Useful Information

Preferences in Photoshop

Checking how you want to set up your working space.  Go to Menu Bar and Edit, Preferences, General.  Keep pressing next to find the boxes you need to alter.  I set the Displays and Cursors to Brush Size and Precise, Units and Rulers to option you require, I like inches, Plug Ins and Scratch Disks, if you have a secondary hard disk space then set the second line to your second disk space, Memory and Image Cache, the maximum used by Photoshop is usually preset to 50% but this should be increased to say 85% to give you maximum memory usage whilst using Photoshop.  The extra 15% I save for using the printer.

Opening an image 

You can either double click on the Workspace (the grey area) or go to File (Menu Bar) and then Open which will open the menu box that has all your files.  In later versions of Photoshop there is a programme called Bridge. This is an excellent File Brower and ideal for opening your images. If you have RAW images then Bridge should open the Raw Converter for your images. However if you have a camera that is fairly new the Raw Converter may not open your RAW images.

Saving 

If you are working only with JPGs, after opening you will need to save the image in a different format and perhaps another filename so that you can keep the original and work on a new file.   Every time you work on a JPG the quality will deteriorate.  Therefore you must save as a Photoshop PSD File or as a TIFF.  By going to Menu Bar go to File, Save As and a menu box will open.  In the Format section click on the drop down box and make sure you click on Photoshop PSD or TIFF.  Save in a folder as required.  I prefer to do a Sub Folder within the Original Images and call this a Modified Folder which will then have any images you have worked on.  This means your original image is still safe in your original folder.

Save As, is usually the safest option, by using just Save you never know where the file is being saved.

Docking Palette

This will hold your History, Layers, Actions Palettes etc.  In Elements this is always there.  However in CS you cannot “Dock” the palettes if your computer resolution is not 1024 x 768.  If lower than this then the palettes will stay in full view on the workspace.  By clicking on a palette in the docking palette the menu box will drop down.  If you would like to have that particular menu box on view whilst working this can be dragged down into the workspace by clicking the mouse on to the title, holding in place and then drag into the workspace.  Can be put back in exactly the same way.

Image Size for Printing  

You will need to check your image size for printing.  On the Menu Bar go to Image, Image Size (Elements it is Image, Resize, Image Size).  For quality you must not tick the resample box, this must be unchecked.  If you resample, (which is fine for emailing), then you interpolate the pixels and quality is lost.  Obviously if you are doing a “manipulated/derivative” image then this will not matter.  There is a bracket joining the size and resolution together, so whatever box you alter then the others will alter accordingly.  Some cameras download 72dpi, some 180dpi and some 240 dpi.  So you should see either 72, 180 or 240 in the resolution space.  If you want to print an image say 11 x 7.3 which is roughly A4 then change either the width or height to one of this figures and the resolution with automatically change to a higher amount depending on your camera quality. Dpi only matters for printing. Do not worry about dpi when making images smaller for digitally projected images. More on resizing for projection in another section. See also Resizing. Back to index.

Moving Objects within an image

To move say a person to another place. Select the object/person, feather, copy and paste.  This will produce a new layer.  Click on Move Tool in Tool Box and move the object to another place. You will now need to clone out the area you have just copied and moved. Back to index.

Sharpening

You can either use the Unsharp Mask or Smart Sharpening – both have their uses. (Do not use Sharpen for sharpening images, this has a use in another section for sharpening images after that have been made smaller for digital projecting and emails. Back to index.

Sharpening use High Pass

• Duplicate Layer
• Filter, Other, High Pass.  Adjust slider to your requirements, trial and error.  Probably 4 for a large file size. You need to be able to see the edges through the grey, these are the edges that will be sharpened. Click OK
• Change Blending Mode in the Layer Palette to one of the "lights" – try soft light to start with.
• If you feel the sharpening is too much then reduce this layer's opacity.
• Alternatively you can selectively sharpen certain areas only by removing the areas not requiring sharpening by using a layer mask. See Layer Masks below.

Back to index.

Sharpening for Digital Projection and Email

This is the method described to me by Guy Edwards.

Decide on the end result size required; 1400 x 1050 as an example. Make you image exactly double this size by changing your image to 2800 x 2100. Go to Filter and Sharpen (not unsharp). Click on Sharpen, then go to the Filter again and click on Sharpen again, then go to the Filter and click on Sharpen again, i.e. 3 times. The image will look awful. Sometimes you only have to "Sharpen" twice.

You then reduce your image to the required size, i.e. 1400 x 1050, instantly the image looks OK. Save as required, I usually use the Save for Web settings making sure its profile is set to sRGB. However if you save as a TIFF (WCPF and other places require TIFF format rather than JPG) then you will have to save in the normal way.

Back to index.

Levels 

To alter the image if too dark or light.  The Docking Palette has a Layers Palette, click on this and down at the bottom there is a small circle that is black and white, which say it’s a Create New File or Adjustment Layer if you hold your mouse over the symbol.  Click on this and go to Levels.  A Levels box will open which can be dragged anywhere in your workspace by clicking on to the top and holding down the mouse then dragging.  The three sliders half way down will alter your histogram – the left hand slider is the shadows, middle slider is midtones and right hand slider is highlights.  Usually you will find your highlights are OK and only the midtones need to be altered.  Sliding the middle one to the left will lighten the midtones. Clicking on the Channel drop down box will show Red, Green and Blue.  This can also be altered as required.  Click OK.  You will now have a Level layer in your Layers Palette which can be accessed again by double clicking in the black & white circle.  You can make as many Adjustment Levels as required.  Clicking on the eye will switch on/off. Back to index

Resizing Images - in particular for Digitally Projected Images

If you are changing your image to suit the required 1400 x 1050 pixels this will not be possible if you have a letterbox image. You may have made your image a letterbox or altered in some other way, in this particular case just make the width 1400 pixels wide, the height will take care of itself, do not worry that the height is less than 1050 pixels.

One foolproof way to set the image size correctly is to use "Image Size" and watch both the width and height sizes before pressing the OK button. First, ensure that the "Resample Image" box is ticked as this allows you to set the image's pixel dimensions. Ignore all the information in the "Document Size" box as this has no bearing on what we are doing here.

The "Constrain Proportions" box should be ticked as we do not want to distort the image by changing one of its dimensions without changing the other in proportion.
As "Width" is the first box, change this to show 1400 (pixels). Before doing anything else, look at what is now in the "Height" box. If this is more than 1050, change it to be 1050. You should then see that the width has been reduced accordingly. 

As mentioned above, none of the information in the "Document Size" box is relevant here. In particular, you absolutely do not have to worry about the "Resolution" setting for Digitally Projected Images. The projector and software is interested only in the pixel dimensions.

One of the most common errors members are making when resizing vertical images is to make the width 1050 pixels instead of adjusting the height.  The height should not exceed 1050 pixels. Look at the height box when resizing for verticals.

My preferred method of saving images for email or competitions is to go to File > Save for Web & Devices > Save as a High or Maximum Jpg.  In CS2 and up your image will then be saved as an sRGB profiled image which is the preferred profile for viewing digitally.  Save into your appropriate folder.

Save for Web – Ideal for email images

You can use this method for saving Digital Images for competitions etc. Go to image, image size and change the pixels to a maximum of 1400 pixels if a landscape or change the height to a maximum of 1050 pixels.

• First of all I suggest you make a duplicate of your original so that you do not mess up all your hard work by going to Image, Duplicate.  Use this one to work on for your email image.
• Now go to Image, Image Size (in Elements its Image, Resize, Image Size) and make your image a suitable size, say 1400 by 1050.  You will need to tick the resample box.
• Go to File, Save for Web.  A Save for Web Screen will show.  You can Click on 2-up.   The left hand image is your original and the other one is optimized image.
• The Settings Box has a drop down menu, click on JPEG and High to start with.  Make sure the Optimized box is ticked.  The Progressive and ICC Profile are left unticked. (In Elements there is no Optimized Box to tick)
• There is a small arrow beside the Preset Box called Optimize Menu check the Convert to sRGB, is ticked . This is important as when projected in a competition or on the web the colours will be more accurate.
• You will now see the File Size and Time under each image plus the quality. 
• Change the Quality to High/Very High, Maximum.  (For digital projected competitions make it roughly 350K look at the bottom, you will see the size displayed) You can alter this by clicking on Maximum, Very High, High etc.
• Click OK  on the top right to save.  It will automatically save as a JPEG. Save this JPEG where required on your computer under name required. Perhaps a good idea to have a folder saying Email Images or Competition Images.
• You will find that the image left on the Photoshop screen is not the one you have just saved.  It should still be the duplicate, i.e. it should have the title with the word copy after it and psd.  You can therefore close down this image without saving as this was the duplicate image. Your original image will still be there so you can carry on working on it or just save.
• You now have two copies of the image on your computer.  One being the larger size in PSD or TIFF format  and the other JPEG (a much smaller one, not suitable for printing but ideal for emailing and digitally projecting).
• The important bit is to Resample and make image smaller so that it will not take ages to download. 
• To send as an email click on the Paper Clip bit, which will have the word Attach written under it, on your preferred programme, i.e. Outlook, Outlook Express, Microsoft Live.  A menu box will come up and let you find where you have saved your email pictures.  Find and click attach. Back to index.

Actions

• With your Image Open and on the layer you wish to work on
• Open the ACTIONS PALETTE (Window - Show Actions)
• Click on small arrow (top right) to open PALETTE OPTIONS MENU
• Choose NEW ACTION
• Type in a NAME you wish to call the action and click on RECORD
• Go through the whole action you wish to record
• You can do a crop via the crop tool.  (this will probably need a pause put beside it – more later)
• Or you can change the size of the image by just going to Image size and clicking on resample and changing one of the pixel figures.
• You can add a border
• You can do an Adjustment/Levels alteration, however if you do this you will need on the first time you record to make a very slight adjustment in order for the Levels Adjustment Menu to open.  (this will need a Pause button – more later)
• You can insert a Stop by right clicking and inserting a stop, this is useful if you wish to do something with the image whilst the action is not working, i.e. inserting a name, perhaps doing an additional adjustment.
• You can Save for Web or Save to your folder and close the image as the final action.  (If you have altered the image drastically and do not wish to loose the original image then please make sure when you close the image as the final action you do not Save it)
• When all your actions have been completed, immediately click on STOP to end recording (BLACK square at bottom of Actions Palette, next to RED recording button).
• You now have an Action ready.

To run the Action, click on the Named Action you have created and just press the Play button which is little arrow at the bottom of the Action Menu.

As mentioned above a Pause can be inserted, this is done after you have pressed the Stop button and completed your actions.  Find you named Action.  There will be some greyed out squares, click on the square/squares you wish the actions to pause.
When you play your action and if it has a stop in it when it gets to the Stop you just click on Stop and do your adjustments.  You will find that in the Action Box the next action is highlighted, you then just press the play button again to make the action continue.
If you have several pictures to do at once then go to File, Automate and click on Batch  and a Menu Box will open.  There are several ways to do this.

• In the Action box click on the drop down box and choose the one you want.
• In the Source you can choose the File Folder by clicking on Browse.
• Again in the destination click browse and choose the folder.
• Click OK

All the files you have chosen will get all the moves you wish to make in your action and if you have chosen to pause an action you can then lets say alter the crop, alter the levels and just click OK after each alteration. Back to index.

Quick Mask

• This is another good method of selecting areas.  In the Tool Bar at the bottom there is a little square with a circle in the middle.   Double click on this and tick the box Selected areas.  I myself choose the opacity to be 100% because I like to see clearly where I have brushed.  Click OK. This is now set for subsequent operations in Quick Mask. .
• Make sure you are on the correct layer, usually the Background Layer.
• Click on this Quick Mask Symbol or press the letter Q. You are now in Quick Mask mode 
• Make sure the Default Foreground and Background colours are in Default mode i.e. Black and White and the Black is on the top.
• Go to your Brush Tool and use a soft brush.  Brush over the area you wish to select – the area will go red.
• Now click back on the Quick Mask Symbol or Q.
• Marching ants will appear, these are the selected areas. Because you have used a soft brush then the area will be feathered.
• You now have an area that can be worked on, say for instance you needed to use the Levels or Curves on just one part of the image.
  
• This method is useful for selecting parts of a picture roughly without selecting very accurately.
• Elements does not have a Quick Mask, however you can use the Adjustment Layer as follows:
• Open a Levels Adjustment Layer, this will automatically have a mask.
• Fill this mask with black.
• You then press the back slash key [ \ ] which will fill it with red
• Select the brush and brush over selected areas to create the mask required.
• Press the back slash gain and you will see a white area which is the area you have selected.
• You then adjust your Levels Layer as required.
• Back to index.

 Dodge and Burn in Overlay Mode 

• Dodge and Burn In Overlay Layer without destroying the original image. 
• Open the image.  Make a new layer by clicking on Create a New Layer in the Layer Palette. 
• Go to Edit, Fill with 50% Gray.  Make sure the Opacity is still at 100% and the Preserve Transparency is not ticked. 
• At top of Layer Palette change the blending mode to Overlay.
• Dodge or burn as necessary. 
  

Any dodging will not alter the original image.  You can delete the layer if required or click off.  This Overlay Layer is virtually a transparent layer but one that can be worked on. Back to index.

Changing Shape of a Brush

Sometimes it is necessary to change a brush shape, i.e. bits of grass etc.  Go to your Brush Palette and click on Brush Tip Shape.  You will see a box with a circle and by clicking to it in different places you can change the brush to an oval and swing it into different angle  Back to index.

Canvas Size

Sometimes it may be necessary to make your Canvas larger but not the image, i.e. putting a border around the image. 

• In the layer palette make a duplicate layer of the image
• With the background highlighted go to Image, Canvas Size.
• If a border is required then leave the white area in the middle.
• By clicking on Relative you can just add say 1 inch on both the height and width, by unchecking the Relative you can change the size to an exact amount required, i.e. 16” x 12”.  Change to size and colour required.  Click OK
• Go to layer palette and click on the duplicate layer.  By pressing Ctrl whilst you click on the layer thumbnail the marching ants will appear around the image exactly, you can then make your necessary borders by going to Select, Modify and Expand as required. Back to index.

Horizon, making it level. 

Go to the Tool Box and select the Eyedropper tool which will go out showing other tools.  Select the measuring tool.  Click on to the image and draw across the horizon that is sloping.  Go to the Menu Bar, Image, Rotate Canvas, Arbitrary and click OK. Back to index

Curved Horizon 

• Make into a layer or duplicate the background and work on that layer.
• Go to Edit, Free Transform (Ctrl T)
• Click on the little Grid at the top which switches from transform to warp
• A grid will open.  Click on the appropriate little dots and move as necessary.  Back to index.

Layer Masks

As an exercise find a figure or item that you wish to cut out from an image and place in another image.   (Make a rough selection using a selection tool on the item you wish to use; copy it and paste it, into the image you will be working on)

• Open the Layer Palette and make sure the item you have pasted into the image is active, i.e. it should be highlighted blue.
• To make a layer mask go to the Layer Palette and click on the square with the white circle in the middle. 
• Make sure that the Layer Mask is active, i.e. there will be a small square with the white circle on display next to the eye icon in the layer you are working on.  If there is a picture of a brush then you are not in the layer mask.  Just click on the white square then the layer mask is active.
• Make sure the background colours are black/white.  The black does the erasing and the white puts it back
• Choose a brush in the Tool Box – providing the Cap Lock is not on, use the square brackets to increase or decrease the size of the brush. Use whatever opacity you like, suggest you start with 100% to see what happens.  (The opacity can be changed in the Options Bar or just press a number to change the percentage, 4 = 40%).  With the black on top in the background colours gently erase the parts you don’t want.  If you go wrong change the background colour to white and go over it again, magic, what you have rubbed out returns. 
• With practise you can rub small parts out at a time and with the opacity of the brush reduced to different percentages you can blend in the layer into the underlying layer.  Again, practise with any image to see how it works. Back to index.

Raw 

• Raw has a lot of exposure latitude – highlight detail can be rescued much easier in Raw.  A Raw image is like a negative, it will always be there and the image you open from it and save does not alter the original Raw image. 
• Loads of adjustments can be made in raw before going to Photoshop.  Changing the Temperature sometimes helps the image.
• Go to Detail and change the sharpness to 5.  Sharpening can be done in Photoshop.
• You can also change from 8 bit to 16 bit if you want more information but it will make the file considerably larger.
• You can also open the image as a lower resolution image if required.
• You can open a Raw image several times.  For example make the adjustments for just the sky only and open.  Next time make the adjustments for the base only and open. 
• You then put the two images together, go to move tool and click on an image and drag to the other image whilst holding down the shift key (this will centre the image automatically).
• Make a Layer Mask and rub out as required.  Previous notes describe how to use Layer masks. Back to index.

Cropping

• An image can be cropped to a specified size by entering the amounts in the boxes on the Options Bar
• A resolution may be put in but be careful you have enough pixels in the original to stop interpolation.  To check the amount to enter if unsure, do the following exercise.
• Go to Image, Image size to check the original size.  Say for instance you wish to make a 10 x 8 image without changing the resolution too much.  To test the resolution type the smallest measurement required, in this case the height as 8” (obviously the proportions will not make the width 10”, will probably be nearer 12”).  This will give you an idea what the resolution should be. 
• Now go to Crop Tool.  Enter 10 in in width, 8 in in height and say 256 in the resolution pixels/inch.  Crop as required.  The crop tool will keep to the proportions you have entered. You need not put anything in the resolution box, the image will automatically give its own resolution after cropping. Just go to Image Size and take a look and check. See about sizing above or go to the Resizing page.
• However, you can just crop an image without putting in any sizes, in the original go to the crop tool and crop as necessary. You can also click on Perspective at the top and alter slightly the cropping, i.e. for making one side straight.

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Borders

• Drag the Background Layer down to New Layer (You will now have two layers of the same picture.
• Go to Image, Canvas size on the Menu Bar
• A box will open, leave the white area in the middle, click on Relative and in the width and height put say .5 inches.  The background colour will now be the colour that is depicted in your Foreground colour in the Tool Box
• On the Background Copy put the mouse on the picture area and Ctrl Click.  Marching ants will now surround the image.
• Now Click on the bottom layer (Background).  This means you will be able to get rid of the layer if all goes wrong.  The copy background will still be there without the border in place.
• Go to Select, Modify and Expand.  Expand however many pixels you require the border to be outside the image
• The colour of the border will be whatever is showing on the Foreground Colour in the Tool Box.  To change this to a complimentary colour in the image place mouse on the Foreground Colour in the Tool box and then click the mouse on the colour required in the image.  Click OK.
• Go to Edit. Stroke and select pixel size. 1 or 2 is sufficient. Back to index.

Merge Visible and leaving intact the layers below

• Click on to the top layer
• Go to the bottom of the Layer Palette and click on New Layer
• Go to Layer and right click and down to Merge Visible
• Click on Merge Visible but whilst holding your click on the mouse press down on the Alt key.
• Still holding Alt key let go of your mouse click on the Merge Visible
• The whole of the image including the layers will appear in the New Layer. Back to index.

Crop – Hide or Delete

• There are times when you may wish to crop an image to a certain size i.e. for AV’s but not too sure where exactly.
• Make your Background a Layer – double click on Background and a menu box will appear.  It will say Layer 0 – Click OK
• Go to your Crop Tool and enter the size you require.
• Crop in an area as required/roughly
  
• You can then drag this layer around but you will see that the edges have not been cropped.  This layer for instance can be dragged to another image but you will still be able to move it around and see the edges so that you can place the image in exactly the place required. Back to index.

Red Eye

Go to the Layer Palette and click on the bottom and make new layer. It’s the little icon that looks like a book and says create a new layer if you hold the mouse over the icon.  Change the Blending mode to Colour.  You will see that at the top of the layer palette it says Normal.  Click here to change it to Colour.  Now go to the Brush in the Tool Box (not the history brush) and make it soft and change the size to fit the eye. You can change the size of the brush by tapping the square bracket keys [up and down] to increase or decrease.    Brush out the red eye.  The Layer can now be merged down to the Background Layer. Back to index.

Adding a Sky using Blend If

Select the two pictures to be blended. Like a landscape and sky.  Drag and drop the "sky" into the main picture.  Leave the sky picture on top of the landscape and move it into the correct position.  Go to Layer Palette and click the small arrow top right.  In the drop down menu select Blending Options.  In the Blend If box, bottom of the panel, click and slide the pointer in the UNDERLYING LAYER.  By moving the pointer you will blend the underlying layer into the top layer.  By ALT/CLICKING the pointer you can split the operation to extend the Blending Range.  When happy with the results click OK.

Back to index.

Cloning

This is ideal to get rid of spots, the odd small detail not required.  The  Clone tool is in the Tool Box  fifth down on the left (Elements, just above the Hand).  I find it difficult to explain the clone tool in notes, it’s really a lot of practise.  However, by clicking on the Clone Tool (make sure it’s not the Pattern Clone Stamp) and choosing the appropriate brush, (try a hard one then a soft one and see the difference), Hold down the Alt. key and click with the mouse on the area you wish to pick up the colour/image.   i.e. spotting out marks in a sky, click near the spot to find the pixel colour nearest to the spot. Now click with your brush on the spot at say 50% opacity.  Its difficult to say which opacity, soft/hard brush you should use, its practise.  If you make sure the Align box in the Options Bar is ticked, then every time you click with the mouse the area that you first identified with the Alt key will move in conjunction with the brush.  If you uncheck the Align Box then it will always use the part you first identified with the Alt. key. 

Colour to Mono

The following is my method for changing colour to black and white. I then do final adjustments to the image after this formula using levels etc. However Channel Mixer will probably do a better job.

On the coloured image Select All (CTRL A)
Go to Edit and Copy (CTRL C)
Now go into Quick Mask  (Q)
Go to Edit and Paste (CTRL V)
Stay in Quick Mask 
Go to Edit and Copy (CTRLC)
Go Out of Quick Mask  (Q)
Go to Edit and Paste (CTRLV)

Use 16 Bit in Photoshop

Photoshop is very destructive, every time you use it a little more destructs.  Using 16 bit = 128 times more information is in the image.  Disadvantage, file size doubles but not so much is destroyed. 
Open a RAW image in 8Bit. Do a test with Levels, move the slider to the left too much.  Click OK.  Re-open Levels to show the lines.  These lines are the reason for the so called banding on a print.  On the left the spaces in the black area are holes and the lines going up high in the highlights are too compressed.

Now open the same picture in 16 Bit and do a test with levels, exactly the same as you did before. Re-open Levels and you will see the histogram without all those lines. Back to index.

Doing a Test Strip

Open and make a new A4 sheet of paper to the dpi using to print the main image

Use marquee square tool to make a long thin test area

Make sure the background colours are black and white

Go to Gradient Tool – in Linear mode

Make sure it’s the 3rd one along – Black to White

Drag the Gradient Tool top to bottom

Go to Adjustment Layers and Posterize and set at 25

Go to Info palette and gradually work way down to give 10% gradations

Print to see if blacks are blocked out, should be able to see the 25 gradations when printed

Smart Objects

This option is in CS2 and CS3. Very useful for the control of filters. With your background image highlighted make a copy of this by dragging down to the New Layer within the Layers Palette or shortcut Ctrl J. With the copy background highlighted go to Layer, down to Smart Objects and click on Convert to Smart Object (it might say in CS2 Group to Smart Object).

You can now work on this Smart Object Layer. Go to a Filter, i.e. Motion Blur and say OK. If then at anytime you wish to change the settings of this particular filter you can double click on the filter name you used, in this instance Motion Blur and alter again. You can do as many filters as you wish to the layer. You are then able to click on or off the filters to see the different effects by clicking on the little eye symbol.

Colour Caste using the Histogram

Open Histogram box and change the Histogram to colours.  To correct the  caste always add to it, never take away.

Go to Image > Adjustment > Photo Filter.  Choose the opposite to the caste and move the slider in the Density change whilst looking at the Histogram as you do it.  i.e. reducing red by putting in cyan.

Cyan – Red
Blue – Yellow
Magenta – Green

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