Old photos have an appealing kind of charm that the perfection of digital photography sometimes can’t achieve. But I know a trick to give your digital pics an aging touch that makes them look even more attractive. Simply follow these easy steps in Photoshop and turn your digital images into old photos with a sepia tone.

1. First of all, open the photo you want to make look older.

2. Then convert it to grayscale by selecting the Image > Mode > Grayscale menu and clicking “Yes” on the dialog box that Photoshop will display.

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A month ago we talked about how to work with Adobe Bridge and iPhoto. As promised, today we will see how to transfer all your pictures from iPhoto to Aperture or Adobe Lightroom. This is not as easy as it could seem and the process can take a while, especially if you have been storing your pictures in iPhoto for a while. I believe the transition is worth it though if you are getting more serious about photography. Both Apple’s Aperture and Adobe’s Lightroom have more options for working with RAW files, and have much more advanced editing tools than iPhoto could ever serve up. The two applications can also handle much larger photo libraries.

Aperture, just like iPhoto, is an Apple product, so transfering photos from one app to the other is a cinch. In Aperture simply choose File>Import>iPhoto Library. All the pictures will be stored in an iPhoto Library folder in your Projects. Aperture saves rolls as different projects, however it will not recognize smart albums.

Transferring images from iPhoto to Adobe Lightroom is a little more tricky. If you try importing directly from the Apple software you risk ending up with a mess of original images, modified images and thumbnails. What’s more you will probably lose tags entered in iPhoto. What you need to do is get hold of a program called PictureSync. First open iPhoto, then PictureSync. Then select the pictures to import from iPhoto. In PictureSync press open, then File>Save Annotations. Drag your selection from iPhoto to Lightroom. Only the pictures you selected and their metadata will be taken into account.

So there you have it. Obviously importing pictures from iPhoto to Aperture is easier, but it isn’t too much of a hassle sending them to Lightroom either, except that you’ll need to use an extra application. I would recommend not switching to often between programs though, as you always risk losing some of your data. If you’ve found an application that you like working with, try to stick with it.

Are you new to Photo Booth, the application that can take snapshots and short video clips using your Macs iSight camera? The application isn’t really difficult to get grips with: get yourself in the frame, choose an effect and press the shutter button to take your picture. Still, there are some simple tricks to know if you want to make full use of it. We’ve gathered a few of them together so you can feel like a true Photo Booth expert and get started making fun and original portraits of yourself.

• When you select one of the distorted effects, like dent, twirl or bulge, clicking on any point in the image will change the source of distortion. Play around with it until your happy.
• Want to get an image of yourself but inverted? Nothing easier. After you’ve taken you’re picture, just go to Edit>Flip Photo. If you choose ‘Auto Flip New Photos’ all new snaps will be inverted automatically.
• A trick found by Tom: Use Photo Booth and your iSight camera to scan a document. Simply point it at the camera and take the picture. The document can then be saved and stored on your Mac.
• Don’t want to have a countdown every time? Just keep the Alt key down while you press on the shutter button to take a snapshot immediately.
• Want to get rid of the flash? Keep the Shift button down while pressing the shutter. These two key tricks can be combined.
• This is pretty obvious: After you’ve taken four quick pictures, pressing on any one of them will bring it up in the Photo Booth window. Use this to check you’re happy with the sequence you’ve taken.
• Another trick found in a Macworld article, is to use a Photo Booth image as an animated icon in your instant messenger, like iChat. Export your snap as a GIF, import it into your IM client, then make sure to go into your iChat preferences and check the ‘Animate Buddy Pictures’ function.

Make sure to let us know if you have any other cool Photo Booth tricks to share or what you like to use the photo application for.

Some people consider graffiti to be an artistic expression while some others believe it’s just another form of vandalism. Whatever your opinion is about it, I’m sure you’ll like this easy Photoshop tutorial with which you can learn how to apply original graffiti effects to any wall in your photos. Let’s get started!

1. First of all, graffiti must be a pixel-based image. This means you can’t draw it right on the wall with the font tool, or use pre-defined shapes. So in this first step we’ll create the graffiti image by opening a blank document, writing something on it with any cool graffiti font you have and saving it as a PNG file. In my example I also added a stroke effect to make it more realistic.

2. Open the wall image and paste the graffiti image on it as a new layer.

3. Now click on Edit > Transform > Perspective and apply a perspective effect to the graffiti to make it fit the wall in the most realistic way possible. If the graffiti is too large for the wall, use the Free transform tool (Edit > Free transform or Ctrl+T) to resize it. Read the rest of this entry »

Apple have released the Aperture 2.1 SDK, which will allow independent developers to create all sorts of plugins for Aperture. One of the main improvements in the new version of Aperture was specifically to open it up to programmers, in a clear bid to compete with Adobe and the wealth of plugins for Photoshop that already exist. With the Aperture SDK you can create two sorts of plugins: for Export and for Editing. The installer comes with three examples to get started and Xcode templates for both Export and Edit plugins. You will need to sign up as an ADC Member (which is free) to download the development kit.

Although probably not such a big announcement as the release of the iPhone SDK, the Aperture development kit is still pretty big news. Apple look to tighten their relationship with independent developers in what seems like a win-win situation. They get to benefit from all the great ideas out there that can bring more features to their products, and independent developers get to showcase their skills and most importantly make use of great applications like the iPhone or Aperture.

The indie development community hasn’t wasted its time and you can already check out some creations at Aperture Plugged In. You’ll see a large list of plugins including ApertureToFtp Pro, FlickrExport Lite, Lightbox XMP or Aperture Border FX. If you are an Aperture user, it’s well worth digging in and trying out some of these. If you know a little bit about coding, go on and download the SDK and try your hand at making your own plugin. All you need is a good idea and a bit of time.

Are you still using those outdated HTML web galleries to share photos online? Pimp your photo collection with Photo! 3D Album, a tool that lets you create amazing 3D photo galleries and share them right away. You can use different environments and export the collection as a web gallery, standalone photo album or even a customized screensaver.

Thought about sharing files with your friends over the internet? Papaya is a web server which makes great use of your Mac’s features like Quick Look, iTunes and iSight and makes sharing easier than ever. Just drag and drop your files on the app, organize them in folders, add a password for protection and share the url with your friends.

Poker is highly addictive but it can also be highly addictive, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. Thanks to Aces Texas Hold’em you can experience the thrill of winning at the game without the fear of losing loads of money if everything goes wrong. This mobile version of the game boasts amazing intelligence specifically created for limit-style Texas Hold’em.

Tired of the default media player on your Symbian phone? Then turn your handset into a portable music center with XSound. The application supports audio files in AAC and MP3 format and also ID3 tags to keep your playlists in order. An integrated search function scans your mobile for music, so that everything is ready to play.

Join the most exciting online racing competition with Trackmania Nations Forever! This amazing free racing game lets you play on your own in more than 60 tracks and also compete against players from all over the world. Create your own circuits, customize your car, make friends and become the fastest driver on Earth!

Looking for an alternative to iPhoto for organizing pictures on your Mac? JetPhoto Studio is a promising solution. You can browse your photos in calendar view, make Flash movies, screen savers and slideshows, locate them via GPS in Google Earth and and easily rate and tag them. JetPhoto Studio also works with a number of web printing and publishing services like Flickr.

After changing hair color last week, I thought it was time for a more radical physical change: something you couldn’t easily change in real life (unless you use colored contacts) and that really gave a new twist to anyone’s appearance. In other words, I’m going to show you how to change eye color in Photoshop. Want to see how would you look like with Paul Newman’s or Angelina Jolie’s eyes? Follow this easy tutorial and see for yourself.

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Feel like changing your look? Not sure if that new hair color will fit you? Don’t worry: now you can have a preview in Photoshop. Just take a picture of yourself and try different looks with this simple tutorial until you find the perfect color for you, without ruining your current style.

1. Open the photo you’re going to be working with and create a new layer over it.

2. Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation and apply a Hue layer on your composition. Tick the “Colorize” option and use the sliders to select the new color of your hair. In this case we’ve chosen a light red. Read the rest of this entry »

As Nick reported a few weeks back, Flickr have decided to jump on the video bandwagon. As of today, Pro users will be able to showcase videos of up to 90 seconds in their photostream. The 90 second limit might sound a bit odd, but as Flickr explain on their blog, they want to remain a photo sharing site so the idea is for videos to be like ‘long photos’. According to the guidelines videos will also have to be simple and personal, so hopefully Flickr will not turn into another YouTube clone. Having Pro users only uploading videos should also ensure that they meet quality standards normally expected on the photo sharing site.

I can’t really say for now if I’m really glad or not by this new offering. Obviously, Flickr are trying to keep it to some level of quality, however I really see video as another medium. Will the 90 second limit always be around? How will you guarantee that all videos have that ‘long photo’ feel? From what I’ve seen of the videos that have already been posted on Flickr, the focus on ‘artistic content’ seems to be respected: it’s all about the beauty of the image and showcasing cool effects. The playback functions are very simple: a start/pause button, a draggable progress bar, volume control and full screen. Videos can also be of different sizes and shapes.

As Flickr do well to explain, this will also change the role Flickr moderators will have. The photo and video sharing website has also taken the opportunity to double the video size limit to 20 MB for Pro users and 10 MB for Free users. One point that is not mentioned though is how video will affect all the Flickr related apps out there like the Flickr Uploadr, Flickr Downloader or FlickrFox.

Even though up till now all my pictures have been stored in iPhoto, I’ve gotten to a point where I can’t stand working with the application anymore. I find it too slow and too limited in terms of editing. I’m also not satisfied with the way you can organize and store your photos. The easiest solution would simply be to switch to Adobe Lightroom or Apple Aperture, but I’m waiting for a new Mac to do that. This is why I’ve gotten around to using Adobe Bridge, until I choose a more advanced solution. Now Adobe Bridge is never meant to replace any of the previously mentioned photo management apps. It doesn’t store pictures, but only displays them in multiple ways. As the name mentions, it also works as a bridge with all other Adobe applications, and you can quickly access specific functions in them, like merging to HDR in Adobe Photoshop.

I’m not ready to export all my pictures from iPhoto and save them in new folders in the Pictures folder of my Mac, so is there a way for Adobe Bridge and iPhoto to coexist? You can try but it is a little risky. The iPhoto library is a little complex and you can easily get lost in it. To access pictures stored in iPhoto, go to Library>Pictures>iPhoto Library and choose the folder with the date the pictures were taken at. If that doesn’t work you can also try this way. One thing to get right though is to select the correct pictures to edit.

As this forum discussion does well to explain, iPhoto saves photos in three folders: Originals, Modified and Data. Originals stores all the pictures imported from your camera, Modified has the pictures with your edits done in iPhoto, such as cropping or rotating, and Data contains thumbnails. Depending on how you work, you’ll choose to work with either the originals or modified, but try to stay consistent, or you’ll end up not knowing which ones are which. I prefer only working on the modified photos, that way I always keep the originals (for backup reasons), and they also already include any changes done in iPhoto. One really important thing to keep in mind though is to never, ever, move or delete pictures from your iPhoto libraries. You’ll risk messing up the iPhoto library structure and losing pictures.

Ultimately though, to the question, can you work with both iPhoto and Adobe Bridge, I’d say no. As said before the iPhoto library structure is complex and you’ll end up corrupting it. If you’ve gotten to this point, you’re simply better off switching to Adobe Lightroom or Apple Aperture in the long run. If like me you can’t do that for now, you’re safer choosing between iPhoto or Adobe Bridge. I’m choosing Bridge. In the future, we’ll compare how to import pictures from iPhoto to Lightroom and Aperture and choose which one is easier.

Are you sick of the Nokia Tune - or any other standard mobile phone ringtone? Then download ToneShop and start creating your own personalized ringtones right away! You can use your favorite MP3 songs (plus other audio formats) and create ringtones that are compatible with many different phone makes and models, including the iPhone.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for Mac is any photographer’s dream application come true. The application allows both professional and advanced photographers to import, store, organize, edit and export thousands of pictures from one uncluttered interface. Top of the range editing tools, multiple ways to view your images, and advanced printing, web publishing and slide show creation. What more could you ask for?

Fancy turning back the clock by playing a Super Nintendo classic on the train or the bus? Then download Zelda for your Java phone. This faithful remake sees you explore vast lands looking for objects, solving puzzles and defeating enemies. Be warned though, it’s highly addictive and guaranteed to make you miss your stop!

Want to play a pool game? Download Pool Sharks and you’ll be able to join online pool and snooker games, and play against people worldwide, while having a chat with them. The game features very good-looking graphics and realistic movements that make you feel like you’re actually holding a cue.

Posterino is a Mac program that allows you to create fun posters or postcards out of your pictures. It’s really easy to use and a little different to the traditional printing options found in iPhoto. Although not too advanced, the tools available achieve good results. Don’t just let your photos sit in your Mac and make good use of them!

If you’re a fan of motorsport and are keen on keeping track of this season’s Formula One Championship then get yourself a copy of Formula 1 Season 2008 for your Pocket PC. This free app provides you with a wealth of information, including the calendar, tracks, cars, teams and drivers. Be sure to download the program update after every race, for up-to-date stats!

The more I use Picasa, the more I like this great photo viewer and editor from Google. And now I just learned that you can make it even more yours by adding customized buttons to its interface. With these buttons you can open your photos in another graphic tool for further editing or upload them straight away to your blog or your favorite online photo manager.

This customization however requires certain programming abilities, as it works with the so called Google APIs. There are currently two different APIs available for Picasa: Picasa Button API and Picasa Web Uploader API. Provided you have the necessary coding knowledge – or just feel like testing them by yourself – these APIs enable you to create personalized buttons for Picasa’s interface that let you make use of third party apps, both offline and online.

If you’re ready to take the challenge, here’s all the information you need, including tutorials, example files and videos. Those of you who aren’t convinced yet, have a look at this Photoshop customized button (this link requires Picasa to open) created by Michael Herf with the Picasa APIs. It’ll add a new button to the Picasa interface from which you’ll be able to open the selected images right in Photoshop CS3.

It seems that online photo editing tools are no longer child’s play. Companies take web apps so seriously that they even consider developing online versions of their most popular products. This is the case with Adobe and its long-awaited online photo editor, which was just unveiled as a public beta where anyone can sign up. And being the official Photoshop fan on this blog, I couldn’t miss it!

First of all, be warned: Photoshop Express is by no means the online version of the original desktop Photoshop app. It’s not intended for professional photographers or designers, basically because it doesn’t include many of the tools featured in the original editor. In my opinion, Photoshop Express is simply another online photo editor you can use to easily fix your images, add a quick retouch and pimp them up with some basic effects, all of these with the same degree of usability you would expect from an Adobe product.

That said, I must say Photoshop Express looks great. The web interface is all designed in Flash and while this may cause problems (especially in forms, which didn’t recognize the @ character) it gives the app a shiny, sleek look. Once you’re logged in, you’re directed to a kind of homepage with three main options: My Photos, My Gallery and Browse.

My Photos lets you upload images from your hard drive to Photoshop Express. Yes: besides being an online photo editor, the program also gives you 2 GB of free storage for your pictures (ain’t that nice?). Photoshop Express also imports photos from Photobucket or Picasa, but not from Flickr – in case you wonder why, it’s just because Flickr is engaged to someone else. You can upload single photos or several of them simultaneously, and the whole uploading process is surprisingly fast. Read the rest of this entry »