[Leica] PS help needed

[don.dory at gmail.com (Don Dory)]

Douglas,
First, if you are going to go deep into layers, then upgrade to CS2
which supports 16bit files which does allow smoother color
transitions.

Second, once you have made a selection with the magic wand or the
various lasso options you will need to fine tune the selection.  For
quick and dirty I will turn on the quick mask function and then use a
paint brush to extend the selection into the nooks and crannies.  If
you make a mistake and cover too much you just invert the mask and
paint back.  Next, you feather the selection by 2 to 10 pixels to
blend the transition.

Quick mask is at the bottom of your tool bar, in Windows invert is
Control I, and the feather function is under Select>feather.

Also, bear in mind that if in the adjustment layer you have made too
strong a correction, you can bring the opacity of the layer down to
moderate the selection to your taste.

But I agree that Katrina's books are an excellent place to learn. 
Also, make a habit of picking up "Photoshop User" at the newsstand. 
Every issue has some pretty cool techniques.

As to fixing the vignetting on the image posted, I would use a
circular/eliptical gradient in an adjustment layer to bring the edges
up to the center.  You would select an adjustment layer,  Then apply a
levels adjustment to bring the edges to where you want them.  Then
select a gradient, circular or elipse, and adjust the size of the
center and the transition percent to blend out the too hot center.

Don
don.dory@gmail.com

On 8/21/05, Douglas Sharp <douglas.sharp@gmx.de> wrote:
> Hello all,
> I'm trying to get the hang of working in layers and selections. Does any
> one know of a definitive book or website which can tell me how to get
> nice clean transitions from one layer or selection to another?
> I've tried it here, on a small scale I think it looks ok, but when I get
> in close it's as rough as hell between the sky and the rest of the
> shot.I'm using PS Elements 3.0 and selecting with the magic wand and/or
> lasso options.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/New-Old-Pictures/Image5_31_Before
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/New-Old-Pictures/Image5_31_After
> 
> Any kind of help would be more than welcome.
> 
> TIA
>  Douglas
> 
> The shot was taken on the 1st of May in Milan last year , Leica M6 and
> CV 12mm, the film was either old stock or went through too many airport
> x-rays. Hannover twice, Milan twice and Pisa twice, on top of that the
> exposure was screwed up too (mea culpa, mea maxima culpa)
> 
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