Ben Willmore — a true Photoshop Guru (see his work in our Inspiration section) — also writes for several magazines, covering issues such as color correction, production, efficiency, and special effects. Below you will find links to Ben's Photoshop Tips, Magazine Articles, his Archive of Photoshop Tips, some Color Management Resources, a service that provides Help With Problem Images, his latest Photoshop Books, and info about his Training Courses & DVDs. Enjoy!



Free Photoshop Quick Selection Tool 22 Minute Video Tutorial From Ben Willmore - Plus Exclusive 15% xTrain Discount Code

xTrain has given us a super free clip for you to enjoy. This is the entire Class 5 of Photoshop CS3: Simplified and Easy with Ben Willmore.

In this 22 minute training video, Ben demonstrates in detail some new selection techniques you can use with the Photoshop CS3 Quick Selection tool. Launch Class 5 - Quick Selections Tool: Photoshop's Coolest NEW Tool!

Here's more info on this training, and if you decide to enroll, at checkout enter our exclusive discount promo code photoshopsupport and you'll receive an instant 15% discount on any and all xTrain products.

About Photoshop CS3: Simplified and Easy with Ben Willmore
Photoshop gives you the opportunity to turn your images into masterpieces. In Photoshop CS3: Simplified and Easy, Ben Willmore, Photoshop guru, guides you through the fundamentals of this essential imaging software. This course is easy enough to follow for beginners, but also is great for those who have used this software, and want to learn the the newest CS3 features.

You will be taken through all the basics of Photoshop, and watch Ben go step by step through the numerous capabilities of this fun and essential software. Learn layer basics, enhancements, and editing. Class 4 will train you how to put together all you have been taught. This course will enable you to use Photoshop CS3 skillfully and extensively.

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For more information about xTrain, visit www.xtrain.com. They also have a free preview page with some samples. And remember — at checkout enter the promotional code photoshopsupport and you'll receive an instant 15% discount.


Ben's collection of tips and tricks on his website has been renamed “Insight Injections” The tips have also been recategorized as follows:

Selection tips
Can’t-Live-Without-‘Em tips
Copying and Pasting in Photoshop tips
Brushing up on Keyboard Shortcuts
Tips for using CS2 Bridge
Script: Opening RAW files as Smart Objects tips
Open/Save tips
Ruler and Guide tips
2000-2004 Tip Archive


The following is a listing of all magazine articles that can be accessed in their downloadable PDF form through individual links on the site directory above. Here are all of the magazine article titles, with PDF file size and 1-line subject blurbs:

New archived tips are as follows and can be accessed in an archived directory listing.

02/26/04 - Color Part 2 12/19/04 - Color 09/28/04 - Quick Effects 09/15/04 - Layer Styles 09/08/04 - CS Tips 08/02/04 - Blending Modes 09/02/03 - Problem Resolutions 08/22/03 - Keyboard Shortcuts 07/25/03 - Tool Tips 07/14/03 - Essential Tips 06/02/03 - Copy/Paste Tips

05/19/03 - Type Tips 05/12/03 - History Palette Tips 05/05/03 - Layer Tips 04/28/03 - Layer Style Tips 04/21/03 - Color Correction Tips 04/14/03 - Palette Tips 04/02/03 - Retouching Tips 03/24/03 - Photo Tips 03/17/03 - ImageReady Tips II 03/10/03 - Collage Tips 03/03/03 - Adjustment Tips

RGB Working Spaces
If you're not all that comfortable with Color Management, you'll find a 23 page (2.5MB) handbook on the subject. Choose your ultimate output device from a supplied list to see how the default RGB Working Spaces relate to it. If your printer is not listed, you are welcome to send an ICC Profile for it and Ben will consider adding it to the list.



Problem Images - Help Center
This is the place to get help with all your problem images. As Ben says on the page: "I'm looking for images that you might have challenges with. The ones where you haven't been able to find a solution even after looking in a few Photoshop Books. If you're willing to send me the image along with a description of what needs to be done, then I'll take a look at it and then I just might use it in an on-line tutorial, or in a printed magazine or book."



Adobe Photoshop CS Studio Techniques
By Ben Willmore
If you're ready to go from Photoshop competent to Photoshop enlightened, this is the place to turn. In these pages, revered Photoshop instructor Ben Willmore explains the whys behind the how's so that you can unleash Photoshop CS' full creative potential. In a friendly, easy-going style that's long on information and short on techno-babble, Ben explains the concepts, features, and techniques that promise to make a real difference in the way you use Photoshop CS. Complex concepts like curves and channels are made crystal clear, and features new to Photoshop CS - like the very cool PhotoMerge function for creating panoramic composite images, support for nested layers, and more - are covered in the depth they deserve.
available at amazon.com

How to Wow : Photoshop for Photography (Wow!)
By Ben Willmore, Jack Davis
If winning over clients means wowing 'em with Photoshop-enhanced photos, this is the book for you! Simple step-by-step instructions equal easy, elegant solutions in this streamlined volume geared exclusively to photographers using Photoshop. Just like your favorite cookbooks - the ones with short, clear-cut instructions and mouth-watering photos of the delectable concoctions - this book identifies challenges, provides simple recipes for overcoming them, and plugs in inspirational photos of the glorious results. The authors provide enough theoretical grounding so readers can use the program effectively but leave out the tech-heavy under-the-hood discussions that represent the core of other Photoshop tomes.
available at amazon.com



1 Day Photoshop For Photographers Seminar
In this one-day seminar Ben teaches Photoshop speed tips that will let you perfect any image in record time. Plus, you’ll learn his favorite photo-editing techniques for retouching, restoration, and color correction.

8-Week Online Class
Photoshop expert and instructor Ben Willmore will guide you through a start-to-finish workflow that gives you ultimate control over the entire process and allows you to get the most out of your images. From optimizing tonality and color to precise retouching and photo merging, you'll gain a deep understanding of the marriage between your digital camera and Photoshop.

DVD Series
"If there could ever be a title called 'everything you need to know about color,' this is it!"
— National Association of Photoshop Professionals
Join Ben Willmore as he provides over 2 hours of training on the theory of color and the many different ways to adjust, change and improve color in an image.

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 range (HDR) images. Get precise results when making complex selections. Remove any image element and 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.

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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.

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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.
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A three-level detail adjustment plug-in that specializes in micro-contrast enhancements and sharpening with no artifacts.
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The fastest and most effective masking and extraction program with one-click mask refining.
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Highest-quality noise reduction plug-in that removes the most noise and color noise while preserving the most image detail.
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Provides creative simplification, art effects, and line accentuation for easy one-of-a-kind art.
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Take control of the detail depth of your images with extensive smoothing, texture control and edge enhancement tools.
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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.

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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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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.

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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.




PHOTO CREDIT: Blur on color pools.
© 2004 Eric Martin of Futura Studios