PhotoWalkPro

Have you ever processed an image and then made a print only to find that you missed some dust spots and then you have to go back and do it all over again? I know I have but i have a little trick I use to find all those dust specks, even in hard to find locations. It’s not real complicated but it has saved me from having to go back and clean up hard to find spots.

I’m a huge proponent of keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop.  I use them all the time to quickly switch tools, create new layers, print my images, and a ton of other general tasks.  I don’t even come close to knowing all of them but I do have my favorites that I have memorized over time.  One task that I have to do a lot of these days is converting my images to a different color profile for my books so they can be printed in CMYK. Unfortunately there is no keyboard shortcut for this operation.

When I am working on a book, I will use this command about a hundred times. Since I like to work fast I figured it was high time that this menu function get its own keyboard shortcut.  Luckily this is a very easy operation in Photoshop.  I’m not sure which version started allowing for custom shortcuts but I can tell you that it is a fantastic feature that is pretty darn easy to set up.

The first thing to do is to open the Custom Keyboard Shortcut dialog box. You can acces it though the menu or by using the keyboard shortcut, CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+K.  Once it’s open, just look for the command that you want to add a shortcut to.  Each menu item is listed so it’s just a matter of locating it.

To add a shortcut, just click in the vacant area of that item in the same location that the other shortcuts are. A small text window will appear. The next step is to type in the shortcut that you want to use.  Here’s where it gets a little tricky.  There are already a lot of shortcuts already in use so you can either use one that you might never use in your day-to-day work, or get creative and come up with a unique one. If you type in one that is already being used you will get a warning message alerting you to which command that keyboard shortcut is already associated with.  You can go ahead and use it or try again.

In my case, I opted to go with OPT+CMD+Q, which actually let’s me activate it using just two fingers (I press the CMD and OPT keys at the same time with my thumb and use my index finger to press the Q key).

Now I can quickly convert my files to CMYK and move on to the next image with just a couple of quick keystrokes.

So next time you find yourself using a menu item a lot and it doesn’t have a shortcut, start working faster and smarter by making your own.

When making gallery prints for my images in Photoshop I used to always use the Canvas Size dialog to add the extra space around the edges of my image.  The problem was that I would have to do it twice to get the right amount of space I wanted for that Gallery Print look (more space on the bottom than the top and sides).  Now I use a different method that is also quicker and easier.  Check out today’s quick video tip to see how I do it.  So simple and yet so satisfying.

If you aren’t familiar with duotones or tritones and quadtones for that matter, you should watch today’s video on how to apply one to your black and white images.  The duotone process allows you to overlay colors into the highlights and shadows of your black and white images to give them a completely different look.  They can add warmth or completely cool things off, depending on the mood you want to set for your image.  Check out the video and then try applying some duotones to your black and white workflow.

If you have a highspeed Internet connection, try clicking the full screen button located just to the right of the volume control on the bottom of the video screen.

Here is the final image after applying the Duotone seen in the video.

One other quick thing about using Duotones.  Once you have completed the Duotone conversion you will need to go back to the Image mode menu and convert the image back into an RGB file if you want to save the image as a JPEG.  If you don’t convert it, you will be limited to saving the file as a Photoshop document.  Keep this in mind if you are going to be posting your images to the Internet or sending them out for printing.

I’m still under the weather, which is why I didn’t get a chance to update the blog yesterday but I wanted to go ahead and put up this video that I made this past weekend on dodging and burning.  The video shows a couple of different methods I use to non-destructively darken and lighten portions of my image.  I prefer to use these methods over the dodge and burn tool so that I can go back and tweak my adjustments later if need be and not have to worry about undoing anything else I have done.  I have written about one of these methods in a previous post and I received several requests to actually show how it is done in a video so here you have it.

Now it’s time for me to down some Nyquil and try and get some rest.  I hope you have a sniffle-free Thursday!