Tuesday, June 24, 2008

HDR Tidbits (links, news, inspiration)

Happy Friday again. Everyone seems to be enjoying the HDR video so I thought I’d include a whole post about HDR stuff. First off, let’s start with some software:


Software

There’s a few programs you can use for HDR.

1) Photoshop - I’m not a huge fan of Photoshop’s Merge to HDR

2) Photomatix - definitely my favorite. Oh yeah, NAPP members get a 20% discount. Here’s the link to the NAPP member website to get the code.

3) FDR Tools - Cool enough. I’ve tried it but I like Photomatix more. It just seems more intuitive to me personally.

4) Dynamic Photo HDR - This program looks like the best of all of them to me. The interface looks awesome. However, it’s PC only so I haven’t been able to try it out yet.


Learning

• I did a 2 part NAPP tutorial on the NAPP members website. One on Merge to HDR in Photoshop and another one on using Photomatix.

• I think HDR really shines for real estate and landscapes. Here’s a neat article on using HDR for real estate photography.

Stuck in Customs has a cool tutorial

• Ben Willmore is teaching a class on it at the upcoming Photoshop World in Las Vegas

• Another HDR tutorial I found on Flickr


Inspiration

Finally, here’s some inspirational links to some great HDR photography.

• The mother lode of all HDR inspiration over at Flickr’s HDR group.

Photomatix’s website has some really great examples of HDR. Check out Maciek Duczynski’s portfolio there for some amazing stuff.


As always, if you’ve got some related news, links, websites or tutorials let us know in the comments area. Have a great weekend!








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Friday Vid. - Moving Between Laptop and Desktop

Happy Friday. This week I’ve got a video for you that answers the never ending question of how to move between a laptop and desktop with Lightroom. I’ve been asked this just about every time I teach Lightroom and it occurred to me that I haven’t really done a video to cover it. Fortunately it’s a lot simpler then it may seem and Adobe has given us an easy way to save out specific images or folders to move from one catalog to another (which by the way is really what is happening when you move from one computer to another). If you’ve had any experiences that are similar to what I show then let us know in the comments and if you’ve found any hiccups along the way, by all means let us know as well. So, watch the video. Enjoy it. Feel the thrill of moving freely between computers with no chains to hold you back :) Oh yeah, and enjoy your weekend.


Click here to watch the video. (22MB)








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Presets - Summer Haze

Summer is in full swing, SPF 45 and lemonade are flowing, and that inspired my latest preset. Actually, summer has been in full swing here in Tampa, FL for about 6 weeks but hey, I love the heat so it’s all good for me. This week’s preset is named Summer Haze. I was working on some photos and I was trying to get across that summery, warm, hazy feeling and this is what came out of it. The preset adjusts the white balance, Vibrance, Saturation, and Split Toning sliders. I even tossed in a bit of a Tone Curve adjustment on it in the Shadows since the other settings seemed to muddy the photo up a bit, and I thought it needed some more blacks to bring back the contrast. It works great on fun-styled photos outdoors and even makes a pretty nifty wedding effect.


I hope you enjoy. Speaking of summer, I’m bailing out of work a couple hours early today to head to Busch Gardens. They have this “Summer Nights” things going on and it’s a lot more bearable later in the day. Hmmmmm… Summer Nights. Sounds like a good name for a preset :) Enjoy!


Click here to see a sample of the preset.

Click here to download Matt’s Summer Haze Preset

Click here to see a video on how to install presets.








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Saturday, June 21, 2008

Layers what the heck is it really ??????

I know I know and most of you do to
But all of us start some where and some of my recent students needed and basic on Layers
since I try and use this site to help my current students as well as many others

Here is a link to "About Layers" on the Adobe Website

I hope this helps some one, iow please add a comment when you find something useful
It often seems I am talking to myself here :)

Cheers !

Steve

Sunday, June 8, 2008

A very very simple but Time saving PhotoShop Tip

Cntrl-F

this simple keyboard command repeats the running of the last filter you used in PhotoShop
any filter !

cheers !
steve

Sunday, June 1, 2008

I am teaching again this summer at BPCC

PhotoShop for photographers

it's a Three day course, 4 hours each day
June 17,18 and 19

www.bpcc.edu
Telephone 318-678-6016

You should know the tools palette and other basics
I will teach things that help the working photographer in PhotoShop
like opening closed eyes, head swaps, changing the color of a garment
Darkening blue sys while leaving the rest of the image nice and bright
HDR (High Def Resolution)
raw file processing
File safety and work flow so you can have a life again
and a bunch of Oh Wow one minute tips and tricks, many of which will be worth the time and money for this course.

steve