Photoshop User 2020 02

T H E A D O B E® P H O T O S H O P ® “ H O W -T 0 ” M A G A Z I N E › › FE B R UARY 2020
The Perfect You can’t always depend on AI to help

you create selections, especially when
Learn how to take advantage of the
new Gradients panel, plus how to create
Beginners’
Selection it comes to atmospheric elements custom gradients in the Gradient Editor Workshop
JR Maddox | KelbyOne Member
MASTERING
CONTRAST
A great image relies
on a solid foundation
of tonal values
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[ P H O T O S H O P U S E R • F E B R U A RY 202 0 • V O L 2 3 • NO 2 ]
CONTENTS
Images: Adobe Stock; Layout: Jessica Maldonado

[050] CRUSHING CONTRAST
By Viktor Fejes
FEATURE
In modern-day photography, we tend to put more emphasis on our hues and neglect our tones;
however, exposure and contrast are like the foundation of a building, so a good image relies
more on tonal values than on color harmonies. The tools that can help us achieve tonal heaven
are all grouped together at the top of Photoshop’s list of adjustment layers: Brightness/Con-
trast, Levels, Curves, and Exposure. In this article, we’re going to learn how to use these tools,
and then we’ll apply our newfound understanding of them to create a couple of popular looks.
©Adobe Stock/denissimonov
©Adobe Stock/Ruslan Solntsev
[024] [038]
HOW TO
DEPARTMENTS [007]
A NOTE FROM SCOTT
[024] DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS
[009] Layer Styling Tricks for Cool Hollywood Effects
CONTRIBUTORS
[038] DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS
Create Your Own Black Widow-Inspired Poster
[010]
BENEFIT SPOTLIGHT [066] BEGINNERS’ WORKSHOP
Using the Gradients Panel
[012]
KELBYONE COMMUNITY [072] EFFECTS TOOLKIT
How to Create a Spotlight Effect in Photoshop
[020]
HEARD ON THE TWEET [078] PHOTO EFFECTS
Retouching the Aurora Borealis in Adobe Camera Raw
[022] [092] DESIGNING IN PHOTOSHOP

NEW ONLINE TRAINING Stretching Your Creativity in Photoshop
[120]
FROM THE HELP DESK COLUMNS
[060] SHORTCUT CITY
The Anatomy of a Photoshop Composite, Part 3
ONLINE CONTENT
Whenever you see this symbol at the
[084] THE PERFECT SELECTION
end of an article, it means there are either
Selecting Atmosphere with Tones
downloadable practice files or additional
content for KelbyOne members at [088] PHOTOSHOP PROVING GROUND
http://kelbyone.com/magazine. Levels Magic
Whenever you see this button
in an article, click it to go to the KelbyOne
site to watch courses that cover similar top-
[100] PHOTOSHOP Q&A
Get Answers to Your Photoshop Questions
ics contained in the article.
Whenever you see this button
in an article, click it to go to the KelbyOne
[104] PRODUCT & BOOK REVIEWS
Online Community to ask questions or Get the Scoop on the Latest Gear
make comments about this issue.
Click this symbol in the nav bar at the top [116] PHOTOSHOP TIPS
of the online reader to access the Contents. Boost Your Productivity & Creativity
©Adobe Stock/R. Gino Santa Maria
Adobe Stock/andrew_shots
[072] [092]
KelbyOne Members
Receive Exclusive Discounts
The
Professional’s
Source
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› › FROM THE EDITOR
> A Note from Scott
GET YOUR WORK RECOGNIZED!

As artists, one of the things we all struggle with is get-
that you only include your absolutely favorite images, say
ting our work out in front of more people. The more
20 or fewer, that you want us to consider for the cover,
people we reach, the greater the opportunity for cool
Artist Spotlight, and Member Mondays.)
stuff to happen, right? You’re probably already familiar
Now, since I’ve been talking about “portfolios,” some
with the competition we do during the year to feature
of you out there may be thinking to yourselves, “I don’t
an artist’s work in The Gallery at KelbyOne, and all that
have a portfolio.” Well, I think we can fix that. Included
entails (and if you’re not, here’s a link to the gallery
with your Adobe subscription plan, whether you have
site). But there’s something a little closer to home that
the Lightroom and Photoshop Photography plan or the
can get your work viewed by thousands and thousands
full-blown Creative Cloud subscription, included in that
of people, and you’re holding it (well, you’re looking at
subscription is a pretty awesome online portfolio service
it anyway). On the cover of each issue of Photoshop
called Adobe Portfolio. It’s really easy to use (it’s templa-
User we feature the work of one of our members. Not
tized), and I just recorded an entire online course on how
only is it a way to get your work seen, but it’s also
to get up and running with it. It’ll be released sometime in
a nice résumé builder (e.g., “That’s my image on the
the second half of February 2020, and it will take you step
cover of the July issue of Photoshop User magazine”).
by step through the whole process. (Keep an eye on your
Getting the cover of a magazine is no small thing, and
inbox for when it’s released.)
you might have the perfect image, illustration, or com-
Okay, back to our story: If that weren’t enough (it’s
posite just sitting there on your hard drive collecting
probably enough, but...) we also do “Member Chal-
dust (well, you know what I mean).
lenges” where we give you a topic and you give us your
So, how do you go about getting one of your images
photographic take on it. It’s a lot of fun (and it can be chal-
selected for the cover? Well, first you have to submit
lenging, henceforth the name), but we share the winners
a link to one of your portfolios that contains some of
online so hopefully that will get you some eyeballs, too.
your favorite images (and it helps if you include some tall
We’re really proud of the work our members are cre-
images, of course, but in many cases, with enough res,
ating, and we’re always looking for new ways to get you
we can crop a wide image to fit our tall cover). You can
and your work out there, so I hope you’ll take advantage
submit a link to one of your portfolios by clicking here.
of these opportunities. One more thing. I did a blog post
There will be lots of members who submit their portfolios
recently for photographers about how you can challenge
each issue, so if you don’t get in the following issue, keep
trying. Hey, ya never know. ☺ yourself and grow in the coming year, and I think there
are some ideas there that you might find really helpful.
Besides snagging the coveted cover shot, you could
The post is called “Take my ‘2020 Photography challenge:’
also get your work featured inside the magazine in our
Five things to Push You Forward in 2020.” Click this link
“Artist Spotlight” section. Keep that in mind, as well, when
for that post.
you’re submitting a link to a portfolio or site with your
Okay, the ball’s in your court. Get those images in, and
images. You can check out pages 13–15 in this issue to
we’ll take it from there.
see the KelbyOne members featured this time around.
Another way to get some eyes on your work is to be All my best,
featured on our “Member Mondays,” where we share
your images on the KelbyOne Insider, so you might get
some social media juice that way, too. Click here to check
out all of our previous Member Mondays. Again, these
> K ELBY ON E . CO M
images are selected from the same portfolio that you

submit to the link above. (By the way, sometimes we Scott Kelby
get portfolios with way too many images for us to go KelbyOne President & CEO
through. So when you share a portfolio with us, be sure Editor & Publisher, Photoshop User
[7 ]
F E B R U A R Y 2 02 0 • V O L 2 3 • N O 2
AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF
EDITORIAL:
Scott Kelby, Editor-in-Chief
Chris Main, Managing Editor
Kim Doty, Associate Editor
Barbara Thompson, Copy Editor
Cindy Snyder, Technical Editor
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:
Corey Barker • Peter Bauer • Dave Clayton • Dave Cross
Unmesh Dinda • Viktor Fejes • Mark Heaps • Kirk Nelson
Colin Smith • Gilmar Smith • Lesa Snider • Scott Valentine
Erik Vlietinck • Dave Williams
GRAPHICS:
Jessica Maldonado, Art Director
Margie Rosenstein, Senior Graphic Designer
Angela Naymick, Senior Web/Graphic Designer
MARKETING:
Ashley Fosse • Rachel Scott • Kleber Stephenson • John Warwick
WEB:
Adam Frick • Curt Husting • Yojance Rabelo • Aaron Westgate
PUBLISHING:
Scott Kelby, Publisher
Kalebra Kelby, Executive V.P. Cover Image: JR Maddox
Jean A. Kendra, Business Manager
ADVERTISING:
Kleber Stephenson, Vice President of Business
Development & Enterprise kleber@kelbyone.com
HOW TO CONTACT KELBYONE:

U.S. Mail: 118 Douglas Road East • Oldsmar, FL 34677-2922 Each issue we feature cover art
Voice: 813-433-5000 • Fax: 813-433-5015 by a KelbyOne member
Customer Service: info@kelbyone.com This issue’s cover is by JR Maddox. Unfortunatley, JR recently passed away at way too
Letters to the Editor: letters@photoshopuser.com young an age. He was an amazing talent and loved by everyone who knew him. JR was
Help Desk: https://members.kelbyone.com/account/helpdesk born in Simi Valley and raised in Thousand Oaks, California, where he loved to discover
great locations and then reveal their true beauty. He ran JR Maddox Photography, which
specialized in real estate photography, 3D Matterport Tours, professional headshots, and
COLOPHON: aerial photography and video. He was also proud of the fact that he was a professional
Photoshop User was produced using Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 golfer for five years while he was in his twenties. JR is survived by his son James and his
and Adobe InDesign CC 2019. Korolev was used for headlines and wife Karon. For a tribute to JR, please turn to page 17.
subheads. Frutiger LT Std for text.
All contents ©COPYRIGHT 2019 KelbyOne, LLC. All rights reserved. Any use of the contents of this publication without the
written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. Photoshop User is an independent journal, not affiliated in any way
with Adobe Systems, Inc. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, Illustrator, InDesign, Lightroom, and Photoshop are registered
trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks mentioned
belong to their respective owners. Some of the views expressed by contributors may not be the representative views of the
publisher. ISSN 2470-7031 (online)
VIKTORFEJES
is a high-end postproduction artist with an international clientele, including
major companies, magazines, and celebrities. He’s the founder and Creative
Director of Gild Studios, a renowned boutique creative production studio
known for going the extra mile. Viktor is also an instructor for KelbyOne. You
can check out all of his courses by clicking here.
CONTRIBUTORS
COREYBARKER COLINSMITH
is an award-winning designer and illustrator. A featured instructor is an award-winning digital artist, photographer, and lecturer
at the Photoshop World Conference and an Adobe MAX Master who has authored 19 books and has created a series of train-
Instructor, he has produced numerous training titles for KelbyOne. ing videos. Colin is also the founder of the online resource
Look for his latest book Photoshop Tricks for Designers. PhotoshopCAFE.com and president of Software-Cinema.com.
PETERBAUER GILMARSMITH
is an Adobe Certified Expert who does computer graphics con- is a self-taught photographer and Photoshop addict, based in
sulting for a select group of corporate clients. His latest book is Orlando, Florida, specializing in creative portraiture and com-
Photoshop CC for Dummies. He was inducted into the Photoshop posites. You can follow her ventures at www.gilmarphotography
Hall of Fame in 2010. .com and all around social media as @gilmarsmith.
DAVECLAYTON LESASNIDER
is a UK-based graphic designer with over 30 years experience, author is the author of Adobe Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC for
of How Do I Do That In InDesign, cohost of the successful He Shoots, He Photographers: Classroom in a Book (2016), Photoshop CC: The
Draws podcast, and a Photoshop World and KelbyOne instructor. He’s Missing Manual, TheSkinnyBooks.com eBooks, more than 40
also an Adobe Influencer and Training Manager at Astute Graphics. video courses, and the “Creaticity” column for Macworld.
DAVECROSS SCOTTVALENTINE
has been teaching Adobe software for more than 30 years. He’s blends his education in physics with his love for art, bringing a
an Adobe Certified Instructor, in the Photoshop Hall of Fame, has unique voice to teaching through experimentation. His Hidden
written many articles and books, co-hosted Photoshop User TV, Power books (Adobe Press) are used in colleges across the US,
and has taught for KelbyOne, CreativeLive, and Photoshop Cafe. and he’s a longtime member of Adobe’s prerelease team.
UNMESHDINDA ERIKVLIETINCK
is a Photoshop educator with more than 1,000,000 subscribers and A J.D. by education, Erik has been a freelance technology editor
500 videos on his YouTube channel, PiXimperfect. He’s been an for more than 22 years. He has written for Macworld, Computer
instructor for ShutterFest and Photoshop World, published in Shut- Arts, and many others. He also contributes to UK-based Red Shark
ter Magazine and Photoshop User, and he’s a KelbyOne instructor. News and Red Shark Sound. Visit his website at Visuals Producer.
MARKHEAPS DAVEWILLIAMS
is an Adobe Community Professional, instructor, author, is a well-seasoned, UK-based travel photographer, educator,
photographer, and Executive Creative Director. He’s been a fea- and blogger with internationally published work and a passion
tured speaker at Adobe MAX, SXSW, and many other events. His for sharing his knowledge of Adobe software. Dave lives by the
clients include Apple, Google, Coca-Cola, Dell, and many others. mantra, “Lend me your eyes and I’ll show you what I see.”
KIRKNELSON
is a professional graphics artist in the Washington, D.C., area. He
has a B.A. from George Mason University and is an Adobe Certified
Expert in Photoshop. Kirk’s career has touched on a broad range of
subjects from logo design to animation. He can be reached here.
[9 ]
> Benefit Spotlight
ARE YOU GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR

KELBYONE PRO MEMBERSHIP?
As a Pro member, you’re receiving the ultimate experience You can also get help from others in our Community or
with KelbyOne. This is our complete plan that includes every- from our one-on-one Help Desk. You have access to all the
thing to immerse yourself in learning. We want to make sure new issues of Photoshop User magazine and Lightroom
you know about all of the added benefits you’re getting as a Magazine, along with more than 120 back issues. You have
Pro member so you can take advantage of them all! access to a Creative Toolkit packed with brushes, presets,
Pro members have access to our entire course library eBooks, and other fun freebies. And last, but certainly not
(700+ courses), including a new course every week, taught least, there are significant discounts available from our part-
by world-class instructors who you know and love. In addi- ners, such as Apple, B&H Photo, and Mpix.
> PHOTOSHOP USER > F E B R U A R 2 0 2 0
tion, you have hundreds of quick tips and tutorials, guided Do you know someone who should go Pro? Share the
learning tracks, and the opportunity to live-learn through added benefits of the Pro Membership with them to help
private members-only webcasts. accelerate their learning today! n
Discuss this Issue

[10 ]
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> KelbyOne Community
Inspiration, information, and member artwork to fuel your creativity
Member Challenge 35 | From Below Top 10 Camera Gear Courses
It’s hard to believe, but we’re already on Member Here in the pages of the “KelbyOne Community” sec-
Challenge 35. If you’re not familiar with the Member tion, we’ve been following the KelbyOne Insider series
Challenges, click here to check out the current contest, on the top 10 KelbyOne courses based on specific top-
plus all the past winners from previous Challenges. The ics with the most views. (If you visit the Insider on a
Theme for Challenge #35 is From Below. regular basis, which we highly recommend, then you’re
probably already up to date on this series.) This time
Kaylee Greer
around, here in the magazine, we’re focusing on the

top 10 camera gear courses.
You love your camera, and you spend all day with it
out on a shoot. But how well do you really know your
camera? The camera is where it all starts, and learning
how to work with all its functions doesn’t have to be
difficult. We make sure our classes leave you feeling
confident with your gear. So here are the top 10 classes
on camera gear to get you well on your way!
Look up! What do you see? Hopefully something worthy

of a great photo, but if you’re just staring at a ceiling, it
might be time for a change of scenery. From Below is a
challenge that’s exactly what it sounds like: Find an interest-
ing and creative way to tell the story of your subject from
below. What kinds of subjects are best shot at a lower van-
tage point? Think trees, flowers, buildings, animals, sports
action shots, or maybe you want to get creative and shoot
a subject that’s rarely shot from a low angle. It’s up to you!
Here’s how the Member Challenge Works:
1. Top Ten Things Every Photographer Should Know
• Entrant must be a KelbyOne Pro member to submit
About Their Camera
their work into the contest.
• Work must be original to the entrant. 2. Inexpensive and DIY Photography Gear Solutions
• Only one image can be submitted per entrant. 3. Canon 5D Mark IV Camera Essentials
• ork must be created within the timeline given
W
(January 17–February 23, 2020).
4. Lenses: Accessories Basics
> PHOTOSHOP USER > F E B R U A RY 2 0 2 0
• Images must be submitted by February 23, 2020, at 5. The Mavic Pro Drone: Shooting Photos and Video
11:59 PM ET.
6. Using the Canon 600EX-RT Hot Shoe Flash
• E ntry must be submitted in the Community Member
Challenge thread as a comment with the image 7. Exposure: Accessories Basics
attached. Details, rules, and prize information can be
found there as well. 8. The Ultimate Guide to Sensor Cleaning and
Camera Care
• T he winner will be announced by March 5, 2020, on
the Insider. The winner will receive a Member Chal- 9. Nikon D750 Camera Basics
lenge Winner T-shirt, exposure on our social channels,
[12 ] and bragging rights! 10. Nikon DSLRs Camera Basics
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT >> ELANE ZELCER
MEMBER SINCE 2016
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT >> PAUL HALEY
MEMBER SINCE 2016
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT >> MARC HAMBURGER
MEMBER SINCE 2018
WHO’S WHO IN THE KELBYONE COMMUNITY >> JR MADDOX
MEMBER SINCE 2016
› › K E L BYO N E C O M M U N I TY
Who’s Who in the KelbyOne Community: A Tribute to JR Maddox

DAVEWILLIAMS
It is with a very heavy heart that I’m writing this in place of the usual “Who’s Who in the KelbyOne
Community,” which normally features an interview with the member whose artwork is displayed on
the cover. On this particular occasion, we’re sadly paying tribute to the artist: The photographer
responsible for the awesome shot on the cover of this issue, JR Maddox.
On December 13, 2019, JR passed away. On that day, the by his family and friends, as well as many of us in the
photography community lost a legend. JR put in a lot of photography community.
hard work to assert his position as one of the best and most For me, I’ll always cherish the memories of the hilarious
called-on real estate and portrait photographers in Simi conversations I had with JR about the differences between
Valley, California. Using cutting-edge gear and revolution- Americans and us Brits. Apparently, we “talk funny.”
ary techniques, he was always at the top of his form during (I don’t see it myself, but I’ll leave it to you to reach your
his photography career, and his dedication to his craft made own conclusions.)
JR accomplished and renowned. Together with Cathy Baitson, Peter Treadway, Mark
As an active member of the KelbyOne community, and Heaps, Kaylee Greer, Sian Elizabeth, Mike Kubeisy, Dave
the recipient of a coveted Photoshop World Guru Award Clayton, and a whole load of other photographers, we
for some spectacular composite work, JR was loved by both have made many great memories with JR, and the evi-
instructors and fellow members. He was an active member dence of those great times is sprawled across social media,
of many groups and forums, and he was always engaged in attesting to JR’s popularity among his peers. Everybody
trying to help and encourage others. always looked forward to seeing him at Photoshop World
At the time of his passing, JR was working on a steam- and other events, and he always gave people his time,
punk-inspired project with his son, James. It’s a photo from without question.
this series that adorns the front cover of this issue. I’ve seen It’s common in emotionally turbulent times for us as
a lot of the photos and behind-the-scenes images from human beings to seek something positive. The positive we
this series, which absolutely looks amazing and accurately can take from JR’s sudden and unexpected passing from
represents the bond between the father and son. this mortal world is a reminder that none of us really know
James, in fact, made his own massive impact at a recent what’s just around the corner, so we should treat life as the
Photoshop World and was a hit among attendees and precious thing that it is.
instructors, taking a particular liking to Kaylee Greer, which The memory of JR is also a reminder that no matter what
was certainly reciprocated. I sincerely hope James continues we’re going through, there are some really amazing people
his passion for photography along with his mother and JR’s in the world who come to us as wonderful gifts, and it falls
wife, Karon, and I know that many of us here at KelbyOne to us to treat those people with the adoration and respect
have pledged to support him in his development. they deserve.
Everybody whose life has been touched by JR and Life is a funny thing. None of us really know what it’s
his inspiring and encouraging personality undoubtedly all about; we just seem to go along for the ride. I once
has a wealth of stories of his enthusiasm, kindness, and heard it expressed perfectly, and this seems like an appro-
incredibly warm heart. I would love to have read an inter- priate time and place to share that wisdom: The meaning
view with the man himself in this issue of Photoshop User of life is to give your life a meaning. JR was the perfect
magazine, instead of writing this tribute. JR is sorely missed example of that. n
[17 ]
WHO’S WHO ON THE KELBYONE INSTRUCTOR TEAM >> IBARIONEX PERELLO
INSTRUCTOR SINCE 2019
› › K E L BYO N E C O M M U N I TY
Who’s Who on the KelbyOne Instructor Team: Ibarionex Perello
Where are you from, and what kind of work do you do?
I was born in New York City to Dominican immigrant parents. We
[10]
moved to the Los Angeles area soon after, where I was raised and
continue to live.
RAPID-FIRE
Where do you look for inspiration? QUESTIONS
Books. Monographs have always provided me the greatest source
of inspiration and education. I still have monographs from my col-
lege days, and I return to them often. I’m always learning some-
IBARIONEXPERELLO
thing new, even from my most dog-eared books. 1. Favorite movie
Cinema Paradiso
What do you enjoy most about teaching? 2. What can’t you live without?
Encouraging breakthroughs with my students. Many people
The love and support of my family
underestimate what they’re capable of, so it’s incredibly gratifying
to guide them through a process that allows them to get a sense 3. Favorite type of music
of how much more is possible for them and their work. Anything and everything
4. What do you do in your spare time?

Do you have any work rituals?
Sitting in my reading chair and looking
I don’t know if I would call it a ritual, but I always have plenty of at monographs
things on my plate. Whether it’s photography, podcasting, writ-
ing or teaching, I always have multiple irons in the fire. I’m always 5. Where’s your favorite place to travel?
focused on the next thing that needs doing. Japan and Dominican Republic
6. What are three things you always

Are there any hardware or software tools take with you when you travel?
you just couldn’t live without? My FUJIFILM X100F, iPad, and comfortable
A journal. Writing down my experiences and my process has been socks and walking shoes
incredibly helpful for me. I’ve not only gained insights into who
I am but also how I work as a writer, teacher, and photographer. 7. What’s your favorite new app?
It’s by better understanding myself and the way I see and experi- Lightroom (I can now directly upload to
ence the world that has been invaluable to my development. Lightroom and the cloud!)
8. What’s the best advice you’ve

ever received?
Enjoy yourself. Life is too short to
be miserable.
9. Who would you recommend some—

one to follow on social media?
@samabellteacher (an inspiration and
a friend)
10. What’s the one thing you wish

somebody would ask you?
Would you visit us in [country I haven’t
been to yet]? n
[19 ]
> Heard on the Tweet
A Quick Glance at Some Highlights from our Twitter Feed
[20 ]
› › HEARD ON THE TWEET
Follow KelbyOne and Scott Kelby on Twitter!
[21 ]
Here Are Your Latest Online Courses
Lightroom Workflow
on the Go
Join Clifford Pickett as he takes you through his steps for automating your import workflow into Lightroom Classic, use keywords to
help you find your photos, group them into collections, and set up your Lightroom Classic catalog to sync with the cloud. From there
he walks you through the steps for importing photos into the Lightroom cloud app on your mobile device when you’re in the field, and
how to use the mobile app for making selects, editing, and sharing your photos from wherever you are.
Editing Video and Creating

Movies All in Lightroom
Join Scott Kelby and learn how to create and edit movies in Lightroom Classic! You can create wedding movies, behind-
the-scenes videos, promotional videos, interviews, and more! You can put all of these together right inside of Lightroom
Classic. Learn how to trim video clips to show the best parts, how to edit video clips using the Develop module,
how to arrange clips and stills to form your movie, how to add music, how to add titles, and so much more.
Every week, we publish at least one new training course.
Check out these brand-new courses below:
Travel Photography: Making

Portraits of the Locals
Join Scott Kelby and Rick Sammon as they teach you a progression of techniques that you can use to make your travel photos
come alive by including people in the scenes you capture. Scott and Rick start the class with a discussion of their favorite gear,
showing you the tools you need to come back home with photos that really show the culture of the location you visited. Learn about
approaches for candid portraits, getting the locals to pose, paying locals, hiring models, and so much more!
The Science of
Wildlife Photography
Join Moose Peterson as he shares the wisdom he’s earned from 30 years in the field photographing critters. In this
class, Moose shares how he got started and the early lessons he learned, the importance of using the gear you already
have, why dressing in the field for comfort and function is key, how to become a wildlife detective, why you need to get
your camera settings nailed down so you can focus on what’s in front of the camera, and so much more.
COREYBARKER
LAYER STYLING
TRICKS FOR COOL
HOLLYWOOD EFFECTS
This time around, I thought we’d explore the power of layer
styles as a powerful and versatile design tool to create movie
poster effects inspired by the new DC movie Birds of Prey. There
are many a useful trick here to achieve dramatic effects!
[24 ]
› › DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS
Step One: We’ll begin with a simple texture. You
©Adobe Stock/Saichol
can try this with just about any abstract texture
that fits your overall look. The one we’re using here
has some interesting scratches and a natural gritty
look. As we’ll be using this texture in several differ-
ent ways throughout this tutorial, you’ll want to
have one that has a varied amount of texture and
contrast so you can see the detail. If you’d like to
download the low-res watermarked version of the
texture we’re using here to follow along, click this
link, log in with your Adobe ID, and click the Save
to Library button.
Step Two: Create a new document (File>New)

in which to build the design. Make the image
1000x1500 pixels at 300 ppi for a poster format,
and set the Background Contents to White. Click
Create or OK.
Step Three: Drag the downloaded texture file

from your Libraries panel (Window>Libraries) and
drop it into the new canvas. Click-and-drag out-
side the bounding box to rotate the texture to a
vertical orientation, and then scale it so it extends
beyond the edges of the document a little. This
will help hide any of the effects from the layer
styles we’ll be using that would otherwise appear
along the edges of the texture.
Step Four: Once the texture is in place. Go under

the Edit menu and choose Define Pattern. You’ll be
prompted to name the texture. Click OK when done.
Note: It’s important that, from this point on, you
don’t move the background texture layer. Since the
pattern was defined in that position, it will need to
remain in place in order for the other effects we’ll be
using to line up correctly with this texture.
Step Five: Click on the Add a Layer Style icon

(ƒx) at the bottom of the Layers panel, and select
Gradient Overlay. Click on the Gradient preview to
open the Gradient Editor. Select the Black, White
preset, then go to the gradient settings below, and
double-click the far right white color stop below

the gradient ramp to open the Color Picker. We’re
using a bright-pink color (R: 252, G: 0, B: 219). Click
OK to close the Color Picker, then click OK to close
the Gradient Editor. [25 ]
› › HOW TO
Step Six: In the Gradient Overlay

settings, set the Blend Mode to Multi-
ply, the Opacity to 100%, the Style to
Radial, the Angle to 33°, and the Scale
to 107%. Also, check on Reverse and
turn off Align with Layers.
Click directly on the canvas
and drag the center of the gradient
to the upper-right area of the can-
vas to create the base light effect
for the background. This can be
adjusted later, so you don’t have
to make a final decision here. Don’t
click OK yet.
Step Seven: In the Layer Style dia-

log’s sidebar, activate Bevel & Emboss.
We’ll adjust the bevel settings in a
moment but first activate Texture
below Bevel & Emboss. In the Tex-
ture settings, click on the Pattern
thumbnail to open the Pattern Picker,
and select the custom pattern we
created in Step Four (it should be at
the bottom of the list). Now uncheck
Link with Layer and click the Snap
to Origin button to set the texture in
its original position. Set the Depth to
–25%, and leave the Scale at 100%.
Step Eight: Click back on Bevel &

Emboss and modify the settings as
shown here. The colors for the High-
light Mode and Shadow Mode should
be consistent with the overall lighting
in the design (for the Highlight Mode

we used R: 255, G: 245, B: 233, and
for the Shadow Mode, we used
R: 203, G: 2, B: 151). You can change
the direction of the light by moving
around the point in the circular Angle
setting (this can be adjusted as you
go). Also be sure to click on the Con-
tour thumbnail, and select the Linear
[26 ] preset. Click OK when done.
Step Nine: Next let’s create some text. Click

the Eye icon next to the texture layer in the
Layers panel to turn it off momentarily so
you can see the text you’re about to add.
Switch to the Type tool (T), and press D
to set the Foreground color to black. Click
in the canvas area to set a new text layer.
We’re using the font Impact, but feel free
to use any font you like, as long as it’s a
thick font so you can add some effects to it.
Once the title is set, make sure it’s justi-
fied to the left and set the size to fill almost
the width of the canvas. If needed, highlight
the text with the Type tool, hold the Option
(PC: Alt) key, and tap the Up and Down
Arrow keys to adjust the leading (space
between lines), and the Left and Right Arrow
keys to adjust the tracking (space between
letters). Check your spelling before you go to
the next step. (Mine is typo-ed on purpose!
Moving on.)
Step 10: Go to the Layers panel, Right-click

on the text layer, and choose Convert to
Shape. This will convert the text layer into
vector outlines so the text can’t be edited as
text after this (that’s why you want to check
your spelling). You could make a duplicate
of the text layer before converting it just
in case you need to go back and start over
again. You’ll see in the Layers panel that
the text layer has turned into a shape layer.
Step 11: Now we’re going to customize the

text with some design elements. Turn the
texture layer back on by clicking where its
Eye icon used to be in the Layers panel. Go to
the Toolbar and click-and-hold on the Path
Selection tool (black arrow, shortcut A), and
then choose the Direct Selection tool (white
arrow) just below it when it appears.
Use the Direct Selection tool to mar-
quee around the inner path of the letter O
to select it. You can tell what’s selected by
the control handles; selected handles will be

solid, and unselected ones will be hollow or
white. Once the inner path is selected, sim-
ply press Delete (PC: Backspace) to knock out
the shape. [27 ]
› › HOW TO
Step 12: Continue to do the same

thing to all the other letters that have
a separate inside shape: Select the
path with the Direct Selection tool
and delete it. We’ll add new shapes
in just a moment, but first let’s dress
up the text with some layer styling.
Step 13: Choose Bevel & Emboss

again from the fx icon at the bottom
of the Layers panel. Just as we did
earlier, activate Texture in the sidebar
just below Bevel & Emboss. Choose
the same texture we’ve been using,
but this time set the Depth to 35%
and leave Link with Layer turned
on. Also, click Snap to Origin just to
make sure it’s in the right place.
Step 14: Go back to the Bevel &

Emboss settings. The Highlight and
Shadow Mode colors should already
be set to the colors that we’ve been
using, but we made the Shadow
Mode a slightly brighter pink like the

one we used earlier for the gradient
on the background texture. Change
the remaining settings as shown
here and adjust as needed. The circu-
lar Angle slider helps you adjust the
direction of the light effect. Again,
don’t worry, you can always come
back and change the layer style.
[28 ] Don’t click OK yet.
Step 15: In the Layer Style dialog, acti-

vate Pattern Overlay, and once again,
use the same custom defined texture
pattern. (Notice how that one texture
is playing many roles here?) Uncheck
Link with Layer in this case, and click
Snap to Origin for good measure. Set
the Blend Mode to Hard Light and
lower the Opacity to around 40%.
This will enhance the bevel effect by
overlaying the texture on the letters.
Step 16: Next, we want to apply a

Gradient Overlay, but we’re going to
need to exit the Layer Style dialog for
a moment, so click OK. Open the new
Gradients panel (Window>Gradients),
click on its flyout menu at the top
right of the panel, and choose Legacy
Gradients. We want to use one of
these gradients, and it can’t be loaded
from the Layer Style dialog. Double-
click on the words “Pattern Overlay”
below the shape layer in the Layers
panel to reopen the Layer Style dialog.
Now click on Gradient Overlay
on the left side of the dialog. Click
on the Gradient preview to open the
Gradient Editor and locate the pre-
set gradient called Cyanotype. You
can find it by expanding the Legacy
Gradients folder you just added, and
then expanding the Photographic
Toning dialog. Click OK to close the
Gradient Editor.
In the Gradient Overlay settings,
set the Blend Mode to Normal, lower
the Opacity to 50%, set the gradient
Style to Radial, and lower the Scale to
around 80%. Check on Reverse, and
set the Angle to 90°.
While keeping the Layer Style
panel open, click directly on the
image and drag, to manually position

the gradient so the light-blue “spot-
light” area is roughly centered on the
right side of the text. Almost there;
don’t click OK just yet. [29 ]
› › HOW TO
Step 17: Activate Inner Glow. Again,

set the color to the same pink color
we’ve been using, and then follow
the rest of the settings shown here.
In this case, the Linear Dodge (Add)
Blend Mode looked best. One more
style to go!
Step 18: Finally, activate Outer

Glow. Using the same pink color, just
amp up the settings as shown here
to get a powerful glow around the
text. Once you have it set, click OK
to apply all the layer styles. Remem-
ber, you can always adjust them later.
Step 19: Now that we have the

overall effect in place, let’s add our
own custom shapes to replace the
inner shapes that we deleted from
the letters. Make sure the shape
layer is active in the Layers panel

and you can see the vector outlines.
To make the vector outlines active,
you can always click on them in the
Paths panel (Window>Paths). Then,
go to the Toolbar, click-and-hold
on the shape tools, and choose the
Ellipse tool in the flyout menu. In
the Options Bar, set its Tool Mode
[30 ] to Shape.
Step 20: Go to the B in the first

word and hold down the Option (PC:
Alt) key as you drag out a small oval
shape inside the top part of the letter.
You can press-and-hold the Spacebar
as you’re drawing the oval to reposi-
tion it. When you release the mouse
button, the new shape will knock
out the original shape.
Add another oval at the bottom
of the B, making sure to hold down
the Option (PC: Alt) key as you draw
(that key is what’s telling Photoshop
to knock out the shape area). You
can further adjust the position, and
scale the shapes by selecting their
paths with the Path Selection tool
and using Free Transform (Com-
mand-T [PC: Ctrl-T]).
Step 21: Now you can introduce

other custom shapes that might be
relevant to the overall design inside
the remaining letters. Just select the
Custom Shape tool at the bottom of
the shape tools in the Toolbar, and
click on the Shape thumbnail in the
Options Bar to open the Custom
Shape Picker. If you want access
to more shapes, just as we did
with the gradients in Step 16, go
to the new Shapes panel (Window>
Shapes), and load the Legacy Shapes
and More set. These will then appear
in the Custom Shape Picker. Here
we used a heart, an arrow, and sev-
eral other shapes that are included
in Photoshop’s custom shapes. (We
had to use Free Transform to rotate
the arrow into a vertical position.)
For the A, we simply used the
Direct Selection tool to select the
two points at the top of the inner
shape of the A, and dragged them

closer to the top of the letter. This
is where you can get creative with
different shapes, depending on the
theme of the design. [31 ]
› › HOW TO
©Adobe Stock/denissimonov
Step 22: Finally, let’s add the main subject. Here we have a cool
cosplay image of Harley Quinn I found on Adobe Stock. (Yes, we
have to be a bit copyright-sensitive here.) Anyway, whether you’re
using this image or one like it, try to find one with a rather simple
background. In the next step you’ll see why it helps.
You can click this link to download the low-res version of this
image. Double-click the image in the Libraries panel to open it in
Photoshop. To make it easier to work with the image, increase
the resolution of the practice file. (We normally don’t recommend
enlarging images, but this is only for practice purposes.) Go to
Image>Image Size, turn on the Resample checkbox, select Pre-
serve Details 2.0 from the Resample drop-down menu, set the
Width to 2,000 pixels, and click OK.
Step 23: Go under the Select menu and choose Subject. Voilà!
Subject selected. This is a huge leap forward in this newest version
of Photoshop. Select Subject works really well and gives you a
great starting point, especially with simple backgrounds.
Once the initial selection is made, click the Select and Mask
button in the Options Bar. Here, we’ll clean up the edges around
her hair. In the Properties panel, set the View to Onion Skin (O),
and raise the Transparency to 100%. Go to the Toolbar and
choose the Refine Edge Brush tool (R). Use the Bracket keys on
your keyboard to adjust the size of the brush, and then paint
around the edges of her hair. Set the Edge Detection Radius to Step 24: Using the Move tool (V), drag-and-drop this
1, and the Output To drop-down menu in the Output Settings extracted subject into the main design image. Then,
section to Selection. Once done, click OK. use Free Transform (Command-T [PC: Ctrl-T]) to scale
The adjusted selection will be active. Press Command-J (PC: and rotate the subject to fit in the composition. Press
[32 ] Ctrl-J) to copy the selected area to a new layer. Enter when done.
Step 25: Here are a couple quick

tricks to blend the subject with the
background to create a quick-and-
easy Hollywood look.
Start by duplicating the extracted
subject layer, and then removing
the color of the duplicate layer by
pressing Shift-Command-U (PC:
Shift-Ctrl-U).
Press Command-U to open the
Hue/Saturation dialog (you can also
go to Image>Adjustments>Hue/Sat-
uration). Check on Colorize and set
the Hue close to the same pink we’ve
been using. Then push the Satura-
tion up to around 38. Click OK.
Finally, set the layer blend mode
to Multiply. The color looks good but
the subject is a bit dark now.
Step 26: Hold down the Command

(PC: Ctrl) key and click on the thumb-
nail of the Multiply subject layer to
load the shape of the subject as a
selection. Create a new layer, press D
to set the default colors, and press
Command-Delete (PC: Ctrl-Back-
space) to fill the selection with white.
[33 ]
› › HOW TO
Step 27: Make sure you have a selection tool chosen in the Tool-
bar, because in this step we want to move the selection and not
the subject. Hold down the Shift key and press the Down Arrow
on your keyboard twice. Again, the selection should be the only
thing moving here.
Step 28: Now press Delete (PC: Backspace). What

remains should be the white edges of the subject
that were outside the selection. Press Command-D
(PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect. Go under the Filter menu
to Blur, and choose Gaussian Blur. Set the Radius

to around 10 pixels, and click OK. You’ll see the
subject now has a subtle edge glow around her,
but it’s not quite enough yet.
It may add the effect in areas you don’t need.
So just click the Add a Layer Mask icon (circle in
square) at the bottom of the Layers panel, and use
the Brush tool (B) set to black (press D then X) to
paint away any areas of the edge glow that you
[34 ] don’t want.
Step 29: Go to the layer style menu

at the bottom of the Layers panel,
and choose Outer Glow. Here we’re
using a light-blue color since the light
hitting the subject will be bright
blue (which we’ll add in a moment).
Adjust these settings accordingly,
and click OK when done.
Step 30: Lastly, we added the

remainder of the title, which is
where the brightest light is coming
from. Here I’m making fun of the
insanely long title that the actual
movie has, and substituting my own
not-so-subtle version, using a font
called Horror Scribbles from Dafont
.com. Once you have the title format-
ted, just place it in the composition.
I also skewed the angle a bit to give
it more interest!
[35 ]
› › HOW TO
Step 31: Let’s add an even brighter

blue Outer Glow layer style to the
text object. Be sure to try other Blend
Modes on different backgrounds.
Click OK when done.
You can see how we essentially built

the effect backwards by creating all
the lit background elements then
finally adding the source of the
light at the end. And never forget
the best part: You can go back and
modify any of the layer styles to
make final tweaks or even change
the look altogether. n
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CREATE YOUR OWN

BLACK WIDOW-
INSPIRED POSTER
The Black Widow movie is the long-awaited MCU movie with
a female lead. Essentially, it’s Marvel’s answer to DC’s Wonder
Woman. With Natasha Romanoff finally leading her own film,
the studios also released a spectacular poster promoting it.
It’s a throwback to some classic movie poster design that looks
like it’s more painting than photo. Using that as inspiration, we
decided to dig into Photoshop and see how we might be able to
come up with a similar effect, without having to actually paint
the poster, that is! The result is a clever combination of filters
and blending modes to create an easy hand-painted effect that
does justice to Ms. Romanoff herself!
[38 ]
Step One: In Photoshop, create a

©Adobe Stock/Ruslan Solntsev
new document (File>New) with a

Width of 3000 pixels, a Height of
4000 pixels, and the Background
Contents set to Black. Click OK
or Create.
If you’d like to download the
low-res watermarked versions of
the images to follow along, click
this link for the first image that
we’re using, log in with your Adobe
ID, and click the Save to Library
button. Double-click the image
in the Libraries panel (Window>
Libraries) to open it in Photoshop.
To make it easier to work with
the image, increase the resolution
of the practice file. (We normally
don’t recommend enlarging
images, but this is only for practice
purposes.) Go to Image>Image
Size, turn on the Resample check-
box, select Preserve Details 2.0
from the Resample drop-down
menu, set the Width to 2,400
pixels, and click OK.
Use the Move tool (V) to drag
the image into the new file and
position it as shown here. We
don’t want to completely fill the
frame with the image, because we
want to leave some space for copy
above her head.
Step Two: Press Command-E (PC:

Ctrl-E) to merge the stock image
layer with the Background layer.
Switch to the Brush tool (B); press D
to set the Foreground color to black;
and use a large, soft brush to soften
the edges of the image. Then, go
to Image>Adjustments>Shadows/
Highlights, set the Shadow Amount

to 44% to bring up the shadow
values, and the Highlights Amount
to 7% to slightly brighten the high-
lights too. Click OK. [39 ]
› › HOW TO
Step Three: Go to Image>Adjust

ments>Curves. Create a slight S
shape in the curve as shown here
to increase the contrast, and click
OK. Follow this with Filter>Sharpen>
Smart Sharpen, and set the Amount
to 172%, Radius to 10 px, and
Reduce Noise to 44%. Also set the
Remove drop-down menu to Gauss-
ian Blur, and click OK. At this point
the image has good contrast along
with heightened details and is ready
for the painted effect.
Step Four: Go to Filter>Stylize>

Diffuse, select the Anisotropic
mode, and click OK. Run this filter

four more times. Tip: Pressing Con-
trol-Command-F (PC: Ctrl-Option-F)
will repeat the previously run filter.
Then, go to Filter>Noise>Reduce
Noise, and set the Strength to 10
and all the other settings to 0%.
Click OK. The image now resembles
a painted image, but the details are
[40 ] too subdued.
Step Five: Press Command-J (PC:

Ctrl-J) to duplicate the Background
layer. Go to Filter>Other>High Pass,
set the Radius to 5 pixels, and click
OK. Then set the layer’s blending
mode to Overlay to render the gray
areas invisible and create a sharp-
ening effect with the High Pass
lines. Double-click the layer’s name
in the Layers panel, and rename it
“High Pass.”
Step Six: Hold down the Option

(PC: Alt) key and go to Layer>
Merge Visible to create a merged
layer at the top of the layer stack.
Rename it “Merge.” Then, go to
Filter>Filter Gallery and select the
Poster Edges filter from the Artistic
folder. Set the Edge Thickness to 1,

Edge Intensity to 0, and Posteriza-
tion to 6. This adds a slight drawn
edge around the edges of the
model. Click OK. [41 ]
› › HOW TO
Step Seven: Switch to the Chan-

nels panel (Window>Channels)
and hold down the Command
(PC: Ctrl) key while clicking on the
thumbnail for the RGB channel.
This loads the luminosity values of
the image as a selection. Switch
back to the Layers panel and cre-
ate a new Photo Filter adjustment
layer from the Adjustments panel
(Window>Adjustments)—it’s the
fourth icon in the second row.
The selection is automatically
used as a mask on the adjust-
ment layer. In the Properties
panel (Window>Properties), set
the Photo Filter to Color, change
the color chip to the brightest red
(#ff0000), set the Density to 75%,
and enable the Preserve Luminos-
ity option. This adds the appear-
ance of a red light to the bright
parts of the image.
Step Eight: Create another

merged layer at the top of the
layer stack, and name this layer
“Color Pop.” Set the blending
mode to Soft Light, and reduce
the Opacity to 75%. This is a
quick-and-dirty way to add more
vibrance to the colors of the
[42 ] image and sharpen it a little too.
Step Nine: Create another

merged layer and name this one
“Model.” In the Quick Actions sec-
tion at the bottom of the Proper-
ties panel, click the Select Sub-
ject button. Once Photoshop has
attempted to select the model,
click the Select and Mask button
in the Options Bar. (If the Select
and Mask button isn’t visible,
switch to a selection tool.) Press
M to switch the View to March-
ing Ants, and switch to the Quick
Selection tool (W). Use the Add
to Selection and Subtract from
Selection brush modes (the plus
and minus icons, respectively, in
the Options Bar) to ensure a tight
selection. Make sure to remove
the areas between her body and
arm and suitcase. Then set the
Radius to 3 pixels, and Smooth to
©Adobe Stock/ShantiShanti
5. Select Layer Mask in the Out-

put To drop-down menu, and
click OK.
Step 10: Click here to down-

load the preview version of the
Adobe Stock image of a cobble-
stone street at night. Drag the
image from your Libraries panel
into the working file, and place
it beneath the Model layer. Press
Command-T (PC: Ctrl-T) for Free
Transform, and resize and posi-
tion the layer so the background
buildings frame her on either side.
Press Enter to commit the trans-
formation. Set the layer blending
mode to Overlay and reduce the
Opacity to 40%. Then, darken
the stock image by going to

Image>Adjustment>Levels and
pulling the far left shadows slider
below the histogram all the way
to the midpoint. [43 ]
› › HOW TO
Step 11: Click on the Model layer

thumbnail in the Layers panel to
make it the active layer, then use
the ƒx icon at the bottom of the
Layers panel to add an Inner Glow
layer style. Click on the color
swatch, change the glow color to
a deep red (#ea0c0c), and click OK
to close the Color Picker. Set the
Blend Mode to Screen, Opacity to
100%, and Size to 95 pixels. Then,
click on the words “Outer Glow”
in the list of Styles on the left to
add an Outer Glow with the same
red color, Opacity at 35%, and
Size of 50 pixels. Click OK to apply
the layer styles.
Step 12: Go to Layer>Layer Style>

Create Layers. Photoshop creates
new layers for both glow styles.
Click on the Model’s Inner Glow
layer to make it the active layer
and add a layer mask by clicking
the Add Layer Mask icon (circle
in a square) at the bottom of the
Layers panel. Switch to the Gra-
dient tool (G), and click on the
gradient thumbnail preview in the

Options Bar to open the Gradient
Editor. Expand the Basic set in the
Presets section; choose the Black,
White preset; and click OK. Select
the Linear Gradient option in the
Options Bar, and draw out a short
gradient from the bottom of the
frame to fade the Inner Glow from
[44 ] the legs of the model.
Step 13: Grab the Pen tool (P) and set

its Tool Mode to Shape in the Options
Bar. Set the Foreground color to bright red
(#ff2234) and create the double triangle
logo associated with the Black Widow
character. Because the shape has only
hard angles, there’s no need to click-and-
drag with the Pen tool; just simple clicks
will work perfectly! Drag the shape layer
below the Model’s Outer Glow layer, and
change its name to “Logo Shape.” Set the
blending mode to Overlay. Press Com-
mand-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to duplicate the Logo
Shape layer and set the duplicate’s blend-
ing mode to Soft Light.
Step 14: Create a new layer above the

Logo Shape copy layer by clicking the
plus icon at the bottom of the Layers
panel. Set the Foreground and Back-
ground colors to the default black and
white, respectively, by pressing the D key.
Go to Filter>Render>Fibers and click OK
to use the default values. Fibers only ren-
der vertically, so use Edit>Free Transform,
and click-and-drag outside the bounding
box to rotate the layer to horizontal, and
then scale it up to fill the frame. Press
Enter to commit the transformation.
Next, go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur
and use an angle of 0° and Distance of
2000 pixels. Click OK, and name this
layer “fibers-motion blur 2000.” Set the
layer’s blending mode to Overlay and
reduce the Opacity to 50%. If it looks like
the texture needs more contrast, use a
Levels adjustment and pull both outside
handles inward toward the center below
the histogram.
[45 ]
› › HOW TO
Step 15: Switch to the Type tool

(T) and press X to set the Fore-
ground color to white. Create the
title text using a big blocky font such
as Impact at 436 pts. Place the text
layer beneath the Model layer, but
above the Model’s Outer Glow layer.
Turn the text into a smart object
with Layer>Smart Objects>Convert
to Smart Object. This allows more
transformation options that are not
available with just straight text.
Go to Edit>Free Transform, posi-
tion the text so it’s above and slightly
behind the model’s head, and click-
and-drag outside the bounding box
to rotate it at a slight angle. Right-
click inside the bounding box, and
select Warp. Hold the Option (PC:
Alt) and hover your cursor inside
the warp boundary. You should
see crosswise grid lines centered
at the point of your cursor. Click
in the middle of the bounding box
between the K and W to add a
crosswise split. Adjust the warp
corners and handles until the text
has a nice curve to it. Press Enter to
commit the transformation.
Step 16: Create a new layer above

the text and name it “Grunge.”
Using the Rectangular Marquee
tool (M), create a rectangular selec-
tion that entirely surrounds the text,

and then press D to set the colors
to their default black and white. Go
to Filter >Render>Clouds, and press
Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D) to can-
cel the selection. Set the blending
mode to Multiply and reduce the
Opacity to 67%. Clip the texture to
the letters by going to Layer>Create
[46 ] Clipping Mask.
Step 17: Use the Warp transforma-

tion again to stretch the cloud tex-
ture and deform it so it doesn’t look
quite so regular. To further enhance
the texture, use the Dodge and
Burn tools (O) to create handcrafted
contrast in the texture.
Step 18: Hold down the Option

(PC: Alt) key and click-and-drag
on the thumbnail for the red Logo
Shape layer. This is a quick way to
create a copy of that shape. Place
it above the text and Grunge layers
and set its blending mode back to
Normal. Free Transform the shape
to fit between the two words in the
title, and then set its angle to match
that of the title. Press Enter.
[47 ]
› › HOW TO
Step 19: Click on the text layer to

make it the active element and add
a layer mask. Then, grab the Brush
tool, Right-click in the document
to open the Brush Preset Picker,
and set the Size to around 8 px
and the Hardness to 100%. Press
X until the Foreground color is black.
Click on the top-right corner of the
red logo shape, then Shift-click
again on the other side of the sec-
ond word; this will draw a straight
line on the layer mask, creating a
lined effect across the word. Cre-
ate a similar line across the first
word going from the bottom-left
point of the logo.
Step 20: Shift-Command-click

(PC: Shift-Ctrl-click) on the original
large red Logo Shape layer, then
on the layer mask thumbnail of the
Model layer to create a combined
selection from those two layers.
Then add a Solid color fill layer from
the Create New Adjustment Layer
icon (half-black, half-white circle) at
the bottom of the Layers panel. The

selection is automatically used as
a mask for the new layer. Change
the color to the brightest of reds
(#ff0000), and click OK to close the
Color Picker. Set the blending mode
to Soft Light and Opacity to 50%.
Make sure this layer is at the top of
the layer stack, as this adds an addi-
[48 ] tional red color cast to the image.
Step 21: Use the Channels trick

again from Step Seven to load
the luminosity levels as a selection.
Then, press Shift-Command-I (PC:
Shift-Ctrl-I) to invert the selection
so the shadow areas are selected
instead. Make sure the layer mask
is the targeted element, and use a
large, soft round brush with black
paint at 50% Opacity to gently
paint away the red color cast from
the shadow areas of the model
(the selection will help protect
the highlight areas). The idea is to
have the red color seem like it’s a
light that shows just on the high-
lights of our favorite femme fatale!
The filters in Photoshop tend to have

a bad reputation because they’re
overused and mechanical in appear-
ance. But all it takes is a little creativ-
ity and experimentation to really get
some excellent results from those
“tired old” filters. Don’t hesitate to
try things in a new way; you might
be surprised with the results. n
[49 ]
In modern-day color photography, we tend to put more emphasis on our hues and neglect our
tones; however, exposure and contrast are like the foundation of a building, so a good image relies
more on tonal values than on color harmonies. The tools that can help us achieve tonal heaven
are all grouped together at the top of Photoshop’s list of adjustment layers: Brightness/Contrast,
Levels, Curves, and Exposure. In this article, we’re going to learn how to use these tools, and then
we’ll apply our newfound understanding of them to create a couple of popular looks through the
application of stylistic contrast.
Viktor Fejes
THE HISTOGRAM
To effectively learn how to use Photoshop’s tonal
adjustments, we need to understand what it is
we’re looking at. There’s no better tool to do that
with than the dreaded histogram. It may look
complicated, but we can unravel its mysteries.
Open any image, then open the Histogram
panel (Window>Histogram). To set it up, click
on the four small lines at the top-right corner
of the panel to open its options, and choose the
Expanded View. Make sure everything else in
that menu is unchecked. The last thing you
need to do is choose RGB from the Channel
drop-down menu so you can start analyzing
> PHOTOSHOP USER > F E B R U A RY 20 20
the image.
The “mountain range” in the Histogram
panel is a graph that represents all the tonal
values in the image. The x values (horizontal)
go from total black to total white, and the
y values (vertical) go from 0 to 100%. If the
graph has taller bumps to the right, it’s a high-
key or brighter image. If there’s a huge spike at has highlight areas that are blown out; but if the spike is on the left,
the right end of the horizontal scale, the image then you have crushed blacks.
[50 ]
Throughout this article, we’re going to
move around this histogram mountain range
using adjustment layers. This will help us better
comprehend what each slider in the adjustment
layers does to the tonal values, and you’ll be
able to use that to your advantage later when
we create our own looks.
BRIGHTNESS/CONTRAST
We’re going to start with the Brightness/Con-
trast adjustment, as that’s the one that can be
found in most image-processing applications. It
lets you make simple adjustments to the tonal
range of an image.
According to the Adobe Photoshop User
Guide, moving the Brightness slider “to the right
increases tonal values and expands image high-
lights, to the left decreases values and expands
shadows.” So through a complicated algorithm,
the image gets either brighter or darker, mostly
by moving the midtones (the values around the
vertical centerline of the histogram).
On the other hand, the Contrast slider “ex-
pands or shrinks the overall range of tonal
values in the image.” This translates (again,
through a complicated algorithm) to either
making the histogram mountains more promi-
nent and spread out—hence resulting in more
contrast—or reducing the height and width of
the mountain range, making the entire image
flatter with less contrast.
This might all seem a bit complicated, so
let’s see how this looks in practice. Go to
Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Brightness/Con-
trast to create a new Brightness/Contrast ad-
justment layer on top of the Background layer.
Now, while looking at both the histogram and
the image, drag the Brightness slider in the
Properties panel to one side and then the other,
and note the changes on the histogram. When
you move the slider to the right, it moves cer-
tain bumps in the histogram to the right side,
toward the brighter values, making the image
brighter without brightening the darker values.
Moving it to the left results in the opposite:

more bumps move toward the darker values,
and the image becomes darker overall without
darkening the extreme highlights.
[51 ]
Next, let’s take a look at the Contrast slider. Move it to the right, and you’ll
see the highlights and shadows getting taller in the Histogram panel. This means
you have more contrast in your image; more contrast means a larger difference
between dark and bright values. Moving the slider to the left makes the shadow
and highlight bumps shorter, and slightly elevates the midtones. This results in a
flatter image because there’s less difference between the darker and brighter values.
Checking the Use Legacy box simply takes away those algorithms, and you can
see what the tool does in its raw form. Moving the Brightness slider moves all the
values to either side, and moving the Contrast slider expands or shrinks all the val-
ues along the x axis (horizontal). This nonlinear method is undesirable for photo-
graphs but can be very useful when dealing with masks.
[52 ]
LEVELS
Levels is an extremely powerful tool. With it, you can adjust the tonal values and is set to RGB, because we only want
color balance of an image; however, in this article, we’re only going to talk about its to work with tones, and not individ-
basic tonal applications, but even that’s a lot in itself. ual color channels.
Create a new Levels adjustment layer by going to Layer>New Adjustment You’ll find the main controls for
Layer>Levels. This automatically opens the Properties panel, where you’ll see a Levels below the histogram: three in-
big histogram in the middle. This is what you’re going to work with visually. Before put levels sliders directly below the
you do anything, make sure that the Channels drop-down in the Properties panel graph, and two output levels sliders
below the gradient strip. The input
levels sliders are blacks, grays (mid-
tones), and whites; and the output
levels sliders are blacks and whites.
Both sets of sliders range from
0–255 levels.
Let’s start with the three-slider
group. The sliders on the outer edges
(blacks on the left and whites on the
right) control the cutoff points of
the image values. Observe the his-
togram (the actual histogram in the
Histogram panel) after you drag the
blacks slider closer to the middle. It
shows that anything to the left of this
slider is now cut off (or set to 0 levels,
which is pure black), and the whole
range will be extended to accommo-
date the space created by the cutoff.
Similarly, if you move the slider
that controls the whites, it cuts off
anything to its right by making ev-
erything to the right of it pure white
(level 255).
If you move the middle slider
(grays) to the right, it will darken the
image by compressing the shadows
and expanding the highlights; if you
move it to the left, it will brighten the
image by compressing the highlights
and expanding the shadows.
The output levels sliders below
the gradient strip control the nega-
tive starting point. As you move
either of them, it creates a gap on
the sides of the histogram, based on
the position of the slider. This way
you can tell Photoshop to make the

darkest values lighter and the light-
est values darker. [For more on Lev-
els, turn to page 88.—Ed.]
[53 ]
CURVES
The Curves adjustment layer might seem complicated at first, but it works similarly each other, they’ll behave just like
to Levels, only with a slightly different visual representation. In capable hands, it’s the blacks and whites input levels
one of the best retouching tools to use for tonal and color manipulations. sliders in Levels; they represent cut-
Go to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Curves. As we did with the Levels, we need off points. As you move them, they
to make sure that RGB is selected in the channels drop-down menu in the Proper- cut off parts of the graph in the
ties panel because we need to adjust the overall tones and not the color channels. Histogram panel to the left or right,
We have another histogram, but this time it has a diagonal line going through depending on which one you move.
it, and we only have two sliders below it. If you move those two sliders closer to The rest of the mountain range in
the Histogram panel expands to fill
the space.
The diagonal represents the im-
age’s tonality, going from smaller
values (darker) on the left to higher
values (brighter) on the
right. By clicking on the
line, you can add any
number of points that
allow you to adjust the
tonal values to make the
image darker or brighter.
Moving the points high-
er or lower will make
the image brighter or
darker, respectively.
Adding a point in
the middle works just
like the grays input lev-
els slider in the Levels
adjustment: It shifts the
midtones. When you
have multiple points on
the curve, they’ll lock
that part of the curve
when you move an-
other point.
The endpoints on the
line control the output
levels, or the “gap” at
both ends of the histo-
gram. By grabbing the

bottom-left point and
dragging it up vertically,
you can create lighter
black values; dragging
the upper-right point
down creates darker
white values.
[54 ]
Essentially, Curves can achieve
the same results as Levels. The only
difference is that you can add a point
anywhere along the curve and shift
its value in any direction, giving you
immense control.
EXPOSURE
The last adjustment we’ll look at is Exposure. It was mainly designed to be used on It’s better to jump into Photo-
32-bit HDR images (this is actual high-dynamic range images, not the tone-mapped shop and see what the sliders do
ones). It still works on 16- and 8-bit images, but with less control. In a 32-bit envi- both visually and on the histogram.
ronment, its sliders do exactly what they say: The Exposure controls the exposure, So go to Layer>New Adjustment
Gamma controls gamma, and the Offset can offset everything but the highlight val- Layer>Exposure. Since most of us
ues. On a 16- or 8-bit image, it works more like the Levels adjustment with set limits. only use images up to 16 bits, let’s
explore what each of the sliders does
to our tonal values.
Usually, Exposure adjusts mostly
the midtones and lower highlights,
and one might think that the first
slider in the Properties panel does the
same, but that’s not the case. If you
start adjusting the slider, you’ll notice
that it shifts the highlights with mini-
mal effect to the extreme shadows. It
can even start creating
gaps on the whites side
of the histogram, which
means that it can darken
the absolute whites in the
image. Not exactly what
one might expect from a

slider called “Exposure,”
so don’t let the name
fool you.
[55 ]
The next slider is Offset. Sliding
this around affects the shadows and
midtones with some effect on the
highlights. This can also create gaps
(lighter blacks, or darker whites) on
both sides of the graph. Usually,
adding a bit of Offset can wash out
an image nicely.
The last slider is the Gamma Cor-
rection, which is hard to understand
if you don’t know what gamma
means (unfortunately, I don’t have
the space to explain gamma here,
so you’ll need to look it up on your
own). According to the Adobe Pho-
toshop User Guide, this slider “ad-
justs the image gamma, using a
simple power function. Negative val-
ues are mirrored around zero (that is,
they remain negative, but still get ad-
justed as if they’re positive).” Trans-
lating this to histogram “language,”
it can either lighten or darken the
absolute darks.
THE CRUSHED-BLACKS LOOK

Now that we know more about our tonal manipulation tools,
we’re going to use them to create two completely different looks.
The main tool we’re going to focus on is the histogram, which is
going to tell us how to get to the desired outcome using the tools
we’ve just learned about. Both looks can be applied to any type of
photo, especially since you can determine their characteristics by
looking at the histogram. So, let’s get to work.
The first look we’re going to create is a crushed-blacks look.
It creates a sharp, high-contrast image that’s especially flattering
when you want to emphasize shapes. It has many variations, but
one thing is always the same: the blacks are shifted off the graph,
or in other words, cut off. This means that we need to choose a
tool that can cut off certain parts of our tonal values. This limits
us to using Levels, Curves, or Exposure; however, the Exposure
adjustment would be a bit clunky for this, so let’s use Levels be-
cause it will be the easiest to use to give us the style we want.
Step One: Since we’re dealing with tones and not colors, turn your
image to black and white so the hue and saturation don’t distract
you from your goal (of course, this is completely optional). I like to
do this by creating a new Solid Color fill layer on top of my image
layer by going to Layer>New Fill Layer>Solid Color. After giving the
layer a proper name in the New Layer dialog, like “Black and White,”
[56 ]
and clicking OK, choose a color in the Color
Picker that has 0% saturation, like white or
black, and click OK. After that, set the layer
blending mode (near the top-left of the Layers
panel) to Color. This results in a pure black-and-
white image.
Step Two: When that’s done, you can start

adjusting. Create a new Levels adjustment
layer by going to Layer>New Adjustment
Layer>Levels, and make sure the Histogram
panel is still open (Window>Histogram). What
we want to do is shift the black values way off
the scale, or cut them off. As we learned previ-
ously, we can do that by using the first slider
(blacks) in the three-slider group directly below
the histogram in the Levels Properties panel.
Drag that slider to a point where some of the
image’s blacks have lost their detail. Make
sure to leave enough so that shapes are visible
in the image.
Step Three: In this example, our image has

become a bit too dark and flat, so we grabbed
the middle slider (midtones), and moved it
closer to the black point to lighten the image.
This counteracts the effect of the crushed-
blacks darkening on the whole expanded
range of tones.
Step Four: Now let’s take a look at the white

values. We wanted to achieve a high-contrast
image, right? For that to happen, we have to
Before
make sure that we have enough white values
in the image. Take a look at the histogram,
and if you have a gap on the right side before
values start to appear, then you need to adjust
the highlights. Grab the slider on the right
(whites) in the Properties panel and drag it to
the point where values first appear in the histo
gram in the Properties panel. This will result in
harsh contrast and might blow out some of
the detail in the highlights. The amount really
depends on taste; these are just guidelines.
Now you can click the Eye icon next to the
Black and White fill layer in the Layers panel to

hide it and reveal the color image. That’s it, we
have our crushed-blacks look, created by using
After our knowledge of the histogram.
[57 ]
THE AIRY FILM LOOK
The next look we’re going to create is a more high-
key, flat, and airy look that’s often associated with
the “Instagram look.” For this, we need to create
a gap on the left side of the histogram, which will
make the blacks look more washed out and lighter.
Again, we could use Levels, Curves, or Exposure
for this, but to make it more interesting, let’s use the
Exposure adjustment, which I personally use when-
ever I want to achieve a similar look.
Step One: Start by either opening a new image, or

turn off the visibility of your previous Levels adjust-
ment layer, and turn the Black and White fill layer
back on. Then, create an Exposure adjustment on
top of the layer stack by going to Layer>New Adjust-
ment Layer>Exposure. Click OK.
Step Two: Here, we’re going to work with the Off-

set slider first. Start moving it to the right and a slight
gap will show up on the left side of the histogram.
This indicates that the blacks are getting brighter.
Move it to a position where it feels nice and airy,
and a bit flat—something that feels pleasing.
Step Three: Then, you can flatten this a bit more

by lowering the Exposure slightly. This creates a
small gap on the right side of the histogram, as well,
which means that the whites are getting darker.
These two sliders almost introduce a foggy, but
detailed atmosphere to the image.
Step Four: Lastly, to tie it all up, we need to use

the Gamma Correction slider. Moving it to the right Before
moves all the values slightly to the left. Continue
shifting them until you find something pleasing,
probably when the histogram values are centered in
the Histogram panel. This balances it all out.
Done! This style can be used to emphasize open
spaces, and to give a filmic vibe to photos without
going overboard.
As you can see, knowing more about the his-

togram can help you make educated decisions
about your stylistic contrast choices. With what
you’ve learned in this article, you can dream up
or re-create any style that you like with the power
of the tonal adjustments and histogram. Now go
and move mountains! n After
[58 ]
The step-by-step techniques you need to
capture amazing photographs like the pros
Scott Kelby
Author of the top-selling digital photography
book ever—The Digital Photography Book, part 1
What if you could shoot in any natural lighting situation, indoors or out, knowing that
you could create an amazing image every time? In Scott’s newest book, he teaches you
exactly how to do just that. He shares everything from his essential go-to portrait gear to
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| kelbyone.com | rockynook.com | #kelbyonebooks

GILMARSMITH
Shortcut City
THE ANATOMY OF A
PHOTOSHOP COMPOSITE, PART 3
Welcome to the third installment of this Photoshop Composite series. In this part, I’ll show you
different techniques and assets you can use to give your Photoshop composites the creative
touches that will make your images stand out.
When putting together a Photoshop composite, always myself to others that I’ve bought from other artists, some
keep in mind the different elements that play in the of which I’m going to use in this article.
story: the place, weather, atmosphere, movement, We can add a few elements to this image to make it
depth, light, etc. You can add all of these elements more dynamic, such as splashes around the boat, fog, fire,
by using different brushes, textures, filters, colors, and and smoke. For these steps, you’ll need to bring your cre-
light effects. ative skills into play.
You can create your own textures, brushes, color Tip: We’re going to use different splash brushes around
grading filters, and actions, or you can buy them online. the boat, and when we do, always make sure to use colors
The bigger your asset library, the more room you’ll have already in the image to give everything a cohesive look. In
to play, and the more creative you’ll become. I’ve built a this case, I sampled the lightest shades of the splashes on
massive library through the years from assets I’ve created the background image.
[60 ]
› › SHORTCUT CITY
BRUSHES
Shortcut #1: With the Brush tool

selected, press-and-hold the Option
(PC: Alt) key to temporarily change
the Brush tool to the Eyedropper
tool. You can now click on a color
to sample it, and it will change your
Foreground color (brush color) to the
color you just sampled.
Now it’s time to add some splashes!
I recommend doing this gradually by
brushing with different splash brushes
in separate layers. In this example,
I brushed in three different layers until
I got the desired result.
Shortcut #2: I like to keep my layers

organized, so we’ll select all the splash
layers and group them. To do this,
first Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click)
on the layers you want to add to the
group, and then press Command-G
(PC: Ctrl-G).
Shortcut #3: The splashes turned out

well, but let’s intensify the effect by
duplicating the group. (Sometimes,
I even triplicate the group.) To duplicate
a layer or group, select the group or
layer and press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J).
Shortcut #4: By duplicating the

group, we’re also increasing the size
of the file, and this may slow down
Photoshop. To avoid this, merge the
splash groups into one layer: First,
Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) all of

the groups (to select them), and then
press Command-E (PC: Ctrl-E). Now all
the splashes are in one layer.
[61 ]
› › COLUMN
SMART FILTERS
Shortcut #5: When adding special effects,

you’ll have to analyze the image and make these
effects match the rest of the elements in the com-
posite. In this example, the splashes in the back-
ground aren’t as sharp as the splashes we just
added, so let’s do a quick, easy, nondestructive fix
by converting the splash layers into smart objects.
This will allow you to make modifications to the
filters you apply to the layers at any time.
Go to Filter>Convert for Smart Filters, and
click OK. Now every filter you add can be
easily modified by simply double-clicking on
it in the Layers panel. Here, we applied a
Gaussian blur (Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur) with
a Radius of 1.3 pixels.
BLEND MODES
Shortcut #6: For this image, I decided to add

a little bit of fog around the boat to create mood,
so I grabbed a fog brush from my library and
painted, building the effect gradually, the same
way we did previously with the splashes.
Whenever I add an effect to an image,
I experiment with different blend modes to
see the results. If you’d like to preview the
blend modes (near the top left of the Layers
panel), click on the blending mode drop-
down menu and hover over each choice as
you move your cursor down the menu. Or,
you can use the keyboard shortcuts, Shift-+
and Shift- –, to cycle down and up the blend-
ing mode menu, respectively.
Next, I added rain to the image, using the

same techniques that we used when creating
the boat splashes. I chose a couple of different
rain brushes from my library and started paint-
ing rain gradually on separate layers. When
I liked the way it looked, I merged the lay-
ers into one, converted this layer into a smart
object, and then added a Gaussian Blur with a
[62 ] Radius of 2.5 pixels.
› › SHORTCUT CITY
GRADIENT MAP
Shortcut #7: To unify the colors, I use gradient maps.

They work like this: Press D to set black as your Fore-
ground color, click the Create New Adjustment Layer
(half-black/half-white) icon at the bottom of the Layers
panel, and choose Gradient Map. This changes the image
from color to black and white, and a gradient thumb-
nail appears in the adjustment layer’s Properties panel (as
shown in the image here).
chose a shade of blue, #3a628a), and then click OK. Click

OK again to close the Gradient Editor.
Back in the Layers panel, cycle through the different
blend modes (as we did in #6) until you find the desired
effect for the Gradient Map adjustment layer. Here, we set
the layer’s blend mode to Soft Light and Opacity to 30%.
As long as you don’t have a tool active that has a brush,
you can quickly change the Opacity of a layer using the
numbers on your keyboard (e.g., 3 for 30%.) Next, dupli-
cate the Gradient Map adjustment layer, set the duplicate
layer’s blend mode to Darker Color, and lower the Opacity
to 20%.
Click on the gradient thumbnail, and in the Gradient
Editor dialog that appears, double-click below the middle
of the gradient ramp to add a color stop. This brings up
the Color Picker where you can select a color (here we
[63 ]
› › COLUMN
COLOR BALANCE
Shortcut #8: To finish my image, I color-graded it using The sky’s the limit when creating a composite image. You
a Color Balance adjustment layer. In the Properties panel, can add as many elements as you wish. You just have to be
I added Blue and Magenta to the Midtones, Yellow and creative. With the techniques and shortcuts I showed you
Cyan to the Highlights, and a little bit of Blue and Red to in this part, and Part 1 and Part 2, you can easily create a
the Shadows. Here’s the result. magical world. n
OCEAN AND SWORD IMAGES ADOBE STOCK;

ALL OTHER IMAGES BY GILMAR SMITH
[64 ]
LESASNIDER
> Beginners’ Workshop
USING THE GRADIENTS PANEL
The word “gradient” refers to a gradual blend between multiple colors. Gradients are useful for colorizing
shapes, creating a new background, colorizing text, adding colors (or neutrals) to a photo, and more.
In this article you’ll learn how to do all that using the improved Gradients panel in Photoshop 2020,
as well as how to create a custom gradient of your own.
FILLING AN OBJECT, BACKGROUND,

OR TEXT WITH A GRADIENT
Step One: Create a new document by choos-
ing File>New. You can make it any size you
want; however, this example uses the 1000 Pixel
Grid preset in the Art & Illustration category.
Click Create.
Step Two: Choose Window>Gradients. In

the Gradients panel that opens, scroll down and
notice that the built-in gradient presets are now
organized into groups named by color family.
To expand a group and see its contents, click
the triangle to its left; to collapse a group, click
the triangle again. Adobe added a slew of new
presets in Photoshop 2020, so there’s a lot to
choose from; legacy presets are in a group at the
bottom of the list (if you don’t see them, choose
Legacy Gradients from the panel’s flyout menu).
You can drag groups up or down to rearrange
them in the list, you can drag presets around
within a group to rearrange those, and you can
drag a preset from one group to another. The
buttons at the bottom of the panel let you create
a new group, a new gradient, or delete a gra-
dient. The über-organized among you can even
create a group within a group. The flyout menu
(circled) lets you change how presets are dis-
played (Small Thumbnail was used here), rename

or delete a gradient or group, and more. Tip: To
expand or collapse all groups at once, Command-
(PC: Ctrl)-click any triangle. This trick works in
the Shapes, Swatches, and Patterns panels, too.
Step Three: Now let’s look at applying a gradi-

ent preset to an object. To draw an object, grab
the Custom Shape tool from the Toolbar (it looks
[66 ] like a hand-drawn star).
› › BEGINNERS’ WORKSHOP
Step Four: In the Options Bar,

choose Shape from the menu
at left (circled). Next, click the
down-pointing triangle next to
Shape at the right side of the
Options Bar (also circled). Scroll
down and expand the Leaf
Tree group, and then click a
tree (the Elm was used here).
A blue outline appears around
the shape you clicked. Make
sure the link icon between the
Width and Height fields (also
circled) is selected.
Step Five: Now, click-and-drag

diagonally to draw the shape.
Release your mouse button and
Photoshop creates a shape layer.
You can hide the blue points
that appear around the tree by
clicking the Background layer in
your Layers panel.
Step Six: Click-and-drag one

of the presets from the Gradi-
ents panel directly onto the tree
in your document. Photoshop
fills the shape with the gradient.
Keep dragging presets onto the
tree until you find one you like
(Green_31 was used here).
You can also drag a gradi-
ent preset onto a thumbnail

in the Layers panel. If you’ve
added a layer mask to that
layer, the gradient is only vis-
ible through the mask. [67 ]
› › HOW TO
Step Seven: You can also apply a gradi-

ent to the entire document to create a new
background. This time, let’s use a radial
gradient. To do that, click the Gradients
panel flyout menu (circled) and choose
Radial Gradient. Drag a gradient preset
into the white area of the document. Pho-
toshop creates a Gradient Fill layer. With
the Gradient Fill layer active in your Layers
panel, you can click other presets in the
Gradients panel to try them out (in other
words, you don’t have to drag them). The
Cloud_01 gradient was used here.
Step Eight: As you may suspect, you can

apply a gradient to text, also. Just grab
the Horizontal Type tool (circled), click
within the document, and enter some text.
You can use the Options Bar to change
font family and size (Myriad Pro Bold Semi
Extended at 20 pt and Minion Pro Italic at
13 pt were used here).
Step Nine: Click the Gradients panel’s

flyout menu and choose Linear Gradient.
Drag a gradient preset onto the letters in
your document and keep dragging until
you find one that you like (Green_28

was used here). Photoshop adds a layer
style to the type layer named Gradient
Overlay (circled).
Tip: Option-drag (PC: Alt-drag) a gra-
dient preset onto a type layer to create a
Gradient Fill layer instead of a layer style.
The benefit is that a Gradient Fill layer
comes with a layer mask, allowing you to
[68 ] hide the gradient from certain areas.
ADDING A GRADIENT
TO A PHOTO
You can also use gradients
with photos to produce a cre-
ative color effect. For example,
drag a gradient preset atop a
black-and-white photo (Pur-
ple_22 was used here) and
then change the resulting Gra-
dient Fill layer’s blend mode to
Overlay (circled). (If you’d like
to download low-res versions
of the images we’re using
throughout the rest of this arti-
cle to follow along, click here.)
ADDING A GRADIENT
TO A SELECTION
To enhance or change the color
of part of a photo, create a selec-
tion first. In this example, the
sunflowers were selected using
the new Object Selection tool,
and the Orange_08 preset was
dragged atop the selection. The
Gradient Fill layer’s blend mode
was changed to Overlay (circled).
CREATING A
CUSTOM GRADIENT
It’s also easy to create your
own gradients. For example,
a dark-blue-to-yellow gradient
can greatly enhance a sunset,
but there isn’t a preset for that.
Here’s how to make it:
Step One: Open the photo

you want to enhance and at the
bottom of the Gradients panel,
click the Create New Group

icon (circled). In the dialog that
opens, name it “Custom.” Click
OK and the new group appears
at the bottom of the group list. [69 ]
› › HOW TO
Step Two: With the Custom

group highlighted, click the
Create New Gradient icon (cir-
cled). In the Gradient Editor that
opens, make sure the Gradient
Type menu is set to Solid. Next,
click the far-left black color
stop beneath the gradient pre-
view ramp (also circled). Click
the Color swatch at the bot-
tom left (circled, too) and in the
Color Picker that opens, pick a
blue color range using the ver-
tical bar and then click within
the large square to pick a dark
blue (the hex value 1e336f was
used here). Click OK to close the
Color Picker.
Step Three: Back in the Gra-

dient Editor, click the far-right
white color stop (circled), click
the Color swatch at the bot-
tom left (also circled) and in the
Color Picker that opens, pick a
yellow color using the vertical
bar and then click within the
large square to pick a bright yel-
low (the hex value f5d200 was
used here). Click OK to close the
Color Picker.
Tip: To add more color
stops, click below the gradient
preview ramp, and then change
their colors as described above.
Step Four: In the Gradient Edi-

tor, drag the blue color stop at
left slightly rightward to increase
the amount of blue in the gradi-
ent. Enter “Sunset Pop” into the
Name field. Click New to add
the new preset and then click
[70 ] OK to close the Gradient Editor.
ALL PHOTOS BY JACK DAVIS
Step Five: Drag the new gradient

from the Gradients panel onto the
image. Use the menu at the top
of the Layers panel to change the
Gradient Fill layer’s blend mode to
Overlay and lower the Opacity set-
ting to 85%.
As you can see, gradients are

incredibly useful. And by using the
Gradients panel, Photoshop adds
the gradient on a layer of its own,
which preserves the object, text, or
photo to which you’re applying it.
Until next time, may the creative
force be with you all! n
[71 ]
UNMESHDINDA
> Effects Toolkit
HOW TO CREATE A SPOTLIGHT EFFECT

IN PHOTOSHOP
What better way to dramatically draw the attention of the viewer to the subject than a spotlight?
From theatrical performances, to music concerts, to the largest award shows on TV, everyone uses a
spotlight! So why should we in the Photoshop community be left behind?
In this article, we’ll learn how to simulate a spot-
Adobe Stock/andrew_shots
light with filters in Photoshop. Creating a spot-
light is one of the easiest and most fun things to
do. The real challenge is in creating the shadow
that forms as a result of the spotlight. Whether
you’re creating the exact effect as shown here, or
simply playing with light in your composites, this
article will help you with several tricks to nail light-
ing and shadows.
STEP ONE: OPEN THE IMAGE

First, let’s open the image of our subject in Pho-
toshop. She’s standing against a wall, which is
perfect for creating a spotlight and shadows. If
you want to follow along with the photo we used,
you may download the JPEG preview for free or
license the full-resolution version from Adobe
Stock and save it to your Libraries panel by click-
ing the Save to Library button here.
If you’re using your own image, go to File>
Open, locate your image, and then click Open, or
if you’re working in Application Frame, go to Find-
er (PC: File Explorer), locate your image, and drag-
and-drop it into Photoshop. If you downloaded the
image from Adobe Stock, you can load it from your
Libraries panel by double-clicking it.
STEP TWO: CREATE A SELECTION

OF THE SUBJECT
At this point, we just need a selection of the subject
to be used later for the shadows. You can use the
Quick Selection tool (W) to easily make a selection;
however, if you’re using the latest version of Pho-
toshop, you can do this with just one click.
Select the Quick Selection tool or the Magic
Wand tool. In the Options Bar, click the Select
[72 ] Subject button. Photoshop will auto-select the
› › EFFECTS TOOLKIT
subject in the scene, and you can always

add or subtract from the selection, as need-
ed, using any of the selection tools.
STEP THREE:
SAVE THE SELECTION
With the selection active, go to Select>Save
Selection. Let’s name this “Subject Selection”
as shown, and click OK. Press Command-D
(PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect.
STEP FOUR: CREATE A DUPLICATE

OF THE BACKGROUND LAYER
With the Background layer selected, press
Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to create a dupli-
cate layer. Double-click on the duplicate
layer’s name, and rename it “Spotlight.”
STEP FIVE:
CONVERT TO SMART OBJECT
Right-click on the Spotlight layer and
choose Convert to Smart Object.
STEP SIX:
APPLY LIGHTING EFFECTS
Go to Filter>Render>Lighting Effects. In
the Properties panel, choose Spot from the
menu at the top. (You can add multiple
spotlights by clicking on the Add New
Spot Light icon in the Lights section of the
Options Bar.) Adjust the rotation and the
size of the spotlight as shown. For this
example, we’ve used the following set-
tings in the Properties panel: Color White;
Intensity 26; Hotspot 0; Exposure 0; Gloss
0; Metallic 50; and Ambiance 18. Click OK.
Note: If you change your mind, you can
always change the values of the Lighting

Effects filter because we converted the
Spotlight layer into a smart object. To do
so, simply double-click on Lighting Effects
below the Spotlight layer. [73 ]
› › HOW TO
STEP SEVEN:
MAKE A DUPLICATE
Create a duplicate of this Spotlight
layer and name it “Subject Extracted.”
STEP EIGHT: LOAD THE

SUBJECT SELECTION
Next, go to Select>Load Selection
and from the Channel menu, choose
Subject Selection (we saved this in
Step Three). Click OK.
STEP NINE:
SEPARATE THE SUBJECT
With the selection active, click on
the Add Layer Mask icon (to the right
of the fx icon) at the bottom of the
Layers panel.
STEP 10: CREATE A

LAYER BELOW THE SUBJECT
EXTRACTED LAYER
Now, hold down the Command (PC:
Ctrl) key and click on the Create a
New Layer icon to add a new layer
below the Subject Extracted layer.
Let’s name this “Subject Shadow.”
STEP 11: LOAD THE SUBJECT

SELECTION AGAIN
As we did in Step Eight, load the Sub-
ject Selection channel.
STEP 12:
CREATE THE SHADOW
Make sure that your Foreground

Color is black and the selection is
active, then press Option-Delete
(PC: Alt-Backspace) to fill the selec-
tion with black. Press Command-D
(PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect it.
Go to Edit >Transform>Distort,
and adjust the shadow (as shown)
based on your spotlight. Press Return
[74 ] (PC: Enter).
STEP 13: BLUR THE SHADOW

Before applying any filter, let’s first convert the Subject Shadow layer into a smart
object. Then, go to Filter>Blur Gallery>Field Blur. Create two Blur Points, one at the
top and one at the bottom of the shadow, to create a gradual increase in Blur.
Set the top point to a lower Blur value and the bottom one to a higher value. For
this full-resolution image, we set the top point to 15 px, and the bottom one to 350
px. Click OK in the Options Bar once you’re satisfied.
Note: I minutely adjusted the mask of the Subject Extracted layer to make the
edges around the hair not appear as harsh. [75 ]
› › HOW TO
STEP 14:
CREATE SHADOWS ON THE
SUBJECT USING CURVES
Click on the Subject Extracted layer to
select it, then click on the Create New
Adjustment Layer icon (half-black/
half-white circle) at the bottom of
the Layers panel, and choose Curves.
If the Properties panel didn’t open
automatically, double-click on the
Curves icon in the Curves adjustment
layer to open it. Click in the middle of
the curve to create a point, and drag
it down and to the right, as shown.
Back in the Layers panel, click
on the Curves layer’s mask to select
it and press Command-I (PC: Ctrl-I)

to invert it (make it black). Then, get
the Brush tool (B), set your Fore-
ground color to white, and select a
soft, round brush. Up in the Options
Bar, set your Brush’s Opacity to
100% and Flow to 5%, and then
start creating shadows by painting
gradually on the mask areas that are
[76 ] facing away from the spotlight.
Before
After
STEP 15: ADD SOME DODGING AND BURNING [OPTIONAL]

You could stop right now; however, if you want to add some additional shine and
dimension, you might consider performing some dodging and burning. There are
dozens of ways to dodge and burn, but you can try this automatic technique that
I explained in “Lesson 3: Automatic Dodge and Burn” from my KelbyOne class,
Jaw-Dropping, Heart-Stopping, Eye-Popping Photoshop Effects.
This article is just one example of how you can use the Lighting Effects filter in Pho-
toshop. I’d encourage you to experiment also with multiple lights. Just playing with
the presets inside the Lighting Effects filter will give you a glimpse of what it can do,
and the possibilities are limitless. As fun as creating lights is, it’s indeed challenging
to create the shadows to complement the light. So keep in mind that you have to
make every area darker that isn’t facing the light. n [77 ]
DAVEWILLIAMS
> Photo Effects
RETOUCHING THE AURORA BOREALIS

IN ADOBE CAMERA RAW
I’ll always remember Midge from the Arctic Fox Centre in Sudavik, Iceland, telling me this: “You
photographers have a special way of making the aurora [borealis] look amazing.” He’s right: We do,
and it’s all in the retouching. The northern lights are an incredible display of the strength and beauty
of nature. As a light source themselves, caused by the colliding of plasma ejected from the sun hit-
ting particles in our upper atmosphere, we don’t need a lot of it to get a great photo. Obviously, we
could get a better display with a stronger aurora, ideally with a geomagnetic storm resulting from the
snapback of charged particles caught up in the Earth’s magnetotail.
The thing about the aurora borealis is that when we For this tutorial, I’ve provided one of my RAW files from
shoot it, we can treat it similarly to a waterfall, in that Iceland, shot in September 2019, which you may use freely
it’s constantly moving and so we can use a relatively long for educational and practice purposes. You can download
exposure to smooth out the motion, or a relatively short it here.
exposure to capture the detail of the light. Before we get Postprocessing our aurora images can be a tricky thing
into the retouching, as a baseline for our camera settings, because these aren’t necessarily images we’re used to seeing
we should use a high ISO to capture the light. In the dark- or retouching. This can also give us more room for creativ-
ness that accompanies the aurora, the effects of camera ity, in that the realism conveyed in the image is much more
noise are minimal. We usually need the widest aperture flexible for the same reason. First off, let’s open the image in
we can choose, which for me is usually f/2.8. For a fast Adobe Camera Raw. You’ll see from here that the exposure
shot, I usually use a shutter speed in the region of five triad for this image is ISO 4500, an aperture of f/2.8, and a
seconds, and for a long shot, I usually go in the region of shutter speed of 8 seconds, which gives you an idea of the
20 seconds. settings required for shooting the northern lights.
[78 ]
› › PHOTO EFFECTS
START WITH THE WHITE BALANCE

When retouching aurora images, the place to start is with The aurora itself can range in color from greens through
the white balance, so let’s go over that. The reality of the reds and purples, so that element of creative control
northern lights is that the white balance we apply is deter- comes into play. In general, the aurora tends to be green
mined by the resultant color of the sky and the foreground. with fringes of purple, and a color temperature of 4000K
will reflect this true color quite well, while maintaining an
accurate night sky. The best way to apply this first correc-
tion may seem a little counterintuitive, but stick with me!
First, slide both the Vibrance and Saturation sliders all the
way to 100. I’m well aware that this now looks ridiculous, as
you can see here, but what we’re doing is giving the maxi-
mum global enhancement to the actual colors present in the
aurora so that we can see the difference.
With these settings applied, and knowing that we can
see all the colors present to assist us in our decisions, let’s go
ahead and adjust the white balance. Using the Temperature
and Tint sliders, we can make the adjustments to the aurora,
ensuring the accuracy of the color and tone. We can cre-
ate a deep green aurora, or something with a feel of mint,
so long as we keep within the limitations of realism, while
maintaining a foreground and night sky that are convincing.
Once this is done, we can bring the Vibrance and Saturation
sliders back to 0 and double-check our adjustments at this
more realistic level.
[79 ]
› › HOW TO
ADJUST THE BRIGHTNESS

Now that we have the color we want,
it’s time to make some adjustments to
the brightness, but rather than using
the Basic panel sliders, we’ll use a
Curves adjustment. In the Tone Curve
panel, we’ll make our adjustments on
the Point tab. The graph we see for an
aurora image will generally show that
there are peaks in the shadows, drop-
ping off toward the midtones and
fading away altogether in the high-
lights. What we want to achieve is to
raise what’s sitting toward the right
end of the graph, targeting those
midtones and highlights.
As a matter of preference, I like
to start by raising the black point
slightly to give a slightly “lifted-black”
look. To do this, we need to grab the
bottom-left point of the curve and
drag it up very slightly, resulting in
an Input value of 0 and an Output
value of 10 (displayed below the
chart). What’s actually happening is
that we’re shifting the value of the
black from a true black to something
a little duller, which means there will
be no true black in our image and a
little less contrast at the darker end
of the spectrum as a result.
Next up, let’s go across the rest
of the curve adjustment and give a
little more power to the light within
the scene. Looking at where the
chart peaks—so we know where
the light actually is within the scene,
as represented on a graph—we can
select areas where we wish to raise
the highlights by simply clicking-

and-dragging on our linear curve. It’s
worth noting that we’ll apply these
adjustments across the spectrum of
the image, but we can choose to
target the tonality of specific colors
within RGB by making the appropri-
ate selection in the Channel menu.
The adjustments made here bring a
[80 ] slight elevation to the curve. You’ll
see that where there’s little information at the high- shooting in RAW format. First, con-
lights end of the graph, we can get away with mak- centrating on the Sharpening section
ing harsher adjustments because we’re only affecting in the Detail panel, drag the Radius
a small portion of the image. slider all the way to the left to its low-
est value of 0.5, and drag the Detail
ADDRESS ANY NOISE slider all the way to the right to its
OR SHARPNESS ISSUES maximum value of 100. Next, move
Next on the agenda as we process our northern lights down to the Noise Reduction section
image is to address any noise issues as a result of shoot- and, using the Luminance slider, we
ing at a high ISO, and any sharpness issues caused by can reduce the noise caused by the
finding focus in the dark. If we simply grab the Sharp- high ISO by sliding it to the right and
ening Amount slider, we’ll lose some quality (and this is essentially smoothing out the pixels
a bit too much to elaborate on in a short tutorial), but slightly in the image.
one trick I use to maintain the quality while enhancing
the sharpness is to apply an adjustment that restores
some of the sharpness we inherently lose when
ADDRESS ANY
IMPERFECTIONS
The next thing on the list when
retouching the aurora is to address
any imperfections caused by the lens.
The reason this is especially important
with the aurora is that where these
imperfections appear, they’re exag-
gerated, or they can stand out a little
more. A simple way to address these
universally and at the same time is
to deal with the darker corners and
any halos that have formed around
stars. To do this, we need to go into
the Lens Corrections panel and check
two boxes: Remove Chromatic Aber-
ration and Enable Profile Corrections.
When we check the latter box, the
correct lens profile is selected further
down the tab.
Now, we’re going to do a very
simple retouch to enhance the night
sky, and the stars in particular. In the
Basic panel, we can use the Clarity
slider to add a little extra definition
to the stars by shifting the slider to
the right (in this case to +20). This is a
good idea with the majority of night-

time photography, but especially in
this image, it will enhance not only
the stars, but also the definition and
structure of the aurora itself. [81 ]
› › HOW TO
ONE LAST TRICK

Our northern lights photo has really trans-
formed since we began, and the scene has
become more alive and vibrant. We can
use one last trick, which also applies to
any nighttime scene, if we want to add an
element of fantasy. Using the Adjustment
Brush (K), click the + (plus sign) beside
the Exposure slider to reset all the other
sliders to zero and set the Exposure slider
to +0.50. With the Adjustment Brush set
to its smallest size—the Left Bracket ([)
key decreases the Brush’s size)—simply
click on some stars to give them somewhat
of an ethereal glow. It’s not necessary to
click on all the stars, just go over the entire
image and select the stars that add the
most to the scene. After clicking on the
stars, we can adjust the Exposure slider if
the difference is too bright or too dim.
[82 ]
ADD FINISHING TOUCHES

Now that we’re done with the adjustments
that are specifically useful to northern lights
images, we can apply some final global
adjustments to add the finishing touches.
We’ve already applied a little contrast with
the Curves adjustment, but we can tweak the
Contrast slider in the Basic panel if it helps the
image. Something else that’s worth consider-
ation, particularly when there’s a strong green
color as in our northern lights, is to use the
HSL Adjustments panel. Using the Greens
sliders, add some Luminance and decrease
Saturation to make it a little more realistic. In
this image we set the Luminance to +20 and
the Saturation to –20.
Seeing and shooting the northern lights is
high up on many bucket lists, and I hope this
tutorial has been great fun. It’s a change from
regular landscape and nighttime retouching,
and shows some skills that can be applied to

aurora photography and may be transferred
to other images you take. n
ALL IMAGES BY DAVE WILLIAMS
[83 ]
MARKHEAPS
> The Perfect Selection
SELECTING ATMOSPHERE WITH TONES
In this issue, we’re going to continue with our previous themes of selecting things that are more
atmospheric. Even though artificial intelligence and machine-learning technologies are being added
to Photoshop (see recent article here), the truth is that machines can still only be taught what a
particular thing is: pizza, car, person, dog, building, clock, etc. But, as an editor, there are often things
that can’t be seen as an object or thing. That’s where we still have to solve the problems for our
projects by applying some awareness of tone, physics, and light.
©Adobe Stock/edb3_16
For this image, let’s imagine your edit request is to select

the rays of light, and add warmth to the image. What do
you do? You could attempt this with luminosity masks, but
that gets a bit complicated with partially selected elements.
Instead, let’s use an old feature in Photoshop that has been
evolving quietly in the background: Select>Color Range.
In this dialog, you can choose Highlights, Midtones, or
Shadows from the Select menu at the top. This will auto-
matically segment a tonal range of your image into a poten-
tial selection. What this means is that, if you were to choose
Highlights and then adjust the Range slider, which acts as a
[84 ] form of tolerance or threshold, you can refine the selection
› › THE PERFECT SELECTION
that will be produced. The great thing about this is you can
see the mask preview as a guide for what will be selected:
white for the selected area and black for non-selected areas.
ABOUT THESE OPTIONS

There are a few points about these selections that you should
be aware of. For instance, when you choose Highlights in
the Select drop-down menu, it instructs Photoshop to select
the brightest values. Then, as you increase the Range set-
ting, it will begin accepting tones that are slightly less than
the brightest values.
If you use the Shadows option, it will start by selecting all
of the darkest values, and then, as you increase the Range Once the Selection is active, let’s add a Hue/Saturation
setting, the mask begins including tones that are less dark, adjustment layer. Go to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Hue/
adding those to your selected area. Saturation, or click the Create New Adjustment Layer icon at
Interestingly, when you pick the option for Midtones, the bottom of the Layers panel and choose Hue/Saturation.
it doesn’t isolate only the middle values of the tonal
range. On the Ranger slider, there are two points instead
of one, and you can bracket tones you want to select
between those points; anything between those two val-
ues will be 100% selected. This is handy because it gives
you a great deal of control to isolate a tone in your image
for a selection.
Now when you’re looking at tones and shades in your The active selection you previously created with Select>
image, you could imagine it as a grayscale image, and make Color Range has now been converted to a mask for your
a decision as to what range, or tone, is the area that you want Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.
to select. The Range values align to the RGB 0–255 range of
luminosity, and the Fuzziness slider will feather the tones that
are being selected. This helps reduce some aliasing.
For this particular image, we want to add some warmth
to the rays of light and keep some of that atmospheric, or
foggy, feel in the image. (If you’d like to follow along with this
image, click here, and then click the Save to Library button.)
To do this, we’ll use the Highlights option, and set the Range
to 160 and Fuzziness to 85%. This will select the brightest

parts of the image, as well as include the rays of light that
are in front of the trees and other parts of the scene. Here’s
the Color Range dialog showing the final settings. When you
click OK, the selection is activated on the canvas. [85 ]
› › COLUMN
WARMING UP THE LIGHT see the dramatic yellow being pushed into those rays
There are many ways to bring warmth into those rays of light. of light.
For a simple, quick solution, check the Colorize option near
the bottom of the Hue/Saturation Properties panel. When this NESTING MASKS FOR
is activated, it applies a single hue value over any pixel’s origi- BETTER BLENDED RESULTS
nal color, constrained within that masked/selected area. If you To make this image look a little less modified by Photoshop,
move the Hue slider, you can align it to a nice warm yellow we’ll add another mask to blend it into the Hue/Saturation
color (here, it’s moved to 48 and the Saturation to 47). effect; however, let’s do it in a way that doesn’t damage the
integrity of the original mask that was created when select-
ing the rays of light.
Make sure the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer is
selected in the Layers panel. Now, hold down the Shift
key and click the Create a New Group icon at the bottom
of the Layers panel. Note: Because you’re holding down
the Shift key, this creates a layer group and, at the same
time, adds any selected layers into that group. Another
way to do this is to select the layer(s) and press Com-
mand-G (PC: Ctrl-G).
With your layer group selected, click the Add Layer
Mask icon (circle in a square) at the bottom of the Layers
panel to add a layer mask to your layer group. Here’s how
the Layers panel now looks.
Next, back in the Layers panel, change the blend mode

for the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer from Normal
to Overlay, which will help colorize pixels while still
allowing brighter values on the source image layer to
pass through, for a better blending of the Colorize
effect. In the image produced (shown here), you can
Now you have a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer that’s

colorizing the rays of light through its mask and that’s also
nested inside the layer group with its own mask. Hierarchy
here dictates that the group’s mask will impact the appear-
ance of the layers first, and then the masks of any layers
within the group will impact the image.
FINISHING TOUCHES
To finish the effect, press D on your keyboard, which resets
your Foreground and Background colors to their default
black and white. Your layer group’s mask should still be
selected and targeted, indicated by the little corner frames
[86 ] around the mask thumbnail.
› › THE PERFECT SELECTION
Now we can use Filter>Render>Clouds to create a This adds to the foggy, atmospheric appearance of the
soft, cloudy, patchy, pattern within the mask for the layer scene and makes the effect seem less artificial in post. If
group. Because this mask affects all layers within the you aren’t happy with the effect, you can run the filter
layer group, the Colorize effect from the Hue/Saturation again, or adjust the Density and Feather sliders in the Prop-
adjustment layer appears to be randomized as to which erties panel. Here’s our final result. n
parts of the rays of light are tinted with a warm hue.
Original
Final result [87 ]

SCOTTVALENTINE
> Photoshop Proving Ground
LEVELS MAGIC
By now you’re probably pretty familiar with Levels, but it’s worth digging into how this original Photoshop
tool actually works, and looking at some hidden features for getting even more oomph in your work.
Levels has some basic controls

in the form of two sets of sliders
with text fields for input. At the
very top of the Properties panel
(Window>Properties) is a histo-
gram, showing a representation
of each luminosity value’s relative
“strength” in your image.
In the bottom half of this
image, take a look at the gradient,
which goes from 20% to 80%
gray (as opposed to a pure black
of 0% and pure white of 100%).
I’ve treated the top half with a Histogram on Levels Properties panel
Posterize adjustment layer to
make the distribution more clear. 20%–80% gradient with Posterize adjustment
The guides are there to show even layer applied above it
1/3 divisions.
Note: The Posterize function
here isn’t going to show 20% or
80% gray because of how it works.
Just pay attention to the size and
position of the bands and try to
ignore the quirks of Posterize.
Dragging the Levels sliders
beneath the histogram toward
the edges of the graph balances
out the columns. In this way, the
shadows and highlights have been
expanded, and the entire range of
gray values is more balanced. What
we’ve done is remapped the black Corrected histogram

and white points with the Input
sliders, so that 20% gray becomes Corrected bands
“black,” and 80% gray becomes
“white.” I then ran Posterize again
on the corrected gradient. creative looks by limiting the amount of black or total brightness. The original intent
The Output sliders control of the Output sliders was to control ink density for printing. Moving the Output
the results of those endpoint sliders redefines the total endpoints that the Input sliders map to on a range from
mappings, and can be used for 0 to 255.
[88 ]
› › PHOTOSHOP PROVING GROUND
Now let’s look at a gradient that’s

squished to one side. Instead of the midpoint
being exactly 50% gray, let’s move it toward
the shadows.
The bars are clearly no longer aligned,
but because we already have pure black and
white in the gradient, how do we even out
the distribution? The midpoint slider! This
important little fella is actually a gamma
correction slider. While the endpoint sliders
range in luminosity values from 0 to 255, the
gamma slider ranges from 0.01 to 9.99, but
the midpoint is 1.00 instead of 128. The rea-
son for this is because this slider isn’t specifi-
cally remapping a luminosity value so much
as controlling the midpoint (hence the name)
Gradient Editor
of the transition from black to white. So the showing offset
numeric value represents a relationship, not of 50% gray to
the left
an absolute value.
Note: If you’re interested—and I know at
least some of you are—the midpoint value
is the exponent in the following equation:
V out=V in^gamma. V is luminosity here, so
this reads: output luminosity is equal to the
input luminosity raised to the power of the
gamma value. This is why the middle value
Gradient and Posterized bands offset
is 1.00, meaning the input value is exactly
the same as the output value. Gamma is also
nonlinear, and if you’re interested in the math,
drop me a note on the KelbyOne Commu-
nity forums. For now, just realize that 1.00
means “dead center” and that when you
move either the shadows or highlights sliders,
the midpoint slider moves to maintain its rela-
tive position between those two sliders.
Moving the midpoint slider to the right
expands the shadows, while moving it to the
left expands the highlights. In this case, we Corrected histogram
want to drag out the shadows, so we move
the midpoint to the right to offset the unbal-
anced gradient.
In this way, Levels lets us redistribute
the dynamic range with the gamma slider,

expand the dynamic range with the Input
sliders, and limit the dynamic range with the
Output sliders. Corrected bands
[89 ]
› › COLUMN
CREATIVE EFFECTS
So much for theory, let’s have some fun. It turns out that Levels lets you Another option is to create a color mask
address color channels directly from its drop-down menu in the Properties by using a Levels adjustment layer set to
panel. At first glance, that means we can control per-channel contrast, but Color blend mode. In this case, start with
there are lots of easier ways to correct color. We can instead use this for a Levels adjustment layer set to Normal and
some creative effects. This image across San Diego Bay is really hazy and adjust for contrast, then add another Levels
low contrast, and could use some Levels magic. adjustment layer set to Color. For more con-
trast, change the Normal layer to Soft Light
or Overlay blending mode.
You aren’t limited, however, to just
stacking up Levels adjustment layers. You
can also use Stamp Merge Visible (Com-
mand-Option-Shift-E [PC: Ctrl-Alt-Shift-E])
to create copies of adjustments and blend
them selectively. This is a great way for
working on individual image elements and
compositing them together—kind of like
making multiple exposures.
TIPS & TRICKS

Okay, are you ready for some cool tips and
tricks? It turns out that Levels is also avail-
Original photo
able as a “destructive” adjustment from
Instead of using the RGB sliders, I’m going to give this a warm tone by the Image>Adjustments menu. There may
individually adjusting each of the channel values. It turns out that the mid- not be much need for this particular feature
point slider behaves like a color balance slider for each channel. Moving it these days, but there are some neat things
left increases the color associated with that channel, but moving it right you can do.
increases the opposite color. So on the Red channel, moving the midpoint For a cool duotone effect, you can choose
slider left makes the image red, and moving it right makes it cyan, just like two channels from the Channels panel and
the Color Balance adjustment sliders. then go to Image >Adjust m ents>Levels,
After working each channel individually by bringing in the end point and work on just those two channels.
sliders and manipulating the midpoint, here’s one stylized result. (Note: Don’t just turn off a channel in the
Channels panel by clicking its Eye icon;
you need to actually click on the first
channel you want, and then Shift-click
the other channel to select them both.)
The drop-down menu in the Properties
panel now lets you work on the composite
of those channels, as well as each
one individually. When you get a look

you like, click OK to commit. But there’s
a problem: the third channel comes back
when you choose the RGB composite in
the Channels panel! To solve this problem,
select the channel you didn’t adjust in the
Channels panel and fill it with black. This
trick is destructive, so make a flat copy of
Warm image your image first.
[90 ]
› › PHOTOSHOP PROVING GROUND
Duotone
A more practical use for the Adjustments menu version of Levels

is applying it to smart objects. First, convert your layer, stack, or group
to a smart object (Filter>Convert for Smart Filters), and then choose
Image>Adjustments>Levels. This retains the flexibility of an adjustment
layer, including the ability to change both opacity (but not fill) and blending
mode, just like with other smart filters.
Now when you select channels individually up front for the above duo-
tone effect, however, Levels will be grayed out under Adjustments, but
there’s a workaround, of course. If you want to use only two channels for
your effect, simply go to the third one in the Levels Properties panel and
drag the Input sliders all the way to the right, then drag the Output sliders
all the way to the left. This makes the channel effectively black, but it’s
nondestructive. Continue working on the other two channels as you like.
This channel Levels control also works in CMYK and multichannel,
where it’s more useful for preparing spot or plate output, where you need
“Black” channel settings applied to the Blue channel
specific control over density.
Finally, Levels also has both presets and an Auto option. To be honest,
I don’t use either of them. The controls are so easy to get to that I just
haven’t bothered with presets, and the Auto settings are identical to those
mentioned in my previous article, “Color Grading with Curves.” n
ALL IMAGES BY SCOTT VALENTINE
[91 ]
DAVECLAYTON
> Designing in Photoshop
STRETCHING YOUR CREATIVITY IN PHOTOSHOP

Being creative and finding new effects in Photoshop is always fun. Sometimes you see a trend or
an effect and wonder how it was made, and reverse-engineering it is as much fun as creating it.
In this tutorial, we’ll look at a technique I’ve seen recently called the “pixel stretch effect.” This is
an effect where the main colors of a subject are stretched out and manipulated to look like a ribbon
flowing behind them. It’s actually not that difficult to replicate, so in this tutorial, we’ll walk through
a method using the tools in Photoshop. We just need a subject, a background, and some jiggery-
pokery to get the parts we need to create this cool-looking effect.
©Adobe Stock/R. Gino Santa Maria
Step One: We’re going to use an image from Adobe Stock from the Resample drop-down menu, set the Width to
of a female soccer player. If you want to follow along with 2,000 pixels, and click OK.
the photo used here, you may download the JPEG preview Picking a colorful subject is important, as you want the
for free, or license the full-resolution version from Adobe “color drag” to stand out. This soccer player has a mix of
Stock by clicking here. To download the preview image, log black, white, flesh color, blue, yellow, and brown. You can
in with your Adobe ID, and click the Save to Library but- go as colorful as you want. Also, keep in mind the pose
ton. Then, you can double-click the image in the Libraries of the subject. We need to get a slice of all the colors in
panel (Window>Libraries) to open it. To make it easier to the subject, so we’ll need to make many duplicates of the
work with the image, increase the resolution of the practice model to build up the colors to create that slice (you’ll see
file. (We normally don’t recommend enlarging images, but what I mean by that shortly).
this is only for practice purposes.) Go to Image>Image Size, Once you’ve chosen your image, crop the canvas to a
[92 ] turn on the Resample checkbox, select Preserve Details 2.0 square shape; size isn’t important, just use the original image
› › DESIGNING IN PHOTOSHOP
and crop to a square shape with the

Crop tool (C) by choosing 1:1 (Square)
in the Ratio drop-down menu in the
Options Bar.
Step Two: I’m not going to go through

the ins and outs of selections and cut-
outs in this tutorial (there are already
plenty of those in the “Perfect Selec-
tion” column in many back issues of
this fine magazine). For this project,
I used the Select>Subject option in
Photoshop 2020 because it’s quick and
easy. I then chose Select>Select and
Mask and refined the selection to make
sure it was as clean as it needed to be.
In the Output To drop-down menu in
the Properties panel in the Select and
Mask workspace, choose New Docu-
ment, and click OK.
Step Three: With the model cut out,

Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) the
Create a New Layer icon at the bottom
of the Layers panel to add a new layer
below the model layer. Click the Fore-
ground color swatch, enter #5dd9d2 at
the bottom of the Color Picker, and click
OK. With the new layer selected, go to
Edit>Fill, choose Foreground Color from
the Contents drop-down menu, and
click OK. Lock this layer down by click-
ing the padlock icon in the Layers panel.
Step Four: We need to make duplicates

of the cutout model to enable us to get a
sliver of all the colors. But first, click on the
model layer in the Layers panel to make
it the active layer, grab the Move tool (V),
and turn on Show Transform Controls in

the Options Bar so you can see the edges
of the extracted subject. Then, just drag
her over to the right side of the canvas to
give you some room to work with. [93 ]
› › HOW TO
Step Five: The quickest way to make

multiple duplicates of this layer is to use
a keyboard shortcut (we’ll delete all the
duplicates at the end; this is just to get
the slice of colors we need for the effect).
Press-and-hold Option-Command-Left
Arrow (PC: Alt-Ctrl-Left Arrow) until you
achieve the effect shown here—there
will be a lot of duplicates in your Lay-
ers panel! You’ll need to go until all the
colors extend past her left hand.
Step Six: Select all the duplicates (not

the original soccer player layer) by click-
ing on the top one and Shift-clicking
on the bottom one, and then press
Command-G (PC: Ctrl-G) to group
them. This makes it easier to deal with
them and not have a huge Layers panel
to navigate. Double-click the group’s
name in the Layers panel, and rename
it “Duplicates.”
Step Seven: We need to take a slice of

this duplicate group. To do this, we’ll use
the Single Column Marquee tool found
under the Rectangular Marquee tool (M)
in the Toolbar (if you don’t see it, click-
and-hold on the three dots near the bot-
tom of the Toolbar). This tool will give us
a better result than the standard Rectan-
gular Marquee selection tool, since we
just need a single-pixel selection for now.
Click once to select an area of the dupli-
cate layers where there’s color from the
top to the bottom, as shown here.
Once you have this selection, go
to Edit>Copy Merged, and then click

on the Create a New Layer icon at
the bottom of the Layers panel. Go to
Edit>Paste to paste that slice onto your
new layer. You won’t be able to see it,
so turn off the other layers by clicking
their Eye icons in the Layers panel, and
zoom in just to be sure you’ve cap-
tured that slice. Once you’ve verified
[94 ] it’s there, turn all the layers back on.
Step Eight: Now that we have our

slice, make sure it’s the active layer, and
click on the Eye icon of the Duplicates
group to turn off its visibility (just for
now, as we’ll delete it shortly). Then, get
the Move tool again (Show Transform
Controls should still be turned on in the
Options Bar), hold down the Option (PC:
Alt) key, and drag the center control
point out until the colors reach both the
left and right edges of the canvas. (Note:
Whenever you drag a control point
when you have Show Transform Con-
trols turned on, it automatically enters
Free Transform.) Press Enter to commit
the transformation.
Step Nine: Next, drag that stretched

slice layer below the subject layer in the
Layers panel. Click on the soccer play-
er’s layer to make it active, and use the
Move tool to drag her to the left side
of the canvas—you can eyeball this,
as the positioning isn’t critical. Select
both the model and the pixel stretch
layer in the Layers panel, and holding
down the Option (PC: Alt) key, drag
one of the corner handles to reduce
the size of both. Now, move both layers
back to the left edge of the canvas, as
shown here, and press Enter to commit
the changes.
[95 ]
› › HOW TO
Step 10: Make just the pixel stretch

layer active, and then click-and-drag
the middle-right handle to the right
edge of the canvas so it again runs
from edge to edge across the image.
Press Enter
Step 11: Both our model and back-

ground are in place, so now it’s
now time to have some fun with
the background with the Warp tool.
Our single-pixel selection included
the turquoise background color,
but we only want to warp the
stretched colors from our subject.
So, with the pixel stretch layer
active, get the Rectangular Mar-
quee tool (M), select the turquoise
background at the top, then hold
down the Shift key and select the
turquoise background at the bot-
tom. Tip: Press-and-hold the Space-
bar while drawing a selection to
reposition it. Press Delete (PC: Back-
space), and then press Command-D
(PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect.
Now, Right-click on the pixel
stretch layer in the Layers panel and
choose Convert to Smart Object. Go
to Edit>Transform>Warp. Grab the
top-right corner handle and pull it
over like a sheet of paper, as shown.
You can drag the other corners and
handles around to get the effect you
want; for example, I dragged the bot-
tom-right corner up to give the bot-

tom edge a slight curve. When done,
just click the checkmark at the right
end of the Options Bar to commit
the change. By doing this to a smart
object, you can go back into Warp
at any time, and the control handles
will still be where you left them, or
you can go back to the original layer
[96 ] and redo the entire warp.
Step 12: Before we do any more

work on the warp, we need to mask
the pixel stretch layer on the left side
of our model. Click on the Add Layer
Mask icon (circle in a square) at the
bottom of the Layers panel, then get
the Brush tool (B), select a large-ish
brush, press X until your Foreground
Color is set to black (black to conceal,
and white to reveal), and begin paint-
ing away the layer up to the model,
as shown. Once you’ve painted the
left side out, you can begin to see
how cool this effect can be.
Step 13: We’re going to fake a

shadow under the curl to make it
look like the colors are really curl-
ing over itself. First, add a new blank
layer above the pixel stretch layer,
and name it “Shadow.” Then, go to
Layer>Create Clipping Mask to clip
it to the pixel layer below because
you want the shadow to only affect
the pixel stretch layer and not spill
into the background. Change the
blank layer’s blend mode to Multiply
and set its Opacity to about 25%,
as we want to build up the shadow
using multiple paint strokes.
Step 14: We need to sample a color

from the pixel shape, but before we
do, let’s make a selection of where
we want to paint the shadow so
we don’t go above the curl. I’m
going to use the Pen tool (P), but
you can also use the Polygonal Lasso
tool. Make a very careful selection
around the curve, and include the
entire area where the shadow will be

(see image). If you use the Pen tool,
when you’re done, press Command-
Return (PC: Ctrl-Enter) to convert the
path to a selection (marching ants). [97 ]
› › HOW TO
Step 15: Next, click on the Foreground

Color swatch and sample a color from the
image (I went for part of the darker yellow).
Get the Brush tool again and paint with a
large brush into the selection under the curl
where the shadow should fall. Then select a
darker color and paint some darker shadow
closer to the edge of the curl to give it a
more realistic look. Change the Brush size as
needed while you’re painting in the shadow.
If the shadow is too light, you can
increase the layer’s Opacity (I ended up
increasing it to 60%). That’s the fun of
Photo shop: trial and error! Once you’re
happy with your shadow, you can deselect.
Let’s also add a few shadows on the
same layer underneath the soccer player to
give the image even more depth. Paint with

a small or medium soft-edged brush, using
the same darker color you used for the curl
shadow. I also selected and deleted the
original white background area between
the player’s legs, and above her right leg.
[98 ]
Step 16: Finally, we added some text to

give it an additional element of design.
“Tekkers” is UK slang for a player showing
top techniques with a soccer ball. We used
Amboy Black at around 138 pts set to white.
I also double-clicked to the right of the text
layer’s name in the Layers panel to open
the Layer Style dialog, and added a drop
shadow, grass pattern overlay, and a stroke
using the yellow from the soccer jersey. See
the images shown here for all the settings
we used. Finally, crop the image as desired.
Step 17: Before saving the file, unless you

made your save at the very start, make sure
you delete the Duplicates group. All those
copies inflate the size of the original image
to a point where you may get a warning say-
ing it’s too big to save as a PSD. In that case
you’d save as a PSB, but we don’t need to
do that.
And now you’ve created your first pixel

stretch effect. Remember, experiment with
different elements of this tutorial to try
new things! n
[99 ]
DAVECROSS
> Photoshop Q&A
Q: I keep making new documents with the same Q: A client asked me to use their Pantone
settings (size, resolution, etc.). Is there some color in a graphic for their website. Is
way to automate this? that possible?
A: There are a couple of options. You could record an action A: Technically, Pantone colors are printing inks and, as
where you enter the settings for the new document such, are only available for printing presses; however,
and then stop recording. Then just play that action it’s possible to choose a color that will look like that
any time you want a new document in that size. One color. In the Color Picker, click on the Color Librar-
advantage of this method is that, while you’re record- ies button, and then from the Book menu, choose a
ing, you can also add anything else that you always Pantone library such as Pantone Solid Coated. Then,
need, such as guides. type your client’s Pantone number. (Note: There’s no
The other option is in the New Document dialog: field or area to enter the number, you just type it, and
enter the settings you want to use and enter a name, the color will be selected.) Click OK and your Fore-
then click the button to the right of the name and click ground color will be the RGB equivalent of the Pan-
Save Preset. In the New Document dialog, simply go to tone color. Use that color as you would any RGB color,
the Saved tab to see your new document presets and and it will display as close as possible to the client’s
click on whichever one you want. Pantone color.
Q: Is it possible to place into Photoshop more than

one file at the same time?
A: Yes, if you drag in from an external source such as
Bridge or your operating system. In Photoshop, if
you use File>Place Linked or File>Place Embedded,
Q: I cut someone from one photo and pasted
you can only select one file. But if you select more
them onto a new background, but I see a

small fringe of color around them. How do I than one file in Bridge and drag-and-drop them into
remove that? a Photo shop document, you’ll get transformation
A: There are a few options. Go to the Layer menu and handles on the first placed image and once you con-
choose from the options under Matting: Color Decon- firm the size, the next image will appear, waiting to
taminate provides a slider (with a preview) that can be confirmed. Similarly, selecting and dragging several
often help with color fringes; Defringe simply removes images from your operating system (e.g, Macintosh
the outer edge by the width of the number of pixels Finder or Windows File Explorer) into a Photoshop
you enter; and Remove White Matte and Remove Black document will work the same way. Each placed image
Matte are best used for either a white or black fringe. will result in a new smart object layer.
[100 ]
› › PHOTOSHOP Q&A
ALL IMAGES BY DAVE CROSS EXCEPT WHERE NOTED
Q: I need to use the Clone Stamp tool to add the right angles, then drag the edges of the grid to span
some information from the side of a building,
but it’s not working, as the building is at the entire area. If the grid displays in red or yellow you’ll
an angle. Is there any way to clone while need to adjust the corner nodes until it displays in blue.
following the perspective? Then choose the Stamp tool (S) and Option-click
A: Yes, but not with the Clone Stamp tool. Instead, use a (PC: Alt-click) to set the reference point. Position your
Filter called Vanishing Point. First, add a new layer so that cursor over the area you want to cover and start
the results of the filter are on a separate layer. Then, from painting (you can adjust the size of the brush at the
the Filter menu, choose Vanishing Point. Use the Create top of the filter dialog, or by using the [ and ] keys).
Plane Tool (C) to create a grid that follows the perspective When you click OK, the results of the filter will be on
of the wall. It’s often helpful to choose a small area to get the previously blank layer.
©Dollar Photo Club/Hans Engber
[101 ]
› › COLUMN
Q: I heard that there’s a new way to

create patterns in Photoshop 2020
but I can’t find it. Where is that
option?
A: It’s a little hidden, and it hasn’t been well
publicized. It’s important to note that, while
this technique creates seamless patterns,
the patterns don’t necessarily resemble
the original image, as it uses a mirroring
method similar to kaleidoscopes.
Start with the photo you want to use in a
pattern. In the Libraries panel, click the Add
Content icon at the bottom of the panel,
and choose Create From Image. This will
open a dialog where you can choose the
pattern style, scale, rotation, and position-
ing. Once you like the pattern that has been
generated, click the Save to CC Libraries
button. Then the pattern can be applied by
dragging from the Library into your image,
resulting in a Pattern Fill adjustment layer.
In this example, the pattern was applied at
10% of its original size and the layer’s
opacity was lowered. n
If you have a Photoshop question that you’d like Dave Cross

to answer in the pages of Photoshop User magazine, send it
to letters@photoshopuser.com.
[102 ]
Things to Learn in Photoshop Elements 2020:
®
Scott Kelby’s newest Elements book is designed

for photographers, so it doesn’t waste your time
talking about what a pixel is, how to frame a shot or
set your exposure. It’s all Elements, step by step,
cover to cover, and you’re gonna love it!
Organizing 
Correcting 
Editing 
Sharpening 
Retouching 
Printing 
KE A PRO !
L I
> Reviews
GET THE SCOOP ON THE LATEST GEAR
Solix Bi-Color
Leading lighting manufacturer Westcott has added the Solix
Bi-Color LED light to their stable of products. At 90W, the Solix
Compact Kit
is a powerful tool able to deliver up to 3,100 lux of continuous,
flicker-free light at 1 m. In other words, it’s bright! In fact, West-
cott claims the Solix is 45% brighter than its predecessor. With
no bulbs to break or heat to worry about, LED certainly has
Versatile 90W Bi-Color LED Light Kit its advantages.
Review by Michael Corsentino
As its name implies, the Solix Bi-Color has user-adjustable
color temperature, which ranges from 3200K for tungsten bal-
Company:
F.J.Westcott Co. ance to 5600K for daylight balanced applications. This versatile
combination of power and adjustable color temperature makes
Pricing: from $359.90
the Solix the perfect continuous light source for still photogra-
Rating: phy and videography.
With variable color temperature, color stability across the power
Hot: Adjustable 90W bi-color light; 97+ CRI
rating; AC/DC-powered; built-in speed range is especially important. The Solix excels in this department,
ring for softboxes; portable (3.3 lbs); with CRI and TLCI ratings of 97+ and 98+, respectively, which
carrying case included
means reliable color regardless of your power or color tempera-
Not: ture setting.
[104 ]
› › REVIEWS
Rock-solid build quality, along with a variety of thought-

ful amenities, makes the Solix a compelling product. Useful
features include a magnetic mounting system on the Solix’s
housing for the barn doors, hard-plastic diffusion cap, and
12" cone-shaped softbox. These can be used separately or in
“Rock-solid build quality, combination for a range of lighting effects. The Solix housing
along with a variety of also includes a built-in speed ring compatible with softboxes,
and an umbrella receptacle located on the mounting stem. It’s
thoughtful amenities, details like these that make the Solix a winner.
makes the Solix a The Solix can be operated via mains or battery power with
14.4 V batteries. Its digital interface makes operation fast,
compelling product.” straightforward, and intuitive. Both power output and color
temperature can be adjusted easily via one centrally located
knob on the back. Even with a built-in fan to keep things cool,
operation is quiet. Designed with portability in mind, the Solix
weighs in at just 3.3 lbs and comes with a high-quality carrying
case. Well done Westcott! n
[105 ]
REVIEWS › ›
EIZO
EIZO’s ColorEdge color-management line is known for creating
high-quality monitors targeted to creatives. I recently tested an
EIZO ColorEdge CG279X, a 27" widescreen monitor designed
ColorEdge
with creative professionals’ needs in mind, where color accu-
racy is critical.
The ColorEdge CG279X has a built-in colorimeter for auto-
CG279X
mated self-calibration, and it can be scheduled at any time (yes,
forget about spending money on a third-party calibration device).
You only need to download the ColorNavigator Software (free).
If you’re a photographer, retoucher, illustrator, or an animator,
set the calibration mode to Adobe RGB, and you’re good to go,
27" Widescreen Monitor or you can even modify any settings in the calibration software
for Creative Professionals options. Calibration doesn’t take much time. A little calibrator stick
Review by Gilmar Smith pops up from the top of the screen, and you can continue to use
the monitor during calibration. Here are the monitor’s key features:
• 27", 2560x1440, 10-bit IPS
• Built-in colorimeter for automated self-calibration

Company: Eizo • 99% Adobe RGB, 98% DCI-P3, 100% Rec.709/sRGB
• 16-bit LUT processing and programmable 173 3D LUTs

Price: $2,489
• 1300:1 static contrast ratio
Rating: • Digital uniformity equalizer

• HDR preset modes (PQ and HLG) up to 300cd/m2

Hot: Color accuracy and self-calibration • ColorNavigator 7 calibration software
• 5-Year warranty: Designed, tested, manufactured, and certified

Not:
at the EIZO-owned factory in Japan.
The Eizo ColorEdge CG279X comes with a light-shielding hood
that prevents glare on the monitor. It also uses dimming technol-
ogy to minimize flicker and eye fatigue. The monitor comes with
a stand that offers height, tilt, and swivel adjustments, so you
can adjust it to your needs. You can even rotate the monitor 90°.
This monitor assures that you get the best color quality on your
[106 ] work consistently. n
› › REVIEWS
GoPro Telem-
With GoPro action cams, GPS and other metadata are recorded
and embedded in the resulting MP4 files. A few years ago,
GoPro added the ability to add this telemetric data to its edit-
etry Extractor
ing app in the form of gauges that you can choose to show
as overlays on the resulting movie, but you can’t extract the
metadata and use it as you wish from within their app. Unless
Premium
you buy software like GoPro Telemetry Extractor Premium,
which allows you to do pretty much anything you want with
a HERO’s metadata.
The GoPro Telemetry Extractor Premium app extracts all of
the metadata that’s available with any current GoPro model,
You Don’t Need the GoPro App to including sensor, GPS, and other data the camera generates.
Overlay Telemetry Data on a Video It allows you to extract data from multiple cameras simulta-
Review by Erik Vlietinck neously; merges the data when it’s appropriate, for example,
when GoPro splits up very long videos into multiple files; and
optimizes it for the output file format you desire. It outputs to
After Effects (mgJSON), GPX, CSV, JSON, KML, and GeoJSON.
Company: App Prototyping Barcelona The GoPro Telemetry Extractor Premium app is very simple
to operate. You drag a file to the app, click on one of the data
Price: $299 categories, and choose the output format. There’s a dazzling
array of categories, including GPS, Accelerometer, Gyroscope,
Rating: Exposure Time, ISO, etc., etc.
You can filter data on frequency, time, smoothing, altitude,
Hot: Simple interface; extracts all sensor data; etc. Frequency, for example, lets you create a data point per
output formats; filter capabilities frame. If you want to view the data, that’s possible too, either
in graph format or map view (for GPS). Most graphs offer On/
Not: Off switches for specific data on any axis and the ability to save
it as a PNG image.
The GPS view offers a video of your trajectory overlaid on a

white background, satellite, or map view. n
[107 ]
REVIEWS › ›
Capture One
Venerable image-editing software Capture One Pro is 20!
Version 20, that is, and there’s plenty to celebrate with this major
Pro 20
update. Leading off the many new features is faster color editing
via Capture One Pro 20’s new Basic Color Editor. Compact and
easy to use, this tool lets you click anywhere on an image and
intuitively edit colors via a floating palette with sliders.
Powerful Image-Editing System Capture One Pro 20’s new High Dynamic Range tool provides
Just Got Better precise contrast control, so that you can rescue highlights, open
Review by Michael Corsentino
shadows for increased detail, brighten the lightest parts of an
image, and control black point with one compact tool. With
Capture One Pro 20, noise reduction also sees major improve-
Company: Phase One
ments, resulting in cleaner, more colorful rendering of high-ISO
Price: $299 (perpetual license); $129 images than ever before.
(Capture One Pro for Sony and Fujifilm)

Cropping is now more flexible and intuitive with visible crop-
Rating: ping handles added to the Crop tool. Modifier keys now allow
you to quickly crop from the center of an image, rotate the
Hot: Faster color editing; improved HDR and
cropping tools; cleaner, high-ISO rendering; cropping frame, and lock the cropping aspect ratio. The most
new keyboard shortcuts; editing automa-
tion; nondestructive layer copies frequently used tools can now be pinned to the top of the tool
palette, as needed, for faster access.
Not:
[108 ]
› › REVIEWS
Color accuracy and detail rendering for DNG files captured by

drones, smart phones, and cameras have also been improved.
Capture One Pro 20 continues to improve layer functionality
“ Leading off the many new with additional speed and a new layer copy function. Specific
layers can now be nondestructively copied from one image to
features is faster color editing another without replacing existing layers.
via Capture One Pro 20’s new Additional workflow enhancements, such as the new menu
option, Select Next When>Star Rated or Color Tagged, dramati-
Basic Color Editor. Compact cally increase editing speed. Add to that Capture One’s usual
and easy to use, this tool lets top-to-bottom interface tweaks, under-the-hood speed boosts,
and a host of new keyboard shortcuts for full-screen view,
you click anywhere on an image display proof margin, the Direct Color Editor, and Quick Mask
and intuitively edit colors via mode, and you have a more than worthy update.
A perpetual license for Capture One Pro is $299, and up-
a floating palette with sliders.” grades start at $159. Capture One Pro for Sony and Fujifilm is
$129, and monthly subscriptions are available starting at $15.
If you’d like to try Capture One Pro 20, go to their website for
a 30-day free trial. n
[109 ]
REVIEWS › ›
ioSafe 1TB
We all know that harsh environments are risky for storage
media, and many vendors certify their portable drives for sub-
mersion in 30cm deep water for 15 minutes. But if you work in
Solo Hawk more hostile environments, you need something like an ioSafe
Solo Hawk 1TB external SSD from the CRU Data Security Group.
This is a drive that comes with an insurance policy!
The Solo Hawk has a crush-resistant (up to 2,500 lbs) alumi-
Rugged External SSD num shell. It uses HydroSafe technology to waterproof its SSD
for Hazardous Environments
in submersions for up to 30' for 72 hours, and withstands full
Review by Erik Vlietinck immersion in diesel fuel, oils, hydraulic fluids, and more. If you
occasionally photograph in the Sahara or the Antarctic, the Solo
Hawk can handle that too, as it has been designed for continu-
Company: CRU Data Security Group, LLC
ous exposure to UV, blowing sand, blowing dust, rain, salt fog,
Price: $389 ice, and freezing rain. Finally, it comes with two years of the
ioSafe Data Recovery Service (five years optional) by simply reg-
Rating: istering the Hawk online.
To test it, I tightened a 33' rope around the Solo Hawk and
Hot: Redefines the word “rugged” for external
drives; two-year data insurance included; flung it off one of the Port of Antwerp’s docks. I could see the
can be used in really hazardous and hostile Hawk quickly disappear in the oily sludge. After half an hour
environments; looks great

in the freezing cold, I’d had enough, and retrieved the drive.
Not: When I plugged the Solo Hawk into my Mac, it mounted as if
nothing had happened!
Over the next couple of days, I did some other fun stuff, and
was amazed at how unbreakable the Solo Hawk seems to be.
It isn’t slow either, with a healthy write speed of 512MB/s and
read speed of 560MB/s. n
[110 ]
› › REVIEWS
Plugable
Plugable has just released its mobile Thunderbolt 3 NVMe 1 TB
drive, and I took it for a spin. Plugable’s drive is about half the
length of an iPhone and almost two iPhones thick. It’s made of
Thunderbolt 3 aluminum, looks rock solid, and has a generous number of cooling
ribs on three sides. The smooth metal backside is home to a very
NVme
short, integrated 20cm Thunderbolt 3 cable.
The Thunderbolt 3 NVme is available in 1-TB and 2-TB capaci-
ties (I received the 1-TB version). The only accessory in the box
is a velvet pouch that sits tightly around the body of the drive,
External SSD Drive but leaves the cable exposed. I’m not a huge fan of integrated
cables, certainly not on mobile drives that are often tossed into
Review by Erik Vlietinck
a bag or case and can easily end up snatched if you’re not care-
ful. But perhaps the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. For
instance, you can’t forget to take one with you when leaving for
Company: Plugable an important job, nor can you mistake a 10 GB/s, USB-C cable for
a 40-GB/s Thunderbolt 3 one.
Price: $299 (1TB); $499 (2TB) I ran Blackmagic Design’s Disk Speed Test app and was pleas-
antly surprised by the Plugable’s performance with a write speed
Rating:
of 1636 MB/s and read speed of 2266 MB/s. The benefits of
Hot: Speed; quality of build; price such monster speeds immediately became obvious when I tried
uploading a couple of 10-minute video clips to the Plugable and
Not: Cable is integrated and a little short rendering out the clips, with a blur and ColorSynth effect, in Final
Cut Pro X. Final Cut finished rendering about three times as fast as
when the clip resided on the iMac’s built-in Fusion disk.
There appears to be no throttling going on so, although higher

temperatures may shorten the lifespan of the unit a bit, you won’t
see a rendering, offload, or backup job slowing down to a frac-
tion of the initial speed when the going gets…hot. The Plugable
retails at $299 for the 1 TB model and $499 for the 2 TB model. n [111 ]
REVIEWS › ›
Peak Design
What makes a great bag? Durability, functionality, and aesthet-
ics, and that’s pretty much Peak Design’s reputation since they
launched their first crowdfunding campaign back in 2015. They’re
Everyday now the most successful crowdfunded company in the world.

Peak Design recently released their next generation of Everyday
Bags V2
bags with sustainable fabrics, improved designs, and new colors
and carry styles. The new bag styles are: the overhauled Every-
day Tote; radical, new Everyday Totepack; Everyday Backpack Zip;
and 3L Everyday Sling. The previous designs have received a few
Good Looking Bags with improvements, too, such as new exterior ultra-abrasion-resistant
Function & Durability zippers, and 100% recyclable outer fabric.
Review by Gilmar Smith
I’ve been a fan since the time they released their first bag, and
am now the proud owner of three different bags. What I like
about Peak Design bags is their overall design and functionality.
One of my favorite features is the FlexFold divider, which, unlike
Company: Peak Design any other bag divider, lets you easily stack your gear safely to take
advantage of every inch of the bag.
Price: Starting at $149
Recently, I was in the market for a small bag to take with me on
Rating: weekend adventures with my kids. It had to be small enough for
me to walk around with all day comfortably, and still easily store
Hot: Durable; sustainable; beautiful aesthetics my camera, an extra lens, batteries, remote, and other personal
items, such as my wallet, car keys, EpiPen, and phone. I decided
Not:
to go with the Peak Design 6L Everyday Sling V2. I’m impressed
by how small, comfortable, and beautiful it is; and it still holds my
Nikon Z7, a small lens, and personal items.
Besides the 6L Everyday Sling, I own a 20L Everyday Backpack,
and a 13L Everyday Messenger Bag. With these two bags, I can
carry my laptop and camera gear comfortably and in style. n
[112 ]
› › REVIEWS
Loupedeck CT
The Loupedeck CT is a controller with a touch screen, wheel, dials,
and buttons, and it carries the promise of being usable with mul-
tiple applications. The CT comes with a braided nylon USB-C-
type cable with an angled connector, and it communicates with
Control Surface for Multiple Apps Windows 10 or macOS 10.13 through an editing/driver app. The
Review by Erik Vlietinck CT comes with a large number of preset workspaces, most of
which are Adobe-oriented.
The USB-powered device has an anodized aluminum top with
six dial caps that have press-functionality; eight round, heavy-duty
Company: Loupedeck
buttons; 12 square buttons; a touch screen, and a touch-sensitive
Price: $549 wheel. Except for the dials, everything on the top side is illuminated
with RGB LED backlights. Four rubber feet and a weight of about
Rating: 5 300 grams keep the Loupedeck CT in place on your desk. The
device has 8 GB of built-in memory, which shows up as an external
Hot: Mobile; sturdy; complete set of
controls; user-friendly; beautiful disk drive, to store and transfer files and settings between different
design; fully customizable hosts. There’s also a Bluetooth chip inside. Practically everything
can be fully customized. As with other Loupedeck devices, you
Not:
just launch the app with which you want to work and the controls
will automatically switch to the right preset. I tested it with Final
Cut Pro X and tried all of the available controls. The Edit mode
worked very well, with almost all offering full control from the
CT. In Color mode, the device lets you control Final Cut’s built-in
color wheels in full, and it manipulates curves with its wheel-as-
a-mouse feature. Changing points on a curve was easy, although
you’ll be using a regular mouse in some cases as well as the CT.

My experience shows that the Loupedeck CT has a lot of
potential to be the control surface of choice for multiple apps,
offering the ability to switch between them. And, you can take it
with you on the road. n [113 ]
R E V I EWS › ›
Adobe Photoshop
Classroom in a Book
(2020 Release)
While the latest version of this Classroom in a Book can be used
Andrew Faulkner & Conrad Chavez
as a reference, it’s actually project-based. This is a fabulous book
Review by Peter Bauer
for someone new to Photoshop or for someone who’s upgrading
from a version of Photoshop more than a few years old. If you’ve
Publisher: Adobe Press

been keeping up to date with the Creative Cloud, this might be a
rather expensive way to learn the latest features; however, if you
Pages: 416
find that you do the same things in Photoshop the same way,
Price: $47.99 (Kindle), $59.99 (paperback) week after week, employing the same steps that you’ve been
Rating: using for a decade or so, maybe it’s time to see those Photoshop
features that you haven’t noticed before. In addition to the proj-

ects in each chapter, you’ll find review questions and even special
tips from Adobe Evangelist extraordinaire Julieanne Kost. Work
files are available online for each chapter.
[114 ]
› › R E V I EWS
10 Websites That Pay

For Your Pictures in 2020
More and more of us are turning to stock photography as an
Abhishek Saraswat
additional income stream. The photos we take for fun, those a
Review by Peter Bauer
client doesn’t select, images collected on various hard drives over
the years—all might be of use to someone else, somewhere,
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services

sometime, and you might earn money from them. Selling your
images through a stock photography company could generate
Pages: 29
substantial additional income with very little work. But how do
Price: $2.99 (Kindle) you get started? This book gives you basic contact information
Rating: for 10 companies that will make your photos available to their
clients and pay you royalties every time somebody uses one of
them; but, it’s not really as simple as this author makes it seem.
The book doesn’t discuss issues such as image quality, noise, sub-
ject matter, or even basic model releases, things you must know
to be successful in the world of stock photography. n
[115 ]
COLINSMITH
> Photoshop Tips
BOOST YOUR PRODUCTIVITY & CREATIVITY
Hi, everyone! This issue, I decided to share an old-school “aha” group of tips: the tips that make you
say, “Aha!” and then wonder why you didn’t realize these things before. Don’t feel bad; Photoshop is
such an expansive program, we’re all discovering new things all the time. I hope this column helps you
discover something new. If it does, you might consider going to some back issues to see what else
you may have missed.
PRESENTATION MODE &

TABBING THROUGH DOCUMENTS
If you don’t already know about presentation mode, don’t Your libraries can become that catchall place for stuff you
worry, it’s extremely easy to activate. Simply press the F use or don’t use. The good news (and our tip) is that these
key twice and you get a nice full-screen image floating on libraries are searchable. At the top of the Libraries panel is a
a black background, with all the panels and toolbars hid- search field. At the far right of the field is a down-pointing
den. This is a great way to present your work to a client, or arrow. Click the arrow and you can target your search to the
even to a group of people (if you’re that Photoshop-nerdy, Current Library, All Libraries, and even to find new items on
which I am). Now here’s the thing: What if you have mul- Adobe Stock that you can sync.
tiple images open and want to move between documents
without leaving that beautiful presentation mode? Press FILLING TEXT WITH PHOTOS
Ctrl-Tab and it will move to the next image. If you add the A fun thing to do in Photoshop is to fill text with images. It
Shift key (Shift-Ctrl-Tab), it will go to the previous docu- looks so cool and it’s super easy to do. Some people like to
ment. To exit presentation mode, press the F key again, or fill whole words, while others just fill individual characters.
the Escape key. The traditional way is to drop the image onto a layer above
the type layer, hold down the Option (PC: Alt) key, and click
FINDING THE RIGHT NEEDLE on the line between the two layers in the Layers panel. This
IN THE HAYSTACK creates a clipping group and works well; however, there’s a
In Photoshop, you can create multiple asset libraries in newer way to do this by using frames.
the Libraries panel (Window>Libraries), which is great Create your type, Right-click on it in the Layers panel,
for working on projects, and choose Convert to Frame. Name your frame, and click
client tasks, or anything OK. Now you can drag any photo or image into the frame
that you may reuse all the from another layer, another open document, the Libraries
time. You can also sync pho- panel, or your desktop, and it will fill the text. Why is this
tos from Adobe Stock, as better? If you have lots of layers, the type and the image
well as your own images. appear on the same layer, so it’s much easier to manage,
The great thing about especially if you want to change the photos. All you need
libraries is that all these to do is drag in a different image onto the layer from either
synced assets will be avail- the Libraries panel or from your desktop, and it replaces the
able to you wherever you existing one. (Note: Dragging an image from another open
log into your CC account. document or layer will not replace an image in a frame.)
The downside? They can
quickly become like that junk WHY I USE GRAY RATHER THAN BRUSH
drawer in your kitchen. You OPACITY FOR PAINTING ON MASKS
know the one; it’s where all When working with masks, you use shades of gray to paint
those plastic bags, extra bat- with different transparencies: black will completely hide a
teries, expired coupons, and layer (100%), white will completely reveal it (0%), 50% gray
[116 ] all kinds of other stuff live. will make it 50% opaque, 20% gray is 20% opaque, etc.
› › PHOTOSHOP TIPS
ALL IMAGES BY COLIN SMITH
(I think you get the point.) One of the things I often do to the shade of gray that appears in the Color Picker when
paint with a different transparency is to click on the Fore- you change the B value.)
ground color to open the Color Picker, and change the B I’ve been asked many times, “Why don’t you just
setting in the HSB section (B is the lightness value). I can change the Opacity of the brush?” Here’s the thing: If you
set the B to the value of transparency I want; for example, were to paint with 40% Opacity, and then paint again,
40% will give me 40% transparency. (Keep in mind that the overlap area will become 80%, making it difficult to
transparency is different from opacity; for example, set- get a smooth blend. If you set the gray color of the brush
ting B to 40% is actually like setting the Brush tool’s Opac- to 60%, it doesn’t matter how many times you overlap
ity to 60% in the Options Bar; setting B to 60% is like a painted area; it will always remain at a transparency of
setting the brush to 40% Opacity. You’ll be able to tell by 60%. Ahh. [117 ]
› › D E PA R T M E N T S
EXPAND YOUR PROPERTIES

This tip is a very basic and practical
one. So much so, that many people
may have missed it.
Whenever you’re using an adjust-
ment layer, such as Curves or Levels,
it will appear in the Properties panel
(Window>Properties). At the default
panel size, you aren’t seeing the
tool at full size. You can click-and-
drag the edge of the panel to make
it larger, which will increase the size
of the tools and make the sliders lon-
ger. This gives you far better control
over the sliders and curves rather than
having them all squashed up.
WHERE DID OBJECT SELECTION GO?

If you’ve updated to Photoshop 2020 and synced your Photoshop will ask if you want to replace that workspace.
presets, you may notice that some tools (especially the Click Yes, and it will override the workspace with the new
new Object Selection tool) aren’t visible in your custom one that has all the tools in the Toolbar.
workspaces. This is because you saved the Toolbar set-
tings when you created those workspaces, and those ADD TYPE WHEN TYPE IS ALREADY THERE
tools didn’t exist back then. The solution is to reset the A really annoying thing in Photoshop is when you already
Toolbar and then resave your workspace so it doesn’t have text in your document, and you click to add some
happen next time. new type, rather than seeing that beautiful new lorem
Right-click on the three dots near the bottom of the ipsum text begging you to input your own text, it selects
Toolbar, and choose Edit Toolbar. A dialog will appear the existing text. Maybe you lock all the type layers in the
with some buttons on the right. Click the one that Layers panel, or add the new text away from the existing
says Restore Defaults, and then click Done. Now go to text, and then reposition it. Wouldn’t it be nice to add it
Window>Workspace>New Workspace, make sure to exactly where you want every time? If you just hold down
choose the Toolbar option, name the workspace exactly the Shift key as you click to add type, it will force a new
the same as the one you’re replacing, and click Save. text layer every time. n
[118 ]
PETERBAUER
> From the Help Desk
ANSWERS TO PHOTOSHOP AND GEAR-RELATED QUESTIONS
In a recent issue of Photoshop User you discussed the importance of image resolution and pixels per
inch. Can you please elaborate?—Quinn
When we use the word “resolution” in the context of Photo graphics for my website! Each image must be 72 pixels per
shop, it can refer to several different concepts: inch (ppi) for a Mac and 96 ppi for a Windows computer!”
• Image resolution is the size of the image’s pixels In a word: “Not!” (Okay, we’ll let a professional make
when printed. a decision about that “cracked” comment, but I’ll explain
the rest.) A photo that measures 1024 x768 pixels appears
• Camera resolution is the specific number of pixels
exactly the same onscreen in Photoshop and on another
captured by your camera.
person’s screen when visiting your website, regardless of
• Monitor resolution is the number of pixels displayed
resolution. A photo measuring 1024x768 pixels at 72 ppi
on your screen.
is 786,432 pixels in total; 1024x768 pixels at 300 ppi is
• Printer resolution does not refer to pixels, but rather also 786,432 pixels. Your monitor and the screens display
the number of ink droplets required to reproduce ing your website show only a certain number of pixels, and
each image pixel on paper or other substrate. It those pixels are the same size, regardless of the image reso
takes quite a few ink droplets to reproduce each lution embedded in the file’s metadata.
image pixel, so a printer’s “resolution” number Let’s now take a closer look at that phrase “pixels per
will be huge compared to an image’s resolution. inch.” That refers to how many image pixels will be printed
(Remember that each pixel in a typical RGB image along each inch of paper (or other substrate). At 300 ppi,
can be any one of millions of colors, and your each image pixel is printed at a size of 1/300" square. At
printer only uses a limited number of inks, so it 72 ppi (not a typical print resolution), each pixel would be
takes lots of very tiny droplets to make your eye printed as a square measuring 1/72" square. (Note: Images
see the pixels’ individual colors.) can also use resolution measured in pixels per centimeter,
In this column, we’ll look primarily at image resolution. abbreviated ppcm.)
The first thing you need to wrap your head around is that The “squareness” of a pixel comes into play primar
“image resolution” refers only to the physical output of ily with images at lower resolutions (smaller ppi values).
an image, whether it be via an inkjet printer, laser printer, Because each pixel is printed as a larger square, some fine
imagesetter, blueprint plotter, or other device. “Image detail in the image can be lost. In addition, those printed
resolution” does not refer to how your image appears on squares line up in a “raster,” a square or rectangle with each
your monitor or screen. It does not refer to how an image pixel perfectly aligned with those above/below and left/right.
appears on a webpage. It does not determine how your Curves and angled lines can look choppy or jagged at lower
image appears in Photoshop. print resolutions. This aspect of resolution, as well as the
“Wait, what? Has Pete finally cracked? Of course I need exceptional status of vector type, may be explored in more
to consider image resolution when preparing photos and detail in a future column. n
[120 ]
Watch What’s Trending on the
KelbyOne Channel!
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Photo Tip Friday Photo Tip Friday
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Learning Light
Designed by Scott Kelby
Learn lighting in the

palm of your hand.
• Made for educators and students
• Designed to teach photography lighting
• Offers a variety of lighting techniques
• Lightweight handheld design
• LED is cool to the touch
• Optional mount for a tripod or stand
• Standard AA batteries included
EDU Price: $89.90
Quickly switch Center column rotates Includes KelbyOne

between daylight to change lighting video training
and tungsten light options for students and
educators
Experiment with various light techniques and effects
Direct Light Diffused Light Fresnel Gobo
See how different light patterns look on your subject Designed by Scott Kelby
The Learning Light is the first educational
lighting device that allows you to experiment
with various lighting techniques without the
need for complex or expensive equipment.
Scott is a photographer, designer, and award-

winning author of more than 80 books, including
The Flash Book, Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It, and
The Digital Photography Book Series. He’s Editor
of Photoshop User magazine, and CEO of the
KelbyOne Online Educational Community.
Split Rembrandt Butterfly Loop
See it in action and order yours at fjwestcott.com/learning-light-by-scott-kelby

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T H E A D O B E® P H O T O S H O P ® “ H O W -T 0 ” M A G A Z I N E › › FE B R UARY 2020

The Perfect You can’t always depend on AI to help

JR Maddox | KelbyOne Member

CLICK THE CODES AND SAVE $10

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Discover the B10 at profoto.com

Images: Adobe Stock; Layout: Jessica Maldonado

©Adobe Stock/Ruslan Solntsev

[022] [092] DESIGNING IN PHOTOSHOP

Log on to KelbyOne’s website:

420 Ninth Ave, NYC

> A Note from Scott

GET YOUR WORK RECOGNIZED!

images are selected from the same portfolio that you

HOW TO CONTACT KELBYONE:

subjects from logo design to animation. He can be reached here.

ARE YOU GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR

Discuss this Issue

NOW LIVE ON KICKSTARTER

around, here in the magazine, we’re focusing on the

Look up! What do you see? Hopefully something worthy

Who’s Who in the KelbyOne Community: A Tribute to JR Maddox

Who’s Who on the KelbyOne Instructor Team: Ibarionex Perello

4. What do you do in your spare time?

6. What are three things you always

8. What’s the best advice you’ve

9. Who would you recommend some—

10. What’s the one thing you wish

Follow KelbyOne and Scott Kelby on Twitter!

Editing Video and Creating

Travel Photography: Making

Step One: We’ll begin with a simple texture. You

Step Two: Create a new document (File>New)

Step Three: Drag the downloaded texture file

Step Four: Once the texture is in place. Go under

Step Five: Click on the Add a Layer Style icon

double-click the far right white color stop below

Step Six: In the Gradient Overlay

Step Seven: In the Layer Style dia-

Step Eight: Click back on Bevel &

in the design (for the Highlight Mode

Step Nine: Next let’s create some text. Click

Step 10: Go to the Layers panel, Right-click

Step 11: Now we’re going to customize the

the control handles; selected handles will be

Step 12: Continue to do the same

Step 13: Choose Bevel & Emboss

Step 14: Go back to the Bevel &

Mode a slightly brighter pink like the

Step 15: In the Layer Style dialog, acti-

Step 16: Next, we want to apply a

image and drag, to manually position

Step 17: Activate Inner Glow. Again,

Step 18: Finally, activate Outer

Step 19: Now that we have the

layer is active in the Layers panel

Step 20: Go to the B in the first

Step 21: Now you can introduce

shape of the A, and dragged them

Step 25: Here are a couple quick

Step 26: Hold down the Command

Step 28: Now press Delete (PC: Backspace). What

to Blur, and choose Gaussian Blur. Set the Radius

Step 29: Go to the layer style menu

4. What do you do in your spare time?

6. What are three things you always

8. What’s the best advice you’ve

9. Who would you recommend some—

10. What’s the one thing you wish

Step Three: Go to Image>Adjust