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Decide Deke's Fate
Which video would you like Deke to record next (after he finishes Photoshop & Illustrator One-on-One)?
Photoshop CS4 Smart Objects
34%
Photoshop CS4 Blend Modes
25%
Photoshop CS4 Adjustment Layers
21%
Photoshop CS4 for Bio-Medical Imaging Geeks
4%
InDesign CS4 One-on-One
17%
Total votes: 1094
Recent comments
- Andy Warhol / Debbie Harry
3 hours 29 min ago - Enhancement to Planes Dwellers technique
5 hours 43 min ago - ono channels and masks cs4
2 days 15 min ago - from chaos to bravos
2 days 8 hours ago - additional question
2 days 10 hours ago - NEED HELP/C&M One on One Help
2 days 23 hours ago - Posted Below, need some help.
3 days 4 hours ago - I found it!
3 days 6 hours ago - Channels & Masks 1on1 Chapter 7 Ancient Doorways.psd
3 days 7 hours ago - Photoshop CS4 Channels & Masks: Missing File
3 days 7 hours ago
Tweets
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Comments
Blend Modes
Hey Deke,
Looks like Michael Ninness got to the blend mode course first-
http://www.lynda.com/home/DisplayCourse.aspx?lpk2=48372
Still reckon you could do 10 hours on it!!!
What to do next?
Deke,
My wish list goes like this:
(1) CS3 Sharpening - one of my favorite videos. I wish you would write a book on the subject or print out all you said in the Lynda.com video.
(2) Print out the text of all your videos, like was done on Colin Smith's CS3 for Photographers
(3) FYI - the CS3 One on One 3 disc series really falls short when you view the CS3 Sharpening and Masking dvds. The latter two dvds really give you the needed details while the former is really cutting it short.
(4) Simplicity requested. It would really be great if you could put together a no nonsense dvd on "Getting up to speed" ( I think Ben used this term) on how to accomplish the very basics step I, then going to step 2 and 3, but having something even at step 1.
(5) Direct from the sourve: Deke, is there any way we could buy things from you at a reduced price? These Lynda.com video are awfully pricey and I do subscribe monthly to them, but it would be nice to be able to buy things for $25 and have them cover the basics of sharpening and masks.
Thank you.
Walter
Fonts in Contents disc
I downloaded Creative Suite 4 which precludes the receipt of any DVD's.
InDesign CS4 page xx, item 11 you talk about some additional fonts.
Where can I now find those fonts?
B. Craig
InDesign CS4 one-on-one
Bought the book. The DVD is damaged and I need a replacement, download
or something.
Thanks.
B. Craig Anderson
Interested in a 2 day seminar?
Deke,
How fluent are you in Lightroom, sorry I had to ask. Here in Ohio Valley we are looking for a lecturer/ instructor for a 2 day seminar we have put on for the last 5 years that we hold in November. This will be our 6th year, if interested please contact me.
ksphoto1@one.net
smart objects series?
specially in collages and well layered documents where the size gets up to 500 megabytes =(
500MB smart object files
Are sadly quite common. They grow in size quickly.
But, yes, I plan to visit that sort of thing (without leaving folks with less capable systems entirely SOL).
Help
I currently went to a Mac, my pc died, and I had CS on it.
I need to upgrade for a Mac, but 1. don't know which upgrade to get. I do photo restoration, and make movies.
2. I don't want to call the 800 number, I get India, no one speaks english, I can't understand them and won't give my credit card to a foreign country. No one has a supervisor, nor do they have answers to questions. How do I make a order in the good Ole USA?
Thanks for any help you can give me.
Sharpening Black and White Scanned Photos
I am a British historian trying to enhance thousands of Black and White World War 2 photos that I have in the form of scans from original prints or positive/B&W film. They are not in the best of condition and I would like to sharpen them as best I can for subsequent printing and onward sale. I have waded through your CS3 videos on Lynda and I have over complicated the process. I wonder if you could advise me on the easiest way to best enhance old black and white photos so that I can concentrate on the best video lessons for my problem. Thank you Deke
Neil
Have you looked into the
"Photoshop CS3 Sharpening Images" series? Part of the amazingly affordable lynda.com Online Training Library, it goes into comprehensive detail about image sharpening.
You might also try out this article on sharpening archival images that Colleen extracted from my book Photoshop CS4 Channels & Masks One-on-One.
Awesome ... and one final piece of help
Thanks Deke that was a perfect solution. I am already a Lynda.Com subscriber and had seen the sharpening images movies but your article was first rate. Finally I have some scanned WW2 photos from magazines (do not worry they are public domain and have no CR issues). Of course even at 600 dpi these come out grainy as the originals are at a low res. How can I best scan in these and then best get the best from these scanned images. At present I have tried using just the 'sharpen more' command which works to some extent but does not make the best job of it. Anyway, once again looking forward to your reply. Thanks for finding the time to answer
warmest regards
Neil
Halftone pattern scans don’t...
...lend themselves to sharpening all that well. Not as well as continuous tone images anyway.
You could first try running a small amount of Gaussian Blur complemented with Median filter on an alpha channel to get rid of the halftone pattern. Then try the rest of the “find edges” filter technique.
The edges are bound to be less accurate as a result, but you can’t really expect too much out of halftone scans in a first place.
I could think of several (more accurate) techniques, but it would probably be better if you posted a typical image so I can create an action for you.
Cheers!
-iVan
__________________________________________________
How do I post
Hi Ivan
I have a typical photo to post but have no idea how I go about posting it so that you can see it. If you let me know then I will send it ASAP
thanks so much
Neil
Scratch that...
...posting can be a little involving. Just send it to my email instead. Here is a file with my contact info (I don't want to keep it online forever, so I'm posting it this way in order to be able to remove it eventually).
However, if you want others to take a crack at creating a suitable action for you, then this is how you post an image:
-First you have to find a place to post the image online. Some ISP’s offer free server space where you can do that (mine does), or you can simply post it on Flickr. My only concern with this is that you may not be able to post the file in its full size (I don’t use flickr, so I don’t know if they resize images to some max size).
-Then, once you can see the file in all its glory, you should be able to right-click on the image, choose “Properties” and see its URL (on a PC anyway, not sure about Mac).
-Then you can copy/paste that URL, extension and all, right here. That way we can navigate to your image and download it.
Cheers!
-iVan
__________________________________________________
Hello Neil
Check your email, I got your actions done:
Cheers!
-iVan
__________________________________________________
Oh, boy
Now you have to share your technique so we can see what you did, iVan.
Neil, just curious: What makes you so sure these are public domain? Images that make it into print rarely are.
Careful what you ask for
I just realized the sheer number of posts I have been making (I keep seeing my joyous expression everywhere), and I feel like I hijacked your site. So, let me quickly answer this and then I'll be as quiet as I can:
1. Got rid of halftone dots using Median filter set to luminosity blend mode in order to preserve colors
2. Got rid of weird color artifacts left by previous function using Gaussian Blur filter set to color blend mode in order not to damage the image quality
3. Used Find Edges filter (with a cocktail of refining edits) to define a selection mask and then smart sharpen to sharpen the image
At the same token, Neil provided me with a scan made with a scanner set to "magazine" setting as well as the plain one you see above. I was amazed at the ability of his scanner to remove the halftone dot.
My actions, when ran from a plain-scanned image, made a slightly better edit. But to see that scanners are getting almost as good - I was impressed. However, that was quickly replaced with a sense of obsolescence and uselessness on my part.
I go suck my thumb now...
-iVan
__________________________________________________
Your expression is joyous
And cheerfully smaller. ;-)
As for hijacking, hijack away. Good comments are good comments.
Photoshop CS4 One-on-One Part 2 & 3
I emailed lynda.com inquiring about when we could expect parts 2 & 3. Here is the response I got:
At this time there are no plans to develop these titles. But thank you for letting us know what you would like to see in the Online Training Library.
Your input helps us decide what titles to produce next. We have sent your request to our title development team for review.
Thank you for your interest in lynda.com,
lynda.com Customer Service
Is this true?
Sigh . . . Customer Service is misinformed
"Photoshop CS4 One-on-One: Advanced" is completely recorded and on the tail end of being edited. (Weighing in at more than 200 movies, it's taking longer than expected.) It should be out by the second week of April. I'll try to find out date.
I'm about halfway done recording "Photoshop CS4 One-on-One: Mastery," which is the final 8 chapters of the series. Should be completed before I scurry home April 2. Fewer movies, so hopefully won't take as long to edit.
That's the answer I wanted to hear!
Your hard work and dedication really informs and inspires.
Yet another question
Deke- what screen capture utility for Windows do you use to produce your video lessons? We are bringing on a couple of new systems at work & I was thinking rather than the staid PowerPoint of old, I would try my hand at a video-based training. Thanks.
I use TechSmith's Camtasia
You can check it out at http://www.techsmith.com/download/camtasiatrial.asp.
Right now, Camtasia only works on Windows.
On the Mac, I've had some success with iShowU (http://www.shinywhitebox.com/home/home.html).
We use it for the dekePod screen captures.
Not a big fan of Snapz Pro. Takes way too long to render.
thanks
I'll check it out.
I don't think Photoshop can do this...
...but it doesn't hurt to ask: If I have a smart object that I warped and transformed into a position, only to find I need to start from scratch, is there a quick way to undo all the transformations without the use of history palette? I know that warp can be undone by choosing "none" from its menu, but what about, say perspective transform?
I'm just asking because it would seem that everything else that is parametric in 'shop has a reset to it, 'cept smart object free transform.
BTW, I was just going to answer jeremyv10's question ('cause I knew the answer, and figured I get to ask the above in return). But you beat me to it, so I'll owe you one if you anwer this one.
-iVan
__________________________________________________
Answering my own questions
I should add I’m aware one can extract contents of a smart object and pack them into a new one as a not-so-user-friendly solution to the above problem.
I’m just looking for a quick and dirty one. You know – as means of exploring different avenues of warping a smart object.
Anyone?
-iVan
__________________________________________________
Thank You... and of course another question...
I appreciate the quick reply Deke!
In the interim, would there be any value to my jumping into your CS3 videos? I am a beginner, so I was hesitant to "confuse" myself by mixing curriculums?
I was thinking that Ps CS3: Channels and Masks: Essentials then Advanced would make the most sense..!?....
Keep up the good work! Coming from someone who is attempting a COMPLETE career transformation, I find your teaching style very well balanced between entertaining (as hell) and enlightening.
Thanks again for the response.
Dan
Yeah, Channels and Masks is a great idea
Masking changes very little from one version to the next, so the CS3 training is about 99% accurate for CS4. (In fact, given the demands on my time, it's unlikely I'll update that series for CS4. That was rather the purpose of the book.)
The exceptions are the disappearance of the Extract command, the different behavior of adjustment layers (which now live in the Adjustments palette), and the arrival of the Masks palette (which makes only a slight difference n your approach to layer masks).
Both adjustment layers and the Masks palette are documented at length in forthcoming Photoshop CS4 One-on-One movies.
I would like to know too
If I remember correctly, I recall you saying that you undertook a large production recording the advanced series for CS4 1-on-1 and you expected it to be available on Lynda.com sometime in March after editing was completed.
Some clarification of the status on your lessons with Lynda would be most appreciated.
Thanks and happy birthday!!
Extension for Channels and Masks
When I went to install the channels and masks extension from your new book. Putting in the dekeKeys went fine, but not that extension. I accepted the terms and then saw a note saying you do not have proper permissions - if not me then who I was thinking - LOL.
Any reason why it didn't take - I use Windows Vista.
Mike