PHOTOSHOP CS4 QuickSteps- P9 pot

Work with Lighten and Darken Modes Lighten and Darken modes are the flip sides of the same coin: in Lighten mode, the blend layer lightens only areas on the base the bottom layer—or mult

Here’s a nice close-up photograph of some nachos , but the lighting is a little cold.

Work with Lighten and Darken Modes

Lighten and Darken modes are the flip sides of the same coin: in Lighten mode, the blend layer lightens only areas on the base (the bottom) layer—or multiple layers—that are darker, and in Darken mode, blend layer areas only darken underlying areas that are lighter than the corresponding area Lighten painting mode is useful for brightening image areas without totally ruining image detail:

Layers panel

Areas darker than your brush color are lightened to the color of your

foreground color, but areas lighter than this color are unaffected.

USE LIGHTEN MODE

Suppose you took a photo of a striking sky, but your framing was a little off and

a water tower or trees invade the bottom of the photo There is no need to crop

to cope in this situation You use Lighten mode in combination with the Clone Stamp tool—this is yet another painting tool—to clone away the offending items You don’t even have to mask the image.

Overlay mode screens (bleaches; see “Know When to

Use Screen and Multiply Modes) colors below the layer

whose colors are brighter than 128 on the scale of 0–255

possible brightness values At the same time, Overlay

multiplies (deepens) underlying pixels whose brightness

value is less than 128 It’s an interesting effect all by

itself: Screen, Multiply, and Overlay modes are covered

in “Know When to Use Overlay and Light Blend Modes”

later in this chapter

ADDING GRIT AND WARMTH

TO A PHOTOGRAPH

Let’s make the nachos image—or just about any food

photography image—more appealing for print and

Web display Follow these steps to add some stylizing,

warmth, and a little Dissolve mode toning to an image:

A New Layer on the Layers panel to create a new blank layer on top of the image

By default this is the current editing layer

swatch on the Tools panel is black

it works in Dissolve mode

down arrow to the right of the gradient preset thumbnail and choose the second one, foreground

to transparent Then choose Dissolve mode from

the Mode drop-down list on the Options bar

Continued

ADDING GRIT AND WARMTH

TO A PHOTOGRAPH (Continued)

check boxes on the Options bar so that the

Gradient tool travels from transparent to black

center of the image to the edge, and you’ll

get a somewhat unpleasant result, but this is

okay—you’re not done yet Figure 7-1 shows the

two layers composited, and a close-up of what

Dissolve mode looks like when you paint

Gaussian Blur, set the Radius to 1 pixel, and

then click OK.

arrow and then choose Overlay As you can see

in Figure 7-2, the nachos image has a pleasing

vignette effect; the overall image looks warmer

and a little stylized, and is perfect for a poster at

a fast-food restaurant

Dissolve mode produces different results depending on

the Opacity setting you choose Because a gradient can

travel from opaque to transparent, using Dissolve mode

creates an arrangement of single pixels that vary as the

opacity of the gradient decreases

Figure 7-1: Dissolve blend mode spreads foreground color pixels in a random arrangement.

Figure 7-2: Use Dissolve mode in combination with Overlay mode to stylize images.

scale in relation to the area(s) you want to retouch Uncheck the Aligned check box and then choose All Layers from the Sample drop-down list.

area that is nowhere near the area you plan to stroke into

resume stroking—the Clone Stamp resumes cloning from your original point, because it’s not aligned (bound to) the sample area As you can see in Figure 7-3,

the retouching work is seamless because the Clone Stamp tool is not lightening

areas of clouds lighter than the sample area The original cloud areas are more or less retained

USE DARKEN MODE

Darken mode is terrific for toning down background areas while still keeping some

detail, so the background doesn’t look like a solid color Use this mode to get rid

MERGING YOUR BLEND

LAYERS TOGETHER

When you decide to merge a layer down, any layer

takes on the blend mode of the layer to which you merge

beneath it Therefore, if you merge a layer in Normal

mode to a layer that’s in Multiply mode, the combination

becomes a single Multiply mode layer, and that might

not be visually what you want Therefore, don’t merge

layers until you’re satisfied with your composition, and it’s

a good idea—to retain all layer blend properties—to use

either Flatten Image or Merge Visible; both commands

are available when you right-click over a layer’s title on

the Layers panel

If you don’t want a layer to be affected, you need to hide

it by clicking its associated eye icon on the Layers panel

Once a layer is hidden, you can choose Merge Visible

from the context menu that appears when you right-click

over a layer title on the Layers panel If you’re unhappy

operation Then you can restore the hidden layer to

visibility and continue working on your image

Figure 7-3: Lighten blend mode only looks at the layer data, and not which painting tool you use.

TIP

Lighten mode when used with the Clone Stamp tool also

comes in very handy for removing telephone wires and

other obstructions from backgrounds

of annoying reflections when you need to photograph

objects in front of store windows For example, notice

that the image alongside has strong color and geometric

composition, but the window of the store shows off

a motley assortment of antiques that only distract

from the foreground The solution is to tone down the

window’s contents using Darken mode Here is how

you use Darken mode to handle reflections:

by 3 Average from the Sampling Size drop-down list If you’re working on a very large

image, use a larger sampling size

Remember: only image colors lighter than the color sample you created will be toned

down to this color (In the case of Figure 7-4, the darker background in the window was

selected as the sample since the lighter reflection needed to be toned down to match

the sampled background.)

Figure 7-4: Areas that are too

light in images can benefit

from Darken layer blend mode.

Sampled area

your overall image and choose a soft brush Digital photos, full frame, generally call for

a Brush tip of anywhere from 65 to 200 pixels in diameter

in Figure 7-4, the photo still features what is clearly a glass window, but the visual content is toned down so the audience can focus on the chairs in the foreground

Know When to Use Screen and Multiply Modes

Screen and Multiply modes can be thought of as similar to Lighten and Darken modes, with an important distinction:

lighter color as a combination of the blend and the base layer colors A black layer in Screen mode results in no image change Applying white to a layer in Screen mode—

or painting on a normal layer with a brush in Screen painting mode, depending on the Opacity you choose—results in a bright or even white result image area

original Multiply can be thought of as a “stain,” while its opposite, Screen, is a sort of

“bleach.” Using white in Multiply mode results in no change

Screen is great for creating glows and Multiply is the choice for creating shadows in an image.

LEARN A PRACTICAL APPLICATION FOR SCREEN

Although you can create a halo effect above a person using Photoshop’s Styles panel (see Chapter 11), a manual approach using a layer in Screen mode can produce the same, if not better, effect Here’s how to use Screen mode in combination with other simple Photoshop features to create a T-shirt transfer for a proud father, of his son:

layer is now in Screen blend mode

and then click the Elliptical Marquee tool.

yellow from the Color Picker Click OK to return to the document.

your overall image A width of 8 pixels will probably serve you well for a portrait photo from a 9 megapixel digital camera You’ve already defined the color, but if you want something other than the current foreground swatch on the Tools panel, click the color

swatch here to redefine the stroke color Choose Location: Center, and leave the blend mode at Normal, Opacity 100% Click OK to apply the stroke This is not the

finished effect; don’t worry that this stroke width is on the narrow side Use Figure 7-5

as a visual reference

Layer icon By default, new layers appear just above the current editing layer, so you

now have a blank layer sandwiched between the stroked layer and the background

image Put this layer into Screen mode, and do not deselect the ellipse selection yet.

Figure 7-5: Use the Stroke command to draw an outline around an active selection.

TIP

When stroking a selection, you’ll get a more pronounced

effect using the Blend mode setting if you’re stroking a

normal, single-layer photo It’s hard to predict the results,

for example, of stroking in Dissolve mode to a layer that’s

in Screen mode

only thing to change here is the Width: set it to about 50 pixels and then click OK

Click anywhere outside the selection with the Elliptical Marquee tool to deselect the

10 Click Filter | Blur | Gaussian Blur, an intense blurring effect that Photoshop uses

in the Styles panel presets quite frequently Set the Radius to about 17 pixels or

whatever looks good in the document window, which by default previews an effect in

real time Click OK, and as you can see in Figure 7-6, the image is perfect for a T-shirt

transfer or other printing need for your client You can try reducing the opacity for the blurred layer to further emphasize the crisp halo on the top layer

Use Multiply Mode for Shadows

Multiply blend mode, used with either painting or assigned to an entire layer, always creates a resulting color that’s darker than the lightest area on either the base or the blend layer Part of the beauty of Multiply mode is in its use

at partial opacity If you can paint the general shape of an object’s shadow, you can create a composition where the background layer’s visual content is anything you like: a park, a wall, anything your creativity suggests Follow these steps after reading Chapter 5 on creating selections, and Chapter 6 on working with layers:

Copy You’ll see a new layer containing your selection appear in the Layers panel.

title bar outside of the current document window

the selected object, and drag it onto the background document window The selected object will be duplicated onto the background image

A New Layer icon to produce Layer 2, the current editing layer.

Figure 7-6: Use multiple layers with different image

content to create complex and intriguing compositions.

size for the brush that will scale well to paint a shadow

Depending on your composition, use a hard brush for crisp shadow edges (outdoor photography usually displays sharp shadow edges) or use a soft tip brush for more diffuse lighting

sample a darkish tone from the composition This is going to be your shadow color

the Layers panel to the left

Work with Lighter and Darker Colors

Not only are the Lighter and Darker Color blend modes less intense than their next-of-kin—Screen and Multiply—but they can also have entirely different purposes:

darker colors on the layer(s) beneath

of lighter colors on the layer(s) beneath

These two opposite blend modes have little regard for hue or saturation, but instead are most effective when, for example, your photo has high brightness difference between the foreground and background subjects You can actually recolor image areas without creating a mask, as shown in the following steps, where you’ll learn how to create a solarized effect only in the shadow regions of

a photo:

this is a perfect sort of image to soften by colorizing the shadows, thus creating a special effect

Figure 7-7: Use Multiply layer blend mode to simulate

a cast or drop shadow.

Sample background color

Color from the blend modes drop-down list.

in the image to sample a dark, but not quite black area This color, now the foreground color on the Tools panel, will replace (on the new layer) any color in the bottom layer

circle up or down; that would change the brightness Also, change the hue by dragging the

Hue slider up or down In Figure 7-8 you can see that a deep brown is chosen to fill in a lot

of the shadow areas in the photograph Click OK to return to the workspace.

Figure 7-8: Change the hue and saturation, but not the brightness,

of the color you sampled.

Change saturation, but not brightness

Sample here

right-click over the document and then choose from the brushes presets—right-click outside the document window to dismiss the pop-up preset box

change, but only the colors darker than your chosen color are replaced with…the lighter color!

Use Color Burn and Linear Burn Modes

The Burn tool on the Tools panel (see Chapter 8) is the basis for Color Burn and Linear Burn blend and painting modes—you get a similar effect as using the Burn tool but you have the advantage of using a foreground color to refine the operation Using Burn painting or layer blend mode:

contrast between the blend and the base colors Using white as the blend color produces no change If Overlay mode doesn’t produce an increase in contrast and saturation, Color Burn is usually a satisfactory alternative

further decreases brightness, producing an effect closer to Multiply mode Using white

in a Linear Burn blend produces no visible change

REPLACING LIGHTER COLORS

WITH DARKER ONES

Suppose you have a photo or a scanned image whose

background is almost white, making a somewhat bland

composition You can add colors to the background

without altering the foreground element when you use

Darker Color mode on a layer Here’s how:

overall medium to dark in brightness, while the

background is fairly light

panel, and then choose Darker Color from the

blend modes drop-down list

in the document window to choose an interesting

brush from the pop-up panel The maple leaf is

used in this example because the color jitters

and the stroke scatters when you use it See

Chapter 11 for the low-down on the Brushes panel

in the photo By doing this, you assure yourself that

when you paint on the Darker Color mode layer,

only areas darker than the lightest foreground color

will be colored over This is an awesome technique

for editing without using a selection!

Continued

Color Burn is quite useful in image retouching to put a tattoo on a model’s forearm (or other anatomical area), to put makeup on a subject, and to put a logo on a textured product—all letting some of the base tonal values show through In effect, you can paint into a photo instead of painting on to it Figure 7-10 shows clown makeup applied to a clown’s base white face color, using Color Burn and then Linear Burn Notice the subtle yet distinct difference using the same layer colors: Color Burn retains more of the hue on a blend layer than Linear Burn Where the clown makeup is decreased in saturation on the right of the layer, Linear Burn darkens more than it tints the clown’s face And yet the clown still looks happy.

Consider Color Dodge and Linear Dodge

Think of the opposite effect as Color Burn to better understand the Color Dodge blend modes Dodging lightens areas and usually adds saturation; color dodging mixes a color into the overall recipe Linear Dodge (Add) is useful for tinting the base layer while adding a little Screen function—lighter base layer areas become

REPLACING LIGHTER COLORS

WITH DARKER ONES (Continued)

Tools panel In the Color Picker, feel free to adjust the hue and saturation, but don’t drag

up or down in the color field, as this changes brightness Just drag the target circle directly left

or right, and change the Hue slider’s indicator

Click OK when you’re finished, and check out

Figure 7-9 as a reference

very accurately to replace the lighter areas with the darker color, while preserving details in the darker foreground; in Figure 7-9: a scan of an autumn leaf

Figure 7-9: Keep your special effects work fresh and unique by choosing a novelty brush and interesting colors.

Sample here