I mentioned that I darken and add warmth to reduce haze. I forgot to mention that I also increase the contrast. Sorry about that!
I make those changes using sliders, which is very rare for me. The method works and is easy so I use the sliders.
Binnur: By darkening, I mean that I am reducing the brightness (the exposure). The terms used by various software applications will vary but the effect should be the same.
I hate the effect of haze, so my treatment is almost always stronger than the treatment Christina used. See my treatment shown below, but please understand that I did not take the time to carefully limit the boundaries of the selection. I applied the treatment to the areas that do NOT include the sky, snow, water, and light green forest in the lower left area of the image.
Last edited by Mike Buckley; 9th June 2014 at 07:05 PM.
Hi Binnur,
Here is a screen shot of my edits. I used curves with a layer mask to darken the mountains, lowering the opacity because I didn't want the mountains to be as dark (albeit on my own time I am going to try another edit somewhere between Mikes and mine). Then I erased the mask from the water and trees and sky to my taste and to suit the rest of the image.
To warm up the mountains I used a layer mask with a warming filter, and again erased it from the rest of the image, leaving it just on the mountains and the tree coloured peninsula.
Thank you Christina. Instead of applying your edit to the whole image and then erasing the unwanted parts, you can select the area which you want to edit and then create a layer with a mask. In this case your edit will be applied only to the selected area and you won't have to erase anything
Christina,
Now that I see your curve, your results would be more like mine if you used an S-curve or a variation of it. That's because an S-curve will increase the contrast whereas your curve decreases it. Having said that, I have often used a curve like yours to decrease haze. I do whatever works best at the time.
Christina,
You and Binnur are apparently using PS CC for this. You're using a warming filter but Binnur isn't aware there is one. If you let him know how to navigate to it, I'm sure he will be eternally grateful. Eternal is a looooooooong time.
Hi Binnur,
Thank you so much. I seem to be fond of doing things the hard way. I will try this out. Truly appreciated.
My sincere apologies for the mix-up. Definitely female. I should've known because you ask just as many questions as I do, and you also seem to be as fond as the smiley face as I am.
Last edited by Brownbear; 9th June 2014 at 09:12 PM. Reason: replace image with 2nd try
If your software allows you to save particular adjustment settings that can be named, it would be good to save a combination of settings that can be automatically retrieved to reduce haze. I simply load my Haze adjustment settings that I saved years ago and use those settings at least as a point of departure.
I don't like shooting in hazy conditions but I'm often at a place knowing that I won't be able to return in better conditions. So, I capture the scene and hope for the best once I get to my post-processing software.
Mike... Thank you for the tips ion presets. Will do.
Binnur... I forgot to say that I ordered both of those books on Photoshop CC but chose free delivery so I may not receive them until the 3rd week of June. So in the near future I will have some handy references to help me learn the program.