Zino PSU June 2011

T H E A D O B E® P H OTO S H O P ® “ H O W -T 0 ” M A G A Z I N E › › J U N E 2 0 1 1
Learn the inside secrets

and hidden tips to get LIGHTROOM Self-promotional ideas
for freelancers and small FREELANCE
you über organized TIPS & TRICKS business marketing advice COACH
IN-DEPTH SCOT T K ELBY ’ S NE WS, REVIE WS

ST E P - BY- ST E P DOWN AND A N D OTH E R
TUTO R I A LS DIRTY TRICKS COOL STUFF
PERFECT
PORTRAITS
Learn to create beautiful portraits through
the lens of a senior photographer
PLUS: How to design custom InDesign
senior portrait templates
DISPLAY UNTIL JULY 12, 2011

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PHOTOSHOP PROFESSIONALS
VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.PHOTOSHOPUSER.COM
ta b l e o f c o n t e n t s › › JUNE 2011
FEATURE IMAGE-
52 MAKING
Just in time for the start of the senior photography season,
Hernan Rodriguez shares some of his amazing portrait
photography and takes us through his entire workflow.
From tips and tricks on posing to using gels for creative
lighting effects to processing the images in Lightroom to
correcting skintones in Photoshop, Hernan covers it all and
will have you creating your own fantastic portraits in no time.
HERNAN RODRIGUEZ
Hernan Rodriguez
DEPARTMENTS REVIEWS
From the Editor 6 112 Nik Silver Efex Pro 2
About Photoshop User Magazine 10 113 OctoDome nxt: Extra Small Location Kit
Contributing Writers 14 NIKKOR AF-S 85mm f/1.4G
NAPP Member Community 16 114 Perfect Resize 7 Professional Edition
Toast 11 Titanium Edition for Mac

Guru Awards 24
116 NIKKOR AF-S 28–300mm f/3.5–5.6G ED VR
Designer Spotlight 30 TypeDNA 2
From the Help Desk 92 118 Encrypt Stick 5
Photoshop Tips 122 Porter Case PCi
Photoshop Q&A 134 120 Photoshop Book Reviews
COLUMNS
DESIGN MAKEOVER 34 62 CLASSIC EFFECTS
Shooting Sars Fade a Photo to a Line Drawing
DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS

Kung Fu Text
38 64 FROM BERT'S STUDIO
Give Me Some Skin
Creepy Composite 44
Instant Abs 48 66 DEKE SPACE
Rendering Type in Gold
BEGINNERS" WORKSHOP 60 68 PHOTOSHOP MASTERY

Dipping into Duotone Mode Content-Aware Fill on an Empty Layer
› › www.photoshopuser.com
COLUMNS
THE COPYRIGHT ZONE 70 90 PHOTOSHOP & THE WEB
Free Photos—Get Your Free Photos Here To Flash or Not to Flash?
THE SMALL BUSINESS 74 94 ILLUSTRATOR TUTORIAL

AND FREELANCE COACH From Illustrator to Photoshop
Free Work Can Really Cost You
98 INDESIGN TUTORIAL
AFTER THE SHOOT 78 Create a Beautiful Template for Your Portrait Clients
Camera Raw as an Automation Tool
CREATIVE POINT OF VIEW 80

Express Yourself LIGHTROOM
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHER’S NOTEBOOK 82 COLUMNS
Fast Skin Smoother
THE FINE ART OF PRINTING 84 106 UNDER THE HOOD

Profile Your Monitor Five Tips for Making Great Slide Shows
TABLET TALK 86 108 UNDER THE LOUPE

Getting Pressure-Sensitive Selections Hide and Go Seek
BEYOND PHOTOSHOP 88 110 LIGHTROOM TIPS & TRICKS

Adding Signage with Vanishing Point and a 3D Layer
LIGHTROOM
FEATURE
PRECISE
PORTRAIT
102 PROCESSING
The Develop module presents photographers with a logical
progression for processing photos. This issue, we’ll show
you a standard workflow and explain the tools and functions
IMAGES BY HEIKO KLUG
for basic portrait retouching.

A.J. WOOD
BUT WAIT— THERE’S MORE

KEY CONCEPTS DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT
These icons at the beginning of columns indicate there’s a short video on a tool Whenever you see this symbol at the end of an article, it
or function used in that tutorial at the new Key Concepts NAPP member webpage means there are either downloadable practice files or additional
at www.photoshopuser.com/keyconcepts. content for NAPP members at www.photoshopuser.com/
members/magazine.
DIGIMARC DISCOVER
Layer masks Warp
Download the Digimarc Discover app directly to your iPhone or
Android-based smartphones, and then look for this symbol in articles
and ads for online content, special offers, or to play videos right on
your phone. Don't have a smartphone? Visit www.photoshopuser
. com/category/digitalextra. See page 11 for more info.
a few words from › › scott kelby
FROM THE EDITOR

A World of Photoshop
From conference to magazine, there’s always a lot going on at NAPP
Well, we’re back from one of our best Photoshop World conferences ever! The feedback from NAPP members
has really been amazing, and some new faces—such as Holland’s own Frank Doorhof, sports photography legend
Dave Black (who received a standing ovation at the closing ceremony), and entertainment photographer Jeremy
Cowart—all won lots of new fans.
Photoshop World is NAPP’s own convention, created just for you guys, and we’ve opened registration for our
Las Vegas conference, which is coming up September 7–9 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. Thousands of
Photoshop users and photographers from around the world will be there, learning everything from Lightroom to
retouching to editing video to lighting from the very best in the business, and I want to invite you to be there. If
you’ve never come to Photoshop World, I promise you there’s nothing like it anywhere. So make plans now to join
us in Vegas. If you register now, with your NAPP member discount you can attend the full conference (with more than 80 classes to choose
from) for just $499. I hope to shake your hand in person this fall at the conference (I’m teaching classes on portrait retouching, Photoshop
for travel photographers, Lightroom killer tips, and I’m on a panel called “Blogging for Photographers”).
Here in the magazine, there’s a lot going on, as well. I know a lot of you are photographers, and we’re heading into wedding and senior
portrait season. That’s why our cover story this issue is from Los Angeles-based photographer Hernan Rodriguez, who shares his entire
senior portraiture workflow—from lighting to posing tips and tricks, right through his postprocessing in Lightroom and Photoshop. If you’re
a photographer, you’ve gotta check this one out—even if you don’t shoot senior portraiture, the techniques you’ll learn apply to a wide
range of photography and Photoshop. It starts on page 52.
One of the things I’m personally most excited about in this issue is a piece we did on creating promo and comp card templates that
portrait photographers can use as an add-on to offer their clients. The piece is written by one of my all-time favorite graphic designers,
NAPP’s own Margie Rosenstein, and I think you’re really going to love it (again, even if you’re not doing portraits, you’ll learn a lot that can
be applied to other specialties). It’s on page 98.
Also in this issue, Lesa Snider, who used to pen our “Graphic Secrets” column, has taken over our “Beginners’ Workshop” column
(which she will so rock at), and Dave Cross is launching a new column called “After the Shoot,” where he’ll teach Photoshop techniques
that photographers can use after the shoot, from organizing and automating their workflow to retouching and more.
We’ve got A.J. Wood in the Lightroom portion of the magazine with a feature on workflow (p. 102), and we take a look at the work of
the Guru Award winners from Photoshop World (very cool stuff) in our “NAPP Member Community” section (p. 24). Lastly, our featured
artist this issue is digital illustrator Heiko Klug (p. 30). One word to describe Heiko’s work: Wow!
Of course, all of your other favorite tutorials, columns, and reviews are here, too. One last thing: if you get a chance, check out my
Facebook page. I’m on there daily, and we have a lot of fun. It’s at facebook.com/skelby (click the Like button and you’ll keep up with
my posts automatically). Also, don’t miss our new weekly talk show The Grid with Matt Kloskowski and me (http://kelbytv.com/thegrid).
Whew! There’s a lot going on. Awesome!
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › j u n e 2 0 1 1
All my best,
Scott Kelby
Editor & Publisher
006
JUNE 2011 • Volume 14 • Number 4 • Printed in USA
Everything for the Perfect Print. The official publication of

The National Association of Photoshop Professionals
EDITORIAL:
Scott Kelby, Editor-in-Chief
Chris Main, Managing Editor
Mike Mackenzie, Senior Editor
Kim Gabriel, Traffic Director
Felix Nelson, Creative Director
Dave Damstra, Production Manager
Taffy Clifford, Senior Associate Designer
Dave Korman, Production Designer
Contributing Writers
Kevin Ames • Steve Baczewski • Corey Barker • Peter Bauer
Larry Becker • John Paul Caponigro • “RC” Concepcion • Dave
Cross • Seán Duggan • Ron Duncan • Daniel East • Katrin
EPSON
Eismann • Laurie Excell • Ed Greenberg • Matt Kloskowski
Deke McClelland • Bert Monroy • Jay Nelson • Scott Onstott
Jack Reznicki • Hernan Rodriguez • Margie Rosenstein • Colin
Smith • Lesa Snider • Rob Sylvan • Trisha Van Koughnett
Jake Widman • Ben Willmore • A.J. Wood
Marketing Team
Stylus Pro 4900 Mary Laurinaitis, Manager of Marketing
Ultrachrome HDR Tom Castaneda • Eduardo Lowe • Margie Rosenstein
Web Team
Tommy Maloney, Director of Web Development
Justin Finley • Karey Johnson • Fred Maya • Leslie Montenegro
Kris Olds • Aaron Westgate
PuBLiSHiNG:
Wacom Scott Kelby, Publisher
David Moser, Executive Publisher
Kalebra Kelby, Executive V.P.
Jean A. Kendra, Business Manager
Larry Becker, Executive Director of the NAPP
Paul Parry, Chief Financial Officer
Intuos 4 Wireless ADVERTiSiNG:

Kevin Agren, V.P., Sales 813-433-2370
Unleashed Creativity Jeanne Jilleba, Advertising Coordinator 800-738-8513 ext. 215
Veronica (Ronni) O’Neil, Director of Circulation/Distribution
800-738-8513 ext. 235
HOW TO CONTACT THE NAPP:

u.S. Mail: 333 Douglas Road East • Oldsmar, FL 34677-2922
Voice: 813-433-5005 • Fax: 813-433-5014
Customer Service: feedback@photoshopuser.com
Letters to the Editor: letters@photoshopuser.com
Letters to the Lightroom Editor: lightroom@photoshopuser.com
X-rite Membership info: info@photoshopuser.com

Membership Suggestions: lbecker@photoshopuser.com
World Wide Web including the Photoshop Help Desk,
Photo Gear Desk, and Advice Desk: www.photoshopuser.com
Colormunki COLOPHON:
Photoshop User was produced using Adobe Photoshop CS5, Adobe
Accurate Color InDesign CS5, and Adobe Illustrator CS5. Blair ITC was used for headlines,
Adobe Myriad Pro for subheads, and Frutiger LT Std for text.
This seal indicates that all content provided herein is produced by Kelby Media,
ice.
ledgeable Serv
Inc. and follows the most stringent standards for educational resources. Kelby
, Friendly, Know
Media is the premier source for instructional books, DVDs, online classes, and live
*, Best Prices seminars for creative professionals.
Free Shipping
(800) 771-9665 All contents ©COPYRIGHT 2011 National Association of Photoshop Professionals.
All rights reserved. Any use of the contents of this publication without the written permis-
www.itsupplies.com
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
* free ground shipping on orders over $99 be the representative views of the publisher. ISSN 1535-4687
about photoshop user › ›
ABOUT PHOTOSHOP
USER
MAGAZINE
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 public by subscription.
As a NAPP member, you automatically receive Photoshop User

delivered right to your door (or digitally) ten times a year. Each issue
features in-depth Photoshop tutorials written by the most talented
designers, photographers, and leading authors in the industry.
Cover Image: Hernan Rodriguez
ABOUT NAPP
THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MEMBER DISCOUNTS
PHOTOSHOP PROFESSIONALS Save anywhere from 2–4 times your membership cost by using our many
is a dynamic trade association and the world’s leading resource for industry-related discounts.
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 TECH SUPPORT
any individual using Photoshop in a casual or professional environment. Fast, friendly Photoshop, Lightroom, and photo gear help, equipment
advice, and more from certified experts.
There’s no faster, easier, and more affordable way to get really good at Photoshop.
You can join for only $99 U.S., $129 Canada, and $99 International (digital delivery).
MEMBER COMMUNITY
NAPP also offers special educational memberships. NAPP members range from beginners to pros and love to lend each
Go to www.photoshopuser.com to get more info. other a hand. Together, we have built the friendliest, most knowledgeable
Photoshop and photography forum on the Web.
NEWS & REVIEWS

MEMBER Unbiased coverage on the latest equipment, plug-ins, and programs
BENEFITS in the marketplace.
MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER
PHOTOSHOP USER MAGAZINE Produced exclusively for members to keep you informed of everything new
Ten issues of the best Photoshop tutorial-based magazine in the industry. in the industry and at NAPP headquarters.
MEMBERS-ONLY WEBSITE REGISTRATION DISCOUNT

Our extensive website features time- and money-saving content. TO PHOTOSHOP WORLD
CONFERENCE & EXPO
TUTORIALS & EDUCATION The semiannual NAPP convention and the largest Photoshop and photog-
Thousands of Photoshop tutorials, bonus classes, and quick tip videos. raphy learning experience on the planet. It’s an amazing Photoshop event.
010 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.
scan cover image above for more information about napp

photoshop’s most wanted › ›
contributing
writers
KEVIN AMES
creates evocative photographs for clients such as Westin Hotels, AT&T, and Coca-
Cola. His fourth book, published by Peachpit Press, is The Digital Photographer’s
SCOTT ONSTOTT
Notebook: A Pro’s Guide to Photoshop CS3, Lightroom and Bridge.
author of Enhancing Architectural Drawings and Models with Photoshop,
has written and edited dozens of books and videos on Photoshop, SketchUp,
STEVE BACZEWSKI
3ds Max, and AutoCAD. Check out his website at www.scottonstott.com.
is a freelance writer, professional photographer, graphic designer, and consultant.
He also teaches classes in traditional and digital fine arts photography. His
CHRIS ORWIG
company, Sore Tooth Productions, is based in Albany, California.
a photographer and book and video author, is on the photography faculty at the
Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara. His publications include video training titles on
PETER BAUER
Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3.
is an adobe Certified Expert that does computer graphics consulting for a select
group of corporate clients. His latest book is Photoshop CS5 for Dummies. He was
COLIN SMITH
inducted into the Photoshop Hall of Fame in 2010.
is an award-winning designer, lecturer, and writer who has authored or co-authored
12 books on Photoshop and has also created a series of Photoshop training videos.
JOHN PAUL CAPONIGRO
Colin is also the founder of the online resource PhotoshopCAFE.com.
is an internationally respected fine artist, a member of the Photoshop Hall of Fame,
and author of Adobe Photoshop Master Class and the DVD series R/Evolution.
LESA SNIDER
Sign up for his free enews Insights at www.johnpaulcaponigro.com.
is the chief evangelist for iStockphoto.com, the author of Photoshop CS5: The Miss-
ing Manual, and several video training titles on KelbyTraining.com. She’s also a
SEÁN DUGGAN
member of the Photoshop World Dream Team and founder of GraphicReporter.com.
is the co-author of Real World Digital Photography and The Creative Digital
Darkroom. He teaches at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University and leads
ROB SYLVAN
workshops on digital photography, Photoshop, and Lightroom.
is the author of Taking Stock and Photoshop Lightroom 2 for Dummies, a
Help Desk Specialist for the NAPP, and an instructor for the Perfect Picture
DANIEL EAST
School of Photography.
is an author, freelance writer, presenter/trainer, and consultant with more than 20
years’ experience in photography, pro-audio, and marketing. Daniel is also founder
TERRY WHITE
and president of The Apple Groups Team support network for user groups.
is the Worldwide Creative Suite Design Evangelist for Adobe Systems, Inc., author
of Secrets of Adobe Bridge, and co-author of InDesign CS/CS2 Killer Tips and The
KATRIN EISMANN
iPhone Book 4th Edition. Check out his tech blog at http://terrywhite.com.
is the author of Photoshop Restoration & Retouching and Photoshop Masking &
Compositing and co-author of The Creative Digital Darkroom. Katrin is Chair of the
JAKE WIDMAN
MPS in Digital Photography department at the School of Visual Arts in NYC.
is a writer and editor who lives in San Francisco. He’s been covering the intersection
of computers and graphic design for about 25 years now—since back when it was
LAURIE EXCELL
called “desktop publishing” and Photoshop was just a piece of scanning software.
has 28 years of photography and photographic equipment sales experience.
Her images have been showcased in galleries, Audubon calendars,
BEN WILLMORE
Camping Life Magazine, Amtrak publications, and BT Journal.
is a Photoshop Hall of Famer and a modern-day nomad exploring America via
motorcoach. Catch his latest adventure at www.whereisben.com and find out about
DEKE MCCLELLAND
all his books, seminars, and DVDs at www.digitalmastery.com.
is author of Adobe Photoshop CS5 One-on-One and the three-part video series
Photoshop CS5 One-on-One. To read Deke’s blog and view his podcasts,
ED GREENBERG
go to www.deke.com/dekepod.
& JACK REZNICKI
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › J U N E 2 0 1 1
have a new blog at www.thecopyrightzone.com where you can read about their
BERT MONROY
new book, Photographer’s Survival Manual, published by Lark Books.
is considered one of the pioneers of digital art. His work has been seen in countless
magazines and books. He has served on the faculty of many well-known institutions,
written dozens of books, and appeared on hundreds of TV shows around the world.
014
INDUSTRY
NEWS NAPP
TRAINING
AND
MEMBER
INFORMATION COMMUNITY
› › BY NANCY MASSÉ AND TRISHA VAN KOUGHNETT
Where you’ll find common Help Desk questions; notable member achievements;quotes from
Facebook and Twitter; and inspirational work from your fellow members
X-RITE I1 PROFESSIONAL
COLOR MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS
New i1 Professional Color Management Solutions are now available from X-Rite, Incorporated. With four
different profile packages, X-Rite has created a complete collection of profiling tools to improve your workflow
in photo, prepress, publishing, and digital printing markets. Each profile package features the groundbreaking new
i1Profiler software technology and includes various components.
i1Basic Pro was created for imaging professionals for high-end monitor profiling, monitor and printing quality verifica-
tion, and spot color measurement. It’s an easy-to-use professional spectral color measurement solution. i1Photo
Pro allows photo professionals to manage any RGB workflow. It produces high-quality color results, specializing in
highlight and shadow details; achieves true colors on your LCD, CRT, and laptop; and creates flawless prints. The last
two packages, i1Publish and i1Publish Pro, are ICC-profiling solutions for prepress and publishing professionals that
offer the ability to organize and manage complete RGB, CMYK, and CMYK+N prepress workflows.
i1Basic Pro is available for $999, i1Photo Pro for $1,399, i1Publish for $999, and i1Publish Pro for $1,898. For
more information, visit www.xrite.com.
ONONE ANNOUNCES
PERFECT LAYERS PUBLIC PREVIEW
onOne Software invites NAPP members to sign up for a public preview of their newest standalone
app and plug-in, Perfect Layers. Scott Kelby has been personally involved with this and is
excited to share it with you.
Perfect Layers is 64-bit compatible and allows users to edit multilayered files with
Photoshop Lightroom and Apple Aperture. You can combine multiple images into a layered
Photoshop file, use built-in layer masks and masking tools to blend various layers together, and
more. Its superfast launch and file-opening speed will amaze you.
The Perfect Layers public preview should be available by the time you read this. For more
information, visit www.ononesoftware.com/products/perfect-layers.
NIKON RELEASES
THE D5100 DSLR AND ME-1 STEREO MICROPHONE
The new, versatile Nikon D5100 DSLR has a large 3", 921,000-dot, swivel vari-angle LCD moni-
tor, making it easy to shoot photos and videos while on the move. You can rotate the screen
180° horizontally and vertically, enabling you to capture photos and video at high or low angles.
The Special Effects Mode has unique effects to use when shooting still images or recording
1080p D-Movies. With an ISO of 100–6400, users have a wide range to be creative.
The ME-1 Stereo Microphone was engineered specifically for DSLRs. It attaches to the
hot shoe, is powered directly through the camera, and has noise-dampening components
to minimize noise from AF operation. Nikon even included a low-cut filter to reduce noise that
isn’t already blocked by the wind screen. The ME-1 works with other Nikon HD movie-capable
DSLRs, as well.
The D5100 is available for $799.95 for the body only, and as a kit for $899.99 with the
AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 18–55mm f/3.5–5.5G ED VR lens. The Nikon ME-1 microphone retails at
$179.95. Visit www.nikonusa.com for more information.
COREL ANNOUNCES NAPP For the latest list of discounts
go to the Discounts section at
PAINTER 12 DISCOUNTS photoshopuser.com/members
Corel Corporation recently announced Painter 12.
According to Corel, Painter 12 has unmatched
› ARENAL ECO ADVENTURE
natural media capabilities, new digital art tools, PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP—
new workflow options, and 64-bit support for Win- Join Rick Sammon and Rob Knight to explore the
wonders of Costa Rica. NAPP members receive
dows (a later release is in store for Macs). It now $200 off this all-inclusive, 6-day workshop.
has faster performance speed with the brush tools Expires June 30, 2011
(3–5 times faster) and also with large file flattening,
flipping, and blurring (1.5–3 times faster).
Painter 12 has a new, next-generation interface and, › TETHER TOOLS—Receive a free
JerkStopper Camera Support with the purchase
for an organic experience, it has RealBrush Painting of any Tether Table or Studio Vu.
and a wide spectrum of painting media including
watercolor, acrylic, oil, pastel, and more. Painter 12
› STILL RIVER EDITIONS—NAPP
supports PSD files, layers, brush blending, libraries, and docking panels, too. members receive a 10% discount for all orders of
Corel Painter 12 is $429 for the full version, and upgrades are $229. Visit www.corel.com for fine art digital (giclée) printing services and scanning,
shipping excluded.
more information.
› JHP ACTIONS—JHP Actions give you the

flexibility and ease of adding that extra boost to
THE GRID all your images with one click. NAPP members get
PROGRAMMING CHANGE 50% off.
There was a slight programming change for Scott Kelby’s newest KelbyTV show, The Grid (http://
kelbytv.com/thegrid). It’s still live, and it still airs every Monday but the show now starts a half-hour
› SLICKFORCE STUDIO—Award-
earlier at noon EDT. If you have a reminder set up so you can catch it live, please make sure you winning Art Director Clint Davis shows how to
change the start time to noon. Also, if you’d like to interact on Twitter during the live show with make phenomenal composites. NAPP members
get $50 off any item or bundle.
your comments, be sure to use #TheGridLive hashtag in your tweets and follow @TheGridLive
(http://twitter.com/TheGridLive). As always, every episode will be archived on KelbyTV, so you can
watch it any time. › PHOTODEX—NAPP members get 20%
off ProShow Web and ProShow Producer slide
show creation software.
› ARTISTIC PHOTO CANVAS—

NAPP members save 10% on APC’s top-notch
photographic and fine art reproduction on canvas.
From @KStohl: Vanelli’s dream or
NOTABLE NAPP MEMBERS Scott Kelby’s nightmare? (http://

twitpic.com/4h9ya6)
Showcasing the accomplishments of our members
This issue’s NAPP member of note is the energetic; tattooed goddess; and concert, celebrity, ready-for-
π
From @nicolesy: Some of the
anything photographer, Krysten Marlette (see photo on p. 22). Krysten hails from Orlando, Florida,
and started shooting when she was just 14 years old (her first show was Aerosmith). replies I get from NAPP members
She “enjoys the stress of being able to capture an artist’s character in three songs or less.” This sen- when I solve Photoshop problems
timent soon became evident when she joined fellow NAPP member, Jeff Tamagini, to co-author the offi- are hilarious. I think I just got a
cial PSW Keynote live blog and handled it with ease. After that, she was soon popping up on everyone’s
marriage proposal! LOL.
radar at PSW, not only for her photography work, but for her contagious energy, as well. Keep an eye
out for Krysten and her work in the photography world. Her star is just starting to rise and it’s going to
π
› › w w w. p h ot o s h o p u s e r . c o m
shine brightly. And that new tattoo she just got with the letters “NAPP” in it looks pretty spiffy, too. From @OegeSmedinga: Scott Kelby,
Here’s what she had to say about NAPP: “Being a NAPP member has not only created another social great show! Very fresh. Learned a
group to hang out with but the information and support from the Web is incredible. I can find a solu- lot about how to leverage social
tion to any challenge that may arise or consult another NAPP member for their insight.”
media as a photographer. Thanks!
Follow her work at www.krystenmarlette.com.
(#Episode1 #TheGridLive)
If you have any news you’d like to share, please send it to FB@KelbyMediaGroup.com for consideration.
NOTABLE
TWEETS
If you have any ideas for things you’d like to see in your “Community,” drop us a line at letters@photoshopuser.com. 017
IMAGES OF THE WEEK › ›
FACEBOOK
NEWS
It finally happened. Corey Barker has created his own page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Planet-
Corey). The jury is still out on whether or not this is a sign of the apocalypse.
In other Facebook news, we’re trying out the idea of localized NAPP fan pages. This is where folks
can go to get the latest news from NAPP and interact with other local NAPP members, photographers,
and Photoshop enthusiasts. Here’s a list of what’s up and running so far:
NAPP UK—Run by our ever-present UK NAPP Evangelist, Dave Clayton, the NAPP UK page (www
.facebook.com/nappmember) is something all UK NAPP members on Facebook should join. It’s your
place to be heard. Dave is largely responsible for getting Scott to bring his Kelby Training LIVE tour to
0 2 . 1 7. 1 1 › › P R I YA S A M U E L
the UK last year, and it’s the place where we intend to send UK companies to convince them that UK
NAPP members are plenty in numbers and interests, and that they deserve more discounts. If you want
to see more discounts and more live seminars, help us help you. Join now!
NAPP Canada—Hey, Canada, same goes for you! Help fellow Canadian NAPP member, Patrick
LaMontagne, grow NAPP’s Canadian presence on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NAPPCanada) so
we can show Canadian companies why they need to give you more discounts. Plus, you can create
meetups, share pictures, and join Patrick’s discussions.
NAPP Sweden—We’re not sure how many Swedish NAPP members there are but NAPP forum
favorite, Erik Bernskiold, is running our first bilingual fan page (www.facebook.com/NAPPSweden),
and creating a small (for now) but active community that we can only assume is filled with wonderful
02.24.1 1 › › D AV I D R . B A I R
NAPP news, since none of us understand his native tongue.
NAPP Chicago—We’re also testing localized pages in a few U.S. areas and NAPP Chicago (www
.facebook.com/NAPPChicago) was one of the first. Co-administered by one of the first NAPP Evange-
lists (and another forum favorite), “Firgs,” and Chicago Photoshop meetup organizer, Anna Aaron,
NAPP Chicago is leading the pack in hosting local events. If you’re in or near the Chicago area, this is
the page for you.
NAPP Arizona—Our last beta NAPP Facebook page is NAPP Arizona (www.facebook.com/NAPP-
Arizona). Run by university professor James Gordon Patterson, NAPP Arizona is turning into a great,
localized educational resource that will only get bigger and better with more members. Arizona is a
0 3 . 0 7. 1 1 › › PETER JOBBINS
big state and James can only cover so much, so if that’s the state you live in, this is the page for you.
Please join and share what’s going on in your corner of this great state.
If you’re wondering where your localized NAPP fan page is, well, we’re rolling them out a little at a
time. Pages for Las Vegas and Texas will be up soon and we’re hoping to establish NAPP Australia
and NAPP Germany soon.
This is where you come in. We’re looking for active NAPP community members who are social media
savvy and willing to put forth the effort and do what it takes to grow a localized NAPP fan page. You
need to be willing to take the initiative on certain things (since you know your area best) and have the
demeanor it takes to communicate in a friendly, professional manner (no matter what—we all know
how it can get in the online world) that is befitting of a NAPP representative.
If that’s you, please send an email to FB@KelbyMediaGroup.com with the words, “NAPP Fan Page”
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l / m ay 2 0 1 1
03.1 4.1 1 › › T R A CY E G I B S O N and the area you’re from in the title. Be sure to tell us your qualifications, social media experience and
metrics, and ideas for your area’s page. We’re looking for people in other countries (especially Germany
and Australia) and larger metropolitan areas. If you’re not in a large area but feel you can handle being
the Facebook rep for your entire state, we’d like to hear from you, as well. (Note: These Facebook pages
are still in beta and can end or change at any time. There’s no guarantee that there will be a page for
your city, state, or country, or that volunteering to run a page will automatically grant the right to do so.
Thanks in advance for your patience with this process.)
From @cwardphotos: Light It Shoot It Retouch It LIVE!

NOTABLE with Scott Kelby in Minneapolis was great and I learned
TWEETS
a lot. Highly recommended. Here’s my review http://bit
018 .ly/gfF0XI.
03. 2 1.1 1 › › G E N E LO W I N G E R
KELBY TV NEW HP DISPLAYS, DESKTOPS,
GUIDE AND MOBILE WORKSTATIONS
KEEP ON TOP OF YOUR FAVORITE KELBYTV SHOWS
The new HP DreamColor LP2480zx Professional Display (starting at $2,499) is something to take
WITH THIS HANDY GUIDE
note of. This 24", wide-aspect LCD backlit monitor is the world’s first display to use the Dream-
THE GRID Color engine technology. It delivers outstanding color accuracy, uses 30-bit LCD panel technology
(http://kelbytv.com/thegrid) to provide more than one-billion active colors, supports the best-in-class off-axis performance, and
Hosts: Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski more. You can work with deep colors; use CRT-class black and programmable white; and use the
Format: Live Talk Show optional HP DreamColor Advanced Profiling Solutions.
Air Time: Every Monday at noon EDT (rebroadcast
The new HP Z210 Convertible Minitower (CMT) and Small Form Factor (SFF) Workstations
goes online every Tuesday)
are low-cost, high-performance machines. They’re both reliable with fast Xeon processors, ECC
PHOTOSHOP USER TV memory, enterprise-class storage, and application certification. Each offers new Intel HD Graphics
(http://kelbytv.com/photoshopusertv) P3000/2000 and 2D and 3D professional graphics options from NVIDIA and AMD. With a 20%
Hosts: Scott Kelby, Dave Cross, and Matt Kloskowski performance improvement over the previous series, the HP Z210 CMT and SSF Workstations are
Format: Taped Photoshop tutorial show energy efficient and compatible with various devices. The HP Z210 CMT Workstation starts at
Air Time: New episodes every Tuesday (during $659 and the HP Z210 SFF Workstation starts at $569.
regular season) HP also has three new mobile workstations in their EliteBook w-series lineup. Each mobile
workstation includes an HP DisplaySafe frame, a chemically strengthened glass touchpad, and a
D-TOWN TV brushed gunmetal finish. The HP EliteBook 8760w (starting at $1,899) is the most powerful mobile
(http://kelbytv.com/dtowntv)
workstation from HP. It has a 17.3" high-definition screen and the option of three hard drives and
Hosts: Rafael “RC” Concepcion and Larry Becker
RAID 5 support, which is a first for an HP mobile workstation. The HP EliteBook 8560w (starting at
Format: Taped DSLR tips and techniques show
$1,349) is HP’s most versatile mobile workstation. It has a 15.6" high-definition display, and the
Air Time: New episodes every Thursday (during
optional HP DreamColor display allows for more than one-billion active colors. The last mobile
regular season)
workstation, the HP EliteBook 8460w (starting at $1,299), is the smallest and lightest. It has a 14"
ASK DAVE high-definition display and weighs 4.9 lbs. It’s offered with an AMD FirePro 1-GB video memory
(http://kelbytv.com/askdave) professional graphics card for true on-the-road video performance.
Host: Dave Cross For more information on any HP product mentioned, visit www.hp.com.
Format: Taped tutorial and quick tips
Air Time: New episodes every Monday
NAPP NEWS
(http://kelbytv.com/nappnews)
Host: Larry Becker
Format: Taped news show
Air Time: New episodes every Monday
LARRY’S CHEAP SHOTS

(http://kelbytv.com/cheapshots)
Host: Larry Becker
Format: Taped, segment rebroadcasted
Air Time: Every Friday
LIGHTROOM KILLER TIPS

(http://kelbytv.com/lightroomkillertips)
Host: Matt Kloskowski
Format: Taped tutorial and quick tips
Air Time: Approximately every 2–3 weeks
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › a p r i l / m ay 2 0 1 1
(no set air date)
PHOTOSHOP KILLER TIPS

(http://kelbytv.com/photoshopkillertips)
Host: Matt Kloskowski
ADOBE RELEASES CS5.5—
NAPP RELEASES SPECIAL CS5.5
Format: Taped tutorial and quick tips RESOURCE PAGE
Air Time: Daily On April 11, 2011, Adobe Systems Incorporated announced the release of Creative Suite 5.5,
Note: On temporary hiatus. Reruns available.
and while there are no significant changes to the Photoshop program (they pretty much
knocked it out of the park the first time around), there are a few things that we thought you,
LAYERS TV
(http://kelbytv.com/layerstv) as Photoshop users, might like to know. To help you, we’ve created a special NAPP CS5.5
Hosts: Rafael “RC” Concepcion and Corey Barker landing page where you’ll find videos from Corey Barker about some things that may help
Format: Taped Adobe Creative Suite tutorial show enhance your Photoshop experience, and links to download this upgrade. Get the scoop on
Note:020On Permanent hiatus. Reruns available. CS5.5 at www.photoshopuser.com/cs5update.
NAPP COMMUNITY › ›
THE SOCIAL SIDE OF PHOTOSHOP,

A WHOLE OTHER REALM
So, you’ve arrived at Photoshop World (PSW), checked into your hotel room,
and have a sense of the classes you want to take. Now what? Wait around
for classes to start? While you might think this is a good idea, classes at
PSW are just one aspect of the conference, and you’re not doing yourself
justice if you take this approach. There’s a whole other realm to the confer-
ence—the social side—and you can get just as much out of this side as you
can from the classes. But like everything, you only get out of it what you put
into it.
There are four main social events at PSW. It begins with the NAPP
forum members’ dinner, an event in which the active forum members get
together, have a casual dinner, and catch up.
Immediately following is the PSW Tweetup, started by social media
ninja, Nancy Massé. What was once a small gathering of Twitter users has
grown into a can’t-miss pool party. Photographer Erik Valind sets up
a cool mobile studio to take everyone’s portraits and uploads them
to Flickr almost instantly. At the most recent PSW Tweetup in Orlando,
Florida, NAPP filmed an episode of D-Town TV!
After a long first day of classes, you’ll be tempted to head back to
your room to relax. Instead, get a ticket to the After Hours Party at B.B.
King’s on the East and at House of Blues on the West. This is where all
the instructors, vendors, and in-the-know attendees come to have a
few drinks, get some good food, and listen to Big Electric Cat, the
world-famous PSW band, anchored by none other than Scott Kelby!
Seriously, these guys rock and play all of your favorite ’80s and ’90s
covers. If you attended a class where an instructor really struck a cord
with you, this is also the perfect opportunity to introduce yourself,
say thank you, and perhaps pick his or her brain a little more.
The final official social event is Midnight Madness. Here you’re
guaranteed to learn nothing about Photoshop but you’re guaranteed
JEFF TAMAGIN
I to have a good time. It all starts with Vanelli (who takes a whole
other article to explain), who serves as the unofficial security to
the event, which means hilarity will ensue as he leads the crowd in a series of games for some really
cool prizes. The instructors blow off steam, poke fun at one another, and play games with the audience for more great prizes.
These are just the official social activates. With all the friends you’ll make along the way, why not put together an impromptu
photo shoot or hit up Denny’s at 3 a.m. for some food and a gripe session about the photo industry. The week is what you make of it, so
why not make it unforgettable and the best experience of your life.—Jeff Tamagini
EMAIL FROM:
FIRST TIME PSW ATTENDEE
I just wanted to say thank you for an incredible time in Orlando, Florida, at Photoshop World—it was amazing. From the time I regis-
tered online to the closing ceremony it was just incredible! You all were so organized and offered so many great classes that I still am in
awe of what I just got to experience! Not to mention the instructors and the talent that you have, not only for the skills of photography
and/or knowledge of Photoshop, but the way they deliver the message. Kudos to the entire staff that put this together—you all couldn’t
have been nicer and more professional (and a ton of fun!). This was my first PSW but won’t be my last! Thank you!
—Keri McDaniel, Snapped Images, Atlanta
022 scan the image above for more behind-the-scenes coverage of psw
Awards
Guru
2011 PHOTOSHOP WORLD ORLANDO, FLORIDA
The National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) is proud to announce the winners of the 2011 Guru Awards. The winners in nine
categories, including the Best of Show, were revealed during the Opening Keynote of NAPP’s semiannual convention, Photoshop World, in
Orlando, Florida. Sponsored by B&H (www.bhphotovideo.com), the ceremony featured images and photography from international entries in
a wide variety of styles, techniques, and skill levels. “Trying to narrow it down to a single winner in each category from hundreds of entries is
always difficult,” said NAPP’s creative director, Felix Nelson. “It’s such a subjective call sometimes, but the judges do a great job of selecting
whom they think are deserving of the recognition.”
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE 2011 PHOTOSHOP

WORLD ORLANDO GURU AWARD WINNERS!
GGLY
ERIC E
Best of Show Illustration
J. MAR
IE METZ
UZ
ARD L
tage LEON
Photo Mon
Photograph
y WAYN
E HAZ
ARD
The Finalists
ARTISTIC STEPHEN PETRANY
KIMBERLY MINCER
COMMERCIAL JENNI THAYER

GLYN JACKSON
ILLUSTRATION SAM SHADOW

JOE LAPINSKI
PHOTO MONTAGE KAVÉ LUZ
PHOTO RESTORATION JERRY ARNOLD

PHIL SCARSBROOK
PHOTO RETOUCHING KATIE GIARD

JOE LAPINSKI
PHOTOGRAPHY PAUL SADLER

JENNI THAYER
025
LIN
UB
OTT K
ng SC
to Retouchi
Pho
Commercial ADAM W
OLOSZY
N
Vincent Versace Award for Excellence in Digital Photography SUKRU MEHMET OMUR
ORDWAY
Artistic KATHRYN
› › p h ot o s h o p u s e r › m a r c h 2 0 1 1
026 Photo Restoration

DAVID BLI
SS
d e pa rt m e n t › ›
DESIGNERSPOTLIGHT
CHRIS MAIN
HEIKO
KLUG
ON THIS PAGE: THE END OF PANDORA; OPPOSITE PAGE (COUNTERCLOCKWISE FROM TOP): HYDRO; THE OMEGA; PASSEMENT RAPID
› ›
d e s i g n e r s p ot l i g h t
031
d e pa rt m e n t › ››
HEIKO KLUG, better known as Jesar One, is 28 years old

and lives in Oberhausen, Germany. At 14, his art career began
in the form of graffiti, which helped him learn about flow, shad-
ing, and perspective. In 2004, Heiko turned his attention to the
digital canvas and began using Photoshop and the Internet to
publish his work. He was soon working for clients such as Ecko
Unltd., Doritos, The Marketing Arm, Cisowianka, Ars Thanea,
ALL IMAGES BY HEIKO KLUG
FALKmedia, Taste!, Southwest Gas, and NVIDIA. He currently
works as a digital media designer in an advertising agency.
ABOUT
HEIKO
KLUG
Q&A
PSU: What tools and software do you use to create your images? I need this space to work everything out perfectly. It’s the key to getting a good amount of detail
KLUG: I mostly use Photoshop and a Wacom tablet for my work. When it comes to and brilliance in an image.
3D, I use 3ds Max. I also shoot a lot of stock photos myself with a Canon EOS 50D and
a big range of lenses. PSU: You mentioned that you shoot a lot of your own photos for your work.
Do you ever use stock images, as well?
PSU: You’ve said that your work is mostly inspired by music and movies. KLUG: I often use stock photos, mostly of stuff I can’t shoot by myself or if the
What types of music and movies inspire you the most? Are you consciously photos would take more time and be more expensive than buying a stock image. But
searching for ideas when you’re listening to a song or watching a movie? I do shoot a lot of stuff myself. I only do big photo shoots when I need a person in a pre-
cise position; for example, as in the Passement Rapid image. I photographed everything
KLUG: To be honest, there isn’t a specific genre that inspires me most. For
in that image: the guy, the textures, and the skyscraper in the background.
example, for my work The Omega, I was listening to a band called Opeth, which is
a progressive death metal band. I also have some pieces that are inspired by jazz
PSU: In your freelance work, you’ve rejected clients in the past because you
or trip hop music. I think it’s the same thing with movies. I don’t really know if I’m
didn’t like what they had planned for your work, or you just found the job boring.
searching for some inspiration, but I honestly think it just comes to my mind when
How has that impacted your career and art?
I hear or see something, and then one thing leads to another. I’m most inspired
when I’m alone and feel good and comfortable. KLUG: I rejected those works because I also have a full-time job in an agency. That
means I spend my free time working, and in that time I like to work on things that I like,
that I can have fun with, and can stand 100% behind the project. It’s very important to
PSU: Your images contain lots of amazing detail. How do you know when
make something really good. I don’t really know how that has affected my career, but
you’re finally done with a piece? How long does a typical piece take you?
when I’m looking back I don’t think it could be for the worst.
KLUG: Good question. It’s hard to say, “Okay, I’m done.” I often keep my finished
work a few weeks before publishing them and take a closer look at them after a few days. PSU: You refer to yourself as an autodidactic, meaning you’re self-taught.
I think it’s important to get some kind of distance. When you work for weeks on the How did you teach yourself, and are you still learning new things today?
same image, it’s hard to judge it without that distance. It’s important to see other things
KLUG: I’m totally self-taught, yes. I learned most things with the Internet.
for a while and come back to it later.
There are millions of tutorials out there. It’s very important to experiment a lot with
The time I spend on my work depends on what I’m doing exactly. Overall, it takes
the programs. Another important thing is to get connected to other artists and share
me a month to finish something from start to finish.
some knowledge—give some and take some. I often get emails from people asking
where they can find tutorials to achieve a style similar to mine, but to be honest,
PSU: Speaking of detail, do you work at a large size in Photoshop to better I didn’t do something completely new or magical. It’s stuff you find in thousands of
work on the intricate details? tutorials out there. Just transfer those techniques to your concept. I think that’s the key.
KLUG: I usually work with large files, say something around 6,000 pixels wide or high. I also learn new stuff every day. ■
032 [CONTACT] Heiko Klug / Heiko Klug http://jesar-one.com

column › ›
DESIGNMAKEOVER
JAKE WIDMAN
CLIENT
Patriots Jet Demonstration Team/www.patriotsjetteam.com
shooting stars
BEFORE The Patriots Jet Demonstration Team first took wing in 2003. Called
Red Star Airshows, they flew two Russian MIGs and had a Russian
vodka for a sponsor. Their initial logo formed the basis for the one they
still use today: a star shape with jets flying around it—first two, and
now six.
Cliff George, the team’s photographer, says that after 9/11 popular
support for a Soviet-themed show dropped off, so the group renamed
itself and adopted a more “patriotic” name. These days, the Patriots Jet
Demonstration Team fly L-39 Albatross jets manufactured in the former
Czechoslovakia and perform at a dozen or more air shows a year,
mostly on the West Coast. They often share a bill with the Navy’s Blue
Angels or the Air Force’s Thunderbirds. While several team members
are active-duty and ex-military, the group is all volunteer. Their current
sponsors include Fry’s Electronics and Hot Line Construction.
In addition to the star and the planes, the current logo features
red, white, and blue trails behind the jets—a feature of the team’s live
shows. The team likes the star shape and overall patriotic feel of the
logo, which appears on everything from the jets themselves to caps,
shirts, and their support truck. But it shows its haphazard evolution.
“The current logo feels stale,” says George. “It’s been more or less
the same logo for almost 10 years. We’ve updated the team and per-
formance, but not the logo—we just keep adding more planes.” The
It’s been more or less the team would like a new logo that makes them look as professional and
same logo for almost capable as the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds. “We’d like it to tell
people, ‘These guys are players, not just sideliners,’” says George. And
10 years—we just keep
they’d like the logo to communicate the love of flying that they believe
adding more planes. comes through in their shows.
With all that in mind, we asked three designers to help the Patriots
Jet Demonstration Team logo take off.
JAKE WIDMAN is a writer and editor who lives in San Francisco. He’s been covering the intersection of computers and graphic design for
about 25 years now—since back when it was all called “desktop publishing” and Photoshop was just a piece of scanning software.
MAKEOVER SUBMISSIONS
WE’RE LOOKING FOR PRODUCT PACKAGING OR LABELS, PRINT ADVERTISEMENTS, WEBSITES, AND MAGAZINE COVERS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN THE MAR-
KETPLACE FOR FUTURE “DESIGN MAKEOVERS.” SO IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW HAS A DESIGN THAT YOU’D LIKE US TO CONSIDER MAKING OVER, OR
IF YOU’RE A DESIGNER AND YOU’D LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR A FUTURE “DESIGN MAKEOVER,” SEND US AN EMAIL AT LETTERS@PHOTOSHOPUSER.COM.
034
› › design makeover
DESIGNER
Ruth Johnson/www.ruthjohnson.bc.ca
AFTER My initial reaction to the original Patriots Jet logo was that it appeared
too busy and a little outdated. After researching the team, what they
represented, and what they were looking for in their new image, I
wanted to create a logo with a modern feel that still had a patriotic
appearance and reflected their original image. I also wanted to visu-
ally communicate what the team represents.
After brainstorming and some initial sketching, I combined the
name of the team and the jet image in a way that illustrates the jet
and colored smoke in a seamless logo. For the typography, I chose
a heavy sans-serif typeface—Interstate—which will allow the type
to stand out at distance. I feel this is a crucial element in the design
due to the ways the logo will be displayed. I used the star element
very subtly within the type, so the brand can hold on to its roots but
also develop in another direction. Simplifying the logo down to the
necessary elements will allow it to be used in multiple contexts to
communicate the message of the brand—on the side of the plane,
on jackets and caps, and on other marketing material.
Simplifying the For the color scheme, I retained the classic American red, white,
logo down to and blue. They represent the team’s patriotism and at the same time
the necessary the jets’ signature smoke trails. I paired these with a dark gray that
would complement them without being distracting. I used the gray
elements will allow
for the type and the airplane image.
it to be used in The final logo clearly communicates the Patriots Jet Team brand;
multiple contexts it’s easily recognizable and has longevity. It will provide the team
to communicate with a professional image to communicate its passion to peers and
the message of to its audience.
the brand…
ABOUT THE DESIGNER

RUTH JOHNSON
Ruth’s love for art started at a very young age with drawing and painting. That eventually led to her studying at the Birmingham (U.K.) Institute of
Art and Design, where she gained a bachelor’s degree in visual communication, specializing in graphic design. In 2007, Ruth traveled to the beautiful
mountains of Whistler, British Columbia, and has called the area home ever since.
Since her move, Ruth worked freelance and then founded her own design company, the self-titled Ruth Johnson graphic design. She works for
premier clients in the Whistler area on projects from branding and advertising to Web designs.
When Ruth isn’t designing, she’s out in the mountains snowboarding, dog walking, painting, or taking photos. She’d like to credit her uncle,
Alan Stafford, a pilot and a huge fan of all things airborne, with her inspiration for this logo design.
.
APPLICATION USED: Adobe Illustrator CS5 035

column › ›
DESIGNMAKEOVER
JAKE WIDMAN
DESIGNER
Elnaz Sarrafzadeh/www.edesigngroupus.com
AFTER I’m truly inspired by the simple term “patriotism,” which is typically
expressed by the vivid colors of red, white, and blue—also the colors of
the streams these jets produce when in air. The entire premise for this
logo design should be one that provides the viewer with an under-
standing of what the team stands for and what they do in their perfor-
mance. For that reason, I made the focal point the jets themselves.
The old logo appeared cluttered and didn’t sufficiently represent
that these jets are used for show; it thus lost something and failed
to convey the sense of unity such a team-based organization would
have. Nevertheless, it had some vital contributions to the founda-
tion and evolution of the new logo—I kept some elements intact but
enhanced or improved them.
I focused the new logo on the six jets in order to represent a sense
of pride in the team’s display and showmanship. I placed the jets in the
center of the logo, spreading them out evenly so that a viewer can eas-
ily spot them and give them their deserved attention. The arrangement
of the jets, with added emphasis on the colored streams, suggests an
airshow performance better than the old arrangement did. I enlarged
the star itself to frame the jets and for its suggestion of air and height.
I thought that the team name printed over the star was inconsis-
tent with the rest of the logo, in that the colors used didn’t match or
complement one another. I chose the bold font Impact for the text to
I focused the new demonstrate power and stability. I put all these features together into a
logo on the six jets logo that would exemplify all of the important elements of the Patriots.
in order to represent
a sense of pride in
the team’s display
and showmanship.
ABOUT THE DESIGNER

ELNAZ SARRAFZADEH
Since her youth, Elnaz has been prodigiously creative with an undying passion for art. As a teenager, she chose graphic design as her niche and
has never regretted it to this day. Elnaz attended a tech and art school back in her home country of Iran and graduated with honors. She went
on to earn an associate degree in graphic design while interning at different graphic design studios to gain experience.
Since beginning her journey into graphic design, Elnaz has gained a vast amount of experience in the field. She moved to the United States
four years ago to continue her education and is currently enrolled at California State University East Bay, studying Web design. In the meantime,
she runs her own design firm, E Design Group, which was established in 2008 in San Jose. So far, she’s amassed more than eight years of hands-
on experience in the graphic design and print industry and almost four years in Web design.
APPLICATION USED: Adobe Illustrator CS4
036
› › design makeover
DESIGNER
Esther Werber/www.flairdesignstudios.com
AFTER The Patriots Jet Team logo was begging for a redo. The logo was a
hodgepodge of elements thrown together and legibility was poor.
The Patriots wanted their new logo to include a star; their jets;
their signature red, blue, and white trailing smoke; and the team’s
name, of course. Being that the Patriots are a performing jet team,
I knew I wanted the logo to communicate movement, speed, and
precision. The challenge for me was to include all these elements
while keeping the logo simple, versatile, and iconic.
I started off the old-fashioned way. I took pen to paper and
doodled whatever came to mind. Stars and planes littered the paper.
I then re-created the best concept in Illustrator CS4 with my trusty
Wacom Intuos4. The jets were drawn with the Pen tool by trac-
ing over one of the photos off the Patriots website. I created the
smoke trails with a brush from the Elegant Curl & Floral Brush set
that comes with Illustrator. (Incidentally, the brush named Drop Up
is fantastic for drawing many shapes, not just flowers!) The most
complicated part of the logo was placing the jets and smoke trails
perfectly in context with the star. I kept tweaking until it was finally
pleasing to the eye.
For the type, I used the font Good Times, which I customized
so that all the letters flowed together and gave the logo a polished
look. I also skewed the type to imply movement and speed. The little
red star between the words “jet” and “team” was inserted to tie in
I started off the the text with the logo. My intent for the logo was for the Patriots to
be able to use the icon and type together or each one separately as
old-fashioned way.
needed for various applications.
I took pen to paper
Ta-da! A new star is born.
and doodled whatever
came to mind. › › w w w. p h ot o s h o p u s e r . c o m
ABOUT THE DESIGNER

ESTHER WERBER
Esther Werber has been doodling on any available surface since second grade, to the consternation of her teachers. She studied art, painting,
and graphic design. Over the past decade, Esther has been a designer at local design firms and print shops while freelancing on the side.
She has designed materials for corporate clients, nonprofits, and small businesses. In 2008 Esther started her own firm, Flair Design Studios.
Esther has a passion for effective logo design, branding, packaging, and photography. She uses the science of marketing psychology to
create design that works. Her simple, clean, and creative designs stand out among the clutter flooding the market.
When she isn’t working on design projects or attempting to raise the kids, Esther loves creating art through her camera lens and Photo-
shop. She lives in the New York suburbs with her husband, their three boys, and her pet camera.
.
APPLICATION USED: Adobe Illustrator CS4 ■ 037

column › ›
DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS COREY BARKER
Kung Fu Text
Recently, I saw a trailer for the new movie Kung Fu Panda 2 and was struck by the use of 3D in the title. The good
news is we have the ability in Photoshop CS5 Extended to create 3D text that’s very similar to what’s being seen in
mainstream media today.
STEP ONE: Begin by opening the project file or create a new

document (File>New) and follow along. [NAPP members may down-
load the file used in this tutorial at www.photoshopuser.com/mem-
bers/jun11-downloads.html. All files are for personal use only.] Our
document is 12x7" at 100 ppi with a black background.
We have the two text layers because we’ll be creating two 3D
objects: one with the words KUNG FU in Serpentine Bold at 115 pt
and the color set to yellow (R:224, G:146, B:47), while the other has
the word BEAR set in the same font but at 192 pt and in red (R:134,
G:19, B:22). In the Layers panel, make sure KUNG FU is the top layer
and BEAR is below that. (Note: If you don’t have the Serpentine font,
you can substitute it with any bold font of your choosing.) Step One
STEP TWO: Click the KUNG FU layer in the Layers panel to make
it active and choose Edit>Transform>Warp. Click on the Warp menu
in the Options Bar and choose Arc Upper. By default, it will expand
outward. If you zoom out you can grab the control handle at the top
of the arc and drag it down to make the text arc inward, or you can
go to the Options Bar and set the Bend to around –17. When done,
press Return (PC: Enter) to commit the transformation.
Step Two
STEP THREE: Repeat this process for the BEAR layer, only this
time choose Arc Lower from the Warp menu. Again, you can grab
the control handle at the base of the arc and drag it upward, or
set the Bend to around –30. Press Return (PC: Enter) once again
to commit.
038 Step Three

› › DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS
STEP FOUR: Activate the KUNG FU layer and choose 3D>

Repoussé>Text Layer. In the dialog that appears, click Yes to raster-
ize the text. This will convert the layer into a 3D layer, extrude the
text, and open the Repoussé dialog. The default extrusion is a bit
much, so go to the Extrude section and change the Depth setting
to .2 to shorten the extrusion. Next, go to the Bevel section and set
both the Height and Width to 2. Click OK.
STEP FIVE: Activate the BEAR layer and follow the step above
to apply the Repoussé effect to this text. When the Repoussé dialog
appears, set the Extrude Depth to .1 and the Bevel Height and
Width to 1. Click OK when done.
STEP SIX: Shift-click the KUNG FU layer in the Layers panel so

that both text layers are selected, then choose 3D>Merge 3D
Step Four
Layers. This will combine both 3D objects into a single 3D layer
so they can reflect and cast shadows on each other.
STEP SEVEN: Now go to the

Layers panel and you’ll see Textures
layers just below the main 3D layer.
Locate the BEAR Extrusion Material
and double-click it to open the texture
file as a separate document. Drag this
document to the side so you can see
the original document with your text.
Click on the Foreground color swatch Step Five
to open the Color Picker. Click on the
KUNG FU text to sample the yellow
color. Click OK to close the Color
Picker. Press Option-Delete (PC: Alt-
Backspace) to fill this document with the same yellow color used
for the KUNG FU text. When done, close the document and save
the changes. This will change the color of the BEAR text’s edge.
STEP EIGHT: Even though both objects are on the same layer,
we still need to change each object’s angle. To do this we must use
the Mesh tools in the 3D panel (Window>3D). Click-and-hold on
the third tool down on the left side to reveal all the 3D Mesh tools,
and choose the 3D Mesh Rotate tool. This tool is content-sensitive,
meaning it will highlight each 3D object as you move your cursor
over it. First, hold down the Shift key and click-and-drag down on
Step Eight
the top 3D object. This will tilt the top of the text toward you slightly.
STEP NINE: Next, move your cursor over the bottom object,
hold down the Shift key, and click-and-drag up to tilt the text back
in space. The idea here is to tilt both text objects so the upper text
will be reflected in the face of the lower text.
After tilting the text layers, you may need to adjust their
positioning a bit. Return to the 3D panel, under the 3D Mesh
tools, and choose the 3D Mesh Pan tool. Use this tool to click
on each object and drag up or down to position them a little
closer together without intersecting. Step Nine 039
DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS › ›
STEP TEN: It might be necessary to slide the top object back

in 3D space. To do this, choose the 3D Mesh Slide tool in the 3D
panel, and click-and-drag up to push it back in space, or down to
bring it forward.
STEP ELEVEN: While still in the 3D panel, click on the third

icon at the top to access the 3D {Materials} section. In the Materi-
als list at the top, make sure the BEAR Front Inflation Material is
selected. Go down to Reflection and set it to 30, then click on the
first icon at the top of the 3D panel (Filter By: Whole Scene).
STEP TWELVE: We need to add a couple spotlights to add

some glare effects to the text. Click on the Create a New Light
icon at the bottom of the 3D panel and choose New Spot Light from
the list. You may see the light
appear on the 3D object but it’s
hard to move the light around if
you can’t see the source. Once
again, at the bottom of the
Step Eleven
3D panel, click the Toggle Misc.
3D Extras icon and choose 3D Light to turn on the 3D wireframes.
These allow you to see all the lights in the scene. Set the Softness
to 5% and the Falloff to 60°.
STEP THIRTEEN: To move the spotlight around, click-and-

hold the fourth icon down on the left in the 3D panel and you’ll see
a 3D Light Rotate, Pan, and Slide tool for changing the light position
and angle. Begin by selecting the 3D Light Pan tool and make sure Step Thirteen
the Spot Light 1 is selected in the list above (you may need to scroll
down the list to find it). Click in the canvas area and drag to the
right to move the spotlight to the right of the text. (Tip: The lights
are also content-sensitive like the mesh objects. Just place your cur-
sor over the wireframe then click-and-drag.)
STEP FOURTEEN: Return to the 3D Light tool and choose the

3D Light Slide tool. Go into the canvas area and click-and-drag up
to push the light back in space so it’s just behind the right side of
the text. Then, select the 3D Light Rotate tool. Use this to click-and-
drag the light around to change the angle of the light so that it’s
pointing forward and down, illuminating the edge of the KUNG FU
text and lighting up the front face of the BEAR text. (Note: If you’ve
never used the 3D Light tools, they can be frustrating. Just play
around with them to get used to them.) Step Fourteen
STEP FIFTEEN: To see the light glare in the text, we must go

to the 3D panel, into the Materials section. With the BEAR Front
Inflation Material highlighted in the list at the top, change both the
Gloss and Shine to 50%. You’ll see the glare appear on the text.
Depending on the position of your spotlight and angle of your text,
you may need to experiment with these settings. For added dimen-
sion, click on BEAR Extrusion Material in the list at the top, and set
the Gloss to 90% and set Shine to 75%.
040 Step Fifteen
continued on p. 42
STEP SIXTEEN: Repeat Step Twelve to add a second spotlight

but leave the Softness and Falloff at their defaults. Position the
new spotlight on the left side, as shown here until you see the glare
appear in the surface of the text.
You can see the light and glare, however, you can’t see the
shadow and reflections until you render them. To do this, go to
the 3D panel and click on the first icon at the top for the Filter By:
Whole Scene section. Click the word “Scene” at the top of the list.
Now go to the Quality menu and choose Ray Traced Draft to get
a preview of the shadows and reflections. It will do a progressive
render, so let it make a few passes to better see the effect. This will
help you determine if you need to reposition the lights or change
any of the surface properties.
You can leave it in Ray Traced Draft mode while you make Step Sixteen
changes; however, it will try to render each time you make a
change. You can also go back to the Quality menu and change
it back to Interactive. If you don’t see the shadow and reflec-
tion of the words “KUNG FU” in the word “BEAR,” try moving
KUNG FU forward in space using the 3D Mesh Slide tool.
Here’s the final result. We added a stylized “2” to complete the

effect. Check out the Digital Extras page at www.photoshopuser.
com/category/digitalextra to see a video tutorial on creating the
number 2 in this final image. ■
042
scan the final picture for a video tutorial

column › ›
DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS FELIX NELSON
Creepy Composite
Dave Damstra, Photoshop User’s Production Manager, found an old Dorian Gray poster and thought it was
a good candidate for this column, and I agreed. For the most part, it’s created using basic compositing
and masking techniques, but the overall effect is just creepy enough to get your attention.
STEP ONE: We’ll use four

images for this tutorial: two
different backgrounds, a
peeling paint image, and
a portrait. [NAPP members
may download the images
used in this tutorial at www
.photoshopuser.com/members/
jun11-downloads.html. All
files are for personal use only.]
©ISTOCKPHOTO/JHORROCKS
Choose File>New and create

a 429x640 pixel, 72 ppi document. Select the Move tool (V),
open the Big Ben image, and click-and-drag it into the document
you’ve just created (Layer 1).
STEP TWO: With Layer 1 highlighted, press Command-T

(PC: Ctrl-T) to bring up the Free Transform bounding box. Resize
and position the image toward the top-left corner, as shown.
(Hold down the Shift key to maintain proportions.) Press Return
(PC: Enter) to apply the transformation. Open the second build-
©ISTOCKPHOTO/ATTATOR
ing image, then click-and-drag it into your document (Layer 2).
Use Free Transform to resize and position this image in the top-
right corner of the document (see example).
STEP THREE: Press Command-E

(PC: Ctrl-E) to merge down (combine
Layers 1 and 2). Press Command-Shift-U
(PC: Ctrl-Shift-U) to desaturate. Now,
press Command-U (PC: Ctrl-U) to bring

up the Hue/Saturation dialog. Click the
Colorize checkbox, enter 203 for Hue,
37 for Saturation, and click OK. Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur,
enter 1 pixel for Radius, and click OK. Click on the Add a Layer Style
icon (ƒx) at the bottom of the Layers panel, and choose Inner Glow.
Change the Blend Mode to Multiply, enter 65% for Opacity, and
click on the yellow color swatch. Choose a dark blue color (R:25, G:53,
B:65), and click OK. Enter 165 px for Size and click OK to apply
the style.
044
STEP FOUR: Click on the Create a New

Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel
to create a new layer (Layer 2). Change the
blend mode to Overlay. Press D then X to
set the Foreground color to white, then
choose Filter>Render>Clouds. Create another
new layer (Layer 3). Choose the Brush tool (B)
and with a large, soft-edged brush, paint in a
large glow in the center of the document.
STEP FIVE: Open the portrait image

file (the vampire-looking person in our
example). Using the selection tool of
your choice, make a selection of the
©ISTOCKPHOTO/DUNCAN1890
person, choose the Move tool, then click-
and-drag that selection into the back-
ground document we’ve created (Layer 4).
Reposition and resize as necessary (see
example). Press Return (PC: Enter) to
apply the transformation.
STEP SIX: Add another new layer (Layer 5). Change the
blend mode to Color and lower the Opacity to 75%. Click on
the Foreground color swatch, choose a light tan color (R:210,
G:189, B:186), and click OK. Choose the Brush tool and use a
small, soft-edged brush to paint some color over the face and
hands (don’t forget the hairline in the upper portion of the fore-
head). This will appear as a slight hint of color, which is okay
(that’s part of the effect). Now, change the Foreground color to
gray (R:175, G:181, B:185) and paint over the hair on the left side
of the image to add a soft, bluish-gray tint. It will be very subtle
but effective when you compare the before and after.
©ISTOCKPHOTO/TREE4TWO
STEP SEVEN: Open the

peeling paint image, select the

Move tool, and click-and-drag
the entire image into your docu-
ment (Layer 6). Press Command-T
(PC: Ctrl-T) to bring up the Free
Transform bounding box. Resize
and rotate the image 90°, then position it over the left side of the
face. Press Return (PC: Enter) to apply the transformation.
045
STEP EIGHT: Press Command-

Shift-U (PC: Ctrl-Shift-U) to desatu-
rate the peeling paint, and change
the blend mode to Multiply. Now,
press Command-L (PC: Ctrl-L) to
bring up the Levels dialog. Drag
the Highlight Input Levels slider
toward the left until it reads 202,
and click OK.
STEP NINE: Click on the Add Layer Mask icon (circle in a

square) at the bottom of the Layers panel. Choose the Brush tool
and use a small, soft-edged brush to mask out the hard edge on
the left side of the peeling paint, and any cracks over the left eye.
STEP TEN: To intensify the appearance of the cracks,

duplicate Layer 6 (Layer 6 copy) by dragging it onto the Create
a New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel, then
lower the Opacity to 75%. Finally, add some text to complete
the effect. ■
046
column › ›
DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS FELIX NELSON
Instant Abs
We’ve all seen those infomercials showing how to get six-pack abs in only five minutes a day. You have the
Ab Away, Ab Doer, Ab Circle Pro, Torso Track, Torso Tiger, and the list goes on. But now, we’re introducing
the Photoshop Abs-O-Matic. We can absolutely, positively guarantee great abs in one single session.
STEP ONE: Choose and open an image of someone with at

least slightly visible abs to begin with (it will make it much easier
to isolate the muscles you want to enhance). If you’re familiar
with human muscle anatomy, you can choose someone with
less-defined abs, but this may not be the best tutorial for a major
nip-and-tuck digital makeover.
[NAPP members may download the image used in this tutorial at

www.photoshopuser.com/members/jun11-downloads.html. All
©ISTOCKPHOTO/STOCKPHOTO4U
STEP TWO: Choose the Lasso tool (L) and make a selection
of the ab group at the top left of the image. Remember, use
what’s already there for the most realistic effect. Now, while
holding down the Shift key (to add to your selection), make a
selection of the middle ab section on the left (see example). Con-
tinue adding to your selections until you’ve selected all of the
ab muscles.
STEP THREE: You’ll want to soften the edges of the selection

slightly, so go to Select>Modify>Feather. Enter 3 pixels and click
OK. Now Press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to put the selection on its
own layer (Layer 1).
048
STEP FOUR: Click

the Add a Layer Style
icon (ƒx) at the bottom
of the Layers panel, and
choose Bevel and Emboss.
Lower the Depth to 20%,
raise the Size to 20 px,
and set Soften to 5. Don’t click OK yet.
STEP FIVE: Uncheck

Use Global Light, enter
159° for Angle and 42°
for Altitude. Don’t click
OK yet.
Note: The objective here

is to try and match the
light direction of the orig-
inal image. Experiment with different settings until you find the
one that most closely matches your image.
STEP SIX: The abs we’ve

created so far look very
unnatural for a number
of reasons. First, the color
of both the highlights and
shadows aren’t realistic. So
with the Layer Style dialog
still open, click on the white
Highlight Mode color swatch. When the Color Picker appears,
move your cursor over a highlight area of the image (such as her
hip in this example) and click to sample a light tan color from the
image. If you’re using the download image, you can enter R:224,
G:196, B:172. Click OK to close the Color Picker.
STEP SEVEN: Now

click on the black Shadow
Mode color swatch. Choose
a dark tan color (R:144,
G:96, B:59 ), or sample
a color from the left side

of her upper oblique (see
example). Click OK to close
the Color Picker. Raise the Shadow Mode Opacity to 100%, and
click OK to apply the style.
049
STEP EIGHT: The abs

still don’t look quite right
because they have some hard
edges that don’t blend with
the original image. Choose
the Eraser tool (E) and set the
Opacity to 20% up in the Op-
tions Bar. Using a soft-edged
brush, erase away the areas
of the lower abs as well as
some of the sides of the abs.
Again, the idea is to blend the
enhanced abs into the existing image so they appear more natural
(see example). That’s pretty much it. You’ve completed the effect.
NOTE: You can intensify the effect by increasing the Depth and
Size settings in the Layer Style dialog (double-click the words “Bevel
and Emboss” in the Layers panel to reopen the dialog), but go easy
with the settings as even changing the Depth as little as 10% or the
Size by 10 pixels can make the abs look fake. If you go overboard
(see example), they’ll look way out of whack. ■
Depth: 30%, Size: 30 pixels

Before
Depth: 400%, Size: 40 pixels
050 After
-
The Social
Network Generation
Use lighting, Lightroom, and Photoshop to create amazing portraits
Text and photographs

by Hernan Rodriguez
Illustrations: iStockphoto Layout Design: Taffy Clifford
052
I wonder who photographed President Obama’s senior portrait? For that matter, who photographed Elvis Presley, Jennifer Lopez,
or Mark Zuckerberg? At one point in time, they were all high school seniors. You never know what the future holds for the teenag-
ers in front of your lens, and you’ve been given the amazing opportunity to capture them at this pivotal time in their lives.
Speaking of Mr. Facebook, I usually see my images of any given senior appear on Facebook within hours of the shoot. Yes,
we have a brand-new generation of seniors and it’s fantastic! Coming up with new ways to capture the core and spirit of today’s
social network generation keeps me on my toes, and applications such as Lightroom are instrumental in keeping our studio
current with the quick gallery automation this software has to offer, as well as the ability to embed our logo into a watermark to
protect our images.
Photographing people is my passion. As a commercial photographer, I’ve been commissioned to photograph wine bottles,
energy drinks, gourmet salads, swimsuits, beautiful interiors, etc., and feel very blessed to have done so. However, capturing the
essence of a person and then experiencing the joy that my image-making brings is like hitting the daily double.
“Essence” is a word that’s quite often used loosely, and it’s probably the most important element in any portrait I take. Psychol-
ogy goes hand-in-hand with creating this essence. Before you can have a successful gallery, you need to identify with the senior
and capture a glimpse of his personality. You have to get into the senior’s mind and see where his comfort level is. You must gain his
trust, study his behavior, and see where that natural expression
lies. Some seniors completely open up once you make them
laugh and they don’t need any posing, only refinements. I try
to let their natural body language take over and I just make
small adjustments to their hands, feet, or tilt of their head. This
results in a less-contrived look to the images.
Study and learn these elementary classic poses in por-
traiture and have them at your disposal. Once you establish
that trust, their confidence levels go up. I can literally see it
when it happens when reviewing the images in Lightroom.
Why do you think a senior’s perception of a great image of
himself is the one a friend might have taken on a cell phone
camera, regardless of quality or exposure? It’s because
of who was behind the camera—a close friend making
him feel comfortable. Once you can shoot within that
framework and create the expressions, everything else is
just a formality.
The Lenses
The following lenses are instrumental
for all my senior work:
Tamron SP AF90mm f/2.8 Di macro
Tamron SP AF17–50mm f/2.8 XR Di II VC
∑ Path To Portraiture∑
Senior portraiture isn’t something that I knew much about when I started my photography career. I was working as an art direc-
tor and graphic designer for an apparel company in Los Angeles designing all their national ads and catalogs. My studies in
college were in art and advertising. My father, Hernan Rodriguez, Sr., was a photographer. I began taking classes in photogra-
phy at Tri-Community in West Covina, which really helped me refine skills I had learned from years past. When my confidence
rose, I started shooting my own ads for the company.
Next, I took a job with a large portrait studio in L.A. During a staff meeting on the first day, the president of the company,
Mike Trerotola, was talking about taking portraits of seniors. Mike said, “I hold more respect for a photographer that can get
a great image of a senior than any other type of photographer.”
On our first break, I mentioned to another photographer, “I see his point. I guess taking great shots of old folks is challenging.
I mean, the wrinkles and hard lines, how do you minimize them?” That photographer, Nathan York (now close friend and
colleague), gave me a really strange look. It never occurred to me Mike was talking about high school seniors—until we pulled
up to a high school. What a surprise. I’ve loved senior portraiture from that moment on. My senior work has greatly impacted
my commercial work, as well. I thought working with actors was challenging, but these guys are trained. They know about
expressions and emotions, or they should know. For seniors, it’s their first professional photo shoot ever, and sometimes their
last. That has taught me some things you can’t learn in school. My number-one rule for any portrait session: win them over.
∑The Studio∑
My studio is based in the San Fernando Val-
ley close to Hollywood, and that influence
naturally carries over into our senior portrai-
ture division. Our motto is to treat everyone
that walks through the door like a celebrity.
Of course, we’re never surprised to find out
that someone is the offspring of a celebrity.
For instance, the beautiful ballerina pictured in
pink is Michelle, the daughter of Mark Wallen-
gren of KOST 103.5 FM, who’s one of the few
DJs to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk
of Fame. She and her best friend, Paige, have
studied dance together since they were three,
so we came up with a Black Swan theme for
them to showcase their passion for dance.
Jonette Swider from JS Dance Center in
Sherman Oaks, California, came in to help
pose the girls. We’re a collaborative team
that allows everyone to put in that little extra
in the image-making process.
054
My number-one rule for any portrait session: win them over.
∑ The Importance Of Anatomy∑

There are so many fundamentals to implement in the process of creating the best collection of images for any particular senior
before even thinking about Lightroom or Photoshop. It all starts with identifying the subject and the anatomy of his or her face.
This pretty much dictates every aspect of the photo session.
From here, determine exactly where to place lights. Make a facial analysis and try to minimize any flaws. For deep-set eyes, for
example, place the lights a little lower to cast less shadows in the sockets. For a crooked nose, place lights on the side of the hump
to place the shadow on the straighter side of the nose, thus making the portrait more pleasing to the subject. Employ simple applica-
tions, such as having a subject with protruding ears turn three quarters to the point that the back ear disappears, to minimize
the overall appearance of the ears. For round faces, shoot from a higher-than-normal angle and have you subject stretch his neck a bit
to elongate the appearance of the face. When you have a subject with one eye that’s much smaller than the other, position him
so the smaller eye is closer to the camera because in the laws of perspective, the back eye recedes and visually will seem
smaller, thus giving both eyes a better balance overall in the final image.
Most people have two characters (the left and right) that make up facial lines, which are totally different. You must learn to identify
them and choose the best angle, then you can start building on your posing and lighting. Seniors would rather see one image of their
best angle rather than 100 of their not-so-good angle.
One exercise you can practice is to take a photograph of a subject looking
straight into the camera. Print three identical images of the same file, then flip
the image (Image>Image Rotation>Flip Canvas Horizontal) and print it
again. Cut the flipped image right down the center. Place the left half on
the left side of one of the normal prints and the right half on the right side
of one of the other normal prints. You’ll end up with three completely dis-
tinct images and personalities. There will be one that will stand out as the
most flattering of the three. This is the side you want to photograph. This
side will be the more elongated side, which also happens to be the thin-
ner side, usually displaying a more prominent cheekbone. After much
practice, you’ll be able to determine this by glancing at your subjects.
You can visually mark a point from the center of your subject’s chin
to the left lower ear, as well as the same for the right side. One of
these sides will be the longest side which is also the more favorable
side. [For another technique to identify facial symmetry using Photo-
shop, see Photoshop User, April/May 2011, p. 84.—Ed.]
∑Foreshortening ∑
I learned most of these applications in art school, which I highly rec-
ommend to any serious aspiring portraitist. The more you know
about the human anatomy, the more working knowledge you
can apply to create better images. The laws of foreshortening
are highly applicable, as well. Foreshortening is a technique where
perspective is applied to the subject on a picture plane to highlight
a difference in scale. Too many seasoned photographers shoot
from the oddest angles that don’t flatter their subjects. They
might shoot from an extreme top angle where it seems like the
subject’s feet are growing out from her knees. It foreshortens
the whole angle of the plane, dwarfing the subject. In this example, the subject had muscular
arms that we wanted to show, but at the same time we wanted the waistline to appear smaller. You can apply
this forshorting method by choosing a higher camera angle along with a pose that tucks the lower body behind, creating the
illusion of a smaller waistline.
∑ Process Efficiently∑
The production and postprocessing of all the images is just as important. In
the business of senior photography, file management is at the top of the list for
running an efficient studio. This is where Lightroom excels. Not having a proper
workflow can be the demise of any photography studio.
We don’t do huge numbers, as we’re more of the boutique senior portrait
studio. We never want to lose this to chasing the volume; nonetheless, we still
have many files to deal with. We shoot approximately 250 senior portrait sessions
between July and the first week of October, at an average of around 120 images
per senior. That’s around 30,000 files we must deal with. Multiply that by a five-year
period, and it gives us 150,000 files for which we’re accountable.
Before Lightroom, we dropped all of the senior sessions on a drive, viewed
them in a browser such as Canon Digital Photo Professional to select the
best images, saved our selections into another folder, and then opened them in
Photoshop for the postprocessing. Now we’re able to do the one-stop shopping
in Lightroom, which also allows us to bring the images into Photoshop for further
enhancements. Sweet! That’s one of the highlights I like best—I can make my adjust-
ments and then open the file in Photoshop.
Another great feature we use for organizing files is using collection sets. We some-
times get, say, 40 seniors from one particular school in one particular year. We can call
this collection St. James HS, and in that collection we can put the individual seniors
by name for that particular year. It’s really helpful when trying to locate seniors.
During the ordering process, we usually review images with the mothers and assign
five-star ratings (simply press 5) to the best images, which becomes the final collection that we bring into Photoshop
for retouching. As far as viewing goes, there are two approaches we implement. We have a savvy group of kids who are
very Web-oriented, and then we have the traditionalists—like some parents and mainly the grandparents—who need something
tangible, such as proof sheets. We can accommodate both in Lightroom.
We normally set up a four- to five-page spread of thumbnails which are easily assembled in Lightroom, and run a copyright
across the images for security. In the Print module, set up 3 Rows and 4 Columns to run 12 images per sheet in the Page Grid
section of the Layout panel. This is a good size for viewing. The other option is to use a Web gallery. This is great because it saves
money on those crazy ink prices. If you add your Mail Link in the Site Info panel, viewers can place orders immediately after viewing
the galleries.
. Lightroom allows you to present the best image possible as far

as calculations go, and Photoshop knocks it out of the park.
∑ Local Adjustments∑
Lightroom is nondestructive, which means your originals are left intact. In the Develop module, you can adjust the highlights, mid-
tones, shadows, and color balance individually. Narrow down the best dynamic range for the skintone values and get the optimal
histogram for print. You can also convert your images into black and white, which we often do, and really fine-tune everything
from shadows to highlights. All these options are excellent for senior photography. Sometimes I’ll shoot a whole collection of
images outdoors and warm up the color temperature on all these images. Simply make the necessary adjustments to one of the
images, select the rest in the Filmstrip, and click the Sync button.
Another excellent feature is the ability to make local adjustments. Most postprocessing engines deal with making
global adjustments to an image, so when you want to enhance a particular color, it will affect the entire image with that color
adjustment. In Lightroom, you can choose the Adjustment Brush (K) and designate what you want to work on. For example, if a
particular part in an image is “hot,” simply make Exposure or Brightness adjustments to that isolated area. Lightroom allows you to
present the best image possible as far as calculations go, and Photoshop knocks it out of the park.
056
∑ Skintone By The Numbers∑
What do I save for Photoshop? I do the RGB calculations of skintones and the final retouching. For skintones, I use a basic for-
mula I learned in my years of print production and advertising.
] STEP ONE ^
Bring up the Info panel (Window>Info) so you can see both the RGB and CMYK values in your image. Your image is in RGB, but
you’ll base your corrections on the CMYK values.
] STEP TWO ^
Switch to the Eyedropper tool (I), hold the Shift key, and click on an average medium value on the face area to add a Color Sam-
pler point. Be sure to avoid the specular highlights.
] STEP THREE ^
All of these corrections are done on a Curves adjustment layer (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Curves), adjusting each channel
individually. We’ll base our example on an average skintone which is Cyan: 19–23%, Magenta: 36%, Yellow: 46%, and Black:
0%. Darker skintones are about 10 points higher in both the Magenta and Yellow values. The goal is to get the Magenta value
about 10 points less than the Yellow, which translates to the Green and Blue channels in RGB.
] STEP FOUR ^
In the Adjustments panel, select Green in the channel drop-down menu, and click on the Target Adjustment tool (hand next to a
double-headed arrow). The cursor will change to an eyedropper and you’ll see both the RGB and CMYK values in the Info panel.
] STEP FIVE ^
Click-and-drag starting at the center of the Color Sampler point until the Magenta value is close to 10% less than the Yel-
low in the CMYK values. (This will also add a point on the curve in the Adjustments panel.) Repeat for the Blue channel
in the Adjusments panel.
] STEP SIX ^
The final correction is to the Red channel. Click-and-drag until the Cyan value in the Info panel is about 19–23%, which
usually warms up the skintones quite nicely.
∑ ColorGels∑
Because we’re always pushing the envelope and constantly testing new approaches
to our senior work, our studio teamed up with Joel Svendsen, manager of sales for
Rosco Laboratories (www.rosco.com). Joel started us with a pack of CalColor filters and
a booklet of filter facts, which explains the use of color and dealing with color shifts, Kelvin,
and balancing a scene, to name a few. CalColor filters are pure primary and complemen-
tary colors for your lights, similar to working with the RGB channels in Photoshop. Most
photographers think of filters under the confines of cinematography or stage lighting, but
using these applications for portraiture is amazing. It’s more than adding a splash of color
here or there. What I learned from Joel was that using a particular filter color on all my
lights, and then using Photoshop to correct for skin color, created remarkable results.
Have you ever seen the Dolce & Gabana ads or maybe the cover of
Vanity Fair and wondered how these images were shot? Here’s the secret: For the
image of the ballerina, I gelled the keylight, a 7' Scrim Jim from Westcott, with
Roscolux #02 Bastard Amber. It’s a medium-light amber with hints of pink.
I then gelled all the accents and fill lights with Roscolux #302 Pale
Bastard Amber. The results were spectacular. In Photoshop, I used Curves to
adjust the Green channel, which affects the opposite color—magenta.
Another example is the dancer in blue. We were after a moody moonlight
effect. For this shot, we gelled all the lights with a Roscolux #4315 CalColor 15 Cyan. The
background used was a very pale blue. In Photoshop, I added a Curves adjustment layer
to correct for skintones, which allowed me to pull back the opacity and maintain a bit more
of a blue bias from the filters. Of course, the image had a very high cyan cast, which is on
the Red channel in RGB. By bringing up the red, it brought down the cyan. By bringing
down the blue in the RGB channels, you can also see how it raises the yellow. Pretty
cool stuff. From my experience, you need that color there on capture to get that extra
dimension.
∑ Final Touches∑
Photoshop also adds an extra dimension to our senior work. In the example of the girl with
butterflies, the finishing touches to an amazing portrait were simply pasting an extra butterfly
in the scene and adding a blurred forest to the existing yellow background. The most realistic
composites are created by keeping the natural settings from the capture and building on top, as
opposed to completely extracting. It makes the image more organic. Although the scenerio might
be unrealistic it still seems real. The viewer shouldn’t feel the hand of the artist in the image.
In the end, what do we learn from this savvy, progressive, social network generation of seniors? For starters, traditional just
isn’t enough. It pushes us to discover more and expand our boundaries. It has helped me to evolve my photography in fashion,
music, and posing, and taught me new approaches to imagery. But what matters most is I’ve learned patience and understand-
ing, making me a better person. ■
Hernan Rodriguez is an international award-winning professional photographer specializing in commercial photography and portraiture. He has earned 25
Bio
awards in photography, including the much coveted Black and White Spider Award for photographic excellence in fashion photography. His outgoing
personality and fresh approach to imagery has allowed him to work with such clients as GUESS, Playboy, Corona, EMI, and Sony Music Entertainment.
058
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BEGINNERS’ WORKSHOP LESA SNIDER
Dipping into Duotone Mode

Have you ever wondered why black-and-white images displayed in galleries look so darn good? Sure the
subject and composition are top of the line, but most aren’t really black and white—they’re black and white
plus a subtle color tint, giving the image extra depth and richness. This process is called creating a duotone.
STEP ONE: Convert your image to black and white using the
method of your choice. In this example, we’ll use a Gradient Map
adjustment layer because it’s fast and it produces great contrast (the
change also happens on its own layer, though that’s less important
here because you’ll flatten the file in a minute). Because the Gradi-
ent Map adjustment layer uses the current colors of your Fore-
ground and Background color swatches, the first step is to set them
to the default of black and white, respectively. You can do that
by pressing the D key or by clicking the tiny black-and-white icon
above your color swatches at the bottom of your Toolbox (circled).
STEP TWO: Next, create the adjustment layer by clicking the

half-black, half-white circle at the bottom of your Layers panel and
Step One
choosing Gradient Map. Alternatively, you can choose Layer>
New Adjustment Layer>Gradient Map, or use the Adjustments
panel (Window>Adjustments) and click the Gradient Map icon.
Either way, Photoshop instantly remaps the shadows in your image
to one side of the gradient (in our case, black) and the highlights
to the other (white), creating a black-and-white image. Step Two
STEP THREE: Since the Duotone mode in Photoshop lets you

add additional colors to genuine grayscale images, you must first
reduce the colors in your image to black and white by changing
its color mode to Grayscale. Choose Image>Mode>Grayscale and,
when Photoshop asks if you want to flatten or preserve your layers,
take a deep breath and click Flatten. When you’re asked if you
want to discard your color information, click Discard.
STEP FOUR: Trot back up to the menu bar and choose Image>
Mode>Duotone, and Photoshop promptly opens the Duotone

Options dialog. We’re having fun now! Technically, the word “duo-
tone” refers to an image that’s made from two colors: grayscale
(black and white) plus something else. If you add another color, you
get a tritone (grayscale plus two colors), and if you add one more
you get a quadtone (grayscale plus three colors). For the purposes
of this discussion and as far as Photoshop is concerned, duotones
include tritones and quadtones.
060 Step Three

› › beginners’ workshop
STEP FIVE: Because duotones are used so much in professional

printing—they contain fewer color channels, so they cost less to
print—Adobe spent beaucoup bucks concocting color combina-
tions that produce some of the most amazing images you’ve ever
seen. Take a peek in the Preset menu at the top of the dialog and
©ISTOCKPHOTO/DEBIBISHOP
you’ll spot hundreds of duo-, tri-, and quadtones (you could spend
a whole evening looking through all the options). When you choose
one of these settings, Photoshop automatically changes the dialog’s
Type drop-down menu to reflect the option you picked, whether it’s
a duotone, tritone, or a quadtone. The dialog also shows you which
colors are being used. Once you’re finished experimenting, make a
note of the preset’s name and click OK. Here you can see what the
image looks like using three of the myriad presets.
STEP SIX: Now you’re free to go back to the color mode from
whence you came by choosing Image>Mode>RGB Color. Because
Duotone mode is a special document mode for printing (it’s not
meant for editing), you don’t really want to hang around there.
When you go back to RGB mode, you won’t notice anything dif-
ferent—except the awesome new color of your image.
STEP SEVEN: Choose File>Save As and add the name of the

duotone preset to the end of the filename so you don’t forget which
one you used. From the Format drop-down menu, choose Photo-
shop. This ensures maximum image quality should you ever decide
to reopen the image and continue editing, plus it keeps you from
saving over your original image. Click Save and then congratulate
yourself for snatching your first color combo from Duotone mode,
which is a little like bank-robbing for Photoshop jockeys.
Step Five
So remember, even if your image isn’t headed to a professional

printing press, you can still pop in and out of Duotone mode and
use the built-in color combos to produce a striking, one-of-a-kind
image, just like you’ve seen here. Until next time, may the creative
force be with you all! ■
Step Seven
LESA SNIDER, chief evangelist of iStockphoto.com, is the author of Photoshop CS5: The Missing Manual (2010 Pogue Press/O’Reilly), co-author of iPhoto ’11:
The Missing Manual (2011 Pogue Press/O’Reilly), and has several video training titles on KelbyTraining.com. She also leads photographic adventures on the rivers of Europe
(PhotoCruisewithLesa.com). Lesa is a longtime member of the Photoshop World Dream Team of instructors and founder of the free tutorial site, GraphicReporter.com. 061
column › ›
CLASSIC EFFECTS COREY BARKER
Fade a Photo to a Line Drawing

Sometimes you can make a bland photo much more interesting when you creatively use filters. Here, we’ll
revisit a technique I presented on the NAPP member website a few years ago that still proves to deliver out-
standing results. The best part is that it will work well on almost any image.
STEP ONE: This effect works great for emphasizing specific parts
of an image in a very stylish way. In this image of a party, we want to
bring more attention to the two girls near the middle of the photo.
[NAPP members may download the file used in this tutorial from
www.photoshopuser.com/members/jun11-downloads.html. All files
are for personal use only.]
©FOTOLIA/YURI ARCURS
STEP TWO: Start by duplicating the Background layer twice by
pressing Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) two times. We’ll apply a different
effect to each layer to build the finished look.
Step Two
STEP THREE: With the top layer (Layer 1 copy) active in the Step One
Layers panel, go to Filter>Blur>Smart Blur. We’re not actually run-
ning a blur here but rather creating the line-drawing effect. Go to
the Mode drop-down menu at the bottom of the Smart Blur dialog
and choose Edge Only. Set the Quality drop-down menu to High.
Then, move the Radius and Threshold sliders to refine how much
line detail you want. We set the Radius to 2.5 and the Threshold
to 25. Click OK.
STEP FOUR: Now we need to

extract the line drawing from the
layer so we can change the line
color. Go to the Channels panel
(Window>Channels), hold down
Step Three
the Command (PC: Ctrl) key, and
click on the RGB channel thumbnail.
This will load the luminosity of the
image as a selection. Since the im-
age is black and white, it will ignore
black and load just the white area.
STEP FIVE: With the selection active, click the Create a New
Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to create a new blank
layer (Layer 2). Click the Eye icon to the left of the original line
drawing layer (Layer 1 copy) to hide it. Then, press Shift-Delete (PC:
Shift-Backspace) to bring up the Fill dialog. Choose Black from the
Use drop-down menu, and click OK. Press Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D)
to deselect. The line-drawing effect over the original photo creates
062 an interesting result. Step Five
› › CLASSIC EFFECTS
STEP SIX: Here’s a cool trick to get the overall color tone of
an image as a color fill. Click the original Background layer in the
Layers panel to make it active, and go to Filter>Blur>Average. It
will look at the overall image and generate a color fill based on the
average color tone of the entire image. The result will look good for
this image but experiment with other colors to see what works best
for your image.
STEP SEVEN: Activate the duplicate layer (Layer 1) that still

contains the original image. Hold down the Option (PC: Alt) key and
click the Add Layer Mask icon (circle in a square) at the bottom
Step Six
of the Layers panel. This will create a layer mask filled with black,
hiding the entire layer.
STEP EIGHT: Select the

Gradient tool (G). Press D to
set the Foreground color to
white. Click the down-fac-
ing arrow next to the gradi-
ent preview in the Options
Bar to open the Gradient
Picker and choose the Foreground to Transparent gradient. To the
right of the gradient preview in the Options Bar, choose the Radial
Gradient icon. Step Nine
STEP NINE: Click to start the gradient in the area of the image
where the main subjects are, then drag toward the bottom-right
corner of the image. This will reveal the image in the area where
you started dragging and fade away to the edges.
STEP TEN: Since we want the image to transition from a photo

to a line drawing, we need to mask the line drawing area in the
middle. Select the layer containing the line drawing (Layer 2) and
click the Add Layer Mask icon again (but this time without holding
down the Option [PC: Alt] key). This will add a layer mask filled with
white, revealing the entire layer. Step Ten
Press X until the Foreground color is set to black. Using the Gra-
dient tool again with the same settings as above, draw the gradient
in the same area and distance as you did in the previous step. Now
as the photo fades out, the line drawing fades in.
STEP ELEVEN: Let’s slightly change the color of the outline. Click
the layer thumbnail for the line drawing layer (Layer 2) to make the
layer active and not the mask. Click the Lock Transparent Pixels icon
(checkerboard) at the top of the Layers panel. Click the Foreground

color swatch at the bottom of the Toolbox, select a color in the Color
Picker (we chose R:45, G:9, B:45), and click OK. Press Option-Delete
(PC: Alt-Backspace) to fill the lines with your chosen color.
To finish the effect, we added some texture to the background
color. Activate the Background layer and go to Filter>Texture>
Texturizer. Set the Texture drop-down menu to Sandstone, Scaling
to 100%, Relief to 3, and click OK. You can also add additional
gradients to the line drawing layer mask (Layer 2) to fade out any
distracting lines as we did here near the bottom of the image. ■ Step Eleven 063
› › key concepts: Layer mask Warp
FROM BERT’S STUDIO BERT MONROY
Give Me Some Skin

Photoshop gives you all the tools you need to create anything your imagination can conjure up. Making
what you create look real requires careful attention to detail—how the image is lit is important, but more im-
portant is what the object is made of. The texture must immediately tell the viewer what the object feels like.
Many filters are designed to create specific textures such as stone

or liquid, and a combination of filters can produce a wide range of
other textures that you might need. But some textures require a dif-
ferent approach. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use patterns for
simulating textures. To up the ante, you’ll see how to create a subtle
but complex texture—skin. You may never have to create a skin
texture but it’s the steps outlined here that are important to note.
The underlying principle is to create a pattern that’s so scattered
that it doesn’t really look like a pattern. Skin sounds difficult but
you have a great source of reference—yourself. This first image
shows a close-up of a wrist on one of the people in my painting,
Times Square. You can see the subtle texture of the skin as it wraps
around the arm.
STEP ONE: Create a new Photoshop document that’s 4x3" at

72 ppi. Click the Create a New Layer icon at the bottom of the
Layers panel to create a new layer where the texture will be made.
The layer has transparency. This is important because all you want
for the texture are the lines.
STEP TWO: Using the Brush tool (B), with a small, solid brush tip Step Two
and black for the color, generate a small series of strokes to simu-
late skin. Create a large enough patch to introduce variety. Simply
look at your own wrist to get an idea of how they should look.
STEP THREE: Make a duplicate of the layer by dragging it to

the Create a New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.
Step Three
Using the Move tool (V), click-and-drag the duplicated layer to the
right so that it just touches the right edge of the original texture.
STEP FOUR: You’ll notice some spaces and broken lines. Use
the Eraser tool (E) and the Brush tool to clean them up so the two
clumps fit into each other. In this example, one of the layers has
been lightened to make it easier for you to see the connection area. Step Four
With the duplicate layer active in the Layers panel, press Com-
mand-E (PC: Ctrl-E) to merge it into the original layer to make them
a single layer. Note: Do not flatten the image; the Background must
remain separate.
STEP FIVE: Drag the layer with the extended texture to the
Create a New Layer icon to duplicate it. Drag the duplicate layer
down below the original and mend the seams as before. Merge
the two layers together. You now have enough area to create a
064 seamless texture. Step Five
› › FROM BERT’S STUDIO
STEP SIX: Looking within the maze of odd shapes, find four
shapes that are exact duplicates of each other. In this example,
four such shapes have been filled with red to make it easier for
you to see (you don’t actually need to color the shapes). Now
comes the most crucial and precise step. Use the Rectangular Mar-
quee tool (M) to select an area using the four shapes as a guide.
Positioning of the selection marquee is crucial! If the upper-left
corner is a specific pixel, the bottom left of the selection must end
Step Six
right before the duplicate of that same pixel down below. If the
position is off, you’ll create a noticeable seam.
STEP SEVEN: Once the selection is made, turn off the Back-
ground layer by clicking on the Eye icon next to it in the Layers panel.
This makes the area between the drawn lines transparent. Choose
Edit>Define Pattern to save the pattern. Give it a name and click OK.
STEP EIGHT: Now you can go to the document that needs the
texture you just created. Let’s say you have an arm similar to the one
shown at the beginning of this tutorial, make the layer containing Step Eight
the arm active by clicking on it in the Layers panel. Create a new
layer above it by clicking the Create a New Layer icon at the bottom
of the Layers panel. Choose Edit>Fill. For Use, choose Pattern. Under
Custom Pattern, your skin pattern will be the last choice in the drop-
down window. Choose the pattern and click OK. The layer will then
be filled with the pattern. Distort the pattern to fit the shape using
Edit>Transform>Warp. Press Return (PC: Enter) when finished.
STEP NINE: Once the texture is in place, it’s necessary for it to

look like skin. Skin texture isn’t a bunch of black lines unless you
spent the day in a coalmine. Locking the transparency for the layer
will allow you to fill the texture with any color you wish (click the
Lock Transparent Pixels icon near the top left of the Layers panel).
For the skin texture that I created, I used a layer style. Double-click
to the right of the name of the skin texture layer to open the Layer
Style dialog, and in the Advanced Blending section, lower the Fill Step Nine
Opacity to 1%. Then, click on the words “Bevel and Emboss” in
the list of Styles on the left in the dialog. Alter the settings based on
the dialog shown here until it gives you the highlights and shadows
necessary to make the skin look real, and click OK. Depending on
the size and resolution of your image, the settings may vary quite
a bit. Click on the Add Layer Mask icon (circle in a square) at the
bottom of the Layers panel and use the Brush tool to paint in black
to hide the areas of the pattern where it’s unwanted.
STEP TEN: The real beauty of this is that once you have the
texture, it can be used for many other situations. The leather wrist-
band in this final image is made of the same texture. A heightening
of the Fill Opacity plus a slight alteration of the Bevel and Emboss,
and smooth skin became rough leather. If you have an idea for an
image floating around in your head, there’s a way to bring it to life
with Photoshop. ■ Step Ten
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. 065
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DEKE SPACE DEKE McCLELLAND
Rendering Type in Gold

Over the course of the previous two columns, we’ve been sharing some shockingly simple recipes that result in
eye-catching type effects. That theme continues today, with one exception: This recipe is simpler than ever. The
upshot is that you can replicate my instructions with a minimal margin for error.
In the next few steps, you’ll learn how to create type rendered in gold
using a series of four layer styles and some hand-painted highlights.
Before we start, a few words about gold: its diffuse color (the color
of the metal before light is applied) is a brilliant orange-yellow. When
polished, gold is highly reflective, replete with lustrous highlights and
shadows. And most importantly, it’s a soft metal. As opposed to
hard, chiseled forms, your final image should exhibit round contours
and smooth transitions. Step One
STEP ONE: Create a new document that’s around 6x2" at 200 ppi
and choose the Type tool (T). We created our text against a textured
background; you can use any background. (There’s no reason this
needs to be text, incidentally. A shape layer, for example, would
work just as well.) In the Options Bar, choose a font, size, and color.
We used a serif font, specifically Caslon Pro (which ships with the full
Creative Suite); a large font size; and white for the text color. Enter
the word “GOLD.” After entering our text, we hand-kerned the
letters to be closer to each other. To do this, place the text cursor in
between two letters, hold down the Option (PC: Alt) key, and press
the Left Arrow key as many times as needed to bring the two letters
closer together. When finished, click the Commit icon (checkmark)
in the Options Bar.
Step Two
STEP TWO: The first effect will establish the color. With the text
layer active, click the Add a Layer Style icon (ƒx) at the bottom of
the Layers panel and choose Color Overlay. In the Layer Style dialog,
click the Blend Mode color swatch, choose a yellow color (R:255,
G:219, B:38), and click OK. The color is a bit garish, so reduce the
Opacity to 35%. Don’t exit the Layer Style dialog yet! We have
three more layer styles to add.
STEP THREE: To convey a sense of depth, click on the words

“Drop Shadow” under the Styles list on the left side of the Layer
Style dialog. Assuming the default settings, raise the Opacity to
100% and set the Angle to 120° (the Use Global Light checkbox
should be turned on). Set the Distance to 10 px, the Spread to 0%,
and the Size to 10 px.
Note: In our example, the document measures to a mere
1,200x420 pixels. If your document is larger, increase the Size and Step Three
Distance values accordingly. For example, if your image measures
3,600 pixels wide (or 12" wide at 300 ppi), which is three times
the size of our image, then take the Size and Distance up to 30 px.
STEP FOUR: Now, for the gold. Choose Bevel and Emboss from
the Styles list. Raise the Depth to 250% and set the Size to 35 px
066 (again, scale the Size if your image is larger). Make sure the Style is
› › DEKE SPACE
set to Inner Bevel and for Technique choose Chisel Hard. This will
give you the effect shown here, which is great if this were a hard
stone or metal, but as I mentioned earlier, gold is soft. So some
additional modifications are in order.
STEP FIVE: Still inside the Bevel and Emboss panel, raise Soften
to 5 px to smooth away the chiseled edges. Click the white High- Step Four
light Mode color swatch, choose a pale yellow color (R:255, G:223,
B:128), and click OK. Change the Highlight Mode to Linear Dodge
(Add) and raise the Opacity to 100%. Click the black Shadow Mode
color swatch, choose a dark brown color (R:77, G:57, B:0), and
click OK. Change the Shadow Mode to Linear Burn and raise the
Opacity to 85%.
To further soften the effect, we’re going to raise the angle of
the light source in the sky. Set the Altitude to 60°. Click on the
down-facing arrow next to the Gloss Contour thumbnail to open
the Contour Picker and select Ring—Double (two steep hills). Then
turn on the Anti-aliased checkbox to smooth over any remaining
harsh transitions. Step Five
STEP SIX: This final layer style helps to add some random con-
trast to the scene. Choose Satin from the Styles list and click on the
Blend Mode color swatch. Choose a gold color (R:128, G:109, B:19)
and click OK. The default Contour settings will work fine. Set the
Angle to 35°, the Distance to 12 px, and the Size to 20 px (again,
scale the Distance and Size for a larger image). You can also drag
directly inside the image window to experiment with an ideal effect.
And finally, click OK to apply the four layer styles.
Step Six
STEP SEVEN: To lend the gold effect some additional credibil-
ity, we need to add shiny highlights. Click on the Create a New
Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and double-click on
the layer name to rename it “Specular.” Select the Brush tool (B).
Right-click in the image window to open the Brush Preset Picker,
select a round brush, set the Size to 90 px (scale as needed), and
the Hardness to 0%. Press Return (PC: Enter) to close the panel.
Press D, then X to make sure the Foreground color is set to white.
Click to place highlights on each area as shown.
Step Seven
STEP EIGHT: In a perfect world, you could mask the highlights
by combining the layers into a clipping mask, but thanks to the
mechanics of overlapping layer effects, this doesn’t quite work. So,
we’ll use a layer mask instead. Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on
the text layer thumbnail to load it as a selection and click on the

Add Layer Mask icon (circle in a square) at the bottom of the Layers
panel to complete the effect.
The result is a handful of letters that look like they might reasonably
have been carved out of gold. In my next column, I’ll show you how
I created that hammered-metal background behind the letters. ■ Step Eight
DEKE MCCLELLAND is author of Adobe Photoshop CS5 One-on-One (deke.oreilly.com) and the three-part video series Photoshop CS5 One-on-One (lynda
.com/deke). For a free video demonstration of the above and other recipes, look for Deke’s free weekly video blog, Deke’s Techniques, at deke.com/dekepod. 067
column › ›
PHOTOSHOP MASTERY BEN WILLMORE
Content-Aware Fill on an Empty Layer

To get most retouching tools to deposit their results onto an empty layer, simply create a new layer and
then change the sampling setting for each retouching tool in the Options Bar to either Current & Below or
Sample All Layers and you’re good to go. The Content-Aware Fill command doesn’t offer such an option.
If you attempt to apply the Content-Aware Fill command to an STEP FOUR: With the selection still active, choose Edit>Fill, set
empty layer you’ll be prompted with an error message because that the Use pop-up menu to Content-Aware, and click OK. If you love
command needs to work on the same layer that contains the area keyboard shortcuts, press Shift-Delete (PC: Shift-Backspace) and
you’re attempting to retouch. Here we’ll show you how to avoid then press Return (PC: Enter) to accept the default setting—which is
this problem. Content-Aware. Doing so should produce the retouching you desire.
STEP ONE: Open (File>Open) an image you wish to retouch in STEP FIVE: Choose Select>Inverse or press Shift-Command-I
Photoshop using the Content-Aware Fill command. Click on the Cre- (PC: Shift-Ctrl-I) to select the areas that you didn’t want to retouch
ate a New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to create an and then press Delete (PC: Backspace) to remove the selected area
empty layer that will eventually contain your retouching. (Note: We from the current layer. Press Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect.
renamed our new layer. To do so, double-click on the layer’s name
in the Layers panel and rename it accordingly.) Feel free to use any STEP SIX: If the layer you had active at the time you started this
retouching tools on this layer prior to continuing with this technique technique was empty, then you’re done because the Merge Visible
since it doesn’t have to be empty for the technique to be successful. command would have caused everything to be contained on that
layer. If, on the other hand, the layer that was active at the time you
STEP TWO: Once you’re ready to use the Content-Aware Fill moved to Step Two contained any information, then the next step
feature, use any selection tool to make a selection around the area would have produced a new layer instead of depositing the merged
you’d like to retouch. I usually end up using the Lasso tool (L) for this. info onto the active layer. If that’s the case, then you should have
only the area that was retouched using Content-Aware Fill on an
STEP THREE: Hold down the Option (PC: Alt) key and choose otherwise empty layer, so all we have to do is get that information to
Layer>Merge Visible to merge the contents from all the layers into a be deposited onto the layer we were originally using for retouching
single new layer. Or press Shift-Option-Command-E (PC: Shift-Alt- (since it contains other retouching you’ve done previously). To com-
Ctrl-E) to use the keyboard shortcut. You’ll get one of two results bine the active layer into the underlying layer, choose Layer>Merge
depending on what was contained on the active layer: If the layer Down or press Command-E (PC: Ctrl-E). That’s it, we’re done!
was empty, then the merged visible information will be deposited
onto the active layer instead of being placed on a new layer; if the
layer contained some retouching you had previously performed,
then the merged visible result will appear on a brand-new layer.
Having the contents of the entire image on a single layer is the key
to getting the Content-Aware Fill command to work properly.
If you practice this technique a dozen or so times, then you should

be able to get to the point where you can do it entirely with key-
board shortcuts. It all depends on how often you plan to use this
technique. If it will be daily, then practice so you can get used to
the keyboard shortcuts. ■
PHOTOSHOP HALL OF FAMER Ben Willmore is a nomad exploring America via motorcoach. Catch his latest adventure by visiting his blog at
www.whereisben.com, see his photography at www.thebestofben.com, and find out about all his books, seminars, DVDs, and other educational products at
068 www.digitalmastery.com.
ALL IMAGES BY BEN WILLMORE
column › ›
THE COPYRIGHT ZONE ED GREENBERG AND

JACK REZNICKI
Free Photos—Get Your Free Photos Here

Lately, we’ve seen the rapid acceleration of a very disturbing trend. We wrote a rather tongue-in-cheek
column a while back on how we were starting a stock agency where photographers would give us their
photos and we would just keep all the money. We’re finding it’s not so funny anymore.
Several items recently caught our attention. One was that The Huff- created by small, medium, and incredibly large media companies.
ington Post was sold for a reported $315 million. This sale was done There’s distribution of various media into every burg in the U.S., all
on the backs of bloggers and other unpaid contributors who will the nation-state members of the E.U., and the countries of Africa
expire while waiting by the phone for that call from Arianna inform- stretching from the Mediterranean down to the Cape of Good
ing them of their cut of the bounty. Hope. In the olden days of, say, the 1980s, if a big newspaper
Those of you in Colbert Nation no doubt saw Stephen’s com- infringed, you’d likely see the infringement in just that newspaper.
ments about Ms. Huffington pocketing millions by repurposing Now media conglomerates own newspapers, numerous magazines,
Colbert content. He too cried out for his cut on two shows. television networks, and do webcasts and sublicense to families of
Along these lines, we give you a tale with names changed to magazines. The Internet has removed any restrictions on distribution
protect both the innocent and the incredibly guilty, but without based on geography or medium.
Mariska Hargitay. A crime is involved, so we also need to change Let’s see what that means in current real dollars and cents,
some facts. Hypothetically, let’s say there was a kidnapping of a forgetting for the moment the lucrative licensing demands for this
young heiress, Jane Doesydoe (à la the Patty Hearst case of decades image in the future. At a very minimal licensing fee of, say, $100 per
ago), but this victim is much younger than Ms. Hearst was. The use of this unique photo (and trust us, Tommy could have licensed
kidnapping goes bad because, unlike in CSI endings, these stories this image for hundreds of thousands of dollars via an exclusive
don’t always have a happy ending nor are they accomplished in or otherwise), how many times do you think BiNWAK Syndicators
48 minutes, excluding commercials. Naturally, in this new brave world licensed the image to newspapers and magazines? We guess the
of 24/7 news, it becomes a national news story of great interest number is at least well over 300. It could be up to nearly 1,000. For
instantly. It dominates the news coast-to-coast and beyond. the sake of argument, let’s say 500. So 500 x $100 = $50,000. Let’s
The news media and photo syndicators need a photo to show of use the same number for TV stations, figuring three local affiliate
young Ms. Doesydoe, but because she comes from a very, very pri- stations per American city, the major networks, and cable channels,
vate family and is too young to have had her picture taken at debu- and it wouldn’t take long (conservatively) to get to another 500.
tante balls, public events, and such, there are only very old photos of Without breaking a sweat, BiNWAK gets $100,000 for licensing
her not suitable for the press. Ah, but there’s a single exception. Tommy Cleancut’s photo, without his credit line.
Ms. Doesydoe was in a formal family photo taken at a holiday All the photos are credited to BiNWAK or Harry Sleazy or both.
party at the country club by society photographer Tommy Cleancut Each newspaper, magazine, and television outlet is supplied with
just months prior to the kidnapping. With everyone craving a photo, primo content. This results in preserving or improving ratings with
a local photographer, Harry Sleazy, gets access to Tommy’s photo ad prices being adjusted accordingly. BiNWAK and its clients make
and then takes a closeup shot of Tommy’s photo. Mr. Sleazy then a profit on Tommy’s image at every level. When the villain goes to
crops and manipulates until the result is an image showing just trial, there will be renewed demand for the image. BiNWAK and its
Jane Doesydoe’s face. Since Mr. Cleancut didn’t give Mr. Sleazy customers will then profit yet again.
permission, Mr. Sleazy has now violated federal copyright law and
has no defense. “DON’T MAKE IT A FEDERAL CASE”
So what did Tommy Cleancut get for all this after BiNWAK syndi-
FOLLOW THE TRAIL cated it without his permission? Luckily, being smart and register-
Now this is where it gets interesting and disturbing. Harry sells the ing his photos, what Tommy got was a lawyer because BiNWAK
photo of the photo to the BiNWAK (Big Name We All Know) Photo has given him nada. This is like Hertz coming to your house, taking
Syndicators, who then license it all over the country. It appears your one-of-a-kind vintage car, and renting it out for money.
in newspapers, magazines, TV reports, and webcasts worldwide Maybe they send you a thank you note—probably not. Tommy’s
070
continued on p.72
th e co pyr i g ht zo n e › ›
lawyer made sure that BiNWAK paid Tommy for the theft of his The photographer sets his or her own price and terms, that is
image. BiNWAK said, “Hey Tommy, don’t make it a federal case, if he or she wants to license it at all. That right doesn’t belong to a
and think of the family and what they’ve been through.” But hey, thief, a.k.a. copyright infringer.
BiNWAK, it is a federal case because the Copyright Act is derived
directly from Article One in the U.S. Constitution. A copyright THE STEALING CONTINUES
infringement is a federal case and BiNWAK is, quite simply, a thief. You think we just came up with this fairytale, fabrication, and con-
Now the plot thickens. While under no legal obligation to do jured fantasy? It will never happen? Actually, sadly, it happens every
so, Tommy is a nice guy and chooses to donate his earnings to day. And almost every day, photographers get screwed because
charity. Tommy selects a women’s abuse shelter, so that women they don’t know what to do; they didn’t register their images; or
with kids who are at risk of being attacked but without money to frankly, they think they can’t go up against Big Time Media Compa-
simply move cross country can have resources and thus benefit nies like our mythical BiNWAK. Many photographers don’t have the
from this tragedy. guts to fight the local or national media that has stolen their work.
During arguments in court in front of a federal judge, BiNWAK The media knows this, so the stealing continues.
claimed that the amount of money involved was actually quite The result? BiNWAK-type companies—and there are many—
small because they didn’t charge daily make literally millions on the
a flat rate to syndicate the Sleazy backs of some photographers who
image; instead, they included it in a This is like produce content and get nothing.
subscription-based pricing structure. Hertz coming Not even a credit line. For every
So in reality, that claim of $100 per
to your house, Tommy Cleancut that manages to
use is bogus and the revenues are get money and see that people ben-
really only pennies. Now this part we
taking your efit, there are thousands of creatives
love. The judge in our story found for
one-of-a-kind that don’t get anything. Some aren’t
Tommy Cleancut and said that, “A vintage car, professional photographers: They’re
copyright infringer may not benefit and renting it people sending in photos to the
by its pricing structure of an image out for money. BiNWAKs for the glory of having
to which it had no rights in the first their photo used. BiNWAK takes
instance.” What if the syndicator is their submitted photos, uses them,
a not-for-profit company or one that has lost money consistently and keeps all the money. The public couldn’t possibly care less, in
over the last few years? What if the syndicator elected to grant free part because photographers do little to educate the masses.
access to the image for its best customers? The judge found those So the BiNWAKs of the world can afford to take their chances by
arguments to be “spurious.” using whatever photos they want, figuring that what they pay out
Quoting from one of Ed’s briefs in a similar, real-life case, which to the Tommys of the world will be far overshadowed by what they
the real-life judge found both amusing and convincing: bring in otherwise. And they talk about this with the Huffingtons
of the world, drinking tea and eating finger foods, or whatever multi-
“If a sumo wrestler goes to an all-you-can-eat buffet in millionaires do in fancy restaurants, while photographers and all the
Las Vegas and eats his weight in lobster, shrimp, prime rib, others who could benefit stare in from the street.
oysters, and filet mignon and pays $9.99, does that set the There are Tommy Cleancuts out there today. There are also
per-pound market rate for any or all of the aforementioned photographers who don’t have the stones to tangle with the bad
food items? Let’s go one step further and assume that our guys. There was a Tommy Cleancut both of us were friends with, a
400 lb wrestler wants to have a Coke with his buffet. The photographer named Stuart Gross, who unfortunately passed away
drink is not included in the $9.99 price and the buffet too young. Stuart had a chance brush with a little girl named Lisa
charges him $3 for the soda. Can we then deduce that Steinberg who was murdered by her father, Joel Steinberg, days
Coke is infinitely more costly per ounce than lobster simply later. Stuart’s photos of Lisa helped convict Joel Steinberg, as quoted
because the buffet has chosen to charge separately for the by the New York District Attorney. This case created laws requiring
beverage? In reality it costs the restaurant about $0.50 per that suspected child abuse be reported, and as a result, an untold
ounce to serve the Coke and about 50+ times as much to number of children have been protected. You need not be a photo-
serve the lobster or prime rib per ounce.” journalist in a war zone to be courageous or make a difference. n
CATCH JACK AND ED’S BLOG at www.thecopyrightzone.com and read about their book, Photographer’s Survival Manual, published by Lark Books.
072
column › ›
THE SMALL BUSINESS

AND FREELANCE COACH LARRY BECKER
Free Work Can Really Cost You

Many talented freelance photographers and designers regularly give away their precious work for free.
There’s a time when free work makes sense, but most small business people and freelancers still fall
prey to the twisted logic that their free work is an investment, even when it’s not.
What’s the difference between good and bad free work? There are The flip side of the contest is that, more often than not, the
several kinds of free work people do, but the most insidious is work judges are largely unqualified to judge what work is best. For
done on the speculation that you might get hired for paying work example, consider the specific circumstance of a restaurant hiring
based on a request for free work samples. (I’m not talking about a designer or photographer for a billboard campaign. Even though
a request to review portfolio work; rather, I’m talking about being billboards are the largest form of visual advertising available, the
asked to create new work as a sort of audition.) Most people simply messages and images have to be simple and direct because drivers
refer to this as “spec work.” There’s even a website dedicated to viewing billboards rarely have time for much more than a glance.
eliminating spec work outright, and while I don’t necessarily agree (Just for fun, next time you’re out driving, look around and see how
with everything said on the site, I do agree that spec work is usually many cluttered billboards with bad images and unclear messages
not a positive way to put a client and a freelancer together. The big- are out there.) The restaurant owner might pick the photographer
gest problem with spec work is that none of the many competing who has a picture of the most popular dish, in spite of the fact that
freelancers are treated fairly and the hiring company almost always the image is lit poorly and is too cluttered to even make out what
gets a poor result, even if they don’t realize it. the image is in the final advertising placement. The restaurant owner
So how do people get freelancers to give their work away for might choose the designer who includes a bunch of information
free? The easiest way is to have a contest. Hungry freelancers because it’s a more complete message, even though the billboard is
always line up for the chance to “win” a new client, and they so cluttered with text that no one will ever be able to read it when
usually work especially hard for the chance. And for those poten- driving by. And if the restaurant owner is just judging submit-
tial employers who aren’t willing (or able) to invest big dollars to ted images, he or she will never get the sales presentation when
publicize a contest, there are websites where freelancers bid on
available work. So people who need photographers, designers,
writers, etc., just post their job specifications and let the freelanc-
poor judgement
ers bid for the work. I don’t necessarily blame a hiring company for not judging a
good photographer versus a bad one, or a good designer from
THE PITFALLS OF SPEC WORK a bad one. Unfortunately, even professionals in advertising
There are lots of problems with contest-based hiring, or any hir-
and public relations can be poor judges. Having been on the
ing done based on spec work. First, nearly all of the contestants
boards of both advertising and public relations associations, and
submitting work are generating work product for which they will
having entered and judged numerous statewide PR and advertising
never be paid. Only the winner gets the contract and everyone
competitions myself, I know for a fact that frequently the prettiest
else has worked for nothing. But the problems are more than
just unpaid work. After looking at dozens (or hundreds) of work advertisements win gold-level awards, while the most effec-
submissions, the hiring company receives quite a few clever ideas tive advertisements or designs often don’t. And these are in
it could potentially use. This is unethical of course, but even if the professional competitions judged by industry experts. What all this
company doesn’t do it intentionally, it will be influenced by some means is that, as a working professional designer or photographer,
of the nonwinning submissions. Then when it selects a winner it’s your job to educate your clients about what makes a good
from the group, it’s very likely that the company will ask the
photograph or design, and then further educate them about why
winner to slightly modify the work to incorporate some other
you are the right person to hire for the job. (And by the way, you’d
ideas it likes. And those ideas very likely came from some of the
better be pretty good.)
unpaid nonwinners.
074
continued on p.76
THE SMALL BUSINESS AND FREELANCE COACH › ›
the photographer or designer explains how or why the simplest possibly even some of the market value of your work (but check
billboards are the best investment. with your accountant to be sure).
In the end, all but one of the freelancers get nothing for their There are a handful of ways that strategic charitable giving can
hard work; the winner will likely still have to make changes to the help generate business or save you money, and they’re not decep-
submission, committing even more time to production work even tive or unethical in any way. Most cash and in-kind donations are
after winning the contest; and the end user of the winning services given by businesses for reasons such as these.
probably didn’t pick the best freelancer anyway. I strongly suggest that you give altruistically, as well. Pick a char-
ity, church, or nonprofit organization you feel is especially important
CONTROLLED SITUATIONS or one that does a particularly good job, and give to them from your
Keep in mind that not all contests are bad. What matters most is heart. Give money or in-kind service donations with no expectation
the intent of the contest organizers. If the intent is to reward good of any return. Give anonymously if that’s appropriate. I’ve always
photography by calling for photographers to enter one or more found that this kind of giving pays rewards that are far beyond any
images from an existing body of work, in various categories, and business success.
those images are judged by photographers and the winners receive Yet with all of your charitable giving efforts, manage them with
prizes or money, then that’s a good contest. However, if a contest is balance in mind. You can’t stay in business if your entire strategy
organized by a person or business who’s trying to get work product is charitable giving of your work product. You have to generate
for private use and only pay the winner, that’s a bad contest. income so you can eat and pay the rent. Likewise, focusing exclu-
When I talk to groups of freelancers and small business people, sively on income with no thought of helping others will not make
I encourage them to avoid spec work and contests, but I don’t you successful in the end.
mean all contests. Likewise, there are even times you might do
free speculative work in the hopes of impressing a potential client. THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS TRAP
For instance, you might take some impressive photographs of an There’s still another kind of free work that can really tap resources of
architect’s office building and send them to the firm while asking people who are new in business, and it’s doing work for friends or
for a meeting to discuss architectural photography. The big dif- family at a greatly reduced fee. This situation is especially problematic
ference is that you have spotted a potential client and prepared because of the existing relationship you have with your friends and
a photography package you hope will impress that architect. The family as they become clients. As the former owner of both an
entire speculative project is under your control. What’s more, advertising company and Web design firm, it’s amazing how many
you’re creating something that you can add to your portfolio. Even friends came to me for inexpensive logo designs, advertising layouts,
if you don’t win the client in that situation, that work, as a part and website designs. In my early days of business ownership, I’d try
of your portfolio, might win some future clients for you. Another to help my friends by cutting my regular prices and doing various
positive aspect of this kind of situation is that you aren’t one of special favors for them. Unfortunately, I can’t think of many times
many contestants in a stack of faceless entries; instead, you’re the when these efforts were helpful to my business or my bottom line. In
one and only participant in your own specific, controlled solicita- fact, lots of times these folks would even require extra effort because
tion for business. they’d want to tweak their websites or advertising campaigns more
than a regular, paying client. My advice is to make it your policy to
DONATING SERVICES avoid working with friends and family as clients, at least in the early
Another way to do free work that might help you get a job is to days of your business. It will keep you from spending too much
donate your services to a visible charitable effort in your com- time on a client that generates too little revenue, and it will cause you
munity. I consider this strategic charitable in-kind giving and there to find legitimate paying clients first.
are several ways this pays off. First, you’re helping a worthy cause It’s easy to fall into the trap of working with friends and family
that couldn’t otherwise afford your services. Second, they’ll repay because you know each other and it’s comfortable. But you’ll need
you in the only way they can, with a public thank you to you and to stretch outside your comfort zone and secure strangers as clients
your company for the nice donation. Third, if you’ve selected the in order to be successful, so you should start by stepping outside
charitable effort wisely, you already know that several prospective that comfort zone in the very beginning.
clients are involved with that charity and will notice your contribu-
tion. Fourth, you can put the photos or designs you’ve contributed If you want to be successful in business and in life, you should charge
in your portfolio and whenever you pitch your services, prospects for your work and you should give it away sometimes, too. Just go
will see that you’re a charitable person. Fifth, you can usually write into each situation with complete awareness and make sure you’re
off most, if not all, of your expenses related to the donation and always in control of the circumstances. n
076
column › ›
AFTER THE SHOOT DAVE CROSS
Camera Raw as an Automation Tool

Adobe Camera Raw (henceforth called ACR) is a software program that allows you to work with camera files
that were captured in the RAW format, as well as JPEG and TIFF files. This article will look at some ways that we
can take advantage of ACR to work more efficiently.
rewind:
(Before we get into the meat of this column, the “Rewind” section will
provide a little background information.) Although ACR can open RAW,
JPEG, and TIFF files, there are some advantages to capturing your photos
in the RAW format. There’s plenty of debate about the pros and cons of
using RAW versus JPEG, but it’s generally accepted that RAW files allow
for greater exposure adjustment. In addition, there’s more room to adjust
the white balance of a RAW file. Here’s the White Balance menu for a RAW
file compared with the same menu when a JPEG file is opened in ACR.
Step One
When your camera captures a JPEG file, the processing is done in-camera,
which means that opening the file in ACR isn’t necessary. However, it’s nice to
know that JPEG files can be edited in ACR and that we can take advantage of
the same automation that’s available for RAW files.
WORKING WITH MULTIPLE FILES

If you have a relatively small number of files that were taken under
the same conditions and that need to be adjusted, you can open
them all in ACR.
STEP ONE: In Bridge, select the files and press Command-O

(PC: Ctrl-O) to open them in ACR. The files will appear down the
Step Two
left side of the ACR dialog with the fist image showing in the
preview area.
STEP TWO: Make adjustments to the first image and when you’re
ready to apply the same adjustments to the rest of the images, click the
Select All button, and then the Synchronize button. In the Synchronize
dialog you can choose whether you want to have all or only some
adjustments applied to the other images. From then on, if you make
further adjustments to the first image, any other selected images will
update, as well.
STEP THREE: One of the optional adjustments (that’s not

checked by default) in the Synchronize dialog is Crop. With this
option checked, if you use the Crop tool on the first image, the
078 other images will be cropped to the same area. This can be a real Step Three
› › a f t e r t h e s h o ot
timesaver, as long as you remember that the crop area will be

the same on all synchronized images.
Step Four
STEP FOUR: Once you’re finished making adjustments to the
open files, you can either open them or click Done. A couple of
notes here: The Open Images command will only open the file or
files that are selected on the left side of the dialog. If only one is
selected, only that file will open, but the adjustments will be applied
to the other files. If you simply want to make adjustments to a series
of files and open them later, click Done.
Opening multiple files at once works very well for a relatively
small number of files—any more than 10 and it may be best to try
an alternate method.
ADJUST ONE, APPLY TO MANY

This is a very interesting possibility! Imagine you have 300 (or more)
RAW images and you realize that you need to make the same adjust-
ment, such as white balance, to all of them. Here’s how to use ACR
and Bridge to achieve that very quickly. Step Six
STEP FIVE: First, open one RAW file in ACR and make the neces-
sary adjustments. When finished, click Done (you don’t need to
open the file).
STEP SIX: Then in Bridge, select the remainder of the files. Right-
click on any one of the selected files and from the pop-up menu,
choose Develop Settings>Previous Conversion. Each of the selected
files will have the same adjustments applied. If you wish, you can
still open any of the files and further tweak the settings, but most
of the work has been done for you.
SAVE PRESETS, APPLY IN BRIDGE

If you find yourself repeatedly shooting under the same (challeng-
ing) conditions, creating presets in ACR can be a timesaver.
STEP SEVEN: To create a preset, open a RAW file and make the
appropriate adjustments. Go to the Presets panel and click the New Step Seven
Preset icon at the bottom. In the New Preset dialog, choose the ap-
propriate settings (All Settings will often be the best choice).
STEP EIGHT: Once you have a preset, you can use it in a couple
of ways. The first way is to open a single image (or a small number of
images) and, from the Presets panel, click on your preset to apply it.
STEP NINE: If you have a large number of images, use a slight

variation on the previous Bridge technique. Select all the images in
Bridge and Right-click on any one of the selected files. From the pop-
up menu that appears, go to Develop Settings again, but this time,
choose your preset from the list at the bottom of the submenu.
Finally, it’s worth remembering that one of the other major ben-
efits of using ACR is that everything is nondestructive, so whatever
adjustments you’ve applied can always be changed—that in itself
is a great timesaver! ■ Step Nine 079
ALL IMAGES BY DAVE CROSS
column › ›
CREATIVE POINT OF VIEW KATRIN EISMANN
Express Yourself
Knowing how each setting works doesn’t create compelling images, and having great ideas without mastering
the skills to realize them is also very frustrating. Producing outstanding images requires dedication to craft, vision,
and creativity, and being an artist is exhilarating, challenging, frightening, pleasurable, difficult, and rewarding.
Creating art requires you to look out at the world and look into nature overlap. Photography and image enhancement allows me to
yourself to learn what inspires you, and also understand what blocks ponder and seek the answers to these questions. Recognizing and
or distracts you from the creative process. Each of you has a unique valuing what you’re interested in is often the first step to creating
sensibility based on an amorphous blend of cultural, environmental, images and developing a cohesive body of work.
educational, and personal experiences that interact and are influ-
enced by beliefs, fate, family, history, geo-political, physical, intellec- WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
tual, and spiritual characteristics. Many photographers work intuitively Your personal history is a rich source for creative ideas. What you’ve
and enjoy reacting to the scene or beauty around them, while many experienced, what you value, what you’ve seen and felt are all
others seek to create a conceptually strong body of work by asking unique to you. Your fears and joys, darkest and lightest moments
questions and working with the camera to develop answers. Devel- are all springboards for creative investigation and provide rich mate-
oping a body of work is at the heart of the photographic art practice rial to work with. Don’t turn away from yourself as a unique source
and requires you to explore an idea or scene again and again to get of inspiration.
past the easy surface. Anyone can take one great photograph but as As visual artists, it’s imperative to see, read, visit, consume, enjoy,
an artist you need to be interested enough in a topic to return to it ponder, discuss, disagree with, and process art forms and informa-
numerous times to learn and show it more deeply. tion from a wide range of sources. Pay attention to the news; for
Recognizing and nurturing what interests you and where your example, how would you illustrate abstract concepts such as infla-
creative ideas spring from is the start of the creative process. For tion, competition, climate change, etc., without using cliché symbols
me, my creative process often starts with a question that I’m seek- or imagery. Read fiction and nonfiction to engage your imagination
ing an answer for. Questions that intrigue me include socioeco- and learn how authors describe a scene with words that you could
nomic issues, how gender is portrayed, and how humans and create as an image or book cover. Visit galleries and museums of all
types to revel in the quality of the prints, the color palette, abstrac-
tion or literalness of the portrayal, and how the work expresses the
artist’s perception or ideas. Listen to new kinds of music and imag-
ine what it would look like—jazz looks and feels different than rock
or rap music. Go to the theater, where the stage is a framed image
with props and lighting design. As image-makers we should relish
in watching movies as a rich, decadent visual feast. Study how the
cinematographer uses the frame and light to set the scene and cre-
ate the mood. Sign up for a film history class or watch the Visions of
Light: the Art of Cinematography DVD with a fellow photographer.
Study and enjoy a wide variety of photography—from histori-
cal to contemporary. Become articulate in your chosen field of
photography by studying its history and being aware of what
contemporary image-makers are working on. Think about and
express how your work fits into the contemporary discourse of

image-making—artists don’t live or create in a vacuum. Let yourself
be influenced and then take that influence further to create your
own artwork. Tip: Research the work and biography of an artist
you admire and contact him and ask him three to five surprising
and engaging questions.
THE ATTRIBUTES OF CREATIVE PEOPLE

Everyone is creative—proven by the fact that you were once a
080 child! Most likely a child that took things apart, cut the doll’s hair
› › CREATIVE POINT OF VIEW
Open: Shares ideas and discoveries; is receptive to constructive feed-

back and criticism; and is willing to consider change and new ideas.
Honest: Truthful to herself and others.
Dedicated: Learns, practices, and masters new habits and skills.
Flexible: Willing to investigate options and explore issues from
various points of view.
Adventurous: Takes risks and relishes the challenge of the new
or unknown.
Playful: Embraces the childlike mind-set of unstructured play.
Disciplined: Ability to prioritize tasks; maintain a schedule; and
remove, turn off, or ignore distractions.
Positive: Doesn’t succumb to the doubter or self-critic. Enjoys
the process.
Persistence: Willingness to repeat the artistic process to learn
and improve.
Respectful: Takes care of herself and nurtures creative habits
and environments.
Patient: Allows for development and growth.
Trust: Believes in herself. Creative point of view is valid and is
expressed with honesty and openness.
Multitalented: Enjoys other interests. Einstein played the violin, while
many photographers we know play musical instruments or are
deeply involved with martial arts. Being one-sided is the fastest way
to get into a creative rut.
Generous: Shares, teaches, and supports creative people with posi-
tive energy and feedback with fellow students, hobbyists, friends,
and professionals. It’s a secret every teacher knows: the teacher
learns more than the student!
REMOVING CREATIVE ROADBLOCKS

If you’re too busy making excuses to work creatively, or if cleaning
the bathroom just sounds better than working on images, don’t lose
hope. I often put off creative work out of fear of failure, perceived
lack of ideas, or personal inhibitions. The first thing I do to get over
empty computer screen phobia is to just work through it—some-
thinking it would grow back, had imaginary friends that were quite thing I learned from an experienced photography teacher. When
real, and enjoyed unstructured playtime filled with made-up stories I felt empty or uninspired, he encouraged me “…to get out there
and adventures. When young children play they don’t wonder about and take pictures.” The actual act of working often frees me up to
what others will think or what time it is. As adults, we can latch onto keep going, and once I have momentum, there’s no stopping me.
our childlike curiosity while brainstorming creative ideas and think of I learned another helpful concept from Julieanne Kost at Adobe
the word “no” as verboten. Systems. In a nutshell, she advised, “Identify the primary distraction that
No one can, with 100% certainty, answer the timeless question, keeps you from your creative work and deal with it. If you have an issue,
“Where do creative ideas come from?” but as artists we all need to be it weight, lack of exercise, or family worries, do your best to resolve
be open to exploring, experimenting, producing, and learning. No that issue or reduce its power of distraction on your time and energy.”
matter which field you’re in, creative people embody many of the
following attributes: It’s important to remember that creating images is a worthwhile
Curious: Engaged and fascinated with the greater world and doesn’t endeavor in and of itself. Being creative, expressing yourself, and
blindly internalize assumptions. learning about the world we live in through image-making is a
Imagination: Exercises and nurtures creativity; has the ability to mute positive way to spend your time. So turn off that nagging voice of
the inner naysayer; enjoys making new connections. distraction and doubt, and get to work. ■
KATRIN EISMANN is the author of Photoshop Restoration & Retouching and Photoshop Masking & Compositing and co-author of The Creative Digital Dark-
room and the recently released Real World Digital Photography, 3rd edition. In 2005, she was inducted into the Photoshop Hall of Fame. Katrin is the Chair of both
in-classroom and online MPS in Digital Photography department at the School of Visual Arts in NYC (www.sva.edu/digitalphoto). 081
ALL IMAGES BY KATRIN EISMANN
column › ›
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHER’S
NOTEBOOK KEVIN AMES
Fast Skin Smoother

Portraits from high-megapixel cameras suffer from too much information, especially when making proofs for
review. Bumps and other skin irregularities aren’t wanted when presenting portrait choices to clients. Unfortu-
nately, retouching proofs to perfection isn’t cost-effective.
STEP ONE: We’ll show you how to build an action that softens
skin, retains texture, and can be applied to a file in 30 seconds.
Open Kenya1.tif in Photoshop, then press Command-1 (PC: Ctrl-1)
to set the view to 100%. Choose Window>Actions to open the
Actions panel. Click the Create New Set icon (folder) at the bot-
tom of the Actions panel, name it “Retouching Actions,” and
click OK. Now click the Create New Action icon, name the action
“Fast Skin Smoother,” and click Record.
[NAPP members may download the files used in this tutorial
from www.photoshopuser.com/members/jun11-downloads.html.
All files are for personal use only.]
STEP TWO: Press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to duplicate the Back-

ground layer. Double-click the words “Layer 1” in the layer stack,
rename the layer “Retouch,” then press Return (PC: Enter).
Step One
STEP THREE: Choose Filter>Blur>Surface Blur. This filter was
designed to remove noise or grain, which makes it perfect for
smoothing over most of the unwanted skin texture in a portrait.
Radius sets the size of the area that’s considered for the blur.
Threshold tells the filter how different the neighboring pixels must
be before becoming part of the blur, so pixels that differ a lot are
excluded from the blur. This means the skin will blur while shadows
won’t blur much at all. Blurring a shadow changes the lighting, so
it’s a dead giveaway that the skin has been artificially smoothed.
Set the Radius to 6 pixels and the Threshold to 2 levels, the
lowest setting. Hover the cursor over the word “Threshold” to
reveal the scrubby slider. Click-and-drag to the right until the
field reads 15. Most of the bumps on Kenya’s skin are gone.
Notice that the shadows on her face haven’t changed. Her eyes
and the rhinestones on the straps of her top are still sharp, as is
the shadow of the strap itself. Continue dragging the Threshold
scrubby slider until the field reads 20, and click OK. The rest of
the bumps pretty much disappear.
Step Three
STEP FOUR: Now choose Filter>Noise>Add Noise. Set the
Amount to 3 pixels, turn on Uniform and Monochromatic, and
click OK to apply the filter. Adding noise puts smaller, uniform
texture back into the skin so it won’t have the plastic look of
most smoothing strategies.
STEP FIVE: Press Command-A (PC: Ctrl-A) to select the entire

082 canvas. Now choose Edit>Define Pattern, name it, and click OK. Step Five
› › digital photographer’s notebook
STEP SIX: Here’s where the process gets counterintuitive. Press

Command-Option-Z (PC: Ctrl-Alt-Z) three times to deselect the can-
vas, undo Add Noise, and undo Surface Blur, respectively. Finally,
click the Stop Recording icon (square) at the bottom left of the
Actions panel to stop recording.
Step Seven
STEP EIGHT: Here’s how fast using this softening technique

can be. Glance at your computer’s clock. When the seconds read
00, open Kenya2.tif, choose the Fast Skin Smoother action, and
Step Six click Play Selection. Choose the last pattern (ours is Kenya1.tif).
The thumbnail shows you that it’s the correct one. The settings
STEP SEVEN: Some people would have been tempted to not
for the Healing Brush tool are already set. Quickly heal over her
undo the Add Noise and Surface Blur filters, leaving the whole
skin, chest, and shoulders. How much time has passed? My clock
photo blurred. Let’s take 30 seconds to apply the softening to just
said 30 seconds.
her skin. Choose the Healing Brush tool (nested under the Spot
Healing Brush tool [J]). In the Options Bar, set the Source to Pattern.
STEP NINE: Click the Eye icon for the Retouch layer to see how
Now, click the drop-down menu to the right of Pattern. Click the
much this softener does in less than a minute.
disclosure triangle at the top right of the Pattern Picker and select
Large List. Choose the pattern Kenya1.tif, or whatever name you Periodically, you’ll want to clear the patterns. Choose the Healing
used for your file (it should be at the bottom of the list). Check the Brush tool, click the Pattern list in the Options Bar, then click the
Aligned box, use a 90-pixel brush, and heal over Kenya’s skin on her disclosure triangle. Choose Reset Patterns, click OK, then click
face, chest, and shoulders. Don’t worry too much about painting Don’t Save. When using the Healing Brush tool to heal, remember
outside the lines. This is fast, easy, and forgiving. to set the Source back to Sampled and uncheck Aligned. ■
Original Softened
KEVIN AMES creates evocative photographs for clients such as Westin Hotels, AT&T, and Coca-Cola. His fourth book, 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. 083
ALL IMAGES BY KEVIN AMES
column › ›
THE FINE ART OF PRINTING JOHN PAUL CAPONIGRO
Profile Your Monitor

If you want to display your images accurately and make sophisticated decisions about how they will or could
look, calibrate your monitor with hardware. Monitor calibration is a must. It’s not optional. It’s easy. You need a
device to do it well.
The visual comparator method (using your eyes to approximate an be more difficult to predict what your image will look like in print,
appearance onscreen) is too fraught with inaccuracies and inconsis- and it’s likely your prints will appear too dark. If it’s darker than this
tencies to be relied on. Instead, use consistent, accurate, objective target range, your whites will appear too dull and you may not see
hardware and software. Colorimeters don’t have favorite and least subtle shadow detail that exists in your files.
favorite colors, don’t have color deficiencies, don’t get fatigued,
don’t drink caffeine or eat sugar, don’t change over time or adapt to Second, indicate your gamma and white point preferences with
their environments, and don’t have emotions. You do. All of these your software: Specify a Gamma 2.2 and a white point of D-65.
can affect your perception of color at one time or another. Colorim- Both of these items produce confusion for many. The gamma is
eters are in a stable state. You’re not. So when it comes to making specified based on the operating system of your computer, now
sure that your monitor displays color as accurately as possible, use the same for both Mac and PC. It’s not the gamma of your editing
a colorimeter. space, monitor, or output device. The white point is specified to
While some colorimeters, and the software packages that ship simulate a clean white, neither too blue and bright nor too yellow
with them, are better than others, most colorimeters are good. and dull. While the industry standard for building ICC printer profiles
Unless it’s defective, any colorimeter is better than none. and viewing prints is D-50 or 5000K, if you specify this setting during
Spectrophotometers can also be used to calibrate monitors. monitor calibration, more often than not your whites will appear too
What’s the difference between the two? Unlike a colorimeter, a dull and yellow. This is due to monitor hardware limitations; their
spectrophotometer has its own light source that can be used to white points are so high, well above 7500K, that when you simulate
make printer profiles. Spectrophotometers can do more. They also a white point lower than 6500K, the monitor’s response starts to
cost more. physically fail. A white point of D-65 is a simulation that generates a
standard preferred appearance—or a good clean white.
CALIBRATE AND CHARACTERIZE
There’s a difference between calibrating and characterizing devices.
Calibrating a device is changing its state, like setting the brightness
of a monitor. Characterizing a device is measuring and mapping the
color capacity of a device or building an ICC profile to describe it. Most
of the process of monitor “calibration” is actually “characterization.”
Calibrating and characterizing your monitor is a simple process. Third, measure the color space and build the profile: All you have to
Use the profiling device and software of your choice (I use X-Rite do is click go and let the software do the rest. To find a monitor’s
products [www.xrite.com]: The i1 Display 2, ColorMunki, or i1 Pro). capacity or limitations, the measurement software will send known
values to the monitor and its accompanying hardware will measure
First, set the brightness of your monitor: Use your monitor’s buttons the monitor’s response.
or onscreen menu. The software you use should help you confirm With the before and after data, it will generate an ICC profile
that you have set the brightness to a target luminance between that maps the color space of the monitor. At the end of the process,
90 and 100. If your monitor is brighter than this target range, it will
084
› › THE FINE ART OF PRINTING
make sure the title for the resulting ICC profile contains the date.
This profile will be loaded automatically whenever you restart your
computer, or until you build a new one. On a Mac, ICC profiles can
be found at HD/Library/ColorSync/Profiles; on a PC, you can find
them at C:\Windows\system32\spool\drivers\color.
Finally, confirm monitor calibration: View both synthetic test files

(you can find many on my website) and real-world images (Bill
Atkinson provides an excellent evaluation file on his website [https://
public.me.com/billatkinson]). If grayscale ramps contain color casts
or crosses, repeat the process.
Repeat this process monthly or when conditions change
substantially.
You can manually specify a monitor profile in the

Apple Displays System Preferences control panel.
Separate profiles are available for each monitor used.
FUTURE PROOF
The purpose of monitor calibration is to get a monitor to display
For some images, like this one, the saturation a file contains
digital image files as accurately as possible. The ICC profile will help can’t be fully displayed (top). The image is most saturated in print,
your monitor display files better but it won’t change them. Only but the file still contains more saturation.
changing the file’s ICC profile (so the numbers in your file mean
something different) or editing the file with software (so the num- with the same files. You won’t have to adjust your files when you
bers actually change) can do that. look at them on other monitors, for instance, when you replace
Some of your files may contain colors that are out of gamut or your old monitor.
too saturated for your monitor to display. The best monitors today The purpose of monitor calibration isn’t to match a print, though
can display a gamut equivalent to Adobe RGB 1998 but can’t yet it will help you make all your prints more accurate. A well-calibrated
display the full gamut of ProPhoto. This means that some of your monitor will help you predict what your images will look like when
files may be able to print colors that are more saturated than your printed, even on multiple substrates. This is what soft-proofing in
display. Do build your files in ProPhoto to take full advantage of the Photoshop is designed to achieve.
capabilities of today’s printers and tomorrow’s monitors. As monitor
technology evolves this will become a less frequent occurrence. The value of the time and money invested in calibrating and charac-
One of the advantages of calibrating your monitors to a device- terizing your monitor simply can’t be overstated. Once you’ve made
neutral standard is that when properly calibrated, all monitors, old this investment, you’ll reap countless dividends, and you’ll get more
or new, should generate very similar if not identical appearances enjoyment out of the process and your images. ■
JOHN PAUL CAPONIGRO is an internationally respected fine artist, a member of the Photoshop Hall of Fame, and author of Adobe Photoshop Master
Class and the DVD series R/Evolution. Get more than 100 free lessons when you sign up for his free enews Insights at www.johnpaulcaponigro.com. Learn more
about color management at his website and in his DVD 6 Simple Steps to Good Color Management. 085
column › ›
TABLET TALK COREY BARKER
Getting Pressure-Sensitive Selections

When you make a selection using any of the standard selection tools in Photoshop, you’ll see the “marching ants”
representing the edge of the selection, but this is only helpful if the selection has very defined edges. What do you
do if you have an image with a soft or blurred edge, or if the selection needs some transparency?
The problem with the marching ants is that they’re not showing STEP THREE: Now use a round, soft-edged brush to paint in the
you everything that’s going on with your selection. Photoshop area of the selection. Make sure it’s painting the Quick Mask and not
generates selections based on black, white, and gray pixels. Where actual pixels. In this example, we first painted over the entire area of
black is unselected, white is fully selected, and gray is partially the bird, except the wings.
selected with the lighter grays being more selected than darker
grays. This is how Photoshop sees selections. The marching ants STEP FOUR: Now open the Brush panel (Window>Brush). Turn
are merely a visual aid. So it makes sense to be able to make selec- on Transfer on the left of the panel, then set both the Opacity Jitter
tions visually by painting with black, white, or gray pixels and to
and Flow Jitter Control drop-down menus to Pen Pressure. This will
use tools to make selections that you’d never think of using. For
allow you to vary the density of the selected area with the pressure
instance, what if I told you that you could make a selection with
applied to the tablet. Thus, by pressing lightly as you paint in the
the Smudge tool?
area of the wings with repeated overlapping strokes, you can build
This is where the power of pressure sensitivity can really make a
the density just a tiny bit while maintaining some transparency.
difference and save you a tremendous amount of time. To demon-
When done, simply press Q to exit Quick Mask mode and go
strate, we’ll use a picture of a hummingbird in flight. We need to
back to the marching ants. For our example, the selection may
extract the bird from the background. The wings present a challenge
be only somewhat visible in the wing area because marching
as they have some subtle transparency due to the motion blur, so
ants don’t appear until the selected area is 50% gray or lighter.
we’ll attack this selection visually.
This is why visual selections are so useful—to let you see more
of what’s selected.
STEP ONE: Select the Brush tool (B) and in the Brush Preset
Now add a layer mask or copy the selected area to a new layer.
Picker up in the Options Bar, choose a round, hard-edged brush.
You’ll see the resulting transparency in the wings.
At the bottom of the Toolbox, double-click the Edit in Quick
Mask Mode icon to open the Quick Mask Options dialog. Here you
can change the color of the Quick Mask overlay by clicking on the
Color swatch. Because this image is mainly green, we want a color
that will clash with the green so we can see the selection. This hot
pink will do.
©ISTOCKPHOTO/RCYOUNG
STEP TWO: Use your Left and Right Bracket keys to decrease and Without the ability to manage the selected pixels visually or to use
increase the size of the brush, respectively. Now begin painting in pressure sensitivity to paint the transparent selection, this would
pixels using any pixel tool available, even the Smudge tool with the have taken a lot more time and probably not come out as good.
Finger Painting option turned on in the Options Bar to get a smeared The point here is to use the tools and features in Photoshop in
effect. You can even make a gradient selection with the Gradient conjunction with pressure sensitivity to allow more natural strokes
tool (G) as long as you’re in Quick Mask mode. and pressure to more accurately build the selection. ■
If you’re considering making the leap to a tablet, check out a couple new courses from Corey at KelbyTraining.com: “Getting Up to Speed with Wacom Intuos4” and “Using
086 Wacom Tablets with Photoshop.” The first is all about getting set up out of the box and the second is about using the tablet effectively with Photoshop.
column › ›
BEYOND PHOTOSHOP SCOTT ONSTOTT
Adding Signage with Vanishing Point and a 3D Layer

The Vanishing Point filter makes matching perspective a simple task by clicking to add four corner points on a rect-
angular surface in a photo. The Extended version of Photoshop takes Vanishing Point to another level in allowing
you to return a 3D layer to Photoshop for further processing.
STEP ONE: Open the New Building.jpg file in Photoshop CS5

Extended and choose Filter>Vanishing Point. [NAPP members
may download the files used in this tutorial from www.photo-
shopuser.com/members/jun11-downloads.html. All files are for
personal use only.]
STEP TWO: Select the Zoom tool (Z) in the Vanishing Point dia-
©ISTOCKPHOTO/FSTOP123
log and zoom into the rectangular reveals above the awning over
the entry on the right. Press C to select the Create Plane tool and
click to create four corner points as shown. Press V to select the
Edit Plane tool and then click-and-drag each point if necessary to
line up perfectly with the intersecting reveals. What you’re doing
Step One
here is actually creating 3D geometry that matches the perspective
of the photo. We’re lucky that this particular photo has such obvi-
ous lines of perspective in the form of reveals, but most architectural
photography will have horizontal and vertical edges that you can
map a plane to.
STEP THREE: It’s easy to overlook but there’s a menu in the

Vanishing Point dialog in the upper-left corner. Open this menu and
select Return 3D Layer to Photoshop (this will place a checkmark
next to this option). This choice (only available in the Extended edi-
tion) maps the pixels covered by the plane you drew in the previous
step into a dependent texture map that’s part of a resulting 3D
layer. Click OK in the Vanishing Point dialog to have Photoshop
work its magic. Step Two
STEP FOUR: A new layer ap-

pears above the Background layer
with a 3D box icon in the corner
of its layer thumbnail. Double-click

the new layer’s name and rename
it “3D Layer.” Notice that a texture
map called temp0 was created
under the 3D Layer (expand 3D
Layer if necessary). Double-click
the word temp0 to open a separate
document called temp0.psb. Choose Window>Arrange>Float All in
Windows so you can see both document windows simultaneously.
Step Three
088
› › BEYOND PHOTOSHOP
STEP FIVE: Choose File>Place; from the download files, navigate to

the Home Logo.ai sample file, which was created in Adobe Illustrator; and
click the Place button. Click OK in the Place PDF dialog that appears. Click
©ISTOCKPHOTO/ELAPELA
the Maintain Aspect Ratio icon (chain) in the Options Bar, highlight the
text in the Set Horizontal Scale field (W), and type 50%. Press Return
(PC: Enter) twice to accept the new size and to commit the Place com-
mand. Press Command-S (PC: Ctrl-S) to save the PSB file. The logo now
appears on the wall of the building in the main document.
Step Five
STEP SIX: Still in the PSB file, choose Select>All, switch to the
Move tool (V), and select the Align Vertical Centers and Align
Horizontal Centers icons in the Options Bar. The logo is now cen-
tered within the texture map. Press Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D) to
deselect. Click on Layer 0 (containing the wall paint color) in the
Layers panel to target it, and then press Delete (PC: Backspace).
Press Command-W (PC: Ctrl-W) and then Return (PC: Enter) to
close and save the changes to the PSB file. The logo on the build-
ing in the main document appears against a white background;
you see the unpainted portion of the 3D surface as white because
you deleted Layer 0 in the PSB file.
Step Six
STEP SEVEN: To hide the 3D surface’s unsightly white color,

choose 3D>Render Settings. Select Constant from the Face Style
drop-down menu and click OK to close the 3D Render Settings
dialog. Now the logo appears as a cutout on the wall.
STEP EIGHT: Reopen the PSB file by double-clicking the texture

map temp0 in the Layers panel. You’ll now give the logo some depth
with layer styles. Click the Add a Layer Style icon (ƒx) at the bottom
of the Layers panel and select Drop Shadow. In the Layer Style dialog
that appears, set Angle to 125°, Distance to 1 px, Spread to 0%, and
Size to 4 px. Click the words “Bevel and Emboss” in the list of Styles
on the left to add this effect and to go to its settings panel in one fell Step Seven
swoop. Select Chisel Hard from the Technique drop-down menu, set
Size to 4 px and Soften to 0 px. Click OK. Press Command-W (PC: Step Eight
Ctrl-W) and then Return (PC: Enter) to close and save the changes to
the PSB file.
STEP NINE: The red letters in the signage are too bright to be
convincing in the shade. Change the 3D Layer’s blend mode to
Multiply in the Layers panel and the signage instantly matches the
luminosity of the wall that it appears on. Press Command-S (PC:
Ctrl-S) to save the PSD file.
Using this technique you can accurately place vector signage or

raster artwork on any photographic surface in perspective. ■
Step Nine
SCOTT ONSTOTT creates video tutorials on Photoshop, SketchUp, and 3ds Max at ScottOnstott.com. Check out Scott’s new book, Enhancing Architectural
Drawings and Models with Photoshop. 089
column › ›
PHOTOSHOP & THE WEB RAFAEL “RC” CONCEPCION
To Flash or Not to Flash?

With the introduction of the iPad, the war between designing portfolios in Flash and HTML has escalated.
Backers of HTML5 have stormed the castle and asked that Flash be replaced altogether for photo portfolios.
Flash still has a place, so long as it’s one part of a multipronged strategy.
WHY DO WE USE FLASH? with all those images? This is where something like a photo blog can
Photographers like showcasing their images using the Flash format help you.
because of one thing—sexiness. Flash websites offer viewers a cool WordPress (http://wordpress.org) is software you can use to
experience with pictures that fade or animate in and out; music create your website or photo blog and quickly add text entries
playing in the background; and cool transitions or animations when with your images. You don’t have to be Shakespeare when you
clicking on a menu item. This packages the photography experience write a blog entry—just include an image and a sentence about
in a way that makes it look great. (For a cool example, check out it. Think of it as a caption. By doing this regularly, you’ll set the
Dan Winters at www.danwintersphoto.com.) expectation with your viewers that the content on your photo
Security is another reason photographers use Flash portfolios. blog is updated constantly, and they’ll keep coming back. Your
When images are placed online, users can drag them from the viewers will wonder what you’re going to post tomorrow instead
webpage onto their desktops. In a second, those pictures are theirs of if you’ll post tomorrow.
for printing and distribution. Having a Flash portfolio makes theft a Your portfolio should be separate from your photo blog. Your
little bit more cumbersome, but not foolproof. portfolio is where you can really showcase your images. It’s the
When Apple launched the iPad, they famously decided not to place where you thematically put the best pieces together and
include Flash on it, and gave a variety of reasons for their decision. really control the experience for the user. Organizing a portfolio
With that decision, many in the photographic community started a can be a work of art itself, and by separating your portfolio from
stampede to get HTML5 versions of their Flash sites online. I believe your main website or blog, you can dedicate the necessary time to
that the solution to this problem isn’t so much a move away from your portfolio.
the Flash platform, but to take advantage of all the available tools
and software. REDIRECTION FOR THE IPAD
So what do you do with the iPad when someone wants to access
THE PHOTO BLOG SOLUTION your Flash portfolio? Your Flash portfolio is actually embedded into
At the end of the day, what we photographers want is increased an HTML file. If you open the HTML file, you’ll notice that there’s a
visibility. We want to have our customers connect with us, and to section at the top of the page called the <head> area. Somewhere
tell potential customers about the work we do. We want the work between the <head> and closing </head> tags, type in the code,
that we put in a Web portfolio to promote us automatically, and if as shown here.
someone suggests we’re missing a market segment, we scramble
to include it.
How often do you update your portfolio? If you’re like me, you
probably don’t do it all that often. Chances are you’re out shooting
more than you’re updating your portfolio. What are you going to do
Basically, this code says if you happen to be browsing this page

on an iPad, iPhone, or Android device, go to the following web-
page instead. Where you send the user is entirely up to you.

I suggest creating a special page on your WordPress site that has
a customized message for you iPad users. You can then take the link
for that page and paste it into the script above in place of my web-
site. When users come to see your Flash portfolio, they’re redirected
to this page, where you explain what’s happening, give them some
images to view, and tie the experience back to your website or blog.
This takes your portfolio and turns it into one part of your overall
strategy of attracting people to and keeping them at your site. The
best part about it is that it’s pretty easy to do. ■
FOR MORE tips and tricks on how to get your images online, be sure to check out RC’s new book Get Your Photography on the Web: The Fastest, Easiest Way
090 to Show & Sell Your Work.
ALL IMAGES BY RAFAEL “RC” CONCEPCION
scan the graphic on the right for a closer look at the code
FROM THE HELP DESK PETER BAUER
TO: WILL
FROM: NAPP HELP DESK
Why do some of the The word “Pro” at the end of a font name indicates an OpenType font.
OpenType is a font format jointly developed by Adobe and Microsoft in
order to provide a cross-platform, Unicode-based solution to typography
fonts in my font menu problems. Because OpenType is based on the Unicode multibyte encod-
ing system, each font can contain up to 65,536 individual glyphs, in con-
have the word “Pro” at the trast to a maximum of 256 gylphs in a non-OpenType font. (A character
is, for example, the letter “S.” Glyphs include all of the various ways that
a font reproduces a character, number, or symbol, such as S, s, s, and s.)
end of the name?—Will Because of the huge number of glyphs that can be included in an
OpenType font, a single font can include the Latin characters we typically
use, all of the accented characters used in various European alphabets,
all of the various symbols and punctuation marks, true fractions and ordi-
nals, and advanced typographic features, such as ligatures and swashes.
Many OpenType fonts include various optical weights for the font at
different sizes to enhance the appearance of the text. Some OpenType
fonts even include the Greek and Cyrillic alphabets. Not all OpenType
fonts include all variations and optional glyphs.
Here are a couple of ligature examples, comparing Myriad and
Myriad Pro:
fl fi – fl fi
Using an OpenType font with its extra characters can add a bit of
elegance and style to your work, especially when working with script
fonts. Compare, for example, the linkage between the letters “a” and
“m” and “a” and “z” using Edwardian Script ITC (left) and Bickham
Script Pro (right):
To work with an OpenType font’s special features in Photoshop, you

need to activate them in the Character panel’s menu. In the Character
panel (Window>Character), select an OpenType font. Click the icon in the
upper-right corner of the panel to open the panel’s menu, then mouse
down to the OpenType submenu and select the features you want to use.
Options that are grayed out are not built into that particular font. Selected
options remain active as you switch among OpenType fonts.

When working with Adobe InDesign or Illustrator, use the program’s
Glyphs panel (Type>Glyphs) to access all of the glyphs found in a particu-
lar “Pro” font. To access more glyphs in Photoshop (or, for that matter,
any program that supports OpenType), Mac users can open the Char-
acter Viewer, Windows users can open the Character Map. Mac users
also have the Keyboard Viewer available to preview key assignments and
work with non-Latin alphabets. (Check the operating system’s Help for
specific information.) n
092 PETER BAUER is Director of the NAPP Help Desk and a member of the Photoshop Hall of Fame. His latest book is Photoshop CS5 for Dummies.
column › ›
ILLUSTRATOR TUTORIAL DAVE CROSS
From Illustrator to Photoshop

There are a number of interesting ways to take your Illustrator artwork and use it in Photoshop. This article
will examine three very useful methods of moving artwork from Illustrator to Photoshop, particularly two very
“smart” techniques.
One of the reasons for building designs in Illustrator is the fact that
Illustrator uses vectors, and that makes the designs very editable
and scalable. Unless we’re careful, bringing vector artwork into
Photoshop converts the vectors to pixels, a process known as raster-
izing. The disadvantage to rasterizing Illustrator artwork is you lose
the ability to edit the paths, and you can’t scale the design anywhere
near as much. Let’s look at two ways to move Illustrator documents
©ISTOCKPHOTO/ALEXKAVA
into Photoshop without losing the ability to edit and scale.
COPY-AND-PASTE
In this method, we’ll copy the Illustrator artwork and paste it into
a Photoshop document, paying close attention to how the artwork
Step One
is pasted.
STEP ONE: In Illustrator, switch to the Selection tool (V), select

the artwork, and copy it (Edit>Copy).
STEP TWO: Switch to Photoshop with a document open and go

to Edit>Paste. In the resulting Paste dialog, choose Paste As: Smart
Object, and click OK. Size the object as desired (hold the Shift key to
maintain proportion) and then press Return (PC: Enter). This creates
a two-way street between Photoshop and Illustrator, and although
the artwork appears to have been rasterized, there’s a live link that
allows you to edit the original file.
WOMAN: ©ISTOCKPHOTO/VLINGVA
GLASS: ©ISTOCKPHOTO/JOHAN63
Note: Since this is a vector smart object, you can scale the artwork
to a much larger size without losing quality because Photoshop
refers to the original vector artwork, which is very scalable. Just
press Command-T (PC: Ctrl-T) to enter Free Transform, scale the
object as large as you want, and press Return (PC: Enter) to com-
mit the transformation.
Step Two
STEP THREE: To edit or change the original artwork, double-

click the layer thumbnail in the Layers panel in Photoshop, click OK

in the resulting dialog, and Illustrator will open the vector smart
object artwork—not the original artwork, but the smart object ver-
sion. Make a change to the artwork, save it, and when you switch
back to Photoshop, the artwork will update while preserving its size,
position, and any Photoshop effects you’ve applied. In this example,
we added some additional splashes to the vector artwork.
Note: If you want to bring in an existing Illustrator file without launch-

ing Illustrator, in Photoshop use File>Place. That will also create a
094 vector smart object that you can edit in Illustrator as described above. Step Three
› › ILLUSTRATOR TUTORIAL
PLACING ARTBOARDS IN PHOTOSHOP
In Illustrator CS5, you can create and save multiple artboards in one
document, and then access the individual artboards in Photoshop.
Here’s how to import and make use of the artboards in Photoshop.
STEP FOUR: In Illustrator, use the Artboard tool (Shift-O) to
©ISTOCKPHOTO/ALEXKAVA
create multiple artboards in a document. Just click-and-drag in the
document to create a new artboard at the desired size. This can be
a very useful way to save multiple versions and sizes of a design in
one document. After creating a different illustration on each of the
artboards, save (File>Save As) the document as an .ai file.
Step Four
STEP FIVE: In Photoshop (with a document open), use File>Place

and choose the Illustrator file that you just saved. The Place PDF
dialog will appear, and each artboard will appear as a separate page.
Choose the page (artboard) you want and click OK.
STEP SIX: Scale the placed artwork to the size you want and
press Return (PC: Enter). This will create a vector smart object layer.
STEP SEVEN: As before, double-click on the vector smart object

layer thumbnail to access the artwork in Illustrator.
Step Five
Note: If you wish to use a different artboard in Photoshop, after
double-clicking to open the vector smart object, delete the artboard
you previously chose (you can always get it back). To delete an
artboard, go the Artboards panel (Window>Artboards) in Illustrator,
click on the artboard you want to delete in the list of artboards, and
©ISTOCKPHOTO/SOFOCLES
then click on the Delete Artboard icon (trash can) at the bottom of
the panel. When you save the Illustrator document, the Photoshop
document will update with the new artboard.
PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE
Here’s an example that builds on the idea of using vector smart objects. Step Six
STEP EIGHT: As before, copy-and-paste from Illustrator to Photo-

shop to place some Illustrator artwork, and press Return (PC: Enter).
We’re using a logo that contains some text.
STEP NINE: In Photoshop, press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to

duplicate the layer.
STEP TEN: Press Command-T (PC: Ctrl-T) to enter Free Transform,

and scale the copy of the logo to a larger size, and press Return
(PC: Enter) to commit the transformation. Then, lower its Opacity to

around 10% in the Layers panel. Change the layer stacking order so
the larger logo is behind the smaller logo. Just click-and-drag a layer
in the Layers panel to change the order of the layers.
STEP ELEVEN: Click on the original logo layer in the Layers

panel to make it active. Enter Free Transform again, and resize and
reposition the logo so the text is larger and centered in front of the
copied logo with the reduced opacity. Press Return (PC: Enter) to
commit the transformation. Step Ten 095
ILLUSTRATOR TUTORIAL › ›
STEP TWELVE: Using the Rectangular Marquee tool (M), make

a selection around just the word portion of your logo and click the
Add Layer Mask icon (circle in a square) at the bottom of the Layers
panel. This will hide the rest of the original logo, leaving just the
text visible.
STEP THIRTEEN: To make a change to the design, double-

click on either of the layer thumbnails for the vector smart objects,
make the change in Illustrator, and save the file. The change will be
made to both layers in Photoshop.
EXPORTING FROM ILLUSTRATOR

Step Twelve
Although perhaps a little less common, it’s possible to take Illustrator
artwork and export it so that each element appears as a separate
layer in Photoshop. Here’s how to do that:
STEP FOURTEEN: After saving the Illustrator file as an .ai file,

go to File>Export. In the Export dialog, choose Photoshop (psd) in
the Format drop-down menu, and click the Export button.
STEP FIFTEEN: In the Photoshop Export Options dialog that

appears, choose the Color Model and Resolution. For the best results
in Photoshop, choose Write Layers and enable both Preserve Text
Editability and Maximum Editability. Click OK.
Step Thirteen
Step Fourteen
Step Sixteen
STEP SIXTEEN: Open the document in Photoshop and you’ll

see each of the Illustrator objects appear as a layer, with text ap-
pearing as Photoshop type layers. Note: The non-type layers are
rasterized, so you do lose the ability to edit the paths and scale to
much larger sizes.
STEP SEVENTEEN: Add your Photoshop effects such as

layer styles, etc., and you’re done.
Remember, all of these options are available not only for artwork
that you create from scratch in Illustrator, but also the built-in
Illustrator artwork that’s available from the Symbol Libraries and
Brush Libraries. You can find all these libraries at the bottom of the
096 Window menu. ■ Step Seventeen
column › ›
INDESIGN TUTORIAL MARGIE ROSENSTEIN
Create a Beautiful Template for Your Portrait Clients

With InDesign, you can create great-looking promo card or comp card templates that you can use as an extra
added value to sell your clients after a photo shoot. Added to any photography package, it’s a great way of
making additional monies.
STEP ONE: This tutorial was inspired by our cover story this
issue on senior photography (p. 52). We’d like to thank Hernan
Rodriguez for allowing us to use his photography in this article to
help us demonstrate some cool techniques for senior and portrait
photographers. We’re going to build a simple design that houses
a couple of Hernan’s photos and some vector graphics, including
some downloaded from iStockphoto.com. We’ll create this tem-
plate so it can be used more than once for a variety of photographs;
simply switch out the the illustrations and change the colors and
text to fit the feeling of the photos. For this tutorial, we’ll make a
one-page 10x8" document, so choose File>New>Document. Make
the Width 10 in and the Height 8 in, set the margins to 0.5 in all
around, and click OK.
STEP TWO: Since we want to create a template that we can use

Step One
more than once, it’s best to build the document using layers. So,
let’s start by creating a new layer for a background gradient. Go to
the Layers panel (Window>Layers), and Option-click (PC: Alt-click)
on the Create New Layer icon. Name the layer “Background Gradi-
ent” in the New Layer dialog and click OK.
STEP THREE: Now let’s create that background gradient. We

want to use warm colors but in order to create the gradient with
warm colors, we’ll need to build a new color swatch. Go to the
Swatches panel (Window>Color>Swatches), and select New Color
Swatch from the panel’s flyout menu. Turn on the Name with Color
Value checkbox, choose Process for Color Type, and select CMYK
for Color Mode. Set Cyan to 6%, Magenta to 20%, Yellow to 27%,
Step Three
and Black to 0%, then click OK. Your new swatch will appear at the
bottom of the Swatches panel.
STEP FOUR: Now that we have the proper swatch to create

the background gradient, go to the flyout menu again in the
Swatches panel and select New Gradient Swatch. Name it “Back-

ground Gradient,” and select Radial for Type. Below the Gradient
Ramp, click on the right color stop (it should be black). The Stop
Color area should change to all of your available swatches (if it
doesn’t, select Swatches from the Stop Color drop-down menu).
Select the new color swatch you created in Step Three. Leave the
Location at 100%, and click OK.
STEP FIVE: To apply the gradient, select the Retangle tool (M)
and click-and-drag to draw a frame the size of the page. It should
098 fill with the gradient that you just created, but if it doesn’t, go to Step Four
› › INDESIGN TUTORIAL
the Swatches panel, make sure the Fill icon and not the Stroke icon
is active at the top left of the panel, and select the Background
Gradient at the bottom of the list.
STEP SIX: Now we’re ready to add detail to the background. For
this example, we’ve selected a floral scroll from iStockphoto.com to
match the delicate touch of the photography (we actually only used
one small piece of the overall vector illustration). Most microstock
sites have plenty of vector illustrations to choose from to meet your
particular needs. We made sure that the illustration we’re using was
filled with white, so when we place it in InDesign it can be screened
back for a ghosted effect.
[NAPP members may download practice vector illustrations for this
tutorial from www.photoshopuser.com/members/jun11-downloads Step Five
.html. Some of the files are not the exact images shown here. All
STEP SEVEN: To add the scrolls, first create a new layer named
“Scrolls.” Switch to the Selection tool (V), and click on an area
outside of your document to make sure the frame with the gradient
isn’t selected. Go to File>Place (Command-D [PC: Ctrl-D]) and find
the vector image that you want to place, select it, and then click
©ISTOCKPHOTO/ALEKSANDARVELASEVIC
Open. When you see the arrow and brush (or PDF icon if you’re
placing a native Illustrator file), click-and-drag out the scroll to the
approximate size you want it to appear on the page (if you only click
and you don’t drag, the scroll will be placed inside the frame conta-
ing the gradient). To move the scroll, just click-and-drag it with the
Selection tool to the desired position. To resize it, hold Shift-Com-
mand (PC: Shift-Ctrl) and click-and-drag one of the corner points
(Shift maintains proportion and Command [PC: Ctrl] resizes the Step Seven
frame at the same time). To rotate the scroll, mouse over a corner
point until you see the bent double arrow, then click-and-drag to
the desired angle. Use the Selection tool to reposition if necessary.
STEP EIGHT: To lighten the scroll for that ghosted effect, select
the scroll image (click on it with the Selection tool), and go to the
Effects panel (Window>Effects). Drop the Opacity to 40%. The scroll
is now screened back for a more delicate effect. In this example,
we thought the design would look best if we used the scroll com-
ing out of each corner of the page. With the scroll selected, copy
(Command-C [PC: Ctrl-C]) it, and then paste (Command-V [PC:
Ctrl-V]) it three times. Use the Selection tool to position and rotate Step Eight
the duplicates.
STEP NINE: Let’s add one more graphic detail to the back-
ground. We created an illustration of a large flower in Illustrator
and made sure it was filled with white. Create a new layer named
“Large Flower” and place your new graphic (if you’re using the
download files, look for large_flower.ai). Again, you can position
the flower wherever you think it looks good and size it to fill the
card. As with the scrolls, ghost back the new element to 40% in the
Effects panel. Step Nine 099
INDESIGN TUTORIAL › ›
STEP TEN: Once the background details are complete, it’s time
to add some photos. Create a new layer named “Photographs.”
Make sure the flower graphic that you just added isn’t selected.
Go to File>Place, find the first photo you want to place on the
page, click Open, and then click-and-drag to place the image.
Resize, position, and rotate the image using the Selection tool.
STEP ELEVEN: Now that

the photo is in the right spot,
HERNAN RODRIGUEZ
let’s add a stroke to it. Make sure
the photo is still selected, and go
to the Swatches panel. Click the
Stroke icon near the top left of
the panel, and select the Paper
(white) swatch. To adjust the size
of the stroke, go to the Stroke
panel (Window>Stroke). Change
the Weight to 6 pt, the Miter Limit to 4, and the Type to Solid (thick Step Ten
black line).
STEP TWELVE: To get a sense of dimension, let’s add a drop

shadow to the photo. Go to the Effects panel, click on th ƒx icon
at the bottom, and select Drop Shadow. In the Effects dialog, set
the Blending Mode to Multiply and the Opacity to 55%. Set the
Distance to 0.125 and the Angle to 59°. In the Options section,
change the Size to 0.0894, and click OK.
Step Twelve
STEP THIRTEEN: Place a second photo and add the same

stroke and drop shadow. Tip: With the first photo selected, click-
and-drag the ƒx symbol that appears next to Object: Normal
100% in the Effects panel, and drop it on the second photo in the
document to apply the same shadow. We also rotated the second
image –13.875°.
STEP FOURTEEN: Move the Scrolls layer above the Photo-

graphs layer so the ghosted scrolls overlay the photos. Simply go
to the Layers panel and click-and-drag the Scrolls layer above the
Photographs layer.
STEP FIFTEEN: We thought adding photo corners like the

ones used in photo albums or scrapbooks would add a nice touch. Step Thirteen
Again, we’ve downloaded an illustration of a photo corner from
iStockphoto.com (you can use the one called photo_corner.ai in
©ISTOCKPHOTO/FREETRANSFORM
the downloads folder). Create a new layer and name it “Photo Cor-
ners.” Place the vector image that you want to use in the InDesign
document, and using the Selection tool, position it over the top-left
corner of the top photo, then resize and rotate it. Copy the photo
corner and paste it six times. Position a photo corner at each visible
corner of the two photos, and use the Selection tool to match the
100 angle of the photos. Step Fifteen
› › INDESIGN TUTORIAL
STEP SIXTEEN: For the finishing touch, let’s add some copy
to further tell the story. A few choice descriptive words accent the
piece. You can use any script font that you think looks good. Create
a new layer and name it “Type.” Make sure that the Type layer is
your top layer in the Layers panel. Select the Type tool (T), draw
out a text box, and type in the word “beauty.” Select all the text
(Command-A [PC: Ctrl-A]), go to the Character Formatting Controls
in the Control panel, and type the first few letters of the name of the
font you want to use in the first field at the top (we’re using Edward-
ian Script). Set the Font Size to 72 pt. Using the Selection tool, click-
and-drag the text box over to the top-right corner of the first photo
and rotate the text box so it matches the angle of the photo. In this
example, the text would show up best if were white and ghosted
back a bit. To change the color of the text, go to the Swatches panel Step Sixteen
and click on the Formatting Affects Text icon (T) at the top of the
panel. Select Paper as the color. Click on the text with the Selection
tool, and lower the Opacity to 60% in the Effects panel.
STEP SEVENTEEN: To add a little depth to the text, click

the ƒx icon at the bottom of the Effects panel and choose Drop
Shadow. Set the Blending Mode to Multiply and the Opacity to
19%. Set the Distance to 0.0625 and the Angle to 135°. Check
the box for Object Knocks Out Shadow, then click OK. You can
add another word or two for effect by following the same steps as
above. We added the words “elegance” and “Class of 2011.” We
set “Class of 2011” in a light purple to match the background of
the photos and left the Opacity at 100% so it would read clearly off
the background.
As you can see, with just a couple photos, a few of choice vector
graphics, and some text, you can create a comp or promo card
template to use for any and all of your clients by just changing out Step Seventeen
the photos and the vector graphics.
Here are a few other examples of some comp card designs that
were done by two of our designers at NAPP, Jessica Maldonado
and Eduardo Lowe. You can see that there are a variety of ways
you can go to create great-looking promo or comp cards to sell
your clients. ■
HERNAN RODRIGUEZ / ILLUSTRATION BY JESSICA MALDONADO
HERNAN RODRIGUEZ / ILLUSTRATION BY EDUARDO LOWE
101
scan bottom-right image for video tutorial by jessica

BEFOR
E AFTER
PRECISE
PORTRAIT
PROCESSING
UPDATES TO LIGHTROOM 3 YIELD
IMPRESSIVE RESULTS by A.J. WOOD
YOU HAVE TO ADMIRE THE PIONEERS OF PHOTOGRAPHY WHO CREATED AN IMAGE
WITHOUT THE INSTANT GRATIFICATION OFFERED BY DIGITAL SLR CAMERAS (DSLRS) AND
THEIR LCD DISPLAYS. WHILE THEIR PREDECESSORS WORKED PATIENTLY IN A DARKROOM
AMIDST A WAFF OF CHEMICALS, TODAY’S DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHERS BENEFIT FROM
THE LIGHTROOM DEVELOP MODULE. THE DEVELOP MODULE INTERFACE PRESENTS
PHOTOGRAPHERS WITH A LOGICAL PROGRESSION FOR PROCESSING IMAGES.
E CAMERA THE CAMERA CALIBRATION PANEL ■ Figure 1
LIBRATION
Our first step is the Camera Calibration panel, located at the
bottom of the right-side panels area in the Develop mod-
ule. It doesn’t require changes every time you work on an
NEL
image; however, there’s a setting that distinguishes Light-
room 3 from previous versions—it’s the Process pop-up
menu option, which is set to 2010 (Current) for images
newly imported in Lightroom 3. If you have updated an exist-
ing Lightroom 1 or Lightroom 2 catalog, you’ll notice your
images display an exclamation point warning at the bottom

right, indicating the Process is set to 2003. To take advan-
tage of all the new Develop features in Lightroom 3, you
must use Process 2010 (Current). See Figure 1.
PR
While you may consider updating your entire Lightroom catalog to process version 2010, this will change images you’ve
already edited under the 2003 process version. For example, Sharpening and Noise Reduction look significantly different
between the 2003 and 2010 processes. The good news is you can switch process versions any time you choose due to the
Lightroom database design. A recommended approach is to update older images as necessary when making new adjustments.
102 [ images A.J. Wood; iStockphoto.com + layout design Eduardo Lowe ] P

The Profile setting in the Camera Calibration panel allows you to choose ■ Figure 2
profiles that mimic your camera’s custom settings. Canon and Nikon users
specifically can emulate vivid color settings or settings for scenery and por-
traits. Profiles are best used to establish your baseline setting—your starting
THE BASIC
point—for the rest of the adjustments you make in the Develop module. For
our example, we’re using Camera Portrait.
PANEL
THE BASIC PANEL
Working from top to bottom in the Basic panel, your first stop is adjusting
the white balance in your image. When working with RAW images, the white
balance (WB) pop-up menu will show all the settings available in camera, such
as Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flash, etc. When
working with JPEG images, the white balance pop-up menu only shows three
choices: Auto, Custom, and As Shot. It should also be noted RAW images
show a Temp adjustment in degrees Kelvin, where JPEG images have a range
from –100 to +100.
The White Balance Selector tool (W) is designed to target image areas that
are neutral gray, not white. With the tool selected, click the eyedropper on a
gray portion of an image for better control. As you mouse over your image, look
in the Navigator panel for a preview. In our example, the initial white balance
in camera is a little green, so we changed the white balance to Flash to warm
things up.
Figure 3
After setting the white balance, you’re ready to adjust the Tone controls. If
■
you’re not sure where to begin, or which controls you need to adjust, the Auto
button is a good starting point. As Photoshop wizard Jack Davis points out,
you’ll find the Exposure slider locks in an appropriate value, and you can sim-
ply adjust the Brightness and Contrast sliders to your individual taste. What’s
the difference between the Exposure and Brightness sliders? Exposure targets
the highlight areas first when brightening an image, while Brightness targets
the midtone range. Our portrait is a little dark, so we adjusted the Exposure to
+0.55. See Figure 2.
The Recovery slider is used to recover highlight details lost from overex-
posure. While it can simply be used in response to adjustments made with
the Exposure slider, it’s useful by itself as a single adjustment. We’ll use the
Recovery slider to pull back highlight detail in the face, then adjust Blacks to
keep the shirt from washing out.
For a better idea of how your adjustments are affecting the exposure of
an image, press J to toggle the shadow and highlight clipping warnings on
and off. Blown-out highlights appear in red, while clipped shadows appear in
blue. You can also press-and-hold the Option (PC: Alt) key while moving the
Exposure, Recovery, or Blacks sliders to see individual clipping warnings for
those adjustments. See Figure 3.
Once you’ve set the tonal range in the image, you can give it more pop by
adjusting the Presence controls. Clarity increases local contrast and in some
cases appears to thicken the outline areas or sharpen the image. Shiny objects,
metals, and textured areas benefit well when adding positive Clarity values.
When shooting portraits, women and children generally can do without too
much Clarity. Choosing a negative Clarity value will reduce contrast, creating
RECISE
an appearance of surface blurring.
Portraits benefit from the Vibrance adjustment. This is due to its ability to
target primarily muted colors compared to Saturation, which boosts all colors
PORTRAIT
simultaneously in an image. Vibrance also does well at preserving skintones.
103
THE TONE
CURVE
THE TONE CURVE PANEL
You can make an overall contrast adjustment targeting the midtones by using
“WHEN YOU MOVE
PANEL
the Contrast slider in the Basic panel, but for greater control the Tone Curve
panel works very well. We’ll use the Point Curve pop-up menu and choose
Strong Contrast. Notice the very shallow S curve created in the Tone Curve
THE LUMINANCE
graph? The steeper this curve, the stronger the contrast in the image. SLIDER FOR THE FIRST
To target specific areas in an image, use the Target Adjustment tool in
the Tone Curve panel. It’s easy to overlook, but click the target icon to the left
TIME, YOU WON’T BE
of the Tone Curve graph. Click-and-drag up in your photo to lighten specific DISAPPOINTED.”
areas, or click-and-drag down to darken areas of the photo. When you’re
TH
finished making adjustments, click the icon again to dismiss the tool.
HE HSL THE HSL PANEL ■ Figure 4
AD
PANEL
The Vibrance and Saturation controls work well, but sometimes you want
BR
more precise color control. The HSL panel allows you to adjust Hue, Satura-
tion, and Luminance one color at a time. We have good separation of colors
in this image, allowing us the freedom to play with our HSL adjustments.
Here we can adjust the blue in the sky (which also affects the eyes), as well as
make minor adjustments to the red and orange in the skin. In the Saturation
section, we set Red to –20, Orange to –25, Green to –40, Aqua to +10, and
Blue to +60. Under Luminance, we set Yellow and Green to –100, and Blue to
–20. Notice there’s a Target Adjustment tool here as well, so you can easily
HE DETAIL
click-and-drag in the photo to adjust color. See Figure 4.
THE DETAIL PANEL
ANEL
As previously mentioned, you’ll appreciate the improvements made to Sharp-
ening and Noise Reduction in the Detail panel. To see the adjustments in your
image, be sure to set the view to 1:1 or higher in the Navigator panel.
Sharpening deserves special attention because the settings you used with
Process 2003 will not be the same settings you use with Process 2010 (Cur-
rent). This may be why some of your favorite sharpening presets seem bro-
ken. The Amount and Radius sliders determine how much sharpening will be
applied to a photo, while the Detail and Masking sliders determine the areas of ■ Figure 5
focus for sharpening. Using the 2010 process version in Lightroom 3, you’ll
find it’s better to use smaller values than you’re used to for the Amount slider.
Press-and-hold the Option (PC: Alt) key while moving the Sharpening
sliders to display focus previews. The Amount preview is black and white
to remove color distractions, while the Radius and Detail previews are
embossed to show area localization. The Masking preview shows areas
sharpened in white, while areas in black will not be sharpened. In our image,
the Amount is set to 39, Radius is kept at 1.0 for small areas, Detail is low-
ered to 3 to reduce edge artifacts, and Masking hovers around 89 to allow the
edge of the nose to show. See Figure 5.
Prior to Lightroom 3, you probably never used the Noise Reduction slid-
ers and resorted to making these corrections elsewhere. It’s worth finding
that old photo that had noise you couldn’t remove and running this adjust-
ment on it. When you move the Luminance slider for the first time, you won’t
P
be disappointed. You reduce the graininess by adjusting the Luminance, and
balance the image details with the Detail and Contrast sliders.
104
PROC
THE SPOT
REMOVAL
THE SPOT REMOVAL TOOL ■ Figure 6
PANEL
It’s true that Photoshop is the standard for image manipulation, but Light-
room has its share of brushes. The Spot Removal tool (Q) comes in handy
for quick touch-up work in portraits (and the occasional dust spot). Unlike
the Clone Stamp or Healing Brush tools in Photoshop, you don’t use a brush-
ing motion with this tool. Simply hover over the spot you want to clean up,
then click-and-drag to a clean spot, and release the mouse button. Make sure
the brush options are set to Heal for portraits. You can also resize the Spot
Removal tool by using the scroll wheel on your mouse. No more reaching for
the Bracket keys to size up or down. See Figure 6.
HE THE ADJUSTMENT BRUSH
DJUSTMENT
The Adjustment Brush (K) is another tool that can be used for localized
adjustments. It’s a powerful tool in that once you’ve painted the area you ■ Figure 7
RUSH
want to adjust, you can change what adjustments are applied as often as you
like. As with the Spot Removal tool, you can quickly resize the Adjustment
Brush by using the scroll wheel on your mouse. Press-and-hold the Shift key
while using the scroll wheel to adjust Feather.
To begin, simply paint in an area on your photo where you want to make
an adjustment. A pin will be set where you first clicked. You can toggle the
paint overlay on and off by pressing O, which is useful if you’re using a subtle
adjustment. There’s no need to lock in the slider adjustment (e.g., Exposure,
Saturation, etc.) prior to painting because you can move the sliders and
adjust the area as long as the pin is in place. An active pin shows up as black,
and inactive pins will be gray. To create a new adjustment area, simply click
New in the Adjustment Brush panel. You can toggle visibility of the adjust-
ment pins on and off by pressing H.
The following nose trick is a favorite, as we would normally jump into Photo-
shop. To remove the extra bit of red, paint the nose as shown (Overlay preview
■ Figure 8
is left on for your review). We’ll set Saturation to –30 then select a color by
clicking on the Color swatch. We set the Hue to 40 and the Saturation to 18%
in the Select a Color dialog, which balances well against the skin. You’ll find if
you sample directly from the face, the sampled color is too red. See Figure 7.
For the eyes, we’ll add a tiny bit of Exposure and set it to 0.26, and set
Clarity to 11. If you want, you can also use the Color option to change the eye
color. See Figure 8.
When Lightroom first came out, an Adobe employee commented that, “Using
Lightroom makes photography fun again.” There’s a lot that can be done
in the Develop module. After building a foundation with some basic adjust-
ments, you quickly realize the untapped potential that awaits.
PRECISE
BIO A.J. Wood is an Adobe Community Professional
and Adobe Certified Instructor in Photoshop,
Lightroom, and InDesign. He’s a NAPP Evange-
list, belongs to the Professional Photographers
PORTRAIT
of America (PPA), and is an instructor for the
Special Kids Photography of America (SKPA).
In addition to creating video tutorials for
LayersMagazine.com, A.J. contributes art and
CESSING
technology content for ajwood.com, TipSquir-
rel.com, GeekBeat.tv, and WebBeat.tv. 105
adobe photoshop lightroom section › ›
UNDER THE HOOD

Five Tips for Making Great Slide Shows
Matt Kloskowski X Y
If you’re using Lightroom 3 to deliver slide shows, then there are some pretty
important tips you need to know to ensure it plays without a hitch. Our tips will
address best practices for working in the Slideshow module and dealing with
options, such as using a second monitor.
. . . .
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TITLE SCREENS you want to change it), just click at the bottom right of the
Let’s say your clients come to your studio or office to review identity plate preview and choose Edit. In the Identity Plate
photos, and you have that one killer shot (say of a bride and Editor dialog that appears, choose Use a Styled Text Identity
groom) that you want to wow them with when the slide Plate. Now enter your text in the field then choose a font,
show kicks off. This all hinges on them being seated, comfort- size, and color. Click OK.
able, and in the zone ready to view the photos, right? You Tip: If you click Use a Graphical Identity Plate, you can
don’t want the moment ruined by the clients accidentally use any graphic that you create in, say, Photoshop for your
seeing the photo onscreen in the Slideshow module before identity plate and as an intro screen.
you’re ready. If they do, that “wow” moment is ruined. That’s
where the Titles panel comes in. It lets you add a title screen STEP FOUR: Playing the slide show is really simple; how-
with text (or graphics) to the beginning of the slide show. ever, if you want the intro screen to work right, there’s a
little trick you need to know. If you haven’t turned on the
STEP ONE: Launch Light-
Intro Screen, try it now. You’ll see the screen changes for a
room 3, select the folder or
few seconds to show what your intro screen contains but
collection of photos for your
then it changes back to your regular view. While the intro
slide show, and go to the Slide-
screen is great, it doesn’t help the issue at hand because
show module. In the Template
Browser panel on the left, the “moment” is still ruined—the photo is still onscreen for
choose your display preference everyone waiting to see.
for the slide show (we’re using You need to have the slide show ready to go before
the Widescreen preset for our the client even comes in. Set up everything ahead of time,
example). Then scroll down then click the Play button. When your intro screen pops
the right-side panels area to up, quickly hit the Spacebar to pause the slide show. When
the Titles panel. You’ll see two everyone is ready to go, press the Spacebar again to resume
main areas here: Intro Screen the slide show. The first photo will appear and you’ll have
and Ending Screen. captured everyone’s attention from the start with the photo
you intended, not some weird Lightroom interface that
STEP TWO: Let’s check out they’ve never seen (but will undoubtedly ask questions
the Intro Screen option (the about), and not the photo that you didn’t want them to
Ending Screen option works see yet.
the same). Check the Intro
Screen box to enable it, then
click the color swatch to the
right of it to select a color for
the intro screen. This is what

the client will see before the
first slide appears in the slide
show. Now your slide show
You’ll see your intro slide for about four seconds
will start to a blank screen in before you see the first photo in the slide show
whatever color you chose.
PREP THE SLIDE SHOW AHEAD OF TIME
STEP THREE: Let’s say you want to add some text. Turn It takes a minute or so for Lightroom to build the pre-
on the Add Identity Plate checkbox and your current identity views it displays in the slide show. If you don’t let it build
plate will show up onscreen. If you haven’t specified one (or those previews, then you may see a pixelated version of
106
› › under the hood
a photo in the slide show. To ensure that doesn’t happen, settings in the second monitor window instead. Even if you
scroll all the way down the right-side panels to the very last don’t turn on Intro Screen in the Slideshow module, you
option—a checkbox called Prepare Previews in Advance. can turn it on here. Plus, it enables the rest of the check-
Enable this and when you click Play, you’ll see a dialog boxes next to it.
before the intro screen or slide show telling you that Light- Intro Screen displays the intro slide even if you haven’t
room is building previews of each photo. It takes a minute, enabled it in the Slideshow module.
but you’ll be assured that when the slide show does start Pause on Intro is exactly the circumstance we saw in the
to play, all of the photos will be crystal clear and you won’t “Take Advantage of Title Screens” section above, but pauses
see any blurry, pixelated photos (meaning Lightroom hadn’t on the intro screen for you instead of you having to hit the
built a preview yet). Spacebar. The trick is you must be using the second monitor
to make it happen.
MUSIC AND TIMING Ending Screen is the same as Intro Screen above.
Every slide show needs music. That’s a no-brainer, right? But Repeat overrides the Repeat setting in the Slideshow module
if the music stops before the slide show, it’s a very awkward and uses this one for the second monitor instead.
moment. Lightroom 3 has a way to avoid this.
STEP ONE: Scroll to the bottom of the right-side panels area

in the Slideshow module to the Playback panel. Turn on the
Soundtrack option and click the Select Music button. Navigate
to the song of your choice and click Choose.
STEP TWO: At this point, all

you’ve done is tell Lightroom what
song you want to play during the
slide show. But if that song is too
short, your music will stop before
the slide show ends. To fix this,
click the Fit to Music button. If
you watch the Slide Duration set- VIDEO EXPORT
tings, you’ll see them change so All of this is great if you want to watch the slide show on your
that the entire slide show’s timing computer, but what if you want to burn it to a DVD or send it
will fit the timing of the song that to someone? Lightroom 3 added an Export Video feature that
you’ve chosen. does just that.
STEP ONE: When your slide

USING TWO MONITORS
If you have two monitors, you can take advantage of dual moni- show is ready to go, test it
tor support and make things easier. Again, this isn’t without its out by clicking the Play but-
quirks, so read on to see the trick to getting it to work with the ton. If everything looks good,
Slideshow module. then click the Export Video
button on the bottom left of
STEP ONE: To bring up the second monitor, choose Win- the screen. This kicks off the
dow>Secondary Display>Show. This puts a second, limited process of exporting your slide
interface with slide show controls on the second monitor. If show, including intro screens,
it’s not set to Full Screen mode, the slide show won’t appear ending screens, photos, timing,
anywhere on there. music (basically everything you
just saw onscreen) to a video
STEP TWO: No sweat. To enter Full Screen mode on the sec- format for sharing.
ond monitor, choose Window>Secondary Display>Full Screen.

Now you’ll see the slide show as an option at the top left. STEP TWO: When the Export Slideshow to Video dialog
appears, you have a couple of choices. Aside from where to
STEP THREE: Click Slideshow at the top left and some new save the video file, your main choice is what size you want
options will appear at the bottom of the monitor that let you the video to be. You have some smaller options for sharing
control the slide show. Here’s what they are: on the Web or via email, but you can go all the way up to
1080p if you want something really big. Click Export when
Override does what the name implies—it overrides any set- you’re done and your slide show will be exported to the
tings you set in the actual Slideshow module and uses the location you selected, waiting for you to share it. ■
107
ALL IMAGES BY MATT KLOSKOWSKI
UNDER THE LOUPE

Hide and Go Seek
Rob Sylvan X Y
Every week I hear from someone who’s struggling to find something that has seemingly
vanished from Lightroom, such as a tool, panel, or preset. To help you avoid panic and
frustration, I’ve compiled a list of the top ten things that seem to go missing (or appear
out of nowhere) of their own accord and how to put everything back to normal.
. . . .
10. Individual panels: It’s possible to hide many of the you want them to go away, just press the J key, which will show/
individual panels completely from view. We’re not talking hide the clipping indicators in the Library or Develop module’s
about collapsing the panels, but outright removal from the Histogram panel.
panel group. If you find some day that a certain panel has
vanished from the interface, all you need to do is go to 4. Adjustment Brush mask overlay: Speaking of colorful
Window>Panels and select the wayward panel from the overlays that won’t go away, if you’re applying an adjustment
menu to bring it back. In addition, you can hide (or show) via the Adjustment Brush tool and a colored overlay seems to
a panel by Right-clicking a panel header and selecting the have become a permanent part of the image, just press the
panel from the contextual menu that appears. O key to hide it again. While you’re at it, you can cycle through
the colors of the mask overlay by pressing Shift-O.
9. The Library Filter bar: Normally positioned above
the thumbnails in the Library module’s Grid view (G), 3. Custom presets/templates: If it seems as though all your
the Library Filter can be hidden or shown by pressing the custom presets and templates have vanished, the most likely
Backslash key (\). Hiding the bar does not turn off the filter cause is a box in the Lightroom preferences. Choose Lightroom
being applied. (PC: Edit)>Preferences, click the Presets tab at the top, and
uncheck Store Presets with Catalog and see if that doesn’t bring
8. The Toolbar in any module: This is an easy one to them right back.
misplace and return. Just press the T key to toggle it into
and out of view. If your Toolbar is visible but certain tools 2. Entire batches of photos you know you imported: In my
aren’t showing, click the drop-down menu at the far-right experience, if you launch Lightroom and discover that it doesn’t
end of the Toolbar and select the tools from the menu. have the same photos as it did when you quit your last session,
the most likely suspect is that the wrong catalog was opened. By
7. The Crop Overlay guide: When you’re using the Crop default, Lightroom is set to open the last catalog used, but if for
Overlay tool (R), you should see a guide overlay appear some reason the Lightroom preference file got corrupted, it will
on top of your photo to help create a stronger composi- automatically revert to its default settings and only look for the
tion. The overlay can be hidden and revealed by pressing default catalog in the default location. If you know where your
the H key. You can also cycle through the different guide real catalog is located, then use the File>Open Catalog command
overlays by pressing the O key. If your Toolbar is showing, to open it directly; otherwise, search your hard drive for all .lrcat
you can also control the tool overlay from there. files and open the one with the most recent date.
6. Toolbox pins and circles: While we’re discussing tools, 1. The Close, Minimize, and Maximize buttons on the top
the same tip above applies to the Spot Removal tool (Q) of the Lightroom interface: This is the all-time number-one
circles, Red Eye Correction tool circles, Graduated Filter tool thing that I’ve been asked about since Lightroom was first
(M) pins, and the Adjustment Brush (K) pins. If any of these released. Lightroom has three different screen modes—Normal,
tools are active but something is missing, hit the H key to Full Screen with Menu Bar, and Full Screen—and you can cycle
toggle visibility. through these modes simply by pressing the F key.
5. Highlight/Shadow clipping indicators: This is one I think many people discover these hidden shortcuts by accident
that can accidentally appear and take you by surprise, so first, so don’t worry if it has happened to you because you’re
if you’re seeing a red overlay on the brightest areas of in very good company. Once you know them, they’re excellent
the photo or a blue overlay on the darkest (or both) and tools to use in your workflow. ■
108
Seán Duggan X
X Y
Y
LIGHTROOM Tips & Tricks

Summer’s here, so for this round of Lightroom tips we’ll focus on I recommend saving the new catalog to a separate portable hard
taking Lightroom on a road trip. We’ll begin by making sure that drive. Download the images that you take on your trip to this por-
our existing keywords are imported to our new road trip catalog, table drive (and, of course, having a second portable drive along for
then cover the process of integrating the separate road trip catalog image backup is also recommended).
into our main Lightroom catalog once we return. The steps in these Once you’ve created the new catalog, choose Metadata>Import
tips are geared toward a situation where you have a primary com- Keywords, navigate to the keyword text file you just saved, and
puter, but will be using a laptop and portable hard drives for travel. click Choose. All of the keywords from your main catalog will be
added to the new one. Now you’re ready to hit the road and start
ADD TRIP-SPECIFIC KEYWORDS taking photos.
When you travel, consider creating a brand-new catalog just for that
trip. It doesn’t make much sense to use your main Lightroom catalog BACK HOME AGAIN: MERGING THE CATALOGS
for a specific trip. A separate catalog is lean and mean and runs fast. When you return from your trip, it’s time to import the images from
Before you create this your trip catalog, as well as all of the changes you made in that cata-
new catalog, however, log (keywords, Develop module settings, Collections, etc.) into your
go to the Keywords List main catalog. By keeping both the trip catalog and the image files on
in the Library module the portable hard drive, this will be an easy process.
of your main Lightroom Connect the portable drive to your main computer where your
catalog and add key- primary Lightroom catalog is located. Open the main Lightroom
words that are specific catalog and choose File>Import from Catalog. Navigate to the loca-
to the places you’ll visit tion on the portable drive where your travel catalog is stored, select
on the trip. For example, it, and click Choose.
my location-specific In the Import from Catalog dialog, click the Show Preview check-
keywords are kept in a box in the lower left if you want to see thumbnails of the images.
keyword group called One of the most important settings in this dialog is found under
“Places.” Within that File Handling, which controls the location of the images that will be
are subgroups for different regions (North America, South Amer- imported. Assuming that you want to move the images over to your
ica, Europe, etc.). Right-click on the correct keyword group and primary storage hard drive (or the internal drive on your computer),
choose Create Keyword Tag Inside [group name] to add a new you want to choose Copy New Photos to a New Location and
keyword to that group. For my road trip, I added new keywords Import. Choose the hard drive location where you want to move
to the groups for Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho—the states I’d be the image files.
passing through on my drive.
EXPORTING AND IMPORTING KEYWORDS

Keywords in Lightroom are catalog-specific. So when you create a
new catalog, it will have no keywords. To export your keyword list
from your main catalog, choose Metadata>Export Keywords, select
a location for the text file, and click Save.
Now, create a new catalog for your trip by choosing File>New
Catalog. Because this catalog will travel with you on your laptop,
Click Import and let Lightroom do the rest. Any work that
you have done on your trip in the Develop module, or specific
keywords you may have added, or grouping your images into
Collections will all be preserved and integrated into your main
110 Lightoom catalog. ■
ALL IMAGES BY SEÁN DUGGAN
reviews › ›
PRODUCT REVIEWS
NIK SILVER EFEX PRO 2

Photoshop and Lightroom Plug-in Creates Amazing
Black-and-White Images
Review by Steve Baczewski
Nik Software recently released Silver Efex Pro 2, updating their

powerful black-and-white conversion software with impressive new
features and special algorithms for finer tonal control and faster pro-
cessing. They’ve added new presets with image thumbnail previews,
and now there’s a well-designed History Browser to let you compare
your current image with previous states and possibly pick up from an which also offers frequent webinars and teaching videos. Their
earlier point. Emulation of classic film types has been expanded with Web support is exemplary.
more controls for increased accuracy. The finishing section has been On the right side of the image window is the goods—an
updated—you can now add borders and endlessly adjust them until expanded, all-inclusive toolset for manipulating your grayscale
you’re content. New stylized print tones have been added, and along images. Formerly Brightness, Contrast, and Structure (detail) were
with Vignette and Burn Edges controls, you can effectively direct the uniform controls that globally adjusted the image. This has been
viewer’s eye to any part of your image. expanded, with subsliders that refine specific areas. Brightness can
But the main refinement is a higher level of tonal control and now be applied separately to highlights, midtones, and shadows,
quality. Photoshop and Lightroom have very good black-and-white adjusting a specific tonal range with precision. The new Dynamic
conversion tools but not like Silver Efex Pro. The new algorithms Brightness slider allows adjusting the overall brightness without
target specific areas both globally and locally increasing tonal sepa- losing detail and blowing out the highlights and shadows.
ration, giving your image more depth, and all with a remarkable Contrast has also been broken into finer increments with sliders
ease and precision that’s truly user-friendly. The amazing U Point that let you amplify and accentuate highlights (Amplify Whites) and
technology that allows you to create precision masks has been shadows (Amplify Blacks) separately without clipping while preserv-
expanded with new sliders that now let you amplify black-and- ing the midtones. The new Soft Contrast slider looks for specific
white contrast or add color back into your image with the creative tones and increases the contrast separation dynamically. The Struc-
Selective Color slider. ture sliders are all about bringing out texture and detail in an image
Silver Efex Pro plugs into Photoshop, Lightroom, or Apple Aper- by looking for fine lines and increasing the contrast. Now Silver Efex
ture. The interface looks essentially the same. The large centered Pro’s Structure sliders let you separately control highlights, midtones,
preview window can be configured to let you compare before and and shadows. And the new Fine Structure slider goes down to an
after views. On the left are 38 thumbnail presets of your image, even finer level to create texture without discernible artifacts. More
which are now organized by styles: Vintage, Classic, Modern, etc. than before, Silver Efex Pro milks an image for more tonal separation
These are excellent as a point of departure. You can also create and and dimensionality.
add your own presets or download new ones from Nik’s website, My only criticism of version 2 is that there’s a visual lag time when
moving many of the tonal sliders. There’s a pause as you wait for the
image in the preview window to catch up to your adjustment. Silver

Efex Pro 2 is a beautifully designed, comprehensive start-to-finish,
professional black-and-white laboratory with all the tools you need
for global and local tonal adjustment. Download the trial version and
see for yourself. ■
Company: Nik Software, Inc. Price: $199.95 (Upgrade: $99.95)

Web: www.niksoftware.com Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
Hot: Increased level of tonal control; easy to use
Not: Sliders could work smoother
112
› › GET THE SCOOP ON THE LATEST GEAR
OCTODOME NXT: EXTRA

SMALL LOCATION KIT
Lighting Kit for the Photographer On the Go!
Review by Laurie Excell
For the active photographer who needs a portable light solution,
Photoflex has introduced the OctoDome nxt: Extra Small Location
Kit. Included in a single, easy-to-carry bag is everything you need
to get started with a one-light studio. Beginning with the StarFire
digital flash, which has three operating modes—Manual, Slave 1,
and Slave 2—as well as power adjustments for complete control of
flash output, the kit also includes the FlashFire Wireless Kit, which
can fire off-camera flash from 160'.
The OctoDome itself is an 18" softbox that’s very versatile with
three levels of diffusion: simply use the OctoDome alone, add
the baffle to further soften and control the light, or add the front
diffuser for additional softening. The deep front allows room for with the results. The light was soft, controllable, and produced some
additional grids, etc., to be added for greater control. very nice portraits, as well as doing a great job for products.
To support the setup, Photoflex includes an 8' LightStand, along For those who already have their own dedicated flashes, you can
with a compact, extrasmall stand that can be used for a background buy the OctoDome nxt: Extra Small Kit separately. ■
light. Add to the kit all the hardware to get started and you can be
shooting on location within a very short time. Company: Photoflex Inc. Price: $549.95 (street price)
I found getting the correct exposure to be quite easy, without the Web: www.photoflex.com Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
aid of a flash meter. I simply fired a test shot, adjusted the settings
Hot: Compact; lightweight
on both the camera (ambient) and the flash to get the look I wanted
Not: Assembly of hot shoe adapter a bit tricky
using both the baffle and the front diffuser, and was very pleased
NIKKOR AF-S 85MM F/1.4G

A Legendary Lens Updated
Nikon’s legendary 85mm f/1.4 lens has undergone a complete
update. Designed as the ultimate portrait lens, the 85mm f/1.4G
is that and more. It’s a tack-sharp telephoto lens that works splen-
didly in low light and has great bokeh when used wide open. New
to the AF-S 85mm f/1.4G is a totally new optical design, with Nano
Crystal Coat and Nikon’s Silent Wave Motor (SWM), making it not
only sharper than its predecessor but also quicker and quieter.
The lens is designed to work on FX bodies but works very well porating Internal Focus (IF) in its design is a benefit to users as there
on DX bodies, with the crop factor giving even tighter composi- are no external moving parts, which means you don’t have to worry
tions. The SWM allows you to reach up and take control of the about pulling moisture into the lens in wet conditions, and you can
focus quickly and smoothly without fumbling for the manual switch, use a polarizing filter without having to constantly readjust it as the
which can be the difference of refining focus in time to capture a lens focuses. Overall, this is one beautiful lens that is a must have
spontaneous moment. The rounded 9-blade diaphragm provides a for the discerning portrait photographer or anyone in need of a fast
smooth, out-of-focus background while making your subject pop. medium telephoto. ■
Nikon’s Nano Crystal Coat helps to reduce ghosting and flare in
tough lighting conditions. The 77mm filter size is consistent with Company: Nikon Inc. Price: $1,699.95
many other pro Nikon lenses, which allows me to carry one set of
Web: www.nikonusa.com Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
filters in the field.
Hot: Tack sharp with excellent bokeh
Its magnesium construction and weather sealing allows you to
Not: The price puts a dent in your pocketbook
shoot in even the most adverse conditions with confidence. Incor- 113
reviews › ›
PERFECT RESIZE 7
PROFESSIONAL EDITION
Image Resizing Plug-in for Photoshop
Review by Daniel M. East
onOne Software has rebranded Genuine Fractals, the industry stan-
dard for image resizing, as Perfect Resize. The new version has quite
a few improvements to make enlarging your images easier and
faster, but most importantly, look substantially better than what you
can do with Photoshop alone. Many features on users’ wish lists
were addressed by onOne to create a real creative tool versus what
was considered a utility plug-in.
The output quality is better than ever, and given the improve-
Perfect Resize 7 is available individually or as part of the Perfect
ment in quality of poster printers for small studios, professional
Photo Suite bundle and is an excellent value—either way. onOne
photographers will get excellent results from nearly any DSLR with
Software offers free support, as well as online tutorials, so it’s very
less time and money spent on reprinting test prints. In addition to
intuitive for all levels of users. The Professional Edition is extremely
the new name, some great features were added. One, in particular,
useful, but if you don’t need CMYK support, gallery wrapping, or
is Tiling so that nearly any printer (that supports full-bleed output)
support for Lightroom and Aperture, a Standard Edition ($159.95)
can be used to assemble large posters. Cropping, Texture Control,
is also available. The industry standard not only maintains its title
Film Grain, and Gallery Wrap are all features that are easy to employ
but also raises the bar for creative professionals. ■
from within the workspace after launching the plug-in from the
File>Automate menu. Getting the sharpest, most accurate output is
Company: onOne Software Price: $299.95 (Upgrade: $99.95)
easier in this new update with the addition of a Loupe viewer and
Web: www.ononesoftware.com Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
Smoothness control that help to dramatically reduce visual artifacts.
Hot: 64-bit compatible; tiling output; clean print output; less arti-
The onscreen viewing may be deceiving, depending on magnifica-
facts and noise
tion, but the prints are very good and lose the stand-way-back-to-
Not:
look-good effect often required with increasing image resolution.
TOAST 11 TITANIUM
EDITION FOR MAC
The Next Generation Disc Authoring Suite
Review by Daniel M. East
In spite of a few minor criticisms, version 11 continues to make
Toast the industry standard for burning CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray
discs; managing your multimedia for storage or online hosting;
The only bumps in the road occurred with burning an MP3
and in some aspects, managing your files. Longtime Toast fans
CD in that an iTunes library stored on an external drive would not
will notice a new startup assistant for selecting the type of project.
show up in the Media Browser. Also, as simple as it is to move from
A very simple, clean layout for this inviting user interface is a refresh-
iTunes to Toast, when dragging-and-dropping the titles to the disc
ing change, but power users may wish to turn this feature off by
creation window, the software doesn’t recognize when those audio
unchecking the box at the bottom-left corner of the window. New

files aren’t in the MP3 format. It will burn the CD regardless of this
users will find video and PDF tutorials under the Help menu.
issue, but the disc will only play the MP3 file types on your player. In
There’s a noticeable improvement in performance on the soft-
spite of these minor issues, Toast Titanium 11 is a great product that
ware side (given that burn speeds are limited to the capability of your
continues to set the standard—bar none. ■
drive), and Roxio has added social media sharing of your video files
via Facebook, YouTube, and Vimeo with conversion, editing, and
Company: Roxio Price: $99.99
audio effects before uploading. Toast also exports video formatted
Web: www.roxio.com Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆
for iOS devices, such as an iPad, but the software could be more
Hot: Fast; easy; great features and value
space-limitation aware of all of its export types and online hosts in
the same way it is for physical media. To add still more value, Toast 11 Not: Doesn’t recognize all file types to match disc media; doesn’t
recognize iTunes library on external drive
114 can capture audio from your system or online.
reviews › ›
NIKKOR AF-S 28–300MM

F/3.5–5.6G ED VR
All-in-One Lens for FX-Format DSLRs
Nikon has answered the call of FX (full-frame) camera users to
provide a lens comparable to their ultra-popular NIKKOR AF-S
18–200mm f/3.5–5.6G VR II DX-format lens with their new AF-S
28–300mm f/3.5–5.6G ED VR. All it took for me to order one
was a day spent wandering Las Vegas and hassling with changing
lenses and the bulk and weight of a backpack. With a minimum focus distance of 18", I can move in tight for close-
The new 10.7x zoom gives me everything I need for a casual day up details easily. Add a lock switch for the zoom, and I can now carry
of shooting in one lens. I can photograph the sweeping landscape in the lens over my shoulder and not have the lens barrel drift to its
one frame and zoom in for tight details in the next without having longest focal length. I simply flip the switch and I’m back to shoot-
to switch lenses. Talk about flexibility and the ability to move about ing with the full zoom range. The AF-S 28–300mm f/3.5–5.6G ED
unencumbered with too much gear. With current travel restrictions, VR is a compact, lightweight, versatile, all-in-one zoom solution. It
it’s a great lens for those who need to travel light and yet need the even has a 77mm filter size like Nikon’s pro lenses. ■
versatility of many focal lengths.
The VR II technology has two VR modes: Normal and Active. Company: Nikon Inc. Price: $1,049.95
Active mode is designed for shooting from a moving platform, such Web: www.nikonusa.com Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
as a car or boat, to help avoid camera shake, which results in blurry
Hot: Great focal range in one lens
images. The lens incorporates two extra-low dispersion (ED) and
Not: What’s not to like?
three aspherical elements, assuring sharp, distortion-free images.
TYPEDNA 2
Much More Than Just a Font Manager
Review by Jay Nelson
The text-handling tools in Photoshop are mostly adequate, assuming
you know which fonts you want to use and have them activated. But
what if you’re exploring and you want to try combinations of fonts
that aren’t currently active, and maybe get a little advice on which
of your hundreds or thousands of fonts complement each other?
Or maybe you’re almost happy with a font choice but want to see
others like it? That’s where TypeDNA comes in.
TypeDNA has several features that make it worth far more than
its $39 price. It’s a capable font-management utility, with all the
basic features of any font manager: you can group fonts into sets, TypeDNA. It can also show you which fonts are used in the current
see detailed information, view character sets, flip through font document and the current selection.
samples, view by font foundry, see only serif or sans-serif fonts, etc. For a greater sense of what TypeDNA can do, check out their
However, if you prefer to use a different font management utility, interactive demo at their website (www.typedna.com/fontman-
TypeDNA will work alongside it. ager), which lets you step through every feature by clicking the
What makes TypeDNA unique is that it analyzes the shapes forward and back buttons at the bottom of the page. ■
and other details of all your fonts so it can suggest alternatives and
combinations. I was pleased by its suggestions. It also adds a panel Company: TypeDNA Price: $39
to Photoshop CS5, InDesign CS5, and Illustrator CS5 that helps you
Web: www.typedna.com Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
explore, activate, and apply your fonts. It also adds unique features:
Hot: Recommends font alternatives; affordable font manager
you can apply an inactive font to a selected text object or group, or
Not: Requires Adobe AIR, Flex, and Flash to function
116 create a new type layer using the text and font currently selected in
reviews › ›
ENCRYPT STICK 5
3-in-1 Portable Privacy Software
Review by Ron Duncan
Are you a secret agent on a clandestine assignment? Or perhaps, just
want to plan a secret getaway for your significant other. Whatever the
case may be, here’s an inexpensive way to aid in your covert operation.
Encrypt Stick installs quickly and easily on a USB flash drive turn-
ing it into a “Digital Privacy Manager.” This allows users to create
encrypted and hidden vaults on a wide variety of devices—local
or network drives, external hard drives, other flash drives, etc. The Encryption for the vaults, Password Manager, and Private Browser
software runs directly from the flash drive, so it leaves no evidence is based on a patented 512-bit polymorphic algorithm, which ENC
on the host computer (PC and Mac versions available). Licensing is claims has never been hacked! Encrypt Stick has a free version
one per flash drive, so be sure to install it on a decent drive as there which restricts flash drive and vault storage capacities, and only
is no transferring to another drive. allows use of the Private Browser for 30 days. The full version pro-
The Password Manager enables users to securely manage pass- vides unlimited use of these features. And now, I’m off to a meeting
words for online accounts such as banking, shopping, or social with WikiLeaks. ■
networks. Setup is relatively easy and the use of a virtual keyboard
protects against keylogging software. Password Manager works in Company: ENC Security Systems Inc. Price: Free (limited); $39.99 (full)
conjunction with the Private Browser, which has features such as
Web: http://encryptstick.com Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
bookmarks, tabbed browsing, and full support for JavaScript and
Hot: Easy to use; portable
Flash. And yes, www.kelbytraining.com worked perfectly—in case
Not: Currently, no Linux support
you want to sneak a session in at work.
PORTER CASE PCI

Deluxe Camera Divider Case with CART
With airline travel getting harder and harder these days, I needed
an alternative for my camera gear in the event I was forced to gate
check it—something I don’t like doing unless absolutely necessary.
I decided that a case that would still fit in the overhead of the larger
planes was important, so I only had to gate check on the smaller
commuter planes.
Enter Porter Case with their line of hard-sided, injection-molded
polypropylene, wheeled cases. I chose the PCi Deluxe Camera Divider
Case with CART, as it looked like it would carry everything I needed,
while providing protection when the bag was taken out of my con-
trol, and the wheels would take the stress off my back. Plus, the case The case has three latches with one built-in TSA lock, giving me added
configures to work as a dolly, allowing me to stack other cases on insurance that my gear will not be tampered with while out of my
top of it while wheeling my luggage to and from the car—a very cool control, and it has a gasket to seal against dust and moisture.
feature for us overburdened travelers. With the TSA lock, divider system, and an expandable accordion
I have to admit to some trepidation on giving up my equipment portfolio in the lid for miscellaneous items, the Porter Case is my case
for the first time, but the Porter Case came through with flying col- of choice when traveling these days. ■
ors! The hard-sided case protected my gear from the impact of load-
ing and unloading it from the cargo hold. The divider system allows Company: Porter Case Price: $347
me to adjust the slots to accommodate my equipment, with padded
Web: www.portercase.com Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
dividers between each item further protecting my precious equip-
Hot: Great alternative for gate checking precious equipment
ment. The oversized wheels work smoothly on smooth, flat surfaces,
Not:
118 as well as over rougher terrain, making it a good location case, as well.
BOOK REVIEWS peter bauer › ›
WELCOME TO OZ 2.0:
COMPOSITION: A Cinematic Approach to Digital Still Photography
From Snapshots to Great Shots with Photoshop
By Laurie Excell with John Batdorff, David Brommer, Rick Rickman, Steve Simon By Vincent Versace
If I were to recommend a single book to a budding photographer This hardly counts as an update to the author’s earlier book of a
who had never studied photography formally, this one would be similar name—there’s so much different (both new and removed)
on the short list. The title doesn’t tell the whole story—there’s far that I’d classify it as a totally different work. (Even if you own the
more here than a discussion of composition. The author starts with first version, you’ll benefit from this “2.0” release.) Like the first
a look at her photographic equipment; does a wonderful job of version, the author shows you how he creates his incredible images.
making clear the relationship among ISO, aperture, and shutter He explains his workflow and the techniques he uses, but goes
speed; discusses the different types of light; and only then begins beyond the simple “how-to” to explain the “why.” And that’s
looking at elements of composition. The four co-authors address what makes this book different from so many others. By introduc-
subjects including black-and-white and sports photography, posi- ing the theory behind what he does and how he does it, the author
tive and negative space, and the organization of space in a photo. better enables you to apply his techniques to your own work. The
Each chapter starts with a pair of photos with on-image notes by associated website includes the image files with which the author
the photographer that explain how the images represent the con- worked, as well as links to free software downloads, including Nik
cepts to be discussed. Each chapter ends with assignments, tasks Software Color Efex Pro 3 Versace Edition and FocalPoint 2, worth
for the reader to perform to reinforce the chapter’s lessons. hundreds of dollars
Publisher: Peachpit Press Pages: 258 Publisher: New Riders Pages: 292
Website: www.peachpit.com Website: www.peachpit.com
Price: $24.99 Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ Price: $49.99 Rating: ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
120
PHOTOSHOP TIPS COLIN SMITH
In this issue, let’s focus on performance. What follows is a combi- DRAGGING IS NOT A DRAG
nation of tips that will help you fly in Photoshop. You’ll learn ways Tying into the previous tip, this tip saves memory. Drag is your
to get the most out of Photoshop and your hardware, how to friend. You can click-and-drag layers to copy them. Drag images
work on huge documents, reduce the stuff that slows you down, and layers from one document to another, or within documents.
and add more of the stuff that makes you fast. You can even drag masks and layer styles between layers or dif-
ferent images. The point is always drag when you can because
MORE HISTORY THAN YOU THOUGHT it takes up no memory. However, every time you choose Edit>
Have you ever gone to File>Open Recent hoping to find a previ- Copy or Edit>Cut (Command-C [PC: Ctrl-C] or Command-X
ous document that’s really hard to find on your drive? Then you [PC: Ctrl-X], respectively), you’re copying the layer or the image
see that only a few files are listed and the one you’re looking for to memory and thus unnecessarily hogging RAM and slowing
isn’t in the list. You may or may not know that you can increase down your workflow.
the maximum number of recent files to 30 at the bottom of the
File Handling preferences (Photoshop [PC: Edit]>Preferences> CROP OUTSIDE THE BOUNDS
File Handling). What you probably didn’t know is that as soon as Did you know that even though you can’t see something in your
you increase the Recent File List Contains option, those additional document, it still adds to your total file size. This is especially true
documents are added to the list right away. Hopefully, that miss- when it comes to canvas size. Say you linked a few layers together,
ing rouge image is included. started moving some around, resizing others, etc. Sounds like a
typical workflow, right? The shocking thing is that stuff that goes
off the edge of your document still counts toward your file size. The
solution is this: Every now and then, make a selection around
your entire document, or press Command-A (PC: Ctrl-A). Choose
Image>Crop and watch your file size go down. (You can set your
view option to Document Sizes by clicking on the arrow at the
bottom left of your window.) Just make sure that you’ve finished
moving those layers around before applying this option because
once it’s gone, it’s gone.
DRAG IMAGE TO LAYER

Have you ever wanted to open an image into Photoshop from
Bridge and add it as a layer to an existing image rather than open
it as a new image? If you’re in Bridge and double-click an image,
it will open as a new document. If you click-and-drag the image
from Bridge into an open Photoshop document or its title bar, the
image will come in as a smart object on a new layer. Okay, this is
where it gets good. If you’re a CS5 user, use Mini Bridge to build
PURGE OFTEN
Have you ever been working on a multilayered file and applied a
filter only to get an out-of-memory error? What did you do? Did
you restart your computer to find that you could now apply the
filter? Maybe you shut it down and made a trip to the store to buy
more RAM. Here’s a little-known tip that will get you right past
that annoying error message (most of the time). Go to Edit>Purge
and you’ll see four options: Undo, Clipboard, Histories, or All.
Photoshop actually keeps a lot of information in memory in case
you want to undo something (same as history). If you hit the copy
command it stores stuff in memory. If you choose Edit>Purge>All,
you can free up significant memory and now you can run that
122 filter on your large document.
› › p h oto s h o p t i p s
up a collage quickly, as it has the same behavior as its bigger and section. Try one of these as a starter and then experiment to
older sibling. find your own settings. You’ll be surprised at how such a small
thing can make a difference.
SMART OBJECT AS A PLACEHOLDER
Smart objects have many uses. They maintain quality by using GOT GPU?
placeholders with references to other files. One way to increase One of the cheapest ways to get performance gains out of a
speed in a layer-intensive or large document is to make use of slower computer is to upgrade the GPU. GPU stands for graphics
smart objects. Try building up different portions of your image in processing unit, a.k.a. the video card. There are a number of fea-
several documents and save them as PSDs. When you’re ready tures in Photoshop that take advantage of the faster processor on
to composite them all together, use smart objects. Make rough the video card. GPU advances were introduced in Photoshop CS4.
layout comps as layers and convert these layers to smart objects This takes the load off the CPU (main processor) and frees up
(Right-click on the layer in the Layers panel and choose Convert to computing power for other things. You can purchase a powerful
Smart Object). You can even convert blank layers to smart objects GPU replacement for a fraction of the cost of a new computer.
to use as placeholders. When you’re ready to replace them with At the time of this writing, NVIDIA (www.nvidia.com) makes
the real, full-resolution portions, Right-click on a layer containing the best GPUs for use with Photoshop. Make sure you go to the
a smart object and choose Replace Contents. Navigate to one of Adobe site and do some research on the different GPU models
your PSDs and it will be added to your document—much more that are compatible with your version of Photoshop before taking
painless than working in one huge file. You can always see all the the plunge.
layers in each smart object by double-clicking the layer thumbnail
and editing the original PSD. RAM!
While we’re discussing hardware, there was a saying that went
around, “You can never have too much RAM.” Actually, this
wasn’t really true because Photoshop was unable to access more
than 4 gigabytes of RAM until recently. With the 64-bit versions
on both Mac and Windows, Photoshop can use an astounding
256 terabytes of RAM (technically, much more than that—up to
4 petabytes—but CPUs have a limitation). Windows 7, however,
only allows 192 GB and you can install 64 GB in current Mac
Pros. The tip here is to make sure you have at least 8 GB of RAM
to maximize your Photoshop performance and to notice any
improvements with 64 bit. Install even more RAM if your budget
allows it.
MULTIFILTER
Here’s an interesting tip that I picked up from using slow com-
CACHE FLOW puters back in the day. (I’m not going to say how much back
Photoshop speeds up its screen redraws by saving a low-resolu- in the day or I’ll date myself.) One of the slowest filters you can
tion image that you look at while working. This is known as run in Photoshop is the Filter>Blur>Radial Blur set to Zoom at
a screen cache. By default, Cache Levels is set to 4 in Photo- the Best quality. If you try running this filter several times, you’ll
shop (PC: Edit)>Preferences>Performance. If you turn it to a be waiting a while. Perhaps you know that you can apply the
setting of 1, the cache is turned off. Generally speaking, if previous filter by pressing Command-F (PC: Ctrl-F). If you need
you’re working on high-resolution paintings with a pen tablet to apply a filter several times, press this keyboard shortcut for
and few layers, change the setting to something larger than each time you want to apply it. You don’t have to wait for the
4 for better performance and faster screen updating. It goes up filter to take effect to press the shortcut key again. The keyboard
to 8. Experiment and see what works best for you. On the other cache will save your shortcuts. In fact, I used to apply several
hand, if you’re doing a lot of Web and multimedia projects processes on the keyboard and walk away and let Photoshop
with a lot of layers but low resolution, try reducing the cache catch up. This is still true today while working on very large files.
to around 2. Photoshop CS5 has introduced three presets to Try adding all your shortcuts followed by a Command-S (PC:
help simplify the process: Tall and Thin, Default, and Big and Ctrl-S) to save it at the end. (Hey, a 4-GB file takes a really long
Flat. These options appear as buttons in the History & Cache time to save.) ■
COLIN SMITH—an award-winning designer, lecturer, and writer—has authored or co-authored several books on Photoshop and has created a series of Photo-
shop training videos available from PhotoshopCD.com. Colin is also the founder of PhotoshopCAFE.com. 123
ALL IMAGES BY COLIN SMITH
Photoshop
June 2011
I N D E X O F A D V E R T I S E R S
user
For advertising information, please contact Kevin Agren, V.P. Sales, at 813-435-2370.
email: kagren@kelbymediagroup.com
4 Over, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

www.4over.com
Digimarc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
www.digimarc.com/profit [P]
Peachpit Publishing Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
[A] [E] www.peachpit.com
Epson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 PhotoshopCAFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Adobe Photoshop Seminar Tours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 www.epson.com www.photoshopcafe.com
www.kelbytraininglive.com
ExpoImaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 Photoshop World Conference & Expo . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Adorama Camera, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27, 87 www.expodisc.com www.photoshopworld.com
www.adorama.com
Alien Skin Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

[F] PrintRunner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
www.printrunner.com
www.alienskin.com
Fotolia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
www.fotolia.com Professional Photographers of America (PPA). . . . . . 130
Animoto Productions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91 www.ppa.com
www.animoto.com
[I] [R]
Anthropics/Portrait Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
www.anthropics.com iStockphoto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC–3
www.istockphoto.com Really Right Stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
www.reallyrightstuff.com
Artistic Photo Canvas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

I.T. Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
www.artisticphotocanvas.com Red River Paper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
www.itsupplies.com
www.redriverpaper.com
[B] [K] [S]

B&H Photo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Kelby Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111, 117, 119, 121
Shutterstock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC
www.bhphotovideo.com www.kelbytraining.com www.shutterstock.com
Bay Photo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12–13

www.bayphoto.com
[L] Stuck In Customs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
www.stuckincustoms.com
LensProToGo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Big Stock Photo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
www.bigstockphoto.com
www.lensprotogo.com
[T]
[M] Tamron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
www.tamron.com
BOSS LOGO Print & Graphics Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . 126–127
www.5000cards.com
MacMall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
www.macmall.com Topaz Labs, LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BC
www.topazlabs.com
[C] Manfrotto Distribution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
CAR-FRESHNER Corporation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71

www.manfrottodistribution.us
[W]
www.carfreshner.com
Mpix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Westcott. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
www.mpix.com www.fjwestcott.com
Cotton Carrier Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
www.cottoncarrier.com
[N] [X]
Creative Juices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Nik Software, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 X-Rite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
www.bigposters.com
www.niksoftware.com www.xritephoto.com
[D] [O] [Z]

Dahle North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 onOne Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29, 109 Zoo Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
www.dahle.com www.ononesoftware.com www.zooprinting.com
124 While every attempt has been made to make this listing as complete as possible, its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
PHOTOSHOP Q&A LARRY BECKER
I have Photoshop CS4 and Let me get this out of the way right up front, you should
upgrade to Photoshop CS5. It has a ton of great fea-
I just bought a new Nikon D7000. tures (more than 100) that have been added to help
photographers, and lots of the features are easily worth
Unfortunately, Photoshop can’t open my the cost of the upgrade. Plus, NAPP members can use
RAW files and there are no upgrades the discount on the members’ website to save on the
upgrade. However—so this answer doesn’t completely
available on the Adobe site to upgrade sound like a commercial—you can use Adobe’s free
DNG Converter application (www.adobe.com/down-
Camera Raw for CS4. Do I have to loads) to batch convert an entire folder of RAW files to
upgrade to CS5 to get the newest Adobe DNG (digital negative) files. Then the CS4 version
of Camera Raw can open the files and you can make all
Camera Raw, or is there a workaround? of the necessary adjustments.
I want to use the Pen tool (P) to create an outline I can save (PC: Shift-Alt-Ctrl) and reboot Photoshop. Keep holding those keys
and use as a selection, but every time I use the Pen tool it cre- down until you get a dialog that asks if you want to delete the Adobe
ates a new shape layer that’s filled with a solid color. Is there Photoshop Settings file. Just click Yes and see if Photoshop behaves
a way to set the Pen preferences so it just creates a path and properly when it launches. If it does, then all you have to do is reset
not a new shape layer? some of your preferences within Photoshop. If not, then you need to
The Pen tool has two primary modes, both of which create Bézier do the full uninstall and reinstall routine.
curves. It can be used to create filled shape layers that exist in the
Layers panel and have characteristics that can be affected by layer I’ve used layer styles to create
effects, or it can be used to create paths that are stored in the Paths a drop shadow on an object
and it looks close to what I
want, but the shadow is an
equal distance from the object
at the top and bottom. I’d like
to have the shadow tucked in a
little more at the bottom of my
panel (Window>Paths). Selecting which mode the Pen tool will use is image and sticking out more at
done in the Options Bar. The first icon represents Shape Layers mode the top. Is it possible to manipu-
and the second represents Paths drawing mode. If you’re new to this, late the shadow separately from
it helps to know that, unlike a shape layer, when you create a new the object?
path, Photoshop creates a new, temporary Work Path in the Paths It’s possible but first you have to put
panel, but it’s possible to accidentally delete that path unless you save the drop shadow on its own layer
it. To save a Work Path, just double-click on it in the Paths panel, give (at which point it’s no longer a layer
it a name, and click OK. style and can’t be adjusted with the
layer style controls). To do this, Right-click on the name of the effect in
Recently, I contacted Adobe tech support for help resolving the Layers panel and then choose Create Layer from the menu. You’ll
some issues with Photoshop hanging and crashing, and I was get a warning dialog because some layer styles can’t be properly con-
told to uninstall and then reinstall my copy of Photoshop. I’ve verted into standalone layers. Just click OK because a drop shadow can
done that before and I will again if I have to, but is there any- be converted with no problems. Now use Free Transform (Command-T
thing else I might try first? [PC: Ctrl-T]) to manipulate the shadow.
A lot of times if you’re having problems with Photoshop, deleting the
preferences file will eliminate the problems without going through a full I’m not sure if my Adobe software is automatically checking
reinstall. Quit Photoshop and then hold down Shift-Option-Command for updates and I want to make sure I have the most current
versions of all my software. Do I have to poke around on
Adobe’s website to see what’s been updated or is there an
easier way?
The easiest way is to just launch Photoshop and go to Help>Updates
and the Adobe Application Manager will automatically launch and look
for updates. ■
134

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T H E A D O B E® P H OTO S H O P ® “ H O W -T 0 ” M A G A Z I N E › › J U N E 2 0 1 1

Learn the inside secrets

IN-DEPTH SCOT T K ELBY ’ S NE WS, REVIE WS

DISPLAY UNTIL JULY 12, 2011

Contributing Writers 14 NIKKOR AF-S 85mm f/1.4G

NAPP Member Community 16 114 Perfect Resize 7 Professional Edition

Toast 11 Titanium Edition for Mac

Photoshop Q&A 134 120 Photoshop Book Reviews

DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS

BEGINNERS" WORKSHOP 60 68 PHOTOSHOP MASTERY

THE SMALL BUSINESS 74 94 ILLUSTRATOR TUTORIAL

CREATIVE POINT OF VIEW 80

THE FINE ART OF PRINTING 84 106 UNDER THE HOOD

TABLET TALK 86 108 UNDER THE LOUPE

BEYOND PHOTOSHOP 88 110 LIGHTROOM TIPS & TRICKS

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FROM THE EDITOR

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› JHP ACTIONS—JHP Actions give you the

› ARTISTIC PHOTO CANVAS—

From @KStohl: Vanelli’s dream or

NOTABLE NAPP MEMBERS Scott Kelby’s nightmare? (http://

From @cwardphotos: Light It Shoot It Retouch It LIVE!

LARRY’S CHEAP SHOTS

LIGHTROOM KILLER TIPS

(no set air date)

PHOTOSHOP KILLER TIPS

THE SOCIAL SIDE OF PHOTOSHOP,

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE 2011 PHOTOSHOP

COMMERCIAL JENNI THAYER

ILLUSTRATION SAM SHADOW

PHOTO MONTAGE KAVÉ LUZ

PHOTO RESTORATION JERRY ARNOLD

PHOTO RETOUCHING KATIE GIARD

PHOTOGRAPHY PAUL SADLER

026 Photo Restoration

HEIKO KLUG, better known as Jesar One, is 28 years old

032 [CONTACT] Heiko Klug / Heiko Klug http://jesar-one.com

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

APPLICATION USED: Adobe Illustrator CS5 035

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

APPLICATION USED: Adobe Illustrator CS4

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

APPLICATION USED: Adobe Illustrator CS4 ■ 037

DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS COREY BARKER

STEP ONE: Begin by opening the project file or create a new

038 Step Three

STEP FOUR: Activate the KUNG FU layer and choose 3D>

STEP SIX: Shift-click the KUNG FU layer in the Layers panel so

STEP SEVEN: Now go to the

STEP TEN: It might be necessary to slide the top object back

STEP ELEVEN: While still in the 3D panel, click on the third

STEP TWELVE: We need to add a couple spotlights to add

STEP THIRTEEN: To move the spotlight around, click-and-

STEP FOURTEEN: Return to the 3D Light tool and choose the