P H O TO S H O P F O R D I G I TA L P H O TO G R A P H E R S

Bonus Lesson #3
Instructor:
Scott Kelby

Todays Lesson:
Editing a Photo From Beginning To End
Here youll see the workflow method for taking a flat, bland
image and adding depth, sharpening, and vibrant color.

Key Concepts:
Our subject is a flat, boring photo where no clear method is used to lead the viewers eye. The key methods
well use to lead the eye are: (1) Contrast (the eye is drawn to the brightest object in the photo) (2) Depth of
Field (the eye is drawn to objects in focus (3) Selective Sharpening (the eye is drawn to the sharpest objects).
We start with a simple Curves adjustment (we even try using Curves Auto setting, which does a decent job
of removing the color cast in the photo). We then duplicate the layer and change the Layer Blend Mode to
Multiply to create a darker version of our photo. We Option-click (PC: Alt-click) on the Layer Mask to hide
the darker version behind a mask, then we paint in white over the background areas to make them darker,
which makes our flowers in the foreground stand out (the old contrast trick). We now flatten the image.
Next we duplicate the background layer and change the Blend mode to Soft Light to enhance the color
inside the flowers. We Option-click (PC: Alt-click) on the Layer Mask to hide the more colorful version behind
a mask, then we paint in white over the center of the flowers to make them pop. Well use a similar trick to
blur a duplicate layer, then paint in a blurry background, creating more depth. Lastly, we Lab color sharpen
the Lightness channel.

Keyboard Shortcuts Used:

We used Shift - + (the plus sign) to look at different Layer Blend modes.

Additional Material Not Covered In Class:

You can use the same method shown above to add extreme sharpening. For example, sharpen the background layer, then duplicate the background layer and apply even more sharpening (its probably too
much sharpening, right?). Then Option-click (PC: Alt-click) on the Layer Mask to hide the oversharpened
version, then paint in white over just the inside of the flowers (avoiding the outside edges of the flowers)
to make them look supersharp, without giving the rest of the photo that oversharpened look.