Create a whole new world

From retro to surreal, here are four techniques you can experiment with to transform natural scenes

Choosing the right editing techniques for your images isn’t as straightforward as you might think – not when there are so many possibilities. Of course, we all have our favourite techniques, so sticking to a fairly familiar repertoire will create consistency across your shots – and ultimately a style. Consistency of style is a proven way of defining yourself as a photographer – but that still doesn’t mean you have to let the style define you.

Photography is primarily about fun or enjoyment, so every now and again it can be useful to try new special effects and simply enjoy the process and learn from the outcome. Not only could you potentially discover a new technique to use with your images, you’ll also be able to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t. So here are four techniques that will allow you to make a variety of drastic changes to the overall look of your shots, ranging from more ‘photographic’ effects to the surreal.

Create a surreal effect 1

Press Ctrl/Cmd+J to duplicate the Background layer. Go to Filter > Pixelate > Mosaic and set Cell Size to 70 Square before clicking OK. Set the layer’s Blending Mode to Screen. Press Ctrl/Cmd+J to duplicate it, then set the Blending Mode of the new layer to Multiply. Hold down Shift and click on the layer below so both are selected, then hold down Ctrl/Cmd+G to Group Layers and reduce the Opacity of the Layer Group to 60%.

Cool down the scene 2

Click on the Create New Fill Or Adjustment Layer icon, which is a half-black half-white circle at the bottom of the Layers panel, and choose Selective Color. When the dialog box opens, click on the Colors dropdown menu and select Yellows before dragging the Cyan slider to +15% and Yellows to -50. Next, select Greens from the Colors menu, then set Yellow to -100 and Blacks to +20.

Mimic a film look 3

Click on the Create New Fill Or Adjustment Layer icon and select Curves. Click to place three points ¼, ½ and ¾ of the way along the curve before lifting the point in the bottom-left corner up to 55. Next, click on the dropdown menu set to RGB and select Red. Place two points to create an S-curve, then do the same with Green. Finally, select Blue and create a backwards S-curve. Reduce the layer Opacity if desired.

Apply a custom 4 mono conversion

Got to Filter > Camera Raw Filter; when the dialog box opens, change Treatment from Color to Black & White to apply a stock conversion. Next, click on the Black & White Mix tab and set Yellows to +20 and Greens to +30. Click on the Effects tab; set Grain Amount to 75 and Size to 30, leaving Roughness at the default of 50. The overall result is a high-ISO film-style grain.