Photoshop Elements- Review
Camera- take pictures at the highest resolution- don’t skimp on quality
Scanning- scan at high resolutions (300 ppi)
Screens- The screen resolution of your monitor is the number of pixels that your monitor can display. For example, a monitor with a screen resolution of 640x480 pixels will display 640 pixels for the width and 480 pixels for the height. To find out what your screen resolution is, choose Start > Control Panel > Display > Settings and look at the screen resolution (Windows)
Resolutions in Photoshop
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For photographs:
· Open image
· Crop your image, any size you an or use preset options- don’t put in resolution (if you do you are resampling your image)
· Go to image- Resize > Image Size
· Have resample image clicked off- Change resolution to 300 ppi (pixels per inch). This will give you the true size of your image at 300 ppi. It will show the best size for your photograph at this resolution.
· If the image is still to big for your needs, leave the resolution at 300 DPI, check "resample image", and type in the new smaller size with the "Constrain Proportion" box checked. If you resample up you will increase the file size but will not have an optimum print (see resample note below)
· If you want it bigger you will loose some clarity (I wouldn’t go more than 1/3 bigger) then click the resample image back on and change the size (Photoshop will try and put extra pixels inbetween) , however, whenever you resample up, that is, enlarge your image size, you are not adding any more detail to the image, you are only increasing it's size needlessly. You should always start with as large an image as possible and make smaller copies as needed. When you change the resolution without resampling the image you don't change any of the images information, just the density of the pixels
· Go to Enhance> Adjust Lighting>levels and pull the triangles ot the edges of the histogram (or use the eyedropper tool for black and white)
· Further enhancement. Enhance>Adjust colour> colour variations
· Or just use the auto tools
· Save as a jpeg and print
For email
· Open image
· Crop image, do not use the resolution box
· Go to image- Resize > Image Size
· Have resample image clicked on- Make sure constrain proportions is on-Leave at 72 ppi (pixels per inch)
· Change size to no bigger than 8” (8” at 72 pixels is about 576 pixels which is smaller than most people’s screens) Notice how the size of the file shrinks. If you want to make it smaller still make the dimensions smaller.
· Go to Enhance> Adjust Lighting>levels and pull the triangles ot the edges of the histrogram (or use the eyedropper tool for black and white)
· Further enhancement. Enhance>Adjust colour> colour variations
· Or just use the auto tools
· You can view it as view actual pixels
· Save as a jpeg (if it is a .psd) save in a spot you remember
· Open up your email and attach.
Save for the web
Similar as save for email. You can reduce it further by File> Save for web
Tools: Always click on icon on the top left- ‘reset all tools’
Selection tools- Used to select a specific area, add feathering ( 1-3 pixels) to make a softer selection- a less cut and paste look.
Oval and Square Marquee: (hold down alt to draw from the middle and shift to make it a circle or square)
Polygonal Lasso- click as you go around (hint: if you want to undo the last selection point hit the delete button)
- hold down the shift to add to the selection and hold down the alt to subtract form the selection
Magnetic Lasso- use when there is a lot of contrast between the object and the area around it. You can switch to polygonal during the selection by holding down the alt button.
Higher the frequency; the more points and accuracy. The lower the contrast the less the area has to be different from the background
Magic Wand- selects the colour pixels. Use continuous if you want the colours touching each other (or it will select all the pixels that colour on the whole picture) Tolerance sets the range of the colours. The higher the number the less choosy it is. Go as high as you can without selecting unwanted areas. You can hold down the shift and keep selecting (clicking) until all the area is selected. Anti- alias when checked makes a smoother selection.
Why we select:
· To copy and paste into another picture.
· To enhance, or alter, the picture only in the area selected. If we want to select the area outside of the selection- right click and inverse selection. You can also use this to make a blurry background (select inverse and use Gaussian blur)
· To cut out shapes from other pictures- You select a shape (preferably a silhouette) with the magic wand, click on another layer with a picture> use the arrow keys to move the selection. Cut and paste and it will cut out that shape from the picture.
Layers
The power of layers is that they allow you to work on one element of your image without disturbing the others. Until you combine, or merge, the layers, each layer remains independent. This means you can experiment freely with different compositions without making permanent changes to your overall image. In addition, special features such as adjustment layers, fill layers, and layer styles let you create sophisticated effects.
A good way to think of layers is as sheets of acetate stacked one on top of the other. Where there is no image on a layer, you can see through to the layers below. Behind all of the layers is the background. In the following illustration, each animal and the map are on separate layers. The dark texture is the background. Depending on how you stack and position the layers, the composition changes. You can change the order of the layers by clicking, holding and dragging the layers in the layer palette.
§ To create a new layer you can open the layers palette (Under Windows) and click on the insert layer icon on the left hand side (or go to insert>layer).
§ When you cut (Ctrl x) and paste (ctrl V) a selection, a separate layer is automatically created
§ If you pull the image on the layer palette onto the new layer icon a duplicate layer will be created
§ When you use the text toll and new layer is created (if you want to make this a graphic so you can smudge it (or have it apart of a layer that requires it to be a graphic) you can right click and simplify the layer)
§ Layers have different properties- you can make them more transparent by using the transparency slider on the layer file
§ Adjustment layers are layers you add in-between layers, they will affect the images underneath without altering the images. Think of filters that are placed in front of a camera lens. You can colour a whole picture with a rosy hue by placing a red solid colour adjustment layer and then lower the transparency
§ You can add a hue saturation layer. Make the images below black and white. The you can use the eraser and erase a part of the adjustment layer and that part will be in colour.
Tips for tools:
Reset all tools- Click on any tool and go the the upper left side, click on the tool and “reset all tools
Hint- it the program is not working- reset all tools and/or deselect- there may be an area that is selected that you cannot see. Also look for the annoying Check and slashed circle.
Watch the options- remember you can change the size and the strengthm (opacity) of the tools; as well as other options.
Size of tool- if you cannot see the size of the tool check and see if your cap lock is on.
Clone tool: The tool we used to get rid of the cabin. Hold the alt button and click on the area of the picture you want to ‘paint’ with. Uncheck the aligned button , and the clone will refresh every time you click on the mouse (this is more natural) If you want to clone the item exactly keep the aligned box checked.
Don’t forget you can change the size of the brush and the opacity.
This is used to get rid of unwanted items in the picture.
You may have to use a selection tool to protect the items that you do not want removed (remember to right click and inverse your selection if you want the clone tool to work on the ‘other’ areas.
Blur tool to soften the images- I use it to: clear uneven skin, to soften the edges of my cuts (after pasting) so they do not look to hard edge and fake, hide some cloning edges to make the transitions smoother. (Remember softening santa’s cheeks.)
Sharpen tool- if certain areas are blurry but you do not want to sharpen the whole picture (too much sharpen creates pixelated pictures
Smudge tool (to create smudged special effects
Dodge tool (Used a lot) To lighten up certain areas- especially used under the eyes
Burn tool and Sponge tool are used as indicated on the left- Remember my demo where I made the buildings of Vence darker (Burn) or brighter (Sponge) Remember to check saturated or unsaturated with the spnge tool (desaturated makes it duller –all the way to greys.
Healing brush tool= great for getting rid of blemishes on the skin
Red eye- gets ris of annoying red eye
We can fill selected areas with colour (remember we can choose colours on our drawing using the eyedropper tool). Or click on the colour selection boxes to pick out own.
Cool stuff we did:
Text cut from pictures:
· We had an original picture:
· Pulled it onto the new layer icon on the palette bar to create a duplicate copy
· Typed a title picking a bold style and changed the size.
· Used the magic wand to select the background on the type layer (remember the background is transparent (or click the letters you want with the magic wand)
· Right click – inverse selection (if you used the magic wand on the background)
· On the layers palette click on the picture
· Close the eye on the type layer
· Use the arrow buttons to move your type selection (it should look like dashed lines)
· Copy and paste
· Click off the eye of the picture layer and you will see your text cut out of the picture