Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0

Book description

If you are just starting to work with digital images and want to gain great results fast, this complete and easy-to follow guide is the one for you. Bestselling author Philip Andrews - Adobe Australia's official Photoshop Elements Ambassador -provides a clear introduction packed with step-by-step tutorials, visual examples and tips, equipping you with the knowledge and skills you need to get the most out of this best-selling software. All content is completely revised and updated for Photoshop Elements 4.0.

This completely revised and updated edition covers all the new features of version 4.0, including automatic fixes for Red Eye, the new Order Prints Pane, the Adjust Skin Tones feature and the exciting Magic Selection Brush and Magic Extractor tools.

Learn how to create professional quality images for print, web and email by following the clear, step-by-step instructions. Get thorough guidance on how to successfully manage and organize your images, with advice on tagging, making collections and backing up your files.

The associated website www.guide2elements.com provides all the tools needed to fine tune your skills. Images and projects featured in the book are provided online so you can put each technique into practice as you read. Printable lesson plans for those teachers among you are available, along with useful links and updates so you have everything at your fingertips to get the best out of Elements.

Praise for previous editions of this title:

"With Philip providing you with such a good 'street index' to our Photoshop Elements 3.0 software you will be creating fantastic digital images in next to no time at all."
Judith Salonga, Adobe Systems

"If you need to manipulate digital images this is the book that will not only show you what can be achieved but inspire you to develop your skills even further."
Computer Arts Special

"Whether you are into manipulating photographs, wishing to build better websites or produce better looking prints, this book will help you to master all the necessary tools contained in the program. The learning curve just got shallower!"
Martin Evening

"Philip Andrews' knowledge and enthusiasm shines through."
Royal Photographic Society Journal

Table of contents

  1. Front Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Foreword
  6. Introduction
  7. Acknowledgements
  8. 1 The Buzz of Digital Photography
    1. The beginning – the digital photograph
    2. Making the digital image
    3. Quality factors in a digital image
    4. The steps in the digital process
    5. Where does Photoshop Elements fit into the process?
    6. Photoshop Elements 4.0
  9. 2 Introducing Photoshop Elements 4.0
    1. Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 – new tools and features
    2. The Photoshop Elements 4.0 workflow
    3. The interface
      1. The change continues
      2. New tools and features
      3. Revamped favorites
      4. Menus
      5. Tools
      6. Tool types
      7. The Quick Fix editor
      8. The Organizer workspace (Photo Browser)
      9. The Photo Creations feature
    4. The Macintosh difference
      1. The Elements 3.0 Macintosh file browser
  10. 3 First Steps
    1. The Welcome screen
    2. Step 1: Getting your pictures into Elements
      1. Organizer: File > Get Photos > From Camera or Card Reader
      2. Organizer: File > Get Photos > From Scanner
      3. Ensuring enough pixels for the job
      4. Editor: Image > Divide Scanned Photos
      5. Organizer: File > Get Photos > From Files and Folders
      6. How to multi-select the files to import
      7. Organizer: File > Get Photos > From Mobile Phone
      8. Organizer: File > Get Photos > From Online Sharing Service
      9. Organizer: File > Get Photos > By Searching
      10. Organizer: File > Get Photos > PhotoDeluxe Album and ActiveShare Album (version 3.0)
      11. Other options for getting your photos into Elements
    3. Creating new documents
      1. Editor: File > New > Blank File
      2. Editor: File > New > Image from Clipboard
      3. Editor: File > Create
      4. Editor: File > New > Photomerge Panorama
      5. Editor: File > Import > Frame From Video
    4. Step 2: Viewing your pictures
      1. Organizer: View > View Photos in Full Screen
      2. First stop – View Photos in Full Screen
      3. Organizer: View > Compare Photos Side by Side
      4. Comparing apples with apples
      5. Editor: View > Zoom In and Zoom Out
      6. Editor: Window > Navigator
    5. Step 3: Image rotating
    6. Step 4: Cropping and straightening
      1. Cropping
      2. Straightening
    7. Step 5: Automatic corrections
      1. First some background
      2. Photo Browser: Edit > Auto Smart Fix and Auto Red Eye Fix
      3. Photo Browser: Edit > Auto Fix Window (version 3.0 only)
      4. Version Sets
      5. Undo, Revert and Undo History
    8. Step 6: Printing
    9. Step 7: Saving
      1. Editor: File > Save
      2. Editor: File > Save As
      3. ‘The formats I use’
    10. Step 8: Organizing your pictures
      1. Tags
      2. Collections
    11. Step 9: Backing up your files
      1. Organizer: File > Backup
  11. 4 Simple Image Changes
    1. Three levels of editing
    2. Setting up your screen for Elements
      1. Popularity can be a problem
      2. Before you start
    3. Brightness and contrast changes
      1. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Lighting > Brightness/Contrast
      2. Editor: Enhance > Auto Contrast
      3. Editor: Enhance > Auto Levels
      4. Editor: Enhance > Auto Smart Fix
      5. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Smart Fix
      6. The Quick Fix editor – ‘quick change central’
      7. Altering a few tones only
      8. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Lighting > Shadows/Highlights
    4. Dodge and Burn tools
    5. Color corrections
      1. Editor: Enhance > Auto Color Correction
      2. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Color > Remove Color Cast
      3. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Color > Color Variations
      4. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Color > Adjust Skin Tone
      5. The Red Eye Removal tool
    6. Using filters and effects
      1. Editor: Filters
      2. Editor: Filter > Filter Gallery
      3. Editor: Window > Styles and Effects
      4. Editor: Filter > Blur > Motion Blur
      5. Editor: Filter > Sketch > Chalk & Charcoal
      6. Editor: Filter > Distort > Liquify
      7. Editor: Filter > Sketch > Graphic Pen
      8. Editor: Filter > Stylize > Emboss
      9. Third party filters
      10. The 10 commandments for filter usage
    7. Getting help with Elements
      1. Hints
      2. The How To feature
      3. Help
  12. 5 Hands on Techniques
    1. Better digital capture
      1. So what is in a RAW file?
      2. Color depth or ‘What do you mean 8 bits per channel?’
    2. Manual tonal control
      1. Editor: Window > Histogram
      2. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Lighting > Levels
    3. Specialized color control
      1. Editor: Enhance > Auto Color Correction
      2. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Color > Adjust Hue/Saturation
      3. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Color > Color Variations
      4. Sponge
      5. Editor: Filter > Adjustments > Posterize
      6. Editor: Filter > Adjustments > Invert
      7. Editor: Filter > Adjustments > Photo Filter
    4. High quality sharpening techniques
      1. Editor: Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen and Sharpen More
      2. Editor: Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen Edges
      3. Editor: Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask
      4. Elements’ sharpening tools
    5. Retouching techniques
      1. Editor: Filter > Noise > Dust & Scratches
      2. Clone Stamp
      3. Spot Healing Brush
      4. Healing Brush tool
      5. Editor: Filter > Noise > Reduce Noise
    6. Adding texture to an image
      1. Editor: Filter > Noise > Add Noise
      2. Editor: Filter > Texture > Grain
      3. Editor: Filter > Texture > Texturizer
    7. Changing the size of your images
      1. Editor: Image > Resize > Image Size
      2. Editor: Image > Resize > Canvas Size
      3. Increasing the canvas size with the Crop tool
  13. 6 Using Selections and Layers
    1. Selection basics
      1. Drawing selection tools
      2. Drawing selection tool summaries
      3. Color selection tools
    2. Modifying drawn and color-based selections
      1. The Magic Selection Brush – a brand new way to make selections
      2. The new Magic Extractor feature
    3. Selections in action
      1. Advanced dodging and burning
      2. Artificial depth of field
      3. Filtering a selection
      4. Selective saturation changes
    4. Layers and their origins
      1. The Layers palette
      2. Layer types
      3. Layer transparency
      4. Layer blend modes
      5. Layer Styles
      6. Organizing layers
    5. Layers in action
      1. Adding drop shadows
      2. Straightening the edges of buildings
      3. Creating a beach triptych
  14. 7 Combining Text with Your Images
    1. New type features
      1. Paragraph Text
      2. WYSIWYG font previews
    2. Creating simple type
    3. Creating Paragraph Text
    4. Basic text changes
    5. Creating and using type masks
    6. Reducing the ‘jaggies’
    7. Warping type
    8. Applying styles to type layers
    9. Debunking some type terms
      1. Font size
      2. Font family and style
      3. Alignment and justification
      4. Leading
    10. Text in action
      1. Creating digital postcards
  15. 8 Using Elements’ Painting and Drawing Tools
    1. Cookie Cutter tool
    2. Painting tools
      1. Paint Brush
      2. The More Options palette
      3. Airbrush
      4. Pencil
      5. Paint Bucket
      6. Choosing my paint colors
      7. Painting tools summary
      8. The Impressionist Brush tool
      9. Color Replacement tool
      10. Erasing
      11. Smart erasing with Elements 4.0
    3. Better with a tablet
    4. Painting tools in action
      1. Creating rough-edged picture borders
      2. Hand coloring black and white photos
    5. Drawing tools
      1. Even more shapes
      2. Cookie Cutter tool
    6. Drawing tools in action
      1. Making a shape-based logo
  16. 9 Creating Great Panoramas
    1. Taking Photomerge images
      1. Image overlap
      2. Keep the camera level
      3. Maintain focal length
      4. Pivot around the lens
      5. Maximum image size is no longer 2 megapixels
      6. Maintain exposure
      7. Keep white balance consistent
      8. Watch the edges
    2. Editor: File > New > Photomerge Panorama
      1. Editing your panorama
    3. Photomerge from the Photo Browser
      1. Photo Browser: File > New > Photomerge Panorama in Editor
      2. Macintosh File Browser: Automate > Photomerge
    4. Photomerge in action
      1. Vertical stitches
      2. Document stitches
      3. Making panoramas that spin
    5. Fixing panorama problems
    6. Top tips from panoramic professionals
  17. 10 Preparing Images for the Web or E-mail
    1. Images and the Net
      1. GIF
      2. JPEG
      3. JPEG 2000
      4. PNG
      5. Getting the balance right
    2. Web compression formats side by side
    3. Making your own web gallery
      1. Multi-select pictures to include
      2. Built for speed
      3. Going live
      4. Trouble-free web pages
      5. Step-by-step HTML Photo Gallery creation
      6. The Macintosh Web Photo Gallery (version 3.0 only)
      7. Sharing online – the Web Photo Gallery alternative
    4. Sending images as e-mail attachments
      1. Attach Selected Items to E-mail dialog
      2. Macintosh Attach to E-mail options
    5. Making simple web animations with Elements
      1. Traditional animation
      2. Animation – the Elements method
      3. Animation advice
    6. Creating your own slide shows
      1. A new way to create slide shows
      2. Version 4.0 slide shows in action
      3. Simple slide shows (version 3.0 for Windows)
      4. Custom Slide Shows (version 3.0 for Windows)
      5. Producing slide shows the Macintosh way (version 3.0)
  18. 11 Preparing Images for Printing
    1. Printing the Elements way
      1. Printing from the Photo Browser (Organizer)
    2. The link between paper type and quality prints
    3. Making your first print
    4. Printing a section of a full image
    5. Making multiple prints
      1. Contact sheets
      2. Picture packages
      3. The Picture Package for Macintosh users (version 3.0 only)
      4. Picture labels
      5. Individual Prints
    6. Aiming for the best prints
      1. Balancing image size and picture quality
      2. Getting to know your printer
      3. Typical printing problems and their solutions
    7. Web Based Printing
      1. Making your first web prints
      2. New options for web printing
  19. 12 Photo Creations
    1. The Photo Creation projects
    2. Slide shows on your computer or TV
    3. VCD with Menu
    4. Creating Album Pages
    5. Publish a photo book
    6. Make your own birthday cards
    7. The Elements Photo Greeting Card
    8. Producing a wall calendar
    9. Creating a Bound Calendar
    10. The new improved HTML Photo Gallery feature
  20. 13 Managing Your Files
    1. Organizing your photos with Photoshop Elements 4.0
      1. It starts in-camera
      2. And continues when downloading
    2. Organizing and searching features
      1. Tagging your photos
      2. Creating new tags
      3. New Face Tagging technology
    3. Collections – the Elements way to group like photos
      1. Adding photos to a group
      2. Using Collection Groups
    4. Locating files
      1. Finding tagged photos or those contained in a collection
      2. Find by details or metadata
    5. Protecting your assets
      1. Making your first backup
      2. Back up regularly
      3. Store the duplicates securely
      4. Versioning your edits
      5. Versions and Photoshop Elements
      6. Elements’ image stacks
    6. Automating editing tasks
    7. Multi-selection editing
  21. 14 Theory into Practice: Real Life Elements Projects
    1. Project 1: Slide shows from your home videos
    2. Project 2: Stitching big paintings together 317
    3. Project 3: Professional folio of images on CD-ROM 319
    4. Project 4: The school newsletter
    5. Project 5: Real estates go digital
    6. Project 6: Photographic print display
    7. Project 7: Business manager presentation
    8. Project 8: Restoration of a family heirloom
    9. Project 9: Menu for restaurant
    10. Project 10: Advertisement optimized for black and white
    11. Project 11: Company logo, letterhead, business card
    12. Project 12: Holiday panoramic posters
  22. 15 Where to From Here?
    1. The differences between Elements and Photoshop
      1. Offset printing
      2. Web-based production
      3. Color management
      4. Automated functions
      5. Paths
      6. Curves
      7. Color Balance
      8. 16-bit support
      9. High Dynamic Range photos
      10. Vanishing Point
      11. Who can guide me further?
  23. Appendices
    1. Jargon buster
    2. Keyboard shortcuts
    3. Elements/Photoshop feature equivalents
  24. Index

Product information

  • Title: Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: October 2005
  • Publisher(s): Focal Press
  • ISBN: 9781136105739