Photoshop: tips and tricks

[coletrain]

For those who struggle with PHOTOSHOP...........I'm going to put up some pictures and details on lots of common tools used in photoshop. Most people don't know much about it, so hopefully this thread will help.

These are not "step by step"...I show mostly everything needed to use a tool. The only way to really get good is to just practice!, I'm just giving you guys a place to start

I'm using PHOTOSHOP 7.0, it should be relatively the same for the newer versions.

Feel free to PM me if you are having any trouble or have other questions. Plus, if you want to see how to use or do something that I haven't covered, post up your question!!

[nghtrydr23]

ty

[cb7wagonPL]

good idea. if you do a good job explaining it maybe we could have it made a sticky on here. I have the new cs3 photoshop and know some basic stuff but like to learn some more advanced stuff.

[Dinner_Time]

Learning to use Curves will be the best way to edit photos. Although there are easier ways to do it, you don't get the same results.

[coletrain]

MENUS...



MAIN TOOL BAR


Some tools are not visible but are hidden under another tool.
exe: To choose the pencil, click and hold on the brush tool icon and pick the pencil from the pop-up menu that appears.

[coletrain]

MAGIC WAND:

- The magic wand allows you to select areas of a picture...


- Here I've deleted the selection by pressing "Delete" on the keyboard.
- You can deselect the area by clicking on the area again.



- If you hold "Shift" while you click on areas of a picture, you can select multiple areas at one time.

[coletrain]

MARQUEE TOOL:

- This is essentially the same thing as the magic wand, it just selects areas in shapes ie: squares, circles, etc...


- Again...

[coletrain]

LASSO TOOL:

- This is the same as the previous tools, just a different way to do it.
- Using the LASSO tool, click different points on any layout or picture and you can again, select any area. But always click back to the starting point to end it.
- This tool is much more accurate than the magic wand and marquee tool. By clicking more times along an edge you can get exact "curves" even though it draws in strait lines...(see picture below)

[coletrain]

CROPING TOOL:

- This tool is very easy to use. Just hold a click and drag the crop box anywhere on the picture.
- You can adjust it by using the "adjusting points" on all sides and corners of the crop box, just click and drag.

[coletrain]

PAINT BRUSH TOOL:
PENCIL TOOL:
ERASER:

- All of these tools have the same windows and adjustments.



- You can pick different brushes by pulling down the menu at the top of the toolbar.
- You can also change the size of your brush by using the slide bar.

[ilovemycb7]

Any advice on editing pictures for the better? As far as coloring, lighting, levels, etc.

[coletrain]

PHOTO EDITING:

- In the tool bar on the top, click "Image" and "Adjustments"
- Items in Adjustments:
Levels
Auto Levels
Auto Contrast
Auto Color
Curves
Color Balance
Brightness/Contrast
-------------------
Hue/Saturation
Desaturate
Replace Color
Selective Color
Channel Mixer
Gradient Map
-------------------
Invert
Equalize
Threshold
Posterize
-------------------
Variations

- Everything in the Adjustments tab I use to edit and touch up photos, Here's a few of the possibilities with each option, there are tons of things you can do with each effect:

[coletrain]

LEVELS



CURVES



COLOR BALANCE

[coletrain]

BRIGHTNESS/CONTRAST




HUE/SATURATION



DESATURATE

[coletrain]

SELECTIVE COLOR



GRADIENT MAP