Photo Tips

Adjusting Exposure in Photoshop

August 11, 2017 by Karen 6 Comments

Are you a photographer who knows the ideal camera settings to use for every lighting situation you are in? Or do you more often rely on your camera presets to make those decisions for you? Wherever you find yourself on this spectrum, Photoshop has multiple tools that can help with changing your photo’s exposure after the fact, if it is needed. Today, let’s take a look at a simple way to make a quick-fix using the Exposure Tool.

Here is a before and after shot I took:

Using Photoshop 2017, here is the process I used:

I duplicated the image so I was not working on the original.
In the top Menu Bar: Image > Adjustments > Exposure. This will open an Exposure window with options:
There are several pre-sets for you to choose from in the Preset Dropdown box, or you may experiment with the Exposure slider. (The Offset and Gamma Correction sliders are designed to work with high-dynamic-range images, so you may ignore those unless that is the type of image you are working with.)
With my original image, I dragged the slider to the right until it looked good to me (+1.31). However, this “blew out” the windows a bit losing some detail.

I added a mask to the duplicated image, chose a soft, round brush, lowered the brush opacity to 50%, and brushed away some of the exposure effect on the windows.

This was much better, but I wanted it just a tad brighter, so to experiment, I changed the Blend Mode of the duplicated/masked image to Screen.
(Tip: When experimenting with this photo, when I increased the exposure any more than +1.31, the windows lost all detail. Keeping the exposure at +1.31 for this image allowed me to regain some of that detail using the masking technique.)

I was happy with this image. It more accurately represented the color in the room, and the highlights and shadows were more balanced.

Many images simply need the Exposure Adjustment for a quick fix. But if you find yourself working with an image like this one, with large contrasts between the lights and darks, the additional masking and blend mode steps can help!

For today’s tutorial, I used Photoshop CC 2017. This Exposure tool is not available in Photoshop Elements.

If you would like to download a PDF of this tutorial, you may do so here: Adjusting Exposure in Photoshop

Using the Sharpen Tool in Photoshop

February 24, 2017 by Karen 3 Comments

Do you use the Sharpen Tool in Photoshop? Prior to CS5, this tool was likely to create artifacts when used; however, improvements in CS5 reduced this likelihood. Available in both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, the Sharpen Tool can be quite useful at times, enhancing details and sharpening areas selectively without having to use a mask.

Here’s how:

Create a new blank layer above the object you would like to sharpen. Make sure to keep that blank layer selected as the active layer.

Select the Sharpen Tool. This Tool is on the Left Menu Bar, nested with the Blur Tool.
In the Options Bar (top of the screen), choose a Strength, and check “Protect Detail” and “Sample All Layers.”

Screenshot from CC2017:

Screenshot from PSE15:

I would like to sharpen the eyes in this photo of my granddaughter.

Adjust the size of the brush relative to the size of the area you would like to sharpen. I would like to sharpen Emily’s eyes and have adjusted the brush size accordingly.

Now click or drag with your mouse over the area you would like to sharpen. Repeat, if more sharpening is desired. I clicked 3 times on Emily’s eyes.

Control the sharpening by changing the Strength Value or lowering the opacity of the Blank Layer, if desired.

Such an easy way to do a Quick Fix!

If you would like to download a PDF of this tutorial, you may do so here: Using the Sharpen Tool in Photoshop

Saturation VS Vibrance

July 15, 2016 by Karen 1 Comment

Color enhancement of photos can be achieved in many different ways. One of my favorite ways is by using the Vibrance / Saturation tool in Photoshop. Photoshop Elements users can experiment with several options found under the Enhance Menu: Shadows and Highlights, and Brightness and Contrast.

Here is my original photo, and I would like to enhance the colors a bit.

The Vibrance / Saturation Tool can be accessed either by going to the Top Menu Bar: Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance OR by accessing it in the Adjustments Panel.

Saturation vs Vibrance Tutorial by SnickerdoodleDesigns

Once this Adjustment option is selected a Panel will open with sliders for both Vibrance and Saturation. Move the sliders to the right or to the left, depending upon what look you are going for. Dragging the slider to the right will increase Vibrance and/or Saturation; and dragging to the left will decrease.

The difference between Vibrance and Saturation is this:

Vibrance will increase the saturation of less-saturated colors, avoiding the yellows and oranges found in skin tones. Because of this, Vibrance is the usually the best-first option to try when adjusting colors in photos with people included.
Saturation will increase the intensity of all of the colors in a photograph.

Here is the same photograph with Vibrance set at +49. There is a nice little increase in color in the blue shirt, red dress, and the background.

Here, the Saturation is set at +49. We can tell how the faces were affected differently when we used the Saturation tool vs the Vibrance tool. Too much Saturation on the models face looks unrealistic and unattractive; but the background colors look nice.

Because I liked additional color in the background in the Saturation example, I added a mask to the Saturation layer. Using a soft brush and painting with black, I painted away the Saturation effect on the models skin.

For easier comparison, here are all 4 together.

Saturation vs Vibrance Tutorial by SnickerdoodleDesigns

I like the “Saturation with Mask” result the best. Which is your favorite?

I hope you find this tutorial helpful when you are working with your own photos!

If you would like to download a PDF of this tutorial, you may do so here: Vibrance VS Saturation

Editing a Photo that has a Dark Foreground

July 8, 2016 by Karen 4 Comments

I had the pleasure of taking care of my 2 youngest grandchildren for 3 days over the holiday weekend. Owen is 2-years-old and Ella is 11- months-old. Their mom asked me if I would dress them in the patriotic clothing she purchased for them and take their picture on July 4th.

I tried. I tried really hard. But photographing 2 squirming children, who would much rather be playing than posing for photos, is quite a challenge.

Two minutes into the photo session, Ella started crying. As my husband tried to comfort her, I turned my attention to Owen. Surely I could get at least one good shot of him? I asked him to sit on a little stool nearby. He agreed, but was determined to keep his eyes closed and not smile. The bright sunlight was behind him, and I knew the photo foreground would be dark. But I also knew this was the only chance I was going to have. This split second in time.

More importantly, I knew I could post-process the photo in Photoshop…. so I snapped.

Owen-Original

Here’s how I corrected this photo:

I shoot in RAW format. When I opened the photo in Photoshop CC2015.5, it automatically opened in Camera Raw. If you shoot in JPG format, navigate to your photo in Adobe Bridge. Right click on the photo, and choose to open it in Camera Raw. Photoshop Elements users: File > Open in Camera Raw (I am looking at PSE14. I’m not sure how many versions of PSE have this option.)
I clicked on the AUTO option. Owen looks better, but the background is now blown out.
I dragged the Highlights Slider all the way to the left. This helped the background, but it still needs some work.

sd-cameraraw4a

I clicked OPEN IMAGE to open the image in Photoshop. (Your Photoshop version may use different terminology for this.)
I added a blank layer above the photo.
I set the Foreground color to Black and Background color to white.
I choose the Gradient Tool, and selected the Foreground to Transparent gradient.

sd-edit-photo-3

On this photo I only want to darken the background area where the trees are. I clicked at the top of the photo and dragged the gradient about 3/4’s of the way down the photo.

sd-edit-photo-8

I changed the Gradient Layer to the Soft Light Blend Mode and decreased the opacity of the layer to 80%.
I applied a mask to the gradient, made sure my foreground color was black, and, with a soft brush, brushed away the gradient on Owen’s face.

This is the final result.

final-final

If you are not familiar with using Masks, here is a previous tutorial that should help: Using Layer Masks in Photoshop.

I hope you have found this tip helpful!

If you would like to keep a PDF copy of this tutorial, you may download it here: Editing a Photo with a Dark Foreground.

Save

Adjusting Exposure in Photoshop

Using the Sharpen Tool in Photoshop

Saturation VS Vibrance

Editing a Photo that has a Dark Foreground

Recent Pins

Information

Recommended