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Skills Expanded

Using Photoshop and After Effects to Create Cinemagraphs

by Kirk Nelson

Cinemagraphs are a blend of still photos and video. This course will show you how to capture photos and video to create these works of art that dwell somewhere between photography and animation. Software required: Adobe Photoshop CC, Adobe After Effects CC.

What you'll learn

Have you ever seen a photo unexpectedly start to move? Not a video clip, but what appears to be an authentic photograph and it magically comes to life with movement. This is a Cinemagraph. In this course, Using Photoshop and After Effects to Create Cinemagraphs, you will learn how to craft your own magically-moving, photographic wonders. First, you will learn what makes for a successful cinemagraph and how to isolate simple movement in Photoshop. Next, you will learn how to use After Effects to stabilize and loop handheld video in support of a cinemagraph. Finally, you will learn how to craft a beautiful fantasy style cinemagraph using stock images and video. When you're finished with this course, you'll not only be able to create stunning cinemagraphs, but may also be inspired to create new ways of showing your own artistic visions. Software required: Adobe Photoshop CC, Adobe After Effects CC.

About the author

Kirk has been a professional graphics artist for almost 20 years. He has a bachelor’s degree from George Mason University and is an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop. Kirk's work has been published over 400 times in various internationally acclaimed publications such as Photoshop Creative, Advanced Photoshop, and Digital Photographer. Kirk has experience with a broad range of subjects in the design field, from web design to logo design, to print design to 3D modeling and animation. Kirk is jus... more

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