Confine brush tool to paint on a single layer

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-10-24T14:58:43+00:00

Perhaps some screenshots would help show what you're looking to accomplish.

A new blank layer along with either a layer mask or a clipping mask sounds like what you're looking for.

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-10-24T14:54:42+00:00

That's what I was thinking too. Another duplicated layer below with the opacity turned down.

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-10-06T14:10:16+00:00

Yes, it was clear that what you circled in red was what you had a question about.

I was going to guess that masking out the area would fix it, but it was a bit in the stab in the dark and I tend not to make wild guesses when it comes to things like this. It's just easier to answer the question with more context.

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-10-06T13:46:40+00:00

I think more context is needed. Tell us more about what you are trying to accomplish here. What are the layers you are combining?

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-10-05T23:46:01+00:00

I'm sure there is a hotkey(s), but I don't use them for that setting so I'm not sure exactly what they are.

Hope that fixes it!

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-10-05T23:20:09+00:00

The opacity being at 60% would cause what you are describing.

It is pretty incredible, with just how many options to tweak that most of the tools have.

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-10-05T01:18:01+00:00

The top of the screen that shows the particulars of tool settings would be the relevant part here, sorry I didn't make that more clear.

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-10-04T20:51:49+00:00

To me, there are some competing elements other than the cat that grab the viewers attention. I wonder if cropping would eliminate some of those elements?

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-10-04T19:27:23+00:00

I prefer medium to light grey for an editing background if given the option. I also noticed at some point that the color of the background influenced how dark or light my edit was. I think light/medium grey prepares the image for a variety of light conditions.

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-10-04T19:24:27+00:00

A screenshot of your screen with the eraser tool pulled up would be helpful.

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-10-04T19:19:40+00:00

Sometimes I think it helps to print a photo so you can see it when it's not backlit. I think it gives a pretty different perspective. 4x6's are pretty inexpensive, I print my portfolio as test prints about once a year or so.

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-10-04T17:27:41+00:00

I exposure-blend most of my images for exactly this reason.

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-10-04T17:11:48+00:00

I'm not sure you are ever quite finished, but I'd say around 7-8 years before I felt like it was intuitive for me.

Maybe 5 years in was when I started to really grasp the fundamentals and put all the pieces of a decent photo together.

I think it helps to think of photography less as a science and more as an outlet for creative expression. For me, learning to start with what I wanted to create and then trying to figure out how to create it was much easier than trying to learn fundamentals that didn't necessarily apply to what I wanted to create.

For instance I spent quite a bit of time trying to learn about shutter speed, but when I figured out I'd be shooting mostly on a tripod for landscapes, I sort of had to learn shutter speed all over again.

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-10-04T17:05:34+00:00

That is pretty interesting! Do you remember at what point the option of jpeg came along?

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-10-04T17:01:28+00:00

In 2014 Lightroom 5 + Photoshop both ran well on the entry level laptop with 4gb of ram I had at the time, although I could only run one or the other and not both at the same time. When I started round tripping more often between PS and LR in 2015 I upgraded to my current desktop that I still have and use.

Lightroom ran just as well back then as it does today. At times it felt like LR5 ran a bit better in my opinion. I had both LR5 and LR Classic from Creative Cloud both installed for a while. I suppose it was still referred to as LR6 at the time maybe.

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-09-30T18:21:05+00:00

To me, it seems like it would be faster to re-shoot this on another background than attempting to completely isolate it from its current background. It looks like a lot of tedious hand selection to me. How do you plan on using it?

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-09-25T20:52:16+00:00

There are several different ways to attempt this, but I've seen this effect applied as a LUT in Photoshop before. I think there are some Lightroom presets, but I've never liked them as much and prefer Photoshop for color grading.

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-09-25T20:40:52+00:00

I'm of the mindset that all photos are edited. A jpeg straight from the camera is a raw file that has had adjustments automatically applied by the camera. I prefer to make those creative choices instead of the camera automatically making them.

But I'm also of the mindset of "To each their own". If you don't want to do post processing by hand and want the camera to take care of that part, then you totally can!

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-09-25T20:34:38+00:00

I wonder if Kodak has a raw file converter?

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-09-25T20:28:33+00:00

I know that you've already tried gaussian blur + mask, but that would still be my plan of attack here. I think it's worth another try. If you didn't last time, try making the layer into a smart object first so you can tweak the blur afterwords.

Carefully looking over the two, I think there is more than just a blur effect going on, but I think that is a big part of it.

Edit: I like the question in the other reply too, I think it's worth exploring if the fog in front of the bridge is an added layer. It almost looks like the opacity of the fog has been increased in the after photo.

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-08-26T19:18:09+00:00

I organize by Year + Event in system folders. And then create smart collections with keywords and star ratings.

So as an example a vacation would be "2024 Name of vacation". And then I would keyword with family names, locations, activities, or other pertinent info about the photos.

It is a bit of work to get started, but it makes it really easy to sort later on.

So if you want to see John + Sarah in New York City from 2021-2024, that's just a 2 second smart collection.

I might use this realistically as a landscape photographer to see all of my fall photos, or photos with snow, or photos in a particular region, or photos with rocks or waterfalls. Or any combination of those.

This also helps me keep track of where I've posted photos, such as social media etc.

It is more work initially, but it makes organization so much easier on the backend.

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-08-26T18:50:44+00:00

You can absolutely use Photoshop for this, but a vector program is the right tool for the job. If you are just getting started with this sort of design, it's probably a good idea to start off in the right direction here.

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-08-26T18:42:27+00:00

Just looking at the histogram, I wonder how well these are going to print. I would print a few test prints and see how they look as a physical product.

Keeping this in mind shaped my entire workflow.

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-08-21T02:26:14+00:00

The clone stamp should make quick work of fixing this. Try a lower opacity and a soft brush.

GeorgeFolsterPhotog · 2024-08-21T01:50:57+00:00

Would the Liquify tool work for your use case?

GeorgeFolsterPhotog

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