Photography Tip #3 24/02/2011

Photoshop tutorial

Using layers and the different blending modes.

 

Using layers in Photoshop is a must when editing pictures, If your unsure what layers are its these:

To understand layers more clearly check out here:

 

Understanding Layers

 

Once you know the idea of using layers you can do so much more with your images, For this example I’ll show you some simple blending modes that can really add a nice effect quick and easy.

 

So to start go ahead and open your photo, select the first layer (your image) and press Ctrl+J, This dupilcates the image into a new layer.

 

Should have something like this now:

 

Now simply click on the blending modes drop-down box (The bit where it sais normal) and go through them one by one and see how your image changes. These are the ones that I find are most useful:

 

 

Multiply tends to basically ‘Multiply’ the colours,contrast etc so doubles the image (Great for bringing out the orange in a sun-setting sky),  I sometimes use the ‘Screen’ mode to lighten the image if I see too much shadow and overlay tends to work good on portrait shots.

 

Now the good thing is that you have that effect on a separate layer, so if you feel that the effect looks good on some parts of your photo but looks ‘too much’ on a different bit you can just grab your eraser tool (Press E) and then use the left [ or right ] bracket keys to resize the brush, select the Hardness (top left) best to keep it low because then it will blend in better:

 

And rub away in the spot you think has too much of the blend mode.

 

This is still the very basics of Photoshop and your already seeing some good improvements (hopefully) .

 

So stick around some more as we go deeper in to Photoshop and start learning some crazy techniques!

 

I hope these helped, Same as always feel free to leave a comment at the bottom if your stuck or have any Q’s.