Photoshop DUMMIE!

[JaimeGibb]

Alright, so I have photoshop CS, but that darn thing is so complicated. I see some portraits people do where they sharpen the eyes only, and they are BRILLIANT. How the eff do I do that?! Can someone give me some basic, step by step tutorial on how to sharpen the eyes? Aaaand any other basic techniques used to enhance portraits? I am trying to break in to portrait photography but need to master photoshop to acheive the results I truly want. Thanks guys!!

 

[Big Mike]

That's a loaded question. As you are finding out...it's a big, big program and learning it all would take years.

I'd suggest starting with a good book or two (Photoshop for Dummies, maybe).

Anyway, to get you pointed in the right direction...you will want to learn about layers and layer masks. This will allow you to make adjustments to any part of the image you want, without affecting the other parts.

 

[mstephens]

what i typically do is i select the eye with my wand and use unsharpen mask in the filters tab. i also like to make a new adjustment layer once the eyes are selected and use color balance for added tone and to give the eyes alot more focus. let me know how it works for you

 

[jols]

plenty of tutorials on line, utube has thousands

 

[nicfargo]

I use a Tablet, so what I do may be different then how you'd use a mouse. I like to select the eyes with the magic wand. Then I select the inverse (Under Image Menu I believe). Then I apply an unsharpmask filter to it. Some people also you a gaussian blur or other such filters...you can play with it all you want.

 

[lifeafter2am]

http://www.emmaalvarez.com/2008/01/top-best-55-photoshop-tutorials-for.html

That site has a ton of great tutorials.

 

[JaimeGibb]

Thanks so much!! I will deifnitly take a look at those tutorials, and will probably make a purchase of PS for Dummies

 

[domromer]

Personally I love the Scott Kelby CS3 book. Tons of great info. He's the photoshop guru.

 

[Alpha]

I find magic wand to be poorly suited to eyes. In fact, I think it's poorly suited to most things, even in CS3. In my opinion the best way to do eyes is to use the standard lasso tool around the pupil, with a little room to spare. Right click the selection and choose "layer via copy." Then edit that layer. Then go back with the eraser and remove the excess selection around the pupil. It's rarely a good idea to select the whole eye (including the white).

 

[JaimeGibb]

I will try that Max.

Yea I only have CS, not CS3, so I don't want to get the CS3 book and have some of the comands not mtch up, ya know?

 

[domromer]

Then here is the book for you.

It's like a book of recipes. you lean how to use photoshop by trying multiple projects.

http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Photosh...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201388932&sr=8-1

 

[TATTRAT]

lots of good info here, thats everyone. I will defiantly learn from these!

 

[Alpha]

As a side note to continue what I recommended above, I believe the best way to whiten eyes is to dodge. Applying uniform effects makes them look fake because it fails to account for light sources and the selective natural darkening of whites in most shots (except for BD or other dead-on lighting generally) as they approach the eyelids and corners of the eye. What I mean is that the white of the eye is rarely all one shade. As such, it makes little sense to lighten the entire thing, not taking into account contrast ratios between the lighter and darker parts. It therefore makes more sense to use techniques that allow you to remain consistent with the shot's original tone ratios, or retouch a poorly lit shot in a way that looks natural.

Also, there's a lot of good information out there on PS. Some of it better than others. Remember that publishing a book does not in and of itself necessarily qualify what you're writing about.

 

[TATTRAT]

Remember that publishing a book does not in and of itself necessarily qualify what you're writing about.

:lmao:

 

[Alpha]

:lmao:

If it did, there'd be no room left for Jols to make fun of my manner of speaking, since apparently all I do is quote books. If only I actually were a walking encyclopedia.