# Need to learn graphics manipulation...



## Hypernate (Feb 11, 2002)

Hey

Uh, I'm a high school student, and I'm trying to earn money by photography, and then editing them in photoshop or other software like that.

Unfortuantely, my skill pretty much stops at basic flash programming, so, does anyone know of any good apps and books to help me learn to do it a bit better, availible in Australia?

Thanks,
Tom


----------



## Ricky (Feb 11, 2002)

I would search amazon.com if I were you..


----------



## edX (Feb 12, 2002)

could you be more specific? are you just looking for editing tools, or something like photoshop? in other words, what kind of enhancing are you wanting to do? 

also, are you looking for osx apps, classic apps (os9 or earlier) or either?


----------



## symphonix (Feb 12, 2002)

Hi there! Where in oz are you?  

Adobe has a cut-down version of PhotoShop called "PhotoShop Elements" which is intended to provide a slightly easier interface by leaving out things like paths and actions. I would recommend, though, that you bite the bullet and get into PhotoShop. It does look intimidating at first, but you have to remember that 95% of its features are only used 1% of the time. I'd also recommend that you not bother with getting add-ons and plug-ins to begin with as they will only confuse you; and the money would be better spent on a graphic tablet or loud shirts (I haven't met a high ranked Aussie designer who didn't wear a ridiculous shirt).

I have never tried any of the PhotoShop books other than the manuals, which are very technical. I have picked up a handful of related magazines, and find 'Australian Design and Graphics' (I think) very good. ADG is slender but has a regular column on some specific technique under PhotoShop, such as how to use the stamp tool (my favourite) or handle layer transperancy.

You can learn a lot through experimentation, but don't get hung up on the Filters. Most people go crazy with these; and there are so many of them that you could waste a whole week without getting any real results. The only filters I use regularly are:
- Unsharp Mask
- Guassian Blur (usually in combination with a quickmask) and
- Noise (on a 4 to 8 setting, breaks up bands of colour in a gradual blend)

A lot of the tools are best suited to only a specific type of image, and are useless in most circumstances (such as the magic wand). Learning to create paths using the pen tool is a far more useful skill.

Anyway, I'm sure the rest of the design crowd here has some input...


----------



## rinse (Feb 12, 2002)

If you truly are new at Photoshop.... get a VisualQuickstart Guide for the app.... i found that series of books to be a lifesaver when it comes to doing something new.

Search on Amazon for "Visual Quick Start Photoshop"

Good luck... I have been using photshop since version 2.5 (no layers back then!)


----------



## mwhite (Feb 12, 2002)

I would suggest the Adobe Classroom in a Book series that Adobe offers with most of their programs. Each book comes with a CD Rom with Sample artwork on the CDs and it walks you through close to 20 different exercises. At the end of the book you should have a good understanding of how Photohop can help you. It is also a good reference book to have around because I know if I haven't done something in awhile I like to have something i can go back and remind myself how to do it. You can order this book from Amazon.com and I think it costs about 30 US dollars. 

Good Luck


----------



## evildan (Feb 12, 2002)

I've used a lot of graphics programs. Photoshop is very much a lifestyle of learning, but it is the program I always turn to when I need to get  some serious work done. I just don't have the time to program switch to lesser "dumbed-down" apps. I think the pros in the room all have the same question... what specifically are you looking to do?

If you're looking to do basic photo manipulation, like brightness/contrast, pixel dumping, etc... photoshop might be an overkill. 

But if you're thinking of doing some dynamically enhanced structure changes to the composition, you might consider a more long-term investment, such as photoshop.

But before all of that... you should consider the amount of time you're willing to invest into learning this application. 

For example, a few months ago I decided to take some panoramic shots. I was inspired to do so when I was going through some old photographs I took in college. 

I, however, didn't know how interested I was going to be in taking photographs again, so I borrowed my friend's camera to test the waters. 

(do you have a friend who owned a program like photoshop? maybe you could see the program first hand to see if it's what you need.)

I took a few shots and had them scanned for me at work. I used an instant panoramic camrea. Nothing special, but I knew I could enhance the photos in photoshop. I am not an expert photographer, I know enough to get a quality shot, but I am very strong in photoshop so I knew I could make up for any lack of skills in taking photos.

Maybe it's the other way around for you? Maybe you don't need photoshop, your skills in taking pictures might be your strong point. In that case, you should consider something like VisualQuickStart, or another one of apps recommneded above, or down-under, depending on how you look at it.

(Sorry couldn't make it the whole posting with out an aussie joke, I love you guys!)

By the way, if you're interested in seeing the results of my little test you can view them here.


----------



## Hypernate (Feb 13, 2002)

Thanks.

Symphonix: I'm in Western Australia.

Ed Spruiell: I'm trying for OS X, for touching up, and doing effects to photographs.

~*~

By the looks of all the posts, photoshop seems to be the way to go.

Adobe doesn't do student discounts do they?


----------



## edX (Feb 14, 2002)

At least in the states Adobe's educational discounts are very good. you should check out their website for particulars. some of their programs have better discounts than others. 

one reason i asked you to be more specific is because if all you want to do are touch ups and other equivilents to darkroom enhancements then there are other less expensive programs that will do the job. If you are looking to do full blown artistic creations, then photoshop is the standard and the other programs that do that cost almost as much as it does.


----------



## rinse (Feb 14, 2002)

You could always buy Adobe's starter PS app, Photoshop Elements... I have never used it, but it works essentially the same way as Photoshop, but has removed some of the more esoteric functions and made it easier to learn for newbies... As a sidenote, it is far cheaper than the full Photoshop.

This may also be a good time to buy a scanner, if you don't already have one.... Dig through some catalogs... you may find a scanner that come packaged with Photoshop LE (was that discontinued?) or Elements. You could save yourself some bucks and get a new box to put on your desk.


----------



## Hypernate (Feb 14, 2002)

He he, I'm on top of that 

I've already got the funny flat box on my desk. Is there really any other way for me to get my photos into the mac? He he, didn't think so. I don't trust digital cameras anyway!

Also, what kind of effects make a)colour and b)black and white photos look more dramatic?

The main tactic I use to get interesting shots is angles, but what other effects could I use?


----------



## edX (Feb 15, 2002)

i'll offer one other idea. you might want to look at the wacom graphire 2 tablets - the little pen pad. it comes with Photoshop LE (for os 9) and also works as the best mouse you could ever use when you're not drawing with it. it allows for very precise touchups. the price on them has been dropping lately so they are under $90 most places in the US. It does come with drivers for osx as well (ok, you have to download them from the wacom site).

if you can't tell, i love mine!!


----------



## evildan (Feb 15, 2002)

ED, you're on an iMac? Are you using the Tablet on that? I had some bad experiences with the wacom graphire 2 tablets on my G4 dual 533Mhz - 21" Sony Trinitron... ended up tossing it back in the box after a few rounds at "tech-support." Their guy told me their product didn't support my 21" monitor. I knew that was wrong... but when your provided with mis-informaiton, it's clear they just want to get you off the phone.

Tried the drivers, and in the box it shall sit. And sorry for changing the direction of this thread... just want to warn people that results may vary :-(

Hypernate, to answer your question



> Also, what kind of effects make a)colour and b)black and white photos look more dramatic?



Sounds like You need to adjust a few things... 

1) If the photo is color, decide if you're going to use it for web/screen or printing. One very easy overlooked setting is the color mode. If you're working with a photo to be posted on the web or viewed from a monitor, make sure you "Mode" is set to RGB (for jpeg) or Index (for giff). If you're going to print the photo, CMYK is the mode for you. Some artists like to work in RGB regardless then just save in CMYK. Photoshop tends to work a bit faster when it's not converting a CMYK color to and RGB mode on the fly. (I'll leave this tip alone now, if you want to discuss color therory and practical uses of color in Photoshop, we can do that another time and in another thread.)

2) In color/black & white photos I like to start with the levels. This will take away the dull colors if done correctly. You can try "Auto-Levels" by holding down the command+shift+L keys. Results may vary.

3) You can also use another basic technique by adjusting brightness/contrast. There's an auto-contrast as well (command+shift+option+L) but I find it's not as effective as levels. 

4) A friend of mine likes to use Hue & Saturation, I find very often I don't need to adjust hue, unless I'm trying to make dramatic color swaps  in the photo. I usually have the result I wante by the end of tip 3. 

Of course, I'm supplying you with basic tips, becuase, from your postings, I am assuming that you are a new user to the progam. If I'm wrong, please except my apologies, I don't mean to insult your intellegence.

Again color usage = another thread.

Hope that helped.


----------



## CloudNine (Feb 17, 2002)

http://misery.subnet.at/v10/freeze/index.html

If ya wanna get into hardcore photo manipulation take a lesson from deaddreamer...


----------

