Gary's Photoshop Blog

Intro to Alpha Channels

A lot of people are confused about Alpha Channels in Photoshop. In fact, Alpha Channels are very useful, very powerful, and not that difficult to understand. In this screencast I introduce you to the basic concepts around Alpha Channels, explain what they do and how you can use them to enhance your Photoshop experience.

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Posted in Beginner, Intermediate |

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Masking Another Object – Bee Wings!

Photoshop CS4 is many things to many people….depending on what the goal is. Since I tend to make composite images almost exclusively, masking is super important. I need to select various elements from several diferent photos and combine them into a new composition.

In this screencast we take a look at masking another object that has translucent areas…..bee wings. We explore complex selections using Alpha Channels, Layer Masks, and brushing in opacity. I use these techniques all the time. It is important to understand Alpha Channels and what you can accomplish with them. While I touch on Alpha Channels here, this is by no means a definitive tutorial on them. Maybe the next time I’ll address Alpha Channels exclusively.

Please don’t be afraid to leave comments. How else can I get feedback on how to improve my screencasts?

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Tags: video
Posted in Intermediate |

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Masking a Complex Image

In this screencast we take a look at masking an object that has translucent areas…..plenty of fine fibers, and lots of complexity….a “fuzzy” dandelion. We explore complex selections using Color Range, saving selections as Alpha Channels, Layer Masks, and even a Blending Mode Brush trick…….in Overlay mode! There’s lots of useful information here, so I hope you take the time to check it out.

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Tags: video
Posted in Advanced, Intermediate |

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Essential Keyboard Shortcuts

Photoshop has many keyboard shortcuts….too many to memorize in fact. There are some that get used much more than others. Here are the ones I use every day.

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Posted in Intermediate |

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“Smart” non-destructive editing!

In this screencast we take a look at how to edit photos non-destructively with Camera Raw and Smart Objects in Photoshop. I show you some very cool and useful editing tools in Camera Raw, how to bring RAW images into Photoshop as Smart Objects, and how to do “round-trip” editing between Camera Raw and Photoshop……without changing a single pixel! I think you’ll agree it’s THE most flexible way to edit your photos.

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Tags: video
Posted in Intermediate |

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