Photoshop Backcover Image 1

After creating my DVD inlay spine I decided I would work on the different elements I wanted for the back cover. This included two separate edited images. The first image I edited was the photo of Cameron Diaz which can be seen below.

Sourced: http://fabulouscelebrities.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Cameron-Diaz_8.jpg Accessed: 19/02/2014

 

My aim for this image was to airbrush and perfect her skin. When researching to find a suitable image I decided on the above based on the fact that the skin on her face had imperfections but also the light on her arm and the slight glow on her face could be enhanced and brightened easily to really improve the image.

 

To achieve the effect I have I used a mixture of resources. In a lecture we did some slight airbrushing and perfecting, some of these techniques I have reused within the editing stage of this image however I also looked deeper into the topic and found a tutorial which worked in a slightly different way. I used the combination of these two techniques to create my final image. The link below shows the tutorial I used: http://www.photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/photo-retouching/airbrushing-natural-smooth-skin/

 

So now lets look at what I actually did:

 

1. The first step I took was to open my image into a Photoshop workspace. I then duplicated my layer twice. The first duplicate I named High Pass and the second duplicate I named Low Pass.

 

The first thing I noted was that this tutorial was actually quite confusing. I created a Low Pass layer however I didn't actually use the Low Pass tool, I used an alternative. This will become clear in step 2.

 

2. I now selected the Low Pass layer and locked both the Background and High Pass Layers. This prevents me from editing them accidently. So with the Low Pass layer selected I added a filter. I simply went to Filter, Blur and then selected Surface Blur. This filter blurs the image but retains the edges. This means the image as a whole keeps its original shape and sharp edges. Ideal when airbrushing faces. The Surface Blur menu then appears. I firstly played around with both the Radius and Threshold settings to see what both of these did. The radius alters how blurry you make the image while the threshold determines how sharp the edges are. The settings I went for can be seen below:

 

 

These settings were used as I wanted to create a blurred skin effect but still retaining my sharp edges. This is why the Threshold is highly than the Radius. The radius is still quite low on the scale, this is due to the fact that i wanted to keep the image professional and realistic. There is nothing worse than an over airbrushed image and hence these figures reflect that.

 

3. So the Low Pass layer is now complete. My next step was to lock this layer and unlock and select the High Pass layer. The very first thing I did on this layer was change the blend mode to linear light. My next stage was to create a layer mask, this would allow me to show come effects in some parts of the image will leave other parts as the original image. I then applied my image (Background) to the layer mask. To achieve this I used the Apply Image tool. I then clicked back to the original layer.

 

 

4. Still using the High Pass layer I then added the High Pass filter. To find this filter I used the Filter Menu, Other and finally High Pass. So what does the High Pass actually do? The High Pass retains edge detail in the specified radius where sharp colour transitions occur and suppresses the rest of the image - Adobe Help Centre. With this filter selected a dialog box appears which requires a change of radius. The screenshot below shows how I changed the radius. Again like in the Low Pass layer it was important I didn't over do this as it would make the image look over done and hence unprofessional. To tone down this filter I adjusted the opacity of the layer. I reset this to 22%. This allowed some of the filter to show through without over powering the image.

 

 

 

 

 

5. This next step now uses the layer mask I previously created for the High Pass. This stage adjusts the brightness and contrast. To achieve this I selected the layer mask and then used the Brightness And Contrast option in the Adjustments panel. The screenshot below shows my Brightness And Contrast settings.

 

 

 

6. To achieve a different effect I decided to add Levels to the Low Pass image. This was a step I added after considering all of my options and I feel these Levels turned out to completely change my image. These can be found in the adjustments panel. The screenshot below shows how I adjusted the Levels in my image. Like the High Pass filter I found the Levels adjustments too much in full force. To tone this down I changed the layer transparency to 70%. This simply took the edge off of the effect.

 

 

 

 

The levels which I added to this image made it slightly darker. This gave Cameron Diaz the elusion of a natural looking tan, she now looks much healthier as well as more polished.



 



7. This is now where I differed from the tutorial I was using. This tutorial suggested that I then limit the area which I wanted the effect to show however I didn't do this stage. I was really happy with how my image looked and although I did try this on areas I found it very hard to find a happy medium and opted to leave the image edited as a whole. The only thing I did do was group my layers to make life slightly easier.

“High Pass retains edge details in the specified radius where sharp color transitions occur and suppresses the rest of the image. (A radius of 0.1 pixel keeps only edge pixels.) The filter removes low-frequency detail in an image and has an effect opposite to that of the Gaussian Blur filter.” - Adobe Help Center
Read more at http://www.photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/photo-retouching/airbrushing-natural-smooth-skin/#ScKqriSfHVpvGCCX.99

“High Pass retains edge details in the specified radius where sharp color transitions occur and suppresses the rest of the image. (A radius of 0.1 pixel keeps only edge pixels.) The filter removes low-frequency detail in an image and has an effect opposite to that of the Gaussian Blur filter.” - Adobe Help Center
Read more at http://www.photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/photo-retouching/airbrushing-natural-smooth-skin/#ScKqriSfHVpvGCCX.99

“High Pass retains edge details in the specified radius where sharp color transitions occur and suppresses the rest of the image. (A radius of 0.1 pixel keeps only edge pixels.) The filter removes low-frequency detail in an image and has an effect opposite to that of the Gaussian Blur filter.” - Adobe Help Center
Read more at http://www.photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/photo-retouching/airbrushing-natural-smooth-skin/#ScKqriSfHVpvGCCX.99

“High Pass retains edge details in the specified radius where sharp color transitions occur and suppresses the rest of the image. (A radius of 0.1 pixel keeps only edge pixels.) The filter removes low-frequency detail in an image and has an effect opposite to that of the Gaussian Blur filter.” - Adobe Help Center
Read more at http://www.photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/photo-retouching/airbrushing-natural-smooth-skin/#ScKqriSfHVpvGCCX.99

 

 

The below image is my final piece. This is my airbrushed image of Cameron Diaz and can be compared to the initial image which can be seen at the top of the blog post.

 

 

What key tools where used in this process:

Layers

Levels

Layer Masks

Brightness/Contrast

High Pass Filter

Surface Blur Filter

Layer Transparency

 

 

Like in my previous blog post regarding my Spine creation I will also evaluate the effectiveness of this aspect in terms of my inlay as a whole rather than an individual piece and hence this is to follow at a later date.