photoshop, a key element in photography?

[tina_schmidt]

<p>I'm learning my way around photoshop, and i think i have a pretty good handle on it. I was wondering if there was anything that you do to your photo absolutely everytime in photoshop to make it look more professional. Also, where can i find some cool textures to add to my photos, and what are the best ways to apply them? If you have any photoshop suggestions please let me know :)</p>

[alain_attal]

<p>I'm fortunate enough to have been playing with Photoshop since version 2.0, so it's been a really long time. It's definately an amazing piece of software that even after 12 years or so of using it pretty much daily, I don't know it all. </p>

<p>My advice to you, if you're staring out in photoshop, just get used to image adjustments. In the toolbar, go to Image, then Adjustments. Spend a lot of time experimenting wth these, they will go a long way to helping you improve and adjust your images. You should also take the time to learn image sizes and file types (RAW, Jpeg, etc.).</p>

<p>I wouldn't get too carried away with heavy manipulation, although tempting because there are so many things you can do in photoshop, you're better off taking the time and learning how to train your eye in your viewfinder to find good shots rather than learning how to do effects in photoshop. Although fun, more often than not, heavy photoshop manipulation tends to look amaturish. </p>

<p>The most important phrase I ever learned was from a photographer friend. He used to say "Garbage in, Garbage out.". Basically, you need to start with a good shot, otherwise, no manipulation in photoshop is going to make your images look professional. </p>

<p>Good luck and have fun.<br>

~ Alain</p>

[paul_aylett1]

<p>I'm afraid it is. In the days of film, all of the post processing work was handled by the lab - with digital, it's now the burden of the photographer.<br>

I have two ways of working. If I'm shooting candids, for example a birthday party where I simply want to record the event without being too 'artsy', I'll aim for nailing everything in the camera then simply drop the card into a lab for prints.<br>

If on the other hand, I'm shooting for my portfolio, or as a paid job, I'll aim to nail everything in camera, then pull every shot into Photoshop for adjustments.<br>

What adjustments? Colour balance, levels, sharpening, spot healing (skin blemishes) and possibly conversion to B&W or sepia, occaisionally a differnt crop. Why do I need to do this when I've already aimed at getting it right in camera? Well, because no matter how careful I am, I don't always get it perfect. However, if I've done my job right, the adjustments I make in Photoshop are 'small tweaks' - indicating I wasn't far off to begin with.<br>

As far as textures to add to photos, I can't offer you much help. It's not something I would do to a photo. It's important to understand that Photoshop is a powerful and very useful tool but you should avoid over using it. There can be a tempation to use Photoshop as a 'parachute' - in other words, apply so much PS work in an attempt to turn a bad shot into a good one. I've been there myself but it's not a good habit to get into (look around Photo.net and you will see some truly terrible PS work). The best PS work IMHO is when it looks as though none has been done.<br>

At the end of the day, it's a necesary evil but never a substitute for good photography. Plus, once your a paid photographer, you don't want to be in a situation where every shot needs 30 minutes of PS work to look good! Imagine shooting a wedding and having to go through 600 photos!!<br>

In summary, some minor levels / sharpening / colour balance tweaks should be the aim for most of your shots. If you're not at that point yet, you should be working more on your photography skills and less on Photoshop.</p>

<p> </p>

[remco-jan.woldhuis]

<p>Functions that I always use in PS:<br>

- cropping<br>

- curves<br>

- sharpening<br>

The others are nice to haves, but not really needed if the picture is good enough.</p>

[starvy]

<p>tina,<br>

much depends on what you mean by professional. i am noticing more of the professional landscape work to be hrd based with each passing day. i like the potential of hdr but hate the cartoon elements when things don't match. it also represents a great potential for outdoor portraits.of course, photoshop does not ofer this.<br>

in photoshop i tend to use the unsharp mask, contrast and curve tools. i also use a few framing tools.</p>

[dbcooper]

<blockquote>

<p>"I was wondering if there was anything that you do to your photo absolutely everytime..."</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Not unless your photos are the same absolutely every time. :)</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>Also, where can i find some cool textures to add to my photos, and what are the best ways to apply them? If you have any photoshop suggestions please let me know :)</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>Try posting in the 'Digital Darkroom' forum for loads of answers to these kinds of questions. You could also google 'photoshop textures', 'photoshop tutorials', 'photoshop tips', 'photoshop tricks', or 'photoshop tv'.</p>

[Spearhead]

<blockquote>

<p>In the days of film, all of the post processing work was handled by the lab</p>

</blockquote>

<p>This wasn't true for many of us. A lot of people learned to process and print at home, and for some of us, that meant a lot of manipulation, akin to Photoshop. Unfortunately, letting the lab handle everything meant no creativity after the button push, a complete denial of the history of great photography.</p>

<p>Unless you're really going to use a lot of the retouching capability of Photoshop, I would recommend Lightroom, it's much better software for everything that has been mentioned above. It has a faster learning curve and a lot more photographer-friendly features than Photoshop.</p>

[cathy_and_david_bock]

<p>Originally we were graphic designers so we've both been using Photoshop since v2.5, and that said, we don't use photoshop very often at all, as we find it something to use only if you are digitally altering a photo, like heavy blemish removal, TRA's, or removing something like a stop sign, etc. We use Lightroom on every single on of our images in our post processing, which I suggest using as it is much more flexible and faster than photoshop. Using photoshop to edit an image is like using a blow torch to light a cigarette.</p>

[freewolf]

<p>I'm in <em>partial</em> agreement with Cathy and David on this... Lightroom contains enough basic adjustments to polish just about any photo, and is great for performing batch adjustments. However, Photoshop seems to me to offer much more precise control of very fine adjustments when you're trying to get really particular. While using PS <strong>can</strong> be "like using a blowtorch to light a cigarette", it is very useful for subtle adjustments and editing of fine details for single images.</p>

<p>Performing batch adjustments is very handy when you're working with a group of shots taken under controlled light situations, but is definitely less useful in many respects when processing a group of shots taken under variable and changing light conditions. Also bear in mind that RAW files lend themselves better to fine adjustments than do JPEGs, due simply to the nature of the file format (number of available bits, etc.).</p>

<p>Another important consideration is what file format you're working on. In both LR and PS, you have much finer control over adjustments to images captured RAW as opposed to JPEG. </p>

[bvp]

<p>For textures you might try cgtextures.com</p>

[jim_tierney]

<p>The only thing you should be doing every time is shooting your photos RAW. This will give you the most flexibility possible in your photos. Cameras do not usually make good decisions when converting your image to a jpeg. Shooting RAW is essential, IMHO.</p>

<p>Also, if you're posting your photos online, make sure you go to File>File Info... and put your name and contact info into the metadata, to make sure your copyright stays with the photo. You can make a template of your basic info that makes it very easy to add this info into every photo you plan on having online somewhere. For professionals, I think this is one aspect that frequently gets missed.</p>

<p>As for textures...<br>

You can download some free, high-res photo backgrounds at: http://digitalanarchy.com/primatte/demo.html<br>

Just go down to the Get Sample Backgrounds section. There's 15 portrait backgrounds in the .zip file.<br>

cheers,<br>