Adobe Photoshop Elements 7

Adobe Photoshop Elements 7

Released July 2009
Publisher(s): Focal Press
ISBN: 9781136099090

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Book description

'Introduction to Elements' is the essential all-round resource pack for all users of Adobe Photoshop Elements 7. Bestselling author Philip Andrews has refined this industry-standard resource over numerous editions, to bring you exactly the information you need to get right up to speed with the software, cut out wasted time in your workflow, and consistently achieve photographic results you can be proud of.
Philip approaches the subject of Photoshop Elements in a straightforward and accessible style. As a working photographer, he brings an in-depth understanding of the image-manipulation needs of photographers, and the best ways to meet them to his teaching. In the words of one reviewer: 'he comes across as a friend, who wants you to succeed'. His approach is always practical, with an emphasis on clarity. Step-by-step tutorials guide you through every essential Elements process, from image import right through to optimised output for print, web, and email, using a winning combination of inspiring images, clear screenshots and clean prose. Key subjects covered include: layers and selections, combining text with images, 'painting' tools, stiching, scrapbooking and file management. Additionally, the accompanying Website features over 2 hours of video tutorials to further boost your knowledge.
Completely overhauled for Elements 7, this resource is right up-to-date for photographers using the latest edition of this powerful software. Whatever your Elements level, you will find a wealth of invaluable advice in the pages of this book.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Foreword
  6. Introduction
  7. Acknowledgements
  8. 1 The Buzz of Digital Photography
    1. The beginning – the digital photograph
    2. Making the digital image
    3. Quality factors in a digital image
    4. The steps in the digital process
    5. Where does Photoshop Elements fit into the process?
    6. Photoshop Elements 7
  9. 2 Introducing Photoshop Elements 7
    1. Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 – new tools and features
    2. The Photoshop Elements 7 workflow
    3. The interface
      1. You control the look of Photoshop Elements 7
      2. New tools and features
      3. Revamped favorites
      4. Menus
      5. Tools
      6. Tool types
      7. Guided edits
      8. The Quick editor (previously Quick Fix editor)
      9. The Organizer workspace (Photo Browser or Date View)
      10. Photo Creations become Create and Share options
  10. 3 First Steps
    1. The Welcome screen
    2. Step 1: Getting your pictures into Elements
      1. Organizer: File > Get Photos and Videos > From Camera or Card Reader
      2. Organizer: File > Get Photos and Videos > From Scanner
      3. Ensuring enough pixels for the job
      4. Editor: Image > Divide Scanned Photos
      5. Organizer: File > Get Photos and Videos > From Files and Folders
      6. Organizer: File > Watch Folders
      7. Organizer: File > Get Photos and Videos > By Searching
      8. Other options for getting your photos into Elements
    3. Creating new documents
      1. Editor: File > New > Blank File
      2. Editor: File > New > Image from Clipboard
      3. Photomerge options
      4. Editor/Organizer: File > New > Photomerge Group Shot
      5. Editor/Organizer: File > New > Photomerge Faces
      6. Editor/Organizer: File > New > Photomerge Scene Cleaner
      7. Editor/Organizer: File > New > Photomerge Panorama
      8. Editor: File > Import > Frame From Video
    4. Step 2: Viewing your pictures
      1. Organizer: Display > View Photos in Full Screen
      2. First stop – View Photos in Full Screen
      3. Organizer: Display > Compare Photos Side by Side
      4. Comparing apples with apples
      5. Editor: View > Zoom In and Zoom Out
      6. Editor: Window > Navigator
    5. Step 3: Image rotating
    6. Step 4: Cropping and straightening
      1. Cropping
      2. Other rotation controls
    7. Step 5: Automatic corrections
      1. First some background
      2. Organizer: Fix panel > Auto options
      3. Version Sets
      4. Undo, Revert and Undo History
    8. Step 6: Printing
    9. Step 7: Saving
      1. Editor: File > Save
      2. Editor: File > Save As
      3. ‘The formats I use’
    10. Step 8: Organizing your pictures
      1. Keyword Tags
      2. Albums
      3. Smart Albums
      4. Stacks and Auto Stacks
    11. Step 9: Backing up your files
      1. Organizer: File > Backup Catalog to CD, DVD or Hard Drive
      2. Organizer: Edit > Preferences > Backup/Synchronization
  11. 4 Managing Your Files
    1. Organizing your photos with Photoshop Elements
      1. It starts in-camera
      2. And continues when downloading
      3. Advanced organization options with Adobe Photo Downloader
    2. Organizing and searching features
      1. Tagging your photos
      2. Creating new keyword tags
      3. Face Tagging technology
    3. Albums – the Elements way to group alike photos
      1. Adding photos to an Album
      2. Smart Albums
      3. Creating a new Smart Album
      4. Using Find to make Smart Albums
      5. Smart Albums via the new Search feature
      6. Converting Keyword Tags to Smart Albums
      7. Using Album Groups
    4. Locating files
      1. Finding tagged photos or those contained in an Album
      2. Find by details (metadata)
    5. Attaching a Map Reference
    6. Protecting your assets
      1. Making your first back up
      2. Multi-disk Back up
      3. Multi-session Back up
      4. Online Backup and Synchronization
      5. Back up regularly
      6. Store the duplicates securely
      7. Versioning your edits
      8. Versions and Photoshop Elements
      9. Elements’ photo stacks
      10. Auto stacking
  12. 5 Simple Image Changes
    1. Four levels of editing
    2. Setting up your screen for Elements
      1. Popularity can be a problem
      2. Before you start
    3. Brightness and contrast changes
      1. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Lighting > Brightness/Contrast
      2. Editor: Enhance > Auto Contrast
      3. Editor: Enhance > Auto Levels
      4. Editor: Enhance > Auto Smart Fix
      5. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Smart Fix
      6. The Quick Fix editor – ‘quick change central’
      7. Altering a few tones only
      8. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Lighting > Shadows/Highlights
    4. Dodge and Burn tools
    5. Color corrections
      1. Editor: Enhance > Auto Color Correction
      2. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Color > Remove Color Cast
      3. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Color > Color Variations
      4. The Red Eye Removal tool
      5. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Color > Adjust Color for Skin Tone
    6. Using filters and effects
      1. Editor: Filters menu
      2. Editor: Filter > Filter Gallery
      3. Editor: Window > Effects
      4. Editor: Filter > Blur > Motion Blur
      5. Editor: Filter > Sketch > Chalk & Charcoal
      6. Editor: Filter > Distort > Liquify
      7. Editor: Filter > Sketch > Graphic Pen
      8. Editor: Filter > Stylize > Emboss
      9. Third party filters
    7. The new Guided editing mode
    8. Automating editing tasks
    9. Multi-selection editing
    10. Getting help with Elements
      1. Hints
      2. Help
      3. On the spot help
  13. 6 Hands on Techniques
    1. Better digital capture
      1. So what is in a raw file?
    2. Processing with Photoshop Elements and Adobe Camera Raw (ACR)
      1. Opening
      2. Rotate, Crop and Straighten
      3. Adjusting white balance
      4. Tonal control
      5. Color strength adjustments
      6. Sharpness/Smoothness and Noise Reduction
      7. Output options
      8. Save, Open or Done
      9. Raw file queue
      10. Color depth or ‘What do you mean 8 bits per channel?’
    3. Manual tonal control
      1. Editor: Window > Histogram
      2. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Lighting > Levels
    4. Specialized color control
      1. Editor: Enhance > Auto Color Correction
      2. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Color > Adjust Hue/Saturation
      3. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Color > Color Variations
      4. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Color > Adjust Color Curves
      5. Sponge
      6. Editor: Filter > Adjustments > Posterize
      7. Editor: Filter > Adjustments > Invert
      8. Editor: Filter > Adjustments > Photo Filter
    5. High quality sharpening techniques
      1. Editor: Enhance > Auto Sharpen
      2. Editor: Enhance > Unsharp Mask
      3. Editor: Enhance > Adjust Sharpness
      4. Elements’ sharpening tools
    6. Retouching techniques
      1. Editor: Filter > Noise > Dust & Scratches
      2. Clone Stamp
      3. Spot Healing Brush
      4. Healing Brush tool
      5. Editor: Filter > Noise > Reduce Noise
    7. Adding texture to an image
      1. Editor: Filter > Noise > Add Noise
      2. Editor: Filter > Texture > Grain
      3. Editor: Filter > Texture > Texturizer
    8. Changing the size of your images
      1. Editor: Image > Resize > Image Size
      2. Editor: Image > Resize > Canvas Size
      3. Increasing the canvas size with the Crop tool
  14. 7 Using Selections and Layers
    1. Selection basics
      1. Drawing selection tools
      2. Drawing selection tool summaries
      3. Color selection tools
    2. Modifying drawn and color-based selections
      1. The Quick Selection tool (previously the Magic Selection Brush)
      2. The new Smart Brush tool
      3. Select > Refine Edge
      4. The Magic Extractor feature
    3. Selections in action Advanced dodging and burning
      1. Artificial depth of field
      2. Filtering a selection
      3. Selective saturation changes
      4. Paint on selective changes
    4. Layers and their origins
      1. The Layers palette
      2. Layer types
      3. Frame layers
      4. Layer transparency
      5. Layer blend modes
      6. Layer Styles
      7. Organizing layers
      8. Quick guide to Layer shortcuts
  15. 8 Combining Text with Your Images
    1. Paragraph text
    2. WYSIWYG font previews
    3. Creating simple type
    4. Creating paragraph text
    5. Basic text changes
    6. Creating and using type masks
    7. Reducing the ‘jaggies’
    8. Warping type
    9. Applying styles to type layers
    10. Other ways to add text
    11. Debunking some type terms
      1. Font size
      2. Font family and style
      3. Alignment and justification
      4. Leading
  16. 9 Using Elements’ Painting and Drawing Tools
    1. Cookie Cutter tool
    2. Painting tools
      1. Paint Brush
      2. The More Options palette
      3. Airbrush
      4. Pencil
      5. Paint Bucket
      6. Choosing my paint colors
      7. Painting tools summary
      8. The Impressionist Brush tool
      9. Color Replacement tool
      10. Erasing
      11. Smart erasing
    3. Better with a tablet
    4. Painting tools in action
      1. Hand coloring black and white photos
    5. Drawing tools
      1. Even more shapes
      2. Cookie Cutter tool
      3. Shapes and graphics in the new Effects palette
  17. 10 Creating Albums and Scrapbooks
    1. Five steps to creating an Elements Photo Book
      1. Step 1: Select the images to include
      2. Step 2: Create a title page
      3. Step 3: Adjusting the look of the book pages
      4. Step 4: Create the Photo Book
      5. Step 5: Save the Photo Book
    2. Edit an existing design
      1. Adjusting the frame and picture
    3. Adding, replacing and removing photos
    4. Adding, moving and deleting pages
    5. The Artwork panels
      1. Create > Artwork > Content
      2. Create > Artwork > Effects
      3. Create > Artwork > Favorites
      4. Bringing it all together
  18. 11 Photomerge Stitching
    1. Photomerge Group Shot
    2. Photomerge Faces
    3. Photomerge Panorama
    4. Photomerge Group Shot
    5. Photomerge Faces
    6. Photomerge Scene Cleaner
    7. Photomerge Panorama
    8. Taking images with Photomerge in mind
      1. Image overlap
      2. Keep the camera level
      3. Maintain focal length
      4. Pivot around the lens
      5. Maintain exposure
      6. Keep white balance consistent
      7. Watch the edges
    9. Producing your panorama
      1. New Photomerge Panorama stitching modes
      2. Editor: File > New > Photomerge Panorama
      3. Interactive Layout Step-by-Step
    10. Photomerge Panorama from the Photo Browser
      1. Photo Browser: File > New > Photomerge Panorama
    11. Photomerge Panorama in action
      1. Vertical stitches
      2. Document stitches
      3. Making panoramas that spin
    12. Fixing panorama problems
  19. 12 Your Images on the Web
    1. What is Photoshop Express and Photoshop.com?
    2. Images and the Net
      1. GIF
      2. JPEG
      3. JPEG 2000
      4. PNG
      5. Flash
    3. Getting the balance right
    4. Web compression formats side by side
    5. Making your own web gallery
    6. Online Gallery versus Online Album
      1. Multi-select pictures to include
      2. Gallery templates
      3. Going live
      4. Sharing alternatives for your Online Album
      5. Another approach to publishing to the web
      6. Photoshop.com is your new partner
    7. Sending images as email attachments
      1. E-mail Attachments
      2. Photo Mail
    8. Making simple web animations with Elements
      1. Traditional animation
      2. Animation – the Elements’ method
      3. Animation advice
      4. Flipbooks – a new way to animate
    9. Creating your own slide shows
      1. Creating slide shows
      2. Slide shows in action
    10. Editing the slide photos
  20. 13 Preparing Images for Printing
    1. Printing the Elements way
      1. Printing from the Organizer workspace
    2. The link between paper type and quality prints
    3. Making your first print
    4. Color Management in the Print Dialog
      1. Color Handling
      2. Printer Profile
      3. Rendering Intent
    5. Printing directly from Photoshop.com
    6. Making multiple prints
      1. Contact sheets
      2. Picture packages
      3. Picture labels
      4. Individual Prints
      5. Balancing image size and picture quality
      6. Getting to know your printer
      7. Typical printing problems and their solutions
    7. Web-Based Printing
      1. Making your first online prints
      2. Options for web printing
  21. 14 Photo Projects
    1. Photo projects
      1. Photo Projects Workflow
    2. Photo Book and Photo Collage
    3. Greeting Cards
    4. CD and DVD Jackets
    5. CD/DVD Labels
    6. Slide shows on your computer or TV
    7. Slide shows in PDF format
    8. VCD/DVD with Menu
    9. Archiving files direct to CD/DVD
    10. Online Album
    11. Flipbook
    12. Sharing photos as Email Attachments
    13. Sending images as a Photo Mail
    14. Sharing online
  22. 15 Theory into Practice
    1. The Project – ‘A Family History’
    2. 1. Capturing the source files
    3. 2. Importing, tagging and creating Albums
    4. 3. Crop, Straighten, Trim
    5. 4. Brightness, Contrast, Color
    6. 5. Removing backgrounds
    7. 6. Restore and retouch
    8. 7. Convert to gray and tint
    9. 8. Creating a Photo Book
    10. 9. Add extra elements and fine-tune
    11. 10. Output to print
  23. Appendices
  24. Index
  25. On the Website

Product information

  • Title: Adobe Photoshop Elements 7
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: July 2009
  • Publisher(s): Focal Press
  • ISBN: 9781136099090