Dark Side of the Lens

Have just finished the final touches to the videos for the app. I knew how many I’d done, obviously, but had not realised quite how much video I’d produced.

It has ended up being over 6 hours of video tutorials for people!

My original aim was for about 3, so I am really delighted.

Here is a quick list of the video tutorials for the upcoming App.  Most are about 15 minutes long.

I have divided them, here and in the App, into three sections.  The first looks at the tools in detail, the second delves into the most useful techniques, and finally some projects putting everything into practice, so you can use what you’ve learned on your own photos.

So, here they are:

Tools

Introduction to Tools
Brush Tools
Eraser Tools
Magic Wand
Lasso Tools
Quick Selection Tools
Selection Tips
Move, Zoom, Hand & Eyedropper Tools
Marquee Tools
Crop and Recompose Tools
Text Tools
Smartbrush Tool
Clone Stamp Tool
Paint Bucket Tool
Gradient Tool
Shape Tools
Spot Healing & Healing Brush Tools
Red Eye Removal Tool
Straighten Tool
Colour Picker
Blur, Sharpen & Smudge Tools
Sponge, Dodge & Burn Tools

Techniques

Introduction to Techniques
RGB Colour
Enhancing Colour – Part 1
Enhancing Colour – Part 2
Levels
Introduction to Layers
Layer Masks
Adjustment Layers
Filters Overview
Resizing Photos
Saving Your Work

And more to come in the future!

Projects

Introduction to Projects
Digitally Framing a Photo
Create Your Own Postcard
Using Photoshop Elements Organizer
Faces in Photoshop Elements Organizer
Selective Desaturation
Hand Colouring a Photo
Creating a Photo Collage
Text Effects

And more to come in the future!

It has taken a while, but I have finally completed recording, and editing, the new tutorials I am producing for my upcoming iPhone App and then the enhanced eBook.  Very exciting!

I have created over 40 new videos, yes 40, which I am confident you will learn heaps from.  They follow a path through the various tools in Photoshop Elements, then many of the most useful techniques, and finally putting everything together with some fun projects.  The aim is to take the novice, or very inexperienced, user through a series of tutorials so you gain an understanding of, and confidence with, Photoshop Elements so you can start do spectaculat edits on your own photos.

Next I need to build the App, and eBook, around them.  I’ll post a list of the tutorials up in the next few days.

Watch this space

I’ve started a Facebook page to go side by side with my blog.

I want to use the Facebook page to reach out to more people and form a community based around my videos.  I will be offering help and support for the videos, and my upcoming App and eBooks, there.  I’ll also listen to what you all want and even take the odd request, if I think it will benefit enough people.

It’ll also be a nice easy place for you to see updates, get notified of new videos, and keep generally in touch.  Best of all, I hope it will be a place I can get to know some of you.

So, please visit my Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/darksideofthelens

And importantly …. please remember to LIKE it!

Recently things have been frantically busy for me, and sadly as a result my blog has fallen into disuse. But fear not, as I am sure you were terrified, as it is being resurrected!!! Not only am I resurrecting it, it will be bigger, better, and reaching out into the new world of Mobile Apps and Video eBooks

I am also looking at putting a system in place so that I can better answer people’s questions on Photoshop Elements or on my videos. I am mid setting something up for that and will announce it as soon as I have it completed. I believe this will be far more effective that leaving comments only on the blog, as has been the way, and a way for me to to be a lot more interactive with you all.

The main focus of the blog will still be on learning Photoshop Elements but I will also use it for digital photography in general, as well as keeping an eye open for the sort of things in the world of photography that I hope you will find interesting and of benefit.

I’ll be using the latest version of Photoshop Elements, Version 9, but as usual, most of the techniques I demonstrate can still be applied to older versions of Elements, and even to Photoshop CS (in all it’s flavours) .

So, watch this space, as I have a great deal planned, some almost ready to go, in the next few months..

Simon

Buying your first, or a new, digital camera can be heaps of fun, but it can also be a bit of a nightmare if you don’t know the terminology or what features matter more than others.

Everyone wants a camera for their own reasons and, as with most things in life, there is no definitive answer for which camera best suits your needs.  So, what I have tried to do in this video is give you an overview of some of the things you should probably consider when selecting your next camera.

At the end of the video I give you some useful links so that you can continue your research.  Here they are again ….

Steve’s Digicams

DP Review

DPChallenge

I can’t offer advice on a particular make or model of camera, unless it is one I have owned, but if you have any questions of a general nature then please ask away and I’ll help if I can.

Have a great New Year everyone, and here’s to a year of fantastic photos in 2010!

Simon
http://darksideofthelens.com

Well, it’s that time of year and I am going off for a break, returning mid February.

During this time I’ll not be updating the blog as I will only have sporadic access to the web.

Unfortunately comments, questions, requests etc may take a little while for me to get to, but I will get to them sooner or later I assure you. Comments will be delayed in appearing on the blog as due to spammers I have to set it so they need “approval” or else I getgreat offers for all sorts of odd things appearing as “comments” (Akismet does a good job with most though I admit).

So, have a great month and I’ll get back intro video production as soon as I return (or do I mean recover?).

Simon

I have had several people ask me how best to be notified when I put up a new video, as I don’t email everyone to let them know (though I can do so if enough people request it).

Well, the best way is to to use the RSS links on the page and you’ll be notified via RSS whenever I do a new post.

However, some people do not use, or understand RSS, so I’ve put some though to how else I can let people know. I am a member of several social networks, so maybe that’s the way to go.

I would suggest Twitter is the best way to go here. Free account, if you don’t have one already, and easy to set up. I usually (and will do so always now) do a “Tweet” when I do a post. You can “Follow” me on Twitter via the following button:

Better still, if you are on Facebook, please come say hello there. I’ll even do my best to answer your questions. Don’t forget to “Like” the page while you are there!

Hopefully meet you there.

Simon

For years now I have absolutely loved seeing my photos printed on canvas.

Canvas is a very forgiving medium, with the ability to hide a wealth of sins in many photos, though it is still the usual case of the better the photo the better the end result. However, due to the nature, especially the texture, of canvas you are able to get large high quality prints from even the most basic of cameras.

What many (most?) people do not realise though is the huge variation there is in the quality of the canvases you can get printed via the internet, or indeed by walking into a store.

A couple of years ago I put quite some time and effort in finding a great canvas printing company for my own prints, and in doing so taught myself what to look for in a good canvas.

Rather than simply passing this information on to you entirely myself I decided to go an interview a real expert. It was fun to record and something new for this site. The quality of the video came out better than I thought it would (especially on the member’s version) but the camera did not do such a great job of the sound, mostly due to the high level of background noise. However, you should be able to hear it clear enough, though you may need to play a little with your speaker volume.

So, here you go, my first venture into the world of film making!

If people enjoy this one then I have several other similar projects in mind, so please leave feedback on this post for me.

Simon

http://darksideofthelens.com

Well, hopefully everyone has recovered from an excellent New Year by now. If not then good on you for having such a huge party!!!

As promised, here is the second video to complete our exploration of “levels” in Photoshop Elements

Questions, problems or comments please simply drop me a line.

Simon

http://darksideofthelens.com

P.S. There might be a small delay before the member’s version of this one appears. Don’t worry, it will be there shortly I assure you.