Fem korta frågor till Shangara Singh

Fem korta frågor från en Photoshopnörd till en annan:

Shangara Singh vill helst inte vara på bild, eller rättare sagt han visar hellre upp sin bok Hacking Photoshop som jag lyft upp i ett tidigare inlägg.

Han är även mannen som hjälpte mig klara mitt Ace-exam genom sitt självstudiematerial.

Sen är han även en trevlig typ som svarar glatt på mail och dumma frågor från snubbar som mig.

1. Hi Shangara! For how long have you been using Photoshop?

Something like nine years…

2. What made you feel that ”this is the thing” I’m going to learn everything I can about this?

The time was right when I rediscovered Photoshop, I guess. I’d stopped working as a cinematographer (shooting mostly pop promos and docos and doing some dramas here and there) when the opportunity came
my way to create some simple graphics and later on to prepare images for a publication.

I got hooked by Photoshop very quickly. Not surprising as I had been doing photography in one form or another for about fifteen years at the time. I just hadn’t found the need to manipulate my images, relying instead on others to do it for me. It was quite a revelation to be able to scan an image and then ”play” with it in Photoshop.

Prior to that, I was used to only darkroom techniques and I was always depressed to see my results in daylight. Here, I could see the results almost instantaneously.

3. Favourite tool that can never ever be removed from Photoshop?

Truth be told, I don’t have one. Which ever tool gets the job done is my favourite at the time. If I was pressed hard to answer, I’d say the healing tools. They get quite a lot of use in one way or another (not least because I’m too lazy to clean the sensor on my digital camera!).

4. Future tool/feature that you would love to have in Photoshop?

I’d like to see a tool dedicated specifically to compositing. You know, one that more easily removes an object from a foreground and ”magically” blends in its edges to a new background.

When making comps, I’ve always found the task of making selection masks and then blending the edges tedious. That time could be better devoted to thinking creatively or just getting out there and taking photographs or, better still, downing a beer or two, or three!…

5. What to you do with your own vacation photos? Do you retouch them?

What’s a vacation?…Oh, you mean time away from the Mac, spending it with family and friends, that soft of thing? I tend to use a fair number of the photos taken on ”vacation” and those do get retouched, provided they need it.

But serious retouching of family photos, no. Unless you count trimming the frame; lightening an area here, darkening an area there; removing the odd Blackpool tower or Eiffel tower sticking out of someone’s head; removing the dark, dreary clouds that always seem to follow me wherever I vacation and replacing them with sunny, blue skies; using the Liquify feature to disguise the childrens’ scowls and frowns with smiles; tweaking the odd…You know how it is when you start trimming frames!