January 30, 2010

Make a photo of a dog into a nice portrait.

Place cursor over the image to see the edited version.

EXIF Data:
Canon EOS 40D
Tamron 28-75mm XR Di LD Lens @ 32mm
f/4.0
1/60 sec
ISO 100
No flash

This is a pretty decent shot of this dog, but we wanted it to look more like a "portrait". I wanted to lessen the distraction of the background and really bring out the dog's expression.

1. Duplicate image (CTRL-J).

2. The white and black edge of the mosquito netting behind the dog is going to be too distracting so I decide to get rid of it. I do this by using the Clone Tool, and cloning the area on the left that will be within the area I plan to crop.

3. I merge this layer down (CTRL-E), then duplicate the layer (CTRL-J).

4. Since I know that I am going to use a "vignetting" technique on this image, I go ahead and crop it to the size I want.

5. Next, I want to work on bringing out the dog's expression so I sharpen the image. I go to Filter-Sharpen-Unsharp. I adjust the Amount and the Radius up quite high, actually over-sharpening, then I adjust the opacity in the Layers Palette.

6. I merge this layer down (CTRL-E), then duplicate the image again (CTRL-J).

7. Next I use the High-Pass Filter to further enhance/exaggerate the sharpness. I go to Filter-Other-High Pass. I adjust it to a fairly high number (10 in this case), then again, I adjust the effect on the layer.

8. I merge the layer down (CTRL-E), then duplicate the layer.

9. I want to darken the background so it will not be so distracting, and to do this I use one of the Distort Filters. I go to Filter-Distort-Lens Correction. I will create a vignette effect using this filter. I slide the Amount all the way to -100, and the Midpoint to 0.

10. I now have a nice semi-dark vignette that I can use to reduce the background distractions, however, I need to remove the darkening effect from the dog's face. I place a mask on the layer (Add a layer mask icon at bottom of layers palette), fill it with white, and using a large, soft, round Brush, I "paint" over the dog's face to remove the darkened area from it.

11. When I am done with the masking, I merge this layer down, then make a duplicate layer.

12. I add a blank layer as a Dodge and Burn layer above the previous layer (Create a new layer icon at bottom of layers palette), set this new layer to Soft Light (in the drop-down menu at top of layers palette) then using a soft round brush set to black at low opacity, I slightly "burn" the edges of the image to push the focus in towards the eyes. I use a soft round brush set to white to "dodge" the eyes slightly.

13. Put a white border on the image by going to the "fx" icon (bottom of layers palette) and choose "Stroke". Set the color to white, and choose "Inside" and the desired pixel thickness of the border.

14. Save file as a .psd in case you need to work on it again.

15. Flatten image (File->Layer->Flatten Image), and save as .jpg.