Hi,
If the steps following this paragraph are the ones you were trying
to follow, then I can help you through them one by one. Just start
at the beginning and as soon as you don't understand the step or
the reason for the step, post a question and I(or someone else) can
help you through it.
1)Convert image to black and white
Simple method:
a)Duplicate background layer and change the blend mode to Luminosity
b)Create a new layer under the duplicate layer
c)Edit/Fill with white, black, or 50% gray--it doesn't matter
d)Merge the new layer and the duplicate layer and rename it
"luminosity"
Digidann's method(allows more control over the black and white
conversion):
http://www.digidaan.nl/indexframedigidaan.html?channelmixer/index.html
2)Click on Enhance/Adjust Brightness-Contrast/Levels and move the
middle slider to the left to lighten the image.
3)Click on Enhance/Adjust Brightness-Contrast/Brightness-Contrast and
adjust the brightness and contrast to suit your taste.
4)Make a snapshot of what you currently see. For instructions on
how to
make a snapshot and use the "History brush" in Elements, see the link
at the end of this step, but read the following first. Since you won't
be using the History brush for this snapshot, you don't have to group
it with a new layer, lock it, and turn of the visibility as described
in the linked tutorial. Just do the merging. Rename the snapshot
"before".
(For this example, if you used the simple method for black and
white conversion, the snapshot amounts to nothing more than
duplicating the layer you named "luminosity", but for more complicated
images with multiple layers at this stage, like with Digidaan's
black and white conversion, you need to make a snapshot.)
Snapshots and using the History brush for Elements:
http://forums.dpreview.com/ ... ...
read.asp?forum=1006&message=7103395
5)With the snapshot "before" in step 4 selected, click on
Filter/Sharpen/Unsharp Mask and set the amount. I find that 250-400
works best for me with a radius of .5 and threshold 0.
6)Turn the sharpened layer into a History Brush so you can use it
later. To do that, just create a new layer below it, and group the
sharpened layer with the new layer. Lock the sharpened layer and
turn off the visibility of the new layer. Later, you will use the
history brush to paint in the sharpened eyes and the mouth from
this layer.
7)Click on the "luminosity" layer in the layers palette and use the
Lasso tool to make a rough selection around the head of the
subject, and click on Select/Inverse.
8)Click on Layer/New Fill Layer/Solid color, click on OK, and make
sure
white is the selected color: R:255 G:255 B:255. Then, click on
Layer/Merge down.
9)Use the Dodge tool to lighten the strip of area around the subject's
head. Try setting the options to midtones and 100%, and if that
doesn't lighten well enough, switch the midtones option to highlights
and adjust the exposure percentage down if needed to find something
that works better.
10)Lighten the hair with the Dodge tool set to midtones and 50%.
11)Paint in sharpened eyes and mouth with the History brush. Make sure
the sharpened snapshot grouping is at the top of the layers palette.
Toggle on the lower layer's(the empty layer in the grouping's)
visibility by clicking on the layer. Then, use the Brush tool to
paint over the eyes and mouth on your image. That paints content in
the lower layer in the grouping, which allows the sharpened layer
above those brush strokes to become visible.
12) Create a snapshot of what you can see at this stage. Just do
the merging as you won't be using the History Brush for this layer.
13) With the new snapshot in step 12) selected in the layers
palette, use Enhance/Brightness-Contrast/ to adjust the Brightness
or Levels if the overall image is still not light enough.
14) Finally, click on Filter/Texture/Grain with Intensity: 15-20,
Contrast: 50%, and Grain Type: Soft.
.
