Photo Corrections

Well, rather than go full-tilt into this one, I decided to go with some subtle changes to the pictures that really change the mood and tone of the images. The first one focused on isolating the central flower. Anyone following this blog may recognize it as the center image used a few weeks ago in the collage project. I've since come to love this image, and used am now using a version of this photo on my desktop. Below, you'll find the original and the updated copies:

In the original, the flower is there, but it doesn't really pop. I used Photoshop CS to correct this. The first step was to duplicate the image, creating two layers of the same image. To darken the background, I used a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. I linked this adjustment layer to the lower copy of the flower image and adjusted the lightness down, darkening the layer to be used as the background. Next, I selected the untouched flower image layer. Using the pen tool, I roughly outlined the main flower. From the finished workpath, I created a selection. With this selection I created a layer mask, which I used to hide everything except the main flower. I could just have easily deleted the content outside the flower, but I felt more comfortable leaving that information there, jsut in case I needed it.

Once the flower was isolated, I reselected the layer mask, which I then contracted and feathered. Using this selection, I created another Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. By using this selection, I could ensure that only the main flower would be adjusted in the next steps. In the Hue/Saturation adjustment dialogue, I changed the mode from Master color adjustement to Yellow adjustment, making sure that only the yellow of the flower would be tinted, and then adjusted the levels until I got the red tinge and darkness that I desired.

The final product is an entirely new image. By isolating this flower, we refocus the attention of the image, and by changing the colors and lighting we give the flower a whole new story to tell the world

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This next image is one of the foliage this fall at Caspian Lake in Greensboro (another familiar subject to any frequent readers). Unfortunately, the day was a little dark and overcast when this picture was taken, resulting in a less-than-vibrant portrayal of the beautiful colors and a slightly somber mood, rather than the bright and cheery of the actual day.

To correct this image, I started by using the Select Color option in the Select menu. Using this, I selected the darkest gray in the clouds. This created a selection that only included the gray-tones of the sky and water, leaving the hills and trees alone.

Using this selection, I created a Color Balance adjustment layer. In this dialogue, you can adjust three sliders, each affecting a different set of two colors each: Cyan-Red, Magenta-Green and Yellow-Blue. You also have control over what aspects of the image are touched: Shadows, Midtones and Highlights. By carefully tweaking the cyan and blue levels of each of these three aspects, I was able to create a cheery blue sky where once there was gray. Unfortunately, this left the water wanting, having taken only parts of the gray out there and leaving it splotchy. To correct this, I used a rectangular marquee to select the water areas and gave the layer mask on the adjustment layer a healthy Gausian blur. By doing this, I essentially leveled out the highs and lows on the layer mask, removing the jagged and splotchy look, making it feel more natural.

Now, once I had finished with the water and sky, I noticed that the hills felt a bit dull. These corrections were accomplished by reselecting the layer mask for the sky, inverting the selection (essentially selecting the hills and trees) and creating a Selective Color adjustment layer. This adjustment tool allows you to select different color aspects of your image (the blues, reds, yellows, neutrals, blacks, magentas, cyans, whites and greens) and adjust the color tones in much the same way that the Color Balance works, except that each color slider is independent. By manipulating these levels, I was able to reawaken the foliage colors in the hills.

The examples above used some mid-level steps, but each effect could have been achieved in completely different ways. For example, had I not wanted to add the red to the flower image, I could have simply used the original selection and darkened the surrounding flowers, leaving out several steps. I could also have added the red by using blurred brush strokes and selections.