[tn-moths] Re: Photoshop rotating and cropping
- From: kjchilds <kjchilds@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "ncsc-moths@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <ncsc-moths@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, TN Moths <tn-moths@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 5 Jun 2011 11:17:15 -0700 (PDT)
I knew I'd forget something!
Crop using the the crop tool. Make sure Width, Height and Resolution are
blank. Click somewhere on the photo and drag the cursor to open a crop
box. Don't worry about being accurate at this point. By clicking and
dragging the edges or corners you can make the selection you want. Click
and hold inside the box to move the entire box. If you get one that's
close to what you want but it needs some super fine tuning, use the
arrow keys on your keyboard to move the entire
selection into place. Hit enter to complete the crop.
________________________________
From: kjchilds <kjchilds@xxxxxxxxx>
To: TN Moths <tn-moths@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "ncsc-moths@xxxxxxxxxxxxx"
<ncsc-moths@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, June 5, 2011 1:13 PM
Subject: [ncsc-moths] Photoshop rotating and cropping
These are instructions for Windows users. If you're using a Mac, the keyboard
commands may be different but not very different. I think Macs use a command
key instead of a control key.
Open an image in Photoshop. I just use Windows explorer to organize my pics and
Windows Photo Viewer to look at them. The easiest way for me to open a photo is
to right-click on a file or on the open photo in Windows Photo Viewer and
select open with/Adobe Photoshop.
If necessary, rotate the image so the moth is facing basically the way you want
it to be by using image/rotate canvas.
If necessary, fine tune by selecting the image (ctrl+a) and then use 'free
transform' (ctrl+t) to rotate it into place. Move the cursor to somewhere
outside the photo and a curved double arrow will appear. Click and hold to
rotate it into place.
Once you're happy with the orientation, hit enter and deselect (ctrl+d). If
it's a shot from above, I like to have the moth pointing towards the top and if
it's a side view, I like to have it facing to the right. This makes it easier
when trying to ID the moth because most of the pics on MPG are oriented these
ways. If you have a side view facing towards the left and you want it to face
towards the right, select image/rotate canvas/flip canvas horizontal.
Crop using the the crop tool. Make sure Width, Height and Resolution are blank.
Click somewhere on the photo and drag the cursor to open a crop box. Don't
worry about being accurate at this point. By clicking and dragging the edges or
corners you can make the selection you want. Click and hold inside the box to
move the entire box. If you get one that's close to what you want but it needs
some super fine tuning, use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the entire
selection into place.
Learning the keyboard shortcuts can save a lot of time. Another huge time saver
is setting up actions for groups of commands you use a lot. I'll go into detail
on this another time. I have it setup in Photoshop where it takes less than 1
minute to do a basic edit. I've never used Photoshop Elements but it should
have all these basic tools although the commands and location may be different
than what's in Photoshop.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I'm no Photoshop expert but I
know enough to do a decent basic edit. I plan on going into things like
cloning, lightening/darkening, color correction, resizing, sharpening etc in
the near future.
If you're serious about nature photography, please visit
http://www.birdphotographers.net . The critique forums are a fantastic place to
learn about what to do in the field and during editing. Even if you just lurk
and never post a photo for
critique, you'll learn a lot from reading the critiques of others photos.
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