Production Stills from recent projects...
Who are we?
BizVid Communications is a San Diego based video production company owned by Bill Gruber and Caz Taylor. Together we have over 50 years of video production experience and we like to blog about video production, marketing and business.
Posts Tagged ‘photoshop’
How to Change Color in a Photo
June 22nd, 2011
San Diego video production companies are in the business of creating effective and compelling media and BizVid Communications is no exception. From time to time we produce Photoshop video tutorials as a courtesy to our clients and to share some knowledge that we have acquired over the years.
In this post, we illustrate an easy way to change color within a photograph. We use a photo taken aboard a cruise ship looking back toward San Diego as it leaves the dock. To us, the water looked dull and we felt the picture would be improved if the water was bluer. So we fixed it.
Throughout the tutorial, we used the “quick mask mode” along with the brush tool. These two in combination allowed us to prep the area for the color change. Once the area was prepped, we created a new “solid fill layer” which opened the color palette. The color palette gave us the option of choosing the color to be used for the water. We selected the blue shade we liked, clicked “okay” and presto, the water color was changed to a brighter blue.
Photoshop Tutorial – Using Layers
June 8th, 2011
San Diego video production company BizVid Communications was formed several years ago to offer media help to every type of business. In our ongoing effort to do just that, we have created several Adobe Photoshop video tutorials. These tutorials illustrate ways to make photo editing easier and interesting.
The latest tutorial from our brain trust centers on the use of layers. Specifically, the use of layers opens up a whole new world to the photo editor in terms of flexibility in the manipulation of an image. In this latest tutorial, we take you through the steps of creating a layer and then using that layer to add interest to the photo image.
None of the tutorials we produce are complicated and regardless of the Photoshop version one might have, the techniques are basically the same. For example, in this latest video we show you how to create a speech bubble around a picture of a surfer. The surfer has caught a beautiful wave and the speech bubble displays the word, “wow” to capture excitement of the moment. In the lesson, the speech bubble is drawn onto the background layer which does not allow for its movement to a different location within the image. The instruction then starts again by first creating a second layer upon which the speech bubble is drawn. At that point, the speech bubble can be moved, re-sized or manipulated in any fashion. And the tutorial continues to outline the benefits of layering.
I invite you to view the tutorial and then put into practice the layer technique. It will be one more quill in your arsenal of photo editing tricks. Visit our YouTube channel for more tricks of the trade, we update it weekly with new how-to’s and tricks.
Photo Editing the Easy Way
May 21st, 2011
As a video producer for BizVid Communications, I find that I am often asked by friends to lend advice on various aspects of image capture and manipulation. The questions usually center on “what camera should I buy” or, “what’s the best way to fix a picture.” Answering the camera question is difficult (far too many variables to consider) but the image manipulation question is simple enough.
The absolute standard for image manipulation is Adobe Photoshop. If you do some research, you will find that there are two ways one can go in that regard. The premium choice is with the all powerful Photoshop CS 5. It is the professional version. It comes with a huge learning curve and is full power. Expect to spend around $699 ( or much less if you’re a student) and for most, CS 5 is overkill. So, the choice for consumers who want a user friendly, inexpensive and easy to learn solution is Photoshop Elements 9. It costs around $89, yet has about 75% of the power of its big brother.
Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 is the #1 selling consumer photo-editing software. It delivers powerful options that make it easy for anyone, with some computer skills, to create good looking photos and to quickly share them online with friends and family.
One can correct color, crop, add borders, create albums and automatically organize and protect photos and video clips. It is the one stop solution.
While there are numerous manipulations one can do with this software, my favorite is an option called “Photomerge.” This tool let’s you seamlessly stitch multiple photos together to make a panoramic print. For example, while on a vacation cruise I came across a great view of the harbor but the shot was too wide for a simple 4×6 print. So I took three separate shots of the harbor, overlapping each by about 10%. When I returned home, I used Photomerge to stitch them and now I have a great panoramic picture hanging on my wall.
To really learn all of the benefits of Photoshop Elements 9, I recommend that you visit the Adobe website for a complete description. Additionally, we’ve got some great Photoshop tutorials right here on our blog. As you use the program, you’ll no doubt discover that creating compelling imagry is so much more than simly pushing a button on your camera. Digital photo editing gives you the ultimate control over what you see.
Photoshop Tutorial on how to straighten an image
April 6th, 2011
I am in the video production business so one would think that, when it comes to picture taking, I would do it correctly. Well think again. It seems that if I have a video camera in my hand, everything comes out great. But a still camera? That is a different story. Like most, when I am on vacation and looking to capture the memories of the moment, I tend to pay little attention to composition…..an element that is extremely important to a nice result. One example is a picture of the ocean or a skyline….something with a horizon.
Typically, my pictures in those settings show the horizon on a slant. A straight horizon would certainly be more preferable. Well, to help me and thousands of others correct this flaw, we have created a Photoshop tutorial that will show you how to straighten the horizon in a picture for a much better result. This tutorial is simple and once learned, you will find yourself correcting everything you have. At least that is the idea. View the tutorial and learn.
How to Straighten a Horizon in Photoshop
March 2nd, 2011
How many times have you taken a great picture and, upon viewing it, realized that the horizon was at slant? This has happened to me on so many occasions. One would think that because I am in the video business, I would get “picture taking” right. But alas, in the heat of the moment…when that special moment hits to take that picture, getting it straight is not always the outcome. But fear not. Photoshop is a wonderful tool and I use in constantly to straighten the horizon of a picture I have taken. You can do this too. This Bizvid Communications Photoshop tutorial is designed to show you how to make the horizon of a picture, straight. Once you have mastered the technique, you will find yourself digging through your archives to search for other picture’s that need a makeover. So view the video then try this for yourself. Count this as one more tool in your digital picture arsenal.