luminance

The Next "Photoshop Masking & Compositing" Course Goes Live @ lynda.com

Submitted by deke on 28 November 2011 - 9:15am.

Ask anyone at Adobe what distinguishes Photoshop from every other image-editing program, app, or digital blip on the planet, and they'll tell you "masking and compositing." Apparently you agree, because my video course Photoshop Masking & Compositing: Fundamentals is tearing up the planet over at lynda.com. It's N-to-the-1-to-the-L-D-C, as the dope kids say. As if I'd know.

Naturally, I'm gratified. (Thanks very much, btw!) Plus, it emboldens me to report: Today I and my beloved video publisher release another installment in the series, Photoshop Masking & Compositing: Advanced Blending. The image below might make it look exacting and academic. Which it is. But it's also expansive and practical. Because it tells the ultimate post-processing story: How to paint without permanence, create without consequences, and, in the end, mask without masking. In short, how to assemble photorealistic artwork through the pure power of artistic thought. It really is that good.

Photoshop Masking & Compositing: Advanced Blending

This is a short course, just 4 hours, and yet it manages to comprise 9 chapters. Here they are: Read more » 

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Working Luminance Magic with HDR in Photoshop CS5

Submitted by LouBrz on 24 May 2011 - 6:15am.

Photoshop's HDR Toning and HDR Pro commands give you unmatched power to finesse tonality in high contrast images, gracefully coaxing detail out of shadows and highlights that would otherwise be murky or blown. Use HDR Toning on single images such as portraits for a faux HDR effect. You can dramatically exceed your camera's dynamic range by processing multiple exposures of the same scene with HDR Pro. In this tip, we'll look at how HDR processing works and the HDR Toning command. We'll continue with HDR Pro in the next tip.

photoshop hdr lead

Today's tip comes from Chapter 33, High Dynamic Range (HDR Pro), part of Deke's video course Photoshop CS5 One-on-One: Mastery for lynda.com. Read more » 

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Levels and Curves: Photoshop's Left and Right Ventricles Pump Luminance

Submitted by LouBrz on 8 February 2011 - 6:15am.

Simply put, the Levels and Curves adjustments allow you to control the luminance of an image on a channel-by-channel basis. With these features, you can correct brightness, contrast, and color casts. They are essential commands and the two most powerful color correction facilities in Photoshop. The Levels command offers relative simplicity, while the Curves command gives you more control. Use one or the other as needed to adjust your images, but you'll never need both in a single project. In this article, we'll look at the features of the Levels command and then look at how the Curves command expands upon its capabilities.

Photoshop levels curves lead

This article is compiled from Chapter 14 of Deke's video course Photoshop CS5 One-on-One: Advanced. Like the last tip, it's packed with useful information, but there's even more value in viewing the actual chapter on lynda.com. Read more » 

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Photoshop CS5 Top 5: HDR Pro

Submitted by deke on 20 April 2010 - 12:15am.
HDR Pro

Hey, gang. I just returned from the 75,000-strong Coachella music festival. And I'm here to confirm, while the concert was great, AT&T's iPhone coverage was abysmal. My group's attempts to communicate with each other met with complete and utter failure. For example, at 7:39pm (in the hopes that we could hook up to see Them Crooked Vultures), I texted a similarly iPhone-equipped buddy, "Wanna meet at the purple origami crane at 7:50?" He received my missive five hours later, long after we were safely ensconced at camp enjoying a beer. While hilarious in retrospect, it meant we missed each other all evening long.

But hey, enough off-topic bitching. (After all, what iPhone user doesn't already know that AT&T's coverage sucks?) Today's post is about something infinitely more satisfying, a major new feature in Photoshop CS5. Read more » 

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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 » 

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