Fotografiranje ptica

Configuring Color Settings in Photoshop 6 & 7

Text Copyright Matt Hagadorn
All rights reserved.

Following are recommended settings for Photoshop’s Color Settings dialog.

1. In Photoshop, select Edit > Color Settings…

2. Under Working Spaces, click the RGB drop-down box and select a working space
(Adobe RGB is a good choice to start with). CMYK and Gray do not matter for RGB
images.
3. Under Color Management Policies, select Preserve Embedded Profiles.
4. For Profile Mismatches, select Ask When Opening and Ask When Pasting
5. For Missing Profiles, select Ask When Opening

Image Editing Workflow

Text Copyright Matt Hagadorn
All rights reserved.

These are the general steps for correcting images and preparing them for output. The
commands for Photoshop are described, but the workflow should be generic enough to
apply to most any image editing application.

1. Scan or capture your image at maximum resolution and open into your image editor
2. Clone out dust and scratches using the rubber stamp or healing brush/patch tools
 3. Adjust tone and color with Levels and/or Curves (Image > Adjust Levels, Image >
Adjust > Curves)
4. Save the image as a TIFF file. Create a duplicate (Image > Duplicate), then close the
original. The original is a full-resolution master that can be repurposed for any
output needs. The rest of your work will be done on the duplicate copy.
5. If the image is intended for the Web, convert it to sRGB (Image > Mode > Convert to
Profile…), otherwise continue with the next step
6. If the image is in 16-bit mode, convert to 8-bit (Image > Mode > 8-Bits/channel)
7. Add any adjustment layers if needed (Layer > New Adjustment Layer)
8. Resample the image to your intended output size (Image > Image Size)
9. Sharpen with Unsharp Mask (Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask)
10. Print (File > Print with Preview…) or save for the Web (File > Save for Web…)

Image Output for the Web

Text and Photography Copyright Matt Hagadorn

All rights reserved.

While most of the discussion on digital imaging centers around scanning, correcting and
printing, preparing images for display on the Web presents its own unique challenges.
Accurate color reproduction is nearly impossible, while JPEG compression conspires to
turn areas of important detail into pixilated blobs. It’s not as bad as it sounds, though, and
with some simple guidelines you’ll be able to produce the best possible images for Web
display.

After I’ve scanned (or captured) and color corrected an image, my normal workflow for
preparing images for the Web can be summed up as follows:

1. Convert to sRGB
2. Resize
3. Sharpen
4. Save as JPEG

I’ll go into each step in more detail below.

Convert to sRGB

Did you ever wonder why images that look perfect in Photoshop appear much less saturated
when viewed in a web browser? If you’re using Adobe RGB, Ekta Space, ProPhoto RGB or
one of the other large-gamut working spaces the reason is simple; the majority of Web
browsers do not implement color management (the exception is Internet Explorer on the
Mac). They display images directly to the screen without any adjustment for the image’s color
space or your monitor. Since your monitor’s color gamut is smaller than these color spaces,
image colors will get compressed to fit within the gamut of your monitor, causing them to
appear less saturated (see Figure 1 below).
Figure 1: The image on the left was saved in Adobe RGB. The image on the right was converted to sRGB before saving. The colors on
the left are being compressed to fit within your monitor’s gamut, producing a desaturated image.

Until more browsers support ICM or ColorSync, there is a way to achieve reasonable color
fidelity on the Web. The trick is to convert your images to sRGB before saving them as
JPEGs. The sRGB color space was developed by Microsoft and Hewlett Packard to
represent the color gamut of an average PC monitor. No one’s monitor truly matches sRGB,
but the vast majority of displays are close enough.

Before preparing an image for the Web, I always make a duplicate (Image > Duplicate) and
then close the master image so that I don’t accidentally save over it. To convert an image
to sRGB in Photoshop, select Image > Mode > Convert to Profile (see Figure 2). Your image’s
current color space will be displayed as the Source Space. Under Destination Space, select
sRGB in the drop-down box. Under Conversion Options, Adobe (ACE) should be selected as
the default color engine. The Intent you choose doesn’t matter because conversions
between working spaces are always done with the Relative Colorimetric intent. Use Black
Point Compensation and Use Dither options should also be checked. Click OK and your
image will be converted from the original color space to sRGB.

Sizing

The next step is to size the image for the Web. Sizing images for different output mediums
can be one of the more confusing aspects of digital imaging. People new to scanning or
printing see numbers like 4,000 DPI, 1,440 DPI , 240 DPI and 72 DPI and wonder what they
all mean. For images on the Web these numbers don’t matter, except when adding text.

DPI, or dots per inch, simply tells a printer how large an image’s physical dimensions should
be. For example, a 240 DPI image that is 3,000 pixels wide by 2,000 pixels high will print
12.5 by 8.3 inches on paper (3,000 / 240 = 12.5). You can make the image smaller or larger
simply by increasing or decreasing the DPI. For example, doubling it to 480 DPI will result in
a print that is half the size. You haven’t done anything to change the number of pixels in the
image or its size on disk. This is called scaling the image.

Web browsers, on the other hand, measure image size only by the number of pixels. When
an image is loaded in a browser, DPI has no meaning. There is a one-to-one correlation
between a pixel (or dot) in the image and a pixel on screen. The physical size in inches
depends on the size and resolution of the viewer’s monitor. A 600x400 pixel image will
display larger on a 17” monitor set to 800x600 than one that is set to 1024x768.

The one instance when DPI matters is when placing text -- such as your name and copyright
-- within your image. Photoshop will display the font size based on DPI. So if you want your
font sizes to appear in Photoshop as they do in your word processor or browser, scale the
image to 72 DPI before adding text. This way, selecting a 12 point font won’t produce
microscopic letters.
To resize your image and scale it to 72 DPI at the same time, select Image > Image Size.
The Image Size dialog will appear (see Figure 3). Make sure Resample Image is checked,
then enter 72 in the Resolution box (it’s important to enter the resolution before the pixel
dimensions). You will see your pixel dimensions change at the same time, but that’s okay.
Next enter the new dimension for width or height under Pixel Dimensions. This will change
the actual number of pixels in the image. Click OK and your image will be resampled
smaller.

Sharpening

The final step before saving the image is sharpening with the Unsharp Mask filter, or USM.
USM can be difficult to learn. However, with small images typically used on the Web it’s
relatively easy. This is the one instance in which a single set of parameters will work well
almost all the time. This is because the noise present in scans or high-ISO digital images is
what makes sharpening difficult, and most of that noise is averaged out when a large image
is resampled smaller for the Web.

Before using the USM filter, make sure your image is zoomed to 100%. Select the Zoom tool
(Z), then right-click the image and select Actual Pixels. Next, select Filter > Sharpen >
Unsharp Mask. The USM dialog will appear, with a small preview box showing a section of
your image and three sliders. Enter the following values:

 Amount: 150%
 Radius: .4
 Threshold: 1

The numbers above should be used as a guideline, not a rule, but they will work well for
most images 400 to 600 pixels in length. If necessary, vary the Amount setting depending
on the image and your tastes.

Saving as a JPEG

The JPEG file format is the undisputed king for saving photographic images for use on the
Web. JPEG can reduce a file size by as much as 10:1 or more without visual loss. We say
visual loss because the JPEG format is lossy, meaning it gets rid of image detail in order to
produce a smaller file size.

JPEG compression works on the premise that the human eye is less sensitive to changes in
color than changes in brightness (luminosity). The compression algorithm splits an image’s
color and brightness information into separate channels, then works on each in 8x8 pixel
blocks. JPEG works very well for smooth color transitions but it stumbles on areas of sharp
color contrast, producing visible defects known as artifacts. The trick is to use a high
enough quality setting so that the artifacts are not visible, but low enough to produce a
reasonable file size for downloading over a modem.

Photoshop offers two methods for saving JPEG images. The first is through the standard
File > Save (or Save As…) dialog. Simply select JPEG in the Format drop-down box, type in a
file name, and click Save. Next you’ll be presented with the JPEG Options dialog (Figure 4),
where you can select the amount of compression and see the resulting file size and
estimated download time. Check the Preview box to see the effects of compression on your
image as you drag the Quality slider to the desired setting. A higher setting produces less
artifacts but larger file sizes. For typical images on the web, it’s not likely you’ll be able to
see the difference between a setting of 5 or 6 and 8 or higher, so opt for the smaller setting.
Under the Format options, select Baseline Optimized (this uses a slightly more efficient
encoding method than “Standard” but might not be compatible with old browsers). Finally,
click OK to save your image.
Extreme JPEG

The second method for saving JPEGs in Photoshop is the Save for Web command (File >
Save for Web…). You may have thought that Save for Web was just a fancy version of the
Save As command, but there’s a bit more to it. For starters, Save for Web does a better job
of compression, even at the same relative quality setting (Save for Web uses a scale of 0-
100% whereas Save As uses 0-12). For example, Figure 5a was saved with the Save As
command at a quality setting of 6 (equivalent to 50%) resulting in a file size of 26K. Figure
5b was saved with Save for Web at a setting of 50% producing a file size of only 14K. There
is no perceptible difference between the two images.

Save for Web also allows you to perform weighted optimizations by using an alpha channel
to vary the compression amounts in an image. (It’s not as difficult as it sounds.) First, make
a rough selection using the Lasso (L) or Quick Mask (Q) around the areas of your image
containing important detail. The selection should not be exact (see Figure 6a). Next, save
the selection to an alpha channel by selecting Select > Save Selection. The Save Selection
dialog appears (Figure 6b). Choose New in the Channel box and type a name for the channel
in the Name box (I called it “JPEG Mask”, but it can be anything). Click OK and the selection
will be saved as an alpha channel. You can remove the active selection by pressing Ctrl-D.

Now open Save for Web (File > Save for Web). Select the 2-Up view in the upper left to
compare your original document in the left pane to the JPEG preview on the right. Under
the Settings box in the upper right, select JPEG High and click the mask button next to the
Quality box (see Figure 6c). The Modify Quality Setting dialog now appears (Figure 6d). In
the Channel drop-down box, select the name of the channel mask you created previously.
Under Quality, slide the white slider to 70 and the black slider to 40 and click OK. This
means that the masked area will have a quality of 70% and the rest of the image will be
40%. Click Save to name your new image and save it to disk. The final image is seen in
Figure 7.

Although it’s a neat trick, weighted optimization can be a lot of work for a little gain. In my
tests with typical photos at 400 to 600 pixels in length, I was only able to save a few
Kbytes. In some cases I managed to increase the file size over standard optimization. It
seems to work best with higher quality settings and, of course, varies from image to image.
Whether or not the extra effort is worth a few saved bytes is up to you.

Note - Illustrations open as separate windows. To view all illustrations on a single page in a
printable format (PDF file), click here.

Digital Imaging - Part 1

Text and Photography Copyright Matt Hagadorn

All rights reserved.

Note - Illustrations open as separate windows. To view illustrations in a printable format

(PDF file), click here.

Achieving good scans, whether destined for the web or print, can be challenging for
photographers new to digital imaging. Years can be spent mastering many new concepts
and techniques, but if you take the time to learn just a few of the basics, you will see a
dramatic improvement in your digital image quality.

In this article -- the first of a three-part series -- I will show you how to use histograms to
optimize tonal range and contrast in your scans, the basics of color correction, and finally,
how to use the Unsharp Mask filter to restore sharpness lost during the scanning process.
The examples given should be applicable to most scanners and all current versions of
Photoshop.
Before you begin scanning or editing digital images, be sure to optimize your work
environment. Dim the lights in the room if possible, and ensure there is no glare on your
computer screen. There should be no bright sources of light within your field of vision.
Adjust the contrast control on your monitor to its maximum, then adjust the brightness
control so that every step of a gray wedge (such as the strip along the bottom of NPN's
image critique pages) is discernable.

Understanding Histograms

A histogram is simply a bar graph representing the number of pixels at each level in an
image (see Figure 1), from black (level 0) on the left of the graph to white (level 255) on the
right. You can look at a histogram and quickly see the overall distribution of tones
contained in your image. If large numbers of pixels are at level 0, you have probably lost
detail in the shadows. If there is a spike at level 255, you have blown out the highlights.
However, every image is different; there is no such thing as a "normal" histogram. An image
of a black cat in a coal mine will not contain data in the midtones or highlights, and a polar
bear in a snow storm will have very little data in the shadows. Do not expect all of your
images to contain an even distribution of pixels.

Optimizing the Scan

To produce an optimum scan, reset all of your scanner's controls to zero, or no adjustment,
especially the generic controls such as brightness, contrast, saturation, color balance and
sharpening. We will use only the histogram tool (this might be called Levels or Black &
White Points in your scanner's software) to optimize the scan. After scanning, we will use
the superior tools in Photoshop to make final adjustments to tone, contrast, color balance
and sharpening.

Insert a slide or negative into your scanner and engage the image preview function.
Scanner software varies among manufacturers, but most offer controls for viewing and
adjusting an image's histogram. In my example image of a sanderling on a beach, the
preview is dark and flat with much of the data concentrated below the middle of the
histogram (see Figure 2). The original slide was photographed in overcast light, but it is
properly exposed and should contain more information in the midtones and highlights. My
goal is to lighten the overall image and spread the histogram further into the highlights.

The mouse pointer in my scanning software functions as a densitometer, so I will move the
mouse over the lightest areas of the preview image to get a reading of the underlying RGB
values. The white, out-of-focus wave in the background reads R=160, G=188, B=230. I want
my whites to be lighter, so I will move the right input slider inward until the highest channel
reads approximately 245 (highlight areas with detail generally should not exceed 245-250).
The slider is now at 240, causing any pixel at level 240 or higher in the input to get
remapped to 255 in the output. The levels in-between will get redistributed to fill the range
of possible tones, increasing contrast, detail and saturation (as pixels move towards 0 and
255, contrast increases). Finally, I will adjust the midtones lighter by moving the middle
slider to the left slightly, shifting more data to the right of middle without affecting the
endpoints. My new highlight values are R=189, G=212, B=246 (see Figure 3). My image
contains an obvious blue cast, but I will leave that to the next step in Photoshop. Once you
have adjusted the histogram to your liking, make the final scan and save the image as a
TIFF file.

Adjusting Color Balance

Inexperienced users naturally assume Photoshop's Color Balance tool is the best method
for color correcting an image. Color Balance has its uses, but is a rather blunt instrument.
Levels and Curves offer far more precise control over the red, green and blue color
channels, and are actually easier to use (we're only going to work with Levels for the
purposes of this article).

The vast majority of images contain shadows and highlights (blacks and whites) that should
be neutral. We will use Photoshop's Levels tool to adjust color balance by following a very
simple principle; if we make the neutral areas neutral, the rest of the colors will fall into
place. In other words, we will find the darkest shadow tone of the image that should be
neutral and make the red, green and blue channels equal at that spot. We will then find the
lightest highlight in the image that should be neutral, and make the red, green and blue
channels equal at that spot. By making your shadows and highlights neutral, you will
eliminate any color cast that has made it's way into your image. (Do not use this technique
for images that should contain a color cast, such as those taken at sunrise or sunset. You
will wipe out the warm colors that you worked so hard to capture.)

Before you begin, select the Eyedropper tool in Photoshop's tool palette, or press I, and set
the Sample Size in the Options bar to 3 by 3 Average (the exact procedure for setting the
sample size may be different in various versions of Photoshop). Open your image, then open
the Levels dialog by selecting Image > Adjust > Levels, or press Ctrl-L. We are going to use
the black and white eyedroppers in the Levels dialog to fix our shadows and highlights.

Move the mouse pointer over the darkest shadow areas in your image while looking at the
RGB readout in Photoshop's Info palette (the image should be zoomed to 100% for the most
accurate reading). In my example image, the sanderling's black feathers read R=17, G=13,
B=16, so my target black point is 13 (the lowest of the three channels). Move the pointer
back to the Levels control and double-click the Black Point eyedropper to display the Color
Picker. Fill in the target number in each of the R, G and B boxes (see Figure 4), and click OK
to close the Color Picker dialog. Move the mouse pointer back to the same spot in your
image where you took your reading, paying close attention to the Info palette again, and
click the mouse button. All three channels in the shadows will now be equal.

We will follow the exact same procedure for the highlights. Move the mouse cursor over
your lightest highlights that contain detail, again paying attention to the Info palette. I don't
want my highlights to blow out to pure white, so I will try to find a spot where the highest
channel is not greater than about 245; any areas with greater values should be considered
spectral highlights. In my sample image, the white wave behind the sanderling reads R=195,
G=226, B=245, so my target level is 245 (the highest of the three channels). Move the mouse
pointer back to the Levels dialog and double-click the White Point eyedropper. Enter the
target number in each of the R, G and B boxes, and click OK to close the Color Picker. Move
the mouse pointer back to the spot you took your reading, again watching the Info palette,
and click the mouse button. The blue cast is now gone from my sample image and the faint
rufus-brown coloring lingering in the sanderling's early-winter plumage has become evident
(see Figure 5).

If the preview's colors look correct, make final adjustments to the black and white input
sliders to adjust contrast. Move the middle input slider left or right to adjust the midtones
lighter or darker if needed. Click OK to apply your changes, or hold the Alt key and click the
Reset button in the Levels dialog to start over.

Sharpening with Unsharp Mask

Unfortunately, all scanners introduce some softness into the image during scanning. We
compensate for this by using the Unsharp Mask filter, or USM. This unusually named filter
works it's magic by increasing the contrast of edges, restoring apparent sharpness to the
image. It will not, however, make an out-of-focus image appear in focus; for that, you still
need to practice good photographic technique!
The amount of sharpening required is dependent on the final image size and output process
and should never be applied during scanning. In my workflow, I scan at my scanner's
maximum optical resolution to create a high-resolution master file for archiving, which can
later be repurposed for the web or print without having to return to the scanner. After I have
adjusted the tone and color balance of the master image in Photoshop, I will save it, make a
duplicate (Image > Duplicate), and close the original. I can then resize the duplicate copy,
apply USM and save it or print it as required.

After your image has been resized as necessary, open the Unsharp Mask dialog (Filters,
Sharpen and Unsharp Mask). The USM dialog contains three sliders: Amount, Radius and
Threshold (see Figure 6). Amount is simply the strength of the sharpening effect that will be
applied to the image. Radius controls the width of the sharpening halo that will be visible
around edges containing contrast. Finally, Threshold specifies the difference in tonal values
of adjacent pixels that must be present before sharpening will be applied to those pixels.
Threshold helps you avoid sharpening areas of texture, such as scanner noise, or what we
perceive as digital grain. The controls seem confusing at first, but with practice you will
come to understand their effect.

There is no formula for sharpening. Each image is unique and will require different settings.
Use the following guidelines as a starting point. Feel free to experiment and develop your
own preferences as you gain experience;

 Set the Amount based on image size. Small images for the web will generally use a
much smaller Amount (approximately 100%) than large images for print (250% or
more).
 Adjust the Radius setting until you can just begin to see the sharpening halo. For
web images, this will be approximately .6 and for print, it might be 1 for an 8x10" or
1.5 for 11x14".
 Begin with a Threshold around 2. If the image looks too grainy, increase Threshold
or decrease Amount.
 Be conservative: a slightly soft image is preferable to one that is over-sharpened
and looks "crinkled."

For my sample web image, I am going to start off with an Amount of 100%, a Radius of .6,
and Threshold of 2. Experience has taught me that these settings work well for relatively
small JPEGs for the screen, and I rarely need to change them. I check the preview before
applying my sharpening, then click OK. The image is now ready to be saved and uploaded to
the Web.

If I were to repurpose my master image for output on an inkjet, the unsharp mask settings
would be much different. This time I have made a copy of my master image and resized it to
11 inches by 8 inches at 240 dpi, which results in a 15 MB file. This is considerably larger
than the JPEG above. For images this size, I will usually start with an Amount of 300%,
Radius of 1 and Threshold of 2. Now I simply start adjusting the sliders, one at a time. I will
adjust Radius first by looking at an area of important detail in my image (always zoom your
image to 100% while sharpening). I slowly adjust the Radius slider up or down until the
sharpening halo becomes just visible (be sure that Preview is checked). The image will lose
some additional sharpness due to inkjet dithering, so I will adjust the Amount so that the
image looks just slightly over-sharpened on screen. (For continuous tone output such as a
LightJet, I would adjust the image to have the proper sharpness on screen.) Finally, if the
smooth, out-of-focus areas of the image have become too grainy, I will increase the
Threshold by a few points, being careful not to wipe out the sharpening in detail areas. I will
apply my sharpening by clicking OK, then will zoom the image to 50% and press Ctrl-Z a few
times to toggle the changes on and off. The reduced view is an approximation of how the
sharpening will look when printed on an inkjet. If I'm happy with the results, I'll go ahead
and print. If not, I'll undo the sharpening by pressing Ctrl-Z, then make more adjustments
with the USM filter.
The Next Steps

This article has only scratched the surface of scanning, color correcting and sharpening.
The techniques presented here are basic, but provide a solid foundation on which to build
more advanced skills. In future articles, I will introduce ICC color management for
achieving consistent color from input to output, software and hardware tools for calibrating
and profiling your monitor, high-bit workflows, and more advanced tone and color correction
with curves.

Digital Imaging Part 2

Introduction to Color Management

Text and Photography Copyright Matt Hagadorn

All rights reserved.

In the first part of this series, we looked at basic techniques for scanning, color correcting
and sharpening digital images. We learned a simple and effective method for neutralizing
color casts, but we weren't concerned with matching the colors of the original slide, or with
making accurate prints. To advance to this next step we need to learn about color
management -- what it is and how it is employed.

What is Color Management?

Scanners, digital cameras, monitors and printers all render color in different ways. A
monitor produces images by modulating the strength of the red, green and blue electron
beams that make its phosphors glow. A typical print, on the other hand, reflects light from a
combination of cyan, magenta, yellow and black pigments, dyes, waxes or toners. The type
of colorants used, choice of paper and the light under which the print is viewed all have an
effect on the colors we see. Because of the limitations of each technology involved, some
of the colors that can be captured by a scanner or camera simply cannot be displayed on a
monitor or reproduced on a printer.

To solve this problem, a group of companies including Apple, Kodak, Adobe and Microsoft
formed the International Color Consortium (ICC) in 1993. The ICC's mission is to promote an
open, cross-platform color management architecture for achieving consistent, predictable
and reliable color throughout digital workflows. ICC color management utilizes a software
engine called the color matching method (CMM, also called the color management module,
or simply the "color engine") and device profiles to match color across input, display and
output. In simpler terms, color management makes what comes out of your printer look like
what you saw on your monitor.

Because the ICC defined an open standard, a lot of the details are left up to the individual
companies that implement color management software. A vendor's specific implementation
of the ICC color management architecture is called a color management system, or CMS.
Microsoft's CMS built into Windows is called ICM, and Apple's is called ColorSync (the
original ICC specification was actually based on ColorSync 2.0). While there are differences
in the details, they both utilize standard ICC device profiles that are compatible across both
systems.

Device Profiles

Each device, such as your scanner, monitor and printer, has its own device-dependent color
space. Even though they all input or output RGB data, the meaning of that data is different
for each device. (We consider inkjet printers to be RGB devices because their drivers
usually accept only RGB data and perform the conversion to CMYK behind the scenes.) A
color model such as RGB specifies an amount of each colorant to produce a color -- for
example, R=210 G=100 B=90 -- but the exact color this recipe of numbers will produce is
 completely dependent on the device that receives them. The
numbers given in the preceding example might produce a salmon-
like color on my monitor, a rusty orange on your monitor, and a
dirty brown on any given printer.

To adjust for these differences, the color behavior of each device

is measured, and a file called an ICC profile is created that
references each device's behavior to a known standard -- the
CIELAB or CIEXYZ color models. For the most part you will never
be concerned with LAB or XYZ. It is enough to understand that
they are mathematical color models that describe how colors look
to a person with normal vision. By referencing each device's color
behavior to these known standards, a CMS can use profiles to
translate the image as it goes from scanner to monitor to printer
and render accurate, predictable color on each device.

Color Spaces

Device-dependent color spaces are specific to a device and are rarely neutral or
perceptually uniform, meaning the tones from black to white are not perceived to be evenly
distributed. These characteristics make them particularly bad choices for editing and
storing images. Therefore, once an image is acquired from an input device such as a
scanner or digital camera, it should be converted to a device- independent color space, such
as sRGB or Adobe RGB (1998). These are neutral, abstract color spaces that define a
gamma, white point, and red, green and blue primaries. In Photoshop we configure our
working space to be one of these standard color spaces or we can choose any other device-
independent color space for which we have a profile installed. Converting your images to a
standard working space disassociates them from the device you used to acquire them.
They can then be edited or displayed on any machine or sent to a lab for custom prints and
still produce accurate color.

Which color space should you choose? Like all things, that depends on the image and how
you captured it. For example, many digital cameras output files with a color gamut similar
to sRGB, so this is usually an acceptable choice. However, if you are scanning
transparencies with a film scanner, color spaces with a wider color gamut such as Adobe
RGB or Ekta Space are more appropriate. Adobe RGB is a fairly large color space and is
becoming a de-facto standard as a result of being included with Photoshop. Ekta Space
(sometimes referred to as JoeRGB), available for free download from
www.profilecentral.com, was created by photographer Joseph Holmes to encompass the
entire color gamut of Ektachrome films and is suitable for Fuji E-6 films as well. (See Figure
1 for a comparison of the gamuts of these three color spaces.)

Monitor Calibration

Now that you've learned the basics of color management, device profiles and color spaces,
the first step towards realizing a color-managed workflow is to calibrate and profile your
monitor. Calibration is the process of setting a device to a known standard. In the case of a
monitor, this simply means setting it to a standard gamma and white point and adjusting
the brightness and contrast to their optimum settings.

Most Windows systems default to a gamma of 2.2. Depending on the features implemented
by your graphics card driver, you may or may not have any way to select a different gamma.
If you are using a Macintosh, your system probably defaults to a gamma of 1.8, which has
been the standard in the publishing and graphic arts industries for many years. Many
experts today agree that a gamma of 2.2 is more perceptually uniform than 1.8 and is
perhaps the better choice. However, the type of system you use will most likely determine
your gamma setting for you.
In addition to selecting a gamma (or at least recording your system default gamma), you
must also choose a white point. The white point is specified in degrees Kelvin, and is a
measure of how warm or cool your monitor's whites will appear. Most monitors today have
selectable white point settings ranging from 5000K to 9500K or higher. Most experts feel
that 6500K is a good choice for matching prints under D50 lighting, perhaps even better
than 5000K which tends to look very warm on-screen. Because the method for selecting a
white point is different for each monitor, you should refer to your documentation. If your
monitor offers 6500K as a choice, I
recommend using it. If not, or you wish to
use 5000K because you feel this is a better
match to your lighting, Photoshop will
automatically compensate for the
differences in your monitor and working
space white points.

Monitor Profiles

Once your monitor has been calibrated to a

standard gamma and white point, it must be
profiled. Profiling is the process of
characterizing your monitor's gamma, white
point and color behavior, and recording
those settings in an ICC profile. ICC-aware
applications such as Photoshop use the
monitor profile to compensate for the
differences between your chosen working
space and your monitor's color space,
rendering the image correctly on-screen.

So how do you actually profile your monitor?

A software utility such as Adobe Gamma, which comes with Photoshop, can lead you
through a visual profiling process, usually by selecting a generic or "canned" profile as a
starting point. This is better than nothing, however no two monitors -- even of the same
model from the same manufacturer -- will ever be the same. The canned profile provided by
your monitor manufacturer is an "ideal" characterization of a monitor at factory specs, but
does not describe your monitor. A monitor's color changes as the phosphors age with use
so any profile created when a monitor was new will not be accurate several months later.

A far more accurate solution is to use profiling software products such as ColorVision
PhotoCal or Monaco EZColor in tandem with a colorimeter (an inexpensive hardware device
that measures emissive color) to measure the exact characteristics of your monitor. (See
figure 2.) The monitor can be measured and reprofiled on a regular basis so that your profile
is always accurate.

The cost of hardware and software bundles for building custom monitor profiles has
become very affordable in the last few years. If you make a living as a photographer (or
hope to) and will be making a serious transition to digital imaging, you can't afford not to
use a hardware-based profiling package.

Input and Output Devices

Just as with monitors, most scanners and inkjet printers come with generic profiles. The
quality of these profiles varies widely among manufacturers and can range from very good
to very mediocre. Creating custom profiles for your scanner and printer, again using
software from the aforementioned companies, will almost always improve the quality and
accuracy of your scans and prints.
 Scanners can be profiled by scanning an
industry-standard color target, called an IT8
target. (See Figure 3.) The scan of the IT8 target
is then analyzed by profiling software,
compared to a pre-measured data file that is
specific to a batch of targets, and a custom
profile is generated. IT8 targets are available
from Kodak, Fuji, Agfa and others in 35mm and
4x5" transparencies and 5x7" reflective prints.
(You don't have to use an IT8 target from the
same manufacturer as the film you are
scanning. For example, profiles made using a
Kodak transparency target will work perfectly
well for scans of Fuji Velvia.)

Printer profiles must be created for each type of paper you will use. Not long ago, expensive
hardware and software was required to create custom printer profiles. However, companies
like ColorVision and Monaco Systems pioneered the use of inexpensive software and
flatbed scanners to measure printed profile targets and build custom printer profiles. The
quality of profiles generated by these software packages are surprisingly good and often a
substantial improvement over a printer manufacturer's generic profiles.

The same companies also offer high-end software that works with spectrophotometers
costing hundreds or thousands of dollars to build the highest quality profiles. However, an
inexpensive alternative is to use remote profiling services available from Chromix or Profile
City. Simply download their custom color target, print it on your printer and paper, and mail
it to them. For $99.00, they will measure the target with their software and a
spectrophotometer and email your custom profile to you, usually within a few days. This is a
very cost-effective alternative if you print with relatively few different papers or do not wish
to get involved with custom profiling yourself and desire very high quality results.

Just the Beginning

I've only scratched the surface of a very deep topic. Color management can seem
bewildering at first and can get even more confusing as you learn more about it. However,
the basic principle is very simple; a color management system uses device profiles to
produce consistent color across all of your input, display and output devices.

In the next article in this series I will show you how to begin to put profiles to work. I'll
discuss the simplest method for making accurate and consistent scans, the requirements
for soft-proofing output in Photoshop 6, and how to make the most accurate inkjet prints
using custom paper profiles. In addition, I'll discuss how to utilize a color-managed
workflow even when you don't have a profile for your input device, as is the case for many
digital cameras. Until then, I recommend you follow the links below for more information on
the profiling products I've mentioned, as well as learn much more detail about how color
management works.

 ColorVision: makes a range of inexpensive software and hardware products for

building high-quality monitor and printer profiles
 Monaco Systems: makers of EZColor, another inexpensive software package for
building monitor, printer and scanner profiles
 Adobe's Print Production Zone Quick Tips: good background articles on how color
management works and why it's needed
 Bruce Fraser's articles at creativepro.com: Bruce Fraser is co-author of Real World
Photoshop and one of the best writers covering the subject of color management

MH-NPN 112
 Digital Imaging Part 3: Accurate Input

Text and Photography Copyright Matt Hagadorn

All rights reserved.

Digital Imaging - Part 1

Digital Imaging - Part 2

Most people feel that the basic principles of ICC color management are not too difficult to
understand. Each device in our imaging workflow produces color differently; color
management corrects for those differences by utilizing profiles that describe the color
behavior of each device. The result is consistent, accurate color as images move from input
to output. However, applying that understanding in the real world - in scanner drivers and
Photoshop’s color settings - leaves people feeling bewildered.

In Digital Imaging Part Two, I introduced some of the basic concepts of ICC color
management and its significance in achieving consistent, accurate color in a digital
imaging workflow. In this month’s article, I’ll show you how to begin putting ICC profiles to
use by examining three ways to achieve accurate image input.

Before Getting Started

One of the minimum requirements for implementing a reliable workflow is to have a

properly calibrated and profiled monitor. Ideally you will use a hardware-based profiling
package, such as Monaco EZColor with MonacoSensor or ColorVision PhotoCal or OptiCal
with the Monitor Spyder. If you do not have a hardware-based package, then the next best
choice is to use Adobe Gamma, which is installed with Photoshop 6 and Photoshop
Elements. Adobe Gamma is a wizard-like applet that will lead you through the process of
creating a monitor profile. The accuracy of profiles built with Adobe Gamma depends
heavily on the profile used as a starting point. Most monitors should come with a generic
ICC profile that you can use for this purpose. If not, you will have to pick one of the
preinstalled profiles that come with Windows or Mac OS that matches your display as
closely as possible.

It is not an absolute requirement to have custom profiles for each of your input devices, but
it certainly helps. Some scanners come with generic profiles that can work reasonably
well. If you own Monaco EZColor or some of the more expensive profiling packages, you can
build custom scanner profiles that usually do a better job than generic profiles (Mac users
have more inexpensive options besides EZColor, such as ProfileCity’s ICC Scan).

Most digital cameras do not implement any kind of color management and are difficult to
profile except under controlled-lighting situations. However, there are a number of profiles
available on the Internet for some of the most popular cameras that work reasonably well,
and a few cameras are now available that offer a choice of standard working spaces for
image output. In the absence of a profile for your input device, you will have a few options
for getting your images into a color-managed state. I’ll delve into that a little further in a
moment.

Before getting started, be sure you have set up your Photoshop working space and the
various options for handling image profiles. With version 6, Adobe consolidated all of
Photoshop’s color settings into a single dialog box, making configuration simpler than
before. To open the Color Settings dialog in Photoshop, select Edit > Color Settings. For the
purpose of this article, I will use Adobe RGB (1998) as my default RGB working space (we’re
not concerned with any of the CMYK, Gray or Spot settings). In addition, I want Photoshop
to prompt me when I open images that do not have an embedded profile or a different
profile than my working space. Rather than check-off all the options individually, I can
select U.S. Prepress Defaults in the Settings drop-box, which has all of the options I want
(Figure 1 on Illustrations Page 1). Click OK to activate the settings.

Input Method 1: Manage Color During the Scan

Before we can do anything with an image we have to get it into the computer, and just as
important, get it into the color management system. The standard workflow most people
are familiar with is to use the scanner’s eyedroppers, levels and curves tools to optimize
color and contrast as much as possible during the pre-scan. If your scanner’s software is
ICC compliant, or at the very least, implements some notion of color management, the
image will be displayed on-screen using your monitor profile to offer an accurate preview.

Once the image is to your liking, the scanner’s software driver converts the image to a
standard working space during the final scan and saves the image as an 8- or 16-bit TIFF. If
your scanner does not embed the working space profile in it’s output, Photoshop will
recognize this when you open your image and prompt you with the Missing Profile dialog.
Simply select Assign Working RGB if your Photoshop working space matches the one you
chose in your scanner’s color management setup and click OK.

Input Method 2: Manage Color After the Scan

The above method works well enough, but most scanner drivers offer small image previews,
a limited choice of color spaces for output and color correction tools that pale in
comparison to Photoshop’s. My preferred method for scanning slides is to output the raw,
high-bit RGB data (“high-bit” is anything greater than 8 bits-per-channel), then apply my
scanner’s ICC profile and convert the image to a standard working space when I open the
image later in Photoshop. This way, I capture the maximum amount of image detail my
scanner is capable of delivering and achieve accurate color while freeing myself to use
Photoshop’s vastly superior tools for performing all tonal and color corrections. I also save
time and reduce the likelihood of damaging my precious film because the scanning process
has been reduced to the absolute minimum (insert a slide and scan). For this to work, your
scanner software should be able to output uncorrected 48-bit TIFF files (most can) and you
must have an ICC profile for your scanner.

My specific workflow is as follows. First, I disable all color management options in my

scanner’s driver. The specific settings will be different for each model, but my scanner’s
Preferences dialog is shown in Figure 2 on Illustrations Page 1. In addition to these
settings, I make no tonal or color corrections before the scan (the Levels and Curves
controls are disabled). Once I have scanned and saved an image, I will open it in Photoshop
(I prefer to use the scanner driver as a stand-alone program rather than as a TWAIN Acquire
module or Photoshop plugin). The image from my scanner does not have a device profile
embedded, so Photoshop’s Missing Profile dialog will appear asking me what to do.

If I choose “Leave as is,” the image will look extremely dark. This is the raw, uncorrected
data from my scanner. Instead, I will select Assign Profile, pick my scanner’s profile from
the drop-down list, and check the box to convert to working RGB (See Figure 3 on
Illustrations Page 1). When I click OK, Photoshop will use my scanner profile as the source
profile, then convert the image to Adobe RGB. The result is a much more useable image,
with good color, tone and contrast (See Figure 4 on Illustrations Page 1).

Once I’ve made final tonal and color corrections, I will save the image, choosing to embed
the Adobe RGB profile. Photoshop won’t prompt me with the Missing Profile dialog the next
time I open the image.

Input Method 3: Unprofiled Device

The above method works extremely well when you have a good input profile for your
scanner, but what about when you’re working with images from a digital camera? Very few
digital cameras today offer color-managed output, and good camera profiles are hard to
come by. Even if you do find a profile for your camera, it’s unlikely it will work well for every
image.

Faced with this situation, you might think that digital cameras just can’t be color managed,
but that’s not the case. There are two ways to get an untagged image into your color-
managed workflow when you have no device profile. You can apply a standard working
space in Photoshop’s Missing Profile dialog and hope it looks good, or you can use a
substitute input profile - your monitor’s profile - before converting to your working space.

You might notice that images from your digital camera look pretty good when previewed
with your camera’s image conversion software or an image browser. Usually this software
is not ICC compliant and simply sends the image data directly to the screen. When you
open an image in Photoshop and apply your working space in the Missing Profile dialog, the
image suddenly has a magenta cast or looks over-saturated or under-saturated. This is
because you have imposed a color space on the image that doesn’t match the camera’s
native color.

An alternative method which I find effective is to apply your monitor profile to the untagged
image when you open it in Photoshop, then convert to your standard working space. (The
conversion is important. Don’t leave your image tagged with your monitor profile.) You are
effectively saying, “I like how the colors looked when viewed in my monitor’s native color
space, so that’s the color definition that I want to use for this image” (See Figure 5 on
Illustrations Page 2).

Figure 6 (Illustrations Page 2) shows a Bonaparte’s gull photographed with a Canon D-30. If
I open the image in Photoshop and apply Adobe RGB without doing any conversion, the blue
sky and the gull’s feet are over-saturated. Applying sRGB instead results in less saturation,
but now the sky has shifted towards magenta. In the third version, I applied my monitor
profile first, then converted to Adobe RGB. Color and saturation are well balanced and much
closer to the scene I remember when I made the photograph. (All of the images have been
converted to sRGB for viewing on the web, but may not look exactly as intended due to the
lack of color management support in most web browsers.)

The downside to this technique is that you are potentially clipping your camera’s color
gamut to that of your monitor. This is not a problem for most consumer digicams and even
high-end digital SLRs output images with a gamut similar to sRGB, which is modeled after
the average monitor. The upside is that you gain consistent and manageable color from your
camera. It won’t work for every image, but it is a viable alternative when one of the
standard working spaces doesn’t fit. An accurate monitor profile is critical to achieve best
results.

Accurate Output

Now that you’ve got your images into a color-managed workflow, you’re ready to make some
prints. In the last article, I said I’d write about soft proofing and how to use output profiles
to make accurate prints. Unfortunately, I’ve run out of space in this issue, but since this is
now a semi-regular column, I promise to cover those topics next time. In the meantime,
please send ideas for digital imaging topics you’d like to see covered to
editor@naturephotographers.net.

Photoshop Shortcuts

Copyright Tim Grey - All rights reserved.

We all know that the mouse was invented to make our work with the computer faster and
more intuitive. The graphical user interface that is mouse driven may have been created
mostly to look cool, but the combination of mouse and graphical interface allow us to
perform tasks much faster than in the days of the command prompt.

Even with the benefits of a mouse, the keyboard is still an important tool for making quick
work of the tasks you need to perform in Photoshop. While the mouse is fast, a quick
keyboard shortcut can be considerably faster.

There was recently a series of posts on the NPN Image Editing Forum about Photoshop
Shortcuts. After reading this article, I recommend that you visit the Image Editing forum
and share some of your own favorite shortcuts.

Windows Versus Macintosh

Yes, I know. “Them’s fightin’ words”. I’m not about to get into a discussion of the relative
merits of these two operating systems (either can be used to produce excellent
photographic prints). However, when talking about keyboard shortcuts there are some
differences between the two. Rather than include both versions every time I mention a
keyboard shortcut, I’ll stick with one throughout this article and give you the translations
up front. Since I’m a Windows user, the keyboard shortcuts here are for Windows. If you’re a
Mac user, simply apply the translations for the keys that are different. When the Control
(Ctrl) key is used on a Windows keyboard shortcut, the equivalent on Macintosh is the
Command key. When the Alt key is referenced, the Mac equivalent is the Option key. That’s
all you need to know in order to translate from one to the other!

Mouse Shortcuts

There are some important shortcuts that utilize the mouse. One of my favorites is for
opening files, although this specific tip only works for Windows users. Most users still
select File > Open from the menu bar to open a file. Those who have learned some basic
keyboard shortcuts know they can use Ctrl+O to quickly access the File Open dialog box.
But my favorite method is to simply double-click on the desktop area, which is the dark gray
background of the main Photoshop window.

Another major shortcut using the mouse is right-clicking. If you’re a Macintosh user with a
single-button mouse, you can use the Control key to get the same results as right-clicking.
However, I would suggest getting a two-button mouse to make the process faster and
easier.

When using a tool from the Tools palette, the right-click option can help you select options
for the specific tool faster. For example, with any of the tools that use a brush (brush tool,
clone stamp, eraser, etc.), right-clicking will bring up the brush selection options directly
where you right-clicked. With the gradient tool, you can select from the available gradients
by right-clicking. Other tools have different options, and I would recommend that you
explore the options available when using a given tool by right-clicking on your image.

Right-clicking on layers in the Layers palette and various other areas of the Photoshop
interface also offer a variety of shortcuts to common tasks. If an action you want to
perform involves several clicks to perform, try out the right-click to see if there is a faster
way.

Navigation

Moving around in your image can be a bit slow using the mouse. The Navigator palette
provides a relatively quick method of zooming and navigating, but I generally prefer to use
some keyboard shortcuts. The beauty of most of these shortcuts is that they’ll work even if
you have a dialog box (such as Levels or Curves) open.

Of course, navigating around your image can be a real hassle if one or more palettes are
blocking the image. If you’re using a multiple monitor setup, this isn’t an issue. But if you
only have one monitor, those palettes can really get in the way. Fortunately, you can quickly
hide them (or bring them back) by pressing the Tab key. Especially if you know the shortcut
keys for the tools you frequently use (see the next section), this can provide a very efficient
way to work, hiding the palettes while working on your image, and bringing them back only
when you actually need to access one of them.

The next step is to be able to quickly and easily zoom in or out and move your view to
different areas of the image. You’ll often find yourself wanting to look at the image at 100%
zoom, or at a size that fits the available desktop area so you can see the full image. You can
zoom to 100% quickly by double-clicking on the Zoom tool on the Tools palette. To fit the
image into the available desktop area, double-click on the Hand tool on the Tools palette or
press Ctrl+0 (zero).

If you want to size the image at any other zoom setting, it is generally faster to use the
keyboard shortcuts. Simply hold the Ctrl key and then press the plus (+) key to zoom in and
the minus (-) key to zoom out.

Once you’ve zoomed in, you’ll often want to look at a different area of the image. The Hand
tool allows you to drag the image around in the image window, so that you can change what
area of the image you’re looking at. For even faster navigation, simply hold the Spacebar
key and then click and drag with the mouse. This will give you the Hand tool no matter what
tool is currently selected.

Tools

Whenever you want to access one of the tools from the Tools palette, the mouse is a
reasonably quick way to point and click to a tool. However, the keyboard shortcuts can
often be faster, especially if you’ve hidden the palettes. Of course, I’m not going to list every
tool here and tell you what the shortcut key is. If you have the “Show Tool Tips” option
turned on the General section of the Preferences dialog box, you can simply move your
mouse pointer over a button on the Tools palette and after a moment the Tool Tip text will
appear. This text will tell you the name of the tool, along with the keyboard shortcut for that
tool in parenthesis.

There are a variety of tools that make use of a brush, and all of these often require that you
change the brush size. I still see many users clicking the brush dropdown on the Options
bar to select a different brush size. Instead, simply press the left square bracket ([) to
reduce the brush size, and the right square bracket (]) to increase the brush size. If you
have the Displays & Cursors preference for Painting Cursors set to Brush Size, the mouse
pointer will show you the size of the brush. You can toggle between a precise and brush size
mouse pointer with the Caps Lock key.

Dialog Boxes

Most mistakes in Photoshop are solved with the History palette, or with the ever-faithful Alt-
Z keystroke. When you’re in a dialog box, such as Levels or Curves, and you find yourself
making a real mess of your image, these options aren’t available to you. At first glance, it
would seem that the only option is to click the Cancel button and start over. However, there
is another option. If you hold the Alt key, the Cancel button will change to Reset. Simply
hold the Alt key and click on the button, and the dialog box will return to the default values.
Keep in mind that if you are using an adjustment layer, this means the values will be reset
to the original default values, and you’ll lose whatever adjustments you had previously
made.

Another really cool shortcut offers help in fine-tuning values during adjustments. For
example, when you are adjusting the sliders in the Color Balance dialog box, it can be a
challenge to find the best setting because the mouse doesn’t afford very fine control for
most users. Fortunately, there’s a shortcut to help you out. Just about any text box in
Photoshop that accepts a number can be incremented or decremented using the arrow keys
on your keyboard. With the text box selected, simply press the up arrow key to increase the
value and the down arrow key to decrease the value. If you hold the Shift key, the number
will increase or decrease by a factor of ten.

But Wait, There’s More

I’ve barely scratched the surface of the shortcuts available to make your work in Photoshop
faster and more efficient, having just highlighted some of my favorites.

A graphic designer by the name of Trevor Morris has put together an excellent cheat sheet
of Photoshop keyboard shortcut keys, available for download from his website. I strongly
recommend that you download this handy reference, and start to learn some shortcuts that
will make your life easier.

There are a huge number of shortcuts in Photoshop, and learning the ones that provide
quick access to the actions you perform most frequently can offer a huge benefit in your
workflow. With all the time you’ll save using shortcuts, you’ll be able to spend more time
taking great pictures!

A Workflow for the Digital Darkroom

Copyright Tim Grey

All rights reserved.

It seems that many photographers find themselves looking at one of their images on a
monitor, wondering where to begin. They know how they want the final image to look like,
but they don’t know what steps to take, and in what order, to help them produce the best
results.

The best workflow for digital images will ensure a logical flow for adjustments to the
image, optimizing quality without any loss of data in the image. I have developed a basic
workflow for digital images, which provides a plan for working through the editing process.
I’ll present the basic workflow in this column, with a more detailed look at some
sophisticated editing techniques in future columns.

These steps are based on the use of Photoshop. However, the basic concepts can be
applied to any image-editing software.

Crop and Rotate

The first step in working on your image is to do a basic crop and rotation. First you’ll do a
rotation in 90-degree increments to correct orientation of scanned images that weren’t
rotated properly in the scanning process, or for digital captures that were captured in the
vertical format.

Once the image is oriented properly, you can do a basic crop. I generally recommend saving
“artistic” cropping for after you’ve worked with the image, so this cropping is just a
cleaning up of the edges. For digital captures this crop isn’t generally necessary, but for
film scans, this is where you’ll crop out any parts of the slide mount that were included in
the scan. Pay particular attention to the corners, as these will often be rounded on slide
mounts, infringing on the image.

Another step involved with this crop and rotation is to rotate the image slightly to correct a
line in your image that should be perfectly horizontal or vertical, but isn’t. In Photoshop, I
use the crop tool to both crop the slide frame out of the image and rotate at the same time.
Simply make your initial crop selection with the crop tool, and then put your mouse outside
the bounding box. You can then click and drag to rotate the bounding box, using a line in the
image that should be horizontal or vertical to find the perfect amount of rotation. You can
even bring one of the outer edges of the bounding box close to a horizontal or vertical line
in the image to help perfectly align the rotation. Once the rotation angle is set, you can pull
the line back out to set the crop area. Double-click inside the box or press Enter to apply
the crop and rotation.

The High Bit Advantage

If the scan or digital capture you are working with is a high-bit image, you won’t be able to
take advantage of duplicate image layers, adjustment layers, and some of the editing
features of your image. However, if you immediately convert the image to 8-bit per channel,
you have eliminated any benefit to having a high-bit image in the first place.

To take advantage of the high-bit image, make your basic tonal and color balance
adjustments directly to the image before converting to 8-bit per channel. I recommend
avoiding adjustments that will result in a loss of detail at this stage. These include major
tonal adjustments or significant increases in saturation. With the high-bit image, you should
make basic tonal adjustments to bring the image as close to a perfect exposure as
possible, and make color balance adjustments. Once you have made these adjustments,
convert the image to 8-bit per channel by selecting Image > Mode > 8 Bits/Channel from the
menu.

Get Insured

As much as possible, I avoid working directly on the image when making adjustments to
preserve the original pixel data. However, with some operations you don’t have a choice. For
that reason, I recommend making a duplicate copy of the image layer. The original image
layer can remain untouched, while any adjustments that change the pixel values of your
image will only apply to the duplicate layer. By doing so, you always have an “insurance
copy” of your original image, and the file you save with all layers intact becomes the
“master” digital image file, containing all the original pixels and all the changes you have
made to perfect the image. It will be a larger file, but it will also serve as a digital master
with all the information you need to make any adjustments you like to the image.

To duplicate the original image layer in Photoshop, simply drag the image layer on the
layers palette to the “Create New Layer” button. If you need to do any destructive changes
to the image, be sure to do it on the duplicate copy, not on the original background layer.

Clean It Up

The clone stamp tool in Photoshop is incredibly helpful for cleaning up dust, scratches, and
other unwanted elements of an image. However, most photographers use the clone stamp
directly on an image layer, which changes those pixels permanently. That may be an
improvement on the original dust spot, but sometimes you create new problems in the
image that you might not notice until later.
I recommend working with the clone stamp on a new empty layer. That way all the pixels
you duplicate will be on a separate layer, rather than the original. The visual result is the
same, but it is easier to undo any changes or fine tune them.

To work with the clone stamp tool on a separate layer, first select the image layer you want
to adjust and create a new layer by clicking on the “Create new layer” button on the layers
palette. This will put the new empty layer directly above the image layer you are adjusting.
Select the clone tool, and be sure that you have your new blank layer selected (paintbrush
icon will be to the left of the thumbnail for that layer in the layers palette).

When working with clone stamp in this way, you need to check the box for “Use All Layers”
on the options bar. This will allow you to duplicate pixels from one layer onto another,
because the resulting pixels will be the composite of all layers in your image. That also
means that you may run into problems with adjustment layers. With “Use All Layers” turned
on when cloning, the affects of any adjustment layers will apply twice to the pixels you
have cloned, but only once to the other pixels in your image.

To avoid this problem, turn off the visibility of any adjustment layers while working with the
clone stamp tool in this manner. That will ensure that you are only duplicating pixels from
your image without having adjustment layers cause compounded adjustments for the
pixels. If the adjustment layers are kept above both the image layer and the cloning layer,
the same adjustments will apply evenly to both layers.

Tonal Adjustments

I strongly recommend that all adjustments to your images be made with adjustment layers.
That way you are applying the changes you want to the image without changing the original
pixel data. This provides incredible flexibility for your images, without the risk of changing
the pixel values.

For tonal adjustments, I start with a Levels adjustment layer. Click the new adjustment
layer button on the layers palette, and select Levels from the list. Set the black point and
white point by sliding the black and white sliders inward as needed. As a general rule, you
will slide each in to the beginning of data on the Levels histogram, setting the darkest pixel
to black and the lightest pixel to white. This will obviously not always be the best
adjustment, but it is a relatively good rule of thumb. Once the black and white points have
been set, you can adjust the overall brightness of the image by sliding the middle tone
slider.

For even greater tonal control, you can use a Curves adjustment layer. More detailed tonal
adjustments, including the use of Curves, will be covered in a future column I’ll write for
NPN.

Color Adjustments

I generally make my color balance adjustments in the Levels control, so that I can do all my
basic tonal and color adjustments in one place. To adjust the color balance with the Levels
control, select each color channel individually and slide the middle tone slider for that
channel. I’ll start with the color channel that requires the largest adjustment, and then go
through each other channel in turn to achieve the perfect color balance.

When deciding what color balance adjustments are necessary, or deciding if you made a
good adjustment, it can be helpful to create a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and
increase the saturation to its highest value. This will shift the colors to neon values, and
make any color cast in the image quite obvious. When you are finished using this
adjustment layer to evaluate your image, you can simply drag it to the trash can on the
layers palette.
Once you have perfected the color balance in your image, you can use a Hue/Saturation
adjustment layer to increase or decrease the saturation. For most images I generally
increase saturation slightly, but generally never more than an increase of 20 points. For
some images I’ll actually reduce the saturation to produce a more subtle appearance.

Advanced Adjustments

Once you have completed your basic adjustments, you can proceed to more sophisticated
changes. These may include non-destructive dodging and burning, masking adjustment
layers, masking multiple image layers, and other changes. I’ll discuss some of these
advanced techniques in future columns.

Save Early and Often!

One of the most important things to include in your digital workflow is saving the image.
How often should you save the image? That depends on how much work you want to repeat
if your computer crashes or the power fails. For most photographers, that isn’t much work,
so I recommend saving after every major adjustment.

Before You Print

I recommend saving the file without sharpening or resizing. These tasks should be
performed as the last step before printing. If you want to save the sharpened version of the
file, be sure to do so on a separate image layer in case you later decide that you applied too
much sharpening.

As for resizing the image, I recommend not saving after a resize. If you reduced the image
size, then you’ll need to interpolate the image later to get back to the original image size. If
you have interpolated the file to a larger size, there will be some loss of sharpness and
quality. Therefore, I always recommend saving the image with the original pixel dimensions
as your “original”. If you want to save the resized version, use the File > Save As option to
save a copy of the resized image.

Just a Start

This basic workflow is just the beginning. In future columns I will include more specific
details on making the best basic adjustments, as well as some advanced techniques for
making the most of your images.

Understanding Resolution

Copyright Tim Grey

All rights reserved.

If you’ve been confused by the issue of resolution in digital imaging, you’re not alone. It can
be a confusing topic, and it seems that manufacturers and software makers are conspiring
to keep you confused. It all comes down to pixels, the individual points of a particular color
that combine to form a complete photographic image. To understand resolution, we need to
understand how those pixels are used, and how information about them is presented. So,
let’s cut through the hype and confusion and gain a better understanding of resolution.

Count versus Density

One of the immediate sources of confusion related to resolution is that it refers to two
different aspects of an image: the number of pixels in the image versus the density of those
pixels. While both are related to some degree, there are important differences.
The pixel count tells us how many pixels are in a given digital image file. That count gives
us an idea of the potential output size, but it doesn’t give us any information about the
quality of the image.

Pixel density, on the other hand, tells us something about the quality of the image. It tells
us how closely the dots are all packed together, which is directly related to the amount of
detail in the final image. However, density alone doesn’t provide any information about the
total output size of the image.

When we combine pixel count with pixel density, we can get a better idea of the overall
quality and dimensions of a particular image file. Then we just need to understand how the
various descriptions of resolution are used, what they mean to photographers, and how to
ensure we are getting the best results from our digital images.

Digital Capture

Digital cameras are an example where resolution is provided as a pixel count rather than
pixel density. Resolution is described in megapixels, with each equaling one million pixels.

With megapixel resolution, you are being told how many pixels your digital camera can
“see”, but you aren’t being told how clear its vision is. You can get an idea of how big a print
you can make, but you really can’t make a judgment on image quality based on the
camera’s resolution number alone.

Translating the megapixel count into potential print size can be a bit tricky. For many
photographers it might make sense to provide, along with the megapixel number, an
indication of what the comparable scan resolution would be. I don’t think too many digital
photographers realize that a six megapixel digital capture is the equivalent in terms of pixel
count to a 35mm slide scanned at about a 2000 dpi film scan. However, this isn’t a fair
comparison. Digital images can be interpolated to a much higher degree than film scans,
and film scans do lose some quality in the scanning process.

So, trying to use existing benchmarks to determine output size proves to be very
challenging. Instead, I find it helpful to use a rule of thumb with each megapixel size
available. For example, I consider three megapixel digital SLR cameras capable of output of
excellent quality up to about 11”x17”. For the six megapixel cameras you can essentially
match the quality of film up to about 16”x24”, with very good prints up to 20”x30” or larger
possible.

Of course, we’re talking here about pixel count versus pixel density. Just because you have
a three megapixel sensor doesn’t mean you can produce excellent 11”x17” prints.
Especially for the “point-and-shoot” digital cameras, there are a variety of factors beyond
resolution that affect image quality. Sensor quality, pixel size, lens quality, in-camera
processing and other factors have a big influence on final image quality. Remember, the
megapixel resolution value tells you about potential output size, not image quality. You’ll
need to test that for yourself (or take someone’s word for it) to determine if a particular
camera can provide the quality you need.

Scanning

For photographers who are either still capturing images on film, or who have file drawers
full of slides, a film scanner provides a bridge to the digital world. Unfortunately, film
scanning offers its own sources of confusion related to resolution. Scanning straddles the
fence of pixel count versus pixel density. A scanner operates at a particular pixel density
(scan resolution) to produce a file with a particular pixel count (pixel dimensions).
Most of the confusion over
film scanning tends to come
from the options provided in
the scanner software. I
generally recommend that
all film scans be done at the
highest optical resolution
supported by the scanner.
This provides a simple
solution to the confusion
over scan resolution, and
also ensures that the digital
image you perfect can be
printed as large as possible
later.

To set the scanner software

to the highest resolution, set
the resolution to the
maximum optical resolution
supported by the scanner,
and set the scale to 100%.
Output resolution and size
will be set later in your
image-editing software.

Preparing to Print

So, you’ve brought an image

into the computer via film
scan or digital capture,
optimized it to perfection,
and now you’re ready to
print. This is where
resolution really starts to
become a problem for many photographers. It seems to be a common misconception that
resolution that describes pixel density is permanent. It isn’t. Think of pixels as individual
units that can be squeezed close together or spread far apart, depending on your needs.
When you are working on an image file in the computer, you are working with the pixels, and
it doesn’t make any difference what the output resolution is. Pixels are pixels.

When it comes time to print, you need to specify how closely you want the pixels packed
together. There are, of course, standards for this. For most photo inkjet printers, the optimal
quality will be achieved by using a file set to 360 dpi output quality. The normal standard is
300 dpi, and you can still get very good results even down to 240 dpi.

To set output resolution in Photoshop, I recommend a two-step approach. To access the

image size option, select Image > Image Size from the menu. The first step is to uncheck
the Resample checkbox and set the document resolution to the desired setting. I
recommend 360 dpi for the best quality. By setting the output resolution with the resample
option disabled, the output size will automatically change to show you the largest possible
output size at the resolution you’ve set, without any interpolation.

The second step is to set the actual output size you want. You may have a 4000 dpi scan of
a 35mm slide that will allow you to produce about an 11”x14” print without interpolation. If
you only want a print to fit on an 8.5”x11” sheet, you’ll need to reduce the size of the image,
throwing away pixels. To do this, simply check the Resample checkbox again, and set the
desired height or width. Be sure the Constrain Proportions checkbox is checked so that the
image won’t be distorted. Then, when you adjust either the height or width, the other will be
adjusted automatically to fit.

Once you have the document resolution and output size, simply click OK and the image will
be resampled. Keep in mind that if you changed the size of the image, pixels will be added
or removed by Photoshop. While this can be done to a reasonably large degree without
losing too much quality, the quality will suffer to at least some degree. For that reason, I
strongly recommend that you save the original image before resizing it. If you want to save
the resized image, select File > Save As, and save it as a separate file.

Resolution Requirements

Printer manufacturers seem intent on confusing you for the sole purpose of trying to
convince you that their printer is the best choice. They tout very high resolution numbers
such as 2880 dpi or even 5760 dpi in an effort to convince you that their printer produces
the highest quality output. This confuses many photographers who have learned that output
is generally done at 300 dpi.

It is important to understand that when we talk about resolution in a photo inkjet printer we
are talking about different dots. The image will produce the optimal output when set to 360
dpi. These dots are the pixels in the image itself. The “other” dots are the tiny droplets of
ink that the printer lays down to produce the image. It takes more than one droplet of ink to
produce each pixel of your image. The smaller those dots, the better the color fidelity and
quality of the final print – in theory.

Based on repeated testing under a variety of situations, I have come to the conclusion that
there is no benefit to printing on a photo inkjet printer at an output quality setting higher
than 1440 dpi. While there are many features that determine which printer is right for you, I
would take any claims of resolution over 1440 dpi for any printer with the proverbial grain of
salt.

The answer is to size your image file to 360 dpi for optimal output quality, and then set the
quality setting of your printer to 1440 dpi. Lower values will likely result in banding, and
higher values won’t provide any visible improvement in quality.

Understanding the Dots

Understanding resolution is a matter of realizing that each digital image file is comprised of
a set number of dots. Understanding how those dots are spread out at the time of creation
and final output makes the concept of resolution easier to understand, and easier to use to
your advantage.

Tim Grey - NPN 019

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