Last summer, my granddaughter, Chelsea and I had the incredible opportunity to visit NYC with other Okemans on the Smithsonian Student Tour Program. I am neither slim nor in great physical condition so it was difficult to maintain the pace set by our tour guides. I'm not too old, but I am slow, and I like to take the time to think about how I want to shoot a scene. However, the velocity with which we embarked on each day was much too swift, so most of my shots were done in auto mode. OUCH!!! I can feel your darts from here, but seriously, sometimes it's more important to get a shot than bragging rights on how brilliant my thoughts were when making the photograph.
That said, I would like to take one of my favorite photos and process it for you in Photoshop. For those who use Photoshop or similar software, you should understand what I am doing, and for those of you who do not use Photoshop, I will give you
1. A SIMPLE EXPLANATION - for those who don't want to hear any techno-babble, or
2. CAUTION - CONFUSING SPECIFIC DETAILS AHEAD - which will try to explain the processes available to me as simply as possible, but probably not. YOU CHOOSE.
CAUTION - CONFUSING SPECIFIC DETAILS AHEAD First of all, I shoot in RAW mode. That means any controls I set in my camera, like sharpness, contrast, saturation, color tone, etc, are not embedded in my image data. If I were shooting JPEG, these controls would affect my final image permanently, but I prefer to use the RAW data and change those controls later myself. Information in RAW files cannot be permanently altered, in other words, you cannot save over the top of them. When RAW images are worked on and saved, you must use a different file format like PSD, TIFF, JPEG, etc., which leaves the original RAW file and its data intact. Also, RAW files have more data to work with versus JPEG files which are compressed files, and the act of compressing files loses data.
PHOTO #1 AS SHOT OE 2RDS STOP
LET'S GET STARTED!!!
A SIMPLE EXPLANATION - I OVER EXPOSED BY 2/3 STOP.
CAUTION - CONFUSING SPECIFIC DETAILS AHEAD - Photoshop has a component called the BRIDGE which works like a library. You can open folders to view your files. All your camera and shooting information is there as well as gobs of other important data.
The search window across the top left shows that I am in the CENTRAL PARK folder. The thumbnails down the right edge of the Bridge window are the files located in the CENTRAL PARK folder.
Look at the left side of the BRIDGE window which shows the METADATA tab. The white rectangle at the top of the METADATA tab shows me that I shot this photo at f10 aperture, at 1/160 of a sec., at ISO 500, and that I OVEREXPOSED BY +.67 or 2/3 OF A STOP. Now I'm not going to go into details about my stupidity at how I could have overexposed this shot when I was shooting in AUTO mode, because the evidence is right there in plain sight. But, gee whiz, I like this picture even if the highlights in the clouds are blow out.
Before we fix it, though, let's look at some other information here. Under FILE PROPERTIES, it shows the date and time created, and date modified among other things. CAMERA DATA (EXIF) tells me that I was in auto mode. I used an 18-55mm lens and the lens was set at 34mm. Another bit of information here is the metering mode which was set on CENTER-WEIGHTED AVERAGE, a surprise to me since I thought I was using the SPOT meter. Another oversight on my part. ARGGG!!!
The last thing we're going to look at in the METADATA is the CAMERA RAW information. The data recorded here are the adjustments that I set in the second component of Photoshop which is the CAMERA RAW UTILITY. I'll explain those adjustments when I show a CAMERA RAW window. You'll notice that other than the temperature, all the controls on this image are set to zero. The photograph you see here is a raw image with no processing or adjustments.
So, to correct the exposure, let's open the image in CAMERA RAW.
PHOTO #2 EXPOSURE CORRECTIONA SIMPLE EXPLANATION - I CORRECTED THE EXPOSURE BY 2/3 STOP.
CAUTION - CONFUSING SPECIFIC DETAILS AHEAD - Once opened we go to the exposure slider and correct the +.67 overexposure to -.65 which is close to 2/3s of a stop. You'll notice that the clouds have more detail now, but the overall image is dull and flat. I could correct the exposure more here, but I want to correct just the amount that was overexposed to show you how it would have appeared if I hadn't overexposed in the first place.
PHOTO #3 EXPOSURE CORRECTION
A SIMPLE EXPLANATION - I CORRECTED THE EXPOSURE BY 2/3 STOP. SAME AS LAST IMAGE, JUST OPENED IN A DIFFERENT WINDOW.
CAUTION - CONFUSING SPECIFIC DETAILS AHEAD - Back in the BRIDGE, you can see the exposure correction in the CAMERA RAW information. If I decide now or next week or next year that I made a mistake and wanted to change that setting, I just need to open the file again and change the slider to a new setting.
PHOTO #4 TWEAKED
A SIMPLE EXPLANATION - I MADE ADJUSTMENTS AND FINE-TUNED THE IMAGE.
CAUTION - CONFUSING SPECIFIC DETAILS AHEAD - Now is a good time to go over the controls in the CAMERA RAW window
First, TEMPERATURE and TINT have to do with white and color balance. I can adjust the temperature of the photograph to cooler tones by lowering the number or to warmer tones by raising the number. With this photo, almost everything in it is either green or blue so 5000K is a nice temperature. If I raised the temperature, I would mix yellow into the color of the sky and trees making them less blue and green respectively. The tint control adds green or magenta to the photo depending which way you slide the indicator.
The EXPOSURE slider changes the overall lightness or darkness of the image. If my photo is well exposed, I shouldn't have to change this. I SET THIS IMAGE TO -.65.
RECOVERY (which I try to avoid) brings in details into blown out highlights. I prefer to correct this problem in EXPOSURE or BRIGHTNESS. If I can't do it there, RECOVERY is a last resort for me. I SET THIS IMAGE TO ZERO.
FILL LIGHT (ditto to the above) brings in details into shadow areas. I SET THIS IMAGE TO ZERO.
The BLACKS slider increases the density in the shadows. It also increases contrast to a certain extent. I increase BLACKS in most of my images, usually 5-10 points, but sometimes up to 20 or so. I SET THIS IMAGE TO 10.
BRIGHTNESS lightens or darkens the mid tones. It is a little more subtle than EXPOSURE. I usually have this set as a default at 50, but I will adjust it up or down occasionally. I SET THIS IMAGE TO 20.
The CONTRAST slider increases overall contrast, but be aware that subtle details in highlights and shadows will be lost if you use too much contrast. I use anywhere from 0-50 depending on the photograph. I SET THIS IMAGE TO 15.
CLARITY sharpens the middle areas. I prefer to use this slider from 0-40 instead of using the sharpening tool in Photoshop because I find less noise is created this way. I SET THIS IMAGE TO 30.
VIBRANCE enhances the colors more selectively without appearing intensely saturated. I adjust somewhere between 0-25. I SET THIS IMAGE TO 20
The SATURATION slider saturates all colors evenly across the board. I seldom go over 5 on this slider. It doesn't take much. I SET THIS IMAGE TO 5.
PHOTO #5 TWEAKED
A SIMPLE EXPLANATION - I MADE ADJUSTMENTS AND FINE-TUNED THE IMAGE. SAME IMAGE AS THE LAST, BUT OPEN IN A DIFFERENT WINDOW.
CAUTION - CONFUSING SPECIFIC DETAILS AHEAD - Notice that all the adjustments I made in the CAMERA RAW window are now in the METADATA/CAMERA RAW information in the BRIDGE (with the exception of the CLARITY and SATURATION. DON'T ASK MY WHY, I DON'T KNOW). Observe that with the adjustments in BLACKS, CONTRAST, and CLARITY, I have lost some of the details in the clouds.
PHOTO #6 SKY
A SIMPLE EXPLANATION - I CREATED A SEPARATE FILE WITH A DARKER EXPOSURE FOR THE SKY AND FOREGROUND. NOW I HAVE TWO IMAGES, ONE FOR SKY/FOREGROUND AND ONE IMAGE FOR TREES AND BUILDINGS.
CAUTION - CONFUSING SPECIFIC DETAILS AHEAD - My next step is to enrich and add drama to the sky and foreground by darkening those areas. I'll do that in the CAMERA RAW window by reducing the EXPOSURE CONTROL to -1.20 which is another ½ stop from the -.65 I reduced earlier. I want the trees in the middle ground unchanged, so at this point, I need two documents, this darkened one and the previous one. I need to save this document with a different name so I can combine the two documents in Photoshop.
PHOTO #7 SKY
A SIMPLE EXPLANATION - THIS IMAGE IS FOR PEOPLE HOW HAVE THROWN CAUTION TO THE WIND.
CAUTION - CONFUSING SPECIFIC DETAILS AHEAD -At the bottom left of the window, there is a 'save image' button. When clicked, it brings up a 'save options' window. I choose 'file extension' .dng and I create a new name for the file. I chose file name 04 SKY, then saved. Once the new document is saved, I am returned to the CAMERA RAW window. I 'cancel' out of this window because I don't want to save the EXPOSURE information to this older document.
PHOTO #8 MASKS & LAYERS
A SIMPLE EXPLANATION - I OPENED MY TWO DOCUMENTS IN PHOTOSHOP, COMBINED THEM, MASKED THE SKY & FOREGROUND, AND ADDED A LEVELS LAYER TO BRIGHTEN IMAGE.
CAUTION - CONFUSING SPECIFIC DETAILS AHEAD
AN EXPLANATION: The four images here are small, so they are not easy to see, but I wanted them viewed on the same screen. Consequently, the layers palettes (each is located at the lower right of each image) are difficult to read, but a row of icons are located at the bottom of each. I left a layers palette open on the upper right of the visual. It has a pointer/curser on it, and you can see the icons better here. Also, I left a tools palette open down the left side of the visual so you could see the brush tool easier.
UPPER LEFT - Now I open the third component of Photoshop which is the Photoshop window and open the two files I want to combine. I want to get the sky and the tweaked document into the same file with the sky image on top. To do this, I'll hold the shift key down while I drag the background layer from the layers palette in the sky document into the tweaked document. I can now close the sky document.
UPPER RIGHT - I'll add a layer mask to the sky layer by clicking on the 'circle in a square' icon at the bottom of the layers palette. A white rectangle appears next to the thumbnail in the sky layer of the layers palette.
LOWER LEFT - Using the paint tool, I paint over the trees and buildings in the document in black to reveal the lighter layer below. The mask will turn black where I have painted. If I go too far, I can reverse the paint tool to white and erase the areas where I went too far.
LOWER RIGHT - Next, I'll add a levels adjustment layer to brighten the image by clicking on the 'half black/half white circle' at the bottom of the layers palette and selecting levels. A levels information window will appear. The number on the left controls black, the one on the right represents whites, and the middle controls the lightness and darkness of the mid tones. I set the black to 3, the white to 235, and the middle to 1.0 and click OK. A levels layer will perk up the image and give it a little pop.
Lastly, I'll use the paintbrush tool to paint over the highlights in the clouds to bring back any details that I lost in the highlights. I'll save this document as a PSD file.
PHOTO #9 FINAL PRINT
A SIMPLE EXPLANATION - TADA!!!
TO RECAP: CAUTION - CONFUSING SPECIFIC DETAILS AHEAD
PHOTOSHOP HAS THREE COMPONENTS:
A. BRIDGE - WHICH SHOWS THE FILES CONTAINED IN A FOLDER AND TONS OF METADATA ABOUT THE IMAGE.
B. CAMERA RAW UTILITY - WHERE ADJUSTMENTS CAN BE MADE TO THE IMAGE THROUGH SEVERAL FINE-TUNING SLIDERS.
C. PHOTOSHOP WINDOW - WHERE YOU CAN STACK IMAGE LAYERS, CREATE A VARIETY OF ADJUSTMENT LAYERS, AND PERFORM MANY KINDS OF OPERATIONS, MODIFICATIONS, AND CORRECTIONS.
PHOTO # 10 BEFORE & AFTER
A SIMPLE EXPLANATION -PROCEEDURES PERFORMED ON THIS PHOTOGRAPH
1. I corrected overexposure.
2. I adjusted the BLACKS, BRIGHTNESS, CONTRAST, CLARITY, VIBRANCE, & SATURATION controls in CAMERA RAW UTILITY.
3. I created a separate file with a darker exposure for the sky and foreground.
4. I opened both documents in Photoshop.
5. I layered both images in one document.
6. I created a mask on the sky layer.
7. I masked the sky and foreground.
8. I added a levels layer to brighten image.
9. I masked the cloud highlights.
