Buy. Download. Create. Get Photoshop CS3 now at the Adobe Store.
Try before you buy. Download any Adobe product for a free 30 day trial.
Plugin Suite 4 Exclusive Super 20% Discount Coupon
onOne Software has created an exclusive super discount coupon code PSPPT20 that will get you an instant 20% discount on all of their software titles until JULY 2nd ONLY. This includes the just released Plugin Suite 4. You can learn more about their latest product, Plugin Suite 4, below. You can order now at onOne Software.
onOne Software's Plug-In Suite 4 combines full versions of six essential software tools — Genuine Fractals 5 Print Pro, PhotoTools 1.0 Professional Edition, PhotoFrame 3.1 Professional Edition, Mask Pro 4.1, PhotoTune 2.2 and FocalPoint 1.0 — an affordable combination that includes everything a photographer needs to make their images look their best.
(Enter our exclusive discount coupon code PSPPT20 during the checkout process at onOne Software for the instant 20% discount.)
The onOne Software Plug-In Suite 4 for Photoshop CS2 and CS3 is the latest upgrade to the award winning Plug-In Suite product line that combines several of onOne Software's individual Photoshop plug-ins into a highly affordable package. Plug-In Suite 4 includes full versions of the following onOne Software products:
Genuine Fractals 5 Print Pro can resize digital images over 1,000% with no loss of detail or sharpness. It allows poster-sized prints to be made from almost any image.
PhotoTools 1.0 Professional Edition is a flexible yet powerful Photoshop plug-in that utilizes the power of Photoshop Actions to provide a complete library of effects created by Kevin Kubota and Jack Davis. These effects may be previewed, stacked and blended together just like filters over a camera lens to improve creativity. Its built-in batch processing engine improves photographers productivity.
PhotoFrame 3.1 Professional Edition can be used to create stunning border and edge effects right out of the darkroom. Select from thousands of edges, including authentic film and artistic mediums.
Mask Pro 4.1 can easily create high-quality masks and selections even from tough subjects like hair and glass, making it easy to place a subject in a new background.
PhotoTune 2.2 is a plug-in that provides professional quality color correction in an easy to use plug-in.
FocalPoint 1.0 is a new plug-in that simulates selective focus or tilt-shift lenses, helping photographers selectively blur and/or vignette an image to focus the viewers attention.
The new Plug-In Suite 4 is available to new users for $499.95 — a savings of $799.75 if purchased separately. Existing users of Plug-in Suite version 1, 2 or 3 can upgrade to Plug-In Suite 4 for only $199.95. Customers who own any one or more of the products in Plug-In Suite 4 will be able to upgrade as well. Enter discount coupon code PSPPT20 during the checkout process for an instant 20% discount (until July 2nd) exclusively for PhotoshopSupport.com visitors. Plugin Suite 4 is available from onOne Software.
Retro Vectors - Free Photoshop Brushes
Here's Stephanie with her latest Photoshop brushes, Retro Vector Brushes.
This week’s set of Photoshop brushes is some retro vectors designs.
Included are all kinds of retro designs involving circles, squares, diamonds, flowers (of course), wavy lines, spirals, etc. Also includes several designs that you couldn’t put a name on if you tried, as well as several halftone designs (in circle and square shapes).
Those of you that are astute will notice that I’ve changed the background of brushes.obsidiandawn.com just a bit for this week, to go along with the retro theme. Whenever possible (and when I feel like it), I may play around with the background to reflect that week’s brush set... or perhaps one that’s “Popular Now” - who knows. Go Now to the Downloads Page!
Photoshop Brush Tip
With vector brushes, it’s fairly easy to change the color to different parts of the brush.
- First, use the brush on its own layer. (SHIFT-CTRL-N for PC or SHIFT-CMD-N for Mac to create a new layer.) Use whatever color you want.
- Next, take the lasso tool (L) and outline the parts of the design that you want to change the color of. For example, using the “circles” brush from this pack, you could outline just the big, center circle. This will select it.
- Tip on selecting: Holding SHIFT will allow you to ADD to your current selection, if you missed something. Holding ALT will allow you to SUBTRACT from your current selection, if you got something extra in there.
- Now, on the top menu, choose Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation.
- Slide the “Hue” slider back and forth until it reaches the color that you’d like to accompany the first one.
- Hit OK, and that’s it! You now have a vector design in two distinct colors, using just one brush.
Want More Free Photoshop Brushes?
We've collected the most recent of Stephanie's original brushes on a special Obsidian Dawn Photoshop Brushes Page, with big preview images to give you an idea of each set. For her high resolution brushes, you can find a special collection on our high res brush page. Also see our Free Photoshop brushes Page for other places to find brushes.
Tutorial - Working With Auto Levels In Adjustment Layers
Here is a new Photoshop CS3 tutorial from Jim Hoerricks, author of Forensic Photoshop: I've had a few e-mails asking about using Auto Levels in an adjustment layer. I tend to stay away from the "automatic" adjustments in Photoshop. If you want to use Auto Levels, here's what you need to know.
Image>Adjustments>Auto Levels - Auto Levels expands the tonal range (and contrast) by simply "commanding that the darkest pixels shall be black and the lightest ones shall be white." The intermediate pixels are spread over the range in between. There is a slight clipping with the default settings, the first 0.10% of either extreme.
Colour casts can sometimes be corrected with Auto Levels, if the cast is a result of the way brightness values are distributed amongst the channels. The correction takes into account the histograms of the individual channels.
This leads to one of the problems in using Auto Levels. It can create an unwanted shift in colours. If you want to use Auto Levels (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Levels), change the Blending Mode of the adjustment layer to Luminosity to cancel out the colour shift (if any shift occurs). Conversely, if you want the colour correction without affecting tone, change the Blending Mode of the adjustment layer to Color.
Later versions of Photoshop have opened up the ability to adjust these automatic options. In the Levels dialog box, click on Options.
The above graphic represents the default Auto Color Correction Option settings in Photoshop CS3. From top to bottom, here's what the settings mean:
- Enhance Monochromatic Contrast clips all channels in the same fashion. Colour relationships are maintained whilst making highlights appear lighter and shadows appear darker. This is the algorithm used by the Auto Contrast command.
- Enhance Per Channel Contrast maximizes the tonal range in each channel and thus produces a more drastic correction. As each channel is adjusted separately, this option may remove or introduce colour casts. This is the default algorithm used by the Auto Levels command.
- Find Dark & Light Colors identifies the average lightest and darkest pixels and uses them to maximize contrast whilst minimizing clipping. This is the default algorithm used by the Auto Color command.
- Snap Neutral Midtones finds the "average nearly neutral color" in an image and then adjusts the midtone values to make the colour neutral. This is the default algorithm used by the Auto Color command.
- You can change the default clipping values in the Clip boxes.
- To re-assign the target colour values to the darkest, neutral, and lightest areas of an image, click a colour swatch.
- If you want to save these values and use them as your new defaults, check the Save as Defaults box.
A note from Adobe: "When you save the Auto Color Correction options as defaults for Auto Color, Auto Levels, and Auto Contrast, it does not matter what algorithm you select [in the Algorithms section]. The three auto-correction commands use only those values that you set for the target colors and clipping. The only exception is that the Auto Color command also uses the Snap Neutral Midtones option."
(reprinted with permission from Forensic Photoshop Blog - see more forensic tutorials)
lynda.com Releases 3 Adobe CS4 Beta Training Videos
lynda.com announced today new courses on all of the just-released Adobe beta versions of Dreamweaver CS4, Fireworks CS4, and Soundbooth CS4. All visitors to the lynda.com Online Training Library can view these entire courses for free.
For free access to these new training videos — Dreamweaver CS4 Beta New Features, Fireworks CS4 Beta New Features, and Soundbooth CS4 Beta New Features — viewers can visit the lynda.com Adobe CS4 beta training page.
In Dreamweaver CS4 Beta New Features, James Williamson focuses on the improvements most benefit to typical workflows, including the workspace manager and Live view, as well as the Spry AJAX framework, and integrating with Photoshop. Jim Babbage, author of Fireworks CS4 Beta New Features, walks viewers through that application’s new interface and improved productivity features, such as enhanced vector tools, text rendering, and symbol editing. And in Soundbooth CS4 Beta New Features, Bruce Williams explores such improvements as the new multitrack environment as well as new beat detection and display features.
“lynda.com is honored to be Adobe’s in-the-box training provider for its upcoming software suite, which is why we’re able to publish training videos on these beta products as soon as Adobe releases them,” says Lynda Weinman, CEO of lynda.com. “These videos are great resources to learn the many new features in CS4 and to decide whether to upgrade, and we will continue publishing training on Adobe’s CS4 beta products for free to the public.” For more information visit lynda.com.
Adobe Acrobat 9 Standard, Acrobat Pro, And Adobe Acrobat Extended Now Available - Download Now - Plus Free Shipping
Adobe Systems Incorporated announced the immediate availability of Acrobat 9 Standard, Pro, And Extended, a significant upgrade that transforms the process of creating and sharing electronic documents. Acrobat 9 delivers major innovations that can enable organizations and individuals to communicate in an engaging, professional manner. Now included are native support for Adobe Flash technology, the ability to unify a wide range of content in rich PDF Portfolios, and access to real-time capabilities for co-navigating a PDF document with colleagues.
You can use our exclusive special deal link to get Free Shipping On Adobe Acrobat 9 Standard, Pro, And Extended.
This offer will end on August 31, 2008.
“Rapid, reliable communication is key to success on all of our projects,” said Shawn Pressley, director of project management systems and development at Hill International, one of the world’s largest construction claims and management firms. “With enhanced support for a broad range of content types and expanded collaboration capabilities, Acrobat 9 will enable us to reach any audience with the right information, where and when it’s needed. We can include proposals, images, computer-aided design models and even Adobe Flash applications in a single PDF Portfolio to clearly communicate what is required of our local and global teams.”
Try Before You Buy
Visit the Adobe site to download a free 30 day Acrobat trial free download (free trials not available until July).
Deke McClelland Releases Video Podcast - 101 Photoshop Tips In 5 Minutes
They claimed no matter how fast you gabbed (or crooned) no creature (or robot) could deliver 100-plus, real-world Photoshop instructions in five minutes or less. Yet today, digital imaging master and modern day troubadour Deke McClelland proved the naysayers wrong. In his new music video — titled 101 Photoshop Tips in 5 Minutes and Deke's kickoff to his new video podcast series, dekePod — he breathtakingly sings, buzzes, leaps, dances, and kick-boxes his way through dozens upon dozens of useful Photoshop tricks.
Sponsored by O'Reilly Media and lynda.com, this all-new, irreverent, laugh-out-loud music video not only entertains, but also captures the zany, intense enthusiasm essential to most (if not all) creative endeavors. What inspired Deke? "This has long seemed like an obvious idea to me: Come up with 101 Photoshop Tips, rattle them off in precisely 5 minutes, and set them to music," says Deke, creator of O'Reilly's One-on-One book series, which uses video, step-by-step exercises, and hundreds of full-color illustrations. "I didn't see anyone else doing it, so I figured I better do it myself."
Workflow Experiences Blog From Doug Winnie Of Adobe
I'm always looking for a good new blog to add to my list of Photoshop and Adobe sites to visit daily. And here's my latest — Workflow Experiences, the blog of Doug Winnie from Adobe. Doug is Group Product Manager for Workflow at Adobe Systems.
What caught my attention was a post he did a few days ago titled Dreamweaver beta Top 5 Features: Photoshop Smart Objects. From the intro:
There are numerous new features in the Dreamweaver beta, for more information on them all, go to the Dreamweaver beta page at Adobe Labs. Over the next several posts, I will share with you five of the biggest features that will help your workflow in creating web experiences with Dreamweaver. The first is a demonstration of Photoshop Smart Objects.
Using Photoshop, web designers can create assets for integration into web sites using Dreamweaver; however, if the asset is changed in Photoshop, the change wasn’t readily identified in Dreamweaver. Photoshop Smart Objects makes this workflow much more seamless.
So check out his blog, and I'll post alerts to Photoshop entries as I find them.
Face to Face: Rick Sammon's Complete Guide to Photographing People – Free Sample Chapter PDF
In the beautifully illustrated book Face to Face: Rick Sammon's Complete Guide to Photographing People, travel and adventure photographer Rick Sammon introduces the proven techniques he uses to make extraordinary photographs of people around the world. You'll find important tips and strategies for engaging your subject and setting up the shoot, along with techniques for shooting in a variety of conditions both indoors and outdoors.
In Face to Face, Rick Sammon makes learning people photography a quick and enjoyable experience. Rick demonstrates his methods through a collection of his original photographs. Each photo includes notes explaining the principles he followed and the techniques he used.
Face to Face offers hundreds of tips you can you for studio shoots and "environmental" people pictures, including:
- Outdoor techniques for shooting in low light, shooting in bright light, for capturing action, taking profiles, taking group shots, and more
- Indoor techniques for using a flash and strobes, and for shooting silhouettes, working withmirrors, and other techniques
- Photo philosophies and creative advice, such as developing a sense of place, carefully choosing the background, seeing pictures within a picture, and more
- How to photograph people in different cultures, along with fascinating behind-the-scenes stories of photos in the book
The largest section of the book, "Photo Philosophies", lays out several principles for making people pictures. Rick stresses that the camera looks both ways – in other words, the attitude and energy you bring to a shoot will be reflected in a subject's face. If you're enthusiastic, you'll capture a picture that portrays enthusiasm. If you're impatient or distracted, that will be reflected as well.
Free Sample PDF Chapter
You can download a free sample chapter - Part III: Outdoor Photography (1.32 MB). From the intro:
One of the cool things about digital SLR cameras and cameras that offer full creative control is that you can choose the shutter speed to stop or blur action. The choice is yours, and that choice makes a big difference in the feeling of a picture. First let’s talk about blurring the action, as I did for a horse-and-rider picture that I took in Marrow Bone Springs, Texas. Blurring the action creates a sense of motion and speed in a picture. For this picture, I used a technique called panning. Here’s how to do it.
Select the shutter priority mode on your camera and set a slow shutter speed, perhaps 1/15 to 1/30 of a second. The best shutter speed to use will be determined by how fast the subject is moving. So, you need to experiment with different shutter speeds to get just the right effect. That may take several “runs.”
Continue reading by downloading Part III: Outdoor Photography (1.32 MB).
Face to Face: Rick Sammon's Complete Guide to Photographing People
By Rick Sammon
ISBN: 9780596515744
Copyright © 2008 Rick Sammon. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
lynda.com Releases Photoshop Express Beta Essential Training
Photoshop Express is a free, web-based tool for editing, storing, organizing, and sharing digital images. There is nothing to install and it is available from any web browser with a current version of the Flash plug-in.
In Photoshop Express Beta Essential Training, Adobe Certified Instructor Chad Perkins explores every facet of this unique application, and explains how beginners and professionals alike can make use of it. He walks users through the processes of opening a free account; uploading images; and creating albums, galleries, and slideshows. Chad discusses each editing feature in detail, and demonstrates how to integrate Photoshop Express with other online photography and social networking communities. Example files accompany the course. Topics Include:
- Understanding what makes web applications different
- Getting images into Photoshop Express
- Rating, sorting, and captioning images
- Removing red-eye and blemishes
- Adjusting brightness, color, and sharpness •Customizing 2D and 3D slideshows
- Sharing galleries publicly or privately
- Exchanging images with Facebook, Flickr, Photobucket, and Picasa
Duration:
2.5 hours. Find out more at the lynda.com site. Some free samples are available.
PhotographyBB Online Magazine - June PDF Download
PhotographyBB announced today, the release of the fifth edition of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine. By way of download in either PDF or ZIP formats, PhotographyBB continues its trend through the future of free downloadable magazine distribution. In a completely ad-free format, each issue contains informative and educational tutorials for amateur and intermediate level photographers.
In addition to articles which aide beginners in getting the most from their DSLR cameras, the PhotographyBB Online Magazine also features useful and applicable tutorials on how to use post-processing tools such as Photoshop, Elements, and more, to build on digital photography post-processing skills.
Regarding this recent release, Dave Seeram - Editor and Publisher says, “I am extremely proud of the accomplishments we have made with our 5th issue for June. The magazine has come a long way over the past 5 months. This month, we’ve added some new columns to the magazine, and we welcome another new contributing author. In addition to the Photoshop, Elements, and Dreamweaver tutorial series for photographers, we’ve just launched a new multi-issue series on HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography. Over the next few months, we’ll take you through everything you need to know about HDR from start to finish.
"We are also beginning to feature a lot of thought provoking articles for the photographer to consider. Sometimes they are edgy, sometimes they are profound, but always - they are good food for the photographer’s brain. I look forward to sharing this issue with our readers!”
PhotographyBB Online Magazine is available for free download through the PhotographyBB Website.
Floral Patterns Photoshop Brushes - Free Photoshop Brushes
Here's Stephanie with her latest Photoshop brushes, Floral Patterns Photoshop Brushes.
This set is kind of a companion set to my Flower Vectors Photoshop Brushes set. It’s mostly made from those flowers, but with some added stuff from a few other sets. Some have swirls added, others have some leaves and stems (foliage) added, etc. Most of them have a bit of a texture applied to them, as well.
This set should be great for digital scrapbookers (as an equivalent to paper), or anyone that needs a floral pattern. If you’re not sure how Photoshop patterns work, they’re just as easy as brushes, really! I have a tutorial here that explains how to install and use Photoshop patterns.
Go now and download Floral Patterns Photoshop Brushes.
If any of you have ever checked out my artwork and enjoyed it, and use iGoogle for your browser’s homepage, I have a new iGoogle theme out! I’m making one for Obsidian Dawn Photoshop Brushes, as well, which will hopefully be available in the next few months. But in the meantime, check out my iGoogle theme featuring the artwork of Stephanie Shimerdla!
Want More Free Photoshop Brushes?
We've collected the most recent of Stephanie's original brushes on a special Obsidian Dawn Photoshop Brushes Page, with big preview images to give you an idea of each set. For her high resolution brushes, you can find a special collection on our high res brush page. Also see our Free Photoshop brushes Page for other places to find brushes.
Photoshop Brushes CD
The Obsidian Dawn Photoshop Brushes Compilation CD features one of every single Obsidian Dawn brush set. That means that it contains 100+ brush sets and thousands of brushes. It is constantly updated with the latest releases, so that the CD includes all of the most recently released brush sets.
SiteGrinder Photoshop Plugin - Create Websites Instantly
There often seems to be a strict division of labor within the world of web design and development. Creative professionals tend to stick to the Photoshop domain, while those well-versed in scripting are left to the task of implementing their work. Indeed, the two realms are quite different from each other, to which any of us even vaguely familiar with either can easily attest.
Essentially, Photoshop is a no-holds-barred design studio, offering the artist a seemingly endless array of creative options. On the other hand, HTML, CSS, Java and the like follow strict rules of engagement, requiring the developer to take any number of esoteric concerns into consideration in order to ensure that designs are properly displayed on the web.
Turn Photoshop Into A Complete Web Design Tool
SiteGrinder seeks to bridge this gap between design and development. Basically, this program turns Photoshop into an easy-to-use and fully functional web design tool. With SiteGrinder, designers will now have the freedom to totally let their creativity loose and then, without skipping a beat, transfer their designs to the web. Bringing esthetic concerns together with more practical considerations, this program is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks.
Generate Your Web Pages Directly From Photoshop
By generating web pages directly from Photoshop, you'll be able to spend much more time on the creative end of the spectrum, since you'll know right off the bat how well particular designs will translate to the web. No more going back to the Photoshop drawing board after getting a phone call from your development team, telling you that what you had envisioned doesn't have a chance of being displayed on the web. You can immediately visually and interactively test your designs, which permits you to then make changes to either esthetics or functions while it's still relatively early on in the design process.
Pricing and Availability
Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download. SiteGrinder can be ordered from Media Lab's online store.
Photoshop CS3 Upgrade Options And Bundles From The Adobe Store
Photoshop CS3 Extended is ideal for film, video, and multimedia pros and for graphic and web designers using 3D and motion. Get the full version for US $999, or upgrade for US $349. The standard version of Photoshop CS3 is available for US $649, or as an upgrade for US $199. See all upgrade options at the Adobe Store. See our CS3 Resource Center for free Photoshop CS3 tutorials.
Photoshop Extended is also available as part of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, which combines all-new CS3 versions of Photoshop, Flash Pro, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat 8 Pro. Upgrade options for customers in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Asia can be found at the Adobe International Store.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Available At The Adobe Store
There are tons of new features in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. From Clone and Healing functionality to metadata browsing, you'll be able to free-up post-processing time like never before. Get it now at the Adobe Store. For more info see our Lightroom Resource Center. If you are a student or teacher you'll find super savings at the Adobe Education Store.
A Thank You To Our Friends, Partners & Sponsors!
We'd like to thank our friends, partners and sponsors: Adobe, Google, Hostway, Apple, Total Training, Peachpit Press, O'Reilly Media, Janita, Wiley Publishing, Creativepro.com, CreativeBits, Heathrowe, Smashing Magazine, The Photoshop Roadmap, Power Retouche Plugins, Wacom, Vertus Fluid Mask, Template Monster, onOne Software, Brusheezy, AV Bros. Plugins, Obsidian Dawn, BittBox, Sue Chastain, Mark Galer, and AutoFX.
