PS101 Group D - USING PHOTOSHOP - BRIEF OVERVIEW

05/03/2007 04:31:31 AM · #1

bmartuch,

Melethia,

nshapiro,

bergiekat,

colorcarnival,

Nullix,

Lowcivicman99,

suemack,

Sunniee,

TomFoolery,

cornettcag

USING PHOTOSHOP - BRIEF OVERVIEW OF TOOLS, TIPS, TRICKS & SHORTCUTS
Mentor for this Group & Topic:

geoffb
Topic Author: Art Roflmao

Introduction and Disclaimers
For this first topic, I am going to try and cover some of the basics of the tools that I use. I have to confess that there are still several tools I have not explored so I am hoping the other mentors and student will feel free to discuss ones I have left out.

TOOL PALETTES AND WORKSPACE OVERVIEW

The first thing to remember about the Photoshop workspace is that it is highly customizable, so what you see in my workspace may look very different from your own. Mine is fairly generic / default-ish. Many of you may already know this, but you can drag palettes right out of their box and into another one, so you could have all your favortie palettes in one toolbox if that works for you.

Many times I like to move the palettes around or stretch the layers one out so I can read the titles and the workspace can get pretty messy.

I love being able to simply reset them by clicking (on the top menu) Window | Workspace | Reset Palette Locations. This is useful when you resize the application window as well.

PHYSICAL TOOLS
Mouse or Tablet, Keyboard, Monitor, Printer. The Monitor issues will be covered in a later topic and the printer will not be covered, so let's talk about the input devices. My weapon of choice for editing in Photoshop is a wireless mouse - two of them actually. One is always charging while I use the other because there is nothing more aggravating than your mouse dying while you are trying to create radioactive breath in a Godzilla pic - y'all know what I'm talking about, I'm sure. :) The Duke Nukem mousepad is optional, but recommended. I do have a Wacom tablet purchased from another member here on DPC. I tried it but it slowed me down so much I haven't taken the time to get used to it.

I invite any insight, tips, feedback, pros & cons of tablets vs. mice in this thread.

Ok, the second most important device for me is the keyboard! Use of the keyboard for switching tools and adjusting tool settings can speed up your editing process immensely. For that reason, I recommend that you get very familiar with the keystrokes for each of the primary editing tools on the tool palette. You can always find out what those are by mousing over the tool. Here are the ones I mainly use: Mask: M, Wand: W, Brush: B, Eraser: E, Blur: R, Paint Bucket: G, Text: T, Healing Brush: J

The left and right square brackets adjust the size of the tool you are using - this comes in very handy! [ = smaller, ] = bigger. Also, the SHIFT key used in conjunction with one of the tool letter shortcuts will cycle through the variations of that tool (i.e. SHIFT+R = toggle through Blur, Sharpen, Smudge).

The keyboard shortcut commands are also faster than clicking on the menus for common tasks like New File (ALT+F+N), Save As (CTRL+SHIFT+S), Resize (ALT+I+I) - get to know these shortcuts, they can increase your efficiency and keep you from dumping all the work on your poor, cramped up mouse hand.

LAYERS PALETTE OVERVIEW
I am talking about standard image layers - adjustment layers and layer blending modes will be covered in a future topic. Bear_Music covered layers quite well here, so I will just reiterate that the use of layers is a critical part of my process. I always duplicate a layer (CTRL+J) before I apply a filter or effect or start editing it - this is essentially creating a backup. You can always undo (CTRL+Z), but not if you have exceeded your set number of history steps, so a backup is always good. Also useful for bringing selective parts of the original image back into the picture.

HISTORY PALETTE
The History palette is the main place where all of your editing steps are recorded and can be undone.

You can setup complete, detailed tracking of your editing in the General Preferences. This is very useful for Challenge entries validation.

The History palette also holds special powers when it comes to actually editing your image. When used with the History Brush (Y), you can selectively undo edits upon edits in varying degrees by setting the opacity of the History Brush. More on this when we discuss techniques.

CLOSING SUMMARY AND ASSIGNMENTS
That's pretty much all I am going to cover for now. I do not want to reinvent the wheel, so I will reference again Bear's posts in a previous workshop that covered specific things in much greater detail. There is no assignment, so I can break the one topic per week rule and start working on the next topic (Working with Selection tools and Masks) and post it by Sunday.

The discussion for this topic should focus on general working processes, methods, etc. as well as Q&A about related issues. Feedback on the format, quantity and quality of the presentation is also open for discussion so we can improve as we move forward.

Recommended additional reading:
Basic Photoshop Workflow
Basic Examination and Functions of Photoshop
Photoshop Layers: the Basics
Photoshop Workflow: Where Do We Start and How Do We Proceed?

Message edited by author 2007-05-03 15:28:48.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

05/03/2007 05:57:37 AM · #2

Very useful start thanks Art!!

Optical mouse for me..... have got a Wacom tablet, but haven't mastered using it yet. Pfffft, truth to tell the only thing I can do it with it so far is sign my name!! But......don't have a Duke Nukem mousepad :( Workspace is set up similar to yours with the default layout..... it works and feels comfortable.

Gotta go try out the history brush editing tip ....didn't know I could use it for that!

Nullix

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

05/03/2007 09:29:46 AM · #3

I didn't know you can mix and match windows. I'm going to make a super window with just:

Layers
History
Actions

That's all I really use anyways. Also, I'll have to get more into the keyboard commands. I too love to use just my keyboard to do most stuff. Using the mouse is slow.

Neil

Fujifilm X-T30

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

05/03/2007 09:35:30 AM · #4

Thanks Art, for taking this task on.

The three most often used tools in CS, for me, are:
1) History Brush
2) Fade
3) Actions

I'll elaborate a bit, not about "how" to do that (I'll leave that to ART in the normal lesson plan) but "why" I do it.

1) The history brush is the reason I upgraded to CS from Elements. I use it all the time. The great thing about it is that you can use it to brush "undo" part of the editing, or you can step backwards with the regular undo, and use it to reapply the last n steps of editing to part of the photo.

For example, after sharpening with the unsharp mask, you can undo the step and use the history brush to selectively "paint" the sharpening to key elements while leaving the background untouched.

Conversely, rather than undoing, you could set the history brush target state to the step prior to the sharpening, and use the history brush to remove the sharpening from any "oversharpened" areas (those areas which may be showing halos). And since, as Art says, you can set the opacity and remove only part of the sharpening effect, you can leave some sharpening in place, but tone down the effect.

2) Fade is great because you can weaken the effect you just applied across the entire image very easily (Ctrl-Shift-F). You get a slider and can choose visually, as you fade the effect, how much to leave in place by watching the preview. There's also a mode choice, which affects the blending of the effect (just as if you used a layer to apply the effect). Two great uses: a) apply soft focus: apply a gaussian blur filter, then fade it almost completely, just until it's now applying a soft focus. b) remove color noise, apply a strong gaussian blur, use fade to fade it with the mode choice set to color.

3) Actions! Anything you do, you can record, with your exact settings and optionally allowing dialog prompts for settings. I build myself a set of actions for things I do regularly, and then a lot of my editing then involves simply applying them. For example, I have a color noise removal action based on the steps above, and a soft focus action too. You can even choose to have it prompt you at the fade step, so you can decide how much of the effect to apply.

One other note for starters. When I first starting using PS Elements, I bought the Scott Kelby book, which I thought was a great cookbook-style reference for how to do accomplish "things you need to do". When I upgraded to CS a year or so later, I didn't buy the book as it applied to PS CS, but I think it's equally instructive/handy when you are starting out. And maybe even so for intermediate users (I've considered buying it.)

Note: I hope it's not out of line to contribute in this way (especially with such a long post). If you think this detracts or is confusing, I will remove it. But I thought it might be another way to mention some of the tools as part of the overview, and why they might be handy.

Message edited by author 2007-05-03 09:35:58.

Sunniee

Canon EOS-40D

05/03/2007 12:03:46 PM · #5

Great stuff, Art.... Didnt know how to cycle through brushes.... that's really gonna save me time!

As for the tablet... love mine... I use it for the more fine detail work, and the mouse for the rest. I like that its pressure sensitive.

Just as Art said, there are lots of ways to do the same thing in PS... where nshapiro says he uses the history brush (which I havent tried) I will dup a layer, apply whatever effect, layer mask it and paint out what I dont want.

I love PS! ;D

geoffb

05/03/2007 02:48:41 PM · #6

Wow. Great start, Ken.

Edit: Removed the group members, as I noticed they're listed in the first post.

Message edited by author 2007-05-04 01:49:39.

Neil

Fujifilm X-T30

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

05/03/2007 03:01:37 PM · #7

Originally posted by Sunniee:

...and indeed layer masks have a big advantage there...you can at any time later refine where the effect is applied by editing the mask.

dassilem

Nikon D90

05/03/2007 03:03:24 PM · #8

I'd like to join too, (or at least lurk in the background) ...I have Adobe Elements, will I be able to follow??

geoffb

05/03/2007 03:39:52 PM · #9

Originally posted by dassilem:

I'd like to join too, (or at least lurk in the background) ...I have Adobe Elements, will I be able to follow??

Hi Melissa,

Unfortunately the class list is finalized, but you're absolutely free to lurk.

Edit: Most of what we do here you'll probably be able to do in Elements, although I'm not sure about the layout of PSE or how exactly it differs (I've heard there's no pen tool, among other things).

Message edited by author 2007-05-03 15:40:57.

Art Roflmao

Canon EOS-6D Mark II

05/03/2007 03:47:26 PM · #10

Just an FYI on the references to the recommended reading list. Bear_Music has consolidated all the information into one post in the Tips & Tricks forum, so if you want to read them without the clutter of the workshop discussions click here.

Thanks Robert!

05/03/2007 09:55:06 PM · #11

I've started working through this, including the suggested reading. I'm using Scott Kelby's Photoshop Elements 4 book to identify terms/techniques appropriate to Elements 4. So far, I've discovered that PS E4 has...
* a few keyboarding differences - paint bucket is because gradient is (no big deal)
* an Undo History feature that allows deletions
* straighten tool

and automated straightening (for stubborn images, S. Kelby suggests a manual method using the Info Palette)

Dirt_Diver

Nikon D3s

05/04/2007 12:28:01 AM · #12

Art, first off, I think I speak for everyone when I say thanks for doing this.

As the first day role off everyone should have a good idea as to what everything is and how it works right? If not lets go thru it before Professor Art moves on and leaves you stuck in a printer or something.

geoffb

05/04/2007 01:44:41 AM · #13

Originally posted by nshapiro:

Thanks Art, for taking this task on.

The three most often used tools in CS, for me, are:
1) History Brush
2) Fade
3) Actions

...

Note: I hope it's not out of line to contribute in this way (especially with such a long post).

Not a problem at all! Sometimes, it takes a rewording of a topic to really click for someone. If a few people feel like sharing techniques or tips that are closely related to the lesson at-hand, I'm all for it--especially since our group seems to be one of the quieter groups of the bunch.

05/05/2007 12:39:30 AM · #14

I'm starting with very little experience or software compared to others who have responded. I'll give it a healthy try anyways. Here is the result.

-Cathy

05/05/2007 02:17:07 AM · #15

Cathy, it would be great to know what steps you did in ps to get the result............any chance you could add them to the photographer comments area? That is such a cool truck!!

05/05/2007 09:38:01 AM · #16

Comments added to the truck photo as suggested (good suggestion).
Basically, I tried to follow the tutorial work flow, trying to learn keyboard strokes along the way.

When I went back to document my steps (as suggested by Sue), I realized that I have some things to bring up.

- Can I get Elements to keep a text copy of my steps?

- Is there a way to do a selective color adjustment layer in Elements? If not, it seems that I have to flatten the image or apply the 'Remove Color Cast' feature to the background image. And doing so would destroy the 'too-cool-tool' of adjustment layers.

- Where do I go to learn about color channel adjustments? When adjusting greens, why does adjusting yellow first then green work? And why then adjust sky blue by alternating cyan and blue? I would like to understand how this works so that I could figure out how to alter/nudge other colors.

- As suggested, I started with a photo that I like. Except for cropping, the changes are tiny, but I think that I like the final better.

- Will we learn how to remove the tree coming out of the cab? Remove dents in the fender? Give the hood a bath? Take the lawnchairs out of the front seat? Add a squirrel?

- I can't say how happy I am to learn about downsizing images with USM inbetween. I was beginning to take photos on smaller settings just to avoid the image degradation from a single downsize step.

I really appreciate the opportunity to learn so much and so easily here.

Dirt_Diver

Nikon D3s

05/05/2007 11:52:40 AM · #17

What version of PSE are you using?

05/05/2007 11:57:38 AM · #18

I'm using PSE 4.0 - happy to have it.
I'm also happy to hear more about what can be done with the full version.

Message edited by author 2007-05-05 12:02:00.

Dirt_Diver

Nikon D3s

Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G

05/05/2007 12:03:07 PM · #19

Originally posted by cornettcag:

I wanted to post this here so other could read it and learn from it.

What you could do to make this truck stand out a bit more is blur the background. At the distance you were standing your Aperture was probably something like F/8 or higher. What that does it makes just about everything in your camra focus on everything it sees. This is good for trying to caputre full framed images and a quick point and shoot type deal but try using the manual focus more to get a more WOW effect with images.

You did very good with post processing but it isn't something you just learn over night. It's takes a ton of practice and take it from me I learn something new all the time and I have been photoshopping now for about 5 years. It's takes a lot to get the effect you want.

Also when a image has too much light or not enough light stay away from auto anything. it will ruin the image. Try editing the levels and everything your self, it wil come out mcuh better.

Message edited by author 2007-05-05 12:03:40.

bmartuch

Nikon D7200

05/06/2007 04:50:42 PM · #20

I'm looking forward to this. Hey

melethia, glad to see you're in the same group I am.

05/11/2007 02:21:50 AM · #21

Anyone seen Art? Hope he's ok.

Melethia

Canon EOS-80D

Olympus 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5 Zuiko Digital

05/11/2007 02:24:12 AM · #22

Ken occasionally gets totally snowed under with work, I think. He'll be back.

Or it could be that Godzilla finally figured out where he lives.....

(Hi, Bob!)

joynim

Olympus E-500 EVOLT

05/11/2007 08:19:51 AM · #23

He said in our thread he was having internet problems he has'nt posted in the forums for 2 days so I guess he will be back when he gets his internet sorted