Photoshop tips for blogging
By Megan Goodacre
Remember when cameras used film? Photography was a different ball of string back in the day. But now, almost everything is digital.
My typical work day starts and ends at my computer. Email. Pinterest. Blog. Photo editing.
Then, if the light is right, I will probably take some photos. I use available light and a reflector. And of course, my beautiful Manfrotto tripod.
If you have a knitting blog, or share your photos on flickr, Facebook, Instagram, or the like, you already know a lot of the basics. How to change your exposure. Use a tripod. That kind of thing.
But, how do you take things to another level with Photoshop? I'm still a newb when compared to full-time photo editors, but over the years I have learned a lot of Photoshop tricks.
I went to Ottawa's Experimental Farm yesterday, scouting for good photo backdrops, and then spent some time messing around with them in Photoshop. Now, I don't necessarily love photos that look too interfered with. But sometimes it's fun to play with filters and push the envelope. I've shared some of the photos over on the Tricksy Knitter Facebook page, with a few tips on how to get the effects.
Don't forget though, Photoshop can only do so much. When you're taking photos, always make sure you get correct exposure and focus. Without those, you're hooped. You can of course, correct some exposure problems, but if an area is severely under or overexposed, the information just won't be there. And the same is true for focus. If I'm not paying close attention, and I'm using auto-focus, I won't realize until it's far too late that the lens focused on a leaf in the foreground rather than on my subject, for example. It can be heartbreaking. You can do a little sharpening in Photoshop, but you can't sharpen information if it's not there.
Here's are two of the tutorials. Click on the images to see them full size and read the photo descriptions for tips. I'll keep adding them as I find good examples; you can Like the Tricksy Knitter Facebook page to stay in the loop!
My typical work day starts and ends at my computer. Email. Pinterest. Blog. Photo editing.
Then, if the light is right, I will probably take some photos. I use available light and a reflector. And of course, my beautiful Manfrotto tripod.
If you have a knitting blog, or share your photos on flickr, Facebook, Instagram, or the like, you already know a lot of the basics. How to change your exposure. Use a tripod. That kind of thing.
But, how do you take things to another level with Photoshop? I'm still a newb when compared to full-time photo editors, but over the years I have learned a lot of Photoshop tricks.
I went to Ottawa's Experimental Farm yesterday, scouting for good photo backdrops, and then spent some time messing around with them in Photoshop. Now, I don't necessarily love photos that look too interfered with. But sometimes it's fun to play with filters and push the envelope. I've shared some of the photos over on the Tricksy Knitter Facebook page, with a few tips on how to get the effects.
Don't forget though, Photoshop can only do so much. When you're taking photos, always make sure you get correct exposure and focus. Without those, you're hooped. You can of course, correct some exposure problems, but if an area is severely under or overexposed, the information just won't be there. And the same is true for focus. If I'm not paying close attention, and I'm using auto-focus, I won't realize until it's far too late that the lens focused on a leaf in the foreground rather than on my subject, for example. It can be heartbreaking. You can do a little sharpening in Photoshop, but you can't sharpen information if it's not there.
Here's are two of the tutorials. Click on the images to see them full size and read the photo descriptions for tips. I'll keep adding them as I find good examples; you can Like the Tricksy Knitter Facebook page to stay in the loop!
Post by Tricksy Knitter.