melanie

Melanie Mayne is a writer, hobbyist photographer / graphic designer, and avid gamer. She has a BA in Humanities with a minor in English Writing and has written articles for WebDesign.org, RantGaming, eHow, Search Sciences LLP, and American Diversity Report. Find out more about Melanie by visiting her personal website.

Ultimate Guide To Blending Modes in Photoshop

By Melanie Mayne
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The blending modes feature is one of Photoshop’s most undervalued tools for Photographers. Blending modes can be used to alter the ways in which each layer interacts with the layers below it, allowing for endless possibilities when it comes to setting the right tone or adding artificial lighting.

How to Master Blending Modes in Photoshop

Graphic designers and digital illustrators use blending modes all the time to create interesting lighting effects or textures; however, most digital photographers don’t realize that blending modes can be useful when working with photographs, too. The right combination of blending modes can set a dramatic tone that is otherwise difficult to achieve.

… Continue reading Ultimate Guide To Blending Modes in Photoshop

Color Correction: How to Salvage An Image With Defective Color in 10 Minutes

By Melanie Mayne
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Have you ever taken a photograph of something beautiful only to later find that the resulting image lacks the vivid colors and energy that were present in-person? Fortunately, Photoshop offers a plethora of color correction tools that can help you salvage images with defective color.

before-after-preview

This guide will teach you how to utilize Photoshop’s color correction tools so that you can transform your lifeless photographs to match the beautiful memories inside your head.

… Continue reading Color Correction: How to Salvage An Image With Defective Color in 10 Minutes

Retouching with Cloning Tools: Part 3

By Melanie Mayne
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In Part 1 and Part 2 of the Retouching with Cloning Tools series, you learned what cloning tools are used for and the differences between each tool. In this part of the series, you will follow a step-by-step tutorial to learn how to remove power lines (or other unwanted objects) from an otherwise beautiful photograph.

This particular image contains distracting power lines on the left side of the stylish building, but the photo is oriented in such a way that simply cropping them out would look strange.

… Continue reading Retouching with Cloning Tools: Part 3

Retouching with Cloning Tools: Part 2

By Melanie Mayne
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Welcome back to the Retouching with Cloning Tools series! In Part 1, you learned about how cloning tools are used to retouch and remove imperfections from images.

Retouching with Cloning Tools: Part 2

In this part of the series, you will learn more about the specific differences between each cloning tool, what kind of jobs they work best for, and how to use them. By the end of this article, you’ll be able to pick the right tool for the task!

… Continue reading Retouching with Cloning Tools: Part 2

Retouching with Cloning Tools: Part 1

By Melanie Mayne
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If you look closely at commercial photographs, you will probably notice that they rarely contain random power lines or vehicles in the way of the shot. You’ll probably also notice that the models always have flawless skin, and iconic tourist locations are tourist-free.

Photographers don’t spend all of their time searching for perfect-looking models or visiting deserted cities. Instead, they typically achieve this look by removing the unwanted objects after they have already taken the picture.

… Continue reading Retouching with Cloning Tools: Part 1

How to Digitally Add Shallow Depth of Field

By Melanie Mayne
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One of the easiest and most common techniques that photographers use to make their photos look more interesting and professional is to use a shallow depth of field. Depth of field refers to the distance between the nearest and farthest parts of an image that appear sharp or in focus. When a photo has a shallow depth of field, only a small portion is in focus, while the rest is blurry.

It may seem a bit counter-intuitive that photographers purposefully create mostly-blurred photographs; however the shallow depth of field effect is actually closer to the way we see with our eyes. As you look at this page, for example, only the text is in focus, while everything else in your vision blurry.

Taking photographs that have shallow depth of field usually requires a nice lens, or at least, an expensive camera. However, it is possible to digitally simulate shallow depth of field using Adobe Photoshop.

… Continue reading How to Digitally Add Shallow Depth of Field

How to Make Instagram Filters in Photoshop: Earlybird

By Melanie Mayne
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Cell phone cameras and apps like Instagram have made it possible for anyone to practice and enjoy the art of Photography. The filters that come with Instagram do a great job of altering the mood or tone of photographs. They also add a flare of drama to otherwise boring images.

However, because Instagram filters lack the ability to customize exactly how the images will be altered, using these filters can actually lower the quality of your photographs.

If you want to create photographs with high-quality post-editing, it is much better to use photo-editing software that has more customization features.

This guide will show you how to add really cool Instagram-inspired effects to your photos using Adobe Photoshop so that you can Instagram the professional way. You will also level up your Photoshop skills and pick up some tips and tricks along the way!

… Continue reading How to Make Instagram Filters in Photoshop: Earlybird

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