Adding a scanned signature to a photo

This method will already be well known to a lot of you, but I hope it might be a little "a-ha!" moment to some.  I've done this in CS2, but it's exactly the same in all version of Photoshop and Elements.

The idea of placing your own genuine signature on your photos might seem great, but the prospect of cutting out around your scrawl to achieve a transparent background is too daunting, right?  Well, luckily you don't have to.

With a black pen (another dark colour should work too), sign a piece of white paper, then scan it.  (If you don't have a scanner handy, take a good sharp photo of it.)  Use a nice high resolution (at least 600ppi), to allow plenty of flexibility to use it at a large size if you want to.

More cleverness (?!)

After resisting it for a long time, I've finally been convinced to make a Facebook page:

Damien Symonds: Retouching and Photoshop Training

I now realise that this is a wise move, not least of all because my whole biz is gravitating towards Facebook anyway; plus I can use that page to keep everyone informed about my classes and stuff, and return this blog to its original purpose - tutorials and other post-processing-related ramblings.

So I promise this will be the last self-promoting blog post for a while.  I've got a list of ideas for tutes and articles I'm going to write over the coming weeks.  Stick around!

See you on Facebook :)


Edited to add:  Don't forget my "Ask Damien" page, where you can pick my brains about anything Photoshop-related.

Trying to be clever

At the suggestion of some of my Facebook friends, I've added a Grab Button to my blog.  You'll find it on the right-hand side if you scroll down a little.

I would be very grateful if anybody cared to add it to their page.  I've never done this before, so please let me know if it doesn't work!

Comparing Curves and Levels

To a degree, choosing Curves or Levels to make your tonal adjustments in Photoshop is much like choosing Coke or Pepsi to quench your thirst - it's a matter of taste. (Although neither Curves nor Levels go well with rum!)

Needless to say, Levels and Curves are the "heavyweights" of Photoshop - if you really want to be able to edit your photos, you need to be able to use one of them. They have some similarities, and some differences, and I'm going to discuss those briefly here.

I'll begin by saying that Elements users don't get this choice. Yes, there's a primitive Curves function buried in the Enhance menu in Elements, but the control it gives you is minimal, and more importantly, it's not available as an adjustment layer. Any functions that aren't available as adjustment layers should be avoided where possible, because they can't be re-adjusted, and they can't be masked. Elements peeps, you need to embrace Levels, and in some cases, Brightness/Contrast. Both of those are available via the little half-black-half-white circle icon in your Layers palette.

Ok, back to Curves vs Levels ...

Doors close, doors open

Dear readers,

Many of you found my blog via the ClickinMoms forum; and in fact, it was the encouragement of the CMs which prompted me to start this blog in the first place.  I enjoyed a few wonderful months on the forum, first as a regular member, and then as a vendor.

Sadly, that relationship ended on the weekend.  While I'm disappointed, it didn't come as a complete shock - I am well aware that I can be abrasive at times, and it seemed likely that my personality would be my downfall eventually.

I don't regret a moment of it, though.  I forged wonderful friendships there, and I know I helped a lot of people along the way.  And my vendorship was very rewarding - I was able to train lots of people and improve their post-processing skillz.  (Yes, with a "z" :D )

CMs, I love you!  You are all great fun, and I don't want to lose touch with anybody.  You know you can always pick my brain at my Ask Damien Facebook page, and if you can tolerate about my inane ramblings about my stay-at-home-dad life, add me as a friend :)

The new Raw Class is live!

Thank you to my patient (and hen-pecked) testers!  They gave me much helpful feedback over the last couple of weeks, and now I've launched for real.

The "Clean Processing in Raw" class

It's loaded with important information about Raw files and how to edit them for the cleanest, bestest results you've ever had.

If you haven't done so already, you can read the first module for free here.

Get more info and sign up here.

If you find yourself "guessing" a bit with your Raw workflow, I promise this class will change your life.