NOTE: If you read the comment at the bottom of these pages, you will see that someone has just clued me in on an AUTOMATIC way to select all of the highlights in an image. This method, if accurate enough, should prove to be a fantastic leap ahead of the method that is described on these two first pages of tutorial. (10 images per page)
Therefore, look for a third page to this tutorial that shall explain this method of blending bracketed exposures. If there is no third page yet, then either sit tight and check back in a week, or read the first two pages to gain a foundation knowledge of layer masking. (which I still highly recommend)
Of course, you can see the guest's comment for yourself. Try the method: Select > Color Range and then pick "highlights" from the pull-down menu that appears. Good luck!
-Matt-
Therefore, look for a third page to this tutorial that shall explain this method of blending bracketed exposures. If there is no third page yet, then either sit tight and check back in a week, or read the first two pages to gain a foundation knowledge of layer masking. (which I still highly recommend)
Of course, you can see the guest's comment for yourself. Try the method: Select > Color Range and then pick "highlights" from the pull-down menu that appears. Good luck!
-Matt-
Is there anything strange about this photo? Of course not, it's very similar to what your human eye normally sees, every time you go down to the beach to watch the sunset.
But, this is NOT the actual, single picture I took of the sunset...
ISO 200, f/22, 1/1.3 sec
Hey, what happened to the sky? It's blown-out white... Well, I forgot that my digital camera is NOT my eyes. In fact, all cameras can only capture a very narrow range of light in a single exposure, compared to our amazing eyes and brain that automatically adjust to see highlight AND shadows easily...
When you're actually there, your eyes look "into" shadows and see what's in them, and then you look up at the sky and, except for the sun, (Don't stare at the sun!) you can SEE the sky.
But no camera is that good. This photo captures something similar to what my eyes see (although even still probably too dark and contrasty) in the rocks in the foreground. But to make that possible the camera had to "blow out" the sky. The camera just can't handle all the contrast!
Hey, what happened to the sky? It's blown-out white... Well, I forgot that my digital camera is NOT my eyes. In fact, all cameras can only capture a very narrow range of light in a single exposure, compared to our amazing eyes and brain that automatically adjust to see highlight AND shadows easily...
When you're actually there, your eyes look "into" shadows and see what's in them, and then you look up at the sky and, except for the sun, (Don't stare at the sun!) you can SEE the sky.
But no camera is that good. This photo captures something similar to what my eyes see (although even still probably too dark and contrasty) in the rocks in the foreground. But to make that possible the camera had to "blow out" the sky. The camera just can't handle all the contrast!
ISO 200, f/22, 1/10 sec
If I were to go ahead and "meter" my exposure off the bright highlights on the horizon and expose them so that they're closer to how I see them, I cast almost the entire foreground into black shadow...
So then how did I come up with that original image at the top of this page? Simple! I took the 2nd and 3rd two shots, along with this "middle" 4th exposure, and combined them on the computer.
In photoshop, this is a simple process called "layer masking", and in the case of this image it took just a few seconds.
Actually, you can read about this technique in any number of photography magazines. Many people already know that this trick is at least possible, and many have Photoshop on their computer or a similar image editing program with the features to perform this trick.
However, I've never been completely satisfied with any other tutorial's coverage of the actual matter of layer masking. It is a very delicate process. The original sunset shot was easy since the horizon was a straight line. But this photo of a bridge half in strong sunshine and half in deep shade is obviously going to be a very tricky process. Trust me; nine times out of ten I can spot a "merge" instantly. So read on to see just how I mask layers smoothly so that they look as natural as possible, even something this hard!
However, I've never been completely satisfied with any other tutorial's coverage of the actual matter of layer masking. It is a very delicate process. The original sunset shot was easy since the horizon was a straight line. But this photo of a bridge half in strong sunshine and half in deep shade is obviously going to be a very tricky process. Trust me; nine times out of ten I can spot a "merge" instantly. So read on to see just how I mask layers smoothly so that they look as natural as possible, even something this hard!
First, start with both images open. For one of the images, use Select All and then use Copy to copy the image. Copy is in Edit > Copy or you can just hit Ctrl-C if you have a PC. (And of course for Select All, you could have hit Ctrl-A)
Here I've copied the darker, higlight-preserving exposure.
Close the image you just copied, and the other image will automatically become the one you're working on. Simply hit paste, (no, closing the copied image did not remove it from your clipboard! How convenient!) ...and the image will show up on top of the other one. (Ctrl-V) They are independent of each other, and you can always see what's "underneath" by clicking the little eye next to each layer...
Next, click the indicated button down at the bottom of the layers window. (You do have your layers window open, don't you? If not, open it by going into Window > Layers...)
Now, just like in the "Partial B&W" tutorial, I select a paint brush and simply paint black on the white mask.
For layer masks, white means that the mask is "see-thru", and is not affecting the layer it is attached to. Black means that you have masked the layer it is attached to, thus revealing the layer underneath.
Here, the dark, highlight-preserving layer is on top and I'm masking that layer in the shadow areas so that I can see the brighter, shadow-detail exposure that is underneath.
Now, just like in the "Partial B&W" tutorial, I select a paint brush and simply paint black on the white mask.
For layer masks, white means that the mask is "see-thru", and is not affecting the layer it is attached to. Black means that you have masked the layer it is attached to, thus revealing the layer underneath.
Here, the dark, highlight-preserving layer is on top and I'm masking that layer in the shadow areas so that I can see the brighter, shadow-detail exposure that is underneath.
Just to add a little more to this tutorial, I'm going to add another step by doing things "backward": Instead of painting like in the previous screenshot, I'm going to click undo and then INVERT the layer mask so that it turns black. (Ctrl-I) ...If the layer mask is black then I'll have to paint in white, of course.
With the mask inverted, the whole layer is hidden and I see the layer underneath. The layer underneath has the blown highlights, so I paint in white on the above layer to un-mask it and let it show again, thus preserving my highlights.
NOTE: I could have just dragged the bottom layer to the top, masked it white, and achieved the same effect as this. I simply wanted to show you this extra step so that you have more options to pick from.
in this box: