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Welcome to the 17th issue of the Digital Darkroom
Hi
Plenty of great news for August! We are introducing a new and exciting course concept at Betterphoto. For the first time, an instructor will critique your photos using an audio file. In Jim Zuckerman's Beginning Photography class, lessons will still be presented as text and photos that will be emailed to you every week. But Jim will record his feedback in a digital audio file. You will be able to hear his inflections and emphasis while he is talking about your photos. To learn more, go to:
http://www.betterphoto.com/photocourses/JZK08.asp
Of course, we have our usual wide range of "regular" online classes, too - many of which involve Photoshop. Read more about our fall lineup below.
As always, this issue of Digital Darkroom is packed with information and inspiration. If you're interested in learning more about resizing your images, then check out my article, "Imaging Software: Just the Basics"! Also, don't miss our regular offerings: including the Featured Photo and the Before and After series. Lastly, the Photo Discussions are awesome and enlightening ... enjoy reading, learning, and posting your own responses and images!
To read the online version of the Digital Darkroom at our Web site, visit http://www.betterphoto.com/digitalpics/
Have a great month!
Jim Miotke
http://www.betterphoto.com/MG.asp?ID=124
In This Issue: Wednesday, August 25, 2004
 Dancing Tower This picture was taken in Paris, of course, as the Eiffel Tower's lights were blinking. I then changed the colors and added a whirlpool effect to make it "dance". © Caroline Obejero Canon PowerShot S4... |
Featured Article: Imaging Software: Just the Basics
Whether you are interested in emailing your pictures to friends and family, entering BetterPhoto's contest, getting photos critiqued in an online course, or printing your images, there are a few things you need to know about software. In this how-to article, BetterPhoto founder and instructor Jim Miotke shares some of his tips and tricks on saving and resizing images.
Read more...
 Demo of Selective Decoloration technique (Not for contest.) |  Original Photo |
| Each month, the best Before and After will be featured in the Digital Darkroom. To participate, upload a Before (original) picture then start a discussion on it (using the Discuss This Photo link under the picture). After telling us how you did created the effect, select "1" or "2" from the Upload Image pull-down menu, and submit an optional intermediate image and a final (After) photo. Aim to educate and inspire by sharing a concise, detailed explanation of your technique. Enjoy! |
BetterPhoto's Online Courses: Photoshop ... And More!
| Our fall lineup of online courses has been posted, and it's never been better! We have such a wide range of classes, with such topics as composition, digital photography, exposure, shooting technique, specialty subjects, business and marketing, and, of course, Photoshop. Lewis Kemper leads off BetterPhoto's fall Photoshop program with a brand-new course: "Photographer's Toolbox for Photoshop: Toolbox #3"! Other exciting Photoshop courses include: "Beginning Photoshop for Photographers," with guest instructor Kathleen T. Carr or guest instructor Joe McDonald, Jim Zuckerman's "Creative Techniques in Photoshop," George Schaub's "Digital Black and White Printing," and Lewis's "Toolbox #1" and "Toolbox #2." For a rundown on these and other BetterPhoto courses, go to: Learn more... |
New Photo Discussions
New Photo Discussion 1: UV Protection?
- Patricia Marroquin See Patricia's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Hi Patricia, Thanks so much for the very nice comments! I did the 1st crop before converting to 16 bit mode for the color managements. After levels adjustments, I used Color Mech Pro to bring out the colors, which were somewhat faded. Then the usual color bal, hue/sat and bright/contrast. Finally, I used the curves tool to deepen the dark end, then converted back to 8 bit. The effects filters used are Poster lines and Softmood, and finally sharpened w/Nik sharpener Pro. All faded by some percentage. Probably more info than you wanted to know! (smile) ... Thanks again! | |
New Photo Discussion 2: Digital Dice
- Marcie Fowler See Marcie's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Very creative, Julie, and great reflections of the dice. They sure do shine!! Also great colors of Red and Blue! - Robin L. Wehrman See Robin's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Thank you Marcie and Robin!!! I did have fun with these ... sometimes I get a little carried away playing! Thanks again ... I really do appreciate your comments!!! - Julie A. Abston See Julie's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 3: Summer Zinnia
- Frank P. Luongo See Frank's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Hi, Frank: Thanks so much for nice compliment. Do you use PS? I chose a color and used the paint bucket and filled it with black. Hope that helps. - Penny Steiner See Penny's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Beautiful image, Penny! Be careful not to spill any of that paint on the keyboard :0) - Murry Grigsby See Murry's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit mcgphotocards.com - Murry's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 4: Flower Power
- Stephen Zacker See Stephen's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Linda, Love the colors and artistic effects! Has a real nice watercolor flow!! GREAT JOB! - Theresa M. Jones Response 2:Thank you, Stephen and Theresa. It was a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon learning to use Photoshop Elements. - Linda Ann Murphy Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 5: Fantasy
- Amanda L. Paishon Response 1:Thanks, Amanda. The original image is the river landscape, and I use this as the background image in Photoshop. Next, back at home, I photographed myself several times in 4 different poses with a self-timer. Then I cut and pasted them in Photoshop. The first montage is the front figure, with hands on the chest. Then, I cut the other 3 poses photograph (I only cut the limbs) and pasted them behind the front figure. I made the reflection of the figure by copying and flipping the whole figure vertically and applied overlay mode for this layer to mix it with the river. - Nyoman Putra Dewantara Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 6: Evanescence
- Colleen Braun See Colleen's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Very striking. Love the soft subdued blue tone. What a creative idea to use a paper plate to reflect the light. Excellent work!! - Marcie Fowler See Marcie's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Love the equipment two-fers Dolores -- reflectors that you can eat from :0) Lovely mood thanks to the crop, light and PS work! Kudos to your model also!! - Murry Grigsby See Murry's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit mcgphotocards.com - Murry's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 3:Lovely image, Dolores! When I saw it, it reminded me of your color version of this portrait, but with one eye open. I like them both equally. Nice work. Monika - Monika Sapek See Monika's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 7: Swan Clock - Challenge!
- Allan L. Whitehead See Allan's Premium BetterPholio™ Visit ArrowheadFotos.com - Allan's Deluxe BetterPholio™ Response 1:Wow that's a lot of work. This is so creative Allan. Great job!! Way to get us all thinking too. It'll be interesting to see what people come up with. I think I have an idea forming now (LOL)!! - Marcie Fowler See Marcie's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 2:Wow ...Allan this is amazing. I haven't mastered one layer, let alone 15! It will be awhile before I submit ... lol - Donna W. Neal See Donna's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 8: Essence Of Spike
- Susana Heide-Thiessen See Susana's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:LOL. I like the hair. That would be weird if they were Cheetos for its eyes, but I think they are the things that fall off of pine trees. - Isabel K. L Response 2:Thanks for your comments, Susana and Isabel. Isabel was right about the eyes, but I had to think back to remember. They looked like Cheetos to me, too! Anyway, it WAS a real hoot to build him - especially the hair! - Janelle Barry Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
New Photo Discussion 9: Senior Portrait Simulation
- Elisabeth Ann Gay See Elisabeth's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:This is really beautiful, Kayleene. Love the lighting, the pose and especially the background! I've been doing something similar with my little kids but have been having trouble making the new picture look natural, like yours. Did you use a chroma key background first before you cut her out? Do you have a CD of backdrops to use? Any tips you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Blessings Teri in Canada - Teri F. Inman Response 2:Thanks so much, Elisabeth, Isabel and Teri, for your nice comments! The background was from a digital backdrop CD created by Nes Creation that is sold on ebay. Yes, I did use a Chroma Key background to shoot the photo first. It happened to be a blue Chroma Key background, so I chose a blue digital background to drop image in, and it helped make it blend together easier. I usually use the Magic Wand Tool to extract, then drop image, clean up edges w/eraser, and go around edges w/blur tool to help make it look more natural. Ideally, the light on my daughter's left should also have been higher, more toward top of head, rather than cheek. A pro will spot this right away!! But I am still learning!! Also, if you want to make your own digital backdrops, using the Cloud filter gives nice results. Slide Saturation back and forth to get desired color, then add Lighting Effects and Blur filter, and you have a decent studio-type background. I am uploading a photo today entitled "Laura," which can show you an example using the Clouds filter. Hope this helps you some, Teri, but if you have any more questions, please just let me know and I will try to help! | |
New Photo Discussion 10: Fairytale Fantasy
- Dan J. Holm See Dan's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Thank you so much, Dan. I appreciate your comments, especially since I'm still so new. Love what PS can do. Love your work as well, especially the face through the shower door, you're very creative! Blessings Teri in Canada - Teri F. Inman Response 2:This is a beautiful collage ... Great work with PS! She really looks like a fairy princess :) - Anita Taylor Response 3:Very nice, Teri. I love all the pink and purple; the colors work perfectly on this piece. I'm sure Sabrina absolutely loves this work of art. I just finished a piece that has lots of fairies in a woodland setting. I will be submitting it tomorrow in the Digital Darkroom category. It may give you another idea for Sabrina. I have a few little fairies in my family, too, and they love to see themselves in print. - Liza M. Franco Response 4:Thank you, Anita, for your kind words. I really wasn't sure this worked but wanted some opinions on it. Thanks for yours. Thank you, Liza, for your comments - having a few fairies in the house sure is lots of fun. Sabrina LOVES this collage. I wasn't sure if it was too much or not, but she loves it and, after all, it is for her! I will go now to check out your fairies... Blessings to you both. | |
New Photo Discussion 11: My Little Pony
- Cindy Paquette See Cindy's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Thanks so much, Cindy, Donna, Kasia, Terry and Darren, whose comment wound up on another page for some reason. Cindy, I used a totally different photo that created this image. It was originally a water shot with the moon over it! Go figure! The Hue and Cry effect creates strange and unique colorful images. I search through the images, by clicking a button that changes the shapes, till I find a shape that resembles something. Then I work on it till I get the final image I like. I love new toys! | |
New Photo Discussion 12: The Kiss
- Sobia Chishti Response 1:Thanks for your kind remarks, and at the time I produced this, it probably took a verrry long time in PS because I was inexperienced! I've since learned to move a little faster - thanks to BP Photoshop classes! I have no idea exactly how this one happened, but this is what I think: 1. Converted to grayscale. 2. Lightened edges by selection and feathering or dodging (most likely dodged at the time this one was done). 3. Added grain with a filter. 4. Re-introduced color, and this is where I really did not know what I was doing, but now know the best thing to do is open History Palette before step 1. Take a snapshot, then go though all 3 steps listed. Click on the snapshot in the history palette, then select history tool, choose a soft brush, reduce opacity, and gently paint color back into selected areas. If you color outside the lines, you can go back and desaturate with sponge in tools palette. I have since used the history/snapshot method to bring color back into many color photos that have been desaturated. The key is taking the snapshot first. And I can now do this in a matter of minutes, not the best part of an afternoon. | |
New Photo Discussion 13: Abstract
- Wayne Brasch See Wayne's Premium BetterPholio™ Response 1:Believe it or not, it is a cropped photo from a box of diapers that I now use as a photo storage box. I always thought the color contrasts were really unique, so I took a photo of it. Thank you for the comment, Wayne! :) - Erika M. Lesnjak-Wenzel See Erika's Premium BetterPholio™ Read this discussion online Respond to this discussion | |
The Next Step: Where to Go From Here
