> PHOTOSHOP USER>^ JULY 2017[ 46 ]
That’s why I’m so thrilled about my article this issue. It’s
about my all-time favorite tool in Photoshop: Color Range.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m a lazy Photoshop
user, especially when it comes to masking. I hate creating
masks by hand. It just takes way too long. You have to
create a mask, make sure you’re painting with the right
color, and then take the time to ensure your mask edges
match up with whatever you’re masking in the photo-
graph. You also need to make sure that the brushstrokes
you created while painting the mask aren’t visible, etc. Is
anyone else exhausted yet? I know I am. I’ve already lost
count of how many steps that would take.
What if there was a tool that literally eliminates the
need to create freehand masks? Wouldn’t that save us
loads of time? Thankfully, the folks over at Adobe agree,
and they gave us a miracle tool that does just this.
Color Range is an incredibly powerful tool that will
make intricate selections based on many different factors.
You can choose to have it create a mask based on a spe-
cific color, highlights, shadows, or midtones. But my favor-
ite way to use Color Range is to tell it to select skin tones
(more on that later).
At this point, your ears should be perking up and you
should be sitting a little straighter in your chair to read on
through the rest of this article, because I’m about to teach
you something that has the potential to decrease (by about
90%) your need to create hand-drawn masks. Here we go.TOUR OF THE COLOR RANGE DIALOG
To access this awesome tool, go to the Select menu at
the top of Photoshop, then scroll down and choose Color
Range from the menu.
This will bring up the Color Range dialog as shown
here. Let’s take a minute to explore this window a little.SAY GOODBYE TO PAINTING MASKS BY HAND
KRISTINASHERK
Retouching Magic
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“Work smarter, not harder.” Anyone who has watched my KelbyOne courses knows this is my mantra,
and I honestly live by these words. It’s important to not only keep up with the latest gear but it’s also
just as important to spend time growing your knowledge of the software that you already subscribe to
and use on a daily basis. The better you know the software (or hardware) you already own, the easier
you’ll work, and the more proficient you’ll become. You can have all of the newest gear in the world,
but if you don’t know how to use it, you won’t be a good photographer. (Sorry to all those gear heads
out there whose bubble I just busted.)