Lesson Info
17. Cropping for Composition in ACR
Lessons
Bootcamp Introduction
16:22 2The Bridge Interface
13:33 3Setting up Bridge
06:55 4Overview of Bridge
11:29 5Practical Application of Bridge
27:56 6Introduction to Raw Editing
11:00 7Setting up ACR Preferences & Interface
07:39 8Global Tools Part 1
16:44Global Tools Part 2
20:01 10Local Tools
22:56 11Introduction to the Photoshop Interface
07:13 12Toolbars, Menus and Windows
25:07 13Setup and Interface
11:48 14Adobe Libraries
05:57 15Saving Files
07:39 16Introduction to Cropping
12:10 17Cropping for Composition in ACR
04:44 18Cropping for Composition in Photoshop
12:40 19Cropping for the Subject in Post
03:25 20Cropping for Print
07:34 21Perspective Cropping in Photoshop
07:11 22Introduction to Layers
08:42 23Vector & Raster Layers Basics
05:05 24Adjustment Layers in Photoshop
27:35 25Organizing and Managing Layers
15:35 26Introduction to Layer Tools and Blend Modes
21:34 27Screen and Multiply and Overlay
09:15 28Soft Light Blend Mode
07:34 29Color and Luminosity Blend Modes
12:47 30Color Burn and Color Dodge Blend Modes
07:43 31Introduction to Layer Styles
11:43 32Practical Application: Layer Tools
13:06 33Introduction to Masks and Brushes
04:43 34Brush Basics
09:22 35Custom Brushes
04:01 36Brush Mask: Vignettes
06:58 37Brush Mask: Curves Dodge & Burn
06:53 38Brush Mask: Hue & Saturation
07:52 39Mask Groups
05:52 40Clipping Masks
04:11 41Masking in Adobe Camera Raw
07:06 42Practical Applications: Masks
14:03 43Introduction to Selections
05:42 44Basic Selection Tools
17:41 45The Pen Tool
11:56 46Masks from Selections
04:22 47Selecting Subjects and Masking
07:11 48Color Range Mask
17:35 49Luminosity Masks Basics
12:00 50Introduction to Cleanup Tools
07:02 51Adobe Camera Raw
10:16 52Healing and Spot Healing Brush
14:56 53The Clone Stamp Tool
10:20 54The Patch Tool
06:38 55Content Aware Move Tool
04:56 56Content Aware Fill
06:46 57Custom Cleanup Selections
15:42 58Introduction to Shapes and Text
13:46 59Text Basics
15:57 60Shape Basics
07:00 61Adding Text to Pictures
09:46 62Custom Water Marks
14:05 63Introduction to Smart Objects
04:37 64Smart Object Basics
09:13 65Smart Objects and Filters
09:05 66Smart Objects and Image Transformation
10:57 67Smart Objects and Album Layouts
11:40 68Smart Objects and Composites
10:47 69Introduction to Image Transforming
04:34 70ACR and Lens Correction
09:45 71Photoshop and Lens Correction
14:26 72The Warp Tool
11:16 73Perspective Transformations
20:33 74Introduction to Actions in Photoshop
09:27 75Introduction to the Actions Panel Interface
05:06 76Making Your First Action
03:49 77Modifying Actions After You Record Them
11:38 78Adding Stops to Actions
04:01 79Conditional Actions
07:36 80Actions that Communicate
25:26 81Introduction to Filters
04:38 82ACR as a Filter
09:20 83Helpful Artistic Filters
17:08 84Helpful Practical Filters
07:08 85Sharpening with Filters
07:32 86Rendering Trees
08:20 87The Oil Paint and Add Noise Filters
15:08 88Introduction to Editing Video
06:20 89Timeline for Video
08:15 90Cropping Video
03:34 91Adjustment Layers and Video
05:25 92Building Lookup Tables
07:00 93Layers, Masking Video & Working with Type
15:11 94ACR to Edit Video
06:10 95Animated Gifs
11:39 96Introduction to Creative Effects
06:08 97Black, White, and Monochrome
18:05 98Matte and Cinematic Effects
08:23 99Gradient Maps and Solid Color Grades
12:20 100Gradients
04:21 101Glow and Haze
10:23 102Introduction to Natural Retouching
05:33 103Brightening Teeth
10:25 104Clean Up with the Clone Stamp Tool
08:07 105Cleaning and Brightening Eyes
16:58 106Advanced Clean Up Techniques
24:47 107Introduction to Portrait Workflow & Bridge Organization
14:47 108ACR for Portraits Pre-Edits
21:27 109Portrait Workflow Techniques
18:46 110Introduction to Landscape Workflow & Bridge Organization
12:17 111Landscape Workflow Techniques
37:36 112Introduction to Compositing & Bridge
06:59 113Composite Workflow Techniques
34:01 114Landscape Composite Projects
24:14 115Bonus: Rothko and Workspace
05:15 116Bonus: Adding Textures to Photos
07:05 117Bonus: The Mask (Extras)
05:18 118Bonus: The Color Range Mask in ACR
04:54Lesson Info
Cropping for Composition in ACR
So if we open up our first example image here. And this image is already kinda pre-staged, and pre-baked for us to have all of the settings already set for us, so now we're just really just talking about cropping for this instance. And cropping entails not just the constraints of the image, but also cropping is also related to the straightening of that image too. So we have to keep that in mind, that when we straighten our image, we're actually cropping things as well. So the crop tools that you're gonna find in Adobe Camera Raw are essentially gonna be your straighten tool and then your crop tool. And just like every tool in Photoshop, if you ever see a little drop down little angle there, that little triangle underneath that crop tool, that means there's more information there for you. So if you click and hold on that, this is gonna give you a bunch of different things that you can use when you're cropping your image. So you have the ability to show your overlay, you have the ability...
to set a custom crop, or if you're doing a one to one, a square crop, or a two to three, or a three to four, or if maybe you have a print size, a very specific print size that you know you're gonna print to, you can use this custom button and you can change this to a a crop ratio of something like 20 by let's say, 24. Press okay. And that is gonna set you up with a crop that is set up to 20 by 24. Notice how when I clicked and dragged here, if I click and drag from the top, it's constraining that to a 20 by 24 crop. So that's helping me out when it comes to the print process of how I would crop this for print in Adobe Camera Raw. But if I click and hold on here, and let's just make this normal. Normal will allow us to not constrain it at all, and not have anything that's going to affect the size of the crop. So now if I click and hold here, I now get a free form crop where I can crop wherever I want, and not concern myself too much with the constrained property there. So if I go ahead and click and hold on here, and so we see the show overlay, and we turn that off, that's gonna turn on and off the rule of thirds overlay that you get inside there. Because the rule of thirds is the one overlay they do give you here, I would just go ahead and keep it on, 'cause it does help when you're making your adjustments. The next thing is the crop as the straighten tool, in cropping. So if we click on the straightening tool I can see that back here that this is probably the straight part of my landscape, so I'll click right here, and over to here, and that will straighten my image. But you notice just how when I hopped into cropping, what happened when I hopped into cropping? It made a little overlay outside of the border of my image that's gray. And that gray space is telling me what's gonna be pulled out, cropped out, and not exist anymore. So if I commit to this, Adobe Camera Raw is gonna throw that information out. Not throw it out. It's gonna be there still. So if I press enter, and then go into the crop tool again, it's gonna show me exactly what it did. So it doesn't throw it out, it's temporary. And it's actually saved within your xmp sidecar file. That little sidecar file that you get in Camera Raw. So that data is still saved, it's not deleting it, it's not getting rid of it, it's still being saved right there within your xmp documentation for that file. But, we lose that outer area in the image. And as it stands now, Adobe Camera Raw doesn't allow you to go outside of the confounds of this crop, unlike Photoshop, which does, we'll talk about the benefits of Photoshop cropping in a minute. So if it tried to pull this up and make it give me a little bit more, it won't do it, because it's staying within the confines of the image, it doesn't wanna give me anything outside of it, because if Camera Raw did that, it'd be giving me data that doesn't exist outside the image. Camera Raw doesn't know how to handle that. So it just says, this is what you get. This is the crop that you get. So if I press enter, and I commit to this, that's the crop that I'm gonna have for this photograph. It won't forever be that way, 'cause I can always go back in here and I can change this crop to a one to one, or whatever crop that I would see fit. That's actually a pretty good one to one right there, look at that. So I press okay, and that would be where I would leave it with that. But, Photoshop has a lot more capabilities for cropping than Adobe Camera Raw does. So, typically if I'm gonna do something in Adobe Camera Raw it might be just straightening the image, and doing a very mild straighten. But there are times when I straighten that image and it's cutting off really important data. And if that's the case, I'm gonna do that in Photoshop because I have some fill tools that can fill in some of the area around it, so that if I am cropping out and I do have some transparency on the outside, I can fill in those areas. Where you cannot do that in Adobe Camera Raw. So that's the basics of cropping in Adobe Camera Raw.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
a Creativelive Student
Amazing course, but don't be fooled into thinking this is a beginner's course for photographers. The problem isn't Blake's explanations; they're top. The problem is the vast scope of this course and the order in which the topics are presented. Take layers for example. When I was first learning Photoshop (back when we learned from books), I found I learned little or nothing from, for example, books that covered layers before they covered how to improve/process photographs. These books taught me how to organize, move, and link layers before they showed me what a layer was actually for. Those books tended to teach me everything there is to know about layers (types of layers, how to organize them, how to move them, how to move them two at a time, how to move them two at a time even if there are other layers between the two you're interested in, useful troubleshooting tips, etc. ) all before I even know (from a photographer's point of view) what it is the things actually do. The examples of organizing, linking, and moving mean everything for graphic designers from Day One, but for photographers not so much. Blake does the same thing as those books. Topics he covers extremely early demand a lot of theoretical imagination for a photographer who doesn't already know quite a bit about what he is talking about. Learning about abstract things first and concrete things later only makes PS that much harder to understand. If you AREN'T a beginner, however, this course is amazing. I thought it would be like an Army Bootcamp, taking you from zero and building you into a fit, competent Photoshop grunt. Now I think it's more like Army Bootcamp for high school varsity jocks. It isn't going to take you from the beginning, but the amount you'll get out of it is nonetheless more than your brain can imagine. I've been using PS for years to improve my photographs, and even to create the odd artistic composite or two. The amount I've learned in the first week is amazing, and every day I learn something -- more like many things -- which I immediately implement to improve my productivity and/or widen the horizons of what I can achieve. If you ARE a photographer who's a Photoshop beginner, I'd take very seriously the advice Blake gives in the introduction: Watch one lesson, and practice the skills and principles you learn in that one lesson for two weeks. THEN watch the next lesson. You can't do that of course without buying the course, so it's up to you to decide whether you'd like to learn Photoshop and master Photoshop all from the same course. Learning it first and mastering it later will cost more money, but I think you'll understand everything better and have a much more enjoyable ride in the process. As for me? I'm going to have to find the money to buy this course. There is simply way too much content in each lesson for me to try to take on all at once, but on the other hand I don't want to miss anything at all that he has to share.
Robert Andrews
Blake Rudis is the absolute best in teaching photoshop. His knowledge and how he presents the instruction is clear and concise - there is NO ONE BETTER. Yes, his classes require some basic skills, and maybe I'd organize the order of (or group) the classes in a different order, but, let me be clear - if anyone is to be successful or famous in the Photoshop world, it should be Blake Rudis. I strongly recommend his teaching. I started photography and post processing in 2018, and because of this class, I'm know what Im doing. The energy you get when you create something beautiful is profound, it makes you bounce out of bed (at 4AM) like a 5 year old, to go create. It's a great ride! Thanks Blake, & Thanks Creative live.
Esther Gambrell
WOW!!! I've been purchasing CL classes for several years now and have watched HOURS of "How-To Photoshop" classes, but this is the first one I've actually purchased because of the AWESOME BONUS content!!! SERIOUSLY??!!?!? A PLUG-IN??? But not only that, Blake is SO easy to understand, and he breaks down concepts in different ways to connect with different people's learning styles. I REALLY appreciated this approach because I am a LEFT-BRAINED creative that has an engineering background, so I really connected to what Blake was saying. THANK YOU FOR THAT! There are TONS of Photoshop courses out there, but I found this one to be the most helpful in they way Blake teaches concepts so that you know WHY you're doing what your doing. I feel like he taught me how to fish with Photoshop to feed me for a lifetime instead of just giving me a fish to feed me for one day. This is the BEST overall PS course out there!!! Thank you!!!!