The Digital Photo Guy

On Saturday, March 21, I presented a Photoshop Elements retouching presentation to the Computer Genealogy Society of San Diego via webcast. The group was meeting at UC San Diego while I was at Joshu Tree National Park leading a spring wildflower workshop.

I showed how the following photo from the 1950s or 60s can be quickly and easily restored with a few basic tips and tricks. Click the thumbnails to see the BEFORE and AFTER photos.

I then applied virtually the same techniques to another photo and demonstrated how these steps can be used to restore ALL faded, skewed, poorly taken photos.

The next photo was more challenging because of its age and damage. I didn’t fix the entire photo because, as I explained to the audience, much of this is just tedious and time-consuming. The only reasons one would have for spending time on restoring such a photo would be 1) it’s a labor of love involving a photo of a loved one or, 2) you’re getting paid gobs of money.

Here, I demonstrated making a copy of the right eye, flipping it over to match the left eye, moving the catchlight to the correct side and “nudging” the pupil to the right to match the right eye. I also used a gaussian blur to smooth and repair the skin on her left cheek.

You can see a recording of the presentation here. If the audio and video get out of sync (narrative and cursor don’t match), click on the progress bar along the top and drag it back back a few seconds.

If you’ve taken classes with me or read my Monday Morning Tips or sat in on a Webcast Tip, you know what I’m talking about but there are still many who think it is somehow related to boring CBTs (computer-based training) of yesteryear where you watched a canned presentation with no opportunity to ask questions or interact with the instructor or other students. If you think about it, the US education model is very much like CBT, the teacher lectures and the students listen. There’s very little interaction among the participants.

Webcast (web conference, webinar, etc) are completely interactive. Using the power of the Internet, a webcast combines slides, audio, video and, most importantly, direct communication with the instructor and other students so the power of the group helps accelerate the learning process. Think back on all your learning experiences. Didn’t you learn best when you interacted with others? While there’s something to be said for quiet time in the library, reading and contemplating complex material, it’s when you discuss and engage with others that information actually gels in your mind.

Here’s a link to a recording of a Webcast Tip from several months ago. Ignore the banding on the photo I’m retouching. This was caused by using a high resolution file. High rez files are compressed when transmitted over the Internet, causing this banding effect. I normally use low rez files so they transfer quicker and aren’t compressed as much. While watching the recording, you can use the Fit Screen/Actual Size control in the upper right corner to see the entire frame (first 2 screen shots, below). Fast Forward and Reverse is controlled by clicking and dragging the progress bar along the top (3rd screen shot). To read what comments by the audience, move the elevator bar up/down at the bottom right of the screen (last screen shot).
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Webcast Tips are free webcast lessons I conduct from time to time to demonstrate some aspect of digital photography. In the past, I announced these in my Monday Morning Tips. With this new blog-style website, I may just announce them here. If you want to be notified in a timely fashion, sign up for my Monday Morning Tips by sending a message from the Contact page with “OPT-IN” as the message. As soon as I figure out how to use the e-mail distribution manager at this new hosting service, I’ll add you to the list.