Photo Tips

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.

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How to Photograph Children

July 7, 2016 by Karen 6 Comments

Our 2 year old grandson and 11 month old granddaughter spent last weekend with us. Their Mom asked me if I would dress them in the cute red, white, and blue clothing she bought them, and take some photos of them. “Sure,” I replied, “No problem.”

Whatever was I thinking?

I didn’t have a crew to help with posing. I had no one to hold a reflector for lighting. I didn’t have time to adjust my camera settings between shots. I had 2 squirmy children who didn’t want their picture taken, and 1 husband who was standing by to catch Ella if she started to fall out of the wagon.

I simply had to SNAP and hope I got something halfway decent.

The first picture was “okay.” But I wanted something better. Something spectacular. Something that would make my efforts worthy of being asked to be the photographer for the day.

That didn’t happen. The first shot, while by no means spectacular, was the best. Then the posing quickly disintegrated. Take a look………

owen2

And that was the end of the photograp session. About as long as it took you to scroll through these photos. My husband picked up a crying baby girl, and I asked Owen if I could take a picture of him sitting on a little stool nearby. He didn’t want to, but he did crawl up on the stool for me. He just wasn’t going to smile.

I was shooting with the bright sunlight in the background, and I knew the picture wouldn’t be good – but I also knew that I could post-process it in Photoshop and, perhaps, get something decent.

Owen kept his eyes closed, and tried his best NOT to smile. 😉

orig at 72dpi

With a little more preparation and help, could I have done better during this 2 minute photo shoot? I would like to think so. I’m keeping this article handy for the next time: How to Photograph Children. (Boy, I have a lot to learn!)

I definitely have a new respect for photographers who specialize in children’s portraits.

(Come back tomorrow to see how I edited this dark photo in Photoshop to make it at least worthy of keeping.

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