Tag: digital photography

iPhone Photos, Photoshop Express, and more fun stuff …

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  Got an iPhone, iPad or a Smartphone? Been playing with the Camera and Photo Apps? Been intrigued by the power of your phone camera? Wanna share your favorite pics, apps and social sites? Wanna participate in smartphone photo contests with prizes?  You’ve found the place…  This is “just for fun”, but we can also learn something about photography & Photoshop … Smartphone and tablet cameras (and particularly the iPhone) have done quite a few things for photography – Just think: Your camera is always with you, and the simplicity of the cameras and apps allow us to get back

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Here’s my Photoshop and Color Management Seminar Schedule at the 2010 San Diego County Fair

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It’s time for the San Diego County Fair Exhibition of Photography, and this year I am again honored to be a judge. This year, I am going to be giving a number of Photoshop and Color Management seminars – – If you are in Southern California during the fair, come on by – – I’d love to see you there! Click Here to download a PDF of my schedule … By the way, there are quite a few excellent seminars by other presenters, such as Jim Cline, Dave Gatley, Will Gibson, Karl Grobl, David King, Larry Vogel, Fred Greaves and

Read More Here’s my Photoshop and Color Management Seminar Schedule at the 2010 San Diego County Fair

How to Create and Use Custom Printer Profiles in Photoshop Elements …

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As many of you know, I have, for years, been able to show you how to create and use custom printer profiles in Adobe Photoshop. With the increasing popularity of Photoshop Elements, I can now show you how to create and use Custom Printer Profiles in this great program by using my Custom Printer Profiling Service… Simply Click Here, scroll down to near the bottom of the webpage, and download the appropriate PDF to learn how… Whether you use my profiling service, or someone else’s service (keep in mind my service is the best, of course!), you’ll find this information

Read More How to Create and Use Custom Printer Profiles in Photoshop Elements …

My Photoshop and Color Management Seminar Schedule at the San Diego County Fair

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It’s time for the San Diego County Fair Exhibition of Photography, and this year I am again honored to be a judge. This year, I am going to be giving a number of Photoshop and Color Management seminars – – If you are in Southern California during the fair, come on by – – I’d love to see you there! Click Here to download a PDF of my schedule … By the way, there are quite a few excellent seminars by other presenters, such as Jim Cline, Dave Gatley, Will Gibson, Karl Grobl, David King, and others – – Check

Read More My Photoshop and Color Management Seminar Schedule at the San Diego County Fair

Here’s A Video on Photoshop Levels…

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Here’s a taste of things to come – A sample video on Photoshop Levels from my upcoming Video Series, “Photofinishing with Photoshop” … [flashvideo file=wp-content/gallery/Levels_1.flv /] Enjoy! Don’t forget to leave a comment and let me know what you think… Cheers, John 🙂

More Free Photoshop Webinars Added – – “Working with RAW” & “What’s New in Photoshop CS4”

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FYI – Just added: “Working with Photoshop’s ‘Adobe Camera RAW’ Plug-In” “What’s New in Photoshop CS4?” For More Information and to Sign Up, Click Here… I’d also strongly recommend that you sign up right away – – Each Webinar is limited to 10 participants and fill up quickly. Cheers, John 🙂

My Photoshop Book “Economic Stimulus Package” Ends Later Today!!!

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See this post (also shown below) for more info: In the words of the TV Telemarketers, “So you don’t forget, order before midnight tonight!!!” ( I love that line…) Cheers, John 🙂

I’m baaack – – Just in time for Photoshop CS4 …

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OK, OK, I haven’t posted since June – – It’s time to get back to work.  However, there is a very good reason that I’ve not posted: Say hello to my first grandchild, Aidan Fox McDermott.  He’s as handsome as his Grandpa, of course 🙂 My daughter and her husband are currently living with us.  I work out of my house, and every time I’m ready to post, Aidan smiles at me and begs to be held – – What would you choose, posting on a blog or holding your grandchild?? 🙂 Oh, and I was also quite busy with

Read More I’m baaack – – Just in time for Photoshop CS4 …

The First Book Review for my Photoshop E-book…

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Here’s a link to the first Book Review for my Photoshop E-Book, “Photofinishing with Photoshop” – – enjoy! Click Here for the Book Review… By the way, be sure to support the fine folks at Apogee – – Click here or on their logo above to visit their site. Cheers, John 🙂

The Power of Adjustment Layers in Photoshop, Part II

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    04/02/20 Updated here:  https://blog.main.wattsdigital.com/?p=2283   ___________________   Here is a continuation of Part I concerning Adjustment Layers in Photoshop – – If you did not read the first post, I’d encourage you to do so. Two Ways to Create a New Layer: You can create a new Adjustment Layer by clicking on the “Create a New Adjustment Layer” button. An Adjustment Layer comes “pre–loaded” with a tool or function, as well as a Layer Mask (see this post and this post for more on Layer Masks). You will create your new layers with this button most of the

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My Photoshop E-Book and Video Series are Behind Schedule…

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UPDATE 04-27-08: Yup, I’m still behind schedule – – Bear with me, I should have the E-Book ready in a few days…Thanks for your patience, and for all of the interest!! _________________________________________   My apologies to those waiting for the release of my upcoming E-Book and Video Series entitled, “Photofinishing with Photoshop” (More info and a sample chapter & video here). As many of you know, I teach Photoshop “one-on-one” to clients all over the United States, but this is my first venture into education-based literature and videos available for all. I have been consulting with a few people more

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Testing, 1, 2, 3 ……. AARRGGHH!!!

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A thousand pardons if you’ve had challenges accessing my site in the last week, such as getting a text-only version, or you couldn’t get the RSS feed to work – – I was hit by some very malicious code last week – – I’m STILL having challenges with the RSS feed …. Hackers should be drawn and quartered, forced to listen to Lawrence Welk Polka music 24 hours a day, and then – – ? I hope to be back up 100% very soon – Thanks for your patience and patronage! Cheers, John 🙂

Here Comes the Judge – Photo Judge, That Is…

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This summer, I am again honored and privileged to be a Judge and Speaker at one of the most prestigious photographic contests on the West Coast – the San Diego County Fair International Exhibition of Photography. I will probably be judging one of the “Nature” categories or the “Scenic-Landscape” category. I will also be giving two free seminars every Saturday that the Fair is open – One on Photoshop in general, and one on Color Management. I’ll let you know when I have a definite schedule on those – I’d love to see you there. If you like the challenge

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K.I.S.S your Images While Using Photoshop

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What is one of the best things about Photoshop? The amount of functions available to you, the user. What is one of the worst things about Photoshop? The amount of functions available to you, the user! If you are new or fairly new to Photoshop, one of the challenges of using the program is its overall complexity. Most of the time, you will only need to use 10% to 15% of Photoshop’s functionality to achieve the results you want. I’d suggest employing the K.I.S.S. method. K.I.S.S stands for “Keep It Super Simple”. Start with the basics of Photoshop, and grow

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A Better Way to Sharpen in Photoshop – Part I

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    October 29, 2019 – Updated  – although the info is still accurate, it’s been further updated here: https://blog.main.wattsdigital.com/a-better-way-to-sharpen-in-photoshop-2/   _____________     Having challenges getting your image sharpened properly in Photoshop? Try using this technique rather than the generic Sharpening tools, which are not as effective and prone to over-sharpening. In my opinion, Over-sharpening is one of the two most abused tools in Photoshop (see this post). Give yourself an edge and try this method – it is much harder to accidentally over-sharpen your image. This is a non-destructive technique. Without getting into total “techno-geek propeller-head” mode, it sharpens just

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You Can Chat LIVE with Me about Photoshop and Digital Imaging…

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UPDATE 05-11-08: Sorry, this widget really slowed down my blog – – I’ll look for an alternative – – If you know of something to replace this, please let me know… I’ve got a new “toy” on my blog – – Live Chat via AIM’s WIMZI Widget (See the sidebar). It is not unusual for me to spend 4 to 6 hours a day in front of my computer, so I thought I’d experiment to see if this gadget is useful for all of us. You don’t need an AIM account to use it – If it says that I’m

Read More You Can Chat LIVE with Me about Photoshop and Digital Imaging…

Photoshop Layer Masks – Thinking “Inside” the (Layer Mask Thumbnail) Box – Part II

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04/02/20 Updated here:  https://blog.main.wattsdigital.com/?p=2283 _________________ In the last post, I talked about the purpose of a layer mask: To hide or reveal portions of a layer. If you did not read the last post, I would strongly urge you to do so, and to study the accompanying image. Now I’ll talk about how to create and use a layer mask. So, where do you find or how do you create layer masks? Three places: When you create an adjustment layer, Photoshop automatically adds a “Layer Mask Thumbnail” to your layer (the white box on the right). For a new layer

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Pssst – – Wanna Buy a Legal and Full Copy of Photoshop CS3 – Cheap?

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Now that I’ve got your attention… 🙂 If you’re reading this, you may fall into one of two categories: 1) You are using someone else’s illegal “copy” of PS, and cannot legally upgrade, or 2) You are brand new to the program, ready to “take the plunge”, and start learning how it works. Either way, the $650+ price tag is holding you back. You can get a full and legal copy of CS3 for 1/2 to 2/3 of the cost, and here’s how: Buy an unregistered full copy of Photoshop 7 or later, register it, then buy the CS3 upgrade…

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The Deadly “I’ll-Just-Fix-It-In-Photoshop” Syndrome…

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Howdy to all… Here’s a great read from Kevin Michael Reed’s ExposingFashion Blog entitled “Stop this ‘Fix It In Photoshop’ nonsense!” I get a sense of righteous anger from Kevin that is well-placed….I blogged briefly about this last year on this post, but Kevin, as a working photographer who has to deal in the sometimes surrealistic and admittedly vain world of fashion photography, puts it even more succinctly. It is definitely a more in-depth analysis on why this trend of “I’ll-Just-Fix-It-In-Photoshop” has to stop!!! (Oh, and Kevin must be a great guy – after all, he quoted me in his

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Test Targets for Digital Printing Evaluation

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Howdy to all! Here are links to pages where you can download test targets – I’m very partial to the Photodisc Target myself… These are great for evaluating your printer’s output and how it compares to your monitor, among other things – Enjoy! Inkjetart.com Dry Creek Photo Colormanagement.com So, do you know of others you like? Let me know! Cheers, John 🙂