The Digital Photo Guy

How to Really Honor Our Vets

When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep?  George Canning

Every year, on one day out of 365 days, the United States pauses to drink beer, barbeque and carry on like any other weekend. Sure, there are still parades in some small towns and old geezers at VFW halls grumbling about “back in the day”. Somewhere, someone is reading Ragged Old Flag (see video below) at some public gathering.

But, along the way, we seem to have lost the meaning of Veterans Day. It’s not about those (like me) who served a tour, came home and picked up where they left off. It’s not about the dead although they certainly deserve our respect and gratitude. It’s not even about those currently serving in some God-forsaken hellhole though they should never be far from our hearts and minds.

For me, it’s about those who came home in pieces, mentally and/or physically. Those who struggle each and every day to piece together their shattered bodies, minds and lives. It’s for these survivors that I commemorate Veterans Day. It’s for John who, at age 17, watched his platoon sergeant die in his arms. It’s for Eric who, at age 19 had his arm torn off during a POW rescue mission. To all the men and women for whom their service has never ended, I salute you, today and every day.

Also, for me personally, I salute the memory of CMSgt John Altizer and Colonel Truman, men who helped shape me into the person I am today. Men who went out of their way to turn a 17 year old kid into an adult by entrusting him with adult responsibilities and decisions.
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It’s Midnight, Do You know Where Your Faces Are?

Photoshop Elements, since version 4, has had a cool feature called Face Tagging. It may not be exactly what you’re thinking but it’s still a neat feature to know about. Let’s say you’ve just returned from vacation where you stopped by Grandma & Grandpa’s as well as a visit to Yellowstone and a stop to see friends in your old hometown. When you download all your photos, you have a mixture of people, places, things, events and critters. Now, before you forget, you want to tag (identify) all the people so you can find the photos in the future.

Face Tagging will sort through the photos and find all photos with faces (people). Now, you can tag (ID) all the faces while it’s still fresh in your mind. It’s not likely you’ll forget Grandma and Grandpa’s face but, without Face Tagging, you’ll never find all the photos of them in the future when you want to remember that special visit.

I hope you enjoy the video and get some use out of it. If not, tell me what you want to see. More

This Video Monday Morning Tip (yeah, I know, it’s Thursday) was inspired by an e-mail exchange with a reader in Canada. I hope you find this interesting and useful. In the video, I mention that I set the feather to 2 pixels but don’t explain why. A feather blurs the edge of a selection so it blends better with the surrounding area.

If there’s enough interest in intermediate to advanced techniques like this, let me know and I’ll develop more resources including a full webinar class with support.

There’s More Than One Way to Skin a Meerkat

Today’s VMMT shows a different way to dodge & burn. Some people prefer this method because it uses a separate layer specifically for dodging and burning. Using this technique, you can go back and “tweak” the changes at a later date. That’s a good fallback position if you’re not sure you like what you did the first time.

A disadvantage of this technique is that it’s a bit more involved and convoluted. Bottom line, it’s six of one, a dozen of the other (yeah, I know it’s “half dozen” but have you noticed the number of people who say it wrong?)

FREE Topaz Labs Webinar

Don’t forget about the FREE Topaz Labs webinar coming up in November. We’re still working out the details but it’s going to be a blast!

Easy-Peasy, Lemon Squeezy

Learning Phooshop and Photoshop Elements isn’t rocket science but it’s not quite like falling off a log either. There are definite steps you need to master before you can advance to more complex techniques. Today’s Video MMT tackles the Dodge, Burn and Sponge Tools, a trio of useful but klutzy tools that require a delicate touch. A lot of people say the Dodge and Burn Tools in PSE are lame but it’s really a matter of what you’re trying to do. The power of PS and PSE lies in the fact that there are many ways to do the same thing and which tool you use depends on the photo, what you’re trying to accomplish and your skill level.

Like many MMT and VMMT ideas, this was triggered by a student question after a recent Wild Animal Park Photoshoot Workshop. After the workshop, he e-mailed a photo (left, below) and asked for my critique.

I quickly hit it with Topaz Labs Adjust 3 (center, above) and explained how I toned down the bright highlights and pumped up the saturation of the meerkat to increase contrast from the background. He then wanted to know how to do the same in PSE so I edited the 3rd photo (right, above) using just tools in PSE. Today’s VMMT explains how I did that.
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