Lorri Freedman’s Photography Blog

                                            Photography How-To and Photoshop Tips

HDR images can look really good if they’re done right. Some HDR images look great when they’re converted to black and white. I don’t think it works for all HDR images so you’ll have to experiment. Experimenting can be a lot of fun.

Here’s an example of the Croton Dam in Westchester, NY. Some people I know like the color version better and others like it in black and white. It’s all a matter of taste. If you like your end results, then that’s what matters.

This is how I did the black and white conversion in Photoshop CS3. First bring the image into Photoshop. Then go to Image / Adjustments / Black & White.

Here the Black and White dialog box opens up. There are red, yellow, green, cyan, blue and magenta sliders. Slide the sliders back and forth to see how it will affect your image. Every image is different and it’s up to your taste how you want the end result. When I decide that I’m happy with the results, I click OK.

These are the settings I used for this image:

I’m not finished yet. At this point I like to go to the Image / Adjustments / Brightness/Contrast settings:

I don’t touch the brightness slider. I just bring up the contrast to about +20, depending on the image.

Here’s the end result:

Here’s another example with a different image. Instead of leaving this image as a black and white, I gave it a sepia "tint". In the Black and White dialog box, there’s a check box at the bottom that says "Tint". Click that check box on, then click OK.

Here are the images from color, to black and white, to sepia tint:

Here’s one more example of color to black and white:

Here I have the five images I’m going to put into Photomatix:

Here are the images blended together in Photomatix before processing. First I’ll click on Tone Mapping which will open up the processing box. Here you can choose between the tone compressor and the details enhancer.

Here I picked the Details Enhancer for my first example. I worked the sliders to my liking. Every image is different so you’ll have to adjust your images to your tastes.

The detail enhancer opens up the shadow areas, and can give the image a surreal look. Depending on how you maneuver the sliders you can also get a painterly or realistic and natural effect. It’s all a matter of taste.

For more details on the sliders you can go to the Photomatix website.

Here I took the same image and put it into the Tone Compressor. The tone compressor gives the image a more traditional and realistic look. It preserves the shadows with good control of tonal range. Sometimes shadows play an important role in creating a mood. This is a very good reason to use the tone compressor over the details enhancement.

Here I have the two images side by side. You can see the difference between them. In both images the end result depends on what you want to achieve. Do you want a surreal look or a realistic look or perhaps something in-between? I prefer the in-between look for some of my images and other images I find that getting crazy is a lot of fun. As long as you’re happy with the results then life is good.

Enjoy!

The advantage of being a member of NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals ) is their great web site, not to mention their monthly magazine. Most of all it’s the Photoshop User web site that has me hooked. There is a wide variety of tutorials, with video and instructional tutorials. There are always new tutorials to learn from, and they don’t miss a beat.

The best part is if you don’t understand something in the tutorials, there is always someone to ask.

Another feature is the H.E.L.P. Center, which you can only access if you join. Here you can use "keywords" to search for something specific. Let’s use the example "selection". If I enter the word "selection" into the search, it would come up with a menu of topics that has to do with the selection process. If I then pick "Filling a Layer or selection", a video tutorial opens up and answers my question.

The tutorials cover everything from simple cloning to all the newest and most popular subjects like HDR.

Not only is there a place to ask Photoshop questions, but you can also ask about Lightroom,camera gear and computers. Just click on the Contact Us link and ask your question.

There are a few ways you can ask a question. You can email them, call them or even write a snail mail. The Photoshop user web site also has a cool feature called Photoshop TV. This is where they have episodes on just about everything from tips and tricks in Photoshop to upcoming events and seminars.

I’ve gone to a few seminars in NYC at the Jacob Javits Center. I enjoyed them all. I know there is a lot of information on the Internet that you can get for free, but I like being a Photoshop member because the information is accurate and there are a lot of perks and discounts, and everything from A to Z is consolidated on this one site.

Sometimes you want to add a finishing touch to an image by adding a border or frame around it. In this example, I have an image that has a black background. If I do a slideshow of some of my flowers that have a black background the image will bleed into the background.

You can see where the branch ends into blackness; in this case a border/frame is necessary.

Here are the simple steps:

1. Bring the image into Photoshop.
2. Go to the eye dropper tool on the tool bar.

   

    

3. Hover the eye dropper tool over a color in the image or pick a color from the color picker palate. I prefer to pick a color from the image that will blend well. In this case I picked the color pink so that it’s easily visible for this tutorial. You can see the color you’ve chosen in the box on the tool bar.

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4. Next go to the top of the page and click on Select. When the menu drops down, click on All. Then you’ll be able to see that the border of your image is selected.
5. Go to the top of the page and click Edit. When the menu drops down, click on Stroke.
6. In the Stroke box you can see the width in pixels. If you want a thin border, then choose a small number. If you want a thick border then choose a large number. In this image I’ll choose 25px. Then click OK.

   

Here is the image with the border/frame.

Example images:

With every portrait, the main focus is the subject. To keep the main focus on the subject, you’ll need to get in close. Having too much distraction in the background takes away from your subject, be it a person or animal or a flower.

For example, not too long ago I went to a Civil War reenactment. There were soldiers in costume and regular everyday people walking around together. How do I get a good shot without all the distractions? I saw some soldiers coming off the battlefield and decided to get in close. It was the only way to get the effect I was looking for.

A soldier sat down in front of a tent which was under a tree. Perfect. I came up beside him and took the picture. I didn’t want him to see me because I wanted the shot to look as natural as possible. I find that sometimes if a person knows you’re there and ready to take their picture, they get an unnatural look.

In this shot I used my Nikon D2Xs, with an 18mm-200mm lens, and an 800 DX speedlight with a diffuser.

For more of an authentic look to the image, I turned it into black and white in Photoshop.

A very important tip for when taking a portrait shot is to make sure the subject’s eyes are sharp. When you talk to someone or meet someone, the first thing you do is look at the eyes. The same thing is true with a portrait of a person or animal.

Here is an animal example. This was my dog "Precious". She was an excellent subject. Always looking cute. All I had to do was say "cheese" and her ears would pop up and she’d stare right at me. A lot of images that I have of her are snapshots, not portraits. The snapshots are images with lots of distractions around her. In my daughter’s room, on my daughter’s unmade bed with my daughter still in the bed too.

This time I decided I wanted a portrait of her, and not just a snapshot. I put her in a swing in the backyard and made sure that there weren’t any distractions around her. I put my camera on a tripod and used a fill flash. With the promise of cheese, she was very corporative.

There is definitely a difference between the two images.

The main thing to remember when taking a portrait shot is.

1. Move in close.
2. Be aware of distractions in the background.
3. Try to keep the eyes sharp.
4. Be aware of lighting conditions. Keep the sun off to the left or right of the subject.
5. ALWAYS enjoy taking photographs!