More Family Photoshop Fun

I finally took the time to go through the rest of the free classes from my Jessica Sprague Photoshop class.  I love learning new techniques to help improve my photos, and her videos are a wonderful way to learn.

The first lesson was adding type to photos that coordinates with colors in the photo (I chose the brown of his jacket).  We also added two texture layers to add some more interest.  How cute is my brother and his little man.

The next class was how to use a gradient mask to add burned edges to a photo, so the focus is on the central image.  We also added selecting masking (for me, I did it on the tour guide) when we wanted other parts of the photo to shine through.

We also did the same technique with a black and white photo.  I really like how it worked with this one.

The next lesson was a start-to-finish project combining several of the techniques we covered to date.

I've always wanted to know how to colorize a black and white photo, and now I can do it.  I loved the effect on the red rocks of Sedona.

Then I was amazed and how easy she made creating a story board … such a fun way to showcase multiple pictures.

And my favorite lesson was the nine-photo collage.  My dad has old-school photo collages lining the hallways at his house  that capture a year-by-year history of our family.  It's always one of the first places I go spent time when we travel home to visit.  I love being able to create the same effect digitally.  We added brushes around the edges that help tie the photos together.