Art Of Photography

Photography, as an art form is constituted of numerous intricacies. From selecting optimal light conditions, to varying the amount of exposure to even selecting the appropriate lens and filters and yet we find that despite our best efforts, we are usually never completely satisfied with the final outcome. The feeling of “What if” lingers and given the constraints of time and expenses incurred, it re-shooting the entire image, or series of images, as the case may be, is not always a feasible solution. And here’s where editing comes into the picture. Not just limited to digital photography, many conventional photographers edit the imperfections away from their photographs in their dark rooms. And with the advent of time and technology, many new and advanced kinds of software have been developed, amongst which a worthy forerunner is Adobe Photoshop.

Many a times, editing software does produce the desired effect, but significantly lowers the image quality. As a result, many photographers choose not to experiment with editing software but try the more conventional “darkroom techniques.” With Photoshop, this hurdle is vanquished as you can work on your image without altering the original content itself. And this can be accomplished by using “Layers” which are similar in nature to transparencies, each of which consists of a part of the image. When stacked over each other, these layers collectively form the complete image. Hence, by using layers, you can work on only a particular part of the image to which you can apply your choice of effects while leaving the rest of the photograph unchanged.

This allows you to modify only specific parts of the image, where you can correct overexposure by building density and modifying the color until the anomaly is barely distinguishable. And if the final result is not quite what you imagined it to be, you can undo your effects in parts, stopping just where you want to instead of having to delete all you efforts away and then start right where you began. This is because, when you work with layers, you are not embedding the effects on the complete image, but only modifying the part which appears on the specific layer. The Multiple Undo option lets your imagination break free, as you can toy around as much as you like and stick with only the effects which augment your image.

Adjustment Layers also allow you to undo all the effects that you have applied on your image, and start all over from scratch without compromising on the image quality. You can also view your editing process at every step by turning of the visibility of the layer you are working on to analyze the final outcome and then turn to visibility back on to continue with the process.

Photoshop lets you choose between two alternatives when it comes to creating your personalized layers. You can either start at the Layer Menu and choose an adjustment layer from the New Adjustment layer Sub-Menu or click on the Layer Palette icon which enables you to choose a layer adjustment type from the pop up menu. To save on time and effort in future, you can even save the layer adjustments to apply them on further images in future without having to worry about if you’ll achieve the same results.

Labeling your layers with distinct names is also helpful as you can distinguish between layers and switch to and fro without any confusion. To name the layer you are working on, double click on the Layer, and enter the moniker you’ve chosen in the name field and then click on OK to save your preference. To make your task easier, you can also hide all the other layers except for the one you are working on, while will also help you focus better by clicking on the eye icon next to the layers you’re not using. To bring them back on, click on the eye icon again and proceed to the next layer. This makes your task a lot easier and more organized, thus saving you a lot of time and patience.

If you find yourself flooded with more layers than you can handle, you can delete the ones you don’t need, while keeping the others which you plan to work on just as they are. If you like, you can also merge layers into a single layer by clicking on the layers you want to merge and then choosing the Merge layers option in the Layer Menu. If you plan to master Photoshop, it is vital you learn the finer nuances of layers to make the most of your software as the clich goes, the results will be for all to see!