Inspiration hit and I decided to try making a photo book.  After a search, Blurb seemed to be the best priced and came with its on software.  I really like the software and the limited layout problem was taken care of with their newest version of BookSmart.  I haven’t got to try the layout editing yet but will my next go around. To test it out, I ordered a 7×7 soft cover 40 page photo book with their regular paper.

This is what I got:

First photo book

Cover

Binding (not sure why that first page is bent up like that - must have opened it too many times)

Inside - double page

Inside - single page

The colors on the cover and inside were flat and I was disappointed.  I decided I would no longer make photo books with them. But as time passed and I had need of making a photo book for a gift for my dad, I found that BookSmart was the easiest software for me to work with.  I reasoned that it was the type of book that was the problem.

I did  a few edits and then ordered the same book with hard back and dust cover (I’m not fond of  dust covers but the bad reviews for Image wrap caused me to pick this option).  I also ordered premium paper this time around.  The book arrived today.  I love it!  My fears of 40 pages not being enough for a hard cover was unfounded.  It fits perfectly.  The hard back is more professional in look and the dust jacket picture is way more vibrant than the soft cover picture.  The premium paper also helped with the coloring of my photos.

Second Photo Book

Cover (there is a little dot on the petal that looks like something got on it when they laminated (if that is how they do it) the dust cover)

Binding

Spine (blur due to camera shake) (softcover has no spine for 40 page books)

Inside - double pages

Inside - single page

Side by side comparison:

I would definitely recommend Blurb to publish your photo books if you are going with the hardback dust cover with premium paper!
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You can buy this book at Blurb.  Just click on the link in the side bar under “books for sale”.

I haven’t signed up for their sellers program so I don’t get any funds from the sales.  It would still be cool to say I sold a book! LOL

Precious Petals features photographs of flowers and scripture from the KJV.

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It was Saturday - seconds before I had to leave the house - when I realized I would need to do a Photoshop edit on a picture that I would be printing while we were out. There was no time to clone out a man standing in the background. He was distracting from the main subjects. That’s when my sweetie came by and suggested blurring the background. I wasn’t to keen on the idea of having to select everything in the background to do said task but did it anyway and boy was I glad I did. Since then I’ve been playing with this effect and thought I’d do a quick tutorial on it. So today we will be experiment with this photo.

The background is sort of blurred already but some of the reflections off the wet grass still draw the eye away from the tulip.

1. Open the photo you wish to edit in Elements.

2. Select the either the Magic Wand Tool or the Lasso Tool. Today I’m using the Magic Wand Tool.

3. Use the Magic Wand Tool to select the background by clicking on it. In photos like this one you can’t get it all selected in one click. So, after your first click hold down the Shift key and continue to click until you have everything selected. If you accidentally select part of the photo that you don’t wish to be blurred, simply hold the Alt key and click on it again to deselect it.

4. Once you have the background selected, duplicate the layer. You can do this by right clicking on the Background layer in the Layer palette.

5. Name the layer whatever you wish to help keep it managable.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 so that you now have two duplicates of the original layer. Remember name one for the background and one for the main subject.

My main subject is “flower” and my background is “grass”. The original is called “background” because I didn’t think to change it. For this tutorial I will call the grass layer - background and the background layer - original. Wanted to point that out since it may get confusing later on.

7. Make sure that the main subject layer is on top, followed by the background layer and then the original layer. You can simply drag them to the right position. If you don’t, the main subject will have have a white halo around it.

8. Make only the main subject layer visible by clicking on the little eyes beside the background and original layer.

9. The background should still be selected in all 3 layers. We are going to separate the main subject from the background. So, with the main subject layer selected in the layer palette press the delete key. You should be left with just the main subject.

10. Click on the eye beside the main subject to make it invisible and then click beside the background layer to make it visible. Make sure the background layer is selected in the Layer Palette.

11. Right click on the the background and Select Inverse.

Now the main subject should be selected only.

12. Press the delete key so that you will only be left with the background.

13. Click on Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur

14. Blur the background to your liking. I selected 9.7 pixels.

15. Back at the Layer Palette click beside all the layers to get the little eyes back so all layers will be visible.

16. You can go between the layers to tinker with them as you like. Once you have it the way you want it, press the Esc key to deselect everything.

17. Go to Layer>Merge Visible to bring the layers together.

18. Save the photo for your enjoyment later!

Before:

After:

One time, while in a search for a cheaper alternative to buying a macro lens, I found out about close-up lens.  They are the size of a filter and screw onto the end of your lens.  It isn’t a replacement for a good macro lens but it is a nice addition until you can save up for one.  I found my set on eBay.  It has four lens in it (+1, +2, +4, and Macro +10).  This wouldn’t be good with bugs because they require you to get really close to your subject.

The following examples were taken of the sprouts in my mini-greenhouse.  They are straight out of camera; no editing.

Examples:

Normal lens at 55mm

55mm with +1 lens

55mm with +2 lens

55mm with +4 lens

55mm with +10 Macro lens

These lens can also be stacked to get even closer.  I usually just stick with the +10 Macro lens.

It is always a good idea, when taking group photos, to take more than one shot of the group.  Keep in mind that there is always someone who will blink, look the other way, or have a goofy look on their face.  It just happens.  Every time I don’t follow this simple rule I end up with a photo that is less than desirable of an event that won’t ever take place again.  Even if you shoot a film camera, bring extra rolls, because you will have a better shot at getting a great picture, if you take more than one.

One of the photographers that I admire takes photos that look like paintings.  I was very excited when I found a chance to make something along those same lines.