Hide Cluttered Backgrounds

*Photoshop Lightroom 2 Tip*

To isolate a subject that gets lost in a cluttered background, go to the Vignettes panel and use the sliders to darken as much of the background as possible.  Then select the Adjustment Brush, choose the Exposure Effect, and set Exposure to –4.00 ( its lowest setting ).  Now paint out the background to put the spotlight on your subject.

July 21st, 2009 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (2)

Use Dual-Monitor Feature with One Monitor

*Photoshop Lightroom 2 Tip*

Dual-monitor support also works if you’re using only one monitor.  With the Filmstrip open, click on the second monitor icon at the bottom-left.  When the second display appears, resize it as necessary.  Change the settings to Loupe and Zoom to Fit Screen, and then move the display to an area of your workspace where it isn’t in the way of your retouching work.  As you zoom in to work on the image, the second monitor display shows how the changes are affecting the entire photo.

July 20th, 2009 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (1)

Two Brushes Are Better Than One

*Adobe Bridge CS4 and Adobe Camera Raw 5 Tip*

To rapidly change the Size, Feather, Flow, and Density of a brush, use the A and B preset brushes.  To set them up, click one of the brushes ( A or B ) and change its settings.  Make one brush large with Auto Mask off for painting areas such as backgrounds.  Click the other brush and make  it small with Auto Mask checked on for finer detail and edge work.  Press the Forward Slash key ( / ) to quickly switch between the brushes.

July 17th, 2009 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (2)

Mask Clean Up

If a mask appears splotchy, it’s usually because the Auto Mask checkbox is turned on and the brush didn’t apply the mask to pixels that were too different from the original sample (beginning brush stroke).  Simply uncheck the Auto Mask feature and repaint the area.

July 16th, 2009 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (1)

Adjustment Brush Resize Tricks

*Adobe Bridge CS4 and Adobe Camera Raw 5 Tip*

When using the Adjustment Brush for retouching, you need to change the size of the brush quite often.  You can use the Left and Right Bracket keys ( [ ] ) to make small incremental changes to the brush size, but the mouse scroll wheel is the quickest way to resize the brush.  If you’re using a Wacom tablet (highly recommended), you can still use the mouse scroll wheel.  Place the mouse where you can reach it with your free nonmouse hand and use both together.

July 15th, 2009 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (4)

Adjustment Brush Masks and Pins

*Adobe Bridge CS4 and Adobe Camera Raw 5 Tip*

When you paint on a photo using the Adjustment Brush ( K ), a mask is created that shows where the effects of the Adjustment Brush are applied.  By default, the mask isn’t visible, but you can press the O key to toggle the visibility.  Note that you can’t view the effects of the Adjustment Brush when the mask is visible.  If the mask pin is missing, press the H key to show the pin.

July 14th, 2009 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Change Adjustment Mask Colors

*Adobe Bridge CS4 and Adobe Camera Raw 5 Tip*

When the color of your subject in a photograph is similar to the color of the mask (the default color is red), it’s difficult to see the mask.  To change the color of the mask, press Shift-O to cycle through red, green, white, and black masks.

July 13th, 2009 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (3)

Dust Spot Images Quickly

*Adobe Bridge CS4 and Adobe Camera Raw 5 Tip*

Choose the Spot Removal tool ( N ) and zoom in to the top-left of the image.  Press the Page Down key to move down the left side of the image incrementally.  When you reach the bottom, press Page Down again and it will go to the top of the image next to your starting point.  Do this for the entire image.  You can also begin at the bottom right and press Page Up to dust spot in reverse.

July 10th, 2009 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Rotate View Tool

A long-desired feature from other leading digital painting tools is the Rotate View tool, which allows you to rotate the document canvas to make otherwise uncomfortable strokes with a digitized art tablet perfectly natural.  Press the R key or click-and-hold the Hand tool at the bottom of the Toolbox and select the Rotate View tool.  Click-and-drag on the document until you reach your desired placement.  For precision and consistency, you can also enter rotation numerically in  the Rotation Angle field in the Options Bar.  Click Reset View in the Options Bar, or double- click the Rotate View tool in the Toolbox, to return to normal orientation.

July 9th, 2009 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (2)

Pre-pro Prep

If my experience with developing rich media in a collaborative environment has taught me anything, it’s to keep project assets as organized as possible.  Even though the layers’ paradigm in Photoshop provides an inherent organizational approach, it can quickly become unwieldy and bloated.  A well-structured file folder hierarchy allows for easy access to core project assets like source and reference imagery as well as Photoshop-centric elements such as presets, masks, and displacement maps.

July 8th, 2009 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)