Filters are easy to learn and use, and yet are one of Photoshop's most powerful features. When used properly, they can r
Photoshop Filters Filters are easy to learn and use, and yet are one of Photoshop’s most powerful features. When used properly, they can recreate a number of photographic and artistic effects, can enhance the quality of your images, and can even distort them in ways which would otherwise be very tedious and time-consuming. Each filter produces its own unique effect, which you can adjust and manipulate before it is applied. Also, a filter may be applied even after another has been used, with the end result being a combination of the two filters used. The order that you apply the filters has an effect on what the end result looks like; for example, running Add Noise followed by Blur will give you a blurry image with fuzzy dots on it, whereas the reverse combination would give a blurry image with sharp dots. Since filters can be used in any order, and each has its own controls, there is practically no limit to the different ways in which you can apply and combine them. Here are some general guidelines to keep in mind when using filters: • Some filters only work with RGB images (most common) • Some filters only work with 8-bit images (most common) • As a general rule, the more RAM you have, the faster your filters will run. 512 MB is usually good for casual Photoshop use, while 1 GB is recommended for serious image editors.
Applying Filters from the Filter Menu Using a filter is as simple as going to the Filter menu and choosing the one you want. Some filters will apply instantly, while others (which have … after their names) will present you with some options first. Here are some tips for using filters: • Hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) to see a realtime preview of the effect as you drag a slider. • If you want to apply the filter to just part of your image, use the selection tool to select the portion before running the filter • If there is a Preview Window, you can drag the preview image to view different portions of it. You can also use the + and - buttons to zoom in and out. • Filters may be applied to individual color channels, and may also be applied to layer masks.
Preview Window
Using the Filter Gallery With this tool, you can quickly preview how a filter or combination of filters will look without actually applying any of them to your image. While most filters may be accessed in the Filter Gallery, you will notice that some are not there (such as the Render filters). Those filters can only be applied by choosing them from the Filter Menu. Here are some details on the different parts of the Filter Gallery window and what they do: • Realtime Preview: Shows what the list of filters will look like on your image. You can use the controls in the lower left to make the preview larger or smaller. • Available Filters: Click the triangle next to each folder icon to expand the folder and reveal the filters inside. • Filter Options: You can control the settings of each filter you are using here. Whatever filter is selected in the list is the one you can adjust here. • List of Filters: Use this list to control which filters you are applying and in what order. Drag a filter up or down in the list to change its order (the top filter is applied first). Click the Eye icon once to hide a filter’s effect in the list, and click it again to show the effect. Click the trash icon at the bottom to remove the selected filter from the list, or click the page icon at the bottom to add another filter to the list.
Available Filters
Filter Options
Realtime Preview
List of Filters Being Applied
Using the Extract Filter Clipping a photo (removing its background) has long been a standard Photoshop procedure, but only since the recent addition of the Extract filter has it been this quick and easy. With this filter, a portion of the image is retained while the rest is made transparent. From there, you can give the image a new background or leave it blank for a “cut out” effect. The Extract Window includes all the controls you need when doing your clipping. When you have things looking the way you want, click OK. If you want to revert back to how things were when you started, click Reset; hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) and the Cancel button will change to a Reset button. Here’s a look at the Extract Window and the details of the procedure: Tools
Active Tool Controls
Highlighter Fill Eraser Cleanup
Smart Highlighting Preview Window
Edge Touchup Zoom Hand
Preview Controls
1. Magnify the area you will be cutting with the Zoom tool until you can clearly see the edges. Click and drag with the Hand tool to pan to different areas of the image. To zoom out, hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) when clicking with the Zoom tool. 2. Select the Highlight tool and adjust the brush size in the Active Tool Controls so that it is just large enough to cover the edge you will be highlighting. A larger size is usually for complex edges like hair or leaves. 3. Check Smart Highlighting if you are highlighting an obvious edge in the photo. 4. Use the Highlight tool to draw the boundaries of the area you want to keep. You do not need to highlight boundaries if they are along the photo edges. Highlight tool used to define the edge of the extraction
5. If you make errors as you highlight, use the Eraser tool to erase highlighter marks. Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) and press Delete to remove all highlighter marks.
6. Click in the region you want to preserve with the Fill tool. If you fill the wrong area, click it again to remove the fill. 7. Preview the clipping by clicking the Preview button in the upper right. In the Preview Controls, use the Show pull-down menu to toggle between the original image and the extracted preview. You can also preview the cut-out on a colored background in the Display pull-down menu. 8. Use the Cleanup tool to erase traces of the background that still remain, or hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) to restore parts of the object that have been mistakenly cut out. The brush size can be controlled from the Active Tools controls. 9. Sharpen the edges of the clipping if they are too fuzzy or jagged using the Edge Touchup tool. 10. When the image looks the way you want it to, click OK. If you want to add a new background to the cut-out image, place the background layer below the cut-out layer.
Fill applied to define which area to preserve
Extract Performed (the background is now transparent)
New image placed behind photo to provide a new background
Fading a Filter After a filter has been applied, you can “Fade” the filter using the Fade command in the Edit Menu. There, you can change the opacity and blending mode of the filter effect. This is the same as changing the blending mode and opacity of the image layer, except that the original image shows through instead of the layer below. Hence, if you fade a filter to 0% opacity, you just see the original image. At 100% opacity, you just see the full effect of the filter.
Original Image
Reticulation Filter applied
Fade Reticulation applied with 100% opacity and Overlay blending
Artistic Filters This collection of filters is meant to make it seem as though a particular artistic style or media was used in making your image. A few Artistic filters are described below: • Cutout: The picture seems as though it was made from roughly-cut pieces of paper. • Plastic Wrap: Gives the impression that the image is placed under a single piece of plastic wrap. • Poster Edges: Reduces number of colors, and uses black strokes to add the detail lost as the colors are simplified. • Sponge: Simulates a sponge-painting effect for your image.
Original Image
Poster Edges filter applied
Cutout filter applied
Texture Filters These filters make it seem as though the image has been created on some type of three-dimensional surface. These surfaces may be natural (such as brick or plaster) or not (such as stained glass) A few texture filters are described below: • Craquelure: Places the image on a plaster-like material, with most of the cracks and ridges following color boundaries. • Mosaic Tiles: Makes the image seem as though it were painted on an array of small tiles, with dark grout in between. • Stained Glass: Imitates the popular effect found in Churches. • Texturizer: Allows you to choose a texture on which the image will appear to be painted on. Presets include Brick, Burlap, Canvas, and Sandstone.
Original Image
Stained Glass filter applied
Texturizer (Sandstone) filter applied
Blur and Sharpen Filters As their name suggests, Blur filters soften the edges of an image or blend them together in various ways, while Sharpen filters increase the contrast of edges in an image. Here’s a look at a few filters: • Gaussian Blur: Makes an image appear blurry by a specified amount. Also can be thought of as a “hazy” effect. • Smart Blur: Smooths out areas of similar coloring, while keeping sharp edges between very different color regions. • Sharpen More: Helps improve an image’s focus and clarity. This filter is just a stronger version of the Sharpen filter. • Sharpen Edges: Seeks out color edges in the image and increases their contrast. Unsharp Mask accomplishes the same thing but provides many advanced controls.
Original Image
Smart Blur filter applied
Unsharp Mask filter applied
Advice and Additional Support Now that you have had a brief introduction to Photoshop filters, the best thing to do now is experiment. Try different filter combinations, or different settings for a particular filter. For example, below is a combination that imitates Apple’s Brushed Metal window appearance:
Gradient applied
Add Noise filter applied
Motion Blur filter applied
Many tutorials are available online that offer step-by-step instructions on how to achieve certain effects using filters and other Photoshop functions; a Google search for “Photoshop Tutorial” will return plenty of results. Also, although the filters supplied with Photoshop are very powerful on their own, many other Software companies offer their own set of add-on filters that accomplish even more, such as Eye Candy by Alien Skin Software. Again, however, the best thing to do at this point is to continue experimenting. Try different things, be creative, and remember that no matter what happens here, you can always Undo. All text and images in this handout, including the originals, are the intellectual property of Robert Campbell © 2004 Robert Campbell. All rights reserved. Please do not copy or distribute without permission.
