Replacing A Color In Photoshop - How To

When I was choosing the tape colors in the last entry I wanted orange and the eyedropper kept picking up browns. I was going to show how to change the beak to orange but then peacock blue happened. Poor swan, he never saw it coming.

This is too simple. Go to Image > Adjustments > Replace Color. Click on the area you want to change. Hold the shift key down and drag the cursor along the area you want to change.

Move the Replacement sliders to change the color.

This a rough method for color replacement but it can work quite well. I would not have been able to change the swan to Flamingo pink since the color was too similar to the water. You need to have a clear color change. Remember, shadows have a touch of the object's color so they tend to get picked up as well.

Instagram Cross Processing Effect In Photoshop - How To

Instagram effects make photography even more fun but I don't have a smart phone so I have to do it myself. I feel like such a Luddite.

Wegraraphics has a nice tutorial where they played with Curves and Masks. Here's my notes and even though I followed their directions, I didn't include the border directions since I have another method that I prefer. There's almost always another way to do things in Photoshop.and unless I like a new way better, I stick with what I know. BTW, yes, that is a satellite dish on top of the roof.

My Notes:

Place the photo in Photoshop. Crop it square.

Curves Adjustment Layer. RGB a shallow curve down. Red, a shallow backwards S Curve. Green, a shallow S Curve. Blue, a shallow backwards S Curve.

Vignette:
Curves Adjustment Layer. On the adjustment layer's mask use a soft black brush to paint a circle in the center of the image.
Adjust the RGB to a shallow curve down.

Blurred edges:
Duplicate the original photo.
Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur to blur the details.
On the layer's mask use a soft black brush to paint the areas you want in focus.

Tilt Shift Miniature Effect in Photoshop - How To

I love the tilt shift effects that you are seeing lately where you take an actual scene and make it look like a model. The opening credits for Sherlock have some beautiful ones. The look reminds me of old View Master reels. I keep trying different methods and this is my favorite so far. I started with the excellent tutorial on We Graphics and made some changes.

I thought about doing a full tutorial but this so easy it only takes a few minutes.

   Place you photo in Photoshop.
   Command J to duplicate the layer
   Filter > Blur > Lens Blur. I can't give you the settings to use since it varies with the photo, all three examples were different. Play with the sliders until you are happy with the blur.
   Add a Layer Mask. It's the icon on the bottom of the Layers Palette that resembles a camera (a rectangle with a circle inside it).
   Use a soft brush with black to paint out the areas you want to be crisp. I painted the center trees, the Segway riders, Paul Bunyon and Babe. If you make a mistake, paint over it with white.
   You might need to bump up the contrast. If you do, Duplicate the Layer, by pressing Command J and apply an Overlay Blending Mode. Paul has an Overlay blending mode, the others do not.

Simple Letterpress Effect in Photoshop - How To

10 Steps.SG has a sweet tutorial for making a simple Letterpress effect on text.

My Notes:

Place a paper background into Photoshop. Type text.

On the Text Layer
   Layer > Layer Style > Inner Shadow. Blend Mode > Multiply. Opacity 85. Angle 118. Check Use Global Light. Distance 2 px. Choke 0. Size 2 px. Check Anti Aliased.
   Add a drop shadow that's a few shades lighter than the background. Layer > Layer Style > Drop Shadow. Blend Mode > Normal. Opacity 100. Angle 118. Check Use Global Light. Distance 1 px. Spread 88. Size 1 px. Check Anti Aliased. Check Layer Knocks Out Drop Shadow.
   Layer > Layer Style > Bevel and Emboss. Style > Emboss. Technique > Smooth. Depth 1. Direction > Down. Size 0. Soften 1px. Angle 118. Check Use Global Light. Altitude 30. Gloss contour. Check Anti Aliased. Highlight Mode > Screen. Opacity 75. Shadow Mode > Multiply. Opacity 25.
   Layer > Layer Style > Pattern Overlay. Blend Mode > Divide. Use a paper pattern. Opacity 80%. Scale 100%. Check Link With Layer

Design Panoply has a similar tutorial but the settings are slightly different.

Whiten Teeth In Photoshop - How To

This came out a bit too bright but the examples in Photoshop Essentials look much better. I did the final mask at 40% opacity on the front teeth and 20% on the back. I used a hard brush but I think a softer brush would give a better look along the gum line.

My Notes:

Use the Lasso Tool to loosely draw a selection around the teeth.

Adjustment Layer > Hue Saturation
Choose Yellow from the Master drop down.
Move the Saturation Slider all the way left.
Move the Lightness Slider right to brighten the teeth. I used +25.

Edit > Fill > Black
Use a brush to paint out the teeth. White removes, black paints it back (in case you make a mistake.)
Lower the opacity to keep the teeth from becoming too white.

You can still lower the opacity further by changing the Opacity at the top of the Layers Panel.

Clipping Mask Texture To Imitate Letterpress Ink - How To

Spoon Graphics, Digital Yard Sale and Design Shack have really good tutorials for using texture as layer masks. One uses the channels tab and the other gets to the same place along a different path.

There's no one right way to achieve a Photoshop effect and I must confess I don't use Channels as much as I should. Here are my notes but do check out the tutorials. I had a hard time finding a working link today from my bookmarks so I was very happy when all of these sites worked.

My Notes:
Place main image in Photoshop.
Command J to duplicate the layer.

Place a grunge texture photo.
Image > Adjustments > Desaturate.
Image > Adjustments >  Levels. Use the sliders to increase the contrast. More white for less grunge, black for more more grunge.

Select the main image and add a Layer Mask.

On the Texture Layer:
Command A, Command C, Command D.
Hide this layer or delete it.

Go back to the main image layer.
Option > Click the Layer Mask thumbnail.
Command V.

My Notes For The Channels Version:
Place main image in Photoshop.
Command J to duplicate the layer.

Place a grunge texture photo.
Image > Adjustments > Desaturate.

Open the Channels Panel. I used the blue Channel.
Duplicate the channel by dragging it down to the pages icon on the bottom right.
Click on the Blue Copy Channel.
Use Levels to increase the contrast.
Command > Click on the channel to make it a live selection.

Select the main image layer. Add a Layer Mask.

Enhancing Photographic Detail In Photoshop With The High Pass Filter - How To

 This is the same stock photo from Morgue File that I used yesterday.

I tried Abduzeedo's Tutorial for using Photoshop's High Pass Filter to bump up the detail. The background developed some oddness that I removed with the Clone Tool. It's an easy technique with dramatic results.

My Notes:

Open the photo in Photoshop.

Command J to duplicate the layer.
Filter > Other > High Pass. Radius 5 pixels. Blend Mode > Hard Light

Duplicate the High Pass Layer by pressing Command J

Duplicate the Original Photo. Blend Mode > Screen
Use the Eraser Tool to delete the dark areas.

Merge The Layers. Image > Adjustments > Shadow and Highlights.
Shadows > Amount 50, Tonal Width 20, Radius 20.
Highlights > Amount 60, Tonal Width 50, Radius 80.
Adjustments > Color Correction -80, Midtone Contrast +30, Black Clip .01, White Clip .01

Whitening Tones In A Photo Using Photoshop - How To

 I got this lovely cat photo from the stock photo site, Morgue Photo.

The tutorial for this fun effect came from Design Nocturne. It was very easy to do and the directions were great.

My Notes:

Cool the color:
Adjustment Layer > Photo Filter.  Cooling Filter (80), Density 60%, Preserve Luminosity

Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation. Reduce Saturation -90%

Adjustment Layer > Curves. Move the curve line to make an arc over the current line. Add two points on the curve, one dark, the other light.

Bring back some color:
Click on the Hue/Saturation layer's mask.
Start painting back some detail with a Black Brush, Hardness 10%, Opacity 5%.
Change the Opacity to 30% for areas you want to stand out more.
If the image has something you want to truly accentuate, change the paint brush's opacity to 50%.

To bring back more dark areas you can go to the Curves Layer and click on it's Layer Mask. Set the black brush's blending mode to Overlay.

Halftone Rooster in Photoshop - How To

Matt at Design Nocturne has a terrific surreal tutorial on using halftones. There's also another good informative halftone tutorial at Vectips that I've used in Illustrator.
My Notes:

Place photo in Photoshop.

Image Mode > Grayscale
Image > Adjustment > Levels. Move sliders to increase the contrast.

Filter > Pixelate > Color Halftone. I used a max radius of 8.

Remove the background image. I just used a layer mask and a hard black brush.

Delete sub layers and save as a png. I saved it since I wanted to add color and there can be issues with mixing color with greyscale.

Open a new document and fill with f0eede.

Place the rooster png. Blending Mode > Multiply

Place a grunge image. Blending Mode > Multiply

Add a punch of color with the pen tool or paintbrush. Blending Mode > Multiply if you want the halftone dots to show through.

Romantic Daylily Soft Photograph With Bokeh In Photoshop - How To

I have a fascination lately with Bokeh effects and this tutorial from Matt at Design Nocurne covers faking it in Photoshop very well. I think next time I would choose a photo with more pink and would have masked the focal point so that Bokeh effect can be behind it.

My Notes: There's a lot of steps and I know I'll never remember all of them

Background Layer
Open background photo in Photoshop

Lens Flare Layer
New layer - Fill with black
Filter > Render > Lens Flare. Brightness 150, Lens Type 50-300.
Drag cross hairs to locate the lens flare in the photo.
Blending Mode > Screen. Opacity 60%

Make A Bokeh Brush:
Select a brush shape - I used a hard round one

Click on Brush Tip Shape
Size 150px, Angle 0 degrees, Hardness 80%, Roundness 100%, Spacing 300%

Click on Shape Dynamics
Size Jitter 50% - everything else is off and/or 0

Click on Scattering
Check Both Axes 100%, Control off, Count 1, Count Jitter 0, Control Fade.

Click on Color Dynamics
Foreground/Background Jitter 0, Control off, Hue Jitter 50%, Saturation Jitter 0, Brightness Jitter 15, Purify 0

Click on Wet Edges

Click on the Create New Brush icon located next to the trash can.
Name - I chose Bokeh Brush Round
It will be found now in Brush Presets on the bottom.

Bokeh Layer
Apply Bokeh brush to a new layer. Choose a light color. Blending Mode > Overlay. Paint over the surface, changing the size and overlapping occasionally. Gaussian Blur 6 px. Opacity 60%.

Bokeh Layer 2
The next layer is basically the same but the Opacity is lower.

Purple Color Fill Layer
Adjustment Layer > Solid Color. Purple. Blending Mode > Screen. Opacity 60%

Yellow Color Fill Layer
Adjustment Layer > Solid Color. Yellow. Blending Mode > Soft Light. Opacity 60%

Brown Gradient Fill Layer
Adjustment Layer >Gradient Fill, brown to transparent. Linear, 90 degrees, Scale 150, check Align With Center. Blending Mode > Soft Light. Opacity 50%

White Gradient Fill Layer
Adjustment Layer >Gradient Fill, white to transparent. Linear, 90 degrees, Scale 150, check Align With Center, check Reverse. Blending Mode > Soft Light.

Change A Photo's Background Without Losing The Shadows In Photoshop - How To

Sometimes you want to see the detail of a photo's background while changing it's appearance. puglypixel has a nice tutorial. (oops, the link no longer works, perhaps she'll bring it back someday)

My favorite choice is the pen tool but I would have lost the natural grunge on the siding and would have had to recreate the nice shadow. A mask lets you see the fabric overlay and the other detail.

My notes:

Place your photo in Photoshop. Simpler backgrounds usually work best.  This one is white siding.

Place your pattern image on top. This pattern is green fabric. Blending Mode > Multiply

Click on the Add Vector Mask icon.
Get a hard brush and paint black to remove the fabric texture. If you make a mistake change the color to white and paint over the error, the fabric texture returns. A grey brush adds transparency; I only used black and white here.

Yes, it's that simple. I think I bookmarked this tutorial since I liked the way she combined layer patterns.

This is the original image from Morgue File.

Science Fiction Style Sky Made In Photoshop - How To

Thank you NASA for your wonderful photos (in the public domain) and DesignNocturne for a fun tutorial. The body of water is Lake Mille Lacs; located in central Minnesota. The lake is so large you can't see the opposite shore.

I basically followed Matt's tutorial but I used a soft brush instead of the lens flare.

My Notes:

Place the background image. This is a local lake photo that I took last summer.

Choose NASA images. I used Earth, Venus, Jupiter and a pretty Nebula.
I cropped the planets before placing them on the background.
Venus (reddish Planet) > Blending Mode > Lighten
Jupiter > Blending Mode > Screen
Earth > Blending Mode > Overlay.  Opacity 64%

Venus has a shadow from Jupiter. I used a soft brush and painted black in a Layer Mask.

The sun flare is a soft brush painted underneath the Earth layer. Since I used Overlay for the Earth, I erased the part that showed through with a hard brush.

I wanted a little sun refection on the planet so I painted some of the edge with a soft brush on the layer above the Earth layer; then lowered the opacity.

I placed the Nebula image on a new top layer. Blending Mode > Screen.

Use a layer mask and a black brush to remove the stars from on top of the planets. If you have a lot of stars near the horizon you can use the gradient tool to fade them.

I liked it washed out but you can change the contrast easily by moving the sliders on an Adjustment Layer > Levels.

Transparent Shadowed Face On A Textured Background In Photoshop - How To

I was inspired by a clever movie poster tutorial on Wegraphics. Conor had taken stock images and made a grunge Western movie poster. I was attracted to his photo treatment where the mid tones and dark areas rested on a colored background. The method he used to remove the light tones is very effective.

My Notes:

I started with detail from the super cool Washburn Park Water Tower in Minneapolis, Mn.

Image > Adjustments > Black and White
Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast. Brightness 35. Contrast 57.

Color Range > Select a white spot with the white eyedropper. Fuzziness 200. Sampled Colors. Selection is checked.

Select > Inverse
Command C

Open a new document. My background color is ccc0b5.
New layer > paste the image. Command V

Open a new layer underneath the pasted layer.
Choose a darker color. I just left it at Black.
Apply grunge brush textures.
Check Shape Dynamics and Smoothing. Spacing 25%.
Blending Mode > Multiply. Opacity 20%

Light Highlights:
Use a soft brush. Blending Mode > Color Burn. Opacity 13%

Additional Highlights:
Soft Brush. Blending Mode > Hard Light. Opacity 32%

Since I'm simply goofing around, I had no interest in doing a lot more so I simply placed a crumpled paper texture on top of all the layers. Blend Mode > Multiply

Using Templates For Clipping Shapes in Photoshop - How To

One of the great things about Photoshop is there are so many ways to get the same thing done. In We Lived Happily Ever After she crops photos in assorted shapes without a formal clipping mask. It's a pretty sweet shortcut.

I will make a shape, place it and do a clipping mask. She makes a border and and cuts out the shape inside. I'll show you my notes and you can decide which you prefer. I made a png rounded corner frame in Illustrator and you're welcome to use it. Click on it to make it bigger.

Clipping Mask Version:

Place the background photo.
Command J to duplicate the layer.
Place the border image.

Click on the Layer Mask Icon.
Apply the Magic Wand inside the frame. You'll see "marching ants" inside the border.
Select > Inverse (If you don't do this you'll get the image outside instead of the inside image.)

Go back to the duplicate layer. Press delete.

Delete the layer mask layer and the first background layer, this will leave the cut out image.

Select > Deselct (Command D) to get rid of the marching ants.

If you want a transparent background save the file as a png. Select Interlaced.

We Lived Happily Ever After Version:

Place the background photo.
Place the border image.

Use the Magic Wand tool inside the border.

Hide the layer you just made by clicking the eye symbol. Now you will only see your image with the cut out "marching ants".

Command C to copy.
Command V to paste.

Delete the background layer and save.

Removing Midtone Color Casts By Finding Neutral Gray In a Photo With Photoshop

I should remove color cast more often but I usually forget how to do it. Photoshop Essentials has a very nice tutorial with lots of pictures and I'm hoping if I take some notes it will finally stick. The images on the left are the originals and the right was corrected.

 I took this photo of Lake Itasca and the Mississippi River headwaters on a very overcast day. You may notice the extra detail in the water that is now visible in the right image. The black and white are easy to locate but guessing where neutral gray is located is significantly more difficult.

The vintage black and white photo has a few extra steps since the color was also rather greenish. My notes will start here:

To make the photo black and white:
Image > Adjustments > Channel Mixer > Monochrome

Image > Adjustments > Levels
Use the eyedroppers to pick the black and white tones.

Neutral Grey:
Add a new layer.
Edit > Fill > 50% Gray
Blend Mode > Difference

New Adjustment Layer > Threshold
Drag the white slider all the way to the left (the image will now be white)
Slowly drag the slider right until you get a click-able size patch of black
Click on the black area with the Color Sampler Tool. Zooming in closer may be helpful. Remember where you clicked since the target mark can be difficult to see on some photos.

Delete the 50% Gray and Threshold layers.

New Adjustment Layer > Levels or Curves
Select the Gray eyedropper.
Click the target marker on the photograph. The mid-tone color cast is now neutralized.

 You can clear the marker but it's not necessary.

Tilt Shift Miniature Photography Photoshop Effect - How To

I think the hardest part of doing this photoshop effect is finding a good photo. The best choices seem to be images taken from above, at a distance with lots of small detail. I don't seem to have any photos that that fit the bill well but I try not to let important details like that stop me.

I wish I could give credit but I got bits here and there. The first photo is the original Las Vegas Skyline image, the second is my version of the effect.

I tried to make it look like the city was made from toys so the colors are extra vivid. Here are my notes.

Drag the photo into Photoshop.
Command J to duplicate the image.

Bump up the color:
Image > Adjustments > Hue Saturation.
Move the Saturation slider.

Increase contrast:
Image > Adjustments >  Curves
Play with the chart to give it an S curve.

Filter > Convert For Smart Filters
Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. 12 to 18 pixels.
Click on the Layer Mask Icon.
Gradient Tool > choose the Reflected Gradient
With the mask selected, draw a line. Start where you want the image to be the most sharp. You might have to do it a few times to get the blur correct.

The bottom was too clear so I added more Gaussian Blur and used a Layer Mask with a soft brush to remove the excess blur.

Old Film Strip Photoshop Effect On A Tall Ship Photograph - How To

I like the look of old film so I bookmarked this fun effect at Design Nocturne quite awhile ago. The original shot is the tall ships as they came into Duluth, Minnesota last summer. I have some old negatives; so I think I'll scan the them at a higher resolution than the one that was generously shared by Struck Dumb. I'd like to be able to print the image at a larger size.

The original tutorial is very well written but I made notes for myself indicating some small changes I made:

Open the film strip image in Photoshop.
Images > Adjustments > Desaturate
Save
Note the size of the center opening.

Open the photo in Photoshop.
Re-size the image to match the film strip opening size.
Image > Adjustments > Desaturate
Image > Adjustments > Curves
   Click the black picker to choose the darkest area.
   Repeat with the white eyedropper for the lightest area.
Save

Place the photograph onto the film strip image. Line it up to fit inside the opening.

Command J to copy the layer.
Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur - set to 20 pixels.
Apply a layer mask
   Click on the gradient tool. White to Black gradient. Radial, white in center, black on edges.
   Drag the gradient out from the center to an edge.
   The edges will be blurred, the center clear.

Adjustment Layer > Solid Color - color 2b2b25 ( a yellowish black)
Blend mode > Lighten. Opacity 75%

Adjustment Layer > Solid Color - color ddd6bf  (a tan color)
Blend mode > Overlay. Opacity 25%

Vignette:
Gradient Fill > Radial. Check reverse. Color transparent to black. Angle 90. Scale 100
Blend Mode > Soft Light

Noise:
Fill a new layer with a mid grey color.
Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Amount 100%
Check Gaussian and Monochromatic
Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Radius 1.0 pixels
Blend Mode > Overlay. Opacity 15%

Flatten the image.
Rotate the image slightly and crop.

Give it a final Gaussian Blur set to 1.5 pixels.

Dark Processed Lomo Photoshop Effect - How To

This month I'm going to whittle down some of my many instructional bookmarks. The web is filled with numerous great ideas and techniques that people graciously share and it appears I've bookmarked them all. I have so many that I don't bother perusing the saved sites, I simply do a new search.

The first one is another version of a Lomo Photography effect and this one is from Spoon Graphics. I love the lush, vivid appearance of Lomo photography.

The original image, a pickup truck bed that was converted into a trailer.

The technique I normally use.

This is a more muted version by Chris Spooner. It seems more vintage than Lomo but it's always fun to try new techniques.  I'm including my notes but the link takes you to the original tutorial.

Command j to work on a duplicate layer
image > adjustments > levels to fix the tones. Command L is the keyboard shortcut.
Adjust the sliders.

Intensify the color:
Adjustment Layer > Curves
Red Channel - adjust the curve on the graph
Change to the Green Channel - adjust the curve on the graph
Change to the Blue Channel - adjust the curve on the graph

Copy the original image and move to the top of the layers panel.
Image ? Adjustments > Black and White
Blending mode Darken. Lower the opacity.

Copy the original image and move to the top of the layers panel.
Choose a dark greyish purple and light greyish purple for the color picker.
Image > Adjustments > Gradient Map
Blend Mode > Hard Light
Lower the opacity.

The vignette:
New lkayer. Fill with black
Bland mode > Overlay
Apply a layer mask. Use a soft brush. You want darker edges and a brighter focal point.
Black erases, white adds.
Lower opacity.

Fake Wood Grain With Photoshop Fibers Filter - New or Improved Skill Day 31

Sometimes you need a wood background, this one is very simple to make.

Go to the Foreground swatch in the Tools Palette. Choose a dark brown. Mine is #703605
Go to the Background swatch in the Tools Palette. Choose a lighter brown. Mine is #905d05.

Open a new file.
Filter > Render > Fibers. Variance 4 and a Strength 3. Randomize.

Duplicate the layer. Command j.
Filter > Render > Fibers. Variance 23 and a Strength 22. Randomize.
Blending Mode Soft Light.

To make a more realistic grain Merge the two layers.
Filter > Liquify. Brush size 60, brush density 50, brush pressure 100, brush rate 80.
Use the Twirl (looks like a hurricane weather map image) and Turbulence (looks like wavy lines) tools to further simulate grain. Change the brush size for variation.

Vintage Linen Postcard Style Image in Photoshop - New or Improved Skill Day 30

I was playing with filters and discovered this really cool way to make an image look like an old postcard. It would look good with appropriate text and grunge on the surface.

Place an image in Photoshop.
Change the color to Lab mode. Image > Mode > Lab Color.
Click the Lightness Channel in the Channels Palette.
Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask. Amount 500,  Radius 100 pixels, Threshold 0. OK
Look at the image with all the Channels visible.

It reminded me of old linen postcards so I added a canvas texture.
Filter > Texture > Texturizer. Texture canvas, Scaling 200%, Relief 15.