Photoshop - Perfecting your image, layer by layer
Photography, as an art form is constituted of numerous intricacies. From selecting optimal light conditions, to varying the amount of exposure to even selecting the appropriate lens and filters and yet we find that despite our best efforts, we are usually never completely satisfied with the final outcome. The feeling of “What if” lingers and given the constraints of time and expenses incurred, it re-shooting the entire image, or series of images, as the case may be, is not always a feasible solution. And here’s where editing comes into the picture. Not just limited to digital photography, many conventional photographers edit the imperfections away from their photographs in their dark rooms. And with the advent of time and technology, many new and advanced kinds of software have been developed, amongst which a worthy forerunner is Adobe Photoshop.
Many photographers shy away from using editing software as extensive retouching of the image significantly deteriorates the image quality. But Photoshop effectively nullifies this obstacle as it allows you to touch up the image without burning the image itself. This it does through the use of layers. Layers function in a manner similar to transparencies, which when stacked on top of each other, form the complete image. Each layer consists of different parts of the image, to which you can apply different effects to modify only those parts of the picture which need to be worked on and leaving the rest intact.
Hence, if you have a picture which is overexposed at certain parts, you can focus on building density and modifying the color of that particular layer, until it blends in with the rest of the image. And if your judgment is not wholly accurate at the first go, you can also choose to undo the effects in parts until you reach the phase which is workable and take it from there. This is because, you are undoing, not the overall effect of the image itself, but only of the particular layer or even a section of the layer, thus saving you from investing a lot more time and effort which redoing the entire image would have called for. Here, you can also experiment with the Multiple Undo option which lets you experiment to your hearts content and yet stick with only the changes which are appropriate to your final image.
If you make a complete mess of the image you are working on, don’t panic! Photoshop lets you undo all the changes you have made and redo your image, after having learnt from the experience all this, without an iota of damage to the image quality. You can even pause to analyze the overall appeal of your image, even while you are working on it by simply turning off the visibility of the layer you are working on and then turn it back on, when you are ready to get back to work.
You can custom create your own adjustment layer by making your selection from the New Adjustment Layer Sub-menu which you can find in the main Layer Menu, or click on the Palette Icon which opens up a pop up menu for you to make your selection from. Once you’ve found just the right adjustment layer, you can even preserve your preferences for later images to achieve the same spectacular effect without having to toil for hours over it.
To distinguish between layers, once you have divided your image, you can name each layer with a distinct title which will make it easier for you to switch between layers and avoid confusion. To do this, double click on the layer you wish to rename and enter the title you’ve selected in the name field. Once you click on OK, the new name will be saved, letting you proceed with the other layers. If it helps you focus, you can also hide the other layers and concentrate on only one specific layer at a time. You can do this by clicking on the eye icon beside each of the layers to make them disappear and then click on the icon again to bring them back. This allows you to work on one layer at a time, without being distracted by the other un-worked or reworked layers.
You may also inundate yourself with more layers than you can handle in which case, you can easily deleted the unwanted ones, without disturbing the others that you need. You can even select a combination of layers and merge them together by choosing the Merge layers Option in the Layer Menu. As any Photoshop expert will tell you, if there’s one tool you need to master when you learn Photoshop and make the most of it, it has got to be layers. So wait no further get to work on that image which you’ve always wanted to work on, but didn’t for fear of ruining it you can never tell just what you might unmask!
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