For the past few years, I have created a small wall calendar for friends an family. I have used 13 images, one for each month and one for the cover. I created the calendar pages in Photoshop including such customizations as birthdays and anniversaries, printed them first 6×4 (6×8 calendar) and later 7×5 (7×10 calendar), then had them bound by a local copy store. I realize I have a certain amount of bias but I do feel they have been a nice gift.
This year I have created a small, full year, calendar, 4×6, with a single photo and all 12 months of the calendar year. I downloaded a calendar template from the web, then customized the calendar with my name and web site address then laminated the calendar to a magnet. I am sending these calendars to new clients as a small thank you and a year long reminder of my services. For my existing clients, I have customized their calendar with a photo from one of their sessions over the previous year.
Use of your photos does not have stop with a picture in a frame. Local labs and online printing services offer a very expansive range of products to use with your photographs, though you do not always have pay a lot for them. A little bit of time on your own and you can have a few nice products to pass around to your friends and family.
This is my last tip for 2007. I wish everyone a happy Christmas and holiday season. If you happen to receive any new photo goodies over the next little while, remember to read the manual… there is a wealth of information included in that little book.
Until next time, happy shooting.
One of my co-workers, John, received a Christmas card this week and asked me how he could replicate the image on the card. The image was a black and white photo with a colour Christmas wreath hanging from a bridge and a river running under the bridge in a pastel blue. This is easy to do using a few tools I have talked about it the past, layers, opacity and layer masks.
In both Adobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Photoshop, the process is almost identical, and very easy in both programs. Below are the instructions:
- Duplicate the background layer of your image. To do this, right click on the background layer in the layers palette and choose duplicate layer.
- In Photoshop - Create a channels adjustment layer and convert the image to black and white
- In Photoshop Elements - Convert the duplicate layer to black and white (CTRL-ALT-B) Create a layer mask on the black and white layer you created. You can install a utility to enable layer masks for Photoshop Elements here.
- With the layer mask selected, select a brush and pick the black colour from the colour selector.
- Next, set the opacity of the brush quite low, 10 or 15%. This will let you paint the colour back in to selected areas in small increments.
- Painting successively over the same area will paint the colour back into the image more and more with each successive stroke.
- If you restore colour to a selection of the image you still want to remain in colour, change your brush colour to white and paint back over the area you wish to remain in black and white.
The layer masks blocks the effect of the black and white layer, where you have painted black on the layer mask, the effect is blocked and as I already mentioned, setting the opacity of the brush lets you work in small increments for better control.
If you do not want to add the colour back in from the original image, but wish to paint your own colours in, then follow points 1 and 2 above then create a new layer and on that layer, again using a low opacity brush, paint the colours you want. One final step when painting this way is to change the blending mode of your layer to overlay which will make your colours transparent and let the image below show through your colour.
There are many ways in which you can uses these techniques. A little imagination and creativity can open up a new layer of your own photography.
Until next time, happy shooting.
As a computer power user, I like to make my computer experience as fast as I can. One of the ways that I do that is to maximize my use of program shortcuts. Today I provide a list of common shortcuts for Adobe Photoshop Elements 5, many of which can be used in other versions of Photoshop programs.
Tools (Pressing the shortcut key multiple times rotates between tool variations):
V - Move
Z - Zoom
M - Marquee
L - Lasso
T - Type
C - Crop
J - Spot Healing Brush
B - Brush
K - Paint Bucket
O - Sponge Tool
Palette and other shortcuts:
D - Default foreground and background colours
X - Switch foreground with background colour
[ - Smaller brush size
] - Larger brush size
Shift [ - softer brush
Shift } - harder brush
F11 - Show/Hide Layers palette (F7 in Photoshop)
CTRL + - Zoom in
CTRL - - Zoom out
CTRL D - Deselect
CTRL Shift I - Invert selection
These are the shortcuts I use most of the time in my workflow. You may find other shortcuts (there are many) that you find useful.
Until next time, happy shooting.
The application of light in photography can make or break a photo. One of the things photographers do to make an outstanding photo is manipulate light to create depth, dimension and effect in their photos. They use multiple lights and light modifiers to do that.
In this photo, I have used two camera flashes, but any light source would have worked. I used one light to illuminate the rose, and the other to create the pattern on the background. Using a piece of greenery between the flash and the background created the patterns on the wall. This flash was aimed through the greenery, acting as a gobo, toward the wall. The pattern is the shadow this created. The second light was shot across the flower to illuminate it. Neither flash cast light upon the other surface. Had I been using a different type of light, one that spread out more such as a desk lamp, I would have needed to flag, or block, the light to prevent light spill.
You can see the setup I used in the following diagram:
I could have added a little more dimension to the rose by placing a white card to the left of it to reflect some of the light back into the rose on the other side. The full size image may be viewed on my Picture of the Day site.
Until next time, happy shooting.
I have talked in the past about non-destructive editing in Photoshop Elements 5 any of the full Photoshop versions including CS2 and CS3. This week I will introduce a way to make non-destructive edits to pixel layer detail.
Several of the tools in Photoshop Elements 5 including the magic wand, spot healing, clone stamp, paint bucket and blur tool have an option to sample all layers. This is a great tool for fixing blemishes or small areas of pixel level detail. Remember, we use adjustment layers for as many full images modifications as we can and those are not pixel level adjustment.
To use this feature, create a blank layer on top of your other layers and select the tool you would like to use. Look in the options bar for a check box labeled Use All Layers. If it is there, make sure it is checked then go ahead and use the tool as normal. Your previously blank layer will now start to have modified data in it. One of the nicest features about this is because your edits are on a new layer, you can adjust the opacity of those changes, or turn them off completely.
Taking advantage of all the features of the tools that you use is the best way to achieve your highest quality work. Non-destructive editing provides the most flexibility in post processing your images without risking a permanent modification to your actual photographic detail.
Until next time, happy shooting.
If you wear glasses, you may find that using the viewfinder on you digital camera is difficult. They lenses in the view finder are made to focus at a certain point, and often glasses may interfere with this.
One thing you can try is to adjust the diopter on the eyepiece to match the prescription for your eyewear. Adjustinging the diopter will adjust the focus of the view finder so that when you look through the view finder, the image is in focus without the aid of your eyeglasses. If the diopter adjustment is not enough, some camera manufacturers also sell an diopter accessory for further adjustment.
If you do not use glasses but find that the focus is off on your camera when using the autofocus mode, but the images are in focus when you review them later, or when using manual focus the image in your viewfinder is in focus, but out of focus when you review them later, check your diopter to be sure that it has not been modified. To do this, I press my focus spot selector to light up the focus indicators in the view finder, then adjust the diopter until they are sharp.
Maintaining all facets of your equipment will help ensure your images are everything you want them to be.
Until next time, happy shooting.
I have talked about depth of field and using aperture to minimize or maximize depth of field in the past. Today I will talk about Automatic Depth of Field function some camera’s have and depth of field preview.
Automatic Depth of Field (A-Dep or DEP) is creative mode on some camera’s that will help you select the best aperture to get everything in your frame in focus. To use A-DEP, turn the dial on your camera to A-DEP, and compose your image. The camera will then evaluate your frame, set your aperture and focus on a point where everything from front to back will be in focus by setting the focus to the hyperfocal distance. As it is an automatic setting, it tends to be hit and miss at time. When using this setting, be sure to have everything you want in focus to fall within your camera’s focus points as this is what the camera uses to determine what needs to be in focus. On older cameras (DEP) you were able to focus on the point nearest to you that you wanted in focus the press the shutter 1/2 way. Next, focus on the point (without changing the zoom setting) further from you and press the shutter 1/2 way. Finally, recompose your photo and press the shutter all the way. The camera will then focus at the correct spot to get the near and far points in focus.
If you want a more manual approach, using your depth of field preview button will help you determine how your given aperture will affect your image. Once your image is composed, press your depth of field preview button to stop down the lens. This will force your diaphragm blades to close and you will be able to see how the depth of field will be represented when you take the photo. Because you are closing the diaphragm blades, the image will go darker in your viewfinder as you let less light into the lens. This is normal and will not alter your image.
Until next time, happy shooting.
As mentioned in the past, I am President of the Niagara Falls Camera Club. As part of our move this year to digital competitions using projected images, I recently put on a program at the club covering some basic digital editing using Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.
In my program I covered topics including red eye removal, cropping, straightening, using level for setting white balance and minor exposure adjustment, using layers for non-destructive editing and finally creating a step mount on a digital image.
I have made an archive of my speakers notes and sample images for you to follow through.
The zip archive may be downloaded here: Digital Retouching Seminar Files
Where do you stand when it comes to your own photography? Are you too emotionally invested in the image? Maybe it is time you took a step back and re-evaluated your photos.
We often have an emotional attachment to our images that clouds our view of the quality of an image. A memory of the trip the photo was taken on, a cute grandchild or the knowledge of the difficulty in obtaining the photograph are all scenarios that could cloud our judgment when evaluating our photography. While each one may make the image special to you, they do not increase the quality of the image. And if you cannot separate your emotional attachment to your photos, you will not be able to see the places in your photos that could be improved. Stepping back and trying to take an unbiased look at your photos can help reveal areas where improvement can be made.
Examine your photos for composition, exposure and technique. If any of the three do not hold up, then you have a starting point to improve.
Being able to evaluate your own images without the bias of emotional attachment can help your photography to advance as you begin to recognize the deficiencies in your work.
Digital photography or more specifically digital camera have become disposable items. New models are released at regular intervals and previous models do not hold high resale value. New models incorporate new technology, usually resulting in higher megapixel ratings, new features, and better quality images.
But do you need one?
There seems to be a community of people, not just in photography but in many technology related goods, that absolutely must have the latest and greatest. That can become quite expensive and may not necessarily lead to better images. Before upgrading, you should consider whether or not the new features are really justified for the type of photography you do. Have you already identified a need for a new camera? Do the new models fill in voids you have with your current model? The camera manufacturers push megapixels, but often without significant increases in performance or features.. If the megapixel count of a new camera is the driving factor for you and you do not make large images, the upgrade may not prove to be worthwhile. However, if you have been limited with your current camera, either by the size of the enlargements you wish to make, the speed or responsiveness of your current camera, or if the image quality from your current camera does not meet your expectations, than an upgrade may be worth considering?
Other factors that may warrant a new camera may include more manual controls as your photography skills improve or the ability to use different accessories. Of course, with today’s technology, there are plenty of features that may warrant a new camera. Reviewing your current camera’s shortcomings can help determine an actual need for a new one.
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