15 minute Photoshop project

You’re on deadline and the only photo available for print or online publication isn’t ideal. Not to despair! Frequently a snapshot plus about 10 or 15 minutes of novice level work can salvage the situation. Just a couple concepts to keep in mind:

1. Less is more; strive for believability, not perfection. A modest correction will usually produce a more natural looking finished image. Leave the major work to the retouching pros.

2. Consider the final use; 1″ x 1″ yearbook image won’t merit the same level of work as a national magazine cover shot. Use your zoom tools to review the image at various sizes before busting your schedule needlessly.

3. Busy backgrounds are a common but correctable problem. Try softening them and making subtle lightness/darkness adjustments to achieve a simpler looking finished image.

4. Save work by training your photographers. Poor lighting and misused on-camera flash are some of the most common offenses. A few minutes of education can save hours of retouching work.

5. Always work on a calibrated monitor. 9 out of 10 people have their displays set far too bright and blue. Copies&Ink offers a FREE calibration test CD you can use to evaluate how your on screen images will will print. Just drop us a line.

Tools used:

Adobe Photoshop CS1
Healing Brush
Dodge
Burn In
Blur
Techniques Used:
Masking (background selection)
Image Adjustment>Hue/Saturation (reds)
Blur (background)
Curves (background)

Have a similar project or questions you’d like to share? Feel free to add a comment ordrop us a line.