| Author |
Topic |
|
Bowen Island, BC
Canada
614 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2006 : 3:16 PM
|
I broke down and bought a digital camera. Somehow no one has built the camera I want, but the Canon a620 can take decent pics, and I don't have to wait for the film to be developed.
For years I'd not updated my Photoshop Elements 2. Adobe made me a pretty good upgrade offer, and I decided that the new camera was a reason to change. So I am now using Elements 4.
Wow! Until now I have been struggling with brightness, contrast, and those painful levels graphs in order to put some light into black rock, and at the same time see detail and texture in the adjacent snow. I have never been able to do this to my satisfaction.
With the new Elements, all that is built into the Lighting box of Quick Fix. This whole chore is now a simple matter of moving the sliders for Lighten Shadows and Darken Highlights. There is even a slider for Midtone Contrast to ensure that the picture retains its snap -- but I find that the Lighten/Darken controls are so specific that the general integrity of the image is pretty much retained.
I know that there are folks out there who are not using this tool because, to practice, I've been picking images off the web and 'improving' them with this software.
This is so good that I no longer feel the need to use a fill-flash when I am taking a backlit picture of a person.
Frankly, I am more impressed with this software than I expected.
|
|
 Fowl photographin, animal lovin, thread trollin, dry bag humpin, canoe canoodler
Vancouver, BC
Canada
4036 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2006 : 3:59 PM
|
yes.. it's a pretty handy addition. Photoshop has included the same tool since their CS version, only it's called "Shadow and Highlights". Still, it has it's limitations and I wouldn't say it's a replacement for fill-flash, more like a fix if you didn't use fill-flash. Either way it is certainly one of the most valuable additions to Adobe's latest imaging suite.
Shooting in RAW gives you even more control over those same features though, check if your camera supports this! |
|
|
Tumbler Ridge, BC
Canada
1364 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2006 : 11:02 PM
|
Just wait until you poor sods over in the Windows world get your hands on Lightroom; I've been playing with the Beta, and it is Su-weet. Probably cost a fair bit when it comes out, but it's going to be worth it.
Can it do things that you can't do in Photoshop? A few (the slideshow feature is far far superior to photoshop's feeble attempts, and I have high hopes for its library function), but mostly it's just the UI. It's a great space to look at pictures and tweak the global settings. It's simple, logical, and user friendly.
It would never replace Photoshop for design and editing the images, but for evaluating, organizing and tweaking, Lightroom is a great thing.
----------------------------------------
I never get lost. It's just that sometimes, I'm not sure where I am. |
|
|
|
Fleece thong wearin, Buntzen Lurkin, mystic poet mountain man and international spokesman of the friends of the white squirrel society
Port Moody, B.C.
Canada
5895 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2006 : 11:30 PM
|
Good for you Robert . The A620 is a sweet camera.
----------------------------------------
No Trail is Long with Good Company.
|
|
|
Bowen Island, BC
Canada
614 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2006 : 08:48 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by Monster
Shooting in RAW gives you even more control over those same features though, check if your camera supports this!
I know you are right... but no, the a620 does not provide RAW images.
There are other limitations too. It is a small camera, and there is no avoiding the fact that it has a tiny lens. Sharp -- but it is still a small hole for the light. So it is a slow lens. As soon as things become gloomy, it wants to use the flash, or a shutter speed that is so slow that a tripod is necessary. I am considering one of those tiny tripods. The flash is just okay for illuminating a face that is within spitting distance. (I remember using those press bulbs that would light up a stadium.) |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Photoshop Elements 4 & Snow
