An introduction to the ‘Photoshop for winter photography’ tutorial

This tutorial is based on a suggestion by Paul Schroder, one of our lifetime members, on how best to shoot and post-process winter landscapes or other shots containing snow. The major topics covered include: optimising your initial exposures; enhancing the colour of images shot of dull, flat days; how to tone black and white versions of your images; how to produce high-key winter portraits; and how to retain and enhance the fine scale detail in snow scenes.

The specific topics covered include:

Determining an optimum exposure
Why you should (sometimes) shoot in manual mode
Enhancing the colour of images shot on dull, flat days
Toning black and white image
Producing high-key winter portraits
Enhancing fine scale detail (local contrast)

This tutorial contains 6187 words, 61 illustrative images and screen grabs, and has received 10 comments.

Photoshop files included with this tutorial

Each of our tutorials is based around a series of Photoshop files, at the resolution originally posted on chromasia, and each contains all the original adjustment layers I used to create the final image. The ones that are included in this tutorial, and a brief description of how each one will be used, are listed below – the ‘before’ version on the left, the ‘after’ version on the right. Each of these files can be downloaded after you subscribe.

How to get from this …	to this
		Image 1 In this example I will show you how to tone an otherwise dull, grey image to produce an image that more accurately captures the spirit of a scene rather than its literal reality.
		Image 2 In this example we will discuss the benefits of toning a black and white version of your winter images.
		Image 3 In this example I will show you how to a) produce high-key winter portraits, and b) move elements of the original scene to improve the overall composition.
		Image 4 In this example we will discuss a variety of techniques you can use to enhance local contrast (i.e. fine scale detail), including: the Unsharp Mask filter, High Pass Sharpening, and Topaz Detail (a Photoshop plugin produced by Topaz Labs).

Further information

To find out more about our other individual tutorials please click any of the following images. Alternatively, you can visit our main tutorials page for further information on: our annual subscriptions; our forthcoming issues; and our current members’s offers. You can also read through our sample tutorial on Tonal Range and the Curves tool.



			Mini-PSDs We introduced our Mini-PSDs in February 2010, and release a new image every week. Click here to see the full list of Mini-PSDs and find out more about this feature.						Critique Slot Screencasts Our Critique Slot Screencasts provide our members with an exciting opportunity to get detailed and constructive feedback on one of their own images, gain an insight into how other members postprocess their images, and see how I might have processed that particular image. Click here to find out more.