playing and experimenting with photoshop has really made me feel more adventurous. and there is one thing i have realised - sometimes being unconventional and creative makes for a so much better photo.
{some of you who read this blog regularly will have seen some of these photos before. }
i want to show you some examples of how interesting creative cropping can be. you do not need photoshop for this, any photo editing software can so most of these things.
i am just a girl from benoni. i am not a photoshop expert. if you are prepared to figure it all out with me, then you are welcome. if you want a degree in photoshop, then you are at the wrong place...
word art: shabby princess, ronna penner, remember this, part of the express yourself kit
frame: michelle coleman floral frame, part of the 'wonderful' kit ugh! looking at photos of myself makes me realize 3 things: i HATE photos of myself, age is unmerciful, and i love, love, really love photoshop! frame: shabby princess scalloped border, part of the 'fesitval' kit. by doing some really close cropping, you can get rid of that distracting background. frame: shabby princess shabby borders1 inked border you can also put the focus an the subject's eyes. frame: jessica sprague grunge frame the way i cropped this photo of my mom and my sister, creates an intimacy, a closeness. it also highlights how much they look alike. this is marni. she is my brother andre's daughter. i want to use this photo of her to show you a magic trick in photoshop. open your photo. create a new layer. do your basic edits. then, click on 'image' in the overhead menu. on the drop-down menu, choose 'crop'. a highlighted block will appear on your photo, with handles that you can make the block bigger or smaller. but first, under the word 'file' on the overhead menu, find the words 'aspect ratio', as shown by the pink arrow on the photo below. on the drop-down menu, you can choose one of many options. i like to use 'use photo ratio', as this makes the photo easier to print. when you move your mouse on the handles of the cropping block, you will see that the arrow suddenly changes to a curved arrow. this means that if you click there and hold your mouse button in, you can move the angle of the cropping box, as shown by the green arrow in the above photo. when you are happy with it, you can click on the green arrow to accept it. if you are not happy, you click on the red circle, and try again. the whole idea is to experiment, to play. crop dramatically. click to accept. look. like it? keep it. don't like it? go to 'edit' in the overhead menu, and click on 'undo crop'. photoshop is so much better than real life, you can do wild, brave, irresponsible, silly things, and just 'undo' afterward. not like real life, where you are stuck with the hangover/baby/crashed car/credit card bill. frame: shabby princess shabby borders1 inked border and this one i'm particularly proud of. this is ron, the man's father. i took this photo of him on christmas day 2006. frame: shabby princess shabby borders1 shabby lines go on, give it a try. remember, it is all about playing, experimenting, having fun. if you don't like it, you don't save it! you can find my other photoshop tutorials here.
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, gauteng, south africa this post was featured on paxton prints and photoshop-pack and scrapscene and scrapdiary
