Use Photoshop CS3

Adobe Photoshop CS3 is a powerful graphics editing software program that can be used to create or prepare images for print or website use. It is also used to restore or add life and dimension to images. This program is used by professionals and individuals alike and is compatible with both PC and Mac computers.

Steps

Familiarizing Yourself with the Basics

1. Begin familiarizing yourself with Photoshop's workspace. Photoshop includes a large variety of tools for modifying images. Many of them can be found easily due to Photoshop's good design layout.
2. Understand the menu bar. The menu bar is located at the top of the workspace and organizes commands by category. This bar is common among many programs, including Microsoft Word. Each category in the menu bar has an additional drop-down menu with multiple commands. For example, the "File" category will include any commands associated with the file, including Open, Save, etc.
3. Learn the tools palette. This is located on the left side of the workspace and contains tools for adding text, creating and editing artwork, images and other graphic elements. Hover your mouse over each tool for a brief description. They are divided into seven categories: "Selection, Crop and Slice, Measuring, Retouching, Painting, Drawing and type, and Navigation."
4. Understand the tools have several options. The control panel (also called the options bar) displays the options (if available) for the tool you are currently working with. These options could include differences in the effect a tool will have when used.
   • Many times when you select a tool, you'll have the option of different types of the tool you selected. This will display in a pop out format from the original tool you selected.
5. Understand the document window. This is the main portion of the screen where your current file is displayed. When you create a new file you'll be asked what dimension and background color you want to work with.
6. Learn the Panels. These are ways to monitor changes you have made to your work and to make modifications. The Panels will display numerical data which can be modified to make changes to your information. Any sort of data about your image you can think of will be included here. Things like color, hue, saturation, etc. can be found in the Panels section of Photoshop.
   • Some Panels are included by default in the Panels sections, but more can be added by selecting "Panels" from the Window menu.

Getting Started

1. Understand that Photoshop works in layers. You can add layers to your image to create modifications or you can modify the current layer. Layers can be anything from filters to new objects placed on the image.
   • Some finished projects will have hundreds of layers, each only accounting for a small portion of the total image.
   • If you are only making basic changes, you can probably just modify the image as a single layer.
   • Masks can be added to layers to determine the transparency of a layer. A completely black mask means the layer will not be at all transparent, while a white mask will make the layer almost entirely transparent.
2. Open up an image. After opening the Photoshop program, decide what photo you want to mess with. You can open up an image on your computer or on an external drive by clicking on "Open" under the File drop-down menu in the upper left of the screen.
   • On a Mac, you can simply open a photo by dragging the photo to the Photoshop icon, and it should open.
   • Navigate to your photo in the appropriate folder, select it, and then click "Open". Photoshop can take a variety of document types, including .jpg, but the photo will be converted to a .psd once saved.
   • Once "Open" is clicked, the photo will appear in a new window. This will be your workspace for the project.
   • When you are creating a new image, specify the image's size, resolution and background.
3. Select "Image Size" from the Image menu. Only do this if you are working with an existing image. The Image menu is located in the Menu bar.
   • Uncheck "Resample Image." Resampling changes the amount of data in an image and can negatively impact image quality.
   • Resize your image by adjusting either the width or height in either pixels or inches. To adjust the size of your image proportionally, select "Constrain Proportions."
   • Adjust image resolution, if you think it is necessary. A higher resolution will be needed if you intend to zoom in and make small changes to the photo. If the photo will be printed out and displayed on paper, a higher resolution is not as necessary.
   • 300 dpi is the standard minimum of high resolution used for print.
4. Save the image. Use a new file name by selecting "Save As" from the File menu. Avoid modifying the original image's file.
   • Adobe Photoshop CS3 offers several file format options. For print, .tif format is best, while .jpg files are best for web use.
5. Save for web. A great tool if you are creating images for the internet, either on your personal website or Facebook. The "save for web & devices" option allows you to compress your image size down in file size. This function can also be used to create some interesting creations by modifying what colors are being used and how many colors are allowed.

Moving and Deleting Sections of Your Image

1. Use the select tool. Before moving an object like a basketball, you first need to select it. Select it using the first four tools in your tool panel from the top down. The select tool looks like a simple mouse hand.
   • The rectangular icon includes tools for selecting large, not as precise areas of your image. Use this tool by clicking and dragging over the desired area. The tool will either select portions of the image as a square, a circle, a single row, or a single column.
   • The lasso icon is useful for selecting parts of your image with well-defined edges. Well defined edges mean a strong difference in lighting, color, or hue.
   • The brush icon is the quick selection tool. This is arguably the most useful tool in Photoshop. It allows you to make relatively accurate outlines of objects with well-defined edges. "Paint" inside an object in order to select it using this tool.
2. Move the image. Do this by using the move tool or copy the selection using Ctrl+c or ⌘ Command+c. You can move the image around using the tool with the cursor icon. If copied, you can move the image by pasting it in a different section of the image.
   • Once the image is moved, there will be a blank space in the image. Since you are moving the pixels from one area to another, there will no longer be any pixels in the original place of the image.
3. Fill in the blank space. A common way to fill in the space is to try to simulate what was behind the selected area in the original image. For example, if you selected a person standing in front of a wall, you could try to continue the wall design in the blank space.
   • One way to do this is by using the Clone Stamp Tool. This is the stamp icon in your tool bar. It will copy a section of an image and paste it wherever you click.

Modifying the Color and Painting the Image

1. Modify color within your image. You can do this by adjusting Layers, Curves, Hue, Saturation, or a combination of these. These may be accessed in the "Adjustments" sub-menu from the Image menu.
   • Curves will adjust the lighting by modifying the contrast and saturation.
   • Hue is a color or shade of an image. Adjusting this value will change the entire color of the image.
   • Saturation can also be thought of as brightness. For example, the difference between a bright fire truck and a deep red can be thought of as saturation of the color red.
2. Paint the image. Photoshop is also a powerful canvas for painting. The icons from the band-aid down to the teardrop are all tools used for painting.
   • The brush allows for an incredible variety of paints and textures to be added to the image. You can even create your own textures to use with the paintbrush. Use the paintbrush by holding down the left mouse button and moving the cursor wherever you want to paint.
   • The brush icon with the teardrop next to it will mix colors together. This is useful if you want to blend two separate areas of the image together with each other.
3. Modify color using layers. One way of isolating a modification is by creating an adjustment layer. This will be a layer that solely adjusts either one layer or all layers. There are a lot of easy-to-use adjustments which can be found in the Image drop-down sub-menu.

Using Shortcuts

1. Understand shortcuts. Shortcuts are a built in function that will allow your work flow to quicken and make certain things easier. Almost every action from the menu has a quick shortcut. Most shortcuts can be seen on the item you're trying to select off the menu.
2. Use the move shortcut. The move tool is an important function that you'll be using often. Quicken your process by pressing v to activate the move tool.
3. Modify an image. Pressing Ctrl+t or ⌘ Command+t, will quickly select an image and allow you to easily adjust the size and location.
   • To keep the original dimensions of the image, hold ⇧ Shift as your adjusting the size. This will prevent you from breaking the image.
4. Select the lasso. To quickly select a portion, press l. This will convert your mouse-hand into the lasso, which will let you select an item quickly.
5. Know the eye-drop shortcut. The eye-dropper is an extremely useful tool. You can simply pull up your eye-dropper by pressing i. Use the eye-dropper to capture a color that you want to use in the future.

Tips

• Adobe Photoshop CS3 contains multiple features for retouching and transforming images, including tools for adding or removing items, sharpening or blurring images, adding text and correcting flaws.
• Color modes may be either RGB (red, green, blue) or CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). These modes determine how colors are displayed in print or electronic images.
• Resolution is the number of pixels per inch in an image. The higher the resolution, the higher the quality of the resulting printed image. If you are using your image for a website or other digital format, a lower resolution is acceptable. A resolution of 72 dpi is typically appropriate for web images.

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Sources and Citations

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