Photoshop Actions to Emulate Instagram Effects

I’m not always a fan of heavily processed images, but as a matter of artistic expression, I often like to “play” around with images for some cool effects. Since I got the iPhone, I’ve really liked a lot of the image looks that can be accomplished using Instagram. But, since most of my images are shot using my Nikon, and not my iPhone, I wanted to create a set of actions that would emulate Instagram while within Photoshop.

Turns out, I don’t have to! Daniel Box has already done a bunch of these, and he’s made the actions available for FREE (Thank you, Mr. Box!) He says they’re not “100% exact match, but they’re pretty darn great – and remember, you can still tweak your images in Photoshop to improve at will.

Check out the FREE action download at: http://dbox.tumblr.com/post/5426249009/instagram-filters-as-photoshop-actions

Online Set of Webinars – 24hourphotoshop.com

24HourPhotoshop.com is the first ever live, global, interactive event for the Photoshop community — 24 Hours of non-stop Photoshop!

On February 10th/11th, 2012, 24hourphotoshop.com (http://bit.ly/ooeAoc) will be offering over 100 sessions, with 50 instructors via online webinars. Some of the best instructors will be featured (with the exclusion of me, that is), and there are 3 pricing tiers: a limited Free track (requires pre-registration), an all-access $99 track, and an extended track (to see the webinars after the day is over) for $599. These are introductory rates.

I’ve never seen these before, so I can’t vouch for them specifically, but with the list of webinar leaders they have, this is bound to be a powerful day! There is a benefit to accessing as much as possible, live – you can ask questions of the instructors.

Making Selections with the Pen Tool in Photoshop

From PhotoshopEssentials.com, a clear (if not lengthy) tutorial on using the insanely powerful pen tool.
http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/pen-tool-selections/

Don’t fear the Pen Tool!!!

If you find it too complicated, let me know, and I’ll make a little video tutorial or two to ease it up a bit.

Great Black and White in Photoshop

I’m often asked how to turn a color photograph into a Black & White image. Some people use the Black & White setting on their digital camera (and some use Tri-X film – often using manual filters!). The problem with traditional Black and White settings is that the resulting images lack dynamics, but with Photoshop, we can control the dynamics and contrast in an image, with a lot of power and ease.

In this Tutorial, you’ll learn about the power of the Black and White Adjustment Layer, and how do perform some cool special effects using this very simple and powerful tool.

Learn The Basics of Photoshop in 25 Minutes

www.lifehacker.com/au has a very nice introductory tutorial on the basic usage of the tools and basics of Photoshop. It’s a nice start for anyone wanting to begin with Photoshop, and will give students an idea as to how we can go further in our classes.

When you want to continue with your Photoshop instruction, be sure to Contact Us

Remember, we don’t only teach Photoshop for image editing – we also teach a number of the less-expensive image editing options. Many of Photoshop’s abilities are echoed in some of the more “consumer level” programs, as well. You can get some great control over your images using Photoshop Elements, for about $80 right now! We teach that, too!

See the Lifehacker video here.

Photoshop’s 21st Birthday!

wpid-PS-2.5-4-2011-02-19-12-161.jpg

Adobe Photoshop turns 21 today. I want to thank Photoshop, the Knoll Brothers and all involved for giving me so many years of fun, and helping me to make a living as well!

This image is how I got my start with Photoshop. Version 2.5, and the upgrade to Version 4.0 (skipped 3.0!) Look! Dual-Density Floppies!!!

Since Photoshop is old enough to drink, but can’t (it has NO THUMBS!) – let’s all raise a glass in honor of this amazing piece of software!