The Adjustment Brush in Camera Raw

Finally, as promised for those in the Part 1 Class. Some notes about using the adjustment brush in Camera Raw.

 

You'll find the web page here!

Enjoy!!

'Tis the Season --Making Greeting Cards

Greeting Cards

The layout is probably the hardest part of making a greeting card, especially if you are printing an "inside" message. This link is a simple layout for a one-sided (Right Click to Download) (1/2) x 7" x 10" Greeting Card For our demo, here's the (Right Click to Download) lily painting

There are many "paper" companies, one that I like is "Red River Paper." They also have some video tutorials for Photoshop Elements and Photoshop on how to set up printing guides for Canon, Epson and HP printers. You'll find that web page here.

About.com has an excellent step-by-step tutorial on how to set up and make a 4 sided card.

Week 2 Review --Composition and Cropping

Cropping

What makes a photograph compelling? The subject and its composition in the photograph.
Rule? Trust your instincts! We are all a part of the universe and the basic principals underlying its construction.  One of those rules is a simple number sequence called the Fibonacci Sequence.
Images need to be cropped to straighten horizons, remove distractions, and zoom (enlarge) the subject. If you are printing an image at an aspect ratio of 5:7 and your photograph has an aspect ratio of 3:2, you'll need to do some creative  cropping.
A cropped image can be cropped to ANY aspect ratio!
Here's more about cropping in Photoshop and Lightroom:
http://www.uofgts.com/PS-P2Site/crop.html

Recover your Edges

Adobe has released for Lightroom an dng edge recovery program. Most digital cameras crop the image to fit the aspect ratio you have chosen in the camera's settings.  The data is still available in the raw file (except for Nikon and Panasonic Cameras as they "throw away that information when they save the raw file.) You can download the plug-in for free from Adobe Labs
http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroomplugins/
Download the pdf doc file to see how to use the plug-in in Lightroom's Library Module. The module only works on DNG files, so you'll need to convert the file from your raw format to dng first.
For some cameras the image recovery is quite noticeable… not so much with my aging Canon.
Canon File Size Pre:  3453 x 2302
Canon File size Post: 3471 x 2314

The difference is barely noticeable. Give it a try, you might be surprised!
Enjoy your thanksgiving and we'll see you next week!

File Formats, tif or psd?

A question in class was raised on why they could NOT get a tif file to load into Camera Raw after it had been saved after editing in Photoshop… What ever I said in class was not right and the more I thought about this question the more I realized I should research the subject of file types and usage more thoroughly.

Here's what I found… 

The references that I had used stated:

32-bit .PSD "Photoshop Document file."
A PSD file stores an image with support for most imaging options available in Photoshop. These include layers with masks, color spaces, ICC profiles, CMYK Mode (used for commercial printing), transparency, text, alpha channels and spot colors, clipping paths, and duotone settings. Photoshops version of the .tiff format! Recommend use of the .psd file format rather than .tif

But, Camera Raw is designed to use .jpg, tif and of course raw files. The Photoshop CS6 for Photographers author, Martin Evening uses .psd to preserve files with layer edits, but also saves a flattened version as a .tif file because Camera Raw flattens layered files!  

Camera Raw can load .tif files directly, but you have to setup Camera Raw to directly load a tif file…

It's a Preference setting in Bridge,  The menu is:

(Mac) Adobe Bridge CS6 > Camera Raw Preferences… (Command k)
(PC) Edit > Camera Raw Preferences… (Control k)

You need change the above preference because when you save a file from Photoshop, it adds a link in the file so that it will automatically re-open in Photoshop! 

Again note that if you load a tif file that has layers, in to Camera Raw. Camera Raw will automatically flatten the layers.

N.B. (Nota Bene) 

However, You can load a .psd file into Camera Raw, but, it's a round about process… as you can't do it from the Bridge!

You have to start Photoshop, and go to the File > Open Menu…

and choose the following

BUT, when you send the file back to Photoshop you will discover the layers have been flattened!

That's a good reason to have a layered .psd file and a separate flattened .tif file for the same image!

 When you are working with Bridge, Camera Raw and Photoshop, here's what happens to the files.

The other Camera Raw file preference I set have in Bridge is:

"Save image settings in: Sidecar ".xmp" files"…(You need to do this if you use Lightroom. Lightroom uses this method to save all your edits. )

File Behavior

Camera Raw will always flatten a layered file.

 Link: How to work with Smart Objects in PS

That ought to do it for now… 

 

 

 

 

Photoshop 4 Photos --Week 4 Review

Howdy

Those of you that are continuing on to the next 4 classes… The first class is next Saturday, Nov 17
There is no class Thanksgiving week end on November 24

The Adjustment Brush (Camera Raw)

We started class #4, by learning how to do local (selected) editing in Camera Raw.  I need to write up some notes about that, so stay tuned, sometime in the next week I'll post some notes about using the Adjustment Brush… If you have specific questions about the adjustment brush, now would be a good time to send an e-mail.

Gradients

Here's a link to a page with a brief overview on using gradients in Photoshop and (Elements), and Camera Raw and Lightroom. About Gradients

Panoramas and Content Aware Fill

To stitch a panorama you send the selected images to Photoshop via the Bridge. The menu is…
Tools > Photoshop > Photomerge…

This sends the selected photos (don't worry about order, as Photoshop will sort that out for you… )

In the Photomerge dialogue box… if your horizon is flat, check the Cylindrical Button… then click okay. If Photoshop can't figure out where the pieces fit it'll let you do the assembly manually.

Instead of cropping your panorama you can use Content Aware Fill to let the computer "paint in the holes…"

 

With content aware fill the basic steps are, select the area to be filled. Expand the selection by 10 pixels… choose the menu item  
Edit > Fill  select Content Aware, click okay…

This tutorial shows you how to select an object, and remove it from the photo and use the same selection later…
Content Aware Fill 

Printing from CS6

Printing  setup in Photoshop  CS6 has changed… but, the procedure to get a print ready to print  hasn't.

The Basic rule here is:  You want Photoshop to manage the color NOT THE PRINTER!  You after all have done all of "that" photo enhancing and you want to see the colors you selected in the print!!

Read the following pdf file by Martin Evening…
Color management 

Ben Wilmore's Colormanagement Simplified is no longer available

To save you ink, paper and time you NEED to soft proof your images…

You'll need color profiles for YOUR  paper and printer.

Here's the steps 

Softproofing in Photoshop

Softproofing in Lightroom 4

 

Whew, that ought to keep you busy for a while… Got a question? Send that e-mail!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 3 Review Sharpening and an Introduction to Photoshop

Howdy

I managed to give you a link to a really "old" web page on "sharpening" in the week3.html file you copied from the class server.

"Sharpening Techniques in Camera Raw." The Detail Panel is the same in Photoshop Elements, Lightroom and Photoshop's Camera Raw.

This is a "teaser" I wrote about sharpening…
http://uofgts.com/PS/p4p.html 

 Sharpening using Camera Raw

http://uofgts.com/PS-P2Site/cr-sharpening.html 

Sharpening in Photoshop
http://uofgts.com/PS-P2Site/sharpening.html 

Setting up Photoshop
It seems that all software needs to have their preferences tweaked… Here's a page about setting up Photoshop
http://uofgts.com/PS-P2Site/settingsPS.html 

I will detail color management in class this Saturday

I introduced you to the Power of Photoshop using layers and a simple gray scale mask… Here's the same techniques used in class with a different subject, but I also show PS Element users what alternatives they have for the same technique…

http://uofgts.com/PS-P2Site/Mergewithmasks.html

And, Finally here's a link to how to use the "Healing Brush" Tool

http://uofgts.com/PS-P2Site/healing/index.html

 

If you haven't signed up for the next 4 weeks, I urge you to do so!

If there is ONE thing you'd like to learn, send me an e-mail and I'll work it into the next class!