Akron Camera Club: Brandon Spannbauer. October 24, 2012

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1 Fundamental Photoshop: Layers Akron Camera Club: Brandon Spannbauer October 24, 2012

2 Overview Layers Adjustment Layer Layers allow for total control over an image by allowing non-destructive edits Layers Masks Masks Masks further increase the usefulness of layers Blend Modes Give layers different ways for layers to interact with one another Burn & Dodge Seemingly unrelated to Layers yet included for a reason

3 Why Layers? After learning basic Photoshop techniques such as cropping, resizing and simple adjustments; learning and mastering Layers is one of the best ways to improving your image editing skills Nearly every function of Adobe Photoshop can be performed on a Layer allowing greater power and control over how you want the effect to be displayed and interact with your image We will discuss various techniques on how to utilize the Layers function starting with the simple and ending on the complex Please feel free to stop and ask questions or clarification

4 What is a Layer? Layers are like transparencies lying on top of each other. Imagine you take a tranparency and you draw something on one and place it on a stack. Do this again for another layer in the same stack. What is going to happen is you will be able to see things from both the 1 st and 2 nd sheets provided they don t overlap. This is what basic layers are

5 Layers One of the most powerful tools in Photoshop Allows for great control in editing your images Images overlaid on top of one another. Clear, opaque or anywhere in between (opacity) Hold part of an image or a whole image Allow adjustments to each layer Combine multiple images Create new images Images or effects can be overlaid with each other allowing unique or blended effects

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7 Advantages Over making adjustments directly on the original image Temporary Edits ability to also tone down effects through opacity changes Avoid Data Loss non-destructive changes Specific Point Editing can edit foreground, subject and background separately Quick Edits to Multiple Layers copy editing layers to another image Disadvantages Larger files if you save as.tiff or.psd More memory usage (RAM) needed for many layers Slightly more time consuming I spend around 1-2 hours per image from start to finish Layers do result in larger files but they separate portions of the image, and especially adjustments to the image that can easily be reverted. Altering is also done without permanently changing the image

8 Types of Layers - so many that we will highlight only a few that I use most often New Layer blank, transparent layer: used when you want to add/change effect when pixels aren t needed (ex. Add a border) Shift or Ctrl + N / under Layer New Layer Text Layer create text boxes to type, can control color, size, font, orientation etc. of text. T on keyboard / T on the tool bar for Text tool Duplicate Layer creates a duplicate of whatever layer you are on If you are on an adjustment layer it will stack and double If you are on a background layer or pixel layer remember it will cover up all layers beneath it Ctrl + J / or Layer Duplicate Layer

9 Adjustment Layer- discussed next Plug-Ins Layer Photoshop functionality can be extended by addon programs called plug-ins. Some plug-ins are created by Adobe itself, ie. Camera raw, but most are created by 3 rd party companies. Once installed, a plug-in can be accessed under the filter menu tab in Photoshop Ex. Nik, OnOne, Topaz, Photomatix are popular paid plug-ins but there are so many paid and free ones available When using a plug-in on a duplicate layer: allows the ability to dial back changes or change the opacity if the effect is too strong Or the ability to remove portions of the effect from the image through layer-masks (more on masks later) Tip: Before using a plug-in, create a duplicate layer so that you can save your original and/or have it available for blending with the new changed image later. Dodge/Burn Layer discussed at the end Sharpen Vignette

10 Adjustments The majority of image adjustments (levels, curves, hue/saturation, etc.) are also available as an adj. layer Adjustments are very powerful, however, every time you apply them, you are permanently changing the information of the image Once that change is made, the old information is gone and the info left is of lesser quality, numerous applications can result in poorer quality images So what s the answer!?! Adjustment Layers!

11 What is an Adjustment Layer? Adjustment Layers work much like the transparency analogy in that you can see through them but they don t change anything below them. You apply an adjustment layer (like hue/saturation) to a transparent layer and place it on your stack of layer When you look through the adjustment layer everything seen through it appears to have the adjustment applied Thus giving you control over what you do because nothing below has been changed You can always change it later if you don t like it

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13 Adjustment Layers Adjustment layers do the same thing as a normal image adj. except that they are separated from the original image The layer will never alter the original information This is achieved by creating a layer mask that is attached to the individual adjustment. One of the great things about these layers is that they save what adjustments you ve made which you can reopen and readjust at any time by clicking on the adj. icon Tip: Because the adj. layers are joined with a layer mask, you can selectively erase the application of the adj. in certain areas by painting on the mask (black) where you want the erase to occur (more on this later)

14 To create an adjustment layer: The black/white circle in the layers palette or Layer New Adjustment Layer creates a transparent layer where you can make direct changes to the photo without affecting the original This is how I edit every photo, all levels, curves, hue/sat. is done on this transparent layer so all my changes are nondestructive You can stack these layers. They don t cover each other but work with each other. Most importantly, they have Masks or Layer Masks attached to them which allow you to selectively affect a photo

15 To create a new Adjustment Layer, go to layer at the top new adjustment layer choose your layer Or you can go to the layers palette, click on the black/white circle and choose your layer

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17 What is a Mask? Masks are one of the most important skills to improve your Photoshop editing Masks or Layer Masks are editable selections ALWAYS attached to a layer for non-destructive editing Essential tool for applying otherwise global changes (levels, curves, color) to isolated areas of your image They are very flexible because they can be treated as a full grey scale image which allows the use of filters, selection tools, adjustments etc. 100% white = layer shown 100% black = layer hidden Allow you to save selections Most often used to hide pixels or the result of an adj. layer