A Picture is worth only 1,000 words.

So?EUR??,,????'??+Make it Better!

By Jerry Short, art director, LASN

To make a good picture better or a mediocre picture good, Adobe Creative Suite 2 is the way to achieve desired quality.

Adobe Photoshop CS2 is the latest version in the long line of standard setting-photo enhancing software.

For landscape architects, Adobe Photoshop is no stranger, and whether the program is used on PC or Mac, most individuals or firms are still most likely using version 6 or 7. So why would it be advantageous to upgrade to version CS2? Increased productivity, higher quality output, greater ranges in options, and new features are but a few reasons.

Vanishing Point Tool

One of the first new features that will help the landscape architect is the Vanishing Point Tool. This tool allows you to visually place an object by cloning or painting around corners or in planes and adjust the perspective automatically. A grid system is laid over the desired plane or planes to constrain the object?EUR??,,????'???s perspective. This allows quick additions of plants or site amenities to a photo to give the client a better understanding of the landscape architect?EUR??,,????'???s plans.

 

One feature that landscape architects will find useful is the Vanishing Point Tool. This tool allows you to visually adjust perspective by dragging, painting, or cloning within a plane-based grid system. Notice the additions of windows in the after picture.

Spot Healing Brush

Another tool to increase work output is the Spot Healing Brush. Select a brush size slightly bigger than the object to be removed and with a click of the mouse the object disappears. The tool analyzes the pixels in the area and removes the unwanted image. Then with a little cloning and healing the background replaces the object as if it had never been there. This will help get rid of unwanted objects, such as poles, people or any other feature that distracts from the landscape architect?EUR??,,????'???s vision.

The Spot Healing Brush analyzes the selected area and automatically chooses the best pixels to fill the area. This allows a quick method of removing unwanted objects from the landscape, such as buildings or people. This tool requires some use of cloning and healing tools to acquire the desired effect.

File Browser

The file browser for CS2 has been upgraded and provides a tool to ease workflow. The browser displays a picture or graphic with its corresponding meta-data in a fully-customizable format. The film strip view, in the example of Adobe Bridge, is one of the ways to view images. Along with the traditional thumbnail view, there is a details view and a version and alternates view. This new browser works with all the programs in the Creative Suite.

Photoshop CS2 comes equipped with a new file browser called Adobe Bridge that allows you to customize the style and look by giving you scalable thumbnails with meta-data, or by using keywords.

Smart Objects

One new innovative feature is how Photoshop deals with Illustrator eps files. In the past, if a landscape architect wished to incorporate an Illustrator logo or drawing with a photo, they would first have to be rasterized. This rasterization results in a fuzz image. By assigning a logo as a smart object in Illustrator the vector-based image will not become bitmapped. This allows a non-destructive editing ability from which scaling, rotating and warping can now be achieved. The smart object, when linked to the Photoshop file, will be automatically updated after a change has been performed in Illustrator.

Smart objects defined in illustrator can now be used in Photoshop CS2.This means you can scale, rotate or warp illustrator objects in Photoshop while allowing them to stay in vector-based data. This way, logos or letter graphics remain crisp and sharp.

Multi-Image Camera Raw

This multi-image camera input allows an increased workflow by simultaneously processing multiple raw images from your camera. You can adjust curves, color settings and crop pictures affected from a cloudy photo shoot or other adverse weather conditions.

Multi-Image Camera Raw allows you to process multiple photos simultaneously. You can choose either a batch function or change selected photos all at once. You can quickly adjust raw camera photos to correct for lighting or environmental problems encountered.

Time to Upgrade

There are many more features that can help the landscape architect or their firm in their work, such as advanced noise reduction, one-click red-eye correction, optical lens correction, graphics in motion and more.

Photoshop is already the standard program used in photo manipulation. By upgrading to CS2 it becomes an even more powerful tool to allow you to present the images from your project the way they should be.