Photoshop Zoom Seminar

Zoom Seminar – Photoshop Tone Control and Black and White Conversion

The Zoom seminar on Tone Control and Black and White conversion is this Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. There is a good group at this time, but this is a reminder if you intended to sign up and haven’t done so. I usually need to know you are coming by Thursday noon so I can notify the Hershey Library and they can begin sending out the invitations to the meeting.

If this is news to you – let me catch you up. The seminar on Saturday is on tone control using Photoshop. The primary intent is to show you several methods for controlling image colors and densities to improve your initial camera capture once you have moved beyond Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw.

Then we will look at Black and White conversion and how control over color influences the results we get in our monochromatic images. Simply eliminating color is easy, but knowing how controlling the color in the image translates to monochrome will get you to better final results.

The Zoom class meets this Saturday morning, February 6th at 9:30 a.m. The class will last about 90 minutes. The techniques do not depend on the version of Photoshop or Elements you may be using. The intention is to manipulate the image in as many ways as possible without using selections or masking.

Sign up for the Zoom class by using my email to send $20 to me at PayPal. Be sure to make note of the class you are signing up for. If you prefer you can send a check to me at 7644 Patterson Circle, Harrisburg, PA 17112. Email me as well to let me know you are signing up.

My thanks to Derry Township and the Hershey Library for hosting these Zoom meetings.

The Website

I just uploaded a major update to the website including fixes to image rollovers. Some articles have been updated, and there are always more updates in the works. As always, if you notice something that doesn’t work properly, or a missing image, please email me referencing the page. There are over 80 pages on my website that need to be massaged as time goes by.

Last week I also uploaded all new image portfolios. The image galleries have been suffering for a while. I write this stuff myself and sometimes it takes me a while to fully understand how certain aspects of the code function. The galleries are created in Lightroom, but then the code is modified to make the portfolios fit the appearance of the website. I think the latest update is a good one. Quite a few new images as well.

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Lightroom Black and White Processing Methods – Zoom class

If you are reading this in an email, please click on the title to read the full blog entry online.

Registration is now open for the January 9^th, 2021 Zoom class on tone control and B&W conversion in Lightroom Classic.

There are a number of ways to convert your images to B&W. The trick to controlling how your images look in those conversions is control over the image colors. Different methods map those colors to different shades of gray in the B&W conversion. I will illustrate a variety of methods for controlling image color and B&W conversion.

The conversions below were made without changes to the B&W panel sliders which is a typical conversion method. We will look at some more advanced tone control methods.

Compare two versions of a B&W conversion done in Lightroom. Which do you prefer?

This meeting will focus on using Lightroom as the conversion tool. It will also serve as the basis for more in depth control over B&W conversion for those who use Photoshop. A follow up seminar is planned for that purpose.

The cost for the Zoom meeting is $20. The meeting will last between 60-90 minutes. The meeting will start at 9:30 a.m. On Saturday January 9^th, 2021. Payment should be made using PayPal to my email address, or email me for an address to send a check. Note in PayPal that you are signing up for the January 9th Zoom class. Use my email address for any questions.

Website Articles Update

WEBSITE UPDATED – NEW ARTICLES!

I have updated my website with all new articles in the Learning section. Most obvious is a replacement for the Lightroom overview pdf with a full set of eight articles. This is aimed at users of the Lightroom Classic desktop program. The Lightroom CC cloud based program has fewer features and uses cloud based image storage for remote access. I don’t address the functionality of the CC version. Other than that, the articles will apply to you regardless of the version you own.

Post Processing in Photoshop

Intermediate to Advanced Post processing in Photoshop

“Great artists don’t just happen, any more than writers, or singers, or other creators,” … “They have to be trained, and in the hard school of experience.” – Georgia O’Keeffe

Digital photography has made making a decent image pretty easy. Using ACR or especially Lightroom allows you to render the basic color and contrast of an image very well. But, the primary purpose for which they were created was preliminary global adjustments. Global adjustments are those which address the overall image in terms of color and contrast, but do nothing to address specific issues in smaller local areas. Yes, many of the tools added to ACR and Lightroom were put there to make some of these modifications possible, but the real tool for image polishing is still Photoshop.

Many photographers are satisfied with what they can accomplish with basic raw processing. In some cases it is all that is needed. But the refinements to an image that can push it over the top still require more work. What we are finding when we shoot is the “raw” material (pun intentional) needed to produce a good photograph.

The good news is that Photoshop post processing is really not complicated. The bad news is that Photoshop post processing is really complicated. It is not complicated in terms of the mechanics, but it is complicated in that many of the processes are simply not intuitive. They need to be learned, and that learning is a curve that can be rather steep. That is experience. Like any craft, it requires time to get to know what can be done.

Like anything worth the effort you first need to learn to think in Photoshop. If you take piano lessons you learn scales first, you do not sit down and learn to play a complicated piece of music. In Photoshop you need to learn the scales too. Layers and masks are really not that difficult – the second time. Blend modes and other more exotic tools require more time, just like playing the piano with both hands. Some of the ways to use Photoshop tools, like making selections, are a never ending learning process.

The advantage of knowing how to use the tools and options in Photoshop is the ability to mold an image into something better than what the camera handed you. Some of the techniques are actually pretty simple to use, but first you need to know they are there. Blend modes are like that, and I guarantee you that I can show you in a very short time – like 15 minutes – ways to use them that you will love and use immediately in your processing workflow. Others require deeper thought to apply to your work, but you have to start somewhere. If you don’t know it is out there, you can’t use it.

I will give a presentation to the Hershey Camera Club on May 3rd. The primary topic will be selections, but any presentation in Photoshop always covers larger ground. No technique stands alone. The program is open to the public.

I will present a workshop/seminar on Intermediate to Advanced Photoshop Post Processing on Saturday, May 19th from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Hershey Library. Cost for the program is just $45. The program will include Layers and Masks, Curves, Selections, Blend Modes and much more. I will address controlling the image while avoiding bad practices. There are tools in Photoshop (eraser, burn, dodge) which are simply not worth using as they are not modifiable. Imagine being able to get better results without the pain of backing up in history.

Please email me if you wish to attend so I can inform the library and make appropriate plans for the seminar. Locals can sign up and pay in advance at the library. Learning Photoshop is an adventure, and I hope you will join the experience.

Layers, Masks, Blend Modes …

Click the title, or the read more prompt below to see the full blog entry. Modification of your images is better, easier, more controllable, and more elegantly done using layers, masks and blend modes. Obviously, selections are important, but you can’t modify a selection after a correction is made if you cannot access the way it was applied.

This is where masking comes into play. What surprises most people is how easy it is once you understand the process. Even more surprising to most people is how easy it is to learn. If you really want to be able to make your images the way you want them to be, and not what the camera hands you, have I got a class for you.

Create your own seminar

It is often difficult to know what topics interest people at any point in time. At the same time I am often asked when my next seminar will be. Seminars take effort to create, often considerably more time than the seminar itself. Specialty seminars can be especially time consuming making sure that appropriate sample material is produced.

I have created an alternative concept. I will let you create the seminar. I have an entry on my website learning page that will allow you and your friends to decide what seminar I teach. Some suggestions are listed, but topics related to photography and Photoshop/Elements are all options.

In Lightroom, Photoshop and Elements I can work with your images rather than my own, bringing the learning closer to your needs. Most students are amazed at how some basic and pretty simple techniques can substantially improve their output.

Some people can learn on-line from tutorials about certain techniques, but I have found that most people do not know what processes, tools and techniques they can use to begin with. This is where I can be particularly helpful.

Individual and group seminars can be created and made to suit your schedule. As an example I am offering any local camera club a seminar in Lightroom basic raw image processing and integrating Lightroom with Photoshop or Elements using club member images at no charge. Clubs outside of the Harrisburg/Hershey area are welcome to take advantage of the offer as well. Please contact me to make arrangements.

Cameras only produce source material; the image maker is responsible for creating the final result. There are many photographers out there who see interesting images but don’t know how to take their captures to the next step. Plugins and actions are not how you get where you want to be.