Special Effects with Photoshop

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Special Effects with Photoshop

Photographs can be enhanced in many ways with Photoshop. Many times the areas of the photo that are touched up can be differentiated from their surrounding areas. You have the tools to create a nice, soft fade from the effect and effect-free areas through masking and there are many ways to achieve this. Before you add an effect to any area of the photo it is useful to add this masking to the selected areas you want to adjust. One method most commonly used is the 'quick mask mode'. It is quick and easy to use and normally produces acceptable results.

Quick masking:

Layer masking: Somewhat more complicated, you can add a layer mask. This permits you to apply any effect gradually from any point in your photo. Follow these steps in Photoshop:

Layer masking: Only a bit more complicated, you can add a layer mask. This lets you to apply any effect gradually from any point in your photo. Follow these steps to achieve this:

1. Choose 'Windows > Layers'.

2. Right click on your layer and pick 'Duplicate layer'.

4. Choose the 'Gradient tool' on the main tool box.

5. Select a gradient style from the top 'Options' bar (linear, radial etc.).

6. Now click on your image on the point you don't want to change, then drag the mouse away to the point where you want the full effect to take place. The effect will be applied gradually more and more along this line you've now create.

7. Finally, go back onto your original background layer and apply any effect you want. This will apply the effect in a soft, gradual way. Use opacity to turn the effect down to less than full strength if you want.

Lens-like effects: Using the layer masking described above, you can apply 'Gaussian blur' which will make the selected areas appear soft-focused, a bit like if you had used a large-aperture lens. With 'Curves' you can make your corners darker than the center, replicating the lens effect called vignetting. Technically, vignetting is considered a lens dysfunction, but subjectively it can add an extra feeling to your photo, a kind of frame that will have a 'sucking' effect, bringing more attention into the centre of your photo. You can also just lower the contrast and/or colour-saturation around your main subject, helping to separate it from the background clutter. There's many other options, be creative!

Soft glow effect: Creates a 'romantic' look for portraits. Here's what you have to do:

1. Duplicate layer.

2. Apply 'Gaussian blur' to the new (top) layer. Make it blurry, but leave a little detail.

3. Play around with the blend modes and opacity till reaching desired effect:

'Darken' or 'Multiply' blends darkens image details while softening features and adding a halo. Good for soft, expressive shadows.

'Lighten' or 'Screen' blends lightens the image instead. Nice for adding high key or highlight glows.

'Soft Light' and 'Overlay' adds contrast and saturation. Particularly useful for landscapes and still life photos.

Black-and-white-ish: Creates a metallic black-and-white'ish look, great for for documentary work and subdued portraits, and is achieved by setting the contrast high (curves) and color saturation low.

Black-and-white-ish: By setting the contrast high (curves) and color saturation low, you create a metallic black and white'ish look many times seen in documentaries and subdues portraits. Do this through Photoshop's 'layers' to be able to most accurately adjust your setting in place.

One example: To give your image a warm golden-brown colour tone, first make two duplicate layers. Use 'Edit > Fill' to make the first one brown (#963A12) and the second one yellow (#EDC715). Set opacities to 30 and 60% respectively and select the 'Multiply' blending mode for the top (yellow) layer. Tweak it in place to get it exactly like you want. Also try adding a soft glow, as described above.

Micro contrast: This is a really neat trick to enhance your contrast and draw out texture details in your photos. You can even use it when your overall contrast is already maxed out, using all tonal ranges from pure black to pure white. The procedure is similar to the normal 'Unsharpen Mask', but with some special settings. Go to 'Filter > Sharpen > Unsharpen Mask' and set the 'Amount' to around 20-30%, the 'Radius' to 50-100 pixels and zero on the 'Threshold'. You will get a subtle contrast enhancement that, for some pictures at least, works really well.

Using any of the above outline effects can enhance your photos and make them works of art. Knowing when to use them however, and when not to use them is just as important as learning how to use them. When to use special effects in your photos is a matter of personal taste and opinion. Many times less is best, so just make sure not to over-do what you do.

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