Photoshop Tips From The Pros

Some of the best in nature photography share 11 techniques that will turn a good photograph into an award-winner

By Tim Grey

Labels: Blooms

This Article Features Photo Zoom

There are many elements that separate the top nature photographers from hobbyists. With today’s digital tools, not only do photographers rely on a great eye, time-tested technique and quality equipment, but also on their ability to optimize images after capture using Photoshop and other tools. Outdoor Photographer talked to some of the best pro nature photographers to find out what techniques they use to make their images stand out from the crowd.

Jay Goodrich (www.jaygoodrich.com) is an internationally published and celebrated photographer. Marc Muench (www.muenchphotography.com) is a professional landscape photographer who’s well-published and was named a Kodak Photo Icon in 2003. Arthur Morris (www.birdsasart.com) is a Canon Explorer of Light and a top bird and nature photographer and instructor. James Kay (www.jameskay.com) is a fine-art landscape and adventure photographer. Moose Peterson (www.moosepeterson.com) is a Nikon Legend Behind the Lens and Lexar Elite photographer, focusing on North America’s endangered wildlife and wild places. Guy Tal (www.guytal.com) is an outdoor photographer working and teaching in Utah’s scenic Canyon Country. All of these techniques will help you explore new ways to think about and approach adjustments to your images.

Jay Goodrich
Color Range Selections
1 One of my favorite Photoshop tools is the Color Range selection tool. It’s especially handy when working on nature images because it allows you to make a selection based on—you guessed it, color. To utilize it, choose Select > Color Range from the menu. Click in the image to define the base color you want to select, then choose the “plus” eyedropper in the Color Range dialog box and click (or drag) in additional areas of the image to add colors to the range to be selected (the “minus” eyedropper allows you to remove colors from the range). Once you identify the range of colors you want to select, click OK to create the selection. You then can add an adjustment layer to apply a targeted adjustment to the area you selected.

Smart Selective Sharpening
2 With Smart Selective Sharpening, I utilize a layer mask to control how much to sharpen specific areas of the image. This works really well for wildlife portraits where I want the animal to possess finite detail, but the background to remain blurred. I also use it in a landscape image where there are clouds and other features that I don’t want sharpened. Sharpening can add noise to these smoother-toned areas, and that’s something that I try to avoid.

To make this work, click on the Background image layer on the Layers panel and choose Filter > Convert for Smart Filters from the menu so you can apply a filter nondestructively. Then choose Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask (or Smart Sharpen) and sharpen your image like you would normally. Once sharpened, click the Smart Filters mask directly below your Background image layer on the Layers panel. Press the D key—this puts your default colors back to black and white. Press the B key to choose the Brush tool, and set the Hardness for the Brush pop-up on the Options bar to 0% to ensure a soft edge. Press D to set the colors to their default values of black and white and then press X to swap foreground and background colors so black is the foreground color. Now you can paint on the image anywhere you don’t want the sharpening to appear.

If you take too much sharpening away, press X again to make white the foreground color and paint again to bring back the sharpening. You also can adjust the intensity of the effect by adjusting the Opacity setting for the brush on the Options bar.

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72 Comments

Television Spy makes this comment

Sunday 24 May, 2009

Great tips will have to try them after I get my new digital camera (DLXR)
Designerfied makes this comment

Monday 25 May, 2009

The image #2 is so cool looking! Thanks for the tips!
image masking makes this comment

Wednesday 27 May, 2009

Useful amount of tips you have give through this post. Thank for the hard work. Regards, photoshop masking
Scott makes this comment

Thursday 28 May, 2009

Some very powerful techniques to help out with your photography. These are not just for nature photography either, the best photographers use photoshop for their images - there is always an improvement that you can find. We do Fort Myers Photography http://leapyearphoto.com weddings and portraits and Photoshop is used before any final prints are done.
Nancy makes this comment

Thursday 28 May, 2009

Great tips and you can bet I'll be trying them especially the Smart Selective Sharpening...Thanks for sharing...
Orlando makes this comment

Wednesday 3 June, 2009

Did anyone catch the last issue of American Photo?
Ferad Zyulkyarov makes this comment

Saturday 27 June, 2009

Very useful tips.
Samantha makes this comment

Wednesday 8 July, 2009

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Colorado Humrick makes this comment

Tuesday 15 September, 2009

Having started with B&W darkroom in the 60's; this is like magic. Thanks for the tips.
Orkut Scraps makes this comment

Thursday 24 September, 2009

Nice tips and tricks
Stephen Bailey makes this comment

Monday 28 September, 2009

I wanna express my gratitude 1st and 4 most teaching your skill. I would like to know is that when I am out and about shooting there have been a few times that it would take me 15 20 mins to get my shot. Proud to say that is last 21/2 years only missed 3 shots and I'm talking about the ones never to be dublicated. Back to point the use of photoshop unblievable would you rather have an untouch photo you had to work just little bit extra even thoughthe other photographers photos with be just as brillant. Just curious.
Dawn makes this comment

Tuesday 17 November, 2009

Do you think a REAL Photographer is someone who takes a pic, then has to go back and EDIT IT? I don't think so. I am a Photographer and my pictures are great!!! I do not do any Photoshop to them. If you truly know how to compose and use your camera then your NOT going to have to doctor it up. What your showing is NOT what you took. I mean come on, if you cannot sell your photos as you took them, then your not a true photographer!!! Your a computer graphics person...
Cynthia D. Mathre Thayer makes this comment

Thursday 19 November, 2009

Thank you for the great tips. I do appreciate them.
Jennifer makes this comment

Friday 27 November, 2009

Thanks for the tips.... also for Dawn...photography isn't about what you take at that moment...it is your vision of how you see the world...if you have ever spent 23 straight hours in a dark room and come out with a ridiculous headache, sore throat and aching back...oh and black fingers then you would probably think differently about "computer graphics" ...i for one, am so thankful that i no longer have to work with chemicals in order to get my vision across in my photos...just for the record...not manipulating your photos doesn't make you a "true photographer" if that were true pretty much all of our founding photographer wouldnt be so well known...those artists spend HOURS dodging and burning and toning and blah blah...you get the point. sorry for the rant...just my opinion...
Pat makes this comment

Saturday 28 November, 2009

I get a kick out of comments from people like Dawn. Let me use Dawns logic on her use of a camera.... Dawn, don't you believe that using a camera is just immitating what you see with your eyes....are you not someone who wants to see the true and real beauty of a landscape. Why are you masking your eyes using a camera - "Do you not want to see things as they truly are?". Does your camera not have settings for color, sharpness, hue, saturation, white balance.....? Are you not faking your images from what you see with your eyes? When I grow up, I am just going to sit in places and enjoy the scenery around me with my own two eyes and be at peace with the universe! Signed: Colour Blind Pat.
Bobby makes this comment

Wednesday 2 December, 2009

SHUT UP DAWN YOU DONT KNOW NUTHN!!
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Wednesday 16 December, 2009

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Monday 4 January, 2010

Its so beautiful
onlinescraps makes this comment

Friday 22 January, 2010

nice tricks
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Tuesday 26 January, 2010

this information most important for me. thanks...
EvaG makes this comment

Wednesday 27 January, 2010

Very informative and helpful article. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and time with the world. To respond to the comment made by Dawn, I just have to say this. Is photograhy not art? Art is subjective and each one of us will see things differently. Art comes in many forms and we should not judge someone for expressing their art in the way they see fit. If you don't touch up your photographs, then so be it, but that does not make you any more of a photographer than someone who does. Personally, I enjoy looking at all types of art and the spirit in which they were given.
orkut scraps makes this comment

Wednesday 17 February, 2010

nice tips and tricks...I will try on my digital cameras photo.
Iyanna makes this comment

Friday 5 March, 2010

I think You do a great job. Thanks
Ariful islam makes this comment

Tuesday 9 March, 2010

nice tips
Mahmudur Rahman makes this comment

Friday 12 March, 2010

Very informative tips. Thanks for sharing this nice post. :)
Sophia makes this comment

Monday 15 March, 2010

Love you Dawn. :)) Just consider yourself superior. We'd much rather be out shooting then behind a computer or in the dark.
Chandan Kumar Dutta makes this comment

Tuesday 16 March, 2010

Useful tips you have given. Thanks a lot http://www.scrapsforever.com http://bookmarkingmail.blogspot.com
Tedd Greenwald makes this comment

Thursday 18 March, 2010

Well the time has come to where I have given up Photoshop for 99% of what I do. I have to agree with Dawn a little bit. Get it right the first time. Taking a bad photo with a digital SLR is like running out of gas in a car with an accurate gas gauge. Why have I give up photoshop? Apple Aperture software does it all for me now and A3 is even better but I'm just happy as a clam with A2 right now. Everyone has to figure out how to do photography their own way. I never thought I could give up Photoshop but I have more time for my life and less computer time. So for me with good lighting and subjects who needs to labor in Photoshop when Lightroom and Aperture will do it all for some of us. However there will be a few times when Photoshop is needed and this article is the bee's knees.
A makes this comment

Friday 19 March, 2010

Many photographers are forgetting the basics of photography and rely on post-processing to obtain acceptable results.
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It's really beautiful.. you can use photoshop retouching to make them awesome..
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Very useful photoshop tips you provide... Thanks
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