Photoshop User Magazine (Jan-Feb 2009) (Malestrom)

Photoshop
T H E A D O B E ® P H O T O S H O P® “ H O W- T O ” M A G A Z I N E
user
Photoshop in
cyberspace
Po’ Man’s HDR

A low-budget, 8-bit approach for
expanding dynamic range
Blend It Like Beckham

Understanding blend modes
and how they work
PLUS:
u Attached At the Hip: Learn the benefits
of tethered shooting with Lightroom
u The Graduated Filter:
One of the stars of Lightroom 2
Features
34 | Photoshop and the Web
Have you ever wondered how—or even if—Photoshop could help you with your Web
design endeavors? Rafael “RC” Concepcion gives us the scoop on what our options are when
using Photoshop for the Web.
Departments Reviews
8 | About Photoshop User Magazine 98 | Canon EOS 50D
10 | From the Editor 99 | Blow Up 2
14 | Contributing Writers 100 | Ricoh Caplio GX200

101 | PhotoFrame 4 Professional Edition
16 | Photoshop News
102 | Canon EOS Rebel XS
18 | NAPP Member News
104 | Olympus E-520
74 | From the Help Desk 105 | Photoshop Book Reviews
106 | Photoshop Q&A
108 | Photoshop Design Showcase
January/February 2009 | www.photoshopuser.com Contents
Columns
24 | Down & Dirty Tricks 72 | The Copyright Zone
Here’s a very unique use of the Lighting Effects filter. Plus, we give you our Model-release myths, you’ve probably heard them all, but next time
interpretation of the Pirates of the Caribbean promotion with the pirates you’ll have a proper response.—Ed Greenberg and Jack Reznicki
emerging from the fog.—Scott Kelby, Felix Nelson, and Corey Barker
76 | Beyond Photoshop
42 | Photoshop Mastery Do you like high-dynamic-range imagery, but not the time it takes
Do you think it’s time to don the lens cap when the sun goes down? to put one together? Then you have to read this.—Scott Onstott
Here’s a great reason to think again.—Ben Willmore
110 | Photoshop Quick Tips

48 | From Bert’s Studio Read about the improved loupe in Bridge; use the Ruler tool to straighten
Make just about anything look as though it has stood the test of time an image; and use the Spacebar as a shortcut key.—Sherry London
by creating this rusty font effect.—Bert Monroy
130 | Photoshop Beginners’ Tips

50 | Graphic Secrets Colin takes the old wedding adage and puts it in Photoshop terms:
You see it all the time in modern collages: a face here, a splash of ink read all about something old, something new...—Colin Smith
there, some text. Re-create that effect, fast!—Lesa Snider King
52 | Photoshop Speed Clinic

Do you have a nondesigner friend who’s dying to help but just doesn’t
know how? Make him a droplet and put him to work!—Matt Kloskowski
56 | Creative Point of View

The ever-expanding power of Camera Raw and Lightroom continue to
improve and redefine our postproduction workflow.—Katrin Eismann
58 | Deke Space
After spending an extended amount of time under the hood of Photo-
shop CS4, Deke relays what really caught his attention.—Deke McClelland
60 | Beginners’ Workshop
Patterns aren’t one of the most glamorous features of Photoshop, but
they have important uses (part one in a series on patterns).—Dave Cross
64 | The WOW! Factor

Trying to come up with new ways of displaying your artwork? Here’s how
to do a toss-on-the-table collage.—Jack Davis and Linnea Dayton
66 | Digital Photographer’s Notebook

Printing like a professional usually takes time, effort, and experience.
Skip all that stuff and read this instead.—Kevin Ames
108
68 | Classic Photoshop Effects But Wait—There’s More: Wherever you see the symbol at the end
Take command of clipping masks and clipping groups to add style of an article, it means there’s additional material for NAPP members at
and versatility to your designs.—Corey Barker www.photoshopuser.com.
Photoshop Lightroom Section Contents
Feature 80 | Tethered Shooting à La Carte

Photographers who began the digital transition with the arrival of digital single lens
reflex (SLR) cameras missed the era of tethered-only shooting in the studio. Let’s look at
how to use the tethered-shooting capabilities of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for the
smooth processing of digital images.—Jim DiVitale
84 | Lightroom News
86 | Featured Photographer
Terri Gold shows us various cultures through their festivals, rituals,
and celebrations.
90 | Under the Loupe

Use the Lightroom Plug-in Manager to enable and disable installed
plug-ins, and check their status for updates.—Rob Sylvan
92 | Under the Hood

The Graduated Filter saves time when working on repetitive tasks, such
as enhancing the sky, but it offers other neat benefits.—Matt Kloskowski
94 | Working Creatively in Lightroom

This issue, Angela uses the Direct Positive preset as a starting point for
enhancing the charm and beauty of Venice.—Angela Drury
96 | Lightroom Tips & Tricks
97 | Lightroom Q&A 86
G?FKFJ?FGLJ<I
E8K@FE8C8JJF:@8K@FEF=G?FKFJ?FGGIF=<JJ@FE8CJ
Photoshop User magazine is the official

publication of the National Association
of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP). It is for
members, by members, and is not available
to the general public by subscription.
As a NAPP member, you automatically
receive Photoshop User delivered right to your
door eight times a year. Each issue features
in-depth Photoshop tutorials written by
the most talented designers, photogra-
phers, and leading authors in the industry.
Photoshop User magazine
Cover by Photoshop User Award winner Greg Carter.
Photoshop World Conference & Expo Discounts on hardware and software Discounts on seminars
n at i o n a l a s s o c i at i o n o f
p h ot o s h o p p r o f e s s i o n a l s
The National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) is a dynamic trade association and
the world’s leading resource for Adobe® Photoshop® training, news, and education. Founded in
1998, NAPP has become the largest graphics and digital imaging association in the world with
more than 70,000 members worldwide. NAPP is open to any individual using Photoshop in a casual
or professional environment.
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › j a n u a r y / f e b r u a r y 2 0 0 9
There’s no faster, easier, and more affordable way to get really good at Photoshop. Join today for
only $99 U.S., $129 Canada, and $99 International (digital delivery). NAPP also offers special educational
memberships. Go to www.photoshopuser.com to get more info.
NAPP Membership Benefits:
rAnnual subscription to Photoshop User magazine (eight issues annually)
rMembers-only website with time- and money-saving content
rR egistration discount to Photoshop World Conference & Expo—the biannual
NAPP convention and the largest Photoshop event in the world
rMonthly e-newsletter produced just for members
Find NAPP membership details at www.photoshopuser.com or call 800-738-8513
Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST.
008
A Few Words from Our E.I.C.
I`jè^kfk_\:_Xcc\e^\
Covering Photoshop from multiple perspectives
One of the challenges of publishing a Photoshop magazine—or doing live seminars or online
training for Photoshop—is making sure that you’re covering the topics your audience wants
you to cover. When you think about it, Photoshop is such a vast program, with so much depth,
that it’s used for…well…pretty much anything and everything, which makes it more challenging
to nail down what to cover next.
Although we often get story ideas emailed right to us, a lot of the requests are very specific to
that person’s own workflow or special to the way he or she uses Photoshop, so you need some-
thing broader to really tap into what our readers want next.
We do extensive reader surveys to find out which columns and features have resonated with
our readers (and which didn’t), and that’s incredibly helpful in managing which columns stay in the
magazine. But how do you know “what’s next”? How do you know what’s the next big thing that readers are clamoring for?
I think the best way is to get out there. There’s nothing like doing live training seminars to get immediate, in-person,
one-on-one, and one-to-many feedback about what people want to learn right now. It’s one of the main reasons
I still go out and do live Photoshop and Lightroom seminar tours—to get instantaneous feedback. I can see what people
are struggling with by the questions they ask (and how many times I get asked the same questions), and I can see by
reading the faces in the live crowds which concepts are easy to grasp, and which need a lot more focus and detail here in
the magazine.
So when you see a Lightroom feature like Jim DiVitale’s “Tethered Shooting à La Carte” (on page 80), or our cover
story from Rafael “RC” Concepcion on your options when incorporating Photoshop into your Web design workflow
(page 34), you know these are things people are buzzing about right now. Like HDR—it’s one of the hottest Photoshop
and photography topics right now, and we’ve covered it in the past in detail, but this issue we’re giving you a new
perspective in a “Poor Man’s HDR” by Scott Onsott (on page 76), for getting that high-dynamic-range look without
shooting bracketed.
Kevin Ames is hot on the topic of pro-quality printing where he chronicles his printing workflow on page 66, and
our own Matt Kloskowski is showing you how to use Photoshop droplets to maximize your time and speed up your
workflow, so you can send that saved time to your bottom line (page 52).
I have yet another secret weapon: our Managing Editor (and Photoshop expert in his own right), Issac Stolzenbach.
He has his finger on the pulse of more than 70,000 NAPP members around the world, along with a huge group of the
world’s leading instructors and educators, and some of the most gifted writers out there. He’s constantly picking their
brains, keeping an eye out for what’s hot, and then tracking down the absolute best of the best to bring these topics to
life here in the magazine (and on the NAPP member website).
We try to make every issue packed full of the best, most topical, and most useful information on Photoshop and Light-
room found anywhere on the planet. It’s a big job—but we just love it, and we’re thrilled to have you right here with us,
learning all this cool stuff.
All my best,
Scott Kelby
Editor and Publisher
010
#'$)%#'"&)!")#'$

24*3".

!)&&34
,,*..& 45%*/ ))
/,54*/.
"%&"&
&% JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009
7PMVNFr/VNCFSr1SJOUFEJO64"
/"*,*.
&15*2&%
The official publication of
5IF/BUJPOBM"TTPDJBUJPOPG1IPUPTIPQ1SPGFTTJPOBMT
EDITORIAL:
Scott Kelby, Editor-in-Chief
Issac Stolzenbach, Managing Editor
Mike Mackenzie, Lightroom Editor
".%*3+&-/29 Barbara Thompson, Senior Technical Editor
"2%*.4)&/8 Chris Main, Technical Editor
Kim Gabriel, Traffic Director
Felix Nelson, Creative Director
Dave Damstra, Production Manager
Taffy Orlowski, Associate Designer
49,532/

Christy Winter, Associate Designer

Dave Korman, Production Designer
PK C VM Y LC VLM O G LK LLK MK Contributing Writers

,FWJO"NFTr4UFWF#BD[FXTLJr$PSFZ#BSLFSr1FUFS#BVFS
“RC” Concepcion r%BWF$SPTTr+BDL%BWJTr-JOOFB%BZUPO
+JN%J7JUBMFr"OHFMB%SVSZr%BOJFM&BTUr,BUSJO&JTNBOO

-BVSJF&YDFMMr.BSL'MFNJOHr5FSSJ(PMEr&E(SFFOCFSH
%BWF)VTTr-FTB4OJEFS,JOHr.BUU,MPTLPXTLJr4IFSSZ-POEPO
%FLF.D$MFMMBOEr#FSU.POSPZr4DPUU0OTUPUUr$ISJT0SXJH
+BDL3F[OJDLJr$PMJO4NJUIr3PC4ZMWBOr#FO8JMMNPSF
Web Team
Michael Ritchie, Director of Information Systems
"OOJF$VTIJOHr+VTUJO'JOMFZr5PNNZ.BMPOFZ
'SFE.BZBr"BSPO8FTUHBUF
16#-*4)*/(
Scott Kelby, Publisher
%BWJE.PTFS Executive Publisher
Kalebra Kelby, Executive V.P.
+FBO",FOESB Business Manager
Larry Becker, Executive Director of the NAPP
!!
!!!! 1BVM1BSSZ Chief Financial Officer
!!!! ! !!!!
" '")") "()$")")$" "%7&35*4*/(
Kevin Agren, V.P., Sales 813-433-2370
.FMJOEB(PUFMMJ Advertising Director 916-929-8200
+FBOOF+JMMFCB Advertising Coordinator 800-738-8513 ext. 215
49,5342/

Margie Rosenstein r/JDPMF1SPDVOJFS Advertising Designers
7FSPOJDB(Ronni) O’Neil, Director of Circulation/Distribution
800-738-8513 ext. 235
)0850$0/5"$55)&/"11
64.BJM%PVHMBT3PBE&BTUr0METNBS '-
7PJDFrFax: 813-433-5014
$VTUPNFS4FSWJDFGFFECBDL!QIPUPTIPQVTFSDPN
-FUUFSTUPUIF&EJUPSMFUUFST!QIPUPTIPQVTFSDPN
Membership Info:JOGP!QIPUPTIPQVTFSDPN
.FNCFSTIJQ4VHHFTUJPOTMCFDLFS!QIPUPTIPQVTFSDPN
8PSME8JEF8FC*ODMVEJOHUIF1IPUPTIPQ)FMQ%FTL
1IPUP(FBS%FTL BOE"EWJDF%FTLXXXQIPUPTIPQVTFSDPN
$0-01)0/
Photoshop UserXBTQSPEVDFEVTJOH"EPCF1IPUPTIPQ$4

"EPCF*O%FTJHO$4 BOE"EPCF*MMVTUSBUPS$4"EPCF.ZSJBE1SP
XBTVTFEGPSIFBEMJOFTBOEUFYU

&$*&6&"
"*,*./34&%5$4*/.&#"4&/.4)&052$)"3&
/'".03/. 49,532/
/2
/.""*,*.&#"4&'/2". This seal indicates that all content provided herein is produced by Kelby Media,
03/. 49,532/
&)"#()"%)
Inc. and follows the most stringent standards for educational resources. Kelby
Media is the premier source for instructional books, DVDs, online classes, and live
seminars for creative professionals.

All contents ©COPYRIGHT 2009 National Association of Photoshop Professionals.
All rights reserved. Any use of the contents of this publication without the written permis-
sion of the publisher is strictly prohibited. Photoshop User is an independent journal, not

affiliated in any way with Adobe Systems, Inc. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, Illustrator,
InDesign, Lightroom, and Photoshop are registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe
Systems, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks mentioned

belong to their respective owners. Some of the views expressed by contributors may not
be the representative views of the publisher. ISSN 1535-4687

&70/242 5*4&/,,*.(&"%/73

Photoshop’s Most Wanted
KEVIN AMES LAURIE EXCELL CHRIS ORWIG

creates evocative photographs for clients has 28 years of photography and photo- a photographer, book and video author, is on
such as Westin Hotels, AT&T, and Coca- graphic equipment sales experience. Her the photography faculty at the Brooks Insti-
Cola. His fourth book, recently published by images have been showcased in galleries, tute in Santa Barbara. His publications include
Peachpit Press, is The Digital Photographer’s Audubon calendars, Camping Life Magazine, Adobe Photoshop CS4 How-Tos: 100 Essential
Notebook: A Pro’s Guide to Photo shop Amtrak publications, and BT Journal. Check Techniques and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2
CS3, Lightroom and Bridge. He teaches the digital out her website at www.excellnaturephotography.com. How-Tos: 100 Essential Techniques (Adobe Press). For more
arts worldwide. inspiration, visit www.chrisorwig.com.
STEVE BACZEWSKI MARK FLEMING COLIN SMITH

is a freelance writer, professional photogra- is an award-winning photographer who is an award-winning designer, lecturer, and
pher, graphic designer, and consultant. He also completed coursework in the photojour- writer, who has authored or co-authored 12
teaches classes in traditional and digital fine arts nalism program at R.I.T., then returned to books on Photoshop and has created a series
photography. His company, Sore Tooth Produc- his passion of editorial photography. His images of Photoshop training videos available from
tions, is based in Albany, California. Steve can have been featured in publications including PhotoshopCD.com. Colin is also the founder
be reached at foxhole510@sbcglobal.net. Down East, GO Magazine, and Layers. More at www.mark- of the online resource PhotoshopCAFE.com.
flemingphoto.com.
PETER BAUER DAVE HUSS ROB SYLVAN

is the Director of the NAPP Help Desk and with more than 25 years’ experience as a a trainer and photographer, is the author
a featured columnist at Planet Photoshop. photographer, has authored more than of Photoshop Lightroom 2 for Dummies, a
As an Adobe Certified Expert, Pete does 18 books on digital photography and photo Help Desk Specialist for the NAPP, host
computer graphics consulting for a select editing. His latest book is Adobe Photoshop of Peachpit’s Lightroom Reference Guide,
group of corporate clients. His latest book is Lightroom 2: A Digital Photographer’s Guide. and Site Director for iStockphoto. Check
Photoshop CS3 for Dummies. Dave is a popular conference speaker in the U.S. and Europe. out his Lightroom tips and tutorials at http://light-
roomers.com.
JOHN PAUL CAPONIGRO LESA SNIDER KING BEN WILLMORE

an inductee to the Photoshop Hall of Fame is the chief evangelist for iStockphoto.com is the author of Up to Speed: Photoshop CS4,
and author of Adobe Photoshop Master Class, and author of Photoshop: The Missing Manual which covers all the new features in CS4 and
is an internationally renowned fine artist (O’Reilly). She’s an author for KelbyTraining.com nothing else. Ben spends many of his days on
and authority on digital printing. Visit www and writes for Macworld, Layers, and Elements the open highway, a digital nomad in his 40'
.johnpaulcaponigro.com and receive a free Techniques magazines. Check out her free motorcoach. Learn about his latest adventure
subscription to his enews Insights. tutorials at GraphicReporter.com and catch her live Wed- at www.whereisben.com and view his photography at
nesday nights on YourMacLifeShow.com. www.thebestofben.com.
J IM D I VITALE SHERRY LONDON JACK DAVIS & LINNEA DAYTON

is an Atlanta-based photographer and is author of Photoshop CS2 Gone Wild and Jack Davis and Linnea Dayton are
instructor specializing in digital photography. has written a number of other books on authors of many books on Adobe
His clients include IBM, Carter’s, Mizuno USA, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Painter. Sherry Photoshop. Jack’s most recent book
Genuine Parts Company, Scientific Atlanta, also writes tips and product reviews for is How to Wow: Photoshop CS3 for
TEC America, and Coca-Cola. Check out his Photoshop User and Layers magazines, as Photography. Linnea is at work on
website at www.divitalephotography.com. well as tutorials for Planet Photoshop. The Photoshop CS3/CS4 Wow! Book
(with Cristen Gillespie, Peachpit
Press, 2009).
ANGELA DRURY DEKE M C CLELLAND
is a photographer who specializes in floral, is author of Adobe Photoshop CS4 One-on-One
travel, kids, and stock images. Her work has (http://deke.oreilly.com) and the video ED GREENBERG & JACK REZNICKI
received many awards and has been featured in series Photoshop CS4 New Features and
numerous shows. Angela is working on several Photoshop CS4 One-on-One (http://lynda Ed Greenberg and Jack Reznicki
stock projects in addition to teaching work- .com/deke). In his spare time, he creates the can be reached at Igotaquestion@
shops about Lightroom. To see her work, visit www free biweekly podcast, dekePod (http://deke.com/dekepod). thecopyrightzone.com. Because of
.angeladrury.com. the large volume of questions and
shortness of time, not everything can
be answered. Anyway, most of the
DANIEL EAST BERT MONROY answers are, “Contact a lawyer.”
is an author, freelance writer, presenter/trainer, is considered one of the pioneers of digital
and consultant with more than 20 years’ art. His work has been seen in countless
experience in professional photography, magazines and scores of books. He has
pro-audio, and marketing. Daniel is also served on the faculty of many well-known
founder and president of The Apple Groups institutions, written dozens of books, and
Team support network for user groups. appeared on hundreds of TV shows around the world.
KATRIN EISMANN SCOTT ONSTOT T

author of Photoshop Restoration & Retouching author of Enhancing CAD Drawings with
and Photoshop Masking & Compositing and Photoshop, has written and edited dozens
co-author of The Creative Digital Darkroom, of books and videos on AutoCAD, Revit,
is the Chair of the MPS in Digital Photography 3ds Max, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver.
department at the School of Visual Arts in NYC Subscribe to his Digital Architect video
(www.sva.edu/digitalphoto). podcast on iTunes and check out his website at www
.scottonstott.com.
014
Photoshop News By Mark Fleming
All the latest on Photoshop-related gear and software
Free Configurator for Photoshop CS4

A new customization tool has just been released for Photo-
shop users. Adobe Configurator for Photoshop CS4 is available
as a free download at http://labs.adobe.com. Configurator
Latest | Photoshop-related gear and software
enables users to create and share interface panels that add to

the Flash interactivity in Photoshop CS4.
Configurator users can create custom panels with drag-and-
drop commands, tools, actions, menu items—you name it. Panels
can incorporate widgets for images, video, and other SWF files.
These panels can be shared with other Photoshop users through
the Adobe Exchange (www.adobe.com/exchange).
For a video demonstration of Configurator, visit our favorite
mad scientist, Dr. Russell Brown, at www.russellbrown.com/
Transfer/Configurator.mov. You can also get more details from
John Nack, Principal Product Manager for Photoshop, by visit-
ing his blog at http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/2008/10/intro-
ducing_ado_1.html.
Adobe MAX 2008/2009

This past November, Adobe Systems Incorporated brought
more than 5,000 designers and developers together for the
2009 Adobe MAX Conference in San Francisco. If you missed
the California and Milan conferences, don’t fret because
there’s still a chance to catch the Tokyo show January 29–30.
Or, if you don’t happen to speak Japanese, you can start
planning now for the next U.S. MAX in Los Angeles.
If the classes, mingling with peers, and the opportunity
to see upcoming technologies from Adobe aren’t enough to
excite you, then think about being able to meet “The Adobe
COURT MAST PHOTOGRAPHY Ones” face to face. Visit http://max.adobe.com for more info.
Call for entries: ADAA 2009

Are you or a loved one currently a student in higher education? Well here’s a pres-
tigious break-into-the-industry opportunity: The 2009 Adobe Design Achievement
Awards! Simply visit http://ADAAentry.com to choose from one of the 12 categories
across three types of media, so you can get an idea of what you can turn in, and then
submit your work before June 5, 2009. If you win, you’ll get to accept your cash prize
during the Icograda World Design Congress in Beijing!
COURTEST ADOBE SYSTEMS INC.
Nikon announces new powerhouse digital SLR

Nikon has a new flagship digital SLR—the likes of which stands side by side with the
groundbreaking Nikon D3—prepared for the most discerning photographers. Nikon’s new
D3x is a resolution powerhouse, clocking in at 24.5 megapixels (6048x4032). It uses the same
FX-format sensor as the D3 and the D700, which means it will have the same mind-blowing
low noise at extremely high ISO settings. This camera can capture images at five frames per
second and produces RAW files up to 138 MBs, which will provide owners with a seemingly
016
endless amount of pixel pushing. At press time the suggested retail price is $7,999.95.
COURTESY NIKON INC.
Photoshop News
NEC & ICS RED unveils hybrid

collaborate to digital camcorder/
provide fully digital SLR
Latest | News
digital workflow With the recent announcement of the
Remote Director monitor RED EPIC and Scarlet Digital Stills and
proofing, from Integrated Motion Camera (DSMC), Jim Jannard,
Color Solutions (ICS), RED’s billionaire CEO and founder,
combines all of the tools confirmed RED’s entry into the digital
needed to create, view, SLR camera market.
annotate, and collaborate Shooting 24-megapixel images
with ICS-patented color at 120 frames per second, RED
technologies. Users can DSMCs will accept both Nikon and
move to a fully digital Canon lenses. At the heart of the
workflow while increasing color accuracy and consistency with Remote Director. 100% modular DSMC is one of eight
Together, Remote Director and NEC Display Solutions monitors produce the color brains, ranging from 3,000-pixel
and consistency that graphic artists and photographers demand. resolution up to the 3D-capturing
NEC Display Solutions and ICS have announced the Specifications Web Offset 28,000-pixel sensor. Once a brain is
Publications (SWOP) Proofing System Certification on select NEC Displays imple- selected, it’s a matter of configuring
menting Remote Director. For detailed specifications, visit www.necdisplay.com the camera to fit a client’s needs; they
and the product page for the MultiSync 90 Series. can then choose from an extensive
ICS has added spectral color processing to Remote Director, thereby improving assortment of parts, including lens
accuracy and speed to spot and special colors. Colors are managed throughout the mounts, batteries, sensors, handles,
workflow, ensuring that all involved comply with the same standards. The difficulty and RED lenses (as they’re built).
and cost of transporting hard copy proofs to clients are eliminated with this program. RED DSMC isn’t the only inte-
grated high-definition (HD) video-
and still-image camera out there—
OWC announces Modservice Canon’s EOS 5D Mark II and Nikon’s
Hardware distributor D90 both have the built-in ability to
Other World Computing shoot HD video, and other manu-
(OWC) has announced facturers are integrating video into
Modservice, a new ser- their digital SLRs as well—but it’s the
vice that converts an Intel most versatile.
Core 2 Duo MacBook to a The cost for a RED brain is
tablet-based Modbook. expected to range from $2,500 to
The ModBook, manu- $55,000. For more information,
factured by Axiotron, is a stay tuned to www.red.com.
COURTESY RED DIGITAL CINEMA CAMERA COMPANY
slate-style tablet PC (no

keyboard) with a 13.3"
LCD that responds to
input from a Wacom
stylus pen.
Modservice offers cus-
tomers the choice of a new tablet Modbook directly from OWC starting at $2,199,
or their own MacBook modified by OWC into a full-featured ModBook starting
at $1,299. For complete details, visit www.macsales.com/modbook.
Nonworking prototype of Scarlet
› › w w w. p h ot o s h o p u s e r . c o m
Big Fat Brain Gets Adobe Sponsorship

The crazy cats at Big Fat Brain, who were behind the Webby award winning “You Suck at Photoshop” series, have just received sponsorship
from Adobe Systems Incorporated to do a new show called “Agency of Record.” The show is about a couple of 30-something Assistant Creative
Directors (lovingly referred to as ACDs in the series) and their struggle to stay relevant in the ever-changing world of the creative industry.
This show, just like the last, uses several complementary viral elements to produce a huge tizzy on the Web. Last time it was a pre-
divorce auction for “The Ring of Infinite Sorrows”; this time, it’s a behind-the-scenes look at the characters on DaveAndRick.com, which
will also serve as a conduit for viewers to submit their designs for incorporation into the series. Visit mydamnchannel.com to see this
sidesplitting look at another version of our workplaces. ■ 017
NAPP Member News All the Latest on Membership and Benefits
We’re not sure when he sleeps either

As if he didn’t have enough to do, Scott Kelby has released two fantastic
updates to his best-selling books: The Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital
Photographers and The iPod Book, Fifth Edition.
Updated for CS4 and brimming with new material, The Photoshop CS4 Book
for Digital Photographers shows you the exact techniques—step-by-step—
used by today’s cutting-edge digital photographers. Learn which settings
Member News
ALL THE LATEST ON MEMBERSHIP AND BENEFITS
to use, when to use them, and why. This new edition also covers all of the
latest techniques, tips, and tricks for CS4 plus a brand-new chapter on how
to process High Dynamic Range (HDR) images. NAPP member price is $31.99.
Unleash the power of your iPod with
The iPod Book, Fifth Edition. Scott takes
the same formula that made The iPhone
Book a top Amazon seller two years in a
row and shows you all sorts of cool tips
and tricks. Each page of this updated
edition covers just one topic for easy
reference. Plus, Scott covers everything
iPod including the iPod touch, nano,
shuffle, and the iTunes Store. NAPP
member price is $11.99.
Both books are now available at the
NAPP Store on the members’ website.
By Nancy
Masse
Save time! Save a tree! Save
Photoshop User on your desktop!
Here at NAPP HQ, we know how you smart Photoshop users
love to save past issues of Photoshop User for easy reference.
Then we thought that it might be easier if you could save and
access the features, tutorials, and “Down & Dirty Tricks” you
love electronically, so we're try something new.
Now you can have every 2008 issue of Photoshop User
magazine (8 issues plus the bonus Photoshop CS4 issue) sent
to you in a “green-friendly” digital format. It’s a super easy
way to access any 2008 issue right from your desktop!
We get lots of requests for back issues from members
who need to replace a well-worn copy for their
archives, so we thought we’d explore a new
way for you to save your Photoshop User.
You can get all of the issues from 2008
at a special introductory price of $14.95.
This offer is only good for NAPP members
and can be found under “Magazine Center”
at www.photoshopuser.com/members.
018
continued on p. 20
Exclusive NAPP online class for two-year renewals
If your NAPP membership is about to expire and you need another reason to renew
(as if?), we’re pleased to offer you this free online class as a two-year renewal bonus:
The NAPP Photoshop CS4 Survival Kit. Recent NAPP Discounts
If you’re thinking about upgrading, in the process of upgrading, or have already
upgraded to Photoshop CS4, then this is the perfect online class for you. NAPP Educa- To take advantage of these discounts,
tion and Curriculum Developer and “Photoshop Guy,” Matt Kloskowski, interviews NAPP members should go to the
NAPP’s in-house experts—Dave Cross, RC Concepcion, and Corey Barker—discussing Discounts section at www.photo-
issues related to photo retouching, Mac vs. PC, and the Adobe Photoshop standard shopuser.com.
version compared to Photoshop Extended.
Plus, you’ll find five helpful video tutorials that show you exactly how to install the
RentScenicBackgrounds.com—
upgrade and how to get all of your custom presets, actions, and plug-ins from your
Gives NAPP members an additional
older version of Photoshop into CS4. The NAPP Photoshop CS4 Survival Kit will help you
$20 off their rental cost for a scenic
get up to speed faster than ever before.
photography background. That’s an
To take advantage of this offer, simply renew your NAPP membership for two years.
entire week’s rental with return ship-
That’s it! We’ll automatically send you the link to this exclusive online class.
ping paid for only $29.99.
It’s madness, I tell you! Nik Software—Use your exclusive

My first experience of Photoshop World Conference & Expo was the Las Vegas confer- 10% NAPP discount on the latest
ence last September and I definitely had the most fun at “Midnight Madness.” In fact, it award-winning photographic filters
was the spontaneous wackiness of “Midnight Madness” that inspired our new “Photo- from Nik Software. Choose from
shop World Top Ten/Midnight Madness VIP Contest.” such products as Dfine 2, Viveza,
One lucky grand-prize winner is going to walk away with two tickets to Photo- Color Efex Pro 3, Silver Efex Pro, and
shop World, which can be used for Boston or Las Vegas 2009 or next year’s eastern Sharpener Pro 3.
conference, and a $200 gift certificate from B&H. In addition, 10 runners-up will
receive a Photoshop training book or DVD and a very special, limited edition “Top
Ten Reasons to Attend Photoshop World” T-shirt. And photoDUDS—NAPP members
these shirts are special because they’re also a ticket get 20% off photoDUDS’ graphic
to Midnight Madness for Photoshop World ’09 in collections designed specifically
Boston! Just wear the shirt to the event and for dressing up photos.
we’ll pull you out of line and let you in first
for VIP seating. You don’t even have to
camp out the night before for tickets! Artistic Tile Murals—Mildly Wild
Of course, once you’re at Midnight Graphics offers NAPP members 20%
Madness, you have a chance to win off to take your image and apply it to
even more fabulous prizes, but that ceramic or glass tiles.
part’s up to you.
To enter this crazy contest, all
BorrowLenses.com—Offers online
you need to do is spread the word
photo equipment rental by mail. Per-

about Photoshop World on your
fect for trying out new gear before
blog or favorite social network
buying it. NAPP members receive 5%
using either our “Top Ten Reasons
off all orders.
to Attend Photoshop World” list or
by adding a few of your own. This
contest runs until after Early Bird Imagenomic—NAPP members
registration ends so you still have receive a 20% discount on all
plenty of time to join in the fun. Visit Imagenomic software standalones,
PhotoshopWorld.com and look for plug-ins, and bundles, including
our “Top Ten” list for complete rules. the full Pro Plugin Suite.
Visit the NAPP member website (www.photoshopuser.com) for more info regarding any Portrait Professional—For a limited
item on these pages or anything concerning your membership. time, NAPP members receive a 10%
If you have suggestions or ideas for enhancing your NAPP membership, please send them discount on this unique, “intelligent,”
to the NAPP Executive Director, Larry Becker, at lbecker@photoshopuser.com. face touch-up software. ■
020

C@M<KI8@E@E>
LG:FD@E>J<D@E8IJKFC<8IEK?<C8K<JKG?FKFJ?FGK<:?E@HL<J=IFDK?<GIFJ
The following conferences and seminars are produced by Adobe® Photoshop® Seminar Tours and sponsored by the National
Association of Photoshop® Professionals. Visit www.photoshopseminars.com for all the latest seminar information.
E8GGJGFEJFI<;
ALL NEW Maximum Adobe® Adobe® Photoshop®

CS4 Training Photoshop® CS4 Lightroom® 2 Live Tour
featuring Dave Cross featuring Scott Kelby
Boost your creativity, productivity, Take your photography to a whole
Join Scott Kelby, Dave Cross, Bert
Monroy, and Ben Willmore for the and skills, and discover how to truly new level of productivity, efficiency,
Adobe® Photoshop® Seminar Tour utilize Photoshop’s most powerful and fun with real-world insider tech-
as they share their latest tips, tools and features. This seminar will niques that make your life easier and
tricks, and creative secrets using teach you the hottest tips, tricks, free your time so you can do what
Adobe® Photoshop® CS4. and techniques to maximize your you really want with your photogra-
creative talents! phy—rather than boring, repetitive
production tasks.
Adobe® Photoshop® CS4 Adobe® Photoshop®
for Photographers CS4 Power Tour Upcoming Dates:
featuring Ben Willmore COVINGTON, KY
featuring Scott Kelby January 23, 2009
Enrich your images with valuable tips Amplify the impact of your work with Northern Kentucky Convention Center
for everything from setup to printing high-voltage techniques for Photo-
your masterpiece. Photoshop® Hall of shop® CS4. This seminar, created by
Fame guru Ben Willmore reveals key the #1 best-selling computer book Photoshop® World
digital photography concepts, power- author, Scott Kelby, will boost your Conference & Expo
ful adjustment tools in Photoshop®, and Photoshop® skills with awe-generating You’ll learn the most up-to-date
manipulation techniques. effects used by today’s industry pros. techniques and hottest tips for Adobe
Photoshop CS4, Photoshop Light-
Adobe® InDesign® CS4 room 2, and Photoshop CS4 Extended
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 9
® ®
Adobe Photoshop CS4 Productivity Tour from a team of the industry’s most
talented and creative instructors. And
Creativity Tour featuring Terry White don’t forget the Tech Expo where you
featuring Bert Monroy Unlock your hidden talents and raise can get an insider’s look at the latest
While you may not be able to draw your InDesign® skills to new heights. products and technologies.
like Bert (he’s truly the master), in this In one day of hard-hitting InDesign®
seminar you’ll learn the Photoshop® training, Terry White will show you BOSTON , MA
techniques he’s developed to create how to put sizzle in your layouts with March 25–27, 2009
realistic images that boggle the advanced typography and graphics John B. Hynes Convention Center
imagination! It’s the perfect seminar techniques. You’ll manage workflow
for Photoshop® users, photographers, better and more efficiently from pre-
Registration Info:
and illustrators alike! planning to pre-press, and become
Advance Registration is $599
the InDesign® power user you’ve
NAPP members pay $499
always wanted to be!
Regular admission is $699.
NAPP members pay $599.
SEMINAR REGISTRATION INFORMATION Students (with ID) pay $149.
3FHVMBSBENJTTJPOJTr/"11NFNCFSTQBZ Call 800-201-7323, or register online
Call 800.201.7323 or register online at www.photoshopseminars.com at www.photoshopworld.com. ■
022
Down & Dirty Tricks
The hottest new Photoshop tricks and coolest special effects
N BY CO R E Y B A R K E R
Custom Picture Frames

This technique is another example of using Photoshop tools in a very unusual way. Once you’re aware
of what a filter can do, the possibilities present themselves. We’re going to create a molded picture
frame from scratch using the Lighting Effects filter.
STEP ONE: Choose File>New to create a new RGB document

that’s 7x7" at 200 ppi. Click the Create a New Layer icon at the
bottom of the Layers panel, then press Shift-Delete (PC: Shift-
Backspace). In the Fill dialog, choose 50% Gray from the Use
menu, and click OK.
STEP TWO: Press Command-A to select the entire area of the

document. Then go under the Select menu and choose Trans-
form Selection. In the Options Bar click the Maintain Aspect
Ratio icon (link icon) to constrain the proportions of the selec-
tion, then enter 75% for the Width and the Height will change
to 75% also. Press Return (PC: Enter) twice. With the selection
resized, press Delete (PC: Backspace) to knock out the center,
leaving you with the base frame.
STEP THREE: Click the Create a New Layer icon at the bottom of
the Layers panel to create a new blank layer above this frame
layer (Layer 2). Press Command-R (PC: Ctrl-R) to open the rulers
(if they’re not already open). Now drag a guide from the horizon-
tal ruler down to the center of the document. It should snap dead
center. Do the same with a vertical guide. Once the guides are in
place, grab the Rectangular Marquee tool (M) from the Toolbox,
and drag out a selection starting at the top-left of the document
and release once you reach the center (as shown here). Again, the
selection should snap to the edges of the guides.
024
STEP FOUR: Press the D key to ensure your Foreground and
Background color swatches are set to their default colors. Hold
down the Option (PC: Alt) key, go under the Filter menu, under
Render, and select Clouds. (Holding down the Option [PC: Alt]
key renders clouds with more contrast.)
STEP FIVE: Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on the frame layer

thumbnail (Layer 1) to load it as a selection, then press Shift-
Command-I (PC: Shift-Ctrl-I) to invert the selection. Make sure
the cloud layer is still selected and press Delete (PC: Backspace).
The result should be the clouds contained within that frame
shape. Press Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect.
STEP SIX: Grab the Smudge tool (nested under the Blur tool)
from the Toolbox. Choose a round, soft-edged brush at around
80 px and, in the Options Bar, set the Strength to 75%. Now ran-
domly smudge the clouds on the layer. Don’t worry if it runs off
as you see here. Just smear in an artistic way, not a chaotic way.
Keep working it until you get an arrangement similar to this.
STEP SEVEN: Now we’ll make a symmetrical frame from this one
corner piece. Press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to create a duplicate
of this layer (Layer 2 copy). Go under the Edit menu, under
Transform, and select Flip Horizontal. Select the Move tool (V),
and drag this layer over until it snaps to the top and right edges.
Change the layer blend mode to Hard Light.
Following the steps above, create a duplicate of this layer

(Layer 2 copy 2), but this time flip it vertically and drag it down
until it snaps in place at the bottom right. Create one more dupli-
cate of this layer (Layer 2 copy 3), flip it horizontally, and drag it to
the left edge. You should have all four sides covered (as shown).
025
STEP EIGHT: In the Layers panel, Shift-click all four of these layers
to select them, and press Command-E (PC: Ctrl-E) to merge them
together as one layer (Layer 2 copy 3).
STEP NINE: Command-

click (PC: Ctrl-click) on
this newly merged layer’s
thumbnail to load it as a
selection. Go under the Edit
menu and choose Copy.
Open the Channels panel
(Windows>Channels) and
click the Create New Chan-
nel icon at the bottom of
the panel to create a new
alpha channel (Alpha 1). Go
under the Edit menu once
more and choose Paste.
STEP TEN: Return to the Layers panel, click the Eye icon for Layer 2
copy 3 to hide it, and select the frame layer we created earlier
(Layer 1). Go under the Filter menu, under Render, and choose
Lighting Effects. Make sure the Light Type is set to Spotlight. At
the bottom of the dialog you’ll see the Texture Channel area.
From the drop-down menu, select the alpha channel we created

in Step Nine. Drag the slider all the way over toward Mountainous
to get maximum depth.
The position and direction of light determines how the image
is embossed. You can modify the light properties by moving the
sliders; however, I prefer to
grab the light object in the
Preview window and adjust
the light interactively. Grab
the center point to move
the light’s overall position.
You can also grab and
move the control handles
on the oval to change the
focus and intensity of the
light. Click OK.
026 continued on p.28
STEP ELEVEN: Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) the Create a New
Layer icon to place a new layer beneath the current frame layer
(Layer 2). With this new layer active, Command-click (PC: Ctrl-
click) the Layer 1 thumbnail to load it as a selection.
Open the Swatches panel (Window>Swatches) and choose
a color. We wanted a more gold color so the frame would look
old-fashioned. With the color selected, press Option-Delete
(PC: Alt-Backspace) to fill the selection. (Note: Look at the Layer 2
thumbnail to see the fill.)
STEP TWELVE: Select Layer 1 and change the blend mode to

Overlay. This will blend the texture with the color, completing
the effect. Now you can apply the lighting effects directly to the
colored framed. I do it this way because if I decide to change
the color of the frame, all I need to do is fill that layer with a new
color, leaving the texture layer untouched. (Note: If the frame
doesn’t appear when you change the blend mode, the color on
Layer 2 is too light, so try a darker color.)
Finally, we just added an inset black matte and a photo to com-
plete the overall look. Here are a couple of examples. Enjoy. N
COUPLE: ©ISTOCKPHOTO/JENNIFER TRENCHARD

MOUNTAINS: ©ISTOCKPHOTO/ANDREW DAVID
028
Down & Dirty Tricks
The hottest new Photoshop tricks and coolest special effects
N BY FELIX NELSON
Arrr! Mystic Fog For Ye, Matey!

There were a number of promotional posters created for the movie Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s
End. One particular series depicted the characters (in groups and individually) walking out of a misty fog.
The fog rises from the lower left toward the right in every image, so chances are that it was added later
(using Photoshop), instead of perfectly forming the fog each time. Here’s how we’d add it.
STEP ONE: Open the image you wish

to use for this tutorial (a pirate, in our
example). Using the selection tool of
your choice, make a selection around
your subject (we chose the Lasso tool).
Now, press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J)
©ISTOCKPHOTO/GIORGIO FOCHESATO
to place the selected subject on its
own layer (Layer 1). Click on the Eye
icon to the left of the Background layer to hide it. Now click on
the Add a Layer Style (ƒx) icon at the bottom of the Layers
panel, and choose Inner Glow. Choose Overlay from the
Blend Mode menu, enter 125 for Size, and click OK.
STEP TWO: Click-and-

drag Layer 1 onto the
Create a New Layer icon
(at the bottom of the
Layers panel) to make
a duplicate layer (Layer 1
copy). Click on the word
“Effects” below this layer

and drag it onto the Trash icon to remove its layer style. Press
Command-Shift-U (PC: Ctrl-Shift-U) to desaturate the image
and then press Command-L (PC: Ctrl-L) to bring up the Lev-
els dialog. Enter 195 in the Shadow Input Field (circled), and
click OK. Change this Layer’s blend mode to Screen.
STEP THREE: Click on the

Create New Adjustment
Layer icon and choose
Levels. When the Levels
dialog appears enter .51
in the Midtone Input
field (in the center), 194
in the Highlight Output
030 field, and click OK.
STEP FOUR: Click on the
Create New Adjustment
Layer icon again but this
time, choose Photo Filter.
Select Sepia from the
Filter drop-down menu,
raise the Density to 94%,
and then click OK.
STEP FIVE: Now, click on

the Create New Adjust-
ment Layer icon once more
and choose Hue/Satura-
tion. Enter –24 for Satura-
tion, –12 for Lightness, and
click OK.
STEP SIX: Duplicate Layer 1

again (Layer 1 copy 2),
click-and-drag it to the top
of the Layers stack, and
remove the layer style as
we did in Step Two. Lower
this Layer’s Opacity to
50%. Press-and-hold the
Option (PC: Alt) key and
click on the Add Layer Mask
icon to mask out the entire
image. Press the X key to
switch the Foreground
color to white. Now, select
a soft-edged Brush (B) and
paint back the highlight
areas of the eyes, nose,
cheeks, lips, teeth, hat,
and collar (as shown).
STEP SEVEN: Create a new layer (Layer 2) by clicking on the Create

a New Layer icon. Press the X key to switch your Foreground and
Background colors. Click on the Foreground color swatch, and in
the Color Picker, choose a brownish color (we used R:63, G:47,
B:46), and click OK. Press the X key again. Now, choose the
Gradient tool (G) from the Toolbox, go up to the Options Bar

and select a Linear, Foreground to Background gradient, and
click-and-drag the gradient from the left toward the right of
the selection. Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on the Layer 1 copy 2
thumbnail to make it a selection, press Command-Shift-I (PC:
Ctrl-Shift-I) to invert the selection, and then click on the
Add Layer Mask icon, which will reveal the pirate (or your
subject) again.
031
STEP EIGHT: Create a new layer (Layer 3) and press the D key to
reset your Foreground/Background colors. Go under the Filter
menu and choose Render>Clouds. Change the layer’s blend
mode to Overlay. Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on Layer 2’s
Layer Mask thumbnail (not the Layer thumbnail) to load it as a
selection, and then click on the Add Layer Mask icon at the bot-
tom of the Layers panel.
STEP NINE: Create another new layer (Layer 4) and add clouds (as
we did in Step Eight) but this time, change the layer’s blend mode
to Screen and lower the Layer Opacity to 50%. Now click on Layer
3’s Layer Mask thumbnail and then click on the Add Layer Mask
icon. Choose the Brush tool (B) from the Toolbox and, making sure
that white is your Foreground color, use a large, soft-edged brush
to reveal some of the clouds on Layer 3, which gives the fog effect
more depth (see example).
STEP TEN: Create another layer (Layer 5). Press Command-F

(PC: Ctrl-F) to apply the previously used Clouds filter. Change
the blend mode to Screen. Choose the Gradient tool from
the Toolbox. Click on the Add Layer Mask icon. Now, click-
and-drag a gradient (using the same settings as before) from
the lower left toward the upper right of the image to make it
appear as though the subject is coming through the fog.
STEP ELEVEN: Add as many additional layers as you need,

depending on how intense you want the foreground fog, then
add a graphic to complete the effect. N
Before
032 After
Images: iStockphoto.com Layout Design: Taffy Orlowski
VcYi]Z
7nGV[VZaÆG8Ç8dcXZeX^dc
1\VM^MZNIQT[\WPIXXMV_PMV1U\MIKPQVOI,ZMIU_MI^MZKW]Z[M#

)PIVL_QTTXWX]XQV\PMJIKSWN\PMZWWUIVL\PMXMZ[WVI[S[
?PI\IJW]\\PMKWWTQV\MZM[\QVOIVQUI\MLJ]\\WV[NWZ\PM[Q\M(
+IV1UISMITTWN\PW[MOZIXPQK[QV,ZMIU_MI^MZ(7ZJM\\MZaM\1TT
\MIKPI8PW\W[PWXKTI[[IVL\ITSIJW]\Q\[IJQTQ\a\W_WZS_Q\P_MJXIOM[
IVL[WUMWVM_QTTI[S;WITT1VMMLQ[8PW\W[PWXIVL1KIVJ]QTLUa_MJ[Q\M(
e answer to both questions is “No,” which often leaves
h STEP THREE:
T people somewhat confused with the process. Dreamweaver

has some very basic look-and-feel components, while
Photoshop has some Web features, so merging the two applications
Now add
graphical compo-
nents to the page using
offers the best chance at a great-looking website. But that doesn’t the Type tool (T), some primitive
mean you couldn’t create a simple site with Photoshop alone. Let’s shapes using the Rectangle tool (U) and the
spend some time talking about how Photoshop can help you from other shapes nested under it, and then drop
a Web-creation standpoint, where its limitations lie, and then we’ll in some graphics of varying opacity.
learn how to leverage what Photoshop can automate to neatly
present something online. STEP FOUR: When you have all of that information set the way
you want it, Shift-select all of your layers, click the flyout menu
8PW\W[PWXIVL\PM?MJKWUX icon at the top right of the Layers panel, and select New Group
Whether for self-promotion or as a job for a prospective client, from the pop-up menu. In the New Group dialog, enter the ver-
designing a website requires many revisions, and doing a lot of sion number in the Name field and click OK.
coding doesn’t make sense. Sure, changing a color here and there
could be done using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), but when you’re
trying to decide the overall direction of the site for the first time,
you need speed and malleability. This is where Photoshop can
help—by creating composites. Using comps and creating groups
will let you change the overall design without spending too much
time coding on a webpage.
STEP ONE: Go under the File menu and select New to create a new
file in Photoshop. In the New dialog, enter 955 pixels for Width, 600
for Height, 72 for Resolution, then select RGB from the Color Mode
menu, and click OK. This gives you a work area that mimics a fully
maximized 1024x768 page (according to Dreamweaver anyway).
Personally, I like to make my page a little taller so that I can see what
the layout looks like when scrolling down the webpage.
STEP TWO: Click the Create New Fill layer icon at the bottom of
the Layers panel and choose Solid Color from the menu. Find the
color you’d like to use for your background and click OK. To keep
organized, double-click on the words “Color Fill 1” in the Layers panel
and rename the layer, “Web BG” (for Web background).
036
TIPS ON USING
PHOTOSHOP FOR THE WEB
Two things to keep in mind: First, when creating
things like navigation bars, banners, or buttons,
try to use as many shape layers as possible, which you’re trying to pass on to your viewer gets communicated. Typi-
makes changing the color as easy as double-click- cally, I don’t recommend placing navigation bars lower than 200
ing on the associated thumbnail—fast changes pixels from the top for a horizontal layout, or 160 pixels from the
and less re-creation. Second, make sure that you left for a left-column-based layout. Within these areas, your only
place text into the comp that you’re working on. limitation on the page is your own creative style.
It’s very easy to see empty space and want to fill it
with oversize buttons, type, and graphics. By put- Option One: Slice, Dice, and Export
ting in filler text in a Web area, you’ll force yourself Once you have your entire layout committed and you’re getting
to keep “overdesign” to a minimum, as well as give ready to put it on the Web, it’s time to slice. A Photoshop docu-
you a more realistic look for the page. ment is a single PSD file but when you take it to the Web, each
portion of the webpage will have its own separate image; for
example, the header, each button at the top, and each decoration
at the bottom should all have their own images. To create a single
image from each component, we’ll employ the Slice tool to cut
this document into discrete areas that will be saved on export.
STEP ONE: Beginning with Photoshop CS4, Adobe Systems Inc.

nested the Slice tool and the Slice Select tool under the Crop tool
in the Toolbox. Thus, if you’re using CS4, click-and-hold the Crop
tool (C) in the Toolbox and select the Slice tool (C) from the pop-up
menu. If, however, you’re using Photoshop CS3, press the K key
to select the Slice tool. Using the Slice tool, click-and-drag around
one of the images, which draws a box around the subject matter.
Continue to draw boxes around each of the sections (as shown).
While this would seem like

a great place for you to use
layer comps, keep in mind that
they only work with Visibility,
Position, and Appearance (layer
styles). I find that working with
my versions in layer groups
works better here.
8PW\W[PWX_MJXIOM
UISQVOWX\QWV[
Try to make sure that you keep
anything that’s relevant to the
design within the viewable por-
tion of the monitor. Remember When you first start working with slicing, it’s important to
that 955x600 canvas we made look at the sections of the website as rows and columns that
earlier? As a general rule, keep you’re cutting out. This will help you assemble the individual
any logos, navigation informa- components in Dreamweaver later using CSS. Tip: If you happen
tion, and important messaging in that area. By setting all your to release the Mouse button too soon, press-and-hold the Com-
important stuff in this space, you ensure that whatever message mand (PC: Ctrl) key and then you can resize the box.
037
STEP TWO: When you’ve finished, switch to the Slice Select tool But, what if
and double-click on one of the slices you made and the Slice you don’t want
Options dialog appears—we’ll do this for all of the slices. This is to use Dreamweaver
where you can give your slices specific names (and much more). and you need to get
Take time now to name each of your buttons, headers, images, something done quickly?
and ancillary graphics—you don’t want Photoshop giving them Below are three more options.
some random name that you won’t recognize later. You could
even use this dialog to point a graphic to a specific page—if you Option Two: Slice and Dice to Individual Directories
know its filename. We’ll leave it blank for now and do it later. The Before we begin this option, I want you to be aware that using
Slice Type menu at the top of the dialog lets you specify whether Photoshop to create a website the way I’m about to tell you is
you want the slice to be treated as an image or as a block of possible, but it’s probably not the most efficient—you’ll see
HTML, giving you the option to enter more text, if you’d like. why momentarily.
STEP ONE: Begin by creating a new folder on your desktop and

name it “Test,” as this will be your test directory. [NAPP members
may follow along by opening the about_merri.psd file so you can see
the names of the different slices. Download the files from www
.photoshopuser.com/members/janfeb09-downloads.html. All files
are for personal use only.]
STEP TWO: Go back to your Photoshop file, double-click on the

first slice you made to open the Slice Options dialog, name it
with an all-lowercase name with no spaces in the Name field, give
it a URL, and then click OK. Here’s what we did for this example:
Grab the Slice Select tool and double-click on the first slice
(the Merri Bontempi header) to bring up the Slice Options
dialog. In the dialog, enter “header_img” in the Name fi eld,
input “index.htm” in the URL field, and click OK. Do this for all of
the sliced buttons, giving them specific, all-lowercase names in
STEP THREE: Once you’ve named all of your slices, select Save for
the Name and URL sections of the Slice Options dialog. Tip: With
Web & Devices under the File menu, which allows you to specify
the Slice tool active, you can bring up the Slice Options dialog
graphics settings for each of the individual slices. Click on Save
by pressing-and-holding the Command (PC: Ctrl) key when you
at the bottom of the window to place all of the graphics into a
double-click the sliced sections.
directory on your computer; from there, you can make Dream-
weaver use it as a home directory, basing all of the pages on your
site using a Dreamweaver Template. This will give you the most
flexibility and efficiency to build a website, and as you become
more familiar with CSS in Dreamweaver, you’ll feel more comfort-

able in setting up even more elaborate slicing for layouts.
STEP THREE: Click on Save for Web & Devices under the File
menu and make changes to your graphics settings as needed.
When you click on the Save button at the bottom, however, you’ll
need to make some changes in the resulting Save Optimized As
dialog. Select HTML and Images from the Format menu, then click
on the Settings drop-down menu, and select Other. Click on the
drop-down menu beneath the Settings menu and select Saving
Files. In the bottom section, called Optimized Files, change
038
the directory name of the Put Images in
Folder field to where you want the images to
be saved: yourpagename_images (in our example, it’s
“about_merri_images”). Click OK.
As I said before, using Photoshop to make a website like this is
technically feasible but a little cumbersome; however easy it may
seem now, you’ll regret it later when you need to make changes to
a single page, add graphics or additional content, reorganize the
structure, or simply add a page. The amount of overhead wouldn’t
be worth the setup. I’d still do the Dreamweaver route.
Option Three: Use Photoshop and Bridge to Create a Web

Photo Gallery
Photoshop CS3 has a Web Photo Gallery component built into
Make sure that the name of the file in the Save Optimized As it, which also gives you a quick way to develop a photo gallery
dialog is the same as the name you placed in the Slice Options that can be posted online. The process is pretty straightforward
dialog, and then click Save. This will create an HTML file with the and contained in just one dialog, so it’s great for when you’re
sliced images assembled in a table. From this point forward, you trying to make a gallery in a hurry.
can create a duplicate of this file, changing the colors, layout, and Adobe has also created the Adobe Output Module for Bridge
textual content to reflect the second link. When you perform the CS4 (Window>Workspace>Output) that allows you
next Save for Web & Devices option, make sure that the name to make more sophisticated Flash galleries
is different, and that the directory where it’s writing images is with the same ease of use (it used to
specific to your section (by default, Photoshop always writes to a be called the Adobe Media Gallery
folder called “Images,” and you may run the risk of overwriting if when it was first tested in the
you don’t make it page-specific). Adobe Labs). In fact, these
039
less chance of overwrit-
ing any files—plus, it
leaves you with very
specific links to share with
your viewers. For example,
if you created a folder called
“animals” and placed it on
your website, your gallery
link would be www.your-
website.com/animals.
Option Four:
Use Photoshop with a
Third-Party Application
If you find yourself stuck between the
artistic side of Photoshop and the technical
limitations of HTML, third-party providers may also help get that
galleries became so compelling that starting with Photoshop project up and running quickly. Take SiteGrinder from MediaLab
CS4, Adobe dropped the use of the Photo Web Gallery in Photo- for example. This program lets you take your PSD design—like
shop, only offering it in Bridge. You can install the old Photoshop we made back in Option One—and attach special “hints” to the
version of the Web Photo Gallery later (it’s in the Goodies folder) layers, and with the push of a button, the software converts the
but by default, it’s not in Photoshop CS4. design into CSS-compliant code (for more information, visit www
I love using the Flash galleries in Bridge because they offer a .sitegrinder.com). I’ve heard many stories about the successful
clean layout as well as Flash interaction. While Flash interaction use of SiteGrinder and the application’s ease of use may war-
is seen by some as just a “pretty add-on,” I rely on it specifically rant a look-see.
because it makes it harder for individuals to copy images from Freeway 5 Pro from Softpress Systems Limited (www.softpress
websites—essential if you’re trying to simultaneously show and .com) is a program that also eschews the technical for the design
protect your images. minded. Import your Photoshop code into Freeway and you’ll
In both of these cases, begin to accomplish complex CSS-based website layouts with
one could design a custom minimal programming. Softpress also touts the program as a com-
header and place it at the plement to Dreamweaver CS4, which I like. As your sites become
top of the HTML page but it more and more complex (they always do), you’ll be able to wrap
would require some knowl- your head around the concepts in Dreamweaver a little better.
edge of HTML. This layout
also poses problems when Without a doubt, Photoshop offers a variety of ways to take your
sites invariably expand and ideas and place them on the Web. Spend a little time thinking
you need to add additional about what the overall goal is for your website and go through
galleries. Even the simple task the sample files provided here. You’ll find yourself the Webmas-
of adding a basic informa- ter of your own domain in no time!
tion page would require a bit
of coding on the user’s part.
Another great feature of
the Output Module in Bridge If you’d like to see more on this topic in greater detail,
CS4 is that it allows you to check out RC’s soon-to-be-released Kelby Media
use File Transfer Protocol Group training classes at www.kelbytraining.com:
(FTP) to upload your results to Dreamweaver CS4 Basics, Dreamweaver and Photoshop
a Web server without using
Creative Integration, and Setting up an Online Portfolio
a third-party program. But
I’d recommend that any gal-
using Dreamweaver, Photoshop. ■
lery you post online go in a
separate folder so you have
040 ALL IMAGES BY RAFAEL “RC” CONCEPCION
Ben Willmore
Photoshop Mastery
Light Painting Composites
When the sun goes down, the time is right for pulling out a simple flashlight and painting a scene with your
own wondrous illuminations. With multiple colored gels and a tripod, you can transform ordinary subject matter
into extraordinary compositions by infusing the scene with color and mystery.
ost high-end digital cameras
M offer a mode known as Bulb

Mode—where the shut-
ter speed is determined by how long
you hold down the shutter button (or
cable release). You can access it in the
same area where you choose between
Aperture and Shutter Priority modes, or
you can use Manual mode and set the
shutter speed to one past the longest
setting that’s available.
Make sure to use a tripod so that your
images will be aligned. Find a location
with an interesting subject in total dark-
ness. Open the shutter and then turn
on a flashlight and paint light onto the
scene. The closer you hold the flashlight
to the subject, the more focused beam
you’ll get, so you can easily tell where
you’ve painted. The farther away you
hold the flashlight, the softer and more
diffused the beam will become. You can Final image
hold colored gels over the flashlight for
The four exposures were combined using Refining the results
an added splash of color. Start a new
Lighten mode to produce the image shown You can adjust the Opacity of each layer
exposure anytime you change the color
in the upper right. In the Layers panel, you to control how much it affects the overall
of light you’re painting with, or when
can see the masks that were used.
you change the distance from which composite. You can also add a layer mask to
you’re painting. each layer and paint with black to prevent
In the example shown here, I shot portions of each layer from affecting the
during a full moon. To see many excellent image. In this case, the moon had moved
examples of full moon light painting, be enough between exposures that I had to
sure to check out www.lostamerica.com.

mask it out of at least one of the layers so
that it didn’t appear as a double image.
Combining exposures
Combine the images into a single
Shifting colors
Photoshop document by Shift-selecting
You can also shift the color of any of the
the images in Bridge CS4, then choosing
individual layers by making a layer active,
Tools>Photoshop>Load Files Into Photo-
choosing Image>Adjustments>Hue/Satu-
shop Layers. Once the images have been
ration and moving the Hue and Satura-
combined into a single document, click
tion sliders.
on each layer, one at a time, and change Ordinary objects can look extraordinary
its blend mode at the top of the Layers when they’re light-painted with flashlights
panel to either Lighten or Screen. Screen and multiple colored gels. That means
mode will always produce a brighter there’s no excuse to stop shooting once
result than Lighten mode. the sun goes down. ■
Ben Willmore is the author of Up to Speed: Photoshop CS4, which covers all the new features in CS4 and nothing else. Ben spends many of
042 his days on the open highway, a digital nomad in his 40' motorcoach. Learn about his latest adventure at www.whereisben.com and view his
photography at www.thebestofben.com.
I<>@JK<I9
9P=
=<9IL8IP)
)'#)
)''08
8E;J
J8M<
(''
Bert Monroy
From Bert’s Studio

Rusty Old Sign
Creating textures is often simply a matter of applying a few filters. Rust is no exception—with the right color
and filter, you have a rusty texture—however, the corrosion along the edges of a rusty object requires an
extra step.
t’s still the application of a filter but it’s how and where it’s
I applied that makes the difference. In this tutorial, we’re

going to create some rusty letters attached to a wooden
plaque. Here’s the text that will make up our rusty signage. The
text was typed using Times Bold and then converted into a path
(Layer>Type>Create Work Path) so that it could be scaled and
warped to the desired shapes.
STEP THREE: Now click on Bevel and Emboss in the list of Styles
on the left. Bevel and Emboss will give the actual letters a three-
dimensional quality. Set the Technique to Chisel Hard. Push the
Depth way up to around 830% to increase the intensity of the
lights and darks. Drop the Size to around 3 px. Click on the High-
light Mode color swatch and change the color to a warm yellow
and increase its Opacity to 100%. Increase the Opacity for the
[NAPP members may download the image used in this tutorial Shadow a bit, as well. The result is a hard-edged chisel cut with
from www.photoshopuser.com/members/janfeb09-downloads yellow highlights.
.html. Images are for personal use only.]
STEP ONE: To get the initial rust texture, apply the Texturizer filter
(Filter>Texture>Texturizer). Choose Sandstone in the Texture drop-
down menu, set the Scaling to a low percentage (around 50%), the
Relief to a high value (around 34), and click OK.
STEP FOUR: To add additional stains and texture to the letters,

click on the Satin layer style. Click on the down-facing arrow
next to the Contour thumbnail and choose the Ring – Double
contour. Play with the Distance and Size until deep patterns are
generated within the letters (32 px and 27 px, respectively, in this
example). Go ahead and click OK to close the Layer Style dialog.
The result is the rusty texture.
STEP TWO: Layer styles will add the next round of effects needed STEP FIVE: The rust looks pretty
for the rusty texture. Double-click on the layer in the Layers panel good at this point. Next, we’ll add
to bring up the Layer Style dialog, and choose Drop Shadow from the corrosion that will complete
the list of Styles on the left. Increase the Opacity to around 85% the look. To achieve this, we’ll use a
to make the shadow darker. Set the Angle of the light source to filter in a way most people wouldn’t
around 130˚ so it flows from above left, and adjust the Distance to consider. Command-click (PC: Ctrl-
around 12 px to make the drop shadow more prominent. This will click) on the preview thumbnail for
048 make the letters appear to be raised over the background. the layer in the Layers panel to turn
From Bert’s Studio
the text into a selection. Click on the Add Layer Mask icon at the STEP EIGHT: One more layer style will complete the effect of a
bottom of the Layers panel to generate a layer mask. wooden plaque, so let’s apply a Bevel and Emboss to the motion-
blurred noise layer with the following settings: Technique: Chisel
STEP SIX: Making sure the mask is still selected (look for a frame Hard; Depth: 770%; Size: 13, Angle: 129˚; Altitude: 16˚; Highlight
around the mask thumbnail in the Layers panel), choose Filter> Mode Opacity: 89%; and Shadow Mode Opacity: 92%. This gives
Brush Strokes>Spatter. Applying the filter to the mask is what the edges of the plaque the look usually found in signs. Click OK.
makes this technique a bit more unusual. You can experiment on
your own and apply the filter to the layer as opposed to the mask
to compare the different results. Set the Spray Radius to 7 and
the Smoothness to 8 to roughen the edges of the letter shapes
within the mask. Click OK. The result looks worn and corroded.
Note that the tones of the Bevel and Emboss layer style are fol-
lowing the new contours, as is the drop shadow.
When the Motion Blur filter did its trick, it pulled in some of
the edges outside of the selected area. In this case, that edge
consisted of transparency, so when the Bevel and Emboss layer
style was applied, some spillage appeared along the top and
bottom edges. Select these unwanted areas with the Rectangu-
lar Marquee tool and delete them.
STEP SEVEN: And now the final touch of attaching our rusty sign STEP NINE: The wood of the plaque needs to match the wear
onto a wooden back. Using the Rectangular Marquee tool (M), and tear of the rusty letters. Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on
draw a rectangular selection around the letters just inside the the preview thumbnail for the wooden plaque in the Layers
border. Click on the Create a New Layer icon at the bottom of the panel to turn it into a selection. Click the Add Layer Mask icon at
Layers panel and drag the new layer below the rusted letters. Fill the bottom of the Layers panel to produce a mask that reflects
the selection with a warm beige color (click on the Foreground the shape of the selection.
color swatch in the Toolbox, pick a beige color in the Color Picker, Apply the same Spatter filter to this layer mask that we applied
click OK, and press Option-Delete [PC: Alt-Backspace] to fill the to the letters earlier in Step Six. This creates the final image that
selection). Choose Filter>Noise>Add Noise, set the Amount to we see here.
100%, choose Uniform, turn on the Monochromatic option, and
I want you to come away from this with the motivation for going
click OK. This provides enough texture to simulate a wood grain.
beyond the obvious. Filters were applied to layer masks as
To achieve that wood grain, go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur, set
opposed to the layers themselves. Applying effects in different
the Angle to –90˚ and the Distance to 26 pixels. Click OK.
parts of an image can have striking results. Experiment! It’s part
of the fun of working with Photoshop. ■
Bert Monroy is considered one of the pioneers of digital art. His work
has been seen in many magazines and scores of books. He has served
on the faculty of many well-known institutions, written many books,
and appeared on hundreds of TV shows around the world. 049
ALL IMAGES BY BERT MONROY

-FTB4OJEFS,JOH
Graphic Secrets
A Better Understanding of Blend Modes
*OUIFVQQFSMFGUDPSOFSPGZPVS-BZFSTQBOFMJTZPVSCMFOENPEFNFOV*GZPVDMJDLJU ZPVNBZCFTUBSUMFECZUIF
OVNCFSPGNPEFT XIJDISBOHFGSPNUIPTFUIBUNBLFFWFSZUIJOHEBSLUPTPNFUIBUNBLFFWFSZUIJOHMJHIUUPB
GFXUIBU TFFNJOHMZ
EPOPUIJOHBUBMM
lend modes control how pixels on different layers FíFDUBMMCZJUTFMG

$MJDLUIF$SFBUF/FX"EKVTUNFOU-BZFSJDPO
B interact with each other. For example, when layers

overlap, the top layer can either block the bottom
one completely or they can blend together in some way. You
UIFIBMGCMBDL IBMGXIJUFDJSDMF
BUUIFCPUUPNPGUIF-BZFSTQBOFM
BOEDIPPTF5ISFTIPME*GZPVWFBMSFBEZTOBQQFEVQ1IPUPTIPQ
$4 ZPVDBODMJDLUIF5ISFTIPME
control exactly how they blend by using blend modes. JDPOJOUIFOFX"EKVTUNFOUT
QBOFM 8JOEPX"EKVTUNFOUT

You’ll encounter blend modes all over the place in Photoshop: (SBCUIFTMJEFSBOEESBHJUMFGU
r *OUIF-BZFS4UZMFTEJBMPH XIFSFZPVDBOBEEFíFDUTTVDIBT or right until you’re happy with
drop shadows, glows, and so on UIFJNBHF DMJDL0,JGZPVSF
r *OTPNFPGUIFñMUFSEJBMPHT VTJOH$4

r *OUIFFOTVJOHEJBMPHXIFOZPVDIPPTF'BEFGSPNUIF&EJU
NFOV XIJDIJTBDDFTTJCMFBGUFSZPVSVOBñMUFSPSBQQMZ
BEKVTUNFOUTVTJOH*NBHF"EKVTUNFOUT
r *OUIF'JMMBOE4USPLFEJBMPHT
r *OUIF0QUJPOT#BSXIFOZPVSFVTJOHQBJOUJOHUPPMT TVDIBT
UIF#SVTI )FBMJOH#SVTI 1FODJM &SBTFS $MPOF4UBNQ )JTUPSZ
©ISTOCKPHOTO/DIANE WHITE ROSIER

#SVTI &SBTFS (SBEJFOU #MVS %PEHF BOE#VSO
r *OUIF$BMDVMBUJPOTBOE"QQMZ*NBHFEJBMPHT CPUIBSFHSFBU
GPSCMFOEJOHDIBOOFMTBOEJNBHFT
8IFOEFBMJOHXJUICMFOENPEFT JUTIFMQGVMUPUIJOLPGUIF
DPMPSTPOZPVSMBZFSTBTCFJOHNBEFVQPGUISFFQBSUT
t #BTF—The color you start out with, the one that already lives
in your image
r #MFOE—The color you’re adding to the base color, whether it’s
STEP TWO:(BUIFSBMMUIFJNBHFTZPVXBOUUPJODMVEFJOZPVS
in an image on another layer or a color you’re painting onto
collage. This is a great opportunity to use stock imagery in
BOPUIFSMBZFSXJUIUIF#SVTIUPPM
DPOKVODUJPOXJUIZPVSPXO'PSFYBNQMF BRVJDLTFBSDIGPSUIF
r 3 FTVMU5IFDPMPSZPVHFUBGUFSZPVNJYUIFCBTFXJUIUIF
XPSETiNVTJDBMOPUFTuBOEiHSVOHFUFYUVSFuPOJ4UPDLQIPUPDPN
CMFOEDPMPS VTJOHPOFPGUIFCMFOENPEFT
yielded the beauties shown here.
Make a quick grunge collage with blend modes

5PIFMQZPVNBLFBMJUUMFTFOTFPGUIFHSPXJOHTFUPGCMFOE
©ISTOCKPHOTO/ANDREEA MANCIU
modes, notice that they’re divided into categories based on

©ISTOCKPHOTO/MARIA AHLFORS
their OFVUSBMDPMPS—the color that causes no change in that

QBSUJDVMBSNPEF-FUTCFHJOCZGPDVTJOHPOUIF%BSLFODBUFHPSZ
*OUIJTCMFOENPEFHSPVQ UIFCBTFBOECMFOEDPMPSWBMVFT
CBUUMF BOEUIFEBSLFTUPOFTXJO BOENPTUPGUIFUJNFUIFXJOOJOH
DPMPSWBMVFTBSFBTTJNJMBUFEJOUPUIFCBTFUPDSFBUFUIFSFTVMU
5IF
neutral color in this category is white, which means it has no effect
POUIFCMFOEBUBMMBOZXIJUFBSFBTPGZPVSJNBHFXJMMCFIJEEFO
©ISTOCKPHOTO/BULENT INCE
5IFTFNPEFTBSFJODSFEJCMZVTFGVMXIFOZPVXBOUUPTXBQBMJHIU
DPMPSFECBDLHSPVOEGPSTPNFUIJOHEBSLFS PSDPNCJOFTFWFSBM
images into a quick collage, which is what we’re about to do.
STEP ONE: Pop open a portrait and use a Threshold adjustment

050
MBZFSUPDPOWFSUJUUPQVSFCMBDLBOEXIJUF IFDL UIJTJTBGVO
Graphic Secrets
STEP THREE: Add the images to the portrait document on their

own separate layers, and make sure they’re positioned above
the portrait and Threshold adjustment layers (known as texture
layers from here on out). There are a variety of ways you can do
this, you can open each image Select>All, Edit>Copy, and then
Edit>Paste each element into the portrait document (Photoshop
will add the new layers for you). You can also grab the Move
tool (V) and drag-and-drop from the Layers panel of one docu-
ment into the window of another document, or you can place
them as smart objects by choosing File>Place. Tip: The fastest
method is to open all the images at one time—including the
portrait image—by choosing File>Scripts>Load Files into Stack
(but this requires the Extended version of Photoshop). That way
Photoshop creates a new document and plops each image onto
its own layer for you.
STEP FOUR: Change STEP SEVEN: As a finishing touch, add some text by pressing T to
the blend mode of grab the Type tool. Tip: If you don’t want your text to be affected
the texture layers to by the blend mode voodoo you’ve got going, you can drag the
Linear Burn. In this texture layers into a layer group and change the group’s blend
mode, Photoshop mode from Pass Through to Normal. This keeps the blend modes
darkens your image from affecting any layers outside the group. To create a layer group,
by decreasing bright- Shift-click to select the texture layers and choose New Group from
ness. It produces the Layers from the Layers panel’s flyout menu (it’s at the top right of the
darkest colors of any panel and looks like four tiny lines with a down arrow next to it).
mode in the Darken
category, though
with more contrast
than the others. It
has a tendency to
turn dark pixels solid
black, which makes
it ideal for grungy,
textured collages. Its
keyboard shortcut
is Shift-Option-A (PC: Shift-Alt-A). (Note: If the shortcut doesn’t
work, select the Move tool and try it again.)
STEP FIVE: Use the Move tool to position the texture layers to
your liking and adjust the layer Opacity, where necessary. For our
image, we moved the green rays so that they originate from the
boy’s eye, and lowered the Opacity to 55%. If you want to bring
back a touch of original color from the portrait, you can lower
the Opacity of the Threshold adjustment layer too.
STEP SIX: If you want to hide part of one of the texture layers, say As you can see, a quick flick of
our musical notes, select the layer and then click the Add Layer a Threshold adjustment plus
Mask (the circle within a square) icon at the bottom of the Layers three interesting pieces of art
panel. Press B to grab the Brush tool and set your Foreground set to Linear Burn can make a
color to black. Mouse over to your image and click-and-drag really neat collage—and you
across the area you want to hide. If you hide too much, press the can’t get much faster than that.
X key to swap your color swatches so that you’re painting with Until next time, may the cre-
white, and then brush back over that area. ative force be with you all! ■
Lesa Snider King, chief evangelist of iStockphoto.com, is author of Photoshop CS4: The Missing Manual (Pogue Press/O’Reilly), From Photo
to Graphic Art, and Practical Photoshop Elements (KelbyTraining.com). Lesa is also founder of GraphicReporter.com. 051
Matt Kloskowski
Photoshop Speed Clinic

Create a Droplet to Automatically Run an Action
What’s a droplet? First off, I realize that not everyone has heard about droplets, so let’s start there. They’re actu-
ally a little geeky in nature and you really have to be into actions to have used them before, but those who do
use ’em just love ’em and here’s why:
roplets are little applications that sit outside Photoshop Now you’ve got an action (with only three steps in it) that will
D and work very much like the Batch command. You

need Photoshop to create a droplet but you don’t need
to know anything about using Photoshop to run a droplet, so
resize and save your RAW files. Now let’s take it to the next step—
a droplet.
it’s great for an assistant (who doesn’t want to learn Photoshop

but can still help out). What’s also nice is that if you’ve used the
Batch dialog before, then creating a droplet is pretty darn close
to the same thing.
In this article, we’ll create a droplet that automatically resizes
your RAW files and converts them to JPEGs for client proofing.
Once it’s created, anyone who knows how to drag-and-drop can
do the job.
STEP ONE: Open a RAW file in Photoshop. Now we’ll record a very
simple action to resize RAW photos for client proofing and save
them as JPEGs. So fire up the Actions panel (Window>Actions)
and click the Create New Action icon at the bottom of the panel.
Name it something descriptive like “Resize and Save as JPG” in
the dialog and click Record. STEP THREE: Go up to the File menu, choose Automate>Create
Droplet, and the Create Droplet dialog will open. The first thing
you’ll need to do here is click the Choose button at the top to tell
Photoshop where to save this droplet. Note that you’re not picking
where you want to save the images that the droplet will produce.
Instead, you’re telling it where you want to save the droplet icon
itself. (I usually just set this to the Desktop.) Then give the droplet
a descriptive name and click the Save button.
STEP FOUR: In the Play section, choose an action to run. In this

example, we’ll use the same action that we created in Step One.
Since we’re opening RAW files (and any RAW file automatically
opens in the Camera Raw dialog), turn on the Suppress File Open
Options Dialogs checkbox so we don’t see the Camera Raw dialog
STEP TWO: Then go to the Image menu and choose Image Size.
each time. Tip: Make sure that the action you’ve included in the
Change the Width to 800 pixels and click OK to resize the photo.
droplet always exists. If you inadvertently delete it, the droplet
(Note: If the Height value doesn’t automatically populate when
will no longer work.
you enter the Width and press Tab, make sure the checkbox for
Constrain Proportions at the bottom of the dialog is turned on.)
To prepare the image for the Save As process, go up to the Image
menu, under Mode, and select 8 Bits/Channel. Next, choose File>
Save As. Change the Format option to JPEG and click Save. Don’t
worry about where you save it—your desktop (or any folder) will
be fine. Then click OK in the JPEG Options dialog. Finally, click the
Stop Recording icon in your Actions panel to stop recording.
052
continued on p. 54
Photoshop Speed Clinic
STEP FIVE: Under the Destination menu, select Folder, which is

where your resulting images will be stored when the Droplet has
finished running. Now click the Choose button and pick a folder
on your Desktop (or anywhere you’d like for that matter) to hold
the new images. Oh yeah, remember in Step Two when we were
recording the action, we saved the image? We really don’t want
each image saved as the same name as we did there, so turn
on the Override Action “Save As” Commands to override the
location/name we used there, and use the ones we specify here.
Then, in the File Naming section, feel free to generate a custom
name for each image. Most of the time I leave the defaults, but
sometimes it’s good to have something more descriptive if you
feel it’s necessary.
STEP EIGHT: This is where all the work pays off because now
anyone who knows how to drag-and-drop can do this. To use
the droplet, simply drag any images (or even the whole folder
of images) onto the Droplet icon on your Desktop. If Photoshop
isn’t already open, it will launch and start executing a batch
process using the action you specified back in Step Four. It will
then put the resulting images in whatever destination folder you
specified when creating the droplet.
Look in the folder where you created the files and you’ll see the
STEP SIX: If you’ll be working on a Mac and PC at the same time new images there. Take a look in the Metadata panel (circled)
(and use this droplet on both machines), go ahead and choose and you’ll see they were indeed resized as well. ■
as many Compatibility settings as you can. If you’re just working
with one type of operating system, then leave the default check-
box for your operating system selected.
Also, if there’s an error, you probably want to know about it
before you run hundreds of images through the droplet just to
find out that nothing happened. So leave the default Stop for
Errors setting on in the Errors section. That way, if it does encoun-
ter an error, it will stop and let you know about it.
STEP SEVEN: When you’re done, click OK to create the droplet.

Nothing visible will happen as you haven’t actually executed If you have an idea for an action that you’d like to see in the
any actions yet. You will, however, see a new icon appear on the “Speed Clinic,” please send it to letters@photoshopuser.com.
Desktop (shown top right) with the name you gave it in Step Three.
ALL IMAGES BY MATT KLOSKOWSKI
054
Katrin Eismann
Creative Point of View

Retouching in the RAW
With every new release of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, the distinction between RAW
file processing—traditionally the starting point for more refined image editing—and dedicated pixel editing,
which is ideal for retouching and compositing, is becoming more transparent.
he old definitions of where to apply global and local The final version took the image a few steps further with
T image adjustments are shifting as Adobe Camera Raw

and the Lightroom Develop engine are updated, refined,
and improved. Prior to Lightroom 2 and Camera Raw, file processing
subtle perspective correction, a touch of the Liquify filter, and
some additional retouching in Photoshop. As most of the work
was done in Camera Raw, the retouching process is much faster
was primarily responsible for global development—make the and more flexible. Here’s how:
entire image look good and then pass the image to Photoshop to
refine specific areas. But now with Photoshop CS4 and Light- 1. Open the image in Camera Raw to improve its color,
room 2.1, Adobe has shifted where RAW image processing contrast, and exposure.
ends and localized pixel editing begins. 2. Activate the Spot Removal tool (B) and pick Heal Mode
In the past, RAW image processing for portrait retouching, for from the Type menu. It’s used to remove the most dis-
example, was dedicated to improving exposure, color, contrast, tracting blemishes. To use the Spot Removal tool to heal
and perhaps adding a vignette; but now, the Adjustment Brush in Camera Raw, simply click-and-drag over the blemish.
in Camera Raw 5 allows you to hand off to Photoshop much Camera Raw will calculate the best source area from which
better files that require even less pixel refinement. Additionally, to sample. If you don’t like the results, click-and-drag the
taking advantage of how well smart objects are integrated with green source circle to sample a more appropriate area.
Camera Raw allows you to take advantage of the power of layers 3. To enhance the eyes, click on the Adjustment Brush icon
and layer masks to build up the perfect portrait. in the top toolbar. Increase the Brightness to +29, Contrast +8,
Clarity +16, Sharpness +7, and then use this brush on the
Using the Adjustment Brush eyes to add sparkle. If the effect is too strong, click on the
The original portrait by Phil Pool (shown here) was improved with Brush Pin and reduce the appropriate slider.
the subtlest exposure and color corrections in Camera Raw. In
the final version, notice that the eyes have been made lighter and
sharper, the skin’s shine has been reduced, and the hair is brighter
to better frame the teenager’s face.
4. To reduce the shine, try

this tip I learned from Sal
Sessa: Use an Adjustment
Brush with negative Exposure (–.40), Saturation (–.10), and
Clarity (–40) to subtly paint over shiny skin and even it out.
PHIL POOL
These settings can be adjusted for each image, but being

able to do so after you’ve applied a brush stroke makes this a
Original Final very interactive process.
Creative Point of View
The beauty of doing basic retouching in Adobe Camera Raw

or Lightroom 2 is that the changes are never actually applied
to the pixels, allowing you to return to the file and refine each
brush parameter later. To extend the power of working on RAW
files one step further, consider incorporating smart objects into
your retouching workflow.
Working smart
Here, we’re using an original portrait taken by Mark Steines this
past summer at the Gorman Photography Workshop in Mendo-
cino, CA (where I’m a visiting instructor every August). Karen, the
model, is very beautiful and all we really need to do her portrait
is soften the skin a bit, boost the contrast in her eyes, and add a
hint of highlights to her hair—all in Camera Raw. After which we’ll
use Photoshop to remove some stray hairs and beauty marks to
focus the viewer’s eyes on her face.
MARK STEINES
Expand the flexibly of Camera Raw by pressing the Shift key:
In the dialog, you’ll notice that Open Image changes to Open
Object, which enables you to open the RAW file as a smart object,
where we can use layer masks to blend the retouched images Original Final
together as described here:
clarity. Then we applied a
1. Improve the image Color, Contrast, and Exposure in
Curves adjustment layer
Camera Raw, and then Shift-click the Open Image button
(Image>Adjustments>
to bring the original version of the file into Photoshop as
Curves). Finally, with a bit
a smart object.
of additional Photoshop
2. Duplicate the Smart Object layer by choosing Layer>
retouching, a good por-
Smart Objects>New Smart Object via Copy and double-
trait was transformed into
click on the duplicated layer to reopen Camera Raw. Use
a beautiful image.
a Clarity setting of –40 to soften the skin and click OK.
Breaking boundaries
In the end, it all comes down
to where you can achieve the
best image. I’ve always said,
“Whatever can be done in
RAW should be done in RAW.”
Now, with the recent updates
to Lightroom and Camera
Raw—and the Adjustment
Brush—Adobe has pushed
the boundary of high-quality
image refinement deeper into
the RAW-file realm. ■
3. Option-click (PC: Alt-click) on
the Add Layer Mask icon to THANKS TO:

add a black layer mask and
paint in the mask to soften Phil Poole (www.omniphotobyphil.com)
the skin. In this example, we Sal Sessa (www.dallasheadshots.com)
brushed over her face and arms. Mark Steines and the Gorman Photography Workshop
4. We used layer masks on two Smart Object layers: one for (www.gormanworkshops.com)
the skin and one to define her hair with highlights and
Katrin Eismann is the author of Photoshop Restoration & Retouching and Photoshop Masking & Compositing, and co-author of The Creative
Digital Darkroom. In 2005, she was inducted into the Photoshop Hall of Fame. Katrin is the Chair of the MPS in Digital Photography department at
the School of Visual Arts in NYC (www.sva.edu/digitalphoto). 057
Deke McClelland
Deke Space
Top Ten Hidden Sneaks and Tweaks in Photoshop CS4
If you’ve poured over the recent issues of Photoshop User with the fervor I have, then you probably have a sense of
the new features in Photoshop CS4: the Adjustments panel, OpenGL navigation, that crazy Content-Aware Scale
command—to name just a few.
B
ut like every version of Adobe Photoshop, it’s the press Option-3, -4, -5 (PC: Alt-3, -4, -5) to switch channels. When
little things that are most likely to irritate and amaze working with Curves, you can cycle to the next or previous point
you. That’s why I offer you the following list, in which by pressing the Plus or Minus key, respectively.
I take you on a reverse-order tour of the top 10 hidden gotchas
and attaboys in Photoshop CS4, starting with the least of them SEVEN: Select the Eyedropper tool (I) and check out the new
and ending with the very best. Sample menu in the Options Bar. Choose Current Layer from
the menu to see the actual color on the active layer, not the
TEN: In Photoshop CS3 and earlier, the Zoom tool (Z) magni- composite color with blend modes and opacity settings messing
fied the image without resizing the window. You could set everything up.
Command-+ (PC: Ctrl-+; plus sign) and Command-– (PC: Ctrl-–;
minus sign) to zoom both the image and the window together. SIX: To access the new continuous zoom feature in Photoshop
Now the Zoom tool and shortcuts work in lockstep with each CS4, press-and-hold the Z key, then click-and-hold to zoom into
other, meaning that if you decide to resize the window with the your image. Add the Option (PC: Alt) key and you’ll zoom out in
shortcuts (good), you also have to do so with the Zoom tool (bad). one fluid motion.
Here’s the workaround: Press Command-K (PC: Ctrl-K) and in the
Preferences dialog, turn off Zoom Resizes Windows, and click FIVE: Much has been written about the new spring-loaded tools
OK. Now the Zoom tool behaves itself. To zoom both the image in Photoshop CS4, by which I mean, press-and-hold a key to get
and the window from the keyboard, press Command-Option-+ a tool for as long as the key is held down, and then release the
(PC: Ctrl-Alt-+; plus sign) or Command-Option-– (PC: Ctrl-Alt-–; key to return to the originally selected tool.
minus sign). The problem is most tools don’t respond positively to this
approach. The Crop tool (C) is a prime example. Pressing-and-
NINE: Masking enthusiasts, rejoice! You can now select and delete holding the C key gives you a too-tenuous grasp at cropping.
multiple alpha channels at once. Huzza! The second you release the C key, it’s all over. Don’t like the
result? So sorry. Undo and start over. That said, in addition to the
EIGHT: Photoshop CS4 introduces a handful of new shortcuts Zoom tool, you have three other tools that respond well to the
that are going to throw experienced users for a loop. For spring-loaded approach:
example, to switch channels, you now press Command-3, -4, r1SFTTBOEIPMEUIF3LFZUPBDUJWBUFUIF3PUBUF7JFXUPPM
-5 (PC: Ctrl-3, -4, -5). If you’re working in the Adjustments panel, and drag to rotate your view of the canvas. When you
want to restore the image to its accurate upright appear-
ance, press the Esc key.
r1SFTTBOEIPMEUIF:LFZUPBDUJWBUFUIF)JTUPSZ#SVTIUPPM
and brush to erase an image back to a previous state in the
History panel. This works great when retouching with the
dramatically improved Dodge (O) and Burn tools.
r1SFTTBOEIPMEUIF*LFZBOEDMJDLUPMJGUB'PSFHSPVOEDPMPS
from something.
FOUR: You should be able to press-and-hold the H key to get

the Hand tool and drag the image around. But for panning, stick
with the Spacebar. The spring-loaded behavior of H is special.
Begin by zooming way into an image. Press-and-hold the H key
and click-and-hold the mouse button—Photoshop takes you out
©ISTOCKPHOTO
to the ultrawide “bird’s-eye” view. With the buttons still pressed,

drag the rectangle to the desired viewing area. Release the mouse
button to zoom back in, then release H any old time you please.
058 Been nice knowing you, Navigator panel.
Deke Space
TWO: Photoshop CS4 offers two modes for showing multiple

open images: the floating window view (the default on the Mac)
and the tabbed-window view (the default in Windows). Regard-
less of which view you’re working in, you can switch all open
images to tabbed windows by choosing Window>Arrange>
Consolidate All to Tabs. I like this command so much that
©ISTOCKPHOTO
I assigned a shortcut to it. Choose Edit>Keyboard Shortcuts, scroll
down to Window, click the right-facing arrow to expand it, and
then click on Consolidate All to Tabs. Press Command-Shift-A
(PC: Ctrl-Shift-A) and then click OK. (As viewers of my “101 Photo-
shop Tips in 5 Minutes” video know, this is that one shortcut that
“doesn’t do anything, Adobe!” Now it will.)
ONE: When working with floating windows, it’s a simple matter

to move an image from one window to another. But what do you
do when working in a tabbed window? Drag to the tab.
Here’s how it works: Open multiple images and consolidate
them per the previous tip. Now, get the Move tool (V), drag a
selection or layer onto the tab for another image, wait for Photo-
shop to switch to that image, move the cursor back into the
THREE: Switch to a brush or edit tool. You’ve long been able window, and drop. You have now successfully transported the
to press the Left and Right Bracket keys ([ ])to make the brush selection or layer from one image to another.
smaller and larger, respectively. But you have to work in fixed
increments and you can’t preview the results. Photoshop CS4
introduces new ways to scale the brush in slight increments and
preview the results, but they’re completely different between
the Mac and PC.
On the Mac, press-and-hold the Control and Option keys, then
click-and-drag to change the size of the brush. To change the
Hardness, add the Command key.
On the PC, press Alt, Right-click, and drag to change the size.
Add the Shift key to change the Hardness.
As you drag, you’ll see a red brush preview. To select a different
color, press Command-K, then Command-5 (PC: Ctrl-K, Ctrl-5), and
click the Brush Preview Color swatch.
©ISTOCKPHOTO
So these are my favorite hidden sneaks and tweaks in Photo-

shop CS4. Nary a one ranks among the features Adobe chooses
to promote. I’d even hazard to guess that few have found their
©ISTOCKPHOTO
ways into the hearts and minds of the most hardcore Photoshop
digerati. And yet, if my experience is any indicator, these are the
tricks you’ll be embracing like crazy in the next few months. ■
Deke McClelland is author of Adobe Photoshop CS4 One-on-One (http://deke.oreilly.com) and the video series Photoshop CS4 New Features and
Photoshop CS4 One-on-One (http://lynda.com/deke). In his spare time, he creates the free biweekly podcast, dekePod (http://deke.com/dekepod). 059
Dave Cross
Beginners’ Workshop
Patterns 101, Pt. 1
Although they’re not one of the most glamorous features of Photoshop, patterns have important uses. In this
two-part article, we’ll first look at the patterns that are available in Photoshop and how to apply them. In part
two we’ll explore how to create our own patterns.
o understand how patterns work, think floor tiles: You full of patterns, however, so the other option is to choose Reset
T need to put in a new floor in your kitchen so you go to

the flooring store and pick out a design you like. Many
of those tiles have been created so that when you install them
Patterns from that same menu to get back to the default patterns
and load these additional patterns as you need them one set at
a time (the choice is yours).
edge-to-edge, there’s no obvious border or seam between
them. That’s the basic idea of the built-in Photoshop patterns: Applying patterns
Fill an area with one of these patterns and you shouldn’t see There are a number of different ways to apply a pattern and,
an obvious seam. (To take this analogy a step further: in your like everything in Photoshop, the method you use will depend
kitchen, you’d have to cut the tiles to fit the shape of the room; on what you’re trying to create and how much flexibility you
while in Photoshop, you make a selection of the shape you want require. The first method is to select an area and use the Fill
to fill, and then the pattern fills in that shape.) Like flooring, command (Edit>Fill or press Shift-Delete [PC: Shift-Backspace]). In
some Photoshop patterns are square and some are rectangular the dialog, choose Pattern in the Use menu and then pick your
(hardwood floors?). pattern from the Custom Pattern menu. You can also choose a
So where do we find these patterns, and how do we apply blend Mode and Opacity at this time, although it’s probably
them? Glad you asked! Photoshop comes with several sets of best (if possible) to create and fill the selection on a new layer
patterns that are installed and waiting to be used. By default and change the blend mode and opacity of that layer instead.
some “standard” patterns are available but you can also load
the following sets: Artist Surfaces, Color Paper, Grayscale Paper,
Nature Patterns, Rocks Patterns, and two Texture Fill sets. One
of the easiest ways to see what patterns are available is to use the
Preset Manager: Go to the Edit menu, choose Preset Manager,
and from the Preset Type menu, choose Patterns. Then use the
menu (click on the right-facing arrow to the left of the Done
button) and one after another, load each pattern set, each time
choosing Append in the dialog. Eventually you’ll see every
built-in pattern.
If you want to apply a pattern in a more freeform, paint-it-

where-you-want-it approach, try the Pattern Stamp tool. Sharing
the same slot in the Toolbox as the Clone Stamp tool (S), the
Pattern Stamp tool should probably be thought of as the “Pat-
tern Brush,” as there’s really no similarity between it and the Clone
Stamp tool. In other words, you don’t have to click a reference
point; you just select the brush size and what pattern you want to
use in the Options Bar and start painting with the pattern. Once
again, it’s probably best to take advantage of layers and create
a new layer for your pattern painting.
The only drawback to these two methods is that you can’t
control the size of the pattern, only the area in which it’s applied.
You may choose to keep the pattern presets this way so that If you do need to change the size of the pattern itself, then you’ll
whenever you want to apply a pattern, you’ll have the full selec- want to use the Pattern Overlay layer style or a pattern adjustment
tion of them easily available. This can make for a large dialog layer. If you have an object on a layer to which you want to apply
060
continued on p.62
Beginners’ Workshop
a pattern, click on the Add a Layer Style (ƒx) icon at the bottom
of the Layers panel and select Pattern Overlay from the menu.
In the dialog, you can choose the Pattern along with the Blend
Mode, Opacity, and Scale you wish to use. Click the Link with
Layer checkbox if you want the texture to move with the layer
(as opposed to the pattern staying put if you move the object
on the layer). Take advantage of the Preview to find your ideal
combination of settings.
Below is an example (courtesy of our own Corey Barker) of an

effect that was simple to create, thanks to using patterns. Corey
added a layer mask to a textured photo and then used the Fill
command to fill the layer mask with a pattern, creating this basket-
In contrast to the layer style that’s attached to the con- weave effect—and then added a photo on top for good measure.
tents of a layer, the Pattern Fill adjustment layer (Layer>New
Fill Layer>Pattern) creates a new layer filled with the pattern So that gives you an idea of the many ways that a built-in pat-
of your choice. tern can be applied. Next time, we’ll take it up a notch and see
how you can create your own custom patterns. ■
Like all adjustment layers, it comes with a layer mask so you can
determine where you want the pattern to appear, by painting on
the mask with black in areas where you don’t want the pattern to
be visible. Changing the pattern is very easy here: Double-click on
the Pattern Fill’s layer thumbnail and choose a different pattern.
©FOTOLIA/NORTHSHORE SURF PHOTOS
To some degree, using a Pattern Fill layer would be the same

as adding a new layer and using the Fill command to add the pat-
tern. The big difference is the ability to edit the pattern quickly by
double-clicking.
Not so obvious
Patterns can also be accessed in a few ways that aren’t so
obvious. For example, when you’re editing the properties of a
brush in the Brushes panel (Window>Brushes), you can use the
Texture option to apply a pattern to the brush. With some experi-
mentation, this can be great for creating different brushes to paint
If you have an idea for a “Beginners’ Workshop” topic, please
unusual, sloppy borders and edges (as shown top right).
send it to letters@photoshopuser.com; however, if you have
You can also choose patterns as one of the options when
a question that you’d like answered immediately, go to the
using the Healing Brush tool, although I can’t honestly say that
Help Desk at www.photoshopuser.com.
I’ve ever found the need to do that.
062
Jack Davis and Linnea Dayton
The WOW! Factor

Tossed-on-the-Table Collage
With a tossed-on-the-table collage, the photographer can break every rule of panoramas and still communicate
the vastness of a landscape or even the intimacy of a still life. For this example, we used Adobe Photoshop CS4 to
present the enduring majesty of a national treasure.
O
ur illustration started with
infrared (IR) photographs,
then we added a strong dose
of Adobe Camera Raw enhancing, Photo-
merge, and a little dash of layer styles. In
Photoshop CS4, Photomerge is smarter
than ever about blending images. It can
remove (or add) vignettes and even
mine the metadata to compensate for
lens distortion. Not needing this new
power, this illustration technique relies
instead on the bare-bones Reposition
option. Let’s start in Adobe Bridge CS4
and then we’ll go to Camera Raw.
STEP ONE: We chose our four images

by Shift-clicking them in Bridge. These
images are from a series taken at Yosemite
National Park on a sunny summer day
with a Canon PowerShot pocket camera
modified for shooting in infrared. The IR
Initial enhancements in Camera Raw
photos were well on their way to a nice
wintry look—Camera Raw would take them the rest of the way won’t match from one image to the next when the photos are
there. (Check out www.adventuresinphotoshop.com for links combined. But for this example we made an exception to the
on IR conversion, a “Basic Jones” type of article about pocket rule: first, the photos weren’t going to be blended, and second,
cameras and IR, with sample galleries.) the “local changes” we’re about to make aren’t really local.
We already increased Clarity to the max in the Basic tab, but—
STEP TWO: Camera Raw is ideal for enhancing photos, whether being greedy artists that we are—we wanted more. So, we click
they’re RAW, JPEG, or TIFFs. Select the images in your panoramic on the Adjustment Brush (K) at the top of the Camera Raw dialog,
series, and then click the iris-shaped Open in Camera Raw icon press the Right Bracket key (]) until the brush size is huge, push
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › j a n u a r y / f e b r u a r Y 2 0 0 9
near the top edge of the Bridge interface, or choose Open in the Clarity slider to 100, and then—with the brush’s Density set
Camera Raw from the File menu. to 100 and the Auto Mask checkbox turned off—paint over the
Click on a photo and, from the list on the right, carry out the entire image. Clicking the Show Mask checkbox, we could see
simplified “Davis four-step tango” for optimizing photos using the that the coverage was complete.
Basic tab. First, click Auto to set the black and white points. Then Once you’ve optimized and enhanced one photo, it’s easy to
adjust Brightness and Contrast to taste by dragging their sliders apply its magic to all the others. Click the Select All button, and
(we increased Contrast significantly). Next, use the Fill and Recov- then click Synchronize. We check all the boxes in the Synchronize
ery sliders to bring back detail in the shadows and highlights, dialog because we want to apply all the settings from this one
if needed. Finally, enhance your shot by adjusting Clarity and image to all the others, including the Local Adjustments (our extra
Vibrance. For this IR photo we boosted Clarity all the way up. Clarity). After synchronizing, click Done to return to Bridge.
We also increased Vibrance to bring out some inherent blues
in our image, giving it an even more wintry look. To cool the STEP THREE: With your optimized photos selected in Bridge,
color scheme, we reduced the Temperature to –4. choose Tools>Photoshop>Photomerge. In the Photomerge
Typically, it’s a good rule of thumb to avoid doing local dialog, you’ll see your photos listed in the Source Files section.
tone and color corrections in Camera Raw when the photos are Choose the Reposition option, turn off Blend Images Together
064 headed for Photomerge because any local changes probably (so no layer masks will be made), and click OK.
The WOW! Factor
negative values of 5–10%). To rotate, Control-click (PC: Right-click)

inside the Free Transform bounding box, choose Rotate from the
pop-up menu, and then click-and-drag around the outside of the
frame. Double-click inside the bounding box to complete the curl-
and-tilt process. Move, curl, and rotate each photo to the degree
you like, and the tossed-on-the-table collage is complete! ■
Photomerge arranges the photos, overlapping them in the

right order, and makes the canvas big enough to hold them all.
Click the Create New Fill Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers
panel and choose Solid Color to create a background. Pick your
background color in the dialog, click OK, and then click-and-
drag the newly added layer to the bottom of the Layers panel.
By using a Solid Color Fill layer, the background color will auto-
matically expand as needed if we enlarge the canvas.
File after Photomerge and Solid Color addition
STEP FOUR: To enhance the look of photos tossed on a table, click

one of the photo layers to select it, and then click the Add a Layer
Style (ƒx) icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. In the Layer Style
dialog, add a Drop Shadow and also an old-fashioned photo print
border using the Stroke effect, set to Inside, with the Size and
Color adjusted to taste. To add an exaggerated vignette, use the
Inner Shadow effect: set the Distance to 0 so the effect is the same
on all four edges, and increase the Size until the dark shading
peeks out from under the stroke.
Control-click (PC: Right-click) the layer’s ƒx icon and choose
Copy Layer Style. Target the other layers by Command-clicking
(PC: Ctrl-clicking) their names, Control-click (PC: Right-click) to
the right of the name of any one of the targeted layers, and
choose Paste Layer Style to apply the layer styles to all of the
layers. While we’re working with layer styles, we also add a Pattern Layer style added to one photo
Overlay to our background Fill layer. (Download the associated
file to see the exact settings we used.) [NAPP members may down-
load the final image used in this tutorial from www.photoshopuser
.com/members/janfeb09-downloads.html. Images are for personal
use only.]
STEP FIVE: Now, just a couple of final touches: Add a slight curl and
rotate some of the prints to complete the illustration—doing both
in a single Free Transform operation preserves the sharpness of the
photos. To curl a photo, press Command-T (PC: Ctrl-T), and then go
up to the Options Bar and click the Switch Between Free Transform
and Warp Modes icon. While you’re up there, choose Arch from
the Warp menu and enter a low Bend value (we used positive and
Our final illustration
Jack Davis, a member of the Photoshop Hall of Fame for his lifetime contributions to the fields of education and digital imagery, is the author of How
To Wow: Photoshop for Photography. Linnea Dayton, with coauthor Cristen Gillespie, is at work on The Photoshop CS3/CS4 Wow! Book, coming
from Peachpit Press in late spring/early summer.
ALL IMAGES BY JH DAVIS PHOTOGRAPHY
Kevin Ames
Digital Photographer’s Notebook

Pro Printing
I’m all for pro printing. Even though with soft proofing the color on the print doesn’t quite live up to its backlit
counterpart on the monitor, soft proofing in Photoshop is wonderful, marvelous, and even with the “make ugly”
box checked, it really isn’t What-You-See-Is-What-You-Print (WYSIWYP).
ere’s a graduated Photoshop CS4 solution until WYSI- STEP THREE: Go back
H WYP (pronounced whizzy-whip) really and truly hap-

pens; test prints are the prerequisite for great results
with any printer. My printing technique is much improved
to View>Proof Setup>
Custom, uncheck the
Simulate Paper Color
thanks to fellow Photoshop User contributor John Paul Caponi- checkbox, then click OK
gro and his articles, website, and especially after participating to close the dialog. Usually
in his series of workshops, The Fine Digital Print. [Visit www the problem is diminished
.johnpaulcaponigro.com for more information.—Ed.] brightness in the middle
This installment of the “Notebook” posits that you’re using at tones and a drop off of
least a downloaded profile for your printer/paper/ink set, or at saturation caused by the
best a custom profile, and that you know how to tell your printer properties of the paper. It’s
driver “No Color Management.” very difficult to match this
on the monitor. The best
STEP ONE: Open the file you want to print in Photoshop, choose way is to make a test print
Image>Duplicate, and click OK in the ensuing dialog to make a that will display the pos-
copy of the photograph. Arrange them so they’re side by side on sibilities so you can pick
your monitor. the best one.
In Photoshop CS4,
STEP TWO: Choose View>Proof Setup>Custom. In the Customize click the Curves icon in
Proof Condition dialog, select the profile for your printer/paper/ the Adjustments panel
ink set from the Device to Simulate menu; set the Rendering (Window>Adjustments)
Intent to Relative Colorimetric; and click the Simulate Paper Color to add a Curves adjustment
checkbox—this is the “make ugly” button mentioned earlier. It’s layer. Click the tonal adjust-
not so bad if you’re printing to a glossy or luster paper, but it looks ment tool (the icon with a
pretty awful if you’re printing on a matte or fine art paper as in our finger pointing to double
example; we’re using UltraSmooth Fine Art Paper from Epson. arrows), click in a darker
This is the get-it-as-close-as-you-can-onscreen-then-hope- midtone area in the image,
the-print-looks-good portion of the process. Cross your fingers and drag up to brighten it.
for luck. Overdo the adjustment so
the effect is overexposed.
When you’re finished, hide the layer by clicking the Eye icon at the
bottom of the Adjustments panel.
STEP FOUR: Click the arrow icon in the bottom-left corner of the
Adjustments panel to return to the adjustment list view, then
click the Hue/Saturation icon (it’s the second one from the left
in the second row). One of the great interface improvements in
Photoshop CS4 is the always-available control in the Adjustments
panel. Highlight an adjustment layer in the Layers panel and the
controls are instantly available—and they update in real time.
Drag the Saturation slider to +40 to make the adjustment much
greater than needed.
STEP FIVE: Tap the G key to make the Gradient tool active. Hit D
to set the default Foreground and Background colors. Click at the
066 left edge of the photograph, press the Shift key, and then drag
Digital Photographer’s Notebook
across to the right side. The Shift key constrains the gradient to Management. Choose Photoshop Manages Colors from the
a straight line across the layer mask of the Hue/Saturation layer. Color Handling menu, and set the Printer Profile and Rendering
The left edge has the most saturation, with it diminishing as you Intent menus to those you used in Step Two. Click Print.
look to the right. Let’s make the difference more obvious: Choose
Image>Adjustments>Posterize. Set the number of Levels to 5 STEP NINE: View the test print under light that’s as similar to
then click OK. It’s still not completely obvious, so we’ll make it where it will be displayed as possible. Compare the print to the
easier to see the breaks. original on the monitor. Determine which patch on the print is
closest to the monitor. (For this example, the fourth patch from
STEP SIX: Press Command-Shift-N (PC: Ctrl-Shift-N) to make a the left looks the best to me.)
new layer at the top of the stack. Name the layer “Lines” in the
dialog the click OK. Click-and-hold the Rectangular Marquee
tool (M) in the Toolbox then choose the Single Column Marquee
tool. Option-click (PC: Alt-click) the posterized layer mask on the
Hue/Saturation layer. Click on the edge of the white and gray
wedges. Now hold down the Shift key and click on each of the
lines between wedges until you have a total of four vertical sets
of marching ants. If you see only one line selected, zoom in to see
the rest by pressing Command-+ (PC: Ctrl-+; plus sign). Highlight
the Lines layer, choose Edit>Stroke, and set the Width to 10 px.
If your photograph is dark like this one of a Lilly Pulitzer blue-
paisley tuxedo jacket, click the Color swatch and choose white;
if it’s light, use black instead. Check the Center button then click
OK. Press Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect, then Option-click
(PC: Alt-click) the layer mask to return to the normal view.
STEP TEN: Press I for the Eyedropper tool. With Curves 1 layer
active, click the fourth path from the left to select the shade
of gray that gave just the right effect on the layer mask. Press
Option-Delete (PC: Alt-Backspace) to fill the layer mask with that
specific gray. Click the Hue/Saturation layer to activate it, then
press Option-Delete (PC: Alt-Backspace) again. Click the Eye icon
to hide the Lines layer and the photograph is ready to print.
STEP SEVEN: Normally the

next step would be to
repeat the last two steps
on the Curves layer. That’s
way too much work. Click
the Curves layer to highlight
it, Control-click (PC: Right-
click) on its layer mask, and
choose Delete Layer Mask.
Click on the posterized layer Next time, the “Notebook”

mask, press-and-hold the dives deeper into creating
Option (PC: Alt) key, then tools that can help make
click-and-drag it onto the printing easier and closer
Curves layer. Done. to WYSIWYP using smart
objects. Until then, keep
STEP EIGHT: Press Command-P (PC: Ctrl-P) to open the Print shooting! ■
dialog. Set the top drop-down menu on the right to Color
Kevin Ames creates evocative photographs for clients such as Westin Hotels, AT&T, and Coca-Cola. His fourth book, recently published by Peachpit
Press, is The Digital Photographer’s Notebook: A Pro’s Guide to Photoshop CS3, Lightroom and Bridge. He teaches the digital arts worldwide. 067
ALL IMAGES BY KEVIN AMES
Classic Photoshop Effects
The oldies but goodies that never seem to go out of style
■ BY COREY BARKER
Clipping for Effect

One aspect of masking in Photoshop that people tend to forget about is something called a clipping
mask or a clipping group. It’s a way of making one layer visible only through another layer. Knowing
this, you can take advantage of it in many ways to achieve some interesting effects.
STEP ONE: What we’re after here is to use clipping groups to

create a cool graphic effect with a basketball theme. We’ll begin
with a basketball texture. As you can see here, it’s just a simple
close up of a basketball.
©ISTOCKPHOTO/RICK RHAY
STEP TWO: Select the Type tool (T) and click in the middle of the
image to create a text layer. We chose Impact for the font because
a much bolder typeface will show more of the texture inside the
letters. In the Character panel (Window>Character), we set the text
Size to approximately 225 pt, Leading to 175 pt, and the Tracking
to –50 pt. Now type the words “BIG GAME” in all caps on two lines.
Highlight just the word BIG and set the Horizontal Scale to 125%.
This will help fill the space a little more since the top word has
fewer letters. We can also manipulate the shape of the letters
while keeping the text editable.
STEP THREE: Now click on the Add a Layer Style (ƒx) icon at the
bottom of the Layers panel and select Stroke. Set the Stroke Size
to around 12, choose Outside from the Position menu, and then
click the Color swatch and change it to whatever you like (for
this example, we used R:1, G:10, B:19). Click OK to close the
Select Stroke Color dialog, and click OK again to close the Layer
Style dialog.
Press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to make a duplicate of this
layer, Control-click (PC: Right-click) on the new layer’s name,
and choose Rasterize Type from the menu. Don’t throw away
the original text layer but go ahead and turn off its visibility by
clicking its Eye icon.
068
continued on p. 70
STEP FOUR: Double-click the Background layer containing the
texture and click OK to unlock it. Drag it to the top of the layer order.
Create a clipping group by holding down the Option (PC: Alt) key
and then clicking between the layers when you see the overlap-
ping circles appear (as shown). This will make the texture visible
only within the lettering on the layer below. Notice the stroke is still
visible. This is because the stroke is a layer style and not part of the
layer’s original pixels, which is the only thing that a clipping group
looks at.
STEP FIVE: Now we can modify each layer independently without

affecting the other layers. For instance, let’s add to the text layer
style we created earlier. Double-click the ƒx icon on the BIG GAME
copy layer (to the right of the layer’s name). Choose Bevel and
Emboss from the Styles list on the left and input the following
settings: 75% for Depth, increase the Size to 8, change the Angle
to 130, uncheck Use Global Light, and increase the Altitude to 48.
Just remember these setting will vary depending on the resolu-
tion and dimension of your image.
Choose Gradient Overlay from the Styles list. By default, it will
apply a basic black-to-white gradient. All you need to do is change
the Blend Mode to Overlay and click OK.
STEP SIX: Let’s add a little nuance to our image. Grab the Elliptical
Marquee tool, which is nested under the Rectangular Marquee
tool (M). Press-and-hold the Shift key, click-and-drag to create a
circular selection at the top of the “I” in BIG, and press Delete (PC:
Backspace). Notice that the layer style was redrawn to the new shape.
With the selection still active, go under the Select menu and
choose Transform Selection. Press-and-hold the Shift and Option
(PC: Alt) keys, grab a corner handle, and scale down the selection
slightly. Press Return (PC: Enter) and then press Option-Delete
(PC: Alt-Backspace) to fill the selection. It doesn’t matter what
colors are used because all you should see is the texture. Press
Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect all.
STEP SEVEN: Now press Command-T (PC: Ctrl-T) to activate Free

Transform. Go under the Edit menu, under Transform, and select
Warp. In the Options Bar, open the Warp menu, select Bulge, and
set the Bend value to 35%. Experiment with the distortion until
you get it to your liking and then press Return (PC: Enter) to com-
mit the transformation.
STEP EIGHT: Now we just

need a background element
to finish the effect. We used
a photo of a basketball court

that was brought over using
the Move tool (V) and placed
it at the bottom of the visible
layers. Then we simply used
the Crop tool (C) to bring in
the court closer and applied
a small, 3-pixel Gaussian Blur
(Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur)
to create a sense of depth. For a finishing touch, we pressed
Command-U (PC: Ctrl-U) to open the Hue/Saturation dialog,
clicked the Colorize checkbox, set the Hue to 215, the Saturation
to 55, and clicked OK.
Finally, we added the shadow of a player within the text by
dragging that layer into the existing clipping group, dragged it
COURT: ©FOTOLIA/GHEORGHE ROMAN SILHOUETTE: ©FOTOLIA/BRIAN ERICKSON
to the top of the Layers panel, changed its blend mode to Hard
Light, and Opacity to 50%. Now we’re ready for some b-ball! ■
070
Ed Greenberg and Jack Reznicki
The Copyright Zone

Model Release Myths
One of our favorite subjects to talk about is the model release. We don’t know of any other subject for photographers
that generates more myths, bad information, half truths, and very fuzzy logic. Ed has litigated several hundred
model-release cases in numerous states, representing photographers, models, model agencies, and others.
hus, this is not just “Well, I think…” advice. This is real makeup person, art director, and the all-important caterer. They
T advice from the trenches. Of course, you’re free to ignore

it. Ed’s wife does. There are, however, some “new myths”
sharing space on the Internet with the older, more common fairy
pose and the shoot takes several hours. Ads and promos come
out. Some employees who never signed releases claimed viola-
tions of New York law. They won.
tales about releases, which concerns us. We’re flabbergasted by A more common scenario might include where a photog-
some of the nonlegal advice about releases that’s out there rapher and model are involved in a personal relationship, living
and that people will believe. It’s hard, as creative people, to wade together or married. Images are taken—no releases are obtained.
through the muck and figure out reality from mythology. Here Implied consent to use the images was clearly there; both are
are some clarifications for you that will, as we like to say, separate willing participants in the shoot; and no written, signed releases
the beef from the bull. were ever obtained. If the images are used for trade or commer-
First off, remember that the requirement for model releases in cial purposes sans release, the photographer is in peril. We’ve had
New York, California, Florida, and many other states is governed this exact set of facts at least a dozen times. The nature of their
by statute. This means that whatever article some photographer, relationship at the time of the shoot was irrelevant to the issue
author, or “wannabe lawyer” has written that doesn’t mention of liability. It might, however, affect the amount of damages the
your state’s statute and the statutes of the states in which your model could recover.
images may appear, is virtually worthless. The only thing about
this issue that’s “one size fits all” is that you’re always better off You need consideration
having a signed release in your pocket. Some out there proffer the notion that the model must get paid
These statutes are in effect if your image is used in that state. money or receive some tangible item or benefit in order for the
If you shoot a wedding, you only have to worry about your own release to be valid. Wrong! In New York, for example, consider-
state statutes. But if you now run an ad in Brides magazine, it will ation is specifically not required.
appear in all 50 states, so now you need to have a release that cov-
ers you for all state statutes. That’s actually very easy if you have Orchestration
a decent, signed, and properly executed release. If an image is used Huh? Some proffer the notion that the need for a model release
in the State of New York, the New York Civil Rights Law Sections may be dependant upon how much coordination goes into the
50, 51 require (under criminal penalty in some cases) that if the shoot/shot. You’re being told that whether “public space” is used
photo, portrait, or likeness is to be used for trade or advertising may also be a factor, as well as whether the subject is photo-
purposes, a writing signed by the subject authorizing such use is graphed in a controlled environment where access is restricted.
required…period. That writing may take the form of a voucher, In the state of New York, these “factors” have little to no relevance
release, contract, agreement, or any other duly executed writing. in a court when determining liability.
We’ll address some of these new myths now floating around For example: Michael Jordan was crossing the intersection
but will intentionally not delve into the details of these myths of 5th Ave. and 42nd Street in New York City in the midst of oh,
lest they be rebroadcast and, by so doing, gain credibility. Again, say 500 people. His photo was taken and used to advertise or
state statutes and laws vary. We note that the “lay experts” don’t promote a product, service, or organization without Jordan’s
seem to know or mention that critical tidbit. written consent. (I really, really hope he calls me.) If Jordan has
endorsement contracts (I think he does), he might—in addi-
Photographer/subject relationship tion to bringing an action under the Civil Rights Law—sue the
The photographer/subject relationship is irrelevant when shooter for interference with a contractual relationship, or in
determining whether the photographer, ad agency, client, some places, something lawyers like to call a prima facie tort.
stock agency, etc. has the legal right to disseminate, use, or
employ the image for trade or commercial purposes without Reasonable expectation of privacy
the subject’s written consent. This phrase is legal coin in the realm of the courtroom when
Here’s a real-life example: A bank asks its employees to talking about invasive police activity, taping private conversa-
remain after closing if they want to be included in advertising tions without consent, or whether evidence should be excluded
and promotional materials to be distributed to advertise and as obtained in violation of the U.S. Constitution. The phrase
promote the bank. It’s made clear that they have no obligation has neither meaning within the context of the New York Civil
to hang around. Some remain and participate in your standard, Rights Statutes nor many other equivalent state statutes that
072 everyday location shoot with a photographer, assistant, hair-and- are addressed to the Right of Privacy or the statutory need for a
Photo taken in Seoul, Korea, during the Lotus Lantern Festival: Normally, we’d say that you need a model release for this image, but Jack
retouched the monk’s face and hairline enough, so we can safely say that this monk doesn’t exist. Thus, no release needed.
written, executed release. Remember, applicable state statutes

take precedence over anyone’s musings about what prior cases
may or may not show. Using the phrase does not of itself reflect
an understanding of its meaning.
Professional models vs. lay people

Liability is not dependant upon the livelihood of the subject. In
law, no mention is made of such a difference. Models who earn
income from modeling will likely recover more money than civil-
ians because they can (more probably) demonstrate financial
loss. I won’t get into the demeaning, defamatory type of cases
here but just be aware of them.
Property releases not required by law

We really love this one. Some have opined that there are no
cases where the lack of a property release caused a shooter to
be held liable—nonsense. Ed has been involved in more than
a few cases where money changed hands due to the lack of
a property release. There may be trademark and other legal
considerations that don’t have anything to do with “releases”
per se, but they’ll get you sued nonetheless.
There’s so much bad advice out there on location and other
releases that we’ll have yet more—especially on location

releases—next issue.
We’ll end this issue with this simple thought: All of this sturm
und drang is avoidable by obtaining a signature(s) on a simple,
one-page document. Why tempt fate? In the time it takes to think
Normally, we’d say that you don’t need a model release for this
about getting a release signed, you could’ve had it signed and image—not recognizable, no distinguishing features. But not so fast,
have piece of mind. ■ if this were a hand model, a model release would be needed for use.
Ed Greenberg and Jack Reznicki can be reached at Igotaquestion@thecopyrightzone.com. Because of the large volume of questions and
shortness of time, not everything can be answered. Anyway, most of the answers are simply, “Contact a lawyer.” 073
ALL IMAGES BY JACK REZNICKI
Peter Bauer
From the Help Desk
To: NAPP Help Desk The only difference

From: Kisha between the RGB on
In the Blending Options section of the Layer Style dialog, when the left, properly exe-
would you use the Layer Mask Hides Effects option? cuted to produce an
intertwined effect, and
To: Kisha the RGB look to the
From: NAPP Help Desk right is a single option
When working with multiple layers in an image, you can use a in the Layer Style dia-
layer mask to hide parts of an upper layer, allowing the lower log. By selecting Layer
Mask Hides Effects, the
layer (or layers) to show through the masked layer. You may, for
masks on the R and G
example, want part of the upper layer to be hidden to present the
layers can hide both
appearance of a hole in the artwork on that layer. Or you may want the content of the layer
to hide part of an upper layer to make that layer and the lower and the layer style applied to that content.
layer appear intertwined. Using the Vector Mask Hides Effects option offers you the oppor-
When a layer style is applied to a layer with a layer mask, the tunity to work with a path as the basis for a mask that hides layer
style normally conforms to the shape of the visible pixels on the effects. Keep in mind, however, that the layer mask and the vector
layer. Overlay effects are applied to all visible pixels. Glows, shad- mask are cumulative on the layer—only pixels that fall within both
ows, and strokes follow the entire outline of the layer’s content. masks will be visible.
But sometimes that behavior can ruin the look you have worked Alternatively, you can use the Layer>Layer Style>Create Layers
so hard to produce. Consider, for example, the intertwined RGB command and mask or erase parts of the new layers containing
graphic on the left (below). Layer masks on the R and G layers the elements of the layer style. But, as you can see, that can make
make parts of those layers appear to be “behind” the layer below the Layers panel much more
in the Layers panel. Notice how the layer style enhances the idea complicated and requires more
that the G is hooked on the bottom of the R and passes through work than simply selecting an
the top loop of the B. option in the Layer Styles dialog.
Compare that to the RGB
graphic on the right, where the
layer style conforms to the vis-
ibility of the layer’s content. This
makes the end of the tail of the
R and the stem of the G appear
to be separate from the rest of
the two letters. Rather than
intertwined, the G looks pushed
into the R and the B looks pushed
into the G.
Remember, too, that

Photoshop CS4 offers the
new Masks panel, which
enables you to make
adjustments to a mask
quickly and easily. Espe-
cially note the Mask Edge
button in the Masks panel,
which opens the Refine
Mask dialog (very similar
to the Refine Edges option
introduced in Photoshop
CS3). And don’t forget that
the Masks panel enables
you to feather the edges
of vector masks as well. ■
074 Peter Bauer is Director of the NAPP Help Desk and a featured columnist at PlanetPhotoshop.com. His latest book is Photoshop CS4 for Dummies.
Scott Onstott
Beyond Photoshop
Poor Man’s HDR
Although some people might prefer the 32-bit HDR (high-dynamic range) image—created from blending
together multiple shots at different exposures—because it’s an outstanding visual and technical achievement,
sometimes you might favor a “low-budget,” 8-bit approach to expanding dynamic range.
o matter how you shoot architectural interiors on a Click the Select All button (circled), then hold down Shift, and click
N sunny day, no single exposure will capture detail inside

and outside a room; bracketing is required. With only
two exposures and a layer mask (plus a few tricks), you can expand
Open Objects. This opens the images as smart objects, which will
allow us to revisit Camera Raw later to fine-tune the composite.
dynamic range while still in 8-bit mode and also see detail inside Combining objects
and out. Next, we’ll combine both smart objects into one document. If you’re
using Photoshop CS3, go to Step Three.
Developing the smart way If you’re using Photoshop CS4, it will have opened your doc-
After visiting a site, say you discover that you didn’t get enough uments as separate tabs within one window and unfortunately,
bracketed shots to create a quality HDR image. In the following this arrangement makes it impossible to combine objects. To
technique for expanding dynamic range, you need only two fix this, go to the Window menu and choose Arrange>Float All
bracketed images: one exposed for highlights and the other for in Windows.
shadow detail. Tip: You should bracket by shutter speed to avoid
depth-of-field issues. STEP THREE: Select the Move tool (V) and, while holding the Shift
We’ll start by using Adobe Camera Raw to bring the source key, drag one image into the other image window (adding Shift
JPEGs into Photoshop as smart objects. That way we keep our ensures both images will stack perfectly). And now, you should
development options open, and Camera Raw will help us fine- have one document containing two smart object layers. Close
tune the composite image after we take masking as far as it can go. the document with only one layer without saving.
STEP ONE: Launch Photoshop and choose File>Open. Navigate

to the folder containing your bracketed images, or the provided
samples from the NAPP member website. Using our sample images,
we Shift-selected Highlight-detail.jpg and Shadow-detail.jpg and
then clicked Open. Note: If the JPEGs don’t open in Camera Raw, go
to Photoshop>Preferences>General and click on File Handling, and
then check Prefer Adobe Camera Raw for JPEG files.
[NAPP members may download the images used in this tutorial
from www.photoshopuser.com/members/janfeb09-downloads
.html. Images are for personal use only.]
STEP TWO: Resist the temptation to try and develop one image
that shows detail both inside and outside simultaneously—the
information just isn’t there. Instead, play with the sliders under the
Basic tab to make what you do have in each exposure look good. STEP FOUR: In the Layers panel, drag the Shadow-detail smart
object layer below Highlight-detail. It might be a bit counterintui-
tive but Shadow-detail is the brighter image while Highlight-detail
appears dark. The brighter image should be on the bottom of the
Layers panel.
Masking one exposure with the other

The crux of this technique is to mask the top image with the
bottom one. In this way, wherever the mask is close to white
(in the window area), we’ll see the Highlight-detail layer. Where
the mask is darker, we’ll see the interior space as seen on the
Shadow-detail layer.
STEP FIVE: Click the Shadow-detail layer to make it active, press

Command-A (PC: Ctrl-A) to Select All, then Command-C (PC:
Ctrl-C) to copy it to the Clipboard. Now, press Command-D
076 (PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect.
Beyond Photoshop
STEP SIX: Next, target We can brighten the room by making the mask darker, as this
the Highlight-detail will hide more of the Highlight-detail layer and thereby show
layer and click the Add more of the Shadow-detail layer. In the Levels dialog, drag the
Layer Mask icon at the shadow Input slider far to the right (in our example, 100), and
bottom of the Layers then click OK.
panel. Option-click (PC:
Alt-click) the layer mask
thumbnail to display it
in the document win-
dow (currently white).
Press Command-V (PC:
Ctrl-V) to paste the copy of Shadow-detail from the Clipboard into
this mask (masks are always grayscale) and deselect again.
STEP SEVEN: Option-click (PC: Alt-click) the layer mask again to

display the result of the masked layer in the document window.
Don’t worry: It won’t look good yet.
Fine-tuning in Camera Raw

The smart objects allow us to revisit development settings in
Camera Raw for fine-tuning the composite image. The room is
still a bit too dark compared to the world outside—no problem
for Camera Raw.
STEP TEN: Double-click the Highlight-detail layer thumbnail

(not the mask) and the Camera Raw dialog appears. Drag the
Fill Light slider to 100, click OK, and the world outside gets
brighter. Double-click the Shadow-detail layer thumbnail, drag
the Recovery slider to 100, and click OK. Here’s our final image
where the interior and exterior brightness match more closely.
Blurring and leveling the mask
Much like the mystery behind the Unsharp Mask filter, blurring
the layer mask we’ve made will paradoxically improve the com-
posite image. We’ll also use Levels on the mask to control how
much of each layer gets mixed into the result.
STEP EIGHT: With the layer mask still targeted, choose Filter>
Blur>Gaussian Blur. Select a radius of about 5.5 pixels and click OK.
The image already looks better but the interior is still too dark.
The poor man’s HDR technique works in older versions of Photo-

shop (going way back if you optionally skip smart objects and
Camera Raw), because it relies on creative masking techniques
to expand dynamic range. You can even use it in Photoshop CS4
whenever you don’t have enough bracketed images to create a
high-quality HDR image, or when you want to keep file size down
and retain access to the full toolset for 8-bit images. Enjoy! ■
STEP NINE: Still working with the layer mask targeted, press
Command-L (PC: Ctrl-L) to bring up the Levels adjustment dialog. Scott Onstott authors books and video tutorials for architects, engi-
Note: We’re not doing a Levels adjustment on the smart object neers, and builders. Check out his Photoshop for Architects DVD
layer—just its mask. and The Digital Architect video podcast at ScottOnstott.com. 077
ALL IMAGES BY RICHARD TRUEMAN

1 Full Day of Photoshop® Training, 5 Info-Packed Classes – Just $99
It’s time to take your Photoshop® skills to a whole new level. With over 40,000 professional and amateur photographers, graphic designers, and other
creatives attending our events each year, it’s easy to see why we are the most popular Photoshop® seminar tour in the world! Our expert trainers teach
you the very latest photography, Photoshop® and Creative Suite 4 tips, tricks, and advanced techniques in a casual, easy-to-understand style that’s
sure to have you working smarter, faster, and getting better results than ever before. Visit www.photoshopseminars.com for an event near you.
You’ll be amazed at how much you can learn in one day!

$ 79 $99
NAPP Members Non NAPP Members
Produced By
Your one-day seminar also includes a detailed seminar workbook, keyboard shortcut guide, issue
of Photoshop User and Layers magazines, and a bonus Kelby Training “Goodies” DVD ($29.95 value).
To register visit www.photoshopseminars.com
Sponsored By 100% Money Back Guarantee
See website or call for details.
Coming to a City Near You!
Scott Kelby Dave Cross Bert Monroy Ben Willmore Fay Sirkis Taz Tally Terry White
Adobe Lightroom Maximum Adobe Adobe Photoshop Adobe Photoshop CS4 The Art of Photo Painting Adobe InDesign Adobe InDesign
Live 2 Tour Photoshop CS4 Tour CS4 Creativity Tour for Photographers Tour With Photoshop and Corel Painter CS4 Tour CS4 Productivity Tour
For locations, dates and information about our one-day training seminars visit www.photoshopseminars.com or call 800.201.7323.
Adobe, Creative Suite and Photoshop are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
Photoshop User magazine Library Develop Slideshow Print Web
Lightroom
Adobe® Photoshop® ®
section
86
92 94 97
80 93
itale
By Jim DiV
of
w it h t h e arrival
ition
ig ital trans nly
w ho b egan t h e d
e er a o f tethered-o
phers ed th
Photogra a m eras miss o be
n s re f le x (S L R ) c
t o o c o nfining t
gle le a little
digital sin om e m ay find it decade o

f
u d io . S s e c o n d
in the st o are in
their
shooting tt h o s e w h
other wa
y.
u t er , b u w o rk a n y
a comp uldn’t
wired to it s, and wo rt of
k n o w the be n e f
a n im p ortant pa
pture such
digital ca h o p L ig htroom is re d-shooting
h o to s te th e
t Adobe
P ok at
Now tha lo w , it’s time to lo
work f es.
m b ine d capture g o f d ig ital imag
the c o cessin
fo r sm ooth pro
s aga in
capabilitie
080
ne of the big issues is that different cameras have propri- STEP TWO: Create a Watched Folder in a location where you can find
etary RAW-processing software. When early requests came it easily, such as your desktop (ours is called 2008_09_04). Make sure
in for a tethered workflow in Lightroom, Adobe took a very to set your camera connection software to download all photos to
simple but effective approach to it: Have a watched folder this folder and take another test shot.
that can be enabled by a click from the menu and can move the files
right into Lightroom as they arrive on the hard drive. This way you STEP THREE: Launch Lightroom and go to the Library module.
can use the connection utility software of your choice. Choose File>Auto Import>Enable Auto Import, then choose File>
Auto Import>Auto Import Settings. In the Auto Import Settings
What’s on the menu? dialog that appears, click Choose next to Watched Folder, navigate to
Most digital SLRs include camera connection software when you buy the folder you created in Step Two, and click Choose again. This tells
the camera; a few have it as an add-on accessory. Using the camera Lightroom where to find the images for your photo shoot. (Note: This
manufacturer’s proprietary software to connect the camera to the folder must be empty for Lightroom to connect to it. If you have any
computer and make them communicate is the simplest and most test images in there, empty the folder and continue; if you forget, a
trouble-free connection you can set up. warning dialog will appear and remind you to empty the folder.)
I’ll have the shrimp appetizer

Once this connection is made, each image is saved to a folder on
the computer as it’s exposed. Lightroom sees the file in the folder
and grabs it, moving it into its own designated folder and instantly
importing it into the Lightroom Library module. This process, along
with the camera’s individual features, makes it easy to achieve con-
trollable and repeatable images. Here’s how:
STEP ONE: Connect the camera to your computer and launch the
camera connection utility software (we’re using Canon’s EOS Utility).
Use the AC power supply so the camera can stay powered up all
day, if necessary. (You don’t want to constantly reconnect when the
camera goes into sleep mode after sitting idle.)
Do a custom white balance in the camera for the lighting setup and
then set the camera to use that setting. This way your images will come
into the system with perfect color from the start. For our Canon EOS-
1Ds Mark III, we’ll fill the frame with a large white card that’s illuminated
with the same light source as the subject, shoot the photo, and set that
as the custom white balance, as instructed by the camera’s menu.
081
STEP FOUR: Next, choose the Destination for the images. In the Move
to field, click Choose, navigate to the folder where you want Light-
Mmm…tiramisu
Once the images are exposed, Lightroom can export the RAW
room to move the images, and click Choose again. If you don’t already
images into the final TIFFs that will be checked out in Photoshop
have a folder set up for this, you can create a folder in the Choose
for any final adjustments before sending them on to the client. This
Folder dialog. (Note: Lightroom doesn’t just point to the incoming
easy-to-adapt tethered workflow is inexpensive to set up and it’s
files, it moves them to their own folder, so your Watched Folder will be
familiar due the RAW controls we’re used to in Photoshop.
empty. By default, this new folder is in the same location as the incoming
It isn’t going to be workable in every situation but when it’s set
files, and the images are placed in a subfolder called autoImport.)
up correctly, this can be a comfortable way to work and get the best
quality for our clients. If you’ve never tried this approach, you really
STEP FIVE: Files can be renamed as they’re brought in by filling in
need to give it a chance to prove that having control of every aspect
the File Naming information in the next field. [To learn more about
of the original capture is the key to quality output. ■
renaming photos, see Photoshop User, July/August 2007, p. 80.—Ed.]
Any Develop Settings can also be applied, along with Metadata
information. Set the Initial Previews to Minimal to keep Lightroom
running quickly. Click OK and do another test shot. The image arrives
in the Watched Folder, and is then instantly moved into the auto-
Import folder from the previous step.
Which entrée?
Making minor changes throughout a photo shoot can be limiting if
your camera doesn’t have Live View capabilities, like the Canon EOS-
1Ds Mark III we’re using. With Live View enabled, your clients can sit
at the computer and see subtle changes on the set as if they’re look-
ing through the lens. This allows you to move things around the set,
while the client stays clear of touching anything as you work.
You can control exposure, white balance, and focus from your cam-
era utility software and have the live preview window open onscreen.
This way, you can shoot right into Lightroom for all the processing
controls you could ever want. Clients love sitting at the computer as
the images come into view. This setup gives you a lot of control over
the photo shoot.
Jim DiVitale is an Atlanta-based photographer and instructor specializing in digital photography. His clients include Mizuno USA, Carter’s, Genuine Parts
082 Company, IBM, TEC America, Scientific-Atlanta, and Coca-Cola. Check out his website at www.divitalephotography.com.
ALL IMAGES BY JIM DIVITALE
Matt Kloskowski X Y
LIGHTROOM News
. . . .
▼ FOTOMAGICO PRO NOW SUPPORTS LIGHTROOM
Boinx Software Ltd. released an update to their award-winning photo-presentation software, FotoMagico (for Mac only).
FotoMagico 2.6 for professional photographers now supports Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 libraries, so users can seam-
lessly access GarageBand songs, iLife sound effects, media libraries from iTunes, or media files from any other folder on their
hard disks. FotoMagico 2.6 Pro is available for $129. The upgrade is free of charge to current FotoMagico 2.x license owners.
For more information or to purchase, visit http://boinx.com.
▼ PHOTODEX OFFERS PROSHOW PLUG-IN FOR LIGHTROOM 2

In other slide show-related news (this time, for PC users), Photodex Corporation released the ProShow Plug-in for Light-
room. Now you can quickly and easily set up slide shows in Lightroom and export directly to ProShow Gold or Producer to
further enhance and output. The plug-in allows you to add a copyright, title, and description to photos in your slide show
from metadata. You can also refine
slide shows by adding caption
effects and adjusting caption size
and placement on all of the slides.
For all of you preset-hungry
folks out there, ProShow lets you
create presets of your favorite set-
tings to apply later, as well as more
than 280 transition effects and 10
photo borders for your slide show.
Throw in the addition of adding
pans, zooms, and rotations to your
photos, and control the speed of
the motion and timing for slides,
and you have some slick extra
features that the Lightroom slide
shows just don’t offer.
The ProShow Plug-in for Light-
room is free, ProShow Gold costs
$69.95, and Producer is $249.95.

You can find out more about Pro-
Show at www.photodex.com.
▼ LR2/MOGRIFY RELEASED
Timothy Armes (http://timothyarmes.com) announced the release of version 1.45 of the LR2/Mogrify export plug-in.
This is Timothy’s donationware plug-in for watermarking, annotating, and adding borders to images as they’re exported
from Lightroom.
Mogrify taps into some already-free software and provides an easy-to-use interface for adding graphics to your photos
during the export process from Lightroom. The newest version includes some highly requested features, such as advanced
resizing options, sharpening after resize, color-space conversion, overlaying graphical watermarks or textual annotations,
and putting borders around your images.
Make sure you stop by www.lightroomkillertips.com for updated news, free presets, Lightroom how-to videos, and tips. ■
084
By Mike Mackenzie
FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER
Terri Gold
My passion is photographing the rituals of the human drama, whether focusing my lens on the vanishing tribal
cultures of Asia, the intimacy of a wedding celebration, or in my editorial work. The work is an exploration of our
cross-cultural truths: the importance of family, community, and ritual, and the amazing diversity of its expression. I’m
aware of the growing importance of understanding our common humanity in the global village we live in today.
My goal is to assist in preserving our ancient knowledge and wisdom for future generations. I believe imagery
that shares our stories can have a positive impact on our world.
Q. Can you give us a short list of the equipment you use?
I use a Canon EOS 5D and Canon EOS 350D converted to infrared (IR); Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L USM, EF 24–105mm f/4L IS USM, EF
70–200mm L IS, and 16–35mm USM lenses; Hasselblad XPan with 45mm lens; Mamiya 7 with 43mm lens; Zero Image pinhole camera;
and Diana camera.
Q. When did you know you wanted to be a photographer? Who influenced you?
My earliest memories are of spinning a globe, always drawn to the last mysterious corners of the world and to studying indigenous cultures
and sacred sites. As long as I can remember, I wanted to visually capture images that explore our human connections as they’re being
made. No matter where I am, I always feel more comfortable with a camera in my hand. My influences are the early explorers/photog-
raphers like Martin and Osa Johnson and Edward S. Curtis, and currently Nevada Wier, Chris Rainier, and Phil Borges.
Q. What’s your favorite feature in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom?
I like to experiment with different versions of an image nondestructively using virtual copies.
Q. Do you immerse yourself in the culture or event before photographing it?
I do extensive research about the culture and festivals. I read fiction and nonfiction books to learn what are the ties that bind this com-
munity together. Now, using the Internet, I can contact people in the remote areas and set up relationships before I leave. Working with
local guides is immensely important in the tribal regions.
Q. Do you ever participate in the festivals or celebrations, or are you there
just to record the event?
Photographing at festivals, there are times when I step back and record, and moments
where I’m looking to make a spontaneous connection. Acknowledging our first
impressions, we’re often foreign to each other but also familiar. Occasionally, I’m
invited to participate. I stay open to the wonder in a chance encounter.
Q. Are you hired to photograph festivals or do you do it out of your
own passion?
This is truly my lifelong passion, whether commissioned or on my own. Change is
the one constant in all our lives; only in our photographs can we celebrate the still
moment. The body of work is entitled “Still Points in a Turning World.”
Q. How do you approach IR photography? What do you look for in a scene
and how do you decide if you’re going to take a shot with your IR camera
or your color camera?

I wear many cameras around my neck, up to four: one infrared digital, one color
digital, one XPan with cross-processed film or black and white, and a Mamiya 7.
I step into this visual current and switch from one to another like a dance.
Contact Terri Gold at http://terrigoldworldimagery.com

and http://terrigoldimagery.com Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, Canon 10–22mm, 1/60 at f/8, 20mm, CR2
Folders/Terri Gold
086
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Section
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, Canon 10–22mm, 1/320 at f/5.6, 17mm, CR2
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, Canon 10–22mm, 1/125 at f/6.3, 22mm, CR2 Canon EOS 5D, Canon 24–105mm, 1/200 at f/11, 32mm, CR2
087
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, Canon 10–22mm, 1/160 at f/7.1, 20mm, CR2
Canon EOS 5D, Canon 24–105mm, 1/50 at f/5.6, 35mm, CR2 Canon EOS-1v, Canon 16–35mm, Agfa Scala film
Lightroom users, if you’d like to be considered for the “Featured Photographer,” email letters@photoshopuser.com.
088
UNDER THE LOUPE
Understanding the Plug-in Manager
Rob Sylvan X Y
You can extend the usefulness of Lightroom by installing export plug-ins to assist you in
such tasks as uploading to photo-sharing sites, adding customizable watermarks, and
managing your exported metadata. These export plug-ins aren’t new to Lightroom 2
(although many have evolved quite a bit), but the way to manage them has changed.
. . . .
U
se the Plug-in Manager to enable and disable installed Lightroom. When you open the Plug-in Manager, you should
plug-ins and check their status for available updates. see each installed plug-in listed, and you’ll have to enable
Access the Plug-in Manager by going to File>Plug-in each one before you can access it on the Export dialog. To
Manager or by clicking the Plug-in Manager button found at remove a plug-in, just remove the .lrplugin file from the
the bottom of the Export dialog. Modules folder and relaunch Lightroom.
In the Plug-in Manager dialog, you’ll see all of your
installed plug-ins listed on the left side. A green light next What are the Add and Remove buttons for?
to a plug-in indicates that it’s enabled and operational. If The Add and Remove buttons in the Plug-in Manager aren’t
the light is off, then the plug-in is disabled. A yellow light always needed; however, they give you the option of putting
indicates that there may be a problem with the plug-in— the .lrplugin files in a different folder. If it suits you, skip the
for example, if an update is required. Modules folder, create a folder in another location, place the
.lrplugin files inside it, then click the Add button. You’ll be
prompted to navigate to that folder and select the .lrplugin file.
After clicking the Add Plug-in button, it will be added to the
Plug-in Manager. Repeat for each plug-in. Any plug-in added
in this manner can be removed with the Remove button.
A great place to find plug-ins is the Lightroom Exchange,
which is a portal maintained by Adobe where third-party
developers can share their work with the world. Click the
Plug-in Exchange button at the bottom of the Plug-in Man-
ager to open the Exchange in your browser.
Once the plug-ins have been installed and enabled, you
can access them in the Export dialog by clicking the drop-
Click on a plug-in to select it and you’ll see its informa-
down menu at the top of the dialog.
tion displayed on the right side. You can enable or disable
a plug-in by expanding the Status panel and clicking the
desired button. A plug-in has to be enabled before it can be
accessed in the Export dialog. (Note: Some plug-ins offer
additional panels that provide update options and links to
the developer’s website.)
Lightroom will automatically add your plug-ins when it

launches, if you first place your plug-in files in the following
folder on your hard drive:
Mac: [user]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/ A minor point of confusion

Lightroom/Modules Most plug-ins, such as the Export to Flickr or Export to Smug-
XP: \Documents and Settings\[user]\Application Data\ Mug, come with their own set of unique export panels and
Adobe\Lightroom\Modules options; however, there are a few plug-ins, notably LR2/Mog-
Vista: \Users\[user]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\ rify and Metadata Wrangler, that are technically considered
Lightroom\Modules Post-Process Actions and appear in a special section of their
own under the Presets on the Export dialog.
Tip: To find that folder, open the Lightroom Preferences, choose The difference is simple yet significant: A Post-Process Action
the Presets tab, then click the Show Lightroom Presets Folder but- can be used with any type of export. For example, when I use
ton. This opens the Lightroom folder in the Finder (PC: Explorer), the Flickr plug-in to export directly to my Flickr account, I also
and inside that, you’ll find (or create) the Modules folder. integrate elements of LR2/Mogrify to add a custom watermark,
To install export plug-ins, just place the file with the and I use Metadata Wrangler to control exactly what metadata
.lrplugin extension inside the Modules folder and launch is included in the resulting JPEG that’s uploaded. ■
090
UNDER THE HOOD
The Graduated Filter
Matt Kloskowski X Y
For me, the Graduated Filter is one of the stars of Lightroom 2. This feature alone
has not only saved me from many repetitive tasks, such as enhancing the sky in
my photos, but, as you’ll see here, it offers some other neat benefits as well.
. . . .
T
he obvious use of the Graduated Filter is to simulate Tip: If you don’t see the sliders that we have but instead
using a graduated neutral-density filter on your lens. have – and + buttons, click on the little switch to the far
Sure, we had our ways to fake this in Photoshop if right of the word Effect to switch to the slider view (we’ll
we didn’t use that filter when we took a photo, but the call it the “cool kids” view).
Graduated Filter in Lightroom 2 makes it much easier.
STEP THREE: Now click-and-drag from the top of your photo
STEP ONE: Select a photo in the Develop module. Here’s our down toward the horizon line. As you drag, you’ll see you
original photo. The problem is that the color in the sky just can control your filter by rotating it to the left or right to
isn’t as vibrant as it seemed when I was there. help it fit with the horizon if it’s not perfectly straight. Gener-
ally, you should release the mouse button before you get to
the foreground (or horizon line) for the best graduated filter
effect. If you don’t, then your filter results may leak into the
foreground area, which was probably properly exposed in
the first place.
STEP TWO: Click on the Graduated Filter tool in the Toolbar

(or just press the letter M). You’ll find it near the top of the
right-side panels area under the Histogram. When you click
on it, a set of options such as Exposure, Brightness, etc.
appears (as shown here). Here’s where we can replicate the
look of a traditional neutral-density
gradient filter and darken the sky. Try STEP FOUR: After you release the mouse button, the little
dragging the Exposure slider to the
circle (pin) shows the center of the gradient. You can always
left. We went about –2/3 (–0.67) stop, reposition the gradient either by clicking-and-dragging on
but you don’t have to nail it the first the pin and moving it or by dragging any of the handles
time because you can go back later that appear with it.
and change the setting, if necessary.
092
What I like most about this tool is that you can change
and add other effects to the same area. For example, if you
find the Exposure setting is too much or too little, then
change it now. We brought ours down to about –1/2 (0.50)
stop because it was too dark. We also increased the Clarity
setting to bring some more punch into the top of the house
and in the clouds.
STEP FIVE: What’s really cool is that you can add to or

change the color of your sky. Click on the Color swatch
below the sliders and choose the light-blue preset. That
really brings some color back into the sky, so it’s not only
deeper, but bluer now too. The not-so-obvious
Here’s where this tool really goes
above and beyond for me—por-
traits. While I expected I’d use it
for landscapes all the time (and
I do), I’ve found some other use-
ful options for it.
STEP ONE: This time around,

select a portrait to work on.
While I like the directional
lighting coming from the
left in our example, it’s just a
little too bright. You can see
The semi-obvious hints of overexposure on the
I use this filter in reverse as well. While the previous example shoulder and even on the
did great in the sky, the foreground grass is really lacking side of her face. I thought it
something. It’s a little too bright and doesn’t have the same would be good to tone that
green saturation in it as the rest of the photo. It turned out
down a bit.
that the filter works great there too, and because Lightroom
allows you to add multiple filters (each with its own settings)
to the image, we can use the same process. STEP TWO: We’ll drop the Exposure setting on the Gradu-
ated Filter to –1 stop, then drag from the far left to the
STEP ONE: Using the same middle of the photo. This creates a vertical gradient instead
photo, click on the New of the horizontal ones we’ve been making so far. Again, my
option at the top of the favorite part about this tool is that I’m not stuck with my
filter area and set the settings: I can adjust the Exposure slider either way after the
Exposure to –1 stop. This fact and really hone in on a good effect. We decreased the
time, drag from the bot- Exposure even more here. You can really see it if you check
tom toward the middle out how much more detail we brought back on her face,
of the photo and you’ll shoulder, and even in her hair and veil. ■
see the darkening take
place from the bottom
to the top, instead of the

way we used it before.
STEP TWO: If the area

needs more color satura-
tion, you can adjust it with the Saturation slider. Because we
already created the gradient to darken, add to it by drag-
ging the Saturation slider to the right. This gives it almost
a perfect match between the grass in the background and
the grass in the foreground (shown top right).
ALL IMAGES BY MATT KLOSKOWSKI
093
WORKING CREATIVELY IN LIGHTROOM
Creative Direct Positive
Angela Drury X Y
The Lightroom Direct Positive preset is perfect for adding a quick enhancement
to an image. It’s also a great place to start adding creativity to your shots. In
processing images from a recent vacation, the Direct Positive preset proved to
be the perfect starting point for enhancing the charm and beauty of Venice.
. . . .
D
irect Positive is one of my favorite presets that I use
often. It always seems to liven up an image, some-
times in unexpected ways. Since I apply this preset
so regularly, I’ve created many variations on it and find them
to be an essential component of my creative preset library.
In this issue, I’ll take you through the steps to create one of
these variations.
A walk through Venice

Walking through a piazza in Venice one morning, I snapped
these musical instruments leaning against a cathedral wall
and couldn’t wait to see what I could do with the shot. First,
of course, I went for a sepia tone, which seemed to be the
obvious look for this particular image. Sepia worked well
with the image but I decided to try something less tradi- As you’ll see later in the final image, with a few Develop
tional and a bit more creative instead. module adjustments, the shot becomes much more visually
interesting. Here’s how:
STEP ONE: We’ll make most of the color adjustments in the

Camera Calibration panel in the Develop module. Use the
Shadows Tint slider to make the dramatic color shift: By mov-
ing the slider to –43 (toward the green tint), the tones shift
to a crisp, cool blue and the image immediately pops and
becomes more interesting.
STEP TWO: Next,

make a few more
slight color changes
in the Camera
Calibration panel
by shifting sliders
First, I clicked on the default Creative – Direct Positive in around until you find
the Lightroom Presets on the left-hand side of the Develop a combination that
module, which is a set of adjustments to the HSL Satura- works. These color
tion panel in addition to a slight adjustment to the White changes are subtle
Balance Temp slider. It doesn’t initially make a dramatic and the settings are
change to this image, but the cooler tone brings out the subjective—mine
colors of the brick and stone. are simply based on
094
what looked good to me at the time. The actual settings will

vary from image to image and you’ll have to experiment to
determine what looks best.
Tip: What I do is move the sliders all the way to each end of
the spectrum to get a feel for how it affects the image and then
I scale back, making gradual changes until the image looks right.
Final image
That’s it. Four fairly easy steps to make a cool travel shot
even better! Of course, I saved these settings to my User
Presets library and began using it with some of my other
shots. It adds a cool and kind of offbeat look to my Venice
scenic vistas! ■
STEP THREE: Next,

we’ll add a vignette
using the Lens Cor-
rection sliders in the
Vignettes panel. For
our image, it’s a big
adjustment, with set-
tings of Amount –87
and Midpoint 12. This
darkens the image
quite a bit, so we added
a Tone Curve adjust-
ment of +53 to the
Darks to lighten it up
again, and also made
a Basic panel Bright-
ness adjustment to +60 to brighten the overall tones.
STEP FOUR: For our last step, we increased Clarity and Vibrance
in the Basic panel. This was one of the most important steps
because the Vibrance setting, which we increased to +52, did
what it does so well by adding vibrancy to the tones of the
image. And we bumped Clarity to +80 to really bring out the
textures of the brick and stone.
Angela Drury is an award-winning photographer who specializes in floral, travel, kids, and stock images. Her work has received
many awards and has been featured in numerous group and solo shows. Angela is working on several stock projects in addition
to teaching workshops about Lightroom. To see her photography, visit www.angeladrury.com. ALL IMAGES BY ANGELA DRURY
095
Chris Orwig X
X Y
Y
LIGHTROOM Tips & Tricks

Keyword List craziness Crop coolness
One way to quickly add metadata keywords to your photos is to While you’re in any of the modules, press the R key to navigate to
take advantage of the Library module’s Keyword List panel. Press the Develop module and select the Crop Overlay tool. Now press
G to enter the Library module’s Grid view, then press Command-3 the O key to cycle through the various overlays. These overlays
(PC: Ctrl-3) to open the Keyword List panel. Next, make a selec- are especially helpful for determining the composition impact of
tion of one or more images. Position the cursor over one of the the crop. For even more control, certain overlays allow you to flip
keywords and a checkbox will appear to the left of the keyword. or alternate the overlay orientation by pressing Shift-O.
Click on this box and that keyword will be added to your image(s). When you need to quickly straighten an image while the Crop
As a side note, when you hover over the keyword, an arrow will Overlay tool is active, press Command (PC: Ctrl) and click-and-drag
appear to the right of the keyword count number. Click on this along something vertical or horizontal in the image that should be
number and Lightroom will filter the catalog to show only the level. This will automatically create a crop rotation and straighten
photos tagged with this keyword. the photo.
Another way to add keywords quickly is to select one or more
images and drag them onto a keyword. Conversely, you can select
one or more images and drag the keyword onto the images.
CHRIS ORWIG
Basic panel processing speed

The Basic panel is where all the fun of image processing takes
Keyword Set quickness place, and it’s where you’ll spend most of your time in Lightroom.
My favorite way to add keywords is to use Keyword Sets in the That’s why you need to know as much as possible about using this
Keywording panel. This is especially helpful because sets of pho- panel. First, press the D key to navigate to the Develop module,
tos typically require similar keywords. Press G to enter Grid view, and then press Command-1 (PC: Ctrl-1) to open the Basic panel.
then press Command-2 (PC: Ctrl-2) to open the Keywording panel. Now move the sliders to process your photos.
At the bottom of the panel is the Keyword Set menu. A Keyword If you want to be an advanced user, press the Less Than and
Set can be a predetermined set of keywords or most commonly Greater Than keys (< >) to cycle through the Basic panel controls
used keywords. Click the pop-up menu and choose a Keyword (Temp, Tint, Exposure, etc.). Then press the Plus or Minus keys to
Set from the list to change the list of keywords that appear below (+ –) increase or decrease the control settings, respectively. For
the Keyword Set field. Click on one or more of the choices to apply even more dramatic results, press Shift-+ or Shift-– to modify
the keyword(s) to your photos. For even more speed, press-and- the controls in larger increments. This way you can process your
hold the Option (PC: Alt) key and a number will appear next to images quickly without having to use your mouse. While you won’t
each keyword in the set. Now press the appropriate number to use this technique all the time, try it and you’ll soon discover that
add that keyword. it will come in handy throughout your regular workflow. ■
096
Rafael “RC” Concepcion X Y
LIGHTROOM Q & A
Q. I have an Epson Stylus Pro 3800 printer and I’m trying to set up Q. Is there a quick way to apply the settings that I made for one
ICC profiles for Epson Ultra Premium Presentation Paper, but picture to another?
can’t find that in the Choose Profiles dialog. Can you help? Yes there is. Once you make all of the adjustments to an
Whenever you have a problem with ICC profiles, the first thing image, click on your second image in the Filmstrip. Click the
to do is head over to the manufacturer’s website and download Previous button at the bottom of the right-side panels area
the latest ICC profiles and drivers for the printer. In Epson’s case, to apply the previous settings to your image. Keep in mind
new ICC profiles install with the driver install, so you’re doing that you also have the Sync option. To Sync images, click on
both tasks at once. your adjusted image then Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) or
The one thing that isn’t explained is that with the new ICC pro- Shift-click on any other images you want to adjust. The Pre-
files come a new set of acronyms for the papers that you want to vious button becomes the Sync button. Click Sync and the
use. Go to http://tinyurl/5qap16 and you’ll see an FAQ from Epson Synchronize Settings dialog opens, allowing you to specify
listing the new printer acronyms for the specific paper. Who which Develop module settings you’d like to apply to the
would have thought that Pro38 ARMP is Epson Ultra Premium images you selected.
Presentation Paper Matte, an acronym for an old name?
RAFAEL “RC” CONCEPCION
Q. Why does Lightroom keep turning off Solo mode?

It’s not turning off Solo mode, but Lightroom gives you the
option to select Solo mode on a module-by-module basis.
(To enter Solo mode, Control-click [PC: Right-click] on a
panel header and choose Solo Mode from the list.) I tend to
use Solo mode in the Develop and Web modules, but don’t
Q. When I use the Adjustment Brush on a portion of a picture, really care for it in the Print and Slideshow modules.
sometimes I’m a little heavy-handed with it and add too much.
How can I remove the adjustment without resorting to undos? Q. At a presentation, someone pressed a couple of keys and
There’s an Erase brush but it can be hard to find. In the Brush the image appeared onscreen by itself on a black back-
section of the Adjustment Brush panel, there’s an A and B ground. How did he do that?
brush that allows you This is what I like to call the “Tada!” effect. The combination
to specify two different is easy: Press Shift-Tab once to make all of the panels disap-
brush presets, and an pear. (If you press only Tab, then left- and right-side panels
Eraser brush. disappear.) Now press L once to dim the monitor and keep
Simply click on the pin Lightroom visible, and press L again to enter Lights Out
of the effect you want mode and hide everything but the image. The result is your
to change (press H if you image on a perfect black background.
don’t see the pin), click When I’m working on an image, I use this to check on my
the Eraser, and paint over progress. The cool part is that if you move your mouse to
the section you want to the left or right edge, the panels area temporarily appears,
erase. You can use your allowing you to make changes. Move back to the center and
mouse scroll wheel to the panels disappear. To get back to normal screen mode,
adjust the size of the press the L key to bring back the screen, and press Shift-Tab
brush as you work. to bring back your panels. ■
097
><KK?<J:FFGFEK?<C8K<JK><8I
:Xefe<FJ,'; ▼
D@;I8E><;@>@K8CJCI
Review by Steve Baczewski
Except for a few minor modifications, Canon’s new

15.1-megapixel EOS 50D midrange digital SLR looks
virtually the same as the 10.1-megapixel EOS 40D: The
noteworthy improvements are on the inside. The changes
begin with a new CMOS APS-C-size sensor that’s been
improved by employing redesigned sensor photosites
and placing gapless microlenses above them to handle
the increased pixel density and resulting noise.
The 50D features an improved ISO range from 100
to 3200, plus H1 and H2 settings of 6400 and 12,800,
respectively. To maintain processing speeds with the
additional data from 15-megapixel files, Canon built a
new DIGIC 4 image processor. The DIGIC 4 allows for
14-bit, analog-to-digital RAW processing, and continu-
ous shooting speeds of up to 6.3 frames per second.
The 3", 920,000-dot LCD is coated to minimize glare if using the optical viewfinder. The logical next iteration
and scratches. Throw in an HDMI port for displaying of Live View would add an articulated LCD for maximum
images on high-definition TVs, and this makes the 50D flexibility. Focusing still remains too slow to capture
a very enticing camera. a moving subject, so I still prefer the optical viewfinder
The 50D is ruggedly built with a magnesium alloy outdoors and reserve Live View for a tripod in the studio.
body; weatherized, rubber-sealed compartment doors; The 50D performs beautifully. It runs smoothly and
and a comfortable, textured, rubberized grip with an quickly, from powering on to writing 15-megapixel files
indentation that allows for a well-balanced and firm to the new high-speed UDMA CompactFlash cards. RAW
hold. Control buttons and dials are well designed for files can now be recorded at resolutions of 3.8, 7.1, or 15
quick access to often-used features. This eases the megapixels for maximizing resources.
learning curve and minimizes fumbling in the field How’s the image quality with 50% more pixels
when changing settings. Pressing the jog dial now crammed onto the sensor? I made several 17x22" prints
brings up a new Quick Control Screen on the LCD, with with impressive quality and detail from files up to ISO
frequently used features such as ISO, white balance,
3200. But using the new high ISO settings of 6400 and
metering, etc., that are then easily selected and adjusted. 12,800—in conjunction with the camera’s choices of
When you want to quickly access a set of features, the None, Standard, Weak, and Strong noise reduction—
50D has two user settings on the mode dial that let you I found it was a trade off between softening an image and
program a compilation of features from the menus as a losing detail or increasing the noise. At lower ISOs, there’s
preset for a defined shooting situation. It’s extremely use- a slight but definite quality improvement over the 40D.
ful. In addition, there’s a new function button that can be The bottom line is that more pixels isn’t always a vir-
programmed for quick access to a feature. The mode dial tue. I like the 50D but if you own a 40D, I don’t think the
has a new simplified exposure option for beginners called difference is so incredible that you need to upgrade. ■
Creative Auto mode (CA), which uses onscreen sliders to
adjust the aperture and exposure compensation.
Live View is improved and now has a dedicated but-
ton, contrast detection, autofocus, face detection, and a
grid overlay. The addition of the higher-resolution LCD Company: Canon U.S.A., Inc. Price: $1,399 (Body only)
improves shooting in bright outdoor light, and I could
Web: www.usa.canon.com Phone: 800-652-2666
effectively use Live View off angle with arms extended
Platform: Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
098 overhead to capture images that I would have missed
0 to 60 in 1/1000 of a SECOND
9cfnLg) ▼
<EC8I><D<EKGCL>$@E=FIG?FKFJ?FG
Review by Dave Huss
Blow Up 2 produces enlargements that are superior to what’s

possible using only Photoshop. Blow Up 2 accomplishes its magic
by temporarily converting image pixels to a vector representation
that can be resized to almost any size without appreciable loss in
image quality. It also offers a feature that can clean up JPEG com-
pression artifacts, which is quite useful considering the quality of
images that people are pulling off of the Internet these days.
The science behind this tool is complicated and traditionally
so are the control settings. Alien Skin has made this complex
tool easier to use by including more than 100 presets for com-
mon paper output sizes. By using a preset, all of the associated
settings are loaded, making the operation into a simple one.
How big can you make an image? A whopping 300,000 pixels
per side. How well does it work? To test the product, I enlarged
several images and submitted them to the inspectors of a major
stock photography house. These inspectors have an insane eye
for detail. Of the five photos that I enlarged by 300% and then
submitted, four were accepted. In short, it was pretty impressive.
The resized images are sharp and didn’t suffer from the softness
associated with image resizing.
Other features in Blow Up 2 are batch processing and support
for the Photoshop CS4 Windows 64-bit version. All bit depths are
supported, including 16-bits per channel for RAW images and
32-bits per channel for HDR images.
Learning to use Blow Up 2 is easy and Alien Skin offers
some excellent video tutorials on their website to get you up

to speed quickly. ■
Company: Alien Skin Software, LLC. Price: $249 (Upgrade: $99)

Web: www.alienskin.com Phone: 888-921-7546
Platform: Mac and Windows Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
WWW.BLACKRAPID.COM
099
I\m`\nj
ble presets. It’s versatile, with ISOs ranging from 64 to 1600 and
shutter speeds up to 1/2000. Storage includes approximately
50 MB of internal memory, and SD and SDHC memory cards (up
to 16 GB, according to Ricoh) for lots of options. I was some-
what surprised by the drop in performance in RAW mode, but
that was improved with a faster memory card. The AVI file-
type movie mode is a 640x480 output in Open DML Motion
JPEG standard, and produces a reasonably good quality video
for a still camera of this type. The white balance options cor-
rected very well in a variety of situations.
Among the strengths in Ricoh’s latest offering are its light
metering and hue accuracy. With colors ranging from safety
orange and construction yellow to subtle cyan and rich sky blue,
the GX200 gets them right. The metering is responsive and even
close-up images shot with the built-in flash don’t have wash-out
effects. The sharp, clear LCD is just under 3" and is bright enough
to see in daylight. Stability control is reasonable, but better to
have it on with this particular product.
On the downside, noise levels in all lighting conditions are
fairly high, with visible artifacts in JPEG and RAW images—even
with noise reduction active in the camera settings. Images tend to
be fairly contrast-heavy, but still have excellent white balance and
neutral grayscale tones. Some noticeable ghosting occurs with
heavily saturated color elements. Performance varies depend-
ing on shooting mode, but the continuous shooting in JPEG mode
produces the best sequential speed.
While the Ricoh Caplio GX200 is a formidable entry into the
current realm of smaller prosumer digital cameras, it’s a model
that may be worth considering for a particular need or a second-
I`Zf_:Xgc`f>O)'' ▼
GIF=<JJ@FE8C:FDG8:K;@>@K8C:8D<I8
ary unit, rather than a primary camera. This is a digital camera
with a lot of function as well, but at $749 with the viewfinder, it
may also be priced out of reach for some who may prefer a little
Review by Daniel M. East more convenience and less to carry.
Yes, the memories of my old 35 ZF remain intact, but I enjoy
using the GX200 even as it leaves me craving something slightly
My first camera was a hand-me-down Ricoh 35 ZF rangefinder that different to get just what I need! ■
I used and abused for many years, so I was excited by the arrival
of the new professional compact digital Caplio GX200 from Ricoh.
While the ever-expanding digital photography market may focus
on some other manufacturers today, Ricoh fires back with some
great features and options, but at a steep price.
At first glance, the 12-megapixel GX200 is compact but feels

solid for its size. Its clean, efficient design and structure feel com-
fortable right out of the box. Once you add some of the options,
such as the TC-1 telephoto or DW-6 wide-angle lenses, the camera
feels even more solid without weighing too much. The optional
lenses are recognized by the camera and require confirmation of
either Wide or Tele before proceeding. The 24–72mm (equiva-
lent) onboard lens works well in even the tightest macro shots. In
addition, Ricoh offers the VF-1 viewfinder with adapter ring that
bypasses the LCD, but is an accessory module.
Operation is smooth and quiet. I hit the power button instead
of the shutter release button several times, but this issue goes Company: Ricoh Co., Ltd. Price: $599 ($749 with viewfinder)
away once you’re used to its proximity to the edge of the body.
Web: www.ricoh.com Phone:
The GX200 has the usual Program Shift, Aperture Priority, Manual,
Scene, and Automatic modes, as well as three user-programma- Platform: Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆
100
With Jerry LoFaro
More than 2 hours of instruction !!!
Creating Arctic Kiss

In this information-rich presentation, world-class artist Jerry
LoFaro renders a professional illustration in Adobe®
Photoshop® from start to finish sharing some of his top pro
tricks along the way. According to LoFaro, “Photoshop® is
such an intuitive program, it effectively mimics the way I
G_fkf=iXd\+ used to work as an airbrush and acrylic painter. It also
enables me to eliminate many tedious steps in the creation
Gif]\jj`feXc<[`k`fe ▼
of an illustration.”
In this DVD, you’ll learn:

<;><<==<:KJGCL>$@E Working with internet photo references Gaussian and Motion Blur filters
Review by Dave Huss Quick Command keys How to achieve color balance
Transform tool, including Distort & Warp Use of shape brush dynamics
How to resize an image Use of a variety of digital brushes
PhotoFrame 4 Professional Edition is the latest version of a really How to make color adjustments Median filter for blending/smoothing
How to render fur texture digitally How to create an aurora effect
cool plug-in that adds realistic film edges and edge effects, How to make your own custom brush How to use the Clone tool
such as torn paper or brushstrokes, to the edges of your images. How to render shadows & highlights How to use the Liquify filter
There are lots of new features jammed into this latest version. and Much More.
Possibly the best new feature for many is that it works as
either a Lightroom 2 or Aperture 2.1 plug-in. You can apply a
PhotoFrame preset or open PhotoFrame directly from within
Lightroom 2 or Aperture 2.1.
Another great improvement is the library of effects—the
selection of edges, effects, etc. is noticeably improved over the
previous version. With so many edges and effects, the ability to
find what you want is paramount. The Content Library window
has been completely redesigned, using a light-table-style browser.
After you find the effect you want, the real-time previews allow
you to immediately see how each frame or effect will look when
applied to your photo. A category panel provides navigation to
quickly find and open a general classification, as well as a keyword
search engine.
A new Options palette has been added that controls how the
frames are applied to your photo. You can add frames, overlays,
and effects to a current layer or a new layer, and even render
frames to their own unique layer. With PhotoFrame 4, you can
add up to 32 frames together in layers and even adjust their size,
orientation, rotation, and more. On top of this, batch processing Run Time:
has also been added. 2 hours 15 minutes + Shipping
Skill Level: & Handling
onOne provides many online videos to teach you how to use Intermediate to
the product and there’s a free, fully functional download avail- professional
able to try before you buy. ■ Jerry LoFaro is an award-winning illustrator whose client list
includes: Random House, Harcourt, Ballentine, Avon,
Bantam, Time Life, and Viking Penguin, Celestial Seasonings,
Coca-Cola, Barcardi, Aflac, Levi’s, Disney, Claritin, National
Company: onOne Software Price: $259.95 (Upgrade: $99.95) Geographic, Nike, Panasonic, Kellogg’s, IBM, and many more.
Web: www.ononesoftware.com Phone: 888-968-1468 ORDER TOLL FREE 800 876 2472
Platform: Mac and Windows Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ INTERNATIONAL CALLERS 732 223 7878
© 2008 Airbrush Action, Inc.

PO Box 438 Allenwood, NJ 08720 T. 732.223.7878
www.photoshopmagicpro.com
101
I\m`\nj
The EOS Rebel XS incorporates a number of features

found in higher-end bodies, such as an improved auto-
focus sensor and Live View. Improved noise reduction
allows the user to photograph in low-light situations
and capture high-resolution quality. The Rebel XS also
incorporates Canon’s EOS Integrated Cleaning System,
where a self-cleaning sensor unit shakes dust particles
off the low-pass filter in front of the sensor. With the
additional supplied Digital Photo Professional soft-
ware, the camera maps any remaining spots left on
the sensor and subsequently removes them from the
final image during postprocessing.
The Rebel XS uses Secure Digital (SD and SDHC)
memory cards, making it the perfect upgrade for users
who are already using SD cards in their point-and-shoot
cameras. It’s fully compatible with all Canon EF and EF-S
lenses, the EX-series Speedlites, and a host of other accessories,
such as an optional battery grip and remote control.
With a 35-zone evaluative metering system, the camera
individually meters each zone in the viewing area, enabling it
:Xefe<FJI\Y\cOJ▼
<EKIP$C<M<C:FDG8:K;@>@K8CJCI
to choose the best overall exposure for the entire scene. The EOS
Rebel XS incorporates Canon’s Auto Lighting Optimizer, which
lightens the dark areas of a scene while making sure that bright
Review by Laurie Excell areas maintain detail without getting washed out. Additionally,
it can increase contrast in flat lighting, such as overcast days.
Canon’s Picture Style Settings also allow users to customize
Right on the heals of the Rebel XSi, Canon introduced their the way they want their images to look by allowing them to
newest compact digital SLR, the EOS Rebel XS. Comparing the make adjustments to color, saturation, sharpness, and contrast
specifications of the two cameras, they’re very much alike, with setting. There are six Picture Style Settings built into the camera,
the Rebel XS having slightly fewer features. At 10.1 megapix- with additional Picture Style files available for download from
els, the Rebel XS has a little less resolution than the XSi (12.3 Canon’s website.
megapixels); spot metering isn’t available in the XS body; the With the ease of a point-and-shoot, as well as the full user
Rebel XS has seven focus points to choose from, compared to control available, the Canon EOS Rebel XS is a great camera
nine on the XSi; and the LCD is smaller (2.5" vs. 3"). Comparing for users who want the ability to have creative control over
the frames per second (fps) rate, the Rebel XS can shoot 3 fps, their images. ■
versus 3.5 for the XSi, but here’s where the XS has a slight edge:
You can shoot those 3 fps until you fill the card. With the Rebel
XSi, you can shoot 3.5 fps up to 53 total shots in JPEG mode.
As with the other Digital Rebel cameras, the Rebel XS is com-
pact, lightweight, and very easy to use. It’s a great transition
camera for someone who’s used to working with a point-and- Company: Canon U.S.A., Inc. Price: $599.99 with 18–55mm IS lens
shoot, yet wants the expanded capabilities of a single lens reflex Web: www.usa.canon.com Phone: 800-652-2666
camera, such as interchangeable lenses, more control over the
exposure, and the ability to see through the viewfinder. Platform: Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
102
" Ê/, ÊUÊ ""-ÊUÊ6-
Watch... Learn... Create...

Adobe® Photoshop® CS4 Power Session
by Matt Kloskowski
®
If you’re already a Photoshop user
Adobe Photoshop CS4
® ®
and want a quick, convenient way to
Power Session unlock the potential of Photoshop
®
featuring matt kloskowski
CS4’s new features then this DVD is

the place to start. Ideal for people
with experience using a previous ver-
®
sion of Photoshop (CS3, CS2, or even
®
version 7), the Photoshop CS4 Power
Session is the easiest way to learn
the new features, tips and shortcuts
®
in Photoshop CS4 so you can start
using them right away.
produced by
Now
Only: $
6999
NAPP Member Price: $5499
See Inside for Details

visit www.kelbytraining.com/DVDs
for more information or to order
Other Great DVDs:

rINDESIGNbridgeILLUSTRATORphotoshopBRIDGEindesignPHOTOSHOPillustratorINDESIGNbridgeILL
Adobe Photoshop CS4

For Beginners
featuring Corey Barker
Adobe Creative Suite 4
Suite Integration
featuring dave cross
produced by produced by
Adobe® Creative Suite® 4 Adobe® Photoshop® Design Effects with Adobe® Photoshop®
Suite Integration CS4 for Beginners Adobe® Photoshop® CS4 CS4 Layer Essentials
by Dave Cross by Corey Barker by Corey Barker by Matt Kloskowski
visit us online at www.kelbytraining.com/DVDs or call 800-201-7323
Adobe, Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, Photoshop Camera Raw, and Dreamweaver are registered
trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Produced by the National Association of Photoshop Professionals.
I\m`\nj
resolution. I adjusted the screen’s brightness and it held up well in

bright outdoor light, and that’s paramount if you’re composing
using Live View.
The E-520’s implementation of Live View is improved. By
pressing the Info button while in Live View, a new feature
shows a series of thumbnail previews of your image with the
effect of different exposure compensation settings. Then if
you press the up arrow navigation button, you get a series of
thumbnail previews of different white balance settings. You
can scroll and select the best and then make the exposure.
Tap the Info button again, and a live histogram is displayed for
accurate exposure. Tap it again and a movable, green focus-
assist rectangle is displayed on the LCD. You can magnify what’s
in the green rectangle seven to ten times and, in conjunction
with the Image Stabilization button, you can steady and manu-
ally focus the image with precision. It’s very effective.
Live View now uses a more sensitive, contrast-based auto-
focusing technology that improves the ability to focus in flatly
lit scenes; however, I still find Live Preview slow compared to
using the optical viewfinder. Olympus also added Face Detec-
tion and it works effectively, smoothly tracking and maintain-
Fcpdglj<$,)'
('$D<>8G@O<C;@>@K8CJCI
▼ ing focus on your subject. Shadow Adjustment Technology
is new to their list of in-camera file editing, and it’s especially
useful for backlight situations.
Review by Steve Baczewski
Points to Olympus for designing a digital SLR where few
trips to the menus are necessary; instead, the E-520 has a lot of
dedicated buttons for quick-and-easy access to frequently used
The Olympus E-520 is a modest evolutionary successor to the
features, such as Live View, ISO, metering, flash, drive mode,
10-megapixel EVOLT E-510. Except for a few cosmetic changes
etc. It also has a super control panel on the LCD and, with the
to the control dials and the use of blue instead of green labeling navigational control dial, it’s easy to scroll, select, and adjust
for the color blind, the E-520 and E-510 are identical externally. many features, sparing you trips to the menus.
Internally, there are some worthy additions. The viewfinder still uses only three focus points, but it focuses
The E-520 is the antidote to bulky, heavy digital SLRs. It’s quickly with a spontaneity that’s important for impulsive grab
compact, lightweight, well balanced, and has features on par shots; however, it’s slow to focus in low-light situations. I shot
with more expensive cameras, but it’s relatively inexpensive, pictures in RAW and JPEG formats using auto white balance, and
making it an excellent entry-level digital SLR and bridge for made several quality 17x22" prints with well-saturated colors,
people who are used to point-and-shoot cameras. It has a pop-up smooth gradients, and good highlight and shadow detail. Noise
flash, 20 shooting presets, face detection, and an automatic mode became an issue at ISO 400 or greater. I tend to use bigger cam-
for those who want to wade into the digital SLR world slowly. eras, but I found the E-520 a feature-packed, solid performer, and
Like the E-510, it has built-in image stabilization, Live View, and a pleasure to use. ■
an efficient anti-dust mechanism. It also includes slots for both
CompactFlash and xD memory cards.
So what’s new? The E-520 has a modestly faster continuous-
shooting mode at 3.5 frames per second (fps), up from 3 fps in the Company: Olympus America Inc. Price: $649.99 with 14–42mm lens
E-510. It can hold up to nine RAW images in the buffer. The sensor Web: www.olympusamerica.com Phone: 888-533-4448
stabilization mechanism now shifts to accommodate vertical
Platform: Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
panning. The LCD is now 2.7" instead of 2.5", without a change in
104
9ffbI\m`\njYpG\k\i9Xl\i
8ik;\j`êèG_fkfj_fg K_\G_fkfj_fg:J+
BY STEVE CAPLIN
:fdgXe`fe]fiG_fkfîXg_\ij
BY DERRICK STORY
The author shows how to create a variety of special This slim volume does a good job of trimming away
effects and distinctive looks in this book, each in a Photoshop to just those basic features needed by most
two-page spread that covers a specific technique or photographers. The author leads the reader by the hand
project. An intermediate-level knowledge of Photoshop through the process of downloading photos to the hard drive,
is assumed for most of the work, although the book sorting through those files to find the best images, process-
does include a short Photoshop reference chapter at ing the images in Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop, then
the end. You’ll find many of the files necessary to follow saving and printing those best shots. While the first half of the
the specific steps on a CD included with the book. For book is devoted to Adobe Bridge and Camera Raw, the sec-
other projects, you’ll start with a blank document or ond half is a good introduction to Photoshop. The author
use your own files. From re-creating old posters and also includes a chapter on “Photoshop Recipes” that covers
works of art to posters and packaging, you’ll find a wide common tasks, such as minimizing skin blemishes, softening
range of interesting and fun projects. The tiny sans-serif skin, adjusting perspective, and creating panoramas. There’s
font chosen for the text, however, may make this a physi- not a lot of depth here, and features unrelated to photog-
cally challenging book to read for any length of time. (As raphy aren’t addressed at all. But that doesn’t stop this from
the author himself writes on page 6, “Sans-serif fonts are being an excellent book for the Photoshop newbie and
not designed for continuous reading….”) worth consideration by educators for classroom use.
Publisher: Focal Press, Inc. Pages: 248 (with CD) Publisher: O’Reilly Media, Inc. Pages: 190
Website: www.focalpress.com Website: http://oreilly.com
Price: $39.95 Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ Price: $24.99 Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
105
Rafael “RC” Concepcion
Photoshop Q & A
Q
Denny writes us concerning a copyright information Q&A
that appeared in the September 2008 issue of Photoshop User Q
I noticed that when I’m using the Ruler tool, there’s a checkbox
in the Options Bar to Use Measurement Scale. What’s this?
(p. 116): What exactly do you mean when you say to “…copy
your images to your computer”? I couldn’t get the copyright A
In Photoshop CS3 Extended and CS4 Extended, you have
the option to set the scale of your ruler. Choose Analysis>Set
information to “stick” with the image. If I can do this using Measurement Scale>Custom and you’ll have the opportunity
Bridge, isn’t it possible for someone else to remove the embed- to drag out an area and specify a distance for that area. From
ded copyright information the same way I put it in? that calculation, the ruler can then give you measurements
A
Let’s go through this one step at a time. Photoshop is used
for a bunch of different applications, but usually for editing
based on scale.
digital images. When you shoot with a digital camera, you

have to copy the images to your computer; in most cases,
you plug the camera in to your computer with a USB cable,
©ISTOCKPHOTO/BRADLEY MASON
turn on the camera, and then the computer should prompt
you to download the images from the camera. If you’re creat-
ing a design of your own, I’m assuming that you’ll skip this
step as they’re already there on your computer’s hard drive.
You bring up a really good point regarding copyright
insertion and removal. Notice that in Bridge, you can input the
Copyright Notice in the IPTC Core section of the Metadata
panel; however, there’s nothing to prevent someone from going
into Bridge and deleting that information. Modifying it usually
brings up a dialog asking you to change it and, in a flash, that Q
I know that pressing Shift-F5 brings up the Fill dialog, but
isn’t there another way to bring up this dialog?
copyright info is gone. Sometimes, copyright can be circum-
vented by just copying the entire image to a new document. A
You can press Command-Delete (PC: Ctrl-Backspace) to fill with
the background color, and press Option-Delete (PC: Alt-Back-
Copyright protection is mostly about effort versus reward, space) to fill with the foreground color. Doing this bypasses the
which is why embedding your info should be only one step of Fill dialog. Not many people know that you can also press Shift-
the process. You should always try adding a copyright water- Delete (PC: Shift-Backspace) to bring up the Fill dialog, where
mark to your images or use something like Adobe Flash to you can specify a color, blend Mode, and Opacity.
display images on the Web with less of a risk. Remember, less
risk doesn’t equal no risk, but it’s better than nothing.
Q
Sometimes when I create a new file, the dimensions are either
too small or too large. They don’t stay on one set of dimen-
sions. What am I doing wrong?
Sounds to me like you have something copied to your clipboard.
A
When you make a selection of something and you select Edit>
Copy, the contents go into the clipboard. When you choose
File>New, the dimensions, Resolution, and Color Mode of that

selection are copied into the New Document dialog (notice that
the Preset at the top says Clipboard). If you want to change the
dimensions, you can click on the Preset drop-down menu to
select a new preset or type in the dimensions and specifica-
tions that you want.
RAFAEL “RC” CONCEPCION
106
Photoshop Q & A
Q Is there a way to customize how clouds are rendered?

Special thanks to famed digital artist Bert Monroy for the
the Opacity to 100% (so the color is less translucent); and pick
a color. Once that’s set, change the Technique to Precise (so
A answer to this question. The rendering of clouds (Filter>
Render>Clouds) in Photoshop CS3 and CS4 is randomly
you can trace the letters more accurately), and increase the
Spread to 100% (to get rid of the glow and clump it together).
generated and based on the current Foreground and Back- Finally, change the Size of the glow to suit your needs.
ground colors in the Toolbox. For the longest time, I thought
that the only way to get something a little more intense was
to reapply the filter, but this would just randomize another
set of clouds. Bert’s tip is to hold down the Option (PC: Alt)
key when you’re rendering clouds and you’ll get clouds with
more contrast. (This works the same for both the Clouds and
Difference Clouds renderings.)
Q What’s the difference between running a filter directly from

the Filter menu and using the Filter Gallery?
A The Filter Gallery (Filter>Filter Gallery) does two things well:

It gives you a preview of what the filter is going to look like
before you apply it, and it allows you to stack filters. Believe
it or not, some filters behave differently when you place
them in a specific order, opening the door for some creative
compositions. I recommend that you run a couple of filters
and then play with the order in which they appear. You’d be
surprised how moving one filter up or down can make a dif-
ference in your design.
Here’s a much simpler way to add a double stroke, but it
requires some smart object work. Create your text and set the
stroke, as we did in the example above. Once the stroke is set,
Control-click (PC: Right-click) on the layer and choose Convert
to Smart Object from the list. Once that’s set, double-click to
the right of the Smart Object layer to open the Layer Style
dialog, choose Stroke from the Styles list, choose a Color, and
adjust the Size. While this seems simpler, if you want to change
SCOTT KELBY
the text later, you’d have to access the PSB file inside the smart
object and make the change there, adding additional steps. ■
Q I want to add two strokes to some text. Is there a way to

do this?
A Actually, there are at least two ways to do this. Set the text
that you want to double stroke, and double-click to the right
If you have a Photoshop question you’d like to see published in
of the layer’s name to bring up the Layer Style dialog. Choose
Stroke from the Styles list on the left, choose a Color, and set this column, please send it to letters@photoshopuser.com.
If, however, you’d like your question answered immediately, go
the Size. Now choose Outer Glow from the Styles list; change to the Help Desk at www.photoshopuser.com.
the Blend Mode to Normal (to make the color more solid); set 107
NAPP Photoshop Design Showcase
Where NAPP members get to exhibit their artwork
If you’d like to have your work considered for publication in the

NAPP Photoshop Design Showcase, submit samples of your
artwork to fnelson@kelbymediagroup.com.
Eric Eggly
Eric has been an advertising photographer for over 23 years, with
countless clients utilizing his skills to bring a campaign or promo-
tion to life. Winning many regional, national, and international
awards has been an honor for Eric and for his clients. Most of his
work involves people-oriented photography and Eric says, “I often
credit my success for creating great images to the relationship that
develops from working with outstanding people.”
www.pointsevenstudios.com
▲ Peter Sardi ▼ Karen Kelly
Combining his training as printer, photographer, and artist, Karen spent 7 years teaching and writing Photoshop classes.
Peter has sold original oils and print reproductions to galler- Working as an independent photographer and graphic
ies. In his present profession of graphic design and digital art, designer for more than 20 years, she now focuses on fine art
Peter uses Photoshop to develop new art from his photo- photography. By shooting digitally, working in Photoshop, and
graphs and drawings. “Every image can be the basis for a new following a meta-cognitive approach, Karen has developed a
design—I just let my imagination loose to create uniquely keen sense of capturing rare moments of raw energy, light, and
layered images that challenge the viewer.” motion. “There’s nothing else I’d rather do,” she says.
peterpekelo@yahoo.com www.karenkellyphotography.com
109
Sherry London
Photoshop Quick Tips
Getting Loupe-y Abbreviated units of measure

My favorite feature in the new Creative Suite 4 is found in Bridge. If You can quickly place a specifically sized shape on your image by
you hated the tiny previews you got with the Loupe in Bridge CS3, using the Shape Options dialog. Choose a shape tool from the
then you’re in for a real treat with the newest version. If you want Toolbox, click the Geometry Options menu in the Options Bar, click
to see a full-screen preview of the image, just press the Spacebar. Fixed Size or Proportional (or if you’re using the Custom Shape tool,
Click the preview image to switch to 100% view. When you’re Defined Proportions), and enter your desired dimensions. Be warned
zoomed into the image, click-and-hold the mouse button and you that when you enter the dimension, Photoshop uses the default
can move the image around for inspection. Press the Spacebar units from your Photoshop Units and Rulers preferences, unless you
again to return to the normal Bridge interface. also enter the units or measure abbreviation (in for inches, px for
pixels, etc.). If you want to create a 300-pixel ellipse shape and your
Ruler tool to straighten units are set to inches, you could be puzzled as to why you can’t see
One of the rules of good photography is to get the horizon line the shape, and a
straight. It’s also one of the rules that seems impossible for me to 300" shape won’t
follow; however, it’s fixable in Photoshop. Use the Ruler tool (nested be visible on most
under the Eyedropper tool in the Toolbox) to draw a straight line on documents. So,
the correct horizon. Simply click at the beginning point and drag if you set a shape
the cursor along the horizon line in the image before you release and don’t see it, go
the mouse button. Then choose Image>Image Rotation>Arbitrary back and type in
and when the Rotate Canvas dialog appears, click OK. The line you the units of mea-
just drew auto- sure abbreviation
matically rotates you want.
so it becomes
horizontal. The Low Flow build up
final step is to The Airbrush tool (available in the Options Bar when the Brush,
crop the image Clone Stamp, Pattern Stamp, History Brush, or Eraser tools are
to size. selected) is supposed to create a build up of color on the canvas.
But the Airbrush can’t spread out any larger than the full size of
the selected brush. If you’re not getting the build up you expect
with the Airbrush control, then choose a larger, softer-edged
brush (0% Hardness) and lower the Flow setting.
QUICK KEYSTROKES
The Spacebar is a really useful shortcut key. Here are some

of the things it can do:
1. When using the Crop tool (C), press-and-hold the Space-
SHERRY LONDON
bar to reposition the crop box if you get it in the wrong

place as you’re setting it.
2. Before you release the mouse button when using any of
the Shape tools, you can press-and-hold the Spacebar to
Fill behavior
reposition the path or object you’re creating.
The settings on the Edit>Fill command are sticky and persist from
session to session. If you use the command and get a truly strange 3. Press the Spacebar when no editing action is active to turn
result, then press Command-Z (PC: Ctrl-Z) to undo and try it again. the cursor into the Hand tool. This lets you click-and-drag
Read the entire dialog and make sure that you set the Mode to around your image if it’s larger than the screen display.
Normal and the Opacity to 100%. Also make sure that you aren’t 4. When used in conjunction with the Command (PC: Ctrl)
set to fill with a Pattern or from History and, if you’re working in a key, the Spacebar changes the cursor into the Zoom tool.
layer, that you have Preserve Transparency turned on only if you To zoom out, add the Option (PC: Alt) key to the mix. ■
110 really want it.
Photoshop
I N D E X
January/February 2009
O F A D V E R T I S E R S
user
For advertising information, please contact Melinda Gotelli, Advertising Director, at 916-929-8200.
email: mgotelli@photoshopuser.com
4 Over, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112–113

www.4over.com
Fotolia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
www.fotolia.com [P]
[A] [G] Peachpit Publishing Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
www.peachpit.com
Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Graphic Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114–115
Photographers, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 www.graphicauthority.com
Photos.com/JupiterImages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
www.kelbytraining.com
www.photos.com
Adobe Photoshop Seminar Tours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
[H]
www.kelbytraining.com PhotoshopCAFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Hewlett-Packard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 www.photoshopcafe.com
www.hp.com
Adorama Camera, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
www.adorama.com
Hill & Usher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Photoshop World Conference & Expo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43–46
www.hillusher.com www.photoshopworld.com
Airbrush Action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
www.airbrushaction.com
Alien Skin Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

[I] Professional Photographers of America (PPA). . . . . . . . . . . . 125
www.ppa.com
www.alienskin.com
iStockphoto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC–3
www.istockphoto.com
AMC Colorgrafix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Print Factory, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
www.amc-color.com www.GoPrintFactory.com
I.T. Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
www.itsupplies.com
APC Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
www.apc.com PrintRunner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC
[J] www.printrunner.com
[B]
B&H Photo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Jane’s Digital Art School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
www.janesdigitalart.com
[R]
www.bhphotovideo.com
BlackRapid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
[K] Really Right Stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
www.reallyrightstuff.com
www.blackrapid.com
BOSS LOGO Print & Graphics Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116–117

Kelby Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47, 78, 103
www.kelbytraining.com [S]
www.5000cards.com
[L] Shutterstock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
[C] www.shutterstock.com
Layers Magazine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
CDW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 www.layersmagazine.com
www.cdw.com Smith Micro Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
www.mysmithmicro.com
LC Technology, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Copy Craft Printers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 www.lc-tech.com
www.copycraft.com
Lens Pro To Go. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
[U]
Corel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 www.lensprotogo.com
www.corel.com UPrinting.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
[D] [M] www.uprinting.com
Dahle North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 MacMall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BC [W]

www.dahle.com www.macmall.com
Wacom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
DigitalPhotoshopRetouching.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Media Lab, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
www.medialab.com www.wacom.com/americas
www.digitalphotoshopretouching.com
[E] Mpix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
www.mpix.com
Westcott. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
www.fjwestcott.com
eStudioLighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
www.estudiolighting.com [N] Wetzel & Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
www.wetzelandcompany.com
ExpoImaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 National Association of Photoshop Professionals. . . . . . . . 118
www.expodisc.com www.photoshopuser.com
www.RawWorkflow.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Extreme Ops Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Nik Software, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 www.RawWorkflow.com
www.extremeops.com www.niksoftware.com
[F] [O] [Z]

Focal Press. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 onOne Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Zoo Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
www.focalpress.com www.ononesoftware.com www.zooprinting.com
While every attempt has been made to make this listing as complete as possible, its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. 111
Colin Smith
Photoshop Beginners’ Tips

Something old, something new…
With the release of Photoshop CS4, there’s a lot of excitement
and with new features, come new tips. Some things work differ-
ently and some things are entirely new. This time around, let’s
play the party game, so come get dressed in something old,
something new, something borrowed, and something blue.
Something old
You can still change brush size with a keyboard shortcut, using
the Left Bracket key ([) to go smaller and the Right Bracket key (])
to go bigger. Add the Shift key and you can change the brush’s
Hardness in 25% increments. If you have a Wacom graphics
COLIN SMITH
tablet, you typically set the left touch strip (right touch strip if
you’re left-handed) to this shortcut so you can slide your finger
to change the brush size.
Something new If you have an earlier version

When you’re zoomed way in to a photo, don’t you hate it when of Photoshop, you can emulate
you have to zoom out, locate your new area, and then zoom back this behavior by creating an
in? Or even worse, you have to press the Spacebar to access the Adjustment layer above the
Hand tool and scroll through the image forever? Both of these desired layer. Press-and-hold
everyday tasks have been improved in CS4. the Option (PC: Alt) key and
When you’re zoomed in tight, press-and-hold the H key, and hover the cursor between the
click-and-drag. You’ll zoom out to the whole image and see a target layer and the adjustment
small rectangle. Reposition the rectangle and release the mouse in the Layers panel. You’ll see a
button to zoom back to the new area at the same magnification little link icon appear and then you click to apply the adjustment
as before. layer to the layer as a clipping group. All the adjustments will now
And as for scrolling? When you’re zoomed in, give the image be limited to the visible portion of that layer, including anything
a little click-and-drag nudge and release the mouse, and you’ll hidden by a mask.
notice that it keeps gliding—depending on how hard you “threw”
it. Yeah, that’s called “flick panning.” Press Command-K (PC: Ctrl-K) Something blue
to turn it on or off in your General Preferences. I’ll bet you were wondering how I was going to fit something
blue into this Photoshop party, weren’t you? Color layers blue!
Something borrowed There are many times you may want to color-code layers. For
Now you thought I was going to steal someone else’s tip, didn’t example, perhaps you want to remember the originals, different
you? Not so. Let’s just have a look at something borrowed from people working on a file, different versions, etc. Whatever your
Lightroom. You may have noticed the new Adjustments panel reasons, it’s easily done: Click on the flyout menu icon at the
in CS4. This uses the Lightroom-style Modular panel vs. the old upper-right of the Layers panel (it’s the arrow with four hori-
Photoshop pop-up dialogs. The advantage of a modular panel zontal lines) and choose Layer Properties. Now you can pick any
is that you still have access to all the filters and tools while work- color you like from the Color menu to identify your layers. Until
ing with the adjustment—and it’s easier. next time, see you at the CAFÉ. ■
Now you can adjust a single layer or the whole image. Typi-
cally, an adjustment layer will affect every layer beneath it. Now
you can easily adjust only the layer directly beneath it. At the
bottom right of the Adjustments panel is an icon that reads New
Adjustments Affects All Layers Below, which toggles to New
Adjustments Clips to the Layer when you click it. It does this by
adding the adjustment as a clipping group to the layer directly
beneath it, which prevents it from changing the underlying layers.
This even works on masks, so get your creative thinking caps on!
Colin Smith, an award-winning designer, lecturer, and writer, has authored or co-authored several books on Photoshop, and has created a series
130 of Photoshop training videos available from PhotoshopCD.com. Colin is also the founder of PhotoshopCAFE.com.

Photoshop User Magazine (Jan-Feb 2009) (Malestrom)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Photoshop User Magazine (Jan-Feb 2009) (Malestrom)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Photoshop

Po’ Man’s HDR

Blend It Like Beckham

14 | Contributing Writers 100 | Ricoh Caplio GX200

110 | Photoshop Quick Tips

130 | Photoshop Beginners’ Tips

52 | Photoshop Speed Clinic

56 | Creative Point of View

64 | The WOW! Factor

66 | Digital Photographer’s Notebook

Feature 80 | Tethered Shooting à La Carte

90 | Under the Loupe

92 | Under the Hood

94 | Working Creatively in Lightroom

96 | Lightroom Tips & Tricks

Photoshop User magazine is the official

learning all this cool stuff.

Christy Winter, Associate Designer

PK C VM Y LC VLM O G LK LLK MK Contributing Writers

KEVIN AMES LAURIE EXCELL CHRIS ORWIG

STEVE BACZEWSKI MARK FLEMING COLIN SMITH

PETER BAUER DAVE HUSS ROB SYLVAN

JOHN PAUL CAPONIGRO LESA SNIDER KING BEN WILLMORE

J IM D I VITALE SHERRY LONDON JACK DAVIS & LINNEA DAYTON

KATRIN EISMANN SCOTT ONSTOT T

Free Configurator for Photoshop CS4

enables users to create and share interface panels that add to

Adobe MAX 2008/2009

Call for entries: ADAA 2009

COURTEST ADOBE SYSTEMS INC.

Nikon announces new powerhouse digital SLR

NEC & ICS RED unveils hybrid

slate-style tablet PC (no

Big Fat Brain Gets Adobe Sponsorship

We’re not sure when he sleeps either

It’s madness, I tell you! Nik Software—Use your exclusive

photo equipment rental by mail. Per-

ALL NEW Maximum Adobe® Adobe® Photoshop®

Custom Picture Frames

STEP ONE: Choose File>New to create a new RGB document

STEP TWO: Press Command-A to select the entire area of the

STEP FIVE: Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on the frame layer

Following the steps above, create a duplicate of this layer

STEP NINE: Command-

From the drop-down menu, select the alpha channel we created

STEP TWELVE: Select Layer 1 and change the blend mode to

COUPLE: ©ISTOCKPHOTO/JENNIFER TRENCHARD

Arrr! Mystic Fog For Ye, Matey!

STEP ONE: Open the image you wish

STEP TWO: Click-and-

“Effects” below this layer

STEP THREE: Click on the

STEP FIVE: Now, click on

STEP SIX: Duplicate Layer 1

STEP SEVEN: Create a new layer (Layer 2) by clicking on the Create

Gradient tool (G) from the Toolbox, go up to the Options Bar

STEP TEN: Create another layer (Layer 5). Press Command-F

STEP ELEVEN: Add as many additional layers as you need,

1\ VM^MZ NIQT[ \W PIXXMV _PMV 1U \MIKPQVO I ,ZMIU_MI^MZ KW]Z[M#

T people somewhat confused with the process. Dreamweaver

STEP ONE: Beginning with Photoshop CS4, Adobe Systems Inc.

While this would seem like

STEP ONE: Begin by creating a new folder on your desktop and

1\VM^MZNIQT[\WPIXXMV_PMV1U\MIKPQVOI,ZMIU_MI^MZKW]Z[M#