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Photography Competition – Black and White is NOW CLOSED!
You could enter our current photo competition though – click here
Good luck to all those that entered, now over to Leigh Caraccioli to decide the winners!
The Theme for our competition this time is ‘Black and White‘ so get out there and set your camera to Black and White (or filter them in Photoshop later!), you could even scan your old black and white photographs and enter those too.
To follow this competition head to Flickr, our Facebook page and also follow our RSS Feed. The winner will also be announced on this blog and also on Twitter so don’t forget to follow us @SBTtraining. We run regular photography competitions so keep in touch and let us know if you have any suggestions for the next theme.
Silicon Beach Training offer a full range of creative software courses including Photoshop Training, InDesign Training as well as Social Media, Blogging Training, and WordPress Training in Brighton, Sussex.
Fantastic Prizes to be Won!
BBQ Sausages Brighton Festival by Brighton Photographer Heather Buckley - click image to buy
1st Place Winner will receive an Alien Skin Photo Bundle software package. The Photo Bundle gives you all five of Alien Skin’s award-winning photography plug-ins: Blow Up, Bokeh, Exposure, Image Doctor, and Snap Art. Each of these products enhances work-flow, saves time and provides creative freedom. Combining these products together is even more effective.
2nd Place Runner-Up will receive a £50 Park Cameras Gift Voucher. You could put it towards a nice new shiny camera, lens, tripod or anything else that Park Cameras have to offer. Read below for more information on Park Cameras and what they have to offer.
The winning entries will be announced on our Blog, Twitter and Facebook as well as other social media platforms – an excellent way to generate online exposure and increase traffic to your website! So if you’re an aspiring amateur photographer and like the sound of these fantastic prizes, then get snapping!
Read on to find out more about these prizes, our high profile photographer judge, and how you can enter. Read the rest of "Photography Competition – Black and White – NOW CLOSED!"
Posted by Aaron Charlie in Brighton, Competitions, News, Photography, Photoshop on December 13th, 2010| No Comments »
Are you tired of scrolling up and down the right side of Lightroom Develop module to get to the panel you want in Adobe Lightroom? – Top Tip – try Solo Mode
If you need help learning Photoshop or Lightroom we provide both Photoshop Courses and Lightroom Training in Brighton, Sussex.
What is Solo Mode?
Adobe Lightroom Solo Mode automatically keeps only one panel open at a time. As you open another panel, the other automatically collapses. So now you don’t need to have 7 panels open and keep scrolling up and down to switch panels.
- To turn it on, right-click on any dark gray area (the bits that surround your panels) in your left or right side panels.
- A pop-up menu appears and Solo Mode will be one of the options.
- Click it to turn it on.
- Turning it on in the right side of the Develop module only turns it on for those panels – you need to turn it on for the left side too.
- It’s also module specific so turning it on in Develop wont turn it on in the Library module.
Adobe Lightroom 3 - click for larger image
Once you turn it on, you’ll never go back.
Posted by Heather Buckley in Adobe Lightroom, New Free Resources, Photography, Photoshop on November 9th, 2010| 1 Comment »
by Stéfan Le Dû on Flickr
You have finalised your design and it needs to go to print, you may be experienced in print design or you may be new to it all. Either way, can you guarantee that the design you see on your computer screen is going to come out like that at the printers?
If you would like to learn more then try our InDesign Training, in Brighton, Sussex, or you may fancy our Photoshop Training Course or Illustrator Training.
Most of the time, what you see on the screen is what comes out of the printer, but every now and again it just doesn’t look quite as good as it did on the screen. So here is a list of things to check before you send your design to the printers –
- Your images, at their actual size, should be at least 300dpi (dots per inch) and, preferably, saved as tiff or eps files. When you enlarge in image in Photoshop, you are decreasing the image resolution, but if you enlarge a vector image in an Illustrator file the image will not deteriorate as the files are resolution independent.
- When printing in colour, check and double check that your files are in CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) format as RGB (Red, Green, Blue) and other colour systems can be misleading and not print the same as they appeared on the screen.
- Avoid small text at all costs, especially if they are thin or elaborate fonts.
- If you are going to have pages of small text then stick to black or choose a spot colour, it can just turn out messy otherwise.
- Be aware that if you publication has a large amount of reflex blue (pantone colour) then when it is printed and it has dried, it will appear more red.
- When very thin parts of an image or text are printed on uncoated stock, it can spread, so it would be best to steer clear of that. Uncoated stock is very absorbent, that’s why it can run.
- If you have high percentage tints in your publication, these can also spread on uncoated stock, this is because the printer has to put more pressure on and it can result in spreading and a loss of detail.
- When you publication has high percentage tints and they are combined with solids, this can be a difficult job for the printers. They will have to bump up the colour otherwise it won’t look very good. In turn this will affect the tints and makes the whole process more difficult.
- And the simplest of all tips – Spell check! Spelling mistakes are the most common problems in printing and can ruin a great publication and cost your business a lot of money. Most printer companies will check your publication but in the end, it’s not their responsibility if you have typed something wrong.
If you think about these little pointers the next time you are creating your publication then your printer will thank you for it! It will make the whole procedure much smoother and should allow for a smooth printing process without the need for re-prints or an overall product you aren’t happy with. Most skilled printers should be able to resolve the problems I have listed here but if you follow these simple tips it will only help you to produce a great publication.
Did you know we also provide Business Training, including PRINCE2 Training, Leadership Training and Management Training.
Posted by Faye Binfield in InDesign, News, Photoshop on November 3rd, 2010| 3 Comments »
Smart phones are getting smarter thanks to the deluge of Apps available. Sometimes though there are so many it can help to have someone else sort out the wheat form the chaff. So here we are, we’ve complied a list of the best iPhone and Android Apps for people who want to update their website or blog on the go so you no longer have to be sitting in front of your computer to upload, manage, publish and monitor your website.
WordPress
wordpress application for iphone and android
Top of the list of course is WordPress. If you have a WordPress blog, this app allows you to manage comments, upload images, and write, edit and publish posts from your phone. Both these apps are free and are can be downloaded from WordPress.org.
If you have an iPhone see the left screen in the image, you can use location sharing to give your blog posts added context.
The Android version (see the right screen in the image) is good for smaller screens.
Download WordPress for iPhone and Android
iPhone: WordPress for iOS
Android: WordPress for Android
If you need help setting up a WordPress site we offer WordPress Training courses in Brighton and Advanced WordPress training for those who wish to learn how to create templates for wordpress and integrate their blog into their existing site. To learn to create Templates and Websites we offer Dreamweaver Training and Web Design courses as well as Photoshop for Web Graphics.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics for iPhone and Android Phones
Now you can track your web stats wherever you are by downloading a Google Analytics apps onto your phone.
There are several free and paid for options for both iPhone and Android users. The free ones may have all you need but it you are an SEO addict you may need something stronger!
iPhone: for a not free but really comprehensive Google Analytics app for the iPhone try Analytics App. If you’re looking for a free Google Ananlytics App for iPhone try Blast’s Google Analytics app.
Android: Droid Analytics is one of the most popular choices and is so cheap you may as well buy it (a free trial is also available).
If you need help installing and understanding Google Analytics we provide regular Google Analytics courses here in Brighton, we even provide Advanced Google Analytics Training for the really geeky.
Web Browsers
Web browser for android and iphone
Opera Mini for iPhone:
Opera Mini is a good alternative to Safari, the features are much the same for both the iphone app and the android app to read below for more info.
Opera Mini for Android:
Opera Mini is also available on Android, and has the benefit of lightweight browsing and homepage bookmark links.
The user interface in Opera Mini is much more usable than Android’s rather clunky browser. The speed dial feature lets you set up on-click shortcuts to up-to nine of your favorite sites. Mini supports tabbed browsing, meaning you can switch between the different pages you have open very quickly and easily.
There is also an auto-complete feature in the address bar, and a built-in search bar. Unfortunately this search bar only supports Google and is not customizable with other search engines.
Page load times are good, thanks to Opera’s server-side rendering technology.
There’s support for bookmarks and browser history, too.
Online File Management
download dropbox app
Dropbox for iPhone and Andriod
Dropbox is a brilliant tool for uploading, downloading, sharing and syncing files online. The Dropbox app comes in both Android and iPhone flavours. It’s simply amazing and what’s more it’s free.
The free Dropbox application for iPhone, iPad, and Android lets you:
- Store all you documents in one place to be accessed anywhere
- Browse the files in your Dropbox folder easily
- Open images and other media directly through the app
- Upload photos to all of your computers at once
- Share links to your files over email
- Export files to other apps
It does loads more definitely worth checking out.
You’ll need a Dropbox account, but it’s free to sign up.
iPhone: Dropbox for iPhone
Android: Dropbox for Android
In case you didn’t know we don’t just offer techie stuff . We also provide InDesign Training, Management Training and Leadership Training courses. Come down to Brighton!
Posted by Heather Buckley in News, Photoshop, Social Media, Web Design on October 27th, 2010| No Comments »
Danny Fernandez - Columbian Sunset
Well – nearly there – just finalising some great prizes for you and the next Photography competition should be going live next week. So get ready… if you want to know as soon as we launch it follow us on facebook and/or twitter or subscribe to our rss feed. For those of you who want to start thinking about it now – we can reveal that the theme, this time, is going to be MOOD. This, as usual, will be open to interpretation so it could be anything form a moody landscape to a moody toddler!
Silicon Beach Training offer a great range of Photoshop training courses. Our beginners and advanced Photoshop Training in Brighton, Sussex, are delivered by experienced photographers, graphic designers and web professionals.
Just in case you were wondering. Our last prize winner was Wendy Laurel. Now Wendy lives in Hawaii (ahh poor Wendy) so couldn’t claim her prize. More details and a nice little video showcasing the winners can be found here. However Danny Fernandez our second prize winner can make it! Hooray! and Wendy can have his a high quality 24’’ x 18” canvas print – worth £69 from Identity Signage and Printing!
I thought it would be nice to know how Danny hopes to use his prize, which is a place on Brighton Journalist Works 4-day Freelance Photography Course in December – worth £245, so I asked Danny a few questions:
Silicon Beach Training: How long have you been taking images?
Danny Fernandez: I’ve been taking photos for about 4 years now.
Silicon Beach Training: What inspired you to pursue photography?
Danny Fernandez: Its just a hobby really. I have a passion for it and i like to spend time doing things that i enjoy. Photography is one of those things. People seem to like my pictures, which is encouraging.
Silicon Beach Training: What part does photography play in your life at the moment?
Danny Fernandez: Right now i’m living in Barcelona (for the summer). Barca is perhaps the most photographic city i’ve ever been to, so its very inspiring at the moment!
Silicon Beach Training: What do you hope the course will do for you?
Danny Fernandez: I’ve always loved photojournalism and its an area that I would like to study for sure! For that reason, I can’t wait!
Silicon Beach Training: How do you see your future in photography?
Danny Fernandez: Hopefully i’ll still be shooting film 20 years from now!
Silicon Beach Training: Anything else?
Danny Fernandez: check my pictures out at www.dannyfernandez.co.uk or
http://www.lomography.com/magazine/lomoamigos/2009/10/05/community-member-dannyfresh-shoots-with-an-lc-a-plus
Next time it could be you being featured in our numerous blogs, twitterings and facebook postings, so its great publicity, so as a said earlier follow us on facebook and/or twitter or subscribe to our rss feed and keep in touch. Good luck.
Posted by Heather Buckley in Brighton, Competitions, News, Photography, Photoshop on September 8th, 2010| No Comments »
We offer a range of Social Media training in Brighton, Sussex, and have some superb summer offers on at the moment see our summer pick and mix. We also offer Photoshop Training , Advanced Photoshop Courses and Project Management Training.
Yesterday evening I attended Keven Meredith’s (aka @lomokev) book launch for 52 Photographic Projects at Add The Colour Cafe, North road, Brighton .
All the usual suspects were there from the Brighton photographic community, which is a testament to Kevin’s popularity as a photographer. Now it’s not just that Kevin is a lovable character, or that he is the judge for our current photographic competition that closed today, but I genuinely think this is one the best photographic books I have ever seen! I have been taking pictures on and off for decades (you can see some of my images on my facebook page – become a fan!) and still there are so many new ideas and ways of thinking between the covers of this book.
I showed it to someone this morning who has been thinking of taking up photography for some time. She has no experience in photography yet she was getting quite excited about the book, she could see that she could do it, that photography was more of a journey and an experience than a science. I defy any photographer vintage or newbie not to find something interesting or inspiring in this book.
Well done Kevin, that’s quite an achievement. If you would like to buy a copy you can order it through his website.
For those who are interested I took these images with my new Sony Cybershot with Sweep Panorama, and yes this is my friend photographer Anthony Hunt trying to appear three times in the same shot!
We will be launching our next photographic competition soon so keep in touch subscribe to our feedburner, get our blogs delivered by email, follow us on twitter or become a facebook fan.
Silicon Beach Training offer a range of Social Media training courses, we have some superb summer offers on at the moment see our summer pick and mix. We also offer Photoshop Training, Advanced Photoshop Courses and Project Management Training.
Posted by Heather Buckley in Brighton, Photography, Photoshop, Social Media on July 16th, 2010| 1 Comment »
Book Adobe Training Courses together at discounted rates
Adobe recently launched Creative Suite 5 (CS5), including newly updated editions of all of its industry standard design packages Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver and Flash.
All Silicon Beach Training’s Adobe Courses in Brighton, Sussex, susseare now available on Adobe CS5 (with CS4 still available if preferred).
The Adobe Creative Suite packages are designed to be used together, with Adobe Bridge enabling easy transfer of design elements between them.
What’s more – we’re now offering some great package deals on Adobe CS5 Courses to help you get the most from Creative Suite 5. Packages include:
For more information or to make bookings call us on 01273 622272 or e-mail bookings@siliconbeachtraining.co.uk
You can also learn more about the new features in Photoshop CS5 and new features in Flash CS5 elsewhere in the blog.
Posted by Andy Trainer in News, Offers, Photoshop on June 16th, 2010| 1 Comment »
Silicon Beach Training offer creative software courses including Adobe Photoshop Training and Indesign Training, we also offer a range of Social Media courses and SEO training in Brighton, Sussex .
Lesson 1 – Build a relationship with your subject
Image by Heather Buckley - http://www.heatherbuckley.co.uk
Portrait photography is an intimate process, it is essential to build a relationship with your subject. Communicate with your model as you shoot, as well as before you shoot. Rapport is vital to a good portrait photograph. Even when you are taking pictures of strangers, as in street photography, the more you talk to people the easier it gets and the more fun you’ll have. On the other hand……when doing street photography somtimes you don’t want people to notice you, so there are no hard and fast rules. If the person you are taking a photograph of knows you are taking the photograph get talking.
“A thing that you see in my pictures is that I was not afraid to fall in love with these people”
Annie Leibovitz
Don’t be shy about recommending a different pose, or changing the lighting, position or location slightly.
Read the rest of "Photographing People – 10 steps towards stunning portraits"
Posted by Heather Buckley in New Free Resources, Photography, Photoshop on May 24th, 2010| 7 Comments »
