Photoshop | Filters and Effects

Filters and Effects

Creative sharpening: useful for edgy customers.

Photoshop filters provide you with a wealth of creative image enhancement and alteration opportunities.

You can use Photoshop filters to enhance the basic look of an image, by using a sharpening filter to improve its focus or crispness. Or you can use artistic filters to dramatically alter the entire appearance of an image.

Before we begin this lecture, however, one word of caution. Applying filters to images should be done with care. It must be driven by a need to achieve a creative goal, rather than just creating a cool effect for the heck of it! A little goes a long way, when it comes to applying and using filter effects.

With that in mind, let's explore the wonderful world that lies inside your Filter menu.

Proceed with Care

Selecting and using Photoshop filters is similar to selecting and using fonts as a designer... less is often better than more. Filters should be selected to match your creative design and get the most out of your images.

This lecture will help you understand the technical and aesthetic aspects of filters. In Part I, we'll discuss what filters are typically used for and explore three ways to use filters: image enhancement, illustration effects, and creative alterations.

In Part II, you'll work with me to apply all three types of filters to the images for a specific project, a travel brochure to a favorite Central American country of mine. After all, why not do some travel daydreaming while we are learning Photoshop?

Part I: Uses for Filters

Photoshop filters can be used for many purposes. To simplify matters, we'll focus in this lecture on image enhancement, illustration effects, and creative alterations.

In this part, let's take one image through each type of alteration to see what kind of impact a filter can have.

We'll make many interesting image changes—some subtle, some bold.

The secret to being able to creatively apply filters (for purposes other than what they might have been originally intended) is knowing how the filter works, and what it does. Photoshop has a rich history of people using Photoshop tools for purposes other than intended... so creative exploration is encouraged!

Filters are a process of trial and error. In some cases you will you know exactly what look you want, and know exactly which filter to use and how to configure it. In other circumstances, you may only have a vague idea. You may want a "different" look but are not quite sure what look you are after. In these cases, you can "try out" different image alterations.

Whatever the situation, you want to be very familiar with the filters available to you and how to use them. You should also view the image at 100% size when applying a filter to obtain the most accurate view of the effect.

Important note on workflow: The alterations we will explore in this lecture typically will occur late in our overall image adjustment workflow. By the time you start applying a filter, you should have already completed your basic image corrections and adjustments, including any adjustments to dimension and resolution, brightness and contrast adjustments, and color correction.

Image Enhancement
Sharpening

The sharpening filter set is one of the most commonly used image enhancement filters. Nearly all digital images are softened by the image capture process. And so, nearly all digital images need to have some sharpening applied to mitigate softening.

Whenever a scanner or digital camera captures an image and converts it into pixels, the sharpness or focus of the image is reduced. High detail areas are softened more than low detail areas. And while many images can benefit from overall sharpening, when you look closely at an image, you may decide that some areas need to be sharpened more than others. In some cases, you may even decide to soften some areas of an image in order to emphasize one area over another or create a different effect. Careful selecting is required before applying any changes—if nothing is selected, a filter will be applied to an entire image area.

The image we will use here is an image we will also use in Part II to help us develop a travel brochure, so let's get a head start on that part of the project. Right now!

Open and make a copy of the image Antigua Volcano View. Name this image "Antigua Volcano View_Edit." This is an image of a Guatemalan Volcano shot from the village of Antigua:

A beautiful shot, but softened by the very nature of digital photography.

In this image, the foreground needs more sharpening than the background, so let's select the foreground and apply sharpening to it. We'd expect the background to be a little soft if the foreground is nice and sharp.

To select the foreground, we're going to use a trick you learned in Lecture Two—selecting on a specific channel where it's easiest to see the areas to select.

Open the Channels panel and toggle through the three channels to see which one will provide us the best tonal separation between the foreground and background.

Clicking on each one and comparing them, I see the Red channel provides the best separation and therefore will provide us with the easiest image to use in selecting the background mountain and sky. Remember that you won't lose your original colors by doing this—we're only viewing the image differently to help us see the separations better.

Using the selection tool of your choice (I used a Magic Wand with a threshold of 20, Contiguous checked, feathered it 2 pixels, then subtracted some areas with Alt/Option and the Polygonal Lasso) select the mountain and sky. Check the selection edge in Quick Mask mode and make changes as needed. Save this selection (Select > Save Selection) with the name background. (Refer back to Lecture Three to refresh your Quick Mask and selection saving/loading skills if you need to.)

I select the background area carefully, and check the edge around the vegetation to make sure it's soft and feathered.

If you deselected, load the selection you just saved (Select > Load Selection). Now invert your background selection (Select > Inverse) to select the foreground instead. Save this new selection.

With the foreground selected, switch back to the full RGB view by clicking RGB in the Channels panel.

At this point, you may want to fine-tune your selection with your Lasso tool or in Quick Mask mode to make sure that some of the critical foreground edges, such as the edge of the left yellow light globe, are well within the foreground selection area.

Zoom in to scrutinize this critical edge and view it with both normal and Quick Mask views. Remember you can use your Shift and Alt/Option keys to add to and subtract from your selections in standard mode, and you can paint with white or black in Quick Mask mode.

The selection edge looks hard in standard mode, but is clearly well feathered when viewed in Quick Mask mode.

With the foreground selection active on the composite RGB view, we can sharpen it. Go to Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask.

There are several options in the Sharpen menu, but Unsharp Mask and Smart Sharpen provide us with the best control of the sharpness, while the other sharpening filters are either on or off.

In the Unsharp Mask dialog, assign an Amount of 150-200, a Radius of 1, and a Threshold of 0. View the image at 100% to make a final decision on this and any other filter settings.

Notice how the bushes and lamp and metalwork seem to pop out of the image more!

Since Unsharp Mask is such a commonly used filter, let's look more closely at what each setting is all about:

	Amount: This is a percentage that determines how much the edge contrast is enhanced. Radius: This applies the sharpening to a certain number of pixels on both sides of the sharpened edge. In our case, we applied a sharpening of 1 pixel to both sides of every sharpened edge. Threshold: A threshold of 0 means that all pixels in the selection will be sharpened. When you increase the threshold, some smooth, low contrast areas that you may not want to sharpen will be ignored.

Blurring

In the same way that we enhanced the visibility of the foreground details via sharpening, you can reduce the emphasis of the background by softening it a bit through the use of a blur filter. Load in your background selection so we can apply blurring to it.

There are many types of blur filters in the Filter > Blur menu, like Motion Blur that looks like you took a photograph on the move, and Box Blur, which forms a blur of little squares.

When you simply want to soften an area of a photo (or even a whole photo), the Gaussian Blur is the way to go. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur to try it on your background selection.

This is one of those filters and image circumstances where you can easily overdo the filter effect. Here, the mountain and sky background is already a bit softer than the foreground because it was slightly out of focus. So, we only need to nudge it a bit more toward the soft side. I would suggest a Radius of no more than 1. Try values of 2 and 3 and see if you agree that these are a bit over the top and therefore not credible. Remember to view at 100% for the most accurate preview.

Now compare the image with your starting image with your image with a sharpened foreground and blurred background:

Notice how your sharpened and blurred image (on the right) has not only more detail and pop up front, but also more of a sense of depth than the original (on the left).

Save this version and let's continue making changes to it.

 

Illustration Effects

Let's now move on to the next category of filter effects... illustration effects, also known as artistic filters. For those of use who don't paint and draw worth a hoot—and that includes me—the illustration filters are a godsend. For those who actually have those skills (I envy you!) these filters offer a good starting place and/or a time-saver.

If you've taken a break, reopen the image you created above, Antigua Volcano View_Edit, and make a copy and name it "Antigua Volcano View_Illustrate."

Go to Filter > Artistic to view a whole list of artistic technique choices. Here let's choose Cutout.

Cutout provides you the ability to reproduce your image as if you were working with a restricted color palette and a medium broad brush. With this illustration technique, most of the details in the original image are ignored in favor of rendering the large shapes and prominent colors in the image.

Notice that this filter, as with all Artistic filters, has a control area with sliders and/or numeric controls located in the upper right of the dialog. The preview area allows you to zoom in and out using "+" and "-" or the scale menu located in the lower left corner. Or you can simply, and more quickly, use use Ctrl/Command "+" or "-" to zoom in and out of your preview.

And if that's not dizzying enough, you can zoom in on a specific area of your image to get a close preview, by pressing your Ctrl/Command key and clicking and dragging over the area where you want to zoom in. To quickly return to a full image view, simply press Ctrl/Command+0.

You will also notice that to the left of the control sliders, multiple folders allow you access to all the filters without having to leave the convenience of the dialog. There are even thumbnails to give you an idea of what each one does. And as you will see when you begin to explore them, they are indeed are a fantastic array of filter choices and controls. Heck, if you want to, you can spend the rest of your adult life in this one filter preview dialog playing around... provided you can find someone to pay you to do this!

Now, focus in on the control area located in the upper right corner of the Cutout dialog. The controls you see here will vary with the filter you have selected. In the Cutout filter, you have three controls:

	Number of Levels: This controls the number of color or tonal levels you will have in your image. Here I have selected the maximum of 8. Edge Simplicity: This slider controls the complexity of the shape edges in the image. Higher numbers result in more simplified shapes. Here I have selected the minimum of 0. Edge Fidelity: This controls how closely your Cutout edge follows the position of the original edges in the image. The impact of this adjustment in this image is minimal with an Edge Simplicity = 0. (As you raise the Edge Simplicity value, adjusting the Edge Fidelity will have a greater impact.)

Here are a couple of before and after images and settings for you to see the impact and interactivity of the Cutout values:

Notice the impact of changing the Edge Fidelity from 1 to 3 when your Edge Simplicity is 5. Let's use Levels of 8, Edges Simplicity of 0, and Edge Fidelity of 3 for our final version:

Experiment Some More

While you are in this dialog, experiment with several other artistic filters and their controls. Make sure you try the Dry Brush and the Watercolor filters with this image for some pleasing variations.

You will find as you gain more experience with these filters that different images tend to respond better to some filters than to others. If you have a background in painting and drawing, you will recognize these associations quickly.

An image like Antigua Volcano View does not contain a lot of detail, but has a few broad areas of similar colors. The sky, the mountain, the side of the house, and the bushes are good candidates for using the Cutout, Dry Brush, and Watercolor filters—but are not particularly good subjects for using the Neon Glow filter.

Try the Palette Knife filter and you will notice that while most of the areas in the image work well with the filter, the high detail glass lights do not.

Dry Brush	Watercolor
Palette Knife	Neon Glow

Before we jump into the many creative ways you can use filters on your photos, let's recap the process of applying filters in this video tutorial:

Running Time: 4:05. Read the Transcript

Creative Alterations

Sometimes you can use standard filters in very creative ways to achieve unexpected results. For instance, here is an example of how the same standard sharpening filter we used above can be used to creatively alter the image rather than simply to enhance its original appearance.

Open the original Antigua Volcano View. Make a duplicate copy and name it "Antigua Volcano View_Super Sharpen."

As you did before, toggle through the three channels in the Channels panel: Red, Green, and Blue. Select the channel with the best overall contrast between elements in the image. Here, the Green channel has the best overall contrast. The channel you select in this case will have a big impact on the final results.

With only the Green channel selected, choose Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask.

Remembering that sharpening is an edge contrast enhancement tool, we can extrapolate and wonder: What would happen if we applied huge amounts of sharpening? Would our image become edgier and edgier? Indeed. When you understand how a tool works, you can apply it in a non-standard way to achieve creative results.

Assign the following outrageous Unsharp Mask (take no prisoners) settings: Amount of 500, Radius of 25, Threshold of 0.

Note how the image is definitely edgier. Now repeat that by pressing Ctrl/Command+F. This key command applies the last filter and settings.

Edgier still! Now apply it one more time (Ctrl/Command+F).

Super edgy! Notice how this is essentially a line art image now... one generated through the use of sharpening edges in the image.

Now, just for grins, view the composite RGB channel of this image with the Green channel converted essentially to black and white.

Make a copy of this image and name it "Antigua Volcano View_Super Sharpen_All." Sharpen the Red and Blue channels the same way you did the Green channel.

Red channel	Blue channel

Look at the details in the image, and especially at the glass lights, the bushes, and the mountains. You will quickly see the value of having the good contrasts between the elements in your image: There's better detail reproduction.

And finally, turn the composite RGB view on for this "Antigua Volcano View_Super Sharpen_All" image.

Pretty interesting image, huh? Experience will help you control these creative alterations.

Try different sets of sharpening values as well, like a Radius of 10 or 50 instead of 25. Or try altering your Amount and Radius values with each step. You can also select various portions of images and apply filters to them separately and/or using different settings. There are infinite possibilities... and that's the point.

Once you understand how Photoshop's tools work, you can use them in an infinite variety of ways to create images with unique artistic properties.

To finish up Part I, let's look at the three variations of images we have constructed so far:

Starting image	Sharpened image
Cutout	Super sharpened image

Part II: Filters in a Project

In Part I of this lecture, we saw how filters can be used to enhance an image, add an artistic/illustrative look, or creatively alter images.

In Part II, we will apply filters to images in the context of a project, creating a travel brochure to encourage folks to visit Guatemala. Our emphasis will be on selecting and using filters that: 1) Create an appealing impact for the travel brochure, and 2) Suit the specific characteristics of the image.

In putting together a cover for our travel brochure to Guatemala, we are looking for images that will appeal to people with enough disposable income to allow them to travel. They will be well educated, sophisticated, and likely to respond to various types of tasteful illustrative styles and effects. When reviewing images for a publication project, you're looking for images that are appropriate for the audience you're trying to reach and the message you want to deliver. And when you are looking through your images, be sure to be aware of images within images. Sometimes a portion of an image you already have will be a terrific addition to your design.

Choosing Images

I think the image we enhanced in Part I would make a great cover image. It's elegant and simple, so it will deliver the visual punch needed for the front of the brochure. Let's think about the supporting images for the rest of the brochure and what we can do with them.

The remainder of the images are selected to emphasize other aspects of Guatemala that should appeal to a vacation traveler. We'll use filters on each of them. Why use filters on them? That's a good question, and I hope you asked it!

We could just use the photographs themselves, and create a very nice brochure. But here we have decided to add some visual effects that will help our brochure stand out from other brochures that may also have good quality photos. Filtered images often sacrifice some detail, which in this case can be good so that viewers can focus on the overall theme rather than on a very specific item in a photo.

First, using Adobe Bridge, which we'll explore in Lecture Six, I'll prepare a series of photos for us to review for our brochure.

Let's consider each image in turn, make our final selection and then experiment with filter effects to see if we can make each image eye-catching without destroying important features of the photograph.

Architecture

There are two images from which to choose. Both of these images show interesting and similar architectural features.

We will choose image #1, the simpler of the two images. Image #2 has too much distracting detail. With many images, simple is better... this is a good rule of thumb to keep in mind when you are shooting images as well!

Filter Selection

First, I noticed the same background volcano in this image we have in the main image... so let's nix it with a simple crop. Make a duplicate copy of the image, select your Crop tool, and click-drag an area primarily focused on the dome. Press Enter to make the crop.

Name this image "Guatemala Architecture Crop and Filter" and save it as a PSD file.

Choose Filter > Filter Gallery. The Filter Gallery provides you with access to a wide range of the artistic, textural, and creative filters.

Since this is an architectural image, let's focus on the filters that emphasize lines and edges... open the Sketch folder in the Filters Gallery.

Here, we'll experiment with two of these filters: Chalk & Charcoal and the Graphic Pen. Click Cancel for now and we'll do some set-up work before applying the filters.

Applying Chalk & Charcoal

Activate the Layers panel if it's not already open by selecting Window > Layers (F7). Right-click on the Background layer (or use the Layers panel flyout menu) and select Duplicate Layer. Name this layer Chalk & Charcoal.

When you are trying out filters, create a separate layer for each filter you apply so you can easily turn the layers off and on to compare them. In addition, you can move the filtered layers up and down in the stack and blend them together to create some interesting blended effects.

You can also convert your image into a Smart Object so that the filters remain editable any time you like. To do this, go to Filter > Convert for Smart Filters to turn the Chalk & Charcoal layer into a Smart Object. Now when you apply the filter, you can edit it later by double-clicking its name in the Layers panel, just as you did with layer styles in Lecture Four.

Note that there are downside to Smart Objects: Some commands can't be applied to Smart Object, and each Smart Object greatly increases the size of your file.

Now return to the Filter Gallery (Filter > Filter Gallery) and apply the following settings on the Chalk & Charcoal filter:

	Charcoal Area = 8. Use this to control the darkness and contrast of the background. Eight provides a good balance in this image. Chalk Area = 15. Use this to control the detail and brightness of the foreground architecture. Fifteen provides a nice bright foreground while maintaining a darker background, which will emphasize the architecture. Stroke Pressure = 1. This provides the best combination of detail and contrast in the strokes.

Check out the results—what do you think?

This filter, like many others, is also affected by the foreground and background colors selected in the Tools panel. Try repeating this filter with very different colors selected and compare the results.

Applying Graphic Pen

Duplicate your Background layer (make sure you're on the Background layer and not your new filtered layer) and name it Graphic Pen. Make sure this layer is on the top of the layer stack. Each time we introduce a new filter, be sure to follow this process. Go to Filter > Convert for Smart Filters if you'd like to make this a Smart Object so you can edit the filter later.

Return to your Filter Gallery and go to Graphic Pen, or go to Filter > Sketch > Graphic Pen directly.

Here's a handy tip for adjusting filter field values. Instead of dragging the filter-characteristic sliders or typing in values in the fields (which requires you to pay attention to the sliders and fields), simply tab (press the Tab key) to the field and use your up and down arrows to quickly and smoothly change the field values while you watch the changing effects on your image.

Apply the following settings:

	Stroke Length = 15. This maximum value maintains the greatest amount of detail. Light/Dark Balance = 50. This create a nice balance between the light architecture and the dark background. Stroke Direction = Left diagonal. This creates stroke lines that move toward the architecture. This focuses the eye on the building.

Remember to click each layer off and on to compare them.

Blend the Two Layers

One of the many advantages of digital art is our ability to quickly and easily try various combinations. Here, we can try out a blend of these two sketches.

Arrange the layers so the Chalk & Charcoal is on top of the Graphic Pen layer. Adjust the Opacity for the Chalk & Charcoal to 50%.

Note the interesting blending of the two layers, with the tension between the upper right to lower left strokes on both Chalk & Charcoal and Graphic Pen layers.

Combining and blending filters can provide more interesting and unique effects. Let's have another look at the process in this video tutorial:

Running Time: 2:05. Read the Transcript

Natural Environment

There are three images to choose from here, all featuring volcanoes! Mother nature wrought some interesting mountains in Central America:

All three images are interesting and have their strengths! The one I like best is the middle image with the erupting volcano in the background and people in the foreground. There is a good sense of depth and a subtle asymmetry and a pretty blue sky that nicely offsets the black volcano. The red shirts provide some nice color contrast as well.

This is one of those images that enables people to picture themselves at the scene. The simplicity of this image's composition is also, once again, a strength!

Name this image Guatemala Volcano and Filter and save it as a PSD file.

Filter Selection

This image has large areas of consistent color and texture including volcano, steam, sky, and grass. So filters that emphasize these larger areas will be effective. Here, we will try two filters: Dry Brush under the Artistic section and the Ink Outlines in the Brush Strokes section.

Applying Dry Brush

Duplicate your Background layer and name this layer Dry Brush. Through the Filter Gallery Artistic section, select Dry Brush and apply the following settings:

	Brush Size = 1. A small Brush Size, in addition to a large Brush Detail, helps retain image detail. Brush Detail = 10. A maximum value here helps keep the human forms recognizable. Texture = 3. A maximum value retains some of the appropriate texture, especially on the volcano slopes.

Compare the results:

The specifics are nicely simplified, like the details of the tourists, and you still get the feel of the overall scene. Nice.

Applying Ink Outline

On a new Background duplicate layer named Ink Outlines, access the Ink Outline Filter in the Brush Strokes section of the Filter Gallery or through Filter > Brush Strokes > Ink Outlines.

Apply the following settings:

	Stroke Length = 2. A short brush Brush Stroke helps maintain image detail. Dark Intensity = 1. A small value helps minimize the brooding feel in the image and helps retain some detail in the volcano slope. Light Intensity = 25. A modest value, along with the small Dark Intensity, maintains a good contrast in the image.

As you work with more images and more filters for this project, compare the visual impact of each image, and begin to compare the looks of these with the other images you are using and modifying.

Blend the Two Layers

Arrange the layers so the Dry Brush is on top of the Ink Outline layer. Adjust the opacity of the Dry Brush to 75%.

Notice how the visible 25% of the Ink Outline adds an subtle hard edge to the softness of the Dry Brush.

Native People

When I began sorting out these images, I really liked this image and knew we would use it. It contains an attractive native with some wonderful patterned and the colored cloth that is so representative of the culture.

Remove the Competing Background

Prior to applying a filter, let's remove the competing background image elements of the other people and the bicycle. Here, we will both crop and clone out the background.

Make a duplicate copy of this image and name it Guatemala Native Crop and Filter. Choose the Crop tool and create a tight crop around the woman and her cloth.

Duplicate the cropped background layer and name the layer Cloned Background.

Using the cloning tools and skills you learned in Lecture Two, remove the remaining background people and objects from the image. The Clone Stamp tool is very effective here. Take care to extend the rear image elements, such as the wall, curb and cobblestone street behind the image. Be sure to use the proper size of cobblestones to preserve the impression of depth.

Filter Selection

This image demands a filter that will emphasize the fabric patterns in the cloth and the woman's dress, while at the same time we must preserve, and not unpleasantly distort, the woman's face and expression. Photographs of people must be handled carefully when filtering!

When I first looked at this image, I had a filter in mind: Poster Edges. Sometimes you just know where you want to go. I knew this filter would emphasize important lines in the image without distorting them.

Applying Poster Edges

As always, duplicate the background and name the duplicate with the filter we will use.

Through the Filter Gallery Artistic section or Filter > Artistic, select Poster Edges. Apply the following settings:

	Edge Thickness = 0. A minimal value creates thin outline edges that nicely frame all the pattern elements. Edge Intensity = 10. A maximum value, along with the the zero Edge Thickness, adds to the framing of the fabric elements. Posterization = 6. A maximum value provides just enough color variation.

Note how this filter and these settings emphasize the fabric patterns and colors, while at the same time preserving the facial expression. There is also a nice hand-drawn quality that goes well with the handmade craft presented here.

Remember to view your image at 100% size on screen to see the best representation of how that filter affects your image. Select View > Actual Pixels (or press Ctrl/Command+Alt/Option+0).

Flora

Like the native image above, this violet iris image cried out for inclusion. The short depth of field, soft background, slight asymmetry, and the simplicity of composition make this a very easy and pleasant image.

Filter Selection

For this image, we will want to concentrate on some filters that will emphasize the softness of the flower and retain some of the subtlety of the color variations, and perhaps even further de-emphasize the background.

So we will want to steer away from filters that emphasize edges (such as the Poster Edges filter that was so perfect for the previous image) and lean more toward filters that will apply softer effects. The two filters I have chosen to use here are the Smudge Stick filter and the Grain filter.

Applying the Smudge Stick

With your background layer made and named, head to the Artistic area of the Filter Gallery or Filter menu and choose Smudge Stick. As the name implies, the image will be softened in a similar way to a fine artist's smudge stick or blending stump. Apply the following settings:

	Stroke Length = 2. A low value here retains detail in the image and keeps edge thickness light. Highlight Area = 0. A minimum value keeps the light highlight area from becoming too blown out. Intensity = 6. A medium value here controls the overall image contrast.

Note how this filter and these settings emphasize the softness of the flower and the subtlety of the color variations. A great deal of detail has been maintained.

Applying the Grain

On another background duplicate, let's use a texture-based filter. These filters, found in the Filter Gallery or Filter menu under Texture, apply (you guessed it) a texture to the overall image. You can make your image appear to be applied to a canvas, for example.

I'm going to use a Grain texture on this image. It's another filter that will add interest but preserve detail.

Apply the following settings:

	Intensity = 15. A modest value moderates the impact of the grain. Higher values are too soft for my liking. Contrast = 50. A medium value here creates a good contrast between the lighter flower and darker background, but does not overdo it. Grain Type = Soft. Try both Regular and Soft. Here I have selected Soft to apply a more subtle effect, but Regular can be effective as well, so long as the intensity is not too high.

Note how this filter and these settings also maintain the softness of the flower and the subtlety of the color variations.

Try blending these two filter layers together to achieve some interesting subtle variations.

Art/Artifacts

Our sorting process yielded one art/artifact image that we liked for this layout. This image has an appropriately primitive, mysterious look about it. Perfect to appeal to the adventurous travelers reading our brochure.

Crop the Image and Remove the Finger

Create a duplicate copy of this image and name it Guatemala Art_Crop. Using the Crop tool, crop out most of the left wall. This will have the double benefit of removing this uninteresting wall and creating a more interesting asymmetrical view of the art artifact. Then clone out the remaining finger in the lower left.

Filter Selection

Here we can choose to either emphasize the primitive rocky look or soften it and emphasize its mysterious nature. Let's try both the Craquelure texture and the Diffuse Glow filters to accomplish these two effects.

Applying the Craquelure

On a background duplicate, go to the Texture section of the Filter Gallery or Filter menu and choose Craquelure. This applies a rough, cracked texture to an image. It can be set to look like huge bricks or stones, or tiny, light cracks.

Apply the following settings:

	Crack Spacing = 25. A modest value here creates a medium-sized crack pattern. Crack Depth= 2. A small value moderates the visual impact of the cracks so they do not overwhelm the view of the artifact. Crack Brightness = 8. This high value reduces the visibility of the cracks around the lighted artifact to increase its visibility.

Here, the Craquelure filter enhances the primitive look of the image. As you can see, you must be careful with such aggressive filters, as they can take over the image. Additionally, texture filters like this one have become so commonly used that they can sometimes look obvious or lazy. You should always customize the settings.

Applying the Diffuse Glow

On another background duplicate layer, we'll use a Distort filter. Filters in the Distort category of the Filter Gallery or Filter menu can provide really interesting looks, like a glassy texture or a twirl of the image contents. We'll use Diffuse Glow with these settings:

	Graininess = 6. A medium value here applies a moderate amount of soft graininess to the image. Glow Amount = 1. A small value minimizes the amount of glow added to the highlight... it doesn't require much. Clear Amount = 16. This moderate high value enhances the contrast of the effect.

This filter softens the entire image, emphasizing its mystery.

City Life

I had a few strong contenders for inclusion. Ultimately the still life image you see here won the day as a quintessential Central American scene.

Filter Selection

This image already has a soft graininess about it, so let's emphasize that. One of the best filters for adding an overall texture is the Texture Filter.

Applying the Texturizer

On a new background duplicate layer called Texturizer, let's explore Sandstone Texturizer features. In the Filter Gallery or Filter menu, choose the Texture section and the Texturizer option within.

This filter offers several different texture types that are easily customized. Choose Sandstone from the Texture menu in the dialog and apply the following settings:

	Texture = 25. While the canvas texture looks nice here, choose the sandstone because it's more subtle. Scaling= 100%. This medium value creates visible but not overwhelming texture elements. Relief = 4. This moderate value applies an effective, but not obnoxious, amount of relief in the texture pattern elements. Light = Upper left. This controls the direction of light used to create the texture. Upper Left matches the preexisting lighting in the image.

The Sandstone texture adds to the overall graininess of the image and enhances the rustic look of the image.

With this filter applied, we now have a full set of images for the brochure that emphasize the lovely and rustic qualities of our destination.

Final Thoughts

When choosing and applying filters to images, there's no one correct filter or set of values. The filters you choose will depend upon the nature of the image, what you want to enhance or modify, the look you want to create, and the message you want to deliver. You may want to create several versions on several layers and compare the results.

Once you have gained some experience with filters you will begin to even pre-visualize how you might apply them when you initially capture your images. And remember, typically less is more when it come to applying filters... it's easy to overdo it.

Happy filtering!

Discussion Share your thoughts on Photoshop with your fellow students. Exercise Create a travel brochure cover of your own using both enhancement and creative/artistic filters.