Photoshop for Students. Get super savings at the Adobe Academic Store.
Buy. Download. Create. Get Photoshop CS3 now at the Adobe Store.
Photoshop Fine Art Effects Cookbook
"Daguerreotypes - The Louis Daguerre Effect"
(Pages 36 and 37 from the Photographers section of Photoshop Fine Art Effects Cookbook - courtesy of O'Reilly Media.)
The world’s first photographic process was announced in Paris in 1839 by Louis Daguerre. It used a silver-plated copper sheet that was sensitized with iodine, exposed, and then developed in mercury vapor. Early images were of architectural subjects or landscapes, but soon the process was also used for portraiture, and it became particularly popular in France and America.
Daguerreotypes were positive images, one-offs, and the process was obsolete within a decade, as soon as new techniques allowed multiple photographs to be printed from negatives. But if you ever get the opportunity to compare early photographs in museums or exhibitions, it would be surprising if you didn’t find the Daguerreotypes to be some of the most magical objects on display.
Early Daguerreotype exposure times were long, so moving subjects such as water and people usually appeared blurred. Photoshop’s Motion Blur filter is ideal for simulating this, but requires a little care in its application because Daguerreotypes recorded other, static objects in fine detail.
The other major characteristic of the Daguerreotype, its metal base, is tougher to imitate: the effect is as if the picture were printed onto a mirror. I didn’t have any success using an inkjet printer to print onto kitchen foil, promising though this experiment seemed, but there are ways to imitate metallic finishes in Photoshop. Certainly you need to print onto high-gloss paper rather than a surface with a matte or textured finish. The staining and other discoloration around the picture edges can also be added artificially in Photoshop, but it’s quicker and more realistic to scan real materials and use them as layers within the picture. Metallic objects will be most suitable for the Daguerreotype, but once you get the hang of this technique, you can apply it to all sorts of photographs.
 |
Choose any image to which you can add an obvious touch of movement—one with a river is perfect. If you’re starting with a color image, go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate to remove the color while staying in RGB mode. This picture of Notre Dame in Paris seems appropriate, though of course the couple would have moved during the long Daguerreotype exposure time. I exercised artistic license and left them static. The subjects of original studio portraits were strapped into chairs to keep them from moving, so this is not so improbable!
 |
I used a steel picture frame, scanned on a flatbed scanner, to simulate the Daguerreotype’s silver-coated plate.
 |
STEP 1
With your picture file open, identify a feature of the photograph that might move during a long exposure, and select it. Here I selected the river by clicking with the Magic Wand along the water’s edge. To make any edges between blurred and static areas less visible, feather the selection using Select > Feather and a radius of 1 or 2 pixels.
 |
STEP 2
Saving selections adds to the file size but saves you lots of time if you need to reselect an object later. Save your selection in the Layers palette by holding down the Alt/Opt key as you click the “Save selection as channel” icon, and give this alpha channel a name that’s easy to recognize.
 |
STEP 3
To convey the impression of movement, copy the selected feature into its own layer using Ctrl/Cmd + J, and then select Filter > Blur > Motion Blur. You can judge the angle of movement by eye, but I prefer to use the Measure tool. Here I used the tool along the nearside riverbank, read the angle indication in the Info palette, and entered the angle in the Motion Blur filter dialog. You also need to set a very high Distance value to mimic the flow of the water during a long exposure. You’ll need to repeat this process of selecting and blurring for each “moving” object.
 |
STEP 4
Open the file with the metallic plate texture, and drag and drop the image from the Layers palette onto the main image. In the Layers palette, change its blending mode to Multiply and adjust the layer’s opacity. Multiply lets both the picture and the texture layer show through—feel free to experiment with other blending modes, and also with placing the texture above or below the image in the layer stack. Use Edit > Free Transform to resize and position the texture.
 |
STEP 5
With a real Daguerreotype, the edges are unevenly stained with vivid blue and orange chemical colors. Imitate this on a separate layer. Hold down the Alt/Opt key, and click the “Create a new layer” icon in the Layers palette. In the Mode drop-down box, select Overlay and click OK.
 |
STEP 6
Load a soft-edged brush from Photoshop’s Dry Media Brushes, set the opacity to about 30%, and then paint roughly around the layer. The colors can vary; here, I preferred more subdued tones.
 |
STEP 7
Any image is likely to need some fine-tuning after these key steps. I added a Levels adjustment layer to brighten the water layer, and reduced the metal texture’s blue color by adding a Hue/Saturation layer. In each case, you can prevent an adjustment layer affecting all layers by “grouping” it with the target layer—hold down the Alt/Opt key and click the line between the two layers. I also reused my River selection to paint on various layer masks. The finishing touches were a Curves adjustment layer to brighten the overall image, and a white border—this was a rectangular selection, the corners of which were rounded using Select > Modify > Smooth.
 |
Early Daguerreotypes were highly polished, very delicate, and easily scratched, and the chemical processes were not yet fixed and dependable. Yet they remain the most beautiful of the early photographs.
See more Sample Recipes from the Photoshop Cookbook Series.
Photoshop CS3 Upgrade Options And Bundles From The Adobe Store
Photoshop CS3 Extended is ideal for film, video, and multimedia pros and for graphic and web designers using 3D and motion. Get the full version for US $999, or upgrade for US $349. The standard version of Photoshop CS3 is available for US $649, or as an upgrade for US $199. See all upgrade options at the Adobe Store. See our CS3 Resource Center for free Photoshop CS3 tutorials.
Photoshop Extended is also available as part of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, which combines all-new CS3 versions of Photoshop, Flash Pro, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat 8 Pro. Upgrade options for customers in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Asia can be found at the Adobe International Store.
Special Offer - Fluid Mask - Photoshop Masking Plugin
Fluid Mask is based on breakthrough segmentation technology inspired by the way the eye, optic nerve and brain perform visual processing. When an image is loaded, Fluid Mask's segmentation engine analyses the distribution of colors, finding the natural groups within the image. Together with information calculated about edges, gradients and textures, a model is constructed which divides the images into objects.
Vertus Software is offering Fluid Mask at the special 'friends and partner' discounted rate. This is an exclusive offer to visitors of PhotoshopSupport.com. To qualify, visit the Fluid Mask Discount Price page. Find out more about Fluid Mask on our special Fluid Mask Page.
SiteGrinder Photoshop Plugin - Create Websites Instantly
There often seems to be a strict division of labor within the world of web design and development. Creative professionals tend to stick to the Photoshop domain, while those well-versed in scripting are left to the task of implementing their work. Indeed, the two realms are quite different from each other, to which any of us even vaguely familiar with either can easily attest.
Essentially, Photoshop is a no-holds-barred design studio, offering the artist a seemingly endless array of creative options. On the other hand, HTML, CSS, Java and the like follow strict rules of engagement, requiring the developer to take any number of esoteric concerns into consideration in order to ensure that designs are properly displayed on the web.
Turn Photoshop Into A Complete Web Design Tool
SiteGrinder seeks to bridge this gap between design and development. Basically, this program turns Photoshop into an easy-to-use and fully functional web design tool. With SiteGrinder, designers will now have the freedom to totally let their creativity loose and then, without skipping a beat, transfer their designs to the web. Bringing esthetic concerns together with more practical considerations, this program is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks.
Generate Your Web Pages Directly From Photoshop
By generating web pages directly from Photoshop, you'll be able to spend much more time on the creative end of the spectrum, since you'll know right off the bat how well particular designs will translate to the web. No more going back to the Photoshop drawing board after getting a phone call from your development team, telling you that what you had envisioned doesn't have a chance of being displayed on the web. You can immediately visually and interactively test your designs, which permits you to then make changes to either esthetics or functions while it's still relatively early on in the design process.
Pricing and Availability
Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download. SiteGrinder can be ordered from Media Lab's online store.
Photoshop CS3 Book - CS3 Essential Skills - By Mark Galer And Philip Andrews
Brimming with beautiful pictures, Photoshop CS3 Essential Skills guides you through a project-based, progressive curriculum so that you can build all the essential skills to enhance photographs creatively and professionally with Photoshop CS3. If you are an aspiring professional, enthusiastic amateur photographer, or a student learning photography, digital imaging, art and design, or design graphics, you'll be amazed at the stunning results you can achieve. A DVD is included free.
The Essential Skills Photography Series from Focal Press uniquely offers a structured learning experience for photographers of all ages, with both the underlying theory and loads of invaluable 'how to' and real-life practice projects - all from the most talented photography practitioners/educators in the world.
Read 2 free sample chapters:
Adjusting Exposure in Adobe Camera Raw CS3
Photoshop CS3 Tutorial High Dynamic Range
Special book offer - save 24%
Photoshop CS3: Essential Skills (Amazon.com - $28.08 - save 24%)
Photoshop CS2 Book - Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills - By Mark Galer And Philip Andrews
An inspirational and user-friendly guide to creative image editing, Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills provides direction for photographers and designers alike who have ventured into the realm of the 'digital darkroom.' The book offers a progressive curriculum to guide you through Photoshop with a series of clear, step-by-step projects designed to place knowledge into a practical context.
Whether you simply want to retouch an image, create a glamour makeover or create a highly sophisticated montage - this book will give you the essential skills to complete the work to a professional standard.
Read 2 free sample chapters:
How To Sharpen An Image In Photoshop — Advanced Sharpening Techniques
Working With Shadows In Photoshop - Advanced Shadow Techniques
Special book offer - save 37%
Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills (Amazon.com - $20.76 - save 37%)
Exclusive 20% Discount On Select Total Training Products & Bundles
To redeem our exclusive discount coupon, use promotion code save20pss in your shopping cart. You could save hundreds of dollars. Use this special link to see the full offer.
Total Training for Adobe Photoshop
Learn Adobe Photoshop with 21 hours of interactive Adobe Photoshop tutorials. This is training for real-world situations and includes additional tips and techniques used by the pros.
View Sample Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Flash Pro Video Tutorials
Free Adobe Photoshop CS3 video tutorials
Free Adobe Photoshop CS2 video tutorials
Free Adobe Dreamweaver video tutorials
Free Adobe Flash Pro video tutorials
