Photoshop Tutorial by Jane Conner-ziser
Today we had a challenge; some of the most distinctive moiré I’ve ever seen. I tried everything and though every tried and true method of moiré removal minimized it somewhat, nothing even came close to an acceptable fix. In RGB, the moiré was visible in every color channel. In Lab Color, it was visible in both color channels PLUS the lightness channel.
It is said that perseverance pays off and we weren’t going to let it go and finally I combined a couple of different techniques to come up with one that worked consistently every time. Record an action of this – it’s worth it!
We’re assuming you are working with an RGB file.
Image / Mode / Lab Color
Duplicate the Background
Make sure the Background Copy is the active Layer
Open the Channels window
Click on the Lightness channel to make it the active channel
Choose from the Main Menu Bar, Image / Show All Menu Items / Apply Image
Choose the following settings:
Source: will be the name of your file
Layer: Background Copy
Channel: b, check Invert
Target: will be the Lightness channel of your file name
Blending: Overlay
Opacity: 100% - I TOLD you it was serious moiré!
Check Mask to open additional options
Image: will be the name of your file
Layer: Background Copy
Channel: Lightness, check Invert
Click OK
Click on the Lab Channel (the image becomes color again)
Open the Layers window
Duplicate the Background Copy (makes Background Copy 2)
Filter / Blur / Gaussian Blur – adjust until colors blend; we did 25 pixels
Change the Layer Blending Mode from Normal to Color
Hold the Shift Key down and tap on the Background Copy so both are Active
Open the More Options fly out menu from the upper right corner of the
Layers window and choose to New Group From Layers. Click OK
Hold down the Option (or Alt for PC) key and click on the Layer Mask icon
at the bottom of the Layers window. It will be a black mask.
Use the Brush tool, Normal mode, 100% opacity, 100% flow to apply White
paint over the moiré. Choose a brush size appropriate for the job.
Choose Layer / Flatten Image
Image / Mode / RGB
You’re finished!
Desperate times call for desperate measures and I realize this is a LOT of steps but it worked every time on the father of the groom’s suit in an entire wedding. By making the action, the process was set up with one click, one paint job and one more click to finish. We’ll be keeping this action just in case we need it again. I hope you like it and that it works for you, too!
Thanks!
Jane Conner-ziser
Jane is a photographer, digital artist, independent consultant and teacher for the professional photography industry. With over 25 years of experience, 19 of them in digital imaging and evolving technologies, the techniques Jane developed for facial retouching and enhancement and portrait painting are widely emulated by photographers and digital artists worldwide through her classes and educational products. She was one of Canon’s Explorers of Light in their PrintMaster program, is an Adobe Photoshop Expert, a Corel PainterMaster and a Craftsman Photographer of the Professional Photographers of America. In addition, she is past co-chair for the Digital and Advanced Imaging Committee for the Professional Photographers of America.
