Family Portrait Retouch

Here's a before and after family portrait circa 1972 of mother, father and me. The portrait has seen it's better days and took a good 12 hours to complete, as it was an aged and damaged photo scanned on a flat bed. The most time-consuming part was the initial cleanup and reconstructing skin while trying to maintain detail and texture. The backdrop for the retouch image was created using Filter>Render>Clouds in Photoshop to simulate a muslin backdrop and added an appropriate hue.

Video Editing Interactivity

Amazing technology. Check this out!



Interactive Video Object Manipulation from Dan Goldman on Vimeo.

Red Blotches with Digital Images: A quick Fix

A common problem with digital capture on skin tones is the tendency to render unpleasing red blotches on the image. This exaggeration of reds is due to the Bayer-pattern system used on the camera's sensor to interpret color data. There are many ways to remedy this problem with Photoshop color adjustment tools, however, the Hue/Sat tool is by far the most efficient in correcting the sensor's shortcomings.




There are different ways to approach this: Take the image below the patches of red surrounding the face. The object is to create even tone throughout. Create a Hue/Sat adjustment layer (think non-destructive editing) in the layers palette and choose Magentas in the Edit drop-down menu. Move the Hue slider to the right between 20-30. I always split the difference and use +25 for better transition. The last step is to click the cursor in the dark-shaded portion (center) of the color bar slider at the bottom of the dialog box, then move to the right toward the reds and yellows until the red blotches disappear. It's that simple!







The last step if tones were lost in the lips, would be to choose the paintbrush between hard and soft and paint over the lips in full opacity to reveal the underlying layer that contained the red tone on the lips. Make sure the the adjustment layer is highlighted the layers palette when brushing over the affected area.



Since we don't live in a perfect world, I was compelled to create an unbalanced rendering in sardonic nature after creating even skin tones for my friend. Maybe he should use this as a profile pic for Facebook.

Mister Retro Photoshop filters

If you're into anything retro like I am, especially 50s and 60s era graphic design, photography and signage, check out Mister Retro, a site that offers some really cool Photoshop filters called Machine Wash. The filters comprise of a four-part series, each containing 60 effects that give your designs and photos a distressed and weathered look. You can buy them individually, or bundled together to save a few bucks. The site also offers books, prints and apparel of anything retro. Check it out!

Below are some before and after examples of the filters. The interface is user friendly and the conveniant drop-down menu offers a quick preview of each filter.


Here's an old Coke sign before applying the filter:


After installation, the plugin is located under the filter menu in photoshop.




I chose the Aged filter, and it's just a matter of tweaking the effect with the user-friendly interface by adjusting the sliders for preferred intensity, scale, etc. Once satisfied, click OK.





A couple more examples:









As you can see, there are many possibilities to adding a unique and nostalic element to your designs and photos. Below, I combined two elements: the poster above and the picture of a brick wall below, to provide an interesting composition.







Of course, you can create your own distressed and weathered effects, but that's time consuming and counter productive. For less than 200 bucks, you have 240 filters at your disposal to assist you in the creative process. Enjoy!

Photo of the Day: Yunnan, China

This was taken by an anonymous photographer of Heilong Tan Park in Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China. The captivating Yu Long Snow Mountain is in the background. Of all the places I visited in China, I would have to say Yunnan Province was the most serene and breathtaking region. The Province and its environs reminded me of the western US; with rocky mountains, breathtaking vistas and unusual geological formations.



Yunnan is the home of 23 distinct ethnic minorities, making it the most culturally diverse Provinces in China. This fact alone, gives the photographer an infinite amount of inspiration. Below, is a pic I took of the Mrs. dressed in ethnic minority regalia (not sure which group) at Stone Forest, outside the city of Kunming.


Yunnan Travel Guide

Extracting Detail in Hues

I work with hundreds of images on a weekly basis, and what I encounter the most is lack of detail in hues especially in reds, due to overexposure or over saturation in edits. The most important thing in approaching these images is to have an understanding of complementary(opposite) colors that affect detail in a specific hue.

The complimentary color that holds detail in red for example, would be cyan; magenta for green and yellow for blue. Keeping this is mind, the Photoshop user will know how to approach an image utilizing various tools to extract detail for a more pleasing and defining image.

In the following tutorial, keeping in step with the holiday spirit, I chose an over-saturated and overexposed image of poinsettias.





Step 1: Open the image in Photoshop. The first step in working non-destructively is create a Hue/Sat adjustment layer and in this case, select reds, click the eyedropper on any blown-out red of the image to get a more precise range, then take the saturation slider to -30 and click OK.




















Step 2: This is the result applying the Hue/Sat adjustment layer. We were able to bring out some detail in the leaves and render the hue to a more realistic darker red associated with poinsettias. The next step is to extract more detail. There are many tools at your disposal, but I find Selective Color to be the easiest.

Create a Selective Color adjustment layer, choose Reds, and move the Cyan slider +100 %.







Step 3: The result after applying the Selective Color adjustment layer added more detail, but added a little more density than needed. To Correct this adjustment, double-click the empty area of the layer in the layers pallete to bring up the Layer Style dialog box. Move the black arrow of This Layer in the Blend If option to the right until you some of the shadow areas fade, then split the arrow by holding Option/Alt, and moving the second arrow to desired effect for better transition of the shadow areas. This technique brings back shadow detail that was lost with an adjustment.







Step 4: This is the result applying the Blend If layer style to unplug the shadow area resulting from the Selective Color adjustment layer. The next step is to sharpen the image to bring out more detail and provide more contrast at the same time. I prefer using High Pass sharpening because it provides more precise edge detection, especially when working on subjects other than people...at least in my opinion.

First, create a duplicate layer (Cmd/Ctr J).Go to Filter>Other>High Pass. In the dialog box, move the Radius slider to 0, then slowly move to the right until detail emerges. You generally want to stay in the 1 to 3 range, depending on the file size, but don't worry if you go overboard because you can adjust the opacity in the duplicate layer for the desired result. Click OK, then change the layer blending mode in the duplicate layer to Overlay or Hard Light, then adjust opacity for desired effect.

Before and After

By understanding how colors
complement each other, you
can determine how to extract
detail in specific hues by utilizing
various tools in Photoshop to render a detailed and pleasing image. Thanks for viewing!

With HDR (High Dynamic Range) being all the rage for the past couple years, I am always amazed at the surreal rendering of a photograph using this method. HDR is essentially capturing the entire range of lightness values in a composition by taking multiple exposures. The easiest method is to set your camera in auto bracket mode to over and underexpose by 1 stop. Three exposures should be sufficient, but to achieve a higher range of highlight, midtone and shadow detail, bracket as many as 4 to 5 exposures each over and under. It is important that you bracket shutter speed only, as you do not want to affect depth of field by bracketing f/stops.

The second process is to stitch the exposures into one image using the Merge to HDR feature in Photoshop ,or in Photomatix, a stand-alone HDR application (highly recommended). After the exposures are rendered into one file, it is just a matter of applying adjustments in the tone mapping interface of Photomatix, and then opening the image in Photoshop for a final tweak. You are only limited in the scope of your creativity.

Below are examples that captivated me:







Here's one of mine taken at the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse:


Here are some helpful links:




Where is Ben?: Acclaimed author, lecturer and photographer Ben Wilmore's blog devoted to Photoshop and HDR. His photos are amazing!