Commercial Photoshop retouching: in the studio

271 Pages·2005·30.19 MB·English

by  Glenn Honiball

Commercial Photoshop Retouching
In the Studio
commphoto.indb 1 8/4/2005 3:45:51 PM
commphoto.indb 2 8/4/2005 3:45:51 PM
Commercial Photoshop Retouching
In the Studio
Glenn Honiball
BEIJING • CAMBRIDGE • FARNHAM • KÖLN • PARIS • SEBASTOPOL • TAIPEI • TOKYO
commphoto.indb 3 8/4/2005 3:45:53 PM
Commercial Photoshop Retouching: In the Studio
by Glenn Honiball
Copyright © 2005 O’Reilly Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
Published by O’Reilly Media, Inc., 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472.
O’Reilly books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. Online editions are also available for
most titles (safari.oreilly.com). For more information, contact our corporate/institutional sales department: 800-998-9938 or
[email protected].
Print History: Editor: Colleen Wheeler
August 2005: First Edition. Production Editor: Philip Dangler
Cover Designer: Mike Kohnke
Interior Designer: David Futato
The O’Reilly logo is a registered trademark of O’Reilly Media, Inc. The Digital
Studio series designations, O’Reilly Digital Studio, Commercial Photoshop
Retouching: In the Studio, the cover images, and related trade dress are trademarks
of O’Reilly Media, Inc.
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their
products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this
book, and O’Reilly Media, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations
have been printed in caps or initial caps. Adobe Photoshop™ is a registered trade-
mark of Adobe Systems Inc. in the United States and other countries. O’Reilly
Media, Inc. is independent of Adobe Systems, Inc.
Cover photos: iStockPhoto.com.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the pub-
lisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages
resulting from the use of the information contained herein.
TM This book uses RepKover™, a durable and flexible lay-flat binding.
0-596-00849-X
[C]
commphoto.indb 4 8/4/2005 3:45:58 PM
Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
1. The Professional Retoucher’s Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Photo Retoucher’s Work Environment 1
The Workflow of a Typical Retouching Job 6
Becoming a Professional Retoucher 11
2. Shadows and Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Imagining the Light That Should Have Been 16
Creating a Simple Shadow 20
Creating Shadows for Complex Objects 29
Retaining an Existing Shadow in a New Background 33
Grounding Objects with Shadows 36
Common Shadow Mistakes 37
Keeping a Shadow Library 41
3. Corrections: Improvements on Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Correction Basics 43
Adding Texture to an Image 50
Neutralizing Images 64
Using the Clone Tool 59
Brightening Images 67
Changing Image Colors 70
4. Something from Nothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Creating Smoke or Steam 81
Creating a Smile 88
Creating Motion from Stillness 89
Extending Backgrounds 102
Shining Things Up 114
v
commphoto.indb 5 8/4/2005 3:45:59 PM
7. Special Color Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Creating Touch Plates 123
Merging Spot Colors into CMYK 132
Converting CMYK to Special Colors 133
Changing a Four-Color Image to Three Colors 136
Adding Trap 140
Changing the Overall Color 147
6. Merging Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Preparing the Pieces: Options for Selecting the Components 155
Preparing the Canvas: Your Position File 172
Putting the Pieces Together 173
7. Low Resolution on a Grand Scale: Making Low Res Look High Res . . . . 181
Understanding the Spec Sheet 182
Assessing the Situation 184
Improving the Existing File to Survive Magnification 187
Dealing with Specific Image Problems 194
8. Preparing Images for Newsprint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Start by Understanding the Process 206
Preparing a CMYK Image for Use in Newsprint 211
Preparing a Color Image for a Black and White Newspaper 230
9. Preparing Images for Use on Packaging Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
The Image You Have Versus the Image You Need 234
The Spec Sheet 235
Preparing a CMYK File 239
Another Option: Creating a Special Color 249
Trapping on Special Packaging 251
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
vi Contents
commphoto.indb 6 8/4/2005 3:45:59 PM
Preface
I retouch photographs for a living. Commercial Photoshop Retouching: In the
Studio is a collection of techniques and advice for using Photoshop to retouch
pictures in a professional environment. Of course, the techniques discussed
can be applied to any image for any purpose, but the specific examples here
are the types of things I might be asked to do for a client on any given day.
It’s my hope that you can use what you learn here in your work at a pre-press
shop, an ad agency, or an in-house design department. Or you can use them
on your own images to really make them stand out from the crowd.
My Assumptions About You
I’m assuming that you want to create professional-looking retouched
images in the most efficient and realistic way. When I say efficient, I mean
that while Photoshop CS2 is a powerful application chock full of fancy
tools, sometimes I find that the easiest and quickest way of getting the job
done is with simple tools, a creative sensibility, and a technique honed in
the trenches of meeting client deadlines. When I say realistic, I mean that
although your images may contain fantastic or unreal subject matter, they
shouldn’t look obviously retouched.
I’m also assuming that you have a general familiarity with Photoshop. You
don’t need to be completely up to speed with CS2, but you need to have a
general idea of how to open files, find the needed tools, initiate basic com-
mands, and use the tools in Photoshop with some comfort and confidence.
You don’t need to have the latest, or even second-most recent version of
Photoshop. While I have discussed a couple of features of CS2 where they
are applicable, in general I am “old school.” And most of the techniques I
use can be done with older versions of Photoshop.
I should also mention that I use a Mac. Just so you know, I actually started off
on a Mainframe computer running a proprietary computer language, then to
a DOS-based PC, Windows, then Unix, and finally Mac. I assume if you use
a PC, you are savvy enough to figure out that you can generally substitute the
Control key for the Apple (Command) key. The key thing I’m trying to teach
this book is the technique, not the specific shortcuts for tools.
vii
commphoto.indb 7 8/4/2005 3:46:00 PM
Contents of This Book
Contents of This Book
NOTE This book is divided into nine chapters, each covering a general category
If you need to get up to speed of client requests. If you have a client who wants you to fix the color of an
with Photoshop, try Deke image, create something that doesn’t currently exist in an image, or prepare
McClelland’s Adobe Photoshop an image for use in a special medium, you should be able to find a chapter
CS2: One on One (O’Reilly).
that helps you do the job. After a brief orientation to the studio of a profes-
You really only need a general
sional retoucher in the first chapter, the next five chapters cover general
familiarity with Photoshop to
types of image manipulation. The last three chapters give special advice on
get started with this book, but
how to prepare images for “unusual” mediums such as billboards, newspa-
if you don’t even have that,
Deke’s book is a great place to pers, and product packaging. Here’s a basic run-down of what the chapters
start. are about:
Chapter 1, The Professional Retoucher’s Studio
Tries to give you a sense of what a day in the retoucher’s professional life
might entail. In this chapter, I’ve sketched out the basic physical envi-
ronment in which I work, the workflow of a typical retouching job, and
some thoughts about becoming a professional retoucher. If you want to
go straight to retouching images, start with Chapter 2.
Chapter 2, Shadows and Light
Discusses the basic category of projects that require manipulation of
light. I’ll give you some techniques for understanding “imaginary”
light sources, creating realistic shadows, and avoiding common shadow
mistakes.
Chapter 3, Corrections: Improvements on Reality
Covers how to make corrections that really improve the power of an
image. We’ll go over some basic correction techniques, discuss add-
ing texture and shape to flat images, and cover some overall color
corrections.
Chapter 4, Something from Nothing
Helps you understand how to approach those jobs in which you or your
client wants to put something in the image that isn’t currently there.
This might mean adding steam to a cup of coffee, adding motion to a
sports car, or adding shine to a previously dull object.
Chapter 5, Special Color Requests
Discusses how to use special colors and manipulate colors to get the
output you or your client are seeking. Here, we’ll go over creating touch
plates, converting files in and out of CMYK color profiles, and chang-
ing the overall color of an image entirely.
Chapter 6, Merging Images
Goes over how to create realistic, if sometimes fantastic, compositions.
We’ll discuss the basic techniques of properly selecting the components
of your composition, how to prepare your “canvas,” and how to put the
pieces together so that the “seams” don’t show.
viii Commercial Photoshop Retouching: In the Studio
commphoto.indb 8 8/4/2005 3:46:00 PM
Conventions Used in This Book
Chapter 7, Low Resolution on a Grand Scale
Covers the typical commercial retouching request of taking an image
intended for a magazine or brochure and making it usable at poster or
even billboard size. I’ll go over how to interpret a spec sheet for this
kind of job, how to assess potential problem areas, and how to improve
the file so that it survives magnification.
Chapter 8, Preparing Images for Newsprint
Discusses the particular problems and techniques for avoiding those
problems when your image’s final destination is the local newspaper.
We’ll start by getting an overall understanding of the particular needs
of images heading for newsprint, then follow with specific instructions
for preparing color and black and white images.
Chapter 9, Preparing Images for Use on Packaging Materials NOTE
Considers the particular retouching challenges and Photoshop tools There are also plenty of notes
that can help you prepare an image intended for industrial packaging. and sidebars full of my observa-
Here, we’ll go over spec sheets for flexographic presses, how to prepare tions from years of working in
my retouching studio.
the file for best results, and the particular solutions for avoiding pitfalls
in this medium.
Conventions Used in This Book
As I mentioned, this book was written by a Mac user. But that doesn’t
mean that PC users should be confused, because most menu commands in
Photoshop are identical. Menu commands discussed in this book are sepa-
rated by the → symbol; for instance, Image→Adjustments→Curves means
choose the Image menu in Photoshop, then click on Adjustments, and then
Curves.
Plain text
Indicates menu titles, menu options, menu buttons, and keyboard
accelerators (such as Alt and Ctrl).
Italic
Indicates new terms, URLs, email addresses, filenames, file extensions,
and pathnames.
Comments and Questions
Please address comments and questions concerning this book to the
publisher:
O’Reilly Media, Inc.
1005 Gravenstein Highway North
Sebastopol, CA 95472
[phone] (in the United States or Canada)
[phone] (international or local)
[phone] (fax)
Preface ix
commphoto.indb 9 8/4/2005 3:46:01 PM