The first time I tried to make a darker background was when I started using Photoshop...back when I first moved to Alabama and had nothing better to do then to try and read and follow as many Photoshop tutorials I could find online. I came across one that I followed step by step....and came out with two products:
I did a lot of digging and couldn't find the tutorial to give you the link, sorry. But I think it had you playing around with the Channel Mixer and something else. For whatever reason I have forgotten about that method and haven't really used it since...must of not been easy!
Then, a couple months ago I found a photoblog I liked and it had THIS advice about black and white conversion and burning. Make sure you read it-it's a great tip; along with the comments, some other people give their hints and advice as well.
Soon there after I tried the same concept in this picture I took on Mark's birthday. I liked the shot, but you could see just a bit of his face...so I used the handy burn tool (no black and white conversion though):
Then after seeing this amazing swing shot by Leah, again using this concept of converting to black and white and a little burning I decided to try it again. This time it was a close up of the hose taken with my macro lens, I converted to black and white and burned a bit to get the almost full black background:
Lastly, I tried the same concept, but used the Dodge tool and got the white background effect:
Do you have an easier way to get the same effect or some other advice about the use of the burn/dodge tool...I'd love to hear!
10 comments:
Kim-
Dana told me you gave tips and how-tos on Friday. This is great, I'll definately have to try it! Thanks, and thanks to your friend who wanted the info!
Alisha
What version of photoshop do you use?
I use Photoshop CS2, it's absolutely wonderful, but way over my head--meaning lots to learn!!
Happy Happy Happy Birthday to you!
Hope it's a day as fantastic as you deserve. See you tomorrow for lunch...
Glad you discovered the joys of burning and dodging, my favorite on black and whites!
Happy Birthday!!!!! I hope you have fun day, even if it's not Saturday. :)
Loved the post. Can't wait to try and figure out the channel mixer! Fun.
Happy Birthday Kim, I had to ask myself, is today Friday and realized that it is and I actually made it out of the hospital in time to get your how-to tip. Thank you so much. I am going to have to try this, just not sure when :)!
Love,
Leslie
Thank you for these tips. I have been practicing on some of my photos and actually posted one. I haven't tried the dodging tool yet but intend to very soon. This was all very helpful. thank you for posting this.
I can't wait to try this. Keep the tips coming!
I don't currently have Photoshop installed, so I tried to do a similar effect in Picasa by increasing shadows. I was able to get it to work with a few photos, but I kept the photos in color - with just a black background. Feel free to check them out on my blog.
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