This book is divided into

three lessons based on level

of skill.
1. Basic 04-29
2. Intermediate 30-39
3. Advance 40-57

In the following lessons we

shall learn to add colours to a
black & white images.

Bing life to odd old images.

 Advanced editing in
Adobe™ Photoshop PREFACE
H
ello my dear readers, thank you for viewing. If you are looking
for a book that not only teaches you but also develops the
core fundamental concepts of using the most renowned image
editing application Adobe™ Photoshop in a very unique way, your
search ends here. There are various books available in the market
typically written on Photo Editing software especially on Photoshop
but those books are actually useless in today’s time period because
you can easily acquire that same knowledge from Google™ and
especially from YouTube™. Now you must be thinking, what is the use
of this book? How is this book different from other books?
To be very honest, this book is totally different from other books
because this book doesn’t primarily focus on conventional teaching
methods. On the other hand, this book will guide you to accomplish a
specific task. As you follow along with the guidance, you will not only
learn to use the tools inside Photoshop but also develop an overall
idea of how things are done inside Photoshop. In a very short time,
you will learn a lot very easily with concept building. Unlike other
books, this book only focuses on practical examples rather than
boring and unnecessary theoretical details.
Photoshop is a very dynamic software and one book is not enough.
Photoshop is also used parallelly with many other software and plug-
ins. Adobe Photoshop is one of the most preferred, old and powerful
digital photo editing software in the world.
Photo editing is an art and Adobe Photoshop is the most advanced
powerful tool that turns all artistic imaginations into reality. It is said
that anything is possible with the magic of photoshop. In this book,
you will learn to use the power of Photoshop to edit a digital photo in
the best possible manner. Be prepared to be a Photoshop Magician.
Before you proceed, let me myself be very clear, this book
is only and only for advanced photoshop users. I assume all the
readers have basic knowledge of Photoshop. This book will be a
little difficult for readers with zero knowledge of Photoshop.
This book has become possible only because of the amazing tutorials
provided by smart photoshop experts across the globe. Attribution
goes to the website “Worth1000” which was closed down because of
an unknown reason. I had learnt from this site and thankfully I saved
some tutorials which are again beautifully compiled, redesigned
and resurrected in this book. I also corrected some minor errors
and punctuation mistakes and reorganised everything with more
information for easy and better understanding.
As per Wikipedia, Worth1000 was an image manipulation and contest
website opened on January 1, 2002, and hosted over 340,000 unique
images made in theme contests such as “Rejected Transformers”,
“Invisible World”, and “Stupid Protests”. In mid-2003, Worth1000
began hosting similar competitions for photography, creative writing,
and multimedia. The service was shut down on 1 October 2013. In
June 2014 the site was acquired by Sydney based crowdsourcing
website DesignCrowd from Emerge Media.
I wished I could mention the names of the contributors but
unfortunately, real names are not available and only user IDs are
given. But I sincerely thank all the genius masterminds for all the
amazing free tutorials you shared. I acknowledge Worth 1000 for
sharing it with us without which this book has not been possible.

© Abhijit Kumar Misra 2021

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the creator.
 THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP

COLOURING A BLACK
AND WHITE IMAGE IN
PHOTOSHOP
SKILL LEVEL : BASIC
So friends, let’s begin the first lesson
of colouring a Black & White image
using Gradient Maps.
We will work on this image and try to
add colours. I will try my best to keep
this as basic and simple as possible
for beginners to understand and
enjoy working through it.
What is a Gradient Map?
The easiest way to understand
a Gradient Map is to look at the
meaning of both words.
Gradient: A gradient is a gradual
blend between two or more colours.
Map: A map tells Photoshop how to
assign or map colours based upon

Please Note: All the images are given in the order of sequence.
4
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

BLACK AND WHITE

TO COLOUR
the luminance levels of the original image. So together, you’ve got a Gradient
Map.
You can save the image and work on it as you follow through with the steps of
this tutorial. In the following image, you can see our image with the Layers Box
on the top right. If you can’t see your layers box, you can find it under Windows
Menu or click F7 and it will appear.

5
THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP

6
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

On the bottom of the “Layers Box” as shown in the above, you will see a small
circle. When you hover your mouse over it, it should say : create new fill or
adjustment layer. Click on it.

A drop down box will appear and second, from the bottom, you will see a
Gradient Map. Click on it.

A Gradient Map box will now appear. The exact location may differ with
different versions but it works exactly same.

7
THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

Oh! Your Gradient Map box

doesn’t look similar to the
given image, right?

Don’t worry that your Gradient

Map box is not showing the
same colour as mine because
Photoshop remembers the last
colour I used.

I suspect you will see the

default black and white. For
this reason, I will have to walk
you through some steps so we
are both working together and
seeing the same thing and this
is a good thing, because it will
teach you how to find and open
your Gradient Maps.

9
Now we need to change the
Blend Mode to Colour. Look in
your layers box and up the top,
you will see a bar with Normal
written on it. Click on that so
a drop-down box appears, and
look down to the bottom and
select Colour.

11
12
 Select the blend mode to Color.

13
14
Next, click on the tiny
downward arrow. Another box
filled with coloured gradient
map preset thumbnails will
appear. Again, don’t worry if
your box is filled with different
coloured thumbnails, I’m
going to get you on the same
page as me in the next step!
If your box is too small and
is hiding all the thumbnails,
simply drag the corner to
enlarge.

15
Can you see the little cogwheel that I have circled
in red?

Click on that and a drop-down box will appear.

Look down the list and select SIMPLE. Click on
that.
 THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP

A box will pop up asking you: Replace current gradients with the gradients from
Simple? Click Okay.

Hooray! We should be on the same page.

You should now see a

pop-up box of Simple
gradient map preset
thumbnails.

Let’s click on Blue.

18
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

Gradient Maps replace the range of black, grey, and white tones with a gradient
of your choice, in effect colourizing your image.
Notice the word Reverse with a little box you can tick. This is what it looks like
if the Reverse box is ticked. You will notice it has now reversed the coloured bar
in your Gradient Map box from white-blue to blue-white.
It is a good idea to change the name of our Gradient Map 1 Layer. Let’s call it
blue. If we don’t give the layer its own name, as we add more layers, they will
all be called Gradient Map by default, and it will be very frustrating trying to
find a particular layer.

19
 THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP

Double click over the

Gradient Map 1 name to
highlight it in blue.
Backspace and rename by
typing. Let’s keep it simple
and call the layer blue.
We can easily change the
colour of our toy by simply
clicking the colour bar in the
Gradient Map box to open
the Gradient Editor.

20
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

Let’s try selecting the red colour.

You can take a minute and try out all

the other colours if you like.

But, in this tutorial, I chose the blue

colour.

21
Switch back to blue by clicking the colour bar in the Gradient Map
box and selecting the blue thumbnail as before.
Now we are going to learn how to selectively colour part of our toy.
Masking!
Look at your Layers Box in the picture shown above.
On the blue layer, see the little white box, this is a Layer Mask
Thumbnail.
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

When the Mask Thumbnail is clicked, the

Gradient Map box changes to show Masks.
Now look at your tools.
Look for the Foreground and Background
colours. Select Black as your Foreground
colour.
With the hard Brush tool selected, change
the size to 5000. This means the brush size
is HUGE!
Set the Opacity to 100% and the Flow to
100%.
Now click the centre of our toy image.
Our image is back to Black and White! All
traces of the blue have been removed.
Take a look at the little masking box on your
blue layer - it’s now filled with BLACK!
Find your Foreground and Background
colours and change the Foreground to
White.
 THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP

This time, select a smaller brush so you can manage to colour the toy comfortably.
Now simply start painting on the colour!
Notice the Mask thumbnail is now showing white to represent the colour you
have applied.
NOTE: Remember, when using the layer mask, to paint with a Black foreground
takes the colour away. Painting with a White foreground adds colour to an image.
24
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

When you colour close to the

edge, sometimes you may
need to switch to a softer
brush to blend in the colour
edges and prevent harsh lines.
Let’s colour underneath his
eyes red.
Add a new Gradient Map
Layer, in exactly the same
way as before, but select the
red thumbnail. Don’t forget
to change the Blend Mode to
Colour!

25
 THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP

Rename your new layer red.

Keeping on this red layer, click and select the mask thumbnail box as before.
Change the foreground to Black (to remove the colour)
Select a hard brush and the size 5000.
Click the centre of the image.
26
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

The red should now be gone,

revealing the blue you have
previously coloured!
Switch the Foreground to White
(remember, white adds colour!)
Change your brush size to a smaller
size then colour in under his eyes
neatly.
If you accidentally colour in the
wrong area, simply switch the
foreground to Black and you can
easily “paint” out your mistake.
Add another Gradient Map layer
and repeat those steps again, this
time selecting orange and colour
in his beak!
Don’t forget, at any time you can
change colours by opening the
Gradient Editor.
Let’s get a little more adventurous!
Working on the blue layer, open
your Gradient Editor (click the
colour bar in your Gradient Map
box).
Click on the cogwheel to open
the drop down box to find your
Gradient Maps.
Let’s try out Harmonies 1. Click
Okay.
Click on any of the thumbnails and
27
 THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP

experiment with different looks.

In the example below we have two
colours in the Gradient Map bar,
Red-Orange on the left, and Blue-
Green on the right and a blend
of the two colours in the centre.
Photoshop maps the lightest
tones of your image to one colour
(Blue-Green) in the gradient and
changes the darkest tones to the
other colour (Red-Orange) of the
gradient. All the formerly grey
tones to an intermediate colour
between the two.
Go back and choose a different
Gradient Map from the drop down
list.
Now you can have fun experimenting with different thumbnails in the Gradient
Editor. Try out different Gradient Maps. When you use multiple colours or fancy
gradients, the image gets interesting. Tick/untick the Reverse box and see what
happens.
Although we haven’t coloured anything very startling, I think this is enough for
now and feel that if you have successfully made it this far (and you had no clue
beforehand) you have learned quite a lot! I don’t want to bombard you with too
much all at once.
Have a practice while I get a start on “Part Two” of how to colour with Gradient
Maps.
If you have any problems, or I haven’t explained something very well, please
don’t hesitate to drop me a pm!

28
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

Before

After

29
COLOURING A BLACK
AND WHITE IMAGE IN
PHOTOSHOP
SKILL LEVEL : INTERMEDIATE

I hope you have learnt to colour a black

and white image. Now, let’s do the same
but this time, I have chosen a complex
image.
Continuing on from my previous tutorial
of Colourizing a Black and White Image
using Gradient Maps [Basic], we are
going to learn how to make our own
Gradient Maps to colourize a black and
white image.
We will use this image of a dress for our
demonstration.
It will be a fun, let’s begin...

30
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

Let’s start by opening the Gradient

Map. Change the mode in your Layers
box to Colour. I have a Reverse ticket.
Click on the Gradient Map bar to open
the Gradient Editor.
These are called Colour Stops.
Click on the far right colour stop.
Now it will allow you to select a new
colour. Click the blue swatch beside
the word Colour: The Colour Picker
box will open. I’ve selected pink.
Let’s select a new colour for the left
Colour Stop by clicking on it and
selecting a new colour from the Colour
Picker Box. I’ve selected pale blue.

So, where the image is darker, pink is applied, and where it is lighter, blue is
applied. The mid-tones are coloured with a blend of pink and blue in the middle
of the gradient.
31
 THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP

If you want the effect reversed,

tick/untick Reverse on the
Gradient Map.
Let’s add another colour to
our Gradient Map. By clicking
where I have indicated below,
we can add another Colour
Stop.
Then, click on our new Colour
Stop, repeating the previous
steps to add a new colour. I’ve

32
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

selected the orange colour.

As you can see, orange has taken
over the pink and blue. We are
going to fix that by moving the
blue Colour Stop to the right. Click,
Hold and Drag the Colour Stop. I’ve
moved it to the 20% Location. The
orange is located at 50% and the
pink is at 100%.
Now I’m going to move the pink
Colour Stop to the left using the
same method.
Repeating these steps, you can add
more colour.
If you’ve gone a little crazy and you
want to remove some of the colours,
just Click, Hold and Drag the Colour
Stop upwards to drop and release it
INTO the gradient bar!
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

You can swap the Colour

Stop locations around!
Just Click, Hold and
Drag!
By moving the Colour
Stops into different
locations along the
bar, we have created a
completely new look.
Sometimes just the
smallest move can make
a dramatic difference.
I’ve removed the pink
Colour Stop and replaced
it with green.
You can save any
Gradient Maps you make
by clicking Save and
naming your file so you
can find it easily.

35
 THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP

Click Load to find your Gradients.

The best way to really learn and understand how these Gradient Maps work, is to
play around with them and experiment.
Don’t forget, you can add many Gradient Map layers, masking them so they
only apply colour to certain areas of your image. They can be one single gradient
colour - or as I have just shown you, consist of many colours, creating interesting
36
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

effects! If you come across a particular Handy Hint: Sometimes when you are
colour palette you really like, sample colouring, it can be hard to see any parts
the colours and apply them to Colour you may have missed, especially if you
Stops, moving them around until you have been colouring for hours and your
get the desired effect. eyes are tired.
Try out different Blend Modes Change the Blend Mode in your layer box
and Opacity in your Layers box from Colour to Normal and you can see
too, you just might be surprised very easily any areas you have missed!
at some wonderful effects you can In fact, sometimes I find it easier to do
achieve. Duplicate a Gradient Map, the actual colouring in Normal Blend
change the Blend Mode to see what Mode, then when I’m done, change it
happens. Lower the Opacity and let back to Colour Blend Mode. As you can
the underneath Gradient Map show now see, it is very obvious the areas that
through! have been missed!
Another terrific thing you can do with your Gradient Maps is use them to create
a filter for your image by lowering the Opacity in your Layers box to get the
desired effect.
Original image of an elephant.

37
With a Gradient Map of purple and orange, Blend Mode set to Colour and the
Opacity lowered to 40%.
Experiment using different Blend Modes. Here I have changed the Blend Mode

38
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

to Overlay.
You can now make your own unique filters and have a lot of fun with them.
Once you are familiar with how to use Gradient Maps, I recommend you continuing
further with this brilliant tutorial Advanced Colourization Techniques.

Before After

39
 THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP

Colouring an old image

with the magic of
PHOTOSHOP
SKILL LEVEL - ADVANCED

40
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

01. Advanced Colourization Techniques

Colourizing a black & white image is one of the most satisfying endeavours you
can pursue in digital imaging. I find bringing new life to a classic image to be
quite exhilarating.
We’ll use this theme post of Martha Hyer for demonstration purposes.
Martha Hyer was an Oscar-Nominated American actress of 1950s died in 2014.
In this tutorial we are going to add colour to one of the most loved old photos of
her.

Note: I use Photoshop CS5e on a PC. These techniques work particularly well for
me, but by no means should they be considered the only or best way to do things.
As usual, you are encouraged to experiment to discover what works best for you.
41
 THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP

1. Prepare your sources

The chances of your black & white source being perfectly suited for colouring
right off the bat are slim. The source we are using here is very close, but it still
can use some preparation and clean-up before adding any colour.

The first thing to do is prepare the source image for colouring. This includes
extracting as much detail as possible in both the highlights and shadows;
removing dust spots and/or scratches; repairing damage; taming unruly noise;
sharpening; correcting luminance values; etc. It’s much easier to attend to these
issues before any colour is applied!

Remember as a kid, you were given a colouring book and a nice new box of
crayons? You were taught to “stay in the lines”! Well, that is still the case with
digital colouring. Now, however, we can get some help by using masking. As
you might expect, the quality of your colouring effort will depend greatly on the

42
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

quality of your masking. So next, let’s make some masks!

2. Make selection groups

There’s a good chance that your project will end up having lots of layers. I used
just a short of 60 layers to colourize this photo. Sources with more subjects and
details could easily grow to several hundred layers. It’s a good idea to organize
your workflow from the very beginning.
I initially divided this image
into 4 main areas: the model,
foreground, background and
sky. Create a new layer group
for each main area. It’s wise
to label each appropriately.
Working near to far1, use
your preferred method to
make a selection for each
main area. For maximum
accuracy, I generally use the
pen tool. Create a mask from
your selection on each of the
groups.

1
Why select near to far? This
way you’ll never need to go over
the same line twice. E.g., first,
I selected the model (in front).
Next, I selected the tree (behind
her), but just drew roughly
through the model. To finish,
I just subtracted the model
selection from that of the tree! Similarly, you can add or intercept selections to get the
needed result.

43
 THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP
3. Make sub-selections within groups

44
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

Next, within each group,

continue by creating sub-
groups and drawing selections/
making masks of specific parts.
In the model group, I selected:
pants, belt, blouse, jewellery,
hair, skin. Create sub-sub-
groups for those parts that
will need even more detailed
selections. E.g., in this case,
additional selections were
made within the skin sub-
group for lips, teeth, eyes.
After you’ve suffered this
rather tedious selection/
masking marathon, you will
have a nicely organized layer tree in which you’ll be able to quickly find virtually
any part of the image. This will pay big dividends later on.
Good grief! After all that work, my B&W image still looks the same! Can I start
colouring now? Please?
Hold your horses! We’re getting there, but first, let’s explore a couple of colour
application techniques that you may have never considered.
One commonly used method of colouring adds a hue/saturation (H/S) adjustment
layer with the colourize option checked and the hue adjusted as desired. This
is quite effective in many cases, but it is certainly not the best way (IMHO) -
especially if you desire a bit more control over the result.

4. Using gradient maps to apply colour

Let’s consider colouring skin. Rather than using H/S, I suggest using a gradient
map adjustment layer in normal mode. The following example shows a regular
black to white value gradient. The top half was coloured using H/S. The lower
half was coloured with a 5 colour gradient map in normal mode.

45
 THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP

They are indeed similar, but look closely at the darkest and lightest values. The
pure blacks and whites in the top half remain black and white. This is because the
H/S method (or colour mode painting) affects these values less and less as they
become more pure. The gradient map example, however, produces a smoother
transition and those pure blacks and whites have now taken on a hint of colour.
When applied to an actual photo, the difference is even more apparent.
The H/S method restricts you to one and only one hue. Of course, you can paint
on a colour mode layer using several carefully selected colours, but in either
case, those pure blacks/whites will simply not accept any colour.
On the other hand, the gradient map starts with 5 colours. Each can be adjusted
for hue, saturation and lightness individually. You can remove colours or add as
many as you like. And you will have complete control over the colour of those
extremely dark or light values.
While great for skin, a Gradient Map can be used for any colouring task. For a
46
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

simple single colour need, start with a black to white gradient and add a stop
of the desired colour somewhere in between. Adjust to suit. Try a gradient map
for duo tone tritone, quad tone. Of course you can also change a gradient map
adjustment layer to any blend mode that produces the desired result, or use
blend-if (see next).
I suggest that you give the Gradient Map method a try. If you want to play with
the same map I’ve used here, the formula follows:

5 tone skin colour gradient map

Colour: 0D0B0A 36271E AB6E55 F5CCB8 FFF9F2
Location: 0% 18 % 50 % 83 % 100 w%
Plug these values into a new gradient map and save it for repeat use. Apply it
and experiment with changing the HSL, location and midpoint location for each
colour stop. Once you get the hang of it, I believe you’ll become a believer as well!

47
 THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP

5. Using blend-if

Perhaps one of the most powerful and versatile tools you have at your disposal is
“Blend If”. You can find it at the bottom of Blending Options (in the Layer Style
dialog).

Note: It is absolutely okay if the image given above or any screen shot in this
tutorial is not exactly similar with yours. It depends on applied theme under
preference settings or the version of Photoshop we are using.

If you are not familiar with this tool, I highly recommend learning how to use it
and what it can do!
Let’s put it to good use in the sky group of our demo image:

48
Select and expand the “sky” group. (I’ve blacked out the rest for emphasis.)
First, I want to add some colour to the sky:
1. Add a new normal mode layer and fill
it using the gradient tool (light yellow to
light blue). Since the group is masked, this
will only show in the sky.
2. Reduce the layer opacity to around
40%.
3. Since we don’t want the colour on
the trees, we’ll use Blend If to let the darks
pass through. With the gradient layer active,
open the Blending Options dialog. Alt-click
on the right half of the black arrow in the
underlying layer sliders and drag it all the
way to the right. Drag the left half to the
right until all the colour is gone from the
 THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP

darker tree branches.

Now I want to make the trees green:
1. Add a normal mode gradient map adjustment layer. I made a gradient from
50
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

a darker green to a greenish gold for

some variation.
2. Since we want to colour only
the trees we’ll again use Blend If to
let the brights pass through this time.
With the gradient map layer active,
open the Blending Options dialog,
Alt-click on the left half of the white
arrow in the underlying layer sliders
and drag it all the way to the left. The
other half can stay at the right end.
Next, I want to add more colour
variation to the tree leaves and
browns to the branches:
1. Add a new colour mode layer.
Using a soft brush, simply paint in
earthy colours over the leaves and
browns over the branches as shown. As you can see, there’s no need to be too
precise.
2. Since we want the colour only on the trees, we’ll use Blend If to let the
bright pass through once again. Alt-click on the left half of the white arrow in
the underlying layer sliders and drag it all the way to the left. Drag the right half
to the left a bit until you are happy with the blending result.
And there you have it. We’ve added some realistic colours to the sky and the trees
very quickly without any additional masking required, all thanks to “Blend If”!

6. Colourize
Finally, it’s almost time to start adding some colour! BUT WAIT! Before adding
colours, it’s a good idea to have a pretty good idea of what colours to add. This is
seldom an easy task. While much of the time it boils down to educated guessing,
I suggest doing some research. If your source includes people, you may wish
to search for and note similar period clothing/costuming. If a celebrity, you
51
THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP

can look up their eye colour,

hair colour, etc. If a scene
from a classic movie, watch
the movie if possible for
contextual clues. Look for
illustrated colour posters
for ideas. Collect examples
to reference once you begin
colourizing.
Although colour theory is
beyond the scope of this
tutorial, it wouldn’t hurt to
be familiar with the basics.
Use colour to support the
atmosphere and theme of
the image. The main thing
to keep in mind is that you
will want to choose colours
that are honest, realistic and
logical.
You should now be well-
armed and ready to
colourize. Since you have a
perfectly structured layer
tree and have pre-made
almost all needed masks,
this step should move along
very quickly. Work through
your layer tree and colourize
(within your pre-configured
groups) by the main area.
There’s no need to be too
critical as you proceed right
now. Just lay down your
base colours. The fact is, the
result is simply not going to
52
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

look all that good until everything is coloured. Also, a good rule of thumb is to
Colourize absolutely everything. Even greys and whites have a hint of colour
introduced from lighting or reflected off surroundings.
Once you have all your basic colouring applied, you can evaluate the overall
image. If any of the colours you chose do not seem quite right, return to that
group and adjust accordingly. You can add as many new layers to any group as
needed to get the desired result as you work.

7. Refining
The next step is to add all the tasty details and enhancements that will make
your image POP!
Do you want to slightly change the colouring of a particular part? Do you want

53
 THE MAGIC OF PHOTOSHOP

to add some colour variation or accent colours? Do you want to make selective
contrast, brightness, sharpness adjustments? Since you have masks on hand for
virtually everything in the image, all of this and more can be done easily and
precisely.
I typically create a new merge of all layers (named Details) on top of my layer
stack, as if to start afresh. I’m now essentially retouching a new full colour image!
You can continue to edit non-destructively if you wish. I generally will just add
the layers I need for a particular refinement, and when satisfied, merge down to
the Details layer. This simply avoids the accumulation of too many additional
layers.

8. Dodge & Burn

One of the most effective
enhancements you can apply
to your image is the standard
retouching method known as
“dodge and burn”. Your goal
is to strengthen the perception
of depth (aka sculpting) by
selectively brightening or
darkening the existing and logical
highlights and shadows.
Contrary to what you might
immediately think, this process
doesn’t involve the use of
Photoshop’s basic dodge and
burn tools. Rather, it is done non-
destructively on an independent
layer.
On top of your layer stack, add a new layer filled with 50% grey with a blending
mode of overlay (or soft light for a more subdued effect). On this layer, you will
paint with a small, soft brush set to 1-5% flow. To brighten, stroke the area with
white, gradually building density as desired. Conversely, to darken, paint with
black.
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 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

After doing some judicious painting, your layer might look something like this:
In context, here is the effect this effort will produce:

9. Finishing touches
Are we done yet? Good question, but not one easily answered. I often declare I’m
“done” a dozen times, but I seem to continue to find minute things that I just
have to refine.
Your best bet is to save a flattened copy of your image and perhaps make a print.
Shut down your editor and walk away. Give your eyes something else to look at
besides your computer screen for a while. Some time later, return and open your
image again. View it full-screen with no editor junk in the way. Step back and
simply ask yourself, “Does this look like a genuine colour photograph?” Look at
the print and ask the same question. Ask others as well. If you cannot honestly
answer in the affirmative, there’s a good chance you are not quite done yet!
I think mine is done! The end result is shown in the next page.

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Note: All the images from the beginning to the end are given in the order of sequence.
 ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA

It may happened that I have written something in page 5 and referred image is given
in page 6.

I hope you were able to reap some useful information from this tutorial.
Happy Colouring!

For any query, feel free to ask me

ABHIJIT KUMAR MISRA
abhijitkumarmisra@gmail.com

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