Showing posts with label website. Show all posts
Showing posts with label website. Show all posts
Saturday, May 5, 2012
The three adjustments I always make in Photoshop
3:58 PM | 
Posted by
carrie |
The comment I get the most in my digital photography classes, online and in a Facebook group that I am involved in that offers digital photography tips for mom who want to take better photos of their kids is:
"I have just started editing photos and I have no idea what I am doing-- I have PSE, but it just looks too confusing to know where to begin- help!" ~ New Photographer
When I began, I knew that I wanted to do more with my images, but it seemed like most of the tutorials and books out there were for the full pricey) version of Photoshop, or assumed a certain level of knowledge before you even got to the beginning of the tutorial.
There are a couple of adjustments that I always find myself making, whether in PSE or Photoshop, and whatever the photo situation. These adjustments can quickly take away annoyances that you didn't even know you had with your image, and can take an image that you are satisfied with, to one you are proud of showing off to anyone.
When you open your photo in PSE, you will see a series of drop-down menus along the top of the screen. Amongst these is the Layer drop down menu. (There are other ways to create new layers, but for those of you that are just beginning, this is the easiest way and the method that changes least between different versions of Photoshop.) You can access all of the following Adjustment Layer by Choosing the Layer drop down and then "New Adjustment Layer." This will make the side-menu for Adjustment Layers pop out. This is where you will find these Adjustment Layers as choices.
The three adjustments I always make in PSE:
Layer=> New Adjustment Layer=>
Levels.
 |
| Photoshop Levels Adjustment |
All pixels in your image are given a number from 0-255, ranging from completely black to completely white. Say you move the slider to 3 (or manually change it in the field underneath this slider) Where only the pixels with a value of 0 were completely black before, then all of the pixels with a value of 0,1,2 and 3 will then be black.
You can also use the eye-drops pictured here to adjust the levels. Click on the black eye-dropper and move over to your image. Click again, this time on something in your image that is supposed to be completely black. I find that this works best with things like walls and furniture, and less well with black clothing, which may or may not be really black if it has been worn and washed multiple times.
Brightness/Contrast
I tend to like more contrast in my images, so I would move the sliders up about 3-5. Brightness is one adjustment where subtle is better, and this adjustment should only be done after the Levels Adjustment has been made.
As your image gets brighter, you may notice a loss of the fine detail in your image, and this is where Contrast comes in to play. Contrast makes the difference between the light pixels and dark pixels in your image more pronounces, and brings back a lot of the detail to your image. However, once again- less is more as you can accidentally age someone and make the soft face of a young child look harsh.
Hue/Saturation
 |
| Photoshop Hue/Saturation Adjustment |
The Saturation slider is one of my favorites, because it allows you to adjust not only the overall saturation of the image, but also the saturation of each color component of the image. By default, you will have Master selected in the drop down menu at the top of this palette. You can select other colors to warm up a cool face, or make a background color pop.
Labels:
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photography,
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tutorial,
Twin Cities,
Twin Cities Portrait photography,
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Sunday, September 4, 2011
Nick, Class of 2012 {Minneapolis High School Senior Photography}
Nick's mom, Tami, won one of my sessions in an auction for an organization we are both a part of: MOPS. It was wonderful to meet her and her son for his portrait session in Nick's favorite hang out spot at a local park.
The location was a perfect fit, it was open, gave the opportunity for both natural and urban backdrops and gave us plenty of space to do our thing. When talking about possible sessions, Tami's first impulse had been to select this as a location, but wasn't sure if it would be suitable. Usually this impulse is a good one, and it was wonderful to shoot Nick in a location where he has spent many hours having fun and
was comfortable.
Please excuse my dust as a few of these images have my old watermark as I am switching everything over to my new look.
Hope you enjoy your session preview!
The location was a perfect fit, it was open, gave the opportunity for both natural and urban backdrops and gave us plenty of space to do our thing. When talking about possible sessions, Tami's first impulse had been to select this as a location, but wasn't sure if it would be suitable. Usually this impulse is a good one, and it was wonderful to shoot Nick in a location where he has spent many hours having fun and
was comfortable.
Please excuse my dust as a few of these images have my old watermark as I am switching everything over to my new look.
Hope you enjoy your session preview!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Is that a U-Haul Parked Outside of this Site?
Yes- I am packing my bags and moving my humble little corner of the web to a brand new shiny site at http://www.cwestonphoto.com/! If that link isn't working, try out this temporary one to see all of the wonderfulness. I'll be packing up my slideshows, gallery links, tutorials and session info and moving over to my big fancy new digs, but what about this site I've used for so long?
Don't worry- you will still be able to see past blog posts, as well as new information and blogs here and always more info at my Facebook Page. I will be updating you further as I make the changeover from this site and host to another. For now:
My New Site: http://www.cwestonphoto.com/
My Old Site: http://www.carriewestonphoto.com/
My Blog: http://carriewestonphotography.blogspot.com/
My Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Minneapolis-MN/Carrie-Weston-Photography/122611844453428
Don't worry- you will still be able to see past blog posts, as well as new information and blogs here and always more info at my Facebook Page. I will be updating you further as I make the changeover from this site and host to another. For now:
My New Site: http://www.cwestonphoto.com/
My Old Site: http://www.carriewestonphoto.com/
My Blog: http://carriewestonphotography.blogspot.com/
My Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Minneapolis-MN/Carrie-Weston-Photography/122611844453428
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