Library: Inside Photoshop

By Renée Dustman
Application:
Adobe Photoshop CS2/CS3/CS4/CS5
Operating Systems:
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows
 

The starbursts that the default Star brush tips create often leave something to be desired. Using our technique, which includes two different brush tips, you have complete control over the way your starbursts look.

To create custom starbursts, we’ll:

Choose a brush tip for the foundation of this technique. Set the brush options to customize the starburst. Create a new layer and paint the starburst.

Adding a strategically placed starburst is a good way to draw attention to a shiny area, as shown in Figure A. In Photoshop, you can create starbursts in a few different ways. For example, you can simply use the Brush tool with a Star tip to create a basic starburst. This may be the easiest way, but it isn’t always the best solution. For more creative control, you can paint your own starbursts using two different brush tips. We’ll show you how!

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Control your destiny
Our technique for creating starbursts allows you to create similar accents to those the Star tips create, but better. They’re better because you can size both components that make up a starburst (the rays and center) in any way you want, w

By Renée Dustman
Application:
Adobe Photoshop CS2/CS3/CS4/CS5
Operating Systems:
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows
Photographing people silhouetted by a setting sun isn’t all that hard to do, providing you can get all the elements to line up right. But when you don’t have the time or patience to wait for perfect conditions, go ahead and take the picture anyway. We’ll show you how to turn any image into a romantic silhouette in Photoshop.

To create a silhouette effect in Photoshop, we’ll:

Edit foreground and background elements independently with layer masks. Use fill and adjustment layers to transform a daytime sky into a colorful sunset. Blend together foreground and background elements using a gradient mask and layer blending.

A sunset makes a spectacular backdrop for any image. And the natural silhouettes of people and objects in the foreground add depth and human interest to the composition as well as a sense of mystery. Photographing sunsets, however, can be a lesson in patience. One with deep, rich hues requires the right mix of sun and clouds, multiple shots with varying exposures (bracketing), and perfect timing. Would you like to have more control over your images? We’ll show you how Photoshop has all the elements you need to create the stunning transformation shown in Figure A.

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Note: To work along with us, download the sample image from the URL listed at the beginning of this article. (Images provided by PhotoSpin. Some images modified for educational purposes.)
 

Silhouette the foreground
To create a silhouette in Photoshop, the only requirement is separating the foreground (the couple) from the background (the sky and water), so we can edit them independently. To do so, we’ll create a selection mask around the couple in the foreground.

Select the subject area
There are a number of ways to create a selection around the couple. We’ll use Quick Mask mode because it’s a simple process of painting over the subject area we want to select.

To mask the subject area:

1. Double-click on the Edit In Quick Mask Mode button in the Tools panel to open the Quick Mask Options dialog box.
2. Click the Selected Areas option button (if it isn&rsq

By Renée Dustman
Application:
Adobe Photoshop CS2/CS3/CS4/CS5
Operating Systems:
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

Designing for the seasons is nothing new. Whether it’s summer or winter, each season brings with it new colors, unique layouts, and, of course, relevant text effects. With Photoshop, you can create an icy text effect for any design project without a lot of work.

To help you create a snow and ice text effect, we’ll:

• Create text and take advantage of a Photoshop preset style to speed the process up.
• Combine filters to create the look of snow and ice.
• Add multiple layer styles to add definition to the text.
• Make use of another preset style to really snowball the effect.

Depending on where you live, you probably associate winter with ice and snow and (brr!) freezing cold temperatures. Unless you pack up and move south, what choice do you have but to succumb to the season and embrace it? You can begin by enhancing your images and seasonal layouts with text that exemplifies winter, as we’ve done to the ad shown in Figure A. Thanks to Photoshop, you can create this text effect inside where it’s nice and warm.

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Create a new document according to our specs.
Begin by creating a New Photoshop document by choosing File > New to open the New dialog box. Assign the new document these specifications:

1. Set the image size to 3.5 inches wide by 1.5 inches high and the Resolution to 300 Pixels/Inch.
2. Choose RGB Color from the Color Mode pop-up menu and White from the Background Contents pop-up menu.

When you’re done, click OK to create the new document.

To set the text:

1. Select the Horizontal Type tool and click and drag a text box from the top-left corner of your canvas down to the bottom-right corner. Winter in the resulting text box (or a word of your choosing).

By Amy Courtright
Application:
Adobe Photoshop CS2/CS3/CS4/CS5
Operating Systems:
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

Not every photo will have perfect lighting. When you miss the mark with your camera, turn to Photoshop for repairs.

To add light to dark areas within a trouble image, we’ll:
Convert a copy of the image to grayscale and invert it creating a negative.
Blur our copied image for smooth color transitions and load the image as a selection.
Make a new layer from the loaded selection of our original and make some blending mode changes.
Go over a few techniques you can use to fine-you’re your image for optimal results.
 

Have you ever taken a picture directly in front of a window? If so, and you didn’t use a flash or fill-flash to reduce the lighting ratios, then your final print was probably less than desirable. Because of strong lighting and very dark shadows anything located in front of the window will be silhouetted. However, with a little help from Photoshop you can fix the tonal values of your image bringing a dark foreground into the light, as shown in Figure A.

Adding light

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Please label before and Aft

By Renée Dustman
Application:
Adobe Photoshop CS2/CS3/CS4/CS5
Operating Systems:
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

I’m very far-sighted, so I have a lot of trouble reading the names of the panels and such in Photoshop. I’ve tried adjusting my monitor’s resolution, but that just makes everything look even blurrier. Does Adobe make a version of Photoshop with

By Amy Courtright
Application:
Adobe Photoshop CS2/CS3/CS4/CS5
Operating Systems:
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

I hope you can help me with this problem. This shot was taken at a pretty high resolution. The rings are not real noticeable until you start magnifying the image. I’m not really sure why they are there. I believe it has something to do with this guys cheep polyester suit and this angle to the camera. (The lights were on stands and remained stationary.) Similar shots have less of it and different poses have none. 
Is there any way of taking them out? I am able to select them with select – color range, paste them into their own layer and feather 5 pixels. But no amount of curve correction seems to make them fade into the jacket.
Brian Buckley
Buckley Photo Inc.

When taking pictures with digital cameras, color artifacts or moiré patterns may be visible in your images, as displ

Reader Forum
by Amy Gebhardt
Application:
Adobe Photoshop CS2/CS3/CS4/CS5
Operating Systems:
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

Can you explain a really quick way to lighten an image? I know how to use Curves and Levels; I was hoping for som

Quick tip
by Amy Courtright
Remove AP and OS lines for print
Application:
Adobe Photoshop CS2/CS3/CS4/CS5
Operating Systems:
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

Have you ever made changes to an original and t

Quick tip

by Amy Courtright

Application:

Adobe Photoshop CS2/CS3/CS4/CS5

Operating Systems:

Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

Quick tip
by Amy Courtright
Application:
Adobe Photoshop CS2/CS3/CS4/CS5
Operating Systems:
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

Have you e

Quick tip

by Amy Courtright

Application:

Adobe Photoshop CS2/CS3/CS4/CS5

Operating Systems:

Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

Often times, when scanning an image the picture shifts on

Quick tip

by Amy Courtright

Application:

Adobe Photoshop CS2/CS3/CS4/CS5

Operating Systems: