Learn how to use the powerful digital image editing features to create, organize, and manage digital images
* Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 is the best-selling consumer-level digital imaging software on the market
* Kate Binder has authored many successful Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, and digital photography books
* Easy to follow, task-based format in the popular Sams Teach Yourself series
Table of Contents
Introduction
1
Part I: Working with Elements
Hour 1: Welcome to Photoshop Elements
5
Getting Help..... 6
Don't Know Much About History?... 9
Summary..... 10
Q&A...... 11
Workshop..... 11
Hour 2: A Tour of the Desktop
13
Using the Organizer and the Editor.. 13
Finding Your Way Around the Organizer.. 17
Finding Your Way Around the Editor.. 23
Setting Preferences.... 36
Summary..... 36
Q&A...... 37
Workshop..... 37
Hour 3: Creating and Saving Image Files
39
Creating a New Image File... 39
Opening an Existing File... 42
Adjusting Resolution.... 45
Saving Your Work.... 48
Undoing and Redoing.... 59
Summary..... 60
Q&A...... 60
Workshop..... 61
Hour 4: Importing Photos from Cameras and Scanners
63
Importing Images from a Camera or Cell Phone. 63
Importing Still Frame Captures... 68
Using a Scanner.... 69
Changing Image and Canvas Sizes.. 73
Summary..... 76
Q&A...... 76
Workshop..... 76
Hour 5: Organizing Your Photos
79
Creating Stacks.... 79
Creating Albums.... 82
Using Keywords.... 88
Face Tagging..... 90
Rating Your Pictures.... 91
Summary..... 92
Q&A...... 93
Workshop..... 93
Hour 6: Making Quick Fixes
97
When Is Quick Fix the Right Tool?.. 97
General Fixes..... 99
Lighting..... 100
Color..... 103
Sharpen..... 106
Summary..... 107
Q&A..... 108
Workshop..... 108
Hour 7: Making Selections and Using Layers
111
Using the Selection Tools... 111
Modifying Selections.... 118
Working with Layers.... 125
Summary..... 132
Q&A..... 132
Workshop..... 133
Hour 8: Adding Type
135
Using the Type Tools.... 135
Applying Special Effects to Type.. 142
Summary..... 147
Q&A..... 147
Workshop..... 148
Hour 9: Printing Your Pictures
149
Understanding Color Systems... 149
Choosing a Printer.... 151
Printing the Page.... 154
Summary..... 163
Q&A..... 163
Workshop..... 163
Hour 10: Sharing Your Pictures Online
165
Web Image Basics.... 166
Ways to Share Photos Online... 168
DIY Web Design 101.... 179
Summary..... 187
Q&A..... 187
Workshop..... 188
Part II: Simple Corrections
Hour 11: Composing and Cropping Your Pictures
193
Cropping Images.... 193
Rotating Images.... 198
Summary..... 202
Q&A..... 202
Workshop..... 203
Hour 12: Straightening, Skewing, and Distorting an Image 205
Transforming Images.... 205
Fixing Distorted Images... 213
Summary..... 215
Q&A..... 216
Workshop..... 216
Hour 13: Removing Red Eye, Dust, and Scratches
219
Making Basic Cleanups... 219
Fixing Red Eye.... 226
Removing Dust and Scratches... 229
Smoothing Out JPEG Artifacts and Noise. 233
Summary..... 235
Q&A..... 235
Workshop..... 235
Hour 14: Adjusting Brightness, Contrast, and Color
239
Using the Automatic Correction Tools.. 240
Adjusting Color Manually... 243
Adjusting Lighting Manually... 257
Summary..... 263
Q&A..... 264
Workshop..... 264
Hour 15: Using Guided Edit
267
A Word of Warning.... 267
Basic Photo Edits.... 268
Lighting and Exposure... 270
Color Correction.... 272
Guided Activities.... 274
Photomerge..... 275
Summary..... 275
Q&A..... 276
Workshop..... 276
Part III: Photo Rescue
Hour 16: Repairing Black-and-White Pictures
281
Easy Fixes..... 282
Repairing Serious Damage... 290
Finishing Touches.... 297
Summary..... 301
Q&A..... 301
Workshop..... 301
Hour 17: Making Color Repairs
303
When the Color Is the Problem.. 304
Image Correction Tools... 309
Making Repairs When Nothing Is Really Wrong. 313
Hand-Coloring a Black-and-White Photo. 315
Summary..... 316
Q&A..... 317
Workshop..... 317
Hour 18: Removing and Replacing Objects
319
Drag-and-Drop Copying... 319
Removing a Person.... 324
Using Photomerge Group Shot... 327
Using PhotoMerge Faces... 330
Summary..... 333
Q&A..... 333
Workshop..... 333
Hour 19: Using the Improvement Filters
337
Working with Filters.... 337
Adding or Removing Noise... 339
Using the Blur Filters.... 344
Using the Render Filters... 350
Adding Texture.... 360
Adjusting the Effect of Filters... 365
Summary..... 366
Q&A..... 367
Workshop..... 367
Part IV: Going Creative
Hour 20: Using the Artistic Filters
371
Using the Watercolor Filters... 372
Simulating Oil Painting... 374
Working with Pastels, Chalk, Charcoal, and Pen. 377
More Painterly Effects... 381
Summary..... 384
Q&A..... 384
Workshop..... 385
Hour 21: Creating Art from Scratch
387
Choosing Colors.... 387
Using the Shape Tools... 392
Using the Brush Tool.... 398
Using the Pencil Tool.... 405
Using the Eraser Tools... 406
Summary..... 410
Q&A..... 410
Workshop..... 411
Hour 22: Making Composite Images
413
Working with Lighting and Scale.. 413
Using Layer Styles to Create Composites. 415
Using Adjustment Layers to Fix Image Problems. 418
Understanding Blending Modes... 425
Applying Photo Effects and Adding Content. 431
Summary..... 433
Q&A..... 434
Workshop..... 434
Hour 23: Going Wild with Your Images
437
Liquifying an Image.... 437
Twisting Colors.... 440
Using Weird Effects.... 447
Summary..... 452
Q&A..... 452
Workshop..... 452
Hour 24: Creating Photo Projects
455
Books..... 455
Calendars..... 457
Photo Collages.... 458
Prints and Stamps.... 460
Disc Jackets and Labels... 461
Cards..... 463
Summary..... 464
Q&A..... 464
Workshop..... 465
TOC, 0672330172, 4/21/08
About the Authors
Kate Binder has mastered Photoshop and several other graphics programs over the past 20 years, and is starting to feel quite old. She still enjoys tinkering with photos and does so at every opportunity. (It's much more entertaining than doing actual work.) When she can be found working, Kate is most likely to be doing magazine or book production, creating ebooks for major publishers, or writing books like this one. Books Kate has written or cowritten include Easy Mac OS X Leopard (Que, 2007, ISBN 9780789737717), Sams Teach Yourself Adobe Photoshop CS3 in 24 Hours (Sams, 2007, ISBN 9780672329357), Easy Adobe Photoshop Elements 4 (Que, 2005, ISBN 9780789734679), Get Creative!: The Digital Photo Idea Book (McGraw-Hill, 2003, ISBN 9780072227215), SVG for Designers (McGraw-Hill, 2002, ISBN 9780072225297), Microsoft Office v. X for Mac Inside Out (Microsoft Press, 2002, ISBN 9780735616288), The Complete Idiot's Guide to Mac OS X (Alpha, 2001, ISBN 9780789725288), Photoshop 6 Cookbook (Silver Pixel Press, 2001, ISBN 9781883403836), PhotoImpact Solutions (Muska and Lipman Publishing, 2000, ISBN 9781929685127), and Sams Teach Yourself QuarkXPress 4 in 14 Days (Hayden Books, 1997, ISBN 9780756302771). Kate lives in an old house in New Hampshire with her husband, journalist Don Fluckinger, accompanied by assorted children, greyhounds, cats, and (she's pretty sure) a mouse under the dryer.
