Hi George, I know this video was made in 2016 and is really good info... I have used this on photos with good results in Elements 2018... Thanks VERY much. Cheers
+DrinkingStar Thanks! It is good to keep in mind that adjustment layers can be modified just like regular layers. This works because layer masks can be modified just like regular layers and adjustment layers use layer masks for visibility. One of my favorite tricks is to use a gausian blur on a layer mask to soften the mask, works great.
Thanks Pita, as long as people continue to buy my full training (links in the videos and in the channel) I will continue to post new projects on TH-cam. Thanks again for watching my videos. George
There is an impressionist brush in PSE which can do some of that but the best program I have found for that type of imitation is CorelDRAW. Here is the impressionist brush video th-cam.com/video/tBjYN-LaARw/w-d-xo.html
I just ordered your training series for PSE 14, but I can't wait to receive it to find out the answer to my question. I couldn't catch how you pull the image your editing out to work on it. Having it in the well gives you a cramped feeling and I like the freedom you have editing the way you do it... Thanks for your wonderful tips...
+Linda Taylor Hi Linda, you caught me up late at night doing a new video demo for tomorrow (a dog for president campaign button). Here is how to get a floating window. First go to the Edit menu and click on Preferences/General. In this window look for two check boxes, one for Floating Documents and one for Window Docking. Make sure that both of those check boxes are checked. Click OK. Now back to your workspace. Grab the title tab for your image and drag that title tab down a bit, the window will snap into a floating window. You can now move that window around and resize as needed. To dock the window again drag the title tab back up to its original position, you will see a light blue line appear across the top of the window when it is in the right place, let go when you see that line and the window will dock back into place again. This is one of the best tricks to learn as it makes it much easier to work in PSE. George
Nice training video, Thank you! Subscribed~~ This video demonstrates many skills I need. I've learnt a lot from you as I just purchased elements 15. :)
George That was very neat indeed! The only part I need to review is the gradient map and what role it played in this. Was it there to work as a blending layer? Does the gradient map only effect one layer (unless it is tied or chained to another?). Great work my friend and far beyond anything I would have thought about doing with those blending modes! I love that you do not hesitate to use these, there are really no one else who has such an understanding of these and the willingness to use some trial and error. I appreciate all you do! Rich
+MrMoonpie001 Hi Rich, the Gradient Map is on an adjustment layer so it affects all layers below, in this case just the image. It is used to add controllable contrast to the image. With adjustment layers, normally they affect all layers below the adjustment layer unless you lock it to a specific layer when it only affects that layer. George
Got ya! That dose make a lot of sense. I think of gradients in terms of colors and can see that it can also be used as a form of control. I never would have thought of that on my own. Thank you sir! Rich
I really liked your final result by the way. Is it not amazing how you sometimes take a picture that you may think is not of value only to find later on what a gem you had with just a little polishing. Thanks Rich
+MrMoonpie001 Thanks Rich, I agree with you on this one. I found this image online and figured it would make a good image for the project but I didn't expect it to turn out as well as it did, it really is a great photo, just needed some love. George
Hi, check out some of my other videos that show combining images. The main things to look for are the Lighting, Color, and Shadows of the flowers and the image that you are placing them into. The lighting and shadows need to be from the same direction or the image will look fake, also check the color, it should "feel" like it is part of the image so you may need to adjust the color and levels of the flowers to make them match the photo. After that it is just a matter of being careful with the selections. Here is a video I just posted that shows how to bring in a vase of flowers into a picture. th-cam.com/video/86sDkuhoqoU/w-d-xo.html I talk about the need to match the lighting in this video. George howtogurus.com
Hi, Blending Modes allow you to blend a layer into layers beneath it. The Blending Modes are applied on a layer by layer basis and you will find them in the Layer Panel just above the layers on the left, it normally says Default. Most of my video projects use Blend Modes so watch a few more videos and you will get the hang of it. Blend Modes really increase the creative potential of Photoshop Elements. Here are a couple good ones th-cam.com/video/eRmYoE2ZDNU/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/r_Dqv6KDG0A/w-d-xo.html George
Hi, I will see if I can work that into a future video. Here is the basic technique for lightening or darkening skin tones. First make a duplicate of the original image as a new layer (drag background to new layer button). I always do this to protect the original image. Next carefully select just the skin in the image using your choice of favorite selection methods, here is a video showing one selection technique that would work well th-cam.com/video/HO4DIuKleOk/w-d-xo.html (this by the way is my most popular video on TH-cam). Now with the skin areas selected go to the Layers Menu and choose New Adjustment Layer/Levels. Move the middle gray arrow control to make the main adjustment, to the left to lighten and to the right to darken. Then use the left side black control and right side white control to fine tune. Don't make moves on the left or right arrows too large or the image will begin to look fake. The biggest problems you will have will be with the original selection, I recommend using 1px feathering to help soften the edge slightly, and the selection between the face and hair. You may want to use Refine Edge to clean up the selection between the face and hair to improve the selection. Here is a good demo of the Refine Edge tool: th-cam.com/video/sQ5kI-Dltik/w-d-xo.html Hope this helps George
Hi Rob, actually the original image is 8 bit. If you want to work at a higher bit resolution you will need to move over to Adobe Photoshop, which only goes up to 36 bit. But aside from that the project is basically the same in PS as it is in PSE. Here is the same tutorial but demonstrated in PS. th-cam.com/video/j74IME3aGkg/w-d-xo.html George
Thank you. I should have said 24bit(8bits/channel). I want to be able to do 16bits/channel or 48 bit color. My tiff and RAW images are 16 and I don't want to lose any color data when I edit the images.
Hi Rob, now I see. You will have to use PS for that. PSE is limited to 8 bits/channel. It is a great program, easy to use, but it has its limits. For professional work it is always wisest to use PS. George
Thank you. Unfortunately I'm not a professional so PS/CS6/Cloud is overkill for me. I'm just archiving family photos/slides/negatives and just want to do some editing of the images prior to saving for posterity. Want to keep in 16-bit format in RAW/tiff files so those in the future will have all the data. But PSE is forcing me to downgrade to 8bit prior to editing in layers.
Hi Rob, unfortunately I don't expect Adobe to add 16-bit editing anytime soon to PSE since it would then be competing too much with their flagship PS program. Abobe does have a great subscription deal if all you want is PS and Lightroom, for about $10 per month for a 1 year subscription. That is just a bit over the price of PSE for the first year. So, if you expect to be able to get all of your editing done in 1 year then it may make financial sense. If you think it will take you a few years than obviously PSE is a much better deal. Also keep in mind that most people cannot see a difference between 8-bit and 16-bit, so for presentation purposes PSE should be fine as long as you keep the originals untouched (I recommend this anyway). George
Hi Marvin, you can use the Dodge and Burn tools to bring down the tones of the collar bones. Here is a video where I use the Dodge and Burn to accentuate features but if you use them in the opposite manner it will minimize features. Use the Dodge tool to bring down the shadow side of the collar bone and the burn tool to bring down the highlight side of the collar bone. th-cam.com/video/Dt0FQWYBj9w/w-d-xo.html George
Well, we all have our own tastes. Personally I found the image severely lacking in contrast and on the dull side. There are several other ways in which the image could have been improved, adding colorization effects is only one. This image would also make a great demo for the Open as RAW option. George
Hi Halie, this video is showing how to add some excitement to a picture by using color overlays. It isn't the only approach to fix this picture but since the picture is real low key to start with it was an easy one to use to demonstrate this particular technique. If all I wanted to do was to fix the photo I would have only used the Levels adjustment layer and the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Of course if I took this picture myself instead of looking for a bad photo online it would not have had the contrast problem to begin with. As for the Style of the fix, that is a personal preference. For a natural look it is way too much, but for an artistic picture or one used in advertising or other media it is going in the right direction. George
Hi Halie, no offense, just trying to explain the project. Here is a different technique to fix this same image that I recently demonstrated in Photoshop th-cam.com/video/db99E4AGUTs/w-d-xo.html. I think this one has the natural look you are hoping to see, of course this particular fix technique requires Adobe Photoshop and can't be done in Photoshop Elements. George
Hi Rick! Sorry for this really late response to this comment (4 years). Just doing some house cleaning in my comments and found that I missed this one somehow, sorry about that.
🔴 If you enjoy this video show your support by clicking on the Thanks Button
I love the way you explain everything. Very easy to find all the tools you are using to edit. Thanks so much.
Glad you like them!
🔴🅿 Get My New Photoshop Elements 2023 Course www.georgepeirson.com/Photoshop-Elements-2023
Enjoyed this presentation.
Thank you!
Hi George, I know this video was made in 2016 and is really good info... I have used this on photos with good results in Elements 2018... Thanks VERY much. Cheers
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you! As a relative newbie to Photoshop, I learned more from this tutorial than all the others I have watched to date.
+W Roewer Wow! You're Welcome! Don't forget to check out my channel, hundreds of other videos.
George
Nice tutorial showing the effect of Adjustment Layers with the Blending Mode. I will try these techniques in some photos.
+DrinkingStar Thanks! It is good to keep in mind that adjustment layers can be modified just like regular layers. This works because layer masks can be modified just like regular layers and adjustment layers use layer masks for visibility. One of my favorite tricks is to use a gausian blur on a layer mask to soften the mask, works great.
Awesome. I learned so many things by watching your videos. Thank you.
+Mae McMichael You're Welcome! Don't forget to check out my complete training over at www.howtogurus.com as well.
George
One of the best tutorials I have run into yet. You do a great job. Definitely subscribing. Thank you
Thanks!
George
You're videos are awesome! Definitely helping me out as I'm new to all of this. Please continue to post.
Thanks Pita, as long as people continue to buy my full training (links in the videos and in the channel) I will continue to post new projects on TH-cam. Thanks again for watching my videos.
George
Remarkable. I love this effect.
Thanks again Stanley! This is a useful and fun way to add some color and excitement back into a picture.
George
Love the way you say eeend (and) xD Great tutorial lots of great tips
Yep, that's my Southern California accent coming out.
George
Thank you soooo much for this i was struggling finding these tools and they were right there!!
You're Welcome!
George
Your videos are awesome! Thank you!
You're welcome!
George
Here are some more great Photoshop Elements videos th-cam.com/play/PLfp-NJt_DpgGX2Jwgfrm9r8Bikt57QAcb.html
Photoshop Elements Top Ten Tips th-cam.com/video/4UrJ6k4aJZY/w-d-xo.html
Hello George. request: how can I make a photo of someone/something look like the art of a famour artist like Cézanne or Marisse or Van Gogh etc?
There is an impressionist brush in PSE which can do some of that but the best program I have found for that type of imitation is CorelDRAW. Here is the impressionist brush video th-cam.com/video/tBjYN-LaARw/w-d-xo.html
I just ordered your training series for PSE 14, but I can't wait to receive it to find out the answer to my question. I couldn't catch how you pull the image your editing out to work on it. Having it in the well gives you a cramped feeling and I like the freedom you have editing the way you do it... Thanks for your wonderful tips...
+Linda Taylor Hi Linda, you caught me up late at night doing a new video demo for tomorrow (a dog for president campaign button). Here is how to get a floating window. First go to the Edit menu and click on Preferences/General. In this window look for two check boxes, one for Floating Documents and one for Window Docking. Make sure that both of those check boxes are checked. Click OK. Now back to your workspace. Grab the title tab for your image and drag that title tab down a bit, the window will snap into a floating window. You can now move that window around and resize as needed. To dock the window again drag the title tab back up to its original position, you will see a light blue line appear across the top of the window when it is in the right place, let go when you see that line and the window will dock back into place again. This is one of the best tricks to learn as it makes it much easier to work in PSE.
George
Nice training video, Thank you! Subscribed~~ This video demonstrates many skills I need. I've learnt a lot from you as I just purchased elements 15. :)
You're welcome. Lots more videos coming in 2017 for Photoshop Elements 15
George
George
That was very neat indeed! The only part I need to review is the gradient map and what role it played in this. Was it there to work as a blending layer? Does the gradient map only effect one layer (unless it is tied or chained to another?).
Great work my friend and far beyond anything I would have thought about doing with those blending modes! I love that you do not hesitate to use these, there are really no one else who has such an understanding of these and the willingness to use some trial and error.
I appreciate all you do!
Rich
+MrMoonpie001 Hi Rich, the Gradient Map is on an adjustment layer so it affects all layers below, in this case just the image. It is used to add controllable contrast to the image. With adjustment layers, normally they affect all layers below the adjustment layer unless you lock it to a specific layer when it only affects that layer.
George
Got ya! That dose make a lot of sense. I think of gradients in terms of colors and can see that it can also be used as a form of control. I never would have thought of that on my own. Thank you sir!
Rich
I really liked your final result by the way. Is it not amazing how you sometimes take a picture that you may think is not of value only to find later on what a gem you had with just a little polishing.
Thanks
Rich
+MrMoonpie001 Yep, those gradient maps are loads of fun, lots of possibilities
George
+MrMoonpie001 Thanks Rich, I agree with you on this one. I found this image online and figured it would make a good image for the project but I didn't expect it to turn out as well as it did, it really is a great photo, just needed some love.
George
I got he hang of things by watching your step how can I add beautiful flowers in to blend likes they were already in the images
Hi, check out some of my other videos that show combining images. The main things to look for are the Lighting, Color, and Shadows of the flowers and the image that you are placing them into. The lighting and shadows need to be from the same direction or the image will look fake, also check the color, it should "feel" like it is part of the image so you may need to adjust the color and levels of the flowers to make them match the photo. After that it is just a matter of being careful with the selections. Here is a video I just posted that shows how to bring in a vase of flowers into a picture. th-cam.com/video/86sDkuhoqoU/w-d-xo.html
I talk about the need to match the lighting in this video.
George
howtogurus.com
what is the blending mode? when do we need it? thanks.
Hi, Blending Modes allow you to blend a layer into layers beneath it. The Blending Modes are applied on a layer by layer basis and you will find them in the Layer Panel just above the layers on the left, it normally says Default. Most of my video projects use Blend Modes so watch a few more videos and you will get the hang of it. Blend Modes really increase the creative potential of Photoshop Elements.
Here are a couple good ones
th-cam.com/video/eRmYoE2ZDNU/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/r_Dqv6KDG0A/w-d-xo.html
George
Can you please make a video on How to Change a Person's Skin Color from Dark to Light in Photoshop Elements?
Hi, I will see if I can work that into a future video. Here is the basic technique for lightening or darkening skin tones. First make a duplicate of the original image as a new layer (drag background to new layer button). I always do this to protect the original image. Next carefully select just the skin in the image using your choice of favorite selection methods, here is a video showing one selection technique that would work well th-cam.com/video/HO4DIuKleOk/w-d-xo.html (this by the way is my most popular video on TH-cam). Now with the skin areas selected go to the Layers Menu and choose New Adjustment Layer/Levels. Move the middle gray arrow control to make the main adjustment, to the left to lighten and to the right to darken. Then use the left side black control and right side white control to fine tune. Don't make moves on the left or right arrows too large or the image will begin to look fake. The biggest problems you will have will be with the original selection, I recommend using 1px feathering to help soften the edge slightly, and the selection between the face and hair. You may want to use Refine Edge to clean up the selection between the face and hair to improve the selection. Here is a good demo of the Refine Edge tool: th-cam.com/video/sQ5kI-Dltik/w-d-xo.html
Hope this helps
George
Your original image was 24bit. Can you do these layer edits at 48bit in PS Elements, or do you need to use PS?
Hi Rob, actually the original image is 8 bit. If you want to work at a higher bit resolution you will need to move over to Adobe Photoshop, which only goes up to 36 bit. But aside from that the project is basically the same in PS as it is in PSE. Here is the same tutorial but demonstrated in PS. th-cam.com/video/j74IME3aGkg/w-d-xo.html
George
Thank you. I should have said 24bit(8bits/channel). I want to be able to do 16bits/channel or 48 bit color. My tiff and RAW images are 16 and I don't want to lose any color data when I edit the images.
Hi Rob, now I see. You will have to use PS for that. PSE is limited to 8 bits/channel. It is a great program, easy to use, but it has its limits. For professional work it is always wisest to use PS.
George
Thank you. Unfortunately I'm not a professional so PS/CS6/Cloud is overkill for me. I'm just archiving family photos/slides/negatives and just want to do some editing of the images prior to saving for posterity. Want to keep in 16-bit format in RAW/tiff files so those in the future will have all the data. But PSE is forcing me to downgrade to 8bit prior to editing in layers.
Hi Rob, unfortunately I don't expect Adobe to add 16-bit editing anytime soon to PSE since it would then be competing too much with their flagship PS program. Abobe does have a great subscription deal if all you want is PS and Lightroom, for about $10 per month for a 1 year subscription. That is just a bit over the price of PSE for the first year. So, if you expect to be able to get all of your editing done in 1 year then it may make financial sense. If you think it will take you a few years than obviously PSE is a much better deal. Also keep in mind that most people cannot see a difference between 8-bit and 16-bit, so for presentation purposes PSE should be fine as long as you keep the originals untouched (I recommend this anyway).
George
Her collar bones are too pronounced would you be able to soften that?
Hi Marvin, you can use the Dodge and Burn tools to bring down the tones of the collar bones. Here is a video where I use the Dodge and Burn to accentuate features but if you use them in the opposite manner it will minimize features. Use the Dodge tool to bring down the shadow side of the collar bone and the burn tool to bring down the highlight side of the collar bone.
th-cam.com/video/Dt0FQWYBj9w/w-d-xo.html
George
Interesting tutorial, but imho the colouration does not improve the picture; on the contrary.
Well, we all have our own tastes. Personally I found the image severely lacking in contrast and on the dull side. There are several other ways in which the image could have been improved, adding colorization effects is only one. This image would also make a great demo for the Open as RAW option.
George
Sorry but your style is too unnatural. I'm an amateur photographer but I can do better than this
Hi Halie, this video is showing how to add some excitement to a picture by using color overlays. It isn't the only approach to fix this picture but since the picture is real low key to start with it was an easy one to use to demonstrate this particular technique. If all I wanted to do was to fix the photo I would have only used the Levels adjustment layer and the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Of course if I took this picture myself instead of looking for a bad photo online it would not have had the contrast problem to begin with. As for the Style of the fix, that is a personal preference. For a natural look it is way too much, but for an artistic picture or one used in advertising or other media it is going in the right direction.
George
I'm sorry to have offended you.
Hi Halie, no offense, just trying to explain the project. Here is a different technique to fix this same image that I recently demonstrated in Photoshop th-cam.com/video/db99E4AGUTs/w-d-xo.html. I think this one has the natural look you are hoping to see, of course this particular fix technique requires Adobe Photoshop and can't be done in Photoshop Elements.
George
How to, thanks from a beginner
Nice tutorial showing the effect of Adjustment Layers with the Blending Mode. I will try these techniques in some photos.
Hi Rick! Sorry for this really late response to this comment (4 years). Just doing some house cleaning in my comments and found that I missed this one somehow, sorry about that.