High dynamic range imaging (HDRI or HDR) is a set of methods
used in imaging and photography, to allow a greater dynamic range
between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than current
standard digital imaging methods or photographic methods. In other
words you want to get as much detail out of the shadow and highlight
areas of the image. So by combining all the multiple exposure images,
you will get the best detail results.
STEP 1
Start
with 3 images (you can have more mulitple exposures) - one normal
exposure, the second underexposed and the third overexposed. Set the
bracketing on my camera to 1 stop apart. You dont want to change the
Aperture as that will change the Depth Of Field, but you can change the
Shutter Speed of the ISO. Then set the shooting mode to burst. When
you hold the shutter down, 3 photos will be captured. Shoot in RAW mode
for the widest possible dynamic range. You can still create HDR if
your camera doesn't support RAW. Make sure you shoot in Aperture
Priority or in Manual. You want to bracket the exposure time, not the
Aperture.
STEP 2
Choose File/Automate/Merge to HDR Pro.
Choose either images or folder. Turn on Auto Align, (Photoshop SC3
uses new Auto-Align technology that even allows you to create HDR
without the use of a tripod!). Click OK.
STEP 3
If
you did not use RAW files, Photoshop will let you know that files
converted from Camera Raw format (JPGs) may loose dynamic range. So for
best results, rather merge the original Camera Raw files or DNG file
formats. Let Photoshop merge your files.
STEP 4
Once Photoshop merges the image, Merge to HDR Pro will open up with your images. Notice the default Bit mode is 16 Bit.
In the Edge Glow options, the Radius determines how much of the pixels will be affected by the edge glow and the Strength slider will determine how much contrast there is in the glow.
If you want to add some contrast then use the Gamma slider - increase it by moving the slider tothe left or decrease the contrast by moving the slider to the right. Use Exposure to brighten or darken your image. Use the Shadows slider to lighten or darken the shadows. Highlights allows
you to increase or lighten the highlight areas or decrease the lightest
areas of your images. The Detail slider makes your images look sharper.
The Colour tab allows you to change the colour using Vibrance and Saturation.
Vibrance is
really great as it ignores flesh tones in your image. If you want to
change the saturation equally through the entire image then use the Saturation slider. You can also adjust the tone curve of the image by clicking on the curve line to change the contrast further.
Your
image could have what is called artifacts, this happens when things
move between the multiple exposures. However you can now turn on Remove Ghost to
remove the ghosting effect to removes these unwanted effects. You can
also select which exposure you want to chose from by clicking on the
thumbnails at the bottom of you dialog box.
You can save the changes as a preset to
be applied to another image or load already saved presets. You can also
use Presets that comes with Photoshop but clicking on the drop down
menu. Click OK once you are happy with your results and then Photoshop
will merge the images into a 16 Bit image.
If however you only have one image and you want to apply HDR effects then go to Image/Adjustments/HDR Toning.
Hope you enjoy this tut!
Friday, August 2, 2013
Cross-processing Tutorial
Cross-processing is developing colour print or slide film in the wrong chemicals.
This causes wild colour and contrast shifts and requires lots of trial
and error. The most common combination is C-41 as E-6, in which slide
chemistry is used to process colour negative film, and it's a quick job
to imitate it in Photoshop. Image contrast is usually high with
blown-out highlights, while the shadows tend toward dense shades of
blue. Reds tend to be magenta, lips almost purple, and highlights
normally have a yellow-green colour cast. As for subject matter, try
portraiture - the skin tones and red lipstick look especially striking
in cross-processed images, but there's no need to restrict your
imagination.
STEP 1
With the original image open, click the "Create new fill or new adjustment layer" icon in the Layers panel and select Curves. From the Channel drop-down box, select the Red channel and drag the top right of the curve a little to the left. Then drag a couple of points on the curve so that it forms a very gentle S — darkening the shadows and brightening the Red channel's highlights.
TIP
To save the curve to a file on your hard drive, just click the Save button. Applying the same cross-processing adjustment to other images is a simple matter of loading it with the Load button in the Curves dialog box.
STEP 2
Select the Blue channel and drag the curve's top-right point downward. It doesn't need to be much — just enough to take some blue out of the highlights. Then drag the curve's bottom-right point up a little, blocking up the Blue channel in the shadows.
STEP 3
In the Green channel, add another gentle S curve — increasing the contrast, especially in the highlights.
STEP 4
Fine-tune the channel curves to suit your image, but leave the combined RGB curve untouched. Focus on the colour balance rather than the contrast, which you can fix later, in step 6.
STEP 5
Blown highlights are a common — if not always welcome — characteristic of C-41 as E-6 cross-processing. They should result from the contrast-increasing curves used in steps 1–3, but in Photoshop it's possible to eliminate them if you wish. Try changing the Curves adjustment layer's blending mode to Colour and the image will combine the colour shifts with the image's original luminosity.
STEP 6
If you need to fine-tune the image contrast, add a Curves adjustment layer and set its blending mode to Luminosity so it doesn't cause any further colour shifts.
STEP 7
Another optional final step is to add a yellow colour cast to the picture.
In the Layers panel, click the "Create new fill or new adjustment layer" icon and choose Solid Colour. Select a yellow-green and click OK, then reduce the new layer's opacity — 10% is as much as you'll need.
Try it out and have fun!
STEP 1
With the original image open, click the "Create new fill or new adjustment layer" icon in the Layers panel and select Curves. From the Channel drop-down box, select the Red channel and drag the top right of the curve a little to the left. Then drag a couple of points on the curve so that it forms a very gentle S — darkening the shadows and brightening the Red channel's highlights.
TIP
To save the curve to a file on your hard drive, just click the Save button. Applying the same cross-processing adjustment to other images is a simple matter of loading it with the Load button in the Curves dialog box.
STEP 2
Select the Blue channel and drag the curve's top-right point downward. It doesn't need to be much — just enough to take some blue out of the highlights. Then drag the curve's bottom-right point up a little, blocking up the Blue channel in the shadows.
STEP 3
In the Green channel, add another gentle S curve — increasing the contrast, especially in the highlights.
STEP 4
Fine-tune the channel curves to suit your image, but leave the combined RGB curve untouched. Focus on the colour balance rather than the contrast, which you can fix later, in step 6.
STEP 5
Blown highlights are a common — if not always welcome — characteristic of C-41 as E-6 cross-processing. They should result from the contrast-increasing curves used in steps 1–3, but in Photoshop it's possible to eliminate them if you wish. Try changing the Curves adjustment layer's blending mode to Colour and the image will combine the colour shifts with the image's original luminosity.
STEP 6
If you need to fine-tune the image contrast, add a Curves adjustment layer and set its blending mode to Luminosity so it doesn't cause any further colour shifts.
STEP 7
Another optional final step is to add a yellow colour cast to the picture.
In the Layers panel, click the "Create new fill or new adjustment layer" icon and choose Solid Colour. Select a yellow-green and click OK, then reduce the new layer's opacity — 10% is as much as you'll need.
Try it out and have fun!
Infrared Film Tutorial
Infrared film (The term "infrared" literally means "below
red”) used alongside an infrared filter allows the camera to block out
the usual spectrum of light, allowing only infrared light to expose the
film. The result is a false colour or black and white effect, the effect
is particularly stunning with shots of foliage, where the reflections
from leaves and grass are made visible and give the impression of a
dream-like scene.
Step 1 - Duplicate the Background Layer
The first thing you need to do in creating this effect is to duplicate this layer, do that with the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac), which tells Photoshop to give a copy of this layer directly above it. Photoshop automatically names the layer "Layer 1", which tells you nothing about it, so double-click directly on the name of the layer and rename it to "infrared".
Step 2 - Select the Green Channel in the Channels Panel
Go to your Channels panel (it's grouped in beside the Layers panel) and click on the Green channel to select it. This will turn your image temporarily black and white. You are going to blur this green channel next.
Step 3 - Apply the Gaussian Blur Filter to the Green Channel
With the Green channel selected in the Channels palette, go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen, select Blur, and then select Gaussian Blur to bring up Photoshop's Gaussian Blur dialog box.
Drag the slider bar at the bottom of the Gaussian Blur dialog box left or right to increase or decrease the amount of blur you'll be applying. Your image will most likely be much higher resolution, especially if it came from a fairly recent digital camera, so you'll need to use a higher Radius value; a Radius value of about 10 pixels gives a nice soft blur effect. Add a good amount of blurring while still being able to make out the basic details of the image.
Step 4 - Change The Blend Mode Of The Infrared Layer To "Screen".
Now that you have applied the Gaussian Blur filter to the Green channel, switch back to the Layers palette and, with the "infrared" layer still selected, change the blend mode of the layer from Normal to Screen. To do that, go up to the top of the Layers palette and click on the down-pointing arrow directly to the right of the word "Normal", which brings up a list of available layer blend modes. Click on "Screen" to select it.
Already at this stage, the image is looking pretty cool, but you are not quite done yet. You are going to be using a Channel Mixer adjustment layer next.
Step 5 - Add A Channel Mixer Adjustment Layer
You need to bring up a Channel Mixer adjustment layer at this point, and you can do that by clicking on the New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette and selecting Channel Mixer from the list.
In the "Source Channels" section, set Red to -50%, Green to 200%, and Blue to the same as red, -50%. The general rule with these values in the Channel Mixer is that you want to keep the total value of all three channels at 100%, otherwise you'll either be losing contrast in the image or losing detail in the highlights, which is why, in order to set the Green value to 200%, we lowered both the Red and Blue values to -50%, giving us our 100%.
Finally, click the Monochrome checkbox in the bottom left corner of the dialog box to keep the image in grayscale mode. Click OK when you're done.
Step 6 - Lower the Opacity of the "Infrared" Layer
At this point, the infrared effect is too intense. Let's reduce it by lowering the opacity of the "infrared" layer. First, click on the "infrared" layer in the Layers palette to select it, then go up to the Opacity option in the top right corner of the Layers palette, hover your mouse directly over the word "Opacity" to turn your mouse cursor into the "scrubby slider" icon, then click and drag to the left to lower the opacity value.
The effect is pretty much complete at this point, but it's too clean. Infrared photos typically have a lot of grain in them, so to finish off the effect; we're going to add some noise.
Step 7 - Add a New Layer above the Channel Mixer Adjustment Layer
Click on the Channel Mixer adjustment layer in the Layers palette to select it, then use the keyboard shortcut Shift+Ctrl+N (Win) / Shift+Command+N (Mac) to bring up Photoshop's New Layer dialog box.
Name the new layer "Grain" and then click OK. Photoshop will add a new blank layer named "Grain" above the Channel Mixer in the Layers palette.
Step 8 - Fill the "Grain" Layer with White
Press the letter D on your keyboard to reset Photoshop's foreground and background colours to their defaults of black and white, respectively. Then, with the "Grain" layer selected in the Layers palette, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Backspace (Win) / Command+Delete (Mac) to quickly fill this layer with solid white. The image in the document window will temporarily be hidden from view.
Step 9 - Add Noise to This Layer
With the "Grain" layer still selected, go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen, select Noise, and then select Add Noise to bring up the "Add Noise" filter dialog box. Set the Amount to 20%, set Distribution to Uniform, and make sure Monochromatic at the bottom is checked.
This adds our grain to the image, but problem is, you still can't see the image below the grain. You will fix that next.
Step 10 - Change the Blend Mode Of The "Grain" Layer To "Multiply"
Just as you did for the "infrared" layer, you are going to change the blend mode of this "Grain" layer, except this time, instead of changing it to "Screen", we're going to change it to "Multiply". With the "Grain" layer selected, go back up to the blend mode options at the top of the Layers palette and this time choose Multiply from the list.
As soon as you change the blend mode to Multiply, the image becomes visible once again through the grain, giving you the final effect.
Step 1 - Duplicate the Background Layer
The first thing you need to do in creating this effect is to duplicate this layer, do that with the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac), which tells Photoshop to give a copy of this layer directly above it. Photoshop automatically names the layer "Layer 1", which tells you nothing about it, so double-click directly on the name of the layer and rename it to "infrared".
Step 2 - Select the Green Channel in the Channels Panel
Go to your Channels panel (it's grouped in beside the Layers panel) and click on the Green channel to select it. This will turn your image temporarily black and white. You are going to blur this green channel next.
Step 3 - Apply the Gaussian Blur Filter to the Green Channel
With the Green channel selected in the Channels palette, go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen, select Blur, and then select Gaussian Blur to bring up Photoshop's Gaussian Blur dialog box.
Drag the slider bar at the bottom of the Gaussian Blur dialog box left or right to increase or decrease the amount of blur you'll be applying. Your image will most likely be much higher resolution, especially if it came from a fairly recent digital camera, so you'll need to use a higher Radius value; a Radius value of about 10 pixels gives a nice soft blur effect. Add a good amount of blurring while still being able to make out the basic details of the image.
Step 4 - Change The Blend Mode Of The Infrared Layer To "Screen".
Now that you have applied the Gaussian Blur filter to the Green channel, switch back to the Layers palette and, with the "infrared" layer still selected, change the blend mode of the layer from Normal to Screen. To do that, go up to the top of the Layers palette and click on the down-pointing arrow directly to the right of the word "Normal", which brings up a list of available layer blend modes. Click on "Screen" to select it.
Already at this stage, the image is looking pretty cool, but you are not quite done yet. You are going to be using a Channel Mixer adjustment layer next.
Step 5 - Add A Channel Mixer Adjustment Layer
You need to bring up a Channel Mixer adjustment layer at this point, and you can do that by clicking on the New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette and selecting Channel Mixer from the list.
In the "Source Channels" section, set Red to -50%, Green to 200%, and Blue to the same as red, -50%. The general rule with these values in the Channel Mixer is that you want to keep the total value of all three channels at 100%, otherwise you'll either be losing contrast in the image or losing detail in the highlights, which is why, in order to set the Green value to 200%, we lowered both the Red and Blue values to -50%, giving us our 100%.
Finally, click the Monochrome checkbox in the bottom left corner of the dialog box to keep the image in grayscale mode. Click OK when you're done.
Step 6 - Lower the Opacity of the "Infrared" Layer
At this point, the infrared effect is too intense. Let's reduce it by lowering the opacity of the "infrared" layer. First, click on the "infrared" layer in the Layers palette to select it, then go up to the Opacity option in the top right corner of the Layers palette, hover your mouse directly over the word "Opacity" to turn your mouse cursor into the "scrubby slider" icon, then click and drag to the left to lower the opacity value.
The effect is pretty much complete at this point, but it's too clean. Infrared photos typically have a lot of grain in them, so to finish off the effect; we're going to add some noise.
Step 7 - Add a New Layer above the Channel Mixer Adjustment Layer
Click on the Channel Mixer adjustment layer in the Layers palette to select it, then use the keyboard shortcut Shift+Ctrl+N (Win) / Shift+Command+N (Mac) to bring up Photoshop's New Layer dialog box.
Name the new layer "Grain" and then click OK. Photoshop will add a new blank layer named "Grain" above the Channel Mixer in the Layers palette.
Step 8 - Fill the "Grain" Layer with White
Press the letter D on your keyboard to reset Photoshop's foreground and background colours to their defaults of black and white, respectively. Then, with the "Grain" layer selected in the Layers palette, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Backspace (Win) / Command+Delete (Mac) to quickly fill this layer with solid white. The image in the document window will temporarily be hidden from view.
Step 9 - Add Noise to This Layer
With the "Grain" layer still selected, go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen, select Noise, and then select Add Noise to bring up the "Add Noise" filter dialog box. Set the Amount to 20%, set Distribution to Uniform, and make sure Monochromatic at the bottom is checked.
This adds our grain to the image, but problem is, you still can't see the image below the grain. You will fix that next.
Step 10 - Change the Blend Mode Of The "Grain" Layer To "Multiply"
Just as you did for the "infrared" layer, you are going to change the blend mode of this "Grain" layer, except this time, instead of changing it to "Screen", we're going to change it to "Multiply". With the "Grain" layer selected, go back up to the blend mode options at the top of the Layers palette and this time choose Multiply from the list.
As soon as you change the blend mode to Multiply, the image becomes visible once again through the grain, giving you the final effect.
Lomo Photography Tutorial
The Russian made Lomo LC-A camera was manufactured a cheap
alternative to the higher quality Japanese rivals. It was poorly made
and the photographs it produced were just as bad, however as time passed
popular culture brought the mis-coloured shots from the Lomo camera
into a whole new light, which is now a very sought after effect.
Step 1: Creating a Vignette
The first thing you want to do is create the classic vignette that the Lomos are well known for and I achieve this by doing a freehand lasso of a circle around the photo. It doesn’t need to be perfect and to prevent hard edges, I set the feather to 80-90px before creating the circle.
Once you have set the feather and have drawn the circle, you must invert the selection. You can do this one of two ways. #1 Shift-Ctrl-I (Shift-Cmd-I on the Mac) or #2 Go to the menu Select / Inverse.
Now to achieve the vignette, I add a Levels layer. Note - I still have the invert selected. This will add a masked out layer on top of your original layer. I then adjust the levels by moving the center arrow to the right. This will darken the edges, giving me a vignette. The amount is up to you and in this case I went from 1.00 to 0.70 on the center number. Now you have a vignette.
Step 2: Making the photo look Lomo
Another key to a Lomo picture is the colour contrast and saturation. This occurs because people with real Lomos use colour slide film and cross-process the film in C41 chemicals.
At this point I usually flatten the image using Shift-Ctrl-E (Shift-Cmd-E on the Mac) or go to the menu and Layer / Merge Layers. First, I add a curves layer and create a slanted S.
Then I create a new layer on top of the other two layers. I select the colour black and fill the new layer with solid black. Then I change the blending mode and set it to Soft Light and reduce the opacity to 20%.
Step 3: Sharpening and Saving
This has gotten us very close to be finished. Again, I flatten the photo by using Shift-Ctrl-E (Shift-Cmd-E on the Mac) or go to the menu and Layer / Merge Layers.
Before saving the photo as a JPG, you need to sharpen the photo. I use the Unsharp Mask and Lab mode/lightness technique. The purpose of this step is that it adds more contrast and darkens some of the areas as well. Now you can use whatever sharpening technique you want, but the following method prevents the colour halos that come with certain sharpening techniques.
Go to Image / Mode / Lab Colour. If you hadn’t flattened the image yet, it will ask you if want to flatten, please do so.
Then select your channel window and click on the lightness channel. The 3 other channels should deselect.
Then go to the menu, select Filter / Sharpen / Unsharp Mask.
I like sharpness, so I set the Amount to 50%, Radius to 50% and the Threshold to 0. Click OK. This is completely up to you on the settings. Plus it will depend on the photo as well and use your best judgment/preference.
Go to Image / Mode / RGB Colour. You do not have to reselect the unchecked channels, when converting back to RGB, the channels will automatically turn back on and the photo will go back to be in colour.
Final step, save as a Jpeg.
Step 1: Creating a Vignette
The first thing you want to do is create the classic vignette that the Lomos are well known for and I achieve this by doing a freehand lasso of a circle around the photo. It doesn’t need to be perfect and to prevent hard edges, I set the feather to 80-90px before creating the circle.
Once you have set the feather and have drawn the circle, you must invert the selection. You can do this one of two ways. #1 Shift-Ctrl-I (Shift-Cmd-I on the Mac) or #2 Go to the menu Select / Inverse.
Now to achieve the vignette, I add a Levels layer. Note - I still have the invert selected. This will add a masked out layer on top of your original layer. I then adjust the levels by moving the center arrow to the right. This will darken the edges, giving me a vignette. The amount is up to you and in this case I went from 1.00 to 0.70 on the center number. Now you have a vignette.
Step 2: Making the photo look Lomo
Another key to a Lomo picture is the colour contrast and saturation. This occurs because people with real Lomos use colour slide film and cross-process the film in C41 chemicals.
At this point I usually flatten the image using Shift-Ctrl-E (Shift-Cmd-E on the Mac) or go to the menu and Layer / Merge Layers. First, I add a curves layer and create a slanted S.
Then I create a new layer on top of the other two layers. I select the colour black and fill the new layer with solid black. Then I change the blending mode and set it to Soft Light and reduce the opacity to 20%.
Step 3: Sharpening and Saving
This has gotten us very close to be finished. Again, I flatten the photo by using Shift-Ctrl-E (Shift-Cmd-E on the Mac) or go to the menu and Layer / Merge Layers.
Before saving the photo as a JPG, you need to sharpen the photo. I use the Unsharp Mask and Lab mode/lightness technique. The purpose of this step is that it adds more contrast and darkens some of the areas as well. Now you can use whatever sharpening technique you want, but the following method prevents the colour halos that come with certain sharpening techniques.
Go to Image / Mode / Lab Colour. If you hadn’t flattened the image yet, it will ask you if want to flatten, please do so.
Then select your channel window and click on the lightness channel. The 3 other channels should deselect.
Then go to the menu, select Filter / Sharpen / Unsharp Mask.
I like sharpness, so I set the Amount to 50%, Radius to 50% and the Threshold to 0. Click OK. This is completely up to you on the settings. Plus it will depend on the photo as well and use your best judgment/preference.
Go to Image / Mode / RGB Colour. You do not have to reselect the unchecked channels, when converting back to RGB, the channels will automatically turn back on and the photo will go back to be in colour.
Final step, save as a Jpeg.
Split Toning Tutorial
The term "split toning" means we'll be adding a colour tint to the
highlights using one colour, and then using a different colour to tint
the shadows. The two colours you use can be similar, giving you a subtle
effect, or they can be complete opposites. It's really up to you and
the effect you're going for. Whichever colours you choose, split toning
an image can be a great way to add more visual interest to a black and
white photo.
Step 1 - Add A Channel Mixer Adjustment Layer
The first thing we need to do with our split toning effect is convert our image into black and white. There's quite a few ways to convert a colour photo to black and white in Photoshop, but one of the best ways is by using a Channel Mixer adjustment layer, which will allow us to create our own custom black and white version rather than allowing Photoshop to make all the decisions for us. Since we're using the adjustment layer version of the Channel Mixer, we can safely convert our image to black and white while leaving the original full colour image intact. Click on the New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and choose Channel Mixer from the list that appears.
Step 2 - Select the "Monochrome" Option
This brings up Photoshop's Channel Mixer dialog box. In the bottom left corner of the dialog box is the Monochrome option. Click inside its checkbox to select this option. As soon as you select it, you'll see your image in the document window convert to black and white.
Step 3 - Create A Custom Black And White Version Of The Image
In the center of the Channel Mixer dialog box are three sliders, labelled "Red", "Green" and "Blue" from top to bottom. These sliders represent the red, green and blue colour channels in the image.
These three slider bars allow us to create a custom black and white version of our photo by mixing different amounts of the red, green and blue colours in the image to give us different results. Dragging the red slider towards the right, for example, causes any areas with red in them to appear lighter in the black and white version, while dragging the slider towards the left causes areas with red in them to appear darker. The same goes for the green and blue sliders. There are no "correct" settings for the sliders, since each image is unique and your idea of the "perfect" black and white version of the image will also be unique, so the best thing to do is to simply drag the sliders around while keeping an eye on your photo in the document window until you're happy with the results.
The only rule to be aware of with the sliders is that the total percentage of all three sliders should equal 100% when you're done. You'll see an input box above and to the right of each slider, with a number in the box that changes as you drag the slider. The number you see is the percentage of that colour that's currently being applied to the black and white version. When you're done converting your image to black and white, the total of all three boxes should equal 100%. Anything less than 100% causes your image to appear darker than it should be, while going above 100% will lose detail in the highlights. Fortunately, you don't have to worry about doing the math. The Channel Mixer conveniently lists the current percent total directly below the sliders. For my image, I'm going to go with a mixture of 70% red, 20% green and 10% blue to create my black and white version, which gives me a total of 100%. Your values will most likely be different depending on the photo you're working with.
Keep in mind that we haven't really converted the image to black and white. The original full colour photo is still there, sitting safely on the Background layer in the Layers panel. Everything we've done to convert the photo to black and white is being handled by the Channel Mixer adjustment layer sitting above it in the Layers panel. If we were to delete the adjustment layer, our full colour image would appear in the document window once again.
Step 4 - Add A "Colour Balance" Adjustment Layer
Now that we've converted our photo to black and white, we're ready to add some colour to the highlights and shadows. For that, we'll use another of Photoshop's adjustment layers. Click once again on the New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and this time; choose Colour Balance from the list.
Step 5 - Select "Highlights" And Choose a Tint Colour
This brings up Photoshop's Colour Balance dialog box. The Colour Balance adjustment works great for our split toning effect because it allows us to easily switch between the shadows and highlights in the image simply by choosing either the Shadows or Highlights option at the bottom of the dialog box. Once we've chosen the shadows or highlights, we can use the colour sliders to select the colour we want to use and it will be applied only to the shadows or highlights.
Let's start with the highlights in the photo. Select Highlights at the bottom of the dialog box.With the highlights now selected, use the colour sliders to dial in the colour you want to tint the highlights with. The top slider will add red or cyan to the image depending on which direction you drag the slider. The further you drag the slider, the more intense the colour will appear in the image. The middle slider will add green or magenta, again depending on which way you drag the slider. The bottom slider will add blue or yellow. It helps to know a little Colour Theory 101 here if you need to mix colours together to create the one you want, but I'm going to keep things simple.
I'm going to add a bit of yellow to my highlights by dragging the bottom slider towards the left until the third Colour Levels input box at the top of the dialog box shows a value of -15.The highlights have been tinted with a small amount of yellow.
Step 6 - Select "Shadows" And Choose A Tint Colour
We've added a colour to the highlights. Now let's add a different colour to the shadows. Select the Shadows option at the bottom of the dialog box. With the shadows now selected, we can dial in a different colour to complete our split toning effect. Again, I'm going to keep things simple by adding some red to my shadows. I'll drag the top slider towards the right until the first Colour Levels input box at the top of the dialog box shows a value of +35.
Of course, the colours you choose for your shadows and highlights may be completely different from the ones I've chosen here. I just happen to like this particular effect, with yellow in the highlights and red in the shadows. Click OK when you're done to exit out of the Colour Balance dialog box. If we look in our Layers panel, we can see that we now have three layers. The original, full colour image is on the Background layer on the bottom, the Channel Mixer adjustment layer directly above it is what's giving us our black and white effect, and finally, the Colour Balance adjustment layer at the top is adding our tints to the shadows and highlights.
Step 1 - Add A Channel Mixer Adjustment Layer
The first thing we need to do with our split toning effect is convert our image into black and white. There's quite a few ways to convert a colour photo to black and white in Photoshop, but one of the best ways is by using a Channel Mixer adjustment layer, which will allow us to create our own custom black and white version rather than allowing Photoshop to make all the decisions for us. Since we're using the adjustment layer version of the Channel Mixer, we can safely convert our image to black and white while leaving the original full colour image intact. Click on the New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and choose Channel Mixer from the list that appears.
Step 2 - Select the "Monochrome" Option
This brings up Photoshop's Channel Mixer dialog box. In the bottom left corner of the dialog box is the Monochrome option. Click inside its checkbox to select this option. As soon as you select it, you'll see your image in the document window convert to black and white.
Step 3 - Create A Custom Black And White Version Of The Image
In the center of the Channel Mixer dialog box are three sliders, labelled "Red", "Green" and "Blue" from top to bottom. These sliders represent the red, green and blue colour channels in the image.
These three slider bars allow us to create a custom black and white version of our photo by mixing different amounts of the red, green and blue colours in the image to give us different results. Dragging the red slider towards the right, for example, causes any areas with red in them to appear lighter in the black and white version, while dragging the slider towards the left causes areas with red in them to appear darker. The same goes for the green and blue sliders. There are no "correct" settings for the sliders, since each image is unique and your idea of the "perfect" black and white version of the image will also be unique, so the best thing to do is to simply drag the sliders around while keeping an eye on your photo in the document window until you're happy with the results.
The only rule to be aware of with the sliders is that the total percentage of all three sliders should equal 100% when you're done. You'll see an input box above and to the right of each slider, with a number in the box that changes as you drag the slider. The number you see is the percentage of that colour that's currently being applied to the black and white version. When you're done converting your image to black and white, the total of all three boxes should equal 100%. Anything less than 100% causes your image to appear darker than it should be, while going above 100% will lose detail in the highlights. Fortunately, you don't have to worry about doing the math. The Channel Mixer conveniently lists the current percent total directly below the sliders. For my image, I'm going to go with a mixture of 70% red, 20% green and 10% blue to create my black and white version, which gives me a total of 100%. Your values will most likely be different depending on the photo you're working with.
Keep in mind that we haven't really converted the image to black and white. The original full colour photo is still there, sitting safely on the Background layer in the Layers panel. Everything we've done to convert the photo to black and white is being handled by the Channel Mixer adjustment layer sitting above it in the Layers panel. If we were to delete the adjustment layer, our full colour image would appear in the document window once again.
Step 4 - Add A "Colour Balance" Adjustment Layer
Now that we've converted our photo to black and white, we're ready to add some colour to the highlights and shadows. For that, we'll use another of Photoshop's adjustment layers. Click once again on the New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and this time; choose Colour Balance from the list.
Step 5 - Select "Highlights" And Choose a Tint Colour
This brings up Photoshop's Colour Balance dialog box. The Colour Balance adjustment works great for our split toning effect because it allows us to easily switch between the shadows and highlights in the image simply by choosing either the Shadows or Highlights option at the bottom of the dialog box. Once we've chosen the shadows or highlights, we can use the colour sliders to select the colour we want to use and it will be applied only to the shadows or highlights.
Let's start with the highlights in the photo. Select Highlights at the bottom of the dialog box.With the highlights now selected, use the colour sliders to dial in the colour you want to tint the highlights with. The top slider will add red or cyan to the image depending on which direction you drag the slider. The further you drag the slider, the more intense the colour will appear in the image. The middle slider will add green or magenta, again depending on which way you drag the slider. The bottom slider will add blue or yellow. It helps to know a little Colour Theory 101 here if you need to mix colours together to create the one you want, but I'm going to keep things simple.
I'm going to add a bit of yellow to my highlights by dragging the bottom slider towards the left until the third Colour Levels input box at the top of the dialog box shows a value of -15.The highlights have been tinted with a small amount of yellow.
Step 6 - Select "Shadows" And Choose A Tint Colour
We've added a colour to the highlights. Now let's add a different colour to the shadows. Select the Shadows option at the bottom of the dialog box. With the shadows now selected, we can dial in a different colour to complete our split toning effect. Again, I'm going to keep things simple by adding some red to my shadows. I'll drag the top slider towards the right until the first Colour Levels input box at the top of the dialog box shows a value of +35.
Of course, the colours you choose for your shadows and highlights may be completely different from the ones I've chosen here. I just happen to like this particular effect, with yellow in the highlights and red in the shadows. Click OK when you're done to exit out of the Colour Balance dialog box. If we look in our Layers panel, we can see that we now have three layers. The original, full colour image is on the Background layer on the bottom, the Channel Mixer adjustment layer directly above it is what's giving us our black and white effect, and finally, the Colour Balance adjustment layer at the top is adding our tints to the shadows and highlights.
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