THE A D O B E® P H O T O S H O P ® “ H O W -T 0 ” MAGAZINE › › › MAY 2 0 2 0

Beginners’ Learn how to create colorful

double exposures to portray a range
Quickly add intricate depth and
detail to your subject’s eyes using
Photo
Workshop of emotions in a single portrait info that’s already in the photo Effects

Beth Spencer | KelbyOne Member

BUILDING
BETTER PHOTOS
Learn how to create a
fine-art architectural
look in Photoshop
VIEW ALL DATES
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 [   P H O T O S H O P U S E R • M A Y 202 0 • V O L 2 3 • NO 5   ]
CONTENTS

Background Images: © Adobe Stock; Layout: Jessica Maldonado

[046] BUILDING BETTER PHOTOS: CREATING A FINE-ART ARCHITECTURAL LOOK
By Scott Kelby
FEATURE

Scott is a master of breaking down complex and time-consuming Photoshop techniques

so you can do the same technique without breaking a sweat, or having mad Photoshop
skills. In this article, he’s going to show you an easy way to create a very popular fine-art
architectural look. This technique usually takes hours, but Scott will teach you how you
can knock it out in just a matter of minutes, and the results will have you leaping tall build-
ings in a single bound.
©Adobe Stock/evgenij918

©Adobe Stock

[022] [032]
 HOW TO
DEPARTMENTS [007]
A NOTE FROM SCOTT
[022]  DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS
[009] Background Designs with Colors & Shapes
CONTRIBUTORS
[032]  DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS
Craft a Dolemite-Inspired Movie Ad
[010]
BENEFIT SPOTLIGHT [064]  BEGINNERS’ WORKSHOP
How to Create a Double Color Exposure Effect
[012]
KELBYONE COMMUNITY [072]  EFFECTS TOOLKIT
Match Colors in Composites with Three Buttons
[018]
HEARD ON THE TWEET [078]  PHOTO EFFECTS
Adding Punch & Contrast to Eyes

[020] [096]  DESIGNING IN PHOTOSHOP

NEW ONLINE TRAINING Making a Basic Typographic Poster in Photoshop for the iPad

[122]
FROM THE HELP DESK COLUMNS
[062]  SHORTCUT CITY
The Powerful and Versatile Curves Tool
ONLINE CONTENT
Whenever you see this symbol at the
[082]  THE PERFECT SELECTION
end of an article, it means there are either
Masking Your Mask Is So Meta!
downloadable practice files or additional
content for KelbyOne members at [086]  PHOTOSHOP PROVING GROUND
http://kelbyone.com/magazine. 3D Text Room, Part 1
Whenever you see this button
in an article, click it to go to the KelbyOne
site to watch courses that cover similar
[106]  PHOTOSHOP Q&A
Get Answers to Your Photoshop Questions
topics contained in the article.
Whenever you see this button
in an article, click it to go to the KelbyOne
[108]  PRODUCT & BOOK REVIEWS
Online Community to ask questions or Get the Scoop on the Latest Gear
make comments about this issue.
Click this symbol in the nav bar at the top [120]  PHOTOSHOP TIPS
of the online reader to access the Contents. Boost Your Productivity & Creativity
©Adobe Stock: Background/veneratio; Hiker/Krakenimages.com
©Adobe Stock/Viorel Sima

[064] [072]
KelbyOne Members
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 › › FROM THE EDITOR

> A Note from Scott

STAY CONNECTED
I was kinda hoping that my note this issue wouldn’t We were able to host and produce an entire two-day,
be written from home under quarantine but, well, it two-track, live-streaming Lightroom Conference in the
is. I know some areas and states are easing restric- first week of May, and the response was really fantastic—
tions, but we’re playing it pretty safe here down in better than we expected. We’re hoping to do something
Tampa, and I’m still going to be working from home similar for Photoshop, but I don’t think we’ll be calling it
as much as possible. I’ve set up a streaming studio “Photoshop World.” The conference has evolved so much
in my house, and we’ve been continuing with our over the years, and we were going to continue that evo-
weekly webcasts (the ones I talked about last issue) lution with this year’s conference in a big way, but of
and our live weekly photography talk show The Grid, course, that’s delayed until 2021. Until then, I think we
so that’s a good thing. I’m very thankful that a good can come up with another online event that will help us
portion of our education is online, or digital like this all stay on top of our game and connected until we can
magazine, and that we can still produce a lot of what be together again face-to-face next year. There are lots of
we do even during this lockdown. I feel more than ever possibilities and opportunities, so we’ll try to have more
that we need a break from all the news, and the whole news soon.
news cycle, and diving fully into something creative In the meantime, we have a lot of great courses com-
can help draw our attention away from all that. I think ing up online (with a new course coming out each week)
it’s sorely needed, so at least I feel like we’re helping and lots of great new content here in the magazine. We’ll
in some small way. be doing our best to keep you busy and engaged with
Of course, one of the things I’m really going to miss learning so when this is all behind us, you’ll be faster,
this year is our annual Photoshop World conference, better, more creative, and ready to rock it.
which we’ve been doing at least once, if not twice a year Stay safe out there, and thanks for all your kind
(like last year), since 1999. This will be the first year that words and messages online. Make sure you’re a part
we’re going to miss being able to do it, and we’re all of the KelbyOne Online Community (click any of the
super-disappointed. We’re now looking at holding it next “Discuss this Course” buttons online and “Discuss this
spring in 2021 in Las Vegas. I hope by then our lives Issue” buttons here in the magazine to jump right in
have somewhat returned to normal, and we can start and start making new friends). Let’s hope that when
getting together again. Community is so important, and we chat next issue, we’ll all be in a better place, with
our conference is one of the things I look forward most brighter days ahead. Now go wash your hands, and
to each year. Yes, I always learn new things at the show, we’ll see you soon! ☺
but this is also our annual get-together where there are
so many folks I only get to see at the conference, includ- All my best,
ing members I’ve known for years. I’ve also made a lot
of friends at Photoshop World, including some of my
very best friends. So not being able to get together this
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

year, well, it’s just weird. I miss you all, and hope we Scott Kelby
can get together again next year when this awful virus KelbyOne President & CEO
is (hopefully) behind us. Editor & Publisher, Photoshop User

[ 7  ]
 M A Y 2 02 0 • V O L 2 3 • N O 5

AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF

EDITORIAL:
Scott Kelby, Editor-in-Chief
Chris Main, Managing Editor
Kim Doty, Associate Editor
Barbara Thompson, Copy Editor
Cindy Snyder, Technical Editor

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:
Corey Barker • Peter Bauer • Dave Clayton • Dave Cross
Unmesh Dinda • Mark Heaps • Kirk Nelson • Kristina Sherk
Colin Smith • Gilmar Smith • Lesa Snider • Scott Valentine
Erik Vlietinck

GRAPHICS:
Jessica Maldonado, Art Director
Margie Rosenstein, Senior Graphic Designer
Angela Naymick, Senior Web/Graphic Designer

MARKETING:
Ashley Fosse • Rachel Scott • Kleber Stephenson

WEB:
Adam Frick • Curt Husting • Yojance Rabelo • Aaron Westgate

PUBLISHING:
Scott Kelby, Publisher
Kalebra Kelby, Executive V.P. Cover Image: Beth Spencer

Jean A. Kendra, Business Manager

ADVERTISING:
Kleber Stephenson, Vice President of Business
Development & Enterprise [email protected]

HOW TO CONTACT KELBYONE:

U.S. Mail: 118 Douglas Road East • Oldsmar, FL 34677-2922 Each issue we feature cover art
Voice: 813-433-5000 • Fax: 813-433-5015 by a KelbyOne member
Customer Service: [email protected] This issue’s cover is by Beth Spencer. Beth discovered Photoshop in 2006 and began
Letters to the Editor: [email protected] experimenting with photo manipulation. To make her mark, she began playing with
proportion and scale to imbue her works with what is now her signature dark whimsy.
These days, she’s been concentrating less on exaggerated proportions and taken
COLOPHON: a slightly darker turn. Beth doesn’t want people to look at her work and see clever
Photoshop User was produced using Adobe Photoshop CC 2020 photo manipulation; she wants them to be transported to a world where anything is
and Adobe InDesign CC 2020. Korolev was used for headlines and possible. Her works have been featured in Layers, Somerset Digital Studio, and Advanced
subheads. Frutiger LT Std for text. Photoshop. She has been featured on the cover of e-zines Apex and The Dark, and one
of her pieces was published in The Pinup Project. For more on Beth, turn to page 17.
All contents ©COPYRIGHT 2020 KelbyOne, LLC. All rights reserved. Any use of the contents of this publication without the
written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. Photoshop User is an independent journal, not affiliated in any way
with Adobe Systems, Inc. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, Illustrator, InDesign, Lightroom, and Photoshop are registered
trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks mentioned
belong to their respective owners. Some of the views expressed by contributors may not be the representative views of the
publisher. ISSN 2470-7031 (online)
 SCOTTKELBY
is the world’s #1 best-selling author of photography technique books, as well
as Editor and Publisher of the highly acclaimed Photoshop User magazine
(which you’re reading right now) and Lightroom Magazine. He’s co-host of
the influential weekly photography talk show The Grid, and he teaches digital
photography workshops and seminars around the world.
CONTRIBUTORS

COREYBARKER KRISTINASHERK
is an award-winning designer and illustrator. A featured instructor is a high-end retoucher based in D.C. and has worked for clients
at the Photoshop World Conference and an Adobe MAX Master such as Time Inc. and Hasselblad. She loves “translating” Photoshop
Instructor, he has produced numerous training titles for KelbyOne. for people and has written for Shutter Magazine, as well as authored
Look for his latest book Photoshop Tricks for Designers. KelbyOne courses and PhotoshopCAFE’s Fashion Retouching DVD.

PETERBAUER COLINSMITH
is an Adobe Certified Expert who does computer graphics con- is an award-winning digital artist, photographer, and lecturer
sulting for a select group of corporate clients. His latest book is who has authored 19 books and has created a series of train-
Photoshop CC for Dummies. He was inducted into the Photoshop ing videos. Colin is also the founder of the online resource
Hall of Fame in 2010. PhotoshopCAFE.com and president of Software-Cinema.com.

DAVECLAYTON GILMARSMITH
is a UK-based graphic designer with over 30 years experience, author is a self-taught photographer and Photoshop addict, based in
of How Do I Do That In InDesign, cohost of the successful He Shoots, He Orlando, Florida, specializing in creative portraiture and com-
Draws podcast, and a Photoshop World and KelbyOne instructor. He’s posites. You can follow her ventures at www.gilmarphotography
also an Adobe Influencer and Training Manager at Astute Graphics. .com and all around social media as @gilmarsmith.

DAVECROSS LESASNIDER
has been teaching Adobe software for more than 30 years. He’s is the author of Adobe Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC for
an Adobe Certified Instructor, in the Photoshop Hall of Fame, has Photographers: Classroom in a Book (2016), Photoshop CC: The
written many articles and books, co-hosted Photoshop User TV, Missing Manual, TheSkinnyBooks.com eBooks, more than 40
and has taught for KelbyOne, CreativeLive, and Photoshop Cafe. video courses, and the “Creaticity” column for Macworld.

UNMESHDINDA SCOTTVALENTINE
is a Photoshop educator with more than 1,000,000 subscribers and blends his education in physics with his love for art, bringing a
500 videos on his YouTube channel, PiXimperfect. He’s been an unique voice to teaching through experimentation. His Hidden
instructor for ShutterFest and Photoshop World, published in Shut- Power books (Adobe Press) are used in colleges across the US,
ter Magazine and Photoshop User, and he’s a KelbyOne instructor. and he’s a longtime member of Adobe’s prerelease team.

MARKHEAPS ERIKVLIETINCK
is an Adobe Community Professional, instructor, author, A J.D. by education, Erik has been a freelance technology editor
photographer, and Executive Creative Director. He’s been a fea- for more than 22 years. He has written for Macworld, Computer
tured speaker at Adobe MAX, SXSW, and many other events. His Arts, and many others. He also contributes to UK-based Red Shark
clients include Apple, Google, Coca-Cola, Dell, and many others. News and Red Shark Sound. Visit his website at Visuals Producer.

KIRKNELSON
is a professional graphics artist in the Washington, D.C., area. He
has a B.A. from George Mason University and is an Adobe Certified
Expert in Photoshop. Kirk’s career has touched on a broad range of
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

subjects from logo design to animation. He can be reached here.

[ 9  ]
 > Benefit Spotlight

ARE YOU GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR

KELBYONE PRO MEMBERSHIP?

As a Pro member, you’re receiving the ultimate experience You can also get Photoshop, Lightroom, and photog-
with KelbyOne. This is our complete plan that includes every- raphy help from the amazing members in our Community.
thing to immerse yourself in learning. We want to make sure You have access to all the new issues of Photoshop User
you know about all of the added benefits you’re getting as a and Lightroom Magazine, along with more than 120 back
Pro member so you can take advantage of them all! issues. You have access to a Creative Toolkit packed with
Pro members have access to our entire course library brushes, presets, eBooks, and other fun freebies. And last,
(700+ courses), including a new course every week, taught but certainly not least, there are significant discounts avail-
by world-class instructors who you know and love. In addi- able from our partners, such as Apple, B&H Photo, and Mpix.
tion, you have hundreds of quick tips and tutorials, guided Do you know someone who should go Pro? Share the
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

learning tracks, and the opportunity to live-learn through added benefits of the Pro Membership with them to help
private members-only webcasts. accelerate their learning today! n

Discuss this Issue

[ 10 ]
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 CHRISMAIN, ASHLEYFOSSE & DAVECLAYTON
> KelbyOne Community
Inspiration, information, and member artwork to fuel your creativity
Member Monday on the KelbyOne Insider Member Challenge 37 | From Your Kitchen
Every Monday on the Insider, we feature the work of a It’s time for Member Challenge 37 and the theme is From
KelbyOne member, which includes a little background info Your Kitchen. For this assignment the subject doesn’t have
on the photographer, where and how a particular photo to taste good; it just needs to look good! You could even
was captured, plus a short Q&A. Below are three recent fea- forgo the subject of food and capture anything that you’d
tured members: Bob Rainville, Bob Henderson, and Sarah normally find in your kitchen, including a family member.
Samaan (in that order). Click here to check out all the Mem- Here’s how the Member Challenge works:
ber Mondays, and here if you’re interested in submitting • Entrant must be a KelbyOne Pro member to submit
your portfolio to be considered for Member Monday. their work into the contest.
• Work must be original to the entrant.
Bob Rainville

• Only one image can be submitted per entrant.

• Work must be created between April 17–May 24, 2020.
• 
Images must be submitted by May 24, 2020, at
11:59 PM ET.v
• Entry must be submitted in the Community Member
Challenge thread, where you can also find all the
details, rules, and prize information.
• 
The winner will receive a T-shirt, exposure on our
social channels, and bragging rights!
The theme for Member Challenge 36 was Impactful
Bob Henderson

Images. Here’s the winning entry from that challenge by

Kai Hyx. A chilling, poignant, and impactful image

Kai Hyx
Sarah Samaan
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

[ 1 2   ]
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT >> ADAM KILBOURNE
MEMBER SINCE 2015
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT >> MIKE LEONARD
MEMBER SINCE 2008
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT >> ALAN BARKER
MEMBER SINCE 2015
WHO’S WHO IN THE KELBYONE COMMUNITY >> BETH SPENCER
MEMBER SINCE 2019
 › › K E L BYO N E C O M M U N I TY

Who’s Who in the KelbyOne Community: Beth Spencer

Beth Spencer discovered Photoshop in 2006 and began experimenting with photo manipulation. To make her mark,
she began playing with proportion and scale to imbue her works with what is now her signature dark whimsy. Beth
doesn’t want people to look at her work and see clever photo manipulation; she wants them to be transported to
a world where anything is possible. Her works have been featured in Layers, Somerset Digital Studio, Advanced
Photoshop, and on the cover of this issue.

When did you join KelbyOne and who has inspired What’s the balance between your own photography
you the most in becoming better at your craft? and stock images in your projects? From where do
I have a long history with Scott Kelby—in a way. His books you get your stock images?
have been invaluable guides to me through this journey. I’m With the exception of the pieces using my son (whom
a self-taught artist, but even self-taught artists have to start I shoot myself), I use model stock from Dreamstime, Devi-
somewhere, with guidance and tutorials, and I got my start antArt and, of course, Adobe Stock. I also paint some ele-
creating with Scott Kelby’s Photoshop books. His tips and ments of my pieces. For instance, I couldn’t find nome [yes,
tricks and explanations of masks and channels were invalu- it’s spelled that way] stock for my Little Nightmares-inspired
able to me when I started taking this “hobby” seriously. work. So I drew one. I like to take most of my stock and
I joined KelbyOne a few months ago because I wanted to “flatten” it by desaturating it a bit and tamping down the
reach out to other creatives, and I love photography. I also contrast so I can hand-draw all the shadows and highlights.
confess to finding photo postprocessing oddly soothing, so I don’t use this technique on all my pieces, but when I do,
I love watching Scott’s From Flat to Fabulous videos, and I find it gives them a painterly/illustration look. I also paint
I’m a frequent viewer of The Grid. Even though I’m not a the hair on many of my subjects.
photographer, I find that The Grid’s blind critiques are
helpful to me when thinking about my own beginner-level
photography and even my art. When you do shoot your own subjects, what
gear do you use?
I recently got a Canon Rebel T6, which, frankly, I’m still learning
Your compositing work is very detailed. When did
to use. There’s no fancy setup when I’m shooting my son; it’s
you know that you had found your style?
basically pose and click. I obviously do a lot of postprocessing
I knew I’d found my style when I began making things that were
on my images in Photoshop.
a little dark, a little weird, and a little whimsical all at the same
time. I love a dark fairy tale. I love a dress or a hat with prepos-
terous proportions. I love the aesthetics of Baroque, Rococo and
For your image on the cover of this issue, how
Victorian styles. So you’ll see those influences in lots of my pieces.
long did it take you and how many elements
does it have?
Where do your concepts come from? This, like most of my pieces, took several hours, stretched over
I get inspiration from so many places, from movies to stock the course of two or three days. While many of my newer
photos of models. (I keep wanting to make a piece based on pieces have fewer layers, it’s not uncommon for my work to
the aesthetics of the film Crimson Peak, but I haven’t man- have close to 100 layers.
aged to do the film justice, yet.) Before I go to sleep at night,
I use that time to set my mind free and try to appreciate every
weird thought that comes into my brain. When I get lucky, How do you know when a piece is finished?
those weird thoughts sometimes turn into my next piece. I know I’m done when I’ve incorporated all the elements
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

One night, I thought it would be fun to have a train driv- I had in mind from the beginning and the canvas isn’t too
ing through the midsection of a Victorian woman, and voilà! cluttered. I’m trying to work on decluttering a lot of my pieces,
I made it happen. I love my weird brain. while still keeping them whimsical and interesting. n

[ 17 ]
 > Heard on the Tweet
A Quick Glance at Some Highlights from our Twitter Feed
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

[ 18 ]
 › › HEARD ON THE TWEET

Follow KelbyOne and Scott Kelby on Twitter!

> K ELBY ON E . CO M

[ 19 ]
 Here Are Your Latest Online Courses

Advanced Portrait
Editing Techniques
Take your Photoshop and Lightroom Classic portrait workflow to the next level! Building on his previous class, Intermediate
Lighting Setups with Profoto, Scott Kelby steps through his editing routine for the final images from the ballerina shoot. In this
class you’ll learn the steps Scott takes for completing the compositing of the plate shots, cleaning up distractions in the
backgrounds, making tonal value adjustments, completing the silhouette shots, adjusting color, and so much more.

What’s the Right Canon Lens for the Job?

Scott’s Top Picks, When and Why
Join Scott Kelby as he shares his recommendations for which lenses he suggests using for each different genre of
photography. These are the same recommendations he gives friends who ask him these types of questions
all the time. From landscapes to weddings, astrophotography, and street photography, Scott discusses the reasons
behind each lens choice and gives suggestions for full-frame, mirrorless, and crop-sensor camera bodies.
 Every week, we publish at least one new training course.
Check out these brand-new courses below:

What The Flash?

Controlling Your Light
Join Bob Davis as he takes you through his core gear kit, then begins to build a strong foundation for how to control your light, no
matter the light source, through a variety of shooting situations. In this class you’ll join Bob for an engagement shoot, a model shoot
in an abandoned building, a complete wedding shoot, and a really fun shoot using a variety of DIY lighting tools. Each lesson builds
on foundational concepts to help you learn how to accomplish the vision you have in your mind’s eye.

Intermediate Lighting
Setups with Profoto
Join Scott Kelby in an iconic theater for an intermediate-level course on lighting setups. From the cramped dressing room,
through the cluttered hallway, to the beautiful stage, Scott shares his process for working through the challenges each
location presents. With six shoots in all, you’ll learn about lighting settings, the process of positioning lights, how
to make the best of what the location presents, how to work with your subject, and so much more!
 COREYBARKER

BACKGROUND
DESIGNS WITH
COLORS & SHAPES
This time around, we’re going to explore creating vibrant back-
grounds for fashion shots based on the clothes the models
are wearing. By sampling the colors directly from the clothes
and using similar patterns, you can create elements that
mimic the look and feel of the fashion designs, thus creating a
harmonious layout.
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

[ 2 2   ]
 › › DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS

Step One: This tutorial begins with the basic model shot.

©Adobe Stock/evgenij918
Whether using stock or shooting your own images, you
want to be able to select and extract the subjects rather
easily. These subjects should also be wearing clothes
with vibrant colors and motifs that will influence the
overall design.
If you’d like to download the low-res watermarked ver-
sion of this image to follow along, click this link, log in
with your Adobe ID, and click the Save to Library button.
Double-click the image in the Libraries panel (Window>
Libraries) to open it in Photoshop. To make it easier to work
with the image, increase the resolution of the practice file.
(We normally don’t recommend enlarging images, but this
is only for practice purposes.) Go to Image>Image Size, turn
on the Resample checkbox, select Preserve Details from the
Resample drop-down menu, set the Width to 3,000 pix-
els, and click OK. The original Adobe Stock image is much
wider than what we’re using here. Feel free to use the Crop
too (C) to crop the image as shown here.

Step Two: Start by going under the Select menu and

choosing Subject. You’ll see it does a good job of selecting
the subjects on solid backgrounds like this. It even disre-
garded the shadows. We do need to make some minor
adjustments, though. Note: If you’re using the Adobe
Stock preview file, your selection most likely won’t be
as good. Use the Quick Selection tool (nested under the
Object Selection tool [W] in the Toolbar) to clean up the
selection before you go to the next step. Simply paint with
the Quick Selection tool to add to the selection, and hold
the Option (PC: Alt) key to subtract from the selection.

Step Three: Click on the Select and Mask button in the

Options Bar so you can refine the selection a bit more.
Press O to switch the View to Onion Skin, raise the Trans-
parency to 100% in the Properties panel so the background
is transparent, and then choose the Refine Edge Brush
tool (R) in the Toolbar.
You can still see some of the original blue background
behind the hair of the subject on the left. Use the Bracket
keys on your keyboard to adjust the size of your brush,
click right on the blue area, and paint around the loose
hair. It does quite a good job of removing the back-
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

ground while keeping the hair in place. I also dabbed

a little around the left side of the sunglasses where you
can see the original blue background. Be sure to look
around the rest of the edges and see if any other areas
need adjusting. [ 2 3   ]
 › › HOW TO

Step Four: Once done, go to the

Properties panel and set the Edge
Detection Radius to 1. Scroll down
to the Output Settings, set the
Output To drop-down menu to
New Layer, and click OK. Click the
Eye icon next to the Background
layer in the Layers panel to hide it
so you can see your extracted sub-
jects on a transparent background.

Step Five: With the subjects now

extracted to a new layer, let’s start
building the background. In the Layers
panel, create a new blank layer and
place it below the extracted sub-
ject layer. Click on the Foreground
color swatch near the bottom of the
Toolbar to open the Color Picker.
Here, we’re using a similar light blue
to the original background. Click
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

OK to close the Color Picker. Press

Option-Delete (PC: Alt-Backspace) to
fill the selected layer with the Fore-
ground color. Click on the extracted
subjects layer in the Layers panel to
make it active, switch to the Move
tool (V), and click-and-drag the
subjects closer to the right edge of
[ 24 ] the document.
 › › DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS

Step Six: For a base background

pattern, we’re going to mimic the
dark-blue vertical line on the pants
of the subject on the left. Start by
selecting the Rectangle tool (U) in the
Toolbar. In the Options Bar, set the
Tool Mode to Shape, and then click
on the Fill color swatch to the right.
Click the Color Picker icon in the
top-right corner of the drop-down
panel. Once the Color Picker opens,
click on one of the dark blue lines
on the subject’s pants on the left to
sample the color. Click OK to close
the Color Picker. Lastly, make sure
the Stroke color in the Options Bar
is set to No Color.

> K ELBY ON E . CO M

Step Seven: Drag out a corner of the document so you can see the canvas around
the image. Starting just outside the top-left of the image, click-and-drag to create a
thin vertical rectangle the full height of the canvas that extends slightly beyond the
bottom edge. You’ll see the shape layer is automatically created in the Layers panel.
Make sure it’s below the main subject layer and above the blue-filled layer. [ 2 5   ]
 › › HOW TO

Step Eight: We want to add more

blue rectangle shapes, but we want
to make sure that they’re all on the
same layer. So, go to the Options
Bar, click on the Path Operations
icon (one or more squares), and
choose Combine Shapes. Then, add
more rectangles, varying the width
similar to the way they appear on
the subject’s pants.
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

Step Nine: When you’re done

creating the shapes, go back to the
Layers panel, set the layer blend
mode to Multiply, and lower the
[ 2 6   ] layer Opacity to around 35%.
 › › DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS

Step 10: Now let’s add some large

circular shapes behind the subjects
to frame them more within the
composition. Start by going to the
Toolbar and selecting the Ellipse
tool, which is nested below the
Rectangle tool. Create a new layer
above the rectangle shapes layer so
the new shapes won’t be added to
the existing shape layer.
Back in the Options Bar, click
on the Fill swatch again, open the
Color Picker, and this time sample
the darker teal color in the first sub-
ject’s pants. Click OK. (If the color
of the rectangles changes, make sure
you have the new layer active in the
Layers panel and not the rectangle
shapes layer.)

Step 11: Hold down the Shift key

and draw out a large circle around
the subjects. While drawing the
circle, you can press-and-hold the
Spacebar to reposition it. When done,
you can also switch to the Move tool
(V), and use the Arrow keys on your
keyboard to nudge the shape’s posi-
tion even more if needed.

> K ELBY ON E . CO M

[ 2 7   ]
 › › HOW TO

Step 12: Make a duplicate of this

circle shape layer by pressing Com-
mand-J (PC: Ctrl-J), and drag it
below the original circle shape layer.
Double-click the duplicate shape
layer’s thumbnail in the Layers panel
to open the Color Picker, and then
sample the reddish-orange color that
also appears on the first subject’s
pants. Click OK.
With the Move tool active, hold
down the Shift key, and press the
Left Arrow key several times to off-
set the red shape from the blue
circle above it. We nudged it up a
couple notches as well.

Step 13: Continuing with the circle

> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

theme, let’s add another pattern

effect. Create a new layer at the top
of the layer stack. With the Ellipse
tool active, go to the Toolbar, and set
the Fill color to white. Once again,
hold down the Shift key but this time
draw a small circle in the upper-left
corner area of the image. Keep the
[ 2 8   ] shape selected.
 › › DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS

Step 14: Activate step-and-repeat

by pressing Option-Command-T (PC:
Alt-Ctrl-T). This creates a duplicate of
the shape that’s in Free Transform
mode. While holding down the Shift
key, you can either click-and-drag
or use the Right Arrow key to move
the duplicate to the right of the first
shape. Press Enter when done to
commit the transformation.

Step 15: Now hold down Shift-

Option-Command (PC: Shift-Alt-Ctrl)
and press T about 7 or 8 times. This
creates a row of circles. Using the Path
Selection tool (A) in the Toolbar (the
black arrow), marquee around the
entire row of circles to select them all.

Step 16: Then do the same step-

and-repeat that we did in Steps 14
and 15 above, but this time move
the duplicates down and copy them
2 or 3 more times.

> K ELBY ON E . CO M

[ 2 9   ]
 › › HOW TO

Step 17: Click the Add Layer Mask

icon (circle in a square) at the bottom
of the Layers panel to add a mask to
this shape layer. Switch to the Gra-
dient tool (G), click on the gradient
preview thumbnail in the Options
Bar, and select the Foreground
to Transparent preset. Click OK to
close the Gradient Editor. Press X
until the Foreground color is set to
black, and drag a gradient starting
near the bottom-middle of the cir-
cles up to the top-left corner of the
document. This adds a fade to the
circle shapes on the right side.

Step 18: Now let’s add one more

design element. This will again involve
shape layers, but this time we’re
going to add some stylish stroke ele-
ments. Start by creating a new layer
below the extracted subjects layer
and selecting the Pen tool (P) in the
Toolbar. Go to the Options Bar, and
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

again set the Tool Mode to Shape.

This time set the Fill to No Color. Click
on the Stroke color swatch, and click
the Color Picker icon in the upper-
right corner of the drop-down panel.
Sample the bright yellow of the
second subject’s shirt, and click OK
to close the Color Picker. Lastly, set
[ 3 0   ] the Stroke width to 25 px.
 › › DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS

Step 19: Starting just outside

the lower-right edge of the image
in the canvas area, click to add
points to create a zigzag-type
shape along the bottom area of
the image as shown here. Notice
we stopped short of going beyond
the left edge of the image. After
clicking to add the last point,
press Enter to commit the shape.

Step 20: Now make a duplicate

of this stroke shape layer. Switch
to the Move tool, hold down the
Shift key, and press the Up Arrow
key a few times to nudge it up.
Switch back to the Pen tool, go to
the Options Bar, and set the stroke
width to 15 px. Repeat this step
to create a third stroke, and set its
width to 5 px.

Normally, I’d probably throw in

some text to finish the design, but
I think this works just fine without
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

it. Remember to pay close atten-

tion to the subjects and utilize the
colors and shapes in their clothes
so the finished design comple-
ments the fashion. n [ 31 ]
 KIRKNELSON

CRAFT A DOLEMITE-
INSPIRED MOVIE AD
Did Netflix know that we’d all be quarantined for weeks on end?
They seem to be well positioned with their streaming entertain-
ment and original content to help us all cope with the endless
hours on the couch. To that end, let’s craft a show ad inspired
by one of the most critically acclaimed original shows on the
platform, Dolemite is My Name. In this project, we’ll use a clever
method of turning a black suit white, and even add in some
3D text to complete the design.
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

[ 3 2   ]
 › › DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS

©Adobe Stock/Alexander Image

Step One: Open Photoshop and create a new

document (File>New). Set the Width to 1,500
pixels, the Height to 2,222 pixels, and the
Resolution to 72 ppi. Click Create. Then go to
File>Place Embedded, navigate to the image
you wish to use, and click Place to bring it
into the project.
If you’d like to download the low-res
watermarked version of this image to follow
along, click this link, log in with your Adobe
ID, and click the Save to Library button.
Double-click the image in the Libraries panel
(Window>Libraries) to open it in Photoshop.
To make it easier to work with the image,
increase the resolution of the practice file.
(We normally don’t recommend enlarging
images, but this is only for practice purposes.)
Go to Image>Image Size, turn on the Resa-
mple checkbox, select Preserve Details from
the Resample drop-down menu, set the
Width to 1,500 pixels, and click OK. Use
the Move tool (V) to drag the image into
the new file, and position it as shown here.
Right-click on the image layer in the Layers
panel and choose Convert to Smart Object.

Step Two: Use the Quick Selection tool

(nested below the Object Selection tool [W]
in the Toolbar) to craft a selection of just the
model, being careful not to select any of the
background. If you need to subtract from the
selection (e.g., the area between his right arm
and body, and the area between his fingers
on his left hand), just hold down the Option
(PC: Alt) key while using the tool to remove
areas. When the selection looks good, click
the Select and Mask button in the Options Bar.
Set the Radius to 3 px and Smooth to 3. Set
the Output To drop-down menu in the Output
Settings section at the bottom of the Proper-
ties panel to Layer Mask before clicking OK.
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

[ 3 3   ]
 › › HOW TO

Step Three: The suit looks good

on this man, but we need it to be
iconically white. Start by using the
Quick Selection tool to select the
blue shirt, including the cuffs. Click
on the Create New Adjustment
Layer icon (half-white/half-black
circle) at the bottom of the Layers
panel, and select Hue/Saturation.
The selection automatically becomes
a layer mask on the adjustment
layer. In the Properties panel (Win-
dow>Properties), set the Saturation
to –100 to completely remove the
blue tint from the shirt.

Step Four: Use the Quick Selec-

tion tool again to create a selection
of just the suit and shoes. With
the image layer as the active layer,
press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to
copy the selected areas to a new
layer. Double-click the name of the
new layer in the Layers panel, and
rename it “suit.” Even though the
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

suit is primarily black, go to Image>

Adjustments>Desaturate to ensure
there’s no color information built in.
The challenge now is to reverse the
color of the suit, but keep the light
and shadows correct, so we can’t
just invert it. Instead, start by setting
the blending mode to Screen near
[ 3 4   ] the top left of the Layers panel.
 › › DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS

Step Five: The suit looks lighter

but isn’t quite white yet. Hold down
the Command (PC: Ctrl) key and tap
the J key five times to create five
copies of the suit layer all stacked
up. Each copy makes the suit
appear lighter and lighter, because
of the Screen blending mode.

Step Six: With the top suit copy

layer active, Shift-click the bottom
suit layer so all the suit layers in the
Layers panel are selected. Merge
them together with Command-E
(PC: Ctrl-E), and rename the layer
“Suit merged.” Then go to Image>
Adjustments>Curves. Add a cen-
ter point to the curve and pull it
up dramatically to lighten the suit
even more.

> K ELBY ON E . CO M

[ 3 5   ]
 › › HOW TO

Step Seven: Press D to set the

Foreground color to black, and use
the Type tool (T) to add the text.
Create a new text layer for each
line to make it easier to position the
text. The font shown here is Break-
ers Slab Ultra from Adobe Fonts. If
you don’t already have that font, go
to Type>More from Adobe Fonts to
open a browser to the online font
library that’s included with your
Creative Cloud subscription. Log
in with your Adobe ID, search for
Breakers Slab Ultra, and click the
Activate Font switch. The font size
isn’t hugely important just yet, but
this is at 260 pt. Use the Move
tool to position each line of text as
shown here.

Step Eight: With the Type tool

still active, click on the top text
layer in the Layers panel to make it
active, and click the 3D icon in the
Options Bar to extrude the text into
3D. Photoshop will ask if you want
to change to the 3D workspace.
Click Yes. Switch back to the Type
tool, click on the next text layer in
the Layers panel, and click the 3D
icon again. Repeat for the last text
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

layer. Then back in the Layers panel,

click on the top 3D text layer, Shift-
click the bottom 3D text layer to
select them all, and merge them
together by pressing Command-E
(PC: Ctrl-E). This puts all the 3D
objects into the same layer and 3D
scene, but they can still be edited as
[ 3 6   ] separate objects.
 › › DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS

Step Nine: In the 3D panel (Window>3D), select all three meshes for the text
(DYNAMITE, IS MY, and NAME), and set the Extrusion Depth to 350 px in the Prop-
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

erties panel. Switch to the Materials list in the 3D panel (it’s the third icon at the top
of the panel), and select DYNAMITE Front Inflation Material, IS MY Front Inflation
Material, and NAME Front Inflation Material. In the Properties panel, make sure the
Base Color is set to black. Then select the Extrusion Material for each line of text in
the 3D panel (as shown above), and set their Base Color to white. [ 3 7   ]
 › › HOW TO

Step 10: In the 3D panel, go back

to the Whole Scene list (the first
icon at the top of the panel) and
click on Scene. Switch to the Move
tool and use the various 3D Mode
tools in the Options Bar to rotate
and reposition the camera view
until the extruded text is at an angle
similar to what’s shown here. (It will
take a little practice to get used to
the various tools.) Then select the
Infinite Light 1 in the 3D panel, and
adjust the rotation so it’s pointing
to the top left of the composition.
In the Properties panel, make sure
the light Intensity is set to 90% and
Shadow is disabled.
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

[ 3 8   ]
 › › DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS

Step 11: Look at the bottom of the

3D panel for the Render icon (it’s the
third one). Let Photoshop take its
time to render the scene. When it’s
finished, copy the render to a new
layer by first pressing Command-A
(PC: Ctrl-A) to Select All, and then
Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J). Rename
this layer “Render.” This makes sure
the rendered pixels aren’t lost if you
inadvertently move the 3D layer.
Then hide the 3D layer by clicking
its Eye icon in the Layers panel. It’s
also helpful to switch back to a
regular, non-3D workspace at this
point. Use Window>Workspace to
select your preference.

Step 12: Now let’s create a copy of

just the black front of the text. Go
to Select>Color Range and click
on the black color of the 3D text
to sample it. Adjust the Fuzziness
slider until just the text is visible
in the preview area, and click OK.
Then go to Select>Modify>Expand,
expand the selection by 1 pixel,
and click OK. Press Command-J
(PC: Ctrl-J) to copy the selected
pixels to a new layer, name it
“Black Text,” and drag it to the
top of the layer stack. Move the
Render and hidden 3D layers to
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

beneath the model.

[ 3 9   ]
 › › HOW TO

Step 13: Hide the Black Text layer,

and click on the original image layer
to make it active. Use the Quick
Selection tool to create a selection
of the model’s hands, and then
reveal the Black Text layer again.
Make sure that the Black Text layer
is active, and hold down the Option
(PC: Alt) key while clicking on the
Add Layer Mask icon (circle in a
square) at the bottom of the Lay-
ers panel. This uses the inverse of
the selection as a layer mask. That
means the model’s hands should be
protruding in front of the black text.

Step 14: Switch to the Rectangle

tool (U), and make sure its Tool
Mode is set to Shape in the Options
Bar. Click on the Background layer
to make it active. Draw out a long
rectangle, that’s not quite the full
width of the text, near the bottom
of the frame just above his left
foot (don’t worry about the color
yet). While drawing the rectan-
gle, you can press-and-hold the
Spacebar to reposition it. Switch
to the Move tool, hold down the
Option (PC: Alt) key, and click-and-
drag the rectangle straight up
using the smart guides to keep it
aligned. The Option (PC: Alt) key
will create a copy of the shape.
Drag out two more copies and
watch for the smart indicators
showing that they’re aligned and
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

evenly distributed.

[ 40 ]
 › › DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS

Step 15: Double-click on each

Rectangle shape layer’s thumbnail
in the Layers panel to open the
Color Picker and set the fill color
for that shape. Going from top to
bottom, use the following colors:
#3ba6b0 (light teal), #f2af10
(mustard yellow), #cb591d (light
brown), and #cb3407 (burnt
orange). Shift-select all the Rect-
angle shapes in the Layers panel,
and go to Edit>Transform>Skew.
Drag the right-middle control
point upward until the shape
angles match the angle of the 3D
text as shown here. Press Enter to
commit the transformation.

Step 16: Click here to download

the preview of the Adobe Stock
image with multiple people to your
Libraries panel. Double-click it in the
Libraries panel to open it in Photo-
shop. Go to Image>Image Size, turn
on the Resample checkbox, select
Preserve Details from the Resample
drop-down menu, set the Width to
7,200 pixels, and click OK. (It’s not
going to look pretty, but this is just
for practice.)
Use the Rectangular Marquee
tool (M) to create a selection
around one of the individuals in
the image. Press Command-C (PC:
Ctrl-C) to copy the selection. Go
back to the main project and press
Command-V (PC: Ctrl-V) to paste
the copied pixels in as a new layer.
Move this layer above the bottom-
©Adobe Stock/Djomas

most rectangle layer (as shown).

> K ELBY ON E . CO M

[ 4 1   ]
 › › HOW TO

Step 17: Clip the photo to the bot-

tom Rectangle shape layer by going
to Layer>Create Clipping Mask. If
needed, use Edit>Free Transform
to scale the photo to fit well into
the shape. Go to Image>Adjust-
ments>Desaturate to desaturate the
photo. Change its blending mode
to Luminosity and reduce its Opacity
to 65%.

Step 18: Add additional photos in

the same way until the Rectangle
shapes are filled with various photos
to complete the primary compo-
sition. The design works best if the
edges of the back photos are hid-
den behind the main figure. We
also added a subtitle to the bottom
of the design using the font called
Impact, but any bold sans-serif font
will do nicely.
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

[ 4 2   ]
 › › DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS

Step 19: Now let’s add a touch of

colored grain to the design. Click
on the top layer in the layer stack
and go to Layer>New>Layer. In
the New Layer dialog, name the
layer “Grain,” and set the Mode
to Multiply. Enable the option to
Fill with Multiply-Neutral Color
(White), and click OK. Then go
to Filter>Noise>Add Noise, set
the Amount to 35%, and select
Uniform for the Distribution. Turn
on the Monochromatic checkbox,
and click OK. Follow that with
Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur set to
5 Pixels, and click OK. Finally, add
a layer mask to the Grain layer,
switch to the Brush tool (B), and
use a large, round, soft brush
with black paint on the mask to
remove the effect from the center
part of the image, leaving it just
on the corners.

> K ELBY ON E . CO M

[ 43 ]
 › › HOW TO

Step 20: To finish the effect, click

on the Create New Adjustment
Layer icon at the bottom of the
Layers panel, and choose Photo Fil-
ter. In the Properties panel, use the
Warming Filter (85) with Density
at 25%. This adds a slight warmth
to the piece, which makes the
stark whites feel not as sterile.
Then enjoy your Dolemite-inspired
ad as you binge more Netflix
during this quarantine!

As you work through ways to keep

yourself busy during your quarantine
hours, consider pushing your Photo-
shop skills even further. Re-creating
ads of movies and TV shows are a
great way to further hone your skills
and pick up new techniques to use
in personal projects. Just stay safe,
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

and stay healthy! n

[ 4 4   ]
 APPLY NOW !

PHOTOGRAPHER MATCHING SERVICE

Connect with clients to help grow your business
All photographers welcome!
 SCOTT KELBY

C R E AT I NG A F I N E - A R T
A RC H I T E C T U R A L L OO K
One of the things I’ve always done—one of the cornerstones
of my teaching career—is to deconstruct Photoshop techniques
that are complex and time-consuming to see if I can get most
of the way to that look without breaking a sweat, or having to
have mad Photoshop skills. That’s what I’m hoping to do here
today, as I’ve been asked so many times if there’s an easy way
to create this very popular fine-art architectural look.

Background Images: © Adobe Stock

It’s a super-popular look right now, and it’s usually fairly can stack ND filters, so you could get a 10x and a 3x (like
complex, but I’m going to break it down to where you I have) for some really long exposures. I use the Haida
can take the image from start to finish in less than three brand filters, and love them (plus, the price is about half of
minutes (instead of three hours). Of course, it will take you what the big famous brands charge, and honestly, I think
more than three minutes the first time you try it, but once they’re better anyway).
you get it (and you will get it—it’s surprisingly easy), then
you’ll be able to knock it out in no time. CAMERA SETTINGS
I’m providing you with two practice files you can To shoot long exposures, you’ll need to be on a tripod with
download to follow along by clicking here. Once you a cable release (or use your camera’s free phone app to
have the technique down, the whole idea is to apply it to wirelessly fire your camera). I recommend shooting in Aper-
your own work. ture Priority (Av) mode at f/11 (so all of the buildings are in
focus) and ISO 100 for the cleanest, sharpest images (unless
SHOOTING THIS STYLE your camera has a lower native ISO, such as 50 or 64). Okay,
When you’re ready to start taking your own fine-art archi- that’s the basics of the camera setup and that should get
tectural images, use a wide-angle lens, such as a 16mm on you going.
a full-frame camera, or 12mm on a crop-sensor. You can If you can’t do long exposures in-camera (you don’t
get away with a 24mm, but your shots might not have that have an ND filter or a tripod), you can create the look in
soaring, epic feel. Photoshop, and I’ll show you how since this article is about
Ideally, you want streaky clouds, so you’ll need to postprocessing after all. So let’s get to it.
shoot a long exposure during the day to make moving
clouds look really nice and streaky. Long exposures work Step One: After downloading my RAW practice file, open
great on really cloudy days (high-five London folks!) but, it in Photoshop. Because it’s a RAW image, it automatically
on a bright sunny day, you’ll need a neutral density (ND) opens in Adobe’s Camera Raw window. The image already
filter, which helps keep your camera’s shutter open longer. looks pretty monochromatic, but let’s actually make it a
I recommend a 10x (10-stop) filter; the higher the number, black-and-white image. Start by clicking on the icon with
the darker the filter, and the longer you can make your the four rectangles near the top right of the Basic panel, just
exposure (as a general rule, the longer the better). You to the right of the Profile pop-up menu.

[ 47 ]
 Step Two: Clicking that icon brings up
the Profile Browser. Click on B&W to
see the 17 black-and-white preset con-
versions that come with Camera Raw.

Step Three: Hover your cursor over

each of the thumbnails and you’ll see
an onscreen preview of how each
would look if you chose it as your black-
and-white conversion. When you find a
preset that looks good to you, click on
it to apply it. (In this case, I chose B&W
05 but you can choose any one you
like.) Click the Close button to go back
to the Basic panel.

Step Four: Now let’s tweak the tone

of the image by adding some contrast,
and enhance the detail by increasing
the Texture and Clarity amounts a
bunch (the Clarity slider works wonders
for making metal images look shinier).
If you’re not sure where to begin in the
Basic panel, just click the Auto button
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

to get a decent starting image, then

increase the Contrast a little and open
up the Shadows (or you can just use
the settings I have here). This tutorial
isn’t so much about this Basic panel
stuff; this is just a starting place, so
don’t sweat this part too much. Just
get it looking decent.
[ 4 8   ]
 CREAT ING A F INE-ART
ARCHITECTURAL LOOK

Step Five: Click the Open Image but-

ton to leave the Camera Raw window
and open the RAW image in Photoshop.
The first step here is to make a selection
of the building because we need to
separate it from the background, leav-
ing those ugly clouds behind. Luckily,
this is easier than you’d think. Get the
Quick Selection tool (click-and-hold on
the Object Selection tool [W] near the
top of the Toolbar and it will appear
in the pop-out). Paint over the build-
ing and, as you paint, it starts to select
the building. Paint over it until it’s fully
selected, as you see here.

Step Six: We need that selected build-

ing all by itself on its own layer. You do
that by pressing Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J),
and it takes that area you selected (the
building) and puts it on its own separate
layer above the original Background
layer. The area surrounding the building
on that layer will be transparent.

Step Seven: We want to put a black

sky behind our building, on its own
Step Six layer. To create a new, empty layer,
go to the bottom of the Layers panel
Step Seven and click the Create a New Layer icon
(square with + sign in the middle of it;
if you’re using an older version of Pho-
toshop, the icon looks like a page with a
bent corner). You’ll see the new layer at
the top of the Layers panel. Click directly
on that layer and drag it below the top
building layer (like you see here).

Step Eight: To fill this layer with black,

first set your Foreground color to black
by pressing the letter D on your key-
board (that sets your Foreground and
Background colors to their default set-
tings). Now press Option-Delete (PC:
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

Alt-Backspace) to fill the layer with

black. Next, in the Layers panel, click
on the top layer (the extracted building
layer) to make it the active layer.
[ 49 ]
 Step Nine: The rest pretty much
happens back in Camera Raw, so go
under the Filter menu and, near the
top of the list of filters, choose Cam-
era Raw Filter (as shown here).

Step 10: We need to darken the image

big time (so we can add our own light
later), but we don’t want it so dark we
lose all our detail. Drag the Exposure
way over to the left ( I dragged it to
–2.60) to make the front of the build-
ing really dark. To open up the shadow
areas so we can still see some detail,
increase the Shadows slider to +100.

Step 11: The tool we’re going to use to create our dramatic light beams is the Radial
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

Filter tool (it’s the last tool in the Toolbar that runs across the top left of Camera
Raw; its icon looks like a vertical oval). We need a starting point for the Exposure,
which will determine how bright our light beams are going to be. We can set all the
other Radial Filter sliders to zero by clicking the + (plus sign) to the far right of the
Exposure slider, which also sets the Exposure amount to +50. We actually need a
much brighter starting point. Now that all the sliders are set to zero, drag the Expo-
sure over to +2.50 so that, when you draw your beams, they’ll be 2.5 stops brighter
than our image is now.
[ 5 0   ]
 CREAT ING A F INE-ART
ARCHITECTURAL LOOK

Step 12: Before you start dragging out

your beam, scroll all the way down to
the bottom of the Radial Filter controls,
and where it says “Effect,” choose
Inside. When you draw your Radial
Filter, you want the sliders to affect
the area inside the oval; if you left
it set to Outside, it would brighten
everything outside that oval.

Step 13: Now take that Radial Filter

tool and click-and-drag out a tall, thin
oval shape. Don’t worry about the posi-
tion or shape for now, it’s all editable
after the fact (including the brightness);
for now, just drag out a tall thin oval
like the one you see here. If it looks
really bad and you want to start over,
just press the Delete key (PC: Back-
space) to erase this oval, and you can
try again.

Step 14: To change the Radial Filter’s

size and shape, you can drag the points
on the sides to make it wider or thin-
ner, or drag the points at the top or
bottom to change its height. To rotate
the beam, move your cursor outside
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

the oval, and when it changes to a

rounded, two-headed arrow, just
click-and-drag in the direction you
want to rotate your beam.
[ 51 ]
 Step 15: To move the beam to a different location, click- patterns. This is where the fun part of all this really lies: The
and-hold anywhere inside the oval and drag it to where you rest is production-type stuff, so experiment and have fun.
want. In this case, I dragged it over to the far left edge of the Generally, I go for one major beam that’s brighter than the
building, then I rotated it, and made it longer to match the rest. Sometimes I only have a single beam, sometimes five
edge of the building. beams. It just depends on the image, my mood, and what
Artistic Note: The positioning of the light is where the I think looks good at the time. Again, this is more art than
artistic, creative part of this whole process comes in. Yes, science, which really appeals to me. So, you might have a
you could position it where there are already natural high- bright main beam, a less-bright beam, and some really soft
lights on the building, or you can create your own light beams on the edges. Totally your call!

Step 16: I don’t want this to be the

main beam for my image, so I’m
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

going to lower the Exposure quite

a bit, down to around +1.70. At this
point you could click the New radio
button at the top of the Radial Filter
panel for your next light beam, but then
you’d have to drag out another oval
and resize it; instead, it’s much faster to
duplicate the oval you just made.
[ 5 2   ]
 CREAT ING A F INE-ART
ARCHITECTURAL LOOK

Step 17: To duplicate a Radial Filter,

Right-click anywhere inside the oval,
and from the pop-up menu that
appears, choose Duplicate. This places
another oval directly on top of your
current oval, so it might not appear as
if it actually did anything, but the
duplicate oval adds its brightness to
the original oval, so now it looks twice
as bright (that’s how you can tell it
actually made the duplicate).

Step 18: Now you can drag this

duplicate oval anywhere you’d like
(remember, this is a fine-art project,
so there are no steadfast rules). In this
case, I dragged it over to the right spire
of the building, and then brightened the
Exposure amount (I think this will wind
up being my main light beam). I dragged
the center of the beam up so the light
doesn’t go all the way to the bottom.
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

I also rotated it and made it a bit wider

to match this edge of the building.
Again, I’m just trying things to see what
works at this point.
[ 5 3   ]
 Step 19: Right-click inside this
oval and choose Duplicate again.
We’ll make this duplicate a lot
more subtle: Stretch out the oval
fairly wide, and position it so
just the very edge of the light
beam skims the top of the roof
on the right (as shown here).
Lower the Exposure of this
duplicate to +1.95.
Artistic Note: With all these
dots and ovals, it’s kind of hard
to see if something artistic is
actually developing. I find it help-
ful to temporarily hide the dots
and ovals (as shown here) to see
how the project is shaping up
by pressing the letter V. Press V
again to bring them back. Also,
if you want to see what the
building looks like without the
light beams, click on the icon
that looks like three little sliders
Radial Filter tool dots and ovals hidden at the bottom-right corner of
the preview area, which turns
off any changes you made with
the Radial Filter tool. Click the
icon again to turn them back on.
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

Radial Filter tool effects hidden

[ 5 4   ]
 CREAT ING A F INE-ART
ARCHITECTURAL LOOK

Step 20: Make another dupli-

cate of that last oval and drag it
all the way over to the far right
so it’s just getting part of that
side of the building. For this oval,
I set the Exposure to +3.10 and
the Contrast to –1.

Step 21: You might also con-

sider switching from the Radial
Filter tool to the Adjustment
Brush (it’s two tools to the
left of the Radial Filter; its icon
looks like a brush). Use the Left
and Right Bracket keys on your
keyboard to adjust the size of
brush, and make it nice and big.
Click on a few random places
within your image to add little
“light hits.” You’re taking artis-
tic license here but, by doing
so, it often makes your over-
all lighting more interesting.
I clicked once in the center
between the two columns,
once near the bottom left on
the inside of the column, and
once along the bottom-right
of center. You can control the
brightness of these light hits
using the Exposure slider. from top to bottom. There’s no penalty for experimenting, because you can always start
Artistic Note: If you’re follow- over and build the same ovals again. It’ll take just a few minutes, tops.
ing along with me, I encourage Note: If you click OK to apply these changes and return to regular Photoshop,
you to stop for a moment and the changes are kinda permanent. We can tweak the light beams a bit for brightness
experiment. Reposition all these and such, but their positions are baked in, so you won’t be able to reposition them
beams in totally different places. or change their rotation unless, right before you get to Step Nine, you go under the
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

Try different shapes and sizes, as Filter menu and choose Convert for Smart Filters. That converts your building layer so
well as different brightness. Try your light beams will be re-editable after you click OK in the Camera Raw Filter. Your
having the beams rake across Layers panel will look a bit different, as it adds an icon in the lower-right corner of the
the building instead of going layer thumbnail to let you know this is now a smart object layer.
[ 5 5   ]
 Now when you apply a Camera Raw Fil-
ter, it adds a Smart Filters layer mask directly
below the layer (attached to that layer), so
you can use the regular Brush tool (B) set to
black to paint away any parts you don’t want
visible. Of course, more importantly, if you
want to move those ovals again, you can
double-click the words “Camera Raw Filter”
that appear just below the Smart Filters mask
to reopen the Camera Raw Filter with all your
settings still in place.
So, Scott, why didn’t you tell us about all this
back in Step Nine? It’s because some folks who
are trying this technique may be pretty new to
all of this, and because I know smart filters are Step 22
kind of intimidating to some folks. I wanted to
wait until now so it didn’t take them too far
off track of the fine-art stuff we’re doing. Now,
back to our story already in progress.

Step 22: Here’s what it looks like once you

click OK, and you can see the building against
the black background. We’re getting there.

Step 23: If you want to edit the tones of the

image (making the beams or building darker
or brighter), you can go back to the Filter
menu, choose Camera Raw Filter again, and
tweak the Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, etc.,
to get it looking the way you want. The set-
tings I used are shown here.

Step 24: Now let’s add some clouds. Of

course, if you shot a long exposure with nice
streaky clouds, you could use the Rectangu-
lar Marquee (M) to select the clouds on the
original Background layer, copy them to a
new layer, and move that layer between the
building and black-filled layers in the Layers
panel. Then, use the Camera Raw Filter to
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

darken the heck out of that layer using Expo-

sure, and increase the Highlights and Whites
to bring the clouds back so you can see them.
After clicking OK, click the Add Layer Mask
icon (circle in a square) at the bottom of the
Layers panel, and paint with the Brush tool
set to black to hide any hard edges or clouds
you don’t want. (In this example, I copied
[ 5 6   ]
 CREAT ING A F INE-ART
ARCHITECTURAL LOOK

those clouds from another shot in this series where I used a long exposure, pasted them
into this document, and then masked them.)
This, of course, is the preferred method: you used that ND filter and you shot it
on a tripod. Now you have gloriously streaking clouds in just the right position ready
to paint in using a layer mask. We’re going to look at an alternative method, however:
creating our own clouds.

Step 25: To create our own fake streaky clouds, we need another blank layer behind
our building layer. Instead of creating a new layer and then dragging it down below
the building layer, why don’t we just create our layer so it already appears below our
building layer? Here’s how: With the top building layer active, hold the Command
(PC: Ctrl) key, and then click the Create a New Layer icon at the bottom of the
Layers panel. This creates a new layer below your currently active layer (the building
layer), so it looks like what you see here.

Step 26: Get the Polygonal

Lasso tool from Photoshop’s
Toolbar (it’s nested with the
Lasso tool [L]), and draw out a
long thin polygon in any shape
you’d like. The Polygonal Lasso
kind of works like a connect-
the-dots tool, automatically
drawing a straight line between
each point when you click with
your mouse. When you get back
close to where you first started
drawing with the tool, double-
click, and it will automatically
connect that point to the start-
ing point, creating a selection
similar to what you see here.
Mine wound up looking like a
weird pterodactyl!

Step 27: If you want to draw

more clouds, just hold the Shift
key, and click somewhere else
to start drawing a second, and
then even a third polygonal,
pterodactyl-cloud shape. (After
you Shift-click to start another
selection, you can release the
Shift key.) Once you draw your
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

shapes, press the letter X to swap

your Foreground color and Back-
ground color so white is now
your Foreground color.
[ 5 7   ]
 Step 28: To fill your Polygonal
Lasso tool-made selections with
white, press Option-Delete (PC:
Alt-Backspace), and they’ll look
something like what you see here,
but your shapes will vary. Now
(very important), press Com-
mand-D (PC: Ctrl-D) to Deselect
your cloud shapes.

Step 29: To soften the edges of these clouds, we’re going to apply a large amount
of blur. Go under the Filter menu, under Blur, and choose Gaussian Blur. When the
dialog appears, enter 70 pixels (or 90 if you’re using some crazy-high, 50-megapixel—
or higher—cam­era), and click OK to soften the edges of the clouds as you see here.
If you have a lower megapixel camera, you might have to lower that blur to 50 to get
it looking like this. Click OK.
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

[ 5 8   ]
 CREAT ING A F INE-ART
ARCHITECTURAL LOOK

Step 30: To add the streakiness,

go under the Filter menu again,
under Blur, but this time choose
Motion Blur. When the dialog
comes up, enter 2000 pixels for
Distance and then choose an
Angle for your clouds, usually
somewhere between 15 and
30°, but again, this is art, so
choose what looks best for your
particular image.

Step 31: Lastly, go to the Layers panel and lower the Opacity of this clouds layer
until it looks right with your image. You don’t want the clouds to overpower the
building and lose its drama, so drop it a decent amount. Lastly, you can sharpen
the heck out of the building layer using the Unsharp Mask filter (Filter>Sharpen>
Unsharp Mask) to finish it off.
Note: Here’s an important heads-up: One big reason the preferred method is to
use real, long-exposure clouds is that when you do this blurring on fake clouds, you’ll
often wind up with banding in the clouds (meaning, the gradations between the
tones in the clouds will be kind of blocky rather than smooth like in real life). You’ll
hardly notice them at the sizes we share images on the Internet (blogs, podcasts, and
portfolio pages), but if you make large prints, you’ll see them. You can help hide
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

banding like that by applying Photoshop’s Add Noise filter (Filter>Noise>Add Noise).
Set the Amount to 4%, and the Distribution to Gaussian. The noise will be visible
onscreen if you zoom in tight, but it often (but not always) goes away in print, and
works to hide the banding.
[ 5 9   ]
 ALL IMAGES BY SCOTT KELBY

TWO FINAL THINGS

Cloud Option #2: Another

thing you can do instead of the
streaky clouds (and this is some-
thing you’ll see quite a bit) is to
put a glow behind the building.
It’s kind of the same idea, but
without the pterodactyl look.
It’s just one big, bright cloud
behind the building, as you see
here. Same technique, but with
just one cloud, so it’s more like
the building is glowing.

Practice File #2: I also gave

you a second practice file to
work on. It’s taken in Paris’s
ultra-modern La Défense sec-
tion and, in this case, you’re
going to add very angled, dra-
matic beams of light like you
see here.

Remember, this is the “down-

and-dirty” version of this tech-
nique, and I hope it acts as your
launching pad to getting into
this type of postprocessing for
fine-art architectural images.
Okay, get out your wide-angle
lens, get at least a 10-stop ND
filter (or stack a 10x and 3x, or
a 10x and 5x), and start getting
those awesome images. Till next
time, stay safe everybody! n
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

[ 6 0   ]
 The step-by-step techniques you need to
capture amazing photographs like the pros

Scott Kelby
Author of the top-selling digital photography
book ever—The Digital Photography Book, part 1

What if you could shoot in any natural lighting situation, indoors or out, knowing that

you could create an amazing image every time? In Scott’s newest book, he teaches you

exactly how to do just that. He shares everything from his essential go-to portrait gear to

camera settings to the portrait photography techniques you need to create absolutely

stunning images. There has never been a natural light portrait photography book like it!

| kelbyone.com | rockynook.com | #kelbyonebooks

 GILMARSMITH
Shortcut City
THE POWERFUL AND
VERSATILE CURVES TOOL
Curves are one of the most powerful and versatile tools in Photoshop. They control the light and
dark pixels of an image, and they’re usually used to add contrast, control luminosity, color grade,
adjust colors and tones, and even as a way to match and blend two images. They can also be used
as a visual aid when retouching images; retouchers often use “solar” and “negative” curves to
spot imperfections missed by the human eye.

You can use Curves in three different ways: directly as an Layer option in the list below, and scroll down until you see
adjustment on a layer; as a nondestructive smart filter on New Adjustment Layer. Select Curves, and in the box on the
a smart object; or as an adjustment layer. I generally use right, press Command-M (PC: Ctrl-M). You’ll get a conflict
Curves as an adjustment layer because it’s nondestructive warning, but click Accept, and then OK to close the dialog.
and I can control where the adjustment is applied by using Now, every time you want to add a Curves adjustment
its layer mask. layer, simply press Command-M (PC: Ctrl-M).

Shortcut #1: Press Command-M (PC: Ctrl-M) to open the Shortcut #3: To make adjustments using Curves in the
Curves adjustment dialog. Note that this shortcut only works Properties panel (Window>Properties), you just click to add
for adding a Curves adjustment directly to an image or a points along the curve, and then drag the points up and
smart object. down. For instance, if you want to add contrast to an image,
You can configure this keyboard shortcut so it applies a add a point near the top right of the curve line and drag it up
new Curves adjustment layer instead of opening the Curves to increase the highlights. Add another point near the lower
dialog; that way, you can work nondestructively. To do this, left of the curve line and drag it down to increase the darks.
follow along with the next Shortcut. That’s commonly called an “S” curve adjustment layer.

Shortcut #2: Press Shift-Option-Command-K (PC: Shift-

Alt-Ctrl-K) to open the Keyboard Shortcuts and Menus
dialog. Make sure that Application Menus is selected in the
Shortcuts For drop-down menu near the top left, expand the
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 202 0

Shortcut #4: When a point is selected in a curve, it turns

white. In the image shown above, you can clearly see that
[ 6 2   ] the point selected is the one in the highlights area.
 › › SHORTCUT CITY

ALL IMAGES BY GILMAR SMITH

Here are a few shortcuts you can use to navi-

gate through and manipulate the different points
you’ve added to a curve.

Shortcut #5: Press + (plus key) to select the next

point on the curve.

Shortcut #6: Press – (minus key) to select the

previous point on the curve.

Shortcut #7: Use the Up, Down, Left, and Right

Arrows on your keyboard to move a selected
point in the curve. Take a look at the Input and
Output numbers in the Curves Properties panel
as you use the Arrow keys, and you’ll see the
numbers increase or decrease by one.

Shortcut #8: Use the Shift key with the Arrow

keys to move a selected point on the curve by
10. Again, keep an eye on the Input and Output
numbers, and you’ll see the numbers change
by 10.

Shortcut #9: Press Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D) to

deselect a point in the curve.

Shortcut #10: You can even select multiple

points in a curve by Shift-clicking each point you
want to select.

Shortcut #11: To delete a point on the curve,

select it, and press Delete (PC: Backspace), or drag
it out of the Curves Properties panel.

Shortcut #12: Option-drag (PC: Alt-drag) the In this image, if I Option-drag (PC: Alt-drag) the black point
black/white point sliders below the histogram slider to the right, the first pixels that appear are the darkest pixels
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

in the Curves Properties panel to display the in the image. If I Option-drag (PC: Alt-drag) the white point slider to
clipped shadows and highlights in an image. the left, the first pixels that appear are the lightest pixels in the image.
This is very useful for adjusting blown-out high-
lights and pure black pixels, which have no pic- I hope these shortcuts help you navigate through Curves quickly
ture information. and easily! n [ 6 3   ]
 LESASNIDER
> Beginners’ Workshop
HOW TO CREATE A DOUBLE
COLOR EXPOSURE EFFECT
There are (at least) two sides to most everything: day and night, stillness and movement, coins,
arguments, etc. The subjects we photograph have multiple sides, too, be it happy and mad or serious
and silly; however, that’s tough to capture in one pose. In this column, you’ll learn how to combine
two poses into a creative portrait using nothing but color channels.

Step One: Open two photos from the same shoot on two in the Layers panel. To make it easier to work with the
different layers within a single Photoshop document (this Adobe Stock preview image, increase the resolution of the
technique works best if the photos have a solid dark or file. (We normally don’t recommend enlarging images,
light background). There are many ways to do this; how- but this is only for practice purposes.) Go to Image>
ever, a quick and easy method is to choose File>Scripts> Image Size, turn on the Resample checkbox, select
Load Files Into Stack. In the dialog that opens, click Browse Preserve Details from the Resample drop-down menu,
and then navigate to the photos you want to combine. set the Width to 800 pixels, and click OK.
Click one photo to select it, Shift-click the other, and then
click Open. Make sure both checkboxes at the bottom of
the dialog box are turned off and then click OK. Photo-
shop puts each photo on its own layer within the same
Photoshop document. Decide on the main pose and then
drag that layer to the top of the layer stack.
Tip: If you’re starting in Lightroom, select two thumb-
nails in the Library module and then choose Photo>Edit
In>Open as Layers in Photoshop.
We actually started out with an Adobe Stock image
that included several poses in the same document. You can
find the image by clicking here. Sign in with your Adobe
ID, and then download the preview image to your Libraries
©Adobe Stock/Viorel Sima

panel (Window>Libraries). Double-click the image in the

Libraries panel to open it in Photoshop. Use the Rectan-
gular Marquee tool (M) to select the first headshot you
want to use, and go to Edit>Copy. Create a new docu-
ment (File>New), click Create, and then go to Edit>Paste.
(Tip: After you copy something, when you go to create a
new file in Photoshop, it defaults to the size of the copied
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

element. All you have to do is click Create.) Now select,

copy, and paste the second headshot you want to use
into the new document.
After you have the two images you want in the same
document, you can delete the Background layer, and then
rename the layers by double-clicking on their names

[ 6 4   ]
› › BEGINNERS’ WORKSHOP

Step Two: Double-click

the top layer’s thumbnail
in the Layers panel, and
in the Layer Style dialog
that opens, turn off one
of the color channels in
the Advanced Blending
section: R, G, or B for red,
green, or blue, respec-
tively (the checkboxes are
circled here). Photoshop
then excludes that chan-
nel from blending with
the layer below, produc-
ing the look of a double
color exposure. Here we
turned off each of the
color channels one by one
to see which one we liked
best. We’ll continue with
the red channel excluded
for this example, though
excluding green or blue
produces interesting looks,
too. Click OK.

> K ELBY ON E . CO M

[ 6 5   ]
 › › HOW TO

Step Three: Press V to grab the

Move tool (circled) and then click-
and-drag, or use the Arrow keys on
your keyboard, to reposition the top
layer so you can more clearly see
both poses. If you overlap the faces
like we have here, try to line up one
of the eyes (here that’s his left and
right eye across the two layers).

Step Four: Moving the top

layer produces empty (transparent)
spaces on that layer, which results in
visible hard edges. These areas need
to be filled or cropped out. Happily,
solid colored backgrounds are easy
to fill so let’s do that. Press M to
grab the Rectangular Marquee tool
(circled) and then click-and-drag to
select the empty areas on the top
layer. Try to include a few nearby
pixels along the edge of the top
layer in the selection, which gives
Photoshop some pixels to work with
in the next step. To select two dif-
ferent areas at the same time, Shift-
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

click-and-drag after selecting the

first area.

[ 6 6   ]
 › › BEGINNERS’ WORKSHOP

Step Five: Choose Edit>Content-

Aware Fill. In the special workspace
that opens, use the Content-Aware
Fill panel on the right to tell Photo­
shop where to sample (copy pixels
from) to create the fill. On this image,
the default Auto option (circled)
works fine. On your own imagery,
however, you may need to exclude
an area from sampling by painting
with the Sampling Brush tool (B)
that’s automatically activated when
you entered this special workspace
(in this example, the brush cursor
is visible on the left side of his
forehead). In the Output Settings
section, set the Output To drop-
down menu to Current Layer (also
circled) and click OK.

Step Six: Photoshop fills in the

empty areas. If you don’t like
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

the results, choose Edit>Undo

Content-Aware Fill and then repeat
Step 5. If the results are good,
choose Select >Deselect.
[ 6 7   ]
 › › HOW TO

Step Seven: Use a layer mask to

hide any odd-looking overlapping
areas, such as his left ear on the
bottom layer. Start by activating the
layer with the pixels you want to hide
and then add a layer mask by clicking
the circle-within-a-square icon at the
bottom of the Layers panel (circled).

Step Eight: Grab the regular Brush

tool (circled) by pressing B on your
keyboard. In the Options Bar, click
the Brush Preset Picker (also circled)
and choose the Soft Round Brush in
the General Brushes folder. Set the
brush size to be a little bigger than
what you’re hiding (250 pixels was
used here) and make sure Mode is
set to Normal and that Opacity is set
to 100%. On your keyboard, press D
to set the color chips at the bottom
of the Toolbar (circled) to the default
values of black and white. Press X to
flip-flop the color chips so that black
is on top. (In the realm of the layer
mask, painting with black conceals
and painting with white reveals.)

Step Nine: With the layer mask

> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

active, brush across the area you

want to hide (the ear). Don’t worry if
you hide too much; simply press X to
flip-flop your color chips so white is
on top and then brush across an area
to reveal it again. Chances are, you’ll
do a lot of flip-flopping color chips to
get the mask just right.
[ 6 8   ]
 › › BEGINNERS’ WORKSHOP

Step 10: The technique is basically

finished, but you can tweak the
colors if they’re too intense or if
you want to make one pose stand
out more than the other. To do
that, click to activate the top layer
in your Layers panel. Then click
the half-black/half-white circle at
the bottom of the Layers panel
(circled), and choose Hue/Satura-
tion. In the Properties panel that
opens, pick the color you want to
adjust (say, Reds) from the drop-
down menu (also circled) near the
top of the panel, and then drag
the Saturation slider to the left to
make it less intense (a value of –22
was used here).

Step 11: To adjust contrast, click

the half-black/half-white circle at
the bottom of the Layers panel
again (circled) and choose Bright-
ness/Contrast. In the panel that
opens, drag the Contrast slider right-
ward to increase it (a value of 25 was
used here).
Tip: For more control over the
contrast in each color channel, try
using a Levels or Curves adjustment
layer instead.
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

[ 6 9   ]
 › › HOW TO

And, here’s our final double color

exposure portrait.

Here’s the result of the same tech-

nique on a different image, with the
green channel excluded. To make

©Adobe Stock/Raisa Kanareva

the magenta pose stand out more,
your author picked Greens in the
Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and
then dragged the Lightness slider
rightward to make it lighter. You
could also pick Magentas and drag
the Lightness slider leftward to make
it darker. I also used a Color Balance
adjustment layer to adjust the colors.

As you can see, this is an easy, yet

compelling technique, especially for
any kind of student or graduation-
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

related shots. Heck, you can even

use it on pet photos! Until next
time, may the creative force be with
you all. n

[ 70 ]
Discover Litra’s family of award winning lighting solutions for photography
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 UNMESHDINDA
> Effects Toolkit

MATCH COLORS IN COMPOSITES

WITH THREE BUTTONS
One of the biggest challenges we face while creating a composite is to get the images to blend in
a realistic fashion, right? Whenever we’re putting together two or more elements, we need to make
sure that a set of five properties match: Type and direction of light, color, perspective, atmosphere,
and depth of field. This issue, we’re going to focus on matching color, which doesn’t have to be
difficult at all. In most cases, all you need are two buttons (sometimes three)!

In this article, we’re going to place a woman hiker on

©Adobe Stock/veneratio
a brand-new background and learn a few essential
techniques to make it look like she’s actually hiking in
those mountains even though the photo of her was
taken in an indoor studio (after all, that’s the most
she can do during this quarantine season). So with-
out any further ado, let’s get started!

STEP ONE: OPEN THE IMAGE

First, let’s open the image of the new background
in Photoshop. Notice that it’s an overcast sky with
the light coming from the right. We need to make

©Adobe Stock/Krakenimages.com
sure that we have similar lighting with the subject,
as well.
If you want to follow along with the photo used
here, you may license the full-resolution version from
Adobe Stock, or download the JPEG preview for free
by clicking the Save to Library button here.
If you’re using your own image, go to File>Open,
locate your image, and then click Open, or if you’re
working in Application Frame, go to Finder (PC: File
Explorer), locate your image, and drag-and-drop it
into Photoshop. If you downloaded the image from
Adobe Stock, you can load it from your Libraries
panel (Window>Libraries) by double-clicking it.
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 202 0

STEP TWO: PLACE THE SUBJECT

Locate the image of the subject in your Finder (PC:
File Explorer), and drag-and-drop it over the can-
vas of the new background. Alternatively, you can
download the image from Adobe Stock by click-
ing here, and then drag it to your canvas from the
Libraries panel. Press Enter to confirm the place-
ment of the subject.
[ 72 ] Step Three
 › › EFFECTS TOOLKIT

STEP THREE: MASK OUT THE SUBJECT

Create a selection around the subject using your favorite
technique. You can use the Quick Selection tool, the Pen tool,
or even Select>Subject. After making the selection, you can
refine it by clicking Select and Mask in the Options Bar. For
an in-depth KelbyOne course on making selections by Dave
Cross, c lick here.
In this example, I used the Quick Selection tool (nested
below the Object Selection tool [W] in the Toolbar) to make
a selection of the subject. With the selection active, click on
the Add Layer Mask icon (circle in a square) in the Layers
panel to turn it into a mask.

STEP FOUR: TRANSFORM THE SUBJECT

With the subject layer active, press Command-T (PC: Ctrl-T) to
enable the Free Transform tool. Adjust the size and the position
of the subject according to the perspective of the image, as
shown above. Press Enter to commit the transformation.

STEP FIVE: CREATE A CLIPPED

CURVES ADJUSTMENT LAYER
Click on the Create New Adjustment Layer icon (half-black/
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

half-white circle) at the bottom of the Layers panel and

choose Curves. At the bottom of the Curves Properties panel
(Window>Properties), click the clipping mask icon (it’s the
first one).
[ 73 ]
 › › HOW TO

STEP SIX:
MATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS
Click on the thumbnail of the Curves
adjustment layer in the Layers panel
to make sure it’s active and not
its mask. In the Properties panel,
double-click on the White Point eye-
dropper (the one with the white tip).
The Color Picker (Target Highlight
Color) dialog will open.
Up in the Options Bar, set the
sample size to 3 by 3 Average, and
make sure it’s set to Sample All Lay-
ers. Click on the bright light source
in the background. In this example,
I sampled a bright cloud. Once the
color is sampled, click OK.
A dialog will show up asking if you
want to “Save the new target colors
as defaults?” Choose No, because we
don’t want to mess with the default

values of the Curves, which might

annoy us for future projects.
Now, with the White Point eye-
dropper still active, click on the
bright­est spot of the subject. For
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 202 0

this example, I clicked on her watch.

You’ll notice that immediately, the
high­lights of the subject match
with that of the background! In the
Curves Properties panel, you can see
how the individual curves for the
Red, Green, and Blue channels have
been adjusted.
[ 74 ]
 › › EFFECTS TOOLKIT

STEP SEVEN:
MATCH THE SHADOWS
Similarly, as we did with the highlights,
double-click on the Black Point eye-
dropper (the one with a black tip) in
the Properties panel. Sample a shadow
color from the background image and
click OK to close the Color Picker.
Again, click No when Photoshop asks
if you want to “Save the new target
colors as defaults?” Now, click on the
darkest area on the subject, and the
shadows will match too.

STEP EIGHT: MATCH THE

MIDTONES (OPTIONAL)
As we matched the highlights and
shadows, you can also use the Gray
Point (middle) eyedropper to match
the midtones by following the same
steps and sampling a neutral color
from the background, for instance,
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

the gray stones; however, in this case,

it’s not required. Why? Because I tried
it and it looks like garbage. But it
works wonders on some images.
[ 7 5   ]
 › › HOW TO

STEP NINE:
MATCH THE CONTRAST
Create another clipped Curves adjust-
ment layer, as shown in Step Five.
Reduce the contrast on the subject by
dimming the highlights and slightly
brightening up the shadows as shown
here. In the Layers panel, reduce the
Opacity of this Curves adjustment
layer to 70%.

STEP 10: APPLY

ATMOSPHERIC COLOR
Click on the Background layer in the
Layers panel to make it active, and
press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to
create a duplicate. Place the Back-
ground copy at the very top of the
layer stack, and clip it by holding the
Option (PC: Alt) key and clicking on
the line between the Background
copy layer and the layer beneath it in
the Layers panel. You should notice
a downward-pointing arrow on the
left of the layer similar to what you
see on the clipped Curves adjust-
ment layers.
Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur.
Apply a high enough blur to get a
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 202 0

color gradient with no details.

Because the Background copy is
clipped to the subject layer, you’ll
only see the blur inside the subject.
Click OK.
Change the blend mode of the
Background copy layer to Color, and
set its Opacity to about 20%.
[ 76 ]
 › › EFFECTS TOOLKIT

STEP 11: BLUR THE BACK-

GROUND (OPTIONAL)
Make the Background layer
active, and again make a dupli-
cate by pressing Command-J
(PC: Ctrl-J). Let’s double-click the
name of this layer and rename it
“Blurred Background.”
Go to Filter >Blur Gallery >
Field Blur. Increase the Blur in
the Blur Tools panel to 15 px
(if you’re using the low-res
preview versions of the images,
try 4 px). Create another point
near the subject’s right elbow
by simply clicking on the area,
and for this point, set the Blur
to 8 px (try 2 px for the low-res
files). Click OK in the Options
Bar to apply the blur.

The three (or two in most cases)

eyedroppers in the Curves adjust­
ment layer will get 80% of the
job done in blending the subject
with that of the background. The
composite isn’t over yet. In this
example, you’d still need to work
on the shadows and highlights
with some manual dodging and
burning, and maybe add some
filters on top to blend the images
even better. I also added a simple
LUT and some texture at the top
to make it blend better. Here’s
what my final image looks like.

This hidden custom sampling

feature inside the Curves adjust-
ment layer will save you tons of
time from having to adjust the
individual color channels in the
Curves Properties panel to match
the colors of the composited ele-
ments with the naked eye. Just
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

remember to double-click those

three eyedroppers! n

[ 7 7   ]
 KRISTINASHERK
> Photo Effects

ADDING PUNCH & CONTRAST TO EYES

I’m baaack! I’m so thrilled to be writing another article here in Photoshop User, and you guys are in
for a treat this issue. I have a super-simple and quick way to add customized punch and contrast
to your subject’s eyes. The awesome thing about this method is that it pulls directly from the eyes
in the photograph to create an intricate dimension like you’ve never seen. And did I mention it’s
super easy?

Most of the time when people accentuate eyes using Pho- Step One: Here’s our preliminary image and, as you can
toshop, all they do is broadly brighten the color in the iris. see, the eyes need a little bit of help. (KelbyOne members
If you’re a little more advanced, you know to lighten only can click here to download this image and follow along.)
the area on the side of the iris opposite the catchlight. But
what if you could get even more specific and intricate? In
this article, we’re going to power-boost your eye-retouching
skills. I may even include something at the end of the article to
sweeten the pot as a thank you for being such a loyal reader!
So keep reading; I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
Note: Before we start, I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you that
this technique works best on eyes that have native contrast
in them to begin with.

Before Step Two: The first thing we’re going to do is create an

adjustment layer. There are a few different adjustment
layers you could use (such as Brightness/Contrast, Curves,
or Levels) but my go-to adjustment layer is Hue/Saturation.
Open the Adjustments panel (Window>Adjustments) and
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 202 0

click on the Hue/Saturation icon (the first icon in the sec-

ond row).

[ 78 ] After
 › › PHOTO EFFECTS

Step Three: Since we follow best

practices as Photoshop users (well,
sometimes), we’ll give our layer
a meaningful name. Double-click
the layer’s name in the Layers
panel, and rename it “Iris Pop.”
Next, change the blend mode of
the layer from Normal to Color
Dodge. And finally, change the
Saturation of this adjustment
layer from 0 to +52 in the Prop-
erties panel (Window>Properties).
Here’s what your image should
look like.

Step Four: Here’s where things

get interesting. We want to isolate
the area of this effect to the eyes.
To do so, you might think that
we’re going to invert the mask
from white to black and then
paint in the effect. Sadly, you’re
mistaken. If you’ve read any of my
other articles, you know that I’d
rather go to the dentist then do
freehand masking so, whenever
possible, I rely on Photoshop to do
most of the work for me.
Double-click to the right of the
Iris Pop layer’s name in the Layers
panel to bring up the Layer Style
dialog. (Tip: If you prefer using the
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

top menus to access features, you

can get to the Layer Style dialog
by going to Layer>Layer Style>
Blending Options.)
[ 79 ]
 › › HOW TO

Step Five: Now comes the fun part. We want to use the Step Seven: One problem is glaring us in the face,
Blend If sliders at the bottom of the Layer Style dialog though: those edges. Yikes! Let’s fix that. If you hold
to isolate the lightest colors in the model’s irises. The down the Option (PC: Alt) key and click on one of the
way these two sliders work is that they assign a bright- sliders below Underlying Layer in the Layer Style dialog,
ness/darkness value to every pixel in your layer and put the slider will split in half. Now you can position each half
them on a linear graph from darkest tones (on the left) of the slider to blur the edge of the effect from where it’s
to brightest tones (on the right). Because our adjustment completely visible to where it’s no longer invisible (very
layer (the Hue/Saturation Iris Pop layer) doesn’t actually similar to feathering the edges of a mask). Here are my
have any pixels on it (it just modifies pixels on the layers slider values after I split both sliders: 87/109 and 152/168.
below it), we want to use the Underlying Layer sliders, Click OK, and check out how intricate these striations
which in this case targets the image layer. look within the iris!

Step Six: Now, drag the dark and white sliders on the
Underlying Layer toward each other. Again, we’re trying
to isolate the brightest areas of the iris. I pulled my slider
arrows to 101 and 133. As you can see, the Color Dodge
effect has been severely constricted in where it’s visible
on the image layer.

Step Eight: We’re getting close to the end, but we have

a few more steps before we’re finished. We need to think
about how we’re going to have this cool effect only show
up on the irises and not on the rest of the image. So even
though Photoshop has done most of the work for us, we’re
at the point where we have to do some manual masking.
Start by clicking on
the Iris Pop layer mask’s
thumbnail in the Layers
panel to make it active
(the mask thumbnail
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 202 0

should have white lines

around each of its cor-
ners). Press Command-I
(PC: Ctrl-I) to invert the
mask. The mask will
turn black, meaning
none of the Hue/Satura-
tion effect will be visible
[ 8 0   ] on the image.
 › › PHOTO EFFECTS

Step Nine: Our last step is painting in the

effect. So grab the Brush tool (B) and get
painting! Make sure you’re painting with a
soft round brush tip set to white (press D),
and change the Opacity of the Brush tool
from 100% to 30% by tapping the 3 key on
your keyboard. Use the Bracket keys on your
keyboard to quickly change the size of your
brush so it’s about the width of the iris. Paint
in the effect on the opposite side of the iris
from where the catchlight is (the lower-right
third of each iris). Here’s what the effect and
its mask look like now.

Step 10: If you feel the effect is still too

strong, you can decrease its intensity by low-
ering the Opacity of the Iris Pop layer in the
Layers panel. Personally, I like it punchy, so
I’ll leave it at 100% Opacity.

In closing, I hope you start to realize the true

power that lies within the Layer Style dialog
and the Blend If sliders. It allows you to cre-
ate insanely intricate masks with almost no
work from you!
Okay, okay, I know I promised you some
goodies at the end of the article, so here they
are. As a KelbyOne member, you can watch
this technique in action in Lesson 7 of my
Electrifying Eyes course. And finally, I’ve
included an action which will set up the Hue/
Saturation adjustment layer; all you have to
do is tweak the Blend If sliders each time you
use the action to accurately isolate the stri-
ations in each model’s eyes. You can down-
load this action for free by clicking here, and
if you want to download more of my free
actions, check out SharkPixel.com. After you
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

download an action, simply double-click the

file to load it into Photoshop’s Actions panel
(Window>Actions). n

ALL IMAGES BY KRISTINA SHERK [ 81 ]

 MARKHEAPS
> The Perfect Selection

MASKING YOUR MASK IS SO META!

Masking and making selections is still one of the most fundamental skills in Photoshop. It used to be
much more complicated, but with the inclusion of new technology, such as Adobe Sensei, we’re con-
tinually seeing the process get easier. But that doesn’t mean you should forget about best practices
when it comes to your workflow and how to protect yourself from dreaded “rework” in the future.

NEED TO KNOW
If you’ve been using Photoshop for any
length of time, or have been reading this
series, you’re familiar with layer masks, those
handy little elements you can attach to a
layer so you can hide (mask out) pixels on
that layer without actually erasing them. The
old saying “black conceals and white reveals”
is the rule of thumb here. Let’s take a look at
the following graphic to see how it was built
using nested layer masks along with layer
group masks.

©Adobe Stock/Sergey Nivens

THE GRAPHIC
This graphic is made up of several images,
with a wash effect that fades the left side
of the composited images so there’s an area
for text. From a design standpoint, it makes
the text easier to read rather than trying to
force it to “pop off” the background image.
Like anything in Photoshop, there are lots of
ways to re-create this effect, but it should be
produced in a way that enables us to make
changes easily and separate out the various
elements of the composite if needed. Let’s
break down the graphic into its various parts.

THE SPACEMAN
The first part of the graphic is an image from
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 202 0

Adobe Stock that originally had the astronaut

figure standing on some rocks with a space
background. Below you can see the green repre-
senting the area that was masked out. (You can
download the low-res preview of the astronaut
image to your Libraries panel by clicking here.
Once the image is downloaded, double-click it
in the Libraries panel to open it in Photoshop.)
[ 8 2   ]
 › › THE PERFECT SELECTION

Step One: Masking out the background can be done fairly

Ring: ©Adobe Stock/ddukang

quickly by painting a selection on the spaceman (and the
rocks on which he’s standing) using the Quick Selection
tool (nested below the Object Selection tool [W] in the
Toolbar). This tool is handy because it quickly samples pix-
els with its brush-like control as you paint. As you brush
the tool over the image, it looks for edges, similar pixels
values, and more.

Step Two: After you’ve made the selection, click the Add
a Mask icon (circle in a square) at the bottom of the Layers
panel. The great thing about making a layer mask from
your selection is that it can reveal any artifacts or issues
with the pixels you masked out. Add a new layer below
your masked image layer and fill it (Edit>Fill) with a vibrant
punchy color, like the green example above, and then
Shift-click the layer mask thumbnail to turn it off and on.
This will let you quality check your mask to see if you have Select the green-filled layer in the Layers panel, press D to
any unwanted holes or chopped-off parts. set the Foreground color to black, and press Option-Delete
You can repair those areas by using the Brush tool (B) (PC: Alt-Backspace) to fill it with black to make it easier to
and painting with either white or black on the mask you see the ring.
made. Just be sure you select the layer mask thumbnail
in the Layers panel so you aren’t working directly on the Step Four: To make it look like the ring is going behind
layer itself. The thumbnail will have a small white frame the head of the spaceman, we need to mask that por-
around it to let you know if you’re working on the mask tion out. Instead of erasing those pixels (blasphemy!), we
or the layer pixels. should first add a layer mask to the Ring layer, and then
activate a new selection using the mask we made for the
Spaceman layer. To do this, you can either Command-click
(PC: Ctrl-click) on the layer mask thumbnail on the Space-
man layer, or you can Right-click on the Spaceman layer
mask and choose the Add Mask to Selection option to
THE RING make it an active selection.
We’ll use the ring graphical element to frame the spaceman.
You can download the low-res version of the ring by click-
ing here. Drag the ring image from your Libraries panel
into your main spaceman document, and press Enter.

Step Three: The Ring layer should be above the Spaceman

> K ELBY ON E . CO M

layer. To knock out all the black pixels in the Ring layer, set its
blending mode to Screen, which will keep all of the brighter
tones on the layer while blending out the darker pixels. Use
the Move tool (V) to position the ring over the spaceman.
[ 8 3   ]
 › › COLUMN

Step Five: Now you can target the

layer mask you made for the Ring layer,
and because you have an active selec-
tion that’s the shape of the spaceman,
just paint with the Brush tool set to
black (remember black conceals and
white reveals!) in the area around the
spaceman’s head. This will hide that
section of the ring, giving the illusion
of it passing behind the spaceman’s
head, without removing any of those
beautiful pixels in case we need them
in the future. After all, creatives and
their clients, sometimes change their
minds from the first version of an
image project. You can’t paint out-

©Adobe Stock/den-belitsky
side the selection, so you can’t hide
any of the ring pixels that appear out-
side the spaceman.

THE BACKGROUND
We’re using a Milky Way landscape
shot from Adobe Stock as our back-
ground for this image composite. You
can download the image here.

Step Six: Drag the Milky Way image

from your Libraries panel into the
main image. Resize it to fill the image,
and press Enter. No major edits
needed here, just position it below
the Spaceman and the Ring layers in
the Layers panel.

SET UP YOUR LAYERS

Now’s a good time to start organiz-
ing and protecting the various assets
you’ve worked into your image. I know,
organizing layers is no fun, but for this
technique it’s necessary.
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 202 0

Step Seven: Place the Spaceman layer

into a layer group. You can create a
group by clicking the Create a New
Group icon (folder) at the bottom of the
Layers panel, and then dragging your
layer(s) into the group. But for an even
faster workflow, first select the layer(s)
in the Layers panel that you want to Step Eight
[ 8 4   ]
 › › THE PERFECT SELECTION

group. You can select multiple layers using the Shift key to Step 10: In the final
select contiguous layers or the Command (PC: Ctrl) key to step, add a layer mask
select noncontiguous layers. With the layer(s) selected, click to the Mega Group.
the Create a New Group icon to automatically add them Using a big soft brush
into that group. The group allows any elements that are set to black, paint on
used to modify the Spaceman image to “travel” together. the layer mask for the
So if we move the Spaceman layer group, all of those various Mega Group to slowly
elements move together. blend away the left
edge of the compos-
Step Eight: Option-drag (PC: Alt-drag) the Spaceman layer ite image. This will
mask to the Spaceman Group to copy it to the group. Now affect all the layers in
you can make additional edits to the spaceman within the the group. It works
group without affecting areas in the background. In this best to paint with low-
example, we added additional colors and shadows on layers ered Opacity values (in
within the group, and because we have a layer mask on the Options Bar) on
the group, it constrained the edits to the spaceman and the your brush so you can
rocks on which he’s standing. create some variety in
the blend. This helps it look less digital and computer ren-
MEGA GROUP & FINISHING BLEND dered. Now you have room for any text or design elements
Now we’re going to repeat the group process to create that you want on the left-hand side of your image.
what we’re going to call a “Mega Group.”
This technique allows you to use layer groups to stack
Step Nine: Select the Spaceman Group, the Ring layer, and your masks, which not only protects pixels and maintains
the Milky Way background layer. Click the Create a New individual layers, but also gives you some really creative
Group icon to put all of the selected layers and group, along options between mixing hard and soft layers in two sepa-
with their masks, into one new group. Nesting together rate masks. It’s now easy to go back and edit any element
multiple layers, groups, and their masks, keeps them easily of this image while keeping the integrity of the masks
accessible for any additional future edits. Plus, as we saw in we’ve produced along the way. This helps reduce any
Step Eight, we can add layers masks to groups! rework in the future. n

> K ELBY ON E . CO M

[ 8 5   ]
 SCOTTVALENTINE
> Photoshop Proving Ground

3D TEXT ROOM, PART 1

This is a fun effect that can be developed with a number of techniques, including 3D and some
brute-force transform power; but it also requires some attention to detail and a little planning. In fact,
most of the actual work is in the setup. For Part 1, we’ll get everything laid out and prepared, then in
Part 2 we’ll add our content and spiffy up things with some variations. Here in Part 1, we’re going to
use only what we need from various tools and features to draw on a broad set of problem-solving
skills, rather than trying to show off a single feature or tool.

We’re going to create a visual reference for accurate place-

ment, and then we’ll take advantage of the Libraries panel
to act as a temporary toolbox. And, of course, there will be
smart objects and a little trick you may not have used before.
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

Step One: Let’s kick things off by creating a new document

(File>New) at 2000x2000 px with a white background, and
then add a blank layer above the Background layer. Use the
Rectangular Marquee tool (M) to drag out a rectangular
selection that’s the same width as the document, and a little
more than two-thirds the total height (I went with 1400 px).
With the selection still active, apply a 5-px black stroke
[ 8 6   ] (Edit>Stroke) using the Inside option.
 › › PHOTOSHOP PROVING GROUND

Step Two: With the selection still active, go to

Select>Transform Selection, hold Option (PC:
Alt), and drag a corner point inward to scale
down the selection to create the back of your
virtual room, this time using the height value
from the first rectangle for the width: 1400 px.
Press Enter to commit the transformation, and
repeat the stroke function. Press Command-D
(PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect. You should now have a
set of centered rectangles that define the front
and back walls of your room. Double-click the
name of this layer and rename it “Box.”

Step Three: Create another blank layer above

the Box layer, and name it “Room Grid.” This
one will hold our perspective reference, so fire
up Vanishing Point (Filter>Vanishing Point).
If you haven’t used Vanishing Point before,
it’s typically meant to allow you to create 3D
planes on which you can paint, clone stamp,
and paste in perspective. For the moment,
we’re only going to use it for generating a per-
spective grid.
The Box layer should be visible, so start by
clicking in the upper-left corner of the larger
rectangle, which sets the first point of your
perspective plane. Try to get as close to the
outside corner of the stroked line as possible.
Add another point to the upper-left corner of
the smaller rectangle, being careful to get to
the same outer corner as with the larger box.
There are crosshairs on the default cursor to
help with alignment. Continue down the left
edge of the smaller rectangle and add a point
at the bottom-left corner, then finish by click-
ing on the bottom left of the larger one. A grid
should appear in blue with the correct vanish- Step Four: Once you have your blue grid, look for the square node in the
ing lines. Now here’s the fiddly bit: If you only middle of the right vertical edge of the plane. Hold Command (PC: Ctrl)
get a red outline, you’ll have to move the points and click-and-drag that node to the right; you should immediately see a
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

around until you get something that looks like new plane being created along the back wall of your room. Pay attention
the image shown above right. Alignment here to how well it aligns with the smaller black rectangle. If the plane is offset
is critical since you’re defining the foundation by too much, you won’t get a good reference grid; release the mouse
for the remaining grids. (You may have differ- button and hit Delete (PC: Backspace) to remove that plane and go back
ent numbers of lines, but that’s okay!) to adjust the original corner points. [ 8 7   ]
 › › COLUMN

Once you have a properly aligned

flat plane for the back wall, the
remaining planes won’t require any
other adjusting. Repeat the Com-
mand-dragging (PC: Ctrl-dragging)
process to create the right wall, using
the control node in the middle of the
right edge of the back wall grid. Then
do the same thing for the ceiling and
floor. I prefer to use the back plane’s
nodes to drag these out, rather than
the side walls. As you create each
plane, the grid on the previous one
turns off to help keep things visu-
ally simple. You’ll have to click on
the back plane each time to make it
the active plane. When done, simply
hold Shift and click on each plane
to make them all visible. This is what
you’ll end up with.

Step Five: In the upper left of the

Vanishing Point workspace is a small
“hamburger” menu. In that menu,
choose Render Grids to Photoshop.
Click OK to close the workspace.
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

[ 8 8   ]
› › PHOTOSHOP PROVING GROUND

Step Six: You should now have a

nice set of reference layers. With the
Room Grid layer active, Shift-click
the Box layer in the Layers panel to
select both layers. Press Command-G
(PC: Ctrl-G) to group them, and
name the group “Reference.”
Next, we need to add some
guides for spacing and snapping.
Make the rulers visible (View>Rul-
ers) and drag out horizontal and
vertical guides to align with the
edges of both rectangles. This will
provide some corners for snapping
later on (also turn on snapping with
View>Snap, if it doesn’t already
have a checkmark next to it).
Note: I changed the color of my
guides for better visibility under Photo­
shop (PC: Edit)>Preference>Guides,
Grids & Slices.

Step Seven: Add some column

guides by going to View>New Guide
Layout and creating 5 Columns with
a Gutter of 15 px. Be sure to leave
Clear Existing Guides unchecked!
Also turn off Rows and Center Col-
umns, and click OK. These new
guides will be useful for creating
our newspaper column frames. Your
document should now look some-
thing like the image shown here.
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

[ 8 9   ]
 › › COLUMN

Step Eight: At this point, things are

getting pretty cluttered visually, so
reduce the Opacity of the Reference
group to about 20%. This leaves it
faint but still useful for placement.
Create another blank layer at the
top of your layer stack and name it
“Frame.” Use the Rectangular Mar-
quee tool again to drag out a selec-
tion of the far-left column at the
same height as the front of the room
(the larger rectangle), being certain
to not include the gutter or the ver-
ticals you created for the back plane.
Apply the same stroke as before.

Step Nine: Press Command-D

(PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect. Open the
Libraries panel (Window>Libraries),
and select Create New library from
the drop-down menu near the top
of the panel. Name this library “3D
Room,” and click Create. Drag the
Frame layer from the Layers panel to
your new library. We’ll come back to
it shortly!
Back on the canvas with the
Frame layer active, press V for the
Move tool. Hold Shift-Option (PC:
Shift-Alt) and drag the outline you
just made to the right. This creates a
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

duplicate on a new layer while you’re

dragging; continue dragging until
the copy snaps into the next column.
You should now have two black out-
lined columns.

[ 9 0   ]
› › PHOTOSHOP PROVING GROUND

Step 10: Select both Frame layers

in the Layers panel and merge them
(Command-E [PC: Ctrl-E]). Name
the new merged layer “Left Wall.”
Convert this layer to a smart object
(Filter>Convert for Smart Filters). Go
to your new 3D Room library in the
Libraries panel, and hold Option (PC:
Alt) while dragging out the Frame
object. Holding Option (PC: Alt)
causes your object to be placed as
a regular layer rather than a linked
smart object, which is what we want
at the moment. Place the new frame
into the rightmost column guides.
Using the same copy-drag move
we used in Step 9, duplicate the new
frame into the next column to the
left. Select both layers, merge them,
name this new layer “Right Wall,”
and also convert it to a smart object.
Taking advantage of the library
feature keeps us from having to drag
out a marquee selection and provides
consistency in size. In more complex
projects, it can be handy to build a
small toolbox of placeholder objects
specifically for this reason. And we’ll
see in Part 2 how this is used with
content to prevent much wailing and
gnashing of teeth.
For now, select both the Left and
Right Wall layers and group them,
naming the group something clever
like “Side Walls.” Turn off the vis-
ibility for this group by clicking its
Eye icon in the Layers panel.
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

[ 91 ]
 › › COLUMN

Step 11: Drag out another copy

of Frame from the Libraries panel
to the far-left column so you can
start building the back, floor, and
ceiling (remember to hold Option
[PC: Alt]!). It should appear in a
new layer at the top of the layer stack.
Repeat the copy-drag operation
four times to fill the columns all the
way across, taking care to ensure
they’re snapped properly and have
the same spacing. Select all five of
the layers, merge them, name the
merged layer “Back Wall,” and
convert it to a smart object. We’ll
transform this layer to fit the back
wall shortly.

Step 12: We also need a ceiling

and floor, but rather than create
library items, we’re going to dupli-
cate the Back Wall smart object;
however, there’s a little problem. If
we simply duplicate a smart object,
we’ll create an instance of it that
will have the exact same contents.
That means if we update the orig-
inal, the copy will also update. We
want each of these smart objects to
have their own content, so we need
a new smart object.
Right-click on the Back Wall layer
in the Layers panel and choose New
Smart Object via Copy. Name the
new copy “Ceiling.” While it’s the
same starting content, these two
aren’t linked in any way. Turn off
the Ceiling layer’s visibility, then
repeat the process to create a
“Floor” smart object. Turn off its
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

visibility, as well. Select all three

layers, group them, and name the
group “Top, Back, Bottom.” Step 13: Okay, the final task is to get all the placeholders we just created into
the right perspective. At the moment, you should only see the reference layer,
the guides, and the Back Wall object visible on the canvas. The easy task is to
click on the Back Wall layer to make it active, and use Free Transform (Com-
mand-T [PC: Ctrl-T]) to scale it to fit within the smaller rectangle; hold Option
(PC: Alt) while dragging a corner inward to shrink the layer to fit within the
[ 9 2   ] guides. Press Enter to commit the transformation.
› › PHOTOSHOP PROVING GROUND

Step 14: Make the Ceiling layer

visible and active, and now choose
Edit>Perspective Warp. Click the
upper-left corner of the larger rect-
angle, as close as possible to the
intersecting guides there. When you
first start Perspective Warp, you’re
in Layout mode, so clicking applies
a small perspective plane as shown
here. Hold Shift and drag the bot-
tom edge to the bottom of the
large rectangle; it should snap into
place when you get close. Repeat
with the right edge, holding Shift
and dragging all the way to the
right edge of the document.
Note: I’ve turned off the visibility
of the Back Wall and the guides
simply for clarity here. You should
leave them on, or the grid will not
snap into place.

> K ELBY ON E . CO M

[ 9 3   ]
 › › COLUMN

Step 15: Once the plane has been

placed, press W to change from
Layout mode to Warp mode. Mov-
ing the corners of the perspective
plane will now apply a warp to the
layer contents. Before dragging
anything, however, Shift-click the
lower edge to lock it into staying
horizontal. It will turn yellow, signi-
fying that the connected points will
move together.
Drag the lower-left control point
to the upper-left corner of the
small rectangle. This will take a few
attempts, as the point won’t move
uniformly with your cursor, in most
cases. As the point gets closer to the
guide intersection, you’ll have to
release the mouse button and drag
it again until the point itself actually
snaps to the guide. The connected
point on the right will have moved
up, but needs to be dragged inward
to complete the perspective warp.
When you’re happy with the
alignment, press Enter. The Perspec-
tive Warp is now applied to your
smart object, and can be turned off
like any other smart filter in the Lay-
ers panel.

Step 16: Move on to the Floor

layer and repeat the Perspective
Warp process, but this time Shift-
click the top edge to lock the grid on the upper-left corner of the column that’s second from the right, not the left
into staying horizontal, and then side of the document. Then Shift-click the left edge to lock it, and drag the cor-
drag the top corners to the bottom ner points on the left to the corner points on the right side of the back wall. Your
of the lower rectangle. final warped 3D room should look like the image shown above.
Do the same thing with each
of the side walls. For the Left Wall, Wow! That’s a lot of energy to put into just the foundation work. But from here,
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

drag the right side of the Perspec- things get relatively easy; we’ll just fill the various smart objects with content. This
tive Warp grid to the right edge of project is kind of complex in both the number of steps required and the planning
the second column, and Shift-click elements. Setting up the guides made it simple for us to place the column frames,
the right edge to lock it vertically. which are easier on the processor when warping (and because they’re empty,
Drag the corner points on the right they’re easy to see), and the Vanishing Point grid gives us a solid point of reference
to the corner points on the left side to check alignment.
of the back wall. In Part 2, we’ll go back to the Libraries panel for another stress-reducing trick,
For the Right Wall, you’ll need and we’ll start to fill up our room to sell the illusion, and then place it into a larger
[ 9 4   ] to place the Perspective Warp grid piece to give it context. n
 DAVECLAYTON
> Designing in Photoshop

MAKING A BASIC TYPOGRAPHIC POSTER

IN PHOTOSHOP FOR THE IPAD
When Photoshop for the iPad was announced in 2018, it was almost a year later before it was
properly launched at Adobe Max in 2019. So, we finally have a version of Photoshop working on
our iPads. Now, it’s not a full version of Photoshop but it’s a great start. There are many features
that still need to be added, some basic and some more advanced, but for many of us, it means that
we can sit on our sofas and start creating designs and retouching images that can then be uploaded
to “proper” Photoshop for further editing.

Terry White has a great article in a previous

edition of Photo­shop User where he goes
through the features (some features have
been added since then). As a design tool, it
still has a way to go, but I wanted to take
it for a test drive and see how easily I could
create a simple poster with just an image
from Adobe Stock, some type, and a frame
I made in Illustrator. So let’s fire up Photo-
shop on the iPad and see what we can con-
jure up quickly.

Step One: As with all iPad apps, just click

on the app icon after you download it from
the App Store. If you have an Adobe Creative
Cloud account, then you can log in with
your Adobe ID and sync all your files across
all your Adobe apps, as well as access files in
your CC Libraries. This will come in handy for
this tutorial.

Step Two: Once Photoshop has loaded, you’ll

be presented with the Home screen. Under
Your Work, you can access the new format of
Cloud Documents that Adobe recently intro-
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 20 20

duced. This includes any artwork that you’ve

created and saved in the Adobe Fresco app.
The Home screen will also include any
documents you may have recently created in
Photoshop for iPad. We won’t worry about
the other options, as Terry has covered these
already. What we’re interested in is at the bot-
tom-left corner: Create New.
[ 9 6   ]
 › › DESIGNING IN PHOTOSHOP

Step Three: Tap Create New, and you’ll be taken to a screen that’s
somewhat similar to the desktop version of Photoshop. Adobe has
tried to make the interface as familiar as possible to help users make
the transition between desktop and mobile. Here, we’ve selected A4
(210x297mm) under the Print category.
On the right, you can also select the Resolution, so let’s go with
300 ppi in case we need to print this project at high-res. We’ll also
choose White in the Background Contents menu. The Orientation
is set to portrait, but we can choose landscape if needed. You can
create any document size that you can create in the desktop ver-
sion. Tap the Create button.

Step Four: Because we’re making a poster

that has a portrait orientation, we’ll work
with the iPad in portrait mode. You can, of
course, rotate the iPad and work in land-
scape mode to mimic the standard desk-
top layout.
You’ll recognize many of the Pho-
toshop tool icons along the left. Any
tool that has a small white arrow at the
bottom-right of its icon has additional
tools. Just long-press or double-tap to
reveal the additional tools.
The first thing we’ll do is place an image
from a saved folder. To do that, tap the
Place Photo icon that appears below the
Type tool icon (T).

Step Five: This gives you some options

as to where you can obtain the image you
require. You can choose Photos to select
images from the iPad’s photo roll, Files to
select images from Creative Cloud, Libraries
to select images from your CC Libraries, or
Camera to capture a new image using the
iPad’s camera. For this tutorial, I licensed an
image from Adobe Stock and saved it in a
library specifically made for this exercise. So
I’ll tap Libraries and then my 2020 Photo-
shop User Magazine library. Ignore the “Not
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

Grouped” message at the top (that’s not a

boring, unseen Bruce Lee movie title by the
way). Tap the image you wish to place into
the document.
[ 9 7   ]
 › › HOW TO

Step Six: This will load and

©Adobe Stock/olly
place the image. Now, we need
to enlarge the image a little, so
use either a two-finger spread or
drag the corner handles of the
image (don’t worry, it automat-
ically scales proportionally). You
may have to do a two-finger
pinch outside the document (in
the dark canvas area) to zoom
out so you can see the borders
of the image. There are tools to
transform and skew the image
on the left, but for now, we’re
just resizing. If you make a mis-
take, you can always tap the
Undo arrow at the top of the
screen. You can also flip the
image if needed. Click Done
when you’ve achieved the size
you want.
As we’re not going to add
any more images from our
library, tap the Place Photo icon
again to close it; however, if you
wanted to add another image,
just use the same process. It’s
very similar to Adobe Comp if
you’ve ever used that app.

Step Seven: Next, we’ll make

a duplicate of this image layer.
To do this, tap one of the two
layer icons near the top right
of the workspace: The first one
will display a compact layer view;
the second, a more detailed layer
stack, including any layer masks
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 20 20

you may have. With either icon

selected, tap the image layer
to select it, and then go a lit-
tle further down the right side
and tap the three dots. You’ll
be presented with some Layer
Actions. Tap Duplicate Layer
to create a second copy of the
[ 9 8   ] image layer.
› › DESIGNING IN PHOTOSHOP

Step Eight: We want to hide

the new duplicated copy because
we’re going to apply an effect
to the bottom image layer, so
we’ll need the more detailed
layer stack view (the second
layer stack icon). Simply tap on
the top layer’s Eye icon to hide
it for now. Then, tap on the
original layer to make it active.
This is where we test out our
first effect, a Gaussian Blur. And
where’s that hidden, you may
ask? Above the three dots on
the right is the Filters and Adjust-
ments icon, which looks like the
front of Shazam’s costume, a
lightning bolt on a diamond
shape. Tap that and you’ll have
two choices: Gaussian Blur and
Invert. We want the Gaussian
Blur option so tap that.

Step Nine: This will take you

into blur control mode. Using
your finger (or Apple Pencil),
just drag the slider at the top
left to set the Blur Amount. We
want it blurred quite a bit, but
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

not enough to lose the image

detail of the family (10.5 here).
Once you’ve set the Amount of
blur you want, just tap Done at
the top right. [ 9 9   ]
 › › HOW TO

Step 10: The next step is to

introduce some type. If you have
a Creative Cloud subscription,
you can download the Adobe
Creative Cloud app to add fonts
to your device from your Adobe
Fonts library. But for now, we’ll
keep it simple and use the
included standard fonts.
Tap the T to choose the
Type tool in the Toolbar on the
left, and then tap once on the
image. You’ll now have lorem
ipsum type displayed, and you’ll
see the Text settings in the fly-
out Layer Properties panel.
It’s a little fiddly to manip-
ulate the type here. My advice
is to use a two-finger pinch on
the canvas outside the image
to reduce the document so
that it’s not hidden by the Layer
Properties panel. Type your
words using the iPad keyboard
that pops up automatically. We
typed “Stay Home, Stay Safe.”
Next, select your font (I went
for my favorite, Futura Bold).

Step 11: Adjust the Font Size,

> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 20 20

Tracking, and Leading to fill

the image as shown. You can
manually type in the Font Size
by tapping on the numerical
value. Be aware, however, that
the text must be highlighted for
the text settings to be applied;
just having the frame selected
[ 100   ] won’t work.
› › DESIGNING IN PHOTOSHOP

Step 12: Use the crosshair icon

at the top of the text frame to
reposition the type. Once your
text is set the way you like, click
Done at the top right. This takes
you back to the workspace.

Step 13: We need to sand-

wich the type layer below the
top blurred layer and the clear
image layer below (make the
blurred layer visible again by
tapping its Eye icon). To rear-
range the layers, long-press
on the layer you want to move,
and drag it with your finger.

Step 14: Next, we’ll clip the top

sharp image into the text layer,
so tap on the top image layer
to make it active, and then
tap on the Add Clipping Mask
icon (the down-pointing arrow
above the Filters and Adjust-
ments icon on the right side).
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

You’ll think you’ve gone squiffy

and your eyes can’t focus. Don’t
worry, what’s happened is that
the black text is now filled with
the unblurred image. [ 101 ]
 › › HOW TO

Step 15: Tap on the blurred

layer to make it active, and tap
on the layer settings icon (three
sliders) directly below the layer
icons near the top right. This
displays various options in the
Layer Properties panel. In the
Blending Options, reduce the
Opacity to 50% by using your
finger to drag the slider, or just
tap once in the middle of the
slider and it will automatically
go to 50%. It looks like you’ve
written on a steamy window
(hmm, there’s an idea for a
future tutorial). Anyway, we
need to add something to help
the text stand out.

Step 16: Type doesn’t have

strokes or drop shadows avail-
able yet in Photoshop for the
iPad. But we’re creatives; we
find ways to make things work!
We’re going to make our own
drop shadow the old school
way. Make sure the type layer
is active, tap the three-dot icon,
and choose Load as Selection.
This will give you marching ants
around the text. We want to
fill this selection with black, but
before we do, tap the Add Layer
icon (it’s the little square with a
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 20 20

+ in it). Tip: You could long-press

the Add Layer icon to add an
adjustment layer also, but we
don’t need that here.
Tap on this new blank layer
to make it active so that when
we fill the selection with black
in the next step, it will apply to
[ 102   ] this layer.
 › › DESIGNING IN PHOTOSHOP

Step 17: Tap on the Fill tool (the bucket icon) on the left-
side Toolbar, click the Foreground color chip, and choose
black in the Color panel. Then, tap once on the selection,
and it will fill with black.

Step 18: Drag this new layer below the text layer, and
then tap Deselect at the bottom of the screen.

> K ELBY ON E . CO M

[ 103   ]
 › › HOW TO

Step 19: Now we need to offset

this new layer from the clipped
type layer. Just tap on the Move
tool at the top of the left-side
tool icons (the arrow), and gen-
tly drag with your finger to off-
set the black-filled text, like a
drop shadow, as shown here.

Step 20: Let’s add a Gaussian

Blur to this layer to make it
look more like a shadow. Click
on the Filters and Adjustments
icon, select Gaussian Blur, and
adjust the Blur Amount accord-
ingly. This helps the text to
stand out; plus who doesn’t
love a nice drop shadow?

Step 21: To give this a finished

look, I added a border that
I made in Illustrator from a stock
vector (you can also download
one to your CC Libraries panel
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 20 20

from Adobe Stock). We know

how to do this already: Just tap
the Place Photo icon, navigate
to your Libraries folder, and
tap on the image you want to
use. Once it has loaded, make
sure it’s the top layer in the
stack and adjust accordingly to
[ 104   ] frame the image.
 › › DESIGNING IN PHOTOSHOP

Step 22: Finally, we’ll save the file:

Tap the Send To icon next to the
cloud icon in the top bar, which
will allow you to export the file in
multiple formats. We chose PSD to
keep the layers intact, and clicked the
Export button.

Step 23: After you’ve clicked Export,

you might realize that, “Aah, I didn’t
name my file,” and you can’t at this point.
But, if you choose Save Image, and then
click the Home icon at the top left of the
next dialog, you can rename the file by
clicking on the three dots next to its file-
name and selecting Rename.
And there you have it! A type poster made in Photoshop for the iPad. You
can now transfer it to your desktop computer, print it, and pop it in your
window to remind anyone outside to get home and stay safe. It’s a testing
time right now, so let’s all stay in and be safe. Remember: You always have
KelbyOne, Photoshop User, and Lightroom Magazine to help you develop
your skills while you stay at home.
Thanks as always. I’ll see you next issue for a new “Designing in Photo-
shop” tutorial! n
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

[ 105   ]
 DAVECROSS
> Photoshop Q&A
Q: W hat are the best settings to use for the you’re willing to reassign that particular shortcut, click
Patch tool in the Options Bar? Accept to apply the change.
A: The first two settings to consider using for the Patch Tip: You can save different sets of keyboard shortcuts,
tool (which can be found nested under the Spot Healing for example, a “standard” set and a Mixer Brush set,
Brush tool [J] in the Toolbar) are Patch: Content-Aware and then switch between them. Use the save set but-
(as opposed to Normal) and Sample all Layers, which ton (circled) and then switch between them using the
will allow you to add a blank layer, where the results Set drop-down menu at the top right of the dialog.
of the Patch tool will appear. It’s best to change the
settings for Structure and Color once you’ve used the
Patch tool. Note: This is one of the few tools where
the settings in the Options Bar can be changed once
the tool has been used; with the majority of tools, you
change the settings before using the tool.
Select the area you want to patch, and then drag it
to the area from which you want to generate the patch.
Before doing anything else, change the Structure and
Color settings and the patch will update:
Structure: Enter a value between 1 and 7 to specify how
closely the patch should reflect existing image patterns.
If you enter 7, the patch adheres very strongly to existing
image patterns. If you enter 1, the patch adheres very
Q: What’s the difference between Paste and
loosely to the existing image patterns. Paste Into?
Color: Enter a value between 0 and 10 to specify the A: Paste (Command-V [PC: Ctrl-V]) will create a new layer
extent to which you want Photoshop to apply algorith- from the copied pixels, positioned in the center of your
mic color-blending to the patch. If you enter 0, color document. Paste Into, found under Edit>Paste Special
blending is disabled. A Color value of 10 applies maxi- (Command-Option-Shift-V [PC: Ctrl-Alt-Shift-V]), will
mum color blending. paste the copied pixels into an active selection, and will
create an unlinked layer mask from the selection.
Q: Can I create a keyboard shortcut for the Mixer Sky replacement would be one example of when to
Brush for settings such as Load Brush, Clean use Paste Into. After making a selection of the existing sky,
Brush, etc.? select and copy the replacement sky, and then use Paste
A: You can, but what you’re really doing is reassigning Into. A new layer will be created containing the new sky
an existing tool shortcut to these commands, so you’ll with a layer mask made from the original sky selection.
have to evaluate the relative importance of shortcuts The mask is unlinked with the layer, making it easy to use
for your tools. To apply a shortcut to these tools, go the Move tool (V) to reposition the sky within the mask.
to Edit>Keyboard Shortcuts and change the Shortcuts (Bonus Tip: Paste
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 202 0

For drop-down menu to Tools. Scroll down past all in a sky that’s
the tools, and you’ll see the following options for the more saturated
Mixer Brush: Load Mixer Brush, Clean Mixer Brush, Tog- than you need,
gle Mixer Brush Auto-Load, Toggle Mixer Brush Auto- and then lower
Clean, and Toggle Mixer Brush Sample All Layers. To the Opacity. That
apply a single letter shortcut to any of these, click to will help small
the right of the option (under Shortcut) and type the details like tree
letter you want to use. You’ll see a warning message branches look
[ 106   ] that indicates which tool currently has that shortcut. If more realistic.)
 › › PHOTOSHOP Q&A

ALL IMAGES BY DAVE CROSS EXCEPT WHERE NOTED

Q: How do I use the templates that are in the the temporary file, and the book artwork updates in
New dialog? the original document.
A: To use one of the templates in the New dialog (File>New),
click on the template to see a description that includes Q: When I saw someone using Photoshop, there
the dimensions and other details. You can also click the were far fewer choices appearing under their
See Preview button to view a larger version of the tem- menus. He only said that he had customized
Photoshop. How do I do that?
plate. Click the Download button and once the down-
load is finished, click Open in the New dialog. A: Look for Menus under the Edit menu. Then navigate
Depending on the template, you’ll see a layered file to the menu (or menus) that has the items you wish to
with frames, groups and/or smart objects that can eas- hide, and click the Eye icons beside those items to turn
ily be replaced. In this example, the template contains off their visibility. It’s important to note that these menu
smart objects for each book. Simply double-click on items are simply hidden, and can easily be shown again.
the smart object thumbnail to open a temporary file, Whenever there are any items hidden in a menu, you’ll
replace the placeholder with your cover, save and close see an option at the bottom of the menu to Show All
Menu Items.
©Adobe Stock

Some people use this function to “simplify” the

menus and only show the functions they use the most.
For example, there are six options under Filter>Sharpen,
but realistically, only three offer the level of control we
really want, so one could argue that there’s no reason
for the other three to appear under that menu. (Similar
to customizing keyboard shortcuts, this is very much
a personal preference.) Once you’ve customized the
menus in this manner, they’ll stay this way until you
reset the menus to their default setting. And, just like
the shortcuts mentioned previously, you can save sets
of menus. n

> K ELBY ON E . CO M

If you have a Photoshop question that you’d like Dave Cross

to answer in the pages of Photoshop User magazine, send it
to [email protected].
[ 107   ]
 > Reviews
GET THE SCOOP ON THE LATEST GEAR

AKVIS
With Explosion 1.5, an updated version of this AKVIS software,
you can create destruction and dispersion effects on your pho‑

Explosion 1.5
tos. It’s available for Windows and Mac, and can be purchased
as a plug-in for a photo editor such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel
PaintShop Pro, AliveColors, and more; as a standalone applica‑
tion; or as a bundle that includes both the plug-in and stand‑

Add Surreal Effects to Your Images alone versions.

Whether you use it as a plug-in or as a standalone program,
Review by Gilmar Smith
Explosion 1.5 offers two interface modes—Express and Ad‑
vanced—and it works by simply creating a selection of the area
where you want the dispersion or explosion to start. Explosion
Company: AKVIS
1.5 has three different selection tools: the Selection Brush, the
Price: $29 Lasso tool, and the Selection Bucket, which is usually used to

Rating: ‑
select large areas. There’s also an Erase tool that allows you to
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 202 0

fine-tune the selections.

Hot: Super-easy to use; great price; In the Express mode, you can still get pretty amazing effects
beautiful effects
with a really simplified interface. For your effect, you can choose
Not: the Effect Blend Mode, Angle and Wind Direction, Distance,
Density, Strength, and Variations. In both Express and Advanced
mode, you get the option of choosing the pattern you’ll be
using in your explosion. In addition, Explosion 1.5 has a variety
[ 108   ]
 › › REVIEWS

of ready-to-use presets that you can modify, or even add your

own presets.
In the Advanced interface, the user has access to way more
tools and parameters! You get to play with a whole new set
“In the Express mode, of sliders to give the explosion effect a customized look. First,
you choose from four menus: Particles, Texture, Wind, and
you can still get pretty Variations. Then, each one of these menus has their own ad‑
amazing effects with a justments: For instance, in the Particles menu, you can use the
Motion Blur slider, which I found tremendously useful to get
really simplified interface. a more believable effect.

For your effect, you can choose My favorite feature about AKVIS Explosion 1.5, however, is
the option to add the effect to a transparent layer—incredibly
the Effect Blend Mode, Angle and useful, especially when working on composite images. Here’s

Wind Direction, Distance, Density, how: After you add the effect you like in Explosion 1.5, make
sure to toggle the Show/Hide Background button. If the back‑
Strength, and Variations.” ground image is invisible, the effect is displayed on a transparent
layer. Next, press the Play button (top right), and the effect will
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

be added as a transparent layer in Photoshop. That’s it!

I always want to have the freedom to modify things as I go,
and being able to add this effect nondestructively is a winning
point for me! n
[ 109   ]
 REVIEWS › ›

Sorted 3
Many of us use a task manager to manage our daily workload.
Sorted 3 takes a unique approach that others don’t. Instead of
managing your workload with what are, in essence, lists, Sorted 3
uses scheduling and claims it’s based on a number of (disputable)
iOS App for Schedule Management psychological effects of procrastination.
Currently, Sorted 3 is available only on iPad and iPhone, but
Review by Erik Vlietinck
a macOS version is in the works for a release later this year.
Sorted 3 offers a mini calendar with scheduled task icons, and
several viewing modes listed in the sidebar that include: Inbox,
Schedule, Lists, and Tags. There’s also a History and Trash icon.
Company: StaySorted Limited
The biggest chunk of your screen is reserved for your daily sched‑
Price: $14.99
ule. In Schedule mode, you’ll find each task you’ve entered and
scheduled is assigned a checkbox for when the task has finished.
Rating: Every task has tags, date and time, repetition setting, and du‑
ration. And, of course, you can set an alarm. It’s when you’re back
Hot: Interface design; scheduling concept; in Schedule mode and swipe-select the task that the difference
time ruler for reorganization
becomes visible. When you select the task, a time ruler appears
in the sidebar where you can reschedule tasks. You can also
Not: Automatic reorganization isn’t as
intelligent as it sounds reorganize them, duplicate them, and change the date for them
to be done. Best of all, you can automatically schedule tasks that
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 202 0

aren’t events (as in calendar events like meetings). The app then
reshuffles the tasks according to a number of obscure criteria
that didn’t fit my working habits.
Initially, I was very enthusiastic about Sorted, probably because
it looks very good and the time ruler is a brilliant idea well
executed. Then I realized that you can do everything Sorted 3
does with Apple’s Calendar and Reminder app as well; although
having it all in one place that’s gorgeously designed is perhaps
[ 1 10   ] enticing enough to buy it. n
 › › REVIEWS

NeoFinder 7
NeoFinder 7, a cataloging app for all file types, finds items in‑
credibly quickly, and has no trouble creating catalogs containing
thousands of files. This digital asset management (DAM) system
also has good support for EXIF and XMP/IPTC metadata. With a
Digital Asset Manager for macOS Business User license, you can store your database on a server and
access it from multiple Macs that run NeoFinder.
Review by Erik Vlietinck
NeoFinder may look like it’s a simple app, but it’s far from
simplistic. It comes with features that I remember seeing only
in enterprise-scale DAMs. Thumbnails are created for a wide
variety of photo and video formats, including RAW, PDF, EPS,
Company: West-Forest-Systems
and Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator. NeoFinder 7
Price: Personal License: $39.99;
will even generate audio thumbnails.
Business License: Starting at $89.99 The app has a built-in XMP editor for photo and video files,
and there’s a map showing where the photos were taken. The
Rating: XMP editor doesn’t allow you to create new IPTC fields from
the huge number of existing ones, but it does support the most
Hot: Fast cataloging; extensive search
common fields used by both amateurs and pros, as well as pre‑
capabilities; XMP editor; MD5 checksum
capability; functionality on par with more set field combinations.
expensive DAMs Another search feature that NeoFinder provides is that it will
read Person metadata if it’s been added by apps to the Adobe
Not: Design is a bit outdated
XMP data set or by apps that support the corresponding meta­
dataworkinggroup.com and iptc.org structures. This means that
you can search for faces from within a NeoFinder database. Fur‑
thermore, you can search the entire library for duplicates and also
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

for specific files using criteria that change in relation to the file
type for which you’re searching.
For professional photographers and video creators, NeoFinder
supports the creation and verification of industrial-strength MD5
FileCheck checksums to ensure data integrity. n [ 1 11   ]
 REVIEWS › ›

Powertraveller
Powertraveller’s Phoenix 90 is a 22500-mAh power pack that
easily charges laptops, action cameras, satellite phones, video

Phoenix 90
lamps, and more, either via the USB-C or DC outputs. It charges
tablets two or three times and smartphones five to seven times.
Recharging from an almost empty state to ready-to-go with a

Fast-Charging, Multi-Voltage Power Pack Powertraveller Falcon 40 solar panel, when there was bright
Review by Erik Vlietinck sunshine, took less than a day.
The LCD screen with rounded corners blends in with the
unit’s design perfectly, and it displays the USB-C and DC output

Company: Powertraveller ports’ current voltage and the percentage of remaining battery
power. A minor caveat is that the screen is a bit small. (I must
Price: $199
admit my 60-year-old eyes have a hard time reading the small
Rating: characters, especially in bright sunlight.)
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 202 0

Hot: Design; power to spare; short The Phoenix 90 is waterproof and dustproof to an IP65
recharging time with Powertraveller’s
Falcon 40 solar panel; lanyard rating, and it comes with the tried-and-tested power tips for a
whole bunch of laptops and other devices. I tested the Phoenix 90
Not: No carrying case; LCD screen a bit
difficult to read with two video lights, a Hahnel 12-V Sony NP-F970 battery

[ 1 12   ]
 › › REVIEWS

charging station, and two GoPros charging from it simultane‑

ously. Although the unit distributes power across the different
ports when you use them at the same time, and it will decrease
the amperage if the total exceeds its maximum possible output,
I never got to that point with this setup.
It’s a pity there’s no carrying case in the box, because it’s
“The lanyard might
easy to scratch the aluminum front and back. I solved that with
seem like a minor detail, an old, hard, protection case for two 3.5" disks that I still had.

but it’s great that you The Phoenix fits perfectly with ample room for the charger, the
lanyard, the tips, and the cables that come with it. The lanyard
can hang the Phoenix 90 might seem like a minor detail, but it’s great that you can hang
while you’re working.” the Phoenix 90 while you’re working. n
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

[ 1 13   ]
 REVIEWS › ›

Oniric
Oniric is a nondestructive glow generator panel that simulates
high-quality, natural-light glow effects such as bloom, light streaks,
lens flare, etc. Compatible with Windows and Mac, this plug-in
is supported by versions of Adobe CC 2018 and above.
Nondestructive Glow Generator
Plug-In for Photoshop Using Oniric is pretty simple: You just open the panel exten‑

Review by Gilmar Smith

sion in Photoshop and click on Generate. Once you click on
Generate, Oniric creates a glow on the brightest areas of the
image. Depending on the image, you will or will not see much
of an effect at first, but that’s when the fun starts. That’s when
you use a few sliders on the panel to fine-tune the effect
Company: Composite Nation
according to your taste and the result you desire.
Price: $149 (Single-user License for 2 computers); First, you pick the type of effect you want: Bloom or Streaks,
$549 (Studio License for 10 computers)
or you can apply a Preset that you may have created after playing
Rating: 5 with the panel a few times. Presets can be handy when you’re
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 202 0

creating a series of images with a similar effect, or when you

Hot: User-friendly; excellent,
nondestructive glow effect want to create a signature look.
Next, you click on the X-Ray button (near the bottom),
Not:
which lets you visualize the brighter pixels in the image that
will be affected by the glow. This area can be fine-tuned by
using the Threshold slider. Clicking the X-Ray button again

[ 1 14   ]
 › › REVIEWS

Before After

will take you back to the image, and then you can adjust the
Intensity, Radius, Threshold, and Exposure of the glow.
You can manually select the areas where you want to add
glow by using the Mask feature, and then push the effect in
some areas or delete it in others by using the Erase tool (press

“Using Oniric is pretty simple: the E key). And you can also change the color of the glow by
clicking the Colorize button and adjusting the Hue and Satura‑
You just open the panel tion slider in the panel.
When you’re working with the Bloom effect, two of the
extension in Photoshop sliders—Rotation and Post Blur—are grayed out; however,
and click on Generate. they’re available when you choose the Streaks effect.
When you’re satisfied with your effect, click Apply, and you’ll
Once you click on Generate, be directed to Photoshop where the effect is applied (non-

Oniric creates a glow on the destructively) to your image as a smart object.

I was really impressed by Oniric: I loved creating this kind of
brightest areas of the image.” effect in so little time just by dragging a few sliders. Usually in
Photoshop, these kinds of results are created by adding a series
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

of adjustment layers with a lot of different blending modes,

brushes, and gradients. Using the Oniric panel is a timesaver
as well as a new way to experiment with images creatively. n

[ 1 15   ]
 REVIEWS › ›

Photomatix Pro 6 For at least a decade, Photomatix Pro from HDRsoft has been
one of the best HDR image editors. The app, now in its sixth
version, has been updated with an interface that looks more
modern while the features are still the ones that earned it a first
HDR Image Editor for Natural Images place among these apps a decade ago.
Review by Erik Vlietinck Photomatix has always been focused on creating the most
natural-looking HDR images, more so than its competitors (most
are better at creating the typical and often ugly HDR assemblies).
I’m happy to say version 6 of this venerable program is still capa‑
ble of creating the best HDR results, while also allowing for the
Company: HDRsoft
“artistic” results some creatives want. The new version comes with
Price: Photomatix Pro 6: $99;
both Lightroom and Capture One plug-ins.
HDR Batch plug-in for Lightroom: $49; The major differences from earlier versions of Photomatix Pro
Tone Mapping plug-in for Photoshop: $79; are found in the interface. Where it once used to be an amalgam
Photomatix Pro Plus Bundle (includes
version 6 and both plug-ins): $119
of windows and panels, Photomatix Pro 6 now presents itself in a
unified window with editing tools neatly organized in a left side‑
Rating: bar, and the many different HDR styles in a sidebar at the right.
Tools now show a tooltip when you hover over them, with
Hot: Interface; Fusion settings allow for the top tab showing you the most important group of settings,
very natural results; plug-ins
i.e. the HDR settings. These include Tonal Balance, Tonal Com‑
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 202 0

pression, Details Enhancer, Contrast Optimizer, and multiple

Not:
versions of the Fusion settings that are unique to Photomatix
Pro. Those Fusion settings allow you to use the app for images
that we started using HDR for in the first place: to span a huge
dynamic range, such as when shooting real-estate photos.
In terms of creative options, Photomatix Pro 6 doesn’t offer as
much as its closest competitor. Its focus really is on natural-look‑
ing photos, and that’s not a bad thing unless you’re using HDR
[ 1 16   ] as an art form. n
Things to Learn in Photoshop Elements 2020:
®

Scott Kelby’s newest Elements book is designed

for photographers, so it doesn’t waste your time
talking about what a pixel is, how to frame a shot or
set your exposure. It’s all Elements, step by step,
cover to cover, and you’re gonna love it!

Organizing  
Correcting  
Editing  
Sharpening  
Retouching  
Printing  

KE A PRO !
L I
 R E V I EWS › ›

Wide-Angel [sic]
Photography for Beginners
The full title of this book is Wide-Angel [sic] Photography For
Derby Brooks
Beginners: The step-by-step techniques you need to capture
Review by Peter Bauer
breathtaking landscape, Portrait, Street, and Architectural photos
with Wide-Angle Lenses like the pros. (Yes, it says “Angel” rather

Publisher: Independently Published

than “Angle” in the title.) The Kindle version is reviewed here as
the paperback was unavailable in time for this deadline because
Pages: 82
of the coronavirus. (It’s available only through Amazon, which,
Price: $2.99 (Kindle); $8.80 (paperback) rightfully, is more concerned about shipping critical supplies.) The

Rating: Kindle version would get zero stars, because all of the images
(other than the cover) are missing; they’re simply not in the Kindle
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 202 0

version. After repeated downloads to various devices and plat-

forms, still zilch! No images makes the Kindle version a worthless
purchase. The lack of images, however, did allow me to focus
on the word content of the book (which gets one star). There’s
nothing special here, just the usual advice about cameras, lenses,
tripods, and such, not presented in any great way. n

[ 1 18   ]
 › › R E V I EWS

Photo Therapy Motivation

and Wisdom: Discovering
the Power of Pictures
Here’s another photography book with zero images (other
Rick Sammon
than the cover). What makes this different from the other book
Review by Peter Bauer
reviewed in this issue is simply that this author intended for the
book to have no photos. That’s right, a photography book that

Publisher: Independently Published

was written and published without photos. Intentionally! This
author has written some of the very best how-to photography
Pages: 166
books ever published, but this is more of a “why-to” book
Price: $9.99 (Kindle); $15.99 (paperback) (but it’s also a “how-to” book). As Rick describes a particular

Rating: situation or circumstance, or even a photo, he’d like you to

be thinking about your own work and life. When you look at
another photographer’s images, he’d like you to be thinking
about them. This book is thought-provoking (as the author
intended), relevant, and in many places it’s, well, the word
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

I want is “sweet.” n

[ 1 19   ]
 COLINSMITH
> Photoshop Tips
BOOST YOUR PRODUCTIVITY & CREATIVITY
This issue, I have lots of nice tips for you. Some of these are only in the latest version of Photoshop
and others will work in almost any version of Photoshop. I hope you enjoy them!

OPEN RAW FILES AS SMART OBJECTS Photoshop for a while, and you jump into Lighting Effects
When you open a RAW image in Camera Raw, you can for the first time in years, you’ll notice the tools look a little
open your photo in Photoshop either as a regular image or different than they did way back in the day. They’re nice and
as a smart object. Smart objects are often the best option, snazzy, but sometimes they get in the way, and you can’t see
because they enable you to go back into the Camera Raw your work below them. Just tap Command-H (PC: Ctrl-H) to
settings by double-clicking the thumbnail in the Layers hide the tool overlay and view your work. Press Command-H
panel, which means you’re working nondestructively. (PC: Ctrl-H) again to bring it back. It’s a cinch.
To open an image as a smart object from Camera Raw,
you have two options. You can click on the link at the middle
bottom of the Camera Raw window and, in the dialog that
pops up, choose Open in Photoshop as Smart Objects, and
click OK. The Open Image button now says Open Object.
Another way is to hold down the Shift key before click-
ing Open Image, and the button will say Open Object. The
choices depend on if you want to open every image as a
smart object or decide on a case-by-case basis. (These options
aren’t available if you already opened the image in Photo-
shop and you’re using Camera Raw from the Filter menu.)

LIVE CANVAS RESIZE

If you’re using Photoshop 2020 and you want to expand
the size of your working document, there are some great
options. It’s quite common to expand the size of your
working document when doing compositing. There are
also many reasons where you might also choose to make it SHUFFLING LAYERS QUICKLY
smaller or change the aspect ratio. This one is a neat feature Layers are like laundry; they have a way of stacking up
that was “snuck” into Photoshop 2020. Go to the Proper- quickly. When you go to shuffle them around in the Layers
ties panel (Window>Properties), open the Canvas section, panel, you can do it one at a time if you like, but that can
and type the new size into the Width and Height fields. get rough if you have lots of layers because you’ll have to
If Canvas isn’t available, it’s because this only works on a do a ton of scrolling. Here’s a tip: You can select multiple
flattened image; if you have any layers (or the Background layers and move them together in the Layers panel. The
isn’t an actual Background layer) you can’t do this. But layers don’t even have to be directly on top of each other.
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 2 0 2 0

if that’s the case, just grab the Crop tool (C) and crop All you need to do is select the first layer you need, hold
larger than the document. Yep, you can do that! Once the Shift key, and then click on the last layer you need.
you add a layer in a document, the Canvas option changes All the layers in between will be selected. If you want to
to Transform in the Properties panel. exclude some layers from the layers you just selected, hold
Command (PC: Ctrl) and click on the layers you want dese-
HIDE TOOL OVERLAYS IN LIGHTING EFFECTS lected. When you’re happy with your selected layers, drag
The Lighting Effects filter (Filter>Render>Lighting Effects) any selected layer up or down, and all your selected layers
is one of those tools that isn’t used as much as it once will move together. Once you drop them in place, they’ll sit
[ 1 20   ] was, but it’s great when you need it. If you’ve been around on top of each other just like dominoes.
 › › PHOTOSHOP TIPS

ALL IMAGES BY COLIN SMITH

COMBINING IMAGES IN TABS and then as you work with selection tools and brushes,
When you want to combine images in Photoshop, it’s really you’ll see a reddish (Rubylith) color overlay. When you
quite easy. I cringe, though, when I see people copy-and- tap the Q key again, the red will turn into a selection.
paste, because it’s not only slow, but it also places your Keep pressing Q to toggle between a mask overlay and
image into the clipboard, which gobbles up available RAM. a selection. The only hitch is that, if you’re working on a
The most efficient way is to switch to the Move tool (V), red or pink image, it’s really hard to see what’s selected
and click-and-drag your first open image to the tab of the and what isn’t. The solution? Just change the color of the
image with which you want to combine it. Wait a couple overlay. Double-click the Quick Mask Mode icon, which is
of seconds and the destination document will open, but near the bottom of the Toolbar (it looks like a circle inside
don’t let go of that mouse button yet! Drag your cursor a rectangle). When the Quick Mask Options dialog pops
into the destination document, and then release the up, you can now choose a different Color and Opacity.
mouse button. The image you dragged will be added as
a new layer. If you want it centered, hold the Shift Key
before releasing the mouse button.

USE PERCENTAGE WHEN MAKING ACTIONS

Here’s a quick tip on actions. Before you start making
an action that involves placement, change your unit of
measurement to Percent. With any document open, press
Command-R (PC: Ctrl-R) for the rulers. Right-click on one
of the rulers to see the available units of measurement, and
choose Percent. Now when you record an action and then
use it on images with different dimensions, the action will INSTANT WATERMARK
still work the same. For this tip, I’m going to avoid the argument on whether
you should or shouldn’t watermark your images before
posting them online. (I do by the way, because they are
my images). If you do want to watermark your images,
you can create a custom brush that you can use to quickly
stamp your logo or signature. Start a new document
and leave it white, and design your watermark in black.
Make a selection around the image with the Rectangular
Marquee tool (M) and choose Edit>Define Brush Preset.
Type in a name for it in the Brush Name dialog, and click
OK. To use the watermark brush, choose a Foreground
color and select the Brush tool (B). Open the Brushes
panel (Window>Brushes) and scroll all the way to the
> K ELBY ON E . CO M

bottom to your new brush (it’s selected by default when

COLORIZE QUICK MASK you first create it). Click once in your image without drag-
Quick Masks are awesome: They’re temporary alpha ging and you have now stamped your watermark. You can
channels, but another way to describe them is paintable even add it to your Libraries panel (Window>Libraries) by
selections. Press the Q key to enter Quick Mask mode, dragging it from the Brushes panel. n [ 1 21   ]
 PETERBAUER
> From the Help Desk
ANSWERS TO PHOTOSHOP AND GEAR-RELATED QUESTIONS
I think someone ripped off my logo (which I have copyrighted). How can I prove it?—Ricky

[Author’s Note: This column is not providing legal advice. not rely on overlaying two samples and seeing them match
It’s explaining some procedures that one might use to up perfectly. Rather, the technician looks for “points of
compare designs and design elements. For legal advice, similarity.” These can include relationships between ele-
see a legal professional who specializes in copyright and ments, often called minutiae. For example, a technician
trademark matters.] might look at the distance of a specific ridge to a nearby
First we need to understand copyright, what works bifurcation, how many loops there are in a whorl, and so
can be copyrighted, the mechanics of copyright, and the forth. (If you want to see how perfectly two fingerprints,
difference between a copyright and a registered copyright. logos, or images match using Photoshop, put each on a
Since that’s a book in itself, I’ll point to the source for separate layer in a single document, scale as necessary,
people in the US: Copyright.gov. (Here’s a little-known then change the upper layer’s blending mode to Differ-
fact that might win you a trivia contest: Copyright in the ence. Where the image appears black, the layers match
US is handled by the Library of Congress. And when you exactly.)
consider that copyright originally protected printed books, Now let’s take a simplified look at determining whether
that makes a lot of sense.) or not a copyright has been violated. For books and art-
One point I’ll mention here is that every creative work work, it can be pretty simple (well, except for the “fair use”
is copyrighted automatically. In a nutshell, quoting from provisions—again, see Copyright.gov). For something like
Copyright.gov, “Copyright exists from the moment the a logo that’s not a trademark (ooh, yet another visit to
work is created;” not “published,” as many think, but Copyright.gov), you might consider doing a point-by-point
“created.” Registering the copyright with the Library of comparison, identifying elements of your logo that are
Congress (or your own national repository) may make identical to, similar to, or comparable to similar elements
copyright violations subject to statutory damages and in the competing logo. You’ll probably want to have as
even attorney’s fees, should you need to go to court. many points of similarity as possible to make an argument
Since 1989, when the United States enacted the Berne that your copyright has been violated.
Convention Implementation Act, there’s no requirement For a logo, I might look at relationships among
to include the copyright symbol ©, but you can include it shapes, modification of characters or glyphs (fonts are
(if it won’t disrupt your artwork). To add that symbol on typically copyrighted!), color schemes or similar uses of
a Mac, type Option-G; on a PC hold Alt and type 0169. complementary colors, and any special content (what
Using a Mac you can also type a left parenthesis [(] then we in Photoshop would call layer effects, including shad-
the letter C, then the right parenthesis [ )]. ows, glows, strokes, and so forth). The more “points of
> PHOTOSHOP USER > M AY 202 0

Before we discuss comparing logos, let’s first consider similarity” between two logos, the greater the need for
the process of fingerprint identification. Unlike some TV you to contact a legal professional to help rectify a copy-
shows and movies, fingerprint identification usually does right violation. n

[ 1 22   ]
 Watch What’s Trending on the
KelbyOne Channel!

Free Webcast—Photo Critiques

Prevent Sensor Dust with Scott Kelby | Follow Along Live: Beginner Compositing for
Photo Tip Friday Portraits and Landscapes

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“Photo Tip Friday” Quick Tips | Online Class Trailers | Full Episodes of The Grid
Have you ever dreamed of taking such incredible landscape photos that your friends and family say, “Wait a minute,
this is your photo?! You took this?” Well, you’re in luck. In this book, pro photographer and award-winning author
Scott Kelby teaches you how to shoot and edit jaw-dropping landscape photographs. Scott shares all his secrets
and time-tested techniques, as he discusses everything from his go-to essential gear and camera settings to the
landscape photography techniques you need to create absolutely stunning images. It’s all here, from the planning,
to the shoot, to the post-processing—taking your images from flat to fabulous—and best of all, it’s just one topic
per page, so you’ll get straight to the info you need fast. There has never been a landscape book like it!

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 Learning Light
Designed by Scott Kelby

Learn lighting in the

palm of your hand.
• Made for educators and students
• Designed to teach photography lighting
• Offers a variety of lighting techniques
• Lightweight handheld design
• LED is cool to the touch
• Optional mount for a tripod or stand
• Standard AA batteries included

EDU Price: $89.90

Quickly switch Center column rotates Includes KelbyOne

between daylight to change lighting video training
and tungsten light options for students and
educators

Experiment with various light techniques and effects

Direct Light Diffused Light Fresnel Gobo

See how different light patterns look on your subject Designed by Scott Kelby
The Learning Light is the first educational
lighting device that allows you to experiment
with various lighting techniques without the
need for complex or expensive equipment.

Scott is a photographer, designer, and award-

winning author of more than 80 books, including
The Flash Book, Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It, and
The Digital Photography Book Series. He’s Editor
of Photoshop User magazine, and CEO of the
KelbyOne Online Educational Community.
Split Rembrandt Butterfly Loop

See it in action and order yours at fjwestcott.com/learning-light-by-scott-kelby