Here is a video demonstartion shows how Photoshop Elements’ Group Shot tool can help you salvage group photos where it was hard to get everyone to take a good picture at the same time.

The tool is easy to use once you see how it is done. By the way, this is just one of the many tools we will be using in the Photoshop Elements 8 Editing Tools class I’ll be teaching at PVNET in January. To find out more about the class and how to register, CLICK HERE.

Here is the link to the Video. You will need the Apple Quicktime Player installed on your computer.

Photoshop Elements 8 comes with two new features that may be useful, but can cause new users some problems. These features are the Auto Analyze function and the ablilty to automatically backup your photos to Photoshop.com and/or sync your catalog with another computer.

Both of these are a drain on your computer resources, and the backup/sync can cause a new user problems. I do not use either of these features, although I do use Photoshop.com to share my photos.

I have included a short video here that demonstrates how to turn these features off if they are not already deactivated. First, open PSE 8 in the Organizer mode. Then on the Menu bar, click on Edit > Preferences > Backup/Synchroniztion. CLICK HERE to view the video.

Even after you turn these features off, you will still get a message that pops up randomly on photos asking “Who’s this?” This can also be turned off by clicking on Edit > Preferences > Tags and Albums > People Recognition Hints > Hide.

Don

One of the more interesting new features in the PSE 8 Editor is the Recompose Tool. Basically this new tool allows you to crop from the center of an image. Or in other words, remove the space or objects between two people/objects of your photo. Here is a short demonstration on how to use this new feature. For best results, right click on the link below and select Save as….

Download the MOV file to your desktop or some other folder and play it from there.

PSE 8 Recompose Tool Tutorial

While you are here, take a look at the new class I’ll be teaching this month for PVNET.

Below is a link to a video that provides a brief tour of the Organizer in PSE 8. Actually it’s not so brief. The video runs about 20 minutes. Like all of my videos, it is certainly rough around the edges, but hopefully it gives you an idea what the main differences and enhancements are in PSE 8.

The video should begin to play after a few seconds once you click on the link. I did notice that for some reason, my laptop did not show the play/pause button. This means I had to watch it all of the way through. However, my desktop did diplay the play/pause controls. I think it’s a resolution problem with my laptop.

I plan to do something similar to show you the changes and new features in the Editor of PSE 8.

Click here to play the video.

Again, please comment on it’s usefulness, problems viewing it or lack thereof, and any ideas you have for future videos.

Until next time,

Don

Here are a few more video tutorials I made using Photo Shop Elements 6. I made them as backups for one of my lecture cruises just in case I had laptop computer problems and was unable to do the live demonstration. Fortunately, I did not need to use them. They are not very polished, but I think they are clear enough to be helpful. Even though the videos are using PSE 6, they very similar to what you see/do using PSE 7 or now PSE 8.

They do require Active X control (whatever that means), so you will will need to click on the little thin message that appears at the top of your browser after you click on the link to continue. Also, to best view the video press the F11 key, so it displays full screen.

Also, you may find it better to right click on the link and select Save Target as…. Then download the file to your desktop and play the tutorial from there.

1. General Introduction
2. Quick Fix Window
3. Guided Edit – Shadows and Highlights (a different picture than used in the video tutorial posted earlier)
4. Levels Command
5. Panorama – Part 1
6. Panorama – Part 2

I have a couple of more that I will include in a future post if it appears they are useful to anyone. So please comment, ya or nay. Also, let me know if you have trouble viewing them. I may be able to help you.

Here is another one of my cruise-backup videos that demonstrates how to remove red eye. The video was made using PSE 6, but it is essentially the same using later versions. The video is showing the Red Eye Removal tool be used from the Quick Fix window, but it works the same when you access the tool from the Full Editor.

Also, I would suggest that to watch the video, right click on the link below. Then from the pop-up menu, select Save Target As and download the file to your Desktop. Once it is there,  double click on its icon. When the window appears, click on the play button in the center.  Click or better yet right click here.

Please leave a comment and let me know how your viewing of the video went, and whether or not it was helpful.

Thanks,

Don

With Adobe announcing PSE 8 and PRE 8 a couple of days ago, a lot of my reference material and tutorials need to be updated. In going through my files I came across several video tutorials I had made describing PSE 6. I have never shared these for the most part, some for obvious reasons.  Most were put together as backup or to augment my cruise lectures I gave last year. However, there are a few that even though they were made using PSE 6, they are still useful. The tool or command has not changed in PSE 8.

I decided I better share these before they become totally obsolete. They may not be the best quality, but hey, you can’t beat the price. For the most part, they are in SWF format. This format opens up in your browser. However, depending upon your browser security level, you may have to click once or twice through a warning screen. The first one may be a thin yellow bar at the top of your screen.

I am not going to put them all in this post. I want to see how it goes. Please leave comment and let me know if you were able to view the video and whether or not you found it helpful, Ok?   

The first covers using the Shadows and Highlights command from the Guided Edit panel. It may take many seconds before the video frame loads. When it does, click on the play button in the center of the thumbnail.

    Here is the link.

Let me know what you think.

Hi Everyone,

I got back from my recent Oregon road trip a few days ago. I had a great visit with friends, enjoyed being treated like a king, and had an opportunity to photograph some great scenery. I was gone a week and put just over 2000 miles on my car. I am beginning to get a little more involved with my Facebook account. I’ve posted a few pictures on my Facebook page. You can see them by going to www.facebook.com/don.stouder1.

Now on with the real reason for this post. We all know how easy it is to keep track of our photographs and video clips using the Organizer in Photoshop Elements. We can quickly find pictures using categories and tags, as well as several other features in PSE without worrying about where the specific pictures are located on our hard drive. However, what if you are not in the Organizer and want to locate and select a particular picture or group of pictures?

What if you want to upload an image to eBay? Or what if you want to share some pictures on a photo sharing site like Facebook, Flickr etc. What about uploading some images to Costco or CVS for printing? Using these and similar services generally involve browsing to the folder where your selected images are stored on your computer while you are filling out their online form. The EXPORT command of PSE is a great way to collect your selected photos and copy them to a folder that is easy to browse to while you are online.

I have a dedicated folder on my Desktop I use just for this purpose. Once the images have been uploaded, I delete them from this folder so that I don’t have multiple copies taking up unneccessary room on my hard drive. Because PSE copies the selected images, there is no impact on my Catalog. The originall images are left untouched. Also, as you will see in the tutorial, the EXPORT command also allows you to resize and rename you copied images.

Click here to see a short video on using the EXPORT command. I’m still experimenting with different video formats for posted video tutorials. This one is a .mov file and requires the free Quicktime player to view it. It is about 10 Mb in size, so you may want to download it before viewing it. To download it, right click on the above link and follow the screen prompts. If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to comment below.

Finally, those of you waiting for my Torrance fall teaching schedule, I’ve been promised  it in a couple of days. As soon as I know what it will be, I will email it to those on my Torrance distribution list and post it on my web site with a quick note here.

That’s all for now. Enjoy your summer. It’s going fast.

Don

This post was prompted by a student’s question. She had a group of pictures she had added captions using Photoshop Elements. She wanted to make a CD for a friend that would contain the pictures and their captions. The problem was that using Share >  CD/DVD did copy the captions, but they were not visible using Windows XP Explorer.  The captions are there, but not easily seen by Windows Explorer. She knew she could make  a slide show that would display her captions and would even allow her to adjust their style and location. But she did not want to go to that trouble.

To be honest, after exchanging a couple of emails, I failed to give her a better way to do what she wanted than to make a slide show. Later it struck me that there was at least one alternative. Make an Online Album and save it to a CD. We generally do not cover this in my classes. Maybe we should, and I might include it in the future.

For now, I decided to make a video tutorial showing how to make the CD and then effectively play it back. The video runs for about 19 minutes. To watch the video, Click Here. After several seconds, it should begin to play. If you have trouble viewing it let me know by posting a comment below.

By the way, those of you reading this who are former students, both the South Bay Adult School and Torrance Adult Center are beginning formulate their plans for the fall term. I should have some news with regards to the classes I will be teaching at the two schools in a couple of weeks or so.  Stay tuned.

Until next time,

Don