Create photographic designs with VECTOR LAYERS

When you use a shape tool or the Pen tool in Photoshop, you create a vector layer. Vectors are resolution independent — you can scale them at any time and they maintain their sharp edges like the drawings in Illustrator. You can select any of Photoshop predesigned custom shapes for vectors or create your own shape with the Pen tools. You can also load custom shapes you purchase from third- party vendors. You can add shapes alone or in combination with other shapes to create novel designs or logos. When you draw a shape and create a vector layer, you can add to that shape on the same layer or you can create new vector layers with each shape you draw to create new designs. You can fill and stroke the vector shapes independently and still maintain the crisp Illustrator-type edges. You can add vector layers to any image as a design element or use the shape as a mask by clipping the image to the vector layer.

Note: Photograph copyright © Photospin.com.

Note: This task starts with a new white document set to US letter size.

1 Control+click (right-click) the Rectangle Shape tool.

2 Click the Custom Shape tool.

3 Click the Shape drop-down menu in the Options bar to view the shapes.

4 Click the gear menu button ( ) and click a set of shapes from the menu such as Grime Vector Pack.

5 Click Append in the dialog box that appears.

 

The selected shapes are added to the menu.

6 Double-click a shape in the menu.

7 Click and drag on the document.

A black shape appears on the white document.

8 Click the Path Operations button in the Options bar.

9 Click Combine Shapes.

10 Click and drag on the document again.

A The two black shapes are combined on one vector layer.

11 Click File.

12 Click Place.

13 Click a photo in the Place dialog box that appears.

14 Click Place. 

The photo appears on top of the design.

15 Click the Commit button to apply the placed image.

16 Opt+click (Alt+click) on the line between the photo layer and the vector shape layer to create a clipping mask.

Note: You can also click Layer and click Create Clipping Mask to clip the photo to the shape.

17 Press Ô+T (Ctrl+T) to make the Free Transform anchors appear.

18 Shift+click the anchor points to resize the photo. ( Click and drag on the image to adjust the photo in the shape. ) Click the Commit button to apply the transformation.

The photo fits inside the custom shape.

TIPS

More Options! 

Click the Custom Shape tool and click the vector layer to select it. Click the color box for the Stroke in the Options bar and select a color. Then click the word Stroke in the Options bar and drag to the left to increase the stroke size. 

Try This! 

After creating the first shape, click the Path Operations button ( ) in the Options bar and select New Layer. Then each time you click or click and drag in the document, another vector layer is added with that shape in it. 

Get Creative! 

You can create a grid of different photos by adding multiple vector layers with a rectangular or any other shape, placing one shape just next to the other. Then place one photo layer above each vector layer and repeat steps 16 to 20 for each photo layer.

USE AUTO-ALIGN AND AUTO-BLEND LAYERS to combine photos

You can easily combine two or more separate photographs of the same subject and let Photoshop blend these to achieve a better image. You can combine images that do not have identical alignments and Photoshop can automatically align them. You can combine images photographed with different exposures, making some too light and others too dark, and Photoshop blends these to achieve better color and tone. 

The Auto-Align Layers command aligns layers based on similar content in different layers, such as corners and edges, and automatically generates the required masks. 

The Auto-Blend Layers command helps you create composites of a scene from multiple images with over- or underexposed areas or even content differences. Auto-Blend Layers creates masks on each layer and to hide or show different areas from each image to create a better and seamless composite image. 

Using the Auto-Align and Auto-Blend Layers commands is not the same as creating an HDR (High Dynamic Range) image shown in task #78. 

1 Open multiple images to combine. 

2 Click Window ➪ Arrange and select a window layout, such as 2-up Horizontal, so you can see all the images. 

Note: Only two images are shown in this task; however, you can use multiple images. 

3 Shift+click and drag each image onto one image to make multiple layers on one document. 

4 Close all the other open images. 

5 Shift+click all the layers in the Layers panel. 

6 Click Edit. 

7 Click Auto-Align Layers. 

8 Click an alignment option ( changes to ) in the dialog box that appears. 

9 Click OK.

Photoshop automatically aligns the layers based on the content. 

10 Shift+click all the layers in the Layers panel. 

11 Click Edit. 

12 Click Auto-Blend Layers. 

13 Click Stack Images in the dialog box ( changes to ). 

14 Click Seamless Tones and Colors in the dialog box ( changes to ). 

15 Click OK. 

Photoshop automatically blends the layers. 

16 Click the Crop tool. 

17 Click and drag in the image to select the finished composite. 

18 Click the Commit button to apply the crop.

Note: You can optionally click Layer ➪ Flatten Image to combine all the layers into one composite image. 

TIPS 

Did You Know? 

The Auto-Align command automatically changes the locked Background layer into a regular layer and changes the name to Layer 0. 

More Options! 

After applying the Auto-Align command, you can click Edit ➪ Free Transform and then use the anchor points to fine-tune the alignment, or even to make tonal adjustments by changing exposure differences between layers. 

Try This! 

Ô+click (Ctrl+click) directly on one of the layer masks in the Layers panel to see what areas were added or removed from one layer.

USE A GRADIENT FILL LAYER to improve your image

Adjustment layers give you many options for editing and re-editing your images. You can give a scenic photo a more dramatic look or simply increase the colors in a sky with a Gradient Fill adjustment layer. 

The colors you see are often better than what your camera captures, particularly when you photograph a sunset or a sunrise. You can easily increase the intensity of the sky with a Gradient Fill. You can enhance the existing colors by using a black foreground color, using a more intense version of the same color, or even selecting another color to create a stylized image. You can adjust how much of the photo to cover with added color. Because you are using a fill layer, you can go back and increase or decrease the amount of color after you apply the Gradient Fill layer. You can even change the color that you applied to get a different effect or to create a more dramatic look. This technique is most effective on a photo with a large sky area and an open horizon.

1 Open an image that has a large area of sky. 

2 Click the Default Colors icon to set the foreground to black. 

Note: You can optionally click to select a color to use as a gradient for a creative effect. 

3 Click the New Fill or Adjustment Layer button. 

4 Click Gradient. 

 The Gradient Fill dialog box appears, and a foreground-to- transparent gradient is applied to the image. 

5 Make sure that the angle is set to 90 degrees. 

6 Click and drag the dialog box so you can see more of the image.

7 Click Reverse ( changes to ). 

The gradient reverses to black or the selected color at the top, changing to transparent at the bottom of the image. 

8 Position the cursor over the image. 

9 Drag upward in the image until the gradient covers only the sky. 

10 Click OK.

11 Click the blend mode drop-down menu and click Overlay. 

12 Double-click the layer thumbnail for the gradient fill. 

The Gradient Fill dialog box reappears. 

13 Position the cursor over the image. 

14 Drag downward in the image to increase the darkened sky or drag upward to lessen the effect. 

Each time that you drag in the image with the Gradient Fill layer selected, the look of the sky changes. 

TIPS 

Did You Know? 

Multiple layers increase the file size of your image. Because Photoshop requires more memory to work on larger files, you should merge layers that will not be changed later. Pressing Ô+E (Ctrl+E) merges a selected layer with the layer below. Pressing Ô+Shift+E (Ctrl+Shift+E) merges all the visible layers. Click Layer ➪ Flatten Image to flatten all the layers into a new Background image. 

Try This! 

You can apply a Gradient Fill layer on a photo showing a large body of water such as a lake or the ocean. Experiment with different foreground colors for the Gradient Fill for both dramatic and creative effects

BLEND TWO PHOTOS TOGETHER with an automatic layer mask

Layer masks open a world of imaging possibilities that you cannot create with traditional tools. Using a layer mask to hide parts of an image, you can easily blend one photograph into another and create designs sure to grab a viewer’s attention. For example, you can blend a photograph of a wedding couple into a photo of the bride’s bouquet, or blend a photo of a potato with a photo of a person lying on a couch.

Generally, to blend a photo on one layer into the photo on the layer below, you add a layer mask to the top layer and paint with black on the layer mask to blend the images. To hide some of the area you just revealed, simply reverse the colors and paint with white. You can also have Photoshop create the layer mask for you automatically. By copying one photo to the clipboard and creating a selection on the other photo, you can use Photoshop’s Paste Into command. 

You can then use the Brush tool to add or remove areas if necessary. You can also adjust the way the images blend using the Opacity slider on the Layers panel. 

1 With the two photographs you want to blend open, click the Move tool. 

2 Click the photo that will be blended into the other to target it. 

3 Press Ô+A (Ctrl+A) to select the entire image. 

Note: You can also click Select All. 

4 Click Edit. 

5 Click Copy. 

6 Click the close button on this photo. 

7 Click the main photo to target it. 

8 Click the Marquee tool or any other selection tool. 

9 Click and drag on the areas to fill to select them. 

Note: You can adjust any selection with the current tool by pressing Ô+Option (Ctrl+Alt) as you click and drag to remove from a selection, and pressing Shift as you click and drag to add to a selection. 

10 Click Edit. 

11 Click Paste Special. 

12 Click Paste Into. 

A The first photo appears in the active selection. 

13 Click the Move tool. 

14 Click and drag in the area to reposition it. 

15 Press Ô+T (Ctrl+T) to make the Free Transform anchors appear. 

16 Shift+click the anchor points to resize the photo. 

17 Click the layer’s Opacity slider and drag to the left to blend the images more naturally. 

TIPS 

Try This! 

You can make two images blend together with a smooth transition by using the Gradient tool ( ) to apply a black-to-white gradient on the layer mask. 

Customize It! 

When you use a pen tablet to paint on a layer mask, you can easily control how much of the image you reveal with each brush stroke by setting the brush opacity to respond to pen pressure. Click the Brushes thumbnail to open the Brushes Presets. Click Shape Dynamics and set Size Jitter Control to Pen Pressure. 

Did You Know? 

You can add a layer mask to any layer by clicking the Layer Mask button ( ) in the Layers panel. Ô+click (Ctrl+click) the Layer Mask button to add a white layer mask that reveals all on that layer. Option+click (Alt+click) the Layer Mask button to add a black layer mask that conceals everything on that layer.

ADJUST A SELECTION with the Refine Edge tool

The Refine Edge floating panel is accessible in the Options bar when working with any selection tool. Using Refine Edge, you can clean up selections, soften or feather the edge outlines, and remove edge artifacts, or jaggies. The panel offers various previewing options, showing the selection on a white or black background, against a red overlay, or on an empty layer to help you see the edges of the areas you are selecting and the changes you are making. 

You can use the Refine Edge panel with any active selection, regardless of the tool used to create the selection. The Refine Edge tool is particularly useful when selecting very irregular edges, such as animal fur. Whenever there is a selection in the image, the Refine Edge button appears in the Options bar. 

With the subject selected, you can use the tool to fine-tune the details in the edges of your image to get the best selection possible. 

 

1 Open an image and make a selection using any of the selection tools. 

A The foreground subject is selected. 

Note: Depending on the image, you might select the background and then invert the selection to show the subject matter in the selection marquee. 

2 Click the Refine Edge button in the Options bar. 

The subject appears against a solid background. 

3 Click the Zoom tool in the Refine Edge panel and click in the image to enlarge certain areas. 

Note: Click the Hand tool ( ) in the Refine Edge panel and click and drag to move around the image. 

4 Click and drag the Radius slider to refine the edge selection. 

5 Click and drag the Contrast slider to remove edge artifacts and to sharpen edges. 

6 Click the View drop-down menu to select another view mode. 

7 Click and drag the Smooth slider to create a smoother selection outline. 

8 Click and drag the Feather slider to create a softer-edged transition. 

9 Click and drag the Shift Edge slider to adjust the selection edges. 

10 Click Decontaminate Colors ( changes to ). 

11 Click and drag the Amount slider to replace the color fringes with the color of the subject. 

12 Repeat steps 4 to 11 to make the best selection possible. 

13 Click the Output To drop-down menu to have the selected area appear as a selection or a mask on the current layer or placed on a new layer. 

14 Click OK to save the selection. Your refined selection appears on the image as a new layer or as a new layer with a layer mask. 

TIPS

Try This! 

You can use a keyboard shortcut to quickly change the preview mode when using the Refine Edge panel. Press F to cycle through each preview mode. Press X to temporarily view the original image. 

Did You Know? 

Moving the Radius slider improves the edge of the selection and helps in areas with more detail. Increasing the Contrast amount sharpens the edges of the selection. The Smooth slider removes jagged edges of a selection, and the Feather slider adds a uniform blur to the selection edge. 

Important! 

Clicking the Decontaminate Colors option in step 10 ( changes to ) requires the selection to be placed on a new layer or document because it changes the colors of pixels.

SELECT JUST SKIN TONES and adjust only the faces (continued)

Making selections of skin or faces generally requires refining the selection. You can use the Quick Selection tool or the Lasso to add to or delete from the selection. With these tools, press and hold Option (Alt) as you click to remove areas from the selection or Ô (Ctrl) as you click to add areas to the selection. 

You can also use the Quick Mask mode to edit the selection by painting on the areas to keep with a white paint brush or painting with a black paint brush to remove areas from the selection. Once your selection is made, you can then use any tools to edit the area without affecting the surrounding pixels. 

You can use the Skin Tones selection option as in this task to quickly brighten faces in a snapshot with a Levels adjustment layer. However, you can also use this Skin Tones selection tool and then invert the selection to adjust the surrounding areas or clothes instead. 

The selection marquee appears on the photo. 

Note: You can adjust the selection using any of the selection tools as in previous tasks to more precisely select just the skin tones. 

11 Click the New Fill or Adjustment Layer button. 

12 Click the Levels adjustment layer. 

A A Levels adjustment layer and a mask are added in the Layers panel. 

13 Option+click (Alt+click) the layer mask thumbnail on the adjustment layer. 

The image shows only the layer mask in black and white. 

14 Click the Brush tool. 

Note: Make sure that black is the foreground color. Press X if necessary to change it. 

15 Paint with black over the white areas in the image that are not faces to remove them from the selection. 

16 Option+click (Alt+click) the layer mask thumbnail on the adjustment layer. 

The image returns to the normal view. 

17 Click the Levels button in the Properties panel. 

18 Click and drag the slider to the left until the skin tones are lightened or to the base of the curve. The adjustments are applied to the selected skin tones only. 

TIPS

Did You Know? 

You can click Invert ( changes to ) in the Color Range dialog box to invert the selected area. You can also click Select Inverse after the selection has been applied. 

More Options! 

Try clicking the Auto button in the Properties panel of the Levels adjustment layer. You can also click RGB in the Properties panel and adjust the levels for each channel individually. 

Important! 

The number of pixels required for the Feather Radius depends on the overall dimensions of the photograph. The larger the image, the larger the pixel radius needed to soften the selection edge.

SELECT JUST SKIN TONES and adjust only the faces

Portrait retouchers spend a lot time working on faces, improving color and tone, hiding blemishes, enhancing eyes, and more. Yet even everyday snapshots of people can be greatly improved by editing the faces in the image. For example, a Levels adjustment on just the faces can bring the attention of the viewer to the subjects in the image and make an everyday snapshot much more interesting. However, making a selection of just the faces in a photo can be difficult or time consuming.

Photoshop CS6 includes a new tool for limiting a selection to the skin tones in a photograph. When you choose Select Color Range, Photoshop automatically selects what it sees as skins tones. You can further refine the automatic selection by checking the Detect Faces check box, which appears when the Skin Tones color range menu is open. 

You can use this new tool as a starting point and then refine the facial selection with the other selection tools to quickly get a more defined selection. 

Note: Photograph copyright © Photospin.com. 

1 Open a photograph showing a face or faces. 

2 Click Select. 

3 Click Color Range. 

The Color Range dialog box appears.

4 Click the Select drop-down menu and click Skin Tones. 

5 Click Detect Faces ( changes to ). 

6 Click the Selection Preview dropdown menu. 

7 Click White Matte. 

Note: You can select any preview color that makes viewing the selected areas easier. 

Note: Move the Color Range dialog box so you can see more of the photo. 

The skin tones appear in color in the image window. Everything else turns white. 

8 Click and drag the Fuzziness slider all the way to the left. 

The image turns completely white and the preview box completely black. 

9 Click and drag the Fuzziness slider slowly to the right. 

The selected area expands. 

10 Click OK when most of the faces are selected. 

TIPS 

Did You Know? 

You can change the fuzziness by moving the slider or typing a specific number. The fastest way is to start by dragging the slider completely to the left. Then with 0 highlighted in the box, click the up arrow on your keyboard while viewing the changes in the main window. 

Try This! 

Depending on the colors in the photo, you may want to change the Selection Preview color to any of the other options in the menu. None shows the photo. Grayscale makes the selected areas white and the deselected areas black. Black Matte shows the skin tones in the selected areas with everything else in black. White Matte does the opposite, and Quick Mask displays the image as it will appear in Quick Mask Mode.