Instructor Richard Harrington explains how to use the shadow/highlight command in Photoshop to fix both under and over-exposed portions of your image. This is part 2 of 2.

I recently picked up a new tablet for home use... it's actually for my three-year old who seems a bit too fascinated with the tablets in my office. Becuase budget was an issue, I picked up the new Wacom Bamboo. What I thought was merely a replacement for the old Graphire tablets is so much more. It's easy to set up, very responsive, and fun to use.

The Bamboo comes in a standard version, simply called Bamboo, which is targeted towards Windows users who need signature abilities for their documents as well as a few other perks. The "Fun" version costs $20 more (unless you go for the larger one, then its $120 more).

The tablet has four programmable buttons as well as a touch wheel. It also comes with a full version of Adobe® Photoshop® Elements and Corel® Painter™ Essentials. What surprises me is that the tablet costs the same as buying Photoshop Elements as a stand-alone application. The tablet is a nice addition to a home workstation and would be a great entry point for a new tablet user.

Instructor Richard Harrington explains how to use the shadow/highlight command in Photoshop to fix both under and over-exposed portions of your image. This is part 1 of 2.

So I had a webcast on Photoshop CS3 extended that was a special Adobe event. There were a lot of questions raised that I couldn't get to during the "live" show. Here are some of the ones that I could answer (before falling asleep).

Q: alrosadojr: can you use blending options on the video clips.
A: Yes, you can use blending options on video clips in PSCS3 Extended. You can also make them Smart Objects and run filters or modes.

Q: panieee: When you open a video clip in PS, add your effect and save. How do you save the file? As video? PSD?
A: Photoshop saves a PSD file that links to the video clip.

Q: siying chen: can photoshop cs2 open video file? or only cs3 can do that?
A: Only PS CS3 Extended.

Read More...

I just gave a useful class (at least people there thought it was) on Automating Photoshop. We touched on Actions, Scripts, Droplets, and Automation commands. I have a few notes pulled together on the topic and wanted to share them here.

• Photoshop Automation Techniques

If you want a lot more on using Photoshop for Video, be sure to check out the book Photoshop for Video from Focal Press.

I just got done fighting with Adobe Photoshop in front of a live audience of people (which is pretty frustrating). Photoshop crashed every time I tried to open a file, save a file, etc. Pretty frustrating... but I solved it. The culprit was Version Cue from Adobe. Every time File Navigation Services were invoked to Open, Browse, or Save... Photoshop crashed.

Here's the fix.

1. Choose Photoshop > Preferences.

2. Click the File Handling tab.

3. Uncheck the Enable Version Cue box.

4. Quit and re-launch Photoshop.

5. Enjoy.

I drew a blank earlier today when showing off the useful Web Photo Gallery option in Photoshop. I knew there was a way to do more advanced galleries... I just forgot how. A quick web search and I found it... the Adobe Media Gallery plug-in for Adobe Bridge CS3.

“Adobe® Media Gallery (AMG) for Adobe Bridge adds quick, powerful Web gallery creation to Adobe Photoshop® CS3, Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended and the Adobe Creative Suite®. AMG makes it possible to create HTML or Flash-based galleries from any of the file formats supported by Bridge; adjust the galleries using the built-in preview; and export the results or upload them via FTP.

Download and Installation

AMG is available on both Mac and Windows. The download package includes both the plug-in as well as AMG templates, all of the Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom™ default templates, as well as the Lightroom HTML Gallery.

Adobe Media Gallery for Macintosh
1. Close all applications, including Photoshop.
2. Click on the link above to download & open the DMG file
3. Open the AdobeMediaGalleryAll folder
4. Double click on SetUp and follow the on-screen instructions to install

Adobe Media Gallery for Windows
1. Close all applications, including Photoshop.
2. Click on the link above to download & open the zip file
3. Open the AdobeMediaGalleryAll folder
4. Double click on SetUp and follow the on-screen instructions to install

You can make your own templates for Adobe Media Gallery -- the source code for the template files is available on opensource.adobe.com.”

Thanks to Rod Harlan for pointing out this cool podcast episode. Terry White has a great new podcast on using P2 media with Adobe products. Adobe is about to roll-out great support for Panasonic's cameras with the next software release. Get a sneak peak by watching this podcast.

Check out Terry White’s special 200th episode of his Adobe Creative Suite podcast. He has as his guest Kevan O’Brien who walks through the entire process he used for creating a video podcast with Adobe Senior VP Johnny L.

Click here to see the “Making of” video with the full P2 workflow.
Click here to see the original video starring Johnny L in the DVA lab at Adobe San Jose.

Instructor Richard Harrington shows you how you can use adjustment layers in Photoshop to make non-destructive but essential changes to an image.

Thanks to Scott Kelby for releasing his very cool guide to gift shopping (for geeks and photographers at least).
“It’s here: the long awaited, unabated, triangulated, amalgamated, 2nd annual edition of Scott’s Gonzo Holiday Gear Guide!

This year’s expanded in-depth guide includes nothing but the coolest, personally hand-picked gear for the photography and Photoshop freak on your holiday list.”

I just got done with a full-blown review on Strata 3D plug-ins for Photoshop CS3 Extended for Layers Magazine. I can't spill all the beans (my full review will appear in next month's issue). But I couldn't wait to point out a great new tool. Be sure to check out Strata Design 3D In. This very cool plug-in lets you bring in 3D models to your Photoshop projects. Sure. you're thinking doesn't PSCS3 Extended do that already? Nope... not this well. This plug-in ties into Vanishing Point and lets you match the models and lights to the perspective of your photo. Plus you get even greater control over rendering out lights and reflections. This tool is hot, and I highly recommend you try the demo out.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking at the 2007 European Radio Conference presented by the National Association of Broadcasters. The event was held in Barcelona, Spain and was a lot of fun. I presented two sessions and a panel along with the talented David Lawrence. For those who intended (and other interested parties) you can download the notes here.

Podcast Compression Techniques

Beyond Audio – Using Enhanced Audio and Video in your Podcast Feed

Adobe's Russell Brown has produced a great new collection of FREE workflow scripts for Photoshop CS3 & CS3 Extended. Be sure to check out Dr. Brown's Services 1.9.2 which offer some great features for video.
"Background Remover," "Interpret Video," "Fit Video to Audio," and "Slide Show" scripts take advantage of Photoshop CS3 Extended's new video capabilities.

If you want to save time, download Dr. Brown's Services 1.9.2

Over-saturation is a common problem with broadcast graphics. Instructor Richard Harrington explains how to spot and fix such problems in Photoshop CS3.

Peachpit Press is running a new contest featuring the $1,000 question. It's a simple question "What equipment and software would you recommend to a budding digital photographer if they had a $1000 budget to get started?" Peachpit gathered six experts (somehow I was one, you'll find me doing my best Las Vegas lounge singer impression).

You vote for the best answer (pick me) and a chance to win the prizes.

The contest:
Go to peachpit.com/1000dollarquestion and vote for your favorite digital photography package—compiled by our author experts. You’ll be automatically entered for a chance to win the package that you vote for. We’ll choose one winner out of all entries.

Contest ends December 31, 2007.