GREGORY GEORGES
Step-by-Step Techniques to Tweak, Embellish, and Transform Photos
Photoshop 7 FundamentalsCorrecting, Enhancing, and Restoring Digital PhotosWorking in Black and WhiteCreative ExperimentationCombining Photos in Montages, Collages, and CompsitesFine Art TechniquesUsing Plug-ins to Add Impact to Your PhotosMaking Photographic PrintsCreating an Online Photo Gallery
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| 50 Fast Photoshop 7 Techniques |
Gregory Georges has been an active photographer for more than 25 years. He has had a long-lasting passion for photography as an art form and enjoys capturing fun and important events. His favorite photographic subjects include flowers, wildlife, sporting events, old buildings, and birds. Gregory has been a longtime user of computers both personally and professionally ever since his first computer class in 1969 and now uses an entirely digital workflow for his photography — from initial image capture, to image editing, and digital printing.
He is the author of 50 Fast Digital Photo Techniques, and Digital Camera Solutions; both are best-selling books on digital cameras and digital image editing. He is a contributing writer for Shutterbug and eDigital Photo magazines, and he provides photographs to a growing list of Web sites and commercial clients. His Web site, www.reallyusefulpage.com is a really useful page for learning more about how to get the most from new digital technologies.
Preface
If you are serious about digital photography; either as a passionate amateur, money-earning
professional photographer or artist, or anywhere in between, and you want to edit
your photos digitally with Photoshop 7—this book is for you! It is for you regardless of
your experience level with Photoshop 7 or other versions.
Without a doubt, the more you know about Photoshop 7 or an earlier version of
Photoshop, the easier these techniques will be to complete. But, if you are new to
Photoshop 7, you can complete all of the techniques in the book by carefully following
each of the steps and by reading the occasional detailed explanation. By the time you complete
all or even most of the 50 techniques, you will have acquired a considerable amount
of knowledge about Photoshop 7’s most important features and will be well on your way
to being able to competently edit your own digital photos.
The premise of this book is that the best way to learn how to use a complex software
application like Photoshop 7 is to just use it—to have successful results while working
with fun photos, which will make the learning process enjoyable. If the learning process is
truly enjoyable, time will fly by, and the hours of effort will result in success. Success will
result in more knowledge, which eventually will turn those who work hard to learn
Photoshop 7 into competent Photoshop 7 users.
In contrast to those who say Photoshop 7 is too complex for many potential users, I
claim inexperienced Photoshop users can create some outstanding results by learning how
to use just a few features extremely well. This book includes many techniques that will
help you to learn all about some of the more important features and how to use them
extremely well to do what you want to do.
Introduction
This book, with its 50 step-by-step techniques and 50 sets of “before” and “after” images,
has been written to provide you with the knowledge and skills that you need to use
Photoshop 7 to edit your own digital photographs. All the techniques are applicable to
images created with scanners or with digital cameras. They are for those just beginning to
learn more about working in the “new digital darkroom.” They are for those who have
worked in a traditional darkroom for many years and now want to work digitally as well as
for experienced Photoshop users who want to learn more about Photoshop 7 and the digital
photo techniques that can be found in this book.
ABOUT BOOT CAMPS AND CHAPTER 1
Many years ago, someone told me that all good things in life that are worth having;
require effort—having Photoshop 7 skills is one example of this axiom holding true.
Photoshop 7 skills don’t always come easy, and so you’ll have to work to get them; however,
the techniques and the photos you will find in this book should make it a relatively
painless process that you should enjoy.
In an effort to help you become successful with the last 44 techniques, the first six techniques
in the first chapter have been written as “boot camp” techniques. These techniques
will help to get you and your equipment ready to complete the remaining techniques. I
highly recommend that you complete all six of the techniques in Chapter 1 before trying
any of the other techniques. After you’ve completed Chapter 1, you may choose to do the
other techniques in any order that you want.
A FEW THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE BEGINNING THESE TECHNIQUES
Before jumping into the techniques, here are a few additional things to consider first.
Color management is important
If your monitor is not properly calibrated, you will likely not see the results that are
expected when you use the techniques and settings suggested in this book. Likewise, if you
have not properly set up your printer, your prints will not turn out to look like the image
viewed on your monitor or as intended. Completing Technique 5 and Technique 6 will
have you well on your way to working in a color-managed environment.
About the photos on the companion CD-ROM
Having ready-access to the digital photos on the CD-ROM will save you time and make
it easier to do each of the techniques. If you have room on your hard drive for these photos,
I recommend that you copy the entire “\ps7techniques” folder and sub-folders to your
hard drive. Any time that you copy files from a CD-ROM to a hard drive; the files will be
tagged with a Read Only attribute. This is not OK, if you want to keep those original files
for later use. However, if you want to save your work over those files, you will have to
remove the Save Only attribute. To do so in Windows, right-click on a folder or file to get a
pop-up menu. Select Properties to get the Properties dialog box, then uncheck the Read
Only attribute. You can change attributes for a single image or an entire folder of images
and/or folders all at once.
To fit all the photos that are needed for the fifty techniques on the Companion CD-ROM
along with a trial version of Photoshop 7, the “after” images have been saved as compressed
.jpg image files. To get the best possible prints or to view the best possible images
on your screen, you should complete each technique and use the completed images
instead of the .jpg versions of the “after” images found on the Companion CD-ROM.
Learn what you need to learn and ignore the rest
Photoshop is—big—way big! It can take years for professionals who work with it all
day long, every day, to become proficient with it—and then, there are still many features
that they do not know how to use or may not even be aware that they are there! If I had to
make a single recommendation about how to quickly learn to successfully use Photoshop
7, it would be to learn all about those few features that you need to use to get your work
done—and ignore the rest.
WHAT COMPUTER HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE WILL YOU NEED?
When it comes to digital image editing, the axiom “the more the better” applies. Digital
image editing is an activity that can consume lots of disk space, RAM, monitor pixels, and
computer processing-cycles. Fortunately, the computer industry has been good to us these
past few years as the cost of having power and storage to spare has dropped sharply.
Powerful computers with lots of RAM, enormous hard-drives, and quality monitors are
getting less and less expensive. At a minimum, you’ll need a computer that meets the
requirements specified by Adobe for use of Adobe Photoshop 7.
has been written to provide you with the knowledge and skills that you need to use
Photoshop 7 to edit your own digital photographs. All the techniques are applicable to
images created with scanners or with digital cameras. They are for those just beginning to
learn more about working in the “new digital darkroom.” They are for those who have
worked in a traditional darkroom for many years and now want to work digitally as well as
for experienced Photoshop users who want to learn more about Photoshop 7 and the digital
photo techniques that can be found in this book.
ABOUT BOOT CAMPS AND CHAPTER 1
Many years ago, someone told me that all good things in life that are worth having;
require effort—having Photoshop 7 skills is one example of this axiom holding true.
Photoshop 7 skills don’t always come easy, and so you’ll have to work to get them; however,
the techniques and the photos you will find in this book should make it a relatively
painless process that you should enjoy.
In an effort to help you become successful with the last 44 techniques, the first six techniques
in the first chapter have been written as “boot camp” techniques. These techniques
will help to get you and your equipment ready to complete the remaining techniques. I
highly recommend that you complete all six of the techniques in Chapter 1 before trying
any of the other techniques. After you’ve completed Chapter 1, you may choose to do the
other techniques in any order that you want.
A FEW THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE BEGINNING THESE TECHNIQUES
Before jumping into the techniques, here are a few additional things to consider first.
Color management is important
If your monitor is not properly calibrated, you will likely not see the results that are
expected when you use the techniques and settings suggested in this book. Likewise, if you
have not properly set up your printer, your prints will not turn out to look like the image
viewed on your monitor or as intended. Completing Technique 5 and Technique 6 will
have you well on your way to working in a color-managed environment.
About the photos on the companion CD-ROM
Having ready-access to the digital photos on the CD-ROM will save you time and make
it easier to do each of the techniques. If you have room on your hard drive for these photos,
I recommend that you copy the entire “\ps7techniques” folder and sub-folders to your
hard drive. Any time that you copy files from a CD-ROM to a hard drive; the files will be
tagged with a Read Only attribute. This is not OK, if you want to keep those original files
for later use. However, if you want to save your work over those files, you will have to
remove the Save Only attribute. To do so in Windows, right-click on a folder or file to get a
pop-up menu. Select Properties to get the Properties dialog box, then uncheck the Read
Only attribute. You can change attributes for a single image or an entire folder of images
and/or folders all at once.
To fit all the photos that are needed for the fifty techniques on the Companion CD-ROM
along with a trial version of Photoshop 7, the “after” images have been saved as compressed
.jpg image files. To get the best possible prints or to view the best possible images
on your screen, you should complete each technique and use the completed images
instead of the .jpg versions of the “after” images found on the Companion CD-ROM.
Learn what you need to learn and ignore the rest
Photoshop is—big—way big! It can take years for professionals who work with it all
day long, every day, to become proficient with it—and then, there are still many features
that they do not know how to use or may not even be aware that they are there! If I had to
make a single recommendation about how to quickly learn to successfully use Photoshop
7, it would be to learn all about those few features that you need to use to get your work
done—and ignore the rest.
WHAT COMPUTER HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE WILL YOU NEED?
When it comes to digital image editing, the axiom “the more the better” applies. Digital
image editing is an activity that can consume lots of disk space, RAM, monitor pixels, and
computer processing-cycles. Fortunately, the computer industry has been good to us these
past few years as the cost of having power and storage to spare has dropped sharply.
Powerful computers with lots of RAM, enormous hard-drives, and quality monitors are
getting less and less expensive. At a minimum, you’ll need a computer that meets the
requirements specified by Adobe for use of Adobe Photoshop 7.
If you use a computer that matches Adobe’s minimum requirements, you may find you’ll
enjoy doing the techniques in this book much more if you have 128MB or more of RAM,
and 500MB or more of available disk space. The cost of adding additional RAM or adding
an additional hard-drive can be relatively inexpensive in today’s competitive computer
marketplace.An 80-gigabyte hard-drive sells for under $130 and depending on the type of
RAM you need, you can buy 128MB of RAM for as little as $60. If you have a relatively
slow processor, adding additional RAM can significantly increase the processing speed and
help you to avoid the long waits that can occur when digitally editing images. If you spend
much time editing digital photos, you’ll find the investment in more RAM to be more than
worthwhile.
Besides having a fast computer with enough RAM and hard-drive space, a re-writeable
CD-ROM can be one of the most useful (and in my view essential) peripherals for those
doing digital image editing. A re-writeable CD-ROM allows you to easily back-up your
digital photos, to share them with others, and to make space on your hard-drive. Re-writeable
CD-ROM drives can be purchased for under $125. Remember that when you begin to
store your digital photo collection on your computer hard drive, it is possible to lose
everything if you were to have problems with your hard drive. If you value your digital
photos; you need to back them up on to a removable storage device of some type such as a
CD-ROM.
The monitor and graphics card you use is also very important to successful and enjoyable
image editing. If you primarily work with images that are 1,600 x 1,200 pixels or
smaller, you may find it acceptable (or possibly not) to work on a 14” or 15” monitor with
800 x 600 pixels. If you are working on larger images, you’ll find that a 17” or larger monitor
with at least a 1,024 x 768 pixel workspace to be far more useful.While there are larger
monitors than 19” monitors, I have been extremely happy with the 19” monitor that I use.
It is big, but not too big, and that is good, as I still have some desk space left. You can also
buy graphics boards and use too monitors at once, which is becoming increasingly common.
Having two monitors lets you put your images on one screen and all the palettes on
the other screen.
For those of you that might want to ask the question: Is it better to use a PC or a MAC?
My answer is: The computer that you have or know how to use is the better one.Without a
doubt, there are differences between the two platforms, but there aren’t any clear-cut reasons
why the PC or the MAC is better at doing digital image editing. Therefore, have it
your way and enjoy using the computer that you will be most comfortable and successful
using—that will be the best one for your digital image editing.
NOTES TO MAC USERS
The great news for MAC users is that Adobe has historically offered both PC and MAC
versions of all their products. The differences between the PC and MAC version of
Photoshop 7 is minimal. The MAC screen-shots will look slightly different from the PC
screen-shots shown in this book. Also, the two often-used keys, Alt and Ctrl on a PC’s keyboard
are known as the Cmd and Options keys on the MAC keyboard. Otherwise, there
are only a few significant differences (color management options being one of them) you
need to be concerned about. In short, this book is equally useful to PC and MAC users.
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Product details
Price
|
|
|---|---|
File Size
| 32,307 KB |
Pages
|
369 p |
File Type
|
PDF format |
ISBN
| 0-7645-3672-9 |
Copyright
| 2002 by Wiley Publishing, Inc |
Table of Contents
Step 1: Open file 3
Step 2: Choose screen resolution and
color quality settings 4
Step 3: Check for and install updates 5
Step 4: Restore preferences to their default
settings 5
Step 5: Set preferences 6
Step 6: Reset tools and palettes 10
Step 7: Organize and control your palettes 10
Step 8: Personalize your workspace 12
Step 9: Select status bar type 14
Step 1: Open files 16
Step 2: Size Photoshop application window 16
Step 3: Size document windows 16
Step 4: Change image zoom 16
Step 5: Organize document windows 17
Step 6:Viewing just want you want to view 18
Step 7: Displaying multiple views of the
same image 18
Step 8:Maximizing viewable working space 19
Step 9: Jumping between Photoshop and
ImageReady 20
Step 10: Close document windows 20
Step 1: Using a pre-defined Action 22
Step 2: Creating your own Action 22
Step 3: Doing things in Batches 26
Step 4: Saving an Action as a Droplet 28
Step 1: Open file 32
Step 2: Create new layers 32
Step 3: Edit background layer 33
Step 4: Using Undo and Step
Backward/Forward 34
Step 5: Using the History palette 34
Step 6: Complete editing of background image 35
Step 7: Edit ornament layer 36
Step 8: Creating Snapshots 37
Step 9: Using the History Brush tool 38
Step 10: Using Adjustment layers 40
Step 11: Using Revert 41
Step 1: Getting ready to calibrate your
monitor 44
Step 2: Open file 44
Step 3: Launch Adobe Gamma 45
Step 4: Name new profile name 45
Step 5: Adjust monitor’s contrast
and brightness 45
Step 6: Select phosphor type 46
Step 7: Adjust RGB Gamma 46
Step 8: Select hardware white point 47
Step 9: Choose adjusted white point 47
Step 10: Compare before and after results 48
Step 11: Save new profile 48
Step 1: Open sample file 51
Step 2: Open Color Settings dialog box 51
Step 3: Save Color Settings 53
Step 1: Load Action set 58
Step 2: Open file 58
Step 3: Run 640 × 640 Web images action 58
Step 4: Straighten image 59
Step 5: Crop image 60
Step 6: Correct tonal levels and adjust colors 60
Step 7: Size image 62
Step 8: Sharpen image 62
Step 9: Add metadata 62
Step 10: Add copyright information to image 63
Step 11: Flatten image and save file 63
Step 1: Open file 66
Step 2: Perform quick assessment of image 66
Step 3: Find darkest and lightest points 67
Step 4: Increase tonal range 70
Step 5: Increase contrast in dark feathers 71
Step 6: Paint layer mask 72
Step 7: Adjust colors 73
Step 8:Make final adjustments 73
Step 1: Open file 76
Step 2: Improve tonal range 76
Step 3: Select yellow and orange leaves 77
Step 4: Darken image and increase
color saturation 78
Step 5: Adjust colors of leaves 80
Step 6: Adjust background colors 80
Step 1: Straighten and crop image 84
Step 2: Repair long vertical fold line 85
Step 3: Replace the torn corner 85
Step 4: Use Clone Stamp tool to fix beard and
fold in coat 85
Step 5: Remove red ink spots 85
Step 6: Remove all the spots and perforations
on the image 86
Step 7:Minimize staining 86
Step 8:Make final tonal adjustments 87
Step 1: Open file 90
Step 2: Check each channel for noise 91
Step 3: Create new layer for the owl 93
Step 4: Blur Background layer 93
Step 5: Paint layer mask to reveal background 93
Using Unsharp Mask on the entire image 96
Step 1: Open file 96
Step 2: Duplicate layer 96
Step 3: Set up image view 97
Step 4: Apply Unsharp Mask 97
Sharpening individual channels 99
Step 1: Open file and duplicate layer 99
Step 2: Examine the red, blue, and
green channels 99
Step 3: Apply Unsharp Mask 100
Using filters to select edges only, and then sharpen
only the edges 101
Step 1: Open file and duplicate layer 101
Step 2: Copy actions into Photoshop folder 101
Step 3: Load actions 101
Step 4: Run action 102
Step 1: Open file 106
Step 2:View, add, and edit metadata by using
File Info 106
Step 3:Viewing information by using the File
Browser 108
Step 4: Adding notes and audio annotations 109
Step 5: Using the Save As and Save
commands 109
Step 6: Saving a file in a PDF document 109
Step 1: Open file 114
Step 2: Convert to Lab Color 114
Step 3: Convert to grayscale 114
Step 1: Open file 115
Step 2: Examine each channel 115
Step 3: Use Channel Mixer to mix channels 117
Step 1: Open file 119
Step 2: Duplicate layer 120
Step 3: Adjust shadowed foreground 120
Step 4: Adjust snowy peaks and sky 123
Step 5: Darken sky 124
Step 1: Open file 126
Step 2: Reduce image size and save file 126
Step 3: Increase contrast in the water part
of the image 126
Step 4: Increase contrast in tree area 127
Step 5: Lighten the birch trees 127
Step 6: Increase image size and apply masks
to original image 128
Step 1: Open file 132
Step 2: Select lightest parts of the image by value 132
Step 3: Reduce selection to just the Cottonwood tree 133
Step 1: Open file 136
Step 2: Create blur-layer 136
Step 3: Create mask layer to focus attention
on the boy 136
Step 4: Darken right side of image 138
Step 5: Change Hue/Saturation 138
Step 6: Create final curves adjustment layer 139
Step 1: Open file 144
Step 2: Lighten image 144
Step 3: Create layers for each color and paint colors 144
Step 1: Open file 148
Step 2: Adjust levels 148
Step 3: Adjust Curves 148
Step 1: Open file 150
Step 2: Create digital texture screen 150
Step 3: Apply digital screen texture effect 150
Step 4: Fine-tune effect 151
Step 1: Open file 154
Step 2: Create an adjustment layer and set blend mode 154
Step 3: Create graduated density mask 155
Step 4: Fine-tune mask 155
Step 1: Open file 158
Step 2: Correct sky 158
Step 3: Lighten green foliage 158
Step 4: Enhance the dynamic range 159
Step 5: Add glow 159
Step 1: Open file 162
Step 2: Convert to duotone 162
Step 1: Open file 167
Step 2: Duplicate layer 168
Step 3: Select Extract tool 168
Step 4: Draw around pelican 168
Step 5:View preview 169
Step 1: Open and scale background image 172
Step 2: Add image 172
Step 3: Use blend mode to unify color
and texture 172
Step 4: Position and size image 172
Step 5: Use “blend” technique 173
Step 6:Make adjustments to layers 174
Step 7: Flatten image and make a few
final adjustments 174
Step 1: Open files 178
Step 2: Combine both files into one image 178
Step 3: Create layer mask 178
Step 4: Paint on the Layer mask to reveal the lower layer 178
Step 5: Create adjustment layers and make final
adjustments to the image 180
Step 1: Create collage mask 184
Step 2: Insert digital photos 184
Step 3: Flatten image and save as a new file 185
Step 1: Open file 190
Step 2: Create mirrored tree 190
Step 3: Crop image 190
Step 4: Reduce the appearance of symmetry 191
Step 5: Change blue sky to a dark orange
sunset color 192
Step 6:Make final color and tonal changes 193
Step 1: Open file 196
Step 2: Soften image 196
Step 3: Darken the image 197
Step 4:Make final color and tone
adjustments 197
Find Edges filter approach to creating a line
drawing 200
Step 1: Open file and remove color 201
Step 2: Find edges and create lines 201
Step 3: Remove some lines and
make the rest black 201
Step 4: Clean up the drawing 201
Poster Edges filter approach to creating a line drawing 202
Step 1: Open file and remove color 202
Step 2: Adjust levels 202
Step 3: Find edges and create lines 202
Step 4: Reduce shades of grays and
some lines 202
Step 5: Remove some lines and make
the rest black 202
Smart Blur filter approach to creating a line drawing 203
Step 1: Open file and remove color 203
Step 2: Find edges and create lines 203
Step 3: Increase the width of the lines 204
Coloring the rough marker sketch 205
Step 1: Open files 206
Step 2: Create a painting layer 206
Step 3: Set up History Brush tool 207
Step 4: Begin painting 208
Step 1: Open file 212
Step 2: Duplicate layer 212
Step 3: Transform one layer into a watercolor
painting 212
Step 4: Transform second layer into a “pen and
ink” sketch 213
Step 5: Blend layers 214
Step 6:Make final color adjustments and add your
signature 215
Step 1: Open file 218
Step 2: Combine images 218
Step 3: Resize egret layer 218
Step 4: Crop image 220
Step 5:Mask egret 220
Step 6: Create new background layer 221
Step 7: Create sun 222
Step 8: Paint egret layer 224
Step 9: Flatten image and blend 224
Step 10:Make final image adjustments 224
Step 1: Open file 228
Step 2: Apply Cutout filter 228
Step 3: Use Quick Mask 229
Step 4: Blend layers 232
Step 5: Apply filter to just one channel 232
Step 1: Open file 238
Using Applied Science Fiction’s Digital SHO 240
Step 1: Open file 242
Step 1: Open file 244
Step 2: Run Grain Surgery plug-in 244
Step 1: Open file 248
Step 2: Run Convert to B&W Pro plug-in 248
Step 1: Open file 254
Step 2: Load buZZ.Pro 2.0 plug-in 254
Step 3:Make final adjustments 255
Step 1: Open file 258
Step 2: Load penTablet 1.0 258
Step 3: Convert to black and white 258
Step 4: Tone image 259
Step 5: Selective increase contrast 259
Step 6: Color lips 260
Special Effect 1:Mirror parts of an image 264
Special Effect 2: Enhance colors and add warmth 264
Special Effect 3: Create selective focus 266
Special Effect 4: Add realistic film grain or a
mezzotint pattern 267
Special Effect 5: Change selected colors 268
Special Effect 6: Creating edge effects and other
special effects 270
Step 1: Open file 276
Step 2: Add caption 276
Step 3: Run Print Preview 276
Step 4: Set page size and select printer 276
Step 5: Print page 277
Using Picture Package 277
Using Contact Sheet II 278
Step 1: Open file 281
Step 2: Increase image size with Image Size 281
Step 3: Sharpen image 282
Step 1: Download and install ColorLife Photo
Paper color profile 284
Step 2: Open file to print 284
Step 3: Size image 284
Step 4: Set correct printer settings 284
Step 1: Open file 288
Step 2: Crop and size image 288
Step 3: Sharpen image 288
Step 4: Save file and write to CD-ROM 288
Step 1: Collect the images you want to print in a folder 292
Step 2: Download and install Shutterfly’s
SmartUpload application 292
Step 3: Run SmartUpload 292
Step 1: Download Calypso’s Lightjet 5000 ICC
color profile 296
Step 2: Open file to be printed 296
Step 3: Crop and size image 297
Step 4: Sharpen image 297
Step 5: Convert profile to Calypso Lightjet 5000
color profile 298
Step 6: Save file and send or upload to Calypso 298
Step 1:View completed gallery 302
Step 2: Run Web Photo Gallery 303
Step 3: Select options 303
Step 4: Customizing the Web gallery 305
Step 1: Open files and combine them
into one file 308
Step 2: Send image to ImageReady 7 309
Step 3: Create animation 309
Step 4: Save and view animation file 311
Step 5: Return to Photoshop 7 312
Step 1: Open file 314
Step 2: Create slices 314
Step 3: Create link for each slice 315
Step 4: Save image and HTML code 316
Step 5:View image and test links 317
Join an online forum 323
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