Fort Collins Digital Camera Club

OUR MAIN DISCUSSION TOPICS WERE "The Pen Tool" also "Select Subject" and "Object Selection"
I showed how I use the Pen Tool, and I have added my notes to the end of this document.
The Pen Tool is a bit complicated to learn, but once you understand it, it can be a quick and powerful way to create difficult selections.
I also demonstrated the "Select Subject" tool and the "Object Selections" too.
Photoshop's automatic selection tools don't make excellent selections, but they are quick, easy and a good place to start.
Ed showed a selection technique to eliminate halos from stacked macro images.
Jim demoed Photoshop symmetry tools to make a mandala.
He also demoed Path Blur.

OUR MAIN DISCUSSION TOPIC FOR DECEMBER WILL BE "Water Splashes"

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT - RESEARCH "Water Splashes"
Everyone has the homework assignment to research "Water Splashes", photograph water splashes, and incorporate them into a photograph to make fine art. If you find any good resources, bring back some information for the group to discuss at our next Fine Art Photography SIG meeting. If you find some good "Water Splashes" information online, tell me where it is and I will put a link to the information on our website.

***** We will have an in-person splash shoot at Mike's house this weekend (I will send out invitations separately). *****

RESOURCES
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/editing-paths.html
video: Mastering the Pen Tool and Shape Layers by Jason Hoppe
Select Literally ANYTHING with One Click video by SharkPixel
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgXzrjstadk

SIG Project - FINISH-IT-PHOTO
We didn't have time to discuss our interpretations of the FINISH-IT-PHOTO "Swetsville Sculpture" from Mike Barry.
Our FINISH-IT-PHOTO for December will be "Old House with Arches" by Ann Yang.

If you haven't already sent in a FINISH-IT-PHOTO, please do send Mike Barry an image in RAW format. Mike will choose one of the images, send it out to the SIG members, and everyone will create their own interpretation of the image to show at future meetings. The idea is to show how all the members would process the same image in different styles.

Constructive Critiques/What Project Are You Working On?
I got a few good ideas for improving my pictures of Emily (zoom in) and Desiree (simplify the background).
We looked at Jim's path blur and mandala examples, and Albert's plans for his pictures of Ashley, and Ed's macro shots of the sundew.
We also talked about including water splashes and dutch pour and alcohol ink ideas into photographs.

AGENDA FOR OUR NEXT FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY SIG MEETING - Tue 12/14/2021 @6:00pm
1. The main topic will be "Water Splashes" Please research on your own so we can all discuss it at the meeting (optional)
2. We will discuss our interpretations of the FINISH-IT-PHOTO Please, everyone send Mike Barry a RAW image file that we can use for this Project.
3. We will hold constructive critiques (optional) Pick as many as 3 images that you would like critiqued, and be prepared to show them by sharing your screen during the ZOOM meeting.
4. We will pick a topic for the next meeting

If you don't have time to research the topic, or you don't have any images that you want to have critiqued, that is OK, you can just attend the meeting and participate when you want.

I would like to see more pictures from our Fine Art SIG in the regular club meeting slideshows.

Jim Limburg will send out the Meeting ID, passcode, and meeting link when we have scheduled the meeting, which will be about a week before the meeting date.

We have put video of previous Fine Art SIG meetings online and you can link to them from the Fine Art SIG page of the club website.

Please email Mike, info@fcdcc.com, when you find mistakes, missing information or if you have suggestions for the Fine Art Photography SIG and I will try to address the issues.

====================How to Use the Pen Tool =======================

Terminology
===========
The Paths panel contains saved paths and the current Work Path
Each path in the Paths panel has a thumbnail and a name
Paths contain path components
Path Components are made of path segments
Path segments can be straight or curved
Anchor Points mark the end points of path segments
The anchor points terminating curved segments display one or two direction lines that end in direction points
Smooth curves are connected by anchor points called smooth points
Sharply curved paths are connected by corner points

Pen Tools
=========
Pen Tool
Freeform Pen Tool
Curvature Pen Tool
Add Anchor Point Tool
Delete Anchor Point Tool
Convert Point Tool

Selection Tools
===============
Path Selection Tool
Direct Selection Tool

Shortcuts
=========
"p" selects the last pen tool used
"P" cycles between Pen Tool & Freeform Pen Tool & Curvature Pen Tool
"a" selects the last selection tool used
"A" cycles between Path Selection Tool & Direct Selection Tool
"CNTL" when using Pen Tool switches to the last used Selection Tool
"ALT" when using the Pen Tool switches to the Convert Point Tool

Path Panel
==========
Paths are created on a "Work Path" layer
Click on a path to make the path visible
Click off all the paths to hide them all
Start a new path component when the "Work Path" is hidden to delete the old "Work Path" and start a new one
Start a new path component when the "Work Path" is visible to add to the old "Work Path"
CNTL-Click on a path thumbnail to create a selection from the path
Double-Click on a path to rename and save the path
Saved paths never have to be saved again, even after editing

Pen Tool
========
"Pen *" means "Start a new path component"
"Pen o" means "Click on the starting point to close the path component"
Click ESC to end a path component leave it open
"Pen +" means "Add anchor point", Hover over a component segment to cause "Pen +"
"Pen -" means "Delete anchor point", Hover over an anchor point to cause "Pen -"
Click to create a new anchor point connected by a component segment to the previous anchor point
Click and drag to create a new anchor point with direction lines (curve)
When using the Pen Tool, ALT-Click on the end point to delete the end direction line, and continue drawing

Drawing with the Pen Tool
=========================
Click on corner points, and wherever the path component changes direction
Use as few points as possible
Pull out direction lines in the same direction that you are drawing the path component to make simple curves
Make direction lines tangent to intended curve to make curves smooth
Make direction lines about half as long as the distance to the next anchor point
Use the direct selection tool to select the direction point when you want to move it but keep both direction lines parallel
Use the convert point tool to select the direction point when you want to move it and change the direction of the direction line
Short direction lines cause shorter radius curves
Longer direction lines cause longer radius curves
Click delete button to delete the current anchor point and end the path component
Move the pen tool cursor over the last existing anchor point and click to reconnect to the path component
Press SPC Bar to temporarily choose the Move tool to move around the image

Freeform Pen Tool
=================
NEVER USED

Curvature Pen Tool
==================
NEVER USED

Add Anchor Point Tool
=====================
Click on a component segment to add a new corner point
Click and Drag on a component segment to add a new anchor point with direction lines (curve)

Delete Anchor Point Tool
========================
Click on an anchor point to delete it

Convert Point Tool
==================
Click on an anchor point with direction lines (curve) to convert it to a corner point with no direction lines
Click and drag on a corner point with no direction lines to convert it to an anchor point with direction lines (curve)
Select a direction point with the Convert Point Tool to change its direction and length

Path Selection Tool
===================
Selects entire path component for moving or transforming (rotate, scale...)
Click on/in a visible path component in the main window to make the path active, and select all anchor points and path segments (anchor points are solid black)
Click outside a visible path component in the main window to make it inactive

Direct Selection Tool
=====================
Selects an anchor point(s) and/or component segment(s) for moving
Click on/in a visible path component in the main window to make the path component active, but not select all anchor points and path segments (points are hollow)
Click again on an anchor point or path segment to select that anchor point or path segment
Select multiple anchor points by click-and-drag to create a selection area around the anchor points
Click outside a visible path in the main window to make the path inactive

Resources
=========
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/editing-paths.html
video: Mastering the Pen Tool and Shape Layers by Jason Hoppe