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marcel@myphotographica.com

Freebie Friday / Free Editing Software

 

Joy-Marcel-Walker-My-Photographica

Capture your life.

Three  simple words. Such power they offer. I know working with camera equipment and software  can be so overwhelming, but JUST take the plunge and START! Sometimes we think it’s easier not to start at all rather than bungle through and try to learn as we go. Investing time in your camera and software will be the BEST investment you will ever make. Everybody has a story to tell. This is your life, your happiness, your insanity, DOCUMENT it!

So start…just start shooting…start playing with your editing software. “Oh…” I hear from people, “I don’t have any editing software.”  Well let me tell you where to get some….for free…I’m a huge Adobe fan, a recommend Adobe Elements and Photoshop over anything else, but times are such that many of us don’t have the extra dollars we used to have so here’s a few of my favorite freebies.

Here are my top three favorite free editing software programs.

1. GIMP - Oh, how I love this program. This is the program that I started with. I’m technically somewhat retarded, so If I can do it, you can. But this is not for the faint of heart. It offers much of what Adobe Photoshop offers. However, it is free so there are issues that go along with it. BUT, for those who say, “I have Elements but would love to upgrade to the full Photoshop because of …..” Usually it’s only one feature they are looking for, well save yourselves the bucks and use GIMP instead. http://www.gimp.org/

2.Photos Pos Pro- Ok, this a program that can take you a long way in your learning process. Kick Picasa in the trash folks. One of the best features is the help tutorials that are available. Not only can you do photo editing but you can also do greeting cards, web designs, web buttons, all very simply. http://www.photopos.com

3.Photoscape- RAW, batch processing, curves and all so easy to use.  This program offers so many more features. It is easy to use, the icons and directions are simple and easy to follow with great results. http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/index.php

And here’s a new program that I’m just itching to try, Image Exchange. I’ll give it a review after I give it a review. http://imageexchange.picscout.com/

Best of luck and happy shooting! (why does that sound so bad…) Happy Picture Taking!

January 15th, 2010 | Category: Freebies | Leave a comment

Feature Action and Freebie Friday / Actions for Elements and Photoshop

Holy Crudola! I love this action! This action is Honey Daze and it’s available in my Classic Action Pack or in the Whole Combo Action Pack in the store. 

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 Holy Buddha! This makes me want to go create more actions!  And that brings me to my great topic of the day, Freebie Friday. Right, now there are two free actions available in the store and today…I’m adding a third, Size for Web and Border! If you are a blogger this action is a must have. It will size your actions to a max width of 400 px and add a thin border.  So with one click, your image will end up just like this.

Size-for-Web-and-Border-My-Photographica-Marcel-Walker

The border is a semi-transparent black so that it will go with any type of shot. You can find this action, along with other freebies and actions to purchase here..

The advantages to using actions is speed and you can use actions when you batch process (lots of images at once). But you don’t need an action to do this. You can do it yourself by going to the top left of Photoshop and do the following:
1. Image > Image Size > and type in the size you would like it to be. Make sure you have pixels selected and that the boxes at the bottom left are checked (scales styles and constrain proportions).
Next to add a border:
2. Layer>Duplicate Layer
Next go to your layers palette. If you can’t see the layers palette go to the top of Photoshop and look for the Window. Click on Layers to make it visible. It should look like this:
3. Next click on the FX and scroll down to Stroke.
4. Type in your desired pixel width and color. The position must be marked “inside” for it to be visible.
5. Last, on the duplicate layer change the opacity. In this case, the opacity is 50%.

Image Size and Stroke Tutorial - My Photographica

Good luck and Happy Photoshop Editing!

January 8th, 2010 | Tags: | Category: Actions, Freebies, photoshop tutorial | Leave a comment

Free Soft Focus Action for Elements and Photoshop

 

my-photographica-actions-for-elements-and-photoshop-marcel-walker-_MG_0402

This is Auntie Spiffy. Or at least that’s what kids have always always called her. She’s my hubby’s baby sister. Isn’t she beautiful? She is single and well qualified applicants may inquire.

Today I’ve got a lovely little freebie, it’s a nice soft focus action with a layer that allows you to erase through to keep your eyes sharp. So in the shot above, I ran it just once to soften the skin and hair. You can run the action again to get a more ethereal feel (remember to flatten your image before running tha action again). I do only leave my freebies up for a limited time so grab it while you can!

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Congratulations to Dana Ohlsen for winning our Hot Shot Challenge. The theme was gratitude and she did alovely job conveying that concept. A nice action pack for you chicka!

And it’s because of Dana (ALL RESPONSIBILITY ON HER) that I’m going to be doing a Shot Out Boot Camp December 28 in Salt Lake City. One full day of  in class instruction and hands opportunities to develop your skills, shooting and editing. Models will be provided with a catered lunch. It will be fast paced, no hand holding, push yourself till you drop, and the chance for you to take your photography to a new level. It will be everything I wish I had known when I was starting off. Participants will need to be know how to work their camera in manual and bring a laptop with CS3 or CS4 (free trial download available). Class size will be limited! More information soon!

December 4th, 2009 | Tags: | Category: Actions, Freebies, Uncategorized | 11 comments

Freebie Friday / Cemetery Texture

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This is the finished product with this texture added. From Monday and Wednesday posts you can see how a picture evolves and develops.Cemetery Texture

 
You can click here or go to the store to get your free downlaod of this texture.

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November 20th, 2009 | Tags: | Category: Actions, Freebies | One comment