Volume 3, Issue 3 August 26th, 2010
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Hi ,
Summer is almost over, and I've got all sorts of things happening that I want to share with you...Feel free to click on the links to the left and explore my updated web page!
By request, I want to make you aware of my Photoshop Small Group Workshops - They're the next best thing to one-on-one instruction at affordable prices.
If you like what you see, then you can save $40 by signing up before this Wednesday, September 1st - See the movie below for all the details ...
Oh, and I've got a few seats available for "Class 1 - The Foundation" this Saturday morning August 28th ...
As always, I appreciate you all, and thanks again for your continued support! Cheers,  John Watts |
Upcoming Appearances by John Watts
in the San Diego Area...
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Here's a "quick link" to all of my upcoming seminars and appearances (lots of them free!) in a convenient "click-able calendar" form....Enjoy!
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| "Photofinishing With Photoshop Tip #15"
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Adobe Camera RAW and Photoshop -
What To Do in Each
Program?
 As many of you
know, I'm a big proponent of shooting in RAW for your important images. With that in mind, here's a very good
question from one of my clients, Frank Carter of Wilmington, North Carolina...
The Question:
"After
trying out and testing 3 different RAW converters (DXO, Capture NX 2 and Adobe
Camera Raw in Photoshop) I decided to take your advice and upgrade to
Photoshop. I have a question: Adobe Camera Raw has so many adjustments -
Do you make a lot of adjustments in RAW or just a few basic adjustments and
then use Photoshop? I have read some
people say that the RAW converter is the best place to make adjustments and
some say not. What is your preference?"
The Answer:
Regardless of the
version of Adobe Camera RAW (ACR) that I'm using, I tend to strike a balance,
using what I see as the strengths of each program. Generally, my preference is to make as many
global Color, Hue
and basic Density corrections as I can in ACR, leaving Contrast adjustments,
localized corrections, "fine-tuning", and Sharpening to Photoshop.
I've found ACR
(while working in 16-bit) is wonderful for global Color, Hue and Density
correction, using the appropriate sliders in the "Basic" Tab, then moving to
the "HSL/Grayscale" Tab to make further critical adjustments. I've found any contrast adjustments in ACR to
be tough to work with and not very effective, so I save it for Photoshop.
At that point, I
open the image in Photoshop, concentrating on Contrast corrections using Levels
and/or Curves adjustment layers, making any kind of localized corrections
(taking advantage of the power of adjustment layers and layer masks), making
any necessary "fine-tuning" such as cloning and horizon-straightening, then
saving my image as an unflattened 16-bit Master File.
Now I can task my
Master file for many uses - I can crop, sharpen and convert to 8-bit for
printing on my inkjet printer or through a custom lab; I can reduce the size
and PPI to save as a JPG for the web, and so on.
Until the next newsletter, have fun and stay
well! |
