Photoshop Layers and Selections Webinar with Rocky Nook Publishers

Thursday of last week I presented in a webinar hosted by my publishers, Rocky Nook all about my latest book, The Photoshop Layers and Selections Workshop.

It was so good to see so many people tune in LIVE and also to see the numbers of folks that had signed up to be sent the recording.

If you missy it and fancy checking it out, Rocky Nook have also now posted the webinar on their YouTube Channel that I’ve now added below…

At the end of the presnetation we went through a Q&A and one of the questions posted asked about the new selections and masking function in Camera Raw and Lightroom, and in particular about using the Color Range option…

Susan asked…

“Can you only subtract one colour point at a time or can you click multiple times on slight variations in the color in the same subtract operation?”

Originally I answered that I ‘thought’ you could only do one at a time however a friend of mine Trevor Ager messaged me to say that you can actually add more by holding down the Option (Mac) / Alt (Windows) keys and clicking.

Hope you enjoy the video.

Cheers,
Glyn

CROP your images BIGGER: 3 Right Ways and 1 Wrong Way

Composition is so incredibly important; it can make or break a photograph.

Here's 3 ways that we can alter the composition and make images bigger using the CROP TOOL in Photoshop to show our pictures off at their VERY BEST for screen, print or social media.

Hope you like it,
Glyn

Good to be Back! Portraits of World War 2 Veterans

After almost 2 years it felt great the other day to be able to photograph another of our World War 2 Veterans…

Because of the Covid-19 Pandemic it’s not been possible and not been safe to take portraits, especially of people in such advanced years, but thankfully now times have changed and I’m able to resume.

This latest portrait is of 101 year old, World War 2 Veteran, Gordon Short who served in the 9th Devons and was attached to the 4th Battalion the Royal West Kents an served in Burma.

I photographed Gordon at his home in Devon which just happens to be a 10 minute drive from my home in the next village having been contacted by one of his sons who’d heard of my 39-45 Portraits Project.

I kept the set up as had in all the previous portraits to ensure continuity…

• Lighting: Westcott FJ80 Speedlite in a Westcott Rapid Box Switch Large Octa

• Background: X-Drop Background using the Grey Material*

• Camera: Sony A7RIV

• Lens: Sony 55mm f/1.8 ZA

*Ordinarily I would have used my own branded canvas effect background but not knowing how much space I’d have to work in, I opted to use the grey material that comes included with the X-Drop because it folds up to be really compact and when fixing it to the frame you don’t need to roll it out. I then made it look like my canvas background by adding a texture to it in Photoshop.

In the next couple of days I’m heading back to see Gordon and to present him with his portrait, printed and in a mount … cannot wait!

Rocky Nook Webinar: Photoshop Layers and Selections Workshop

This coming Thursday (13th January 2022) at 7pm (UK) / 11am (PST) I’m joining up with my publishers Rocky Nook to do a FREE webinar based on my latest book, The Photoshop Layers and Selections Workshop.

Registration is FREE by using the link below…

Hope to see you there,
Glyn

TRY THIS if you need BIGGER BACKGROUNDS in your Photo Shoots

If you ever place backgrounds behind people (individuals or groups) when taking photographs and wish the background was bigger, here’s how you can use Photoshop to do all the hard work blending images together to fake it.

Enjoy,
Glyn

Cameras Supported by Camera Raw / Lightroom (December 2021 Update)

As of December 2021 and the time of posting this, here’s the list from Adobe of the newly added cameras supported by Camera Raw / Lightroom…

Supported Camera Models

Want a list of ALL supported cameras? Click the link below…

FINALLY! Look Up Tables (LUTs) in Lightroom (Install, Use, Manage)

Colour Look Up Tables (LUTs) are a Game Changer when it comes to colour grading your images in Photoshop, but what if you do more in Lightroom or maybe Lightroom is all you use; can you still use them?

The short answer is YES.

However, they do need to be installed first of all and to do so, although a simple process, doesn’t just mean clicking an “INSTALL LUTs” button.

There’s just a few steps involved as well as a hidden keyboard shortcut, but I promise you that it is an easy process as you’ll see in the short video below…

In the video when going through the steps to install LUTs into Lightroom (Cloud) , I show how you need to navigate to a specific folder on your computer where Camera Raw has previously stored them.

Here’s where you’ll find the folder depending on whether you’re using Mac or Windows:

Mac

~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRaw/Settings

Note: On a Mac, you can use the keyboard shortcut of Command + Shift + G to bring up the ‘Go to Folder’ dialog

Windows

C:\Users\[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings

*Replace [username] with the actual username you use for that specific computer

---

Hopefully that’s now got you all sorted Importing, Using and Managing LUTs in whichever version/s of Lightroom you use, but if you do have any questions / comments then as always, feel free to make use of the comments section and I’ll get back to you..

Cheers,
Glyn

Autumn / Fall Effect: Transform your Landscape Photographs

It’s my own fault that this year I didn’t manage to grab one single Autumn / Fall photograph; I’ve spent every opportunity photographing down on the coast here in Devon or over the border in Cornwall.

Until next year though (when I WILL get some Autumn / Fall photographs) here’s a couple of ways we can use Photoshop to fake it; the first using a single Adjustment Layer and the second using a new Neural Filter.

When you see the video, which one do yo think works / looks best?

Enjoy,
Glyn

ESSENTIAL KIT I couldn't (and wouldn't) be without

Without doubt one of the most important pieces of kit I have is a U.P.S. (Uninterruptible Power Supply), which is basically a big battery that keeps my office / studio running when (not if) there’s a power cut, and protected when (not if) there’s a power surge.

History

In the past I’ve suffered because of power cuts on 2 occasions…

1. When living at our first home, the power, well, just cut off and this caused irreparable damage to the hard drive system that I had at the time and I consequently lost years of files.

2. When I was using a Windows based PC as my main computer and there was a power cut during an update being installed to the Operating System.

   This resulted in a complete re-install.

So enough was enough; I needed a solution.

Solution = UPS

There’s a whole host of companies that make these UPS units; all with different power capabilities depending on your needs i.e. how many peripherals you have plugged in and need to keep powered up when there’s a power cut.

The one I currently have is the BX1400UI made by APC…

This particular unit has 6 available plug sockets; 3 of which are battery backup and surge protected and the remaining 3 are surge protected only.

The idea behind a UPS is simple; when mains power cuts out, the UPS kicks in immediately meaning your equipment keeps running until the mains power returns; this ultimately means your equipment is safe.

Of course with it being a battery it can only keep things running for a limited amount of time which in my case is roughly 20-25 minutes, by which time the power should be back up and running.

However, if it isn’t then there is built in software called Powershute which will take over and safely power down the system rather than letting it run until the battery power runs out.

KEY

A: Main Computer

B: 2nd Monitor / Screen (BenQ SW321C)

C: Synology NAS 4-Bay Backup

D: G Tech External Hard-drive

E: Broadband Router

Living in the middle of the countryside, momentary power cuts are a way of life so having a UPS is not only a life saver but essential.

When it does kick in, all you hear is a feint click as it engages, but there’s absolutely no interruption to your computer system whatsoever. A percentage indicator also appears in the information bar at the top of my screen saying how long at the current usage the battery can keep things running.

Essential Kit

Having experienced the wrath of a power cut on a couple of occasions, I simply would not be without a U.P.S..

A U.P.S. not only protects your equipment, but also nowadays with doing more and more online presentations using video platforms such as Zoom, it means (if there’s a power cut midway through) I don’t just leave people wondering where the heck I went.

Instead, the unit makes me aware it’s kicked in and this is usually just for a second or 2, however if it’s going on longer than hoped, I can make people aware that I need to close things down.

Thankfully this hasn’t happened BUT it’s something we all need to be aware of if we do online meetings.

So if there was one piece of kit I would recommend you look at investing in for 2022 (if you haven’t already) it would be a U.P.S. ; the first time it kicks in and keeps you running is INCREDIBLY satisfying and reassuring.

You can check out the U.P.S. I have over on my Gear Page here (LINK)

Keep well,
Glyn