Posts Tagged ‘photography’

Entering the World of Digital Video Cameras

April 19th, 2010

Gone are the days when you would need to employ a professional to take a video for your business projects. Whether you need it to provide training to your employees or students, you can do it yourself with the help of a digital video camera. In fact, with the advent of the Internet, and e-learning becoming so popular nowadays, a digital video camera has become essential equipment for all organizations, especially training or educational institutes.

Digital video cameras are extremely simple to use. They are lightweight and compact. Also, the transfer of video data to your computer for editing is extremely simplified in a digital video camera using todays Firewire cables.

So, now the question arises that how does one go about choosing a camera for himself/herself?

Before you go shopping for a digital video camera, it is essential that you answer a few questions. These will help you to pick up the best camera which is most suitable to your needs.

Since voice clarity is critical in a digital video camera, you need to know whether you will be shooting indoors or outdoors.

Also, what kind of videos do you plan to take – are they going to be of people shopping around in a mall or mostly of officers giving multimedia presentations in a conference room?

What is the kind of lighting that you are going to get? Is the weight of the camera an issue?

What is the battery life of the camera that you will need? Do you plan to shoot for a couple of hours together or only a few minutes? Do you plan to use any special effects while shooting?

Once you have answered all these questions, you will be able to get a basic idea of the kind of camera that you need.

Let’s go over the types of digital video cameras for consumers and hobbyists. First there is DV, HDDV, Mini DV. Handheld palm size cameras, larger full featured cameras with great audio options, and finally cameras that rival professional quality and can be used to make some very professional looking video products.

It is also important that you have the correct software for enhancing the images once you have loaded them onto your computer. These will help you to edit your work in the best possible manner and also easily load them for video conferencing, emailing etc.

Many software programs for NLE editing (non linear editing) exist for the consumer and pro alike. Adobe makes it Premier line of editing software which has proven to be quite popular and effective over the years. This is more of a mid level software and is relatively expensive. I use it for my corporate editing needs. Other mid to high level software packages include Final Cut Pro (on the Mac platform), and DV Express (from Avid). Final Cut is an awesome product if you use the Apple computers. Hollywood uses it to edit movies nowdays, and it has tons of amazing features to it. However it is not user friendly to the novice. The learning curve is steep. On the cheaper side of things you can use the Imovie software on the Mac side of things, Pinnacle Studio 9, Ulead Video Studio 8, and My DVD5 from Sonic. These products will get you editing your DV in no time.

Hence, if you do your homework in advance, you will be happy in the end. So, go and check out websites and shops for information on what you need, talk to shop keepers, and then simply zoom away! There are so many wonderful things you as a consumer can do today with digital video cameras. Don’t wait for the next wave. Jump into digital video today and have some fun with it.

A progressive scanning digital video camera records each frame as distinct, with both fields being identical. Thanks to http://www.greatdigitalcameras.info/

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How To Use Adobe Photoshop CS4’s Magic Wand Tool

September 25th, 2009
by Elliot Harris

The Magic Wand is one of three tools in Photoshop which are dedicated to making selections. When I run courses on Photoshop, tools like the magic wand and the clone tools are usually the ones which everyone finds the easiest to start using because they give such immediate results. The Magic Wand works by selecting colours within the image adjacent and similar to any pixel that you click on. Pixels of dissimilar colour act as barriers to selection and so the selection ripples outwards from the point you click on.

Naturally, it’s quite rare to get a “hole in one” when you are using the magic wand to make selections. Typically, you will select part of the area that you want and you will then need to add and subtract from the selection, perhaps switching to the other selection tools from time to time. Photoshop offers you two ways of modifying a selection: you can either use modifier keys on you keyboard or activate the modifier icons on the options panel normally displayed below your menu bar.

To subtract from the selection, hold down the Alt key and click on the part of the selection which you wish to deselect. To add to a selection, hold down the Shift key while clicking with the Magic Wand on a part of the image which is not yet selected. The selection modifier icons are situated on the left of the options panel at the Photoshop interface. There are four of them: new selection, add to selection, subtract from selection and select intersection. These icons effectively allow you to change selection mode on a permanent basis. Thus, for example, you could click on the second of the four icons when using the Magic Wand and click continually on different parts of a subject until it was completely selected.

Sometimes, you can benefit from the Magic Wand’s ability to select areas of uniform colour even if your subject does not contain uniform areas of colour. Say, for example, you want to select a subject against a uniform background such as a wall or the sky, a simple trick is to use the magic wand to select the background and then invert the selection by choosing Select – Inverse. A slight variation on this technique is to make a rough selection which completely encloses the subject as well some of the background and then to use the Magic Wand in subtract mode to remove the background from the selection.

Sometimes, you will find that the Magic Wand either selects too many or too few pixels for your purposes. The number of pixels which the Magic Wand selects when you click on part of the image can be controlled by changing a setting called tolerance. Tolerance determines how far a pixel can vary from the pixel that you click on and still be included in the selection. The default tolerance is 32 and the maximum is 255.

About the Author:
The writer of this article is a training consultant with a UK IT training company offering Adobe Photoshop classes as well as Adobe Acrobat training in London and throughout the UK.

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Demystifying Histograms In Adobe Photoshop

September 21st, 2009
by David James

Adobe Photoshop CS4 provides us with a great tool for getting an overview of the tonal range of an image: the Histogram panel (Window – Histogram). The histogram is basically a chart which shows how many pixels are present at each luminosity value, with dark pixels on the left and lighter pixels on the right. If no selection is made, the histogram reflects all the pixels in the image. It is also possible to select just part of an image and use the histogram to examine the distribution of pixels just within the selected area. If the image consists of multiple layers, Photoshop displays a pop-up menu which allows you to choose either “Entire Image” or “Selected Layer” to determine which pixels are included in the output shown in the histogram.

Many photographs shot in medium lighting and containing a variety of colours will have a bell-shaped curve with the most pixels in the middle of the histogram and the number of pixels gradually tailing off in the lighter area to the left and right.

The great thing about photography is that it can feature any number of subjects, be shot under different lighting conditions and have different artistic aims. Thus, for example, if an image deliberately has a lot of white: say a white sofa against a white wall, the histogram will have a peak on the left with pixels tailing off in the middle and right. In the context of this image, the skewed shape of the histogram is perfectly healthy. Similarly, if you look at the histogram of a photograph shot at night, don’t be surprised to see a very lopsided chart with most of the pixels on the right… So how do you use the histogram to spot tonal problems in an image?

One of the most important defects which can be detected by examining the histogram is whether the image lacks contrast. Images that lack contrast have a histogram where the number of pixels tails off to zero or close to zero in the brightest and darkest parts of the image. Such images tend to have a dull, muddy appearance.

The quickest way to correct the problem of an image that lacks contrast is to use the Levels command. Choose Image – Adjustments – Levels and, in the Levels dialog, drag the right triangle over to the right to the position where the pixel distribution falls to nothing. Next, drag the left triangle which represents the white point of the image over to the right to where the pixels disappear. When you click OK, you will notice that the image has a lot more contrast and sharpness.

About the Author:
The writer of this article runs Adobe Photoshop CS4 training courses and Adobe Illustrator training all over the United Kingdom.

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Free How To Digital Scrapbook With Photoshop Tutorials

September 1st, 2009

It is easier than ever to create incredible digital scrapbooks that you can share with your family and friends. Due to the power of digital technology and computers as well as software editing programs you can easily turn your ordinary photos into extraordinary masterpieces that you can share with your loved ones. When looking for a software editing program to create your digital scrapbooks you can’t go wrong with Adobe Photoshop; it is undoubtedly the most popular photo editing software program on the market today and is used by amateurs and professionals alike.

So, what’s with Adobe Photoshop that it even made professional photographers want one of their own? Well, basically, the great thing about Adobe Photoshop is that this software contains everything that a photographer needs in order to edit pictures. This software is basically a digital photo laboratory where you can edit pictures to make it look even better.

The software is somewhat easy to learn. However, if you are a first time user the program you will want to play around and get yourself comfortable with the desktop and various tools. There are various tutorials available over the internet that can get you started on the basics if you feel uncomfortable with what you are seeing on your screen but I will attempt to make it easy for you.

When you open up the program you will be looking at the four basic areas in Adobe Photoshop. At the top you have your menu bar and below that is your toolbar; the toolbox containing all the tools that you will use to edit your image is located on the left side of your screen and the palettes which have the variety of options for layers, text editing, colors, etc. are located on the right. To see what each item does in your tool box I recommend you hold your mouse over item and you should see a screen tip appear telling you the name of that tool.

One of the great things about this software is that it will take photos taken from an average camera and you can use the tools to make them look like they were taken with the most expensive camera on the market. With an ordinary 3 megapixel camera you can take average pictures then use Photoshop to create a masterpiece. Such is the power of this program.

Also, you can never avoid errors on the photos you take. For example, you may experience red eye on the photos where the subject will have red eyes. When this happens, it will be almost impossible for you to remove the red eye unless you take them to a professional photographer that will be able to edit the photos for you. However, with Adobe Photoshop, all you need to do is remove the red eye with one of the tools provided. Check out this Free Photoshop Tutorial that shows you just how easy it is to recreate really awesome eyes – http://www.photoshoprevealed.com/blog/adobe-photoshop-cs4-tutorials-creating-awesome-eyes/

Another common problem when taking photos is shaky hands which create blurry photos. Again, Photoshop comes with sharpening tools that are able to remove these errors. On the other hand, if you like the blurry effect there are tools included for that as well.

Dull colors and lighting problems are no longer a problem as Photoshop can take nearly any problem that seemed insurmountable and fix it with a few clicks of the mouse. Is your photo missing someone? Simply remove that person from a different photo and paste them where you want them to go. Now, this is a bit more tricky and requires a bit more experimentation, however it can be accomplished with Photoshop. Using Adobe Photoshop, you can be sure that you will be able to turn those ordinary looking photos in to something magical.

Did you enjoy this article? Interested in learning photoshop fast? Well now you can by reading this Photoshop free report…what are you waiting for?

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Adding Photoshop To Your Arsenal of Photography Tools

August 17th, 2009
by David Peters

In the days of film cameras, taking photos was a one time deal. After you took a photo, you are pretty much stuck with the results. You have no way of altering the photo or even improve the way it looks. And, if there are ways and people who can alter photos in any way, it was considered to be a black art and is known to only a few people and available to fewer people.

However, thanks to technology, this is no longer the case. With the development of digital cameras and digital imaging, people are now able to improve the photos they took with just a few clicks of the mouse. And, this is done through an imaging software program, such as Adobe Photoshop.

While there are many photo editing software programs on the market without a doubt Adobe Photoshop is one of the most popular. Photoshop not only allows you to edit your photos but comes built in with loads of tools for manipulating them as well. Used by amateurs and professionals alike, Photoshop is definitely able to meet any challege that is thrown at it.

What is it about Photoshop that makes it so impressive?

Basically, Adobe Photoshop contains all the necessary tools you need in order for you to edit, enhance, and alter photos. For example, if a particular photo you took was too dark and the colors are quite dull, you can enhance the image and make it brighter and the colors more vivid with the use of Adobe Photoshop. You can adjust the brightness, contrast, and color balance and intensity to make the picture you took look as if it was taken in perfect conditions.

Red eye is another common problem that plagues those who have even the best cameras. Built in to Photoshop is a red eye tool that detects red eye, whether it be on a human or an animal, and eliminates it. Photoshop is so good no one will ever know your subject had the wild eyed look about them.

One of the biggest challenges of any photographer is capturing family and friends on film. Regardless of how great the photo turns out there will be complaints about wrinkles, the photos make them look fat, etc. Your sister will complain about the zit on her nose, your mother will complain about her saggy chin … I think you are getting the idea here.

Adobe Photoshop contains everything you will need to make you family and friends super model perfect. Easily erase wrinkles and age spots, make faces look fuller or thinner, even add color to the cheeks to make pale faces look healthier; remove unwanted objects in the face, such as pimples, and acne scars. You can even put make up on the face of the subject if you want.

You can even make fat people look supermodel thin with the tools of Adobe Photoshop.

Adobe Photoshop makes editing your photography fun. Manipulate and enhance your photos, create amazing works of art, turn your ordinary photos into extraordinary masterpieces. Add Photoshop to your arsenal of photography tools and see what you can create.

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Did you enjoy this article? Interested in learning photoshop fast? Well now you can by reading this free Guide…what are you waiting for?

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Making Your Photos Fun with Photoshop

August 16th, 2009
by David Peters

We all know for a fact that looking at photographs can be boring. However, with a photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop, you will be able to have a lot of fun with your digital photos. In fact, there are tools in this photo editing software that will even turn simple photographs in to amazing gifts that everyone will love.

Although Adobe Photoshop can be hard to master especially if you are not familiar with photo editing software, you will see that in time, you will be able to become comfortable using it. In the meantime, there are fun tools in Adobe Photoshop that will be able to help you learn the basics on how to edit photos.

While Photoshop is chock full of tools I want to go over only a few of the most often used ones to give you an idea of exactly how powerful this program is.

Have you ever wondered how the models in magazines always look so perfect? Photoshop is every professional photographers hidden secret as it comes equipped with tools such as the warping tool that allows you to manipulate your photos and, once you have it figured out, will even allow you to add or subtract weight from your subjects, among other things. Everyone complains about how they look in photographs, now you can eliminate all the complaints with a few clicks of the mouse.

Another tool is the smudge tool. This is another basic photo editing tool that you will use constantly. If you have a close up picture of your face or any face, and there are imperfections in the face such as scars, pimples and wrinkles, you can remove them with the smudge tool. This will make the subject’s face look smoother and also younger.

Wouldn’t it be great to have a photo of you in front of the Eiffel Tower? Don’t save up for the plane ticket, simply use Photoshops lasso tool. The lasso tool allows you to select a particular part of the picture, you for instance, and then remove it. Next you simply paste the object, yourself, on another background, such as behind the Eiffel Tower in France.

Wish you had a masterpiece to hang on your wall? Turn your favorite photo into a watercolor using Photoshop’s built in filters. Simply print it out on canvas and you have a museum worthy piece of art.

Easily insert text or captions onto your photos using the text tool. Now you will never forget who was standing next to you during your college graduation or retirement party. Recently divorced but don’t want to toss your photos out the window? Easily remove unwanted objects and you will be able to keep all the photos, minus the unwanted objects or individuals.

These are only a small portion of the amazing things that you can do with Adobe Photoshop. Once you master the basics and delve deeper into the program you will see that I have only scratched the surface of this powerful program. Take your time and find out how you can turn your ordinary photographs into extraordinary works of art.

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Did you like this article? Interested in learning photoshop fast? Well now you can by getting this free Guide…what are you waiting for?

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