Fun with Photoshop!

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Framar

Framar

WOW Framer
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Buffalo, New York, USA/Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada
So after years of playing with what I now realize are other photo editing programs which have stolen this and that from Photoshop, I have been gifted with a copy of PS Elements 5, and I have been teaching myself first to retouch photos and soon hopefully restore photos.

Not gonna want to make any movies or anime or video games, just fix up photos and continue to play with them.

I am having a blast doing this - finished three photos which I will pick up the prints tomorrow - and I have finished another to drop off for printing (shop locally!).

So here is this week's computer question: What is the difference between all the various versions of Elements? They are up to Version 8 by now - how much better can it be than 5?

Does it have a visible undo button? Can I customize a pallet of artistic gizmos that I actually would use and not have to keep seeing the ones that I will never use? I read it has better sharpening capabilities.

Does anyone have any favorite tutorials or websites devoted to Elements?

How different is Elements from the full-blown Photoshop?

And if Elements is so easy and so inexpensive, why do so many framers have such AWFUL photos of framing jobs on their Facebook pages????? :faintthud:
 
So here is this week's computer question: What is the difference between all the various versions of Elements? They are up to Version 8 by now - how much better can it be than 5?
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Though I no longer use Elements the features they add are usually worth the upgrade. If you buy a copy and register it they will send you offers for discounted upgrades if you upgrade within so many days of the new release. I switched to Lightroom for 95% of my photo editing and cataloging. Some of the new features in CS5 coming out next week have me itching to buy it.:D

Does anyone have any favorite tutorials or websites devoted to Elements?
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So far the best online training I have found is on Kelby Training. It is a pay site but as a photographer it is worth every penny to me. Adobe TV also has some free videos for elements.
How different is Elements from the full-blown Photoshop?
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The features are the biggest difference. Photoshop is geared towards graphic designers and professional retouchers while Elements is geared towards amateurs. Both products have their place. You may want to look into Elements plugins. There are many free ones out there and also many more paid ones.

And if Elements is so easy and so inexpensive, why do so many framers have such AWFUL photos of framing jobs on their Facebook pages?????
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I started framing as an extension of the photography business. I had no local framers and the closest place to have anything framed was Mic#$%^ and Hob@# Lob#$. I could not turn a profit using their framing.:mad: My biggest problems with getting good photos of my framing is in not editing but lighting. Most people use the flash on the camera and you see the reflection of the flash in the glass. I am taking pictures of items I frame for my site using flashes in umbrellas and I am happy with the result. Hopefully in the next week or so I will have the framing portion of my site complete.
 
You will probably find V5 quite adequate but if you have a registered version Adobe will send you updates so you probably aren't missing much.

The undo function is hidden away in the "window" menu and is called "undo history" it lists all actions you have taken and you can backtrack one action at a time until you have undone the blooper.

I am still feeling my way around the programme and have found "Photoshop Elements for Dummies" to be very useful. Like all the "Dummies" series it does not assume any prior knowledge of the subject and feeds the info out in manageable bites (or bytes??:icon19:) My pet peeve with many computer - type text books is they talk "over my head" It is not much use telling me to "change the spark plug" when I am still trying to get the bonnet open:icon20:

My understanding of elements is that it is only slightly less capable than the full-blown version and only people like professional photo retouchers need it.

The answer to the last question is simple: Facebook and all other web pages only accept low-resolution images which will never look as good as those printed on even the humblest desktop printer.
 
Dear Mar:

I have Elements 8 and love it. Can't tell you what the difference between earlier versions, as it is my first one.

Compared to the "real" Photoshop, PS is an overkill for 90% of the users who are not professional photographers. Many functions can be done much faster in Elements than in PS, as least that's my own impression.

One can enhance pictures very nicely in Elements, look at our Pat's (EvartPat) website to see what I mean: www.windspeakart.com

As to the Undo.....the first thing I do, no pun intended, is use the Windows (and Word's and Excel's, etc) default Undo function: CTRL+Z.....

And guess what?? It works also in Elements just like mentioned in the previous post: Each CTRL+Z will undo each step taken before it till the very first action taken.

Have fun!
 
When I say awful photos on Facebook I mean awfully bad shots - crooked, glass glare, carpy backgrounds. Sheesh.

If yer gonna say yer a professional, take the few seconds to photograph the piece before you install the glazing. Use a plain background. Center the thing in your viewfinder/screen. Use the grid.

Or spend an hour or two in Photoshop fixing each picture.

I am getting to the point where I am gonna start "un-fanning" shops and galleries with terrible photos. These are a blot upon all of us!

Not talking about DPI.

BTW - my copy of Elements 5 is duly registered and I have seen no great rush on the part of Adobe to "update it" at all.....
 
I didn't get to see the whole episode - since it is of course posted and reposted on FB their website is sure to be wonky for a while.

Seriously, wouldn't you hate to have a potential new customer click on some other framer's business page and find awful pictures?
 
Mar, wouldn't you rather have them click on some OTHER frame site and see trash and then click on yours and see greatness?

Maybe you need to only unfan framers sites that are far away from you.:beer:

As for undo and other things... look for a list of shortcuts and stuff like that will be listed there.
On a Mac, it's Apple(command) Z and it steps back one step. A toggle back and forth..so to speak.

For repeated undo's, it is Apple(command),alt(option),Z.

At least in the full PS version.
 
Framar said:
And if Elements is so easy and so inexpensive, why do so many framers have such AWFUL photos of framing jobs on their Facebook pages????? :faintthud:
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Photoshop does not a great photograph make.

This is a common problem; most people believe photoshop is magic and can turn lead into gold. However, it normally suffers from the garbage principle. Garbage in = garbage out.

The way I like to think about it is that it's similar to cutting and polishing a diamond. It can really make a huge difference, but the core of the image has to be there.

It's much easier to get most things right when you take the shot. Then you can do a few touch ups or enhancements with PS.
 
That is why I am so baffled by so many of the bad frame photos I see on Facebook. For crying out loud - use a tripod, stick a sheet of foam core in the background, shoot it without the glass. Watch the parallax.

Sheesh!
 
Jim really nailed it with his comment.

With digital cameras and the ability to view the photo immediately there should not be too much need for "post-processing" beyond a bit of cropping and tweaking of contrast/lighting. Otherwise, just shoot three or four pics, check them on your computer screen and ditch the duds.
 
artfolio said:
Jim really nailed it with his comment.

With digital cameras and the ability to view the photo immediately there should not be too much need for "post-processing" beyond a bit of cropping and tweaking of contrast/lighting. Otherwise, just shoot three or four pics, check them on your computer screen and ditch the duds.
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Maybe to an extent depending on what you are going to do with the photos. For me, photoshop is the easiest because I know a lot about it and use it all the time. The biggest advantage I see with photoshop over pse is the ability to have every modification 100% reversible (look up dave cross, he does nothing destructive too). Sometime duds end up being gold (one photographer made a bunch of money from a photo he turned up with clinton and lewinski in the background that would have been deleted if he didnt keep everything).
 
I think the new CS5 is such a huge leap in benefits especially if your doing photo-restoration or photo editing that its worth the learning curve and investment. The new content aware fill tool is simply amazing.
If you haven't seen a demo go here and it will amaze you:
content aware demo

On a side note:
I have used this website photoshopuser.com and would recommend it for any level of Photoshop skills. They have great discounts and tons of tutorials online. You get all of that plus a subscription to Photoshop User Magazine for $99 a year.

~Kevin
 
Has anyone compared PhotoShop CS with Corel Photo Paint x4?
 
And, no, HB - certainly not talking about your website.

Most of the bad photographs of framing jobs I am seeing are on Facebook these days.
 
loganframer said:
I think the new CS5 is such a huge leap in benefits especially if your doing photo-restoration or photo editing that its worth the learning curve and investment. The new content aware fill tool is simply amazing.
If you haven't seen a demo go here and it will amaze you:
content aware demo
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That did it! We watched that demo yesterday and both Gary and I decided we really needed to get CS5! It's going to be a big leap for me since I still use CS2 for most of my work. Gary uses CS4 and Lightroom. He said the upgrade isn't going to cost much since we get a discount through NAPP. :thumbsup:
 
I'm more interested in the content aware scaling and a dodge and burn that really works.
 
History brush set to screen(dodge) or multiply(burn), low opacity. There are ways you can use layers and layer masks to do the same as dodge and burn using the brush tool. There a number of others but I don't remember them all off the top of my head since I don't use them on a regular basis. Gary does most of those changes to the photos himself.
 
AnneL said:
That did it! We watched that demo yesterday and both Gary and I decided we really needed to get CS5! It's going to be a big leap for me since I still use CS2 for most of my work. Gary uses CS4 and Lightroom. He said the upgrade isn't going to cost much since we get a discount through NAPP. :thumbsup:
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I agree it is impressive, and so is the price!

I'd definitely expect nothing less in a product that costs that much. You're lucky to be able to get a price break.
 
Nah to me they all still do the same thing. If you dodge in a dark room colors do get darker but richer. With CS3 it just paints the image a grayish puke color. If you burn it just paint a creamy puke color over the image.

Since I'm a student I should get CS4
 
Paul N said:
I agree it is impressive, and so is the price!

I'd definitely expect nothing less in a product that costs that much. You're lucky to be able to get a price break.
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If you are buying the product for a full or part time student, that student is also eligible for the discount. CS5 student edition is $599.
 
osgood said:
Please check mine? I would hate to think there were bad shots on my FB page!
http://www.facebook.com/OrmondsFraming
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Ormond....AS IF!!!

You need a lotta reassurances, just like me, huh?

Your photos are STUNNING (sing that last word)

Oh, Ireally wanna get CS5 now, CS2 has been nice, but that content aware tool....woooooweeeee!
 
Since we are getting an upgrade for CS4 instead of the full version, it would be $200 but with the NAPP member discount, it's $170. NAPP (national association of photoshop professionals) membership is $99 and worth every penny. We more than make that up with the discounts we get on software and computer stuff, not to mention their magazine and online tutorials.

We haven't bought a full version of PS since we orginally bought version 5.5. We just keep buying the upgrades. Saves quite a bit.
 
It's here! It's here! CS5 is out and it's now loaded on my imaging computer. Now I have to get used to using it and figure out how to work all the new stuff. At least Gary transferred my actions over for me so I don't have to figure that part out. I just have to get my workspace the way I like it. Excuse me while I rearrange the furniture...
 
I'm a PSE enthusiast - can't afford the 'big' PS software. First got PSE 4 and eventually upgraded to 6, which I'm still using. Joined a couple of PSE groups on Flickr that were very helpful, lots of discussion and demo pics, including one group for photo repair/restoration. No software will fix a horrible photo - take the best pic you can take, then tweak it in PS or PSE - levels, contrast, maybe a bit of saturation or sharpening, crop as needed, and you're good to go. PSE 6 does have an UNDO button that is quite helpful - you can easily compare a "before/after" version with it. The group discussions seemed to indicate there was no need to upgrade to either PSE 7 or 8, as the improvements were minimal at best.
 
I have Elements 5 - sure was amazed to see that it didn't have an easy Undo button - even Word had an Undo button!

For my needs of today, either PS7 or PSE5 are fine - just ridiculously cumbersome. Not to mention annoying. Very annoying.
 
The keyboard shortcut for Undo, depending on what function you're in, is usually CTRL-Z or CTRL/Shift-Z.

:cool: Rick
 
I checked the next ad for STAPLES and they are selling PS Elements 8 for $49.99 Sunday and Monday only (May 23, 24). I've not seen it offered that low anywhere! If you are considering a purchase or even an upgrade - this would be a good time to get it.
 
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