Levels

Photoshop Top 40, Feature #9: Levels

Submitted by deke on 16 February 2010 - 12:15am.
Feature #9: Levels

Feature #9 is my favorite adjustment command: Levels. Adjusted only slightly since its introduction in Version 1.0, this seminal feature lets you set the black and white points, as well as correct the midtones without harming either. It refrains from clipping colors unless you tell it to. It boasts Photoshop's first on-board histogram. And it works as well in CMYK and Lab as in RGB.

(Well there's another clue for you all.)

We had nearly twice as many entries last week as the week before, with 19 of you correctly guessing Levels or some variation. The winner is earthrat, whose guessed "Using Levels to work." Congrats to earthrat!

Now it's time to guess Feature #8. Hint: It's the ultimate convenience tool. All members have been sent an email invitation with a URL to enter the contest. (No direct URL this time around.) Join dekeOnline now to receive a reminder and an invitation to next week's contest!
 Read more » 

. Tagged with:

Photoshop Top 40, Feature #24: Curves

Submitted by deke on 3 November 2009 - 12:15am.
Feature #24: Curves

Normally, I write these Photoshop Top 40 posts from my home or office in Boulder, Colorado. But this week finds me in the pastoral countryside of Côte du Rhone, France, enjoying a little time off. Alas, the nature of a weekly podcast is that, even on a break, I have to give it the gas.

So I hope you'll forgive me if I keep this post short:

After sixteen Photoshop Top 40 movies, you may wonder what's next. While now you needn't, because here it is.

See? That was short. Read more » 

. Tagged with:

The Andy Warhol Silkscreen Effect

Submitted by deke on 11 June 2009 - 12:23am.
Warhol silkscreen couples

dekePod Episode 018: Okay, I got good news and I got bad news. Good news first: dekePod has caught up with its younger sibling Martini Hour. For this brief moment in time, both are 18.

Also good, this new episode, it's a doozy. In this video, I show you how to turn any portrait shot--even a sweetly syrupy photo of two youngsters in real honest-to-gosh puppy love--into a credible Andy Warhol silkscreen effect. Complete with minimalist outlines, vivid fills, and lipstick that covers the teeth. Here's the official marketing description: Read more » 

. Tagged with:

dekeOnline News: May 4, 2009

Submitted by deke on 4 May 2009 - 11:00am.

Hello friends of dekeOnline,

I have much to announce in this issue! I take you on a deep-sea diving excursion with dekePod, I unveil the longest video series ever released on lynda.com, and finally, my sidekick Colleen and I have a rousing chat with Russell Brown and John Nack on Martini Hour. In short, I offer you a feast for your mind and your senses.

dekePod Takes the Ultimate Plunge

Photoshop and the Lost Undersea Channel

Have you ever taken a camera underwater? I've used a few disposable underwater cameras and they don't include a flash. Which is crazy, because if there was ever a place where you need a strobe, it's underwater. Water and the distance filters away light and colors, starting with red, then orange, then yellow, leaving a world of greens and blues. How do you bring those colors back? I explain in dekePod 015: "Photoshop and the Lost Undersea Channel." Read more » 

. Tagged with:

Don't Fear the Lab Mode

Submitted by deke on 10 August 2008 - 12:25pm.

To help you make sense of the most recent episode of dekePod, I've written up a discussion of how I modified the colors of my backyard in the Lab mode. Although it flies by in the video, the technique is not particularly difficult. I don't use Curves or masking or anything terribly complicated. Just Levels and -- brace yourself -- Brightness/Contrast. In Photoshop CS3, Brightness/Contrast has not only turned into a respectable command, but it has been elevated to pro status when combined with Lab. And it remains as easy as ever to use.

Lab + Brightness/Contrast

Some portions of this article have been excerpted from my upcoming article, "Don't Fear the Lab Mode," which will run in the September, 2008 issue of Photoshop User magazine. So as not to diminish the impact of that article (as well as the two that will follow it), I have purposely made the steps here brief, illustrated with thumbnail-resolution imagery. You should still be able to follow along, but you'll have lots more to look forward to in Photoshop User. Read more » 

. Tagged with:
12next ›last »