Photoshop

[Southern Wolf]

For those of us that are still learning Photoshop.... how bout a brief description of what tools do what? I know that for myself.. Im prob only using Photoshop to about 5% of what its capable of. Primarily because I am still learning the differences between the tools and how to use them.

[digitaljohn]

Southern Wolf
That's not so easy. I have been using Photoshop from the very early versions and I still do not use it to its fullest. I also think that you do not need to know all to be very effective. In Photoshop there are several ways to do the same thing but you must learn which way is best for the end result you are looking for. Keep using it and you will get better. I have worked with several people just in the basic stages of learning and never do anything but break some bonds which allow much improvement but they still need to learn more just like me. My advise is to study one thing until you have it mastered and then move on to the next. Example first you learn to basic color correct an image in RGB. Next learn about CYMK (a must for commercial work) and last move on to the most powerful space LAB. That progression is Basic, Advanced, Expert. I hope to someday post my methods in video form to the web for easy access but until then my web site has a few things. If you have a specific question I would be glad to answer and I am sure lots of others would also. I am new to forums and new here but I have seen very good information and advise passed along in this forum.
John

[Southern Wolf]

someone had mentioned the Dodge and Burn tools.

How bout a short description of what those do... and why you might use them

[digitaljohn]

OK burn and dodge tool. This is a often used tool for lightening and darkening areas of an image. You need to approach this tool with caution as it is easy to go to far. This tool should be used near the end of your work cycle on a image. I like to leave my layers intact for later use so I push shift/control/alt and the E keys all at once this combines all the layers to a new layer for your burn and dodge. I name the layer B&D for later ID. Next I usually have a plan. Which ever tool you use start with a brush size that will cover most the area without a lot of passes. Select highlights' midtones or shadows, Set the exposure to a small amount, 1% for highlights and up to 3 to 4% for shadow areas. It is better to use several passes over a area then one pass. Now for one trick, lets say your image has a stream or a rock with a lot of texture and you need to pop the texture out try burning the shadows followed a dodge of the highlights this will really bring up texture and local contrast. This works for lots of things including clouds, give it a try. With a little practice you will like the tools. One note if you have nothing in a white a burn will only make it grey, likewise a pur black that is dodged will become hollow and dead. Hows that? I hope it helps.
John

[Southern Wolf]

thanks for the reply. I will have to check that out. Will prob have some other questions also... but right now Im at work... and dont have access to the program.

[gldiana]

Hi,

better to create a burning/dodging layer, so that all the modifications can be undone. The burning/dodging tools are great but can be dangerous.

[Bonish Photo]

From what I've found, Burn/Dodge are very tricky, but can yield fantastic results.

I usually set my brush size to cover the largest amount of area possible like Luca said. The main thing I've found is to set my Exposure to about 3% and do multiple passes.

If you set your exposure too high, you'll see bad results very fast. Also learn to play with burning either the highlights or the shadows. I almost never do the Midtones because they usually dont result in anything good.

I think the Burn/Dodge tool, the Shadow/Highlights tool and the Unsharp Mask are my 3 most used tools.

Burning and Dodging reminds me of my darkroom days when I used to spend hours in the darkroom cutting out things to burn the negatives just the way I wanted them.

Shadows/Highlights can save many images, but can also leave them looking fake if overused.

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