Special Effects

Curves Basics: Opening the Door to Fine Editing

2010-05-16T10:41:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do a "fun" post but I just realized that there can be no fun until I've taught what is perhaps the most important, most-used, and most powerful tool in image adjustment: Curves. Out of...

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Adjustment Layers: Changing Only a Part of an Image and Selective Coloring

2010-05-04T08:44:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the next lesson on image adjustments! Today we'll learn about the basics of adjustment layers. For the full lesson, you'll need the following prerequisites: 1. Layer Masks 2....

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Levels: Bright Lights, Dark Shadows, Contrasty-er Contrasts

2010-04-23T22:22:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the second part of our lesson on making image adjustments! You must be able to understand histograms as a prerequisite for this lesson, so read my previous post about Understanding...

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Understanding Histograms

2010-04-18T05:03:00.000-07:00

Not long ago, Susan was asking me why the supposedly white areas in her photographs were dingy. Actually, I thought her photos were beautiful and didn't look dingy or off-white, but it can't be...

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Making Life Easier: Automatic Processing of Multiple Files

2010-03-08T03:16:00.000-08:00

Every now and again I'll hear the problem over twitter: "I need to (something) (a big number of) files!!" Thankfully, both Adobe Photoshop (CS2 and above for this tutorial) and Photoshop Elements...

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The Powerful Layer Mask Tool

2010-02-26T07:59:00.000-08:00

Next to adjusting colors and contrast, the most-used tool for me would probably be the Layer Mask Tool. The Layer Mask is a method for making areas of a layer selectively transparent or opaque (and...

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Removing Dust and Scratches Correctly (Part 1)

2010-02-12T16:01:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day has me going through family albums, looking at my parents' wedding pictures. Unfortunately, for older prints, the lamination isn't that sophisticated and time has scratched their...

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Straightening Out Pictures

2010-02-01T16:32:00.000-08:00

When you process plenty of photographs, it's useful to have a workflow to make the work systematic and therefore, faster. Also, it ensures that you don't forget to do something to your images before...

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Special Effects

2010-01-26T20:53:00.000-08:00

I've always wanted to set up a blog that educates people on how to use Photoshop effectively. When my friends Todd and Diane set up their photography blog, it resurfaced in my consciousness, but I...

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