More about storyboards: intersecting shapes

They say that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so David, here's your new tutorial :)

David would like to know about creating storyboard designs using intersecting shapes.  Here's the layout I'll demonstrate for this article:

It's very easy.  It just requires a bit of planning (as usual) and careful utilisation of these important little buttons:

(Note: If you're new to storyboards design, this article is not the right place to start.  First, you must read this tutorial, then this one.)

The Camera Calibration tab in ACR

If you own an X-Rite ColorChecker Passport, or a similar tool, you can create your own custom colour profile for your camera's Raw files.  I'm not a photographer, so I've never done this (nor would I even if I was, probably), so I can't discuss that.

But what I can discuss is the range of canned profiles that come with Adobe Camera Raw.  You find them in the "Camera Calibration" tab.

In Elements, it looks like this:

What is XMP data all about?

XMP data is the data that Adobe software (ACR and LR) creates to store the editing that you do to a Raw file.  The truth is, we really don't need to think about XMP data at all - it just does its thing in the background, and we get on with our lives.  But it confuses some people, especially when they see those little XMP files in their folders, so let me explain a bit more.

It's very important to understand that Raw files themselves are absolutely, impenetrably, rock-solidly, unchangeable.  You can't modify a raw file, no matter what you try.  The ones and zeros of Raw data that come out of your camera will never be altered.

So, when you're editing a Raw file, you're not actually changing the file itself.  Rather, you're making cosmetic changes to its appearance - much the same as dressing yourself.  You might be dressing in work clothes, or casual clothes, or gardening clothes; but underneath, your body is the same.  Your external appearance is being modified by your garments, that's all.

So it is with Raw files.  You might "dress" a Raw file with a warmer white balance, or reduced exposure, or whatever.  But underneath, it's still exactly the same Raw data, and therefore it's as easy as pie to "undress" it again later if you wish to start your editing all over (more about this later).

To DNG, or not to DNG

People sometimes ask me "Should I convert my Raw files to the DNG format?"  I honestly don't know.

Well, let's clarify - some people have no choice.  If their Adobe software is older than their camera, then the only way they can open their Raw files is to convert them.  No ambiguity there.  (More info)

But lots of other people have Photoshop or Lightroom as new or newer than their camera, so they can open their NEFs, or CR2s, or ORFs, etc, just fine.  For those people, conversion to DNG becomes a matter of choice.

Plenty of people much smarter than me recommend DNG conversion.  It's the generic raw format, and it's meant to be "future-proof", so that you'll be able to open and edit your files forever, regardless of software evolutions over the coming years.  Please don't ask me for an opinion about that, because I don't have one, nor enough knowledge to form one.

Other people convert to DNG because the files are slightly smaller, and the disk space saving is worth it.  That sounds sensible.

But despite all of that, I don't convert to DNG format.  Why?  Because I love XMP files!

View your filename extensions, Windows peeps!

Occasionally - well, surprisingly frequently, actually - somebody will come to me with laments like this:

"I saved my photo, and now I can't re-open it!"

"My image files have no thumbnails!"

etc.

If the person is a Windows user, the reason for the problems is often that the file has been saved without the filename extension - ".jpg" or ".psd" or whatever.

Windows need filename extensions.  If it doesn't see the "dot-something" after the name, it has no idea what program to associate it with; and therefore can't preview it, or open it.  I'm not sure what causes files to be saved without their extensions.  It just seems to happen sometimes.  Very annoying.

What's more annoying is that Windows, by default, hides all filename extensions.  I wish I knew which genius at Microsoft decided this was a good idea, because I'd like to punch him in the nose.  When all extensions are hidden, you can't see at a glance if any filenames don't have an extension at all.

So, I urge you to follow these steps and make your filename extensions visible.

Painting on some skin

This is one of those tutorials that I'm writing in the hope that you'll never have to use it.

Sometimes, things don't quite go right, do they?  I'm talking about some very bright light hitting the skin of your subject, or some accidental overexposure, causing complete blowout in one or more areas.

Here is one such image that I was able to (at least partially) rescue from the brink of catastrophic blowout.  I know it's not perfect, but at least it's better than nothing.  The method I'm about to show you is not a miracle cure, by any means.  But it's a way of subtly adding some fake skin colour where none exists.

Obviously, you should be shooting Raw, which allows some latitude to rescue difficult lighting.  But even Raw is not infallible, as you can see in this gorgeous example image, kindly provided by Terri:

There was some bright light hitting Mum's fingers which caused a loss of detail which wasn't quite recoverable even in Raw.  So Terri needs to add a little bit of colour there, to prevent the viewer's eye being drawn to that area, instead of the beautiful child.

So, here's how to go about it.  (By the way, this method will work in both Photoshop and Elements.)

Easy, funky, crazy clipping masks

I'm prompted to write this short post by a great question from David on the Ask Damien page.

"How would you go about making a storyboard with some 'effect' to its edge?"

This question follows my posts about storyboards and clipping masks (here and here).  If you don't know how to make storyboards and collages and things, I encourage you to read those tutorials.

Ok, David, let's have some fun.  This is the easiest way I know to do this, and I hope you love it.

Creating, saving and using a watermark (PS & PSE)

Putting a watermark on your photos is important if they're going online.  In this tutorial I'm going to give you some simple guidance for making and using your own.

(I've captured this tutorial in Elements 9, and it's relevant to all versions of Photoshop and Elements.  Please also note that I have zero design skills, so please don't laugh at my feeble watermark!)

PART ONE: PLAN IT

As always, a bit of forethought goes a long way.  Take a little time to conceive your design.  This might involve surfing the web to look at other people's watermarks for inspiration; or it might just mean scribbling some ideas with pencil and paper.

PART TWO: MAKE IT

I've always found it's best to actually make your watermark on a photo.  This might seem plainly logical to some of you, but I'm a bit surprised at the number of people who design their watermark on a plain white background, and don't really know how it looks on a photo until they try it out afterwards.

Also, it's a darn good idea to make the watermark bigger than you'll ever need it. Therefore, I make mine on full-res photos, even though I'm only likely to use it on a low-res one.

Pick any old photo, really.  I've chosen this one of a snoozy koala:

The light around your computer

Be careful not to underestimate the influence of the ambient light while you're editing your photos.

I've seen many people comment that when they edit photos at night, then look at them during the daytime (or vice versa) they look markedly different.

Of course, when you edit some photos (especially if you're tired), then look at them again a few hours or days later, you're always going to notice some things you'd like to do differently or better.  That's human nature, I guess, and in a way it's a good thing - while you're perpetually critical of your own work, you'll keep striving for improvement.  And as long as you do all your Photoshop editing with layers, it should be very easy to make whatever adjustments you need.

But I'm not here to pester you about layers again.  I want to discuss light.  The light that's around you while you're doing your post-processing.

A Pinterest idea

I've been thinking ...

I know a lot of my readers sometimes struggle with skintones, because you feel uncertain about what looks good and what doesn't. Sometimes when someone shows you how it should look, it gives you some clarity of mind, and you can continue editing with more direction and confidence.

I also know a lot of you are on Pinterest. So, here's what I'm thinking. I think you should create a board called "Skintones I love". And whenever you're cruising around, checking out other photographers' blogs, or whatever, and see a photo with skintones that take your breath away, pin it!

Then, when you're doing your own editing, and feeling a bit uncertain about "is this too yellow?" or whatever, just browse your board. Immerse yourself in great skintones for a few moments, then re-visit your own photo with fresh perspective.