Most people that use Adobe Creative Suite Applications tend to use the same tools all the time. However, the built-in tool panel is set in a certain configuration that you can’t really change. Or can you? Well no you can’t alter the built-in Tool Panel, but you can make your own! Adobe Configurator 3.1 allows you to create your own custom panels for Adobe Photoshop or Adobe InDesign.
Here’s one that I put together for Retouching in Photoshop
It has the tools and commands I use almost every single time I retouch an image. As a bonus I’m giving it away as a free download here (you’ll need to install Adobe Configurator 3.1 first to install the panel). You can start with my Retouching Panel and customize it to your liking.
In this episode of the Adobe Creative Suite Video Podcast Terry White shows how to use the New Content Collector Tools in InDesign CS6 to repurpose content from one InDesign document to another InDesign Document and make updates.
Are you missing out on my Bonus Content?
See more of my Adobe Creative Suite Videos on my Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and get the App here. It features EXCLUSIVE CONTENT that no one else gets to see. This episode has a BONUS CLIP that is available only in the App! My iOS App is a Universal App for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. I also have an Android version:
Many of you have been asking me about my impressions of the new MacBook Pro Retina Display from a “Photographer’s Perspective” and I’m not quite ready with that review yet. However, I have done my 1st review and given my overall impressions of it, which you can read here. The reason that I’m not really ready to talk about it from a photographer’s or even a designer’s perspective yet is that to be fair we really have to wait for Apps to be updated to take advantage of this (Hi-DPI) display. While Apple did showcase a “future” version of Photoshop CS6 on stage, that version is not quite ready for distribution yet.
photo credit – Engadget.com
We’re also waiting on Lightroom, InDesign and Illustrator. What I can say now is that while the current CS6 versions haven’t been updated yet, they do work just fine and I have no problem using them in my daily routine.
As a matter of fact I’ve completely switched over to the New MacBook Pro Retina Display and used it on stage during my Detroit InDesign Users Group meeting last week without any issues. I did my entire demo including Photoshop CS6, Bridge CS6, Illustrator CS6, InDesign CS6, Acrobat Pro X, and Adobe Muse. I figured that there was no better way to really test its capabilities than to do a full blown demo on stage in front of 200+ people 🙂 Crazy=Brave. I didn’t even bring the old one as a backup. It all worked perfectly!
How do non-Hi-DPI apps look?
That’s the question you’re probably wondering about and I have to say that while not as crisp as a native Hi-DPI app would look, these apps don’t don’t look bad at all. At least not as bad as I feared. Sure they are a little “soft” and if you zoom in in Photoshop you’ll see more jaggies around the edges, but even with these annoyances, I have no problem doing my day to day work including photo retouching. I actually feared that it would be unusable and I’d have to keep using my other MacBook Pro until the updates came out. I’m glad that that turned out to not be the case (Y.M.M.V. – I can’t tell you how YOUR eyes will perceive ANY display. You really have to see YOUR work on a display that you are considering and be YOUR own judge! I can only tell you works or doesn’t work for me.)
When these apps are updated for Hi-DPI life will be even better! So stay tuned for an updated review or second look once we have an update to Photoshop and perhaps some of the other apps. As a photographer you’re definitely going to want this USB 3 CF/SD Card Reader by Lexar.
In this episode of the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast Terry White shows how to incorporate Adobe Photoshop (.PSD) files in your Muse Website and how to create buttons with hyperlinks.
Are you missing out on my Bonus Content?
See more of my Adobe Creative Suite Videos on my Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and get the App here. It features EXCLUSIVE CONTENT that no one else gets to see. This episode has a BONUS CLIP that is available only in the App! My iOS App is a Universal App for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. I also have an Android version:
In this episode of the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast Terry White shows How to Retouch Eyes using Adobe Photoshop CS6. If you photograph people, then you’re going to want to watch this tutorial on how to make the eyes of your subjects look better.
Are you missing out on my Bonus Content?
See more of my Adobe Creative Suite Videos on my Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and get the App here. It features EXCLUSIVE CONTENT that no one else gets to see. This episode has a BONUS CLIP that is available only in the App! My iOS App is a Universal App for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. I also have an Android version:
In this episode of the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast Terry White shows How to Create A Facebook Cover Photo Using Photoshop CS6. Using the New Crop Tool and a couple of tips and tricks.
Are you missing out on my Bonus Content?
See more of my Adobe Creative Suite Videos on my Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and get the App here. It features EXCLUSIVE CONTENT that no one else gets to see. This episode has a BONUS CLIP that is available only in the App! My iOS App is a Universal App for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. I also have an Android version:
Since the launch of Adobe Creative Cloud, my readers have been asking “When will Lightroom 4 be available to Creative Cloud Members?” The answer to that question is TODAY! That’s right, if you are a current Creative Cloud Member or you sign up from today forward, you can now also get Lightroom 4 in addition to all the other services.
Creative Cloud will go for $49.99/month (with a 1 year commitment), but remember from now though August 2012 (time is running out) you can get your first year for only $29.99 if you’re an existing Creative Suite customer. This membership gets you access to all the Apps of Creative Suite Master Collection, Adobe Muse, Adobe Edge, Business Catalyst web hosting and now Lightroom 4.
One way to end a ten week international tour is to simply take a 16-18 hour flight home from Johannesburg, South Africa. Another way to end it is to have Nikon South Africa sponsor you on an African Safari at Sabi Sabi before that flight home! I was fortunate enough to have the latter.
I just came back from an Amazing week finishing off the international portion of our Adobe CS6 and Creative Cloud World Tour. The last two international stops were Johannesburg and Cape Town (see my earlier post). After leaving Cape Town we flew to Nelspurit and then drove on to Sabi Sabi (a private game preserve). This was my second safari in South Africa and it was a pleasure to be back.
I put together this photo book using Adobe Lightroom 4.
It was great photographing this magnificent creatures in the wild! It was even better doing so with a Nikon 200-400mm f/4 lens. Didn’t want to get too physically close 🙂
What an amazing week I just had in South Africa! Johannesburg and Cape Town were the last two international stops of our Adobe CS6 and Creative Cloud World Tour and I must say that South Africa pulled out all the stops.
Flying over Johannesburg!
Kicking the week off with a special Nikon V.I.P. event at the Nikon South Africa Headquarters!
The crowds were great in both Johannesburg and Cape Town!
As you can see, they really got into Adobe CS6 🙂
Both cities offered a FULL DAY event and there was very little drop off by the end of the day.
Jason, Paul and I not only enjoyed our time presenting, but it was great to interact with you all live via social media.
Of course free t-shirts are always fun to toss out at random.
I gave my Nikon D4 a work out here in South Africa and this beast really performs.
It’s always great when fans come up and ask us questions.
I must say that Jason was really getting into it. He’s is crowd activated and the South African crowds got him going. The hair came down and the spontaneous singing began. Good thing he’s a musician too 🙂
iStockphoto panel showing in InDesign CS6 and a drag and drop of a comp image right into the layout.
I use images (and now video and audio) from iStockphoto all the time. In many cases the images I’m using are for blog posts, however there are times when I’ll use stock photography for layouts too. iStockphoto is my service of choice and needless to say I couldn’t be more excited to find out that they now have plug-ins/Extensions for both Photoshop and InDesign.
With the iStockphoto Extension installed I can do searches right inside Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign for the images I may want to use. I can even drag and drop comps right from the panel into my documents. Since I’m logged in with my same iStockphoto account I can keep a check on my available credits as well as buy royalty free images right there on the spot to use.
There is no charge for the Extension. You can download it here. Once you install it, you can grab the panel from the Window-Extensions menu in either Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign.
Thanks iStockphoto for making the design process a little easier!
