Even if it’s one of the simplest manipulations of your original picture, it’s also one of the most effective. It’s very useful when the weather its self creates tones of grey and the adjustments of hue and saturation won’t help. All you have to do is to go to the Image menu in Adobe Photoshop: Image -> Adjustments -> Selective Color. Choose from the Colors the Neutrals Option and modify the tones as you wish. In my example, I added Cyan and decreased the Yellow to obtain bluish Relative (not Absolute) tones instead of grey, then a bit of Magenta to be as natural as possible.

Second I got rid of the yellowish color on the bottom of the clouds using the same method. Now let’s compare the original with the manipulated photo and conclude: it’s definitely better with the lilac clouds than the grey ones. I might have a bit overreacted with the saturation of that lilac… but hey… this is abstract not nature!

Tags: saturation, selective color, neutral color, grey, adobe photoshop, image manipulation, hue, clouds, colors, adjustment of colors

Now let’s begin the “how to make” these borders:

1. create a copy of the layer called background
2. select the content of the initial background and cut it
3. give the background the color you want for the border
4. move to the “copy of background” and in the menu “Edit” go to “Free Transform” or just press “CTRL+T”
5. How holding “Shift” resize the image from a corner, then resize the opposite corner
6. Double-click to make the resize if you are sure you got what you wanted. You now have a simple border…

7. After resizing, go to the menu “Layer” -> “Layer Style” and select “Stroke”. Modify the size and color as you wish. You now have a double border…

For a transparent border you need to follow different steps.
1. Create a copy of the layer called background
2. For the initial layer (background), modify it’s opacity to 40%
3. Now go to “copy of background” and resize the image
4. It’s recommended to add a stroke to “copy of background”

There are other ways to make the borders and you are free to discover and use other methods. When about borders, the result is what matters.

Tags: border, tutorial, adobe photoshop, photoshop, picture, picture edit

The question isn’t “why a border?”, but rather, “what kind of a border?”. Simply because a picture looks better with a border and because different photos look better with different borders.
First of all, you should know that border color depends on the photo’s colors. A photo with warm colors works better with a white border, while a photo with a black border will have cold colors. However, don’t take this as a rule: If the contrast between the border and the photo is not strong enough, you are free to use a different color.

Second, the size of the border: If you have a landscape or any other kind of picture with lots of elements, or one element made of many pieces, the border should be simple and thin. A simple minimalistic picture asks for a bigger border or a more complicated, double border. The two basic colors (black and white) can be used mixed together and in a variety of tones. If you’re still not sure what kind of border to use, I have one more suggestion: a transparent border!

Go to part 2

Tags: border, tutorial, adobe photoshop, photoshop, picture, picture edit