Learn How to Create a “Dragan Effect” in Photoshop
Andrzej Dragan’s dark and edgy images have inspired and motivated countless photographers. His distinct high-contrast processing style has become known as the “Dragan Effect”.
In this 8-minute video, Elias describes how to create the Dragan Effect using adjustment layers and filters in Photoshop. He introduces the High Pass filter and shares several useful Photoshop shortcuts.
Although you can use this processing style with virtually any portrait, it tends to work best with people who have a great deal of character in their face. The Dragan Effect over-emphasizes edge detail and contrast making wrinkles and scars appear more noticeable.
Download the Exercise Files
You can download the textures and exercise files used in the video here.
About the Author
Elias Sarantopoulos has a Master of Arts from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. Elias works and teaches at Yeditepe University in Istanbul at the Visual Communication Design Department. You can learn more about Elias and watch his other tutorials on photography and web design at www.3rdElement.com.
Thanks for this video tutorial, I’m a fan of his work and I’ve been trying to get the look he has in his photos.