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Eeyoreslament
Member
07-20-2003
| Monday, October 20, 2008 - 5:35 pm
<----- is NOT having a good day. LOL
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Eeyoreslament
Member
07-20-2003
| Saturday, November 01, 2008 - 10:31 am
Photoshop anyone?! Help!!! OK, I'm taking a "Composition" class right now, and I am actually ALLOWED to use PS (I have Aperture, Lightroom, and my PS version is CS3). I need to take this picture, and try to extract AS MUCH of the shadow as possible. It's a person fighting with an umbrella, and I am allowed to combine it with a different background, or whatever I want. The main thing I need is the SHADOW. I'd love to darken it, and have the edges more defined, but some of the sharpening things I've been playing with have lost the faint amount of detail just under the umbrella fabric (the cage of umbrella wire. I've never used Photoshop before, but I'm computer adept, and can follow pretty easily. However, I don't understand levels, or radius, or things like that. I am wondering if there's any way to grab up the shadow, and dump the white wall behind it. Because we only had one strobe to use in the shoot, the left side of the picture is also somewhat "shaded", so when I play with some contrast or other types of sliders, I get more darkness there (where I don't need it), and I lose that umbrella skeleton. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I have the RAW file, so this is just a very compressed conversion for the web....
Here is a crop of the area that I want to *try* to keep detail in...I know, there isn't much to work with.

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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Saturday, November 01, 2008 - 10:49 am
Not sure what you are looking for, but try playing with levels, then brightness/contrast. Is this what you were looking for or is it too stark??
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Eeyoreslament
Member
07-20-2003
| Saturday, November 01, 2008 - 10:50 am
Wow!! That's very cool! I'm looking for something like that. What did you do with levels first?
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Saturday, November 01, 2008 - 10:56 am
Ummm, well the first thing I did was change the mode to grayscale..
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Saturday, November 01, 2008 - 10:58 am
Then I hit auto levels (this is big time hit or miss-sometimes it works wonderfully and sometimes it really screws the image up!) In this case it was leaning towards something good (as opposed to bad...)
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Saturday, November 01, 2008 - 11:03 am
Then I went back to manual levels and moved both the left and right (black and white) arrows closer to the middle. I did not like the blemishes and wanted something crisper, so I moved to brightness/contrast... First I moved the contrast all the way to the right. Then I played with the brightness (moved it +) til I got as much detail as I wanted. I did lose the umbrella stick (handle) but I drew a new one in.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Saturday, November 01, 2008 - 11:06 am
Hope that helps. I gotta run. Will check back later though...
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Eeyoreslament
Member
07-20-2003
| Monday, November 17, 2008 - 9:32 am
Hey everyone! Check this out, if you feel like a bit clueless when it comes to digital photography. It's a FREE, online class about photography. To me, it looks like a good choice for those who may want to take pictures and do some basic stuff, but are maybe mystified by megapixels, and what different files mean, and how to work with the files on your computer, etc. iLearn - Beyond Point and Shoot: Digital Photography Techniques Consumer-oriented digital cameras offer a whole new set of features not found in film-based cameras, as well as new opportunities to edit and modify images. After explaining how digital cameras work and what to look for when buying one, this course clarifies features like image size and compression, white balance, and special shooting modes. You'll also learn how to transfer digital files to your computer, edit them using photo editing software, print them, and burn them to CDs. * Learn to use camera functions to the best of their capabilities * Learn how to select and use accessories to enhance your shooting experience * Understand how to use the digital camera to create great images * Learn how to use the computer to spark up your images Lesson 1: Digital Shooting Techniques Digital cameras bring out the photographer in everyone. You get immediate gratification seeing your images instantly, and you can always delete a low-quality photo and try again. Learn about digital cameras and their ability to enhance your photos. Lesson 2: Your Camera and Valuable Accessories Professional photographers have long used lenses, filters, and other equipment to maximize their skills. Many of these optional accessories are available for even the most basic digital camera. In this lesson, you'll get pointers on how to use them to enhance your own photography. Lesson 3: Putting It All Together You've discovered photography techniques used by professionals and how you can leverage certain camera equipment to dramatically increase the quality of your own photographs. Now apply what you've learned to portrait and landscape photography. Lesson 4: Working with Your Photos Before the advent of digital cameras, amateur photographers didn't have many options for rescuing a bad image. In this lesson, learn simple picture editing, color and brightness correction, and image manipulation tricks, all possible through the use of digital-imaging software.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Thursday, December 04, 2008 - 12:32 pm
The camera bug is biting me again. I am starting (again) to look at the Rebel Xsi and the Nikon 40 or 60. One thing that "gets" me when I am using my G6 (and P&S) is the inability to manually focus on something. (Plus of course the lag between the time you push the button and the time the shot is taken...) I was looking around and I know this is only one review with a comment pertaining to the manual focusing. Does anyone have any experience with the rebel? Any input on how the manual focusing works? HEre is the link (also says basically the same thing about poor manual focus w/ the nikon60. http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Canon-Digital-Rebel-XSi-Digital-Camera-Review-18379.htm
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Thursday, December 04, 2008 - 1:14 pm
Non of the SLRs currently possess the tools needed for good manual focussing. One of my pro friends focuses his manually (LOL – which I found out when I was filling in for him one time) and I'm darned if I know how he manages to do it as accurately as he does. In order to focus accurately you really need a split prism focussing screen. If you don't have that it is too hard to tell when something is in focus or not. All of that said, the current crop of SLRs will focus far better than your G6 using autofocus. Much more accurate and no lag. So I wouldn't worry about manual focus anyway.
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Kc103
Member
07-13-2004
| Monday, December 08, 2008 - 5:07 pm
I am a real novice at digital pictures, but would like to learn more. How do I resize photos from my photo gallery to be able to make pictures small enough to post on TVCH? I am on the Windows Vista system. Any help would be appreciated.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Monday, December 08, 2008 - 7:21 pm
You need an image editor to resize. There are links to two of the best free ones at the top of this page. Download one (or both because they are free), install and try them out. There will be help instructions with the editors. There are size limitations on images posted at TVCH (so we don't use too much bandwidth). Once you figure out how to resize the images, you'll want to resize them to about 500 pixels wide (or tall) and then save them (using a new name so you don't over-write your originals) as a jpg with a medium quality level (5). That should get the images down to under 60k size, which will allow you to post. I think there are also some other tools on the internet that will allow you to resize as well. All of the above sounds much more complicated written out than it really is so don't worry too much. It's not that hard and if you need more help just post and we'll help you along with it. 
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Kc103
Member
07-13-2004
| Monday, December 08, 2008 - 8:08 pm
Wow, thanks so much Jimmer. I believe I can do it now. TVCH is great! I knew someone would know what to do! 
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Kc103
Member
07-13-2004
| Monday, December 08, 2008 - 8:23 pm
Well, I downloaded the program and can do the resizing now...but how do I open the file to upload it on the site here? When I click on "Browse" to get the file my Windows Photo Gallery files only show up. I think I need to go back to Computers 101. LOL
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Tuesday, December 09, 2008 - 7:03 am
That's great that you've got the program downloaded, installed and know how to resize! So did you save the resized file as a jpg (so it ends in .jpg)? Then you type your message and click the Upload Attachment button (just below this message pane). Type a short description and then click the Browse button and you get a standard file selection dialogue box. It should show you your files (once you get to the right folder). If it doesn't show you the file there is probably a little drop down box at the bottom where you can select Pictures or All Files. Then you select your file and click open. Then click upload. It will put the code at the bottom of the message (you can move it to another part of your message if you like) and then post the message.
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Kc103
Member
07-13-2004
| Tuesday, December 09, 2008 - 5:51 pm
I understand the directions that you're giving me, but when I push the "Browse" button I just get my standard Windows Photo Gallery. I see no option to access my FastStone files. That's the link I'm missing to be able to post photos.
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Hukdonreality
Member
09-29-2003
| Tuesday, December 09, 2008 - 6:00 pm
Kc, right above the box that is displaying the contents of your Windows Photo Gallery, you should see the words, "Look in:" and to the right of it yours would say Windows Photo Gallery, because that's where you are. You should see a down arrow next to that. Click there and it will show you other places on your computer where you will be able to find your picture. I screen printed a picture of what it looks like:

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Kc103
Member
07-13-2004
| Tuesday, December 09, 2008 - 8:27 pm
Jimmer and Hukd, thanks for your help. I was able to post something finally..so I think I have it figured out now. You were a big help! 
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Tuesday, December 09, 2008 - 8:39 pm
Yay on another fledgling flying the nest!!
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Wednesday, December 10, 2008 - 7:31 am
Yay from me as well. I saw your pictures in the other thread!!!
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 8:01 am
Jimmer, I have a question. What would have made this shot turn out not blurry? Merely a tripod? It was taken with the G6 in auto mode. What manual or partially manual settings would have helped? TIA!!

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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 8:05 am
Extreme close up in case that helps you at all. And of course a flash would have helped but then the color/lighting would not be at all pleasing... Opinions?? Advice?? Thanks!!
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 9:03 am
Dang, you dress that sweetheart cute, Julieboo. Your camera probably has a children and pets setting, although I doubt the blur is because she was moving. You may also be able to change ISO settings to higher number. Jimmer will know if either of those would help.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Wednesday, December 17, 2008 - 9:13 am
Thanks Juju!! I think you would be proud to know that the jumper and shoes are from a kids' resale store. The shirt is from kmart. The oddball is the tights. I got them at Nordstrom's and paid more for them alone than for the other 3 (4 if you count the shoes as 2) pieces combined!! (shoes $3, jumper, $4, shirt $3, tights $14!!!) Oh, even if you count the hairbows too, as they were $3. (It would be a tie if you counted the necklace. That was from gramma for $1 at the dollar store.)
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