Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
There's a Photoshop effect that started making the rounds last year, and now it's
one of the hottest and most requested looks out there, and you see it everywhere
from big magazine covers to websites to celebrity portraits to album covers.
Anyway, you can get pretty darn close to that look right within Lightroom itself.
Now, before I show you the effect, I have to tell you, this is one of those effects
that you'll either absolutely love (and you'll wind up over-using it), or you'll
hate it with a passion that knows no bounds. There's no in-between.
Getting That Trendy
Step One:
Before we apply this effect, I have a
disclaimer: this effect doesn't look good
on every photo. It looks best on photos
that have lots of detail and texture, so
it looks great on city shots, landscapes,
industrial shots, and even people (espe-
cially guys)—anything you want to be
gritty and texture-y (if that's even a word).
So, you're usually not going to apply this
effect to anything you want to look soft
and/or glamorous. Here's a shot with lots
of detail—with a nice sky behind him,
it's a shot of a guy with good muscle
definition, some backlighting, lots of
wood, metal, and glass textures. He's just
screaming for this type of treatment (plus,
since he's backlit, one of the sliders we're
about to adjust will help with that).
Step Two:
You're going to really crank up four
sliders in the Develop module's Basic panel:
(1) drag the Contra st slider all the way
over to +100, (2) drag the Highlights slider
all the way to -100, (3) drag the Shadows
slider all the way to +100 (that opens up
the shadows), and (4) drag the Clarity
slider all the way to the right to +100.
Now, look at the sky, his arms, the detail
in his shirt, the wood—the whole image
has that high-contrast look already, but
we're not done yet.
Continued
