Adriana Bella asked:


A collage is a form of art that primarily consists of putting together different forms to create another whole new work of art. Traditionally this type of art assembled different textures, colors and many other types of items in making the new work of art. It is the same principle that is applied to photographs that make digital collages. Other uses of digital collages are to enhance photographs and bring out true character of a photograph. This is a lot of fun and simple once you know the method. All you will need are the tools for the process.

A computer, a digital camera and Adobe Photoshop software is all you need. Adobe Photoshop software will allow you to manipulate the images and present them in a different light. It is up to the artist to decide exactly what he needs and though there is no set way to do this, basic methods have to be adhered to.

To start with you can take a ton of photographs. It is always better to have more than less of these. Then you can choose the best out of the lot keeping in mind the theme of your collage. The pictures you choose should be related to the theme that you have in mind. Then it is time to build up the collage using as many methods as needed such as cutting out the background, adding new backgrounds and positioning photographs to create an aesthetically pleasing visual. This is a lot of fun as you are able to experiment with different settings and backgrounds to suit the collage.

The layout and all the visual effects that are used to make the collage will give you a chance to be creative and will help to bring out the essence of the new collage. Try out different options till you are perfectly satisfied. If a date is important to the collage you can insert it at this point. The pictures that will grace the final collage can be kept on hand to be used as needed. Each picture can be cropped or have the background cut out of it in order to make it more dramatic, action packed and visually interesting. The best thing with a collage is that it does not have to use pictures which are perfect in order to convey a certain feeling or event that the collage is trying to convey. Very often these imperfect pictures will add character to the collage.

The secret of a good digital collage is the way it is merged and the way different aspects of the theme are brought together. Adobe Photoshop allows us to use many different methods with a variety of tools to do this. By layering, merging, coloring, blurring, feathering and highlighting edges or softening them a wide range of visual effects can be produced. The visual impact that we can create is one of the most powerful communication methods known to man. Digital collages use this to communicate so much more than just an image for the onlooker. As an art in itself and as a way of communicating feelings and moods there is no better way than digital collages.



Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress

J N asked:


I am working in Photoshop CS3 and would like to edit a photograph of mine to make it look like a Japanese woodblock print. This would probably involve creating a dark outline around the objects, and flattening planes to make them look more 2D. I’m also interested in trying to replicate the colours. Thanks!

Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress

David Peters asked:


ts you can achieve today with editing software are beyond what professional photographers years ago thought possible. Now is a time when there are no limitations on editing images- everything is possible and creativity is the only requirement to make outstanding pictures. There are thousands of programs that help us improve the photographs we take, but none have the respect of the professional and amateur community as Adobe Photoshop. The software is so closely linked with altering images that the term \’to Photoshop\’ has come to mean \’to enhance pictures\’, so you probably are wondering if you know how to use Adobe Photoshop.

Do you want a picture of you, your family and a giraffe all dancing on the surface of Pluto? With Photoshop, anything you want is possible. With practice, you can make the vision of your wildest imagination come true. Effects that took large budgets and studios to create are now easy to produce with the click of a button.

One thing that Photoshop is closely associated with is isolating aspects of the image you don\’t want and removing them. This can be used to improve physical features, such as smoothing out damaged skin or covering up body piercings, and can even be used to remove whole objects from the image that detract from the photograph like a distracting person in the background. With Photoshop it is unlikely that you will be able to tell that any alteration has been done to the picture, as the software is so complex, but you will soon learn how to use Adobe Photoshop.

Photoshop is the software of choice for anyone serious about editing photography. It is popular for a reason, and due to its reputation you may feel like you should familiarize yourself with it. There are many resources to help you learn how to use Photoshop, and if you still feel lost, you can always ask a college or high school student to help you out. Learning Photoshop is useful for so many different applications that it makes sense to invest your time in learning about it.

They story of Photoshop goes back to 1989 when two brothers developed a software for editing images. The program was extremely useful for their personal projects, and it dawned on them that they could make money by selling this product to the growing software market. They soon founded Adobe and began production of Photoshop in 1990.

The success of Adobe is an outstanding example of the power of the Internet. Software designed by Adobe is on nearly every computer in the world, as its free PDF reader has had such widespread popularity. The Adobe Reader is the standard PDF reader, just as Adobe Photoshop is the standard photo editor and is proof of Adobe\’s unique dominance of media-related software.

To gain experience with Photoshop you should find a copy you can experiment with. Perhaps a friend or relative has one. Go over and explore the program, browsing all the features and adding effects to images. Once you get a feel for how the software operates, ask your friend to show you the more advanced features. Then you\’ll see why Photoshop has its first-rate reputation. Within no time, you will be addicted to Photoshop.

Eventually you\’ll want to get a copy for your own use. You can get a trial version that will give you a lot of the features, but for full access you have to get the licensed version. Photoshop is everywhere, so buying a copy will save you a lot of hassle. Now that you have your own copy you\’ll probably play around with it for hours trying out all the cool features. While you will learn this way, there is something to be said for taking a class in Photoshop. These will be streamlined to give you the information you need to improve your skills. Once you\’ve covered the fundamentals, experimenting will expand your horizon, but without the basics, you will not be as effective at enhancing images as you could be.

When you master the software, there is no limit to what you can do. Just imagine any concept and you will be able to translate it into an image in no time. Keep experimenting, and remember to have fun! If you would like to discover the faster way to learn how to use Adobe Photoshop then visit learnphotoshopnow.com for the answer and get a Free Adobe Photoshop Report that will get you right into the mood of wanting to learn how to use Adobe Photoshop today.

Kansieo.com