Adobe Photoshop

Better Tools for Tones: Why I Don’t Look at the Histogram — CreativePro.com article

Better Tools for Tones- Why I Don’t Look at the Histogram on CreativePro.com

Photographers are taught to use the histogram to evaluate images, but it has shortcomings that limit its usefulness when editing. In my latest article for CreativePro.com I show you tools and techniques in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Camera Raw, and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom that are better than the histogram for finding tone and color problems such as clipping and midtone contrast. You’ll be able to more effectively find out exactly where the problems are in your photos, so you can craft better-looking images more quickly.

Click the link below to read the article at CreativePro.com:
Better Tools for Tones- Why I Don’t Look at the Histogram on CreativePro.com

Update: Adobe Photoshop CS6 13.0.4/13.1.2 fixes “trial version” problem

Photoshop CS6 icon

Photoshop CS6 13.0.4/13.1.2 released

Did your copy of Photoshop CS6 suddenly become a 30-day trial version, even though you already paid for it? Adobe has now fixed this issue in Adobe Photoshop CS6 13.0.4 (for perpetual licenses of Photoshop) and 13.1.2 (for Creative Cloud licenses). You can read more about it on Jeff Tranberry’s Adobe blog, or on the Photoshop help page Trial screen displays on launch.

To update Photoshop directly, start Photoshop CS6 and choose Help > Updates.

or:

To download a manual installer for perpetual licenses: Download the update from the Adobe Product Updates page and install it manually. You can’t update a Creative Cloud license from this page, so only the 13.0.4 update for perpetual licenses is available.

To update an Adobe Creative Cloud license: Start Adobe Application Manager, and in the list of Creative Cloud software you have installed, click the word Update next to any of the applications with updates. Clicking Update for Photoshop CS6 will bring Photoshop up to version 13.1.2. Or, to run all available application updates at once, click Updates in the left column and then click Update All.

Adobe Application Manager ready to update applications

Lightroom 4.3 (Retina display update) and Adobe Camera Raw 7.3 released

Lightroom 4 icon

Adobe has released Adobe Camera Raw 7.3 and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4.3 with the same raw processing updates for both, and with a corresponding DNG Converter 7.3 update. All are free updates for current licenses of the software. Lightroom 4.3 includes support for Retina/HiDPI displays in the Library and Develop modules. The updates also include the usual bug fixes, adds support for new cameras including the Canon EOS 6D, Nikon D600 and Olympus PEN E-PL5, and add new lens profiles. For more details, go to:

If you’ve been using the Release Candidate (RC) versions that were released by Adobe Labs earlier this year for public testing, you should install these final versions because there have been some changes from the RC versions.

How to update

To download the updates, go to:

http://www.adobe.com/downloads/updates/

(although Camera Raw 7.3 wasn’t available when I posted this)

To update Photoshop and Camera Raw directly, start Photoshop and choose Help > Updates.

To update Lightroom, start Lightroom and choose Help > Check for Updates. If you bought Lightroom through the Mac App Store, the update may take a longer to become available there because it has to wait for Apple approval.

Retina display updates: Adobe Photoshop CS6 13.0.2/13.1 and Illustrator 16.0.3, and Creative Cloud thoughts

Photoshop CS6 and Illustrator CS6 icons

Photoshop CS6 13.0.2 and 13.1 released, along with Illustrator 16.0.3

Adobe has released Adobe Photoshop CS6 13.0.2 and Adobe Illustrator 16.0.3 with support for Retina/HiDPI displays. Adobe Photoshop 13.1 is also available now only for Adobe Creative Cloud subscribers, combining Retina/HiDPI support with new features not available in 13.0.2.

[Update, December 20, 2012: Adobe has released Photoshop CS6 13.0.3 and 13.1.1 to fix a few bugs.]

There are aspects of this mix of updates that have caused a lot of confusion, so the point of most of this article is to help straighten it all out. First of all, some users appear to be under the impression that only Creative Cloud subscribers get the Retina and bug fix updates. The way it really works is that everybody gets the Retina display updates and the stability fixes (Photoshop 13.0.2 and Illustrator 16.0.3), but only Creative Cloud subscribers get the new features (Photoshop 13.1). For those who make a living keeping up with Creative Suite applications in education or enterprise, this has important implications that I talk about at the end of this article.

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The Photographer’s Introduction to Video in Lightroom 4 and Photoshop CS6: Now available!

Have you upgraded to Lightroom 4 or Photoshop CS6 but are still not quite sure how to start working with video files from your cameras? With The Photographer’s Guide to Video in Lightroom 4 and Photoshop CS6, you can begin to realize the full video potential of the software you invested in. You’ll get the most out of this eBook if you’re a still photographer starting to integrate video into your workflow.

The Photographer's Introduction to Video in Lightroom 4 and Photoshop CS6 cover

Why I wrote this ebook

While Lightroom and Photoshop can work with digital video files, they’re designed to streamline very specific photographer-oriented video workflows. In addition, what they can do is different in scope than what you’d be able to accomplish if you were using a professional digital video editor such as Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro. I wrote this ebook to help you understand when Lightroom or Photoshop is the right choice for your video project, and how to use them.

The book assumes you already know how to use Lightroom or Photoshop in a still-image workflow. I wanted to build a bridge between what you already know about your cameras and your Adobe software and the new challenges of organizing, managing, and creating output from digital video.

How to learn

Download and read The Photographer’s Introduction to Video in Lightroom 4 and Photoshop CS6 as an ebook in multiple formats, including Kindle, PDF, and  iBooks. Here are some links to get you started:
Amazon.com for Kindle
Peachpit.com for Kindle/MOBI, ePub, and PDF
iTunes store for iOS devices

More info

Below is the publisher’s marketing copy if you want to learn a bit more…

Use the image tools you already know as a photographer—Lightroom 4 and Photoshop CS6—to edit HD video from your DSLR camera or smart phone. This ebook will help you make the transition from still to motion, learning how to organize, edit, export, and upload your HD video. Take advantage of the advanced features in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop and bring your work to life.

Highlights of this ebook include:

  • Understand which software application is right for your project
  • Get tips on planning, shooting video, and recording audio to make post-production easier
  • Organize and prep your video clips by taking advantage of metadata, filters, and using Collections
  • Prepare still images in Lightroom for video
  • Learn about the Photoshop Timeline, making basic edits and cuts and creating transitions and fades
  • Color correct your video files and adjust audio
  • Create a video slideshow of your photographs
  • Fully grasp all the concepts and techniques as you go with step-by-step instructions