How to - Retouch Fotos / make better pics

[Skywalker]

Here i would like to give some basic tips for retouching fotos / make better pics. i will post some tips and you can ask questions.

[Skywalker]

1. Perspective

for example: if you make a pic of a child you should go on your knees to be on the same level. this perspective "eye to eye" will look much better than to make a pic from above the object. same with our klickies

see the difference



same set up , different perspective





2. Black and White

Try Black and White - i think it looks always good

[Skywalker]

3. Masking / Soft Edge

when you want to put an object in front of another background you need to mask the object. there are many ways to mask an object i will show in a future post. here i did a mask with the pen tool and gave the mask a soft edge. a soft edge will make a big difference.

3.1. open your object in photoshop

double click on the layer and change your photo into a layer ( automatically )
then do a right click and choose "duplicate layer" ( this is your safety )
click on the eye switch left to the layer to hide it



3.2.

draw a line around the object with the pen tool. if you are not familiar with this tool make some tests and see how it works. it is the best tool to mask. right click on the path - choose "path to selection" then go to "selection" "invert selection"



3.3.

again "selection" choose "change selection" - "soft edge"



3.4. pop up dialogue choose 1 Pixel press OK



3.5.

click on your path again to make it visible / "moving ant street " press delete



3.6.

create a new layer and drop it under your "beer can" layer

[tonguello]

are mac's commands the same for pc? I mean do they ahve the same name?
you are using mac right?

[Skywalker]

4. Curves

curves are your friend see here why ( 2 clicks )

4.1

problem : too bright pic



4.2.

go to "picture" - "corrections" - "Curves"



4.3.

go to the curves field and make 2 clicks - you have now 2 points on the curve. drag on the points to create a slight S curve. play around till it looks good.



the curve correction is one of the essential tools in photoshop - i use it in every picture

[Skywalker]

tonguello: i work on a mac yes. the commands of the software are the same. i do not know how to say this without sounding complicated : the command KEY is different  but i didn´t need it in these examples

[tonguello]

ok great thanks. when you can I would like to know how to replace the greesncreen background for a pic.  whenever you can, no rush! 
thanx

[Skywalker]

a greenscreen makes just sense when the light is perfect. if you have shadows etc it will be a long process and the outcome might not be as good as you wish. greenscreen is used in film because it is just to hard to mask every frame of a movie. i work mostly in 25P this means you have 25 pics per second ( ! ) you can´t mask this. i mean i did this , it is then called rotoscoping and is a very long process.
i use a greenscreen to see what is background and what part i want to keep in my picture. i like to zoom in to work precise and then i need a background that is very clear the background.
i saw some great pics with playmo where people had their own background printed. this is a great solution because you might just shoot the foto with a good light and you are done. in this case the photographer had made a digitally printed background pic with 4 duplicated victorian houses so the background was always this "town" and looked great.
the tool a lot of beginners love to use is the "magic wand tool". the magic wand tool let you choose a certain color ( you just click on the color you want to get rid of - greenscreen color for example ) press delete and this color is gone. can be okay but most of the time the edges look eroded. in this case you def need a soft edge.
i really recommend the lasso or pen tool. and you can make your live much easier when you choose the right perspective. the victorian closeup pic doesn´t need that much masking. or if you have the silhouette of a town it is maybe just 5 minutes work and you will have a perfect mask.

[Skywalker]

5. greenscreen masking

i show you a way i do this in film it works also for photos but the greenscreen must be in the right light ( no highlights etc )

5.1. open your pic. doubleclick to make it a layer. duplicate the layer ( safety ) hide the duplicated layer by switching of the eye left to the layer.

click on the visible layer. choose the "rectangular marque" selection tool ( i painted a small red point in the left corner where its at )and make a selection like in my pic



5.2. next go to "selection" - "color range"



5.3. now with tool changes to the eyedroper. click on the green



hold shift and click to select more of the greenscreen color



5.4 play with the "show image" on the fly menu to see what you have selected





invert selection choose "selection" "soft edge" "1 pixel" "ok"  delete selection and change background. done

[tonguello]

wow it looks so easy!  ok I'll try a couple of these next weekend!
Thanx a lot René!