By Liz Ness | April 12th, 2011
In January, my friend Noell asked me to participate in an episode of her weekly Paperclipping Roundtable podcast. While the show is devoted to scrapbooking and features “real life scrapbookers, working within the industry,” it spans a variety of topics related to memory keeping, in general. The topic we discussed was about locations — specifically, what locations have great meaning for us and how do we capture them? (Please click on episode #51 to visit the post and listen to the show.) Turns out, the opportunity to discuss this caused me to realize something that I hadn’t before: Depending on the location and its significance to me, I’m likely to capture important locations via photography and in some predictable ways. Why was I surprised? Well, I hadn’t realized that my natural shooting style was so predictable and I hadn’t realized that the variable that mattered was perspective.
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By Liz Ness | April 7th, 2011
In a recent tutorial, we demonstrated how to create and use clipping masks to develop digital scrapbook layouts from drawings. Today, we take a closer look at how to create clipping masks and use them in your own graphic design projects.
While the possibilities for Clipping Masks are endless, the steps are few. To get started:
- Open up images you’d like to use for your project.
- If your Project Bin is invisible, double-click the Project Bin tab so that you can see your images and access them at any time.
- Open up a new, blank document.
- Draw a shape with any shape tool.
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By Liz Ness | April 5th, 2011
This past weekend, I saw a movie about a far-from-Utopian world. Earth had suffered from a blast, metal and concrete lay everywhere, and people were trying to survive in a harsh environment and a cruel world. Certainly, not a place I’d like to be. However, I was mesmerized by the cinematographic style — something I’ve been taken by before.
While I wouldn’t relish being in a post-apocalyptic situation, there is something about the stylized vision of one that I find compelling. Maybe it’s the grunge, the harsh edges, the desaturated colors, or the decaying industrial scenes that capture my eye. To be honest, I’m not really sure. Somehow, the style seems both raw and real, even though it’s clearly artificial. Kind of interesting, I think.
Anyway, this morning, I set about to create my own Dystopian reality and thought I’d share.
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By Liz Ness | March 31st, 2011
Framing is such a great way to reign in the focus and center on the subject of an image. It has a way of calling out, “Hey! This is important!” Likewise, selective coloration does the same. Plus, selective coloration adds to the mood and story of a piece. Add these two effects together and the impact of each fuse together to make a statement about what matters within a photograph.
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By Rick LePage | March 30th, 2011
One of our subscribers, Patti Deters, asked about getting PDF issues of Photoshop Elements Techniques onto her iPad, and I thought it was worth putting a note here to show you how easy it is.
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By Liz Ness | March 29th, 2011
Photograph by Christy Peterson
From cute tea boxes to wine bottles, I’m drawn to the labels adorning these objects. Sometimes they’re ornate, other times more simple, but they all seem to inspire me. I think it has to do with the lines and little touches, adding a bit of flair to these labels. But, this is just the beginning.
Recently, I started taking One Little Word — a year-long class taught by Ali Edwards. The class is both a project and a means to honor a New Year’s resolution that comes in the form of an intention (or word). Anyway, within the first week, what should appear as a accent to add to our photographs? A label frame — or something very near it!
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By Liz Ness | March 24th, 2011
Feeling a Bit Steampunk Today
Visiting the photo-blog of one of my favorite mixed media artists and friends, Misty Mawn, motivated me to play with some photographs today. Misty has such an interesting style and a wonderful ability to merge images to create new photographs that are both inspiring and compelling at the same time.
Anyhow, before I knew it, I’d grabbed a couple of images and set about to manipulate myself — or, at least an image of myself. Soon, my Steampunk alter ego emerged. However, this alternate doesn’t have a name yet — maybe you can help?
In addition, my visit and play caused me to look for other photo manipulation examples. And, I thought I’d share the following:
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By Liz Ness | March 22nd, 2011
Recently, I met a friend for lunch in Portland. She’d instructed me to bring my camera and mentioned we’d walk about the city a bit, but I had no idea that I’d get tour out of it all. Turns out, my friend had a secret past (well, secret to me anyway) as a tour guide of the city and some of the theaters. In addition, she is a history enthusiast when it comes to Portland, the surrounding areas, and Oregon. Add to that her love for local art and you get quite a tour. What a treat!
While this photo walk was casual and brief, I realized that a guide adds a dimension to a photo walk that I had not considered before. A guide adds history, context, and story. All of which can influence how to capture the surrounding scenes. As I started to get a sense of things, what mattered shifted for me, I started to focus on objects and themes I wouldn’t have without the context my friend’s knowledge provided. In addition, I decided it might be time to collect all I’ve learned from doing photo walks and share it with others that might be considering a photo walk themselves.
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By Liz Ness | March 17th, 2011
Rainbow Over Cape Disappointment
My husband claims that I’m part Leprechaun — because of my slightly pointed ears, my uncanny ability to locate four-leaf clovers, and my half-Irish heritage. I’m not so sure. I’ve never produced or found a pot of gold, I’m fairly tall (just how many leprechauns have played high-school basketball?), and I do not own a pair of buckle boots (which I think may be a requirement).
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By Liz Ness | March 15th, 2011
As I mentioned in Part 1 of this 2-part series, there are many ways to approach scrapbooking and many ways to create layouts. For me, it starts with a story and an illustration (usually photographs), moves on to sketching the layout and creating a digital template, and ends by bringing in digital elements (like paper, writing, photographs, etc.) to finish off the layout.
For Part 2 of our series, I’ve created a video demonstration to illustrate how to go from your sketch to a completed layout. The video is a bit longer than usual — just a bit over 15 minutes. However, if you’re wondering how to create digital pages for your own scrapbooks, it’s a great introduction.
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By Rick LePage | March 11th, 2011
I wanted to let folks know that the March/April 2011 issue of Photoshop Elements Techniques is now available for subscribers to download in PDF form. (Nonsubscribers can purchase a copy from our store for $6.95.)
As I noted last week, all of the downloadable extras are also available, as is my Editor’s Note, and you can easily view them all from the issue’s page in the Magazine section.
Also, the remaining articles from the January/February 2011 issue are now online; they can be found on that issue’s home page.
Issues are still showing up in US mailboxes, and most subscribers should have them by next Friday. Canadian and international subscribers should get theirs by the end of the month.
Rick
By Liz Ness | March 10th, 2011
There are many approaches when it comes to making digital scrapbook layouts. Just like photography, there are many styles, variations in process, and reasons to create. Some enthusiasts craft pages to keep their memories, others see scrapping as a way to heal, and others find it a perfect outlet for artistic expression. So, when readers emailed and asked me to demonstrate how to make a page, I wondered how I’d go about such a project. Then, I thought, I’ll just explain that there is no right way — or, single way — to create pages. From there, I decided I’d share the one approach I know best: My own.
My scrapbooks are collections of memories, artistic and not, filled with photographs and words that represent my family’s journey through life. What seems to be consistent throughout them is that I use the computer often and I follow a process.
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By Liz Ness | March 8th, 2011
I talk about monochrome images often, but I can’t help it — I really dig black-and-white photography. Equal to that, is black-and-white with a smidge of color. Whether it is through a Gradient Map that adds a touch of brown (usually my favorite), or a subtle injection of color that finds its way in selectively, the hint of color in a black-and-white adds interest.
For instance, the hint of blue in the sky (in my photo of the lamp, left) adds drama, depth, and dimension. At the very least, the subtle color causes our brains to stop and our eyes to linger just a bit longer as we consider what we’re seeing. It’s as if we want to know, “What’s up here?”
Another thing I love, is reading through the different techniques for how to achieve this effect. For example, the following collection from our archives make me want to forgo the things I should be doing and sit down with Photoshop Elements to play!
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By Rick LePage | March 3rd, 2011
The March/April 2011 issue of Photoshop Elements Techniques has left the printer and should start appearing in U.S. subscribers’ mailboxes in the coming two weeks. The sample files for the issue are now available in our Downloads section. The files include the images to follow along with Liz Ness’ “Cutting through Haze” and Diana Day’s “Hand-Tinting Black and White Photos” article, and the Rule of Thirds/Golden Mean Custom Shape file to go along with Liz’s “Cropping by the Rules.”
Diana’s web extras article, Help and Resources for Hand-Tinting Photos is also available, and includes links and tips for working with color swatches and for sampling colors from outside Photoshop Elements. There’s also information on Bruce Beard’s skin and hair color charts, which can be found on the excellent RetouchPRO website.
The lovely cover for this issue was done by our own Mike Rodriguez.
If you live in the U.S., you should receive your issue by March 18; Canadian and international subscribers should get theirs by the end of the month.
I’m traveling right now, visiting family in Florida and South Carolina; I’ll try to get the PDF of the issue online when I get back next week.
[Updated March 4 with a link to Diana's online extras article.]
By Liz Ness | March 3rd, 2011
If you enjoyed the Boom Vignette, you may enjoy the following (equally subtle) effect, as well. Just like the Boom, this effect draws attention to your subject with light. Indeed, the effect is a great way to simulate a soft directional light, making the subject stand out from the background. Best of all, the technique utilizes Levels, giving you a lot of control over how much (or little) to apply to your image.
To create the effect, follow these steps:
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By Liz Ness | March 1st, 2011
This past summer, Duncan was invited to be a ring-bearer for my brother’s wedding. The event was a country affair with the boys in vests and cowboy hats. And, it made for some beautiful photographs: Cowboys and girls surrounded by meadow with the impressive Sierra Nevada Mountains in the background. Only, I didn’t take the photographs for this one (I was in charge of music and making sure my son performed his duties as requested). The only photograph I have, is the one I took of my son to share with the bride and groom before the wedding — the one that was sent to ensure that his attire was appropriate.
While reminiscing the other day, I realized the image could use a bit of Western vintage to bring home the mood of the day. So, I set about playing and realized the effect was pretty easy.
The following recipe shares how…
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By Rick LePage | February 25th, 2011
I’m really excited to announce that our first iPad app, Learn Elements, is now available for sale on the iTunes store!
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By Liz Ness | February 25th, 2011
…for a snowball fight!
This is what happens when you get a snow day in the Pacific Northwest; or at least, in our neck of the Pacific Northwest where snow days are rare. And, when these things happen, there is nothing to be done for it, but to go out with your children and play. Oh, and it helps to take along a camera — to capture that evidence you need when you must remind your son that you simply finished what he started. See?
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By Rick LePage | February 23rd, 2011
We’ve got a few copies of the original volumes in our “Best of Photoshop Elements Techniques” series, and we’d like to clear out the inventory as we prep for Vol. 5, (which should be available in late April), so we’re having a sale: while supplies last, Volumes 1 and 2 of the series are each available for $10.95, and Volume 3 is priced at $19.95. All of the discs include free shipping to the US and Canada ($5 elsewhere), and, if you’d like to snap up all three, the bundle is priced at $29.95 (also with free domestic and Canadian shipping).
These three discs were produced from 2007 to 2009, and are playable on Windows and Mac computers. As is the case with most of our tutorials, they should apply to most modern versions of Photoshop Elements, from Version 4 to 9. Here’s a short rundown of what’s on each one:
- Volume 1 has 28 fantastic “how-to” video tutorials covering everything from painting using Photoshop Elements and retouching with the Liquify effect, to better layer styles and cropping techniques. This DVD also includes every issue of Adobe Photoshop Elements Techniques from 2006 in convenient PDF format.
- Volume 2 includes great “how-to” videos covering everything from restoring old photographs to master Camera Raw. This DVD also includes every issue of Adobe Photoshop Elements Techniques from 2007 in convenient PDF format.
- Volume 3 has more than five hours of tips, tricks and techniques, covering color correction, text effects, photo enhancement, Camera Raw, and so much more. It also includes all six 2008 issues of the Elements Techniques newsletter in PDF format.
- The bundle includes all three discs, and is a great master reference library of tips and techniques for getting the most out of Photoshop Elements.
Supplies are limited, so act now before they go away for good!
On a side note, we’re also trying to gauge interest in back issue bundles – we have a large number of some older issues of the magazine, and we’ve been looking into a “grab bag” promotion, where we package up six issues from a specific year or time period and sell them cheap. Let us know below if you think you’d be interested in something like that. (We’re not really set up to sell individual issues, unfortunately.)
By Liz Ness | February 17th, 2011
The Boys at Bryce Canyon (Alternate Reality Version)
Today, I’m using my knowledge for evil. Wait. No. I meant to say I’m using it for fun. This time it’s in the realm of selections and alternate realities. Did you know that you have the power to forge an alternate reality? It’s true! I have photographic evidence (above). Incontrovertible, right? (Question: Which is most disturbing — my growing son or my shrinking husband?)
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