Topics for Tutorials, Suggestions for Tools

I've produced a number of .PDF tutorials and a couple of video tutorials. I've also produced a number of Photoshop action sets and Javascript collections.

The tutorials are all a couple of years old now. For the past couple of years, my attention has focused on upgrading my sharpening and masking tools and then on writing an eBook on sharpening and producing a DVD on sharpening.

I want to greatly expand my tutorials, especially the video tutorials. I've also got a few tool ideas. For example, porting some of my tools over to Photoshop Elements, offering some Lightroom presets, etc.

What I would like to hear from a wide audience like this is this: what would you like to learn about in a tutorial? What kind of action set or script would be helpful to you.

If I trust to my own judgment in this, I'm likely to miss the mark. I want to be helpful to the digital photography community, and that means I want my tutorials, tools, etc. to be practical and relevant.

Your help, even if it is to tell me what you don't like about my current tutorials and tool, will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Mitch

--
http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com
http://www.thelightsright.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLightsRight/

As HDR is pretty much a buzz subject right now, how about a few scripts for compiling a layered file from multiple images with auto aligning etc. Infact anything HDR would probably go down well.

Cheers Neal

Yes, HDR is definitely a popular fad right now. I'm guilty of posting a few images here this last weekend.

I'll be interested to see how many others agree.

I'm intending a set of video tutorials in July on adjusting tone. HDR is one of the topics I was considering. A review of Photomatrix, too.

Thank you very much for your input. It will help me plan my work.

Cheers,

Mitch

--
http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com
http://www.thelightsright.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLightsRight/

You have the actions, stuff and etc...

Now focus in a practical way/workflow to apply all that into the "day to day" work for the common photographer, but make the common photographer understand what he is doing and why, NOT turning him into a “robot” that just copy the workflow.

BTW, thank you very much for all the tips and stuff you gave to us!

Yes Photomatrix is a must, Ben Wilmore recently released an HDR set of tuts which is quite good but where i feel it falls down slightly is he does not take the final HDR image much further. Ok many of the techniques are common PS tweaks but i think a full tut from start to finish aimed solely at HDR and then tweaking to final output stage would go down very well.

Agree with Pictus, that while actions are great, if you could support them with a video tut to explain the Hows and Whys it would be even better.

I agree about help with workflow.

I was reading Vincent Versace's book today, and he made a very nice comment about flexibility in the workflow. How the idea of ten or twelve steps to a perfect image is mistaken. I agree with Vincent 100%. And I'm guessing you and I agree, too. It's more important to understand what dynamic range, brightness, and contrast are and how one can affect them to draw the eye into a photograph than it is to offer bullet points like Step 1: Reduce Noise, Step 2: Capture Sharpen, etc.

What I will try to do is balance the discussion for a couple of different audiences. There are photographers who want to craft a fine art image. There are photographers who want to quickly obtain a photograph that pleases them. Most fall somewhere inbetween. Like the wedding photographer who wants to process a bath but also retouch a few. Both audiences need the same basic information.

The trick is to combine the additional information that a fine art photographer wants without patronizing the photographer who sees Photoshop as a quick means to an end. Both are legitimate viewpoints IMO.

What I've been reflecting upon is the idea of marking some sections as basic, intermediate, and advanced topics so readers/viewers can decide what to skip or review at a later date. (Actually, I'd like better langauge than basic, intermediate, and advanced. Maybe you have a suggestion?)

Cheers,

Mitch

--
http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com
http://www.thelightsright.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLightsRight/

gmitchel said:

I agree about help with workflow.

The trick is to combine the additional information that a fine art
photographer wants without patronizing the photographer who sees
Photoshop as a quick means to an end. Both are legitimate viewpoints
IMO.

Click to expand...

Agree both are legitimate viewpoints. I feel both types can benefit if they develop a work-flow that works well for then and incorporate some automation to help speed up their work.

If you could come up with a work-flow outline that could custom tailored for most users I feel it would be well received.

I feel that the Image Processor type scripts have elevated Photoshop Automate Batch to the next level. There are some differences between the image Processor script that ship with Photoshop and those that can be downloaded from the web like Dr Browns 1-2-3 process.

These Image processor scripts can include user created actions in their processing. I have found it is easy to create Action Set that can be tailored for a particular run. Basically the action sets I created contain a Top level action named PostProcess that simply plays all the other actions in the set in a logical order. You tailor a run by checking the actions you want run and unchecking the actions you don't want run. Each Action in the sets that I create add an new top layer to the image. None do any destructive editing. The Actions because they checked or unchecked all steps in them will either be executed or skipped it all or nothing.

My basic work-flow is:
1) Copy Camera RAW files into New Folders.
2) Use Faststone to delete bad Images before using the bridge to save time.

3) Use Bridge to Rank and develop ACR xmp sidecar files for groups of images with thumbnails that look similar. Exit ACR using the done button so only xmp files are created Photoshop never even starts.

4) When all RAW file have ACR settings I use The bridge to filter high ranked image select all. Switch to Photoshop tailor a post process action set for an image processor run the switch back to the bridge and use menu tools Photoshop select one of the images processors scripts to produce a set of basic proof image files.

My Post Process action set may look something like this.



If I want to hand tailor an image I'll normally start from a PSD file created in the Image Processor run.

--
JJMack

ACR is very powerful.
I don't think many know all one can do with it.

I have saved a couple images that were definately trash can material... I was astonished at the capability of ACR. Glad I did not trash them..lol
Perhaps a really good work flow for ACR....

There is a great book for it , however many folks don't want to take the time to read and learn.

Thank you for all of your great tuts.
Have followed you for a long time.

Sorry I have been so quiet about it for so long.
--
Best Regards
Gale

http://www.pbase.com/techwish

http://porg.4t.com/KentC.html
Actions
http://www.atncentral.com

Mitch,

Thank you very much for your willingness to share. Having been at PP for four months, I am still learning, and I look forward to spending time at your site. One poster mentioned ACR converter. I don't have a good feel for it, and today is the first time I used it to process jpg's. So, anything on this would be appreciated.

gmitchel said:

I've produced a number of .PDF tutorials and a couple of video
tutorials. I've also produced a number of Photoshop action sets and
Javascript collections.

The tutorials are all a couple of years old now. For the past couple
of years, my attention has focused on upgrading my sharpening and
masking tools and then on writing an eBook on sharpening and
producing a DVD on sharpening.

I want to greatly expand my tutorials, especially the video
tutorials. I've also got a few tool ideas. For example, porting some
of my tools over to Photoshop Elements, offering some Lightroom
presets, etc.

What I would like to hear from a wide audience like this is this:
what would you like to learn about in a tutorial? What kind of action
set or script would be helpful to you.

If I trust to my own judgment in this, I'm likely to miss the mark. I
want to be helpful to the digital photography community, and that
means I want my tutorials, tools, etc. to be practical and relevant.

Your help, even if it is to tell me what you don't like about my
current tutorials and tool, will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Mitch

--
http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com
http://www.thelightsright.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLightsRight/

Click to expand...

It seems that a lot of PS books and tutorials run you thru some process to improve their illustrated image. I feel a gap exists in fully understanding the various PS variables & adjustment offerings and just what they do to the image when applied.

For example, I'd like a sort of cheat sheet identifying: Screen, Multiply, etc, and all the others so as to better feeling for what the outcome might be if applied. If such a thing exists, I'd like to know about it.

Fred

My most urgent problem is the extraction!
One always see tutorials about extraction on white or very easy backgrounds.
But how to handel backgrounds with big differences in lightness & contrast ?

But, wathever you share, we always will be thankfull for your generosity;

Piet

Extracting something that does not have a well defined shape when there isn't a big difference between it and the original background is very difficult. Extraction tutorials use easy examples so the one using the tutorials will be successful when using the tutorial. These tutorials often stress how difficult it will be to extract complex objects like wisps of hair without good contrast. That it may even be impossible to do.

To be able to extract just about anything you wants. You need to learn how to address difficult images, which tools are best to use for a particular extraction. Extraction requires lots of learning and most of all practice even when you buy specialized software designed for extracting there is no magic potion on planet earth. Have you ever heard the expression practice makes perfect. Often it is best to know when something is impossible in which case you do a quick extraction then fix up the extraction to make it look like you did a perfect job like painting in the missing wisps of hair. If you do a good job faking it most will never realize you fudged it.

--
JJMack

Hi Mitch - as an Elements (v. 4) user and the owner of seven or eight book-style PS and Elements tutorials, I find one subject that doesn't seem to get more than a passing glance from most authors and that is the application of gradients. Of course I don't find a single gradient applied to a single layer to be much of a problem, but applying multiple gradients to a single image, or multiple gradients to multiple layers seems confusing. I suspect there is a lot of power in gradients that is not utilized by the typical image processor, at least not by those us who are simply avid amateurs when it comes to photo processing. For example, Elements offers many gradient patterns that I simply cannot think of a decent use for, yet there they are.

I am one of those whose eyesight cannot take a lot of on-screen reading, so I much prefer books that can be annotated, indexed, page-marked and so forth. Tuts as .pdf files available for download and print-out are a good second choice alternative for my 73 year old eyes.

Simenon

Gradient maps were used more in the early days of Photoshop. Some people still like to use them rather tan Curves for things like adjust the tones in B&W photographs.

My action set for B&W toning relies on gradient maps. So I could certainly do a tutorial along those lines.

The gradient tool is useful for making masks.

Which brings me around to asking, are you interested in gradient maps or gradients?

Cheers,

Mitch

--
http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com
http://www.thelightsright.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLightsRight/

I agree with JJ that extractions take a lot of practice. Kinda like sharpening. There's the theory to get your head around. Then you have to apply it. That means working with lots of examples, finding you're not so happy with the result, and working them again.

I've had corel Knockout for years. Honestly, I use it almost never. They marketing hype makes it sound easy to select smoke, fog, flyaway hair. In practice, it's not so easy and not so perfect. JJ's right about that.

But it definitely a topic that I could consider for a tutorial.

Cheers,

Mitch

--
http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com
http://www.thelightsright.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLightsRight/
http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/SharpeningYourPhotographs.html

I actually agree with Piet. The tutorial I would most like to see is one on extractions. I understand that some are almost impossible to do, but I have found over and over again on this forum that I am sadly lacking in extraction skills. I'll think I've done a fairly good job and then I'll just be blown away at how much better other forum member's extractions look than mine did.

The Dr. Brown video is frequently posted here, but I find I need something actually written down to follow. He goes too fast and even though I've watched it over and over, I still need something written step by step.

I'd be thrilled if you came up with that.

elise

Mitch,

Glad to you're back and "back at it". I've followed your site and used your actions/scripts for years. I would just like to mention that, while videos can be helpful, having a pdf file to read or print out is more helpful in someways. I like having them to refer to as I work thru an image. It's also nice to pull a bunch out and take to the beach or on a plane to read. I find the Dr Brown videos much less useful to me personaly than when I could print out the PDFs and work thru them.

Regardless, I look forward to whatever you do.
--
Mitra
http://jmlphotography.smugmug.com/

Hi Mitch - I guess what I am looking for is guidance as to how gradients can be used to improve overall picture quality or to render a more pleasing end result be that in regards to tone, color, image correction or whatever. I am not into "special effects" type editing myself, though others may hold that as an area of greater interest. By special effects editing I mean editing that distances the resulting image to a rather larger extent from its photographic origins.

~ Simenon

What I'm try to be sure I understand is what you mean by gradients.

In Photoshop, there is a gradient tool. It can be used to add a colored gradient to a layer. It can also be used to make layer masks and selections. For example, a simulated graduated filter would likely use a gradient.

There are also gradient maps. They are a different feature. It's comonly used as a colorizing tool to add color to B&W images (i.e., to tone them) and also to fine tune colors and tones.

Mitch

--
http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com
http://www.thelightsright.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLightsRight/
http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/SharpeningYourPhotographs.html

Hi Mitch - sorry I wasn't specific enough, but it is guidance on using the gradient tool to fill layers and for making layer masks and selections that would be of interest to me.

~ Simenon