PHOTOSHOP CS4 QuickSteps- P11 potx

The Art History Brush examines the colors and general geometry of the scene as it existed at a point on the History panel, and then randomizes the original colors, using geometric variat

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Use the Art History Brush

The Art History Brush, as its name suggests, makes somewhat stylized artwork out of photographs, based on a state (a point in time) you find on the History panel The Art History Brush examines the colors and general geometry of the scene as it existed at a point on the History panel, and then randomizes the original colors, using geometric variations you set using the Style presets

on the Options bar drop-down list Further randomization and modification

is achieved through the Painting Area slider, which determines the size and number of individual strokes the brush applies, Tolerance slider, which when set at 0 enables you to modify the entire image, while setting it at a higher value increases the tolerance so that some strokes may not result in a change, and the Opacity and blending Mode To get the best artistic effect using this brush, use the following points as recommendations:

• Apply a filter to your original image, ideally one that creates a lot of pleasing color changes in your photo Because the Art History Brush doesn’t change original colors, the filter can add a dramatic modification to the original Bas Relief, Water Paper, and even Image | Adjustments | Gradient Map can prep your work well for the Art History Brush, as shown in Figure 8-12

• Choose a tip for the Art History Brush that has some texture, and possibly some Jitter in it The Chalk 44 Pixels tip in the default collection of Brushes can serve you well; you add texture as you add abstraction

• Set the History panel (click Window | History) to an early point in the changes

you make by clicking the box to the left of the state’s title You can use the original image, or a state between multiple filter applications

• Work a little with one style, then change styles as a specific area calls for it Use your artistic eye The Tight Long style actually works well in Figure 8-13;

a combination of the right filters, the right History state, and not overdoing it can result in an eye-pleasing variation on your photographic work

USING THE DODGE, BURN, AND

SPONGE TOOLS (Continued)

3 In the Options bar, click Flow to control how

fast the Sponge tool decreases or increases saturation

4 In the Options bar, specify the values in the Brush

Size, Brush Tip, and Strength fields.

5 Drag the tool over the area you want to touch up

Figure 8-12: The original image with and without

a filter before the Art History Brush is applied.

Find the image state in the History panel that you want

to paint Click the Set Source For The History Brush

Original

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Crop a Photo with the Crop Tool

Use the Crop tool to trim an image to the desired size You can make a freehand selection, or you can specify the resolution and size of the area to which the tool will crop.

1 Open the image you want to crop and click the Crop tool

2 Drag diagonally inside the image to define the size of the cropped image Photoshop displays a cropping rectangle inside the image Eight sizing handles appear on the perimeter of the rectangle, as shown in Figure 8-14

3 If the cropping rectangle is not sized as desired, do one of the following:

• Drag a corner handle to resize the width and height of the cropping rectangle Press

SHIFT to resize proportionately

• Drag the middle handle on the left or right border to change the width of the cropping rectangle

• Drag the center handle on the top or bottom border to change the height of the cropping rectangle

• Drag inside the cropping rectangle to move it to a different position

• Drag outside the cropping rectangle to rotate it in a free-form manner

4 Press ENTER or click the Commit button on the Options bar to crop the image.

Figure 8-13: You can create stylized artwork by painting

inside an image with the Art History Brush.

Figure 8-14: Adjust the cropping rectangle to the desired size.

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Create Vector-Shaped Shapes

You can use the Shape tools to add vector-based shapes to a document Shapes act

as masks for pixels on a layer, which can be modified when converted to vector paths You also have the option not to draw vector shapes on layers at all, but instead to draw shapes as paths and also as an ordinary collection of pixels—you click one of the option buttons for shape creation at the left of the Options bar when the Shape tool is selected.

Use the Shape Tools

You have six Shape tools from which to choose: Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Line, and Custom Shape You specify the settings for each tool in the Options bar (see Figure 8-15) For example, when you create a shape using the Rounded Rectangle tool, you can specify the radius of the rectangle’s corners When you select the Custom Shape tool, you can select a preset shape.

Here is how you use the Shape tools:

1 Select one of the Shape tools.

2 In the Options bar, click one of the following buttons to define the type of shape:

• Shape Layers Creates a shape on its own layer You can create shape layers with

Shape tools or Pen tools Shape layers are often used for creating graphics If you look at a selected shape layer in the Paths panel, you’ll find that it contains both a fill layer with the shape color and a linked vector mask defining the shape path

Figure 8-15: The Shape and Pen tools Options bar has features for customizing the way you add

predefined geometry to a composition.

Tool

Custom Shape tool

Blending modes Polygonal

tool

Smooth edges

Paths creates

a working path

Pen tool and Freeform Pen tool

Shape Layers creates a shape with a vector mask

Fill Pixels creates a rasterized (bitmap) shape

Line tool Radius for

rounded corners

Opacity or transparency Rectangle tool

and Rounded Rectangle tool

TIP

When you use a Shape tool, hold down the SHIFT key

while dragging to create a rectangle or polygon of equal

width and height or to create a circle

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• Paths Creates a working path that can be used to make a selection, create a

vector mask, or fill or stroke the path with a color or a gradient You can create raster graphics with paths, and you can save them

• Fill Pixels Creates a rasterized (bitmap) shape The shape is not vector-based,

but as you paint, the pixels in the image are changed

3 If you have selected the Fill Pixels option, specify the Mode, Opacity, and Anti-Alias

options for the shape you are about to create The Anti-Alias option prevents jagged edges at the border of the shape

4 Specify other options for the shape you have selected—they vary

5 Click the down arrow on the Options bar next to the Custom Shape tool icon to reveal

a menu that enables you to specify geometry options for the tool Here you can see the options for the Rounded Rectangle tool Note that you can specify the exact size

of the shape

6 Drag diagonally inside the document to create the shape If you’ve specified the size

of the shape, click inside the document

Edit Shapes

If you create a shape using the Shape Layers or Paths option, you can edit the shape by adding, converting, moving, or deleting points, as outlined in Chapter 5:

1 Select the Direct Selection tool.

2 Select the shape you want to edit to reveal the points used to create the shape

3 Select the applicable tool to edit the points as needed

When a path is selected with the Path Selection tool or Direct Selection tool, all anchor points are displayed.

CONVERTING PATHS

You can create an intricate path with the Pen tool and

then convert it to a selection Trace the shape you want

to select, and then convert it to a path:

1 Select the Pen tool from the Tools panel, and

click it around the shape you want to select,

creating a path

2 Click Window and then click Paths The Paths

panel is displayed

3 Click the Options button in the upper-right area

of the Paths panel, and click Make Selection.

4 In the Make Selection dialog box, select these

options:

• Create a feathered effect by entering the

Feather Radius in pixels.

• Click Anti-Alias to smooth the selection edges.

• Click New Selection to create a new selection;

click Add To Selection to add to an existing

selection; click Subtract From Selection to

decrease an existing selection by this new one

being defined; or click Intersect With Selection

to create one selection with the intersecting

points on the new selection being defined

5 Click OK.

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How to…

Preparing Vintage Pictures

for Scanning

• Straighten a Scanned Photo

• Crop Away Superfluous

Photo Areas

• Improve Image Focus

• Remove Dust and Scratches

• Use the Smudge Tool

• Fix Flash Reflections

Using Quick Mask to Paint

Selections

Editing an Old B&W Photo

in RGB Mode

• Put a Smile on a Face

• Remove a Family Member

in Front of a Different One

Making Fixes when Areas

Shouldn’t Be Mirrored

• Reveal Hidden Detail

• Even Out the Overall

Photo Tones

• Remove the Color

• Remove Red Eye

Chapter 9

Restoring and Repairing Images

For a lot of us, Photoshop and digital photography came a little too late for us to archive everlasting digital photos of our parents, grandparents, and other loved ones Fortunately, if you still have a snapshot and read Chapter 2 on scanning (and have access to a scanner), you not only can archive your heirloom photos, but also make significant improvements

to their appearance This chapter shows you how.

Repair a Photograph

Figure 9-1 shows a good example of a bad image In addition to the poor scan, which includes dust and a crooked baseline, the original photo suffers from flash photography fall-off and soft focus, and the years haven’t improved the photo either If you have a similar photograph, the following sections take you step by step through the Photoshop remedies that will cure this valuable heirloom image.

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Straighten a Scanned Photo

Although it’s best to get a scan straight in the scanner, a slight crookedness can happen sometimes To straighten a crooked photo:

1 With the image open in the workspace, click the Layers panel on the docking strip to

open it

2 Double-click the layer thumbnail The New Layer dialog box opens, shown in Figure 9-2,

asking you to name the new layer; accept the default name and click OK You’ll notice

that the layer titled “Background” is now renamed and it no longer has a locked icon on

it This means it can be rotated now

3 Press CTRL/CMD+R to display the rules, and then drag a guide out of the top ruler to the top edge of the photo, and then drag a guide from the left ruler so that it meets at the upper-left corner of the photo You’ll want to zoom into the corner before you add

QUICK FACTS

PREPARING VINTAGE PICTURES

FOR SCANNING

Although you probably know how to use your scanner,

there are a few things to consider before you scan your

one-and-only 1928 photo of your grandmother:

• Without ruining them, try to clean your precious photos as thoroughly as possible The less garbage on a photo, the more detail is revealed for scanning, and the less work is required to restore the photo Take the photos out of glassine holders;

don’t scan through a surface but instead scan the photo itself Additionally, remove any photo corners—anything that increases the height of the photo will prevent the lid of the scanner from closing completely, letting light leak into your scan

A scanner is a camera in many ways; remember what happened to a roll of film in your old camera when you didn’t close the back completely?

• To wipe photographs (don’t use fluids of any kind that might melt the photo emulsion), buy a pack

of lens-wipe cloths from the photo supply store

Specially treated cloths have antistatic properties, helping to remove lint and dust, and these cloths are made of long-fiber fabric, the type that doesn’t leave fibers as you clean

• Clean the platen—the glass plate above the

scanning mechanics that you rest the photos on

Use a long-fiber cloth; don’t use paper towels,

which are short fiber and shed all over anything you wipe It’s up to you whether to use glass cleaner Typically, the platen doesn’t have a special coating, but if you use window cleaner, make sure you don’t leave streaks, and that the platen is completely dry before scanning

Continued

Scratches

Dust

Flash fall-off

Sepia aging

Baseline is crooked

and the scan was performed ineptly.

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the guides; you can use your mouse scroll wheel to zoom—push the wheel toward your screen and away from yourself to zoom in

Drag from ruler

QUICK FACTS

PREPARING VINTAGE PICTURES

FOR SCANNING (Continued)

• Get an inexpensive measuring triangle (try the

stationery department at the supermarket) to

ensure that the photo you place on the platen is

parallel to the platen This isn’t always possible if

one of your ancestors got creative and trimmed

the photo with a fancy border, but if it’s just a

rectangular photo, try to ensure that it’s at a

perfect 90° angle to the platen Photoshop can

rotate a photo, but rotation changes the original

pixels in the picture and inevitably degrades

image quality

• If your scanner supports it, scan at 48 bits

instead of the usual 8 The more scanned visual

information you have, the easier it will be to

precisely restore the photo Also, scan at a high

resolution such as 600 pixels/inch If the result

is a 25MB file, that is completely okay; restoring

vintage photos is time consuming and should be

done only once, on a high-resolution copy

more of Photoshop’s editing features.

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4 Press CTRL/CMD+T to put the layer photo into Free Transform mode and then drag the center of rotation icon in the center of the bounding box to the point where your guides meet

5 Hover over a corner bounding box handle until it turns into a bent-arrow cursor and then drag until the bottom of the photo is aligned with the guide, as shown in

Figure 9-3 Then either click Commit Transform (the check icon on the Options bar) or

press ENTER to finalize the rotation

Crop Away Superfluous Photo Areas

Cropping a photo is simple: click the Rectangular Marquee tool, drag a selection, and then click Image | Crop However, judging where to crop,

what remains, and what you crop away is an artistic call Remember: the more excess you trim from your work, the less retouching you’ll need to perform This means, for example, a distracting painting on the wall, a lamp, and even

a family member who is partially out of frame and as such unrecognizable.

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Here’s a creative decision you might need to make; the little girl on mom’s lap is partially out of frame However, the picture (not the family itself) would benefit

if the girl was cropped out:

1 Click the Rectangular Marquee tool and drag an area that includes what you want

shown in the finished photo If necessary, to reposition the marquee, drag inside the marquee Pull guides from the rulers if you want to previsualize the crop

2 Click Image | Crop.

3 Click File | Save As, and then save the image to a folder using a name other than the

original Choose PSD as the file format

Restore a Photograph

Now that the scan itself looks better, it’s time to concentrate on improving the visual content of the scan, the photograph The following sections walk you through various features in Photoshop used to enhance what your family remembers in the photo, but can’t see due to hidden and missing image details.

TIP

If a family member is out of frame, it’s more than possible

the family has a separate photo of the missing member

you can composite into the family photo

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