Digital Photography: Techniques to Wow Your Friends
You know how versatile digital photography can be.
But did you know some of the really fun things you can do to your photographs with digital photograph editing software?
Three of the best applications available are Adobe Photoshop CS3
, Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0
and Corel Paint Shop Pro X
. The techniques described below refer to Photoshop CS, but you can do the same thing in the other two software applications. Consult your application's help file for program specific instruction.
Here are just a few of the great things you can do with digital photography.
Add a Caption
By adding descriptive text directly to the photograph, you eliminate the need to add a caption to your photo album. You can choose your color or colors, ensuring your text's visibility and aesthetic impact.
These instructions call for Photoshop CS, but you can get similar effects with the other software mentioned above.
With your photo open in Photoshop CS (or other software), click on the Text Tool. On the Text Toolbar, choose your font, color, size, alignment and other options. Click your mouse on the photo, and then type your text. Hit Enter. Use the Move Tool to position the text where you want it. To make changes, go to the Layers Window, click on the "T" in the text layer to select the text you have written. Change content, size, color or any other component.
Optional: Give your text special effects (drop shadow, embossing, engraving, etc.) by going to Layer'Layer Style.
To put "words in the mouth", cartoon fashion, use the Lasso tool to draw a bubble-shaped selection. Fill the selection with white, outline with black (Edit'Stroke), then add your text as above.
Eat Your Heart Out, Ansel Adams
Mr. Adams created beautiful black and white photographs with his camera.
You can do it digitally - because black and whites are so elegant, and because converting to black and white is sometimes the best rescue technique for a photograph with seriously bad color.
Open the photo, and then go to Mode'Adjustments'Grayscale. After, adjust brightness and contrast if needed.
The beauty of black and white is that you can use it with any color frame, any color matting and it works with any color scheme in your room.
Digital Photography to the rescue again!
5. Artsy Elegance with Spot Color
Create an artistic effect with the spot color technique.
For example, you might remove the color from a bouquet of roses, and then restore one rose to its original hue. With your colored photo open in Photoshop, go to Layer' New Adjustment Layer' Hue and Saturation. Click Okay. When a Saturation Window appears, de-saturate the image complexly until it is black and white. Select the Eraser Tool, choose the size and shape brush you want, then "erase" an object on the new layer.
The original color shows through where you have erased the black and white.
This is truly a glamorous thing to do with you digital photography and digital photo editing software.
6. Fade to White
Remember those old photographs in which the scene or the subjects gradually faded to white?
It's easy to create in Photoshop, and better yet, can fade to any color imaginable. Open your image, and then use a Lasso Tool to create a circle, square, oval or freeform selection around the main object. Go to Select'Feather. In the Feather Window that appears, enter the number "10" in the Feather Radius Box., or use a different number for a greater or lesser fade.
Next, copy the selection to the clipboard in the usual way.
Open a new Photoshop file with a white background. Paste your selection in a new layer in this file, producing a misty image that fades to white. To change the white to another color, click on the Background Layer in the Layer Window, then fill with any color you wish.
Tip: Use the Eyedropper Tool to select a fill color that appears in your photograph.
7. It's All a Blur
Give your background an attractive blur - possibly creating a motion blur behind the image of a runner, or creating a softly blurred background behind a single rose.
Open your image in Photoshop; zoom in on the main element, then select that element with the Polygonal Lasso Go to Select 'Inverse. This selects the background instead of the element. Go to Filters' Blur.
Experiment with the various options to generate the effect you want.
8. Make Your Own Stickers
You'll need MS Word or Publisher, plus a package of adhesive- backed stickers or labels (ie Avery).
In PhotoShop, resize a picture to the size of your printable labels. Next, open a new Word document. Select Tools' Letters and Mailings' Envelopes and Labels' Labels' Options. Select the type and size of labels/stickers that corresponds with your printable labels. Click on New Document. When the document appears, insert your cursor in one of the sticker squares, then go to Insert'Picture'From File. Insert your picture. Using the picture's tiny "handles", position it in the label box. Click on the picture to select it, and then copy it your clipboard.
Place your cursor in the next label box, and paste. Repeat until all boxes are full. Print out to your label sheet.
Lastly, unleash your creativity and discover what fun you can have with digital photography and a digital photography editing software application!
Thank You!
June Campbell
P.S. New to digital photography? Find out how you can take spectacular photographs with your digital camera in thirty minutes or less. Visit StartMyDigitalPhotography.com
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© Copyright 2007 June Campbell - www.startmydigitalphotography.com
