I use photoshop actions quite a bit. I find them immensely useful and they save so much of my time that I thought I’d pass a few on, free of charge, to you. All I ask is that you leave me a comment saying you’re downloading them (I like comments) and then if you get a chance link to a picture or two of yours that uses one or both of the actions. I’d love to see what you can do with them.
The Raw sharpener takes a raw image, converts it to LAB color, performs an Unsharp Mask on it (you can choose settings or leave as default) and then converts the image back to RGB color.
The Orton effect creates a soft, dreamlike image from the image you supply. It works on the Background layer, so make sure you have one.
(Make the jump for free action downloads and Orton photos)
Unfortunately on my last flight, which just happened to be my first flight in a decade, I wasn’t sitting anywhere near the window. The best aerial photography I could have done were macros of the tray in its various positions. Had I had a better view of the ground, I might have taken some spectacular shots, but I’m sure they would have come out all washed out. I think I would have been able to fix them up in Photoshop myself, but here’s a great tutorial on doing that.
It might also apply to shots taken from moving vehicles, although I might write one of those myself one of these days.
Great news. I’ll be writing regular Photoshop tutorials for MakeUseOf.com. I’ll also write about other things, but for the most part it’s Photoshop stuff. I’ve already got how-to’s ready to go on layers, the grunge look and selecting with Quick Mask. I’m in the process of writing one now on making your subject’s eyes sing and I’ve got a whole slew of others planned.
Haven’t taken my camera out since Florida and I’m starting to feel really itchy to make some great pictures. I’m going to have to go on an expedition pretty soon. Problem is, it’s cold and I don’t have the proper clothing to be out for long periods of time at -20 (or -35 windchill.) I guess I’ll have to pick up some gloves, a hat and a neckwarmer or scarf. I’m not even sure what I want to shoot. Any suggestions?
So, you’ve got the family all set and ready to go. You’ve packed the dSLR and the point and shoot. You’ve got the towels, the bathing suits, the wads of cash you’ll need for all the Disney t-shirts, puzzles, mugs and Spiderman snow globes you know your 8-year-old will beg you for.
But, what about the pictures.
Sure there are the mandatory shots of your kids and Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Shrek. The ones of the little one throwing up after that Woody Woodpecker roller coaster she just had to go on. But, what about the cool ones. That one great shot you know is hiding somewhere behind the castle at Magic Kingdom, or on Animal Kingdom’s safari.
Dale Carnegie wrote this book in 1936. I’m reading it, or rather listening to the audiobook 73 years later. It still applies after all these years, although a lot of the language and anecdotes have been updated for the times.
I’ve immediately started applying the strategies in the book and the results are pretty interesting. For one, it makes for a more pleasant home life. Showing genuine interest in what everyone is saying, rather than tolerating them, certainly makes everyone happier. Read the rest of this entry »
I get bored easily with the look of my website(s), so expect frequent changes — several times a year. This theme is called Photog and I found it here:http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/photog.
I just got back from a short Christmas trip with the family to the in-laws and in the three days we were gone, I must have taken about 500 pictures.
Yikes! What to do with them all.
I started off by posting the most interesting ones to my Flickr account, but most of my shots will be of little interest to the general Flickr public.
I will go through those (mostly of the family/kids) and crop them, fix any red eye and clean them up
before posting them not on Flickr but somewhere else, most likely Picasa. That way I spare my Flickr contacts shots they would consider boring, while giving family members a place to look at and download any of the pictures they would consider interesting.
I had it all planned out. The camera bag was next to the door. The tickets to the show were in my coat pocket. As I sat on the stairs tying my shoes, I planned strategy for shooting in an indoor arena.
“When it gets dark,” I thought to myself, “just remember to boost the ISO setting. Keep an eye on the histogram. Use the long lens, but remember to keep it steady.”
I got out to the car, checked one more time to see that I had the tickets and drove off. This was going to be a great photographic experience, even if it was just High School Musical: The Ice Tour. Who cares what it’s about, right, with a camera in hand any show is a great show.
I use photoshop actions quite a bit. I find them immensely useful and they save so much of my time that I thought I’d pass a few on, free of charge, to you. All I ask is that you leave me a comment saying you’re downloading them (I like comments) and then if you get a chance link to a picture or two of yours that uses one or both of the actions. I’d love to see what you can do with them.
