Photoshop is an amazing tool. It provides a simple means to make detailed adjustments to an image.

The human eye can see much more than any camera can record.

This is especially true when shooting scenes with a wide disparity between the brightest and darkest part of the image. Sunsets are a good example. If you set the exposure on your camera so that the sky looks right, then the foreground is too dark…but if you set the exposure so the foreground looks right, the sky is way too bright!

Any scene where there are bright areas and shadows present this problem.

This is where Photoshop comes in. If you are capturing images in the RAW format (and you always should be!) you can easily edit these images.

Here is an image I captured of such a scene: Clouds backlit with sun and a valley largely in shadows.

As you can see the bright sky is too bright and the foreground is too dark. My eye did not see this, from my eye’s view the whole entire scene was “exposed” beautifully, the range of light was magnificent.

Here is the same image, edited.

This edited version of the image is a close approximation of what I saw when I was there.

Learning Photoshop

There are many ways to learn to use Photoshop. There are many web sites that provide free tutorial videos. These are great for seeing how its done. Of course there are scads of books and magazines as well.

And then there are classes where you work with a pro who shows you how to do it.

For myself, I am mostly self-taught, having read and watched many people over the years. It was often a slow and painful process for me. I am not an expert by any stretch, and am always learning new techniques. My area of proficiency with Photoshop is editing outdoor, landscape and nature images.

I do offer Photoshop lessons and tutoring for anyone interested. It IS faster to have someone show you how to do it.

My lessons can be done in person, your place, or at a Starbucks or any public place. We meet with laptops and get into the “How To” of Photoshop.

Another variant is to do the training online. If you have Photoshop on your home computer we set a time and then call each other on Skype. We email each other the same image file. Then we can share screens and I can start to edit an image while I explain what I am doing, and you can then follow me on your computer, editing the same image as I do. This method has the benefit of adjusting the learning rate to suit you and also allows you to do the work on your own computer.

Here is a link with a bit more info.

If you would like to discuss Photoshop lessons or arrange to start shoot me an email at: andyporterphotography@gmail.com  or call me at: 360-809-0661.