New Photos on Web

Hi everyone,

I just posted a few pics from our Smoky Mountains trip on the Meredith Images facebook page.

Easy “Globe” Project

Hi friends! This is a very easy technique to have some fun with. Works with a variety of photos, but works especially well with flowers.

Open your photo. If you want a round globe, crop your photo into a square (a rectangular photo will give you an oval). Make sure you have only one layer (merge all layers if needed). Your photo will look quite weird until we finish, so don’t panic!

1. Go  to Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates > Polar to Rectangular (100%).

2. Image > Rotate > 180°

3. Go to Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates > Rectangular to Polar (100%).

Voila! Have fun! Send your samples to share on the blog! Have a good weekend, Hazel

Contributed Project

Hi folks! One of the members of Castle Craig Camera Club, Jim Dionne, took the instructions for my Layered Project and did a version of his own – great job! Thanks for sharing Jim!

Framed Juggler by Jim Dionne

Project with Layer Styles

At a seminar this past week at Castle Craig Camera Club, I demonstrated this project and promised to post the instructions. Here is the finished image of the project demonstrated:

INSTRUCTIONS:

Open your main photo – crop if desired.

Duplicate the background layer (Control + J)

Using the Shape Tool, choose a shape to make your photo. Select white for the Foreground Color (the black & white overlapping squares at the bottom of your tool bar — hit the letter D for default — makes the foreground black, then click the curved arrow to switch the black and white positions).

Place your cursor in the upper left area of your photo, click and drag to the lower right to make your shape (leave a little extra room on the bottom as we will be adding type).

Move the shape layer BELOW the background copy layer (should be between the two photos).

Hit Control + G to “group” the photo with the shape below. (Click the “eye” next to the background layer to turn off its visibility so that you can see the shape.)

Click on the background layer then click on the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon (the half black/half white circle at the bottom of your layers palette) and choose Solid Color. The color picker box will open. You can choose a color in the color picker, or if you wish to use a color that is part of your photo, just move your mouse over the area you like in the photo and click. You can keep clicking around until you like the color (and remember, this is an adjustment layer, so you can always go back and change it again later!).

Now we want to add type. Click on the Color Fill Layer that we just created, then click on the Type Tool. Choose your typeface, size, style and if you want the lettering centered, flush left or right (these items are all on the dialogue bar at the top). Click in the photo where you want the type and type the words. You can change sizes or move it around as needed.

The last step is to add some definition to the shape by adding drop shadows. Click on your Shape Layer, then open the Effects Palette (this should be in your palette menu on the right — if you don’t see it go to Window on the top toolbar and click on Effects to open it.

Click on the Layer Styles icon (the second from the left of the four at the top of the Effects palette), and choose Drop Shadows from the drop down menu. Click on a style and see how you like it — keep trying different ones until you like the effect.

Next choose Inner Shadows from the drop down and choose a similar effect for the inside top and left of your shape. You’re done!

I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOUR FINISHED PROJECTS! Please feel free to e-mail me (and let me know if it’s OK to share them with the blog readers).

Adding a Stroke Border

A nice way to accent a digital photo – especially for competition presentation – is to add a narrow border to the edge. Usually black or white works nicely, but you can also use a color from within your image, choosing it with the eyedropper tool.

First, size your photo to your finished size. Then hit “Control + A” (Mac users, Option) to select all. You will see a line of “marching ants” around the outside of your photo. Then go to Edit > Stroke (outline) Selection. In the dialog box that opens, you can choose the width of your border in pixels. Usually 4-6 are good for a smaller image, but it’s to your taste. Then click in the color box and you will get the color picker to open. You can choose any color you like by using the slider and clicking around in the box to go lighter or darker, or if you want to match a color in your photo, just move your cursor over the area you wish to choose and click once (in the sample below, I picked a brown from the bird). You will see the color change in the color picker. You can keep clicking if you don’t like the color! Once you have a color you like, click OK; then click OK to accept the border and voila! Click Control +D to deselect the marching ants. Enjoy!

Keyboard Shortcuts

As with almost everything in Photoshop Elements, there is more than one way to do it! One timesaver is KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS. I don’t use a lot of them, but there are a few that are quite handy and will save you some keystrokes or mouse clicks.

These are the ones I use most (for Mac users, it is “Command” instead of “Control”):

Control + a = select all                    Control + d = deselect

Control + z = undo                           Control + y = redo

Control + c = copy                            Control + v = paste

Control + “=” = zoom in                   Control + “-”  = zoom out

Control + j = copy selection to a new layer (or if you have just opened your photo, control+J will copy your background layer — something you should do everytime you start to work on a new photo to prevent accidentally saving over your original file)

As we continue with projects on this Blog, we will learn the when, how and why to utilize these shortcuts!

Red, red rose!

This picture perfect rose is from Elizabeth Park Gardens in West Hartford, CT, last year (can’t wait to get there this year – early June is perfect!).

A little detail pop with Topaz Adjust brought out all its splendor! Enjoy!

Easy Vignette

Sometimes you want to focus attention to a specific area of your photo. Applying a vignette that darkens the edges a bit directs the viewer’s eye where you want it.

Step 1: Open the photo to which you want to apply the effect.

Step 2: Go to the Layers palette and add a new layer by clicking on the Create a New Layer icon at the bottom of the palette (the square one with the upturned corner). Press the letter D to set your foreground color to black and then fill the new layer with black by pressing ALT-BACKSPACE (Option on the Mac).

Step 3: Click on the Rectangular Marquee Tool (keyboard shortcut M), and drag a selection about 1″ or so inside the edges of your photo. We want to greatly soften the effect, so go under the Select menu and choose Feather. In the dialog box enter 50 pixels for a low-resolution photo (or 170 pixels for a high-res, 300 dpi photo), and click OK.

Step 4: Now that the edges are softened, all you need to do is press Backspace (Mac: Delete) and you will knock a soft hole out of your black layer. Your photo on the bottom layer will show through. Now press Ctrl-D (Mac: Command-D) to deselect. Most likely this will be a little too dark, so you can lower the opacity of the layer in the layers palette (a good number would be 60-70%; the example is at 79%).

Here are the before and after photos:

Link Updates

Hi friends & fans!

I’ve added some links to other great sites and blogs! Be sure to visit Hunt’s Photo & Video when you are in the market for new equipment – owner Gary Farber and his staff will be glad to help you! One of the publications I recommend to all of my students is the Elements Techniques newsletter — awesome tutorials in the bi-monthly magazine plus over 800 more on the website for subscribers. With this link you can save $10 off a 1-year or 2-year subscription (the discount will appear when you choose the subscription term). If you are into HDR shooting, Trey Ratcliff has a super FREE tutorial on his site, “Stuck in Customs”. There are also lots of great videos you can purchase from his site. This link will get you there quick! And my friend, Lisa Cuchara, has a great blog on all kinds of photography tidbits – she always finds the coolest websites and info on the web – check out Life Thru Lisa’s Lens.

If you have Elements questions that you would like me to answer on the blog, feel free to shoot me an e-mail at Hazel@MeredithImages.com!

Thanks for checking in!

Hazel

Meredith Images Website Updated

Hi friends & fans!! I’ve added some new pics to the website on the Animals-Zoos page, Waterfalls page, Flowers page, and Creative page!

Don’t forget to sign up to get e-mail updates of the blog and website!

Enjoy!