You Can Photoshop That
Posted by latoga | Filed under Musings
My biggest pet peeve when it comes to photography is the statement “you can Photoshop that [in/out]“. I have a friend who is getting into photography (he does have a background in technology, which relates to an old post of mine) and that is his favorite phrase to use. And it drives me crazy!
(I’ll give Bruce his due credit…he says it mostly now because he knows it drives me crazy.)
So I found it interesting today when I came across a number of threads online discussing the use of photoshop and if it has gone too far. Reed Hoffmann commented on his Photoshop Overdose. George Barr shared his Thoughts On Creating/Cheating/Modifying Images last month. In general, it’s an individuals choice on how much photoshoping to do to your images. Personally, I prefer to spend as little time on the computer with the images as possible just because I already spend most of my day on the computer working on other stuff. Photography is to get me away from the computer.
This is part of the reason why I love Lightroom. I do 90+ percent of my image processing in Lightroom simply because I usually don’t want or need to do anything more in Photoshop. I just need to add a little pop to my images. Only in those instances where I need to make the image match what was in my mind’s eye when I pressed the shutter button do I go into Photoshop anymore. Otherwise, I try to do as much “image processing” as possible by capturing the photo correctly at the time I press the shutter.
Tags: Lightroom, Manipulation, Photoshop, Processing
Unfortunately Not an April Fools Joke
Posted by latoga | Filed under Uncategorized
Adobe’s Photoshop Express has a terms of use clause that tries to steal the rights away from photographers. At first, I thought this had to be an April Fools Joke. Unfortunately not. Not only was the date a few days early, but the topic is real.
This is an issue that is big enough that it requires every photographer to stand up and make some noise (hence the echo chamber to ensure the word gets out).
Thanks Jim for the wonderful analysis on this topic (as usual)!
Tags: Adobe, Legal Rights, Photoshop
The Online Photo Editing Herd Thickens
Posted by latoga | Filed under Uncategorized
CNET is reporting that Adobe will offer an online version of Photoshop. This is an interesting but not altogether surprising addition to the current herd of online photo editing offerings that already exist. This version of Photoshop will be a basic feature version that will be offered free and supported by ad revenue. The other online photo editing services available include: Fauxto, Picnik, Pixenate, SnipShot, XMG Image (and probably a few that I don’t know of…)
Side Blur
Webware links to their reviews of these photo editing sites from their posting about Adobe Photoshop Online. Photojojo also has an interesting posting about why they think Picnik is the best online photo editor.
I have been meaning to check out all the services on this list, but just have not had the time as of late. So a big thank you to the Webware and Photojojo folks for sharing their thoughts!
But I still keep asking myself “why would I need an online photo editor?”. I can’t see them ever replacing the photo editing tools I have on my laptop (I don’t think I could live without the new Lightroom or the full version of Photoshop). But I can see it being valuable to do some quick edits as part of an online photo sharing service, but for me that is even a stretch.
I always have my digital darkroom with me. And I have a very regimented work flow (something I’m writing up for a future posting as well) that lives between shutter and web. I can’t see too many times where I would use an online editor.
I always try to keep an open mind, so I guess time will tell….
Tags: Online Photo Editing, Online Services, Photoshop
Good With Photoshop?
Posted by latoga | Filed under Uncategorized
Think your good with Photoshop? Ever tried to combine two different photos together to make them look like they were one? Then you know how hard it is. And you will also appreciate the following: Photoshopped Animals
Some truly amazing work! Will the gifted Photoshop artist please set forward?
Photography Training Courses
Posted by latoga | Filed under Uncategorized
A friend of mine recently asked me about any photography training courses that I knew about. After doing some additional research on this topic, a popular topic on most discussion boards, I figured it would be a useful collection to post publicly.
I see all the training courses broken down into these categories:
- Photography Technique for different types of photography (landscape, wedding, event, etc.)
- Photography technical skills for learning more about your camera…how-to stuff
- Digital photography post processing skills…photo editing in Photoshop, etc.
Unfortunately, there are multiple sources for each of these type of courses. Just doing a Google search for this stuff isn’t valuable since the result is a high noise to signal ratio. So my list below is what I have come across in my travels. What is not listed are information sources that may also provide some tutorials (see my previous posting about Camera Information Sites). Also, these sources provide online or offline “classes”; they do not include sources that provide in the classroom training (that’s yet another posting…).
In my opinion, the first most important thing about training is what are the trainer’s credentials? There are a lot of trainers who I meet/seen/know, who learn right before they train. You’re not getting your money’s worth with them in general. The invaluable stuff you get from training is the industry and real world experience, the things you could learn over time yourself but get there faster by learning from those who have already been there. Typically, these places have trainer bios available…if they don’t, steer clear of them.
The second most important thing about training is how well someone performs the training. This is a much more subjective thing. Having been a trainer as well as attending training, everyone connects with the trainer in a different way. So, try different trainers and different courses and see what works best for you. They key is to just do it…even a bad experience taught you something, not to use that trainer/course again!
Disclaimer: this is not an exhaustive list, just a collection of my research to date. Also, a listing here doesn’t constitute an endorsement by me. My first or second hand experience with any of these courses is stated; if it isn’t then they are just a provide I know about but haven’t used.
- Software Cinema has a collection of courses for different photo editing software packages (PS CS2, PS Elements, Corell Painter) and a course on Photography Lighting. What I like about their offerings, is that they have DVD courses, online/on demand mini-courses, as well as well as in person training camps. Their trainers are all long term professionals and some are Adobe Certified Experts.
- BetterPhoto.com has an extensive set of online courses that cover the three major areas. These courses tend to be self-driven with scheduled assignments with feedback. They offer then during given windows, which means that they do have someone “teaching” the course. But it appears that most work is done online at your pace, with scheduled assignments that the trainer will critique.
- Luminous Landscape Video Journal is not a formal training course, but I know a number of people who enjoy landscape photography who found them very useful. They are more of a “photography tv show on dvd”, but there is some very useful information that is provided within different episodes.
- Adobe offers both Photoshop books and self-paced courses that cover the entire Photoshop family of products. Interesting thing is that no one from my photography circles has ever mentioned using any of the Adobe training or books…hmmm…
- Scott Kelby’s book The Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers is one of the books that I have sitting within arms reach of my digital darkroom all the time. This book walks you through most of the common things photographers will do with Photoshop. Scott also products a line of Photoshop videos which some friends of mine reocmmend highly.
I will try to update this list over time.
If you recommend any other training sources, please share them by posting a comment.
