the marvellous PS/Illustrator tutorial thread

[Daniel]

Hmmm....this isn't anything to with PS etc, but since most of the people here are good photographers it would be stupid to make a new thread IMO

http://digital-photography-school.com/tips

I'm currently making my way through this site reading up on basics like aperture, shutter speed and ISO, and this website explains everything well. For someone like me its pretty damn sweet and a big help

 

[scott_forester]

Can anyone point me to PS tutorial for making road signs. I want to make the signs you see on a roundabout and put the names of my own towns on the direction arrows ---- if that makes sense?

 

[Dreadwear]

Hmmm....this isn't anything to with PS etc, but since most of the people here are good photographers it would be stupid to make a new thread IMO

http://digital-photography-school.com/tips

I'm currently making my way through this site reading up on basics like aperture, shutter speed and ISO, and this website explains everything well. For someone like me its pretty damn sweet and a big help

Yeah, I use this site too. It seems to be really helpful so far!

 

[weltweit]

OK, I want some colour tips.

I use Adobe Photoshop Elements 9

I recently took this picture which I like..


apart from the fact that the bluebells were actually blue yet in the image they are verging on purple. What colour adjustments can I make to turn the bluebells blue without messing up the rest of the image?

 

[High Voltage]

Can you mask out the dog and then adjust the background colours? - looking at the picture the dog would be mainly on the black channel so selecting the dog would be pretty easy (in CMYK mode) - you'd be able to mask out the dark background if you wanted to as well leaving only the green grass/flowers selected - well that's what I'd do in photoshop (not elements but photoshop) any good?

 

[weltweit]

Can you mask out the dog and then adjust the background colours? - looking at the picture the dog would be mainly on the black channel so selecting the dog would be pretty easy (in CMYK mode) - you'd be able to mask out the dark background if you wanted to as well leaving only the green grass/flowers selected - well that's what I'd do in photoshop (not elements but photoshop) any good?

I am never very good at masking things

I have had a play with adjusting hue and saturation and brightness which seems to have edged the bluebells back towards being blue. And I prefer the image after those changes.

Actually, now that I am playing with, it there is a whole load more I can adjust in that bit of elements.

 

[High Voltage]

I am never very good at masking things

I have had a play with adjusting hue and saturation and brightness which seems to have edged the bluebells back towards being blue. And I prefer the image after those changes.

If you change the illustration from RGB to CMYK and then switch on the black channel you could use the detail on that to get most of the mask done - I know what you mean about masks, they seem very confusing but they really are, in my opinion they key to doing "stuff" in photoshop easier - there's some really good tutorials on YouTube which I've found and once you get your head around them help tremendously - again, this is the full Photoshop I'm talking about not elements

 

[weltweit]

If you change the illustration from RGB to CMYK and then switch on the black channel you could use the detail on that to get most of the mask done - I know what you mean about masks, they seem very confusing but they really are, in my opinion they key to doing "stuff" in photoshop easier - there's some really good tutorials on YouTube which I've found and once you get your head around them help tremendously - again, this is the full Photoshop I'm talking about not elements

Elements 9 does not support CMYK .. Still I am learning more what it can do by playing about with it.
Thanks for your posts High Voltage

 

[RoyReed]

Have you calibrated your monitor? If not, then it might be pointless doing such fine colour adjustments.

I've checked the colour of the bluebells at a few points on the image, and they don't read as purple at all.



If the blue was tending towards purple, the red value would be higher than the green. I don't think I've been getting any of the grass in the sampling area.

 

[weltweit]

Oh that is interesting RoyReed and thanks for looking at it.
My monitor is only blackpoint adjusted, it hasn't been colour calibrated.

 

[weltweit]

Anyone have any quick tips as to using layer masks.

I want to blend some images together but on some I want to exclude some bright areas. In lighten mode the layers look ok and I can just paint black on the parts of the images which I don't want but that is non undoable and I understand that I should be able to use a layer mask and put my edits on that.

But I can't seem to make the layer mask paintable?

Using PS Elements 9

Tips much appreciated.

 

[weltweit]

Don't worry, I found a tutorial online, got it sussed now

 

[weltweit]

Have you calibrated your monitor? If not, then it might be pointless doing such fine colour adjustments.
...

Just to note, I have now calibrated my monitor and now the bluebells are blue, yay

 

[RoyReed]

Just to note, I have now calibrated my monitor and now the bluebells are blue, yay

Makes a real difference, doesn't it.

 

[weltweit]

Makes a real difference, doesn't it.

Yes, it gives me more confidence in what I see on the screen.

I had doubts about blues because of the bluebell photo and also sand coloured items because of another image which printed very strangely.

Now because of that second image I think the photo shop where I had my prints made might themselves not be calibrated as my sandy beach came out grey clay coloured.

 

[RoyReed]

Yes, it gives me more confidence in what I see on the screen.

I had doubts about blues because of the bluebell photo and also sand coloured items because of another image which printed very strangely.

Now because of that second image I think the photo shop where I had my prints made might themselves not be calibrated as my sandy beach came out grey clay coloured.

It could be the print shop, or it could be that you didn't apply the right colour profile for the lab/paper combination. Does the lab supply colour profiles on their website? If they don't, then they're either no good, or they're only set up to supply amateur snaps.

Don't forget that just because a particular image looks good in sRGB, Adobe RGB or whatever, that it will automatically look good in a different colour space.

 

[weltweit]

It could be the print shop, or it could be that you didn't apply the right colour profile for the lab/paper combination. Does the lab supply colour profiles on their website? If they don't, then they're either no good, or they're only set up to supply amateur snaps.

They are a post office with a Fuji photo printer and some photo terminals. They were recently bought by a young couple who I don't think have much of an idea, quality has gone down, they are indeed aimed at amateurs and I have been meaning to find somewhere better. Where I used to live I used a Boots which used to provide consistent results.

 

[gawkrodger]

anyone got a discount code for Adobe CC?

 

[cybershot]

anyone got a discount code for Adobe CC?

Make friends with school/college/university students* or teachers.

Adobe Creative Cloud for students and teachers | Adobe Creative Cloud

*I don't recommend approaching random students in the streets, especially those underage! You might find yourself in a spot of bother.

Or torrent it.