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aren’t lost— likely around 20 px—and click OK. Change the blending
mode from Normal to Overlay in the drop-down menu near the top
left of the Layers panel to create a soft painted effect. If the colors are
too saturated, create a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer (Layer>New
Adjustment Layer>Hue/Saturation) and reduce the Saturation in the
Properties panel (Window>Properties). You can also adjust the layer
Opacity of the blur layer to taste.
- CREATE YOUR OWN PHOTO FILTER
Create your own Instagram-worthy filter by crossing two images.
First, select your favorite, already edited photo that has the aesthetic/
feel you wish to apply
to another image, and
open it in Photoshop.
Next, open the image
you wish to edit
(i.e., apply the filter).
Select Image >Adjust-
ments >Match Color.
Under the Source
drop-down menu,
choose the edited
photo, and adjust
Luminance and Color
Intensity to taste. Voilà! Your image now has a similar look and
feel to the edited image.
- RADIAL BLUR TO ISOLATE SUBJECTS
To ensure subjects really stand out in portraits with potentially dis-
tracting backgrounds, try adding a Radial Blur to the background to
isolate the subjects and add a bit of artistic flair. Go to Select>Subject,
and then press Shift-Command-I (PC: Shift-Ctrl-I) to inverse the
selection so the background is selected in the image. Press Com-
mand-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to copy the background to a new layer. Go to
Filter>Blur>Radial Blur, set the Amount to 10 or higher, and click OK.
Reduce the Opacity of the layer to taste, add a layer mask, and use
the Brush tool (B) with a soft brush set to black to paint away any
unwanted areas on the subject(s).
- QUICKLY CHANGE LANDSCAPE TONES AND COLORS
I often use this trick when I want to reduce neon tones in grass and
leaves. To add a quick color change, create a new layer, switch to the
Brush tool (B), and select a soft, round brush. Click on the Foreground
color swatch to select a desired color, and paint anywhere you wish to
apply a color change. For example, I might paint brown over the neon
greens spilling through trees to add a more fall feel. Next, change the
layer blending mode to Hue or Color. Try both and see which you prefer,
as they will affect the image differently.
- USE THE CROP TOOL TO STRAIGHTEN
HORIZON LINES
There are a couple of easy ways to straighten a crooked horizon in an
image. First, you can use the Ruler tool (nested below the Eyedropper
tool [I] in the Toolbar). Click-and-drag the Ruler tool along the actual
horizon in the image, and then click the Straighten Layer button in the
Options Bar. Photoshop will rotate the image so the area in which
you drew the line is now horizontal. Using this method will leave
transparent areas around the image.
Another slightly easier way to do this is by selecting the Crop tool
(C), and then holding down the Command (PC: Ctrl) key to temporar-
ily activate the Straighten tool in the Options Bar. Draw a straight line
along the horizon in the image, and when you release the mouse button,
Photoshop will automatically rotate the image, and then apply a crop
boundary that will crop out any transparent areas. Just press Enter to
commit the crop. You could also try turning on Content-Aware in the
Options Bar before committing the crop, to have Photoshop try and fill
in those transparent areas instead of cropping them.
- ADD A PAINTERLY EFFECT TO PORTRAITS
To add a coveted painterly effect to your portraits (or any image, really),
begin by copying your Background layer (Command-J [PC: Ctrl-J]).
Go to Filter >Blur>Gaussian Blur, and choose a Radius in which
the image doesn’t have clear details but the shapes and outlines
ALL IMAGES THIS SPREAD BY TRACY SWEENEY
After
Color Inspiration Before
