NEW

An independent guide to Adobe Photoshop 200 MINUTES OF

FREE VIDEO TUITION

Volume 7

Tools
 Layers 
 Adjustments
Settings
Effects

Fix co m mon
p h o to
problems

Master ,
brushesnd
filters atool
the Pen

Discover more
from your
favourite tools

Suitable for all versions

of Adobe Photoshop

Welcome to

Abodes Photoshop is a system that surpasses any other of its kind.

Created in 1988 by Thomas and John Knoll, it started out as a project for
the former in displaying greyscale images on a monochrome display. His
brother, John, soon got involved and together they produced what would
soon become the leading program in digital photo editing. Since its
release in 1990, not only has Photoshop gone on to become the market
leader across Macs and PCs alike, but it has given life to a whole new
way of creating media. No longer only used for simply editing and fixing
photos, now full-blown pieces of art can be created; photomanipulations
and digital artistry are among some of the respected forms of digital art.
In this book we aim to show you the full spectrum of what it is this
amazing program can help you to achieve. From those first photo edits
all the way through to beautifully rendered artworks. Not only that, free
with this edition of Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes comes a host of brilliant
assets including real-media brushes, wallpapers and stock images. There is
also over three hours of video tutorials at your disposal. You can find all of
this brilliant assets at www.filesilo.co.uk/bks-673.

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Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes Volume 7 2015 Imagine Publishing Ltd
ISBN 9781785460432

Part of the

bookazine series

Contents
08
50 Pro

tips & tricks

What do the
professionals say?

20
Find out
what
the pros
suggest

Reid

Pete Harrison and

Craig Shields

Gordon

Brissea
Kervin W

60

ux

Tips
20 Learn 12 filters in 12 hours
32 Explore the Lighting Effects filter
36 Draw with the Pen tool
38 Paint with the Impressionist brush
42 Learn to love the Liquify filter
46 Wield the Magic Wand tool
48 Stylise with gradients
52 Conquer the Clone Stamp tool
54 Have fun with the Warp tool
58 Discover the Crop tool
60 Get imaginative with clipping masks
64 Easily build a 3D scene
68 Master the Burn tool

6 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

42

Use the Liquify

lter to create
great edits

Tricks

72 6 easy ways to paint

82 Master architectural visualisation
86 Add a dispersion pixel effect
90 Create a split tone effect
92 Pixel a portrait
96 Build dynamic composites
100 Forge a custom lens-flare effect
102 Make macro composites
106 Apply the bleach bypass effect
108 Transform a portrait with blend modes
112 Generate a lomo effect
114 Style text effects
118 Apply mystical smoke effects

Create paintings
using Photoshop

72

112
106

164
108

Fixes
Use professional
techniques with
your retouching

134

124 20 ultimate photo fixes

134 Retouch a portrait with ease
138 Correct camera distortion in Elements
142 Create soft focus
144 Fix indoor photos
148 Make your text stand out
152 Straighten a horizon
154 Remove or add facial hair
158 Change the colour of objects
160 Retouch with actions
164 Improve exposure and contrast
166 Tweak night-time shots
170 Remove tattoos

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 7

50 Pro tips & tricks

Professional
Photoshop
tips & tricks

We unveil some of our must-know Photoshop secrets and ask digital

artists to do the same, to help you get the most out of Photoshop
01. Linked Smart
Objects

02. Perspective
Warp tool

Linked Smart Objects can be added

to several projects and updated
across all of them in one go. It can
save a lot of time if you have to add a
logo or web button multiple times
and need to change it later. Go to
File>Place Linked and select an
image to import as a Smart Object.

Perspective Warp is a powerful new

tool that enables you to change the
perspective of a photograph without
distorting the objects in it. Go to
Edit>Perspective Warp. In Layout
mode, create planes that you want
to preserve, then in Warp mode drag
the pins to warp the content.

8 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Freepik.com

THE LATEST PHOTOSHOP CC FEATURES

50 Pro tips & tricks

03. Blend photography &
illustrative elements
DAVID DELIN

04. Use two layers to blend textures together

ADAM SPIZAK
www.spizak.com

www.28162.com

One method I often use to integrate my illustrative

elements or abstract forms is to check my
composition using a horizontal symmetry. This
method allows me to correct or remove items that
are not in their place. I also take short breaks, bringing
my attention to something else. It allows me to get a
fresh look to see any faults in my composition. Finally,
adjusting the colour balance and lighting are
important to give credibility. I use adjustment layers
on each element to obtain the best integration. In
my case, Black & White and Curves adjustment
layers are valuable elements. The rst helps me
to balance my scene and apply colours so they work
together. Curves gives me more exibility in colour
correction and contrast.

When blending textures or shapes in your images, remember that everything

consists of light and shadow; blending assets on just a single layer will rarely give you
premium quality. First, add the texture into your image, change the blending mode
of the texture layer to Multiply, Darken or Overlay and, using a medium to large-sized
brush with a soft edge, mask in only the parts of your texture that have darker
elements and shadows. Duplicate the same texture (Cmd/Ctrl+J) and set the
blending mode to Screen or Linear Dodge (Add); this layer will be for our highlights,
so make sure it sits higher in the layer stack. Using a smaller size brush, mask in only
the elements of the image that consist of highlights (specular, bright detail) to add
missing light back
to your texture.
Separating your
texture blending
into two separate
layers lets you
colour correct and
blend each aspect
of texture more
realistically and
have more control
over the nal look.
Adam Spizak

TOP MASKING METHODS

05. Master the Pen tool

06. Make use of Channels

07. Use Rene Edge

There is no way to get through masking without

learning how to use the Pen tool properly. Its
perfect for many masking jobs, but in particular
those involving solid objects and/or in which
there is little contrast between the foreground
and background.

These are good for masking hair. Select the

channel with the best contrast, then duplicate it.
Use Levels and Curves to make the parts you
want to keep black, and the parts you want to
ditch white. Create a mask based on the
selection of this layer.

The Masks panel has been powerfully enhanced

in the latest versions of Photoshop. You can run
the Rene Mask function more than once; so do
it once for hard edges using the Adjust Edges
controls, and a second time for ne edges using
Rene Radius.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 9

50 Pro tips & tricks

08. Create even lighting
MIKE CAMPAU
www.mikecampau.com

When trying to smooth out your patterned

fabric or even some blotchy skin, always create
a brand new layer and set it to Soft Light
blending mode, then ll it with 50% grey. You
can then use the Dodge and Burn tools on that
layer to lighten and darken the areas that need
to have more even lighting. This way you keep
the integrity of the material texture below and it
is also non-destructive to your original image.

Mike Campau

09. Keep the pixel data

10. Unclutter your layers

11. Repeat elements quickly

By making a bitmap a Smart Object, you will

avoid ruining your pixels when you are
transforming them. Keep in mind that the
quality of the image will not be better if youre
scaling up the bitmap.

You can also turn a set of layers into one

single Smart Object. Choose a group of
layers, Ctrl/right-click and choose Convert to
Smart Object. This is a great way to unclutter
your Layers palette.

By making duplicates of Smart Objects, you

can update all the instances at once by
editing the source. Just double-click one of
the instances, edit and save. Now all the
ones in the document are updated.

Edmond Yang

TIME-SAVING TIPS
12. Create
templates

13. Stay
organised

14. Find the

right layer

15. Merge
Stamp Visible

16. Zoom in and

out faster

If you often make the same

products, such as web
pages, then create template
PSDs with the right sizes
and common gridlines so
that you have a starting
point for every project.

This method is a lot quicker

than using the Layers panel
y-out menu. Simply select
the layers that you want
to bring together then hit
Cmd/Ctrl+G, for instant
layer grouping.

If you have a lot of layers

and you need to nd the
right one for a particular
object in your design,
simply Ctrl/right-click on the
object to see what layer it
belongs to.

This is one nger-twisting

shortcut worth learning! If
you need to create a
merged layer that shows all
your existing layers, press
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Opt/Alt+E
and Photoshop will comply.

Use scrubby zoom to

quickly zone in on an area of
your image. With the Zoom
tool selected, click and hold
your mouse key, then drag
right and left to quickly
zoom in and out.

10 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

50 Pro tips & tricks

Pete Harrison and
Craig Shields

21. Use Layer Comps

If you are creating artwork for a client, then you
are likely to have to create different versions of
the same image. Rather than saving out multiple
documents with various layers turned on and
off, you can use layer comps instead. These are
snapshots of your current layer setup that you
can ick between for comparison in the Layer
Comps palette.

01The Layer Comps palette

Go to Window>Layer Comps to open the

palette. To save the current layer setup, go to the
Create New Layer Comp button at the bottom of the
window and name it with an obvious title.

20. Improve glow effects

PETE HARRISON AND CRAIG SHIELDS
www.peteharrison.com / www.craigshields.co.uk

To achieve a striking glow effect on things like embers and sparks, be sure to set the
layer blending mode of the sparks or embers to Screen. This will get rid of any
unnecessary dark patches and will leave you with the bright coloured parts you
want to use. For a brighter, more vivid effect, duplicate that layer and set it to Linear
Dodge, then go ahead and add a Gaussian Blur (Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur) to really
make it pop! Combine this technique with a Channel Mixer adjustment layer
(Layers>New Adjustment Layer>Channel Mixer) to alter the colour of your sparks
or embers. Experiment with different settings and colours for some sharp-looking
lighting effects.

17. Collate your

assets

18. Set your own 19. Make the

shortcuts
most of Actions

If you use the same objects

in your designs regularly
such as logos, shapes or
typography then bring
them all together into one
PSD so they are on hand
when you need them again.

Only you know what tools

and features you need
quick access to, so go to
Edit>Keyboard Shortcuts
and set up key combos for
all your commonly used
functions to save time.

If you do a lot of batch

processing, set up an Action
to perform common tasks
so you can set it to run over
images and leave
Photoshop to it while you
get on with something else.

02Stored information

A layer comp stores which layers are

turned on and off, whether a layer has a particular
blending mode applied and how each layer is
positioned on the canvas. You can add comments
to layer comps too.

03Warning

If you make a change to your design that

cannot be stored in a layer comp (for example, you
delete a layer that is included in a comp), then you
will see a warning triangle to show you that the layer
comp is no longer available.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 11

50 Pro tips & tricks

22. Give type 3D effects in Photoshop

GORDON REID
www.middleboop.com

Here we have a couple of simple effects you can use to bolster your
typography piece and give it a really sharp 3D look. First, take your
type into Photoshop, add a thick Stroke, somewhere around 20px,
and give it a Bevel and Emboss contour. Give it a Depth of around
450% and Size 10 with the direction Up. Depending on the size of
the piece, make the contour 38 and anti-aliased. To nish off, add
drop shadows and play about until you feel it works.
Gordon Reid

12 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

50 Pro tips & tricks

Kervin W Brisseaux

23. Use Left-handed

brushes

24. Overlay with

an image

Some Photoshop brushes are

designed to brush from right to left,
which is the opposite of what is
natural for left-handed painters. They
may benet from being ipped
(indeed only some have the option to
be); in the Brush palette, with Brush
Tip Shape selected, you will see a Flip
X checkbox. Tick that to ip the brush
horizontally so it works left to right.

If you want to quickly clip an image to

some text so that it lls the type, here
is a quick tip for you. Create your text
rst and then open the image you
want to use, making sure that it is
above the text in the Layers palette.
Now, hold down Opt/Alt and click on
the line that separates the two layers,
and the image will be clipped to the
type layer automatically.

25. Take a step back

KERVIN W. BRISSEAUX
www.brisseaux.com

Give your work time to incubate. If it isnt looking

right, sometimes its a matter of walking away for a
few days or weeks before getting back to it. Youd be
amazed at what fresh eyes can do for your work.

26. Create light and shadow with gradients

NICOLAS MONIN-BAROILLE
www.cargocollective.com/unknownbeing

I usually start off with a simple shape I can

add shadows to, making a selection in
places where a light would cast shadows,
and start playing around with the Gradient
tool. You can do this with lights as well, just
in the opposite places. You have a lot of
control, choosing the edges of your
selection, the Opacity and the blending
modes. I do each element one by one; its
some work, but the results really pay off.
Gradients can change the colour mood in
an artwork and where your lights come
from theyre pretty powerful. Making use
of that can be a great asset when creating
intricate and realistic-looking work. Im not
a painter, but if you look at how lights and
shadows behave, you can quickly learn
how to apply this within your style. It
makes for really great results and changes
the way people look at your work.

All images Nicolas Monin-Baroille

IMPROVE PERFORMANCE WITH PHOTOSHOP PREFERENCES

27. Purge your
history states

28. Change the

History States

29. control the

Memory Usage

30. disable
thumbnails

31. Save in
Background

If you nd Photoshop is
on the go-slow, you can
use Edit>Purge to clear
the Clipboard and History
States. This will free up
RAM, but bear in mind you
wont be able to undo this.

If you use Undo a lot and

often hit a point when you
cant backtrack anymore,
you can change the number
of History States stored by
going to Photoshop>
Preferences>Performance.

Go to the same window to

control how much memory
Photoshop uses. In the
Memory Usage section,
see your available RAM and
how much of it Photoshop
is allowed to eat into.

Having thumbnails in the

Layers panel can be useful,
but it can slow down your
Photoshop performance. In
the drop-down menu in the
Layers panel, choose Panel
options to disable them.

If you often forget to save

your progress by hitting
Cmd/Ctrl+S, make sure
that Save in Background
is activated by going
to Preferences>
File Handling.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 13

50 Pro tips & tricks

32. Use 3D renders
ALEXANDER OTTO
www.alexanderotto.com

3D renders help me to create better work in

many ways: to enhance a certain effect or
style, create a more dynamic composition, for
background elements or any kind of VFX.
There is a wide variety of different 3D
applications available and with almost all [of
them] you can render multiple passes, which
makes the post-production really easy. After
rendering with multiple passes such as alpha,
diffuse, shadow, reection, depth and many
others, I compose those elements in
Photoshop together. Id usually create a Smart
Object of my imported renders and just use
adjustment layers in combination with
different blending modes to get the most out
of my renders. A Gradient Map on Soft Light
for contrast, Linear Burn for dark parts and for
lights Id use Linear Dodge.

Alexander Otto

33. Use a 3D fractal generator

A lot of artists dont utilise the vast number of easy-to-learn 3D
programs out there; one of them is called Mandelbulb 3D. This
fractal generator is free and can generate some very interesting

detail in a short amount of time. My concept here was to create a

civilisation made out of trillions of mechanical parts, all evolving and
developing independently, but functioning as a hive mind.
Mandelbulb 3D is perfect for this because you can control the
materials, reections, and utilise the program in a matte-painting
style to depict an epic scene. Below you can see the techniques
used for the project.

the
01Download
software

03Sample fractal

FINNIAN MACMANUS
www.behance.net/fmacmanus

The rst step is to download the

program and start getting used to
the controls. You can get a copy
of it at www.mandelbulb.com.

the right
02Use
formula

For City Of Order, I used the

Sierpinski formula to compose my
artwork, which created a unique,
almost city-like landscape.

This is what the formula

generates. You can also render
multiple frames and patch them
together with Photoshop, which is
what I will do to create extra depth.

04Finished render

I used three separate

renders to create the scene, and
then used clipping masks to cut out
the desirable parts that will be
integrated into the nal image.

Finnian MacManus

05

Final result

This is the nal result,

painted over in Photoshop. You
can use this technique full scale
like this, or just take small parts to
incorporate into your art.

14 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

50 Pro tips & tricks

34. do your research
VALP MACIEJ HAJNRICH
hot.valpnow.com

Reproducing armour on a T-shirt is quite

challenging. The most important thing is to
know and understand sewing templates,
so rst of all make sure you have proper
vector les from a tailoring company. Start
with sketching each element of the armour.
Get any T-shirt and use a ruler to measure

the size of each element. Print parts of the

design on A4 paper, and compare if
necessary. Search for as many references
as possible and read articles. Use the Bevel
and Emboss layer style to imitate engraving
and visit stock pages to nd real metal and
gold textures.

All images Valp

ANATOMY OF A GOOD WEBSITE DESIGN

POLLY PLAYFORD
www.pollyplayford.com

Website design is quite an art to master, and there

are a lot of key elements that need to be right in
order to make a page commercially viable. But
fear not, as here are some top tips for creating
great websites

35. Make it friendly

The last thing you want is to frustrate an internet user
their patience is low. Theyll give up pretty quick and go to
another site if they cant nd the button theyre looking for.

36. Keep it snappy

Show the right amount of information with the minimum
number of clicks. Keep the copy light or else nobody will
read it. Have a read more button if you have more to say.

37. Be striking
Make the most of larger modern screens and broadband
(quicker loading times) by using big, impacting images. It
says a lot in the shortest amount of time.

38. Stay original

Stand out from the millions of websites with some
personality and character and be memorable. Be
clever; allow it to aid usability, not obstruct it.

Polly Playford

EASIER WEB DESIGN IN PHOTOSHOP

39. Get
GuideGuide

40. Create
presets

41. Get your

pencils out

42. Save for

the web

43. save in the

background

GuideGuide is a free
Photoshop extension that
enables you to set up quick
pixel-accurate grids. You
can save your frequently
used guide setups and its
a real time saver.

When you open a new

document you will see
that there are presets for
web and mobile. Adapt the
dimensions and resolution
to suit your projects, and
save as a new preset.

Before starting work on any

web design, draw out your
layout rst before launching
straight into Photoshop.
This will save you time in
the long run as you have a
clear starting point.

Photos shouldnt be too

large in web designs, or it
will affect your loading
times longer loading times
mean a higher bounce rate.
Use the Save For Web
feature instead.

If you often forget to hit

Cmd/Ctrl+S and save
your progress, make sure
that Save in Background
is activated by going to
Photoshop>Preferences>
File Handling.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 15

50 Pro tips & tricks

44. Clean up scanned items
ARCHAN NAIR

45. Create quick concepts

MIKE CORRIERO
www.mikecorriero.com

When using different mediums to mix with digital

elements, it is important to create a level of sharpness
and quality that matches the environment around
the artwork. After scanning a watercolour paint or
line art, add it to the composition and use Levels or
Curves to bring more depth into the colours,
shadows and highlights. If necessary, duplicate the
layer and set it to Multiply at 20% to make the
traditional medium stronger.

The idea of implied structure, shapes,

texture and details are very helpful
when trying to crank out quick
concept ideas without the need
to tediously polish them.
Custom Shapes and Custom
Brushes are very helpful in this
area of design since you can
provide repetition of patterns in
a more form-bending manner.
The brush options allow your brush
shape to be used as a pattern that will
ow in the Direction and scaled based
on the Pen Pressure and Spacing
options youll nd in the Brush Presets. If
you stick with black-and-white designs,
youre focusing more on the basic idea of
the concept, which also saves time. Colour
is largely a more aesthetic aspect, whereas
focusing on the purpose, function and silhouette of the
shapes merely needs to be explored in basic greyscale tones.

Mike Corriero

www.archann.net

46. Use the right brush options

JIANLI WU
wusrunblog.blogspot.co.uk

Two brush options I frequently use are Transfer and Dual

Brush. With todays drawing tablet pressure-sensitivity
function, adjusting Opacity Jitter and Flow Jitter control
options can greatly enhance painting experience with more
ease, depending on what you need in the artwork.
Personally, I tend to turn the pressure on and off for greater
control over the pen to achieve the desired results at
different stages of painting. Dual Brush opens up an
amazing amount of options to create very unique brushes
at your command. It especially comes in handy when you
want to render different material textures. From soft to hard
surfaces, you could pleasantly nd what works best. Most
importantly, continuously experimenting with the options
allows you to discover the amazing functions Photoshops
Brush tool panel provides.

Jianli Wu

CUSTOMISE YOUR BRUSHES

47. Customise the defaults

48. Create your own

49. Download new sets

There are plenty of brushes built

into Photoshop, but the real
power comes from the ability to
customise them endlessly using
the options in the Brush palette.
Experiment with things like
Scattering, Texture and Dual
Brush to create the exact effect
you need.

If you have a photo or vector image that you

like, then you can turn them into your own
brushes by using Edit>Dene Brush. You can
save these brushes into
your Brush palette and
create your own sets so
that you have unique
brush tips as and when
you need them.

If you prefer to have ready-made brushes

and Photoshop doesnt have what you need,
then there are hundreds of websites that
offer high-res brush sets
to download. Many of
these are free, so if
you dont like them, just
hit Delete and nd a
new set.

16 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

50 Pro tips & tricks

50. Lead viewers through your image

ROB SHIELDS
www.robshields.net

A great way to keep a viewers interest in your composition is to establish

a sort of visual rhythm within the image. When done successfully, each
section of the image will lead the eye to the next, forming a visual loop
that doubles as a kind of hidden roadmap. The idea is not to force the
viewer to look at the image in a certain way, but merely try to nudge
them in the right direction. This prevents their eyes from rolling off the
image before they are done looking at it and also provides an inherent
sense of motion to the image, making it feel dynamic.
Rob Shields

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 17

Tips
20 Learn 12 filters in 12 hours
Get to grips with our favourite filters

32 Explore the Lighting Effects filter

Apply the Lighting Effects in various ways

42

36 Draw with the Pen tool

Make your own cartoons with the Pen Tool

38 Paint with the Impressionist brush

Become the next Monet with Photoshop

42 Learn to love the Liquify filter

Create melted effects with ease

46 Wield the Magic Wand tool

Make quick and easy selections

48 Stylise with gradients

Make your portraits stand out

52 Conquer the Clone Stamp tool

Take away obstructive objects
Master
Photoshops
best lters
in just 12
hours!

54 Have fun with the Warp tool

Make fun edits with the Warp tool

58 Discover the Crop tool

Cut your images down to size

60 Get imaginative with clipping masks

Make amazing artwork quickly

64 Easily build a 3D scene

Utilise your Photoshops 3D options

68 Master the Burn Tool

Enhance your portraits with the Burn Tool

20

68
18 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

20

The Liquify lter is a great tool for retouching

images or creating artistic effects
36

Make creative
portraits using
clipping masks

46

Master the Magic

Wand Tool

32

42

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 19

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

COMBINE FILTERS
Many think of lters as being subtle
effects that you apply to a picture to
tweak it slightly, but they can totally
transform a photo, and you can
combine them for even more possibility.

MASTER
12 FILTERS
12 HOURS
IN

Weve picked 12 of our favourite Photoshop filters and

come up with quick and easy ways to apply them to your
favourite shots for incredible results

20 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 21

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

ADJUST LEVELS
SILHOUETTE
A jumping model is placed. A
layer mask is added to the layer,
and black is painted on the mask
to hide unneeded areas.

After stacking and blending

several layers, the image
becomes a tad murky. A
Levels adjustment layer
(or two) at the top is a great
way to brighten the mood.

2. BLUR
GALLERY

The Blur filters are perfect for both

beginners and digital-imaging vets. The
intuitive controls are great for folks who are
just getting started. Long-time users can
quickly add these popular and useful effects
with nominal fuss.

Before

FIELD BLUR This allows you to add multiple

blur points, each capable of emitting various
amounts of blur. Play with adding, moving and
adjusting points until you get the perfect blend. You
can even place off canvas for edge/corner blurring.

PATH BLUR The newest member of the family

allows you to create adjustable motion blurs along
paths, opening the way for precise and targeted
effects. You can even have multiple blurs going at
once and Photoshop will composite the effects.

GAUSSIAN BLUR
A circle-based design is the
bedrock of the composition.
Gaussian Blur is added to blur the
circles, helping to establish the
dynamic vibe.

1. BLUR

STREAKING TRAFFIC
A picture of streaking trafc
is placed and set to the
Exclusion blend mode. Motion
Blur makes the movement
even more frenetic.

Whether you need to obscure parts of a background or produce a slick, eye-catching

action effect, the various Blur filters can be important allies in your imaging quest for
out-of-focus perfection.
Lets look at two of the most commonly used Blur filters: Gaussian and Motion
Blur. Both filters, along with the rest of the Blurs, are accessible under Filter>Blur.
Gaussian is your basic and trusty adjustable blur. Motion Blur adds motion via
adjustable angle and distance, creating a whole host of effects ranging from slight
shifting to extreme motion.
Here weve combined both Gaussian and Motion Blurs to create a dynamic
abstract scene for our joyful jumper.

22 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

TILT SHIFT Get the popular tilt-shift blur effect

with minimal effort. You define an area of
sharpness, and then adjust the edges where the
image blurs. This is perfect for getting that miniature
city or object look.

SPIN BLUR This filter certainly lives up to its

name, allowing you to creatively spin and blur
around a rotation point. The strength of the effect is
dictated by the Blur Angle control, which you can
specify in degrees.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

ADJUSTMENT LAYERS

3. PLASTIC
WRAP

Use the Levels and Hue/Saturation

adjustment layers to increase the
contrast and lightness respectively.

Believe it or not, the

Plastic Wrap filter is one
of the most useful. It
creates an effect on an
image as if it is coated
in shiny plastic,
accentuating the
surface details. You can
Dodge and Burn
create special effects
Use the Dodge and Burn tools to
such as shiny surfaces,
enhance shadows and highlights before
liquid, glass, or even a
applying the Plastic Wrap effect. It will
metallic effect. There
increase the details and help you
are only three
to add more effect in areas. The
adjustable options to
Dodge and Burn tools are very
control the filter:
handy when it comes to
Highlight Strength, the
shiny effects.
filters Detail, and finally
the Smoothness.

EXPERT TIP

Before

Shiny surfaces

CLIPPING MASKS
Creating a clipping mask
allows you to ll an object
with images on multiple
layers. To create a clipping
mask, hold Opt/Alt and
click between two layers.

Create beautiful ice effects

Set the stage

01

Go to File>Open Landscape.jpg. Grab the

Horizontal Type tool (T), choose a bold font
size 300 (we used Cooper Std), set the Foreground
colour to white and type the word ICE. Now go to
Type>Rasterize Type Layer.

Apply filters

02

Go to Filter>Liquify and create frozen

drips. Create a new layer, name it Cloud.
Set the Foreground/Background colour to white
and blue and then go to Filter>Render>Cloud.
Now apply the Gaussian Blur: Radius 5px and clip
the layers.

4. Before
CUTOUT
Apply Plastic Wrap

Add final touches

03

04

Go to Filter>Filter Gallery>Artistic>Plastic
Wrap. Set Highlight Strength: 20, Details: 15,
Smoothness: 5 and then hit OK. Click on the ICE layer
and go to Layer>Layer Style>Bevel & Emboss. Set
Style to Inner Bevel, Size: 25, Angle: 90, Altitude: 55.

Now change the ICE layers Opacity to

70%. Go to Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All,
grab the Brush tool (B) and mask the areas under
each letter. Create a new layer, name it Snow and
paint on top of each letter.

The Cutout filter will simplify

your image into levels of
colour using information
from the image. It looks for
shapes to simplify and is
great for creating posters. At
lower settings the filter will
create an abstract look; at
higher levels it will create a
painting-by-numbers look.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 23

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

5. LIQUIFY

LIQUIFY
TOOLS

The Liquify filter is a great tool for retouching

images or creating artistic effects. There are
several tools in the Liquify dialog box; just grab
one and hold down the mouse button or drag
to push, pull, rotate, reflect, pucker and bloat
the pixels of a determinate area. You can
control the brush size, density and pressure to
create subtle or drastic effects. The Liquify
filter is an important tool and with a little
practice is very easy to master.

THAW MASK TOOL

Make the freeze areas editable
again using the Thaw Mask tool
(D). Just grab the tool and paint
over the freeze mask.

The Liquify filter enables you to create

many beautiful effects and enhance any
chosen portrait. We will guide you through
four simple steps to give you a better
overview of this great tool and what kind of
imaging magic it can achieve.

Before
MESH
Using a mesh helps you
see and keep track of
distortions. To show a
mesh, click the Show
Mesh box in the View
Options area.

CREATE A BACKGROUND Create a new file.

Grab the Gradient tool, open the Gradient Editor,
and choose the Black-white preset. Hold Shift and
drag from top to bottom. Place Clouds.jpg. Add a
layer mask and paint to blend the bottom.

FREEZE MASK Now go to File>Place Woman.

png. Resize and hit Return/Enter. Rasterize the layer
and go to Filter>Liquify. Under the View Options,
select Show Mask. Grab the Freeze Mask tool (F)
and define the areas you want to keep intact.

FORWARD WARP Now grab the Forward

Warp tool (W). Set the brush Size to 35, Density to
100 and Pressure to 60. Start pushing the pixels
around the trousers and shoes to create a melting
effect. Increase the brush size if necessary.

EXPERT TIP
Smart Filters

For the Creative Cloud users, the Liquify

lter supports Smart Objects. The
meshes are now automatically saved
into a new document and can be
edited at any time. Just convert
the image to a Smart Object
and then apply the
Liquify lter.

24 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

TOOL OPTIONS
Change the settings in the tool
options area to gain better
control of each tool, making it
easier to distort the images.

RECONSTRUCT Use the Reconstruct tool to

restore the areas where the effect was too intense
and click OK when you are satisfied with the result.
Add other images such as the rain and ripples to
enhance the composition.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

6. TEXTURE

CANVAS
BACKING

The idea of transforming a photo into a painting, without

the need to actually paint it, is a popular project for digital
artists. Part of that process is
crafting a digital canvas to hold
the faux-painted effect.
Photoshops Texture
filter set contains a
handy Texturizer
feature that is
perfect for creating
Create a paint effect rst
a simple canvas
Add a blank layer above the photo layer,
texture. A bit
set the Smudge Tool options to Sample
of creative
All Layers and strength to 75%. Choose
application and
the Chalk brush preset. Trace the
this filter can help
contours of the image. When
done, combine both layers into
create a convincing
a Smart Object and apply
painted masterpiece
the texture.
in hardly any time
at all.

The raw canvas

texture is ideal for
a painted image.
Using the same
settings in the
lter ensures the
texture aligns
around the edges.

EXPERT TIP

7. RIPPLE

SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS

Creating a reflection is an easy job when you use

the Ripple filter. There are no surprises with this
filter; it does what the title suggests, namely it will
create a ripple effect on your image.

By using a mask attached to the

Smart Filter, you can control
exactly where the texture is hidden
and where it is the most visible.

Prepare you image

RIPPLE EFFECTS
Using the Ripple lter you can
create simple reections, and
adjust the size of the ripple and
the percentage.

01

First, open the file Castle.jpg and select the Rectangular

Marquee tool (M). Make a selection of the castle, stopping just
below the castle itself. Press Ctrl/Cmd+J in order to copy this selection
to a new layer.

Transform the layer

Add some ripples

Blend it in

02

03

04

Go to Edit>Transform>Flip Vertical; this

flips your layer so its right for a reflection.
Reposition the layer below the castle so it looks
like a mirror image. Rename the layer Reflection.

Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Add a

blur of about 2 pixels to remove some
detail. Go to Filter>Distort>Ripple. Set the
Amount to 100% and the size to large.

Create a new layer, use the Eyedropper

(I) to select a blue from the sky. Fill the
new layer with the blue colour and go to Layer>
Create Clipping Mask. Set the Opacity to 15%.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 25

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

8. SKETCH

Tucked away in the Filter Gallery, you will find

the Sketch filter set. This folder contains several
different approaches to crafting a hand-drawn
effect. These filters run primarily off reading
the image contrast and some edge detection.
They are frequently overlooked due to the
mechanical nature of the results, but combining
the right ones in a clever way can bring about
some surprisingly beautiful results.

Before

Blending Modes

Stacked Filters

01

Combine several filters at once by using a

Smart Object. Here the Smart Blur and
High Pass filters are used to help isolate edges for
the Note Paper sketch filter to create the effect.

02

By changing the blending modes of the

Smart objects, the background layers
can show through. The dark areas were rendered
with a Charcoal Sketch filter, then the overlay
mode removed the grey background.

Adobe Paper Textures Pro

03

In the Window>Extensions menu

theres a fantastic paper texture
generator. Effortlessly create the perfect
background for your sketched artwork.

9. GLOWING EDGES

As its name suggests, Glowing Edges looks for edges of colour and applies a glow. When used individually,
this filter produces a neon outline effect. When used in combination with other filters and blend modes, this
filter can help you achieve interesting image treatments like the one illustrated here.

Duplicate & desaturate

02

Use Glowing Edges

Finalise the look

03

Select the first layer, Cmd/

Ctrl+J to duplicate. Drag to
the top of the layer stack. Go to
Filter>Stylize>Glowing Edges. Set to
(top to bottom) 1, 20, 15.

26 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Blur and blend

01

Open your image and press

Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate the
layer. Press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+U to
quickly desaturate it. Drop the layer
Opacity to 50%.

Press Cmd/Ctrl+J to
duplicate. Bring back Opacity
to 100%. Press Cmd/Ctrl+I to invert. Set
blend mode to Color Dodge. Go to
Filter>Blur Gaussian Blur. Use 30px,
click OK.

04

Press Cmd/Ctrl+I, blend

mode to Multiply. Add a
layer mask. Select the Brush tool.
With a soft brush, paint black in the
mask to reduce the effect in areas.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

CHANGE THE COLOUR
Add a gradient ll to easily
change the colour of your image
to one that is more suitable for a
sunset scene.

Before
ADD LIGHTING EFFECTS
Add some lighting effects to create the colour
tone of a sunset image. You can change the
colours of the light to match your image.

10. LIGHTING EXPERT TIP

EFFECTS
Look at the shadows

The Photoshop Lighting Effects filter lets you

create interesting light in your images. You can
create three types of lights to enhance your
images. The three lights you can create are
Point, Spot and Infinite. You can use textures as
bump maps to create 3D-like effects. The filter
is great for defining your light source.

Make Smart Filters

02

Go to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>

Levels. Set the black point to 25 and the
white point to 240. Select all of your layers and go
to Filter>Convert for Smart Filters.

Remember that the shadows in an

image will help you nd out where the
light source is. On this image you can
clearly see the shadows on the cliffs.
If you were to place the sun on the
opposite side, the image just
would not work.

Use the Lighting Effects

03

Go to Filter>Render>Lighting Effects.
Change the Light Type to Point and the
colour to a dark orange. Set the Intensity to 29
and use the green circle to increase the size.
Create a smaller point light at the suns location.

SPOTLIGHT
The Spotlight option in
the Lighting Effects lter
is perfect for enhancing
lights that are already in
your image. All you need
to do to incorporate it is to
select the Spotlight option
from the lter dialog and
then overlay the light onto
any existing lights that are
in your scene.

Colour the image

01

We need to change the colour tone by

going to Layer>New Fill Layer>Gradient.
Choose a linear style with a colour of yellow to
orange. Reduce the Opacity of this layer to 25%.

Mask the effect

04

Click on the filter blending options icon

and reduce the Opacity to 80%. Paint
with black in the layer mask anywhere you dont
want the effect to be, probably on the left side.

INFINITE
LIGHT
The Innite option is great when
you want to shine some light
across an entire scene. This option
is particularly good if you need to
set up some lighting for 3D models
within Photoshop. The lights
act like a sun shining light in one
direction. You can rotate the light in
3D space.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 27

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

11. DISPLACE
The Displace filter is used to wrap
textures or images around different
shapes or surfaces. The filter
creates a kind of mold to be
applied onto another image. It
works by mapping out the surface
from a grayscale image, where the
black-and-white areas create a
subtle movement by shifting the
pixels when applied to a second
image. One element about this
filter is the fact we need to create
the displacement map first. Well
show you how.

BRIGHTNESS
The Displace lter
works based on the
brightness value of
one le to distort the
pixels in another le.

Isolate an element

01

Each element should have its own

pattern to create the best effect.
Begin by creating a copy of the base layer,
selecting the elements and then using a layer
mask to isolate one.

DISPLACE OPTIONS
The Horizontal and Vertical
scale determine how much
distortion the displacement
map will create on the image.

Before

Posterized effect

02

The effect works best if the colour

shades are posterized. Go to Filter>
Filter Gallery and open the Artistic set. Use
Poster Edges with the Edge Thickness and
Edge Intensity at 0 and Posterization at 1.

EXPERT TIP
Use Channels

Create the map

01

Go to File>Open Flower.jpg. Grab the

Quick Selection tool(W) and select the
flower. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate and
Shift+Cmd/Ctrl+U to desaturate. Open the
Levels (Cmd/Ctrl+L) and use to boost contrast.

Blur and save

02

Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur, set

Radius to 5px and hit OK. Hide the
flower layer and go to File>Save As Map.psd. Now
go to File>Open Flower.jpg. Select and duplicate
it again. Hit Shift+Cmd/Ctrl+U to desaturate.

28 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Create a displacement map using

Channels. Go to Windows>Channel.
Find the channel with contrast, open
the drop-down menu. Choose
Duplicate Channel. Change
Destination>Document to
New, call it Displacement
Map and hit OK.

Color Halftone

03

To create the halftone pattern, go to

Filter>Pixelate>Color Halftone. For
the highly detailed areas use a Radius of 10
pixels. For less detailed, increase this number.
Then enter different values for the channels 1,
2 and 3.

Apply the filter

Black outline

Go to File>Place Texture.jpg. Hit Cmd/

Ctrl+Opt/Alt+G to clip. Change the blend
mode to Soft Light. Go to Filter>Distort>Displace,
set Horizontal/Vertical scale to 15, check Stretch
to fit, Repeat Edge and click OK. Locate the saved
Map.psd file and hit Open.

04

03

Place a copy of the photo layer at the

top. Go to Filter>Filter Gallery>
Sketch>Torn Edges. Use a Smoothness of 15,
Image Balance of 20, Contrast of 14. Set the
layer blend mode to Multiply to allow the
pattern to show through.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

12. COLOR HALFTONE

Before

The Color Halftone filter is a method of simulating the offset printing technique
used by larger presses to create almost any shade, colour, or gradient by
combining a series of dots created in the basic ink colours. This halftone pattern
is obvious upon close inspection, but at a reasonable distance our eyes perceive
the pattern as a single shade of colour.

HAND-DRAWN SHAPES

TIGHTER PATTERN
The smaller the dot settings, the
tighter the halftone pattern, the
more details can be seen. This is
best used for the focal point of
the composition.

A few, intentional, hand drawn

shapes with the Pen tool
add to the idea that this is a
hand-crafted piece, and not
something made with a lter.

HOW
THE
FILTER
WORKS
BLACK OUTLINES

BACKGROUND PATTERN
Using a large pixel size transforms the
simple background gradient into a
fascinating pattern of dots. The large
dots dont appear as a single gradient,
but provide a visually interesting effect.

The use of heavy black lines

around the contours of the model
contribute to the comic-like
appearance of the effect.

The Color Halftone lter can

produce some great effects,
but it is not very well explained
in the interface. The settings
control the size of the dots, and
which direction each colour is
offset from the base. So the
Max Radius is the size of the
dots (double the number to
know the true size of the dots,
or the diameter). Then each
channel adjusts the direction
of offset for the colours dot.
Experiment with these angles
to produce different patterned
effects. Be sure to only use
channels 1-3 for RGB images, as
there is no 4th colour channel.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 29

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

PICK A FILTER

Take a look at the start image to the right, and then look at all of the effects below that can be achieved
with the 12 filters youve learnt about throughout this feature. The artistic possibilities are endless!

Start image

EXPERT TIP
See the whole effect

Preview windows judge how your lters

are going to look, but its sometimes
better to apply a lter to the whole
image to see how it will look. Try
duplicating a layer before applying
any effects. If you dont like
the layer later, you can
delete it.

BLUR

RIPPLE

CUTOUT

LIGHTING EFFECTS

30 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Try duplicating a layer before applying
any effects. If you dont like the layer later,
you can delete it

BLUR GALLERY

PLASTIC WRAP

LIQUIFY

TEXTURE

SKETCH

GLOWING EDGES

DISPLACE

COLOR HALFTONE

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 31

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Source files
available

ARTISTIC EFFECTS
Have a go at experimenting
with the Lighting Effects
lter in order to see how
lighting can be a source of
artistic air.

Start
images

Explore the
Lighting Effects filter
Make the most of the Lighting Effects filter by using it artistically

n many ways, lighting is an afterthought.

Its a footnote in lots of tutorials not a
glamorous filter, but the one that tidies up
and brings a touch of realism to even the
most outlandish compositions.
It is rare to see a Photoshop tutorial focus
on how lighting can be a source of artistic flair
within an image. The very nature of lighting
dictates that it is purely there to cast a

32 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

spotlight on others, rather than be at the

centre of attention itself. Which begs the
question, in Photoshop, how often are the
most rudimentary of tools fashioned into the
most stunning creative effects?
The Lighting Effects Filter is this kind of
tool. The Spot, Point and Infinite light can all
be inspired effects to use, because they make
use of darkness as much as light. Rather than

them just being tools for exposing, they are

tools for toning and they can add focus and
realism to an image.
In this tutorial, you will delve into how you
can use each effect at the centre of a creative
project and not just as an after-effect. Feel
free to experiment and employ further effects
at the end of this tutorial to enhance your
image further.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Create an apple candle Use the point light to throw focus on a surreal composition

Place the candles over the apple

Screen and transform the candles

Open the le with the apple and use this image as the base
onto which youre going to place the candles. You can use any
apple or candle pictures for this, as long as the ame is in focus and
there is enough apple stalk to be on re.

01

02

Mask out unwanted areas

Add a Point light

03

04

Add a mask onto the candles layer and erase any other
ames with a soft black brush. The aura around the main
candle should remain, which may not appear very realistic, so you
can now add a lter to enhance the look.

The great thing about using candles with a black background

is that all you have to do is turn the blend mode to Screen
and youve masked out most of the picture. Transform the candles
image so the two layers align.

Head to the Point option in the Lighting Effects lter and

move the centre so its over the candles ame. Adjust the
intensity until the exposure looks right. Now youll have the effect of
the candle lighting up the whole picture.
TYPE

HOTSPOT
Position the
actual glow
and the size of
a spotlight by
playing with
the Hotspot.

Choose between the three

types of lighting effect and
even combine them in the
one project.

COLOUR
White is the most common
colour of light, but a light
yellow works well, as do pastel
colours for surrealism.

OTHER OPTIONS
Give other twists to your
conventional lighting effects
and mix and match unusual
selections for unique results.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 33

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Create Spotlights

THE SPOTLIGHT
The spotlight has been
adjusted to bring the
subject into focus and
make her stand out.

Convey an artistic limelight by

exploring the power of lighting
The spotlight feature is often added
to an image to subtly highlight a
focal point, but what if you were to
use it in a more obvious way?
There is perhaps no better tool
to create a literal spotlight on a
subject within your photograph edit
than the spotlight feature, so by
using it as a key part of your project,
you will be able create an inventive
and effective composition.
Here we show you how to create
an effective edit and use this really
handy tool.

Start
image

Resize the subject

to t the background
and make sure the
perspectives of
the two images
match up

Place the subject

Select and rene edge

Play with shadows

Open up a background for the subject

to be pasted onto and place the
subject over it. Resize the subject to t the
background and make sure the
perspectives of the two images match up.

01

Select the subject from the image

using the Selection tool you prefer.
Cmd/right-click and choose Rene Edge to
smooth the selection. Use an eraser if
necessary to remove any sharp edges.

02

03

Duplicate and add spotlight

Add oor light

Finish up

04

05

06

Duplicate your subject and

background and merge the original
two layers. Change the Intensity, the
Hotspot, size and even colour until youre
happy with the result.

34 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

With the background layer youve just

duplicated, select an ellipse with the
Elliptical Marquee and delete the rest of the
layer. This is going to be the highlighted area
of the spotlight hitting the oor.

To add more realism, Cmd/right-click

the layer and choose the Drop
Shadow option, at a 90-degree angle to give
the impression that light is falling from above.
Experiment with distance, spread and size.

Change the Opacity of the subject

and the oor light layer so that they
dont stand out too much. You can tweak
the picture by adding more lighting effects
to accentuate the main spotlight.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Re-tone a sunset
Simultaneously shade and colour a picture
with the Innite Lighting effect
Adding a warming or cooling filter can be great, but can often flatten the tone of
a picture. Gradients can make it difficult to find the exact colours. So by using
the infinite lighting feature, you can add a splash of colour to a picture exactly
where you like and still retain the natural light.

Try to give the picture a natural exposure

and remember that in the top left, there are
preset lighting effects

Start image

TONES AND SHADES

Shading and preset
lighting effects have subtly
transformed this image to
adjust the colours, yet still
appear natural.

Select a colour

Change the angle

Experiment with intensity

01

02

03

Pick a colour as you would with any

other lter. Lighter colours work well
and with the Lighting Effects, you can select
the lighter and darker shades around your
chosen Hue.

Turn the lever in the centre that

resembles a satellite dish you can
move it in any direction. Turn it to cast light
or shade anywhere in your picture. Revolve it
so that it faces the light in the photo.

Alter the dial in the centre to raise the

intensity. Try to give the picture a
natural exposure and remember that in the
top left, there are preset lighting effects for
you to choose or base your own effects on.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 35

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

COLOUR
Either ll your Pen
selection or use
brushes to add colour.

CUTOUTS
Use the Cutout lter
to reduce photos to
cartoon-style blocks
to draw around.

Source files
available
Start image

Draw with the Pen tool

Get creative with the Pen tool for vectors, cartoons, selections and much more

rawing may be one of the most soothing hobbies that anyone

can enjoy, but its notoriously difficult on computers. To start,
scan your sketches into Photoshop. This is where the Pen tool
comes in. As one of the most powerful weapons in an artists arsenal,
its one of the few Photoshop tools that you can start from scratch with
to build an image gradually. It works with simple clicks and drags, but
what it lacks in complexity it more than makes up for in accuracy. Its
pin-point precision makes it preferable to brushes when outlining an
image. On top of this, its more effective than a Lasso for selecting.

36 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

You dont need to be great at drawing when you have Photoshop.

Simply paste the image that you want to draw around and use it as a
guide, just like you would do using tracing paper manually. This is just
one incredibly easy method of re-creating an image as a drawing in
Photoshop, and there are hundreds of creative ideas to experiment
with when using the Pen tool.
In this brief tutorial, we will delve into some of the most popular uses
of the Pen tool, from light trails and cartoons, to basic shapes and
selections, all of which will enhance your drawing skills.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Learn to draw Three steps to becoming an expert artist with the Pen tool

Prime the Pen

Click and drag

Fill and stroke

01

02

03

First, create a new layer over your

background. Set the brushs Radius to
whatever outline size you want your Pen to
have. Choose the colour of this outline by
selecting a foreground colour. Now you
should be ready to start drawing!

Click to create a point and create

polygons. Try dragging so that you
can create curved edges. The guideline
shows the direction the Pen is angled
towards. Play around with the tool and see
what kind of curves you can nd.

Once nished, click on the Paths tab,

situated by the Layers and Channels
tabs. Ctrl/right-click on the Work Path and
pick between Fill or Stroke the rst one
colours the shape in, while the latter draws
along it.

Additional uses The Pen can be a mightier tool than most

Basic shapes

Cartoon portraits

The Pen is great for creating polygons. You can create unique shapes
thanks to its control and precision and though you can easily ll them
in, you can use the Pen to make outlines before brushing in colour.

To create cartoons, simply nd a photo and dial down the Opacity.

Now trace over it on a new layer follow the lines with the Pen, using
the original as a guide. The end result is always great.

Light trails

Select with it!

Another common effect is the light trail, often seen on night-time

images. Simply draw your line, Stroke it and head to Blending
Options, before adding an Outer Glow for a vibrant-city effect!

It has the curves that the Polygonal Lasso lacks and the straight
edges that the Magnetic Lasso cant manage. Its a very accurate
tool. Simply Ctrl/right-click your Work Path to make a selection.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 37

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Source files
available

MIX METHODS
Combine smudging and
dabbing to achieve a
painterly effect, keeping
detail areas, such as the
eyes, nice and sharp.

Paint with the

Impressionist brush

Start
image

Release your inner painter with the Impressionist brush in Elements

mpressionism was invented because of an artists limitations. As

Claude Monet was going blind, he still continued to paint; the results
were understandably blurry and indistinct, but they produced
dazzling, technicolour results that captured enough imaginations to
start a movement.
Likewise, the Impressionist brush in Photoshop Elements is there to
combat the limitations of any budding digital painter. You can
transform photos into stunning pieces just by brushing over them, and
the tool gives you complete control when editing. But how do you
wield the brush without creating a blurry mess?

38 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

The answer is one that can actually be found by studying Monets

work. The Impressionist brush is one that should be used delicately. In
Elements, choosing the brush size is as important as knowing where to
brush, and smudging can become as important as the actual painting.
The transformation only begins with the brush strokes; much of the
process is about smoothing edges and merging colours, in a similar
way to how real-life painters smudge their work.
Lets look at three different photos and assess how the Impressionist
brush can be used to turn all three into evocative digital paintings of
which you can be proud.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

A single portrait Keep the focus in a painting by smudging and dabbing

Expert tip
Study real
Artists

All projects start with a little

inspiration, but by examining
the likes of Monet, Manet and
Degas, you can get a good
idea of what works. Search
for Impressionist paintings,
and decide on the approach
you want; some works use
more detail, while some focus
more on the colour and the
shapes in the picture. From
here, you can discover a world
of inspiration, and thats
without touching on the postImpressionist world.

Begin brushing details

01

Start off with a small brush and work

on the eyes of your portrait. Brush the
details of the face and get used to the tool.
Choose the Dab option and try not to blur
the picture too much yet, as the subject is
the focus of the piece.

Build up brush strokes

02

Now start on the hair. Make your brush size a little

larger for this, then work on the rest of the body
and eventually the background. Experiment with
different styles and use bigger strokes for less focus.

Smudge the face

Brush and smudge more

Select the Smudge tool and start smudging the hair more
realistic look. Move on to the features of the face; follow the
curves of the picture, and this will add more detail.

03

04

Bring out colours

Touch up overall

05

06

Sort the colouring and contrast of the picture via the

Enhance option. Impressionism works well with pastel and
bright shades. For saturated pictures; select the subject and
duplicate that part of the picture to stand out from the backdrop.

Touch up the picture with more dabs and smudges. Try and
get the right balance so your painting looks both smudged
and painted. Use the Dodge tool on the eyes to whiten.

A nice nal touch is to add an overlay effect; youll nd canvas

and paint textures as free resources that can be pasted onto
your picture with a Soft Light blend mode. These give the illusion of a
real painting!

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 39

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Natural
landscapes

AERIAL PERSPECTIVE
Use a large brush to blur and
smudge the background;
it gives a great sense of
distance and texture.

Create an idyllic,
painted landscape
using the same
dabbing techniques
Landscapes might be easier than
portraits to paint, but theres a
similar fine line of deftness involved
when it comes to bringing out the
details in a scene. By following the
same steps as portrait painting,
you can re-imagine beautiful rolling
hills as an oil-painted masterpiece;
the trick, though, is in knowing
where to apply the techniques on a
larger scale.

Theres a similar
ne line of deftness
involved when it
comes to bringing
out the details in
a scene

STAY BRIGHT
If colours feel a little dull,
use the Soft Light blend
mode in order to bring back
some colour.

Deftly paint details

Build up brush size

Adjust colouring & overlays

01

02

03

Were going to focus on the details of

this picture, particularly the trees and
the edges of the mountains. Use a small
brush and increase size as you move onto
less focused parts of the image.
SIZE, OPACITY
AND MODE
Choose how big and
how prominent you
want your brush to
be with these trusty
appearance options.

BRUSH
Select a soft brush for
a true Impressionist
feel, but experiment
with various styles to
collage your painting.

40 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Create aerial perspective by using a

bigger brush in the far distance.
When working on landscape pieces, this
blurriness works well; in this case it looks
foggy. Try tight medium brushes on the sky.

Then add a textured overlay; a new

layer with a blend mode of Soft Light

and Opacity of 50% to paint colour where
needed. With Impressionism, brighter
paintings often look more painting-like.
STYLE
Decide whether you
want to paint with
dabs, strokes or curls,
and how big those
strokes should be.

TOLERANCE
You can focus on
a certain colourbased area when
painting, but choose
a Tolerance of 0% for
full control.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Portrait and
landscape
Incorporate the two
painting techniques into
one picture

BACKDROP
Begin painting details in the
background and increase
the brush size as you go to
establish depth of eld.

Now weve covered how to create a portrait and

how to shape a landscape, how about combining
the two? Its not quite as simple as merging the
two pictures together, as the focus of a photo
with both a subject and a background is slightly
different to the two pictures on their own. Lets
assess the focus of a photo with both a strong
foreground and background.

Start image

Its not as simple as merging

the two pictures together

Paste the subject

SUBJECT

01

Select your subject from its original

photo using the Quick Selection tool
and the Rene Edge tool. Paste them into
the new picture and position them
realistically into the piece. Adjust light if need
be (Enhance>Adjust Lighting).

Though the most

focus must go on the
subject, it doesnt have
to be quite as detailed
as with a portrait.

Merge and brush

Smudge where necessary

Finish up

02

03

04

Merge the foreground and the

background together and begin
dabbing details with the Impressionist brush.
Remember that facial features arent so
important when the viewers focus isnt
solely on the foreground.

Were not going to smudge the

details of our subjects face too
much in this picture, as shes sharing the
focus with the backdrop. More extensive
smudging can be made on the hair and the
background of the picture, though.

Once brushed completely, add

overlays or lters and use bigger
brush sizes to show focus in the picture. Big
brushes work well in leafy paintings, and
smaller brushes are good for adding detail
to the trunks of trees.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 41

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Sta
imargte

Learn to love
the Liquify filter

Source files
available

Discover how the Liquify filter can be a fun and creative way to
enhance your Photoshop creations

he Liquify filter isnt new to

Photoshop, but over the years, Adobe
has added new features that have
really improved this tool, especially in the
new CC version.
The Liquify filter allows you to make
distortions by pulling, pushing and rotating
the pixels. Here we will work on three
different projects, each one covering the most

42 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

useful Liquify tools. You will learn to retouch

photos, fix imperfections and create effects.
Working with Liquify requires practice. The
brush settings will constantly change, and the
key here is to use a large brush with low
pressure and gentle strokes to apply effects.
This tutorial was created using Adobe CC.
Depending on the version you are using,
some of the tools described in the steps will

not be available, such as the Smooth tool. If

youre using the early versions of Photoshop
or Elements, you can use the Pucker tool to
smooth things out by simply dragging around
the edges to create an effect. So have a go
and try this tutorial anyway, play with the
tools that are available, and see how you can
take full advantage of the Liquify filter to
transform your photos.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Add melting effects Use Liquify to create a melting effect

Place the images

Start melting

Go to File>Open Background.jpg. Now go to File>Place

Camera.jpg and Rasterize the layer (Filter>Rasterize>
Smart Object). Grab the Quick Selection tool (W) and select
the Camera. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate it.

01

02

Create a new layer

Clip the layers

03

04

Add a New Layer under the Cameras layer. On the

toolbar, select the foreground colour; use colour
#0e131d. Choose a hard brush and paint the effect.

Head to Filter>Liquify. Select the Freeze Mask tool and mask the
top half of the camera. Grab the Forward Warp tool (W), set the
brush Size to 250, the Density to 100 and the Pressure to 40. Push the
bottom pixels out to create the effect.

Merge the layers, then place Texture.jpg and clip the layers.
Create a layer mask (Layer>Layer Mask> Reveal All). Use a soft
tipped brush to mask out the lens and some parts of the camera.

Place more images

Create more composition

Add shadows and highlights

05

06

07

Place Lava.jpg. Drag the corners to

resize, use the Warp mode to
reshape and hit Enter. Set the blend mode
to Screen. Rasterize the layer, open Levels
(Cmd/Ctrl+L), adjust the shadows and click
OK. Place more images and clip the layers.

Place the Fire.jpg and Smoke.jpg.

Use the handlers to resize and hit
Enter. Change the blending mode to Screen,
and on the Layers palette set the Fill to 45%.
Place as many images as you want, to create
a nice composition.

Click on the Camera layer and open

a new layer. Name it Dodge and
Burn. Change the blend mode to Overlay,
check Fill with Overlay-neutral colour and
click OK. Grab the Dodge and Burn tool and
paint in shadows and highlights.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 43

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Retouch a portrait

Use the Liquify lter to retouch photos

Find the Liquify filter

01

Open Portrait.jpg. Duplicate the layer

(Cmd/Ctrl+J) and go to Filter>Liquify.
Grab the Forward Warp tool (W) and select
the Advanced Mode. Set the Size to 250, the
Density to 80 and the Pressure to 20. Check
the Stylus Pressure if using a graphics tablet.

Retouch the face

02

First we will retouch the face. Place

the brush cursor adjacent to the
edges, click and hold down and with short
and gentle strokes, start pushing the pixels
inwards to make the face thinner.

Start
images

Smooth the edges

Retouch the nose

Use the Smooth tool (E) to help

smooth out the irregular edges.
Change the brush Size to 200, Density to 40
and Pressure to 20. Place the brush cursor
over the faces contour, then click and drag
the cursor around the face.

03

04

Add extra touches

Create an Alpha Channel

Add finishing touches

06

07

08

Create a new layer. Name it Dodge

and Burn. Set the blend mode to
Overlay, check Fill with Overlay-neutral
colour and click OK. Grab the Burn tool, set
the Range to Midtones and the Exposure to
30% to paint the lips and 50% to paint the iris.

44 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Grab the Forward Warp tool (W)

and set the brush Size to 200,
Density to 80 and Pressure to 20. Use the
Zoom tool (Z) to magnify the image, and
start pushing the sides of the nose inwards
to make it thinner.

Merge all. Duplicate the blue channel

(Windows>Channels), increase the
contrast and then Dodge and Burn slightly.
Set the Range to Highlights/Shadows, the
Exposure to 100% and paint over black/
white areas.

Make the eyes bigger

05

Grab the Bloat tool. Set the brush

Size to 300 and the Density to 50.
Place the brush cursor over the eyes and
click twice to make the eyes a little bigger.
Then click OK.

Select the RGB channel and press

F7. Go to Select>Load Selection,
choose the Blue Channel, copy and click OK.
Press Delete to get rid of the background.
Now go to File and Place Park.jpg, behind
the Portrait layer to create a composition.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Create a caricature Get more creative with Liquify

Paint over the features

Push the pixels

Reshape the chin

Open Boss.jpg. Select the image and

hit Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate it. Go to
Filter>Liquify. Use the Freeze Mask tool (F),
set the brush Size to 200, Density to 50,
Pressure to 100, and paint over the eyes,
nose and ears.

01

Select the Forward Warp tool (W).

Set the brush Size to 300, Density
to 80 and Pressure to 20. First, push the
forehead inwards and then push the whole
head to make it smaller. Use short strokes
and change the brush size.

02

03

Use the Thaw Mask tool

Stretch the nose

Bring the details back

04

05

06

Erase the Freeze Mask using the

Thaw Mask tool (D). Use the
Forward Warp tool to push the pixels and
make the ears bigger and the cheeks wider.
The square brackets will alter the brush size.

With the Forward Warp tool, push

the pixels to stretch the nose and
make it wider. Grab the Pucker tool, set the
brush Size to 200. Place the cursor over the
eyes and click to make them smaller.

Start working on the neck and chin.

Gently push the pixels outwards.
You may need to increase the brush size and
pressure to work on the areas around the
shoulder and neck. Use the square brackets
to increase and decrease the brush size.

Select the Smooth tool (E) to

restore details. Set the brush Size to
100 and drag the edges. Vary the brush size
and drag it over areas where the pixels are
damaged. Click OK.

Set the scene

07

Duplicate the layer (Cmd/Ctrl+J).

Change the layers blending mode
to Overlay. Go to Filter>Other>High Pass, set
the Radius to 2 px and click OK. Then go to
File>Place Office.jpg.

Start
images
Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 45

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

GO FOR BLOCKS
Use the Magic Wand
to pick out blocks
of colour and your
selections will be
quick and effortless.

Source files
available

Wield the
Magic Wand tool
Start
image

Know when to use the simplest of tools, and select with ease

he Magic Wand is one of the most intuitive tools that

Photoshop or Elements can offer; the clue is in the name. We
expect it to just know exactly what we want selected.
The reality is that many find the Magic Wand doesnt offer much
flexibility. Most people prefer the Quick Selection or a Lasso, and the
Wand gets ignored. Is it too simple for complex selecting jobs?
The trick is to match the tool to the right situation. What the Magic
Wand does perfectly is select a block of colour. Its even quicker than a

46 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Quick Selection if you want to locate a certain shade in a picture, and

by understanding how to set the Tolerance, you can learn to select
even more or less than ever before. Youll be surprised at how accurate
such a speedy tool can be.
The Magic Wand is often just the beginning of an editing process.
Its the starting point for a big subject selection, or its a marker to
search for similar colours in a picture. Lets look at the basics of the
tool, and find out exactly what the Magic Wand can conjure up.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Select by magic Make or prime the perfect selection with the Magic Wand

Select the tool

Set the Tolerance

Select the Magic Wand tool from the icon on the left-hand side
of Elements, or Photoshop if youre using it. Make sure you tick
Contiguous and Anti-alias before you start selecting. Decide on what
you want to select; the Magic Wand works best on block colours.

01

02

Point and click

Add and subtract

03

04

Simply click on the object you wish to select in the picture: it

really is that easy! The Magic Wand works best when theres a
specic colour that you wish to select, as opposed to the Quick
Selection tool that selects whole objects, but neither tool is perfect.

Tolerance refers to how your selection reacts to the colours

around it. If the Tolerance is low, the Magic Wand will select
specic shades of colour; if the Tolerance is high, it will select similar
colours around the selection. Set a low Tolerance for accuracy.

Use the Add and Subtract icons at the bottom of the screen
to perfect the selection you have made. They are useful for
selecting similar shades so that you can get the shape of an object
rather than just the main colour of it.

Work with the Wand Which other selection tools can I use with the Magic Wand?

Lassos

Selection Brush

Quick Selection

There are more accurate tools that the

Magic Wand that can nish a job. By using
the Wand rst, you need only touch the
edges with the Lasso tool!

The Selection Brush is good at covering the

corners that the Magic Wand missed out.
Simply select the width youd like, and use it
as you would any other brush.

The Quick Selection tool might be imprecise

when youre in a hurry, but that doesnt
mean it cant improve a Magic Wand
selection. Just drag to selection.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 47

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Source files
available

48 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Stylise with
gradients
Use the Gradient tool to make your portraits stand
out from the crowd

ou can learn how to add a creative

twist to your portraits by replicating a
gel lighting effect in Photoshop. Gel
lighting can be achieved in the photo studio
using a flash, which is covered by coloured
gels. However, this technique can be complex
if you want more than one colour hue, and it
is hard to control the end result. In Photoshop
however, you can get this effect using
gradients, which can be customised with
colours and adjusted in shape and size to suit
your shot.
For the best results youll need a good start
image. A black-and-white, high-key studio

portrait works particularly well, as the gradient

will only attach to the midtones and shadow
areas in the shot. If youre shooting your own
start image for the tutorial, ensure youre
working in well-lit, neutral space. Use flash to
fill in dark shadows and dont be afraid of
blowing out the highlights.
Then you can follow our 14-step guide
below, as we show you how to enhance the
high-key effect with Curves, and convert the
entire image to black and white. You will
discover how to apply and customise a
gradient in just a few easy-to-follow steps.
Lets get started!

Start image

Crop closer

Convert to black and white

01

02

Open your high-key image in Photoshop and crop in close.

Click on the crop tool in the tools palette and select the
entire image. Now hold Shift, to constrain proportions, and drag up
one of the corners. Reposition and hit enter.

Enhance the
highlights

03

Now heighten
the high-key
effect using the Curves
tool. Select Curves from
the bottom of the layers
palette, and add two
anchor points at either
end of the diagonal line.
Now pull the top anchor
point to the left to
brighten the highlights.

To ensure the effect shows, select Black & White from the
Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer tab at the bottom of
the layers palette. Adjust the colour sliders in the dialog box to
enhance the tonal contrast in the conversion.

A black-and-white,
high-key studio portrait
works particularly
well, as the gradient
will only attach to the
midtones and shadow
areas in the shot

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 49

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Expert edit
Black & white adjustment

Select Lighten preset

01

Open your colour capture

and select the Black & White
adjustment tool from the layers palette.
In dialog box, select Lighter from the
drop down menu to start.

Lighten the shadows

Add a gradient layer

04

05

To lighten the shadows, select the

bottom anchor point and slowly
pull it towards the left. This will help to
reduce the contrast in the capture, so that
the gradient you add next will have a more
noticeable effect on the entire image.

You can now select Gradient from

the Create New Fill or Adjustment
Layer tab in the layers palette. To adjust the
gradient type and the colours, double click
on the Gradient within the dialog box to bring
up the Gradient Editor.

Select a preset

06

Once the
Gradient
Editor opens, you will
be able to select a
gradient type from
the Presets menu. A
gradient with at least
two or three colours
works really well for
this sort of effect. You
can also load and
preview other gradient
effects via the arrow
icon above the
Presets menu. So
experiment with
different effects to get
what you want!

Highlight the skin

02

Lighten the skin tone by slowly

dragging the Reds slider to the
right. Dont go too far here or youll start
to loose the texture of the skin and
definition in the facial features.

Define the eyes

03

Do the same with the Yellow

slider as you did with the Red.
Bring out definition in the eye area by
pulling the Cyan and Blue sliders towards
the right.

Customise the colour

Darken the lips

04

Push the Magenta slider slightly

to the left to darken the lip area.
Adjustments to each slider will vary
depending on the lighting and colours in
the original capture, so work slowly.

50 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

07

Ensure the Gradient Type is set to

Solid and the Smoothness is set to
100%. You can also change the colours in
your gradient by double clicking on one of
the colour arrows below the gradient
preview. Simply select your preferred Hue
from the Color Picker box.

Select a different hue

08

It is possible to change each colour

within the gradient using the same
process and the Color Picker dialog box.
Just make sure that the colours
complement each other so that they blend
together within the gradient.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Adjust the blend

Select a linear style

Change the gradient angle

You can also adjust the position of

colours if you want some tones to
appear longer in the gradient. Move the
colour arrow left or right, and then adjust the
colour midpoint dots either side for a
smoother blend with the hues on each side.

09

Once youre happy with the gradient

type and colours, click OK. Now
adjust the style of gradient. For a subtle
blend, select Linear from the drop-down
menu. You can always change this later by
double clicking on the gradient layer again.

10

11

Blend the layer

Tweak the results

Flatten layers and save

12

13

14

To blend the gradient over the

black-and-white image, youll need to
click on the gradient layer and select Overlay
from the layer blending mode menu at the
top. You can reduce the gradients strength
by adjusting the opacity slider.

If the angle, position or style of the

gradient isnt working, double click on
the gradient layer and tweak the settings.
You can add another colour via the Gradient
Editor box. Simply click between two existing
colour arrows to add another colour.
ADD ANOTHER HUE

CHANGE THE COLOUR

Double-click on the new
colour point in the Gradient
Editor to bring up the Color
Picker box. Here you can
select the colour you want to
add to the gradient.

To add another colour

to your gradient, click
between two existing
colour points on the
gradient and a new
customisable colour
point will be added.

Now adjust the angle of the Gradient to

around 45, which will help ensure the
full gradient appears over the model. You
can also reduce the scale of the gradient if
youve chosen one with multiple colours and
want them all to appear. Then click OK.

Once youre happy with the final

results of your creative gradient
blend, youll need to flatten all of the working
layers by going to Layers>Flatten image. You
can now Save or Print your artwork via the
File menu.

Closer look
Adjusting the
gradient
Add colours to a gradient
SAVE YOUR GRADIENT
Once youve created your custom
gradient, name and save it with the
Gradient Editor box. You can use it
again on future projects, as it will be
located in the Presets menu.

CONTROL THE WIDTH

By moving one of the colour
midpoints, you can control the width
of the new hue in the gradient, and
determine how smoothly it blends
with the colours on each side.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 51

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

CLONED OUT
Remove unwanted
areas easily by using
basic settings.

Source files
available

Conquer the
Clone Stamp tool

Start image

Stamp your authority all over an image with this intelligent brush

loning is one of the most time-consuming, patience-testing

tricks that you can master in Photoshop, but like most things
that require skill and effort, the results can be stunning.
Cloning is often used as a touch-up tool for photos, as it brushes
over an image, using the original as a basis. It relies on the Opt/Alt key;
press on whatever you want to be your guide, and then brush away,
replacing an area with another part of a photo. It can be used to heal
blemishes or even just face-swap. Its simple enough to learn, but there

52 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

can be hours spent touching up your photos once youve mastered

how to use the stamp.
Sure, it might take so much precision that you wonder halfway
through: would it be quicker to just set this sheep free from the field,
and photograph it again without the fence in the way? However, in the
end, there are few things more satisfying in Photoshop than completing
a masterful clone. Read on and learn some techniques and ideas to
turn you into a cloning pro.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Cleanly delete obstructions Erase fencing and more by cloning it out

Familiarise yourself with settings

Begin cloning

You can change the Brush, Size and Hardness, and theres an
option to align or clone. Choose 50% Opacity and a soft brush.
This will allow you to touch up and be more accurate.

01

02

Clone strands

Watch for duplication

03

04

When cloning strands like hair or grass, make sure you clone
them specically. Never clone up to the edge of subjects or
strands, because then you create soft and unbelievable edges.

Press Opt/Alt+click to select the patch you want to duplicate.

Then brush over your chosen area. Remember to choose an
area of a similar tone and colour.

To clone believably, make sure you dont leave obviously

cloned parts of the image. If youve cloned a patch, clone
over the original spot, otherwise the effect becomes obvious.

Additional uses Create a composite with the Clone tool

Clone whole forests

Swap fur texture

Novelty effects

Trees can be hard to select, but why let that

stop you creating a forest? Simply clone one
tree all over the picture by adding a new
layer for each one.

You can clone between pictures. Simply set

the Opt/Alt option on one picture and then
clone it onto your destination. You can
create incredible effects.

Rather than duplicating a photo, set a mask

and brush through the mask. Then clone
with a big soft brush and you can create
quick yet effective novelty features.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 53

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Have fun with the

Warp tool
Learn new tricks to create fantastic effects using the Warp tool
and basic commands

hen it comes to creating unexpected effects in Photoshop,

we often think about filters and layers styles, but there
are so many tools and techniques that can be applied in
different ways, creating the most imaginative and unusual effects.
In this tutorial we are going to take a look at the Warp tool and the
warp presets to create a hybrid beetle, both in the car sense as well as
the insect sense. The Warp tool is ideal to map objects to curved
surfaces and is easy to control; just push or pull the corner anchors

54 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

and meshes to create the effect. Although the Warp tool is easy to
master, this tutorial is a bit more challenging. In order to create the
effect youll need to cut the car into pieces, reshape it and then stick it
back together. There are many layers and youll need to merge some of
them and duplicate others, which can be a little confusing, but dont
worry, just follow each step closely and you will be able to re-create
this tutorial and learn new skills to use in future projects. Download the
PSD file and the start images from the FileSilo and have some fun.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Start
images

Set the background

01

Create a new document. Go to File>New (Cmd/Ctrl+N). Name it

Bug_car, set the Width to 460mm, Height to 310mm and
Resolution to 300. Click OK. Now go to File>Place Flowers.jpg. Resize the
image and hit Return/Enter. Go to Filter>Blur> Gaussian Blur, set Radius to
25px and hit OK.

Place the ladybug

02

Go to File>Place Ladybug.png. Resize to 160% and hit

Return/Enter. Go to Layer>Rasterize>Smart Object.
Grab the Magic Eraser tool (Shift+E), set Tolerance to 20,
uncheck the Contiguous box and click on the background to
erase it. Zoom in (Z). Grab the regular Eraser tool (Shift+E) and
rub out the irregular edges.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 55

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Place the car

Select each part

03

04

Go to File>Place Car.jpg and hit

Return/Enter. Grab the Pen tool (P)
and create a path around the rear fender.
On the toolbar click Make Selection, leave
the Feather Radius at 0 pixels, check
Anti-aliased and click OK. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+J to
duplicate the selection, name it Rear Fender.

Now repeat the last step and select

each part of the car. Youll place
each part in its own layer and name it
accordingly. Grab the Pen tool and create a
path around the hood, front fenders,
bumper, door and roof. Make a selection,
duplicate it and name each layer.

Select and resize layers

05

Delete the Car layer. Hold down

Shift and select all the layers with car
parts. Open the Free Transform tool (Cmd/
Ctrl+T). Hold down Shift and drag the corner
handle to scale proportionally. Now move it
over the ladybug.

Layer structure
A breakdown of the process

Final
adjustments

Use the Warp tool

Magnify
glass

Lens

06

Select the Door_roof layer (click the

visibility icon in order to hide the
content for the other parts). Next, go to
Edit>Transform> Warp or hit Cmd/Ctrl+T.
Drag the anchor points and mesh segments
in order to distort the image. Try to follow the
curves on the ladybugs wing and reshape
the car over it.

Warp each part

07

Warp the other car parts. Try to

create a nice shape; you have to rely
on your eyes to create the effect. You may
need to warp the image more than once.
You can also add a layer mask to hide
unwanted areas and change the layer order
if needed.

Warp layer

Car

Ladybug

Background

56 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Merge and duplicate

Add a layer mask

08

09

Hold down Shift, select all parts of

the car. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate
and Cmd/Ctrl+E to merge. Duplicate the
merged layer (Cmd/Ctrl+J ), name it Colour.
Hit Cmd/Ctrl+U to open the Hue/Saturation
adjustment. Check Colorize, set Hue to 0,
Saturation to 85 and Lightness to 0. Click OK.

Keep the Colour layer selected and

add a layer mask (Layer>Layer
Mask>Reveal All). Grab a soft tip black brush
and paint over the windows, bumper, mirror
and lights to show the chrome areas
underneath. Select the Car and Colour
layers and hit Cmd/Ctrl+E to merge.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Create a snapshot

Create the lens

Add a fish-eye effect

10

11

12

To blend the car and the ladybug,

add another layer mask. Grab a soft
tip black brush and paint the door and
fenders to hide the hard edges. Create a
snapshot, Shift+Cmd/Ctrl+Opt/Alt+E and
name it Snapshot. Go to File>Place
Magnify.png, move it to the bottom-left
corner and hit Return/Enter.

Grab the Magic Wand (W) and click

inside the magnify glass. Create a new
layer underneath (Shift+Cmd/Ctrl+N), name
it Lens. Fill with white. Set the Fill to 20%. Go
to Layer>Layer Style. Check Bevel & Emboss
set Size to 40px, check Inner Shadow set
Opacity to 50%, Distance to 30px, Choke to
0% and Size to 250px, then click OK.

Closer look
Key tools and techniques

ERASER TOOLS
Use the Magic Eraser tool to erase pixels
around a hard-edged object. Increase
or decrease the Tolerance value to help
erase a wider or narrower range of pixels.

Keep the Lens selection active and

then click on the Snapshot layer. Go
to Select>Modify>Contract by 100px and
click OK. Now go to Edit>Transform>Warp. In
the tool option bar click Custom, choose
Fisheye and hit Return/Enter. As a final
touch add a lens flare over the hood (Filter>
Render>Lens Flare).

WARP PRESETS
Apply a variety of predened
shapes to your images by choosing
the warp styles from the Custom
pop-up menu in the options bar.

ADJUSTMENTS
Apply the Hue/Saturation adjustment to
change the colour or lightness intensity,
or make tonal corrections to change the
appearance of your image.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 57

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Discover the
Crop tool
Discover a world of possibility within the most
basic of tools in Photoshop

or most Photoshop users, the Crop tool is possibly the simplest

tool of all, used only at the end of an edit to tidy everything up.
But as is the case with so many of Photoshops most fundamental
features, theres a good amount of artistic flair that can be unlocked
with simple picture shaping.
Cropping doesnt just get rid of excess space from your image; it
helps create a focal point, it can change perspective in a piece, and it
can subliminally shift a viewers eyes to whats important. It really is a
subtle yet powerful way to improve a picture it only takes a couple of
clicks and its one of the easiest things to do with Photoshop, thanks
to the helpful grids, overlays and exact ratios.
So while its the case that most beginners will only crop their photos
by eye, there are more accurate ways to make sure your picture is
geometrically perfect, with features you might not even knew existed.
Here are some tips and tricks that will change the way you think about
cropping, to help you frame your work just as a photographer would.
After all, the better your crop, the more focused your image!

Source files
available
ALTER PERSPECTIVE
Use the Crop tool
to quickly alter the
perspective of an image.

Start image

58 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

The Perspective Crop Warp the angle of a photo to give it a new spin

Select options

01

Firstly, select the Perspective Crop

tool from the same place as the
normal Crop and identify which perspective
you actually want to change: it cant be too
steep an angle to edit, otherwise the picture
will just be stretched.

Set the markers

02

Choose what youd like to give

perspective to by drawing around it
with the four markers. Remember that the
edges of your crop selection will form the
edges of your picture, so line up exactly what
you want to be left with: the overlay grid can
also help with this!

And now crop

03

Simply double-click to crop, just as

you would normally. If you wish to
resize the image, use the resize buttons
across the lengths of the crop selection and
not the corners, as this will keep the aspect
ratio of the shape.

Other crop options More features and shortcuts to make cropping even easier

Ratio

Straighten

It can be a nightmare measuring the exact size you want a photo to

be, but thankfully theres a ratio selection across the top bar with
common proportions to pick from.

Rotating the crop selection can help level out a photo, but you can
get a precise measurement of how many degrees you are out, by
using the Straighten tool. It lines up your horizon so that its parallel.

Grids

Delete cropped pixels

You can change the crop grid, whether youre looking for a golden
ratio or you just prefer to focus with diagonal lines. These grids can
make it easier to focus on a single subject in the centre of a piece.

If you want to permanently remove the section of your photo that

hasnt been cropped, you can. This enables you to tick the box to
delete the surrounding image for good or not.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 59

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

60 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Get imaginative
with clipping
masks

Start
images

Go beyond basic clipping masks to create a unique

centrepiece for an eye-catching portrait

clipping mask is a layer that uses its

contents to dictate the visibility of one
or more layers above it. They allow for
precise framing and placement, and can be the
gateway to imaginative visual concepts.
At least two layers are required to form a
clipping mask. To create one, just hold Opt/Alt
key and click between the two layers.
You can still edit each layer independently. To
add more layers to the clipping mask, just
place a layer above the last clipped layer, then
repeat the shortcut command to clip those
layers together.

In this tutorial, well go beyond using basic

shapes. Well start with a flower, then
duplicate, position, and merge to create a
complex organic structure. Well then place
the model above and create the clipping
mask. Shapes, adjustment layers and
typographic flourishes will be added to
complete the composition.
Use what you learn to create your own
unique clipping masks. Combine different
shapes, utilise semi-transparency in areas, add
layer styles tap into your imagination and go
mask wild!

Duplicate flower

01

Open Start.psd from the resources. Duplicate the flower

several times (Cmd/Ctrl+J) and use Free Transform (Cmd/
Ctrl+T) to scale and position. Set the duplicates to Multiply so they
blend together.

Designate clipping
mask

03

Designate the top

layer as the mask and
situate centrally. Lower the
Opacity of the other
instances to 45-60%, and
apply layers masks with the
icon in the Layers palette. Use
a soft, round brush at
60-80% Opacity to reduce.

Merge and duplicate

02

In the Layers palette, select the bottom flower layer then

Shift-click the top one to select all. Press Cmd/Ctrl+E to
merge. (Photoshop, right-click, choose Convert to Smart Object).
Duplicate (Cmd/Ctrl+J) several times. Go to Free Transform (Cmd/
Ctrl+T) to position, scale and rotate.

Clipping masks allow

for precise framing and
placement, and can be the
gateway to imaginative
visual concepts

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 61

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Create clipping mask

04

Select the top layer. Go to File>

Place, add Model.jpg. Opt/Alt-click
between the top two layers. After you have
created the mask, you can Free Transform
the flower mask and the model
independently to enjoy the optimal sizing
and placement.

Seeing double

07

Set the Foreground colour to white.

Now use the Ellipse tool (set to
Shape in Photoshop) to create circles below
the model. Vary the Opacity from 50% to
100%. Set Foreground colour to black and
create one circle, top-right, at 50% Opacity.

Gradient circles

05

Place CircleGradient.png and

CircleGradientReverse.png.
Duplicate each several times and position
above and below the model. Use Free
Transform to vary the scale, and change the
Opacity from 25% to 80% so they overlap.

Make them glow

06

Place CircleGlow.png above the

model. Drop the Opacity to 50%.
Select the Move tool. Opt/Alt+click and drag
to simultaneously duplicate and position.
Repeat this a few times.

Add flower texture

Desaturate texture

08

09

Select the top layer. Place Flowers.

jpg. Set the blend mode to Pin Light
and Opacity to 60%. Option/Alt+click the
Add Layer Mask icon in the Layers palette.
Now paint back with white and a soft, round
brush at 60% Opacity to paint some of the
texture back in.

Click the Create New Adjustment

Layer button in the Layers palette,
choose Hue/Saturation. Slide Saturation to
-100. Create a clipping mask (Opt/Alt+Click
between the layers). Paint black in the
adjustment mask at 20% Opacity to restore
some colour.

A starry texture

Boost up contrast

10

11

Place the Stars.jpg image. Set the blend mode to Soft Light and
drop the Opacity to 60%. Apply a layer mask with the icon in the
Layers palette. Paint black at 60% Opacity in the mask to reduce in areas
like the face.

62 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Click the Create New Adjustment Layer button in the

Layers palette, choose Hue/Saturation. Slide Saturation to
-100. Set the blend mode to Soft Light to restore the colour and
provide contrast.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Expert tip
Adjustment
layer masks

New Gradient Fill

12

From the same menu, choose

Gradient Fill. Pick the Yellow, Violet,
Orange, Blue preset at 45 degrees. Tick
Reverse. Set the blend mode to Color
Dodge and Opacity to 80%. Paint black in
the mask at 50% Opacity to reduce.

Increase the colour

14

Apply another Solid Color fill layer but

this time pick #ffd200 for the new
colour. Set the blend mode to Screen again,
and paint black in the mask to lessen the
impact in certain areas.

Apply Screen colouring

13

Go to Layer>New Fill Layer and choose Solid

Color. Pick #e124ae for the colour code. Set
blend mode to Screen and paint black into the mask
at 50% Opacity to reduce in areas.

Using layer masks is integral

to utilising the adjustment
layers correctly in this image.
Without them, most of the
adjustments are too potent
to apply canvas-wide. Layer
masks enable us to pinpoint
the colouring effects of
Color Fill and Gradient Fill
layers, and also to limit the
application of balancing
effects such as Levels and
Vibrance. Be sure to use
soft, round brushes for best
results, and adjust brush
opacity and size as needed.

Apply Vivid Light

Increase the saturation

15

16

Add the last Solid Color fill layer and

pick #087bc0 for the colour. Set
blend mode to Vivid Light. Click the mask
and press Cmd/Ctrl+I to invert. Now paint
back with white at 50% Opacity to apply on
the right side.

Click the Create New Adjustment

Layer button, choose Vibrance
(Elements, use Hue/Saturation). Slide both
Vibrance (Photoshop only) and Saturation
to +100. Invert the mask (Cmd/Ctrl+I), then
paint back with white at 50% to apply.

Self-multiply

Add typographic flourishes

17

18

Click the Create New Adjustment Layer button and choose Levels.
Dont actually adjust anything in the Levels dialog, just set the
blend mode to Multiply. Paint black in the masks central area and edges
at 80% Opacity to reduce.

Select the Type tool. Choose a script font like Bickham

Script Pro, a large font size, and white font colour. Add an
A and position for best fit. Continue adding more letters using
different sizes and colour.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 63

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Easily build a 3D scene

Learn how to model, texture, light and render a tabletop scene
completely within Photoshop

or many Photoshop artists, the 3D

toolset remains a bit of a mystery.
Photoshop doesnt claim to be a 3D
modelling and animation package at the same
level of Maya or 3ds Max, but the basic 3D
features it does contain can produce some
stunning results.
The modelling features are probably the
most mysterious. Artists tend to import

64 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

3D models from other software to work

with. Photoshops modelling capabilities
are mostly limited to extrudes and revolves,
but even that is surprisingly sufficient for
many projects.
In this tutorial we will explore how to model
an entire tabletop scene completely within
Photoshop. Then we will dig into building up
the materials library to include complex

surface materials like glass and metal. We will

even work with some Image Based Lighting to
get outstanding rendered reflections,
refractions and shadows.
If youve ever wanted to learn what all the
fuss over the 3D tools was about, this is the
project to get you started. We think once you
get a taste of what is possible, you will be
hungry for more!

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Sketch the wine glass

Revolve a glass

01

02

Create a new file at 240mm x 210mm

and use the Pen tool to sketch out a
half profile of a wine glass. The shape needs
to be closed, so continue the path into the
cup portion of the glass and connect the
path down the stem.

Go to 3D>New 3D Extrusion from

Selected Path. Photoshop switches
to the 3D workspace. Set the Shape Preset
to Bend X 360 Right and set the Extrusion
Depth to 0 px. The result should look like a
3D wine glass.

Add the wine

03

The wine inside the glass needs to

be its own element. Use the glass
path as a guide and create a closed, half
profile shape of the wine. Extrude that path
using the same method as the glass.

Create the cork

Create a wine bottle

04

Draw out the profile path for the wine bottle. Remember to
make it a closed shape before extruding it, and be sure to leave
an opening at the mouth of the bottle. If you draw the right side, then
change the Deformation Axis on the extrusion to be on the left.

05

To create the cork, use a circle shape and a regular

extrusion, not the rotation. In the Shape Preset settings,
set the Taper to 95%. In the Cap settings, set the Sides to Front
and Back, the Bevel Width to 45, Inflate Angle to 90, and
Strength to 11%.

Make the handle

Add the twist

Make the cheese wheel

06

07

08

Create another half profile for the

corkscrew handle. Be sure the edge
for the rotation is straight and use the
rotation extrusion again to complete the
handle. Extrude a circle again to create a
cylinder for the upper part of the corkscrew.

Use a similar sized circle for the

corkscrew extrusion, but start with
the Twist 540 Right preset to create the
basis for the corkscrew. In the Deform
settings, set the Extrusion Depth to 113, Twist
to 2400 and Taper to 12%.

Revolve yet another profile curve for

the cheese wheel. To create the
triangular cutout area, go to the Deform
settings and set the Horizontal Angle to 305.
This controls how far the curve is rotated to
create the solid shape.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 65

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Expert tip
Retouch
renders
Just because the primary
portion of the project is
done as a 3D render, dont
forget you are using the most
powerful image-retouching
software around. Its much
easier and faster to make
minor retouching edits
after the render, than it is
to change a property and
re-render the whole scene.
In our nal project here,
we added some additional
lighting, colourisation, dodge
and burn, and even a subtle
lens effect after the render
was completed.

Add wooden planks

Set the scene

09

10

Open the fence-19544.jpg image

and drag it into the scene. Go to
3D>New Mesh from Layer>Postcard to
transform the photo into a flat 3D plane that
can be rotated around and positioned within
the scene.

Select all the 3D layers and go to 3D>Merge 3D

Layers to create a single 3D scene. Rotate the
wood plane to be horizontal and use the Move to
Ground button in the coordinates panel. Then
position all the other objects and the camera to
create an interesting composition.

Group objects

Select Instance Objects

Download extra materials

11

12

13

Some elements are comprised of

multiple pieces, like the corkscrew and
the wine bottle with its cork. To position
these, group the individual meshes together
with 3D>Group objects. The 3D panel will
show these assembled in a group folder.

Instances are duplicates of an object

that are quicker to render and still
connected to the original object properties.
Right-click on the wine glass layer and select
Instance Object. Then reposition the new
glass. Create multiple corks in the same way.

Add materials

Assign materials

14

15

Now switch to the Materials focus of the 3D panel. In the

Properties panel there is a thumbnail for the selected
material. Just open that up and then click on the gear icon in
order to get the context menu. Load the Glass, Metal and
Wood material libraries.

66 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Go to 3D>Get More Content to

launch a web browser directly to
Adobes 3D content page. Find the section
for Versatile Materials and hit the Download
Materials link. Then open and install the
materials file.

Several of the objects can be assigned materials directly from the

library. Select all the glass material layers from the wine glass and
assign the Glass Smooth material from the library. There are also cork,
wood and steel materials for the objects that require those. The Orange
Peel material works well for the cheese block.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Customise the materials

16

Some of the objects will require

adjustments to the materials. For the
wine bottle, start with the Plastic Acrylic Blue
material. Change the colour to a deep
purple, Shine to 55%, Reflection to 16%,
Opacity to 82%, and Refraction to 1.49.

Align the texture

Download light images

17

18

To better align the wooden tabletop

texture, select the wood material and
click on the document icon next to the
Diffuse colour chip. Select Edit UV
Properties to get the Texture Properties
window. Here you can adjust the scale and
offset of the texture.

Light the scene

Render away!

19

20

Go to the Environment layer and in the Properties panel,

load a new file for the IBL (Image Based Light). In our
scene we selected the CreativeIBL-07-LightRigB.hdr file from
the Creative set downloaded in the previous step.

Go back to Adobes 3D Content page

and scroll down to the image-based
lights section. Download the Creative IBLs
and unzip the content. This contains three
folders of creative high-dynamic-range
environment images that can be used to
light your 3D scene in a realistic way.

Its time to put all the pieces together into a single rendered
image. At the bottom of the Properties panel is the Render
button. Or you can find it in the main 3D menu. Be prepared, scenes like
this with reflections and refractions can take a long time to render.

BOUNDING BOX
If the transform widget is getting
lost or confused, the outer
bounding box can also be used for
transform controls. Drag on edges
to rotate, and sides to move.

Closer look
Working with
3D objects
How to navigate a digital
3D realm
COORDINATES PANEL

SECONDARY WINDOW
Use this smaller, secondary
modelling window, set to a
different camera view, to
make sure objects are really
where they appear to be in
the primary view.

Use this handy panel to dial in object

position, rotation, and scale with
precision that is difcult to obtain with
the on-screen transform widgets.

3D PANEL
This is the central control centre for
working in 3D in Photoshop. Familiarise
yourself with each of the different
types of layers, environment, view,
meshes, materials and lights.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 67

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

DODGE
Dodge slightly over
the eyes, just to bring
out the rest of the
darkened effect.

Before

Master the Burn Tool

Add darkness and saturation in controlled measures, just by
using a simple, brush-like tool

he Burn tool is one of a pair. With

dodging and burning, you can add
perfect contrast to any photo, even
digital paintings, by brushing over the areas
you want to improve. Youve probably used
them one after the next; the Dodge tool to
lighten and the Burn tool to darken, but can
they be used apart?
The Dodge tool is a must-use in many
photo fixes; it can correct the whites of eyes,
yellowy teeth, and even just give a shine to an
object. The Burn tool, however, is perhaps less
used. It darkens pictures, applies a bit of
colour to a dark area, and can be used to
create HDR-style finishes, make subjects

68 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

stand out from their backgrounds, and even

give a vignette to a picture. Its just as versatile
as the Dodge tool, and its a simple feature
that can be used in almost any kind of picture.
But how can you get the best out of this
simple tool? Lets take a look at the basics of
the Burn, and a few instances in which you
can apply it.

It applies a bit of colour to

a dark area, and can be used
to create HDR-style nishes,
make subjects stand out
from their backgrounds

EXPERT TIP
What does it mean?

RANGE: The Range option determines

which areas are going to be darkened.
Choosing the Midtones means that the
picture as a whole gets darkened. By
choosing Highlights and Shadows,
though, you can be more
precise with the areas
to darken.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Apply the Burn tool Apply dark shades in controlled areas by brushing

Create a grey layer

Adjust settings

Create a new layer to burn on, rather than burning the actual
photo itself. Fill your new layer in with a neutral grey colour and
set this layer to Overlay. Any burning will show up, but wont edit it.

01

02

Think about your strokes

Add ner details

03

04

When using a large brush, its okay to raise the Exposure, but
be careful not to make multiple strokes, one over the next.
This will mean that youll have patches of differing darkness that will
stick out in the nal piece.

Experimenting with the brushes and the hardness settings, as

well as the Range and Exposure of the tool. Pick between
10-20%, and set the Range to Midtones.

Use a smaller brush and a low Exposure for the ne details.

Be sure to burn over the eyebrows, the space between the
eyebrows and the eyelids, and parts of the hair. Dont burn on the
face, as this can make a subject look aged and wrinkled.

Additional uses When else does the Burn tool come in handy?

Bring out colour

Make subjects pop

Add a vignette

The Burn tool is great for darkening, but it also

saturates a picture. By using the same neutral
grey layer technique, try burning over bright
skies in your picture to reveal more colour and
give them a bit of vibrancy.

Darkening and shading is a standard technique

used by artists for making other things stand out
and for adding contrast. Apply a burn all over a
picture, except for over a subject, to make people
stand out from their backgrounds.

Vignettes can give a classic effect and draw

attention to the centre of your pictures, simply by
adding darkness to the edges. Add your neutral
grey layer and burn around the outside of your
picture to create one in a hurry.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 69

Tricks
72 6 easy ways to paint

86

Learn different painting techniques

82 Master architectural visualisation

Craft your own building

86 Add a dispersion pixel effect

Use great effects on your portraits

90 Create a split tone effect

Make your monochrome portraits stand out

92 Pixel a portrait
Recreate portraits in pixel form

96 Build dynamic composites

82

Change the background on landscape shots

100 Forge a custom lens-flare effect

Go JJ Abrams on your photographs

102 Make macro composites

Create images within images with ease

106 Apply the bleach bypass effect

102

Use the effect on your photos

108 Transform a portrait with

blend modes
Discover how blend modes change images

112 Generate a lomo effect

Recreate Instagram effects easily

114 Style text effects

72

Use photographs to build striking text

118 Apply mystical smoke effects

Create a genie-like portrait
Create digital
painting from
your photos

70 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Its important to not limit your imagination and

try to experiment with different ideas

108

Give your
images
a new
season

Create stunning
pieces of artwork

96

90

92
Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 71

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

72 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

PAINT
6 EASY WAYS TO

Discover your inner artist when you realise digital painting

is actually easier than you first thought

ainting is one of the most magical things you can

learn to do in Photoshop. A well-crafted digital
painting really catches the eye like nothing else,
and there are so many styles and techniques out there
for you to learn and master!
But the truly great thing about Photoshop is that you
dont have to be a seasoned pro to paint like one.
Perhaps you struggled to put paintbrush to paper
when studying art at school, and have not attempted it
since, dismissing yourself as a painter and remaining in
your comfort zone. Thanks to Photoshop, you can be
the artist you always wanted to be.
The usual suspects play a huge role in creating a
great digital painting, and they are all easy to use if you
know how. Dry Media brushes can create fantastic

oil-painting effects; the Art History tool is extremely

versatile; and the Mixer Brush is great for creating a
stylish smudge effect. But actually, theres so much
more to painting than just brushing.
Its simple to apply the many techniques you learned
on photos and compositions to painting. Dodging and
burning, for example, can bring a painting to life, and
using blend modes can really highlight brush strokes,
just as it can bring out the colours in a photograph.
You can use blur filters, the Filter Gallery and even
basic lighting techniques and its more
straightforward than you might think.
If you love turning the ordinary into something
incredible, and enjoy being creative, digital painting
might just be for you after all!

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 73

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

PAINT FROM
YOUR
PHOTOS
Turn any photo into a convincing
painting using some creative brush
tools in Photoshop
Photoshop isnt normally thought of as a painting program. In fact, it is
usually considered to be a photo editor. Most users are aware that there
is a Brush tool and sometimes they use it to touch up a mask, but rarely
is it used for much more than that. It may surprise you to learn that
Photoshop actually has a fairly robust brush engine that is quite capable
of crafting beautiful digital paintings. Even more impressive is the
capability to transform a photograph into a convincing painting, without
relying on filters. Follow along as we show you a painless process to
transform your photos into painted works of art.

TEXTURE THE
BACKGROUND
Adobes new Paper
Texture Pro extension
is perfect for creating
unique and artistic
backgrounds to images.

Learn
smudge painting

Set the Smart Blur

01

Before beginning with the Smudge tool,

the image needs to have some of the finer
details removed. Use the Smart Blur filter for this.
These settings will depend on the image, but we
used a Radius of 3 and Threshold of 25.

Smooth smudging

Fine feathers

Bold background

02

03

04

Create a new layer and go to the Smudge

tool. Use a hard edged, round brush, set
the Strength to 80% and be sure to check the
Sample All Layers option. Then begin tracing
along the contours and feature lines of the
parrots head and beak.

74 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Create a new layer for the feathers and

switch to a spatter brush tip to better
capture the texture of the feathers. The trick to
getting the feathers to layer correctly is to start
with the bottom feathers and work your way up
towards the head.

Group all the photo and painted layers

together. Then use a layer mask on the
group to isolate the painting from the photos
background. Now you can add a textured, more
painted-style type of background surface to
complete the effect.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Discover the
Mixer Brush tool

Find the tool

01

Buried under the brush menu is the Mixer

Brush tool. This tool is like a sophisticated
version of the Smudge brush. Start with the Moist
preset and engage the Clean brush after each
stroke option.

EXPERT TIP
Treat the edges

Masking out the primary subject can lead to

some strange edge areas that dont t with
the visual effect of the piece. Make sure
to select the Smudge tools option for
Sample All Layers and it will generate
a nice blend between the
painted elements and the
background.

Natural Media Bristle brushes

02

In the Brush preset panel look for the

brushes with an icon that looks like a
brush profile, not a stamp of the tip. These are
the Bristle brushes they simulate real-media
brushes, rather than being computerised.

Mix and paint

03

The Mixer Brush tool will act similarly to

the Smudge tool, but it is able to create a
larger application of the painted effect much
faster. Experiment with the tool presets and the
Bristle brush settings.

ADJUSTMENT
LAYERS

Just because its a painting project, it doesnt

mean you can leave out the rest of Photoshops
image-editing features. If the piece is looking
dull, add a Vibrance adjustment layer. If
the Contrast is lacking, throw in a Curves
adjustment layer. Use the best tools at your
disposal, dont limit yourself to any particular set
of features, nd what works and go with it!

PAINTED
MASKS

Most Photoshop users often use brushes to

apply a Fade setting on an adjustment layer.
However, the more sophisticated brush
tools work on a mask too. In fact, theyre a
great way to create a convincing painted
edge to a layer. Opt/Alt+clicking on the mask
thumbnail will reveal the full mask and make
it easier to paint on.

Brush over the background

04

Use a larger Bristle brush to quickly paint

the background. Increase the Bristle
length and decrease the Stiffness to get a soft
brush effect. The higher the Wet and Mix settings
are, the more the colours will mix together.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 75

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

PAINT
FROM
SCRATCH
Dont be intimidated digital painting can be a lot
easier than actual painting
Real-media painting is a challenge that takes hours of study and experience to truly master.
Working with actual paint can either be hugely rewarding or greatly disappointing it is not
easy! However, cross the digital divide and things get much simpler. Here we have the benefit of
layers, perfectly clean brushes, erasers and the glorious Undo button. If youve never tried your
hand at digital painting, Photoshop is a great place to start. Our best advice is to start with
something simple, like a humble piece of fruit. Learn how to capture form, light, colour, shadow
and texture. So follow along as we guide you through how to paint an apple.

EXPERT TIP
Clone Source panel

When attempting to align a sample point

for the Clone Stamp tool, you might be
reluctant to change the sample point
and lose the alignment. To solve this,
go to Window>Clone Source. The
icons along the top of the panel
allow you to save up to ve
sample settings.

TEXTURED
BACKGROUND
An interesting textured
backdrop can be used to
accent a painting. However,
be careful not to use one that
is too bold or distracting.

REFERENCE PHOTOS

Unless youve painted a thousand apples before, dont rely entirely on your memory to know the
intricate characteristics of the fruit. Closely study a live apple or reference photos. Pay careful
attention to how the colours change, how the light reects and what the texture of the skin looks
like. Good painting always starts with great observation.

Paint an apple

Draw a simple sketch

Add some shading

Work with colour tones

01

02

03

Begin with a very simple sketch, then use a

basic, hard-edged brush to fill in the
primary colours for the different areas. Painting
each colour on a new layer makes things much
easier if you want to edit that colour later on.

76 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Add a new top layer for the basic shading

of the fruit. Set the Blending mode to
Overlay and then use only shades of grey to
begin generating the shadow and highlighting
areas of the scene.

Add a new layer under the Shading layer

and paint in the different colour tones.
Add texture to the fruit with the direction of
brush strokes. Use a top layer set to Overlay and
large, soft brush strokes for subtle colour shifts.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

CAPTURE TEXTURE
By creating brush strokes
that go in the same direction
as the natural grain of the
apple, the texture becomes
more believable.

ATTENTION TO COLOUR
Pay attention to the use of warm
and cool colour palettes to
create a balanced composition.
Here the warmth of the red is
accentuated by the cool blue
colour behind it.

TAKE A
SNAPSHOT
Add highlights and shadows

Dodge and Burn

04

05

Add a Highlights layer set to Screen and

use white paint to add specular lighting.
Add a shadow layer set to Multiply and use a soft,
dark brush to create a shadow. Now add a details
layer and use a smaller brush for the flecks.

Add another layer on top and fill it with

50% grey through the Edit>Fill menu. Set
the Blending mode to Overlay and use the
Dodge and Burn tools to increase the Highlights
and Shadows of the painting.

By default, Photoshop has 20 states of History,

or Undos that it holds in memory. Digital
painting tends to go through this quickly, as
every brush stroke counts as something that
can be undone. If you nd yourself relying on
the History List, learn to make Snapshots as
you paint so its easy to dial back the painting
to that point if you need to.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 77

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

SHARPEN
GAUSSIAN BLUR
Duplicate the merged layer
then go to Gaussian Blur.
Change the layer to Lighter
Color and add a mask to erase
the effects on her eyes.

Merge all layers together

then use the Smart Sharpen
to create more details on
the portrait.

Add textures
with brushes

Use the background brush

01

Create a new layer and then load the

Background brush. Set the Opacity to
49% and activate the Always Use Pressure for
Opacity option. Set the Flow to 10% and this time,
activate the Always Use Pressure for Size option.

Add a new layer

02

Add a new layer. Use the Round Blunt

Medium Stiff Mixer brush. In Brush
Presets, choose Texture and #10 Extra Heavy
Texture. Set Wet to 36%, Load to 2%, Mix to 40%,
Flow to 39% and Sample All Layers to Off.

BAS RELIEF
Go To Filter Gallery>Sketch>
Bas Relief, Detail: 14,
Smoothness: 3, Light: Left
then click OK. Then convert
the colour to B&W and
change the layer to Divide.

More Details and Highlights

CREATE A CLASSICART MASTERPIECE

03

For the clothes and highlights, use the

same options. Add new layers for the
Highlights, change them to Linear Dodge, Vivid
Light, Color Dodge and Screen with low Opacity.
Use a mask to erase unnecessary effects.

Use the Round Blunt Medium Stiff brush

to achieve your desired brush stroke

Austrian artist Leopold Schmutzler used colour and brush strokes in a rather
interesting way. Here you will learn how to use two brushes with a few layers
to achieve his classic style of art. The primary brush for this task is Round
Blunt Medium Stiff, as this achieves the brush stroke were aiming for. The
second brush will create the background and is really worth exploring.
Add texture to your brush with #10 Extra Heavy from Brush Presets.

78 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Smart Sharpen adjustments

04

Merge all of the layers then duplicate

them. Go to Filter>Sharpen>Smart
Sharpen; set the Amount to 114 and the Radius to
0.8. Next enhance the colours by going to
Adjustments and selecting Selective Color.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

THE SOFT PAINTING STYLE

Reveal your softer side

The soft-art effect can produce wonderfully mystical pieces of

artwork. Whether its a faraway landscape or a dreamy portrait,
learn the techniques and start experimenting.

Go black and white

01

To achieve a more prominent contrast of colour, heighten

the black-and-white tones. To do this, go to Adjustments
and select the Black & White option. Next, change the Presets to
Infrared. Then change the Layer to Screen so that you can
achieve the white skin.

Hue/Saturation

Smart Blur

Chalk Brush

02

03

04

Go to Adjustments>Hue/Saturation.
Increase the Hue to +40, the Saturation
to -50, and the Darkness to +5. Load a Brown
Gradient into your Gradient Editor and then use
Selective Color to enhance the colours. Merge all
layers using Cmd/Ctrl+Opt/Alt+Shift+E.

ROUND ANGLE
LOW STIFFNESS
BRUSH

Use the round angle low stiffness brush for the hair
and background. Add an empty layer, then use the
Mixer Brush and select round angle low stiffness,
setting the size to somewhere between 30-47px.
Note that Clean Brush After Each Stroke option
must be active. Set Wet to 20%, Load to 25%, Mix
to 10%, Flow to 10% activate Sample All Layers.

The trick here is to use the Smart Blur

filter to create some of the fine lines on
her eyes and hair. Then change the Radius to
28.6, the Threshold to 47.4. Go on to change the
Quality to High then click OK and merge all the
layers together again.

Once you have merged all the layers,

add a new layer at the top, then click on
the Mixer Brush. Select Chalk 60 px, activate the
Clean Brush After Each Stroke option and set
Wet to 20%, Load to 50%, Mix to 22%, Flow to
37% and activate Sample All Layers.

THE FILTER
GALLERY

Photoshop has lters to assist you

when painting. Go to Filter>Filter
Gallery>Brush Strokes>Angled
Stroke. Change the Direction
Balance to 43, the Stroke Length to
31 and the Sharpness to 1. This lter
will help add effect to the hair. Merge
every layer and duplicate. Use the
Bas Relief>Detail and convert it to
black and white. Then change the
layer propertiys to Divide.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 79

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

DIGITAL OIL
PAINTINGS

Start image

Use Dry Media brushes

to achieve the look of a
realistic oil painting

In this simple tutorial you will discover the best

tools to achieve an oil-painting effect and
watercolour texture. First of all, you must create a
focal point to engage the viewer. The main tools
are mixer, brush, filters and adjustments. You will
learn more about how to get the correct setting
for brushes and adding texture. Then you will
understand more about how to use the Filter
Gallery in the final few steps.

Using the
round fan brush

Dry Media Brushes

Brush Presets

Round Fan with Texture

01

02

03

Open your chosen image, go to brushes

and select Dry Media brushes. Use flat
blunt with Texture. Add a new layer and activate
Clean Brush After Each Stroke. Set the Wet to 8%,
Load to 8%, Mix to 8%, Flow to 20% and make
Sample All Layers active.

Add a new layer using the same brush.

Go to Brush Presets>Texture>Extra
Heavy Canvas and use these settings for the
Mixer Brush. Once again, set the Wet to 8%, Load
to 8%, Mix to 8%, Flow to 20% and select Sample
All Layers.

WATERCOLOUR
EFFECTS

Once all of the steps have been completed, merge all of the
layers by pressing Shif+Opt/Alt+Cmd/Ctrl+E. The trick is how to
transfer your oil painting to a watercolour drawing in one step,
so it really resembles traditional art. Duplicate the layer then go
to Filter>Filter Gallery>Artistic>Watercolor. Set the Brush Detail
to 1, Shadow Intensity to 0 and the Texture to 1, then click OK.
The nal step is to make your coloured paint effect look like an
original painting. The step is very simple and only uses selective
colour twice. Use Selective Color and activate Absolute,
focusing on Red, Yellow and White. Do the same for the second
layer, add Selective Color and select Relative, using the same
colours: Red, Yellow and White. Next, merge all of the layers.

80 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

The best brush for foliage is the round

brush with Texture. Add a new layer then
select the brush from Mixer Brush. Clean Brush
After Each Stroke must be active. Set the Wet to
8%, Load to 8%, Mix to 8% and Flow to 40%.
Sample All Layers must be active.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

ART
HISTORY
TOOL
Learn how to use the Art
History tool to create
amazing paint effects
Many dont know the purpose of the Art
History tool. It is similar to the Brush tool and
Mixer Brush. It can create different painting
effects depending on the time and effort you
are prepared to put in. The best setting for
the Art History tool is to set the Mode to
Normal & Darken, make the Opacity
between 40-63%, add Style, set the Area to
20-40 and the Tolerance must be set to 0%.
You will learn how to use Smart Blur to give a
different painting style.

Start
image

EXPERT TIP
Paint Daubs Filter

For the nal step, go to Filter>Filter

Gallery>Artistic>Paint Daubs. Make the
Brush Size 16, set the Sharpness to 16
and Brush Type to Wide Blurry, then
click OK. Add Texturizer from the
Filter Gallery, then Selective
Color to enhance
the colours.

Art History
SETTINGS
Use the recommended
settings on the Art History
tool for best results, but
experiment to discover
your own unique style!

Adjustments Tools

01

Go to Adjustments. Select Levels,

Gradient, Opacity: 100%. Add Color
Balance and manipulate with colours. Change
the layer of Color Balance to Linear Burn,
Opacity 100%.

Smart Blur

Art History Tool

Mixer Brush

02

03

04

On a new layer use the color # b9a795,

change the layer to Color Burn, Opacity:
60%. Merge layers (Shift+Ctrl+Alt+E). Duplicate
the layer then go to Filter>Blur>
Smart Blur. Radius: 57.9, Threshold: 81.9, Quality:
High, Mode: Normal.

Duplicate, go to the History Tool, click Set

the source for the History Brush. Go to
Layer, use Art History Brush with Flat Angle Low
Bristle Count Brush, set size to 8-11px, Mode to
Darken, Opacity to 56%, Style to Tight Medium,
Area to 36px and Tolerance and 0%.

Now merge all of your layers (Shift+Alt+

Ctrl+E), then use the Flat Angle Low
Bristle Count from the Mixer Brush with the Size
set to 50-60px. Active Clean Brush after each
stroke, set Wet to 25, Load to 33%, Mix to 38%,
and Flow to 11%.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 81

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Source files
available

82 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Master architectural
visualisation
Create an eye-catching image using striking mood, colour
combination and well-defined detail

t FlyingArchitecture, our job is to

create images of different projects,
while trying to recognise our clients
ideas and give our expert guidance and
knowledge to achieve the best result
possible. For this project we worked with
Xuberance (www.xuberance.org), the
design team that were behind the eVolo
skyscraper competition.
We usually start with a general vision of
what the image should represent. Its
important to not limit your imagination and
try to experiment with different ideas. More
options gives you more flexibility. You can find
inspiration everywhere (books, paintings,

photographs or music for example), and dont

forget, that its a creative process initially.
After some research and discussion, we can
start working on the image. To do this, youll
need to master basic rules for composition,
colours and how to add more depth and
detail using 2D assets. Creating complex
images like this is always a bit challenging. Try
to break it up into smaller parts like
background, foreground, foliage and people.
This way you have better control over every
part of the image. Be careful though, as its
important to preserve the connection
between all of the aspects, so that it works as
one coherent piece. Prepare all your reference

pictures and assets so that you are ready.

Dont try to adjust them when theyre not
fitting properly save your energy. Photoshop
is a powerful tool, but spend 15 more minutes
finding better photos with the proper lighting
and angles, and you will achieve better results.
Lets get started!

Its important to not limit

your imagination and try to
experiment with different
ideas. More options give you
more exibility

From 3D to Photoshop Prepare your PSD file before post production

Render the output format

Organise your PSD le

Render the Alpha mask

01

02

First of all, apply your Alpha mask to

03
the render image. To do that, click on
the Alpha channel, press Cmd/Ctrl+A and

We start by importing our V-Ray

render channels into Photoshop.
Always remember to save up the highest
possible quality of render channels. These
are not JPGs or PNGs. We are talking about
their bit depth: 32-bit HDR oating format.
To import these les into Photoshop, go to
File>Scripts>Load les into stack. Then click
Browse, locate all the render channels you
saved and click Open. Back in the small
pop-up window, click OK. Their quality wont
suffer from using multiple adjustment layers
in Photoshop.

You cant fully utilise the variety of

adjustments in 32-bit mode. After
importing all render channels, go to Image>
Mode>16 Bits/Channel. Now you should
organise your PSD layer structure.
Sometimes, there are hundreds of layers
and it can be uncomfortable to work on. We
have to give credit to Adam Hotovy (CGI
artist, Corona Renderer development team)
who inspired us with this organised layer
system a few years ago.

then Cmd/Ctrl+C to copy the layer to the

buffer. Then, create a layer mask for the
render layer. Holding the left Alt button, click
inside the layer mask that you created in the
previous step and press Cmd/Ctrl+V.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 83

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Adjust the exposure

Add the sky

City in the background

04

05

06

To restore the contrast that you

achieved in the original rendering,
use the Exposure adjustment. Go to
Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Exposure,
and use 0.45-0.50 as a value for Gamma
Correction to achieve the desired effect.
This is the universal approach which should
be done after each import of HDR les into
Photoshop (but only if you use this linear
workow). Always use clipping masks so that
you can work on separate elements. This
way, an adjustment has an effect only on
the render layer and nothing else. Ctrl/
right-click on the adjustment layer and
select Create Clipping Mask.

Change the tones

07

The main building is a

little bit at. Go to
Layer>New Adjustment Layer>
Brightness and make the left
side of the building darker.
Invert the Brightness layer
mask using Cmd/Ctrl+I and
paint darker areas inside it with
the soft brush using white. The
left side should be more bluish
because of the shadow. Use
Color Balance and Selective
Color to achieve the best
effect. The last step is to add a
warm highlight on the top of the
right building using the same
method as you did before.

The sky is one of the most important

aspects of the image because it
denes the general mood. Always try to nd
the right balance between the complexity of
the background/foreground and main
subject. You dont want to overwhelm the
viewer. Go to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>
Curves and adjust the contrast of the sky. Do
the same with Selective Color, Color Balance
and Vibrance adjustments. Some areas of
the sky need more attention to make them
more appropriate (like the over-saturated
lower part or darker top-right corner).

Now you can start adding more

depth and detail in the form of
buildings in the background of the image.
Always use layer masks (not the Eraser tool)
to add or remove areas that you dont want
to see (remember, white is visible and black
is invisible). This way, youre not destroying
the original image or adjustment layers. Now
you can use the Brightness to make both
buildings a bit lighter, Selective Color to add
more yellow and black colour, and Vibrance
to achieve more natural saturation.

Make specic
changes

08

Some areas around the

main building need more
editing. Go to Layer>New
Adjustment Layer>Brightness/
Contrast to make the whole
skyscraper brighter. Also, add
more contrast with Curves to
make it more dened. The
colours on the right building are
too warm, so use Selective Color
and play with the neutrals to make
it colder. The last step is to darken
the bottom part under the bridge
and main entrance on the edge of
the coast using Curves, in the
same way you did before.

Adding more elements Start refining your image with assets & effects
Create water surface

Shade the concrete wall

09

10

To create the water surface you

can use different techniques.
We recommend using Flood by
Flaming Pear (download this plugin
from www.amingpear.com/ood).
Merge all layers on top of everything
(Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E). Press Cmd/
Ctrl+A, then Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+C to copy
the layer to the buffer, and then select
Cmd/Ctrl+V. Go to Filter>Flaming
Pear>Flood. Adjust the Curves,
Brightness and Selective Color to
make it more realistic.

84 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

We need to make the left part of the

wall brighter. As you did before, use
Brightness to achieve the desired effect.
The right side has to be darker because of
the shadow from the bridge. Also, play with
the Curves to add more denition. Use dirt
textures and add some leaks to achieve a
more realistic effect (you can download a
lot of textures in JPG or PNG format from
www.cgtextures.com). Experiment with
different blending modes, but for this kind
of stuff you should use Multiply, Darken,
Color or Soft Light mode.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Adjust the right facade

Build the coastwalk alley

Add some people

11

12

13

Create a new layer and change the

blending mode from to Multiply. Use a
red colour and start painting over the top
and middle horizontal facade frame parts
with a sharp brush. Use Brightness, Selective
Color and Hue/Saturation adjustments to
make the red colour more natural. The left
facade should be darker because of the
shadow. Also, add random building textures
to the glass facade as reections from the
environment to create realistic detail.

There are four separate layers with

trees. You can download a lot of tree
cut-outs for free, from websites like
gobotree.com or cgtextures.com. Make
sure that the left part is really dark, as it adds
nice depth to the bottom. To add shadows
you can use Levels or Brightness adjustment
layers. Also, make all the trees less saturated
using Vibrance and Selective Color to add
more warm colours. The left side should be
really bright because of the sun.

Sometimes its really hard to nd the

right people for the image. In this case it
was easier because of the size. They are not
as important as other parts, but they do add
necessary detail to the big picture. Use
Brightness and Selective Color to adjust
each one of them. If needed, use a Hue/
Saturation adjustment to make them t in
properly. You can lower the layer Opacity to
95-90% to make them less bold.

Final editing Important readjustments and finishing touches

Include more foliage

Check the balance

Add light effects

14

15

16

Arrange foliage on the bottom and

upper levels of the building, but be
careful not to overpower the main design.
Placing the foliage is similar to the positioning
of the trees. Always check your colour and
black/white balance to make sure everything
is working together as one. To add more light
on the sunny side, create a new layer, clip it to
the foliage layer, change the blending mode
from Normal to Soft Light, set the Opacity to
40-50%, and start painting some highlights.
Create some shadows on the left side, and
perhaps place some birds on the top left
side to counterweight the right building.

To easily check the black and white

balance, create a new layer on top of
everything and by pressing G (Paint Bucket
tool), ll this layer with black. Change the
blending mode from Normal to Color. Dont
be afraid to adjust some assets or areas
again and again. Your image is constantly
evolving and you should work with this layer
as much as possible to balance the image in
the right way.

Finishing touches

The nal image

17

18

This is the last phase of

post-production. Add a are
effect to the right side. You can
download a lot of different are
assets from different websites.
Change the blending mode from
Normal to Screen and adjust the
Opacity to 80-90%. Adjust the
Color Balance and Curves to make it
more warm and bold, and add more
Saturation to the middle part of the
image. Darken the bottom part of
the image and make it more cold
using a Selective Color adjustment.

First of all, create a dark gradient on the

bottom. It naturally leads your eyes to
the middle part of the image. Use a
Brightness adjustment layer to add more
light to the sunny side of the right building. Do
the same for the background skyscrapers
and the top part of the main structure. Paint
some highlights as you did with the foliage
using the Soft Light method. Then go to
Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur to make them a bit
blurry and play with the opacity of the white
glows in the Screen blending mode.

The last step is to add more

Contrast and Chromatic
Abberation (its not necessary, but
you can experiment with this effect).
Its a type of camera distortion where
the lens fails to focus all of the colours
to the same convergence point,
which makes the image look more
realistic. Merge all layers on top of
everything with Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Opt/
Alt+E. Then, go to Filter>Lens
Corrections and experiment with
different values for the Distortion and
Fringe, and this is your nal image!

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 85

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Add a
dispersion
pixel effect
Using a number of Photoshop brushes and
techniques, learn to create a fantastic dispersion
effect on a portrait image

he dispersion effect has

become very popular in the
last couple of years, and there
are so many different ways to create
it. Giving a subject a dispersion or
splatter effect can create an incredibly
dynamic image. From complex
composites to simple layers, the effect
can be as simple or as complex as you
want it to be. The best part is, its very
quick and easy to do with a few
Photoshop brushes.
In this tutorial, youll learn how to
create the dispersion effect in
Photoshop. We will separate the

subject from the background and

create a copy, which will then be
morphed with the Liquify tool. Using a
combination of layer masks and
brushes we will reveal the morphed
layer while hiding parts of the original.
The result will create a feeling that the
subject is breaking apart.
If you want to try this tutorial on
your own images you will need to bear
a couple of things in mind: this
technique works best on a full to
two-thirds portrait of your subject.
Your image will also need enough
space to add the dispersion effect.

Start image

Using a combination of layer

masks and brushes we will reveal
the morphed layer while hiding
parts of the original. The result will
create a feeling that the subject is
breaking apart

Create a background layer

Select the woman

01

02

Go to File>Open and select the file Woman.jpg. Double-click on

the layer to unlock it and rename it Woman. Go to Layer>New>
Layer, name it Background and drag this new layer below the Woman
layer. Go to Edit>Fill and fill this layer with white.

86 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Click on the Woman layer and using the Quick Selection

tool (W), select the woman. Click on Refine Edge on the
tool menu and use the Refine Radius tool (E) to paint along the
hair to select it. Click OK when youre done selecting the hair.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Source files
available

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 87

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Delete pixels

03

Go to Select>Inverse and press the

Delete key to delete the selected
pixels. Press Ctrl/Cmd+D to deselect. Now,
go to Layer>Duplicate layer (Ctrl/Cmd+J).
You have two copies of the Woman layer.
Name the top layer Woman and the second
layer Effect.

Liquify the woman

04

To morph the copy of the woman,

select the Effect layer and go to
Filter>Liquify (Elements: Filter>Distort>
Liquify). Using a large forward Warp tool (W),
distort the woman to the left of the image.

Remove the features

05

Select the Clone Stamp tool (S) and

press the Alt/Option key to choose
an area of clean skin to clone from. Proceed
to clone out the eyes and mouth. You dont
have to be perfect when cloning out the
eyes and mouth.

Add layer masks

Load up some brushes

06

07

Now we need to hide this effect, so go to Layer>Layer

Mask>Hide All. Select the Woman layer and go to
Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All. Now we are ready to begin to
paint the effect on our image.

Next we need to add some brushes to Photoshop. Select the

Brush tool (B) and open up the Brush Preset Picker. Click on the
small gear icon and select Load Brushes. Select the spatter brushes.abr
file and click OK.

Edit the brush settings

Choose a different brush

Build up the effect

08

09

10

Once the brushes are loaded you

will see them in the picker. We used
Spatter Brush 11. Paint with black on the
womans layer mask along the womans left
side, making the brush smaller as you get
higher up her body.

88 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Now swap to Spatter Brush 13. Set

the brush size to 1100 and repeat
step 8. Change the size of the brush to
randomise the effect. Use a smaller brush
for the head. You can also rotate the brush
using the brush settings.

Select the Spatter Brush 15 and set

the Size Jitter to 50% and the Angle
Jitter to 100%. Use this brush to remove the
left edge of the woman. This time, only click
once on the mask. Youll notice that the
brush will rotate every time you click.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Expert tip
Try other
brushes

Clean up the mask

11

Select a soft round brush and, painting

with white, clean up the mask. Remove
any spatters that you dont like, such as any
repeated spatters. Always pay close
attention to the face; youll want just the right
amount in this area.

Repeat the effect

12

Select the layer mask of the effect layer and

repeat steps 8 through to 11, painting in white.
Make the brushes smaller towards the outer-left of
the image. Remember to vary the brush sizes to
randomise the effect.

Add a drop shadow

Add some wind effects

13

14

Go to Layer>Layer Style>Drop Shadow. Use an Angle of 180 with an

Opacity to 25%. Set the Distance and Size to 5 pixels. Duplicate the
Effect layer and select the layer mask of the first Effect layer. Repeat this
for the Woman layer.
SAVE A BRUSH

Expert tip
Save brush
presets

Weve got you set up with

some brushes to try out this
tutorial, but you dont have
to use the supplied if you
dont want to. You can always
experiment with different
brush shapes to see what
you can come up with.
Different brushes will create
different looks, maybe try a
themed brush for an event
such as Christmas. Give it
a go with your own brushes
or download some from the
internet and see what you
can come up with.

Making sure that the layer mask of the Effect layer is still
selected, go to Filter>Stylize>Wind. Choose a Method of
Wind and the direction from the left, then click OK. Set the
layers Opacity to 25%.

Once you have your brush set

up, youll want to save it as a
new preset. In the Brush panel,
click on the small drop-down
menu at the top-right and
choose New Brush Preset.

If you alter the brushs settings, for

example the Size or Angle Jitter of the
brush, it is not saved. If you select a
different brush, or even the same brush,
all of the settings that you have changed
will return to the default settings set out
by the brush preset. If you wish to keep
the setting of a brush, you will need to
save the settings as a new brush preset.
This is very useful for building different
brushes for different painting situations.
You can even save out brush collections
to share with your friends.

BRUSH COLLECTIONS
To save a brush collection, click on
the Open Preset Manager button
at the bottom of the Brush panel.
Select the brushes you want to save
and click on Save Set.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 89

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

WHICH COLOUR IS RIGHT?
A good rule is dark for shadows and
light colours for highlights, but nd
the inverted colour of one to see the
complementary colour for the other.

COLOUR-FILLED LAYERS
If you want to ll a layer quickly,
press Alt/Opt+backspace to colour
it with the Foreground colour in
your swatch.

Source files
available

Create a split
tone effect

Start
image

Use blend modes to give a classic finish to any photo in Elements!

ew photo effects can be both as creative and as subtle as a

split-toned picture, but it is possible to throw a whole new spin
on a photo just by adding two or three colours.
Split toning was first popularised back before colour pictures had
even been invented. Photographers discovered that adding a deeper,
richer colour to the shaded parts of an image, while introducing a
colourful tint to the highlights would help to flesh out originally dull
monochrome snaps. Despite people working digitally, its a technique
that has lived on through Photoshop.

90 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Monochrome editing is just the start, though. By working on these

techniques and getting the hang of editing photos with layers, you can
bring bright, exciting filters to just about any photo you choose; in
Photoshop you may use the Channel Mixer, but were using layers and
blend modes in Elements.
Lets discover exactly how to master split toning, and remember,
our colours and styles are just a guide; experiment with your own
shades, opacities and blend modes, and who knows what youll come
up with?

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Splitting the colours Add colourful highlights and shadows to any picture

The highlights layer

The shadows layer

For this particular picture, were going to go with black and

white. To desaturate, press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+U. Create a new
layer, and ll in with a sepia kind of colour. The exact shade we went
for is #f3c08c. Set Opacity to 50% and blend mode to Color.

01

02

The midtones layer

Colour tweaking

03

04

Were just going to add one more layer. Change the Opacity to
10% and set the blend mode to Soft Light; by lling this layer in
a reddish pink (#cc4c6a), this will give the midtones just a touch of
colour. Use your midtone layer as a subtle lter.

The rst layer that youve created is going to change the

colour of the highlights, and give them a depth and hue. To
alter the shadows, ll a new layer with a dark blue colour and setting
the blend mode to Overlay, and the Opacity to 80%.

This might only be the start for you in your search for the
perfect split-tone picture. The great thing about editing the
picture with three separate layers, is that you can edit them all
separately and tweak the layers until youre content with the effect.

Other colour options What other effects can a split-toning give?

Colour pictures

Seasonal moods

Lomo-like shots

If you use a slight split tone on colour

photos, you can bring out shades in your
picture. Here, weve used purple on the
shadows and beige on the highlights.

Its easy to create a seasonal shot with the

right split tone. Here, weve used blues #
8cd5f3 for the highlights and #003655 for
the shadows to create a wintery scene.

To give your picture a Lomo feel, use the

setup from the tutorial, only with purple
shadows and using a layer Blend Mode of
Lighten instead of Overlay.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 91

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Pixel a portrait

Start image

Learn how to make a pixel-art portrait as though

straight out of a 16-bit videogame

nyone who grew up playing

videogames on the Super Nintendo or
Sega Genesis consoles will be familiar
with the pixel-art style. Over the years, pixel
art has become a valid art form in itself, not
only for use in videogames.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to make a
16-bit style portrait in Photoshop. Well mainly
be using the Pencil tool and create a limited
colour palette, then pixel over the iconic
reference image using a variety of layers.
Pixel art was originally intended to save
memory space and use small file sizes, but
also cram a lot of detail into a very small area.

This all helped videogame developers get lots

of artwork into small cartridge sizes. To carry
on the tradition, we will be working small and
zooming in a lot.
For this tutorial, a reference image of
Marilyn Monroe is being used but you could
use a photo of yourself, a friend or anything
you fancy, really, and create your own pixel-art
portrait, perhaps for a social-media profile
picture or a piece of art for your wall. The final
image will be small enough to use as an
avatar on forums or social networks, but you
can increase the resolution of pixel art up to
any size without losing fidelity.

Change the resolution

01

Originally being used on-screen, pixel art should always be

created at 72ppi, so open up your reference image, go to Image>
Image Size (Ctrl/Cmd+Opt/Alt+I) and change the Resolution to 72.

View the image

03

Its helpful to
zoom in and
view your image at the
same time when
creating pixel art. To do
this, go to Window>
Arrange and select a
new window from the
drop-down. This will
give another window
with a 100% size
version of your image.

92 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Resize the image

02

You need to resize the image to make it smaller before

pixelling over the top. Open Image Size, and change
the largest measurement (Width or Length) to 100 px. Save
this as a new file so we still have the original size for reference.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Source files
available
Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 93

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Expert edit
Colour theory

Avoid adding black

01

Here, black has been added

gradually to the original colours to
darken them, instead of picking straight
from the Color Picker.

Set up

Zoom in

04

05

Create a new background layer by

selecting New Layer from the
Layers palette and move this new layer to
the bottom. Fill it with a colour of your
choice. Now select the layer above (with the
portrait photo) and set the Opacity to 25%.

If you zoom in to your image it will

become a collection of large pixels.
Usually this is to be avoided but in this case
you can use these as a guide to draw over.
Select New Layer from the Layers palette
and call it Head.

Select the
Pencil tool

06

We will use
the Pencil
tool to create the pixel
art, because it has a
hard, non anti-aliased
edge. Select the
Pencil tool and open
the Brushes palette
(Window>Brushes)
and make sure the
Pencil tool is set to the
smallest pixel brush.

Compare the results

02

You can see how adding black to

colours makes them muddy. The
image on the right (with no black added
to colours) is much more striking.

Blue on white

03

Take a closer look at the shading

on the teeth. Instead of adding
black to white, the teeth have been
shaded with blues, which gives a more
pleasing effect.

Skin tones

04

Try to add blues or purples to

your skin tones instead of black.
If you look at shadows in real life they
take on the colours around them.

94 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Start on the head

Add the features

07

08

On the Head layer, draw pixel by

pixel around the edge of the head. It
works well to do the first stages in magenta,
so you can concentrate on the shapes
rather than the final colours. Once youre
done, use the Fill tool and fill in your shape.

Create another new layer on top of

your head shape and name it
Features. Change the Opacity of your Head
layer to 50%, then start to pick out the
features with the Pencil tool on the Features
layer, picking relevant colours.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Expert tip
Dont
reduce it

Pick out the shadows

Lighten it up

Create another layer and call it

Shadows. Set the Opacity of the
Head layer back to 100%, and start to pick
out the shadows with the Pencil tool using a
darker magenta colour.

09

10

Work on the hair

Start colouring

11

12

Create another layer, call it Hair, and

block out the shape and shadows for
the hair. Use what you learnt when making
the face, but dont worry about drawing
every strand. Its better to block and hint at
detail rather than try to draw everything.

Create another layer and in a similar way to the

Shadows layer, add highlights to the face using
a lighter magenta colour. Picking out squares of colour
can be very effective. Remember pixel art is about
hinting at detail rather than cramming too much in.

Lets create a colour palette layer and

start colouring in our pixel-art
creation. Create a new layer, call it Colours,
and each time you use a new colour, place a
small square of this colour in this space. Try
to order the colours from light to dark.

Add shading

Resize and finish

14

15

After you have filled in all your basic colours (using step
13 for each one), zoom in to your image and add darker
and lighter shades. Dont go too crazy and try to keep the
amount of colours you are using to under 16.

Usually any changes to

image size will affect image
quality, often for the worse,
but one of the great things
about pixel art is that you
can keep increasing the size
without losing any image
quality. However, you should
try to avoid reducing the
size. This is because a pixel
is the smallest dot that your
monitor can show. This
means that reducing pixel
art can lead to odd-shaped
pixels because Photoshop
tries to make the original
image out of less pixels.

Magic Wand

13

Select all your layers in the Layers

palette, apart from the background
and Colours layers, and Merge Layers. Then
with the Magic Wand tool, click on the main
skin area. Go to Select>Similar. This will grab
all instances of that skin colour. Fill this with
your chosen skin colour.

Dont be afraid to delete sections and re-colour to create an

image that youre happy with. We can scale pixel art up to any size.
Go to Image>Image Size>Nearest Neighbor, and then change the
dimensions to 500%. This will give chunky pixels.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 95

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

BACKGROUND MERGE
The mountain background was
incorporated into the primary
image of the car, and the
consolidated layer converted into
a Smart Object.

PAINTED WINDSCREEN
The interior of the vehicle was
made less visible by using the
Eyedropper tool and a soft
brush. This added realism as
well as an element of mystery.

Build
dynamic
composites
Inject some drama into your composites with these fail-safe editing techniques

ramatic composite images are

frequently used in promotions and
advertising, often containing unique
camera angles and a moody colour palette to
entice viewers. Creating a similar image in
Photoshop can be a time-consuming task, but
there are plenty of techniques that can be
leveraged to create a fantastic result.

96 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

One of the best ways is to work in a

non-destructive manner, by utilising layers,
Smart Objects and masks. The scope of our
editing efforts will be on the preparation of
the primary image, using layer masks to
remove unwanted aspects of the image
background. Additionally, specialised
blending techniques will be used to

seamlessly incorporate a dramatic new vista

into the background. Lastly, shadow and
highlight adjustments, some radial blur and
a light leak overlay will be used to provide
an impactful, cinematic quality to the
completed image.
Remember that skills will develop greatly
the more you put them into practice.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Source files
available

Start
image
Erase the background

01

Open the image and select

Layer>Layer Mask>From
Transparency. Select the black from the
Color Picker as the Foreground colour and,
using a soft brush, carefully erase unwanted
aspects of the image background.

Apply a defined edge

02

When the majority of the

background has been erased,
choose Select>Refine Mask and enter the
following: Smart Radius: checked; Smooth:
28; Feather: 2.6; Shift Edge: -21;
Decontaminate Colours: checked (50%).
Refine Mask allows for a defined edge.

Prepare the background

03

Open the landscape image, select

Image>Image Rotation>Arbitrary.
Rotate the canvas 15 degrees clockwise
(CW). This will allow the background to
appear at a similar angle as the car. Create a
layer mask (outlined in step 1) and erase the
white sections of the rotated image.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 97

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Expert tip
Plan
ahead
When planning to create
a composite image in
Photoshop, select source
images that complement
each other in terms of sizing,
subject and base colours.
A careful bit of foresight
can go a long way in order to
create an artistic blended
image that is natural looking
and aesthetically appealing.
Where appropriate, applying
atmospheric effects such as
snow particles and lens are
can really add a dramatic,
cinematic quality to the
nished product.

Import the background

Blend the background

04

05

Import the mountain background

into the main car document, and
with the mountain layer selected, convert to
a Smart Object. Choose Edit>Free
Transform, and expand the X/Y axis of the
mountain image to make it larger. Once
satisfied with the size, hit enter to apply.

Apply Radial Blur

Rasterize the mountain background layer, and

change its blending mode to Multiply. With
that same layer selected, use the Eraser tool
(Hardness 0%) and carefully eliminate overlapping
aspects of the mountain background that cover the
car. Vary the size of the Eraser brush when working on
areas that require detail.

Radial Gradient Mask

07

With the Smart Filters (Radial Blur)

object selected, choose the
Select Merge Down to incorporate
Gradient tool, and make certain that black is
the mountain background into the
the Foreground colour. Confirm the gradient
primary image of the car, and then convert
map selection is Black & Transparent, and
the consolidated layer into a Smart Object.
select the Radial gradient option. Click and
Select Filter>Blur>Radial Blur, and position
the blur centre marker on the nose of the car, hold on the cars hood and move the radial
gradient selection to the left.
Amount at 50 (Zoom, Good Quality).

06

Reduce the opacity

08

The Radial Blur effect will have to be

reduced, so click on the parallel
bars icon located in the Smart Filters/Radial
Blur layer object, and a Blending Options
sub-window will open. Lower the Opacity to
the desired level (50% works well) and click
OK to apply changes.

Adjust Highlights & Shadows

Add a gradient

Create a vignette

09

10

11

Choose Select>All, followed by

Edit>Copy Merged and then
File>New. Paste the selection into the new
working area. Create a duplicate layer of the
Background and select Filter>Camera Raw
Filter. Adjust Highlights to -48 and Shadows
to +63 and click OK to apply changes.

98 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Select Merge Down to incorporate

the Highlights & Shadows layer. Make
a duplicate layer of the Background and
label it Gradients. Choose the Gradient tool
(with transition from Black to Transparent)
and create a small gradient at the bottom of
the image, release under the car hood.

Duplicate the Gradients layer, and

name the layer Vignette. Go to
Filters>Camera Raw Filter, and select the
Effects button in the Camera Raw subwindow. Set the Post-Crop Vignetting option
to -40 and click OK. Adding a subtle vignette
adds moody contrast and focus.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Expert edit
Important tips

Add light leak

Introduce special effects

12

13

Next, open the image named Light

The gradient, vignette and light leak
Leak and apply it to the car document.
can be considered as finishing effects,
It will appear as a separate, fourth layer.
or subtle aspects that enhance the overall
Rename it from Background to Light Leak
image by adding a dramatic flair. More
and change its blending mode to Screen.
punchy effects can be added, such as
Reduce the Opacity to a desired effect;
enhancing the tonal contrast of the clouds,
somewhere near 20%.
or adding a lens flare.

Use similar colours

01

When editing an image, use

neutral tones or sampled colours
when creating gradients or painting
highlights. This allows for overall
uniformity, adding to the realism.

Create
headlights

14

Flatten all
layers, and
then create a new
blank layer. Select the
Polygonal Lasso tool,
and create an irregular
star pattern around a
headlamp. Paint
within the star
selection using
various shades of
white and then blur
using the Gaussian
Blur tool. Change
blend mode to Soft
Light or Overlay.

Create focal points

02

Using subtle gradients and

vignettes can reduce the impact
of a bright background, and will draw the
viewers eye to the primary subject, in
this case, a speeding sports car.

Consider light sources

03

When selecting a sky to

incorporate into a composition,
be mindful of tone, colour and direction
of light. Horizontally flip a background to
match light direction.

Merge layers

Paint the windscreen

15

16

Select Merge Down to join the

headlights layer with the car image,
then create a duplicate layer of the
Background. Increase the magnification to
around 50%, and mask the windshield using
the magic wand.

Use the Eyedropper tool to select the

colour variations within the
windshield, and carefully paint using a soft
brush at reduced Opacity so that the interior
of the vehicle becomes less visible. This
adds an element of mystery and realism.

Tweak the levels

04

As a final step, dont be afraid to

make adjustments to the curves
or saturation of an image. Slight tweaks
of levels can provide a nice finishing
touch to a composite.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 99

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Source files
available

Forge a custom
lens-flare effect

Start
image

Add colour and creativity with nothing but a ray of light

ost Photoshop and Elements users have a mixed

relationship with the lens-flare effect. On the one hand, its
a fantastically simple and potentially restrained photo fix, but
on the other, there are only four preset flares to choose from. How can
you be consistently original with only a handful of options?
The obvious answer to this particular dilemma is to do a search, and
source them from elsewhere. There are countless lens flares available
on the internet, which are perfect for a swift solution, but creating your

100 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

own is a great creative project that can be so much more rewarding.

Simply study other lens flares, build up an idea of what you want in
yours, and by relying on opacity and blend modes, and combining
these with colour, you too will be able to create a fresh, new lens flare
that can be used in any photo.
The great news is that you need little more than a brush and
creativity. After all, the more limited a feature, the more creative you
can be as an artist.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Artistic flare Use brushes and blending to bring light to life

Make a mark

Add shine

Fill the Background layer in black. Draw a horizontal line

through the centre. Create a new layer and with a soft, white
brush, about a third of the way in from the left, make a mark.

01

02

Scatter spheres

Place onto photo

03

04

Use the Elliptical Marquee and a soft brush to add in extra bits
of light. Change the blend modes of these layers to Screen,
and alter Opacities. Experiment with size, colour and overlap until
you build up a longer lens are from the circles.

Go to Filter>Render>Clouds, then Blur>Radial Blur; set the

Amount to 100. Edit the blend mode to Screen, and place the
centre is over the light. Add a mask, soften edges with a black brush.

Merge the whole thing together when youre nished, minus

the layer with the guide line, and copy, before pasting the lens
are onto your picture. Change the blend mode to Screen, resize as
necessary and rotate to give the beam of light a direction.

Other flare options Experiment for even more inventive effects

Coloured light

Hollow spheres

Hexagons

Why not incorporate colour into yours for a

somewhat surreal tone? Add a layer over the
layer of light, and colour in over the are,
before setting the blend mode to Soft Light.
This is great when used with articial lights.

Another popular effect is to brush in the

colour of your sphere, before grabbing the
Eraser and hollowing out the circle. This
creates a nice light arc, which can be seen
on the Photoshop preset lens ares.

We have used circles, but hexagons are

another option. Simply draw them or paste
them and soften the sides. It gives a nice
bokeh effect, and can be used both instead
of, and in combination with, the circles.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 101

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Source files
available

Make macro
composites

Start
images

Learn to shoot and edit your own macro masterpiece in minutes

ou dont have to be an excellent

photographer to create extraordinary
images. Photoshop and Elements, for
that matter provides a plethora of fantastic
tools that can transform the most basic shots
into stunning works of art.
In this tutorial, well show you how to create
a spectacular macro masterpiece. This striking
effect, which requires a lot of patience and

102 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

practice to capture in-camera, is actually

simple to re-create in Photoshop. Follow along
with our guide as we start by taking you
through the steps to shoot your own close-up
photos at home, before showing you how to
seamlessly combine both images for a
flawless and realistic macro effect.
Youll discover more about Photoshops
tools along the way and get used to how

they work with some easy steps, from

creating a cutout using Selection tools to
warping perspective with the Transform
function. Well show you how to blend two
images using blurs and colour adjustments.
The basic steps youll learn here can be
applied to future Photoshop projects, so you
will gain invaluable skills as well as an
eye-catching image.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Expert tip
Create a
clear drop
Its good to clear the droplet
of any existing refractions
before you position a ower
in it. You can do this using
the Clone Stamp tool thats
located in the tools palette
on the left. Select a small
brush size with a smooth
edge and 80-100% Opacity.
Within the droplet, select an
area thats clear of refraction
by selecting it while holding
down the Opt/Alt key. You
can now carefully brush
over refractions you want to
remove using the area you
have just cloned.

Crop in closer

Sharpen the droplet

Open your background image in

Photoshop and start by cropping in
closer to the water droplet using the Crop
tool. Select the entire image first and while
holding down the Shift key to constrain
proportions, slowly drag up one of the four
corners. Now hit Enter to confirm.

01

02

Enhance colour hues

Make a selection

Add to the selection

03

04

05

Improve colour hues in the image

via the Create New Fill Or
Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the
Layers palette and select Hue/Saturation. In
the pop-up box, select a colour hue from
the Masters dropdown menu and then
slowly increase the Saturation slider for each.

Sharpen the image so that the main droplet

appears crisper. Start by duplicating the
Background layer. Now go to Filter>Other>High Pass
and input 8px in the pop-up box. Click OK and then
change this layers blending mode from Normal to
Overlay. Also reduce the layers Opacity to around
70% to soften results.

Open your second flower image

and select the Quick Selection tool
from the Tools palette on the left. Adjust the
brush size at the top of the screen and then
slowly begin painting over the entire flower.
Photoshop will pick up the edges of the
petals pretty accurately.

Refine the edges

Create a new layer

06

07

Once the selection is made, go to Refine Edge. In the

pop-up box, tick the Smart Radius box and increase
the Radius slider to ensure each edge is selected. Now increase
the Feather slider to smooth out the petal edges so that the
flower blends realistically within the water droplet shot.

Zoom in on the flower and check

the petal edges. If parts of the flower
have been missed, readjust your brush size
and ensure Add To Selection is clicked at the
top. Paint over areas you want to include. To
remove areas, use the same process but
change to Subtract From Selection.

Create a separate layer of the selected flower, which can be

added to the water droplet image. Go to Layer>New>Layer Via
Copy. Now select the new layer within the Layers palette and using the
Move tool, drag it over to the open water droplet image. It should now
appear as a new layer within this file.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 103

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Expert edit
Capture close-up

Adjust the size

Add water droplets

01

Using a pin, apply droplets to

the flower petals, including the
edges. Glycerin or sugared water works
particularly well, as it tends to stick and
stay longer than regular tap water.

08

Shrink the flower so that it fits within

the droplet via Edit>Free Transform.
Hold down the Shift key as you drag in one of
the corners so that the flower reduces to an
appropriate size within the main droplet. Hit
Enter to confirm the action and then move
the flower into place.

Warp the shape

09

Realistically the flower will need to

appear distorted in the droplet. To
replicate the effects of refraction go to
Edit>Transform>Warp. Now alter the
overlaying grid so that half of the flowers
petals extend towards the top edge of the
droplet, while the rest of the flower falls to
the bottom. Click Confirm when happy.

Repeat
the effect

10

Repeat the
distorted
flower effect in the
surrounding droplets.
However, be mindful
that each droplets
shape will vary, so
warp the flower
accordingly. As these
droplets are also not
the focal point, they
will naturally appear
slightly blurred. Once
youve placed each
flower, go to Filter>
Blur>Gaussian Blur for
a softer look.

Fill in the shadows

02

Shoot by a well-lit window to

make the most of the natural
light and help prevent the cameras
flash from firing. Use some white card to
bounce natural light into the shadow.

Select macro mode

03

Select the Macro mode on your

cameras mode dial or on the
menu this setting enables you to focus
and shoot closer to a subject. Put the
camera on a tripod or an even surface.

Focus correctly

04

Try to get very close to the main

droplet. Position the focus point
over the droplet and half depress the
shutter to lock focus. Once it appears
pin-sharp, release the shutter to shoot.

104 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Blur the flower

Realistic results

11

12

In the Gaussian Blur pop-up box, tick

the Preview box to see the adjustment.
Now increase the Radius slider to realistically
blur the flower layer so that it shares the
same depth-of-field effect as the droplet it
is positioned within. Repeat for all flower
layers except the flower in the main droplet.

To capture this image in camera, the

flower thats refracted within the
droplets needs to be positioned at the very
back. Create this illusion by adding another
flower layer and this time increasing its size
so it appears on scale with the main flower in
the photo via Edit>Transform.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Create depth of field

Enhance overall contrast

13

14

Using the Move tool, position the flower in the bottom-left corner
of the frame so that only a few petals are visible. Now create a
realistic depth-of-field effect by blurring the layer by going to Filter>Blur>
Gaussian Blur. In the pop-up box, increase the Radius slider to around
55.1px and click OK.

Finally add some extra contrast to punch up the lighting

and colour tones using Curves via the Create New Fill Or
Adjustment Layer icon. Add two anchor points along the
diagonal line and create a subtle S-shape curve. Now flatten the
layers via Layers>Flatten Image and then save it.

Closer look Secrets to the artworks success

Discover the tools used in Photoshop to create this macro effect
TRANSFORM TOOL
The Transform tool is located under File.
Use it to change the scale of your ower
and warp the perspective for a realistic
refraction effect.

ADJUSTMENTS MENU
QUICK SELECTION
The Quick Selection
tool makes selection
simple. Use it to cut out
your ower accurately,
before adding it to
your composite as a
refraction effect.

Full of useful tools that will enable

you to seamlessly blend multiple
shots together through colour
and lighting. Apply effects to
the entire image or use clipping
masks for select layers.

LAYERS PALETTE
Home to your working layers, you
can control the effects and make
adjustments to select areas of
your image here.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 105

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

MUTED COLOURS
Strip most of the colour in your
image with the Hue/Saturation
tool, which will give a convincing
bleach bypass effect.

PUNCHY CONTRAST
Discover how to enhance contrast
for a punchier result using the Black
& White adjustment tool and layer
blending modes.

Apply the bleach

bypass effect
Give your modern colour captures a retro edge with a bleach
bypass effect in Photoshop

etro-inspired filters are all the rage in photography at the

moment. Many of these effects which can dramatically alter an
images colour range and overall contrast were originally
conceived in the traditional colour film darkroom, including the bleach
bypass effect, which we will cover here.
Bleach bypass images are characteristically strong in contrast with
very muted colour tones. In the darkroom days, the effect was
achieved by skipping the bleaching step when processing colour film.
This resulted in a black-and-white image over a colour image, hence its

106 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Start
image

Source files
available

powerful effect on a photos contrast and colour tones. However, today

its much easier to replicate the bleach bypass result in the likes of
Photoshop or Elements.
Follow this tutorial, as we show you how to create a convincing
bleach bypass effect in Photoshop for yourself. The steps below are
easy to follow and will also apply to those using Elements. You will be
taken through the entire editing process, using adjustment layers and
blending modes. Whats more, it works well for all colour photos too,
so dig out a still life, landscape or even portrait and get started.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Editing guide How to apply the bleach bypass effect

Increase the Contrast

Reduce the Saturation

Open your image. Select the Black and White adjustment tool
from the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer tab. Once the
dialog box opens, begin adjusting the coloured sliders that affect the
tonal contrast within the image.

01

02

Duplicate the layer

Blend together

03

04

Now atten the layers for the next stage via Layer>Flatten
Duplicate your background layer. Re-name your new layer
and then Cmd/Ctrl+right-click and select Blending Options. In the
Layer Style dialog box, select the Screen blend mode.

Change the Black-and-White layers blending mode to Soft

Light. Now select Hue/Saturation from the adjustment layer
tab. Drag the Saturation slider towards the left to around -50. Now
change the layers blending mode to Saturation.

Now move down to the Blend If section. Hold down Opt/Alt

and click on the black triangle. Drag one half of the triangle up
to sit under the white triangle and now slowly move the other half of
the triangle into the middle grey area. Click OK, then atten the layers.

Alternative effects Use the Dodge and Burn tools to enhance other images

Control the contrast

Finishing touches

Control the contrast by selecting the Curves Adjustment tool from

the Adjustment Layer tab. Add two anchor points at either end of
the diagonal line and pull to create an S shape. Change the Curve
layers blending mode to Soft Light and continue with the steps.

Once youve attened all of the layers, add some nishing touches
using the Dodge and Burn tools. Select the Dodge tool to lighten or
Burn to darken. Adjust the brush Size, its Range and Exposure
strength, and then use on select areas on your image.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 107

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

108 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Source files
available

Transform
a portrait with
blend modes
Create a portrait with the help of textures, adjustments,
and the exhilarating Difference blend mode

hotoshop is the perfect tool for artists who like

to blend images. Blend modes and layer masks
allow us to quickly merge photos, textures and
more to create artwork that would normally take
longer to produce through more traditional means.
Well take a model shot and transform it into an
elegant mixed-media spectacle. After extracting her
via the Quick Selection tool and Refine Edge, well
place her atop the starting backdrop and begin the
barrage of blending. A swirling splatter will be placed
above the model, and well use the Difference blend

mode to create a spectral negative effect, controlled

with a layer mask. Next, well add circles, blending
them with Overlay to create a gritty mass. Well
make one of the circles part of the focal area by
making it solid and bright.
From here well add halftone effects courtesy of
mediamilitia.com, and throw in a flower or two.
Once the base composition is complete, well merge
layers and sharpen with Unsharp Mask. A Gradient
Map adjustment layer resets the palette and Color
Balance and Color Lookup elevate the appearance.

A swirling splatter will be placed above the model, and well use
the Difference blend mode to create a spectral negative effect,
controlled with a layer mask

Select model

Refine Edge

01

02

Open Model.jpg from the resources. Use the Quick Selection tool
to make a rough selection of the model. Click and drag to add to
the selection (hold Opt/Alt to remove). Use square brackets to resize the
brush. After completing the basic selection, go to Select>Refine Edge.

Use the Refine Radius tool to paint around the hair and
any other rough spots that were left. Use the keypad
brackets to change the size of the brush as needed. Change
View to On Black to check for fringe.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 109

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Output and clean up

Position model

03

04

For Output To, choose New Layer

with Layer Mask. Click OK. If the
mask needs any clean up, go ahead and use
the Brush tool to paint white to restore
missing areas, black to remove excess. Save
as Model.psd.

Apply difference texture

Open Start.psd from the

resources. Go to File>Place, add
Model.psd which you have just saved. Scale
down and position the model. Right-click
and choose Flip Horizontal. Now confirm
the new placement.

Add circles

06

Select the background layer. Use the Ellipse tool (set to Shape in
Photoshop) to create several white and black circles (hold Shift
to constrain in Photoshop). Set to the Overlay blend mode. Create a
prominent circle to the left of the model with the colour #f696a6 and
use the Normal blend mode.

05

Place MixedMedia.jpg. Position

above the model, confirm. Set
blend mode to Difference. Opt/Alt-click the
Add Layer Mask icon in the Layers palette to
add a mask hiding all. Select the Brush tool.
With a soft, round brush at 70% Opacity,
paint white in the mask to reveal areas.

Add halftone image

07

Select the model layer. Place Halftone1.png. Scale

down and position before confirming. Apply a layer
mask with the icon in the Layers palette. With a soft, round
brush at 60% Opacity, paint black in the mask to tone down.

More halftones

Extract flower

Add flowers

08

09

10

Continue to place the other

halftone images. Reduce Opacity,
apply layer masks and paint with black to
hide areas. Duplicate as needed. Place
another instance of Halftones1.png above
the model, set to Darken blend mode. Mask
out areas so it only affects the face.

110 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Open Flower.jpg. Use the Quick

Selection tool to select the flower.
Right-click the Background layer, choose
Layer from Background. Click OK. Click the
layer mask icon in the Layers palette to
create a mask based on the selection, hiding
the surrounding areas. Save as Flower.psd.

Back in the main document, place

Flower.psd. Scale and position
before confirming. Place or duplicate as
many times as you like. Position in front of or
behind the model. Apply a layer mask and
then hide areas if needed. Here weve used
two flowers.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Expert tip
Anything
goes

Merge and sharpen

11

Select the top layer and press Cmd/

Ctrl+Opt/Alt+Shift+E to merge layers. In
Photoshop, right-click on the layer and
choose Convert to Smart Object. Go to
Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask (Elements:
Enhance>Unsharp Mask). Set Amount to
100% and Radius to 2 pixels.

Color Range

12

If using Elements, skip this step and just place

Grunge.png and apply a layer mask. Otherwise
place Bird.jpg. Go to Select>Color Range. Set
Fuzziness-35. Use the Eyedropper to sample an area
to make a colour-based grungy selection. Click OK.
Click the eye icon to the left of the bird layer to hide.

When creating compositions

in the vein of mixed media,
its important to be able to
let go of preconceptions
about the subject of image
assets and view them with
an objective eye. Look for
potential tonal or textural
values that could positively
contribute to your work.
When stumped creatively
with a piece, go ahead
and throw some random
elements into the mix and
use masks, lters, and blend
modes to integrate.

Color Range texture

Apply Gradient Map

Apply Color Balance

13

14

15

For Photoshop CS and CC users, click

the Create New Fill Layer button in
the Layers palette, choose Solid Color. Pick
white, then click OK. Photoshop Elements,
click the mask and paint with black at
50-80% Opacity to hide unneeded texture.

Click the Create New Adjustment

Layer button in the Layers palette,
choose Gradient Map. Pick the Black, White
preset. In the mask, paint black at 50%
Opacity to restore colour in key areas such
as the face and coloured circle.

Apply Color Lookup

16

Click the Create New Adjustment Layer button, choose

Color Lookup. Pick Crisp_Warm. Set the blend mode to
Lighter Color. In Elements, use Photo Filter - Warming Filter (81)
at 40%. Now add another Color Lookup Fuji ETERNA 250D
Kodak 2395.

Click the Create New Adjustment

Layer button, choose Color Balance.
For Midtones, (from top to bottom) set to
-80, -10, -10. (In Elements, use a Photo Filter
- Cooling Filter 82.) In the mask, paint black at
80% Opacity to remove in key areas.

Saturate colour

17

Click the Create New Adjustment Layer button in the Layers

palette, choose Hue/Saturation. Pump Saturation to +25 (or more
if you like). Click the mask, press Cmd/Ctrl+I to invert. Paint back with
white at 90% Opacity to selectively apply the increased saturation.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 111

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Source files
available

Generate a
Lomo effect

Start image

Add retro colouring to any photo in just four simple steps

he Lomo effect is one of the most fun edits you can make on a
photo who doesnt love saturating and re-colouring pictures?
The technique originated in the early 1980s with analogue
cameras and has taken on a life of its own in the Instagram age. This is
perhaps down to the simple nature of the cameras that first took Lomo
shots and the idea that Lomo photos should be spontaneous and
natural. You dont have to be a photography or Photoshop pro to shoot
fantastic Lomo shots and although theres a set formula for giving your

112 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

snaps the characteristic bright colours and a retro vignette, there is a

lot of room for experimenting with this tutorial.
Perhaps you want to bring out a certain colour a technique which
is explained in step 2. Or maybe you want to use this effect on a
composition, to give the impression that it was captured in real life.
Whichever way you want to use the Lomo effect, just remember to
have fun with it and work through the techniques to see which one is
the most effective for you.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Learn Lomo Conquer the colouring of a classic Lomo effect

Change the Curves

Increase the Saturation

Open the Curves palette. Change the Red, Green and Blue so
they resemble the shapes in the image. Now bend the Master
RGB curve slightly for added exposure.

01

02

Work on the blur

Add a vignette

03

04

Click on the top layer and merge all into a new layer. Duplicate,
select Gaussian Blur and blur the picture before adding a
mask. Create and Mask, and brush over the subject to give focus
with a big, soft black brush.

Click on the drop-down box in the Hue/Saturation

adjustment and make each colour vibrant. They might need
different Saturation levels and you may want to alter the Hue slightly.

Put everything into a new layer. Go to Filter>Lens Correction,

and then custom; choose a dark vignette. Now youre done!
You may wish to increase the Saturation even more or brush light
leaks onto your nished picture by creating a new Screen layer.

More ideas Inspiration to try out in your Lomo photos

Fisheye

Monochrome

Light leaks

Simply change the image size to a square,

use the Spherize Distort tool in the Filter
menu and colour the edges of the image
black to make your image more exciting.

The Lomo effect also edits exposure nicely.

Why not experiment with the Desaturating
lter and play with the histogram to create a
beautiful monochrome picture?

Light leaks complement the simplicity of

Lomo nicely. Simply brush pastel colours
onto a new layer and change the blend
mode to Screen for this sunny nish.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 113

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Style text effects

Source files
available

Learn how to stylise your own 3D typeface to fit with a nature environment

ave you explored 3D? Well nows the

time! In these steps we will be
delving into the realms of blending,
colouring, lighting, 3D and brush work. Our
main objective is to take a landscape and
create 3D text on the landscape. Were then
going to blend, manipulate and change this
text in order to create a semi-realistic

114 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

image. The great thing about the final

product is that its done entirely in
Photoshop utilising Photoshops 3D
capabilities. These are often overlooked, but
they can yield some stunning results.
We are also going to be learning about
lighting and colouring and how they affect
the final outcome of an image. So prepare

to learn how to combine a lot of different

techniques to create an amazing image. You
can apply everything we will learn
throughout this tutorial to your own future
projects. Hopefully you will learn about
photomanipulation and the possibilities that
can come from it. So, without further ado,
its time to get started!

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Start image

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Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Open the document

01

Start off by opening your image into

Photoshop by going to File>Open.
Find Woods.jpg and click Open. You should
now see the woods image on the screen.
Load up the Type tool by pressing T.

Extrusion Depth

04

The 3D palette should have

opened up when you converted
the text. If you dont see it, go to Window>3D.
Click on the word Nature in this palette. In
the Properties panel, lower the Extrusion
Depth to between 350 and 400.

Inserting the text

02

Set white as the colour of your type,

and enter the word NATURE by
clicking onto the image. You may position
the text wherever you like, and feel free to
use your favourite font. We used Helvetica
LT Std Bold Condensed.

With the text layer selected, go to

3D>New 3D Extrusion from
Selected Layer. This will give your text a 3D
effect, which will be useful later on when we
begin manipulating the text.

Place the foliage

05

06

Now we need to make the 3D text

more editable. In order to do this,
we need to rasterize the image. Ctrl/
right-click on the 3D text layer and click on
Rasterize 3D.

Remove excess foliage

07

08

116 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

03

Rasterize the 3D layer

Blend the image

Our goal is to make the text look as
realistic as possible. In order to do
this, we need to blend the foliage into the
text. Set both of the foliage layers to the
Multiply blend mode.

Use the 3D tools

With the Nature text layer selected,

click on the Magic Wand tool in the
toolbar. Click outside of the text. You will see
marching ants around the text. Now on both
foliage layers, hit Delete to remove.

Next we are going to place in our

foliage images from the resources
(see links in file). Download the files and then
go to File>Place. Locate the specific images
and then place them next to each other.

Load brushes

09

Download the foliage brushes in the

links file with the resources. To do
this, click on the Brush tool, then click on the
drop down arrow in the top-left. Click on the
gear icon, and then click Load Brushes. Pick
the downloaded brushes.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Expert edit
Colour effects

Brush with foliage

Finish foliage

10

11

To use the brushes, zoom in and on a

new layer begin brushing with the
foliage brushes using various greens around
the letter N. Use this to pad out the letter to
make it as bushy as possible.

To make this look realistic, we need to

continue brushing around the rest of
the text. Do not rush this! Zoom in and out
while you are working to see what it looks like
at normal size.

Gradient Map

01

We are going to add a Gradient

Map that is black to light green
with a Hue blend mode at 33% Opacity.
You can find the Gradient Map in
Image>Adjustments.

Photo Filter

02

Next we are going to add a sepia

photo filter at 35% Density. This
is to continue to blend the lighting and
colours together.

Brush in the grass

Alter the lighting

12

13

Just as we loaded the foliage brushes

from earlier, we are going to load the
grass brushes. Brush around the ground of
the text. This is to blend the text into the
ground to make it look more realistic.

Use a white soft circle brush with 25%

Opacity and a black soft circle brush
at 25%, and draw over various parts of the
image where you think the lighting should be
coming from. Set this layer on Overlay.

Color Balance

03

A great way to adjust colour

is using the Color Balance
adjustment layer. Change these settings
for Midtones, Highlights and Shadows to
achieve the look youre going for.

Improve the colour

Light the shadows

14

15

Check out the side steps to see how

to add colour to this image. After you
finish following the steps, add in a Vibrance
adjustment and then set it to 75% to finish
the colouring.

Duplicate the original Nature layer,

and drag it to the top. Go to
Image>Adjustments>Invert. Set this layer to
Screen at 8% Opacity. It will slightly lighten
the shadows on the nature text.

Gradient Map

04

Just as we did previously, add

another Gradient Map. However,
this time you can use the default purple
to orange setting. Set this on Hue, with a
10% Opacity.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 117

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Apply mystical
smoke effects
Create an ethereal beauty by learning to combine brushes
and masks in one seamless effect

his abstract image is surprisingly easy

to make, thanks to the clever
combination of custom brushes and
layer masks. The brushes you need are free
online, and our steps will lead you through
how to load them into Photoshop and begin
creating. Its incredibly easy to add new
brushes, and it opens up so many possibilities
in your creative projects. Feel free to search
around for more shapes and themes for your
final piece.
Once the basic shape is in place, masks
and blend modes will come into play to add

back tone and some standout features.

Overall, the techniques were going to be
using are very basic. However, the placement
of the brushes and the tweaking and shaping
of our portrait will require patience and a
sharp eye. Trial and error is often the best
way to move forward; paint a smoke brush
on a new layer, move it around, transform it,
use the Brush panel to flip or rotate it,
decide if it works and simply delete it if it
doesnt! Dont be afraid to get things wrong;
its often the best way of finding out what
looks right.

Start
image

Create your base

Position the face

01

02

Create a portrait canvas with File> New and add Match.jpg.

Use Transform (Cmd/Ctrl+T) to resize and position the
match towards the bottom right-hand corner. Add a layer mask and
remove the white above the match using a black paint brush.

Load custom
brushes

03

Download
Real Smoke
Photoshop Brushes
from www.brusheezy.
com. Save the file,
unzip it and go back to
Photoshop. Select the
Brush tool (B) and in
the Brush Preset
menu, click the
Settings icon and go to
Load Brushes.
Navigate to your new
ABR file and hit Load.

118 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

File>Place smoke-before.jpg onto your canvas. Resize and

position it so its large in the centre. You can temporarily
lower the Opacity to use the position of the match as a guide. Hit
Enter to confirm the placement.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Source files
available
Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 119

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Prepare your layers

Use the Brush panel

05

Open your Brush Preset menu and

Adjust your layer order so that the
pick a brush that matches the curve
match layer is on top and the photo of the right-hand side of the models jaw
underneath, then create a new layer with
you may need to use the Brush panel to
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+N in between the two. Lower rotate and flip. Open this using the icon next
the Opacity of the photo layer to around
to the Preset thumbnail. Use black to paint in
40%. This is going to be our guide.
the main smoke.

04

Outline the jaw

06

Continue to select brushes, and

adjust with the Brush panel to
roughly outline her jaw, and create a trail
down to the match. Work carefully and
slowly. To help prevent mistakes, you can
use each brush on a separate layer.

Liquify the smoke

Add smokey features

Fill in the outlines

07

08

09

To get the smoke to the correct

shape, you can use the Liquify tool
in Filter>Liquify. Select the Forward Warp
tool (W) and use a large brush to avoid sharp
shapes that wouldnt exist in smoke. Gently
push the smoke so that it is slightly straighter
at the jawline.

Go through the brushes, finding

shapes that match the contours of
the photo. Use new layers to separate
sections. Keep the outline fairly rough,
defining only main features, such as the eyes
and nose. Use layer masks to help define
areas and dont forget Liquify!

Select a neutral grey colour and

create new layers below your
smoke outlines. Use the fuller brushes to
create a paler body of smoke behind the
black dont worry about obscuring
features; theyll be redefined in the next few
steps. Group all of your smoke layers.

Add some colour

Create vibrant colour

10

11

Duplicate your photo layer with Cmd/Ctrl+J and hide the original.
Drag the new copy above the smoke and set the blend mode to
Overlay. Erase the mouth on the layer, as the colour is too bright, and use
a layer mask to blend the sharp bottom-edge of the layer.

120 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Duplicate this layer and then go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian

Blur. Set the slider options to around 95px to blur the
details. Add a vibrant colour all over the image. Adjust the layer
mask as necessary.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Duplicate the eyes

12

Duplicate your original photo layer

and move it above the smoke layers.
Use the Lasso tool (L) to roughly draw
around the right eye. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+J to
duplicate. Go back and roughly draw around
the left eye. Cmd/Ctrl+J to copy. Delete the
photo layer copy.

Make the eyes pop

Blend in eye layers

13

Add layer masks to both eye layers

and use a soft, low-Opacity brush
(around 10-30%) to blend the eyes with the
smoke. Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment
layer above the eyes and set Saturation to
-100 to remove unwanted colours.

14

Add two Curves adjustment layers

above the eyes, drag one of the
curves all the way down to darken, fill the
mask in black, and paint white in a ring
around each iris. With the other, drag the
curve up to lighten and apply to the inside of
the iris.

Add eye colour

Touch up smoke colours

15

16

Create a brown Solid Color adjustment layer above all your layers.
Set the blend mode to Color and use the layer mask to only apply
it to the eyes. Add a lighter brown Solid Color adjustment layer and apply
to the eyes as well, for a more realistic tonal range.

As our photo layer isnt quite as big as the smoke needs

to be, add more Solid Color adjustment layers one for
her hair and one for her skin colour. Set blend modes to Color
and use the masks to blend in areas of smoke that are still black.

What can go wrong? Avoid brush overkill

Keep the smoke simple
When using interesting brushes, it can
be tempting to try and use them all in
the one edit. However, this can result in
a messy image. To avoid this, try testing
out each brush before introducing
it properly into your image, or use
separate layers to allow you to remove
any that dont work later on. Try to
stick to dening the most prominent
features with the darker, thinner strands
of smoke, such as the jawline, hairline
and nose. Then, move onto the fuller
brushes with a lighter shade to subtly
add texture to less important areas,
such as the main bulk of the skin. Try
not to spread the strands out too much;
imagine how real smoke might rise and
gradually disperse.

Right

Wrong
Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 121

Fixes
Correct your indoor
photography shots

124 20 ultimate photo fixes

152

Master the best photo edits

134 Retouch a portrait with ease

Use professional retouching techniques

138 Correct camera distortion

in Elements
Use a distort filter to change perspectives

142 Create soft focus

Make your photos glow

144 Fix indoor photos

Correct common problems

148 Make your text stand out

Use different effects on your text

152 Straighten a horizon

Utilise the Crop Tool on your photos

134

154 Remove or add facial hair

Give somebody a new beard

158 Change the colour of objects

Recolour clothing with ease

160 Retouch with actions

Use actions to retouch your images

164 Improve exposure and contrast

Dont let the light ruin your snaps

166 Tweak night-time shots

Make edits to your night-time shots

170 Remove tattoos

Retouch skin to remove tattoos
Use pro
retouching
techniques on
your photos

122 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

144

You will discover how to remove unwanted

colour casts from your captures
166

124
Create facial hair
and take it away

158

154
142

138

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 123

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

SPOT HEALING
Master basic xes like
Spot Healing, Cloning and
Content-Aware Fill.

BOOST COLOUR
Learn how to get
bright and more
precise with
individual colours in
a picture.

ENHANCE DETAILS
Bring out the very best
in your portraits by
smoothing skin, editing
exposure, boosting
contrast and more.

WHAT YOULL LEARN

CLONING/
CONTENT
AWARE

Magically add or
subtract subjects
from an image!

124 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

RETOUCH
QUICKLY
Blitz through the
basics of
retouching with a
few clicks.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

20 ULTIMATE

Master the nuts and bolts of photo fixes in this

essential guide, and make your shots shine

I
PATCHING
Fix annoying, yaway
hair with very little effort,
and minimalise your
time spent on erasing
unwanted details.

t was once a novelty to possess a pinhole or

Polaroid; more common perhaps to own a film or
disposable camera. Then came the digital era, in
which photography became more convenient and a
popular pastime for many. Now, with the boom of
the smartphone and social media, most of us have
a camera in our pocket.
The satisfaction of a beautiful picture has stayed
the same though; it might be a selfie of your family
for your phones lock screen, or a sunrise patiently

captured with the best kit known to photographers.

But no photo is beyond a little improvement.
Every Photoshop user should have the shortcuts
of photo enhancing in their arsenal; procedures
that provide simple solutions but which you can
also be creative with and have some fun.
In a world where everyone is taking and sharing
photos, you dont need to be a top photographer
for your snaps to stand out. You just need some
tricks up your sleeve, like the ones provided here.

CREATIVE
BASICS

ADJUST
EXPOSURE

BOOST
COLOURS

The simple Crop

and Sharpen
tools can be the
most effective.

Get the most out

of your lighting,
without investing
in top equipment.

Give photos a pop

and learn this
important
Photoshop fix.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 125

Boost your
colours

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

EXPERT TIP

BOOST SKIES

Make colours stand out

The Smart Brush tool in

Photoshop Elements gives
you quick blue skies with
very little effort.

If you want to focus on one particular

colour, try sliding the Hue up to 8 points
either side of the original colour in the
Adjustments. This can turn red colours
slightly pinker and blue colours
slightly more cyan, which really
makes a selected colour
stand out.

Hue/Saturation

01

A good first tool is Hue/Saturation, applied

either as an adjustment layer or from the
Image>Adjustments menu (Photoshop) or
Enhance>Adjust Color (Elements). Sliding the
Saturation control to the right boosts colours,
while Lightness increases the luminosity.

Curve control

02
Start
image

Curves are perfect for controlling colours

and tones. In Photoshop, visit Image>
Adjustments and tweak the curve to suit.
Elements doesnt have Curves, but there is a
useful option called Adjust Color Curves, found
under the Enhance>Adjust Color menu.

CURVES
Using Curves, or Adjust
Color Curves, you can
make very powerful
edits to colours, adding
impact to a scene.

Color Curves

03

GENERAL FIXES
FOR YOUR PHOTOS

In the Adjust Color Curves dialog box,

you can pick from a selection of presets
and see how it affects the colours in your image.
The curve diagram changes to reflect your
choices, so it helps you to quickly understand
what curves can do.

Improve your images using some of the

most common Photoshop tools

Many of your digital photos wont need a heavy editing hand to turn them from an
average image to a good one. Rather, you will find that there are certain tools and
processes that you will use time and time again for big improvements. In this
section, we will be looking at how you can quickly and easily correct colour,
exposure, composition and more using the most basic of tools. These tips should be
your first port of call when editing an image, as it prepares them well for using in
more creative projects.

126 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Smart Brush

04

Sticking with Elements, a great way to

boost colours in your images is to use
the options in the Smart Brush tool. There are
options such as Blue Skies and Intensify Foliage
to target specific colours. You simply paint over
the area you want to adjust.

Adjust
your exposure

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Start
image

CROP
IMAGES
FOR BETTER
COMPOSITION
Sometimes the simplest of tools can make a
really big difference to your photos. For example,
the Crop tool is a great way of improving your
composition with little effort. In both
Photoshop
and Photoshop
Elements you
can use the
Crop tool and
constrain it to a
certain ratio or
resolution. You
can also turn a
grid on to help
you gure out the
best way to crop.

Use the Exposure control

01

Photoshop Elements has a built-in quick

fix for exposure issues. In Quick mode,
choose Exposure from the right-hand panel and
go through the thumbnails to choose the one
that gives the best improvement. The slider lets
you fine-tune the effect.

Use your Levels

02

Levels is the best tool to adjust exposure.

In Photoshop Elements, access them
from Enhance>Adjust Lighting>Levels; in
Photoshop its in Image>Adjustments>Levels.
This brings up a histogram showing the
distribution of tones across your image.

Levels adjustment

Shadows/Highlights

03

04

The triangles underneath the histogram

control shadows, highlights and
midtones. By moving them left and right, you can
change the exposure of an image. Hitting Auto is
a good start, then you can experiment to get the
right exposure for your image.

Another good control is the Shadows/

Highlights command, found in the same
menu options as Levels. This lets you precisely
control the exposure of the shadow and highlight
points across your whole image. A delicate touch
is key, as you want to retain realism.

CREATE THE LOMO EFFECT GO BLACK

Just by controlling the RGB curves
separately, you are able to create an
effective Lomo effect. Pull the top
half of the red curve upwards, and
the bottom half of the green curve
downwards; then pull the top half
of the blue curve downwards and
the bottom half upwards, to create
a backwards S shape. You should
have something a little like the grid to
the left, and this will give your photo a
subtle yet retro lter.

AND WHITE

One way to improve the colour in your

photos can actually be to remove it. Some
images look better in black and white, as
it can add drama and impact to a scene.
There are lots of different ways to turn
a photo monochrome, but we suggest
trying a Black & White adjustment layer in
Photoshop. If youre in Elements, then go
to Enhance>Convert to Black and White,
which has some really nice presets that
you can play around with.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 127

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

CLONING &
CONTENT-AWARE
Now you see it, now you dont!
Remove problem areas with ease

Almost every photo contains something that is unintentional. Maybe its

an aeroplane interrupting your sunset shot; perhaps an ugly bus barrelling
across your serene country landscape. Whatever it is, if you dont want it
there, Photoshop can remove it. The Clone Stamp tool was created for
this very purpose, and Photoshops Content-Aware features make short
work of issues that used to require a lengthy session of careful hand
adjustment. The main concept behind the technology is to create sample
areas from the surrounding pixels, then use those samples to fill in the
targeted area. It can work wonders for distracting background elements,
or flyaway hairs and facial blemishes.

CONTENTAWARE FILL

Removing distracting elements

over a gradient background can
be a challenge by hand; its really
difcult to get the gradient to
match up. The Content-Aware
feature makes this much easier.
The simplest application is found
in the Edit>Fill command. Create
a selection around a distracting
element and go to Edit>Fill and
choose Content-Aware from the
Use options.

Start
image

Identify elements for removal

01

Heres an adorable image, but there are

some areas that can benefit from some
attention. Things like the light splash on her cheek,
the stump in the background, sheds over the
fence, and flyaway hairs can all be removed to
create a better image.

128 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Remove the stump

Remove flyaway hair

02

03

The most egregious visual distraction is

that ugly old stump. Create a selection
around it and go to Edit>Fill. Choose ContentAware and hit OK. If the results have a strange
halo, use the Clone Stamp to treat those areas.

The tiny strands of flyaway hair can be

easily cloned out by sampling the
background area just above or below the hair,
then carefully tracing along the strand. Make sure
the boards line up or the edit will be obvious.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

EXPERT TIP
Clone Source panel

When attempting to align a sample point

for the Clone Stamp tool, you might be
reluctant to change the sample point
and lose the alignment. To solve this,
go to Window>Clone Source. The
icons along the top of the panel
allow you to save up to ve
sample settings.

CLONE
STAMP EDIT

The Clone Stamp tool is a classic

solution to the problem of
removing distracting elements.
The technique involves sampling
pixels from one portion of the
image to paint over another area.
To sample, hold down Alt/Opt
and click on the area you want
to sample. Then paint over the
element to remove, and the tool
copies, or clones, pixels from the
sample point to paint with.

CLEAR AREAS
Content-Aware Fill
makes light work of
removing small items
from your images, such
as the unsightly stump in
our original.

WORK
TOGETHER

By working the tools in

conjunction with each other,
even large portions of an image
can be successfully removed
and replaced with synthetic
background area. The trick is to
continue working the area after
the rst tool application. If the
Content-Aware results are not
desirable, create a new selection
and try again. Then use the Clone
Stamp tool for a nal tidy.

Remove the sun spot

Tidy the background

Apply final touches

04

05

06

For the spots on the girls cheek, try first

to remove them by making small
selections and using Content-Aware Fill. But be
prepared to use the Clone Stamp to perform
additional edits.

Use the Clone Stamp tool to brush out

the shed and roof in the background
over the fence. Dont just select a single sample
point, or the image will show repetition. Change
the sample point frequently to maintain variety.

After the unwanted elements are

removed, add the final edits to finish the
photo. Consider treatments, such as increased
Clarity in the Camera Raw Filter, and adding an Iris
Blur. These effects will help hide the cloning edits.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 129

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

CONTROLLED HAIR
Remove any unwanted
elements seen in the
background or the
foreground areas of portraits.
This keeps the visual focus
locked onto the subject.

ALTERNATIVE
CLONING TOOLS
The Spot Healing brush and Patch
tool enable simple retouching

While the Clone Stamp and Content-Aware Fill tend to get most
of the retouching spotlight, they are far from the only players on
the Photoshop stage. Theres an entire supporting cast to explore.
Two great places to start are the Spot Healing brush and the Patch
tool. Both have Content-Aware technology integrated into their
functionality, and are very helpful for seamlessly removing
elements the other tools struggle with. They work on very similar
principles, but provide a means of guiding the automated process
to make sure the tool isnt pulling pixel information from an
unwanted source.

Quick retouching THE

PATCH
TOOL

Remove blemishes

01

Using the Spot Healing brush, click on the

facial skin blemishes and imperfections
to quickly and easily remove them. This tool can
also be used to create a degree of skin
smoothness by painting away rough areas.

Remove flyaway hair

02

Individual strands of unruly hair can be

easily traced over and then removed
with the Spot Healing brush. If the background
area of the image is a solid colour or a simple
gradient, the Patch tool can quickly remove
entire areas of stray hair.

130 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

The Patch tool is actually a

superior solution to the ContentAware Fill feature. But it doesnt
get the same attention because
its not fully automated. Instead
it blends the Content-Aware
technology with artistic direction
to produce better results. Select
an area you wish to remove, then
set the tool to Content-Aware
and drag the selection to a
sample area and let Photoshop
handle the rest!

Remove other distractions

03

Now remove any other distracting

elements in the shot. Here we removed
the hand peeking into the frame by using a
combination of the Content-Aware Fill and the
Healing Brush. A touch or two of the Clone
Stamp tool can be helpful for areas the
automated process cant figure out.

Add warmth and boost

04

Finish up by adding a Photo Filter

adjustment layer to add warmth to the
image and a Curves adjustment layer. Use a
subtle S-shape for the curves to give the contrast
a bit of a boost.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

FOREGROUND
INTRUSIONS
BEGONE!
Start
image

Its not just background distractions that are subject to

removal. Foreground intrusions can be eliminated just as
easily. In this image we cleaned up the branches sticking
out in front of the girls blouse and leg. We also removed
the vine in the background, and the utility box attached to
the tree all with a few simple sweeps of the Clone Stamp
tool and the Content-Aware Fill.

CLONE
STAMP OUT

The Clone-Stamp Tool is a

classic solution to the problem of
removing distracting elements.
The technique involves sampling
pixels from one portion of the
image to paint over another area.
To sample, hold down alt/opt and
click on the sample area. Then
paint over the element to remove
and the tool copies, or clones,
pixels from the sample point to
paint with.

Start
image

SPOT
HEALING
BRUSH
SUBTLE DELETIONS

EXPERT TIP

Change the blend mode

Many of the brush-based tools include
an option for changing the blending
mode. Darken or Lighten help target
stubborn pixels that resist change
in the normal settings. Just
remember to return the
setting to Normal when
youre nished.

Foreground elements such

as twigs and foliage dont
necessarily ruin a picture,
but their removal certainly
improves matters.

The Spot Healing brush is ideal

for removing small areas, such
as skin blemishes or strands of
yaway hair. The difference in
this tool is that you dont need
to dene a sample area rst.
The tool calculates it from the
surrounding pixels. The key is
to keep the brush
size just slightly
larger than the
target spot
or hair, so the
result blends
in seamlessly.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 131

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

THE BEST
FILTER
FIXES
Find out how to fix up your photos
with Photoshops filters
The Filter menu offers a fantastic array of creative effects, including
options that turn your images into works of art. But transforming
photos into frescos is not all the Filter menu has to offer. In fact,
theres a great selection of tools that can not only help enhance your
images but also fix problem areas.
In this section we take you through some
of the key enhancing features within the
Filter menu. Youll learn all about correcting
SHARPENING EFFECT
lens distortions, reducing noise in low-light
The Unsharp Mask lter
captures, smoothing skin and sharpening up
affects the entire image. To
soft shots. Follow the four-step tutorial and
sharpen only specic areas of
an image, use layer masks or
find out how to use the Unsharp Mask filter
the Sharpen tool found in the
effectively for sharper shots in only a matter
Tools palette.
of minutes and a few clicks.

Start
image

CLOSE UP
Close-up captures or
portraits should always be
sharpened, as the viewer
will be drawn to a much
smaller area of focus.

CORRECT
DISTORTIONS
Within the Filter gallery youll nd plenty
of useful tools, including Lens Correction.
Use the lter to x optical distortions
created by some camera lenses. Its a
fantastic tool that will not only help you to
remove barrel and pincushion distortion,
so that the lines appear straighter in your
shots, but also reduce
obvious chromatic
aberration, vignettes
and even correct the
image perspective
caused by vertical or
horizontal camera tilt.

132 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Duplicate the layer

Adjust the amount

01

02

Open the image to sharpen in Photoshop.

Right-click on the Background layer and
select Duplicate Layer. Re-name to Sharpen
Layer and click OK. Now select your new layer to
activate it. Go to Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask.

Select the Preview icon and zoom in to

an area you want to appear sharper.
Slowly increase the Amount slider, which
determines how strong the sharpening will be.
Start at 100%. You can change this later.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

CREATE SMOOTH SKIN

Adding a little blur to
shots is a great way to
smooth skin for attering
portraits or even enhance
a background blur
effect youve maybe
not managed to capture
in-camera. Explore the
blur options within the
Filter menu for different
effects. Surface Blur is
great for softening skin; in
the dialog box simply bring
the Radius slider up to
around 60 pixels and pull
the Threshold up to 7.

REDUCE
NOISE
This is one problem that
pretty much everyone has
experience of. If youve
taken an image in low light
without the use of ash,
your camera will often select
a higher ISO setting, which
makes the camera more
sensitive to light so that you
get a brighter exposure.
However, high ISOs
introduce noise into your
images. In order to reduce
the appearance of noise,
go to Filter>Noise>Reduce
Noise. Within the dialog
box, adjust the Strength and
Preserve details sliders to
reduce luminance noise,
and use the Reduce Color
Noise slider for taking
control of any colour noise
in your image.

EXPERT TIP
Sharpen for output

How much sharpening you apply depends

on the images output. High-quality canvas
prints can withstand more sharpening, so
set the Radius between 1.0-2.5 pixels.
The Threshold slider should be kept low,
For smaller prints, set the Radius
between 0.4-1.0 pixels and for
between 1-10. Set it to around 2, which will
websites between
ensure the image appears sharp but also prevents
0.2-0.3 pixels.
any noise becoming noticeable. Once youre happy

Sharpen the edges

Fine-tune the results

03

04

Select the Radius slider, which controls the

sharpening lines. These need to be wide
enough to make a difference, without being
noticeable. Around 1.7 pixels works for large prints.
Less is good for smaller prints or online use.

with the results click OK and then save your image.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 133

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

134 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Retouch a portrait
with ease
Whether you want to make subtle changes or drastic alterations,
learn how to make your edits deliberate, but not overpowering

hen opening up a portrait, it will often

look great at first glance but then we
stare at it, looking for problem areas
that need to be fixed. The more we look, the more
issues we are going to find. After a few hours of
retouching, its useful to carry out a before-andafter comparison. Even on the most beautiful of
subjects, you will find there were dozens of large
and small areas that needed your attention.
When it comes to beauty retouching, many of
the techniques that are used for one image can
easily be used again for others you are working on.

Cloning and Healing, Dodge and Burn, Unsharp

Mask and Liquify are some of the most commonly
used tools. Eventually, you will come across an
image that requires a higher skillset and more
creativity to resolve all the issues.
Damaged skin, moire patterns, soft focus and
flyaway hairs are just some of the many obstacles
you will face when embarking on portrait
retouching. Poor retouching can easily make things
worse than the original problem was to begin with.
If you do a good job retouching, though, no one
will notice you did anything at all.

Start with Camera Raw

Open as Object

01

02

When opening a Raw file in Photoshop, it will open Adobe

Camera Raw. It has very simple controls for complex
functions. Start with the balancing of tone and adjusting the
colour by making global moves in the first tool panel.

Start image

Rather than pushing the Open Image button, hold down Shift
to reveal the Open as Object button instead. This retains the
Camera Raw functionality and settings. Once in Photoshop, you will
notice the layer is now a Smart Object.

Make global
changes
first

03

Subtle
changes
can use simple
masks, while large
changes need
more attention.
Work globally at
first; dont get too
involved with the
details. Create
quick and loose
masks for the eyes,
skin and blouse as
you work through
steps 4-6.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 135

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Expert edit
Quick Mask selections

Quick Mask preferences

01

Double-click on the Quick Mask

button (below the colours) and a
dialog box will open. Use 100% Opacity
and Selected Areas. Click OK, then click
the Quick Mask icon one more time.

Adjust blouse saturation

Make tonal changes

04

05

The blouse is too bright; it is

considered a prop, and should not
be dominant. Use a Hue/Saturation
adjustment layer with Colorize to slightly
change the colour. Also use a Curves
adjustment layer to modify the contrast and
bring back lost detail in the fabric.

A soft and loose mask can be used

to encircle the entire eye area. Using
a Curves adjustment layer, brighten the eye
sockets, but then darken the iris to keep the
area from looking like its been worked too
much. Again, subtlety is key. Keep it bright,
but not too bright.

Create depth
of field

06

Go to
Filter>Blur>
Iris Blur to leave the
face sharp, but soften
the hair and back of
the head to simulate
depth of field. You
should also mask out
the areas that are
even with the face,
and let those stay
sharp. This will help
enhance the illusion
that this was an
in-camera effect.

Use Quick Mask

02

Click on the Quick Mask button

(Q key) again to begin editing.
Use the Paint Brush tool with black at
100% Opacity. Wherever you want the
selection, simply paint it in.

Adjust the mask

03

Remember that when you make

a mistake, you can always swap
your brush to white so that you can
remove any incorrect selections from
your mask.

Mask to selection

04

Once again, click on the Quick

Mask button, and you will be
back into regular Photoshop. Only this
time you will have a selection, based on
the areas that you painted.

136 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Graft skin

Match colour and tone

07

08

The skin under the eyes and across

the nose is pretty bad, so skin
grafting from another shot is necessary. Use
the supplied Skin_Graft.tif file to replace
this section, and blend the two together. Set
the layer Opacity to 75% and scale and
rotate with Edit>Free Transform.

Return the layer Opacity to 100%

and add a layer mask filled with
white. Match the colour with Selective Color
and tone with a Levels or Curves adjustment
layer while you simultaneously paint on the
mask with a soft black brush. Gradually
blend the two images together.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Expert tip
Leave some
mistakes

Use dual window panes

Sharpen skin details

09

Rather than blurring the skin to smooth it out,

use Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask on the
skin with 100, 2, 2 to bring out the softer details barely
seen. This will make bad skin look worse, but you can
fix it later during the cloning step.

Heal and clone

11

Start with the Healing Brush. Then go

back with the Clone Stamp set to 10%
Opacity. Clone a light area over a dark area,
and a dark area over a light area. Pixel for
pixel, pore for pore. This slow and tedious
work is necessary for quality results.

10

When cloning skin, use a split view of

the same image with Window>
Arrange>New Window. One is a close-up for
the details, and one is far away for an overall
view. Doing this will make it much easier to
see patches of dark and light areas that
need fixing.

Sharpen the skin

Soften the lips

12

The lips have too many creases, and

are uneven in the top centre. Fill in the
gaps with cloning techniques, the same as
the rest of the skin. The lips should have a
soft shimmer and not cause distraction.

Adjust highlights and shadows

14

Dont make the portrait

100 per cent perfect. Leave
some imperfections behind.
If every hair is in place, and
there are no blemishes at all,
it will look overworked and
fake. By leaving behind minor
areas of imperfection, they
will allow the perfected areas
to be more believable and
acceptable to the viewers
eye. It is the retouchers
job to enhance, but not
to distract with a heavyhanded approach. Subtlety
is your key to success.

Light sculpting, also known as dodge and burn, can be used to

manipulate the highlights and shadows to enhance the contours
and focal points. Start by creating a darkening Curve, and also a lightening
Curve. Fill both masks with black so the Curves effects are hidden.

13

You may find that all the cloning

makes the skin look too soft. Select all
the layers and either merge them all
together, or right-click and Convert to Smart
Object. Create a selection of the skin and
Apply Filter>Unsharp Mask 100, 1.5, 0 to pull
out extra fine details in skin.

Dodge and Burn

15

You can then paint on each of the masks with a white

brush set to 10% Opacity. Gradually, you will be adding or
removing the different tones around the face. By darkening the
shadows and lightening the brights, the image will become
more visually interest.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 137

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Correct
camera
distortion in
Elements

A NEW PERSPECTIVE
The Correct Camera Distortion
lter adjusts the perspective
and scale of your photo, as well
as correcting any faults.

Use a simple distort filter to throw

a new perspective on your photos

he best photo fixes are the ones that dont look

edited. It is easier said than done, but the perfect
correction can be both powerful and subtle. If
you can make an edited picture look as if its always
been like that, then you are halfway to becoming a
master of Photoshop.
It may seem like a magic trick now, but there are ways
to correct any picture and photo fixes for any occasion.
While these photo fixes are great tools to have at the
ready, actually, the obvious filters are also a fantastic
place to start. The Correct Camera Distortion filter for
example, is a simple way to delicately play with the
perspective and scale of a photo and even correct the
flaws that photographers sometimes encounter.
However, that doesnt mean that camera correction
has to be an arduous and boring quick fix. Theres
still fun that can be had from transforming a photo
with only a few simple clicks. Lets look at three of the
main techniques that the Correct Camera Distortion
filter handles and see how they can be applied into
your photos.

Theres still fun that can be had

from transforming a photo

Source files
available

Tweak the
perspective
Shift the focus from
one side of an image
to another
Perspective is something more
than often associated with the
Transform and Crop tools, but you
can easily alter the perspective of a
picture by using Camera Correction.
It is the perfect way to keep the
straight lines in your picture
impeccably parallel and give the
impression that you used a tripod to
take the snap.

Start image
138 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

It is associated with
Transform and Crop

Show grid

01

Here were going to use the grid, as

cities rely much more on straight lines.
You may not want a perfectly straight shot,
but a grid will help align a picture more
accurately. Click the option at the bottom.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Get a vertical perspective

Adjust the angle

The horizontal perspective

02

03

04

Tweak the Vertical Perspective. You

might want it to appear as if the
viewer is looking up at the buildings, or you
could make them more level with the viewer.
Change this setting very slightly.

Turn the Angle of the photo so that

the buildings and the grid are parallel.
You might want to tweak both the Vertical
Perspective and the Angle simultaneously
to get a result you think looks best.

You can now tweak the Horizontal

Perspective to give the subject a
much sharper focus The best part about
this is that it will not interfere with the
Vertical Perspective at all.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 139

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

A RETRO LOOK
The vignette around
the central focus has
intensied the light
and shade.

Add a vignette
Give a retro touch to
the edges of any
photograph

Start image

You probably thought that adding

a vignette would be a case of
manually brushing the edges of a
photo, and it can be if you want to
create a deep, dark edge. However,
to apply an understated fade to the
corners of a photograph it couldnt
be easier, as it relies on just a
couple of sliders to give a retro feel
to any shot.

To apply an
understated fade
to the corners of a
photo it couldnt be
easier, as it relies on
a couple of sliders

Apply a vignette Use sliders to adjust the amount of vignette around your image

Centralise the photo

Alter the amount

01

02

A vignette is added to the edges of a

photo, so make sure your subject is
within the perimeters to occupy the central
spotlight. Crop as necessary or nd a photo
that the vignette will really suit.

Move the sliders to adjust the

amount of vignette decide if you
want it to be light or dark. Dark vignettes are
generally more popular and give a lo- look
to any photo!

Alter the Midpoint

03

Use the Midpoint sliders to decide

how far you want the vignette to
infringe the central focus of your picture.
This may depend on how much of the
picture your subject takes up or how retro
you want it.

Manually improve your vignette Enhance the camera-correction edit

Black layer

Mask and Erase

Set Blend mode

01

02

03

If you want a black vignette, create a

new layer and ll it in black. You could
create a vignette of any colour, but were
going to go with a classic dark one to show
you how to enhance the one we created.

140 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Create a mask over the black layer.

Select a big, soft, black brush and
brush over the mask, revealing the subject
in the centre of the photo. Brush out to the
edges as far as you want the vignette to go.

Set the blend mode to Soft Light to

Experiment with different blend
modes and opacity at this point. For
example, fading the photo out to
monochrome could look really effective.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Correct the
distortion

BEND THE PHOTO

Give depth or realign a
photo with the Correct
Distortion slider.

Bend your photos

and create a much
straighter nish
Photographs rarely turn out exactly
as you want them, which is why we
have photo xes. Photo xes should
be as straightforward as possible,
and Photoshops Correct
Distortion slider is a basic
modication that can be
added to any picture. It
can be used to give depth
or realign any photo,
and relies only on the
one slider.

And it
relies on only
one slider

Start image

Choose a photo

01

Pick a photo that you want to correct

the distortion of. Photos of trees are
good to begin with, as its not vital to stick to
rigid, straight lines, but you can still realign
and atten them out by eye.

Remove
any flaws
Improve the
look of your
photo with
these tools
EDGE
EXTENSION
Best used as a
Zoom tool, the
Edge Extension
can also be used
ultimately as a
nal crop for your
edited pictures.

Remove the distortion

Edge Extension

02

03

Head to Filter>Correct Camera

Distortion. The top option youll see
will be Distortion. This pulls the photo either
in or out, rather like a sheye effect.
Experiment until the trees all look straighter
and tilt the angle slightly to level the picture.

The Edge Extension option allows

you to either zoom in or out on your
picture, which makes it a perfect nal step
for you to assess how your photo looks from
afar. Zoom out to see how the shot looks,
before moving the counter back to normal.
REMOVE DISTORTION
Stop photos from bevelling
outwards or pulling inwards
with an almost sheye control
to straighten up shots.

ADD A VIGNETTE
Add dark or light faded
edges to your photos for a
classic or homemade twist on
any picture.

PERSPECTIVE CONTROL
Throw more focus to the one
side of your photo and then
level up the straight lines in
your picture.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 141

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

BLURRED LAYER
Turn up the blur further
for a more exposed, softer
focus, and experiment
with how much to reveal
with the opacity slider.

ORIGINAL LAYER
Keeping your original layer
means that you can fade
out as much or as little of
the blur as you like.

Source files
available
Start image

Create soft focus

Make your photos glow and add a gentle soft focus in Elements

ome subjects have a natural glow when you photograph them,

but if you know how to use simple blurring techniques, any
picture can be enhanced by a beautiful soft focus.
Learning basic photo edits in Elements can open the door to so
many possibilities with your artwork. Not only can you add a light
radiance to your compositions, you can prep a photo ready to place
text over see the Average Blur effect or even just enhance the
natural energy of a picture. You might even find that there are few

142 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

photos, compositions or even digital paintings that cant be improved

with a soft focus.
And the great thing about the soft-focus effect is that its quick to
master and easily customisable; you can add a huge glow or just subtly
blur around the edges of your subjects hair.
Lets check out how to master this effect in just four steps;
remember to experiment as much as you like to create a soft focus
more suited to your specific photo.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Blur and focus Add gleam and exposure to all the right places

Duplicate

Apply Gaussian Blur

Duplicate the image layer. This will be the one that we apply the
focus to. Duplicate the background layer. This will allow you to
easily tone down an effect just by controlling the layer opacity.

01

02

Set blend and opacity

Add a mask

03

04

Turn the Opacity down on this layer; weve gone for 50. This
will calm down the effect, and bring back some of the original
images focus. Set the blend mode to Screen, and your image will
become brighter and more exposed, with a classic soft-focus effect.

Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and alter the Radius for how

blurred youd like your image to be. You can pick anything
from 12 to 30 pixels; you can even go as low as 5 for a subtle glow.

Inject focus and contrast by adding a mask to your blurred

layer. Select a big, soft, black brush, preferably with a low
opacity, and just paint over the layer until you reveal what you want.
Adding focus to a face can help accentuate wispy hair in a subject.

Other blur styles Use this technique with other styles of blur

Motion Blur

Radial Blur

Average

Motion Blur adds action to your shots. Go

through the same steps, only choose
Motion Blur, and remember to mask out the
front of the object to give the effect of travel.

Radial Blur is similar to Motion Blur, but it

works best on images with either a zoom or
a wheel effect. Here, weve used the radial
motion to create a star trail.

An Average blur picks an average colour

from the picture. Use the steps of the soft
focus and you can create a lter; this creates
pictures perfect for inserting text onto.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 143

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

NO MORE NOISE
Use the Reduce Noise
lter to combat the
effects of high ISOs.

Fix indoor photos

Learn how to correct common indoor photo problems using Photoshop

aking photos indoors can be a tad problematic if youre not

using the correct camera settings or lighting setup. A lack of
light can wreak havoc on your images, and you might find that
your photos end up with a lot of unsightly noise or even a distracting
colour cast. Using your cameras built-in flash can help in some
situations, but if its not used correctly it can wash out a subject and
create harsh, unflattering shadows, all of which will leave you with a
mammoth editing task.
Adjusting your ISO, white balance and flash settings in-camera will
help you take better indoor shots in the future, but if you are after a

144 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

quick fix for your existing photos, just follow this guide in Photoshop.
You will discover how to remove unwanted colour casts from your
captures using Levels and the Selective Color adjustment tool, as well
as how to reduce the level of noise that is present in your images, and
soften the effects of face-on flash with Curves and
layer masks.
Each step-by-step is easy to follow, even for beginners, and the
results are instant improvements. Weve even included some advice on
how to prevent these common problems from affecting your photos in
the future.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Minimise noise
Discover how to remove
and prevent noise from
appearing in your photos
Noisy photos are a common problem
when shooting in low light and
indoors. Noise indicates that a high
ISO setting has been used, which
increases the cameras sensitivity to
light, enabling you to capture brighter
images. High ISOs, however, are
notorious for adding noise, which can
reduce the quality. To prevent noise,
select a low ISO and choose a slower
shutter speed so that more light is let
in during exposure. You
will need a tripod to avoid
blurry shots.

High ISOs are

notorious for
adding noise,
which reduces
the quality

Start image

Zoom in close

Remove colour noise

Preserve the details

01

02

03

Open your image, go to Filter>Noise>

Reduce Noise. Once the dialog box
appears, click on Basic control. Zoom in to a
noisy area within the preview box on the left, to
help you monitor the adjustments and changes.

BASIC CONTROL
Keep things simple using Basic
mode to effectively reduce noise.
The Advanced option requires
a good understanding of colour
channels, which can be complex.

Remove colour noise by slowly dragging

the Color Noise slider right until it
softens. See before and after results by clicking
and holding on the preview box. You can now
reduce luminance noise.

Drag the Strength slider right until the

luminance noise fades. You can then
increase the Preserve Details slider, which will
bring back some detail without re-introducing
noise. Click OK when happy.

PREVIEW RESULTS
Zoom in on your image in
the preview screen to see
adjustments. Click and
hold the preview box, to
see before and after.

SHARPEN DETAILS

REDUCE NOISE

Keep the Sharpen Details

slider at 0% and sharpen
the entire image after
youve reduced noise via
Unsharp Mask from the
Filters menu.

Remove colour noise by

increasing the Reduce
Color Noise slider. Then
balance the Strength and
Preserve Details slider to
remove luminance noise.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 145

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Soften the
effects of flash
Learn how to make your
indoor flash photos appear
more flattering and natural

Start image

Your cameras built-in flash can be

essential when shooting in limited light.
However, auto flash settings have a habit
of creating strong shadows, cool colour
tones and bright highlights. To fix
in-camera, select the slow-sync flash
setting, to capture more of the
surrounding ambient light. Diffusing the
flash can also help, so either position a
piece of white paper over the front of the
flash or rotate the flash head so the light
bounces off a surface first.

Either position a piece

of white paper over
the front of the ash or
rotate the ash head

SOFT AND LOVELY

Combine a variety of tools and
commands to combat harsh
ash light, producing a more
natural result.

Enhance flash images Soften shadows and warm up your flash photos in an instant

Add a Curves adjustment

Brighten the background

Select the layer mask

Select the Curves adjustment from the

Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon
at the bottom of the Layers palette. Add two
anchor points around one square in at either
end of the diagonal line.

01

Drag the top anchor point to the left in

order to brighten the image and then do
the same with the anchor at the bottom. Ignore
the results for now, as you really only want to
brighten the background here.

02

03

Preserve the foreground

Warm the colour tones

Soften the shadows

04

05

06

Set brush Opacity to 80% and ensure

the colour is set to black. Paint over your
subject to remove the Curves effect. If you go
over the background, change the brush colour
to white and paint over to bring it back.

146 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Remove the cold blue tones with a

Photo Filter adjustment layer. In the
dialog box, select Preserve Luminosity and
choose the Warming Filter from the drop-down
menu. Increase the Density slider slowly.

To remove the effect from your

foreground subject, select the blank
layer mask in the Layers palette. Pick the Brush
tool and ensure you have a large-sized brush
with a soft edge.

Flatten the layers via Layer>Flatten

image and select the Dodge tool. Select
Shadows in the Range and keep Exposure
around 10%. You can now lighten dark shadows
by painting over them.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Correct colour casts

Remove unwanted hues
Indoor shots often have a dominant colour
tone. Colour casts are created as light emits
a certain colour temperature, which the
camera can pick up on if you havent selected
the right white balance setting. To prevent this,
scroll through your cameras white balance menu
and use a setting that suits the type of light
youre using.

Select Levels

01

Open your image and pick a Levels

adjustment layer. Once the Levels
dialog box opens, select the middle Eyedropper
tool on the left. This will set the grey point in
the image.

Start image

Select the midtone

Adjust the hue

Tweak the results

02

03

04

Click an area in your photo that should

appear as a midtone somewhere
neither in shadow or highlight. Most of the colour
cast should be removed. You can select another
area if its not quite right.

To tweak the tones further, pick a

Selective Color adjustment layer. In the
dialog box, select Whites from the Colors
drop-down menu. Adjust the sliders to remove
any lasting colour cast from the highlights.

Select Neutrals and then Blacks from

the Colors drop-down menu and follow
the same procedure. Make small adjustments to
avoid adding another colour cast. Use the
preview by clicking the eye icon.

LEVELS ADJUSTMENT

SELECTIVE COLOR

Apply a Levels adjustment layer

and remove most of the colour
cast using the Eyedropper tool to
select a midtone area.

Remove lasting remnants

of a colour cast using the
Selective Color tool. Simply
work between the Whites,
Neutrals and Blacks from the
Color drop-down menu.

ADJUSTING
TONES
Slowly adjust each
coloured slider in order
to tweak the tones within
the shadows, midtones
and highlights.

PREVIEW RESULTS
Continually press and hold
the eye icon as you make
changes, in order to see a
before and after preview.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 147

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

NO MORE NOISE
Use the Reduce Noise
lter to combat the
effects of high ISOs.

Source files
available

Make your
text stand out

Start image

Ensure that your typefaces are as striking as can be

with some simple highlighting techniques

f an image has a busy background, its hard for anything to stand

out, not least a line of text that might be written in a thin font and
an inconspicuous colour.
Rather than change the colour and weight of the font, which in
actual fact often doesnt help much, there are sneaky ways of making
sure that your text is more prominent, and you dont have to change
how it looks at all. By darkening or lightening the background in creative
ways, you can open the door to a whole range of subtle techniques to
counter the problem.

148 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Remember though, its incredibly important not to get carried away

and merge a text layer with your background until its standing out
clearly. Theres very little that can be done to correct indistinct text in a
picture if its merged in, unless you know the exact font, size and
spacing that was used.
Lets take a look at three creative ideas for how to get the most out of
type, and how to give it the attention it deserves in a picture. And why
not mix two or more of these techniques for those times when youre
feeling extra experimental?

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Start image

Add a drop
shadow
Lightly shade behind a
headline text to give
some extra clarity
Adding a shadow can be one of the
most natural-looking (and easiest)
ways to highlight a subject, but it
can be difficult judging light and
shade when trying to embed one into
a photo.
Adding a drop shadow to some text,
though, is considerably easier to
judge. Use the Layer Styles to choose
an angle, strength and size, and give
your text a bit of depth.

Adding a shadow
can be one of
the most naturallooking (and easiest)
ways to highlight
a subject

Space the distance

Set the options

Touch it up

01

02

03

Ctrl/right-click your text layer and

choose Blending Options. Youll see the
Drop Shadow checkbox to the left. Set the
Distance far enough so that you can see the
shadow from the text independently. Now were
ready to edit.

ANGLE
Decide on where the
light should hit the
text, and thus where
the shadow should
form in relation.

SPREAD
The Spread setting
dictates whether a
shadow falls into a
wide space or a small
one. Great for creating
longer shadows!

The three main options in the Drop

Shadow menu are Distance, Spread
and Size. Adjust these in accordance to the
shape of the shadow you wish to create, and
alter opacity to change the strength. Use the
Angle icon to choose where the shadow falls.

With this particular text effect, were

using text that has been slightly masked
out. To nish up, Ctrl/right-click, rasterise the
layer style and mask around where the text was
masked out originally, just so the shadow doesnt
look too strong.

DISTANCE
Use this to choose
how far or near
youd like your
drop shadow to be
from the text.

SIZE CONTROL
If you create a big
shadow with the
Size option, lessen
the effects with
the Opacity slider
at the top.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 149

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Add shadows
with Multiply
Use blend modes to
quickly change the colour
behind your text

Start image

Using a Drop Shadow on your photo

automatically combines shading in the
right places with a Multiply blend mode.
But what if you wanted to create a
shadow yourself?
As with anything in Photoshop, you
get far more control and customisation
from learning how to create your own
effects from scratch. Using Multiply to
add shadows is a great technique, but it
can open up possibilities of different
colours, too.

You get more control

and customisation
from learning how to
create your own effects
from scratch

CREATIVE MODES
Play around with blend
modes to discover the ideal
combination for the image you
are working with.

Duplicate blurred layer

Duplicate the text layer

Blur original text layer

Start by duplicating your text layer.

Having separated these layers into
two, the lower ones going to form your shadow,
and the upper one is going to remain as the
text layer.

01

Blur the lower layer by going to Filter>

Blur>Gaussian Blur. By doing this, the
upper layer will look like its glowing, but were
going to change the colour of the lower one to
make the text stand out.

02

03

Set to Multiply

Choose a colour

Create a clipping mask

04

05

06

Change the blend mode of the blurred

layer to Multiply. This darkens the
picture with the colours of the top layer; you
might choose to end here, or you might even
want to use the Color blend mode.

150 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

If you want a coloured shadow or glow,

create a layer above the blurred text
layer. This is going to dene the colour of the
shadow, so pick a gradient or colour that will
make the text stand out from its background.

Its only a light blur on the lower layer, so

duplicate the layer until its stronger.
When youve done this, merge the blurred layers
together. It doesnt matter if you make the blur
too strong, as you can reduce opacity.

Ctrl/right-click and choose Create

Clipping Mask. Only the pixels on the
coloured layer will cover the pixels on the blurred
text layer. Reduce the opacity if the effect is
too strong.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Apply a stroke Get creative with text and outline it with a stroke
A Stroke layer style is perhaps the most obvious
way that you can outline anything, and if youre
inventive, you can create anything with it, from
line drawings to cartoons. It is a really rather
diverse tool when you know what youre doing
and its pretty simple to pick up.
You can use it to accentuate text as well, but
why not go even further and use it to outline a
text box? Heres how.

Make your selection

01

Create a layer between the text layer and

the background layer. Use the
Rectangular Selection tool to select behind the
text, and make a box just big enough to cover
the text.

Choose your colour

Reduce Fill

Stroke

02

03

04

Head to the swatches and choose a

colour for your box. Given that weve
got black and white text, were going to go for a
dark grey, but you can go for anything; even a
gradient. Fill your selection with this colour.

Were going to make this box

translucent using the Fill slider in the
Layers palette. Fill reduces the opacity of the
layer, but it doesnt affect layer effects, which will
come in useful in a minute.

Ctrl/right-click and go to Blending

Options. Along the left-hand menu, go
to Stroke, and choose a border for this
translucent box. Choose a complementary
colour to the ones already picked.

POSITION

SIZE

Choose whether you

want to stroke inside the
shape, on the outside of
the shape, or along the
edges centre.

Change the size of the

stroked line; an outline
will have curved corners
though, regardless of the
objects shape.

FILL TYPE

PREVIEW

Choose whether you

want your stroke to be a
solid colour, a gradient
or a pattern.

See how the stroked line

will look around an object
with a basic preview to
the right.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 151

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Start image

Source files
available

Straighten a horizon
Use Elements to level out a picture with minimal effort

uman error happens, and when it turns out that your photos
arent blessed with straight horizons, there are some simple
fixes. Sure, you can manually rotate the picture, work out the
horizon by eye and crop, but it is far more civilised (and a lot quicker)
to use one tool to straighten up with a simple click.
The Straighten tool in Elements is one of the simplest photo fixes
you can apply. It aligns a photo perfectly with just a single line, and
deceptively, it can change the look of a picture completely. But this

152 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

brand of editing magic isnt just reserved for Elements; the same trick
can be used in Photoshop too, as the tool is situated in the Crop
options in CC. It shows the angle that a picture is out by, so you dont
even have to align by eye.
Its not just landscapes that can do with a straighten either; why not
try this technique out on portraits, or even drawings and composites,
to get the perfect balance? Lets check out how to use the Straighten
tool and bring pictures back on the level.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Level up Use the spirit level for the perfect straightening

Open your picture

Start straightening

01

02

Check out the options

Finishing touches

03

04

Firstly, open up your picture and identify what needs to be

straightened; in this picture, its obvious. The pictures aligned
with the skyscrapers and not the horizon. Select the Straighten tool
the spirit level icon to the left-hand side, situated in the bottomright of the panel and lets begin

Across the bottom panel, there are three options

depending on the edit. You can choose to remove the
background of the edited image, you can grow or shrink the picture
depending on the edit, or you can keep the size of the photo and
just rotate the image within the borders. Select one before editing.

Simply drag the tool from one end of the image across to
the other to straighten. Start exactly on the horizon and
make sure that the line youre drawing aligns perfectly with the
skyline. Once you let go of the tool, it completes the edit. Use the
Undo (Cmd/Ctrl+Z) and draw again if it isnt quite perfect.

Depending on which option you picked in the last step, you

may wish to make a couple of nishing touches. Get rid of
the excess white space if you have any and resize the picture back
to the original dimensions if need be. And remember, theres
nothing to stop you realigning a picture until you get it right!

Extra edits Touch up your picture after youve straightened it

Clone
The Autoll Edges tool can get rid of white corners left over from a

Resize
the image
The other option is for if youve made the picture smaller by straightening it. In

straightening, but you may wish to cover up your corners manually, using the
Clone tool. Simply use the Alt/Opt key to select a patch of the picture, and then
brush over the corners to hide any spaces.

this case, head to Image>Resize and enter a new size perhaps the original size
of the picture before straightening to compensate. You may need to crop
anyway to accommodate the new perspective.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 153

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

MIMIC TONE
Make sure that you vary
the shades and hues of the
hairs that you are adding to
the beard if you want it to
feel realistic.

Before

STUDY SUBJECTS
Take a look at people
with facial hair in order
to give you a better idea
of where it should sit on
your subjects.

Remove or
add facial hair

EXPERT TIP
What does it mean?

SOFT FOCUS: It is used in photography

to gently soften harsh edges. This makes
it the perfect nishing touch for any
project using the Brush tool or the
Clone Stamp; you can disguise the
editing youve done slightly,
and give a dreamy nish
to your picture.

Use brushes and cloning in Elements to have full control over beards

air is famously difficult to select, but

its a lot easier to edit and create
facial hair on a subject. While there
are theoretically plenty of ways to create a
beard, one of the easiest is a less obvious
choice. By creating a brush and adjusting the
Scattering and Spacing in its settings, you can
paint hair over a subject in a matter of
seconds, without having to individually place
every single hair.

154 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Getting rid of a beard is just as simple. The

Clone Stamp can be used for all sorts of
photo-fix edits, but its a great option when
it comes to replicating hairless skin in a
bearded area.
By learning the first two techniques of
adding and removing stubble, you can
reshape the facial hair on just about any
subject. With a little help from the third
tutorial, you might choose to replace the facial

hair in a subject or change the style of beard

completely. So while it may seem like a tricky
task to work with hair, facial hair need not be.
Read on and discover how to take control of
beards with our top tips and techniques.

You can reshape the

facial hair on just about
any subject

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Add facial hair Give a subject a beard by duplicating a single hair

Draw your rst hair

Save as a brush

Start off by using the Eyedropper tool to select the colour of

your facial hair. Pick your colour from the hair or eyebrows for
this with a brush of about 2 pixels and make a small stroke to create
a single hair, on a new layer.

01

02

Adjust brush settings

Start brushing

Before we start using the brush, we must change the settings

so that the brush scatters hairs across the face, and not just
in clumps. Set the Fade to 35, Hue Jitter to 2%, Scatter to 40% and
Spacing to 152%.

03

04

Brush in different directions

Finish and touch up

05

06

Change the angle of the brush and start painting in different

directions around the mouth and cheeks according to where
the hair in that area grows. Remember hair above the lips grows
outwards, and hair on cheeks and below the chin grows downwards.

Hold Cmd/Ctrl and click the preview of the layer. This will
select only the pixels youve brushed with. Go to Edit>Dene
Brush from Selection and choose a name for your new custom
brush. This is what youre going to use to paint the facial hair with.

With this new brush, paint a little in the direction of wherever

the brush points; adjust the angle in Brush Settings to change
this, and tweak the Roundness of the brush to change the size of the
brush slightly.

Complete the facial hair and use the Eraser to just lightly
touch up any stray hairs that might have scattered away from
the face. Reduce the layers Opacity down to 90% to keep the hair
subtle and even add a new layer for another shade if need be.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 155

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Remove facial hair

Shave a subject using the power
of the Clone Stamp tool

Start image

Now that weve added hair to a subjects face,

what about doing the opposite to an image?
Removing hair is just a simple photo fix for the
Clone Stamp to handle; erasing an entire beard is
a little more difficult. Its important to be subtle
with opacity and brush size of the Clone Stamp
tool in order to keep a natural finish.

Removing hair is just a simple

photo x for the Clone Stamp
to handle; erasing an entire
beard is a little more difficult

Begin cloning

Clone bigger areas

Begin by selecting the Clone Stamp tool and gently cloning

from the cheek over the facial hair. Use Alt/Opt to select a
patch of skin, and set the Opacity to 50% to make small strides with
it, so that you dont clone too much at once.

01

02

Smooth over

Give a soft focus

03

04

With a bigger brush and an Opacity of just 20%, clone big

areas over the patchier parts of the face to even and smooth
out the skin texture. You might even want to fetch the Dodge and
Burn tools, just to touch up the shading on the newly-shaved areas.

156 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Start cloning bigger areas by increasing the size of the brush. It

will look patchy to begin with, but were going to x that in a
minute; just make sure you copy the colour, light and shade to keep
the face looking natural.

Merge your entire picture into a new layer (Cmd/Ctrl+Alt/

Opt+Shift+E) and add a Gaussian Blur of 8 pixels by going to
Filter>Blur. Set layer to Screen and reduce the Opacity to 50%. This
will give another overall smoothing to nish off your image.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Add and remove

Combine both of the techniques to
re-craft facial hair onto a subject
Now that youve mastered how to
add and take away facial hair, use
both techniques to fix up any
subject. You might want to give a
different style of beard as weve
done here, but why not replace
all the facial hair on a subject, to
give them a light shave? The
choice is yours.

Start image

CLONE TEXTURE
The Clone Stamp is a very
good tool for duplicating
skin texture. To only
duplicate colour, use a soft,
round brush.

Give a different
style of beard
why not replace all
the facial hair on a
subject, to give them
a light shave

Clone

Create hair

Brush a beard

01

02

03

Remove the existing hair you want to

by using the simple cloning technique
from before. Clone patches from the cheek
to the upper lip to retain the texture of the
face, and remember to keep a low opacity
to avoid duplicating specic patches.

On a new layer, create a single strand

of hair as you have done before,
select the layers contents by Cmd/Ctrl+
clicking the preview box and go to Edit>
Dene from Selection. Set Scatter at 40%
and Spacing at 152% with Brush Settings.

You may wish to brush over the

space youve just cloned, as this way
you can have complete control over every
single facial hair. If you want to create a new
beard, however, just brush as you would
over the face, and tidy with the Eraser.

HUE JITTER

FADE

Choose to vary the

hue of your strokes
as you scatter them
across the subject.

Fade determines how

many brush strokes
will be clear and
opaque before they
fade away.

SPACING

SCATTER

Spacing sets the

distance between
the scattered brush
strokes according to
the brushs size.

Scatter your brush

strokes instead
of placing them in
crowded clumps over
one area.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 157

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Change
the colour
of objects
Use selections and blend modes to
bring new shades to objects in Elements

ou no longer need to spend hours in the shops,

wondering which colour dress to buy with Elements,
you can have any colour you like!
There are hundreds of ways to change colour in Photoshop
and Elements, but clothes pose whole new questions. How do
you deal with creases? What do you do about bleed? While
Selective Color and even the Magic Wand can prove great
options for colour-changing, theres nothing quite like a good,
old-fashioned fill and brush.
As with most projects, brushing gives you incredible
creativity. There are so many blend modes that you can
experiment with when you brush, and thats just the start; you
can apply your own highlights, touch up your own edges and
even add streaks of completely different colours.
By combining this with selection techniques, you can change
colour with more control. This is the most fun youll have with
changing colour you might decide not to stop with colouring
clothes and alter colour in all your photos!

COLOURING

Start image
158 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Use the Hue/Saturation sliders

to experiment; simply scroll
along and see which colour
looks good.

KEEP SKIN TONE

Use lower opacity
layers and the soft
brushes to touch over
where the original
colour spills slightly
onto the subjects skin.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Apply a recolour Paint your own colour changes

Select the clothes

Rene the edge

Select the clothes you want to change the colour of If the

clothes are multicoloured and you only want to change one
hue, only select that. If you want to change multiple colours, make
multiple selections on different layers.

01

02

Choose a colour

Touch it up

03

With your colour set, add some nishing touches. Adjust

colour with Hue/Saturation sliders and add any highlights
you like on a new layer. Do this using a light-coloured brush, with the
layer set to Soft Light, and lightly brush over to create highlights.

Add a new layer and pick a colour to change the clothes to.
Set the layers blend mode to Color and ll with your
selected colour. Only the hue of the clothes will change; for a
brightness change, duplicate your layer and set to Soft Light.

Next, were going to rene the edge of the selection, just so

that were only including the clothes. Black backgrounds
change hue slightly when you adjust the hue of a whole picture, so
make sure youve only selected exactly what you want to change.

04

Things to watch out for Avoid the common mistakes

Protect the subject

Apply highlights evenly

Keep highlights natural

If your subjects clothes are bright, you may

nd that some of the colour has leaked
onto the subject. Tidy this up with a new
layer, set to Color mode and a low opacity,
and just colour lightly over the bleed with
your new colour.

Make sure when you apply highlights that

youre applying them evenly, by not
changing the blend mode and opacity
before you brush. Its always best to get your
lines parallel and clear, and this can be
difcult to see in low opacity.

Nothing will draw the believability away

from your recolour like overly bright
highlights. To avoid this, make sure you
check the opacity, and toggle the eye icon
to see how the clothes look with and
without the highlights.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 159

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

KEEP IT SUBTLE
Avoid going overboard
with your edits on
peoples faces, as results
can tend to look artcial.

CLEAR
IMPROVEMENT
The skin texture has
been enhanced and the
lighting is less harsh.

Source files
available

Start ima
ge

Retouch with actions

Create actions to simplify your workflow and create consistent edits across multiple images

treamlining a workflow in Photoshop by using actions allows

for a variety of different visual effects to be automated and
applied to images in a consistent and efficient manner. On a
simplified level, actions are little more than a series of normal
Photoshop operations which are recorded so they can be executed in
sequence quickly, without having to remember what steps to do and in
what order.
A Photoshop action (.atn is its extension) is a file that contains a
sequence of recorded steps that can be applied all at once to a file or

160 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

layer with the simple click of a button. The advantages of actions are
numerous. They can create both complicated or simple edits, as well
as perform repetitive tasks for speeding things up. Such a task could be
as simple as adding a watermark of a specific size, or font type in a
consistent manner, or as complex as separating colour from a texture
in a portrait for advanced skin retouching.
Well examine some of the more sophisticated techniques in the
following article, where we will use actions for portrait retouching and
also for sharpening our images.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Separate the image

Create two layers for working with both texture and colour

Spot Healing technique

Duplicate layers

Open the supplied image and remove some of the more

obvious problem areas. Use the Healing Brush tool (J) or
the Clone Stamp tool (S) to get rid of stray hairs, blood vessels in
the eye and the odd major blemish. Preliminary editing allows for
more refined alterations in the following steps.

01

02

Steady with the blur

Apply settings

03

04

Hide the High Frequency layer by clicking the eye icon and
select the Low Frequency layer. Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian
Blur. Blur the image until the sharpest detail has gone, which usually
requires a Radius of about 3-4 pixels. This is the layer that holds the
colour information.

Ensure you are on the correct layer

In the Layers palette, duplicate the image twice and

rename them High Frequency and Low Frequency
respectively. This is known as frequency separation, or splitting
the image into two layers. This enables editing on the colour and
the texture of the skin independently of each other.

Choose the High Frequency layer and turn the visibility on.
Go to Image>Apply Image and use Source which is the
name of the file you are working on, Layer to Low Frequency, Invert
switched on, blend mode to Add, Scale: 2, Offset: 0. Click OK. With
the High Frequency layer selected, set blend mode to Linear Light.

Selective retouching

06

Using the Lasso tool, select areas of the face that require
smoothing. Choose Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and select
Now that the image has been separated by colour and texture,
a low value of around 5px for the selected area. Continue to
editing can begin. Skin smoothing will be done on the layer
highlight areas that require attention and repeat.
marked Low Frequency as the High Frequency layer retains texture.

05

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 161

Final image

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Sharpen images
Create an action to improve detail with Smart Filters

Duplicate layer

High Pass

Open the supplied image and create a duplicate layer of

the background by selecting Cmd/Ctrl+J. Label it Sharpen.
Editing on a duplicate layer allows for the opacity of the effect to
be easily reduced.

01

02

Soft Light

Smart Object

03

04

Next, add a quick mask to the layer so that adjustments can

be made with the mask and change the layer to Soft Light.
Alternatively, Hard Light can be used for more sharpening or Overlay as
required. Some experimentation can be used to find the ideal effect.

Go to Filter>Other>High Pass. A good place to start for

sharpening is in the 3-pixel range, but it really depends on
the image and the amount of sharpening that is desired. Click OK
to confirm and apply changes.

If using Photoshop version CS or CC, convert the layer to

a Smart Object by selecting the layer and choose
Filter>Convert for Smart Filters. Then, simply apply the High Pass
filter to the new Smart Object in the same way as outlined above.

Vitally important

05

When used properly, High Pass Sharpening allows a user to

pinpoint the lines in a photo that require sharpening, and then
control the strength at which they are sharpened. As a general rule,
sharpening an image should always be the very last step in the photo
retouching process.

162 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Retouch the image

06

Finally, use the Healing Brush tool (J) or the Clone Stamp
tool (S) to get rid of stray hairs and the odd blemish.
These touch-ups can really enhance the final image.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Sharpen images
Actions are perfect for darkening edges of an image

Vignette
benefits

Expert edit
Record an action

01

A vignette is a
popular effect
where the photo is
highlighted by dark
borders. Vignettes are
a simple yet subtle
way to guide the eye
to the important
subject of an image.

Activate actions

01

Open the Actions palette by

selecting the Window menu and
verify Actions is checked. Alternatively,
Opt/Alt+F9 is the hot key command for
activating the Actions palette.

Create the action

02

After deciding what kind of action

you would like to record, use the
drop-down menu in the Actions palette
to select New Action.

Lens Correction
Duplicate the layer

02

Open the image and create a

duplicate layer of the Background
by selecting Cmd/Ctrl+J. Label that new layer
as Vignette. Editing on a duplicate layer
allows for the effect to be easily reduced.

03

Next, go to Filter>Distort>Lens
Correction and a new window will
open. Adjust the slider labelled Vignette until
the image borders are darkened to the
desired effect. A darker vignette will
significantly add mood to an image. Click OK
to apply the effect.

Final
adjustments

Define and Record

03

A dialog box will open, in which

the settings for the action can be
defined, including its name, shortcut key
and colour. Once these fields have been
filled in, hit the Record button.

04

Final image

Reduce the
Opacity of
the layer labelled
Vignette in order to
achieve a more
blended and realistic
appearance. A border
that is too dark looks
artificial and can
detract from the
subject of the
photograph. With
editing, sometimes
less is more.

Complete recording

04

The Record button will display in

the Actions palette when active.
Carry out the edit you want to record
and once all the steps for the action are
complete, press the Stop button to finish
up the action.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 163

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Improve exposure
and contrast
No Curves? No problem.
Elements has plenty of
built-in solutions for
image editing

oth Photoshop and Photoshop

Elements offer a range of tools for
improving the exposure, contrast,
colour and tone of your photos. A good
place to start is usually the Levels
command, which works in the same way
in both programs, editing three points in
your image.
However, in Photoshop there is also the
Curves command. This is an incredibly
precise tonal control, giving you 14 points
to adjust, making it far more powerful than
Levels. It does have a steeper learning
curve (if you excuse the pun) though, and
it can be intimidating for beginners to get
to grips with how it works.
Photoshop Elements doesnt have
Curves. There is a similar option under
Enhance>Adjust Colors>Adjust Color
Curves, which enables you to improve
the colours in your images by selecting
from presets and adjusting sliders to
change the curve. This only offers three
points of adjustment, however, the same
as Levels and targets colour tone. Also,
Levels can be applied as an adjustment
layer, whereas Color Curves cant, so it is
a destructive process (always work on
a duplicate!).
Over these pages, we will look at ways
you can improve exposure and contrast,
without the power of Photoshops Curves.

There is a similar option

under Enhance>Adjust
Colors>Adjust Color
Curves, which enables
you to improve the
colours in your images by
selecting from presets and
adjusting sliders
164 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

FULL TONAL RANGE

The sky was all midtone in
the original, which made
it look dull. Highlights help
make it more interesting.

Start image

MORE DETAIL
One advantage of improving
exposure and contrast in an
image is that it helps draw out
detail, such as this boat texture.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Use Elements quick fixes Give your images a boost in Elements

Control exposure

Work with Lighting

01

02

In Elements Quick mode, the rst

thing that you can try is the aptly
named Exposure x from the left-hand
menu. It is easy to use, as you simply go
through the thumbnails and pick the one
that is best for your image. You can netune using the slider.

The Lighting option is a great way to

play with the tones of your image
without having to use the Levels dialog box.
You can again pick from the thumbnails, but
you can target the Shadows, Midtones or
Highlights separately. The preview lets you
see just what will change.

Use Auto controls

03

Within the same Lighting tool box,

there are buttons for Auto Levels
and Auto Contrast. You can also access
these from the Enhance menu, along with
Auto Color. Automated controls analyse
your image and make edits to improve the
exposure/contrast without you having to do
more than click.

Other methods More ways you can edit the exposure and contrast in Elements

Fix underexposure

Fix overexposure

An underexposed image has tones that are too dark. A quick fix for this is to
open the image in Photoshop Elements in Expert mode. Duplicate the layer
(Cmd/Ctrl+J), then set the duplicates blending mode to Screen. Adjust the
Opacity to suit.

Overexposed images are usually too light. You can fix this in the same way
that we fixed the underexposed image, except that you set the blending mode
to Multiply. Its difficult to hide blown highlights, but for mild overexposure, it
works well.

Adjust Color Curves

Smart Fix

We mentioned the Adjust Color Curves option in our introduction, and while
its not as good as Levels for exposure and contrast, it is great for improving
colour tone across your image. Pick from the available presets and then
fine-tune with the sliders to achieve the effect you want.

We havent mentioned it yet, but Elements Smart Fix is designed to improve

your exposure, tone and colours in one click, which is a great place to start!
Simply select the option from the Quick edit mode menu and pick a thumbnail
or hit Auto to process your snap.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 165

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Source files
available

ADD NOISE
It seems counterproductive,
but adding a touch of noise
helps to give an interesting
texture to night shots.

FILTER EDITS
Using the Paint
Daubs lter
produces
interesting specks.

Tweak nighttime shots

Bring your photos out of the dark with Elements

ight-time is an infamously difficult time to take photos for any

photographer, especially if youre just relying on the available
light. So if the images are difficult to take in the first place,
imagine how difficult it will be to edit these same snaps!
While its tempting to discard a picture for being too dimly lit,
Elements can prove extremely helpful in the editing department. Noise
is a common and complex problem in low-light photography, as is trying
to find an interesting way to enhance a dark shot without affecting the
atmosphere. The darkness of a piece need not restrict your creativity,

166 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Start image

though, as in just a few simple steps, and by using editing tools and
techniques that arent necessarily designed for low-lit pictures, you can
shine new light on your darker snaps.
Whether youre hoping to restyle the light of a piece or youre simply
looking for a little imaginative flair to brighten up a night-time portrait,
these tutorials are packed with inspiration on how to tweak even the
most shadowy photos. And if youre also a photographer, theyll save
you a fortune on top of the range lighting equipment, too! So read on
and get ready to breathe new life into low-light shots.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Creative ideas Give your darker photos an artier edge with lter edits
Often it is the subtle edits that can be the most rewarding, especially
when it isnt obvious that a photo has been edited at all! There are
plenty of artistic techniques in Elements that can enhance a low-light

image particularly well, and the deep shadow areas in a photo can
really bring out a retro, dusty lens texture. Alternatively, have a go at
experimenting with a well-placed light leak

New grey layer

Add some noise

Paint Daubs

01

02

03

Create a layer and ll with grey: this

will form the basis for speckles, so
shade isnt important. If you wish though,
you can create a new layer at the end, set to
Screen, and brush a lighter grey for a
gradient tone.

Go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise.
Choose the maximum 400%,
select Uniform, and make sure the noise is
Monochrome. Set the blend mode to
Screen, and it should look like an old
television set display.

Head to the Filter Gallery and

choose Paint Daubs. Set Brush
Type to Simple, click OK. Inverse so the
specks are white and the background is
black, and duplicate until youre happy with
the appearance.

Light leaks Blend light into your images

Add new Screen layer

Choose colours

Tidy up

01

02

03

Add a new layer, and set the blend

mode to Screen. This is going to be
the layer you brush the light leaks onto, so
by switching the blend mode from the start
youre readying the canvas for the effect.

Expert tip

Light leaks are often bright, pastel

shades that complement the
original image. Delicacy is key with darker
photos; choose a soft brush, and touch
around the edges of the picture.

Before

Reduce the Opacity and ensure

that the leak isnt too garish. Maybe
research light-leaked photos for inspiration,
and experiment with colourful glows in
your pictures.

After

Flip to
inverse

It can be difcult to pick up

on the little details while
editing dark photos, so why
not temporarily inverse your
picture while youre working
on it by pressing Cmd/Ctrl+I?
Inversing is a great trick to use
while youre using Selection
tools - youll be amazed by
how many more shades you
see when the colours on the
picture are ipped.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 167

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Lighten the background

Adjust the brightness of a background, without
having to edit the subject
Most of the time, a cameras flash only covers the foreground of the photo.
Weve all seen snaps of a well-lit person against a forebodingly dark
background, and striking the perfect balance is a tricky thing indeed. Luckily
its only a few simple steps away in Elements!

Weve all seen snaps of a well-lit person

against a forebodingly dark background, and
striking the perfect balance is a tricky thing

Start image

LIGHTER BACKGROUND
By isolating the background,
you can lighten it to bring out
detail without compromising
the quality of the subject.

Select subject from image

Lighten

Tidy up

01

02

03

Firstly, we need to select the person

in the photo, so that we can exclude
them from the brightening process. Choose
either the Magnetic or Polygonal Lasso, and
draw around the subject; when youve done
so, right-click, and choose Layer Via Copy.

168 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Head to Enhance>Adjust
Lighting>Levels. Below the Input
Levels map, youll see three sliders; move
the middle one to the left to lighten the
picture. Generally 1.48 is a good gure, but
different photos may vary.

Merge the foreground and

background together. Use the
Smudge tool around the edges of the
subject to soften, and go to Enhance>
Adjust Color>Adjust Hue/Saturation if the
brightening has made the picture pale.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Learn to
reduce noise

DARK AND MOODY

Taking a manual approach
to reducing noise is a good
way of getting a more
effective result than with
lters alone.

Get rid of the fuzz that

overexposure creates
Often Photoshop users avoid
brightening up images, simply due to
the fuzzy edges that an edit can
leave. The Noise Reduction filter
only goes so far, but there are
manual ways of touching up
your edited image, and if youre
feeling creative, it can definitely
leave a much nicer finish to
your piece.

Start image

Photoshop users
avoid brightening
up images, due to
the fuzzy edges
that it can leave

Identify the noise

Brush in colour

01

02

Lighten up your image slightly with the

Levels tool, and see where the noise
appears most; in this case, its just around
the buildings in the sky. Select the whole sky
from the picture with the Polygonal Lasso
and create a new layer.

Select a midnight blue colour and

begin to brush the colour in the
selection parameters of this new layer. This
will give a blocky texture to the picture, but
simply change to the Multiply blend mode
to adjust this.

Smudge

03

Merge all layers and use the

Smudge tool with Strength set to
50% to start smudging, at least around the
lights, to soften the whole picture. Leave
some lit-up buildings, but most edges will
need smoothing over.

SELECTION

BLEND MODES

Use selection tools

to pick out and draw
around the sections
in which youd like to
reduce noise.

Multiply and Lighten

blend modes can help
mix the original sky colour
with a brushed block
of colour for a naturallooking effect.

BRUSH

BACKGROUND
LAYER

Choose a dark colour

or perhaps even a
gradient in order
to complement the
deep black of the
original sky.

Try not to lighten the

foreground too much,
otherwise noise will
seep through to this
layer, too.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 169

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Start
image

LAYER UP
Create multiple layers of
brush strokes if you nd
that you need to, as this will
help to avoid patches of
brush strokes.

SOFT FOCUS
Add a soft focus effect
by duplicating an image,
applying a Gaussian Blur
and then setting the layer
to Screen.

Remove tattoos
Eradicate any ink on your body using simple
techniques in Elements

verybody knows that tattoos are

permanent, but what if you could wipe
them off whenever you liked? Its just
another impossibility that Photoshop
Elements can make reality.
Tattoo removal relies on the usual touch-up
techniques you apply to any kind of image,
but theres an extra need to be subtle; one
false move can make skin look harsh, or make
the lighting on the body look unnatural.
There are so many techniques that can
remove a tattoo, and it all depends on the
subjects skin and how much un-inked skin is
showing in the picture. The Clone Stamp is

170 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

great for reassigning patches of a subjects

body somewhere else, but the Brush tool is
much more useful in smaller areas. Theres
nothing to stop you combining all three of
these techniques for the ultimate edit, either.
Which technique is right for you, though?
Read on and learn how to erase a tattoo you
might regret.

There are so many

techniques that can remove a
tattoo, and it all depends on
the subjects skin

EXPERT TIP
What does it mean?

BRUSH TOOL: Cloning or ContentAware are great for copying large

areas. The Brush tool can be used in a
tighter space, as you only need a few
pixels of space to select a
new colour to paint over. Alt/
Opt-click and brushing
as you edit.

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Brush over it Cover tattoos by painting new skin and smoothing all over

Eyedrop colour

Select the Brush

Firstly, accustom yourself to the Eyedropper tool; this is one of

your most trusted companions when it comes to big brushing
projects. Click on the little icon on the left-hand side and use it to
pick a colour close to where you want to paint over.

01

02

Brush slowly and carefully

Brush some more

Create a new layer, just to be on the safe side, and brush over
the tattoo. Eyedrop new colours by Alt/Opt-clicking, and just
brush over the tattoo with the colours you select. Take it slowly to
start with, and just brush around the edges.

03

04

Keep brushing

Add soft focus

05

06

Create another new layer and pick a slightly bigger brush (we
went for 300px). Apply this colour all over by using the same
Eyedropper and Brush technique that youve been doing this far,
until the skin looks smooth and natural.

Now go to the Brush tool. Were going to need a soft brush

with 100% Opacity; if we were cloning wed pick a low Opacity
so that we wouldnt duplicate patches of skin, but as we brush, were
creating blocks of original colour.

Now, brush over the whole tattoo. Blotchiness is inevitable at

this stage so dont worry too much, but just try and pick
colours close to the skins natural colour to paint over the top of the
subject. Use the [ and ] keys to alter brush size.

To give an overall nish, apply a gentle soft focus to the

picture. Do this by merging all your layers and duplicating your
layer. Set the blend mode to Screen and then head to Filter>Blur>
Gaussian Blur and apply a blur of 10-12px.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 171

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Clone the designs out

Assign patches of existing skin to
cover up other parts of the body
The Clone Stamp tool is the obvious answer
when it comes to repairing skin, and
unsurprisingly its one of the first ports of call
should you want to remove a tattoo. Unlike the
Brush tool, it takes texture into account, and it
gives a natural finish. So exactly how do you
remove a tattoo with the Clone Stamp? Lets take
a look.

The Clone Stamp

tool is the obvious
answer when it
comes to repairing
skin, and its one
of the rst ports
of call

Start image

Set opacity and hardness

Start cloning

Finish up

01

02

03

Head to the Clone Stamp tool icon

and start off by adjusting the
settings, so that we can get the most out of
this tool. Move the Opacity down to 50%
and make sure youre using a soft brush.
This way, the edges of where youre cloning
wont be visible.
SOFT BRUSHES
By using a soft-edged
brush, you will ensure
that the area youre
replacing will naturally
blur into the picture.

Press Alt/Opt-click to select a patch

of non-inked skin, and then brush
over the tattoo to replace it with the
selected area. With a low Opacity, youll
have few duplicated areas, but youll need
to keep brushing over the same spots to
keep on erasing the tattoo.

Keep cloning over the tattoo,

selecting different patches of
skin until the dark outlines of the ink fade,
and the skin is the same colour all over.
Its important to try and make sure the
lighting is consistent by cloning shine
and shade.
TEXTURE
REPLACING
The Clone Stamp
is a great tool for
editing skin because
it replaces not just
colour, but texture too.

LOW OPACITY

LIGHT/SHADE

Using brushes of low

opacity means that
you can clone slowly
and subtly, rather than
replacing whole chunks
of skin.

Be sure to take the

lightness and darkness
on the subjects skin
into account whenever
you are applying an
all-over edit.

172 Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes

Tips | Tricks | Fixes

Edit with Copy and Paste

Simply place skin into position, and blur
it to fit the subject

Start image

It might seem so obvious that it just wouldnt work,

but by copying and pasting skin where you want it, you
can totally cover tattoos. Its a natural-looking solution,
as youre using pre-existing skin.
What is not as simple, though, is blurring it into your
picture. Masking can be a tricky business, but if youre
precise, its the quickest way to remove a tattoo from
somebodys skin.

Masking can be a tricky business,

but if youre precise, its the quickest
way to remove a tattoo from
somebodys skin

Make a selection

Copy to a new layer

Start off by making a selection of the skin you want to place

over the tattoo. Pick a patch with similar tone, lighting and
shading, and select it by using a Lasso, a Quick Selection or the
Selection brush.

01

02

Mask

Dodge and Burn

03

04

Press the mask icon in the Layers panel, and select a soft
brush, with Opacity of around 80%. Feather the harsh edges
of your pasted skin so that it blurs into the rest of the picture. Do this
for however many patches of skin youve pasted over the tattoo.

With your new patch selected, Ctrl/right-click and Layer via

Copy. Move this patch over the tattooed area of skin until its
covering it with a fair amount of space either side. You might want to
duplicate to make several patches of skin cover the tattoo.

Merge all layers of the picture by pressing Cmd/Ctrl+Alt/Opt+

Shift+E. Its very unlikely that your picture looks completely
natural in terms of lightness and shade, so pick the Dodge and Burn
tools and just touch up where the light should hit the skin.

Photoshop Tips, Tricks & Fixes 173

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