In this tutorial I will show you some unique effects to try on your photos. For this tutorial I am using an image from sxc.hu, you can access the photo directly by clicking this link.
First open the picture you would like to use.
Duplicate the layer by pressing Ctrl J or by going to layer then duplicate layer on the menu bar.
Next go to Filter > Other > High Pass . Use a setting of about 0.8 if you are using the sample photo, otherwise the golden rule I use it to make it just enough so that you don't see a lot of colors coming through
Now change the layer mode to overlay, Notice the added sharpness to the edges of the towers.
We are now going to adjust the color of the image by going to Image > Adjustments > Curves. Drag the two points as shown in the image below.
We are now going to adjust the color of the image by going to Image > Adjustments > Levels Drag the two points as shown in the image below.
Now we are going to select all Ctrl + A then press Shift + Ctrl + C to copy the entire image. Now press Ctrl + V to paste the image as the top layer. Change this new layers mode to Overlay and opacity to 23%.
What this does is emphasize the color of the image.
Now we are going to do the same thing we did in the last step press Ctrl + A then press Shift + Ctrl + C to copy the entire image. Now press Ctrl + V to paste the image as the top layer.
Next go to Image > Adjustments > Shadow/Highlight set the Shadow value to about 28% and leave the Highlights value at 0%
This makes the shadows not as overpowering so we can see more defined trees and we can get a bit more detail that is normally to dark to see.
Now to add some Color Balance, click on the _ icon below at the bottom of the layers palette then click on Color Balance... Add the following settings
As you might have noticed the sky is a bit washed out, to fix this we are going to use the color balance technique again. This time however we just want the sky. So go to Select > Color Range then set the fuzziness to about 80, and while the color range window is still open click the sky, and then press ok. You should now see that you have selected the sky.
Click on the _ icon below at the bottom of the layers palette then click on Color Balance... Add the following settings
You are now left with a great looking photo!!
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