Rembrandt Lighting

Have you heard of Rembrandt Lighting in photography? It is also used extensively in film.

Rembrandt lighting in photography is a lighting technique that is sometimes used in studio portraiture.

The key in Rembrandt lighting is creating the triangle or diamond shape of light underneath the eye usually furthest from the camera lens. One side of the face is lit well from the main light source while the other side of the face uses the interaction of shadows and light, also known as chiaroscuro, to create this geometric form on the face.

a painting by Rembrandt

I have tried to give this lighting effect on photoshop. I know it is not perfect but still with practice we can surely do a lighting as close to the real Rembrandt Lighting

Original, the adjusted picture with Rembrandt lighting is given above

Rembrandt Lighting is aslo extensively used in film many shots of Troy has Rembrandt Lighting.

Next time you select a picture for your design, see about the lighting used in the picture. A flat lighting makes the picture unattractive. See from where the light comes and where the shadow falls. All the best..

Blending Layers

I am sure you are familiar with blending the layers (using different blending modes). You can have wonderful effects using them. What exactly it does is at times confusing. I have tried to explain few of the options that we normally use. Yet what each mode is about will have to been seen in practice and differs from picture to picture.

The sliders in the Blending Options dialog box let you control which pixels from the active layer and which pixels from the underlying visible layers appear in the final image. For example, you can drop dark pixels out of the active layer or force bright pixels from the underlying layers to show through. You can also define a range of partially blended pixels to produce a smooth transition between blended and unblended areas.

Advanced blending options give you precise control over layer blending and allow you to create new and interesting effects.

Knockout effect

The Knockout option uses the pixels in the active layer to reveal pixels from other layers. A shallow knockout punches through to the next layer; a deep knockout punches through to the Background layer. (If you don’t have a Background layer, a deep knockout punches through to transparency.) You’ll see more of the underlying layer as you reduce the fill opacity of the knockout layer.

Basic terminology used for describing blending effects are:

Base color - this is the color that is already there. The one that you are going to paint over, onto, or add a layer on top of.

Blend color - the color you’re going to add with your paint tool, or which is already on the layer for which you are selecting a blend mode (the layer will be blending with the layers below it).Result color - what you get after you do some “blending.”

Normal - This is the default setting. The color applied is the color you get. In some of the color modes, this may be called Threshold.

Dissolve

It looks like what you see when a movie does a dissolve into a new scene; there are little speckles of the scene you’re leaving mixed with the just emerging colors of the new scene. Dissolve only affects partially transparent pixels.

Darken

Looks at the two colors, the color already there, and the one you’re painting with, and chooses the darker one, whichever it is. No blending. Whichever is darker wins. Which of the two is used will vary across the image according to which is darker at each spot.

Multiply

Multiplies the base color with the blend color. Clearly the resulting color will be darker. It almost have the effect of one picture getting printed over the other.



Colour Burn

Supposed to be the opposite of Color Dodge. What it looks like is, the color applied to light areas is unchanged by the underlying colors, while color applied to darker areas is dramatically darkened.

Linear Burn

Uses the color data from each channel,“darkens the base color to reflect the blend color by decreasing the brightness”

Lighten

Reverse of the above. As the new color is applied, if it’s lighter than the color already there, it replaces that color. If it’s darker than the color that’s already there, it is not added.

Screen

It is making the light parts a lot lighter, the dark parts a little bit lighter, leaves the black parts unchanged, and nothing gets any darker.

Colour Dodge

It looks like the color applied to light areas is bright, but pale, and the color applied to dark areas is barely visible.

Linear Dodge

The inverse of Linear Burn. Uses the color information from each channel to brighten the base color according to the blend color.

Over lay

Multiplies (darkens), or screens (lightens) the colors depending on the base color. Totally unpredictable; try it and see if you like it.

Soft light

If the color being applied is lighter than mid-gray, the image is lightened. If the color being applied is darker than middle gray, the image is darkened.

Hard Light

If the colors being applied are lighter than mid gray, screen mode (see above - lightens) is applied. If the colors being applied are darker than middle gray, multiply mode (see above - darkens) is applied.

Vivid Light

Dodges or burns the colors base colors depending on whether the blend colors are brighter or darker than middle gray. This mode works on contrast while Linear Light works on brightness.

Spot Channel

I am sure you are familiar with spot channel. This could be just a reminder for some of you or new information for some...any way...

Spot color channels are designed to provide a channel for additional inks to be used in commercial printing. The location in the image where the ink should be applied is stored in the spot channel. A separate printing plate is generated, and an additional run through the press is required.

Spot colors can be used with CMYK documents intended to print:

Additional colors

If you need to ensure an exact match for a corporate logo, you may want to use a spot color

Another typical use is extending the color range of an image beyond those that can be produced using the CMYK inks ( I have given and example bellow, see the flowers given bellow....but be ware of the gamut range)

Neon and metallic colors can be added with spot channels.(5th colour or more)

To control varnishes:

Spot channels can be used to identify areas of an image over which a varnish will be applied.

Original

Picture adjusted with spot colour. Just two clours, BK and the spot colour

This are the spot colours used

Spot colours added to the original picture

Spot colours added to a BW picture of the original

Why dont you try it out. Or do you have anyother way you use spot channel. What are the methods you use to print an additional colour? This method can be used to make a plate for spot lamination too. Let me know what you think of it. Post your comments here.

Young Designer Lijo

Here are few more designs of Lijo Joseph. Your comments are appreciated. Post the right here

Merging layers for level adjustment

It is a common practice to use levels to ajust the highlight and shadow detials of a picture. Here I have tried an option of merging layers to adust the levels. Have look.

Original
Ajusted picture

Original

Adjusted picture

Original

Adjusted picture

I have excessively ajusted the high light to the extend of burns. It is upto each one to decide what he finally expect.

Method

• Make a copy of the original.
• Adjust the high light ...may be resulting in over exposure to get the details of shadow areas.
• Add a layer mask ...Alt+ click on the layer mask box
• Use the brush tool and mask out till you get the final picture to your expectation
  
  Thanks to Tom and Anoop for sending the photos

Young Designer Manish

Hi friends...Manish has posted two of his works...look at them...post your comments here itself...Share you works...ideas......

Unsharp Mask

Unsharp Mask

Image after difusion and unsharp masking (selectively applying unsharp mask)

Difused Image

Original Image

I am sure you are well in touch with the option of unsharp mask.

Why use unsharpmask?

To restore the sharpness lost when turning the image into pixels, whether by scanning or direct digital capture.

How does unsharp maks work?

Sharpening works by increasing local contrast along edges. Typically, after sharpening some pixels that were almost white become pure white, and some pixels that were almost black become pure black. The black ones aren't too much of a problem, but the white ones can be.

Why this sharpening method is called unsharp mask?

The name has its origins in the conventional darkroom.In order to accentuate edges in a print and thus make it look sharper, the darkroom operator made something called an unsharp mask.

The technique consists of creating a weak, slightly out of focus positive transparency of the original negative. Rather than exposing the negative on photographic paper, it is instead exposed on another sheet of film. Thus, this new version will be a positive image. Since we recorded it slightly out of focus, if we sandwich it with the original piece of film, all the edges in the composite image will have slight halos in the exact opposite color of whatever is on the other side of each edge.

These halos will be in the opposite tone of whatever is on the other side of each edge. When printed, halos will serve to darken along the edges making the edges appear slightly sharper due to the added contrasts.

There are three main controls in the unsharp dialoge box:

Amount controls how weak or strong the mask image that is blended in will be. Thus, it controls how much edge contrast will be added and how much apparent sharpness we will get. If set too low, we won't see any change at all, but if set too high, the inverted halos from the mask will be visible in the final image and it will look artificial

Radius controls the degree of unsharpness the mask image will have. Thus, it determines the width of the halos the mask will produce. The higher the radius the more evident the sharpening effect will be. Set too low, the effect will be invisible or too subtle to be effective. The appearance of the halo will also vary with the content of the image since the amount of contrast already present will play a role.

Threshold selects how much adjacent pixels need to be to be considered an edge. Thus, it prevents sharpening of unimportant or incidental detail while reserving the effect for detail that should stand out. It separates signal from noise, if you will. Set too low, sharpening will be applied to every edge or change of tone throughout the image including such things as film grain. If set too high, no transitions will be viewed as being edges and no sharpening will result.

Note:
Sharpening (unsharp mask) shoud be done only at the end. This sharpening could be applied to selected areas. Sharpening is an art by itself, you have to decided what you have to sharpen and how much. Too much sharpening can result in noise.

Selective application of unsharp mask

1. Select the original

2. Make a duplicate of it

3. Apply unsharp mask (you can exaggerate the application, no problem)

4. Add a layer mask ... Alt+click on add a layer mask option

5. Select a soft brush and set the opacity to 10 or which ever amount you like

6. Brush the picture whereever you need the sharpening.

7. Try out difusion or anyother options are per your need and creativity.

8. Looks good?

Young Designers

Dear friends, I am posting some designs of Lijo Joseph. More of his works will be posted later. Your valuable comments are very must appreciated. Kindly post them here. It would be nice if you could post your designs too on here.

Brochure


Catalogue

Brochure

Convertion of Colour photo to Black and White

I am giving bellow different methods to convert a colour picture to black and white. I hope this will answer the questions posted to me. I am sure you are familiar with all these methods. I used the channel mixer option to convert the picture of the old ladies. Surely the levels were adjusted , have made some selective adjustments of the shadow and high light area, used the colour filter and have given some manual lighting.

Convert to gray scale mode

Selecting this option, discards all colour information and only leaves a gray channel. Which means you lose 2/3 of your image data.

Desaturate the image

This method does keep all the channels and data intact but renders a very low contrast black and white image.



Channel mixer

The best method of conversion. It allows you mix the red, blue and green channels varying colours etc… surely the window has a box called Monochrome which need to be selected. Note the final count of all the channels should be 100.

Gradient map method

Compared to all the other methods, this renders a black and white image with the most contrast.

Select the correct gradient first (Black and white gradient since you need a BK picture)

The gradient map gives you a lot of control over the conversion. If you click on the black and white gradient, another window opens in which you can see a black point on the left, a white point on the right and a gray point in the middle of the gradient. You can use these three points like in Levels to adjust the tonality of the image.

Best result in all the conversions depends on your ability to increase or decrease the highlight or shadow selectively and also the ability to identify the light sources and if need increase or decrease the light falling on the object. Make sure the histogram of your image is good.

Photoshop CS3

Photoshop is launching its 10th vesion ( could be 12th if one includes the versions 2.5 and 5.5). You know its almost 20 year since we are in use of this software........I have listed bellow few advantages of the new version. Have not worked on it...may be you have...if so share your experience.

New User Interface
CS3 has single slim tool box. It is adjustable to two. Palettes can be adjusted...try it out

Vanishing Point 2.0
Have you tried the vanish point in Photoshop? It is used mainly to give perspectives...used much in architectural designs and if you want work with boxes writings on boxes etc...CS3 has Vanish Point 2.0

Refine Edges
Refine edge tool is brilliant. This tool allows to refine the edge of a selection. The new version has a quick selection tool the moment you click on this tool, the selection can be previewed against a black , or whtie or a transparent background and gives the option to contract, expand the selection, feather it etc...

Better Curves
The curves in CS3 is beautiful. you can see the histogram as a water mark...fun na?

Black and Whites
CS3 has a dedicated too for converting images to black and white with many options. You have more options at this level depending on your creativity.

Smart Objects
Photoshop is always knwon for the ability to work non-destructively. This is an addition to this option. CS3 takes the Adjustment layer to a new level. Once an image is converted to Smart Object. Once the layer is smart, you can even apply filters as layers and even add layer masks. And then do all kinds of adjustments.

Qick Selection Tool
This tool is grouped with magic wand, but superior to magic wand.This tools allows to make quick selections based on slecting similar pixels from a particular single layer or across multiple layers.

Micrisoft's HD Photo

Microsoft has unveiled a new file format called HD Photo, which offeres compression with up to twice the efficiency of JEPG, with fewer damaging artifacts, resulting in higher -quality images. A beta version of the Windows pulg-in is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Centre at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads. This is suitable for Photoshop.

Features

HD Photo offers increased image fidelity, preserving the entire original image content and enabling higher-quality exposure and color adjustments in the image.

I tried the HD format and found a picture which is compressed to 234 kb (jpeg fromat) from 1mb (Tiff) is reduced to 100 kb (wdp). This is maily for photos I believe. These plug-ins enable users to both read and write HD Photo fiels from within Photoshop and include support for high dynamic reange pixel formats. Contact your studios...ask them for details....try it out when you make digital prints..........Post your feed backs

Convert to Black and White

This is a photo of two casual labaoures. I have converted it into black and white. Look at them .... what are your comments?

What are the different methods you use to convert a colour photo to black and white? And which according to you gives the best tones? Share your ideas....

Do you think

Do you think that we can use this method to share ideas, new informations, tips and tricks and clarify doubs etc... if so let me know.

Try This

Dear friends, this is just a trial blogger.

Here you can see two photos. The first is the original and the second one is adjusted in photoshop. Which of these you like? Why not try out this effect?