RAK Survey: What do you wish you knew how to do?

Here’s a super-quick one-question survey for Tuesday! And a giveaway!  

Is there a specific Photoshop technique that continues to elude you? Do you wish you were better at photo editing? At type and journaling well on your layouts? At creating your own digital/hybrid embellishments? At mixing paper and digital? At printing on specific items, such as canvas, vellum, transparency, or ribbon? At using your printer in general? At hybrid mini-albums? At using some of the cool hybrid products out there like water-slide decals and printable rub-ons?

What do you wish you knew how to do in Photoshop?

and

What do you wish you knew how to do on your computer that relates to scrapbooking?

This could include using Word, or digital organization, or page layout, font download/install/management, brush management, etc.

Let me hear it! :D Be as specific as you can, ok? Don’t worry about long-windedness or being too list-y. I love lists!

Also, if you’d like to let me know whether you consider yourself:

• Beginner digi (meaning ALL digi, except maybe mini-albums)
  
• Intermediate digi
• Advanced digi
• Beginner hybrid (meaning you make some blend of computer tricks on your paper pages, or paper and digi pages)
  
• Intermediate hybrid
• Advanced hybrid

That would be great! :D (I know, that makes the survey two questions long… sorry) 

RAK! 

And just to make this little survey worth answering, I’ve got two copies of my BRAND NEW BOOK, Computer Tricks 2 to give away to two random lucky winners!

Post to this thread before 6 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb 21 for a chance to win. :) Tell your friends as well! I am interested in hearing from newbies and oldsters alike on your Photoshop challenges. :)

Update on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 01:59PM by Jessica

Lots of comments pouring in! Post away! Don’t be shy! This is your chance to be heard, and I can help. :)

And for those of you wondering - yes! I will read EVERY ONE. I’ll even print them out. Maybe I’ll even snuggle them. So post! Get your questions out there. :D 

Update on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 11:19PM by Jessica

I love you guys. You’re laying it out there bigtime, asking tough questions. Asking real questions. Jared and I are wondering how we capture and parse this data. Yes, that is how geeks spend a romantical evening at home. Figuring out how to capture and parse YOUR data, friends! Bring it on! We’ve got candles lit and everything. You have until Thursday, 6 pm EST.

Comments

[Kendra]

I am sure I will find this on you site somewhere or get help on the playground, but I wish I knew how to use a template.

[Becky]

I have the Epson R1800, and I just can't seam to get good prints out of it. I'm a total 'visual' person and really would love some help with this. :) And as far as photoshop, learning how to process photos better. bleh.

[JaneAnn]

I am just learning Photoshop Elements 6 - so there are so many things I have to learn. I would love to know how to print on canvas. I have an area above my craft table that would be perfect place for a canvas using pictures of my grandchildren.

[Angi Smith]

Totally unrelated to Photoshop. I have had ACDSee Photo Manager for 9 months now and have yet to figure out where to start with it and how to get my "stuff" into its program. And if I do, will my stuff be taking up space in two places on my drive? I am ready for Digi In Deep but feel so unorganized.

[Joanne]

I recently purchased Elements 6, so I have lots to learn. I'm a quick learner. I'd like to learn how to do some batch placement of copyright info and if it rezized it to web resolution, that would be great too.

[Deene Souza]

I really wish I knew how to do all the cool photo effects with brushes. I love how people get some really cool looks using brush designs on top of their photos.

[Lynn J]

I want to learn how to make beautiful realistic glitter because I am a glitter kind a gal!!

Lynn

[debi]

Hi Jessica! I'd LOVE to learn how to *extract*! I've tried it many ways, with only minimal success. So... whatcha think??? Can you teach us? Purdy please? (and can't WAIT till your advanced class starts!)

[Angela]

I would like to learn about actions and how to make my photos look great. I have PS CS3 so if there are tips on it too that would be great.

[meems]

well, I am currently using PSE6 but am expecting Photoshop CS3 any day now :). Last time I tried the trial I was totally mystified by the lack of photo bin. So I'm wondering how Photoshop users cope without it. And would love any tips on making the switch from Elements to Photoshop.

I'm going to sneak in another question -- will the actions I bought for Elements work in Photoshop?

thanks!

[Lisa Newhouse]

I have read and re-read tips on how to create text on a path and must be missing the key. Also, I'd love more info on selections based on quick masking.

[KathyT]

I consider myself to be an intermediate digi scrapper, just completed Now We're Rockin!!! AMAZING stuff! So, there is a lot I would like to know about photoshop, but mainly I would like to know anymore "hot keys" or shortcuts, I find them to be incredibly quick and helpful and although in the beginning I found them confusing now it is like a reflex! Thanks Jessica - can't get your book here yet so I would LOVE a copy!

[Kim]

There are several things that come to mind, but I'll stick with one. I'd love to know how to enhance black and white photos to get that soft, brushed look. I see so many out there that are beautiful and I know it's not just the camera they are using. :)

[Vicki]

I'd love to learn how to make a png transparent. I use lots of clipart on the job for my monthly newsletters but need to have them transparent. I do hope I win your new book, but win or buy -- it WILL end up on my computer desk!

[Kim]

There are several things that come to mind, but I'll stick with one. I'd love to know how to enhance black and white photos to get that soft, brushed look. I see so many out there that are beautiful and I know it's not just the camera they are using. :)

[Julie]

I have PSE6 and just finished the NWR class (which totally rocked by the way!). I figured out how to load the brushes, but I never quite figured out how to save them so they're always available in my brush tool.

I also wanted to say that the ctrl-l, ctrl-u, and unsharp mask set of photo editing steps has completely changed the way I edit my photos. I have been looking for something like this for a long time and I could not be more thrilled with learning how to do these simple edits. Thanks so much...You rock!!

[Kaylea]

intermediate digi - (been using photoshop for photos since before 2000 - scrapping with it for almost 2 years)

I want to make rub-ons digi, and then be able to print them out - so I can do some funky hybrid stuff....

Oh, and paths....typing on paths still seems to frustrate me...

off to do bills.
Love the pics of E in his boots.
Priceless.
K

[Debbie]

I wish I knew how to reset my defaults - somehow my blending function has been checked and now I can no longer get straight "cuts" with my rectangle eclipse nor do correct drop shadows.

[gailfort]

I use CS3 and would love to learn more about masking. I almost understand the basics, but am not very comfortable with it yet. I'd also love to learn more about curves and how to adjust my photos using curves to remove color casts, etc. Thanks!

[K]

I wish I knew how to do batch processing to speed up my work, I wish I knew more about brushes, I wish I knew how to import templates/fonts/brushes easily into Elements. I've done it by luck but each time I'm not quite sure how I did it! I consider myself an advanced beginner in photography.

[debi]

oh... and WHOOPS! Forgot to say that I'm a beginner-ish hybrider...and only know what YOU'VE taught me in your first two classes. (or does that make me intermediate? Hard to tell since I don't know what I don't know <g>) I'm just now trying out my organization system that I set up on iphoto, and am finding where my weak links are...sigh...

[Michele]

I am a beginner and would love to know how to blend a picture into a background paper in Photoshop - making it look like it is actually part of the paper....

Thanks

[Jen]

I'm completely new to Photoshop, I just got Photoshop Elements 6 and would love to know how to size my pictures to 2x2 and place then on a 4x6 Canvas to be able to send them to Costco for printing.

[Kirsten]

I really wish I knew how to do text paths in PS CS3. I also have an Epson stylus 1400 (which I love) but cannot figure out how to print properly (particularly, how can I get a full bleed and no margins). I am also keen on learning more about hybrid projects (mini-albums, ornaments, blocks, etc.) using digital (I LOVE these projects). I also want to figure out how to do iron-on-transfers and large rub-ons. I consider myself a beginner to intermediate digital scrapbooker.

[Margaret]

I don't know if this is photoshop specific but I would like to know how to add finishing touches to my layouts. Things like placement, clustering, things like that. I know how to manipulate photoshop (I guess that makes me intermediate) but I would like to know more shortcuts. I like to do extractions but they take soooo long. Is there an "easy" way to do extractions? Photoediting is always a good thing. I used your aging or faded look tutorial ALOT!! Additional tricks to get different looks would be awesome. Not only does this create many more opportunities to use a kit, but sames money too! How to change your paper to get different looks is another great thing. Robert D"Achille, a digital designer, recently shared how we could invert the colors on the page to get an entirely different look. This was really great. That's all I can think if right now.

[KDH]

I can't quite get the hang of using different blending modes to get the amazing results I see in yours and others pages. Also, I'm either an all digi, or an all paper type of scrapper...I don't even know where to start to begin combining the two in hybrid pages. Looking forward to taking your advanced digi class coming up!!! Can't wait!

[Eva]

First of all, I loved your first book and look forward to getting this one as well. I would also love to learn more about actions and layers as well. I am a beginner myself, but interested in learning, so I can start doing hybrid pages and cards.

[laurak]

Hi Jessica,
I would love to learn more about backing up my digital products as well as my completed .jpg and .psd files. How much of this stuff do I really need to keep and how should I keep it?

I would also love to know how to print out brushes on trasparency to use them as rubons for hybrid. Is that even possible?

I think I fall in the advanced intermedate category.

Thanks!

[Robyn]

I consider myself an intermediate hybrid scrapper (thanks to your NWR class that I'm still working on finishing!). To answer your two questions:

1. In regards to Photoshop, what I really need to get better at is workflow. I am trying to figure out what post-processing software options I really need (am trying out Lightroom, and want to also stretch my photo editing in Elements too) and making my photo editing much more manageable, so I will do it more often!

2. In regards to scrapbooking, I really want to: organize my photos for ease of use in scrapbooking (relates to #1, of course) and also incorporate more text in/on photos. I really love that look.

Thanks for the RAK! It's unlikely I'll win, but I sure would love a copy of your book.

[Beth]

I know how I want things to look, I don't know what the steps in the process are. When I start to try something, each step has several variables that I don't know how to answer...it just seems so complicated to sit down and try. And it doesn't help that i don't have much time to play and research each step, I need it done now...therefore I consider myself a beginner.