Paradisal* Resources
Nº ONE: Removing a color cast from your images
Getting rid of an extreme colour cast can be quite a daunting task, but with a couple of easy steps you can actually fix your photos in no time. The first step is ensuring your file is in RGB (Image>Mode>RGB Color). The way in which we're going to adjust your image will only work RGB. Next, in your select Image>Adjustments>Match Color, turn on the Neutralize checkbox and then play with the Fade setting to control the strength of the color correction that you will be applying. Unfortunately like all good tips, this won't work with every image, but it will allow you to save a fair amount of photos that were destined to be tossed.
Nº TWO: Recovering and using the original shadow from an image
You've just been given a product shot, the lighting is perfect, the colour is great and there is even a reflection under the image. But your client has just decided they want the item to appear on a coloured background as opposed to the white. Most people would simply clip the product and create a fake, poorly feathered shadow. Well, fear not, there is a quick and easy way to recover and use the original shadow. Step 1: First clip out the product using the pen tool in Adobe Photoshop. Once you have the completed path, save it. Now, make a selection from the path by clicking Command and the path thumbnail. Step2: In your layers palette, duplicate the layer from the selection by pressing Command J. This will give you a transparent layer of the product. Step 3: To remove the shadow from the photo, we must now go into the Channels palette and select the channel that shows the most shadow detail. Now duplicate the channel by dragging it down to the Create New Channel icon, and rename it Drop Shadow. Step 5: To isolate the shadow, go back into your original clipping path, and make the selection with you're only your Drop Shadow channel visible. In the Drop Shadow Channel, fill the selection with white. Step 6: You might notice a slight line where the edge of the product used to be, go ahead and clean that up so all you have is the actual reflection/shadow. Slightly adjust the levels so the reflection or shadow is a little darker. Step 7: All you have to do now is Command click your Drop Shadow Channel to create the selection. Go back to your layers palette, create a new layer, invert the selection and fill it up. You may want to set that layer to Multiply as well. Step 8: Hide your original Background layer and you'll see the new, transparent shadow layer, better yet, create and fill an underlying layer with a colour to see the finished product. Once you've completed these 8 easy steps you should have a great looking product shot and one very happy client.
Nº THREE: Changing the Color of an object
The Color Replacement tool (found with the paint brush tools in Adobe Photoshop CS 3) has to be one of the most under used tools available. It works quite well, yet very few people even know about it. It's an easy way to quickly change one color to another. The first step is to choose a large soft-edged brush, select a new color to replace the existing color, and then set the Limits menu in the Options bar to Discontiguous, change the Mode pop-up menu to Hue and simply paint over the area that you want to change. When you start to paint using the new color, make sure that the crosshair that appears in the center of the brush only touches the color you're looking to change.
Nº FOUR: Photomerge
The photomerge feature in Adobe Photoshop can be used to seamlessly combine multiple images to create a panorama. This feature can be accessed from the Automate menu. You can even refine the composition using tools like rotate, zoom, pan, and set vanishing point.
Nº FIVE: Sharpening
To non-destructively sharpen an image create a copy of your base layer, sharpen the new layer, and then change the layer mode to Luminosity. Try adjusting the Opacity of the layer until you find that you're happy with the results.
Nº SIX: Image Re-sampling
When re-sampling images one can use either Bicubic Smoother or Bicubic Sharper. You can use Bicubic smoother for up sampling and Bicubic sharper for down sampling. You can actually specify which interpolation method is to be used by going to general preferences and setting a default.
Nº SEVEN: Saturation
There is no doubt about it, saturated colors can look great, but at the same time it's very easy to over do it and increase the saturation of an image to unnatural levels. Saturation is probably one of the most overused tools in Adobe Photoshop. As a designer you need to decide where to draw the line, no one can tell you what's been overdone, you need to be your own judge.
Nº EIGHT: Brightness/Contrast
When you find yourself needing to Adjust Exposure or Contrast, It's really tempting to use the attractively named Brightness command to adjust exposure on your images, unfortunately it's rarely the best solution. In order to adjust your images, you're better off using a Curves layer and then adjusting the curve as needed. This allows you to bring out more detail where you want it, without blowing out the highlights, or under exposing the image.