Buy. Download. Create. Get Photoshop CS3 now at the Adobe Store.
Try before you buy. Download any Adobe product for a free 30 day trial.

The Photoshop Blog offers the latest Photoshop news and software updates, Photoshop tips and tutorials, and random thoughts from graphic artist and Photoshop expert Jennifer Apple.



Photoshop CS3 Retouching E-book From Gry Garness
July 01, 2008

As photo-retouching has gradually become the norm, the glossy magazines have dramatically raised the bar for visual perfection to a flawless zenith that has influenced all areas of photography. Photographers today are expected to produce the same kind of flawlessness – but although there’s an abundance of tutorials for the consumer market there has been a distinct lack of guidance for the professional photographer-retoucher.

Take a look at Gry Garness’s Digital Retouching For Fashion, Beauty And Portrait Photography. This 190 page e-book on retouching and post-production explains and de-mystifies the essential techniques within retouching and colour adjustment. It’s presented as a series of straightforward ’recipes’ that provide solutions to specific ‘cosmetic’ problems, with sections that focus specifically on colour, skin, facial features, hair, figure, fashion and finishing, as well as a chapter dedicated to efficient retouching. The book is refreshingly free from jargon and Photoshop jokes. It’s a working tool for all photographic professionals; including portrait and beauty photographers, digital operators, retouchers as well as graphic designers; in fact anyone wanting to transform ‘good’ people shots into stunning, high-quality images.



In this book you won’t find any help on transforming grannies into supermodels; it guides the reader towards producing images that stand up to close scrutiny and large output sizes – the overall message being ‘keep it natural’. Although there are plenty of tricks, the emphasis is focused on developing good technique and skills. The e-book is well designed, easy to follow and refreshingly logical; it lets the images and tutorials do the talking. The PDF format serves as the perfect medium, with quick links to subject references, and tools for zooming in to examine the images in detail – saving a few trees in the process. The majority of images in the book have been published, as fashion editorial, high-end magazine covers, advertising campaigns and CD-covers.

The book can be read and used almost like a cookbook; there’s a mix of in-depth retouching concepts and step-by-step tutorials. The tutorials are advanced, but structured to be as straightforward as possible, acting as a source of inspiration as well as knowledge. The book’s 85 tutorials consist of well-proven techniques that Garness has used and refined over the last few years, and the ‘recipes’ have been tested on various photographers and retouchers. Based on Gry’s vast experience as a Photoshop trainer, the tutorials are suitable for all levels. Although it’s by no means a beginners’ book, there’s enough detail for inexperienced Photoshop users, while at the same time a fast-track way of skimming the text for more advanced users. The general emphasis is on making light work of the retouching, by working in a smart and bold way – while still keeping it subtle, realistic and editable!

Gry Garness says:
These days, many magazine covers are starting to look more like paintings or photographic illustrations, rather than photographic images. Of course there’s a place for photo-illustration and airbrushed painterly images – but much of the heavy-handed retouching in evidence around us is unintentional and simply caused by lack of skill. Over-retouching is the biggest mistake I see when I teach beauty retouching courses.

Many people underestimate the amount of skill that goes into retouching – not to mention the patience that goes into it. Many people come to me wanting to learn the ‘one killer trick’ but I have to say I’m sorry – there just isn’t one single killer trick that fixes everything! I believe in gaining a wide repertoire of skills and solutions. It’s the many small and subtle steps that come together to culminate in a successful retouching result. My book is not about producing one particular retouching aesthetic. It’s about finding solutions that suit each particular subject, without leaving obvious evidence of retouching.

posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | RSS feed | bookmark | comment

SiteGrinder Photoshop Plugin - Create Websites Instantly

There often seems to be a strict division of labor within the world of web design and development. Creative professionals tend to stick to the Photoshop domain, while those well-versed in scripting are left to the task of implementing their work. Indeed, the two realms are quite different from each other, to which any of us even vaguely familiar with either can easily attest.

Essentially, Photoshop is a no-holds-barred design studio, offering the artist a seemingly endless array of creative options. On the other hand, HTML, CSS, Java and the like follow strict rules of engagement, requiring the developer to take any number of esoteric concerns into consideration in order to ensure that designs are properly displayed on the web.

Turn Photoshop Into A Complete Web Design Tool
SiteGrinder seeks to bridge this gap between design and development. Basically, this program turns Photoshop into an easy-to-use and fully functional web design tool. With SiteGrinder, designers will now have the freedom to totally let their creativity loose and then, without skipping a beat, transfer their designs to the web. Bringing esthetic concerns together with more practical considerations, this program is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks.

Generate Your Web Pages Directly From Photoshop
By generating web pages directly from Photoshop, you'll be able to spend much more time on the creative end of the spectrum, since you'll know right off the bat how well particular designs will translate to the web. No more going back to the Photoshop drawing board after getting a phone call from your development team, telling you that what you had envisioned doesn't have a chance of being displayed on the web. You can immediately visually and interactively test your designs, which permits you to then make changes to either esthetics or functions while it's still relatively early on in the design process.

Pricing and Availability
Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download. SiteGrinder can be ordered from Media Lab's online store.

Photoshop CS3 Upgrade Options And Bundles From The Adobe Store

Photoshop CS3 Extended is ideal for film, video, and multimedia pros and for graphic and web designers using 3D and motion. Get the full version for US $999, or upgrade for US $349. The standard version of Photoshop CS3 is available for US $649, or as an upgrade for US $199. See all upgrade options at the Adobe Store. See our CS3 Resource Center for free Photoshop CS3 tutorials.

Photoshop Extended is also available as part of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, which combines all-new CS3 versions of Photoshop, Flash Pro, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat 8 Pro. Upgrade options for customers in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Asia can be found at the Adobe International Store.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Available At The Adobe Store

There are tons of new features in Adobe Lightroom 1.0 that you won't find in the beta version. From Clone and Healing functionality to metadata browsing, you'll be able to free-up post-processing time like never before. Get it now at the Adobe Store. Customers in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Asia can find special pricing and offers at the Adobe International Store. For free Lightroom tutorials see our Lightroom tutorials page.

Photoshop Masking Plugin Fluid Mask 3 - $15 Discount Special

The 4 1/2 out of 5 star review of Fluid Mask 3 at MacWorld begins by saying that this "Photoshop plug-in takes the pain out of extracting backgrounds," and goes on to recommend the latest version, stating that "Fluid Mask 3.0.2 is a very effective tool for separating objects from their backgrounds. It offers a variety of useful features for tackling almost any difficult image, from wispy hair to complex foliage. Online video tutorials and live training sessions help ease the learning curve."

Our friends at Vertus, the makers of Fluid Mask 3 Photoshop Plugin, have set up a special exclusive discount for PhotoshopSupport.com. Just follow this discount link and instantly get $15 off your purchase of Fluid Mask 3.

Fluid Mask 3 is designed for photographers, image editors, graphic designers and all those who take digital image editing seriously. In a streamlined interface and workflow, Fluid Mask 3 instantly shows key edges in the image and provides comprehensive easy to use tools that work with difficult-to-see edges and tricky areas like trees & lattices. Features include: