Introduction

Because you're holding this book, you most likely share one of my passions — photography. No matter whether your passion is lifelong or recently discovered, if you're ready to take your photography to a new level, you've picked up the right book. I've taught countless photographers to use Photoshop Elements and Photoshop, and in doing so I've learned to show them the things they need to know without distracting them with software features that they'll rarely use.

It's all about the workflow

Years ago when I was a supervisor for a very large photolab, I often got the delightful job of escorting visitors and dignitaries through the massive complex, which occupied most of a city block. Whenever I led one of those tours, I always took the visitors through the lab as though they themselves were rolls of film being processed and printed. We started at the intake and sorting area and finished at the custom enlargement packaging area. When they saw all of the different pieces in the context of an overall workflow, they got a clear vision of what we were doing at the lab.

When I teach someone how to use any kind of photo-editing software, I use the same method. I take them through a process from start to finish so they see how all of the pieces fit together. This is the same process I take you through in this book. You begin with fundamental concepts to understand the editing environment. Then you move on to the important principles regarding importing, organizing, and archiving ...

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