Walt-O-Matic

In addition to capturing the perfect image and having the perfect lighting, you also need to know how to do photographic retouching.

Yes, you know to shoot in RAW mode.

You may even know about Raw Developer, to eek out what your photo editing software can’t.

You might even know about the Pantone Huey Pro, which is the dual-monitor color calibration device.

Forget everything you know or think you know, here are the sources you need for high-end professional photo retouching!

Color Correction

A good photo has to take into account its color space, and it turns out the simple color wheel model is actually fairly simplistic. A color space looks more like a stretched and distorted multi-dimensional field. By deliberately contorting the color space, it’s possible to do everything from white-balance to invoke moods to increasing contrast.

Additionally, your camera has the ability to pick up more detail that you’re able to discern or your monitor can display. By stretching and twisting the color space, you can draw out more details in areas where you need it.

Instead of using the Levels control, building a strong command of advanced Curves will do wonders. Curves can be used on different channels. And, with selective masking, it’s possible to create images that are physically impossible for a camera to capture.

Curves effectively do a translation, but instead of linear relationship, the change can be dramatic in some places, less so in others. Think of it like a color spectrum on a rubber band, you can stretch portions of it.

The eye dropper tools in the Curves dialog help identify what should be considered white, what should be considered midtone, and what should be considered black for transformation. It may come as a surprise that it might not be ideal to have a pure black or a pure white.

Mastery of Curves allows you to deal with under exposed, over exposed, and color casted images. With a well exposed picture, it will help make the subject pop. It also affords some very clever use of creative coloring. And let’s not forget controlled desaturation can lead to many splendid images.

Once you learn how to really use Curves, you’ll have no need for Levels.

Certain color-space models play off of different strengths. Color need not be RGB.

Print, for instance, looks great when CMYK is used.

It turns out that for drawing out detail, LAB color space makes a world of difference.

LAB space is magical because it puts the luminance on it’s own channel. The tradeoff is that red/green become opposites on the ‘a’ channel, and blue/yellow become opposites on the ‘b’ channel. This works well, as often it’s the brightness you want to affect without washing out the color. For instance, LAB mode can remove unwanted fog and haze, magically pulling color out of seemingly nowhere.

Additionally, the Unsharp Mask can be applied to just the luminosity channel, pulling out extra details. If there’s noise in an RGB’s blue channel, one can covert to LAB, apply the Dust’n'Scratches filter to the B channel, and convert back. Blurring A and B will hide imperfections.

The A and B channels can be used to accent color. And if an image has an unwanted color cast, moving the curve out of A’s or B’s center point removes it.

LAB also has another amazing use: getting amazing selection masks from the channels.

Color Enhancement

Scott Kelby, a Photoshop guru, has identified that there’s really only seven steps needed to really push an image to the limits. This can make a horrible picture acceptable, and a well exposed image astounding.

1. Use Open the file in RAW mode, even if it’s a JPEG, and pre-process there.
   Fix the white balance, and then do things like warm it up. Fix the exposure and twiddle the details. Information that’s clipped can be brought back into the color space.


2. Perform the Curves adjustments.
   Bring out detail.


3. Adjust the Shadows and Highlights.
   Pull out more detail, and set the mood. Good contrast makes a dramatic photo.


4. Paint with light.
   Layers, gradients, and layer blending can simulate camera filters. A neutral density, for instance, can bring out the blues in your skies. In a more controlled sense, this is non-destructive dodging and burning.


5. Channels Adjustments using LAB color space.
   By applying an image to itself with soft light, in LAB mode this produces aesthetic contrasts.


6. Use Layer Blends and Layer Masks.
   Often the whole image won’t need uniform changes, this step brings all the elements together.


7. Sharpening with the Unsharp Mask and fading the Luminosity afterward.
   Extra sharpness can be pulled out to provide what looks like a really in focus image. Doing it this way removes color halos that may appear.

You don’t apply every step for every photo, and it’s important to recognize less can be more. The cumulative effect of these steps is what get results. Also worth mentioning, the order is important.

Professional Retouching

Most retouching instructions inadvertently make a model’s skin look like plastic. They focus on the Gaussian Blur filter, screening layers, and use the Clone tool, and the Spot Heal Brush. This might be acceptable for small web images, assuming you want that look.

It’s not what the professional do.

Why not? Those activities destroy information in the image. That means the image looks fake and retouched when viewed up close or when it appears in print.

To do things right, you need a solid command of color spaces, the Healing Brush, the History Brush, Dodge/Burn brush, Warp/Liquify tools, and Unsharp Mask. Most changes are made with Adjustment Layers, so the image is actually a composite of small, controlled alterations. This is time consuming and can be tedious if you don’t know the numerous shortcuts of your post-processing application.

To make a clean image, one uses the Healing Brush with sampling from all over the image. Reshaping parts of an image requires the Liquify tool, and to alter the whole image the Warp tool is used. These activities can damage data, which is why after using them cleanup with the History Brush is necessary. The goal is to preserve detail and remove imperfections.

Since the magic of photography is in capturing the light, not the subject, having controlled contrast makes an image stand out from the rest. What makes a good professional photo retoucher isn’t the blemish removal or pushing of pixels, it’s the re-sculpting of the image in 3D.

In this context, I’m not talking about modeling tools like Poser, Blender, Animation:Master, or DAZ:3D. No, I’m talking about the illusion of depth created with shadows and light.

Face Painters are do this to reshape the face, using smooth gradient blending and edges to create fantastic illusions. The dodge and burn tools, along with an decent understanding of human anatomy, will let you get a model closer to that perfect body.

The insight comes when you realize things that are further away are darker, and things that are closer are lighter. By performing slight emphasis on naturally falling light, shadow, and edges, it’s possible to enhance the perceived depth of the photo’s subject. By adding or removing light, it’s possible to alter the shape of the subject in very flattering ways that are not perceptible unless you compare the image to the original.

Total reconstruction is possible when sampling can be used to build the right textures, hue and saturation can set the right colors, and dodging and burning can create the right shadows to convey a shape or edge.

Bringing It All Together

The name of the game is contrast and sharpness, and with the resources above, you’ll be able to produce some jaw dropping images.

Mind you, there’s no magical automated formula. One image can take literally hours, but the results are worth it.

Photo by Walt Stoneburner

Photography, good photography, is a complex and deep subject, primarily that it’s an art about making trade-offs. A while back, I wrote about The Best Photography Books Ever on Light.

I’d like to now share three photography books that you need in your personal library.

The first two come from Scott Kelby, whom you may know from the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) because he’s the Editor in Chief of the Photoshop User magazine.

If you’re one of “those” people, hang in there. It’s worth it.

The Digital Photography Book Volume 1

The Digital Photography Book Volume 2

The trick here is not to make the mistake by looking at just the covers that one book is a reprint of the other. They are two separate books, and you want both.

The Digital Photography Book (ISBN 0-321-47404-X) addresses how to get really tack-sharp photos by doing things like using the lowest ISO, good quality glass, turning off your image stabilizer, using a sturdy tripod, finding the “sweet spot” in your lens, locking your mirror up first, and using a remote shutter release. Yes, it covers how and why.

You even get tips on how to do a bit of post-processing for extra sharpness, using Unsharp Mask and LAB Colors (not RGB). Even if you’ve done photography for a while, there’s gonna be stuff in here you most likely didn’t know. Or didn’t know how to do well. Or easily.

There’s also practical advice along with little cheats you can do. You’ll understand a light a little better and manipulate the scene to get those wonderful backgrounds and deal with problem lighting problems. If you got yourself committed to taking wedding photos, there’s an important section you need to know.

A lot of photography has to do with composition and compensation. Ever notice how two photographers with the same gear can take a picture of the same thing, and one gets an incredible shot, and the other gets a boring and flat images. You’ll learn why and how to get the good shot.

There is even a wonderful section on how to take fantastic portraits; a section on avoiding mistakes; equipment recommendations; and even a section that shows “if you want this kind of photo then do this.”

The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2 (ISBN 0-321-47404-X) covers flash and strobes, reflector tricks, impressive seamless/colored backgrounds, advanced light metering, and how to get those multi-light touches on your subject. More portrait tricks are revealed, along with low-light, sunrise, sunset, and landscape scenes. More is covered on bad weather conditions, weddings, and touring. Again, there’s a shot recipe section in the back. This book is clearly a continuation of the first and not an afterthought or a sequel to make more sales. Good quality stuff.

The next book in your collection should be The Photographer’s Eye by Micheal Freeman (ISBN 0-240-80934-3).

Composition is hard to master. Things like frame dynamic, tension, placement, rhythm, etc. all seem pretty artsy-fartsy hand-waving mumbo-jumbo to anyone who’s trying to study the science behind creative photography.

This book explains with contrasting visuals what these terms mean and what you can do to get them. A fantastic illustration (p. 25) shows a bench in a field, but simply by cropping and using angles, the viewers eye is compelled to follow in different directions.

You’ll see how and why the rule of thirds works, how there’s also the golden ratio frame, fibonacci divisions, geometrical slicing, and fractals as alternate methods of placement. You’ll know when to fill the frame, when not to, and where not to. You’ll control the horizon. Convey balance though perceived weights, not just mirroring placement. Foreground, background, contrast, repetition of patterns, broken patterns, perspective, forced perspective, limited color, …there’s so much here.

This book alone will change the way that you view a scene and provide you many different ways to capture it, both in camera and how to make an even more impressive photo by elimination back post-processing.

So there ya have it. Two books to take a really amazing picture, and one book to compose a fantastic one.

REVIEW: Walt gives all three titles here two thumbs up!

Recently I discovered that one of my favorite authors put out a book on writing, called Weinberg on Writing: the Field Stone Method.

Well, on a lark, I decided to purchase the book from Amazon, and I have to say, not only have I not been able to put the book down, but it has truly inspired me about writing in ways that no English book ever could.

Basically, Weinberg draws parallels of building a wall with field stones (no mortar) to that of writing. He starts by stating that how we read, sequentially, is not necessarily how we write. Additionally, when we see today’s electronic medium, full of indexes and hyperlinks, this is merely presentation, and, again, has no bearing on the writing process.

Instead, he points back to a time in his life when he became addicted to morphine from some nasty surgeries and broke the addiction. He explains that addition is a very clever and evil process. It requires that you do something in the short term that makes you feel better, but with the side effect that it actually makes you feel worse in the long term. So, you do the activity again, and you feel better, but then after it passes, you feel even worse. Quickly you run into a terrible spiral.

However, smart and creative people can break that cycle. How so? By finding something else that makes them happy. Instead, they don’t end up with feeling worse; they simply build upon repeated successes.

He then discusses how when he’s faced with a project that’s not going well, or a deadline, or even writer’s block, that he’d distract himself (”to unblock himself”) by going for a walk, drinking a beer, having sex, watching television, cleaning out the garage, whatever. Only the problem was, when the break was over, he’d be in even a worse pickle, and have even less time. …sounds an awful lot like addition, doesn’t it?

So, he started looking for a smart and creative way to break the cycle, and he now claims he never gets writer’s block. Writers block comes from three things: not having enough ideas, having too any ideas, or having just the right amount. If there’s not enough, he goes “looking for flag stones”. If there’s too much, he organizes them. If things are just right, he polishes and shapes them. Volia, writer’s block is gone.

But what is this “looking for flagstones” he’s talking about? Turns out when you’re building a wall, like a retaining wall out of stone, the quick “city” way is to purchase a ton of rocks. However, in the country, you go out into fields, looking for stones that are the right size, shape, and color. You collect them, and after a number of years, you have your wall.

Problem is, if you just flat out collect for the wall, you run into two problems. One is that as time presses on, it gets harder and harder to find wall-specific stones. You can’t just say “I’m going to find five today.” That doesn’t work. Second, sometimes you come across other stones that have practical value or some emotional connection, but you have no immediate use for them. He says to collect those and start different piles. And with this advice, he points out with modern day cheap storage, it’s possible to collect a lot of ideas and then organize them later. Also, he spends considerable time telling how to capture ideas that might get lost such as when you’re dreaming or in a social context where it doesn’t seem appropriate at first.

Weinberg points out that a “good stone” is an idea that moves you strongly emotionally. When a passage stands out, when a well worded sentence is found, when a thought sticks out, when someone says something, when you get a flash of insight or perspective on the world, and so forth, these are good stones. Weinberg has made a career out of collecting ideas, and with it, he’s never out of material or inspiration for writing. He encourages the reader to do the same, through a series of simple observational exercises he applies in his writing classes, and I have to say… it works. My own set of blogs have been stepping up in the number of entries; I’m seeing far more reader email and comments than ever before.

Weinberg pointed out that upon a friend of his giving a review to another author’s book, praise was given that it was a gold mine. And when Wienberg asked his close friend why he never got that kind of praise. Weinberg’s friend thought and said a gold mind is something where you have to move a lot of earth, and if you’re lucky, you get a nugget. Then he proceeded to say that Weinberg’s books were more like coal mines. Continuing, that every shovel full is valuable.

And, I’d have to agree.

Weinberg draws on tons of deep and clever concepts, thoughts, and expressions, weaving them into folds of comedy and information, conveying his points effortlessly and concisely. He illustrates how the “Fieldstone Method” works for fiction, non-fiction, and technical material. And, it really does.

This simple blog entry represents my personal synopsis of the first five chapters in a twenty chapter book. I strongly encourage you to get your hands on it and read it. It will take you no time what-so-ever, as it’s less than 200 pages and quite thin. In no way does it discuss grammar, technicalities of the English language, or pseudo-science positive thinking crap.

Wienberg in the course of 40 years has produced 40 well known books and over ten times that in articles. His students are cranking out books and articles. His methodology is quite an eye opener, especially if you want to become more prolific.

Without exception, two books leap to the front of my personal library when it comes to Photography.

Light: Science & Magic

Crime Scene Photography

Most photography books explain general principles of photography, how the camera works, and, if lucky, perhaps a simplified discussion of optics and proper metering. By the time you really understand the relationship between ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture, and are capable of shooting in Manual mode, you’re not done — you’ve just scratched the surface. The next subject you need to tackle is light, and it is light that allows you to get those really dramatic and interesting shots. And if you think because you own a 50mm f/1.4 lens, you know it all; think again.

Light: Science & Magic is a masterful excursion into the role that light plays with photography. It covers light sources, reflection, and angles, explaining why surfaces look the way they do. Certain objects are hard to photograph, such as glass or white subjects on white backgrounds. Either detail is lost or everything comes out gray. This resource shows how to use light to solve those hard problems. The section on diffused, direct, and glare reflections is worth the price of admission alone. Camera placement, light placement, and gobos, combined with the right metering technique, will yield stunning images. It covers methodologies of lighting portraits in fascinating ways. The book is littered with tips and tricks from front to back. It’s odd to find a book where there’s solid, approachable, directly applicable material on every page, but this book does it.

The next book is quite unexpected, Crime Scene Photography. This book goes far deeper into explaining the workings of photography, delving into the mysteries of optics, proper exposure in bad lighting conditions, and the clever use of filters. It clearly explains inverse square laws, plays with subtle differences between intensity and distance, unravels why rules of thumb actually work, shows how to get the most from a flash. And all these topics roll up to support how to draw out the details you want to capture, including from fluorescent and infrared sources. There’s tons of information to convey size and play with perspective, deal with underwater situations, and how to digitally correct severe problems when you can’t retake the photo. The book is chalked full of examples.

Frankly, if I could only own two books on photography, it would be these. I read the again, and again, and again.

Walt gives these books, two thumbs up!