Bruce Fraser

Photoshop Fundamentals

You can do some far-out stuff with Photoshop (hello, Liquify Filter!), but image adjustment is the program's bread and butter. Here's how to fix common photo problems.

Out of Gamut: Color-Correct Vocabulary

For some time now I've been explicating the finer points of color management in this column, and while I've strived to define terminology when needed, the conviction that a permanent, at-your-ready glossary would help tremendously has grown each and every month.

Photoshop How-To: Using Adjustment Layers

Being able to correct and edit images in Photoshop is a life-saver for most creative professionals. Yet every time you use layers and curves, you start to degrade the image data -- unless, of course, you use adjustment layers. David Blatner and Bruce Fraser show you how.

The 2004 Creativepro.com Gift Guide

Here it is: our third gift guide for creative people. We asked our regular contributors what they'd like to give -- or receive -- for the holidays this year. Their answers may surprise you.

Out of Gamut: Calibrating Camera Raw in Photoshop CS

Pro photographers are digging into Photoshop CS, which includes powerful features for processing raw image data from digital cameras, thanks to its Camera Raw plug-in. Now Bruce Fraser digs deeper to devise a way to customize Camera Raw's color for digital cameras.

Photoshop CS: The Killer App for Digital Photography

Long the creative partner of photographers and artists, Adobe Photoshop also embraces the technical nuances of producing great images. The new Photoshop CS is a confident upgrade that builds on its creative heritage yet firms up its technical foundation with key new features. Bruce Fraser takes a look.

Out of Gamut: Thoughts on a Sharpening Workflow

Sharpening is a critical step in digital imaging, yet few of us are satisfied with the results. Using research he conducted for a commercial sharpening product, Bruce Fraser argues for a new approach to sharpening that's based on three imaging phases: capture, creative, and output.

Adobe Creative Suite: An All-Star Line-up

The new Adobe Creative Suite integrates Adobe's graphics applications into a workflow that addresses the needs of nearly every creative professional, from inspiration through execution, from print to Web. Here's a quick look at Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and GoLive from creativepro.com's own all-star line up of experts. Plus, a PDF analysis and a Version Cue preview.

Color Management Tools: GretagMacbeth's New Eye-One Lineup Spans the Gamut

Making an already comprehensive set of tools for color management even more wide-ranging, GretagMacbeth updates its color-profiling product line with new software, new hardware, new capabilities, and new price points. Bruce Fraser takes a look.

Color Management How-To: Understanding Computer Color

Learning how to match the color you see on screen with that in your printed output is critical information for any digital artist or photographer. But first you need to understand how color works both on computer display and on paper. Start with this chapter from "Real World Color Management."

2002: The Creative Year in Review

What kind of year was 2002 for creative professionals? The staff and contributors of creativepro.com reflect on the year that's been and the year that's about to be.

Out of Gamut: Don't Underestimate Photoshop's Auto Color

In amongst all the other goodies in Adobe Photoshop 7, you may have missed Auto Color entirely. In its fully automatic mode, Auto Color may disappoint, but if you dig a little deeper, you'll find that with a very little work, it becomes a powerful tool for making your major initial corrections -- call it "Semi-Auto Color."

Out of Gamut: You Can't Do This to High-Bit Files in Photoshop (or Can You?)

Since you'll all have to wait a few more weeks before you can get your hands on Photoshop 7, I decided against doing a Photoshop 7 story. But here's the Photoshop 7 hook. A great many people have asked me if Photoshop 7 has more support for high-bit files (that is, files with more than 8-bits per channel) than Photoshop 6.

Out of Gamut: Canned Profiles, Custom Profiles, and Pretend Profiles

Color management lives and dies by the accuracy of the profiles you use. The generic profiles that scanner, printer, and monitor vendors supply vary quite a bit in their accuracy. Some devices display more unit-to-unit variation than others, and some inks and papers vary more from batch to batch than others.

Out of Gamut: Photoshop, Previsualization, and Print Prediction

Color management can't change the physical limits of your printing process. What it can do, though, is to get your monitor to show you how your print will appear, and let you take any corrective action necessary to optimize the appearance of the image on the print. Photoshop's Proof Setup feature is capable of providing very accurate previews of your prints.

2001: The Creative Year in Review

We asked the writers and pundits who contribute to creativepro.com to review 2001 from the perspective of product releases and news events for creative professionals.

Kodak RFS 3600: Film Scanner With a Split Personality

The Kodak Professional RFS 3600 Film Scanner isn't at all bad, but it gives the impression of being a work in progress that's still trying to figure out what it wants to be when it grows up. The schizoid appearance it presents to the world is mainly due to the fact that the scanner ships with two very different drivers.

Out of Gamut: Setting Up Color Management in Photoshop 6

Color-management wizard Bruce Fraser kicks off his two-part article on color managing in Photoshop 6 with this guide to calibrating your monitor and optimizing Photoshop settings.

Out of Gamut: Five Cheap Tricks in Photoshop 6

With Photoshop you can never be too fast or too smart. Bruce Fraser reveals his five favorite image-editing tips for novices and experts alike.

Out of Gamut: Getting a Handle on Color Management

Color-geek extraordinaire Bruce Fraser spells out the basics in this primer on color management systems.