Adobe Photoshop CC Bootcamp
Lesson 19 of 118
Cropping for the Subject in Post
Adobe Photoshop CC Bootcamp
Lesson 19 of 118
Cropping for the Subject in Post
Lesson Info
Cropping for the Subject in Post
We also have cropping for other things, like cropping for the specific subject matter. So these are instances where you have your camera, you're all set up. This is a perfect one in Chicago. My buddy and I, we had just gotten done eating dinner, we were waiting for the sunset, waiting out the sunset, and it was one of those just pay the check and get out of there because we've got a beautiful sunset coming in. And this, I put on a telephoto lens and I shot specifically for the church. But when I shot for the church, I had to get some of that building in on the outside. Now, I could have just moved my camera over and gotten more of the other side of the image. But there's nothing really there that was really that important for me to get into the image. So I had to make the conscious decision to just cut a little bit into this building because what was the left of it wasn't all sky. It was a bunch of other buildings and such. So, this is where we're specifically cropping, not necessarily...
for composition, but we've made a decision in camera that we now need to correct for in post-production. So, if I click here from my crop tool, cycle for my rule of thirds, I can go ahead and press and hold Shift and keep it within the constraints of that image. Now I say press and hold Shift while you do that because I want to maintain that aspect ratio. I want to maintain the same ratio that I had when I shot the image, so that if I press and hold Shift it automatically makes sure that that happens. Press Enter and now that's what I would say is a much better crop than what we had before. You definitely don't need to see that building there and even losing some of the bottom of the church is fine. I just feel like we're a little higher up now. Here's another example of that. The palm tree, it doesn't feel like it's alone in it's beautiful environment like we would typically want to see a palm tree because we've got all of this clutter of the human world that comes into this that doesn't make it necessarily as attractive. It gives us too much of a time and place. So if I'm cropping this specifically for the subject, I'll just come in and I'll just crop that out. And then maybe move this around, get that rule of thirds and boom, I'm done. So, the idea is not to necessarily just shoot because of the sake of when we photograph that image, it's got to have everything in there. You can shoot whatever it is that you shoot and then come in later and just crop it in post. There's nothing holding you back from cropping it in post and still making a good image. Don't sacrifice a good shot for the fact that you just don't feel like there's something there. Take the shot, more than likely, there's a reason why you're snapping that image and your brain sees it and it's telling you that there's a reason why you're doing this and you don't really know. And you get back to your computer and you're like, "Well, why did I shoot that?" And then it clicks and it triggers. So this is one of those instances. I didn't like all of the junk that was on the bottom. But I really did enjoy that palm tree that was in front of me. Here's nother example of cropping within a wide angle lens. It takes in everything. Cropping specifically for the subject matter, I'm just going to go ahead and crop in with the rule of thirds, press Alt while I Shift-click, get that tree trunk out of there. And get a nice composition that looks more like that timeless feel of being in the palouse with those dilapidated barns. We look at the before, pressing Command or Control Z, pressing Command or Control Z again and we see the after. It's a much better, more powerful crop.
Class Description
Adobe® Photoshop CC® is a valuable tool for photographers, but it can also be intimidating. In this all-inclusive 20 lesson course, you’ll go from opening the program for the first time to creating images that really stand out. Join Blake Rudis, Photoshop expert and founder of f64 Academy, as he shows you how to maximize your use of Photoshop.
Topics covered will include:
- Class Introduction & Bridge, Adobe Camera Raw, Setup Interface, Cropping and Layers
- Layer Tools, Masks, Selections, Clean-Up Tools and Shapes & Text
- Smart Objects, Transforming, Actions, Filters, and Editing Video
- Custom Creative Effects, Natural Retouching, Portrait Workflow, Landscape Workflow, and Composite Workflow
Don’t let the many aspects of Photoshop prevent you from maximizing your use of this amazing app. Blake will help you develop the confidence to use your imagination and create the images that you will be proud to share with your clients.
SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Photoshop CC 2018
Lessons
- Bootcamp Introduction
- The Bridge Interface
- Setting up Bridge
- Overview of Bridge
- Practical Application of Bridge
- Introduction to Raw Editing
- Setting up ACR Preferences & Interface
- Global Tools Part 1
- Global Tools Part 2
- Local Tools
- Introduction to the Photoshop Interface
- Toolbars, Menus and Windows
- Setup and Interface
- Adobe Libraries
- Saving Files
- Introduction to Cropping
- Cropping for Composition in ACR
- Cropping for Composition in Photoshop
- Cropping for the Subject in Post
- Cropping for Print
- Perspective Cropping in Photoshop
- Introduction to Layers
- Vector & Raster Layers Basics
- Adjustment Layers in Photoshop
- Organizing and Managing Layers
- Introduction to Layer Tools and Blend Modes
- Screen and Multiply and Overlay
- Soft Light Blend Mode
- Color and Luminosity Blend Modes
- Color Burn and Color Dodge Blend Modes
- Introduction to Layer Styles
- Practical Application: Layer Tools
- Introduction to Masks and Brushes
- Brush Basics
- Custom Brushes
- Brush Mask: Vignettes
- Brush Mask: Curves Dodge & Burn
- Brush Mask: Hue & Saturation
- Mask Groups
- Clipping Masks
- Masking in Adobe Camera Raw
- Practical Applications: Masks
- Introduction to Selections
- Basic Selection Tools
- The Pen Tool
- Masks from Selections
- Selecting Subjects and Masking
- Color Range Mask
- Luminosity Masks Basics
- Introduction to Cleanup Tools
- Adobe Camera Raw
- Healing and Spot Healing Brush
- The Clone Stamp Tool
- The Patch Tool
- Content Aware Move Tool
- Content Aware Fill
- Custom Cleanup Selections
- Introduction to Shapes and Text
- Text Basics
- Shape Basics
- Adding Text to Pictures
- Custom Water Marks
- Introduction to Smart Objects
- Smart Object Basics
- Smart Objects and Filters
- Smart Objects and Image Transformation
- Smart Objects and Album Layouts
- Smart Objects and Composites
- Introduction to Image Transforming
- ACR and Lens Correction
- Photoshop and Lens Correction
- The Warp Tool
- Perspective Transformations
- Introduction to Actions in Photoshop
- Introduction to the Actions Panel Interface
- Making Your First Action
- Modifying Actions After You Record Them
- Adding Stops to Actions
- Conditional Actions
- Actions that Communicate
- Introduction to Filters
- ACR as a Filter
- Helpful Artistic Filters
- Helpful Practical Filters
- Sharpening with Filters
- Rendering Trees
- The Oil Paint and Add Noise Filters
- Introduction to Editing Video
- Timeline for Video
- Cropping Video
- Adjustment Layers and Video
- Building Lookup Tables
- Layers, Masking Video & Working with Type
- ACR to Edit Video
- Animated Gifs
- Introduction to Creative Effects
- Black, White, and Monochrome
- Matte and Cinematic Effects
- Gradient Maps and Solid Color Grades
- Gradients
- Glow and Haze
- Introduction to Natural Retouching
- Brightening Teeth
- Clean Up with the Clone Stamp Tool
- Cleaning and Brightening Eyes
- Advanced Clean Up Techniques
- Introduction to Portrait Workflow & Bridge Organization
- ACR for Portraits Pre-Edits
- Portrait Workflow Techniques
- Introduction to Landscape Workflow & Bridge Organization
- Landscape Workflow Techniques
- Introduction to Compositing & Bridge
- Composite Workflow Techniques
- Landscape Composite Projects
- Bonus: Rothko and Workspace
- Bonus: Adding Textures to Photos
- Bonus: The Mask (Extras)
- Bonus: The Color Range Mask in ACR
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!!!!