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The creative tutorial home of image wrangler, Lesa Snider.

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Five uses for gradient masks in Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, and Pixelmator

Sitting quietly in the Tools panel of the popular image editors Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, and Pixelmator, is the Gradient tool, a wonderfully useful painting tool that lets you create a soft, gradual transition from one color to another (or several). But besides using the tool to add color to your designs, you can use it inside a layer mask (referred to as a gradient mask). By setting the two colors of the gradient to black and white—to conceal and reveal, respectively—the tool lets you fade layer content in interesting ways.

How to edit photos in iOS using Photos' Adjustments panel

Apple probably thinks that not everyone wants to spend a ton of time correcting images. Heck, lots of people are content with a quick click of the Enhance tool in Photos for Mac or iOS, but that tool can’t fix every picture you take. If you want to lighten only the shadows, darken only the highlights, boost contrast, change color saturation, and more, you need the advanced editing power nestled inside the app’s Adjustments panel.

How to create a twirl effect from a photo in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements

A fun effect referred to as the “twirl” has taken many Photoshop-based Facebook groups by storm. You can use it to quickly convert an ordinary image into a spectacular series of colorful swirls and twirls—and feed your creative soul. Happily, the technique works in nearly any version of Photoshop or Photoshop Elements...click here to read the full story on Macworld.com

How to access hidden typographic characters in OS X

If you do much typing at all—especially if you dabble in graphic design or publishing—you’ll eventually need hidden typographic characters such as ®, ©, ™, ° and maybe even € and £. Back in 1984, the geniuses at Apple predicted you’d need easy access to these characters, so they built them right into your Mac’s keyboard. But how do you find them until you know where to look?

22 more Photoshop tips at XChange

XChange posted another 22 of my favorite Photoshop tips, along with helpful illustrations. These are just some of the real-world tips and techniques from my Photoshop video trainings and Photoshop books. Enjoy the tips here. For the past 23 years XChange US and XChange UK have been our go-to sources for information and products that improve efficiency. Whether you work with color, design, multimedia, or print and publishing, they're happy to help you find the ideal product or solution for your particular need.

The Photoshop Conference

I’m super-excited to be presenting at The Photoshop Conference in Denver, November 16-18, 2015. This is the first Photoshop conference in a long time that isn’t aimed mostly at photographers—if you’re a designer, a production artist or a publisher, this is the conference for you!
The Photoshop Conference runs concurrently with The InDesign Conference, and if you get an all-access pass you can bounce between them. I’m teaching “Retouching Techniques for Designers” and “Old Editing Habits You Have to Break”—as a fan of PhotoLesa.com, you can save $50 on your registration by using my personal code LESA at ThePhotoshopConference.com.

How to remove objects in your photos with Photoshop’s content-aware tools

When it comes to removing objects in your pictures, nothing (yet) beats the power of Adobe Photoshop CC. If you’ve got plenty of background pixels surrounding the thing you want to zap, you can quickly send it packin’ with the Fill command’s Content-Aware option. But what if you need to use another area of your photo for the fix instead of surrounding pixels? That’s where the Patch tool shines. In this column, you’ll learn how to use both options safely, without destroying your original image.

20.5 more Photoshop tips at XChange

XChange posted another twenty-and-a-half of my favorite Photoshop tips, along with helpful illustrations. These are just some of the real-world tips and techniques from my Photoshop video trainings and Photoshop books. Enjoy the tips here.

20 more top Photoshop tips at XChange

XChange posted 20 more of my favorite Photoshop tips, along with helpful illustrations. These are just some of the real-world tips and techniques from my Photoshop video trainings and Photoshop books. Enjoy the tips here.

How to AirDrop photos and videos between Macs and iOS devices

Nothing feels more futuristic and Star Trek than using AirDrop to instantly beam pictures and videos to others while you’re out and about. There’s no file size limit, no setup, no software to install, and no password to memorize. And since AirDrop uses Bluetooth, you don’t even need an Internet connection or a Wi-Fi network to make it work, though you can use a Wi-Fi network if you want. That means you can use AirDrop to fling files to and fro in places that you normally can’t—airplanes, cruise ships, and camping trips, to mention a few. In this column, you’ll learn how to use AirDrop inside Apple’s Photos app, plus get some ideas for using AirDrop in other apps…click here to read the full story on Macworld.com

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