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The Photoshop Blog offers the latest Photoshop news and software updates, Photoshop tips and tutorials, and random thoughts from graphic artist and Photoshop expert Jennifer Apple.
The Joy Of An Unexpected Photoshop Tutorial
Went to visit a blog I like a lot today, Dooce, by "Queen of CAPS" Heather B. Armstrong, and there was a Photoshop tutorial staring at me. How weird. And it was good. Really good. Because Heather was giving instructions in her unique writing style.
Have a look at Demo: How to be a Dork - the Dorky Dotty Effect.
LizardTech Launches Genuine Fractals 4.0
LizardTech have announced the launch of Genuine Fractals 4.0. An indispensable tool for photographers, graphic artists and digital imaging professionals, LizardTech Genuine Fractals 4.0 PrintPro delivers the power to scale, store and electronically distribute digital images for a variety of output requirements. This award-winning plug-in for Photoshop gives users high-quality, print-ready enlargements of various sizes and resolutions from a single medium- or high-resolution digital file without compromising the quality of the original image. Key features offered with this new version include an improved image scaling workflow within Photoshop; intuitive user interface and faster image scaling and access.
The fractal technology found in Genuine Fractals 4.0 enables users to increase the resolution of electronic images and digital photos captured using a digital camera or scanner, resulting in sharp image enlargements. The software can also be used to scale medium-resolution images to achieve print-quality photos by scaling an entire image or easily cropping and scaling a specific area of interest within an image.
Genuine Fractals PrintPro 4.0 supports RGB and CMYK Photoshop color. System requirements for the PC platform include Windows® 2000 or XP® and Adobe Photoshop 7.0 or later; for Macintosh include Mac OS 10.2 or later and Adobe Photoshop 7.0 or later.
Download a free trial version of Genuine Fractals 4.0.
400 Digital Camera Tips - Get More Enjoyment Out of Photography
Digital camera and computer help website MalekTips today announced the expansion of its digital camera help library, now numbering 400 tips. Bringing its total computer and technology tip count to over 2,300, MalekTips now has an increased number of articles on pertinent subjects such as digital camera purchasing advice, photo composition, and photo printing.
"The continued popularity of digital photography is amazing," said Andrew Malek, owner of MalekTips. "However, the attractiveness of going digital may wane if people become frustrated. Technical topics such as copying photos from a digital camera to your computer, ensuring pictures don't turn out too dark, and dealing with tricky lighting situations can prevent people from enjoying this technology to its fullest.
"With MalekTips, I'm able to help beginners along and provide advice applicable to more intermediate and advanced photographers."
Photoshop Tip: Don't Click That Field!
Those tiny little fields up in the Options Bar can really be a pain sometimes, especially if you're trying to highlight a field, delete the current value, and type in a new one. Instead of doing all that, just click on the field's name and Photoshop will automatically highlight the entire field for you. That way, you can just type in new values. Great thing is, this doesn't just work in the Options Bar; it works in many of Photoshop's palettes, including the Character and Paragraph palettes.
Competing Ferociously
With a new blog born every 6 seconds there's a lot of noise online these days. Sometimes in processing this torrent of information I get a vague impression instead of the facts. For instance, it's hard to know what to think about Apple and Adobe's relationship these days. Are Apple and Adobe friends, or are they not friends? Do they see themselves as partners, or do they see themselves as competitors? Well, here's the straight dope from the horse's mouth. In an interview published on ZDNet, Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen says this:
Q: While we are on the subject of competitors, what about Apple? Do you see Apple as a competitor? Partner? Both?
A: They are clearly both a partner and in some cases a competitor. They're an important partner in that about 25 percent of our business comes from people who own Macs. That's a very loyal customer to Adobe and a very important customer as well. That's also a very important customer obviously to Apple. So it's in both of our best interests to partner, and I think we do a pretty good job of it. If you look at which software company had more OS X applications available before anybody else, it was Adobe. If you look at how we optimized for that platform, it's probably more so with Adobe than anybody else; we're probably the largest ISV (independent software vendor) for the Mac. There are some places where we do compete... in particular in video, and we have agreed to compete. And we compete ferociously.
I think the Mac Mini will increase the current 25% Mac base. I love saying Mac Mini. It makes me think of Austin Powers. Maybe Elements 3 should be called Photoshop Mini. Read the interview with Bruce Chizen at ZDNet.
The Ethereal Beauty Of Distant Planets
There are some absolutely gorgeous photos on the various NASA sites and we've put together a page of links to them. Most of the links are to the The Cassini-Huygens Mission, where you'll find some stunning photos of Saturn.
Make sure to have a look at our NASA Image Collections Page, because NASA images generally are not copyrighted and are available for use on websites. We thought they might inspire you to create something out of this world.
PixelGenius Upgrades Photokit EL3
PixelGenius have released an updated version of their Photokit EL automation Plug-in for Photoshop Elements 3. The plug-in lets users apply a wide variety of photographic effects to their images in a non-destructive manner. The purchase of a plug-in also gives access to their forum, where you'll find some of the very best Photoshop experts.
Make A Life Poster With Photoshop
Recent post make a poster-sized photo collage pointed to instructions on how to make your own “life poster” using Apple’s iPhoto (Mac only.) Weblogger Sean at Wayward Puppy has published the steps on how to achieve the same result using Photoshop (for PC users.) Life Poster — Photoshop Instructions.
Harald Heim Interviews Andrew Buckle of GraphicXtras.com
Graphics.com is running the first in a series of interviews conducted by Harald Heim of The Plugin Site which will look at the people involved in the creation of Photoshop plugins. Read the Andrew Buckle interview.
In Praise Of The Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss Filter
One thing lead to another. It started when I was reading the excellent Thoughts On Simplicity blog by Prof. John Maeda of the MIT Media Lab. There was an entry titled Gaussian Blurs and Snowfall, and it began with this:
In Adobe Photoshop there is an often-used tool in the Filter menu called "Gaussian Blur." Just above this filter are two other filters "Blur" and "Blur More." I never choose either of these vague options for my blurring needs, and always go to the source: "Gaussian Blur." However I think it is overkill to label the feature "Gaussian Blur" as I don't think that Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855) is going to come back from the dead to sue Adobe for using his name.
I Googled Gauss immediately. At the Scienceworld site it said that at the age of three Gauss informed his father of an arithmetical error in a complicated payroll calculation and stated the correct answer. At Nebulus.org I found a page about Photoshop's blur filters, which includes a piece about how Gauss developed the math that describes / defines the points along bell shaped curves. They are called Gaussian Integers (numbers). I like learning tidbits because I use them to fend off Photoshop know-it-alls. How many of them know about the Gaussian Blur filter's namesake? No matter how much I learn about this program, it seems that there are always 100 more things to discover.
Lexar Unveils Website for Digital Photographers
Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a world leader in advanced digital media technologies, today announced a new web site designed specifically for digital photographers. Located at www.lexar.com/dp, the new site includes valuable information and tutorials to help photographers more fully utilize the unique features Lexar products offer and achieve a more rewarding experience shooting and working with digital images. Additionally, this new site provides detailed information about new photography techniques, products and services, as well as interesting feature stories and background information about the many professionals who count on Lexar’s flash memory cards and accessories to help them succeed."
Make sure to read "Shooting at the top of the Empire State Building" by Joe McNally. He's climbed the TV antenna on the Empire State Building 4 times while on assignment for a story on a guy who repairs and designs large scale antennas. This line gave me vertigo: "It is like climbing a very tall telephone pole 1500’ in the air that is swaying in the high winds."
Digital Anarchy Releases Color Theory 1.5.3 for Windows
Digital Anarchy have announced the availability of Color Theory 1.5.3 for Windows. Color Theory is a digital color wheel that intelligently finds harmonious color combinations. Color Theory uses traditional Red-Yellow-Blue (RYB) color space, rather than the Red-Green-Blue (RGB) color space used by computers. Available as a stand-alone application or a plugin for Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects users, Color Theory enables artists to quickly analyze hundreds of color schemes while working with existing logos and artwork.
Color Theory is available in two versions. CT Standard is an inexpensive tool for artists who want a simple but powerful color design aid. CT Pro builds on that by allowing the user to import images, output to video, and use it directly within Photoshop, Illustrator or After Effects.
Color Theory’s formulas are based on the studies of Bauhaus professor Johannes Itten and utilize the classical artists’ RYB color model. Color Theory includes all 20 of Professor Itten's traditional color formulas, as well as primary, secondary, tertiary, pastel, neutral, and clash schemes.
Regularly priced at USD $99, CT Pro is available now for USD $79 until March 31, 2005. Regularly priced at USD $49, CT Standard is available now for USD $39 until March 31, 2005. Demos and tutorials are available at www.digitalanarchy.com.
Photoshop Tip: Fix Those Stray Pixels Fast!
Sometimes when making a selection with the Magic Wand tool or Color Range (under the Select menu), Photoshop will leave little stray pixels unselected. You can tell where they are because they appear to twinkle on and off, kind of teasing...nay, taunting you, because your selection is not complete. Luckily, there's a quick way to rein in those renegade stray pixels. Go under the Select menu, under Modify, and choose Smooth. Enter a Sample Radius of 1 pixel and click OK. That will usually do the trick - those stray pixels are now selected.
Total Training Offering A President Weekend Sale
Total Training has a President Weekend’s Sale through Tuesday (2/22). Total Training for Photoshop CS now sells for $249.99 (save $50) and also includes a Bonus DVD. All orders must be placed between 2/18 and 2/22. No additional discounts.
Canon Upgrades World’s Best Selling Digital SLR
Canon has upgraded the EOS 300D with the 8.0 Megapixel, 3 frame per second EOS 350D Digital. The launch completes a refresh of the entire digital EOS line-up.
“The EOS 300D kick started the digital SLR revolution, becoming the best selling model of all time. The EOS 350D Digital will now take over, playing a major role in Canon’s digital SLR strategy,” said Mogens Jensen, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging Europe. “Canon predicts the D-SLR market will double in size by the end of 2006.”
The EOS 350D Digital features a newly developed, second generation, extremely low noise APS-C size 8.0 Megapixel CMOS sensor – the fourth new CMOS sensor from Canon in just twelve months. It is powered by the same DIGIC II image processor found in Canon’s professional series D-SLR cameras, and features 3 frame per second, 14 frame burst operation, USB 2.0 Hi-Speed interface, simultaneous RAW and Large JPEG writing and 0.2 second start up time. The camera is more than 10% lighter and 25% smaller by volume than the EOS 300D. It is available in both black and silver finishes.
Read the full press release (includes product shot).
New Digital Photography Resource Center
Our new Digital Photography Resource Center offers digital photography news, articles, books, and a special camera raw section.
420 Million Cameras In Search Of Photoshop
At the start of an article on camera phones, James Coates posts a mini pop quiz:
What company sold the most cameras worldwide last year?
If you said Kodak or Canon or Nikon or Olympus, you're wrong.
It was Nokia. And, get this, the cameras all came included with a cell phone.
The camera phone picture is only going to get bigger, too. Industry forecasts say that 420 million camera phones will be sold this year, a huge jump over 2004 when 260 million were sold worldwide.
He goes on to discuss ways to clean up the fuzzy photos these devices produce and mentions Photoshop, of course. Soon just about everyone everywhere will be talking about dpi, ppi, hue, saturation, bicubic sampling, and the almighty Unsharp Mask. These are exciting Photoshop times.
Read the full article at the Chicago Tribune website.
Didn't I Warn Everyone To Be Careful With Their Model Releases?
This was sent in from Thomas J. Westgard, Attorney at Law:
The federal appeals court in Chicago has agreed to reconsider model June Toney's lawsuit against L'Oreal for violation of publicity rights. Toney's suit alleges unauthorized use of her image on boxes of Ultra Sheen Supreme hair relaxer. The court's unusual move is the second major setback in a publicity rights suit this month for billionaire heiress Liliane Bettencourt, who owns most of L'Oreal, and is the largest individual stockholder of Nestle. Earlier this month, Nestle suffered a $15.6 million dollar verdict in a separate case, in favor of model Russell Christoff, whose face appears without permission on boxes of Taster's Choice instant coffee. [read the Christoff story.]
"This company took a model's stock-in-trade, her face, and used it without permission," said Toney's counsel, Chicago attorney Thomas J. Westgard. "It doesn't take a genius to see the wrong in that." The move in Toney's case is unusual because the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has requested supplemental briefing in the Toney case on whether it should overturn a 1986 decision, Baltimore Orioles v. Major League Baseball Players Association. The Baltimore Orioles case decided that publicity rights in a photograph were destroyed, or "preempted" by federal copyright law. "Under Baltimore Orioles," Westgard explains, "every person who takes your picture with your permission owns the unlimited rights to commercially exploit it. Your kid's school portrait could end up in an ad for a 900 number, or worse. That shouldn't be the law."
Toney's lawsuit alleges that she is a professional model who entered into an agreement with Johnson Products Company in 1995 for use of her picture on the box for Ultra Sheen Supreme for five years, and also for use in national magazines for a year. Ownership of the product shifted to Carson Products, then to L'Oreal, then to Wella, a subsidiary of Proctor & Gamble. Toney alleges that her picture was used beyond the agreed limits. Relying on the Baltimore Orioles opinion, the trial court dismissed her claims, and on September 21, 2004, the appeals court agreed. The latest order is of February 3, 2005, vacating the September decision and requesting rebriefing.
"Federal appeals courts don't like to change their minds any more than the rest of us," says Mr. Westgard, "but this is the right thing to do."
Last year I did some photo modeling for a big Soy products company. Supposedly the photos were never used. Hmmm... I'm off to do some investigative work at the health food store downtown.
PhotoVu Launches New 17" Wireless Digital Picture Frame
Today PhotoVu announced the availability of the new PV1740 picture frame, which expands the PhotoVu product line and, at $899, offers an affordable alternative to the larger PV1940. "For those customers who don't need quite the size of a 19" LCD display, the PV1740, with it's still wall-sized 17" LCD display, is a great fit, at an unbeatable value," said Robert Jordan, Partner, PhotoVu.
As with all of PhotoVu's products, the PV1740 includes a custom frame and mat made to order, built-in support for Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 and Apple's iPhoto photo management software, as well as an optional 40GB removable hard drive for stand-alone play. For more info visit the PhotoVu website.
Photoshop Tip: Making the Color Palette Work Twice As Hard
If you use the Color palette to select colors, you're probably already using the color ramp at the bottom of the palette for making quick color selections, but here are two tips that make using the ramp faster and easier. First, the color ramp doesn't have to use the same color mode as the color sliders above it; for example, you can have RGB for your sliders and grayscale as your ramp. This is great because it gives you two different models to choose from without digging through menus. You can choose the color modes from both the sliders and the ramp from the Color palette's pop-down menu. The second tip is that if you want to change color ramps quickly, Shift-click on the ramp. Every time you click, it will rotate through to the next color mode.
New 21.3" Wacom Cintiq 21UX is World's First Interactive Pen Display With a Seamless Surface, ExpressKeys, and Zoom/Scroll Touch Strips
Wacom Technology Corporation today announced its eagerly anticipated Cintiq 21UX interactive pen display that allows users to work with a pen directly on a 21.3" color-accurate LCD. The Cintiq 21UX offers "more" of everything that makes using a Wacom Cintiq such a natural way to work: more screen area, more pressure sensitivity, more pen control, more resolution, more comfort, more productivity.
At a estimated street price of $2499 the Cintiq 21UX delivers more of everything with no price increase over the previous generation. The Cintiq 21UX will begin shipping in March, but customers can register at www.cintiq.com now to be at the head of the line for units.
Read the full press release.
EIZO Introduces ColorEdge CG220 LCD Monitor To Photo Market
Eizo Nanao Technologies is showcasing its ColorEdge CG220 LCD monitor featuring 100% support for the Adobe RGB color space at the PMA Orlando 2005, a leading U.S. tradeshows for photography professionals. The wide color gamut of the ColorEdge CG220 provides a vast range of displayable colors compared to conventional monitors, which typically cover the smaller sRGB color space.
The 22.2-inch screen has a 1920 x 1200 native resolution and 16:10 aspect ratio.
EIZO has begun mass production of the ColorEdge CG220 in January and begins shipping in the U.S. in February. For more info visit the EIZO website.
Adobe PROXY Magazine (PDF) - February Issue
PROXY Magazine Volume 1, Number 2 (February Issue) is out. To get it visit the Adobe Proxy Magazine Page and sign up. If you don't want to sign up there's a link to download the previous edition of the magazine. File size is just under 5 MB.
Renowned designer Milton Glaser created the cover and has an article on "Ambiguity and Truth." Also included is a good Photoshop tutorial "Add Depth of Field With Lens Blur". The tutorial comes from Photoshop CS for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide, published by Peachpit Press. You can find the tutorial by clicking on the bottom-of-page tab titled Schoolin'.
ConvertToBW Pro v3.0 for Mac OS X
ConvertToBW Pro is a Photoshop plugin for highly customized color to B&W conversions mimicking conventional photography techniques. The plugin has been updated to version 3.0 for Mac OS X and features many improvements. Visit The Imaging Factory website to download the plugin for a 30-day test-drive.
Color Is In The Eye Of The Beholder
Color Schemes Generator 2 generates color schemes based on one base color, which is supplemented with additional colors. But this tool has another use as well. There's a dropdown menu that let's you select from a list of different eye problems. The generator then shows you what a person suffering the condition would see as far as your color scheme goes. Here's the list of choices:
Normal vision (cca 85.5% of population)
Protanopy (1% of men)
Deuteranopy (1% of men)
Tritanopy (cca 0.003% of population)
Protanomaly (1% of men)
Deuteranomaly (5% of men, 0.4 % of women)
Tritanomaly (almost 0%)
Full colorblindness (0005% of population)
Atypical monochromatism
Visit the Color Schemes Generator 2 and see what others are seeing.
Photoshop Tip: Photoshop Remembers The Last Size You Input
Although there's no way to set a default size for your New document dialog (outside of creating an action to do it for you), there's a pretty cool little-known tip that lets you open a new document using the last settings you manually input. Just press Option-Command-N (PC: Alt-Control-N) and the New document dialog will appear using the last settings you input (rather than using the clipboard data to determine the new document size).
Virtual Censorship - Fierri’s Virtual Models Have Left The Website
While I was reading a press release about how Arnaud Legoux (aka Fierri), a prolific painter, commercial artist and designer, had created virtual fashion models, I become alarmed by a passage that said his invention would impact Photoshop artists. And I quote:
Replacing the use of a real top model will save designers enormous costs, not only in model fees but also photographer fees and studio equipment. The hours of Photoshop modifications to real photographs can also be avoided.
Fierri’s models (showcased in the “Dollz” section of his web site, www.fierri.com, stand out for their supreme realism, textured and shaped with an eye for detail and a passion to dedication.
Yikes! I wanted to study these virtual models. I mean how realistic could they be? I got my answer when I visited the website. Apparently they're so realistic that they had to be removed. Here's a message that has been posted to the site: "Due to censorship of my public relation provider, you must know that the "dollz" section who contained nude virtual models has been deleted." But Fierri has a solution: "If you're an open minded adult write directly to contact@fierri.com and I send you the pictures." Sweet.
I have written. I have requested to view them. I will report back when I do.
DeckLink Adds Photoshop Plug-ins
Blackmagic Design have released DeckLink for Macintosh v4.8, a new version of the software that controls BlackMagic Design's DeckLink professional video cards. New features in this release include new Adobe Photoshop plug-ins that integrate 8 or 16-bit video frame capture and output via DeckLink cards. DeckLink v4.8 is a free update.
Michael Reichmann's Essential Plugins for Noise Reduction, Sharpening, And Black And White Conversion
Luminous Landscape editor Michael Reichmann has written an article about his 3 favorite Photoshop plugins - Noise Ninja, Convert To B&W Pro and Photokit Sharpener.
"Over the past several years I have tried many of the programs and plug-ins to come to market, on both Mac and PC platforms. Below are brief looks at the ones that are my current preferred choices. The ones that I use every day, and that I count on when producing my commercial images and fine-art display prints."
Read the full "Plugins" article at The Luminous Landscape.
Speaking Of The Luminous Landscape...
In an earlier article, Luminous Landscape’s Michael Reichmann shared the contents of his camera bag as he prepared for a 2 week trip to Bangladesh. Now he looks back at what worked and what didn’t:
"I shot about 5,000 frames over 13 days. Because the 1Ds MKII produces roughly 15 MB raw files, this means that I ended up with around 75 GB of files by the end of the trip. And, since I always back everything up in the field, this means that I needed to have some 150 GB of storage with me. (The idea of having just one copy of once-in-a-lifetime shots is too scary. I always make field backups. After the card has been downloaded to a hard drive, I then make sure that it’s copied to a second hard drive before I go to bed at night, and that this second drive is stored and transported separately the whole time)."
Read the full "Looking Back" article at The Luminous Landscape.
Datacolor Announce ColorVision Spyder2 Plus - “The Digital Darkroom in a Box”
ColorVision Spyder2 Plus provides a full suite of tools for anyone working with digital images and is frustrated by color discrepancy between the monitor image and final printout. Based on ColorVision’s award-winning color display and output technology, Spyder2 Plus is combined (for free) with Adobe's Photoshop Elements 3.0.
Read the full press release.
2 New Video Clip Tutorials For Photoshop Elements 3
We've added two more free video clips from the Adobe Photoshop Elements 3 Unleashed DVD, hosted by Deke McClelland — Displace Filter, and Shape Tool.
Fotolog Welcomes One Millionth Fotologger
Fotolog, the world's largest photo blogging community, today welcomed its one millionth Fotologger. A global cultural phenomenon, Fotolog is one of the fastest-growing sites on the web. Hailing from more than 200 countries, members post more than 180,000 photos to Fotolog each day -- giving the site more than 750 million page views a month.
To celebrate its one millionth member, Fotolog kicked off "Million Member/Million Moments," a community-wide photo project lasting for one million minutes (or eleven days) where Fotolog members will be uploading photographs that depict the number 1,000,000 -- either literally or figuratively.
Human Software Ships ClassicFrames Version 1.67
Adding to its line of filter plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop, Human Software is now shipping ClassicFrames 1.67 volume 1 to 8. ClassicFrames is a powerful plug-in to add unique handcrafted frames for enhancing images and photos. Each volume of ClassicFrames contains more than 60 frames each. Volume 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 are beautiful rectangular and very ornamented frames. Volume 5 and 6 are rounded frames. Volume 8 a combination of rectangular and rounded frames.
Visit the Human Software website for more info.
Chameleon 1.7 "The Valentine Edition" Released
Chameleon 1.7. The Valentine Edition, is a themed release of an application for transforming digital photographs into works of art, which now includes 25 new borders just in time for Valentine's Day. Chameleon's Print Layout function combined with these new borders provide a way to create a Valentine's card. Chameleon 1.7 costs $19.95 (free upgrade for existing users). Requires Mac OS X 10.2 or later.
Noise Ninja Photoshop Plug-in Eliminates Image Noise And Grain
PictureCode has released a Photoshop plug-in version of its Noise Ninja software, which removes high-ISO noise and grain from digital images.
The Noise Ninja plug-in, in public beta testing for the last few months, is based on proprietary mathematical wavelet denoising technology, and offers a suite of tools for analyzing and filtering image noise. It also provides extensive automation capabilities, including batch processing based on innovative "action policies," automatic noise analysis, and automatic noise profile selection based on EXIF data.
The standalone version of Noise Ninja has also been updated to utilize some new technology from the plug-in, including a completely new automatic profiling algorithm and a more configurable automatic profile matcher. Both the standalone application and the plug-in, now carrying version number 2.1, are available for Mac OS X and Windows.
The plug-in is licensed in a bundle with the standalone application. The Pro Bundle license (US$79.95) activates 16-bit images, batch processing, and multiprocessor. The Home Bundle (US$44.95) supports 8-bit images and processing of individual images.
Check the PictureCode website for more information.
Photoshop Tip: No More Jaggy Lasso Tool Selections
Have you ever tried to create a smooth selection using the Lasso tool? It's just about impossible, right? (If it sounds like it isn't, give it a try-open a new document, take the Lasso tool, and draw any random selection, and then look at the selection. It's jaggy-not crazy jaggy, but it's certainly not smooth.) If you were trying to create a selection for an interface design, or a realistic element of some sort, it would just be too jaggy to use. Here's a tip:
(1) Draw around the area you want to use as your selection with the Lasso tool.
(2) Press the letter "q" to enter Quick Mask mode (your selection will now be surrounded by solid pink).
(3) Go under the Filter menu, under Noise, and choose Median. As you raise the Radius of the Median filter, you'll see your edges smooth out.
(4) When it looks nice and smooth, click OK, then press the letter "q" again to return to Standard mode, and you'll have nothing but a nice smooth selection.
See how those jaggies have been replaced by the smooth edges-courtesy of the Median filter?
Free Fonts For All My Friends...
I feel like Mickey Rourke in Bukowski's Barfly, although instead of drinks I'm offering a Top Ten List of websites that offer free fonts for Mac and Windows. Have a look at our new 100% Absolutely Free Fonts page.
The Gigapxl Project
An article in Wired News by Leander Kahney tells of a giant camera that weighs 100 pounds and captures images at 4 gigapixels. Fascinating...
Physicist Graham Flint is working on an ultra-high-resolution portrait of America - a series of gigantic, gigapixel images taken with a custom camera made from bits and pieces of decommissioned Cold War hardware.
Armed with a self-designed camera he crafted from parts of spy planes and nuclear reactors, Flint is crisscrossing America, taking thousands of pictures of cities, monuments and national parks.
Weighing more than 100 pounds, Flint's camera captures images at 4 gigapixels - a resolution high enough to photograph four football fields and capture every single blade of grass. When printed at maximum resolution, the images are as big as billboards, but render the finest detail.
A photograph of a San Diego beach shows a paraglider swooping over bluffs. Zoom in on some tiny dots on the cliff, and a group of people with binoculars and telephoto lenses can be seen. Follow their gaze, and you'll see naked sunbathers on the beach.
"We might have to add fig leaves in Photoshop, it's that good," said Flint.
Flint's Gigapxl Project is an attempt to capture America in a series of very high-resolution portraits. Beginning in 2000, Flint has made about 1,000 gigapixel photographs during long road trips covering thousands of miles. His last trip lasted six weeks, stretched 9,000 miles and resulted in 150 images.
Read the full story from Wired News.
Visit the Gigapxl Project website for lots of info and images.
Fun with Photoshop Elements 3 : Foto-Fakery for Everyone Released
Wish your ex-boyfriend wasn't in that great picture of you with your family? Cut him out! Hate the shirt you're wearing in the picture of you with your best friend? Change the color! You can do all of this and more with Photoshop Elements 3 and Fun with Photoshop Elements 3 can show you how. By the end of the book you will be able to combine elements of two photos into one image, perform "head transplants," makeover your clothes or face, edit people into and out of images and graft images together to create giant, mystical creatures.
Someone Is 'Shopping The Shuffle
Strange what some people do in their spare time. Found this at Gizmodo:
"I don't know what prompted these photoshops of a giant iPod shuffle in everyday situations, but they aren't half bad, and just surreal enough to be pleasant. And can you imagine, I haven't even bought one yet, and I just may not if they really are this poor a house guest."
Photoshop Tip: Using the Lasso Tool? Keep it Straight
We normally use the lasso tool for drawing freeform selections, but you'll find that oftentimes, while drawing your selection, you'll need to draw a perfectly straight segment, even for just a few pixels. You can do just that by holding the Option key (PC: Alt key), releasing the mouse button, and continuing to draw your selection. You'll notice that your cursor changes to the Polygonal Lasso tool and that as you move the mouse, a perfectly straight selection will drag out. When you've dragged the straight selection where you want, click-and-hold the mouse button (to add a point), release the Option/Alt key, and you'll be back to the regular Lasso tool again. Drag the mouse to continue drawing your selection.
Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0.1 Update Released
Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0.1 update has been released by Adobe (Windows only). 3.0.1 updates several issues discovered after Photoshop Elements 3.0 was released, including:
It is easier to download new creation templates for PhotoBooks, Calendars, and other creations.
Users can now change the format of dates in the Photo Well from U.S. to European.
This update is for Photoshop Elements 3.0 for Windows only. The Mac version does not require an update. You can download the Photoshop Elements 3.0.1 update from the Adobe website.
Adobe Photoshop Elements 3 Unleashed Review
Eric has reviewed the new DVD training for Elements 3 hosted by Deke McClelland. Here's a snippet:
"It is remarkable how the overall costs of digital photography have gone down. Just a few years ago a digital camera that could match the quality of an image from a film camera would have cost over $5,000. Now you can buy a decent digital camera for under $300.
"Photoshop training courses have also seen a downward trend in pricing. Total Training's latest — Adobe Photoshop Elements 3 Unleashed — offers over 6 hours of lessons, includes project files and bonus stock photos, and costs less than $60. That's a very good deal considering the host is none other than Deke McClelland, who I consider to be one of the top Photoshop teachers in the world."
Read the full review - and view free sample video clips.
O'Reilly Releases "Creating Photomontages with Photoshop: A Designer's Notebook"
Translated from French into English for the first time, this lavish collection of digital creations is a visual smorgasbord for digital imaging professionals, graphic artists, photographers, and anyone involved in the creation of digital images or animations. "Creating Photomontages with Photoshop: A Designer's Notebook" gives intermediate-to-advanced Photoshop users invaluable guidance through all aspects of photomontage creation. From the genesis of each project (including sources of inspiration, assignment specifications, working with an art director) to its practical execution (photo shoot, retouching steps, special effects), the authors provide step-by-step instructions on the entire process.
To learn more read the full press release.
Pixel Ribs Releases McFilters Photoshop Filters
McFilters is a set of nine Photoshop plugin filters which allow you to apply various effects to images. The package uses information from the selection mask in cool and unique ways to modulate filter parameters. For more info visit their website. Demos available.
What Am I Doing On This Jar?
(via The Seattle Times) The moral of this story is make sure your modeling contracts are honored!
"In 1986, he (Russell Christoff) had posed for a photographer on assignment for Nestle. He was paid a modest amount and assumed nothing came of the shoot. How wrong he was. A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury last week ordered Nestle USA to pay Christoff — now a 58-year-old kindergarten teacher in Antioch — $15.6 million for using his likeness without his permission and profiting from it."
Read the whole shocking but true story.
Flickr Keeps Growing, And Growing, And Growing...
"Though Flickr is still in beta, it has 245,000 members and is growing at 5-10% a week," according to co-founder Caterina Fake. "We have 3.5 million photos online - and members upload up to 60,000 new photos a day."So what are you waiting for? Go to Flickr and join the revolution.
Photoshop Tip: Better Healing With A Custom Brush
I have to give credit to this incredible tip to NAPP member Stephanie Cole, who showed it to me after the Midnight Madness session at the PhotoshopWorld Conference & Expo in LA. She pointed out how you can get a real mottled-looking result sometimes when using the change the brush shape (by clicking on the brush thumbnail in the Options Bar) to a tall thin brush, it heals using a star-shaped stroke. This greatly reduces the mottling often associated with the Healing Brush, creating a smoother-looking, more natural retouch. My thanks to Stephanie for allowing me to share her very slick trick.
Scott Kelby Heading To The UK
NAPP President and Photoshop guru Scott Kelby is taking his Photoshop Down & Dirty Tricks seminar tour to the UK. Dates are March 21 in Birmingham, England, and March 24 in Islington, London. Seminar details at www.photoshopseminars.com.
Speaking Of Scott Kelby
You can read an interesting interview with Scott Kelby at the Peachpit Press site.
Software Brings Photos To Life
(via CNN) "Computer scientists at the University of Bath in England have come up with a way to make even the dullest of holiday snaps quite literally animated. John Collomosse has designed software that can transform videos into cartoons and photographs into cubist portraits. Traditional animation methods are labor intensive and time consuming but Collomosse's technique requires very little human intervention for the transformation to take place." Read the story at CNN.
Adobe Updates Camera Raw to 2.4
A new version of Adobe Camera Raw has been released by Adobe for both Windows and MAC platforms. Support for the following cameras has been added: Canon EOS 20D, Canon PowerShot S70, Canon PowerShot G6, Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II.
The same download contains the Adobe DNG Converter, a free utility that converts files from more than 70 cameras to DNG, which enables you to easily convert camera-specific raw files to a more universal DNG raw file.
Adobe DNG Converter and Camera Raw 2.4 update Windows
Adobe DNG Converter and Camera Raw 2.4 update for MAC
Canon Continues PowerShot A-series Upgrade
Canon has released the 4.0x optical zoom PowerShot A520 ($299) - big brother to the recently released PowerShot A510. The super compact 4.0 Megapixel PowerShot is smaller than many 3x zoom cameras and features 20 shooting modes, VGA movies, a powerful zoom flash, extended direct print functions, plus an optional waterproof case and adaptor lenses. Read the press release (includes product photo).
Photoshop Tip: Opening Multiple Images And Closing The Browser
Want to open multiple photos at once and have Photoshop close the File Browser for you? Just Command-click (PC: Control-click) on all the photos you want to open, then press Option-Return (PC: Alt-Enter). All the selected photos will open, and the File Browser will close.
Inspiration From Andrzej Dragan
Andrzej Dragan says: "Some people claim that a good portrait will reveal some truth about a model. I'm undoubtedly sad to state that these people will not find anything interesting in my photography, which has no such purpose."
Some artists produce work that is simply too unique to describe. View Andrzej Dragan's "Artystka".
Photoshop Web Template — Website Design Tutorial
Learn how to make a Photoshop web template with this website design tutorial. Includes links to free resources.
Photoshop CS5 & Photoshop CS5 Extended - Best Deals From Adobe
Adobe Photoshop CS5 delivers breakthrough capabilities to help you create images with impact. Refine your
images with reengineered photography tools for removing noise, adding grain, and creating high dynamic
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see the space fill in almost magically. Paint with naturally textured brushstrokes and realistic color blends. Learn more about Photoshop CS5.
Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended software helps you create the ultimate images
for print, the web, and video. Enjoy all the state-of-the-art editing, compositing,
and painting capabilities in industry-standard Photoshop CS5, and experience
fast performance thanks to cross-platform 64-bit support. Also create 3D extrusions
for logos, artwork, and motion graphics; edit 3D objects with advanced tools; and create and enhance motion-based content. Learn more about Photoshop CS5 Extended.
Find CS5 upgrade options and Creative Suite 5 deals at the Adobe Store. See CS5 pricing in UK currency at the Adobe UK Store. Visit the Adobe Special Offers page to find the latest deals. Save 80% on Adobe Student Editions. Try before you buy — download a free Photoshop CS5 trial.
Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Premium
Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Premium software gives you fresh new creative tools, along
with the ability to deliver ideas faster in print and create interactive content without writing
code. Plus Design Premium integrates with Adobe CS Live online services to maximize
your design time by streamlining critical nondesign tasks.
Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Premium combines Adobe InDesign CS5, Photoshop CS5 Extended, Illustrator CS5, Flash CS5 Professional, Dreamweaver CS5, Fireworks CS5, and Acrobat Pro with additional tools and services. Download a free CS5 Design Premium 30 day trial.
Photoshop CS5 Tutorials & CS5 Resources
See our Photoshop CS5 Resource Center for Free Photoshop CS5 Tutorials, and the Free Photoshop CS5 Trial Download. See our Photoshop CS4 Resource Center for Free Photoshop CS4 Tutorials.
Exclusive onOne Software 15% Instant Discount Coupon
Enter our exclusive discount coupon code - PSSPPT06 - during the checkout process at onOne Software for an instant 15% discount on any onOne product. This includes Genuine Fractals and their amazing Photoshop Plug-In Suite.
OnOne’s new Plug-In Suite solves six of the most frequent problems photographers will encounter in Photoshop. This suite has been granted American Photos Magazine’s Editor’s Choice award for Top Image Editing Software. The Plugin Suite includes:
Genuine Fractals Pro is renowned by both photographers and printers for its finesse at increasing images to more than ten times their original size while maintaining the sharpness and detail you started with. Think of this as the industry standard for image resizing.
Mask Pro is used to remove the tough stuff — such as hair, smoke and glass — while retaining the fine detail. You choose what colors to keep, then paint away what you don’t need.
PhotoTools Pro packs hundreds of high-calibre photographic effects into one user-friendly plug-in. It’s fast and easy to use. Gives your photos that pro quality look.
PhotoFrame Pro lets you enhance your pictures with hundreds of such design effects, or simply drop your image into a pre-fab layout in Photoshop, Lightroom or Aperture.
FocalPoint helps to control focus and minimize visual noise. Draw the eye to specific points in your images by using selective focus, depth-of-field and vignette effects.
PhotoTune lets you can compare images side-by-side and easily color correct and enhance them. PhotoTune optimizes the dynamic range, color and sharpness of your image without the need to know all the complicated controls in Photoshop like levels and curves.
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Nik Software 15% Instant Discount - Exclusive 15% Coupon
Enter our exclusive discount coupon code - NIKPSS - during the checkout process at Nik Software for an instant 15% discount on any Nik Software product. This exclusive discount coupon code can be applied to all the latest Nik Software Photoshop plugins, including Silver Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Viveza, Sharpener Pro, and Dfine.
Color Efex Pro
52 photographic filters with over 250 effects for professional quality images.
Completely Original. Completely Indispensable.
Nik Software Color Efex Pro filters are the leading photographic filters for digital photography. The award-winning Color Efex Pro filters are widely used by many of today's professional photographers around the world to save time and get professional level results. Whether you choose the Complete Edition, Select Edition, or Standard Edition, you’ll get traditional and stylizing filters that offer virtually endless possibilities to enhance and transform images quickly and easily.
Patented U Point technology provides the ultimate control to selectively apply enhancements without the need for any complicated masks, layers or selections. Control color, light and tonality in your images and create unique enhancements with professional results. With 52 filters and over 250 effects found in Color Efex Pro, you can perform high quality retouching, color correction, and endless creative enhancements to your photographs. Download a free Trial version.
Viveza
The most powerful tool to selectively control color and light in photographic images without the need for complicated selections or layer masks.
Two of the most important factors in creating great photography are color and light. Mastering the art of selectively correcting or enhancing each of these is now possible for every photographer without the need for complicated masks or selections, or expert-level knowledge of Photoshop. Integrating award-winning U Point technology, Viveza is the most powerful and precise tool available to control light and color in photographic images.
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Silver Efex Pro
Complete power and control to create professional quality black and white images in one convenient tool.
Silver Efex Pro from Nik Software is the most powerful tool for creating professional quality black and white images from your photographs. For the first time, all the advanced power and control required for professional results have been brought together in one convenient tool.
Featuring Nik Software’s patented U Point technology to selectively control the tonality and contrast of the image, Silver Efex Pro includes advanced imaging algorithms to protect against unwanted artifacts, a comprehensive collection of emulated black and white film types, a variable toning selector for adding traditional toning techniques, over 20 one-click preset styles, and a state-of-the-art grain reproduction engine that help produce the highest quality black and white images possible from your color images while providing more freedom to experiment. Download a free Trial version to use Silver Efex Pro.
Enter our exclusive discount coupon code - NIKPSS - during the checkout process at Nik Software for an instant 15% discount. This exclusive discount coupon code can be applied to all the latest Nik Software Photoshop plugins, including Silver Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Viveza, Sharpener Pro, and Dfine.
Exclusive 15% Discount On All Topaz Plugins - Use Coupon Code PHOTOSHOPSUPPORT - Includes Bundles And Upgrades
Enter our exclusive discount coupon code PHOTOSHOPSUPPORT during the checkout process at Topaz Labs for an instant 15% discount on any Topaz product, including bundles and upgrades.
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Topaz Adjust
Deliver stunning and dynamic images with this uniquely powerful plug-in that features HDR-like abilities and enhances exposure, color and detail.
Topaz Detail
A three-level detail adjustment plug-in that specializes in micro-contrast enhancements and sharpening with no artifacts.
Topaz ReMask
The fastest and most effective masking and extraction program with one-click mask refining.
Topaz DeNoise
Highest-quality noise reduction plug-in that removes the most noise and color noise while preserving the most image detail.
Topaz Simplify
Provides creative simplification, art effects, and line accentuation for easy one-of-a-kind art.
Topaz Clean
Take control of the detail depth of your images with extensive smoothing, texture control and edge enhancement tools.
Topaz DeJPEG
Drastically improves the quality of web images and other compressed photos.
Learn more about the Topaz Photoshop Plugins Bundle. Download a free trial version.
Photoshop Masking Plugin Fluid Mask - Exclusive Instant Discount
The 4 1/2 out of 5 star review of Fluid Mask at MacWorld begins by saying that this "Photoshop plug-in takes the pain out of extracting backgrounds," and goes on to recommend the latest version, stating that "Fluid Mask is a very effective tool for separating objects from their backgrounds. It offers a variety of useful features for tackling almost any difficult image, from wispy hair to complex foliage. Online video tutorials and live training sessions help ease the learning curve."
Our friends at Vertus, the makers of Fluid Mask Photoshop Plugin, have set up a special exclusive discount for PhotoshopSupport.com. Go to our Fluid Mask page for a special, exclusive discount link.
Fluid Mask is designed for photographers, image editors, graphic designers and all those who take digital image editing seriously. In a streamlined interface and workflow, Fluid Mask instantly shows key edges in the image and provides comprehensive easy to use tools that work with difficult-to-see edges and tricky areas like trees & lattices. Fluid Mask will also preserve all-important edge information for a professional quality cut out. Go to our Fluid Mask page for more info.
lynda.com Online Training Library - View Free Video Clips
Subscriptions to the lynda.com Online Training Library provide anytime access to tens of thousands of video tutorials covering Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, web design, digital imaging, 3D, digital video, animation, and many other topics. View free video clips.
For less than a dollar a day, members have the opportunity to stay current and keep skills sharp, learn innovative and productive techniques, and gain confidence and marketability - all at their own pace. Premium subscriptions include instructors’ exercise files so that members can follow along with the exact examples onscreen. Customers learn at their own pace and may stop, rewind, and replay segments as often as necessary. View some free video clips (high resolution).
Did You Know You Could Create An Entire Website In Photoshop?
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, SiteGrinder 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, SiteGrinder is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks. Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download.
Photoshop CS4 Essential Skills - By Mark Galer And Philip Andrews
Brimming with beautiful pictures, Photoshop CS4 Essential Skills guides you through a project-based, progressive curriculum so that you can build all the essential skills to enhance photographs creatively and professionally with Photoshop CS4. If you are an aspiring professional or a student learning photography, digital imaging, or design graphics, you'll be amazed at the stunning results you can achieve. A DVD is included free.
The Essential Skills Photography Series from Focal Press uniquely offers a structured learning experience for photographers of all ages, with both the underlying theory and loads of invaluable 'how to' and real-life practice projects - all from the most talented photography practitioners/educators in the world.
Read 2 free sample chapters:
Skin Retouching Tips In Photoshop CS4
Transforming Smart Objects In Photoshop CS4
Find more Photoshop CS4 tutorials on our Photoshop CS4 Tutorials Page.
Read 2 free sample chapters from the Adobe Photoshop CS3 version:
Adjusting Exposure in Adobe Camera Raw CS3
Photoshop CS3 Tutorial High Dynamic Range
Find More Adobe Photoshop Books at Amazon.com
Find all the latest bestselling Photoshop books at discount prices at Amazon.com.
