SPLIT FREQUENCY HEALING FOR THE BEST SKIN LOOK IN PORTRAITS

Split Frequency Healing is a technique used in Photoshop to retouch photos without affecting the photo's respective tone or texture.

Healing and cloning both have their advantages and disadvantages. The Healing tool will copy texture from one area and then merges the texture into the color and
luminosity of the destination area. 
The advantage is that you can use it on an empty layer and get natural looking results. 
The disadvantage is that you can’t control the amount of texture or the amount of
merging. 
The Clone tool doesn’t make this distinction and just pastes texture and color into the destination area. 
The advantage is that it can be used on an empty layer blended “darken” or ”lighten”
and limit the effect, getting good looking results. 
The disadvantage is that you can’t “clone” only texture.

Split Frequency splits an image into its visual frequencies using two layers, one to capture texture (High Frequency) and the other for toning and color (Low Frequency). In this way texture can be manipulated without affecting tone and contour and tones and luminosity can be corrected without altering texture.

To split an RGB image into it's low and high frequencies create two copies of the image (Cmd/Ctrl J twice) or (Cmd/Ctrl+Option/Alt +Shift+E to merge layers and then Cmd/Ctrl J twice). Name the top one High and the lower one Low.

Working on the Low layer apply a Gaussian Blur filter to blur to suit but around a setting of 15 is a starter. The RIGHT radius is the one that smooths sufficiently for the look required.

On the High layer go to Image-Apply Image and apply the following settings:-


Settings for 16 bits:

Settings for 8 bits:

Make sure in the box marked Layer it is the layer below named Low. 
Click OK.

The HIGH layer will now look like a High Pass. Set the Blend Mode of the layer to Linear Light. Opacity and Fill should remain at 100%.


Taking the layers together it will look exactly as your
original image. 
The only difference is that your image data is now separated into two frequencies: 
HIGH containing detail and LOW containing shape. 
The layers may be grouped to keep them together.

We can now use the Healing and Clone tools but make sure the Clone Sample mode is set to Current Layer.

What can be done on the HIGH layer? 
Use the Healing brush (hard edge to avoid blurred texture). Always use a bigger brush than the texture to be replaced. Blend texture with texture. Use the Clone brush (usually with soft edges) in normal and both darken and lighten mode, but now, 
only for texture. 
Use the Patch Tool to replace texture. 
Clipping different curves for different effects. 


What can be done on the LOW layer? 
Using the Healing and Cloning tools in the usual way to replace, smooth or contour color and shading. Create a new layer over it and paint in normal mode, on low opacity to even
out tones. 
Create a duplicate of the LOW layer. 
Blur it further to eliminate middle frequencies. 
Mask and paint with white on the mask to reveal the effect where needed. 
This is called “Band Pass” and it has a lot of variations.

The most important part of this technique is that texture is maintained or created whilst toning is created without the two affecting each other. Some experimentation will be necessary to become proficient.

MATCHING SCREEN IMAGE TO PRINT

There are many tutorials and sources of advice on tackling the perennial problem of getting printed images to match the image on the computer screen. In my photography I have probably tried all of the methods, mostly using a combination of Hue and Saturation, Color Balance and Curves layers in the Soft Proof viewing (Duplicate image and then viewing side by side go to View-Proof Setup-Custom and inserting the printer/paper profile to see how the print will look).

Now, in Adobe Photoshop CS5 and CS6 we can take the image and convert the screen profile to the printer/paper profile and I find this works every time without all of the tweaking and tuning that I previously had to do.

How do we do this.  First we should have the basic requirements in place; that is the monitor properly calibrated (I use the Spyder2Express) and have an ICC color profile for the type of printer and paper (I have an Epson R2880 printer and the ICC profiles come with the software for Epson papers or other paper suppliers will provide ICC profiles free of charge, as with Permajet, the other papers I use)

Now take this image.

I want to print to the Epson Premium Glossy Photo paper. If I Soft Proof the image as in these two captions the appearance dulls down. In other words the printer reads the image in accordance with the color profile it uses, which may have different color readings to the workspace used in Photoshop.

You can see that the workspace used is shown in the bottom left corner and is Adobe RGB (1998). We want to convert it to the RGB readings of the printer profile. To do this go to the Eyedropper tool from the menu on the left set it to the Color Sampler tool and a Sample Size of 5x5 in order to pick up a good sample. Now pick up four points by holding down the Shift Key and clicking around the image; pick points that give a spread of contrast and color in the image. We should see the RGB readings for each of these points in the Info box to the right of the screen.

We convert the profile by going to Edit–Convert to Profile and in the dialog box, which comes up, insert the printer/paper profile where it says Device to Simulate.  Other settings are as shown.  Click OK. Note that in the two pictures below the RGB readings have changed, but the image has not, when the Convert to Profile dialog box comes up and is ready for conversion. 

Click OK in the Convert to Profile dialog box and then Print the image in the usual way as shown.

So far this is the best method I have found for matching screen colors and contrast to the print.

BAKEHOUSE HILL PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO

Bakehouse Hill, in Darlington, in the County of Durham, in the north east of England is situated on the north side of the market square. A market was first held in the square in the 10^th Century and more recently held twice weekly until 1994 after which the square was redeveloped to create an open space for large scale events and festivals.

3-5 Bakehouse Hill

The row of buildings which make up Bakehouse Hill take their name from a common bakery located there in the 18^th century where people could bring their pie or loaf to be baked. The Pennyweight pub was the site of the first bakery and derived its name from its early dealings of charging to bake by the weight. In about 1820 the bakery was moved to 3-5 Bakehouse Hill the building at the north east end, known then as the Bakehouse, and where now we have the photography studio on the second floor with Foffanos restaurant on the ground floor. The original ovens still stretch out many metres under the pavement.

Prior to the 18^th Century and before becoming a bakery, the hill was known as Smithie Hill after the blacksmith’s forge located there as well as serving variously as a pillory, gallows and a bull-baiting ring. It is said, although not confirmed, that 3-5 Bakehouse Hill used to house prisoners who had been condemned to be hanged at the gallows located there.

Studio Internal

Darlington has been frequently featured in television and film dramas and 3-5 Bakehouse Hill featured throughout the BBC television series, Harry, starring Michael Elphick. The attic rooms, which have been used as a background in our photography, were used as Harry’s bedsit.

Make Over Station

The Photography Studio, at 3-5 Bakehouse Hill, consists of a main studio with a full white coving with various backgrounds and a make over station, a smaller studio with dressing accommodation, and a kitchen and toilet. It is available for hire (for enquiries click here or phone 07967 729869), and comes with a wide range of flashlights and light modifiers, and full tuition and assistance from professional photographers on the day. Models, make up artists and hair stylists can also be provided. Postproduction tuition is also available.

SILHOUETTES

A SILHOUETTE is defined as an outline that is dark against a much brighter background. It is about form and contrast but the great thing is the shape and structure. When a photographic message can be conveyed through form, a silhouette is second to none.

Silhouettes can be quite dramatic, and can stimulate the viewer’s imagination. This one was taken at a practice session at the Darlington Camera Club. Studio lights were flashed onto a light background, window blinds in fact, and the subject was a member of the club, another photographer.

There is quite a lot to a good silhouette with sharp form to the edges and strong contrast without spill onto the front. So what are the vital elements.

(1) A Very Bright Background to Create Contrast. A bright background is the first step to achieving a stunning silhouette. A great background can be the sky or any surface that is backlit. A photographer can backlight a background using natural light. Any room with a clean, light-coloured wall can be used by lighting it with a flash.  

(2) No On-Camera Flash or light from any source except the light hitting the background. If any light from your flash falls on your subject, it will clearly take away the necessary bright/dark contrast. It’s fine to use a flash to light up the background, but make sure no light reaches your subjects in the foreground. Shut out light from any other source if you can.

(3) Clear and Recognizable Shapes are what make a silhouette a success or a failure. In a silhouette, the key to accentuating shapes is to separate them by creating gaps in the pose where the background can show through as we have here.

(4) Correct Exposure. The exposure settings on your camera must be correctly dialed in for a silhouette. Exposing for the shadows will completely destroy all contrast. Expose for the background with an f/stop giving a large depth of field, such as f/8 or f/16. )In the case of the images here the settings were f22 at 1/125 sec).  That way, all the shapes and elements are in focus. Experiment with your f-stops to see what kinds of results can be achieved.

If any of these properties are missing, the photograph will look as if it were underexposed, it will be greyish in tone, and it will lack form. 

 

PHOTOGRAPHING BIRDS OF PREY

Something different but spent an organised day at the Swinton Park Birds of Prey centre, near Masham in North Yorkshire (set in one of the most beautiful parts of North Yorkshire and the UK).







Sophie Abbott who runs the centre did a great job, along with her mother, in setting up photography opportunities for a few of us from the Richmond (North Yorkshire) Camera Club.

I would thoroughly recommend it for photography shoots or just the experience of working with birds of prey.

It has given me ideas for a fashion shoot, especially as I see that they also do weddings with the birds as participating accessories.