Photoshop Tips That Are Quick and Easy
KyleG
If you have some basic knowledge of Photoshop and you would like to make some artistic alterations to your pictures, then here are some tips for you. Some of these simple changes can be made rather easily and have a dramatic effect on your pictures giving them the edge you want.
Most of these tips require you to know you way around Photoshop a little, so just make sure you are relatively familiar with the basics.
The first tip is the use of the neon glow effect. Don’t let your brain automatically jump to an image of a cheesy beer sign in a dingy bar window or an overly bright casino scene. This can be a nice and even subtle tool to accent the light in your picture. Once you have found a picture to work with, duplicate your layer by dragging the layer to the New icon in the Layers palette and then select Filter from your toolbar. In the Filter menu, go to Artistic and then select Neon Glow and then choose a color that works well with your picture. You can try out different colors to see what you like best. After you select a color you can adjust the glow brightness and glow size until you like the effect they give you. Change the blending mode from Normal to Overlay in the layers palette and then play with the light options of soft, hard, vivid and linear light for more options on the final effect.
Another quick strategy you can use to enhance the contrast of your pictures involves the Blur and Overlay features. Duplicate your layer and then select the Filter menu. Go to the Blur menu and select Gaussian Blur. Change the blending mode to Overlay. This simple process will make the lighter tones in your picture a little lighter and the darker tones slightly darker for a subtly more striking contrast. You can also try other different blending modes like Vivid Light for different effects. The nice aspect about this change is that it is not drastic but has just the right effect to give your pictures a little something extra.
Yet another easy way to give your picture some more life is to isolate your subject and apply filter effects to your background. Once again, duplicate your layer and then use the Lasso tool and loosely draw around your subject in order to select it. You can then feather the selection by going to Select and then selecting Feather. You will need to select a pixel value to determine the size of the Feather and the larger the picture, the larger the pixel number. Then go to Layer then New and then Layer via copy, and this should result in your subject setting on a new layer with a fading effect at its edges. Select the layer copy that is below your subject layer on your layer sidebar and begin applying filter effects to the background. Work with different filters until you like the appearance, and you can also change the strength of the filter by adjusting the opacity.
Focus on your focusing
KyleG
I find that with all the new technology involved with digital photography, other aspects like knowing how to use your focus can get lost in the transition. With all the concern about getting the right amount of mega pixels, how to save your pictures, how to share them online, and many other concerns, you might lose track of something like mastering your focus options, which can have a huge effect on your photo quality. Just because you’ve gone digital doesn’t mean you should ignore the basics.
You have plenty of different things to consider when adjusting your focus, and there is definitely a right and wrong option for each type of picture you want to take. Possibly the most useful tool for adjusting the focus is your aperture. Aperture is the size of the opening in your camera’s lens and is the biggest deciding factor when it comes to what will be in focus and what will not. If your camera has a manual adjustment for aperture, it would be a waste to not know how to use it. Knowing the basics can help improve your pictures in numerous ways.
Aperture is measured in f-numbers, and they work sort of backwards from the natural logic in your brain. Smaller numbers indicate a very large opening in your lens while larger numbers mean your lens is open very little. For example, f2.8 is a large opening and f16 is one of the smallest settings you can have. The effect of this is the breadth of your lens’ focus or what you might call the “depth of field.” Essentially, a larger number, thus smaller opening will allow for a much larger range of subjects to become in focus and a smaller number and larger opening will focus on just one subject. So, a landscape scene or any other photo where there is no single, defined subject would lend itself to a smaller opening, and thus a larger number. Conversely, a close-up of a person or one object where you want the background to be out of focus in order to draw attention to the subject would require a lower number.
Many point-and-shoot digital cameras are not likely to have a manual adjustment for aperture, but rather a more simple choice. Most basic digital cameras have two main options for adjusting your focus, and they are the landscape and portrait modes. These are usually denoted by a mountain symbol for landscape and a symbol of a face for portrait. These are settings that you can easily switch into with just a couple of clicks on your dial. The landscape setting will give your camera a smaller opening and focus on a broader range, while the portrait setting will give a larger lens opening and attempt to focus on the obvious subject. Many digital cameras have automatic face or subject sensors in the form of red crosshairs or frames so look for these features on your camera so you know how to take advantage of them.
Master Your Flash and See the Results
KyleG
If you are serious about photography, then it is almost a necessity to have an understanding of how your flash works and what your different options are. If you have recently switched over to digital photography, it might be common for you to meet some difficulty in figuring out the different flashes or achieving the same results that you did with film. Your flash can have a huge impact on your picture and getting just the right lighting can be very difficult.
If you have a point-and-shoot digital camera, then you don’t have nearly as many flash options as digital Single-lens Reflex (SLR) cameras, but there are still plenty of tips to know for shooting with a flash. Point-and-shoot cameras are designed to be more automated and typically lend themselves to the more casual photographer.
Everyone knows the frustrating situation when they are trying to take several pictures in a row, but the flash won’t fire as quickly as you would like. The amount of time it takes for the flash to be ready for the next picture depends on how well your batteries are charged and the natural time it takes for your flash to recharge itself. The only steps you can take are to be knowledgeable about how long this takes and thus, plan your pictures accordingly and to keep your batteries charged or even keep extra batteries in order to fire off a series of quick photos.
Equally as frustrating as the slow flash can be the bright reflection from a mirror or reflective window behind your subject. If you are using a flash, make sure there is nothing reflective behind what you are taking a picture of, especially if you have only one chance to get a shot.
Another effect that you have certainly seen in pictures, but might not be quite sure what to call is what is referred to as “flash fall-off.” This is the effect that is natural to any picture that uses a flash where the center of the picture is the brightest and the corners and edges of your picture are significantly less illuminated. Like many of the other effects of using a flash, there is really nothing you can do to get rid of this, you just have to know how to work with it best. The best strategy is to take a picture of a wall that is one consistent, light color so you can get an idea for the effect of your flash and its range. This is the easiest way to see exactly how your flash will fade in the corners. From this map you can plan where the flash is the brightest and try to situate your subjects where the flash is the brightest. Another trick with this is when you are shooting groups of people, try to have them stand side-by-side so they are even with each other. If some people are staggered behind others the people in the back will be in the dark while the people in the front will be white-faced.
With all this advice in mind, the best thing to do is not use the flash because it is an unnatural source of light. If you can work without a flash, do so, but you have to work with a tripod or other steadying force because you will have to create a longer exposure and this will blur your pictures if they are unsteady.
How you can make traveling and digital photography the perfect duo.
KyleG
When you go on vacation, you are likely to take enough pictures to fatigue your pointer finger. Unless it’s one of those team-building trips for work with your boss and the dorky people from work, you will want some images to remind you of this trip for the rest of your life. Your pictures can be some of the best souvenirs from your trip, and they give you an excuse to make the people around you jealous by showing slide show after slide show of your great time while they were all at home. It all seems pretty simple, just pack up your camera, some memory cards, hit the road and start taking pictures of everything that moves, or doesn’t.
Not a bad plan, but there is plenty of useful advice worth heeding before you hit the road because there is nothing that you want less than to miss out on a once in a lifetime picture because of something that could have been handled in a few minutes. Don’t be left standing at the Grand Canyon with dead batteries or at a famous art museum wishing you knew how to turn your flash off. Just keep a few of these hints in mind before you hit the road on your next trip.
First of all, know your camera. It may sound elementary, but there is a more than likely chance that you don’t know everything about your camera that you should. Take a walk through your manual or use a Video Professor tutorial to familiarize yourself with some of the features on your camera that you don’t already know. Know how to access all the flash options less you get stuck in the aforementioned museum scenario. Check out the different modes for action, landscape, close-ups and the rest. Even take some practice shots with some of these different options because it won’t cost you anything with digital cameras, just delete your practice shots.
When it comes to your memory cards, you might want to save any pictures on your current memory card to your computer for several reasons. It will be easier to organize and separate your photos if your vacation photos are on a separate card from the rest of your pictures. Also, if you happen to lose a card on your trip, there is no reason to lose more pictures than is necessary. Take several cards with you if possible so you can take as many pictures as you want and you can change them out more frequently in case you lose one or your camera, you will be losing fewer pictures. When you format your camera for taking pictures, you might want to set the resolution to the largest setting, but set the quality to the second highest setting. The highest quality setting will take up a lot more space on your card and the difference to your eyes will probably be minimal unless you are a serious photographer. In other words, the difference in quality is rarely worth the loss in quantity when you are on vacation, as you probably want the most pictures possible.
Makes sure you have a battery charger or extra batteries, especially if your camera doesn’t take AA batteries. If you are trying to conserve batteries, use the viewfinder more than you use the LCD display screen. The LCD display is easily the biggest drain on your batteries.
Be prepared and ease your mind so you can enjoy your vacation more.
If you are a rather ambitious or serious photographer then there is a chance you would appreciate the benefits of a digital Single-lens Reflex (SLR) camera. The major benefit of these cameras over point-and-shoot digital cameras is that you can change the lens on the camera. This allows you to use different lenses for different purposes, such as a long-distance, fisheye, wide-angle or close-up shots. The type and quality of your lens can be one of the biggest determining factors in how your photos turn out. SLR cameras also make shutter delay a thing of the past. We have all probably missed a shot that we wanted because that little delay when you snap a picture with your compact digital camera. Digital SLRs give you more manual controls, the flexibility of digital photography and quicker shutter speed.
If you have taken pictures in low light and been disappointed with the results, you are surely not alone. Using a flash is the answer most people would jump to in order to solve the low-light issue. But, the problem is that pictures captured using natural light look better. With digital SLR cameras you will be able to take better pictures in low light without using a flash. This advantage comes from adjusting the ISO, which is the amount of light that hits the sensor in your camera. The more light that hits your sensor, the clearer your low-light photos will be.
There are compact digital cameras that allow you to adjust the ISO, but with these cameras, that will make your photos grainier. Digital SLR cameras provide a much higher quality picture in low light by taking a less grainy picture when you shoot with a higher ISO. You will also notice that shooting without a flash on your compact digital camera often causes blurry pictures. This is because the picture is taking longer to allow more light to get in, and in that time, the camera will pick up your hand motions. Digital SLR cameras allow you to capture more light with the same quick shutter speed and reduce the appearance of blurs in your pictures. Grain and blur in your photos is referred to as ?noise.? If you start researching digital photography, you might hear a lot about which cameras have the best noise reduction. Especially if you are making large prints where graininess is easier to see, or if you shoot in low light a lot, you might want to seek out a digital SLR with great noise reduction.
A digital SLR will give you more control over how you take your pictures. There are plenty of options that you can adjust that will have a great effect on your pictures, and these controls are much more detailed on the SLR cameras than point-and-shoot digital cameras. You can adjust the aperture, shutter speed, ISO and more depending on the types of pictures you want to take. But if you aren?t ready to make all the photography decisions just yet, don?t worry. These cameras still have an automatic setting that can take great pictures for you, and you can make adjustments from this point as you learn more about your cameras controls. And, as with all digital cameras, you have more ability to experiment, as you are not wasting costly film while you are trying to figure out how to use all your settings. Just delete the experimental photos you don't like and save the ones you do.