DMAGAZINE and our latest meeting

I am not a videographer. I don't even consider myself to be an Adobe pro. So, when I found out I won the digieffects plug-in at the last meeting, I was a little nervous. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised. I'd heard of digieffects but had never used their software before. Just a quick visit to http://digieffects.com/ shows an impressive list of time-saving plug-ins for incredible video programs such as After Effects and Premiere Pro. I could make several blog posts about their products (several of which I tried) but this review is specifically about Damage, a plugin that the company describes as a product "dedicated to making your project look WORSE." It's absolutely perfect for horror videos, theatrical trailers, or special effects.

The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers contains a wealth of information about Photoshop CS4 geared toward photographers.  The book covers a great deal of photo editing techniques in photoshop, and more importantly, a lot of information on using Camera RAW.  As a photographer, I appreciate the attention to detail in covering Camera RAW, as it is one of the most important tools in photoshop for any photographer to learn.  The book covers everything from getting the photos from your camera onto your computer to the final printing process, a lot of information indeed.  And while professional photographers and photoshop gurus may not get their fill from this book, it is a wonderful resource for amateurs and intermediate users, containing techniques and information that should not be missed!

Ok, I like this better than what i plan on doing for tomorrow nights meeting so I am posting this one. :P Photoshop can become an addiction. This is my first hackish use of EZMask. I can recommend this product for those who are not in love with masking difficult areas. This image wasn't tremendously difficult, but it did have a lot of similar colors which always makes for a tough challenge.

Save Those Snapshots!

By: Frank Goad, Frank Communications

We want to know that we're covered in case we don't do things exactly right. We want our robot servant just like in the Jetsons. We'll settle for a little help, and that's what Jade gives you - a little help.

Jade can take a picture that's a bit blurry, under- or over-exposed, that has some contrast problems and perhaps has a bit too much backlight, and likely make it usable. I say "likely" because, like most packages, it has its limits. For instance, it won't repair that group shot in Mammoth Cave when your flash didn't fire.

Well, our next meeting is coming up and I am excited. We have grown a lot in the past couple of sessions and it is really exciting to see how this community is coming together. I wanted to take this moment to tell you about one of the raffles that is on the plate.

Alien Skin Software - Snap Art 2

Alien Skin has release its latest version of the turn a photo into art software Snap Art 2.

I have been playing with it and it is really fun. I am a horrible photographer, and an even worse artist. But this plug in helped me make something I might hang up in my house, like the closet behind all the clothes with the lights off. That's not how i feel about this plugin, just about my work. Anyhow here is a before and after example of what you can do with Snap Art. I will be giving away a copy at our up and coming meeting.

I just finished on a class assignment to make a splash page for a mock website.  I'd like to know if you have any critiques!  Thanks!

I used masking for the background, stock capital photo, and free logos from the respective website.  In my pursuit for the mastery of the pen-tool, the C and D are made with the pen tool.  I found the best way to use the pen tool is to activate the grid in photoshop.  That also helped me with the typography.

A good Photoshop effects plug-in must be a real time-saver in a production workflow environment. It must produce eye-catching effects with a few clicks and output them in formats suitable for web, video and print. Alien Skin's Eye Candy 6 provides the workflow speed along with a great deal of variety, flexibility and ease of use.