Learn Photoshop Elements in 4 Hours… Win Cool Prizes!

Just added a copy of 1-2-3 of Digital Imaging to the pile of goodies. Some lucky student will receive this for being among the first 20 to register if their number is drawn.

We’re also giving away a copy of the 1000 page Photoshop World workbook. PSW is in October so the information doesn’t get any fresher unless you shell out $1000 to attend PSW in person. Remember, you have be among the first 20 students to register to be entered into the drawing for these prizes.

If that’s not enough, the first 20 registrants have a choice of 3 terrific gifts to choose from just for being smart enough to be on the leading edge of webinars. When you register, you’ll receive an e-mail with a list of gifts to choose from so register now!

Click HERE to read how you can learn Photoshop Elements in just 4 hours from Rob Sheppard, editor of Outdoor Photographer magazine. Don’t let the magazine title scare you, the class covers all aspects of PSE, not just outdoor or nature photography. Most of what this class covers also applies to Photoshop CSx. Best of all, you get 60 days of e-mail support in case you have problems applying what Rob’s tricks, tips and shortcuts.

Freebie! Depth of Field Calculator

Normally, I don’t write about freebies until I have them in hand but this one is gonna take some effort on my part (I have to make them) so I’m asking first before I waste time on something no one wants.

How many people want a free (except for SASE) Depth of Field Calculator? If you don’t know what a DoF calculator is, go here. If you don’t know why you’d want a DoF calculator, you don’t need it. If you have difficulty using a ruler, you won’t be able to use this. If you don’t know what depth of field is or why it’s important, you need to take my dSLR class. If you want one, leave a comment here. That way, I’ll know how much time and effort I’m facing.

Monday Morning Tip

Today’s MMT covers the last lens most amateurs usually want, a macro. A macro is any lens that allows you to make photos that are 100% of actual size. In other words, if an object is 22.2mm across, a macro will fill the entire sensor of a Canon Digital Rebel from side-to-side with the object. There’s an image in the MMT that illustrates this concept. As always, all MMTs are in the MMT archives on the Tips & News page.

For those who have read all 3 MMTs dealing with lenses for new dSLR owners and amateur photographers, here’s a great article that basically says the same thing I said except in fewer words. See if your Canon lens kit matches what he writes.

Something Truly Amazing and Humbling

Most photographers have heard of Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii but, if you’re like me, you just thought he was a mad Russian scientist. It turns out Prokudin-Gorskii was really a photographer in his own right and produced hundreds of color photos long before any of us ever thought of color photography. The Smithsonian bought his collection and has been restoring the glass negatives. Here’s a small sample of his work. The man was truly an artist, a visionary and a scientist, well ahead of his time.

Rob Sheppard to Teach Photoshop Elements

On Saturday, November 14 from 9AM until 1PM, Rob Sheppard will teach a 4-hour Photoshop Elements class jam-packed with tricks, tips and shortcuts used by professional photographers. Whether you are a complete newbie or an experienced PSE user, you will learn more about Photoshop Elements than you ever imagined possible. After this class you will be able to enhance and edit digital photos faster, easier and more precisely than ever before. Most of the material from this class also applies to Photoshop CSx.

If that’s not enough, you’ll receive 60 days of e-mail support after the class. That’s right, for 60 days, if you encounter a problem and just can’t figure out how to apply Rob’s tips, send me an e-mail and I’ll get you an answer. What class have you ever taken that offers that kind of help?

Anyone with the slightest interest in photography knows the name Rob Sheppard. He’s the editor of Outdoor Photographer magazine and editor/founder of PCPhoto as well as author of over a dozen books on photography.

I literally ran into Rob at the NANPA (North American Nature Photographer’s Association) summit earlier this year and asked him to teach a Photoshop Elements class for my readers. He was enthusiastic but, understandably, his schedule was filled.

Rob is now available to teach that class on November 14 via webinar. Even better, the cost is just $59.95 ($49.95 early bird special until Sept 30). If you had attended Rob’s class at NANPA, you would have paid $155 plus hotel, meals & travel to Albuquerque so this is a screaming deal!

Click below to register today. Seating is limited.

Monday Morning Tip

When I first converted to digital in 1998, almost everyone used JPEG. This was reinforced for me because I was a sports photographer who came home from events with upwards of 1000-1200 frames. All the frames except total disasters were quickly processed for levels and sharpness before resizing and uploading to my web site for people to order. As orders came in, I reprocessed each photo for printing but, during the initial rush, there wasn’t time for messing about with RAW files.

 

Today, one of the most frequent questions I hear is, “Should I shoot in RAW or JPEG?” Even rank newbies are pressured into thinking they should be shooting RAW because “that produces better photos.” Let’s set the record straight. It’s just as easy to capture crappy RAW photos as it is to capture crappy JPEGs.

 

Today’s MMT addresses this question head-on for newbies. This MMT will answer this age-old question once and for all. As always, the MMT is in the Tips & News page of this site.

Quick Tip

One of the trickiest things to do in Photoshop or PSE is selecting hair when you’re trying to knock out a person’s head from a photo. Let’s say you took a family photo at the reunion but Cousin Ernie couldn’t attend. You try to paste Cousin Ernie’s photo from last year into this year’s photo but it’s nearly impossible to get a good selection of Cousin Ernie’s curly blonde hair which was photographed against a white wall.

Whenever you have friends and family together, take several head shots against a contrasting wall. Cousin Ernie’s blonde locks will stand out nicely against a dark wall while Aunt Ruthie’s mousey brown hair contrasts with the standard Navajo White found on most interior walls.

Next time you want to knock out Cousin Ernie from a busy background, use hair from the easy photo. You don’t want to use too much because the light and angle probably won’t match but little wisps here and there will help fill out areas where his hair blends into a white object in the background.

Today, we have a video MMT to showcase Focus Magic, a Photoshop and Photoshop Elements (PSE) plugin that makes sharpening a slam-dunk simple process. If you’ve been intimidated by Unsharp Mask (USM) and never quite know what it’s doing or how to make it better, Focus Magic will make life much easier. As always, MMTs require a password that is e-mailed to registered users.

If you’d like to buy a copy of Focus Magic, at a discount, let me know. If enough people sign up, it’s normally $45 but I can get it for $39. If you’re interested, send me an e-mail or leave a comment here. If you’re the impatient sort, you can buy it directly at www.FocusMagic.com.

FocusMagic is a small part of what you’ll learn in the full 6 week Photoshop Elements webinar. Learn PSE in 6 easy lessons of 1 hour each week for just $99 ($79 Economic Stimulus Special for Sept 9 session). Click here to go to my Workshop page for details.

Quick Tip

In Bridge CS4, you can open any photo directly into Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) by selecting a photo and pressing Ctrl + R (Win) or Cmd + R (Mac). So, what’s the big deal, you ask? If you want to open a JPEG or TIFF in ACR, it’s a big deal. Opening a raw file in ACR is just a double-click (as long as your camera raw is supported) but opening a JPEG has always been more convoluted. You can accomplish the same thing by selecting a file and clicking the Open in Camera Raw icon (below).

San Diego Zoo Photoshoot

Registering for My Site

HOT OFF THE PRESSES!

Award winning photographer/author to webcast Photoshop Elements with
The Digital Photo Guy

OK, the details aren’t yet firm so I can’t give you exact times or dates. I can’t even tell you the name of the photographer/author but it’s someone that any serious photographer will instantly recognize. In a few weeks, this mystery guest will teach a “Photoshop Elements 1-Click Wonders” webcast that will show you how to get the most out of PSE (all tips will also apply to Photoshop CSx) with the least time and effort. This is for photographers who want to spend more time shooting and less time processing, which is just about every photographer. If we get enough pre-registrations, the class will be less than $50 (his regular classes run from $200-$1000). Stay tuned for details at 11 o’clock.

Monday Morning Tip

This week’s MMT is a continuation of the “back to basics” trend I started several weeks ago. Today, we’ll discuss the two most useful metering modes for amateur photographers. Modern digital cameras sport as many as 4 and 5 different metering modes but, for most photographers including both amateur and pro, 2 are really important.

Pattern Metering (aka, evaluative, matrix, Multi-Segment, ESP, etc) checks the light at multiple points and applies a very complex, proprietary algorithm to develop an exposure solution. Modern pattern meters are very good and will meet the needs of most amateur photographers most of the time.

Spot and Partial Spot Metering is useful in those occasions when the subject is either backlit or spotlit. If the subject is standing in front of a bright window, the meter will be fooled by the backlighting and the subject will be underexposed while objects outside the window may be perfectly exposed. Usually, it’s easier to reposition the subject but what if that’s not possible? Using the Spot or Partial Spot Meter will help you correctly expose the subject, at the expense of the background. In other words, the background may be overexposed but that’s a creative choice for you to make. You can read the entire MMT on the Tips and News page. (you need a password to access all the MMTs, register on this page to get a password)

Quick Tips

In this article, about half-way down, I showed you how to set up My Yahoo! so it would automatically notify you via e-mail, instant messanger or cell phone when new content is added to my blog. At that time, I didn’t know how to set up an auto notification in Google Reader.

It turns out Google Reader doesn’t have an integrated solution but there are several 3rd party solutions here. Basically, you install the small application and it notifies you when an update is posted on this site.

I think it might be easier to open a Yahoo! account and set up My Yahoo! as a reader. You can also use a standalone reader like NewGator.