Photo Techniques

Soft Light | Moving Camera | Dancing Camera | Printing from Photoshop

Soft-Light Blending Mode Technique in Photoshop as described by Joe Del Tufo and Harold Ross.

Three adjustment layers are grouped together and the blending mode of the group is set to "Soft Light" in Photoshop. By adjusting the Black & White adjustment layer (available in Photoshop CS3 and up), you can adjust color luminosity. By adjusting the curves layer, you vary whether the shadows or the highlights are affected. The opacity of the entire group can be lowered to lessen the overall effect. Above is a screen shot with "Before" and "After" images left and center. Yellows and greens are brighter, blue and cyans are darker, and all colors are more vivid.

Duplicate image, creating a new layer.
Put that duplicate image in its own group.
Make the blending mode of that group "Soft Light."
Create a Black and White adjustment layer above the duplicate image, inside the group. Adjust the colors of the total image by moving the sliders of the Black & White adjustment layer.
A curves layer can also be added above or below the Black & White adjustment layer, inside the group, so that only the shadows or highlights are affected.
Harold says: "The beauty of this technique is that you can adjust the luminosity of various parts of the image by using the B&W adjustment layer controls! It also gives a nice desaturation, but maintains richness."

Mickey Freed's Moving Camera Technique

Mickey drove from New Mexico to Delaware shooting out the window of his car with very slow shutter speeds, about 1/10 second. Above, Danny Schweers shoots out the window of a fast-moving train (1/10 second, f11). The train is moving left to right, but the camera is panning right to left. That means something in the frame will be standing still, but everything else will be going in different directions at different speeds. Wide lenses are best for producing different motions in a single frame.

Mickey says: "Having objects such as trees or fences in the foreground with the subject off in the distance can create a tapestry effect or at least provide some texture. I also found it better to turn off the image stabilization feature on the lens as it made things too sharp. I had 4 days to experiment; it takes a while to get into a groove with this but, once you find it, it's very groovy!" Photo copyright 2010 by Danny N. Schweers

Danny Schweers' Dancing Camera Technique

With a wide lens, open the shutter for many seconds while you dance in front of neon lights outside a Mexican restaurant. Shake, spin, and roll. Ignore the funny looks of people passing by. The above photo, of Threadgill's Restaurant in Austin, Texas (1983) is one of three dancing neon photos by Danny in the Helmet Gernsheim Collection of the Reiss-Engelhorn Museen in Mannheim, Germany. photo copyright 1983 Danny N. Schweers

Danny Schweers: Print Using Photoshop

I use Photoshop CS4 with an Epson printer, without calibration.

In summary, [1] choose the right color space, [2] let Photoshop manage your colors using a printer profile that matches your paper AND printer, and finally [3] choose the correct settings in the "Print" dialog.

First off, use the right color space: Adobe RGB (1998). This can make a huge difference. In Photoshop menu across the top: Edit > Convert to Profile > Adobe RGB (1998).

Then ask Photoshop to print. In "Color Handling" on the right-hand side of the print menu, choose "Photoshop Manages Colors" and in the Printer Profile, choose the printer profile that matches printer AND paper. (These are available on the paper manufacturer's website.) Then hit the "Print" button.

A new "Print" dialog box comes up. Where it says "Layout", scroll down to "Print Settings" and choose the Media Type that matches your paper.

Then click on the "Print Settings" or "Layout" button again and choose "Color Management". Click on the "No Color Adjustment" radio button. This turns off the printer's automatic color adjustment. Click on "Print" and hopefully you will get a good print.