What is the Photoshop interface?
Adobe Photoshop is a powerful tool for editing photographs and graphics. The first step in
learning Photoshop is to familiarize yourself with the Photoshop interface, which consists of
five basic components:
1) Menu Bar — contains all of Photoshop’s available options
2) Toolbox — has various tools for editing the image
3) Options Bar — set the options for the currently selected tool
4) Palettes — various panes to control different aspects of the project. Includes layers,
channels, paths, history, etc.
5) Image Area — the currently open image(s)
Each component is labeled below:
What is a Toolbox?
The toolbox has various tools for editing an image. The toolbox is divided
into several sections of similar tools:
•Selection Tools
•Enhancement Tools
•Vector Tools
•Navigation Tools
•Color Tools
The toolbox is pictured to the left. It contains all of the various Photoshop
tools.
In addition to the visible tools, the tools with a small black arrow in the
lower-right corner contain fly-out menus with other related tool choices.
In the example to the left, the Dodge Tool is depressed, displaying the Burn
Tool and the Sponge Tool in the fly-out menu.
To select a tool to use:
•If the tool is visible on the toolbox, click it once to activate it.
OR
•If the tool is hidden, point to the appropriate tool family icon and
hold the mouse button down; the fly-out menu will appear.
Click on the desired tool in the menu to activate it.
What are Selection Tools?
Selection Tools
The Selection Tools allow you to use various techniques
to select specific sections of an image, rather than the
entire graphic. These tools create “marching-ant”
marquees around the selected areas and fade the
unselected areas so users can determine exactly which
area they have selected. Once selected, you can edit
and manipulate a section of an image while leaving the
rest untouched. The Selection Tools are discussed in
more detail in the Blending Images section of this
tutorial.
What are Enhancement Tools?
Enhancement Tools
The Enhancement Tools allow you to
clone portions of an image, blur or
enhance backgrounds, fill an area with
a selected color, or further emphasize
focal points. The Enhancement Tools are
discussed in more detail in the
Enhancing Images section of this
tutorial.
Vector Tools
What are Vector Tools?
The Vector Tools allow users to create vector-based
objects in Photoshop. The Vector Tools are discussed in
more detail in the Drawing Tools section of this tutorial.
What are Navigation Tools?
Navigation Tools
By using the Navigation Tools, you can move to different
sections of an image, or change magnification of the image.
The Zoom Tool allows users to magnify and reduce areas of
images. Click the Zoom Tool to zoom in (magnify); press the
Alt key and click the Zoom Tool to zoom out. The Hand Tool
allows users to slide the image around the Image Area in
order to view different sections of the image.
What are Color Tools?
The Color Tools control the foreground and background
colors. In this example, white is the current foreground
color and red is the background color. When used in
conjunction with the Color Palette and the Swatches Palette,
users can select from millions of different colors to use in
their images. The Eyedropper Tool allows you to select a
color from an existing image. The Color Tools are discussed
in more detail in the Enhancing Images and the Drawing
Tools sections of this tutorial.
What are palettes?
Palettes are areas where extra features or settings for tools
are found. This is where you can fine-tune the functions of the
tools.
The Palettes are located under the Window menu. They
include:
•Navigator
•Info
•Color
•Swatches
•Styles
•Layer
•Channels
•Paths
•History
•Actions
•Character
•Paragraph
The default layout that is displayed when you first open
Photoshop displays 10 out of the 12 available palettes in three
floating windows (shown below). Each one has its own tab:
You can arrange and reposition the available
palettes either individually or in groups. The
floating palette system incorporated into
Photoshop lets you drag each palette away from
the existing cluster to create a separate window for
that palette. The reverse is also true; you can
cluster individual palette tabs into groups of your
preference.
What are layers?
Layers are like transparencies stacked one on top of one
another. Each layer can have different images and
effects. When the layers are stacked, the images appear
as if they are all a single image.
Why use layers?
Layers allow users to work on separate images in order
to modify sections without changing the entire image.
The example below contains three layers: the
background yellow layer, the red square layer and the
green circle layer. If, for example, the circle in this image
were in the wrong place, you could easily change its
location by selecting the circle layer and moving the
circle without affecting the rest of the image.
What are the icons
in the layers palette?
The Layers palette has various icons that control the functions of the layers
in the image. Following is a description of some of the most useful ones:
Notice the red arrow on the Layers window to the left. It is
pointing to an image that looks like an eye. This image acts
as a show/hide feature for the corresponding layer. When
the eye is open, that layer is visible. When the eye is shut,
the layer is not visible.
The green arrow points to an image that looks like a paint
brush. It shows the layer that is active, in other words, the
layer which is currently editable.
The blue arrow points to an image that looks like a vertical
chain link. This links two layers together. For example,
since the square layer and the circle layer are linked
together, moving the position of the circle in the image
would also change the position of the square.
The purple arrow points to the new layer icon. A singleclick on this icon will result in the automatic creation of a
new layer.
What files does Photoshop recognize?
Photoshop can recognize many different image formats. Some of the formats and their
file extensions are:
•Photoshop Format: PSD files are Photoshop specific. Since they preserve layer
and channel information, users can continually edit and adjust images using the
PSD file.
•CompuServe Graphic Interchange Format: GIF files are most commonly used
for Web-based line art such as logos and buttons. Since this format can only
support a maximum of 256 colors, GIFs are also popular for images that have
only a few colors.
•Joint Photographic Experts Group: JPEG files support full color palettes;
therefore, when saving photographic images to use on the Web, the best format
is JPEG. A word of caution when using JPEG format: Every time a JPEG file is
closed, the file recompresses; therefore, editing and adjusting should be done
using the PSD file so image quality is not lost with multiple recompressions.
•Bitmap: BMP files
•Tagged Image File Format: TIFF files
•Portable Networks Graphic: PNG files are a relatively recent graphic format,
designed for use on the web. However, not all web browsers recognize PNG files,
so be aware of this if you are creating graphics for use on the web.
How do I open images that are stored in various formats?
To open a graphic that is not stored in Photoshop format (.psd),
pull down the File menu and select Open.
The "Open" dialog window will appear.
Make sure that the "Files of type:" field reads "All Formats." If it does not,
click on the down arrow to the right of the field and choose "All Formats" from the drop down list.
With All Formats selected, all image files in the selected
directory that Photoshop can read will be displayed.
Select the desired file by clicking on it, then click Open to
display the graphic in the Photoshop work area.
What is resolution?
Resolution is the number of pixels or dots per inch
(ppi/dpi). The higher the resolution, the more detail is
stored for the graphic. This means that a higher resolution
image is higher quality, but it also is larger.
Which resolution should I use?
The most common setting for computer monitors is
72 dpi; therefore, images intended for web-based or
other on-screen projects should have a resolution of
72 dpi. This lower resolution will reduce file sizes
and download times. The normal resolution for lowend printing is 150 dpi, and for high-end,
professional, quality photographs the resolution
should be 300 dpi or higher.
How do I change the resolution?
To change the resolution of a graphic,
pull down the Image menu and select
Image Size. The following dialog box
will appear:
Change the resolution in the
Resolution box (in blue above). Keep
these facts in mind:
•If you have a 72-dpi graphic
and you change it to a higher
resolution, you will not increase
the quality of the graphic. The
information was originally stored
at 72 dpi, and the computer
cannot “make up” more
information to improve the
graphic quality.
•If you have a 300-dpi graphic and
you change it to a lower resolution
(say, 72 dpi), you will decrease the
quality of the graphic. This is because
you will lose the extra pixels of
information. If you need to reduce
the resolution of a graphic, save the
original, high-resolution image in
case you need it in the future.
SO LETS GET STARTDED WITH THE LESSON…
CHANGING HISTORY
PHOTOSHOP UNIT LESSON THREE
IDEA…
The idea is to change history. Alter an instantly recognizable
photograph so that the context has been significantly changed.
The recognizablily of the original photograph must remain
intact.
The new situation must still look believable.
*DISCLAIMER* This project is not intended to make
light of some very serious and often tragic situations.
Rather, it is an effort to teach Photoshop skills in a
manner which turns tragedy into creativity.
The idea is to change the historical context of very
famous photographs.
Step one: Choose 10 different photos and ADD OR SUBTRACT
IMAGES TO change the context of the photo using
THESE PHOTOSHOP TOOLS…
Lasso tool, eraser tool, magic wand tool
ALSO…
Opacity
Color
layers
Step two: Make sure the photo still has its realistic look to it
FOR EXAMPLE!
PHOTO: ASTRONAUT -1
EDIT THE PHOTO…..
Put it all together…make sure it looks realistic!
Now create 9 more !
Remember practice ,
practice, practice!