Hi everyone! Welcome to this week’s Saturday Special. Have you ever had a picture that you wished was black & white? Maybe you have the perfect kit for your picture but the colors just don’t seem to work together. Or maybe you are looking for the elegant look that black & white pictures give. There are many ways that you can convert your color picture to black & white. One of the most common ways to convert it is to change the color mode to grayscale under the image menu. This tends to leave your picture fairly bland though. Today I’m going to show you a way to convert your picture without losing the contrast and making you picture look flat. (The screenshots and directions are in Photoshop Elements 5.0.) First open up the picture that you want to convert to black & white. Duplicate the picture by right clicking on the thumbnail in the Photo Bin and selecting Duplicate. This is so you are not working on the original and accidently save over top of it. Press D to set your foreground and background to the default black and white. Make sure that the black is in the top box. If it isn’t press X to switch them. Now go to the top of the Layers Palette and choose Levels from the Adjustment Layers menu. When the box pops up don’t change anything on it right now, just click ok. This will add a layer to your Layers palette named Levels 1. Go back to the Layers Adjustment menu and this time chose Gradient Map. Check to make sure the Gradient map is set on black to white. If it is not click on the arrow next to the gradient map and choose the correct gradient from the popup menu. Click ok. This will give you a layer in the Layers Palette named Gradient Map 1. Just going this far will already give you a better black & white picture, but we are not done yet. In the Layers palette, double-click on the Levels thumbnail in the Levels 1 layer. This will popup the Levels box. From here we are going to edit the individual colors, starting with red. So go ahead and choose the Red channel from the drop down menu. Grab the black (shadow) arrow under the Input Levels and slide it right. This will increase the shadows in the red channel. [IMG]http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm313/p_a_sandbulte/red.jpg[/IMG] When you think you are satisfied with this edit, go back up to the drop down menu and choose the Green channel. On this one we are going to slide the white (highlights) arrow to the left. Again when you are satisfied with this edit, go back up to the drop down menu. This time we are going to work in the Blue channel. Go ahead and move the highlights arrow to the quite a bit to the left. Move the shadows arrow just a little bit to the right. Not every picture you convert will have the same settings, play around with the sliders a bit until you get the effect you are looking for. When you are happy with how your picture looks go ahead and click OK. One last step and then we are done. Go to the Layers palette, click on More. From that menu choose Flatten Image. This will flatten the adjustment layers into your picture. You can also use ctrl+Shift+E to do this. Check out the pictures side by side. The one on the left I just used the grayscale mode to convert the picture. Look how much of a difference there is in the one on the right. Here is my page with my new black & white picture using LDrag’s Blessings of Life and Stolen Moments & Rosy Posy’s Here and Now. Check out these great pages by the ScrapMatters’ CT. Kayla made this cute page using WM Squared’s Inspired by Fran templates and Full of Joy and Add-on by Band Geek Designs. Here is a sweet one by Chel. This one by Ophelia uses Jennifer Labre’s Full of Life and True Blue Studio’s Summer Garden Templates. Here is one from Tamara using Amy Stoffel’s Make a Move. Challenge reminders: -For the month of September you will receive two points for posting in this thread & in the Saturday Special gallery. You can receive an additional two points for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post. And at the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points! -You have until the end of September to complete this challenge for September MOS points or wait to post in October for October MOS points! -Remember no double dipping… layout must be unique to this challenge. -You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but remember your SM gallery must contain at least 50% SM product beginning July 8, 2011.

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Hello Henriette here with this months photochallenge and we will be talking about how to photograph glass.

Good morning and HAPPY Saturday! I always love trying new ways to add focus to my pictures and found a new one (for me anyway) that I simply love! Blurring the background of your photo…

First open your editing software and the picture you are going to use. Next select the Magnetic Lasso Tool from your toolbar:

Using your magnetic lass tool outline the image you want to focus on (the part that will not be blurred)

When you have you image selected you might need to make a few corrections, so zoom in on your picture and use the Quick Selection Tool:

When you have all of your image selected…

You might want to expand the selection just a little bit so it’s not right on the edge of your image. To do this go to Select>Modify>Expand> I only expanded 1 pixel

Then you will want to invert your selection to create the blur…to invert you need to go to Select>Inverse

Then you can create your blur. On mine I went to Filter>Blur>Gauissan Blur…but you can use any of the blurs you wish. Play around with it!

Here’s my final pic:

Here is my layout created with the picture above using So Silly by Amy Stoffel, BBQ Weather Bonus Alpha by WM[squared] Designs, and Alphlets by Stolen Moments:

and here is what the amazing SM CT girls created using this tut: (please check out the forum to see what each girl did to their picture)

Andrea:

Fiona:

Becky:

Tanya:

Aren’t they all simply AMAZING?!?! Can’t wait to see how this tutorial inspires YOU!

Challenge reminders:
-You will receive one point for posting in Saturday Special 2.12.11 thread & in the Saturday Special gallery. You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post. And at the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!

-You have until the end of February to complete this challenge to earn MOS points.

-Remember no double dipping…your photo and/or layout must be unique to this challenge.

-You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but we love it when you do!

Now….get scrapping!

Tip #1
Select Macro Mode – this is a fairly obvious first step but I’m always surprised by how many digital camera owners haven’t explored the shooting modes that their camera has. Macro mode is generally symbolized with a little flower and when selected it will tell your camera that you want to focus on a subject closer to your lens than normal (the minimum distance allowed will vary from camera to camera – consult your instruction manual to find yours). Macro mode will also usually tell your camera to choose a large aperture so that your subject is in focus but the background is not.

Tip #2
Use a Tripod – in macro photography a tripod can be particularly useful, even if you’re just shooting with a compact camera. Keeping your camera still not only improves your shots (getting rid of camera shake) but it allows you to play around with different settings without losing your composition.

Tip #3
Aperture – once in macro mode some cameras will not allow you to make many other adjustments but if you are able to play with your aperture settings it can be well worthwhile to do so. As we’ve covered in our Aperture tutorials, the main thing that aperture impacts is the depth of field of your shots. Choose a small aperture (big number) if you want a large depth of field with everything in focus or a large aperture if you just want your main subject in focus. In macro photography you’ll probably want a shallow depth of field so select the largest aperture available.

Tip #4
Focusing – I find that in macro photography it is helpful to have full control over focusing – especially when you have shallow depth of fields where it is all the more important to make sure the right part of your shot is in focus. If your camera allows manual focusing select this option and manually focus on the part of our subject that is the main point of interest.

Tip #5
Composition – remember some of the basic rules of composition like the Rule of Thirds. Make sure your image has a main point of interest and place that focal point in a smart position in your image in order to draw the eye of your viewer. Try to select a non cluttered or simple background for your main subject so as it doesn’t compete with it visually.

Tip #6
Flash – in many macro shots having some artificial light is important. The challenge with compact cameras is that most give you limited control of your flash. As a result choosing a good time of day when there is plenty of available light is probably your best bet. If you do need more light check to see if your camera allows you to pull back the level that your flash fires at. Alternatively you might like to try diffusing it in some way (tissue paper or cellotape over the flash for example). Another option might be to use some other source of artificial light or to invest in a reflector to help make the most of available light. Experiment with different methods of lighting your subject.

Tip #7
Take Your Shot – once you have your shot lined up and in focus take your shot. Make sure once you’ve taken it to take a good look at it on your LCD, zooming in to make sure that your focusing is sharp. Try shooting at slightly different apertures, with different compositions and focusing on different points of your subject to see what works best.

Tip #8
Macro Lens Attachments – some compact cameras actually have accessories available to help with macro/close up photography. These will enable you to enlarge your subject and/or decrease your minimum focal length. These might be worth investing in if you intend on doing a lot of macro work.

PS: The term ‘macro photography is used fairly loosely here. Technically ‘macro photography’ is actually when you produce an image where your subject is captured on your image sensor at life size (or bigger) with a 1:1 ratio.
In the case of most (all?) compact cameras this is not achieved and in fact ‘close up’ photography would be a better description. However as most manufacturers call their close up mode ‘macro mode’ I’ve used the term for the purposes of this article.

Here is my go on the challenge:

I used the macro setting, a tripod, flash light and manual focus!

Please read the posting rules too, especially about posting in the right gallery, thank you!!

1. Upload your photo (and LO if you have one) to the appropriate gallery, then please link it back to the challenge in the forum
2. Just one entry per person will be eligible for a point, one extra point can be earned for doing a LO with the picture and if you win the challenge you also gain one extra point
3. The pictures must be especially made for this months challenge
4. No double dipping with other challenges please

HAVE FUN !

Hello everyone. Tiffany here with a few books to help you better understand your camera.

If you have a DSLR (or even a point n shoot) & are a bit intimidated on taking it off the auto mode & using the manual mode, then these books are pretty good to start with. Now I want to make something clear. This is in no way a paid endorsement. These books are just my opinion &  I have found that they helped me a lot.

For starters Bryan Peterson has this wonderful book out called Understanding Exposure.

This book is wonderful. It is easy to read & understand. It starts you right off on simple lessons to get you out of Auto mode. It takes you step by step to understanding all the terms & understanding what each option on your camera means & how you can use it to best suit your needs.

There is also a book called Beyond Portraiture. This book shows you how to take creative photos of people.

It has some great tips on using light & shadows. A great book in helping you to take better photos of family & friends.

Also, if you are new to DSLR or if you have had one for awhile & want to understand your specific camera better there are tons of books available. I have the Nikon D90. I LOVE my camera but wanted to understand it bit better than the manual that came with it. So I bought Nikon D90 for Dummies. It has really helped me better understand my camera.

I hope these references have helped. I was so intimidated in using the manual mode on my camera. Let’s face Auto was just so much easier. I’m glad I took the lessons in the book though. It really helped me understand & it wasn’t like reading a foreign language.

You can probably finds tons of books to help you at your local library too.

Hello Henriette here with this months photochallenge and we will be talking about “camera shake” and “out of focus”.

From an article by Elizabeth Halford

There are may ways an image can be made unsuitable. Camera shake and poor focus are two of them. How does it happen? How can you prevent it? And what if you don’t even have one of those ‘fancy schmancy’ cameras?
This article is about how to prevent them from happening.

{Camera Shake}
Camera shake and the resulting motion blur are a result of the camera moving during the time of exposure. Which means that there is movement while the shutter is open and the sensor is gathering information. For particularly long exposures (like evening landscapes or trying to capture a waterfall in soft, beautiful motion), a tripod will be necessary. But even the movement caused by putting your finger on the shutter button can cause blur so you can use a remote control or set the self timer and take your hands off.
If you use a point-and-shoot, camera shake and blur could be a problem if you’re not operating in the appropriate mode. For instance, trying to capture running children in portrait mode will probably result in motion blur. Try sports mode.

For the DSLR users, the heavier the camera, the more stable it will be and less likely to be moving about due to hand tremor. Research proper camera holding and stance for maximum stability.
Some lenses have IS (image stabilisation) options which help to reduce camera shake (and battery life!)
Camera shake becomes less and less a problem the faster your shutter speed and the more light is available. If you’re in low light, opening your aperture to let in more light will allow you to quicken your shutter speed, but then you might have to battle poor focussing.

{Out of Focus}
My pet peeve is improper focus. I’m sure the majority of photographers operate in auto focus mode, unless they’re photographing still life. This means that we allow the camera to focus for us and it does it in a variety of ways.

If you use a point-and-shoot, the solution is pretty simple. You hold down the shutter button halfway until focus is achieved and then push it the rest of the way down. The only reason you’d be likely to end up with poor focus is, as I said before, you’re shooting in an improper mode. For example, you’re shooting a landscape in macro mode.
For us DSLR users, focus becomes another monster all together. Consult your camera’s manual and familiarise yourself with the focus modes and the focus areas because both of these factors result in proper focusing.

Ok and the challenge this week is: show one of your photo’s go wrong by camera shake or out of focus and maybe the reason why that happened!

Here is my not so sharp picture, in this case it was camera shake. My youngest wouldn’t stand still for a picture so I just took a snap very quickly and it shows !

Please read the posting rules too, especially about posting in the right gallery, thank you!!

1. Upload your photo (and LO if you have one) to the appropriate gallery, then please link it back to the challenge in the forum
2. Just one entry per person will be eligible for a point, one extra point can be earned for doing a LO with the picture and if you win the challenge you also gain one extra point
3. The pictures must be especially made for this months challenge
4. No double dipping with other challenges please

And here are the examples on how not to, from:

TanyaH666
Here is why this happened: I have to slow down my shutter speed ALOT to get enough light, to take pictures in my house without a flash. So if i move even a little bit while taking a picture i get blur. So that along with the fact that she wouldn’t stay still resulted in this picture:

even in blur her puppy looks cute!

And another one from:

hoo-rah
I think this blurry shot is the result of both a camera shake and improper focus. First, my daughter was in a fit of giggles when I was trying to take this, so she wouldn’t stop moving (happens a lot). Second, the auto focus and auto flash on my point and click had been adjusted (anonymously), and there was not enough natural light in the shot to get proper focus….hence, the blur.

And doesn’t her daughter still looks very sweet in that picture?

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Hello Henriette here with this months photo challenge:

No real techniques this month but tips on how to make photo’s for a photo a day or 365 project.

I see a lot of 365 projects going on in the gallery and eventhough I never participated I am a bit jealous of those who do.
I do envy your commitment to take that one photo a day and though it sounds so easy, I am sure it is not!
Where to find that photo opportunity every day and every time a new subject too!

So here are some tips for improving (if needed) or just to start your own project.

From an article by Jim Goldstein.
Whether you call it a Photo 365 or a Photo A Day (PAD) project the net result is the same, a photo for every day of the year. These types of photo projects are menacing at first thought, but provide a fantastic opportunity to explore and learn not just photography, but creative seeing and post-productions skills. Here are 11 tips to get the most out of any future Photo365 / Photo A Day project you undertake this year.

1. Maintain A Heightened Awareness
At every moment of the day keep your eye open with a photo in mind. Look for the obscure moments or observations that you might otherwise let go by with out a second glance. Training your eye and brain in this way is where a Photo365 / Photo A Day project can help you improve as a photographer the most. Taking great photography can’t happen if you never see or never know when to react.

2. Always Have Your Camera With You
Always have your camera with you through out the day. Don’t feel self conscious. Don’t get lazy. Don’t ever take a break. The one time you don’t have your camera with you is the one time you’ll wish you never left it behind. While Murphy’s Law is something you normally encounter from time to time, the frequency of taking photos every day means you’ll have many more opportunities to experience it. With a little discipline you can easily avoid Murphy’s Law moments.

3. There Is No Time Like the Present
Never say, ‘I’ll take a photo of that later.” or “I’ll take a photo of that on my way back.” Take the photo while the idea is in your head and the light is right. Moments of inspiration seldom come at convenient times and light conditions are seldom ever exactly the same twice in a day.

4. Train Your Eye To See Light
Learn how to get the most out of the light whether sunny, overcast, or any thing in between. Learning how to get the most out of high contrast and low contrast lighting situations is a great way to broaden your photographic opportunities. In addition experiment and make use of off camera lighting to supplement the available light to you. I learned a lot forcing myself to take photos in all different lighting environments during my Photo365 / Photo A Day project several years ago and it helped make me a stronger photographer.

5. Experiment! Don’t Stay In Your Comfort Zone
Break out and risk the bad shot to learn something new. Taking the same photos over and over again because you’re comfortable taking them will not improve your photography and it won’t increase interest in your work. Step out of your comfort zone to try new things. Doing this is not dependent on buying new equipment rather opening your eyes to new styles and new subjects.

6. Make Use of Weekly Themes
365 unique photos is a sizable goal. If you’re running thin on ideas think in terms of weekly themes. Take photos of a particular location, a color, portraits of family & friends, pet photos, macros, hidden letters, etc. Sometimes an infinite number of subjects are more easily pared down when thought of in terms of themes. Themes offer a sense of order and predictability providing incremental steps bringing you closer to your end goal.

7. Plan Ahead & Write Down Ideas
Rather than wait for inspiration to find you plan ahead and write down ideas for future photos in a notebook. This is great practice for normal photo shoots and will reinforce creative thinking. Reviewing previously documented photo ideas will prove to be a great resource when spontaneous ideas are few and far between.

8. Edit & Post-Process Every Week
In order to avoid backlogs edit & post-process you photos weekly if not daily. Getting into a rhythm on editing & post-processing is key to completing your Photo365 / Photo A Day project. For many taking photos is the easy part, but editing & processing the photos is the challenge. For every photo you publish you’re likely to have many others that don’t make the cut. Getting into a rhythm to select your final photos and processing them in a timely fashion will make the difference between success and failure.

9. Add Notes to Your Photos
When posting daily photos online add notes as to what you thought worked or didn’t from your days photos. Post general photo shoot and camera setting info from your EXIF data, you’ll look back on this later to refresh your memory or to see how far you’ve come. Anecdotal stories are also great information to look back on. Understanding how, why and when you photographed your subject provides insight to your creative thinking that you can’t get from EXIF data.

10. Get Into A Rhythm & Have Fun
Make sure to have fun during your year long photo project. The moment it becomes work the more challenging completing a Photo365 / Photo A Day project becomes. Getting into a rhythm can help a great deal in lowering the perceived level of effort to get your daily photos in. Whether you’re heading out to explore during your lunch break, taking a 10 minute detour in your commute or even taking 365 self-portraits, knowing that you have time dedicated to get your photo(s) in takes a lot of stress out of the process. If you’re the more spontaneous type then build in an extra 10-20 minutes into your appointment schedule to stop and explore with your camera. As with life ones destination is often far less interesting than the journey.

11. Start Today
Here is the best thing about a Photo365 / Photo A Day project, you can start ANY day of the year. Most frequently people associate these projects with New Years, but there is no rule as to when you have to start a project such as this. While it may seem overwhelming take the plunge and start your Photo365 / Photo A Day project today.

Please read the posting rules too, especially about posting in the right gallery, thank you!!

1. Upload your photo (and LO if you have one) to the appropriate gallery, then please link it back to the challenge in the forum
2. Just one entry per person will be eligible for a point, one extra point can be earned for doing a LO with the picture and if you win the challenge you also gain one extra point
3. The pictures must be especially made for this months challenge
4. No double dipping with other challenges please

Here is my go on the challenge I saw these geese a couple of days ago when walking with Meike (my youngest daughter). They were afraid of us and luckily just before they swam away I could take this picture. I took tip 2 in consideration, always take your camera with you and also tip 3 there is no time like the present!!

Good morning, all! Linz here with a quick photography tip today. Sometimes changing the perspective of your photo makes all the difference in the world! This is something I do to change things up a bit or make my photos a little more dramatic. For example, I wanted to snap a photo of my son’s train set (for a page I’m planning in my head but have yet to actually scrap!). These are SOOC, so please excuse the not so great lighting. Notice the difference between the first and second photo. Which one do you find more interesting?

So don’t be afraid to do something different! Try standing above your subject or lying on the ground next to them. Experiment until you find something you like. These are often some of my favorite photos.

We’d love to see what you come up with using this technique. Just point us to it in the comments so we can leave you some love.