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 Photoshop Elements 3 - Videos Adobe - Elements 3 Tutorials [WIN] Adobe - Elements 3 Tutorials [MAC] |
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Sample Chapter - Working With Photomerge In Photoshop Elements 6
They say that sequels are never as good as the original - try telling that to Adobe. There fully revamped Photomerge now comes in three flavors and is ‘fully fantastic’. You get to explore the greatly improved Photomerge features only in Elements 6 and Photoshop CS3. Photomerge is now capable of aligning and blending images without any signs of struggle - banding in smooth areas of tone. The fully revised Photomerge feature first made its appearance with CS3 but the maths seems to have got even better with the release of
Elements 6 and the stitching is so clever it will really have you amazed at the quality that can be achieved inside this budget program.
The quality will be even better if you capture the component images of your panorama in vertical format (to reduce the effects of converging verticals) with a 50% overlap and you also use a manual exposure, focus and white balance setting on your camera (or process the images identically in camera Raw). The results will now truly be seamless - an excellent way of widening your horizons or turning your humble compact into a 30-megapixel blockbuster.
The Photomerge feature in previous versions of Photoshop Elements (and the full version for that matter) left a lot to be desired. All of the flaws and weaknesses of the original feature are now gone with the release of Elements 6.0.
Read the full sample chapter, Working With Photomerge In Elements 6.
Contrast Tutorial - Working With Adjustment Layers In Elements 6
We've got a new Elements 6 tutorial, Contrast Tutorial - Working With Adjustment Layers In Elements 6. This tutorial is an extract from Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 Maximum Performance by Mark Galer. Here's the intro...
Working With Adjustment Layers
One of the most important image adjustment features in a professional photographer’s workflow is Curves (a sort of Levels command on steroids). Color Curves has now made a welcome appearance in the Enhance menu in Photoshop Elements but it is still not available as an adjustment layer. This project shows you several ways to control contrast using adjustment layers to increase your post-production editing power to maximum performance.
Fig 01 Before and after
Read Contrast Tutorial - Working With Adjustment Layers In Elements 6 by Mark Galer.
Photoshop Elements 6 For Only $49.99 - Crazy Deal!
There's a crazy super deal at Amazon.com right now on Photoshop Elements 6 for Windows. You can purchase it for $49.99 by using their rebate coupon. The regular price for this software is $99.99. Here's the link to the Photoshop Elements 6 super special best price deal. You'll see a link to the coupon under the already discounted price.
FREE TRIAL
Try before you buy. Visit the Adobe site to download a free 30 day Photoshop Elements trial free download.
Adobe has a special area called Creative Suite Trials, with a message that says in part: "To evaluate Adobe's creative software, we are offering fully functional 30-day trials of all Adobe products and editions.
"There are two ways to get a trial: by downloading a trial or by ordering a trial DVD set. When the trial expires, you must purchase the software to continue using it. Our new trial process enables you to evaluate a product and then convert the installed trial to an unrestricted version by purchasing it and entering a serial number.
Visit the Adobe site to download a free 30 day Photoshop Elements trial free download.
Photoshop Elements Tutorials From Lesa Snider King
Lesa Snider King is the founder of the creative tutorial site The Graphic Reporter, and author of "Graphic Secrets for Business Professionals" (Lynda.com Online Training Library). She writes regularly for NAPP, Macworld, and Layers magazines, plus teaches yearly at Photoshop World and Macworld Expo. Lesa co-hosts the YourMacLifeShow.com Internet radio show and hosts her own podcast, "Graphic Secrets."
Vector Shape Your Way To A Picture In A Picture
"Wow!" your friends will say. "How'd you do that?" will soon follow. These are the exclamations you'll hear while showing off your new Elements chops with this slightly magical and creative photo effect.
We'll take an ordinary photo and place a Polaroid-ish color picture box on top of a grayscale version of the same image. It's a really neat way to draw the viewer's eye and accentuate the subject matter or focal point of a photo. The magical part is that the color picture box will be movable! By using two different kinds of adjustment layers to create the effect, you'll be able to move the color picture box anywhere you want, leaving the grayscale version of the photo in its wake. Sound intriguing? Read on!
Top 17 Keyboard Shortcuts For Photoshop and Elements
Thanks to Your Mac Life listener, Marc Rizzolo, for asking about keyboard shortcuts, and thus giving me the idea to post a few of my favorites from Photoshop and Elements. The terrific thing is that most of these apply to all Adobe apps. Gotta love that! And if these shortcuts don't light your fire, I'm going to show you how to make Photoshop build you a web page of *all* of them... all by itself.
Removing Objects With The Spot Healing Brush
Has that ever happened to you? You snap the perfect photo only to find it riddled with antennas or power lines? I'll go all in and bet the answer is yes. Luckily, there's a tool in both Photoshop and Elements that's surprisingly adept at eliminating unwanted bits against the sky, though it may never occur to you to actually use it.
I'm going to show you how to use the Spot Healing Brush to repair the sky and while we're at it, we'll zap some power lines from beneath some unsuspecting birds. It's much easier than you thought, though it does take some time and patience.
How To Create A Photo In Text Effect In Photoshop Elements
I'm going to show you how to place text inside a photo. It's easy enough to do in Elements, though the secret lies in how you stack up the layers. Let's get started!
Digital Basics 101 — The Seven Steps — Tips For Working In Photoshop
Here are some Frequently Asked Questions from photographers who are new to Photoshop. In response, Mark Galer offers professional tips and advice for Photoshop beginners.
The answers have been arranged in order to follow the typical editing workflow in Photoshop.
Working With Photoshop Preferences
OK, Mark, I figured out how to get the CD into my computer and load the program. But what about the preferences? Yikes, I’m already lost!
The great thing about Photoshop is that it comes ready to use. Don’t get hung up on trying to make decisions about all of those settings until you have been using the software for a couple of months. Nothing is going to get screwed up in the first instance just because you forgot to check the ‘beep when done’ preference.
Working With Photoshop Color Spaces
My friends keep talking about the color space they are using. I just nod my head and pretend I know what they are talking about. What is it and what do you recommend?
Space is about size. Think of color space as a box of colored pencils. sRGB is the small box of colored pencils and Adobe RGB is the medium sized box of colored pencils (not many people have need for the ‘supersize-me’ box of colored pencils called ProPhoto). Small may not sound so great but the computer monitor you are now looking at probably can’t display the extra colors that can be found in the larger box (Adobe RGB). These colors come in to play if you use an inkjet printer or a better quality photographic lab (print service provider).
Photo Optimization Tips
How do I quickly fix an image to look better?
Some people have turned editing images into a science and an art form all rolled into one, but it is possible to get some good results by just hitting a few buttons that have the word ‘Auto’ written on them. Most digital images will benefit from a couple of simple ‘quick fixes’ to optimise the color and contrast. The camera may have done a reasonable job but the chances are that Photoshop will be able to further improve the image (well that’s why you purchased the software right). If you are new to digital image-editing then Photoshop will complete these steps automatically with just a click of the mouse and do a pretty good job pretty much most of the time. Just duplicate the original image first (just in case you make a pig’s ear out of things and want to start again).
How To Crop An Image In Photoshop
How do I crop an image?
Before I tell you how, I should really answer why. With most photographers capturing images in excess of 8-Megapixels you have way more pixels than you need for most ‘normal’ everyday uses. Uploading an 8-megapixel image to an online gallery or eBay is overkill (there are only 2-megapixels on a full HD widescreen TV!). The second reason you should crop an image is ensure that it is the correct shape (there is no use giving somebody an oblong image if their one and only photo frame is square). The third reason you should crop is to improve the composition (which is another way of saying that it is a good idea to get rid of all of the uninteresting or distracting parts of the image that you don’t want people to see). You can enhance or improve the image by just cutting, or cropping, the unwanted parts of the image off. This will make people think you are a much better photographer than you really are!
Image Resolution Tips
What is resolution and which one is right?
The issue of resolution can sometimes get confusing because the same word is often applied to different aspects of photography. Imagine, for a moment, that the word ‘Device’ was the name for a camera, a computer screen and a printer. If you were having a conversation with a friend and were discussing a photographic workflow from capture to print, imagine the confusion that could occur (“which device called device are you now referring to?”). This is what currently happens when some people talk about resolution but don’t have a good understanding of when and how to use the word appropriately or clarify what they are referring to. When you talk about resolution you have to add a second word before or after the word resolution, e.g. optical resolution (of your lens), image resolution (the file), monitor resolution, printer resolution etc.
Tips For Saving Images In Photoshop
Now that I have edited my image I want to save it but there are so many options – which do you recommend?
If you open your original file, change something and then hit the ‘Save’ command in the ‘File’ menu you run the risk of writing over your original file – which is not a good idea. In a year’s time you could be editing like a professional and regret the work you carried out on the image you are working on now. It’s always good to know that the original can be edited again at some point in the future.
All About Monitor Calibration And Printing
My prints look different to the images on my screen – why?
Your monitor is only accurate if you have calibrated it using a monitor calibrator. These are relatively inexpensive devices now and are easy to use. Companies such as Gretag-Macbeth and datacolor make inexpensive units that will enable you to make sure that the colors captured by your camera are displayed accurately on your screen. When you adjust the image colors on a calibrated screen you will be confident that it actually needs adjusting. A good print service provider should now be able to provide you with prints that are very similar to the images that appear on your screen.
Total Training For Photoshop Elements 5
See our free clips!
Total Training has released Total Training For Photoshop Elements 5, a new 6 hour DVD video series designed to help users master the extensive, sometimes hidden capabilities of Photoshop Elements 5. The lessons teach practical and real-world techniques for editing photos and creating impressive designs, and are for levels beginner to advanced.
The series starts with an overview of how to use the Quick Fix mode, correct colors, and import the raw image data from a digital camera. You'll also learn how to fix defects in an image, sharpen the focus, and add high-resolution text. The series also shows you how to load the cleaned up photos onto an iPod or cell phone.
Other highlights include discovering how to sort and organize large quantities of images using Photoshop Elements, learning how to create beautiful digital paintings from scratch, and learning how to create a digital scrapbook and then how to post it online.
The presenter, Chad Perkins, is a professional software educator and an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop CS2. Before becoming a freelance consultant, educator, and designer, Chad was a Digital 3D and Animation Specialist, and produced work for many Fortune 500 and Hollywood-based companies.
Total Training For Photoshop Elements 5 is priced at $49.99, but you can use our special discount link for an immediate 20% discount. This package also includes a special bonus. Details are at the Total Training site.
Exclusive 20% Discount On Select Total Training Products & Bundles
To redeem our exclusive discount coupon, use promotion code save20pss in your shopping cart. You could save hundreds of dollars. Use this special link to see the full offer.
Free Video Clips
View some free clips from the training:
Photoshop Elements 5 Video Tutorial — Quick Fix Mode
In this video clip tutorial you will learn the following:
How to start working in the Quick Fix Mode.
How to use Auto Levels to get pure whites in your images.
Photoshop Elements 5 Video Tutorial - Create A DVD Cover
In this video clip tutorial you will learn the following:
How to make a dvd cover using a template.
How to select a theme and add a photo.
Photoshop Elements 5 Video Tutorial - Create Warped Text
In this video clip tutorial you will learn the following:
How to create warped text.
How to change styles and how to accept the text style changes.
Photoshop Elements 5 - Free Tutorial - Selecting Hair
Selecting & Extracting Hair - Masking Tutorial - Extraction Tips
One of the most challenging montage or masking jobs in the profession of post-production editing is the hair lift. Get it wrong and, just like a bad wig, it shows. The first secret step must be completed before you even press the shutter on the camera. Your number one essential step for success is to first shoot your model against a white backdrop, sufficiently illuminated so that it is captured as white rather than gray.
The post-production is the easy bit - simply apply the correct sequence of editing steps and the magic is all yours. This is not brain surgery — but follow these simple steps and you will join the elite ranks of Photoshop gurus around the world. Celebrity status is just a few clicks away.
Photoshop Elements 5 - Free Tutorial - Displacement Map
Use The Displace Filter & Displacement Maps To Make A Realistic Flag
The layer blend modes are an effective way of merging or blending a pattern or graphic with a three-dimensional form. By using the blend modes the flag in this project can be modified to respect the color and tonality of the undulating silk beneath it.
The highlights and shadows that give the silk its shape can however be further utilized to wrap or bend the flag so that it obeys the material’s shape and sense of volume. This can be achieved by using the Displace filter in conjunction with a ‘displacement map’. The ‘map’ defines the contours to which the flag must conform. The final effect can be likened to ‘shrink-wrapping’ the flag to the 3-D form of the undulating silk.
Photoshop Elements 6: The Missing Manual - Free Sample Chapter
Bestselling author Barbara Brundage — whose day job is playing the harp — didn't plan on becoming an authority on Photoshop Elements, one the world's most popular photo-editing programs. Yet her newest publication — Photoshop Elements 6: The Missing Manual (O'Reilly, $26.39 at Amazon.com) — clearly secures Barbara's position as the premier Elements' expert.
"I'm a lowly musician, but if I can learn Elements anyone can," insists Barbara, the author of three previous books about Elements 3, 4, and 5. A few years back in 2001, Barbara chose Elements to create graphics for her new website and promo materials. She soon discovered the nifty software program also made arranging and publishing her harp music a whole lot easier. Then she got hooked on digital photography and relied on Elements to improve and organize her images.
"Fortunately, the folks at Missing Manuals know that sometimes it's easier for someone who isn't from a technical background to explain things to people who don't have a lot of technical knowledge," says Barbara about her road to authorship.
Indeed Barbara's technical knowledge combined with her appealing, down-to-earth writing style made her a perfect addition to the Missing Manual roster of authors. Founded by New York Times technology columnist David Pogue, O'Reilly's Missing Manual series specializes in producing beautifully written manuals for popular consumer software and hardware products — the book that should have been in the box.
Photoshop Elements 6: The Missing Manual provides the best possible guidance to scrapbookers, photographers at every level, budding graphic artists — anyone who wants to get the most out of the latest Elements upgrade. She clearly explains Photoshop Elements 6's exciting array of new features, including the new Quick Edit function, Windows Vista compatibility, improved RAW conversion, a handy Quick Selection Tool, and more. Under Barbara's intelligent tutelage, readers learn how to:
- Import, organize, and fix photos quickly and easily.
- Repair and restore old and damaged photos, and retouch any image.
- Jazz up their pictures with dozens of filters, frames, and special effects.
- Learn which tools the pros use — and finally understand how layers work!
- Create collages and photo layout pages for greeting cards and other projects.
- Get downloadable practice images and try new tricks right away.
Photoshop Elements 6: The Missing Manual progresses from simple to complex features. Those ready for the more sophisticated tools can easily jump around to learn specific techniques. As always, Barbara lets you know which Elements features work well, which don't, and why — all with a bit of wit and good humor. Adds Barbara: "Elements is wonderful software, but there's a lot going on there. I wanted to help people find their way around and to understand some of the great things they can do with the program."
Free Sample Chapter — Chapter 4: The Quick Fix
At the O'Reilly site you can find a great free sample chapter from the book — Chapter 4: The Quick Fix (PDF Format - 26 MB). From the intro:
With Elements’ Quick Fix tools, you can dramatically improve the appearance of a photo with just a click or two. The Quick Fix window gathers easy-to-use tools that help adjust the brightness and color of your photos and make them look sharper. You don’t even need to understand much about what you’re doing. You just need to click a button or slide a pointer, and then decide whether you like how it looks.
If, on the other hand, you do know what you’re doing, you may still find yourself using the Quick Fix window for things like shadows and highlights because the Quick Fix gives you a before-and-after view as you work. Also, the Temperature and Tint sliders can come in very handy for advanced color tweaking, like finessing the overall color of your otherwise finished photo. You even get two tools—the Selection brush and the Magic Selection brush—to help make changes to only a certain area of your photo.
In this chapter, you’ll learn how to use all of the Quick Fix tools. You’ll also learn about what order to apply the fixes so you get the most out of these tools. If you have a newish digital camera, you may find that Quick Fix gives you all the tools you need to take your photos from pretty darn good (the way they came out of the camera) to dazzling.
Buy Photoshop Elements 6: The Missing Manual at Amazon.com and save 34% off the cover price.
Total Training For Photoshop Elements 4
Styles And Effects
How to call up all kinds of special effects from the Styles and Effects palette.
How to use the different Frames and Image effects.
Spot Healing Brush Tool
What the Camera Raw format is.
How to use the Camera Raw Dialog Box to your advantage.
Adjust Hue/Saturation
How to unleash the full potential of the Hue/Saturation Dialog Box.
How to selectively shift the colors in an image down the color wheel.
Edit Camera Raw
What the Camera Raw format is.
How to use the Camera Raw Dialog Box to your advantage.
Healing Brush
Keyboard Shortcuts for brushes.
How to use the Healing Brush to fix minor and even major flaws in an image.
Print Preview
How to print an image.
How to use and understand the functionality of the Print Preview Dialog Box.
Quick Fix Color Cast
How to use the Auto Button in the Color Palette to correct an image with a color cast.
How to quickly compare your new image with the old version with just a click of a button
Rotate Image
How to use the tools provided in the Photo Browser.
How to rotate an image directly from the Photo Browser and have it apply to the image on disk.
Save For Web
How to use the Save For Web Dialog Box.
How to take a high resolution image, compress it, crop it and e-mail it to a friend.
Show File Name
How to change preferences in the Photoshop Elements Organizer.
How to reveal the actual names of the files along with the dates.
Here's the latest list of Photoshop Elements 4 video tutorials (and some version 3 tutorials) that are available at the Adobe Digital Kids Club site:
Photoshop Elements 4.0 Video Tutorials
Advanced skin tone adjustment
New ways to order prints online
New color management options
Adding photos to e-mails
Reducing noise and JPEG artifacts
Red eye correction
The Magic Extractor
Creating slide show extravaganzas
Magical selections
The new Straighten tool
New type options
Photoshop Elements 3.0 Video Tutorials
The Photo Browser and Organizer work space
Reducing Noise in high ISO pictures
Date View, Tags, and Collections
The Red Eye Removal tool
Smart Fix based corrections
Advanced tonal control with Shadows and Highlights
The revised Quick Fix editor
RAW file conversions
Cropping with the new Cookie Cutter Tool
The new Print Engine
The following Photoshop Elements 3 tutorials are from the Adobe site. These are for Windows only. Below you can find tutorials for the Mac version of Photoshop Elements 3.
Use Stacks To Group Similar Photos
The new stacks feature in Photoshop Elements helps you organize similar photos. By placing the best photo at the top of the stack, and less-than-perfect photos under it, your Photo Browser stays tidy.
Tell A Story With Your Photos In A Custom Slide Show
The Custom Slide Show feature of Photoshop Elements lets you create slide shows with music and narration to wow friends and family.
Creating A Scrapbook
Putting together a scrapbook has never been easier. Using the Creations Wizard in Photoshop Elements, you can lay out and customize your scrapbook pages with a few easy steps.
Putting Together A Picture Package
With the great new features of Picture Package in Photoshop Elements, you can print multiple photos on a single piece of paper. You can even add borders around the photos to customize the layouts.
Fixing Photos Taken On Camera Phones
Taking photos with a camera-enabled cell phone is a fun way to catch those memorable events. But because most phones have low-resolution cameras, the photos sometimes turn out grainy or have lighting problems. Using Photoshop Elements, you can smooth away problem areas and turn your photo into a work of art.
Printing Custom Labels
With Photoshop Elements, you can print your photos onto lables to personalize anything.
Share Images With Photo Mail
Sending an e-mail with a photo right in the body is a great way to brighten the day of a friend. Now, with Photoshop Elements, in just a few quick steps you'll have an e-mail ready to go!
The following Photoshop Elements 3 tutorials are from the Adobe site. These are for Mac only. Above you can find tutorials for the Windows version of Photoshop Elements 3.
Putting Together A Picture Package
Using Picture Package in Photoshop Elements, you can print multiple copies of one or more photos on a single piece of paper.
Fixing Photos Taken On Camera Phones
Taking photos with a camera-enabled cell phone is a fun way to catch those memorable events. But because most phones have low-resolution cameras, the photos sometimes turn out grainy or have lighting problems. Using Photoshop Elements, you can smooth away problem areas and turn your photo into a work of art.
The Adobe website has a special section called the Adobe Digital Kids Club that lists all kinds of great resources for kids who are into photography and who work with Photoshop Elements and Photoshop Album. Here are some of the highlights:
Training and Tutorials
Learn the basics of Adobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Photoshop Album software with free online product training. Photoshop Elements and Photoshop Album training includes:
