Ok, I would like to brighten the bugs in my picture gaillardia (by the way, if anybody knows how to do links, that would greatly help). I've been messing around in photoshop forever trying all these different things and I'm not happy with any of the results. Anys suggestions?
Wow, it was almost funny how many errors were in your first link (over 10). Hint: copy+paste is a lot easier than trying to type it in by hand. Also, case is very important.
Ok, now yall are commenting on my lack of skill to make links but what about my photo? The original problem? Anybody have any thoughts? (By the way thanks for the help with the links.)
well ... as with most things in Photoshop there are probably several ways to accomplish this
assuming you have a basic grasp of PS ... select the "bug" with the Lasso tool ... just ZOOM in and trace around it .. when you get back to where you began, a little "closed loop" o will appear (it's VERY tiny)
your "bug" is now selected .. Hit (Ctrl+J) to copy your "bug" to a new layer .. now change the blend mode of this new layer from 'normal' to 'screen' .. and adjust the opacity to something around 60%
feel free to check the other blend modes and adjust opacity to taste
(*runs and hides before the REAL photoshop gurus decide they can't sit by and watch me mislead you so horribly*)
If it was me wanting the bugs a bit brighter I would create a new layer on top of the original layer,change it from Normal to Overlay.Once you do that select a paintbrush with really feathered edges then change Opacity on the brush to like 10 or 12.Now Make sure you are painting with a light color,white usually works good .Now blow the image up and paint over the area you want to lighten.You may need to adjust your brush size.Now if you have areas to darken you can do the same thing only use a darker color.
Or, you can make a new layer, adjust the brightness/contrast on the new layer. Then using the eraser tool erase some of the new layer so you can see the original layer in some areas.
Was that confusing? Oh, you can also touch it up using the burn/dodge tool.
PS: Dont forget to sharpen with the unsharp mask. ;-)