan use some tender lovingadjustment once in a while mdashand the Shadows control helpsyou control clipping in thosedark areas of an image

5 Adjust brightness using theBrightness control

There are going to be imageswhere yoursquoll adjust the expo-sure exactly where you want itto minimize clipping in the high-lights like the example shown inFigure 9-1 The Brightness con-trol gives you the option oflightening up the image a bitwithout re-introducing thosepesky ldquoclipsrdquo

Figure 9-1 Clipped highlights show up in red

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 138

About that technical term ldquopesky clipsrdquo mdash itrsquos a word I use to describechunks of pixels that have no image definition a condition known asclipping (ldquoPeskyrdquo is a technical term for ldquocolorful rude word we canrsquotprint hererdquo)

6 Adjust contrast using the Contrast control

If the Camera Raw default contrast setting isnrsquot ldquodoing itrdquo for you usethe Contrast control to increase or decrease the contrast in the image

In addition to the Contrast control you can use the Curves control toincrease or decrease contrast in an image

7 Adjust saturation using the Saturation control

Increase the amount of color in your image using the Saturation controlAs with other adjustments that apply color or tone in Camera Rawincreasing saturation helps bring out the color in your image

8 Apply the Curves adjustment

Fine-tune the dark light and midtone areas of your image using theCurve control (located in the Curve tab)

9 Reduce noise using the Luminance Smoothing and Color NoiseReduction controls

If your images were shot at a high ISO a slower shutter speed or bothyou could wind up with a color-speckled effect called noise The Detailtab contains two controls Luminance Smoothing (which reduces gray-scale ldquograinrdquo) and the Color Noise Reduction control (which reducesthose speckled artifacts found in some images)

10 Correct lens aberrations and vignetting

If you have noticeable lens shortcomings such as aberrations andvignetting you can easily correct these by using the Aberrations andVignetting controls in the Lens tab

139Chapter 9 Processing Raw Images

Incorporating DNG into your raw workflowAdobersquos new DNG format (described in Chapter 2)is an attempt to standardize a raw file format thatstands a pretty decent chance of being com-patible with computer software 10 or 15 yearsfrom now Many photographers who shoot withcameras from multiple makers (hey it happens)

want to use one standardized raw format for alltheir cameras mdash but also want some assurancethat photo editors and raw converters will recog-nize their raw-format originals in the foreseeablefuture DNG is the option that comes closest tofilling the bill

(continued)

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 139


If you want to convert raw images to DNG formatthe steps are simple

1 Open the DNG Converter from the shortcuton your desktop

2 Select the folder that contains the originalraw images you want to convert

3 Select a folder destination to which youwant to copy the converted DNG files

You can also create a new folder by click-ing the Make New Folder button

4 Click the Convert button

(continued)

In my workflow I always copy my original rawfiles first mdash to two quality DVD discs (one for on-site storage one for off-site storage) These daysIrsquove also started converting my raw files to DNGusing Adobersquos DNG converter Those convertedDNG files get backed up to separate DVDs aswell (yes two copies) Incorporating DNG intoyour raw workflow would involve only three extrasteps converting your raw images to DNG back-ing up the converted images to CD or DVD andthen opening these converted files in CameraRaw at the beginning of your raw workflow

The jury is still out on whether DNG will becomethe favorite raw archiving format of the futurebut just now itrsquos the only option available that

allows photographers and studios the ability toconvert all disparate raw images to a commonformat for image archives

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 140

Evaluating ImagesThe first step in processing raw images is to evaluate your image Chances arethe first time you really view an image other than the thumbnails in Bridge isthrough the Camera Raw preview When you first open an image in CameraRaw Auto Adjustments are automatically applied (That would explain whyyour raw images actually look pretty good)

If you want to see what your image looks like without Auto Adjustments pressCtrl+U (Ocirc+U on a Mac) to toggle Auto Adjustments on and off

The image shown in Figure 9-2 represents an unprocessed image loaded inCamera Raw mdash with and without Auto Adjustments applied

Figure 9-2 Raw image with (on left) and without Auto Adjustments

For the most part Auto Adjustments work pretty well to get me started formany of my images and I view images with Auto Adjustments applied whenevaluating for further adjustments To evaluate images

1 Open an image in Camera Raw


15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 141


2 Make sure Auto Adjustmentsare turned on

You can either press Ctrl+U(Ocirc+U on a Mac) or click theCamera Raw menu and chooseUse Auto Adjustments (seeFigure 9-3)

3 Check the Preview Shadowsand Highlights check boxes(which are located along the top of the window above your image)

To make sure your adjustments will be view-able later make sure the Preview button shownin Figure 9-4 is checked Also make sure theShadows and Highlights check boxes arechecked yoursquoll want to know if any clippingis present when you evaluate the image

4 Evaluate white balance

Look at the image and evaluate whether or not there is a blue or yellowcast to it If so yoursquoll need toadjust the white balance of theimage

5 Evaluate exposure and shadows

Check to see not only whetherthe image appears underex-posed or overexposed but alsowhether therersquos clipping in theshadow or highlight areas Thisis where adjustments can gettricky Yoursquoll want to use a com-bination of the Exposure andBrightness controls to adjustyour image to gain the correctexposure and minimize clipping(as in the shadow area shown inFigure 9-5)

When evaluating an imageenlarge the Image Preview soyou can check more closely forclipping Use the Zoom tool toenlarge the image from 100 to200 percent and then check theshadow and highlight areas

Figure 9-3 Using Auto Adjustments

Figure 9-4 Checking thePreview Shadows andHighlights check boxes

Figure 9-5 Clipping in the shadow areas of animage

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 142

6 Evaluate brightness and contrast

Almost all raw images will have a need to have the contrast increasedAuto Adjustments will make these adjustments to an optimum setting

7 Evaluate saturation

Auto Adjustments donrsquot affect saturation when it comes to judging howmuch color yoursquod like to introduce into the image with the Saturationcontrol yoursquore on your own Often you can saturate to taste (so to speak)but be careful oversaturation ldquoblows outrdquo parts of your image with toomuch color intensity Pay special attention to the red and yellow areasthese colors are often the first to become oversaturated

8 Check for sharpness and noise

When yoursquore working with raw images itrsquos easy to overlook the controlsthat arenrsquot in the other control tabs Same goes for evaluating your image

a Click the Details tab

b Slide the Sharpness control slider all the way to the left

c Enlarge the image in the Image Preview by clicking the Zoom toolor by pressing Ctrl++ (thatrsquos the plus-sign key on your keyboard)You press Ocirc++ on a Mac

d View your image enlarged and check it for sharpness and imagenoise

I often view an image in Bridge but until I open it in Camera Raw andzoom in I wonrsquot know whether the image is sharp enough for me to evenwant to proceed

Adjusting the Image with the Adjust TabFinally wersquore ready to edit some images in Camera Raw I start by taking careof the major business first mdash making color and tonal corrections (includingcurves) to my image in the Adjust tab (Ctrl+Alt+1 or Ocirc+Option+1 on a Mac)

When you first open an image in Camera Raw the default tab shown is theAdjust tab shown in Figure 9-6 The Adjust tab is where yoursquoll make all of yourcolor and tonal adjustments that were described in Chapter 7 white balance (or color and tint) exposure shadows brightness contrast and saturation I take you through each of these in order


15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 143


Figure 9-6 The Adjust tab with Auto Adjustments applied

Adjusting white balanceWhite balance temperature and tint all relate to each other White balance isactually a combination of color temperature and tint in Camera Raw you canset it quickly by choosing any of the predefined temperature-and-tint settings

Setting the white balance can be accomplished in two ways choosing one ofthe settings in the White Balance selection or using the Temperature and Tintcontrols If you choose one of the preset White Balance selections yoursquoll noticethat doing so adjusts the temperature and tint for you as shown in Figure 9-7

Each White Balance selection will dynamically change the Temperature andTint controls displaying color temperature in degrees Kelvin

On most digital cameras you can set the white balance manually (and quickly)by choosing preset White Balance selections mdash but if you happen to chooseone that doesnrsquot produce an image with correct temperature and tint nowrsquosyour chance to make it right The Camera Raw White Balance Temperatureand Tint controls give the photographer the power to improve these valuesin images that didnrsquot quite get photographed correctly

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 144


Fluorescent temperature 3800deg tint +21 Flash temperature 5500deg tint 0

Shade temperature 7500deg tint +10 Tungsten temperature 2850deg tint 0

Daylight temperature 5500deg tint +10 Cloudy temperature 6500deg tint +10

As shot temperature 4950deg tint -3 Auto temperature 7500deg tint +1


15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 145


Herersquos how to change the white balance of an image

1 Click the White Balance selection (see Figure 9-8)

Choose one of the predefined White Balance selections that best repre-sent lighting conditions for the image when you photographed it

Figure 9-8 Selecting from pre-defined White Balance selections

2 Fine-tune temperature

If the White Balance setting still doesnrsquot give you the adjustment neededto eliminate any blue or yellow cast move the Temperature slider to theright to remove any blue cast or to the left to remove any yellow cast tothe image

3 Fine-tune tint

You probably wonrsquot need to adjust tint in many of your images but ifyou see a visible green or magenta cast to your image move the Tintslider to the right (to reduce green and increase magenta) or to the left(to reduce magenta)

Correcting indecent exposure(Well sometimes that happens when you shoot raw right) I think the Exposurecontrol in Camera Raw is worth the price of Photoshop itself Okay serious

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 146

photographers always strive to achieve the best exposures possible for theirimages but difficult lighting conditions can sometimes throw a digital camerarsquosexposure off by a few f-stops

Figure 9-9 shows an example of difficult lighting conditions backlighting Iwas taking a photo of this troublemaker (he always gets into the bird feedersin the garden) but the sun was coming in behind the subject resulting inunderexposure Backlit conditions are great for silhouettes but not when youwant to capture detail of the main subject as in my case here Rocky thesquirrel The Camera Raw Exposure control was the very thing I needed toexpose the main subject of the image correctly

Figure 9-9 Rocky the ldquobird-feed-stealing-backlit-underexposedrdquo squirrel

To show you how to adjust exposure using the Camera Raw Exposure con-trol Irsquom switching topics from ldquopesky bird-feed-stealing squirrels of theMidwestrdquo to ldquophotos taken in Londonrdquo The Camera Raw Exposure controllets you increase or decrease exposure of an image thatrsquos under- or overex-posed Unless yoursquore already an old hand evaluating the exposure you getfrom your digital camera can be tricky at first mdash but with some practiceyoursquoll be comfortable in no time Figure 9-10 shows the photo after the WhiteBalance Daylight setting was selected (in the previous step) but with theAuto setting turned off in the Exposure setting so you can see the originalexposure

Underexposed original image Exposure corrected inCamera Raw


15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 147


Figure 9-10 Image with the original exposure shown

Itrsquos clear that the image is too dark mdash a common type of underexposure whena photo is taken in bright light and the digital camera meters its exposure fromthe bright sky Fear not The Camera Raw Exposure control can get that expo-sure to where you want it Herersquos how

1 Click the Auto button

Make sure Auto Exposure is turned on and re-evaluate your image expo-sure with the Auto Exposure adjustment applied by Camera Raw TheAuto adjustment for Exposure will approach where you want the imageto be corrected For the image shown in Figure 9-11 the Auto adjustmentadds +135 (about one-and-a-third f-stops) to the exposure of the image

2 Increase or decrease exposure to avoid clipping

Moving the Exposure control slider to the right increases exposuremoving the slider to the left decreases exposure

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 148

Figure 9-11 Camera Raw Auto set for the Exposure control

Make sure the Shadows andHighlights check boxes are checkedso you can view any clipping thatmight occur as you adjust yourimages in Camera Raw Clipping inthe highlighted areas of the imagewill show as red clipping in theshadow areas will show as blue(Figure 9-12 shows an example ofclipping in highlight areas of the skya result of overexposure) Whenyou start to see clipped areas in animage yoursquoll need to move the slid-ers back until no clipping occurs

You can also hold down the Alt key (Option on a Mac) while moving the sliderto check for clipping Holding down the AltOption key turns the image blackand displays clipped pixels as they appear when you move the Exposure con-trol slider See Figure 9-13

Avoidance of clipping isnrsquot the only goal of adjusting exposure First you wantto adjust till you get the best exposure for the image You can minimize clippingwith other controls (such as Shadows Brightness and the Contrast) but donrsquotsacrifice the overall exposure of an image just to kill off a few clipped pixels


Figure 9-12 Clipped areas in an image wheretoo much exposure is added

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 149


Figure 9-13 Checking exposure while pressing the Alt (Option) key

Using the histogramHistograms can be very useful when evaluating images but are an often-overlooked or confusing tool used in Photoshop Camera Raw or even onyour digital camera The reason histograms are confusing and overlookedBecause nobody ever explains how to use them When I first started usingdigital cameras my owner manuals always showed how to view the his-togram but not how to read it As an avid reader I also havenrsquot seen a lotwritten about reading histograms or using them to correct images either

For the most part a histogram is a chart that shows you the distribution ofpixels from the dark areas (indicated on the left side) to the light (on the rightside) While yoursquore shooting photos out in the field your digital camerashows you a histogram on its LCD to indicate the exposure of an image Whenyoursquore evaluating and adjusting images in Camera Raw the histogram showsyou how red green and blue pixels are distributed in the current imageusing colored channels to represent red green and blue portions of thechart Yoursquoll also see colors such as cyan yellow and magenta too mdash butthose are specific combinations of red green and blue

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 150

Figure 9-14 shows three histograms one without clipping one with clippingin the imagersquos shadow areas (black end of the histogram) and one with clip-ping in the highlight areas (white end of the histogram)

Figure 9-14 Reading the Camera Raw histogram

One really useful feature of the Camera Raw histogram is its indication of clip-ping Spikes at the left end of the chart mean there is some clipping in the darkareas of the image spikes at the right end indicate clipping in the light areasYoursquoll see the histogram change as you adjust color and tone

Lurking in the shadowsWith white balance and exposure adjusted the next step is adjusting the imagefor the shadow tonal values The Shadows control is located just under theExposure control which is a pretty clear hint about what to do next Movethe Shadows slider to the right (to darken the shadow areas of the image)or left (to lighten up the shadow areas)

Figure 9-15 shows the image with the shadow adjustment at a value of 9That value may be a little too high clipping will be highlighted in blue asitrsquos introduced in the dark areas of the image To reduce clipping move theShadows slider to the left until the blue highlight areas are minimized

A couple of keyboard techniques come in handy here

Pressing Alt (Option key on the Mac) while dragging the Exposure slidershows you the areas of the image affected by clipping

Holding down the Alt key (Option key on the Mac) while clicking and drag-ging the Shadows slider will turn the Image Preview white mdash while show-ing the shadow areas of the image where clipping is occurring Figure9-16 shows the shadows clipping display

Normal histogram Clipping in blackend of histogram

Clipping in whiteend of histogram


15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 151


Figure 9-15 Here blue highlighting shows clipping while adjusting shadows

Figure 9-16 Clipping shown while adjusting Shadows

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 152

The trick to adjusting Shadows is to attempt to achieve a ldquotrue blackrdquo in yourimage while minimizing any clipping in the shadow areas Depending on theimage and exposure you may have only limited latitude for your adjustmentsIf you want an appearance of increased contrast in your image you can alwaysrely on the Contrast control or the Curves control to introduce more contrastUse the Shadows slider to adjust the dark areas of your image to your prefer-ence while minimizing clipping

Adjusting brightnessThe Brightness control can be mistaken for an exposure control actually allit adjusts is how bright the colors (in particular the midtone values) are inyour image Moving the Brightness slider to the right lightens the midtonesmoving it leftward darkens the midtone areas

Figure 9-17 shows the Brightness adjusted to a value of 43 The Auto Adjustmentfor this image actually set the Brightness value at 53 but because I like myskies a little dark (especially blue skies) I turned the Brightness slider downto the left to give me that darker sky without sacrificing too much highlight inthe buildings

Figure 9-17 Adjusting brightness


15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 153


Increasing and decreasing contrastLocated just below the Brightness control the Contrast control increasesthe dark and light areas of your image when you move its slider to the rightMoving the slider to the left decreases contrast in the dark and light areas ofthe image

I often use the Contrast and Brightness controls as tools to fine-tune theappearance of an image without affecting the overall exposure and shadows

For the image shown in Figure 9-18 the Auto setting was set to 21 but Iwanted to increase the contrast to darken the blue sky and lighten up theclouds a bit A value of 31 gave me the effect I wanted without introducingclipping mdash and also without sacrificing detail in other areas of the image

Figure 9-18 Adjusting contrast

Adding color with the Saturation controlThe Saturation control simply adds color to the image Thatrsquos possiblebecause raw images donrsquot actually contain visible color instead they

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 154

store color information (RGB values) for each pixel mdash which Camera Rawinterpolates The result may not match what you saw (or wanted to see)when you shot the image when you view a raw image in Camera Raw coloralmost always needs to be increased You can do that by using the Saturationcontrol to bring out the color values stored for every pixel in the image

There isnrsquot an Auto check box for the Saturation control adding color is totallyup to you For most of my photos a saturation setting of 20 to 30 usually givesme the amount of color I want in my photos Experiment with the Saturationcontrol to get closer to the results you want in your photos Figure 9-19 showsthe photo Irsquove been working on with the Saturation control set to a value of 30

Increasing saturation can affect the overall white balance of an image Whenadjusting saturation re-evaluate the color of the image and donrsquot be afraid totweak the white balance again using the Temperature control After addingcolor to the image using the Saturation control I went back to the Temperatureslider and changed the setting from 5500 to 5350 to reduce the ldquowarmthrdquo inthe image (which became exaggerated when I increased the saturation)

Figure 9-19 Increasing color saturation


15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 155


Itrsquos All in the DetailsThe controls in the Detail tab (Ctrl+Alt+2 Ocirc+Option+2 on a Mac) contain afew little goodies that could easily be overlooked Global adjustments includethe Sharpness control Luminance Smoothing and the Color Noise Reductioncontrol

I find the Luminance Smoothing and Color Noise Reduction controls extremelyvaluable for cleaning up my images before getting them into Photoshop

Figure 9-20 shows the Detail tab mdash and yes a new raw image To illustratethe controls in the Detail tab I needed an image that needed a little help so I decided to come back home from across the pond back to the belovedMidwest I chose this difficult image because itrsquos hard to illustrate luminanceand color noise in an image mdash this sunset was shot at a higher ISO of 400 soI was sure I could muster up some noise in the sky portions (Itrsquos an AuthorrsquosPrerogative)

Figure 9-20 The Detail tab ready to ldquoimproverdquo a sunset

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 156

Sharpening things upThe Sharpness control lets you apply sharpening to the preview image theconverted image or both My recommendation is to apply sharpening only tothe preview just to check for the sharpness of the image Actual sharpeningshould be applied to the actual image only after adjustments edits and sizingis made to the image in Photoshop

The quality you get when you sharpen an image depends on its final size Ifyou sharpen an image before you resize it you could do more damage thangood winding up with an extremely oversharpened appearance in the finaloutput version If you use the Sharpness control in Camera Raw use it onlytemporarily mdash to add sharpness to preview images

Herersquos how to set Camera Rawrsquos Sharpness control to sharpen previewimages only

1 Open Camera Raw Preferences

Press Ctrl+K (Ocirc+K on a Mac) or click the Camera Raw Menu button andselect Preferences

2 Set the Apply sharpening toselection to ldquopreview onlyrdquo

In the Camera Raw Preferenceswindow (shown in Figure 9-21)choose Preview Images Onlyfrom the Apply Sharpening Todrop-down list When you makethis selection Camera Rawapplies sharpening to previewimages only

Getting smooth with Luminance SmoothingI donrsquot know about you but I think the Luminance Smoothing control winsthe Photoshop ldquoCool Namerdquo award for adjustments Luminance is an interest-ing word to begin with but when you combine it with smoothing you soundimpressively technical and artistic to your friends What it does is even betterLuminance smoothing reduces one of the two types of noise that can appearin an image noise contained in the grayscale areas

All digital camera sensors produce some sort of noise Itrsquos not noise like some-one yelling at you to take out the garbage but electrical noise graininesscaused by an electrical field affecting the image sensor while itrsquos collecting


Figure 9-21 Applying sharpening to previewimages only

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 622 PM Page 157


light In most photos you wouldnrsquot even notice the noise but for those takenat high ISO settings (400 to 1600) or long exposures you can see the graininesswhen you zoom in on your image at 100 or 200 percent (as in the area shownin Figure 9-22) Visible noise What a concept And you wonrsquot even see noisein your viewfinder it sneaks up on you later like the boogie man

Figure 9-22 Grainlike noise visible at 200-percent zoom

The Luminance Smoothing control reduces that grainy-looking noise lurkingin the shadow parts of an image Herersquos how to use it for that purpose

1 Zoom in 100 to 200 percent by using the Zoom tool or by pressingCtrl+ (Ocirc+ on a Mac)

2 Use the Hand tool to move the Image Preview around until you cansee a good sample of luminance noise that would usually be foundin the dark areas of the image

3 Move the Luminance Smoothing slider to the right to reduce lumi-nance noise (as in Figure 9-23)

For this image I moved the Luminance Smoothing slider rightward to asetting of 30 which reduced image noise to an acceptable level

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 622 PM Page 158

Figure 9-23 Reducing luminance noise

Reducing color noiseColor noise visible in an image appears like little colored speckles in theshadow or sky areas of certain images

If yoursquore having a tough time figuring out the difference between color noiseand luminance noise experiment a little Enlarge the image preview to 100 to200 percent and be sure to set both the Luminance Smoothing and ColorNoise Reduction sliders to 0 Move the Luminance Smoothing slider to theright until you see the grainy-looking noise start to go away If there is colornoise in the image you can still see it as those pesky colored speckly thingies(a seldom used technical term for color noise)

To reduce color noise you donrsquot have to move the slider to a value of 30 or40 sometimes only slight adjustments to a value of 3 to 7 will do the trick

Working with the Lens TabThe Lens tab (press Ctrl+Alt+3 or Ocirc+Option+3 on a Mac) gives the pho-tographer the power to correct imperfections that can occur due to lensshortcomings (Ack wait Donrsquot go throwing away your digital camera or thelenses you bought for your digital SLR The fact of the matter is that almostall lenses display chromatic aberrations or vignetting from time to time)


15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 622 PM Page 159


As a rule lens shortcomings appear when you adjust your zoom to either theextreme wide-angle or telephoto settings mdash or when the lens aperture iseither wide open or closed down Todayrsquos compact and prosumer model digital cameras come equipped with lenses of excellent quality and theyonly keep getting better

If yoursquore going to be making large prints from your digital images or croppingto extremes the controls in the Lens tab (shown in Figure 9-24) may come inhandy These are the controls for those ever-so-slight adjustments that makeyour images that much closer to perfect

Figure 9-24 The Lens tab and its controls

Those chromatic aberrationsChromatic aberrations occur in areas where your lens canrsquot focus red greenand blue light along edges of the image to the necessary degree of precisionThe Lens tab gives you two controls to counteract those aberrations the FixRedCyan Fringe slider and the Fix BlueYellow Fringe slider

Herersquos how to use them to correct chromatic aberrations

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 622 PM Page 160

1 Zoom in on your image to 100 to 200 percent

2 Using the Hand tool move around the image to determine whethercolor fringing exists

3 If you detect red or cyan fringing on edges of the image (as illustratedin Figure 9-24) use the Fix RedCyan Fringe slider to minimize it

4 If you detect blue or yellow fringing on edges of the image use theFix BlueYellow Fringe slider to minimize it

Reducing vignettingVignetting occurs when the outer edges of the image arenrsquot properly exposedoften leaving a dark circular edge around an image Vignetting will often occurwhen you shoot images with your lens set to a wide-open aperture settingUsing a lens hood can also affect an image where the lens actually capturesthe outer edges of the attachment

The Vignetting Amount slider is an easy way to eliminate this condition Thephoto shown in Figure 9-25 shows vignetting that occurred when this land-scape was shot with a wide-angle lens

Figure 9-25 Image with some visible vignetting


15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 622 PM Page 161


Want to minimize the effect of vignetting on an image Go for it

1 Move the Vignetting Amount slider to the right to reduce the dark-ened edges of the image

Be careful not to overcompensate for vignetting so as to not affect anyother tonal values of the image Overcompensating (usually by movingthe slider too far to the right) can produce light edges around the image

To reduce the lighter-edge vignetting effect just back off your adjust-ment slightly by moving the slider to the left

2 Adjust the midpoint

The Midpoint slider helps you adjust the area in which the vignettingeffect is reduced Move the slider to the left to shrink the area move theslider to the right to increase the area of your adjustment Figure 9-26shows vignetting reduced by adding a Vignetting Amount value of 25and a Midpoint value of 21

Using vignetting as a special effect

Though the Vignetting and Midpoint controls weredesigned to reduce vignetting effects Irsquoll oftentake them the opposite direction mdash and not justto be contrary For years portrait photographershave used vignetting as a portrait effect here Ican do that digitally Adding a dark graduatedborder around a portrait can have a pleasingeffect on the total image drawing attention to thearea of the photo that is most important mdash theperson yoursquove photographed

The Vignetting control in the Lens tab can be aquick easy no-fuss way to add this effect to yourimage

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 622 PM Page 162

Figure 9-26 Vignetting reduced

Love Them CurvesThe Curve tab (Ctrl+Alt+4 Ocirc+Option+4 on a Mac) provides an excellent addi-tion for fine-tuning the distribution of tonality throughout an image (I oftenuse the Curve control to add a little extra contrast)

The Curve chart resembles a histogram The left of the chart represents thetonal distribution in the shadow areas of the image the right of the chart rep-resents the highlights areas (See Figure 9-27)

To adjust your images using the Curve control

1 Select a Tone Curve setting

I usually start out either selecting the Medium Contrast or the StrongContrast setting depending on how much contrast I want to add to animage If I want to reduce contrast Irsquoll choose the Linear setting which isa straight line in the curve that doesnrsquot change the tonality of the image

2 Fine-tune the curve


15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 622 PM Page 163



For fine-tuning the curve either you can drag the existing curve pointsor add curve points on the curve by using the Ctrl+Click technique(Ocirc+Click a Mac) To fine-tune your adjustments you can just drag aselected curve point You can also move a curve point by clicking it andthen clicking the up down right or left arrow keys on the keyboard

If you really want to get precise you can enter numeric numbers for theselected curve points in the Input or Output fields

Getting used to fine-tuning the tonal adjustments in the Curve tab cantake a while If you want to make some quick curve adjustments rightaway yoursquoll find that the Tone Curve pre-selected settings should do thetrick for most of your photos Experiment with the Curve tab beforemessing around with the curve too much Yoursquoll find that subtle adjust-ments will give you the best results

Caught Calibrating AgainThe Calibrate tab (Ctrl+Alt+5 Ocirc+Option+5 on a Mac) wasnrsquot meant for you toapply color correction to your images but to fine-tune the camera profilesthat are built into Camera Raw When updates to Camera Raw are available(at httpadobecom) for you to load onto your computer typically thoseupdates include profiles for new models of digital camera

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 622 PM Page 164

When Adobe adds a new digital camera model to Camera Raw they programin specific color profiles for that particular model digital camera The controlsin the Calibrate tab (see Figure 9-28) are intended to be used to fine-tune thecamera profile in Camera Raw with what your own digital camera is producing

Most photographers wouldnrsquot go through the hassle of calibrating their digitalcamera to the profiles available in Camera Raw after all the profiles providedwork very well as they are set up now Another reason itrsquos a real hassle tocalibrate your digital camera

To actually recalibrate the Camera Raw built-in profiles you would have topurchase or download a calibration target image take a photo of it in neutraldaylight balanced lighting then compare the image converted to ProPhotoRGB working space with the same image in Camera Raw You would thenhave to match the colors of the text image with the photo in Camera Raw inorder to adjust the colors in the Calibrate tab mdash with both windows visibleon your computer monitor If you understand all that I think yoursquoll appreciatewhy most of us just use the Camera Raw built-in profiles

Although the Calibrate controls arenrsquot meant for applying color correctionsto photos you can still use rsquoem to get some really cool color effects Thephoto shown in Figure 9-29 (for example) was first adjusted normally usingthe controls in the Adjust and Curve tab Then I messed with it in theCalibrate tab and added some kinky colors

Figure 9-28 The Calibrate tab


15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 622 PM Page 165


Figure 9-29 Using the Calibrate controls to produce unnatural colors for special effects

Processed normally

Colors changed with Calibrate controls

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 622 PM Page 166

Part IVPhotoshop CS2

Image-ProcessingWorkflows

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In this part

In those dark days before digital photographerscould shoot in raw format and take advantage

of the enlightened features of Camera Raw wehad to make all our color and tonal adjustmentsin Photoshop (Uphill in the snow Both ways)Of course just because yoursquore now able to domost of your correction work in Camera Raw doesnrsquot mean yoursquore exempt from tweaking colorand tone in Photoshop before you do your editsBut okay things are better

One reason to know how to make levels curvescolor balance and saturation adjustments inPhotoshop is to accommodate the changesyou sometimes have to make in your color-management settings or your targeted outputmedia (say a particular type of inkjet paper)This Photoshop adjustment know-how comes inespecially handy when you want to adjust onlycertain parts of an image mdash and (hah) thatrsquos some-thing you canrsquot do in Camera Raw Yet anyway

In this part you get a handle on making overall cor-rections and edits to your images mdash to finish whatyou started in Camera Raw I also show you howto use adjustment layers and Layer Masks to makeeven finer adjustments and edits Donrsquot forgetSometimes you still have some nagging ldquored eyerdquoblemishes and errant branches you need to editin your photos So hang on to your hat mdash itrsquos timeto shift Photoshop into high gear

16_774820 pt4qxp 1306 615 PM Page 168

10Adjusting Color and Tone in Photoshop

In This Chapter Doing overall adjustments as a workflow

Adjusting an image layer by layer

Using variations to evaluate images

Creating a Levels adjustment layer

Making a Curves adjustment layer

Adjusting hue and saturation in a combined layer

Adjusting color and tone in Camera Raw might leave you with the feel-ing that most of your work on an image is done mdash and

sometimes it is What yoursquore actually accomplishing inCamera Raw is applying basic adjustments to an imagethat wasnrsquot processed in the digital camera preparingit for Photoshop (where you can go wild with it)Chances are the photo still needs some minor colorand tonal tweaks mdash which is what this chapter is allabout

Organizing those tweaks into an efficient routine iswhat I call the overall-adjustments workflow a fine-tuning of the color and tonal corrections made inCamera Raw tailored to get the photos ready foroutput that has a specific profile mdash say a Web site orthat photo-quality glossy paper yoursquore loading into yourinkjet printer

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170 Part IV Photoshop CS2 Image-Processing Workflows

Overall Adjustments as a WorkflowAs with any other process explained in this book this chapter explains theoverall adjustment of an imagersquos color and tones in Photoshop step by step mdasha workflow approach Although that process is similar for both Photoshopand Camera Raw making adjustments in Photoshop is more of a strictlylinear process In particular watch for these differences when you adjustcolor and tone in Photoshop

Make color settings and proof before you make color and tonal cor-rections Yep here it comes again color management In Photoshopyou can work with images that have specific color spaces such asAdobe RGB (1998) and you can proof your images as you work on them mdash simulating targeted output such as an image for the Web mdash or a printed image on a specific paper on your inkjet printer

After making color and tonal adjustments in Camera Raw yoursquoll noticethat the actual color and tones may change in appearance when you applydifferent color profiles or turn on proofing in Photoshop (check out theexample shown in Figure 10-1) In Photoshop yoursquoll need to make fur-ther overall adjustments to match your intended output (If the buildinglooks familiar itrsquos where The Beatles recorded ldquoGet Backrdquo on the rooftopand the rest of Let It Be in the studio below (Offhand I think they passedthe audition)

Figure 10-1 Proofing images changes appearance

Make color and tonal adjustments in layers In Camera Raw you makecolor and tonal adjustments with the Adjust and Curve tabs In Photoshopyou make these corrections in individual adjustment layers (which Iexplain in the ldquoJust Layering Aroundrdquo section later in this chapter)

Default color profile Epson premium glossypaper profile

17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 170

Consider more options In Camera Raw you can adjust white balanceexposure shadow brightness contrast saturation and curves You havethe same options in Photoshop (except for those great White Balancecontrols in Camera Raw) plus a few more I show you in this chapter

Implementing color management firstBefore diving into making overall corrections to your images yoursquoll need tomake sure your color settings are made and that yoursquore proofing your imagefor the intended type of output Working in the correct color space and proof-ing your images as yoursquore making adjustments will ensure that what yoursquorelooking at on your computer monitor will be as close as possible to what youwill print (I cover color management in Chapter 3 herersquos where you put someof those color-management concepts into action)

171Chapter 10 Adjusting Color and Tone in Photoshop

Selective colorThe Selective Color adjustment (ImageAdjustmentsSelective Color) is supposed to beused for CMYK color processes but you can stilluse it to adjust individual colors in a photo Thoughitrsquos not included in the typical overall-correctionprocess itrsquos still useful for further tweaks whenyou want to enhance (or experiment with) yourimages

I occasionally use Selective Color to adjust spe-cific colors mdash enhance lighten darken orchange them without affecting the other colorsor tones in the image I also use this adjustmentto darken a blue sky when other methods mightthrow the sky color out of gamut

Original image With Selective Color

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Here are the steps toward an overall-corrections workflow in a color-managedenvironment

1 Make sure the correct color profiles are applied

Part of your color-management workflow make sure that yoursquoll be work-ing in the correction color space To check which color space yoursquoreworking in choose EditAssignProfile

Figure 10-2 shows the AssignProfile window with WorkingRGB Adobe RGB (1998) chosenThis is a typical working spaceyoursquoll be working in for most ofyour photos

If the color settings made inCamera Raw differ from thoseyou specified in the Camera RawWorkflow settings to match thecolor space in Photoshop youget a Color Settings Mismatchmessage like the one shownin Figure 10-3 At least theEmbedded Profile Mismatchwindow lets you choose the pro-file embedded with the image(here the Space setting chosenin Camera Raw) or the colorspace setting made in thePhotoshop Color Settings

2 Set up proofing and proof yourcolors

If yoursquore processing an imageand know its final destination(such as a particular printerpaper or the Web) make sureyou set up and turn on proofingChoose ViewProof SetupCustom Choose the target profile that matches youroutput destination from theDevice to Simulate drop-downlist (in the Customize ProofCondition window shown inFigure 10-4)

Figure 10-4 Selecting an output profile tosimulate on your monitor

Figure 10-2 Making sure the correct colorprofile is chosen

Figure 10-3 The Embedded Profile Mismatchwindow

17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 172

If your color management is set up correctly then choosing the correctcolor space and device to simulate on your monitor should give you anaccurate view of the image as it will appear on your printer or the WebAny adjustments you make from here should give you results that matchwhatrsquos finally printed or displayed on the Web

3 Turn on Gamut Warning

Pressing Shift+Ctrl+Y (Shift+Ocirc+Y on a Mac) turns on Gamut Warningallowing you to preview areas of your image that are considered out ofgamut for the device selected in the Customize Proof Condition windowAreas out of gamut will be highlighted in gray as shown in the photo inFigure 10-5

Figure 10-5 Gamut Warning shows the out-of-gamut areas in an image

When areas of your image are out of gamut it means theyrsquore beyond therange of colors that the selected output device can produce Results maybe disappointing because your printer driver translates any out-of-gamutareas as the closest color match it can produce If you print an imagewith areas out of gamut the colors may not match or may appear toodark or too light

Developing an overall corrections workflowAs in Camera Raw the most efficient approach is to do your global color andtonal corrections as a consistent step-by-step workflow After you get used tomaking any necessary corrections in a particular order every time you canwhip through those images making corrections like a black-belt Photoshopmaster


17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 173


Now for a birdrsquos-eye view of an overall-correction workflow Note the variouslayers at which the procedures take place therersquos more about them in theldquoJust Layering Aroundrdquo section later in the chapter Herersquos the sequence

1 Open a file from Camera Raw or Bridge

(Okay sometimes the obvious still has to be stated) You can open PSDfiles directly from Bridge or open raw files from Camera Raw directlyinto Photoshop (Bridge handles the rest)

2 Save your image in PSD format

After opening your image from Camera Raw into Photoshop save yourfile in PSD (Photoshop) format mdash first into a working folder (For moreabout file management see Chapters 4 and 5)

3 Evaluate the image

Instead of diving right in to make color and tonal changes in Photoshoptake a minute to look at the open image and plan the steps necessary tomake corrections

4 Adjust Levels

The Levels adjustment layer is where you adjust tonal ranges and colorthroughout an imagersquos shadows midtones and highlights Photographersfind this level a useful tool for setting the white and black points of animage adjusting color and removing color cast

5 Adjust Curves

As with the Curves control in Camera Raw the Curves adjustment layeris where you fine-tune how tonal values are distributed across the tonalrange of the image This adjustment is a great way to increase or decreasecontrast mdash without having to adjust brightness or contrast directly

6 Tweak Color Balance

Adjusting color balance is another way you can fine-tune the color in animage Unlike the generalized color adjustments made in Camera RawPhotoshop Levels and Photoshop Curves the Color Balance adjustmentlayer lets you add and subtract red green and blue color while main-taining luminosity (tonal values) in an image Yoursquoll use the ColorBalance adjustment layer occasionally to fine-tune specific colors

If yoursquove processed your image in Camera Raw mdash and used the Levelsadjustment to remove any color cast mdash you may not need to use theColor Balance adjustment for many of your photos Okay that particularadjustment may not always add value to your workflow mdash but it givesyou a great secret weapon if you ever need to fine-tune the colors inphotos with finicky color balances

Figure 10-6 shows an image with too much magenta and the same imagecorrected using the Color Balance adjustment

17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 174

Figure 10-6 Using the Color Balance adjustment to correct color in an image

7 Adjust BrightnessContrast

When I first started using Photoshop I used this adjustment a lot toincrease contrast in dull photos and adjust overall brightness if neededOver time Irsquove found the BrightnessContrast adjustment to be highlydestructive It degrades the quality of your images mdash especially notice-able if yoursquore making prints 5times7 or larger mdash so I recommend only sparinguse of BrightnessContrast in Photoshop

If you need to adjust either brightness or contrast in your image get inthe habit of using Curves instead of the BrightnessContrast adjustment(Sneaky sure but it works)

8 Adjust HueSaturation

My favorite adjustment to make in Photoshop is increasing the color Ilove adding color to my photos (no melted crayons) Now that I use theSaturation control in my raw images when I convert them in Camera RawI rely a lot less on the Photoshop version of Saturation When processingJPEGs from my image library (or from one of my compact digital cameras)I rely on the Camera Raw HueSaturation adjustment to get me closer tothe colors I envisioned when I took the photo

Just Layering AroundMaking overall adjustments in Photoshop is different from making adjustmentsin Camera Raw In Camera Raw adjustments are made in linear incrementseach adjustment is added to the metadata of the image leaving the originalfile intact In Photoshop however these adjustments are pictured and pre-sented in layers mdash you do each one as if it were on a transparent overlay

Magenta cast Corrected with Color Balance


17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 175


stacked on top of the image Each layer represents a separate adjustment tothe original image or background layer

Itrsquos kind of like making a sandwich You start off with a piece of bread mdashyour original layer mdash and then you lay some bologna on top (another layer)a piece of cheese (another one) some mustard (ditto) and then finallyanother piece of bread thatrsquos thefinal layer Substitute specific adjust-ments for those layers and you havethe Photoshop approach to images(I donrsquot know about you but Irsquom get-ting hungry)

Think of each layer as a transparencythat contains a specific addition Whenyou open an image file in Photoshopthe original image is used as a back-ground layer Add a layer to make anadjustment that layer is placed on topof the background layer Each new editis contained in a new layer stackedfrom the bottom on up When theadjustments are done the stack iscomplete mdash a composite image mdashmaybe not edible but a finishedproduct

Getting around theLayers paletteThe Layers palette is the part ofPhotoshop that contains all thelayers that make up an image Itrsquoswhere you go to create and controlall layers you can create new oneshide some and work with them indi-vidually or in groups Clicking thepalettersquos menu button displays theLayers menu Figure 10-7 shows theLayers palette and the Layers menu

By default the Layers palette is visi-ble when you start Photoshop If youinadvertently close the Layerspalette while yoursquore working inPhotoshop you can always start itup again by choosing WindowsLayers or by pressing the F7 key

Figure 10-7 The Layers palette with the Layersmenu

17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 176

Herersquos a fast list of what you can do with the layers in Photoshop

Understanding the background layer When you open an image filePhotoshop creates the bottommost Background layer Because itrsquos basicto the other layers it doesnrsquot allow you to make certain changes to itYou cannot delete it re-order itor change its opacity or blend-ing mode

Before you edit your imagealways make a duplicate of theBackground layer Itrsquos a bestpractice to avoid editing theBackground layer altogetherReserve that layer as the origi-nal to base all your edits on Itrsquosyour backup mdash your parachutein case anything goes wrongRight-click (or Ocirc+click on aMac) the Background layer andthen choose Duplicate Layerfrom the menu

Showing or hiding a layerrsquoscontents You toggle betweenShow and Hide by clicking theEye icon (aye-aye sir thatrsquoswhat it looks like) If the Eyeicon is visible the contents ofthe layer are visible If the Eyeicon is not visible the contentsof the layer are hidden

Creating new layers Click theCreate a New Layer button (seeFigure 10-8) and then choosethe layer type in the flyoutmenu

Renaming layers Simply double-click the layer name and type the newname

Changing layer order To change the order of your layers click a layerand drag it to where you want it to appear in the stack

You can also create a new layer by dragging an existing layer to theNew Layer button which is located on the bottom of the Layers palette


Figure 10-8 Creating a new layer

17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 177


Deleting layers Click the layerand drag it to the Trashcan iconat the bottom-right of the Layerspalette You can also right-clickthe layer and choose DeleteLayer from the menu as shownin Figure 10-9

Flattening layers When you flat-ten layers you combine them allinto one layer When you flattenan image you can make no fur-ther changes to any of the oldlayers In effect they disappearas layers leaving only theireffects in the flattened versionof the image Flattening layers isa normal step to do right beforeyou print out an image or submitit for publishing Three things tokeep in mind here

bull If no layers are selectedthe entire image is flat-tened into one layer thattakes the top layerrsquos name

bull If two or more layers are selected only those layers are combinedinto one layer mdash again taking the top layerrsquos name

bull To maintain your image edits save your image before you flatten it mdashand be sure to give the flattened version of your image a differentfilename when you save it

Creating adjustment and fill layersPhotoshop provides two sets of layers you can use to complete your imageadjustment layers and fill layers Though they work the same (that is as stacksof transparent overlays) each type of layer has its own purpose This sectionshows you how to use mdash and make mdash both types

Laying on the adjustmentsAdjustment layers are reserved for specific adjustments and only those Theyallow you to change color or tonal values of an image and lay those changesover your original (background) image without affecting it you can try outyour changes till you get the ones you want When you create an adjustmentlayer changes made in that layer are viewable along with all the adjustmentsyou made in the layers underneath it You can use adjustment layers to enhance

Figure 10-9 Deleting a layer using the Layersmenu

17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 178

color balance brightness contrast and saturation mdash and create new layers ifyou need them (more about that in a minute)

An adjustment layer affects all layers beneath it in the Layers palette Theadvantage is that a change made to one adjustment layer doesnrsquot have toaffect the layers stacked beneath it For example if you want to change thebrightness of an image you make that change only once mdash in one layer mdashand it affects the overall image

Filling in with fill layersIrsquove reviewed adjustment layers as the ones you create to make changesto levels curves color balance hue and saturation The other group oflayers called fill layers allow you to lay on solid colors gradients or pat-terns As with an adjustment layer a fill layer does not affect the layersunderneath it

Some fill layers also allow you to adjust them here are the types of fill layersyou can use in your image-editing workflow

Solid color A solid color layer is considered a fill layer Create a solidcolor layer to fill an image witha color You can use it to createa colored background for animage

Gradient fill layer You can usegradients to apply a color in atransition from light to dark Itrsquosuseful for creating a dark-edgedvignette for some images or atransitioned color backgroundFigure 10-10 shows differenttypes of gradients

Gradients are used to createsome cool special effects Youcan (for example) experimentwith how your images look byincreasing or reducing the opac-ity of a fill layer

Pattern fill layer When youcreate this type of layer it con-tains a pattern from the Patternmenu shown in Figure 10-11Adjust the layerrsquos opacity tostrengthen or weaken the pat-tern effect


Figure 10-10 Choosing a gradient type

Figure 10-11 Choosing a pattern fill

17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 179


Making Overall AdjustmentsOverall adjustments (which are introduced in Chapter 4) to an image are justas amenable to becoming a workflow as the other processes in this bookHerersquos a look at the first five general steps of an overall-adjustment workflow

1 Double-check your color settings before you open any image for over-all adjustment

2 Open an image from Camera Raw in Photoshop

3 Save the image to PSD format in your Working folder

4 Proof for a specific output device


bull Does the image look good straight out of Camera Raw

bull Is it too dark too light too flat (lack of contrast and color satura-tion) or does it have a color cast

Sometimes getting an image into Photoshop and then proofing the image fora specific device printer or paper will make it look different

Evaluating images using VariationsOne quick way to evaluate animage is to view the image usingVariations mdash multiple thumbnailsof an image that open different versions of the image showing different color balance contrastand saturation To view Variationschoose ImageAdjustmentsVariations Figure 10-12 showsthe different thumbnail choicesoffered

The Variations command is availableonly for images in 8-bit-per-channelmode Though you can choose thumb-nails to make adjustments I recom-mend using only the adjustmentlayers to apply actual adjustmentsI use variations just for evaluationpurposes

Figure 10-12 Using Variations to evaluateimages

17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 180

Adjusting levelsIn my overall-adjustment workflowthe first actual fix I make is adjustinglevels mdash making exact corrections to the tonal values of an image byfine-tuning the colors in the high-lights midtones and shadows

To adjust colors and tone using the Levels command follow thesesteps

1 Create a duplicate of theBackground layer by choosingLayersDuplicate typing anew name into the As field (for example Duplicate) andclicking OK

The Duplicate Layer fieldappears for the purpose asshown in Figure 10-13

Okay this step really doesnrsquot fit any particular niche in myoverall-adjustments workflow mdashbut it is a best practice Alwaysmake a duplicate of the back-ground layer before you createany new layers

2 Create a Levels adjustmentlayer by clicking the CreateNew Adjustment or Fill Layerbutton from the Layer palette(shown in Figure 10-14)

The Levels dialog box appears


Figure 10-13 Duplicating the Background layer

Figure 10-14 Creating a Levels adjustment layer

17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 181


3 Make sure the Preview box ischecked

Keep the Channel selectionRGB as shown in Figure 10-15Yoursquoll be correcting levels forthe entire image mdash all threecolor channels (Red Green andBlue) at the same time

As you become more familiarwith adjusting levels inPhotoshop experiment withchanging the Channel selectionto the Red Green or Blue chan-nels and adjusting them individ-ually If you are a new user ofPhotoshop keep the RGBChannel selected

4 View the histogram and slidethe Shadows input slider to theright till it gets to where thecurve of the histogram begins(as shown in Figure 10-16)

With Preview selected you canview the image changes as youmove the slider

A histogram provides a snapshot of the tonal range of an image The his-togram shows how much detail is in the shadow area on the left in themidtones in the middle and in the highlights on the right

Histogram data is different for every image For many images the his-togram curve begins all the way to the left where no Shadow input-slider adjustment is needed

5 Slide the Highlights inputslider to the left till it gets towhere the highlights curvebegins

With Preview selected you canview the image changes as youmove the slider as shown inFigure 10-17

Figure 10-15 The Levels adjustment windowprovides controls to adjust color highlightsmidtones and shadows

Figure 10-16 Moving the Levels Shadows andHighlights input sliders

Figure 10-17 Adjusting shadows midtones andhighlights can improve the tonality of the image

17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 182

6 Move the Midtones input slider to the right slightly checking theimage for improved color saturation and contrast

Often you can improve the appearance of an image by using the Midtone slider to darken the midtones If you do a lot of CMYK work forpress you may often need to nudge the Midtone slider to the left thisavoids images looking too dark and muddy To be safe always test printyour images then review them and readjust as necessary

7 Click OK to complete the Levels adjustment

If you are not satisfied with the effects of your Levels adjustment you canreset the settings to the original values Just press and hold the Alt key(Option key on the Mac) and click Cancel You can then re-create a Levelsadjustment layer and attempt to adjust levels again

You can experiment with adjusting levels in any of the following ways mdash andview the results in your image

Set the blackpoint of your image by clicking the BlackpointEyedropper and clicking a dark part of the image This provides amore accurate blackpoint as a baseline for adjusting levels in yourimage (The blackpoint is an area in the image that represents a trueblack)

Set the whitepoint of the image by clicking the WhitepointEyedropper and clicking a lighter part of the image Doing so pro-vides a more accurate whitepoint as a baseline for adjusting levels inyour image (The whitepoint is a portion of the image that representsa true white)

Try darkening shadow areas by moving the Shadows input slider tothe right

Move the Midtones input slider to the left to adjust the darker mid-tones You can lighten midtones by moving the slider to the right

Increase contrast and brighten up highlights by moving the Highlightsinput slider to the left

Figure 10-18 shows the results of adjusting these levels Moving the Shadow input slider to the right darkened the shadow areas moving the Midtones input slider to the right darkened the midtones and moving theHighlights input slider to the left brightened the highlights


17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 183


Figure 10-18 The image before and then after adjusting levels

How rsquobout them curvesWhen you adjust the tonal range ofan image using Levels you makeonly three adjustments shadowsmidtones (gamma) and highlightsThe Curves adjustment allows for upto 14 different points of adjustmentthroughout the tonal range

I do mention this more than a fewtimes in this book but I like to adjustCurves instead of BrightnessContrast to increase contrast in myimages Works great not destructiveof data mdash whatrsquos not to like

To adjust an imagersquos tonality usingthe Curves adjustment layer followthese steps

1 Create a Curves adjustmentlayer

To do so click the Create NewAdjustment or Fill Layer buttonfrom the Layers palette andthen choose Curves as shownin Figure 10-19

Before After

Figure 10-19 Creating a Curves adjustment layer

17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 184

2 Increase the number of gridlines to provide a more pre-cise grid

Press and hold the Alt key (theOption key on the Mac) whileclicking inside the Curves gridto increase the number of gridlines as shown in Figure 10-20

3 Make tonal adjustments byclicking the curve line anddragging it to the desired gridpoint or by clicking Auto

Drag the curve upward and leftto brighten downward and rightto darken Experiment with cre-ating adjustments for shadowsmidtones and highlights

Figure 10-21 demonstrates how theAuto curves feature can improvecolor in shadows midtones andhighlights

Figure 10-21 Using the Curves adjustment layer to improve this underexposed image

Before

After


Figure 10-20 Using the Curves adjustmentwindow

17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 185


Adding color with the HueSaturation adjustment layerThe next step in the overall-adjustment workflow is to add some visual ldquopoprdquoto your image adding color saturation to increase vibrancy and eye appeal

With any overall adjustment sometimes less is more you may need to makeonly a slight correction When adjusting color saturation for example some-times all you have to do is budge the slider to the right until you see the colorspop up a little ldquoEasy does itrdquo is the rule if you donrsquot make your images appearunrealistic

To create a HueSaturation layerfollow these steps

1 Click the Create NewAdjustment or Fill Layer buttonfrom the Layers palette andthen choose HueSaturationas shown in Figure 10-22

The HueSaturation dialog boxappears

2 Make sure Preview is selected

You want to be sure you seethese changes before youapply them

3 Increase image saturation bymoving the Saturation sliderslightly to the right as shownin Figure 10-23

As a rule of thumb increase thesaturation until you see thecolors start to pop

Be careful not to add too muchcolor saturation it can makecertain colors in the image blowout mdash that is lose detail astheyrsquore overpowered by thecolor If some areas look blownout back off your adjustmentslightly until yoursquore pleasedwith the result Figure 10-22 Creating a HueSaturation layer

17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 186

Figure 10-23 Increasing saturation in the Master channel

You can use the HueSaturation adjustment layer to adjust individualcolor hues or saturation amounts This is an advanced method of color-correcting your images Experiment with changing the hue andorsaturation of each color to see the result You may find that adjustingthe Master (the default setting) alone can work just fine for your photos

4 Check Gamut Warning by choosing ViewGamut Warning

For the photo of the fire engine I actually had to decrease some satura-tion in the Red channel to bring the image more within the gamut of myselected output (but then I punched up some other colors)

5 Click OK to save your settings

Figure 10-24 shows the original fire-engine image with Levels and Curvesadded and then with HueSaturation adjusted The photo now appearsslightly more vibrant mdash but not overprocessed mdash and thatrsquos what yoursquoreshooting for

Figure 10-24 The fire engine looks a little more vibrant with a bit of overall adjustment

Original image Levels and Curvesadjustments

HueSaturation adjusted


17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 187


17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 188

11Editing Images

In This Chapter Editing images in an organized workflow

Creating separate layers for edits

Exploring the Photoshop Toolbox

Making selections

Making specific edits

Using Layer Masks to make selective changes

After you convert an image from raw to Photoshop and make overall cor-rections to color and tone yoursquore about half done with the image With

many photos you still have to edit mdash make improvements that are unique tothe image such as removing ldquored eyerdquo fixing dust spots (digital SLRs can getrsquoem from dirty image sensors) or erasing those power lines youdidnrsquot see when you were shooting outdoors

There are other traditional photographic tricks us old-school darkroom wizards used to do such as dodgingand burning The editing phase is also the time thatyou can let your artistic intentions run wild using anarray of Photoshop special effects mdash in particularfilters which I cover in more detail in Chapter 14This is always one of my favorite subjects to talkabout so letrsquos get into some Photoshop editing

Using an Image-Editing WorkflowTypically an effective image-editing workflow is put togethermuch like the overall-correction workflow I describe in Chapter 10Here too I encourage you to make your image edits in a step-by-step

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 189


sequence of best practices Unlike the procedure for overall color and tonalcorrections however you do have the freedom to mix up the order of youredits a bit But I still like consistency so I take these edits in individual steps

1 Plan your edits

After you complete overall corrections evaluate your image to deter-mine what type of edits if any are needed Common types of edits to planfor include these

a Dodging and burning

Dodging is a technique you use to lighten a certain area of animage burning darkens a certain area of an image Whether yoursquoreworking on landscape still life portraits or photos of your petsevaluate your images to see if areas need to be dodged (like whenyou want your dogs eyersquos to be more bright) or burned (like whenyou need to darken areas of a landscape)

Dodging and burning areas of an image can rescue out-of-gamutparts of an image and bring them back into a printable range (Formore about out-of-gamut colors see Chapter 10)

b Removing spots

Dust spots on digital images arenrsquot really possible for images takenwith compact digital cameras because the lens is built into thecamera But when yoursquore shooting with digital SLRs dust spots canhappen when particles find their way onto your image sensor Itrsquoshappened to me and is fairly common for digital SLR shooters

On a recent trip to England I had the opportunity to stop off at thisone interesting spot to take photos of some big stones sticking outof the ground I slapped a circular polarizer on my lens to get somedarker blue skies and to reduce the glare off the stones To mylater dismay I discovered (while zooming in on those photos inPhotoshop) spots in the sky caused by water spots on my circularpolarizer I called up the trusty Healing Brush tool and used it toremove those spots as shown in Figure 11-1

c Retouching

Nature is not always kind Time and again the people whose por-traits I take want to make sure I get rid of the wrinkles pimplesand blemishes we all seem to have No problem When editingimages in Photoshop you can soften skin using the Blur tool orone of the blur filters You can use the Dodge tool or Paintbrush tohelp whiten teeth and eyes (If you get good at retouching por-traits you can save your friends and clients some money Theywonrsquot have to go to a plastic surgeon for a facelift or the dentist toget teeth whitened mdash provided they never venture out)

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 190

Figure 11-1 Removing spots with the Healing Brush tool

If yoursquore shooting portraits retouching in Photoshop is an impor-tant phase of your work Plan your edits carefully

d Sharpening

To make a general statement all digital images need some sharpen-ing Sharpening should be the last step you take before printinga photo or posting it to the Web I show you more about sharpen-ing in the next chapter but Irsquom mentioning it here because sharp-ening is considered an image edit

Figure 11-2 shows a zoomed portion of the photo of those stonesin the ground before mdash and after mdash sharpening with the UnsharpMask filter (I didnrsquot see any Druid sacrifices there that day but Idid have to sacrifice my lunch hour so I could take the time toshoot some photos)

Spots removedOriginal image

Spots

191Chapter 11 Editing Images

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 191


Figure 11-2 Applying the Unsharp Mask for sharpening photos

2 Create separate layers for each edit

After you evaluate an image and then decide (say) to dodge it thenburn it and then make the cigarette butts disappear from its floor do eachof those edits in its own layer That way you can delete layers whose editsjust didnrsquot do the job without affecting other image-editing layers

Herersquos the fast way to create an editing layer

a Create a new layer

Press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E or Ocirc+Shift+Option+E on a Mac to mergea copy of all visible layers into a new target layer (Run out of fingers yet)

By combining all the previous layers into the new layer yoursquoreessentially merging all the adjustment layers and other edits yoursquovemade so far Press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E (Ocirc+Shift+Option+E on a Mac) tocombine the previous layers into your new editing layer

b Give the layer a proper name

For example if yoursquore creating a new layer to use the HealingBrush to remove spots on your image give the layer a descriptivename (such as ldquoHealing Brush Editsrdquo) After you create the layerdouble-click the layer name in the Layers palette and type in anew name like the example shown in Figure 11-3

Not sharpened Sharpened with Unsharp Mask

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 192

If you use the Merge Visiblecommand (LayersMergeVisible) you wind up flat-tening all the visible layersinto one layer Thatrsquos not agood idea if you want topreserve all your changesin separate layers Insteadof using the Merge Visiblecommand press Shift+Ctrl+Alt+E (Shift+Ocirc+Option+E on a Mac) toretain all the previouslayers but to merge thoselayers into the one you justcreated Now yoursquore readyto make an edit

After yoursquove created your firstediting layer and combined allthe visible layers into that layeryou can simply duplicate thenew layer for whatever new edityou want to perform next

3 Edit your image

Now that you have a fresh newlyldquomergedrdquo layer to work on goahead and remove a blemishwhiten some teeth and dodgeor burn parts of the image tosee how those features work

Keep each edit to its own layerIf you start by removing a blemish and then decide you want to dodge orburn some other part of the image create a new layer first (by choosingLayerDuplicate Layer)

Getting to Know Your ToolsWhen working with images and making edits in Photoshop many of the graphictools yoursquoll be using are accessed from the Photoshop Toolbox The Toolboxshown in Figure 11-4 includes more than 60 tools to manipulate and edit yourphotos

Just as an artist carries an assortment of pencils brushes erasers and a fewother tools in an art-supply box you have the same arsenal at your disposalThe Toolbox includes all the drawing and painting tools the artist canrsquot dowithout mdash plus a few others that a digital artist canrsquot do without (such as theRed Eye Removal tool the Healing Brush and the Magic Wand tool)


Double-click layer name

Create new layer

Type new layer name

Figure 11-3 Typing a new layer name

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 193


Figure 11-4 The Photoshop Toolbox

Using the Marquee toolUse the Marquee tool to draw rectan-gles ellipses horizontal columns or vertical columns in an image Right-clicking the Marquee tool icon in theToolbox brings up the flyout menuwhich includes other Marquee tools(see Figure 11-5)

Using the Marquee tool is a quickway to make edits to the selectionor even to crop part of an image

1 Select the Marquee tool

2 Draw a marquee around the image portion you want to crop

3 Make edits to the selection

If you simply want to crop the selection choose ImageCrop to crop theimage to your selection

M Rectangular Marquee

J Healing Brush tool

R Blur Sharpen SmudgeE Eraser Background Eraser Magic Eraser

P PenA Path Selection

H Hand

Foreground colorD Default Colors (Black amp White)

Q Edit in Standard mode

F Standard Screen mode

ImageReady

N Notes Audio Annotation

S Clone Stamp Pattern Stamp

C CropL Lasso

V MoveW Magic WandK Slice Slice Select

B Brush Pencil Color ReplacementH History Art HistoryG Gradient Paint BucketO Dodge Burn Sponge

T Type ToolsU Shape Tools

I Eyedropper Color Sampler MeasureZ Zoom

Q Edit in Quick Mask modeF Full Screen modeF Full Screen mode with menu bar

Swap ForegroundBackground colorsBackground color

Figure 11-5 The Marquee tools give you fourways to draw marquees

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 194


The Lasso toolThe Lasso tool is essential formaking selections within parts of animage mdash and editing just those areasyoursquove selected The Lasso toolflyout menu shown in Figure 11-6offers three tools for creating selec-tions the Lasso tool the PolygonalLasso tool and the Magnetic Lassotool (See the ldquoLasso thisrdquo section later in this chapter for more about thePolygonal Lasso and Magnetic Lasso tools)

The Lasso tool is commonly used to make selections in an image that can beeasily traced itrsquos like drawing an outline on tracing paper placed over a pic-ture Select the Lasso tool and then mdash while holding down the left mousebutton mdash trace over the part of the image you want to select

Snip-snipping with the Crop toolThe Crop tool is as simple as an artistrsquos mat knife You draw a boundaryaround the parts of your image in which you want to crop as shown inFigure 11-7 You can specify the width and height of your crop as well asthe resolution you want to make the cropped image

Figure 11-7 Using the Crop tool

Cancel crop

Complete crop

Crop tool Option bar

Crop tool

Crop selection

Figure 11-6 The Lasso toolrsquos flyout menu

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 195


Editing with the Healing BrushSome of the coolest editing toolsthat Photoshop offers are theHealing Brush tools The flyout menushown in Figure 11-8 includes fourHealing Brush tools that enable youto correct minor details Imagineeliminating pimples hair and dustfrom all the places you donrsquot wantthem (Digitally at least)

Spot Healing Brush tool New in CS2 this tool is easier to use than theHealing Brush tool Just select the Spot Healing Brush and start paintingareas to retouch Because the tool samples surrounding pixels for youyou donrsquot have to worry about making a selection

Healing Brush tool With this tool you can sample a selection of pixelsand then paint those selected pixels onto other areas Using this tool is agreat way to retouch areas of your images

Patch tool This works similar to how the Healing Brush tool works Thedifference is with the Patch tool yoursquore actually making a selection ofan area to use for painting in the selected pixels

Red Eye tool Also new in CS2 this handy little tool provides a quick wayto remove that ghoulish ldquored eyerdquo from your cherished photos

Cloning around with the Clone Stamp toolThe Clone Stamp tool is the equiva-lent of a rubber stamp (you know mdashpress a stamp on an ink pad andthen on paper) only itrsquos digital You sample part of an image (colortexture whatever) and apply thatsample elsewhere in the image All Brush tips work with the CloneStamp tool so itrsquos a great retouching alternative One of its special versionsthe Pattern Stamp tool re-creates patterns from the cloned selection andapplies to another part of the image Figure 11-9 shows the Clone Stamptoolrsquos flyout menu

Removing pixels with the Eraser toolThe Eraser tool is the digital equivalent of those pink erasers at the ends ofpencils You can erase pixels as you move the cursor over them changingthem in ways specified in the Eraser mode you choose on the Option bar

Figure 11-8 Healing Brush tools

Figure 11-9 The Clone and Pattern Stamptools

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 196

Use the Background Eraser tool toremove the effects of overall imageadjustments (see Chapter 10) madeto only certain areas or layers of theimage To erase all similar pixelswithin a layer use the Magic Erasertool Among the tools shown inFigure 11-10 are the BackgroundEraser and Magic Eraser

Sharpen or blur with the Blur toolThe Blur tool can be a quick way toedit a too-sharp edge by blurring aportion of your photo in much thesame way yoursquod use the Sharpen toolto add crispness If you are editing aportrait and want to get a blurredeffect you can make an overalladjustment to the photo using theGaussian Blur filter mdash but then usethe Sharpen tool selectively tosharpen hair and eyes Figure 11-11shows the Blur toolrsquos flyout menu

The Smudge tool warps and pushes pixels in the direction you are draggingthe tool giving you a morphing or smudge effect Like the Liquefy filter theSmudge tool enables you to hide flaws or achieve some really cool specialeffects

Drawing shapes with the Pen toolThe Pen tool actually does a wee bitmore than a pen you use to write loveletters shopping lists and checksThe Pen tool in Photoshop createslines curves and shapes (also calledvector paths) for a variety of editingand drawing purposes The Pen toolflyout menu (shown in Figure 11-12)shows its different options mdash includ-ing the Freeform Pen tool and a vari-ety of anchor-point Pen tools

Load up an image and experiment with the Pen and Freeform Pen tools ThePen tools offer a valuable way to create special effects when you want tomake complex selections


Figure 11-10 The Eraser Background Eraserand Magic Eraser tools

Figure 11-11 The Blur Sharpen and Smudgetools

Figure 11-12 The Pen tools

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 197


Making selections with the Magic Wand toolOne of the most valuable editing tools in the Toolbox is the Magic Wand Youcan use it to make selections mdash one of the most widely used processes inediting images mdash for example to select similarly colored areas in your photoYou can specify the color range and tolerance for a selected area by using theOption bar to set them

Selections are used to select contigu-ous and discontiguous areas of animage so you can make edits specifi-cally to that area selected Forinstance if you want to select onlythe clouds in an image of sky use theMagic Wand tool to select only thewhite areas (the clouds which arediscontiguous) and not the blue (thesky) I often use the Magic Wand toolto select portions of the backgroundsin my portraits so I can lightendarken or even blur those areas toget the effect I want Another way Iuse selections is to isolate mdash and fix mdash areas of my image that are outof gamut I want the whole image tomatch the gamut range of my selectedprinter and paper combinationbut I donrsquot want to change the entireimage mdash just the areas that are out of gamut

Figure 11-13 shows the Magic Wand tool used to select a section of an imagethat is overexposed relative to the rest of the image I selected that portionso I could adjust its brightness to match the rest of the image

Painting withthe Brush toolThe Brush Pencil and ColorReplacement tools are commonlyused to paint changes on yourphotos Figure 11-14 shows theBrush tool and its flyout menuNumerous brush sizes tips and modes are available on the Option bar asshown in Figure 11-15 Theyrsquore useful with many Photoshop image-editingtechniques

Figure 11-13 Using the Magic Wand to selectsimilarly colored areas of an image

Figure 11-14 The Brush Pencil and ColorReplacement tools

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 198

Figure 11-15 Modes available for use with the Brush tools

Dodging and burning using Dodge and Burn toolsOne of the most common edits thatdiscerning digital photographersmake in Photoshop is dodging andburning Back in the day when photographers like me developedphotos using enlargers and chemi-cals I had a few tricks up my sleeveto touch up my work Dodging andburning allowed me to darken orlighten certain areas of a print to myliking by either reducing or increas-ing exposure to certain parts of the print Photoshop lets old-timers like medo those same things with the Dodge and Burn tools shown in Figure 11-16


Figure 11-16 The Dodge Burn and Spongetools

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 199


The Sponge tool is useful when you want to make slight color-saturationadjustments to an area For example you can decrease the color saturationof a certain area where the red may be too bright or ldquoblown outrdquo giving anunnatural look to the photo The Sponge tool can also come in handy to helpbring out-of-gamut areas of your image back into a color range that yourprinter can handle

Writing text with the Type toolsUsed most often by graphic design-ers who combine both text andimages in their everyday work theHorizontal and Vertical Text toolsshown in Figure 11-17 are methodsto insert text into an image Add textto your photos in just three steps

1 Click the Horizontal Type toolin the Toolbox

2 Choose the font you want to use

New in CS2 is the ability to view WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) samples of each font by clicking the Font menu located on theOption bar as shown in 11-18

Figure 11-18 Choosing a font and font size on the Option bar

Figure 11-17 Type tools let you add text to animage

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 200

3 Click your image and type thetext

For my photography Website httpkevinmossphotographycom I always typea description name or locationfor each photo on my site I usethe Text tool to easily add thetext to my image canvas Afteryou type some text you canmove it around with the Movetool and place it exactly whereyou want it as shown inFigure 11-19

Shaping things up withthe Shape toolsFor situations when you want to drawsimple shapes (or insert predefinedshapes into your photos or canvas)the Photoshop Toolbox offers Shapetools to do just that Figure 11-20shows all the Shape tools available in the Rectangle tool flyout menu

Suppose I want to insert a copyrightsymbol next to my text for the Orchid artposter example I used in the previous section The process for adding thissymbol is as follows

1 Right-click (single-click on the Mac)the Rectangle tool and choose theCustom Shape tool

2 Choose the copyright symbol fromthe Option bar Shape selectionmenu shown in Figure 11-21

3 Drag the Custom Shape tool over thepart of your image where you wantto insert the symbol as shown inFigure 11-22


Figure 11-19 Type and move your text to thedesired location on your canvas

Figure 11-20 Shape tools available inthe Photoshop Toolbox

Figure 11-21 Selecting a shape to insertonto the canvas

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 201


Figure 11-22 Adding a copyright symbol to the canvas

Zooming in and outThe Zoom tool provides one of many ways toenlarge or shrink your view of the details in animage Click the Zoom tool place your cursor overyour image and click You can also right-click(Option+click on a Mac) with your mouse andchoose Zoom Out to reverse your zoom as shownin Figure 11-23

Other methods for zooming in and out of an imageinclude using the Navigator palette or pressingCtrl+- On a Mac the preferred method for zoom-ing in is to press Spacebar+Ocirc+Click to zoom outpress Spacebar+Ocirc+Option+Click

Using tool presetsOne timesaving feature of Photoshop is that youcan set up tools the way you like them You workwith these every day so itrsquos nice to have some of

Figure 11-23 Right-click in theimage to view the Zoom toolrsquosoptions

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 202

them set up with your own cus-tomized settings and shortcutsWhen you save settings for com-monly used tools in Photoshop youcreate tool presets

I prepare a lot of photos for printand for the Web One set of presetsI use on a regular basis is my cropsettings mdash for both my Web site andfor printing I create crop presetsincluding 11times14 inches at 360dpi forprints and 4times5 inches at 72dpi for theWeb Then I save these crop settingsas presets so I donrsquot have to go inand manually specify a crop settingevery time I want to crop an image

Other common presets to considerare for Brush sizes frequently usedfonts and font sizes As you becomemore familiar with Photoshop andreally nail down your everyday image-editing workflow try setting up your common toolsusing the Tool Presets palette shown in Figure 11-24

The Tool Presets palette offers some useful featuresfor creating presets

You can drag the Tool Presets palette from thePalette well to your image window

If you need to view all presets instead of thepresets for the tool selected uncheck theCurrent Tool Only check box Re-check CurrentTool Only to view only the presets for theselected tool

You can organize presets by tool type deletepresets or change the way presets are dis-played To do so use the Preset Managerlocated in the Tool Presets flyout menu

To set up a tool preset follow these steps

1 Click the tool in the Toolbox that you want tocreate a preset for

In Figure 11-25 Irsquom selecting the Crop tool


Figure 11-24 The Tool Presets palette andflyout menu

Figure 11-25 Select theCrop tool

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 203


2 Make the settings to the tool that you want to preset

For the Crop tool preset I created a crop size of 19times13 inches at 360dpiin the Crop tool options on the Option bar as shown in Figure 11-26

Figure 11-26 Making a preset for Crop settings

3 Click the Tool Presets palettein the Palette well and clickto save the tool settingsmade in Step 2 as shown inFigure 11-27

You can also access the toolpresets by clicking the tool button on the far-left of the Option bar or bychoosing WindowTool

4 Type a name for the tool that yoursquore saving

Photoshop creates a default name for your preset that you can cus-tomize to your liking

As you can see there are a number of ways to open the Tool Presets paletteand create tool presets that can save you editing time

Making SelectionsIf yoursquore editing photos that look just fine for the most part often you want tochange only certain parts of them Photoshop offers a variety of tools tomake selections mdash defined editable areas within an image When you make aselection in Photoshop you can then edit only that part of the image withoutchanging the rest Getting familiar with these capabilities mdash especially theediting of selections mdash is necessary if you want to edit your individualimages with consistent quality To keep that quality the larger goal is to setup an image-editing workflow for your photos

Selecting only certain parts of your images mdash and editing only those selectedparts with tools covered in this chapter mdash gives you great creative controlYou can replace a dull background with a vibrant color darken a bright skybrighten a dark sky and selectively sharpen or blur a part of your image toget the desired effects

Figure 11-27 Naming and saving the preset

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 204

Making selections with the Magic Wand toolThe Magic Wand tool is probably the most popular selection tool used tomake the most common selections in photos I often use the Magic Wand toselect areas of an image that are similar in color if I want to make color ortonal changes to only the selected areas

The typical process for making mdash and then adjusting mdash a selection lookslike this

1 Create a new layer by choosing LayerDuplicate Layer

2 Select part of the image you want to modify using the Magic Wand tool

I use the Magic Wand tool to select backgrounds in images that I want tochange I can lighten or darken the background replace the backgroundwith parts from another image or blur the background Whicheveradjustment I want to use I have to separate the subject from the back-ground before I make my edits

The Magic Wand tool works best when the area yoursquore selecting is onecolor (or close to one color) and has distinct boundaries from theremaining area

The Magic Wand tool works just as well as a way to select the subject of animage instead of the background Select the background and then chooseSelectInverse to swap the selections for the rest of the image

The amount of feathering deter-mines how sharp or smooth theedges of the selection are For theimage in Figure 11-28 I applieda Feather radius of 2 pixelsby choosing SelectFeather(Ctrl+Alt+D or Ocirc+Option+Don the Mac) and then typing 2in the Feather Radius fieldin the Feather Selection window

3 Apply corrections to the image

For the landscape in Figure11-28 I adjusted the color andtone of the grass without adjust-ing color and tone for the rest of the image The image wasshot with direct sunlight which ldquowashed outrdquo some of the color of the grass area Ichose ImageAdjustmentsHueSaturation and then turnedup the saturation of the Yellow and Green channels to get the effectI wanted mdash without affecting the sky or the old building


Figure 11-28 Making selective adjustments

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 205


Putting a twist on the whole concept of selecting just one part of the imageI then wanted to adjust the color of the sky So I chose SelectInverse(Shift+Ctrl+I Shift+Ocirc+I on a Mac) to reverse the selection from where it wasto the rest of the image I then chose ImageAdjustmentsHueSaturationand tweaked the Blue channel to get the sky the way I wanted it Figure 11-29shows the finished product

Figure 11-29 Selective adjustment of selected areas can change an image dramatically

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 206


Using rulers and gridsPhotoshop offers the capability to preciselyposition elements of your images Rulers gridsand guides are used to map out your photosallowing you to make edits in a measured envi-ronment The combination of these precisiontools with the Snap-To feature lets you navigateprecisely with your mouse or tabletrsquos stylus

You can apply rulers to your image window pro-viding measurements along the left and top ofyour image window Applying grids to an imageadds horizontal and vertical lines in your imagewindow to better help you navigate Guides pro-vide horizontal and vertical lines to your specifi-cation in the image window Hold down the Alt(Windows)Option (Mac) key as yoursquore dragginga guide to switch the guidersquos orientation 90degrees

I use rulers to help me make precision crops toimages when the Crop tool just doesnrsquot cut it (nopun intended) To bring up rulers in your imagewindow choose ViewRulers or press Ctrl+R(Ocirc+R on the Mac) You can change the actualunits of measure on the ruler from inches to cen-timeters (or other units) by right-clicking theruler (Ocirc+clicking the Mac) see the image onthe left here for an example

Using grids in your image window allows you tomake more precise edits to your image Gridsare nonprinting lines you can add to your imageby choosing ViewShowGrid The image onthe right shows an image window with gridsturned on

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 207


Lasso thisSeeing the Magic Wand tool at work might make you wonder what otherselection tools Photoshop has in its bag of tricks The three lasso tools areused to create finer selections in your image

Lasso tool Used for free-form drawing of selections such as the oneshown in the upper-left image of Figure 11-30 I chose this selection so Icould edit out the selected yucky spot on the peach without affectingthe rest of the image (I like my fruit to be perfect mdash no worms)

Magnetic Lasso tool Best used to trace more complex shapes Theselection marquee (the dotted line surrounding your selection) snaps tothe selection like metal to a magnet when you use this tool If you wantto select (for example) the entire orange the Magnetic Lasso tool(shown in the upper-right image of Figure 11-30) does a more accurateselection than the other Lasso tools

Polygonal Lasso tool Used for drawing straight edges of a selection thePolygonal Lasso tool is great for making selections like the one shown inthe bottom image in Figure 11-30 where the areas to select are shapesthat have straight lines (such as boxes rectangles triangles or windows)

Figure 11-30 Selecting an area of an image you want to edit separately from the rest of the image

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 208

You can always get rid of a selection if you want to start over by choosingSelectDeselect or by clicking Ctrl+D (Ocirc+D on the Mac) to deselect yourselection

Selection optionsWhen you make selections withany tools options are available tomake your selections more preciseFigure 11-31 shows the Select menuwhich provides functionality to helpyou work with selections

The most commonly used options inthe Select menu include these

All Use this command to selectthe entire image You can alsouse the shortcut Ctrl+A (Ocirc+A onthe Mac)

Deselect Choose Deselect toremove the selection outlineyou have made When makingselections you often have todeselect in order to start over tomake the correct selections Youcan also use the keyboard short-cut Ctrl+D (Ocirc+D on the Mac)

Inverse Sometimes you want toselect an area thatrsquos tricky com-plex or otherwise just tough toselect If yoursquore lucky the rest ofthe image may be easier toselect if thatrsquos the case selectthe easier area mdash and thenchoose SelectInverse TheInverse command reverses yourselection selecting the previ-ously unselected portion ofyour image

Feather Choose this command and then indicate the number of pixelsA feather of two or three pixels provides a smooth realistic edge foryour selections in many photos Experiment with setting the feature todifferent numbers of pixels until you find the right setting for yourphoto To feather a selection choose SelectFeather or press Ctrl+Alt+D(Ocirc+Option+D on the Mac)


Figure 11-31 The Select menu providesadditional commands to use when makingselections

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 209


Grow When you choose the Grow command you can increase the con-tiguous areas of your selection to include areas that are similar in colorTo grow a selection choose SelectGrow

Similar The Similar command increases your selection to all like colorsof the current selection regardless of their place in the image Toexpand a noncontiguous selection with similar colors choose SelectSimilar

Before you can use the Select commands you must have actual selectionsmade in your image And it bears repeating Make sure you duplicate the back-ground layer before making selections Selections can be cumbersome butwith practice you can become more proficient

Editing TechniquesMany photos have imperfections that you would rather do without mdash andhere itrsquos no fault of the photographer Unnoticed (or immovable) power linesoddities of contrast dust specks and even flies can find their way intoimages When you view the photos later on a computer you may want tochange the imperfections that bug you (pun intended) Or some details stickout when vagueness would be more forgiving (I donrsquot know about you butIrsquove found that digital cameras can capture a lot better resolution than myown eyes can) When yoursquore taking photos of people keep in mind that somefolks donrsquot want the sharpness todayrsquos digital cameras can deliver After allwho wants to see all the pores or wrinkles on someonersquos face

Worm holes in a peach You can fix that Pimples on a teenager You can fixthat too (on-screen anyway) Power lines running across your horizon Youhave an editing trick for that too

Getting the red (eye) outOne of the most common complaints I hear about photos of people is theldquored eyerdquo effect Bright red dots in the center of the subjectsrsquo eyes detractfrom the rest of the image

The digital cure for those devilish eyes is now literally one click away thenew Photoshop Red Eye tool Herersquos how to use it

1 After opening your image duplicate the background layer by choos-ing LayerDuplicate Layer or pressing Ctrl+J (Ocirc+J on the Mac)

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Your loved ones will thank you for fixing this problemUnfortunately for me I had topick a family photo that had thered-eye problem so I coulddemonstrate it here itrsquos noteasy to get a loved one to agreeto that (Canrsquot think why Ohwell Disclaimer The photo inFigure 11-33 has been croppedto hide the identity of the testred-eye subject)

2 Zoom in on the subjectrsquos eyesby pressing Ctrl+ (on a MacSpacebar+Ocirc+click) a few timesuntil the eyes are large enoughto edit

3 Click the Red Eye tool inthe Toolbox as shownin Figure 11-32

4 Drag a box around the red por-tion of the eye to remove thered as shown in Figure 11-33

If all the red is not removeddrag the marquee over the eyeagain and let go of the mousebutton Repeat the process forboth eyes Figure 11-34 showsthe effects of using the Red Eyetool

Figure 11-34 The original image and as corrected with the Red Eye tool

Before After


Figure 11-32 Choosing the Red Eye tool fromthe Photoshop Toolbox

Figure 11-33 Removing ldquored eyerdquo with the RedEye tool

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Removing spotsYou may think that with todayrsquos digital cameras dust spots are a thing of thepast Thatrsquos not necessarily so Digital SLRs use interchangeable lenses whenyou change these lenses dust can sneak into the camera and onto the imagesensor mdash and you have digital dust spots Fortunately the Spot HealingBrush tool offers a digital remedy

Finding a photograph to use as an example of how the Spot Healing Brushtool eliminates blemishes was hard to do not many models would approve ofa page or two about their imperfections But a landscape canrsquot argue mdash so Iuse one here to show you how to fix dust spots with the Spot Healing Brushtool

Might as well get right to it Figure 11-35 shows a photo that contains a dustspot that has to be removed

Herersquos how to remove a portion of the image such as a blemish or a dust spot

1 Create a new layer to use for editing Press Shift+Ctrl+Alt+E(Ocirc+Shift+Option+E on a Mac) to create a new target layer with allof your previously visible layers combined

If yoursquove taken this step before to do another edit just duplicate the previous layer by pressing Ctrl+J (Ocirc+J on a Mac) or select the layer toduplicate and Choose LayerDuplicate Layer

2 If needed zoom in on the portion of the image that includes the blem-ish dust spot (as in the example shown) or unwanted pixels

To zoom in you can use the Zoom tool or just press Ctrl+ (on a Macpress Spacebar+Ocirc+click to zoom in)

3 From the Photoshop Toolbox right-click the Healing Brush tool andchoose the Spot Healing Brush tool (see Figure 11-36)

4 Adjust the size of your brush so itrsquos just a little larger than the spotyou want to remove

Enlarge the brush size by pressing the right-bracket key (]) or reducethe brush size by pressing the left-bracket key ([)

5 Drag the brush over the dust spot while holding down your mousebutton and then let go of the mouse button

Figure 11-37 shows the image before and after I removed the spot from it

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 212

Figure 11-35 Dust on a digital SLR sensor can show up in photos


18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 213


The Healing Brush tool works thesame way as the Spot Healing Brushwith one exception Using theHealing Brush tool you can pick thesample of pixels it uses to replacewhatrsquos in the area you paint Toselect an area to clone pixels frompress Alt+click (Option+click on aMac) that area

Figure 11-37 Removing a dust spot with the Spot Healing Brush tool

Figure 11-36 Selecting the Spot Healing Brushtool

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Dodging and burning to make your images popGoing back to the old days of printing in a darkroom one of the only tricks Ihad up my sleeve to edit prints was to dodge and burn Dodging was theprocess of blocking light from certain portions of the photographic paper asit was being exposed reducing light to that part of the image The result wasa lightening of the area

Burning was a technique used to add light to certain areas of the image that Iwanted to be darker than the rest of the image If I wanted part of the back-ground darker I burnt it If I wanted a petal of a flower lighter I dodged it

It wasnrsquot an exact science and I couldnrsquot see the results of my efforts until theprint came out of the chemical process washed and dried Worse yet I hadto dodge or burn each print individually to have the same effect across allprints Multiple copies of the same print meant multiple dodges and multipleburns mdash a long hard process With Photoshop you can edit your imagesdodge and burn each image once and print as many as you want

Herersquos a hands-on look at dodging and burning your images

1 Create a new layer to edit your image

Create the new target layer with the other visible layers combined bypressing Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E (Ocirc+Shift+Option+E on the Mac)


Look at the photo to evaluate which areas you want to darken and whichyou want to lighten (If you havenrsquot noticed yet one of my favorite sub-jects to photograph is stuff found in backyards mdash such as butterflies andbirds Theyrsquore great models donrsquot complain and they like to fly aroundand pose for photos)

3 If necessary zoom in on the portions of the image you want to darkenor lighten with the Zoom tool Then click (first) the Zoom tool in thePhotoshop Toolbox and (next) the image

Press Ctrl+ to zoom in on your images Press Ctrlndash to zoom back out Onthe Mac zoom in by pressing Spacebar+Ocirc+Click zoom out by pressingSpacebar+Ocirc+Option+Click

4 Click and hold the mouse button over the Dodge tool or press Shift+Oa few times to get to the tool you want to use

Use the Dodge tool to lighten areas or use the Burn tool to darken areas


18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 215


5 Make your brush larger by pressing the ] key to enlarge the brush orthe [ key to reduce the size of the brush

You can also choose a softer brush by choosing the Brush Preset Pickeron the Option bar Using a softer-edged brush can reduce the harshedges that can appear with burning or dodging

6 Choose the Burn tool to make the light areas you want to darken

7 From the Option bar experiment with different Brush and Exposuresettings

I usually accept the defaults and make sure my Exposure setting isaround 35 percent You can dodge and burn Highlights Midtones andShadows by making those individual selections in the Option bar asshown in Figure 11-38

Figure 11-38 Adjusting the Brush and Exposure settings

8 Choose the Dodge tool to make the dark areas of the image brighter

Figure 11-39 shows the original image and then how burning and dodg-ing (in that order) can help make your image more correct in high-contrast areas

Figure 11-39 Comparing the images before mdash and after mdash burning and dodging

Before After

Option bar Brush options

Shadows Midtones or Highlights

Exposure

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Using Layer MasksOne of the more advanced features of Photoshop separates the casual userfrom the serious user Layer Masks These specialized layers let you hide orexpose specific parts of a layer by painting the portions you want to hide mdashor emphasize or expose mdash with the Paintbrush tool

You have many ways to accomplish the same task in Photoshop Using LayerMasks is just one of many techniques you can use to hide portions of imagesand replace with other effects layers or adjustments Some pretty slick usesof Layer Masks include these

Creating a layer in a portrait to blur or soften the subjectrsquos skin (a portrait-editing technique) With most portraits the subjects donrsquotwant to see their wrinkles pores or blemishes Many photographers usetechniques such as a Gaussian blur to blur the flaws but then paint inthe sharpened portions of the portrait (such as hair and eyes) that theydo not want blurred

Creating a Layer Mask to selectively paint in the effects of an overalladjustment blur or sharpening Using Layer Masks is a common tech-nique for retouching photographs selectively

Selectively darkening a background Darken the entire image using the HueSaturation Lightness slider to the level where the background isdarkened to your liking (Donrsquot worry You can create a Layer Mask andthen paint back in the areas that you donrsquot want darkened)

Replacing the background of an image by masking a selection from animage

The following steps give you a detailed taste of the Layer Maskrsquos powershowing you how to use one to hide the sharp portions of a blurred imageand then selectively ldquopaint back inrdquo the parts of the image you want toremain sharp You can apply many such effects and filters and then useLayer Masks to selectively paint in the effects I call this process the ldquoBad TieDayrdquo effect

1 Make a duplicate of the imagersquos background layer by choosingLayerDuplicate Layer or pressing Ctrl+J (Ocirc+J on the Mac)

Provide descriptive names to your layers when you create them Youcan change the layer name by clicking the layer name in the Layerspalette and typing in the new text

2 Blur the image by choosing FiltersBlurGaussian Blur

Try a blur setting from one to four as shown in Figure 11-40


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3 Create a Layer Mask by choosingLayerLayer Mask

Choose the Reveal All option in theflyout menu to fill the layer withwhite allowing the effects of thelayer adjustment to show throughChoosing the Hide All option in theflyout menu paints the layer withblack to hide the effects of theGaussian Blur layer adjustmentFor this example Irsquove chosenReveal All

The Reveal All option lets the effectsof the Gaussian Blur continue toshow in the image as shown inFigure 11-41 Choose this option topaint the areas to hide the GaussianBlur effect Choosing the Hide Alloption hides the Gaussian Blureffect allowing you to use a Paint-brush tool to paint in the areas ofthe image where you want theGaussian Blur effect

4 Click the Paintbrush tool in thePhotoshop Toolbox

Press D to set the foreground colorto white and the background colorto black The D key always changesthese back to the Photoshop defaultcolors (hence the D) white for fore-ground and black for backgroundPress X to reverse these colors

Using black as the foreground colorin the Reveal All mode paints awaythe Layer Mask using white as theforeground color paints the LayerMask back in

5 Lower the opacity to around 70percent in the Opacity field on thePaintbrush Option bar

Lowering the opacity reduces theldquostrengthrdquo of your painting result-ing in a more realistic transitionbetween the masked and thepainted areas of the layer

Figure 11-40 Applying a Gaussian Blur tothe bad ties

Figure 11-41 Painting in the sharperportions that are hidden under the LayerMask

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 218

6 Paint in the areas ofthe image you want tosharpen

Yes itrsquos a bit morework but herersquos why itworks

bull Painting areas ofthe image hidesthe Gaussian Blurand reveals thesharper imagebehind theGaussian Blurmask leaving theunpainted areasstill blurred

bull Painting revealsthe sharperdetails of thechosen ldquobadrdquo tiebut leaves a soft-ened look for therest of the ties(which is proba-bly a good thingthese were hang-ing on a clearancerack for areason) asshown in theimagersquos final formin Figure 11-42

To selectively sharpen an image use the same approach used to blur theimage Create a layer and merge the previous layers Sharpen the entireimage and create a Layer Mask to hide the sharpening Paint the areas youwant to sharpen and thatrsquos it


Figure 11-42 Softened photo after painting in the sharpareas hidden by the Layer Mask

18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 219


18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 220

12Preparing Photos for Output

In This Chapter Using a workflow for image output

Remembering color management

Sizing images

Resolving issues of (well yeah) resolution

Sharpening images

Printing images

Understanding (relative) image permanence

One of the biggest challenges a photographer faces is producing outputItrsquos not that itrsquos difficult (or that wersquore lazy) but we do spend a lot of

time shooting messing around with images in Photoshop and cruisingthe Web for photo sites when we have some spare time It justseems many photographers donrsquot print enough of their workto show off those stunning images

Have you ever gone through and viewed imagesyoursquove taken a few years ago and wonder why younever processed them or printed them for your port-folio (See I know yoursquove done that before) Thischapter shows you the process and techniquesneeded to produce beautiful prints and images forthe Web The ultimate destination for all our work isthe final image mdash and I have one more set of steps toshow you that will get you there the output workflowHopefully yoursquoll realize that by incorporating this finalworkflow into your overall process for every image yoursquollhave many more photos to hang on your wall do a show orpost to your photo Web site

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 221


Using an Output WorkflowTurning those pretty on-screen pictures into scintillating Web images mdash or intoactual hard copy you can hold in your hands or hang on a wall mdash is anotherwhole kettle of fish This section shows you how to put the fish in the kettle inthe right order in an output workflow that looks like this

1 Organize your output photos

When you edit images in Photoshop keep those versions of your imagefiles in a folder named to indicate that yoursquove edited those images Whenyou prep your photos for output set up folders to save separate ver-sions of the images in folders for prints Web or press

2 Make sure color management is implemented

From making color settings (EditColor Settings) to proofing (ViewProof Setup) two best practices will help you ensure effective color management

bull Edit your images in the correct color space

bull Proof your images while editing using the correct output profile inthe Customize Proof Condition window shown in Figure 12-1

Figure 12-1 The Customize Proof Condition window

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 222

3 Properly resize your images

Use the Crop tool or the Image Size command to resize your images tomatch your output needs Make sure you specify the correct output res-olution such as 72ppi for Web images or 300ppi for prints Resize yourimages using the Bicubic resampling method (for enlarging photos) orthe Bicubic Smoother resampling method (for reducing the size ofphotos)

4 Sharpen your photos

Almost all digital photos look better when you sharpen them in Photo-shop To sharpen photos use the Unsharp Mask or the new SmartSharpen filters available in the Filter menu For best results in mostphotos first increase the amount to a setting between 100 and 300 setthe Radius to around 13 or 14 and then slide the Threshold slider toabout 5 to 7 to reduce sharpening artifacts

These settings are typical but the Amount Radius and Threshold set-tings might be different for your photos

5 Save the image in an output folder

Donrsquot forget a little thing called image management (which I cover inChapter 4) Before printing save your image using the FileSave Ascommand save the modified output file to a folder yoursquove designated for your output files

6 Print

Printing isnrsquot like typing your resignation letter to your boss in Word(after you won the lottery right) and then clicking the Print button InPhotoshop there are a number of printing options that have to be set upcorrectly to ensure that your prints come out of the printer just the waythey look on your computer monitor I donrsquot want to throw a curve ballhere but there are two methods for printing (Donrsquot worry I show youboth of them later in this chapter)

A Little Color-Management ReminderConfusing as color management can be when it comes to printing with accu-rate colors you need to be thoroughly familiar with spaces

Working space This term refers to the color area Photoshop uses towork with colors Images are edited in Photoshop using the workingspace color settings and then converted to the printer space during

223Chapter 12 Preparing Photos for Output

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 223


printing Figure 12-2 shows thePhotoshop Color Settingswindow where your workingspace is applied in Photoshop

Printer space This term refersto the settings that tell Photo-shop the printer paper andlevel of quality yoursquore printingto To make great printsPhotoshop needs to know theprinter and paper yoursquore usingso it can convert your photorsquosdata correctly by using theprinter driver (loaded when you first set up your printer) All that happens when you usethe FilePrint With Previewcommand

For photographers there are only twoworking spaces to consider usingAdobe RGB (1998) and ColorMatchRGB Deciding which color space to use in Photoshop depends on the type ofprinter you have In my case ColorMatch RGB best matches the colors myinkjet photo printers can produce Choosing either working space producesexcellent results

To set your Photoshop color space follow these steps

1 Choose EditColor Settings

The Color Settings window (refer to Figure 12-2) is where you set upyour working space for editing photos

2 Choose US Prepress Defaults in the Settings field

This selection provides the best options for photographers

3 Choose Adobe RGB (1998) or ColorMatch RGB in the Working SpacesRGB field

You get great results using either choice for photos ColorMatch RGBmay provide more accurate color for use with some inkjet printersExperiment with using both Adobe RGB (1998) and ColorMatch RGB tosee what results are best for the printer you are using

Figure 12-2 Photoshop color settings

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 224

4 Choose Preserve Embedded Profile in the Color Management PoliciesRGB field

When you open a file that has an embedded working space other thanthat specified in the Working Spaces RGB field Photoshop either con-verts those files to the specified working space or preserves the embed-ded profile

I keep the default PreserveEmbedded Profiles That way Irsquollbe notified of any mismatches(see Figure 12-3) when I openthe file and have the opportu-nity to convert the file to myworking space at that time Byleaving the Profile MismatchesAsk When Opening optionselected Photoshop promptsme to either leave the image inits embedded working space orconvert the image to the work-ing space Irsquove specified in theColor Settings window

5 Set Conversion Options

Make sure to choose Adobe (ACE) (Adobe Colorimetric Engine) in theEngine field and Relative Colorimetric in the Intent field Adobe (ACE) isthe engine used to convert colors Relative Colorimetric is the bestchoice for rendering intent for photographers

6 Select Use Black Point Compensation

This is the default setting Black point compensation ensures that yourblack points are set in the shadow areas of your photos Selecting BlackPoint Compensation is best for photos If you donrsquot have this checkedyour images will appear muddy

7 Click OK to save

Sizing ImagesSooner or later as you work with your photos you have to resize them Ialways save this step until after Irsquove made my overall color corrections andimage edits Depending on the type of output you have planned for yourphotos you have to determine two factors



19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 225


Image size The image size includes the dimensions you specify forwidth and height Do you want an 8times10 a 5times7 or a 4times6 photo If yourphotorsquos destined for the Web you want something smaller 4times6 may bethe biggest size yoursquoll want to display images at on the Web and smallersizes are preferred

Print resolution for your photo If you are preparing the image for print-ing set the resolution to 300 or 360 pixels per inch (ppi) If you are tar-geting the file for the Web yoursquoll want to set the resolution to 72ppiAnything more would be a waste of resolution (and of the time it takesto transmit the file to the printer) Choose a resolution of 72ppi for yourWeb images

Resolution of sortsBefore resizing images you want to understand pixels and resolution so youcan make the correct decisions in Photoshop when you resize your photosThe first step is getting familiar with some basic terms

Pixels Pixels are those little square dots illustrated in Figure 12-4 thatmake up an image Each pixel is uniform in size and contains one color Ifyoursquore shooting with say an 8-megapixel camera each image capturedcan contain 8 million pixels Thatrsquos a potential You always have theoption to capture images at smaller resolutions (say at 32 megapixelsor lower) In any case thatrsquos a lot of pixels

Image resolution This is the setting used to size an image for outputFor example images to be viewed on-screen or on the Web should be set to a resolution of 72ppi (pixels per inch sometimes referred to asdots per inch or dpi) Images targeted for printing should be set toaround 300ppi

Image resolution is relative Different digital cameras produce different-size images but itrsquos the number of pixels per inch that actually deter-mines resolution More pixels per inch means better image quality whenyou print large photos My 7-megapixel compact digital camera (forexample) captures images at 300ppi where the image dimensions are1024 times 768 inches My older 5-megapixel compact digital camera cap-tures images at 72ppi mdash but the dimensions are 355 times 266 inches

If you change the resolution of the image you get from a 5-megapixelcompact digital camera from 72ppi to 300ppi the dimensions thenshrink to 85 times 64 inches You really havenrsquot changed the actual size ofthe image yoursquove just shrunk the image on-screen to achieve a desiredoutput resolution that matches your printerrsquos optimum printing condi-tions If you had a 35-inch-wide printer you could change the ppi settingback to 72 to achieve that image-output size but the image quality atthat huge print size would be crummy

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 226

Figure 12-4 Most digital camerarsquos produce square pixels

File size For digital images the best way to describe the size of a file isby the number of pixels it contains The 7-megapixel file my compactdigital camera produces is 3072 times 2304 pixels Multiply those two pixeldimensions together and you have 7077888 pixels mdash 7 megapixels

Image dimension Image dimension is the actual physical size of animage when itrsquos printed or sized for display Image dimension should notbe confused with resolution or file size

Understanding interpolationInterpolation is the process of increasing the resolution of an image (or a sec-tion of an image) when cropping to increase the number of pixels per inch A


19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 227


6-megapixel digital camera should be able to produce 8times10 prints without aproblem even if you have to do some cropping

If you print large prints mdash say 11times14 or 13times19 mdash your digital camera canproduce more resolution without interpolation and thatrsquos a better resultLarger prints require a larger amount of image information however for larger prints the more megapixels the better Though you can get accept-able large prints from 5-megapixel cameras (or even some photos shot with a 3- or 4-megapixel camera) yoursquore usually limited to prints no larger than8times10 inches

If you do a lot of cropping and still maintain image sizes of 5times7 or 8times10 theimage quality may noticeably decrease at that print size mdash unless you tellPhotoshop to interpolate by indicating a higher resolution in the Crop toolrsquosOption bar when you crop

Irsquoll often crop out small portions of a photograph mdash itrsquos sort of like creating aphoto from a photo mdash but indicating a higher resolution in the Option bar maydegrade the quality somewhat depending on how much of the image yoursquoreeliminating in your crop Images from 7- or 8-megapixel cameras can still pro-vide enough resolution to produce high-quality large prints even if you dosome extreme cropping mdash as Irsquove done in the example shown in Figure 12-5

Figure 12-5 Extreme cropping at the same ppi setting

Original as 360ppi Extreme crop at 360ppi

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 228

A great Photoshop plug-in to use to further interpolate images is GenuineFractals You can enlarge an image up to 700 percent without image degrada-tion a perfect solution for extreme cropping or when you want to enlargeyour digital images to poster-size prints For more information on GenuineFractals visit its Web site at wwwononesoftwarecom

When you choose a resample method Photoshop actually assigns an interpo-lation method mdash which assigns color values to the new pixels that are cre-ated when you enlarge an image Photoshop bases those color values on asample of neighboring pixels (hence the term sampling) The resamplingmethod you choose helps preserve the quality of the image when you size animage larger than its native (original) resolution

Herersquos your range of resampling choices

Nearest Neighbor Used for basic illustrations when quality isnrsquot anissue Not recommended for photos

Bilinear Another method not recommended for use with photos butstill useful for some illustrations

Bicubic The preferred method of resampling photos This method usesthe values of surrounding pixels to interpolate Leave Bicubic as yourdefault resampling method because it provides the highest quality inter-polation method in Photoshop

Bicubic Smoother This method (similar to the bicubic resamplingmethod) increases the size of an image mdash with smoother results than withother resampling methods May be good for some images and portraits

Bicubic Sharper This resampling method is used for reducing the size ofan image while enhancing sharpness

Note Because sharpening is a step that should come after resizing theBicubic Sharper option really isnrsquot needed

Resizing using the Crop toolOne easy way to size your images is by using the Crop tool to specify theexact width height and output resolution of an image Figure 12-6 shows theCrop tool used to crop and size an image

To use the Crop tool follow these steps

1 Open an image

2 Click the Crop tool in the Photoshop Toolbox


19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 229


3 Type the width in the Width field in the Option bar

This measurement is how wide you want your output image to be whenit prints out or appears on the Web Here Irsquove chosen a width of 7 inches

Figure 12-6 Cropping with the Crop tool

4 Type the height in the Height field

Irsquove chosen a height of 5 inches

5 Type the resolution you want for your file

If yoursquore preparing an image for printing enter 300ppi to 360ppi in theResolution field If file is destined for the Web enter 72ppi Irsquove chosen a resolution of 360ppi for the purpose of printing To avoid getting thedreaded jaggies donrsquot increase the resolution greater than what theimage is already set to

Crop tool

Drag crop area

Set width Set height Set resolution (ppi)

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 230

6 Click and drag the area in your image that you want to crop

Release the mouse button When you do the crop area you selectedremains bright the area you want to eliminate darkens Additionally youcan hold down the Spacebar while dragging the Crop tool and the selec-tion area moves without changing dimensions

7 Resize or move the crop area to the position you like best

Click the crop area and while holding down the mouse button move the highlighted crop area around until you position the crop where youwant it

Click any of the corners of the crop box and drag the corner up or downto resize the crop area Click just outside any corner to rotate the croparea

8 Click the check mark icon in the Option bar to complete the crop

Alternatively you can just double-click inside the selected area to com-plete the crop

The image is sized exactly as selected at 5times7 at 360ppi

Resize using Image SizeInstead of using the Crop tool to size images you can use the Image Size com-mand to change the size of images that donrsquot need cropping

To change the size of an image using the Image Size command follow thesesteps

1 Choose ImageImage Size orpress Ctrl+Alt+I (Ocirc+Option+Ion the Mac)

Figure 12-7 shows the Image Sizewindow

2 Deselect the Resample Imageoption

3 Type in the width of the image

If you are printing an 8times10 type8 in the Width field if the imageis in Portrait orientation or 10 if the image is in Landscape orientation


Figure 12-7 The Image Size window

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 231


If you type the width first then the height and resolution automaticallychange to accommodate the new width The Image Size adjustment auto-matically changes the height and resolution as long as the ResampleImage check box is not selected

4 Select the Resample Image option

Selecting this option now locks the width and height so those dimen-sions donrsquot change when you enter the resolution you want

5 Type in the resolution for the photo

Leave the default resampling method Bicubic which is the best settingfor photographs

6 Click OK to close the window and save your changes

Sharpen UpThe final step in an output-preparation workflow is to sharpen your photos mdashthat is enhance the edges and increase contrast Almost all images producedby digital cameras need some sharpening before you print them or save themfor use on the Web But donrsquot start returning your digital cameras for refundsthey do indeed take sharp pictures But after yoursquove adjusted edited andresized your digital images theyrsquoll need to be sharpened enough to give themback some crispness Different photos need different amounts of sharpeningapplied there is no standard amount that works for all images

Sharpening is the last step in running an image through Photoshop so if youneed to get rid of visual noise run your image through noise reduction beforeyou sharpen Other tips for sharpening include these

Sharpening does not help photos that are out of focus or blurredSharpening only benefits photos that were properly focused in thecamera when you shot them

Only sharpen images after an image has been sized for final output Ifyou sharpen images before you resize yoursquoll get undesirable sharpeningartifacts in your image like the dreaded jaggies

Create a separate layer for sharpening the image If you resize theimage later you can always delete the original sharpening layer Create alayer by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E (Ocirc+Shift+Option+E on a Mac) Thenew target layer will be created with the visible layers merged together

Sharpen images using the Unsharp Mask or Smart Sharpen filterslocated in the FilterSharpen menu The Smart Sharpen filter offersenhanced sharpening capabilities not found in the Unsharp Mask filter mdashincluding finer-tuned control over shadows and highlights

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 232

By now you may wonder why Adobe gave the best sharpening tool for photosa nonsensical name like Unsharp Mask Tradition I guess Unsharp Mask is aterm left over from the old sharpening processes used in the darkroom Irsquomnot sure why Adobe didnrsquot just change the name to Photo Sharpening or toUSE THIS FILTER TO MAKE YOUR PHOTOS SHARP For now just rememberthat Unsharp Mask is a good and easy-to-use tool for sharpening your images

You can selectively sharpen specific portions of your image by using theLayer Mask techniques I explain in Chapter 11

Herersquos how to sharpen a photo using the Unsharp Mask filter

1 Open the image that you want to sharpen

Figure 12-8 shows an image before sharpening

Before you sharpen an image make sure that you have already resizedthe image for final output Sharpening an image before resizing itdecreases its quality

Figure 12-8 Original image before sharpening


19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 233


2 Zoom in on the image to get a better look at what happens when yousharpen

3 Choose FilterSharpenUnsharp Mask

The Unsharp Mask filter window appears

4 Click a part of the image that contains straight lines or contrast

Doing so helps you judge the amount of sharpening to apply Itrsquos easierto see the effects of using too much sharpening when you view zoomedsections that include straight lines or noticeable contrast between areas

5 Move the Amount slider to theright as shown in Figure 12-9

How much to set depends on theimage Increasing the amountactually increases contrast alongedges giving you the appearanceof a sharpening effect For por-traits settings around 100 to 150 may be sufficient for land-scapes 200 to 300 may producethe results you want

6 Move the Radius slider to theright

The Radius is simply the amountof edge pixels that are affectedby the Amount Move the sliderto the range of 13 pixels to 15pixels boosting it beyond 15can mean poor results View the image in the Unsharp Maskwindow and the Image windowto judge what you get

You can also type the value you want into the Radius field instead ofusing the slider Sometimes itrsquos not worth the hassle trying to use theslider for precise adjustments like the Radius setting I just type in thevalue of 14 or 15 and retype it in the field if I need to readjust

7 Move the Threshold slider to the right until the zoomed preview showsa reduction of sharpening artifacts

Sharpening increases the unwanted artifacts that appear as noise inyour image Moving the Threshold slider to the right (so the setting issomewhere between 4 and 7) reduces those artifacts in your image afteryou set the Amount and Radius increasing the Threshold reduces somesharpening Judge the amount of Threshold you use as with other thingsin life Sharpen and Threshold have a give-and-take relationship

Figure 12-9 The Unsharp Mask filter window

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 234

Figure 12-10 shows the image at 100 percent zoom before and after theUnsharp Mask filter was applied

Figure 12-10 Zoomed view before and after applying the Unsharp Mask filter

Before sharpening After sharpening


The Smart Sharpen filterPhotographers have always used the UnsharpMask for sharpening photos in Photoshop New inCS2 is the Smart Sharpen filter which will changethe way we sharpen our photos The SmartSharpen filter seems to be like the Unsharp Maskfilter on steroids and not only that it has a muchbetter name

Smart Sharpen offers the photographer moresharpening control than whatrsquos offered in theUnsharp Mask filter by adding the capability ofcontrolling the amount of sharpening thatrsquos appliedto both the shadow and highlight areas of an image As a bonus you can save the algorithms yoursquoveset up for use with other images

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 235


Printing the Final StopAll the work yoursquove done organizingconverting adjusting editing andpreparing images for output isintended for one thing the final printWouldnrsquot it be nice if all you have todo in this final step is to chooseFilePrint and click OK Well surethat would be nice but nope Youstill have a few more steps to takebefore you send your image to theprinter (see Figure 12-11)

Your printer driver mdash the printer-setup software you load on yourcomputer when you install a new printer mdash gives you many options for con-trolling how it prints your photos When you print from Photoshop yoursquoll beviewing these printer driver windows to customize the way you want to printNot only that there are two methods for printing You can let Photoshopdetermine color conversions or you can let your printer driver determinecolor conversions Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages I review those in a little bit

Choosing papersIf you are printing using a photo-quality printer you have a slew of paperchoices There is no right or wrong paper to use follow your personal tastePersonally I lean toward papers that have a longer display life (also calledlonger image permanence though of course ldquopermanencerdquo is relative here)

When choosing papers keep these ideas in mind

Choose photo-quality papers manufactured for your printer modelThere are a lot of papers on the market but choosing papers that wereintended for your model of printer works best

If available choose papers where individual profiles for that specificpaper type are available For some printers and papers you can installfiles on your computer that tell your printer driver and Photoshop howto handle colors These files are called ICC or ICM files also referred toas paper profiles Check your printer manufacturerrsquos Web site for thelatest printer drivers and paper profiles to load on your computer

Figure 12-11 Printing away

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 236

Make sure the paper type is compatible with your printer There are twodifferent types of inkjet printers those that use dye-based inks and thosethat use pigment-based inks For best results make sure the paper youchoose is compatible with your printer and the type of ink it uses Dye-sublimation printers (printers that use thermal printing technology) workonly with papers made for those types of printers

A popular method for printing is to send your image files over the Web tocompanies such as Kodak or (for that matter) Costco If you want to usethese printing services make sure you can download printer profiles fromtheir Web sites I recently went on vacation and took about 300 snapshotswith my compact digital camera Instead of waiting weeks to print them all onmy inkjet at a higher cost I transmitted them to my local Costco mdash after Irsquoddownloaded the ICC paper profile from the Costco Web site for the paper Iwanted them to use made my adjustments in Photoshop and proofed thosephotos with my Costco profiles The extra work paid off the 4times6 prints Ipicked up were very accurate

Letting Photoshop do the printingI mentioned at the beginning of this section that there are two workflows youcan use for printing Herersquos the first (and preferred) choice LettingPhotoshop handle color management (The second choice is letting theprinter handle color management more about that shortly)

To set up Photoshop to handle the color management for your images duringthe printing process follow these steps

1 Open the file you want to print

If the Embedded ProfileMismatch window (refer toFigure 12-3) appears select theworking space that you set up inthe Color Settings window

2 Indicate the print orientation

After you choose FilePageSetup choose Portrait orLandscape orientation to matchyour image Figure 12-12 showsthe Page Setup window

3 Choose FilePrint withPreview or press Ctrl+Alt+P(Ocirc+Option+P on a Mac)

The Print window appearsshowing a preview of yourimage


Figure 12-12 Selecting Portrait or Landscapein the Page Setup window

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 237


4 Click Show More Options to view all the settings shown in Figure 12-13

Figure 12-13 The Print With Preview window

5 Choose Color Management from the drop-down list below the printpreview

6 Select the Document option in the Print area to indicate the imagersquoscolor space

The color space should be listed as Adobe RGB (1998) or ColorMatchRGB depending on what you chose in the Color Settings window

7 Choose Let Photoshop Determine Colors in the Options Color Handlingfield

Check Black Point Compensation

Click to proceed

Choose Let Photoshop Determine Colors

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 238

8 Choose Relative Colorimetric in the Rendering Intent field

Make sure the Black Point Compensation option is selected This settingensures that the Black Point Compensation is correctly set in theimagersquos shadow areas

9 Click Print

The Print window shown in Figure 12-14 appears

Figure 12-14 The Print window

10 Choose the correct printer from the Print window Name drop-downlist

11 Click Properties in the Print window

The Printer Driver window appears as shown in Figure 12-15

A driver is software you load onto your computer when you install a newdevice it tells the computer how to find and control the new hardwareThe Printer Driver window is different for different printers the oneshown in Figure 12-15 is for the Epson R1800 printer

Select printer

Click to view Printer Driver window


19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 239


Figure 12-15 A typical Printer Driver window

12 In the Printer Driver window select the appropriate paper feed typein the Paper amp Quality Options area

Usually the default setting is fine for this selection

13 Select the paper type

This selection is important because how the printer prints depends onthe type of paper you have loaded

If the paper yoursquore using is not listed in the Paper amp Quality Options areaof the printer driver window try downloading the latest printer driverfrom the printer manufacturerrsquos Web site

Choose paper

Deselect

Choose orientation

Paper size

Choose print quality

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 240

14 Select the quality you want to print your photo with

I usually use the highest quality setting Best Photo

15 Select the paper size

Make sure you select the paper size you have loaded in the printer

16 For better print quality make sure High Speed and Edge Smoothingare not selected in the Print Options area

17 Select ICM in the Color Management area

Figure 12-16 shows how the Printer Driver window changes when youselect ICM

Figure 12-16 Select ICM in the Printer Driver window

Click to select ICM

Click to print

Click to turn off printer color management


19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 241


18 Select Off (No Color Adjustment) in the ICCICM Profile section

This turns off the printerrsquos color management and lets Photoshop con-vert the colors

Selecting the Off (No Color Adjustment) option is important Doing soprevents color management from being applied twice to the photo Ifthat were to happen it would make your photo too dark and too red

19 Click OK to complete your work and send the image to the printer

Admire your printed photo

If you selected the Print Previewoption in the Print Options area ofthe Printer Driver window the PrintPreview window (shown in Figure12-17) is what you see next The PrintPreview window gives you a quickpeek at the photo before you send itto the printer Click OK in the PrinterDriver window to send the image tothe printer

Typically prints need 24 hours todry after coming out of the printerLay the prints on a flat surface andlet them dry overnight If you have to you can stack multiple prints with pho-tographic tissue paper in between them

Donrsquot count on the Print Preview to give you an accurate representation of howyour print will look coming out on the printer Color tone brightness and con-trast may not appear correctly in the preview Use Print Preview as a ldquosanitycheckrdquo to make sure you selected the right orientation size and so on

Letting your printer do the printingIf letting Photoshop handle the color management doesnrsquot work out for youyou can choose a second workflow mdash letting your printer handle the colorduties

As mentioned in the previous section letting Photoshop handle the printingis the preferred method Let the printer manage color only if your printerrsquospaper profiles or driver produce unacceptable results when you try to printfrom Photoshop

Figure 12-17 The Print Preview window

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 243 PM Page 242

This method is also best used to print when printer profiles arenrsquot availableor when you donrsquot know what type of paper yoursquore using You may also getgood results from this method if the paper profiles provided for your printerdonrsquot print with accurate color when yoursquore printing from within PhotoshopThat problem usually stems from an inaccuracy in your printer driver paperprofile (ICC profile) or color-management settings

To set up your image for printing while letting the printer handle color man-agement follow these steps


If the Embedded Profile Mismatch window (refer to Figure 12-3) appearsselect the working space that you set up in the Color Settings window


Choose FilePage Setup and select Portrait or Landscape orientationdepending on your image

3 Choose FilePrint with Preview or press Ctrl+Alt+P (Ocirc+Option+P ona Mac)

The Print window appears showing a preview of your image

4 Click Show More Options toview all the settings shown inFigure 12-18

5 Choose Color Managementfrom the drop-down list belowthe print preview

6 Select the Document option inthe Print area to indicate theimagersquos color space

The color space should be listed as Adobe RGB (1998) orColorMatch RGB depending onwhat you chose in the ColorSettings window

7 Choose Let Printer DetermineColors in the Options ColorHandling field

With this choice you are tellingPhotoshop to let the printerconvert the image color information to what works for the printer notPhotoshop



Figure 12-18 The Print window with a previewof your image

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 243 PM Page 243


8 Choose Relative Colorimetric as your Rendering Intent selection

9 Click Print

The Print window (shown in Figure 12-19) appears


10 Choose the correct printer from the Print windowrsquos Printer Namedrop-down list

If yoursquove installed your printer driver on your computer your printermodel should appear in this list

11 Click Properties


The printer-driver software is loaded into your computer when youinstall your printer Different manufacturers have their own versions ofthese utilities Here I demonstrate using the Epson R1800 printer driver(see Figure 12-20) The Printer Driver window may differ from printer toprinter but the concepts remain the same

Select printer


19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 243 PM Page 244

Figure 12-20 The Printer Driver window


Normally you can select the default setting and get fine results





Select 22 Gamma

Fine-tune color and tone

Choose paper

Deselect

Choose orientation

Paper size



19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 243 PM Page 245





17 Select the Color Controls option in the Color Management area

This turns on the printerrsquos color management and lets the printer con-vert colors

18 For the first print leave the image adjustments set to their defaults

You can readjust color or brightness later to fine-tune your prints if youneed to



Understanding Image PermanenceRemember all those photos taken when you were a kid I bet a lot of them are turning orange and fading mdash even if yoursquore in your twenties Color pho-tographs typically donrsquot last all that long mdash depending how theyrsquore storedyoursquove got maybe five or ten years before they begin to fade That doesnrsquotseem long for photos intended to be treasured for many years They lookedlike theyrsquod last forever when you took them but

Image permanence is actually the lifespan of a photographic print before itstarts to deteriorate After that photos start to lose their color definitionThey begin to fade and change colors

The question for you is how important image permanence is in your digital-photography work If a print fades after 10 years you can just print anotherone (I have to admit that argument does have merit but I canrsquot help thinkingthat if Irsquom busy printing today the last thing Irsquoll want to do is print my photosall over again in a few years Life is short mdash for everything it seems)

When it comes to longer-lasting prints inkjet printers have come a long wayin the past 10 years or so The first photo-quality inkjet printers producedprints with an image permanence rated at about 30 or 40 years if you usedthe right paper That length of time is pretty good often surpassing the per-manence of prints received from the corner drugstore

As a digital artist I want my prints to last 100 to 200 years without any notice-able deterioration Fine art prints should last as long as technically possible

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 243 PM Page 246

A few recent desktop inkjet printers offer papers and inks that have an image-permanence rating of 100 to 200 years depending on the paper you use

To make prints that last for the next several lifetimes keep these guidelinesin mind

Choose a printer that produces good photo-quality images and offerspaper and ink options rated to last at least 100 years Do your home-work by researching printer models from the top photo printer manufac-turers Photo-quality printers should be able to produce photos at leastat 1440dpi (dpi ratings are applied by the manufacturer) Some printermodels can produce images at 2880dpi I suggest visiting httpepsoncom httphpcom and httpcanoncom for information on their latest models of photo-quality printers All provide excellentchoices For further information check out the printing forum athttpdpreviewcom

Only use ink cartridges and paper intended for your particular brandof printer Be very careful about using third-party inks in your printersThe printer wasnrsquot designed with third-party inks in mind Manufacturersby the way make their money off selling supplies not hardware Theyhave a monopoly on the supply market for their printers but I still rec-ommend sticking with your manufacturerrsquos brand of inks

Use papers manufactured for your printer model Your printer wasnrsquotengineered to work with most third-party papers Image permanence rat-ings are sometimes non-existent for these papers Yoursquoll get best resultsusing the printer manufacturerrsquos brand

Adhere to the manufacturerrsquos suggested storage and display standardsfor your photographs Typically photographic paperink combinationsare rated with the assumption in mind that the photographs are storedin archival conditions

Archival is a term used mostly by museum curators librarians and classicbook dealers to mean long-lasting and harmless to what yoursquore storing In thephotographic area archival means specific handling of photographs andmedia using papers mounting boards gloves and special glass that encour-age preservation A whole industry is out there for archival supplies

To preserve the life and quality of your prints consider using the followingfor storing and displaying your prints

Archival matte and backing boards Whether you cut your own mattesor have a professional framer do the work make sure yoursquore using 100-percent acid-free materials Adhesives tapes and photo corners alsoneed to be acid-free


19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 243 PM Page 247


Archival photo storage boxes Store unframed and photos in archivalboxes Any light and air pollutants such as dust or pollen can quicklydegrade the permanence of photos Make sure you store your prints inboxes specifically sold as archival quality

Display mounted photographs in frames and behind UV-protectedglass (or Plexiglas) UV-protected glass filters out harmful ultravioletlight which can degrade the color of an image over time

19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 243 PM Page 248

Part VThe Part of Tens

20_774820 pt5qxp 1306 613 PM Page 249

In this part

If the earth hadnrsquot been created in seven days itcould easily have taken ten Maybe thatrsquos why

there are exactly 10 working days in a one-monthperiod (for me anyway) it takes 10 steps to getfrom my desk to the refrigerator and itrsquos abouta 10-mile round-trip from my house to the zoowhere they have accommodations for 10 mon-keys (I like monkeys) I have about 10 dollars inmy wallet I can eat 10 Hostess cupcakes in onesitting I must have included 10 photos of squirrelsin this book because there must be 10 nests of thedarn things around my house Do you see a pat-tern here Ten Yes the number 10 five plus fiveeleven minus one mdash the theme of this part

The Part of Tens is my personal favorite part ofwriting these books I can get a little more creativewith these chapters and assemble them as setsof 10-cool-things-about-Photoshop In Chapter 13I show you 10 ways to improve and share yourphotographs such as converting color images toblack and white creating photo Web sites directlyfrom Photoshop and stitching together panoramasVery cool stuff and easy to do

I also show how to add special effects that turnordinary photos (maybe some you wouldnrsquot botherusing) into works of art I even impress myselfsometimes when messing around with a ldquoblahrdquoimage (or an artistic photo) produces somethingbeautiful mdash or downright weird But the mainpoint is to open your mind to the possibilitiesbe creative and (most of all) have fun with yourimages I sure do

20_774820 pt5qxp 1306 614 PM Page 250

13Ten Ways to Improve Your

Photos and Show Off Your Work

As a ldquotraditionalrdquo photographer I put a lot of work over the years intousing proper shooting techniques mdash and into producing prints using

the regular chemical methods Straight shots straight prints Since makingthe transition to digital Irsquove incorporated more and more effects into mywork as well as displaying photos in new media such as the Web

Photoshop offers photographers almost endless possibilities to improvephotos mdash and to process them creatively To add further zest and originalityto your work you can get third-party add-ons (also called plug-ins) thatgive you even more ways to jazz up your work Hey if living life toits fullest means an anything-goes attitude adapt that strat-egy to your photography Yoursquoll produce photos yoursquovenever dreamed of

I still do a lot of traditional photography but when-ever I get a chance I push Photoshop to its limits tosee what I can do In this chapter I show you sometricks I use to enhance my photos

Creating Black and White from Color

For traditional fine art photo collectors purists so-called ldquofineart photographersrdquo and the artsy-fartsy crowd in general the onlyphotographic ldquoart formrdquo is supposed to be the old silver-halide-produced

21_774820 ch13qxp 1506 835 PM Page 251

252 Part V The Part of Tens

black-and-white (BampW) photographs Personally Irsquove never believed that for asecond I like color mdash and Irsquom of the opinion that art is what you make of itWhatever happened to personal taste The most important question to askyourself is why limit yourself to either black and white or color Do both Heyits like I always say mdash ldquowhatever blows your hair backrdquo

As with a lot of the cool things you can do in Photoshop converting a colordigital image to a BampW image can be done in a number of ways I show you a few that I use The first is a ldquoquickierdquo method The second technique usesthe Channel Mixer The third method (my favorite) uses the HueSaturationadjustment layer to convert color photos to black and white One methodisnrsquot really better than the other I suggest you try all to see which you likebest

Quickie BampW from colorSometimes less is more I find that quick methods sometimes work best Forinstance herersquos a quickie method that takes the complexity out of BampW con-versions using one simple command to convert your color image to blackand white Here are the steps to that quick conversion

1 Open a photo in Photoshop that you want to convert to black andwhite

Make sure yoursquove made your tonal and color corrections before pro-ceeding Though yoursquore converting your image to black and white you still may want a color version as well I cover those corrections inChapter 10

2 Create a new layer to use to make your BampW conversion

a Create a new layer by pressing Shift+Ctrl+Alt+E (Shift+Ocirc+Option+Eon a Mac)

b Name this new layer selections

3 Choose ImageAdjustmentsDesaturate or press Shift+Ctrl+U(Shift+Ocirc+U on a Mac)

This procedure to convert your image to BampW is about as easy as theycome The Desaturate command simply converts the entire image toblack and white

21_774820 ch13qxp 1306 616 PM Page 252

Using the Channel Mixer to convert to BampWUsing the Channel Mixer you can desaturate (that is remove color) yourentire image and then fine-tune the Red Green and Blue channels to obtainmore control over the tones of the image you are converting It bears repeat-ing Photoshop always gives you many ways to obtain similar results mdash andusing the Channel Mixer is another way to convert color images to BampW(while obtaining a slightly different result) To use the Channel Mixer to makeyour conversion follow these steps

1 Open a photo in Photoshop that you want to convert to BampW

Figure 13-1 shows a shot Irsquove chosen to convert The photo has somecolor but I thought it would look more interesting in black and white

Process the photo as you would any other making the color and tonaladjustments I cover in Chapter 10

Figure 13-1 The original color photo

2 Create a Channel Mixer adjustment layer

From the Layers palette click the Create New Fill button (or theAdjustment Layer button) and choose Channel Mixer You can use theChannel Mixer to convert your image quickly from color to BampW andthen make minor adjustments

253Chapter 13 Ten Ways to Improve Your Photos and Show Off Your Work

21_774820 ch13qxp 1306 616 PM Page 253


3 Click the Monochrome check box

Clicking the Monochrome checkbox immediately converts yourimage to black and white Figure13-2 shows the Monochromecheck box

4 Make moderate adjustments tothe Red Green and Bluechannels in the Channel Mixerdialog box

You donrsquot need to move theRed Green or Blue slidersmuch Most of the time yoursquollwant to adjust the Red channelslightly to get the BampW effectyou want

Experiment by moving each slider mdash Red Green and Blue mdash and yoursquoll prob-ably find that only slight (or even no) adjustment does the trick Figure 13-3shows the image converted using the Channel Mixer

Figure 13-3 Converted image to BampW using the Channel Mixer

Figure 13-2 Creating a Channel Mixeradjustment layer

21_774820 ch13qxp 1306 616 PM Page 254

To increase or decrease contrast in the image after you convert it to blackand white create a Curves adjustment layer that you can use to increase ordecrease the contrast in your image to your liking

Desaturating color using HueSaturationAnother way to convert color images to BampW involves HueSaturation adjust-ment I like to use this method to desaturate yellows greens blues cyansand magentas in a color image Then I use the Red Saturation control to add a little selenium-toned (you know those black-and-white photos with thatbrownish toning to them) look to my BampW converted photo Herersquos the drill

1 Open a photo you want to convert to BampW

As in the first method make sure yoursquove made your tonal and color cor-rections before proceeding (I cover those corrections in Chapter 10)

2 Create a HueSaturation adjust-ment layer

Figure 13-4 shows creating aHueSaturation adjustment layerby clicking the Create a New Fillor Adjustment Layer button andthen choosing HueSaturationfrom the resulting menu

3 Desaturate colors starting withyellow

a Click the Edit menu andselect Yellows (Ctrl+2[Windows] or Ocirc+2 [Mac])

b In the Saturation controlmove the Saturation sliderall the way to the left to asetting of ndash100 to removethe yellow color

c Repeat this step for eachof the other colors greens cyans blues and magentas (Youadjust the reds in the next step)

4 Desaturate the Red channel

Move the slider all the way to the left to a setting of ndash100 Move theslider back to the left slightly until you obtain a toned effect A setting ofndash70 to ndash40 usually gives me the toned effect I like in some of my BampWconversions The photo when converted to BampW as shown in Figure 13-5is slightly toned with a Red-channel Saturation setting of ndash40


Figure 13-4 Creating a HueSaturationadjustment layer

21_774820 ch13qxp 1306 616 PM Page 255


Figure 13-5 Converted image using the HueSaturation adjustment to add tone

Selective ColorYou may have seen photos and film of BampW scenes where only a portion ofthe frame is in color In Photoshop thatrsquos a fairly easy effect to accomplishIrsquove added a few of these photos to my portfolio and it adds a nice surprisefor someone viewing my work on the Web or in a collection of prints

My technique is simple mdash itrsquos almost the same as the previous technique thatconverts color to BampW except I save a selection in which color will remainThe process that achieves this selective color follows

1 Open a photo you want to convert to BampW while retaining an objectwith color

As in the first method make sure yoursquove made your tonal and color cor-rections (see Chapter 10) before proceeding

2 Create a new layer you can use to make selections



3 Select a part of the image to remain in color

Using the selection techniques covered in Chapter 11 select an area ofthe image where you want color to remain Figure 13-6 shows a zoomedportion of my image with an area selected here Irsquom using the MagicWand tool to select areas I want to retain their colors

Color image Converted to BampW using HueSaturation

21_774820 ch13qxp 1306 616 PM Page 256

Figure 13-6 Making selections using the Magic Wand tool

As you use the Magic Wand experiment with different Tolerance set-tings (You can find the Tolerance setting in the Option bar shown inFigure 13-6) For like colors Irsquod use a lower setting (such as 20) but forcolors like those of the leaves in my example I have to select a broaderrange of colors mdash so here I change the Tolerance setting to 40 Thishigher setting allows me to select more of the image with each click ofthe Magic Wand

4 Duplicate the layer

Right-click (Ctrl+click on a Mac) on the active layer and chooseDuplicate layer Name the new layer Convert to BampW

5 Inverse the selection

Because I want to keep the color in the selected leaves I choose SelectInverse or Shift+Ctrl+I (Shift+Ocirc+I on a Mac) which inverses the selectionso the rest of the image (and not the leaves) gets converted to BampW

6 Desaturate color

Choose ImageAdjustmentsHueSaturation or press Ctrl+U (Ocirc+U on aMac) As in the BampW conversion technique covered in the ldquoDesaturatingcolor using HueSaturationrdquo section (earlier in this chapter) you desatu-rate reds greens and blues by clicking the yellows greens blues cyansand magentas and moving the Saturation slider for each color all theway to the left to desaturate it

Slide those reds only as far to the left as it takes to give you the slightlytoned effect If you donrsquot want a toned effect in your image you can slidethe reds all the way to the left to a setting of ndash100


21_774820 ch13qxp 1306 616 PM Page 257


7 Adjust contrast by using the Curves adjustment

I often find that my BampW conversions need a touch of contrast addedUse the Curves adjustment to add or reduce contrast in the BampW areasof the image to your personal taste

Figure 13-7 shows the original color image compared to the same imageconverted to BampW with selective colors remaining

Figure 13-7 Original color image and the converted image with selective color

Creating a Cool Blurring EffectOften Irsquoll shoot a series of photos of a subject and use the best one as myfinal working image Other photos in the series may be good but Irsquove alreadypicked the best one When Irsquom bored and therersquos nothing on TV like footballThe Three Stooges any show with monkeys in it or The Simpsons Irsquoll fire upthe computer start Bridge and cruise for photos to have fun with

Converted to BampW with selective color

Color image

21_774820 ch13qxp 1306 616 PM Page 258

One technique I like to use on these ldquolost treasuresrdquo is a selective blur effectIrsquoll apply a blur to the image create a layer mask then selectively paint in theparts of the image I want blurred

Herersquos the procedure that creates the blurring effect

1 Open a photo you want to convert and apply the blureffects to

Make sure yoursquove made yourtonal and color corrections (discussed in Chapter 10) beforeproceeding

2 Create a new layer to use toapply the blur by pressingShift+Ctrl+Alt+E (Shift+Ocirc+Option+E on a Mac) and thenname the layer gaussian bluras in the Layers palette shownin Figure 13-8

3 Choose the Gaussian Blur filterby choosing FilterBlurGaussian Blur

The Gaussian Blur filter windowappears as shown in Figure13-9 This is the filter you use toapply the blur to the entireimage Donrsquot worry mdash the next few steps show you how to bring backthe sharp parts of the image you want to retain

Figure 13-9 The Gaussian Blur window


Figure 13-8 Layers palette with a new layercreated for editing

21_774820 ch13qxp 1306 616 PM Page 259


4 Blur the image

Move the Radius slider to the left until the image and the preview dis-plays the amount of blur you want For this example Irsquom settling for aRadius value of 215

5 Create a Layer Mask

Create a Layer Mask by clicking the Create Layer Mask button located atthe bottom of the Layer palette (shown in Figure 13-8)

You can also create a Layer Mask by choosing LayerLayer MaskReveal All (or Hide All) The Reveal All option will create the maskrevealing the blur you applied in Step 4 the Hide All selection will hidethe blur effect yoursquove added

6 Paint in the blur (see Figure 13-10)

In this step click the Paintbrush tool in the Toolbox to paint in the effectof revealing the sharp areas of your image that yoursquove decided to revealThe rest of the image will remain blurred

Figure 13-10 Painting the sharp areas back into the image

If your Paintbrush tool isnrsquot revealing any sharp areas click the SwitchForeground and Background Colors button on the Toolbox or type XDoing so changes the foreground color to black in this case revealingthe blurred areas of the image

Figure 13-11 shows the original image next to the image with selectiveblurring applied

21_774820 ch13qxp 1306 616 PM Page 260

Figure 13-11 Comparing the original with the selectively blurred image

Creating Abstracts withExtreme Cropping

In the course of writing books on dig-ital photography and discussingtechniques (some of which arepretty abstract themselves) withother photographers Irsquove come tothe conclusion that none of us cancome up with a good definition forwhat a photographic abstract is Tome an abstract is a representation ofan object mdash possibly distorted mdashthat doesnrsquot represent what exactlyan object actually is (Ack See what Imean) Itrsquos a visual description thatdoesnrsquot make sense Fortunatelythatrsquos the point Abstracts arenrsquot supposed to make sense

I often like to shoot subjects thatdonrsquot quite look like anything yoursquollnormally see in the everyday worldIf you view a photo and canrsquot quitetell what yoursquore looking at (as inFigure 13-12) then I guess thatrsquos an abstract (Okay itrsquos holiday lights shot atnight with a slow shutter speed while moving the camera Thatrsquos how it wasdone but what is it Good question Take an aspirin)

One technique I like to use involves some extreme cropping of macro (extremeclose-up) shots If you havenrsquot noticed by now I shoot photos of flowers

Original image Selective blurring


Figure 13-12 Abstract of lights

21_774820 ch13qxp 1306 617 PM Page 261


whenever I can Often I take macro shots of flowers crop small areas of theflower in Photoshop and zoom in even more till you canrsquot tell what yoursquorelooking at Because the original was a macro shot therersquos detail that thehuman eye canrsquot see without aid The final images you can get with this tech-nique can be fun unusual and often provide interesting subject matter for(yes) artsy conversations

Using this technique involves cropping Cropping even small areas of animage means yoursquore throwing away a lot of pixels If the photo you want tocrop was shot with a 5-megapixel compact digital camera you may wind upwith an image that doesnrsquot have enough resolution for large prints You cantry interpolating the image (using the ImageImage Size command) butinterpolation will get you only so far For this technique make sure (if possi-ble) that you start out with images shot at the highest resolution your digitalcamera will offer

My technique is pretty simple

1 Choose a close-up photo

Many digital cameras have a macro mode that gets youwithin an inch of your subject(or closer) filling the framewith an extreme close-up likethe photo in Figure 13-13

2 Make overall color and tonalcorrections to the image

Make sure yoursquove finishedadjusting white balance shad-ows exposure levels curvesand huesaturation before crop-ping your image (For moreabout these adjustments seeChapters 10 and 11)

3 Crop a portion of the image asyou desire

Using the Crop tool crop theportion of the image you wantas in the example shown inFigure 13-14 Be sure to specifywidth height resolution anddimension settings on theOption bar

Figure 13-15 shows the finalabstract image

Figure 13-13 Original macro image

Figure 13-14 Cropping using the Crop tool

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Figure 13-15 Final abstract

Stitching PanoramasAs a photographer who shoots landscapes often Irsquove grown quite fond of the Photoshop Photomerge feature You use it to stitch together some chosenimages that were shot in a panoramic sequence to create (well yeah) apanorama Irsquove used it often and canrsquot resist showing off great results like thepanoramic of the London riverfront in Figure 13-16

Figure 13-16 Panorama stitched with Photomerge


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Shooting panoramasIrsquod be remiss in my duties if I showed you only how to stitch together panora-mas without first mentioning how to shoot them For best results take 3 or 4photos of a scene all with the same exposure and white-balance setting Allyou need is a really cool panoramic scene to shoot and a couple of basictechniques

Speaking of basics here are some tips for shooting panoramic scenes

Select a scene thatrsquos either wide or tall Hey nobody ever said panoramicimages had to be horizontal You can also shoot tall scenes from top tobottom to stitch together later (Too bad nobody builds giant moon rock-ets anymore)

Mount your digital camera to a sturdy tripod I always recommendshooting as many of your photos on a tripod as humanly possible Atripod helps you achieve the sharpest possible photos especially whenyoursquore shooting in low-light conditions and your shutter speed is lessthan 1frasl125 of a second Look through your viewfinder or LCD and pan thescene from left to right (or top to bottom) to make sure your camera islevel If you see that your panning is a little off adjust your tripod headto level your camera as best as you can

Meter the main part of the scene I recommend using manual shutter-speed aperture and white-balance settings Look at your LCD or view-finder to see how your digital camera is metering the scene Switch tomanual mode and then set your shutter speed and aperture to matchyour digital camerarsquos first meter reading of the scene The idea is toensure that the exposure is the same for every photo sequence youshoot Additionally set your white balance manually to match the conditions yoursquore shooting in such as daylight overcast or shade

Take a series of photos If yoursquore shooting a horizontally oriented scenestart on the left and take the first shot Pan your camera to the rightuntil yoursquove overlapped the previous shot by 1frasl3 Take the second shotPan to the right again until yoursquove overlapped the previous shot by 1frasl3and take the photo If your panorama requires a fourth frame repeat theprocess overlapping the previous frame by 1frasl3

Review your photos Using your digital camerarsquos LCD review yourphotos to make sure you achieved the results you intended Check tomake sure your images are sharp and properly metered If you need totake another series of panoramic shots using different zoom settings onyour lens Keep shooting different aspects of the scene to make sure thatyou captured the panoramic frames you know will make a great continu-ous scene Figure 13-17 shows three separate frames I shot to use for mypanorama overlapping each by 1frasl3 of a frame

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Figure 13-17 Three photos taken in overlapping sequence

Using PhotomergeNow that you have a number of images taken in sequence that you can use to stitch together into a panorama itrsquos time to use Bridge and PhotomergePhotomerge is a Photoshop utility thatrsquos accessible from both Bridge and thePhotoshop FileAutomate menu I find it easiest to use Bridge to choose myimages first

1 Open Bridge and select the folder to choose your images from

2 Process the images using Camera Raw

Assuming that the images you want for your panorama are still in rawformat yoursquoll need to process each of the 3 or 4 images yoursquoll be using

To ensure all of the images yoursquoll be using for your panorama share thesame Camera Raw adjustments


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a Process the first image in the sequence in Camera Raw

Make necessary raw adjustments to White Balance ExposureShadows Brightness Contrast Saturation and Curves

b Copy raw settings

Yoursquoll want to apply the settings made to the first image to theremaining 2 or 3 images in your sequence This will ensure thatadjustments are the same for each image in your panorama whichis important because you want all the images to have the samecolor and tone throughout

To copy raw settings right-click (Ctrl+click on a Mac) on the imagethumbnail in bridge and choose Copy Camera Raw Settings asshown in Figure 13-18

Figure 13-18 Copy Camera Raw Settings

c Paste raw settings to the remaining images

Select the remaining images in your sequence into which you wantto paste the Camera Raw settings Click their thumbnails whileholding down the Alt key (Option key on a Mac) then right-click(Ctrl+click on a Mac) and choose Paste Camera Raw Settings fromthe flyout menu

3 Select images in Bridge to Photomerge

Select each photo intended for your panorama in Bridge by holding theAlt key (Option key on the Mac) while clicking each image

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4 Choose ToolsPhotoshopPhotomerge (see Figure 13-19)

Figure 13-19 Choosing Photomerge from the Tools menu

Photomerge attempts to assemble the images as one For some panora-mas Photomerge canrsquot quite figure out the entire panorama on its ownso yoursquoll have to drag the images into the Photomerge window yourself(and line them up in the proper position there) to complete yourpanorama

Figure 13-20 shows the Photomerge window with the panoramic imagestitched together

Figure 13-20 The Photomerge window


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5 Click the Advanced Blending check box

After checking the Advanced Blending check box click the Previewbutton Advanced blending gives you a better preview of how wellPhotomerge combined your images You may have to use the SelectImage tool to move individual images around so they overlap properly

Use the Zoom tool to magnify the different overlapping areas of yourimage so you can check the overlap for each part of the panorama

6 Click OK to load the panorama into Photoshop

7 Crop the image

When you get the image into Photoshop crop the image to ensure theborders of the image donrsquot contain any white space Figure 13-21 showsthe final cropped image

Figure 13-21 Final panorama

8 Complete final color tonal corrections and edits

As with any image go through your overall corrections and editingworkflows to finish the image and get it ready for output Start by usingthe Levels Curves and the HueSaturation adjustment levels to fine-tune color and tone Make any needed edits such as dodging and burn-ing covered in Chapter 11

Creating a Thin Black LineA nice touch I like to add mdash especially to photos printed in magazines andbooks or displayed on the Web mdash is a thin black line around the image Itrsquos anefficient way to separate the image from the rest of the page and add a classylook To create a thin black line follow these steps

1 Open a photo thatrsquos been corrected and edited

2 Create a new layer

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The Stroke command will notstart using the background layerunless you make a selection bychoosing SelectAll but I wouldrather perform this step in aseparate layer duplicate thebackground layer (by choosingLayerDuplicate Layer) to givethe command something towork on

3 Choose EditStroke (seeFigure 13-22)

Enter a width of 3 or 4 pixelsChoose black in the Color fieldand then click Inside as yoursetting for Location

4 Click OK

The image shows a 3-pixel-wide black border like the one in Figure 13-23

Figure 13-23 Image with a thin black line

Creating a Photo Web SiteSure Irsquove used a lot of tools such as FrontPage to create my own photo Website (shown in Figure 13-24) But Irsquove also used the Photoshop Web Photo


Figure 13-22 The Stroke command

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Gallery to create photo Web sites to display images to clients mdash and Irsquomamazed how good a job the Web Photo Gallery does Itrsquos a built-in Web-sitegenerator within Photoshop mdash and a quick way to show off your photos onthe Web or create custom sites for clients

Figure 13-24 The authorrsquos Web site

Web Photo Gallery is part of Photoshop but itrsquos also accessible throughBridge where its easier to browse for images you want to include in yourWeb site Herersquos how to create a Web site using Web Photo Gallery

1 Select images in Bridge to include in your Web site

If you followed the image-management workflow described in Chapter 4you have a group of images in an Output folder awaiting their shot atthe Web As a best practice process your images in Photoshop andthen convert each image in a format thatrsquos Web-friendly Images shownon the Web should be processed in the RGB working space and saved inthe JPEG format at 72dpi Figure 13-25 for example shows images in anoutput folder I created for Web images selected in Bridge

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Figure 13-25 Selecting images in Bridge for your Web site

2 Start Web Photo Gallery

Choose ToolsPhotoshopWeb Photo Gallery

3 Browse styles by clicking theStyles selection box (shown inFigure 13-26)

Web Photo Gallery offers a vari-ety of templates you can use foryour photo Web site When youbrowse the styles by selectingthem one at a time you canview the style in the previewarea located on the right side ofthe Web Photo Gallery window

4 Select source images and destination

In the Source Images section ofthe Web Photo Gallery windowmake sure Selected Images fromBridge is chosen in the Usefield Click the Destinationbutton and choose a folder to store your Web site files in


Figure 13-26 The Web Photo Gallery window

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5 Click the Options selection box and choose Banner

Fill in the Site Name Photographer Contact Info and Date fields WebPhoto Gallery uses this information as a header on your Web site

If you want to change the color scheme of the style yoursquove chosen clickthe Options selection box and choose Custom Colors to change the fore-ground and background colors of your Web site Figure 13-27 shows youa sample Web site I created using Web Photo Gallery

Figure 13-27 Completed Web site

Uploading your site to a Web provider makes it available to the world FreeWeb providers are readily available on the Internet or your Internet serviceprovider may already offer Web hosting Many Internet providers such asComcast offer subscribers free Web space If you want to get fancier and setup a Web site with your own URL try services such as Yahoo Small Business orGeocities both offer low-cost solutions However you go about it no excuses mdashget your images up there on the Web now

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Creating a Fine Art PosterDo you ever walk into someonersquos office place of business or home and seethose beautiful photographic posters framed and hanging on the wall Do yousee the works of Ansel Adams or other famous photographers in the form offine art posters and ask yourself Why canrsquot I do that Well you can mdash usingPhotoshop

1 Choose a photo that yoursquod beproud to hang in a large posterframe

Make sure that the image hasenough resolution to printclearly at a size of about 11times14 inches If you shootwith a 6-megapixel digital SLR(or an 8-megapixel compact digi-tal camera) you may have theresolution in your photo neededto achieve good detail at thatsize mdash about 300 pixelsinchIrsquove chosen the photo inFigure 13-28 for the poster

2 Add a thin black line aroundthe image

Create a new layer and chooseEditStroke Add a 3-pixel black line on the inside of theimage

3 Choose SelectAll

Selecting the entire image willlet you copy it easily to thenew poster canvas you createin Step 4

4 Create a new document inPhotoshop

Choose FileNew In the NewDocument window shown inFigure 13-29 make these settings


Figure 13-28 Photo chosen to use for a poster

Figure 13-29 New document window

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a Set the Width to 20 Inches

b Set the Height to 24 Inches

c Set the Resolution to the same resolution as your chosen photograph

A value of 300 pixelsinch should be sufficient for most printers

5 Make the chosen Photo window active by clicking the photo

6 Choose EditCopy to copy the photo into memory

7 Make the new document active by clicking the new document window

This will make the 20times24-inch poster active Choose EditPaste to pasteyour photo into the new document

8 Click the Move tool and dragthe photo to where you want toplace it in the poster

Figure 13-30 shows how I placedthe photo in the poster so I havemore space on the bottomThatrsquos so I can fit my text intothat spot

9 Using the Type tool add text toyour poster

Choose your favorite font clickthe area of the poster where youwant your text to appear andthen type in your text Make surethe font is large enough to readwell and look good on the poster

Figure 13-31 shows the finishedposter

Most of us donrsquot have large-formatprinters in our offices or homes that can print high-quality 20times24-inchposters send that job out to a printing service bureau Be sure to use a rep-utable service that can offer ICC profiles you can proof your colors againstwhile yoursquore tweaking your poster in Photoshop otherwise you wonrsquot be sat-isfied with the results Look for a local photo lab that has experience in print-ing digital files at large-format sizes

Figure 13-30 Dragging the photo into position

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Figure 13-31 Finished fine art poster

Creating SlideshowsWant to share your photos with loved ones friends or clients Itrsquos easyCreate a PDF slideshow The PDF Presentation utility is available in bothBridge and Photoshop but I prefer to choose my images in Bridge first andstart PDF Presentation from there To create a PDF Presentation follow thesesteps

1 Choose the photos for your slideshow using Bridge (see Figure 13-32)


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Figure 13-32 Choosing images in Bridge

Your photos will be viewed on acomputer monitor so all youneed here is a resolution of72ppi anything more wouldbe a waste If you have createdWeb images for all the photosyoursquove processed use those(They are stored in your Weboutput folder right If not youmay want to review the image-management workflow inChapter 4)

2 Choose ToolsPhotoshopPDF Presentation

The PDF Presentation windowappears as shown in Figure13-33 The chosen images arelisted in the Source Files area

Figure 13-33 PDF Presentation window

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3 Select the Presentation radiobutton in the Output Optionssection

You can also choose options thatset how many seconds you wantyour slides to appear beforemoving on to the next slideand what kind of transition youwant to make from one slide toanother There are some reallycool transitions to choose from

4 Save the presentation

In the Save window shown inFigure 13-34 choose a place tosave the PDF Presentation onyour computer Choose an exist-ing folder (or create a newfolder) click the Open buttonand then click the Save button

5 Choose settings in the SaveAdobe PDF window

The Save Adobe PDF windowappears Click the Adobe PDFPreset selection box andchoose Smallest File Size(shown in Figure 13-35) if thepresentation is to be viewed ona computer You may want tochoose larger sizes if your pre-sentation is to be printed out athigh quality

6 Click the Save PDF button

Your new PDF Presentationis ready for viewing in theAdobe PDF window as shownin Figure 13-36

Your presentation should start auto-matically after yoursquove saved it to thedesignated location You can alwaysrestart your presentation by double-clicking its file icon


Figure 13-35 The Save Adobe PDF window

Figure 13-36 Viewing a presentation in AdobeReader

Figure 13-34 The Save window

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Mount and Frame Your PhotosThe last and most important section of this chapter deals with the final showing of your photos As a photographer I love to show off my photosbut (as a rule) only in their final form The Web is a great place to show offyour images but nothing beats viewing a photograph thatrsquos mountedframed and displayed at eye level hanging on the wall To me a mountedand framed photograph is the ultimate reward for all the work that goes intodigital photography

Herersquos a gallery of tips for mounting and framing photographs

Plan for doubling the image size to determine your frame size If yoursquoreprinting 8times10-inch prints your frame size should be 16times20 inches

Purchase pre-cut acid-free mats I find this the easiest and fastest way tomount my photos You can choose to cut your own mats of course butmake sure all your materials are acid-free Acid-free materials help guaran-tee that your photos will be preserved over long periods of time withoutthe chemical reactions some materials can cause with photographs

Use durable metal or wood frames I see a lot of frame kits at a cheapprice Yes they come with pre-cut mats but the frames are often madeof plastic and are not of very good quality Spend the extra money andpurchase quality frames and mats from reputable manufacturers such asNeilson Bainbridge Most art-supply companies carry high-quality framekits that come with pre-cut mats ready to go

Display your work You work hard taking photos and perfecting them inPhotoshop Take the time to print mat and frame your photos Hang themup on the walls of your home and look into displaying your framed photosat work school art associations or your local bookstore-and-coffee shop

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14Ten Great Photoshop Filters

Most of the chapters in this book explain technical stuff mdash you knowworkflows file management raw conversion overall corrections

editing and printing Really itrsquos fun stuff if yoursquore a photographer we needto do all those things Once in a while however we need to have some funwith our photos Irsquom not talking about cheesy hacks like moving body partsaround images of politicians downloaded from the Internet (though those canbe a hoot) Irsquom talking about applying some cool effects to use on your ownphotos using Photoshop filters

Some filters mdash in particular the Liquify filter mdash are simply outrageous Youcan do some quick morphing of photos of friends and family (and get in a lotof trouble in the process) or focus on bringing out the sensitive artist in youadding strong or subtle effects to your images I often use some of the Artisticfilters to enhance portraits and landscapes in the direction of fine art Thensometimes a silly impulse strikes and

A-Morphing We Will GoOne of the goofiest Photoshop filters (well actuallymaybe the only really goofy filter) is the Liquify filterThis is the utility you can use to enlarge ears shrinkeyes and mess around with other parts of yourimage You donrsquot have to use it on photos of peopleyou can always ldquomorphrdquo other types of photos tooYoursquoll want to be careful though morphing peoplecan get you in trouble

But onward Start out with a decent photo like the por-trait shown in Figure 14-1 Then figure out some fiendishways to mess it around with the Liquify tool I decided totransform this normally silly guy into a Vulcan ears and all

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Be sure to create a new layer you can use to applyyour filter to the image before you choose yourfilter If you donrsquot like the effect that the filterapplies you can always delete the layer and createanother one to start over

You can get to the Liquify filter by choosing FilterLiquify Figure 14-2 shows the image in the Liquifywindow I used both the Forward Warp and Bloattools to hack away at the eyes nose and earsquickly transforming this normally wacky guy intoa seriously troubled Vulcan (Actually I think itrsquos abig improvement Donrsquot tell him I said so)

Figure 14-2 Liquify filter

Forward Warp tool

Zoom

Brush

Trim Clockwise tool

Pucker tool

Bloat tool

Restore to original

Turbulence tool

Mirror tool

Photo courtesy Amy L Moss

Figure 14-1 Original photo

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Getting Artsy with the Chalk amp Charcoal FilterOrdinary photos suddenly take on anantique feeling when you apply theChalk amp Charcoal filter This filtertransforms a normal color image toappear drawn with chalk or taken asa nineteenth-century photographFigure 14-3 shows an original photobefore this filter does its work

Access the Chalk amp Charcoal filter bychoosing FilterSketchChalk ampCharcoal Figure 14-4 shows theChalk amp Charcoal filter with thealtered image displayed in the ImagePreview area Adjust the charcoaland chalk effects by moving the Charcoal Area or Chalk Area sliders to theright (to increase the effect) or to the left (to decrease the effect)

Figure 14-4 The Chalk amp Charcoal filter window

Image preview

Sketch filter choices

Increase chalk effect

Click to save

Increase charcoal effect

281Chapter 14 Ten Great Photoshop Filters


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The Sketch filter is one of the few filters that require you to convertyour images to 8-bit from 16-bit(To convert your images to 8-bitmode choose ImageMode8 BitsChannel) Other filters that wonrsquotwork in 16-bit mode are the ArtisticBrush Strokes Pixelate and Texturefilters

Figure 14-5 shows the finished imageI added contrast by applying a Curvesadjustment layer and then darkenedsome of the highlight areas

After yoursquove chosen the Chalk ampCharcoal filter (or any Sketch filter) you can always change filters by clickingthe other icons in the Sketch filter choices

Creating the Look of a Drawing with the Graphic Pen

Another Sketch filter that transforms a digital image into something thatlooks more handmade is the Graphic Pen Like the Chalk amp Charcoal filter itconverts the image to black and white but the Graphic Pen gives your imagemore of the look of an old-fashioned ink drawing You can access the GraphicPen filter by choosing FilterSketchGraphic Pen Figure 14-6 shows theGraphic Pen filter window

For this image I moved the Stroke Length slider all the way to the right to asetting of 15 and then increased contrast by moving the LightDark balanceslider slightly to the right You can choose the stroke direction by clickingStroke Direction and choosing one of its four options

Figure 14-7 shows the original image and the image with the Graphic Penfilter applied

Figure 14-5 Finished image with the Chalk ampCharcoal filter applied

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Figure 14-6 Graphic Pen filter window

Figure 14-7 Original image (left) and the image with the Graphic Pen filter applied

Image preview Click to save

Stroke length

LightDark balance

Stroke direction


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Adding Artistic Effects with the Glass FilterOne of my favorite special effects for abstracts is the Glass filter Irsquoll usuallyapply it to a landscape photo (preferably one with lots of color) Applying theGlass filter adds immediate visual interest even an artistic or abstract feel-ing to the image You have some unique glass-inspired looks you can applywhen you use this filter mdash such as an appearance of being viewed throughglass blocks or frosted glass mdash and itrsquos a paneless process (Sorry)

Try using an image you normally wouldnrsquot bother using mdash and apply a filtersuch as the Glass filter to it You may be surprised at how readily you canrescue normal ldquothrowawaysrdquo and turn them into works of art The imageshown in Figure 14-8 (in the Glass filter window preview) is typical of animage I normally wouldnrsquot bother using in my portfolio But after I applyeffects such as the Glass filter (FilterDistortGlass) a relatively uninterest-ing or plain photo takes on new life

Figure 14-8 The Glass filter

Image preview

Smoothness slider

Click to save

Distortion slider

Glass texture

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Figure 14-9 shows an original image (which I was never crazy about as just astraight photo) and the same image processed using the Glass filter with itsFrosted texture option The filter gives the image an entirely new look it hasbecome an image Irsquod be proud to print matte and frame

Figure 14-9 Original image (left) and the final image with the Glass filter applied

Caught ReticulatingThe PhotoshopReticulation filter recallsthe days of the chemicaldarkroom we used to getthis effect when develop-ing black-and-white filmWersquod develop the film nor-mally and then soak thefilm in ice water for 10minutes The ice waterwould cause a small pat-tern of cracks in the filmemulsion when the filmwas printed the imageswould show a pattern of cracks that could suggest (say) age or wear TheReticulation filter (see Figure 14-10) does the same thing only digitally with-out any physical cracking of your image


Figure 14-10 Reticulation filter

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You can get to the Reticulation filter by choosing FilterSketchReticulationUsing the Density setting you can control how much of this filterrsquos distinctivetexture to apply to the image The example shown in Figure 14-10 has a densitysetting of 10 mdash a grainy look thatrsquos much like what yoursquod get with black-and-white film You can experiment with reticulation by using the DensityForeground and Background sliders The effect isnrsquot to everyonersquos tastebut itrsquos appropriate for those who want to produce images with a fine-art orold-fashioned look

To add additional effects to get some really stunning graphic images experi-ment with using the different blending modes and opacity adjustments for thelayer you have applied the filter to These settings are available to you on thetop portion of the Layer palette

Figure 14-11 shows an original color image and the same image with theReticulation filter applied

Figure 14-11 Original color image (left) and the same image with reticulation added

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Painting with Brush Stroke FiltersThe Brush Stroke filtersare especially popularamong digital artistsMany photographers usethem to take ldquodigital artrdquoto the next level viewingtheir images at art showsand galleries I can telltheyrsquore using thePhotoshop Brush Strokefilters with success Youcan access the BrushStroke filter dialog box(shown in Figure 14-12)by choosing FilterBrush Stroke

The Brush Stroke filter is one of those filters that requires converting yourimages from 16-bit to 8-bit mode To do that choose ImageMode8 BitsChannel

There are eight different Brush Stroke filters to choose from each with uniquepainting effects you can customize with individual adjustment sliders Choosea colorful photo and experiment with each one Irsquove provided examples of afew in Figure 14-13

Figure 14-13 The results of a few Brush Stroke filters

Original image Cross Hatch Sprayed Strokes Accented Edges


Figure 14-12 Brush Stroke filter

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Adding Texture to PhotosA great way to add texture to images mdash a technique many digital artistsprefer mdash is to use the Underpainting filter (shown in Figure 14-14) This is oneof the Photoshop Artistic filters you get to it by choosing FilterArtisticUnderpainting There are four textures you can add to your photos with thisfilter canvas sandstone burlap and brick

Figure 14-14 Adding a subtle texture with the Underpainting filter

I find that the canvas and burlap textures work best for portraits such as theone shown in Figure 14-15 The textures give the photo an appearance of beingprinted on a textured surface mdash without having to go through the hassle ofhaving that professionally done Irsquove seen high-end portrait photographersuse a combination of these filters with different papers with excellent resultsIf you want to add some classy effects to your photos the Underpainting filteris a good addition to your bag of tricks

Image preview Artistic filters Filter adjustments

Click to save

Choose texture

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Figure 14-15 Original (left) and the finished portrait using the Underpainting filter

Bring Out the Artist in You with the Watercolor Filter

Photography is an art form mdash and ifyoursquore like me (one who couldnrsquotpaint a closet let alone a watercolorpainting) you can still become thatartist using yet another artistic filterWatercolor Start out by choosinga colorful photo that yoursquod like tosee as a painting and then chooseFilterArtisticWatercolor Fig-ure 14-16 shows the Watercolor filterwith a colorful photo Irsquove chosen toconvert into a virtual watercolorpainting


Figure 14-16 Getting artsy with the Watercolorfilter

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As with some photos I apply filters to I normally wouldnrsquot have used thisphoto for my portfolio By applying the Watercolor filter however Irsquove giventhe image an entirely new ldquofeelingrdquo and it becomes more interesting As pho-tographers we all have some photos that never make it past Bridge to beprocessed in Photoshop We have a tendency to pick the best photographsand process those mdash but even the ldquorejectsrdquo have possibilities Take a look atphotos yoursquove skipped over in the past and apply some Photoshop filters tothem I think yoursquoll be happy with some of the results

Figure 14-17 shows the original photo and then the watercolor creation I cre-ated with it

Figure 14-17 Original photo (inset) and the watercolor version of the same image

Adding Cool Glowing EdgesWant to take an already-abstractphoto like the one shown in Fig-ure 14-18 and make it even weirderThe Glowing Edges filter can do justthat It automates that old art-classproject where you color solid swathsof color onto a small rectangularpiece of cardboard (bearing downon the crayons to leave many layers)Color over the whole thing with blackand then use a sharp object to etch


22_774820 ch14qxp 1406 249 PM Page 290

a picture with outlines that expose the solid colors in the layers I alwaysthought those projects were fun and they wasted a lot of class time Well getready to take that to the next level

The Glowing Edges filter shown in Figure 14-19 is accessible by choosingFilterStylizeGlowing Edges When your photo is first displayed it lookstransformed into a very black background with some glowing colored edgesaround the subjects of the frame You can adjust the effects of the glowingedges by adjusting the Edge Width Edge Brightness and Smoothness slidersFigure 14-19 shows the Glowing Edges filter and the image with the filterapplied

Figure 14-19 The effects of the Glowing Edges filter

Using the Lighting Effects FilterOne industrial-strength addition to Photoshop is the Lighting Effects filterThis filter shown in Figure 14-20 can take ordinary photos and apply lightingeffects that you just could not duplicate while shooting After choosing whichlighting type and style looks best for your photo you can click and drag thelighting guides in the image preview to redirect or resize the lighting effect


22_774820 ch14qxp 1406 249 PM Page 291


Figure 14-20 Lighting Effects filter

Three light types mdash Directional Omni and Spotlight mdash are available to youyou can apply a multitude of styles to each one of those light types The com-binations are endless and you can have a lot of fun experimenting with eachuntil you get the cool lighting effects you want Figure 14-21 shows the origi-nal image shot at midday (not ideal conditions) and the photo after theOmni light type and Flashlight style were applied

Styles

Light Type

PropertiesClick and drag lighting effect

22_774820 ch14qxp 1406 249 PM Page 292

Photos courtesy Amy L Moss

Figure 14-21 Original image (left) and the final image with the Lighting Effects filter applied


22_774820 ch14qxp 1406 249 PM Page 293


22_774820 ch14qxp 1406 249 PM Page 294

bull A bullaberrations correcting 143abstracts

creating 270ndash272defined 270

ACE (Adobe Colorimetric Engine) 233Adjust tab See also Camera Raw controls

Auto Adjustments applied 148 149automatic selection 72 147Brightness control 157Contrast control 158defined 72 137Exposure control 151ndash153illustrated 72 138 148Saturation control 158ndash159Shadow control 155ndash157Temperature control 150Tint control 150using 147ndash159White Balance selection 148ndash150

adjustment layers See also layersadvantage 183Channel Mixer 261ndash262 263creating 182ndash183Curves 75 178 188ndash189defined 174Gaussian Blur 225ndash226HueSaturation 190ndash191 265Levels 28 75 178 185using 182ndash183

Adobe Bridge See BridgeAdobe Colorimetric Engine (ACE) 233Adobe Gamma

brightness adjustment 55calibrating with 52ndash60contrast adjustment 55ndash56defined 52gamma settings 57Open Monitor Profile window 54phosphor type selection 56Step-by-Step method 53white point settings 58

Wizard 54ndash59Adobe RGB

defined 46recommendation 47 48

Apple Display Calibrator Assistant 52archival

defined 255supplies 255ndash256

artistic effects 295ndash297Assign Profile window 50assumptions this book 2ndash3audience assumptions 2ndash3Auto Adjustments feature 72 146

bull B bullBackground Eraser tool 201background layer

adding layers to 180duplicating 27ndash28 181 185 224image as 180understanding 181

backgroundscolor 125replacing 224selectively darkening 224

backing boards 255backing up images 67Batch 90black and white (BampW) photos

Channel Mixer conversion 261ndash263creating from color 259ndash265quickie conversion 260

blackpoint setting 187blown out 21Blur filter 23Blur tool 201ndash202blurring 201ndash202blurring effect

creating 268ndash269image comparison 270

breakfast-by-the-lake example 124ndash125

Index

23_774820 bindexqxp 1306 617 PM Page 295

Bridgebrowsing for images with 84color labels with 85 104Content Area 16 88 99customizing 96ndash101defined 14 84Edit menu 89ndash90Favorites panel 87 88 94 99ndash100File menu 89folder browsing 16Folders panel 88 94 104Help menu 93image loading 113ndash114image management with 68ndash69 103ndash108image opening 17 84image renaming with 85image selection 16ndash17 284ndash285Keywords panel 88 96Label menu 91 92labels 85 104 110ndash112Look In menu 87 88 105menu bar 87 88Metadata panel 88 95 104 108metadata with 85Option bar 87overview 83panels 98Photoshop automation features from 85preferences 98ndash101Preview panel 88 94ndash95ratings 85 104 112starting 14 71 86ndash87switching workspaces with 85tasks 84ndash85Tools menu 90ndash91updates 93View menu 91views 96 98as virtual light table 69window 86window resizing 98window illustration 15 84 88Window menu 92ndash93working with images in 14ndash17workspaces 85 92ndash93 97

brightnessadjusting in Adobe Gamma 55adjusting in Camera Raw 18 21 122 142

157adjusting in Photoshop 122 178ndash179evaluating 124 147settings 157

BrightnessContrast adjustment 178ndash179Brush Stroke filters 299Brush tool

flyout menu 203modes 204options 203

Burn tool 204 223burning See also dodging

beforeafter images 223defined 194 222process 222ndash223using 204

bull C bullCalibrate tab See also Camera Raw controls

defined 137 168illustrated 138 169saturation adjustment 119

calibrationadjustments 52with Adobe Gamma 52ndash60with colorimeters 60ndash61defined 52LCD monitors 52monitor warmup for 53

Camera RawAberrations control 143adjusting images in 19ndash22Brightness control 21 122 142ndash143 157cache 135Cancel button 139changes saving 22Chromatic Aberration controls 164ndash165Color Noise Reduction control 143 163Color Sampler tool 131Contrast control 21 122 143 158control buttons 138ndash139Curve control 143default settings resetting 134defined 9Depth setting 136digital camera compatibility 11Done button 139Exposure control 20ndash21 37 121 142

150ndash154Hand tool 131Highlights check box 131histograms 130 132 154ndash155Image Settings selection box 132improvements 17Luminance Smoothing control 143 161ndash163

Camera Raw with Photoshop For Dummies296


297Open button 22 139Option Bar 130Preview check box 131 146raw converter 33Resolution setting 136RGB values 130 132Rotate buttons 131Saturation control 22 143 158ndash159Save button 139Shadows check box 131Shadows control 21 122 142 155ndash157Sharpness control 73 161Size setting 136Space setting 136Straighten tool 131Temperature control 19ndash20 150Tint control 150tonal adjustments in 18Tool Palette 130Toolbar 130ndash131tools and controls illustration 130updates 93using 17ndash22Vignetting control 143 165ndash167White Balance control 19ndash20 142 148ndash150White Balance tool 131window illustration 18 71 130Workflow settings 130 136Zoom tool 131 146 162

Camera Raw controlsAdjust tab 72 137 138 147ndash159Calibrate tab 137 138 168ndash170Curve tab 137 138 167ndash168defined 137Detail tab 137 138 160ndash163illustrated 138Lens tab 137 138 163ndash167

Camera Raw menuExport Settings command 134illustrated 130 133Load Settings command 133Preferences command 135ndash136Reset Camera Raw Defaults command 134Save New Camera Raw Defaults

command 134Save Settings command 133Save Settings Subsets command 134Use Auto Adjustments command 134

card readers 12categorized image folders 65Chalk amp Charcoal filter 292ndash293

Channel Mixeradjustment layer 261ndash262 263BampW conversion with 261ndash263desaturating images with 261dialog box 262 263

chromatic aberrationscorrecting 164ndash165occurrence 164

clippingcontrol settings and 21defined 20exposure and 152ndash153indication of histogram 255monitoring 21shadows and 156warnings 17

Clone Stamp tool 201CMYK 46color adjustments

defined 118elements 118ndash119in layers 174raw format 38

Color Balance adjustment 178 179color cast 75color labels See labelscolor management

defined 45implementing 43ndash62 175ndash177importance 3policies setting 49portraits 44printing 44processes applying 45

Color Noise Reduction controldefined 73 143using 163

color profilesassigning 50ndash51built-in recalibrating 169converting 49correct application of 176fine-tuning 169monitor profiles with 50selecting 51

Color Sampler tool (Camera Raw) 131color settings (Photoshop)

applying 47ndash49default setting up 47ndash49defined 46making 46ndash51 174

Index


Color Settings dialog box (Photoshop) 48ndash49232ndash233

color spaceAdobe RGB 46 47 232Colormatch RGB 47 232defined 45 46indicating 251setting 232sRGB 47

color temperatureadjusting in Camera Raw 19ndash20adjustment 118defined 119illustrated 149increasingdecreasing 124

colorimeterscalibrating with 60ndash61color reading 61defined 60obtaining 3prices 61use tips 61

Colormatch RGB 47colors

background 125desaturating 264ndash265 266distribution 120evaluating 122ndash125proofing 176ndash177tone 120ndash121

compression limited image quality 35ndash36computers

digital camera connection 12memory 3requirements 3transferring image files to 12ndash13

Contract Sheet II 90contrast

adjusting in Adobe Gamma 55ndash56adjusting in Camera Raw 18 21 122 143

158adjusting in Photoshop 178ndash179defined 158evaluating 124 147fine-tuning 74settings 158

Crop tool (Camera Raw) 131Crop tool (Photoshop)

cropping with 238 271defined 199

illustrated use 200resizing with 237ndash239

croppingabstracts with 270ndash272with Crop tool 238 271extreme 236 270ndash272image size and 236panoramas 277

Curve tab See also Camera Raw controlsCurve chart 167defined 74 137 167fine-tuning adjustments 167ndash168illustrated 138 168Tone Curve selection box 74using 167ndash168

Curves adjustment 178 267Curves adjustment layer

creating 75 188for tonal value adjustments 178 188ndash189for underexposed images 189

Customize Proof Condition window 62 176230

bull D bullDelkin Archival gold 68Depth setting (Camera Raw) 136Detail tab See also Camera Raw controls

Color Noise Reduction control 73 163controls 160defined 137illustrated 73 138Luminance Smoothing control 73 161ndash163Sharpness control 73 161

Details view (Bridge) 98digital cameras

advanced 11Camera Raw compatibility 11connecting to computer 12firmware 10macro mode 271mounting to tripod 273prosumer 10 31SLR 31

Digital Negative Converter utilityillustrated 41obtaining 41opening 144using 144



299digital negatives (DNG)

advantages 42defined 10 41image changesadditions in 42image conversion to 70in raw workflow 143ndash144

Digital Photo Professional 11DNG See digital negativesDodge tool 204 222ndash223dodging See also burning


driversdefined 247printer 247ndash249

bull E bullEdit menu (Bridge) 89ndash90editing See also image-editing workflow

selections 211ndash217techniques 217ndash223tools 197ndash211

editing layers See also layerscreating 196 219duplicating 197naming 196ndash197

editsburning 194creating 197dodging 194layers for 196ndash197planning 194ndash195retouching 194ndash195sharpening 195spot removal 194

Embedded Profile Mismatch dialog box(Photoshop) 50

Eraser tool 201exposure

adjusting in Camera Raw 18 20ndash21 142150ndash154

checking 153ndash154clipping and 152ndash153evaluating 124 146illustrations 121increasingdecreasing 152ndash153limited adjustment 35

overexposure 121 151underexposure 121 151 152

Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) format108

bull F bullFavorites panel (Bridge) 87 88 94 99ndash100File Info window

defined 108illustrated 109metadata pages 109ndash110

File menu (Bridge) 89File Navigator workspace 92 93file type associations 101fill layers 183Filmstrip Focus workspace 92 93Filmstrip view (Bridge) 98Filmstrip workspace 86filters (Photoshop)

Blur 23Brush Stroke 299Chalk amp Charcoal 292ndash293Gaussian Blur 225 268Glass 295ndash297Glowing Edges 302ndash303Graphic Pen 293ndash295Lens Correction 23Lighting Effects 303ndash305Liquify 289 290ndash291Reticulation 297ndash298Sharpen 23Sketch 293Smart Sharpen 240 243Underpainting 300ndash301Unsharp Mask 195 196 240 242ndash243Vanishing Point 23Watercolor 301ndash302

fine art posters 282ndash284FireWire cables 13flattening layers 182 197folders

browsing 16image 13 15ndash17 94 104ndash108naming 65

Folders panel (Bridge) 88 94 104framing photos 287Freeform Pen tool 202

Index


bull G bullgamma 28Gamut Warning 177 191Gaussian Blur filter 225 268Genuine Fractals 237Glass filter

defined 295illustrated application 297using 295ndash297window 296

Glowing Edges filter 302ndash303gradient fill layers 183Graphic Pen filter

application illustration 295defined 293using 293ndash295window 294

grayscale 46grids 210

bull H bullHand tool (Camera Raw) 131Healing Brush tool 200 222Help menu (Bridge) 93highlights brightening 187histograms (Camera Raw) 130 132

clipping indication 155defined 154reading 155using 154ndash155

histograms (Levels) 186HueSaturation adjustment

to add tone 265desaturating color with 264for fine-tuning color 179

HueSaturation adjustment layercreating 190 264using 76 191

bull I bullICC files 244ICM files 244icons this book 5

image foldersbrowsing 15ndash17creating 105ndash106multiple 94naming 106 107navigating 68 104ndash105opening 16organizing 13 107ndash108output 106 108subfolders 106viewing 105working 77 106 107

image managementwith Bridge 103ndash108file organization for 69system creating 64ndash65

image permanencedefined 254guidelines 255ndash256importance 254longer 244understanding 254ndash256

Image Processor 90image settings

exporting 134loading 133saving 133

Image Settings selection box (Camera Raw)130 132

image sizewith Crop tool 237ndash239cropping and 236defined 234with Image Size command 239ndash240

Image Size window 239ndash240image-correction workflow 74ndash77 79image-editing workflow 77ndash78 79 193ndash197image-management workflow

with Bridge 103ndash108cataloging step 68creating 64ndash65following 69ndash71summary 79using 64ndash71

imagesbacking up 67 70blurring 269



301browsing 114browsing computer for 84categorized 65copying 69correcting in Photoshop as workflow

74ndash77desaturating 261dimensions 235duplicating 90editing 193ndash227editing as workflow 77ndash78 193ndash197evaluating 142 145ndash147 178evaluating with Variations 184improving 259ndash287labels 68 85 104loading into Camera Raw and Photoshop

68 113ndash114managing with Bridge 68ndash69managing with workflow 69ndash71metadata 85mountingframing 287older organizing 106opening 114opening into Camera Raw or Photoshop 84organizing 64ndash67 104organizing in folders 107ndash108original 65 67out of gamut 177for panoramas 273 274previewing 94ndash95ratings 68 70 112renaming 68 85resizing 237ndash240searching 112sharpening 135 240ndash243sizing 233ndash240slide show 91sorting 112ndash113texture 300ndash301transferring 12ndash13viewing 123viewing on computer monitor 45

Info palette 25 26inkjet printers 254 255interpolation

defined 235method 237understanding 235ndash237

IPTC (International PressTelecommunications Council) 110

bull J bullJPEG format 9 34 35 36 39

bull K bullKeywords panel (Bridge) 88

bull L bullLabel menu (Bridge) 91 92labels

applying 68 70applying with bridge 85 104 110ndash112benefits 110changing 112defined 110definitions modifying 101view filters 111

language preferences 101Lasso tool 199 214Layer Masks

creating 225ndash226 269defined 224for hiding sharpening 227uses 224using 224ndash227

layersadjustment 7 75 76 174 182ndash183BampW conversion 260background 27ndash28 180 181 185 224combining 77contents hidingshowing 181creating 78 181 196deleting 28 182duplicating 266for edits 77fill 183flattening 182 197gradient fill 183naming 77 196ndash197order changing 181pattern fill 183renaming 181for separate edits 196ndash197solid color 183

Index


Layers paletteCreate Layer button 28Create Layer Mask button 269Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer button

29default 180defined 25Eye icon 181illustrated 26 181Layers menu 180New Layer button 181

Lens Correction filter 23Lens tab See also Camera Raw controls

Chromatic Aberration controls 164ndash165defined 137 163Fix BlueYellow Fringe control 164 165Fix RedCyan Fringe control 164 165illustrated 138 164uses 164Vignetting control 165ndash167working with 163ndash167

levels adjusting 28 29 178 185ndash188Levels adjustment layer 28 75 178 185Levels dialog box 185 186Lightbox workspace 92 93Lighting Effects filter

application image 305defined 303illustrated 304light types 304using 303ndash305

Liquify filterdefined 290illustrated 291opening 290using 289 290ndash291

longer image permanence 244Look In menu (Bridge) 87 88 105luminance

adjustment applying 73 161ndash163noise reduction 163

Luminance Smoothing controldefined 73 143using 161ndash163

bull M bullmacro mode (digital cameras) 271Magic Eraser tool 201Magic Wand tool

defined 202

selections with 202ndash203 211ndash213Tolerance setting 266uses 203 211ndash212

Magnetic Lasso tool 214Marquee tool

defined 198flyout menu 198 199using 199

memory card requirements 2Merge to HDR 90metadata

adding 70adding with Bridge 85adding information to 108ndash110defined 68 108preferences 100

Metadata Focus workspace 92 93Metadata panel (Bridge) 88 95 104 108midtones

adjusting 187defined 120

monitor profilescolor profiles with 50creating 55ndash59default 56naming 59saving 59 60

monitorscalibration 52ndash61LCD 52phosphor type 56

morphing 290ndash291mounting photos 287Move tool 283

bull N bullNikon Capture 11Nikon Picture Project 11noise

color reducing 163defined 73electrical 161evaluating for 147reducing 73

bull O bullOpen Monitor Profile dialog box (Adobe

Gamma) 54optical discs 68



303Option bar (Bridge) 87organization this book 3ndash5output

challenge 229defined 62image folders 106 108

output workflow See also workflowsdefined 229printing 244ndash254sharpening 240ndash243sizing 233ndash240using 230ndash231

overall adjustmentsdefined 117making 122 184ndash191

overall-adjustments workflow See alsoworkflows

defined 173developing 177ndash179steps 176ndash177 184

bull P bullPage Setup window 245Paintbrush tool 226 269palettes (Photoshop)

defined 25Info 25 26Layers 25 26Tool Presets 208ndash211

panels (Bridge) See specific panelspanoramas

cropping 277illustrated 277image processing 274ndash275image selection 275loading 277photo review 273with Photomerge 274ndash277shooting 273ndash274stitching 272ndash277

paper See also printers printingchoosing 244ndash245 253compatibility 245profiles 244size 249 254

Patch tool 201pattern fill layers 183Pattern Stamp tool 201

PDF Presentationavailability 284defined 91opening 285Output Options section 286using 284ndash286

photo storage bins 256photo Web sites

creating 278ndash281image selection 179ndash180uploading 281with Web Photo Gallery 278ndash281

PhotoDisc target image 51Photomerge

defined 91 273 274image assembly 276image selection for 275opening 276using 274ndash277window 276

photos See imagesPhotoshop CS2

adjustments in 26ndash30automation features 90ndash91automation features running

from Bridge 85BrightnessContrast adjustment 122

178ndash179Color Balance adjustment 178 179color settings 45 46ndash51Curves adjustment 178Exposure control 23 35 121filters 23Go to Bridge button 14grids 210HueSaturation adjustment 179Image window 25 26Layers palette 180ndash182menus 25 26navigating 25ndash26new features 23ndash25opening images in 27Option bar 25 26palettes 25Photomerge feature 272ndash277platform 11proofing 61ndash62Red Eye tool 23requirement 3rulers 210saving images as PSD files 27

Index


Photoshop CS2 (continued)Select menu 216ndash217Selective Color adjustment 175Smart Objects 23Spot Healing Brush tool 24Tool Presets palette 208ndash211Toolbox 25 26 197ndash211updates 93using 22ndash30Web Photo Gallery 278ndash281window illustration 26WYSIWYG fonts 25

Photoshoppers 45Picture Package 91pixels

cropping and 271defined 234file size 235

Polygonal Lasso tool 214portraits

color management 44skin tones 118

preferences (Bridge)changing 98ndash101Content Area 99Favorites panel 99ndash100file size 101file type association 101label 101language 101metadata 100thumbnail 99

preferences (Camera Raw) 135ndash136Preview panel (Bridge) 88Print Preview window 250Print window 245 247 251 252Print with Preview window 245Printer Driver window

Color Management area 249 254differences 252illustrated 253opening 247Paper and Quality Options area 148ndash249

253ndash254Print Options area 250

printer spaces 232printers

color management 251ndash254inkjet 254 255requirement 3selecting 252

printingorientation 245 251as output workflow step 244ndash254paper selection 244ndash245with Photoshop 245ndash250printer 250ndash254with printer 250ndash254quality 249 253resolution 234

proofingdefined 61process 62profiles 62setting up 176

prosumer cameras See also digital camerascapabilities 31defined 10

PSD format 178

bull R bullratings

adding with Bridge 85 104applying to images 68 70 112sorting by 113stars 112

Raw filesadding metadata to 70Camera Raw conversion 33defined 32differences 11dulllifeless 33processed 33processing 39ndash40shooting 32size 2 39 101transferring to computer 12ndash13unprocessed 32

raw format16-bit advantage 39advantages 37ndash38benefits 31common 42defined 9drawbacks 39ndash40exposure adjustment 37ndash38information use 37other formats versus 34ndash36shooting in 10ndash11standards lack of 40white balance adjustment 38



305raw images See also images

adjusting in Camera Raw 19ndash22advantagesdisadvantages 36ndash40control 9converting to DNG format 70copying 13downloading to computer 12ndash13illustrated 10loading 129moving 13opening 17opening in Photoshop 27processing 141ndash170saving as PSD file 27selecting 16ndash17working in Bridge 14ndash17

raw-conversion workflow 71ndash74 79Rectangle tool 206 207red eye reduction 217ndash218Red Eye tool

defined 23 201using 217ndash218

resampling 237resizing

with Crop tool 237ndash239with Image Size command 239ndash240images 237ndash240sharpening and 241thumbnails 16

resolutionimage 234jaggies and 238print 234

Resolution setting (Camera Raw) 136Reticulation filter

defined 297illustrated 297image application 298opening 298using 297ndash298

retouching 194ndash195RGB values (Camera Raw) 130 132rulers 210

bull S bullsampling 237saturation

adjusting in Camera Raw 21 22 119 143158ndash159

adjusting in Photoshop 29ndash30 179defined 119 158ndash159enhancing 122evaluating 124 147increasing 159 190increasing in Master channel 191settings 159

Saturation layer 29Save Adobe PDF window 286Select menu (Photoshop) 216ndash217selections

areas increasing 217defined 211edge for 216inverse 266with Lasso tools 214ndash215with Magic Wand tool 211ndash213 266making 211ndash217noncontiguous expanding 217options 216ndash217outline removing 216reversing 212with Select menu 216ndash217use 203

Selective Color adjustment 175shadows

adjusting in Camera Raw 21 142 155ndash157adjustment techniques 155clipped 72clipping and 156darkening 187enhancing 122evaluating 124 146true black and 157

Shape toolsdefined 206types of 206using 207

Sharpen filter 23Sharpen tool 201ndash202sharpening images

defined 240hiding 227as last step 135 195 240process 240ndash243resizing and 241with Smart Sharpen filter 240tips 240with Unsharp Mask filter 195 196 240

Index


sharpnessadjustments applying 73 161evaluating 147saving 73

sidecar file 108Size setting (Camera Raw) 136Sketch filter 293skin tones 118slide shows 91slideshows See also PDF Presentation

automatic start 286creating 284ndash286photo selection 284ndash285

SLR digital cameras 31Smart Objects 23Smart Sharpen filter 240 243Smudge tool 202solid color layers 183sorting

images 68 112ndash113order 112by rating 113

Space setting (Camera Raw) 136Sponge tool 205Spot Healing Brush tool 24 200 219ndash221spots

digital dust 219dust illustration 220removing 194 219ndash222

sRGB 47step-by-step raw process

brightness adjustment 157chromatic aberration correction 164ndash165color noise reduction 163contrast adjustment 158exposure adjustment 150ndash154image evaluation 145ndash147luminance noise reduction 161ndash163saturation adjustment 158ndash159shadows adjustment 155ndash157sharpening 161steps 142ndash143tonal adjustments 167ndash168vignetting reduction 165ndash167white balance adjustment 148ndash150

stitching panoramas 272ndash277Straighten tool (Camera Raw) 131Stroke dialog box 278

bull T bulltexture adding 300ndash301thin black line

adding 282creating 277ndash278editing 278illustrated 278

thumbnailsdisplaying 91preferences 99resizing 16

TIF format 9 34 35tint

adjusting in Camera Raw 19ndash20 118defined 119

tonal adjustmentsin Camera Raw 18with curve line 189with Curves adjustment layer 188ndash189fine-tuning 74in layers 174types of 121ndash122

tonality evaluating 122ndash125tone

dark 120defined 121light 120midtone 120 187raw format adjustment 38

Tool Palette (Camera Raw) 130tool presets

accessing 209defined 208setting 209uses 208

Tool Presets palette 208ndash211Toolbar (Camera Raw)

defined 130illustrated 131tools 131

Toolbox (Photoshop)Background Eraser tool 201Blur tool 201ndash202Brush tool 203ndash204Burn tool 204 223Clone Stamp tool 201Crop tool 199ndash200 237ndash239 271



307defined 25Dodge tool 204 222ndash223Eraser tool 201Freeform Pen tool 202Healing Brush tool 200 222illustrated 26 198Lasso tool 199 214Magic Eraser tool 201Magic Wand tool 202ndash203 211ndash213Magnetic Lasso tool 214Marquee tool 198ndash199Move tool 283Paintbrush tool 226 269Patch tool 201Pattern Stamp tool 201Pen tool 202Polygonal Lasso tool 214Rectangle tool 206 207Red Eye tool 201 217ndash218Shape tools 206ndash207Sharpen tool 201ndash202Smudge tool 202Sponge tool 205Spot Healing Brush tool 200 219ndash221Switch Foreground and Background Colors

button 269Type tools 205ndash206 283Zoom tool 207ndash208 219 222

Tools menu (Bridge) 90ndash91Type tools

fontfont size selection 205in poster text 283types of 205using 205ndash206

bull U bullUnderpainting filter 300ndash301Unsharp Mask filter

application illustration 196beforeafter view 243opening 242options 242sharpening photos with 195 240 241ndash243

USB cables 13

bull V bullVanishing Point filter 23Variations 184Verbatim Datalife 68Versions and Alternates view (Bridge) 98View menu (Bridge) 91views

changing 96Details 98Filmstrip 98Versions and Alternates 98

vignettingcorrecting 143defined 165illustrated 165reduced illustrated 167reducing 165ndash167as special effect 166

bull W bullWatercolor filter 301ndash302Web Photo Gallery

accessing 279defined 91Options selection box 281starting 280Styles selection box 280using 279ndash281window 280

white balanceadjusting in Camera Raw 19ndash20 142

148ndash150defined 38 118digital camera setting 118evaluating 123 146limited adjustment 35raw format adjustment 38

White Balance tool (Camera Raw) 131white point setting 58 187Window menu (Bridge) 92ndash93Workflow settings (Camera Raw) 130 136

Index


workflowsapproach 63benefits 63defined 4 6 11 63image-correction 74ndash77image-editing 77ndash78 193ndash197image-management 64ndash71output 229 230ndash231overall-adjustments 173 174ndash177raw-conversion 71ndash74summary 79

working image folders 77 106 107working spaces

CMYK 46defined 46 231ndash232embedded 233grayscale 46setting 48

workspaceschanging 97Default 92 93defined 92File Navigator 92 93Filmstrip 86Filmstrip Focus 92 93Lightbox 92 93Metadata Focus 92 93switching between 85

WYSIWYG fonts 25

bull Z bullZoom tool (Camera Raw) 131 146 162Zoom tool (Photoshop) 207ndash208 219 222




About the Author

Dedication

Authorrsquos Acknowledgments

Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

How This Book Is Organized

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I Getting Your Feet Wet

Chapter 1 Getting to Know Bridge Camera Raw and Photoshop

Shooting in the Raw

Transferring Image Files to Your Computer

Working with Images in Bridge

Using Camera Raw

Hello Photoshop CS2

Chapter 2 Enlightened by Raw

Whatrsquos Raw

Raw versus Other Formats

Advantages and Disadvantages to Raw

Introducing the Digital Negative (DNG)

Chapter 3 Applying Color Management

Coloring Your World

Making Photoshop Color Settings

Getting Calibrated

Proofing

Chapter 4 Using Workflows to Process Images

Image Management as a Workflow

Raw Conversion as a Workflow

Correcting Images in Photoshop as a Workflow

Editing Images as a Workflow

Reviewing Workflows

Part II Image-Management Workflow with Adobe Bridge

Chapter 5 Getting Around Across Under and Over Adobe Bridge

Introducing Bridge

Getting Acquainted with Bridge

Customizing Bridge

Chapter 6 Managing Images

Managing Images with Bridge

Adding Information to Imagesrsquo Metadata

Applying Labels and Ratings

Loading Photos to Camera Raw and Photoshop

Part III Working with Raw Images

Chapter 7 Understanding Exposure and Color

Getting to Know Color and Tonality

Evaluating Color and Tonality

Chapter 8 Getting Acquainted with Camera Raw

Looking at Camera Raw

Working with the Toolbar Controls

Reading the Histogram and RGB Values

Image Settings

Camera Raw Menu

Camera Raw Workflow Settings

Camera Raw Controls

Control Buttons

Chapter 9 Processing Raw Images

Using a Step-by-Step Raw Process

Evaluating Images

Adjusting the Image with the Adjust Tab

Itrsquos All in the Details

Working with the Lens Tab

Love Them Curves

Caught Calibrating Again

Part IV Photoshop CS2 Image-Processing Workflows

Chapter 10 Adjusting Color and Tone in Photoshop

Overall Adjustments as a Workflow

Just Layering Around

Making Overall Adjustments

Chapter 11 Editing Images

Using an Image-Editing Workflow

Getting to Know Your Tools

Making Selections

Editing Techniques

Using Layer Masks

Chapter 12 Preparing Photos for Output

Using an Output Workflow

A Little Color-Management Reminder

Sizing Images

Sharpen Up

Printing the Final Stop

Understanding Image Permanence

Part V The Part of Tens

Chapter 13 Ten Ways to Improve Your Photos and Show Off Your Work


Selective Color

Creating a Cool Blurring Effect

Creating Abstracts with Extreme Cropping

Stitching Panoramas

Creating a Thin Black Line

Creating a Photo Web Site

Creating a Fine Art Poster

Creating Slideshows

Mount and Frame Your Photos

Chapter 14 Ten Great Photoshop Filters

A-Morphing We Will Go

Getting Artsy with the Chalk amp Charcoal Filter


Adding Artistic Effects with the Glass Filter

Caught Reticulating

Painting with Brush Stroke Filters

Adding Texture to Photos


Adding Cool Glowing Edges

Using the Lighting Effects Filter

Index


by Kevin L Moss


FOR

DUMmIESpermil














ISBN-13 978-0-471-77482-2

ISBN-10 0-471-77482-0


10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1KQSQSQWIN





























Indexer Steve Rath
































Proofing 61
























Table of Contents














02_774820 ftocqxp 1306 612 PM Page x















Table of Contents




Index295



Introduction






03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 1






Understanding color

Using Camera Raw







03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM








3Introduction

03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 3






03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 4









5Introduction

03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 5



03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 6

Part IGetting Your

Feet Wet

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In this part




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05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 14



Menu bar

Metadata

Option bar





05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 15








3 Select an image





05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 16




4 Open the image






05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 17





Option bar


Overall adjustments




05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 18













05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 19





2 Adjust Exposure




05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 20



3 Adjust Shadows


4 Adjust Brightness


5 Adjust Contrast




05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 21


6 Adjust Saturation



7 Click Open





As shot



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05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 23




A cleaned floor

Spot Healing Brush

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 24










05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 25




Menu bar

Layers palette

Option bar

Toolbox


Palette well

Info palette

Paintbrush

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 26










05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 27








05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 28


5 Adjust Saturation


6 Save the image




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05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 30

2Enlightened by Raw









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Assigning profiles


Proofing





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3 Name each layer





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Create a new layer


Rename the layer


Save the image file

Workflow Summary


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In this part




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File menu

Go to Bridge button

Option bar


10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 87








Menus


Details view

Filmstrip view


Metadata panel

Keywords panel

Image Preview panel

Menu bar


Thumbnails

Folders panel

Content area

Filter menu


Rotate Image

CloseBridge


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Maximize window


Drag to resize




Thumbnail view

Filmstrip view

Details view




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6Managing Images



Navigating folders


Adding metadata

Opening images






11_774820 ch06qxp 1306 617 PM Page 103




2 Organize images











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Look In menu


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3 Name the folder








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In this part





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Adjusting color



Evaluating images





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Light

Dark

Midtones

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4 Evaluate shadows




6 Evaluate Contrast





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Using the toolbar


Using the menu









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Toolbar

Workflow settings


Settings selection

Camera Raw menu

Histogram


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Zoomtool

White Balance tool

Hand tool

Color Sampler tool

Straighten tool






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Histogram



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Evaluating images










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(continued)

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(continued)




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3 Fine-tune tint



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Processed normally


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In this part





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4 Adjust Levels


5 Adjust Curves






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Before After


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Before

After



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11Editing Images




Making selections







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1 Plan your edits





b Removing spots



c Retouching


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d Sharpening




Spots


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3 Edit your image







Create new layer

Type new layer name


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H Hand




ImageReady



C CropL Lasso








18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 194






Cancel crop

Complete crop


Crop tool

Crop selection


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Before After




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Before After



Exposure

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Sizing images


Sharpening images

Printing images





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6 Print





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7 Click OK to save




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1 Open an image



19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 229









Crop tool

Drag crop area


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Click to proceed


19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 238



9 Click Print







Select printer



19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 239








Choose paper

Deselect

Choose orientation

Paper size


19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 240









Click to select ICM

Click to print



19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 241













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19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 243 PM Page 243



9 Click Print





11 Click Properties



Select printer


19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 243 PM Page 244








Select 22 Gamma


Choose paper

Deselect

Choose orientation

Paper size



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In this part





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6 Desaturate color




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Color image

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4 Blur the image










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b Copy raw settings








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7 Crop the image








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4 Click OK






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3 Choose SelectAll







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Forward Warp tool

Zoom

Brush

Trim Clockwise tool

Pucker tool

Bloat tool

Restore to original

Turbulence tool

Mirror tool



22_774820 ch14qxp 1406 249 PM Page 280




Image preview



Click to save




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22_774820 ch14qxp 1406 249 PM Page 282




Stroke length

LightDark balance

Stroke direction


22_774820 ch14qxp 1406 249 PM Page 283





Image preview

Smoothness slider

Click to save

Distortion slider

Glass texture

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Click to save

Choose texture

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Styles

Light Type


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Index
































Index


















































Index






































Index













defined 202






































Index
















PSD format 178

bull R bullratings


























Index

































USB cables 13









Index






WYSIWYG fonts 25





About the Author

Dedication


Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions






Shooting in the Raw



Using Camera Raw

Hello Photoshop CS2


Whatrsquos Raw





Coloring Your World


Getting Calibrated

Proofing






Reviewing Workflows



Introducing Bridge


Customizing Bridge














Image Settings

Camera Raw Menu


Camera Raw Controls

Control Buttons



Evaluating Images




Love Them Curves










Making Selections

Editing Techniques

Using Layer Masks




Sizing Images

Sharpen Up






Selective Color



Stitching Panoramas




Creating Slideshows







Caught Reticulating






Index

by Kevin L Moss


FOR

DUMmIESpermil














ISBN-13 978-0-471-77482-2

ISBN-10 0-471-77482-0


10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1KQSQSQWIN





























Indexer Steve Rath
































Proofing 61
























Table of Contents














02_774820 ftocqxp 1306 612 PM Page x















Table of Contents




Index295



Introduction






03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 1






Understanding color

Using Camera Raw







03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 2








3Introduction

03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM






03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 4









5Introduction

03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 5



03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 6

Part IGetting Your

Feet Wet

04_774820 pt1qxp 1306 616 PM Page 7

In this part




04_774820 pt1qxp 1306 616 PM Page 8










05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 9








05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 10








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05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 14



Menu bar

Metadata

Option bar





05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 15








3 Select an image





05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 16




4 Open the image






05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 17





Option bar


Overall adjustments




05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 18













05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 19





2 Adjust Exposure




05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 20



3 Adjust Shadows


4 Adjust Brightness


5 Adjust Contrast




05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 21


6 Adjust Saturation



7 Click Open





As shot



05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 22










05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 23




A cleaned floor

Spot Healing Brush

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 24










05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 25




Menu bar

Layers palette

Option bar

Toolbox


Palette well

Info palette

Paintbrush

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 26










05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 27








05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 28


5 Adjust Saturation


6 Save the image




05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 29





05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 30

2Enlightened by Raw









06_774820 ch02qxp 1306 633 PM Page 31






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06_774820 ch02qxp 1306 633 PM Page 42




Assigning profiles


Proofing





07_774820 ch03qxp 1306 614 PM Page 43






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08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 76







3 Name each layer





08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 77





08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 78


























Create a new layer


Rename the layer


Save the image file

Workflow Summary


08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 79


08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 80



09_774820 pt2qxp 1306 632 PM Page 81

In this part




09_774820 pt2qxp 1306 632 PM Page 82










10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 83







10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 84









10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 85











10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 86







File menu

Go to Bridge button

Option bar


10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 87








Menus


Details view

Filmstrip view


Metadata panel

Keywords panel

Image Preview panel

Menu bar


Thumbnails

Folders panel

Content area

Filter menu


Rotate Image

CloseBridge


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Maximize window


Drag to resize




Thumbnail view

Filmstrip view

Details view




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10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 102

6Managing Images



Navigating folders


Adding metadata

Opening images






11_774820 ch06qxp 1306 617 PM Page 103




2 Organize images











11_774820 ch06qxp 1306 617 PM Page 104








Look In menu


11_774820 ch06qxp 1306 617 PM Page 105


3 Name the folder








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In this part





12_774820 pt3qxp 1306 621 PM Page 116


Adjusting color



Evaluating images





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Light

Dark

Midtones

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4 Evaluate shadows




6 Evaluate Contrast





13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 124






13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 125



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Using the toolbar


Using the menu









14_774820 ch08qxp 1306 611 PM Page 127





Toolbar

Workflow settings


Settings selection

Camera Raw menu

Histogram


14_774820 ch08qxp 1306 611 PM Page 128












Zoomtool

White Balance tool

Hand tool

Color Sampler tool

Straighten tool






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Histogram



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Evaluating images










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(continued)

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 139








(continued)




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3 Fine-tune tint



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Processed normally


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In this part





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4 Adjust Levels


5 Adjust Curves






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Before After


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Before

After



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11Editing Images




Making selections







18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 189



1 Plan your edits





b Removing spots



c Retouching


18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 190



d Sharpening




Spots


18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 191












18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 192



3 Edit your image







Create new layer

Type new layer name


18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 193













H Hand




ImageReady



C CropL Lasso








18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 194






Cancel crop

Complete crop


Crop tool

Crop selection


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Before After




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Before After



Exposure

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Sizing images


Sharpening images

Printing images





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6 Print





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7 Click OK to save




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1 Open an image



19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 229









Crop tool

Drag crop area


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Click to proceed


19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 238



9 Click Print







Select printer



19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 239








Choose paper

Deselect

Choose orientation

Paper size


19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 240









Click to select ICM

Click to print



19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 241













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19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 243 PM Page 243



9 Click Print





11 Click Properties



Select printer


19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 243 PM Page 244








Select 22 Gamma


Choose paper

Deselect

Choose orientation

Paper size



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In this part





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6 Desaturate color




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Color image

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4 Blur the image










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b Copy raw settings








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7 Crop the image








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4 Click OK






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3 Choose SelectAll







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Forward Warp tool

Zoom

Brush

Trim Clockwise tool

Pucker tool

Bloat tool

Restore to original

Turbulence tool

Mirror tool



22_774820 ch14qxp 1406 249 PM Page 280




Image preview



Click to save




22_774820 ch14qxp 1406 249 PM Page 281










22_774820 ch14qxp 1406 249 PM Page 282




Stroke length

LightDark balance

Stroke direction


22_774820 ch14qxp 1406 249 PM Page 283





Image preview

Smoothness slider

Click to save

Distortion slider

Glass texture

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Click to save

Choose texture

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Styles

Light Type


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Index
































Index


















































Index






































Index













defined 202






































Index
















PSD format 178

bull R bullratings


























Index

































USB cables 13









Index






WYSIWYG fonts 25





About the Author

Dedication


Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions






Shooting in the Raw



Using Camera Raw

Hello Photoshop CS2


Whatrsquos Raw





Coloring Your World


Getting Calibrated

Proofing






Reviewing Workflows



Introducing Bridge


Customizing Bridge














Image Settings

Camera Raw Menu


Camera Raw Controls

Control Buttons



Evaluating Images




Love Them Curves










Making Selections

Editing Techniques

Using Layer Masks




Sizing Images

Sharpen Up






Selective Color



Stitching Panoramas




Creating Slideshows







Caught Reticulating






Index













ISBN-13 978-0-471-77482-2

ISBN-10 0-471-77482-0


10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

1KQSQSQWIN





























Indexer Steve Rath
































Proofing 61
























Table of Contents














02_774820 ftocqxp 1306 612 PM Page x















Table of Contents




Index295



Introduction






03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 1






Understanding color

Using Camera Raw







03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 2








3Introduction

03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 3






03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM









5Introduction

03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 5



03_774820 introqxp 1306 633 PM Page 6

Part IGetting Your

Feet Wet

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In this part




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Menu bar

Metadata

Option bar





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3 Select an image





05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 16




4 Open the image






05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 17





Option bar


Overall adjustments




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05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 19





2 Adjust Exposure




05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 20



3 Adjust Shadows


4 Adjust Brightness


5 Adjust Contrast




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6 Adjust Saturation



7 Click Open





As shot



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05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 23




A cleaned floor

Spot Healing Brush

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 24










05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 25




Menu bar

Layers palette

Option bar

Toolbox


Palette well

Info palette

Paintbrush

05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 26










05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 27








05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 28


5 Adjust Saturation


6 Save the image




05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 29





05_774820 ch01qxp 1306 615 PM Page 30

2Enlightened by Raw









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Assigning profiles


Proofing





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3 Name each layer





08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 77





08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 78


























Create a new layer


Rename the layer


Save the image file

Workflow Summary


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08_774820 ch04qxp 1406 214 PM Page 80



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In this part




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File menu

Go to Bridge button

Option bar


10_774820 ch05qxp 1306 634 PM Page 87








Menus


Details view

Filmstrip view


Metadata panel

Keywords panel

Image Preview panel

Menu bar


Thumbnails

Folders panel

Content area

Filter menu


Rotate Image

CloseBridge


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Maximize window


Drag to resize




Thumbnail view

Filmstrip view

Details view




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6Managing Images



Navigating folders


Adding metadata

Opening images






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2 Organize images











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Look In menu


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3 Name the folder








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In this part





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Adjusting color



Evaluating images





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13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 118









13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 119




Light

Dark

Midtones

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13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 122








13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 123





4 Evaluate shadows




6 Evaluate Contrast





13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 124






13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 125



13_774820 ch07qxp 1406 221 PM Page 126



Using the toolbar


Using the menu









14_774820 ch08qxp 1306 611 PM Page 127





Toolbar

Workflow settings


Settings selection

Camera Raw menu

Histogram


14_774820 ch08qxp 1306 611 PM Page 128












Zoomtool

White Balance tool

Hand tool

Color Sampler tool

Straighten tool






14_774820 ch08qxp 1306 611 PM Page 129







Histogram



14_774820 ch08qxp 1306 611 PM Page 130









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14_774820 ch08qxp 1306 611 PM Page 136



Evaluating images










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15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 138
















(continued)

15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 139








(continued)




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15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 143







15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 144







15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 145








3 Fine-tune tint



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15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 621 PM Page 147








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15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 622 PM Page 164







15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 622 PM Page 165



Processed normally


15_774820 ch09qxp 1306 622 PM Page 166



16_774820 pt4qxp 1306 615 PM Page 167

In this part





16_774820 pt4qxp 1306 615 PM Page 168











17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 169








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17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 171












17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 172








17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 173









4 Adjust Levels


5 Adjust Curves






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Before After


17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 184







Before

After



17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 185












17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 186











17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 187


17_774820 ch10qxp 1306 620 PM Page 188

11Editing Images




Making selections







18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 189



1 Plan your edits





b Removing spots



c Retouching


18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 190



d Sharpening




Spots


18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 191












18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 192



3 Edit your image







Create new layer

Type new layer name


18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 193













H Hand




ImageReady



C CropL Lasso








18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 194






Cancel crop

Complete crop


Crop tool

Crop selection


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Before After




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Before After



Exposure

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Sizing images


Sharpening images

Printing images





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6 Print





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7 Click OK to save




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1 Open an image



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Crop tool

Drag crop area


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Click to proceed


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9 Click Print







Select printer



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Choose paper

Deselect

Choose orientation

Paper size


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Click to select ICM

Click to print



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9 Click Print





11 Click Properties



Select printer


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Select 22 Gamma


Choose paper

Deselect

Choose orientation

Paper size



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In this part





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6 Desaturate color




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Color image

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4 Blur the image










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b Copy raw settings








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7 Crop the image








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4 Click OK






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3 Choose SelectAll







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Forward Warp tool

Zoom

Brush

Trim Clockwise tool

Pucker tool

Bloat tool

Restore to original

Turbulence tool

Mirror tool



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Image preview



Click to save




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Stroke length

LightDark balance

Stroke direction


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Image preview

Smoothness slider

Click to save

Distortion slider

Glass texture

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Click to save

Choose texture

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Styles

Light Type


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Index
































Index


















































Index






































Index













defined 202






































Index
















PSD format 178

bull R bullratings


























Index

































USB cables 13









Index






WYSIWYG fonts 25





About the Author

Dedication


Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions






Shooting in the Raw



Using Camera Raw

Hello Photoshop CS2


Whatrsquos Raw





Coloring Your World


Getting Calibrated

Proofing






Reviewing Workflows



Introducing Bridge


Customizing Bridge














Image Settings

Camera Raw Menu


Camera Raw Controls

Control Buttons



Evaluating Images




Love Them Curves










Making Selections

Editing Techniques

Using Layer Masks




Sizing Images

Sharpen Up






Selective Color



Stitching Panoramas




Creating Slideshows







Caught Reticulating






Index




























Indexer Steve Rath
































Proofing 61
























Table of Contents














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Table of Contents




Index295



Introduction






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Understanding color

Using Camera Raw







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3Introduction

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5Introduction

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Part IGetting Your

Feet Wet

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In this part




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Menu bar

Metadata

Option bar





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3 Select an image





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4 Open the image






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Option bar


Overall adjustments




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2 Adjust Exposure




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3 Adjust Shadows


4 Adjust Brightness


5 Adjust Contrast




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6 Adjust Saturation



7 Click Open





As shot



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A cleaned floor

Spot Healing Brush

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Menu bar

Layers palette

Option bar

Toolbox


Palette well

Info palette

Paintbrush

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5 Adjust Saturation


6 Save the image




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2Enlightened by Raw









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Assigning profiles


Proofing





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3 Name each layer





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Create a new layer


Rename the layer


Save the image file

Workflow Summary


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In this part




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File menu

Go to Bridge button

Option bar


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Menus


Details view

Filmstrip view


Metadata panel

Keywords panel

Image Preview panel

Menu bar


Thumbnails

Folders panel

Content area

Filter menu


Rotate Image

CloseBridge


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Maximize window


Drag to resize




Thumbnail view

Filmstrip view

Details view




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6Managing Images



Navigating folders


Adding metadata

Opening images






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2 Organize images











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Look In menu


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3 Name the folder








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In this part





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Adjusting color



Evaluating images





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Light

Dark

Midtones

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4 Evaluate shadows




6 Evaluate Contrast





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Using the toolbar


Using the menu









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Toolbar

Workflow settings


Settings selection

Camera Raw menu

Histogram


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Zoomtool

White Balance tool

Hand tool

Color Sampler tool

Straighten tool






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Histogram



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Evaluating images










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(continued)

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(continued)




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3 Fine-tune tint



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Processed normally


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In this part





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4 Adjust Levels


5 Adjust Curves






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Before After


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Before

After



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11Editing Images




Making selections







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1 Plan your edits





b Removing spots



c Retouching


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d Sharpening




Spots


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3 Edit your image







Create new layer

Type new layer name


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H Hand




ImageReady



C CropL Lasso








18_774820 ch11qxp 1406 236 PM Page 194






Cancel crop

Complete crop


Crop tool

Crop selection


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Before After




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Before After



Exposure

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Sizing images


Sharpening images

Printing images





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6 Print





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7 Click OK to save




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1 Open an image



19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 229









Crop tool

Drag crop area


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Click to proceed


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9 Click Print







Select printer



19_774820 ch12qxp 1406 242 PM Page 239








Choose paper

Deselect

Choose orientation

Paper size


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Click to select ICM

Click to print



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9 Click Print





11 Click Properties



Select printer


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Select 22 Gamma


Choose paper

Deselect

Choose orientation

Paper size



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In this part





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6 Desaturate color




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Color image

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4 Blur the image










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b Copy raw settings








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7 Crop the image








21_774820 ch13qxp 1306 617 PM Page 268




4 Click OK






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3 Choose SelectAll







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22_774820 ch14qxp 1406 249 PM Page 279





Forward Warp tool

Zoom

Brush

Trim Clockwise tool

Pucker tool

Bloat tool

Restore to original

Turbulence tool

Mirror tool



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Image preview



Click to save




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Stroke length

LightDark balance

Stroke direction


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Image preview

Smoothness slider

Click to save

Distortion slider

Glass texture

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Click to save

Choose texture

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Styles

Light Type


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Index
































Index


















































Index






































Index













defined 202






































Index
















PSD format 178

bull R bullratings


























Index

































USB cables 13









Index






WYSIWYG fonts 25





About the Author

Dedication


Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions






Shooting in the Raw



Using Camera Raw

Hello Photoshop CS2


Whatrsquos Raw





Coloring Your World


Getting Calibrated

Proofing






Reviewing Workflows



Introducing Bridge


Customizing Bridge














Image Settings

Camera Raw Menu


Camera Raw Controls

Control Buttons



Evaluating Images




Love Them Curves










Making Selections

Editing Techniques

Using Layer Masks




Sizing Images

Sharpen Up






Selective Color



Stitching Panoramas




Creating Slideshows







Caught Reticulating






Index

camera raw with photoshop for dummies (isbn - 0471774820)

Documents