No sunshine? No problem!

Photoshop is much maligned by some and much loved by others. I'm firmly in the latter category. Granted it doesn't (and shouldn't) have much use in editorial, but for commercial work it can make the difference between getting the job done on budget and not getting it done at all.

One extreme example that I've mentioned before was the high dynamic range portrait of a truck when a little bit of computer trickery enabled a stunning, colourful image to be created on a horrible, rainy and overcast day.

The photos that I'm posting today aren't quite that extreme, but they do illustrate one way in which you can use Photoshop to your advantage. I have a list of about a dozen photos that I need to do for an electrical contractor's web site, and of course we want the exterior photos to be bright and sunny. In February. In Scotland. The chances of this mythical day ever arriving are slim, and even if it does happen, the chances of getting all the photos done in one day are non-existent. But maybe Photoshop can help?

Take a moment to think about what a "bright sunny day photo" looks like. The key elements are: Blue sky, a fairly strong contrast between light and dark, and a subtle yellow hue.

When you break it down like that, you realise that Photoshop can do a lot for us here: If there's any blue at all in the sky then we can make it look as blue as we want it to. (But don't try to make an overcast sky look blue, it doesn't work!) If the sky isn't too overcast and the sun is low then we'll have contrast, and we can enhance it as much as we want. And that yellow hue? Obviously that's a 2-second job.

So with that in mind, rather than waiting for a bright sunny day that will probably never arrive, all we need is a day that isn't totally overcast, with a low sun. Those days come along much more often.

Photoshop might be commonly used to fix images that weren't done right in the first place, either by accident or lack of skill. But here we have an example of a situation in which you can deliberately take the 'wrong' photos, with the plan all along being to knock them into shape later on.

Without waffling on any further, here are four example photos. Note that none of them are bad photos as such, they just look a bit gloomy and wet, which is exactly what the weather was like.

And here are the finished versions. Notice how each of them sells the idea of it being a bright and sunny day, but in different ways. In this first one the deal makers are the little bit of blue sky and the enhanced yellow hue in the plants to frame left.

In this picture it's the yellow hue added to the grass, and those long shadows. The overcast sky was pushed as far as possible but the picture still works with it being a bit washed out, rather than the rich, vibrant blue that would be ideal.

Here it's the enhanced blue of the sky and the increased saturation of the brickwork. As I'm typing this I can see that more work needs to be done to bring out the red of the chimney, but as it is the photo still works.

This one was more heavily edited which is why the red of the chimney is better. Again it's the blue sky and saturated brickwork that sell the idea of the photo being taken on a much nicer day than it really was.

The point I'm making here isn't that Photoshop is good or bad, because that's an old argument and you've already made up your mind one way or the other.

No, the point is that IF you accept Photoshop as a part of your workflow, then learn to include it in the planning stage too. If you know what you can do to your photos on the computer then you know what you don't need to do in the camera. That's going to help you with scheduling, quotes and budgeting. You'll be able to take on jobs that you might have otherwise had to decline. You'll be able to complete existing jobs that have become unexpectedly difficult. And you'll have a nicer number at the bottom of your bank statement.

You may find that there are other advantages too. For example, look at those heavy gas cylinders in this house photo… 

While preparing for the photo we moved a few bits and pieces and uprooted a large pole that obscured part of the house. But why waste time disconnecting the gas cylinders and moving them out of the way when Mr Photoshop can do it for you in a couple of minutes or less?