Our final image

Cross-processing in film photography involved processing film in the wrong types of chemicals, which creates stylised images with different contrast and colours.

Our starting image

This technique is still popular today and can be very easily achieved in the digital darkroom. Here we’ll show you how to create a Photoshop Action that enables you to cross-process your photographs in just the blink of an eye.

01 RECORD THE ACTION

Open the image ‘action_start.jpg’. In order to create our Action which will do all the hard work for us in the future, go to Window>Actions to view the Actions panel. Click the Create New Action icon on the bottom of the palette. Give it a name ‘Cross-processed’. Click the Record button.

02 CHANGE THE COLOURS

To give our portrait a cooler tonal range and a more cross-processed look, click on the Create New Adjustment Layer icon of the Layers panel and select Colour Balance. Set the Tone option to Midtones, move the Cyan/Red slider to -37 and the Magenta/Green slider to +66.

03 BOOST THE CONTRAST

Click the Create New Adjustment Layer icon and select Curves. There is a Cross-Processed option in the Curves Preset menu, but the effect is harsh. Instead, create a gentle S-Curve by moving points along the diagonal line until blacks are richer and highlights are brighter.

04 FINISH THE ACTION

Click Stop Recording in the Actions panel. To see how the Action works, drag both Adjustment Layers to Trash. In the Actions panel, select the Cross-Processed option then click the Play Selection button. Our portrait now has a vivid and distorted colour palette.

All Star Wars fans dream of owning their very own lightsaber. The Jedi Knight’s weapon of choice is possibly the greatest fictional gadget ever. The closest we’ll come to the real thing can be achieved easily in Photoshop with a simple blur and colour balance technique.

Our starting image

When you start this tutorial, you’ll be but a learner. By the end, you’ll be the master. The circle is complete.

01 ADD A BLACK LAYER

Open the file ‘lightsaber_before.jpg’ and then go to Layer>New>Layer to access the New Layer Dialog Box. Give the layer a name and then change the Mode drop-down to Screen. Now check the box next to ‘Fill with Screen-neutral colour (black)’ and press OK.

02 SELECT THE BLADE

Select the Pen tool and then click at the bottom of the shaft to add an Anchor Point. Click again at the top to add a second point, then continue the path so it goes right around the blade. When it’s closed, right-click and select the Make Selection option.

03 MAKE THREE COPIES

Hit D to reset your colours to black and white, then Cmd/Ctrl+Backspace to fill the selection with your white background colour. Now press Cmd/Ctrl+J three times to copy the selected white blade onto three new layers.

04 APPLY FOUR BLURS

Highlight the top layer first and go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Set Radius to 70 pixels and hit OK. Now apply the blur to the layer below, but this time with Radius at 40. Repeat on the next two layers with Radius at 20 and 2.

05 MAKE IT BLUE

Go to Image>Adjustments>Colour Balance. From here, add cyan and blue, then press OK. For a different colour, press Cmd/Ctrl+U and move the Hue slider. Now we need to paint in reflected colour, so select the Brush tool from the Tools Panel. Hold Alt and click on the blade to sample a colour.

06 ADD REFLECTED COLOURS

Create a new layer and then press Alt+Backspace to fill it. Hold Alt and click the Add Layer Mask icon for a full mask, then change the Blend Mode of the layer to Colour. Finish off by painting with a white soft-edged brush to reveal colour along the edges of the model’s arms and the top of his head.

01 SET UP THE TOOLS

Open the image, ‘astronaut.jpg’. Select the Pen tool, and from the drop-down list in the Options Bar, select Shape. Select Fill and set it to No Fill (the white box with a red slash). Set Stroke to a red colour and set Width to 1 px.

02 MAKE THE SELECTION

Using the Pen tool, make a selection around the astronaut. Start by zooming in close then click and drag on the edge of the astronaut to start the path. Continue to click and drag around the shape to outline it. Click the starting point to close the shape.

03 ADJUST THE PATH

Use the Direct Selection tool to click any point in the path that needs alteration. Move the point if necessary and adjust its handles. Hold down Alt as you drag on one handle to move it independently of the other handle.

04 CONFIGURE THE DASHES

With the path selected, click the Set Shape Stroke Type list and choose a dashed line. Click More Options and set Dash to 3 and Gap to 2. Set Align to Inside, Caps to Butt and Corners to Miter. Click OK to create the effect.

Our final image

By using Layers and Photoshop’s Transform tool, you can easily flip any face upside down. If you want to try this fun technique on your friends, keep the background clutter-free and use a light source off to one side like on our example portrait here.

01 SELECT THE FACE

Open your own close-up portrait and grab the Polygonal Lasso tool. Click to make a rough, straight-edged selection around the edges of the face. There’s no need to be too precise. Go to Select>Modify>Feather, enter 20px and hit OK.

02 COPY THE FACE

Hit Cmd/Ctrl+J to copy the face on to a new layer. Open the Layers Panel (Window>Layers) then double-click the Background layer. Hit OK in the New Layer box. This will convert the Background layer to make it editable like any other layer.

03 ROTATE THE HEAD

With the lower layer highlighted, go to Edit>Transform>Rotate 180. Highlight the top layer, then grab the Move tool and drag the face into position. If you need to rotate it, hit Cmd/Ctrl+T, drag outside the bounding box, then press Enter to apply.

04 FLIP THE FACE

On the original portrait the face was lit with a light off to the right of the camera, so there’s a shadow on the left. The upside down face doesn’t match up, but we can fix this by going to Edit>Transform>Flip Horizontal.

05 MASK THE EDGES

If you need to work on the edges of the face, click the Add Layer Mask icon in the Layers Panel, then grab the Brush tool and paint with a soft-edged black brush around the edges to hide parts of the face and blend the layers.

06 CLONE TO TIDY UP

Click the Create New Layer icon in the Layers Panel, grab the Clone Stamp tool and then set Sample: All Layers and Opacity 30% in the Options bar. Hold down Alt to sample a source, then use the Clone Stamp tool to tidy up any rough areas for a seamless finish.

A shallow depth of field is a great way to focus attention on part of a scene by transforming the background into wonderful bokeh, which is why it’s a classic technique for portrait photography.

Normally you’d achieve shallow depth of field with a wide aperture of around f/2.8 or f/4. But aperture isn’t the only factor in shallow depth of field.

Focal length and the subject’s distance from the camera also play a part in giving your images a shallow depth of field.

The longer the lens and the closer the subject, the more of a shallow depth of field effect you will achieve.

Our before image

Conversely, shorter focal lengths and distant focus points result in deeper planes of focus.

Captured at f/4 with an 18mm wide-angle lens, the background in this scene is fairly sharp. We can employ Photoshop’s Gaussian blur filter to fake a shallow depth of field, focusing attention on the figure and blurring distracting details.

By applying different strengths of blur to duplicate layers then restricting the effect with Layer Masks, we can create a fall-off of sharpness either side of our digital focus point.

How to fake shallow depth of field

01 Select the figure
Open your start image. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+J four times to make duplicate layers. With the Quick Selection tool, paint over the figure. Use ] and [ to resize the brush. Hold Alt and paint to subtract areas from the selection. Go to Select>Refine Edge. Set Smooth 10, Feather 0.5 and hit OK.

02 Add to the selection
Go to Window> Layers to access the Layers panel. Rename the top layer ‘Sharp’. Grab the Selection Brush tool, set Mode: Mask and pick a soft circular tip. Paint over areas that would be the same distance from the camera as the figure to add them to the selection.

03 Create layer masks
Click the Add Layer Mask icon on the Layers panel to turn the selection into a mask. Highlight the layer below. Go to Filter>Blur> Gaussian Blur. Set Radius 1.5px. Hit OK. Name the layer ‘blur 1.5px’, then hold Alt and click the Add Layer Mask icon to add a full black mask.

04 Reveal the blur
Grab the Brush tool and set colour to white. With the layer mask thumbnail on ‘blur 1.5px’ highlighted, paint over the foreground and tree. Highlight the layer below, rename it ‘blur 3px’, apply the Gaussian Blur filter at that value, then Alt-click the Add Layer Mask icon again.

05 Apply stronger blur
Paint with white to reveal the stronger blur on the ‘blur 3px’ layer in the grass and scene behind the tree. Next highlight the layer below. Rename it ‘blur 6px’ then apply the Gaussian Blur filter at that strength to make the trees in the background appear more out of focus.

06 Boost the tones
Finally, use Adjustment Layers to boost the tones. Highlight the top layer, click the Create Adjustment Layer icon on the Layers panel and choose Brightness/Contrast. Set Brightness 6, Contrast 12. Next add a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer and set Saturation +7.

PHOTOSHOP CS BLUR GALLERY
While the blur filters available in Photoshop Elements can give realistic results, Photoshop CS6 offers more options. In particular, the new Blur Gallery has three filters that are designed to mimic shallow focus and tilt-shift effects, with greater control over the look of the digital bokeh. The new filters make it much easier to create the fall-off of sharpness achieved here with different strengths of blur.

READ MORE

34 Photoshop effects every photographer should try once
Photoshop CS7: 11 features we’d like to see

If you want to capture true infrared on your digital camera then there are two common solutions – some pretty invasive surgery that will change your camera forever or a specialist IR filter that attaches to your lens. Both of these methods filter out visual light resulting in just the infrared light being captured by the sensor. Although the second solution leaves the integrity of your camera intact, it’s still a hassle, especially when an equally convincing infrared effect can be quickly applied in Photoshop.

Our after image

The technique we’re going to use will reflect a true infrared image with lightened foliage, darkened skies, false colour, grain and a slight vignette. Working with Adjustment Layers and Smart Filters will give us complete flexibility over the look, meaning that we can accurately pinpoint tone and colour, firstly by inverting and blending the original image and then using the colour channels to fine-tune the infrared look. Once the colours and tones are set, we’ll then look at adding realistic grain and vignette.

Our before image

As infrared exposure times are usually far longer than standard colour images, we’ll also take a look at adding motion blur to the clouds. This additional blur will again reinforce the illusion of true infrared. Finally, to add impact, a little dodging and burning can be applied to help boost the grassy foreground and highlight the clouds against the darkened sky. So, with a colour image ready, here’s how to get the infrared look.

6 Simple Steps for Creating an Infrared Image in Photoshop

01 DUPLICATE AND INVERT

Open your colour image in Photoshop. Duplicate the Background layer using Cmd/Ctrl+J, and invert the colours via Cmd/Ctrl+I, to create a negative. Switch Blend Mode to Color. This instantly transforms the look of the image. We now need to look at the colour of the grass which should be dark blue/purple.

02 FINE TUNE THE COLOUR

Create a New Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer.  For our image, we set Hue to 100 and Saturation to -30. For the sky, we selected Yellow from the Channel drop-down and set Hue to 60, Saturation to 30 and Lightness to -50. Selecting Cyan, we reduced the Hue to -100 and the Saturation to -100 to remove the colour from the rocks.

03 ADJUST THE TONES

Depending on the image, the values here will change but these should act as a good starting point for any shot with plenty of green and blue. You’re looking for the grass to change to red and the sky to darken. To boost tone and contrast, create a new Curves Adjustment Layer and make a subtle S-curve.

04 ADD MOTION BLUR

Select all of the layers and then use Cmd/Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E to merge those layers into a new layer. From the Filters drop-down, select Convert For Smart Filters then Filter>Blur>Radial Blur and select an Amount of 22, click Zoom and Best then click OK. Add a Layer Mask and select a black soft-edged brush.

05 BLEND IN THE SKY

Paint into the Layer Mask to reveal the foreground and carefully paint up into the sky to help blend it. Create a new blank layer and fill with 50% grey then go to Filter> Noise>Add Noise. Increase the Amount to 12.5. Select Gaussian and Monochromatic and click OK. Now swap the Blend Mode to Overlay.

06 ADDING VIGNETTE

Create a new blank layer and fill with white, then go to Filter>Lens Distortion. Click on the Custom tab and set the Vignette amount to -100. Switch the Blend Mode to Multiply and Opacity to 40%. Finally, use the Dodge and Burn tools to add contrast to the grass and darken the sky to make the clouds stand out.

Few of us have direct access to a studio large enough to comfortably accommodate a car, or for that matter a car that we’d want to shoot in a studio! However, attend any car event and there will be a whole host of vehicles that we can dream of owning. While the owner might not be too pleased if you drove off with the car itself, a quick snapshot will at least give you a small memento to take home.

Our before image

A big issue with event photography is always the amount of clutter that distracts from the main subject. At the event, it’s impossible to clear the surrounds for a clean shot from the desired shooting position and angle, but back in the digital darkroom it’s easy to isolate the car and replace the background. However, while the removal of the background will clean up the image, for this shot we want to give the impression that the car was photographed in a professional studio, and not only that, but one with a reflective floor.

Our after image

This may seem easy enough at first, especially if the car has been shot from the side and on the level, because then it’s just a case of mirroring the image and masking. However, if the car has been shot from a more common standing position and at an angle, a straight vertical flip just won’t do the job. A few more advanced techniques need to be employed, splitting the reflected image into planes and warping them into the required shapes. So, with your dream machine image ready, here’s how to get the look of a studio car shot.

01 SELECT THE CAR

Open your starting image and click the Quick Selection tool. Make the selection then press Q to enter Quick Mask mode and use black and white brushes to clean up. Double-click the Background layer and then add a Layer Mask by clicking the icon at the foot of the Layers Panel.

02 SELECT THE FRONT

Add a new blank layer, then drag it below the car layer and fill it with white using Shift+F5. Click back onto the car layer and duplicate it with Cmd/Ctrl+J, right-click the Layer Mask and choose Apply Layer Mask. Select the Polygonal Lasso tool and in the options set the feather to 2, then select the front of the car.

03 REFLECT THE FRONT

Press Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate the layer, then right click the bounding box and choose Flip Vertical. Hold down Ctrl and click the right middle point to adjust the perspective. Click and drag inside the box to move it into position then press Enter to confirm the change. At the moment the vent doesn’t look quite right.

04 FINE TUNE THE REFLECTION

Use the Polygonal Lasso tool to select the front vent and use Cmd/Ctrl+J to copy it to a new layer and then move the layer to the top of the Layers Panel. Drag it into position and transform it to match the angles. Select the Brush tool, hold down Alt and click near the script on the vent.

05 CREATE THE SHADOW

Use the Brush to remove the writing and drag the car layer back to the top of the Layer Stack. Hold down Cmd/Ctrl and click the car to remake the selection, then press V and use the cursor keys to move the selection down slightly. Create a new layer below the car layer, and refine the edge with a feather of 7.

06 REVEAL THE REFLECTION

Continue working around the car, selecting areas and moving them into position. For tricky areas, use the Warp tool to help manipulate the edges. Select all duplicated layers and press Cmd/Ctrl+G, hold down Alt and click the Layer Mask icon, select a white brush and paint onto the mask to reveal the reflection.

Adobe Lightroom 4 is a powerful program for managing and enhancing your images. Easy to use, simple to navigate and reasonably priced, it’s rapidly becoming the best choice for photographers who don’t necessarily need the depth and processing power of Photoshop.

Here we’ll give you a quick guide to Lightroom, from importing your images to experimenting with handy tonal presets and making a few essential edits.

The Lightroom 4 interface is separated into seven different modules designed to take you through the entire editing process, from categorising your images and choosing which to work on, to printing them out or sharing them.

The Library module lets you categorise your images by adding keywords, star ratings and collections. Keywording may not be the most exciting job in the world, but a few minutes spent here when you first download images can save time in the long run.

The Adobe Lightroom Develop module enables you to make simple edits like cropping and sharpening, as well as more creative effects like tonal shifts and selective adjustments.

Adobe Lightroom Basics – 01 Import your image

Open up Photoshop Lightroom 4, then choose Library from the list of modules at the top right of the interface. Click on the Import button at the bottom left, then use the collapsible folders in the Source panel to navigate to your file. Select the image, then hit Import.

Adobe Lightroom Basics – 02 Add a keyword

Highlight the image thumbnail, then go to the Keyword panel on the right. Click in the text box then type ‘monk’.Now, if you need to find the file at any time, go to Text along the top of the main window and type ‘monk’.You can also search your image by other characteristics using Attribute and Metadata.

Adobe Lightroom Basics – 03 Experiment with Presets

Click on the Develop Module, then go to the Presets Panel on the left of the interface. You can experiment with the colour presets here. If you need to undo an effect, scroll down to the History palette and click back through history states. Go to Lightroom Effects Presets and choose Light Grain.

Adobe Lightroom Basics – 04 Crop to horizontal

Grab the Crop Overlay tool (below the histogram on the left) then drag the crop overlay to crop the top and bottom of the frame, transforming it from a vertical to a horizontal image. Double-click to see the results of the crop (you can adjust the crop 
at any time by clicking back on the tool).

Adobe Lightroom Basics – 05 Enhance the tones

In the Basic sliders set Temp to +5, Tint to +11, Highlights to +38, Clarity to +11, Vibrance to -20 and Saturation to +9. Grab the Graduated Filter tool and drag a gradient from the right to the centre. Set Exposure to -1.61 and Highlights to -68. Drag in from the left to make a gradient and set Exposure to -2.07.

Adobe Lightroom Basics – 06 Make selective adjustments

Grab the Adjustment Brush tool. Zoom in to the face, then click on the skin to set a pin. Set Brush Size to 7 and Clarity to -55. Paint over the hotspots on the face to soften the skin. Next, click New, then click on the monk to set a second pin. Paint over the entire figure, then set Exposure +0.49 to lighten him.

READ MORE

Adobe Lightroom: what ever photographer must know about the alternative Photoshop
Photoshop Curves Tool: 6 techniques every photographer must know

Our after image

It’s an on-trend device that you may see on cutting edge album and magazine covers. The design plays with the concept of composition, moving the traditional focal points of the eyes into unusual alternative positions. Our technique will incorporate a variety of duplicate layers and transformations to build up a slightly unnerving effect. We’ll use shapes to create the triangles rather than selections as these can be clipped together with image layers – in effect, they’re acting as masks. This means that both editing the scale and image position is quick and easy and ensures that you get the right look and instantly add interest to your shot.

Our starting image

01 SELECT A TRIANGLE

Open your starting image and select the Shape tool. In the Options bar, set Tool Mode to Shape in the top left drop-down, set Fill to white, set Stroke to 0. In the preview bar at the top, click on Shape and the small arrow at the top right to access the options and select Shapes, then Append.

02 TRANSFORM THE SHAPE

Scroll through the shapes and select the black triangle. In the colour swatches, make sure that you have white selected as the foreground colour. Draw the first triangle, making sure that you keep the Shift key pressed to constrain the shape’s proportions.

03 ADD A SHADOW

Double-click the shape layer to bring up the Layer Style Panel. Highlight and tick the Inner Shadow option and decrease the Opacity to 40% and Distance to 10. You can leave the other options exactly as they are.

04 DUPLICATE THE IMAGE

Click onto the Background layer and hit Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate it. Click and drag the layer above the shape layer in the Layers Panel. Hold down Alt and hover between the shape and image layer until you see the cursor change, then click to clip the layers together.

05 TRANSFORM THE FACE

Transform the duplicate image layer. Make sure that the duplicate image layer is selected in the Layers Panel then use Free Transform (Cmd/Ctrl+T) to adjust the scale and position. Remember to keep the Shift key pressed down to constrain the proportions and then hit Enter to confirm.

06 FINISHING FLOURISHES

Repeat the process of creating triangles and duplicating image layers for the rest of the montage, then use a Curves Adjustment Layer to improve the tones. If necessary, add a 50% grey layer with a Blend Mode set to Overlay to dodge and burn the final image.

At first glance the Camera Raw editor may seem fairly basic, a place perhaps to make a few quick tweaks before opening your files into Photoshop. But delve a little deeper and you’ll find that Adobe’s powerful raw plug-in has much to offer.

Many features can be found in the panels to the right of the interface, but there are also plenty more that may not be so obvious.

In this tutorial we’ll take a tour of the Camera Raw interface and uncover a host of tips and tricks used by the pros, from setting camera profiles and using the Tone Curve to tweaking preferences, making selective adjustments and cropping for print.

If you’re a Lightroom user, you’ll find these tips equally useful, as the tools in Lightroom’s Develop module are virtually identical.

One of the biggest advantages of working in Camera Raw is that every single edit you make is completely non-destructive.

This is because Camera Raw (as well as Lightroom, Aperture and Capture One) employs parametric image editing, which means that rather than altering the pixels that make up the image, any edits are instead logged as sets of instructions or parameters, and typically saved as a ‘sidecar’ file.

When you’re working on an image, you’re not actually making changes to it, you’re changing the way the imaging software interprets the data. Any setting can be edited or undone at any time, so you can apply the following tips in any order and on any image you like.

How to use Adobe Camera Raw for just about everything

01 Host ACR through Bridge
Did you know the ACR plug-in can be hosted by Bridge? Photoshop needn’t even be open, which saves on processing power. Open Bridge, right-click nextsteps_before.dng and choose Open in Camera Raw. If you like, set ‘Double-click edits Camera Raw settings in Bridge’ in Edit>Preferences>General.

02 Set the camera profile
It’s tempting to begin adjusting tones in the Basic panel, but often the Camera Calibration panel is a better starting point. Adobe Standard doesn’t always look best, so experiment with others. Nikon and Canon cameras are supported, but for others you’ll need to download profiles. We’ve used the ACR 4.6 profile.

03 Recover detail
Go to the Basic panel and set Temperature to 4350 and Shadows to +16. Hold Alt while dragging the Whites slider to check for clipped pixels. We won’t be able to bring back detail in the sun completely, but we can perform a recovery by dragging whites to -32.

04 Vibrance and Saturation
The Saturation slider adjusts all colours, and Vibrance targets the less-saturated colours. A decrease in Vibrance with an increase in Saturation can give good results. Set Vibrance to -10 and Saturation to +26. Set Clarity to +22 to add punch to the midtones.

05 Boost the tones
Go to Tone Curve and click Points. Cmd/Ctrl-click over the image to set a point along the curve line, then use the arrow keys to move it. Cmd/Ctlr-click on lighter clouds, then repeatedly tap up. Cmd/Ctrl-click on the grey rocks then tap down to boost contrast.

06 Lighten the foreground
The foreground is too dark, so grab the Graduated Filter tool, then set Temperature to +10, Exposure to +70, Highlights to +16 and Clarity to +15. Drag upwards from above the rocks towards the horizon while holding Shift to keep the line perfectly vertical.

07 Paint a mask
Grab the Adjustment Brush from the Tools palette and click on the foreground rocks to set a pin. Paint roughly over the foreground, using the ] and [ keys to resize your brush. Hit Y to toggle a view of the mask overlay so that you can see where you’ve painted.

08 Add another pin
The tool will remember the setting input from the Graduated Filter tool in step 6, which is fine for the first adjustment pin. Check New, click to set a second pin and paint a mask over the flowing water. Double-click the sliders to reset, then drag Exposure to +1.00.

09 Lighten the rocks
Hit N and click on the rocks to set a third pin. Set Exposure to +0.55 then paint a mask over the rocks to lighten them. If you need to erase parts of a mask while painting, hold Alt. When you’re happy, hit P to see a before and after preview of your changes.

10 Remove sensor marks
There are a few sensor marks visible, so grab the Spot Removal tool then double-click the Hand tool to zoom to 100%. Set Type to Heal and Opacity to 100. Click and drag over each mark to form a red circle and reposition the green source circle that appears.

11 Crop for print
You can crop for a specific print size using the Crop tool and the Workflow options. Let’s say we’d like a 15×10-inch print. Grab the Crop tool, then right-click and choose Custom. In the Custom Crop box, set Crop to Inches and input 10 by 15. Hit OK.

12 Straighten the horizon
Zoom in close to the horizon, then hold Cmd/Ctrl while using the Crop tool to switch to the Straighten tool. Drag along a line in the image you know to be horizontal (use the waterline). Hit Cmd/Ctrl+0 to zoom out and fine-tune the crop box if necessary.

13 Set print resolution
You’ve cropped to 15×10 inches, but you need to tweak the Pixels per Inch settings. Click the blue link below the image to see the Workflow options. Set Resolution to 300 pixels/inch. Now when you output the file in another format it will be prepped for printing.

14 Check for distortion
Go to the Lens Correction panel. You can correct distortion automatically, but you can also do it manually. Zoom in close to the horizon, hold down the spacebar and drag the image until the waterline is level with the top of the preview window.

15 Fix distortion manually
Use the top of the preview window as a guide for correcting the barrel distortion that’s causing the horizon to bow. Click Manual then drag Distortion to +22 and Horizontal -2. Hold Space to reposition the view to check the horizon against the top line again.

16 Apply sharpening
Click Detail, then double-click Zoom to go to 100%. Hold Alt while dragging any sharpening slider: Amount controls strength, Radius determines edges, Detail suppresses halos and Masking restricts sharpening. Set Amount to 64 and Masking to 30.

17 Make a Preset
Go to the Preset panel, then click New Preset. Name your preset and hit OK. In Preview you only get a before-and-after view of changes made in the current panel, but in Preset you can see a before-and-after view of all changes by hitting P.

18 Save the image
Click Open Image to open the file in Photoshop or Shift-click it to open as a Smart Object or if the image is finished, click Save Image and choose a file format such as DNG, JPEG or TIFF to save as. You’ll now have a 15×10-inch image ready for printing.

READ MORE

Blend Modes: the 10 best blends for photographers (and how to use them)
Photoshop Layers Demystified: a beginner’s guide to smarter photo editing
101 Photoshop tips you really have to know