by Rebecca Spencer
For my own images, my personal style is a simple clean edit with a nice pop of vibrant colour. There are lots of ways you can use post processing to achieve this and here I will show you what works for me.  I have found the easiest way to do this is through using level adjustment layers within Adobe Photoshop – levels are a simple way of making a big difference to your photo.

Before Image:

Here is the SOOC(…)

by Melissa Gibson
I know I’ve mentioned this before and I’m certain you all know this by now, but  I really dig Adobe Photoshop Elements.  If you are a beginner looking for editing software, this is the one for you.  On the other hand, if you are more advanced in your photography journey, this may also be the software for you.  In fact, I know loads of extremely talented photographers who use Elements.  It is an editing program that is highly(…)

by Jennifer Dell
The HSL/Color/BW tab in Adobe Lightroom can be used for lots of reasons when editing. One of my favorite ways to start a clean edit in Lightroom is with the Color tab. It can be used for a variety of things including brightening skin tone, adjust specific colors and their saturation as well as increasing or decreasing the luminosity of specific colors.

For this example, I decided to use an image of my daughter from this summer. Here in(…)

by Jean Rhim
Adobe Lightroom is an amazing tool that can help you make your images better, your workflow faster, and the whole photo editing process more fun. I feel fortunate that I was introduced to it early, months before I even touched Photoshop, because it became the center of my workflow. Not only do I do a great deal of my editing through Lightroom, but Lightroom is also where I organize, sort, and prepare my images for print.  Lightroom is(…)

by Jennifer Dell

Sometimes liquifying an image in a subtle way can make a big difference and may help if you accidentally catch the wrong angle when photographing your subject.  The secret to liquifying successfully is to use it in moderation and not to alter how a person looks.  Here’s a quick look on how to use this powerful Photoshop tool!

Thank you Jennifer for this great tutorial!  What a great trick to have on hand!

Jennifer Dell, Texas
CM Mentor
Website | Blog |(…)

by Lisa Harrison
So are you still undecided about making the jump to Adobe Photoshop CS6? Go for it!  You’ll love it! If you’re familiar with CS4 or CS5, you really won’t have much of a learning curve at all. The main thing that is different is how the adjustment panel works. You still have an adjustment panel but you now have a Properties Panel where you make changes to your chosen adjustment. You still choose your adjustments from the adjustment(…)

by Melissa Gibson
Oftentimes, during a session, someone is either not looking at the camera or is making a goofy face.  With my little ones?  It’s more than likely a goofy face.  However, no worries!  If you have a good handle on how to swap heads in Photoshop Elements (aka PSE) you’ll have a little less stress when you’re editing the session.  This is a really handy editing tip that you’ll love to use.

Keep in mind, this isn’t just used for(…)

by Sara Seeton
Every photographer has their own unique style as well as their own way of processing images.  There are so many different ways to achieve certain looks whether it be in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), Lightroom, Photoshop or a combination of these.  I don’t claim to be a Photoshop genius by any means.  A lot of what I have learned has been from trial and error, tutorials from other photographers just like this one (there are TONS right here(…)

by Ann Westerman
Lately I have been loving to shoot images specifically for processing in black and white.  I love my black and whites to have good tonal range and a lot of contrast.  What I mean by good tonal range is I want my image to have deep shadows, a range of mid-tones and some bright highlights and I usually want those bright highlights to fall on my subject.  I love for my subject’s face to have shadows, mid-tones and(…)

by Melissa Gibson
Have you searched and searched for the perfect storyboard for your blog?  I know I have.  I remember looking for just the right template for my images and always ended up making purchases that I didn’t really need.  In the end, I’d only use one template out of the ten that came in the bundle.

How frustrating!

Did you know that you can make custom collage templates in PSE?

Here’s how you can create your own storyboards for use in printing(…)

by Lora Swinson
This is a little effect that I love to use on some of my images if I feel they are a little flat.  It is similar to The Orton Effect, but I’ve changed a few of the blending modes to switch it up a little bit.  I like rich colors and tones and this helps me bring my style out more.  It works on some images better than others, but when it works, it’s magical!

1. After doing my(…)

There are multiple ways to convert to black and white, some more complex than others.  Today, we’re going to look at using the gradient map and levels to achieve the conversion you want in Photoshop Elements.  And who better to share their method than Elements guru and CMmentor Melissa Gibson?!  Melissa is going to share her quick and easy steps to get a breathtaking black and white!
converting to black and white in photoshop elements
by Melissa Gibson
There are several factors that(…)

Have you looked at another photographer’s images and wondered where they find all those fabulous locations?  Did you know that many of those locations are nothing special?  It’s true!  By using good camera angles and sometimes the magic of Photoshop you can ‘create’ those beautiful locations too!  CMpro Krista Campbell is here today to share with us how she takes a location from blah to amazing!
how to create stunning locations
by Krista Campbell
When I first discovered this passion called photography, I(…)

While Photoshop CS and Photoshop Elements have many of the same features, those features are not located in the same places within each program.  This makes it difficult for someone editing in Elements to follow along with a CS tutorial and, let’s face it, there’s not a lot of Elements tutorials out there.  Today we have CMpro Melissa Gibson, who edits solely in Photoshop Elements, on the blog to share with us her typical editing steps.
editing in photoshop elements
by Melissa(…)

Though we often try to avoid blow outs when shooting there are times when it’s necessary or unavoidable (or occasionally desirable!).  How to best fix them when they do occur? Our always amazing CMmentor, Meg Sexton, has a fantastic Lightroom tutorial for us on the CMblog today with just one of the ways to recover those blow outs.  Thanks, Meg!

Lightroom Tutorial | How to Recover Blow Outs by Editing in Layers
by Meg Sexton
I try really hard to nail my exposure(…)

by Sarah Wilkerson
As much as we all want to feel beautiful in photographs, for most photographers, the goal is to make a subject look as she would on her very best day — not unrecognizable. It’s tempting to go heavy in Photoshop, with its powerful tools for creating flawless skin and a little nip/tuck here and there. Plus, let’s be honest, it’s fun! I adore glamour/fashion retouching, and if you’re shooting models or clients who expect full-on photographic transformations, by(…)

The super talented and ridiculously stylish and gorgeous (seriously, I want to be her when I grow up) Lynne Rigby is gracing us with her presence on the CM blog today.  I may or may not have blackmailed her into it – I’m not telling.  She is so busy being our Shooting 101, Shooting 201 and Lightroom 101 instructor that I was thrilled she took the time out to do something special for the CM blog.  Thanks so much, Lynne!
lightroom presets |(…)