(Return to Part I - Noise Reduction or Return to Part II - Source Sharpening)

We're going to use this image for web-posting only, specifically, for this site. My pages can only accommodate images up to 450-pixels wide, so I'll resample my image down to 72dpi and change the width of the image to 450px.

Now that I have an appropriately-sized image, I can merge all the changes we've made by flattening all the layers. Remember that I've already saved a full-resolution version of this image with the NR and base sharpening applied, so I don't need to have all those layers slowing down my system for these final steps. Continue Reading

(Return to Page 1 - Noise Reduction)

Now that we've reduced the noise to an acceptable level without losing too much details, it's time to bring those details back and sharpen the image to be used as a base source image and for final output.

The 'base source' image will be the stage when the image has a proper balance of noise control and details revealed. This source image can now be used for further editing, sharpening, and output adjustments (for various print size or web usage).

We'll start by merging all the NR changes we've made to a new layer by holding CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-E. This creates a new active layer by combining all the visible layers. Continue Reading

This is my actual "normal" workflow for noise reduction and sharpening for most of my images using Adobe Photoshop (CS or higher). The tutorial is quite long so I'll split this into parts.

While there are many plug-ins available commercially to deal with noise and sharpening, it is always good to know how to get the results you need with the baseline tools that can do as good of a job than the commercial products.

My workflow is a combination of Bruce Fraser's AWESOME three-pass sharpening technique, plus Michael Kieran's inputs on how the tools involved can alter local color contrast which affects how viewers interpret perceived noise and sharpness.

Before we begin, I must mention that this is NOT a tutorial on how to salvage under-exposed, high-ISO images. You can use the best DSLR in the market and it won't matter if you severely blotched your exposure during capture. Your image will still look smudgy and hard-grained with little to no midtones whatsoever.

It is also NOT a tutorial on how to sharpen blurry images due to slow shutter speed or camera shake. This is a tutorial on how to make your good images even better for your viewers.

The image below is a snapshot of my son just as he was heading for bed. It was shot with a 10MP DSLR with a 50mm and on-camera flash at ISO 800. The posted image is how it looked during capture, no adjustments were made on the exposure, just minor white balance adjustments.

Here's the zoomed crop. We'll primarily concentrate on the shadow and midtone details for this section. Continue Reading

Technorati Tags: workflow for noise reduction, sharpening, Adobe Photoshop, three-pass sharpening technique, how to sharpen blurry images

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Back to Part 1.

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3) Let's work on the lips now. I don't like the lipstick color used by the make-up artist, it doesn't look nice on photos (but looked swell in real-life), so I'll change the shade of the lipstick.

Here I used the Color Balance tool to shift the color of her lipstick to a more lustrous shade. Rename the layer to "Lip Color". Invert the white layer mask to black (CTRL-I) and use a soft, white brush to reveal the lips only.

4) I like the color now, but I want some more gloss on her lips. To increase the gloss on lips, it's crucial to look at where the catch light is positioned on the original image. In this case, the light is pretty frontal and soft, so we have a lot of highlight areas we can copy from.

Create a new blank layer and name it "Lip Gloss". Then select the Brush tool to paint in the new gloss patterns. You can also use the Clone tool, if desired.

We need to sample the existing highlight's color to use as a brush color. Since I'm already using the Brush tool, I can simply hold the ALT key and click on the areas I want to sample to automatically choose that shade of color (in this case, a pinkish-white color). I sampled from different areas around the lip, seen below. Continue Reading

Level - Advanced

We've looked at quickie skin retouching in the past in this article, now let's take it a bit further and spend more time doing careful skin retouching without the plasticky, no-pores, Barbie skin look that's plaguing so many portraits out there.

This isn't an "original" technique but an accumulation of different techniques I've learned over the past couple of years from Photoshop masters to retouch skin with much more attention to detail and realism, while still producing a good looking print and a file that still looks good at larger magnifications on screen.

This workflow works for me in a sense that it balances the need for speed and quality at the same time. No large amount of global blurring, haphazard masking, over-sharpening and so forth. Just plain logic-based processing.

It'll be a looong post (over 30 images), so let's get started with a photo of a local model I've worked with recently, Jen. This is the original captured image.

The image below shows the full crop of the skin, notice the faint scars and blemishes present at this magnification (it's normally not that visible in real-life or web-sized images).

Our goal is to clean up the skin without treating the entire face the same way by using a single blur filter. Some areas of the skin are near-perfect and shouldn't need too much correction, while other areas may need more work, so we shouldn't treat the entire face with a single massive blur. Continue Reading

Technorati Tags: skin retouching, Photoshop, model

http://www.gballard.net/

Gary Ballard runs a comprehensive website discussing many facets of photography. One topic that you'll find really educational is his knowledge in color management.

Color management is a complex topic to grasp and understand, however, Gary explains these concepts and applications in an easily-digestible manner than most readers will appreciate.

If you want to learn more about Photoshop and Color Management, head to www.gballard.net now :)

Level - Easy

Ever wanted to do a "cross-processed" film look easily in Photoshop? Using the Gradient Map adjustment tool isn't only for converting colored images to black and white (well, in case you didn't know you can convert color images to monochrome using Gradient Map before, now you know - a bonus!), this powerful adjustment tool can also do color toning effects with ease! Continue Reading

Technorati Tags: Photoshop, Gradient Map, color toning effects

Level: Intermediate

Here's an easy but useful post-processing technique for you to experiment with Adobe Photoshop. There are a lot of ways to achieve this desaturated look and this is just one of the few techniques you can use. The objective is to create a moody, desaturated photo but still with a tinge of color in the scene. How much or how little color you want to leave in depends on your opacity settings and color tint choice. Feel free to experiment. Continue Reading

Technorati Tags: Adobe Photoshop