Photo Editing ... Quick and Dirty

Chadeaux

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Sep 13, 2011
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This is a very simple method to get an HDR like effect with a single image. Remember that every single image will have different lighting values, so don't commit to anything until you are happy with the final image.

There are other ways --- probably better ways to do something similar, it just takes a bit of time.

I started with this image. Untouched, shot in jpg. The original was about 5500 pixels wide, but for this example, I did resize to 1200 X 900.

Here is the original image:

DSCN0060_1200.JPG

The first step is to make two duplicate layers ... thus you end up with 3 layers to work from. The bottom layer will usually be untouched. If you work in photoshop or one of its clones, your layers palette will look something like this:

showlayers_1.jpg

You now have a top, middle and bottom layer. This is where the magic happens because we are going to so some things that don't make sense at first.

For instance, in step 1 you will highlight the top layer of your stack and apply a gaussian blur of 30 pixels ... and it's going to look like crap!

DSCN0060_1200_top_layer.JPG

Our next step though, will make everything ok. Go to the blend modes (red pointer shows location in most photo editing programs)

blend_modes.jpg

Click on the button and a list will drop down. Find the one that says soft light and watch the magic happen. Your image will get slightly darker, but it will have a noticeable improvement in most cases.

Next you will highlight the middle layer and remove all color from it, effectively making it a greyscale image (black and white photo). Next adjust the "brightness and contrast" to suit you and change the "visibility" to somewhere between 15 and 30. The key is to allow the colors to show, but still have some control over the luminosity of the image. Lumens being light.

visibility.jpg (for the middle layer, move this to between 15 and 30 ... adjusting as needed.)

Now, you can choose different blend modes for different effects on this middle layer. Sometimes Hard Light works well, but I usually stay with the normal blend mode. If you choose another, you will need to adjust visibility to suit.

Now, once you are satisfied with the image, merge the layers into a single layer and save.

DSCN0060_1200_merged.JPG

Most of all, have fun.

If you really want to try something different, let me know and we'll look at curves, inverted layers (negative image), or other fun things.
 

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