mcp actions bag of tricks : new action set giveaway!

mcp actions is giving away a brand new set of photoshop actions called "bag of tricks" that will be released for sale oct. 5th.

jodi's actions are wonderful & have been on my wish list for a long time. if i ever get to buy some, hers will be one of the first.

go on over to the mcp actions blog & leave her a comment to enter yourself to win this great new set of actions. you can find examples of before/afters of some of the actions in the set there also!

photography tips

i will be putting up some photography & photo editing tips as i get the time, so...be looking out for them!


in the meantime...

i've been asked what photo editing software i use so i thought that i would post a bit about it. i currently use photoshop cs3 by adobe.

many people (including myself) have or use adobe photoshop elements. that is a really useful, affordable choice for most people looking to do basic image editing/organizing or digital scrapbooking, etc. one great thing about using a "photoshop" brand product is that it is probably the most supported program out there, as far as trying to learn goes.

there are several other programs out there including picasa, which i hear is a really nice, FREE program to use. i haven't used it, but i hear good things...so check it out.

i have learned most of what i know from getting on forums, searching for tutorials, reading books & even taking a rather overpriced college course (sadly, the least useful resource by far).

if you are looking to learn, i can suggest a few sources ~

online:

other than typing in something like "photoshop elements tutorials" which is good & will find you lots of info, a place i have gone back to is photoshopsupport.com. there are tutorials for various versions of photoshop there.

another source is photoshop elements techniques. and last but not least is the adobe website. go to support, then knowledgebase, for whatever software you're using. of course, if you have the latest version of whatever they're peddling & you've registered your software (ie. you're not using it illegally... you wouldn't do that, now would you???) you can always call their tech support...they're actually pretty helpful people over there.

books:

i like books. i have lots of them. anything by scott kelby is really helpful. he's a photoshop "guru" as they say. i have his photoshop cs3 for photographers book & it's well worn. mr. kelby has written books for most of the photoshop programs if you're looking for an elements book.

i also have adobe's "classroom in a book", but i don't really recommend it. tim grey has a series of books on photoshop workflow also that are pretty nice, he explains things totally differently than scott kelby does, and i also have another book called top 100 simplified tips & tricks for adobe cs3 & they have similar books for the elements programs also.

if i are just getting started & new to editing, i'd say the top 100 book might be the book for you...but that's just my semi-educated opinion.

polaroid obsession

i have been obsessed here lately with wanting to find an easy way to make a polaroid...just for the fun of it i guess...it just looks neat ya know, so i've been searching around & i see there are a lot of choices out there, stock images, scans of an actual polaroid, you can make a photoshop brush OR...


an easy action with a simple frame like i have here. this one was made using a free action i downloaded from addicted to design. isn't it cool?

the firstborn textured

being the fair & impartial mother that i am ;o) i must give equal web time to my eldest. textures are he-Uge right now, so i have been dying to give it a try. i don't know if i overdid it or not, but i thought this was a perfect shot for this type of application.

my baby - retro style

well, i figured it was time i post some images of my own
willing subject. the boys aren't exactly running scared when i pull out the camera, but let's just say they usually have better things to do!

i decided to try out a new processing style on this photo, it just seemed to lend itself to it anyhow... tell me what you think of it. retro is big right now, along with vintage & urban looks. when i get the chance, i'll try some of those techniques out & post the results here.