Using Photoshop's Gradient layer

This one is for Julie, from my Facebook group.  Julie wanted to remove the distracting bright orange toy from this photo, and was having trouble cloning it out.

Now, let's be clear - cloning definitely is the "correct" way to do this.  It could be done with some patience, using this method.  But when I asked Julie if she'd be happy with the "lazy solution" (my area of expertise!!!) she said yes.

So, here we go, Julie.  I did this in Photoshop CS2, but it'll work in all versions of Photoshop and Elements as far back as I can remember.  This method uses the Gradient layer, which I've discussed a little in other tutes, particularly regarding skies.

First, I used the Lasso Tool to roughly select the background:

Resetting tools

Sometimes, just occasionally, one of your tools will start misbehaving in Photoshop.  It might be the Text Tool which is putting enormous spacing between letters and you don't know why; or it might be the Crop Tool which keeps cropping to a fixed shape even though you've got no values in the Options Bar; or it might be the Clone Stamp Tool which won't sample the right colours ... or whatever.  You know, any one of those annoying little glitches that can happen with any software, any time.

If you're lucky, the problem can be fixed by simply resetting the tool.  You do this via the little "Tool Preset Picker" at the left end of the Options Bar, then going to the submenu, and choosing "Reset Tool":

This won't solve every Photoshop problem you ever have, but it's an important little troubleshooting device to have up your sleeve.

What is "clean processing"?

"Clean processing" is a term you'll see frequently on photographic forums, and especially in my Facebook group.  To a degree, everyone has their own interpretation of the concept, but maybe it's new to you.

In a nutshell, a clean-processed image is one to which it's not obvious that any editing has been performed (even if it has).  The kind of image that makes somebody say "Wow, you're a good photographer!", rather than "Gee, you're good at Photoshop!".

A clean-processed photo has no particular effect or style applied, and as such, it should sit as comfortably in your portfolio in five or ten years' time as it does today.  However, it does provide the basis of all other editing styles.  Consistent clean processing means consistent and predictable results from your artistic editing, especially if you use actions or presets.

Of course, even within the narrow description of "clean", there is room for personal interpretation.  You may prefer your images warmer or cooler, or brighter or darker, or richer or paler, than the next person.  But in general terms, a "clean" image is one where the whites are white, the blacks are black, and the grays are gray.

Is it quick?

Maybe, maybe not.  It depends on how good the original photo was.  Clean processing might take a few seconds, or a whole hour.  The point is, nobody can tell.

ColorMunki Create - thumbs down

A recent addition to the monitor calibration market is the Pantone ColorMunki Create.

In reality it's an X-Rite device, like all the other ColorMunkis, but it's badged by Pantone and sold as part of a "professional colour creation solution" package, which apparently enables you to choose sets of colours, build colour palettes ... blah, blah, blah, I don't know.  I didn't look into that stuff.

I bought it because I wanted to see if it's a viable option for people seeking a low-cost monitor calibrator.  And I'm sorry to say it isn't.  It gives even fewer calibration controls than the Spyder Express, and that's really saying something, because the Express gives you very little control.

So, my advice remains the same as it has for a while now.  The bare minimum device for anyone serious about their monitor calibration is the X-Rite ColorMunki Display; and anyone who is more than average serious about it should go for the X-Rite i1Display Pro.

However, having said all that, I will (when I get a chance) be writing a tutorial for the use of the ColorMunki Create, for anyone who has one.  It'll be included with the other calibration instructions on my website.

As always, if you have any questions about monitor calibration, or anything else, please visit me at Ask Damien.

Note: This device is also marketed as the ColorMunki Smile.  Again, it'll give you no reason to smile at all.

Case study: Bright red clothing

Thanks to Chasity from Ohio for allowing me to use this gorgeous photo in this post.

This article relates to my previous Strategies for managing out-of-gamut clothing post, which I suggest you read first if you haven't done so already.

Red clothing is a hassle, isn't it.  Well, any vivid-coloured clothing can be, but red seems to plague us most often.  Check out this photo.  That red outfit is as cute as all get-out, and so wonderfully bright!  It makes you swoon (although it also burns a cyan imprint on your retina if you look at it for too long!!!).

But there are two problems.  Inter-related problems, but different.

Free texture files - old leather

When you keep your pommel horse in your back yard ...



... its leather inevitably starts to deteriorate.  I was looking at it today (thinking about re-covering with all-weather canvas) and I realised that the old leather is as charismatic as anything!

Well, I couldn't pass up such a great opportunity to add to my texture library, so I borrowed my wife's camera, with the macro lens, and grabbed a bunch of photos.  Needless to say, my complete lack of photographic skill resulted in fewer than one in five of the photos being usable, but still, I ended up with eight keepers.

Create your own wall guides

Thanks to Crystal for asking this great question.

Recently I wrote a tutorial about preparing an image for canvas printing.  But before you prepare it, you've got to choose it, and its size.  The latter is really important - it's easy to think that a print size (eg 20x30") is really big, but in fact it's very small once it's on your wall.

So, the best way to choose a photo and an appropriate size is to see it on your wall first.  And it's very easy to do.  First, take a photo of the wall on which you'd like to hang the print.  Here's an example wall:

To make it simple for yourself, don't photograph the wall at an angle.  Stand perpendicular to it to take the shot.  This tutorial can be adapted (sort of) for an angled photo, but it won't be as easy, or as accurate.

Cloning in the workflow

All editing can loosely be divided into two categories.  In one category are colour and tonal adjustments, using Curves or Levels or Hue/Saturation or Photo Filters or whatever.  These edits change the appearance of the pixels in the image, and are done with adjustment layers and masks.

In the other category are pixel edits.  These edits actually change the pixels themselves (by moving or copying or blurring or hiding them), and can't be done using adjustment layers - they must be performed directly to the pixels.

In this "pixel editing" category, we find:

• Noise reduction
• Liquifying
• Skin smoothing
• Cloning
• Healing

Opacity shortcuts

There are about a bazillion keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop and Elements, and you can't learn them all at once.

At first, focus your attention on the most important ones in the toolbar - C for the Crop Tool, B for the Brush Tool, V for the Move Tool, etc.  Those are the ones that you'll use frequently, and therefore they'll save you the most time.

Once you've mastered those, you should aim to gradually add more shortcuts to your subconscious arsenal.  Every time you can press a key instead of moving your mouse to a tool/menu/slider, you've saved yourself a second or two.  And even though a second or two doesn't seem like much, a lot of little time savings can seriously add up to a faster workflow.

I want to tell you about the keyboard shortcuts that have saved me the most time - brush opacity.

Changing the opacity of your brush is a tedious thing to do with the mouse.  It's not just one click, it's two or three.  You have to reach up to the toolbar, click for the slider to appear, then slide it; or click to highlight the numeric value, then type a new one in.  Seconds wasted!

Embrace the shortcuts, my friends.  They're staggeringly simple - just press 1 for 10%, 2 for 20%, 3 for 30% etc.  That's all!  Just a single keystroke will change the brush opacity, and you barely have to pause painting to do it.

Most importantly, press 0 to put it back to 100%.

If you want a more precise value, type two digits.  Type 25 for 25%, or 03 for 3%, etc.

Try it and see!  It's great.  It also works for the Clone Tool, and other brush-related tools.

Word of warning, though.  If you happen to have a non-brush-related tool selected (such as the Move Tool, or the Crop Tool, or whatever), and you press a number, it'll change the opacity of the layer instead.  Watch out for that little trap - it's caught me many times!

Dealing with "hot" areas of skin

This is a very simple tutorial that I've been meaning to write for ages.

Many thanks to Nicole of Essence of the Soul Photography for allowing me to use this beautiful photo:

So gorgeous!  But it has a little problem that seems to pop up in quite a lot of photos ... it has some areas of very "hot" skin - that is, the skin is glowing quite bright red in some parts:

This problem almost always occurs in shadowy areas of skin.  Sometimes it's caused by a red cast - perhaps the subject is wearing a red shirt, or standing beside a red car, or whatever.

Jpegs in ACR (Elements)

I don't know why it's taken me so long to write this simple post!

Photoshop Elements has been able to open Jpegs in Camera Raw for quite a few versions now (since V6, maybe?).  It's very easy to do, as I'll show you.

First, let me reiterate - I can take my cat to a zoo, but that doesn't make it a tiger!  Likewise, you can open Jpegs in a Raw program, but that doesn't make them Raw files!  Editing a Jpeg in ACR is fun, but it's still a Jpeg.  If you want real control and flexibility when editing, shoot Raw.  [/rant]

First, go to File>Open As:

At the bottom, change the format to "Camera Raw":

Choose your image, and press "Open":

Voila!  There it is in ACR:

Do your editing, then press "Open Image" to bring it into Elements for further work.

More about storyboards: intersecting shapes

They say that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so David, here's your new tutorial :)

David would like to know about creating storyboard designs using intersecting shapes.  Here's the layout I'll demonstrate for this article:

It's very easy.  It just requires a bit of planning (as usual) and careful utilisation of these important little buttons:

(Note: If you're new to storyboards design, this article is not the right place to start.  First, you must read this tutorial, then this one.)

The Camera Calibration tab in ACR

If you own an X-Rite ColorChecker Passport, or a similar tool, you can create your own custom colour profile for your camera's Raw files.  I'm not a photographer, so I've never done this (nor would I even if I was, probably), so I can't discuss that.

But what I can discuss is the range of canned profiles that come with Adobe Camera Raw.  You find them in the "Camera Calibration" tab.

In Elements, it looks like this:

What is XMP data all about?

XMP data is the data that Adobe software (ACR and LR) creates to store the editing that you do to a Raw file.  The truth is, we really don't need to think about XMP data at all - it just does its thing in the background, and we get on with our lives.  But it confuses some people, especially when they see those little XMP files in their folders, so let me explain a bit more.

It's very important to understand that Raw files themselves are absolutely, impenetrably, rock-solidly, unchangeable.  You can't modify a raw file, no matter what you try.  The ones and zeros of Raw data that come out of your camera will never be altered.

So, when you're editing a Raw file, you're not actually changing the file itself.  Rather, you're making cosmetic changes to its appearance - much the same as dressing yourself.  You might be dressing in work clothes, or casual clothes, or gardening clothes; but underneath, your body is the same.  Your external appearance is being modified by your garments, that's all.

So it is with Raw files.  You might "dress" a Raw file with a warmer white balance, or reduced exposure, or whatever.  But underneath, it's still exactly the same Raw data, and therefore it's as easy as pie to "undress" it again later if you wish to start your editing all over (more about this later).

To DNG, or not to DNG

People sometimes ask me "Should I convert my Raw files to the DNG format?"  I honestly don't know.

Well, let's clarify - some people have no choice.  If their Adobe software is older than their camera, then the only way they can open their Raw files is to convert them.  No ambiguity there.  (More info)

But lots of other people have Photoshop or Lightroom as new or newer than their camera, so they can open their NEFs, or CR2s, or ORFs, etc, just fine.  For those people, conversion to DNG becomes a matter of choice.

Plenty of people much smarter than me recommend DNG conversion.  It's the generic raw format, and it's meant to be "future-proof", so that you'll be able to open and edit your files forever, regardless of software evolutions over the coming years.  Please don't ask me for an opinion about that, because I don't have one, nor enough knowledge to form one.

Other people convert to DNG because the files are slightly smaller, and the disk space saving is worth it.  That sounds sensible.

But despite all of that, I don't convert to DNG format.  Why?  Because I love XMP files!

View your filename extensions, Windows peeps!

Occasionally - well, surprisingly frequently, actually - somebody will come to me with laments like this:

"I saved my photo, and now I can't re-open it!"

"My image files have no thumbnails!"

etc.

If the person is a Windows user, the reason for the problems is often that the file has been saved without the filename extension - ".jpg" or ".psd" or whatever.

Windows need filename extensions.  If it doesn't see the "dot-something" after the name, it has no idea what program to associate it with; and therefore can't preview it, or open it.  I'm not sure what causes files to be saved without their extensions.  It just seems to happen sometimes.  Very annoying.

What's more annoying is that Windows, by default, hides all filename extensions.  I wish I knew which genius at Microsoft decided this was a good idea, because I'd like to punch him in the nose.  When all extensions are hidden, you can't see at a glance if any filenames don't have an extension at all.

So, I urge you to follow these steps and make your filename extensions visible.

Painting on some skin

This is one of those tutorials that I'm writing in the hope that you'll never have to use it.

Sometimes, things don't quite go right, do they?  I'm talking about some very bright light hitting the skin of your subject, or some accidental overexposure, causing complete blowout in one or more areas.

Here is one such image that I was able to (at least partially) rescue from the brink of catastrophic blowout.  I know it's not perfect, but at least it's better than nothing.  The method I'm about to show you is not a miracle cure, by any means.  But it's a way of subtly adding some fake skin colour where none exists.

Obviously, you should be shooting Raw, which allows some latitude to rescue difficult lighting.  But even Raw is not infallible, as you can see in this gorgeous example image, kindly provided by Terri:

There was some bright light hitting Mum's fingers which caused a loss of detail which wasn't quite recoverable even in Raw.  So Terri needs to add a little bit of colour there, to prevent the viewer's eye being drawn to that area, instead of the beautiful child.

So, here's how to go about it.  (By the way, this method will work in both Photoshop and Elements.)

Easy, funky, crazy clipping masks

I'm prompted to write this short post by a great question from David on the Ask Damien page.

"How would you go about making a storyboard with some 'effect' to its edge?"

This question follows my posts about storyboards and clipping masks (here and here).  If you don't know how to make storyboards and collages and things, I encourage you to read those tutorials.

Ok, David, let's have some fun.  This is the easiest way I know to do this, and I hope you love it.

Creating, saving and using a watermark (PS & PSE)

Putting a watermark on your photos is important if they're going online.  In this tutorial I'm going to give you some simple guidance for making and using your own.

(I've captured this tutorial in Elements 9, and it's relevant to all versions of Photoshop and Elements.  Please also note that I have zero design skills, so please don't laugh at my feeble watermark!)

PART ONE: PLAN IT

As always, a bit of forethought goes a long way.  Take a little time to conceive your design.  This might involve surfing the web to look at other people's watermarks for inspiration; or it might just mean scribbling some ideas with pencil and paper.

PART TWO: MAKE IT

I've always found it's best to actually make your watermark on a photo.  This might seem plainly logical to some of you, but I'm a bit surprised at the number of people who design their watermark on a plain white background, and don't really know how it looks on a photo until they try it out afterwards.

Also, it's a darn good idea to make the watermark bigger than you'll ever need it. Therefore, I make mine on full-res photos, even though I'm only likely to use it on a low-res one.

Pick any old photo, really.  I've chosen this one of a snoozy koala:

The light around your computer

(This article was updated in May 2015)  

Be careful not to underestimate the influence of the ambient light while you're editing your photos.  I've seen many people comment that when they edit photos at night, then look at them during the daytime (or vice versa) they look markedly different.

Of course, when you edit some photos (especially if you're tired), then look at them again a few hours or days later, you're always going to notice some things you'd like to do differently or better.  That's human nature, I guess, and in a way it's a good thing - while you're perpetually critical of your own work, you'll keep striving for improvement.  And as long as you do all your Photoshop editing with layers, it should be very easy to make whatever adjustments you need.

But I'm not here to pester you about layers again.  I want to discuss light.  The light that's around you while you're doing your post-processing.

A Pinterest idea

I've been thinking ...

I know a lot of my readers sometimes struggle with skintones, because you feel uncertain about what looks good and what doesn't. Sometimes when someone shows you how it should look, it gives you some clarity of mind, and you can continue editing with more direction and confidence.

I also know a lot of you are on Pinterest. So, here's what I'm thinking. I think you should create a board called "Skintones I love". And whenever you're cruising around, checking out other photographers' blogs, or whatever, and see a photo with skintones that take your breath away, pin it!

Then, when you're doing your own editing, and feeling a bit uncertain about "is this too yellow?" or whatever, just browse your board. Immerse yourself in great skintones for a few moments, then re-visit your own photo with fresh perspective.

Web browsers and Facebook

I get SO irritated every time I see somebody say "Facebook changes the colour of images".

NO IT DOESN'T.

Facebook makes a mess of the clarity of images, we know that.  Its compression settings are pretty strong, and it plays havoc with our sharpening, in particular.  Nothing we can do about that.  With all the billions and gazillions of images on their servers, can you blame them for compressing them a bit?  Of course not.

But it doesn't change colour.  If you see that your images' colour looks different on Facebook than it did in your editing program, it's your fault, not Facebook's.  It's because you're not using the right browser.

Let's discuss the four main browsers.  We'll start at the bottom of the pile, with Internet Explorer and Google Chrome.  These two have no colour management at all.