Photo Editing Tutorials?

If some of us want some instructions on how to improve our photos, I'll be one of those who will be happy to offer pointers or tutorials.

Just list what photo editing programme we use such as Photo Shop, Gimp, Photo Impact, Paint Shop Pro, etc. and I think more than one of us can offer tips.

I use Photo Impact 13 and am learning PhotoShop CS2.

Mo

MaureenO said:

If some of us want some instructions on how to improve our photos, I'll be one of those who will be happy to offer pointers or tutorials.

Just list what photo editing programme we use such as Photo Shop, Gimp, Photo Impact, Paint Shop Pro, etc. and I think more than one of us can offer tips.

I use Photo Impact 13 and am learning PhotoShop CS2.

Mo

Click to expand...

You brave woman learning photoshop. Good luck, I will definitely be needing tutorials.

Jamestown Girl said:

You brave woman learning photoshop. Good luck, I will definitely be needing tutorials.

Click to expand...

Actually, my dear pal, D, said he'd contribute when he has a minute. He's in TX and is an absolute genius with Photo Shop!

I'm gonna add a before and after of a recent pic and then I'll advise what tools I used to get the effect.

Mo

Before and After - in order

Now, how I achieved the brighter effect in the second pic was with the Dodge tool. I resized the image with the resize tool most image editing software has (I resized to about 900 by 600 pixels) and that made it easier to use a smaller Dodge brush.

I red-outlined the tab for the Dodge and Burn tool in PhotoImpact 13 and here's a screen shot below.

You open the Dodge tool if you want to brighten an area, so I opened it for this pic and adjusted the brush size and clicked the brush on the areas I wanted to lighten. Like one of the chairs, the candles, the tablecloth.

Here's a screen shot of the PI 13 dashboard -

Thanks Mo. That help me I have never used the dodge feature and did't realize it could be used that way. I really need to practice and tips like this give me a place to start. I will try this on a few and see I can learn.

Thanks and keep the cards and letters comiing please.

Sorry for not being around much lately, but I am working on a show which will hang here in May - and this is an important step in many ways so its important that it be as close to perfect as possible! I will be showing some of the "urban decay" work I have been doing...

If we're going to begin a real discussion about Imaging software it would help to know what people want to know (other than the obvious everything) or possibly need help with so we can write concise tutorials about those things. Believe me I do not know half of what Photoshop is all about but I do know how to find answers to perplexing problems...Google is your friend! I can think of no time ever in which I had an issue and Google could not point me in the right direction...its also helpful to remember that in Photoshop there are always multiple ways to go about reaching the same end...the same holds true in Photo Impact, Gimp, and Paint Shop Pro...the most important thing to always bear in mind is not to overburden yourself with software...and by that I mean do the research just like you would for prepping, and then choose software which best suits your individual needs...in some cases Picassa, or Photoshop Elements, or Lightroom 2 will serve your needs better because your individual needs are different from say someone like MO, or Satanta, or myself...be nice to your computer! If you do not need high end software then don't overburden you computer with it, especially if you don't have 4 or more gigs of RAM in your system to use...

Tonight, if time permits I will write a mini-tutorial on a different way to do MO's picture above, which for some would be much easier, and for others more than they care to know...LOL...

Would greatly appreciate it. I think one problem I have is feeling overhelmed and looking at the whole vs dividing into pieces. DH has pointed this out to me as I am struggling with 2 books I am working on. One on his family's Mayflower history and mine on my Jamestown line. Write each chapter not the whole book. It is pretty intersting to go through this process with him as we are night and day in temperment and style.

Thanks again. I value the time and suggestions.

Jamestown Girl said:

Thanks Mo. That help me I have never used the dodge feature and did't realize it could be used that way. I really need to practice and tips like this give me a place to start. I will try this on a few and see I can learn.

Thanks and keep the cards and letters comiing please.

Click to expand...

You're welcome! You can use the Burn tool to darken too light areas, as well.

Mo

I saw what you did on Medic's pic so I used Lightroom and finally found an angle tool. I also played with adjustments on darks and tone just to see what the heck they did. Now I am going to play with some of my photos that I didn't like and see what I can do with them. There is so much to learn!

Thanks for doing this. It gave me just one thing to focus on and not get overwhelmed with the develop panel. I just looked for one thing and played with it. I usually open it look around and close it without doing anything. LOL

A little messin around with different tools can go a long way JG...the lessons you learn will be invaluable...each tool has a specific purpose, and can normally be manipulated some to bring about a certain look...MO likes to use the dodge and burn tools when possible, I am partial to the "curves" tool, so much so that I would gladly pay good money for it and it alone...because it give me control of both highlights and shadows of any given area...

Here is a simple and quick tutorial on a different way to do MO's pic from above...using my fav tool...

!. In image 1 I have selected the selection tool (in this case the lasso tool), and will select the area I want to change..



2. In image 2 I have clicked on the "Quick Mask" tool, which shows me in graphic terms the area I have selected and the amount of feather/falloff that will occur...sometimes you get it right on the first try and sometimes not...what I see here is that the area is not sufficient, nor is the amount of feather/falloff...



3. In image 3 I have gone back in and re-selected an area that is more to my liking...and set the feather at 50px instead of the original 20...I did this so the feather would be more gradual...



4. In image 4 I am ready to start making changes to the image, and I click on "image", then "adjustments", and then "curves...opening the curves dialogue box...CS3 and above have a histogram built into this box, CS2 and below do not...using the curves dialogue box I can change both the highlights and shadow exposure in the selected area...



5. This is the fun part...In image 5 I simply move the black point up with the cursor, to lighten the selected area, and the entire exposure changes, and as this happens you can easily see whether or not there is enough feather to suit your needs for this picture...if not just adjust the amount of feather and reopen the curves dialogue box...and re-execute the change...



6. If your happy with the results then go to the "Select" window and deselect your selection...and you have a finished image...



This is admittedly a very simplified explanation, but the object really is to show there are many different ways to accomplish the same thing in Photoshop...

Maybe we can con MO into creating a sticky where we can either write or find different tutorials and insert them as individual threads as we go...

Great overview of Lightroom 2 here:

http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/lightroom/articles/lir2am_videotutorials.html

Thank you!!! I will read the link you sent and check out lightroom for a similar tool. I have photoshop on my desktop. I will have to see if is CS3 which, I think it is. This may sound silly but this focused example really helps me. I appreciate the time you put into this.

I like the sticky idea.