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

[Katie]

I am definately beginning digi. I would love to learn more about improving skin tone and removing blemishes, wrinkles etc on portraits in Photoshop. Love your blog.

[Brandy]

Well, I just discovered you and just recently purchased photoshop and I want to know how to do EVERYTHING! I have been a scrapper for years, and love to play with photos, but photoshop is all new to me and I could SOOO use this book! I made my first digital layout yesterday and now I'm hooked. Thanks for the chance!! :o)
Brandy

[Joscelyne (Joscie) Cutchens]

is there a way to "process multiple files" without saving them? or to add a watermark or brush in processing the files... or how to create an action.

[MelissaMom]

I'm a digi beginner. I wish I knew how to use brushes.

[RENÉE]

Hi.. I would consider myself an intermediate digital scrapbooker. I would love to learn how to make my own digital elements and papers. I would like to know how to make distressed solid papers and pattern papers. How do you make a pattern paper with lines or with patterns like dots that are lined up evenly??? I am also interested in making my own templates. I have only tried a few times and so far unsuccessfully. Another thing of interest would be being able to make my own custom shapes and actions. It is so fastinating to see all the digital things that people make, but frustrating when you don't know how to make them yourself. I haven't seen many sites that even offer how to make them yourself. I must be looking in all the wrong places. (I think i qualify as a long winded writer.) thanks for listening....

[cindy]

on the second question -i am having a hard time keeping all my downlaods digital scrapping files in order-is there a program that would divide that for u?

[Robin]

I would like to know how to batch process photos...you know run one action on the photos I like best...CS2...Intermediate/Beginner by trial and error to answer the other question.

Thanks, Robin

[Stephanie]

I'm fairly new to digi scrapping and use PSE 5, but am considering trying CS3. I learn pretty quick and am always amazed at all the cool things these programs can do - I guess what I would want to learn (and this is probably pretty basic), but sometimes I end up with SO many layers that I wonder if there are ways of having less layers, but being able to do the same techniques yet still be able to go back and edit if needed and a better way of organizing the layers to make it easier to figure out which layer is which without having to click on them and remembering what each layer name is. I'm not even sure if it's possible to do what I'm asking. A lot of what I do is just play with the program til I figure out how to do what I want to do, or I come across something else that looks cool so I keep it. Sometimes it's hard to remember what I did to replicate it! Hope that made sense! I think I need A LOT of help! lol Thanks Jessica - your tips and blog are great and so helpful!

[Brandi]

I am BELOW a beginner! Seriously! Don't have have a clue! LOL! So basically I would love to learn ANYTHING and EVERYTHING!

[Katie Chapman]

I agree with some other commenters about learning text on a path. That would be cool. Also would like to learn more about extracting. My main thing though is digital supply organization and also photo organization. I tried to reorganize one time and ended up with all these question marks in my photo organizer. I put everything back the way it was and haven't touched anything since.

[valerie]

What do I wish I could do in Photoshop? Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately I learned what little I know in Photoshop thru trial and error and I know there has to be easier or better ways to do things. I guess I need to start from the beginning, or maybe sit down and go thru a good overview/tutorial thingy.

What do I wish I could do on the computer? Manage things, fonts, brushes, digi stuff. Again I think I need to start from the beginning...If I can rearrange all my scrapbook stuff I should be able to do the same on the computer.

I would call be self a beginner (infant) hybrid scrapper. I always loved playing with my photos and printing anything to do with words but I could never give up the feel of my paper!

Thank you for this blog, I am so glad I found you!

[elaine]

I wish I knew more about photo editing in PS, especially getting rid of red eye, for various eye colors.

For other areas that affect scrapbooking, I'd like to know good ways to organize digital scrapping materials-kits and tools.

I consider myself an advanced digi scrapper. I rarely do hybrid, except for card making.

[CP]

I would like to be able to do a manual color pop - not just relying on an action. I want color that pops but not something that makes the skin tone look strange. And know the best way to brighten the eyes as well.

I'd also like to know how to "decorate" an envelope with digital brushes and be able to print it out of photoshop.

[Stephanie]

I consider myself somewhere in between a beginner and intermediate I guess. I'm self taught and so many "quick tips" I find in magazines still talk above my head so I get frustrated and give up.

One thing I have had trouble with in the past (and it may be because at the time I was working on an older version of PSE), but I was asked to make a recipe book and wanted to import text from Microsoft word and I couldn't do it and still have the ability to "fix" if I needed to (font, size, typos, etc.) I had to in a sense make sure everything was perfect, copy, paste, and even then it drug the background as white and couldn't figure out how to change the background other than to tint it. I did finish the book through Shutterfly and it's still cute and all, but would love to know how to combine these 2 programs better if possible. Thank you so much for sharing your incredible talent.

[Kendra]

Well, Found out how to use template from U & R! But i would like to know if I should use PSE Organizer or ACDSee to organizer photos.

[SharonC]

I wish I had better skills in enhancing and fixing photos. I have a bunch of old photos from slides that were scanned into digital files. I try to fix them up, but often I don't get a good quality image or it looks "enhanced" I would say that I am intermediate digi scrapper/designer. I create my own digital kits, etc. but my designs are still somewhat simplistic. I would love to continue learning to do more in terms of designing using patterns and textures in my designs.

[Jenna]

I use CS3 and I would say I'm an advanced amateur in both digi and photography. I've been obsessed with improving my photography skills lately and would love to learn anything and everything about Post Processing in Photoshop.

[Diane]

I started digi scrapping about a year ago. I would love to know how to make a string or chain thread through letters on a title or other text. I've seen this on a few layouts and can't figure out how to do this- such a cool look!

[Lezlie]

I consider myself a Beginner Digi. I'm a total newbie when it comes to Digital Scrapbooking. I recently got CS3 and I'm having soo much fun learning new things (esp. through your tutorials..love them!)

I wish I knew more about how to apply brushes. For some reason, brushes boggle me. I also wish I knew more about how to apply actions to my photos. Hmm..what else...Oh, I know...is there a way in photoshop to change the color of a template or object? That would be nice.

Thanks so much Jessica for your awesome tutorials and insight on PS. I feel like I've learned soo much from you already, and this is only the beginning. I'm excited about the possibilities... :)

[Tanya]

1. I wish I knew how to do "actions" / shortcuts- like making colors pop out in my pictures or do a specific action to a shot to save time.
2. I wish I could figure out how to best organize my brushes and available/handy when I need them.
3.I consider myself beginner hybrid. I play a bit with digi, but get overwhelmed QUICK and go back to paper.

[Seahag]

Jessica, thanks for all your support and enthusiasm to teach us! You are UNREAL! I'm using PSE 5. I've done ONE page all digi and it was a chore. I've downloaded fonts, digi brushes (I'm in LOVE with brushes), kits and have a very hard time finding what I want to use. I'd love to know how to incorporate journaling into my pages, opaque and different colors, where and how to place them. I want to know how to use circles and crop pix in circles with journaling around them. I get lost in the layers and find it hard to figure which one to manipulate and when to merge. I'm a mess and I really am excited about learning it so I can use it a LOT!!! I make signage for competitions at work, and learning how to scrap digi would really help cut my time!! You're such a sweetie for having this forum available. Thanks for all the Photshop Phriday goodies, too!
Digital blessings,
~Seahag~

[Lori]

I saw at least one other comment on this, but I'd love some step by step help with extraction. I've seen beautiful layouts done using extraction, but need some guidance. Also would love more help, examples of blending 2 photos together. I tried the PSF Friday on it, but I guess I'd like to see more examples of pictures blended, just for ideas.

I am intermediate digi - hoping to be on the advanced track with DID!

[kayla]

I consider myself an intermediate digi scrapper. I do a little hybrid for cards and tags. My burning question is how to fold a ribbon. I have lots of kits with flat ribbons and I am loving the look of the folded and stapled ribbons, but not every kit has them. I want an easy way to get that look with any ribbon in my stash.

I also need help organizing my digi stuff. I can't decide which program to buy. I like to combine things from different kits and designers on a layout so I need an easy way to find all my stuff.

Thanks for offering the RAK. I have book one and love it. Here's hoping I'm lucky in the random drawing.

[Kathy]

I would like to to look at a picture, pick out what it needed most to improve it and then know where to go in photoshop to fix it. I wish there was a chart to cover the most common problems and a list of steps to follow.
For scrapbooking I would like to know step-by-step what to do to create a layout. I have taken your classes but so much is handed to me. How do I start on my own from scratch to do a layout?
I am definitely a beginner in digital scrapbooking but I am focusing on it. I have done a few layouts with your help. I am reading, reading, reading and gathering information. I am organizing. Finally I am feeling ready to try to step out on my own - tomorrow? next week?

[llamont]

Ever since meeting you at CKU Detroit, I have gained tons of digital files on my Mac. I have seen you post programs that would sort the files on Windows but do you have any ideas for sorting the files on Mac?

[Susie]

Jessica, I have learned so much from your classes AND they have given me the confidence to try new things with PSE that I had been too afraid to try before. So looking forward to Digi: in Deep!

I consider myself a veteran paper scrapper and an intermediate digital scrapper but digi is calling to me more and more all the time... I am not sure I would be a hybrid scrapper since at this point what I do is separately done -- either paper or digi. I have never mixed the two but that would be something I would like to become more confident in trying -- designing my own elements digitally to be used in paper scrapping OR digital.

And I am desperately trying to figure out how to better organize digi supplies! We got the trial of ACDSee but I can't seem to figure it out and don't know that it's really what I want to use. But it is getting harder to find things!

[digigal]

intermediate scrapper

Would love to know new photo techniques. . .
Text on a path
How to make a "style"
Lightroom for beginner tips
Fonts - How to create unique titles
Tips on creating texture

Thank you!

[Edi]

I would love to know more about changing colors and such of digi papers and brushes. I would like to be able to get the most out of my digi kits. I am a beginner hybrid scrapbooker so anything that involves paper/digi combined is always great!

[Paige]

I'd say I'm a beginner hybrid.

I've been using photoshop elements 4 for a while but would like to improve on my photo editing. Black and white photos seems to give me the most trouble.

I've learned most of my skills from you! I would love to win your new magazine but like another poster said, one way or another it will end up on my desk! :)

[Amy Nabors]

I wish I knew more about making my own digital elements for scrapbooking and just more about editing photos in general in photoshop. I'm definitely advanced in my photography, but mostly a paper scrapbooker.