Getting started with Photo ShopWith Linda Schaefer

At the beginning there was sound,Then there were pictures…Lots of good images…capturing light on a tiny card and then transferring the data to a computer before making an award winning print.

Let’s get started by transferring the data. It begins with a card reader.

1. Remove memory card from camera2. Insert card in card reader and attach to computer3. Open Bridge4. Click on computer and open file from your memory card and then review

photos in Bridge

5. Click on photo to preview image in Bridge: not the bridge you drive over

6. Drag the file image to Photo Shop or the PS icon (the big blue box that looks like a kid’s block on your desktop. The PS doesn’t stand for Pig skins)

First things first in photo shop before you get too excited.

1. Size your image: Go to Image and Size: should be within the 8x10 frame at 300 to 1200 resolution. Crop image to desired proportions.

2. Now go to all your adjustment tools: 1. Image, adjustments – levels – curves – color balance – hue/saturation

– filter – shadow/highlights, etc.

Tools (no screwdrivers please):

1. Levels: adjusts shadows, midtones and highlights

2. Adjustments: Color balance. Make changes using your color wheel to create harmony and balance with colors. It can also be achieved by changing your attitude.

3. Go through remaining adjustment levels.4. Additional basic tools5. Clone stamp: means of copying nearby pixels, duplicating them

and filling in areas with that information. For instance, to get rid of glare on glasses, clone the area next to the glare and fill in the trouble spot. If you don’t agree with biological cloning you’ll be fine with cloning pixels.

6. brush tool: use your eyedropper tool, grab the color you want to use for the brush tool, and paint on subject. Great for eyes, softening lines on face, neck and filling in areas. Freda has great laugh lines so I wouldn’t even consider making cosmetic changes to her face. But for all of us who want to rub out those lines of wisdom, miracles happen everyday in photo shop.

In this case I am using the eyedropper tool to find a place on Freda’s teeth to imitate, and using the brush tool, gently pass over the silver and fill in missing tooth area. Voila! A new tooth.

Additional tools for motivated shoppers :

1. Hand tool to move photograph around on screen2. Magnifying tool to increase the image size 3. Burn and dodge tool: When an area of the image is to light you use the burn

tool and when the image or parts of the image are too dark, you can use the dodge tool.

Some other things to think about in your spare time:

1. Brush size2. Opacity3. Sampling all layers4. Mode

Don’t worry, the pages will grow just like magic

Bye for now.