Here’s a technique for removing unwanted color cast using a targeted Adjustment Layer.

No getting around it…this week’s edition of The Art of Compositing was rough. In a nutshell, there are a small number of students who simply should not be in the class. It’s beyond your current level and you know it. At least you should. As I have stated several times before, this is not a beginning class. Although there are no prerequisites to any of the classes at Tri, you should know when you’re in over your head. I had to continually stop for the same few people, which really affected how much we were able to get through. Now, let me be clear, it’s not the stopping to answer questions that I’m at odds with. I want to teach you guys and want you to get as excited about Photoshop as I am. It’s the constant stopping for the same few people, while the remaining 50 plus students sit and wait. It’s simply not fair and I can tell you it won’t happen again. If the majority are cool with a step or process, we’re moving on. Period. So, if you are reading this and feel as though I’m talking to you, I’m going to make a request. I love that you want to learn and appreciate you taking the time to come out each week. However, I’m going to ask that you give up your computer to one of the other students who may be better able to keep up and ultimately get more out of the class. This is not to say that I don’t want you there trying to learn and better your skills, far from it. Keep coming, but I believe that you would be better served to sit along the aisles and take notes on what I’m doing on the big screen, rather than trying to simultaneously listen and follow along in Photoshop. The concepts are going to get more intricate and if you find yourself lost in week three, it’s only going to get more difficult for you as we continue. Just a thought…

LINKS
Layer Masks in CS4
Clipping Masks in CS4
Upgrade to CS4 from $199.00

The wonderful world of Layers was the topic at hand for week 2 of The Art of Compositing. In addition to manipulating Layers, we blew some minds talking about Smart Objects. Smart Objects are a really fantastic way to maintain the integrity and editability of your elements as you create your own composites. Keep in mind that they are memory intensive. So if you only have 1 Gig of RAM and you are working on a 50 Layer, 30×40″, 300dpi image, it may be time to upgrade to that shiny new Mac. The second half of the class was spent on Blend Modes. Please take the time to go through these on some of your own photos so that you have a firm grasp of how they work. Next week, Layer Masks and Adjustment Layers…Sweet!

Someone (I don’t remember who) didn’t believe that the Annie Leibovitz photo below of Helen Mirren and Judi Dench was a composite.



Well, here’s the info, straight from Annie’s wonderful book At Work. “The picture of Hellen Mirren and Judi Dench in the car was made in two different places. It was fun directing Judi Dench to act like she was talking to someone who wasn’t actually there. She was saying, “You bitch. How could you have done this to me? Why did you do that to me?” And she had that look. If we had been using film, we would have to stitch two frames together, but since we were shooting digitally, we built the final picture in the computer.” I love Annie’s work. Say what you want, she’s an amazing artist.

LINKS
Erwin Olaf
Erik Johannson
Calvin Hollywood

This week in Photoshop for Photographers, we took a look at brushes and actions. Specifically, the basics of how to create them and how to save and share them. Mastering both of these tools can dramatically change not only the way you use Photoshop, but also the quality of the work you are able to produce. Using custom brushes really opens up the types of visual effects you are able to achieve. Grunge brushes, natural media brushes, patterns and flourishes all can add a new texture and depth to your Photoshop work. If you find yourself making the same types of adjustments to your photos, actions can save you a ton of time, especially with large numbers of images. Or, if you don’t want to make your own, consider purchasing a set of actions like the Totally Rad! Actions from Doug Boutwell. The range of effects in TR!A is awesome and Boutwell & Co. have gone the extra mile to create actions that make sense when you’d like to tweak or adjust them. But, more on that in an upcoming post.

In addition to actions, we talked a little about plugins, specifically the fantastic suite from Nik Software. With the exception of Imagenomic Noiseware, the Nik plugins are the only ones I really use, and for good reason. Color Efex, for example, delivers an extremely diverse range of effects, from traditional color correction, cross processing and filters, to more artistic effects such as Glamour Glow, Indian Summer or the Color Stylizer. Each tool provides several customization options, allowing you to tweak the settings so your effects never look “canned”.

One of the other Nik plugins I use quite a lot is Sharpener Pro. I only use it once, and typically towards the end, if not the last step in my process. Sharpener Pro uses something Nik calls U Point technology, which allows you to “precisely control sharpness and detail selectively within an image without the need for complicated selections or layer masks.” The end result is a more natural and detailed sharpen that is simply not possible with Photoshop’s Unsharp Mask.
Take a look at the links below to dive into the world of custom brushes and actions. You can also surf over to Nik Software and grab demo versions of all of their plugins and try them out for yourself. If you decide to pick them up, enter the coupon code “NIKPSS” and save yourself 15%.

That’s about it for this week’s wrap up. Don’t forget to leave your tutorial ideas in the comments below. Or just comment to say hi. Now, just do the work!

UPDATE – There’s a great article on making your own brushes in Photoshop on BittBox. Read it HERE.

LINKS

Brushes
Brush King
Brusheezy
Q Brushes
In Obscuro
Deviant Art

Actions
Totally Rad! Actions
124+ Free Photoshop Actions to Boost Your Designs
60 Photoshop Actions for Photo Touch-Ups and Enhancements
Browse actions on Deviant Art

Plugins
Imagenomic Noiseware
Nik Software