Advanced Photoshop Tutorials

I’m enjoying Sean Bagshaw’s video tutorials for dealing with Extended Dynamic Range images in which the tonal variation between darkest and lightest areas in a scene is greater than a single exposure can capture. These are a very powerful set of techniques that allow much greater control, and fewer weird artifacts, than HDR software. I really appreciate that along with the video tutorials, Sean also provides fairly detailed notes summarizing the techniques covered in each video segment. Nice.

Alhambra dawn

Photographed July 2009.
For previously processed versions of this image, I have used a bracketed sequence to generate an HDR file for tone mapping, with some of the weirdness that comes with that whole process. For this version, I just took a single raw file (zero exposure compensation) and reprocessed it using Photo Ninja, Tony Kuyper’s Triple Play action (using luminosity masks to balance tones), and a little bit of Nik Color Efex (put just a touch of Reflector filter on the Alhambra to brighten and warm it a little). I like this one better.

Social inequality through the lens

Mark Laita’s paired portraits speak volumes about life in contemporary America.

amazing recently discovered street photography from the 1950s

Vivien Maier

Another Photo Ninja product (with some other magic added in)

Enjoying Photo Ninja

Photo Ninja did a lovely job with this image. I then took it into PS and warmed the distant cliff and valley using the Reflector Effect filter by Nik. I’m really pleased with the result.

New Raw converter: Photo Ninja

I always shoot my images as raw files so that I have maximum freedom in post-processing. I’m experimenting with a new raw converter called Photo Ninja. Reviews and explorations look very promising.