The clock’s ticking!

Create more compelling product images using the powerful Harmonize feature in Photoshop. Whether you’re a product reviewer, content creator or just want to add more excitement to you social posts, this easy how-to tip takes less than five minutes.

We started with Fujifilm’s press-release shot of the remarkable X-E5 which we covered in June of this year. Any subject that can be “knocked out,” i.e., cleanly separated from its background, works using the steps itemized here.

First, resize the image to the dimensions needed for the final output. Be sure to set the dpi to match its ultimate destination.

Shutterbug uses images a maximum of 600 pixels wide by 900 pixels high at 72 dpi. We resized the image accordingly.

Next, we used Photoshop’s ‘Select Subject’ feature to select the product and copied it to the clipboard via the Ctrl-C key combination or top menu bar. See the “marching ants?”

Open a new file matching the exact dimensions of the product image. In our case, the new file was 600 x 600 at 72 dpi initially, but we resized the canvas to 600 x 900, realizing that the first choice was too limiting.

With the new file open, create a new layer.

On the new layer, use the ‘Gradient” button to create the gradient overlay of your choice. I carelessly named this layer “Transient.” Even monkeys fall from trees.

Try several different options until you find the right one.

Paste the previously copied image from the clipboard onto the gradient layer. A new layer will be created. To do this, select the gradient layer and use the Ctrl-V key combination or top menu bar.

The result is the product image pasted over the gradient. Not much to look at, frankly. But let’s continue and let ‘Harmonize’ do its magic.

Click on the layer that displays the product image. From the top menu bar, select ‘Layers’ and scroll down to ‘Harmonize.’

The image takes on an entirely new look. The ‘Properties’ panels displays three options. Of course, you’re not limited to these.

Compare this image to the original at the top of this story.

Try different gradients until you find one that suits your needs.

Adjust the ‘Fill’ slider on the Harmonize layer to balance shadows vs highlights.

To create the POP complete with lighting effects but without the color, use a monochromatic gradient.

You can apply the same technique to virtually any subject. The hero here is the Gradient step.

 

Adobe Adds 5 Hot New Features to Photoshop

The New AI Harmonize Tool: Beyond the Basics of 1-Click Composite Photos (VIDEO)

—Jon Sienkiewicz

Today’s time-saving post processing tutorial demonstrates how easy it is to enhance a photograph with one click by applying Lightroom’s game-changing Adaptive presets in a selective manner, i.e. just where they’re needed. The video lesson below is presented by the popular Adobe Lightroom YouTube channel that boasts 37M views, 358K subscribers, and almost 900 instructional videos.

Instructor Bea Lubas kicks off the episode like this: “Lightroom presets can help speed up the creative process, while Adaptive presets enable you to automatically apply enhancements to specific parts in your photo.” Lubas is a food and lifestyle photographer, author, and Lightroom Ambassador—offering solid tips for beginners and experienced users alike.

She presents her recommendations in the contest of tabletop imagery but everything you’ll learn is equally valuable for streamlining your workflow when editing other genres of photographs. She opens the panel on the right side of the screen where you’ll find Lightroom’s Recommended and Premium presets along with those you’ve created yourself.

The Adaptive options reside as a group at the top of the Premium section. She explains the difference between conventional and Adaptive presets like this: “A preset is a set of adjustments you can apply to the entire image at once. Adaptive presets, on the other hand, can be introduced to one or more individual portions of the frame without affecting adjacent areas.”

These versatile tools are labeled Portrait, Sky, Subject, and Blur Background, each with a sub menu underneath each choice. Lubas begins by pulling up a still-life shot of colorful flowers and applies a standard, global enhancement. She then transforms the image further with an Adaptive Subject preset identified as “Pop.” As you’ll see, it’s super simple to adjust the strength of the effect if you desire.

This is just one of the several techniques explained by Lubas, and she walks you through the magic you can create when applying Adaptive presets for portrait imagery, dull skies in landscape shots, and cluttered scenes that will benefit when you blur a distracting background.

The Adobe Lightroom YouTube channel is a great resource for anyone interested in improving their Lightroom skills.

Be sure to watch our earlier tutorial with another post-processing instructor who takes a deep dive into Lightroom’s new Variance tool, demonstrating how it enables you quickly rehabilitate photographs with unsightly color balance problems.

About half of all known bird species—some 6,500 in total—belong to an order whose very name highlights one of their most remarkable traits: the ability to sing. Songbirds (and, indeed, most other avian groups) possess a highly specialized vocal organ called the syrinx. Take a walk during the breeding season through places where birds live, and you’ll hear just how effective that organ is. It can produce sounds across a wide frequency range and at astonishing volume. The “song” of the South American White Bellbird, for instance, can reach up to 125 dB—roughly the level of a chainsaw.