Information:

Difficulty Level: Intermediate

What You’ll Need: Photoshop (I will be using Photoshop CC 2017)

What This Goes Over: A detailed explanation for making PSDs.

Let’s Begin . . .

The very first thing you want to do is locate a picture that you would like to use. In the past, I started with any picture that I found aesthetically pleasing, but recently, I have started with any picture of a POC that I find aesthetically pleasing. This makes it so that I can ensure my PSDs are POC friendly and will not make them appear lighter. I’ll be starting with a photo I have already made a PSD for, aka THIS image from egotisticalgold. Open up your image in Photoshop. 

Create a new group. You can do this through Layer > New > Group. Rename the group to whatever you like. Your layers section should now look like this:

Awesome. Now, the first layer that I normally do varies. Sometimes I’ll do a Brightness/Contrast layer, other times I’ll do a Curves layer. Really, this one has no logic to it. It all just depends on what I feel works. I’m gonna do a Brightness/Contrast layer first. Here are my settings:

You don’t really need to do anything too extreme here, especially because you can always switch it up later. Next, we’re going to do a Curves layer. Now, once you open the new layer, press the little eyedropper with the white tip. It should look like this:

Now, with that selected, press on the WHITEST part of the image. Then, click the little eyedropper tool with the black tip. It should look like this:

Now, instead of selecting the whitest part, select the BLACKEST part of the image. In layman’s terms, this is a simple way to color correct, especially images that are whitewashed. It’s good for telling photoshop which points should be white, and which parts should be black. Now, continue on with how you want your curves layer to look. Mine looks like this:

Now, let’s add a Levels layer. Mine looks like this:

Now, let’s compare the progress:

To most, the images may look the same, but they are different. The first layers don’t necessarily have to create major changes in the image. A lot of that may come later with different layers. Let’s move on.

Add a black and white Gradient Map layer, then, change the blending mode to exclusion. Looks a little funny, right? Don’t worry, we’re going to fix that. Change the opacity so that it’s around 10%-20%. My settings look like this:

Note that exclusion is a relatively powerful tool, so having the opacity at a high number really isn’t necessary. 

Now, add a new Color Balance layer. For this, you want to make very small changes. Sometimes less is more. Also, we’ll only be utilizing the midtones and shadows. Here are my settings:

Add a new Exposure layer. Your settings will definitely vary based on your personal taste, especially for this. Here are mine:

This is usually when I add a new Levels layer. This is what my settings look like:

Whew! That’s already a lot, isn’t it? Let’s take another break to compare what we started with, to what we have now:

Now we’re getting somewhere! Okay, so now that we have a “base” PSD filled with the more basic parts, let’s move forward. 

Add Photo Filter layer. Automatically, the color should come up as an orange color. If not, the hex code for the orange I’m using is #ec8a00. Make the density 25%, then change the blending mode to Soft Light, and the opacity to 10%. This will begin our process of warming up the skin tone and making sure it isn’t whitewashed. 

Now, add a new Selective Color layer. These are my settings:

An optional part of the Selective Color layer includes increasing black colors to make them darker. This isn’t necessary, but I did it because I enjoy the look of solid blacks. These were my settings:

Unless your image is severely whashed out, you really don’t need to do a lot of this. Now, add a Vibrance layer. My settings:

Now, add a Hue/Saturation layer. These are my settings:

Make the cyans, blues, and magentas the same as the green Settings. Everything is zero, but the saturation is at -10. 

As a side note, I do not recommend using vibrance layers or hue/saturation/layers to balance out create a more vibrant image. Sometimes overdoing it can create a very grainy effect. Use hue/saturation to make minor adjustments to individual colors, but use selective colors to REALLY enhance them. 

Now, add another black and white Gradient Map layer. It’s going to be the same exact settings as the previous one, so if you want, just duplicate it and move it up. If not, here’s the settings again. 

Okay, now let’s add another Exposure layer. These are my settings:

Okay, now let’s compare what our images look like with the original, the first check we did, the second check, and our current image. 

I added an extra Selective Color layer. Here are my settings:

That’s about it, but if you want to brighten it, add a Brightness/Contrast layer. Here are my settings:

Now, add a Curves layer. Mine looks like this:

Now, doing this MIGHT whitewash the image a bit. If that’s the case, just add a new Selective Color layer. These are my settings:

If you’re still concerned about whitewashing, add another Photo Filter layer. Do the exact same orange as the last and set it to soft light. Then, make it about 30%.

Great! So this is the bare bones of the process I go through when making PSDs. I usually go back and forth to make sure it goes well with other images and I test how compatible it is. Here are some examples of the PSD we created today, all using the same PSD:

I hope you found this helpful. As always, you can send me a message if you’re confused or would like me to further explain something!