In this tutorial, I’ll be explaining how to take advantage of non-destructive editing techniques such as adjustment layers, blending modes and layer masks to make the most of your images. I’ll be using the photo below as an example but obviously every case is unique. Play around and figure out what works for your image.

PHOTOSHOP VERSION USED: CS3
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: MEDIUM
TIME TO COMPLETE: 30 MINUTES
IMAGE SIZE USED: 4272 x 2848 (12 Megapixel)

SHORT VERSION - Here’s the quick version. For details read below this section.
1- Duplicate the background layer, name new layer “original”.
2- Add a “Curves” adjustment layer. Darken the darks and lighten the lights.
3- Duplicate the “original” layer, name it vignette. Set blend mode to multiply.Invert (ctrl i, cmd i on mac) the layer, hit d then x to get a white brush. Hit b for brush, soften the hardness to 0 and make the brush pretty large then lower the opacity or flow of the brush for softer painting. Paint the outside of the image as desired.
4- Add a hue/saturation adjustment layer. Increase saturation to about 30.
5- Duplicate the “original” layer again and name it “blur”. Apply a fairly heavy gaussian blur (effects>blur>guassian blur) with a pixel radius of 10-15. Change blend mode of layer to screen. Lower the opacity of the layer until it looks good.
6- Tweak layer opacities and settings to your liking.

In case you’re not familiar with these terms, I’ll explain a bit. If you are familiar, feel free to skip ahead.

Non-destructive editing is the process of editing an image in a way in which each change made can be modified individually. It also means that the original pixel based image is not modified or destroyed, only added to. You may have a better definition than that but that’s the gist of it.

Adjustment layers are layers that you can add that will modify any number of things, like levels, curves, hue, saturation and more. They can also be used as fill layers to add solid colors, gradients, patterns, etc. The best part about adjustment layers is that they’re fully editable and non-destructive. This means that if you want to adjust the curves layer you’ve added, you can click on it and do so, or you can turn the curves layer off completely and - poof - no more curves. None of this affects the original image. To add an adjustment layer, just click on this icon at the bottom of the layers palette.

Blending modes determine how a layer will be shown. They’re primarily used on multi-layer files to blend layers together in a certain way. For example, do you want to add a neat texture to a solid background? Simply add the texture as a new layer over a solid color layer, then change the texture layer’s blending mode to multiply or overlay (or any number of others) and you’re in business. You can then adjust the opacity of the texture layer to fine tune. We’ll use similar techniques in this tutorial. The blending modes are located at the top left of the layers palette.

OK. Now you know what non-destructive editing, adjustment layers and blending modes are so let’s put them to good use. While driving to work the other day I snapped this photo a couple of blocks away from my house. Yes, like a true geek I keep my SLR with me at all times. This is why. I knew the photo needed some work but had great potential so later on I opened it up and set to work. Here’s what I did.

FULL VERSION

1) Duplicate the layer (ctrl j, or cmd j on the mac). I always start off this way so that my original is safe and accessible, in case I royally screw something up.

2) Add a Curves adjustment layer. To do this, click on the little adjustment layer icon and select curves. I try to adjust the curves to where there is sufficient contrast and interest in the image, but not so much that you lose important detail in the lights or darks. I went a bit heavy on the contrast here to make it pop.

3) Create a vignette effect by creating an overlay layer and then painting on a layer mask. To do this I duplicated my original layer (named the original layer “original” - original, I know - and the new layer “vignette”) then set the layer blend mode to Multiply. I then added a layer mask. Click on the layer mask (the new white box on the layer) and then invert it (ctrl i, cmd i on the mac). Hit D, then X to select your default colors (black and white) then reverse them, giving you a white brush color to work with. Activate the brush tool (b) and set the size to something pretty large - 1300px in my case. Turn the hardness all the way down on the brush by holding down the shift key and hitting the left bracket key ([) several times. Set the brush opacity to a nice low percentage, like 25%. Now whatever you paint will intensify or multiply so go ahead and paint your edges and corners as you wish for a nice vignette.

What’s that? You screwed something up? Don’t hit the undo key (ctrl alt z) fifty times, just hit x to switch your brush back to black and paint over the area you want to undo. Simple as that. This is the beauty of non-destructive. You’re editing extra layers, not the photo.

4) Add a new Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Just like the curves adjustment layer, click on the fill/adjustment layer icon but select Hue/Saturation this time. In this photo I started by hiking up the master saturation to about 30. Kinda heavy but I can then make individual color adjustments. Have you played with the different colors in the hue/saturation box? Click on the dropdown that says Master and play around with other colors. I selected the yellow and desaturated it completely to give it a cool blueish feel. The cool colors seem to look more natural in this type of scene than yellows and oranges do. Makes it feel cold and high.

5) Create a gaussian blur layer with a “screen” blend mode. This is one of my favorite effects. It’s quick and simple but makes a big difference, especially in photos that need a bit of a dreamy effect, like some portraits. Duplicate the original layer, name the new layer “blur”. Apply a gaussian blur (filter>effects>blur>gaussian blur) and make it fairly heavy. Enough that it’s visibly blurred. I used a pixel radius of 15 on mine. Now for the fun part. Set the blending mode on this new layer to screen and then drag the layer opacity down until it gives a pleasant glow without being overkill. I settled on an opacity of 38%. This step is optional but I think it adds a nice bit of interest to the image.

6) Tweak. Find the look you like by adjusting the layers you’ve created. Play with the levels, play with the opacity of each layer, try adding a couple more layers with different blending modes - just experiment and see what works for you.

In the end, I ended up cropping the top and bottom out to get this image that I was very happy with, considering the low contrast of the original. Non-destructive editing is the way to go. Give it a try and you’ll be sure to use it again and again. Good luck!

Tags: photoshop, tutorials by nils
No Comments »

• Photoshop Version Used: CS3
• Difficulty Level (out of 10): 5
• Time to Complete: 25 minutes

Sometimes images just need a little something extra. While playing around with brush settings in Photoshop one day I realized that you could really have some fun when you combined the power of a stroked path with different brush setting combinations and layer effects. This tutorial was created in Photoshop CS3 but should work for the last few versions (and hopefully upcoming versions) of Photoshop as well. Let’s get started.
Note- I did this on a laptop with a trackpad (no mouse, no tablet) so no special hardware is required.

The Original Image
If you’d like to follow along with this image, click on it to view the full size version and then download it.

1. Create a Path with the Pen Tool.

Using the pen tool (P), click on the path button in the toolbar (see image above). Start to create a path, point by point, keeping in mind any areas that might wrap around or travel through the existing objects. To create smooth bezier curves, just click and drag as you create a new point. This will extend handles from the point that you can manipulate to adjust the path. ideally, you’ll want to keep your curves smooth and graceful. Below is the start of my path.

Continue the path until it is complete. The images here show the points and handles used to make my path. If a point doesn’t come out just how you’d like it to, simply use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to grab either the points or their handles and drag them until you’ve got a good looking path. Be sure to use the white arrow direct selection tool- the Path Selection Tool (black arrow) will not work.

2. Prepare the Brush Settings

Once the path has been created, we need to get our brush ready. We’re going to start by selecting a solid orange color. I used #ff8a00 in this case. Set it as the foreground color.

With the color loaded, select a brush shape that has some unbalance to it. The grass brush, the leaf brush or one of the faux finish brushes will work fine. If you select a round brush, there won’t be much texture or flame on the path. The next set of adjustments will vary based on the size of the image you’re working on and how big a flame path you want.

Open the brushes palette (F5) and check the Shape Dynamics box. Set the Size jitter to 100% and the Minimum Diameter to 30% or less. Set the Control method to Pen Pressure. This will allow the ends of the path to taper down. Set the Angle Jitter and Roundness Jitter to around 10-20%.

Next, click on Scattering and set as shown below. Adjust as necessary to get a jagged path.

3. Create a New Layer(Shft Ctrl N). For the sake of reference, I’ll name this layer brush1.

Activate the Paths tab (Windows>Paths) again and right click on the path that you created. Select “Stroke Path”.
Make sure that the “simulate pressure” box is checked as this will cause the tapering at the ends. Voila! You should now have a textured line of orange fire.

Because the paint that we just laid down is on its own layer, we can manipulate it at will without effecting the path that we have stroked. In this example, I’ll actually be manipulating additional copies of the original image rather than the stroked path.

Copy the iphone image layer (layer 1) using ctrl j (command j on a mac) and drag this newly created layer above the brush1 layer. I chose to rename this layer “coverup”.
Using a selection tool, such as the marquee tool (m), polygonal lasso tool (l) or any other method you choose, create a selection around the object that the fire will wrap around. You really only need to focus on the areas where the fire will go behind or in front of the object.
Then, use the eraser tool (e) to erase the section of the object where you want the fire to be visible. Once that is erased, invert the selection (ctrl i, command i on the mac) and erase the rest of the path that is outside the object, as shown below.
The object of this layer is just to cover up part of the path where the object is (the iphone in this case) to make it look like the fire wraps around the object.

The next step is to apply an outer glow to the fire whip. To do so, double click on the ‘brush1′ layer (the fire layer) and select “outer glow”. I chose a red glow with the settings shown below:

Now it’s time to create the next part of the fire path. Duplicate the brush1 layer and name it brush2. Delete the contents of the layer by selecting all (ctrl a, command a on a mac) and hitting the backspace key (delete key on a mac). Now activate the brush tool (b) and select a round solid brush, about 9px in diameter.
Choose a nice orange or yellow color as your foreground color. Open the paths palette and stroke the path just as you did the first time. You may want to go back to the layers palette and play around with the transparency of the brush2 layer that you created. We’re just about finished.

To finish the image off, we’re going to create a reflection of the fire whip at the bottom of the object. To do so, use the polygonal lasso tool (l) and select the area just outside the iphone. Be sure to select more of the fire whip than you think you’ll need as we’ll be erasing a bit of it.
When you’ve got it selected, copy merged (edit>copy merged or ctrl shift c, cmd shift c on a mac) then paste it (ctrl v, cmd v on a mac). Make sure the newly created layer is above the other visible layers.

To make it look reflected, Transform the reflection layer (ctrl t, cmd t on a mac), right click on it and select “flip vertical”. Hit Enter to apply the transformation. Use the move tool (v) to drag it just below so it lines up with the existing iPhone reflection.
With the new fire whip reflection in place, activate the eraser (e) and soften the edges all the way (shift [) and make sure the eraser is large enough to create a soft and light erasing. You may decide to adjust the opacity of the brush to make this task smooth but even at 100% opacity you should be fine.

That's it! Hopefully your "fire whip" turned out well. Please feel free to leave any comments or suggestions below. Thanks and have fun designing!

Tags: photoshop, tutorials by nils
11 Comments »