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PSUser April 2014

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
127 views125 pages

PSUser April 2014

Uploaded by

fer.bpjn
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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T H E A D O B E® P H OTO S H O P ® “ H O W -T 0 ” M A GA Z I N E › › A P R I L 2 0 1 4

Three designers turn an


ordinary postcard into a DESIGN Get the most out of
the flexible interface in UNDER
promotional business tool MAKEOVER all Lightroom modules THE LOUPE

IN-DEPTH SCOT T K ELBY ’ S NE WS, REVIE WS


ST E P - BY- ST E P DOWN AND A N D OTH E R
TUTO R I A LS DIRTY TRICKS COOL STUFF

Photoshop for

See how the video industry uses


Photoshop in their video workflow
for broadcast and Web
Visit our website at kelbyone.com

DISPLAY UNTIL JUNE 3, 2014 The Official Publication of


Available March 2014
Modern and sleek, the MpixPro Signature Album is changing the game
for professional photographers. Choose from a variety of cover options
and select press or photographic paper to create a stunning,
one-of-a-kind album for your clients.

1-2 Day Turnaround with Free FedEx Next Day Shipping

MPIXPRO.COM
TABLE OF CONTENTS › › APRIL 2014

FEATURE Photoshop for


50 Professional Video
Photoshop is used for many more things than just editing photo-
graphic images. In fact, nearly everyone in the video industry uses

TAFFY CLIFFORD
Photoshop. We asked Richard Harrington to talk to several video
gurus to learn not only how they use Photoshop in their everyday
work, but to also share some of their favorite tips and tricks for
enhancing any video workflow and creating video with more impact.
Richard Harrington

Departments Columns
From the Editor 6 46 DESIGN MAKEOVER
Pumped-Up Postcard

Contributing Writers 10 66 PHOTOGRAPHY SECRETS


13 Tips to Steady Video Capture

About Photoshop User Magazine 12 88 CREATIVE POINT OF VIEW


Less Is More

KelbyOne Community 14 112 PHOTOSHOP TIPS

Exposed 20 122 FROM THE HELP DESK

How-To
DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS 28 64 FROM BERT’S STUDIO
Gritty 3D Logo A Fancy Hubcap

Liquid Ballerina 34
98 PHOTOGRAPHER’S NOTEBOOK
Classic Flower Shower 40 Light and Photoshop

BEGINNERS’ WORKSHOP 60 102 BEYOND PHOTOSHOP


Tinted Triptych Animating a Fresco, Part 1
› › KELBYONE.COM

Lightroom Reviews
STORY OF AN IMAGE 72 106 Sound Forge Pro Mac 2
Going Deep

107 Epson Exhibition Watercolor Paper

UNDER THE LOUPE 78 PDF2ID v4


Getting the Most Out of the Flexible Interface
108 Fundy Designer with Album Builder 6

MAXIMUM WORKFLOW 82 109 Focus 2 Pro


Fixing Reflections with Photoshop
HP ZBook 14 Mobile Workstation

LIGHTROOM TIPS & TRICKS 86 110 Photoshop Book Reviews

DYNAMIC
RANGE
Editing Video
In Photoshop
92 Now that most cameras shoot HD video and Photoshop has some
IBRAHIM HACHEM
ARE KNUDSEN

great tools for editing video, there’s no reason for photographers not
to add video to their business plans. Rod Harlan shows you how to
get up and running quickly editing your videos in Photoshop.
Rod Harlan
DENIS CULHANE

But Wait—There’s More


 KEY CONCEPTS DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT
These icons at the beginning of columns indicate there’s a short video on a tool Whenever you see this symbol at the end of an article, it means
or function used in that tutorial at the Key Concepts KelbyOne member webpage there are either downloadable practice files or additional content
at http://kelbyone.com/keyconcepts. for KelbyOne members at http://kelbyone.com/magazine.

Dodge & Burn tools Lasso tool Layer masks

Pen tool Smart objects Quick Selection tool


A FEW WORDS FROM › › SCOTT KELBY

From the Editor


it’s all new
Before we get to the magazine, I wanted to give you an update on what we’ve been working on at KelbyOne. A lot of our members
use more than Photoshop and Lightroom, especially now that there are more than 1.5 million Adobe Creative Cloud subscribers, so we
wanted to ramp up the depth and breadth of our full-length online classes on the Creative Cloud (CC) apps. That’s why we dubbed Feb-
ruary “Creative Cloud Month,” and every business day in February we released a brand-new online class for one of the CC applications.
We released new classes on everything from InDesign to Illustrator, Premiere Pro to Muse, Typekit to Behance, more Photoshop
and Lightroom classes, and everything in between, all based on the most current CC versions. I taught a class on the basics of Adobe
Camera Raw CC, and a class I’ve been wanting to do for a long time on the essentials of typography, which teaches the most impor-
tant rules of typography and shows you how to unlock some of the powerful type features in Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator.
One thing surprised me while I was putting together my Camera Raw CC Basics class, and that was how many features Adobe
has snuck into Camera Raw in the Creative Cloud version. I say “snuck” because Adobe hasn’t made much noise about these new
features; they just release them to Creative Cloud subscribers periodically and roll on. It’s not like the days of the new version launch
where the new features were talked about all over the Web. This hit me when I started putting together my outline for the class and
went to Adobe’s blogs and online documents to research all the Camera Raw CC features that had been released. I was stunned
when I saw the list. I went to Matt Kloskowski’s office and asked him, “How many new features do you think have been added to
the CC version of Camera Raw?” He started naming them off the top of his head, and he came up with a handful—the same ones
I came up with—but then I went down the list with him. “Matt, did you know you can now create custom workflow presets in Cam-
era Raw to save time when you’re exporting files as JPEGs?” He said he hadn’t heard that one. I said, “Neither have I!” I asked him
about the new Auto Levels and Auto White Balance features in Camera Raw CC—neither of us heard about that. How about Soft
Proofing or the Noise Reduction slider that helps eliminate blotchy looking areas when you’re applying noise reduction?
We continued going down this list, learning new things Adobe added (some features were already in Lightroom), and we were
shocked by how many had slipped past us. That made me want to do the class even more because I had some important new techniques
and features to share. But all of that is about one class, and we released a ton of these classes for designers, photographers, and videog-
raphers. Head over to KelbyOne.com and check out these new, full-length classes. They’re free as part of your KelbyOne membership.
The Creative Cloud puts tools in your hands that may have been out of reach before—applications such as Premier Pro for pro-level
video editing. Now photographers and videographers have full access to it, and we want to help you get up and running fast. On the
KelbyOne site, we did beginner and advanced classes on Premiere Pro CC from our own Brandon Ford, but we’re expanding on video
here in the magazine as our cover story is from Photoshop World instructor Richard Harrington on using “Photoshop for Professional
Video.” Richard talks to several industry experts about how they use Photoshop in their video workflows and gives tips and tricks on
enhancing your video with Photoshop (p. 50). In our “Dynamic Range” column, we have a great article from Rod Harlan on “Editing
Video in Photoshop.” It’s aimed at photographers and covers the key things they need to know to quickly edit their videos (p. 92).
Rod also has a great piece on “13 Tips to Steady Video Capture.” Shooting steady video is a must to make your footage look
professional. Rod shows us how to avoid shaky footage when capturing video on various devices (p. 66).
For Lightroom users, we have a new column called “Maximum Workflow,” kicked off this issue by Sean McCormack (p. 82). For
photographers, Kevin Ames has a great article that shows us how to use light meters and color checkers to keep our Photoshop edit-
ing time down to a minimum (p. 98). This is especially important when you have lots of images to edit.
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

We have more to share, and some cool stuff coming up regarding the website and building our community online that I think you’re
going to love. We have an exciting lineup of new classes; new tutorials; new ways to learn, share, and get the help you need, and I can’t
wait to share more this spring. Thanks for being a KelbyOne member and Photoshop User reader. We’re so glad to have you on board.

All my best,

Scott Kelby
KelbyOne President & CEO
006 Editor & Publisher, Photoshop User
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The official publication of KelbyOne

APRIL 2014 • Volume 17 • Number 4 • Printed in USA

EDITORIAL:
Scott Kelby, Editor-in-Chief
Chris Main, Managing Editor
Mike Mackenzie, Senior Editor

Contributing Writers
Kevin Ames • Steve Baczewski • Corey Barker • Peter Bauer • Bruce
Bicknell • Pete Collins • Michael Corsentino • David Creamer • Seán
Duggan • Katrin Eismann • Rod Harlan • Richard Harrington • Brian
Matiash • Sean McCormack • Bert Monroy • Scott Onstott • Heather
Shortt • Colin Smith • Lesa Snider • Rob Sylvan • Erik Vlietinck
Jake Widman

GRAPHICS:
Felix Nelson, Creative Director
Dave Damstra, Production Manager
Taffy Clifford, Senior Associate Designer
Dave Korman, Senior Premedia Specialist
Margie Rosenstein, Senior Graphic Designer
Eduardo Lowe • Jessica Maldonado • Angela Naymick

MARKETING:
Bruce Porter, V.P., Marketing
Krista Rosado, Marketing Director
Stephen Bell • Tracy Cook • Pauline Derosier • Alicen Rehnert
Diane Schroder • Heather Shortt

WEB:
Karey Johnson, Director of Web Development
Melissa Cozart • Christopher Reed • Will Stickles • Aaron Westgate

PUBLISHING:
Scott Kelby, Publisher
David Moser, Executive Publisher
Kalebra Kelby, Executive V.P.
Jean A. Kendra, Business Manager
Larry Becker, Executive Director of KelbyOne

ADVERTISING:
Kevin Agren, V.P., Sales 813-433-2370
Jeanne Jilleba, Advertising Coordinator 800-738-8513 ext. 215
Veronica (Ronni) O’Neil, Director of Circulation/Distribution
800-738-8513 ext. 235

HOW TO CONTACT KELBYONE:


U.S. Mail: 333 Douglas Road East • Oldsmar, FL 34677-2922
Voice: 813-433-5005 • Fax: 813-433-5015
Customer Service: [email protected]
Letters to the Editor: [email protected]
Letters to the Lightroom Editor: [email protected]
Membership Info: [email protected]
Membership Suggestions: [email protected]
World Wide Web Including the Photoshop Help Desk,
Photo Gear Desk, and Advice Desk: http://members.photoshopuser.com

COLOPHON:
Photoshop User was produced using Adobe Photoshop CC and Adobe
InDesign CC. Roboto was used for headlines and subheads. Frutiger LT Std
for text.

This seal indicates that all content provided herein is produced by KelbyOne, LLC
and follows the most stringent standards for educational resources. KelbyOne is
the premier source for instructional books, DVDs, online classes, and live seminars for
creative professionals.

All contents ©COPYRIGHT 2014 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 1535-4687
PHOTOSHOP’S MOST WANTED › ›

Contributing
Writers
KEVIN AMES
creates evocative photographs for clients such as Westin Hotels, AT&T, and
Coca-Cola. His fourth book, published by Peach­pit Press, is The Dig­ital Photog-
rapher’s Notebook: A Pro’s Guide to Photo­shop CS3, Light­room and Bridge.
BRIAN MATIASH
is a published photographer, writer, and Googler. When not out photographing,
he leverages his industry experience to help grow the Google+ Photos platform
STEVE BACZEWSKI
and community.
is a freelance writer, professional photographer, graphic designer, and consul-
tant. He also teaches classes in traditional and digital fine arts photography.
His company, Sore Tooth Productions, is based in Albany, California.
BERT MONROY
is considered one of the pioneers of digital art. His work has been seen in countless
magazines and books. He has served on the faculty of many well-known institutions,
PETER BAUER
written dozens of books, and appeared on hundreds of TV shows around the world.
is an Adobe Certified Expert that does computer graphics consulting for a select
group of corporate clients. His latest book is Photoshop CC for Dummies.
He was inducted into the Photoshop Hall of Fame in 2010.
JAY NELSON
has been writing about graphic design topics since 1992. As former publisher
of Design Tools Monthly, he knows a lot about digital publishing, fonts, and font
BRUCE BICKNELL
management. Learn more at www.DesignToolsMonthly.com.
is the founder of Digital Blue Productions. He has been an instructor on Adobe’s
in-box training, and is an instructor at Sessions.edu. His clients include Time Inc.,
NFSTC, DTCC, and magazines that include People and National Geographic.
SCOTT ONSTOTT
is the author of Photoshop CS6 Essentials, Enhancing Architectural Drawings
and Models with Photoshop, and many other books and videos. You can see
PETE COLLINS
what he’s up to at ScottOnstott.com.
is an education and curriculum developer and website overseer for KelbyOne. He
is one of the Photoshop Guys and co-hosts Photoshop User TV. With a fine arts
background, Pete is well versed in photography, graphic design, and illustration.
COLIN SMITH
is an award-winning digital artist, photographer, and lecturer who has authored
18 books and has created a series of training videos. Colin is also the founder
MICHAEL CORSENTINO
of the online resource PhotoshopCAFE.com and president of Software-Cinema.com.
is an award-winning wedding and portrait photographer, Photoshop and Lightroom
expert, author, columnist for Shutter Magazine and Resource Magazine, and speaker
and international workshop leader. Learn more at www.michaelcorsentino.com.
LESA SNIDER
is the author of Photoshop CC: The Missing Manual and several training videos (lesa
.in/clvideos), and co-author of iPhoto ’11: The Missing Manual. She’s on the Photo-
SEÁN DUGGAN
shop World Dream Team, a columnist for Macworld, and founder of PhotoLesa.com.
is the co-author of Photoshop Masking & Compositing, Real World Digital
Photography, and The Creative Digital Darkroom. He leads workshops on
digital photography, Photoshop, and Lightroom (SeanDuggan.com).
ROB SYLVAN
is the Lightroom Help Desk Specialist for KelbyOne, on staff at the Digital
Photo Workshops, and the author of Lightroom 5: Streamlining Your Digital
DANIEL EAST
Photography Process. You can learn more at www.lightroomers.com.
is an author, free­lance writer, presenter/trainer, and consultant with more than
20 years’ experience in photography, pro-audio, and marketing. Daniel is also
founder and president of The Apple Groups Team support network for user groups.
ERIK VLIETINCK
founded IT Enquirer in 1999 (http://it-enquirer.com). A J.D. by education, Erik
has been a freelance technology editor for more than 20 years. He has written
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

KATRIN EISMANN
for Macworld, Computer Arts, Windows NT Magazine, and many others.
is the author of Photoshop Restoration & Retouching and co-author of Photoshop
Masking & Compositing and The Creative Digital Darkroom. Katrin is Chair of
the MPS in Digital Photography department at the School of Visual Arts in NYC.
JAKE WIDMAN
is a writer and editor who lives in San Francisco. He’s been covering the intersection
of computers and graphic design for about 25 years now—since back when it was
MATT KLOSKOWSKI called “desktop publishing” and Photoshop was just a piece of scanning software.
is a full-time education director for Kelby Media Group and a Tampa-based
photographer. He’s a best-selling author, and teaches Photoshop and Light-
room seminars around the world.

010
ABOUT PHOTOSHOP USER › ›

Photoshop User
Magazine
Photoshop User magazine is the official publication of
KelbyOne. It is for members and is not available to the
public by subscription.

As a KelbyOne member, you automatically receive


Photoshop User delivered right to your door (or digi-

IMAGE COURTESY ISTOCK


tally) ten times a year. Each issue features in-depth
Photoshop, Lightroom, and photography tutorials writ-
ten by the most talented designers, photographers, and
leading authors in the industry.

About KelbyOne
KELBYONE MEMBER DISCOUNTS
is the world’s leading resource for Adobe® Photoshop®, Lightroom®, and Save anywhere from 2–4 times your membership cost by using our many
photography training, news, and education. Founded in 1998 as the National industry-related discounts.
Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP), KelbyOne has evolved from
NAPP and KelbyTraining to create a singular hub for creative people to learn, grow,
and inspire. From photographers to graphic designers, beginners to professionals,
TECH SUPPORT
Fast, friendly Photoshop, Lightroom, and photo gear help, equipment
KelbyOne is open to everyone.
advice, and more from certified experts.
There’s no faster, easier, and more affordable way to get really good at Photoshop
and photography. You can join for only $25 per month or $249 U.S. for a full year MEMBER COMMUNITY
of training. To learn more, visit www.kelbyone.com. KelbyOne members range from beginners to pros and love to lend each
other a hand. Together, we have built the friendliest, most knowledgeable
Photoshop and photography community on the Web.

NEWS & REVIEWS


Unbiased coverage on the latest equipment, plug-ins, and programs

Member Benefits in the marketplace.

WEEKLY E-NEWSLETTER
PHOTOSHOP USER MAGAZINE The Drift is your weekly connection to everything KelbyOne. It’s produced
exclusively for members to keep you informed of everything new in the
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

Ten issues of the best Photoshop tutorial-based magazine in the industry.


industry and at KelbyOne headquarters.
MEMBERS-ONLY WEBSITE
Our extensive website features time- and money-saving content. REGISTRATION DISCOUNT
TO PHOTOSHOP WORLD
ONLINE CLASSES & EDUCATION CONFERENCE & EXPO
Thousands of Photoshop and photography tutorials, full online classes, and The semiannual KelbyOne convention and the largest Photoshop and
quick-tip videos. photography learning experience on the planet. It’s an amazing event.

012 FIND KELBYONE MEMBERSHIP DETAILS AT www.kelbyone.com or call 800-738-8513 Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST.
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KelbyOne Community
› › Inspiration, information, and member musings to fuel your creative think tank
BY HEATHER SHORTT

Meet the KelbyOne Community


at photoshop world
It’s true what they say, birds of a feather flock together. Creative
people are no exception. The KelbyOne community has grown
strong in its numbers, creating networks, connecting artists, and
inspiring across states and countries. While learning is definitely,
well, kind of a big deal for us, we really like to have a lot of fun,
too. That’s where Photoshop World comes in. It’s the ultimate
venue where the classroom meets the playground. Where cre-

E
TRACY LE
ative brainiacs are free to romp around the right side of the brain.
Here, learning is made fun during three incredible days of hands-
on training from the industry’s top instructors in photography,
lighting, and graphic design. But you knew all that, right? (Shameless plug, we digress.)
Maybe you didn’t know that Photoshop World is the best place to let loose and have some fun, err, we mean network with
members who share the same passions and creative outlooks. A lot of this starts right on the floor of our free Expo. Mix and
mingle with fellow community members as you partake in amazing showroom photo shoots, classes, and exhibits. It’s like a field
trip with your favorite classmates—this time sans the chaperones.
If you’re near the Atlanta area (or not, you’re still welcome, Seattle!), make sure you come and say hello to your KelbyOne
community at this year’s Photoshop World, April 8–10 at the Cobb Galleria Centre. You won’t want to miss out on the chance
to meet the people that make up our inspiring community. Learn more at www.photoshopworld.com/expo.

Behind The Lens:


an evening with joe mcnally
We’re pretty fortunate to be closely connected with the best people in
our industry. It’s what helps make mentoring our community an easy
job. So when Joe McNally comes by, forgive us when we have to roll
out the red carpet. Okay, okay, we might be overstating the red carpet,
as Joe is probably one of the most humble professionals we have in our
fold, but this guy deserves a medal, and his appearance for a taping of
a new class last month was no exception.
In early February, we set up an intimate critique session with this
world-renowned photographer. This class was filmed in front of a live
audience at the Tampa Improv Comedy Club. A perfect location, we
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › A P R I L 2 0 1 4

might add, given the always amusing results that come from getting BRAD MOOR
E
Scott and Joe on stage together. No need to worry; they won’t be
quitting their day jobs anytime soon.
A few words to sum up this event: brilliant, inspiring, and magical. The best thing is we were able to capture all of this emotion
and we’ll be bringing it to a new KelbyOne class you can view very soon. Joe graciously provided his expert, constructive insights to
help beginners and experienced shooters alike improve their portfolios. To put it another way, Scott Kelby said, “Joe never touched
a camera, or a light, and he never showed even one of his own images, and yet he got a huge standing ovation. It was a truly
magical night, and I’m so thrilled our cameras were there to capture it.”
Stay tuned to kelbyone.com for the release of Behind the Lens: An Evening with Joe McNally to experience the magic first-hand
in this new critique class.
014
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT › › DARREN ELIAS
MEMBER SINCE 2010 | WWW.DARRENELIAS.COM

› › w w w. K E L BYO N E . c o m

015
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT › › Are Knudsen MEMBER SPOTLIGHT › › GLENDA CALLAHAN
MEMBER SINCE 2013 MEMBER SINCE 2012
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT › › DENIS CULHANE
MEMBER SINCE 2011

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT › › IBRAHIM HACHEM


MEMBER SINCE 2013 | www.ihachem.com
KelbyOne Instructors More Community
empower photographers interaction
in new nikon film series Here are more ways to interact with
Speaking of Joe McNally, Nikon is releasing a collection of online videos dedi- us and other KelbyOne members
cated to empowering and educating passionate photographers. What does
this have to do with Joe? We’re glad you asked. This new series features two Members Only
KelbyOne members, show off your talent by uploading
of our very own KelbyOne instructors, Tamara Lackey and (you guessed it) Joe
your artwork to the Portfolios section. You could be
McNally, along with Corey Rich. the next Editors’ Choice: Image of the Week winner.
The series, called “Nikon Behind the Scenes,” will take intermediate-level Visit http://members.photoshopuser.com/portfolio
photographers on a journey through subjects ranging from gearing up for a for inspiration.
shoot to posing models and shooting landscapes. These diverse, in-the-field-
style videos are designed to inspire photographers to take their skills to the
Socially Speaking
next level in an engaging and entertaining manner. And with pros like Joe and Friend us on Facebook; follow us on Twitter, Google+,
Tamara, we’re pretty confident they’ll be successful in those goals. and Instagram; and check out informative blogs by
You can catch the series, which began in March and runs all the way industry leaders.
through July, on Nikon’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/nikonusa, or
the new NikonUSA Google+ page, plus.google.com/+NikonUSA. A new video
on a different topic will be posted every couple of weeks, so be sure to tune in
and watch a couple of your favorite instructors do what they do best—inspire. KelbyOne
http://kelbyone.com
www.facebook.com/KelbyOneOnline
@KelbyOneOnline
Sellout Crowd kel.by/1dwvCWQ
in scott kelby's stomping grounds instagram.com/KelbyOneOnline
Scott may have had the home-field advantage, but when it comes to teaching Scott Kelby
with passion, he delivers a home run every time. Tampa’s Shoot Like a Pro tour www.scottkelby.com
on February 21 was no exception. @scottkelby
www.facebook.com/SKelby
In front of a sold-out crowd of eager-to-learn photographers, Scott weaved kel.by/onGplus
concepts, images, and ideas into existence with his unique style and wit. Fun,
Matt Kloskowski
yet impactful photography techniques were taught, including how to use your
www.mattk.com
settings and gear like a pro, capturing travel and landscape images, creating @mattkloskowski
beautiful portraits, and more. Attendees were a perfect blend of all calibers www.facebook.com/ThePhotoshopGuy
kel.by/MattGplus
very receptive to learning from a professional who can teach how to freeze a
moment perfectly and help build a new set of skills in just one day. Corey Barker
If you want to catch Scott or any of our awesome instructors on the road, www.coreysbarker.com
@coreyps3D
check out the tour stops at kelby.com/live. www.facebook.com/coreyps3D
kel.by/CoreyGplus

Rafael “RC” Concepcion


@OsoyoosBruce www.aboutrc.com
@aboutrc
@KelbyOneOnline I like it. Everything under one hood, easy to find a www.facebook.com/webrc
direction and go! KelbyOneOnline here’s the new acronym—KOOL. kel.by/rcgplus

Pete Collins
@jasondwaltman www.petecollins.com
Glad I saw @MattKloskowski’s long exposure video on @Kelby­ @PeteCphoto
OneOnline before trying my own—would’ve certainly forgot to www.facebook.com/PhotoshopPete
http://kel.by/1npW18N
cover my viewfinder!
Podcasts and More
YouTube: YouTube.com/KelbyMediaGroup
@dori_weldon
The Grid: KelbyOne.com/thegrid
@ScottKelby I wanted to learn LR4 & not spend much money, so Photoshop User TV:
I took a chance & bought your book. Loved it so much I signed up KelbyOne.com/photoshopusertv
for @KelbyOneOnline. Photography Tips & Tricks:
KelbyOne.com/photographytnt
Kelby TV: KelbyTV.com
NOTABLE
TWEETS
Who's Who
in the kelbyone community
Say hello to Peter Hernandez, digital artist, retoucher, and
photographer who has been a KelbyOne member for more
than two years. Recently, he caught the attention of our very
own Pete Collins on our member site with his action-filled
composites. Here’s a little bit about Peter and what makes
him tick.

What inspired you to create this image?


I love compositing and retouching and the dramatic genre
of action movie posters. Just trying to go for that chaotic
feel here.

How was KelbyOne instrumental in helping you


achieve your goals?
Oh, without a doubt, the passion the instructors share
fueled my desire and motivation. Matt Kloskowski’s com-
positing book and Corey Barker’s tutorials really got me
excited about compositing and cinematic digital art. I also
love the teaching style and drama in Calvin Hollywood’s
and Joel Grimes’ classes and work.

What’s the most helpful tip you’ve received?


COMPOSITE BY PETER HERNANDEZ

It’s all about the light!

If you had a super power, what would it be?


Make people laugh telepathically. It’s less work that way.

What’s one fun fact about you that our community


may be interested to know?
I’m a musician and have played guitar on a few recording sessions.

Any awards or other features you want to brag about? Well, Peter may not like to brag, so we’ll do it for him. He’s
I wouldn’t really call it bragging, but I’m honored and another inspiring representation of our creative commu-
humbled anytime someone is inspired by my images. nity. Keep up the good work, Peter!

Spread the
good word
Teaching is our passion. It’s in everything we do, and hearing “Just wanted to pop in and say that RC Concepcion is an amaz-
your success validates the very reason why we’re here. So ing instructor, and a pretty hilarious guy, too. Had a blast at the
preach on about the good word. We’re all ears. Adobe Photoshop for Photographers Seminar in Lansing. Kudos
to KelbyOne for another great seminar.”—Bill S.
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

“Scott…continues for me to be one of the most influential FROM FACEBOOK


people in the industry for education resources…to help me “Photoshop CC is becoming a better value day by day. Being
as a photographer along this never-ending pursuit and jour- a KelbyOne member helps bring the learning part together.”
ney of taking a better picture.”—Kathy P. —Jim Cheung

018
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› › The latest news about photography gear, software, and services
BY MIKE MACKENZIE AND CHRIS MAIN

The Tiffen Company


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At WPPI in March, The Tiffen Company announced
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› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

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Motrr Galileo is available in black or white and in two versions. The
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visit http://appologics.com.
020
continued on p. 22
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Anthropics recently announced the availability of PortraitPro 12 (formerly Portrait Professional).
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Nikon Updates
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In other recent news, Nikon released the Nikon D4s. According to Nikon, the D4s
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combination of speed, accuracy, and low-light performance using the newly
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

developed 16.2-megapixel FX-format CMOS sensor and EXPEED 4 processing.


Other new features include 11 frames per second at full resolution with AE and
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and 3D Color Matrix Metering; ISO range from 100 to 25,600, expandable to an
incredible 409,600; 1080/60p video; and a 2.7x Crop Mode that can extend the
reach of NIKKOR lenses. The D4s should be available by the time you read this
for an MSRP of $6,499.95 (quality obviously doesn’t come cheap). For more info,
022 visit www.nikonusa.com. ■
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HOW TO › ›

Down gritty 3d logo

&Dirty
BY COREY BARKER

This time around we’re going to play with 3D to create some grit-
ty effects. This was inspired by the logo of a movie production

Tricks
company that I recently saw at the beginning of a film. While
it was slightly animated, I liked the depth and grittiness of the
image. Similar effects can be achieved right here in Photoshop.
› › DOWN AND DIRTY TRICKS

Step One: Start by creating a new document (File>New)


measuring 1200x500 pixels at 100 ppi. Fill the Background layer
with black by pressing Shift-Delete (PC: Shift-Backspace), choos-
ing Black from the Use drop-down menu, and clicking OK. Press
Command-R (PC: Ctrl-R) to make the rulers visible, then click on
the vertical ruler to the left and drag out a guide to the center
of the canvas. It should snap to the center when you get close.
Step One
If it doesn’t, make sure View>Snap is turned on. If your rulers
aren’t set to pixels, Right-click on either ruler and select Pixels.

Step Two: In the Toolbox, locate the Rectangle tool (U). In the
Options Bar, set the mode drop-down menu to Path. In the
canvas, draw out a horizontal rectangular path, as shown here.
Once the shape is made, you’ll need to center it on the canvas. Step Two
Press Command-T (PC: Ctrl-T) to invoke Free Transform. Click
inside the object and drag it until the center control handles
snap to the guide. Press Enter to commit the transformation.

Step Three: In the Toolbox, locate the Pen tool (P). In the
Options Bar, make sure Auto Add/Delete is checked on. Then,
position the cursor where the top of the path intersects with the
guide and click to add a control point. Do this for the bottom of
the path, as well.
Step Three

Step Four: This time in the Toolbox, locate the Path Selection
tool (A), which is the standard black arrow. Click-and-hold on
it to reveal the other tool grouped therein, which is the Direct
Selection tool (the white arrow). This tool allows you to select
specific control points. Click-and-drag around the two center
control points to select them. Selected control points will appear
solid, whereas unselected points will appear hollow.

Step Five: Press Command-T


(PC: Ctrl-T) again to invoke Free Step Four
Transform. It will look like the
entire box is selected, but if you
hold the Option (PC: Alt) key,
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

click on the top-center control


point, and drag up, only the selected control points will move,
creating an oval shape. Press Enter to commit the transforma-
tion. Open the Paths panel (Window>Paths) and double-click
the path layer to give it a name and save it. Click OK.
Step Five
029
DOWN AND DIRTY TRICKS › ›

Step Six: Now we need a gritty, rusty texture. You can use
the rust texture file that’s provided as a download for this
exercise, or feel free to use your own texture. This one has
a lot of great color to create that weathered look. Using the
Move tool (V), hold the Shift key and click-and-drag this rust
texture into the working design file. The Shift key will center

FOTOLIA, W14A, IMAGE #910614


the texture in the document.
[KelbyOne members may download the files used in this
tutorial at http://kelbyone.com/magazine/issue/april-2014.
All files are for personal use only.]

Step Seven: Make sure the texture


is covering the full area that the oval Step Six
shape occupies. If it doesn’t, then
use Free Transform to scale it to
fit where necessary. Remember to
deactivate the path first; otherwise,
the Free Transform will apply to the
path and not the texture layer. To
deactivate a path, click on the gray area below the path in the
Paths panel. After transforming the texture, go back to the
Paths panel, and click on the path to make it active again.
Step Seven
Step Eight: Now we’re ready to go 3D. Make sure the texture
layer and the path are both active and then go to 3D>New 3D
Extrusion from Selected Path. This will extrude the subject into a
3D object and place it in a 3D scene with a default light.

Step Nine: Open the 3D panel (Window>3D). You’ll see the


new 3D object indicated as Layer 1. If Layer 1 isn’t already
expanded, click the disclosure triangle to the left of its name to
reveal all the mesh layers. Click on Layer 1 Front Inflation Mate-
rial to make it active.
In the Properties panel (Window>Properties), you’ll see the
Step Nine
various surface properties associated with this mesh. Go to
the Bump setting, click on the folder icon, and choose Layer 1
from the pop-up menu. This will apply the rust texture as a
bump map, giving the texture more definition. Leave the
amount at 10%.

Step Ten: In the 3D panel, click on Layer 1 to modify the


› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

overall object. Jump back to the Properties panel and click on


the third tab at the top to access the Cap settings. Here we’re
going to give the shape a slight bevel by setting the Width to
5%. That’s it. We’ll get to the lighting in a moment after we
add the text.

Step Ten

030
› › DOWN AND DIRTY TRICKS

Step Eleven: Now we need to add


some text for this base graphic ele-
ment. We chose the word “GRIT”
for the sake of simplicity. We also
used a cool stylized font called TR
Heavy from Dafont.com. Switch
to the Type tool (T) and select your
font, size, and color in the Options
Step Eleven
Bar. We set the text in a neutral
gray color and increased the track-
ing to make the text fill in the shape a little more. To increase
the tracking, highlight the text with the Type tool, hold the
Option (PC: Alt) key, and press the Right Arrow key. Then, use
the Move tool (V) to center the text in relation to the oval shape.

Step Twelve: Go to 3D>New 3D Extrusion from Selected


Layer. This will apply an extrusion to the text the same way it
did the oval shape. This leaves us with two 3D layers but we
need them to be combined into one so they can interact with Step Twelve
each other.

Step Thirteen: In the Layers panel, Shift-click the 3D shape


layer (Layer 1) to activate both 3D layers and go to 3D>Merge
3D Layers, or simply press Command-E (PC: Ctrl-E). This will
merge them into a single 3D layer; however, we’ll still be able
to modify them individually through the 3D panel.

Step Fourteen: It may seem


as though the text has disap­
peared, but it’s actually in­side the oval shape. In the 3D panel,
click on the GRIT text layer item to make it active. With the Step Thirteen Step Fourteen
Move tool selected, choose the Slide the 3D Object tool in the
Options Bar; it’s the fourth one over in the 3D Mode section.
Then, position the cursor to the side of the 3D object in the
document and click-and-drag down to slide the text forward
so it’s in front of the rusty background. Notice the shadows of
the text are interacting with the shape, as well.

Step Fifteen: Click the disclosure triangle next to the GRIT


layer in the 3D panel to reveal all the meshes (if you don’t see
them already). Click on the GRIT Front Inflation Material. We
have here a texture of a scratched metal surface for the face of
FOTOLIA, H2O, IMAGE #31587535

› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

Step Fifteen 031


DOWN AND DIRTY TRICKS › ›

the text. At the top of the Properties panel, click on the folder
icon to the right of the Diffuse setting and choose Load Texture.
When prompted, locate the scratched metal texture and click
Open. This will give the text a nice gritty finish that’s a little
cleaner than the background rust.

Step Sixteen: Now let’s address the lighting. To this point,


we’ve been using the default Infinite Light, but to get some more
drama in the scene we’re going to change the light. In the 3D
panel, click on the light tab to the far right at the top. You’ll see
the Infinite Light 1 just below the default Environment setting. Step Sixteen
Jump over to the Properties panel, click on the Type drop-down
menu, and choose the Point light.

Step Seventeen: Now you can use


the 3D Mode tools in the Options Bar
to position the light anywhere you
like. Notice how the object reacts to
the light when you move it around.
For this image, we placed the light
just above and slightly to the left. In
the Properties panel, set the Shadow
Step Seventeen
Softness to 50% so the shadows aren’t
so harsh. When done, go to 3D>Render to see how it looks and
see if you need to make any tweaks.

Step Eighteen: Now for one final touch. In the original logo,
there was an element of scratches, as if they were on the lens
when the image was shot. Here’s a cool trick to fake that.
Remember the texture we used on the face of the text? Open
that file and use the Move tool to drag it into the main file. Posi- Step Nineteen
tion it to cover the whole canvas area.

Step Nineteen: Press Command-L (PC: Ctrl-L) to open the


Levels dialog. We want to force most of the texture to black, so
select the black Eyedropper tool and then click on a light area of
the texture—but not too light. This may take a couple tries but
you can see where we clicked, and the result wasn’t bad. You
could certainly adjust further by dragging the sliders in the Levels
dialog if needed, but in this case this will work. Click OK. Step Twenty
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

Step Twenty: In the Layers panel, change the blend mode from
Normal to Screen and drop the layer Opacity to 75%.

Step Twenty-One: In the Toolbox, choose the Blur tool. Set


the Strength amount in the Options Bar to 50%. Using a round,
soft-edged brush, blur random areas of the scratches to create
an interesting sense of depth in relation to the 3D object. It
almost seems like particles and scratches on the lens. The lens
that was never there! ■

032 Step Twenty-One


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HOW TO › ›

Down liquid ballerina

&Dirty
BY FELIX NELSON

I often receive emails about a particular technique or Photoshop


effect that people are interested in, but this time I actually had

Tricks
printed examples mysteriously appear on my desk (no doubt the
work of handy editor elves or production manager fairies). The
technique itself is pretty simple but the visual effect is very dra-
matic and impactful. Give it try.
› › DOWN AND DIRTY TRICKS

Step One: Open the image to which you'd like to apply the
effect (a young ballet dancer on a white background in our
example). The first thing you'll want to do is remove any portion
of the skirt or tutu that you don’t want visible. Choose the Lasso
tool (L) or the selection tool of your choice, and draw a selection
around the tutu to the left and right of the dancer (press-and-
hold the Shift key to add to your selection). You don’t need to
draw the exact shape of the person (make your best guess), as
most of this will be hidden by the liquid we'll add later.

ISTOCK, ALEXANDR SMUSHKO


Step Two: Press D to make
the Foreground color black,
then press Command-Delete
(PC: Ctrl-Backspace) to fill
the selection with white (the
color you fill with depends on
the color of the background
behind your subject). Press
Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D) to
deselect. Now, using the selection tool of your choice, make
a selection of the entire ballet dancer. Press Command-J (PC:
Ctrl-J) to place the selection on its own layer (Layer 1).

Step Three: Next, find three


different splash images to create
the liquefied tutu. Open each
image and desaturate the color
by pressing Command-Shift-U
ISTOCK, OKEA

(PC: Ctrl-Shift-U).
ISTOCK, ARTJAZZ

ISTOCK, ARTJAZZ

Step Four: Go to the original dancer image and click on the


Background layer. Using the selection tool of your choice (we
used the Magic Wand tool [W] with the Tolerance set to 32 and
Contiguous turned off in the Options Bar), go back to one of the
splashes and select it (our first splash is on the left in Step Three).
Using the Move tool (V), click-and-drag the selection into the
ballet dancer image (Layer 2). Go to Layer>Matting>Defringe,
enter 2 pixels, and click OK.

Step Five: Click the Add Layer Mask icon (circle in a square)
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

at the bottom of the Layers panel. Choose the Brush tool (B),
and using a soft-edged brush with the Foreground color set to
black, mask away the areas that will not be part of the dress
(in this example, above the dancer’s head, behind her back,
and her upper-right hip).
035
DOWN AND DIRTY TRICKS › ›

Step Six: Duplicate Layer 2 by


clicking-and-dragging it onto
the Create a New Layer icon at
the bottom of the Layers panel
(Layer 2 copy). Press Com-
mand-T (PC: Ctrl-T) to enter
Free Transform, and rotate
and reposition the duplicate
on the right side of your sub-
ject’s body. Press Enter to
commit the transformation.

Step Seven: Click directly on the layer mask thumbnail for


Layer 2 copy. Using a soft-edged brush set to black, mask
away any unwanted areas (the area above the dancer's right
hip in our example).

Step Eight: Go back to your splash images and make


a selection of a different splash, as you did in Step Four
(we’re using the image on the right in Step Three). This splash
will be for the front of the tutu. Then, use the Move tool
to click-and-drag it into the dancer image (Layer 3). Move it
to the top of the layer stack in the Layers panel. Go to
Layer>Matting>Defringe, enter 2 pixels, and click OK. Bring up
the Free Transform bounding box, and resize and reposition,
as needed. When resizing, press the Shift key to constrain the
proportions. Press Enter to apply the transformation.

Step Nine: Click on the Add Layer Mask icon. Using a soft-
edged brush, mask away any areas of the splash that you want
to appear as if that part of the splash is behind your subject
(the upper part of the dancer’s torso in our example).
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

Step Ten: Choose the Smudge tool from the Toolbox and
enter 50% for Strength in the Options Bar. Click on the Layer 3
thumbnail in the Layers panel. Now click-and-drag to smudge
the edges of the splash where it meets your subject’s torso and
hips so that it appears to blend together.

036
› › DOWN AND DIRTY TRICKS

Step Eleven: Choose several different splash sections (three


more in our example) and place them over the areas where the
main front splash and the torso meet to provide a more natural
transition. Use a combination of the same masking and Smudge
tool techniques used in the previous steps to blend the splashes
and torso. Find splash sections that closely match the shapes
where they’ll be placed over the torso.

Note: Layers 4, 5, and 6 are above Layer 3 in the Layers panel.


Layer 4: A small, curved splash Layer 5: A vertical splash was
was added to the left and blend- added to the right and blended
ed into the existing wrinkles and into the front splash
main front splash

Layer 6: Small, random


splashes were placed for
added detail and depth

Step Twelve: Add one more


curved splash layer (Layer 7)
placed over the right hip and
upper leg, just below the front
main splash. Move Layer 7
below Layer 3 in the Layers
panel. Click on the Add a
Layer Style icon (ƒx) at the bot-
tom of the Layers panel, and
choose Drop Shadow. Click
on the black color swatch.
Choose a reddish-brown color
(R:148, G:91, B:74), and click
OK. Set the Opacity to 25%,
uncheck Use Global Light,
enter 90º for Angle, 5 px for
Distance, 7 px for Size, and
click OK.

Step Thirteen: Click on Layer 6 (the topmost layer in the


Layers panel). Now click on the Create Adjustment Layer icon
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

(half-black, half-white circle) at the bottom of the Layers panel,


and choose Hue/Saturation. Check the Colorize box, and adjust
the Hue, Saturation, and Lightness to match the color of your
subject’s clothing (in our example, we entered 0 for Hue, 46
for Saturation, and +17 for Lightness).
037
DOWN AND DIRTY TRICKS › ›

Step Fourteen: With the mask thumbnail for the Hue/Satura-


tion 1 layer active, Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on the Layer 1
thumbnail to load your subject as a selection. Press Command-I
(PC: Ctrl-I) to invert the layer mask. This will mask out your
subject from the Hue/Saturation layer.

Step Fifteen: Choose the Brush tool from the Toolbox. Press
X to set the Foreground color to white. Using a soft-edged
brush, paint away the gray area over the center of the image.
Make sure you include the small splashes on the upper torso
and upper leg. Deselect.

Step Sixteen: Right now, the splashes are too dark and
they don’t match the original ballet dancer’s torso because
the tonal range is too broad. Click on Layer 3 (the main front
splash). Press Command-L (PC: Ctrl-L) to bring up the Levels
dialog. Click on the Shadow Output slider and drag it toward
the right until the tonal range closely matches the dancer’s
torso. Click OK.

Step Seventeen: Adjust the Levels on the other


individual splash layers (making the splash layers
behind the dancer slightly darker than the splash
layers in front) to complete the effect. ■
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

Before After
038
HOW TO › ›

Down classic flower power

&Dirty
BY PETE COLLINS

April showers bring May flowers, so I thought it would be fit-


ting to show you how to create a shower of flowers to put a

Tricks
little spring in your design. Change the seasonal elements to
snowflakes for Christmas and hearts for Valentine’s Day, and
this tip is like the gift that keeps on giving all year long.
› › DOWN AND DIRTY TRICKS

Step One: Choose File>New to create a new document accord-


ing to your size needs. Because this is going to end up in a
magazine layout, we chose 17x11" at 300 ppi to create a
tabloid layout.

Step Two: Now choose File>Place, navigate to your main image,


and click Place. The image will appear in your document with
adjustment handles. Adjust the image to the size of the layout
Step One
and press Enter.

Step Three: Find an image of a flower to use in the layout.


We’re using a white and yellow daisy from Fotolia.com to
complement the little girl’s dress and background. With the
Quick Selection tool (W), click-and-drag on the inside of the
flower until everything is inside the marching ants selection. If
you select too much, press-and-hold Option (PC: Alt) and click
to remove it from the selection.

PETE COLLINS
Step Two
Step Four: Switch to the Move tool (V) and click-and-drag the
flower selection into your document. Double-click on the flower
layer’s name in the Layers panel and rename it “Original,” then
press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to copy the layer, and rename
the copy “Backup.” Hide the Backup layer by clicking the Eye

FOTOLIA, CONSTANTINOS, IMAGE #33209484


icon to the left of it in the Layers panel, and drag it below the
Original layer. This is your backup flower for you to use if you
happen to mess up along the way.

Step Five: To quickly populate the scene with flowers, click on


the Original layer in the Layers panel to make it active, press-
and-hold the Option (PC: Alt) key, and click-and-drag a flower Step Three
to copy it to its own layer and move it. Continue to do this until
the document is filled to your liking.

Step Six: To vary the size and rotation of the flowers, select
the layer for a flower you want to resize and press Command-T
(PC: Ctrl-T) to enter Free Transform. Hold the Shift key and
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

drag a corner handle to make the flower larger or smaller (Shift


constrains the proportions), then hover your mouse outside the
box until you see a curved double arrow, and click-and-drag to
rotate. Press Enter to confirm the transformation.

Step Four 041


DOWN AND DIRTY TRICKS › ›

Step Seven: To add even more variety, pick a few of the flow-
ers, enter Free Transform, Right-click in the bounding box, and
choose Distort from the menu. Now you can grab each handle
and drag the corners to set the flower at a different angle.
Once you get them looking right, press Enter.

Step Eight: Depth of field is going to make this effect pay


off, so you’ll want to put your flowers into three layers based Step Seven
on size. In the Layers panel, click the top flower layer and then
Shift-click the bottom flower layer to select them all. Then, click
the Layers panel’s flyout menu, and choose New Group from
Layers. In the dialog that appears, name the group Flowers, and
click OK.

Step Eight

Step Nine: In the Layers panel, click


on one of the biggest flower layers to
make it active, Command-click the other
biggest flower layers to select them
all, and then press Command-E (PC:
Ctrl-E) to merge them. Rename this layer
Close Up. Repeat this process to put the
midsize flowers in a single layer called
Middle, and to put the small flowers in
a layer called Far.

Step Ten

Step Ten: Begin with the merged Close Up layer, and choose
Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. In the Gaussian Blur dialog, set the
Radius to 20 pixels, and click OK.
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

Step Eleven: Now go to the merged Far layer, and add a


Gaussian Blur of 5 pixels.

Step Eleven
042
› › DOWN AND DIRTY TRICKS

Step Twelve: Blurring of the Middle layer is really up to you


since this layer will be mainly in focus with only a touch of blur.
Start out around 2.8 pixels and increase or decrease according
to your eye. This will give a sense of depth, as if all the flowers
are the same size falling in a shallow depth of field image.

Step Thirteen: The image looks okay, but it could use some-
thing more. Make a new merged layer copy by selecting the
layer group at the top and pressing Command-Option-Shift-E
(PC: Ctrl-Alt-Shift-E). Now you have all of the layers combined
into one layer, but all of the individual elements are still safe
under the new layer if you need to go back and make changes.

Step Fourteen: Click on the new merged layer and choose Step Thirteen

Filter>Convert for Smart Filters to convert the layer into a smart


object. This allows you to edit filters after you apply them to the
layer. Choose Filter>Camera Raw Filter to open the image in
Adobe Camera Raw (ACR).

Step Fifteen: In the ACR dialog, choose the Radial Filter (J),
which is the last icon in the Toolbox. We want to blur the area
surrounding the little girl, so drag the Clarity and Sharpness
sliders to the left. Click on the area in the middle of the girl and
drag outward. As the oval expands, shape it to surround the girl
with a little extra space around her. Make sure Effect is set to
Outside at the bottom of the Radial Filter panel. Now drag the
Exposure slider to the left to darken the area around the girl.
The combination of these sliders allows you to fine-tune the
Step Fourteen
look and depth of field of the whole image because negative
Clarity and Sharpness values cause blurring.

› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

Step Fifteen 043


DOWN AND DIRTY TRICKS › ›

Step Sixteen: Use any of the other tools and adjustments in lighting adjustment done with the Radial Filter helps the flowers
ACR to finish the rest of the image. For this image, we used the settle into the scene better. Now all you have to do is take the
Adjustment Brush (K) with increased Exposure setting to lighten final image, add some text, place it into a magazine layout, and
the girl and her dress. Then we went to the Effects panel and you have a great-looking piece.
dragged the Post Crop Vignetting Amount slider to the left
to add a vignette. Use the Midpoint, Roundness, Feather, and
Understanding that the secret is in the layering of blurred
Highlights sliders to fine-tune the vignette. This process will vary
elements allows you to do this with almost anything that
with each image and isn’t necessary for this technique to work.
you can put on its own layer. I foresee an influx of images
Click OK when done.
of bosses falling into all kinds of dangerous and deadly
Step Seventeen: As you can see, having three layers blurring scenes, so please remember to only use this power for good.
the various parts of the image sells the idea of depth, and the Have fun! ■

Final
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

044
COLUMN › ›

DesignMakeover JAKE WIDMAN CLIENT


Ab Fab Fit
www.abfabfit.com

pumped-up postcard
before
Gabrielle (Gaby) Miller has been a lifelong athlete and a serious run-
ner for the past 20 years. A few years ago while she was working
with running coach, Marathon Matt, he offered her the opportunity
to become a coach herself. Miller got her personal training certifica-
tion and became his cross-training coach.
She went into business for herself about two and a half years ago.
At first, she promoted the business primarily through Facebook; but
even though she had an extensive roster of Facebook friends, “My
business page didn’t necessarily get a lot of love,” she says. Other
instructors told her she needed her own website, and she agreed,
and set up www.abfabfit.com.
Next, a little more than a year after launching the business, she
added some printed materials, including a postcard. “The postcard
didn’t seem like a big undertaking at the outset, but it turned out
to be one,” Miller says. She ordered the card online from Vista­print,
using the service’s built-in tools to design it. She doesn’t mail the card;
she distributes it by hand. “I drop them off at logical outlets, such as
Lululemon, Niketown, sports clothing and accessories stores, Whole
Foods, and anyplace where people who are embracing healthy habits
are likely to see them.”
Miller thinks the postcard looks too much like a personal busi-
ness card than a business promotional tool, however. She’s tried
to keep a division between her personal and business Facebook
pages, and she’s not sure the postcard reflects that. She also thinks
it’s a little wordy, with some extraneous elements that distract
from the core message. She’d like to have a more focused card
that makes her workouts look energetic and fun. “I like to stress
placing fun in fitness,” she says. “People have little leisure time, so
it should be enjoyable.”
We asked three designers to give Miller a card that measures up
to the “Ab Fab” name.
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

makeover submissions
WE’RE LOOKING FOR PRODUCT PACKAGING OR LABELS, PRINT ADVERTISEMENTS, WEBSITES, AND MAGAZINE COVERS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN THE MAR-
KETPLACE FOR FUTURE “DESIGN MAKEOVERS.” SO IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW HAS A DESIGN THAT YOU’D LIKE US TO CONSIDER MAKING OVER, OR
IF YOU’RE A DESIGNER AND YOU’D LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR A FUTURE “DESIGN MAKEOVER,” SEND US AN EMAIL AT [email protected].
(NOTE: THIS IS PURELY A DESIGN EXERCISE AND THE DESIGNERS DO NOT WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE CLIENT, CREATE FUNCTIONING WEBSITES, ETC.)

046
› › DESIGN MAKEOVER

DESIGNER
Jose Vidaurre
http://hashcloudstudio.com, www.facebook.com/hashcloudstudio

after
Miller’s postcard lacks a professional brand identity, something that
can’t be achieved with a service like Vistaprint. A lot of small busi-
nesses face this problem when they try to create their brand them-
selves. They’re dissatisfied because of the limitations of such services.
I wanted to implement an energetic and professional presentation
of Ab Fab Fit with enough information to keep it attractive.
Gaby said green is her favorite color, so I kept that as a theme.
I increased the proportion of white space, however, to set the mood
of the customers, and suggest that this is a great service that will
give them clarity of mind and a sense of wellness. I added three pho-
tographs in circles to reinforce the message of fitness and wellness
in both body and soul.
Ordinarily, we take professional photos of clients to make sure
we have the highest quality images to work with. Lacking the ability
to do that, I preferred to use a stock photo that still had a com-
mercial effect for branding the service and company. The pose of
the photo is carried through in the new logo’s icon, which signifies
“holistic,” and the arms on the logo double as green rays for energy.
I used large fonts to attract viewers who may be looking at a
counter full of postcards. I chose Pepsi for the logo font because it
helps the logo stand out on the entire postcard. I used Atipo’s Bariol
for the tagline and Fontfabric’s Hero for the list of services because
they’re both clear and easy to read. Finally, I used Century Gothic
for the URL.
The result is not just a better-looking postcard, but also a brand-
ing treatment that could be used on the client’s Facebook page,
website, and other marketing materials.

about the designer


JOSE VIDAURRE
Jose Vidaurre is a Web engineer and design lead at Hash Cloud Studio (HCS), a San Francisco Bay Area marketing agency that specializes in
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

branding, website design and development, SEO, photography, and video production/marketing. Jose cofounded HCS in 2013 with Frank
Flores, with whom he’d already been working for two years.
Originally from Peru, Jose studied IT and hardware systems, getting a degree in Engineering in Computer Systems in that country. He was working
for tech companies in Peru when the design bug bit him. People kept asking him about design and the Web, so he decided to learn Photoshop and other
design software and follow his passion in digital design. The combination of programming and artistic skills makes him a rare professional in this industry.
Jose’s hobbies include photography, shooting video, and cooking. When he’s not working or enjoying his hobbies, he spends time with
his wife Carmen and young daughters, Cayetana and Macarena.

APPLICATIONS USED: Adobe Photoshop CC and Adobe Illustrator CC 047


DESIGN MAKEOVER › ›

DESIGNER
Jim Koscak
http://design9creativegroup.com

after
For the redesign of the postcard, I decided to move all of the infor-
mation about the business to the front of the postcard and keep all
of the client’s personal information on the back. I chose ITC Avant
Garde Gothic Std, because it offers a wide range of choices as far
as weight goes, and it’s very easy to read. One of the first things
I noticed about the original layout was that the serif fonts felt dated
and looked very busy.
For the front, I chose the stylized line art of a female torso, which
immediately ties into the name of the business. I wanted to keep a
very clean look and feel, and I think this helps to convey the message
nicely. Another thing I wanted to change from the old layout was to
add more organization to the listed information. I needed to break
up the content visually, so I used a gradient box on both the front
and back of the postcard. I also added gradient ovals on top of the
background to give the design some movement and flow.
I kept the layout predominantly green, but I also picked up some
of the blue that was used in the original layout as part of the type.
I think the original logo is very nice, so I’ve kept it as a dominant
image on both sides, but limited its use to once on each.
The original design had a photo of the client that was grainy and
not very clear. As it didn’t reproduce very well, I’ve replaced it with
a graphic of someone lifting weights in a pose similar to the original
photo, but with much cleaner lines. I feel it still brings a positive
image, and it exemplifies someone with a healthy attitude and a
good sense of well-being.
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

about the designer


JIM KOSCAK
Jim Koscak attended the University of Akron, Ohio, from where he graduated in 1995 with a B.F.A. in drawing and painting. His work
history includes Pearle Vision’s marketing and merchandising departments; Point to Point Advertising in Cleveland; Robertson & Markow-
itz Advertising in Savannah, Georgia; Sun Newspapers’ Art Department (also in Cleveland); and various catalog, magazine, and other
publication houses. Jim’s specialties include brochure layouts, logo design, brand identity, and helping new clients with graphics for both
Facebook pages and Twitter accounts.
Jim has his own freelance graphic design business, Design 9 Creative Group, with clients throughout Florida, Georgia, and North
Carolina. Currently he lives in Jupiter, Florida, enjoying the warm, sunny weather. When he’s not designing, he likes to head to the beach,
or else relax and play guitar.

APPLICATIONS USED: Adobe Photoshop CS5.5, Adobe InDesign CS5.5, and Adobe Illustrator CS5.5
048
› › DESIGN MAKEOVER

DESIGNER
Roy Milton 2
www.roymilton.me

after
My goal was to create a postcard that not only highlighted the com-
petitive advantages of the client, but also was clean and easier to
read. Excessive use of serif fonts in the original was an issue, as far as
readability goes. Furthermore (to me), the client’s brand personality
is about making fitness fun, energetic, and informal, and the serif
fonts throughout the old design felt unapproachable and too formal.
I decided to leave the logo’s icon and the font for the business
name intact, but made a font modification to the subtitle, “Abso-
lutely Fabulous Fitness & Wellness.” I changed that text and the rest
of the postcard copy to Brandon Grotesque from HvD Fonts because
of its clean simplicity, thin weight, and diverse font family.
Throughout the postcard, I used a soft canvas-like texture to add
depth. I chose the color purple as a primary color, with green (the
client’s favorite) as an accent color. The remaining sub copy is in gray.
These colors are both fun and easier on the eye.
When thinking about physical fitness, people may pick someone
to aspire to look like. Because the client is a personal trainer with a
great physique, I chose to feature her prominently on the front of
the card so that potential customers would feel connected to her.
Given Miller’s multiple certifications, those accomplishments add to
her professional credibility, and I highlighted them on the front. On
the back, I used an image of Miller in session with a customer. This
adds to the sense of human interaction, and reflects the type of one-
to-one coaching services she provides.
To provide more details on the specific types of training and
coaching, I restructured the services into a cleaner, more readable
list. At the bottom, I added a strong call to action and contact infor-
mation so it’s the last thing you see after reading the postcard in
its entirety.

about the designer


ROY MILTON 2
Roy Milton 2 is a graduate of The Art Institute of Dallas, Texas. As a professional art director and designer, Roy has nearly 12 years of
experience and has been involved with a wide variety of industries: publishing, retail, gaming, hospitality, telecommunications, food and
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

beverage, and nonprofit. He has served on the Austin Chapter of AIGA, the professional association for design, and frequently volunteers
as a guest speaker and portfolio reviewer in Austin’s design community. He has also completed the Art Direction program at The Austin
Creative Department, a newly formed, award-winning advertising and portfolio school.
Roy is currently an art director at Sanders\Wingo Advertising, where he assists agency teams in creative development for AT&T.
Sanders\­Wingo’s work includes strategy, planning, media, and creative for clients such as AT&T, MINI USA, Ocean Alexander, Cintra US,
St. David’s Medical Center, Las Palmas Del Sol Medical Center, El Paso Electric, and more.

APPLICATION USED: Adobe Photoshop CS5 n


049
Photoshop
Professional

Video
for

By Richard Harrington

While many Photoshop users immediately think Photoshop is only


used for photography, it’s actually used to manipulte pixels of all kinds.
According to Adobe’s research, 98% of video professionals use Photoshop. In
fact, Photoshop is often the starting point for many Adobe workflows as it
can seamlessly integrate into other Adobe applications such as After Effects,
Adobe Premiere Pro, and Encore. Even other manufacturers have made Photoshop
a standard for graphic assets.
In this article, we’ll explore how video industry pros use Photoshop
in their video workflow for broadcast and Web, and we’ll ask them to share
some cool tips for enhancing productivity and creating video with an impact.
People often forget that Photoshop was developed in part by an engineer doing
› › photoshop user › April 2014

motion picture and visual FX work at Industrial Light & Magic. Photoshop has
long been a part of many creative pipelines and predates digital photography
by years. These days, Photoshop serves many roles.

Layout Design: Taffy Clifford

050
50 Layout Design: Taffy Clifford
Getting Started on the Right Foot

For many, Photoshop is a great place to start a video


project. Its powerful toolset helps turn a vision into
something tangible that’s easy to share. “I like to use
Photoshop as a visualization tool to storyboard the dif-
ferent style ideas,” said Ian Robinson, art director of
SoftBox Media, whose client roster includes the Discov-
ery Channel. “We can quickly mock up different scenes
to show a client how their campaign would appear on
a mobile device, the big screen, or for larger print cam-
paigns like the side of a bus or even the side of a build-
ing. Showing the versatility of a well-designed package
is key when you’re designing anything in today’s mar-
ket.” Some common workflows include:

PreViz: Photos or frame grabs from a video may


be manipulated to show placement of special ef-
fects or graphic elements (a process referred to as
“previsualization” or “previz”). This is often cheaper
than working with a 3D or motion graphics applica-
tion and allows ideas to be refined.

Storyboarding: A storyboard is a visual plan


that helps when shooting or later in editing. Photo-
shop is a great tool as it allows for easy manipula-
tion of visuals. Stock photos can be combined and
photos can be cropped to show desired framing
for cameras.

The need to plan is essential, as the cost of animation or


shooting video is very high. The last thing you want to
happen is for the client, director, or crew to have a dif-
ferent vision of what’s supposed to happen.
“Storyboards really help both you
and your client visualize how the end design will look
and animate before you go through the expense of actual
› › www.photoshopuser.com

animation,” said Robinson. “They also give you an


exact point of reference in your production pipeline
where you and your client can both agree or disagree on
LLC
BOX MEDIA
©2014 SOFT
a direction.”
(To see Ian Robinson’s work, visit www.softboxmedia.com.)

051
Compelling Typograpy
The type tools in Photoshop far exceed those found in most video tools. It’s easy in
Photoshop to carefully typeset graphics, whether they’re simple titles to identify a
speaker or more elaborate title sequences. Key tools that stand out include:

Pair kerning: The ability to precisely adjust the spacing between pairs of letters
is the hallmark of good type. Just insert the type cursor between two letters, hold down
the Option (PC: Alt) key, and press the Left or Right Arrow key to adjust the spacing.

Every-line composer: Using paragraph text


(where you draw a text block with the Type tool [T]) can save
you a lot of time. In the Paragraph panel (Window>Para-
graph), click the flyout menu near the upper-right corner
and choose the Every-line Composer to auto flow text for
a smooth layout.

Anti-alias methods: Since video is a low-resolu-


tion medium, you can easily improve the readability of text
at low resolutions with the Set the Anti-Aliasing Method drop-down menu in the
Options Bar. Change it from Sharp to Smooth to even out the edges of type.

Layer styles: From drop shadows to textures, you can quickly stylize type.

Spell check: The command Edit>Check Spelling—’nuff said.

“I use Photoshop at some point


in almost every project I touch,” said
motion graphic artist Ian Pullens. “Photoshop is
my go-to when designing look and feel boards. I love
that I can design a frame in Photoshop that I can con-
fidently and quickly translate into other applica-
tions like After Effects.” (To see Ian Pullen’s work,
visit https://vimeo.com/ianpullens.)
LLENS
IAN PU

Photoshop Text Can Jump Ship


Go ahead and take advantage of the precise controls for setting text in Photo-
shop, such as easy kerning tools and the Every-line Composer option. Once the
› › photoshop user › April 2014

document is set, just save it as a layered PSD file.


In After Effects, you can import items as a Composition. Then simply
select a text layer and choose Layer>Convert to Editable Text from the menu.
The Photoshop text layer becomes live text in After Effects that can be edited
or animated.
RHED PIXEL

052
52
Repairing Photos
Many video editors and designers find themselves needing to
enhance the appearance of the assets they’re using. Perhaps
it’s poor color and exposure or the wear and tear on a historical
image. “Photoshop is used for cleaning up poor images that

USED WITH PERMISSION FROM USDA


have to be used in a video,” said David Fuchs, lead designer
at RHED Pixel. “We use it for selective Content-Aware scaling
and fill to make more effective use of video frame sizes. We
also repair old or damaged photographs and prepare assets for
using in After Effects.”
Fuchs also pointed out that his team likes to use the Van-
ishing Point filter in Photoshop to create faux 3D environments.
This lets 2D images be mapped to a 3D scene and exchanged
with After Effects as a VPE file. Here’s one example that they
made: https://vimeo.com/24579321.

“I use adjustment layers, layer


masks, and smart objects—especially if clients
want something and then go back and revise their
ideas,” said Fuchs. “I like the ability to make non-
destructive changes in a single file, as opposed to
saving out multiple copies and hoping you saved at
the correct step. This saves time and headaches.”
(To see David Fuchs’s work, visit http://vimeopro
L
.com/rhedpixel/screencasts-and-motion-graphics.) D PIXE
A, RHE
Y SHE
HILLAR

Adjustment layers: The Adjustments panel (Window>Adjustments)


is the key to unlocking nondestructive changes in an image. From Curves and
Robinson agreed that image manipu-
Levels for exposure to the essential Vibrance adjustment to control the intensity
lation is critical. “Whether I’m creating
of color, these tools are key.
a backplate for a motion piece or sim-
Cloning and healing: The ability to easily remove distracting ele- ply just cutting out an element to use in
ments from an image is often critical to a video workflow. Photos often need another scene, I’m always having to cut,
to be manipulated so the viewer can quickly focus on the essential items in the copy, and move elements,” said Rob-
short time that an image appears onscreen. inson. “Content-Aware Fill has saved
me countless hours removing pesky
Content-Aware Fill: Photos rarely match the size and aspect ratio elements out of a scene. I use Con-
› › www.photoshopuser.com

requirements for video (after all, how many photographers shoot 16:9?). With tent-Aware Fill to do the heavy lifting
the many Content-Aware tools in Photoshop, it’s easy to fill in holes and recom-
and then use the Clone Stamp to clean
pose photos. (Note: To apply a Content-Aware Fill, make a selection, go to
things up a bit.”
Edit>Fill, and select Content-Aware in the Use drop-down menu. You’ll find
Content-Aware Scale under the Edit menu, as well.)

053
Repairing Footage
JESSE ETTINGER

While Photoshop is well known for its ability to work with stills,
the same tools can be used on video files, as well. More and
more editors and visual effects artists have discovered the option
to manipulate video files as smart objects. This opens up useful
THE OBESITY ACTION COALITION

filters, including the Camera Raw Filter.


USED WITH PERMISSION

Lens Correction: Easily correct distortion, such as a


wide-angle GoPro shot, with Lens Correction (Filter>Lens Cor-
rection). Photoshop has several built-in profiles, and it’s easy to
create custom ones with the Adobe Lens Profile Creator, a free
utility available at http://kel.by/MgIzrH for Mac and http://kel
.by/1edYcHp for Windows.

Upright: Photoshop can also quickly correct perspective


errors caused by shooting at low or high angles. This improves
the look of a shot and makes compositing tasks easier. Upright
can be found in the Lens Corrections panel of the Camera Raw
Filter (Filter>Camera Raw Filter).

Adjustment layers: Those same adjustments that


work great for photos are also perfect for video.

Lookup Tables: The use of the Color Lookup adjustment


layer lets you apply a Lookup Table—the same color grading effect
used by After Effects, Adobe SpeedGrade, and Blackmagic Design’s
DaVinci Resolve. This eases collaboration across workflows.
› › photoshop user › April 2014

JIM BALL

54
“Converting things
into smart objects
is a great way to work
nondestructively,” said
designer and videographer
Keith Kiska. He loves to
use the Camera Raw
engine in Photoshop on
both stills and video.

JIM BALL
“When I first used
Camera Raw, I was abso-
lutely amazed. Having
shot film for a short
period of time before the
Digital Revolution, I was
still captivated at how
much control you can have
over your image after you
shot it. It was an abso-
lute game changer for the
whole community.”

Processing Video with Photoshop


(Adobe Photoshop Extended or CC)
You can now open a video file into Photoshop three different ways:

1  You can open a video file as easily as any still image; choose File>Open,
and then select any QuickTime-compatible movie file. You can use a
MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, MOV, or AVI file as long as the correct codec
is installed by your editing software. The Open command automatically
sizes the document to match the video clip and adjusts the Timeline to
match its duration and frame rate. Be sure to Right-click on the video file
in the Layers panel and choose Convert to Smart Object if you need to
apply filters nondestructively.

2 document
If you already have a design file, you can add a video clip to an open
as a video layer. Simply choose Layer>Video Layers>New Video
opuser.com

Layer from File. This adds the clip into the existing layers.

3 destructive
If you’d like to add the video file as a smart object (which enables non-
hm

filters and scaling), choose File>Place Linked.


wb
› ›› kwewl yh
.p .c
nteo
oo so

055
Using Lens Correction STEP FOUR: Choose a manufacturer from the Camera Make drop-
down menu under Search Criteria on the right. If your camera isn’t
The Lens Correction filter in Photoshop is an easy way to fix common listed, you can manually adjust the settings in the Custom tab, or
flaws in an image, such as barrel distortion, lens vignettes, and chro- make a profile (http://kel.by/11Y7iBP).
matic aberration. Usually, the filter is run on 8- or 16 bit-per-channel
still images; however, it can also be run on DSLR video clips. STEP FIVE: From the Camera Model drop-down menu, choose the
The filter can also correct perspective problems caused by cam- correct camera model, and from the Lens Model drop-down menu,
era tilt, plus it automatically looks up lens information from an choose the correct lens.
online database.
STEP SIX: Under the Correction section in the Auto Correction tab,
STEP ONE: Select a video layer, and make sure it’s a smart object select Geometric Distortion, Chromatic Aberration, Vignette, and Auto
to ensure flexibility in editing. To convert it to a smart object, choose Scale Image.
Filter>Convert for Smart Filters.
STEP SEVEN: Switch to the Custom tab for advanced controls. Use
STEP TWO: Choose Filter>Lens Correction. In the Lens Correction the Vertical Perspective and the Horizontal Perspective sliders to com-
dialog, look in the bottom-left corner for information about the cam- pensate for keystoning or angled shots. Adjust the Vignette Amount
era and lens used for the shot. (This comes with the metadata the to further brighten or darken the edges.
camera wrote to the original file.) If you’re using a movie file, this info
may be missing. It’s a good idea to also shoot a still image on set to STEP EIGHT: Click OK to apply the correction. Because of the complexity
capture important metadata for your video clips. of the effect, the video clip won’t play back smoothly. Choose File>Ex-
port>Render Video to process the file and create a new clip. Be sure to
STEP THREE: Select Show Grid next to the camera info to make it also save a PSD file for future changes. You can double-click the Lens Cor-
easier to see perspective issues. rection filter in the Layers panel to open the smart filter for future edits.
› › photoshop user › April 2014

CE
AL SERVI
US POST
H PERMISSION
U SED WIT

56
Creating Transparency
Video professionals often need to composite multiple images what I don’t. Call me old school, but channels are my favorite,”
together. Perhaps it’s for visual effects like green screen or to said Robinson.
make a motion graphics sequence. It can even be as simple He’s also a fan of layer masks. “Layer masks perfectly go along
as putting a logo or watermark over video. Photoshop makes with the process of isolating elements. Layer masks are great
transparency easy and stores it effectively in many file formats. because they allow me the ability to paint detailed areas of a
“Even though there are some amazing selection tools selection with both soft and hard edges. I can see what I’m doing
inside Photoshop, I still find myself using the different update in real time and rest assured that when I make a mistake,
channels of an image to help control what I select and I’m creating a nondestructive mask,” said Robinson.
USED WITH PERMISSION THE USDA

Quick Selection Tool + Channels


Here’s a tip from Ian Robinson’s toolbox. The Quick Selection tool is a wonderful tool when you’re trying
to isolate an element, but why not give it some help? Next time you’re trying to cut an element out of a
scene, jump into your channels.

STEP ONE: Open the Channels panel (Window>Channels). Click directly on the names of each of the channels to look only
at that one selected channel. Choose the channel where your object is in most contrast from the background.
opuser.com

STEP TWO: Drag the highest contrast channel down to the Create New Channel icon at the bottom of the panel to duplicate
that channel.
hm
so

STEP THREE: Use the Quick selection tool (W) on the copied channel to create your selection. Using this black-and-white,
.c
nteo

higher-contrast image makes creating your selection that much easier.


wb
› ›› kwewl yh
.p oo

STEP FOUR: Use any of your favorite selection commands under the Select menu (such as Refine Edge, Expand, Feather,
or Contract) to speed up the process.
057
Looking for an Easy Alpha Channel?
Need a perfect alpha channel? Be sure to load the Video Actions set inside the Actions panel.

STEP ONE: Open the Actions panel (Window>Actions).

STEP TWO: Click the panel’s flyout menu in the upper-right corner, and load the Video Actions set.

STEP THREE: Try out the two Alpha Channels actions.

Processing Time-Lapse
The art of time-lapse photography is truly at the point of
fusion where photography and video meet. By capturing
multiple exposures at a constant interval, incredible foot-
age can be created. The benefit of using a stills camera,
though, is that the exposure time can vary much more
than a video camera. It’s also easier to take full advantage
of RAW file formats.
Whether you’re assembling a time-lapse directly
in the timeline in Photoshop, or simply preprocessing
KEITH KISKA

frames, the tools it offers are compelling.


“We use Photoshop exclusively on the things we’re
most passionate about, our fine-art landscape photog-
raphy and our time-lapses. For over 10 years, Photo-
shop has been the cornerstone of my creative process,”
said Kiska. “Being able to capture the moment is the
most important by far, but the rest lies exclusively on
your ability to bring that image to life with all the tools
that Photoshop offers. The same idea applies to our
time-lapses. Our composition and execution of the
images have to be flawless, but without a solid conver-
sion in RAW, your images will be flat and lifeless.” (To
KEITH KISKA

see Keith Kiska’s work, visit www.kiskamedia.com and


www.thephototrekker.com.)

The Future
› › photoshop user › April 2014

Who knows what the future holds, but the focus of Photoshop on making video easier
for newer users to edit in the timeline is a welcome addition. Professionals also welcome the more
advanced tools like 3D objects, smart objects, and powerful color science. Photoshop is the per-
fect tool for every video professional’s toolbox. ■

58
HOW TO › ›

Beginners' Workshop LESA SNIDER


tinted triptych
Triptychs are a great way to tell a photographic story. In this issue, we’ll create one by combining three images
from the same shoot into a single document, and then give each photo or panel a creative color tint. By using
Hue/Saturation adjustment layers, you can experiment with the tint colors to get them just right.

Step One: Choose File>New to create a new document and


pick Inches from the Width drop-down menu. Enter the size for
your triptych, such as 10" for Width, 8" for Height, and 300 ppi
for Resolution, and click OK.
[KelbyOne members may download the files used in this
tutorial at http://kelbyone.com/magazine/issue/april-2014.
All files are for personal use only.]

Step One

Step Two: Divide the width of your document by three (in this
example, 10 ÷ 3 = 3.33). Choose View>New Guide, click Verti-
cal, enter 3.33, and click OK. Repeat this step to set another
vertical guide at 6.66 inches. You should now have a document
that’s split into three panels of equal widths.

Step Three: There are multiple ways to add images to a docu-


ment, but placing them as smart objects gives you the ability to
experiment with their size using Free Transform, without losing
image quality. Choose File>Place and in the resulting dialog,
navigate to where the first image lives on your hard drive,
and click Place. Photoshop adds the image and surrounds it
Step Two
with resizing handles.

Step Four: The goal is to position the focal point between the
left edge and the first guide. Don’t worry if the image extends
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

beyond the guide; we’ll fix that with a layer mask next. Click-
and-drag in the bounding box to reposition the image in your
document. To resize it, press Shift and click-and-drag a corner
handle inward to make it smaller or outward to make it larger.
Press Enter when you’re finished.

Step Four
060
› › BEGINNERS' WORKSHOP

Step Five: Press M to grab the Rectangular Marquee tool from


the Toolbox (circled). Click outside the image’s top-left edge
and drag diagonally downward to the bottom of the first guide.
You should see marching ants around the first panel.

Step Five

Step Six: To add a layer mask, click the Add Layer Mask icon
(circle in a square) at the bottom of the Layers panel. Photoshop
hides everything outside of your selection. (If you don’t see the
Layers panel, open it by choosing Window>Layers.)

Step Seven: Repeat Steps Three through Six to add two more
images and mask them into the second and third panels. For Step Six
example, after placing the second image, draw a selection with
the Rectangular Marquee tool between the first and second
guides and then add a layer mask. Place the third image and
draw a selection from the second guide to the bottom right of
the image’s edge. Here’s what your document and Layers panel
should look like now.

Tip: To move an image without moving its mask (or vice-versa),


unlock them by clicking the chain icon between the image
thumbnail and mask thumbnail in the Layers panel. Click the
image thumbnail to activate it, press V to grab the Move tool,
and use the Arrow keys on your keyboard to nudge the image
into place. Lock the thumbnails together again by clicking the Step Seven

empty space between them (the chain icon reappears).

Step Eight: Click to activate the first image layer (first panel
in the triptych) in the Layers panel. Now click the Create New
Adjustment Layer icon (half-black, half-white circle) at the bot-
tom of the Layers panel, and choose Hue/Saturation.
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

Tip: You can hide the guides at anytime by pressing Command-;


(PC: Ctrl-;).

Step Eight
061
BEGINNERS' WORKSHOP › ›

Step Nine: In the Properties panel that opens, click the icon at the
bottom left of the panel to clip the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer
to the layer beneath it (so it affects only one layer down). Turn on
the Colorize checkbox and then drag the Hue slider rightward until
you find a color you like (yellows were used here).

Step Ten: Press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to duplicate the Hue/


Saturation adjustment layer, and then drag it above the next
image layer up (second panel). Click the clip icon in the Proper-
ties panel, and adjust the Hue slider (reds were used here).

Step Eleven: Repeat this step to add a Hue/Saturation adjust- Step Nine
ment layer above the topmost layer (third panel; blues were
used here). To change the color tint for any of the layers in the
future, double-click the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer thumb-
nail and the Properties panel reopens. This is what your Layers
panel should look like now.

Step Twelve: Save a master file by choosing File>Save As. Pick


Photoshop from the Format drop-down menu, and click Save.
Here’s the final result.
Step Ten

This technique is not only visually pleasing and versatile, but a


great way to hide color problems or make three images of dif-
fering colors work side by side. Until next time, may the creative
force be with you all. n Step Eleven
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

062
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HOW TO › ›

From Bert's Studio BERT MONROY


a fancy hubcap
The painting I’m currently working on is a canal in Amsterdam. The sides of the canal are lined with parked cars.
The cars on the right are facing away from the viewer exposing their hubcaps. Most of the hubcaps are quite
complex in their design. It’s the creation of these elements that is the subject of this issue’s column.

This image shows the end of the long row of cars. Though
these cars are fairly small in the image, there’s enough detail
that’s visible in the print. Accuracy and attention to detail is vital
to make them look real. A Google search for “European hub-
caps” provided me with all the reference material necessary.

Step One: First things first—generate the basic paths in Adobe


Illustrator. Illustrator has better controls for vectors than those
available in Photoshop. One such control is the Transform Again
feature that allows you to copy and rotate an object and then
by pressing Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D), you can perform the
same task as many additional times as needed. This will make it
easy to create the five sets of cavities on the face of the hubcap.

Step Two: Establish your light source that will determine where
highlights and shadows will fall over the hubcap. Choose the
basic Foreground and Background colors that will represent the
light and dark areas of the metal. Using the Gradient tool (G),
fill the outer shape with a linear gradient. In separate layers for
each (click the Create a New Layer icon at the bottom of the
Layers panel), fill the two center circles with the same gradient,
but fill the larger of the two with an opposing direction to give
the illusion of it being indented into the surface.

Step Three: Give each of the two inner circles a layer style of Step One

Bevel & Emboss (Layer>Layer Style>Bevel & Emboss). Again, op-


posing directions for the light source enhances the sense of depth.

Note: Since the two layers’ styles have opposing light directions,
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

it’s imperative that the Global Light checkbox is turned off in


the Layer Style control dialog. Global Light is on by default to
ensure that any adjustment to the layer style lighting of one
layer will affect all the other layers containing layer styles, thus
maintaining a consistency of the light source.

Step Four: On a new layer, fill the wells that contain the holes
cut into the face of the hubcap with a medium gray. Using the
Dodge and Burn tools (O), create the highlights and shadows. In
the placement of these tones, careful attention must be paid to
064 Step Three
› › FROM BERT'S STUDIO

the direction of the light source. Note how the lights and darks
have been applied to give the shapes the proper look.

Step Five: Fill the paths for the smaller holes with black in their
own layer. The parked cars are at an angle from the viewer. In
order to achieve that angle, use the Move tool (V) to drag the
layer containing the black holes slightly to the right. You can
see that certain holes are falling beyond the view of the wells
that they’re in. To get this effect, make the layer containing the
wells into a selection by Command-clicking (PC: Ctrl-clicking) on Step Four Step Five
its layer thumbnail in the Layers panel. With the selection active,
apply a layer mask to the layer containing the black holes. This
is quickly done by simply clicking on the Add Layer Mask icon
(circle in a square) at the bottom of the Layers panel.

Step Six: The area of the logo is made up of three more circles.
The outside layer has a zero Fill in the Layers panel with a Bevel &
Emboss layer style. The zero Fill lets the underlying layer show
through. The outer circle of the logo itself is filled with black
with a layer style of Drop Shadow and Stroke to give it the
white outline. The inner circle is also filled with black, has the
same Stroke layer style, and it’s clipping a layer that contains
the blue and white checkerboard. To clip one layer to another,
hold the Option (PC: Alt) key and click on the line between the Step Six
two layers in the Layers panel. The letters are placed individually
and rotated into position.

Step Seven: With all the elements in place, it’s now time to
give the plate its angle to follow the dimension of the car in the
scene. Click the Eye icon next to the Background layer to turn
it off. This makes only the layers that make up the plate visible.
Making the top layer the target layer, hold down the Option
(PC: Alt) key and choose Merge Visible from the Layers panel’s
flyout menu. This will create a new layer containing the com-
pleted plate while keeping all the original layers intact.

Step Eight: Make the new, composite layer the target layer, and
Option-click (PC: Alt-click) its Eye icon to turn off all the other lay-
ers. Press Command-T (PC: Ctrl-T) to bring up the Free Transform Step Eight
tool. Grabbing the right-center control point, move it to the left to
turn the circular hubcap into an elliptical shape that best conforms
to the needed angle. Press Enter to engage the adjustment.

Step Nine: Choose the Warp tool (Edit>Transform>Warp).


Grab the center box and move it slightly to the left. This will
give the hubcap the look of bulging in the center. If the right
side experiences a little distortion, bring the handles inward to
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

make the necessary adjustments.

You may never have to make a hubcap but it’s the steps that are
important here. One or all of these steps can be applied to a
variety of other situations. It’s the mastering of the tools within
Photoshop that will enhance the way you work. n
Step Nine 065
ALL IMAGES BY BERT MONROY
13
PHOTOGRAPHY SECRETS › ›

Tips
to Steady
Video Capture
By Rod Harlan

Shooting pristine, stabilized, jump-free, steady video is the hall-


mark of any professional videographer. In the old days, this meant
shooting on a tripod 100% of the time. Then cameras came down
in size enough that a burly man could hoist one onto his shoul-
der for a couple of hours before needing to see his chiropractor.
Today, with cameras that fit in the palms of our hands, we don’t have
issues with portability as much as we do with stability. Jerky video
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

has become so common that we now have software to stabilize


video that costs hundreds of dollars. Nearly every video editor on
the market also features image stabilization, as well. Even worse,
most of these software solutions end up blurring your video, thus
ruining the sharp focus you worked so hard to achieve.

066
These days, it’s possible to capture video with everything from your DSLR to
your smartphone. If you want to incorporate video into your business plan to add
to your bottom line, it’s important to know how to capture great
video no matter what device you’re using. To help combat this jerky video epi-
demic, I present you with 13 ways to improve the stability of your
video capture.

1
Make Your Body a Tripod
There’s a reason photographers spend so much money on tripods; they help give you
a stable shot and minimize blur. For handheld shots, you can use your body as a tri-
pod. Simply spread your legs wide apart to provide stability instead of standing with

2
your feet close together, which makes your whole body prone to wobbling.

Lock Your Elbows


intoYour Body
Keeping your arms as tight into
your body as possible also works
for stability. Bracing your camera
against your shoulder and using
the viewfinder helps with stabili-
zation. The further the camera is
away from your center of gravity
(upper body), the harder it is to
keep steady.
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

067
3 Use Your Shoulder Strap
If you’re primarily focusing by looking at the LCD, shorten your shoulder strap to use it as
a short but strong contact point (like a tripod).
Then put the strap around your neck and hold the camera with both thumbs
placed underneath while tucking in your elbows. This way, when you’re using
shorter lenses (or older manual lenses with large focus rings), you can support
the camera with your thumbs while focusing with your ring and middle fingers.
Again, use your whole body (this time with a shoulder strap around your neck)
as a stable base.

4Breathe

5
Don’t try and hold your breath throughout
your video shot. You’ll end up gasping for
breath eventually and that will cause more
camera shake than if you breathed normally in
the first place. Simply breathe smoothly—slow
and steady.

Use a
Wide-Angle
r1y4 2 0 1 4

Lens
a0
i lu2

The longer your focal length, the harder it is to achieve a steady shot. If you’re
fe rr
pb

using prime lenses, opt for the wider angle (say a 16mm to 24mm lens) and stand
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a

closer to your subject if need be. If you’re using a zoom lens, stick to the wider end
of your zoom. Remember, when you’re at the long end of your zoom lens, even
your breathing creates camera shake. It’s better to shoot wide and stand closer to
your subject.

068
67
Use an IS (Image Stabilized) or
VR (Vibration Reduction) Lens
Both of these technologies help reduce the shaky factor for
crisper, cleaner recordings.

Set Your Focus


Beforehand
The more you move your hands, the more
camera shake you’re going to create. That’s
why it’s always best to get your shot in focus
before you begin and try not to change
focus during recording.

8
Brace
Yourself
Find something to brace your body against (tree,
wall, counter, etc.). The more body weight you
place on the object while leaning, the better. This

10
really helps stabilize your recording.

9 Find Shelter, Especially from Wind


Use a Bean Bag If you’re shooting outside on a windy day, step
into a doorway or between a couple of build-
To get that steady shot, whether stand- ings to shelter yourself from the gusty wind. It
ing still or moving, find ways to anchor will make a huge difference on your camera
and brace your camera. I carry a bean- shake, especially if you’re using a longer lens.
bag when a tripod is too bulky. I place
the bean bag on any surface (rocks,
fence, wall, shelf, tree branch) and then
mold my camera body into the bean bag
to hold it securely and absorb any vibra-
tions. For moving shots, try the bean bag
on top of a skateboard or roller skate.
11
12 When Moving,
Use Your Legs
Mind Your Verticals &Horizontals
When you’re walking, especially backwards, with your camera while recording,
be extra mindful of your vertical and horizontal lines. You want to keep the
objects in your frame upright and level. Use your horizon line if possible.

as Shock Absorbers
When recording video while walking, you want to
bend your knees and take long strides to absorb
any shake. Your legs act like shock absorbers and
absorb any bumps as you move across uneven
ground. (This is the opposite of Tip #1.)

13 Pan 180–240° with Your Hips


You can get the steadiest handheld panning shot of your life with this simple trick:
A. Position your body facing where you want your pan to end
B. Hold the camera close to your body with your elbows locked in tight
C. Don’t bend your knees but keep your legs firm and still
D. Using only your hips, rotate your upper torso 180–240°
E. Begin recording and slowly unwind to your desired final shot.

Commercial Stabilizers
From your cell phone to your Hollywood motion picture capture devices, there are now more than
100 commercial camera stabilizers available in the market for all types of cameras. Here is quick sampling:
Woxom SlingShot Smartphone Video Stabilizer Vidpro MR-400 Motorized Focus & Zoom Shoulder Rig
Available at Photojojo, Amazon, and B&H for around $20 Available at B&H for $443.99
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

Vello ActionPan Professional Grade Stabilizing


Action Grip Cam Caddie Scorpion
Available at B&H for $23.95 Available at B&H for $64.95

Camera Table Dolly -


Available at Photojojo for $90 Freefly MoVI M10
Available at freeflysystems.com for $14,995
ePhotoInc DSLR Shoulder Mount Rig (Yes, I threw this one in for fun, but it is a game
Available at Amazon for about $190 changer in the filmmaking world.)

[A special thanks to Nikon for allowing us to use their brand-new D3300 and COOLPIX P600 to capture the above images.—Ed.]
070
ALL IMAGES OF ROD HARLAN BY JULIE OTTO

ALL IMAGES BY MICHAEL CORSENTINO


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Story going deep

of an
BY B R I A N M AT I A S H

I recently had the fortune of camping at White Pocket, nestled

Image
in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona. While ac-
cessing the area requires a four-wheel-drive vehicle and driving
through a wild and winding path made of sand, the effort is totally
worth it.
› › lightroom › ›

When you reach the destination, you’re greeted by an expanse because there’s a clear point of diminishing returns as
of rocky terrain that veers in all sorts of mesmerizing, circular it relates to optical sharpness through the frame. Now, it
patterns. For me, it marked the first time I was able to photo- would probably require an entire article to discuss the vary-
graph what is affectionately referred to as Brain Rock. ing nuances of finding a given lens’s sweet spot and there
are plenty of websites and discussion forums that cover this
In no uncertain terms, I could have spent days photographing very topic. Overall, in my own practices, I find that the glass
in this area, and if I can share a tip for anyone interested in I use most gives me the sharpest results between f/11 and
photographing around this sort of terrain, consider investing f/16. Given the tight focus of my lens and the aperture I was
in rock feet for your tripod. Using rock feet gave me much photographing at, I couldn’t get a sharp photo through and
greater peace of mind around how rigidly locked my tripod through in a single frame, and that’s when focus stacking
feet were, especially when splayed in extreme angles. popped into my head.

Briefly, focus stacking is the practice of taking bracketed


photos of a scene, but instead of the typical shift in exposure
While exploring an area of hilly Brain Rock, I noticed a soli-
time, you’re actually shifting focus to cover all of the planes in
tary tree growing out of the ground. Aside from the nice jux-
your frame, from the closest foreground element all the way
taposition that the tree introduced in the scene, I also really
through to the furthest background element. You can then
liked the green color. It aided in breaking up the dominant,
use software to focus stack or blend these bracketed images
drab color of the foreground.
by aligning the high-contrast edges (or hard edges) together.
developing the shot To illustrate, in this scene, I identified three primary planes of
focus: the initial hill in the lower-right corner of the frame, the
Upon framing the photo, there were two particular items that
secondary hill just beyond that one (see next page), and then the
were important to me. The first item was that I wanted to use
large hill that the tree was growing on. I felt confident that the
a long lens to introduce compression to the scene so that the
third and final bracketed image would cover me through the sky
vacillating Brain Rock hills would appear closer together and
because, at that point, my lens was already focusing at infinity.
give the tree more presence. With a wider lens, the tree would
appear much smaller in the frame, and moving closer would
lose a lot of the layering that caught my eye to begin with,
as well as introduce a lot more distortion. As such, I opted to
use a Canon 70–200mm f/2.8L IS lens for the right amount of
compression. The second item was that I wanted the photo
to be sharp through and through, from the foreground all the
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

way through to the sky in the background.


As a matter of practice, I usually set my lens’s aperture
between f/11 and f/16, depending on which glass is cur-
rently mounted on my camera. In fact, I almost always try
to avoid using really small apertures like f/22 and beyond
(unless I’m trying to drag the shutter with minimal filters) 073
step two: Next, return to Grid view (G), Command-
click (PC: Ctrl-click) the two other photos in the series to
select all three images, and click on Sync Settings. On the
subsequent Synchronize Settings dialog, click on Check
All to sync everything across all three images and then
click Synchronize.

in photoshop
Now that all three images look the same and are cropped
identically, let’s begin the process of focus stacking. There
are a number of great applications available that specialize
in focus stacking; however, Photoshop has a really nice focus
stacking utility built right in, so we’re going to go that route.
(One thing to note is that we’re using Photoshop CC and all of
the screenshots here are derived from that version.)

step three: To start, you’ll want to have all of your im-


in lightroom ages in the focus sequence as their own layers in one docu-
Take a moment to capture three images with three primary ment. Fortunately, Lightroom has a super-easy way to ac-
planes of focus as described above and then follow along complish this task. With the three images still selected in
in Lightroom. Lightroom, click on the Photo menu item, select Edit In, and
then select Open as Layers in Photoshop to send all three
step one: The first thing to do is correct the white bal- images to Photoshop, placing each image on its own layer
ance (WB) in the Basic panel in the Develop module. Photo- under one active document.
graphing in the desert causes my camera to freak out a bit
with WB. Thankfully, using the RAW format, it can easily be step four: Once in Photoshop, the first thing I do is sat-
adjusted in post. Apply basic corrections to the first photo of isfy my OCD by labeling the layers more appropriately. In all
your set and crop it as needed. This image was cropped so seriousness, though, this will make the masking that we’re
that the tree took up more space in the frame. going to do in a minute much easier to understand. Double-
click directly on a layer’s name in the Layers panel to rename
it. Drag the layers in the Layers panel so the Foreground layer
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

is at the top of the layer stack and the Background layer is at


the bottom.

074
› › lightroom › ›

step five: The next thing do in this focus stacking process cutting at the high-contrast edges of each layer. Photoshop
is ensure that all of the layers are aligned. The easiest way to detected the sharpest regions of all three layers.
accomplish this is to select all of the layers in the Layers panel,
and choose Edit>Auto-Align Layers. In almost all cases, I stick step eight: While most of the heavy lifting was done by
with the Auto option for alignment. Click OK to proceed. Photoshop, there are some refinements that are needed. If
you look closely at the transition areas of the masks, you’ll
see that there are still some soft area remnants that need to
be dealt with. By toggling the layers on and off (click the Eye
icon next to each layer in the Layers panel), you can quickly
see the affected areas (in this case, the problem is caused
by the Middle layer). This is where renaming the layers plays
such an important role.

step six: With the layers aligned, we’re ready to blend


them together so that only the sharpest parts of each appear.
To use the focus-stacking tool in Photoshop, reselect all three
layers, and go to Edit>Auto-Blend Layers. In the Auto-Blend
Layers dialog that pops up, select the second radio button,
Stack Images. Ensure that the checkbox for Seamless Tones
and Colors is selected, and then click OK.

step nine: To start, click on the layer mask thumbnail for


the Middle layer in the Layers panel to make it active. With
the Brush tool (B) selected and your Foreground color set to
black (press D then X), begin painting in the image to hide
the soft areas of the Middle layer. This will create some trans-
parent areas, but we’ll fix that in the next step.

step seven: When the process is complete, you should


have an image that is, for the most part, sharp through and
through. Use the Crop tool (C) as needed to apply a quick
crop (in this example, we wanted to bring the tree into an
even more dominant position). By looking at the layer masks
created by Photoshop, you can see they were created by
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

075
step ten: With the offending areas masked out, select perature and boosting the color saturation. This helps separate
the layer mask thumbnail for the Background layer, invert the it from the rest of the rocky foreground.
Foreground color to white by pressing X, and paint through Next, a new brush was created by clicking the word “New” in
the masked areas. Doing this restores the in-focus area of the the Adjustment Brush panel. This brush was applied only to the
original Background image. tree, adding a strong bump to color saturation and brightness,
among other sliders. This helps the tree pop off of the screen.

Sky Tree

step eleven: Repeat the exact same process of this mask step thirteen: Finally, a Radial Filter (Shift-M) was applied
ballet between the Middle and Foreground layers until you’re on top of the same tree, dropping down the exposure and
left with an image that’s sharp at every major bend. color temperature to draw the eye to the tree and introduce
some color contrast by making the tree the warmest part of
back in lightroom the image. Also important is to adjust the Feather of the Radial
When done, save the photo and return to Lightroom for final Filter to help create a more subtle and realistic transition.
editing and stylization.
In the end, I’m left with an image that’s sharp from the fore-
step twelve: To start, we applied an Adjustment Brush (K) ground all the way through the background, while also retain-
to the sky to darken it while also cooling down the color tem- ing the compression that I had aimed for from the beginning. n
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

076
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Under getting the most out
of the flexible interface

the
B Y R O B S Y LVA N

Loupe
The Lightroom interface can be customized in a number
of ways to maximize the space devoted to your photos,
to make your workflow more efficient, and to hide the
parts you don’t use very often.
› › lightroom › ›
There are four main panel groups that appear in all Lightroom you each one, I recommend grabbing the Lightroom Queen’s
modules. They can be manipulated as needed to allow you to complete list of all shortcuts (http://bit.ly/lrqueenshortcuts) and
control the size of the center workspace where your photos studying them at your leisure. Again, you can access the same
appear, as well as to only reveal the set of tools required for the controls by going to the Window>Panels menu, where you’ll
task at hand. These four panel groups, located at the bottom of also find the keyboard shortcuts listed there in case you forget.
the Window>Panels menu, are called the Left Module Panels, There are two keyboard shortcuts I use all the time that are
Right Module Panels, Module Picker (top), and Filmstrip (bottom). easy to remember. The first is pressing Tab to show and hide
both the left and right panel groups simultaneously. The second
Module Picker
is pressing Shift-Tab to show and hide all four main panel groups
at once.
While you may most often want to collapse groups to get
them out of the way, you can also click the inside edge and drag
inward to make the left and right panel groups wider. I often
make the right panel group in the Develop module wider to get
Left Right a finer level of control on the sliders. Similarly, you can make the
Module Module Filmstrip taller or shorter by clicking the edge just below the Tool-
Panels Panels
bar and dragging up or down, respectively. Note: If you make
Filmstrip
the Filmstrip too small, the icons that appear on the thumbnails
will go away.

Each of these panel


groups can be collapsed
completely by clicking the
outside edge of the inter-
face (you don’t need to
click the actual arrow on
the outside edge). If you
Right-click the outside
edge, you’ll get a contex-
tual menu that gives you
a greater level of control.
I find the default option of
Auto Hide & Show a little
annoying, as it will auto-
matically show the pan-
els if your cursor gets too
close to the edge, and this
happens too often for my
taste. I prefer to set each
panel group to Auto Hide
instead. When you choose
Auto Hide, the panel
group automatically collapses and it won’t expand again until
you manually click the outside edge. The group will then appear individual panel view modes
at a low opacity and allow you to access everything inside that Now that you have a handle on how to manage the larger
area, but as soon as you move your cursor off the panel group, it groups, let’s take a look at what you can do with the individual
automatically hides again. This helps maximize the space devoted panels contained in the left and right panel groups.
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

to photos. To cut down on the amount of scrolling you do in a day, as


well as to only reveal the tools you need for a given job, you
managing panel groups can expand or collapse each individual panel by clicking on each
Of course, as with most things in Lightroom, there’s more than panel header (not just the arrow). As an alternative, you can
one way to get the job done. There are keyboard shortcuts for Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) any panel header to expand or
hiding and showing each panel group, but instead of giving collapse all the panels on that side in one fell swoop.
079
A really neat trick is to Option-click (PC: Alt-click) any panel You can also restore panels from the Window>Panels menu.
header to engage what is called Solo Mode. With Solo Mode You have the same level of control up in the Module
enabled, you can only open a single panel within the larger Picker, too. Right-click the Module Picker and uncheck any
panel group at a time. This makes it very easy to switch between module you no longer want to see listed there. This doesn’t
panels with minimum (if any) scrolling. As soon as you expand a remove the module completely; it removes its name from the
new panel, the last one you were using automatically collapses. Module Picker.
Option-click (PC: Alt-click) any panel header a second time to
disengage Solo Mode. Note that while the Navigator, Histogram,
and Preview panels in the various modules can be collapsed or
expanded individually, they are not included in Solo Mode or the
expand all and hide all commands.
One panel option that
most people seem to find
by accident is the ability
to completely remove
a given panel from the
panel group so that you the big picture
no longer even see its Taking a step back to look at the interface as a whole, we also
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

header label. If you Right- have the ability to switch between a few different screen modes.
click any panel header— You can find all of the modes listed under Window>Screen
except the ones noted Mode, along with their respective keyboard shortcuts. The most
above—you can simply important thing you need to know is that you can cycle through
uncheck any panel from them all one at a time by pressing Shift-F. I also want to point
the contextual menu that out that you can still access the menu bar while in Full Screen
appears and it will disap- mode. Move your cursor to the very top of the screen and the
pear from the group. Just menu bar will pop down automatically. Lightroom 5 also intro-
recheck that panel in the duced a new option called Full Screen Preview (press F) that
menu to bring it back. takes the selected photo to full screen. This is handy when you
080
› › lightroom › ›

want to clear all clutter and see nothing but your photo filling dims. Press the L key again to transition to Lights Off, where the
the screen. interface fades to black completely. I love using Lights Off in con-
One last trick up your interface sleeve is Lights Out mode. junction with the Crop Overlay tool (R) to get a real-time preview
Lights Out comes in three flavors: Lights On, Lights Dim, and of the final crop. In Lightroom (PC: Edit)>Preferences, choose the
Lights Off. Lights On is the default and is what you use all the Interface tab and you can set the Dim Level and even change the
time. Press the L key once to transition to Lights Dim, where the Lights Out color from black if you wish. Press L one last time to
selected photo(s) remains at full brightness, but the interface turn the lights back on. n

› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

081
ALL IMAGES BY ROB SYLVAN
Maximum fixing reflections
with photoshop

Workflow BY SEAN McCORMACK

The eternal question with new photogra-


phers seems to be Lightroom or Photoshop.
Lightroom is getting to the point where you
can almost do everything you need within the
program. Even portrait retouching is within
the realms of possibility, as long as you don’t
expect that high-end retouched look; however,
there are some things that need a pixel editor.
› › lightroom › ›

Combining photos is probably the most common reason that the left of the ceiling, and one in a tanning bay at the back right,
requires the need to edit pixels, as well as extensive retouching. pointing up. In fact, you can see the reflection of the bounce in the
With the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Program, it makes mirror. Moving the flash around doesn’t hide it, and it can’t really
absolute sense that the pixel editor should be Photoshop. go anywhere else without being in the shot.
It may seem odd to think of Photoshop as a Lightroom plug- I know from experience that I’ll need to shoot an additional
in, but in truth, the internal hooks between Lightroom and shot without the reflection and then combine the two images
Photoshop make for a beautiful editing partnership. When you in post. To get something that will balance with the main shot,
choose any of the Photoshop options from the Photo>Edit In I switch the camera to Tungsten white balance for the room and
menu, the file is sent to Photoshop via Camera Raw (in the case then open the shutter speed until the light in the mirror looks
of RAW files). No file is created until you make a save in Photo- similar to the flashed shot (I keep the aperture the same so
shop. After saving, the file is brought back into Lightroom auto- depth of field matches in both photos). In the case of this shoot,
matically. It’s hard to get a simpler relationship than that. I moved the camera position after the test shots.
Working in a regional city often means taking a range of jobs
that are away from your main focus. Niche markets are prob-
ably the best way to work in larger cities, but photographers in
smaller cities often need to shoot far more photography genres.
While I’m not actively seeking work in real estate, I shoot a lot of
it for the online company Airbnb, as well as for local businesses.
So let’s look at my typical workflow with Lightroom and Photo-
shop for that. Chez Elaine were kind enough to let me shoot
one of their beauty rooms for this article and provide you with
example files. Please note the files are for practice only and may
not be used in any other capacity, including online publication.
[KelbyOne members may download the files used in this tuto-
rial at http://kelbyone.com/magazine/issue/april-2014. All files are
for personal use only.]
As I was set for the mirror shot with no flash, I took this one

two-shot minimum first, then reset the camera for the flash shot. You can check out
the camera settings in the example DNG files to follow along if
Workflow really starts at the camera, making good choices
you like. The other key thing I do with real estate photography
before you even get to a computer. While shooting a prem-
is to use a tripod. This allows me to keep the camera level, and
ises, there are a number of things I do. First, I set the camera
by working at mid-room height, I can keep the camera straight
to RAW to have the most options for processing. Next, I’ll set
to avoid converging lines in the photo. Lens Corrections in Light-
a white balance. As I generally use external flashes, I’ll set it to
room can fix this, but I prefer to give myself all the chances I can
flash or daylight. Why? So the color on the back of the camera
get for a great photo.
looks close to what the final result should be.
With this work, I’m always shooting, reviewing, and moving
Based on the needs of the room, I could have two or three
lights around until I’m happy with the shots on the back of the
lights to add to the light in the room. In our example photo, I’m
camera or on a tablet. When editing, this usually means the best
using two: One clamped to the door to my right and aimed at
shots are close to the end of the set for each room. From here
you can follow along with the example files.

step one: Import the files into Lightroom. Choose the Copy
option, and in the Destination panel, Organize By Date, and set
the Date Format to 2014/03/01. This creates the date folder in-
side a month folder, which is inside the year folder. (Note: The
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

Date Format drop-down menu will show the current date, but
the folders it actually creates will be based on the dates of the
photos.) Edit the date folder name after import to add a phrase to
give an immediate sense of what’s in the folder by Right-clicking
on the folder in the Folders panel in the Library module and
choosing Rename (useful if you ever move from Lightroom!). 083
step two: Make your selections. Here, the two selects for then usually everything is ready to go. Next, select the photo with
the task are already made. In the case where you have multiple the flash-free mirror.
images to choose from, select the last six from a set and go into
Survey view (N). This lets you compare them all, side by side. step five: Here’s where the Previous button comes into
For a closer view, drop out images by hovering over them and its own. Clicking Previous copies all the settings from the main
clicking the X when it appears on the bottom-right corner of the image, keeping the mirror
image. For a screen-size view, switch to Loupe view (E) and use lined up with our corrected
the Arrow keys to move through the images. You can zoom in main image. The color tone in the mirror doesn’t match the main
futher using the Z or Spacebar keys. Mark the selects with a red photo, so cool it down with the Temp slider to get a reasonably
label (using the 6 key) to indicate the image is selected and in close match with the main photo.
need of an edit.
step six: You’re now ready to go to Photoshop. To get the
best out of the transfer, check the External Editing settings in
Lightroom (PC: Edit)>Preferences. For the highest quality results,
with the most compatibility, I recommend TIFF at 16-bit ProPhoto
RGB. If you want to work quick and dirty, 8-bit AdobeRGB will
suffice and speed up processing. Avoid editing in sRGB to keep
quality up. You can always convert the files later in Export.

step three: As Light-


room is a modular program, step seven: To get both files into Photoshop, select them
it’s best to work in that fash- in the Filmstrip, then from the Photo>Edit In menu, choose Open
ion. Do all file-related things as Layers in Photoshop. Both files will be layered on top of each
in the Library module, and other. If the flash-free mirror shot isn’t on top, move it up in the
then move into the Develop Layers panel. A neat shortcut to use is Command-[ or ] (PC: Ctrl-[
module. Select the image or ]) to move the layer up or down, especially if you’re making
taken with the two off-cam- actions. Use the Opacity slider in the Layers panel to check that
era flashes, and press D to go the mirror is correctly overlaying the one from the main shot.
to Develop, or use the Mod-
ule Picker. Go to the Lens Corrections panel on the right. Tick both
the Enable Profile Corrections and Remove Chromatic Aberration
boxes in the Basic tab. Next, try the Auto button in Upright to see
how it looks. When it works, it looks great, but it can be fooled
due to the lines in the photo. Save this as a preset (Command-N
[PC: Ctrl-N) before you make any other changes. This will speed up
future processing.
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

step four: For the over-


all look, pull back Highlights
and open Shadows in the
Basic panel. A setting of –50
in Highlights and +50 in Shad- step eight: If it isn’t, use the Move tool (V) or the Free Trans-
ows is typical. For a more HDR form tool (Command-T [PC: Ctrl-T]) to get it right. Additionally,
look, it would be –100 and you can select both layers in the Layers panel and auto align
+100, respectively. You may them via the Edit>Auto-Align Layers command. You must have
need to change White Bal- more than one layer selected for this to be available. You also
084
ance, but if you’ve lit correctly, may need to crop the photo after aligning.
› › lightroom › ›

step nine: To hide everything in the top layer except the mir- go again. Just remember, painting with white (D) on the mask
ror, get the Polygonal Lasso tool (nested under the Lasso tool [L] reveals the top layer, and painting with black (D then X) will hide
in the Toolbox) and click the top right of the mirror inside the the top layer.
frame. Next, click the bottom-right corner, and then click the
other two corners of the mirror, taking care to line up the selec- step eleven: In the
tion properly. If you make a mistake, it’s easy to restart as it’s case where the color of
only four lines. Click on your starting point to close the selection. the mirror doesn’t look
quite right, we can clip
adjustment layers to the
mirror layer. For color
changes, select the Col-
or Balance adjustment
layer (the scale icon in
the Adjustments panel),
then hold the Option
(PC: Alt) key and hover
over the line between
this layer and the mirror
layer in the Layers panel. The cursor will change to a square
with a downward-pointing arrow. Click so the Color Balance
clips to the mirror layer. This means that adjusment only affects
the underlying layer. Any further adjustment layers will auto-
matically clip to the layer, so if you need to brighten or darken
step ten: With the the mirror, a Levels or Curves layer will apply to it automatically
mirror selected, click after the initial clip is made (just click back on the layer first
the Add Layer Mask before you add another adjustment layer). You can also mask
icon (cirlce in square) at out the adjustment if required by painting on the mask with
the bottom of the Lay- the Brush tool set to black. Remove plugs and other distractions
ers panel. This creates using the Clone Stamp tool.
a mask from the selec-
tion, keeping the mirror step twelve: Finally, save the file (Command-S [PC: Ctrl-S).
and hiding the rest of Because of the connection between Lightroom and Photoshop,
the photo. If you need the file gets saved as a TIFF with “-Edit” added to the filename,
to tidy the edges, sim- and is automatically brought back into Lightroom, smoothing
ply either use the Brush your workflow. Change the label to green using the 8 key. Your
tool (B) or undo and photo is now ready for the client. n

› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

ALL IMAGES BY SEAN McCORMACK


085
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP Lightroom Section › ›

TipsTricks &
With digital photography, it’s all too easy to generate tens of
thousands of images a year. Lightroom helps you organize
those photos, but it’s up to you to add the important infor-
the “while i’m in here”
keywording strategy
SEÁN DUGGAN

Whenever I find myself working in a folder of images that have not


mation that will allow you to quickly find photos when you been keyworded, or that have only minimal keywords, I’ll take a
need them. few minutes and add more detailed keywords to those images if
time allows. Sometimes this inspires me to add keywords to images
folder naming in some of the nearby folders. And it feels so good once it’s done!
Lightroom creates default folder names based on a date format
you choose. I’ve run into plenty of people who never change using the without keywords
these numeric folder names. As the folders multiply, so do the smart collection
problems of not knowing what images they contain. If you’re Lightroom comes with several smart collections that have been
really good about keywords, then this might not matter so much, configured by the helpful folks on the Lightroom development
but I reccommend renaming folders as soon as possible after im- team. Smart collections are automatically populated by metadata
port. To do this, Right-click on the folder name in the Library and can be useful to track images based on a variety of criteria.
module and choose Rename. Keep the date, since that can be One of the default smart collections is for images Without Key-
useful, but add some brief info about location or subject matter. words. By automatically gathering all the files that have no key-
Any text field, including file and folder names, can be searched words, it provides a direct shortcut for you to see which images
in Lightroom, so having a few essential words in the folder name need some keyword love.
may help to locate an image. I name my folders with the date
and a short description of the event, location, or subject. For in-
stance, 140318_DeathValley tells me the folder contains images
made on March 18, 2014, in Death Valley National Park (the date
is based on a YY/MM/DD format).

keywords, keywords, keywords


Yes, it takes extra time, and it’s not as exciting as the Develop
module, but the time you spend adding keywords to your im- stars and collections
ages will be repaid many times over with all the time you save by Keywords help you find images based on visual information in the
quickly finding the images you need, when you need them. Add image. Star ratings help you find images based on quality. Taking
a few basic keywords (e.g., location, event, subject, etc.) upon the time to add stars to your standout images will make it easier
import in the Apply During Import panel on the right side of the to find your best work. To add a star rating, select a photo and
Import dialog. press 1 through 5 on your keyboard. To add a star and advance
Once the images are imported, apply additional and more automatically to the next photo, add the Shift key when pressing
descriptive keywords as needed in the Keywording panel on the the number.
right side of the Library module. The level of keyword detail you Press the Backslash key (\) to do a filter search for all your three
need will depend on how you use your images. Think of the star and higher images (look under Attribute). This will drastically
most useful terms to help you find an image: location, subject narrow the size of the haystack when you’re looking for your
name, content description, client name, etc. If you’re a stock best shots. And placing some of those higher-rated images in
photographer, or you use images in collages, the more detailed collections organized by subject, such as Best Landscapes or Best
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

you can get, the better. Portraits, is another way to have them easily accessible.

filter for metadata information


Finding images using keywords and ratings is pretty obvious, and
it’s how most people track down specific images. But for another
way to search, consider using the Metadata section of the Library
module’s Filter Bar. This allows you to search using a wide range
of criteria, including date, lens, focal length, aperture, shutter
speed, location, etc. I often like to shoot using long exposures, so
this gives me a quick way to see a group of images that were all
086 shot with a specific shutter speed. n
© Richard Walch
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COLUMN › ›

Creative Point of View KATRIN EISMANN


less is more
Less is often more effective, and fewer tones can create powerful and compelling images that intrigue the eye
with the mystery of dark shadows, eye-catching shapes, and bright highlights. The simplicity of the silhouette
belies its visual sophistication as it relies upon strong graphical composition and carefully considered use of the
image frame.

Steps for Silhouette Success To create an in-camera silhouette versus creating it in Photo-
To create strong silhouettes follow these tips. Choose a shop, Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), or Lightroom, follow these
subject whose shape and/or gesture is strong enough to recommendations the next time you’re out at sunset. Set the
emote and intrigue without shadow details. Place the sub- camera to a low ISO, such as 100 or 200. Working in Manual
ject in front of the light source, such as a beautiful sunset. exposure mode, point the camera at the light source—in most
Get down low so that the background plays an important cases the sky or, in this example, the snowy hill—and adjust
role and take the photo. the shutter and aperture settings to create a correct exposure
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

088
› › CREATIVE POINT OF VIEW

for the light source. This will be your exposure setting for the
image. Note: Please do not point the camera at the sun while
looking through the viewfinder as it could seriously damage
your eye!
Take a test shot and if the subject is not a complete silhouette,
use exposure compensation to underexpose (make darker) by
1–2 stops. Frame the shot and make sure to focus on the subject
(not the background), and take the picture. In most cases, I shoot
silhouettes at f/11, which will ensure that the figure and often
the background are both in focus. Experiment with framing and
composition by moving as you shoot, and concentrate on the
graphical impact of your images in the viewfinder.
The image of the saxophone player was shot with an Apple
iPhone 5 and processed with Snapseed by Nik Software. Even
when shooting with a phone, I was already visualizing what the
final image would look like, which influenced how I composed
and exposed the initial image.

Studio Silhouettes
Creating silhouettes in the studio is ideal for graphical subjects
such as glassware. To create studio silhouettes, use the primary
light source—usually a large softbox—as the background and,
if needed, use a soft white reflector such as white foamcore to
bounce some light back onto the subject. In the case of studio
silhouettes, simpler is better and, in this example of the wine
glasses, which I treated as a sculpture, I opted to add the blue
tone in Lightroom.
Backlighting people can be just as effective and can be
accomplished with a large softbox or, in this example, with a
large white silk in the window that softened the warm light of
the sunset over the Pacific Ocean.

Software Silhouettes
To enhance your silhouette shots in Adobe Camera Raw
or Lightroom, experiment with the following tips.

Basic panel: Do not use the Auto setting in ACR or Light-


room, as the software will lighten the dark areas of the
image and offset the desired silhouette effect. Carefully
adjust the Exposure slider to refine the sky or light source,
then decrease Shadows by approximately –30 and the
Blacks by –10. Next, increase Clarity up to +50 to add
pleasing snap to the image, and increase Vibrance up to
+40 to saturate the background colors for greater impact.
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

Detail panel: View the image at 1:1 (or 100%) and, if needed,
use the Noise Reduction controls in the Detail panel to
smooth the image. Adjust the Luminance slider up to 25
and the Color slider up to 40. After reducing the noise,

089
CREATIVE POINT OF VIEW › ›

apply subtle input sharpen- room). Use the Graduated


ing with Amount set to 50, Filter tool (press G in ACR;
Radius to 1.0, and leave Detail press M in Lightroom) to
at the default of 25. Very importantly, press the Option balance and saturate the
(PC: Alt) key while increasing the Masking slider to see image background.
the edge mask and make sure that only the edges of the
subject are in white. In the times of bigger is bet-
ter and more is more better
Selective adjustments: Crop the image with the Crop tool (C) in (and grammatically incorrect!), take a moment to return to
ACR, or the Crop Overlay tool (R) in Lightroom. Clean up any the essence of image composition: light, color, and form
dust, distractions, or defective pixels with the Spot Removal with image silhouettes, which are visually sophisticated and
tool (press B to access in in ACR; press Q to access it in Light- simultaneously a lot of fun to experiment with. n
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

090
ALL IMAGES BY KATRIN EISMANN
power
the

you need
Over the years, Intel is a name I’ve Your most demanding tasks have met their
match – the 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7

always trusted to get me top-of- processor — the perfect engine for power
users. It helps optimize your workflow

the-line performance when editing and maximize your productivity while


offering unparalleled performance. Unleash
your digital creativity with a richer and
my photos. And now, with the smoother experience. The only thing more
amazing than Intel® technology is what you
new Intel Core i7 processor, I know will do with it.

I’ll be able to power through my

photography workflow faster and

more creatively than ever.”


Matt Kloskowski
Professional Photographer, Author, Photography
& Photoshop Instructor & NAPP “Photoshop Guy”

[ for hardcore creatives ]


©2013 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Core, Intel Inside Intel Insider, are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
Photopraghy courtesy of iStockphoto, and Matt Kloskowski.
DYNAMIC RANGE › ›

IN G VID
IT E

ED

O
By Rod Harlan

A lot of photographers shooting video with their cameras don’t have a dedicated video-
editing app such as Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro to edit their videos to perfection.
Fortunately, Adobe Photoshop has had video-editing features built in since CS3. In this article,
we’ll get you editing video like a pro!

PLACE A CLIP
First, you have to get your video into Photoshop. The easiest way
is to drag-and-drop your clip right onto the PS icon. You can also
choose File>Open and navigate to the video clip on your hard drive
or use Bridge or Mini Bridge (Window>Extensions>Mini Bridge) to
import clips into Photoshop. No matter which method you choose,
Photoshop creates a new document the size of your video and adds
› › photoshop user › April 2014

the clip to a video track in the Timeline panel. You’ll also notice that
Photoshop creates a Video Group in the Layers panel and places your
clip inside this group.

092 Images: iStock Layout Design: Taffy Clifford


TRIM A CLIP

1
The next thing you’re probably going to want to do is trim your clip
to only show that perfect moment. Luckily, trimming a clip is as easy
as clicking-and-dragging its start or end point. As you hover your
cursor over either end of a clip, your cursor turns into a bracket with
a double-sided arrow. As you drag, you’ll see a video preview of the
frame you’re trimming.
If you click the little triangle at the top right of your clip, you’ll
open a panel with additional video and audio features. Click the
Video icon to enter a precise duration for the clip along with
playback speed, or click the Audio icon to set the volume of the
clip, as well as fade-in and fade-out times. You can also mute the
audio entirely.

MOVE YOUR PLAYHEAD


The playhead (sometimes referred to as the timeline marker) is the
vertical line that shows you exactly where you are in the clip. When it
comes to moving the playhead to a specific time, you can use the play-
back control icons at the top left of the Timeline panel to move the
playhead, or simply click-and-drag it to move it manually. While those
are the most common ways of moving the playhead, they’re not the
only ones. Depending on the task at hand, you might prefer to: click
anywhere on the time ruler to reposition the playhead to that point;
double-click the timecode display at the bottom left of the Timeline
panel to launch the Set Current Time dialog where you’ll enter a time
or frame number; place your cursor over the timecode display and
when it turns to a double-headed arrow, click-and-drag to move the
› › KELBYONE.com

playhead left or right; or choose Go To>Time from the Timeline pan-


el’s flyout menu at the top right to enter a specific time. Many times
these other options for moving the playhead can be very useful when
recording an action or editing a clip from someone else’s notes.

093
2
SPLIT A VIDEO CLIP
Sometimes you’ll need to split a clip, whether it’s too long or because
you only need a section of it. To split a video clip, simply select it on
the timeline and then position the playhead where you want the clip
to split. Then, click the icon that looks like a pair of scissors near the
top left of the Timeline panel to split at the playhead. The split adds a
new video layer in the Video Group at the top of the layer stack and
automatically names it “[layer name] copy.”

REMOVE A SECTION OF VIDEO


To remove a section of video from a longer clip, you need to set its work area.
First, drag the video layer outside of the Video Group onto its own layer in
the Layers panel. Next, you need to define the work area by locating the work

3
area sliders that are located directly below the time ruler near the top of the
Timeline panel (little gray bars with two short lines in the middle). Then, drag
the sliders to select only the part of the clip you want to work with.
Another way is to position the playhead at your start point and then
choose Work Area>Set Start at Playhead from the Timeline panel’s flyout
menu. Then reposition the playhead and choose Work Area>Set End at Play-
head from the same menu.
› › photoshop user › April 2014

Once you have the work area defined, you have a couple of choices
to make. Do you want to cut out an area of the clip and leave a gap in
the middle to fill with something else, or do you want to have the two
separated areas join to make one seamless clip? If you want to be left with
a gap, go to the Timeline panel’s flyout menu and choose Work Area>Lift
Work Area. This divides the original clip into two clips and leaves a gap in
the middle the length of your work area. However, if you choose Work
Area>Extract Work Area it will also divide the clip into two parts, but it will
remove the gap and play both pieces seamlessly instead.

094
ADD A TRANSITION
Now it’s time to add a transition to your project, connect- change the duration by entering a number into the
ing two or more clips. To begin, simply click the Select a field or by using the slider (available by clicking the
Transition icon (it looks like a half-black, half-gray square) down-pointing triangle). You can also change the
and choose a transition style and duration from the tran- transition style using the drop-down menu.
sitions menu. Then drag it to the beginning or end of the But, for simplicity’s sake, I prefer to just drag
clip you want to add it to. You’ll see a little transition icon the edges of the transition to lengthen or shorten
appear directly on the clip. If all you want to do is fade in the duration. It’s not as precise, but it’s a whole
or fade out the clip, then you’re done. lot faster. And you can even Option-drag (PC: Alt-
However, if you want your transition to connect drag) to adjust the length symmetrically from each
two clips, you have a little more work ahead of you. end if you so choose. Lastly, to delete a transition,
First, drag the transition style you want between two select it in the timeline and then press the Delete key
clips that are on the same track in the timeline and (PC: Backspace).
notice how the transition icons appear as if you’ve
dropped the transition on both clips at once. Now
you can simply Right-click on the transition’s icon and
adjust the Duration from the shortcut menu. You can

4
HIDE CLIPS
When you have too many layers in Photoshop, it can be helpful to
hide certain layers for a better workflow; the same can be said for
too many video clips. You first need to select one or more clips and
set them as favorites by choosing Show>Set Favorite Clips from the
Timeline panel’s flyout menu. This will automatically turn on Show>
Favorite Clips Only, which will hide other clips from sight. Choose
Show>All Clips to reveal the hidden clips.

SHOW TRACK PROPERTIES


Last, but certainly not least, is the ability to expand a track to work
with layer properties that can be animated. These include the posi-
tion and opacity of an image, text layer, or layer mask, among others.
To get to these additional properties, simply click the disclosure trian-
gle to the left of the track name for an expanded panel showing each
of the layer properties individually. ■
› › kelbyone.com

095
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HOW-TO › ›

Photographer's Notebook KEVIN AMES

As film was tied to wet chemical processing, digital photography and Photoshop are inextricably linked today.
There is one element in common in both the old way and the new—light. Let’s talk light and Camera Raw
this time in the “Photographer’s Notebook.”

The media that records light in our cameras has undergone a In other words, both walls will be very close to 12.5% gray.
change that was impossible to fathom a generation ago. Today’s There are powerful algorithms in the camera’s computer that
DSLRs capture more information in finer detail than was possible do a pretty good job of guessing what a shooter is going for.
in all but the largest format film cameras. The new media, digital, When you aim the camera at a subject framed against the sky,
has upended traditional photography as much as the Internet has the camera says to itself, “That’s a silhouette. My owner most
changed the ways we communicate and gather information. The likely wants detail in it. I’ll handle that by adding at least two
rate of change is so fast that it’s impossible to stay current. One stops of light.” That’s great for the casual user, but what if the
thing that hasn’t changed since the beginning of time is light. photographer actually wanted a silhouette? Then a camera in
Light is still at version 1.0. “Photo,” the first word of “photog- an automatic exposure mode won’t play nice.
raphy,” means light. The way light works in photography is the This is why cameras have exposure compensation dials. Of
same as it has always been. course, you have to know how much to compensate. The good
Understanding how to measure light for photography is really news is that with practice, we can get pretty darn good at out-
important. So is including a reference for color correction and guessing our camera’s programming, then refining the exposure
nailing exposure. There are reasons why what we photograph in Adobe Camera Raw or the Develop module in Lightroom. The
doesn’t always appear on the screen the way we see it with downside is that custom exposure (and color) tweaks take lots
our eyes. and lots of time in front of the computer.

Reflective Meters Intention


Our camera’s light meters see everything as 12.5% gray. Shoot Intent is the “I meant to do that” of photography. It’s the use
a white wall and it will be almost three stops underexposed; of tools to create the photograph envisioned in the imagina-
shoot a black wall and it will be at least two stops overexposed. tion. Consider these three silhouettes. They’re all made with
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

Shot as metered +2 f-stops +3 2/3 f-stops


098
› › PHOTOGRAPHER'S NOTEBOOK

the same lighting. Each is a different exposure. The first one is Postproduction
the 12.5% that results with a spot reading on the slight parting Download the samples folder from the KelbyOne member web-
between the sheers. The red circles show the metered areas. site. Navigate to the sample folder in Bridge. The warm tungsten
The next is the true silhouette. It has a very light background, light from inside the church is the source of illumination. I mea-
yet the sheers still have detail. Last is the one exposed for the sured it with my incident meter by pointing the dome toward the
subject. Technically, it’s overexposed by almost three stops. The light from the bride’s position. I set the exposure on the camera.
important question is which one is the intentional one? A window behind the bride gives a cool highlight on her hair and
shoulder. I didn’t bother metering this light. To my eye, the light
Incident Meters is too warm. Her white dress isn’t white at all.
Incident meters are the one’s with the white dome. Aim the [KelbyOne members may download the files used in this
dome at the source of light, take the reading, then set it on the tutorial at http://kelbyone.com/magazine/issue/march-2014.
camera when it’s in Manual mode. The exposure is for the light All files are for personal use only.]
falling on the subject, eliminating the confusion of reflected
metering. When the exposure for the amount of light falling on Step One: Select all of the DNG files (Command-A [PC: Ctrl-A]),
the subject is set on the camera, the white wall will be white then press Command-R (PC: Ctrl-R) to open them in Camera
and the black wall will be black without any guesswork regard- Raw. Click the Select All button at the top of the filmstrip. The
ing exposure. Incident meter readings can be a huge move first file is the ColorChecker Passport photo. Press the S key to
toward shooting with intent in photography. choose the Color Sampler tool. Click the white patch at the top
of the leftmost column on the Passport to set the #1 sampler;
click on the second patch to place the #2 sampler.

Two Steps Before Shooting


Cut down on the amount of time at the computer correcting
exposure and color by adding two simple steps to your photog- Step Two: Sampler #2 is used to neutralize the color. In this
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

raphy. First, use an incident meter to set the exposure. Second, case, it’s very orange (R:234, G:222, B:204). Your numbers may
include an X-Rite ColorChecker Passport in the first shot you vary slightly from these. Press I to select the White Balance tool.
take after every incident reading. Click inside the #2 white patch. The colors are neutralized (R:237,
The first step eliminates exposure variables. The second G:238, B:237). When the numbers are the same or just a couple
provides a method of refining the exposure and correcting or of points apart, there’s no color cast. The dress is now much
enhancing color. closer to white. 099
PHOTOGRAPHER'S NOTEBOOK › ›

Step Three: The #1 patch is for exposure. In the Basic tab, drag images. Hover the cursor over the first patch. Press the Period
the Exposure slider to the right until the brightest number is 245. key on your keyboard until the word “Exposure” is highlighted
This ensures that the highlights will have detail in print or on in the Basic panel. Now the Exposure slider is controlled by the
a monitor. The changes are made to all of the selected files. The + or – keys. Press the + key until the exposure numbers under
increase in Exposure is less than a third of a stop. the Histogram read between 96% and 97%.

Shooting and Editing Process in Review


On a shoot, walk up to your subject and chat a bit while taking an
incident meter reading. Do this for each new lighting situation. Set
that reading on the camera, then have the subject hold the Color­
Checker Passport. Zoom in, take a shot with the ColorChecker,
shoot the set of photos, move to a new location, and repeat.
When you’re in front of the computer, click on the first of
the ColorChecker images. Scroll through the set until you reach
the next ColorChecker. Hold down the Shift key and click the
thumbnail of the image just before it. Do Steps One through
Three above. Go to the next ColorChecker and repeat.
Let’s say you shoot 700 photos during an event in fifteen
different situations. That’s close to 45 images per setup. Instead
of correcting 700 individual photos, this way you can correct
45 images very accurately and very quickly thanks to the
inci­dent meter and ColorChecker Passport. It takes me less
than a minute to tweak each set. Fifteen minutes for 700 shots—
not bad!
In Lightroom My personal favorite incident meters are made by Sekonic:
This works in Lightroom in much the same way. If you work in the L-758DR and L-478DR. Light doesn’t change, so these meters
Lightroom, import the sample photos, and select all of them will be useful for many years to come unlike our cameras or com-
with Command-A (PC: Ctrl-A). The White Balance tool’s short- puters. Best of all, they both read flash as well as ambient light.
cut is W. In the Develop module, click on the switch next to the
Sync button at the bottom of the right side panels to turn on
Auto Sync. Click on the second patch to neutralize all of the

Change is constant. It’s part of growing and evolving. It’s life. I’ve
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

had the privilege and fun of writing this column for Photoshop
User for eleven and a half years. This entry closes the covers of
the “Photographer’s Notebook.” It’s shared a lot of Photoshop
techniques over the years that I hope you’ve used profitably.
Now, it’s time for another change. Photoshop User is evolving, as
am I. From time to time, I’ll be back in these pages writing about
topics photographic, digital, and light. This isn’t goodbye; it’s just
farewell for now. Keep up with me at kevinamesphotography
.com, facebook.com/KevinAmesPhotography, and photofocus
.com. Keep shooting no matter what changes come your way.
100 Remember, change is always good. n
ALL IMAGES BY KEVIN AMES
Rescue the Details.

BEFORE © Gary Lamott AFTER

You don’t have to be a pro to get results like this.


This image was enhanced using the proprietary technology found
in the Topaz plug-ins. Tools such as adaptive exposure, selective
saturation and advanced masking extend beyond what can be
found in Photoshop, saving time and most importantly producing
extraordinary results.

See the steps taken to transform this image


topazlabs.com/psuser-lake
KEY CONCEPTS › › Clone Stamp tool Healing Brush tool Layer masks

Beyond Photoshop SCOTT ONSTOTT


animating a fresco, part 1
In this article, you’ll extract the figures in one of the world’s most famous frescos from their plaster background
so that they can ultimately be animated in parts 2 and 3 of this series. It will require some careful retouching to
fill in what Michelangelo didn’t actually paint.

Step One: Open Creation of Adam.jpg. Our first task is to


remove extraneous features from the image, such as the col-
umn capitals in the corners and elements from another fresco
seen in the lower left. Start by selecting the Crop tool (C). Select
Ratio from the drop-down on the Options Bar and check Delete
Cropped Pixels. Drag the top-middle handle down slightly to
remove the top edge, and drag the middle-right handle to the
left to remove the edge there. Click the Commit icon (check-
mark) in the Options Bar.
Step One
[KelbyOne members may download the files used in this
tutorial at http://kelbyone.com/magazine/issue/april-2014.
The download also includes the series’ completed animation.
All files are for personal use only.]

Step Two: Double-click the Background layer, type “Backdrop”


as the name in the New Layer dialog, and click OK. Choose Edit>
Free Transform, position the cursor inside the fresco, and Right-
click. Select Distort from the contextual menu that appears, drag
the lower-left handle straight down to remove the unwanted
edge from the bottom of the image, and press Enter. Step Two

Step Three: Our next task is to repair the cracks in the 500-year-
old plaster of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. It will be more straight-
forward to eventually synthesize crack-free plaster under the
figures than trying to paint our own new cracks. Select the Spot
Healing Brush tool (J) and choose the Content-Aware button in
the Options Bar. Select a soft (0% Hardness) round brush from
the Brush Picker drop-down and adjust its size to 10 pixels by
pressing the Bracket keys. Paint over each crack to repair the
Step Three
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

digital plaster.

Step Four: Choose the Quick Selection tool (W) and paint over
Adam. Decrease the brush size with the Left Bracket key ([) and
paint over any narrow areas, such as his fingers, to include them
in the selection. Hold the Option (PC: Alt) key and paint over any
areas that were selected that are not part of Adam.

Step Five: Click the Refine Edge button on the Options Bar.
Press W to view the selection against white and then press B to
102 view it on black. Select Smart Radius and increase the Radius to Step Four
continued on p. 104
› › BEYOND PHOTOSHOP

› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

103
BEYOND PHOTOSHOP › ›

1.9 pixels. Increase Smooth to 10 and Contrast to 28%. Check


Decontaminate Colors, select New Layer with Layer Mask from
the Output To drop-down, and click OK.

Step Six: Rename the new layer “Adam” and zoom in on any
area where the mask might not be perfect, such as Adam’s out-
stretched hand. Select the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers
panel, select the Brush tool (B), and press D then X to set black
as the Foreground color. Paint over areas you wish to mask.
Press X to exchange the Foreground and Background colors.
Paint over any areas where you might have masked too much,
thereby revealing them again. Proceeding in this fashion, isolate
Step Five
Adam from the background. Tip: It can be helpful to create
a temporary Solid Color fill layer (Layer>New Fill Layer>Solid
Color) and place it under the Adam layer to help you see what
needs to be masked or revealed.

Step Seven: Make the Backdrop layer visible and active, and
hide the Adam layer by clicking on its Eye icon in the Layers
panel (hide the Color Fill layer, too, if you created one). Continu-
ing in the same way as you did for Adam in Steps Four through
Six, extract God & Company onto a new layer with a layer mask.
Rename this new layer “God.” Right-click the Adam mask and Step Eight

choose Apply Layer Mask from the contextual menu. Repeat


this for the God layer mask. Toggle the God layer off and the
Backdrop layer back on in the Layers panel.

Step Eight: Hold the Command (PC: Ctrl) key and click the God
layer thumbnail to load it as a selection. Hold Shift-Command
(PC: Shift-Ctrl) and click on the Adam layer to add it to the selec-
tion. Make the Backdrop layer active and press the Delete key
(PC: Backspace).

Step Nine: Choose Edit>Fill, select Content-Aware in the Use Step Ten
drop-down menu, and click OK. Press Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D)
to deselect. Use the Clone Stamp tool (S) and Spot Healing Brush
tool to retouch the filled backdrop as necessary.

Step Ten: Choose Image>Canvas Size. Select the middle-left


Anchor button and check Relative. Change the units drop-
downs to Pixels and type 25 in the Width box. Click OK to add
25 px to the right edge. Select the Magic Wand tool (nested
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

under the Quick Selection tool in the Toolbox) and click in


this new area to select it. Choose Edit>Fill and click OK. Press
Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect. Make the God layer vis-
ible and active and select the Brush tool. Sample the color of
the billowing drapery by holding Option (PC: Alt) and clicking
a point on the fabric. Paint in the missing curve of the drapery
along the right edge.

In the end you have extracted Adam and God from the back-
drop and retouched Michelangelo’s famous fresco in prepara-
104 tion for animating it in parts 2 and 3. n Step Eleven
You too, can talk nerdy like Joe.
Learn more about your member
benefits at Kelbyone.com
Product Reviews

Sound Forge Pro Mac 2


Sound Editing for Video Enthusiasts
Review by Erik Vlietinck

Sony’s Sound Forge Pro Mac 2 sound editor was released in


February, and it has impressive sound codec support, includ-
ing FLAC and MP4 video. Other improved features include an
Auto Trim/Crop tool, a Volume plug-in, broadcast CALM loud-
ness compliant metering, Event Mode improvements, and a
new iZotope plug-in (Nectar Elements). Also brand new is the
Convrt Batch Processing Automation Tool, which is a separate
batch app.
A Sony representative once told me the biggest difference
between amateur video and a professional movie is the quality sounds with the well-known iZotope quality and ease of use,
of the sound. Even with a RØDE NTG3 shotgun microphone, which is great for sprucing up voice recordings.
your sound recording may not be exactly perfect without In Event Mode, you can work with parts, or events, of your
some serious editing. In addition, most video can be made a sound file nondestructively. This mode has been improved
lot more appealing by adding sound effects and music. Sony’s in that you can now easily convert regions—selected sound
sound editor allows you to manipulate sound and audio like snippets—to events. The snap-to behavior that you can turn
nothing else that currently exists on the Mac OS X platform. on makes processing easier and faster with less retries. What’s
There are two versions to buy. The app by itself comes with even better is that you can lock markers, region markers, and
200 Blastwave FX sound effects. Buying the Audio Master envelope points to events, as well. If you’re in Event Mode and
Suite for Mac also gets you SpectraLayers Pro 2 and 25 great- you drag an event to another location on the timeline, you can
sounding Production Music tracks to download for free. The now drag all those markers and envelope points with it, which
latter are high-quality 10-, 30-, and 60-second clips, as well as saves a lot of time and aggravation.
the full-length audio tracks for use with cinematic and other Finally, Sound Forge Pro Mac 2 now has a customizable
video projects. toolbar. This version also comes with an assistant app, the Con-
Given its sound-editing capabilities that fit in well with vert Batch Processing Automation Tool. This app converts most
video enhancement, it’s a pity Sound Forge Pro Mac 2 won’t known sound file formats and allows you to set metadata and
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

yet allow you to play your video in the app itself, although use filters in the process.
it does enable you to set its timing to SMPTE video formats, Sound Forge Pro Mac 2 is, in my opinion, the best sound
including 24 frames per second film sync, and NTSC and PAL editor currently available for the Mac. It’s extremely powerful
TV formats. and has features that set it apart from all others. ■
For broadcasting, new loudness meters allow companies
and producers to comply with the Commercial Advertisement Company: Sony Creative Software Price: $299.95;
Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM). FLAC and CAF file format Audio Master Suite: $499.95
support is a boon. Auto trimming and cropping and sound vol-
Web: www.sonycreativesoftware.com Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
ume processing are extremely useful for voice-overs and come
Hot: Nondestructive editing; CALM metering; 192 kHz, 64-bit capability
with customizable fade-in/-out settings. The iZotope Nectar
Not: Can’t view video in app; no Final Cut Pro X XML support
106 Elements plug-in allows you to optimize—or play with—vocal
› › GET THE SCOOP ON THE LATEST GEAR

Epson Exhibition Watercolor Paper


Quality Feel, Great Texture, and High dMax
Review by Steve Baczewski

Epson recently added Exhibition Watercolor Paper, a traditional,


mould-processed paper, to their signature collection. It’s a thick
(22 ml), heavy (310 gsm), highly textured 100% cotton-fiber paper
that’s OBA-, acid-, and lignin-free. Because it’s OBA-free, the paper
white is slightly warm. Epson states that it has a dMax of 2.3, feature and my calibrated display, the results were impressive.
which is the densest black I know of on a watercolor paper from The paper is capable of a relatively wide dynamic range; rich,
any manufacturer. saturated colors; deep blacks; and smooth gradients. Despite its
In general, when compared to gloss or semigloss, watercolor or highly textured surface, my images still retained a lot of sharpness
matte papers have a smaller dynamic range, blacks aren’t as dense, and detail, and the paper was especially effective for portraits.
colors aren’t as vibrant and, because of their inherent texture, they The distinctive look and feel of this paper is so wonderful that
show less of your image’s detail. But, if the image is right, Exhibi- it’s a shame to put it under glass. I recommend buying a box of
tion Watercolor Paper hits the spot. 8.5x11" (available in roll and sheet), and see if some of your images
Inside the box, Epson placed the printable side up to make it look better with this rich, highly textured watercolor paper. ■
easier to discern the coated side of the paper. I downloaded the
Epson-designated ICC profile and, to demonstrate the paper’s Company: Epson America, Inc. Price: Varies by sheet or roll size
capabilities, I used a standard print test target of a variety of sub- Web: www.epson.com Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
jects that included landscapes, skin tones, color, and black-and-
Hot: Rich colors and blacks
white patches. Using the Epson HDR print set, I printed on an
Not: Expensive
Epson Stylus Pro 7900. With the Adobe Lightroom soft-proofing

PDF2ID v4
Convert PDF and XPS Files into InDesign Files
Review by David Creamer

PDF2ID has come a long way since version 2 was last reviewed
in Layers magazine (September/October 2009, p. 93). The new
version 4 is exclusively for InDesign CC, although the previous Both plug-ins converted the file, but each had advantages.
version is available for InDesign CS4–CS6. (The v4 license allows Recosoft did better with tables, linking text frames, and retain-
you to install the older version on the same system.) ing layers. Markzware did a better job of maintaining the origi-
New features include a 64-bit version, which makes sense con- nal look of the layout, but no text linking. I wasn’t completely
sidering InDesign is now 64 bit, and the ability to convert Microsoft happy with either program’s method of naming the paragraph
XPS files (XPS is Microsoft’s attempt to replace Adobe PDF). Many and character styles.
of the improvements aren’t directly noticeable by the user, such as As of now, there’s not a perfect PDF-to-InDesign conversion
better text frame linking and more accurate text wrap. tool, but Recosoft does a good job of getting most of the job
I ran a test on a fairly complex PDF, made from an existing done. One major edge it has is the options panel and font-substi-
InDesign layout, then converted the PDF using PDF2ID and the tution panel. Recosoft PDF2ID comes in many flavors, including
similar plug-in from Markzware. The Recosoft plug-in has the a $99 version available through the Adobe Exchange panel in
advantage of user settings, including the ability to create a default InDesign, and a server-based Enterprise version. ■
font-substitution list (a benefit when converting PDFs using Arial or
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

Helvetica to the OpenType Helvetica Std.). One nice feature dealing Company: Recosoft Corporation Price: Lite: $99; Standard: $199;
with graphics is the ability to recombine graphics into a single Professional: $299
image. This is especially useful for raster images that have been Web: www.recosoft.com Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
sliced into small sections then converted to PDF, and for vector
Hot: Easy-to-use conversion plug-in
files, which usually are broken into many pieces. Paragraph rules
Not: Some layout fidelity issues
are now supported, too. 107
REVIEWS › ›

Fundy Designer with Album Builder 6


A Quantum Leap Forward
Review by Michael Corsentino

Thanks to Fundy Album Builder 6, photo album design will never


be the same. After five iterations, Fundy has left the Photoshop
panel nest and become a robust, stand-alone application with flyout menu of buttons along their right side to control the
game-changing Drop Zone technology that takes 30 years of way images are handled by the Drop Zone they’re in.
old-school album design practices and turns them on their head. When the overall album design is complete, users have
Drop Zones are essentially free-floating image containers that access to another Album Builder 6 first—the Shuffle Design
can be dynamically resized, allowing endless custom designs in button. Clicking this button in Planner View (the intersecting
a matter of seconds. This flexibility and fluidity make the design arrows button on the Spread flyout menu) shuffles or remixes
process intuitive and rapid. the design by pulling from 12 million possible layouts. If you’d
Album Builder 6 represents a quantum leap forward in like to see even more design options at the same time, clicking
design freedom, speed, and flexibility. Until now, album-design the Quick Design Picker button (the grid icon on the Spread
software has required selecting templates containing a series flyout menu) opens the Quick Design Picker screen and displays
of predefined image openings, such as two horizontals, one a 12-up view of different layout choices. This screen also con-
vertical, and so on. The problem with this arrangement is that tains a Shuffle Design button and Flip Design button that can
finding a template that’s even close to a good fit is not only be used to remix each of the 12 layouts at once, providing an
time-consuming, but images are forced to adapt to the layout infinite number of layout choices.
rather than images dictating the layout. Album Builder 6’s Drop The real magic happens when exploring the custom use
Zone technology changes all that by replacing an incredible of Drop Zones in Designer View. Designer View is also where
12 million templates with prebuilt designs and enables unlim- you’ll find the Micro Controls over each image contained in a
ited custom designs. Users have access to built-in album sizes spread’s Drop Zone. Controls include cropping, built-in black-
from 58 of the industry’s top album companies. and-white and sepia conversions, access to external editors,
Album Builder 6’s paradigm shift is the use of the layout and many others. The use of linked proxy images also makes
Drop Zones that dynamically adapt to your image additions and must-have features such as batch exporting, batch processing,
deletions on the fly and make drag-and-drop designing a snap. and reimporting linked images easy. The dynamic nature of
During import into Album Builder 6, images are converted into Drop Zones also means a square album layout can instantly
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

small proxies linked to their original high-resolution counterparts be repurposed into a vertical album layout with the click of
(similar to smart previews in Lightroom 5). Proxies not only keep a button. Fundy Direct, coming this September, will allow
the Album Builder 6 design environment light and nimble, but users to send albums to print with companies such as Black
also allow an entire album to be designed without the original River Imaging, Miller’s, Renaissance, Nations Photo Lab, ProDPI,
photos present—prefect when working remotely. Finao, Bay Photo, and many others. ■
Album Builder 6 has three main workspaces: Planner View,
the Quick Design Picker, and Designer View. Initial layouts are Company: Fundy Software Price: $329
created in Planner View via the new drag-and-drop interface. Web: www.fundysoftware.com Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
Planner View also provides a bird’s-eye view of your entire
Hot: Drop Zone technology takes album design to the next level
design and allows images to be dragged-and-dropped from
Not:
108 one spread to another. Spreads in Planner View each have a
› › GET THE SCOOP ON THE LATEST GEAR

Focus 2 Pro
Bokeh on Demand
Review by Michael Corsentino

We’re going to Boca! Sorry, I couldn’t resist the Florida joke. But
seriously, we photographers love bokeh, the lens effect created
by shooting with lenses at their wider apertures. Bokeh creates
beautiful soft backgrounds, thus calling attention to a very shal-
low area of sharp focus in the foreground. However, what are
photographers to do when they’re unable to capture this effect With five adjustment modules providing presets for con-
in camera, when the light isn’t right, when the wish for bokeh trolling focus and blur for five of the most common types of
becomes an afterthought, or a missed opportunity? Enter subject matter—Portrait, Nature, Architecture, Macro, Tilt-Shift,
Macphun Software’s Focus 2 Pro. and a Custom module—there’s something for everyone. Within
Macphun Software, lead by Nik Software alumni, has created each preset module there’s a host of customizable controls, as
a suite of new pro and nonpro applications and apps offering well, via sliders governing individual attributes.
something for everyone at very compelling prices. Through its Additional controls beyond focus and blur—including Vignette,
simple and straightforward interface, Focus 2 Pro helps users Contrast, Highlights, Saturation, Brightness, Sharpen, Clarity,
expertly place and control background blur and foreground focus and Vividness—help round out Focus 2 Pro, making it a worthy
using a variety of customizable presets and intuitive tools. The pro and multifaceted addition to your imaging tool kit. ■
version functions as a stand-alone application supporting RAW,
TIFF, PSD, PNG, and JPEG file formats. Focus 2 Pro can also be Company: Macphun Software Price: $39
used in conjunction with the other Macphun professional applica- Web: www.macphun.com Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
tions—Snapheal Pro, Intensify Pro, and FX Photo Studio Pro—or
Hot: Interface; intuitive, customizable controls; professional results
it can be used as a plug-in in Photoshop, Photoshop Elements,
Not:
Lightroom, and Aperture.

HP ZBook 14 Mobile Workstation


World’s First Workstation Ultrabook
Review by Bruce Bicknell

For those who need a thin, lightweight, fast laptop, the new
HP ZBook 14 Mobile Workstation may be for you. At 3.57 lbs,
this lightweight fighter packs a heavyweight punch. Our test
model featured an optional Intel Core i7-4600U processor, 16 GB Next, I imported a photo shoot into Lightroom and again, I was
of DDR3L memory, a 240-GB SATA SSD, and an AMD FirePro impressed with the import speed. Finally, I used this to create
M4100 GPU. The system uses AMD Dynamic Switchable Graphics many ads for various publications using Photoshop, Illustrator,
technology, so it can use the Intel Core i7’s HD Graphics 4400 and InDesign. Even with all three programs open, it didn’t slow
integrated GPU when you don’t need discrete GPU power. down or hold me back.
The HP ZBook’s 14", 1920x1080-pixel display provided a crisp, With the ZBook 14’s light weight and powerful configura-
clear picture. Text and images were sharp, giving brilliant resolu- tion, I found myself using this exclusively on a recent two-week
tion and accurate color display. Animation and video looked business trip. It was my go-to for creative work, and I used it on
impressive, as well, with the action scenes filled with explosions the plane instead of my iPad or Macbook Pro due to the size
and motion trailed perfectly. and capabilities. You owe it to yourself to take a good look if
Because of its small size, I thought it may not live up to the you’re in the market for a new laptop. ■
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

workstation power provided by the i7 and the video card. I put


it through its paces on many different projects, beginning with Company: Hewlett-Packard Price: Starting at $1,399; $2,349 as tested
a video project I was working on in After Effects. It didn’t skip Web: www.hp.com Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
a beat on a Full-HD 5-minute video with full animation (intro,
Hot: Power & graphics; antiglare screen; battery life; switchable battery
lower thirds, credits, etc.) and special effects. The render time
Not:
was faster than expected and easily beat my current laptop. 109
BOOK REVIEWS PETER BAUER › ›

Fine Art Printing for Photographers:


Wildlife Photography: From Snapshots To Great Shots Exhibition Quality Prints with Inkjet Printers
By Laurie Excell By Uwe Steinmueller and Juergen Gulbins

Written by KelbyOne’s Photo Gear guru, this book is an excel- The subtitle of this book is “Exhibition Quality Prints with Ink-
lent introduction to capturing great photos of creatures in the jet Printers.” Originally published in German (and excellently
wild. Not only does she discuss more challenging and exotic translated to English), this third edition is updated to cover the
photo expeditions to places like Yellowstone National Park in latest printers and print options available in Photoshop. The
winter, you’ll also find information about getting started with authors start with a look at types of printing, inks, papers, and
wildlife photography in your own backyard and at zoos. Each print longevity, followed by very solid chapters on color man-
chapter begins with one or more “Pouring Over the Picture” agement and print workflow. Additional chapters cover raster
sections that have information specific to an individual photo, image processors, black-and-white prints, and image evalua-
such as how the image was captured and what camera set- tion and presentation. One of the four appendices discusses
tings were used. Each chapter ends with “Chapter Assignments” the specifications and pros and cons of specific printers from
that help the reader put into practice that chapter’s most impor- Canon, Epson, and HP, while another looks at available papers
tant points. In addition to info on equipment and camera set- for fine art printing. The third appendix is a five-page explana-
tings, you’ll also find tips on staying safe from the very wildlife tion of terms and acronyms commonly used when discussing
you’re capturing. She also provides valuable advice on locations, color and printing, while the last is a seven-page list of addi-
seasons, and ethical considerations for shooting different types tional resources. If I reviewed this book in one word, it would
of critters in various locations. be “comprehensive.”
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

Publisher: Peachpit Press Pages: 229 Publisher: Rocky Nook, Inc. Pages: 355
Website: www.peachpit.com Website: www.rockynook.com
Price: $24.99 Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ Price: $44.95 Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
110
Welcome To
Your Classroom

Open the door to world-class


instruction on photography
and design. Connect and share
within a community of creative
people. Discover on-demand
creative training that you can
learn anywhere, anytime and at
your own pace.

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Join us now at kelbyone.com
D E PA R T M E N T › ›

Photoshop Tips COLIN SMITH


boost your productivity and creativity

In this issue of Photoshop User, I’ve decided to write more of a square and arrow at the bottom
themed tips column on some things in Photoshop that everyone of the panel.
uses all the time. I’m going to help you get fast and efficient What if you want to apply
using adjustments and filters, with a focus on smart objects, the adjustment to several layers?
smart filters, and adjustment layers. I’m sure that you’ll find this This is useful when compositing.
very useful in your everyday tasks. Say you have a few extracted
elements that need a color
Moving Multiple Curve Points at Once adjust­ment, but you want to
When you’re working in Curves (Layer>New Adjustment leave the background unaf-
Layer>Curves), moving a single point at a time is the norm. fected. The key is to use a layer
Sometimes, you may wish to adjust an entire range at once, group. Select all the layers that
rather then just a single point. This is the equivalent of painting you want to adjust in the Layers
panel by Command-clicking
with a larger brush. What to do? Add multiple points close to
(PC: Ctrl-clicking) on them.
each other on the curve by clicking on the diagonal line in the
Press Command-G (PC: Ctrl-G)
Properties panel. Once you’ve added three points, hold down
to put them in a layer group.
the Shift key and click on each point until they’re all selected
Change the blend mode of the layer group from Pass Through
(they will turn solid instead of hollow). Now, when you drag
to Normal near the top left of the Layers panel. Now apply the
one, they will all move together as a group.
adjustment layer to the top layer inside the group, and bingo!

Show Clipping in Curves and Levels


When Camera Raw Isn’t Nondestructive
When you’re working with Levels or Curves (either the dialogs
Camera Raw is awesome for so many reasons. One of them is
or the Properties panel when applied as adjustment layers), it’s
because it’s nondestructive and it’s easy to make changes at
useful to know exactly where the brightest and the darkest
any time, or is it? If you’re working in Photoshop CC and decide
regions of the image are. Locating these points allows you to
to choose Filter>Camera Raw Filter, you might be surprised to
make decisions on how much detail you want to show or how
know that by default, this is not a nondestructive operation.
much contrast you can add to the image before you lose detail
To make it nondestructive, you need to first convert the layer
in the extremities. To have Photoshop reveal these areas of
into a smart object. Right-click on the layer’s name in the Layers
clipping, hold down the Option (PC: Alt) key and drag either the
panel and choose Convert to Smart Object. Now when you use
black or the white triangle below the histogram in Levels or the
the Camera Raw Filter, it will be nondestructive and completely
curve in Curves.
reeditable. If you opened the image from Lightroom or Bridge
as a smart object, you can skip this step.
Adjust Several Layers, But Not All
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

As you probably already know, when you apply an adjustment Share Filters with other Layers
layer, it affects all the layers underneath it. You can limit the Whenever you apply a filter to a smart object, it gets brains. It
adjustment layer to affect only the layer directly beneath it by becomes a smart filter, which is nondestructive and reeditable.
clipping the adjustment to the layer. To accomplish this, hold If you’ve used Photoshop for a while (or read the previous tip),
the Option (PC: Alt) key and click on the line between the you already know this. What you probably didn’t know is that
layer and the adjustment in the Layers panel. The layer will be you can move the filter to different layers, or even copy it. In
indented in the Layers panel and you’ll see an arrow appear order for this to work, you have to first convert the other layers
to the left of the layer thumbnail when you’ve done this to smart objects. Now, all you need to do is click-and-drag the
correctly. Alternatively, you can click the clipping icon at the words “Smart Filters” in the Layers panel (if you don’t see it,
bottom of the Properties panel; it’s the far left icon with the click the disclosure triangle to the far right of the layer in the
112
› › PHOTOSHOP TIPS

Layers panel) and drop it on top of any smart object layer. If you not, click on the option and
would rather copy the filter, instead of moving it, hold down a checkmark will appear.
the Option (PC: Alt) key and click-and-drag. This will create a Targeted adjustments are
copy of the filter. now on. You’ll also see
other preferences that you
Adjustment Layer with Options may want to play with.
Have you ever looked at the icons in the Adjustments panel
(Window>Adjustments)? Do you know what they all are? Don’t Duplicate, Innovate
Congrats if you do; a lot of users don’t. Most people I know When working in Photoshop,
click the Create New Adjustment Layer icon (half-white, half- it can be like a game of chess.
black circle) at the bottom of the Layers panel and select the The strategy is to build your file
adjustment that they want. What about this as an option? Click in the fastest, most flexible, and
on the top-right corner of the Adjustments panel for the flyout efficient way possible. One rule is never duplicate a layer unless
menu. This will display a list of all the adjustments. What really you need to. This adds to the file size, which not only takes up
makes this method unique is that it will open an options dialog more space on your drive, but it also takes longer to open, save,
before applying the adjustment layer. You can choose things and apply filters as valuable RAM is used. Smart filters come
like blend Mode and Opacity, as well as naming and coloring with the ability to set a blend mode and opacity. This will give
the layer. It might save you some time when you want to apply you the same results as stacking a filtered duplicate layer on top
a blend mode to an adjustment. Many times, I choose the of another layer.
Color blend mode when adjusting color, or the Luminosity First, convert your layer into a
blend mode when doing strict tonal adjustments. smart object, and apply the filter
like normal. After you’ve applied
the filter, you’ll see an icon to
the right of the filter name in
the Layers panel. It looks like
two lines with tiny triangles.
Double-click the icon to bring
up a dialog. This will enable
Reset Dialogs you to change the Opacity and
This is an oldie, but a goodie. I can’t talk about adjustments the blend Mode of the filter.
without mentioning this tip. Whenever you’re in a dialog and We used to accomplish the same thing by applying a filter and
want to reset the adjustments, don’t cancel the dialog and try choosing Edit>Fade. Smart filters make life so much easier. n
again. Simply hold down the Option (PC: Alt) key and the Can-
cel button will turn into a Reset button. Click the Reset button
and the adjustments will go back to how they were when you
first opened the dialog.

Auto Select Targeted Adjustment Tool


There are certain adjustments like Curves that have a targeted
adjustment option. This is activated by clicking the little finger
icon in the Properties panel. When the Targeted Adjustment
tool is active, you can click-and-drag directly on the image to
make adjustments. Usually, this option is off until you turn it on
› › k e l b yo n e . c o m

each time. Here’s how you can choose to have it on (or off) all
the time. Open the Adjustments panel (Window>Adjustments)
if it isn’t already open and apply a Curve to any layer. Now the
Properties panel will show the curve. Choose the panel options
flyout menu (top right) and you’ll see Auto-Select Targeted
Adjustment Tool. If there’s a checkmark next to it, it’s on. If
113
ALL IMAGES BY COLIN SMITH
Photoshop
April 2014

I N D E X O F A D V E R T I S E R S

For advertising information, please contact Kevin Agren, V.P. Sales, at 813-433-2370.
email: [email protected]

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Intel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
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[R]

Really Right Stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33


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Adorama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
www.adorama.com
KelbyOne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105, 111, 121
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Squarespace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC
Anthropics/Portrait Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
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www.anthropics.com

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Black Magic Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 [V]


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[E] Photoshop Down & Dirty Tricks for Designers . . . . . . 116


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PhotoshopCAFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
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Westcott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

[F] www.fjwestcott.com

Phottix Photography Specialists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21


Freestyle Photographic Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
www.freestylephoto.biz/inkjet
www.phottix.com/kelbyone
[Z]
Professional Sports Photography Workflow . . . . . . . . 118 Zenfolio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
[I] www.amazon.com www.zenfolio.com

I.T. Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Profoto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Zoo Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118


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114
While every attempt has been made to make this listing as complete as possible, its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
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From The Help Desk


› › Answers to Photoshop and gear-related questions
BY PETER BAUER

I’m really impressed with the vastly improved Scripted Pattern fill feature in Photoshop CC (14.2),
but how can I ensure that my custom fill always looks the same from image to image?—Noah

To: Noah presets, ranging from Elm, Maple, Oak, Palm, and Pine
From: KelbyOne Help Desk to Ginko, Pepper, Populus Nigra, and Young Robinia.
The Scripted Pattern option in the Edit>Fill dialog was You can then customize the direction of light and cam-
introduced in Photoshop CS6, but recently got turbo- era tilt, amount and color of leaves, and the color of
charged. To access the Scripted Patterns, choose Pattern branches. Other options include flat shading of leaves
from the Use menu, and check the Scripted Patterns box and branches, adding a bit of noise to the leaves, and if
at the bottom of the Fill dialog. The first iteration offered you have an active path in the image, how many trees to
scripted pattern fills named Brick Fill, Cross Weave, add and whether or not they should be varied (Random-
Random Fill, Spiral, and Symmetry Fill to fill a layer or a ize) or identical.
selection. New options include Picture Frame, the very As for making the generated fill look the same
powerful Place Along Path, and the too-good-to-be- from image to image when using Scripted Patterns,
true Tree option. (Use the Creative Cloud Manager or you have a few options. If the original fill was added
Help>Updates in Photoshop to ensure you have the lat- to an empty layer (and I strongly advise you to always
est features in Photoshop CC.) add a new empty layer prior to using the Fill com-
Choose Picture Frame from the Scripted Patterns mand with Scripted Patterns), you can copy that layer
menu, click OK in the Fill dialog, and you’ll find more from image to image. However, if the images don’t
than 40 different picture frames from which to choose, have the same pixel dimensions or you’re working
each of which can be customized in a variety of ways. with a different size path or selection, you’ll need to
If you first create a path with the Pen tool (P) or any of carefully scale the pattern in the second document to
the Shape tools (U), the Place Along Path option enables get the same look.
you to add any pattern along that path, including any You can also memorize or write down the settings
custom artwork you define with the Edit>Define Pattern you used the first time. Using the same settings will gen-
command. Just select your Custom Pattern in the Fill dia- erate a comparable result, regardless of image, path, or
log before you click OK to go to the Place Along Path selection size.
dialog. You can customize how the selected pattern is Even better, after customizing your various options for
placed along the path by scale, spacing, angle from the any of the Scripted Pattern fills, you can save those set-
path, and distance from the path. You can also add the tings by clicking on the Preset menu and selecting Save
pattern at a distance on both sides of the path; make the Preset. Later, you can replicate the original artwork with
pattern shrink or grow as it’s added along the path; have the Load Preset command. The presets are saved as XML
the pattern oriented along the path or retain the original files, which means you can duplicate a preset, open the
orientation; and you can randomize the color and bright- XML file in any text editor, make changes to the vari-
ness of each instance of the pattern along the path. ous slider settings, and save as a new preset—there’s no
The Tree fill option is one of the most amazing new need to open Photoshop to make a slight change to a
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l 2 0 1 4

features in Photoshop CC. Start with one of the 22 tree saved preset. ■

The KelbyOne Member


HELP DESKS
Are you taking advantage of the Help Desks at the KelbyOne member website? This is the place where you can get all of your
Photoshop and Lightroom questions answered either by other KelbyOne members or by our Help Desk experts. Not only that, you
can get photo and computer gear help and advice, as well. What are you waiting for? Visit the Community section on the
122 KelbyOne member site today! ■
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