What's new
By:
Photoshop Gurus Forum

Welcome to Photoshop Gurus forum. Register a free account today to become a member! It's completely free. Once signed in, you'll enjoy an ad-free experience and be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Make a feint area in a picture more noticeable


G

Gemini19

New Member
Messages
3
Likes
0
Hello, I took this picture of a rainbow over my grandparent's house and am trying to get the rainbow to be more vibrant and show up better. Not really sure what the best way to go about it is since just adjusting simple things like the vibrancy levels and such doesn't do much since it is so feint. Any help in making the rainbow stand out more in a natural looking way would be much appreciated.

http://i.imgur.com/UuoaWEZ.jpg
 
Not sure of your skill level with Photoshop and how good you are with masks, but try this anyway: Copy your image to a new layer (you'll now have two identical layers) and then change the layer blend mode of the top layer to Linear Burn. This enhances the rainbow but it also changes the color of the house. Use a layer mask on the top layer to mask-out the house and restore it to it's original colors.
 
Hi Gemini

I agree with Rich that it depends on your skill level with PS.

here are the steps I used

1) Created a copy of the original turned in to Smart Object and then increased contrast, turned down shadows, and increased clarity for a darker and more dramatic background
2) Took the Smart Object mask and masked out the house so it had the original brightness
3) Placed a rainblow I found online as the next higher level. Created a Layer mask painted all black, then painted over the rainbow area of the mask with white. Adjusted the mask by right clicking on it and used "Select and Mask
4) Added a Hue/Sat Layer (and clipped it to the rainbow) and adjusted to the desired rainbow hue and saturation.

Since you wanted to do this yourself, I cut it in half to show you only half of the result so you can give it a try yourself

Hope you find this approach worth considering

John Wheeler

rainbow-faint-adj.jpg
 
This is perfect! Would you just mind linking me the picture of the rainbow you used? I'm having trouble finding one that fits well.
 
Cool thanks. Yeah I was just having trouble finding one with nice colors and that didn't require me to completely retransform it's shape.

Also few other noob questions:

1. Where's the option to increase clarity?

2. Since I've only done some basic mask stuff can you expand on the 4th point a bit? Do I just use another copy of the original picture and alter the hue/sat to my liking first? Also what do you mean by clipping it to the rainbow layer?
 
Hi Gemini

Once you have turned the original image into a Smart Object and then apply the Filter > Camera Raw Filter.... it opens an interface that for all practical purposes is Adobe Camera Raw with tons of adjustments possible. It typically opens in the screen with tone adjustment and the screenshot below are the quick extreme settings I used to change the look of your image Obvioulsy you could change the tone and many other settings as you see fit:
ACR-snapshot.jpg

As far as Hue Saturation adjustment Layers, you can apply those wherever you want to make an adjustment. I did not use a Hue Adjustment Layer for the primary image (yet you could if desired), I just used one over the rainbow overlay Layer. Now in my case, I only wanted the Hue/Sat adjustment Layer to modify the rainbow and not change anything the underlying image that is showing through. To have an adjustment Layer only affect the immediate lower level only (i.e the Rainbow), you select the Hue/Sat Layer and then use Layer > Create Clipping Mask You will notice that the Layer will indent showing that is tied to the Layer below only. So it is a big fancy name yet it is just a setting to tell PS to only apply this adjustment Layer to the Layer below and not anything else that may show through from a Layer lower in the stack.

Hope that helps

John Wheeler
 
Back
Top