A couple of weeks ago I mentioned an Adobe Photoshop "Action" that I use to enhance my cell phone photographs. That Action, known as "Smaragdify," was created by Dave Ward and is available from Adobe for free.
Here are the steps to follow to start using this action:
Step 1) Download Smaragdify Action: Adobe Smaragdify
To use the Action after you have downloaded it to your computer, do the following:
Step 2) Place Smaragdify in PhotoShop Action folder: Unzip the download and you will have a single file named Smaragdify. Find your Adobe Photoshop program folder. Within that folder is a folder named "Presets." Open Presets and find the folder named "Photoshop Actions" and place Smaragdify in that folder.
Step 3: Load Action: Now launch Adobe Photoshop and find the Action window. You might need to launch the Action window from Photoshop's main menu: Window > Actions.
Click and hold the little black triangle on the top right side of the Action window. This will launch the menu.
Click and hold the little black triangle on the top right side of the Action window. This will launch the menu.
Scroll down to "Load Actions."
This will open another window. Navigate to the Adobe Photoshop folder. Find the Presets > Photoshop Actions folder. Then click on Smaragdify.
The Action is now loaded. You are now ready to use this Action to enhance your photos. But first you must know that this Action will create a layer for each enhancement it makes -- but the layers are not flattened, so you can modify any aspect of the enhancements. Don't worry. It will make sense once we go through an example.
The Action is now loaded. You are now ready to use this Action to enhance your photos. But first you must know that this Action will create a layer for each enhancement it makes -- but the layers are not flattened, so you can modify any aspect of the enhancements. Don't worry. It will make sense once we go through an example.
Example: Now I will show you how I used Smaragdify to enhance one of my photos:
I was sailing with friends on the Chesapeake Bay this past winter, and as we headed for dinner in Galesville, the sun, air and wind created a very peaceful vibe. I made this photo with my Treo 650 and hoped for the best:
It does not capture the mood I felt when I made it. It's flat and lacking soul. Not a good representation of the moment. Here are the steps I took in Photoshop to enhance the photo:
Step 1) Crop and use Curves: I cropped the photo a bit to eliminate the distracting specular highlight created by the safety line on the far left. Then I used Curves to boost the contrast, bring out some highlights, and make the blacks blacker. Just using Curves also brought out the blue and gold in they sky and water.
Step 1) Crop and use Curves: I cropped the photo a bit to eliminate the distracting specular highlight created by the safety line on the far left. Then I used Curves to boost the contrast, bring out some highlights, and make the blacks blacker. Just using Curves also brought out the blue and gold in they sky and water.
Now it looks okay, but I wasn't satisfied. So I used Smaragdify.
Step 2) Make a Snapshot: First, make a Snapshot of this spot in the enhancement journey. In the History window, click the little camera icon. You have just created Snapshot 1. No matter what changes you make from this point on, you can always come back to this Snapshot. (And we will come back when we use the History Brush.)
Step 2) Make a Snapshot: First, make a Snapshot of this spot in the enhancement journey. In the History window, click the little camera icon. You have just created Snapshot 1. No matter what changes you make from this point on, you can always come back to this Snapshot. (And we will come back when we use the History Brush.)
Step 3) Run Smaragdify Action: Now I run the Smaragdify Action. Click on the Action to turn it blue. Then click the play button on the bottom of the window. The Action is made up of something like 70 small enhancements and mini-actions. Let it run and it will tell you when it's done.
Step 4) Click Stop: Now it's finished. The image looks very brown -- sepia actually. Read the text and then click Stop.
Step 5) Play with Layers: Look at your Layers window. You should always have this window, along with History open any time you are working in Photoshop.
I turn-off three of the layers. This eliminates the sepia, the grayscale, and noise the Action creates. Doing this saturates the colors to a point I like.
To turn-off a layer you don't like, just click the box that has the eye. (To turn it back on, just click on the same box again.)
If you like, play with each layer. Just double-click it and a window will pop for that specific effect.
I just leave the layers as they are -- and turn off the three I mentioned.
I turn-off three of the layers. This eliminates the sepia, the grayscale, and noise the Action creates. Doing this saturates the colors to a point I like.
To turn-off a layer you don't like, just click the box that has the eye. (To turn it back on, just click on the same box again.)
If you like, play with each layer. Just double-click it and a window will pop for that specific effect.
I just leave the layers as they are -- and turn off the three I mentioned.
Step 6) Flatten: Now flatten the image. To do this go to the Layers menu on the top and drop down to the option "Flatten image."
Step 7) Use Curves again: I use Curves once again to bring up the highlights and shadows.
Step 8) Make another Snapshot: This will be labeled Snapshot 3. Why not 2? Because one of the mini-actions in Smaragdify made a Snapshot.
Step 9. History Brush to restore sharpness: Smaragdify applies a Gaussian Blur to the image in a somewhat mysterious fashion. There are times the blur is too much for faces for items I want to be sharp. To correct this I use the History Brush.
Step 8) Make another Snapshot: This will be labeled Snapshot 3. Why not 2? Because one of the mini-actions in Smaragdify made a Snapshot.
Step 9. History Brush to restore sharpness: Smaragdify applies a Gaussian Blur to the image in a somewhat mysterious fashion. There are times the blur is too much for faces for items I want to be sharp. To correct this I use the History Brush.
It gets a little tricky to explain how this works. To use the History Brush, we use the two Snapshots created earlier. We will paint from Snapshot 1 onto Snapshot 3.In effect replacing pixels from one Snapshot with those from another.
Click on Snapshot 3 to turn it blue. Click the far left box on Snapshot 1 to turn on the History Brush icon.
On the Tool Window, click the History Brush
On the Tool Window, click the History Brush
The effect can be controlled by the tools settings. I usually start with a low setting then ramp up if needed. By selecting 32%, I am mixing Snapshot 1 with 3.
For this image I wanted a bit of sharpness brought back to the man's head and waves.
Here is my final image. I like the dark edges that Smaragdify adds. It creates a mood that I like, gives my cell phone images a style, and masks the poor quality of the camera.
Here is my final image. I like the dark edges that Smaragdify adds. It creates a mood that I like, gives my cell phone images a style, and masks the poor quality of the camera.
And the before and after:
Send us some of your images that you have enhanced using Smaragdify!
- Cliff
2 comments:
Cliff you also need to straighten the horizon :).
Betty
Cliff, I don't think the horizon needs straightening, that would ruin the effect of sailing.
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