My Home Sweet Home

Wordless Wednesday: Jellyfish x2

Dawn — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:20:21 +0000

We went to the Georgia Aquarium recently. I was standing behind my oldest son when he pulled out his phone to take a picture of this jellyfish. I said, “Hold still a minute,” and took this shot. I love it straight out of camera.

I’m a NAPP Evangelist (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) – see how this could benefit you!

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom or Wordless Wednesday for more Wordless Wednesday participants.

Are you a photographer with white balance problems? Check out the White Balance Lens Cap!

I ♥ Faces: Sports in Action (week 27)

Dawn — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 03:38:15 +0000

One of this week’s themes at iHeartFaces is “Sports in Action” and the guest judge is Rog Ellsworth of EPlove!

This is a photo I took of my son running toward the finish line in a cross country meet last fall. I missed the bottom of his feet, but I love that the pan actually worked and he’s well-focused (both in camera and in mind, to make it to the finish).

I get a kick out of the fact that the guy turning around behind him was the official team photographer, who obviously missed the shot.

Vertus Fluid Mask 3

Dawn — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:35:12 +0000

Earlier this year when I reviewed a fun photo editing program from Vertus called Play with Pictures, one commenter said, “It does all the things I wish I could do with Photoshop.” I’m happy to tell you that Vertus has a plugin called Fluid Mask 3 that helps put easier selections in Photoshop within your reach.

Here are examples of how it works. My buddy Marybeth Whalen sent me some sample shots to use for her new blog that I designed earlier this year. I really liked this one, however I wanted to eliminate the background.

I used Fluid Mask 3 to make my selection. (Although Fluid Mask can be used as a stand-alone application, I use it as a Photoshop plugin) First, open the image in Photoshop and then select Filter>Vertus>Fluid Mask 3 to open it within Fluid Mask. Initially, it will look like this as it separates the image into smaller pieces based on color:

Next you click within the areas that you don’t want to keep (just touching anywhere within a blocked off section selects it, you don’t have to paint over the entire thing).

Eventually you’ll get something that looks like this:

Once you’re finished and all of the areas you don’t want are red, you can choose Image>Auto-Fill with Keep, which will fill in the remaining area—the part you want to select—with green.

Now you’ll need to create a selection, which is done by clicking the “Create Cut-out” icon (text will appear when you mouse-over it). This step is very important!

At this point you may have to switch back and forth between the Workspace and Cut-out views to make tweaks. An assortment of tools are available to fine-tune your selection.

You can move between Source (original), Workspace, and Cut-out views by clicking on the appropriate tab above the image. Just be sure to click “Create Cut-out” again to make those changes stick.

When you are finished, choose File>Save and Apply in order to close Fluid Mask and return to Photoshop with your selection, which will look like this:

Pretty cool, huh?

The final blog header looks like this, much cleaner without the background from the original photo:

More complex selections require more complex tools within Fluid Mask. Detailed lists of tutorials can be found on the Fluid Mask website or PhotoshopSupport.com. I go back and watch the video each time I try hair. I would definitely recommend going through the video tutorials if you want to fully understand the application.

Fluid Mask 3 is compatible with Photoshop CS2, CS3, and CS4. It can be purchased for immediate download for $149.

[Product provided for review.]

Wordless Wednesday: Old Rolls Royce

Dawn — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:04:05 +0000

I’m a NAPP Evangelist (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) – see how this could benefit you!

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom or Wordless Wednesday for more Wordless Wednesday participants.

Are you a photographer with white balance problems? Check out the White Balance Lens Cap!

9 Days of NAPP Day 7: Scott Kelby

Dawn — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:46:49 +0000

I have a confession: I am a Scott Kelby groupie (and I mean that in the nicest possible way). Scott is the editor-in-chief for Layers Magazine, Photoshop User magazine and the president of NAPP, the National Association of Photoshop Professionals.

It all started when repairs to my van forced me to wait for hours, wandering through a local mall. It was in the web design section at Books-a-Million where I came across Photoshop Classic Effects: The Essential Effects Every User Needs to Know. Although I intended to peruse the content, it was the intros that drew me in, starting with the fake tutorial at the beginning. (If you’ve read any of Scott’s books, you know the intros have nothing to do with photography or design and everything to do with goofball humor.)

Once I got a DSLR camera, my next purchases were Scott’s The Digital Photography Book Volume 1 and Volume 2. There were so many “ahhh!” moments. My husband just smiled and rolled his eyes over comments like, “Scott Kelby has my best interests at heart.”

You see, Scott writes—both on his blog and in his books—in a conversational, friend-to-friend way. He’s an ace photographer and Photoshopper and wants you to be one, too. Instead of using mathematical formulas or charts that strip away the joy of learning and make your eyes roll back in your head, he just tells you what to do, plain and simple.

Scott’s not afraid to confess his errors: forgetting his memory card, failing to reset his image size or ISO, even accidentally leaving without his camera. Personally, I’m a bit of a ditz and it just makes me feel better knowing that sometimes he makes the same mistakes I do.

I should have his acronym, WHIMS, monogrammed on my camera strap. Scott made up WHIMS to help him remember to check his settings at the beginning of a shoot:

W: White balance check
H: Highlight warning turned on (to tell if portions of your shots are blown out, or overexposed)
I: ISO check (correct ISO for your surroundings)
M: Mode check (whether aperture priority, program, or manual mode)
S: Size (image size and quality settings)

I have a problem with only checking my WH_MS, or my _HIM_, or my WH_MS, or some other incomplete combination of the five. It’s the ones you don’t think you need to check, like image size, that will get you (and make you do stupid things like accidentally shoot in Small for much longer than you care to confess).

Without a doubt, the most surprising blog comment that I’ve ever received was from Scott on my photoblog (I don’t post there anymore, but I won’t delete it because good grief, people, there’s a comment from Scott Kelby over there!). There was something about a Scott Kelby stamp of approval on my photo that pushed me to develop it more. Recently it was selected for inclusion in the upcoming Blurb photo book from the iHeartFaces contest, and is supposed to be featured in an upcoming ad campaign for Adobe Lightroom software.

I got to meet Scott last year at Photoshop World! (Corey Barker is in the background, and I believe that Dave Cross’s head is what looks like a lump on top of Scott’s):

How do you win?

Leave a comment for a chance to win one of three prizes at the end of the “9 Days of NAPP” series! Tell us about an “ahhh!” moment that you’ve had while reading something Scott has written or while watching PhotoshopUser TV or D-Town. (A recent “ahhh!” moment for me was viewing the pics of his recent Tuscany trip that he took using a D60 and D5000)

Go visit his blog—you’re bound to find some juicy tidbit or inspiration. My only request is this: please leave the man a nice comment; he reads them all. For someone with such a fun and informative blog, sometimes he gets comments that would me go sit in the corner and cry. (For some people it’s obviously a power trip that they have the ability to leave rude comments on blogs.)

There will be three giveaways at the conclusion of the “9 Days of NAPP” post series, with winners selected from the comments on all nine posts: an autographed copy of Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby, an autographed copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby, and the grand prize of a 1-year membership to NAPP!

Winner of the National Geographic/Energizer Photo Contest

Dawn — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:00:43 +0000

The winner of the photo contest receiving a National Geographic subscription and sample of Energizer lithium batteries is entry #16 from Elaine@KnowMyself. The detail and colors in the photo are just beautiful; I am now more certain than ever that I desperately need a macro lens.

You can view Elaine’s photography here or visit her blog here.

Thanks again to Angie and Amy from iHeartFaces for judging the contest, and thank you to everyone who participated!

Notable NAPP Links for the Week of June 28, 2009

Dawn — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:18:48 +0000

Report from Scott Kelby’s Savannah Workshop (inspiration)

How to Resize Images in Lightroom 2

Stylized Comic Book Effect Tutorial

Photowalk Video and Win a Moose Peterson Print

Suggestions for Lightroom’s Web Galleries

2nd Annual Worldwide PhotoWalk on Saturday, July 18, 2009

Have you joined NAPP? (Don’t forget promo code DAWN to get Corey Barker’s “Adobe Photoshop CS4 Design Effects DVD” as an added bonus!)

A new feature has been added to the members-only NAPP website: The NAPP Print Center, your print-related source of information, product reviews, and helpful tutorials in one spot, powered by Mpix (and containing some exclusive Mpix discounts).

Upcoming KelbyTraining LIVE Tour Dates ($99; $79 for NAPP members; $10 discount if register 21 days in advance – limited time offer!):

Maximum Photoshop Tour with Dave Cross
Watch for upcoming tour dates.

Photoshop CS4 for Photographers with Ben Willmore
Watch for upcoming tour dates.

Photoshop CS4 Down & Dirty Tricks with Scott Kelby or Corey Barker
Watch for upcoming tour dates.

Photoshop Lightroom 2 Tour with Scott Kelby or Matt Kloskowski
Chicago, IL – Monday, July 20, 2009
New York, NY – Wednesday, July 22, 2009

InDesign CS4 Productivity Tour with Terry White
Los Angeles, CA – Friday, July 17, 2009

Location Lighting Techniques with Joe McNally
South San Francisco, CA – Friday, July 31, 2009

Super Soaker 50 Celebrates its 20th Anniversary!

Dawn — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:53:40 +0000

Sometimes review products come into our home and sit calmly in the box until we’re ready to evaluate them. Not so with Hasbro’s Super Soaker 50 Water Blaster. The phrase “pandemonium ensued” pretty much summarizes what happened as soon as the package was opened. My 18-year-old son walked in and asked, “Where did that come from?” with a gleam in his eye.

Within minutes there were wet, squealing kids running through my house.

After establishing a couple of rules, primarily not for indoor use, the soakfest moved outdoors and a fabulous time was had by all. Our only problem is that we need to buy some more of them to even the playing field.

Hasbro is currently celebrating the 20th anniversary of the original Super Soaker, the epitome of fun summer toys. This baby shoots up to 35 feet, perfect for stealth water attacks or hitting your target just as his head surfaces in the pool.

My kids are thoroughly enjoying the Super Soaker 20 and I’m sure yours will, too!

I ♥ Faces: Wedding Bells (week 25)

Dawn — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:22:34 +0000

One of this week’s themes at iHeartFaces is “Wedding Bells” and the guest judge is Jasmine Star!

This is a photo I took at my sister’s wedding last year. I love the play of emotions on my sister’s and daddy’s faces: the mixture of excitement and nervousness as she prepares to walk down the path to where her outdoor wedding will take place; the joy on his face as he escorts his youngest daughter to her future husband.

Notable NAPP Links for the Week of June 21, 2009

Dawn — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 04:00:43 +0000

Before and After video from Matt Kloskowski

Creating a Rule of Thirds Custom Shape in Photoshop as a Cropping Guide

Lightroom 2 Adjustment Brush

Fading Filters in Photoshop

Installing an Image Slideshow in WordPress

Quick Shapes in Photoshop