EDITING

[Leon]

right... for all the ones between 60 and 96 years old please take a seat as this may cause some shock!!

 

the other two reading please remain standing.....

 

I think I have come to the conclusion I NEED to learn hoe to EDIT!

 

I keep seeing my pictures then other people tweak them (likr the owl I think Phil did?)  then I realize they could be so much more.

 

I have photoshop CS2 and thats it, I dont want to shell any more money out for programs yet.. any tips on where to look? 

 

does anyone live somewhere near Bolton who could give me a few pointers?

 

thanks, Leon..

[colinb]

I've said it before and I'l say it again ...

 

I'm always happy to talk anyone through some basics over the telephone, been doing it for quite some time from levels to layers the choice is yours. 

 

We have free calls to landline numbers after 7pm so it doesn't cost.

 

CS2 is fine and will give you a good insight into what you can do with Photoshop (cs2 even has Imageready but maybe thats for another day) 

 

thurs/friday is no good but mon, tues wednesday evenings, saturday evening I'm usually at home.

[Denis]

An offer you cant refuse Leon !

 

My editing is fine, its the photographs I cant take

[fuzzyedges]

Welcome to the dark side Leon

It was only a matter of time

[annie]

Colin, you really don't want me on the end of the phone chewing our ear of and crying...I can't do it...

 

But what an offer...I may just have to take you up on that one day, you brave man you xxx

[FUJI]

Leon,

Some of the best PS tuition is on YouTube videos, the beauty of these is, that you can choose any procedure to just learn that.....step by step.......the huge advantage, is that you can stop, start, pause and repeat them ad finitum.

Just find the ones that you need first, then choose the presenter/s who you best learn from.

I strongly suggest that you get Layers, soft brushes and sharpening under your belt first.....others may think differently, but learn these and you will have the basics nailed.

Don't try to do it all at once......I discover that things fell into place, gradually as the penny dropped........

It us really good to learn that you are making this huge, but important step.......get the hang of it and you will soon see the difference.

Good advice, is to just play around, go bananas, go over the top, doing is learning, learn through doing..........Yes! it would be a good idea to find a willing and knowledgable one to one tutor at first.

There will be times, when you want to tear your hair out, but .....just like learning to drive........you begin to coordinate .......then work with confidence.

Onwards and Upwards Eh?

FUJI

[Ryewolf]

I use PSP7, Photomatix and RawTherapee (which is free) for all my PPing, alas my ageing XP machine won't run Lightroom (at least not with XP on it) and it is just a matter of playing around and seeing what you can do - what things work and what doesn't.

[Black Pearl]

You've bounced images over to me for tweaking and I hope you've liked the results. 

 

All I would say is keep sending them and I'll try to add as much info and as many cross platform steps as possible to let you see how I approach a file to edit.

[geodar]

CS2 is a good place to start. don't be put off by what it can do or all the icons.

pull up a photo press Ctrl (&) L and you will get levels, Ctrl (&) C will bring up curves (more advanced type of levels). move sliders or graph lines if in curves, and see the difference.

hover the mouse pointer over the icon and they tell you what they do, try, try and try some more and see what happens, make notes if you want to as to what each function does.

there will be a lot that you don't use but the basic ones you will use most of the time can make a big difference.

basic ones are - levels (& curves) - saturation - crop - straighten tool - spot healing & clone tool to remove unwanted items or to clean up an image.

it's all down to practice and remembering what does what.

Have fun.

Geoff

[colinb]

Leon,

Some of the best PS tuition is on YouTube videos, the beauty of these is, that you can choose any procedure to just learn that.....step by step.......the huge advantage, is that you can stop, start, pause and repeat them ad finitum.

 

 

The problem with YouTube is you can't ask questions.  A little guidance, a little hand holding at the start will make a world of difference to making these videos more understandable for many. I don't disagree there are some good instructional videos out there but I believe a little help and a push in the right direction to start off with and you'll soon be flying along without stabilisers. 

[FUJI]

The problem with YouTube is you can't ask questions.  A little guidance, a little hand holding at the start will make a world of difference to making these videos more understandable for many. I don't disagree there are some good instructional videos out there but I believe a little help and a push in the right direction to start off with and you'll soon be flying along without stabilisers.

I did suggest a good .....One-to-One ......tutoring from someone who uses PS confidently Colin.

As an aside to all this......because of my numbers problem.....I never use Keyboard Shortcuts........if you are like me, they can seriously inhibit progress..........I use the ....On-Screen .....icons......slower, yes but for me, easier.

Whilst on the subject if learning new skills, I am a big believer in the video style.........with only minimum, one-off input from my tutor, I used his published DVDs to learn, then become confident in lathe turning ....Screw-Top Boxes ....in exotic hardwoods.

A small DVD player on my lap, a pair of headphones, and it was exactly as if he was in the room with me.

Nowadays, I use my iPad in the same way .........learning, then absorbing in short bursts is the way to go..

I still get chunks of wood fly over my shoulder, still cut too close to a base etc, but through DOING, I am learning, whilst getting so much pleasure from producing attractive, useful gifts.

FUJI

[Korky]

Quite simply, there isn't an easy way to get to grips with PhotoShop. But...

 

You have CS2, you have YouTube, you have a superb offer from Colin and you have TIPF for a bit of support and encouragement.

 

My advice? Get stuck in, don't give up and look forward to improving your photographs and the way you see things.

 

Korky

[Guest]

Leon, my advice would be dont be afraid of just going for it, make a copy of the file and edit to death, play with each tool see what it does you have the original image so if you do hit save by accident its only the copy thats lost. I took lost of have decent images and edited them to a total mess (still do sometimes) its not like adding bits to your car where if its wrong its cost you money and maybe ruined your car if you get it wrong ditch the copy image and copy the original and start again, it does take time that the only investment you need i=as you already have cs2  

[Black Pearl]

Leon - post a file you feel could be better and let us all have a shot at it.

If everyone who does this gives a walk through of what they did and why you might get some good ideas as to what processes give the end results you see.

 

Use DropBox or similar so we get a full sized version.

[Phil]

Leon - post a file you feel could be better and let us all have a shot at it.

If everyone who does this gives a walk through of what they did and why you might get some good ideas as to what processes give the end results you see.

 

Use DropBox or similar so we get a full sized version.

 

That's a darn good idea. We all have differing workflows to get an end result we're happy with, but it's the first few steps that are the most important.

[Barbara]

I think I have come to the conclusion I NEED to learn hoe to EDIT!

 

I knew you would succumb one day    

[KateW]

 

 

My editing is fine, its the photographs I cant take

 

 

Me too!

[ChrisLumix]

CS2 is fine. Don't try anything too complex - just learn the basics with the help of Adobe Help (you can search), and YouTube videos, and most bookshops have a 'Photoshop For Dummies' or similar.

 

I'd suggest the following as a good place to start :

 

Photoshop's 'Adjustments' menu. There's loads in there - Levels, Colour, Brightness & Contrast, Hue & Saturation, Shadows and Highlights, etc etc.

Also, have a quick run down the Tools bar, learning what each one does (but don't get bogged down, just an overview).

 

Don't worry about Layers or Blending Modes or Masks, or that kind of thing - that's advanced stuff, and only apply if you want to change part of your image and leave the rest alone.

 

Good luck, and don't be afraid to ask!