I could teach Photoshop all day. Of anything that I’ve ever done with a computer, Photoshop provides me the most satisfaction with the least effort.

Our friend Heidi Majano has keen eyes for an image. When she asked if I’d teach her how to refine her photographs with Photoshop, I jumped at the chance. She has proven to be a quick study. Once she is shown how to do something, she seldom needs that skill refreshed. She’s able to understand the whole process of image refinement rather than trying to remember each keystroke or slide control. I find that people who take time to learn some theory instead of concentrating on the details learn to produce images that please them much quicker.

I’d like to show you a few of the images that Heidi has found interesting and that we used as training tools. She shot this one in El Salvador in the village of Suchitoto. Heidi shows a natural talent for composition, something which many people struggle with:

Here again, showing her excellent eye for composition is The Garlic Beauty,  aloso shot in El Salvador:

The photo above is a good example of that indefinable quality that practically nobody can explain, but most people recognise instantly as a great image.

This image of women sorting green beans in India is also a stunner:

Here is Heidi and her son, Keyen, in El Salvador on his fifth birthday:

Keyen loves to dress up and let his mommy take his photograph. It’s a skill shared by all children:

Heidi calls the shot above The Dual Hero.

Sadly, Heidi will be leaving PNG in a week. She has made many friends while here and everyone is going to miss her. The time that I have spent with her helping her to learn to develop her natural talent through the use of Photoshop has been a great pleasure.

Any other Madang Photoshop students out there?  The lessons are free.

Related posts:

1. A Sequential Sunrise and Guest Shots by Heidi Majano A ten-minute tropical sunrise sequence, a beautiful little girl with BIG eyes, and a caterpillar that will blow your mind! Guest shots by Heidi Majano....
2. Some Fish, a Friend and a Guest Lizard A few miscellaneous fish, A guest Western Fence Lizard by Steven Goodheart and a picture of ME of all people with Heidi Mahano at Blueblood....
3. ¡Vaca Santa! – CWA Latino Night I feel that I am in danger of becoming a hermit. Latino Night at CWA is the second major Madang party that I’ve missed in a row. The first was because the tickets were sold out. I missed Latino Night because I was “too tired” – translation: Too embarrassed to...
4. Boat Tricks Turning throw-away photos into works of art with Photoshop...
5. Guest Photographer Val Jerram – India With Eyes Wide Open Guest photographer Val Jerram with some beautifu images from her last visit to India. You've not seen the Taj Mahal like this before!...
6. The Panorama Techniques or Bore Me To Tears I’m not sure why I suddenly got the idea that somebody out there might be interested in this. My brain works, when it works, in mysterious ways. I did a two-frame exposure with my Canon G0 a couple of days ago of a mediocre sunrise. As I was stitching it...
7. Faking It Faking image with Photoshop is more fun than . . . uh, no not that. It's more fun than . . . uh, EATING. ...

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 1st, 2009 at 11:32 and is filed under Guest Shots, Photography Tricks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.