Big Blue Squid

Adobe Raise CS4 UK Prices by 10%

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:43:00 +0000

Adobe are set to raise the price of CS4 by 10% on the 1st July 2009.
According to Adobe this will bring UK prices in line with the rest of Europe due to the change in GBP/EUR.

To make this happen they're also dropping the Euro price by up to 13%.
The US prices will remain the same however making it an even worse deal of the UK compared to US prices.

Adobe's US store sells Design Premium CS4 for $1,799 - £1,098 at today's exchange rate. The new UK price will make the same software £1,578 (inc VAT) over here, a difference of £480.

Adobe have stated in their press release:
"Adobe seeks to price consistently across Europe to the extent that circumstances and market conditions make this possible, the current economic environment and currency fluctuations have made this challenging. This change to the CS4 pricing is intended to realign the UK with other European countries."

So if you're considering a move to CS4 now is the time to do it.

Beefing Up Lighting

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Mon, 18 May 2009 07:51:00 +0000

Shooting animals is always challenging but cows are generally easier than most. Not so however when the particular animal you're after is tied to a wall along a row of around 100 other cows, even less so when you're after the largest bulls you can find!

Covering the Balmoral Show this year I set out with the intention of setting up more than the usual on-camera flash or even secondary flash in a situation that is definitely not designed for delicate equipment. My goal was to photograph the largest bulls I could find along with the most distinguishing owners. I wanted a close up shot with both faces, lit from the front, beneath and above. Working on my own, at least one of the three lights would have to be on a stand. Despite scoffing from my colleagues about the location (you'll see why below) I packed my Lowe Pro Nature Trekker full of gear and headed for the show.

The bulls themselves are massive. Weighing over 1 ton they're led around by the ring in their noses but once they start to turn there's no changing their minds, you simply have to go with them and try to steer them back around to their original position. In a confined space this was never going to be easy, particularly when they all face the wall.

Working with the farmers I put the farmer into position first, holding the bull by the ring then set off a few test flashes to ensure it didn't frighten the animal. Positioning myself between the next two cows or bulls in the row I crawled underneath the bulls head to position a remote flash pointing straight up under the bulls chin. I positioned the next light on the wall, wedged between some taps and piping (admittedly the guys in the office were right, lighting stands had no chance!). Lastly, the third light was on the camera controlling the other two.

Positioning myself at chin level I was able to get the bull and the farmers head in close together while the cow beside me breathed on the back of the camera steaming up the viewfinder.

Working in this way I followed the line up of cattle picking out the biggest bulls and most distinguished farmers until I had a set of four images, all well lit and equally imposing.

Back in the office each shot was cropped to keep the focus directly on the two faces. Using the Lucis Art filter I increased the detail a little then reduced the contrast to compensate for the brightening effect of the filter. Lastly I increased the saturation to bring back the deep colours.

Thanks to:
Shanvalley Blondes, Shane Savage
Castlepoll Herefords, C&M Beatty & Son
Coolenaslee Charollais, Andrew Patterson

Extreme Detail Enhancement

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:54:00 +0000

Extreme detail enhancement (or super sharpening) has always had the problem of bringing out lots of JPEG artifacts, or jaggies. While there have been loads of filters to counteract this problem few filters allow you to really improve the detail of a shot and still keep a usable image.

While the Dave hill photo effect has been around for a long time I've only recently had cause to purchase the Lucis Art filter. At over £150 it's quite expensive unless you have a commercial use for it but recently I wanted to bring out the detail of a couple of special images. While recreating the famous look I found the filter had a stunning range of detail enhancement which I hadn't anticipated.

While the filter will indeed super-enhance your images and bring out the detail like never before, at the lower end of the slider (and it is a complete no-brainer to use, slider control), you can bring out just a little bit of detail making your images really pop off the screen.

Used correctly this can be batch applied to all of your images from a shoot giving you and your clients instant 'wow' factor.

Combined with a little skin softening on faces, darkening to counteract the brightening effect of the filter and some saturation adjustment and you have a stunning new level of photographic imagery.

Discounts on Photoshop Elements and Adobe Software

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:54:00 +0000

If you're in the market for Photoshop Elements or other Adobe software they are currently offering 25% off Elements and £50 off when you spend £350 or more.

The Elements offer ends 1st June. Simply enter the code codesukelements09 at the checkout.
The £50 off offer ends 31st May.

Students can get up to 80% off which is a massive saving with some of the bundles retailing at over £1000. You simply need a valid student ID card.

Click here to take up the offer.

Taking a NAPP

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:34:00 +0000

After much consideration I have joined NAPP, the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. This is something I had looked at after reading Scot Kelbys books on Photoshop but I was wary because so many of these 'clubs' are US based and therefore offer little to the international user.

After signing up for $100 I was given instant access to their website where I could view online tutorials in video and print format.
So far I have to say the tutorials are quick and easy to follow but cover a wide range of techniques including some complex issues. They are also a good additional source of updates on the latest version of Photoshop making it easier to choose when or if upgrading is worth the cost.

The user galleries range from simple to stunning and will quickly give you an idea of your level of expertise compared to others in the industry. (Be prepared to be amazed by some of the shots!)

Around two weeks after joining up I was surprised to receive a complete members pack in the post from the US. I say 'complete' because it included a printed mini guide to Photoshop CS4 techniques, a printed copy of Photoshop User (this is subsequently sent out in PDF format to non-US residents), a membership card, printed certificate, window sticker and some discount offers which are mainly for US residents.

On the website the offers improve a bit though, there are a huge number of offers and many are from online retailers offering stock images and Photoshop add-ons making them suitable for everyone. The Adobe offers and hardware offers from Apple or Wacom tend to be restricted to the US which is a shame but the content of the website still makes membership worthwhile.

There is also a forum and e-mail option for technical support which is a useful tool if you have problems with Photoshop. CS3 and CS4 (although CS4 has improved slightly) had a nasty bug when it came to printing so this is another option for support after the official Adobe website.

All in all I would recommend the NAPP as a good source of tools and resources from fellow Photoshoppers and professionals in the industry.

Photography Classes FULLY BOOKED

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:21:00 +0000

Our photography classes are now fully booked but if you are still interested please contact me as a number of people have already expressed an interest in joining another course later in the year.

Photography for Beginners Classes

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:59:00 +0000

I've teamed up with Aaron McCracken, a co-hort from work and together we're running photography classes for beginners.

It's a six week course for one hour per night on a Monday and Wednesday.
The Monday class is in Hillsborough and the Wednesday class is in Ballynahinch.

The total cost of the course is £65 and covers the absolute basics of photography from holding the camera to editing your photos in Photoshop. We'll have a range of images to diagnose and showcase as well as looking at your own images.

Over the six weeks we'll take you from 'automatic settings' to manual settings and basic workflow management, getting the pics from your camera to your mantelpiece and maybe even into a magazine.

For bookings e-mail me at mike@bigbluesquid.com

It's Christmas time again...

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:05:00 +0000

Tis Christmas once again and the 'snow pic' requests have started once more. This one is a local council promotion. The original shoot was outside with a range of images including polystyrene being cut up and blown out of the models hands but the photographer, Simon Graham, persuaded the client to go for a more artistic finish to the image and brought it back to the studio for production.

It's Montage Month...

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:41:00 +0000

I haven't been hiding under a rock since April, just working on a new website (www.creditcardwinner.co.uk), getting engaged on holiday and then all of a sudden working on more montages in one month than I have in the past two years.
I've produced 8 in total ranging from 2'x3' to 6' high and all to deadline, some examples of which are below. Working with these files is always exciting due to the planning required for layout, image resizing and the practical file sizes - some are over 600mb for the final PSD file.

10 Years of EasyJet at Belfast International Airport:

Rally Stage at Parliament Buildings:

Devolution Day at Stormont:

United States Investment Conference Northern Ireland 2008:

Balmoral Furniture / Bar Retro interiors:

Photo Restoration

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:53:00 +0000

Every once in a while I get asked to do a restoration job but the images vary from colour correction to complete restoration. These are samples of the latest originals and fixes...

Latest Work...

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 15:18:00 +0000

This is a shoot I undertook myself specifically for the purpose of 'magazine style' editing. Mother and Daughter, Rosie and Kharis kindly agreed to take part in the shoot in return for prints and to see the edited versions of themselves. (In the industry it's called 'Time for Prints' or TFP). Kharis is an actor and has appeared in some high profile films including Run Fat Boy Run so getting head shots or portrait style images wasn't new to her.
It was shot locally on a bright morning with a little additional flash. Each image was then edited to two levels; lighting and skin first; artistic second.
The lighting and skin edit touchs up blemishes, evens out skin tonality and tidies up any stray hair.
The artistic edit takes the image beyond the look of the original subject to create a completely new look:

Some jobs are better than others...

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:56:00 +0000

Model Jenny Curran features regularly in the local press and this shot shows why. Photographed by John Harrison promoting a prize Volkswagon Fox, Jenny provided an eye catching focal point for the image.

Jenny was Photoshopped from head to toe including:
Changing the camera focus point
Eyes lightened and coloured
Eye liner added
Skin texture removed and reapplied in a matt finish
Hair sharpened in a graduation leading to eyes
Arms & legs slimmed (the angle of the pose made them look bigger than they are!)
Boots retouched to remove marks
Mouth blurred, teeth lightened
Car badge sharpened

Prepare to Throw Your Underwear...

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:54:00 +0000

Take That are always popular in Belfast and their latest gig in the Odyssey Arena was no exception with widespread coverage in the local press. A selection of the first night's coverage was photographed and 'pasted' together for this final scrapbook composite. An image of fireworks was used to fill in the background spaces.
The framed print was presented to the band on their final night.

Tis the Season... to be snowy

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:49:00 +0000

Adding snow is always fun but in this case frost was called for with a little icy breath.

This is a simple enough cut out with a colour adjusted background and the find edge filter to retain the look of detail in the trees.

The Group Shot... individually

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:57:00 +0000

Photographing media personalities is always fun, especially when the brief calls for six of them to line up together at the same time. Getting six such people is a coup in itself, but getting them together at the one time is nigh on impossible!
To make life easier, we opted to shoot them individually then combine them with Photoshop.

The sample image below is Melissa Patton, Miss Northern Ireland 2007. Despite her tiara, she was one of the easier cut outs.

The background was drawn in behind the tallest person, then everyone was resized to their correct height. Shadows were then added around the feet.

Final touches were added including shadows where the people overlap.

The final shot featured in the Belfast Telegraph:

The Sunday Life also ran a copy:

Take a Closer Look

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:30:00 +0000

Spooky Gold

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:08:00 +0000

The traditional Halloween Witch was out this year with a cauldron full of gold. Or in this case, with five pieces of gold. Simply replicating a few pieces of gold and adding a little motion blur filled the cauldron nicely:

Featured in The Newsletter:

The original photo was by John Harrison. The model is Christine Kinning.

Ring Ring

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:00:00 +0000

I love jewellery photography, both studio set and on a model. In this case we were shooting a collection of 11 diamond rings. Jewellery is a lighting challenge but diamonds particularly so as a reduction in the visible facets is a reduction in quality and value. The final images were shot with maximum detail rather than artistic perfection then each diamond was individually enhanced to bring it back to match the original beauty as closely as possible:

Manu-Stitch

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:56:00 +0000

Even with the latest in technology, auto-stitch camera features and Photoshop stitch assist, you still need to do a little editing to ensure the light is correct but when you finally get it completed, it can be a great image that will be used again and again:

Magic, obviously

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:03:00 +0000

For some jobs, the Photoshop work has to be apparent, this can be for legal reasons or in this case, simply because it's a comedy pic. The clock was photographed hanging on a wall, shrunk and dropped inside the hat. An image like this takes about five minutes. Adding the stars takes another minute or two using a custom shape, a little glow blend and some directional blur.

Northern Ireland Hospice

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:44:00 +0000

Produced quarterly, the Hospice magazine always likes to include their own staff rather than contract models which gives the whole thing a natural and personal touch.
For this Autumn shoot, we had decided on a falling leaves shot but with only an hour for the shoot, getting the right amount of leaves falling in the right places simply wouldn't be practical.
Shooting some leaves separately gave me the necessary props to complete the image.

Hospice nurses throwing a few leaves.

Leaves on the park pathway.

The final shot was used on the magazine cover:

RiverRock BBQ

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:27:00 +0000

The majority of PR Photoshop work is completing the story by adding special effects or removing elements that are not relevant or take away from the image. Unlikey advertising photography, the deadline is usual in minutes rather than hours.

This simple BBQ shot works but simply lacks colour or flames.

Adding in a shot of hot coals beneath the money and a little special effect smoke completes the image.
Photos by Harrison Photography.

Specsavers 2007

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:54:00 +0000

Specsavers always produces fun photos and 2007 was no exception. Simon Graham, Miss NI and celebrity photographer took the shots as usual:

For the final image the client needed two girls together without branding so two cut outs and a re-composition was required for the result below:
(note, this image is before final editing of the models simply to show cut outs and recomp).

Latest Work...

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:22:00 +0000

Looking back over the last year I have completed a number of technically difficult or time sensitive images for Harrisons which I hope to show here. This is the first composite image I produced for them.

Image 1 is the model striking the gong, ably held up by Simon, an accomplished photographer and gong stand.

The background shot with railings removed.

The completed image with obtrusive lamp post removed and local railings added in along with some dark cobbles for the ground. The gong was also moved so the model was striking it in the centre. The stand for the gong is a manipulated copy of a railing post.
All of these images were shot by John Harrison.

The final image was used in tourism brochures and local press.

Photoshop Made Easy Returns!

mike@bigbluesquid.com (Mike Thompson) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 11:02:00 +0000

Photoshop Made Easy was a huge site of tutorials for Photoshop and Elements users with subscribers from around the world. Eventually work over took me and I couldn't keep up with the latest versions but it's due to return in 2008!

There was a rumour I had sold PhotoshopMadeEasy but in the end I held on to it despite a couple of tempting offers. Maybe one day I'll make it commercial but for the foreseeable future it will be ALL free.

I'll also be undertaking the Adobe Certified Expert exam in Photoshop and consequently hope to bring all new and exciting tutorials to the web.
In the meantime I've upgraded all the kit from motherboard to graphics tablet and cameras to lighting so I'll have a much wider range of subjects to work with.