Contrast Masking Technique .. how it helps the PowerShot images

I figured many of you could benefit from using this technique, pretty much widespread among professional photographers. Basically, it simulates a darkroom technique to enhance visually the contrast management of a photo. Applied to digital photos, the results are just amazing.

What you need to do is simple:

1. assuming your photo is in the background layer in Photoshop (method could be adapted to other software using layers such as corel photopaint..)
2. duplicate this layer.

3. Desaturate the new layer... make it a black and white representation of the image (image-> adjust-> desaturate)
4. invert it (image-> adjust-> invert)
5. apply a guassian blur filter with a radius of 15 to 20
6. change the mode of the layer from "Normal" to "Overlay"
7. Fine tune it with the %opacity slider of the layer

Follow the link to download the action:
home.earthlink.net/ nayared/contrast.atn

I have used a trick I have most probably seen at Luminous-Landscape.com, about changing the overlay mode before apply the gaussian filter, to monitor the effect of the blurring radius.

Try this technique with different subjects, different lighting conditions. know the limitations.

One example: with a flash (either internal or an external 420EX for example), you may want to have a lighter background, after someone took the picture in full auto mode .. just apply the contrast mask, you'll be amazed. Interior pictures, with difficult lighting, could be saved this way.

Have fun
nadim