I’m sure I’m not the only one thinking to themselves in this moment in time “I really should have taken up on those outdoor social activity opportunities”. As the reality of self-isolation kicks in, I can’t help reflecting earlier this year where I was outside in a location other than my immediate surrounding streets. One of these moments was the photoshoot I did with Victoria way back in January (which honestly feels like a lifetime ago). So time to hear me ramble about learning the intricacies of Photoshop retouching!
Cool Tones, Warm Tones and Creating a Mood
Creating heightened emotion in an image is easier said than done. Throwing Photoshop into this expectation is like adding a few more balls to juggle. No stress! Easy right? Chances are you’ve probably come across Instagram posts that use this look. A look that evokes warmth, aged, and nostalgia through desaturated colours. Your phone most likely has this handy filter built in!
Credit @haleybrownvisual
Credit @samanthastaynings
Above: Inspirational visual style
Some may consider this visual style overused, but I love it when posts use this in moderation for a visual ‘punch’. It’s understated but injects personality. For a while, I’ve been keen to learn the behind the scenes of these editing techniques. But like every new learning experience in Photoshop the brain is overwhelmed with what steps to take, in what order and usually ending with spitting the dummy in some form or another
The Process
First Step: Desaturating select areas (mostly greens, blues and some yellows) I moved onto slightly adjusting the S curve to bring in that shadow / highlighted dramatic look. I then move onto retouching skin tones to make the subject blend in comfortably with the scenery.
Second Step: GRADIENT FILTERS are used to bring that stylised look, and adding COLOUR BALANCE adjustments for additional contrast in highlights and shadows. At this stage of the process I’m fairly happy with how everything looks, it’s slightly resembling that IG visual style. However, this is the part where I jump into the bottomless pit I like to refer to as BLENDING MODES.
Third Step: Blending Mode’s potential to create is HUGE. Unfortunately, I’ve already droned on too long so I won’t drag this post out any more with the 4+ paragraphs needed to go through every Blending Mode option. In short, Blending Mode can dramatically change the look of an image beyond just colour. The images I’ve posted used a couple or so types of blending modes (Soft Light and Screen) with gradient filters (that adds the noticeable warm look)
I suppose this is where my confidence drops off, yet moving forward I’d love to know what blending modes are ideal to create certain moods or tones. I’ll probably make another post in the future where I play around with blending modes or try to achieve a certain visual style. For the moment though, I’m fairly happy with how these images turned out.
Victoria’s IG @victorialiu1870
