Sponsored by the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. Learn More

Where did you get that photo?

 

A lot of people have been commenting lately as to the nature of the images that I use. On occasion I do manage pry myself away from my desk and actually shoot stuff myself. However, that does tend to require some real effort and sometimes I just can’t (Just kidding.) No really, I do enjoy shooting although I don’t always have the shot I need for the effect I want. That’s the beauty of stock photography. Nothing makes your work day easier than letting someone else do the leg work for you. Did I just write that out loud? At any rate, I often use iStockphoto.com for my stock image needs. They have a pretty impressive collection of images. They also have illustrated graphics and even video clips, all at extremely affordable rates. You can search around for free before even purchasing. Check it out here.

5 Comments

  1. Kyle said on — September 15, 2008 @ 12:50 pm

    Or if you are like most people and don’t want to pay for your stock images, you can go to http://www.morguefile.com

    Hi-def stock images. All free.

  2. NAPP_News said on — September 15, 2008 @ 2:39 pm

    I had the chance to meet some of the iStockphoto crew at Photoshop World in Las Vegas and they shared this promotion that they are running in conjunction with Layers Magazine.

    30 FREE images from 60 of their hottest shots and 5 credits when you join iStockphoto via this link. W00t!

    http://istockphoto.com/layers

  3. keith said on — September 15, 2008 @ 4:46 pm

    Thanks for the info about morgue file and there’s an interesting assortment of images on file.

    However the quality of iStock images is excellent & available at different resolutions and doesn’t require any exposure adjustments.

  4. Chaosfyre Graphix said on — September 15, 2008 @ 7:16 pm

    There’s also http://www.sxc.hu

    Of course, with them being free sites, the quality can be fairly hit and miss, but they are good alternatives if you can’t afford to buy professional stock.

  5. marc said on — September 16, 2008 @ 12:25 am

    I rarely use stock photography, but when I do, it’s always iStock. I used iStock photos combined with my own elements to create the composite for my blog banner (take-out box + my logo, blank stack of photos + my own photos, and fortune cookie with a blank fortune that I change every month). The price of the photos was well worth the time I saved.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Leave a comment

Photoshop Tutorials

  • The Bourne Effect

    Corey shows you how to re-create the graphic effect from the new Bourne Legacy movie poster. With an extra twist!

  • Flare Effects

    Corey has a cool trick for creating a flare brush and see how one effect can lead to another.

  • Hollywood Touch-Ups

    See how you can add some subtle touches to give that green screen studio shot the Hollywood treatment.

  • 3D Christmas Ornaments

    Corey shows how to create reflective holiday ornaments using 3D in Photoshop.

Premium Video Tutorials From NAPP


 

Create A Composite Layer

If you have a multilayer composition and you
want to apply an effect to all the layers at once, don’t flatten the layers–use a composite layer instead. Hide the layers you want excluded, and press Shift-Command-Option-E (PC: Shift-Ctrl-Alt-E). A new layer will be created at the top containing a merged copy of all the visible layers.

Another option is to create a new layer at the top of the stack and make it active. Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) each layer you want to include to make those layers active, as well. Press Option-Command-E (PC: Alt-Ctrl-E).
by Colin Smith

Read More Tips

Tip of the Day
 
 
Kelby Training
 
DVD Special
Online Training
Kelby Training