Tools I Used
- Crop Tool
- Adjustments Panel (Curves, Levels)
- Spot Healing Brush Tool
- Patch Tool
- Clone Stamp Tool
- Smart Sharpen
What I Did
This chapter put an emphasis on basic image corrections, including changing the resolution, image size, cropping and much more. We started out by using the crop tool in order to trim a photograph and scale it down to a nice, proportionate size. In addition to adjusting the height and weight, I was able to discover how the resolution of the image can be altered for a more crisp appearance. Next, we adjusted the color and tone of the photograph through the adjustments panel. By selecting curves, I learned how to change the colors of the entire image and how selecting a certain area of the image would make it the brightest neutral area of the image. Simultaneously, we selected levels in order to tool around with the light and dark areas of the image which adds a sense of atmosphere and mood to the scene of the photograph.
Trying our hand at the spot healing brush tool, I was amazed at how quickly the blemishes and other flaws that appeared in the image could quickly be removed and it was certainly a neat tool to experiment with. The same applied for the patch tool, which can remove elements from the image that were not needed, blending the area in with its surroundings. It almost felt like using a magic wand of sorts. Next was the clone stamp tool where we fixed a section of the image by using pixels from another section of the image, making the photograph feel more condensed and full. Finally we used a sharpening effect known as Smart Sharpen, which utilized blur tools to fine the sharpening as well as adding contrast to the edges of the image and reducing unwanted effects caused by camera motion that occurred when the picture was taken. The most fun for me was being able to use these helpful skills one one of my own images which can be seen below.
Putting the Skills to Use
Before:
After:
