Adding spice and drama to your images
By Dirk HR Spennemann
18 Dec 2008
Ever thought that your images are too non-descript and bland? No? Never? Well I was of the same opinion until I played with the Topaz plug-in for Photoshop CS3. The Topaz plug-in allows you to effectively manipulate your images to make them much, ever so much more dramatic.
A number of predefined settings (presets) exist ranging from mild contrast to spicify and psychodelic. You can choose from any of these presets and achieve quite predictable outcomes or you can take control of the outcomes yourself.
On a subtle basis it allows the user to control contrast, brightness and saturation as well as colour balance. While this is not unusual, the Topaz plug-in allows you to control these parameters by aspects of the colour range of the image. You can also define the sensitivity of the parameters and control colour and exposure separately.
Topaz works by accentuating or decreasing contrast differences between adjacent pixels, but seems to do on an image-wide basis. It also dramatises the colours by subtly reducing the range.
All images in this story have been modified using Topaz. For reference and comparison, each Topaz modified image provides a link to an unmodified version.
So where does Topaz work best?
The most immediate dramatic effect occurs in landscapes, where a cloudy sky is accentuated. Here the clouds just pop out of the blue sky. Or if you start with images of a already dramatic sky, the results become almost menacing.
It can be used as a general contrast enhancer producing fake HDR images of original photos. It tends to be more effective in creating dramatic effects where the subject matter has clean lines or stark contrast/colour differences.
Thus portraits with a lot of facial expression, such as lines and folds work better than those of baby faces. Be aware that skin colours get exxagerated, so some people look more sickly and/or grimy (which can be dramatic), while toned skin can change into a not so flattering appearance. As it accentuates the lines, it also artificially ages the appearance of a person--beware that women may not appreciate your transformations, especially when you're adding some 10-15 years of age to their faces!
With architectural images Topaz will accentuate and bring out structural detail. It is a very handy tool when you want to draw attention to architectural elements--I find this to be a useful teaching tool.
In nature shots, such as trees, it accentuates the details of the bark, while with animals it can accentuate body details-- such as is dramatically demonstrated in the case of the skin details of the lizard or the feathers of the wattle bird.
The contrast range came into good effect when working with the image of hail pellets-- where the original image looks rather ho-hum and non-descript.
Like many plug-ins Topaz has its range of capabilities and uses...and like many, it can be overused. Yet, when used judiciously, I found it to be a most useful addition to my tool kit.
13 responses
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Dirk HR Spennemann said (18 Dec 2008):
Please note that is are-edited and revised version of an earlier story which has since been deleted. I have added a better range of images to illustrate the capabilities.
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Dirk HR Spennemann added a link (18 Dec 2008):
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Natalia Presztolanszky gave props (3 Feb 2009):
I really interested in this topic! Great idea, and thanks for to share with us!!!!!
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Dirk HR Spennemann gave props (3 Feb 2009):
No worries Natalia!
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Kokopedal said (3 Feb 2009):
This smells like spam. Or worse, an advertisement.
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Dirk HR Spennemann gave props (4 Feb 2009):
Kokopedai Neither.. Have a look at my stream in lickr and you'll se that I am using Topaz as a tool..
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Dirk HR Spennemann added a link (4 Feb 2009):
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Kokopedal said (4 Feb 2009):
OK my bad. I am impressed with your work, however to ME it read more like an add. A very good add. I use topaz sometimes myself.
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Dirk HR Spennemann gave props (10 Feb 2009):
No worries..
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Lanis Rossi gave props (7 May 2009):
Great story and photos! Voted! Check out mine: http://jpgmag.com/stories/11164
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Pinto NH said (5 Jul 2009):
yes, like Kokopedal's, it's look like an add.
It's OK if you use more than one plug-in from two or more different vendors. -
diana anderson gave props (5 Aug 2009):
i like the essay... informative. i love the photos!!! i a skyscapeholic and love what this does to clouds and such, voted
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Željko Jelenski said (21 Sep 2009):
Great work and story, My vote.!!!
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