Adobe has pulled together an amazing amount of information in its online help system (see online Appendix B, available from this book’s Missing CD page at www.missingmanuals.com/cds), but despite all these efforts, it’s geared toward seasoned Photoshop jockeys and assumes a level of skill that you may not have. The explanations are very clipped and to the point, which makes it difficult to get a real feel for the tool or technique you need help with.
That’s where this book comes in. It’s intended to make learning Photoshop CC tolerable—and even enjoyable—by avoiding technical jargon as much as possible and explaining why and when to use (or avoid) certain features of the program. This friendly, conversational approach is meant to appeal to beginners and seasoned pixel pushers alike.
Some of the tutorials in this book refer to files you can download from this book’s Missing CD page on the Missing Manuals website (www.missingmanuals.com/cds) so you can practice the techniques you’re reading about. And throughout the book, you’ll find several kinds of sidebar articles. The ones labeled “Up to Speed” help newcomers to Photoshop do things or understand concepts that veterans are probably already familiar with. Those labeled “Power Users’ Clinic” cover more advanced topics for the brave of heart.
Note
Photoshop CC functions almost identically on Mac and Windows computers, but for the sake of consistency, the screenshots in this book were all taken on a Mac. However, the keyboard shortcuts for the two operating systems are different, so you’ll find both included here—Mac shortcuts first, followed by Windows shortcuts in parentheses, like so: “press ⌘-A (Ctrl+A).” The locations of a few folders differ, too; in those cases, you get the directions for both operating systems.
This hefty book is divided into six parts, each devoted to the type of things you’ll do in Photoshop CC:
Part 1. Here’s where you’ll learn the essential skills you need to know before moving forward. Chapter 1 gives you the lay of the land and teaches you how to work with panels and make the Photoshop workspace your own. You’ll also find out the many ways of undoing what you’ve done, which is crucial when you’re learning. Chapter 2 covers how to open and view documents efficiently, and how to set up new documents so you have a solid foundation on which to build your masterpieces.
Chapter 3 dives into the most powerful Photoshop feature of all: layers. You’ll learn about the different kinds of layers and how to manage them, the power of layer masks, and how to use layer styles for special effects. Chapter 4 explains how to select part of an image so you can edit just that area. In Chapter 5, you’ll dive headfirst into the science of color as you explore channels (which store the colors that make up your images) and learn how to use channels to create selections; you’ll also pick up some channel-specific editing tips along the way.
Part 2. Chapter 6 starts off by explaining the various ways you can crop images—both in Photoshop and in Camera Raw—and then demystifies resolution so you’ll understand how to resize images without reducing their quality. In Chapter 7, you’ll learn how to combine images in a variety of ways, from simple techniques to more complex ones. Chapter 8 covers draining, changing, and adding color, arming you with several techniques for creating gorgeous black-and-white images, delicious duotones, partial-color effects, and more. You’ll also learn how to change the color of almost anything.
Chapter 9 focuses on color-correcting images, beginning with auto fixer-uppers, and then moving on to the wonderfully simple (yet powerful) world of Camera Raw and the more complicated realm of Levels and Curves. Chapter 10 is all about retouching images to change reality and is packed with practical techniques for slimming and trimming. This chapter also covers using the various content-aware tools to remove objects or scoot them from one spot to another, as well as how to use the Puppet Warp command to move just your subject’s arms and legs. Chapter 11 explains what sharpening really is, and covers which sharpening method to use when to make your images look especially crisp.
Part 3. This part of the book is all about creativity. Chapter 12 explains the many ways of choosing colors, and teaches you how to create a painting from scratch. Chapter 13 focuses on using the mighty Pen tool to create complex illustrations and selections, along with how to use Photoshop’s various shape tools. Chapter 14 teaches you the basics of typography, and then moves on to creating and formatting text in Photoshop. You’ll find out how to outline, texturize, and place photos inside text, among other fun-yet-practical techniques. Chapter 15 covers the wide world of filters, including how to use smart filters; you’ll come away with at least one practical use for one or more of the filters in every category.
Part 4. In Chapter 16, you’ll learn about printing images, beginning with an explanation of why it’s so darn hard to make what comes out of your printer match what you see onscreen. You’ll discover the programs different color modes and find out how to prepare images for printing, whether you’re using an inkjet printer or a commercial printing press. Chapter 17 focuses on preparing images for the Web, walks you through the various file formats you can use, explains how to protect your images online, and explains how to export web graphics using Generator. Rounding out the chapter is info on using the Slice tool on a web page design, and step-by-step instructions for creating animated GIFs.
Part 5. This part is all about working smarter and faster. Chapter 18 covers actions (which help you automate tasks you perform regularly), and explains how to create gorgeous watermarks. Chapter 19 covers installing and using plug-ins (small programs you can add to Photoshop), and recommends some of the best. Chapter 20 teaches you how to edit videos in Photoshop and create stunning video portfolios, Chapter 21 gets you started creating and working with 3D objects and text, and Chapter 22 explains how to use Adobe Bridge for some slick organization and batch-processing tricks.
Part Six: Appendixes. Appendix A covers installing (and uninstalling) Photoshop. Appendix B offers some troubleshooting tips, explains Photoshop’s help system, and points you to resources besides than this book. Appendix C gives you a tour of the mighty Tools panel. And Appendix D walks you through Photoshop CC’s 200+ menu items. All the appendixes are available from this book’s Missing CD page at www.missingmanuals.com/cds.
If you’re relatively new to digital-image editing or you’ve always shot film and are taking your first brave steps into the world of digital cameras, you’ll be amazed at what you can do in Photoshop, but it can also be a bit overwhelming. By breaking Photoshop down into digestible chunks that are most important to you, the learning process will feel less daunting. (There’s no sense in tackling the whole program when you’ll only use a quarter of it—if that much.)
The most important thing to remember is to be patient and try not to get frustrated. With time and practice, you can master the bits of Photoshop that you need to do your job better. And with the help of this book, you’ll conquer everything faster than you might think. As you gain confidence, you can start branching out into other parts of the program to broaden your skills.
Here’s a suggested roadmap for quickly learning the most useful aspects of the program:
Read all of Chapters Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 (or at the very least skim them).
These two chapters show you where to find all of Photoshop’s tools and features, and explain how the program is organized. You’ll learn how to open, view, and save images, which is vital stuff to know.
If your photos aren’t on your computer already— and you don’t use Photoshop Lightroom—read Chapter 22 about Adobe Bridge.
Bridge is an amazingly powerful image organizer and browser that can help get your images onto your computer. It takes care of importing, renaming, and even backing up your precious photos. That said, if you use Lightroom, you can skip the Bridge chapter.
If you shoot in raw format (see the box on Raw versus JPEG) and need to color-correct your images in a hurry, read the section in Chapter 9 on editing in Camera Raw (Correcting Images in Camera Raw).
That chapter includes a whole section on practical editing techniques you can use in Camera Raw, and a quick reference that points you to where you’ll find other Camera-Raw techniques throughout this book.
If you don’t shoot in raw and you need to resize your images before editing them, read Chapter 6.
That chapter explains resolution and how to resize images without reducing their quality.
Proceed with Chapters Chapter 8, Chapter 9, and Chapter 10 to learn about color effects, correcting color and lighting, and all manner of retouching (retouching portraits, moving and removing objects, and so on), respectively.
When you’re ready to sharpen your images, read Chapter 11.
Finally, when you want to print your photos, read the section on printing with an inkjet printer in Chapter 16 (Printing on an Inkjet Printer).
The chapter walks you through the printing process.
That’s all you need to get started. When you’re ready to dive further into Photoshop, pick back up at Chapter 3, which covers layers, and then move on through the book as time permits.
This book assumes that you know how to use a computer and that, to some extent, you’re an expert double-clicker and menu opener. If not, here’s a quick refresher:
To click means to move the point of your cursor over an object onscreen, and then press the left mouse or trackpad button once. To drag means to click an object and then, while still holding down the mouse button, move the mouse to move the object. To double-click means to press the left button twice, quickly, without moving the cursor between clicks. To right-click means to press the right mouse button once, which produces a menu of special features called a shortcut menu (a.k.a. contextual menu). If you’re on a Mac and have a mouse with only one button, you can simulate right-clicking by holding down the Control key while you click.
Most onscreen controls are pretty obvious, but you may not be familiar with radio buttons: To choose an option, you click one of these little empty circles that are arranged in a list.
You’ll find tons of keyboard shortcuts throughout this book, and they’re huge timesavers. If you see a sentence like, “Press ⌘-S (Ctrl+S) to save your file,” that means to hold down the ⌘ key (or Ctrl key, if you’re using a PC), and then press the S key, too; then let go of both keys. (This book lists Mac keyboard shortcuts first, followed by Windows shortcuts in parentheses.) Other keyboard shortcuts are so complex that you’ll need to use multiple fingers, both hands, and a well-placed elbow. And sometimes you’ll combine keystrokes with clicking. For example, to ⌘-click (Ctrl-click on a PC) means to press and hold the ⌘ (or Ctrl) key and then, while still pressing the key, click your left mouse button.
If you’re comfortable with basic concepts like these, you’re ready to get started with this book.
In this book (and in all Missing Manuals, for that matter), you’ll see arrows sprinkled throughout each chapter in sentences like this: “Choose Filter→Blur Gallery→Tilt-Shift.” This is a shorthand way of helping you find files, folders, and menu items without having to read through painfully long, boring instructions. For example, the sentence quoted above is a short way of saying this: “At the top of the Photoshop window, locate the Filter menu. Click it and, in the list that appears, look for the Blur Gallery category. Point your cursor at the words Blur Gallery (without clicking) and, in the resulting submenu, click Tilt-Shift” (see Figure 1).
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