i want to learn

back alley

back alley

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i bought a book on photoshop 7, which i use, and hope to learn how to do some things.

i want to learn how to:

burn & dodge

feather the edges of the centre of a print

put a border on a print

add text, where & how i want it to look

and other stuff...

joe
 
Hey - great work. I've only got Photoshop Elements - I hope there's some other PSE 3.0 users out there who can point me in the right direction. Dodge & burn, and layers for a start.
 
Joe, IMHO this is the best way to dodge and burn:

Go to Layers --> open new layer
On pull down 'mode' menu, click 'overlay'
Check the 'Fill with overlay... (50% gray) box.

Now switch to the Brush tool, and choose a large soft edged brush.
I usually start with '30% opacity' on the brush pallette.

Now type 'd' on your keyboard, then 'x' to set your foreground color to white. You are now ready to dodge with your brush.

Type 'x' again to change foreground color to black for burning.

When you are happy with the results, go to the Layers menu, and 'flatten image.'

The steps are really simple once you do it a few times. Enjoy!!
 
You said you bought the book, but did you buy the Photoshop? 🙂

Print Borders:

1. Open an Image and set the background color in the color picker, usually black or white, but not limited there to.
2. Layer>New Layer.
3. Select>Select All
4. Edit>Stroke. Pixels, 2 to 4 for starts, Choose the Inside Radio Button, (another chance to choose a color here as well). Click OK
5. Flatten the image, CMD/CTRL + E.

Post'em...skip
 
ChrisN said:
Hey - great work. I've only got Photoshop Elements - I hope there's some other PSE 3.0 users out there who can point me in the right direction. Dodge & burn, and layers for a start.
Click to expand...

I am using PSE 2 and most likely will upgrade to PSE 3 soon. I think it offers added features that will benefit me like the album creation stuff. I don't think, I can't find them, PSE 2 offers Curves controls, I wonder if PSE 3 does?
 
backalley photo said:
the former.

joe
Click to expand...


1. Select the area of emphasis with the either the Rectangle or Elliptical Marquee Tool. You can and should use more advanced selection tools after you get the hang of it.
2. Select>Feather, 8 pixels.
3. Select>Inverse
4. Filter>Gaussian Blur, 8 pixels.
5. Select>Deselect.

Notes: This is a start simple and add skills approach. There are better, more involved ways to perform this edit. Edit>Fade is available immediately after applying a command allowing control by reducing Opacity to lessen the effect. Attached is a quick and dirty.
 
I've spent literally thousands of hours using and studying Photoshop, conduct workshops etc, and I consider myself a layman—learn something new almost every day. I recommend Elements as all the software needed for most chores. It's the same running gear without the powerpak. Photoshop is a waste of money if you don't have the time or skills to use even some of it. I know very little about graphics and CMYK prepress. I just edit my funny little pictures and print them Black Only on an inkjet. LAB is my latest mind bender...skip
 
I've used Photoshop since version 2.0, and since I'm a professional graphic designer and work for a prepress company, I know ALL about CMYK, LAB, spot color channels, etc., etc.

But when I go home to work on my own photographs, I don't need the vast majority of what's in Photoshop. Unless you're into "creative" special effects (blecch!) you'll be doing almost all your photographic work with just a few functions:

-- Levels (or Curves if you prefer)
-- Layers, layer masks, and layer effects
-- Healing brush, clone stamp, lasso, and Selection>Feather
-- Filters: Add Noise, Dust and Scratches, Unsharp Mask (although 'Smart Sharpen' in CS2 is even nicer.)
-- Image resizing and resampling in the Image Size dialog box.

(I may have forgotten one or two, but this is most of the basic toolbox.)

You can master all these with a few hours of concentrated practice, and they're really all you need to prepare and enhance unmanipulated photography.
 
What I do for feathering edges is this:
(I shall try Skip's method, too, but I've only ever done this...)
I save my image once I've got the colours and curves and cropping done with, when it's as I want it except for the softness outside the focal point.
I open a duplicate layer.
I give the whole image a Gaussian Blur (whatever percent I favour)
I select History Brush (BIG soft brush) with the colour black and "paint"over the areas I want sharp. It's like magic. I love it.
Then I flatten the image and save it.
I imagine I picked this up from one of Scott Kelby's books, as he is the person I turn to for concise and humourous guidance when I know what effect I want and cannot for the life of me achieve it...🙂
Good luck!
 
backalley photo said:
thanks skip!

i figure another 10 maybe 15 years and i'm gonna have a real handle on this photoshop stuff.

joe🙂
Click to expand...
Don't underestimate yourself Joe. Ten years ought to do it. 😛
Kurt M.
 
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