Gavin Seim: I write a lot about HDR photography here on Pro Photo Show. It’s an often misunderstood animal, that when used correctly is incredibly powerful.
This has been in the works for some time, but it’s finally official. My 3 day HDR workshop will be held in Fall of 2009 in Central WA, we’re going to cover everything from basic HDR landscapes to using HDR for amazing people pictures.
This is a small workshop limited to about 15 participants. Seats are first come first serve. You can learn more over on KungFu Photo.
by Gavin Seim:I had a call recently from a photographer who lost all her preferences, settings and actions because of a crash. For some reason Photoshop lost all it’s preferences and went back to default. The thing is, PS is not meant to hold all our settings permanently. You need to have them backed up. The key is being prepared so when something’s lost, you can take it in stride. Today I’m going to tell you how to do it. Remember that once you’ve stored these settings, re-loading them is as simple as double clicking the file. Click the images to get larger illustrated views as we go along.
1: Give Them A Home: First, decide where you’ll be backing up your settings. Be it a folder on your hard drive, a CD/DVD or an offsite storage service. Wherever it is find a consistent place that will be separate up from your main computer should you have a total crash.
2: Archive your actions:
Photoshop is not a place to store actions. When you download a new action don’t just load it in the actions palette and expect it to stay there. PS will retain the actions so long as the preference to keep it loaded remains. Also deleting an action in PS does not actually delete the file, it just removes it from the action palette. As long as you have your action files safely stored you’re good. But, if you load an action, and then delete the file expecting PS to retain it forever, your doom is sealed.
I like to make a “favorite actions” set that I store with my other actions. This way all my commonly used actions are in one set that I can load fast. I keep it in PS all the time, but it’s backed up should I have a crash. My other actions are nearby as well, but I load them only occasionally since all my favorites are in one set. You can do this by making a new action set (folder) within PS, then drag your favorite actions into it from other sets, then save your favorites set in a safe place.
Our friends over at the CameraDojo blog have announced an e-seminat that will take place this Fri 1:PM PST talking about tips for Adobe Lightroom 2.
It’s being hosted by Rick Miller. We’re told that these are usually closed events but if you head on over to Cameradogo they’ve got an invite code that their sharing and it will get you in. If you have some free time on Fri, check it out, and get some new knowledge.
Microsoft HD Photo has been announced. Get yourself started with Photoshop actions by going to the Adobe Exchange. Download Gavin’s free production enhancer action Visual Razor.
HDR Part 1.
It’s time to learn HDR. Listen to the main topic in this weeks show starting at time index 17:50, and more to come in next weeks show. HDR Software besides Photoshop includes Photomatix from HDR Soft. You can use our promo code PPS15 to save 15%. There’s also another HDR app available called FDR tools.
Here is an example photo taken off of Highway 12 in WA of a worker in the Tulip fields. This was done using Photomatix Pro & Photoshop, with 3 raw images. Notice how the detail can be captures in not only the foreground, but also the sky which would normally be washed out. At the same time however it’d still has a natural look to it, with some shadows and depth. (click for a larger version)
