Photoshop Actions

[rodlrock]

I tried one out to see what would happen I liked it what do you all think? I did play with it a bit.
This is only one site there are tons more a friend told me about it and actions it helps a lot. 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/

[* Terri *]

Interesting photo.  I like the black and white effect.   Photoshop is fun to play with.  My daughter Rebecca is better at it than I am.  Here's 2 she "played around with" of the kids.

[Sea Wolf]

I shoot a lot in RAW format. Makes playing with the pictures so much easier.

[* Terri *]

I read that recently.  I'm going to try that on my next pics.  Thanks,

[Becky P]

That's one thing about a digital, your photo program becomes your "darkroom" for tweeking things. Now if I could just learn to use one worth a flip, LOL, most of my pics end up being SOOC.

[Jhawk]

I recently bought Photoshop Elements and am trying to learn it. Is it similiar to PS2 or PS3? Being a beginner should I have went that way instead of PSE?

[rodlrock]

Well I am just starting to dig around PS3 it is a bear to learn.At least for me it is.

[ReporterSr]

I shoot a lot in RAW format. Makes playing with the pictures so much easier.

What is RAW format?

[Becky P]

A raw image file contains minimally processed data from the image sensor of a digital camera or image scanner. Raw files are so named because they are not yet processed and ready to be used with a bitmap graphics editor or printed. Normally, the image will be processed by a raw converter in a wide-gamut internal colorspace where precise adjustments can be made before conversion to an RGB file format such as TIFF or JPEG for storage, printing, or further manipulation. These images are often described as "RAW image files" (note capitalization) based on the erroneous belief that they represent a single file format, and thus deserve a common filename extension, .RAW. In fact there are dozens if not hundreds of raw image formats in use by different models of digital cameras.[1]

Raw image files are sometimes called digital negatives, as they fulfill the same role as film negatives in traditional chemical photography: that is, the negative is not directly usable as an image, but has all of the information needed to create an image. In addition to raw files from cameras, raw data from film scanners can also be referred to as digital negatives. Likewise, the process of converting a raw image file into a viewable format is sometimes called developing a raw image, by analogy with the film development.

Like a photographic negative, a digital negative may have a wider dynamic range or color gamut than the eventual final image format. The selection of the final choice of image rendering is part of the process of white balancing and color grading.

[ReporterSr]

Becky,

Am I right to think that RAW format isn't available on a point-and-shoot digital camera in the $300-400 range? I have a little Panasonic TZ1. I'm considering moving up to an SLR digiital.I have many lenses for an old 35mm Pentqx. If I make that move, will RAW format come with it?

[Becky P]

I'm not sure about the Point and Shoots but my Canon xti has the RAW format, it uses quite a bit more of the CF card though. I quit shooting in it because I suck at Photoshop. If I ever learn to use it better, I probably would go back to shooting in RAW (I just use the largest format with the finest quality right now). It would be just like having your very own darkroom if you are good with Photoshop

[Sea Wolf]

*blinks* at all the big words from Becky.  ...


                  Yeah, what she said. It's pretty much a huge file that allows you really be able to mess with and adjust a lot of parts of the picture. Not all digital cameras allow you to shoot in this format. The picture is uncompressed and open to pretty much whatever you want to do with it. If your colors or lighting is off at all, this format just makes it a bit easier to adjust things. You then still have to save it as a .gif, .jpg or some other type of picture image as a lot of picture viewers can not actually show a RAW image format. I use Paint Shop Pro a lot to tweak pictures. It's like a poor mans Photoshop and, in a lot of ways, is a lot more user friendly.

        RS, read up on your future camera before you buy. It should tell you all the formats that the camera works in.

[Becky P]

Sea Wolf, I cheated, I C&P'd it I knew what it was but that explained it better than I could have, LOL.

[ReporterSr]

I was lucky that a nearby community offered a night course in Photoshop CS -- the program that usually costs $300-400. Because I was enrolled, the program was available to me (students) at less than 1/2 price. I've used Paint Shop Pro also, and it is without question much more user friendly.

[Becky P]

Yes, it is more user friendly (I thought it was just me, LOL). I have 4 photo programs (Paint shop Pro 9, Photoshop CS2, Fireworks 8, and Photo Explosion)  I bounce between because I can never figure out how to do everything I want in a single program.