		Shortcuts and Essential Techniques for PWP Transformation Windows Shift-click right/left from amount slider, increases / decreases amount 1/1024 of full scale. Shift-click adds control point to curves. Ctrl-click deletes control point. Square button (Select amount mask) to right of amount slider: depressi shift, then while the left mouse button is depressed, sets amount to 0, releasing mouse button restores former value. Shift-click when starting a transformation sets it back to default values. Windows can be resized. When resizing a preview window of a transformation, the system may try to redraw the window over and over, delaying your adjustment of the window. A solution, but one that affects all programs, is to uncheck the box "show window contents while dragging" (My computer-Properties, Advanced-Performance settings). Clt-T brings transformation window to top. Insert key brings next window to top. Image Windows PgUp / PgDown scrolls vertically. Home / End scrolls horizontally. Alt-Left mouse allows dragging of image within window. * (above 9 on the numeric keypad) zooms in, and – (to right of * and above +) zooms out. Crop Hold down shift when adjusting control points to rotate cropping rectangle. Advanced Sharpen Noise Reduction: slider below histogram: white full amount, black no amount, gradient for soft transition. Increase radius till noise disappears, set treshold for minimal loss of details. Speck Removal: speck size and threshold: set as low as possible. Sharpen Masks Color Range: in picture, click into area to be masked, contract, shift +left button dragging mouse around area expands range. Using masks “live” in transformations: select image, select Mask build mask, make the image active by clicking on its title, start desired transformation. The mask as it stands is already selected. Can now go back and forth modifying mask and seeing its effects. Composite Control points: when at a high zoom factor: pressing the number keys (1,2,3...) scrolls range, so that point becomes visible. Local Contrast Enhancement (5 ways, increasing control, but increasingly involved) 1. Unsharp mask, radius 100 (on the order of the sizes of objects), amount, 20-40%. 2. Blur with radius on the order of the sizes of objects, subtract 20-40% of this from original, restore normal intensity range with gray-brightness curve. (This is, in fact the same as the USM procedure, #1, you just have more control. 3. Convert to 8 bit B&W, expand this to full range, use this as mask of original with gray-brightness curve. A good starting point for this is [0,0], [20,0], [80,100], [100,100] with the black and white sliders at 50. 4. Filter transformation, additive or subtractive, using the image itself as the filter, exposure compensation ~1.12. It may be good to use a midrange mask so as to exclude blowing the highlights and sinking the shadows. 5. Den’s three-tone procedure See http://www.ncplus.net/~birchbay/3tone/3tone.htm Mask shadows, midtones, highlights. Highlight for example, using brightness curve with points at [0,0], [b,0], [b+10.100], [100,100]. Blur with radius 35-100, subtract brightness curve [0,100], [b-20,100], [b,0], [100,0], feather –2, feather + 2, expand to full range if necessary. Similar procedure for shadows using a. Midtones, use a and b. Brightness adjustment Highlights, use HSL color space, add control point at [50,50] move to between [50,40] and [50,30]. Shadows, use HSV color space, move [100,100 ]to left until halos form, typically about [70,100], then move point [12,30] for best contrast. Midtones, use HSV or RGB set points [30,30] and [70,70], move to, e.g. [30,20], [70,80]. Glow-Glamour Effect (diminishes fine details like skin blemishes, gives landscapes a dreamy feel) Brightness curve, [0,0], [25, 55], [50, 80] in RGB space. Blur this, gaussian radius 20, threshold 100, amount 100. Use this as a filter, subtractive, of the original image, and adjust exposure compensation and amount. Slightly more complicated is to sequentially do two brightness [0,0], [50, 65], [100, 100] transformations, then blur as above and then filter, subtractive, the output of the first brightness transformation using the blurred as a filter. Lazlo Effect (enhances fine details like skin blemishes) Picture 1 - mask - brightness curve – [0, 0], [50,20], [100,100]. Mask - USM, amt. 100, radius 2, treshold 0, use 2 times. Composite, with mask, white 0, black 100, overlay 50 % grey , operation: filter, or Filter, with mask, white 5, black 75 , subtractive, expo comp 1.75, Filter 50 % grey. Color instead of grey gives colorcast in shadows. Color Curves - HSL, L curve [0,0], [40,25], [85,100], [100,100], S curve [0,0], [50,60], [100,100]. Haze Reduction Substitute the R channel from RGB space for the V channel in HSV space Changing Black to Another Color Color/Correction is good for colors except those near black. To change black to some other color, create a mask that using the Color Range mask, HSV space (all of H and S selected (white) and only the black end of V selected. Use this mask with Composite, overlay in blend mode, where you have picked the desired color under the Select Solid Color. Making Virtual Mats and Frames http://www.dl-c.com/discus/messages/5234/8289.html?1180109215 Pertinent Web Sites ImageJ, a fine and free image analysis program: http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/index.html. A superb and free program for stitching multiple images together to form a panorama: http://hugin.sourceforge.net/. A number of front ends are available for this, see: http://panotools.sourceforge.net/. Sites with nice galleries and/or tutorials on light, vision, cameras, digital imaging, or digital processing: http://www.clarkvision.com/index.html, http://www.sphoto.com/index.php, http://www.ncplus.net/~birchbay/IMAGEsbyDEN.htm, http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/technical/diffraction.html, http://www.normankoren.com/, http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/ http://www.pbase.com/rwalkernm/pwp http://www.cee.hw.ac.uk/hipr/html/hipr_top.html

Shortcuts and Essential Techniques for PWP

Transformation Windows

Shift-click right/left from amount slider, increases / decreases amount 1/1024 of full scale.

Shift-click adds control point to curves.

Ctrl-click deletes control point.

Square button (Select amount mask) to right of amount slider: depressi shift, then while the left mouse button is depressed, sets amount to 0, releasing mouse button restores former value.

Shift-click when starting a transformation sets it back to default values.

Windows can be resized.

When resizing a preview window of a transformation, the system may try to redraw the window over and over, delaying your adjustment of the window. A solution, but one that affects all programs, is to uncheck the box "show window contents while dragging" (My computer-Properties, Advanced-Performance settings).

Clt-T brings transformation window to top.

Insert key brings next window to top.

Image Windows

PgUp / PgDown scrolls vertically.

Home / End scrolls horizontally.

Alt-Left mouse allows dragging of image within window.

* (above 9 on the numeric keypad) zooms in, and – (to right of * and above +) zooms out.

Crop

Hold down shift when adjusting control points to rotate cropping rectangle.

Advanced Sharpen

Noise Reduction: slider below histogram: white full amount, black no amount, gradient for soft transition.

Increase radius till noise disappears, set treshold for minimal loss of details.

Speck Removal: speck size and threshold: set as low as possible.

Sharpen

Masks

Color Range: in picture, click into area to be masked, contract, shift +left button dragging mouse around area expands range.

Using masks “live” in transformations: select image, select Mask build mask, make the image active by clicking on its title, start desired transformation. The mask as it stands is already selected. Can now go back and forth modifying mask and seeing its effects.

Composite

Control points: when at a high zoom factor: pressing the number keys (1,2,3...) scrolls range, so that point becomes visible.

Local Contrast Enhancement (5 ways, increasing control, but increasingly involved)

1. Unsharp mask, radius 100 (on the order of the sizes of objects), amount, 20-40%.

2. Blur with radius on the order of the sizes of objects, subtract 20-40% of this from original, restore normal intensity range with gray-brightness curve. (This is, in fact the same as the USM procedure, #1, you just have more control.

3. Convert to 8 bit B&W, expand this to full range, use this as mask of original with gray-brightness curve. A good starting point for this is [0,0], [20,0], [80,100], [100,100] with the black and white sliders at 50.

4. Filter transformation, additive or subtractive, using the image itself as the filter, exposure compensation ~1.12. It may be good to use a midrange mask so as to exclude blowing the highlights and sinking the shadows.

5. Den’s three-tone procedure

See http://www.ncplus.net/~birchbay/3tone/3tone.htm

Mask shadows, midtones, highlights.

Highlight for example, using brightness curve with points at [0,0], [b,0], [b+10.100], [100,100]. Blur with radius 35-100, subtract brightness curve [0,100], [b-20,100], [b,0], [100,0], feather –2, feather + 2, expand to full range if necessary.

Similar procedure for shadows using a. Midtones, use a and b.

Brightness adjustment

Highlights, use HSL color space, add control point at [50,50] move to between [50,40] and [50,30].

Shadows, use HSV color space, move [100,100 ]to left until halos form, typically about [70,100], then move point [12,30] for best contrast.

Midtones, use HSV or RGB set points [30,30] and [70,70], move to, e.g. [30,20], [70,80].

Glow-Glamour Effect (diminishes fine details like skin blemishes, gives landscapes a dreamy feel)

Brightness curve, [0,0], [25, 55], [50, 80] in RGB space.

Blur this, gaussian radius 20, threshold 100, amount 100.

Use this as a filter, subtractive, of the original image, and adjust exposure compensation and amount.

Slightly more complicated is to sequentially do two brightness [0,0], [50, 65], [100, 100] transformations, then blur as above and then filter, subtractive, the output of the first brightness transformation using the blurred as a filter.

Lazlo Effect (enhances fine details like skin blemishes)

Picture 1 - mask - brightness curve – [0, 0], [50,20], [100,100].

Mask - USM, amt. 100, radius 2, treshold 0, use 2 times.

Composite, with mask, white 0, black 100, overlay 50 % grey , operation: filter, or

Filter, with mask, white 5, black 75 , subtractive, expo comp 1.75, Filter 50 % grey.

Color instead of grey gives colorcast in shadows.

Color Curves - HSL, L curve [0,0], [40,25], [85,100], [100,100], S curve [0,0], [50,60], [100,100].

Haze Reduction

Substitute the R channel from RGB space for the V channel in HSV space

Changing Black to Another Color

Color/Correction is good for colors except those near black. To change black to some other color, create a mask that using the Color Range mask, HSV space (all of H and S selected (white) and only the black end of V selected. Use this mask with Composite, overlay in blend mode, where you have picked the desired color under the Select Solid Color.

Making Virtual Mats and Frames

http://www.dl-c.com/discus/messages/5234/8289.html?1180109215

Pertinent Web Sites

ImageJ, a fine and free image analysis program: http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/index.html.

A superb and free program for stitching multiple images together to form a panorama: http://hugin.sourceforge.net/. A number of front ends are available for this, see: http://panotools.sourceforge.net/.

Sites with nice galleries and/or tutorials on light, vision, cameras, digital imaging, or digital processing:
http://www.clarkvision.com/index.html, http://www.sphoto.com/index.php, http://www.ncplus.net/~birchbay/IMAGEsbyDEN.htm, http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/technical/diffraction.html, http://www.normankoren.com/,
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/
http://www.pbase.com/rwalkernm/pwp
http://www.cee.hw.ac.uk/hipr/html/hipr_top.html