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taking
stock
overcome creative challenges
by skillfully using stock assets
Easy training from the best in Photoshop, Lightroom & Photography kelbyone.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS July/August 2016
FEATURE
64 Taking Stock
Now that you can access Adobe Stock images
directly in Adobe Creative Cloud apps, its
easier than ever to create amazing images and
designs. Jess Ramirez, of the very popular
Photoshop Training Channel on YouTube, shows
how both photographers and designers can be
more creative and get more out of every stock
Images: Adobe Stock; Layout: Jessica Maldonado
Jess Ramirez
Departments How-To
From the Editor
006 020 DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS
The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Logo Effect
Contributing Writers
009 028 DOWN & DIRTY TRICKS
Create a Dragon-Fisted Fighter
KelbyOne Community
012 050 PHOTOSHOP PROVING GROUND
Advanced Masking Workflow
DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT
Whenever you see this symbol at the end of an article, it means All lighting diagrams courtesy of Sylights
there are either downloadable practice files or additional content
for KelbyOne members at http://kelbyone.com/magazine. Click this symbol below to access the Table of Contents.
KELBYONE.COM
Lightroom Magazine
0 81 LIGHTROOM WORKSHOP
Adding Contrast (& How to Use the Tone Curve)
1 00 LIGHTROOM Q&A
102 LIGHTROOM TIPS & TRICKS
Scott Kelby
Using Actions while
DYNAMIC
RANGE 45 Retouching Portraits
Retouching images can take up a lot of your time in
Photoshop. Kristina Sherk is a big believer in using
actions to significantly reduce the amount of time she
spends in Photoshop. She shows us how to create an
action that she uses to help retouch eyes faster than
you can read this.
Kristina Sherk
Kristina Sherk
Reviews
104
Platypod Pro Max
108
Photoshop Book Reviews
A FEW WORDS FROM SCOTT KELBY
what color the eyes are. In Photoshop Proving Ground, Scott Valentine demonstrates how putting a mask on its own
layer allows you to use every single Photoshop tool at your disposal to create better masks. Also in this issue, were including
a special video from me (that debuts first here in the mag) on how to get rid of those nasty glows and halos that sometimes
appear in HDR images. I show the exact technique I use to keep them tamed (its on page 12). Well, Ive gotta runwe have
lots to do this week before we leave for Photoshop World. Hope I see you there!
All my best,
Scott Kelby
KelbyOne President & CEO
006 Editor & Publisher, Photoshop User
Focal length: 85mm
Exposure: F/2.2
1/60sec
www.tamron-usa.com
The official publication of KelbyOne
EDITORIAL:
Scott Kelby, Editor-in-Chief
Chris Main, Managing Editor
Kim Doty, Associate Editor
Contributing Writers
Kevin Ames Steve Baczewski Corey Barker Peter Bauer
Larry Becker Dave Clayton Michael Corsentino Sen Duggan
Sean McCormack Kirk Nelson Jess Ramirez Kristina Sherk
Colin Smith Lesa Snider Rob Sylvan Scott Valentine
Erik Vlietinck Jake Widman
GRAPHICS:
Jessica Maldonado, Art Director
Margie Rosenstein, Senior Graphic Designer
Angela Naymick, Graphic Designer
MARKETING:
Kleber Stephenson Lindell Stover
WEB:
Adam Frick Brandon Nourse Yojance Rabelo Aaron Westgate
PUBLISHING:
Scott Kelby, Publisher
Kalebra Kelby, Executive V.P.
Jean A. Kendra, Business Manager
ADVERTISING:
Jeanne Jilleba, Advertising Coordinator 800-738-8513 ext. 152
COLOPHON:
Photoshop User was produced using Adobe Photoshop CC 2015 and
Adobe InDesign CC 2015. Roboto was used for headlines and subheads.
Frutiger LT Std for text.
This seal indicates that all content provided herein is produced by KelbyOne, LLC
and follows the most stringent standards for educational resources. KelbyOne is
the premier source for instructional books, DVDs, online classes, and live seminars for
creative professionals.
All contents COPYRIGHT 2016 KelbyOne, LLC. All rights reserved. Any use of the
contents of this publication without the written permission of the publisher is strictly
prohibited. Photoshop User is an independent journal, not affiliated in any way with
Adobe Systems, Inc. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, Illustrator, InDesign, Lightroom,
and Photoshop are registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc. in
the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks mentioned belong to
| fuel for creativity their respective owners. Some of the views expressed by contributors may not be the
representative views of the publisher. ISSN 2470-7031 (online)
PHOTOSHOPS MOST WANTED
Contributing
Writers
KEVIN AMES
is a commercial photographer who writes and teaches too. Read about his KIRK NELSON
take on photography at photofocus.com, and see his work and learn more about is a professional graphics artist in the Washington, D.C., area. He has a B.A. from George Mason
him on kevinamesphotography.com. University and is an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop. Kirks career has touched on a broad
range of subjects in the design field from logo design to animation. He can be reached here.
STEVE BACZEWSKI
is a freelance writer, professional photographer, graphic designer, and JESS RAMIREZ
consultant. He also teaches classes in traditional and digital fine arts photography. is an Adobe Community Professional, speaker, and author for the Adobe Creative
His company, Sore Tooth Productions, is based in Albany, California Cloud Blog. Jess is best known as the founder of the Photoshop Training Channel,
one of the most popular Photoshop YouTube channels in the world.
COREY BARKER
is an award-winning designer and illustrator. A featured instructor at the Photoshop KRISTINA SHERK
World Conference and an Adobe MAX Master Instructor, he has produced numerous considers herself a software translator for those who dont speak Photoshop and
training titles for KelbyOne. Look for his new book Photoshop Tricks for Designers. Lightroom. While majoring in digital art at Elon University, she received four years
of uninterrupted Photoshop training and grew to love the software.
PETER BAUER
is an Adobe Certified Expert that does computer graphics consulting for a select COLIN SMITH
group of corporate clients. His latest book is Photoshop CC for Dummies. He was is an award-winning digital artist, photographer, and lecturer who has authored
inducted into the Photoshop Hall of Fame in 2010. 18 books and has created a series of training videos. Colin is also the founder of
the online resource PhotoshopCAFE.com and president of Software-Cinema.com.
LARRY BECKER
is an author, trainer, speaker, and tech aficionado. He is the founder and lead trainer at LESA SNIDER
LarryBecker.tv, where they teach small businesses and entrepreneurs how to create their is the author of Adobe Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC for Photographers: Classroom in a
own professional-looking videos in-house without hiring a video production team. Book (2016), Photoshop CC: The Missing Manual, several eBooks, and more than 40 video
courses. She also writes a weekly column for Macworld. For more info, visit PhotoLesa.com.
DAVE CLAYTON
is a KelbyOne instructor, designer, and creative specialist with more than 30 years of ROB SYLVAN
experience. He specializes in creating branding projects and logos and has been pub- is the Lightroom Advice Desk Specialist for KelbyOne, on staff at the Digital Photo
lished by Peachpit and KelbyOne. Hes also an Adobe Influencer and ACA in InDesign. Workshops, and the author of Lightroom 5: Streamlining Your Digital Photography
Process. You can learn more at www.lightroomers.com.
MICHAEL CORSENTINO
is an award-winning wedding and portrait photographer, Photoshop and Lightroom SCOTT VALENTINE
expert, author, columnist for Shutter Magazine and Resource Magazine, and speaker is an Adobe Community Professional and Photoshop author. His latest book
and international workshop leader. Learn more at www.michaelcorsentino.com. is The Hidden Power of Adjustment Layers (Adobe Press). Keep up with him
at scoxel.com.
SEN DUGGAN
is the co-author of Photoshop Masking & Compositing, Real World Digital ERIK VLIETINCK
Photography, and The Creative Digital Darkroom. He leads workshops on digital founded IT Enquirer in 1999 (http://it-enquirer.com). A J.D. by education, Erik
photography, Photoshop, and Lightroom. Learn more at SeanDuggan.com. has been a freelance technology editor for more than 20 years. He has written
for Macworld, Computer Arts, Windows NT Magazine, and many others.
SEAN McCORMACK
is the author of Essential Development: 20 Great Techniques for Lightroom 5. JAKE WIDMAN
Based in Galway, Ireland, he shoots subjects from musicians, models, and is a writer and editor who lives in San Francisco. Hes been covering the intersection
actors to landscapes and architecture. Learn more at http://lightroom-blog.com. of computers and graphic design for about 25 years nowsince back when it was
k e l b yo n e . c o m
called desktop publishing and Photoshop was just a piece of scanning software.
009
ABOUT PHOTOSHOP USER
Photoshop User
Magazine
Photoshop User magazine is the official publication of
KelbyOne. As a KelbyOne member, you automatically
receive Photoshop User ten times a year. Each issue
About KelbyOne
KELBYONE MEMBER DISCOUNTS
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has evolved from NAPP and KelbyTraining to create a singular hub for
creative people to learn, grow, and inspire. From photographers to graphic
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MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER
ONLINE CLASSES & EDUCATION The KelbyOne Newsletter is your monthly connection to everything
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full online classes, and quick-tip videos. of everything new in the industry and at KelbyOne headquarters.
010 FIND KELBYONE MEMBERSHIP DETAILS AT kelbyone.com or call 800-201-7323 MondayFriday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST.
KelbyOne Community
Inspiration, information, and member musings to fuel your creative think tank
By Chris Main and Dave Clayton
something else unless they try. This is what KelbyOne does to help looking for!
me expand my mind and learn as much as possible.
Thanks, Amanda, for spending a few moments with us and inspir-
Photography and design has changed so much over the past ing us to become better and to try something new! To learn more
few years. What for you is the best thing about it? about Amanda, visit her website at amandaglasspell.com, as well
When my photography went quiet due to the recession, I took this as on Facebook and Twitter.
opportunity to go back to college to learn graphic design, and this 015
Exp sed: Industry News
The latest news about photography gear, software, and services
By Chris Main
Adobe Releases
Photoshop CC 2015.5
On June 21, Adobe announced
major updates to their Creative
Cloud tools, including Photoshop
and Adobe Stock. Starting with
this update, Adobe has prom-
ised to increase the performance
of Photoshop over the next few
releases. In this 2015.5 release,
for example, the font menu is up
to 4x faster and Content-Aware
Fill is up to 3x faster.
Its time to say farewell to the
Refine Mask dialog, as Adobe has introduced a selection of your font list and an on-canvas menu for selecting
and masking space (Select>Select and Mask). The idea alternate glyphs.
is to minimize clicks, mouse movements, and interface Creative Cloud Libraries have also been improved.
clutter. Most of the Refine Mask settings now appear Now when you share a Library, you can make it read-only
in the Properties panel, and theres a new View Mode so assets cant be changed by others. Licensed Adobe
option called Onion Skin with a Transparency slider to Stock assets now have a badge for easy identification,
make it easier to see the edges and quality of the selec- and if you have a large monitor, Photoshop will present
tion. Youll also find a simplified Toolbox in this space you with a larger Libraries panel for easier browsing. Col-
that includes the Quick Selection tool, Lasso tool, Brush ors can be saved into panels, plus styles can be dragged
tool, and a new-and-improved Refine Edge Brush tool. directly from the panel and applied to a document.
The next major feature is that Content-Aware Fill Artboards have also been updated. You can now
has been added to the Crop tool. Now when you duplicate a layer or layer group and copy it into selected
rotate or expand the canvas, Photoshop will fill in any artboards, as well as easily change artboard backgrounds
missing gaps. and view transparency within artboards. And finally, you
Retouchers will rejoice with the new Face-Aware can share patterns from the Capture CC app directly
p h ot o s h o p u s e r j u ly / a u g u st 2 0 16
Liquify feature. Without making a selection, you can eas- with Photoshop.
ily change the eyes, mouth, nose, and shape of a persons As for Adobe Stock, new features include the ability
face by simply moving sliders. You can change everything to open images from the Adobe Stock website directly
from the size to the height to the width of each of into Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator. You can also
these features. license images from the Layers panel or via an on-canvas
Designers will be excited about the new Match contextual menu.
Font (Type>Match Font) capability. Photoshop can use One thing you might want to know is that Photoshop
machine learning to analyze a picture that has some 2015.5 is a full version update, so youll need to reinstall
text in it to detect which font is used in the photo and any plug-ins. For more info on that, plus to learn how to
then match it to similar fonts licensed on your com- keep the previous version of Photoshop on your system if
puter or fonts on Typekit. Other font improvements you so desire, click here. To learn about all the new fea-
016 include viewing fonts by family to reduce the length tures added to other Creative Cloud apps, click here.
e x p o s e d: i n d u st ry n e w s
Adobe Updates
Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw
A couple of weeks before the Creative Cloud update draw the vertical and horizontal lines on the image
(see opposite page), Adobe announced the availability to help Upright perform its magic. New camera sup-
of Lightroom CC 2015.6, Lightroom 6.6, and Adobe port includes the Canon Power-Shot G7 X Mark II,
Camera Raw 9.6. These updates provide additional cam- the Leica M-D (Type 262), the Nikon COOLPIX B700,
era RAW support, lens support, and bug fixes. Creative and the Panasonic DMC-GX85 (DMC-GX80/DMC-GX7
Cloud members will also enjoy a new Guided Upright Mark II). Additional updates include smart preview sup-
feature in Lightroom CC and ACR. Upright was intro- port for Merge to Panorama and HDR, and a Pending
duced in an earlier version to help users straighten Sync Activity section in the Lightroom Mobile tab in the
images, fix horizons, and reduce or eliminate keystone Preferences. This feature helps to identify any issues
effects in buildings. The new Guided Upright feature related to image sync across the Lightroom family of
allows users to provide hints in images that dont have products. For more information and a list of the new lens
prominent vertical and horizontal lines. You simply profiles supported in Lightroom, click here.
Phottix Introduces
the Spartan Beauty Dish
Phottix has released a new on-location light modifier
called the Spartan Beauty Dish. Using eight flexible
rods, this collapsible beauty dish is easy to set up, and
its made from high-grade materials with a white inte-
rior that produces soft, even light. Included in the kit
are a metal beauty dish disk, baffle, front diffuser,
and fabric grid. Simply replace the metal diffuser with
the internal baffle to quickly convert it into a tradi-
tional octa softbox. Add the outer diffuser to soften
the light even more and the grid to control the direc-
tion of the light, and you have a versatile tool for
capturing beautiful images anywhere you go. The 20"
version is $120, and the 28" version is $145. Click here
for more information.
Impression 2
Turns Your Photos into Art
Topaz recently announced Impression 2, their standalone
and plug-in application for converting images into art.
New features include spot, color, luminosity, and brush
masks; a larger Brush Browser that displays three rows
instead of two; larger stroke previews; control over how
many brush strokes it uses; and you can watch Impres-
sion as it paints your image. Undo/redo has also been
added, along with 22 new blend modes for applying
effects. Click here for more info.
018
#KelbyOneBooks
&Dirty
BY COREY BARKER
In this project, well explore the title treatment for the Agents of
Tricks
S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show. Well build this effect using a base texture,
simple shapes, and layer styles. While the final result looks 3D,
PhotoArtTextures.com
zine. All files are for personal use only.]
ture file into this new document. Add the Shift key
when dragging so the texture lands centered in the
new document. Once the texture is in place, set
the layer Opacity to 75% in the Layers panel. Press
Command-R (PC: Ctrl-R) to show the rulers, click on
the vertical ruler on the left, drag out a guide, and
place it in the center of the canvas. It should snap in
Step Three
place. If it doesnt, make sure theres a checkmark
next to Snap under the View menu.
Step Four: Hold down the Shift key and draw out a
circle in the middle of the canvas at the size shown
here. It will automatically create a shape layer in the
Layers panel. Once you have the circle drawn, press Step Four
the letter A to switch to the Path Selection tool (the
black arrow), and click-and-drag inside the ellipse
to position it so the top and bottom control points
align with the guide. Just like the guide, it should
snap into place.
Step Five: With the circle still active (if its not, click
on it with the Path Selection tool), press Command-C
k e l b yo n e . c o m
Step Six
Step 17
Step 18
p h ot o s h o p u s e r j u ly / a u g u st 2 0 1 6
Step 20
Adobe Stock/papa
Step 21: Now for some final touches. First, we have
a dust particle image from Adobe Stock (also avail-
able in the downloads). Remove the color by press-
ing Shift-Command-U (PC: Shift-Ctrl-U), then use
the Move tool to drag it to the main image. Position
it at the top of the layer stack, set the layer blend
mode to Screen, and drop the Opacity to 40%. Use
Free Transform to resize and reposition as needed.
We set it to the left of the logo. Click the Add Layer
Mask icon (circle in a square) at the bottom of the
Layers panel, switch to the Gradient tool (G), and
press X until the Foreground color is black. Click on
the gradient thumbnail in the Options Bar to open
the Gradient Editor, select the Foreground to Trans-
parent preset, and click OK. Select the Radial Gradi-
ent icon in the Options Bar, and then draw gradients
to mask out the dust particles from the center area
of the logo.
Step 21
Adobe Stock/Alexander Marushin
Step 24
k e l b yo n e . c o m
027
Final
HOW TO
&Dirty
BY KIRK NELSON
Tricks
the highly specific situations that would require it. But with a bit of explora-
tion and some creative application of stock images, blend modes, and layer
masks, this filter can be quite useful in crafting a high-energy image with a lot
of visual impact. In this tutorial, we make use of some excellent Adobe Stock
images and the Flame filter to create this striking dragon-fisted fighter!
DOWN AND DIRTY TRICKS
Step 10: Drag the Fist layer to the top of the layer
stack and change the blend mode to Linear Dodge
(Add). Then, go to Image>Adjustments>Hue/Satu-
ration and enable the Colorize option. Set the Hue
to 241, Saturation to 68, and the Lightness to 2,
and click OK. This will give the fist a bright-blue hue
that allows it to be clearly seen even through the fire
and dragon.
Step 10
k e l b yo n e . c o m
033
Final
HOW TO
fonts. Sync fonts (previously called desktop use fonts) fonts stop working.
behave almost the same as other fonts installed on your Web fonts are stored on Adobes servers and delivered
computer. They live on your hard drive and you can use to Web browsers when visitors access the webpage. You can
them in any program that supports a font menu (even non- use them with any website-creation tool, including Adobe
Adobe ones), you can embed them into PDFs, convert their Dreamweaver, Muse, WordPress, and so on. Theres a limit
characters to paths in Photoshop or Illustrator, and so on. of 500,000 page views for each domain where the fonts are
You cant, however, use a font-management program to used, so if your website goes viral, you have to upgrade to
enable or disable them, nor can you include Typekit fonts a paid Typekit plan, which starts at $50$100 per year for
when packaging an InDesign document to have it printed 1,000,000 page views. And, like Typekits sync fonts, if you
elsewhere (the workaround is to send the printer a PDF with stop paying for your Creative Cloud subscription, Adobe
the font embedded into it). In other words, you cant share wont serve the Web fonts to your server so they no
034
BEGINNERS' WORKSHOP
In-Depth Workshop La Circque Photographique: A Mobile Photography Creative Workshop with Russell Preston Brown*
In-Depth Workshop Ignite Your Photography Career: Get Focused, Build Your Brand & Get Booked with Tim Wallace*
Night & Low-Light Photography with Alan Hess
The Wildest Subject of All: How to Get the Shot in Wildlife Photography with Moose Peterson
Lightpainting Light Up the Wolrd with Dave Black
The Secrets to Creating the Best Dog Photos Ever with Kaylee Greer
Concert Photography with Alan Hess
Posing Problem Solving with Roberto Valenzuela
Hot Shoe Flash - The First Steps with Joe McNally
Start Your Engines: The Secrets to Getting Started in Aviation Photography with Moose Peterson
Big Flash Done Fast with Joe McNally
Picture Perfect Lighting with Roberto Valenzuela
If youve never heard of actions before, theyre actually little the drop-down menu, which will put a checkmark next to
recordings of the steps that you take in Photoshop. You it. This means the window is now visible within Photoshop.
can use an action to do something as simple as creating Youll see a few buttons at the bottom of the Actions
a new layer, or as detailed as creating an entire portrait- panel. To the left of the Trash icon is the Create New Action
retouching outline, all by clicking only one button. (Ill be icon (it looks just like the Create a New Layer icon thats
giving some free actions at the end of this article too, so be in the Layers panel). Clicking this icon will always be your
sure to keep reading!) first step when creating an action. Once youve named your
For those of you who are aware of actions, I hope youre action and it shows up in the actions list, youre ready to
using them in your workflow. You may feel like actions are start recording.
a one-trick pony, but the true beauty of actions lies in when
we create ones that can be customized while theyre playing.
Immediately, this opens a whole new world when it comes
to actions, making them even more valuable to your every-
day retouching. Well learn how to do this in this article.
BEST PRACTICES
Before we jump in with both feet to explore actions, lets
talk about some of the best practices while creating them.
Actions dont respond well to freehand brushstrokes or
drag-and-drop movements, so those wont be recorded
by your action and will mess it up. When Im creating an
action, I try not to use a tablet pen (or mouse); I only use my
trackpad. This seems to prevent me from mistakenly mak-
ing movements that may not be recorded by the action.
Also, dont click-and-drag your layers to rearrange them in
your Layers panel. Again, the action wont record this move.
Instead, select the layer you want to relocate by clicking on
it once in the Layers panel, and then use the following key-
board shortcuts to move it in the layer stack: Command-Left
Bracket (PC: Ctrl-Left Bracket) to move your selected layer
down, and Command-Right Bracket (PC: Ctrl-Right Bracket)
k e l b yo n e . c o m
to move it up.
CREATE A SIMPLE ACTION action that will make our clients eyes look amazing in his/
Lets start by creating a simple action. In this action, youll her portrait, but were going to create it in a very smart way,
create a black layer mask on whatever pixel-based layer which will let us use this same action no matter what color
(non-adjustment layer) is highlighted in your Layers panel. the clients eyes are in the current image (and every future
image on which we run this action). But to be able to do
Step One: With your document open, and the requisite that, we need to instruct the action to ask for input from the
layer selected, click the Create New Action icon at the bot- action user. Photoshop isnt smart enough to know what
tom of the Actions panel. Lets name this action Add Black color our clients eyes are, so we need to give it a little help.
Mask in the New Action dialog and house it in the Default Lets get started.
Actions Set. Click Record to start recording.
Step One: As before, well start by clicking the Create New
Action icon at the bottom of the Actions panel. Lets name
this action Amazing Eyes and click the Record button.
test your action. Go to the Actions panel, click on the Add go to the Edit menu
Black Mask action, and click the Play Selection icon at the and choose Fill. The
bottom of the Actions panel. This should automatically cre- Fill dialog wont actu-
ate a black layer mask on the layer that was active when the ally open, but youll
action was told to start playing. In one quick step, you were see that menu item ap-
able to create a black mask on the current layer that you pear in the Insert Menu
were working on. Item dialog. Click OK in
the Insert Menu Item
LETS GET ADVANCED dialog to close it. This
Lets move on to the advanced section of this article where means that when you play the action, it will pause at this
the true beauty of actions lies. Were going to create an point so you can choose the correct eye colorno matter
046
DYNAMIC RANGE
what color eyes your client has. This makes this action more Step Seven: For this next section, Photoshop will need a
valuable because now you can use it on a client with blue little help from you again, so lets insert another Stop by
eyes one day, and on a client with brown eyes the next. clicking the flyout menu located in the upper right of the
Actions panel and choosing Insert Stop.
Step Four: Heres where it gets trickyso please pay atten-
tion. Press the Stop Recording icon at the bottom of your Step Eight: Write yourself another note in the Message sec-
Actions panel. Now, click on your Eye Color layer in the tion. Heres what my note looks like: Photoshop needs a
Layers panel to make sure its active, and then actually fill it little more help from you! In the bottom section of the Layer
with color using the Edit>Fill command. This part should not Style dialog (coming up in the next screen), youll see the
be recorded in the action. Once the layer is filled with color, Blend If sliders. On the Underlying Layer bar, drag the black
you can start recording your action again, so click the Begin arrow to the right until you begin to see the dimension
Recording icon (circle) at the bottom of the Actions panel. effect on some of your clients iris, but not all of it. Then,
hold down the Option (PC: Alt) key and click on the same
Step Five: Make sure your Eye Color layer is still active and black arrow to split it down the middle. Pull the right portion
press Command-J (PC: Ctrl-J) to duplicate it. Double-click of the arrow to the right about 20, and pull the left portion
this new layers name and rename it Dimension. Press of the same arrow to the left about 20, widening the space
Command-U (PC: Ctrl-U) to bring up the Hue/Saturation dia- between the two sides of the black arrow. After you enter
log, and set the Saturation to 100 to desaturate the layer. you message, click the Allow Continue checkbox, and then
click OK.
k e l b yo n e . c o m
Step Six: Click back on your Eye Color layer and change its
Layer blend mode (near the top left of the layers panel) from Step Nine: Next, go up to the same flyout menu and choose
Normal to Overlay. Then decrease the Opacity of your Eye Insert Menu Item. With the Insert Menu Item dialog open
Color layer to 40%. Next, click on the Dimension layer and onscreen, go to the Layer menu at the top and choose Layer
change its blend mode to Color Dodge. Style>Blending Options. Then click OK in your Insert Menu
047
HOW TO
Item dialog. Now youll need to stop recording your action both layer effects under a black mask. You can now stop
again, so that you dont actually record the Blend If slider your recording at the bottom of the Actions panel. Finally,
settings that youre about to input. Note: Remember, you youre finished with the action!
want this action to work on all eye colors and lightness/
darkness values. This is complicated; but it will be worth
it in the end.
Step Thirteen: To reveal the effect, just paint over the sub-
jects eyes with the Brush tool (B) set to white (press X until
the Foreground color is white) and 0% Hardness. If the
effect is too strong, simply click on the Amazing Eyes folder in
your Layers panel and decrease the Opacity. Now you can
play your Amazing Eyes action on any image, follow the
prompts to pick your eye color and Blend If settings, and
simply paint on the mask and lower the Opacity to create
amazing eyes.
p h ot o s h o p u s e r j u ly / a u g u st 2 0 1 6
If you take the time to really learn more than just the
basics of actions, they can become an exceptionally power-
ful part of your retouching workflow. I know the second
action above was a long and advanced one to learn, so
for those beginners out there, Ive included the Awesome
Eyes action as part of this issues downloads! Just click on
Amazing Eyes effect at 100% Opacity
the Tutorial Files link for this issue found here. And if youd
like more free, awesome actions and presets, check out
SharkPixel!
k e l b yo n e . c o m
layer, simply hold Option (PC: Alt) and click on the layer mask
PUT THE MASK ON ITS OWN LAYER Now, a mask isnt very useful if you cant see the image
Youre no doubt familiar with many selection techniques, youre working with, so heres the secret sauce: Put the new
but no single one is complete and perfect for every situation. Working Mask into a layer group (drag the Working Mask
When you find that you need extra oomph and cant get layer down to the Folder icon at the bottom of the Layers
Refine Edge to cooperate, or you cant paint the changes panel) and then Shift-click the original layer mask to turn
you want directly, it might be time to put your mask on its it off. Change the name of the group to Working Mask as
own layer for detailed work. To get your mask onto its own well. Finally, change the blend mode of the group itself to
050
BEGINNERS' WORKSHOP
CRITTER EXPERIMENT
Scott Valentine
Remember that my goal for you is to build solid
foundations by tearing away context and bias so
you can see whats happening in the details. In
this case, that means splitting off selections
from the topic and focusing only on manipulat-
ing masks. To that end, I have built a little crea-
ture outline that will let us see whats going on
with various mask operations without worrying
to see the effect on an image.
[KelbyOne members may download the file
used in this tutorial at http://kelbyone.com/
magazine. All files are for personal use only.]
Open the file sjv_Critter_Mask.psd, then
expand the Model group in the Layers panel.
Youll see Ive set you up with the Critter basic
shape in a smart object, which has all the basic
features we want to look at: inside and outside
curves, sharp points, and straight lines. Theres
also a 10-px Gaussian Blur set as a smart filter
on the Critter that should be turned off for
the moment.
Turn on the Gaussian Blur filter by clicking
to the left of the name so its Eye icon appears.
The Critter is unsurprisingly blurred. Turn on
the Curves adjustment layer. Notice the blur is
slightly less? Finally, turn on the Levels adjust-
ment layer. Boom! Were back to a smooth
edge! But waitwhats different?
Notice all the sharp corners are softer, and
the little triangle nose is gone completely.
Now turn off the Gaussian Blur smart filter and
the original edges are back. Weve taken advan-
tage of the fact that Levels and Curves ignore
pure black and white, except where theres a
transition. By giving the Critter a little blur, Lev-
p h ot o s h o p u s e r j u ly / a u g u st 2 0 1 6
EVERYTHING GOES
As you tinker, turn off the various piecessmart
filter, Levels, or Curvesand check the results.
This will let you see how they interact. More
importantly, it will give you a feel for the tradeoffs
when making your own masks. Smoothing too
much may lose important details, so youll have
to work on a selection of your mask rather than
all of it at once. You can do this by adding more
adjustment layers and using their masks to target
specific elements. And you can combine multiple
masks together using the Stamp/Merge tech-
nique above.
Of course you can use any of Photoshops
tools that dont directly use color to work on
your mask. Some filters, such as Add Noise or
Render Clouds, dont work as smart filters, so
youll have to either forego the conversion to
a smart object, or open the smart object to use
those filters. To keep your original, just make a
copy of the original layer and do your work on
the duplicate. That way you can use destructive
techniques and still have a place to which to
get back.
Dont forget that you can also use classic
tools such as Dodge and Burn (O) for cleaning up
edges, the Smudge tool (nested under the Blur
tool in the Toolbox) for pushing little bits around,
the Blur or Sharpen tool for specific edges, etc.
k e l b yo n e . c o m
As a bonus tip, you can drag these filter layers to change checking. You didnt? Well, it does and you can find it under
their stacking order. (Note: If for some reason you really Edit>Check Spelling. You might have missed it if you were
miss having all of these filters appear in the Filter menu, go looking under the Type menu. Theres also a Find and Replace
to Photoshop [PC: Edit] >Preferences>Plug-Ins, and turn Text option under the Edit menu, where you can change
on Show All Filter Gallery Groups and Name.) words, individual characters, or the case of characters.
PREVIEW TEXT
Did you know that you can preview different fonts for your
text right in your document? Click on your text layer in the FILLING THE PIXELS, NOT THE TRANSPARENCY
Layers panel to make it active. Choose the Type tool (T), and What if you have a layer that has both pixels and transpar-
pull down the font menu in the Options Bar. The text onscreen ency and you want to fill the pixels with a new color while
will change to reflect whatever font youre hovering your cur- protecting the transparent areas? You could make a selection
sor over in the menu. This is really useful, but more often than around the pixels by holding down the Command (PC: Ctrl)
not, the font menu will cover a part or all of the text that key and clicking on the layer thumbnail in the Layers panel to
youre trying to preview in your document. A better way is load it as a selection. Now when you fill with a color it only fills
to use the Character panel (Window>Character). The panel the selected areas. Another way is to lock the transparency
can be positioned anywhere onscreen, even on a second of the layer. You know, that little checkerboard icon to the
monitor, to get it out of your way. Now, scroll through the right of the word Lock near the top of the Layers panel.
font list in this detachable panel. Oh, look! It also activates Ill wait while you check; its the one you probably never use.
k e l b yo n e . c o m
this same preview, but now its out of your way. Or you could try this instead: When you fill with the Fore-
ground color using the keyboard shortcut Option-Delete (PC:
SPELLCHECK Alt-Backspace), or the Background color using Command-
This is another one of those tiny, fast tips. Did you know that Delete (PC: Ctrl-Backspace), add the Shift key. Adding the
Photoshop has a spellchecker? You did? Thats great, just Shift key will lock the transparency so you dont fill it.
055
website management
before
ScottMadden, with offices in Atlanta, Georgia, Raleigh, North
Carolina, and Westborough, Massachusetts, is a general man-
agement consulting firm with four main practice areas: energy,
clean technology and sustainability, grid transformation, and cor-
porate and shared services. We started in 1983 focusing on the
energy industry, and then expanded into our other practice areas,
explains senior marketing specialist Mary Tew. The company offers
an array of services ranging from strategic planning through imple-
mentation to improving operations. The firms clients come from
higher education, government, entertainment, and more.
ScottMadden put up its first website in the 90s and a more
robust site in 2009, according to Titi Ellis, the companys market-
ing strategist. The site serves as the firms calling card to poten-
tial clients: the traffic comes from about 40% organic search and
30% paid, says Tew, plus a lot of referral traffic. It contains a lot of
contentmuch more than most companies in the management
consulting field, says Ellis.
By this past spring, however, the site was no longer represent-
ing ScottMadden the way the company wanted. The last redesign
had been seven years ago, and seven years in Web time is a lot of
time, Ellis adds. The amount of content, already large, had contin-
ued to increase since the last site refresh, and it wasnt as accessible
as it could be. We wanted to make sure that people were able to
get to that content and see the thought leadership pieces weve
Original website put so much energy into producing, Ellis continues. We also
wanted to make sure that when people came to the site, it was
The amount of content, clear that we have several practice areas. We were an energy con-
already large, had continued sulting firm to start with, and the old design reflected that focus,
so the other services were not as prominent. To satisfy these con-
to increase since the last cerns, and to keep the site fresh, ScottMadden embarked on a site
site refresh, and it wasnt as makeover that culminated in a launch this past April.
p h ot o s h o p u s e r j u ly / A u g u s t 2 0 16
makeover submissions
Were looking for product packaging or labels, print advertisements, websites, and magazine covers that are currently in the marketplace for
future design makeovers. So if you or someone you know has a design that youd like us to consider making over, or if youre a designer and
youd like to be considered for a future Design Makeover, send us an email at letters@photoshopuser.com. (Note: This is purely a design
exercise and the designers do not work directly with the client, create functioning websites, etc.)
We also cover real-world makeovers in this column, so let us know if you recently had a branding makeover or if you did a branding
makeover for a client that youd like us to consider.
056
DESIGN MAKEOVER
CLIENT
ScottMadden Management Consultants
www.scottmadden.com
the project
A major driver of the site makeover was that we wanted people
to know as soon as they came to the site who ScottMadden
is and what we can do for them, says Ellis. Our site is more
for branding than for lead generation. The old site still looked
good, but the company was hearing more and more from
potential buyers and from representatives in the field working
on business development that potential clients didnt pick up
on the corporate shared services aspect of the business. That
was the first indication that we needed to do something, says
Ellis. Theyd been hearing this feedback for a while, but it really
started to ramp up in 2014 and 2015.
ScottMadden began looking into revamping the website in
late fall 2014. In early 2015, they started researching vendors
and soon selected the design and marketing firm Atlantic BT,
also located in Raleigh. The referral came through a third party
who worked with both, according to the project manager for
Atlantic BT, Andrea Osborn.
Original website Tori Pratt, senior digital marketing strategist at Atlantic BT,
explains that the redesign started with interviewing ScottMadden
users, well before any actual design decisions were made. We
interviewed eight sample users, some of them people who actu-
more and morethat potential was actually like. Clients didnt feel that the website showcased
the knowledge and expertise that are present in their interac-
clients didnt pick up on the tions with ScottMadden and in the quality of the companys
corporate shared services work. People were overwhelmed by the amount of information
on the homepage and had difficulty identifying who ScottMadden
aspect of the business. was and what they did, Pratt continues.
ScottMaddens tagline is Smart. Focused. Done Right. The companys self-description says those words serve as a reminder to every employee of the firms high
standards and the expectations of their clients. It is this results-oriented focus that has earned us the trust and confidence of our clients and helped expand our
business beyond the energy industry, the statement continues.
The company prides itself on consistently delivering an exceptional consulting experience that addresses the unique challenges of each client. To achieve that,
ScottMadden works with its clients in small, hands-on consulting teams, relying on active collaboration to facilitate an open exchange of ideas.
The company vows to hold ourselves to high standards through a belief that client success is the best measure of our own success. Meet with ScottMadden,
and meet the future with confidence.
057
DESIGN MAKEOVER
DESIGNER
Atlantic BT
www.atlanticbt.com
the process
Titi Ellis recalls the extensive interview process as well. We went
through a substantial amount of discovery that included user inter-
views as well as meetings with our stakeholders and brainstorming
Insight Library - ScottMadden V2.1
on the goals we had for the site. In response to what was gleaned
from the meetings and interviews, Atlantic BT produced a series of
Insights Library Insight - Gated Content
Desktop
1
Desktop wireframes depicting the taxonomy and navigation of the site. Those
2 Insights > Insights >
Insights
3
Insights
Minute
Strange Brew: Adapting to Changing Fundamentals Read More
Downsizing: Fairly, Legally,
Ethically, and Respectfully
Trends in Manning
Scott HR Analytics OurKreb
Tina View on Climate
Change Presentation
Report
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
consectetur adipicing elit, sed consectetur adipicing elit, sed consectetur adipicing elit, sed Video
do eiusmod tempor indidunt do eiusmod tempor indidunt do eiusmod tempor indidunt
To access this content, please provide your email address and Webinar
users are and why they go to the site, explains Ricardo Cortes,
Case Study January 2014 White Paper March 2015 Video November 2013
we will send you the link to download the le. White Paper
technology services EEI Strategic Issues Survey An IT Value Creation Summer 2010 Performance Management
Framework
Shared Services
Technology Services
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North Carolina Charges Innovative Ratemaking: Natural Resource Planning Rene Insights consectetur adipicing elit, sed consectetur adipicing elit, sed consectetur adipicing elit, sed Merger Integration
there to read a lot. That meant that a big part of the redesign
Annual Fee for All-Electric Multiyear Rate Plans do eiusmod tempor indidunt do eiusmod tempor indidunt do eiusmod tempor indidunt
Vehicles Requires contact information White Paper April 2010 Energy Industry Update July 2010 Process Redesign
Presentation January 2014
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Project Management
consectetur adipicing elit, sed consectetur adipicing elit, sed consectetur adipicing elit, sed
do eiusmod tempor indidunt do eiusmod tempor indidunt do eiusmod tempor indidunt Featured EEI Strategic Issues Survey Setback for Demand Organizational Placement Fleet Optimization
Response in Organized and Governance of
Clean Tech Minute Report White Paper
Markets Sustainability
Type of Insight: 6 Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Functional Areas
Case Study Case Study January 2014 Regulatory Minute February 2015 Sustainability Minute February 2015 Author
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
consectetur adipicing elit, sed consectetur adipicing elit, sed consectetur adipicing elit, sed Report
do eiusmod tempor indidunt do eiusmod tempor indidunt do eiusmod tempor indidunt Proactively Plan and Shape Coals Slow Burn DOE Loan Guarantee
Video Your Global Business Program
Case Study White Paper Video
Service
White Paper
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Corporate & Shared Services
consectetur adipicing elit, sed consectetur adipicing elit, sed consectetur adipicing elit, sed
do eiusmod tempor indidunt do eiusmod tempor indidunt do eiusmod tempor indidunt Traditional Energy
Video Article White Paper
Clean Tech & Sustainability
got into what the site currently contained and what they wanted
Grid Transformation
EEI Strategic Issues Survey An IT Value Creation Summer 2010
Framework
i Resources that are not gated
Capabilities
will take the user directly to the
insight.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
consectetur adipicing elit, sed consectetur adipicing elit, sed consectetur adipicing elit, sed
do eiusmod tempor indidunt do eiusmod tempor indidunt do eiusmod tempor indidunt Area of Focus
White Paper Energy Industry Update
people are all really closely tied together, and that it wasnt going
Case Study Regulatory Minute Sustainability Minute
Proactively Plan and Shape Coals Slow Burn DOE Loan Guarantee
Your Global Business Program
Service
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
consectetur adipicing elit, sed consectetur adipicing elit, sed consectetur adipicing elit, sed
Not until the site organization and flow was established did
1 Standard navigation and header elements will 5 Filtering options will be displayed in a right 7 Detailed information about the gated resource
DESIGNER
Atlantic BT
www.atlanticbt.com
the results
After all the brainstorming and wireframe work, there wasnt a
lot of back-and-forth about the actual visual design. ScottMadden
already had branding guidelines, and they informed Atlantic BTs
design decisions. It started with a brand standard that they had
already established, so we had a good foundation to work with
when it came to fresh design, says Osborn.
Moreover, our design process, from discovery into design,
really tries to get a lot of the visual and content elements solidified
before we go into design, explains Pratt. We aim to produce
one mockup that hits the nail on the head the first time. We try
not to produce the visuals until were as close to final as possible.
The new site was launched in April of this year. It hasnt been
long enough to really acquire metrics on how well its performing,
but ScottMadden had about a month of data at the time of this
writing. That initial data shows that traffic has at least held steady,
and the company is getting a lot of positive feedback from clients
and staff.
We dont hear that people dont know who we are any
more, says Ellis. I think that the look and feel fits our brand and
tone. You can clearly see our search capabilities and the various
ways you can browse the content.
For its part, Atlantic BT is satisfied as well. The end result was a
really good collaboration on both ends, says Cortes. Pratt agrees:
Looking back on what we ended up creating, and on what we
learned from our surveys with the users at the very beginning,
I think we achieved a lot of our goals for the way people perceive
ScottMadden. The result is a lot better at communicating what
they do and their expertise.
Final website
Atlantic BT was founded in 1998, when the Internet was an upstart technology, according to the company site. Over the past 18 years, Atlantic BT has
helped more than 1,000 clients achieve their digital potential.
That wording points to the way the company positions itself. Weve been called a Web design firm, a technology consultancy, and a marketing agency,
reads its About Us page. All these labels are true, but its only by bringing them together that you grasp who we are: digital problem solvers.
The firms vision is to serve clients with solutions that continue to work for years into the future. To accomplish this, we empower our employees with
autonomy, mastery, and purpose. This means striking the right balance between work and play, treating everyone at Atlantic BT as a trusted family member.
The companys ultimate goal is to inspire themselves, their clients, and their community toward a better and smarter future.
059
HOW TO
MAKE MULTIPLE OBJECTS THE SAME SIZE click any of the yellow diamonds to cycle through the styles.
This is a cool trick when you quickly want to make all the If you only want to change one corner at a time, hold down
images or objects in a document the same size, especially Shift-Option (PC: Shift-Alt) and click-and-drag the yellow
when you resized one and forgot to resize the others at the diamond in the corner that you want to change (or click to
same time. First, after youve set the height and width of the cycle through the styles).
first object using the Selection tool (V), select the remaining
objects, and choose Object>Transform Again>Transform THE EFFECTS PANELJUST LIKE PHOTOSHOP!
Sequence Again Individually. All of the selected objects will Theres a special panel in InDesign that youll like if you
resize to the same dimensions. use blend modes in Photoshop; its called the Effects panel
(Window>Effects). In the drop-down menu at the top left
HIDING OBJECTS of the panel, youll find most of the same blend modes that
To hide a selected object or objects without having to jump are available in Photoshop. This is especially useful if youd
into the Layers panel, just press Command-3 (PC: Ctrl-3). like to blend text over a photo. Here we have an example
To make them appear again, press Command-Option-3
ADOBE STOCK/BENJAMINJK
(PC: Ctrl-Alt-3).
text and the image youve used. You can also apply other
effects (such as Drop Shadows, Inner and Outer Glows, and
Bevel and Emboss) from the Effects panel either by click-
ing the flyout menu at the top right of the panel and going
under the Effects option, or double-clicking on the object in
the Effects panel to open the Effects dialog.
If you want to quickly reset the stroke and fill to their Guides. In the dialog that appears, tick the Preview check-
defaults of no fill and a black stroke, just select the object box so you can see what youre creating. Depending on your
and press D on the keyboard. project, choose how many rows and columns you think you
If you create a shape and apply a color, and then create an need. Because we created 6 columns when we created the
additional shape and want to apply the same color, just hit the document, well set Columns to 6 and Rows to 5 in this
Comma key on your keyboard and it will make it the same. example. Before you click okay, look at the two choices for
If you use the Type on a Path tool (Shift-T) to add type Fit Guides To: Margins or Page. By checking Margins, the
inside a shape, and you want to quickly jump between the guides line up with the margins, but they dont line up if you
two in the Swatches panel to change their colors, just press check Page. Because this will be a document for print, I want
J on the keyboard and it will jump back and forth between to work within my margins and this is how my columns are
the color of the text and the color of the shape. set up. You can still place content to the edge of the page;
just ensure you allow for the page bleed with images.
SAVING TIME WITH PRINT TEMPLATES
One of the things I get asked a lot is what size documents INDESIGN EASTER EGGS
are needed for business cards, letterheads, compliment slips, Do you want to create a rainbow stroke on an object? Who
and flyers. You could Google these to find your answers but wouldnt? Pull up the Stroke panel (Window>Stroke) and
many online print companies supply free templates. MOO select Stroke Styles from the flyout menu at the top right.
Inc, for example, offers InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop From the Stroke Styles panel that appears, click the New
templates to help you create your artwork for all of their button. Name the new style Rainbow, select Stripe in the
products. Just follow their instructions on how to use them. Type drop-down menu, and click OK. Now click OK on the
You can always ask your preferred online printer or local Stroke Styles dialog. The Rainbow stripe will now appear
print company if they have templates of their own. at the bottom of the Type drop-down menu in the Stroke
panel or Control panel. You can do the same with Rasta
GUIDES IN INDESIGN: QUICK TIPS for a red, yellow, and green stripe.
Command-Option-G (PC: Ctrl-Alt-G) selects all the guides This extra tip is for the Dash stroke option, and one that
on a page or spread. Kaylee Greer is going to love. Just follow the same steps as
If you want to draw both a horizontal and vertical guide above, but this time select Dash as the Type and name it
at the same time, just Command-drag (PC: Ctrl-drag) from Woofinstant dog paw stroke! Try the same with Feet
where the rulers intersect at the top left of the document for footprints.
window. If the rulers arent visible, press Command-R (PC:
Ctrl-R) to make them appear and the same shortcut to hide
them again.
If youre dragging out a vertical guide but quickly want
to change it to a horizontal guide (or vice versa), just press-
and-hold the Option (PC: Alt) key and it switches between
the two.
If you want to delete all the guides, just Right-click in
either ruler and choose Delete All Guides on Spread.
the page. It makes for a more structured and tidier layout. One last little extra tip: If you want to quickly preview all the
I prefer to set up my grid before placing any content. Lets different types of strokes that you can apply to an object in
take a look at how to do that. your document, select the object, hover your cursor over the
Create a new document (File>New>Document) with an Type drop-down menu in either the Stroke panel or Con-
A4 Page Size, 6 Columns, 5 mm Gutters, and a 3 mm Bleed trol panel, and then use the scroll wheel on your mouse to
all the way around. Click OK. Next, go to Layout>Create quickly apply all of the different strokes. 061
NEXT TOUR STOPS IN 2016
Nashville, TN | Minneapolis, MN
Milwaukee, WI | Las Vegas, NV
By Jess Ramirez
064
Stock images are an essential
Adobe Stock
Having a Creative Cloud account isnt necessary to
download and use Adobe Stock assets; all you need is
an Adobe ID, which can be created for free at accounts
.adobe.com. Then, you can search and download images
directly to your computer from the Adobe Stock website.
Without a Creative Cloud account, however, you wont
be able to take advantage of the Libraries panel feature
in Photoshop. In this article well discuss how you can get
the most out of Adobe Stock, and how you too can start
contributing your content and get paid for it!
066
CREATIVE CLOUD LIBRARIES icon to the right will save the watermarked preview image
Before you can start using and taking full advantage of to your library.
Adobe Stock, you first have to understand what Libraries
are and how they work. Creative Cloud Libraries allows
you to create, categorize, share, and store assets such as
brushes, color swatches, text styles, vector images, and
Adobe Stock images in one easily accessible place.
In Photoshop, you can access the Libraries panel by
going to Window>Libraries. Then in the drop-down menu
at the top left of the panel, select Create New Library and
enter a name for it. Anything that you add to this library
will be accessible to you from any desktop or mobile app
that supports Libraries, as long as you log in with the same
Adobe ID. These libraries support Adobe Stock, and you
can save your image previews directly to them.
Although you could stay in this panel and find all your
assets through it, sometimes its best to use the Adobe
Stock website if youre looking to download multiple pre-
view images from the same search results. With the Libraries
panel, once you click to either download a preview or
Now that you know about the Creative Cloud Libraries license an image, the panel will exit out of the search, forc-
and Adobe Stock, the next step is to learn how to search ing you to repeat the search if you want to download more
and download previews into Photoshop. images from those same search results. Through the Adobe
Stock website, you can download as many preview images
SEARCHING AND BROWSING as you like without having to restart the search.
FOR IMAGES ON ADOBE STOCK To search on the Adobe Stock website head over to
You can search for stock images on Adobe Stock in two stock.adobe.com, or from Photoshop go to File>Search
ways: at the Adobe Stock website , or in the Libraries panel Adobe Stock. On the homepage, you can start your search
inside Photoshop. by entering a keyword in the search bar.
The Libraries panel not only shows you the libraries and
assets that you have on your Creative Cloud account but it
also allows you to search for stock assets by entering any
search term in the Adobe Stock search bar; for example,
k e l b yo n e . c o m
Adobe Stock/Kaikoro
GETTING MORE OUT OF ADOBE STOCK
Now that you know how to search and download Adobe
Stock assets into Photoshop, lets talk about how you can
better utilize those assets in your projects.
changing the color of objects in the photo. day the sky was plain and gloomy.
The uniqueness and style of the photo that you use I knew that adding a more interesting, but non-
is really important as well. Avoid using images that have distracting sky would enhance the image as a whole. Using
been used by many other designers. You dont want to Adobe Stock, I searched for sky clouds panorama and
use a photo that can be found on every other website that quickly found an image that matched my scene perfectly.
069
Jess Ramirez
quickly start selling your images through Adobe Stock, phers can create better stock images that will sell to design-
making your work available to the worlds largest creative ers, and how designers can create better stock images that
community. The process of becoming a contributor is quite will sell to photographers.
easy; all you need to do is set up your account and submit
your content to the Fotolia.com website. Your content HOW DESIGNERS CAN
must meet the strict quality standards, of course, but the CREATE BETTER STOCK IMAGES
setup and upload process is very simple. Click here for If you decide to sell your graphics and vectors on Adobe
more information on creating an account. Stock and you want to be successful, you have to think
about what types of images will sell commercially and how
designers and photographers will use them.
070
Create Sets of Graphics
Adobe Stock/VIGE.co
For designers, a kit, or set, of graphics files tends to sell
better. If a photographer is creating a marketing piece, hell
want to use a set of graphics that have a similar style and
design to keep things cohesive.
Think about how you can provide solutions to photog-
raphers. Consider creating a complete set of brochures or
flyers that they could use and customize for their business.
The important thing is to offer many solutions for the
problems that they face.
Adobe Stock/Vjom
Adobe Stock/123levit
Adobe Stock/jackie
Adobe Stock/haller
Design Graphics that Use
Popular Trends and Styles
When you create your
Adobe Stock/drakulita05
Adobe Stock/kuznetsov_konsta
p h ot o s h o p u s e r j u ly / a u g u st 2 0 1 6
072
Adobe Stock/Alen-D
Adobe Stock/mocker_bat
When shooting photos with backgrounds that
aren t a solid color, the relationship between the
focal point and the negative space becomes really
important. The key is to keep the background
from overpowering the focal point.
there are two types of backgrounds that you can have by capturing multiple and varied images of the same subject
when dealing with stock photos: An isolated background, that can meet the widest range of needs.
which is a plain solid color (usually white); and the original Shoot both horizontal and portrait views. Shoot low
background from where the photo was shot. angles, high angles, close-ups, and wide angles. Shoot any-
When shooting photos with backgrounds that arent thing a potential artist might use, and think of the wide
a solid color, the relationship between the focal point and range of needs of different buyers.
the negative space becomes really important. The key is to
keep the background from overpowering the focal point. FINAL THOUGHTS
In the examples above, the image on the bottom really I hope that you enjoyed this overview of Adobe Stock!
doesnt have a great background and it uses negative If you havent tried using it in one of your projects, then give
space very poorly. Can you imagine a logo or text around it a shot. At least try the free watermarked previews and see
that image? As a designer youd be more likely to choose how using stock content can enhance your work.
the image on the top. To learn more about Adobe Stock, you can visit adobe
Notice how that top image contains no unnecessary or stock.com or visit their FAQ page.
disrupting background elements. The background helps
isolate the subject, while not distracting from her. Theres Jess Ramirez is a digital graphics expert, speaker, and
also great use of negative space, leaving plenty of room for educator specializing in Adobe Photoshop. Hes an
logos and text. Adobe Community Professional, and
a content creator for the Adobe
Create a Series of PhotosDont Do One-Offs Creative Cloud Blog. Jess is best
k e l b yo n e . c o m
As a designer, I can tell you that theres nothing worse than known as the founder of the Photo-
finding a photo that would be perfect only if it were in a shop Training Channel, one of the
different orientation or different angle. Make sure that you most popular Photoshop YouTube
dont ever cause that pain for a designer, and maximize channels in the world.
every opportunity when youre shooting for stock images
073
PHOTOGRAPHERS TALK ABOUT
THE FOCAL LENGTH OF THEIR LENSES,
BUT WHAT IS FOCAL LENGTH AND
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? THIS MONTHS
PHOTOGRAPHY SECRETS ANSWERS
THESE TWO QUESTIONS AND EXAMINES
THEIR RAMIFICATIONS. HOWEVER,
BEFORE JUMPING INTO THOSE ANSWERS,
LETS BEGIN BY DEFINING THE TERM
FOCAL LENGTH.
THE NORMAL LENS DIVIDING LINE Full Frame (35mm film) 24 x36 43.3 50 or 55
Knowing the normal lens for a camera is
6 x4.5cm 56x42 71.8 75
k e l b yo n e . c o m
FORMAT MATTERS
The normal lens for an APS C sensor camera
is 28mm. Normal on a full-frame is 50mm.
The 50mm on an APS C camera is a tele-
photo while the APS C normal (28mm) on
a full frame is a wide-angle. Normal on an
8x10 view camera is 300mm. On a full-
frame DSLR, that lens is a telephoto with a
6x magnification.
CROP FACTOR:
BUSTING THE MAGNIFICATION MYTH
At the dawn of the DSLR, the only sensors
that could be economically manufactured
were the APS C size. They were smaller than
the standard 35mm (24x36mm) format.
The camera manufacturers marketed these
cameras by telling the world the focal length
was magnified. For APS C sensors, the
magnification factor was 1.5. That means
that a 100mm lens would have the effect of
a 150mm lens. The truth was (and still is) that
the APS C sensor produced a cropped ver-
sion of the image that could be realized with
a full-frame camera. Remember, the focal
length of a given lens and therefore its mag-
nification is the same no matter what format
camera its on.
This photograph of a cross-country skier
(top right) in Alaska was made with a Canon
EOS 5D Mark II and 1740mm f/4 lens at ISO
100, 1/200, and f/13. The full frame reveals
the curve of ledge and the triangle of blue
sky that the APS C sensor crops out.
078
ISSUE 22
ADDING CONTRAST
(AND HOW TO USE TONE CURVE)
LIGHTROOM
WORKSHOP
Questions Answers
BY SCOTT KELBY &
Maximum Workflow
perfectly clear complete
BY SEAN McCORMACK
Sean McCormack
Under the L oupe
save time with auto import
B Y R O B S Y LVA N
SCOTT KELBY
room). Now, for those of you coming from
a much earlier version of Lightroom, the
Contrast slider used to have so little effect
that we really didnt use it at allwe had
to use the Tone Curve to create a decent
amount of contrast. But, Adobe fixed the
math behind it back in Light room 4, and
now its awesome.
082
lightroom magazine
SCOTT KELBY
find the Tone Curve panel (shown here).
Look in the bottom of the panel, and youll
see that Point Curve is set to Linear (shown
circled here in red), which just means the
curve is flattheres no contrast applied to
the image yet (unless, of course, you already
used the Contrast slider, but in this case
I didntthe Contrast slider in the Basic
panel is set to zero).
086
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Under save time with auto import
the
B Y R O B S Y LVA N
Loupe
asset with a lot of potential for increasing your efficiency
and providing an alternative means for automatically adding
new photos to your Lightroom catalog.
lightroom magazine
The Auto Import function has been around since the begin- computer and have it appear in Lightroom (YMMV) using an
ning, and was originally the only way to shoot tethered. Eyefi card. Its wonderful not to have a cable attached to the
Now that Lightroom has a built-in Tethered Capture feature, camera, though.
Auto Import has faded from the limelight. There is, however, The fundamental operation of the Auto Import function is
more to Auto Import than just shooting tethered, and as very simple. You choose (or create) an empty folder on your
useful as Lightrooms built-in tethering can be to your work- hard drive and you tell Lightroom to watch that folder and
flow, it still doesnt support all of the cameras being used automatically import any photos that get saved into it. Lets
out there today (you can find a complete list of supported walk through an example setup to help bring this home.
cameras here). Do you ever scan film or negatives? Do you
use some kind of wireless file transfer to copy your photos to step one: Go to File>Auto Import>Auto Import Settings
your computer (like an Eyefi card or similar)? Do you ever to launch the Auto Import Settings dialog.
create images in other programs and would like an easy way
to automatically import them into Lightroom? Well, you
guessed it! Auto Import can help in each case.
If you want to use the Auto Import function to shoot
tethered then youll need an alternative way to transfer the
images to a designated folder on your hard drive while you
shoot (check with your camera manufacturer to see if they
provide some kind of camera control software). I regularly
hear from people who want to shoot tethered, but who use
cameras that dont have software for transferring images to
a computer while shooting. Another option in those cases is
wireless transfer from your camera to your computer using
an Eyefi or similar Wi-Fi memory card, or maybe you have
a camera that has built-in Wi-Fi functionality. An Eyefi card
wirelessly transfers the images from your camera to a folder
on your computer (check out eyefi.com for all the details).
Note: The watched folder is actually a temporary location. step eight: Configure Initial Previews. This allows you to
During the Auto Import function, Lightroom will move each determine the rendering of previews after the photo has
imported photo into a different destination folder (see next been imported. I find it helpful to set this to 1:1 because I
step) of your choosing. Its critical that this folder start out usually want to check focus in this type of shooting scenario,
completely empty, and that you dont create any subfolders and you need to do that at 1:1.
within it; otherwise the Auto Import wont work.
step nine: Check the Enable Auto Import box at the top,
and click OK. Youre ready to go!
those settings as a Develop preset. Then, you can update the Notice that, with Previous Import selected, I can see the
configuration of the Auto Import dialog to include that new photos appear after theyve been transferred, and I can also
preset. Now, all the rest of your photos from that shoot will see them starting to appear in the TempTransfer folder in
automatically be imported and have these develop settings the Folders panel. I dont want to keep those photos in that
applied at the same time. temporary folder, so heres how I easily move them to a new
(more permanent) location:
step six (optional): Choose your Metadata preset.
step one: Press G to switch to Grid view, then press Com-
step seven (optional): Add any Keywords you want mand-A (PC: Ctrl-A) to select all photos.
applied to all photos from this shoot. I prefer to leave it blank
and keyword after the shoot. step two: Right-click the parent folder where you want
090
lightroom magazine
Workflow
BY SEAN McCORMACK
the layout
The main interface is pretty basic, most of which is taken up by the image-
preview area on the left, with the Presets and Adjust panels on the right, and a
few tools scattered around the image. Lets look at it in more detail.
1. Image preview with preview tools: There are several split views, which
well look at separately in just a moment.
2. The Presets and Adjust panels: Here you can opt to use available presets,
or tweak the currently selected preset.
3. The presets: There are actually three of these panels, accessed by clicking
the arrows to either side of the Perfectly Clear Complete box. This tog-
gles through the Perfect Exposure and the Perfect Eyes presets. At the
bottom of this section is a drop-down menu containing all the presets.
p h ot o s h o p u s e r j u ly / a u g u st 2 0 1 6
4. The presets manager: Here you can Create, Modify, or Remove presets.
5. The zoom slider: This sets the size of the preview. Some of the settings,
such as Sharpening, need to be previewed at 100%. In the Lightroom
version, theres also an image navigation section where you can move
between the current batch of images if you opened more than one image.
6. The Help section: Here you can watch tutorials or open the manual.
7. Save and Cancel buttons: Click Save to return the modified images to
Lightroom and close. Press Cancel to abort the program. The rendered
file with no settings will remain in Lightroom.
094
lightroom magazine
previews
The preview in the main image area is an
after view; click-and-hold on the image to
get a before view. To see the before and
after, select one of the options at the top
right of the image. For this image, Ive select-
ed the Landscapes preset in the Presets panel
and the Double View preview icon, which
shows both the before and after side by
side. To change to a top/bottom view, click
the H/V (Horizontal/Vertical) view button that
appears to the right of the preview icons.
Theres also an overlay Split View, which
shows the image with a moveable white bar
that you can drag back and forth to see the
difference the preset is making. One side of
the bar shows the before, and the other side
shows the after. Again, the H/V button alter-
nates the preview. In this case, the white bar
switches orientation.
presets
With the number of presets available, itd
be hard to show all of them, so lets just go
through the basic set.
D
etails: Adds high-definition contrast
to the image, which brings detail to
shadows and highlights, as well as
working on skin tone. To me, it looks
mildly tone-mapped.
V
ivid: Adds contrast to give more pop
k e l b yo n e . c o m
to the image.
B
eautify: This applies a selection of
settings from the Adjust menu, specifi-
cally the Portrait and Eyes section.
095
lightroom magazine
B
eautify+: The same as Beautify, but with
more corrections and higher settings.
Beautify
p h ot o s h o p u s e r j u ly / a u g u st 2 0 1 6
096 Beautify+
lightroom magazine
adjust
The presets hint at the underlying power of this
plug-in, but the Adjust panel is the nitty-gritty
heart of Perfectly Clear. Ive looked at a lot of
plug-ins here in the Maximum Workflow col-
umn, and while Ive never seen a bad plug-in,
nothing has impressed me more than what can
be done in such a small amount of settings, espe-
cially bearing in mind that we dont have to refine
a mask or tell the plug-in where the face is.
If you hover over the name of any control, a
tool tip will appear explaining what that control
does. At the top of the panel is an Opacity slider
that allows you to fade the overall effect of all
the settings on the original image. Heres a quick
look at each of the sections in the Adjust panel:
managing presets
Below Adjust is the Preset manager. Click Create to
make a new Preset. Click Modify after editing a preset
to update it, or even just replace text in the Descrip-
tion area. Click Remove to delete the Preset. Any new
preset you create appears in the drop-down menu in
Presets, and in the Export preset options.
p h ot o s h o p u s e r j u ly / a u g u st 2 0 1 6
098
lightroom magazine
batch
Weve mentioned the two methods of batch process-
ing: either send a few images directly to the plug-in
via Edit In, or use the Export plug-in. You can then edit
each image using the image navigation at the bottom
right of the preview image.
k e l b yo n e . c o m
I have a printing question: Is there an easier or plug-in from the Preset pop-up menu (in this case, I chose
faster way to put my image right where I want Macphuns Intensify plug-init does high-contrast tonal
it on the page, without dragging the Cell sliders effects), and then close the Preferences dialog. Now, any-
around? There has to be an easier way, right? time you want to take an image over to that plug-in, just
Right! In the Print module, up in the Layout Style panel at press Option-Command-E (PC: Alt-Ctrl-E) and it will open
the top, click on Custom Package, then scroll down to the in that plug-in.
Cells panel and click on any of the Add to Package buttons
(lets say, for the sake of this example, you clicked on 5x7;
but it doesnt matter which one you click on). This adds a
5x7 cell to the page, but youll notice its selected and has
resize handles active on all sides. Just grab one of those
resize handles, make the frame whatever size you want,
and drag it right where you want it. Once its in the shape
and position you desire, drag-and-drop an image from the
Filmstrip up into that container, and youre done.
Im coming to Lightroom as a longtime Photo- I like the White Balance Selector tool but its
shop user. Is there a way to set your white and tedious using it because when I click it on my
black points in Lightroom like there is in Photo- image, it immediately returns back to its home
shop using Curves or Levels? base in the Basic panel. If the first time I clicked
You bet! In fact, you can have Lightroom do it automatically wasnt the perfect spot, I have to go get it again
for you. In the Basic panel, just hold down the Shift key and to click somewhere else. Is there a way to have
then double-click on the little slider nub for the Whites to it not snap back to the Basic panel?
set the white point, then double-click on the little slider nub There sure is. You can turn this feature off by first get-
for the Blacks and it auto-sets your Black point, too. ting the White Balance Selector tool, then going to the
Toolbar at the bottom of the preview window just below
I like using the Library modules Quick Develop your image (if you dont see the Toolbar, press the letter
panel, but every time I need to crop my image, T on your keyboard). Youll see a checkbox turned on for
I wind up having to jump over to the Develop Auto Dismiss, which is the feature that dismisses the tool
module anyway. Do you think Adobe will ever immediately after you click it in your image. To turn that
add the ability to crop in Quick Develop? off (I sure would by the way), turn off the Auto Dismiss
Well, while its not the Crop tool itself, theres a way to checkbox. Now you can click to your hearts content and
apply the standard crop ratios that come with Lightroom, the tool will stay active the entire time. When youre done
and even enter a custom ratio, from right within the Quick with the tool, click in the circle where it lives in the Basic
Develop panel. Just click the little black flippy triangle panel to put it back.
(more technically known as the disclosure triangle) just to
the right of the Saved Preset pop-up menu at the top of the When I go to the Lens Corrections panel and
Quick Develop panel, and youll see two new fields appear: turn on Enable Profile Corrections, absolutely
one for Crop Ratio, and one for Treatment. Click-and-hold nothing happens. Why is that?
on Crop Ratio and a pop-up list of choices will appear. You Its just because, for whatever reason, Lightroom cant
can apply a crop ratio (even a custom one) from right there. figure out what make and model of lens you used when
you took the image, which is odd, because Lightroom
reads the EXIF data from your camera thats embedded
into your image no problemyou see it all listed in the
Metadata panel, including the make and model of your
camera and lens. Go figure. Anyway, all you have to do to
remedy Lightrooms memory lapse is to tell it the make of
your camera lens in the Profile tab of the Lens Corrections
panel, and suddenly it wakes from its temporary amnesia
and finds the model of your lens, and usually the exact lens
profile to fix your lens problem (well, at least to fix most
of it). Give that a try next time, and unless you used some
exotic lens, youll most likely be all set.
k e l b yo n e . c o m
TipsTricks &
SEN DUGGAN
In this article, well take a look at some useful tips for mobile device. Ill return to this topic with some workflow
using Lightroom Mobile to automatically add your cam- suggestions toward the end of this article.
era phone images into your Lightroom catalog on your
computer. Lightroom Mobile can do a lot more than that, specify a destination folder
of course, but for this article, our focus will be on under- for lightroom mobile images
standing how to manage the images you shoot with your In the desktop version of Lightroom, theres a very
phone so theyre seamlessly transferred to your comput- important Preferences setting that controls the down-
ers hard drive and your Lightroom catalog. load location for the mobile images. You can find the
Preferences in the Lightroom menu (PC: Edit menu).
transferring phone images Click on the Lightroom Mobile tab, and then in the
via lightroom mobile Location section of the dialog, you can designate a
If you have the Creative Cloud version of Lightroom, you specific folder for the images that Lightroom Mobile
can transfer your camera phone images into your Light- will transfer via Wi-Fi.
room catalog via Wi-Fi with the Lightroom Mobile app. This is very important if you want the location of the
The app is free and is available for both iOS and Android. transferred images to make sense in relation to where the
You can use it without a Creative Cloud subscription for rest of your photos are stored. If you dont specify a folder,
enhancing images on your phone or tablet device, but if Lightroom will place them in a folder with a really long and
you want to take advantage of the full integration with meaningless name thats hidden in a Mobile Downloads.
your Lightroom catalog on your desktop computer, then lrdata file in the Lightroom folder inside the Pictures folder
you do need to be signed up for Creative Cloud (the Pho- (PC: My Pictures folder). Trust me on this: You dont want
tography Plan, which includes the latest versions of Light- Lightroom to organize your camera phone images this way!
room CC, Photoshop CC, the Adobe mobile apps, and an In addition to choosing a folder for the images that
Adobe Portfolio website, costs $9.99 a month). will be transferred from Lightroom Mobile, you can also
To get started, you simply have to turn on Lightroom choose a folder naming scheme for the subfolders that
Mobile syncing in your Lightroom catalog on your com- will be created based on the capture date of the photos.
puter. To do this, mouse over the identity plate on the The choices here are the same as what you can choose for
upper-left side of the interface (this will show Lightroom date-named subfolders in the Lightroom Import dialog.
CC if you havent customized it to show your name or I typically like to create a folder for my iPhone images
logo), click the small white triangle that appears, and turn thats within the same folder as the rest of my image fold-
on Sync with Lightroom Mobile. ers. Having the subfolders created based on the date the
image was captured makes it easy for me to reorganize
p h ot o s h o p u s e r j u ly / a u g u st 2 0 1 6
When you log in to Lightroom Mobile on your phone camera app you use, will automatically be added to the
for the first time, the app will create a collection called collection, and synced back to your Lightroom catalog.
Lightroom Photos. If you tap the three dots next to this,
you can choose to add images that are already on your to auto add or not to auto add
phones camera roll. In the Add Photos screen, tap indi- Auto Add can be very useful, or it may be a mixed bless-
vidual thumbnails, or drag across several thumbnails to se- ing. It all depends on how many images you shoot, and
lect them (images with the LR logo on them are already in how many of them are keepers that you want to add to
this collection). Then tap the blue bar at the bottom of the your Lightroom catalog. For instance, when I park in the
screen to add the images to Lightroom Photos. long-term lot at the airport, I always take a shot of the
section sign so I can easily find my car when I return. Or
sometimes Ill take a photo of a home-repair project so
I can get the right replacement part at the hardware store.
I really dont need images like that in my Lightroom cata-
log. So, depending how you shoot, what you shoot, and
the ratio of good shots to random images you dont really
need, it may make more sense to leave Auto Add turned
off, and just use the Add Photos option to add only the
images you really want in your Lightroom catalog.
with the Lightroom catalog thats connected to Lightroom mobile downloads folder thats populated by Lightroom
Mobile. Open the collection menu by tapping the three Mobile. Understanding how the file transfer and syncing
dots. You can either choose which photos are added to in Lightroom Mobile is working under the hood will help
this synced collection, or you can turn on Enable Auto Add, you decide on the best way to use it with your own mobile
and any image you shoot with your phone, no matter what photography workflow.
103
A few years ago when I saw the Platypod Pro at a trade show
demo, I was impressed by the clever design for this little,
but remarkable, rugged camera mount. Now theres a new
model called the Platypod Pro Max, and its ready for heavy-
duty assignments.
In the world of small, professional camera supports, the
Platypod Pro has earned the respect of pros for travel use,
because of its compact size and thoughtful, versatile design.
Its essentially an aircraft-grade aluminum plate with machined Assuming your ballhead is securely mounted on your Max
holes and special screw mounts for attaching a ballhead. It plate and you need to use a tripod, you dont have to remove
also comes with threaded feet that are spiked on one end and the ballhead. You just use the threaded mounting hole and
rubber-tipped on the other. Those threaded feet are screws spin the plate onto the mounting screw of your tripod. The
that allow you to precisely adjust how long each foot will be, 3/8" bolt for attaching your professional tripod ballhead
and the included, finger-friendly nut allows you to lock the is titanium and, rather than a lab test with a digital torque
exact position of each foot. wrench, I tested it like an end user, cranking by hand as tightly
One of the great things about the Platypod Pro is the small, as I could on my RRS ballhead, and it felt rock solid. I didnt do
flat, form factor so it fits in slim pockets (I can put it in the back any official measured lab tests, but the Platypod website tells
pocket of my jeans) for easy travel. The new Platypod Pro Max us that it has been tested to over 300 lbs. of torque. I have no
is physically larger and less able to fit in those smaller pockets, problem trusting my gear on this platform!
so I appreciate that the new design includes a pair of 2" slots Our review unit came with a nice letter from the Platypod
intended for camera straps and pole mounting. Pro folks inviting constructive criticism; but in using the Max
The original Platypod Pro came with three threaded, plate and looking for ways it could be improved, I couldnt
spiked/rubber-tipped feet, and the Pro version comes with come up with a thing. If you like the idea of a truly solid,
four redesigned feet. The rubber-tipped ends are now flat, so amazingly low-profile platform for your favorite ballhead, or if
setting your Platypod Pro Max on a flat surface seems even you ever need to screw your ballhead securely to a wall, you
more stable. The larger form factor and additional foot means should look into the Platypod Pro. And if youre using a larger
that a rig like my Canon EOS 6D, with a 70200 f/2.8 lens, full-frame rig with some big glass, the Platypod Pro Max is just
p h ot o s h o p u s e r j u ly / a u g u st 2 0 1 6
Chroma Mask getting rid of color spillage is another matter. Some of my hair
remained bluish after adjusting the Color Correction knob
Cutting out Objects While Youre Shooting slightly. Cranking up the numbers turned it green.
Review by Erik Vlietinck
What sets Chroma Mask apart from everything else Ive
Hundreds of tutorials have been written on how to cut out a seen is the ability to set a watch folder and apply the entire
subject from a background in Photoshop, but Picture Instru- masking workflow applied to your prototype image to all
ments claims you can do a better job with Chroma Mask. of the subsequent images you shoot. This saves a lot of time.
The app automates much of the process and adds a unique Chroma Masks trick is to save your settingsincluding the
feature: mask as you shoot. paintingto a file for later use. All it has to do when youre
Chroma Mask requires a blue, green, or red backdrop. shooting photos in an identical setup is to apply the settings
Blue and green are to be used when shooting people. Mask- to the images your camera drops when shooting tethered, or
ing is always the most difficult when it involves hair, fur, etc. which you save to the watch folder. The automation goes as
Much to my surprise, Chroma Mask was exceptionally good far as offering an output option that will automatically add
at masking my gray hair. transparent space to fit the final background, if you cropped
k e l byo n e . c o m
To ensure none of the background stays behind and you the foreground image tightly.
dont have to painstakingly erase the lot, you can crop the
Company: Picture Instruments Price: $189
foreground image. To manipulate the opacity of the masks
Rating:
boundary elements, you get two handles on a histogram.
Hot: Auto-recognition; defines subsequent masks perfectly; saves time
If playing with those doesnt do the job, you can brush-paint
Not: Unusual interface; some UI elements awkward; color spillage
the half-masked areas to full opacity. So far so good, but 105
REVIEWS
Hey, Elinchrom fans, if youre a handheld meter geek like I am, You can control up
your wait for a wireless meter with a modern digital inter- to four groups of lights,
face and tons of killer features that work with your Skyport- either individually or
enabled Elinchrom strobes is finally over! together, and you can
Sekonics new LITEMASTER PRO L-478DR-U-EL Light quickly see exactly what
Meter has a built-in Skyport radio and a touchscreen inter- the power is for each of
face designed to assure virtually no workflow interruptions. your lights/groups at all
Grabbing a meter reading is as simple as pushing the meter- times. Power for each
reading button and watching the flash wirelessly trigger light/group, or all of the
no wires, no waiting, no fuss. lights together, can be
Way more than your average flash meter, the new L-478DR- increased or decreased
U-EL is part of an eco system created through an impressive wirelessly in 1/10-stop increments using the touchscreens
and well-implemented partnership between industry leaders plus or minus buttons.
Elinchrom, Sekonic, and Phottix. With a built-in feature set Additional amenities include full control of modeling lights,
that dovetails seamlessly with Elinchroms new EL-Skyport Plus easy access to frequency, channel, and speed mode settings,
HS wireless controller (developed with Phottix), you get not with an interface that lets you know exactly what youre
only a powerful handheld meter but also a complete control doing. This ones a winner; I recommend it!
center in the palm of your hand for your Elinchrom strobes.
The L-478DR-U-EL meter has been designed from the Company: Sekonic Pricing: $399
ground up to function as a multipurpose device allowing not
Rating:
only wireless meter readings (a first for Elinchrom users using
Hot: Wireless control of Skyport-enabled Elinchrom strobes
Sekonic meters), but also as a handheld control center for any
Not: Optional spot meter attachment only available in 5 model
of your Skyport-enabled Elinchrom strobes.
In the 4K video era, memory cards should be blazingly fast, a good idea of how resilient the Lexar cards are with respect
but even more so: dependable. The Lexar Professional micro- to a hostile environment. I have lost other brand cards from
SDHC UHS-II 1000x and 1800x are both extremely fast and overheating, but both of these Lexar cards hummed along
they wont break that quickly. fine. I expected little else as I have Lexar cards that I pur-
I first ran a couple of speed tests and then recorded 4K/30fps chased five years ago, all of which are still working without
p h ot o s h o p u s e r j u ly / a u g u st 2 0 1 6
video with a GoPro in its housing for five hours continuously a glitch. Theres no reason why these new cards would be
each day for a period of four days. The method isnt scientific, any different.
but it should at least give an idea of these cards durability. For 4K recording, the microSDHC 1000x will do; however,
The cards are claimed to have read speeds of 150MB/sec if you plan to use cameras that record 4K to high-bit-rate
and 270MB/sec, and write speeds of 45MB/sec and 250MB/ codecs like ProRes, you can probably save money by going
sec respectively. (Note: The 128-GB 1800x card is rated at a with an 1800x. Its fast enough to accommodate the higher
write speed of 100MB/sec.) The claims for the Lexar 1000x transfer rates that these cameras need.
were spot on. The higher rated 1800x was about 5% slower Both cards come in sizes from 32128 GB.
than claimed. The Lexar Professional 1000x microSD cards Company: Lexar by Micron Price: $31.99$273.99
have completed the Works with GoPro verification process,
Rating:
which is a testament to their ability to sustain high speeds.
Hot: Speed; reliability
At 4K/30fps in its waterproof housing, I knew the GoPro
Not: 1800x cards are expensive
106 would get really hot after half an hour or so. That gave me
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Review by Michael Corsentino
into a whiz-bang affair. After the initial design is complete,
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the most time. Designer v7 does all that work for you, and
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contemporaryno stale templates here. 107
BOO K RE V I E WS P E T E R B A U E R
Photoshop: Absolute Beginners Guide to Mastering Picture Perfect Lighting: An Innovative Lighting
Photoshop and Creating World Class Photos System for Photographing People
By Andrew Mckinnon By Roberto Valenzuela
The first one-third of this book is devoted to basic Photo- Much of the information about light and lighting here can be
shop tools and the interface. The author provides short and found in a variety of other books; however, when was the last
succinct explanations and covers the bases well. The other time you read something similar to this? It is counterintuitive
two-thirds are devoted to various Photoshop tips and tricks, to keep your camera settings locked and find the light that
as well as some of Photoshops more complex features, fits those settings. Common practice would be to go any-
including high-dynamic range (HDR) imaging and video. The where and change the camera settings to get the exposure
tips are generally very useful and will help speed your work right, regardless of the quality of the light. But what about
in Photoshop. Keep in mind, however, that this book is for that beautiful background that would require you to adjust
beginnersif you have decent knowledge of the program, your aperture, shutter speed, or ISO? Forget about itits
theres not much here for you. But for beginners (or perhaps not the background youre shooting, its the person. Find a
classrooms), this is a very good choice. It would also be a valu- location where the lighting is most flattering for your client
able gift to someone very new to Photoshop. (Note: At the and appropriate for the selected camera settings. (Dont
time of review, the Kindle edition was incomplete. Amazon worry about those settings, the author provides his, um,
assures me that will be fixed ASAP. If the Kindle isnt longer suggestions in a couple of locations.)
than 122 pages, dont purchase it.)
p h ot o s h o p u s e r j u ly / a u g u st 2 0 1 6
Publisher: CreateSpace Pages: 232 (paperback) Publisher: Rocky Nook Pages: 340 (paperback)
Price: $15.95 (paperback); $2.99 (Kindle) Price: $49.95 (paperback); $39.99 (eBook); $23.49 (Kindle)
Rating: Rating:
108
photoshop user J U LY / A U G U S T 2016
POP QUIZ!
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D E PA R T M E N T
To: Mary
From: KelbyOne Advice Desk
Smart objects and layers are two ways to simplify your size) or linking to the file from which the smart object
workload. You can create a template that contains every- is created. Linking keeps the file size of the working
thing that doesnt change from client to client, perhaps document smaller, but once linked, you shouldnt move
such things as a background image, copyright information, or rename the file from which the smart object was
and borders. Make sure that this working document is the created. In addition, if you send out the working docu-
size and resolution at which youll typically use it. ment to anyone else, youll need to include copies of all
When creating the original working document, you the linked files.
can use guides and the grid (View>Show>Grid) to ensure Its even possible to have all of the client layouts in a
precise placement of not only the elements youre already single document, simply showing and hiding layers and/
creating, but also for the client-specific content to be or smart objects for each project. When you add a new
added later. Guides can be dragged from the rulers, which client, you can add new layers or smart objects for their
you can show/hide with Command-R (PC: Ctrl-R) or, for individual content. To make things even easier, put all of
exact placement, create Guides with the View>New Guide the content (layers) for each client in a separate layer group
command. The Position field in the New Guide dialog uses (naming the group for the client perhaps). To create a layer
the unit of measure specified in the programs Preferences; group, click on the folder icon at the bottom of the Lay-
however, if, for example, the unit of measure is pixels and ers panel and drag your layers into the group folder. Then,
you want to add a guide at a precise location using a dif- with a single click on the Eye icon to the left of the folder
ferent unit of measure, simply specify it in the Position field. in the Layers panel, you can show/hide all of the content
(Follow the numeric value with the appropriate abbrevia- of the folder. Now with two clicks you can switch between
tion: in for inches, px for pixels, % for percent, and clients: one to hide the current folder, one to show the
cm for centimeters.) next folder.
Create each of the client-specific elements as separate If you use this one-file-fits-all approach, make sure to
Photoshop documents, including any images, logos, text make a copy every time that you add a new clients con-
elements, etc. These elements can be added to the work- tent to your working document. Remember that putting
ing document by using copy-and-paste to create a new all of your eggs in one basket can lead to disaster if the file
layer in the working document or added as smart objects becomes corrupted or unreadable, so make copies. And,
p h ot o s h o p u s e r j u ly / a u g u st 2 0 1 6
with Photoshops File>Place command. Position the smart of course, youll want to store each clients content in a
object, resize as necessary by Shift-dragging a cor- separate folder on your hard drive for both organizational
ner, then press the Enter key. You have the option of and access purposes. (Andneedless to say, but Ill say it
embedding the placed file, which creates a copy of it anywaydont forget to make copies of those folders too
right in the working document (and increases the file and store them away somewhere safe.)
KelbyOne Member
ADVICE DESK
Are you taking advantage of the Advice Desk at the KelbyOne member website? This is the place where you can get all of your
Photoshop and Lightroom questions answered by our Advice Desk experts. Not only that, you can get photo and computer
gear help and advice, as well. What are you waiting for? Visit the Advice Desk section under My Account on the KelbyOne
112 member site today!
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publication of KelbyOne.