chromasia online tutorials

Photoshop for Night Photography

2008-10-29T11:54:27+00:00

]]>In many ways the post-production skills you need to process low light or night shots are no different to those you would use for images taken during daylight hours, but there are a number of technical and aesthetic issues that become more salient when processing this type of image. These include: visualising the final image, altering the white balance – either to compensate for sodium light pollution (common in many night shots, particularly in urban environments) or to creatively manipulate an image – shooting 'point' light sources, and merging multiple exposures.

In addition this tutorial also discusses a range of technical considerations relevant to shooting at night. These include: focussing (a non-trivial task when shooting in the dark), setting ISO, determining the correct exposure, and noise reduction.

Creative workflow: part one

2008-09-01T13:17:39+00:00

]]>This is the first in a new series of tutorials that take the creative process as their primary focus; i.e. rather than just discussing ‘how’ an image was constructed, we will also be considering ‘why’ each change was made, and how each change contributes to the image as a whole. As with our other image-based tutorials, each will also include a thorough technical discussion of any tools or techniques that were employed, but the emphasis will be upon creative rather than technical outcomes – e.g. how each image was constructed to tell a particular story, what each image says about its subject, and so on.

Digital workflow: part three

2008-07-12T11:06:00+00:00

]]>This is the third section of a multi-part tutorial devoted to digital workflow which, over the coming months, will build into a comprehensive resource detailing a variety of topics: from capture to output to storage.

In this section we will discuss one of the most important aspects of this process: RAW conversion.

LAB Color mode: part two

2008-05-29T14:16:13+00:00

]]>In this tutorial we are going to take a detailed look at how to manipulate colour using LAB Color mode. Specifically, we will discuss: the relationship between colours and their numeric values in LAB Color mode; how to alter a specific colour range within an image (a topic we briefly discussed in the An Introduction to LAB Color mode tutorial); how to alter a single colour within an image; how to colour correct an image in LAB Color mode; and how to tone the neutral areas of an image by manipulating the ‘a’ and ‘b’ Curves.

The specific topics covered include how to:

alter a colour range of an image by manipulating the ‘a’ and ‘b’ Curves.
alter a specific colour within an image.
colour correct or alter the white balance of an image.
creatively alter the neutral tones in an image.

High Dynamic Range images: part two

2008-04-14T11:42:59+00:00

]]>This is the second part of a multi-part tutorial on creating High Dynamic Range images using Photoshop and Photomatix Pro. In this part we take a detailed look at how you can use Photomatix Pro to create and tone map your images, using both the Tone Compressor and Details Enhancer methods. The bulk of this tutorial is taken up with working through the various settings you need to adjust to produce your tone mapped images, but we also include two example images, both of which were produced using the Details Enhancer method.

The specific topics covered include:

• Shooting for HDR.
• Creating HDR images with Photomatix Pro.
• Tone mapping: an introduction.
• Photomatix Pro: tone mapping using the tone compressor.
• Photomatix Pro: tone mapping using the details enhancer.
• Using the Details Enhancer: example #1.
• Using the Details Enhancer: example #2.

Digital workflow: part two

2008-04-04T12:29:17+00:00

]]>This is the second section of a multi-part tutorial devoted to digital workflow which, over the coming months, will build into a comprehensive resource detailing a variety of topics: from capture to output to storage.

In this section we will discuss three main topics: choosing a workflow model; Importing, categorising and organising your images; and selecting which images to work with.

High Dynamic Range images: part one

2008-03-25T11:13:03+00:00

]]>One of the first things we learn as photographers is that our camera sees the world in a different way to us, especially in terms of its ability to capture the full tonal range of a scene. For example, we know that if we want to take a backlit portrait we will most likely need to overexpose the shot or risk our subject’s face being lost in shadow. We also know that this will blow out the highlight details in the background. Likewise, if we wish to photograph the same subject against the backdrop of a glorious sunset, we will probably need to reconcile ourselves to the subject appearing as nothing more than a silhouette.

In short, we learn that our camera has limitations and that it can’s always capture the scene as we see it. So, we stop trying to take impossible shots, and concentrate instead on doing the best job we can with equipment whose limitations we have learnt to accommodate.

In this tutorial we will discuss a variety of techniques your can employ to circumvent the limitations of your equipment and produce those ‘impossible’ shots.

The specific topics covered include:

• understanding tonal range
• understanding dynamic range
• shooting a bracketed exposure sequence
• manual exposure blending
• Photoshop’s Merge to HDR function
• using the Local Adaptation method
• using the Local Adaptation method (continued)
• using the Exposure and Gamma method
• Photomatix Pro: an introduction
• using Photomatix Pro’s Exposure Blending function

Masking: part one

2008-02-06T16:19:40+00:00

]]>In this tutorial we will discuss a variety of masking techniques including: creating complex and compound masks; repairing images with less than ideal masks; and adding vignettes.

The specific topics covered in the tutorial include:

• Why we need complex masks.
• Constructing complex masks.
•Alternative methods of creating complex masks.
• Creating compound masks.
• Repairing a mask.
• Using masks to add a vignette.

Digital workflow: part one

2008-01-30T10:36:47+00:00

]]>This is the first section of a multi-part tutorial devoted to digital workflow which, over the coming months, will build into a comprehensive resource detailing a variety of topics: from capture to output to storage.

In this, the first part of this tutorial, we will discuss the pros and cons of shooting RAW images and two issues relating to determining an optimum exposure.

An introduction to Lab Color mode

2007-12-17T13:53:56+00:00

]]>In this tutorial we will work through a range of examples, using four layered Photoshop files, to explore LAB, a powerful alternative to RGB. Specifically, we will discuss how to increase the saturation of an image by rotating the ‘a’ and ‘b’ Curves, learn how to tone an image, and discuss how to invert specific colours and colour ranges within an image.

The specific topics covered in the tutorial include:

• Converting an image to LAB
• The Lightness channel
• The ‘a’ and ‘b’ channels: the basics
• The ‘a’ and ‘b’ channels: working with saturation
• The ‘a’ and ‘b’ channels: toning an image
• The ‘a’ and ‘b’ channels: altering colour balance
• Converting to black and white
• Inverting colours