en-ushttp://phidong.com/ http://www.phidong.com/2007/08/working_with_skin.php This tutorial covers the spot healing tool brush and the healing tool brush to fix skin blemishes without resorting to gimmicks like soft focus, overexposing highlights, or the blur tool. [movie]600,480,skins[/movie] :) ... Tue, 14 Aug 2007 03:08:47 PST http://www.phidong.com/2007/03/adobe_photoshop_lightroom_keyb.php In terms of innovation, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is really nothing new. Programs have come before it that do some of the same things and at times even better than Lightroom can. Where Lightroom shines is the fact that it is a complete package. Sure, you could use iView MediaPro 3 to organize, catalog, tag all your photos and then launch Bibble to create queues, batch convert, and then migrate over to Adobe Photoshop to do your final editing, but with Lightroom you get almost everything you need in a single ... Thu, 8 Mar 2007 02:03:17 PST http://www.phidong.com/2006/07/web_galleries_made_easy.php If you think easy is not doing any work, than this tutorial will definitely show you the easy road to making web galleries with Adobe Photoshop's automate menu. [movie]600,540,galleries[/movie] ... Sat, 1 Jul 2006 04:07:30 PST http://www.phidong.com/2006/06/speeding_up_your_workflow_shor.php Once you develop a workflow, it is likely that you go through the same steps/process with most of your pictures. Now, the trick is to speed the workflow up by creating shortcuts and hotkeys which streamline and refine the process of which you work on your photos. This video tutorial goes over creating hotkeys for actions, creating your own keyboard shortcuts, editing shortcuts, and some added bonus tips! [movie]600,480,sometips[/movie] ... Thu, 22 Jun 2006 01:06:58 PST http://www.phidong.com/2006/05/correcting_colors_part_2.php In Correcting Colors Part 1 we learned how to adjust and fix the color cast on images using the levels tools, individual channels, and our eyes. Now that we understand how the levels tool works (hopefully, somewhat), we can fix images. However, relying on imperfect tools such as our monitors which can fall out of calibration, and our eyes means that correcting colors may not be as precise as we would like. (and picky photographers like precision!) The answer is simple. We need something that can tell us how much ... Sat, 13 May 2006 04:05:53 PST http://www.phidong.com/2006/05/the_stigma_of_sigma.php Welcome to the Party. In the world of photography there is a party stirring in the shadows and everybody on a budget is invited. While the attendees are enjoying themselves, there is a negative stigma hovering above the party that dissuades newcomers from joining in on the fun. While a small portion of the negative criticism can be considered to be deserving, a lot of the negative vibe is being generated from elitist, brand loyal individuals who are too short-sighted and close-minded to see beyond a name. The appeal ... Wed, 10 May 2006 05:05:13 PST http://www.phidong.com/2006/01/correcting_colors.php Shooting RAW is a good way to combat the effects of incorrect white balance either due to settings or funky lights that throw the auto white balance off. The problem is, sometimes RAW is not an option. This lesson will go over manually adjusting the histograms (if you don't know how to read histograms or don't understand them, read this) in different color channels to correct a jpg that has an incorrect color cast (too red/warm or too cold/blue). This technique can also be applied to curves. :) [movie]600,542,colors[/movie] [quote][b]TIP!![/b] ... Tue, 31 Jan 2006 18:01:34 PST http://www.phidong.com/2006/01/pan_like_a_man.php In Soviet Russia, cars pan you. So if you're from Soviet Russia, you can stop reading now. If you're not, then you're here to learn how to pan like a champion. Panning is a technique which can easily be mastered with practice, but practice means nothing when you're doing it wrong. [quote][b]Tip #1145:[/b] Stay the hell away from Soviet Russia.[/quote] [b]Mentally preparing yourself[/b] Let's begin. Close your eyes and imagine freezing the car with your hands. Now open your eyes and watch the track closely. Notice where the cars are ... Mon, 30 Jan 2006 20:01:41 PST http://www.phidong.com/2006/01/selective_coloring.php Selective coloring, when used sparingly and in the right situations, can bring a dramatic effect to a photograph. This technique recolors certain elements in a photograph, making them pop out at the viewer. A warning, though, overuse of this technique can be very very corny. As such, this tool should be used with great reserve. This tutorial draws on previous tutorials (Conversion to black and white using the channel mixer and layers). If you haven't seen that, you should watch it before you continue. [movie]550,430,seleccolor[/movie] ... Sat, 21 Jan 2006 23:01:36 PST http://www.phidong.com/2005/09/combining_exposures_quick_mask.php Combining exposures or using HDR in Photoshop is a good way to increase the dynamic range of your photos. This video tutorial also goes over quick mask and how to use quickmask to combine two exposures manually. (This may also be helpful for spot editing photos, so even if you don't do a lot of landscapes, this might be of use to you) [movie]510,430,hdr[/movie] ... Thu, 8 Sep 2005 15:09:50 PST http://www.phidong.com/2005/06/compactdrive_pd70x_review.php A year ago when compact flash cards were $200/gb, personal storage devices appeared to be a savior for photographers that took a lot of photos. Unfortunately, the PSD (personal storage device) never solidified itself as a reliable alternative to packing pockets with expensive compact flash cards. They weren't that reliable; they were big and heavy and had slow transfer speeds. To top it all off, the battery life just... well... sucked. Who needs a 20 gb hard drive when you can only transfer 2gb per charge? Fast-forward to today. Prices ... Fri, 24 Jun 2005 01:06:24 PST http://www.phidong.com/2005/05/photoshop_shortcuts.php I made a reference photoshop shortcut guide that you can download and print out. You can keep it around the desk for reference or just memorize everything. I suggest trying some of them out to get the hang of them, most are intuitive and you probably already know how to do most things. It's always nice to learn new shortcuts to improve your workflow though. I've bolded some of the tools and shortcuts that I seem to find myself using more frequently than others while photo processing. A couple of ... Fri, 6 May 2005 01:05:47 PST http://www.phidong.com/2005/05/wide_angle_is_dear_phd_4.php [b]from a FM thread :rolleyes:[/b] [quote]RANT ON: How come no manufactor is willing to believe that wide angle primes need IS?... i think it is a pretty good idea to have IS on wide lens as there are times when you need a large DOF and slow shutter speeds. Anyway, for example, if Sigma added OS (their version of IS) onto the 20/1.8 and switch it to a HSM motor, it will be such a kick ass lens and Canon will be force to up the ante and add IS ... Sun, 1 May 2005 01:05:29 PST http://www.phidong.com/2005/04/black_and_white_conversion.php [movie]500,480,blackwhite[/movie] Here are some numbers you can toss into the channel mixer. Results may vary. (I did not come up with these combinations). The number sets are red,green,blue in the channel mixer. [quote]Agfa 200X: 18,41,41 Agfapan 25: 25,39,36 Agfapan 100: 21,40,39 Agfapan 400: 20,41,39 Ilford Delta 100: 21,42,37 Ilford Delta 400: 22,42,36 Ilford Delta 400 Pro: 31,36,33 Ilford FP4: 28,41,31 Ilford HP5: 23,37,40 Ilford Pan F: 33,36,31 Ilford SFX: 36,31,33 Ilford XP2 Super: 21,42,37 Kodak Tmax 100: 24,37,39 Kodak Tmax 400: 27,36,37 Kodak Tri-X: 25,35,40 [b]And these basic ones:[/b] Normal ... Fri, 22 Apr 2005 23:04:48 PST