Photoshop Elements Tutorial: Class 13

This was the last class (besides the final review class) of the Jessica Sprague tutorial for editing in Photoshop Elements 7. I am amazed at how quickly I fell in love with this program. And I'm sure I am only hitting the tip of the iceberg on what this program is capable of.....and my skills.

So our last task was to create a collage and use some cute brushes to spice up the border. The pictures are original....I didn't do any special editing since they were going to end up quite small in this 8x8 project.

Here is my finished product:

I cannot wait to do more of Jessica Sprague's classes.....even if I have to pay for them. It's an investment I am more than willing to make in an effort to fine-tune my photography skills. Thanks to everyone who followed along and all of the comments are much appreciated.

Photoshop Elements Tutorial: Class 12

This class taught us how to create a storyboard. I'm not a big fan of this technique.....though I can see for some specific projects, it could be cute.

I had three original pictures - which I didn't change at all (other than my initial edits when I first took the pictures). I didn't add any NEW edits - that makes more sense.

Anyway, here is the finished product:

Photoshop Elements Tutorial: Class 11

This class taught us the technique of selective/spot recoloring. I'm not a huge fan of this technique, but I gave it a shot anyway.

Here is my original picture:

And here is my finished product:

As you can see, the first task is to almost, or completely, desaturate your photo. As you can also see, I didn't desaturate enough, as you can still see a blue tint in Carter's jeans. I almost like it better than a true B&W. And then we learned how to use the brush tool to brush back in the color into select parts of your photo. Most often, you see this technique used with little girls when they are holding flowers.....and the flower is all vibrant while the remainder of the picture is B&W or sepia. Since I have a boy, we have no flower pictures......so the bright pink sidewalk chalk was my next best option. I still think it turned out well......I don't dislike this technique as much as I thought I would.

Photoshop Elements Tutorial: Class 10

This class was a challenge to take a photo from start to finish, adding several techniques we have learned so far.

Here is my original picture:

Our challenge was to create a clipping mask from a shape, add in our photo and two textures, a type overlay with two fonts, and finish off with an edge burn. I was having trouble with my fonts, so I wasn't able to use the suggested one. So I used one of the default fonts and I'm still pleased with the final product:

This definitely wasn't my favorite project......it's just too many things going on. I prefer more simple editing. But it was fun to put to practice several of the techniques I have learned.

Photoshop Elements Tutorial: Class 9

Class 9 was all about performing an edge burn. An easy way to explain this is that edge burning is basically darkening the edges of your photo, and allowing your focal point to remain your bright focal point without darkening the entire photo.

Here is my original picture:

And here is my picture after the edge burn:


As you can see, it's a very subtle change - but if you have PSE7, turn the burn layer on and off quickly and you will see the difference a little better.

I also did one in B&W:

This one is a little more obvious because I had already blurred the edges prior to this class, so it made the edge burn a little more obvious. Not the best example but I wanted to try a B&W with this technique.

Photoshop Elements Tutorial: Class 8

{no, I didn't leave out a class......class 7 was just a simple review of what we have accomplished so far}

Class 8 was about adding texture and type to our pictures. Adding the type has to be one of my least favorite things. I'm more of a caption person, and adding it right to the picture doesn't appeal to me. So I wasn't too excited about this project.

Here is my original picture:

And here is my picture after I added a paper bag texture and some type.

Photoshop Elements Tutorial: Class 6

In Class 6, we learned about TTV {through the viewfinder) looks, which is basically how to achieve an old camera look, without having an old camera. We can "fake" it. :) It does involve textures, which I am quickly falling in love with.

Here is my original picture - my Aunt's new puppy, Nikki.

Here is my finished product.

Photoshop Elements Tutorial: Class 5

Class five was all about adding textures. We actually added three different textures to one photo at the same time.

Textures are really fun and can add subtle, or even drastic, little changes to your pictures. Most often, they are used to add a worn look; but can also be used to add shadows, light, scuffs, tints, or speckles.

I feel that adding textures to photos again requires a certain photo. It's probably not as fun with your standard picture of a smiling little child. It's more fun with "moodier" pictures.

Here is my original:

And here is after I added my three textures:

Photoshop Elements Tutorial: Class 4

Today's class was about creating clipping masks. I agree with my friend, Wendie, this is quite similar to just adding a frame to your picture.....but in a much more complex way.

Here is the photo I started out with:

And here is my final product:

As you can see, I desaturated this photo quite a bit.....pretty much all the way, and added a vintage layer. Then I added the grunge-looking mask/clipping to the outside edges of the photo.

Photoshop Elements Tutorial: Class 3

So this class was all about creating a vintage, hand-tinted look. I really like this feature because it's basically desaturating {taking out a lot, but not all, of the color} a photo, but then adding some hand tints in all the right places. I have done this with some of my own photos, so I feel I have a firm grasp on this.

However, for this class, I picked a different picture, which was NOT the best picture to pick {which I realized when I was almost done...too late}.

So, here is my original picture:

And here is my finished product:

Here is one that I had done on my own, prior.....which I think turned out much better than the one above:

This was quite more involved than the previous two classes. I really like these options, but they are definitely for specific photos, not just any pick in your album.

Photoshop Elements Tutorial: Class 2

Class two of my http://www.jessicasprague.com/ Photoshop Elements 7 editing tutorial involved brushes. In essence, this involves creating layers {like a stamp, if you will} that will overlay your pictures.

There are thousands of brush types out there available for download {some free, some for purchase}. The class came with some samples, so that's what I used. I am definitely going to do some searching for free brushes to add to my collection.

So, here is my original photograph:

And here is what it looks like after brushing it:

It's really quite a simple change to the picture, but I can't wait to dive into some more complex brushing and see what fun things I can do with my pictures.

Photoshop Elements Tutorial: Class 1

As I mentioned, I am taking an online {free} course from http://www.jessicasprague.com/ on some basic photo editing using Photoshop Elements 7. I acquired this amazing program through one of my good friends and I am so excited to learn how to do some neat tricks. It's pretty overwhelming to dive into a program this complex, coming from a basic program I have been using {Google Picasa}.

So the first class was showing us how to use frames and word art, which are transparent files, which overlay your picture and add some jazz to your work. I didn't go take any special pictures for this class, so I just pulled some pictures I already had and got to work.

Here is my original photo:

And here is my finished product:

This might have been a better project if I had a girl, since "sassy" was the word art that was provided with the class. But that's ok - now I know how to do it and I can use different word art next time.