NAVIGATION 
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Eric's Digital workflow ________________________________Want the .pdf? Click Here! Here you will find a basic workflow for editing your photos using adobe photoshop. I use variations of this workflow to edit my photos. The exact technique I use depends on each individual photo, but this is a general guide that works very well for editing photos. Ok lets get started. The very first thing I do is add a little color into the picture. This can be done by going to the "Hue/Saturation" layer, and raising the saturation 15%. To find this, go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation.   I do this first, because when the Saturation is increased, the lattitude of the photo pops out, that is the highlights become slightly lighter and the shadows slightly darker, at the same time bringing out the color of othe overall image. Because you do this first, Less brightness and contrast has to be added to the photo. If needed, the next thing I do is change the curves. In this image it's not needed so I won't use it as an example, but basically with curves you can adjust the brightness and contrast of the full tonal range of the image, from highlights to shadows, by allowing you to brighten or darken through the range. It goes further to allow you to do this to all three basic colors, Red, Green, and Blue, so if your image is slightly off color in the shadows, curves can help fix this. Again, since it's not needed in this image, I'll continue. The next thing I do is to enhance the brightness and the contrast. Remember that I first brought out the saturation, so I really don't need to do very much. The amount of Brightness and Contrast you add to the photo will really depend on what you see on the screen, so don't use the numbers I have here for every image you use. To do this, go to Layers > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast.   Once you are done with these 2 steps, you can pretty much see how the overall image is going to turn out. Next, you can begin to enhance details in certain areas of the photo, but to do that, you first need to flatten the image. What this does, is it takes the individual color and contrast layers, discards the masks over these layers, and applies the data to the background layer. Note: Once you do this, there's no going back without creating a new color or contrast layer.  Now it's time to make the metal shine. You'll notice that after the Saturation and the Brightness/Contrast has been adjusted, the bottom of the aircraft looks a little bit dark, and the details reflecting off the bottom of the aircraft aren't quite as visable as they should be. To change that, I'll be using two tools: the "Dodge" tool to brighten up the dark areas, and the "Sharpen" tool to bring out the detail. Dodging Sharpening  For the dodge tool, in the dropdown menu select "midtones," and the exposure should be no more than 20%. The size will vary based on the area you are working with. For the sharpen tool, the amount should be no more than 15%, and the size will vary according to the area you are working with. My tip when using the Dodge and Sharpen tool: Make one pass on every part of the aircraft that is in shadow, and if the paint itself is dark, use a little bit there as well. If you are very careful with the dodge tool, you can bring out reflections on the backlit surfaces of aircraft very well. Also, it can help if you run the dodge and sharpen tools over the bare metal surfaces of the aircraft, such as the engine exhaust and forward cowling, and the leading edge of the wing. When you use the dodge and sharpen tool in these areas, it can really make the metal shine. Now it's time to level and crop the photo. It is imperative that before you crop the photo you make sure it is level. This will save you some trouble if you crop first and the photo isn't level. Photoshop has a nice feature in the "Eyedropper" tool that allows you to pick 2 points in the picture and it will level those 2 points. This is called the "Measure" tool and can be found by right-clicking on the "Eyedropper" and selecting the Ruler. The points I have choosen are along the bottom stripe on the runway, as the runway is at near enough a 90* angle to me, and the stripe stretches through the whole photo. The more length you have to work with, the better.   Note the two points of crosshairs on the bottom of the line on the runway. The software will level the photo using these two points. Remember to go from edge to edge of your photo if possible with the line you select to level the photo. Once you have the two points picked, go to "Image > Rotate Canvas > Arbitrary." You will notice that a number and direction has already been put in for you, and all you have to do is hit "Ok" and you'll be set. Now that you have the photo levelled, its time to crop it to center the subject. Make sure to have the ratio set to either 3in x 2in for landscapes, or 2in x 3in for portraits. If your camera uses a 4:3 sensor, then it will be 4in x 3in for landscapes, and 3in x 4in for portraits. DO NOT CHANGE THE DPI. I have drawn a box around the subject of the picture for easier reference, as this can't really be explained verbally. Note: The crop ratios listed above are by no means binding. If you think a different crop ratio can convey the effect you want better, by all means use it.  Note that the subject is centered inside the crop box. Once you have the crop set, just push Enter on your keyboard and the image will crop. At this point, the photo is almost done, but before it's resized and sharpened, it needs to be cleaned up a little bit. You can barely make out the dust spot just above the mountaintop, but there are more than that. Dust spots make the picture look dirty and unprofessional, and thus need to be removed. But how do you see them? In the photo's natural state, they are very hard to spot, but by decreasing the brightness to a very low level and at the same time increasing the contrast to a very high level, the spots begin to pop out. Remember from above, adjusting the brightness/contrast is done by clicking on "Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast." The fact that it is it's own layer comes in very handy here. Another technique I've found handy but haven't included it in this photo is on a new layer, rather than using the brightness/contrast technique, oversharpen the photo by going to Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask and setting the Amount to 500%, Radius to 40 pixels, and Threshold to Zero. This guarantees that every dustspot will not only show in full detail, but will be brilliantly obvious and very difficult to miss.  Note that I have circled all the dust spots. Once you know where your spots are, you can clone them out. To do this, you must go back to working on the background layer, to do this, simply go to the "Window" menu and check "Layers." At this point, you will see a box with all the layers displayed inside, which at this point should only be 2. Simply click on the layer labelled "Background" and you will be able to use the Clone Stamp to remove the dust spots. The clone stamp works by taking a selection of pixels and duplicating them in another area of the photo, so to set the are to duplicate from, set the size you will want to use (should be just larger than the actual dust spot), the Opacity to "100%," and then push the Alt button on your keyboard while at the same time clicking on an area of pixels. This will tell the software where the pixels will be coming from in relation to where you are cloning to. When you move the clone stamp, the area pixels will be taken from will move as well, and because of this it is important that you match color uniformity, if possible try to select the area you will be removing pictures from to be as close as possible to the actual dust spot itself. Note: I don't actually use the above cloning technique anymore to remove dustspots, because I have found that it has limitations, for example if in a photo I notice the sky appears to be light in one area but dark in another, it can be very difficult using the clone tool to match the color of the sky exactly, leaving me with either light or dark blotches where dust spots used to be that frankly look just as bad. What I've found works better is the dust and scratches feature that can be found by going to Filter > Noise > Dust and Scratches. Once you have your dustspots nice and visable by using the steps above, select each dust spot using the selection tool, lasso or marquee, whatever you prefer just so the whole thing is selected, (make sure you're editing on the background layer) then using the dust and scratches tool, set the threshold down very low (since the dust is very similar to the background color), Usually 2 levels works, and the radius to around 40 pixels or so depeding on how big the spot is. The tool works by comparing neighboring pixels and based on the threshold you set it decides what the dustspot is, then it blends that spot with the surrounding pixels, ensuring that it blends seemlessly with the other pixels around it.  Now that you've removed the dustspots, you can discard the layers you used to reveal them. To do this, simply click on the adjustment layer (Either the USM or Brightness/Contrast) and go to "Layers > Delete," or you can use the layers window as I have pictured below.  You are almost finished. Out-of-camera files tend to have very large proportions, which takes up huge file space, and is very hard to look at (as well as very hard for a browser to handle). Many websites online require you to risize your photo down to save webspace. The standard set by Airliners.net is between 1024 and 1600 pixels wide, and most websites follow this standard. I personally resize my photos all down to 1200 unless I have a very special case. To resize your photo, click on "Image > Image size." A box will appear with a size for image, and a size and dpi for printer settings. For my purposes, I don't use the printer settings as I don't print my own images. Make sure the "constrain proportions" box is set, then set your width to "1024" for landscapes, for portraits your height will be "1024." Notice that since your proportions are constrained, the software will automatically resize the photo to the crop ratio you have set earlier when cropping. If it is a 3:2 ratio, the small side will be 683 pixels in length.  Now that the image is a proper viewing size, you are almost finished. Most websites require that extra kick of sharpness to make the picture quality absolutely top-notch. To do that, you can use the Unsharp Mask. What this does, is it finds an edge based on the threshold you set, then based on the radius and sharpness you set, it will change the contrast of pixels along that edge.   Generally, at this size, you won't need to have a radius above .3 pixels, or a sharpness setting above 500% unless the photo is very soft. It is absolutely paramount that you don't oversharpen the photo, as "jaggies" will become visable, and really mess up the photo. Jaggies appear like little "steps" on what should be a perfectly straight edge. Also, if you set your threshold too low, the photo will begin to appear grainy, too high, and the software won't "find" enough edges, thus the photo will appear soft. Note: The above sharpening technique really works best with consumer grade lenses that generally produce softer images (For example the Canon 75-300mm Lenses). With Pro lenses that are already quite sharp, the above technique will be too much, so I recommend Kyle Matson's Progressive Sharpening Workflow, which shows a very effective way to make your image clear and crisp without those pesky Jaggies getting in the way. At this point, you're finished, and all that is left to do is save the photo. To do this, click on "File > Save As" and save it as a .JPG. You can save it in any folder you want, it really matters not at all to me, just as long as you don't save over the original. After you have saved your file, it will show you a box that asks for compression settings. Compression is a way to reduce file size and space on your computer, but with the more compression you apply, the more quality you will lose. ALWAYS save it with as little compression as possible. The file size may be a little big, but it will be well worth the space used. The end result: ________________________________ Also, don't forget to visit our forums, Where we discuss everything from what made Jason's face turn red to all the different ways Eric has messed up a photo! Ok, we don't do much of that, but we do like to discuss what's coming in, what used to be here back in the days of yore, the different editing and in-camera techniques we use, plus any issues concerning the site get discussed as well. We also have a great News section, as well as our own Photo Gallery where all our great photos are displayed. Thanks for coming, enjoy your stay! No use without permission. |