Hydrangea final

I’m often asked how I to get crisp details and bright tones in florals. Of course, getting a good capture to begin with is the most important step, but we’ll cover that another time! Using Photoshop filters is a great way to enhance details, open shadows, and sweeten tones.

Below is my image with very basic levels adjustment and slight burn / dodging. I’ve applied some pre-sharpening of about 50% in Lightroom. (Note: this is a cropped view of the image above to see details better.)

Before filter

And now the same image adding a filter from onOne’s Perfect Effects.

Settings:

  • Color & Tone/ Lighten Shadows
  • Plus, Movie Looks: Punch Drunk (at 50%)
  • Plus, Detail: Amazing Details (at 50%)

After filters

Texture Details

Per request, I’m adding the texture details for this image.

First Texture

I thought the colors in Secret Garden from the Tableaux Collection would go nicely with this image. I used a blend mode of multiply at 100%. I also added a levels adjustment layer to brighten the highlights and take out a little of the yellow in the texture. The adjustment was confined to the texture with a clipping mask. (see tutorials that have information on clipping masks.) The image below is after I used a layer mask to remove texture from the flower, bowl and saucer.

Secret garden texture

First Texture added

Second Texture

I liked this combination, but I wanted to break up the texture a bit to create more depth between the foreground and the background. I then placed Fresco, which is a more neutral painted texture under the Secret Garden layer. This is also set to Multiply at 100%.  I repeated the levels adjustment used with secret Garden with this texture. To reveal more of Fresco, I used a layer mask on Secret Garden and used the gradient and brush tools. (See layer panel below.)

Overlay

I thought the composition needed a little something, so I then added an overlay from the Vintage French Photo Studio No.2. I changed the color with a solid color adjustment layer and a clipping mask. I added a layer mask and then used a grunge brush to mask out areas of the overlay.

Finally, I added a levels adjustment layer to brighten the highlights overall in the image. I’ve found I often need to do this after adding textures when I’ve used the multiply blend mode.

The Layer Panel

Here’s my layer panel from Adobe Photoshop CS6. Note that I have grouped my textures and overlay and applied a layer mask to the group where I did my basic masking of the flower, bowl and saucer. This may not be possible in Elements. Just do your initial edits that pertain to all textures and then option (mac) or alt (pc) drag the layer mask to each layer. (see tut) Then, proceed with additional masking on each layer.

Layer Panel

Layer Panel (Photoshop CS6)

Resources:

Secret Garden and Fresco from the Tableaux Collection and an Overlay from the Vintage French Photo Studio No.2.

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Leslie Nicole
Leslie Nicole

American Photographer and Designer living in France with my French husband, 2 Weimaraners and Cat Rescues. Camera, Mac, studio, garden.