Two Photoshop CS3 Versions Announced, Plus CS3 Online Tutorials
After making the CS3 Beta available about three months ago, Adobe Systems, Inc. has announced that two editions of Photoshop will start shipping this Spring. The first is Adobe Photoshop CS3, and the second is Photoshop CS3 Extended, a completely new edition of Photoshop which according to the company, “includes everything in Photoshop CS3 plus a new set of capabilities for integration of 3-D and motion graphics, image measurement and analysis.” This news was announced at this year’s Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show in Las Vegas, NV.
Scott Kelby, president of NAPP had this to say about the announcement: “Photoshop CS3 Extended will further redefine who the ‘creative professional’ is, allowing cross-media professionals to really push the limits of their craft, while also inviting engineers, scientists and architects to add the power of Photoshop to their arsenal.”
Alexis Gerard, author of “Going Visual” and president of Future Image Inc., said this: “While Photoshop CS3 will remain the digital imaging standard for photographers, Photoshop CS3 Extended is bringing to new audiences the proven benefit of Photoshop, and also exploring feature sets that eventually may benefit a broader market.”
On a similar note, I was very impressed by a group of tutorials by Terry White, Adobe’s Technical Resources Manager. They can be found on The Adobe Creative Suite Podcast website (screen shot shown above). One example is the tutorial that covers the Photoshop CS3 Beta Photo Downloader. I think it’s especially worth watching because he offers tips throughout the tutorial that might be missed if you were just testing it on your own. You can also subscribe to the podcast from the link on the site, and the left side of the home page has other links worth checking out. You may have also heard about an upcoming online version of Photoshop. More information can be found about that on the Adobe Creative Soutions PR team blog.
Enjoy!
-Andrew
Related Links:
A Selection of Andrew Darlow’s Recommended Photoshop/Imaging Books
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom v.1 30 Day Tryout.
The Adobe Photoshop CS3 beta download page.
Adobe Camera Raw 3.7 download page.
Related books on Amazon.com
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New Online Gallery and 100 Year Anniversary of Professional Photographer Magazine
I subscribe to Professional Photographer Magazine and Professional Photographer Magazine’s e-mail list, and I just received some interesting info through the e-mail list to share. I’ve been to about 20 PPA (Professional Photographers of America)-related conferences and seminars over the last 10 years, and for me, one of the most enjoyable parts of being at the state and national conventions has been seeing the competition prints. They are all sized to approximately 16×20 inches, and the range of photography I’ve seen at every convention is tremendous, including: portraits; sports; weddings; landscapes; still-life; industrial/corporate; and many other specialties.
On Professional Photographer Online, they’ve posted a new online gallery of award-winning PPA Loan Collection images from years past. What’s really special about the gallery is the story that accompanies each image. You can read how each was captured, and what equipment and techniques were used by each photographer. This makes it not just a showcase for great work, but also a fantastic learning tool.
Here’s a tip for using the gallery: After clicking on an image in the gallery, you should allow it to open completely, or the images may get stacked up on each other, requiring you to click the top right box in each image to close each window. That can then cause problems with reading the text when hovering over the images. The images load fast, so you probably won’t ever experience this issue. To avoid the issue completely, just wait for each image to load, which takes about a second or two. According to the newsletter, more images will be added to the gallery in the upcoming months.
I also highly recommend the printed version of Professional Photographer magazine. I’m a subscriber, and I believe that any photographer, whether or not they are a working pro can learn and be inspired from the photographer profiles, techniques, product reviews, news and technical advice that is in every issue. The most recent issue (February 2007) is especially good. The subscription price for 12 issues is under $20, which is a great value, and the most recent issue was over 130 pages. This year is the magazine’s 100th anniversary, which is quite an achievement for any publication. I plan to highlight other imaging magazines in the upcoming months, because I feel so strongly about their value to image-makers of all levels.
There are also many articles available on the Professional Photographer site, including this excellent article and online gallery featuring the work of celebrity photographer Greg Gorman.
Related Links:
Home page for Professional Photographer Magazine
Direct Link to new PPA Loan Collection Online Gallery
All the best,
-Andrew
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom v.1 Starts Shipping Today, Plus Related Resources
After being officially announced on January 29, 2007, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom v.1 is now shipping. My article describing some of its new features can be found here. Since I wrote that article, a new website, Lightroom-News.com has been built that has many resources for learning more about Lightroom and for getting up to speed with the program. On the site, there is a free chapter available of Martin Evening’s new Lightroom book. You can also find an overview and a link to the PDF on this page of PhotoshopNews.com. I’m a fan of Martin Evening’s Photoshop books, and I found it the sample chapter to be an excellent resource.
Michael Reichman and Jeff Schewe have created the first installment of a 4.5 hour video tutorial covering Lightroom v.1 that looks to be an excellent resource. There will be eight to ten downloadable files, and the cost is currently $11.96 for the whole series. Based on other materials that Reichman and Schewe have produced, I think that these videos will help make getting up to speed in the program much easier.
Another resource is a series of very well-produced free online videos by Michael Tapes of RAWWorkflow (screenshot shown above) that can be found here. The videos are also available for purchase on DVD. I like how Tapes includes describes many specific shortcuts and key commands as he moves through the tutorial.
Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) 3.7 plug-in and the new Adobe DNG Converter are also now available for download. ACR must be updated to provide compatibility with Photoshop Lightroom. When you download the files, there are instructions for where to place the ACR plug-in. According to Adobe, “it is now possible to apply default image settings specific to a camera serial number and apply default image settings specific to a camera ISO setting. The additional criteria are located in the Camera Raw preferences. Also, the default settings, including the global auto preference, are now shared with the DNG Converter.”
Related Links: Lightroom can be purchased for $197.99 at Amazon.com
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom v.1 30 Day Tryout.
The Adobe Photoshop CS3 beta download page.
Adobe Camera Raw 3.7 download page.
Martin Evening’s Photoshop books, and other related books on Amazon.com