At my current day to day job I use this technique religiously. It’s fast, easy and extremely effective when trying to achieve better quality photos for print and online. In the following Adobe Photoshop tutorial I’ll walk you though a quick (less than a minute once you learn the steps) process on how to brighten up those dull, dark photos you’ve been sent from your clients… or in my case, taken with your poor digital camera.

The following tutorial was done in Adobe Photoshop CS3, but 80% of the process can be used on just about any program with a “Levels” function (such as the freeware, open source image editing software, GIMP) while the last 20% can be done all the way back to Photoshop CS1 (this is the black overlay feature achieved by holding the ‘option’ or ‘alt’ key in levels).

» TIP: IT’S ALWAYS GOOD TO MAKE DUPLICATES OF YOUR LAYERS IN CASE YOU NEED TO GO BACK IF YOU MAKE A FATAL MISTAKE.

Step 1:

Open the file you wish to adjust and open the Levels adjustment window » SHORTCUT: COMMAND+L (pc users: CTRL+L). This will bring up your image’s histogram and the palette where this tutorial will focus. Locate the white point slider as seen above.

Step 2:

One of the best features of this tutorial is built right in to Photoshop CS1+. While on the white point slider, press and hold OPTION (pc users: ALT) and begin scrubbing the bar left and right. This will give you a black overlay over your image. If you’re using an older version of Photoshop or a different program you can skip to step 4.

» NOTE: THIS FEATURE WILL ONLY WORK IF YOUR IMAGE IS IN RGB MODE.

» TIP: USING ADJUSTMENT LAYERS IS A GREAT WAY TO INSURE THAT YOU DON’T RUIN YOUR ORIGINAL FILES. THIS IS CALLED “WORKING NON-DESTRUCTIVELY”. IT WILL ALLOW YOU TO KEEP YOUR ORIGINAL FILES INTACT FOR FUTURE PROJECTS, OR TO RETURN TO A PREVIOUS STATE IF YOUR ADJUSTMENT LAYERS AREN’T WORKING FOR YOUR DESIGN ANYMORE.

Hey look! It’s a me (the man) and a Kristen (the occasional woman) behind the ninethreestudio posts! The man, and sometimes the occasional woman, behind these lovely blog posts. (EDIT: After re-reading this, i realized this almost made it sound like i was an occasional woman. It made me laugh, so i decided to leave it in to show you just how my hamster-on-a-wheel brain works, enjoy.) Where you ask? Ohh, in a photo booth…. okay, okay. STRIKE bowling alley in Orange County had some hoopla event grand opening thing hosted by Lauren Conrad. Yadda Yadda Yadda. Lots of people, free food, booze and bowling… ho hum ho hum…. and now the good stuff. Justice, from American Gladiators… yeah, he was there. I’m not the shortest guys in the world, and he still towered over me. I got all giddy and told Kristen, “Look, there’s that huge dude from American Gladiators!”, then the glaze over of uninterest, but i didn’t let it phase me. haha.

Well, sadly i didn’t quite make it to the 2 week, 14 day straight mark. I had to go out of town this weekend and my job has been keeping me pretty busy. So, in hopes to get back ON the wagon, or ride the white snake as the kids are calling nowadays (source: unfounded), i’m posting a new photo of the day that yours truly actually took. Lazy sunday lying in bed. Kristen with Frankie. Yes, Frankie is a girl. i named her after Frank “Old Blue Eyes” Sinatra.

This memorial day was relaxing, fun, and educational. Had some time to sit and tweak the inner workings of the site, spend some time with my lady friend, and relax at the beach! What more could someone ask for? God, i love Huntington Beach!

Check out the new “Lytebox” plugin i have on the photos and let me know what you think. I did some minor tweaks to it and adjusted some of the settings off of their defaults.

Springtime: sunshine, blooming flowers, light rains, birds chirping, and the sensation that the world is starting anew. It also means Girl Scout Cookies.

All across the nation, little girls and their mothers post themselves in front of grocery stores, on street corners, and up and down neighborhood streets, always with an array of the most delectable assortment of cookies imaginable in their Red Radio Flyer Wagons. Thin Mints, Tagalongs, Samoas, Treefoils, Do-Si-Do’s, and All Abouts wait anxiously on display for their next customer to snatch them up greedily.

During the Girl Scout Cookie season all resolves for healthier eating die as men, women, children, and pets see the little girls with eager eyes and a plethora of cookies staring up at them begging courteously to, “Please support our troop!” And for three dollars a box, what sick person wouldn’t support this battle for little girls everywhere?

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