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Post by srmoment on Jan 29, 2021 21:33:08 GMT
Thought I would share a tip I've used in my images for a few years now to add soft light to enhance light already in the image. This tip came from 'Art Beyond the Lens' by Sarah Gardner. This is a wonderful book on working with digital textures. Layer New Layer Mode - Overlay Check box - Fill with overlay-neutral color (50% Grey)  Go the new layer created and change it from overlay to screen. Add a layer mask and fill it with black (probably alt enter if your black color swatch is on top) Call up your gradient tool ('g') Click on the gradient square and choose the second option (foreground to transparent). Change the opacity to 40% (this will vary depending upon how strong you want your lighting to be.) Hit 'x' to change your color swatch so the white is on top and black on the bottom. Now you are ready to add light wherever you want in your image by clicking in the image and making a line with your cursor. I've included an example of one of my images where I added soft light to enhance the lighting already there. Enjoy AND...I would love to see what you can come with too!  |
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Post by hmca on Jan 29, 2021 21:42:38 GMT
Great tip, Pat. I will try it out and post later. Hope others take up your invitation as well.
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Post by jackscrap on Jan 29, 2021 22:29:35 GMT
Thanks Pat, I often use the new layer set to overlay and 50% grey, and then paint in where I think it should be lighter, will have to try changing the mode to screen and experiment with the results.
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Post by hmca on Jan 29, 2021 22:29:48 GMT
I gave this a quick try, Pat. It was of particular interest to me as I attended a class by Denise Love of 2 Lil Owls today on Creative Live. She demonstrated some similar techniques using gradients. I don't think mine is as noticeable as yours but I do like the results and need to try to remember to use this more often.   |
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Post by blackmutt on Jan 30, 2021 0:22:59 GMT
Thank you for this, I will have to give it a try. You know how I love textures.
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Post by srmoment on Jan 30, 2021 2:15:46 GMT
Helen, that is softly beautiful! You can also use a mask to bring back some of the shadows (very subtlety).
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Post by hmca on Jan 30, 2021 2:29:00 GMT
Thanks, Pat. I think it is a lovely technique. I have her book but it's been forgotten on the shelf for years(?). Hopefully we can continue to post to this thread like we do with the Texture and the Day to Night threads. It's nice to see people working on the same technique in one spot. This way we can all inspire each other.
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Post by blackmutt on Jan 30, 2021 2:52:25 GMT
Great idea!
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Post by jackscrap on Jan 30, 2021 4:06:54 GMT
Great results Helen, your image is so lovely
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Post by hmca on Jan 30, 2021 4:28:36 GMT
Thanks, Jacki. Hope you'll join in when you have time.
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Post by jackscrap on Jan 30, 2021 7:59:56 GMT
Well I eventually managed to make some very subtle changes using this gradient method, and I can see how useful it might be with perhaps a better photo. I am having a few teething problems still with my wacom pad and pen, sometimes it just doesn't want to behave like it should, for example when I drew a small gradient line the whole image would change, but that's a problem I will have to work out, though it did eventually behave nicely for me. i.ibb.co/r3ShPVt/daisies.jpg |
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Post by fotofrank on Jan 30, 2021 17:26:20 GMT
Just a note if you are using a blank layer with the Overlay blend mode there is no need to fill it with 50% gray. Painting or using a gradient will have the same effect without the 50% fill. The fill was originally done so you could see where you painted with white of black. If you needed to erase/remove the effect, you had to paint with 50% gray to remove it - without the 50% gray you can just erase.
You do have the option to change the opacity to change the effect, you can also paint with different shades of white or black to achieve different looks. Just remember that painting with 50% gray will have no impact.
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Post by tourerjim on Jan 30, 2021 17:43:42 GMT
Aww Woww I think I can have some fun with this
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Post by srmoment on Jan 30, 2021 18:13:05 GMT
Nice effect Jackie! ...and thanks Frank - good to learn something new every day.
I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with!
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Post by Lillias on Jan 30, 2021 20:50:18 GMT
Had a try at this so this is my first result. Image from morguefile.  |
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