[Blackout]

I am sure I am not the only person who wants to know this so I just decided to post a thread on it. There are several of you guys who have a great deal of knowledge on photography and photoshop. I have seen several threads here and there where you all explain how to do some stuff but I was hoping to get a thread that concolidates all of the tricks of the trade such as: how to take good night shots, making pics BW but leaving some parts in color, how to switch out things such as wheels on cars in photoshop, how to make creative signature blocks, taking sections of one pic and laying on a different background, etc. You all have an unendeing wealth of knowledge, please SHARE IT! (examples would be helpful to.) Any trick that you think is good to know post it.

-Blackout

[Nikki]

How to take good night shots:

Use a tripod, or a flat surface like a low wall or the ground.
Set shutter to 1" at first just to test it out.
Change your ISO-try 100 first.
Make sure the flash is turned off.
Don't use any generic settings like "night mode", you want to be in manual mode-not point and shoot.
You will probably want to turn your angel eyes or headlights on, position your car without any bright lights behind it unless they are very far away.

Now take a bunch of pictures and adjust settings as you go, increasing the shutter speed, and changing the ISO, and take note of what settings you used. See which shutter looks the best--1" may take in very little light, but 3" may be too bright and washed out. When you adjust the ISO, use all of the available ISOs and compare the photos. The ISO will help you with steadyness--so if your pictures are blurry turn it up, and if your pictures are grainy, turn it down.

[Nikki]

How to make pics BW but leave some parts in color:

Using Photoshop:

Open your image and then go to Windows and make sure the Layers window is checked off.

Right click on the layer which says Background and click Duplicate Layer. Make sure you are on the Background copy layer which you have just made.

Go to Image-->Adjustments-->Desaturate and the layer will now be black and white.

Go to Windows and make sure that the Tools window is checked off. Go to the tools window and click the lasso tool which is in the first column second row. Hold it down and select the Polygonal lasso tool.

Click with the lasso tool on the edge of the object you want to make in color. Then keep clicking around the object like you're tracing it and when you come back to the starting click it will connect and your object will be surrounded by a moving line. Click the delete key on your keyboard. This erases that section of the black and white layer (Background copy) and the result is the color from the original background layer coming through.

[Nikki]

How to photoshop wheels onto cars

Using Photoshop:

Open the image of the car--usually dead on side shots work best.

Go to Windows and make sure the Tools window is checked.

Make sure you get a matching angle wheel similar to the wheel in the car photo and then open the image of the wheel. If the photo is not a close crop of one wheel then use the crop tool (third row, first column) to select one of the wheels.

Have both the image of the car and the image of the wheel open in front of you side by side.



If the wheel is smaller than it should be in relation to the car then follow these instructions:

With the photo of the car in front of you go to Image-->Image Size. Make sure that the Constrain Proportions box is checked off. Make the image 600 pixels wide and the height will change proportionally. If the wheel is still too small then you can make the image of the car smaller or find a larger wheel to photoshop onto the car. Once wheel is larger than the car then you can proceed to the following section.



If the wheel is larger than it should be in relation to the car then follow these instructions:

With the photo of the wheel in front of you, go to the move tool in the first row second column and click on the wheel and drag it onto the car photo. It will add this as a new layer. Go to Windows and make sure the Layers window is checked.

Make sure you are on the wheels layer (layer 1).

Go to Edit-->Free Transform and then hold down the Shift key as you click on one of the edges of the wheel and adjust it to be the right size.

Go to the tools window and click the lasso tool (first column second row). Hold it down and select the Polygonal lasso tool.

Click with the lasso tool on the edge of the wheel. Then keep clicking around the wheel like you're tracing it and when you come back to the starting click it will connect and the wheel will be surrounded by a moving line.

Now go to Select-->Inverse and hit the delete key. Then use the move tool to drag the wheel exactly in place over the front wheel. You can use the Free transform again if you need to adjust the size (remember to hold down shift to keep the proportions correct).

Go to the layers window and right click on the wheel layer (layer 1) and click Duplicate Layer. Now drag this layer with the move tool over the rear wheel and again use the free transform if you need to.

That should be it.

[Nikki]

How to make creative signatures:


I start with a new document 450 x 120 pixels. I go to Layer-->New-->Layer so now I have two layers. The one I just created is the border, so to make that I go to Select-->All and then Edit-->Stroke and I make it black and 5 pixels.

Now I go to my original layer. To make sure your layer toolbar is open go to Window-->Layers and it will be on the right, so click on Layer 1 to get to the original layer.

Now open a photo that you want to work with. The tools window on the left has the move tool, it's the one on the first row second column and it looks like a black arrow, click that. Now make sure the photo you just opened and your new empty sig document are both in view and click on your photo and drag it into your empty document. It may look horrible right now, but that's ok.

This is the creative part. Use the move tool to drag around the photo you put into your empty document. See how things look, what you want to focus on, maybe it's the headlight, the wheel, the shift knob, etc. and then figure out if it should be smaller or if it looks good the way it is. Note: A lot of the time a sig will look great when the object is too large for the frame and is not centered.

If you do feel like it is too large, then go to Edit-->Free Transform. You will probably need to make your window a lot bigger to see the edges and you also may have to drag around the image until you see the edge. Once you find a corner, hold down shift and drag inwards to make the image smaller. Holding shift makes sure that the image maintains the correct proportions. Don't let go of shift until you let go of the mouse! Make it gradually smaller and then drag the image where you want. If it is still too big, repeat.

[Nikki]

How to take sections of one pic and layer onto a different background

Using Photoshop:

Let's say I want to put a car onto a new background.

Open the photo of the car and then the photo of the background and view them size by size.

Go to Windows and make sure the Tools window is checked.

The car must be larger or about the same size as the background. If it is too small it will be distorted if you try to enlarge it. So if it is too small then either find a larger car photo or you can shrink the background.

If the car is too small and you wish to shrink the background:

With the photo of the background in front of you go to Image-->Image Size. Make sure that the Constrain Proportions box is checked off. Make the image 800 pixels wide and the height will change proportionally. If the background is already less than 800 pixels wide then you can either make it smaller or I suggest finding a larger car image. Once the car is larger than the background then you can proceed to the following section.

If the car is the correct size:

With the photo of the car in front of you, go to the move tool in the first row second column and click on the car and drag it onto the background photo. It will add this as a new layer. Go to Windows and make sure the Layers window is checked. Now you sill see a Background layer (the background) and a Layer 1 (the car).

Go to the tools window and click the lasso tool (first column second row). Hold it down and select the Polygonal lasso tool.

Click with the lasso tool on the edge of the car. Then keep clicking around the car like you're tracing it and when you come back to the starting click it will connect and the car will be surrounded by a moving line.

Now go to Select-->Inverse and hit the delete key. Then use the move tool to drag the car exactly in place on the background. You can use the Free transform again if you need to adjust the size (remember to hold down shift to keep the proportions correct).

If you are using a background with another object like a car already on it and it is peeking through even with the car on layer 1 on top of it then you can opt to use the Clone Stamp tool (row 5, column 1). Select the Background layer and then hold down alt as you click near but not on the object in the way. For example, if it is a car mirror in front of the sky that is sticking out then click on the sky right near the mirror holding down alt. Now let go of alt and drag from that point over the mirror and it will erase it and cover it with the section of sky next to it. I'm sorry if this part is confusing but hopefully you either won't need it or will understand how to use it. If there is another section that needs to be addressed, say a part of the rear bumper is peeking through, then use the clone stamp in that area but holding down alt, clicking near the bumper and dragging over it.

Then you're done.

[al4m]

thanks nikki
ur so nice for sharing these tricks
i used some of them and my pics turned out great
thnx again

[Nikki]

You're welcome. Glad to be of some use.

[Gripster]

Damn Nikki - you really know your photoshop. Thanks for sharing.

[noktekniq]

will be keepin this thread in mind

[Bimmer335i07]

Nikki, you should have the admins make this a stickie somewhere! These tips are awesome! When I have time, I will definitely try them out!

You are AWESOME for sharing your secrets & tips with us!

[bartman32]

You rock Nikki!

[Nikki]

Lol thanks, my boyfriend was sitting here and after like half an hour he was like "damn are you looking to get something published?" hahaha

[BillLee]

good tips

[TWiTCHY]

Thanks for the contributions

[- Paul -]

Thanks Nikki - great tips!

[ska///235i]

Good tips!!

Can someone advice on what I did wrong on this shot base on my camera?
What can I do to improve with the equipment I have?

I used.....
canon rebel xs with kit lens (18-55mm)
15" shutter
lowest f-stop #
100 ISO
on a mini tripod (It was windy that night)

[spectrumphoto]

Looks like motion blur... I'd suggest using a more sturdy tripod and if it is windy add some weight hanging from the base of the tripod neck.

With those mini tripods, don't be afraid to kick up the ISO a bit so you can reduce your exposure time and minimize camera shake. (the newer DSLR bodies handle ISO sensor noise really well)

Looks like you focused on the green fence. Even at f32 there is still a depth of field range and environmental factors like errant light, airborne debris/dust, thermoclines, ect will decrease that crispness you get at f32. I'd suggest focusing on the buildings which were the principal subject in the image.

Hope that helps...

[Russian325is]

^ + manual focus...

[ska///235i]

i c....like you stated, I used auto focus

thanks

[lovemyBimmer]

also when on a tripod, make sure if you have vibration reduction on your lens to have it turned off.

[asdflkijd]

good stuff guys, couldn't have said it better myself.