5 Fact Friday - Photoshop Tips & a Give Away

dreaming of a little quiet...right here.... maybe on Sunday.... :)

Hello friends,

It's Friday....5 Fact Friday that is....... I'm linking up with Reflection of You Five Fact Friday.... It's open all week, so feel free to play too .. It's FUN! Click here to check it out.

Today I thought I'd share 5 Photoshop Tips&Tricks I Love...... Scroll down to check out the screencast 5 fact version....see the tips in action.

Okie doke...let's dive in.

Fact 1. Totally Rad's new Pro Retouch 2.0 action set is BLOWING my mind..... I posted a little review over at Shutter Sisters...come check it out.... So good. Sorry Elements users...it is a CS set only....

Fact 2. I have no idea why I didn't do this before... But when you click the command key it temporarily turns your current tool into the move tool. Very very handy....

Fact 3. When you draw out a selection you can always transform your selection by zipping up to the selection menu and choosing transform selection. From there you can 'perfect' your selection. And while we are on selections, you can always move your selection as you are making it by temporarily holding down the space bar, this will allow you to move the selection exactly where you would like it to be. Once you have it in place, release the space bar.

Fact 4. If your brush cursor disappears...check the cap locks.... when the caps are on, you will only see the cross hairs not the full brush shape. The other possibility is you are working on a low-res image....and your brush is so big you can't see the shape.... if it's not cap locks...try reducing the brush size.

Fact 5. To quickly adjust the brush size use the right and left bracket keys... so much quicker. And finally.... to select a colour from within your image.... while the brush tool is selected.... click within your photo while holding down the option key on a mac, alt on a pc.....and your brush will temporarily turn into the eye dropper

For further clarification....watch the screencast below. :)

How 'bout a Give Away?

I'd love to hear your FAV Photoshop Tips/Tricks.... Please share in the comments below.

Today' I'm giving a FREE spot in my self-paced/independent Photoshop Essentials class to one lucky commenter...  If you don't have any PS tips...that's okay too... just say hello. :)

I will announce the winner this coming Sunday.

::

I'm off..... Here's to a fabulous weekend....

Until next time.... always..... grateful you stopped by. And hoping to visit lots of 5 fact links this week.....

xo,

View on Vimeo

Photoshop Texture Tutorial - An Autumn Celebration

Hello my friends,

Happiest Wednesday!

As promised I am back with a little selective texturing tutorial.

And while i am here... I wanted to share a few shots from my afternoon photo shoot in our white room.

a heavier textured effect

I brought these lovely fall branches home from the trail today...and just had to photograph them with my antique bleach bottles.

I then played around with different processing....

For all of today's images I used the textures, UggLove and Thursday! I think 'Thursday' is my current fav texture. :)

The main lesson I wanted to share in today's video tutorial is ... even the most intense textures can be soft and subtle.... and oh so right!

xxo, 

p.s. Registration for the Art of Texture Secrets eCourse is now open. Check out the September savings!

p.s.s. I'm in love with Yvonne's DIY at the i-Studio.... You gotta check it out!  

Enough said..... Enjoy!

View the video in Couch Mode HERE.

If you like this video, please pass it along to your friends..... You can use the share buttons below if you like!

Finding Fabulousness in the Simplest Places

Happiest Monday

How are you? 

Today I thought I'd pop in and share a my little photography challenge....

and a few tips as well!

So here's the scoop.  Day after day, Ben and I walk down the back lane...  We put a harness under his belly to support his back end....In one hand I hold the leash, in the other, I hold the harness.  The leash keeps him from running.  My oh my does he really wants to run!

Anyhow, I tell you all this, cause as I walk down the lane with him, I am constantly wishing I could take some pics.  The frost has been beautiful this winter.  And snow is such an amazing backdrop for pretty much anything!  But there's no way I can take pics.  My hands are FULL. :)

Oh I should have also mentioned that we do not leave Ben unattended.  EVER.  And we can do that, because I work from home...plus, I don't have much of a life. :) As long as we are in the same room with him, we know he is safe.  And this allows us to leave him out of the crate.  He can sleep on his blanket in the studio and when the boys are around he likes to hang with them on the couch or love seat.  Okay so, I tell you all this....cause I can't just grab my camera when the light is right and zip out to take some pics. At least not for a few more weeks. 

Today I was like, darn it Kim, just jump in the Escape and go.  So I loaded up Mr. Ben and off we went, around the corner and down the back alley..... 

Before I headed out I thought...  hmm, how bout giving yourself a little challenge.... keep it interesting. :)

So here's what I came up with......

My Challenge

Part 1 - See what you can capture by staying in the car. (I simply rolled down my window or opened the door, and a for a few shots I had to roll down Ben's window.) 

Part 2 - Processing- I allowed myself only one texture for all the photos.  So before I began I picked one that I thought would work. And I also told myself to limit the photoshop layers to no more than four. :)

So with that said... here's my little backlane photoshoot...  and I will finish it off with a little video tutorial.  

Sound good?  :)

Oh I should mention I used GreyDay Slate....and if you do not have it yet...

you can download it HERE along with it's companion GreyDay Stone.

Why did I choose GreyDay Slate?  Mainly because the GreyDay textures work really well with winter pics...and also because it has lots of interesting depth and texture....Oh and I like that it is framed. :)

Okie doke....Come along...for a little back lane stroll

a little peek into Ben's world...

'sigh'

....

totally love the little seeds on these branches....

love what the framing does to this image.

found this a little harsh...yet I liked the bokeh...

the texture softened it a little.

and last but not least...

....

And here's a little video on how I processed today's images.

Thanks for popping by! Here's to a fabulous week!

If you wanna play along... why not give the challenge a try. Then come on back and share your link! I'd love to see what you come up with!

Love & Gratitude...xxo, Kim

p.s. If you would like to share this post with your friends, feel free to use the share buttons below.  Thanks bunches....