Photoshop Tut #1- Dusty

Note: Choose a high-quality photo. The better the clarity, the easier it will be to edit the photo. You will also have a lot more options as well as a better result. It does not necessarily have to be B&W. It could be colorful, and you can experiment with different textures. I just preferred it black and white.


I chose a personal photo since I don't really wish to take anyone else's work and alter it. I have plenty of stock of my own. 

Numbers with " *** " means that you will have to adjust the brushes/effects to fit YOUR image. 

1.       New Adjustment Layer: Black & White

***2.       Set to specific numbers that highlight your photo best. THIS STEP WILL DEPEND ON YOUR PHOTO. You can be sloppy here.  Most important: to highlight the features, deepen shadows, and brighten. 

                    My case:

a.       Reds: 80

b.      Yellows: 98

c.       Greens: 96

d.      Cyans: 98

e.      Blues: 109

f.        Magentas: 174

3.       Set this layer to Color Burn

4.       New Adjustment Layer: Black & White

5.       Set specific numbers that highlight the features of the photo. In this case-EYES. This will be your black and white cover. Make sure you like how the B&W layer looks. Play around with the numbers. 

                    

          My case:

a.       Reds: 70

b.      Yellows: 77

c.       Greens: 40

d.      Cyans: 60

e.      Blues: 20

f.        Magentas: 80

6.       Right click on top layer, Merge Visible

9.       From the toolbar choose Burn Tool (looks like a hand) (May be hidden under Dodge Tool or Sponge Tool)

10.   Set  Brush Size: 143 px (you can set it to whatever size necessary)  (Make sure it’s soft edge!)  Range to Midtones, Exposure to 26%

11.   Start shadowy parts of your photo more contoured. My case: cheek bones, eye makeup, sides of nose, eyebrows.

***12.   In the same toolbar, choose Brush Size: 89 Range: Shadows, Exposure: 19%

***13.   Edit the shadows. My case: I needed to make the eyes more cat-like. Hence, lots of shading to create elongated eyesahddow.

***14.   From toolbar, choose Dodge Tool set at (Shaddows, 63%. ALTER TO FIT YOUR PHOTO) and lighten whichever parts of your photo need some attention to them. My case: eyes. I wanted to make them a bit lighter.

15.   New Layer: Paste Texture from here, here, here. ALL CREDIT GOES TO SWIMCHIC.NET FOR THESETEXTURES. For more resources and textures just simply google “scratched Photoshop textures” or  “grainy photoshop textures”

a.       If texture is too small: hit Ctrl T, stretch the texture to fit your image and hit ‘Enter’. Viola!

b.      Choose as many different textures as you like.

16.   Set each layer to Screen at 100%

17.  You can stop here and save, or you can add a bit of color.

18.  IF YOU CHOSE TO ADD COLOR:

a.      New Layer, Fill in color (In my case it was #1f074e), Set  Screen at 30%

19.  Save as jpeg.