I'm "Steamed Up" about this -- assistance appreciated

[michael s.]

Still comparatively new to post-processing, I'm here to ask for help.

Specifically, I'd like help on photos such as this one -- not a heavy street

shot, I know, but it illustrates my issue:<p>

 

<center><a href=" title=". by

sandbagm, on Flickr"><img

src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2001/2197752622_53fda7749c.jpg" width="500"

height="478" alt="." /></a><p>

Steam</center><p>

 

While I've seen several tips on how to <i>create</i> steam or smoke where none

is present, I'm not looking to do that. Instead, I'd like to process in such a

way as to accentuate or draw attention to the steam or smoke that <i>is already

there</i>.<p>

 

In this instance, I did (using PS CS) try new layer > soft light, then brushed a

bit at low opacity with the idea of making the existing steam lighter. But I

did not want to scrub the sidewalk, so I had to back off a bit.<p>

 

Suggestions would be very much appreciated.<p>

 

Thanks.

[akocurek]

Perhaps this article will help you from Luminous Landscape:

 

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/Cramer_Selections.shtml?main_page=product_info&cPath=20&products_id=173

 

Good luck.

[richam]

Michael, You probably have tried a variation of this, but I did the following. It's quick and

dirty, but you should be able to do a much better job with a little extra work.

- Duplicate layer

- Lighten and/or add noise or blur to entire new layer until the steam looks the way you

want

- Add a mask to the layer and leave mask selected in layers palette

- Select black and fill image with paint bucket. You should now have only the original

image

- Select paint brush tool and paint away the black areas above the steam with white. To

get it looking right, change the paint brush, size, hardness and layer opacity. If you

remove too much black from a certain area, you can reverse the black/white paint selector

and re-paint some black.

In the channels palette you can turn the mask on/off to see where you have painted.

Here's what the very quick mask I did looks like:<div></div>

[richam]

Here's the result. BTW, Adrian's link got posted while I was working on your steam pix.<div></div>

[g dan mitchell]

<p>Charles Cramer describes a technique you might find useful for just this sort of thing in

a piece he wrote at Luminous Landscape:

 

<p><a href="http://www.luminous-

landscape.com/tutorials/Cramer_Selections.shtml">http://www.luminous-

landscape.com/tutorials/Cramer_Selections.shtml</a>

[paul a. roid]

<p>I did a little tutorial <a href="http://www.markushartel.com/tutorials/photoshop/

nondestructive-dodgeburn.html">on non-destructive dodging/burning</a></p>

[bernardwest]

The link Dan posted is the one to use. It works well for things like this. The only modification I would make is to use a mask with the curves instead of a rough selection. On the mask paint in the effected area with a soft edge white brush (ie. fill the mask with black, and then paint white in the area you want to lighten with a soft-edged brush). Here's what I got with this technique.<div></div>

[Brad_]

Hey Michael... I think what makes steam/smoke shots interesting in general, is how the smoke plays and

interacts with the subject, in a mysterious and cohesive manner. Unfortunately, in the above pic the steam and

person feel like two separate objects. I think that's why with the processing tried after yours, the end result still

pretty much feels like the original.

 

Now, if that steam was covering the subject there would be a whole lot more possibilities in post!

[michael s.]

Thanks very much to all who have answered.

 

These suggestions, links, and modifications are very helpful. I've got some work to do and new approaches to try.

 

[Quick wave to Markus, whose street shooting was an early inspiration to me.]

[michael s.]

Hey Brad -- just came back to my post and had missed yours.

 

And I think that's a good point about this photo. What caught my eye initially here was the almost-domed shape of the steam cloud and the dome behind it. The bystander was ... well, in this one she was just a bystander. :-)

[richam]

I'll add my thanks. This has been a very interesting and informative thread. I'm glad I got in

on it.