Rescue photos in Photoshop with two simple tips

Saturday, December 26, 2009, 10:46 PM
Graphic Design by John (Article #256)

If you've ever been out taking photographs, it's a simple, but dread problem: your images lack pop. Too much shadow, not enough color. Everything gets lost.

The example on the right is a very good example of this problem. The reason the before image is so lost is because it is a city shot (specifically Two PNC Place in Pittsburgh, PA). The shadows of the surrounding building lose a lot of the light for us, and leave the picture feeling lost.

Now, here are two quick tips for fixing this problem.

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#1. Make friends with the Shadows adjustment.

You'll find the shadows adjustment under Image >> Adjustments >> Shadows / Highlight ...

Check the 'Show More Options Box'.

Set the tonal range under shadows to 75%. Tinker with the radius somewhere between 25-100 px depending on the image you're fixing.

Tread carefully with the highlights settings, but play with them. The highlights settings have a tendency to blow very shadowy pictures out and make them appear unreal.

In many cases, that's all you will need to fix a photo. But, if not . . .

#2. Layers

Make three copies of the layer you just applied the shadows filter to.

These layers should be, a 'Color Dodge' layer, a 'Linear Burn Layer' and an 'Overlay Layer'. Adjust the opacity of each layer to control the effect as needed.

These two techniques give you a super fast method for cleaning up shadowy and colorless photos. They also provide a lot of knobs for fine-tuning.

If you look at the photo I've included, you'll see that the finished product (right) has a lot more life and color. Especially toward the base of the building. Before, almost every color down there was lost. Now it looks like a beautiful park. Certainly it looks a lot closer to what the architects were hoping when they designed the building.

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Welcome!

Wonder where to start with your web design business?

This blog follows along with my efforts to build and grow a website design business, Pro Content and Design.

The goal of this blog is to fill in blanks that may be empty as you get your business rolling.

This blog, particularly the source code section, is not intended for beginners. If you are not comfortable with databases, Ajax, DOM objects and other advanced methods, I strongly suggest you go take a look over at W3 Schools before even reading -- let alone tinkering with -- any of the code here.

I hope this blog has some value to web designers as they attempt to get their businesses going.

Good luck, and happy reading.

Thank you,
John Crawford
Pro Content and Design