Expert: Scott Valentine - 3/3/2008

Question
Hi there, just wanted to know if you can help me with a few basic photoshop hints.. and tips!
This is my first time using photoshop and the second editing program I have ever used. I'm not sure if anyone knows a program called Express Digital Pro. but I think it's really easy, just not too many things you can do with it. So... I got photoshop!.. can someone please help me with changing a color picture to sepia, or black and white, or back to color, or black and white with color on selected items or spots on the pictures?.
I am using windows xp. and I have photoshop7.
I am really looking for the easiest ways possible, also is there a way to add a vignette? and burnt edges???
Thanks for your help!

Answer
Hi Melissa,

There are a lot of questions right there!  =)

I suggest you head over to a forum like this one:

http://photoshoptechniques.com/forum

You can post your sample pictures there and get very specific help in an ongoing conversation. I'll give you some hints to get started.

In PS 7, one of the favorite methods of converting to a grayscale (Black and White) image was to use the Channel Mixer. Simply create a new adjustment layer over your photo (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Channel Mixer). Select the "Monochrome" option and adjust the different sliders to suit your taste. Each slider corresponds to a "color channel", so what you are really affecting is how each color (Red, Blue, Green) contributes to the grayscale image. For example, if you have a landscape picture with a solid blue sky, you could lower the Blue slider to zero and raise up the Green and Red to about 50% each. That will give you a nice Ansel Adams kind of look.

To bring back some of the color, you will need to know how to paint on layer masks. All Adjustment Layers have a mask built in, which is the white square you see to the right of the layer thumbnail. You can paint with a brush using any shade of gray to selectively reveal the color image beneath the adjustment layer. Here is a tutorial on masking I wrote:

http://www.communitymx.com/abstract.cfm?cid=40311

The other questions you have are best answered in the forum I mentioned above. While they are easy, the methods may not be straightforward if you are just learning Photoshop.

I hope this helps - if you have other questions, please let me know!

-Scott