Unlearning Photoshop and learning AffPhoto

[Furry]

I have beern using Photoshop for many, many years and so it is almost automatic for me to open it and so what I want to an image. Affinity Photo behaves differently and uses different terms (many of which mean nothing to me as I am not a photographer). But I need to make the transition so have decided to ask fellow users for help. one step at a time.

If an image is too dark, in Photoshop I do this:

• copy the image to the clipboard,
• open the levels adjustment panel (which creates an adjustment layer),
• option-click on the white square in the adjustment layer in the layers panel,
• paste the image from the clipboard into the empty new layer,
• use command-I to reverse the image,
• click on the left symbol in the adjustment layer in the layers panel to bring up the levels layer again.
• move the right-most triangle towards the left until I am satisfied with the image,
• and save.

Please don't attack my technique for idealogical reason – it gets the job done!

What is the comparable sequence in Affinity Photo?

[RichardMH]

I'm not a Photoshop user so my interpretation may be wrong.

I think you are creating a mask from the inverted image and applying that to levels. If that's what it is, duplicate the layer, invert it, right click and rasterise to mask, start up levels and drag your new mask onto the  levels layer.

 

[Furry]

Thanks, RichardMH.

I will try that.

[NotMyFault]

Even simpler, in case you don‘t plan to manually edit the mask later (e.g. with brush):

• add levels adjustment
• click on the cog wheel symbol to access blend range settings. In the „destination“ area, click on the right node, and drag it down. This will restrict the levels to darker areas.

So 2 steps instead of 8.

 

Stepping this up further:

•  you can edit the inherent mask of the adjustment layer and use blend ranges,
• but a unfixed bug does not allow combining blend ranges and additional, separated mask layers

[Furry]

Thanks, NotMyFault.

I am using AffPhoto 1.10.6 (long story for another time and place) and maybe it behaves differently to your version. I got as far as the blend range setting and could not see "destinations" anywhere. What I have (with a few adjustment thingies here and there) are two black rectangles, each with a line across the top with a node at each end, one labeled "Source Layer Ranges" and the other labeled "Underlyning Composition Ranges". Does that make any sense to you? I have no idea what they mean.

RichardMH, I tried your suggestion and it sort-of works OK. All I have to do now is remember it.

[NotMyFault]

1 minute ago, Furry said:

"Underlyning Composition Ranges". 

spot on.

It’s a different name for the same thing. Depending on Version and platform (PC, Mac, iPad) different names were used.

 

[Furry]

Sorry if appear stupid, but I don't yet understand what to do. I imagine you are making assumptions which I have not yet learned to make.

I clicked on the right-hand node of the line at the top of the "Underlyning Composition Ranges" black rectangle and dragged it to the bottom of the rectangle. Nothing changed in the image. Is there something more that I need to do? Do I simply close the Blend Options panel and them the Levels Adjustment panel? Mpthing changed in the image. What have I missed?

[RichardMH]

You need to move the levels to affect the image.

[NotMyFault]

Official V1 tutorial 

 

[Furry]

Thank you both for your help. The problem is that you know what you are doing. I don't.

How do I know which of the many sliders in the Levels panel to move?

I watched the V1 tutorial right through but don't really understand what was being done. The fellow just nonchalantly changed a setting because he knew which setting and how much to change it. I find it totally confusing.

Whether or not I appear stupid to you two, I certainly do to me!

[NotMyFault]

Don’t worry. Do whatever fits best for you. If you ask questions, just continue to add an indication about your current level of experience.

we can always try to find a solution using methods you are familiar with.

So go with that of @RichardMH.

[Furry]

Thanks NMF.

I think now I will go and sit in a darkened room for a while! 😍

[GarryP]

Furry: If you can share a set of example images, including both the original and the result after Photoshop processing, someone may be able to examine them to see the differences, do some experimentation, and give you a workflow which works best using the Affinity functionalities. This might be better than trying to ‘shoehorn’ a Photoshop workflow into the way the Affinity applications work. (There may be a much quicker way to do what you want than what you are trying to do.)

In this case, if you share the images, ZIP them first and upload the ZIP so we get the actual images (the forum has a tendency to manipulate images that are uploaded directly so we don’t always see exactly what we should see).

[Furry]

Thanks for your suggestion, GarryP.

It is now Saturday evening where I am in eastern Australia and I will be busy tonight and tomorrow morning. When I get the chance I will do as you suggest.

[RichardMH]

As your in Aus, Les Walkling has an Affinity Photo workshop coming up. He's an interesting character and he knows a lot. He ran the media art program at RMIT before he retired. Its on zoom so easy to access. May not get his philosophy of editing in this one, but should get his macros.

https://www.leswalkling.com/workshops/affinity/

[Furry]

Thanks for the information, RichardMH. Sadly, it is not at a time that is convenient for me. I will look at the time-shift option.

[smadell]

@Furry - if you know Photoshop well, then think of the Blend Ranges panel as the equivalent of Photoshop’s “Blend If” sliders. The graphs in the Blend Ranges panel contol the visibility (opacity) of whatever layer they are attached to - in this case, the Levels adjustment. The leftmost graph (Source Layer Ranges) lets you set opacity based on the luminance of the current layer; the rightmost graph (Underlying Composition Ranges) lets you set the opacity of the current layer based on the luminance of the underlying composition. For me, I usually find that the Source graph works best for Pixel and Image layers, while the Underlying Composition graph works best for Adjustment and Filter layers.

I’d suggest one alternative. As you’ve done in Photoshop (and as suggested above) put a Levels adjustment above the image. Open the Blend Ranges panel for the Layers adjustment and drag the node at the top right of the Underlying Composition graph straight down to zero. (Now, the Levels adjustment will preferentially affect the dark tones, leaving the highlights less affected.) In the Levels panel, move the White slider to the left, but also move the Gamma (midtones) slider to the left. You might see a better result doing this. (This would also have been the case in Photoshop.) You might also try pushing the Output Black Level slider from its default 0% to, perhaps, 1 or 2% - this will set your blackest blacks to a minimally lighter shade. In some cases, this can help.

[smadell]

Another note: In Photoshop, moving the Whites slider in the Levels adjustment panel tends to move the Midtones slider also (I think!). Affinity Photo does not do this, and relies on you to adjust both the Whites and Midtones (which AP calls Gamma) seperately.

[Furry]

In response to your suggestion, GarryP, here is a zip file giving you a photo before adjustment (IMG_0107a.jpg) and after adjustment in Photoshop (IMG_0107a adj.jpg), using the steps I outlined earlier in this thread.

Thanks for your suggestions, smadell. That seems to work. I will need to try it on a few images to get the hang of how far I need to move  each slider. When I opened the levels adjustment on the first image I tried the White slider was already hard left, but that may have been the nature of that particular image.

I will play around a bit (the best way to learn any software) and see how I go.

Archive.zip

[RichardMH]

If you are only processing jpegs, Les's workshop will probably not benefit you much. He pretty much assumes you're working with RAW files on a wide gamut monitor. Sky is very blown out  in your image! 

[Furry]

I do mostly work with .jpgs but sometimes with .tif, .png and very occasionally with .gif. Before I got my iPhone with its really quite astounding camera I used to have a DSLR camera and worked with .RAW files then. But now my expensive camera is collecting dust in a cupboard as it has been superceded. .Jpg is the format I mostly work with as I produce a weekly magazine (in AffPub, of course) and it is distributed via .pdf – hardly any need for the quality that is possible with .raw.

Yes, that sky is very blown out but, in my defence, I didn't take the photo. 🙂