Awesome Photoshop Tips

OK, so I may be totally late to this discovery, but I just found Bubbleshare. Wow! Bubbleshare is part of the Web 2.0 gang that's taking over the universe, yet with a great idea and simplicity grandma will love!

In a nutshell, Bubbleshare hosts your photos online with style. Create an album of photos that can be played as a slide show. Order prints and gifts like photo books, posters, and yes, even apparel directly from your own private gallery.

So that's all good and fine, but what distinguishes it from Flickr, Webshots, and other photo sharing sites? I think by far the coolest feature is the automatic generation of code to embed your little shows in a blog or personal web site like so:

Other notables:
-Not necessary to sign up or create an account.
-Online editing is great: Re-sequence your images, rotate them, tag them, add thought bubbles, captions, the list goes on...
-Viewers can access your private gallery and post comments.

There's a ton of other features that you really need to try for yourself. Get on over there!

-Leon

This little tip has changed my life. I can now look at a screen full of open images in Photoshop and tell which ones have been modified -without ever looking at the History Palette.

In Mac OS X, there's a handy little indicator that you've probably seen and said, "Hmm. Wonder why that's there?"

Open a document in any application. Before you do anything, take a look at those glossy little gel buttons:

Now modify it.


Enjoy!
-Leon

OK, so I totally apologize for going MIA on my faithful readers! Isn't it true that everything comes down at the same time in life? Things are happening for me right now and I was away for a week.

This has nothing to do with Photoshop, but numbers. Photoshop is software which technically is a series of zeros and ones, so it relates a little, right?

On August 2 last year, my family packed up a U-Haul and took a major road trip. We moved to Idaho.

On August 6 last year, we arrived in Idaho to set up our new life.

On August 2 this year, I got a formal job offer in San Diego.

On August 6 this year, I arrived in San Diego for a working interview.

Crazy... More details later. Let's get to the fun stuff!

-Leon

Here's a tip that came right from the NAPP forums. (Only- I misunderstood the original question, but it's a good tip nonetheless!)

How can you force all open documents into Full Screen Mode? Simple!

Hold the Shift Key while clicking the Full Screen Mode button at the bottom of your Tool Palette and voila! To pull all images back out of Full Screen Mode, repeat the process of holding Shift+Clicking on the icon.

Here's another tip you can use while in this mode, although it applies anytime in Photoshop:

To cycle through open documents, hold Control+Tab. (Yes, it's one of the few keyboard shortcuts that is identical on the Mac & PC!) To cycle through in reverse, hold Control+Shift+Tab.

Have fun!
-Leon

I was contacted yesterday with this question:

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I'm starting my photography business, and doing my own color correcting.  I'm PC based, and I'm looking for some recommendations on a monitor type and a calibration device and software.  Any thoughts?  I haven't been able to find much regarding good color correction monitors (CRT or LCD) on the internet, so here I am! 
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This is a great question and I thought I'd share my thoughts on this issue:

The market is in a real interesting state with displays. Pros have always demanded CRTs -and for good reason! In the last few years, LCDs have had a bad rap. But now all the manufacturers have completely stopped making CRTs, literally forcing everyone to go LCD. The good news is, the LCD technology has become way better and has gained acceptance by pros in every vein of the imaging industry. 

So with that out of the way, here are some recommendations:

1) If money is no object, Eizo makes the highest quality LCDs for color critical work. They claim to display the complete range of Adobe RGB color space which is a feat even for CRTs.  The good news is if you buy an Eizo, it comes with a calibration device and software. 

2) LaCie is a good option. They have always been in the business of making top level color critical displays for the industry. Pricing is a little bit better, but you give a little on the specs compared to the Eizo. They sell a calibration device that works perfectly with their monitors which I'd recommend. 

3) I can't forget to mention Apple displays. I know you're on a PC, but Apple displays are compatible with any standard video card. Color management and specs are very good and all the pros I've ever spoken to are emphatic about the quality. 

Apple doesn't sell a calibration device, but there are plenty to choose from and this applies to ANY brand display you end up with. I recommend one of three:

1) x-rite MonacoOPTIX or Gretag MacBeth (recently merged companies.) These devices are what most top studios use.

2) ColorVision Spyder2 - A little less expensive but a dynamite device. I am completely satisfied with the results. 

One last thing to note is size. Most everyone offers a 21"-23" display. Don't go any smaller than that. For wedding post-production, size is everything. Buy the largest display you can afford without sacrificing quality. When my current display bites the dust, I'm going 30". Seem excessive? Hardly. Several reasons for going big:

-Display your images at 1:1 size! Think: Album designs and reprints. Not only can you truly see what your retouching and designs look like at a true 11x14, 22x14, etc. but you can display it to your clients so they don't have to "imagine" the size. 

-Efficiency. Hunting for different windows takes time. Time is money. 5 seconds here, 10 seconds there... add it up over a month and it could have meant beating a deadline!

-Quality. Both manufacturers of 30" displays have identical specs: Dell & Apple . The specs actually beat out most of the smaller displays by a long shot as far as contrast and brightness. Do they cost a lot? YES! In fact, they require an additional $500 video card to run. 

A 30" display may not be for you right now, but if you have some money to invest, it will be a great return!

-Leon

We've all tinkered with Photoshop's Layer Blending Modes. Some we can't live without, and some are so obscure they just seem useless. (Let me assure you- they all have a purpose in life!) Let's take a look at one of Photoshop's least appreciated Blending Modes: Difference.

Difference Blending Mode Tutorial

Have fun!
-Leon

Ever go into Free Transform and realize you can't hit "F" on the keyboard to go into Full Screen? Before you hit Escape and hit that "F" button, try this:

Forget the keyboard shortcut and simply click on the Full Screen Mode icon at the bottom of your Tools Palette! It's that simple!

Enjoy!
-Leon

I've found the secrets to the universe! Chant this mantra four times and you will find nirvana:

.::NIK MBA GS DWO FH VJZLEX UTCY::.

OK, I'm only joking... but if you really want to become a true Photoshop keyboard shortcut kung-fu master, you'll want to know the shortcuts to changing Layer blending modes!

Blending Mode Tutorial

Enjoy!
-Leon

Pros know the key to awesome editing is in using Layers. So how do you navigate the Layers Palette when you've got 20, 30, 40, or even hundreds of Layers? Here are a few tips that will make your life easier!

Selecting Layers Tutorial

Enjoy!
-Leon

Here's a quick way to use Photoshop's Adjustment Layers and Blending Modes to create a subtle vignette effect to draw the viewer's eye into the subject.

Easy Vignette Tutorial

-Leon