Those of you who read my last blog post learned that the images posted on my website, http://www.heckenlively-photo.com typically receive just a rough edit.  Typically it takes 15-20 minutes of extra work in photoshop to take an image from rough edit to polished image.  The photoshop steps vary a bit, but most images go through some or all of these steps.

The first thing I almost always do is noise reduction.  I’m a big fan of the photoshop plugins from Nik Software.  Now that Google has made them available for free, getting them is a no brainer.  Nik’s Dfine is my go to for noise reduction.  When you run any of the Nik plugins on the background layer, they automatically create a new layer with the output from the filter.  In the case of Dfine, that is particularly handy.  As a rule you want full noise reduction on any areas that are out of focus in the image, but you want to reduce the noice reduction on areas with detail.  I use the erase tool with a highly feathered brush and slow flow to partially erase the layer created by Dfine where I want more detail.  When I am finished, I typically merge visible on the background and Dfine layers.  Photoshop purists might suggest making a smart object at this point.  Creating a smart object does provide the flexibility for changing the noise reduction later.  Personally, I find it easier to just merge.

The next adjustment I typically do is color correction.  Here I use a bit of a dirty trick.  Nik’s Color Efex Pro has a preset called White Neutralizer.  I have found that it can be a quick way to eliminate color casts.  The output from Color Efex’s White Neutralizer tends to be a bit blue.  However, I usually get decent results by reducing the visibility of the output layer from Color Efex pro.  Once I get a color balance with which I am happy, I merge the visible layers.  (I know…photoshop heresy…)

Next, I like to add some structure to the image.  A number of the Nik plugins offer the option to add structure.  As far as I can tell, it is basically doing the same thing as the clarity slider in Lightroom.  I usually use Nik’s Viveza to add the structure.  I usually reduce the visibility on this output layer a bit to keep the adjustment from being overly obvious, and I merge visible when I am done.

Some images get burning and dodging next.  The terms burning and dodging refer to techniques I used to use in my darkroom days.  When I used to make prints in the darkroom, I would sometimes create masks from cut up pieces of my test prints to increase or decrease the exposure for various parts of my print.  Dodging reduces the exposure, which makes that area of the print lighter.  Burning increases the exposure, which causes that area of the print to be darker.  In photoshop, I typically create a new layer with gray fill, and with overlay blend mode.  I then paint either black or white onto this layer.  The areas that are painted with white are dodged, and they get lighter.  The areas that are painted with black are burned, and they get darker.  Careful burning and dodging can really make the final image pop.

I typically finish with tweaks in curves and contrast adjustment layers.

When people order prints from my website, these are the sorts of steps I go through before the image goes to the printer.  I also use my Instagram feed as a way to practice these techniques.  Most of the images I post there have gone through some or all of these steps.  Look for more details about how the print order process works on my website, in a future blog post.