Are you guys getting ready for the 4th of July? Or should I say getting the camera ready? I don’t know about you but I’m the type of person that can’t let a holiday pass without snapping some pictures (even if they are only taken with my phone camera)! And since holidays make such perfect photo opportunities; you’ll definitely find me behind the lens! There are so many amazing moments to capture. Whether they be of family and friends you haven’t seen in awhile, your Aunts homemade ice cream, patriotic tablescapes you’ve strategically designed, water activities like sprinklers/pools/slip-n-slides, little ones running around in diapers and bare feet, a volleyball or badminton tournament, a hula hoop competition, etc.; you’re sure to catch some great expressions like smiles, laughs, giggles, maybe even happy tears? Have I painted a pretty enough picture? No? Let me fast forward to the evening then. How about glow sticks, sparklers, cracker snaps, and FIREWORKS? Sharing some champagne with your significant other under a glowing sky? Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about! I’m getting myself all fired up for the holiday (pun intended)!
June 27, 2013
May 14, 2013
Organizing your Workspace in Photoshop with these 6 Toolbars
Are you new to Photoshop or does Photoshop frighten you? C'mon, you can tell me. It frightened me terribly when I first opened it so trust me when I say I understand completely! Can I tell you a little secret though? It’s not as scary as it looks. That’s right. In fact, with a little workspace organization, you will be up and running in no time! Promise!
April 17, 2013
Free 8 x 10 customizable photo template to print!
I had this idea for a word search photo frame. Initially my design contained the child’s name which I thought was kind of cool. Then I thought it would be a little more difficult to customize with a child’s name especially for those that are unfamiliar with their text and format tools/layers/etc. in Photoshop and Elements. With that said, I decided on this ‘Be ONE in a Million’ theme!
With all my templates, this is a .psd file that can be opened in Photoshop or PSE. It is an 8 x 10 customizable photo template and is very easy to use. Once open, find the ‘Place Photo Here’ layer (highlighted in RED) and make sure it is selected with your mouse. Now go to File / Place. This will allow you to choose an image from your computer files. Once you have placed your photo in the square, you may adjust its size to fit the frame.
April 4, 2013
FREE Customizable Instagram Printable (for 35 images)!
A little treat for all my bloggy friends! Your very own customizable Instagram printable. It is an 8 x 10 .psd file for Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Like all of my templates, it is very simple to use. Just navigate to the layers that read ‘PLACE PHOTO HERE’ (highlighted in red) and go to FILE / PLACE to insert an image from your computer files. Once inserted, all you have to do is resize your image to fit the frame. When you are ready to print, remember to use photo paper for best results! The paper I used for the print out in the images below was 8.5 x 11 HP Premium Plus Soft Gloss Photo Paper.
April 2, 2013
5 Free customizable photo bookmark for print!
Have you, by chance, seen my post on 4 customizable photo bookmarks? If you liked it, than you are in for a treat. I created another FREE set of 5 customizable photo bookmarks to print in five assorted colors. The template is an 8.5 x 11 inch .psd file that can be opened in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. The template is super easy. Once opened, all you have to do is click on the layer that reads ‘PLACE PHOTO HERE’ (highlighted in red) and go to FILE / PLACE to insert an image from your computer files. Lastly, you would resize your image to fit the frame I created. That’s it, you’re done!
March 21, 2013
HTML to insert images into your posts!
You know when my bloggy life changed? The day I realized I should be using html to insert my images into posts.
I was having some major issues with the insertion of images into my posts. Whether I used my hosting server (Blogger) or blogging tool (Windows Live Writer), the image quality always suffered. It used to drive me absolutely bonkers! There is nothing worse than spending the time to process a beautiful image just to have it be compressed during insertion. The scary thing? I was even resizing my images and saving them as maximum quality .jpgs thinking it would make a difference! You would think resizing them would negate the servers necessity to decrease the image file. Unfortunately this is not the case and they were still being compressed. Do you know what happens to an image during compression? Pixellization (I promise, it’s a word). In a larger image, the pixels are difficult to see since there are more of them and they are smaller. With compression, you start to lose pixels and they become larger (and more visible). This usually results in a block type appearance which can be confused as an out of focus image. And let’s face it, there is nothing worse than a blurry/fuzzy image especially when your subject is a person. Is it too much to ask that my blog readers see the beautiful, crisp, un-pixelated (okay, I’m not sure if this one’s a word) images I see in my photo editing software? I don’t think so.
March 20, 2013
4 free grunge frames for PS and PSE!
March 17, 2013
Make eyes pop in Photoshop! (video tutorial)
Are you looking for a quick and easy way to make eyes in your images pop? If so, I have a great video tutorial for you today!
Duration: 11 minutes
Software: Photoshop CS6
Level: Beginner-Intermediate
Touches on the following topics:
- duplicating layers
- dodge/burn tool
- layer opacity changes
- using filters (unsharp mask)
- creating layer masks
- inverting masks (to reveal effects)
- brush tool (using white to reveal)
March 12, 2013
Tone your images in Photoshop! (a video tutorial)
I don’t know how you prefer your images, but I usually like mine to have a lot of contrast. I’m not talking about so much that the whites and blacks in the image have lost their detail, but I do like to make the shadows and highlights really pop!
Then there are times that I just want to tone everything down. Do you ever feel that way? It was taking me awhile to figure out why I wasn’t completely happy with the processing of an image but then it was like a light bulb went on over my head and I was certain of the look I was going for! I know toning can mean a different things when it comes to photography so the type of toning I am speaking of is when the overall colors/shadows/highlights of the image blend together to create a smoother appearance. I guess the opposite of the toning I am speaking of would be less contrast.
March 10, 2013
Want to make your own storyboard?
No problem. Since I’m always creating storyboards/collages for my readers, I thought it would be fun to share my knowledge so that you can create your very own! It’s actually pretty simple. My recommendations for viewing this video tutorial at its maximum quality are:
1. Make sure the volume is up on the video.
2. Make sure the volume is up on your computer.
3. Change the viewing quality to 720p HD (the first button/icon on the bottom right side of the video).
4. Use the large player on YouTube (the fourth button/icon on the bottom right side of the video). Viewing at full screen tends to look a little blurry/fuzzy.
March 7, 2013
Image Editing Tutorial 2 (Photoshop CS6)
See. I told you I’d be posting another video tutorial. I’m proud to say this one is only 20 minutes long! I improved by a whole 10 minutes! Go me! In case you missed my last video tutorial, you can find it HERE. Before I leave you, I have a few recommendations for viewing this video at it’s maximum quality.
1. Make sure the volume on the video is up (second icon/button from the right at the bottom of the video).
2. Make sure the volume on your computer is up.
3. Be sure to view in 720p HD (second icon/button on the left at the bottom of the video).
4. Viewing it with the large player, instead of full screen, comes in more crisp & clear (fifth icon/button on the left at the bottom of the video).
March 4, 2013
An image editing tutorial (in Photoshop CS6)
I’ve received some inquiries about how I am editing my photos and I’d love nothing more than to share my process with those that are interested. Of course, this was my first time recording a video on my computer so it was quite the experience. And can I be totally honest? I sort of hate the sound of my own voice on video. I feel like it doesn’t even sound like me. Also, I apologize in advance for the background noise. I recorded in complete silence but for some reason my video contains a little white noise. I’m not really sure what it is. All I can think of is that it may have been caused by the microphone. It is also a whoppin’ 30 minutes long. I know what you are thinking. Boy what a snooze fest. I didn’t mean to go on and on and on but let me just tell you how easy it was. Seriously, I had more to say. Thank heavens I chose to leave some things out. I also tend to be a little repetitive, but I wasn’t sure how familiar with Photoshop my audience would be so I wanted to be sure to be thorough. Anyhow, here are few pointers to view the video at its best quality.
February 21, 2013
Free set of frames!
October 3, 2012
Selectively sharpening in Photoshop!
Yes, this is certainly true! Do you want to know how? I’d be happy to share it with you!
With your image open in Photoshop, right click on your background image to create a duplicate layer. This will prompt a menu to open. From here, choose Duplicate Layer. Let’s name it Sharpen.
October 2, 2012
A perfect example of putting the healing brush to good use
Toddlers and boo boos. It’s like you can’t have one without the other. Unfortunately.
This is Alivia on her birthday. This photo was taken back in August. At that time, my only photo editing software was Photoshop Elements and the spot healing brush just wouldn’t cut it for removing these scratches on her face. In Photoshop CS6, however, this picture was no match! Hooray for the Healing Brush! Are you guys familiar with this awesome tool? It allows you to choose a clean spot on the face and sample it somewhere else. A little like cloning. Sort of.
Dodge & Burn
Can you see the differences between the following images? They are pretty subtle so look hard. Give up?
Okay, I’ll tell you.
The dodge and burn tool in Photoshop can be used for so many different things such as brightening/defining eyes, which I published a tutorial on HERE, and other stuff like lightening your highlights and darkening your shadows to add more definition to the face.
September 16, 2012
Recovering exposure in CS6 & LR4!
I took some pictures of Alivia on Friday night and as I was checking the play back feature on my camera I noticed they were a little under exposed. I had forgotten that I set my ISO to a maximum of 800 which means that even if the ISO needed to be increased to create proper exposure, it wouldn’t. Although I had adjusted the ISO for the remainder of my images that night, I was disappointed thinking the images I had taken of her already would require more editing time that I actually had.
