Use These Photoshop Hacks to Create Better Photos
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photo by andresr via iStock
Melbourne photographer and filmmaker Tom Noske recently did a video for Canon Australia outlining his best Photoshop hacks. You can view this video below.
It’s legitimately one of the best Photoshop tutorials I’ve ever watched and after seeing it, I knew I had to write an article here for all of you so that you can try out these Photoshop hacks for yourself. The reason why it was so good is that every tip he gives is incredibly simple, so even photographers who have never used Photoshop before can give them a try.
I hope that you get as much out of this video as I did. Let’s get started.
Composition Hacking
The original image before composition hacking.
Noske is a freelance photographer/videographer and he specializes in adventure photography, which means that there are a ton of moments where he has just seconds to get the picture of a lifetime.
The example he used was when he took a hot air balloon ride over the sand dunes in Dubai. Some of the images he captured didn’t feel as magnificent as the sand dunes themselves were. While camera technology has come a long way, there are definitely moments that cameras still aren’t able to fully capture.
In moments like these, Noske uses something he calls composition hacking.
The same image after composition hacking. Notice how the mountains are now more pronounced in the shot.
Composition hacking is one of the easier Photoshop hacks on this list. After placing your image in Photoshop, you’ll select the marquee tool before choosing the part of your image that you would want to emphasize.
Before writing this article I actually tried out all of these Photoshop tricks for myself. For my composition hack, I took a photo of the Ko’olau mountain range on Oahu. I wanted to emphasize the mountains, which never quite translate all of their beauty to the camera.
After picking this part of your shot, hit Command C, hold Shift, and then use your mouse to stretch your image. That’s it!
Learn More:
Gradient Tool
The original image before using the gradient tool to replace the sky.
If you’ve worked with Photoshop for any extended amount of time, then you’ve surely used the gradient tool before and you may be wondering why this is showing up on this list of photo editing hacks...
Here’s why. It has a hidden use. Noske defined it as the “one click sky replacement tool.” If you have a wonderful image of a landscape, but you feel the shot of the sky really doesn’t do it justice, you can use the gradient tool to enhance the sky portion of your image with another image you’ve taken where the sky was much prettier.
The same image after using the gradient tool.
If you’ve seen somebody doing a Photoshop hacks video before where their sky replacement went horribly, this is pretty much the exact opposite of that. I think that Noske’s Photoshop tips and tricks always lead to gorgeous, realistic photos because wherever possible he doesn’t paint in his images, but rather replaces portions of them with better ones.
So, for this trick, you’ll get the good sky image and put it on a layer below the image that you’re working on. Then, add a layer mask to your image. Select the gradient tool, hold Shift, and drag all the way from the top of your image down to the horizon.
The best Photoshop hacks are the ones that seem too simple to be true, and you really have to watch Noske’s video to see just how pretty the images he creates with this trick turn out.
Selective Color
The original image before using selective color.
You can’t create a Photoshop tips video without talking about color adjustment...
Noske’s third and final Photoshop hack is for photographers who want to slightly adjust the color in their images.
In order to use this hack, you should go to your adjustment layers and click selective color. Then a slider will pop up featuring all of your basic colors. You can then choose which color you would like to change and play with the slider to figure out what your image would look like.
The same image after using selective color.
Noske says that he uses the selective color tool for all of his portraits, because you can also select your subject with your brush, which prevents them from being affected by the changes you’re making with the selective color tool.
Now, Noske’s Photoshop hacks 2020 video was short and sweet, which means you have absolutely no excuse for not trying them on some of your old images right now. Good luck and let us know how it goes!
