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Photoshop CS3 shortcuts for Mac and PC

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:43:25 GMT

Here's some handy Mac and PC shortcuts for Photoshop CS3 - organized into four pages, by menu, as well as alphabetically by key. They're available in 2 PDF downloads - one for mac and one for PC.

Get the Mac shortcuts for Photoshop CS3 here
Get the PC shortcuts for Photoshop CS3 here ...

5 Websites Every Photographer Should Visit Often

Sat, 03 May 2008 01:00:06 GMT

Here's 5 sites I believe every digital photographer should add to their bookmarks. I visit these sites on a weekly basis as they inspire, educate and allow me to be a better photographer.

Scott Kelby
Also known as the godfather of Photoshop. Scott's website is regularly updated and filled with generous advice from everything on how to be a better photographer to becoming an expert in Photoshop and Lightroom.

Digital Photography Review
dpreview.c ...

How to Apply Develop Settings to Multiple Files in Adobe Camera Raw

Fri, 02 May 2008 03:17:01 GMT

Here's a handy little tip to apply develop settings to multiple files all at once. I often want to apply a certain preset to a bunch of files all at once, and this tip is a great time saver.

You can do this either directly via Bridge, or by opening a bunch of files in Camera Raw and applying the same settings to them from within Camera Raw.

Here's how to do it from within Bridge :

1) Select the file which develop settings you would like to copy, ...

An Introduction to Camera Raw

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:16:38 GMT

What is Camera Raw?

When you shoot in Raw, the files your digital camera produces are unprocessed, uncompressed sensor data, as captured by your camera.

Tonal Information

A typical Raw file has at least 12 bits of tonal information per pixel - with newer cameras having up to 14 bits of tonal information per pixel. Jpeg files only have 8 bits of tonal information per pixel. When you shoot in Jpeg you are letting your camera’s built in Raw converter de ...

5 Amazing Film Effects

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 03:57:18 GMT

We have compiled 5 amazing film effects that you can achieve in Photoshop CS3. These effects are all really easy to achieve and most of them can be achieved through Camera Raw.

1.) Film Grain
To simulate film grain from a high ISO film in photoshop, simply go to Filter -> Noise -> Add Noise.

Select an amount of 4.4, and make sure Gaussian and Monochromatic is select.

2) Antique Vintage
Get ...

Free Adobe Camera Raw Presets

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 09:33:16 GMT

This set contains 15 free presets for Adobe Camera Raw. It can be used in Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and Adobe Bridge.

To install these presets open up Camera Raw, click on the presets tab and then select load settings. Then point to the directory where you unzipped these presets. Alternatively you can unzip all these settings files to your presets folder.

These presets are meant as a starting point for your black and white photography. Feel free ...

Free Adobe Lightroom Presets

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 09:27:01 GMT

I have decided to share my set of black and white presets that I use in Adobe Lightroom. The set has 3 black and white presets and then 4 split tone presets for each black and white preset, making a total of 15 presets which I am giving away free.

The beauty of using presets is that they are really easy to use and results are instant.

To install the presets, switch to the develop module in Adobe Lightroom, right click on the presets pane and select import.
< ...

Canon 135mm f2L review

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 00:08:48 GMT

The Canon 135mm f/2L has a reputation for being one of Canon's sharpest lenses. I spent a weekend doing model portfolios with a 135mm and decided to write a review based on actual experience when photographing people rather than writing about technical data.

I have worked extensively with the 70-200mm f/2.8L and my normal portrait lenses are the 50mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.8

Results are perfectly usable at f/2 at closer distances - one of the benefits of buying a L seri ...

Velvia Vision Review

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 07:00:00 GMT

While Digital Cameras are good enough to replace film cameras in terms of their ability to print at large sizes, they are still lagging behind in the color department. Digital cameras produce pictures that appear somewhat flat and hazy straight out of the camera when compared to the punchy colors combined with high contrast, better color saturation and increased dynamic range that slide films like Fuji Provia and Fuji Velvia produces.

In my efforts to create punchier colors with b ...

Taking great pictures of people - 10 tips for instant results

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 06:40:14 GMT

People account for the most photographed subject of all, yet very few of us know how to take good pictures of people. None of these tips are difficult to accomplish - in fact all of them are really simple and will instantly improve your ability to take pictures of people.

1) Keep it simple
Keep things simple - the less technical aspects you have to worry about, the more you can focus on the person you are photographing. Using flash can easily over-complicate things unnecess ...

10 Tips to get tack sharp pictures

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 09:37:06 GMT

Getting sharp pictures are just as important as light and composition in photography, but are often overlooked. There's nothing worse than spending time and energy on pictures only to discover that your pictures aren't tack sharp.
Follow these 10 tips to get tack sharp pictures.

1) Focus on they eyes
Always focus on the eyes of the person you are photographing. If the eyes are out of focus the whole photograph will appear out of focus.

2) Shutter spe ...

Free Photo Borders for Photoshop

Thu, 24 May 2007 12:12:20 GMT

This method will show you how to create artistic borders in photoshop with a slight grunge look to it. The best thing about this method is that it is very easy to do and you don't have to spend any money on expensive photo border plugins or filters.

Step 1: Open up your picture and select the entire picture by pressing ctrl-a or going to Select -> All.

Step 2: Make a border selection by going to Select -> Modify -> Contract and enter a value of ...

Sepia Tone in Photoshop

Mon, 21 May 2007 01:37:16 GMT

Creating a Sepia Tone in Photoshop is very easy to do. There are various methods you can use to apply a sepia tone in photoshop including the layer style method, but for this article we will focus on a manual method which will give you more control over the effect. You can also use this method to tone your photos in any other color you want.

Step 1: Open up your black and white photo, or convert your photo to black and white. For the purposes of this example we converted a photo t ...

30 Portraits of Beautiful Women on Flickr

Thu, 10 May 2007 10:42:18 GMT

Following on the success of our recent 50 Amazing Pictures You Must See on Flickr, I have decided to hand pick yet another collection of pictures on Flickr. This time the topic of choice is Portraits of Beautiful women. Once again, most of these pictures were mostly taken by aspiring photographers like you and me.

Although there are many beautiful pictures of women on Flickr, I decided to focus mostly on portraits. Very few people have the ability to capture a part of someone's pe ...

10 Ways to save money on your next camera purchase

Mon, 07 May 2007 07:13:27 GMT

Most photographers upgrade their cameras quite frequently. While some might upgrade to stay on top of the latest developments and to keep from being left behind in the dark, others upgrade out of necessity. Many of us outgrow our cameras. As you progress, an entry level camera might no longer be good enough for you a year or two after you purchased it.

Whatever your reason may be for upgrading, everyone can do with some handy tips on how to save money on your next camera purchase. ...

Sports Photography Technique

Sun, 06 May 2007 12:44:11 GMT

Sports photography is one of the more rewarding types of photography. It is more challenging to master than it looks as things are usually happening really fast, which leaves little time to think about composition or technical aspects. Most other types of photography happens at a relaxed pace and allows you to plan and think about your shot.

Equipment Guidelines

Sports photography is very demanding on your wallet. If you want to get good at sports photography ...

Free Photoshop Grunge Borders

Wed, 02 May 2007 09:38:51 GMT

Grunge Borders are all the rage these days. They can make the right type of pictures stand out if used correctly. They're featured everywhere - in movie posters, magazines, brochues, in photography books and all over the internet.

I have been searching high and low for decent grunge borders and managed to find these free borders created by Andrea Rascaglia - the best I have come across so far. I thought I'll share these free grunge borders with you as they are real hard to come by ...

50 Amazing Pictures You Must See on Flickr

Tue, 01 May 2007 10:39:22 GMT

One of the best ways to learn photography is to look at other photographers pictures. Flickr is an amazing website with thousands of pictures available at the click of a button. What's even better is the availability of exif information on most photographs which means you can find out what Camera, Lens, aperture and shutter speed was used to take the picture.

We hand picked 50 amazing photos on Flickr. Most of the photographs on this page weren't taken by professional photogr ...

Black and White photo Conversion using Photoshop

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 03:09:20 GMT

Converting images from color to black and white can be done in a variety of ways in photoshop. The easiest way is just to convert your image to grayscale, but this usually leaves you with a rather flat and dull looking image. There are various ways to get more dramatic looking black and white photos in photoshop. In this article we are going to look at converting an image from color to black and white by using a channel mixer layer in photoshop. The great thing about converting to black and whit ...

Black and White Photoshop Actions

Wed, 04 Jan 2006 22:05:27 GMT

Black and white photography is no longer a tedious process that requires hours of darkroom work. Thanks to photoshop, black and white photography has become a very simple process.

Unlike film photographers, digital photographers can shoot in color and do the black and white conversion after the fact.

We compare 3 popular black and white actions for Photoshop that are freely available : Bill's black and white Photoshop action, Digidaan's black and ...

Photographing Pets

Mon, 02 Jan 2006 21:53:46 GMT

Unlike people, pets are not camera shy. They are however full of energy and move around a lot and have no intention of hanging around the camera. Photographing your pets requires you to move around and work for the pictures.

Tip #1 : Location
Try and photograph your pets outdoors as this is where they are at their happiest. Choose a location with a clean background such as a beach or a park. Use a slightly longer lens with a wide aperture ...

How to fix underexposed images

Sun, 28 Aug 2005 21:34:50 GMT

This technique will show you how to fix an underexposed photo. I have fixed underexposed pictures that was underexposed by as much as two stops using this technique. Many people are unaware of how easy it is to correct underexposed pictures with photoshop.

Step One :
Drag your layer onto the create a new layer icon in the layers palette. Change the blend mode from normal to screen.

Duplicate layer and select Screen

St ...

Fixing flash over exposure in photoshop

Sat, 27 Aug 2005 21:29:16 GMT

Over exposed images can be fixed in photoshop. There are several methods which will allow you to fix exposure problems in photoshop, but they generally affect both the foreground and the background. In the case of over exposed images as a result of too much flash, all you want to correct is the foreground without changing the background exposure - which is what this method will cover.

Step 1 :
Duplicate the layer by clicking on the new layer ...

Photographing Children

Sat, 27 Aug 2005 20:58:21 GMT

The key to photographing children is to make them feel comfortable around you and make them forget that you are taking pictures of them. It's always easier to photograph children when they are occupied with something - like for instance playing with a friend, a dog or a toy. If you keep them busy they won't be so aware of your camera - thus enabling you to take natural pictures.Posed pictures in front of corny backgrounds are a big no-no. Get your kids in the back yard - take them to the be ...

How to bring out the blue sky in those grey sky pictures

Sat, 27 Aug 2005 20:35:53 GMT

We're going to show you how to bring in some blue sky on some of those grey sky pictures. This technique involves dodging in the blue sky with a brush. This technique is not limited to blue skies - use it on water or any other part of your picture that you would like to bring out the darker colors like for instance green grass or dark surfaces.

Step One :

Create a new layer by selecting Layer -> New Layer
Select overlay as the mode ...