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Animal Photo Manipulation Tutorial

Blending animals together is easier than you would think, check out the tutorial below using the software Smart Photo Editor.

Open your first image up in SPE.Click the Erase buttonGo over the parts of the face that will stick out the most, this depends on what animal you pick, this helps with the blending later on.Now click the Composite button on the right.Click the New button next to Overlay on the top left hand side.Click on the Move, Rotate and Scale button and move this second image to roughly where you want it, reducing the Opacity by using the slider is helpful.Click on the Select Area button and the Erase from Selection button and then work your way round the area you want to keep.

Clicking the Bucket icon to remove the rest of the unwanted area.
Click on the New button next to Overlay again.Just as with the image before, move and rescale the image.

Then work your way around the unwanted area again.
Click on the Crop button on the right when you have finished and crop in on your image.Click on the Composite button again, but this time click New button next to Underlay.

Once you have selected this image, click the Select Area and the Add to Selection button. Work your way round the creature you have made slowly, zooming in to make your selection more accurate.
Once you have gone all the way round click on the Bucket icon that appears to remove the rest of the unwanted background.When you are happy with the new background, click on the Area Treatment button.Select all the areas that are too light on your create.Play round with Exposure and Brightness sliders until you have happy with the results.Click on the Effects Gallery button on the top right.Search for the effect ‘Vibrant colors’ in the search bar. Adjust the sliders and click OK.

Now all that is left to do is save your image, don’t forget to also save it as a session incase you want to come back and work on it further.

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Creating a Dramatic Landscape Tutorial

Turn a landscape into a dramatic landscape by following this simple tutorial. Open your image up in Smart Photo Editor.Click the Composition button on the right hand side.
Click the New button next to Overlay and select your image.
Once your image had loaded start to work your away around the person.Once you have worked the whole way round Bucket Icons will appear, click on the Bucket icon that will removing the unwanted background.Now click on the Move Rotate and Scale button on the left and adjust the size of the person and then move to where you want them.Once in place click the Effect Gallery button on the top right.Now to darken the image to give it that gloomy and stormy look. The first effect applied is called Darken & Improve Contrast.

Search in the searchbar or narrow the search by Light>Darken on the left. Once you have clicked on the effect this screen comes up where you can adjust the strength of the effect by using the Master slider.

Click OK once you are done.Repeat the above steps but with the effect Dark Impact.Once you have finished click the Crop button on the right hand side.
Move the selection box over to the area that you want.Click Apply once done, if you don’t like your selection just click apply again to get the full image back.The last change to make to the image is to add another effect, doing this the same as the ones before this effect is called Nice hdr.

Download your free trial now to try this out for yourself!

Amazing Underwater Photo Illusion Tutorial

With this tutorial we are taking you underwater to show you what our Smart Photo Editor can do.Open the underwater image up in Smart Photo Editor.
Click on the Composition button on the right hand side.Click on the New button next to Overlay and pick your landscape image.Click the Move, Rotate and Scale button on the left and adjust the size of your image and move in (reduce the Opacity but moving the Opacity slider to position the image where you want it).Once your landscape image is where you want it, click the Select Area button and then the Erase From Selection button.

Now go around the part of the landscape you want to keep, making sure you keep in the line with the turtle behind to get the effect to look more realistic.

Once you have gone around what you are keeping click the Bucket icon that appears to get rid of the rest of the landscape.Zooming in on the image helps with this.Once you have finished with the landscape layer, click the New button next to Overlay again and select the bird image.

This time is is easier to remove the background before resizing. Click on the Select Area button and Erase From Selection then go around the birds.

Click on the Bucket icon when you are done to remove the remainder of the background.
Now click the Move Rotate and Scale button and move the birds.Repeat the above step with the birds again.Once done re-scale and move these birds to near the back of the turtle.Click the Effects Gallery button on the top right hand side.The first effect to be applied is called Hdr, adjusting the Master slider.
Now click the Crop button on the right hand side and crop in on the turtle.

Click Apply when done.Click the Effects Gallery button and this time type Sharpen into the search bar. Adjust the slider down to suit what you want.Click the Effects Gallery button again and on the left hand side search Detail>Contrast. The effect chosen here is called Auto contrast, adjusting the Master slider once again.
All now that is left to do is save the image. Creating this amazing image is super easy to do so download your free trial now to try it out for yourself!

Weekend Photography Projects

The weekend is the perfect time to get creative and go out and about with your camera.

Whether it is walking around your town, along the coast or the countryside, all are great for getting some practise in with your camera.

A few things to try:

Try different angles and perspectives is a great idea as this is about experimentation rather than a great photo. Though if you get one that’s just an added bonus.
Shot in black and white or with one color, if your camera allows.
Play around with your shutter speed.
Use a tripod and capture motion using a slow shutter speed.

Go out for a walk for an hour or so and take some pictures.

Once you are home from your walk it is time for more fun to begin. Load your images into Smart Photo Editor and play around with the effects, or creating your own.

Download your free trial of Smart Photo Editor now!

BBQ Invite Tutorial

Summer season is coming to an end but whilst it’s still around a BBQ is a great idea and with Smart Photo Editor you can make a great BBQ invite in minutes.

Check out the tutorial below to see how easy it is.

Open your image is Smart Photo Editor.Click on the Text button on the right hand side.
Move the Text to the top and increase the size.Change the text by clicking the text box on the left of the screen and type in BBQ. Also flick through the different fonts to find the one that fits best.

White is the best color for the font if you are going for a food photo background, as it stands out, rather than blending in.Click on the Text button again on the right.Move this text box to the left bottom corner, and type in the details for your BBQ .Now all the text is done, the last step is the final touches, click on the Effects Editor button at the top on the right hand side.Look through the Effects to see what makes the food background look the most appetizing.This effect is called Dec rad in vig.

Adjust the Master Slider if needed and click OK once you have finished.You are now ready to go, so save your invite and send it out ready for your BBQ!

To make your own BBQ invites download your free trial now!

How to Blur the Background Tutorial

Check out the tutorial below to find out how quick and easy it is to blur your background with Smart Photo Editor.
Open your image up in Smart Photo Editor. Click on the Select Area button on the top right hand side.
Click on Background.Go around the outline of the person.Click on the Bucket icon that appears to fill in the rest of the background, then click on the Confirm Selection and Browse Effects button.Find the effect called Blur, search for it in the Search Bar on the right.
Click on the Effect and then move the Master slider on the left until you are happy with the result.

Now all that is left to do is save the image, it’s that easy!

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Turn your Festival Photos into a Montage

Going to a festival is a fun experience but the photos usually just get left on your phone or camera. This is where Smart Photo Editor’s Montage creator is amazing.

Create a montage that you can have as a screen background or print out and frame, and it’s much easier than you would think.
On opening up Smart Photo Editor, click File>New Montage.Choose your size and don’t worry too much about your background color, click OK.

Untick the Border tab if you don’t want a border.Now you get to pick the Texture (background) for your montage. Flick through narrowing down the search if you want and click OK once you have picked.This texture is called Wood grain textures 002 F6.

On the left hand side click the New button, and chose your first image.
Click the Move, Rotate and Scale button on the left hand side. Resize your image and move to where you want it rotating if you wish.

If you want your photos to be Polaroid style, check out this tutorial .Once the first image if where you want do the same for the next images one at a time.You can go back and move previous images by clicking on their layer on the left.Once you are happy with where you have placed all your image, all that is left to do is save your montage and a Jpeg and as a session incase you want to go back and change something later.

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Create Your Own Litchenstein Masterpiece

Turn your photographs in Litchenstein masterpieces with this simple tutorial below.

You will need:

an image of a woman (or man)

speech bubble image
Open your image up in Smart Photo Editor.Click the Select Area button on the right hand side, and click Skin on the pop up.Select all the skin, zooming in might make this easier.Once you have selected all of the skin click the Confirm Selection and Browse Effects button on the left.
Chose the effect Pinkout and adjust the master slider until you are happy with the effect, we are aiming to smooth the skin and color to be quite pale.
Click the Select Area button and select Skin. Now click the Add Skin button, and the area you selected before will show up.

Click the Confirm Selection and Browse Effects button.Now we use the options on our left to narrow down the search, Artist>Lichenstein. Browse the effects, for this step moving all the sliders is needed, the effect used here is Exterior.

Click OK once you are happy with the outcome.
Click the Composite button on the right hand side.Select your speech bubble image.Click the Select Area button and Erase all the parts you don’t need, zooming in here helps.Once you have gone around the outline click the Bucket icon that appears to remove the rest of the unwanted background.Now it is time to move the speech bubble to the right place, do this by clicking the Move, Rotate and Scale button on the left.
Click the Text button on the right. Move the text to where you want it and resize.Type your chosen text on the left and choose you font, this is Segoe Script.Your Masterpiece is now finished and ready to be saved.

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Movie Poster Inspired Photo Tutorial

Want to liven up your holiday snaps? Got a favorite old movie, want to combine the two? Then this tutorial is for you!

The first thing you will need to do is gather together the images you want to use.

Open up your background image is Smart Photo Editor.

Click the Composition button on the right hand side.

Chose your first image.

Click the Move, Resize and Scale button on your left and move and resize your image to where you want it.

Click the Select Area button and zoom in on your image and go round the image’s background.

Once you have gone all the way round a Bucket icon will appear, click this to delete the remaining part you want removed.

Now click New button next to Overlay on your left hand side and select your second image.

Move and resize if wanted and then click on the Select Area button and outline the unwanted areas.

Once again click the Bucket icon to remove the rest.

Reduce the Opacity by moving the slider on the left and then erase the unwanted overlapping areas.

For this image we aren’t upping the Opacity back all the way as we want to see the feet under the water.

Click the New button next to overlay again and move and scale the new image accordingly.

As before work your way around the unwanted background and click the Bucket icon to remove it all.

Click on the water layer and work your way around the edge until you are happy with how the water looks.

Click the Text button on the right. Type in the white box that appears on the left. You can change the font, size and color.

Also hover over the text to move and resize, increasing the size further.

The last step if to add an effect to your whole image, this effect is called texture4u_011.

Your final image is now perfect for your wall and desktop background. A fond memory from your holiday that’s way better than the usual snaps.

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Amazing Illusion Tutorial

Creating amazing photographic illusions has never been easier with Smart Photo Editor, try out the tutorial below.Open up your first image, the Background/sky image in Smart Photo EditorClick Composite button on the right hand side.Click the New button next to Overlay. Select your boat image and click the Move, Resize and Scale button and move and resize to where you want it, reducing the opacity helps with finding where to put it. Once your boat is in the right location, click the Select Area button on the left hand side.

Zoom in on your boat and slowly work your way round the edges of the boat, remembering to do inside any rails.

If you accidentally go over erase something you didn’t mean to just click the Add to Selection button on the left and go over the area.
Once you have gone all the way around, zoom out and click on the Bucket icon that appears to remove the rest of the background.Open you have your boat all finished, click the New button next to Overlay again and select your first animal.Resize your animal and reduce your opacity to find the fit within your boat.
Once this is done, zoom in really close on the animal and click the Select Area button and then the Erase from Selection button and slowing work your way around your animal, deleting the background from the image.
Click on the bucket to remove the rest of the background.Keep the whole animal for now as you might want to move it later on. Next click the New button next to Overlay again and select your second animal image. Click Move, Resize and Scale button again. Repeat the step with the last animal.
Once finished zoom out.Now click the New button next to Overlay again, this time select your balloon image.

Once again click the Move, Resize and Scale button and move the balloons to where you want them.Zoom in on the balloons and click the Select Area button on the left.

Carefully go around the balloons, remember to also check to see if there are any gaps between the balloons.
Once you have gone all the way round, click the Bucket icon to get rid of the rest unwanted background.Now go back to your animal layers and erasing all the way to the top of the boat, to give the illusion that they are in the boat, also move the animal if they will look better slightly bigger or a little more to one side.This end product looks like it took hours in Photoshop but only took a few minutes in Smart Photo Editor.

Click here to download a free trial to try out this tutorial for yourself!