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Issue Three
September
2022

Layer-based
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 Photoshop
Do more than you thought possible
The complexities of Photoshop will
eventually seem less daunting as you
become more familiar and confident
with the large array of tools available.
There is also no doubt that over
time, you will default to a certain
number of core tools and techniques
that matches your workflow. It is
always good form to step out of your
comfort zone now and again and try
something new. Let’s continue the
learning process in this issue. While
you’re at it, say hello to Photoshop
Elements too.
3
 Contents
Complex Compostions Exploring Photoshop
8 How to work with many layers and how the order 20 Modifying selections
of the various components work as well 22 Gradient fill and paint bucket
24 The clone stamp tool

8
22 26

Tools and Techniques

28 Panorama stitching
30 Soft focus technique
32 The pen tool and paths
34 Contrast and saturation

30 34

4
Inside the Edit More Mega Tips
38 Work smart 70 Bananas, monkeys, coffee and toast
40 Images that pop 72 Front image cropping
74 Improve your spot healing
76 One image, two windows
46 78 Transparency from blend

72

Lightroom Develop Module

82 Introducing the develop module
84 Using the crop and straighten tool
Photoshop Creative Zone 86 Removing spots and red eye
88 Adjustments using the basic panel
44 Create an underwater scene
52 Liquid effects
58 The dragan effect 82
64 Add your own lens flare

44

Photoshop Elements
92 What is Photoshop Elements?
94 The Elements home screen
96 The quick mode workspace

96

5
 Complex
Compositions
One of the many benefits of layer-based editing
is how you can manage and organise more
complicated projects that consist of many layers
and adjustments. This means you can work non-
destructively by duplicating image elements in
order to retain the original source materials and
stacking adjustment layers rather than destroying
the original pixel data, colour
and size of each element. Take
a look at our example over the
page. It ends up with nine layers
to create the final sci-fi image.

6
COMPLEX COMPOSITIONS

7
 COMPLEX COMPOSITIONS SCI-FI ART

AFTER

Sci-fi
Art BEFORE

Turn friends and loved ones

into mechanical beings
It is often the case that as a digital graphic artist, you
sometimes have to work with a number of image components
and bring them together to make one final image. This means
working with your multiple images over many layers with
adjustments and masks; it is a good exercise in being able to
manage a larger than usual document. Our example uses a
collection of foreground and background images as well as
some assets to be used to create a
human/cyborg hybrid. This tutorial aims to help
you understand a little more about working with many layers
and how the order of the various components work as well as
masking and adjusting colour, exposure, saturation and layer
styles. At the end, you will have a neat little sci-fi image and
hopefully learn a few interesting creative tricks along the way.

8

We have four main components that will be assembled to create
01
the final piece of art. There is our main character base, a secondary
character element, a backdrop and a human portrait. For your attempt, you
can find many similar images like these for free on sites like Pixabay.com.
At the moment of course, the order of elements is incorrect. In the
03
layers palette, click and drag the layers to reorder them with ‘face’
at the top and ‘simulant’ below that, then ‘cyborg’ and finally ‘station’ at the
bottom of the stack.
SCI-FI ART COMPLEX COMPOSITIONS
We’re using Adobe Bridge to navigate to the folder where the four
02
images are kept. Highlight all four and then go to Tools > Photoshop
> Load Files Into Photoshop Layers. They will be put into a new Photoshop
document in alphabetical order.
For the moment, you don’t need to see the ‘face’ layer yet. Click on
04
the visibility icon to the left of the thumbnail image to turn it off. Now
you should see the other three components in their correct order.
9
 COMPLEX COMPOSITIONS SCI-FI ART
First, click on the ‘station’ layer and then go to the bottom of the
05
layers palette and click on the Create A New Layer button. The new
layer will be added above the ‘station’ layer you just clicked. Name it ‘mist 1’
and make sure it is active.
Add a second new layer called ‘mist 2’ and place this one between
07
the ‘simulant’ and ‘cyborg’ layers. Using the same large white brush,
paint around the main character to create some additional separation
between the simulant and cyborg characters.
10
Go to the toolbar and select the Brush Tool (B). Use a large soft
06
brush of about 1800 pixels and make sure the foreground colour is
white and Opacity is about 50%. Paint white around the cyborg character
to create a little mist that separates him from the background.
Next you need to create our human/simulant and add a human
08
face to the character on the ’simulant’ layer. Go back to the
‘face’ layer and click its visibility icon once more to make it visible again.

In order to be able to match the size and positioning of the human
09
face to the simulant character image, reduce the Opacity of the ‘face’
layer to 50%. You will now be able to see the rest of the image below it.
Now you need to make a mask to conceal areas of the human face so
11
it appears to fit exactly over the face of the character on the ’simulant’
layer. Since the facial aperture has some interesting curves, you need to use
the Pen Tool and make a path that can then be turned into a selection.
SCI-FI ART COMPLEX COMPOSITIONS
Press Cmd + T to use the Free Transform Tool and move and scale
10
the ‘face’ layer image so the main features such as eyes, nose and
mouth roughly match the existing features of the simulant character beneath
it. Press Enter to commit the changes you’ve made.
Keep the ‘face’ layer active and go to the Toolbar and choose
12
the Pen Tool (P). Click once on the edge of the simulant suit face
area to add an anchor point and then click and drag further along the
edge to add another anchor point.
11
 COMPLEX COMPOSITIONS SCI-FI ART
You drag your mouse around and will be able to create a curved line
13
between the two anchor points that you added, that matches the
curve of the suit. When you have the curve as you want it, you can release
the Mouse button.
Using the Pen Tool you can work your way around the face mask until
15
you’ve gone all the way around and come back to where you started.
You can click on your starting point to join up the path you’ve created.
12
You can then move along and add a new anchor point and click
14
and drag that one to continue creating curved areas along the suit
face mask. If you don’t want any curves, you can simply click once to add
a point and move on and click again to add another.
Go to the Paths tab above your layer stack and click on it. You will see
16
the path you’ve just drawn as a Work Path. Below are a number of
icons. Click on the Load Path As Selection to convert the path to a selection.
You will see marching ants appear to confirm this.

Go back to your Layers tab and make sure the ‘face’ layer is still
17
active, go to the bottom of the layers palette and click on the Add
Layer Mask button. A mask will be added in the shape of the selection.
Between the ‘face’ layer thumbnail and the mask thumbnail is a
19
small chain link icon. When visible, it means that any move, scale or
adjustment to the image will also affect the mask. Click the chain link icon so
the image and the layer mask are independent of each other.
SCI-FI ART COMPLEX COMPOSITIONS
You can now return the Opacity of the ‘face’ layer to 100% and only
18
the area inside the face mask can now be seen. Everything else
outside the selection is hidden by the mask you just added. You may notice
that the human face isn’t quite wide enough to fit the face mask.
Make sure the ‘face’ thumbnail is active and go to Filter > Liquify
20
(Shift + Cmd + X). The Liquify panel will open and you can use
the Forward Warp Tool (W) to stretch out the edge of the girl’s face.
13
 COMPLEX COMPOSITIONS SCI-FI ART
Work around the edges of the face by the cheeks and chin. You won’t
21
need to stretch it out too far. Make sure the lips, eyes and nose are
unaffected by the stretching. When you’re happy, you can click OK to apply
the Liquify effect.
Double-click the ‘face’ layer and you will call up the Layer Style
23
panel. Start by checking the Inner Shadow button and use the
settings shown to add a small shadow that makes the human face look
more a part of the mask.
Keep the Layer Style panel open and go down to the Blend If section
25
and the white furthest right slider on This Layer. Alt + left-click on the
left-hand side of the stop and it will separate into two pieces. Click and drag
the left-hand part of the slider to the left.
14
When you return to the document, her face will have been warped
22
so now there is no gap along the side of the face mask. Now
you need to better blend her face into the face mask give her flesh the
appearance of being less human and more synthetic.
You can also check the Bevel & Emboss button and use the
24
settings shown to add a small bevel to the edge of the face mask
to give it a more solid feel. Next, you need to blend the human face into the
white simulant face below.
When you do, you will see how the ‘face’ layer blends much better
26
with the brightest areas of the white face on the layer below. Do the
same with the furthest left slider on Underlying Layer and slide it a little to the
right to blend the darker areas.

Next, click the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer button and
27
choose Hue/Saturation from the dropdown list. This will add a
Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to the top of the layer stack. You can use
this to colour her eyes and lips to match her suit.
In the options menu above, click the Add To Selection button. Click
29
and hold on the centre of one eye and then press the Alt key, you
can now draw an ellipse outwards from the point you clicked. Encircle the
iris. Then do the same for the other eye.
Set your background colour to black and then simply hit the delete
31
key. The inverted selection will be replaced with black. The mask
should now display the lips and both eyes as white on the black mask.
Clear the selection by pressing Cmd + D.
SCI-FI ART COMPLEX COMPOSITIONS
Go to the toolbar and choose the Lasso Tool (L) and draw around
28
her lips; when you join back up to the start point, you’ll have a
selection of the lips. Next, go to the toolbar again and this time choose the
Elliptical Marquee Tool (M).
The lips and both eyes are now selected. You need the mask to
30
only let the Hue/Saturation layer affect them so you need to invert
the selection by going to Select > Inverse (Shift + Cmd + I). The selection
will invert, so everything except the eyes and lips are selected.
Click on the Hue/Saturation layer icon and in its Properties panel
32
make sure Colorize is checked and make Hue 40, Saturation 60 and
Lightness about -5. Both eyes and her lips should now be a golden yellow
to match the highlights on her suit.
15
 COMPLEX COMPOSITIONS SCI-FI ART
If you want, you can click on the layer mask thumbnail and under its
33
Properties, set the Feather value to about 3 pixels. This will blur the
mask very slightly to soften the hard edge around her lips and eyes. Now we
can experiment with some colour.
We’ve chosen Crisp_Warm.look to create a warm and contrasty
35
look to the image. Next, press Shift + Alt + Cmd + E to create a new
layer that is a merged version of all that is currently visible. You can name
this new layer ‘merged’.
This just reclaims some of the areas of the image lost to shadows
37
after the application of the Colour Lookup filter. You can make the
image a little more bleak and futuristic looking by adding a Photo Filter.
16
Click on the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer button again
34
and choose Colour Lookup from the menu. Colour Lookup Tables
(LUTs) are colour schemes you can add to a photo. You can choose from
the options available in the menu.
Go to Image > Adjustments > Shadows/Highlights and under
36
Shadows make the Amount 40%, Tone 15% and Radius 15%. Under
Highlights, make Amount 20%, Tone 50% and Radius 102%. The other
values can be kept at zero.
Under the Photo Filter 1 properties, set Filter to Deep Emerald, Density
38
to 100% and uncheck the Preserve Luminosity button. The image will
go a bright green colour but you can blend it in the next step.
 SCI-FI ART COMPLEX COMPOSITIONS

Click the Photo Filter 1 layer to make it active, set its Blend Mode to
39
Darken and drop the layer Opacity to 50%. This blends the green in a
more subtle way giving the image a more Matrix-style colour palette.
Your image is complete. By taking a group of elements and
40
assembling them into a great science fiction image. You’ve also used
masks, selection tools and adjustment layers to combine and colour grade
the various parts.

Combine, create,
and enjoy
Photoshop is there to help you make amazing art.

17
 Exploring
Photoshop
To learn every toolbox item, technique or
adjustment in Photoshop may seem like
an insurmountable task. It’s part of the
reason we’ve split up the tutorials in order
to keep them manageable. Don’t worry
though, you’ll be surprised that how quickly they
become second nature with a little practice.

Contents
20 Modifying selections
22 Gradient fill and paint bucket
24 The clone stamp tool

18
EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP

19
 EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP
Modifying
Selections
Photoshop has sophisticated tools to refine selections
Modify Selection
Photoshop has other tools to modify a selection
which you’ll find, appropriately enough, in the
Select menu, under Modify. The options include:
Border, Smooth, Expand, Contract and Feather.
They’re all relatively simple, but useful nonetheless.
We have some examples to show you.
20
MODIFYING SELECTIONS
Border
Border converts the single-line selection into a
border of the specified width. You can use this
selection to create a border around your original
selection by using the Paint Bucket tool. Be
aware that the border extends an equal amount
from either side of your original selection.
P hotoshop’s standard selection tools:
the Marquee, Lasso and Magic Wand,
are fine for making basic selections of
regular, well defined shapes, but they’re
not so good at picking out soft-edged or
very fine shapes. One thing in particular,
that has always been a problem, is the
edge of fine or untidy hair. Take this
photo for example:
This model has been photographed in a
typical studio setting, with good lighting
and against a plain background. Photos
like this are used all the time for catalogues,
advertising posters and the like.
However, in order to fit these needs the
model will have to be separated from the
background. With a plain background like
this, it would be tempting to use a normal
selection tool such as the Magic Wand.
However if we try it, what we end up with is
something like this:
Smooth
Smooth removes the kinks and wrinkles from
the line of your selection. It’s useful when you’re
selecting smooth-edged objects, but it will round
off the corners of any irregular shapes. The larger
the value of Smooth Selection, the smoother and
less detailed the selection becomes.
 MODIFYING SELECTIONS EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP

When you’ve been around all the edge

area that you want to refine, click OK and
then wait a few seconds while the program
recalculates the edge. As you can see here,
the result is a good improvement over the
first attempt.

Select and Mask is very easy to use. Starting

with a Magic Wand or Polygonal Lasso
selection as close as possible to the edge of
the hair, or any other soft edge, click on the
Refine Edge button on the tool options bar.
In the dialog window that opens, in Edge
Definition, check the box marked Smart Radius
and use the square brackets keys to set the
brush size so that it’s large enough to cover
the hazy edge area around the hair. Then
simply paint around the edge, overlapping both
the model and the background.

As you can see, the edge around the

model’s hair looks terrible. The automatic
Magic Wand selection has produced a very
jagged edge, because it can’t distinguish
between the fine edge of the hair and the
background. Fortunately the latest version
of Photoshop has a feature called Select
and Mask, which is capable of making
much finer distinctions.

Expand Contract Feather

Expand, as the name suggests, expands the
size of the selection by the specified number
of pixels. The larger the value you expand the
selection by, the more the detail and shape of
your original selection will begin to decrease
as it enlarges outwards.
Contract is the opposite of Expand. It shrinks
the size of the selection by the specified
number of pixels. As with the Expand option,
the more you Contract the selection, the
more the original selection shape’s detail will
become less well defined.
We’ve looked at Feather before. It softens the
edge of the selection by the radius set in the
dialog box. It’s perhaps the most useful option
here, particularly if you’re trying to copy and
paste the selection into a background. Unlike
Smooth, this creates a soft vignette effect.

21
 EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP GRADIENT FILL AND PAINT BUCKET

Gradient Fill &

Paint Bucket
Fill layers and selections with colours, textures
and gradients
O ne very useful facility that Photoshop
provides is the Gradient tool. It can fill an
area of a layer with a gradual blend between
such as vignettes and centre-spot soft-focus.
Let’s take a closer look at how it works.
You’ll find the Gradient tool about halfway
multiple colours. You can choose from a down the Tool Palette. It has its own unique set
selection of pre-set gradient fills or create your of options in the Tool Options bar, the main one
own. It’s a great way to add gradient filters for being the Gradient Picker, which lets you choose
enhancing photographs, or to create effects from a list of pre-set gradients.

22

Next to this is a row of buttons that create different
gradient shapes. The default setting is a straight
Linear Gradient, but other options include Radial,
Angle, Reflected and Diamond shapes.
Like the Brush tools the Gradient has blend
modes that let you mix the gradient colour fill with
the layer below it in various ways. This is a great way
to enhance landscape shots, by using an orange-
to-transparent gradient fill in Color mode, as in the
example seen here.
Paint Bucket Tool
If you click and hold on the Gradient tool you’ll
find that one of its options is the Paint Bucket
tool, which is used to fill an area, a layer, or a
selection with a solid colour. In combination
with layer transparency and blend modes it’s
a great way to add a colour tint or filter to a
whole image.
If you use the Paint Bucket on the
background layer of your image it will fill in an
area of contiguous colour in much the same
GRADIENT FILL AND PAINT BUCKET EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP
Photoshop comes with a selection of default Below are the main gradient types that you can
pre-set gradients loaded, but there are other packs choose from the tool options bar at the top left of
of gradients available. You can load in these other your screen.
packs via the Gradient menu. If you open the
Gradient Picker you’ll see a list of standard gradient
packs beneath the standard presets available to use
displayed at the bottom. You can expand each pack
to see what is available
Linear
Other Gradient tool options include the overall
layer opacity, reversing the direction of the gradient
colour mix, changing the “dither” of the colour
mixing and toggling the transparency.
Radial
Angle
Reflected
Diamond
BEFORE AFTER
way as the Magic Wand tool. To add a tint to a
whole image, create a new layer then fill it with
the colour. It will fill the whole layer and you can
then use layer transparency and blend modes USEFUL TIP
to achieve the effect you’re looking for.
To get this vintage photo effect, we used Remember that the Paint Bucket uses the
same edge detection as the Magic Wand
a sand brown colour, at 100% opacity and
tool. If you want to fill the whole screen, use
a Colour blend mode, which combines the
a new layer.
fill colour with the tones and colours of the
background image.
23
 EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP THE CLONE STAMP TOOL
The Clone
Stamp Tool
Remove unwanted elements from your photos
T he Clone Stamp tool (also known as the Clone Brush in some
programs) is one of the most useful items in your image editing
tool kit. Despite recent developments such as Photoshop’s Spot
Healing tool and Content-aware fill, it is still the most precise and
reliable way to retouch photographs, allowing you to remove unwanted
BEFORE
The Clone Stamp works by copying (“cloning”) pixels from a selected target
area and placing them over the unwanted objects. Using the Clone Stamp,
it is relatively straightforward to remove even quite large unwanted objects
from a photo. Our example, taken on a sunny day, is a photo on a beach,
deserted except for a lone figure wandering away from camera.
24
USEFUL TIP
Vary brush size by using the
open and close square brackets
keys and vary brush hardness
with the curly brackets.
elements such as dust spots, skin blemishes, lens flare, telephone
lines and other intrusive objects from your pictures. Because the
process is entirely manual it can be somewhat time-consuming,
but the results are often superior to the output of the more modern
automatic tools.
AFTER
We decided it would be a good demonstration of the power of the
Clone Stamp tool to remove the lone figure from the image leaving a pure
landscape photograph uncluttered by any sign of human life. This means
not only removing the figure, but also her shadow and the footprints that
lead out of the bottom of the shot.

Go to your toolbar and select the Clone
01
Stamp Tool (S). For the image we’re
working on, a brush Size of about 75 - 100 pixels
will be fine. You can make the brush Hardness
anywhere between 0% - 20%. We’re going to
start with the flag in the lower right corner.
Make sure that you have the Aligned
02
option ticked. This means that the
sampling area of your brush moves as your brush
does, otherwise you will clone the same sampled
area repeatedly until you alter it.
Find an area of sand or sea next to the
03
figure and then press your Alt key. A small
target icon will appear. Anything under this target
will be your sample to be used as the starting
point of the cloning. Left-click your mouse to
confirm this as your sample area.
This is your
clean target
pixel sample.
THE CLONE STAMP TOOL
04 Now move your cursor over the top of the
figure, level with your target area from the
last step. It is shown as an overlay so you can
see what you are about to clone on top of your
figure. If you click and drag your mouse across
her legs, the sand and sea adjacent to it will be
cloned over the top, removing her legs.
Sampled Sampled pixels
pixels are copied here
You can now choose another target
05
sample to the left of her legs and clone
sand from that side over the remaining area of
her legs and feet. If you notice any repeated
areas that stand out as being cloned, you can
choose a new target area and clone in some new
sand to keep the pattern random.
You can now move to her head and body
06
and create a new sample from the cliff and
sky to clone over her, as you did with her legs.
Again, watch out for obvious repeat patterns as
you clone clean areas on top of her body.
EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP
Now you can continue to remove her
07
body by sampling an area of the cliff to
the left of her and cloning that over the top of
the figure’s midriff. Finally, we can remove her
shadow and the footprints in the sand using the
same techniques we’ve just learned.
The random fractal nature of the sand
08
texture is actually quite useful. Sample an
area directly below the long shadow and then
clone the sand texture sample on top of it. You
can also click on the sand either side of each
footprint and use that sampled pixel data to clone
out the footprints leading up the beach.
Once complete, you can assess the result
09
and if you see any obvious repeating
patterns that give the game away, you can simply
clone new areas over the offending repeated parts
using random sea, sand and sky as needed.
25
 Tools and
Techniques
Let’s keep the pace going with a few more
techniques that will stand you in good stead as you
progress your knowledge of Photoshop. Control
the look of your photos by understanding how the
use of contrast and saturation affects them. Want
to learn how to make super-wide panoramas? Well,
Photoshop has handy tool for that very thing.

Contents
28 Panorama stitching
30 Soft focus technique
32 The pen tool and paths
34 Contrast and saturation

26
TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

27
 TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES PANORAMA STITCHING

Panorama
Stitching
Get the whole of the landscape
into one ultra-wide picture

M any digital cameras have a feature

known as “Panorama Stitching” or
“Panorama Assist” mode. It’s there to
BEFORE
We’ll use this example of a five-shot sequence
help with a particular type of photograph, taken at a sweeping beach location.
or rather series of photographs, in which
successive shots are taken as the camera
is panned across a scene. After you take
the first shot, the camera shows the edge
of that shot superimposed on the monitor
so you can match up the position of
features in successive shots, producing a
long continuous photo showing an entire
panoramic scene. You can also shoot your
pan sequence manually, especially if you
have a tripod handy to keep the camera
level. When it’s done well the results can be
breathtaking, but getting a satisfactory result
isn’t as easy as it looks.

Having downloaded our panorama

01
pictures from the camera into a folder
on the PC, it’s time to fire up Photoshop and
stitch them together into a panorama. Locate
the files on your hard drive and open all of
them in Photoshop. If you go to the Window
> Arrange menu you can view them all at
once in various arrangements. Not essential,
but it gives you a chance to make a last-
minute exposure check.
In Photoshop you’ll find Photomerge in
02
the File menu under Automate, along
with several other automatic processes.
The Photomerge window offers
03
a number of options for how to
arrange your panoramic shots. For a simple
landscape panorama like this the Auto
option should work fine. Click on the Add
Open Files button to add the five shots to
the Photomerge list and check the top two
options and the bottom option to attempt to
fill blank areas with the Content Aware tool.

28

Once you click OK the merging
04
process starts and it is completely
automatic. It will take a while to complete,
possibly quite a long while if you have a slow
computer and/or very large image files.
PANORAMA STITCHING
Once the Panorama has been
05
rendered, you’ll see that there are
areas where the program has had to warp
the pictures to correct for perspective.
This is where the Content Aware Fill tool
will have attempted to add something that
looks a bit like sky and sea. Depending
on how well the fill works, you can always
crop out these areas.
TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES
USEFUL TIP
If shooting a panoramic sequence manually,
always make sure that you have a large
enough overlap between each shot you take.
For best results, it is advisable to have about
25% of the previous frame visible each time.
AFTER
You can also use the Crop tool to
06
straighten out any slight tilt in your
horizon, but hopefully you won’t need it. The
finished result should look something like this.
29
 TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES SOFT FOCUS TECHNIQUE

Soft Focus
Technique
Adding a soft focus effect gives your
portraits a romantic feel
S oft focus is an effect used widely in
television and in the movies, as well
as in many commercial and advertising
photographs, for producing a dreamy
romantic look. It’s also a big favourite with
wedding photographers. In traditional
photography the effect is achieved with a
special filter fitted over the camera lens.
Many digital cameras now include soft focus
as a digital effect, but we can produce the
same results in Photoshop with ease, using
blur and layer transparency.

AFTER

BEFORE

30

The first step is to turn the picture into
01
two identical layers. To do this, go to
the Layer menu, and select Duplicate Layer.
Don’t worry about naming this layer, it’s the
only one we’re going to make.
In the Layers palette, set the transparency
04
of the blurred layer to around 60 percent.
This lets the still-sharp lower layer to show
through, mitigating the effects of the Gaussian
blur. If you feel it is too blurred, you can drop the
Opacity down to about 70% if you like.
Next, select Inverse from the Select menu
07
to change the selection so that everything
outside the ellipse is selected.
SOFT FOCUS TECHNIQUE
Next, go to the Filter menu, move
02
down to Blur, and select Lens Blur.
This is a special type of blurring that can be
adjusted to produce certain effects which
look more like true photographic lens blur.
We can further enhance the look of the
05
picture by adding an elliptical vignette
of further blurring around the subject. This is a
technique that portrait photographers have been
using almost since the invention of photography.
First, select the Elliptical Marquee tool.
Now add a Lens blur filter to the selection,
08
giving it a much bigger radius than before;
around 100 pixels should do the job.
TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES
YOu may need to experiment with
03
the amount of blurring to produce
the soft-focus effect. A radius of 75 pixels is
used here. You may need a smaller radius
for smaller images, but keep it subtle.
Drag an elliptical marquee selection
06
around the portrait subject. This may take
a few tries to get right, so use Cmd+D to de-
select if you get it wrong. When you’re happy with
it, go to the Select menu and click on Feather.
Set a radius of about 50-60 pixels.
One final option is to use a soft eraser and
09
erase areas of the blurred layer around your
subject’s face to keep it sharp if you prefer.
31
 TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES THE PEN TOOL AND PATHS

The Pen Tool

and Paths
Draw smooth curved paths with the versatile Pen Tool

T he quickest and most common way to make

selections is to use the Polygonal Lasso
Pen Tool P Tool but since that only draws straight lines from
point to point it isn’t ideal for making accurate
Freeform Pen Tool P selections around curved edges. Photoshop
does have a tool for making smooth curves
Add Anchor Point Tool though, and it’s called the Pen Tool (keyboard
shortcut P).
Delete Anchor Point Tool Rather than creating a selection directly like
the Lasso Tool, the Pen Tool is used to create
Convert Point Tool a Work Path. A Work Path in Photoshop is
a vector graphic outline which can be used
for several functions, including shaped text,
outline strokes and of course selections. A path
consists of straight and curved lines segments
Bezier control Tangent line connected with points. You can leave a path
open to form a straight or curved line, or close a
path to form a shape.
Paths are independent of any particular layer,
so you can use the
same path to create shapes on more than one
layer of an image, and you can copy a path from
one image to another.
Curved path Using the Pen Tool and Paths effectively is a
Anchor point complicated process that takes a lot of practice
to master, but it’s worth the effort, because
once you crack it you’ll be able to make smooth
curves and selections around almost any shape.
If you want to use Photoshop in a professional
capacity it’s an essential skill to learn.

USEFUL TIP
If you need to repeat the same selection on
multiple layers, save your selection as part
of the image. You can then load it in again to
save repeating work.

32
 THE PEN TOOL AND PATHS TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

Using the Pen Tool

Using the Pen Tool effectively takes some practice and a lot of patience. Here’s the low-down on how it works.

The Pen Tool works by using anchor points which are connected by Click with the Pen Tool at three or four points on the line you wish to
01 02
lines. To draw a curved line, first select the Pen Tool from the Tool Palette. draw; these are called anchor points, and you’ll see that there are
straight lines connecting them.

Next, click and hold on the Pen Tool icon, and select the Convert Point Click and hold on any of your anchor points, and drag away from the
03 04
Tool. You use this to manipulate the anchor points and control the point. You should see two lines with handles on the ends extrude from
curvature of the line. the anchor point. This is called a tangent line.

If you move the cursor around you’ll see the line linking your anchor With practice and patience you can bend a curved line around even quite
05 06
points flex and bend. You can use this to bend the line to match the complex shapes. If you open the Paths palette you’ll see the work path
curvature of the edge you’re trying to follow. you’ve created appear in the list.

33
 TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES
Contrast
and Saturation
Using curves and blend modes to improve colour
saturation and contrast in your digital photos
As an example we’ll use this snapshot
01
of a lizard. In reality the colour of the
scene is much more intense than it looks here,
but the digital camera that was used to take the
photo was set to a neutral and flat colour mode
to capture as much dynamic range as possible.
This mode generally leaves images looking a
bit pale and lacking contrast and vibrant colour.
This shouldn’t be a problem as the shot is well
exposed and contains plenty of detail that will
suit the increase in saturation.
34
CONTRAST AND SATURATION
The simplest way to improve the saturation
02
is by adding a Hue/Saturation adjustment
layer. Like many other parts of the program, Hue/
Saturation has been improved in Photoshop,
producing a smoother result than previous
versions. If you were to boost the saturation by
about +50, you’d restore some of the missing
colour, but it’s a scattergun approach and doesn’t
offer much fine control. It can also increase noise
in shadow areas in JPEG images. Let’s look at
more options.
W hen you take a digital photo of a scene,
you are relying on your camera to be
able to capture all the colours and tones that
you see. Unfortunately most digital cameras
simply aren’t capable of recording the full
range of colours and shades that the human
eye can see, so your photo of what was a
bright and colourful scene may prove to be
a bit of a disappointment when you see it
on your monitor. Fortunately there are many
different ways to improve both contrast and
colour saturation, which might help to restore
some of the sparkle to your photos. Let’s
take a look at some of the alternatives.
A much more controllable way to adjust
03
both saturation and contrast is to use a
Curves adjustment layer. We’ve already looked
at Curves in the section on adjusting exposure,
but by using Blend Modes we can also use
Curves to enhance saturation. In Normal blend
mode the curve will change both contrast and
saturation. We’re using the same S-shaped
curve, which boosts brightness at the upper
end of the scale and darkens shadows at the
lower end.

By changing the blend mode to
04
Luminosity, the curve will only affect
brightness, so an S-shaped enhancement
curve will improve contrast, lightening
highlights and darkening shadows without
affecting colour saturation.
CONTRAST AND SATURATION
AFTER
BEFORE
Conversely, by using a Color blend
05
mode, an S-shaped curve will alter
colour saturation without affecting brightness,
so shadows and highlights are unaffected. This
is great to keep noise under control.
TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES
Another way to improve saturation is
06
a Photoshop function called Vibrance,
which can also be applied as an adjustment
layer. Vibrance is a difficult thing to quantify. It is
a saturation function, but it works on a graph,
affecting the least saturated areas most, and the
most saturated areas least. On a picture like this
it can help, but it has to be used with contrast
enhancement for best effect, which may again
cause an increase in noise. This option is less
intense than using Saturation. Vibrance is best
used when processing a Raw image file.
35
 Inside
the Edit
Have you ever happened across photos or
examples of digital art and wondered how it was
done? The ability to be a great digital artist is
within us all thanks to Photoshop and its host of
tools and techniques. This section will unpick a
number of artistic creations and give you a quick
low-down on how they were created.

Contents
38 Work smart
40 Images that pop

36
INSIDE THE EDIT

37
 INSIDE THE EDIT
The subtle texture used around the
edges has been blended in using
the ‘blend if’ function in Photoshop.

Work
Smart Part of what can set you apart as

01 an artist or image manipulator is

creating images that are simple yet
effective. Take this example. It only
uses a couple of elements but is surreal and
spooky and can be put together in 30 minutes.

A photographer has made this

moody image available on Pixabay
and has much promise for an edit.

38
 INSIDE THE EDIT

This image asset has been subtly

altered to make it look more alien.
The glowing eyes finish it off.

39
 INSIDE THE EDIT

Images
that Pop
A few simple photographic and illustrative

02 components from image sharing sites

like Pixabay or Deviant Art and a little
imagination can lead to eye-opening art.
Let us show you how Photoshop can unlock your
creative power.

The ink blot images are merged together and mirrored. Since they are black
and white, it is easy to select their outline and use it to create a mask that
can reveal the face through the abstract background.

The
background
image is
an abstract
creation
through which
the portrait
of the girl can
appear, thanks
to the mask
created from
the ink blots
shown above.

40
 INSIDE THE EDIT

This mono portrait has been coloured

quite subtley and a starburst brush
used on her forehead.

41
 Photoshop
Creative Zone
We start this issue’s creative zone with a couple
of water-based projects. Create an underwater
scene that you can populate with denizens of the
deep and learn how to make some serious liquid
droplet effects. We also show you how to add
drama to portrait photos and a neat little tip on
how to make non-destructive lens flares.

Contents
44 Create an underwater scene
52 Liquid effects
58 The dragan effect
64 Add your own lens flare

42
PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE

43
 PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE CREATE AN UNDERWATER SCENE

Create an
AFTER

Underwater
Scene BEFORE

How to construct an underwater

scene from scratch with Photoshop
S ome lucky people are able to take a camera underwater
and capture the beauty of the seabed with all its life
and colour. Most of us however, are not able to grab a
wetsuit, camera and pressure housing, before diving into
crystal clear, blue seas to photograph what’s around us,
we can only dream of what it must be like. Fortunately,
Photoshop give us the tools to create an underwater scene
from scratch and you don’t even have to
get your feet wet. This fun little tutorial
will show you how to set up the basic
environment into which you can add
your favourite marine life. There are a
number of websites that offer free images for personal and
commercial work so you’ll have plenty of choice. Let’s dive in.

44
 CREATE AN UNDERWATER SCENE
First, open Photoshop and go to File > New (Cmd + N) to create a
01
new document. In our example, the scene will be 3000 pixels wide by
4000 pixels high, but you can work with whatever size suits you. Next, you
are going to need some ocean.
Next, choose the Gradient Tool from the toolbar and click the Gradient
03
Editor in the top left of your screen to open it. Confirm that you have
the Foreground to Background option selected as your gradient colour type
and then click OK to continue.
PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE
Click on your foreground colour in the toolbar and it will open the
02
Colour Picker. Select a nice light blue for your foreground, then click
on the background colour in the toolbar and choose a strong, deep blue that
contrasts well with the lighter colour.
Left-click and hold your cursor at the top of the document then drag
04
downwards to the bottom of the page, a vertical line indicates the
direction of the gradient. If you hold Shift, you can constrain the cursor to
45-degree increments, if you wish.
45
 PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE CREATE AN UNDERWATER SCENE
When you have the start and end point of the gradient ready, let go of
05
the Mouse button to create a gradient that runs from the foreground
colour to the background colour. This is your basic ocean and it should be
light blue at the top and dark blue at the bottom.
Click on the Create New Layer button at the bottom of the layer
07
palette. The new layer will appear in the layer stack where you can
name it ‘surface’. We are going to use this layer to create the illusion of the
water’s surface as seen from below.
Keep the selection you just made active and go to Filter > Render >
09
Clouds. This will fill the selection with a random mottled cloud pattern
in black and white. This pattern can be used to mimic the texture of the
water’s surface.
46
Hit the D key before you proceed to the next step. This will reset your
06
foreground and background colours to the defaults of black for the
foreground and white for the background. You will need this for the next step
in the process.
Make sure the ‘surface’ layer is active before you go to the next
08
step. Go to your toolbar and select the Rectangular Marquee Tool
(M), then click and drag to create a selection on the ‘surface’ layer that
roughly covers the entire top half.
In the top File menu, go to Filter > Filter Gallery then choose Plastic
10
Wrap from the Artistic range of filter pre-sets displayed in the right-
hand panel. From here, make Highlight Strength 20, Detail 1 and Smoothness
15, then click OK to apply the effect to the mottled texture.
 CREATE AN UNDERWATER SCENE
Your mottled cloud pattern should now have a rippled highlight effect
11
that can be used to emulate the water’s surface. Go to Edit > Free
Transform (Cmd + T) and scale the texture so that it occupies approximately
one quarter at the top of the document.
Take each of the top, corner control points in turn and drag them
13
outwards to add a perspective effect that will make the ripples look
like they are receding into the distance. When you are happy with how it
looks, hit Enter to apply the distortion.
Press Cmd + D to clear any active selections then click on the Add
15
Layer Mask button, at the bottom of the layers palette, to add a layer
mask to the ‘surface’ layer. We can use this mask to blend out the hard edge
of the surface texture.
PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE
If you right-click on the texture whilst the Free Transform tool is still
12
active, you can access a set of additional tools that allow you to
shape, alter, rotate and scale the texture. For this tutorial, choose Distort from
the Context menu.
Make sure that the ‘surface’ layer is still active and then go to the
14
Blend Mode menu at the top of the layer palette. Click on it and
choose Linear Dodge (Add) as your blend from the menu. Then make the
layer’s Fill value about 35 per cent.
Go to the toolbar and select the Brush Tool (B), choose a large, soft
16
black brush. Make sure the ‘surface’ layer mask is active (not the
image) and paint with your black brush on the mask along the hard bottom
edge of the surface texture to blend it out.
47
 PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE CREATE AN UNDERWATER SCENE
The ’surface’ layer texture you’ve made can also be used to create
17
the seabed. Press Cmd + J to duplicate the ‘surface’ layer and name
the resulting copy ‘seabed’. Make sure this is at the top of the layer stack and
that it is the active layer.
Now, for the addition of some lighting: Create a new layer called ‘sun’
19
and make sure it is the top layer. Set your foreground colour to white,
press B to activate your Brush Tool and then use a large, soft white brush to
paint a bright glow on the water’s surface.
Go to Filter > Render > Clouds, then fill the selection with the random
21
black and white cloud texture, as done previously in step 9. Next, we
can use a quick, simple little trick to create some convincing atmospheric
light rays.
48
Go to Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical, to flip the layer upside down.
18
Press V to activate your Move Tool or select it from the toolbar and
then drag the ‘seabed’ layer down to the bottom of the image. Feel free to
scale and stretch it until you’re happy with it.
Next, create another layer called ‘rays’. From the toolbar, select
20
the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) and use it to click and drag a
selection area that covers the entire top half of the ‘rays’ layer, this is where
we’re going to add some more light effects.
Go to the File menu and choose Image > Adjustments > Threshold,
22
the texture will be reduced to black or white with no grey tones, now
adjust the Threshold Level slider until you have a roughly equal amount of
black and white areas.
 CREATE AN UNDERWATER SCENE
Press Cmd + D to clear any active selections, then go to the File menu
23
and choose Filter > Blur > Radial Blur. Set the Amount to 100, the
Blur Method to Zoom and Quality to Best, now click and drag the Blur Centre
to the top, central position.
Set the ‘rays’ layer Blend Mode to Soft Light. Set the Fill value of your
25
‘rays’ layer to about 50 per cent to create the effect of sunlight filtering
down through the water. If you want, you can alter the scale and position of
the rays to suit.
In the case of our own example, go to ‘turtle 1.png’, press Cmd + A to
27
select all, then press Cmd + C to copy it. Go back to your underwater
scene and press Cmd + V to paste the copied creature into your document.
Name this new layer ‘turtle 1’.
PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE
When you hit OK, the black and white mottled texture will be blurred.
24
It will need to be blurred a number of times for the best effect, so
press Ctrl + Cmd + F (Cmd + F on older versions of Photoshop) to repeat the
last action, now we have the basis of our light rays.
So far so good, but it’s looking a bit empty down here, we need
26
some aquatic life to make it look more convincing, so now go to File
> Open and navigate to where you’ve stored any images for your scene.
Select them and click Open.
Repeat the process with your other creatures, then arrange and scale
28
them until you are happy with them. At the moment, they look too
obviously pasted on top of the image, so we need to make them look a more
convincing part of the world that has been created.
49
 PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE CREATE AN UNDERWATER SCENE
First, click and drag the ‘rays’ layer to the top of the layer stack so it
29
is above the sea creatures. Now that they are above everything in the
document, the light rays interact better with our aquatic friends as they slant
across the surface of their bodies.
Our foreground ‘dolphin 1’ can have a layer Opacity of about 70
31
per cent. This simple trick creates the feeling that the dolphins are
receding into the murky depths of the water and helps blend their colours into
the watery scene around them.
Go to your toolbar and make sure your foreground colour is set to
33
white then go to your Brush Tool and choose your bubble. Now, we
need to set the brush to randomly scatter bubbles for a more convincing, less
uniform effect.
50
Another little trick to create a feeling of depth on a simple blue
30
background such as this, is to click on the ’whale’ layer and make its
Opacity about 30 per cent. Make the ‘dolphin’ layer Opacity about 50 per
cent. Watch out for the creature’s outlines overlapping.
Next, create a new layer called ‘bubbles’ at the top of the layer
32
stack; here we will add some bubble effects. You can obtain some
great free brushes to use at www.deviantart.com. Just search for ‘bubbles
brushes Photoshop’ and install them by clicking their ABR file.
From the Brush Settings fly-out palette, click on the Shape Dynamics
34
option and make the Size Jitter value about 70 per cent. Click on
Scattering next, then check the Both Axes button and make the Scatter
value 1000 per cent.
 CREATE AN UNDERWATER SCENE
Now click on Brush Tip Shape and make Size about 30px and
35
Spacing about 100 per cent. You will see a preview window that
shows how your bubbles will be spaced when you use the brush in your
scene. You can obviously tweak these settings to your own taste.
Your own
aquatic world
Photoshop gives you your very own deep blue sea.
PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE
Finally, you can now add a scattering of bubbles to the ‘bubbles’
36
layer, simply set the ‘bubbles’ Blend Mode to Overlay and blend them
in. If you add too many bubbles, you can always press Cmd + Z to undo your
brush strokes and with that, your scene is complete.
51
 PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE LIQUID EFFECTS

AFTER

Liquid
Effects BEFORE

Add a drop of liquid

realism to your images
W hether it’s droplets of water on a bathroom
mirror, rain spattered windows or even
just condensation on the side of a cold glass of
various ways and then there is the
opacity and making the drops appear
to have depth and substance to
issue of

beer, there’s something appealing about those them. We have a tutorial for you that
little drops of liquid and the way they catch the can create a lovely water droplet
light. Recreating water effects can be a bit of a effect and you can use it on surfaces
challenge to get right. Water catches the light in to create a condensation look.

52

To begin, we have our image of a woman holding out her hand to the
01
camera. We are going to put a window in front of her and add water
drops on top of that to create a moody, rainy day kind of image. Websites like
Pixabay have free images you can use for your own project.
Go to the bottom of your layer palette and click on the Create New
03
Layer icon or press Shift + Cmd + N. This will add a new layer above
your background image. Name this new layer ‘glass’. This is the first element
in the water drop creation process.
Double-click the ‘glass’ layer to call up the Layer Style panel. In the
05
Styles menu, click on Colour Overlay to activate it. In the Colour
Overlay panel, choose a blue colour and make its Blend Mode Normal and
Opacity about 10 per cent.
LIQUID EFFECTS PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE
The tutorial image is 2000 pixels wide x 3000 pixels high. The effects
02
we are adding are based on using an image this size. If your image is
a different size, then you’ll need to adjust your settings appropriately to keep
the effects at the right scale.
Now go to Edit > Fill (Shift + F5) and select 50 per cent Grey as
04
your fill option and click OK. The new ‘glass’ layer will be filled with
grey and covers your background image for the moment.
Next, click on Pattern Overlay. Click on the Pattern thumbnail and
06
if you don’t have it installed already, choose Erodible Textures and
append it to your pattern swatches.
53
 PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE CREATE AN UNDERWATER SCENE
Use the Rough erodible texture and make the Blend Mode Normal,
07
Opacity about 30 per cent and the Scale about 200. You should now
have a grey/blue mottled texture. This is our interpretation of frosted glass.
Click OK to continue.
Click on the Create New Layer icon again to add a new blank layer
09
that sits above your ‘glass’ layer and call this one ‘drops’. You will start
to create the basic shapes of water droplets on this layer.
Keep ‘drops’ active and go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise and make
11
the Amount 400 per cent. Set Distribution to Gaussian and make
sure that the Monochromatic button is checked. Click OK and a heavy noise
pattern will be created.
54
With your ‘glass’ layer still active, go the top of your layer palette and
08
choose ‘Overlay’ as your blend mode. The ‘glass’ layer will blend into
the image below, creating a mottled surface.
Keep the ‘drops’ layer active and go to Edit > Fill (Shift + F5) and
10
choose Black as your fill colour. Click OK and you’ll fill the layer with
solid black, once again obscuring your background image for the moment.
Next, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and make the Radius value
12
about 5-10 pixels. This slight blur turns the sharp noise pattern into a
soft, mottled pattern that will the basis of our water droplets.
 CREATE AN UNDERWATER SCENE
To begin, we have our image of a woman holding out her hand to the
13
camera. We are going to put a window in front of her and add water
drops on top of that to create a moody, rainy day kind of image. Websites like
Pixabay have free images you can use for your own project.
Go to the bottom of your layer palette and click on the Create New
15
Layer icon or press Shift + Cmd + N. This will add a new layer above
your background image. Name this new layer ‘glass’. This is the first element
in the water drop creation process.
Double-click the ‘glass’ layer to call up the Layer Style panel. In the
17
Styles menu, click on Colour Overlay to activate it. In the Colour
Overlay panel, choose a blue colour and make its Blend Mode Normal and
Opacity about 10 per cent.
PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE
The tutorial image is 2000 pixels wide x 3000 pixels high. The effects
14
we are adding are based on using an image this size. If your image is
a different size, then you’ll need to adjust your settings appropriately to keep
the effects at the right scale.
Now go to Edit > Fill (Shift + F5) and select 50 per cent Grey as
16
your fill option and click OK. The new ‘glass’ layer will be filled with
grey and covers your background image for the moment.
Next, click on Pattern Overlay. Click on the Pattern thumbnail and
18
if you don’t have it installed already, choose Erodible Textures and
append it to your pattern swatches.
55
 PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE CREATE AN UNDERWATER SCENE
With the ‘condensation’ layer active, set its Fill value to 0 per cent but
19
make sure Opacity is kept at 100 per cent. This is important, as it will
be part of creating the water effect in the next steps.
Next click on Inner Shadow and use the settings we’ve provided. This
21
adds a little more density to the water drops. Feel free to alter the
settings as you wish to get a look that you like.
Click on Satin next and again use the settings shown. Make the
23
Contour shape Gaussian. This adds a little shadow to one side to
make it feel like there’s a little more directional light hitting the drops.
56
Double-click the ‘condensation’ layer and you will call up the Layer
20
Style panel. In the Styles menu, click on Bevel & Emboss and use the
settings shown. Then click on Contour keeping the defaults but set Range to
70 per cent.
Now click on Inner Glow and use our settings to add a little sheen
22
to round out the droplets. As above, you can alter the settings to
suit your own taste.
Colour Overlay is next. Make the Blend Mode Colour Burn and set
24
Opacity to about 5 per cent. This adds a darker sheen to offset the
white in order to make the drops feel as three dimensional as possible.
 CREATE AN UNDERWATER SCENE PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE

Finally, click on Drop Shadow and alter the the settings shown. This If you look at your ‘condensation’ layer now, you will see all the effects
25 26
simply makes the drops look like they are sitting on a surface and you’ve just added listed beneath the thumbnail. You can click each of
casting a small shadow. Click OK to continue. these at any time and alter the settings further if you wish.

Your water effect is complete. You’ve now got a nifty condensation

27
effect at your disposal whenever you need it.

Your solution for

liquid effects
A great water effect on tap whenever you need it.

57
 PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE THE DRAGAN EFFECT

The
Dragan
Effect AFTER

BEFORE

Give the people in your

shots a dramatic makeover
T he Dragan effect is named after
Andrzej Dragan. He is actually a Polish
physics teacher in Warsaw, but he does
also have a widely praised reputation
for producing surreal and compelling
portraits. He employs high contrast and
saturation in his images, along with rich
detail that gives his subjects a highly
emphasised look. Some would say it’s
an almost pseudo HDR appearance. It is
a technique that is used to great effect
on male portraits in particular, where the
extra detail is not considered detrimental
to the subject. Our tutorial will take you
through some easy steps that can give
your images a dramatic twist.

58

Choose a relevant image and open it in
01
Photoshop. We have an image of a chap
called Dom, who is a musician. For your reference,
the image size we are working at is 2667px wide x
4000px high.
Next, we need to boost contrast. Press Cmd
04
+ L to bring up the Levels dialog box. Move
the leftmost slider to the right to deepen the
shadows and the rightmost slider to the left to
brighten the highlight areas.
Move the Saturation slider to the left to
07
desaturate the image slightly. A value in our
example of -40 is enough to take the edge off the
vibrance of the original.
THE DRAGAN EFFECT
Any effects we add are based on this size. If
02
you have a different size image, just be
aware that your values may need to change to suit
the dimensions you are working with.
Additional adjustments will be made
05
afterwards, so try not to be too heavy-
handed. Click OK to apply the Levels adjustment.
Now move the Hue slider a small amount to
08
the right (+10 in or example). This will shift
the image colours to make it slightly more yellow.
Click OK when you are happy with your choice.
PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE
To start, we need to create a duplicate of our
03
original image, just so we have an original to
go back to if needed. Press Cmd + J and rename
this layer ‘dom’.
With your ‘tim’ layer still active, go to the top
06
menu and select Image > Adjustments >
Hue/Saturation (Cmd + U). This will bring up the
Hue/Saturation panel.
Now we are going to add more contrast by
09
using a basic ’S’ curve. With the ‘tim’ layer
still active, go to the top menu and select Image >
Adjustments > Curves (Cmd + M) to bring up the
Curves panel.
59
 PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE
Click on the curve line 3 times to add anchor
10
points, one in the middle and one
equidistant on each side in the shadow and highlight
areas. Drag the anchor points and adjust the
contrast and brightness.
From the top menu, select Filter > Other >
13
High Pass. The High Pass panel will appear
and you can set the amount of filtering applied to
that layer by changing the Radius value.
With the ‘high pass’ layer active, go to the
16
Blend Mode button at the top of your Layers
Palette and select Overlay. The layer is blended into
the ‘tim’ layer below and the sharpness is boosted.
60
THE DRAGAN EFFECT
What you are looking for is what resembles a
11
flattened ’S’ shape. This classic curve
boosts overall contrast. Don’t make the shadow
areas too black. Click OK when you are happy with
the result.
Smaller values produce less sharpness,
14
but keep the image clean, whereas higher
values create sharper images at the expense of
halo artefacts.
Press Shift + left-click on both the ‘high
17
pass’ and ‘tim’ layers. Select them both and
then right-click on them to call up the context menu
and select Merge Layers and combine the two
layers into one.
Next, press Cmd + J to create a duplicate of
12
the newly adjusted ‘dom’ layer. Name this
copy ‘high pass’. Make it the topmost active layer.
We are going to use this layer to bring out much
greater detail.
In this example, a value of about 3 pixels
15
produces a clean, sharp image. When you
hit OK, the ‘high pass’ layer will now look similar to a
greyscale image.
Now to add drama to this portrait by using
18
the Dodge and Burn Tool to enhance
detail still further. This means changing the colour
mode of the image while these enhancements are
being made.

Firstly, go to the top menu and select Image
19
> Mode > Lab Color. You will be asked at
this point if you want the image flattened. Be sure to
click Don’t Flatten.
In your Layers Palette, click on the Channels
22
tab. Make sure all channels are on and
select the Lightness channel to activate it. This is the
channel we will work on.
Because we’ve selected the affected range
25
as Highlights, none of the other darker tones
will be modified by this action.
THE DRAGAN EFFECT
Lab Color is used because we want to work
20
solely on light and dark parts of the image,
but we don’t want to damage the colour values. Lab
Color lets us do this.
Click and hold on the Dodge and Burn icon
23
where you can choose either Dodge or
Burn. Click on the Dodge Tool icon. In the top menu
area, a context menu lets you choose the Range
you will affect when using the Dodge Tool.
Brushing over the hands, eyes, hair and
26
facial features will bring up the brightness
of just the areas closest to white. Take your time
and try not to be too heavy-handed and destroy
any detail.
PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE
It creates a channel that is dedicated
21
only to the lightness values of the
image. It is a much more controlled and subtle
way of Dodging (lightening) and Burning
(darkening) parts of the image.
We are going to lighten just the Highlights.
24
Set the exposure to about 30% and choose
a medium sized, soft-edged brush and begin
‘painting’ where you want to amplify areas of white
(or near-white) tones.
If you overdo it, you can always press Alt +
27
Cmd + Z to step back through your actions.
When you are happy with the Highlight areas, go
back and click on the Range button in the top
context menu and select Midtones.
61
 PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE THE DRAGAN EFFECT

We will now affect the Midtones and gradually begin working on the The next step is to select the Burn Tool, set the range to Midtones and,
28 29
facial areas and hands once more as we emphasise the tone and using the same soft medium-sized brush, paint over mid-tone and darker
detail of our subject. areas of the face and hands to emphasise those areas.

The wrinkles around the eyes, facial stubble and the pores of the skin From the top menu, select Image > Mode > RGB Color. If you are asked
30 31
become quite strongly defined. When you are happy with the work if you want to flatten the image, make sure you click Don’t Flatten.
you’ve done, you need to convert your image back to standard RGB mode.

There is an additional step we’ve added that is not necessarily part of the With your ‘high pass’ layer active, go to Image > Adjustments >
32 33
standard Dragan Effect procedure, but we feel it is useful for further Shadows/Highlights. Here you can fine-tune the effect of shadow and
enhancement of the look we’ve established. highlight areas on your image.

62
 THE DRAGAN EFFECT
In the Shadows panel, a small 5% Amount value will lift shadows,
34
making sure they are not solid black and lacking in detail. Tonal Width is
20% and Radius is 25 px.
There is always room for a few more tweaks. Go to Filter > Sharpen >
36
Unsharp Mask, where you can add extra sharpness to the image and
also boost the Dodge and Burn effect you started in step 18.
Compelling
portraits
Dramatic portraits effects to add to your repertoire.
PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE
An Amount of 15% in the Highlights panel will try to pull any highlights
35
down from bright white, bringing detail back into the brightest areas,
providing the highlights aren’t completely blown out. Tonal Width is 40% and
Radius is 20 px.
An Amount of 25% and Radius of 25 pixels and Threshold of 0% will
37
suffice. Once done go to Image > Adjustments > Vibrance and set the
Vibrance to -35 and Saturation at 0% to bring the overall vibrancy of the more
muted colours down still further. Your Dragan effect is complete.
63
 PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE ADD YOUR OWN LENS FLARE

Add Your
Own Lens
Flare

AFTER

BEFORE

A quick guide to creating a

non-destructive lighting effect
L ens flare is one of those peculiar lighting effects that people either love or
loathe. It is quite ironic that photographers will do whatever they can to avoid
getting lens flare in their shots, whereas it is now very common to see it added
back in for dramatic effect. If you’ve ever watched any television show or movie by
J. J. Abrams, you’ll be aware that you can’t go 30 seconds without some form of
post-worked lens flare punctuating a scene. So, let’s have a quick look at how to
add lens flare, but more importantly, how to do it non-destructively.

64
 ADD YOUR OWN LENS FLARE
We’ll begin with an appropriate image. It will, of course, need to have
01
the sun in it or at least a very bright light source that will appear to
create the lens flare we are seeking to add to the image. We’re using a sunset
photo with the sun peeking out from behind a tree.
Here, you can choose precisely where the flare appears in your
03
image by clicking with your cursor on a thumbnail of your photo and
selecting where to place the centre of the effect. You can also choose the
brightness and lens type from the options below.
PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE
Normally, to add the lens flare effect you need to go up to the File
02
menu and choose Filter > Render > Lens Flare. This will open up the
Lens Flare dialog box from where you can choose the various settings you
prefer to create your lens flare effect on your photo.
We’ve used the 50-300mm Zoom type as it gives a particular flare
04
effect that we like, however you can experiment with the other options
as you wish. We’ve also set the brightness to 125% and placed the centre of
our flare over the sun as it appears in the sunset image.
65
 PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE ADD YOUR OWN LENS FLARE
When you click OK, the flare effect is added to the lake image using
05
the settings you chose and the centre of the flare is positioned on the
spot you clicked with your cursor. All well and good, except that now you’ve
just merged the flare into the original image.
Make sure that the ‘flare’ layer is currently active, then go to the file
07
menu and choose Edit > Fill (Shift + F5) and choose 100% Black as
your fill colour from the Fill dialog box that appears. Click OK when you are
ready to proceed.
Click on Filter > Lens Flare (Ctrl + Cmd + F) and the flare you
09
previously added directly to the image will now be applied to the black
‘flare’ layer. It will also utilise the settings you chose previously, including the
placement of the flare.
66
Press Cmd + Z and you will be able to undo the application of that
06
particular lens flare effect. Now, instead of applying flare to the photo
directly, click on the Create a new layer button to add a new layer above the
lake scene. Name this layer ‘flare’.
The ‘flare’ layer is now filled black. Photoshop has a handy habit of
08
remembering the last effect that was applied and this is something
we can use to our advantage. If you go to the top menu and click Filter, you
will see Lens Flare listed directly below.
Now our ‘flare’ layer can be blended into the main image on the layer
10
below. Choose Screen as your blend mode by clicking the Blend
Mode options button at the top of the layers palette and the flare you created
is blended into the scene below.
 ADD YOUR OWN LENS FLARE PHOTOSHOP CREATIVE ZONE

Although the flare looks like it is part of the image it is in fact safely
11
on the layer above. Because the effect has been applied to the
layer above our beach scene, it is completely non-destructive and does not
compromise your original image.
The benefit of doing it this way is that you can move the layer around
12
and rotate it if you want, you can also apply adjustments to the ‘flare’
layer, such as levels to control the brightness and contrast of the lens flare
effect, to suit your preferences.

There you have it. In no time at all, you have made an image using
13
simple, but effective techniques that make use of layers and blend
modes, giving you a little more control of your images and effects.

A bright idea for

dramatic lighting
Another useful, non-destructive effect for your toolbox.

67
 More
Mega Tips
This section offers up a few more mega tips to
help you and your image editing workflow step up
a gear. Get to grips with some advanced cropping
techniques and upgrade your skin retouching
skills with some simple, yet useful, tips to make
your spot healing even more effective. There’s
even a fun easter egg tip to play with.

Contents
70 Bananas, monkeys, coffee and toast
72 Front image cropping
74 Improve your spot healing
76 One image, two windows
78 Transparency from blend

68
MORE MEGA TIPS

69
 MORE MEGA TIPS BANANAS, MONKEYS, COFFEE AND TOAST

Bananas, Monkeys,
Coffee and Toast

Yes, you did read that title correctly.

This is not going to revolutionise your
workflow, but with a little luck, these
Easter eggs, hidden in Photoshop,
might make you and your work
colleagues smile.

70
 BANANAS, MONKEYS, COFFEE AND TOAST
If you go to Photoshop CC > Preferences > Interface, you can change
01
the Color Theme under the Appearance section by clicking on one
of the four colour chips, ranging from dark grey to light grey, to alter the
workspace appearance. Not terribly exciting, but you can inject a little humour.
While the toast is visible, press Shift + Cmd and then click on a
03
piece of toast, it will change to cups of coffee of varying strengths to
represent the colour theme choices. You can hold Shift + Alt again and click
on the colour chips to change it back to the original grey.
The banana will stay there until you use Edit Toolbar again, press Shift
05
and click Restore Defaults. Now we just need the monkey to go with the
banana. Open or create a Photoshop document with layers in it and then go to
Window > Layer Comps. This opens a small Layer Comps panel.
MORE MEGA TIPS
If you hold the Shift + Alt keys and then click on one of the colour
02
chips, you won’t change the Color Theme effects, but the colour chips
themselves are replaced by pieces of toast, ranging from very dark toast up to
white toast. Choose your preferred toast to alter your workspace brightness.
Next, on the toolbar are three small dots representing the Edit Toolbar
04
function. Click and hold over this icon and the small fly-out menu will
appear. Click on it to open the edit panel. Hold the Shift key and click Done
and where the three dots were before, a banana will appear.
Click the Menu icon and choose New Layer Comp. Name the new layer
06
‘Layer Monkey 0’ and click OK to add a new layer comp. It might require
a click to activate, but when you do, the icon on the left of the panel will turn into
a cheeky monkey! Rename it anything else to return to normal.
71
 MORE MEGA TIPS FRONT IMAGE CROPPING

Front Image
Cropping

AFTER

BEFORE

There is a Crop Tool option that has a

very useful function, but you might not
have seen it. If you need to match a
series of images with the same, cropped
sizes and dimensions, then Front Image
cropping is for you.

72

We have our example target image cropped and sized, to our preference,
01
in the shape of a peacock. This is the first image document opened and
we want all subsequent images cropped to the same proportions and the same
pixel dimensions, to match this one.
Go back to your target image (the peacock in our case), go to the toolbar
03
and click on the Crop Tool (C). Then go up to the Crop Tool options bar
and click on the Aspect Ratio box to view the various pre-set options available.
Click on Front Image.
The crop box will match the same ratio as your peacock image. You can
05
move and scale the crop box and even though it indicates it is still 3299
x 1855 px, as soon as you commit the crop, it will be resized automatically to
match the peacock image of 2000 x 1125 px.
FRONT IMAGE CROPPING MORE MEGA TIPS
The peacock photo is 2000 pixels wide by 1125 pixels high. By
02
comparison, the next image of a barn owl is 3544 pixels wide by 3132
pixels high and the third image of a parrot is 2019 pixels wide by 2694 pixels
high. The last two need to match the peacock and there is a smart way to do it.
Initially, nothing will appear to change. A crop box will encompass the
04
entire image and the width and height boxes in the options bar will
show the image is 2000 x 1125 px. If you click on the next document tab, to
view your other images, they will now have a crop box placed on them.
Open the next photo. It too will have a crop box ready for you in the
06
correct aspect ratio. Move and scale the box to suit and then, when you
commit the changes, that image will also be cropped and scaled to match the
target image. Any subsequent images that you open can be altered in this way.
73
 MORE MEGA TIPS IMPROVE YOUR SPOT HEALING

Improve Your
Spot Healing

AFTER

BEFORE

Retouching skin effectively can be a

challenge. Photoshop’s Spot Healing
Tool is very effective at removing
blemishes, but it can still introduce
more issues than it eradicates. Here is a
way of ensuring better results.

74
 IMPROVE YOUR SPOT HEALING
We have an example image of a teenager with some acne on her face.
01
We want to be able to remove the blemishes without having too many
obvious indications that retouching has been used. Because there are many
areas of clean, natural-looking skin, the Spot Healing Tool is a good choice here.
Make sure the new ‘retouch’ layer is active. This way, any cloned pixels
03
will be added to the ‘retouch’ layer only, preserving the original image
underneath. Since you have checked Sample All Layers, pixel data from the main
image will still be incorporated on the new layer.
If you undo what you’ve done and try the tool, with the Lighten Mode
05
now active, you should see that the darker blemishes are removed, but
more of the hair detail is left intact. In this case, the Lighten Mode targets the
darker pixels of the blemish, not the lighter pixels of the hair.
MORE MEGA TIPS
For non-destructive retouching, create a new layer above the main image
02
and name it ‘retouch’. Any work done will appear on this layer. Choose
the Spot Healing Tool from the toolbar and use a medium hardness brush of
about 70 pixels. Make sure the Sample All Layers box is checked.
As you start brushing over the blemishes by her eyebrow, the results may
04
very well look mottled and the healing process may remove parts of the
brow. Alternatively, if you go to the options menu in the top left of the screen and
choose Lighten, from the Mode panel, you can be more precise with your healing.
You can now continue to target the darker blemish pixels around the
06
face. If you view the ‘retouch’ layer on its own, you can see that you have
cloned new pixel data on this layer, preserving the original image underneath with
a non-destructive edit.
75
 MORE MEGA TIPS ONE IMAGE, TWO WINDOWS

One Image,
Two Windows

AFTER

BEFORE

Here’s another very handy hint for you

in the shape of a two-screen window.
Sometimes, it is useful to be able to view
a part of your photo in extreme close-
up, while still being able to see the effect
you’re having on the overall image.

76
 ONE IMAGE, TWO WINDOWS
This tip uses a colourful image of hot air balloons taking off en-masse
01
into a beautiful blue sky. We want to be able to edit one of the smaller
balloons in close-up detail while still being able to see the entire image and what
effect we’re having on it, as we work.
Go to Window > Arrange > 2-Up Vertical. You can choose from the other
03
arrangements depending on the shape and orientation of the photo on
which you are working. This will arrange both documents vertically, so they are
side-by-side in the Photoshop workspace.
We stayed with the 300% window, went to the toolbar and used
05
the Quick Selection Tool to select one small balloon in the middle of
the throng. We then duplicated it onto a new layer using the Layer Via Copy
command. This new layer was named ‘balloon’.
MORE MEGA TIPS
With your main image open, go to Window > Arrange > New Window For
02
One Image. A second document tab will appear with the same name as
your current document. It is a duplicate of your photo. Now, you need to be able
to see both windows side-by-side to get the most out of this handy technique.
The magnification of one window can be different to the other. In this
04
example, the left window is at 50% while the other is at 300%. If you hold
the spacebar and drag, you can move each image around individually. Hold Shift +
spacebar, drag one image and the other will move at the same time.
Use the Move Tool to drag the copied balloon to another part of the sky.
06
As you do, you will see that not only does the balloon in the 300% window
move, but the wider view on the left also performs the same move. You can even
switch between windows if you like. You can close one window when you are done.
77
 MORE MEGA TIPS TRANSPARENCY FROM BLEND

Transparency
From Blend

AFTER

BEFORE

Blend modes can help you achieve

a number of effects by controlling
how one layer’s colours interact with
another. Take Blend Modes even further
with handy tips on adding transparency
to the blend you’ve created.

78
 TRANSPARENCY FROM BLEND
In this example, we have a grungy, peeling paint texture that we would
01
like to blend into some text. However, we only want to use the darker
cracks in the paint and add that to our text so it takes on a more weathered feel.
Fortunately, Blend Modes can help us here.
If you make the texture layer invisible for a moment, you can double-
03
click the text thumbnail, change its colour to something appropriate and
then make the texture visible again so it covers your text. If you double-click the
texture layer, you can open the Layer Style panel.
Examine the texture thumbnail and you will see the entire image. Right-
05
click the layer and select Convert To Smart Object. If you now right-click
the thumbnail and choose Select Pixels, you can actually make a selection of the
dark cracks and not the entire peeling paint texture.
MORE MEGA TIPS
We’ve added some large bold text, which is currently on a layer above
02
the background texture. We need to start by clicking on the Background
layer’s lock icon to convert it to a layer as well. This allows us to click and drag the
Background layer so it is above the text layer.
If you look down at the Blend If section, you can use the sliders to hide
04
light pixels or dark pixels. Slide the white tab to the left and you will see the
lightest parts of the image start to disappear, leaving the dark cracks and the text
layer underneath.
You can scale the transparent cracks to better fit your text. Now add a
06
Clipping Mask, so it only covers the text and then double-click the texture
layer again to bring up the Layer Style menu once more and perhaps add some
Bevel And Emboss to really make those cracks stand out on your text.
79
 Lightroom
Develop
Module
Now it’s time to start revealing what Adobe
Lightroom is really all about: using the powerful
tools in the Develop module to enhance and
improve your photos.

Contents
82 Introducing the develop module
84 Using the crop and straighten tool
86 Removing spots and red eye
88 Adjustments using the basic panel

80
LIGHTROOM DEVELOP MODULE

81
 LIGHTROOM DEVELOP MODULE INTRODUCING THE DEVELOP MODULE

Introducing the
Develop Module
The Develop module is where the tools that let you fully realise the
potential of your photographs lie. Enhancing and improving them,
removing blemishes, noise and distortion and applying a range of
impressive effects and filters.

L
ike the Library module, the Develop module window is divided into three main areas, the left
sidebar, the main viewing area and the right sidebar. The filmstrip view is also available at the
bottom of the screen. The filmstrip and both sidebars can be permanently in view or set to
auto-hide by clicking on the arrow symbols on the edge of the screen.
The left sidebar holds the Navigator thumbnail, a list of available Presets, the Snapshot
and History views and the Collections. The right-hand sidebar holds all the actual editing and
enhancement tools, as well as the Histogram.

1 Navigator
This shows you a view of the
whole image, useful if you
zoom in when using the spot
correction tool and need to
navigate around the frame. 1

2 Presets
This list shows the preset
adjustments that can be 2
applied with just one click.
Lightroom comes with dozens
built-in and you can add and
edit your own user presets.

3 Snapshots
7
If you’re experimenting and
making adjustments to an
image as you go, you can save
a snapshot of your progress at
any point. It’s like a save point
in a video game; you can go
back to that point by clicking 3
on the snapshot in the list. 4
5

82
 INTRODUCING THE DEVELOP MODULE LIGHTROOM DEVELOP MODULE

4 History 7 View Window The Adjustment Panel

This shows each alteration
that you’ve made to your
image in chronological order.
If you decide that you don’t
like the last few changes that
you made, you can revert to
an earlier point by clicking the
step in the history list.
5 Collections
We covered these in the
Library module section.
You can also access your
collections from the Develop
module by opening up this tab.
6 Copy and Paste
Rather than copying the active
image, as you might expect,
the Copy button copies certain
adjustments that you’ve made
to the image. You can open
another image and instantly
apply the same corrections by
clicking the Paste button. You
can choose which parameters
are copied.
8 find more tools to improve
9 distortion correction, noise
As with the Library module,
there are a number of viewing The Adjustment Panel offers a range of tools tailored to the
options available, including Module you’re currently on, in this case the Develop Module.
split-screen and the before- Here you can find a wealth of features to help tweak your
and-after view. photo to perfection.
8 Histogram
The histogram shows you a
graph of the number of pixels
of a given tone in three colour
channels, vital for setting the
best optimum exposure.
9 Tools
Here’s where you’ll find the
Crop Overlay tool, Spot
Removal and Red Eye
Correction tools. Linear filters,
Radial filters, the Adjustment
Brush and new tools to
automatically select subject
and sky are all under the
Masking tool. Masking is the Basic Calibration
latest additional to the editing
arsenal after the 2022 update The Basic panel holds the Some cameras have unique
and amalgamates a few key essential adjustments for colour balance profiles
tools under one heading. white balance, exposure, that are embedded in the
contrast and tone, as well metadata along with the
10 Developing and as clarity, vibrancy and image file. You can use
saturation. This is probably these profiles to ensure
Adjustment Tools where you’ll spend most of absolutely accurate colour
your time when using the reproduction in your photo if
In each of these panels you’ll Develop module. you require it.
your images, such as lens
reduction, grain and filter
effects and more.

11 Previous and
Reset Buttons
As the names imply, the
Previous button takes you
back one editing step, while
the Reset button removes
all effects and restores the
10 image to its original state.
Since Lightroom edits non-
destructively this involves no
loss of original image quality.

12 Done Button
The Done button applies any
adjustments you’ve made
in Lightroom. Clicking it will
close the current adjustment
12 11 window and make the
alterations to the image. If you
clicked it too soon, you need
to start again and re-apply
any adjustments.
Lens Corrections
Lightroom can automatically
apply preset corrections
that compensate for
known distortions in many
popular lenses from most
manufacturers. You can also
choose to make manual
adjustments yourself.
Detail
The Detail panel is where
you can find the controls for
adjusting sharpening and
noise reduction. It includes
a small preview window for
judging the effects of your
image adjustments.

83
 LIGHTROOM DEVELOP MODULE USING THE CROP AND STRAIGHTEN TOOL

Using the Crop &

Straighten Tool
Even the most careful photographer will sometimes rush a shot and
take a photo that’s not quite level, with either a sloping horizon or a
leaning building. Fortunately, Lightroom offers several effortless ways
to correct those faults.

The main tools that you’ll need to straighten your shots are
1 found in the Crop & Straighten tool, located on the editing
tools panel that we looked at before. Click on the tool and you
can see a grid with corner handles appear over your image, as
well as a panel of other tools and options appear below the
panel. Note the icon change in the 2022 update.
A quicker and more precise way to straighten a tilted
3 horizon or leaning vertical is to use the Straighten Tool.
You’ll find this on the left-hand side of the options panel below
the edit tool bar when you click on the Crop & Straighten tool.
It’s the circular icon with a picture of a spirit level in it. Click on
this icon to activate the tool.

If you place your mouse cursor anywhere on the grey
2 border of the workspace outside the image, you can see
that it changes to a double-ended curved arrow, indicating
rotation. Click anywhere in this area and you’ll see a grid appear
over your image. You can simply drag the image around until
your horizon lines up with the grid.
To use the Straighten Tool on a tilted horizon, simply
4 click on one end of the horizon line and drag a line along
it. As soon as you release the Mouse button Lightroom will
automatically rotate the image to make the line horizontal.
Note that it also constrains the rotated image within the
original size of the frame.

84
 USING THE CROP AND STRAIGHTEN TOOL
The Straighten Tool also works on leaning verticals. To
5 save a toppling building, activate the tool by clicking
on the icon and then click and drag a line up or down a line
on the image that should be vertical, such as the side of a
structure. Again, as soon as you release the Mouse button the
image will automatically be straightened.
The Crop & Straighten tool offers a third option for
6 rotating your image. Next to the Straighten Tool you’ll see
a slider. If you drag this slider right and left, you’ll see that it
rotates the image clockwise and anticlockwise. This is useful if
you want to tilt an otherwise level shot. You can also enter the
degree of tilt numerically.
There is yet another option for levelling your shots. If you
7 open the Transform tools you’ll see a panel of buttons in
the options panel, including one marked Level. If you click on
this button, Lightroom will attempt to automatically straighten
your image. Note that this is based on pattern recognition and is
therefore not 100 per cent reliable.
LIGHTROOM DEVELOP MODULE
Cropping your image to improve composition is very simple.
8 When you open the Crop & Straighten tool it defaults to
the crop tool straight away; but if you’ve previously been using
the Straighten tool you’ll need to click on the round icon with a
picture of a darkroom crop-frame tool to switch the tool back into
cropping mode.
You’ll see a crop frame grid overlay your image, with
9 drag points in each corner and in the middle of each
side. When you click on and drag one of these points in any
direction you’ll see the cropping frame move, with the areas
outside it slightly greyed out. It also includes a “rule of thirds”
grid to help with classical composition.
You can crop to a specific aspect ratio or image size by
10 clicking to the right of where it says Aspect to open the
context menu. You can select a preset ratio or size or enter your
own manually. Note that the padlock icon next to the menu
changes, to indicate that the aspect ratio is now locked to the
dimensions that you’ve set.
85
 LIGHTROOM DEVELOP MODULE REMOVING SPOTS AND RED EYE

Removing Spots
and Red Eye
Even the latest digital cameras can sometimes get dust inside and
contaminate the sensor, leaving black spots on your images; and
there’s also the problem of flash Red Eye and indoor photography.
Luckily Lightroom offers tools for dealing with these problems.
Removing Spots

If you scan film photos or use an older DSLR, you may
1 have problems with dust and blemishes on your images.
Fortunately, Lightroom includes a handy tool to get rid of
them. It’s the Spot Removal tool and you use it by clicking on
the icon in the editing tools panel or by using the keyboard
shortcut Q. Note the icon change in the 2022 update.
As you click on dust spots you’ll see the position from
3 which the replacement sample is being taken displayed
on the image and you can adjust the position and size of the
sample location by dragging on the visible circle. You can turn
this feature off from a pop-up menu on the lower tool bar; this
can help if your image is heavily spotted.

The Lightroom Spot Removal tool operates in the same
2 way as the matching tool in Photoshop. You can adjust the
brush size by using the slider in the control panel or by using
the square brackets keys [ and ]. Simply click on a spot and
it will be replaced by a matching background colour sampled
from elsewhere on the image.
If you make a mistake or if you simply don’t like the result
4 of one of your spot removal operations, you can undo
any of them by holding down the left Alt button and clicking
on the offending circle. As well as the heal function, the Spot
Removal tool also offers a Clone option. If you hold the CTRL
key you can move the sampling point to wherever you want.

86
 REMOVING SPOTS AND RED EYE
Removing Red Eye
Red Eye is caused when light from your camera flash
1 reflects off the blood vessels at the back of the eye and is
most visible in low light when the pupils are widely dilated. Even
if your flash has anti-Red Eye pre-flash it can still be a problem.
You can remove Red Eye from your shots using the Red Eye
Removal tool.
The Red Eye Removal tool is very simple to use. When you
2 activate the tool you’ll see a cross-shaped mouse cursor.
Simply place this over the centre of an affected eye and drag an
elliptical shape outwards until it covers the entire eye. Release
the Mouse button and the tool will automatically detect and
correct the redness.
As noted above, make sure the elliptical shape covers the
3 entire eye, not just the pupil. You may think you just need
to cover the red area of the eye, but the tool works by using the
shape of the iris and the pupil. If you drag the ellipse over the
pupil alone, you will see that the redness reduction is confined to
a very small area. Adjust the ellipse accordingly.
LIGHTROOM DEVELOP MODULE
Repeat the same procedure with the other eye. If you’re
4 not happy with the result, reset the image and try again;
the automatic process isn’t perfect and a second try may do
better. You can also manually adjust the size and darkness of
the fake pupil that it superimposes by adjusting the two sliders
in the tool options panel.
The Red Eye Removal tool also works with pet’s eyes,
5 although due to the nature of cat and dog eyes, they’re
usually green or yellow rather than red. Click on the Pet
Eye button on the tool option panel and then use the same
procedure that you did for a human eye; click and drag
outwards from the centre of the eye.
As with human eyes you do have the option to manually
6 increase or decrease the pupil size but there is no option
to darken, since it will set to maximum darkness automatically.
There is an option to add catchlights in the eyes though, which
is strangely missing from the tool options for human eyes. The
results are usually excellent.
87
 LIGHTROOM DEVELOP MODULE ADJUSTMENTS USING THE BASIC PANEL

Adjustments Using
the Basic Panel
After cropping and straightening, the most common adjustments
made are white balance, exposure, tonal balance and colour saturation.
Lightroom’s Basic panel is where you can find these features, with an
easy-to-use slider interface.

You’ll find the Basic panel in the right-hand sidebar of
1 the Develop module. Click on the title bar to open the
panel and you’ll see an array of sliders for things like colour
temperature, tint, exposure and contrast; also a panel of Tone
controls and another one for Presence controls that adjust
Clarity, Vibrance and Saturation.
To the left of the White Balance selector you’ll see another
3 tool with an icon shaped like an eyedropper. If you click on
this the eyedropper will become the mouse cursor and you can
use it to select a white-point to manually set the white balance.
If you’ve ever used Adobe Camera Raw you’ll be familiar with
this operation.

Near the top of the Basic panel you’ll find the White
2 Balance controls. This will usually show As Shot by default,
indicating that Lightroom is using the white balance setting
determined by your camera. If you click on this, you’ll see a
context menu with more options. We’ll look more closely at
correcting white balance elsewhere.
Immediately below the White Balance selector you’ll see
4 a pair of sliders for Temp, or colour temperature, and
Tint. These controls allow you to make manual adjustments
to the white balance and colour cast, which is useful if you’re
shooting under unusual artificial lighting conditions that are
not covered by any of the white balance presets.

88
 ADJUSTMENTS USING THE BASIC PANEL
Moving further down the panel, we come to the Tone
5 controls, which are divided into two sections; Exposure
and Contrast, and Highlights, Shadows, Whites and Blacks.
Exposure and Contrast work in exactly the same way that they
have done in Adobe Photoshop and most other editing suites
for years.
The Highlights, Shadows, Whites and Blacks section of
6 the Tone panel is a more recent addition for Lightroom
and not found in previous versions of Photoshop. It offers more
precise manual control over the relative density of light and
dark tones and lets you take advantage of the greater tonal
range of raw files.
The Presence controls are another new Lightroom
7 feature and replace the old Hue, Saturation and Lightness
controls that feature in Photoshop. Clarity improves the
contrast in the mid-tones of the image by sharpening the edge
detail, while Vibrance increases the saturation of only the least
saturated colours.
LIGHTROOM DEVELOP MODULE
If you just want to quickly optimise a photo but aren’t
8 sure in which direction to take it, the Basic panel offers
an auto-tone option that will instantly analyse your image and
attempt to adjust the tone to bring it closer to an idealised
average by equalising the histogram. It’s not likely to be perfect
but can be a good starting point.
The Basic panel can also be used to turn your colour
9 image into monochrome. At the top of the panel you’ll
see Colour and Black & White. If you click on the latter you’ll
see that the Vibrance and Saturation slider will be greyed out
and the image will turn monochrome. You still have full control
over the other sliders.
Auto-tone also still works in Black & White mode and
10 just like in colour mode it will attempt to equalise the
exposure, contrast and distribution of tones to produce an
idealised histogram with no clipping. You may find that the
results look a little flat though, so use it as a starting point
rather than relying on it to finish your images.
89
 Photoshop
Elements
Welcome to our introduction to Photoshop
Elements, you have an easy and affordable means
to find all those elusive images, organise them
and manipulate your favourite ones to make them
even better. Let’s begin with a few basics. This will
gradually build into a comprehensive guide to this
very capable image editing package.

Contents
92 What is Photoshop Elements?
94 The Elements home screen
96 The quick mode workspace

90
PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS

91
 PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS WHAT IS PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS

What is Photoshop
Elements?
Let's take a moment to get to know a little more about the software
and how it can help you with your day to day image editing.

A
dobe Photoshop Elements is a
great option for those who want
an extensive toolset that can take
on most of their image editing needs,
without the requirement of highly
advanced features such as you would
find in Photoshop CC. It is also a great
choice for those who only need one-
click solutions to their image editing
needs, or perhaps want to start to
learn how to take on the more involved
techniques and tools that Elements has
to offer. Another big plus point in its
favour is that it is one of the very few
remaining Adobe products that can be
purchased outright, without the need
for subscription.

A Worthy Alternative
There was a time when, in certain
quarters, Elements was considered a
dumbed-down version of Photoshop
with a limited toolset, that was
only meant for beginners with no
aspirations to advance to the more
technically advanced techniques seen
in Photoshop. However, recent versions
of Elements have shown that it is a
worthy standalone alternative to using
Photoshop. It is a focused image editor
and cataloging application that is more
than capable of taking on any image
editing task you care to send its way.
In its current form, Adobe Photoshop
Elements is comprised of two main
components. One is the image editing
module of the software where you
can touch up your photos or even
manipulate and transform them beyond
recognition. The Edit section is broken
down into three sections. The first is
the Quick Edit mode, then comes the
Guided Mode section and finally there is
the Expert mode.

Make the Most of Modules

Each module has its own set of tools
and preset options that can quickly get
the job done. Quick Edit, as the name
suggests, contains the basic editing

92
 WHAT IS PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS

The Adobe Photoshop Elements and Organiser interfaces are

designed to be as intuitive as possible with plenty of options
for beginners and experienced users alike.

tools such as colour correction, cropping,

quick selection, spot healing, sharpening and
lighting fixes. You can also apply some one-
click presets such as Smart Fix, Exposure
and Lighting.

Helping Hand
The Guided module is also fairly self-
explanatory. Here you can make any number
of popular image adjustments to your
photos, with guided step-by-step tutorials,
such as altering brightness and contrast,
resizing photos, rotating and straightening
your images and adding vignettes. It also
has a number of specialised and fun options
for restoring old photos, creating your own
frames and replacing backgrounds.

More Advanced Options

Finally comes the Expert mode. This has
more of the feel of its big brother, Photoshop
to it. It has a toolbar ranged down the left
hand side of the workspace and on the right
is the layers panel that behaves much in the
same way as Photoshop's layers palette. Here
you also have access to a number of photo
colour presets such as Faded Photo, Glow
and Monotone Color. There are also a number
of filters for more artistic effects such as
coloured pencils, watercolours, distortion
effects and sketch filters. You can also add
Bevels, Patterns, Strokes, Photographic
Effects and much more by accessing the
icons in the lower right of the taskbar at the
bottom of your workspace. Expert mode
is the most hands-on of the three modes
you can employ and gives you access to
all the tools, so you can apply all your own
advanced edits to your photos.

Getting Organised
The second main component of the latest
Adobe Photoshop Elements is the Elements
2019 Organiser. At its heart, this is a
cataloguing and photo organising program
that lets you import, sort, tag and rate your
photos. If you wish, you can create albums
and use names, locations, date, time and GPS
data to sort them. The program can even
employ face recognition to find and sort
photos of people and tag them much as you
would in Facebook. Indeed, you can actually
import your list of Facebook friends as an
aid to tagging the people in your photos. If
it detects a similar name being entered
as a tag, it will display those existing
names similar enough as a match to be
an option for tagging.
The two components of Photoshop
Elements and Elements Organiser
are separate programs, which can be
a bit of nuisance if you need to keep
switching between them but you have
at your disposal a set of powerful
editing tools that will keep beginner and
expert happy.
Over the page we'll begin to delve
deeper into the workspaces offered by
the Editor and Elements Organiser. It is
best to consider the Editor module as your
digital darkroom and design studio and to
think of Elements Organiser as your library,
where you keep all your media items such
as photos and videos.

93
 PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS THE ELEMENTS HOME SCREEN

The Elements
Home Screen
We start the journey by becoming more familiar with all the module
environments you will be working with.
Welcome Home 1
When you open Adobe Photoshop
Elements 2019, you are presented with a
Home screen. This simple screen is your
gateway to the Photo Editor program or
the Organiser. The third option available
is to activate the Adobe Premiere
Elements Video Editor, if you have
purchased that as well. If not, it will ask
if you want to download a trial version.
You also have the option at the
top of the Home screen to search for
help on things you want to achieve in 2
the programs or to click on any of the
featured Try This guides and What's New
items and Inspiration articles ranged
across the screen.
On the extreme top right of the page
are buttons for Facebook and Twitter
and a Help button that takes you to
Adobe Customer Support.

3
1 Search Option
From the home page you can can search
for things you need to learn more about.
If you want to learn how to make a
calendar for instance, type that in the
search bar and it will show you links to
help files that can tell you more.

2 Featured Guides
Ranged along the top of the home page
are a number of clickable guides and
inspirational media that gets you into the
heart of what Photoshop Elements 2019 4
is all about. There are several themes
you can access. Try This are guided
tutorials that help you create exciting
media and art. What's New highlights all
the step-by-step features that are new
to this version. Inspiration is a collection
of stories and articles to get you in a
creative mood.

94

3 Auto Creations
When you open the home page for the
first time, you will be prompted to add
media for Auto Creations to make a
series of personalised creations, such as
slide shows that use your own photos
and videos.
4 Add Media
Auto Creations are created with media
(photos or videos) that you've imported.
If you haven't imported any media yet,
click Add media under Auto Creations on
the Home screen and relaunch the app.
You can open and edit any Auto Creation
and instantly share it with your family
and friends.
THE ELEMENTS HOME SCREEN
5 Program Chooser
To the right of the home page are the
icons for Organiser, Photo Editor and
Video Editor. You can click on these to
activate the relevant program. If you do
not have the Adobe Premiere Elements
video editor program for instance, it will
ask you if you want to try if for free with
the option to purchase later if you wish.
6 Recent Files
Any images you have been working on
recently will be displayed here for quick
access. Click on the image you want
to continue working on and it will be
opened within the relevant program.
7 8 9
PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS
7 Facebook Button
Click this button to go to the Adobe
Photoshop Elements Facebook page.
8 Twitter Button
When you click this button, it will take
you to the Photoshop Elements Twitter
feed where you can view, reply to,
retweet and like tweets.
9 Help Button
If you need further assistance, you can
click this button to be directed to the
Adobe Customer Support webpage.
Explore the Guides
For those who are in need of more guidance, or just
some creative inspiration, go ahead and click on any of
the featured guides and articles to explore more of the
online world of features Adobe Photoshop Elements has
to offer.
95
 PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS THE QUICK MODE WORKSPACE

The Quick
Mode Workspace
For fast and simple edits, this is the mode to get you editing
quickly, with one-click results for better photos.
One-click Power 1
Although this mode is designed to
3 2
be quick and simple to use, it is still a
powerful method to rapidly improve
your photos with easy one-click 7
presets that give you instant feedback
on how your image will look with the
new adjustments applied. There are
many filters to choose from and many
ways you can adjust your image to
make it perfect, so you can share it 4
with the world.

1 The File Menu

Although a number of file menu option 8
will not be accessible, the main ones
that you need will be available. All the
Enhance options are there as well as the
Filter Gallery presets.

2 Mode Selector
Here can you can exit the current mode
and choose to enter the Guided or
Expert modes.

3 The Open Button

This is a simple button to specify a new
project to work on. Click it to create a
new document at the size you want.
When you click OK, the document will be
created and can be worked on in either
Quick mode or Expert mode.

4 The Toolbar
The Quick mode toolbar has a core set
of tools to get your image looking great
with minimal effort. You can make quick
selections to specific areas of the photo,
crop it, straighten the horizon, whiten
5
teeth and fix eyes as well as adding text
and a number of varied filters, textures
and adjustments.
6

96

5 The Tool Options Bar
For every tool you activate in the toolbar,
you have another panel called the Tool
Options bar that gives you many more
choices as to how that tool can be
modified and controlled. There are also
additional tools that can be accessed in
the Tool Options bar.
6 The Taskbar
The taskbar is situated at the bottom
of the workspace and contains all the
most frequently used actions, which are
displayed as buttons. Click each one
and you can see all the images you are
working on at that time, display or hide
the Toolbar Options bar and Undo or
9 the right hand panel bar. Items such as
THE QUICK MODE WORKSPACE
redo any steps you have performed on
your image. You also have the option
to rotate the image and activate the
Elements Organiser if you need to.
7 View Options
Clicking on this button reveals the View
options. This is useful if you want to
compare a before and after view of your
currently active image, to see how much
the image has changed from its original
untouched state.
8 Active Image Area
The image you are working on is
displayed in this area. It will either be as
a single image or, if you have chosen a
10
11
PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS
different view option, as two images that
represent the before and after state of
the photo.
9 Zoom Slider
This slider lets you quickly zoom your
image from 1% all the way up to 3200%.
10 Create and Share
These two dropdown menus display
options for creating slide shows, photo
books, greetings cards, calendars,
Facebook Covers and much more. You
can also share your works of art on
Facebook, Flickr and Twitter.
11 The Panel Bar
This panel changes content depending
on what adjustment or effect you are
using. If you are using the Adjustment
tools, then they will be displayed in
Smart Fix, Exposure, Lighting and Colour
will be available here and each can be
clicked to reveal its available options. The
Effects menu, Textures and Frames are
also available to be accessed here.
Create and Share
Don't forget to check out the Create and Share
options. Whether you want to share your creation
online and on social media or make prints of your
photos or even calendars, click the buttons to
explore further.
97
 Photoshop

On Sale
December 2022
via digital platforms

Get Inspired!
Next issue, get more hands-on with
Photoshop’s many tools and techniques,
as well as a deeper look at Lightroom’s
Develop Module. We also begin to
uncover some essential knowledge
about using Photoshop Elements too. All
this and more Photoshop mega tips to
sink your teeth into.
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