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Helen Bradley - Photoshop and Lightroom tips and techniques

I'm Helen Bradley - I'm a photographer and Photoshop professional. In this Photoshop and Lightroom blog you will find powerful Photoshop and Lightroom tips, tricks and techniques that will help you get more out of both programs. You will also find step by step guides for working creatively with your photos in Lightroom and Photoshop and any other cool applications I know you will be interested in knowing more about.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

3 Step Photoshop Every Image Quick fix


Ok, so not technically Photoshop only - this tip works for any image software that supports layers, has layer blend modes and can do a gaussian blur. That includes Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and Paintshop Pro as well as lots of other great photoediting programs.

This is a very quick fix for boosting and image and giving it a really nice look.

Step 1
Start by duplicating the image layer by choosing Layer > Duplicate Layer.

Step 2
Add a Gaussian blur to the top layer by using Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur. You need to use enough radius to get a nice light blur on your image. For smaller images you need only a small value blur - say 2-4 and for larger images you will need a higher value. Click Ok when you're done.

Step 3
Now set the Blend Mode for this blurred top layer to Soft Light or Overlay. You'll get a nicer looking image and the colors will get a nice boost. Reduce the layer opacity a little if necessary.

This is a simple and effective fix and isn't that the best type?

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