Adobe Photoshop CS4 Studio Techniques

Adobe Photoshop CS4 Studio Techniques

by Ben Willmore, Dan Ablan
Released March 2009
Publisher(s): Adobe Press
ISBN: 9780321619457

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Book description

Adobe Photoshop CS4 Studio Techniques has been completely updated to cover the new features in CS4. In a friendly, easy-going style that's long on information and short on techno-babble, Photoshop Hall-of-Famer Ben Willmore and photographer Dan Ablan guide you through the concepts and features that will truly make a difference in how you use Photoshop every day. They'll take you from blindly following step-by-step instructions to an in-depth understanding of how Photoshop works, cutting through the fat to focus on what they consider to be Photoshop's essential features. This full-color book delivers the content in three easily digestible sections: Working Foundations, Production Essentials, and Creative Explorations. Streamlined for this new edition, the book will distill Photoshop's vast capabilities down to what you need to know for a full understanding of the program, while simultaneously focusing more directly on best practices for the photographer. Beginning with a quick "refresher course" on the working foundations of Photoshop, you'll move on to real-world production techniques. Finally, you'll get to fully explore Photoshop's creative potential by blending and enhancing images, creating collages, retouching photographs, colorizing, and working with filters and layer masks. By the time you finish this book, your creativity and efficiency levels will soar and you'll feel like you finally "get" Photoshop.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. About the Authors
  3. Thank You!
  4. Introduction
  5. Working Foundations
    1. Tools and Panels Primer
      1. Preparing Your Workspace
      2. Navigating Your Document
      3. Picking Colors
      4. Basic Editing Tools
      5. The Next Step
    2. Selection Primer
      1. Using Adobe Bridge
      2. What Is a Selection?
      3. Basic Selection Tools
      4. Refining a Selection
      5. Using the Select Menu
      6. Quick Mask Mode
      7. The Next Step
  6. Production Essentials
    1. Layers and Curves
      1. How Do Layers Work?
      2. Meet the Layers
      3. The Power of Curves
      4. Taking Curves for a Test Drive
      5. The Histogram Panel
      6. Shadows/Highlights
      7. The Next Step
    2. Using Camera Raw 5.0
      1. What Is Raw Format?
      2. The Camera Raw 5.0 Dialog
      3. Adjusting Multiple Images
      4. Finishing Touches
      5. The Next Step
    3. Adjustment Layers
      1. Adjusting Methods
      2. Adjustment Layer Features
      3. Limiting Adjustments
      4. Histograms and Automatic Adjustments
      5. Potential Problems
      6. Limitations of Adjustment Layers
      7. Final Notes on the Adjustments Panel
      8. The Next Step
    4. Sharpening
      1. Removing Film Grain and Scanner/Camera Noise
      2. How Sharpening Works
      3. Tricks of the Trade
      4. The Next Step
  7. Grayscale, Color, and Print
    1. Setting Up Images for Final Output
      1. Brightness and Contrast
      2. Adjusting Levels
      3. Prepping for Print
      4. Working with Color
      5. The Next Step
    2. Color Manipulation
      1. At the Core Is the Color Wheel
      2. Hue/Saturation Changes
      3. Color/Grayscale Conversions
      4. Replacing Color
      5. Variations
      6. Color Balance
      7. Levels/Curves and Color
      8. Selective Color
      9. Match Color
      10. Red Eye Tool
      11. Color Replacement Tool
      12. Channel Mixer
      13. Gradient Map
      14. The Next Step
  8. Creative Techniques
    1. Enhancements and Masking
      1. Blending Modes
      2. Choosing the Right Masking Tool
      3. The Background Eraser
      4. The Blending Sliders
      5. Channels
      6. Creating Paths with the Pen Tool
      7. Layer Masks
      8. The Next Step
    2. Collage Effects
      1. Familiar Techniques
      2. Cool Borders and Photo Frames
      3. Creating a Panoramic Image with Photomerge
      4. Vector Masks
      5. Working with Smart Objects
      6. Warping Images
      7. Creating Complex Collages
      8. The Next Step
    3. Retouching Techniques
      1. Patch Tool
      2. Healing Brush
      3. Spot Healing Brush
      4. Clone Stamp
      5. Vanishing Point
      6. Dodge and Burn Tools
      7. Sponge Tool
      8. Blurring and Sharpening
      9. Lens Correction Filter
      10. Liquify Filter
      11. Content-Aware Scaling
      12. The Next Step
  9. Index

Product information

  • Title: Adobe Photoshop CS4 Studio Techniques
  • Author(s): Ben Willmore, Dan Ablan
  • Release date: March 2009
  • Publisher(s): Adobe Press
  • ISBN: 9780321619457