With such a wide range of post-production editing software now on the market, available for desktop computers, tablets and smartphones, more photographers are looking to enhance the quality of their images after uploading them.

However, the number of features available on programmes like Adobe Photoshop can be overwhelming, meaning it can be easy to either miss useful functions or go overboard, leaving none of the original quality of the image intact.

Here, we explore a few editing options that will tweak rather than transform your work, so that your images are the best they can be. Most professionals are not afraid to admit that they retouch their photos, so don’t feel guilty about doing so yourself.

Enhancing colours

Novice photographers and image editors alike are prone to falling into the trap of adding a black and white filter to every image. However, greyscale doesn’t necessarily equate to artistic, and you should be careful about over-using this type of edit.

Instead, utilise the functionality of post-production software to get the best out of the colours in your photograph. One of the best places to start is with the white balance, as this has a significant impact on the mood an image portrays.

It’s best to get the white balance settings right on your camera prior to making the shot, but you can make adjustments later if the result is not quite right. Changing the balance can help to correct, or enrich if desired, the ‘warmer’ red-whites or the ‘cooler’ blue-whites.

You can also adjust the saturation or hue of different colours through most editing software. This allows you to give a deeper orange glow to a sunset, or even to change the shade of a flower in the background. Experiment with the sliders to find out what works well.

Brightness and contrast

Changing these settings post-production allows you to give life back to photographs that are dull, or to give extra definition to highlights and shadows in an image. Making adaptations means you can make a photo ‘pop’ more, or correct those taken in bad lighting.

Improve sharpness and reduce noise

You can reduce noise – to digital cameras what film grain was to analogues – easily in most editing programmes. It can help to give your image a more ‘smooth’ finish, but it is crucial to avoid overdoing it, as this can compromise the detail of your image.

Increasing the sharpness of an image can help to give more texture to it, a useful function when this is an aspect of the subject you want to highlight. It will also result in more defined edges, which can be beneficial if photos are slightly out of focus.

Creating a focal point

Photographs where the focal point is not sufficiently highlighted will not have the desired impact on a viewer, but post-production edits can help to make different parts of a photograph ‘pop’ to give a more eye-catching result.

If the aperture setting was not optimal at the time of shooting, you can change the depth of field in most software to draw more attention to something in the foreground. You can further enhance your subject with colour and sharpness adjustments.

There are other ways to better draw a viewer’s eye to a focal point using editing tricks – simply using the crop tool to get rid of distracting aspects of the photo can make a huge difference. You can also use selection tools to boost the colour or detail in a particular part of an image.

This article was written on behalf of Jessops, a specialist retailer of photography equipment.

Before perhaps less than a year ago it was almost impossible to imagine a graphic designer to create on tablet, but with the help of great applications these days we can see more and more designers performs their work on android tablet.

Android OS is now the most popular in the world, and a tablet may be the perfect place to create new applications, with whom you can certainly earn some money through the Play Store.

Tablets are all over the place, and while Apple’s iPad get the most media attention, there’s no lack of outstanding Android alternatives to select from.

Here are our top Android tablets for this summer, especially if you are into the graphics design. All of the tablets are very capable and very powerful, so not only they are ideal for home users, but also for enterprise users as well. With these tablets you will have a superb Android experience, and alongside with the right apps you will a get a lot of work done when you’re absent from your working table. (more…)

Despite being able to design a clean, easy to navigate, fully functional web pages in the blink of an eye, you’d be surprised how many web designers’ desks are awash with scrap paper, empty coffee cups and the last 15 editions of .Net magazine. But what exactly are the essentials for a web designer’s office space? Here are our top four must-haves to get your web designers’ desk in order:

iMac

Boasting a huge 27” screen, the iMac is vastly preferred over the popular ‘dual screen’ option many office workers face nowadays. With a 2.8GHz i7 processor, 12GB of RAM and 1TB hard drive, this piece of kit from Apple is a force to be reckoned with. It is able to handle multiple programs at once – from Dreamweaver to Photoshop – so you’re in safe hands.

Trackball Mouse

When some people see more than two buttons on a mouse they panic, but not web designers! Any device that helps you navigate the screen quicker and easier is seen as a lifesaver, but we’re the first to admit that using your thumb on the trackball can take a bit of getting used to.
If you suffer from wrist pain or repetitive strain injury, a trackball mouse is ideal – especially if you choose the wireless version.

USB Keyboard

Although the iMac comes with a mini wireless keyboard, it can be costly to keep replacing the batteries and its reduced size means you miss the arrow keys and the number pad that was scrapped from its design. Although the ‘wireless’ sounded like a good idea in theory, no one really needs to use their keyboard more than a few inches from their monitor, especially if they’re working from an office desk.
Apple is no longer manufacturing the wired keyboard but this doesn’t mean other tech retailers aren’t. There are a wide number of larger USB keyboards on the market which include the number and arrow keys in their designs. Although certain retailers, such as Selfridges, still stock the original Apple wired keyboards. (more…)

Before we get into this adventure, I want to explain in a few words the meaning of X-Pro LOMO title. LOMO is a Russian company that produces optics and cameras, and the term Lomography in professional photography world mean wide-angle, distorted colors, expired film kind of photo aesthetic. So, you get that rustic and yet modern kind of photography. It’s very popular these days, especially because of many apps for smartphones camera. One of the main stone of hipster culture is lomography, so if you want to go with the flow this is the must tutorial.

So, I explain the meaning of term Lomography, but there’s also an x-pro term, which is kind of cross processing, a very unique technique in modern photography. Basically it means that you are using chemicals for one kind of film which is meant for another kind. And the term is not that modern as one can assume. Many photographers back in the days use slide film and than I they had luck develop that same film in the normal film lab. So that’s way we call it cross processing. (more…)

Smartphones are increasing in number rapidly, so are the apps for them. While it’s easy to find Top 10 or even Top 100 apps, it is hard to find best apps if you are looking for a particular category. In this article we are going to help you find best design and best overall poker apps out there. Poker is one of the most popular game nowadays, online as well as n huge live poker tournaments and small private home games. Surely you have wished to play your favorite poker game on your latest mobile device, and we are going to help you in that intention.

Best poker app in this moment is World Series of Poker (EA). It is probably best design poker game out there. Certainly once you start playing WSOP poker you’ll be smitten, because you’ll be having a feeling like you’re at Main Event in Las Vegas. When you have number one bestselling publisher of games behind such project it is probably going to be huge deal. Yes, there are also a lot of other similar games but this is official WSOP, and therefore the most authentic poker game for your mobile device. It bring best free poker experience on your iPhone, iPad and Android. It almost perfect tool to practice your poker skills, and get real WSOP experience playing Texas Hold’em, Omaha poker and many more. (more…)

In previously post we are introducing you with a little secret of Photoshop, so you can easily create stunning designs in just few steps. What we want is to create a simple tutorials so you can learn without some painful troubles alongside. It’s the same with this our new tutorial. It’s a very simple and jet very clever technique. Once you learn it, you are going to apply it all over.

First Step

On your computer open new file in Photoshop with a 550×350 pixels for the dimensions, and then simple put text you want to work with. You can do that with the Horizontal Type Tool (T).

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Each work connected to design of banners requires some preparation and good organization of the ideas. Here we are going to try to help you with this task.

1. Find Your Own Style
Before you start designing, you should be certain what do you like and what do not. Tastes differ, and what others like you just might find a poorly designed banner. Search on the Internet for other examples and examine them. When you have enough examples reviewed, you will recognize the elements of design that you want to convert into your own concept.

2. What is the use of the poster?

After the observing part of the work, you should start imagine your banner. To begin, certainly you have to know what is the purpose of each poster or banner. Is it a wedding banner or a birthday banner, does the banner advertise a business, or is it simple an idea that somebody want to share with others.. Depending on that fact you will use different methods to draw attention.

3.  Where the banner will be posted?

The place where the banner will be posted makes the major difference in the material, will it be an outdoor or an indoor banner! For example, for extreme weather conditions like strong wind you should think about ordering a printed mesh banner. To learn more about colors and materials click here . (more…)

Absolutely fantastic! How many ideas and how much of imagination .. That commitment to work and family  can go together prove David LaFerriere, a father who every morning draws their children. But not on paper 🙂 He draws on the lunch-bags of his two sons.

David (graphic designer) wanted to use his ability to illustrate in an interesting way  to have fun with the children. He started to decorate the sandwich bags of his boys in May 2008. He still makes them every morning, then takes a photo of the new artwork (because these sandwiches are really unique artworks) and posts them on Flickr. However, he has not expected to be so popular among bloggers as he is today.

Here are some of the illustrations:

Crayon breath:

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