Orton Effect

1. With Image Open Orton
2. Duplicate background 2 times using Ctrl+J
3. Top layer change blend mode to screen and
4. Reduce opacity to 80%
5. Shift click to select both layers and Ctrl+E to Merge Down
6. Dupe this layer with Ctrl+j
7. Name the Top Layer - blur
8. Name the middle layer - sharp
9. Turn off blur layer
10. On Sharp layer
11. Enhance > Adjust Sharpness, Amount -400 %, R - .5
12. Turn On blur layer
13. Change blend mode to to Multiply
14. Filter > Blur > about 25 (depends on image size)
15. Note if you have halos, undo and reduce the amount of blur
    

Using the Displace Filter

1. Open image you want to use as the base, in my case boring.jpg
2. Open image you want to displace, in my case sailboat.jpg.
3. Move sailboat.jpg into boring.jpg as a layer (you would do the same with your images).
4. In my case I copied sailboat to a new layer and
5. Again in my example, Image > Rotate > Flip Vertical and move down below the boat.
6. Reduce Opacity to about 75%
7. In my example my displacement map will be the water. You can copy any texture like a brick wall.
   
8. Select texture, water in my case and copy to clipboard
9. Create a New file > Blank. The default size will be the size of the image in the clipboard.
10. Edit > paste or Ctrl+V
11. Layer > Flatten Image
12. Ctrl+Shift+U to desaturate as your displacement map is monochrome
13. Save as displace.psd. File must be a psd file.
14. Make image to be displaced active, in my example the reflection layer
15. Filter > Distort > Displace
16. H – 20,V – 0,Tile and Wrap around is not applicable
17. In box choose the displace.psd file

Putting Pep in your photos

1. Open image
2. Edit > Define Pattern
3. Filter > Blur > Radial Blur – about 25
4. Move center to upper right corner
5. Add a New Layer
6. Paintbrush about 15 -20 pixels
7. Brush Palette - Move Scatter slider and Spacing slider
8. Paint some white spots
9. Filter ? Blur > Radial Blur - about 10
10. Clone Pattern Stamp tool
11. Larger Brush at 50%
12. Choose saved texture - should be last on the list
13. Paint in people

Photoshop Elements SIG 1-21-09

Pseudo HDR in Elements

1. You can create the 2 exposures by opening a RAW image 2 times, first adjusting for highlights and then adjusting for shadows. You have to save the first one before you open the RAW converter to do the second.
2. Do the first 2 steps in the Photoshop Pseudo HDR
3. Add a Levels Adjustment layer to the background - shadow layer. The Mask in the Adjustment Layer will serve as the Layer Mask in Step 3 of Photoshop steps.
4. Do steps 3 and 5 andAlt click the mask in the Adjustment layer to display it
5. Ctrl+V to paste in the copied background image
6. The rest of the steps are the same.
   

Magnetic Lasso Tool Tips

1. Select the tool and click to set the starting point of your selection; like the Polygonal Lasso tool, you don't need to keep the mouse button held down as you move around your object.As you move the mouse pointer, Elements draws a temporary path where it detects contrast, applying these reference points automatically.If the line isn't appearing where you'd like, click to set a reference point (this technique is particularly helpful when specifying sharp angles).
2. Did a reference point appear where you don't want it?Notice that the last-created point is solid; press the Delete key to remove it without disrupting the path.
   
3. When you come back around to the starting point, click on it to complete the selection.
4. The reference points the tool creates are only guidelines for specifying the selection; you can't go back and edit them later as you would paths in a drawing application. But the Add/Subtract/Intersect modes (see "Editing the Selection") are also available for the Magnetic Lasso tool to help you fine-tune the selection.
5. TIP: Double-click the mouse to complete the selection at any point.
6. Using controls on the Options Bar, you can control the strength of the magnet's pull and how many points appear when drawing:
7. Width: This value (between 1 and 256 pixels) is the distance between an edge and the mouse pointer that will be considered for a path. A larger value can often accurately grab edges without requiring a lot of precision mousing on your part; a smaller value is better for close-in selections.
8. Edge Contrast: This percentage helps Elements define what an "edge" is. A higher percentage looks only for high-contrast areas, while a low value can pull an edge out of fuzzy areas.
9. Frequency: A higher Frequency value prompts Elements to create more reference points on a path, increasing the accuracy of the selection (but also potentially creating a more jaggy area, depending on the image).
10. Tablet pressure: This control is represented by the small pen icon to the right of the Frequency setting. When enabled, this will use the pressure-sensitivity setting of a drawing tablet to affect the Width value.
11. You could try to draw a selection perfectly the first time, but that trail leads only to frustration. Instead, treat a lassoed selection as sculpture: start rough and refine as you go.
12. With a broad selection made and the Lasso tool selected, click one of the selection modes in the Options Bar.
13. Add to Selection lets you grab areas you may have missed initially or create non-contiguous selections.
14. Use Subtract from Selection to pare away areas and get closer to your subject.
15. Or,Draw within your selection using the Intersect with Selection mode to keep just that area.
16. Better yet, ignore the Options Bar altogether and switch modes using modifier keys. With any of the Lasso tools active, hold the Shift key to Add to Selection; hold Alt (Mac: Option) to Subtract from Selection; or hold both Alt and Shift to Intersect with Selection. The tool's icon changes to reflect the mode as you're working.
    

Refinements

1. The controls in the Options Bar, such as Feather, apply only if you set them before creating a selection. What if you decide you want a feathered edge after it's drawn?
2. Right click and select feather
3. Click the Refine Edge button to bring up a dialog that can alter an existing selection.(The Refine Edge button doesn't appear when the Magnetic Lasso tool is selected.
4. Simply switch to the Lasso tool after you've made a magnetic selection to make it appear.)
5. The Smooth slider removes jagged edges and rounds out the selection.
6. Feather applies a soft edge.
7. And the Contract/Expand slider reduces or enlarges the selection in percentage increments.
8. With the Preview button enabled, use the sliders to adjust the selection.
9. You can press F or click the red Custom Overlay Color mode button at the bottom-left of the dialog to see a mask overlay that helps preview the selection;
10. You can also press X to temporarily remove the 'marching-ants' border around the selection.
11. Feel free to move the image using the Hand tool or change the zoom level using the Zoom tool while the dialog is still open.
    

Photoshop SIG Jan. 12 2009

The web sites for programs and plugins used in the SIG are

Photomatix - HDR software - http://www.hdrsoft.com/
ToonIt - Cartoon like imaging plugin - http://www.digitalanarchy.com/toonPS/main.html

Pseudo HDR

1. Open 2 exposures of an image, one for the highlights and one for the shadow.
2. Holding the shift key with the Move tool move the highlights image (the lighter one) to the shadow image (the lighter one)
3. Add a layer mask to the highlights layer, layer 1
4. With the shadow image, background, active - Select All using Ctrl+A
5. The Ctrl+C to copy selection to the clipboard
6. On layer 1, press Alt when you click on the Layer Mask to display it
7. Now press Ctrl+V to paste the copied selection into the mask
8. Click the eye visibility icon to view the image.
9. It is best to blur the mask so with the Mask active - Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur - about 5-6 pixels.
10. Apply Levels to the mask using Ctrl+L to brighten the image move the shadow slider to the right darkening the mask.

Creating an in-camera zoom effect

1. With image open use the Elliptical Marque tool to select the area of the image that you want to remail sharp. Pressing the Spacebar with the tool allows you to move the selection.
2. Right click in the selection to apply a feather of about 20-30 pixels. The amount depends on the size of the image and selection.
3. Press the Shift+Ctrl+I to inverse the selection
4. Now go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur > about 55 -70 pixels.
   

Portraiture Photoshop Plugin

The portraiture plugin for Photoshop or Photoshop Elements can be found on
http://www.imagenomic.com/pt.aspx.

Photoshop Elements SIG 12-17-08

Fix Red-Eye and color Cornea

1. Openphoto in Full Edit or Quick Edit.
2. In Quick Edit try the Auto Fix but if this doesn't work, pick the Red Eye tool in Quick Edit or in Full Edit and click in the red of each eye.
3. and eliminate red
4. Go to Full edit and use the Quick Selection tool to select the left eye and then add to the other eye using pressing the Shift key when using the Quick Selection tool to add the selection.
   
5. With the eye selected add a Solid Color Adjustment layer
6. Choose the color you want and
7. Change Blend mode to overlay and reduce opacity to suit.

Whiten Teeth

1. Open model in Quick Edit
2. In Quick Edit – paint with the Whiten Teeth brush found at the bottom of the panel.
3. With Selection Go to Full Edit
4. Adjust the opacity
5. Ctrl+click on Adjustment layer to make the load the selection of the teeth
6. Add a Hue/Saturation Adjustment layer
7. Reduce the Saturation to remove any color (like yellow)

Smart Objects – New Frame Layer

This is from a tutorial on Photoshop.com

This technology started in V5.0 and is used in photo collages and photobooks. We’ll look into the technology

1. Open an image in Full Edit.
2. Use Free-transform to downsize to postage stamp size. Click accept
   
3. Use Free-transform to restore to original size and click accept.
   
4. Notice the jaggies - not sharp
5. Undo
6. Choose Create – Photo Collage
7. Select a Page size
8. Choose Theme – no theme
9. Pick a layout - simple, for landscape image choose the first one.
10. Uncheck – Auto place
11. Drag in image from bin
12. Resize down and then up
    
13. Notice no lack of sharpness.

Holiday card

1. File > New 8 in X 4 in – 240 ppi
2. File > Place holiday-card background
3. File > Place command brings your image in a something called a smart object. Smart objects can be scaled up or down, rotated, or otherwise transformed without sacrificing quality. If you do need to scale your background image, and want to do it proportionally, make sure the Constrain Proportion box in the Options Bar is checked.
4. Scale to fit.
5. Ctrl + J to dupe background
6. Blend to Multiply, this will darken the image.
7. Make sure default colors are set to black as the foreground color
8. Add a gradient adjustment layer and choose the second gradient from the left in the top row, Foreground to Transparent.
9. Click the Reverse checkbox, and click OK.
10. Select Rectangle Shape tool (U) draw a rectangle approximately where you would like the family picture to appear.
11. Duplicate the shape layer by pressing control-J and rename the original shape layer White Rectangle.
12. Hide the black rectangle layer by clicking the layer visibility icon.
13. Click on the white rectangle layer and making sure why he is still your foreground color, press control-backspace. This should fill the shape with white.
14. The bottom shape will serve as the frame for the pictures, so it needs to be a little bigger than the black shape on top. Using free transform, and with the alt key drag one of the side borders. Using the alt key both sides will resize equally.
15. Repeat this for the rectangle tight and accept the transformation.
16. You’re white rectangle layer should still be targeted. Hold down shift on your keyboard and click the black rectangle layer. With both rectangle layers selected, click the Link Layers icon at the top of the layers palette.
17. Free-Transform, position the cursor outside one of the corners and rotate at a slight angle and reposition on the paper if necessary, because both rectangle layers are linked together they will transform at the same time.
18. Press Enter.
19. Unlink the layers
20. It's time to add your family photo. Go to file > Place and navigate to the photo. We plan to use. Because it is a Smart Object until you press enter or return, it can be scaled without affecting the quality. Checked the constrain proportions box in the option bar to scale the image proportionally and rotate it to 50 angle of the rectangles we created. Your image should be a little larger than the black rectangle.
21. Press Enter
22. In the Layers palette, position the photo layer directly above the black rectangle layer. If it's not there already.
    
23. To have the image appeared only in the the black rectangle press control-G, which creates a clipping group. You can use the move tool to position the image inside the rectangle. Using a clipping group allows you to use other photos in your template if you wish. All you need to do is place another photo directly above the black rectangle and protect and press control plus G2 clip it to the rectangle area.
24. Use the Text tool to add text

Enhancing the Sun’s Rays

1. Create a new blank file 500 pixels by 500 pixels.
2. Select the Gradient tool from the toolbox.
3. In the top left of the options bar click on the small downward facing arrow on the Gradient Picker, which lets you choose a specific gradient. We're going to choose from a different gradient group, so click the small double arrows to the top right of that window and choose the Noise samples preset from the list.
   
4. Then click on the transparent pixels per gradient-the last one in the noise gradients list-and will use this gradient for the project.
5. The five icons to the right of the Gradient pickerare the types and gradients we can apply. We'll choose the Angle Gradient the middle icon here. Move your cursor to the middle of the image and click and drag toward the bottom right corner to create the gradient. You don't have to be exact, but it is close to the center as possible.
6. The grain is fairly uneven for what will need to do layers so we'll drag a gradient three more times once from the center to the bottom left corner and then from the center to the top left and finally from the center toward the top right. That will even out the effect can make it look more realistic when we add it to our photo.
7. We don't want to have any color in this gradient so will go to the Enhance menu and choose Adjust Color> remove color.
8. To add more punch go to levels and slide the black slider over toward the left edge of the histogram and the white slider toward the right edge of the histogram then click OK.
9. Select all and Copy
   
10. Now we're ready to apply this to a photo. Choose. Open the image we want to apply it to and paste the gradient onto it
11. Obviously the gradient tool looks quite funky the way is laid out on top of the image, changing the layers blend mode from normal to overlay will help out a lot making it look like some really intense sunbeams. Use the move tool to move the center of the gradient over the Sun.
12. Finally, select the eraser tool from the toolbox click on the one of the brush presets and use a large 300 pixel brush and erase around the edges so the rays will just affect the immediate area around the Sun.
13. If you want to re-create this effect all over again, you can save it and open it in again to reuse it without going through all the steps of creating.