With this photoshop workshop we learnt about the use of masks in being able to amplify or remove certain areas of an image, as well as learning how to manually retouch an image.
We firstly learnt about masks, in which we experimented with the change in colour through the use of curves. I found this interesting as it allowed me to pick out certain areas within an image and just edit this. I did this by changing the lair mask from black to white, then using a white paint tool to then paint out the areas that I wanted the mask to show. This was effective as it allowed me to get very detailed and clean lines to make the image look more smooth and realistic. For the second half of the workshop we looked at using the clone stamp as well as the spot healing brush to manually fix the areas of the image that did not look smooth. For example, in the image of the girl sitting down, we edited the floor and parts of her skin to smooth and them and make it look more even and professional. Using these two techniques took a while as it is very detailed, and using a small brush size helps for more detailed results but takes a while. The difference between the clone stamp and the healing tool is that the clone stamp takes one small area and clones it where you require, whereas the healing tool is clever and looks at the colour you are cloning over and tries to match it to that.
Overall, these three techniques help to perfect and clean up an image to create a smooth final piece, I will definitely be using these in the future.
Caitlin Smith 