Monday, July 18, 2005

[tech4all] uses of photoshop

Most people don't use Photoshop to its fullest capabilities. Here
are just ten uses to which you could put this highly versatile
software.

1. Restoring Old Photographs. Have a look through that old family
photo album - the really old one from up in Grandma's attic. Inside
there are probably a few photos from way back when that haven't stood
the test of time so well. They've got cracks and tears that really
spoil their appearance. Scan them into Photoshop, and then set to
work with the Clone Stamp, Healing Brush, and Patch tools. The
Healing Brush in particular is a great tool for this purpose as it
samples data from one part of the picture and blends it in with
what's already there.

2. Correcting Mistakes. We've all done it: Had an attack of "finger
over the lens syndrome," or got too close with the flash, so our
subjects suffer from "red eye" and look like extras from a horror
movie. Use the crop tool to salvage something usable from your
obscured photo, and the enlarge wizard to blow it up to a reasonable
size. For "red eye" and "pet eye," use the eyedropper tool to sample
color from around the iris, and a brush to paint away the red.

3. Adding Graphics to Videos. It's a little known fact, but many
domestic and professional nonlinear editing systems (especially the
Mac based ones like Avid or Final Cut) enable you to import
Photoshop .psd files directly into the timeline.

4. Creating Text Effects for Print and Web. There's an almost
unlimited amount of things you can do with text in Photoshop. Use
the Type Mask Tools to create picture filled text, then upload the
results to your web page - or print them out for a one of a kind T-
shirt.

5. Turning a Photo Into a Work of Art. Everyone likes to have nice
things to look at. Most of us like to have pictures on the wall, and
something that looks different from what other people have on their
walls is a definite plus. Unless you're blessed with artistic
talent, though, this can be very expensive - until now. Use one of
Photoshop's many Artistic or Brush Stroke filters to turn your photos
into "new masters," then print them out on quality art paper.

6. Designing Web Banners and Buttons. Photoshop comes with a
predefined web banner sized canvas. Photoshop's sister application,
Image Ready, comes with several - and lots of tools for animating
text and pictures. You can also create interactive buttons that
enhance a web browsing experience.

7. Adding Text to Photographs. Impress your boss by putting the
company name on the side of an airliner, building, or racing car.
Use the Move Tool to skew the text to fit the contours of the
picture, adjust the opacity a little, and hey presto! The text will
look like it's always been part of the photo.

8. Combining Pictures, Text, and Graphics to Make Covers for Books,
Reports and CDs. Photoshop contains many of the image manipulation
capabilities of high-end DTP applications that cost thousands. Use
the "Layer via Cut" command to make your title text go behind part of
the picture - just like on the cover of "Rolling Stone."

9. Designing Web Pages. Did you know that Photoshop and Image Ready
can turn your photograph or artwork into a web page? Use the slice
tool to cut your work into easily downloadable pieces, then the
rollover function to embed website URLs.

10. Combining Pictures to Make the Impossible Possible. Come on! You
didn't seriously think that Michael Moore and President George W.
Bush really stood hand in hand on the White House lawn for the
Fahrenheit 9/11 poster, did you? I don't know for certain that they
used Photoshop to fake that picture, but they certainly could have
done. With Photoshop you can remove the background from one picture,
take some elements from another, and combine them with the background
from a third to create a picture that could never have been taken for
real. Who says the camera can't lie!


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posted by Bharath @ 7:30 AM