Are you looking for a quick and easy way to make eyes in your images pop? If so, I have a great video tutorial for you today!
Duration: 11 minutes
Software: Photoshop CS6
Level: Beginner-Intermediate
Touches on the following topics:
- duplicating layers
- dodge/burn tool
- layer opacity changes
- using filters (unsharp mask)
- creating layer masks
- inverting masks (to reveal effects)
- brush tool (using white to reveal)
I don’t know how you prefer your images, but I usually like mine to have a lot of contrast. I’m not talking about so much that the whites and blacks in the image have lost their detail, but I do like to make the shadows and highlights really pop!
Then there are times that I just want to tone everything down. Do you ever feel that way? It was taking me awhile to figure out why I wasn’t completely happy with the processing of an image but then it was like a light bulb went on over my head and I was certain of the look I was going for! I know toning can mean a different things when it comes to photography so the type of toning I am speaking of is when the overall colors/shadows/highlights of the image blend together to create a smoother appearance. I guess the opposite of the toning I am speaking of would be less contrast.
See. I told you I’d be posting another video tutorial. I’m proud to say this one is only 20 minutes long! I improved by a whole 10 minutes! Go me! In case you missed my last video tutorial, you can find it HERE. Before I leave you, I have a few recommendations for viewing this video at it’s maximum quality.
1. Make sure the volume on the video is up (second icon/button from the right at the bottom of the video).
2. Make sure the volume on your computer is up.
3. Be sure to view in 720p HD (second icon/button on the left at the bottom of the video).
4. Viewing it with the large player, instead of full screen, comes in more crisp & clear (fifth icon/button on the left at the bottom of the video).
I’ve received some inquiries about how I am editing my photos and I’d love nothing more than to share my process with those that are interested. Of course, this was my first time recording a video on my computer so it was quite the experience. And can I be totally honest? I sort of hate the sound of my own voice on video. I feel like it doesn’t even sound like me. Also, I apologize in advance for the background noise. I recorded in complete silence but for some reason my video contains a little white noise. I’m not really sure what it is. All I can think of is that it may have been caused by the microphone. It is also a whoppin’ 30 minutes long. I know what you are thinking. Boy what a snooze fest. I didn’t mean to go on and on and on but let me just tell you how easy it was. Seriously, I had more to say. Thank heavens I chose to leave some things out. I also tend to be a little repetitive, but I wasn’t sure how familiar with Photoshop my audience would be so I wanted to be sure to be thorough. Anyhow, here are few pointers to view the video at its best quality.
Even as I’m not feeling well, I’m happy to find myself showing interest in old loves. Like processing photos. In between the nauseous, vertigo, and exhaustion, I’ve been having a ball learning new tricks in Photoshop to really make my images pop! I thought I’d share a few before & afters. Dare I say I’m almost more in love with editing than I am with photography? Nah.
As I’m attaching this first example, I’m thinking I could have cooled the picture down a bit. I don’t know, what do you think? I know everyone’s monitor must be showing the image differently. I am viewing mine on a calibrated retina screen so colors are sometimes too vibrant. Colors can sometimes appear too rich.
I took some pictures of Alivia on Friday night and as I was checking the play back feature on my camera I noticed they were a little under exposed. I had forgotten that I set my ISO to a maximum of 800 which means that even if the ISO needed to be increased to create proper exposure, it wouldn’t. Although I had adjusted the ISO for the remainder of my images that night, I was disappointed thinking the images I had taken of her already would require more editing time that I actually had.
Guess what? I’ll be having a guest blogger posting this Friday from Two Shades of Lovely and I’m so excited! She’s going to be sharing some great links with you! If you don’t already know Jeni, I’d recommend hopping over to her site! Take a load off and have a look around! Oh, and in case you have been following my The Missing Link posts (on Fridays), I’ll be posting Week 22 over at Two Shades of Lovely so I hope to see you there!
Since I got a new laptop I also made the switch from Photoshop Elements (PSE) to Photoshop CS6 (PS). I was a little hesitant to make the transition because 1) Photoshop was very expensive and 2) I’d grown to love some actions that I had purchased strictly for PSE. Actions that I hadn’t yet learned how to create manually. I recently repurchased them on Paint the Moon and am so happy I did. They work so much better in PS (or I think so anyway). Not to mention the action selection has changed since I last purchased them and the bundles included actions like remove color cast and remove the wonky colors (love that word “wonky”)! Today, I thought I’d share some before and after images. I like to do this every now and then as I know it can be useful (or fun at the very least) to see how others are editing their images.
I think this is such a great idea and was wondering if you’d like to swap buttons with me? You know, I’ll post your button in my sidebar and you do the same for me! A little like scratching each others back I guess! If you are interested, feel free to email me and we can discuss. You an find my email button in my sidebar at the top of my page. My buttons are readily available on my buttons page in a variety of sizes so I’m sure you will find a size that works best for your bloggy site. If, however, you need a different size just let me know so that I can customize to your request. Just be sure to contact me first so that I can grab your button as well! Okay, so there is my request. Out there for all to see. I guess I’ll just sit back and remain hopeful that someone will want to be button buddies with me!
