CodedColor PhotoStudio - Image Editing Tutorials (Part 2)

Image Improvements Professional Tools Objects & Layers Creative Effects

 Improve Image: Color

Before	After	Steps
		Color Tool: Automatic Apply changes

 Improve Image: Exposure

Before	After	Steps
		Smartfix correction

 Improve Selected Areas: SmartFix

Before	After	Steps
		Draw Selection around glasses Apply Feather with Radius 10 SmartFix correction

 Improve Selected Areas: Gamma

Before	After	Steps
		Select: Draw a Lasso around the cat Feather radius ~15, Apply Feather Exposure: Brightness, increase Gamma Invert Selection Feather radius ~15, Apply Feather Exposure: Brightness, decrease Gamma

 Remove Color Stains

Before	After	Steps
		Color Tool: Color Cast Press the Pipette Click on the white T-Shirt Apply changes Repeat above steps with other image areas

 White Balance

Before	After	Steps
		Automatic White Balance

 Highlight Shadows: Flash

Before	After	Steps
		Exposure: Smart Flash ~120 Apply changes

 Highlight Image Areas: Reflector

Before	After	Steps
		In the Flash example, the highlighting effect is very distinctive, causing the image to loose some of it's magic. The following tutorial will show you a more conservative approach, by highlighting only parts of the image, similar to using a reflector panel on location. Exposure: Smart Flash ~50 Apply changes Zoom into the face Retouch Brush: Lighten Mode Deactivate Paint Over, Step ~10 Set Radius and Feather Amount ~50 Use Eraser Brush for corrections

 Clone Image Areas: "Surf twins" example

Before	After	Steps
		Clone Brush Set Radius to size of head Pressing the SHIFT-Key, click into the sand above the surfboard Paint over the surfboard Set Radius to 1/4 size of head Pressing the SHIFT-Key, click into the center of the right head In the center of the left head, paint in circles towards the outside border Use the Eraser Brush for corrections

 Clone Image Areas: "Ancient shoreline" example

Before	After	Steps
		Clone Brush Pressing the SHIFT-Key, click into a green area of the image (select source point) Using different source points, replace houses with trees and shrubs.

 Clone Image Areas: "Unwanted person" example

Before	After	Steps
		Clone Brush: Replace person in picture with stone pavement

 Washout Effect (Colorkey)

Before	After	Steps
		The Colorkey effect enhances a motive in a black&white or sepia colored image. Usually, this effect calls for layers - in CodedColor however you only need to follow a few simple steps. Color Tool: HSL Hue Range: Reds Lightness ~40 Saturation ~ -200 (minus) Apply changes Eraser Brush: restore the beef on the plate to the original color

 Straighten Horizon

Before	After	Steps
		Rotate dialog Activate Crop Click in image: a horizontal line appears Drag & align the line with the horizon Press OK and then Apply Crop

 Improve Contrast & Color

Before	After	Steps
		Exposure: Brightness Reduce Contrast by -30 Color: HSL Increase Saturation by +70

 Remove Artefacts & Scratches

Before	After	Steps
		Noise: Noise Reduction 255, again 255 Apply changes Clone Brush: remove artefacts Color: HSL Reduce Saturation by -255 Apply changes

 Remove Red Eyes

Before	After	Steps
		Red Eye removal: Automatic Draw circle around eyes Apply

 Image Composition

Before	After	Steps
		Crop Move box Apply Crop Clone Brush: remove unwanted artefacts

 Change Aspect Ratio

Before	After	Steps
		Select Select digital format (4:3) Hold ALT key pressed Move bottom right corner to reduce frame size while preserving aspect ratio Position frame Press Apply Crop

 Equalize Histogram

Before	After	Steps
		Curves: Curves Move bottom left point to ~50 Move top right point to ~220 Apply changes

 Improve Backlight Images

Before	After	Steps
		Exposure: SmartFlash ~250 Apply changes Alternative: Brightness, increase Gamma

 Replace Colors

Before	After	Steps
		Replace Brush hold SHIFT key pressed and click on the yellow leaf to select the source color Radius ~80, Opacity 100, Tolerance ~85 Select a destination color (in this case red) and paint over the leaf Use the Eraser Brush to correct mistakes

 Crop with Rounded & Softened Edges

Before	After	Steps
		Select: Circle, draw a circle Feather Radius ~ 80, Apply Feather Press Apply Crop Save image as JPG: choose White as background Alternative: save as PNG to preserve transparency

 Convert to B/W or Sepia

Before	After	Steps
		Effects: Convert To Sepia

 Vignette Effect

Before	After	Steps
		Select: Circle Draw an elipsis, starting from the center of the image Invert Selection Feather radius ~100 Apply Feather (takes a while) Exposure: Brightness Increase Gamma Click Apply Changes

Professional Tools

 Soften Background and Retouch Details

Before	After	Steps
		The following example unites many of the editing tools in order to create a perfect photo. With a little practice, you can make professional improvements in CodedColor, that otherwise can only be achieved by much more expensive applications. Rotate on Horizon Line, with autom. Crop Select 4:3 Format, und crop away the right part of the image Remove the red Color Stain Do some Gamma Correction Soften the skin in the face using the Retouch Brush Remove the 2 boats using the Clone Brush Mark the background & mountains using the Lasso; apply Selection Feather Soften the selected area with the dialog Basic Effects: User Filter: Blur Repeat the softening, until the background appears out of focus (reduce focal depth)

 Stage Objects (Colorkey with Mask): B/W Effect

Before	After	Steps
		Mark the person in the image with the Lasso Invert Selection, Apply Selection Father Color Tool: HSL Saturation -255 (minus) Click Apply Changes Correct the borders using the Retouch Brush: Desaturate with Amount ~100 Correct borders using the Eraser brush

 Stage Objects (Colorkey with Mask): Colorize Effect

Before	After	Steps
		Desaturate the background (see "Colorkey B/W" example) Select the eyes (Multi selection: SHIFT key) Color Tool: HSL Apply Hue Shift

 Unfocus Background

Before	After	Steps
		Select: Lasso Draw a selection around the person Feather Radius ~20, Apply Feather Invert Selection Effects: Advanced Effects Select Blur, Filter Size 50, Intensity 0.5 Click Apply, OK Exposure: Brightness: decrease Gamma Click Apply Changes Use Retouch Brush to darken and blur edges around person

 Extract Objects: Transparency

Before	After	Steps
		Effects: Transparency Tolerance ~ 70 Use the Eraser brush to correct spills Press CTRL-C to copy this object including transparency into the clipboard Hint: if you want to save this object, then you need to use an image format like PNG, which supports transparency.

 Combine / Overlay Images

Before	After	Steps
		Press CTRL+V to copy the moon object (see "Transparency" example) as a Layer into the image Resize and Rotate Layer Press Merge Layers Call Crop to remove the overlay Retouch Brush Radius ~75, Opacity ~50, Mode: Darken, Amount ~50 Darken the "dark side" of the moon

 Colorize B/W Image

Before	After	Steps
		Open Paint tool, activate brush Feather ~75, Blend Mode: Colorize Zoom image into detail Select colors and paint Use Selections and Fill tool for large areas Use Eraser Brush to correct errors

 Replace Background: Mask

Before	After	Steps
		Open person image in editor Select: Lasso Draw a selection around the person Add a Feather Press CTRL+C Open jungle image in editor Advanced Effects: Blur the image Press CTRL+V Position the layer and click Merge layers Use the Eraser Brush to correct edges

 Replace Background: Fill

Before	After	Steps
		Do some Exposure Correction Add some Flash Remove artefacts using the Clone Brush Open the Fill tool Load an image with a nice sky in the Texture panel. Increase/decrease the size. Tolerance ~15 Click in the sky to fill, and play with the tolerance slider Remove spills with the Eraser brush Note: Read the full tutorial here.

 Improve Portraits

Before	After	Steps
		This example uses a large number of tools and is highly dependent on taste, so we list only the basic steps: Change eye color: Red Eye Manual mode Brighten eyes: Retouch Brush Lighten Saturate lips: Retouch Brush Saturate Improve skin color: Color HSL, increase Saturation Soften skin: Retouch Brush Blur Darken hair: Exposure Levels, increase Shadows Remove spots & artefacts: Clone Brush Sharpen eyelashes: Retouch Brush Sharpen Soften garment: Selection with feather, Sharpness Blur

 Paste into Selections

Before	After	Steps
		Open fish image in editor Select: Rectangle Copy a square area with CTRL+C Open pot image in editor Select: Lasso Select front panel of pot Edit: Paste into Selection Stretch Clipboard image? YES Repeat with side panel and top, except this time also Darken the selected area using the Retouch Brush

 Perspective Correction

Before	After	Steps
		Effects: Perspective Extend Workspace 2x Move top red handles to left & right Click Apply Changes Click Crop Position crop frame Click Apply Crop

 Create Panoramas

Before	After	Steps
		Select frames in Explorer See Panorama topic for detailed description

Objects & Layers

 Add Watermarks

Before	After	Steps
		Add: Watermark Line1: Custom Text1 Position: Bottom Center Border Margin 40, Transparency 50 Font: Arial 36 Font Color: Yellow Pastel

 Add Text Labels

Before	After	Steps
		Add: Text Labels Frame Width 50, Background White Line Width 2 Click New Label, then click inside image Drag handles to position text and arrow Save Image will create a new image file, so the orginal is not overwritten. Hint: if you then call Text Labels in the original image, the labels will be loaded again.

 Add Speach Bubbles

Before	After	Steps
		Optional Fill Brush: select a Texture and increase to 200%, set Tolerance 50, Fill Mode Exclusive, Blend Mode Normal, etc. Add: Clipart Select a file from Symbols\Callouts Activate Add Clipart as Layer OK, reposition & resize layer, Merge Layers Add: Text, Size 30

 Add Clipart Wartermark

Before	After	Steps
		Add: Clipart Select copyright.png from Symbols Activate Add Clipart as Layer Size 200%, Transparency 90% OK, reposition layer, Merge Layers Hint: you can do this to a number of files in the Batch Conversion dialog

 Design Greeting Cards

Before	After	Steps
		Effects Borders & Shadows: Create a polaroid frame Add Text layers Rotate Layer, Merge Layer Add Clipart layers Rotate Layer, Merge Layer Paintbrush: add water effects

 Add Google Map

Before	After	Steps
		Add: Map Search for "Jasper", OK Zoom out and position map Capture Add Mask, Add Shadow, OK Merge Layers Optional: add some Text

 Create Collage

Before	After	Steps
		Select images in explorer Edit: Create Collage Define Width, Height of collage, number of Columns and Rows, background Color for space between images: White OK, reposition layers, Merge Layers Crop Hint: creating a page layout with the Pixpedia Publisher is more flexible (see next tutorial)

 Create Map Collage

Before	After	Steps
		Call Tools > Map Capture Search for a location and open a map Press Capture, and then Apply Crop Click Add Layer and load an image into the layer. Repeat for several images. Open Layer options for all layers and define a Shadow Merge Layers and store the collage to a file Add Text Labels to the images, pointing to locations on the map Increase the Frame Width, if the labels overlape the image borders

 Design Page Layouts

Before	After	Steps
		Select images in the explorer Tools: Create Photobook New Project: CodedColor Layout Add more images Select one or more Page Layouts Add Borders & Shadows, edit text, position image elements, etc. Add Curved Text as title Activate Gradient property for title Add Background image etc... Save as JPG or PDF Note: Pixpedia Publisher must be installed during CodedColor setup

 Blend Images: Easy Example

Before	After	Steps
		Select: Circle around girl Feather Radius ~100, Apply Feather CTRL+C Open sunset image in editor CTRL+V Position layer above sunset Optional: Layer Options Set Transparency Click Merge Layers

 Blend Images: Professional Example

Before	After	Steps
		Open face image in editor Advanced Effects: Duotone Image Select pale brown as Color Apply, OK Steps analog to easy example: insert face selection into tree image Use the Eraser Brush with Opacity and Feather to fix edges

Creative Effects

 Pop Art (Colorkey with Color Shift)

Before	After	Steps
		Color Tool: HSL Select person, Invert Selection Select colors with the Pipette and reduce Saturation Clear Selection Apply some Hue Shift to the bathing suit Click Apply Changes

 Simulate Speed

Before	After	Steps
		Basic enhancements: Color Balance, Straighten Horizon, Flip, Crop Advanced Effects: Add Motion Blur Angle 0, Distance 3, Steps 6 Press Apply Eraser Brush Feather 100, Opacity 80 Paint over surfer and splash

 Painting: Oil

Before	After	Steps
		Advanced Effects: Oil Paint Brush Width 40, Blend Edges Apply to create oil paint effect Activate Apply on top of previous effect Geometric Mean Filter, Size 4 Apply to soften edges, OK Exposure: Brightness Increase Gamma, click Apply Changes

 Painting: Watercolor with Paper Effect

Before	After	Steps
		Start with the result of the "Oil Painting" example Fill Tool Tolerance 255, Opacity 50 Fill Mode Global, Blend Mode Normal Select a paper Texture Choose Texture Color Black Choose Texture Size 200% Click in image to fill the texture Click Apply Changes

 Painting: Watercolor with Diluted Effect

Before	After	Steps
		Start with the result of the "Oil Painting" example Advanced Effects: Watercolor Tint Blur Amount 0,4, activate Lighten Image Click Apply, OK

 Painting: Watercolor with Paper & Diluted Effect

Before	After	Steps
		Start with the result of the "Oil Painting" example Advanced Effects: Stipple Size 70, Geometric Mean filter Apply to create paper effect Activate Apply on top of previous effect Gauzy effect Bur 0.5, Sharp 0.5, Clarity 1.0, Desaturated Apply to create watercolor effect

 Water Effects: Ripples

Before	After	Steps
		Advanced Effects: Perlin Displacement Amount 30, X-Scale 20, Y-Scale 20 Click Apply, OK Crop Image Optional: Basic Effects: Wave Click OK

 Water Effects: Reflection

Before	After	Steps
		Perlin Displacement as in "Ripple" example Rotate image by 180° Copy Selection and Paste as new Layer below original image Layer Options: Transparency

 Hamilton Effect

Before	After	Steps
		Advanced Effects: Gauzy Blur 0.9, Sharp 0.5, Clarity 0.5 Mode: Desaturated Click Apply, OK

 Highlight Objects (Colorkey with Mask)

Before	After	Steps
		Select: Circle Select the mirror object Invert Selection, Apply Feather 10 Advanced Effects: Gauzy Blur 0.9, Sharp 0.5, Clarity 0.8 Mode: Desaturated Click Apply Enable Apply on top of previous effect Repeat effect by clicking Apply Click OK

 Chalk Drawing

Before	After	Steps
		Advanced Effects: 1. Oil Paint: Blend Edges 2. Median Filter 3. Stiple: Size 15, Filter Maximum 4. Blur: Size 40, Intensity 0.5 Frames & Edges: select a Mask Note: the parameters for the above filters are highly dependant of the size of the image, so you need to experiment with them.

 Fisheye Effect (Binocular)

Before	After	Steps
		Advanced Effects: Elliptical Transform RadiusX 900, RadiusY 900 Mode: Compress Both Click Apply, OK

 Mask Borders: Fade Effect

Before	After	Steps
		Effects: Frames & Edges Select a Mask Image Displacement ~10 Click OK

 Mask Borders: Water Effect

Before	After	Steps
		Effects: Frames & Edges Select a Mask Image Displacement ~30 Click OK

 Mask Borders: Film strip

Before	After	Steps
		Effects: Frames & Edges Select the Filmstrip Frame Image Displacement ~10 Click OK

 Mask Borders: Stamp

Before	After	Steps
		Effects: Frames & Edges Select the Stamp Mask Click OK Add Text layer

 Polaroid Frame with Shadow & Text

Before	After	Steps
		Effects: Borders & Shadows Activate Add Shadow, Add Border, and experiment with the settings Add Text layer Pick a script Font with Size ~60 Activate Add Shadow Press OK and Merge Layers

 Frame Images

Before	After	Steps
		Effects: Frames & Edges Select a picture frame Set Displacement to 10 Press OK

 Add Texture: Wall

Before	After	Steps
		Fill Tool: Texture Select brick wall Tolerance 255, Opacity 70 Fill Mode Global, Blend Mode Normal Fill image and press Apply Changes Effects: Frames & Edges Select a Mask Background Color Black OK Add some floating Text with shadow, rotate it Add some Cliparts Merge layers

 Add Texture: Paper

Before	After	Steps
		Exposure: increase Gamma Fill Tool: Paper Texture Add Clipart layer Layer Options: set Transparency to 80

 Create a Custom Mask

Before	After	Steps
		Effects: Invert Colors Effects: Convert to B/W Exposure: Increase Brightness Save into mask folder

 Apply a Custom Mask (easy)

Before	After	Steps
		Effects: Frames & Edges Click User Frame to open file Select the mask you created above Activate Invert OK

 Apply a Custom Mask (advanced)

Before	After	Steps
		Analog to easy example, except here we disable the Invert checkbox Effects: Frames & Edges Pick a Mask Effects: Borders & Shadows Create a black frame Sign the image with white Text

 Viewglass Effect

Before	After	Steps
		Circle Selection around face CTRL+C, Insert into new image Advanced Effects: Lens Transformation, Apply, OK CTRL+C put result into clipboard Switch to original image: Crop Insert Clipart magnifying_glass.png from the folder Tools Move layer until grip overlaps image Merge Layers Circle Selection around glas Insert into selection Reflection using a star shaped Paintbrush

 Photo Montage

Before	After	Steps
		This photo montage was created entirely with CodedColor. It involves a number of tools such as: Selections & Layers Color Shift Clone Brush Eraser Brush Retouch Brush Basic steps are adapting the color of the tuna, extracting & placing it over the girl, and then correcting all borders and errors.