Digital Darkroom Basics

Digital Darkroom Basics The inaugural meeting of our Digital Photography SIG was amazing. We literally had a standing room only crowd and as with all of your Users Groups meetings the information shared was nothing short of fantastic. Here is some of the information shared at the meeting: Basic computer requirements If you already have a computer and it is working great for your purposes, don’t take...

Holiday Greeting Cards

Holiday Greeting Cards Using the techniques discussed this month you can create a stand-alone post card style greeting card, or make the photos on the front or inside of your greeting cards much more personalized. Although the card above does not look that much like one you would send out for the Holidays, it uses several important effects and techniques that are only limited by your creativity. In class I sold a...

Picasa 2

What can you do with Picasa 2? Picasa 2 is a free program made by Google that allows you to organize your photos without any effort on your part. Besides organizing photos it also has some great creativity tools including gift CDs, slide shows, and blogging tools. HOW TO GET PICASA: 1. Either click on this button, or go to www.picasa.com and click on the Free Download button. 2. After downloading, install the program by...

Elements 3 Features

What’s New In Elements 3   Quirky Features: Not all of the new features in Elements 3 are extremely useful. Although many of the new features are designed to help the beginner, they are too complicated to be of any use. Some of theses new quirky features include: 1. Create - The most useful of the quirky new features, this feature allows you to make slideshows, greeting cards, photo album pages and more....

The Magic of Digital Filters

The Magic of Digital Filters In the world of film photography, filters are transparent coverings that are placed over a lens to enhance or alter the image. Digital filters serve the same purpose, but in a much more dynamic and dramatic way. DIGITAL FILTER: Almost all image editing programs contain filters although they may be called by a different name such as Effects or Adjustments.   Before...

Solving the Mystery of Layers

Basics of Layers Here are some of the basics we discussed at the Meeting What are layers: Layers are a feature of Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro and other more complex image editing programs which allow you to compile more than one image within an image. Common uses for layers: Compiling One Photo from Many Photos. The most common use for layers is to take part of an image and place it into another image. For...

Photoshop Elements Part III

Adobe Photoshop Elements Part III Layers: What is a Layer? Put simply, a layer is an image stacked on top of another image. A new layer is formed any time you paste or type. You can also manually create a new layer by going to LAYER -> NEW -> LAYER in the menu at the top of your screen. Where are My Layers? You can see your layers by going to Window -> Layers. Use techniques discussed in part I of our Elements...

Photoshop Elements Part II

Adobe Photoshop Elements Part II Tools: Toolbox This box contains all of the primary manipulation tools used in Photoshop Elements. Download this zipped (530k) file for a demonstration program that describes each tool and what it does. If you are not running Windows XP and have not installed a zip opener – here is a free one that you can download and install. Zip Central Little Black Triangle The little black...

Photoshop Elements Part I

Adobe Photoshop Elements Part I This month we will begin a four-part session on Adobe Photoshop Elements. Although we are centering the meetings on Elements, most of the techniques and tools we discuss also apply to programs such as Paint Shop Pro, Ulead Photo Impact and other advanced image editing programs. Getting Started: Before you begin using Elements or any image editing program it is important to get the monitor...

Top 10 Digital Camera Tricks

Top 10 Digital Camera Tips: (in no particular order) 1. Use Rechargeable Batteries: Make sure your digital camera supports them. Look for at least 1800 mAh. Get more than one set. 2. Save those batteries: The three best ways to save batteries are… 1. Don’t use your LCD except for macro and composition shots. 2. Don’t over use your zoom lens. 3. Don’t connect your camera to your computer (use a media...

Getting to Know Your Digital Camera

Getting to Know your digital camera   KNOW YOUR SYMBOLS   AUTO – This mode allows the camera to do it all. When the camera is on auto mode it will determine all of the camera settings and whether or not you need your flash. P = Program mode – this mode is similar to AUTO except it allows you to turn your flash on and off and adjust features such as macro and spot metering.  Flash ...

Digital Camera Mini Lab

Digital Camera Mini-Lab Important Camera Features The zoom lens: The zoom lens does much more than just bring the subject closer. It can also compress the photo, bringing the subject and background closer together. -NOTE: This effect does not work with digital zoom. Macro Lens: This feature, found on most cameras, allows the photographer to take extremely close-up shots. Some cameras have a macro that works fractions of an...

How to Get Better Printing Results

Better Printing Results   One of the only disadvantages to digital photography compared to film is the fact that you don’t automatically get a print. If you want to share your photos with someone, hang a picture on the wall or carry one in your wallet, you must print your photos out. There are a variety of factors to consider when printing out your photos. How Should You Print Them? Are these prints going to...