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Everything that’s dark in your image has
low saturation, and everything that’s lighter
has lots of saturation. As you can see in this
example, the boxing gloves on the background
image are oversaturated. We can fix it by adding
a Hue/Saturation layer above the Background
layer and reducing the Saturation of the Reds.
- NEGATIVE CHECK LAYER
Negative check layers are used to clean up small details, doing local
dodging and burning, and to see skin-texture issues. Keep in mind that
the image values are inverse, so the shadows appear as white and the
highlights appear as black on a negative check layer.
To create a negative check layer, add a Curves adjustment layer
(Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Curves). Then invert the direction of
the curve in the Properties panel by dragging the bottom-left point to
the top, and the top-right point to the bottom. Then add a blank layer
at the top of the layer stack, press Shift-Delete (PC: Shift-Backspace)
for the Fill dialog, select 50% Gray from the Contents drop-down
menu, and click OK. Set this layer’s blending mode to Color.
When working with the Clone Stamp (S) or Spot Healing Brush (J)
tools, make sure to turn on the Sample All Layers checkbox in the
Options Bar. Also, remember to constantly switch the visibility of the
negative check layer off and on to see your progress.
- CONTRAST CHECK LAYER
The contrast check layer is simply a Curves adjustment layer
(Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Curves) that’s set to an S shape and
used as a temporary adjustment to spot any image contrast issues.
- BLUR MASK EDGES
Whenever you’re working on composite images, a good practice is
to check if the edges of the layers you’re putting together look natural.
Having edges that are too sharp can be a big giveaway. You can fix this
by simply blurring the edges of your mask with the Blur tool.
- ADDING NOISE
Another great practice when creating composites is to match the
amount of noise between the images you’re putting together. Here’s
how: Add a blank layer, press Shift-Delete (PC: Shift-Backspace)
to access the Fill dialog, select 50% Gray in the Contents drop-
down menu, and click OK. Set the layer blending mode to Overlay,
and clip it to the layer to which you’re adding noise.
Now, go to Filter>Convert for Smart Filters, followed by Filter>
Noise>Add Noise. Turn on Monochromatic, select the Amount of noise
that better matches the other images in your composite, and click OK.
Add a little blur to the noise layer by going to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur
and adjusting the blur Radius to match all the images in the composite.
- FINAL TOUCHES TO A COMPOSITE
Textures, light leaks, gradient maps, flares, global color adjustments,
and color lookup tables are a great way to bring composite elements
together. So the next time you’re compositing, make sure to add at least
one of these elements as a final touch!
- THRESHOLD CHECK LAYER
A Threshold adjustment layer (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Threshold)
allows you to identify the brightest and darkest pixels and how the light
behaves throughout an image. As a helper layer, it can be used to deter-
mine the direction of light on an image to later match it when creating a
composite. It can also be used to match bright values on separate lay-
ers in a composite. To use it, simply drag the slider below the histogram
in the Properties panel (Window>Properties): Drag to the right to see
the brightest pixels and to the left to see the darkest pixels of an image.
- SOLAR CHECK LAYER
This is a wonderful technique to spot details on an image that could
easily be missed by the naked eye, such as flyaway hairs, sensor
dust spots, lint, etc. It also serves as a visual aid to see the light
levels on an image.
To create a solar check layer, add a Curves adjustment layer
(Layer >New Adjustment Layer>Curves). In the Properties panel
(Window>Properties), click to add four points along the curve and then
drag the points up and down to their extremes to get two humps going
up and two humps going down. You should now be able to easily see
flyaways, lint, light behavior, and spots in the background.
Now, look at the improvement we’ve made in this composite image
using luminosity, color, and saturation check layers.
ALL IMAGES THIS SPREAD BY GILMAR SMITH EXCEPT WHERE NOTED
