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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Photoshop Tone Control and Black and White Conversion – Zoom Seminar 2/6/2021

The tools for managing tone and color in Photoshop are more intensive and elaborate than what is available in Lightroom. The seminar in Photoshop will explore fine tuning of image color and how it can influence Black and White conversion. This is a Zoom seminar and will occur on Saturday, February 6th at 9:30 a.m.

In Photoshop you should start with a well processed image, including good white balance and removal of any unwanted color casts. This is usually done in either ACR or Lightroom, not simply by choosing the light source but using the white balance tool. This removes tint issues and neutralizes the image colors. Even if you want a color shift such as warming the overall image, you should start with a neutral image and then impose whatever look or feel you want to the image. This is called Color Grading. Once this is done it is easier to move to a black and white rendering of the image and additional color shifts can be employed if needed to get the black and white rendering you desire. If you do not understand how color affects a B&W image, this seminar is for you.

Rainstorm over Angel’s Peak, NM.

Modifications to the original image color can now be imposed as desired using a number of different tools in Photoshop. In ACR and Lightroom there is Color Grading which lays a color tint over the image or modifies the color in a specific range of the image. Other methods of modifying the color involve mapping colors to different hues and/or levels of saturation. This can be used to modify the mood of an image, but also can be used to influence how an image gets rendered in B&W conversion.

Registration is now open. You can register for the class by email if you plan to attend. Cost for this class is only $20. Payment should be made using PayPal to my email address, or email me for an address to send a check. If you sign up with PayPal be sure to leave a note as to which seminar you are signing up for and your email address for notification.

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

Lightroom B&W Processing

Click on the Title for the post online. I will hold a Zoom class on advanced Black and White Processing in Lightroom next Saturday, January 9th starting at 9:30 a.m. The class will last about 90 minutes and will explore color controls for managing conversion to a monochrome image.

Black and White conversion is a function of mapping the colors in the original image to various shades of gray in the final image. Simply desaturating the image can leave you with a dull, washed out grayscale rendition of the photo. The grayscale mapping of the original colors can be managed in several ways to lighten or darken specific grays in the image.

Mapping an image to monochrome.

The image above was converted to monochrome without the use of the adjustment brush or gradients. All control was done by managing the colors in the original image to control the B&W conversion. This cannot be done simply by choosing a B&W preset or using the sliders in the Black and White Mix panel.

“>The cost for the Zoom meeting is only $20. The meeting will last about 90 minutes. The meeting will start at 9:30 a.m. On Saturday January 9, 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 and please include your email address. Use my email address for any questions.The cost for the Zoom meeting is only $20. The meeting will last about 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 and please include your email address. Use my email address for any questions.

If you are a Photoshop user you will find this program a good prelude to the next class which will be Black and White processing in Photoshop. The next class is February 6th, 2021. A blog post for that class signup will be posted soon after the January 9th program is over. Photoshop offers more extensive color controls, plus the use of contrast control and selections to manage tone values.

I am honored to have been one of 300 photographers selected for inclusion in the LensWork book “Our Magnificent Planet – 2020”. The book is superbly printed and the contents are simply wonderful. You can order a copy for yourself. http://shop.lenswork.com/PRE-ORDER-Our-Magnificent-Planet-2020-a-312-page-book_p_1533.html

Simplifying Photoshop ! ?

Moving into Photoshop you can stop using certain tools in ACR and Lightroom, like the adjustment brush, spot removal tool and even the crop tool in favor of what Photoshop does best, local refinements to your images. Lightroom and ACR didn’t even have most of those tools in the beginning, they were added to allow you to do minor fixes to your images without resorting to Photoshop. But …

Photoshop remains the best program for modifying, retouching, and massaging your images into the artistic interpretations you want them to be. It is also one of the most complex and overwhelming pieces of software you can use. It can also be one of the most rewarding artistic tools available to the photographer. One way to make it work better for you is to customize it so that you only see the tools you really need, along with understanding what is possible.

I am beginning a series of classes on Photoshop designed to move you step by step into managing image refinement by learning various aspects of the program and of the tools and adjustment options that can make your images better. First in the series is a two part class on making Photoshop easier to use. To start we will examine Preferences, Color Settings, Toolbar and Menu settings to make sense of the interface. Later we will examine various adjustments and compare their benefits and possibilities. Many of the tools and adjustments that are available are not specifically for photographers, so knowing what will work better will save you the frustration of trying to use the wrong approach.

Most of the classes with be $20 per session using the Zoom platform hosted by the https://www.hersheylibrary.org/home/ Hershey Public Library. The kickoff meeting will be a two part meeting for a combined price of $35. These will occur on Saturdays, October 17th and 24th, at 9:30 a.m. Each class will last approximately 60-90 minutes.

Signing up for the classes is with Payment by PayPal to mail@brysonleidich.com, or a check to me. If you email me I will respond to you with an address if you are paying by check.

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.

Intermediate Digital Photography Seminar – Digital Photography II

Click on the title to view the entire blog on the web.

Saturday, October 26^th at 9:30 a.m. at the Hershey Library.

Something as simple as how you have your camera set (read: picture styles, picture control, creative style). While image style settings in the camera will produce a variety of modifications to your jpg files, they do not affect your raw files. This is why that crisp, punchy jpg on the back of the camera doesn’t appear when you open the raw file to process in Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw. If you use the camera makers proprietary software it may apply some settings to emulate the image style, and Adobe software can emulate some of that as well, but not to the same degree.

Digital Photography II – October 26th

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Upcoming seminar – basic to intermediate digital photography. Some from the first seminar have requested the conversation continue.

Understanding digital photography is a bit more complex than you might think. Among other things you may be in charge of your images in ways you never considered. Knowing how to use the camera settings and tools is a step in the right direction.

Primary among good digital capture is understanding the difference between raw and jpg capture. Do you know how the jpg style settings in your camera can influence how you expose a raw file? What does the histogram actually represent and how can you use it to get the best capture in terms of exposure?

Digital Photography and Processing Essentials

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

Two weeks remain for you to sign up for the April 6^th program on “Digital Photography and Processing Essentials” at the Hershey Library. The program will start at 9:30 a.m. Please sign up at the library if you can, but you will be welcome at the door as well.

The program will take you through fundamental photography information such as camera settings and understanding how digital photography captures images. We will look at differences in shooting in raw vs jpg, Adobe vs sRGB color spaces, determining exposure, reading the histogram and other essential first steps to good captures.

Dorothea Lange at LVC

An exhibit featuring the work of Dorothea Lange and 13 other artists will be on display at the Suzanne H. Arnold Art Gallery at Lebanon Valley College from January 25 to March 24. 2019. Lange and other photographers documented the great depression for the Farm Security Administration and established documentary and journalistic photography as an art form.

Lange’s photograph of a migrant mother has come to represent the project. It was part of a series she shot of the mother and her family in 1936.

Gallery and exhibit Information and hours can be found here.

LVC will also host a photography workshop: “Black and White Portraits: Capturing the Human Presence” by Andrew Bale. The workshop will be held in Lynch Memorial Hall, Room 185, February 16, 2019, from 9 a.m. To 3 p.m. Andy’s work is exceptional and he is also an expert printer. He has worked with the National Geographic Legacy Fund in documenting the Ese’Eja Cultural Mapping project in south-eastern Peru, and is represented in several permanent collections.