How it works: One of the best kept secrets in Adobe Photoshop 7 is the Healing Brush. This is the tool that is directly above the clone tool (it looks like a small band aid). Usually when we try to correct imperfections or discolorations in photographs, we usually work with the clone tool. While the clone tool is a very important and useful tool, sometimes, it's very challenging to match the affected area perfectly. In correcting problems such as facial blemishes, small differences in color and texture is very noticeable. This is where the healing tool shines!
How it works is that you use the healing brush to sample a smooth textured area in the surrounding area just as you would with the clone tool. The difference is that the healing brush also samples of the underlying area of the affected area. When you apply the healing tool to the affected area it smoothes it out the color and the texture, just like magic! The area that you correct is sometimes fixed in one try but often without the trial and error that you face with the clone tool!
Step 01 – Poor Mom had to spend many sleepless nights with her baby!
This photo was chosen because it highlights some of the challenges in photo retouching such as the matching of color and texture in skin tones. An added complication is the low contrast in this photograph. This adds a grayish cast, which makes color matching problematic.
Step 02 – To use the Healing Brush, select the fourth button down on the left column of your toolbox (again, this is a tool that looks like a band-aid).
The areas that we will concentrating on will be the bags under Mom’s eyes, the blemishes on her chin and brow and the laugh lines around her mouth.
Step 03 – With the Healing Brush selected, hold the alt key (option key for Mac user). This invokes the cross-hair icon for you to sample a smooth continuous tone in the surrounding area. After you sampled a “good” area, let go of the alt key and then apply the Healing Brush onto the problem area. The cross-hair icon turns into a circle icon. Don’t worry if the color and texture do not match, when you unclick the mouse, the Healing Brush will sample the underlying color and texture and then recalculate for the smoothest gradations.
Step 04 – Viola, like magic the bags under Mom’s eyes
are gone! So are some of the blemishes around her chin, eyes and brow. The results could have been achieved with the clone tool but would have taken a lot more patience and effort! (I have to admit that I did boost the brightness and contrast using the Levels Tool to add “pop” in this photo. (Right-Click for your bonus Photoshop source files!)
The benefits of movies as a teaching tool are numerous. For example, most Photoshop classroom seminars costs in the neighborhood of $350-450 per session. Plus the time that you have to travel, take time from your job and consume a meal, drink and snack could easily run you $600-$700! In eLearning companies such as VTC.com, a photoshop lesson on CD with video and audio typically cost below $100. That's a savings of $500 for the same material! VTC's Online University is even a better deal is even a better deal because this program shows you not one but many different aspects of Photoshop plus a treasure chest of graphics related tutorials such as Macromedia Dreamweaver, Flash, 3D modeling programs such 3D Studio Max or business applications such as Microsoft Excel! VTC's Online University costs about $40 per month. In today's competitive job market, you need every advantage that you can get. Here are but a few more advantages of online learning is a super business value
- Classrooms learning take time and money, online lessons especially video tutorials teaches you according to your schedule.
- With an online tutorial, you can learn and practice at the same time. Online tutorials allow you to start and stop a lesson at your convenience.
- In fact, eLearning companies such as VTC.com provides the original Photoshop source files for you so that you can follow the instructions step-by-step!
- A video tutorial is always patient with you. You never have to feel embarrassed that you're making the "instructor" repeat herself over and over again.
- A video tutorial often costs a fraction of a real time classroom yet it covers the same material.
- In classroom situations, it's a roll of the dice when it comes to the quality of the instructions. eLearning companies such as VTC.com provide you with instructors who have proven industrial track records and the most up-to-date instructions.
- The advantages of video tutorial over real time classrooms are numerous! Yet these lessons typically cost only a fraction of a real time classroom and the kicker is that it covers the same material!
Posts
