LEARN PHOTOSHOP CC & LIGHTROOM TODAY!

Issue 114 September 2020

WAT C H

7 EXPERT
VIDEO
LESSONS

PLUS
BETTER GROUP
PHOTOS
LONG EXPOSURE
TRICKS

E
LIGHTROOM F

T
T O

I
THE A R

S
SKILLS

C O M P O
 Editor
James Paterson
Art Editor
Rosie Webber
Production Editor
Richard Hill
Content Director
Chris George
Senior Art Editor
Warren Brown

DOWNLOAD THE
PROJECT FILES
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issue's files, type
the following link
into your web
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PC or Mac:
https://bit.ly/pho_114
FIND US HERE…
Welcome to issue 114 of Practical Photoshop!
If you enjoy the issue, why not subscribe and get
a whole year for just $19.99? http://bit.ly/practweet
http://bit.ly/pracface
If there’s one thing Photoshop does best, it’s
combining photos. We’ve dedicated this issue to the Also available on:
skills and techniques you’ll need to master the art of
amazing composites, from swapping backdrops to
replacing heads, stitching sequences and more. http://tiny.cc/4dw9ky

http://tiny.cc/rew9ky
James Paterson, Editor • james.paterson@futurenet.com

www.digitalcameraworld.com http://tiny.cc/8ew9ky

HIGHLIGHTS: WHAT’S INSIDE…

CREATE THE IMPROVE GROUP PHOTOSHOP LONG EXPOSURES LIGHTROOM
COVER IMAGE PHOTOS UPDATES EXPLAINED AT DUSK SKILLS
QLearn how to QSwap out bad QMaster the latest QShoot minutes- QTone your videos
replace a background expressions for tools for a fun long exposures for in Lightroom with
with ease better group shots portrait effect low-light scenes simple controls
 THE ART OF

COMPOSITE
Want to combine two or more photos into one fantastic
image? We explore some of the best tricks and techniques
for compositing your images...
DOWNLOAD THE PROJECT FILES HERE http://bit.ly/pho_114 ON YOUR PC OR MAC
 REPL ACE A BACKGROUND
Learn how to create the cover image by replacing a backdrop
with a street scene for an atmospheric portrait

BEFORE

WATCH THE VIDEO

https://bit.ly/3g9IYuo

Replacing a
background has to
be one of the things that
Photoshop does better than
any other program. There are
four stages to this: first we
position the subject against
a new backdrop; second, we
select the subject; third, we
make a mask; and fourth, we
fine-tune the tones and add
any other effects to bring
the scene together into a
AFTER believable whole…
1
DROP IN THE PORTRAIT
Grab the Move Tool and
drag the subject image
to the new backdrop image.
Here we’ve used a street
scene downloaded for free
from pixabay.com (search
for seoul-5040704). Once
your portrait is copied into
the new backdrop, press
Cmd/Ctrl+T to transform,
then position and resize
the layer until it’s in roughly
the right place.

2
SELECT THE SUBJECT
Go to Select > Subject
(if the image has
multiple subjects, try
dragging a box over the
one you want with the
Object Selection Tool), then
go to Select > Select And
Mask. Set the View to On
Layers so you can see both
the subject and backdrop
– this helps you to judge
the settings as you go on
to make further edits.

3
IMPROVE THE EDGE
If you need to add
or subtract to the
selected area, you can use
the Quick Selection brush
on the left. Next, increase
the radius to a few pixels,
then grab the Refine Edge
Brush from the toolbar on
the left and paint over the
edges of the hair where the
background shows through,
to increase the refinement
in this area.
4
PAINT THE MASK
In the Select And
Mask Output settings,
choose Output to: Layer
Mask and click OK. Next,
grab the Brush Tool and
press D then X to set the
foreground color to black.
Zoom in close and paint
over any messy areas to
hide parts of the subject,
or press X to switch to
white if you need to reveal
parts of the subject.

5
BLUR THE BACKDROP
The street scene
would naturally be
out of focus, so right-click
the background layer and
choose Convert To Smart
Object, then go to Filter >
Blur Gallery. Choose Field
Blur. Use the dial to blur
the scene, then click to add
a second dial and reduce
the blur at the bottom, so
it looks as if the blur gets
stronger in the distance.

6
MATCH THE COLORS
We need to match the
colors in the subject
to the backdrop. Highlight
the top layer then click
the Adjustment Layer icon
in the Layers Panel and
choose Color Balance. Click
the Clip To Layer icon in
the properties so that the
adjustment only affects the
layer below, then add a little
magenta to the shadows
and blue to the highlights.
7
BOOST THE TONES
Add a Curves
Adjustment Layer then
make an S-shaped curve,
as we’ve shown here to
boost the contrast. Click on
the curve yo add a point,
then drag. Try flattening
out the curve line slightly
by dragging the very top-
right point down, and the
bottom-left point upwards.
This dulls the blacks and
whites, for a matte look.

8
ADD A FLARE EFFECT
Adding an effect
like a flare on top of
everything can help things
gel. We’ve used another
pixabay.com free image
(background-833061).
After dropping the flare
image in, we can change the
Blending Mode to Screen,
then lower the layer opacity
slightly, before painting a
layer mask to control the
strength of the effect.

9
FINAL TOUCHES
Finally we can bring
everything together
with a few final tonal
tweaks. This is easily done
by merging a new layer
with Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E.
Then we go to Filter >
Camera Raw Filter and
use the tonal tools here to
finish off. We’ve selected
the Artistic 7 profile here
to alter the colors.
 BUILD A SEQUENCE
Discover how to combine several frames for amazing action sequences

AFTER

WATCH THE VIDEO

https://bit.ly/2QcPUfS

BEFORE
 If you have a sequence
of photos taken in
alignment like this (using
a tripod is best) then you
can easily combine them
into a single frame. This is
great for a rapid-fire action
sequence, but you can use
the same technique to craft
a multiplicity portrait – where
the same person appears in
multiple places throughout
the scene – or perhaps to
remove annoying bystanders
from your landscape scene
by taking different versions
where people are standing
in different places.
Highlight the sequence
of images in Bridge, then go
to Tools > Photoshop > Load
Files Into Photoshop Layers
(or in Photoshop, you can
use File> Scripts > Load Files
Into Stack). Hide all but the
bottom two layers. Highlight
the second-from-bottom
layer, grab the Lasso Tool
and make a loose selection
of the figure, then click
the Add Layer Mask icon to
hide everything else. Next
highlight and reveal the next
layer up, lasso the subject
and add a mask. Repeat
for the rest of the layers.
 MASK IMAGES TO TEXT
One of the easiest
ways to make a
composite is simply to clip
one layer the shape of
another. This is often used
to confine images to text
like this. Simply hold Alt and
click the line between the
two layers in the Layers
Panel to create a clipping
mask. The shape or text
(the ‘container’) should
be on the lower layer, and
the image that you want
confined to it should be
on the layer above. You
can clip multiple layers
to one shape if you like.
 LAYER MASKS EXPL AINED
They’re the key to all kinds of incredible composites,
so it pays to know how they work...

BEFORE

1
MAKING A MASK
To make a mask, we
can either go to Layer
> Layer Mask > Reveal All/
Hide All, or click the Add
Mask icon at the bottom of
the Layers Panel. We can
also Alt-click the icon to add
a full black mask. If we first
have an active ‘marching
ants’ selection, that will
be converted into a mask
and any areas outside will
be hidden.
2 3
THE MASK THUMBNAIL
Once a mask is added, a Mask
thumbnail appears on the layer
next to the image thumbnail. To edit the
layer mask, it’s crucial this thumbnail is
highlighted - otherwise we might end up
painting black over our image. We can Alt-
click the thumbnail to toggle a mask view,
and Shift-click to turn it off or on.
4 5
PAINTING ON MASKS
We can paint with either black or white
over our image to edit our Layer Mask,
which is useful for perfecting the edges
where land meets sky. A couple of keyboard
shortcuts speed things up - D to reset
colors to black and white, and X to flip from
one to the other. We can also paint h at a
low opacity - or a gray color - to gradually
hide the layer.
HIDE OR REVEAL
Our Layer Mask allows us to hide
parts of a layer, or make areas semi-
transparent. Here it lets us hide the original
sky, revealing a new sky on the layer below.
Any areas in black on the mask are hidden,
and the white areas are visible. The mask is
linked to the image on the layer, but we can
click the link to move one independently.
THE MASK PANEL
Double-click a mask thumbnail to open
the mask properties. Density and
Feather let you fade the mask or blur the
edges. You can also access Select And Mask
or Color Range, which let you fine-tune
what’s included in the mask. The Invert
button swaps what is visible and hidden.
The icons at the bottom let you apply the
mask, load a selection of it, or delete it.
 PL ACE AN IMAGE
IN A SCREEN
Drop new images into screens or frames with ease

This is one of those AFTER

image-editing tasks
that photographers and
designers are increasingly
asked to carry out. Dropping
an image into a screen or a
picture frame is very easy,
but there are a few key
points to nailing the effect.
If the frame or screen is
at an angle, it’s important to
get the perspective right.
We can use the Transform
Tool to skew the layer to
match it’s intended frame
– we drag the image to its BEFORE
new backdrop, press Cmd/
Ctrl+T to transform it, then
hold Cmd/Ctrl and drag the
corners of the bounding box
to match up with the corners
of the screen or frame we
want to drop the picture into.
We can also use blending
controls to combine the
dropped-in image with text
and details on the device like
this. After copying in the new
image, we double-click the
layer thumbnail and adjust
the Blend If sliders as shown
(hold Alt to split the sliders) WATCH THE VIDEO
to knock out the black https://bit.ly/32dZhl7
backdrop of the original.
 REPL ACE A HEAD IN
A GROUP PHOTO
Didn’t quite nail that important group photo in one shot?
You could try comping a head from one frame to another

BEFORE

With group photos,
it can be tricky to
get perfect expressions
from everyone in a single
frame, especially if children
or animals are involved in
the shoot. The trick when
shooting a group shot is
to fire off several frames
for each pose. This way,
you might be able to piece
together a perfect shot
where everyone is smiling
and looking at the camera.
It helps if the background
is uniform like this, but even
if it’s cluttered you might be
able to replace a person’s
head as long as the camera
stays fairly still throughout
the sequence of shots (if
you’ve used a tripod, even
better!). The key point here
is to plot a line that will be
the join point of your two
frames. Here our incision
runs through the man’s
shirt, which is an easy place
to join our two versions
of the scene together.
1
LASSO THE HEAD
Open the two images.
Grab the Lasso Tool
and make a loose selection
of the replacement head
(include more than you
think you’ll need), then grab
the Move Tool and drag it
to the other image. Lower
the layer Opacity to 50%,
then position the new head
over the old one. Press
Cmd/Ctrl+T if you need
to transform the layer.

2
PAINT A MASK
Click the Add Layer
Mask icon, then
grab the Brush Tool and
press D then X to set the
foreground color to black.
Zoom in close and paint
with black over the edges
of the layer to blend the
two, so that there is a
smooth transition from
one image to the other.

3
MERGE AND CLONE
Press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift
+Alt+E to merge the
layers into a new layer. Use
this layer to tidy up any
messy patches along the
edges of the join, using the
Clone Tool or the Healing
Tool to fix things. Make any
other changes you like to
finish off the image.
 ADD STARS TO A NIGHT SK Y
Enhance your night-time scenes by dropping in better stars

WATCH THE VIDEO

https://bit.ly/2EmQwfY

BEFORE
 If you want to
composite stars into
a night-time scene, the
task is quick and easy. Open
your image of stars and use
the Lasso tool to make a
freehand selection of the
area. Copy (Cmd/Ctrl+V)
and Paste (Cmd/Ctrl+V) the
stars into your main image,
then press Cmd/Ctrl+T to
transform and position the
layer. Next, go to the Layers
Panel and set the Blending
Mode to Lighten. Add a
Layer Mask to the star layer case you need to darken the stars layer we ensure
then grab the Brush Tool the stars image so that its the lighter pixels on the
and paint black to hide any backdrop is darker than layer below are visible).
parts where you don’t want the layer below (with the Add a Levels Adjustment
the stars to show. Lighten Blending Mode, Layer, click the square Clip
You might find that the only the lightest pixels To Layer icon at the bottom
backdrop to the stars image on each layer will show of the Levels settings, and
shows through, in which through, so by darkening drag in the black point.
MAKE A PORTRAIT STITCH
Combine several portraits into one with this simple technique
 If you have several image and press Cmd/ Use the Move Tool to
portraits taken Ctrl+backspace to fill the position each person (check
against a plain, uniform background with your Show Transform Controls
backdrop like this, why sampled color. and Auto-Select Layer in
not try stitching several Grab the Lasso Tool the tool options to make it
together? Make a new and set Feather to 10px easier to select and resize
document, then grab the in the tool options at the each figure). If you’d like
Brush Tool, hold Alt and top. Make loose selections the figures to overlap one
click on the backdrop of of each portrait before another, add a Layer Mask
your portrait to sample copying and pasting them and paint black to hide
the color. Go to the new into your new document. parts of the layer.
MAKING COMPOSITES WORK
It’s not all about perfect selections and masks - lighting,
toning and shadows are key to composite success
1
MATCHING THE TONES
If the tones and colors in your combined images don’t match up, the whole effect
will look messy and unnatural. There are several ways to match colors. First, there’s
the Match Color command (Image > Adjustments > Match Color), which lets you target
another layer or image to tint your currently selected layer in a similar way. You can
also use Adjustment Layers to alter colors and match the feel of your images. The Color
Balance, Curves and Selective Color adjustments are especially useful for this. Once the
images are combined, it’s also a good idea to add a final tonal shift on top of everything.
2
CONSISTENT LIGHTING
It helps enormously if the images you intend to combine are captured under similar
lighting conditions. Here both the giraffe and the New York street scene are lit
strongly from behind, so that the front of the subject is in shadow. As such, the images are
more likely to gel together if the highlights and shadows fall at a similar angle. Pick your
images with this in mind. If you’re shooting for a composite, keep the lighting consistent
throughout the set of photos.

3
PAINTING SHADOWS
Our giraffe would look
like it was floating
above the road unless we
paint in shadows. We simply
make a new layer below
the cut out giraffe layer,
then use the Brush Tool set
to black at a low Opacity
to gradually build up the
shadows. It can be helpful
to look at how the shadows
fall elsewhere - like the
people on the street here.
 BEFORE

AFTER
WATCH THE VIDEO
https://bit.ly/3iVG5PC

LEARN NEW CC TRICKS

James Paterson gets to grips with the updates in the June 2020
releases and learns how to craft a stunning portrait effect

We’re used to seeing
Adobe roll out regular
updates to Photoshop
and Lightroom – and this
summer they’ve come up
with the goods again.
The real showstopper
here is Select Subject. First
introduced in 2018, the
command uses AI to isolate
your subject with an auto
selection. It’s always been
impressive, but the latest
updates take it to a new
level: now it can cut out hair.
The results are great, even
on windswept hair like the
above. With a single click,
we can now make a complex
cut-out and isolate a subject
from the background. This
will save time for those who
know how to cut out hair
using Select And Mask, but
it’s perhaps more useful
for those who don’t. Within
seconds, even a novice can
make a precise cut-out.
Camera Raw has also
been given a new look
that brings it in line with
Lightroom. What’s more,
Lightroom and Camera
Raw now offer localized
hue adjustments. So, after
making a local adjustment
with the Adjustment Brush,
Graduated Filter or Radial
Filter, you can now change
the colors in the affected
area with ease.
Here, we’ll explain how
to craft a portrait effect
like the above with some
of these key new features.

DOWNLOAD THE PROJECT FILES HERE https://bit.ly/pho_114 ON YOUR PC OR MAC

01 BETTER CAMERA
RAW CROPPING
Open the image into Camera
Raw. The toolbar is now on
the right edge, so grab the
Crop Tool from here. You can
right-click to choose from a
range of new crop overlays
to aid your cropping. When
you rotate, the image now
rotates rather than the
crop box, making it easier
to judge.

02 COLOR-CHANGING
CONTROLS
You can now use the local
hue adjustment control in
Camera Raw and Lightroom
to tweak colors. In this
photo, get the Adjustment
Brush and paint the clothes
(check Auto-Mask in the
brush settings to lock on to
the colors). Go to the Hue
box, then tweak them by
lowering Saturation.

03 FINE HUE
ADJUSTMENTS
Hue commands can also be
useful for color tweaks like
shifting skin tones. Click
New and paint over the face,
then use Range Mask: Color
to make it more precise. Go
to the Hue control again;
this time check Use Fine
Adjustment, then drag the
slider right to add warmth
to the face.
04 ENHANCED AUTO
SELECTIONS
The enhanced Select Subject
command in Photoshop
automatically isolates a
person inside a photo for
you, including the flyaway
hairs in this portrait. Open
the image into Photoshop
and go to Select > Subject.
Click the Add Layer Mask icon
to convert the selection into
a mask.

05 CREATE A NEW
BACKDROP
Import the star image and
make two copies; drag one
layer below the portrait and
the other above. Set both
layers to the Screen Blending
Mode, add a new bottom
layer and colorize it with a
white-to-light blue circular
gradient. Mask the top layer
and use a soft black brush
to hide parts as desired.

06 USE REVAMPED
CURVES
Merge a new layer with
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+ Alt+E. Go
to Filter > Camera Raw Filter.
Click Curves, select the blue
channel and adjust the line
as shown, using the handy
new color gradient overlay.
Finally, right-click and select
Copy Channel Settings from
the pop-up menu, and paste
this onto the green channel.
 TAKE YOUR TIME AT TWILIGHT
James Paterson shows you how to shoot super-long
exposures at the end of the day for beautiful blurred clouds

WATCH THE VIDEO

https://bit.ly/2E2UCKN

Neutral-density filters clouds slowly pass through twice, especially if – like

are often used to
block the flow of light and
allow for blurring of water
or clouds in landscapes.
Less often do we see them
employed at the very start
or end of the day, when the
light levels are low enough
to allow for long exposures
without the need for a filter.
But what if we want a really,
really long exposure? By
stretching out our exposure
to several minutes, the
the frame and any sense
of shape is diminished.
What we’re left with is a
painterly landscape that is
short on cloud detail, but
big on atmosphere.
The main challenge is
that we only have one or
two bites of the cherry…
Our exposure times can
run into tens of minutes, so
the atmospheric twilight
colors in the sky can only
really be captured once or
the windmill – the aim is
to balance the fading light
in the sky with the spotlit
foreground. But this brings
a welcome calmness upon
the shoot. Sunset can often
feel like a frantic time for a
landscape photographer,
as we try out different
compositions and test shots
while striving for the ideal
image. With this skill, all
those decisions are made
before, so you can relax.

DOWNLOAD THE PROJECT FILES HERE http://bit.ly/pho_114 ON YOUR PC OR MAC

 LONG-EXPOSURE LANDSCAPES
Get set up to shoot with a long shutter speed as the sun goes down

6 1
3

1 TRIPOD 2 EXPOSURE SETTINGS 3 CABLE RELEASE

Our exposure will reach
several minutes: we need
the camera to stay still, so a
tripod is crucial. Be careful
not to nudge it during the
exposure, remove the
camera strap so it doesn’t
flap around in the breeze,
and weigh the tripod down
if the wind is strong.
Our camera is set to Manual
exposure with the shutter
speed set to Bulb, aperture
at f/16 and ISO 100. With
near-dark conditions
approaching and a three-
stop ND filter attached
to the lens, the exposure
length ran into around
about 13 minutes.
A cable release is essential
for Bulb mode, as it
means we don’t need to
continually press the shutter
throughout the exposure.
Most cable releases have
a slide lock that allows you
to lock the button down,
meaning that your hands
will be free.

4 BOLD SHAPES 5 TWILIGHT COLORS 6 BALANCED LIGHT

A twilight sky is given extra
depth and context if you
include a strong shape in
the foreground. In our case,
the windmill gives us a bold
subject against the backdrop
of a lush sky. A high vantage
point ensures we get the
best view of the sky and
our subject.
At twilight the most
interesting part of the sky
will likely be in the direction
of the setting sun: you’re
likely to get the most vivid
colors and interesting cloud
formations. By waiting
until the light in the sky is
dwindling, we can balance
it with the spotlit windmill.
Buildings or other structures
that are lit up at night can
look wonderful, but it can
be hard to balance the light
in the sky with the spotlit
structure. The key is to wait
for the sky to darken to the
point where they balance
with one another – for us
this was about half an hour.
 MINUTES-LONG EXPOSURES
01 CLOSE THE VIEWFINDER
Whenever you use an exposure that
runs into several seconds or more, there’s
a danger that light may seep in through the
camera viewfinder and cloud the exposure.
So be sure to close up the viewfinder or
block it to stop light from entering from
the rear.
03 ND FILTERS
A neutral-density filter slows the
flow of light into the camera, extending our
exposure length. The stronger the filter,
the longer the exposure. The combination
of a three-stop filter, a narrow aperture of
f/16 and a low ISO of 100 means we can
keep the shutter open for over 10 minutes!
02 USING BULB
Most cameras max out at a
30-second exposure time. If you want to
go beyond this, use Bulb mode so that the
shutter stays open as long as the shutter
button is engaged. The term references
a time when shutters were opened and
closed by squeezing a rubber bulb.
04 COMPOSE BEFOREHAND
It can be tricky to see through a
DSLR viewfinder after attaching a strong
ND filter, especially at twilight when the
light levels are low. Compose the frame
before attaching the lens, or switch to Live
View for a brightened view (you may need
to turn off the exposure preview setting).
 SHOOT AFTER DARK
Learn how to focus accurately and pick the right aperture after dark

01 NARROW APERTURE
If your near-dark scene includes lights like those shining on the windmill here, then
use a narrow aperture. As well as offering greater depth of field and longer shutter speeds,
the high f-number also results in star-like streaks around specular highlights.

02 LIVE VIEW
Your autofocus may
struggle to lock on to the
correct subject in low light
– especially after you’ve
attached an ND filter – so
it’s often easier to focus
manually using Live View.
Switch the lens to manual
focus, turn on Live View and
zoom in to the scene, then
adjust the focus ring until
it’s sharp.
 CALCULATE A LONG EXPOSURE
01 TAKE A
TEST SHOT
If you want to
shoot with a very
long exposure to
blur clouds like
this, then it can be
helpful to begin
with a test shot
using a very high
ISO. Here we used
Aperture Priority
at f/16, ISO 6,400
and 1.3 sec. We
can use this as a
base to work out
an equivalent long
exposure for our
photograph and
go from there.

02 USE A CALCULATOR
An app like PhotoPills is helpful for
calculating equivalent exposures. Here
we lower the ISO to 100, which increases
the shutter speed to 1 minute 23 seconds.
Then, to increase the time even more, we
factor in a three-stop ND filter, resulting in
an exposure of 11 minutes 6 seconds.
03 TIME THE SHOT
Now we lock open the shutter with
the cable release to take the shot and we
use a stopwatch to track the time. When
shutter speeds last for tens of minutes,
a few seconds here or there will have
minimal effect on the exposure, so you
don’t have to be exact with your timing.
 CLOUD MOVEMENT AND BLUR
What’s the correct shutter speed to blur slow-moving clouds?
8 SEC
75 SEC
The amount of blur in the sky here
depends on the speed of the clouds
as well as the length of the exposure. In
windy conditions, fast-moving clouds may
blur nicely after a minute or so, whereas in
calm conditions, like the evening we shot
on, it’s only possible to achieve motion
blur by pushing the shutter speed beyond
several minutes. You can see the difference
20 SEC
780 SEC
here between exposure times of eight, 20,
75 and 780 seconds. In the shorter exposure
detail is retained in the clouds, while in the
longer exposure it’s blurred to streaks.
The other factor to consider in scenes like
this is the balance of light on the building
and the sky. By waiting until near-darkness,
the windmill contrasts more boldly with the
twilight sky.
 DARK FRAME SUBTRACTION
Learn how to shoot and blend a dark frame in Photoshop
Very long exposures can lead to
increased image noise, due to the
sensor heating up during the exposure. To
combat this, you can take a dark frame to
blend with your image later. After taking
your photo, place the lens cap back on and
hold your hand over the viewfinder, then
take another long exposure with the same
settings. It’s important that this is done at
the time of shooting, as temperature plays a
part with noise on your sensor during a long
exposure. Later, we can use this frame to
help subtract the noise in the image.
In Photoshop, open both the main
image and the dark frame, go to the dark
frame and copy (Cmd/Ctrl+C), then go to
the other image and paste in place (Cmd/
Ctrl+Shift+V). Now the dark frame should sit
on the layer above the main image. Now go
to the Layers Panel, click the Blending Mode
dropdown at the top, and choose Subtract
to blend the dark frame.
LEARN LIGHTROOM TODAY!
WATCH THE VIDEO
https://bit.ly/3l01UPP

This month, learn how

to split-tone and tint your
monochrome photos
If you’d like to watch the
complete course now, get the
app from the Apple App Store

LIKE THIS? NOW AVAILABLE ON BUY

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 Your quick-start guide and reference
to image editing in Photoshop
If you’re relatively new to editing in
Photoshop, or you just don’t know
where to begin, then this section is the best
place to get started. Over the next 10 pages,
you’ll find an overview of the different versions
of Photoshop available; a breakdown of the
typical image-editing workflow in Photoshop;
an overview of raw file editing; a guide to the
six most useful layers; and a glossary of the
most useful shortcuts. This guide condenses
most of the tools and techniques you’ll use
every time you import a new roll of pictures.
 CREATIVE CLOUD PLANS
CHOOSE THE PLAN WITH THE COMBINATION OF TOOLS AND STORAGE YOU NEED
Photography Plan • 20GB Photography Plan • 1TB

Best for Traditional desktop users Cloud and desktop

Price per month £9.98/$9.99 £19.97/$19.99

Photoshop CC

Lightroom CC

Lightroom Classic

Lightroom Mobile

Cloud storage 20GB 1TB

If you want Photoshop, The same as the Photography

you need the regular Plan, but with 1TB storage.
Notes
Photography Plan – you Existing users are offered
also get Lightroom Classic a discount for the first year

Lightroom CC Plan Lightroom Mobile Premium

Best for Cloud fans Mobile-only users

Price per month £9.98/$9.99 £4.49/$6.49

Photoshop CC

Lightroom CC

Lightroom Classic

Lightroom Mobile

Cloud storage 1TB 100GB

This plan is for smart devices

With this plan you get the ‘new’
only. The Lightroom Mobile
Notes Lightroom CC and 1TB storage –
app is free, but the ‘premium’
but not Photoshop
version is an in-app purchase
 LIGHTROOM CC
FROM £9.98/$9.99 PER MONTH
WINDOWS, macOS
Lightroom CC combines
professional image-
processing tools with
asset organizing. It keeps all its
images online in the Creative
Cloud, with advanced image
search capabilities.

LIGHTROOM CLASSIC
FROM £9.98/$9.99 PER MONTH
PHOTOSHOP CC
FROM £9.98/$9.99 PER MONTH WINDOWS, macOS
WINDOWS, macOS
Lightroom Classic
Photoshop is the software of choice for most professional offers editing and
and non-professional photographers. Beyond the standard organizing tools, but
photo-editing features, it boasts a vast array of more you can only store images on
creative tools and filters. Layers are one of the key differences your computer.
between Photoshop and Lightroom. They enable you to mask
out selected parts to build up increasingly sophisticated images.
LIGHTROOM MOBILE
FREE (PREMIUM: £4.49/$6.49 PER MONTH)
IPHONE, IPAD, ANDROID
Lightroom Mobile is
the lightweight iPad,
iPhone and Android
version of the application,
integrated with Lightroom
CC. You can use Lightroom
Mobile on its own for free,
or use the Premium In-App
Purchase to access the Adobe
Creative Cloud. This enables
you to create a collection
of photos on your desktop
copy of Lightroom, and sync
ELEMENTS 15 £79.99/$99.99 WINDOWS, macOS them via the Creative Cloud
Elements is the consumer variant of Photoshop, and to Lightroom Mobile on your
contains many of its key tools and features within a portable devices. You can also
simplified interface. It’s limited, but it does provide access get Lightroom Mobile via any
to layers for those who have switched to a Lightroom workflow. Photography Plan.

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP
FREE IPAD, ANDROID
MIX
Mix enables you to merge two photos together
to create a composite image. It offers a simplified
compositing process that makes it easy for beginners
to start combining an object from one image with a background
from another. You can then send the composite to Photoshop
for further edits. If you like, you can also use Mix to edit a single
image. It offers a few simple tonal adjustments and more
complex edits such as Content-Aware Fill.
ADOBE COLOR
FREE IPHONE, IPAD, ANDROID
If you ever need help
selecting coordinated colors
for your designs, try using
Adobe Color. It enables you to create
color themes from photos taken on
your mobile device. This could be
anything from a scene in your local
park to a famous painting. So if you
come across an inspirational scene,
capture the colors and save them.
ADOBE SHAPE
FREE
IPHONE, IPAD, ANDROID
Adobe Shape enables
you to turn photos and
sketches into beautiful
vector shapes for use in your
designs or artwork. The app
smooths out jagged edges in
images, resulting in gorgeous
vectors that are endlessly
scalable, just as if you’d drawn
them by hand with the Pen tool.
Make a shape with the mobile
app and the next time you open
Photoshop on your desktop, the
shape will sync to your Library.
Drag it in to any document to
add color and make further
adjustments.
ADOBE BRUSH
FREE
IPHONE, IPAD, ANDROID
Adobe Brush enables
you to make your
own custom brushes
from photos or sketches for
use in Photoshop, Illustrator
or the Sketch app. The most
successful subjects are usually
those that can be easily
isolated, such as a splash
against white, or a leaf against
the sky. You can capture objects
for your brush tips using your
device’s camera, choose from
your camera roll, or use your
Creative Cloud library. Once
captured, you can then fine-
tune the look of the tip and
apply brush settings.
 ADOBE COMP CC
FREE IPAD
If you’re a designer
who wants to build
a quick layout for a
web or print page, then Comp is
the ideal place to start piecing
ideas, images and text together.
You can draw common design
elements such as text or image
boxes with quick gestures. For
example, a couple of squiggly
lines with a dot makes a
header, and a cross makes an

ADOBE
FREE IPAD
PHOTOSHOP SKETCH image box. It makes it easy to
mock up a layout in seconds.
You can then add words and
As the name suggests, this app enables you to paint graphics. The app even spits
freehand using a selection of brushes, colors and other out a Photoshop, Illustrator or
tools. However, Sketch is more than just a painting InDesign document.
app. It also enables you to connect with like-minded creatives,
so you can follow artists and see their work updating. Once
you’re done sketching the image on your iPad, you can upload
BEHANCE
to the Sketch community, or continue working on the image CREATIVE PORTFOLIO
in Photoshop CC. You can also bring in brushes made with FREE IPAD, IPHONE
Adobe Brush, and for those who can’t paint, there’s an option Behance is the online
to overlay images so you can trace over a photo. Sketch is social space for
compatible with Adobe’s pen and ruler hardware, Ink and creatives to share
Slide, but you can get great results with your finger. and showcase their portfolios,
connect with one another,
and find work. With work
from the best photographers,
PHOTOSHOP FIX digital artists and designers
out there, it’s also a great
FREE IPAD place to find inspiration for
Fix is a retouching app a new project. If you’re a
for altering portraits and Creative Cloud subscriber you
fixing marks or blemishes can set up a Behance page in
in your photos. Intelligent facial minutes. The Behance app
recognition locks onto eyes, lips for iOS devices enables you to
noses and chins, making it easy to manage your page, while the
tweak a smile, tuck in a jawline or Creative Portfolio app provides
enlarge eyes, should you wish. a polished portfolio.
Manage your photos from capture to output in three stages

The image-editing process begins as

1
soon as you’ve transferred your photos
from your memory card to your computer.
1 The first stage is to begin sifting
through your pictures to discover which are
the keepers. The image organizer that comes
with Photoshop is ideal for this task. Adobe
Bridge has controls for keywording, rating and
filtering your images, and there are handy tools
for batch renaming files, creating panoramic
stitches, making contact sheets and more.
Launch Adobe Bridge and navigate to a
folder containing new images. Use the cursor
keys to quickly flick through the images and
click below a thumbnail to add a star rating, or
use the keyboard shortcut Cmd/Ctrl+1-5. You 2
can then filter your photos by the star rating to
group the ones you want to work on.
2 The next step is to open the shots from
Bridge into Adobe Camera Raw. ACR is the best
place to make initial changes to your images
to boost tones and correct any problems with
exposure and so on. It doesn’t enable you
to combine images – you’ll use Photoshop
for that – but it does enable you to make
the kind of edits photographers need.
3 In Photoshop, you can further refine the 3
image with layers and adjustment layers, which
offer a much more flexible way of working than
ACR. Once you’ve finished, it’s time to share
it with an audience. Go to File>Save, and your
image will be saved as a Photoshop document
(PSD). This keeps all the layers intact, which
means you can go back and retweak the image
at a later date. However, PSD files are large
and can take up lots of hard drive space. If you
want to share your images online or via email or
social media, save them as JPEGs.
Discover how to process your raw files to perfection
The latest version of the raw file rather than in Photoshop, you’ll ensure the
processor included with Photoshop is so best possible image quality, because raw files
powerful that most photos can be processed contain more picture information than bitmap
entirely in the raw processor, with no need for images such as un-layered PSDs and JPEGs.
further editing in Photoshop. And by making Here’s our reference to the features you’ll
your adjustments in Adobe Camera Raw, use the most in the Basic panel.

THE BASIC CONTRAST

Makes light pixels brighter

PANEL IN ACR and dark pixels darker

HIGHLIGHTS
TEMPERATURE Controls the brightness
Use this slider to warm of the lightest pixels
or cool an image if the
White Balance tool fails
to correct a color cast SHADOWS
Controls the brightness
of the darkest pixels
TINT
This slider enables you to
correct a green or magenta WHITES
cast, again, if the White Sets a point on the tonal
Balance tool fails range at which pixels
should be pure white

EXPOSURE
Controls the overall CLARITY
brightness of the image Controls the amount
of midtone contrast

BLACKS
Sets a point on the tonal SATURATION VIBRANCE
range at which pixels Controls the overall color Adjusts the intensity of
should be pure black intensity of the image the less-saturated colors
The six most frequently used Photoshop layers for image
editing, and how to use them to improve almost any photo
Photoshop has many types of layers used may seem a little daunting for beginners,
and adjustment layers available, but but once you’ve got to grips with them, you’ll
there are six that you’ll find you need to use find they play a part in the creative process of
again and again. Learning how they should be almost every image you make.

01 LEVELS
This should be the first layer you add
to an image, because it fundamentally alters
the tonal range of the entire image. Create
a Levels Adjustment Layer, drag the Black
point slider inwards until it touches the left-
hand edge of the histogram, and drag the
White point slider inwards to the right-hand
edge. This remaps the tones of the image to
make more of the available tonal range.

02 CURVES
Curves is one of the most powerful
adjustment layers. An S-shaped curve
brightens the highlights and darkens the
shadows, resulting in extra contrast. Create
a Curves Adjustment Layer and click the
middle of the diagonal line to add a central
control point. Drag down on the lower part
of the line and drag up on the upper part of
the line to improve image contrast.

03 HUE/SATURATION
This adjustment layer is best used
for altering the intensity and brightness
of individual color channels in an image –
greens and blues in landscapes, for instance.
Create a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer,
click the Master menu and choose the color
channel you’d like to adjust. Small changes
are usually the most effective.
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