tzakiel
Joined: Sep 29, 2004
Posts: 66
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PHOTOSHOP DIGITAL CAMERA PIC QUALITY PROCESS:
here is my patented "Art student" process for photoshop to get the most out of each photo:
1. Open the picture and set the view to either 100% or 50% depending on what you can see on one screen. Do not use odd zoom %'s as they will appear jagged. Go to image, adjustments, auto color. Then select edit, fade auto color and adjust the slider to get a mix of the original colors and what photoshop thought was best. often about 50% works, unless you love the auto color the way it is. This is the easiest way to get rid of unnatural hues, but the fade trick helps some photos keep a normal look as it can be harsh.
2. Go to image, adjustments, levels and adjust the RBG levels. The visual black "Wave" represents how much data is stored in that level range. What this means in english is use the 3 level arrows to get black blacks, white whites, and a good mid-level. You will know it when you see it. Don't go too black or too white as you lose details. Often bringing the right and left arrows in a bit toward the center (especially the right one) helps get nice vibrant color and contrast. The middle arrow can help you "fill in" or "darken" the rest of the image. This is the best way to do brightness and contrast.
3. Use filter, unsharp mask at a maximum of 50% or so with default settings, or try the new smart sharpen tool in CS 8. Both can bring out some nice detail in a slightly blurred picture. Be very subtle. A little blur is better than sharpening so that things look fake.
4. (optional) Image, image size the image down to 1280x960 for general screen viewing, or 640x480 for web posting. Reducing size is not always bad. It can hide a lot of imperfections, and an image that looks HORRIBLY blurry at 1600x1200 may look pretty much fine at 640x480! This is the advantage of starting with a large source file. If you plan to print your image, I would leave it alone at the native resolution of the camera.
5. Go to file, save for web and use the previews to see what is the best mix of quality and size. Often JPEG at 70-80% is ideal. Some people keep the source photo file and others delete it.
These 5 steps cover color correction, black and white level, sharpening and resizing in photoshop in the best ways I have found. Enjoy and feel free to give feedback.
tzak |
Posted: 2005-06-23 22:53
