Photoshop
High Pass Sharpening
Jan 7th
Here is a method for sharpening i learned some time back. It uses the ‘high pass’ filter in photoshop cs4.
Text Version:
1. Duplicate the original layer [ctrl + j] and change the blend mode of duplicated layer to ‘overlay’.
2. Right click on the new layer and choose ‘convert to smart object’.
3. Now go to the ‘filter’ menu and choose ‘high pass’ from ‘other’ sub menu.
4. Change the Radius slider until you find a sweet spot. It varies for everyone and every image.
A small Video:
How to Create a 360 degree Panorama
Dec 30th
In this tutorial i will share how to create a 360 degree panorama.
Step 1: Taking Pictures
It is really simple like taking a normal panorama shot, the difference is you take pictures covering a full 360 degree. A tripod is preferable because it saves time in PS and you get a neat shot.
I use Nikon D60 with my 18-55mm kit lens and a cheap Velbon tripod. For D60 with 18-55 lens i don’t have any problems with tripod.
Put your camera in manual mode, set the aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Also do not change the focus points. Better the AE/AF lock function in your camera.
I don’t have sophisticated equipments for panoramic photography. I just rotate the camera in tripod approximately and click. Take 25-30 shots for a full 360 degree. I should be sufficient for the overlap.
Step 2: Photomerge
This video explains it all.
Here is the PS action mentioned in that video
Photoshop takes some time to merge the shots. If you have a good hardware you should not worry. I got the resulting PSD file size is around 500 MB after merging 24 – 10 MP shots. As the file size is very large it takes time for every action. That’s why a faster processor and more RAM space is needed.
Step 3: Displaying the output
Displaying the 360 degree panorama matters a lot. For example, see this. It is a 360 degree panorama but you cannot feel it. It is just like another panorama, but little long.
You need to convert the 360 degree panorama into a VR- Virtual Reality. You might have seen this 360 degree virtual tours in websites. It is the same thing.
I cannot find a free software to convert 360 degree panorama into a VR. If you can buy a software, go for anyone of these
There software allow you to convert 360 degree panorama into a VR, either flash VR ot Quicktime VR. I prefer flash VR. You can also add hotspots and much more.
Here i have a decent way of displaying the panorama.
http://technicalerror.net/360degree/1.html
As you can see it is not very much interactive, but certainly better than a normal photo. I used this script
If you have some decent knowledge in html you are done.
Update: I have edited the above link. It uses flash and not the jquery simple pano viewer.Some more links:
Adding Light Rays using Photoshop
Sep 25th
1. Choose the image.
2. Duplicate the image into a new layer. [press ctrl + j]
3. Now you have to find out the brightest part of your image.
Here is a small technique to do that. Choose Image –> Adjustments –> Levels [or ctrl + L]
Push the mid tones [middle slider] to the right end. Now you can see the brightest part of your image. Just delete the adjustment layer.