Photoshop Elements
Level 3
Photo Retouching and Restoration
This is an excerpt from one lesson of the next level
in my series of Photoshop Elements courses: Photoshop Elements Retouching
and Restoration. You can enroll in the Level 3 by going to the class
description page here and clicking on the Enroll Now link
at the bottom of the description. Completion of previous levels is
a requirement to take this class. You may register for the other
Elements classes as well by following this link:
Photoshop
Elements Courses at Eclectic Academy
The classes progress as follows:
- Photoshop Elements From the Ground Up
- Photoshop Elements Level 1
- Photoshop Elements Level 2
- Photoshop Elements Level 3: Photo Retouching and Retouching
Twinkle in your eye gone?
Sometimes during correcting or because of lighting eyes don't have
that natural twinkle that makes a photo come alive. Here's how to get
it back. This is a detail of a retouched portrait of my daughter. Find
a photo of your own that you want to put the twinkle back in the eyes.
Step 1. Open the photo in Elements and duplicate
the layer by dragging it to the new layer icon at the bottom of the layers
palette. Note: There always seems to be confusion
in these classes if your layers are not exactly like mine. This time, please
note that I started
with a photo that had already been retouched, and the photo did not have
a background layer, but a real layer, and is named Layer 1. Yours might
be called background; and in that case, your duplicate layer will be called
Background Copy. In this series of classes you may not always have the
same thing as I do, because we will be working on different photos.
Below is a closeup of the eyes area, at about 50%. Since
it was done for print it's too large to show here at 100%.
Step 2. Make your view 100% size. When sharpening,
it's often very important to be able to see the effects full size.
On the duplicate layer, run Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp
Mask at about
amount 88%, Radius 1, threshold 4. These settings are common ones shared with
us by Scott Kelby in his book "Photoshop Elements for Digital Photographers".
Click OK to
sharpen
whole
photo.
Step 3. Cmd/ctrl+F two
times to apply the unsharp mask
twice more. The photo
will be very over sharpened. In fact it will probably look pretty bad
overall, but don't worry about that. You are on the duplicate layer.
Step 4. Hold the cmd/ctrl
key and click one
time on the new layer icon on the
bottom of the layers palette. This will create a new blank layer
right under the selected layer (the duplicate, sharpened layer).
Now
click on the sharpened layer again (mine is layer 1 copy) in the layers palette
to make it the active layer and press cmd/ctrl+G to
group the layers. The visible sharpness disappears, but that's ok, that's
what's
supposed to
happen. Basically we have "faked" a layer mask like Photoshop has.
Step 5. In the layers palette click on the
blank layer to make it active (it should be in the
middle). We will be painting on this layer.
Step 6. Press D to
set the colors to default black and white, switch to the brush tool and
choose a soft edged
brush that is smaller than the person's eyes from the options bar. "Paint" over
just the irises and pupils of the eyes to reveal the results of the
eye sharpening, making the eyes sparkle. Make sure you are painting on
the blank layer!
Step 7. Merge all layers. See how easy that
was?
Enroll in Photoshop Elements Restoration and Retouching here.
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