Colorful Hats

These are some colorful hats displayed in a shopping mall. Simple designs but colorful for girls and boys. I think these hats are designed with no age limit. ( click on image for larger version )

I shoot this photo handheld with Canon 30D with a slow speed of 1/6 second and aperture set 2.8

Learn Photoshop Now...Learning Photoshop The Fast Way

By:PhotoshopFasttrack

Everything you want to learn about Photoshop is grouped into sections that are easy to identify and access. Tutorials are continually being made simpler and clearer so that everyone is included. If however, you think that the tutorials are not enough there are DVD Rom tutorials that you can purchase and have to access anytime that you forget how to do something and need to refresh your memory. This DVDROM has 120mins (yup, 2 hours) of tutorials that will help you know how to use Photoshop even in your sleep. If you already have more than a basic knowledge of using Photoshop you can take a look at the Photoshop Secrets Special FX. It's a tutorial CDROM with 19 lessons that are packed into 2 hours that will teach you exactly how to use the special cutting edge effects that the advance Photoshop users' use.

Photoshop training is one of the best investments you can make in your professional career. Whatever field you're working in, Photoshop training can help you reach your full potential. Anyone who works with digital images and graphics knows that the Adobe Photoshop line of software is the tool of choice for graphic designers and professional photographers around the world. The Photoshop interface hasn't changed a great deal since the earliest versions, so users can easily upgrade to Photoshop CS2 from any previous version. Photoshop CS2 has powerful new features that will aid designers in all fields. You can literally use Photoshop CS2 to create any visual effect that you can image-if you can dream it, you can create it with Photoshop. Like previous versions of Photoshop, CS2 is available for both Macintosh and Windows. And the best thing about the new version is the price: Photoshop CS2 costs less than previous versions of Photoshop.

RESOLUTION. The "Auto" resolution button on the right of your Image Size dialog box will resize your image to small, medium and larger sizes. Under "Document Size" in your Image Size box, you'll see a place to enter the desired resolution. For the Web, normal resolutions will be 72 pixels per inch. For print work, the resolution should be at least 300 ppi. When you increase the resolution, you increase the image size, and may need to resize it, but the resolution will stay the same. COLOR CASTS. Go into your Image > Adjustments menu and try using the automatic presets there: Auto Levels, Auto Contrast, Auto Color and/or Variations. This last option is especially fast and flexible, offering fine-tuning for shadows, midtones and highlights as well as saturation. Click Image, then Levels in your top menu. You will see a Channel box on top with a pull-down arrow that exposes options for red, green or blue. You can affect the color cast of an image inside this level box by clicking on that color and moving the slider bars. Watch the image as you make the changes.

You can modify a gradient by changing the colour of the stops - simply click on one and choose a new colour from the Color Picker. Alternatively, click on an image and sample a colour for your customised gradient using the Eyedropper Tool. You can also add new colour stops to an existing gradient by clicking anywhere along the bottom edge of the preview bar. As well as editing colour stops for the gradient to blend between, you can also add different opacity settings to make it fade from solid to transparency.

To experiment with advanced Photoshop layering, you'll need something to work on. So first bring up a photo inside Photoshop, then create another layer with something on it. On the bottom of your Layer Style box, you will find the "Blend If" settings. Choose either gray, red, green or blue inside the drop-down Blend If menu, then use your slider bars to control the opacity of the layer you highlighted or the layer underneath. Dragging the "white" slider left will diminish the whites or highlights, and the layer underneath will show through.You will quickly see how blending each color affects the image. You can use this versatile feature, for example, to replace a washed-out sky with a nice blue sky, blending the transparency to a gnat's eyebrow.

Like Adobe Remix, the hosted Photoshop service is set to be free and marketed as an entry-level version of Adobe's more sophisticated image-editing tools, including Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. Chizen envisions revenue from the Photoshop service coming from online advertising."That is new (for Adobe). It's something we are sensitive to because we are watching folks like Google do it in different categories, and we want to make sure that we are there before they are, in areas of our franchises," Chizen said.Chizen described the introduction of Adobe Remix and the forthcoming hosted Photoshop as part of a larger move toward integrating hosted services into the company's product mix.Bruce Chizen Like Microsoft, Adobe's business is built largely around packaged software, installed locally on users' PCs. Likewise, Adobe's plans to diversify its business with online services mirrors a large-scale effort at Microsoft to introduce a combination of software and services.

As you may already know, undoing steps is not difficult. You use the [Ctrl]/[Command]+[Z] and can move back through stored history using [Shift]+[Ctrl]+[Z].You can also use adjustment layers to do this and you will also be able to have instant access to the original file in its untouched state. Adjustment layers give you the opportunity to make changes to a single layer without changing any of the pixels on the layer itself. This is such a great way to work because you don't have to be concerned about altering the image permanently. When you find that you want to undo an adjustment layer you can simply drag it to the trash can that is located in the Layer palette. Another way to undo an adjustment layer is to turn it off using the eye icon.

Article Directory: http://www.articlecube.com

Did you like this article? Curious about learning photoshop fast? Well now you can by getting this free report...what are you waiting for?

Editing Digital Photography: Software living up to its promises?

by David Peters

Photography is indeed a complex art to master. With all the elements that go into ascertaining that your image is just the way you envisioned it, without any discrepancies in terms of the focus, the amount of exposure and even the color theme capturing a breathtaking image right from the word go, can be a daunting task. And here’s where many photographers rely on editing, which not only allows them to correct minor glitches in their images, but also create extraordinary effects which their digital cameras alone, would not have allowed them to fashion. But before you set out to experiment with your editing software, it does pay to spare a thought about the kind of software you’re planning to buy.

A majority of photographers, professional and amateur alike are unaware of how important it is to choose an editing software that is perfectly suited to their needs. Although the right kind of software, which is apt to your skills and requirements, does allow you to achieve dramatic results, while ensuring that you have to invest a minimal amount of time and effort, selecting the wrong kind of software may result in quite the opposite consequences. This is because when you choose a software that is either incompatible with your operating system, or entails a large amount of effort to be invested in using it, you are not only wasting a lot of your time, but are also not making complete use of the product in terms of all the features it has to offer. And the primary reason for this is that the software is meant to cater to a category of users who specifically need those features in their editing process and also are more cognizant with the technology the software is developed on.

When you choose your editing software, you first need to determine the level of flexibility the software allows you, as well as how intuitive it is to your needs. If your use of the editing software is for professional purposes, where you are required to edit images to suit different purposes on a regular basis and are also looking for a higher quality of editing, then the array of Advanced Photo Editors is right up your alley. Of these, Adobe Photoshop is undoubtedly the most popular as well as a recognized industry standard, but is also quite difficult to learn from scratch if you are new to the field and is also the most expensive of the lot. Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo does offer you a large number of the features that Adobe Photoshop does, but not the amount of personalization that Photoshop boasts of. But if you can make do with a moderate amount of flexibility and are looking for a more reasonable option, then this software is a great buy.

For more basic users, who are simply looking for minor image correction and ease of use, the range of Beginner Photo Editors is just the option you are looking for. Although these editors do not encompass the advanced features which are the prerogative of their upscale contenders, they do allow you a wizard which will literally walk you through the entire process, besides several detailed tutorials you can refer to. What’s more, some of these softwares like Photoshop Elements and Ulead PhotoImpact Editing Tool also contain several on-screen tips which make the process of editing a very simple and easy to understand task.

If you are eying the enviable features that come along with the more expensive softwares but are deterred by the imaginative price tags that adorn them, you can try any of the Budget Photo Editors which, not only let you use all of these features, but are also incredibly affordable. A large number of these softwares are for free and you can even find downloadable versions on the internet. However, the downside is that they are not as reliable as you may want them to be and you will also have to put up with annoying pop ups which try to coerce you into purchasing the retail version of the software.

You can further augment the software you have chosen by supplementing its features with those Digital Imaging Softwares offer. These tools aren’t much good, by themselves as they often skip the basic drawing and painting features and include only the more sophisticated ones.

Most important of all, when you are selecting the software you plan to work with, consider the amount of time you are willing to dedicate to the process. A high-end software like Photoshop may offer you a multitude of features, and thus may seem like the best bet, but it also takes a lot of time and patience to master the software and ensure that it produces the effects you are looking for. And once you’ve got that taken care of, let your imagination and your creativity take over and soon, you’ll be creating digital masterpieces by the dozen!

About the Author:

Did you like this article? Curious about Dominating Photoshop? Well now you can by getting this free Tutorial…what are you waiting for?