WOW. What I gained most in this tutorial is how the 'screen' blending mode worked with multiple layers and how to correct missed areas in the selected area. You've given me ideas as how to correct photos made poor due to extreme differences in lighting various parts of the same photo. Thanks again. BTW, your paced in illustrating the various techniques is perfect.
Hello George Was working on something similar tonight, this was the opposite where I had too bright of a photo, shot into a sunset with people in front that were darkened. I got it to work by dealing with it as two different problems one at a time, added a lens flare where the sunlight shown. . It helps a lot to break the channels down as you showed, helped get my color back in my project. In your picture, your rock looked more realistic. What a great shot your result was! Thanks as always Rich
+How To Gurus I have a request for a video if you feel it is something worthy. Vignette's are traditionally Black or White, how about showing how to do a colored Vignette? Examples of this could be green for St. Pat's day RWB for 4th of July (Gradient Vignette???) or Red for Christmas or Valentines day? I think mats could also possibly be turned into Vignettes??? I was messing with this a bit and found the lens flare was a good way to blowout the center of a layer and lighten the edges, paint into see through. What are your thoughts of if you would want to do such a project? Things like this are great for making borders on greeting cards. Thank you for your consideration Rich
Hi Rich, not exactly sure what you are asking. Are you talking about vignettes where the image is put into a shape (usually an oval) and the edges are feathered? Or are you referring to a silhouette which is usually Black or White? If you are referring to vignettes I show how to handle that in a few of my videos on wedding projects, but no harm in doing another. George
George, I was referring the second illustration you mention, I will go back and refer to your prior work. You got too much New good stuff coming on board to go backward in time. I often have to watch things multiple times in order to get it down correct. If you hadn't figured out I am handicapped, I have no balance function and my mind has to cover for that while giving up other things such as short term memory. I will often misspell but that's how it goes. I try to do projects that challenge my mind . Sorry if some of my questions are vague or difficult to understand. Just keep doing your thing, I will catch up. Appreciate all you do! Rich
Hi George, Do you have a video that would show how to deal with an over exposed picture please, i had used exposure compression but used to much, now its blown out...thank you 😊
HI George...Do you have any videos or recommended techniques to select parts of a photo, and then adjust their hue, lightness, ect.? Select-layer mask-adjustment layer-save? I realize you can select-dodge/burn also.Can you add filters to a selected layer mask? I imagine you can...guess I got to try it! Thanks!
Hi Gary, duplicate your layer onto a new layer, use selection and layer mask to only show the part you want to adjust. Then you can use any effect or control that you need on that layer.
+Victor Colon Hi, I have some videos coming soon on Portrait and Body retouching but it will be different for every picture. I will show some general approaches but I can't tell you which part of the body do dodge and burn because it will depend on the photograph.
Hi Eric, you can't save actions in Photoshop Elements but it can be done in Adobe Photoshop and then added into Elements. It is a bit of a work around though and not really practicable. The problem with using an action for an exposure fix like this is that each photo will require a different set of adjustments so setting it up as an action really will not work. The auto settings in Photoshop Elements also will not usually give you good results on a picture like this. Sometimes the only good option is to do the adjustments manually. There are other programs on the market that are better at auto-fixes, my personal favorite is Photolemur. You can find a link for that at my web site georgepeirson.com. But even Photolemur would have trouble with this photo. George
Hello, I went to your site and I'm unsure which tutorial would be best for me. I have Adobe Elements 10. I didn't see that as an option so what would you suggest?
Hi Stacy, here is the link for the training titles for Photoshop Elements 10 and earlier www.howtogurus.com/photoshop_elements_tutorial-older.htm George
Hi George, Thanks for this really informative video. I've really struggled with PSE, probably because I don't use it a lot. When I do need to use it, I go googling. I've subscribed to your TH-cam channel now and look forward to learning more. Do you see any particular advantage , or have a preference, for PSE 12 vs PSE 11? I have both installed, with no plans to upgrade to 13 or 14. I tend to prefer PSE 11 with the Organizer/ Editor split when the program loads, rather than loading two programs. Having said that I realize there are a couple enhancements in PSE 12. I'd be grateful for your thoughts. You have an excellent teaching style, by the way. Ken
+Ken D Hi Ken, I use PSE 13 primarily although I now have PSE 14 installed as well. Very little difference between those versions. I would go for PSE 12 over PSE 11 just for the slightly newer updates, but I like PSE 13 over 12 or 11 because Adobe removed the online lock on a lot of the additional content (backgrounds, shapes, graphics, etc.) and I tend to use those frequently. On all versions of the program you can select how the program loads from the initial Welcome screen. Go to the Help menu in either the Organizer or the Editor and click on Welcome Screen. Then look in the upper right corner, you will see an icon that gives you a choice of how Elements loads. I have mine set to open up the Editor directly. I can always open the Organizer from the Editor if I need it. My basic advice on upgrades is to only upgrade if the newer version gives you an advantage over the previous version. I have to update since I teach the programs, but If I wasn't doing that I would probably still be using PSE 10 (which has a much better slide show tool among other differences which is why I still have it installed). George
Oh powerfulll and wise Guru, I'm having a strange problem that is driving me bats. When I get to the part where I am selecting part of the photo, using the polygonal lasso tool, I get about three quarters of the way toward the top of the photo and the loop closes, regardless of how slow I am going. My computer or the program?
Hi Hawk, clicking too quickly causes the polygonal tool selection to close. If you accidentally give it a double click instead of a single click it will close. So, breath deep, get into a zen mood, and proceed cautiously. That's the only real problem with the polygonal lasso tool, I do it myself frequently. George
I thought about your previous comment about that, but that isn't what happens. It gets about 3/4 of the way up then it ALWAYS closes, no matter how slow I go. I am very patient.
Hi Hawk, not sure what is causing it then. The only ways to close a path using the Polygonal Lasso tool is to 1) click on the starting point, 2) double click or 3) ctrl click. If you don't do one of those three the selection will just sit there and remain open. I have tested this myself, I can't find any other way to close an open path. You may want to check the sensitivity settings on your mouse. George
It has me beat. Changing the mouse sensitivity, which was midway, has had no effect. If you get any brain flashes, I would welcome your further input. Or that from you many followers as well. Thanks
Hi Hawk, here is how you can continue the selection even if it closes on you. Go to the Tool Options while you have the Polygonal Lasso tool selected and you will see buttons for changing how the selection acts. They are New, Add, Subtract, and Intersect. If your selection closes just change the tool setting to Add and continue selecting, just make sure that your new selection overlaps your old selection and they will form one selection automatically. You can also use the Subtract setting to remove parts of the selection that you don't want. George
Hi Scott, you are blurring the mask not the image. Using the blur tool on a solid black area has no effect but it does have a blur effect on the edge of the black. George
You're welcome Scott. I just thought of another way to describe how the layer masks work. Think of the layer mask as a window that you are looking through to see the picture. When you blur the layer mask you are only blurring the window frame, not the scene outside the window. George
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WOW. What I gained most in this tutorial is how the 'screen' blending mode worked with multiple layers and how to correct missed areas in the selected area. You've given me ideas as how to correct photos made poor due to extreme differences in lighting various parts of the same photo. Thanks again. BTW, your paced in illustrating the various techniques is perfect.
+DrinkingStar Thanks!
Another brilliant video, George! Your explaining along the way with these techniques are so very helpful. Thanks, George!
You're welcome John
George
Thanks so much, i have learned so much about elements from your videos. Great job.
You're welcome Wendy
George
Hello George
Was working on something similar tonight, this was the opposite where I had too bright of a photo, shot into a sunset with people in front that were darkened. I got it to work by dealing with it as two different problems one at a time, added a lens flare where the sunlight shown. . It helps a lot to break the channels down as you showed, helped get my color back in my project. In your picture, your rock looked more realistic. What a great shot your result was!
Thanks as always
Rich
+MrMoonpie001 You're welcome Rich, glad that you could find a use for the Hue/Saturation channels so quickly.
George
+How To Gurus I have a request for a video if you feel it is something worthy. Vignette's are traditionally Black or White, how about showing how to do a colored Vignette? Examples of this could be green for St. Pat's day RWB for 4th of July (Gradient Vignette???) or Red for Christmas or Valentines day? I think mats could also possibly be turned into Vignettes??? I was messing with this a bit and found the lens flare was a good way to blowout the center of a layer and lighten the edges, paint into see through. What are your thoughts of if you would want to do such a project? Things like this are great for making borders on greeting cards.
Thank you for your consideration
Rich
Hi Rich, not exactly sure what you are asking. Are you talking about vignettes where the image is put into a shape (usually an oval) and the edges are feathered? Or are you referring to a silhouette which is usually Black or White? If you are referring to vignettes I show how to handle that in a few of my videos on wedding projects, but no harm in doing another.
George
George, I was referring the second illustration you mention, I will go back and refer to your prior work. You got too much New good stuff coming on board to go backward in time. I often have to watch things multiple times in order to get it down correct. If you hadn't figured out I am handicapped, I have no balance function and my mind has to cover for that while giving up other things such as short term memory. I will often misspell but that's how it goes. I try to do projects that challenge my mind . Sorry if some of my questions are vague or difficult to understand. Just keep doing your thing, I will catch up. Appreciate all you do!
Rich
+MrMoonpie001 No problem Rich, I will see if I can come up with some interesting projects that involve silhouettes.
George
Incredible!
+Brea Cole Thanks!
This is good stuff! I could watch your tutorials all day :-)
Thanks Brian! Don't forget to hit that Like and Share buttons.
George
Hi George,
Do you have a video that would show how to deal with an over exposed picture please, i had used exposure compression but used to much, now its blown out...thank you 😊
I would try the Open in Camera RAW option in the file menu. Then adjust the highlights.
WOW!
Thanks!
Great job! Thanks for taking the time to Explain this ,I learned alot
+1GuinnessPlease You're Welcome!
George
HI George...Do you have any videos or recommended techniques to select parts of a photo, and then adjust their hue, lightness, ect.? Select-layer mask-adjustment layer-save? I realize you can select-dodge/burn also.Can you add filters to a selected layer mask? I imagine you can...guess I got to try it! Thanks!
Hi Gary, duplicate your layer onto a new layer, use selection and layer mask to only show the part you want to adjust. Then you can use any effect or control that you need on that layer.
hello. Can you make the video how use dodge and burn at body and which part in the body you recommend use burn or dodge ? thanks
+Victor Colon Hi, I have some videos coming soon on Portrait and Body retouching but it will be different for every picture. I will show some general approaches but I can't tell you which part of the body do dodge and burn because it will depend on the photograph.
is it possible to add an action to elements 14 disk version for this fix or just to fix exposure? great vid
Hi Eric, you can't save actions in Photoshop Elements but it can be done in Adobe Photoshop and then added into Elements. It is a bit of a work around though and not really practicable. The problem with using an action for an exposure fix like this is that each photo will require a different set of adjustments so setting it up as an action really will not work. The auto settings in Photoshop Elements also will not usually give you good results on a picture like this. Sometimes the only good option is to do the adjustments manually. There are other programs on the market that are better at auto-fixes, my personal favorite is Photolemur. You can find a link for that at my web site georgepeirson.com. But even Photolemur would have trouble with this photo.
George
thanks a lot. I will be seem
: )
Hello, I went to your site and I'm unsure which tutorial would be best for me. I have Adobe Elements 10. I didn't see that as an option so what would you suggest?
Hi Stacy, here is the link for the training titles for Photoshop Elements 10 and earlier
www.howtogurus.com/photoshop_elements_tutorial-older.htm
George
Thank you so much?
Hi George,
Thanks for this really informative video. I've really struggled with PSE, probably because I don't use it a lot. When I do need to use it, I go googling. I've subscribed to your TH-cam channel now and look forward to learning more. Do you see any particular advantage , or have a preference, for PSE 12 vs PSE 11? I have both installed, with no plans to upgrade to 13 or 14. I tend to prefer PSE 11 with the Organizer/ Editor split when the program loads, rather than loading two programs. Having said that I realize there are a couple enhancements in PSE 12. I'd be grateful for your thoughts.
You have an excellent teaching style, by the way.
Ken
+Ken D Hi Ken, I use PSE 13 primarily although I now have PSE 14 installed as well. Very little difference between those versions. I would go for PSE 12 over PSE 11 just for the slightly newer updates, but I like PSE 13 over 12 or 11 because Adobe removed the online lock on a lot of the additional content (backgrounds, shapes, graphics, etc.) and I tend to use those frequently. On all versions of the program you can select how the program loads from the initial Welcome screen. Go to the Help menu in either the Organizer or the Editor and click on Welcome Screen. Then look in the upper right corner, you will see an icon that gives you a choice of how Elements loads. I have mine set to open up the Editor directly. I can always open the Organizer from the Editor if I need it.
My basic advice on upgrades is to only upgrade if the newer version gives you an advantage over the previous version. I have to update since I teach the programs, but If I wasn't doing that I would probably still be using PSE 10 (which has a much better slide show tool among other differences which is why I still have it installed).
George
+How To Gurus -Perfect! Thanks very much for the quick and thorough response.
+Ken D You're Welcome! : )
Oh powerfulll and wise Guru, I'm having a strange problem that is driving me bats. When I get to the part where I am selecting part of the photo, using the polygonal lasso tool, I get about three quarters of the way toward the top of the photo and the loop closes, regardless of how slow I am going. My computer or the program?
Hi Hawk, clicking too quickly causes the polygonal tool selection to close. If you accidentally give it a double click instead of a single click it will close. So, breath deep, get into a zen mood, and proceed cautiously. That's the only real problem with the polygonal lasso tool, I do it myself frequently.
George
I thought about your previous comment about that, but that isn't what happens. It gets about 3/4 of the way up then it ALWAYS closes, no matter how slow I go. I am very patient.
Hi Hawk, not sure what is causing it then. The only ways to close a path using the Polygonal Lasso tool is to 1) click on the starting point, 2) double click or 3) ctrl click. If you don't do one of those three the selection will just sit there and remain open. I have tested this myself, I can't find any other way to close an open path. You may want to check the sensitivity settings on your mouse.
George
It has me beat. Changing the mouse sensitivity, which was midway, has had no effect. If you get any brain flashes, I would welcome your further input. Or that from you many followers as well. Thanks
Hi Hawk, here is how you can continue the selection even if it closes on you. Go to the Tool Options while you have the Polygonal Lasso tool selected and you will see buttons for changing how the selection acts. They are New, Add, Subtract, and Intersect. If your selection closes just change the tool setting to Add and continue selecting, just make sure that your new selection overlaps your old selection and they will form one selection automatically. You can also use the Subtract setting to remove parts of the selection that you don't want.
George
When you blur the edge, doesn't that blur the whole mask?
Hi Scott, you are blurring the mask not the image. Using the blur tool on a solid black area has no effect but it does have a blur effect on the edge of the black.
George
Thanks George. And another great video!
You're welcome Scott. I just thought of another way to describe how the layer masks work. Think of the layer mask as a window that you are looking through to see the picture. When you blur the layer mask you are only blurring the window frame, not the scene outside the window.
George
That's a good explanation. Thanks again.
: )