Workflow: Freelance» Editor in Chief

Cutting-Edge Conference for Print and Digital Publishing

Editor in Chief — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:25:20 +0000

The lengthy session list at the 2012 PEPCON print and ePublishing conference could be boiled down into one sentence: Attend this event or fall behind.

Seriously, just look at these session titles (which are only a sampling of the full list):

• InDesign to iPad and Android Apps
• Making Your Folio Come Alive: Embedding HTML and RSS
• XML for Print and Digital Publishing
• Stay on the Cutting Edge: Five Tools to Learn Now

Create Picture Frames in Photoshop: Part 2

Editor in Chief — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:19:56 +0000

In Part 1 of this tutorial, I showed you how to turn a plain gray box into a realistic-looking photo frame in silver, gold, or wood. You also learned how to place a photo into the frame and play with perspective so that the framed image looks like it's skewed to the right or the left.

Create Picture Frames in Photoshop: Part 1

Editor in Chief — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:01:09 +0000

Recently, Reader's Digest magazine asked me to design a photorealistic picture frame into which they could drop a different photograph every month. It occurred to me that, using Photoshop's Smart Objects and an Action to drive the process, it would be possible to create a variety of frames from two different angles, and have them all generated automatically simply by dragging the image onto a Droplet.

Best of the Blogs: Old School and New Skills

Editor in Chief — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:23:31 +0000

Typography

Take a Peek at Photoshop’s Near Future

Editor in Chief — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Photoshop's senior product manager, Bryan O'Neil Hughes, gives you a glimpse into Photoshop CS6. Although Adobe hasn't officially announced when CS6 will be released, the fact that this sneak peek is out in the wild makes me think it won't be, say, 2013!

Using a photo he shot with his mobile phone, Bryan demonstrates some of the new power and finesse in Camera Raw, the raw processing engine behind Photoshop CS6 and Lightroom 4 (now in beta).

Exposure 4 from Alien Skin Is Faster, Easier

Editor in Chief — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:54:14 +0000

When CreativePro.com senior editor Ben Long reviewed version 3 of Alien Skin's Exposure software, he gave it a score of 90 out of 100, praising version 3 for its speed, presets, and unique tools.

Now Alien Skin has announced Exposure 4, saying that it's even faster and has even more presets. It also has a completely new user interface, which company founder Jeff Butterworth says makes the app much easier to use.

Get Rid of Red Eye

Editor in Chief — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:29:36 +0000

Over the years, many people have written tutorials on fixing red eye in photos; in fact, CreativePro.com has published several! The various techniques have involved channels, brushes, sponges, selective color, and more. But did you know that since Photoshop CS2, there's been a dedicated Red Eye tool? It's hiding under the Spot Healing Brush on your toolbar.

In the very short video below, I'll show you how easy it is to select the tool, then click and drag around an eye to remove any red.

Create iPhone Cinemagraphs

Editor in Chief — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:22:25 +0000

Animated GIFs, once sneered at as being too 1990s, have staged a comeback in the last few years and been rechristened as "cinemagraphs". But cinemagraphs aren't just any animation; they're a series of still photos that, joined together into a GIF, can look like a very short movie clip. And usually, the smoother the movement, the more effective the cinemagraph, although it can depend on the subject matter.

Corel’s AfterShot Pro Seeks to Lure Lightroom and Aperture Users

Editor in Chief — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:13:57 +0000

Bibble was a software program from Bibble Labs that helped you manage and improve digital photos. Corel bought Bibble Labs last year, and now Corel has released a program based on Bibble's underpinnings. The reborn app is called AfterShot Pro.

Bibble was always praised for its speed, and Corel claims that AfterShot Pro inherits that outstanding performance as you walk through all parts of a photo-processing workflow because the app is multithreaded and optimized for multi-core and multi-CPU computers.

What You’ll Find in Lightroom 4

Editor in Chief — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:39:03 +0000

Photographers, take note! You can try out a major update to Adobe's Lightroom software for free. Just download the Lightroom 4 beta from the Labs area of adobe.com.

Because this is an early beta, don't use it for production work. In fact, Adobe recommends that you limit your use to duplicates of files. In addition, Develop settings applied in the Lightroom 4 beta may not transfer to the final version of Lightroom 4.

Align and Space Objects with InDesign’s Smart Guides

Editor in Chief — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:16:21 +0000

As you drag to create or move objects on an InDesign page, you may have noticed lines, arrows, and other indicators appearing and disappearing. These are Smart Guides and other elements that can help you work more precisely. If you haven’t yet used Smart Guides, the following tips will introduce you to easy alignment and spacing that will result in better-looking pages.

Smart Guides for the Page and Column Centers

Easy HDR Photo Software Debuts

Editor in Chief — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:38:43 +0000

Oloneo has released a new application, called HDRengine, for an introductory price of $59. This software is designed to make creating high-dynamic-range photos quick and easy.

Oloneo says that HDRengine give you "full control over light and exposure in real-time, as if you were still behind the lens". All of your edits are non-destructive and performed at full resolution.

Adobe Issues Updates to Lightroom and Camera Raw

Editor in Chief — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:18:46 +0000

If you use Adobe's Lightroom or the Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in, you'll want to grab the free updates to versions 3.6 and 6.6, respectively. There are a few bug fixes, plus support for nine new cameras, including Canon Powershot S100 and Fuji FinePix X10.

The direct download links are below.

Lightroom 3.6 update for Mac

Try CameraBag 2 Photo Editor for Free

Editor in Chief — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:10:22 +0000

CameraBag began life several years ago as an iPhone app. This image editor let you easily add filters to photos shot with your mobile phone. It's still available for the iPhone, but the software makers, Nevercenter, also branched out into a version that runs on Macs and PCs.

Game Gives You Chance to Win Photoshop and Much More

Editor in Chief — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:14:34 +0000

LevelUp is a game from Adobe that you play within Photoshop. The goal is to walk through a series of image-editing tasks and rack up points as you complete each task. For every 400 points you earn, you automatically get one entry into a monthly drawing for the Creative Suite 5.5 Master Collection. This game is definitely worth trying, since the collection retails for $2,599 and earning points is easy. My first 400 took just a few minutes, and I'm no Photoshop expert.

Knock 33% Off Updated Image Processing Program

Editor in Chief — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:33:53 +0000

DxO Labs says that its newly updated DxO Optics Pro 7, which runs on both the Mac and Windows, gives photographers even more capable image-processing power. A redesigned interface simplifies the workflow. The software automatically corrects optical defects and improves exposure and color. It can both sharpen images and reduce noise. It includes a RAW converter and recognizes files from hundreds of camera models. You can also use DxO Optics Pro 7 on JPG files.

Better InDesign Automation with Output Factory

Editor in Chief — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:47:01 +0000

You can now try out the public beta of Output Factory 1.0 from Zevrix Solutions. Output Factory is designed to work with InDesign to facilitate automatic printing, exporting, and post-processing. The Mac-only app works with InDesign versions CS3 through CS5.5.

Output Factory also interacts with the Acrobat Pro preflight engine, provides file delivery capabilities, and integrates fully with the Finder. You can keep working with other programs while Output Factory processes InDesign files in the background.

Photoshop How-To: Fill a Face Full of Words

Editor in Chief — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:29:48 +0000

Excerpted from Deke's Techniques on lynda.com.

Words communicate ideas. So can photos. Combine the two and you have not just an image that's worth a thousand words, but an image that is a thousand words.

How Well Do You Know Photoshop?

Editor in Chief — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:09:05 +0000

A few months ago, I wrote an article called "So You Think You Know Photoshop?" that introduced you to five videos from Photoshop product manager Bryan O'Neil Hughes. Each of these videos revealed little-known abilities in Photoshop CS5.

Now Bryan has released four more "hidden gem" videos. Spend the few minutes it takes to watch them and you'll probably learn something new.

Selective Sharpening

Best of the Blogs: November 4, 2011

Editor in Chief — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:18:39 +0000

Typography

Enlarge Images with Alien Skin’s Blow Up 3

Editor in Chief — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 08:08:37 +0000

If you regularly need to enlarge photographs a lot with little -- if any -- quality degradation, Alien Skin Software's Blow Up program is worth a look. This $199 plug-in for Photoshop (and now Lightroom, too) recently updated to version 3.

Alien Skin says that a redesigned user interface, which includes standard size presets, makes Blow Up 3 easier to use. While that's all fine and good, what's most important in an app of this type is image clarity. Alien Skin says that's improved in version 3, as well.

Turn a Red Car to Gold in Photoshop

Editor in Chief — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:15:26 +0000

Excerpted from Deke's Techniques on lynda.com.

New Version of PDF to IDML Tool Announced

Editor in Chief — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 08:37:47 +0000

Recosoft announced that they will release the third iteration of the Enterprise version of PDF2ID. As the software's name suggests, it converts PDF files into InDesign documents.

PDF2ID Enterprise v3, which will be available for Windows and the Mac next month, is designed to automatically convert large numbers of PDFs at once. The conversion can be triggered by placing one or many PDFs into folders you've told PDF2ID to keep an eye on. If you like, the app can alert you with a notification after conversion occurs.

Large Collection of Unlimited Photoshop Actions

Editor in Chief — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 08:41:09 +0000

Over on the Deviant Art website, Julia Starr is giving away scores of Photoshop actions she's created. You can apply any of these actions to a photo and instantly change its mood.

While some people who distribute their actions for free limit use to personal projects only or require that you include creator credit, Starr gives you carte blanche to use the actions in commercial artwork as well as your personal projects, and she doesn't ask that you credit her.

Worry-Free Folding for Complex Print Projects

Editor in Chief — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:21:53 +0000

Use a fancy fold in a print project and you have a better chance of getting your audience's attention. That's easy to understand. But go any further down the folding path and things can get difficult. Did you know there are 23 kinds of accordion folds alone? There's broadside accordion, reverse accordion, wrapped accordion, top-folding accordion with fold-in... And each one of these and many other types of folds require precise page specifications to succeed.

InDesign How-To: Print Colors Correctly

Editor in Chief — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 09:20:58 +0000

Billions of years ago, when dinosaurs ruled the earth, print production managers checked documents with something called "progressive proofs" or "color proofs". These printed pieces of paper showed how each process color (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) would print alone and in combination with the other colors. They were output as follows:

• The magenta plate alone
• The yellow plate alone
• A mixture of the yellow plate combined with the magenta plate
• The cyan plate alone
• A mixture of the cyan plate with the yellow and magenta plates

Convert Microsoft Publisher Documents to InDesign

Editor in Chief — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 08:17:54 +0000

The name of Markzware's PUB2ID software stands for "Microsoft Publisher to Adobe InDesign". Version 5.5 of PUB2ID is now available and costs $199 as a full, standalone product.

Upgrade to Portrait Retouching App

Editor in Chief — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 08:32:35 +0000

AKVIS MakeUp is a standalone application and a Photoshop plug-in for improving portrait photos. For photographers seeking the quickest fix, there's the Express mode--just open a photo and click one button. The Advanced mode gives you more control over the changes and access to special effects, such as High Key Lighting. You can process images individually or in batches.

There are two new effects in the update, Glamour Glow and Vignette, and three new presets for speedier corrections.

Photoshop Brushes Frequently Asked Questions

Editor in Chief — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 01:53:24 +0000

Here at CreativePro.com, we often talk about Photoshop brushes. And we don’t just talk about them; we find tons of free Photoshop brushes that you can download and use. So far we’re up to about 86.7 billion free Photoshop brushes (give or take a few dozen billion), which you can see, download, and use from right here.

24 Hours of Photoshop

Editor in Chief — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:22:00 +0000

How much do you like Photoshop? Enough to live and breathe it for an entire 24 hours? You'll get your chance in February 2012, when the first "24 Hour Photoshop" event takes place.

Free For All: Design and Photography Freebies

Editor in Chief — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 08:19:31 +0000

InDesign Table Styles
Normally, the StockInDesign service sells InDesign templates and other InDesign-related resources. But to build their Twitter following, they've released a set of 10 free table styles you can use in InDesign CS4 and later. These styles are definitely worth adding to your toolbox, but...

Adobe Updates Lightroom and Camera Raw

Editor in Chief — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 15:29:17 +0000

Adobe is keeping up with the Joneses -- or rather, the constant influx of new cameras -- with updates to Photoshop Lightroom and Camera Raw. The updates add RAW conversion support for 23 cameras from 10 different companies. The updates also include new lens correction profiles and some bug fixes.

Meet the New Member of the Photoshop Family

Editor in Chief — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:54:55 +0000

You may have heard that on Monday, October 3, Adobe revealed a new member of the Photoshop family. Called Photoshop Touch, it will run on mobile devices. At first, it will be available only on devices that use the Android operating system (OS), such as Samsung Galaxy tablets. But not too long after, Adobe will finish developing a version that runs on the iOs, including Apple's iPad. No matter what OS you have, the app's cost will be $9.99. Just a wee bit less than Photoshop on the desktop.

So Many Photoshops

One Thousand-Plus Vintage Camera Effects in One Photoshop Plug-In

Editor in Chief — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:26:10 +0000

Retrographer is a Photoshop plug-in with effects that make modern digital imagery look like it was shot with old-timey cameras using vintage film. "Not another one!" you might groan.

InDesign Efficiency: Keep Your Hand on the Keyboard

Editor in Chief — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:09:05 +0000

Excerpted from the InDesign Secrets video training course on lynda.com.

Free for All: Oodles of Photoshop Effects Brushes

Editor in Chief — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:31:04 +0000

Photoshop is a good tool for digital painting, whether you're creating something from scratch or modifying an existing image. Even a solid-color background can be dramatically enlivened with light streaks, halftones, smudges, or textures. The possibilities are limited only by the imagination... and by the time you have to create complex effects. I can’t help you with the former, but the resources in this article will cut your effects creation time significantly.

Instagram Turns 2

Editor in Chief — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 21:49:19 +0000

Millions of iPhone owners love using the Instagram app to enhance and share their phones' photos. Now Burbn, the company behind the app, has introduced what it calls a "technology layer" that constitutes a "complete upgrade to Instagram’s camera". The practical upshot of the change is that the app is much faster at applying filters -- in fact, you can view a scene with a filter applied before you even snap a picture.

Photoshop How-to: Ship in a Bottle

Editor in Chief — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 21:48:51 +0000

People have been building ships inside bottles since around 1850 — and for a hundred years before that, they were filling bottles with all manner of figures of people and angelic characters. The process was slow, painstaking, and hard to master; many artisans cheated, blowing the bottle around the object rather than building it inside.

Thanks to Photoshop, our ship in a bottle is much easier to construct. To make it a little more challenging, I'll start from scratch and build the bottle ourselves, using just Photoshop's shading techniques and a single filter.

BigPicture Lite for InDesign CS5/5.5 Is Free Download

Editor in Chief — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 08:41:33 +0000

When you need to wrangle a lot of images in InDesign files, Badia Software's BigPicture is your friend. Now you can snag a limited version of the plug-in, BigPicture Lite, for free from the Mac App Store. It supports CS5 and CS5.5.

Here's what you can expect once you download and install BigPicture Lite:

Print Reseller Certification Series

Editor in Chief — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 08:31:39 +0000

You may be a print reseller and not even know it--graphic designers often are. If you handle commercial printing for a client, you're technically a print reseller. But are you making the most of this opportunity to increase both your profit margins and your clients' satisfaction levels? PrintingForLess.com, the parent company of CreativePro.com, has created a Print Education Series that's meant to do just that.

Best of the Blogs: September 21, 2011

Editor in Chief — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 08:44:04 +0000

There are a lot of provocative questions in design and photography blogs: Are there rules for creativity? Can designers embrace fear? What's the difference between looking at and seeing typography? But there's less cerebral stuff, too, like upgrading your camera, understanding image compositing, observing the day of a graphic designer, and filling your layouts with hipster lingo. Which do you feel like?

Typography

New Poser Now Available

Editor in Chief — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 08:05:32 +0000

Smith Micro has released two new versions of its Poser software, which is designed to help you create and animate 3D figures: the $250 Poser 9 and $500 Poser Pro 2012. The updated software includes several new features that, frankly, I can barely pronounce, much less explain. But then, I'm not a 3D artist. Those new goodies include the following:

• Vertex Weight Map Rigging support
• Vertex Weight Map Editing Tool Suite
• Subsurface Scattering
• Rendering Performance Improvements
• FireFly Render Engine

Tiffen Updates Its Photo Filter Suite to Version 3.0

Editor in Chief — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 08:39:13 +0000

The Tiffen Company's filter package for adding effects to video and photos has updated to 3.0. You'd think that an image-editing package that already had 2,000 filters couldn't add any more, but check out this list of new goodies:

• DeNoise: Grain and noise from digital cameras, whether still or video, is a common problem. DeNoise removes the grain and noise while still retaining detail.

Get the Color You Expect When Printing

Editor in Chief — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 08:12:02 +0000

Do your press checks come with unpleasant color surprises? Then "Meeting Your Color Expectations," a free webinar from PaperSpecs and Kallima Paper, is a worthwhile investment of your valuable time. You'll learn which proofing and press tools are handy, the best ways to prep files, and how to work with print shops to make sure your job's final color is what you expected.

These Photo Apps Are Just Perfect

Editor in Chief — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:43:37 +0000

onOne Software has updated and expanded its Perfect Photo Suite. Version 6 includes all sorts of tools for portrait touch-ups, background replacement, effects, multilayered files, depth of field, and more. It will be on sale in October 2011 for $300 (upgrade $150). The apps will work on their own and as plug-ins within as standalone applications in addition to working directly from within Photoshop, Lightroom, and Aperture.

New Adobe App Eases Pain Points of Photo Syncing and Sharing

Editor in Chief — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:54:48 +0000

Digital photos are great for sharing, aren't they? It's so easy to email them, put them on Facebook, post them on dedicated photo websites like Flickr, and so on. The difficulty is managing all those images. What picture's where? Is the final edit on Flickr or just your hard drive? Do the photos you snap with your phone exist elsewhere? And if you want to combine photos from several people—of a class reunion, for example—things get even more complicated.

Terrific Typographical Photoshop Brushes

Editor in Chief — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 08:07:53 +0000

Whether you want to quickly build texture in an image collage or you're simply short on drawing skills, Photoshop brushes are invaluable. They come in every shape imaginable, and you can endlessly manipulate their size and color.

Thanks to the Internet's generosity, a lot of Photoshop brushes are free downloads. Just do a search and you'll find a huge assortment—so many that it's overwhelming. That's why I've compiled a special brush collection for you. Every set features letters or is related to typography.

Review: Alien Skin Snap Art 3

Editor in Chief — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 08:37:50 +0000

Pros: Selections are more precise. Interface is more streamlined. Effects look like they were created by hand, not by computer.
Cons: As in previous versions, Snap Art does not work with CMYK images, only RGB.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Some of Alien Skin's most inspiring products have been its artistic filters for Photoshop. The images they produce are artistic and organic, as if they were created by a human hand rather than a computer.

New Video Series Introduces You to InDesign’s Secretarial Skills

Editor in Chief — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 08:05:14 +0000

You may not have realized that InDesign can auto-correct words as you type them. That feature has been around for years, but you have to turn it on by going to Edit > Preferences > Autorrect (Windows) or InDesign > Preferences > Autorrect (Mac) and checking "Enable autocorrect". The keyboards shortcut is Ctrl/Cmd-K.

InDesign's auto-correct comes with a long list of commonly misspelled words already programmed in. You can view that list and edit it. You can even add to the list, and that's where the savvy user can turn InDesign into a robot secretary.

Easy, Efficient Image Effects with Lightroom Presets

Editor in Chief — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 08:12:37 +0000

Maybe you want to apply a standard fix to a batch of photos you're importing into Adobe Lightroom. Or perhaps you're looking for effects that mimic toy cameras or old film, or that add a cool color. You may just want a really quick—but good-looking—way to convert color to black and white. If any of these sound like your Lightroom work, you should try Lightroom presets. They make it easy to apply anything to your images, from a standard subtle fix to something more creative.