Photoshop: Perfecting Your Image, Layer By Layer

To capture a perfect image, a photographer needs to understand the delicate balance between the light conditions, the precise amount of exposure that his image needs and also the precise lenses and filters which will deliver him the final, flawless photograph. However, it so happens that despite these measures, the image does not always figure the way you imagined it to be. Re-shooting the image is not a very viable option, given the large investments in terms of time and money the process calls for. And hence we are lead to the art of editing. A device widely used by conventional and digital photographers, alike, editing software allows you to rework your image until you achieve the exact results you were aiming for. And as time and technology have advanced, many new kinds of software have been developed, of which Adobe Photoshop is undoubtedly one of the most prominent names.

Many a times, editing software does produce the desired effect, but significantly lowers the image quality. As a result, many photographers choose not to experiment with editing software but try the more conventional "darkroom techniques." With Photoshop, this hurdle is vanquished as you can work on your image without altering the original content itself. And this can be accomplished by using "Layers" which are similar in nature to transparencies, each of which consists of a part of the image. When stacked over each other, these layers collectively form the complete image. Hence, by using layers, you can work on only a particular part of the image to which you can apply your choice of effects while leaving the rest of the photograph unchanged.

Hence, if you have a picture which is overexposed at certain parts, you can focus on building density and modifying the color of that particular layer, until it blends in with the rest of the image. And if your judgment is not wholly accurate at the first go, you can also choose to undo the effects in parts until you reach the phase which is workable and take it from there. This is because, you are undoing, not the overall effect of the image itself, but only of the particular layer or even a section of the layer, thus saving you from investing a lot more time and effort which redoing the entire image would have called for. Here, you can also experiment with the Multiple Undo option which lets you experiment to your hearts content and yet stick with only the changes which are appropriate to your final image.

If your editing skills go haywire, and you end up with something you didn't quite expect, you can also undo all the changes you've made and start all over, without even the slightest bit of change to the original image quality. You can also gauge if your editing is proceeding the right way by turning off the visibility of the layer you are working on, to view the overall effect and then turning the visibility back on to proceed with your editing.

You can custom create your own adjustment layer by making your selection from the New Adjustment Layer Sub-menu which you can find in the main Layer Menu, or click on the Palette Icon which opens up a pop up menu for you to make your selection from. Once you've found just the right adjustment layer, you can even preserve your preferences for later images to achieve the same spectacular effect without having to toil for hours over it.

To distinguish between layers, once you have divided your image, you can name each layer with a distinct title which will make it easier for you to switch between layers and avoid confusion. To do this, double click on the layer you wish to rename and enter the title you've selected in the name field. Once you click on OK, the new name will be saved, letting you proceed with the other layers. If it helps you focus, you can also hide the other layers and concentrate on only one specific layer at a time. You can do this by clicking on the eye icon beside each of the layers to make them disappear and then click on the icon again to bring them back. This allows you to work on one layer at a time, without being distracted by the other un-worked or reworked layers.

If you find yourself flooded with more layers than you can handle, you can delete the ones you don't need, while keeping the others which you plan to work on just as they are. If you like, you can also merge layers into a single layer by clicking on the layers you want to merge and then choosing the Merge layers option in the Layer Menu. If you plan to master Photoshop, it is vital you learn the finer nuances of layers to make the most of your software as the clich goes, the results will be for all to see!

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