The spot healing brush made its debut in Photoshop Elements 3, but now an enhanced version of it is available in Photoshop CS2. The spot healing tool is different from the existing patch and healing tools in that it does not require you to make a selection or define a source point before using it.
RESOLUTION. The "Auto" resolution button on the right of your Image Size dialog box will resize your image to small, medium and larger sizes. Under "Document Size" in your Image Size box, you'll see a place to enter the desired resolution. For the Web, normal resolutions will be 72 pixels per inch. For print work, the resolution should be at least 300 ppi. When you increase the resolution, you increase the image size, and may need to resize it, but the resolution will stay the same. COLOR CASTS. Go into your Image Adjustments menu and try using the automatic presets there: Auto Levels, Auto Contrast, Auto Color and/or Variations. This last option is especially fast and flexible, offering fine-tuning for shadows, midtones and highlights as well as saturation.
You'll see a variety of preset gradients displayed, from the default Foreground to Background gradient to the more complex Chrome gradient. All these preset gradients can be edited to create new gradients. You'll notice that some gradients have more colour 'stops' than others; the Foreground to Background gradient has two colour stops - black and white - while the Spectrum gradient has seven colour stops. You can modify a gradient by changing the colour of the stops - simply click on one and choose a new colour from the Color Picker. Alternatively, click on an image and sample a colour for your customised gradient using the Eyedropper Tool.
Layer Management: Who needs to click icons or pull down menus when layer control is just a shortcut away? - Show/hide Layers palette.........Press [F7] - New Layer........................[Shift]+[Ctrl]+[N] - New Layer (from copy of selected layer)...........................[Ctrl]+[J] - New Layer (cutting selection from existing layer)...........................[Shift]+[Ctrl]+[J] - Group with previous layer........[Ctrl]+[G] - Ungroup from previous layer......[Shift]+[Ctrl]+[G] - Merge Down.......................[Control]+[E] - Merge Visible Layers.............[Shift]+[Control]+[E] - To hide non-selected layers......Press [Alt] and click on the layer's show/hide Eye icon. - To cycle between layers..........[Alt]+[ [ ]&[Alt]+[ ] ] - To bring a layer in the layers palette forward.........[Ctrl]+[ [] - To send a layer back.............[Ctrl]+[ ]m - To jump from the top to the bottom layer in the Layers palette..........................[Alt]+[Shift]+[ [ ] - To bring a layer to the top from any location......................[Shift]+[Ctrl]+[ ] ]
Photoshop offers blending options unsurpassed in the design industry in your "Layer Style" dialog box, you will first find "General Blending" options, which are often enough for any task. Experiment with the Blend Modes and their opacity to see just how incredibly flexible the normal Blending Options can be. To find your advanced blending options in Photoshop, double-click a layer or click the "Add a Layer Style" icon at the bottom left of your Layers palette, and then choose "Blending Options." Your "Layer Style" dialog box will appear. At the bottom of the Layer Style box, you will find, under "Advanced Blending," something called the "Blend If" tool. What is the Photoshop "Blend If" tool, exactly? Blend If is a "smart" blending tool. You can use it to blend images or create a more transparent image with almost infinite precision. This one tool is so flexible and handy it behooves any serios Photoshop designer to learn to use it, and use it well.
Like Adobe Remix, the hosted Photoshop service is set to be free and marketed as an entry-level version of Adobe's more sophisticated image-editing tools, including Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. Chizen envisions revenue from the Photoshop service coming from online advertising. "That is new (for Adobe). It's something we are sensitive to because we are watching folks like Google do it in different categories, and we want to make sure that we are there before they are, in areas of our franchises," Chizen said. Chizen described the introduction of Adobe Remix and the forthcoming hosted Photoshop as part of a larger move toward integrating hosted services into the company's product mix.
Just knowing the basics can do wonders. Start with your "Auto Color" command. (Click "Image," "Adjustments," then "Auto Color" from the top menu.) Photoshop has configured the Auto Color tool to transform photos to preset values, affecting the overall tone and levels of the photograph. After that you will probably want to enhance your photo further. Photoshop gives you a cornucopia of options for endlessly fiddling with your pictures. Try your "Levels" button (click "Image," "Adjustments," then "Levels"). A dialog box pops up labeled Levels. In it you can use the top slider bar to control the brightness of shadows, midtones and highlights. The bottom slider bar affects your overall output levels. You should get your levels the way you want them before you move on to directly transform colors. You can also correct your brightness levels using "Curves," in the same menu. Experiment with it and you'll see how it works. - 16651
RESOLUTION. The "Auto" resolution button on the right of your Image Size dialog box will resize your image to small, medium and larger sizes. Under "Document Size" in your Image Size box, you'll see a place to enter the desired resolution. For the Web, normal resolutions will be 72 pixels per inch. For print work, the resolution should be at least 300 ppi. When you increase the resolution, you increase the image size, and may need to resize it, but the resolution will stay the same. COLOR CASTS. Go into your Image Adjustments menu and try using the automatic presets there: Auto Levels, Auto Contrast, Auto Color and/or Variations. This last option is especially fast and flexible, offering fine-tuning for shadows, midtones and highlights as well as saturation.
You'll see a variety of preset gradients displayed, from the default Foreground to Background gradient to the more complex Chrome gradient. All these preset gradients can be edited to create new gradients. You'll notice that some gradients have more colour 'stops' than others; the Foreground to Background gradient has two colour stops - black and white - while the Spectrum gradient has seven colour stops. You can modify a gradient by changing the colour of the stops - simply click on one and choose a new colour from the Color Picker. Alternatively, click on an image and sample a colour for your customised gradient using the Eyedropper Tool.
Layer Management: Who needs to click icons or pull down menus when layer control is just a shortcut away? - Show/hide Layers palette.........Press [F7] - New Layer........................[Shift]+[Ctrl]+[N] - New Layer (from copy of selected layer)...........................[Ctrl]+[J] - New Layer (cutting selection from existing layer)...........................[Shift]+[Ctrl]+[J] - Group with previous layer........[Ctrl]+[G] - Ungroup from previous layer......[Shift]+[Ctrl]+[G] - Merge Down.......................[Control]+[E] - Merge Visible Layers.............[Shift]+[Control]+[E] - To hide non-selected layers......Press [Alt] and click on the layer's show/hide Eye icon. - To cycle between layers..........[Alt]+[ [ ]&[Alt]+[ ] ] - To bring a layer in the layers palette forward.........[Ctrl]+[ [] - To send a layer back.............[Ctrl]+[ ]m - To jump from the top to the bottom layer in the Layers palette..........................[Alt]+[Shift]+[ [ ] - To bring a layer to the top from any location......................[Shift]+[Ctrl]+[ ] ]
Photoshop offers blending options unsurpassed in the design industry in your "Layer Style" dialog box, you will first find "General Blending" options, which are often enough for any task. Experiment with the Blend Modes and their opacity to see just how incredibly flexible the normal Blending Options can be. To find your advanced blending options in Photoshop, double-click a layer or click the "Add a Layer Style" icon at the bottom left of your Layers palette, and then choose "Blending Options." Your "Layer Style" dialog box will appear. At the bottom of the Layer Style box, you will find, under "Advanced Blending," something called the "Blend If" tool. What is the Photoshop "Blend If" tool, exactly? Blend If is a "smart" blending tool. You can use it to blend images or create a more transparent image with almost infinite precision. This one tool is so flexible and handy it behooves any serios Photoshop designer to learn to use it, and use it well.
Like Adobe Remix, the hosted Photoshop service is set to be free and marketed as an entry-level version of Adobe's more sophisticated image-editing tools, including Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. Chizen envisions revenue from the Photoshop service coming from online advertising. "That is new (for Adobe). It's something we are sensitive to because we are watching folks like Google do it in different categories, and we want to make sure that we are there before they are, in areas of our franchises," Chizen said. Chizen described the introduction of Adobe Remix and the forthcoming hosted Photoshop as part of a larger move toward integrating hosted services into the company's product mix.
Just knowing the basics can do wonders. Start with your "Auto Color" command. (Click "Image," "Adjustments," then "Auto Color" from the top menu.) Photoshop has configured the Auto Color tool to transform photos to preset values, affecting the overall tone and levels of the photograph. After that you will probably want to enhance your photo further. Photoshop gives you a cornucopia of options for endlessly fiddling with your pictures. Try your "Levels" button (click "Image," "Adjustments," then "Levels"). A dialog box pops up labeled Levels. In it you can use the top slider bar to control the brightness of shadows, midtones and highlights. The bottom slider bar affects your overall output levels. You should get your levels the way you want them before you move on to directly transform colors. You can also correct your brightness levels using "Curves," in the same menu. Experiment with it and you'll see how it works. - 16651
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