Adobe Photoshop User Guide for Beginners

Welcome to Photoshop Seminars

Contents

1. Basic concepts and terminology 2. Scanning, importing and exporting 3. Tools that comes with the software 4. Colour Corrections 5. Filters 6. Trouble shooting and tips 7. Working together with WWW home page authoring
Basic concepts and terminology
The Photoshop is a tool for photograph retouching, enhancing and will give you flexible features to produce stunning images which can be put in Web pages. If you have not fully understood the colouring of your images, you have go through the chapter on Basic Concepts.

Basic Concepts
What is computer graphics? There are two main types of computer graphics- vector and raster images. Vector images, such as those created in Adobe Illustrator, are made up of mathematically defined lines and curves called vectors. Raster images, such as those created in Adobe Photoshop, consist of a grid, or raster, of small squares, know as pixels. Several types of resolution are important when working with digitized images.

Image resolution refers to the spacing of pixels in the images and is measured in pixels per inch(ppi). If an image has a resolution of 72 ppi, this will have 5184 pixels in a square inch. Pixel depth(bit resolution) is a measurement of the number of bits of stored information per pixel. Bit resolution determines how much color information is available for each pixel. Greater pixel depth means more available colours and more accurate color representation in the digital image. E.g. A pixel with a bit depth of 8 has 2**8, or 256 possible values(colours); and a pixel with a bit depth of 24 has 2**24 or 16 million, possible values (colours). Monitor resolution defines the number of dots or pixels per unit length of output. It is measured in dots per inch (dpi). The device resolution for a Macintosh monitor is typically 72 dpi. Screen frequency, also known as screen ruling, refers to the number of halftone cells per inch in the halftone screen used to print grayscale image or colour separation. Screen frequency is measured in lines per inch. Output resolution refers to the number of dots per inch (dpi) that output device, such as a laser printer reduces.

Image fundamentals

bitmapped image as a mosaic made out of square tiles of various colours. images are coloured pixels displayed on screen. When enlarged, they look like unrelated collection of coloured squares. After reducing, these blend together to form an image that looks like a standard photograph.

Image size and image resolution

image size refers to physical dimension of an image, image resolution is the number of pixels per linear inch. For example, if the resolution of an image is 72 ppi(pixels per inch) - you get 5,184 pixels per square inch.

Image creation, duplication and save

Open existing images in CD-ROM or harddisk, use File->Open. Creating a new image, choose File->New to bring up New dialog box. If the Clipboard contains an image, the Width, Height and Resolution option boxes shows the size and resolution of that image.

 Otherwise, you can enter your own values in one of five units of measurement: pixels, inches, centimeters, picas, columns or points. (A pica, incidentally, is equal to roughly 1/6 inch and a point is 1/12 pica, or roughly 1/72 Creating a new image from scanner, use File->Acquire->Scan. Creating an image from the Clipboard, use Edit->Paste. Duplicating an image by choosing Image >Duplicate: This is important when you try out an effect without permanently damaging the original image on disk. Saving an image on disk by choosing File >Save and this will display Save dialog box, prompting for the name of the image, specify its location on disk, and select its file format. Saved file formats can be up to 22 types from its Open and Save dialog boxes. It can support more through the addition of plug-in modules.

Scanning, importing and exporting

To scan images, use Acquire command in the File menu. Determining the scan resolution depends on the capability of your output device. If the image is used on screen, the best is 96 ppi for PC compatibles, or 72 to 120 pixels per inch for a Macintosh monitor. Scanned file size is determined by the scan resolution, for example, the size of an image with a resolution of 200 ppi is four times greater than an image of identical dimensions and a resolution of 100 ppi. Screen frequency is the resolution of the screen you will use when you print your final image.

As a general rule, the image resolution should be twice the screen frequency to achieve the best printed results. To estimate scan resolution: 1. Multiply the longest dimension of the final image size by the screen frequency, then multiply this value by the ratio of the screen ruling (which is 2:1). Suppose you are now scanning an image that is 4 inches wide by 5 inches high. You are going to produce a final image that is 5 inches wide by 6 inches high. You are using a screen frequency of 150 lpi. 2. Multiply 6 (the longest output dimension) by 150 (screen frequency) to get 900 pixels. Then multiply 900 by 2 (the ratio of the screen). This equals to a total of 1800 pixels needed. 3. Divide the total number of pixels by the longest dimension of the original image. Here, the longest dimension of the original image is 5 inches. Dividing 1800 by 5 yields a scan resolution of 360 dpi. Importing images into Photoshop: The following image file formats are allowed: Photoshop 2.5 and 3.0 native format, Adobe Illustrator, Amiga IFF and HAM, BMP, Compuserve GIF, EPS, JPEG, Kodak PhotoCD, MacPaint, PCX, PICT file(raster only), PIXAR, PixelPaint, Raw, Scitex CT, Targa and TIFF. Among the above file formats, some of them are plug-in modules. Exporting images from Photoshop: Photoshop allows you to export to the following image formats: Photoshop 2.5 and 3.0 native format (with 2.5 compatibility mode enabled). Amiga IFF and HAM, BMP, Compuserve GIF, EPS, JPEG, MacPaint, PCX, PICT File (raster only), PIXAR, PixelPaint, Raw, Scitex CT, Targa, and TIFF.

Tools that comes with the software

The marquee tool lets you select rectangular or elliptical areas by dragging over an area of the image. By default, the marquee is dragged from its corner. You move a selection by dragging it to a new location using the move tool. When the Info palette is open, you can track the exact distance you are moving a selection. When you move a selection, Photoshop creates a temporary layer called a floating selection, which appears in the Layers palette. When you deselect the selection, its contents become part of the underlying layer. The lasso tool lets you make a selection by dragging a freehand outline around an area. You can also constrain all or part of the outline to straight-edged segments. The magic wand tool lets you select portions of an image based on the color similarities of adjacent pixels. This tool can be useful for selecting a consistently colored area (for example, a red flower) without having to trace the outline with the lasso tool. When you use the magic wand tool, Adobe Photoshop determines whether the adjacent pixels are within the color range, or tolerance, that you specify.

The airbrush tool lets you apply gradual tones (including sprays of color) to an image. It simulates the effect produced by traditional airbrush techniques. The edges of the stroke are more diffused than those created with the paintbrush tool. The pressure setting for the airbrush tool determines how quickly the spray of paint is applied. The paintbrush tool lets you create soft strokes of color. The eraser tool changes pixels in the image as you drag through them. You can choose to change the color and transparency of the affected pixels, or to revert the affected area to its previously saved version. The pencil tool creates hard-edged freehand lines and is most useful for bitmapped images. The rubber stamp tool lets you paint a copy, or a modified copy, of an image or color into the same image or into another image. The Clone options of the rubber stamp tool make a copy of, or sample, an image and paint an exact duplicate of that image. Other rubber stamp options let you paint with a pattern or with an impressionistic copy of the image. You can also restore painted areas to their last-saved states. The smudge tool simulates the actions of dragging a finger through wet paint. The tool picks up color from where the stroke begins and pushes it in the direction in which you drag. The focus tools include the blur tool, which lets you blur hard edges or areas in an image to reduce detail, and the sharpen tool, which lets you sharpen soft edges to increase clarity or focus. The toning tools include the dodge and burn tools, which let you lighten or darken, respectively, specific areas of an image, and the sponge tool, which lets you change the color saturation of an area. The dodge and burn tools are based on the traditional photographers technique of increasing the amount of exposure given to a specific area on a print. Photographers hold back light during an exposure to lighten an area on the print (dodging) or increase the exposure to darken areas on a print (burning-in). The sponge tool is useful for subtly increasing or reducing the saturation in an area. In Grayscale mode, the sponge tool increases or decreases contrast by moving gray levels away from or toward the middle gray. You create a path using one of two methods: you can create a new path in the Paths palette and then begin to draw with the pen tool, or you can draw with the pen tool first and then save the path in the Paths palette. If you create a path in the Paths palette first, the path you draw is saved automatically. If you begin drawing first, the path you draw

appears in the Paths palette as a temporary work path. You must save a work path to preserve its contents during a work session. Adobe Photoshop lets you add bitmap type to an image using the type tool). You can specify the leading, spacing, type styles, and alignment of the type. Normally, large bitmap characters appear jagged on the screen. However, if you use the Adobe Type Manager (ATM) program installed with Adobe Photoshop, or if you use TrueType fonts, characters appear almost as smooth and as well-defined as outline type. The line tool draws straight lines on an image. Line tool options let you specify the width of lines, set anti-aliasing, and create lines with arrowheads. The gradient tool lets you create a gradual transition between two or more colors. You can choose from the existing gradient fills in the Gradient Tool Options palette, or you can create and edit your own gradient fills. If you dont select a specific part of the image to fill, the gradient tool applies the fill to the entire active layer. A gradient fill can be applied as either a radial or a linear fill. A linear gradient fill creates a gradient from one point to another in a straight line. A radial fill creates a gradient fill from a center point outward in all directions. The paint bucket tool fills adjacent pixels that are similar in color value to the pixels you click. The paint bucket options let you specify a mode and opacity, indicate the color range, or tolerance, of pixels to be filled, and choose whether to fill with the foreground color or a pattern. You can also choose to create smooth edges for the filled selection. The eyedropper tool lets you sample color from an area of an image to designate a new foreground or background color. You can sample from the active image or from another image. (When youre using the eyedropper, you can click in a background window without making it the active window.) You can also specify the sample area that the eyedropper tool reads. For example, you can set the eyedropper to sample the color values of a 3-by-3-screen-pixel area under the pointer. Modifying the sample size of the eyedropper affects the color readouts displayed in the Info Palette. You can view different areas of an image using the image window scroll bars or the hand tool. The zoom tool and the Zoom commands let you magnify and reduce the view of an image. You can also zoom to an exact percentage of the original view by entering values in the zoom percentage box at the lower left of the window. The image windows title bar displays the magnification or reduction percentage at all times. You can magnify up to 1600% of the original image view.

Colour Corrections
The most common reason to use colour mapping is to enhance the appearance of a scanned image. In this case, you are not creating special effects, just making straightforward colour adjustments, known as colour corrections. Scans are never perfect, no matter how much money you spend. It is important to keep this principle in mind because it demonstrates that colour mapping is a balancing act. It seems that the first nine operations you have performed may make an image look progressively better, but the tenth may send it to a decline. The tips is, as always true, save your work on disk before launching into the colour mapping process. Photoshop's colour correction functions fall into three categories: those that produce immediate and useful effects, such as Invert and Threshold; those requiring significantly more work but are nonetheless designed to be understood by novices, such as the Brightness/Contrast and Colour Balance commands; and those that are more complicated but provide better control and better functionality, such as Hue/Saturation, Replace Colour, Levels and Curves.

Invert
Converts every colour in your image to its exact opposite. just as in a photographic negative; i.e. the brightness of every colour component changes to 255 minus the original brightness value. The only colour that doesn't change is medium grey, because it is its own oppposite.

Equalize
It searches for the lightest and darkest colour values in a selection, Then it maps the lightest colour in all the colour channels to white, maps the darkest colour in the channels to black and distributes the remaining colour to other brightness levels in an effort to evenly distribute pixels over the entire brightness spectrum.

Threshold
Converts all colours to either black or white based on their brightness values. Photoshop display a single option box and a slider bar, either of which you can use to specify the medium brightness value in the image. According to the value you entered, Photoshop will convert the colour lighter than the value to white and any colour darker than the value to black.

Posterize
Better than Threshold (which is good for two colours), it can retain as many colour as you like. Posterize automatically divides the full range of 256 colours brightness values into a specified number of equal increments.

Hue Shifting and Colourizing

Provides two functions: it enables you to adjust colours in an image according to their hues and saturation levels. You can apply the change to individual colour channels or

affect all colours equally across the spectrum. And second, the command lets you colourize images by applying new hue and saturation values while retaining the core brightness from the original image. By moving the Hue slide bar in the Hue/Saturation dialog box, the colours will be shifted around the colour wheel. It is as if the pixels were playing a colourful game of musical chairs, except that none of the chairs disappear. For example, if you select the Master radio button and enter a value of +60 degrees, all pixels will stand up, march one sixth of the way around the colour wheel and sit down. A pixel that was red becomes yellow, a pixel that was yellow become green and so on... By applying the saturation values to specific colour options, you can selectively fade and fortify colours. The Saturation option is especially useful for toning down images captured with low quality scanners that exaggerate certain colours. Colourizing images:

Photoshop provides four colour controls in the toolbox: Foreground colour The foreground colour icon indicates the colour you apply when you use the type, paint bucket, line, pencil, airbrush, or paintbrush tool. You can also apply the foreground colour beginning with any gradation with the gradient tool. You can change the foreground colour by clicking on the colour icon to display the Colour Picker dialog box, or click in an open image window with the eyedropper tool. Background colour The active background colour indicates the colour you apply with the eraser tool. The background colour also ends any gradation created with the gradient tool. To apply the background to a selection, press the Delete key. To change the background colour, click on the background colour icon to display the Colour Picker dialog box or press Alt-click in any open image window with the eyedropper. Switch colours Click on this icon (or press the X key) to exchange the foreground and background colours. Default colours Click on this icon (or press the D key) to make the foreground colour black and the background colour white, according to their factory settings.

Filters
Filters basics: In Photoshop, "filters" enable you to apply automated effects to an image.

In addition to allowing you to correct lighting and perspective fluctuations, Photoshop's filters can accomplish a great deal more. You can slightly increase the focus of an image, introduce random pixel, add depth to an image or completely rip it apart and resample it into a hunky pile of goo. Many number of special effects are made available via filters. How and When to use filters: Corrective Filters: the effects that you have applied are subtle enough that a user won't even notice what you have done through the corrective filters. These filters include those that change the focus of an image (Blur, Sharpen), enhance colour transitions (High Pass), and randomize pixels (Add Noise). Destructive Filters: found under the Filer-> Distort. Pixelate, Stylize and Render which produce effects that completely overwhelm your artwork, making the filter more important than the image. To get best results from these filters, apply them to selected portion of an image, rather than to the entire image. And make sure to "Save" your image to disk before applying a destructive filter so that you can revert to the saved image if you found the changes are not the way that you had wanted. General Filtering techniques: 1. Preview filter effects before you apply them. 2. Reapplying the last filter. Once is not enough (sometimes!). Samples: Add noise Blur Lighting Wave

Wind

Patchwork

Color Pencil

Facet

Trouble shooting and tips

FAQ's
1. Where can I use the Photoshop software? 1A. The Photoshop software is available in three platforms: in Unix, in PC and in Macintosh. The PC version is installed in the student laboratories in the Run Run Shaw Building and the Old Library Building. One copy of the software is installed in the Silicon Graphics Web Force station located in the Special Facilities Room in the Run Run Shaw Building. There is also a Power Macintosh connected to a scanner with one user license in Room 104, Run Run Shaw Building. 2. What is the best memory configuration in order to run Photoshop? 2A. The best way to improve the performance of Photoshop is to increase the amount of RAM. To support both Photoshop and Windows applications, it is better to have 32MB to 256MB of RAM. But when the RAM is not enough, it will use a virtual memory scheme which allows you to use the disk space for storing data and performing computation temporarily during a work session. 3. What is resizing and what is resampling? 3A. With resizing, there is an inverse relationship between size and resolution--size goes up when the resolution goes down, and vice versa. Resampling affacts either size or resolution alone. 4. The tools do not seem to work? 4A. The tools in the toolbox may appear not to work, 1)if you are in Quick Mask mode and are trying to edit the protected part of an image; 2) if there is an active selection that is hidden; 3)if you accidentally selected an alpha channel as the target channel but you are viewing the composite RGB or CMYK channel. 5. Photoshop often displays out-of-memory messages? 5A. To designate a secondary scratch disk, from File menu, select Preference and select Plug-ins & Scratch Disks, enter new drive to Secondary Scratch Disk. 5B. To increase the amount of RAM available to Photoshop software, from File menu, select Preference and select Memory and Image Cache, enter Cache Level or Physical Memory Usage. 6. What are the new features in Adobe Photoshop V.5?

6A. There are a lot of enhancement in the new version of Photoshop. Please refer to Help Menu, select Contents to read What's new.

Working together with WWW home page authoring

Image requirements:
Gif and JPEG formats are supported: Gif - CompuServe Graphic Interchange Format, supports 256 colours only. But it is commonly used to contain photographic images in the BBS and Internet. These files usually end with .gif extension. JPEG- Joint Photographic Experts Group format, is most efficient and essential compression. It is a compression which sacrifices image quality to conserve space on disk. However, you can determine how much you would like to keep the image quality. The lower the image quality, the higher the compression. These files usually end with .jpeg or .jpg Netscape browser can display both Gifs and JPEG format images without launching other helper applications. For file transferring, with both Gif file and JPEG file containing the same dimension of image, JPEG file size is about one third of Gif file, thus it is faster to transfer a JPEG file than a Gif file. A tip on using images in Web Page is to use smaller stamp-size Gif file for easy preview and link this to a good quality of the original JPEG image.

Links: 1. User guide for beginners-http://www.hku.hk/cc/document/photoshop/ 2. Google book search-Adobe Photoshop 7.0 Classroom in a Bookhttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=IYO7ujs4mYEC 3. Or make a search on google with the following keywordAdobe Photoshop User Guide