Before/After Examples
Top  Previous  Next




clip0085
CodedColor PhotoStudio - Image Editing Tutorials

The following tutorials represent typical image editing tasks. While the first examples correct basic Color and Exposure errors, the Colorkey Effect poses much higher demands on an image editor. The Clone Brush is also a unique and versatile tool for some very surprising effects. In the advanced examples further below, we use many different tools in order to produce a perfect photo. Click on the images to compare the photos in 800 x 600 resolution.


1. Correct Colors and Gamma

Before
After
Steps

clip0035

·Open image in editor  
·Color Tool: Automatic  
·Apply changes  
Before
After
Steps

clip0037

clip0038
 
·Open image in editor  
·SmartFix correction  



2. Remove Color Stains

Before
After
Steps

clip0039
 
·Open image in editor  
·Color Tool: Color Cast  
·Press the Pipette  
·Click on the white T-Shirt  
·Apply changes  
·Repeat above steps with other image areas  




3. White Balance

Before
After
Steps

clip0042
 
·Open image in editor  
·Automatic White Balance  



4. Highlight Shadows (Flash)

Before
After
Steps

clip0043

clip0045
 
·Open image in editor  
·Exposure: Smart Flash ~120  
·Apply changes  



5. Highlight Image Areas (Reflector)

In the previous example, the flash simulation is very distinctive, causing the image to loose some of it's magic. The following tutorial will show you a more conservative approach, by highlighting only parts of the image, similar to using a reflector panel on location.

Before
After
Steps

clip0044

clip0060
 
·Open image in editor  
·Exposure: Smart Flash ~50  
·Apply changes  
·Zoom into the face  
·Retouch Brush: Lighten Mode  
·Deactivate Paint Over, Step ~10  
·Set Radius and Feather  
·Amount ~50  
·Use Eraser Brush for corrections  



6. Copy Image Areas (Clone)

Before
After
Steps

clip0049

clip0048
 
·Open image in editor  
·Clone Brush  
·Set Radius to size of head  
·Pressing the SHIFT-Key, click into the sand above the surfboard  
·Paint over the surfboard  
·Set Radius to 1/4 size of head  
·Pressing the SHIFT-Key, click into the center of the right head  
·In the center of the left head, paint in circles towards the outside border  
·Use the Eraser Brush for corrections  
 
Voilà, the surf twins.  



Before
After
Steps

clip0050

clip0051
 
·Open image in editor  
·Clone Brush  
·Pressing the SHIFT-Key, click into a green area of the image (select source point)  
·Using different source points, replace houses with trees and shrubs.  
 
Voilà, the shoreline 100 years ago.  



7. Washout Effect (Colorkey)

The Colorkey effect enhances a motive in a black&white or sepia colored image. Usually, this effect calls for layers - in CodedColor however you only need to follow a few simple steps, as you can see in the next three examples.

Before
After
Steps

clip0052

clip0059
 
·Open image in editor  
·Color Tool: HSL  
·Hue Range: Reds  
·Lightness ~40  
·Saturation ~ -200 (minus)  
·Apply changes  
·Eraser Brush: restore the beef on the plate to the original color  



8. Enhance Objects (Colorkey with Mask)

Before
After
Steps

clip0057

clip0058
 
·Open image in editor  
·Mark the person in the image with the Lasso  
·Invert Selection, Apply Selection Father  
·Color Tool: HSL  
·Saturation -255 (minus)  
·Apply changes  
·Correct the borders using the Retouch Brush: Desaturate with Amount ~100  
·Correct borders using the Eraser brush  
 


9. Pop Art Effects (Colorkey with Color Shift)

Before
After
Steps

clip0055

clip0056
 
·Open image in editor  
·Color Tool: HSL  
·As in the above example, remove unwanted colors with the Pipette (reduce Saturation)  
·Now apply some Hue Shift to the bathing suit  
·Save changes  



10. Blur background and retouch (advanced)

The following example unites many of the above editing tools in order to create a perfect photo. With a little practice, you can make professional improvements in CodedColor, that otherwise can only be achieved by much more expensive applications. Make sure to compare both images in full size!

Before
After
Steps

clip0061

clip0063
 
·Open image in editor  
·Rotate on Horizon Line, with autom. Crop  
·Select 4:3 Format, und crop away the right part of the image  
·Remove the red Color Stain  
·Do some Gamma Correction  
·Soften the skin in the face using the Retouch Brush  
·Remove the 2 boats using the Clone Brush  
·Mark the background & mountains using the Lasso; apply Selection Feather  
·Soften the selected area with the dialog Effects: User Filter: Blur  
·Repeat the softening, until the background appears out of focus (reduce focal depth)  



icon_tip More Information
 
·Complex Tutorial  
 
Note: All photos were shot with a Pentax Optio digital camera with 5 million pixels. The flash and exposure modes were set to fully automatic. No camera internal correction was applied, and the output format of the images was JPEG (not RAW). While the autofocus rendered mostly sharp images, different color and exposure errors occurred. The digital improvements were all done with the CodedColor PhotoStudio image editor, but were also compared to Adobe PhotoShop and Paintshop Pro. While these programs often had more options, the results were not significantly better in quality, but often took longer to accomplish. Picasa and IrfanView were not included in this comparison - since the few tools provide even less options, they cannot be considered classic image editors.