Digital Photography Tips and Tutorials

Got my hand on some very good tips for rescuing blurred photographs

Try this method, reserved for when there is no hope.

Step 1
Duplicate the image
Step 2
On this duped layer, leave it set to normal and rum the Emboss filter. In the filter, set the height to 3 pixels and the amount to 100%. The Angle can be any direction that looks best to you.
Step 3
Set to Overlay and move the Embossed layer by first selecting the Move tool and using the Arrow keys to move the image one click at a time.
Step 3
Duplicate the original again.
Step 4
Drag this 2nd duped layer and place it above your 1st embossed layer. Leave it set to normal.
Step 5
Run the Emboss filter again on the 2nd duped. But this time, play around with the angle AND the Pixel height.
Step 6
Again, once you've achieved a desired looking Embossed effect, set this 2nd layer to Overlay. Choose your Move Tool and move this 2nd layer around using the Arrow keys one click at a time until you achieve as focused image as possible.

Creating HDR Images in Photoshop

In this post Nathan Pask takes a look at a technique to get HDR Style Images Using Layers in Photoshop.

There currently seems to be a lot of interest in HDR or similar
processes. What is HDR? Essentially, it’s about collecting a series of
shots taken on a tripod at different exposures and allowing über clever
software to merge them together to make one supposedly perfectly
exposed image. There are various types of software or plug-ins such as
Photoshop, Photomatrix or FDR Tools that make producing a HDR image
fairly straight forward.

Does the final result look pleasing to the eye? The jury is out for
a majority of it as far as I’m concerned. Some images I think look
fantastic, but others I feel have done nothing to enhance the subject.
It’s using process for processes sake. Being a professional retoucher
for quite a few years, working for many demanding clients such as Condé
Nast on Vogue, Bride & Traveller magazines, the idea of retouching
is about making an image more beautiful than it was to begin with. For
the retouch to be successful, it needs to look seamless. It wants to
look amazing, almost too good to be true, but with no tell tale signs
of it having been manipulated. Granted, there is a place for ‘artistic’
imagery, and perhaps some people who are producing HDR are just doing
it for an artistic result, but I personally tend to lean towards the
‘too good to be true’ style when producing an image like this. If you
are not a fan of the results HDR give, but like the idea of it, read
on. The process I am about to talk you through has essentially the same
premise, but will give a more realistic finished result as per the
example above.

So to begin, you need to a good sturdy tripod. This is a little
easier if you have an SLR camera, but it can also be done with a point
and shoot if you can manually adjust your exposure. Mount your camera
on the tripod and compose your image to your liking. It is important
that when you take your images, your camera doesn’t move. A handy tip
if you don’t have a remote control is to set your camera to it’s
inbuilt timer and shoot with this as when you press the shutter you are
shaking the camera ever so slightly and you will get a slightly blurry
result. Every situation is different because your subject and light is
different, but for the image above, I took a shot exposing for the
water which was 4 seconds at f22, I then took another shot exposing for
the rock face and the trees which was 1 second at f22 and I then took
another exposure for the sky which was 1/4 of a second at f22. Ideally
keep your f-stop constant in this process and as you have it on a
tripod you can afford to close down your f-stop/aperture to give you
maximum depth of field throughout your image.

The following process is using Adobe Photoshop. I am on a Mac using
Photoshop CS3, but it doesn’t matter which version you have. As long as
it has layers, you are sorted. Download your images from your camera
onto your computer. Once you have chosen your exposures you want to
use, in my case 3, open them all in Photoshop so you can see them all
side by side with your layers palette open on the side like this (click
images to open larger versions).



It doesn’t really matter, but I tend to use my darkest layer as my
base just because it’s logical. With this in mind, select the middle
exposed image. Head over to your layers palette and click and drag your
layer icon and drop it on your darkest image. Then select your lighter
image and repeat the process. Obviously, you can have as many
images/exposures as you like and continue this process till you have
dragged all your exposures onto the one image. The more you have, the
longer it will take to combine and the more complicated it will become,
so choose your number of exposures wisely. You shouldn’t really need
any more than 3 or 4 exposures unless your subject is particularly
complicated.

Click back on your darker image that you have been dragging the
layers on to. You should now have 3 layers in your palette and should
look like this. You can close the other 2 images as these are no longer
required. What you have left is one image open with your multiple
layers, in my case 3, each layer containing exactly the same shot just
taken with a different exposure all sandwiched on top of each other.



You can’t fully manipulate the bottom layer called ‘Background’, so
select this layer, go up to the options at the top of the Layers
palette and duplicate the layer. It’s not essential to do this on this
particular retouch, but it’s good to get into the habit of duplicating
your original layer so you always have an untouched original just in
case it all goes pear shaped or you want to refer back to it for some
reason. Safety first!



Click on the little eye icon on the left hand side of the
‘Background’ layer so it makes this particular layer invisible. You
wont be needing this layer. It’s just there as a back-up. I tend to
rename all my layers at this stage so it makes it easier to manage.
Again, it’s not essential for this retouch, but getting into the
practice of naming your layers appropriately is a good habit to get
into. When you work on more complicated retouches that might have
dozens of layers, it makes it much quicker when you can see easily
which layer is which.

So what are we going to do with these 3 layers? We are going to mask
out portions of each layer to allow elements from the layers underneath
to show through eventually giving us 1 image formed out of 3. Let’s
start with our lightest exposed layer. In my case, I want this layer
for the water and reeds only. Most of the trees and the sky are way too
overexposed. Over to your Layers palette again, select your top layer
(your lightest layer) and we want to add a layer mask to this layer. Go
to the Layer menu at the top of your screen and select Layer
mask/Reveal All. As a shortcut, you can also simply click on the little
icon circled and it will do the same thing.



For this particular layer mask I don’t want to create a hard edge so
we are going to use the brush tool to manually create our mask. Over to
your layers palette again, make sure you have the mask part selected
(not the image icon) when you click on the mask, it should have the
broken black frame around it indicating that you have selected the
mask. Making sure your colour is set to black (if it’s not, click on
the top colour square and change this 100% black) and select your brush
tool. We are ready to mask!



We are now going to paint with this tool creating a mask revealing
some of the image below. In this case we want to get rid of the sky,
rocks and most of the trees. Make sure the opacity on the brush is at
100%. Use an appropriate sized large brush to get rid of a majority of
it and when it comes to going around the water line I used a small
brush and zoomed in so I could see a little better as I was masking.



You should be able to see your middle exposure layer below coming
through. You will also see your little mask icon on your layers palette
will give you a preview of what you have just masked out. Keep going
until you are satisfied. I will show you how to do a more accurate mask
on the next layer. But this method we have just performed is a great
way to do a quick mask. Once you are happy with your mask, select the
layer below. Create a new layer mask as before but instead of using our
brush tool on it’s own, this time we are going to make a selection
first as we want the mask to be a little more defined around the edge
of the cliffs. We want to mask out the sky on this middle layer to
reveal the nice rich sky on the darkest layer below. To make a
selection you can do this a few ways. As there is quite a good
difference in colour and tone between the sky and the rocks in my case,
so I am going to use the magic wand tool at a tolerance of about 25 and
with my shift key on my keyboard held down, select different pieces of
the sky till I have an unbroken line of ‘marching ants’ around the
cliff face. (Note: Make sure your image icon is selected in your layers
palette, not your mask icon otherwise your magic wand will select your
whole image). I won’t have every little piece of the sky selected, but
I don’t need to worry about that at this stage. The most important
thing is that I have an unbroken line around the cliff like this.



Any easy way to select the rest of the sky is to use the lasso tool
and holding down your shift key, quickly go round the parts that aren’t
selected so you end up with a lasso selection all around the area we
want to mask. In this case I want to put a small feather on the
selection before we mask as even though I want a crisp line, it’s very
rare that you don’t need at least a small amount of feathering. So go
up to your Select menu at the top of your screen and select
Modify/Feather. In my case I want to use about 3 pixels of feather.
Maybe use this as a starting point for your image, if you find out in a
few minutes when we start masking this layer that it is too much or not
enough feather, just go back in your history palette to this point and
alter your feather amount. Every image is different and the amount of
resolution in your image will play a part in your feather amount
required.



So we now have the marching ants selection around the sky with a 3
pixel feather. Select the mask icon back in your layers palette on the
middle layer. There are a number of ways you can go from here, but I
like to use my brush tool again as it gives me more control. Select
this tool again and we are going to do the same as before, however the
selection has made it much easier. Like bowling with the rails out over
the gutters! You cant go wrong.



It’s at this point that you can begin to see the whole picture
forming with elements from all 3 layers playing their parts in your
overall final result. Continue masking until you have filled your
entire area selected. As we have a small feather on the lasso
selection, if you keep going over certain areas around the edge of your
selection with your brush tool it will creep your mask out a little
more if you feel your selection didn’t quite go far enough. When you
are happy, deselect your marching ants by going back up to your Select
menu at the top of your screen and choosing Deselect.



You should now have a pretty much final image visually. You may want
to touch up here and there to be completely satisfied. In my case I
need to get rid rid of some nasty little sensor marks using my Spot
Healing tool on the bottom dark layer. *Note to self – must clean my
sensor!* You can alter other things at this stage such as the contrast,
hue and saturation. Clone out elements you don’t wish to be there
(Cloning is a whole OTHER tutorial on it’s own) in my case, a plastic
bag caught in the reeds and using my burn tool, just going over the
edges of the cliffs a little for effect.

Once you are completely satisfied, you need to save it. I like to
keep a copy of the layered file just incase I decide to alter it
slightly in the future, so save it as a .psd or .tif with your layers
intact and make it obvious in your filename that it’s the layered file.
Save on your computer wherever you wish. Once you have done this, back
over to your layers palette for the last time. In your layer options,
select Flatten Image.



You can now save your final image in whatever format you wish to
use. Probably a .jpg to save on hard drive space. You have now
completed a manual version of HDR using layers. HURRAH! I hope this was
of some use. I encourage any comments on this method. I don’t think
anyone knows everything there is to know about Photoshop and as my
Grandpa always used to say, “there is more than one way to skin a
cat!”. But this is a method that has served me very well over the years
in coping with shooting an image that required different exposures to
fully recreate what I saw with my own eyes.

Adding a Diffuse Glow to your Images

I was looking at some of the recent work of Michael Reichmann. I was struck
by one of the photos from a fair in Seville. Michael added a diffuse glow to
a group of women, and it really added a defining touch to the image. It gave
the image a dreamy look, as if the image truly was painted with light. Michael
took an excellent image and made it exquisite.

Hairpieces — Seville, Spain. April, 2004


Figure 1. “Hairpieces” by Michael
Reichmann. 2004, Michael Reichmann.


The traditional technique with film for adding a glow was to take a long exposure.
Infrared images get their eerie glows in that way. With Photoshop, we can add
a diffuse glow quickly and easily.

_______________________________________________________________________________
Adding a Diffuse Glow to Your Photo



Giving your images a diffuse glow with Photoshop is a combination
of blurs, layer blend modes, and blending techniques. Rather than blurring the
entire image, we instead add a halo to a desired range of tones. We can add
richness and shape the tones in an image in this way without sacrificing a lot
of image details.


Figure 2. A macro view of a Black-Eye Susan
at Maclay Gardens SP, Tallahassee, Florida.


The Black-Eye Susan in Figure 2 is a good candidate for a
diffuse blur. Softening the petals will add interest, but it is also important
to hold some of the details in the “eye” of the flower.
Adding a diffuse glow begins by duplicating the image up to that point on a
separate layer. The easiest way to do this is to use the keyboard shortcut alt-ctrl-shift-n-e
on the PC (option-command-shift-n-e on the Mac). This will merge all of the
visible layers into the new layer without flattening the image.
The next step is to duplicate this layer. Ctrl-j on the PC (Command-j on the
Mac) will make a duplicate.

(If memory is cramped or you prefer to work with fewer layers,
you could flatten the image. All you would need to do in that circumstance is
make a copy of the Background layer with ctrl-j.)


Figure 3. Adding a diffused glow begins by
adding a merged layer for applying a blurfilter effect.
The merged layer is then duplicated.



We need to soften the image on topmost layer. Filter | Blur |
Gaussian Blur is a good choice. It applies a smooth blur to finer image details.
Adjust the Radius setting to control how much softening is applied. For a diffuse
glow, you want a setting large enough to soften the image but not so soft that
it obliterates all of the image details. I selected a Gaussian Blur of 25 pixels
for this image.


Figure 4. A Gaussian Blur of 25 pixels adds considerable softness
to image details.



When you apply a Gaussian Blur, the details tend to spread out
as they soften. This is the source of the halo. When the Gaussian Blur layer
is blended with the underlying layer, details will soften and a halo will develop.

The next step involves a creative choice. You need to select a
Blend Mode for the Gaussian Blur layer.

• Darken or Multiply blends will darken image details
while also softening features and adding a halo. Ideal for soft, expressive
shadows.

• Lighten or Screen blends will lighten the image instead. Perfect for
adding high key or highlight glows.

• Soft Light and Overlay will add contrast and saturation. This is my
preferred blend for landscapes and still life.

I decided that the image of the Black-Eyed Susan in Figure
2 would benefit from an additional boost in contrast and saturation,
so I applied an Overlay blend.


Figure 5. The Layers palette after applying
a 25 pixel Gaussian Blur
and setting the layer blend mode to Overlay.



The Overlay layer blend gave the petals a more dramatic personality.
The yellow tips developed an almost-buttery appearance, both in color and texture.
100% opacity was a bit too much. So I backed off a bit and reduced Opacity to
80%.


Figure 6. The petals have taken on a creamy,
soft appearance.
Unfortunately, shadow detail was also lost.



If all we wanted to do was soften the image generally, we could
stop right here. The secret to adding a diffuse glow, however, is limiting the
halo to specific tonal areas. A B&W image of a baby, for example, might
benefit from a “high key” glow that is applied only to the highlights,
perhaps reaching down into the brighter one-quarter tones.

I was pleased with the petals in Figure 6. There
is a noticeable loss of sharpness in the “eye” of this Black-Eyed
Susan, however. I went to a lot of trouble to capture a lot of detail there.
I used a Canon 180mm “L” Macro lens at a narrow aperture (2 sec.
at f/18) to get sharp details and lots of depth of field.

Some might prefer the more diffuse “eye.” I wanted
more of the original detail to “punch through.” My solution was
to adjust the Blend If sliders for the Gaussian Blur layer.

_______________________________________________________________________________
Using Blend If to Dampen Your Glow



There are four sliders on the Layer Style dialog that receive
little attention in most books on Photoshop. They are the Blend If sliders.
Some books do not even mention them at all.

To access them you need to open the Layer Style dialog. You can
do that in one of three ways:

• Double-click a layer thumbnail. (For an adjustment layer,
double-click on the layer to the right of the layer name.)

• Choose Layer | Layer Style | Blending Options on the main menu.

• Choose Add a Layer Style | Blending Options from the Layers palette
menu.

Figure 7. The “Blend If” sliders.



The Blend If sliders let you control which pixels from the active
layer and from the underlying visible layers will appear in the final image.
You can also define a range of partially blended pixels to smooth the transitions
between blended and unblended areas in your image.

You use the black and white “This Layer” sliders to
specify the range of pixels from the active layer that will blend with the visible
layers below. When you drag the white slider toward the center, pixel values
from active layer to the right of the slider remain unblended. They are ignored.
If you instead pull the black slider toward the center, pixel values from the
active layer to the left of the slider are ignored. This lets you limit an effect
of the active layer to the shadows, the midtones (by pulling both sliders towards
the center), or the highlights.

If you alt-click on a slider (option-click on a Mac), the slider
will split in two. By separating the two halves, you can define a range of partially
blended pixels.

To help explain how the Blend If sliders work, I created a B&W
wedge. Then I duplicated it and flipped it 180 degrees, copying the reversed
wedge back into the original image as a new layer.


Figure 8. A B&W wedge for testing how
the “Blend If” sliders work.




Figure 9. The complete test harness for comparing
various “Blend If” settings.



With the “Blend If” sliders set at their default,
every pixel in the active layer is subject to blending with pixels from the
visible layers underneath.

“Underlying Layer” is misnamed. Its black and white
sliders determine the range of pixels from all of the underlying visible layers
that will blend with the active layer. Its effects are not just limited to the
most immediate layer beneath the active layer.

Now, here’s the important point to remember about the “Underlying
Layer” sliders! When you move the black slider toward the center, pixel
values to left are excluded from blending. You might be tempted to believe this
means they are ignored and only pixels from the active layer are used. Quite
the opposite happens! Instead of being blended, pixels with those values “punch
through” from the underlying visible layers and replace pixels on your
active layer. Be careful with the “Underlying Layer” sliders.

Let’s look at a couple of examples. We’ll start with
a look at both B&W wedges, where the wedge on top represents the active
layer and the wedge underneath represents the visible underlying layers for
the image.





Figures 10a – 10b. The B&W wedge on the top represents
an active layer . The B&W
wedge beneath it represents the visible underlying layers.



If we pull the black slider for “This Layer” toward
the center, from 0 to 50, pixels darker than 50 in he active layer will be ignored.
Those pixels are at the right edge of the uppermost B&W wedge above. Since
those black pixels go unblended and are ignored, the white pixels from the underlying
image show through at the right side of Figure 11. The white pixels were underlying
the dark pixels. The resulting B&W wedge has white pixels at both ends.



Figure 11. When the black slider for “This Layer”
is set to 50, the shadows in the active
layer are ignored and we get white pixels at both ends.



This is another point where care is required. When you pull a
slider and exclude pixels from blending or allow pixels to punch through, those
pixels can be completely different from the pixels in the active layer. You
are not necessarily replacing highlights with highlights or shadows with shadows,
as the example above shows.

If we instead restore the black slider for “This Layer”
to 0 and pull the black slider for “Underlying Layer” to 50, the
shadows from the underlying layers will “punch through” the active
layer and replace pixels in the active layer. We instead get dark pixels at
both ends of Figure 12.


Figure 12. The black slider for “Underlying
Layer” is instead pulled to 50, permitting the
shadows from the underlying layers to “punch through” the active
layer.




By using different combinations of the Blend If sliders and splitting them with
alt-clicks (option-clicks on the Mac), you can apply your diffuse glow with
surgical precision and blend the effect smoothly.

_______________________________________________________________________________
Back to the Black-Eye Susan



I wanted to keep the diffuse glow away from the shadows, where
the image would lose important detail. A quick adjustment to the black “This
Layer” Blend If slider added some depth back to the shadows.

When you adjust the Blend If sliders, the result is interactive.
You can see the image change in response to the sliders. I zoomed to 100% and
watched the detail in the “eye” of the Black-Eye Susan as I adjusted
the black “This Layer” Blend If slider. I found that a setting of
55 restored just enough shadow information from the underlying visible layers
to add some interest to the photo without making the “eye” nearly
so dominant a feature as in Figure 2.



Figure 13. The Blend If settings to restore shadow details
in the “eye” of the Black-Eye Susan.



Figure 14. Careful adjustment of the black Blend If slider
for “This Layer” restored
some shadow detail that would otherwise be lost when the petals were blurred.


_______________________________________________________________________________


Conclusion



The combination of blurs, blending modes, and blending techniques
can be used to add a diffuse glow to an image. Wedding photographers can use
the technique to add a romantic touch to images of the bride in her white bridal
dress. Portrait photographers can use the technique to soften features and add
a glow to highlights or to provide rich, smooth shadows. Landscape photographers
can use the technique, to increase contrast and smooth tones.
Figure 15. Sunrise at St. Marks NWR, St.
Marks, Florida. 10 pixel Gaussian Blur.
Soft Light blend at 80% opacity. Black “This Layer” Blend If setting
at 10.



The technique starts with the application of a Gaussian Blur.
The goal is to add richness by adding a halo or aura to the image and still
maintain important detail. The next steps are to select an appropriate blend
mode and to then adjust the Blend If sliders so important details are preserved.
Different effects can be achieved by using different blending modes and Blend
If settings.

There are times when an image is beyond rescue with Unsharp Mask, when its so out of focus it is bordering on creative, but your client insists that you use it! Well, there are lots of ways to use the native filters in Photoshop for other uses, some not so obvious as others, like the example below!

If you really have to use a particularly blurry image, it may seem impossible to actually put detail back into an image that is not there already – and to all but the most Ninja level Photoshop user it would be! This is where the generally unusable Emboss filter steps up for service in our arsenal!

Firstly, duplicate the image/layer onto a layer above the one you need to sharpen and run the Emboss filter on it. Use the settings below as a rough guide, but all images are different. For very high resolution images you can get away with a-little higher settings, for low resolution images you want the settings to be a little lower.

- Keep the angle default 135
- Height quite low, around 2-6 pixels
- Amount, fairly high, around 100-150%

Once you have applied the filter to the layer above, switch the layer blending mode to Overlay. Then desaturate the layer to get rid of the nasty multi-coloured noise that will probably appear. The final step with this layer is to nudge it to correctly align it with the original layer below using the cursor (arrow) keys – this is due to the offset nature of the emboss filter. Probably just a few pixels up and left will do perfectly.

Once you are happy, you may want to fine tweek your new sharpened image by dropping back the opacity of the emboss layer, flatten it and maybe apply a little unsharp mask too after to finish.

Im lead to believe that security forces actually use the emboss filter to lift out and enhance hidden detail within images, and you sometimes see them use the Emboss filter in crime dramas too, so dont forget this little sharp, crime-fighting filter!