CoffeeShop Box in Box Storyboard Template!

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CoffeeShop Burn PS/PSE Action and Tutorial!

I have already written the CoffeeShop Vignette action and tutorial, but I discovered another way to make a vignette and it is so easy! One is not better than the other, but I usually use CoffeeShop Burn because it is fast. If you want to download the Photoshop/Photoshop Elements action made from this tutorial, you can find the download link at the bottom of this post.

Start with a flattened image. Press D to set your default black foreground and white background color pallet. Add an Gradient adjustment layer (not to be confused with a Gradient Map).

Change the Style to Radial, Scale to 150%, and make sure Reverse is checked. Then click on the Gradient to make additional changes.

Move the upper right Opacity Stop to the middle (the Location should read 50%). This can be adjusted to taste. The lower the percentage, the smaller the vignette.

The final step is to put the blending mode to a setting which appeals to you. This is Overlay blending mode, 50% opacity. I also love using multiply, soft light, vivid light, and even hard light in different images. This is something that has to be decided with each individual image.

Download the CoffeeShop Burn PS/PSE Action HERE or HERE!

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CoffeeShop Lucky Circle Storyboard Template!

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CoffeeShop Five Storyboard Template!

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CoffeeShop LightRoom 2 "Eye Pop" Tutorial!

It is really easy to "pop" or enhance eyes in LightRoom 2 (LR2). It takes just a few seconds to sharpen and enhance or change their color. I overdid my samples to make sure you could see what I was doing in each step, so don't be scared by little Imp's eyes.

NOTE:  I have to add the images back to this post, they disappeared for some reason!

Click to select (or press K) your adjustment brush. In the image above you can see it under the 1/800 sec under the histogram, and over "New". Then look for the "Effecs" menu (under "Mask") and select "Clarity" (this will sharpen the eyes and lashes) and set it to 100%. You can always dial it down later. I keep flow, feather and density on 100 in these steps. Click on Auto Mask if you want to "stay in the lines", but I actually turned it off on this step because I wanted to sharpen the iris AND the lashes.




Adjust your brush to size (use the [ and ] on your keyboard, or adjust the "Size" slider)and paint over the iris and lashes to bring them out. You can adjust the amount of clarity to taste, but I usually use 100 on this step.




A nifty trick to see if you did paint ever the entire area is to hold your mouse over the active "black" little circle that shows where you have started editing and then click on Alt on your keyboard. The red areas are where you have painted.




Now click "New" under "Mask" because we are going to use the adjustment brush for another enhancement and don't want to adjust the Clarity setting we already made.





Select "Exposure" under "Effect" and dial this up to taste. Again, I usually start higher and then move it down after painting over the eyes. I used the Auto Mask this time because I am only going to paint over the iris. You can also use Brightness on this step rather than Exposure, but I find Exposure usually looks nicer.




Click on "New" under "Mask" and make sure "Auto Mask" is checked and paint over your eye whites with a higher exposure. Don't overdo this step, and dial it down just until your whites are brighter but not glaringly white.




Select "New" then "Saturation" under "Effect" and paint over the iris. Don't overdo this step either.




If you want to actually enhance or change the color of the eyes, it is easy. Click on "New" then "Color" and pick a color.





Paint over the iris with this new color (I removed Auto Mask on this step because I was having problems adding blue to the highlights in the Iris) and then adjust the slider to taste. I completely overdid this step for this example. Freaky blue eyes! But this can be done with a very subtle hand, like all steps in this tutorial.





Here is little Imp with his enhanced overdone eyes. This sounded time-consuming, but it is actually very fast and easy. I often skip the saturation step, but I love to add clarity and adjust the exposure a bit to every close-up portrait. Again, be restrained with eye enhancements. You don't want your portrait to look like a doll. :-) Dial down the settings until you don't notice much of a difference. Subtlety is key.
Next tutorial will cover skin healing and smoothing in LR2. Plus I have more presets, actions, and templates coming your way! And if you haven't yet, check out my first set of free B&W LR and ACR presets, CoffeeShop CoffeeBar.

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New CoffeeShop Blog Design, Chickens, and Snakes OH MY!

So I had a few minutes during nap time (the kids, should have been me too...) and I decided to redesign my blog. I had received this great photo of a wall with Coffeeshop and a coffee cup painted on it from Sarah (thank you so much, I LOVE the photo!) and I had to incorporate it into my blog somehow. So you can now see it in the header, plus I made a brush out of it (you can see one place I used it here). I can't tell you how excited I was to get this great photo and this might be a blog design I stick with.

Well, then I needed a new background, and I searched Flickr and found this great brick texture from pareeerica. I love all of her textures, but this one was perfect. Now my blog is complete and I can take my nap tomorrow. :-) Plus, this design hopefully won't send my male blog readers running for cover. After all, much of my stuff is gender neutral and not at all girly, right? I am the CoffeeShop, not the TeaShoppe. ;-)

The Smith Brothers cut and bailed our hay this week, so photos to follow soon. I took my traditional photos of "Boys Sitting on Hay" and I think have some really cute ones. Plus this is going to be a busy weekend chicken-wise. When we ordered pullets (baby girl chicks) our order was small and instead of paying for insurance I agreed they could throw in a few extra rooster chicks for "warmth" (this was February, and everyone knows we have warm winters in Texas). Well, it was cold and I now have 15 roosters when I ordered 1. And roosters are MEAN and they not only peck you, but peck and twist and then try to spur you. Needless to say, I have to watch the boys like crazy and keep them away from danger, and our 16 hens are living in fear (imagine 16 hot young women in prison, and then throwing in 15 lusty bad-tempered jealous men and you get the picture). Feathers fly, chicken curse words are thrown, and my boys are learning about nature in ways you don't see on the Discovery Channel. Violence and sex, it is like NBC during prime time. Try explaining these things to your four year old.

So this weekend it comes to a head and we have to do something. Kind of like the something we did to the 5 foot chicken snake that loved hanging in the rafters of my chicken house and giving me a nice little surprise (miniature heart attack) every evening as I counted my chickens. Duke went to collect the eggs one afternoon and our little friend was in the nest box (during the day!) and he (Duke, not the snake) almost had a stroke. I spent 15 minutes chasing that huge snake around with a hoe in the coop, screaming at Imp to stay away, reassuring Duke I was not getting bit, and not making a dent on that snake's skin or swagger. That snake loved sneaking up on me and the boys as much as he loved fresh eggs.

I am not going into any details, but I will tell you as much as I love animals, I love my boys more. Mess with my boys and all bets are off! Sure, chicken snakes are not deadly, but at 5 feet long they are stroke/heart attack inducers which can kill a perfectly healthy woman in her 30's. And if that darn snake bit one of my kids, I know I would convince myself it might have been poisonous, so then I would be running them to the ER like a crazy "city" woman. Not to mention they would probably never step foot back in the chicken pen again and have a lifelong fear of snakes (like my dear husband who still feels they are the reason we were kicked out of paradise and have to live with humidity and mosquitoes). Suffice to say I went to my husband and told him that I was putting the snake in his court and do as he must. After all, I love snakes and wouldn't even hurt a fly (hear that Mr. President!). ;-)

Have a great weekend! I am working on a great LR/ACR preset that is like my Little Perk action plus some tutorials and new storyboards. Plenty to come to the CoffeeShop.

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CoffeeShop Vintage News PS/PSE Action!

Here is the newest CoffeeShop PS/PSE free action! CoffeeShop Vintage News makes your images look like old somewhat faded newprint. As you can see above, there are many layers, all with built-in layer masks, and they can be turned off or their layer opacity can be adjusted to taste. This is a fun B&W action that looks great on portraits, still life, or scenic sights.
Download the free CoffeeShop Vintage News PS/PSE action HERE or HERE!






Want all of my favorite CoffeeShop Actions or Design Elements in one simple download AND help support this blog? Just click here for my action pack or here for a download of some of my most popular design elements, storyboards, and textures. For complete info on installing all of my actions, click here.

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CoffeeShop 3V Storyboard Template and Action!

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CoffeeShop B&W PSE Presets Correction and a New Nephew!

First, I am an aunt once again! My little sis had Little D, a beautiful little boy, Saturday evening. He joins his little sis Princess and the family is doing great. I am looking forward to taking some newborn shots in the next weeks. I love being an aunt, it is just as great as being a grandparent without having to be old and cranky. ;-)


Second, some PSE preset information. For those of you who download the PSE CoffeeShop B&W Presets (dng) files, you probably noticed they were huge and not something you would want to store on your hard drive (yes, I am an idiot). Well, I think I have corrected that and the new download links are posted here. Now the zipped file is 2 mg versus 28 mg. The original ones work fine, but if you want to save space on your computer, please download the newer versions. And LR and Photoshop users, you don't have to worry about this, it only effects PSE users.

A few notes on using Presets in PSE ACR. If you open a .jpg as a RAW file this set of presets will probably blow out your highlights and you will have to adjust the exposure and recovery sliders. I wrote these presets to work on RAWs, which have low contrast.

You can not batch process jpgs in ACR, but you can batch process RAWs, so if you want to quickly turn a few images B&W with these presets, drag them in the same folder, shift-click or ctrl-click on the images you wish to adjust, and they will all open in ACR. Then select them all and apply the preset.

All of this might sound like a lot of work, but the beauty of using CoffeeShop Presets on RAW files is that often you won't have to make many additional adjustments at all (unless your RAW is really screwed up). For example, say you have a lovely RAW of your cat you want to turn into a vanilla B&W. If you use actions you first open the RAW in ACR and you adjust white balance, exposure, and all of the settings you usually tweak. Then you open the image in PSE and run an action. If you use the preset, you apply the preset to your RAW in ACR and do minor tweaking, click "open image" and you are done! It is so much faster.

Just drag your favorite CoffeeShop Preset dng files in a folder on your desktop to make it easy for yourself! If you want to learn how to install CoffeeShop Presets in your program, read my tutorial. And if you have any questions, please post them at the CoffeeShop Flickr Group!

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CoffeeShop B&W CoffeeBar ACR and LR2 Presets. And they work in PSE!

So I did it (hopefully)! My first official set of presets that work in LR1 and LR2 and Photoshop ACR, CoffeeShop B&W CoffeeBar. And PSE users, I did not forget about you! I found a way for you to use these presets in your PSE6 or PSE7 ACR "lite" program with a nifty workaround. Yes, you too can use CoffeeShop presets and I will show you how. This actually "unlocks" parts of your ACR that you can't use in PSE.

CoffeeShop B&W CoffeeBar is a set of 3 B&W presets , a classic, vanilla and mocha B&W. These are all higher contrast B&W's and I will be coming out with a high key set later. Remember, once you run these presets on your image, you can tweak them to taste. For complete instructions on how to load these presets into your PC, please check out this link. And if you have any questions please post them at the CoffeeShop Flickr Group.

Here is a sample of the Mocha Latte B&W.

If you have Photoshop ACR or LR, please download the presets HERE or HERE. This set will not work in PSE.

If you have PSE 6 or 7, please download the image "presets" HERE or HERE (file size corrected, now this is a small 2 mg file).

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Preview of CoffeeShop B&W LR2 Presets!

UPDATED May 6! My little sis just went into labor and any minute I am going to have a new little nephew, Little D!!! Oh, imagine the photo opportunities! Now I almost have an excuse to buy a new camera body. ;-)

Aren't dandelions beautiful? When I lived in the city the site of a dandelion in my perfectly manicured lawn would give me a mini heart attack, but now I can enjoy them out in our field. The sight of thousands of dandelions waving in the setting sun is spectacular! Textures used in this image were from Playing with Brushes .

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You all (Ya'll for my fellow Texans) have been so enthusiastic about my LightRoom 2 post . I never realized I had so many Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 users out there reading my blog. Well, I am now inspired to start doing LightRoom2 tutorials and writing some free presets to share with you.

Below is a preview of my first CoffeeShop LR2 Preset set. I absolutely hate the low contrast B&W preset that comes with LR2, and the high contrast B&W is not much better. So today I wrote three B&W conversions that I absolutely love. They all have high contrast, but you can easily make tweaks. There is a classic B&W, vanilla B&W (my favorite!), and a mocha brown B&W. As this is my first LR2 preset set, I would love to hear your comments on them. I will post them in a day or two (just making final tweaks).

If any of you know how to make Photoshop ACR Presets, please let me know (or post a link). I want to make an ACR version for the Photoshop users out there. Unfortunately PSE users can't use ACR or LR2 presets, but don't worry, I will have plenty more goodies headed your way!

Oh, I am now Twittering if you can believe it. I won't be updating you on what I had for dinner or the movie I happened to be watching or what my kids decided to dig up and eat in the backyard (how BORING), so don't worry. ;-) I will mainly just keep you posted on photography and photo-editing tips and comments about past/present/future posts here. So if you want to be first in line to find out when I am releasing new CoffeeShop Stuff, just follow me on Twitter!

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Let's Talk LightRoom2!

So I hope this is not going to shock any of my readers, but I have been having a not-so-secret passionate photo-editing affair with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 . I do some wedding editing on the side for a friend and I was so overwhelmed with the massive amount of images I had to process, I decided to listen to the good people at Flickr's Natural Light Child Photography and bite the bullet and get a copy. I also bought The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter) by Scott Kelby because he taught me so much about Photoshop and Photoshop Elements over the years and I love how he gets right to the point.

I spent one evening reading the book and that week edited my first wedding. I must tell you that I HATED LR2 with a passion in the beginning. It is so different than Photoshop and I was resistant to change. I went on and on to my husband how the program was the worst editing program I had ever used. But I stuck with it and a few weddings later I was in love, not with editing weddings ;-), but using LR2 on my own images.

Sure, I knew LR2 was supposed to be great for photographers and I had heard it was easy to organize your images. And it uses the same CS4 ACR RAW processing (and in a more basic level PSE6 and PSE7). Plus you can run your .jpgs through the RAW processor and get great results. And I was amazed that you can go back and make changes to your RAW or .jpg edit at any time, because until you export your finished edit (which you can do at any time), all of the changes you made are there where you can see them. Unlike CS4 or PSE7, if you get bored editing, you can instantly turn off the program and not have to save ANYTHING, all of the changes on all of the images are there. I can't really explain how great that is, but if you can download a free 30 day trial from Adobe, then by all means do and play around with it.

OK, but it even gets better! I never realized that you can soften skin, pop eyes, and dodge and burn in LR2. I did all of the above (after basic color/contrast correction) on my little Imp above. I even removed a scratch or two from his face (boys always have scratches and dirt!). This edit took me a minute or less, it was that easy! No actions, presets, nothing. Just a few quick tweaks. And I feel this edit is completely comparable to what I would have done in CS4 or PSE6. Oh, on a side note, Imp still has a few of his baby curls. I had to photograph them before Daddy chops them off. Oh, and I used my Rebel XT and cheap Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens . I am thinking that my camera still takes pretty decent images, so I am going to hang on to it for a while longer.

So you might ask if I still use Photoshop. OH YES! I use it all of the time, but just on "special" edits where I want to use textures or perhaps pop the color a bit more or use one of my actions to get a special effect. I have had people ask me if I would buy CS4 or LR2 if I could only get one program. Well, if you are like me and processing 1,000's of images/month and are a complete photo-editing nerd AND/OR you have money to burn, I would suggest getting both programs. If you want to be a bit more frugal but process many images and still want to do textures and other cool effects you can't do in LR2, get LR2 and PSE7. If you just want to process images and aren't concerned about using textures and making scrapbooking patterns/brushes/ribbons/etc., then I would just get LR2 or PSE7. Truthfully, PSE7 is all you need to make great edits, and in many ways it is more powerful than LR2, so it is an excellent choice if you want to save the money and put that toward a new lens!

Did I mention you can also do amazing B&W conversions in LR2?

So I am thinking about branching out and start posting some LR2 tutorials and free presets (when I have the time!). Let me know if anyone out there is interested. I won't neglect my first love, Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, but just add to the mix. I love all three programs.

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Advice on new Canon Camera?

I think I am going to have to start shopping for a new camera body. I have a Canon Rebel XT and it has been my faithful friend for years. But now it has a cracked body (just superficial flaw so far), freezes up quite often, and I have even noticed more noise issues, even in an ISO of 100 or 200. This camera has been everywhere with me, not to mention dropped on hard floors a few times, so I am not surprised that it might be nearing its end. I used to not case it so dust has really been an issue, not to mention I drag it with me camping and hiking and even to the chicken pen. The kids have played with it and the cat has accidentally knocked it off a lawn chair. This camera has received a lifetime of abuse... But I love it and have taken many a great capture with it.

I used to buy a camera and keep it for a decade or longer (I still can use my Canon AE-1 P I bought used in 1992) and we even have my husbands original Canon AE-1 he bought as a teenager. Now it is a different story, because no digital camera is going to last a few decades, nor would you want it to! Sad isn't it. But not sad enough that I am going to go back to film. ;-)

So I put together my dream list of camera bodies I would consider buying when my camera finally dies . I am socking away money in anticipation of this purchase, so hopefully my old camera can hold on a while longer (a year would be great, camera bodies are expensive!). I am shopping as a Mom, not a pro photographer, so I don't want a $2000 camera. I just want a decent camera that will take great images in low light. Here are the ones I am considering:

The first one, the Canon EOS Rebel T1i 15.1 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3-Inch LCD (Body Only) is my first choice because it is supposed to shoot great images up to ISO 3200 (it has the same sensor as the more expensive 50D) AND it has a movie camera built in! Sure, it is not the highest quality movie maker, but I am thrilled with the idea of not having to always carry my movie camera around (I always forget it anyway) and have the ability to take a quick movie of the kids on demand with my "real" camera. This is also a small light SLR, which many people hate, but as a busy Mom who loves to haul her camera everywhere, small and light is a plus.

The Canon EOS 40D 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) and Canon EOS 50D 15.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) are really nice and have heavy well-built bodies, but they do cost a bit more. However, if they get knocked off the counter by crazy boys, they are more likely to weather it.

So that is my "dream list" of camera bodies. I would love for the Canon users out there that might have one of these cameras to post a comment on the pros/cons of their camera. Unfortunately I can't consider a Nikon because I already have Canon lenses. But I would love to hear your suggestions/comments on Canon SLRs. As a stay-at-home Mom without a disposable income, the actual anticipation of getting a new camera is half the fun! I always tell my husband forget the diamonds and fancy clothing and expensive restaurants, just buy me camera equipment!

I have many new goodies headed your way, so keep on visiting the CoffeeShop. And thank you so much for dropping by!

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