82 DIGITAL CAMERA^ OCTOBER 2019 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
Focus attention
Draw the viewers’ eye to the desired
part of the image, using four clever
techniques that have their own
ways of highlighting the focal point
James Abbott
James is a professional
photographer who
specialises in landscape
and portraits. He’s an
advanced Photoshop
user and has created
hundreds of tutorials.hotography is all about
showing the world through
your own eyes, irrespective
of subject. Of course, focal
length and exposure both
play important roles in how images will look,
and that’s even before we bring light into
the equation. But even with the most
dynamic composition possible, there are
still ways you can make the focal point
more prominent during post processing.
In this shot of the most photographed
tree in the UK – the lone tree at Llyn Padarn
in Snowdonia – the tree is the clear focal
point and is composed according to the
‘rule of thirds’. The only thing is, it’s a little
lost in such a wide landscape-format shot.
The four techniques we’re covering are
all completely different, but what they do
share in common is that they all help to
accentuate the focal point. They can also be
applied together, so the potential for editing
options using these techniques is huge.P
BEFORE
GET THE LOOK1
Add moody toning
Click on the Create New Fill Or
Adjustment Layer icon in the
Layers Panel and select Gradient
Map. Click on the gradient to open the Gradient
Editor, then double-click on the square below
the gradient on the left and select dark brown.
Next, do the same with the box on the right
and select light blue. Set the Blending Mode
to Multiply before creating a Curves
Adjustment Layer to lighten the image.FILE & VIDEO
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