#12 - Photo 101 - Using Luminosity Masks

If you have seen the previous post, you will know that we are working on HDR or DRI images. Now, lets look into Luminosity Masks in Photoshop.

I am sure most of us have stumbled upon countless tutorials online, like Jimmy McIntyre's and Tony Kuyper's tutorials. They are really helpful resources that taught me what I know about Luminosity Masks. For this tutorial, I am using Photoshop CS6, preloaded with Jimmy's Luminosity Masks Actions from his blog. Along the way, I will also be showing you how I recovered the highlights in the Super Trees example that I have used in the previous post.

Before we start, let us understand a bit about actions in Adobe Photoshop. They allow you to perform a set of "actions" (hence the name) automatically. Many people sell their actions, which allows the user to achieve similar, or if not, the same results as the person selling it. We take these actions and apply it to our images, but if you know what is happening behind the scenes, you have the ability to fine tune the final image to the way you want it to be.

Accessing the Actions tab

Luminosity Masks looks at the tone of the image to generate a mask. If you remember from the previous tutorial on Layers and Masking, a mask is something that will reveal the layer when it is white, and conceal the layer when it is dark. Remember that the lighter the layer mask, the more you can see from the layer itself. 

The way Luminosity Masks works is that it will first determine the lightness or darkness (tones) of the entire image, which then is saved as a "channel". The channel tab is like a holder for all the masks that you have where, by default, you will have 4 channels, RGB, Red, Green and Blue, each being the tone maps (lightness/darkness) of the different channels. As mentioned above, I am using Jimmy's Luminosity Masks Actions to generate a series of channel, which varies from Highlights, Midtones to Shadows. Each of the channels, when applied to a Layer, finally becomes what we know as Luminosity Masks.

Default channel as highlighted in blue, the rest are generated by the Luminosity Mask action.

Each time we apply the action, we see that we get 18 different masks. Out of which, 6 are for highlights, 6 for midtones and 6 for shadows. There are 6 different masks because it offers greater flexibility when it comes to choosing the exactly tones that we would like to adjust. Keep this in mind as you choose the correct channel. 

In this case, I want to reveal the blown out highlights

Now finally, this is how we apply the masks. Ctrl + Click on the thumbnail of the channel that you want. After that you will see that there is a selection on the image (aka marching ants on the screen). Also, you are able to combine and subtract the selected area that you want or do not want by using Ctrl + Shift + Click and Ctrl +Alt + Click on other masks respectively (expect more here in future posts) You would want to go back to your Layers tab and click on the layer that a Luminosity Mask is to be used on. Then go to the Menu bar and select Layer >> Layer Mask >> Reveal Selection. 

Ctrl + Click on Brights 4, back to Layers tab, choose layer (Highlights layer to reveal highlights) and reveal the Selection

 Before on the left, After on the right, highlights recovered

It can be as simple as that, and as complex as you can imagine. Use you creativity to find different ways to use these masks. I will continue to update this blog, till then, do drop by Jimmy McIntyre's and Tony Kuyper's website for more advanced tutorials and tips on using masks.

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#11 - Photo 101 - Layers and Masking in Photoshop

In the next few posts, I will be sharing how I create my HDR/DRI* images, like this one found on my Flickr Photostream.

Super Trees at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

To start things off, we need to understand why we take several exposures of the same scene. Bracketing is one way to do so as each exposure will expose each part of the photo correctly. The way I do this is by identifying the different elements of the photograph, which can be as simple as the sky and foreground, or can be more complex, like the highlights (as seen in this case).

So now we have imported the photos and we need to blend them together. There are many softwares out there that can help to merge the different exposures into a HDR image, like HDR Pro in Photoshop and Photomatix, but today we will focus on manual blending, or I would call it Dynamic Range Increase (DRI).

To begin, we open our photos as Layers into Photoshop, in this case, I am using Photoshop CS6. i rename my layers so I know which photo has which part of the image correctly exposed. Here, I have three photos, HIghlights, Sky and Foreground.

Now, we want to insert a layer mask to our Layer. What a layer mask does is to reveal when it is white, cover up when it is black. Varying shades of gray means that it will hide the current layer more when the intensity of the gray increase. Simply, the darker the layer mask, the less you get from the layer, the lighter it is the more of it you will see.

We select the Highlights layer to "reveal" the correctly exposed lights of the Supertrees. Click on the icon with rectangle and a circle inside it. This will give you a layer mask in the Highlights layer.

What has happened is that the Highlight layer is completely revealed as the layer mask is completely white. We only want to reveal the highlights, which are the lights of the trees. We need to change the layer mask to "Black" so their we can reveal the lights in by painting in with "White" with the brush tool. This is done by clicking on the layer mask, and press the Ctrl + I on the Windows (Cmd + I on a Mac) to invert the colour of the layer mask.

 We can now reveal the lights of the left image, on to the properly exposed Sky layer on the right

Now, we take the brush tool and paint onto the layer mask (NOT the image itself). You should notice that the thumbnail has more white paint strokes on it as you reveal the highlights. You can explore with gradients, Luminosity Masks to help you to reveal specific areas in the photo where brushing it in is not as feasible. More information in the following tutorials!

Alt + Click on the thumbnail to reveal the entire layer mask

This is the final result of the layer masking, the unedited Sky Layer on the left and the Sky Layer with the Highlights revealed on the right.

Notice that how the Lights are now properly exposed in the left picture now. Keep adjusting the brush size, opacity of the brush to fine tune the amount to reveal so that the image will come out as natural as possible.

Now that we understand how the layers work, we can look into further details how we can improve our masking to make the transitional areas between the shapes smoother and more natural with luminosity masks in the following tutorials.

*HDR normally refers to an image whereby you will convert a series of the same photos of different exposures (bracketing) into a 32 bit image file which is then tone mapped with a software and you get to control the levels and curves of the final image so that the highlights and shadow areas of the image looks the way you want it to be. DRI, on the other hand, to me at least, is when one takes the different exposures and manually blend them with masks in any photo editing software, like what I have just shown you. 

Both methods are as capable and good to know for the creating images whereby the details are preserved in both the highlights and shadows, but learning either method requires you to understand how the method works, the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

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#8 - Photo 101 - Photography: Shooting

You take out the camera and take aim at the subject. You decide to frame the subject in the upper right corner, obeying the rule of thirds. After deciding on the composition of the photo, you click the shutter release button. "Click!"

We take a variety of subjects, sometimes they are so abstract that we cannot really tell what it is. From street to wildlife, studio portraits to architectural shoots, we will encounter different situations that requires our master control over the camera. Yes, digital cameras these days are pretty much automated, and we do pay quite a lot to get these functions to work as fast and accurately as they can. Just look at our dependency on fast auto focusing, especially sports and wildlife photographers, they require the auto focus driver to work fast and accurate to get that footballer kicking the winning goal or that eagle swooping down towards its prey. 

While our cameras are more then capable in getting the images that we want them to get, that does not mean that they will produce that colour, or that effect that you might what to achieve. The key is to learn how the photograph is captured, and by understanding how the photo is captured, we can then take control over the camera and make it do what we want, and not what it thinks we want.

When preparing for the shot you are going to take, think of the technique that you are using to take the picture. It would influence your choice of ISO, shutter speed and aperture. Then, what are you going to take the photo with? The equipment that you are going to use will affect the image too. Longer telephoto lens will give you the necessary reach to your subject, while a wide angle lens can fit more things into the view. Last but not least, and some argue is the most important component. Creativity. The composition, the lines, textures, patterns. The different perspectives, the way it tells its own story. It very much depends on your "photographer's eye" to make it an art piece or just another "tourist photograph".

As said by Herni Cartier-Bresson,"Photography can fix eternity in a moment," when referring to the photograph "Three Boys at Lake Tanganyika" taken by Martin Munkácsi. Indeed, photography gives us the power to capture the moment, which fleets away ever so quickly.

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#7 - Photo 101 - Photography: Previsualisation

If I were to simplify the entire process of photography, it will have to be in this 4 parts. Neglecting any one of them, to me, is going to hinder your progress in photography. All of them are important. 

Step 1: Previsualisation

Knowing the how the photographs would look like is important step as it will guide you in getting the shots you want. Even when you are just starting off as a newbie, look at 500px or 1x and get some inspiration! Okay okay, don't be discouraged. We all start from somewhere, the examples that I have shown you at those photo sharing websites are of high calibre. But you should end up there one day if you are determined enough to improve your compositional skills, technical handling and upgrade your gear once in a while to open new possibilities. You do not have to look far to find great examples of fantastic shots on Flickr and many other places. 

Long story short, if you are inspired to do a certain shot, try it and make it look as how you have imagined it should have been. Prepare the things that you think you will need to get that picture. It can be as simple as a point and shoot camera to grab fleeting scenes on a street to a highly sophisticated studio set up for a family portrait shoot. Previsualisation will help you prepare for the shots that you will be making and maximising your chances when you are out there in the field. You do not want to be out there shooting when you realised that the battery is flat or you do not have a tripod for long exposure shots.

If you can't achieve it after trying everything you can on the camera, ask yourself if you do some post-processing to help yourself get the results? Sometimes the visual trick is enhanced in the post-processing process. Or is it the limitation of the equipment that you are experiencing. Always wanted to take a close up of that pretty flower or jumping spider? Then the solution might to get that macro lens, if that is too expensive, do consider using close-up filters, extension tubes or bellows, reverse mounting or even cropping in if you have the megapixels. However, with the creativity, you can improvise and made your own tools and equipment to get the images that you want.

Rows of old trees that along the heritage road, Yuan Ching Road, Singapore.

After knowing what you want, the next has to be to take the photograph (obviously). In the next Part, Shooting!

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Photo 101

In this new series, I will share how my photographic journey began. From the ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture, to technical handling skills, creativity and equipment, I will be covering them one by one, giving everyone an idea what to expect when you dive into the world of Photography. 

You will find in this post a list of items that i will be including in this series, look forward to updates in the near future and feel free to ask questions, I will help answer your queries as much as possible.

• Photography, a 4 part process
• Previsualisation
• Shooting
• Reviewing
• Out Processing
• Understanding the Photograph
• ISO
• Shutter Speed
• Aperture
• Getting the Photograph
• Technical Handling
• Creativity
• Equipment
• Process of getting your Photographs
• Pre-Shoot Preparation
• During the Shoot
• After the Shoot
• Types of Photography
• To be Continued

Hope you will find this series useful!

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