Photoshop help: Landscape adjustment
Zack
get the sky and snow to look the way I want using Levels. On a
separate layer, I can get the water and shore to look like I want.
The questions is, how do I blend the two layers together?
Here is the photo (Bridgeport Res., eastern Sierra Nevadas):
http://skochko.com/help.jpg
What I tried to do here was erase the foreground in the "sky" layer,
which would reveal the "water" layer. But the transistion is too
harsh.
I am sure this must be a common problem; what is the best way to
handle it in Photoshop?
(In the future, i think I will use a graduated filter).
Thanks,
Zach
RSD99
Actually, I think that you might try a different approach. I suggest that
you do a web search on
contrast masking
or take a look at the following pages from 'The Luminous Landscape' site:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/contrast_masking.shtml
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/u-contrast
-masking.shtml
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/galleries/guests/f-arscott.shtml
"Zack" <fixed...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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Aerticeus
Aerticeus
"Zack" <fixed...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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Ronald Hands
> I took a landscape shot that I liked, but it needs some help. I can
> get the sky and snow to look the way I want using Levels. On a
> separate layer, I can get the water and shore to look like I want.
> The questions is, how do I blend the two layers together?
>
Great shot!
From the depths of my inexperience, I'd suggest that what you need to
do is make a selection, for instance of the water and the shore, and
save that selection to a separate layer. Then use Levels to get that
looking the way you would like. Feather the edge of the selection to
make the transition almost invisible.
Then make the background layer active and do a separate Levels
correction on the sky and snow, ignoring what happens to the water and
shore.
Save it as a PSD so you can go back to it if further work is needed.
Assuming your water and shore corrected selection is above the
background (full image) layer, then when you flatten the image you
should wind up with the two separate corrections blended into one image,
with the water and shore looking the way you made them in the selection
and the sky and snow looking the way they did on the background layer.
I'm almost a complete novice at this (a very old novice), but perhaps
this will give you a start or someone else will chip in with a better
routine. From your description, it seemed that you were missing the
"make a selection" step.
-- Ron
Annika1980
news:f2e8e364.04112...@posting.google.com...
>I took a landscape shot that I liked, but it needs some help. I can
> get the sky and snow to look the way I want using Levels. On a
> separate layer, I can get the water and shore to look like I want.
> The questions is, how do I blend the two layers together?
There are many ways to do this, most of them involving masking and layers.
However, if you're using Photoshop CS the new "Shadow/Highlight" command does a
nice job with this image.
Annika1980
>Actually, I think that you might try a different approach. I suggest that
>you do a web search on
>
>contrast masking
>
>
>or take a look at the following pages from 'The Luminous Landscape' site:
>http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/contrast_masking.shtml
This simple method works wonders on that pic and only takes a minute.
1. Make an adjustment layer by duplicating the layer.
2. Set Blending Mode of the new layer to Overlay.
3. Image/Adjustments/Desaturate
4. Image/Adjustments/Invert
5. Filter/Blur/Gaussian Blur (set to 50 pixels)
Simmer to taste.
Hunt
fixed...@yahoo.com says...
Zach,
If the suggestions that have followed, do not get you where you need to be,
especially the Image>Adjustment>Highlight&Shadow in CS, and you have what you
want on two Layers (using Adjustment Layers for your corrections), you only
need to make a Layer Mask for your upper Layer (let's say that it is the sky
Layer). By blurring the horizon line in the sky Layer Layer Mask, the two will
blend. I see a sharp line, with some areas that are well defined at the
horizon. The Blur(ing) can be accomplished once your Layer Mask is done, by
using the Lasso for just the horizon part of the Mask, and doing a Gaussian
Blur on it. Then, with a soft-edged Brush, go into the Layer Mask (make sure
it is selected in Channels) and work on the Mask. By hitting "x" you can
change from painting to erasing the Layer Mask. Once you have it where you
want it, Save_As a PSD, then Flatten and Save_As whatever you want.
Now, if you don't have this image in two separate Layers (as I assume you do
from the original post), let me know, and I'll step you through that part of
it. You are close, and the journey will be well worth the efforts.
Nice shot,
Hunt
HooDooWitch
This sort of thing is nigh-on impossible to explain, even when you've
got someone sat next to you on the computer, let alone via a text-only
medium.
Perhaps you could post the original image? When I've got 5 minutes
I'll have a quick bash and let you have the PS file back. That way you
can see exactly what's going on with the masks, layers and
adjustments.
--
HooDooWitch
http://www.ianwhitephoto.co.uk
I'm aiming high, and I'm willing to shoot.
Aerticeus
this NG)
Any chance of a talk thru?
Reason I ask (not just for myself of course) is that there may be a few
readers that would love to know
Aerticeus
"Hunt" <no...@hunt.com> wrote in message
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Hunt
...
No problem. First Open image (let's use the one discussed in OP), and dbl-
click on Background Layer to make it a fully editable Layer. Next, I'd run
Image>Adjustment>Highlight&Shadow, and see how things look. Remember, that
unless you have non-linear History activated, you can't really go back to
before H&S Adjustment. If you like where you are, keep the Adjustment.
Duplicate that Layer, so that you have two, identical Layers. Here, I would
make a Selection of the upper part of the top Layer. At this point, one need
not be too critical regarding the Selection (though if it's too rough, more
work will have to be done later). Save Selection as, say "sky." In the upper
Layer, without any Selection active, add necessary Adjustment Layers to get
the sky/mountains where you want them. I'd start with AL-Curves, and then
whatever else I though necessary. To get these Adjustment Layers to work only
on the upper Layer, you can press Alt (I think, but maybe Ctrl - I don't have
PS open at this moment, so check me out here) and click on the junction of the
Layer you wish to group with and the Adjustment Layer (a yen-yang sort of
symbol will appear and when clicked, an arrow down to the Layer will appear on
the left side of that AL. When done with the sky Layer, go to the lake Layer,
and do the same type of Adjustment Layer work, until satisfied. Make sure that
you "group" the AL's with the lake Layer. (Note: Layer Sets will do this too,
so choose what works best for you.)
Now you have the upper, sky/mountain Layer adjusted, and the lake Layer
adjusted. Make sky Layer active and Open your sky Selection. Choose make Layer
Mask for sky Layer. This will keep the lake area hidden behind your Layer
Mask. In Channels, make sure that the Layer Mask is active, and work in high
magnification on painting in, or erasing out any parts of the mask where you
missed your mark in the earlier Selection process. Because you are working in
B/W only, hitting "x" will toggle between painting with Black, or erasing (
using White). I'd use a soft-edged brush, that is not too large, or maybe the
Airbrush here. Once you are satisfied with your Mask, you can even use the
Lasso, and select just the top edge of your Mask to do a Blur. Experiment with
the amount of Blur, that you want. I might just go in with the Blur Tool, if
I've done a good job already, so as to not Blur the Mask-edge too much.
Because you masked out the lake in the sky/mountain Layer, it, and the
adjustments that you made to it, will not show.
Save_As PSD, then, if necessary, Flatten and Save_As whatever you need.
Because of the infinite power of Photoshop, there are several other ways of
getting the same basic results, but this is how I'd do it. If one wanted to
keep the Layers aspect out of the mix, you could do an A-B Mask of your sky/
mountain Selection, and then use them to just do various Adjustment Layers.
The same basic treatment of the Mask(s) would apply, but you would be working
on just the image Layer and not have to Flatten, etc. I choose to talk about
the Layers, because the OP had already done that, but it is really not
necessary, unless the sky/mountains are actually coming from another shot.
Hunt
Aerticeus
Thanks
I have used some of these today
Thanks for sharing your experience
Hunt
says...
You are most welcome. For me, the greatest advances in PS were Layers, then
Layer Masks, and Adjustment Layers. This is, however, based on what my clients
usually require of me and my photographs. Next, I'd add the PS CS
Highlight&Shadow Adjustment (the new Browser is nicer too). This has saved me
countless time doing A-B Masks and then Adjustment Layers>Curves. It's not
fail-safe, nor is it the ultimate answer for all situations, but in very
general terms it's worth the upgrade price to me and was the main impetus to
do so when CS first hit.
Hunt
Zack
running again I will try the suggested techniques.