Photoshop processing

[Derek W]

Simple question really we've all seen other peoples photographs who have used varying degrees of post processing to give their image that wow factor be it a fashion / portrait shot , a rolling landscape at dawn or whatever.

My question is, where did you learn your post processing techniques? I've had a look online for photoshop processing styles and come up with some decent tutorial sites but none which deal with photography specifically. Usually its a mixture of photography / graphic art photoshop techniques normally weighted on the latter.

Can anyone recommend a site / book / dvd to help with mine (and probably others) photoshopping abilities

 

[Derek W]

having a look for the CS4 equivalent Looks like it could fit the bill though

 

[Derek W]

There are versions of the book for at least PS7 to CS5, so you should be able to find the CS4 version.

found the CS4 version and got it on order

 

[Derek W]

This &

experiment, experiment, experiment.


(Honestly, I have no idea, I don't have to do much in PP other than auto-tone levels and hue/saturation )

But I'd like to work on my PP anyway at some point.

I'm at this stage as well, and although I've found a couple of new styles to work with (and by accident can see other styles when working through things) its really the part of getting my hands dirty finding out what exactly different things do and can achieve.

E.g I'd maybe like to try to recreate style x I've seen on photo y but without understanding how to get there the evolution of processing cant begin without going down a blind alley as it were. At least if i get shown how to do the basics I'll have a better starting point.

Nice link that olv

 

[Derek W]

Spending literally hundreds of hours in Photoshop. Always searching the net for new tutorials, running through them, trying to do them without the tutorial there, similar to learning a language really! However the biggest thing, and something I emphasise above all else when teaching someone about PS, is the tecnhnical tips and tricks are really only half the battle. Taste is the largest barrier to improving your work. You may know how to drop a chicks dress size, or change the colour of the sky 16 different ways, but if you don't know when and how much to utilise those skills it's all for nothing.

I haven't spent too much time with PP so i dont have the option of choosing when to try one technique over another to give my photo a bit more life!

Fortunately I was taken under the wing of a professional retoucher and learnt all the things from him the Internet simply will not teach you (And some good hard no **** critique about my work - One of the biggest benefits of having someone much better than you pull it to bits). Now I'm lucky enough to put my skills to financial gain.

www.retouchpro.com is a great resource for all things PS related. Some incredibly knowledgable folk on there, many of whom are full time retouchers themselves.

I found the bit in bold funny

This!

A book can only teach you how to use each tool (the book above is very good at that though); the key is learning how to use the tools to suit your purpose and more importantly using them to develop your own style.

Its this really why i was asking about it. As stated I've found some decent tutorials and only really just started using a bit more PP (out of forum pics) to see how things turn out but without knowing what each tool does i find things quite restricted on the PP front.

Just had a thought, would be cool to have a 'Photoshop Processing' thread, where people can post their before and after photos, showing what they did to achieve the look, even if it is just a few quick bullets like "Increase contrast, vibrancy, etc", or it could be detailed right down to skin smoothing technique etc.. Could be a really useful resource for information and inspiration.

I did have this thought when i started this topic but thought it would be a bit cheeky asking it and not being able to contribute

 

[Derek W]

Lol, why? You asked where we learnt, that's where! Pretty common in retouching - train under someone better than you to improve. Like I said, there are some things the Internet can't teach you.

dont worry about it. I've got a warped sense of humour

 

[Derek W]

Search, emulate and experiment. Find a photo you like the look of, find out how it was done and try it yourself in different scenarios and in combination with other styles.

Although i agree with this to a certain degree but sometimes people dont want to give away their 'secrets'.

As I've mentioned above I've ordered the book and i can see it being of benefit as it will give me a better understanding of what each function does.
Carrying on from that, I see the PP part of photography as a follow on from taking the shot itself, and in that I mean, anyone can take a picture but to take a good picture you need to know the basics (composition, understanding of ISO, shutter speed etc). Similarly if you dont know what a photoshop function tool / layer can do to enhance an image then you're immediately at a disadvantage.

The book wont arrive till later on next week so I'll be pottering about with Photoshop in the mean time to see what i end up with.

 

[Derek W]

Just got the book Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Photographers through the post today. Had a quick scan through and its very thorough in all things photoshop. Thanks for the recommendation