PHOTOSHOP: A STARTER GUIDE FOR LUTHIERS

The Strad’s art editor gives a guide to creating, isolating and removing images from a background, as well as understanding colour corrections and saving the files

Opening the image file

Art editor, The Strad, London, UK

Digital design has changed dramatically over the years, and this includes the popular design software Adobe Photoshop. Used by many graphic designers, photographers and design enthusiasts, it is a powerful tool that can enhance your images and designs. Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop are what we at The Strad use to create this publication.

Every month I process dozens of images before the magazine is ready to go to press. Very frequently, I receive an instrument photo on a busy or coloured background, whereas in the magazine it needs to be white (such as in the In Focus section). This means I need to isolate the image from its background. Additionally, the colours may need adjusting.

When it comes to working with images, we need to understand the different colour modes for digital and print output. The images supplied are often RGB (Red, Green, Blue), which is the standard format for digital use. We should also note that a computer screen is backlit, meaning that the images will always appear brighter and more vibrant than in print. The standard format for print publication is CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key – Black). The inks on paper can dull an image a little, but this is where we can correct images in Photoshop and restore some of the vibrancy.

The version of Adobe Photoshop I am using for this article is Version 25.1.0 on a Mac. Other versions may look slightly different on your own computer screen.

1 Launch Photoshop, go to File > Open,  and locate the image on your computer. Next to the filename you will see either ‘RGB’ or ‘CMYK’. Make a mental note of this, as you will have to change it at the end of the process if your image is for digital or print output.

2 Photoshop has many windows. If you don’t already have a tools panel open on your screen, go to Window > Layers (2a). Then check if the image has layers (Layer 1, Layer 2 etc.). If there are, hide them by clicking on the eye tool. Only keep the layer you want to work on. Also, if any of the layers have a padlock symbol next to them (2b), click on it to unlock the layer.

The Layers panel

Removing the background for a quick edit 3a 3b

3 If you are using the image for a quick, non-detailed shape, you can try this very quick method to remove the background. In the example I am removing the red and shadow, but this method loses the detail in the violin and results in a jagged edge around the side.

Double-click the Layers panel. Open Window > Properties, and click on the button ‘Remove background’ (3a). Although this removes the background (3b), you can see a little red of the background remaining at the base of the violin.

To undo anything you’re not happy with, go to Edit > Undo. You can also click on Window > History and you’ll see a list of the steps you’ve performed so far (3c). Just click back to wherever you want to be.

The pen tool

4 Now let’s try an accurate way to create an isolated image. Locate the pen tool in the tool palette. Click and hold down the pen symbol to make the various pen selections appear. Choose the ‘Pen Tool’ (4a). Now zoom into your image to begin removing the background. You will be using your keyboard to help this process, and to eliminate clicking on the tool palette so much.

Click your pen tool on the starting point of where you want to draw the shape that you want to isolate. Click the first point, then the second. If you want to correct a point’s location, you can do this by holding down the CTRL key of your keyboard (‘Option’ on a Mac). You will notice the pen tool changes to an arrow. Then click and hold on the point, and move it to the new location.

Outline the subject or object of your focus

5 Continue making your path around the shape. Here I’m only going to cut out the scroll. When you arrive at the final point, connect to your first pen tool mark. Hover over it and you will see a circle appear. Click on it to close the path.

Isolate your image

6 Now that the path is closed and we have our isolation shape, it is good practice to create a softer edge to the cut-out, rather than a harsh one. For this step, locate the Path Selection tool. Click on Work Path. Then in the top left of this tool click the dropdown menu and select ‘Make Selection’. A pop-up window appears. Choose a Feather Radius of 0.5 and click OK.

7 You will see the outline come to life – it looks like it is moving. Now we need to remove the background. Go to Select > Inverse and then the Delete key (Backspace on a Mac). Hold down the Command Key and press D at the same time to access the image.

Saving the image file depends on how and where you intend to use it. If it is for digital, leave it as RGB. If for print, save it as CMYK. First go to Image > Mode > CMYK. Then click File > Save. Save it as a Photoshop (PSD) file, as this will retain the transparent background. Also, save the image at a press-ready file size: 300dpi. (File > Image > Image size)

Saving the file

Colour correction

8  There are times when you need to colour-correct the  image. If you have the original instrument in front of you, try to match it exactly with the colours on screen.

There are so many ways to change and edit colour in Photoshop. If you look in the ‘Adjustments’ section of the Image dropdown, you will find ‘Colour Balance’, ‘Levels’ and ‘Selective Colour’. All of these could be used.

One easy method is to use Image > Adjustments > Hue/ Saturation, which brings up a colourful window. If you require a little more yellow on your instrument, move the Hue slider to the right (8a). If you want it warmer by adding red, slide to the left (8b). If you want to reset the image, click on the Option keypad and ‘Cancel in the panel’. It remains open and you can start again.

Photoshop is a great tool to explore. Keep trying various methods to colour-correct your images. You might come up with a work of art to be proud of!