Presenter's Notes: A Painter's Box of Photoshop Tools
From my lecture at the Mobile Museum of Art, 11 June 2011
Part I: Managed Chaos
Because my paintings are made by the same methods painters have used for centuries, it sometimes surprises folks to learn how much I rely on technology. I’ve always enjoyed the odd quirks of photography and often worked them into my paintings. Studying how artists have used photographs–for over the last hundred years–fascinates me. I especially enjoy comparing the finished work to the photos that inspired it.
So, with the thought that you may enjoy that too, I’ll share a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes in my studio. There are three areas where the computer really has changed things for me. The first has to do with my approach to disorganization. I think of it the same way I do gardening: I like tidy edges for my flower beds, but within those boundaries, happy confusion rules. I also tend to move plants around…sometimes with disastrous consequences. There my computer differs from gardening: a mouse click allows me to shuffle my photos around endlessly…and without harm.
The second part deals with a few of the tools I find useful for playing with images. You’ll hear me use the word ‘play’ a few times today! The joy of play and discovery is a big part of why I find Photoshop so helpful.
For the last section, I’ll share ways I use photoshop to help me take a detached view of my work. Artists are very close to our work–sometimes too close to see what we are doing. I’ll show some ways I gain perspective.
2. For years, I stored my photos in boxes organized by subject: sky, land, figures, buildings
I got my first camera in high school and learned how to develop and print my black and white photographs in college. I bought my first digital camera and printer in 2000. It changed everything about photography for me–and for many artists.
I’ve been using PS since about 2002. There are many programs for editing and organizing photos, though. If you use a smartphone, there are many photo-editing apps available, inc a very simple one from PS. With these, you can adjust color, dark&light, and also simulate specific cameras. I’ve also listed some books and a tutorial website that I’ve found to be useful.
3. The way I use PS in my painting practice is different from the way I would use it if I were a professional photographer. A kind person might call my method of organizing photos whimsical. I have many folders. Their names are logical according to my own needs: for example, I have folders titled “Skies” and “Next Paintings.”
“Temp Images” and “Odd bits” are a kitchen junk drawer of images that I clean out now and then. I rarely label individual images–only my finished paintings get careful labels.
4. Here’s a look inside my skies folder: unlike professional photographers, I don’t HAVE to be able to locate an image at a moment’s notice.
Bridge is the program within photoshop that helps organize photos. Folks seem to love or hate it. Often, I know I need to be in the studio but am not ready to jump into a new painting. While I’m stalling, I can fiddle around with all my images in dozens of folders…
I love that images can be copied in more than one place at a time. I used to debate: does this print go in skies or in the “Mobile Bay” box?
5. View > Sort Part of my creative process is rummaging through images. It’s easy to sort photos in different ways..sometimes an odd combination of colors will spark an idea so I really like to use the sort feature in Bridge.
Photos may be sorted by date created, or file size, or the date I last tinkered with them…you can assign images color labels and sort them that way too… it’s quite pretty! But I’d have to be really blocked to go there!
6. View > As Details I don’t use it much, but viewing photos with all their details–or metadata–under the thumbnail images amuses me sometimes…if I wrote mysteries, I’d know I’d find a way incriminate a murder suspect with metadata that proved where and when a picture was shot!
7. Folders: Sorting through gorgeous color inspires me, the same way a drawer full of paint tubes does or maybe a trip to the farmer’s market. I see color combinations…morning scenes colored like this angel trumpet…or a sunset like red-orange trumpet creeper.
I made all my flower folders during a dry spell in the studio…fiddling with images kept me near my easel when I might be tempted to avoid it.
Do you know what I mean? But there’s fine line between brainstorming and procrastination. Still, if you’re not in the studio–you won’t have your tools at hand when inspiration whispers in your ear. I started to say inspiration strikes, but my own muse is never so dramatic. She only whispers and gets an attitude if I’m not paying attention!
Part II: Editing, Visializing + Play Tools
1. The Monitor: About four years ago, I watched a Richard Schmid video where he described the advantages of working from a monitor image vs prints. He’s really a plein-air painter, but admits that there are times when being outdoors isn’t practical. I ordered a flat screen monitor the same day and have kept it right beside my easel ever since.
2. Here’s a photo of Mobile Bay I scanned…it’s much easier to remove fingerprints, splashes, and smudges from a monitor! I also save time…used to spend hours getting a print just the way I wanted it, and the savings on ink and paper paid for the monitor in just a few months
3. Edit > Free Transform It may be because I take a lot of pictures in my car, but my horizons are almost always a little off…so this is the first thing I do after I’ve opened a file in PS. The easiest way I’ve found to take care of this is to use the transform tool and grab one of the little handles to level the horizon. (I also keep a level at my easel.)
To use this tool: double-click the Background layer on your Layers palette to turn the background into a regular layer first.
4. Crop Tool: After the horizon is level, I look to see what shape might be best for a painting. You’ll want to save the different cropped versions of an image as separate files for comparison.
5. Image > Rotate > Flip Horizontal Sometimes reversing an image improves composition. I do this so often that I’ve assigned a key so only a tap will flip the image. Instructions for doing this are on the page labeled Actions.
6. Edit > Transform Did you notice I’ve shown two ways to flip horizontal? Using the transform tool, you can flip a single layer independently of the others. With Image > Roatate > Flip Horizontal, all the layers get flipped. For example, if you wanted to combine a sky and landscape into a single image but needed to flip the land layer to get the sun hitting the right side of a tree, you could do that without affecting the sky layer.
To use this tool: double-click the Background layer on your Layers palette to turn the background into a regular layer first.
7. Edit > Transform > Perspective The perspective tool in the Transform dropdown list can be used either for good or evil…
8. Healing Brush Tool: Getting rid of objects like telephone lines is fairly easy with the Healing Brush tool (or the clone stamp tool.) Hold the Option Key to sample an area, then click on the area you want to replace. You can make the sampling point larger or smaller by tapping the keys: [ and ] (to the right of the letter P)
You can always ignore telephone lines and leave them out of your painting, but sometimes this task is something to do while you dream of possibilities for your next picture…
9. Filters > Lens Correction Now this quite a useful tool: use lens correction to straighten buildings, fence posts, etc. edit> transform> distort or >perspective is also useful. First, double-click the background layer to turn it into a regular layer for this to work.)
10. Image > Adjustments > Shadow/Highlight Now I’ll quickly adjust the value using the shadow/highlight adjustment. Dark areas can be lightened to reveal forms hiding in the shadows. With this tool, the default adjustment is usually too much–try adjusting the slider back to 25 or so.
This is a really simple way of adjusting values–it’s better to use image >adjustments > levels, and/or curves. Duplicate your background layer Layer > Duplicate Layer so you can turn the effect off and on as you like.
11. Filters > Artistic > Cutout Photos contain so much seductive detail: use the artistic filters like “cutout” to simplify masses for laying in big shapes of a painting. The sliders in the dialogue box allow you to preview and adjust the effect.
Again: It’s always a good idea to duplicate your background layer so the effect can be turned on or off as needed.
12. Filters > Artistic > Poster Edges Poster edges is another filter I like to use–each filter has many ways to alter the effects: line thickness, flatness of shapes, amount of detail. Seeing colors separated like this can be useful in choosing which to use in a painting.
filter > blur > gaussian blur can also be used to simplify forms.
13. Image > Adjustments > Black & White Avoid becoming a slave to the existing colors in a photo by converting to BW.
14. Image > Adjustments > Posterize Once you’ve converted to BW, posterization is a great way to simplify an image into a specific number of values that you can control with the slider.
15. Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation Create separate layers first, then apply effects like colorizing a photo with hue/saturation. Using this effect or photo filters may suggest the effect of a glaze or a color scheme for a painting.
16. Image > Adjustments > Replace Color Replace Color is a fun way to play with your image!
Choose image>adjustments>replace color to launch the Replace color dialogue box. Choose the color sample eyedropper tool and click in the main image window to sample your target color. Adjust the fuzziness slider to expand or contract the sample range. Adjust the Hue slider to changed the sampled colors. Click OK to apply the effect.
–directions from The Art of Photoshop on the Books I Like Page.
17. Image > Adjustments > Color Balance While most cameras will have a white balance adjustment to compensate for artificial light sources, the color balance adjustment will take care of off colors too! Sliders for highlight, middle tones, or shadow areas of an image allow you to target your corrections.
Again, it’s good to do this in a separate layer so you can turn the effect off and on as you like: Layers > Duplicate Layer
18. Image > Adjustments > Channel Mixer
For any given task, Photoshop seems to have at least three ways to approach it. When you open the program, a long list of names of the software developers appears. I guess that’s why.
Channel mixer is another way to convert to b/w. I prefer it because the effect can be easily turned on and off by clicking the eye to the left of its layer. It also has options that allow you to experiment with effects like using photo filters with black and white film: infrared, and various color filters are available. here, I simply checked the option “monochrome.”
And yet again, it’s good to do this in a separate layer so you can turn the effect off and on as you like: Layers > Duplicate Layer. I keep mentioning this, I know! But once you close and image, you can’t take back the changes you’ve made. Save your files with the layers and your options remain open.
19. Blending Modes: These are found in a drop down list above the Layers Palette. If it isn’t open, go to Window > Layers and click. A layer converted to black & white may be blended with a colorized layer to get an interesting effect, increase contrast…play with the various blending modes. It may suggest a color scheme for your painting.
Some blending modes can be pretty extreme! But you can always decrease the effect of a blend with the sliders above the layers. The blending modes Multiply and Screen may be used to darken and lighten images. Duplicate your layer first : Layers > Duplicate Layer and blend the two layers. Adjust the slider to modify the effect as needed.
20. Composite Images: Often I will use figures land forms from one photo and sky from another. Sometimes I’ll make a composite image to better visualize what I’m after. To do this, I usually begin by eliminating the land from the photo I want to use for the sky.
Eliminating parts of the photo you don’t want by selecting and masking them can get quite complicated. See my book list or check out the tutorials on lynda.com for instructions.
I should also tell you that my philosophy of making composited images is to keep them sort of crude and unfinished looking. It’s possible to combine elements so skillfully that it’s nearly impossible to detect. And trying to do that is really interesting. But for my uses in the painting studio, I want just a hint of where the idea is heading.
Sometimes I’ll apply one of the artistic filters to a composite. If you want to be able to turn this effect off and on while you work, Photoshop has a way to do that: filter > convert for smart filters Highlight the background layer of your flattened image to convert the photo into a ‘smart object.’ This also allows you to decrease the effect of the filter and see the original image through it. Smart filters works for the drop down list of effects below the layers palette too.
21. edit>transform>distort Just as a writer will stretch the facts a bit to improve his story, sometimes I will give a photo a little tug…this doesn’t work for every photo, of course.
Remember: To use this tool: double-click the Background layer on your Layers palette to turn the background into a regular layer first.
edit > transform > flip horizontal : It’s important to get the time of day and direction of the sun consistent. Flip the photo horizontally if necessary.
Anybody notice I’ve mentioned two ways to do “flip horizontal?” With the transform tool, you can flip a single layer independently of the others. For example, if you wanted to combine a sky and landscape into a single image but needed to flip the land layer to get the sun hitting the right side of a tree, you could do that without changing the sky layer. Or you might decide the composition works better with one layer reversed.
Part III: Evaluate + Play
1. I often take snapshots of unfinished paintings with my iPhone camera. If you use a smartphone: you’ll find many photo-editing apps, inc a very simple one from PS, that allow you to adjust saturation, dark&light, and also simulate specific camera effects like: the blurred edges and vignetting of the holga plastic lens or a tilt/shift camera effect.
2. Evaluate a work in progress by taking a photograph of it and looking at it on screen. It’s similar to using a reducing glass or viewing the painting from a distance. Smaller views of a painting often help me see where an area isn’t working. Flipping is also useful to evaluate a composition and see where emphasis, or figures or objects, might be placed.
I usually work in close values and decide on where the hardest edges or greatest contrast will be as a painting evolves. Playing with levels or trying out a painted passage (always in a separate layer) is a safe way to experiment…or to take time out and get a little perspective on my next move.
Sometimes it’s helpful to make a print, especially if I need to decide what to write on my frames. I’ll list several possibilities and live with them for awhile.
32. Bridge: I organize photos of completed work by year. It’s useful for:
Copyright 2011 Susan Downing-White
Part I: Managed Chaos
Because my paintings are made by the same methods painters have used for centuries, it sometimes surprises folks to learn how much I rely on technology. I’ve always enjoyed the odd quirks of photography and often worked them into my paintings. Studying how artists have used photographs–for over the last hundred years–fascinates me. I especially enjoy comparing the finished work to the photos that inspired it.
So, with the thought that you may enjoy that too, I’ll share a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes in my studio. There are three areas where the computer really has changed things for me. The first has to do with my approach to disorganization. I think of it the same way I do gardening: I like tidy edges for my flower beds, but within those boundaries, happy confusion rules. I also tend to move plants around…sometimes with disastrous consequences. There my computer differs from gardening: a mouse click allows me to shuffle my photos around endlessly…and without harm.
The second part deals with a few of the tools I find useful for playing with images. You’ll hear me use the word ‘play’ a few times today! The joy of play and discovery is a big part of why I find Photoshop so helpful.
For the last section, I’ll share ways I use photoshop to help me take a detached view of my work. Artists are very close to our work–sometimes too close to see what we are doing. I’ll show some ways I gain perspective.
2. For years, I stored my photos in boxes organized by subject: sky, land, figures, buildings
I got my first camera in high school and learned how to develop and print my black and white photographs in college. I bought my first digital camera and printer in 2000. It changed everything about photography for me–and for many artists.
I’ve been using PS since about 2002. There are many programs for editing and organizing photos, though. If you use a smartphone, there are many photo-editing apps available, inc a very simple one from PS. With these, you can adjust color, dark&light, and also simulate specific cameras. I’ve also listed some books and a tutorial website that I’ve found to be useful.
3. The way I use PS in my painting practice is different from the way I would use it if I were a professional photographer. A kind person might call my method of organizing photos whimsical. I have many folders. Their names are logical according to my own needs: for example, I have folders titled “Skies” and “Next Paintings.”
“Temp Images” and “Odd bits” are a kitchen junk drawer of images that I clean out now and then. I rarely label individual images–only my finished paintings get careful labels.
4. Here’s a look inside my skies folder: unlike professional photographers, I don’t HAVE to be able to locate an image at a moment’s notice.
Bridge is the program within photoshop that helps organize photos. Folks seem to love or hate it. Often, I know I need to be in the studio but am not ready to jump into a new painting. While I’m stalling, I can fiddle around with all my images in dozens of folders…
I love that images can be copied in more than one place at a time. I used to debate: does this print go in skies or in the “Mobile Bay” box?
5. View > Sort Part of my creative process is rummaging through images. It’s easy to sort photos in different ways..sometimes an odd combination of colors will spark an idea so I really like to use the sort feature in Bridge.
Photos may be sorted by date created, or file size, or the date I last tinkered with them…you can assign images color labels and sort them that way too… it’s quite pretty! But I’d have to be really blocked to go there!
6. View > As Details I don’t use it much, but viewing photos with all their details–or metadata–under the thumbnail images amuses me sometimes…if I wrote mysteries, I’d know I’d find a way incriminate a murder suspect with metadata that proved where and when a picture was shot!
7. Folders: Sorting through gorgeous color inspires me, the same way a drawer full of paint tubes does or maybe a trip to the farmer’s market. I see color combinations…morning scenes colored like this angel trumpet…or a sunset like red-orange trumpet creeper.
I made all my flower folders during a dry spell in the studio…fiddling with images kept me near my easel when I might be tempted to avoid it.
Do you know what I mean? But there’s fine line between brainstorming and procrastination. Still, if you’re not in the studio–you won’t have your tools at hand when inspiration whispers in your ear. I started to say inspiration strikes, but my own muse is never so dramatic. She only whispers and gets an attitude if I’m not paying attention!
Part II: Editing, Visializing + Play Tools
1. The Monitor: About four years ago, I watched a Richard Schmid video where he described the advantages of working from a monitor image vs prints. He’s really a plein-air painter, but admits that there are times when being outdoors isn’t practical. I ordered a flat screen monitor the same day and have kept it right beside my easel ever since.
2. Here’s a photo of Mobile Bay I scanned…it’s much easier to remove fingerprints, splashes, and smudges from a monitor! I also save time…used to spend hours getting a print just the way I wanted it, and the savings on ink and paper paid for the monitor in just a few months
3. Edit > Free Transform It may be because I take a lot of pictures in my car, but my horizons are almost always a little off…so this is the first thing I do after I’ve opened a file in PS. The easiest way I’ve found to take care of this is to use the transform tool and grab one of the little handles to level the horizon. (I also keep a level at my easel.)
To use this tool: double-click the Background layer on your Layers palette to turn the background into a regular layer first.
4. Crop Tool: After the horizon is level, I look to see what shape might be best for a painting. You’ll want to save the different cropped versions of an image as separate files for comparison.
5. Image > Rotate > Flip Horizontal Sometimes reversing an image improves composition. I do this so often that I’ve assigned a key so only a tap will flip the image. Instructions for doing this are on the page labeled Actions.
6. Edit > Transform Did you notice I’ve shown two ways to flip horizontal? Using the transform tool, you can flip a single layer independently of the others. With Image > Roatate > Flip Horizontal, all the layers get flipped. For example, if you wanted to combine a sky and landscape into a single image but needed to flip the land layer to get the sun hitting the right side of a tree, you could do that without affecting the sky layer.
To use this tool: double-click the Background layer on your Layers palette to turn the background into a regular layer first.
7. Edit > Transform > Perspective The perspective tool in the Transform dropdown list can be used either for good or evil…
8. Healing Brush Tool: Getting rid of objects like telephone lines is fairly easy with the Healing Brush tool (or the clone stamp tool.) Hold the Option Key to sample an area, then click on the area you want to replace. You can make the sampling point larger or smaller by tapping the keys: [ and ] (to the right of the letter P)
You can always ignore telephone lines and leave them out of your painting, but sometimes this task is something to do while you dream of possibilities for your next picture…
9. Filters > Lens Correction Now this quite a useful tool: use lens correction to straighten buildings, fence posts, etc. edit> transform> distort or >perspective is also useful. First, double-click the background layer to turn it into a regular layer for this to work.)
10. Image > Adjustments > Shadow/Highlight Now I’ll quickly adjust the value using the shadow/highlight adjustment. Dark areas can be lightened to reveal forms hiding in the shadows. With this tool, the default adjustment is usually too much–try adjusting the slider back to 25 or so.
This is a really simple way of adjusting values–it’s better to use image >adjustments > levels, and/or curves. Duplicate your background layer Layer > Duplicate Layer so you can turn the effect off and on as you like.
11. Filters > Artistic > Cutout Photos contain so much seductive detail: use the artistic filters like “cutout” to simplify masses for laying in big shapes of a painting. The sliders in the dialogue box allow you to preview and adjust the effect.
Again: It’s always a good idea to duplicate your background layer so the effect can be turned on or off as needed.
12. Filters > Artistic > Poster Edges Poster edges is another filter I like to use–each filter has many ways to alter the effects: line thickness, flatness of shapes, amount of detail. Seeing colors separated like this can be useful in choosing which to use in a painting.
filter > blur > gaussian blur can also be used to simplify forms.
13. Image > Adjustments > Black & White Avoid becoming a slave to the existing colors in a photo by converting to BW.
14. Image > Adjustments > Posterize Once you’ve converted to BW, posterization is a great way to simplify an image into a specific number of values that you can control with the slider.
15. Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation Create separate layers first, then apply effects like colorizing a photo with hue/saturation. Using this effect or photo filters may suggest the effect of a glaze or a color scheme for a painting.
16. Image > Adjustments > Replace Color Replace Color is a fun way to play with your image!
Choose image>adjustments>replace color to launch the Replace color dialogue box. Choose the color sample eyedropper tool and click in the main image window to sample your target color. Adjust the fuzziness slider to expand or contract the sample range. Adjust the Hue slider to changed the sampled colors. Click OK to apply the effect.
–directions from The Art of Photoshop on the Books I Like Page.
17. Image > Adjustments > Color Balance While most cameras will have a white balance adjustment to compensate for artificial light sources, the color balance adjustment will take care of off colors too! Sliders for highlight, middle tones, or shadow areas of an image allow you to target your corrections.
Again, it’s good to do this in a separate layer so you can turn the effect off and on as you like: Layers > Duplicate Layer
18. Image > Adjustments > Channel Mixer
For any given task, Photoshop seems to have at least three ways to approach it. When you open the program, a long list of names of the software developers appears. I guess that’s why.
Channel mixer is another way to convert to b/w. I prefer it because the effect can be easily turned on and off by clicking the eye to the left of its layer. It also has options that allow you to experiment with effects like using photo filters with black and white film: infrared, and various color filters are available. here, I simply checked the option “monochrome.”
And yet again, it’s good to do this in a separate layer so you can turn the effect off and on as you like: Layers > Duplicate Layer. I keep mentioning this, I know! But once you close and image, you can’t take back the changes you’ve made. Save your files with the layers and your options remain open.
19. Blending Modes: These are found in a drop down list above the Layers Palette. If it isn’t open, go to Window > Layers and click. A layer converted to black & white may be blended with a colorized layer to get an interesting effect, increase contrast…play with the various blending modes. It may suggest a color scheme for your painting.
Some blending modes can be pretty extreme! But you can always decrease the effect of a blend with the sliders above the layers. The blending modes Multiply and Screen may be used to darken and lighten images. Duplicate your layer first : Layers > Duplicate Layer and blend the two layers. Adjust the slider to modify the effect as needed.
20. Composite Images: Often I will use figures land forms from one photo and sky from another. Sometimes I’ll make a composite image to better visualize what I’m after. To do this, I usually begin by eliminating the land from the photo I want to use for the sky.
Eliminating parts of the photo you don’t want by selecting and masking them can get quite complicated. See my book list or check out the tutorials on lynda.com for instructions.
I should also tell you that my philosophy of making composited images is to keep them sort of crude and unfinished looking. It’s possible to combine elements so skillfully that it’s nearly impossible to detect. And trying to do that is really interesting. But for my uses in the painting studio, I want just a hint of where the idea is heading.
Sometimes I’ll apply one of the artistic filters to a composite. If you want to be able to turn this effect off and on while you work, Photoshop has a way to do that: filter > convert for smart filters Highlight the background layer of your flattened image to convert the photo into a ‘smart object.’ This also allows you to decrease the effect of the filter and see the original image through it. Smart filters works for the drop down list of effects below the layers palette too.
21. edit>transform>distort Just as a writer will stretch the facts a bit to improve his story, sometimes I will give a photo a little tug…this doesn’t work for every photo, of course.
Remember: To use this tool: double-click the Background layer on your Layers palette to turn the background into a regular layer first.
edit > transform > flip horizontal : It’s important to get the time of day and direction of the sun consistent. Flip the photo horizontally if necessary.
Anybody notice I’ve mentioned two ways to do “flip horizontal?” With the transform tool, you can flip a single layer independently of the others. For example, if you wanted to combine a sky and landscape into a single image but needed to flip the land layer to get the sun hitting the right side of a tree, you could do that without changing the sky layer. Or you might decide the composition works better with one layer reversed.
Part III: Evaluate + Play
1. I often take snapshots of unfinished paintings with my iPhone camera. If you use a smartphone: you’ll find many photo-editing apps, inc a very simple one from PS, that allow you to adjust saturation, dark&light, and also simulate specific camera effects like: the blurred edges and vignetting of the holga plastic lens or a tilt/shift camera effect.
2. Evaluate a work in progress by taking a photograph of it and looking at it on screen. It’s similar to using a reducing glass or viewing the painting from a distance. Smaller views of a painting often help me see where an area isn’t working. Flipping is also useful to evaluate a composition and see where emphasis, or figures or objects, might be placed.
I usually work in close values and decide on where the hardest edges or greatest contrast will be as a painting evolves. Playing with levels or trying out a painted passage (always in a separate layer) is a safe way to experiment…or to take time out and get a little perspective on my next move.
Sometimes it’s helpful to make a print, especially if I need to decide what to write on my frames. I’ll list several possibilities and live with them for awhile.
32. Bridge: I organize photos of completed work by year. It’s useful for:
- record keeping
- noting recurring motifs or themes
- noting progress
- noting changes in palette: I once banished prussian blue and burnt umber because I felt I was becoming too dependent on them. After awhile, I allowed them back…I really had missed the gorgeous semi-transparent green made from mixing these two colors! Sometimes I forget a color and looking back may remind me.
- a way to see a mini exhibition of your work: You may forget work made years ago and decide to revisit a theme…strengths and weakness in your work will emerge.
Copyright 2011 Susan Downing-White
