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A Whipping Post Tutorial
Marc Muench
Registered Users Posts: 1,420 Major grins
[MOD EDIT: This post was moved from this thread in the Whipping Post, as we keep it to critique in there. This tutorial will best serve all here in Finishing School]
Maldon,
I believe it worked better as a black and white. Here is what I did in CS3
First I made a quick mask with the gradiant tool, followed by a adj layer on the mask and darkened it.
THen I converted it to black and white using a "black and white new adj layer" I chose the green filter option.
Then I selected the mask from the first adj layer, inverted it and made a new adj layer, which I added contrast too. This added contrast and brightened up the hills.
Now with a the tones I liked I made the choice to blur the top and bottom thus leaving the cloud and top of the hill sharp. THis added a bit more mystery. To do this, I copied the background layer and then added a gaussian blur of around 50. I then added a layer mask to that background copy and began painting away the areas I wanted sharp with the paint brush (0% hardness). You can also adj the opacity of the layer if it is still too blurred.
Finally, I darkened the sky and a bit of the bottom again on another adj layer. Here is how much I dragged the curve down. As yo will notice, the sky is only about 25% of the total tonal range of the file and I wanted to bring it down about two stops. Because the mask has a gradated edge you dont notice the selection.
Ta da! the final before and after
It is difficult to see the blur as it is meant to be a subtle alteration for printing.
Maldon,
I believe it worked better as a black and white. Here is what I did in CS3
First I made a quick mask with the gradiant tool, followed by a adj layer on the mask and darkened it.
THen I converted it to black and white using a "black and white new adj layer" I chose the green filter option.
Then I selected the mask from the first adj layer, inverted it and made a new adj layer, which I added contrast too. This added contrast and brightened up the hills.
Now with a the tones I liked I made the choice to blur the top and bottom thus leaving the cloud and top of the hill sharp. THis added a bit more mystery. To do this, I copied the background layer and then added a gaussian blur of around 50. I then added a layer mask to that background copy and began painting away the areas I wanted sharp with the paint brush (0% hardness). You can also adj the opacity of the layer if it is still too blurred.
Finally, I darkened the sky and a bit of the bottom again on another adj layer. Here is how much I dragged the curve down. As yo will notice, the sky is only about 25% of the total tonal range of the file and I wanted to bring it down about two stops. Because the mask has a gradated edge you dont notice the selection.
Ta da! the final before and after
It is difficult to see the blur as it is meant to be a subtle alteration for printing.
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Maldon, this is an excellent image, it has great layers and depth with good composition. The result in black and white is stunning, this is the photography I love. Many congratulations, it will look great on the wall!
Marc, quick technical question ... when you are darkening, do you just use a curves adjustment layer with mask or do you sometimes set an adjustment layer to "multiply" with mask? Ups and downs of these choices?
I always use the curve to darken, as I have much more control.
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Many thanks Marc. I thought originally that there was a picture in there somewhere, but I was starting to doubt it. Thanks for retoring my confidence and for the lesson. And, Seastack, for the kind words. You have both just made my day.
Beautiful shot before Marc, even better with his touch.
I just got CS3 yesterday... dang, do I have a lot to learn.