Quick and effective method to remove pesky background shadows

Shadows are a double edged sword

In photography, they can be used strategically to enhance shapes and form or even the overall tone of the image. But at the same time, inconveniently located harsh and harsh shadows can just about destroy an otherwise beautiful photograph.

Some of the photos you may not want in your shot are those that appear on the background behind your subject. This can occur commonly in studio or other indoor settings.

But fear not, there is a fairly easy way to correct it with the use of Photoshop or most other common editing tools. (This works especially well with either black or white backdrops but may work adequately with other really dark or really light colors as well).

Once you’ve opened your photo and decided what shadows much be removed, select your Dodge/Burn tool in Photoshop or the equivalent in another program.

If you’re working with a white (or really light backdrop), you’ll want to use the dodge tool. The reverse is true if you’re image has a black (or really dark) backdrop.

You may need to adjust the exposure and brush size. It is best to start out with a relatively low exposure such as 25% too see how things look. You can always adjust it to a higher or lower level if need be.

Use the tool to cover over the shadowy part of the background that you want to remove and that’s really all there is to it.

It may take some trial and error but you’ll get there.

 

Three ways to bring out the color in your photos

As a photographer, I know that a lot of people are looking for ways to bring out the color in their shots to make their digital photos pop. Here are a few tips along with sample shots.

Making color pop

1. Make use of the saturation effect

- Use your photo editing software’s saturation tools to increase the saturation for more vivid colors. Be careful not to go overboard though.

2. Utilize the dodge/burn tool

- Most likely, your chosen editing software will allow you to either burn (darken) or dodge (lighten) specific areas of your photo. This can really help with bringing out the color in skies and nature scenes as well as washed out clothing or body art.

3. Go with a spot color effect

- Here, you take out the color in a photo and essentially make it black and white with the exception of the area in which you want to showcase a specific color. This takes a little work but is well worth it. My e-book “Making Beauty Photography” has a deluxe edition with links to video tutorial on several of these techniques.

Another useful online photo editing option

Anyone who does even basic work with photography probably realizes that Adobe Photoshop is the industry standard when it comes to photo editing. However, it can be a bit cumbersome and also tends to be quite pricey. This being the case, some people have opted to use online photo editing tools to do the job when possible.

A while back I mentioned several interesting and effective options for working with your images that can be used as an alternative to the aforementioned Photoshop. However, I just randomly came across another the other days and decided to test it out.

FotoFlexer

This application can be found at www.fotoflexer.com and while it isn’t free, it does offer a 30 day free trial. If you decide to continue to use it, the cost is less than $4.00 per month which seems pretty manageable compared to some of the other options out there.

Pros:

- Fairly user friendly layout.

- Allows importing images from a number of popular sites like Facebook, Picasa and Flickr for example.

- Offers quick fixes for basic problems like the redeye effect.

- Allows for various effects, the inclusion of text, animations, work with layers and more.

Cons:

- Grabbing images from other sites sometimes fails to work properly.

- Some elements are a bit simplistic.

Check it out for yourself if you like.

Editing disasters – what not to do to your photos

As a general rule…

every photographer edits his or her photos to some extent. Sure once in a while a shot here or there will turn out just fine from the start  but that’s pretty rare. And while most serious photographers use a program like Photoshop to make adjustments to their photos, the tips below will apply to just about every possible editing tool.

Let’s think of it this way:

Hollywood celebrities and those with substantial incomes who spend a lot of time in the spotlight sometimes get a little “work done” aka plastic surgery. However, sometimes it’s done well and other times it can be a horrific disaster. The same can be said for these two approaches to re-working your images.

1. Exposure

Say you take a picture you love but notice that the image you bring up on your computer screen is darker than you had hoped. What’s a shutterbug to do? – why, bump up the exposure of course. Not so fast! While this is an easy and effective technique, you have to be careful. If you turn up the exposure too far, the washed out effect that will result can look unappealing and amateurish. Unless you are going for an intensely blown out scene intentionally for artistic purposes, this is a very bad idea.

Blown out shot from excessively high exposure.

A well exposed photo from my work with Three Rivers Creative Arts.

2. Saturation

Having the pleasure of working with a number of alternative models, I know that photographers like myself love to showcase subjects with colorful hair or body art. When attempting to do this, or to enhance colors in less than vibrant skin, muted sunsets, animal coats or  anything else, you might opt to increase the saturation. Again, good idea, but keep it to a minimum. While a little saturation can add some wonderful coloration, too much can actually bring out the noise in a shot, redden this skin too much in people and simply make things look less realistic.

Unrealistic looking shot resulting from excess saturation. 

One of my well saturated shots from a shoot for Twisted Angels.

The bottom line:

No matter what the subject matter might be, the same rules apply – by all means kick the exposure and saturation up a notch, but be careful about how much.

A few easy tools for artists (and everyone else)

Most of us know about the ability to make a screen capture from the scene on your computer monitor. It’s not new technology by any means. However, have you ever wanted to capture motion instead of just a still shot? Well, it is actually simpler than you might think.

Just think of the possibilities.

Two examples include:

1. Tutorials -

If you create tutorials on anything, perhaps the use of a program like Photoshop, a visual/video approach can be of a major benefit to your audience.

2. Personal reference -

Perhaps you don’t have the need or ability to create an action in the aforementioned Photoshop, or you are working on a project that you hope to duplicate in the future, the use of  a motion/video capturing application can be a big help.

So without further ado, here are some suggestions for free options you can find with a quick Google search to take advantage of this technology:

Sceencast-O-Matic 

It’s simple to use, shows the mouse movement on the screen perfectly and only records the sound if you want it to. You can export files in  various formats as well.

HyperCam 

This tool is highly user friendly as well. And even the free version doesn’t contain any watermarking.

Easy and effective method of working with a green or blue screen

In general, I’m not a big fan of changing the backgrounds in photos. In most cases, it is a rather complex undertaking and I honestly don’t believe it is worth the time or effort. But, with that being said, there is an exception to every rule, even this one.

Start with a green or blue screen

As opposed to attempting to work with a busy background, staring out with either a green (or the less common blue) screen will make things a lot more manageable. While both of these tools are specifically designed to allow for background adjustments, you should still be careful to avoid subjects with colors that are very close to those of the screen itself.

 

A couple against a basic green screen.

 

Using Adobe Photoshop (if you use another editing application, you will need to determine if you have a similar tool available), select the magic eraser tool and click anywhere in the background to remove it. Note that on some occasions, you may have to clean up any background color that does not get erased on the first attempt.

The magic eraser icon.

 

After removing the background.

 

Last but not least, open the photo you want to use as your new background. Simply drag your adjusted image over onto your new background and there you have it!

 

Finished result.

 

Baggy eyes – begone (from my photos) in two simple steps

When working with portraits or any type of photos with close-ups on people’s faces, you will very likely run into the dreaded bags under the eyes issue.

The truth is, no matter what our age may be or how beautiful a person we might be, bags under the eyes are pretty much a natural coinsurance for just about everyone, at least from time to time.

So, I offer you two simple ways to get rid of these unsightly sacks once and for all, at least in your photos anyway.

Before and After

 

What you’ll need:

Photoshop or any photo editing application that has the tools specified below.

Method 1 – Cloning

Take a small selection form around the eye are and clone it using the clone stamp tool or equivalent. Then proceed to fill in the dark, baggy area with the cloned colors. This works well with people of any skin tone or ethnicity.

Method 2 – Dodge

While this method isn’t generally effective with those who have darker skin tones, it works great for those with lighter ones. Use the dodge tool (or again an equivalent) to cover over the dark, baggy areas. Be sure to set the tool’s exposure to a fairly low percentage so as to avoid the area turning out to white.

There you go, no more bags, at least not in your images.

How to convert images to Black and White effectively in Photoshop CS5

Method 1

The fastest method, can also use the shortcut Command+Shift+U on macs, and Control+Shift+U on PC’s

Step 1

Select your layer, then navigate to Image>Mode>Grayscale

Step 2

When prompted, select the discard button. We can always use command+z to undo any steps, so don’t worry.

Method 2

Step 1

By navigating to Layer>New Adjustment Layer> Hue/Saturation you can change the image to black and white while maintaining control over values. This method is also referred to as “nondestructive” because it can be reversed at any time (as long as it’s saved as a PSD).

Step 2

With the Hue/Saturation sliders on hand, lowering saturation, hue, and lightness values can give you a customizable black and white image.

Tutorial provided by CJ, a talented Photoshop enthusiast and intern for Three Rivers Creative Arts .