Digital Darkroom/Printing

Article: Photoshop Elements, batch processing, and how I got the scoop.A night of vandalism shatters my hometown's quiet sense of security, and I got the photos out there first.

How Photoshop Elements' "Process Multiple Files" feature let me scoop the local media on a local breaking news story.

Article: Clipping Paths—AdoramaTV.Digital Photography 1 on 1 (Advanced)

In this episode Mark Wallace shows you what a clipping path is, and then walks you through the process of making one using Adobe Photoshop.

Article: DxO Film Pack Version 3.1.Product Review

DxO Film Pack 3.1 is now available as a free upgrade to version 3.0. Here's why you should buy Version 3.0 and upgrade!

Article: Photo Printer Buyer’s Guide.What features to look for when equipping your digital darkroom

When it comes to photo printers, you shouldn’t just point at one in the store and decide to take it home with you. After all, you’ve spent considerable time and effort taking photos of your favorite subjects.

Article: Product Review: OnOne Perfect Layers.More power for Lightroom and Aperture users?

OnOne claims Perfect Layers lets you work in layers even if your image-editing software doesn't have this option. Is it a low-cost way to do layers, or too buggy for prime time?

Article: Curves and Levels in Photoshop.An advanced image-editing tutorial

Learn good practices for adjusting images and the advantage of working in 16 bits.

Article: Corel Painter 12 for Photographers.Taking “beyond the ordinary” to the next level

Turn your photos into paintings? Corel Painter—plus a Wacom tablet—offers endless possibilities.

Article: Smart Objects—AdoramaTV.Digital Photography 1 on 1

AdoramaTV Presents Digital Photography One on One. In this week's episode Mark answers a viewer's question about working with RAW files, specifically, how to continue editing a RAW file in Photoshop.

Article: Single-Image HDR in Photoshop Elements.The powerful Shadows/Highlights control is the closest you'll get to applying HDR to a single image.

HDR: You've heard the term, and may have even tried it. After all, who wouldn't want to extend the range of shadows to highlights within one photo, and compensate for the relatively limited range of light capture of a typical digital camera?

Article: Buying Guide: Top Photoshop Plug-ins.Enhance “jack-of-all-trades” Photoshop with these Masters of One

Adobe's Photoshop is the pre-eminent photo editor for professionals and advanced amateurs alike. In fact, it's achieved that rare status of being both a product trade name and a verb, "Photoshopped," is to photo editing what "Googled" is to web searching.

Article: After-Capture Techniques for Close-Ups.Solving problems digitally that you can't possibly solve when shooting.

One of the great boons of digital photography is that the image-making process continues after you have taken your shot.

Article: HDR Basics—AdoramaTV.Digital Photography 1 on 1

AdoramaTV Presents Digital Photography One on One. In this week's episode Mark answers a viewer's question regarding HDR photography, specifically, how to effectively create a basic high dynamic range image.

Article: Amazing multiple fireworks photos...with a little help from Photoshop.100 in 100/IV, Day 71: When the rockets stop, the magic begins

Once you know how to get the best possible fireworks shots, you can work some magic on your computer.

Article: How To Make A Cinemagraph.It's a still image...but it moves!

Cinemagraphy is a recently-developed technique that selectively causes some parts of a photograph moving. It's not quite video, it's not quite still photography, and it's uniquely oriented towards web use.

Article: Bringing Your Workflow on the Road With Lightroom.The Traveling Digital Photographer

Wherever I travel, photography is a major interest even if it’s not the primary reason. My top priority is to protect my images with backups so I won’t lose anything.

Article: Adobe Nav for Photoshop—AdoramaTV.iPad Photography App

Adorama Photography TV presents Adobe Nav for Photoshop on the iPad. Mark reviews the newest Adobe app for Photoshop on the iPad- a great link between your iOS device and Photoshop CS5.

Article: Control Depth of Field in Macro Photography.Multiple shots plus Photoshop gives you focus flexibility

I love to shoot macro, especially of flowers. As I focus on a macro subject I am always enchanted by the soft background due to the very shallow depth of field I see through the viewfinder at macro magnifications.

Article: FAQ: What's The Difference Between Dye-Based and Pigment Ink?.There used to be a significant difference. What about now?

Most inkjet printers use dye-based inks, but some photographers prefer pigment-based for a variety of reasons. Let's first talk about what each kind of ink is, and then the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Article: Getting Consistent Color from Monitor to Print – an Update.Get it right the first time

Is there a disturbing difference between what you see on your monitor and your prints? Here's how to fix it.

Article: Sharpening and printing.Look sharp...but not TOO sharp

To show maximum detail, use a glossy or semi-gloss (satin) paper. Detail not important for this image? Then choose any high-quality paper whose surface reinforces the mood you are trying to create.

Article: Print it Yourself, Or Use a Lab?.Order out, or cook it yourself?

For photographers from amateurs to hobbyists and professionals, making prints comes down to economics versus convenience, time savings vs. control, and which part of the creative process you are willing to give up, and which part you want to hang on to. Let's take a look at each option.

Article: How to make your own photo book.Keepsakes, albums, portfolios: It's easy with AdoramaPix PhotoBooks!

Many photographers dream of publishing a book of their photographs, and now, you can easily create your own book and publish it as a limited-run or one-of-a-kind book through Adorama's online photo lab, AdoramaPix.

Article: Product Review: Unibind PhotoBook Creator.Make a hardcover photo book at home

Yes, you can get it done by the pros at AdoramaPix, but if you’re a do-it-yourselfer, Unibind has a way to create your own book.

Article: Product Review: Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.A powerful digitial darkroom tool for Black and White processing and printing

Nik recently unveiled the latest version of Siver Efex, their highly-regarded black-and-white conversion software that can emulate the film look. Let's take version two for a spin.

Article: Handling Noise in the Digital Darkroom.How to reduce noise, carefully, in Photoshop, Lightroom, and beyond

Noise always increases with ISO and there is no magic bullet for it, but it is controllable with a little care.

Article: Product Review: Nik Dfine 2.0.Grain, grain, go away!

Low light, high-ISO photography has never been easier and image quality has never been better than it is today. But there’s still digital noise. Let’s take a look at Nik Dfine, a popular noise-reduction plug-in.

Article: How to Assess Your Progress Adjusting an Image .Layer Comps in Adobe Photoshop

When you work on a file in Lightroom and Photoshop, you may end up with a lot of layers. Here’s how you can quickly compare before-and-after versions with no muss or fuss.

Article: Tutorial: Creating Orbitals in Photoshop Elements 9.How to create a fun special effect in 5 easy steps

How to do you create Orbitals, a special effect that flips, twirls and transforms images into round art objects? Let’s take a closer look at this fun effect.

Article: Making an Action in Photoshop.Learn how to create an Orbital action

Do you ever tire of doing repetitive tasks in Photoshop? Let me repeat: Do you ever tire of doing repetitive tasks in Photoshop? There is a handy remedy.

Article: Product review: Flashpoint 3-in-1 Film/Print Scanner.An inexpensive way to digitize your snapshots

There are many ways to turn your treasure-trove of slides, negatives and prints into digital image files. Here’s a scanner that can do it all. For $80, can it deliver the quality you need?

Article: Getting Started in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, Part 3.Using the Develop Module and Output

This final part of my three-part tutorial on Lightroom 3 is devoted to the Develop module, where adjustments are made to images, and to the Print, Slideshow and Web modules, where images are exported to various uses.

Article: Getting Started in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, Part 2.An Overview of Lightroom

In a previous article I discussed what’s new in Lightroom 3. A complete tutorial would fill a book, but this should give you a foundation. In this article I will present a more detailed background for using Lightroom and its organizational capabilities.

Article: Post Production Workflow Part 1—AdoramaTV.Digital Photography 1 on 1

This week is the first episode in a two-part series about post production workflow. In this episode, Mark will explain how to get images from the camera to the computer. Then he will show you how to keyword, group and organize the photos in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

Article: Black and White in the Digital Darkroom.Digital B&W is more flexible than film. Here's why.

In the last few years there has been renewed interest in black and white images, partly because good desktop printers can now render beautiful neutral tones and can equal the tonal qualities and longevity of silver gelatin prints.

Article: What’s new in Adobe Lightroom 3.A guide for Lighroom 2 veterans

Adobe has updated its popular and successful Lightroom to version 3, adding many new features based on extensive feedback from users. This is an application I couldn’t live without and I am excited to see it evolve.

Article: Pixels and Printing: Size Matters.How many pixels per inch to make a good-looking print

An important factor in print quality is the number of pixels per inch (ppi) used to make the print. The more pixels per inch, the finer the detail in the print will be and the sharper it will look.

Article: Tutorial: The New Lens and Perspective Corrections in Adobe Camera Raw 6.1.Here's a great reason to upgrade to Photoshop CS5

I recently wrote a review here of Adobe Photoshop CS5. Since then Adobe announced Camera Raw 6.1, that incorporates a feature I am really excited about.

Article: Adobe Photoshop CS5 and HDRI: A Screencast .Jack Howard of the Adorama Learning Center recently presented this screencast on CS5 and HDRI.

As a promotional piece for his book, Practical HDRI, 2nd Edition, Jack recently gave this hour-long screencast presentation on the great new features for HDRI photography in Adobe Photoshop CS5.

Article: Product Review: Adobe Photoshop CS5.This version rocks! Here's why.

Adobe Photoshop CS5 is out, and it incorporates too many improvements to name, providing new power with basic adjustments for the user who wants the out-of-the-camera look, and offering some amazing new tools to the user who wants to go wherever his or her imagination leads.

Article: Retouching Portraits in Photoshop.Retouching Portraits in Photoshop

Even when you don't have control of lighting, you can still make flattering and natural portraits in Adobe Photoshop.

Article: How to make a photo book with AdoramaPix.A thorough approach

Everything you need to know to get started publishing a photo book.

Article: Tutorial: Basic HDR with Photomatix.More than a trend, it can really improve your photos

We often photograph high-contrast scenes in which a camera can’t capture the full dynamic range of the detail our eyes can see in shadows and highlights. But that's changing.

Article: Photoshop Elements 8 is brilliant in black-and-white.Take control of your tones with the simple, elegant Convert to Black and White tool

You don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on full-blown Photoshop CS if you want to make stunning black-and-white prints. Elements 8 makes black-and-white conversions a cinch.

Article: The Shadows/Highlights Adjustment in Photoshop.Stretch your image's dynamic range

Sensors are limited as to the range of light that they can capture. Is there more information in a single "flat" digital image that you can tease out in Photoshop? You betcha!

Article: User Report: onOne Software Mask Pro 4.1.Photoshop Selection and Masking Made Easy

Selecting parts of an image in Photoshop is one of the most important skills you can develop. Whether you are going to replace an area or use the selection to limit any adjustments, learning how to make clean selections is key.

Article: Product Review: X-Rite ColorMunki.Accurate and Easy Color Management

After spending money on a quality monitor and an inkjet printer, how do you know if you're getting the best color reproduction possible? If you don't edit your images on a calibrated monitor, you can't possibly guarantee accurate color.

Article: A Faux Lensbaby Effect.Faking it in Adobe Photoshop

The dramatic, unique look generated by Lensbaby lenses can be created—sort of—with Photoshop. Here's how to do it.

Article: B&W Solarization in Photoshop Elements.Groovy "old school" darkroom effect goes digital

"Oooh, you know how to solarize?" In the early 70s, my friends were impressed that not only had I mastered solarization—the special effect that transforms photos into wild, other-worldly images by combining positive and negative renderings on the same photo--by the tender age of 13

Article: Don’t overdo Photoshop!.What’s a sure way to kill a photograph? Going wild with Photoshop “fixes”

Hello. My name is Derek and I’ve been a Photoshopaholic since…

Article: 3D Photography Grows Up.Get out your red-cyan glasses: We show you how to create 3D images in Adobe Photoshop

Remember reading comic books or going to the movies and donning those odd-looking cardboard eyeglasses with translucent red over one eye and cyan over the other so you could see the images in eye-popping stereo? You can create Anaglyph 3-D photos digitally!

Article: Wiggle 3D: How To Make Animated 3D Images.Play with your brain’s depth perception using animated GIFs

Put a funky new spin on stereoscopic digital photography, and have a ball with Wiggle 3D.

Article: Which digital printer is best for you?.Print your photos to share or display

Do you bring your printer everywhere and share your photos, or do you need a reliable workhorse for your studio or home? Here’s an overview of the five key printer printer categories, and one or two representative models.

Article: How to get vivid reds with good detail in your digital photos.Photoshop Tutorial: Reds that rock

Learn to tame a problem that plagues color in digital images. Get fine-detailed, vivid, saturated reds, oranges, and yellows by following these Adobe Photoshop tips and tricks.

Article: How to fake a glass polarizer filter effect digitally.Create a Fauxlarizer in Photoshop or Lightroom

It won't reduce reflections, but you can deepen blue skies--just like a polarizer does--in your favorite image editing program.

Article: Offbeat paper surfaces for your home photo book.Three surfaces for your inkjet printer

Here are three photo-quality inkjet paper surfaces that you can only print for your photo book at home.

Article: Digital Polarizer, Part III: Make Clouds Pop.Emphasize the clouds in the sky

Make those puffy little clouds pop off the printed page with this simple Photoshop technique

Article: A Digital Polarizer.You can fake the effect of a glass polarizer

It won't reduce reflections, but you can deepen blue skies--just like a polarizer does--in your favorite image editing program.

Article: Product review: Datacolor SpyderCube .Color balance without the guesswork

Today, we transform a drab oudoor still life with a slight color shift into a bright, neutral, tasty treat. Let's compare apples to apples...

Article: Product Spotlight: Tiffen DFX.Virtual filters

You can dump your glass filters (well, some of them) and use Tiffen's virtual filter plug-in software after the fact.

Article: Product Spotlight: Auto FX Photo/Graphic Edges 6.Add borders to your images

Meet a program that puts your photographs in virtual frames and surrounds them with edgy borders.

Article: Product Spotlight: Nik DFine 2.0.Tell your digital grain to shut up

Digital noise is a problem for photographers, especially if you're shooting in low light at high ISO settings. The problem is even more pronounced when using a compact camera.

Article: Product Spotlight: Alien Skin Bokeh.Aperture-widening software

Do defocus control after the fact!

Article: Plug-In Of The Day: DxO Film Pack.Make your digital images think they're film!

Do you miss the deep colors of Kodachrome? Wish your digital black-and-whites had the dramatic grittiness of Tri-X? This Photoshop plug-in makes it happen.

Article: Setting up a New Version of Photoshop.Optimize your preferences and settings

Here's how to make sure the transition from one version of Photoshop to another goes smoothly.

Article: Simulating Shallow Depth of Field and Sharpening.How to use Adobe Photoshop's High Pass for selective focus

A rose I had planted recently bloomed for the first time and I was struck by the beauty of one of the buds. I wanted to shoot a shallow depth of field image with only the center of the bud sharp.

Article: Tonemapping your 32-bit File.HDRI under the hood

True 32-bit High Dynamic Range Images have too much information to be accurately displayed on traditional computer monitors, so it is necessary to downsample or "develop" the 32-bit information into 8- or 16-bit space—just like a traditional digital photo.

Article: Making a 32-bit High Dynamic Range Image.Demystifying HDRI

Each series of bracketed source images needs to be combined into a single 32-bit High Dynamic Range Image. This 32-bit image can contain much more information than any 8- or 16-bit file type.

Article: Tripods are the HDRI Photographer's Friend.For better dynamic range, you need a steady friend

In the field, High Dynamic Range Photography begins with a series of images of the same scene captured at different exposures. A tripod helps to ensure that the multiple source images are aligned properly.

Article: Activate the camera-Photoshop partnership.Think like your digital camera. What does that mean? Read on!

Photographers from the darkroom ages learned to take pictures in a way to facilitate further improvements in the darkroom. They would "expose for shadows and develop for highlights."

Article: Adobe Photoshop CS4 User Report.Diane Miller puts the latest version through its paces

Read this before you buy.

Article: It's an imperfect world. Accept it.A cure for Photoshop addiction? Letting go

Organic and natural. Foods that grow without the artificial interference of inorganic chemicals. That's the trend in food. The reason? Because natural is, well, natural. Therefore, it must be wholesome and healthful. It's what nature has given us for thousands of years.

Article: Sharpen to show--not to kill.Finding a realistic middle ground, by the numbers

Sharpening photos is easy to overdo—especially for web display. Oversharpened photos seem filled with razor-sharped edges and internal details that look as prickly as a bed of nails. And tiny halos appear on contrasty edges. An oversharpened photo looks unnatural.

Article: Should grandma's face be as smooth as a baby's?.Cure Photoshop addiction!

Today, we wrestle with the question: Is it OK to retouch wrinkles or should you leave them alone? Imagine making Grandma look like a Hollywood starlet. Don't you think there's something wrong with that?

Article: Cornering Curves and leveling Levels.Curing a common Photoshop addiction

Curves and Levels are the perhaps the most basic Photoshop adjustments because they address image fundamentals: brightness, contrast, and color.

Article: Too much color saturation? Not a good thing..Don't be a super soaker saturater

Congress should pass legislation against those who super saturate. Photoshop's saturation control is like the volume control for color, and pictures are being pumped up like everybody is deaf.

Article: User report: $60 Flashpoint 35mm Film and Slide Scanner.Didja hear the one about the $60 film scanner?

Chances are you have a big pile of slides and negatives sitting in a shoebox (or, hopefully, in an archival storage container), forlornly ignored as the digital age has grabbed you by the eyeballs. Wouldn't it be nice to get those images digitized so you could play with them in Photoshop?

Article: Selenium Prints in Photoshop Elements.Emulate an alternative print process

To prolong print life, darkroom technicians often toned their prints in Selenium, which preserved the prints. As an extra benefit, Selenium prints had a distinctive warm-golden tone overall plus rich, full blacks that enhanced the look of the print.

Article: Color Solarization in Photoshop Elements.A groovy "Old School" darkroom special effect

One of the reasons I loved my black-and-white darkroom as a kid was that it was fairly easy to set up and use.

Article: Bas Relief in Photoshop Elements.An old-school darkroom special effect technique, digitized up

Bas Relief (pronounced bar relief) is one of those funky, esoteric darkroom techniques that I rarely used because, frankly, it was too much of a bother.

Article: High-Contrast B&W in Photoshop Elements.Hw to create a groovy "Old School" darkroom special effect without smelling like fixer.

I loved high-contrast printing using Agfa #6 high-contrast paper. This legendary paper’s characteristics were that it produced practically no midtones. It reduced images to blacks and whites and little else.

Article: Product Review: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.Is it good enough to replace full Photoshop?

Find out what all the fuss is about.

Article: Color Print Film processing: Mailers vs. Big Boxes.Where will you get your developing done if most mom-and-pop 1-hour labs are gone?

With a handful of big-city exceptions, the mom-and-pop 1-hour film processing lab is dead.

Article: Lift the Fog Off Your Photos.Using Adobe Photoshop's Black and White Point Adjustments

In the past I've said a black and white point adjustment is the first thing that should be done with most images. I’ll show you how to do it here.

Article: When to use sheets, rolls, or both.Roll playing, or sheet music?

The decision to purchase papers, canvas, or other substrates as sheets or rolls can bea difficult one because each has its advantages and disadvantages.

Article: Which Working Space Profiles Work Best?.A guide to embedded profiles

One of the most common questions asked by photographers is, “Which working space profile should I choose when converting RAW files, when scanning, or whensetting up my digital camera?”

Article: Calibrating vs. profiling.Get it right the first time

Calibrating a device, such as a monitor or printer, is different from profiling a device. Here’s how they’re different.

Article: What's an aspect ratio?.Why some print sizes cut off parts of your picture

Aspect ratio is the numerical relationship between the height of the image and its width, and is usually expressed with two numbers.

Article: Offbeat inkjet surfaces.A quick guide to unusual paper

Most photographic-quality prints to come out of an inkjet printer are on glossy, fairly thick paper that mimics the look and feel of prints that come from a pro lab.

Article: Matrix Panoramas.Panoramic stitching taken to a new level

Have you have ever climbed a mountain and thought, “wow I’ve got to take a picture of this” but you noticed your camera’s field of view is way too small to capture the entire view?

Article: Look sharp with Unsharp Mask.Unblur your photos

"What is Unsharp Mask, and how do you use it to sharpen pictures?" is a question that we get often from readers. This tip provides the answer.

Article: How to work with Adjustment Layers.A look at Photoshop Layers, Part II

Layers is one of the most powerful features of Photoshop and I use them in every image. Here's one reason why.

Article: Scan Black And White In Color.Digitize film thoughtfully

There are two big myths about making great scans: The first is that the process is so difficult that it’s beyond the capabilities of the average person. The second is that it is really easy to make a great scan.

Article: Make a fake lake.Faux fun in Photoshop

One way to increase an image’s drama is to add environmental elements such as water.

Article: Digital infrared...in color?.Can you really fake color infrared digitally? Do you really have a choice any more?

Kodak Professional High Speed Infrared (HIE) film was a high-speed color slide film with moderately high contrast and was sensitive to light and radiant energy to 900 nanometers (nm) in wavelength. But it's gone now.

Article: Faux Infrared in Photoshop.Give conventional images the infrared look

Here’s a few tips, tricks and techniques that will let you convert conventional images into faux infrared photographs using various software tools.

Article: Proofing and reviewing prints.How to make sure it's picture-perfect

When making a proof print, I often use 5 x 7 paper to save costs and time.

Article: Fine-tune images in Photoshop.Prepare to print!

You’ve made major changes to your RAW image file; now it’s time to open it in Photoshop CS or Elements and fine-tune it.

Article: Adjust in RAW.Preparing for a picture-perfect print

You've chosen your image. Now it will need to be adjusted for the best possible print.

Article: Tell your noisy images to shut up.Software grain-reduction strategies

No single noise reduction program or Adobe Photoshop-compatible plug-in is a perfect solution and while you may try hard, you may never achieve digital noise nirvana. But here's the good news...

Article: Photoshop Layers: Beyond the Basics, Part I.Everything you need to know to start mastering pixel layers

One of the most popular Photoshop features, explained