Previous words: I have written a lot of Photoshop tutorials, and it is inevitable that many methods are repeated. Methods are repeatedly emphasized, but no one analyzes why such methods are used, how to choose so many methods we have learned, and how to integrate them.
This tutorial is a very limited tutorial. It just records my thoughts in the process of adjusting photos and the purpose I want. In other words, there are no skills in the entire article, just some simple patchwork, but it is what I thought during the adjustment process. Of course, I will not impose this idea on the friends who read my article. I am just trying to make the friends who read this article understand my thoughts, that's all.
Follow me into my world of thinking.
I saw a picture like this posted by my classmate Mamamia on the tutorial website:
This photo is a bright smile under the sun, but there are some problems with the picture. My first feeling is that I have the desire to retouch it - I must restore it!
The first thing I think of is to improve the picture quality, because the quality of the picture directly affects your final result. So I duplicated a background layer and executed the "Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur" command on the "background copy".
Then change the blending mode of the "Background Copy" layer to Screen and lower the opacity.
Execute the "Select>Select All" command, then execute the "Edit>Merge Copy" command, and then execute the "Edit>Paste" command. (Someone asked me why I did this. In fact, I have never used the two layers at the bottom again. Why not merge the layers directly? I am used to keeping my original file layers. If I want to change them in the future, it will It’s more convenient. I am a conservative person and prefer to leave some escape routes for myself).
Go to the channel palette to display the channels one by one to check the status of the channels.
In fact, in some defective photos, not every channel will have problems. For example, the B (blue) channel in the picture above is relatively defective. Since there are more noise spots, of course I thought of removing the noise. Click, this reminds me of the new function of CS2 - reducing noise
Execute the "Filter > Noise > Reduce Noise" command. In the "Reduce Noise" dialog box, you only need to adjust the blue channel.
The next thing to do is to smooth the skin again. I also copied another layer (obtained in the previous step). Of course, there are many ways to smooth the skin. I chose "Filter > Blur > "Special Blur" command
Although the skin of the image obtained in the previous step was smoothed, some key parts such as eyes, mouth, hair, etc. were also smoothed accordingly. At this time, I added a mask and used a black brush to cover the parts that did not need to be smoothed. It has been removed on the plate (now you know why I copied the layer, the purpose is to show the underlying layer after the mask is transparent)
Now that the character has been modified as a whole, it is still not layered enough. The first thing I thought of was to strengthen the light coming from behind the character and add some backlight effects. Therefore, I added a curve adjustment layer for the purpose of To darken the characters and create the basis for the backlighting effect.
Then add a mask and draw the backlit part. The blue part in the picture below is the position that can be illuminated by the light and is drawn on the mask. For example, I also lowered the transparency of the eyes and other positions and drew them. The purpose is to make the facial features stand out.
This is the result of painting on the mask.
I worked hard, but when I got to this position, I realized that the image I adjusted was too dark. In fact, adjusting pictures is such a process. Sometimes working hard may not produce good results. Stopping and doing is a manifestation of my habit of being lazy. It may be because I have ADHD since I was a child. I always do something. If you do, you will get up and take a break, make a cup of coffee, and when you sit down again, you will find more problems.
If the picture is dark, of course it needs to be brightened. Color adjustment is nothing more than a few tools. It doesn’t matter which one you use. What matters is that you are comfortable with it.
I created a new Levels adjustment layer, and I used the "Set White Point" (white eyedropper) in the "Levels" dialog box to click on the brightest part of the picture.
Then I used the "Set Gray Field" (gray straw) to suck on the blue clothes in the picture. As a result, the picture became somewhat unexpected. The dusk felt particularly good, so I clicked the "OK" button.
When I got to such an effect, I felt a little surprised. Although it was a little different from what I wanted to adjust, it was still a good effect (if you want to use this effect for Ending, you still need to make some small adjustments to the details). Finally, I I gave up anyway. I have always been a principled person. This step was to brighten the image, but the result was to change it to other places. Of course, I had to adjust it back. I didn’t want to give up this effect, so I compromised. , change the layer blending mode of this level adjustment layer to - brightness, killing two birds with one stone.
The final result is quite unexpected. There is an element of surprise in it, but that’s how image adjustment is. Without surprise, you will lose interest in the software over time. Creating pleasant surprises yourself will make you treat your work as a happy experience.
Finally, don’t forget that happiness is the most important thing.