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Rangefinder
Magazine Dream Glow by Eddie Tapp Visualization: vi·su·al·i·za·tion
(n) 2. A clear picture of something created in the mind. 3. A technique whereby one creates a vivid positive mental picture of something such as a desired outcome to a problem, in order to promote a sense of well-being. 4. A technique used to produce an image of an internal organ or other part of the body by using X-rays or other means such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). (From the Encarta® World English Dictionary, © 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.)
Workflow production has become the primary concern now that digital is finding its way into our studios. The event of setting up a color-managed workflow along with digital asset management can lead to great success with a digital workflow, but what happens to the creative side of the production—retouching, image enhancements or montages? A potential bottleneck without the aid of expert help develops. Experience is certainly the best teacher in production and we all have to work through the kinks of setting up our own individual workflow procedures. There are a host of techniques for portrait enhancement and retouching that are designed for production including the technique I call the “Back to the Future” portrait skin tone enhancement technique and the “Monte Zucker” soft focus technique (you can find a PDF file regarding these techniques on my website: (www.eddietapp.com), but in visualizing a technique that is very fast and easily adjustable to suit a variety of images, the Dream Glow technique has a lot to offer.
I would recommend that you create an Action to record this technique and, with some experience using it, you can develop the settings (opacity, etc.) that work best for the particular images you may have. A Dream Glow effect is easily created in Photoshop by selecting the red channel, copying and pasting it onto a new Layer. Using Gaussian Blur and Curves gives you the Glowing effect. This technique can reduce the amount of time you might spend on blemish retouching and enhance the image in a new and powerful way.
Use Opacity to refine the effect— 10 percent opacity works great for men and family groups while 25–40 percent works well with women's’ portraits, and up to 75 percent opacity can give you control for a wide variety of looks. Use this technique on portraits, fashion, product and scenic images. The Dream Glow technique allows you to maintain sharpness, yet include a beautiful dream-like glow. Use these step-by-step descriptions to create your own Action in Photoshop for the Dream Glow filter.
First create a new Action Set by selecting “new set” from the Action sub menu. Call this set “Image Enhancements.” Next, create a new Action and call this “Dream Glow 1.” Once you’re recording the action, then follow these steps: In the Channel Window highlight the red channel (1) and then (2) Select ALL. (3) Copy selection into memory >Edit >Copy. (4) Create NEW Layer in the Layer Window. (5) Paste selection onto the New Layer >Edit >Paste (6). On the Glow Layer set opacity to 25 percent (this is variable) and select Luminosity for the blending mode. (7) Blur the Glow Layer using >Filter >Blur >Gaussian Blur. Note: The blur radius will vary depending on desired effect and file size. (8) >Image >Adjustments >Curves Add desired contrast using Curves for additional snap. (9) Create a New Layer Mask on the Dream Glow layer and with the Paint Brush using black paint, paint the eyes, lips and other areas to reveal extra contrast. (10) Stop Recording the Action (11). Finally, set the Opacity of the Glow layer for the desired Dream Glow effect.
Eddie Tapp is an award-winning photographer, lecturer, consultant and author on digital imaging issues and has been actively involved in educating and consulting corporations, studios and agencies in the applications of digital workflow, color management, pre-press and digital photography globally. Visit his web site or contact him by email: www.eddietapp.com etapp@aol.com/. |
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Joe Kennaley from Taylor-Kennaley
Photography, of Beverly, MA (www.taylorkennaley.com) used the Dream
Glow technique on this image
of “Dela.” His
image won the Al Daigle Memorial Hallmark Award for Best Color Portrait
along with the Fuji Masterpiece Award (portrait) after scoring a 90 in
the PPAM Print competition in February, 2003. Joe comments: “Without
using the Dream Glow technique I would never have been able to fix her
skin.” The Dream Glow is designed for a production workflow and
for your creative visualization!