The Workshop is all about being creative and thinking outside of the box. These workshops will help your right-brain soar, while making your left-brain happy by explaining why things work the way they do. Exploring Photoshop’s possibilities is great fun; however, always stay grounded with the knowledge of how things work. Knowledge is power.
Each project in the Workshop includes a start file to help you get started with the project, and a final file to provide you with the results so you can see how well you accomplished the task.
Before you can use the project files, you need to download them from the Web. You can access the files at www.perspection.com. After you download the files, uncompress them into a folder on your hard drive.
One of the exciting features in Photoshop CS4 is Content-Aware Scaling (New!). This command looks for the focal point in your image and then identifies pixel areas that are less important and adds or subtracts pixels in those areas as necessary as you scale the image, leaving the focal point unchanged (unless you go too far). You can use Content-Aware scaling on layers and selections with a variety of color modes (RGB, CMYK, Lab, and Grayscale). However, you can use it with adjustment layers, layer masks, individual channels, Smart Objects, 3D layers, Video layers, multiple layers, and layer groups.
In this project, you’ll use the Content-Aware Scaling feature along with other refining tools to modify and enhance a photograph.
Open the file Red_Rock_Canyon_start.psd in Photoshop and then save it as my_Red_Rock_Canyon.psd.
Be sure you’re not working on a locked layer (like the Background). If necessary, double click the Background layer name and rename it. Duplicate the layer by dragging it on to the New Layer icon or using Ctrl+J (Win) or
(Mac). Duplicating the layer enables you to compare your results to the original. Click the eyeball icon for Layer 0 to make it invisible while you work on Layer 0 copy.
If you want to protect your most important image elements from being squished or stretched, make a selection around the area you want to protect, using any selection tool. The selection does not have to be exact; a loose selection is fine. In this case, I’ve selected the large bush.
Click the Refine Edge button on the Options bar to open a dialog box where you can specify a Feather size and preview the result.
Save the selection as an alpha channel. Click the Select menu, click Save Selection, and then name it something descriptive. I’ve named this one Bush.
Deselect the selection. Click the Select menu, and then click Deselect or press Ctrl+D.
Click the Edit menu, and then click Content-Aware Scale.
If you’ve created an alpha channel representing a selection of an area, you want to force Photoshop to protect it. Click the Protect popup on the Options bar, and then select the channel now.
If there are people in your image, click the Protect Skin Tones button on the Options bar to protect flesh tones.
Point to one of the squares on the bounding box. When your cursor becomes a double arrow, drag towards the center of the image to change the orientation of your image.
As with any transform command, press Enter (Win) or Return (Mac) when you’re done to commit to the change.
You can keep Layer 0 for comparison purposes (see Tweaking the Image below) or you can choose to discard Layer 0, Select All, Choose Trim from the Image menu and choose Based on Transparent Pixels to reduce your file to the new scaled size. Then choose the Save As command to save your new file.
To see how much pixel information change (loss) your image has incurred as a result of using the Content-Aware Scale command, turn back on the visibility for Layer 0, and change the blend mode to Difference. Then, using the Move tool, move the transformed layer directly over the same area on the bottom layer. If the areas you wanted protected are mostly black, that means there is little or no difference between the two layers (no change in the pixels) and you have made your transformation without altering the most important parts of your image.
Good to Know:As great as this new feature is, there are some limitations. It doesn’t work on every image. There are limits as to how far you can scale the image before it starts to look strange. Also, you can’t use it on adjustment layers, layer masks, channels, Smart Objects, 3D layers, or video layers. It will work on all bit-depths (16-bit, etc.) and will work on layers and selections in RGB, CMYK, Lab, and Grayscale image modes.
Smart Objects (New!) are essentially containers for image (either raster or vector) data. In the transformation of a file or a layer into a Smart Object, the original file remains intact, embedded within the file. This allows you to resize the image up or down (up to the maximum of the original file size) nondestructively, edit one layer to update multiple appearances of the same Smart Object, and bring vector artwork into Photoshop in a way that the original data is retained. One very handy trick that Smart Objects can do is allow you the ability to create a template and easily replace the contents of one layer’s data with another.
In this project, you’ll create a template for a 6″ × 4″ postcard to send to friends, family, or customers to show off your photos. You can use this template to swap out the photos and create more postcards without having to recreate the whole document. The text will stay the same in each new document.
Click the File menu, click New, create a new blank image, 6″ wide × 4″ high at 240 dpi. Name the file Smart_Objects_Postcard.psd.
Click Save Preset in the New document dialog box and name it 6 × 4 Postcard Template.
The background layer should be white by default.
Click the View menu, click Rulers, and then pull out vertical and horizontal guides at the .5″ and 5.5″ marks.
Select the Rectangle tool on the toolbox and draw a rectangle that conforms to the inside box (5″ by 3″). This will create a new Shape layer.
Click the Layer Style button, click Layer Effects, and click Stroke. In CS4, the stroke color is now black by default instead of red (a welcome change!). Change the pixel size to 7 and select Inside from the Position options. The layer will be named “Shape 1,” which you can rename.
Select the Text tool on the toolbox, and then click to create a text box on the top. This will create a new text layer. Add a heading or title for the postcard, such as a business name.
Select the Text tool on the toolbox, and then click to create a text box on the bottom. Add more text, such as a copyright line or a tagline, or maybe contact info. Position both text layers where you want them using the Move tool.
Select the Marquee tool. Select Fixed Size from the Options bar and type in 5 in x 3 in. Your default may be pixels but you can type “5 in” and it will change to inches. Place the marquee over the picture box area. Drag the Shape 1 layer underneath the text layers.
Click the File menu, and then click Place. Choose an image. If you’ve already sized some images to the 5 × 3 size, they should fit right in. But no worries; after you place the image, you have transformation handles that you can use to resize your image to fit into the box. Hold the Shift key down as you transform so it will be resized proportionately. Press Enter (Win) or Return (Mac) to commit the transformation.
When you place an object, the new layer automatically becomes a Smart Object. You can convert other layers to Smart Objects by clicking the Layer menu, pointing to Smart Objects, and then clicking Convert to Smart Object.
To change the image, right-click (Win) or Control-click (Mac) the Smart Object layer, and then click Replace Contents. Then, browse to the picture you want to use as the new image within the box and choose it. If it doesn’t fit exactly, select Free Transform from the Edit menu and resize it. Your Smart Object layer will still be named with the original image title; double click on it to change the layer name to reflect the new image contents.
Click the View menu, and then click Clear Guides to see your finished postcard in all its glory.
Good to Know:You could choose a folder full of images that you’d like to swap out on this postcard template and choose File/Scripts/ImageProcessor to size them all at one time to fit within your picture border. If you resize on the fly, bring in pictures that are larger than your border. Trying to enlarge pictures to fit within the border may cause noticeable degradation of the image.
Photoshop has a ton of filters. In fact, there are 105 filters located under the Filter menu. Filters perform a wealth of special-effects operations—everything from artistic, distort, and even sketch effects, and while filters are very creative and fun to use, there is a limit to what they can do. For example, Photoshop has no less than 14 Sketch filters, and while they do creative things to an image they can’t do everything. What if you want to create what looks like a sketch effect and none of the sketch filters do what you want? If you don’t know how to do things from scratch, you’re stuck with the limitations of the filters. The technique you are about to learn will not only let you create an awesome sketch effect, but will give you a better understanding of how blending modes work with multiple layers.
In this project, you’ll take a photograph and through the judicious use of multiple layers and blending modes, convert it into a beautiful colorized sketch. There are a lot of steps in this workshop, but the final results are more than worth the journey.
Open the file sketch_start.psd in Photoshop, and then save it as my_sketch.psd.
Create a duplicate of the image by dragging the layer over the Create a New Layer icon.
Click the Image menu, point to Adjustments, and then click Desaturate. The copied layer is converted into shades of gray.
Create a copy of the desaturated layer, and then select it.
Click the Image menu, point to Adjustments, and then click Invert. The image layer becomes a grayscale negative (leave the negative image selected).
Click the Blending Mode list arrow on the Layers panel, and then click Color Dodge. The image appears to change to white.
If you see areas of the image that do not change to white, but are pure black, don’t worry; those areas of the image were originally pure black, and they will never convert to white.
Click the Filter menu, point to Blur, and then click Gaussian Blur.
Blur the image very slightly (just a few radius pixels) until you see a softly ghosted outline of the image.
Click OK.
Select the top layer in the Layers panel, click the Layers Options button, and then click Merge Down, or press Ctrl+E (Win) or
(Mac).
You should now be left with the original image (the bottom layer), and the softly ghosted image (the top layer), which I’ve named Sketch Effect.
Create a copy of the layer named Sketch Effect, and select it.
Click the Blending Mode list arrow on the Layers panel, and then click Multiply. The two copies combine to create a darker image.
Continue to make copies of the Sketch Effect layer until the image darkens to your taste (this might be 3 layers, or it might be 10).
Merge all the Sketch Effect layers together, but do not merge the original image layer into the Sketch Effect layers.
Note
You can quickly merge layers by using the Merge Down shortcut. Select the top layer, and then press Ctrl+E (Win) or
(Mac). This merges the top layer into the layer directly underneath. Continue using the Merge Down shortcut until all the Sketch layers are merged.
Create another copy of the merged Sketch Effect layer, and select it.
Click the Blending Mode list arrow on the Layers panel, and then click Multiply.
Click the Filter menu, point to Blur, and then click Gaussian Blur.
Add a small amount of Gaussian Blur to taste (1 or 2 Radius). This will soften the edges of the sketch image and create visually softer sketch lines.
Click OK.
Merge the two Sketch Effects layers together.
To colorize the image, select the top layer (Sketch Effect), click the Blending Mode list arrow, and then click Luminosity.
The subjective items that will influence the final sketch image are how much you use Gaussian Blur on the image, and how many additional copy layers you create. Creating more blur enhances the sketch lines, and adding more copy layers increases the overall density of the final sketch image.
Good to Know:You can increase or decrease the intensity of the Sketch Effect by selecting the Sketch Effect layer and lowering its opacity.
In the world of photography, not everything has to be in focus. In fact, smart photographers know that placing certain image elements out of focus will help to draw the eye to the focused areas. However, there are times when you will take a photograph and the image is accidentally, not intentionally, out of focus (I hate it when that happens). Photoshop has several filters that help you create a sharper image. As a matter of fact, Photoshop has five sharpen filters: Sharpen, Sharpen Edges, Sharpen More, Smart Sharpen, and Unsharp Mask. Of these filters, Smart Sharpen and Unsharp Mask are considered the two most powerful sharpening filters. Unfortunately, all the sharpening filters have one major flaw; they do not separate the sharpening effects from the image, as they would be in an adjustment layer. So, when you click the OK button, you’re stuck with the results. That’s not always a bad thing; however, there is another way. The technique you’re about to learn for sharpening an image does not require any of the sharpening filters; its effect on the image creates a more believable sharpening result, and the changes to the image are contained within a separate layer. That gives you the control you need to be creative, and to get the most visibly pleasing sharpening results possible.
In this project, you’ll take an out-of-focus image and sharpen it by creating an editable sharpening layer. Separating the sharpening adjustments from the image gives you creative control over the entire process.
Open the file lighthouse_start.psd in Photoshop, and then save it as my_lighthouse.psd.
Create a duplicate of the image by dragging the layer over the Create a New Layer button, or by selecting the layer and pressing Ctrl+J (Win), or
(Mac).
Click the Image menu, point to Adjustments, and then click Desaturate. The copied layer is converted into shades of gray.
Create a copy of the desaturated layer and select it.
Click the Image menu, point to Adjustments, and then click Invert. The image layer becomes a grayscale negative (leave the negative image selected).
You now have the option of applying your selected adjustment from the new Adjustments panel (New!), which automatically creates an adjustment layer. This option makes all the image changes nondestructive.
Click the Blending Mode list arrow on the Layers panel, and then click Color Dodge. The image appears to change to white.
If you see areas of the image that do not change to white, but are pure black, don’t worry; those areas of the image were originally pure black, and they will never convert to white.
Click the Filter menu, point to Blur, and then click Gaussian Blur.
Blur the image very slightly (just a few radius pixels) until you see a softly ghosted outline of the image.
Click OK.
Select the top layer in the Layers panel, click the Layers Options button, and then click Merge Down, or press Ctrl+E (Win) or
(Mac).
You should now be left with the original image (the bottom layer), and the softly ghosted image (the top layer), which I’ve named Unsharp mask.
Click the Blending Mode list arrow on the Layers panel, and then click Multiply. The white areas of the ghosted image change to transparent, and the darker lines are blended in with the original image, creating the illusion of sharpness.
It’s possible that the sharpening effect may be too intense. If that’s the case, simply reduce the opacity of the top layer to reduce its effect on the image. If, however, the effect is less than you hoped for, simply create a copy of the top layer to double the effect. Additionally, if you want to remove some of the sharpening effects from portions of the image, just select your Paintbrush tool, and paint with white over the areas from which you want the effect removed.
Good to Know:It is actually impossible to sharpen a photograph. Photographs are two-dimensional representations of a three-dimensional world. Since there are no optics in a two-dimensional world, there can be no sharpening. What happens in this technique is that the Unsharp mask layer actually creates visible lines of contrast around the out-of-focus areas of the image, and the mind interprets the image as being sharper.
Have you ever wanted to colorize an old grayscale image? Well, if you’ve ever wanted to add color to an old image, or change the colors within a new color image, then you’ve come to the right place. There are a lot of ways to colorize an image, and Photoshop knows them all. The technique you are about to learn will help you control the colorization process through the use of layers, blending modes, and opacity. As a matter of fact, you will be able to control each color within the image and, later, change those colors with the click of a button. This method is so powerful that with a little bit of patience and care, the image won’t just look colorized; it will look like an original color image. Just remember this simple item: every time you add a new color to the image, you will add a new layer. This means that a single image may contain twenty or more layers; however, the final results are worth it.
In this project, you’ll take an old or new grayscale image, and through the use of multiple layers and blending modes create a colorized image that looks like it was taken with color film.
Open the file colorization_start.psd in Photoshop, and then save it as my_colorization.psd.
Click the Create a New Layer button, located at the bottom of the Layers panel, and name the layer to correspond to the area of the image you’re coloring.
Click the Blending Mode list arrow, and then click Color.
Select the Paintbrush tool.
Select the color you want to use to paint a specific area of the image within the new layer.
Use the Paintbrush tool to paint an area of the image.
Note
Since you changed the blending mode of the layer to Color, the image retains its details, and only the color (Hue) of the information changes.
Depending on the color you chose, slightly lower the opacity of the layer to make it appear natural.
Different colors require different opacity settings to appear natural because of the saturation of the color, and the detail within the areas you are painting. Experiment with opacity settings until the image looks correct.
Repeat steps 2 thru 7 for each individual color within the image.
Since you are using individual layers to control the colorization process, if you overpaint an area, it’s a simple matter to use your eraser tool and remove the excess color information.
Smart Tip
When you change the opacity of a layer, it’s not necessary to click the triangle button, located to the right of the Opacity input box, to access the triangular slider. All you have to do is click the word Opacity, and drag left or right. It’s that simple.
Layer masks are one of those powerful features in Photoshop that have been around for a long time. The technique you are about to learn will give you a greater understanding of Layer masks, and how they can be used to combine image elements from multiple images. Layer masks let you control the visible elements of a layer by simply painting on the mask. Think of the mask as a piece of black construction paper. You take a pair of scissors and cut a shape out of the construction paper, and lay it directly over the image. The area cut out of the construction paper becomes the visible elements of the image, and the black areas of the construction paper mask everything else. When you work with a Layer mask, you paint with black, white, and shades of gray. Areas of the mask painted black are hidden, areas painted white are visible (the cutout in the construction paper), and shades of gray produce various values of transparency. For example, painting with 50% gray produces 50% transparency. Each layer in an image can have its own layer mask, and the mask will control only the elements in the layer to which they’re attached. As you can see, Layer masks are a very powerful and creative tool.
In this project, you’ll learn the creative potential of using layer masks to control the visible portions of any layer in Photoshop.
Open the file lake_start.psd in Photoshop, and then save it as my_lake.psd.
Click the Add Layer Mask button, located at the bottom of the Layers panel.
Photoshop creates a mask, and places it to the right of the image thumbnail.
Select the Paintbrush tool.
Select Black as your Foreground color by clicking the Default Foreground and Background Colors button.
Important
A layer with an attached mask has two elements: The image thumbnail, and the mask thumbnail. If you want to edit the image, click the image thumbnail. If you want to edit the mask, click the mask thumbnail.
Click the mask thumbnail to select it.
Move into the document window, and begin painting. As you paint, the black color converts the image information to transparency.
Note
Areas of the mask painted with white become 100% visible, and painting with shades of gray produces various percentages of transparency, depending on the shade of gray.
Continue painting using black, white, and shades of gray, until you have completely isolated the sky section of the image.
You can create a mask by first using a selection. Open the image, and before creating the mask, use your selection tools to select the visible areas of the image. Now, when you click the Add Layer Mask button, the mask will be created for you.
In the Masks panel (New!), you can view pixel or vector masks, adjust their density (opacity), choose a feather size, invert the mask and even create new masks using Color Range. The Mask Edge option displays the Refine Mask dialog box where you can view the mask against different backgrounds, contract or expand the mask, and choose the radius and feather size.
Open the sky.psd image in Photoshop, save it as my_sky.psd, and then click in its document window.
Move to the Layers panel, and drag the sky layer into the document window of the image containing the mask. You have just made a copy of the sky layer in the masked image.
Close the sky image.
Click the sky layer in the Layers panel and drag it underneath the masked layer.
The image, which is now defined as a composite, appears with its new sky.
It’s possible that the visible edge of the masked image and sky appear too sharp and, therefore, unnatural. To help blend the two layers together, simply select the mask thumbnail and apply a bit of Gaussian Blur to the mask. Click the Filter menu, point to Blur, and choose Gaussian Blur. The blur creates a band of gray pixels on the edge of the black/white areas of the image, and helps blend the two images together.
Good to Know:By default, a mask and image move and transform as a unit. If you want to adjust the mask independently of the image (or vice versa), click once on the chain icon located between the image and mask thumbnail. The icon will disappear, and the mask and thumbnail can be adjusted or transformed independently.
Icing on the Cake:If you really want to get fancy, you might want to create a reflection of the clouds on the water. To accomplish this, create a copy of the sky layer, select the Edit menu, point to Transform, and then click Flip Vertical. Now, create a mask that only reveals the areas of the water, use the Overlay Blending mode, and lower the opacity slightly. The lake_fnl.psd image contains a sample reflection in a separate layer.
Adjustment layers are used extensively for image enhancement. For example, the Levels and Curves adjustment layers are excellent tools for restoring lost contrast, or rebalancing the colors in an old photograph. The technique you are about to learn will give you a greater understanding of how adjustment layers can be used to not only correct image problems, but to generate special effects. The key is in understanding that an adjustment layer can be controlled using its built-in layer mask. The adjustment layer mask functions like a normal layer mask; in other words, you can paint the mask with black, white, or shades of gray. However, the results are different. In a normal layer mask, areas of the mask painted black make the corresponding areas of the image transparent; when you paint with black on an adjustment layer mask, you mask out the effects of the adjustment. That means you can create a mask and isolate its effects on the image by using the mask. While this is a powerful way to control image enhancement, it’s also a great way to use adjustment layers to produce special effects. In addition, when you use an adjustment layer, the changes to the image are contained within the adjustment layer, and the original image is never changed. This gives you the ability to precisely control the creative process nondestructively. In this example, you will completely change the mood of an image using an adjustment layer and mask to create the illusion of looking through window blinds. One of the most visible (and welcome) changes to Photoshop CS4 is the Adjustments panel (New!). From this one panel, you now have access to icons representing 15 adjustment types complete with preloaded presets and the flexibility to make your own presets for many of them.
In this project, you’ll learn how to use Adjustment layers to precisely control the restoration and enhancement of any Photoshop image.
Open the file mystery_woman_start.psd in Photoshop, and then save it as my_mystery_woman.psd.
Select the Rectangular Marquee tool.
Create a long rectangular selection from left to right, across the image (like a window blind).
Hold the Shift key, and proceed to draw several more rectangular selections underneath the first.
Note
Holding the Shift key lets you create two or three additional selections within the document window.
Click the Select menu, and then click Inverse (this reverses the selection).
Click the Hue/Saturation icon from the Adjustments panel (2nd icon on 2nd row).
Photoshop creates the adjustment layer, and the mask is created based on the selected areas of the image.
Drag the Lightness slider to the left until the non-masked areas of the image have significantly darkened.
Drag the Saturation slider to the left and lower the saturation value to -20%.
Smart Tip
You now also have the option of using “on-image” tools in Hue/Saturation (also available for Curves and Black/White). Just put your cursor on the color in the image you want to adjust. The cursor turns into a hand with double-arrows. Just move to the right or left to increase or decrease saturation. Add the Ctrl (Win) or Command (Mac) key to change the hue.
Select the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.
Click the Filter menu, point to Blur, and then click Gaussian Blur.
Drag the Radius slider to the right to slightly blur the adjustment layer mask (you’re looking for the light areas of the mask to resemble sunlight streaming through window blinds).
Click OK.
Use the Paintbrush tool with white (in this example) to paint out the blinds on the right side where they expose the back wall.
The image has now completely changed, and even the mood of the woman seems to be more serious. This is an example of how you can use adjustment layers to change the very mood of a digital image.
The realism in this effect is all in the Gaussian Blur. Light streaming through blinds and falling on someone’s face (in this example) would create a soft transition between dark and light tonal values. However, the amount of blur would be determined by the image and the resolution of the image. Therefore, don’t look for a specific Radius; just look at the image and stop when you like what you see. Remember, being creative is not about adhering to a specific mathematical equation; it’s about achieving that certain look you have imagined.
Good to Know:The reason we slightly lowered the saturation value of the image is to make it appear more natural. In the real world, when images darken, they have a tendency to lose some of their tonal values, and that effect can be replicated by slightly lowering the saturation of the darker areas.
You can access and download more workshop projects and related files at www.perspection.com. After you download the files from the Web, uncompress the files into a folder on your hard drive to which you have easy access from Photoshop.
Instead of downloading everything from the Web, which can take a while depending on your Internet connection speed, you can get all the files used in this book and much more on a Photoshop CS4 On Demand DVD. The DVD contains task and workshop files, tips and tricks, keyboard shortcuts, and other goodies from the author.
To get the Photoshop CS4 On Demand DVD, go to www.perspection.com.