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How to Easily Improve Your Photos Using White Balance
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
IN TODAY'S ISSUE:
- What's New in the Scrap Girls Boutique?
- Life Muse by Ro
- Scrap Girls Club
- Tips From The Pros: How to Recolor Photoshop Brushes
- Designer Freebie
- What's Happening at Scrap Girls?
- Ongoing Opportunities for YOU
GENERAL INFORMATION
Support Center We Accept:
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The entire Scrap Girls team wants to say how grateful we are that you have chosen to participate with us. You'll never know just how much your support means to us and our families. Ro P.S. Your email address is safe with us. We never share, rent, sell, or loan our list with anyone! P.P.S. If you ever need any assistance, please email [email protected] or call IMPORTANT TO KNOWDon't forget to check out the Retirement Sale section of the Boutique. Items in this section are always on sale for 30% off. The items you will find during any particular month will be discontinued permanently on the 5th of the following month. So if you see something you like, grab it while you can! OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUCustomer Muses: Would you like to share your own Life Muse with our readers? To have your own essay considered for publication as a muse in the column for our special Saturday newsletter, send your essay to [email protected]. If your essay is selected, you will receive a $20 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique. Way Cool Scrap Girl: We are so excited to have all of you meet some of the amazing people that have become Scrap Girls! If you would like to be spotlighted and win a $25 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique, send the following items to [email protected]:
Suggest a Challenge, Win a Prize! Have a great idea for a Gallery layout challenge? Submit it to [email protected]. If your challenge idea is chosen, you will win a prize! Friday will be Customer Challenge Day, so keep an eye out on the Message Board calendar. It will be fun to see what YOU come up with for us to do!
Of course, it is a surprise what you will get because birthday presents are always surprises! But you will like it for sure because most people like money.... Anyway, make sure your Message Board email address is current and that you have the correct date entered into your profile to participate. *ADVERTISEMENTS*
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Note from Ro: This is a re-run of an article I wrote in 2010. I stumbled on it the other day and realized that it was worth a revisit. The white balance card I am using in the tutorial is slightly different than the one in the product link I am providing to Amazon (which is where I bought my card). The manufacturer has updated the product a little bit.
How to Easily Improve Your Photos Using White Balance
I have to confess that the settings on my camera often intimidate me. After struggling to learn them in a half-hearted manner, I decided to stop fiddling with all of the settings at once. Instead, I have practiced changing one setting at a time until I "get it." Once I feel comfortable with it, I move along to something else.
The white balance setting affects the color cast of the photo – the temperature. Typical white balance settings include incandescent, fluorescent, direct sunlight, flash, cloudy, and shade. Your camera should also have an automatic white balance setting. I use this most of the time because I use the tool I am going to demonstrate to make it easier to figure out.
Here are some photos I took of my dining room, using various white balance settings. You can see how different they are.
If you don't want to take time to change the white balance settings each time you take a photo, you can use a white balance card as a shortcut tool. To use it, just hold the card in front of the camera and take a photo of it. Then take your photos as usual. Once you bring the photos onto your computer, you'll use the image with the white balance card as your reference point.
Normally, you would simply hold the card up in front of you or have the person you are photographing hold it. But in this case, I was taking a self-portrait. So I punted and held it in my teeth.
Next, you will use your Photoshop or Photoshop Elements software to adjust the image.
In Bridge: Use the White Balance tool. Click on the neutral gray area of the card. (This is how you will fix a NEF or RAW file.)
To fix JPGs:
In Photoshop: Follow this path: Image> Adjustments> Levels. Use the gray Eyedropper Tool to select the neutral gray area of the card. The color will instantly improve.
In Photoshop Elements: Follow this path: Enhance> Adjust Lighting> Levels. Use the gray Eyedropper Tool to select the neutral gray area of the card. The color will instantly improve.
Notice the setting changes the tool makes. Write them down, if you need to. Then use the same settings on the rest of the photos and you're all set.
Perfect white balance!
Here is the white balance card I use.
Muse: To be absorbed in one's thoughts; engage in meditation. Not intended to solve the world's problems, another person's problems, or to cover topics completely. One does not have to agree with musings to enjoy them, just as one does not have to be the same as someone else to appreciate who they are.
Would you like to earn a $20 Gift Certificate? Send your own muse to [email protected]. If it is selected for publication in the Scrap Girls newsletter, you'll get to have fun shopping!
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Join the Scrap Girls Monthly Club and you can have fun with the newest traditional digital and printable scrapbooking looks while saving! (A $40.87 value for $9.99 or less!) The Scrap Girls Club contents are released on the 1st day of the month (or the closest business day to the 1st). With the Scrap Girls Club, you will receive:
January's Scrap Girls Club designed for you by Jen Reed
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 Layout by Jen Reed using January's Scrap Girls Club larger view |
 Layout by Jen Reed using January's Scrap Girls Club larger view |
 Layout by Jen Reed using January's Scrap Girls Club larger view |
How to Recolor Photoshop Brushes
Tutorial created using Adobe Photoshop CS4 and OSX
Today I'm going to teach you a very basic technique you can use to recolor Photoshop brushes. I love to recolor Photoshop brushes because it allows you much more artistic control over the final brush image. You can completely transform your brush and make it look more like an "element" than just a basic brush!
Let's get started!
Begin by selecting your brush and one of the colors you'd like to apply to it. Create a new layer and stamp the brush onto it. For mine, I chose a light tan color, so I named my first brush layer Brushwork Tan.
I wanted to add some green to this brush next, so I duplicated the layer (right-click the mouse on the brushwork layer and choose "Duplicate Layer" on the pop-up menu) and then renamed it Brushwork Green.
Next, I changed the foreground color to green and locked the layer's transparent pixels by clicking on "Lock Transparent Pixels" icon (or shortcut key "/").
From the menu, I chose Edit> Fill> Foreground Color (shortcut keys Alt+Delete).
Next, I unlocked the layer by clicking on the "Lock Transparent Pixels" icon again (shortcut key "/"). Now the fun begins! I selected the Eraser Tool and erased the areas where I wanted the first brush layer to show through.
At this point, I want to emphasize that it is very important that you remember to turn off the "Lock Transparent Pixels" each time you recolor it. If you don't, you will notice that as your brush erases, you will see white rather than the colored layered beneath it! This can be handy if you want to add white, but it can be frustrating when you want that lower layer to show through!
If you want to add a third layer of color, repeat the steps of duplicating your layer, select a new foreground color, lock transparent pixels, fill with foreground color, unlock the transparent pixels, and erase.
As a final optional step, you can merge your brush layers and add as drop shadow, a bevel, or any other finishing touches you would like.
Experiment with using layer styles or reducing your eraser's transparency to create different effects. The possibilities truly are endless when you recolor Photoshop brushes!
Layout by Laura Louie
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Article written by Laura Louie
Learn to make digital scrapbooking layouts and more! – Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed Ready to learn advanced techniques? – MORE Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed |
Layout by Melanie Johnson
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Designer Freebie by Melanie Johnson coordinates with her Value Pack: InstanTexture Paper Templates
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Commercial license versions of Value Pack: InstanTexture Paper Templates, Zoomba Collection Biggie and Childhood Memories Collection Biggie are also available. |
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Today's freebie designed by Melanie Johnson
* There is a "free download" button on the details page for each gift. You don't need to put them in your shopping cart unless you are shopping for other items. Also note that if you are slow reading your newsletter, you may find this freebie has already been retired, as the freebies are only available as gifts for about two newsletter cycles.
East Coast High Noon Crop
Wednesday, January 25th - 10:00AM MST
Join April (April Showers) each Wednesday at 10am MT for the East Coast High Noon Crop. All coasts and time zones are welcome! These crops are designed to allow you to work on your own photos and themes, simply giving participants a one hour goal and a fun, new challenge each week. On January 25th, we'll be doing a Brush Challenge. Try to use at least two brushes in your layout. Create your layout and upload it to the special High Noon Crop Gallery. You'll be amazed what you can get done in just one hour, but there is no High Noon Sheriff timing you! Hope to see you in the chat room!
Speed Scrap Crop
Wednesday, January 25th - 6:00PM MST
It's time for some Speed! Join Carla (CRS) and Shannon (tinkerbell11) at 6pm MT for the Speed Scrap Crop! We'll give you six tasks, spread out over an hour. You'll then have the hour to get your layout finished and posted in the Gallery!
Swap Crop Chat
Saturday, January 28th - 6:00PM MST
It's time for the Swap Crop Chat with Carla (CRS)! We've done the swapping and created the layouts, now it's time to chat about all the gorgeous layouts! I don't know what it is, but these swaps bring out the best in everyone. This is the time to chat about the theme, the beautiful layouts and learn about the swap crop if you haven't participated before. We'll brainstorm a theme for next month, too! If you haven't done so, you can check out past swaps in the Swap Crop Gallery!
January Message Board Game: Jumpstart January!
It's time to kick off the new year with fun and focus on scrapbooking! And a few prizes thrown in never hurt, right? Join us on the message board this month for "Jumpstart January!" This is a message board game and challenge to start your year with fun and focus on taking time to scrapbook regularly despite the little speedbumps of life. When the month is over, you'll have completed several layouts and been challenged and treated to some fun along the way.
A member of the Welcoming Committee will post a mini-challenge/task every Monday through Saturday during January. Some tasks will require message board participation, email responses, or gallery posting. Those who complete all tasks and submit or post required participation by 11:59pm MT on January 31st will be entered in a drawing to win one of three $10 Gift Certificates to the Scrap Girls Boutique! Those who complete just the layouts will be entered in a drawing to win one of two $5 Gift Certificates. Those who complete just the speedbumps will be entered in a drawing for one of two $3 Gift Certificates. (Those who complete all tasks will have their name entered in all three drawings!)
For complete details, visit the Monthly Message Board Games folder on the Scrap Girls Forum.
January Monthly Layout Contest: With the beginning of a new year, many people set aside some time to set goals. It might be an exercise plan or establishing better eating habits. It might be getting your life more organized. Or maybe you set goals for your digital scrapbooking output for the year. Post your layouts in the January Monthly Layout Gallery before Midnight MST on January 31st. Be sure to list your layout's product credits in the description or under the EXIF Properties. Two layouts will be selected to win a $10 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique!
Club Concepts Layout Contest: Post your new layout using the current club selection (either the Scrap Girls Club or the ScrapSimple Club) in our Scrap Girls Club Members Gallery or the ScrapSimple Club Members' Gallery. Be sure to list all of the Scrap Girls products you used. If your layout is chosen, it will be showcased as a Club Concepts layout winner, and you will win a $5 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique!
Check our message board calendar if you have any questions about what is happening at Scrap Girls. All event times are given in Mountain Time Zone unless otherwise noted. Need help converting time zones? Check out the World Clock - Time Zone Converter. (Use 'USA-Utah-Salt Lake City' as the location for the Mountain time zone.)
Haven't received your prize as a contest winner? Please send an email to [email protected] and we'll get it out to you right away!