Here is a quick technique on how you can add drama on clouds on your photos! It is a widely step to increase contrast to improve the look on your clouds. If you’ve got a lovely set of clouds on your photos then increasing contrast would be the best way of enhancing it further. However, this tutorial I have for you here would allow you to help improve flat-looking and uninteresting sky.

Video: Add drama on those clouds!

Here’s a summary of the steps:

(View the video for full details and explanations)

1. Load you image in Photoshop.
2. Click on the Layer menu-New-Layer.
3. Change the Mode to Overlay.
4. Tick the Fill with Overlay-neutral colour.
5. Click Ok. You will not see any changes on the image yet.
6. Change the blend mode of the gray layer to Normal.
7. Put back the blend mode to Overlay.
8. Select the brush tool, select a black or white foreground.
9. Set the opacity level to a really low level, 5% on this sample.
10. Look for a section on the sky where there is a dark and light side to it.
11. With the black foreground brush to the dark sections of the sky.
12. Switch to a white foreground and lighten the lighter side of the image. These steps will allow us to create a definition that you want to see on the clouds.
13. Using on the keyboard shortcut [X] will allow you to switch between the foreground colours.
14. Toggling the layer on and off will see the difference you have made with the image.
15. You can also add another adjustment layer and use an S-layer to increase the contrast in the sky.

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Today’s tutorial I will share how to correct any colour imbalances on your images before you continue on with the rest of your workflow images. I recommend you also do this technique at the beginning of your workflow. This will make sure that any edits that you do after will be applied to the image you are working on.

Video: Fix Colour Imbalance on your Photos

Here’s a summary of the steps:

(View the video for full details and explanations)

1. Load your image in Photoshop.
2. Add a Curves Adjustment Layer.
3. Under the Curves Adjustment layer properties pull from the middle upwards to brighten the image.
4. Mask the layer by pressing Command(Mac) or Ctrl+I (Windows) on your keyboard. This turns the layer mask black and hides the effect.
5. Click on the Brush tool with white foreground colour.
6. Set the Opacity to 20%.
7. Brush to your image with the mask selected.
8. Add another Curves Adjustment Layer.
9. Under the Curves Adjustment layer properties set it to Red channel.
10. Move the white point slider until it is aligned with the tip of the histogram.
11. Switch to the Green channel.
12. Move the white point slider until it is aligned with the tip of the histogram.
13. Switch to the Blue channel.
14. Move the white point slider a bit further.
15. Once thechannels are adjusted you will be able see changes from muddiness to a vibrant colour on the image.
16. Toggling between the two curves adjustment layer will show you the difference it made on the image.

         An additional/optional step you can do to improve the image would be to:

1. Move the black point slider.
   Open the properties panel of the 2nd Curves layer and adjust the white slider OR move the black slider upwards.Moving the black slider is recommended if your histogram does not quite reach the edge on the left-hand side.
   
2. Use the gray eyedropper tool.
   Select the eyedropper tool and look for anything on the image that is the grayest part. If you click that the curves adjustment layer will change automatically to make that section of the image a proper middle gray.
3. Use Color mode
   If you do not prefer to do the first step and that is to brighten the image. You can opt to change the blend mode of the 2nd curves layer to Color.

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In this video I will show how to enhance the detail in your landscape images and bring attention to those important objects in your frame.

This tutorial will show you two techniques you can use to make the details in  your landscape images pop, which is what most of us want. The first method is increasing the micro contrast which allows us to use the finer or small objects in our images stand out. The second method is applying macro contrast this can be done by adding adjustment layer and improving on the contrast of specific objects on your image.

Video: Make the details in your landscapes POP!

Here’s a summary of the steps:

(View the video for full details and explanations)

Increasing Micro Contrast

1. Load your image in Photoshop.
2. Create a copy of your background layer, do this by dragging the layer downwards to create a copy.
3. Go to Filter, click Other then choose High Pass
4. Under the High Pass box change the value of the radius by moving the slider, in this example preferrably choose a lower value. This depends on the resolution of your camera and the size of the image you are working on.
5. Click Ok,this changes will be applied to the background layer copy.
6. Change the blend mode to Overlay.
7. You will see a whole lot of difference to the image when you zoom in.
8. Add a layer mask to the background copy.
9. Invert the layer mask by pressing Command (Mac) or Ctr+I (Windows) on your keyboard.
10. Grab a white brush.
11. Set the Opacity level to 100%
12. Brush into the layer mask. What we are doing is basically painting this sharpening detail to the image.
13. Continue to do the brushing on your image onto the objects you want to enhance.
14. View the image on full screen to see the effect.

Applying Macro Contrast

1. Add a new Curves Adjustment Layer.
2. Create a darkening effect by pulling the curve downwards.
3. Invert the mask layer by pressing Command (Mac) or Ctr+I (Windows) on your keyboard.
4. Grab a white brush.
5. Brush into the white layer mask.
6. Brush the darkening effect into the dark edges of the rocks as shown on the video . Pick objects on your images that needs to the darkening effect.
7. Change the Opacity Level to 50%
8. Add another Curves Adjustment Layer
   Increase the brightness by pulling the curve upwards.
   Invert the mask layer by pressing Command (Mac) or Ctr+I (Windows) on your keyboard.
   Brush the same white brush,brush into the white or ligter section of the image that we want to pop.

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Today’s tutorial will show how to make that golden hour hazy light effect on your amazing images taken during the daytime.  It’s a fantastic way of making your photos more interesting with the added hazy effect. You can apply this for images that you took during the day where you feel like that it is not making so much of an impact.

Video: Add that hazy light effect!

Here’s a summary of the steps:

(View the video for full details and explanations)

1. Load your image in Photoshop probably a daytime photo.
2. Add a new layer and then grab the brush tool
3. Click on the color picker, in this sample I choose a nice warm yellow light colour.
4. Click on Ok.
5. Go for a really large brush.
6. Change the Opacity level to 30.
7. Draw one big brush stroke to the portion of the image, preferably where the light is shining from on your image.
8. Reduce the opacity to blend the sort of blend the image a little bit.
9. Accentuate the light where the source of the sun is coming from by darkening the other side of the image.
10. To do this add a curves adjustment later, from there you can pull the curve down from the properties window to darken the image.
11. And move the control point up a little bit to remove some contrast in the darkest shadows of the image.
12. Invert the layer mask by pressing Command (Mac) or Ctrl+I (Windows).
13. This hide the effect which we created.
14. Use a white brush to the layer mask to reveal the curves layer.
15. You can go back and tweak the layer mask until the desired look on the image is achieved.
16. At this stage, you can add a Orton effect layer to the image.
17. To this by going to the Select, click All.
18. Go to Edit,click Copy Merge.
19. Go to Edit, click Paste.
20. Go to Filter, click Blur, click Gaussian Blur filter.
21. Set the radius to 15 pixels.
22. Set the layer to Soft Light blend mode.
23. Zoom out to help picture what it would looks like.
24. Since I find that the image is a bit strong I reduced the opacity level.
25. Add one more layer and go back to that light yellow colored brush.
26. Brush to the right side of the image again
27. Change the blend mode of this layer to either soft layer or overlay, just check which one is best for you.
28. Then reduce the opacity level to blend it in a little more.

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We’ve been using the Curves Adjustment Layer but you might have not used this feature that is shown in today’s video tutorial.

Stay tuned as I discuss the Auto features  under the Curves adjustement Layer.

Video: Get more from the Curves Adjustment Layer!

Here’s a summary of the steps:

(View the video for full details and explanations)

1. Load your image in Photoshop.
2. Open the Curves Adjustment Layer, this will open up the Curves adjustment property window.
3. Usually you just change the channel section and make your adjustment from there.
4. But you will also find the Auto feature under the curves layer.
5. Click on the Auto button and  that it will automatically adjust the curves adjustment of your image.
6. OR, Press Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) on your keyboard and then click on the Auto button.
7. You will see the Auto Color Correction Options window.
8. Under this you will see 4 Auto Curves Adjustment Options. Hovering over each of this options will give you a description on how each function.
   Enhance Brightness and Contrast – default option, this provides an S-curve adjusting the contrast of the image.
   Enhance Monochromatic Contrast– enhance the contrast the image without brightening it so much.
   Enhance Per Channel Contrast– aside from enhancing contrast this option this enhances the channel separately based on the information in the channel itself.
   Find Dark and Light Colours– this analyze the image to find the dark and light colour and use this as the shadow and highlight colour.
9. You can also use the Snap Neutral Midtones- adjust the midtone so that colours that are close to neutral are mapped to the target neutral colours.
10. Click on Okay once you attained the desired output.

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