Studio Photography and Digital Backgrounds

The article given here was written for Adobe Photoshop 5,6,7,CS, and Adobe Photoshop Elements 2 and 3.

Most photographers who are serious about improving their portrait taking skills have realized that a beautiful background can greatly enhance their photographs.

Muslins are a very popular choice among professionals. However, they can get very costly at several hundred dollars each. For the professional who is well established, this may not seem too much, but for the hobbyist, this may be a stretch.

A less costly alternative is a digital background. With a digital background, one can get the look and feel of a professional looking portrait without the additional cost of muslin.

Many Photography websites also sell digital backgrounds on cd. In some cases?as low as $15.00 dollars for an assorted collection. As with anything else?you usually get what you pay for. Some of these pre-made digital backgrounds are not worth the cd they're printed on, but some of them are very beautifully made. Even so, you may be wondering how YOU can make your very own digital background. That being said, the following information will help guide you along the way.

Okay, let's create a digital backdrop using Adobe Elements 2.0. We will create an 8x10 300dpi (dpi = dots per inch or ppi = pixels per inch) digital backdrop. For printing purposes, 300dpi is strongly recommended for a high quality print. This will also create a large file approximately 20.6megs.

Having a fast processor (Pentium 4 or Athlon XP) and at least 256megs of ram will definitely help. Also having your screen resolution on your monitor set to its highest setting 24 or 32bit will give the best results.

Okay let's begin! If you haven't already opened Photoshop Elements, do so now.

1. Click on File < New. When the window opens up,make sure to set it to 8x10 inches at 300dpi.

2. Make a copy of the background layer you just created by pressing Control-J on your keyboard. If you look at the bottom right corner of your monitor, you should see an exact copy of your background layer named layer 1.

3. Select the "foreground" color for your background by clicking on the foreground square on your toolbar? the black one. (Bottom left)

4. The Color Picker window should now be open. Select a light red by clicking on the top right corner of the color palette. Click ok.

5. Now select the "background" color by clicking on the background square on your toolbar? the white one. (Bottom right)

6. The Color Picker window should open again. Select a darker red by clicking halfway below the lighter red you previously chose. Click ok.

7. Now comes the fun part! Let's put some clouds in there. On the top of your screen, click on Filter

---

What You Need To Buy A Digital Camera Wholesale

Digital cameras are available in several price ranges today. They... Read More

Creating Printable Photo Greeting Cards

STAY CONNECTED WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS.Making your own digital photo... Read More

Make Your Digital Camera Batteries Last Longer

One technology that hasn't kept up with the rapid pace... Read More

Where Do Great Ideas Come From?

At a Photo Club meeting I attended recently, the President... Read More

Digital Film Processing is Really the Only Option for Truly Quality Prints

Digital photography has taken off like wildfire these days, primarily... Read More

How a Digital Camera Works

The digital camera is not something of a magic box... Read More

Digital Cameras Demystified

Demystifying Digital Camera JargonWant to buy a digital camera but... Read More

How to Make Your Production Look a Lot Slicker for £40 More

Tight BudgetsTight budgets are common these days. But the demand... Read More

A New Way to Use Old Snapshots

If you're like me, you have hundreds of photographs sitting... Read More

Passionate Organizing: How To Create A System To Organise Your Digital And Traditional Photos

Digital photography promises much. Store your photographs on your computer,... Read More

Canon Digital Camera - from Humble Beginnings to World Class Company

Started in a single-room by three Japanese men in the... Read More

The Benefits of Underwater Digital Cameras

Underwater digital cameras are fun and easy to use under... Read More

What Should You Look for in a New Camera?

These parameters are discussed at 2 levels: -Based on... Read More

Digital Zoom Versus Optical Zoom

The digital camera is but a technological advancement of the... Read More

Transfer The Digital Camera Images To Your Computer

There are a few very important tasks associated with using... Read More

Underwater Digital Cameras

Underwater photography's is primarily focused towards entertaining and informing the... Read More

Photography Contest - a fun and rewarding experience

Do you like to take photos? Are you always standing... Read More

How to Take Better Photos of Your Baby or Toddler

Every Mom wants to take great photos of their babies... Read More

Getting Your Photos Ready for Sharing

One of the main reasons people buy digital cameras is... Read More

Start Up a Travel Photography Business

Too many people have the idea that being paid to... Read More

7 Things You Must Do If You Want To Make That Perfect Camera Shot

Saturate yourself with your subject and the camera will all... Read More

Magic and the Photograph

It was widely reported in the press (15 September 1997)... Read More

Your Mobile Digital Darkroom ? Five Tools of the Trade

While digital photography offers you the ability to review photograph... Read More

Black & White Photography

Photography is a diversified field of creating a spectral variety... Read More

Weddings, From a Photographers Point of View

Your wedding day is without a doubt one of the... Read More

Imperfect Photos And How You Can Fix Them

So your picture came out less then perfect. Blemishes or... Read More

Photography - Things to Consider Before Buying a Camera

Before you are able to take the kind of photos... Read More

Getting The Right Digital Camera For You

There are really great advantages in digital photography:You can shoot... Read More

How to Buy a Digital Camera

Are you buying your first digital camera? Well, you must... Read More

Modeling Portfolio Webites

In the age of home phones and 8x10's we all... Read More

How to Photograph Your Baby

Babies make the best and the worst subjects to photograph.... Read More

How Many Megapixels Do We Need?

Are you having megapixel envy each time you walk by... Read More

Canon-Powershot-A80 Review

Last month we bought the Canon Powershot A80 online for... Read More