Removing Halftone from Scanned Newspaper Photos
My dad recently sent me a scanned photo from an old newspaper that he is using in a historical video he is working on. One of the main issues you face when working with projects of this nature is quality images. Sometimes, you have actual photos, which usually contain a workable amount of visual data to work with. Sometimes you’re on the other end of the spectrum with photocopies of old newspapers.
For this tutorial we’re looking at a pretty typical source image, a scan of a newspaper photo, and how to remove the halftone dot pattern caused by printing.
SEO for Bloggers: Analytics
Now that we’ve talked about having quality, keyword-rich content, linked both internally and across websites with tags and SEO-friendly URLs, it’s time to talk about something that will pull it all together so you can find out what your next steps will be: Analytics.
SEO for Bloggers: Links
Building on the foundations laid by quality content filled with solid keywords and phrases, posted regularly, is the proper use of links both from other sites and within your blog itself.
SEO for Bloggers: Foundations
When it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) the main thing to remember is that it’s all about relevancy and keywords.
Search engines love blogs and, if you do it right, you can make some good progress just by making a few key changes to what you’re doing already.
SEO Basics for Bloggers
In my day job I split my time between the marketing and web departments as I work to help spread the company message and produce online conversions. I am part photographer, part graphic artist, and part web designer.
One of my main tasks on the web side of things, aside from general site maintenance, is to implement various strategies for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) purposes. With that experience, I felt as though you all could benefit from some tips and tricks that will help raise your own rankings and drive some more traffic – and, hopefully, more customers – to your site or blog.
Start to Finish Episode 2 Ideas
Rob and I are in the process of developing Episode 2 of the Start to Finish Photoshop and Photography Podcast from the TJM Media Group, and as always we’re looking for your input on what you want to learn and what would be most helpful when it comes to the shoot itself and how to process it for output.
New Points of View Photo Project Image
Ok, since I haven’t gotten any submissions for this week’s Points of View Photo Project as of yet, and I’ve heard that it wasn’t the best source image to use, I’ve decided to offer up an alternate.
Using Textures with Photos
Awhile back I used a photo texture to add a little extra dimension of interest to a series of photos I had been working on and one of my readers asked for a little insight into how to use textures. So, here we go!
Cool Text Effect
I just learned how to do this really cool effect while reading one of the Down and Dirty Tricks tutorials in latest issue of Photoshop User Magazine. Click “more” to learn how to do it!
TJM Media Group Presents: Start to Finish: Episode 1
The TJM Media Group is pleased to announce the release of the first episode of “Start to Finish” – a series where you, the reader, will help select each month’s photography and graphic design assignment and then watch as your projects are completed, from start to finish. The key to this being a fun, interesting, and informative feature is your interaction. In this first episode, we had to come up with a basic concept on our own.
In this episode, we go on assignment to the grounds of the University of Virginia and photograph Thomas Jefferson’s historic academic village. Photographs are captured to demonstrate basic pano-stitching techniques back in the studio. It was a simple task to get the series up and running.
We have every confidence that you can do much better!
Here’s how we’d like it to work:
Each month we need two basic assignments – a photographic concept and a final presentation.
For example, a suggestion for a photographic concept might be:
Demonstrate the process for capturing the photos needed to render an HDR image of the Lincoln Memorial. The resulting final presentation concept might be: Render the HDR image and present as a fine art print.
(OK, that one seems pretty neat. We might use it… )
Email your suggestions to: start2finish@tjmmediagroup.com
We look forward to working on YOUR assignments.
All the best,
Rob Jones and Jason Moore
Founders, TJM Media Group
PRESS RELEASE: Announcing the TJM Media Group
For Immediate Release…
Towner Jones Photography, LLC and Jason D. Moore Photography are pleased to announce the formation of the TJM Media Group. This new association serves as a common brand through which exciting new projects can be presented from these two established photography and graphic design content providers.
On February 1, 2010 the TJM Media Group will present the first episode of “Start to Finish” a Photoshop and photography training series showing viewers the complete creative process from capture to presentation. TJM Media Group content will be available through each of the members’ blogs as well as directly through the TJM Media Group website (tjmmediagroup.com) when it goes live in the coming weeks.
Bringing Some Work Home
As some of you may know, by day I am a web designer for a sporting goods company putting together marketing emails, maintaining the look and feel of the website, and keeping an eye on the SEO initiatives we have going.
Coming up later this week we are launching a new sport line. We are mainly a wrestling and volleyball supply retailer, with some running, but we’re jumping into the realm of field sports (lacrosse, field hockey, and soccer) and it has been my job to compile product images, build pages and make sure the whole section is ready to go.
Photoshop Training DVD Interest Inquiry
As I mentioned yesterday, I am in the planning stages of producing my own Photoshop Training DVD geared for beginners and advanced intermediate users.
Instead of just jumping in and producing something based on what I think people want, I thought I would start by asking a few questions so I could hear from you and tailor the final project to more closely fit your needs as my target audience. (more…)
Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Program
After a brief hiatus I am now back to my normal schedule of daily posts between now and Christmas.
Before I get too far, I want to remind you all that the next Points of View Photo Project will be posted this Friday. If you would like to participate, and it’s open to everyone, please head over and grab the source image for this week. All you have to do is download it, process it, and send it back to me at pov@jasondmoore.com by Thursday at around 8pm (Eastern) so I can include it in the gallery with the other contributors from across the country and around the world.
Now that I’ve got that out of the way… (more…)
So, They Think I Can Teach Photoshop!
That’s right! I received official word that I was selected as one of the Honorable Mention winners in the NAPP So, You Think You Can Teach Photoshop?! contest! And I would I like to take this opportunity to thank the judges for this honor and opportunity.
Though it would’ve been awesome to claim the top slot and have the opportunity to teach a live session at Photoshop World in March as well as on their podcasts, I am truly humbled that I am ranked along with some other very talented Photoshop instructors. (more…)
Twitter: Photoshop Tips of the Day
Starting last night and continuing every weeknight, probably around 10pm (Eastern) or so, my followers on Twitter will be treated to a new segment I am doing called – imaginatively enough – Photoshop Tip of the Day.
Though I could do full-length tutorials with one tweet/step, single tips are easier to digest and lend themselves so much better to the Twitter format.
(more…)
Photoshop Video Contest: Entry #3
This final entry into the So You Think You Can Teach Photoshop contest is one of my personal favorites.
From the first time I saw it I knew I had to figure out how to recreate it for myself. After doing some research, I only found two videos out there that showed how to create the effect. I feel that this is the best entry I have into the contest. I think the production values are good, the content is strong, the effect is unique and interesting, and the process I present is user-friendly and that it all came together quite nicely. (more…)
Photoshop Video Contest: Entry#2
For this next video, I take a look back at a technique I used while developing a marketing campaign at work last spring. It is a concept I borrowed from a car commercial I saw a few years back that added some mystery to the new model that was coming out.
I made a few changes to make it work with what we wanted to do with the volleyball shoe we were selling and I think it has some real potential for uses from product shots to design elements to portrait photography. The possibilities are endless. (more…)
Photoshop Video Contest: Entry #1
As you will notice, I’ve begun making a few changes around here. Most notably with the layout. Every 6-9 months I like to freshen things up a bit and give the site a little face lift and since my last redesign was in March, I felt that it was due. There are still some bugs to work out as I get used to this new system, so please bear with me.
Now that NAPP’s So You Think You Can Teach Photoshop?! contest is closed and the judging is soon to be under way, I thought I would share my entries with you. (more…)
So, I Think I Can Teach Photoshop
Thanks for bearing with me these past couple of weeks. I don’t know how much it’s showed – mainly because with the amount of sleep I’ve been getting, it’s hard to tell what’s going on anymore – but I’ve been so preoccupied with the NAPP contest “So, You Think You Can Teach Photoshop?!” lately and it’s demanded as much time and attention as I could give it.
With all three videos now uploaded and officially entered, I’m feeling pretty good about it all. I don’t want to talk myself up or get my hopes too high because you never know what will happen with these things. There are a number of good tutorials out there with some good presenters of all types and I’m proud to count myself in their number. I trust that Scott and the other judges will select the best all-around presentations as the winner, whoever it may be.
With that said, I feel that my content is solid, my method is straightforward and clear, my production values are good, and I have a pretty good shot.
Starting Monday, I will post my 3 entries right here so you can what I’ve been working on. So, be on the lookout for those!
We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled program tomorrow with the November 2009 Desktop Wallpaper Calendar.
Monday Morning Updates
Last night marked the end of our silent auction to support Chris Stern’s Walk4Hearing efforts. In the end, with the help of some awesome photographers, an amazing printing donation via Mpix, and the generous support of those who bid on the prints, we were able to raise a hair under $900 to benefit the Walk4Hearing! Thank you all!
Even though the auction is over, if you would still like to help Chris out, you can donate directly through his donation page.
I have settled on my three videos for the NAPP contest. I’m not going to divulge them until after the deadline so I can be sure they aren’t copied. I’ve finished the opening graphics sequences for all three videos, I’ve outlined the workflow for each and I’m ready to start recording and editing in the next week. Who knows what the outcome of the contest will be with so many excellent trainers out there, but I know that I’ll be able to come up with some great tutorials for three very interesting effects that will provide you with options when you want to look at your subjects in a new way.
Thank you to everyone who has filled out my Photoshop Workshop survey so far! If you haven’t taken it yet, scroll down to the previous post and let me know your thoughts. There are only 11 questions so it won’t take long. I know it’s pretty general but it’s only a starting point as I develop what could be a new series of workshops to help you get better at Photoshop. I will also have more opportunities coming up for you to share your ideas/preferences with me about workshops, so be on the lookout for those!
For those of you with today off for Columbus Day, I hope you’re enjoying your time! Snap a shot for me! And if you have to be at work today, don’t worry, I’m at the office too… We can suffer through it together!
Software Review: Topaz Adjust
I will be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of plug-ins. Maybe I’ve just never used the right ones, maybe I’ve never played around with them enough, maybe I just haven’t been too impressed with the results. So, I’m going into this one a little skeptical from the start.
With all of that said, I must say that when I sat down to try out Topaz Adjust, from Topaz Labs, I found myself actually enjoying the process. Now, I’m not a purist at all; I think if you have the tools at hand and the ability to utilize them to achieve your vision, by all means. But I feel, and I’ve said this before, that sometimes people can go overboard and turn a potentially good photo into something kind of “alien”, surreal, and even cartoonish which distracts from more than enhances the viewing experience. Not that it isn’t ok to do that sometimes, but it should be done sparingly, in my opinion.
When I opened up my source image from a photowalk I did in Boston over the summer, I was presented with a dark, flat, and uninteresting photo – isn’t that how most of them start out?
Sometimes, when presented with a shot like this I may even just pass right by it without giving it another thought thinking that it was a nice idea but the light wasn’t right or I didn’t take enough time to do this or that the way I wanted to. Then I thought, what better way to really put this Photoshop plug-in to the test than with an image I’m not excited about in the first place? And so the fun began.
When I first opened the plug-in dialog I felt that the interface was very intuitive with a diverse set of presets and their respective previews running down the left, a decent-sized window for your full-sized image (complete with the option to zoom in and out of your photo), and a collection of sliders along the bottom for any fine-tuning you may want to do.
I started off by clicking through each of the presets to see how they would each affect my shot, thinking as I went that a number of them just didn’t give me what I was looking for. At the same time, though, I found myself thinking how I could see where those effects might come in handy with other types of images. I finally landed on the “Dramatic” preset which really caught my attention. I felt as though it really balanced out the tones in the image by lightening up the shadow areas without blowing out the highlights. It also brought out a great deal of details and made the sky, well, dramatic. All adding interest and depth to the photo.
In a way it created an HDR-like effect without the downsides I mentioned above. I then hit the sliders to refine the image even further and really get the results I was hoping for. I brought back a little detail in the highlights and shadows, supressed the noise a tad, and made sure that I wasn’t getting that awful halo effect that a lot of HDR photos employ. In the end, I was pretty pleased with the final image. And considering I was about to dismiss the photo altogether, I’d say that using Topaz Adjust saved it from the recycle bin. Here’s my final image (only process with Topaz Adjust):
Pros:
- Simple, straightforward, and intuitive interface.
- Variety of presets available, with previews
- Large preview window with zoom
- Ability to adjust each setting to fine-tune the image
- Hovering over a slider does more than show you the tool’s name, it pops up a description of what that tool is actually doing
- Works well Smart Objects so you can always go back – gotta love that it’s non-destructive!
- Priced at only $49.99 puts it within reach of everyone.
Cons:
- I could tell that the presets were on the left, but I think the section could’ve been set apart or labeled a little more clearly to make it more self-evident.
- I think some of the names for the sliders could be improved to help the user have a better idea of what’s going on (ie – “Highlights” should be called something more like “Highlight Protection”).
- I think the interface could be rearranged a little bit for a cleaner look – but I might just be nitpicking at this point.
In the end, I would say that I am very glad to have been introduced to this plug-in and it has helped change the way I feel about plugins as a whole. I would definitely recommend adding Topaz Adjust to your Photoshop toolkit!
Reconstructing the Past
My dad has been working on a video for a library’s local history video project that is focusing on the stories of those buried in the village cemetery dating back to the 1800s.
Due to time, weather, and collapse, it has been my task to reconstruct some of the gravestones so that they might be more usable in the finished video. One stone in particular presented a challenge. Below are my two starting images. As you can see, not only is the stone badly discolored, it is also broken down the middle of the name. Not an impossible job by any means, but it’s going to take some work.
Without getting into too much detail, there was a lot of cloning and healing going on, not to mention the hue/saturation and curves adjustment layers applied to the two halves of the stone.
But it didn’t stop there! This gentleman’s stone rests next to his wife’s stone, which is still upright. So, my next step was to stand it up once again. However, this stone was not as tall as the wife’s so I had to pull from her’s to add some height and apply some more healing to make the base look different enough that it was believable.
I know it’s not a perfect job, but in some situations, you don’t want perfection because it will look too manicured or polished. As it is, I don’t think it quite blends seamlessly together, but I’ve gotten some feedback where they couldn’t tell which was the Photoshoppped stone, so I guess my job is done.
What Are You Looking For?
To continue with what seems to be our theme of the week, I’d like to pose another question to you: What are you looking for in a video tutorial?
When you’re searching around on YouTube or Lynda.com or Kelby Training or wherever for Photoshop tutorial videos what separates the great ones from those that are only so-so? Is it the production values (video quality, sound quality, nice intro graphics, etc.)? Is it the personality of the presenter? Is it the language used (laymen’s terms vs. technical terms, “geeky” vs. down-to-earth, etc.)? Is it the unique nature of the tutorial itself? Is it how smooth the workflow seems to be? What is it?
I know, for most people it’s a combination of all of these factors, and I’m sure it’s true for you too, to a greater or lesser degree. But I’d like to invite you to examine your criteria for judging these sorts of tutorials a little more closely and share with all of us what exactly it is that makes a tutorial video stand above the rest.
At the same time, it’s easy to spot what we don’t like. It may be hard to know why, exactly, but we know it when we see it. Here, too, I’d like you to think about what tells you that a tutorial just isn’t worth your time.
Describe 2 tutorials: your ideal video and what differentiates it from the crowd, and what turns you off straight-away.
As you may have guessed, I’m doing a little market research as I prepare my entries for the So, You Think You Can Teach Photoshop contest. It’s true, that I want to do everything I can to create the best videos I can so I will, hopefully, win the contest. But even more than that, my interest lies in furthering the value of such videos so that regardless of any sort of prize that may be at stake, the videos I produce will help others become better Photoshop users and more effecient artists.
So, any input would be greatly appreciated!
And, again, if you have any techniques, concepts, or sources of inspiration that you’ve always wanted to know how to do, please let me know!
Thanks!
