Make your Photo look Cinematic FAST! Photoshop Tutorial

Make your Photo look Cinematic FAST! Photoshop Tutorial

Ten Shortcuts for Working With Layer Masks in Photoshop

Out of all the things you need to know how to work with in Photoshop, layer masks are one of the most fundamental and important. This awesome and quick video will show you ten shortcuts for working with layer masks in Photoshop.

At its core, the idea of the layer mask is extremely simple: it allows you to show or hide certain parts of an image or adjustment. Of course, in practice, creating and manipulating layer masks is an intricate and nuanced art all itself and a skill every photographer working in Photoshop should have down pat. And since they're something you'll use on the overwhelming majority of images you work with, any shortcuts can help increase both their capabilities and your workflow's efficiency, which is exactly what this helpful video from the folks at Adobe will show you how to do. Of all the shortcuts, the ability to quickly duplicate a layer mask is probably my favorite. A lot of the time, particularly when I'm retouching a portrait or landscape image, I'll want to apply three of four adjustments to the exact same area, and rather than trying to paint in each effect, it's much quicker to just duplicate the layer mask after doing it once. Check out the video above for all the tricks!

The Christmas Wish Project Brings Even More Smiles to Sick Children for 2017

The Christmas Wish, which has become an annual viral sensation put out over the last few years by The Heart Project is back and even bigger for 2017. In 2016, the project created holiday magic for 30 sick children from one hospital. This year Karen Alsop, the lead photographer behind the project, took it countrywide in Australia reaching even more people in need and this is just the beginning. 

The Heart Project produces consistent heartwarming projects that connect artists with sponsors to create amazing photo collages for children and families who are undergoing some type of hardship. Back in October, I wrote about The Get Well Tree which resulted in a beautiful children's book designed to help and inspire children in hospitals going through difficult recovery. Each new project is even more amazing and a perfect example of how photography and a group of artists can use their talents to bring a smile to people in need. 

How to Add a Soft, Warm Glow to Images Using Photoshop

A very popular and fun look for portraits and candid shots is a warm glow that seems to emanate from a soft, out-of-frame light source. This fun and easy tutorial will show you how to add that same glow to your images using Photoshop.

Coming to you from Aaron Nace at Phlearn, this great video will show the process for adding a warm glow to your images in Photoshop. If you're like me in any way, you're eternally cold in the winter and you'll do anything to feel warm again, even if it means Photoshopping the warmth (maybe it's time for me to step away from the computer for a bit). Nonetheless, this is a fairly easy thing to do, and the video will teach you how to use gradients to create natural tonal transitions quickly and easily across the frame. In addition, the effect is easily adjustable after you add it, making it no problem to adjust things more to your liking, such as increasing the size of the source to decrease the harshness of the transitions, etc. It's an easy technique that can breathe an entirely different mood into images, so grab one from your catalog and give it a try!

How to Use and Photograph Real Snow for Overlays in Photoshop

It might be the most wonderful time of the year but that doesn't mean there will be snow falling for your photo shoot. In this video, you’ll learn how to photograph and use real snow for overlays in Photoshop.

There are plenty of tutorials online that can show you how to make snow in Photoshop, but nothing beats the real thing. Anyone can do this simple technique to bring organic looking snow into their photos. You only need a few basic things: a black or gray backdrop to place outside, a tripod, and a camera. After you have the photos you need, you simply bring them into Photoshop and change the blend modes. The independence of the layers to the original image will allow you plenty of freedom to make changes and have control over what the final image looks like. This technique is great for people who live in climates that don’t get snow frequently. It’s also a great backup if you planned a shoot in the snow and the forecast changes at the last minute. Once you have even a dozen photos of snow falling, you will be able to reuse them over and over again without the overlays looking repetitive.

How to Add Lipstick to a Subject Using Photoshop

Lipstick can be a great addition that can complement a subject's eyes or really help a colorful portrait pop all the more. If the subject wasn't wearing it already, this helpful video will show you how to convincingly add it after the fact using Photoshop. 

Of course, it's always great if you have a makeup artist or your subject wears lipstick to the shoot, but sometimes, you sit down to your computer and realize you would prefer to change something, which is why Photoshop was given to us by the ancient photographers all those millennia ago (or something like that). Coming to you from Unmesh Dinda of PiXimperfect, this helpful video will show you how to properly add it in a way that matches how lipstick behaves under light. It's more than just changing the color of the lips, as lipstick also adds shine and depth, and by working with the highlights and shadows separately in tandem with using multiple solid color adjustment layers and the Blend-if sliders, you can effectively mimic the look. And remember, while the video shows a traditional red color, the technique should work for just about any color you'd like. 

File Formats for Photographers in Lightroom and Photoshop

Greg Benz, creator of the luminosity masking Photoshop script panel Lumenzia, is one of those experienced photographers who doesn't hesitate to share their technical knowledge with followers. In his latest video, he explains file formats in detail, both for Photoshop and Lightroom.

This tutorial explains how to use which file format, bit depth, and color space while working in Photoshop and Lightroom. The video starts with Benz’s explanation of color spaces in Lightroom and his recommendations about how to use them throughout the workflow. He then explains the importance of 16-bit depth, especially when dealing with luminosity masks for better image processing.

While showing the differences between file saving and file handling properties supported by Photoshop and Lightroom, Benz also shows the TIFF saving options, including the image compression types. On the second half of the video, Benz shows some image samples saved with different options in various formats, which have different benefits when using different hard drive types. Therefore, the video shows the workflow options from opening the raw image to save as the final image.

Please feel free to share your tips about file formats in the comments section below.