Freebie – Page 6 – Gavtrain.com

Free Chalk Texture

For this Friday Freebie I’m going to share a brilliant texture that I photographed just a few days back. Despite it being a very recent image it’s already made it in to several of my images for one reason… It’s an image I shot with my phone!

The texture is a close up photo of chalk that I found on a beach just outside Brighton in Sussex and it makes wonderful texture shots.

Full download instructions are below but you can also
Click Here To Download the Free Chalk Texture

As with most textures, it works best with any photo that has large areas of light colour. I’ve found it particularly effective in landscape photos which feature plenty of sky. To apply the texture simply paste it over your photo and use Free Transform (CTRL+T) to resize it to your photo. Then change the layer blending mode to either Multiply or Overlay. Other blending modes will also work but those two are a good start. I’ve left the orgianal colour in the texture but you may wish to remove the colour or alter the colour to create a different look.

If you create a photo using the Friday Freebie texture then let me (and everyone else) know by leaving the link in the comments below.

Usage rules
The image is copyright Gavin Hoey 2013. Use is limited to any personal, non-commercial purposes. Please share the Friday Freebie by linking back to this page. Do not redistribute the original image without my permission.

Download instructions
Click the link https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_Mmmm3K1utNeGtRdlBDbm1jZ2s/view?usp=sharing

1. Click the Download button

2. The download should start automatically

The photos in this post were made in Photoshop Touch for Phone and I’m seriously impressed by what it can do. I’ll do a more in depth write up soon but for now let’s just say that at £2.99, it’ the cheapsest and most portable version of Photoshop you can buy.

It’s unlikely to replace full photoshop for me but I’m really impressed by just how good an image you can make whilst sitting in the car, which is where both these photos were editied. Photoshop Touch for Phone is avaiable in both iPhone and Android version but you’ll need a really up to date handset such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 that I use.

Lovingly Made Photo Challenge

It’s been a while since undertaking my last 15 minute photo challenge so for all of you who have been asking when they’ll return I’ve got some happy news.

My latest 15 minute challenge is now out and with any luck it won’t be the last. This challenge was recorded at Lovingly Made which is a vintage home and garden store located just outside East Grinstead in Sussex. They were kind enough to invite me along to photograph anything that took my eye and there was no shortage of great photos to be had.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/lA_5cVYdv74[/youtube]
Can’t see the video? Click here

As you can see from the video much of my time was spent in the store finding the smaller scenes to photograph. Fortunately I’d packed my flash and the Westcott Pocket Box which I’m in the process of reviewing. This proved to be invaluable for controlling the light.

Products used in the video:

Canon 60D

Canon 24-105mm L f/4 IS

Westcott Pocket Box kit

Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT

Adobe Photoshop CS6

Painted Frame Template

Here’s a great Friday freebie for anyone who loves creating painterly effects.

The template is a simple JPG file which you can adjust to your own needs. For example you may wish to adjust the brightness using Levels or add a splash of colour with the Colorize option in Hue/Saturation. All you need to do is add your own photo over the whole image or just the framed area, then change the layer blending mode from Normal to Screen. Although the Screen blending mode will usually give you the best results, experimenting with other blending modes can yield some unexpected results which may be even better.

If you’ve had success with the template and you’d like to share your image with others, please pop a link in the comments section.

Download the Painted Frame Template

Download instructions
Click the link https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_Mmmm3K1utNVnd4a2twTmNacW8/view?usp=sharing

1. Click the Download button

2. The download should start automatically

Mug Shot Background

Last week I released a video called two portraits, one light and ever since I’ve been getting a constant stream of requests to share the mug shot background I used in the final photo. The background was one I made a while back for a photography workshop using a combination of grungy textures and a bit of Photoshop know how.

The background is just a simple JPG file which you can adjust to your own needs. For example you may wish to adjust the brightness using Levels or add a splash of colour with the Colorize option in Hue/Saturation.

Download instructions are below and once again I’m sharing the JPG file through my Adobe Creative Cloud page. No sign up is required to get a copy of the template so you’re free to jump in and make your own triptych images.

Download the Mug Shot background by clicking here

Usage rules
The image is copyright Gavin Hoey 2013. Use is limited to any personal, non-commercial purposes. Please share the Friday freebie by linking back to this page. Do not redistribute the original image without permission.

Download instructions
Click the link https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_Mmmm3K1utNb0duUlQ4eVZQMkk/view?usp=sharing

1. Click the Download button

2. The download should start automatically

Grungy triptych template

As you take more photos, you’ll need to find more ways to display them. So todays Friday Freebie is a triptych template that uses up three of your photos in one go,

As you can see from the example here, the template has three spaces into which you’ll need to add your own images. An alternative would be to use one image but break it into three pieces. Download instructions are below and once again I’m sharing the JPG file through my Adobe Creative Cloud page. No sign up is required to get a copy of the template so you’re free to jump in and make your own triptych images.

Download the Grungy triptych template by clicking here

Download instructions
Click the link https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_Mmmm3K1utNNzZPMHNQX0VVUG8/view?usp=sharing

1. Click the Download button

2. The download should start automatically

How to use the template
To add your own photo, first select and copy the photo you want to add. Then jump over to the template, Click inside one of the black squares with the magic wand tool and choose Edit – Paste Into (Edit – Paste Special – Paste Into in Photoshop CS5 & CS6)

You can then resize the photo before pressing enter to committing to the change.

Usage rules
Usual rules apply. The action is copyright Gavin Hoey 2013. You may use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only and please do not redistribute without permission. Thank you and enjoy

Free brushed border

Last week I made a tutorial for my friends over at Tip Squirrel on how to use the mixer brush to create three borders with a painterly feel. You can read the article and watch the video by clicking here to visit tipsquirrel.com

Great as the effect is, there is a problem. You’ll need access to the Mixer Brush to make the borders but the Mixer Brush is only available in Photoshop CS5 and CS6. So what happens if you have an older version of Photoshop or for that matter, any version of Photoshop Elements?

The short answer is you’re out of luck but that doesn’t sound 100% fair to me, so I thought I’d share one of my ready made brushed borders in a way that anyone can use.

You can download the border from here:
https://www.gavtrain.com/free/FF-Mixer-Border.zip

It’s a zipped file of around 300kb in size so shouldn’t take too long to download. You can then unzip it and open the jpg border image in either Photoshop or Elements.
Please read the terms of use at the bottom of this post.

How to use the border
To add your own photo, first open the photo you want to add. Then select all (CTRL+A) and copy (CTRL+C) . Now jump over to the border image, select a grey rectangle with the Magic Wand tool and choose Edit – Paste Into (Edit – Paste Special – Paste Into in Photoshop CS5 & CS6)

You can then resize the photo before pressing Enter to committing to the changes.

The space for each photo is just under 4000 pixels on the longest edge, so if you’re using smaller images you might want to resize the border or photo before starting.

^{Usual rules apply.

The action is copyright Gavin Hoey 2012. You may use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only and please do not redistribute without permission.

Thank you and enjoy.}

Magazine Page Action ~ Friday Freebie

Ever fancied seeing your work featured in a magazine? Silly question. Every photographer I know would be flattered, honoured or excited to see their photos in print. Well sadly I can’t make that happen for you but here’s the next best thing.

As with all actions the strength of the effect will vary according to the number of pixels in the image but this one gives great results with pretty much any sized photo. You’ll need a copy of Photoshop (CS3 or later). This action makes use of warping in Free Transform. It’s a powerful tool but sadly it’s not part of Elements and as a result this action will not work for Elements users.

The action is fully self contained which means you don’t need to do anything other then click the play button. It also makes a copy of your photo (called Magazine Page) so your original image will remain untouched.

You can download the action from here www.gavtrain.com/free/magazine-effect.zip

Usual rules apply. The action is copyright Gavin Hoey 2012. You may use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only and please do not redistribute without permission. Thank you and enjoy

Christmas Template ~ Friday Freebie

It’s that time of year when people all round the world are sending out Christmas cards to their friends and family. If you’re looking to make your own festive card for the holiday season then this weeks Friday freebie is right up your street.

As you can see from the example here, the template is a festive border into which you’ll need to add your own Christmas or winter scene. Download instructions are below and once again I’m sharing the full PSD file through my creative cloud page. No sign up is required to get a copy of the template so you’re free to jump in and make your own Christmas card.

Download the Christmas card template by clicking this link

The photo that goes in the middle I’m leaving down to you.

It’s sized to print at A4, just remember to increase the canvas size by 100% so the card has a back side too. Alternatively you can save the final image as a JPG and turn it into an eCard instead.

Download instructions
Click the link https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_Mmmm3K1utNd2VLbzZSNzdKMUk/view?usp=sharing

1. Click the Download button

2. The download should start automatically

How to use the template
To add your own photo, first select and copy the photo you want to add. Then jump over to the template, Click inside the grey square with the magic wand tool and choose Edit – Paste Into (Edit – Paste Special – Paste Into in Photoshop CS5 & CS6)

You can then resize the photo before pressing enter to committing to the change.

If you’d rather not have the two stars that cut into the edge of your photo you can simply switch off the top layer.

Usage rules
Usual rules apply. The action is copyright Gavin Hoey 2012. You may use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only and please do not redistribute without permission. Thank you and enjoy

Art Paper Action ~ Friday Freebie

Last week I made a Photoshop tutorial that showed you a simple way of making an art paper type of texture. If you missed the video you can catch it here.

It was pointed out to me that the technique could be turned into a brilliant action. So here it is.

You can download the action here: https://www.gavtrain.com/free/artpaper.zip

This is a one click action, so once you’ve installed it you only need to hit the play button. The first thing the action will do is to make a copy of your photo and it’s the copy that gets the effect, leaving your original photo untouched.

I’ve designed the action so the texture effect is left as a layer that’s independent of the image. So after you’ve run the action, try adjusting the layer blending mode, opacity or adding some colour effects to fine tune the texture.

Usual rules apply. The action is copyright Gavin Hoey 2012. You may use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only and please do not redistribute without permission. Thank you and enjoy

Extract Detail Action

This weeks Friday Freebie is a brilliant little action that pulls out and amplifies the small detail and textures in your photos.

As with all actions the strength of the effect will vary according to the number of pixels in the image but this one gives great results with pretty much any sized photo. You’ll need a copy of Photoshop (CS2 or later) to make the action work and at the moment it’s untested on Photoshop Elements but should work OK.

Once installed you’ll find there are three actions in the set. They’re level 1, 2 and 3 and basically it’s the same effect with three different strengths.

The action is fully self contained which means you don’t need to do anything other then click the play button. It also makes a copy of your photo (called Extract Detail) so you can copy and paste it back on to your original photo and blend in the effect as you wish.

You can download the action from here www.gavtrain.com/free/extract-detail.zip

Usual rules apply. The action is copyright Gavin Hoey 2012. You may use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only and please do not redistribute without permission. Thank you and enjoy