Photography Restoration

Photo Restoration

Digital photo restoration is a simple technique that many people can do themselves. It can help replace historic pictures or restore family history.

Whether it is a torn edge, damaged corner, creases, cracks, water stains, rips and tears,  or color loss, everyone can learn how to restore a photo.

By using Photoshop we can alter certain aspects of a photograph, and improve the overall quality making a dramatic change to our memories. 

                                 Because it is a little difficult to explain how to use these tools, and it is better to see how they can be used, please check-out this tutorial I found from Youtube!

There are 4 tools                                         Check-Out this Tutorial

v  Spot Healing Brush Tool

v  Healing Bush Tool

v  Patch Tool

v  Red Eye Tool

(My Favorite)

Ø  Clone Stamp Tool  

Ø  Pattern Stamp tool

Helpers:

      Bur Tool

      Sharpen Tool

      Smudge Tool

      Eraser Tool

Portraiture

Portraiture

It is very difficult to capture a likeness or a predominant expression.  A feeling that overpowers everything else that might be included in a background or even the other parts of that same object.

Detail

In portraiture it is all about detail. For example, the hands of a pianist, the bicep of a weight lifter, the belly of a pregnant woman. Try to capture details that would get the message across in an indirect way.

Techniques

Try to use different elements to abstract what you want from your objects. 

 Here are some examples:

Ø  Back-lights

Ø  Posing

Ø  Shooting from unusual angles

Ø  Framing and Positioning your subjects

Ø  Culture (Environment  )

Ø  Interesting Locations

Ø  Reflections

Ø  Shadows

Ø  Get Close

Ø  Blur the background

Ø  Capture the moment

Ø  Get Serious

Ø  Use PROPS

(this helps a lot)

Ø  Use COLORS

Ø  Shoot longer exposures

Ø  Use shape an line or strong compositions

Ø  Use selective focus

Ø  Take Non-traditional approach

Do not be afraid to go outside the box! Portraiture is not a simple thing to conquer. It is just like all the other techniques in photography. It takes a lot of practice and creativity.    

Selective Color Photography

Selective Color

It is to produce a black and white image that contains a hint or a splash of color. There are several ways to make an image black and white. I will be showing how to create a selective color photograph with channel mixer and gradient map in Photoshop.

Instructions

Ø  On Photoshop- Open your image and duplicate the image layer.

Ø  With the duplicated layer pallet, got to Layer> New Adjustment Layer> Channel Mixer. On the first pop-up window, click OK.

Ø  Then, you’ll see the channel mixer window. Check the Monochrome box. Adjust the Red, Green, Blue, and Constant settings. Each image will have different settings. Experiment with the values until you find the perfect fit for your image.

Ø  Sliding the slider to the right will bring out the white and sliding it to the left will increase the black on your image.

Ø  Next, go to Layer> New Adjustment > Layer> Gradient Map. Click OK on the first pop-up window. Then select the Black and White gradient, and click OK. Now you should have a black and white image.

Ø  Next, click on the eye icon to the left to make the original image invisible. Set the original layer back to the visible by clicking the box where the eye icon is, then click CTRL+SHIFT+E to merge all the visible layers. Now, you have a black and white image.

Ø  With the black and white layer selected on the layer palette, click the >Add Vector Mask> icon at the bottom of the layer palette. Make sure the foreground color is set to black, and the background color is set to white. If it’s not, click D on your keyboard to set it to default, and use the small arrow to switch back and forth between background and foreground color.

Ø  Select the brush tool and choose a soft round brush. Set the brush size depending on the size of your image, then just paint on the area where you want the color  to be visible with color.

Ø  From the picture  you’ll see that the read   

Tip

If the selective color is not as intense as you would prefer, and want more vibrancy.  With the original background layer selected in the layer palette, go to Layer> New Adjustment > Layer > Levels and adjust to likening.

Action Photography

Action Photography

It is not just about the subject, but the environment that makes an Action Photography stand out.  There are two types of Action Photography – Stop Action: fast shutter speed (freeze motion), and Capture Motion: slower shutter speed (blur motion).  Here are some key elements that help to capture this amazing Action Photographs:   

                               (Freeze Motion)                                                                              (Blur Motion)

Key Elements

§  Planning

§  Practice reactions

§  Pre-focusing

§  Anticipation

§  Pan

§  Shoot Warm-ups

§  Knowledge of you ‘re subject

Action Photography is one of the hardest things to capture because timing is so critical. Even the pros take dozens of shots to get one perfect picture.

Continuous Mode

This mode (continuous burst mode) lets you take photos in a rapid sequence. Continuous Modes are very useful to photograph unpredictable moving subjects, or to capture movement in a series of images.  Take time to practice these techniques with your camera.