What's New in Photoshop CS5 - The Complete Video Set

Please join me for the next ten days as we explore Photoshop CS5’s most interesting and useful new features. Each day, we’ll examine one of CS5’s remarkable additions.

If you’re too excited to wait ten days (or if you’d like to support this site), click here to download the entire ten tutorial series for $9.95. For the next two Thursdays, these CS5 videos will replace the Photoshop Workbench, but don’t worry, the Workbench will return to its regular spot on Thursday, May 27.

Here’s a schedule of upcoming tutorials:

Thursday, May 13 – Content-Aware Fill and Heal – 9:52
Learn secrets for retouching with Content-Aware Fill and Content-Aware Spot Healing.

Friday, May 14 – Refine Edge Refinements – 12:39
Discover how to use the Refine Edge (Refine Mask) dialog in a compositing workflow, while exploring the dialog’s new Edge Detection, Smart Radius, Refine Radius, Erase Refinements, Decontaminate Colors, and Output To features.

Saturday, May 15 – Tools Enhancements – 9:45
Take a journey into CS5’s tools enhancements, including a Crop tool Rule of Thirds overlay, a straightforward Straighten button, a scrubby Zoom tool, a Neutral Density Gradient preset, and several others.

Sunday, May 16 – Camera Raw Improvements – 8:02
Take a look at Adobe Camera Raw 6.0’s new features, including 2010 Processing, vastly improved Noise Reduction, Add Grain, and two significantly improved styles of Post Crop Vignetting.

Monday, May 17 – Automated Lens Correction – 7:08
Learn how to use the Lens Correction Auto Correction panel to search by lens criteria and automatically remove geometric distortion, chromatic aberration, and vignetting.

Tuesday, May 18 – Layers Enhancements – 6:57
Take a peek at several new and improved layers features, including Paste in Place, drag-and-drop smart object layering, Layer Styles defaults, and many others.

Wednesday, May 19 – Puppet Warp – 6:16
Discover secrets for realistically warping parts of a subject using Puppet Warp’s remarkable (almost sci-fi) features.

Thursday, May 20 – A Giant Leap for HDR – 16:38
Take a look at the revamped Merge to HDR Pro feature and the new single image HDR Toning dialog, including HDR presets, ghost removal, and a powerful new slider-based interface.

Friday, May 21 – Bridge Enhancements – 14:28
Explore improvements to the Batch Rename dialog and learn how to watermark in the Output module.

Saturday, May 22 – Painting on a Photograph with the Mixer Brush – 14:30
Learn secrets for using CS5’s Mixer and Bristle brushes to realistically blend paints with colors in a photograph.

In other noteworthy news, I’ve decided not to write a Photographer’s Photoshop CS5 Companion eBook. Instead, I’m pouring my energy into two other exciting projects.

In addition to releasing the “What’s New in CS5″ videos, I’m making wonderful progress on an eBook about the spectacular world of HDR. It will feature both Photomatix and Photoshop tutorials, as well as useful workflow information that is absent in many other HDR books. The eBook will also include an image showcase packed with evocative images designed to inspire ideas for your own work. I’m hoping to release the HDR eBook this summer.

My other project is a complete departure from anything I’ve ever done. If you have children (or a child inside), they’ll be intrigued by my upcoming children’s book about a boy who dreams of flying. I’m co-writing and co-illustrating the book which features camera-based illustrations that employ HDR and several other creative techniques never seen before in children’s books.

Thanks for all of your support and encouragement!

Mark

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Image for Photoshop Workbench 243: Creating a Moonlight Dreamscape

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Andre Gallant has a gift for creating expressive photographs with a painterly appearance. In his new book, Expressionism, he features an image style that he calls Moonlight Dreamscapes. This style exhibits the look of a dreamy, moonlit evening. While experimenting with Andre’s approach to creating Moonlight Dreamscapes, I developed two non-destructive methods — one that mimics his look and another that imparts a slightly different look. In today’s Workbench, we’ll explore both methods.

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Image for Photoshop Workbench 242: Time-Lapse Ghosting

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Lou Raizin uses transparency in a clever fashion in his portfolio series titled “The Place Between.” Check it out by visiting Lou’s site: www.louraizin.com. In today’s Workbench, we’ll explore a few of the secrets behind his magical time-lapse ghosting effect.

If you decide to work along using your own images, first place your camera on a tripod in front of a scene with a moving subject. Set the camera to continuous shooting mode and fire a series of frames while the subject passes through the scene. Now you’ll have the raw materials necessary to build your own time-lapse collage.

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Image for Photoshop Workbench 241: Depicting Dreamtime

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I’m passionate about exploring children’s picture books. Their creativity enchants me. I recently stumbled across a book depicting a dream sequence and it inspired me to record today’s Workbench. Even if you don’t have the need to create a dream sequence, you may find this Workbench useful for unlocking your imagination. Thanks to the Obsidian Dawn website for providing the free (and incredible) brushes that we’ll use in today’s tutorial.

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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

HDR eBook Update

Hello everyone,

Here’s an update on the progress of my upcoming eBook titled “Illuminating HDR.” Just as I was about to finish, HDRsoft (the makers of Photomatix Pro) released a version 4.0 Beta. With the new version just around the corner, I’ve decided to go back to the drawing board and create an eBook that covers the very latest versions of Photomatix, Photoshop, and Lightroom.

The new anticipated release date is around October/Nov. 2010. Thanks for your patience. When it’s finished, this eBook is certain to be among the best HDR resources available.

All my best,

Mark

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Image for Photoshop Workbench 240: Creating a Vintage Folded Poster Look

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If you’ve ever opened a glossy poster that’s been folded, you’ve seen the worn effect produced by the creases. Although this can often be undesirable, it can also make for a stylish effect that adds character to your photograph. In today’s Workbench, we’ll examine the techniques used to create this vintage folded poster effect. My thanks go out to Corey Barker of Planet Photoshop for inspiring this idea.

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