Articles by Web Editor | Page 34

Correct In CMYK Or RGB?

We’ve been asked the question of whether to correct in CMYK or RGB a hundred times. As a general rule, we try to do as much color correction as possible in RGB mode, and if we’re going to use the image on press, we only convert to CMYK at the end of the correction process. The main reason is that CMYK mode throws away data—a lot of data—and why would you want to correct an image with significantly less data than your scanner can capture? We want as much data as possible while correcting images, and when we’re done, then we’ll convert to CMYK (under Image, choose Mode) and toss the data that won’t be used on press.

June 18th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (2)

Spot Color Gradient Film Saver

If you’re creating a gradient using a spot color that fades to white, to make sure your gradient appears just on the spot separation plate, create the gradient to go from the spot color to a 0% tint of the same spot color (for example, go from 100% red to 0% red). Just click on the color’s opacity stop (that appears above the stop in the color ramp) and then lower the Opacity in the bottom-left corner of the Gradient Editor. That way, when you do your seps, the entire gradient will appear on the red separation.

June 17th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Scan Line Art At The Resolution You Need

If you’re scanning black-and-white line art for reproduction in print, here are two quick tips that’ll help you get better results:
1. Scan the line art image at the dpi you’ll be printing it. This is the one time we break our long-standing “don’t-scan-at-too-high-a-resolution” rule—but only when it comes to line art. If you’re going to output your line art on a 600-dpi laser printer, scan it at 600 dpi. If you’re going to output it to high-resolution film negs, scan it at 1,200 dpi (that’s about as high as you’ll need to go).
2. Scan your line art images in Grayscale mode. If you do, then you can apply filters such as the Unsharp Mask to help clean and define the lines, and you can use Levels to brighten the white areas.
Note: If you scan in Bitmap mode, you won’t be able to use these two important line art cleanup tips, because they’re not supported in Bitmap mode.

June 13th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Sharpening Your Images Like A Pro

Just about every image that is brought into Photoshop, whether from a scanner, digital camera, CD-ROM, etc., needs to be sharpened. The undisputed tool for this task is Photoshop’s Unsharp Mask filter. The only downside of using this filter is that getting the level of sharpening you’d like can sometimes cause color shifts and halos, and it can also accentuate dust or specs within the image. There are two ways around this, and what’s great about these methods is they let you apply a higher level of sharpening without causing color shifts or other problems: (1) Convert your file from RGB mode to Lab Color. Continue Reading »

June 11th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Say Goodbye To Gradient Banding

If you’ve printed an image with a gradient in it, you’re probably familiar with banding (a visible line where one color ends and the next starts, like bands of color, instead of a smooth transition from one color to the next). There’s a very popular tip for getting rid of banding that’s very effective for high-resolution imaging. Open the image in Photoshop and go under the Filter menu, under Noise, and choose Add Noise. When the Add Noise dialog appears, for Amount enter 2, for Distribution choose Gaussian, turn on the Monochromatic checkbox, and then click OK. You’ll see a little bit of this noise when viewing the image onscreen, but when printed at high resolution, the noise disappears and hides the banding. We add noise to every gradient we create for just that reason.

June 10th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Control The Opacity Of Your Healing Process

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Photoshop’s Healing Brush (Shift-J) doesn’t have an option for controlling its opacity (the way the Clone Stamp, Brush, Eraser, and other tools have). But there is a workaround if you want to use the brush and have some control over its opacity. Just go ahead and use the brush first; then to lower the opacity of your stroke, go under the Edit menu and choose Fade Healing Brush. When the Fade dialog appears, lower the Opacity slider to the desired amount. It’s a bit clunky, but it works.

June 9th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Healing With Pressure

If you’re using a Wacom tablet and wireless pen with Photoshop, you’ve probably already uncovered the secret hiding place where Adobe tucked the pressure sensitivity controls. (Hint: They’re in the Brushes palette.) But if you want to use pressure sensitivity with the Healing Brush, it’s in a totally different spot. To turn it on, press Shift-J until you have the Healing Brush tool, then in the Options Bar, click directly on the Brush thumbnail, and a menu will pop up (it’s not the standard Brush Picker). At the bottom of the menu, you’ll see a Size pop-up menu, where you can choose Pen Pressure.

June 6th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Getting Back Shadow/Highlight’s Factory Defaults

Don’t ever be concerned about experimenting in Photoshop CS2’s amazing Shadow/Highlight feature—mess with the sliders all you want, because you can always get back to the factory-default settings, even if you’ve overridden them by saving your own defaults. You do this within the Shadow/Highlight dialog (under Image, under Adjustments) by clicking on the Show More Options checkbox. Then, hold the Shift button, and you’ll see the Save As Defaults button at the bottom of the expanded dialog change to the Reset Defaults button. Click it, and the factory defaults are back, baby!

June 4th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Creating A Custom Shadow/Highlight Default

By default, the Shadow/Highlight adjustment command decreases the shadows by 50%, but if you’d prefer to have Shadow/Highlight open flat (with no automatic shadow adjustment), you can set your own defaults. That way, you decide how much, and when, the shadows get opened. You do this by going under the Image menu, under Adjustments, choosing Shadow/Highlight, and then dragging the Shadows slider to 0%. Click on the Show More Options checkbox, and at the bottom of the expanded dialog click on the Save As Defaults button. That’s it: Now you get to decide if the shadows get opened up, and how much, because everything’s set flat.

June 2nd, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Better Healing With A Custom Brush

I have to give credit for this incredible tip to NAPP member Stephanie Cole, who showed it to me after the Midnight Madness session at the Photoshop World Conference & Expo in LA. She pointed out how you can get a real mottled-looking result sometimes when using the Healing Brush. However, she found that when you change the brush shape (by clicking on the Brush thumbnail in the Options Bar) to a tall thin brush, it heals using a star-shaped stroke. This greatly reduces the mottling often associated with the Healing Brush, creating a smoother-looking, more natural retouch. My thanks to Stephanie for allowing me to share her very slick trick.

May 30th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

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Photoshop Tutorials

2012 Text Effect

Recreate the text effect from the title to the new blockbuster movie.
More Fun with 3D

Continue exploring the possibilities with Photoshop’s new 3D tools.
Reverse Restoration

Corey shows you how to make a new photo look damaged by blending in some unusual textures.
3D Background Effects

Use Photoshop’s new 3D tools to create some dazzling background effects.

Premium Video Tutorials From NAPP

Photo Retouch
Scott Kelby shows you how to take an overexposed photo into a great photo using Photoshop. Want Great Photoshop & Photography Skills?

Extended Definition Processing
Scott Kelby shares a technique he's been working on, which gives your final image an HDR look using just one photo.
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Smart Object Masking Trick
Dave Cross shares a trick he discovered that will help you remove white from around your subject when using smart objects.
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Light Painting
Dave Cross takes a popular trend - light painting - and shows you how you can paint text recreating this cool trend.
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Viewing and Basking in your Image

When I’m done working with an image, I like to sit and admire it (hey, I spent six hours working on it, I should). To do that, I hit the Tab key, then hit the F key three times. This hides all of the panels and toolbars and lets you see the image by itself surrounded by black. To get back to regular mode, press the F key and the Tab key one more time.