Here are some excellent ways to learn photoshop
The spot healing brush made its debut in Photoshop Elements 3, but now an enhanced version of it is available in Photoshop CS2. The spot healing tool is different from the existing patch and healing tools in that it does not require you to make a selection or define a source point before using it.
RESOLUTION. The “Auto” resolution button on the right of your Image Size dialog box will resize your image to small, medium and larger sizes. Under “Document Size” in your Image Size box, you’ll see a place to enter the desired resolution. For the Web, normal resolutions will be 72 pixels per inch. For print work, the resolution should be at least 300 ppi. When you increase the resolution, you increase the image size, and may need to resize it, but the resolution will stay the same. COLOR CASTS. Go into your Image > Adjustments menu and try using the automatic presets there: Auto Levels, Auto Contrast, Auto Color and/or Variations. This last option is especially fast and flexible, offering fine-tuning for shadows, midtones and highlights as well as saturation.
You’ll see a variety of preset gradients displayed, from the default Foreground to Background gradient to the more complex Chrome gradient. All these preset gradients can be edited to create new gradients. You’ll notice that some gradients have more colour ’stops’ than others; the Foreground to Background gradient has two colour stops – black and white – while the Spectrum gradient has seven colour stops. You can modify a gradient by changing the colour of the stops – simply click on one and choose a new colour from the Color Picker. Alternatively, click on an image and sample a colour for your customised gradient using the Eyedropper Tool.
Become the king of the keyboard by discovering more new shortcuts. Taking advantages of keyboard shortcuts to rapidly access tools in the toolbox. Locating Keyboard Shortcuts. Photoshop is more than happy to give up its secrets A good place to start hunting down keyboard shortcuts is within the Photoshop interface itself. Open the main menu, and take look at a few of the commands. Next to each one you’ll find the relevant keyboard shortcut listed if one is available. Another comprehensive list of shortcuts can be found in the Photoshop Help files. Killer keyboard shortcuts Mac users should treat the [Alt] key as the [Option] key and the [Control] key as the [Command] key
If you drag the “black” slider to the right, the darkest colors disappear and the image below appears. Dragging the underneath layer’s black slider will bring out the darkest colors from the bottom image. To merge your blended layers when you’re finished, so that any further styling will be applied equally, click Layer in your top menu, then either Merge Down, Merge Group, Merge Visible or Flatten Image. If you’re the kind of person who loves to learn and master a subject of interest, try out all the various permutations available in your Layer Style box’s Advanced Blending palette, under “knockout.” Right away, you’ll see how useful the three options in the Knockout menu itself can be: None, Shallow or Deep.
Like Microsoft, Adobe’s business is built largely around packaged software, installed locally on users’ PCs. Likewise, Adobe’s plans to diversify its business with online services mirrors a large-scale effort at Microsoft to introduce a combination of software and services. As online applications become more functional, Adobe is seeking out areas where Web services can fill out its product portfolio, Chizen said. The company intends to offer entirely hosted applications, as well as “hybrids,” in which Adobe uses the Web to introduce features to desktop products, such as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. We recognize there is a customer there–we recognize they are not going to pay us, necessarily, directly. But we could use ad revenue as a model. Google has demonstrated that it works pretty well for certain types of applications.
Just knowing the basics can do wonders. Start with your “Auto Color” command. (Click “Image,” “Adjustments,” then “Auto Color” from the top menu.) Photoshop has configured the Auto Color tool to transform photos to preset values, affecting the overall tone and levels of the photograph. After that you will probably want to enhance your photo further. Photoshop gives you a cornucopia of options for endlessly fiddling with your pictures. Try your “Levels” button (click “Image,” “Adjustments,” then “Levels”). A dialog box pops up labeled Levels. In it you can use the top slider bar to control the brightness of shadows, midtones and highlights. The bottom slider bar affects your overall output levels. You should get your levels the way you want them before you move on to directly transform colors. You can also correct your brightness levels using “Curves,” in the same menu. Experiment with it and you’ll see how it works.
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Filed under Photography by David Peters
