A Couple of changes to the "Welcome Note..."

[Daldiam]

Hello everyone, I've been a member for some time I guess but never really spent too much time in the forums. After seeing some of the retouch pro live webcasts though I thought I should probably see what else I can learn here!

[rfbohac]

Hello everyone,

Not a newbie I have been a member for a couple of years but I am a newbie to posting in forums. I am pretty knowledgeable in Photoshop and PS Elements as well as Painter but I can't figure out these darn forums. But I will not give up. This is a great site and I have learned a lot and would like to reciprocate when I can.

[wb8vpc]

This is my first post in this forum. I've used several photo editing software packages (GIMP (under LINUX), Canon's DPP, CS4, PhotoShop, PaintShop, PhotoMatix and several others) and have joined RetouchPro in order to improve my skills! Always something new to learn. Looking forward to all the good tips as well as making new friends! Best to all!

[Hartzler]

First post,

I've been reading the forums for this past year, learning a lot. Just thought I would get that first post out of the way and thank you all for providing a wonderful place to learn about how to make my photos look their best.

[Dahol]

Hi
I'm Dave and have been a member for a while but have just popped in and picked out what I want to learn and have never posted before. Have found it helpful but now have a bit more time so will visit more often.

[phase7studio]

Hello everyone! I'm Kurt and I'm trying to start my own business in retouching and editing. I'm running CS3 Premium Suite. I'm looking for a good place to network and hopefully get some pointers on how to make my work better.

www.phase7studio.com

[nycretoucher]

Hello everyone. After 20 years working as full time photo retouchers for corporations that charge a small fortune for their services, and with the economy in shambles, I decided to start a web based retouching business with a network of retouchers charging less for the same quality retouching as Manhattan based Boutiques and Studios.

After checking on Google and Bing to see if my site was being listed yet I kept coming up with retouchpro.com. Of course, always looking to improve my personal skill set, I started lurking through your site and the wealth of knowledge seemed so overwhelming I had to sign up immediately. Thanks for building such an awesome site.

As full-time retouchers with traditional art backgrounds it is sometimes frustrating that we are not given creative license to do what should be done to an image to keep a sense of realism. As retouchers our best work should never be seen, or even suspected, and the final image should appear natural and flawless, as if shot that way. But unfortunately it isn't OUR vision, it's the vision of the art director that submitted the files for retouching to guide us in the direction they want there image to go. That being said, yes, there are some images in our gallery that WE ourselves aren't exactly happy with. However, they are posted as they had appeared in various magazines and advertisements for better or worse.

My website is www.retouchnyc.com and includes a gallery of before and after images on various topics.

Anyway, I will try to post as often as possible, answer questions, help with critiques and techniques, and anything else I can do to help out. You seem to have a wealth of knowledge here already and I am not sure exactly how or were I can help, but if I see an opportunity to jump in I will be there.

Thanks for hooking us up with such an awesome site. You ROCK!

[Donkdafied]

Hi All,

My name is Micah. I work as a graphic designer/print production guy for a business center run by Xerox in Hawaii. Been doing Graphic design for a few years now, and ran into this site on my never-ending quest for new knowledge. Looks like I hit the Jackpot here!

Thanks for the great site!

[John A. Kauth]

Greetings All,

After 40 years as a photographer and 14 years with my last employer I was laid off last June. For the past 10 years I was a Commercial Photographer and Photoshop Artist with them. They are one of the largest lighting manufacturers (table lamps, desk lamps, chandeliers etc.) in the US. I was responsible for photographing and retouching hundreds of products each year for 6 or more trade shows, catalogs and web. My work can be seen at www.quoizel.com. Except for very old product most of the photos are mine. Search for Richard Soard, one of Quoizel's designers that I work with. I still return to Quoizel on a per diem basis to photograph his products. One caveat, I have no control what an Advertising Director does after the photos are completed. Some were photographed against a black background and are on the website against a white background.

I have particular expertise in literally taking apart products in Photoshop and re-assembling them. Sometimes samples from China are not the best and need a lot of work, finishes need to be touched up and color corrected. The background is dropped out of every photo so I use channel mask and clipping paths extensively.

I am self educated in Photoshop using resources on the web and books. I have hundreds of hours of training with Linda.com and Kelby training. I can answer questions about Commercial Photography and Photoshop. My web site is www.johnakauth.com

I totally agree with what nycretoucher says above. I've had the same experience in the corporate world.

Thanks,
John A. Kauth

[Ricardo.S]

Hellllllo ..Rich from Bristol uk. Bought my first DSLR 2 years ago and have been addicted ever since . Have joined here as i want to brush up on PS techniques x R

Some of my images here http://www.flickriver.com/photos/hellfast/

[JoBeeOne]

Greetings, or maybe G'day - I'm Jo from Australia - new to the site but not to the work. Hoping to have some time to attend the tutorials. Big Hi to Amy Dresser who recommended the site. Lots here - better do more looking around.

[chinchillakilla]

Hi all, this seems a cool place. My name is Symon from Manchester England. I am a professional Photo Restorer and Graphic Designer. I am probably one of the babies on here being 26 but I have always had a thing for designing right back into my childhood. I have my own business in this field and with hobbies and general interest in graphic designing I have over 14 years experience. I look forward to being apart of this community, to learn and maybe give advice aswell. All the best

Symon

[isaacc]

I'm a fashion photographer in the Los Angeles area and I'm looking at improving my Photoshop skills.

[socrateslopes]

Hi!
Im Socrates, from Brazil.
Just looking for tutorials...

[Syssy]

Hi,
I just became a member. I'm very new to this, don't really know how a forum works. I live in Sweden on th Swedish westcoast with my husband an two teenage boys. I do love photography and Photoshop. See you around. Wish you a good day!
Syssy

[palms]

Originally Posted by Syssy

Hi,
I just became a member. I'm very new to this, don't really know how a forum works. I live in Sweden on th Swedish westcoast with my husband an two teenage boys. I do love photography and Photoshop. See you around. Wish you a good day!
Syssy

Hello and welcome
you will soon see how the forum works and if you have any problems or do not understand anything just ask

hope you too have a good day

Palms

[Syssy]

Thank you so much!
This is fun!:-)

[palms]

Originally Posted by Syssy

Thank you so much!
This is fun!:-)

beware it can get to be lots of fun lol

Palms

[ruzhanskiy]

Hi everyone!

I'm new to this website, but already saw a lot of great tips and people around.

I have some experience in photoshop, but sometimes when I see professionals work it feels like I don't know anything
Oh, and I'm from Russia, but live in New Zealand at the moment, so sometimes I could write in Engrish)

[Pennycam]

Hello from the UK. Penny here, lover of all things photography and photoshop.

This site looks great for learning new things and having lots of fun.

Let the games begin!

[spinq]

Hello everyone. My name is Tom, and through this forum I'm looking to improve my skills in PS. So far, some of my work is displayed at www.spinqfotografia.pl