Wednesday 24 November 2010

Kim Klassen's Skinny Mini Course

While Mum has been sleeping and I have been feeling lousy with the cold of the year (!) I have been working through Kim's excellent Photoshop course.  If you have missed out on this round you have another chance to do the course as Kim is running it again at the beginning of December so just click on Kim's button at the top of my right hand sidebar.  It is a video based course and Kim keeps the videos short so they don't take forever to do and I have to say it's becoming more and more addictive.

To be fair to Kim I can't detail the steps I took but here are the results of my labours

 Above is the original photograph and below the altered copy (click on the altered one to see the details).  The aim was to change the image to black and white and then add adjustment layers to get the desired effect.



This photograph of the Magnolia Yellowbird was taken at Alnwick Gradens in Northumberland and the aim of this lesson was to reduce the strength of colour and add a texture to make a bit of a dreamy atmosphere.  I decided to add some text too and changed the colour of the text.

This was the original photograph of St Ives rooftops on which I altered the saturation and added adjustment layers. I then added a photograph of nets to which I applied more adjustment layers.  I think I would have liked the net lines to be dark where they're light and vice versa so I need to have another play with this.

I have paid a very nominal $5 to have continuing access to the instructional videos and still have 3 more to work with including how to make brushes which I glimpsed today and which I have done a little of previously.  There is still a mountain of stuff to learn but in terms of finding my way around Photoshop this course has been wonderful.  I'm going to play some more!

12 comments:

ju-north said...

Some great results here! Looking forward to seeing you at K&S on Friday although we have a load of snow here.

pam said...

You have done really well with your photos - they are impressive. Hope you enjoy the Harrogate show and that your cold is soon better. Horrid time of year everyone seems to be going down with something or other.

Heather said...

Your first efforts are impressive - enjoy your 'homework' and I hope you soon start feeling better. I'd be happy to have taken that first photo of yours - so much clarity in all layers of distance.

B.T.Bear (esq.) said...

cooooolio :@}

Anonymous said...

These look great. Love the fishing nets on the rooftops. Hope your cold leaves soon, mine if finally in retreat. xox Corrine

Julie said...

Thank you Heather :) I have to give credit to my Panasonic Lumix camera that did all the focussing!

Jensters said...

So love your photo's....as i love St Ives too.

Fenland Textile Studio said...

Looks like you are doing really well, love all your images. Hope your mum is doing OK. Hugs x

Maggi said...

Great results Julie. Hope that you managed to get to and from Harrogate safely and enjoyed the show.

Val said...

Hi Julie - nice to catch up with you. Your photos are looking great - it really is addictive, this photo editing lark, isn't it? I have joined Kim's Test Kitchen for 4 months - can't get enough of it at the moment!!

Linda Vincent said...

Lovely pieces Julie...I especially like what you did with those houses.

gunnelsvensson said...

Beautiful photos, great work! I am doing a photoshop class on line in Swedish. And it´s so fun !!! I´ll try this with texture to my photos soon I think !