Mastering Adobe Photoshop Elements 2021 - Third Edition

Book description

Leverage this well-illustrated, easy-to-understand end-to-end guide to become an accomplished photo editor, image retoucher, and creative artist

Key Features

  • Updated to the latest version of Photoshop Elements 2021 with focused coverage of Adobe's latest AI technology
  • Organize, search, and manage an ever-increasing number of images and videos using expert practices
  • Uncover common solutions to a wide range of photographic and image-editing problems

Book Description

Managing thousands of images while producing perfectly edited results is now a must-have skill for online bloggers, influencers, vloggers, social media users, and photography enthusiasts. Photoshop Elements helps you to manage this easily and boost your creative output.

This third edition is updated with Elements 2021's latest features and focuses on Adobe's AI-powered features along with the entire creative workflow. Each chapter is designed to help you get the most out of your image files in an easy way. You'll learn how to add significant visual improvements to your work using no more than a few one-click edits with AI-driven features and manual adjustments. The book is filled with useful instructions to guide you seamlessly through the often complex processes, tools, and features in Photoshop Elements. Finally, you'll cover everything from developing your organizational skills through to creating remarkable special effects, complex text, image combinations, and eye-popping visual techniques using both AI-driven features as well as manually operated tools.

By the end of this Photoshop Elements book, you'll have learned how to leverage the impressive tools available in Photoshop Elements 2021, and use them to greatly improve your photo editing and image retouching skills.

What you will learn

  • Identify the five parts of Elements and set up your computer, camera, and monitor
  • Import, organize, and keep track of your imported media library
  • Develop advanced image retouching skills
  • Discover how to add text and graphics to photographs
  • Cultivate your understanding of multi-image, multi-layered editing techniques
  • Develop illustrative skills with the many drawing tools available in Elements 2021
  • Prepare images and projects for uploading to social media, print, and video
  • Find out how to troubleshoot your work when things don't come out the way you hoped they would

Who this book is for

This book is for creative and enthusiastic photographers, who have elementary experience in photo editing. If you are looking to organize your picture collection, have simple yet effective edits, and take control of post-processing requirements, you'll find this book useful.

Table of contents

  1. Mastering Adobe Photoshop Elements 2021
  2. Third Edition
  3. Why subscribe?
  4. Contributors
  5. About the author
  6. About the reviewers
  7. Packt is searching for authors like you
  8. Preface
    1. Who this book is for
    2. What this book covers
    3. To get the most out of this book
    4. Download the sample practice files
    5. Download the color images
    6. Conventions used
    7. Get in touch
    8. Reviews
  9. Chapter 1 Photoshop Elements Features Overview
    1. What's New in Photoshop Elements 2021?
    2. How Elements is designed to work
    3. A typical workflow example
    4. How I edit images
    5. The five faces of Adobe Photoshop Elements 2021
    6. The Home screen
    7. The Organizer
    8. The catalog
    9. Photo Editor: the Quick edit mode
    10. Photo Editor: the Guided edit mode
    11. Photo Editor: the Expert edit mode
    12. Working with panels and the Panel Bin
    13. Panel Functions
    14. The Create and Share menus
      1. Enhance menu
    15. Working with video and Premiere Elements
    16. Summary
  10. Chapter 2 Setting Up Photoshop Elements from Scratch
    1. Setting up a photo editing computer
    2. Importing media into the Elements Organizer
    3. Reviewing the media
    4. Media backup
    5. Star rating photos
    6. Searching for pictures using Metadata
    7. Organizing your work – Keyword Tags
    8. Organizing your work – Places
    9. Organizing your work – Events
    10. Organizing your work – People
    11. File formats: JPEG and RAW
    12. File format characteristics
    13. Managing catalogs
    14. Color spaces
    15. Color management options
    16. Screen and printer calibration
    17. Organizer keyboard shortcuts
    18. Summary
  11. Chapter 3 The Basics of Image Editing
    1. The editing workflow and best practices
    2. Overview: editing RAW files
    3. In Detail: the Edit Basic tab
    4. In Detail: Edit Detail (sharpening)
    5. In Detail: Noise reduction
    6. Other features
    7. 10 ways to open a photo for editing
    8. Understanding picture resolution
    9. Cropping for better composition
    10. Resampling
    11. The Straighten tool
    12. Instant photo-fixing in the Organizer
    13. Saving Files
    14. Version sets
    15. File Formats
    16. Using Auto Correction tools
    17. Mastering contrast with Levels
    18. Shadow/Highlights
    19. Adjusting color using Hue/Saturation
    20. Smooth Skin
    21. Simple retouching – spot removal
    22. Additional resources
    23. Summary
  12. Chapter 4 Easy Creative Projects
    1. Simple visual effects: using Filters
    2. Colorize: AI-driven creativity
    3. Photomerge Panorama
    4. Making a multi-deck panorama
    5. Photomerge Scene Cleaner
    6. Photomerge Faces
    7. Slideshows
    8. Creating calendars
    9. Simple greeting cards
    10. Lomo Camera Effect
    11. Effects Collage
    12. Create menu features
    13. Summary
  13. Chapter 5 Advanced Techniques - Layers and Masking
    1. Introduction to Layers
    2. Other features on the Layer panel
    3. Layer opacity
    4. Merging layers
    5. Adjustment Layers
    6. Adjustment Layer Masking
    7. Layer masking
    8. Transformations: Pictures in a Picture
    9. Smart Objects
    10. Transformations: Correcting perspective
    11. Blend Modes
    12. Keyboard shortcuts
    13. Summary
  14. Chapter 6 Advanced Techniques: Retouching, Selections, and Text
    1. Retouching: Spot Healing Brush and Clone Stamp Tools
    2. The Smooth Skin feature
    3. The Object Removal tool
    4. Retouching: the Burn, Dodge, and Sponge Tools
    5. Blur, Sharpen, and Smudge brushes
    6. Simple selections: Subject Selection
    7. Advanced Selections: Selection Modifiers
    8. Saving a selection
    9. Feathering selections
    10. The Refine Selection Brush tool
    11. The Refine Edge tool
    12. Advanced selections: the Marquee and Lasso tools
    13. Advanced selections: the Magic Wand tool
    14. The Quick Selection tool
    15. The Selection Brush tool
    16. The Auto Selection tool
    17. Adding text basics
    18. Adding text with the Type Tool
    19. Text styles and special effects
      1. Custom fonts
    20. Keyboard shortcuts
    21. Summary
  15. Chapter 7 Additional Tools and Features
    1. Image Modes
    2. Adjust Color Curves
    3. Eraser tools
    4. Smart Brush
    5. The Paint Bucket tool
    6. Gradient tool
    7. The Haze Removal tool
    8. The Content-aware Move tool
    9. Recompose tool
    10. Move & Scale Object
    11. Moving Photos
    12. Quote Graphic
    13. Convert to Black and White
    14. Duotone Effect
    15. B&W Color Pop
    16. Old Fashioned Photo
    17. Perfect Landscape
    18. Perfect Portrait
    19. Adjust Facial Features
    20. Adjust Facial Features: Face Tilt
    21. Open Closed Eyes
    22. Using plugins
    23. Keyboard shortcuts
    24. Summary
  16. Chapter 8 Advanced Drawing and Painting Techniques
    1. The View menu
    2. Controlling Brush behaviour
    3. Brush and Pencil tools
    4. Color Replacement brush
    5. Basic drawing techniques
    6. Working with graphic elements
    7. Text graphics
      1. The Cookie Cutter tool
    8. Impressionist Brush
    9. Custom brushes
    10. Adobe vectors
    11. Custom vector illustrations
    12. Using a graphics tablet
    13. Keyboard shortcuts
    14. Summary
  17. Chapter 9 Exporting the Finished Work
    1. Online – web and blogging
    2. Facebook
    3. Instagram
    4. Flickr
    5. Print resolution
    6. Local printing
    7. Page Setup
    8. Save for Web
    9. Unsharp Mask
    10. The Shake Reduction tool
    11. High Pass sharpening
    12. General sharpen filters
    13. Export as New Files
    14. Process Multiple Files
    15. Keyboard shortcuts
    16. Summary
  18. Chapter 10 Troubleshooting
    1. File saving issues
    2. Finding lost or disconnected files
    3. Using the Find menu
    4. Adjusting dates for different time zones
    5. Reinstating your catalog
    6. Resolution issues: adding pixels
    7. Adjust Color for Skin Tone
    8. Remove Color Cast
    9. The Liquify filter
    10. Using the Help Menu
    11. Summary
  19. Chapter 11 Feature Appendix
    1. Home Screen
    2. Organizer – Import
    3. Organizer – its five view spaces
    4. Quick Edit mode: Tool bar
    5. Quick Edit: Adjustments
    6. Guided Edit mode
      1. Basics
      2. Color
      3. Black and White
      4. Fun Edits
      5. Special Edits
      6. Photomerge
    7. Expert Edit mode: Tool bar
      1. VIEW tools
      2. SELECT tools
      3. ENHANCE tools
      4. DRAW tools
      5. MODIFY tools
      6. COLOR Picker
    8. Drop-down menus
    9. File menu
    10. Edit menu
    11. Image menu
    12. Enhance menu
    13. Layer menu
    14. Select menu
    15. Filter menu
    16. View menu
    17. Window menu
    18. Help menu
    19. The Panels (Quick and Expert Edit Modes)
      1. Layers panel
      2. Effects panel
      3. Filters panel
      4. Styles panel
      5. Graphics panel
      6. Actions panel
      7. Color swatches
    20. More tabs
      1. Histogram panel
      2. History panel
      3. Favorites panel
      4. Navigator panel
      5. Info panel
    21. Create Menu
      1. Slideshow
      2. Photo Collage
      3. Photo Prints
      4. Quote Graphic
      5. Photo Book
      6. Greeting Card
      7. Photo Calendar
      8. Instant Movie
      9. Video Story
      10. Video Collage
      11. DVD with Menu, CD Jacket, DVD Jacket, and CD/DVD label
    22. Share menu
      1. Email
      2. Twitter
      3. Flickr
      4. Vimeo and YouTube
      5. Burn Video DVD
      6. PDF Slideshow
    23. Glossary
  20. Other Books You May Enjoy
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Product information

  • Title: Mastering Adobe Photoshop Elements 2021 - Third Edition
  • Author(s): Robin Nichols
  • Release date: December 2020
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781800566996