image adjustments

Using Variations to Make Color Decisions in Photoshop

Sometimes when we are editing and color correcting a photograph, we realize that a photo could use a little something, or that a color is off, but we can't figure out where we need to make the adjustment to get the look that we want. Photoshop has a tool built in that...

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The Color Replacement Tool In Photoshop

This tool is a very handy tool for replacing color in a photo inside of Photoshop. It is found behind the brush tool and goes as far back as CS3. This sort of works like making a new layer and setting it to color in the layers panel. That is an old trick from before...

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Multiple Masks on One Layer in Photoshop

This is a great method to get great masks in Photoshop. You can actually have 2 masks on an image at the same time. You can use a vector mask and use a custom shape to mask out an image, creating a clean mask for sharp edges. The pixel mask is great for creating...

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Create a Dark and Gritty Effect in Photoshop

Create a Dark and Gritty Effect in Photoshop

First, take your image and duplicate the background layer, so you can go back to your original if you need to. Hide the background layer and work from your copy. Go into the channels panel and hold down the command key (CTRL on the PC) and click on the RGB channel to...

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Is the design field seeing the end of its day?

I frequent a lot of design blogs, simply because I like to know what is on the mind of other designers, and also because I like to have my ear to the ground regarding our industry. One thing that I caught wind of was a discussion about designers and web designers and...

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Red Giant Software Announces Knoll Light Factory 2.7

For those of you that love good plugins, Knoll light factory is a very cool time saving addition to After Effects. The new edition works with CS5, and has a few new features as well. if you own an older version, you can upgrade for a reasonable price of $99, but if...

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Quiktip: Have The Masks Panel

The masks panel is a big help, because you can easily edit and refine your masks via a handy panel. From the masks panel, you can define the density of your mask, which is very handy. Instead of having a black and white mask, the density setting lessens the affect, as...

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Sharpening Using the High pass Filter

This is a really quick and easy way to sharpen an image. Take an image and open it in Photoshop. Hit command +J (control+J on PC) to duplicate the layer. Then, change this layer's blend mode to overlay in the layers panel. Then go to Filter>Other>High Pass and a...

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Is There a Limit to How Much We Can Do?

I was having a discussion with a colleague the other day about design and all the things that we know how to do. The topic came up where he found out that i don't know ajax, which I admittedly, don't even know exactly what that does. My response to him was that I am a...

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Creative Contrast With a Background Blur

Creative Contrast With a Background Blur

This tutorial is great for adding quick and simple contrast to a photo. When using this in your design, it is a good idea to choose a subject that has to do with target market. To start, find a photograph with a main figure of subject in the middle, with a lot going...

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Wrapping Images to a Texture

Wrapping Images to a Texture

First we are going to open a texture image, such as a rocky background, but you could use anything- a brick wall, a rough surface anything that you'd like. Then, go to Image>Adjustments> Desaturate. Then, do a save as to save the file as a new document and make...

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