Brushing up on new tools

Photoshop is continually improving and introducing new tools to achieve really great effects without much effort, all you need is a little bit of creativity and imagination. One such tool is the perspective warp tool that was just introduced in January of 2014. This tool allows you to change the perspective of an object with really great results. Most objects that work well with this tool have a defined edge to them. I decided to try and see what it would look like if I applied it to a object, in this case a face, which didn't have a defined right angle. The results as you see here give you the ability to create an edge thus making the face here seem square. Sometimes it's fun to think "outside the box" and see what happens.

Change of Moods

Not quite feeling it? Try changing the mood. We decided to do just that to this image. By swapping out the background with a night scene, and changing the overall tint to the image, we were able to create a totally different mood. Try this sometime and you may be surprised to see the change from ordinary to extraordinary.  "Mouse over the image to see the original"

Hot Dog!

Some images are just plain fun and quirky. This image was a result of examining the possibilities. It started with the original factory image which made me wonder, what could I do with it that would be outside of the box, or outside of the bun in this case. We had just done a shoot in our studio that included hotdogs. The light went on. Hotdogs!, wouldn't it be awesome if he was assembling hotdogs. Thus the image below was created.  Sometimes it's just plain old fun to suspend reality and create something just  "a little out of the bun".  "Mouse over the image to see the original"

Piercing the Darkness

Inspiration can often come from that which we hold dear.  Being a person of faith, I was really drawn to this image. So I decided to create a dramatic visual that would contrast good and evil with light and darkness.  I added two buildings that I shot on a trip to Nashville along with a sky I shot at sunset.  I then added some dramatic lighting effects and other representations of good and evil to bring it all together into a very powerful image.  The result is an image that is not only visually appealing,  but one that really makes you ponder its implication.   "Mouse over the image to see the original"

Wild Bill!

Sometimes images come through our Post Production Department that just beg for us to do something with them. This image just happened to be one of those. The person in this image is our studio manager Bill or for this shoot, lets call him "Wild Bill". Many of us here in the studio often get wrangled into being test subjects so that the photographer can dial in his lighting and placement before the client arrives. Bill had just such an opportunity a month ago and this is  one of the "test" shots our photographer took. I took the liberty to create a scene out of the  Wild West using a landscape shot from one of our other photographers and added  other elements to complete the scene. Who says work can't be fun? It's all in how you approach it.  "Mouse over the image to see the original"

Let It Snow!

This is the latest creation for our friends at Insight Magazine. The gentleman in the snow globe is Dan Ariens, CEO and President of Ariens Co., a manufacturer of snow removal and lawn-care equipment. Of course he wasn't in a snow globe but we sure thought it would be cool if he was.

Winter Wonderland

I really enjoy photographing winter scenes. It's a time of the year when everything is quiet and still, a time when the tourists have gone and all that is left is you and the canvas before you. The image below, "Luminary Exhibition", was one of those scenes captured on a frozen winter morning. With temperatures below zero I set out to photograph a scene that I had captured years earlier using film. Now with the age of digital photography, I was able to capture it in ways I was unable to previously. By bracketing the scene using multiple exposures, I was able to shoot directly into the sun and combine those exposures using a program called Photomatix. This technique is often referred to as HDR "High Dynamic Range". The result is an image that represents a wide range of detail in the shadows and highlights of an image, giving it that painterly look. The best part of it, is seeing the result once those exposures have been blended together, adding a whole new dimension to photography.

The Mystery

I discovered this shot while strolling through a cemetery in Louisiana this spring. Looking at the image you might have thought I took this shot at night or in the evening. By rolling over the image you will see it was far from dark outside. By using some techniques and Photoshop filters, I achieved the illusion and mystery of being shot at night and also created an image that is much more interesting than if it was shot at night. As it turned out, this ended up being one of my favorite shots. With just a little imagination and know-how, you too can discover a whole new world of possibilities with your images.

Barbicide Photo Shoot

Challenges often are a step toward personal growth. If we look back in life it is easy to see how much we have developed when faced with challenges. This image was a challenge for our photographer and for me as a Photoshop artist. The goal was to make this model appear as if she was underwater. The end result is quite convincing but took many steps to get there, from setting up the shot to layering all the pieces of the puzzle together. The shot eventually ended up being used on the website for Barbicide and in the process I learned new blending techniques which have lead to the discovery of new and interesting ways to apply these. What seemed to be a real challenge actually was an opportunity for growth. The next time you are faced with what seems to be a difficult situation, remember that in the end you will come out the better for it.

Senior Photos

I had the "opportunity" to photograph my nephews for their senior pictures recently. I asked them before we went out shooting to think of some areas that would be some cool spots to take their pictures. Of course when I got there they really didn't have much of an idea as to where they wanted to go. As a result, I had to put on my creative thinking hat and come up with some creative shots. I was pretty happy with what we were able to make happen but I thought it might be even more fun to take the shots I had and find some different backgrounds to drop my nephews into. here are a couple of examples of what you can do with a little creativity and the ability to make it happen. Scroll over the images below to see the originals.

The Hulk

First and foremost, I have to thank Shane Van Boxtel for letting me use the portrait he photographed. It was originally used in an advertisement for a financial institution. They decided to convert the image to black & white and give him green eyes. I mentioned to Shane that I thought this image begged to have more done to it so we decided to have some fun with it. Shane went in one direction with it and I went in another. Both images ended up kicking some serious hulk. If you scroll over the image below you will see the original that we started with. The final Photoshop file had 69 layers for a total file size of 300 megs. I started first with creating the Hulk figure by changing him to green, adding motion, and dirtying him up a bit. The next part was trying to figure out what background to put him in. This is where Shane and I went in different directions. I decided to play off of the energy that there seemed to be with the image. I had taken some storm photos last summer and decided to use that as the backdrop. I also photographed a couple of wind farms last summer. The wind turbines are quite fascinating in that they are so immense. It really makes you feel small in comparison. They are a representation of how we try to harness the energy around us. I added lightning and then decided it would add a lot of drama if it looked like everything was starting to overload because of the energy the Hulk was creating. I also applied some dramatic contrast and color tint to give it that extra feel to it. I hope you have as much fun viewing it as I did creating it and hopefully you will be inspired to create your own "Hulk".

"Tricks Are For Kids"

People often ask us if we know any new tricks or what tricks we used on a project. Well there aren't any. Most people can't believe it but there are only techniques, no tricks, that help make it look like magic. I like to tell people "tricks are for kids". If you work hard and know the right techniques you can create the illusion that you did something magical.

This section is dedicated to testing your skill in determining
whether or not an image has been Photoshopped.

All you have to do is mouse over them to find out. Be careful though - the captions below the photographs will give away the answer so if you really want to test your skill make your decision before you read them.

I actually shot the Mustang and the F22 Raptor together as they flew overhead. I decided I really liked the shot but needed to give it some more drama so i got rid of the boring sky in the background and put in one with much more character.

This photo is of the Haceta Head Lighthouse in Oregon.
It happened to be one of those perfect moments where all the elements
came together to capture this shot.

Sometimes it's hard enough to get photos of birds, not to mention in a great location, so I decided to make the process a bit easier.

This image was shot for a client and we wanted it to feel more winter like. I decided to try some effects to make the trees look snow covered.

People think I added the kayaks to the tree but they really do grow on trees!

This image was taken in St. Marten in the Bahamas.
The village had these wonderful colored roofs and the
sailboat just happened to be passing by.

I liked the image of this farm with the old windmill and decided it would be fun to contrast the old with the new so I put in a wind turbine that i had recently shot and cleaned up some of the clutter to simplify the image.

This image was done for a client who wanted the freeway to look really busy so I took multiple
shots and combined them together to create a freeway that had lots of vehicles on it.

This image was a composite I worked on for our client. I added the truck to the background,
added dust and had to do some dramatic lighting to the background.

The client wanted this snowmobile dropped into a better looking background.

This might seem hard to believe but i actually was able to quickly snap a picture of this Gnome hanging around before he knew what was happening.

The Magic of Photoshop

These images were done by me at Image Studios

Photoshop Trivia

Photoshop Trivia Quiz

Below are a list of questions for you to test you Photoshop knowledge.
The answers will be revealed at the end of the last question.

1. What year was Photoshop 1 released?

a. 1988 b. 1990 c. 1992 d. 1994

2. How many versions of Photoshop have been released so far?

a. 9 b. 10 c. 11 d. 12

3. How many different languages is Photoshop distributed in?

a. 5 b. 10 c. 20 d. 25

4. How many products are in the Photoshop family?

a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4

5. When was camera raw first introduced in Photoshop?

a. 1999 b. 2001 c. 2003 d. 2005

6. What was the current Photoshop icon modeled after?

a. The periodic table elements
b. M&M's
c. The Red Cross insignia
d. None of the above












1. (b) Photoshop 1 was released in the year 1990.

2. (c) 11 versions have been released so far.

3. (c) Photoshop is distributed in 20 different languages.

4. (d) There are four products under the photoshop name, Photoshop CS4, Photoshop Elements, Photoshop Lightroom 2 and Photoshop Express beta.

5. (c) In February 2003, Photoshop shipped with the Camers Raw 1.x plug-in, which allowed users to import Raw formats from different digital cameras directly into Photoshop.

6. (a) The periodic table elements.

Photoshop Transformation