Photographing large groups of people is the most challenging assignment you'll get as a portrait photographer. Each person expects you to make them look great in the final portrait, but there's always at least one person with a half blink or a nose tickle and there's definitely one person who is just looking off into space while everyone else has a winning smile. Sigh. The easiest thing way to manage this is to make many pictures and then combine them together into one with everyone's face look great. It's simple to use Luminar to make this … [Read more...] about Portrait Tips: How to combine photos for the best expressions using layers in Luminar
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Blending Textures in Photoshop with the “Blend If” Setting
This is an excerpt from Nicole's eBook and tutorial, The Art of the Blend. Watch this tutorial using the video above, or read the written instructions below. One of my favorite methods to manipulate texture blends with my images is to use the Blend If setting, which is located inside of the Layer Styles window. Lets walk through the steps to apply this to your images: Start with an image and texture in the Layers panel, with the texture layer active and highlighted. The next step is to access the Layers Style window. There are a few ways … [Read more...] about Blending Textures in Photoshop with the “Blend If” Setting
Adding Winter Snow to a Sunny Photo
Looking for that perfect holiday photo? But all you've got is cold and rainy... or even worse bright and sunny? In this tutorial I'd like to get you in the holiday mood as we remake a photo for winter. By using Photoshop's powerful Masking and Layer Blend modes we're going to apply overlays to add snow to a photograph that was taken in sunny Florida. The Technique in Action http://youtu.be/qBLguTJ6Q38 Overview of Key Steps Here's what it takes to pull this off. Add two snow overlays to an image, resize to fit. Crop the image to remove … [Read more...] about Adding Winter Snow to a Sunny Photo
Simple Background Magic for Photos
I want to share a simple way to apply a "texture" to a plain or seamless background. A texture is an image of almost anything that can be appropriately ghosted back adding a "texture" to the background. I use images of side walks, freeway underpasses, brick walls, sheets of paper, rusted steel, graffiti, roads, cracked glass, wrapping paper, you name it. Truly, infinite possibilities. This simple technique can provide you with the power to control the drama, mood and overall feeling of your image. It will also provide you with perfect … [Read more...] about Simple Background Magic for Photos
Blending HDR Images in Photoshop for Smoother Landscapes
In this tutorial, we'll be taking a look at one approach to combining HDR (High Dynamic Range) composite images in Photoshop to remove any undesired detail, and easily blend softness back into a landscape composition as needed. Questions? Drop me a line at and . If you're looking for a great gear guide for landscape photographers, check this out. … [Read more...] about Blending HDR Images in Photoshop for Smoother Landscapes
Cinematic Video Composition in Photoshop
In this Photoshop tutorial, I'm going to show you how to create a cinematic video composition using a few video clips, blending modes, and Adjustment Layers! Disclaimer: This is just one way to create a cinematic video effect. For more tutorials go to . ______ … [Read more...] about Cinematic Video Composition in Photoshop
Adding Spice with Photoshop Blending Modes
Are your images a little flat? Do you lack contrast? This technique is a fast and easy way to add a little spice to an image who's color and tone are a bit flat. Thanks to filters and blending modes, the solution is easy. Can't see this video click here. ______ … [Read more...] about Adding Spice with Photoshop Blending Modes
Experimental Collages and Multiple Exposures with Blending Modes
Interested in making composited photo collages that simulates shooting multiple exposures? In this tutorial I show you a favorite technique for combining several images with blending modes in Adobe Photoshop. Give me two minutes and I'll show you a bunch of cool tricks for merging exposures. Can't see the video? Click Here. Disclaimer: These are just a few ways to use blending modes....there are of course many different things you can try. ______ … [Read more...] about Experimental Collages and Multiple Exposures with Blending Modes
Introduction to Focus Blending
Guest Photo & Post By Nat Coalson Like HDR, focus blending is becoming another popular way for photographers to create digital images that are not possible with a single capture in the camera. Focus blending (or focus stacking) uses multiple captures to achieve great depth of field by creating a composite image during post-processing. Focus blending is useful for photography styles requiring great depth of field, such as nature and landscape, architecture and macro. Understanding Depth of Field Before we delve into focus blending, … [Read more...] about Introduction to Focus Blending
