That Blue Square Thing

More Photoshop Skills

This is part of the Key Stage 3 Photoshop Workshop. There's so much cool Photoshop stuff that it seems to need at least two pages...

Fading an Image

Faded cyclists photoFading an image from Black and White to Colour is an interesting skills that's easy to get the hang of.

This uses an adjustment layer and then makes use of the Gradient Tool. It's important to think about which direction you want to create the gradient in and how long you want the gradient to be - this takes some trial and error.

It's worth knowing that you can start or finish your gradient tool drag off the actual image. This can produce exactly the effect you're looking for sometimes.

PDF iconFading an Image to Black and White

Image iconCycle race image - right click and save the image

The photo was taken along the Tour of Britain cycle race in 2015. I happened to be in the right part of the country on the right day.

Making a new photo look old

Rigi Bahn train image agedIt's possible, with a little skill, to use layers and filters to make an image look like it's one that was taken many years ago.

This technique adds a sepia tone to an image by using two layers. Sepia is the name given to the brown colour. This was used to make black and white photos last longer in the early days of photography.

PDF iconAgeing a photo

Image iconRigi Bahn train image - right click and save the image

The photo is of a mountain railway in Switzerland. As well as a sepia image, you can also create a faded colour image that I think is similar to the photos I remember from the 1970s.

Using Adjustment Layers

Burano church and housesIts better to make adjustments to images using adjustment layers. This doesn't destroy the original image, which means you can always remove an adjustment layer and go back and start again.

PDF iconUsing Adjustment Layers

Image iconVenice image - right click and save the image

This image needs lots of work. It needs to be straightened and cropped using the Rule of Thirds. You might also need to use the Clone Tool or Spot Healing Brush on parts of the image to improve it as well.

More selective colour options

Venice image with selective colourI was playing around with selective colour, using this image that I took on a very rainy day in Venice back in 2019 - in the days when we were allowed to travel to different countries.

You might want to try out selective colour techniques using it.

The guide is written using the Ducks image as the starting point, but I think this is a better image to use actually. I might re-write the guide at some point.

PDF iconUsing selective colours

Image iconVenice in the rain image - right click and save the image

You can do this with lots of different images. It seems to be done most frequently with red. I guess this is because it's a rare natural colour and tends to be linked with passion and excitement so it's quite a powerful colour.

Other Images

These three images are ones that could be used for a variety of purposes.

Image iconColoured houses in Venice image - right click and save the image

Image iconCricket match image - right click and save the image

Image iconCable car image - right click and save the image