Latest News

Archive for the 'Photoshop Tips' Category

« Older Entries

Topaz Adjust 4

Monday, March 1st, 2010

If you have followed this blog in the past year or so, you know I have become a fan of a few of the TopazLabs Photoshop plugins.   Today they just released a major update to their popular Topaz Adjust plugin, Topaz Adjust 4.

Topaz Adjust 4

Topaz Adjust 4

If you are already a Topaz Adjust user, the bonus is that the upgrade is a free one.   This was a nice surprise because it is a rather significant update, especially in the user interface.   You will notice like the update they made to Topaz Detail, the interface resembles the dark grey interface made popular by Adobe Lightroom and Apple’s Aperture.     I love this style of interface because it draws more attention to what is going on in the image versus drawing your eye away to the controls.

(more…)

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: , ,
Posted in Photoshop Tips, art, artistry, landscape, nature photography | 1 Comment »

Topaz Detail

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
Lounging at the sandbar

Lounging at the sandbar

I previously wrote about a nice Photoshop plugin from Topaz Labs called Topaz Adjust in these posts.   It remains one of those plugins that I tend to use as a playground to explore possibilities.  Sometimes it works for a particular image, sometimes I don’t care for the effects for that particular shot.     It’s a tool like anything else.    I have now had the opportunity to work on a few of my Alaska bear images with one of their newer plugins called Topaz Detail. (more…)

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Photoshop Tips, nature photography, processing | 14 Comments »

Topaz Adjust

Friday, July 10th, 2009
Ocean drama

Ocean drama

Topaz Adjust is a relatively new plugin for Photoshop that I have tried that has the ability to produce what some might call ‘grungy’, but highly dynamic exposure effects.   I have been reading more about it lately, which means it is developing a bit of a following.    I have found that it can create some impressive unique exposure effects on a landscape photograph.   As with most of these things – use in moderation, and adjust to taste.   Maybe less grunge, with a bit more drama.

Topaz Adjust

Topaz Adjust

I first started experimenting with it with some beach scenes that I made many years ago, but kept putting them on the back burner to process.   Since Topaz offers a free trial of the software, and I was intrigued by some images I saw processed with it, I gave it a try.    After processing the first scene, I knew I was going to buy it.   Topaz Adjust provides some presets for you to start from, with additional settings for finer control or to totally go off on a unique direction.

As with many of these types of plugins, I also wonder if I could just make the adjustments with software I already have.   Why do I need another plugin?   Well, similar to how I have written about Lightroom presets, Topaz Adjust basically provides you with another playground, or a basic map to a destination.   Quite often I know where I want to go, but I am not entirely sure how to get there.    At other times, I like the flow of ideas that come from a bit of playing in a playground.

It is worth checking out if you are familiar with the other plugins that can create similar types of effects, but at a much higher price.   Topaz offers something that doesn’t break the bank to explore your creativity.   You can read more about it, see more samples at their site here.   You can see 4 other beach images recently processed using Topaz Adjust, among other tweaks in my Shorelines gallery.

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: ,
Posted in Photoshop Tips, abstracts, art, artistry, composition, creativity, nature photography, processing, software | 16 Comments »

Photoshop v. Lightroom JPEGs

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
Photoshop vs. Lightroom JPEG - 100% view

Photoshop vs. Lightroom JPEG - 100% view

I came across an interesting discovery yesterday.  I have been wanting to make a streamlined method for creating JPEGs for submissions for stock using Lightroom.  Normally I would open the image (either RAW or a PSD edited file) in Photoshop, convert to 8 bit, Adobe RGB if necessary, and resize (uprez) the file to 5100 pixels on the longest side so I would have a minimum uncompressed 48 MB file, and save as a Level 12 quality JPEG.   No sharpening involved.

So I tried to simplify this process by creating a Lightroom Preset for stock photo exports.   The Export panel in Lightroom will let you select pixel dimensions (including uprezzing), color space, and JPEG quality.   I saved a few JPEGs at 100% quality, sizing to 5100 pixels longest side, using this method and compared them against their Photoshop counterparts.

Photoshop vs. Lightroom JPEGs

Photoshop vs. Lightroom JPEGs

While it may be hard to illustrate from these screen captures, since they are also JPEGs and resized  – there was definitely a slight quality improvement in the JPEGs exported from Lightroom when viewed at 100%.   A bit more sharpness and detail, and less artifacts.    I think the differences are subtle enough that they may never be noticed in a printed image, but it is nice to know that I can process images using Lightroom’s convenient collection sets, use the export feature much faster, with better quality – than going through the gyrations and multiple steps (even if saved in an action) in Photoshop.   Pretty cool.

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: ,
Posted in Photoshop Tips, processing | 5 Comments »

Textured photographs

Monday, November 10th, 2008

LE8930.jpgI was searching through my Lightroom catalog today for a client who was looking for some leaf images and came across this one I had completely forgot about. This is an image where I was playing with some blending modes and a texture. The layered file date is from Dec 2007, and the base image was actually shot in 2006. I have always wanted to spend more time playing around with texture/image combinations, and this old experiment reminded me how interesting they can be. .  I always thought these types of images had a certain dimensional feel to them.

If you aren’t familiar with how this is done, it starts with a base image, and on another layer a photograph or some rendering of a texture. .  By using the blending modes in Photoshop between layers, some selective masking, and even more layering – you can come up with some very creative combinations.

Anyway, I didn’t want to leave this just sitting in a forgotten folder, and thought I would bring it to my gallery today.

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags:
Posted in Photoshop Tips, abstracts, art, artistry, creativity, leaves, nature photography | 9 Comments »

Radiant Vista

Saturday, October 25th, 2008

I was saddened to learn earlier this week that Radiant Vista, a website I have been fond of for a very long time (see my post from April 2006), one I have referred to in my own posts in the past, is no more. .  The site is officially “closed” as of Oct 24. .  Instead the great contributors there have decided to move on with their own projects. .  Although I was never fortunate enough to take one of their workshops, I learned quite a lot about Photoshop thanks to Mark Johnson’s excellent teaching methods and demeanor in his Photoshop Workbenches. .  Craig Tanner’s podcasts and Daily Critiques were equally as insightful on many aspects of photography, and in so many ways,.  you simply didn’t find anywhere else.

I was always amazed at the pace they kept new material flowing.  As someone who sometimes stuggles just to keep up with blog posts, I can only imagine the amount of commitment involved in creating 5-10 minute in-depth daily critiques of photographs, or 15 minute and often longer Photoshop tutorials. .  It is obvious they are energized by the passion for what they love.

On a good note however,.  what was once passion they put into RV is now passion they put into their own separate projects. .  Similar to when your favorite band splits up, it can be interesting to see where the followup projects take its members. .  Please check out their new sites.

Craig Tanner, Marti Jeffers – The Mindful Eye (along with some other great new contributors)

Mark Johnson – Photoshop Workbenches

And thanks Radiant Vista, it has been a great run.

  • Share/Bookmark

Posted in Photoshop Tips, Visit-worthy links, inspiration, nature photography | 10 Comments »

More playing with HDR

Friday, July 4th, 2008

strip_1.jpg

Going back through my archives I found a few images where I took a series of exposures because of a severe dynamic range issue. .  I knew that this particular shot was going to be a little problematic for me because I really wanted the details to pop in the driftwood. SL8583.jpg.  To get the driftwood bright enough, I know my sky was going to be overexposed. .  I originally planned to expose for the driftwood in one shot, the sky in another and blend them, which is what I did at first   I didn’t really punch the color much at first because it just didn’t seem to work well.

I decided to go back and see what Photomatix did for this shot beyond what I originally had done in Photoshop  .  I popped the color a bit more becasue there was so much detail to play with.  The result is quite different, and to be honest, I like both versions   The original one I did as a blend in Photoshop has a grittier feel to it   The HDR one is more colorful, with clearer details.  I definitely brought out more of the green plants in the foreground, where they fall into shadow in the original   I can see where people might prefer one over the other, it is all a matter of personal taste. .  Let me know which you prefer and why.

SL8855.jpg

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Michigan, Photoshop Tips, creativity, field techniques, landscape, nature photography, processing | 16 Comments »

Playing with HDR

Monday, June 16th, 2008

LA8838.jpgI know, I know, perhaps I am very late in the game to start playing with HDR – but after reading Royce Howland’s excellent article (even though originally published in 2006) – I decided to give Photomatix Pro a try. .  I have never spent much time with HDR other than some quick trials using Photoshop’s HDR Merge feature, and I wasn’t very pleased with the results. .  In fact, many of the HDR images I see I just don’t care for. There is just something ‘funky’ about them. .  This is probably what made me not look into it much futher.

Maybe because I am not used to seeing that much dynamic range in a photograph, and it requires a bit of a paradigm shift.  It could also be I didn’t spend enough time learning the subtleties to get a look more appealing to my own tastes. . .  But Royce’s excellent examples look quite natural to me, prompting me to take another look at some of the capabilities of this software and the techniques of HDR. .  I particularly liked his comparisons against similar blends made using Photoshop’s tools versus the results from Photomatix.

LA8836.jpgI have blended exposures before using Photoshop and masking techniques – mostly just a combination of two exposures – one for a sky, and one for a foreground to simulate the use of a graduated neutral density filter for complex horizons   HDR certainly goes beyond that, blending tones throughout the entire image. . . .  In these two images where I did shoot a range of exposures, I think I obtained results that very closely resemble the actual atmosphere and light at the moment I clicked the shutter. .  That is something we all strive to capture – that ethereal feeling when the landscape just glows – but very difficult to replicate in a single image.

Photomatix is quite easy to use and worth a trial download if you are interested in trying this out on your own images.  (Don’t forget to use your NAPP discount, or search for other coupon codes for Photomatix and you can save anywhere from 8-20%!.  Tony Sweet offers a 15% discount.) Royce’s article linked above pretty much takes you through the process step by step   I was pleased enough with the results that I will likely start capturing more exposure variations, particularly with landscapes, when in the field.

Related Posts with Thumbnails
  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Photoshop Tips, field techniques, landscape, nature photography, processing | 9 Comments »

« Older Entries