1 A PANORAMA ALIGNMENT GLITCH
In most cases, the seams created by Photomerge are very successful, but sometimes it may have “issues.” This panorama was made from three horizontal images taken in Santa Fe, New Mexico. And no matter how many times I’ve tried to get Photomerge to blend these images, it always creates an alignment glitch at the top of the locomotive, just above the windshield. In this section of the article, we’ll create the initial panorama—glitch and all—and then explore a few different ways to try and fix the problem.

2 CREATE THE PHOTOMERGE
To experience the steps from the beginning, launch the Photomerge process. In this tutorial, we’ll launch it from Adobe Bridge by selecting the three thumbnails and choosing Tools>Photoshop>Photomerge. In the Photomerge dialog, leave the Layout set to Auto and make sure that Blend Images Together is checked. Click OK.

3 INITIAL EVALUATION
At first glance it might seem that the most straightforward way to tackle the problem would be to edit the layer masks that Photomerge has created. The problem with this approach, however, is that there are three layer masks and each one is precisely aligned with the other two. Although it’s not immediately apparent in the blended result, there’s also a problem created by the auto blending, which has changed tonal values in the sky to match the layer masks. Editing these masks will reveal this tonal mismatch and create additional problems.

4 TURN OFF THE LAYER MASKS
To see the potential problems created by the auto blending, Shift-click on each of the layer masks to temporarily disable them. You can see an obvious variation in the sky tones just above the cab of the locomotive (in this illustration, the image was darkened with a curve to make these tonal changes more visible). The tonal variation in this area is in the exact shape of the same area of the layer masks for the Train Middle and Train Right layers.

5 PHOTOMERGE, TAKE 2: NO BLENDING
Before we try any complicated patching or cloning repair jobs, let’s see if we can coax a better result from Photomerge. Close the first image without saving it and return to Bridge. With the three thumbnails selected, choose Tools>Photoshop>Photomerge. In the Photomerge dialog, leave the Layout set to Auto but uncheck the Blend Images Together option. Click OK.

6 TAKE 2: REARRANGE LAYERS
For this image, Photomerge has definite ideas about how the layers should be arranged. But one obvious way to try and fix the problem is to simply rearrange the layers so that Train Right is above Train Middle. Hopefully, this will address the problem of the alignment error on the roof of the locomotive. In the Layers panel, rearrange the stacking order of the layers so that Train Right is the top layer, Train Middle is in the middle, and Train Left in on the bottom.

7 MANUALLY ALIGN LAYERS
Even though we turned off the blending in the Photomerge dialog, there are still a couple of automated features left for us to try. To nudge these features in the right direction, we’ll manually align the layers. Make the Train Right layer active. Double-click the Zoom tool to zoom to 100%. Select the Move tool (V) and use the Up and Left Arrow keys on the keyboard to nudge this layer up and left until the “A” in the word RAIL aligns with the same letter on the middle layer. This will also align the top of the train.

8 CUSTOM LAYER TRIMMING
The letter “A,” which we just aligned, could conceivably still cause some problems, so let’s fix that. Make sure the top layer (Train Right) is active, choose the Lasso tool (L), and set the Feather value in the Options Bar to 0 px. Make a lasso selection around the letter “A” in RAIL and press Delete (PC: Backspace) to delete this chunk of pixels. Press Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect.

9 MODIFY THE LEFT SIDE
Now let’s inspect the left side of the image. Creating a seam through the back of this older train car makes no sense. It’s better to choose a less-complicated seam: on the far side of this car in the background of the image, where the newer RAIL RUNNER cars can be seen in the distance. Use the Lasso tool with the Feather set to 0 px and make a selection of the part of the Train Middle layer that overlaps onto the Left side layer. The right side of this selection should be placed in the distance through the new train cars (see illustration).

10 MORE CUSTOM LAYER TRIMMING
Make sure that the middle layer—Train Middle—is active and press Delete (PC: Backspace) to delete the selected pixels. (In the illustration we hid the bottom layer—click on its Eye icon—to clearly show what areas were deleted.) Deselect.

Now zoom in for a closer view and make the Train Left layer active. Use the Move tool (V) and the Down and Right Arrow keys to align the layers along the seam in the background where the train cars converge.

11 AUTO-ALIGN LAYERS
In the Layers panel, click on the Train Right layer. Turn this layer’s Eye icon off and on several times and you’ll see how the locomotive isn’t aligning with the same areas on the underlying layer—this is what’s causing the alignment glitch.

Make sure the visibility for all three layers is turned on then select all three layers by clicking on the top one and then Shift-clicking on the bottom one. Choose Edit>Auto-Align Layers. In the dialog that appears, choose Auto for the Projection method and click OK.

12 AUTO-BLEND LAYERS
Now when you turn the top layer off and on, you should see that the locomotive is much more closely aligned with the layer underneath. Make sure that all three layers are still selected in the Layers panel and choose Edit>Auto-Blend Layers. In the small dialog that appears, choose the Panorama option and make sure that the Seamless Tones and Colors box is checked. Click OK. This time, the blend is successful and the alignment glitch on the top of the locomotive is no longer present.

13 RAIL RUNNER DEBRIEFING
As a final step, use the Crop tool (C) to crop the transparent areas surrounding the image.

Most of the time Photomerge works great but for those times when it doesn’t, the techniques that we’ve covered in this tutorial are some things you can try to get a better panorama merge from multiple images. For some images you may need to go even further to touch up alignment problems, for example: using the Clone Stamp (S), the Healing Brush, or creating patch layers. All are good skills and techniques to be aware of when these issues arise.

HOW TO GET GOOD MOVING WATER IN HDR

14 A SOLID NEUTRAL-DENSITY FILTER
One of the most common questions I’m asked about HDR photography is how to deal with the strange artifacts that commonly appear in moving water. I use a solid neutral-density (ND) filter to cut back several stops of light: Less light coming through the lens means the camera must use a much slower shutter speed than would normally be feasible in daylight conditions. With long shutter speeds of one second or slower, rushing water is rendered as a smooth, silky blur. Not only does this look cool, it also hides the usual HDR artifacts that often appear in moving water.

15 CREATE THE INTIAL HDR IMAGE
Let’s explore how good water can look with an HDR image made from four exposures taken in Camden, Maine. I shot the images using a 5-stop, solid ND filter with shutter speeds ranging from 1/4 second to 2 seconds.

In Bridge, select the four source exposures and choose Tools>Photoshop>Merge to HDR. When the Merge to HDR dialog appears, make sure that the Bit Depth is set to 32 Bit/Channel and click OK.

16 CONVERT TO 16 BITS
After the merge is done, choose Image>Mode>16 Bits/Channel to bring up the HDR Conversion dialog. For the Method, choose Local Adaptation from the drop-down menu. Set the Radius to 16 px, the Threshold to 0.50, and adjust the Toning Curve and Histogram curve as shown in the illustration (if you don’t see the curve, click the down-facing triangle to show it). Click OK to apply the conversion.

17 ADD SHADOWS/HIGHLIGHTS SMART FILTER
Control-click (PC: Right-click) on the Background layer and choose Convert to Smart Object from the menu. Then choose Image>Adjustments> Shadows/Highlights. In the dialog that appears, click the Show More Options checkbox to reveal all of the sliders and set them as shown in the illustration. This will help to balance out the tones between the bright sky and water and the rest of the image. Click OK when you’re done.

18 FINAL CURVES ADJUSTMENTS
Open the Adjustments panel, click the Create a New Curves Adjustment Layer icon, and slightly increase the contrast as shown in the Overall Contrast illustration. Add a second Curves layer and adjust the curve as in the Darken Sky illustration. Open the Masks panel and click the Invert button to invert the mask to black. With this layer mask active, use the Brush tool (B) to paint with white at 30% Opacity in the sky, trees, and rocks to darken those areas. As you can see from the detail view of the stream, the slow shutter speeds make the water look great with no visible HDR artifacts.

I recently returned from a trip to Hawaii with lots of new photos. In this article, I’ll cover how to integrate the images and Lightroom catalog information from a trip or a location shoot into your main Lightroom catalog back home. We’ll also take a look at synchronizing Develop settings, launching a panorama merge from Lightroom, and essential “round-tripping” techniques for moving files between Lightroom and Photoshop.

1 [CATALOG TRAVEL STRATEGIES, METHOD 1]
There are two ways to work with your images while you’re traveling and I’ll cover both in this article. First, if your laptop is your main computer, you can add any new images you take on your trip to your main Lightroom catalog. Then once you return home, all you need to do is transfer the image files to the primary hard drive where your image archive is stored (more on that below). To ensure that your files are protected when you’re on the road, you should have at least two copies on separate hard drives.

2 [CATALOG TRAVEL STRATEGIES, METHOD 2]
If your laptop is used only for travel and isn’t your primary imaging computer, then an easy way to keep track of your images while you’re traveling (or on a location shoot) is to create a new catalog just for that trip (File>New Catalog). Once you return home, this separate catalog can be integrated into your main Lightroom catalog, and in addition to your images, any work you’ve done in Lightroom, such as virtual copies, collections, ratings, keywords, Develop module settings, etc., will be preserved.

3 [MOVE FOLDERS USING THE LIBRARY MODULE]
If you’ve used Method 1 as described above, once you return home you need to move the images from the external hard drive to the primary drive where your image archive is stored. The easiest way to do this so that Lightroom sees the move and keeps track of where your images are is to move them within the Library module. To do this, open the Folders section in the left Panels area of the Library module and drag the folders to the correct location on the primary storage drive. You can only move one folder at a time.

4 [UPDATE FOLDER LOCATIONS]
If you choose to move the image folders outside Lightroom, or have inadvertently done so, then you’ll see a question mark next to those folders, as well as on the thumbnails of the images in that folder. This means that Lightroom can’t locate the folder. Control-click (PC: Right-click) on the folder icon and choose Find Missing Folder to re-establish the link between the catalog and the folder. In the subsequent dialog, navigate to the actual location for the folder, highlight it, and click Choose.

5 [IMPORT NEW CATALOG INTO MAIN CATALOG]
If you’ve used Method 2 as described above, and have created a separate catalog for all of the photos you created while on your trip, then you can import this catalog into your main catalog. From the File menu, choose Import from Catalog. Navigate to the location of your Lightroom catalogs, select the one from your trip or location shoot, and click Choose.

6 [CHOOSE LOCATION FOR CATALOG IMPORT]
In the File Handling section of the Import from Catalog dialog, choose Add New Photos to Catalog without Moving if you’ve already moved the image folders from the travel hard drive to the primary storage drive (as described in Step 3). If you want Lightroom to move the images for you, choose Copy New Photos to a New Location and Import. Click Choose to specify the folder where you want the photos copied (in the case of this example, this is my 2009 folder). Click Import and Lightroom will create a copy of the folder that the images are currently in.

7 [MAKE TIME ZONE ADJUSTMENT]
I rarely remember to change the date in my camera to the local time zone when I’m traveling, and if I do, then I usually forget to change it back to my home time zone when I return. Fortunately, Lightroom has a fix for this. In the Library module, open a folder of images that need a time zone adjustment. Choose Edit>Select All, and then Metadata>Edit Capture Time. Select the Shift By a Set Number of Hours (Time Zone Adjust) option, and in the New Time drop-down menu, select the correct time difference adjustment.

8 [ROUND-TRIPPING WITH PHOTOSHOP]
Although you can use Lightroom to apply a lot of adjustments to your images, for some tasks you still have to use Photoshop. To make this transition easier, Lightroom provides several menu commands that lead to specific Photoshop features. In the rest of this tutorial, I’ll cover a scenario for using Lightroom to launch a panorama process and “round-tripping” the files from Lightroom to Photoshop and back again.

9 [PANORAMA PREFLIGHT: GLOBAL ADJUSTMENTS]
Several of the images from my Hawaii trip were photographed specifically to make panoramas. Before the panorama is assembled, however, global (overall) adjustments are needed. For this image of the view taken from Makapu’u Point looking up Oahu’s windward coast, the file was brightened with the Exposure slider, Clarity and Vibrance were increased, contrast was boosted with a Tone Curve, and changes were made to the Luminance section of the HSL controls to brighten the foliage colors and darken the blues. (Note: You can download the DNGs from www.layersmagazine.com to follow along. Only one of the images has been adjusted as described above.)

10 [PANORAMA PREFLIGHT: SYNC SETTINGS]
Once the adjustments have been applied to one of the panorama source images, they can be applied to others in the series if the exposure of the different shots is similar, as was the case for the two files in this Hawaii panorama. With the corrected image thumbnail selected in the Develop module, Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on the second image of the panorama series to add it to the selection, then click the Sync button on the lower right. In the Synchronize Settings dialog, check all the settings that apply (Local Adjustments settings such as the Brush should probably be unchecked), and click Synchronize.

11 [LIGHTROOM TO PHOTOSHOP: MERGE TO PANO]
With the source thumbnails for the panorama selected, choose Photo>Edit In>Merge to Panorama in Photoshop. When the Photomerge dialog appears you can choose the type of layout for the merge. If you’re unsure, leave it set to Auto. For scenes with obvious near-to-far relationships, Perspective works best, and for landscape panoramas such as this example, I usually choose Cylindrical. Make sure that Blend Images Together is selected. Click OK to create the panorama. (Note: Panoramas can also be launched from Bridge by selecting the thumbnails and choosing Tools>Photoshop>Photomerge.)

12 [STRAIGHTEN HORIZON WITH RULER TOOL]
Once Photomerge has created the panorama, you can decide if you want to keep it or return to Lightroom for further fine-tuning of the RAW files. In this image, the horizon isn’t straight. To fix it, use the Ruler tool in Photoshop (grouped with the Eyedropper) and draw a line along the tilted horizon. Then choose Image>Image Rotation>Arbitrary. The angle measured by the Ruler tool is already entered in the Rotate Canvas dialog, along with the correct direction needed to create a level horizon. Click OK to apply the correction.

13 [APPLY NONDESTRUCTIVE CROPPING]
If you want the image shape to be more of a standard rectangle, the next step is to crop the panorama. Use the Crop tool (C) to define a rectangular crop box around the image, then click the Cropped Area: Hide radio button in the Options Bar, and press Return (PC: Enter). This will allow you to undo the crop at a later time if you decide to go with the original “organic” Photomerge edges. (This only works if your image has layers with no Background and isn’t re-sized.) To restore the hidden cropped areas, choose Image>Reveal All.

14 [APPLY ADJUSTMENT LAYERS]
Overall, I was pleased with the way the image looked, but it still needs some tonal fine-tuning in Photoshop. Select Curves in the Adjustments panel and set the layer blend mode in the Layers panel to Screen without making any changes to the curve. In the Masks panel, click the Invert button to change the Curves layer mask from white to black. Then use the Brush tool (B) and paint with white at 30% Opacity over the lighter areas of the mountain. At this point, Save and Close the file and return to Lightroom.

15 [ADD PANORAMA KEYWORDS]
Since this image, as well as the two original files that created it, is either a panorama or panorama components, let’s add the keyword “panorama” to these files, as well as any other files in this folder that qualify as pano source images. This makes it much easier to find potential panorama images in your catalog in the future. To do this, find the Keywording panel in the right Panels area of the Library module and enter the keyword “panorama.”

16 [BRING THE PSD FILE BACK TO PHOTOSHOP]
The layered PSD file is now a part of your Lightroom catalog. At this point you can apply further edits in Lightroom, or reopen the current file into Photoshop and work on it there. To do this, select the thumbnail of the PSD file and choose Photo>Edit In>Edit in Photoshop CS4 (you can also get this option by Control-clicking [PC: Right-clicking] on the image or thumbnail). A dialog will appear giving you three options of what data will be brought into Photoshop. Let’s take a closer look at these choices.

17 [EDIT IN PHOTOSHOP OPTIONS]
Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments: Lightroom edits you have made to the PSD file will be applied to a flattened copy (i.e., no Photoshop layers) and opened into Photoshop. Edit a Copy: Does what it promises—opens a copy of the file into Photoshop with all layers preserved (but no Lightroom adjustments are visible). This is useful if you want to take the file in a different direction than the original PSD file. Edit Original: Preserves all the layers but no Lightroom adjustments are visible. This last option is what I use most of the time.

18 [EDIT AS SMART OBJECT]
A fourth option appears in the Photo>Edit In menu: Open as Smart Object in Photoshop. This works well for RAW files where you want to embed the original RAW file within a layered PSD file. Once the file is open in Photoshop, you can double-click on the Smart Object layer thumbnail to open up the Camera Raw dialog. But for a file that already has layers, it doesn’t open up an embedded file with all of the layers preserved, which is how this would function if you made a group of layers into a smart object in Photoshop.

ALL IMAGES BY SEÁN DUGGAN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

Disappearing Act

Let’s face it: no matter how carefully you try to compose your image, in some photos there’s something in the shot that just has to go! In this tutorial, we’ll review some key techniques for removing elements from a photograph using cover-up layers and the new live brush preview for the Clone Stamp in Photoshop CS4.

1 [CONCEPTUAL OVERVIEW]
The Clone Stamp and the Healing Brush are both great for retouching and, in some cases, removing smaller objects from an image. But for larger items, especially in areas of more complex detail, you often have to use another approach that involves copying sections of the background onto separate layers. In order for this technique to work, there needs to be enough “extra” background information that can serve as a patch to cover up the unwanted object. Both the Clone Stamp and the Healing Brush can be used to fine-tune rough edges after the main cover-up layers have been created.

2 [SELECT THE AREA TO BE COVERED]
In the image of the girl walking through rain puddles, our goal is to remove the white fence post. It’s a bit distracting and the image will be more pleasing without it. Fortunately, there’s plenty of background that we can use to cover the post. It’s also slightly out of focus, which will make it easier to blend over the post. Use the Lasso tool (L) with a 2-pixel Feather in the Options Bar to drag a loose selection around the fence post. It’s okay to have irregular edges, as this will help camouflage the cover-up. (Note: You can download this image from www.layersmagazine.com.)

3 [MOVE SELECTION TO GOOD DETAIL]
With the Lasso tool still active, click inside the selection, hold the Shift key down, and move the selection over to the left to an area of background detail that will provide good image information for covering up the fence post. The use of the Shift key will constrain the movement of the selection to keep it aligned horizontally with the original position. In some images, such as this one, this is not that critical, but in others it may be important to have precise alignment of the data you’ll be copying.

4 [CREATE THE COVER-UP LAYER]
To create the cover-up layer, choose Layer>New>Layer via Copy, or use the handy shortcut Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J). Select the Move tool (V) and, holding down the Shift key again to constrain the movement horizontally, move the new cover-up layer back to the right until it covers the fence post. So far, so good. Now we need to zoom in for a closer look, adjust the positioning so that the fence wire matches up as well as possible, and touch up other areas with the Clone Stamp or Healing Brush.

5 [FINE-TUNE THE LAYER ALIGNMENT]
Double-click the Zoom tool to view the image at 100% (you can also choose View>Actual Pixels). It’s clear that the fence wire does not line up perfectly in some areas. Make the Move tool active (V), and use the Arrow keys on the keyboard to nudge the layer in 1-pixel increments until the wire mesh is better aligned.

6 [ADD LAYER MASK TO REFINE EDGE]
With the cover-up layer active, click the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel (it’s the third icon from the left). Choose the Brush tool (B), press D to set the default colors, and then X to exchange them to place black in the Foreground color swatch. In the Brush Picker in the Options Bar, choose a 45-pixel, soft-edged brush. Double-check to make sure the layer mask is active. Now check for any hard, obvious edges on the cover-up layer and brush over them to add black to those areas of the layer mask and hide or soften those edges.

7 [CHECK FOR REPEATING ELEMENTS]
The cover-up layer is now working quite nicely; however, because we copied a section of the background, we now need to double-check to see if there are noticeable repeating elements. In this case, there are¬ some grass patterns at the base of the fence that are obviously the same in two places. This needs to be retouched to hide the fact that it’s the same chunk of grass. You can choose to retouch either the cover-up layer or the original place from where the data was copied. For this example, let’s retouch the cover-up layer. Click the layer thumbnail to make it active instead of the layer mask.

8 [RETOUCH REPEATED ELEMENTS WITH CLONE STAMP]
Choose the Clone Stamp tool (S), set the Sample drop-down menu to Current & Below in the Options Bar, and Option-click (PC: Alt-click) to sample some of the dark green grass. Now retouch the lighter yellow strands of grass to hide the fact that it’s the same image information as elsewhere in the image. In Photoshop CS4 the Clone Stamp cursor will show you a preview of the data that you’ll be stamping, which makes it very easy to correctly align the data you’re cloning with existing image information. For this photo this is not that critical due to the slightly out-of-focus background.

9 [REMOVE OTHER ELEMENTS]
As a final step you can use the Clone Stamp tool to remove the short white pipe near the upper center of the image. Keep the cover-up layer active so the retouching can be added to this layer and separate from the Background layer. Because the Sample drop-down menu is still set to Current & Below in the Options Bar, you’ll be able to clone the information from the Background layer to the cover-up layer.

10 [SHOOTING TIPS]
So the key is to look for background detail that can be copied onto cover-up layers. When photographing, if you notice something that needs to be taken out, be sure to take extra shots containing good source material that can be used for a cover-up. For wedding group shots, take a shot of the background with no one in front of it. That way you can use it as source material in case someone needs to be removed from the group (hey, it happens!)

ALL IMAGES BY SEÁN DUGGAN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

If you’d like to download the images used in this tutorial to practice these techniques, visit www.layersmagazine.com and navigate to the Magazine section. All files are for personal use only.

Creating the Source Images

1 OVERVIEW
This technique is for those times when you need extended depth of field in a scene, but for some reason you can’t quite get what you need in a single shot. Now, I know what some photographers might be thinking; just put the camera on a tripod and stop the lens down to the smallest aperture. But sometimes you might not have a tripod. And even with some lenses, stopping all the way down might not get you all the depth of field that you need. The beauty of this feature is that you can take the range of different shots handheld!

2 TAKING THE PHOTOGRAPHS
The exact number of exposures that works best will depend on what lens aperture you’re using, the focal length of the lens, and how deep the scene is in terms of the area that needs to be in focus. For this example, I took six handheld shots using an aperture of f/6.3 on a 100mm macro lens. Shutter speeds ranged from 1/125 to 1/200. I started with the leading edge of the scene in focus and then gradually refocused on different areas moving toward the back. The different parts that I focused on are circled in red.

Batch Apply Adobe Camera Raw Adjustments

1 APPLY ADJUSTMENTS TO ONE IMAGE
If the images need any adjustments in Camera Raw, then you should apply the adjustments to all of the exposures before the Auto-Blend process. Double-click on the first of the files in Bridge to open it in Camera Raw. For these images, I used the White Balance tool, clicking on the white background to set a white balance, and then adjusted the Exposure, as well as a few other settings in the Basic panel, to brighten the image a bit. Then I clicked Done to apply the changes but not open the image.

2 APPLY SAME SETTINGS TO OTHER IMAGES
Now that we’ve adjusted one image, we can quickly apply those same settings to the other five images. Click on the second image and then Shift-click on the last image in the sequence. You should now have five images selected in Bridge. Control-click (PC: Right-click) on one of the thumbnails and from the contextual menu, choose Develop Settings>Previous Conversion (you can also find this same command in the Bridge Edit menu). The Camera Raw settings from the first image will be applied to all of the selected files.

Bring Images Into Photoshop

1 MAKE IMAGES INTO ONE PHOTOSHOP FILE
Now it’s time to bring the images into Photoshop as layers in a single file. Select all six of the thumbnails by clicking on the first one and then Shift-clicking on the last one. Choose Tools>Photoshop>Load Files into Photoshop Layers. When this operation is finished, we’ll have a single file open in Photoshop and each of the original source exposures will be on a separate layer.

2 AUTO-ALIGN LAYER
If you zoom in close and turn off the Eye icon for each layer, starting from the top down, you’ll see that each layer has a different area that’s in focus. You’ll also see the position of the image shift around a bit. Since these images were shot handheld, we need to make sure that they’re properly aligned before we begin the blending process. Click on the top layer and then Shift-click on the bottom layer to select all the layers in the stack. Choose Edit>Auto-Align Layers. Leave the Projection set to Auto and click OK.

3 IT’S TIME FOR THE MAGIC
After Auto-Align Layers is finished, the layers have obviously changed position but when your turn off the Eye icons in order, you’ll see that the actual subject in the photo is much better aligned than at the beginning. Now it’s time for the magic! Make sure that all of the layers are still active in the Layers panel. (If not, select them as we did in the previous step.) From the Edit menu, choose Auto-Blend Layers. Set the Blend method to Stack Images and make sure that Seamless Tones and Colors is checked. Click OK.

4 CHECK OUT THE MASKS
Some pretty intense math is going on under the hood for this process. The size of the image, how many layers have to be blended, the complexity of the blend, and the bit depth will all influence how long it takes. When the process is done, you’ll see that a very precise and intricate layer mask has been added to each layer to create the blend into a single image. Option-click (PC: Alt-click) on one of the mask thumbnails to see the mask view. Click back on a layer thumbnail to return to a view of the image.

5 CROP ANY UNEVEN EDGES
The accuracy of the blended image will vary from scene to scene. The result will be affected by how complex the details are, as well as how many images need to be blended and the depth of the blend. Overall, it’s quite impressive. Even on this still life, with all its intricate, high-frequency detail, the blend is nearly perfect. The only minor glitch is a slight fuzziness at the top of the right-hand lens of the glasses.

The final step is to use the Crop tool (C) to crop off the uneven edges created by Auto-Align.

6 TIPS AND NOTES
Here are some things to consider when shooting for and using the Auto-Blend feature:
• Images for this technique can be shot on a tripod or handheld.
• Sometimes you can get by with fewer shots; it all depends on the type of lens you’re using and the aperture. For this example, I tried using only three exposures but found that the result was more accurate when I used six.
• To ensure accurate layer alignment, always use the Auto-Align layers command before applying Auto-Blend Layers.
• Check for errors at 100% zoom (View>Actual Pixels).

If you’d like to download the image used in this tutorial to practice these techniques, just click here. All files are for personal use only.

Creating New Masks with Color Range

1 OVERVIEW
I recently visited my old junior high school in Boise, Idaho. A new school had replaced it and only the entrance of the original building was left standing. My nostalgic pilgrimage occurred in the late afternoon, shortly before sunset and the edifice was backlit. These challenging lighting conditions meant that in order to get a decent exposure of the wonderful educational graphics over the window, the late afternoon sky would be blown out. We’ll drop in a new sky using the Color Range command and the new Masks panel in CS4. (The new sky has already been placed in the practice file as a separate layer.)

2 ADD A PIXEL MASK
Click on the Building layer in the Layers panel to make sure it’s active. In the Masks panel (Window>Masks), click on the Add a Pixel Mask icon in the top-right corner of the panel (it’s the icon on the left). You’ll see that a layer mask has been added to the Building layer in the Layers panel. Now click on the Color Range button near the bottom of the Masks panel to bring up the Color Range dialog.

3 SAMPLE COLORS WITH EYEDROPPER
In the Color Range dialog, make sure that the Invert box is checked on and the Fuzziness is set to 40. Use the Eyedropper to click on the sky above the building. Most of the white sky is immediately masked, revealing the new sky layer underneath. This is very useful because you can see the mask being created live. In previous versions (and if used apart from the Masks panel in CS4), the result from using Color Range is always a selection, not a mask. Use the plus Eyedropper to click in the lower-left windows to make those areas totally black in the Color Range preview. Click OK.

Fine-tuning with the Masks Panel

1 CONTROL DENSITY OF MASK
The Masks panel offers two dynamic sliders (Density and Feather) that can be adjusted and readjusted at any time. Density controls the black areas in the mask: 100% is total black and anything less than that becomes gray. This functions like an opacity setting for the black areas of the mask. Choosing a lower Density will allow more of the original white sky to show through, and thus minimize the brightness of the new sky layer underneath. In the past, this type of mask editing had to be made using Levels or Curves. For this example, we left Density at 100%.

Mask Density 100% (image on left); Mask Density 50% (image on right)

2 CONTROL FEATHER OF MASK
Feather controls the hardness of the mask edge. In previous versions, this was accomplished by either feathering a selection before you turned it into a mask (not ideal, because you couldn’t see how much feathering you might need) or by using the Gaussian Blur filter on the layer mask. As this is a dynamic control, meaning it can be changed at any time, it’s a welcome masking improvement in CS4. For this example, we need to apply the edge modifications another way, so leave the Feather set to 0 pixels.

Feather = 0 px (on left); Feather = 5 px (on right)

3 THE REFINE MASK DIALOG
There are a few errors on the mask edges in some areas, particularly along the vertical window frames. To fix this, click the Mask Edge button in the lower portion of the Masks panel. The controls in Refine Mask are the same as Refine Edge, but they affect a mask and not a selection, allowing you to see in real time how the edges of an adjustment layer’s mask are affected. If you’re creating a selection that will be used to create a layer mask, apply your edge modifications in the Refine Mask dialog where you have a better view of what’s happening—see next Step.

4 ADJUST SETTINGS IN REFINE MASK
Choose View>Actual Pixels to zoom the image to 100%. In the Refine Mask dialog, click on the Standard preview icon (circled above). This shows the mask as a selection edge, which is totally useless if you’re working on a mask because it obscures the very edges we need to see, so choose Command-H (PC: Ctrl-H) to hide the selection edges. Set the Feather to 0.8 pixels to slightly soften the edge, then set the Contract/Expand slider to –35 to “fit” the mask edge tighter to the building. Finally, set the Contrast to 20 to further fine-tune the edge. Click OK.

Note the difference in the Before (on left) and After (on right)

5 SELECT THE SKY IN THE WINDOWS
The adjustments we made in the Refine Mask dialog did a good job at creating a better fit for the layer mask, but we still need to do some manual touchups. For this photo, we’ll use the Brush tool to fill in areas of bright, specular highlights on the vertical window frame that were initially selected by the Color Range command. Click on the Eye icon at the bottom of the Masks panel to temporarily disable the layer mask. Use the Quick Selection tool (W) and drag across the sky area inside each of the window frames while holding Shift to select those areas.

6 PAINT WHITE ON MASK
Choose Select>Inverse to select everything except those sky areas. In the Layers panel, click on the layer mask to be sure that it’s active and also to enable the mask. Use the Brush tool (B) and paint with white at 100% Opacity. Depending on the selection, you may need to apply further edge feathering.

7 ADD CURVES
As a final touch, I added a Curves adjustment layer that applied a slight contrast boost to the building layer. With the Curves layer active, I clicked the third icon from the left at the bottom of the Adjustments panel to clip the adjustment so that it only affected the building.

ALL IMAGES BY SEÁN DUGGAN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

If you’d like to download the images used in this tutorial to practice these techniques, just click here. All files are for personal use only.

Fixing a Blown-out Sky

1 ADD A CURVES ADJUSTMENT LAYER
Click the Create New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and choose Curves from the list. In the Curves dialog, click on the Display Detailed Grid icon to display a 10×10 grid. Open the Channel pop-up menu and choose Red. Move the point at the top-right corner down along the right side about one and a half grid boxes. This will add cyan, the opposite of red. Most of the change will affect the lighter areas of the image (the sky). Other tonal regions will be affected, which we’ll fix in a later step.

2 CHANGE THE GREEN CURVE
Now choose Green from the Channel menu. Move the highlight point of the Green channel curve down the right side the same distance as you did with the Red curve. You can also take note of what the Output value was for the Red adjustment and simply enter that for the Output value in the Green curve (in this case, it was 216). Depending on the image, you may also choose to slightly lower the highlight section of the main RGB curve to darken the sky area a bit. Click OK to apply the Curves adjustment layer.

3 MODIFY THE BLEND IF SLIDERS
The sky looks much better, but the rest of the image is also affected by the blue color cast from the Curves layer. Double-click to the right of the layer name in the Layers panel to open the Layer Style dialog. We’ll be working with the Blend If sliders in the lower part of this dialog. Click on the shadow slider (on the left) for This Layer and move it to the right until the first number is at about 140. This prevents the curves adjustment from affecting any tonal value of 140 or lower.

4 SPLIT THE BLEND IF SLIDER
The transition edge of the new sky tone is much too rough and obvious in the lower-left part of the image. To soften this and create a more natural transition, hold down the Option key (PC: Alt key) and click on the shadow slider to split it into two halves. Move the right half until the second number above the sliders reads about 170. This creates a feathering effect: No values below 140 are affected, then they’re gradually affected more until value 170, when the curve affects the image at full strength. Click OK.

5 FINE-TUNE WITH A LAYER MASK
This effect works very well in an image where the sky is lighter than anything else in the shot. On some images, you might need to modify the Curves layer mask if there are areas that are still affected by the blue tone that was added. If you see any areas like this on the back of the boat, press D then X to set your Foreground color to black and use the Brush tool (B) to paint on the layer mask to prevent the blue curves adjustment from affecting those areas.

6 FINE-TUNE THE HORIZON LINE
For this particular image, we painted on the layer mask with a large, soft-edged brush to further fine-tune the horizon line on the left side. Using just the top edge of the brush, we painted with black to slightly fade back the blue effect just above the distant hills. This looks more natural because the sky is often a bit lighter near the horizon than it is higher up. We also lowered the Opacity of the Curves 1 layer to 80%.

7 WRAP UP
For a surprising number of photographs that suffer from a blown-out sky, this effect works remarkably well without having to delve into the intricacies of creating a precise layer mask to control where the sky tone is visible. Just be aware that if any other tonal regions in the image are similar to the blown-out sky, then you’ll have to edit the Curves layer mask.

Using the Blend If Sliders for Split Toning

1 ADD A HUE/SATURATION LAYER
In addition to controlled layer blending for fixing blown-out skies, the Blend If sliders can also approximate a toning effect that’s similar to the Split Toning controls in Lightroom and Camera Raw. Begin with an image that’s in Grayscale mode or that has had a grayscale effect applied. If it’s in Grayscale mode, choose Image>Mode>RGB Color. Choose Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Hue/Saturation and click OK. In the Hue/Saturation dialog, turn on the Colorize checkbox, adjust the Hue slider to 38, and the Saturation to 15. This adds a sepia tone to the entire photo. Click OK.

2 CREATE SPLIT TONE WITH BLEND IF SLIDERS
Double-click to the right of the Hue/Saturation layer name in the Layers panel to open the Layer Style dialog. As in Steps 3 and 4 above, move the shadow slider for This Layer to the right, then Option-click (PC: Alt-click) to split the slider to create a softer feathering of the toning effect. The values we used for this example are 120 and 160. This creates a split between the original grayscale tonal values (below 160) and the sepia tone (above 160).

3 ADD A SECOND TONE
To add another tone, add another Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Click the Colorize checkbox and move the Hue slider to find a tone you like (we used a Hue value of 220 and a Saturation of 12 for a cool-blue tone). Click OK and then adjust the Blend If sliders to only apply this tone to the darker areas. Do this by moving the highlight slider (on the right) for This Layer to the left and then split it as shown in the previous steps. Our highlight slider values are 70 and 130 for this image.

ALL IMAGES BY SEÁN DUGGAN UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

[If you’d like to download the images used in this tutorial to practice these techniques, click here. All files are for personal use only.]

Camera Technique for Capturing Two Exposures

1 Set up on Tripod
Before you start in Photoshop, you have to create the files so that each has a good exposure for a specific part of the image. For the files to align properly, it’s best to be on a tripod. Although handheld, rapid-fire, auto-exposure bracketing may work in some cases, I prefer the tripod approach. The tripod is definitely a must for long exposures, such as the photos in this example, which had shutter speeds of 13 and 25 seconds. I used a 5-stop, solid, neutral-density filter to force a long exposure time that would totally blur the surf.

2 Use Remote Shutter Release
In the images of Makapuu Point on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, the sky and most of the ocean looks better in the 13-second exposure, while the longer one reveals better detail in the dark foreground rocks. I also like the way the incoming surf is blurred into a fine mist in the 25-second shot. To minimize any chance of vibration that might yield a soft shot, I turned off lens stabilization and used an electronic cable release. For the purposes of this tutorial, the files are JPEGs, but I recommend you shoot RAW for the most control and quality.

Blend the Two Exposures

1 Bring Exposures Into One File
The first step is to bring the two exposures into a single layered file. For this example, we’re adding the darker exposure to the lighter image so that it will be the top layer. Select the Move tool (V), hold down the Shift key, and drag-and-drop the darker image onto the lighter one. Hold down the Shift key until the image appears in the lighter file as a new layer. This ensures that the two pictures are perfectly aligned.

2 Add a Layer Mask
Now we’ll add a layer mask to show only the “good” areas of the top layer. Depending on the nature of the images you’re combining and the complexity of the edge, this is the part of the process that will be different for each image. Some scenes may require intricate and precise masks, while for others a soft-edged mask will do; we’ll use a soft-edged mask for this image. With the top layer active, click the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.

3 Paint the Layer Mask to Reveal the Lighter Image
Choose the Brush tool (B) from the Toolbox and set the Foreground color to black. In the Options Bar, set the Opacity to 50% and choose a soft-edged brush that’s large enough to cover the bottom part of the image (ours is 300 pixels). Check the Layers panel to make sure the layer mask is active (look for the highlight border around the thumbnail). Paint over the image where you want to reveal the lighter tones from the bottom layer (paint multiple strokes to reveal more of the lighter layer). Reduce the brush size to work on the areas where the two images meet at the edge of the rocks.

4 Add a Grouped Adjustment Layer
We lowered the Opacity to 20% and painted with black over the distant hill to show more detail there. To reverse the mask edits, press X to switch the Foreground and Background colors, and paint with white to bring back the darker layer. To add a contrast punch to the top layer, Option-click (PC: Alt-click) on the Create New Adjustment Layer icon in the Layers panel and choose Curves. Turn on the Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask checkbox and click OK. Adjust the curve as shown. The clipping mask means that it affects only the underlying layer.

5 Debriefing
If you click on the Background layer’s Eye icon, you can see how the layer mask controls which parts of the top darker layer are visible in the final composite. Click again to turn on the Background layer’s visibility, then Shift-click the layer mask to temporarily disable it and view the darker image without the lighter foreground. Shift-click the layer mask again to turn it on. The soft-edged layer mask we used here works well because the long exposure times blurred the water and we don’t have to be concerned with lining up the waves.

Dual-Process Raw

1 Raw Exposure Strategies for Dual Processing
If you have a single exposure, and it’s a RAW exposure, then you can create essentially the same effect as in the previous steps. This is useful for scenes that contain moving subjects or where a tripod is impractical or simply not an option. The main thing you need to do in terms of exposure is bias the histogram as far to the right as possible without clipping the highlights (i.e., forcing the brightest areas to a total white). This ensures you have the best exposure possible for the shadows, which will help minimize noise in those areas.

2 Process Raw Files as Smart Objects
Process the first version of the image in Adobe Camera Raw for a specific area (in our example, we’re keeping the sky from getting too washed out). To preserve maximum flexibility, click on the blue Workflow Options link below the preview and turn on the Open in Photoshop as Smart Objects checkbox. Click OK then Open Object to bring the file into Photoshop. Choose Layer>Smart Objects>New Smart Object via Copy to create a duplicate smart object of the embedded RAW file (the smart object duplication must be done this way to apply different RAW develop settings).

3 Process and Combine with Layer Masks
Double-click on the thumbnail for the duplicate smart object layer to access the Camera Raw dialog and adjust as needed for specific areas. We used the Exposure, Fill Light, and Brightness sliders to show more detail on the rental surfboards. Click OK to apply these new settings. Now it’s just a masking job to combine the two. We used the Quick Selection tool (W) to make a basic selection of the bright sky, then used that to make a layer mask for the top Smart Object layer. We then fine-tuned the edges using a Brush tool at varying opacities.

Check out more free Adobe Photoshop tutorials, or head over to our Adobe tutorials section for more Creative Suite goodness.

[If you’d like to download the images used in this tutorial to practice these techniques, visit www.layersmagazine.com and navigate to the Magazine section. All files are for personal use only.]

The mirror collage

1 [PRE-CROPPING]
Cropping the file prior to the mirroring process is not required, but for some photos it can produce a more interesting reflected image, and it’s always good to keep this in mind. For the Mono Lake example used here, I decided to crop it as shown since I knew this would result in a mirror where the tufa formations would look more like an island. Study your own images to see if cropping will result in more intriguing results. The more you play around with image mirrors, the easier it will be to see the possibilities that a certain crop might provide.

2 [COPY THE IMAGE TO A NEW LAYER]
Start by opening an image you want to use for a mirror, or you can download the Mono Lake file (if you do use the Mono Lake image, crop it as shown in the previous step). Double-click on the Background layer. Click OK in the New Layer dialog that appears to turn it into a regular layer. Next, make a copy of the layer by choosing Layer>New>Layer via Copy, or by using the very useful keyboard shortcut Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J).

3 [ADD CANVAS SIZE]
Choose Image>Canvas Size. Use the Anchor grid to determine where the original image will be placed in relation to the added canvas. In this example, let’s mirror the image on the left side of the original, so click the right center square to denote this as the position of the original image. Uncheck the Relative box (if it’s checked), and change the units for the Width to Percent (the Height will change as well). Enter 200% for the Width if you’re mirroring to the left or right (as is the case with our image) or 200% for the Height if you’re mirroring the image above or below, and click OK.

4 [FLIP THE DUPLICATE LAYER]
After adding the extra canvas area, make sure the top duplicate layer is active and choose Edit>Transform>Flip Horizontal (use Flip Vertical if the reflected layer will be placed above or below). Choose the Move tool (V), press-and-hold the Shift key, and drag the flipped layer into position to create the mirror effect. If the Snap feature is enabled under the View menu, the edges of the two layers should snap into alignment. You may need to zoom in for a close view to ensure that the edges line up well. With the Move tool active, you can nudge the layer one pixel at a time using the Arrow keys on the keyboard.

5 [CREATE A SMART OBJECT FROM LAYERS]
For this image, we’ll also apply a Shadow/Highlight adjustment. In order to preserve flexibility and keep our changes nondestructive, we’ll first convert the two layers into a smart object. Click on the bottom layer in the Layers panel, then Shift-click on the top layer to select both of them. Open the flyout menu for the Layers panel and choose Convert to Smart Object.

6 [APPLY SHADOW/HIGHLIGHT AS A SMART FILTER]
Since the layers that create the mirror effect are grouped into a smart object, we can apply the Shadow/Highlight effect as a smart filter. This gives us adjustment layer-type functionality, which means the change isn’t permanent, allowing us to revisit the settings if needed. Choose Image>Adjustments>Shadow/Highlight and click the Show More Options checkbox. For both the Shadows and the Highlights, set the Amount and Tonal Width to 40% and the Radius to 90 px. Click OK to complete the image.

Reflections on polished surfaces

1 [ADJUST LAYER OPACITY]
The clock in this example was photographed on a black cloth background and cast no reflection, but it’s very simple to add one. The basic steps are essentially the same as the image mirror shown in the previous steps (the one difference is the addition of extra canvas area that’s black). Since we have already covered that, I have jump-started the process and prepared a clock file with a reflection layer already in position. To make the reflection more realistic, lower the Opacity of the reflection layer in the Layers panel to 50%.

2 [ADD A LAYER MASK]
Reflections on polished surfaces are stronger and brighter the closer they are to the object. To further fine-tune the reflection, we’ll add a layer mask and use the Gradient tool (G) to feather the “lighting” on the reflection. Click the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to add a layer mask to the top layer (the reflection). Choose the Gradient tool and in the Gradient Picker in the Options Bar, select the third swatch to set the gradient to Black, White. In the Options Bar, make sure the style is set to Linear Gradient, the Mode to Normal, the Opacity to 100%, and Reverse is not checked.

3 [MODIFY THE MASK WITH A GRADIENT]
Choose View>Screen Mode>Full Screen Mode with Menu Bar. Zoom out (Command-–PC: Ctrl-–]) to see the entire image surrounded by the gray canvas. With the Gradient tool active, click below the image in the gray area and Shift-drag a line up to the top clock. Let go between the number 6 and the center point of the clock (see illustration). The gradient in the mask now creates a feathering effect so the brightness of the reflection fades out as it moves away from the clock.

4 [ADD A GROUPED ADJUSTMENT LAYER]
As a final step, let’s add an adjustment layer to color the reflection a cool tone to suggest that the clock is resting on a colored surface. To do this so it only affects the reflection layer, hold down Option (PC: Alt), click the Create New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel, and choose Curves. In the New Layer dialog, click the checkbox for Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask, and click OK. In the Curves dialog, choose the Blue channel and drag the lower part of the curve up a bit to add a blue cast to the image. Click OK to complete the reflection.

All images by Seán Duggan

[If you’d like to download the images used in this tutorial to practice these techniques, click here. All files are for practice purposes only.]

Punch Up the Blacks, Method 1

1 SELECT SHADOWS WITH COLOR RANGE
First, we’ll take a look at some ways to quickly isolate and darken the shadows to emphasize texture and create depth. Start with an image that has already been converted to black and white, or you can use the one featured here. Choose Select>Color Range. In the Color Range dialog, use the default menu setting of Sampled Colors and click in the image on a representative dark tone. Use the Fuzziness slider to fine-tune the selection (represented by the white areas in the preview) and click OK. My Fuzziness setting for this image was 60.

2 USE CURVES TO DARKEN SHADOWS
With the Color Range selection active, choose Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Curves. Drag down on the curve as needed to darken the shadow tones and increase the textural depth of the image. Click OK. This technique will be more successful on images with a clear definition between the deep shadows and the middle values, such as the carved heart photograph in this example.

Punch Up the Blacks, Method 2

1 SELECT RGB CHANNEL; INVERSE AND APPLY CURVES
Now let’s try a different version of that technique. Throw away the curves layer you just made. This method uses the inverted tonal map of the image to create a layer mask. Bring up the Channels panel and Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on the RGB composite channel (or the Gray channel) to load a selection of the luminosity of the image. Lighter values will be more selected, darker values less selected. Choose Select>Inverse. From the main menu, choose Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Curves. In the New Layer dialog, set the Mode to Multiply and click OK.

2 LOWER LAYER OPACITY
Click OK in the Curves dialog without making any changes to the curve. The image will be noticeably darker, with the darkest tones being affected most of all. This darkening is being accomplished by the Multiply blend mode. Adjust the Opacity in the Layers panel as needed to fine-tune the effect (75% in this example). In the next step we’ll explore further ways to fine-tune this layer mask.

3 ADJUST LAYER MASK WITH CURVES
A layer mask is made up of grayscale tones. Lighter tones show the adjustment more than darker tones. If needed, these tones can be adjusted with standard tonal correction tools. With the Curves adjustment layer active, choose Image>Adjustments>Curves. In this example, I don’t want the lighter tones in the photo to be darkened quite as much, so I used a fairly steep S-curve to increase the contrast in the mask. This minimizes the darkening effect on the lighter areas in the photo. Click OK to apply the curve.

Soft Light Highlight Sculpting

1 CREATE NEW LAYER SET TO SOFT LIGHT
For this technique, we’ll paint on an empty layer with white and black and use a blending mode to add subtle highlights and shadows. You can use one of your own images or the one of the Inca fortress shown here. Add a new layer to the image (Layer>New>Layer and click OK). At the top of the Layers panel, set the blend mode to Soft Light. Choose the Brush tool (B) in the Toolbox; press D then X to set the Foreground color to white; and in the Options Bar, make sure the Mode is set to Normal and the Opacity to 30%.

2 PAINT HIGHLIGHTS AND SHADOWS
Using a brush size that’s appropriate for the areas you’re modifying, paint where you want to increase the sense of a highlight. In this image, I added vertical white strokes to the rounded corner of the central tower, and also on other areas of the wall where there was an obvious highlight that I wanted to enhance. Press X to switch to black and paint in areas where you want to deepen the shadows. You’ll probably need to lower the brush Opacity to 20% for working on the shadows.

3 APPLY GAUSSIAN BLUR
The initial effect of adding enhanced highlights in this way is likely to be too obvious, so to soften the effect and blend it better with the actual highlights and shadows in the image, apply a blur to the layer. Choose Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and blur to taste. I ended up using a blur Radius of 35 pixels. Click OK and apply final fine-tuning to this effect by adjusting the layer Opacity as needed.

Quick and Easy Split Toning

1 COLORIZE WITH HUE/SATURATION
Both Camera Raw and Lightroom provide an elegant way to apply a split tone to an image. There are a number of ways you can do this in Photoshop, too. Here’s one way that adds a sepia tone to the highlights and midtones, while preserving the original neutral black-and-white tonality in the darker values. Click the Create New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Click the Colorize checkbox, set the Hue to 38 and the Saturation to 15, and click OK.

2 ADJUST BLENDING OPTIONS
Now we’ll modify the layer to apply the sepia to specific tonal regions. Double-click on the Hue/Saturation layer just to the right of the layer name to bring up the Layer Style Blending Options dialog. Move the shadow slider for This Layer to 100. Option-click (PC: Alt-click) on the right side of that slider to split it in two. Move the right half to approximately 130. Any tone below 100 isn’t being affected by the sepia; between 100 and 130, the sepia will gradually begin to show; and any tone above 130 is being fully affected by the sepia tone. Click OK to close the dialog.

[If you’d like to download the images used in this tutorial to practice these techniques, click here. All files are for practice purposes only.]

1 AVOIDING NOISE: EXPOSURE MATTERS
One way to avoid noise, even if you’re forced to shoot with a high ISO setting, is to make sure your shots are well exposed. Underexposed shots are much more likely to suffer from objectionable noise than properly exposed images. Consider the images in this example: Both were shot in low light at 3200 ISO, yet the one on the left is underexposed and the noise levels are dramatically higher. Good exposure matters. (Note: These files have been lightened in Camera Raw to make the noise more visible for this comparison.)

2 NOISE REDUCTION IN CAMERA RAW
With a RAW file, the first step to reducing noise is in Camera Raw (or Lightroom; both programs have the same noise reduction capabilities). The Detail tab (third icon from the left) contains two sliders for noise reduction. Each addresses a different type of noise: luminance noise and color or chrominance noise. Luminance noise is trickier to reduce because it forms the visible noise structure. Reducing the luminance noise is often a tradeoff between smoothing the noise pattern while trying to preserve delicate details, but when carefully applied to RAW images, it can produce a subtle improvement.

3 CONCEALING COLOR NOISE
Reducing color noise is easier than reducing luminance noise. In Camera Raw, the default is set to 25, so there’s always some amount of color noise reduction applied. Generally this setting is quite good—I only have to raise it up on extremely noisy files.

In Photoshop, you can easily hide color noise with a copy layer of the image that has been blurred: Duplicate the Background layer (Command-J [PC: Ctrl-J]) and set its blend mode to Color. Then blur the detail on the layer by choosing Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. In the dialog, set the Radius to 5 and click OK.

4 A DELICATE TOUCH WITH DUST & SCRATCHES
When used incorrectly, the Dust & Scratches Filter can be heavy-handed and can turn a sharp image into an impressionistic mush. But with a very light touch, it can help reduce the light speckles found in a noise pattern. Choose Filter>Convert for Smart Filters and then Filter>Noise>Dust & Scratches. Set the Radius to 1, Threshold to 40, and click OK. A low Radius and high Threshold are essential for preserving detail and texture in the image.

5 THE SURFACE FILTER, PART 1
The Surface Blur filter blurs fine detail while maintaining well-defined edges, making it quite useful for noise reduction. Here’s how: Make a copy of the Background layer (Command-J [PC: Ctrl-J]) or, if you’re using Photoshop CS3, apply the filter as a Smart Filter. Then choose Filter>Blur>Surface Blur. The Radius slider determines how much blur or softening will be applied and the Threshold slider controls the number of tonal values that will be blurred.

6 THE SURFACE FILTER, PART 2
Start with a low Radius value of 3 or 5 and slowly increase the Threshold slider to minimize the noise. Adjust the Radius and Threshold until you arrive at a balance between the softening of the luminance noise and the preservation of important details. Higher Threshold values will cause more noticeable softening, blurring, and in some cases, posterization. As a general rule, watch for image-degrading artifacts if you raise the Threshold more than 10. Modify as needed with layer opacity or layer masks. In this example we masked the blur effect on the fine details on the lamp.

7 NOISE REDUCTION FILTER, PART 1
This filter is found under Filter>Noise>Reduce Noise. It offers controls for minimizing both luminance and color noise, as well as access to noise reduction on a per-channel basis, which can be useful on some images. In the dialog, Strength controls how much luminance noise is removed; and Preserve Details attempts to do what it says, but on very noisy files it can be frustrating to find the right balance. Work with both the Strength and Preserve Detail sliders to find the setting that works best.

8 NOISE REDUCTION FILTER, PART 2
Reduce Color Noise removes color noise mottling and does a very good job of it, too. Try not to go above 50% or the colors may get too desaturated. If you find that you need to use a value higher than 50%, then consider adding a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer after applying the filter to boost the color saturation a bit. Sharpen Details at face value might seem to be a good thing but if you’re not careful, this can cause nasty edge artifacts. It’s better to leave this at 0 and apply input or capture sharpening after noise reduction.

9 NOISE REDUCTION FILTER, PART 3
In Advanced mode (click on the button), you have access to the individual color channels. This can be useful because in some files, luminance noise is much more pronounced in the Blue channel. By targeting specific channels, you can reduce the noise where it’s causing the most problems. Keep in mind, however, that any settings you apply in Advanced mode are applied in addition to any that you’ve already made in the Basic mode.

10 CREATIVE NOISE ADDITION
Although most people want to reduce noise, there are times when it’s useful to add noise to an image. To do this in a flexible way, choose Layer>New>Layer. In the dialog, set the mode to Overlay and click the checkbox to fill the layer with 50% gray. Click OK and choose Filter>Convert for Smart Filters. Then use Filter>Noise>Add Noise to add the desired amount of noise. The advantage of adding noise in this way is that it remains totally flexible and can be modified with opacity or a layer mask.

[If you’d like to download the image used in this tutorial to practice the technique, click here. This file is for practice purposes only.]

1 A RAW RANT
Before we get into the tutorial, indulge me for a moment in a brief rant: For the best results in rescuing a severely underexposed image, you need to be shooting in RAW. Period! Although underexposed JPEGs can be improved, manipulating the RAW capture information gives you much more potential for saving exposures that are truly desperate. Okay, end of rant (I’ll get off my soapbox now).

The first step for this tutorial is to open the RAW DNG file in Camera Raw to see how much underexposed detail we can recover.

©SEÁN DUGGAN

2 RECOVER “LOST” SHADOW DETAIL WITH FILL LIGHT
You may be able to recover detail that you thought was gone for good by using the Fill Light slider—we moved it up to 85 for our temple image. Moving the Exposure slider to the right is also useful for this photo since there’s some room on the right side of the histogram where lightening can be applied without losing detail in the highlights. To bring back any overexposed highlights, use the Recovery slider. The dark areas of the image have been lightened significantly, though as we shall see in the next step, this does come at a cost.

3 CHECK FOR ARTIFACTS AT 100% VIEW
Double-click the Zoom tool to zoom in to 100% and check for artifacts caused by the Fill Light adjustment. Use the Hand tool to scroll over to the far left side of the image. Dramatically lightening the image with Fill Light has produced an unnatural outline fringe around the temple roof. There’s also a noticeable purple coloration along the roof edges. This is called “blooming,” a digital capture phenomenon created by the overly bright sky behind the darker temple. The brightness of the sky pixels has “spilled over” onto the pixels of the roof edge. We’ll address the noise later.

4 CORRECT CHROMATIC ABERRATION
Along the top edge of the roof on the left side is a slight yellow fringe. This is caused by chromatic aberration and can be fixed in Camera Raw. We’ll use another method to fix outline fringe and the purple coloration. Click on the Lens Corrections icon (circled) and set the slider for the Blue/Yellow fringe to +13. Zoom back out to fit the image in the preview window. Click on the Basic icon and increase the Vibrance to +40 to boost the saturation without affecting colors that are already saturated.

5 OPEN RAW FILE AS A SMART OBJECT
The image looks a lot better than the original, but there’s still work that needs to be done in Photoshop to fix the roof fringe. To preserve the ability to tweak the Camera Raw adjustments after the image is opened in Photoshop, we’ll open it as a smart object. Click on the blue Workflow Summary link under the main preview window and in the Workflow Options dialog, click the checkbox for Open in Photoshop as Smart Objects. Click OK and then click Open Object to bring the file into Photoshop.

6 CREATE A COPY OF THE RAW SMART OBJECT
To fix the fringing around the roof, we need to undo the Fill Light adjustment, but only in those areas. Control-click (PC: Right-click) on the layer name and choose New Smart Object via Copy to make a copy of the RAW smart object. Using this method of copying is very important because simply duplicating the smart object won’t let you apply different RAW settings to the copy while preserving the first RAW adjustments. Double-click the Smart Object copy’s thumbnail to reopen Camera Raw. Set the Fill Light to 8. Zoom in to verify that the fringing has been removed. Click OK.

7 CREATE A MASK FOR THE ROOF EDGES
Choose Select>Color Range. Set the Fuzziness to 40 and click in the white sky areas to build a selection mask for the sky. Click OK to create the selection. To overlap the selection onto the roof edge, choose Select>Modify>Expand. Enter 8 pixels and click OK. With the selection active, click the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to add a layer mask to the Smart Object copy layer. This covers up the offending edge fringe but the layer mask needs some modification.

8 EDIT THE LAYER MASK
Zoom in close to see the edges of the mask. Choose Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur, set the Radius to 8, and click OK. This blurs the mask and creates a much better blend with the rest of the image. The next task is to retouch the purple color fringing. Click the Create a New Layer icon to add a new, empty layer to the top of the layer stack. Rename this layer “Retouching” and set its blend mode to Color.

9 RETOUCH THE COLOR FRINGING
Select the Clone Stamp tool (S) in the Toolbox and in the Options Bar, set the Sample menu to Current & Below. To retouch areas that should be grayish, sample the white sky by Option-clicking (PC: Alt-clicking) and then clone that color over any areas of purple fringing. For other areas, such as the red or yellow parts of the roof, sample from similar colors. Don’t be concerned if you have overspill onto the sky; we’ll fix that in the final step. Inspect all of the roofline and retouch the color fringing.

10 REMOVE OVERSPILL WITH BLEND IF SLIDERS
Finally, double-click to the right of the Retouching layer’s name. In the Layer Style dialog’s Advanced Blending section, go to the Blend If sliders and move the highlight slider for Underlying Layer to 220. Hold down Option (PC: Alt) and click on the slider to split it, and move the left half to about 208. This creates a gradual transition and prevents any of the retouching from showing in the brighter parts of the sky. One thing we haven’t covered is noise but we’ve run out of space. I’ll delve into noise-reduction strategies in the next issue.

In this tutorial, we’ll take a look at some interesting techniques for improving contrast using the Shadow/Highlight command, empty adjustment layers, blend modes, and the Blend If sliders in the Layer Style dialog. These techniques work particularly well for subjects made of reflective polished metal. We’ll finish by taking a look at a classic technique for using the High Pass filter to boost contrast along the midtone contours of an image.

[If you’d like to download the project files used here to follow along with this tutorial, visit layersmagazine.com, or click here. All files are for personal use only.]

STEP 1 Convert to Smart Object
The photo of the old DC-3 was taken in full afternoon sunlight and the bright, reflective aluminum of the fuselage is pretty washed out. The biggest problem, however, is the hot spot reflection on the side of the plane. We’ll explore a couple of techniques to fix this, as well as give the old bird a good polish and buff job. To apply our changes nondestructively, we’ll take advantage of Smart Filters. Control-click (PC: Right-click) on the Background layer in the Layers panel and choose Convert to Smart Object. You can also choose Filter>Convert for Smart Filters.

STEP 2 Tame the Highlights with Shadow/Highlight
Now choose Image>Adjustments>Shadow/Highlight. This feature uses the image’s own tonal “map” to create a virtual mask through which it applies the corrections. Because we’re not really concerned with the shadows in this shot, set the Shadows Amount and Tonal Width to 25% and the Radius to 50 pixels (check the Show More Options box). In the Highlights section, set the Amount to 80%, the Tonal Width to 50%, and the Radius to 50 pixels. This does a pretty good job at taming the bright highlight on the fuselage. To boost the contrast a bit, set the Midtone Contrast to +40. Click OK.

Image by SEÁN DUGGAN

STEP 3 Polish with a Contrast Curve
Things are looking much better after the Shadow/Highlight adjustment. The highlight is not so out of control and the aluminum surface is even starting to look a bit polished. Now we’ll polish further with a simple contrast curve. Click the Create a New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and choose Curves. In the Curves dialog, add a curve like the one shown here. For the upper point, the Input value is 90 and the Output is 105. For the lower point the Input value is 45 and the Output is 35. Click OK.

STEP 4 Modify the Layer Mask
After the contrast curve, the metal is taking on a nice shine. The problem, however, is that now the highlight is too bright once again. We can fix that with a few brush strokes on the layer mask for the Curves layer. Choose the Brush tool (B) from the Toolbox. Press D then X to make black the Foreground color. Choose a 125-pixel soft-edged brush tip and set the brush Opacity to 30% in the Options Bar. Brush over the highlights a few times to lessen the brightness.

STEP 5 Add an “Empty” Adjustment Layer
Now it’s time to apply the final coat of polish and make this old plane look like new. Add a Curves adjustment layer and in the Curves dialog, click OK without making any changes. I refer to this as an “empty” adjustment layer. At the top of the Layers panel, set the blend mode to Soft Light. You might also give Overlay a try, although it will be much stronger than Soft Light. This looks pretty cool, but it’s a bit heavy handed. In the next step we’ll use the Blend If controls to modify the effect.

STEP 6 Blend Modes and Blend If Sliders
In the Layers panel, double-click on the empty adjustment layer to the right of the layer name. This will bring up the Layer Style dialog. At the bottom of the dialog in the Blend If section, move the black slider for This Layer to 20. Then, Option-click (PC: Alt-click) on the slider and drag to the right to split the slider into two halves. Move the right half of the slider to level 80. You can also try the Overlay blend mode in the General Blending section at the top of the dialog. Click OK to apply the change.

STEP 7 The Blend If Sliders Explained
The Blend If sliders control what tonal areas of the active layer (This Layer) or the Underlying Layers are visible in the image. This adjustment made in the previous step means that the effect of the Curves layer set to Soft Light begins to gradually fade out at level 80 and is completely gone by level 20. Although the Blend If sliders are a great tool for image compositing, they’re also quite useful for tonal or contrast adjustments, as this example illustrates. For the final version, we used the Overlay blend mode for the empty adjustment layer.

STEP 8 High Pass Contrast Layer
Blend modes and the Blend If sliders are also key to a classic technique that applies a contrast boost to the visual contours of an image. Copy the Background layer by clicking-and-dragging it onto the Create a New Layer icon. (If your image already has adjustment layers, make sure that the topmost layer is active, hold down the Option [PC: Alt] key, and choose Merge Visible from the Layers panel’s flyout menu.) Double-click the name of the new layer and rename it “High Pass Contrast.” Set the blend mode to Overlay and the Opacity to 50%.

STEP 9 Set Blend Mode and Blend If Sliders
Double-click the area to the right of the layer name to open the Layer Style dialog. Adjust the Blend If sliders for This Layer to 50/70 for the black slider and 185/215 for the white slider. Use the Option (PC: Alt) key to split the sliders, as described in Step 6. The Blend If values target the contrast boost to the middle part of the tonal range, and these values will protect the darkest shadows and brightest highlight details from clipping that could be introduced by the Overlay blend mode. Click OK.

STEP 10 Apply the High Pass Filter
From the menu bar, choose Filter>Other>High Pass. Move the Radius slider and watch how the contrast along image contours changes. There’s no one “right” radius value to use, but a setting between 25 and 50 is a good place to start (you can also adjust the layer Opacity after applying the effect). The High Pass filter creates a more “contoured” layer that serves as a mask through which the Overlay blend mode contrast boost is applied. In some ways, this is a manual method for applying a technique that’s very similar to the new Clarity slider in Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop Lightroom.