Ghost Digital

Update: Back into it!

ghostdigital — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 09:49:19 +0000

I have had a small hiatus over the Christmas and new year period, but now I am back. In the next few months I will release the updated version of my Photoshop Actions! Shortly after I have some great 3D and Photoshop tutorials coming your way. Also in 2010, I will have periodic posts relating to sales. It will be general in nature so that the principles can be applied to all areas of design or photography businesses.

I would also like to thank the customers that have put the re-touching and adjusting service to regular use over the holiday period. I know you are all very happy with the results. You have all helped me to go past 200 clients and well on the way to 300! In the short period of time that this service has been available, 200 is a fantastic result! Thankyou.

Merry Christmas

ghostdigital — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 21:20:32 +0000

Merry Christmas to you all and a safe and happy new year. To my many customers and visitors alike, 2009 has been a blast yet I’m sure 2010 will bring many more adventures and challenges. The only real challenge is that we enjoy the road ahead and let it make us grow in our work, passions and within ourselves.

Update: New actions soon!

ghostdigital — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:15:03 +0000

As promised in my last tutorial, I will soon release an updated version of the Photoshop actions that I released earlier. My previous pack was basically some time-saving actions, however, this time it will contain a lot more; much more.

In this new set, expect three separate action files.

Ghost Digital – General
Ghost Digital – Colour
Ghost Digital – Recovery

In the General pack I have a few time-saving actions. These include, guides for the rule of thirds, triptych layouts, dodge and burn layers etc.

In the Colour pack, well, that is pretty easy to work out. They are a HEAP of colour treatments, all of which are a simple click and go option.

In the Recovery pack I have made some skin softening adjustments, some sharpening adjustments and some contrast adjutsments….and MORE.

In the next few days I will endeavour to make a short introductory video giving you all a basic run down on how to use the actions and what they will achieve.

What is the price for this you ask? $0.00 Australian. All I ask is that you use them at your discretion and possibly make a donation to this blog/site so that I may make more tools and gear for you all to use at this low and non-existent price. Donations can be as little as $0.50, every little bit helps when making things for free

Tutorial: B&W Explained

ghostdigital — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:31:23 +0000

Mentioned in my previous post, I have created a tutorial (of sorts) to try and debunk or clear up the methods involved when giving a photo or footage a black and white treatment. I show you four commonly used methods that I strongly disagree with then show you 3 methods that give you more control and power by being able to retain all the colour information/data.

Not only do I show you the methods, I also show you why. This is the main thing that other videos/posts usually gloss over. Why shouldn’t you just use the desaturate filter? How does your method actually help getting an end result? What things can I do to enhance my black and white image once I have treated it? I explain this and more in the video.

In addition I provide some tips on how to improve your black and white photographs/footage before taking it into photoshop or after effects. Things like, being able to understand tone (the composition of it), lighting, lines and curves, mood etc etc; plus many other short tips.

Once again, in the video I showed a colour improving technique that I used. I used LAB colour mode to boost the colours from a rather dull original. I will in the upcoming weeks release an updated version of the actions that I made available for download not long ago. In this updated version I will include some actions to boost your colours, some actions to set “rule of thirds guides”, some black and white actions and some more as well. In addition to this, I will realse a short “how do I use the actions” video, basically explaining how to install them, use each of them and then finally how to make some of your own. Keep an eye out for this later in the week.

A contemplation….

ghostdigital — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:27:16 +0000

Upcoming ‘Tutorial’ of sorts…B&W!!

ghostdigital — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:03:08 +0000

Across many forums I have constantly seen the use (or preaching the use of) desaturate or adjusting the saturation in Hue/Sat in order to get a B&W image. I have for sometime been banging on about why this is poor practise and with this ‘tutorial of sorts’ I will aim to show you every way of achieving a black and white effect as well as their pros and cons. I know many videos exist dealing with this exact point, however, I feel most focus on one or two effects and in the long run it adds to the confusion on what is a simple theory. The video should be out in a few days…. stay tuned!

Update

ghostdigital — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:55:54 +0000

Just a quick update to the “Photo Adjusting & Re-touching Service” that was released today. In addition to providing you with the finished adjustment image I will also provide the Photoshop project file that I use for your image so you can reverse engineer my techniques and learn from them. If you so desire. All of this in 48 hours and for that insane price? What other excuse could you possibly need to purchase this service?

Find Ghost Digital on Facebook

ghostdigital — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:47:59 +0000

Today I also got Ghost Digital active on Facebook. I have added the button to the right hand side for future reference. I won’t make one for Twitter as I don’t follow that ‘Celebrity made fad’. And Ghost Digital on your Facebook, as I will often post tidbits that I won’t see a need for an entire post on here. Often I will find videos, images or articles that interest me or educated me further. I also will add small resources/quick tips for Facebook only. Eventually I will add them here also, however, be first and get the information on Facebook!

New Products and services!

ghostdigital — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:58:48 +0000

Due to popular demand I now have one product and one service to provide! Many people have asked me about the Ghost Digital logo and wondering if I could provide it on clothing. After some deliberations, I have found a provider and the results are amazing. More about that soon!

The most exciting news is the new service that I am providing. It is a photo adjusting and re-touching service. What does it involve? How much? What will I do? How much does it cost? It is all covered. Click more to find out more!I have vectorized the logo of Ghost Digital and in conjunction with SpreadShirt, I have been able to supply my logo to the front of many clothing options. I have intentionally left any text or sayings off the clothing so that you can wear the clothing with only the logo. The logo has a stricking look, especially when displayed on white, black or grey. I have also supplied an inverted colour scheme (white is black, black is white) so the logo still looks rad on black clothing. The range includes polos, tees, organic tees, hoodies and jackets. The pricing is very reasonable. I have a few on order already. Enjoy! Click HERE to see the product range!

The service which I mentioned above is no joke. I have had literally hundreds of requests lately for me to adjust and re-touch photos. Now I would love to do them all, except, I work full time and to do this for free would eat into my spare time far too much. Having said this, I have decided to release a service for it. The price is minimal and cannot be compared to anything else on the net today! In addition, there are no limits to what you can have. Simple supply the image and what your would like me to do. Even supply examples if you wish and within 48 HOURS!! you will have the completed image. The image type isn’t limited either. Any file type is fine. Any type of subject is fine! Portrait, landscape, exposures for HDR (you can send 3-5 exposures for the price of one image!), CG renders, CG passes…. ANYTHING! I have a page dedicated to this service, so make sure to check it out. I have gone into a lot of depth trying to answer any possible questions you may have. Check it out…. HERE !!!(or click the ‘products tab’ at the top of the page).

Sales??

ghostdigital — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:22:27 +0000

Over the past few weeks I have had an influx of emails and private messages asking in general about how to attract clients, manage business relationships, presentation techniques, closing strategies. These questions have come from freelancers and people starting out (or wanting to) in a small business. I truly believe that every business is sales; no matter what. At the end of it all, we are selling something and the design industry is no exception. So my question to all of you… Would you like me to make some posts/podcasts (etc) going over sales techniques?? I worked as a marketing consultant for sometime while I was freelancing and I have a pile of resources at my disposal that could help give you that edge. Comment away my friends, and I will endevour to share these resources as well as my own knowledge on sales and the techniques within.