Posted by Charlie Mazel
BCA Photo Group member Mark Levinson gave a well-attended and well-received presentation on Photoshop techniques at the February 28 Technical Series meeting. While Mark works with Photoshop Elements himself and used that for the demonstration, everything he demonstrated is available in the full Photoshop program. This was not a 'Photoshop overview', but rather a focused demonstration of some of the most useful core tools:
- Levels adjustment (both RGB and by individual color)
- Hue/Saturation adjustment
- Adjustment layers and layer masks (great for non-destructive work!)
- Black and White conversion
- Sharpening
- Cloning
Mark worked with an image in real time, showing how he could make selective adjustments to achieve desired effects. Attendees could either just follow the presentation or try things for themselves - instead of the usual setup with just rows of chairs, several long tables were set up on one side of the room for people who brought their own laptops.
Of course, there is a danger in teaching people how to do things. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. To illustrate this, I offer a picture of Mark mid-presentation titled 'Look Ma, no hands! (with a healthy glow to the face)', showing that even someone not well versed in the tools can (mis)use them with just a little effort.
