Tag: Image Processing How To
Article: Classic Black & White
In an over saturated world, the elegant, timeless appeal of black-and-white is in its simplicity. To get frame-worthy results, with a beautiful range of tones, you don’t have to be a student of the Zone System—but you do need to start with a proper...
Article: From Flat To Fab
This is a bad news/good news story—one with a happy ending. This past November, I had the opportunity to travel to the bottom of the world to photograph emperor penguins. It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime. I planned this trip to Antarctica f...
Article: Pro Tips: Demystifying Image Resizing
Depending on how we want to use an image, we often need to create new copies at different resolutions. You might be making your image smaller for use on the web or increasing the resolution to make a larger print.
Article: Quality Of Light
You may not believe it at first, but all the photographs in this issue of PCPhoto have something in common. That something in common is, of course, light.
Article: Add A Creative Touch To Your Pictures
We all strive for pictures that look unique, artistic and creative. That goes for when they're framed and hung on a wall, when they're posted on the web, and maybe even when they're published in a book or magazine article. One creative idea is to...
Article: Photoshop Actions And Batch Processing
I frequently hear photographers talk about maximizing their time behind a camera and minimizing their time at the computer. It's not the creative postproduction that these photographers want to avoid—it's the digital drudgery that can consume so much o...
Article: Keep The Noise Down In Your Digital Images
Noise, the digital equivalent of film grain, can be a challenge to overcome. It appears as an irregular, sand-like texture that, if small, is essentially invisible; if large, it can be unsightly and a distraction from your image. Noise can have...
Article: Adventures In Aperture
I made this image during my trip to Carnevale in Venice, Italy, this year. Sure, the model is terrific, and the location, an 800-year-old palace, is fantastic. From a technical standpoint, the image is super-sharp, the lighting is flattering and...
Article: A Cloning Primer
No matter how hard you try to keep everything looking good in the picture area, sooner or later something creeps in that doesn't belong. Visual trash creates a distraction from your subject and your composition. It keeps you from enjoying your...
Article: Selective Sharpening
Digital photos typically need some sharpening in Photoshop to bring out the original sharpness of the scene as imaged by the lens. But not all photographs have everything in sharp focus, so they don't need overall sharpening.
Article: Favorite Plug-Ins
Photoshop and...
Article: Color Saturation: Getting It Right
While black-and-white photography has enjoyed a rebirth of interest, color is still how the world appears and is mostly photographed. Yet colors you see and experience often don't quite translate to the picture you compose. We also sometimes want to...
Article: Tame The Contrast Monster
Although digital camera sensor technology has made big strides in recent years, there still are limits to the range of tones sensors can capture. So we often end up with highlights that are too bright or dark, muddy shadows.
Article: Fast Efex
The trouble with creativity in Photoshop—going beyond the basics to more imaginative, artistic changes—is knowing where to start. The possibilities are almost endless and therein lies the rub. That's where Photoshop plug-ins like Nik Color Efex Pro 3...
Article: Photoshop Faster
I think most photographers have a somewhat love-hate relationship with Photoshop. It's a great program, to be sure, and it offers the most comprehensive and expandable set of tools for photographers. But on the other hand, it takes time to learn...
Article: Seven Steps For A Better Image
Constructed in a remote area of Peru in the 15th century, the lost city of Machu Picchu, the grandest of all Inca sites, is truly one of the photographic wonders of the world. Adobe Photoshop and its little sister, Adobe Photoshop Elements, can be...
Article: Lightroom Hearts Photoshop
Check out the opening...
Article: Simulating In-Camera Effects
Article: Saving A Backlit Shot
One of the most challenging situations for a...
Article: Creative Photo Projects
Taking, organizing and perfecting your images is a good start, but the best part of photography is getting the "Wow!" from friends and family when you share your shots. Online services and software are making it easier than ever for even casual...
Article: Knockout Color!
Good color in pictures is subjective. Some people like pictures that pop with saturated hues, while others prefer pictures more subdued. What's more, we see colors differently at different times of day—even our mood affects how we see colors. In t...
Article: Essential Processing Techniques
No matter what camera model you shoot with or file type you capture with, every image needs a little work before it's ready to show. Three key adjustments—exposure, color and sharpening—should be the foundation of your digital darkroom work. The...
Article: Letting Your Image Take Off
The opening image for this column was inspired by something that I try to do all the time in real life, with my photography and in the digital darkroom: have fun! The image looks as though my son and I are soaring at top speed high above beautiful...
Article: Hot Ice And Snow
This column is about how to use the digital darkroom to transform a straight-out-of-the-camera shot into the image you envisioned when you pressed the shutter-release button. First, I'll share some techniques for working in a high-contrast...
Article: New Breed Photo Software
Apple and Adobe have developed new approaches to image processing that strip away deep menus and focus on the typical digital workflow, from importing to output, and placing the tools needed for common digital darkroom work in easy reach.
Article: Must-Know Image Enhancements
Photoshop and most other digital-imaging programs offer you many options for image enhancements. With a few clicks of your mouse, you can change, improve and rescue (to a degree) your images. These programs also can help you create works of art....
Article: Double-Process RAW
One of the big challenges of photography has always been how to best capture the tonalities and brightness of the real world. Every film, every sensor (and its processor) will interpret it slightly differently.
Article: Photoshop CS3
That's right, Photoshop fans—and Elements users who are considering moving up to Photoshop—the latest version of the world's most powerful image-editing program has just gotten better, big time! Read on, and you'll see why it's indeed faster (great...
Article: Using Photoshop Adjustment Layers
Of all the tips and techniques that I cover when presenting or teaching, I'm most adamant about the value of Adjustment Layers. Next to the invention of the layer itself, Adjustment Layers arguably represent Photoshop's best feature for...
Article: Perfect Combination
Adobe Photoshop CS3 offers many new features, including those found in the new Adobe Camera Raw, that help us enhance and save (to a point) our exposures. From an exposure standpoint, two of the most amazing features in the latest version of...
