Beginning Check Writing and Banking

Today we're going to begin a unit on using a checking account.  First we'll do a math worksheet going over percentages, decimals, and writing amounts out in longhand. (I will be handing out a copy in class, but you can get a copy here)

Next we will explore the general layout of a personal check:

Finally we will do a quick simulation of writing checks and using a check register.  I will be passing out a worksheet with three checks and a register (you can view a copy here: Checks with Register).  Use the following scenario to complete your worksheet:

• You begin your checking account today (12/02/16) with $135.72 from your piggy bank.
• You receive a Check for $550.00 from your work and Deposit it to your checking account on 12/03/16.
• Write a Check for your rent on 12/04/16 for $425 to Jellico Green Apartments.
• You go to dinner at The Pizza Spot on Saturday Night (12/05/16) for $18.27 and use your Debit Card.
• You send a Check to Edward Teach in the amount of $31.19 on 12/06/16 for a pair of shoes you bought on eBay.
• You receive a Check for $550.00 on 12/17/16 from your work and you Deposit it to your checking account that afternoon.
• You write a Check for your car payment to Airport Auto Brokers on 12/18/16 in the amount of $224.72.
• You use Online Banking to pay $124.25 for your Jellico Electric bill on 12/09/16.

Compare your ending balance with a neighbors to verify your accuracy.

Here are a couple video clips to explore:

RECORD ALL CHARGES OR CREDITS THAT AFFECT YOUR ACCOUNT
#	DATE	DESCRIPTION OF TRANSACTION	PAYMENT / DEBIT	√	DEPOSIT / CREDIT	BALANCE
			(-)		(+)	$                 135.72
DEP	12/2	Deposit: Paycheck			$    550.00	$                 685.72
101	12/3	Rent: February	$     425.00			$                 260.72
ATM	12/4	Dinner at Pizza Spot	$       18.27			$                 242.45
102	12/5	Edward Teach: Ebay	$       31.19			$                 211.26
DEP	12/6	Deposit: Paycheck			$    550.00	$                 761.26
103	12/7	Airport Auto Brokers	$     224.72			$                 536.54
OL	12/8	Jellico Electric	$     124.25			$                 412.29

If You Think You Can...

"If You Think You Can, You Can"
Denis Waitley from “Seeds of Greatness.”

You can be a total winner, even if you're a beginner,
If you think you can-if you think you can, you can;
You can wear the gold medallion, you can ride your own black stallion,
If you think you can-if you think you can, you can;
It's not your talent, or the gifted birth,
It's not your bankbook that determines your worth;
And it isn't the color of your skin,
It's your attitude that lets you win!
You can upset McEnroe or Austin, win the marathon in Boston,
If you think you can, you can-if you think you can, you can;
You can profit through inflation, you can redirect this nation,
If you think you can, you can-if you think you can, you can.
It doesn't matter if you've won before,
It makes no difference what the half-time score;
It's never over 'till the final gun,
So keep on trying and you'll find you've won.
Just grab your dream and then believe it,
Go out and work, and you'll achieve it;
If you think you can, you can-if you think you can, you can.

Dave Ramsey: Saving and Investing

For the next few days we will discuss savings and investment strategies:

• Complete the worksheets as we watch the movies.
• There will be a quiz on this material next week.
• You will need to know about emergency funds, mutual funds, compound interest, liquidity, single stock investing, pinnacle point, risk/return ratio, etc.

I know savings and investing is not something everybody wants to learn, but it can literally make THE difference in your future.  Imagine never having to have a car payment or not panicking if you had to buy medicine for your children or worrying if you got laid off for a month or two.  That's why Dave Ramsey refers to his program as "Financial Peace". 

Please give it a chance and I think you'll actually learn some important lessons.

Friday Funny: Where will you sit?

When you get on the roller coaster that we call life, you have to decide where you will sit.

I see this picture as an example of this idea, and I relate it to what you decide to do with your life.  For example:

• The fourth row is sitting back and collecting a check from the government. 
• The 3rd row is an entry level (i.e. fast food) job that gets you by.
• The 2nd row is a good job with benefits and some vacation time. 
• The front row is getting paid to do something you love, every day of your life. 

You don't realize it now, but life is much shorter than you think.  Find your passions and figure out how to work that into your career.  Work hard now and then coast through life enjoying the ride.

Photoshop Example: Restore Damaged Photo

We will spend today and tomorrow restoring a photograph.  I have actually done this as a side business (see http://www.restoredtreasures.com) and did pretty well with it.  The nice thing about doing this is that you make money, but you also save someones memories.

For today, select one of the attached damaged photos to repair and restore [or locate your own].  Remember to save the original to include in your portfolio as a "before and after".  If you do not include a "Before and After" (either as one image or by uploading both) I won't grade it.

This example comes from a press release from Utah (http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/08/prweb149074.htm) in which they declare October 11th to be "Historical Photo Restoration Day".

Original

Restored

I will demonstrate the tools with this image:

Here are some examples of restored photos:

In this strange example, I combined the anaglyph project with a photo restoration to give the restored picture some depth.  You can see it if you use anaglyph red/cyan glasses.

Click on an image to view it full-size, then Right-click and Save As to your computer:

Sometimes I actually replace the original backdrop in a portrait.  Here are some examples:

Here are some video tutorials showing the basic process:

Photoshop Gondola Example

Assignment:  We have accepted an assignment from a client to take a dull, scanned photograph and improve it for use in a poster, brochure, web site, etc.  The client has scanned a photograph of a gondola, but they think it is too hazy... and they don't like the speedboat in the center of the picture... and "the colors are a little blah".  We will use PhotoShop to correct these issues... and more.

Photoshop Tools/Options Used:

• Ruler
• Rotate Canvas
• Crop
• Levels
• Clone Stamp
• Dodge
• Burn
• Replace Color
• Magic Wand
• Paste Into
• Free Transform

We will be using the following images to create our final project:
(Right-click each image and save to your computer, then open them in Photoshop.)

• Gondola
• Clouds

Part I: We will begin with the Gondola picture (p_start.psd):

• Select VIEW > FIT ON SCREEN (shortcut is CTRL+0) to see the image as large as possible
• Select the RULER tool (sometimes it's hidden under the EYEDROPPER) -- a shortcut is SHIFT+I which toggles through that toolset.
• Drag the ruler along an edge that should be straight (i.e. the edge of the tower).
• Select IMAGE > ROTATE CANVAS > ARBITRARY...
• A suggested rotation is already in place based on your ruler line (this tool is trying to make the ruler line vertical or horizonal)... so click OK.
• Use the RECTANGULAR MARQUEE tool (the box shape) to select as much of the picture as possible without including the black border (it's okay if you don't get all of the photo in the square).
• Select IMAGE > CROP
• Select VIEW > FIT ON SCREEN (again, to see the maximum image size)
• Select IMAGES > ADJUSTMENTS > LEVELS
• Drag the "black triangle" in toward the very beginning of the "mountain range" -- and do the same for the "white triangle" (click the "Preview" box to toggle this change to preview what it is doing) then click OK.
• You now have a brightened, cropped image to work with for the next part.

Part II: Removing the Motor Boat / Using the Clone Stamp

• Click the CLONE STAMP tool
• Move your pointer over to a clear area of water -- about the same distance/depth as your motorboat (i.e. somewhere in the same horizontal line) and ALT+CLICK.
• Move your mouse over to the center of the motorboat and slowly paint over the boat.  Notice the "+" shape where the CLONE STAMP is copying from.

Part III: Adjusting Highlights and Shadows

• Click the DODGE tool (it looks like a black pushpin) and set the Range for HIGHLIGHTS and the Exposure to around 10%.
• Adjust your brush size as necessary with the [ and ] keys.
• Brush over the red and white striped tarp and notice how the highlights are getting brighter.  Try this on other tarps and the side of the boat which seems to get shinier.
• Click the BURN tool (it looks like a hand pinching and is found under the DODGE tool) and set the Range for SHADOWS and the Exposure to around 5%.
• Adjust your brush size as necessary with the [ and ] keys.
• Brush over the boats/tarps just to get a little contrast.

Part IV: Replace the Orange Tarp

• Use the ZOOM tool (it looks like a magnifying glass) to zoom in on the orange tarp -- making sure you can see the entire thing.
• Use the LASSO tool and draw around the orange tarp (making a selection)
• Select IMAGE > ADJUSTMENT > REPLACE COLOR
• Click on the orange part of the orange tarp.  You should see a faint "mask" of the orange shape appear in the Replace Color box.
• Hold down the SHIFT key and Click and Drag around the orange tarp trying to select ONLY the orange areas.  If you over-select (i.e. you accidentally go into the black) you can start this step over.
• When you feel like you have a nice, sharp "mask" of the orange tarps shape, drag the HUE slider left and right.  Notice the colors changing on your image.
• If you adjust the SATURATION slider and the LIGHTNESS slider, you can actually match the colors of the other tarps on the boat.

Part V: Make Blue Skies From Gray

• Open the Clouds picture (p_clouds.psd).
• Click on SELECT > ALL (or do CTRL+A)
• Select EDIT > COPY (or do CTRL+C)
• Go back to your Gondola picture.
• Click the MAGIC WAND tool (SHIFT+W toggles this)
• Click in one of the "gray" areas of the sky and notice how it selects some of the building tops.  We don't want that.
• Drop your TOLERANCE down to 10 and see how that works.  Notice that it [probably] doesn't select the entire piece.  We can compensate for that by holding SHIFT and clicking in the "unselected" areas.
• Continue SHIFT-Clicking the other "gray" areas of the sky throughout the picture.
• Select EDIT > PASTE INTO (not PASTE)
• Notice how ugly and unnatural this looks?  Don't worry -- go over to the OPACITY setting (above your LAYERS) and drag that down until it looks natural.  Mine is about 37% [this time].
• When you are satisfied with your final product, select LAYER > FLATTEN IMAGE.

Part VI: Make the Before and After

• Go to IMAGE > CANVAS SIZE
• Change "inches" to percent and change the width (since this is a picture that is taller than it is wide, a side-by-side comparison works best -- so we will adjust the width) and change the 100 to 200 (making it twice the width).
• Click on the Right Arrow (this means you want your current picture -- the "after" -- to be on the right) and click OK.
• Copy your original image (in this case, p_start.psd) and Paste it into your finished image.  Use the MOVE tool (the black arrow) to drag it to the left side.
• You may want to use your FREE TRANSFORM to rotate and resize the original so it fits better.
• Add your name to the finished image.
• Save your completed file as a JPEG image to your Thawspace. 

Part VII: Add to Your Portfolio

• Go to your Blog (http://www.blogger.com/) and sign into your account.
• Click New Post and make sure "Compose" is selected.
• Click the IMAGE/PICTURE button.
• Browse for your picture (from your Thawspace).
• Add a description about the steps you completed or the process you used in putting this together.  You could even add the reason you did the project (e.g. A virtual client wanted you to clean up an image to use for print/online media).
• Click PUBLISH POST.
• Click VIEW BLOG.

If you have difficulty following along and would like to work on this from home, here is a tutorial using the same images:

Photoshop Retouch Example

BASIC RETOUCHING

Today we are going to explore some photo retouching.  Next we will be creating a "before and after" picture to save to our portfolios.

First we will get an original source image to work with:

1. Begin by right-clicking the image below and selecting "Copy Image" or "Copy" (depending on which browser you are using). 
2. Open Photoshop and select FILE > NEW
3. Select EDIT > PASTE
4. Use the tools I demonstrate in class to touch up the photograph 

Next we will create the Before & After picture:

1. Select IMAGE > CANVAS SIZE
2. Change your settings to "PERCENT"
3. Click on the "Right Arrow"
4. Change your Width to 200% and click OK
5. You should now have an image with space on the left
6. Copy the original image (from this web page) again
7. Paste the image into your Photoshop document and drag it to the left (as the "before" image)
8. Use the Text tool to add your name to the image.
9. Save your image to your Thawspace as a PSD and as a JPG

Next we will upload these pictures to our portfolio:

1. Open your Blogger account (you may want to open Gmail and then go to http://www.blogger.com/).
2. Select your "Portfolio" page.
3. Click "New Post"
4. Click the "Image" button in the post window.
5. Locate and select your picture (the JPG version), then click "OK"
6. Click on the picture in your post and select the size you want it displayed.
7. Write a brief summary of what this project is about (either before, after, or on either side of your image).
8. Click "Publish"
9. Click "View Blog" (at the very top of your window)

Finally, choose another picture that you can retouch.  I'm attaching a couple examples, but you can select another image if you like.  (I recommend clicking the picture to view it full-size before copying it.)