Adobe Photoshop levels-Turn junk into gold by clicking a but

There is no doubt in my mind; Adobe Photoshop is the greatest Photo editing program in the world. Whether you are a novice or an expert Photoshop is the program for you. Photoshop is used by my children and by the movie making industry. So what exactly can I do with Photoshop? The better question is what can�t you do with Photoshop?

Today I would like to talk about the simple little function in Photoshop called �Levels�, the first step to improving the appearance of a photograph. There are 4 basic steps taken to enhance, brighten or retouch photos are Levels, Brightness, Variations, and Saturation, in that order.

�The Levels dialog box lets you correct the tonal range and color balance of an image by adjusting intensity levels of the image's shadows, midtones, and highlights. The Levels histogram serves as a visual guide for adjusting the image's key tones.� Adobe�s official description of levels
Screen example here: http://www.weprintcolors.com/screens/screen_ps_levels.htm

Use levels to set to darkest and lightest points or sharpen the picture. From the top menu select Image, then select Adjustments, then select Levels, or if you are a ctrl key fan click �ctrl l�. The histogram appears; the sliders at the bottom control brightness and contrast while the sliders above control tonal values. I said we were going to keep it simple so let�s use the sliders at the top. They appear as 3 small triangles. Start to play with them. Move them left to right and right to left while watching the changes you are making to the photograph. When you are satisfied the picture appears optimized click OK. Budda boom, you�re done. How long did that take?

That was really easy and effective. If you feel adventurous repeat the process above. This time when the levels menu appears double click on the eyedropper and target your tonal areas.

Here�s a couple of helpful tips while working with Adobe Photoshop:

Click the �tab key� to clear all tool bars.
To save an image for the web click �cntrl, shift, alt, S�
Learn how to use the �automate� feature and save valuable time.

Color correcting by numbers for giclee printing

Color correcting by numbers for giclee and other digital printing methods

Color correcting images on screen for digital output is one of the most problematic issues in digital imaging. What was a task left to pre-press professionals in the past and something of no concern with the general public using film cameras, has now become a must for anyone using a digital camera. Over the years there have been a number of companies offering color calibration hardware and software to match what is seen on screen to the actual printout. Soft proofing (the ability to see an image on the monitor and being able to make a pretty good judgment about how it is going to look when printed) is definitely of big help.

This said, the only sure way to be able to precisely color correct is done by numbers. To make a comparison, take a pilot for example: when visibility is low pilots rely on what the instruments say to navigate. No matter if it is day or night, they can navigate without having to see where they are and where they are going.

The same can be applied to color correction. Depending on a monitor to apply color changes, especially when subtle modifications need to be made, is not the best way. All computer screens shift in color from the moment they are turned on. Numbers do not change.

Photoshop makes it very easy to see what the color measurements are for any given area in an image. The eye picker will read the quantity of red, green and blue when passed over the chosen area. For the purpose of this article we will stay with the RGB primary color space. When looking at a pure black the reading will be R=0, B=0, G=0. A pure white will be R=255, B=255, G=255, 255 being the maximum amount in the scale. What is between pure white and pure black? Grey, which can be any equal amount of these 3 colors, would be for example 122, 122, 122. A lighter grey is 180, 180, 180.

Why is this important? Simply put, very! Let� s go into something practical: You are working on a picture of your toddler taken with that high-resolution camera you got for Christmas. It looks good on the screen but when printed the skin tones make your child look like he is blushing under 110 F heat. When going over the skin with the picker the reading is R=200, G=140, B=139. Immediately the red reading of 200 pops out as a lot compared to the fairly equal and lesser quantities of green and blue. Without looking at a proof you can see how that skin will be primarily red. It is OK for skin tones to have a mix of colors and for a Caucasian complexion to have a higher level of red. A difference of about 60 between red and the other two primaries may be excessive. Also, a warm skin tone requires a little bit of yellow to be present. In our case the initial reading for B and G is about equal, meaning they neutralize each other and make the red stand out as the preponderant color. To add a little yellow we need to decrease the blue (Blue and Yellow are opposites). In this case a good mix for such skin tone could be R=190, G=140, B=130.

These numbers are not to be taken literally but as a guide to create a pleasing balance. Practice taking color readings in different areas of an image. Look at the printed proof. You will soon learn to correct by numbers and be free from monitor shifting!

Face Smoothing : Bring Beauty To Your Model’s Face

A normal woman’s face can be smoothened into artistlike smooth face by a simple way in Photoshop. What you need is a woman model photo in normal state ( no under or over lighting, and the color should be natural ). The steps are:

1. Open picture in Photoshop
2. In the History Pallete, click Create New Snapshot ( camera icon). A snapshot named Snapshot 1 will appear in the History Pallete
3. Click Filter, Blur, Gaussian Blur.
4. Set the value of the Gaussian Blur so that the face will look smooth. In this state of course all part of the pict will look blurred.
5. Create another snapshot that will be automatically named Snapshot 2.
6. In the Snapshot 2, clik the little box on the left, so a history state icon will appear there
7. Click the Snapshot 1.
8. Press Y button to activate History Tool.
9. Set the value of Hitory Tool opacity ( on the top of the Photoshop window) between 60% and 70%.
10. Sweep the woman’s face carefully with this history tool.
11. Do not sweep lips, eyes and nose’s holes.
12. If needed, you can enlarge this tool by pressing ] button or make it smaller by pressing [ button.
13. For the parts with hard line such as nose and chin, you should reduce the History Tool opacity into about 30% or 40%.
14. Done...