Surfer Girl Post Production - ( pt. 2 cont'd...)

Beach workshop image post production with PhotoShop CS2 and Craig's PhotoShop Actions

Up until this point, I've stayed away from any color work on the image, as I prefer to deal with all previous steps without the interference of potentially mis-matched color variables. It's also a "discipline" and having that allows you to proceed through your workflow less likely to forget steps... not a big deal individually, but when processing a number of images - variations in their production can be painfully obvious in the final results when viewed alongside each other !

So, onto our Color Correction and other Cool Stuff!

The image below shows the before / after treatment of the Portrait Popper Action - Mouse Over to see Effect ! The image now has it's tonal range back where it needs to be ( without losing important detail ), enhanced color saturation overall, clean hilights and a cool depth to the shadows that offsets the color warmth in the rest of the image.
Originally designed to be a "Velvia" style of color enhancer, the ImagePopper Actions are excellent at providing simple and effective "one-touch" color corrections and controls. In part because they address preferences for shadows, hilights and neutral areas, but also because using them on every image brings absolute consistency to your color adjustments

	The ImagePopper Actions have differing styles of adjusting the images color. There really are no wrong ways to use them ( as color is ultimately subjective... ) but a bit of experimentation will let you discover what works best with your own image style.		The Fashionizers are a very effective way of bringing an extra "edge" to the image, and often creating a look that appears to be "more lit...". These Actions can be easily used or reset with your own values entered to suit your own camera's color, and your own personal style.

The image below shows the added dimension created by using the Fashionizer Action after doing your color work, and before any image-softening is applied. The order is actually your choice, as is the number of times and how you use them. The order used does have differening results, but that's what playtime is for - and why we call it Creativity! - Mouse Over Image to see the Effect

* A regular trick of mine is to fill the mask ( created by the Fashionizer Action ) to hide the effect, and then brush it back in only where I want it. You can easily create a personal copy of that Action to do all that automatically as well !

In the image above, the effect of the Fashionizer Action has been scaled back by moving the opacity slider to 40% on the control layer. The effect on the eyes and other facial areas has also been diminished by brushing on the built-in mask.

Next, I'll repeat the process of darkening the image out from the subject ( as described earlier), it's also when I'll tend to use the Edger Actions for darkening or lightening ( great for Hi-Key's ), and possibly softening the image out to the edges.

	The Edger are especially handy, and are used on every single image, as I like to have the eyes drawn right to the subject - compositionally and subliminally. Although not shown, the Hikey Edgers are equally effective in having the background details fade out softly to the image's edges.		Softening is a very personal choice, but I find that almost every image benefits from it to some degree, even if it's not consciously noticeable... On the lower image, the ShadowSoft Low was applied to create more intensity and saturation in the colors, and to also bring more sharpness to the image, by offsetting existing sharp details - against subtlely softened ones. As the image already has a lot of built-in contrast, the Low Contrast (LC ) version of the ShadowSoft was used

On first using the ShadowSoft Action, the image appears to be over-softened and lighter overall... Don't worry though, as the controls built into the Action allow you to adjust that look to exactly as much or as little as you want. - Mouse Over to See Effect

The image below shows some of the custom steps done to this image : The opacity of the ShadowSoft layer has been scaled back to 40% , detail has been brushed back (using the mask) into the eyes, facial structure, hair hilites, clothing seams and other areas of interest. Finally, the Curves Adjustment Layer was clicked on and then adjusted to have the soft areas now appear Darker instead of lighter !

At this point, the image production is basically done. There are of course any number of ways that the creative process can continue... The image below has had the Fashionizer applied again, after the softening process. - Mouse Over to See Effect Personally I don't see these as being "PhotoShopped Images"... these are the looks that I achieved through a multitude of techniques when working with film and processing variations. The difference with digital of course is that some tricks just can't be done in front of the lens, and most just make more sense to do after all the shutter work !

My Finals Steps for all images, are to crop, size and then sharpen for output. As these vary with each application, they are always done from a single archived source PSD file that is intact of any of those steps being performed.

Luminosity adjustments are built into the Sharpening Actions so they are not forgotten, and there are of course various intensities of sharpening to choose from - although I find that I tend to have just a few that I use regularly.

So there you have it... a typical breakdown of what I do with my images to give them the "look" that I'm told I'm known for...lol

Whether you use my Actions or your own, having automation built into your production is always a good idea, and especially useful when you have people working for you.

As I've always stated, the Actions aren't rocket science, but they do make image production much more efficient to get through, and in doing so freeing up time for the more creative possibilities either in front of the computer - or behind the camera !

Final Image with Before and After Views - Mouse Over for Effect !

Related Links:

Upcoming Location Workshops:

July 23 - 26 , Vancouver BC - More info...

August 7 - 10 , Long Island NY - More Info...

August 20 - 24 , Niagara ON - More Info...


Surfer Girl Image Production ( pt 1 )

Surfer Girl - Location Lighting Techniques Tutorial



Other Links:

Working with Adobe Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw

Apple Aperture Review



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All Images & Text Copyright 2006 - Craig Minielly M. Photog., MPA