Adobe Photoshop CS3 Studio Techniques

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Studio Techniques

by Ben Willmore, Ben Long
Released December 2007
Publisher(s): Adobe Press
ISBN: 9780321549976

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Book description

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Studio Techniques has been completely updated to cover the new features in CS3. In a friendly, easy-going style that's long on information and short on techno-babble, Photoshop Hall-of-Famer Ben Willmore guides you through the concepts, features that will truly make a difference in how you use Photoshop every day. He takes you from blindly following step-by-step instructions to an in-depth understanding of how Photoshop works, cutting through the fat to focus on what he considers to be Photoshop's essential features. This full-color book delivers the content in three easily digestible sections: Working Foundations, Production Essentials, and Creative Explorations, and includes a companion CD with bonus chapters and practice images so you can quickly and easily apply the techniques covered throughout. Beginning with the working foundations of Photoshop--the basic tools, palettes, layers, and masks, you'll quickly move on to real-world production techniques, such as how to sharpen scans, correct and optimize images, and use the powerful Curves and Channels features to your advantage. Finally, you'll get to fully explore Photoshop's creative potential by blending and enhancing images, creating collages, retouching photographs, colorizing, and working with filters and layer masks. By the time you finish this book, your creativity and efficiency levels should soar and you'll start to feel like you finally "get" Photoshop.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
    1. Dedication
  2. About the Author
  3. Much Obliged!
  4. Foreword
  5. I. Introduction
    1. Why This Book?
    2. A New Voice in Studio Techniques
    3. Will I Understand It?
    4. Does It Start at My Level?
    5. Mac or Windows?
    6. What’s on the CD?
    7. What’s Missing?
    8. Where’s the New Stuff?
      1. Chapter 1 Tool and Palette Primer
      2. Chapter 4 Optimizing Grayscale Images
      3. Chapter 5 Understanding Curves
      4. Chapter 8 Using Camera Raw
      5. Chapter 14 Collage
      6. Chapter 15 Retouching
    9. Ready to Get Started?
  6. I. Working Foundations
    1. 1. Tool and Palette Primer
      1. Preparing Your Workspace
        1. Palettes and Docks
        2. Collapsing and Hiding Docks
        3. Collapsing Palettes
        4. Floating Palettes
        5. Rearranging the Dock
        6. Creating a New Palette Group
        7. The Second Palette Dock
        8. The Tools Palette
        9. Workspace Presets
      2. Working with Screen Modes
        1. Standard Screen Mode
        2. Maximized Screen Mode
        3. Full Screen Mode with Menu Bar
        4. Full Screen Mode
      3. A Quick Tour of the Tools
        1. The Options Bar
      4. Navigating Your Document
        1. The Navigator Palette
        2. Hand Tool
        3. Zoom Tool
        4. View Menu
      5. Picking Colors
        1. Foreground and Background Colors
        2. Color Picker Dialog Box
          1. Previewing a Color
          2. Choosing Web-safe Colors
          3. Selecting with the Color Field
          4. Selecting by Hue, Saturation, and Brightness
          5. Selecting from a Color Library
        3. Color Palette
        4. Eyedropper Tool
        5. Swatches Palette
        6. Info Palette
      6. Basic Editing Tools
        1. Painting
          1. Opacity
          2. Flow
        2. Blending Mode
        3. Eraser Tool
        4. Brush Presets Palette
        5. Brushes Palette
          1. Brush Tip Shape
          2. Shape Dynamics
          3. Scattering
          4. Texture
          5. Dual Brush
          6. Color Dynamics
          7. Other Dynamics
          8. The Rest of the Brush Settings
          9. Saving Brushes
          10. Preset Brushes
        6. Paint Bucket Tool
        7. Shape Tools
        8. Ruler Tool
        9. Gradient Tool
          1. Gradient Colors
          2. Dithered Gradients
          3. Custom Gradients
          4. Transparent Gradients
        10. Notes Tool
        11. PDF Annotations
        12. Tool Presets
      7. Adobe Bridge
        1. Navigating Your Hard Drive
        2. Working with Thumbnails
          1. Sorting the Thumbnails
          2. Controlling Thumbnail Quality
        3. Rating and Labeling Images
        4. Filtering Images
        5. Changing Layouts
        6. Renaming Files
        7. The Metadata Pane
        8. Comparing and Examining Images
          1. The Loupe
        9. Stacks
      8. Importing Images
        1. Import Settings
        2. Advanced Importing
      9. Editing Menus
      10. Editing Keyboard Shortcuts
        1. The Logic Behind the Keyboard Commands
      11. Closing Thoughts
    2. 2. Selection Primer
      1. What Is a Selection?
      2. Basic Selection Tools
        1. Rectangular Marquee Tool
        2. Elliptical Marquee Tool
        3. Single Row and Single Column Marquee Tools
        4. Crop Tool
        5. Crop and Straighten Photos
        6. Lasso Tool
        7. Polygonal Lasso Tool
        8. Magnetic Lasso Tool
          1. Edge Contrast
        9. Quick Selection Tool
      3. Magic Wand Tool
        1. Type Tool
      4. Refining a Selection
        1. Adding to a Selection
        2. Removing Part of a Selection
        3. Intersecting a Selection
      5. The Select Menu
        1. Select All
        2. Deselect/Reselect
        3. Inverse
        4. Color Range
        5. Refine Selection
        6. Modify
        7. Grow
        8. Similar
        9. Transform Selection
        10. Load Selection and Save Selection
      6. Quick Mask Mode
        1. Shades of Gray
        2. Selections in Quick Mask Mode
        3. Color
      7. Closing Thoughts
    3. 3. Layers Primer
      1. How Do Layers Work?
      2. Meeting the Layers
        1. Creating Layers
        2. Active Layer
        3. Stacking Order
        4. Background Image
        5. The Eyeballs: What They See Is What You Get
        6. Opacity
        7. Moving Layers
        8. Selecting Multiple Layers
        9. Linking Layers
        10. Trimming the Fat
        11. Copying Between Documents
        12. Duplicating Layers
        13. Deleting Layers
        14. Transforming Layers
        15. Locking Up
          1. Lock Transparency
          2. Lock Image
          3. Lock Position
          4. Lock All
        16. Layer Styles
        17. Adjustment Layers
        18. Fill Layers
          1. Solid Color Layer
          2. Gradient Layer
          3. Pattern Layer
        19. The Blending Mode Menu
        20. Automatic Selections
        21. Via Copy
        22. Use All Layers
        23. Shortcuts
        24. Grouping Layers
        25. Smart Guides
        26. No Thumbnail View
        27. Layer Bounds View
        28. Color Coding
        29. Merging Layers
      3. Closing Thoughts
  7. II. Production Essentials
    1. 4. Optimizing Grayscale Images
      1. Brightness/Contrast
      2. Levels
      3. The Histogram Is Your Guide
        1. Evaluating and Adjusting Contrast
        2. Hidden Features to the Rescue
        3. The Histogram Gives You Feedback
        4. Adjusting Brightness
      4. Setting Up Your Images for Final Output
        1. Preparing for a Printing Press
      5. A Quick Levels Recap
      6. Postadjustment Analysis
        1. Low Contrast Onscreen Appearance
        2. Recognizing Posterization
        3. Eliminating Posterization
      7. Closing Thoughts
    2. 5. Understanding Curves
      1. The Power of Curves
        1. But First, a Test!
        2. The Idea Behind Curves
          1. The Gradients Are Your Guide
          2. Color Modes and Curves
      2. Taking Curves for a Test Drive
        1. Improving Dark Images
        2. Increasing Contrast and Detail
        3. Decreasing Contrast and Detail
          1. Let’s Analyze a Classic Tip
          2. Checking Ink Ranges
          3. Inverting Your Image
          4. Freeform Curves
      3. Input and Output Numbers
        1. Two Numbering Systems
        2. Entering Numbers
        3. The Info Palette
        4. Color Is Different
        5. A Quick Recap
      4. The Histogram Palette
        1. Achieving Optimal Contrast
        2. Preventing Blown-Out Highlights and Plugged-Up Shadows
        3. Avoiding Posterization
        4. Sneaky Contrast Adjustments
      5. Shadow/Highlight
      6. Closing Thoughts
    3. 6. Color Management
      1. How Color Works
      2. The Problem with Color
      3. Color Management to the Rescue
      4. Implementing Color Management
        1. Choosing an RGB Working Space
        2. RGB Working Spaces
          1. Profile Mismatch Warnings
        3. Device Profiles
        4. Creating a Monitor Profile
          1. Using Apple’s Calibration Utility
          2. Creating a Custom Profile
          3. Creating a Printer Profile
          4. Profiling a Printing Press
          5. Profiling Your Scanner
      5. Color Management in Action
        1. Accurate Scans
        2. Simulating a Printing Press Onscreen
        3. Accurate Prints
        4. Better CMYK Conversions
          1. Perceptual
          2. Saturation
          3. Relative and Absolute Colorimetric
      6. Closing Thoughts
    4. 7. Color Correction
      1. Use Gray to Fix Color?!?
      2. Professional Color Correction
        1. Balancing Your Colors
          1. Using Threshold to Locate Highlight and Shadow
          2. Using a Grayscale to Correct Multiple Images
          3. Auto Color
        2. Adjusting Skin Tones
      3. Closing Thoughts
    5. 8. Using Camera Raw
      1. The Camera Raw Dialog Box
        1. The Basic Tab
          1. White Balance
          2. Exposure Slider
          3. Recovery Slider
          4. Fill Light Slider
          5. Blacks Slider
          6. Brightness Slider
          7. Contrast Slider
          8. Clarity Slider
          9. Vibrance Slider
          10. Saturation Slider
        2. The Tone Curve Tab
        3. The Detail Tab
          1. Sharpening
          2. Noise Reduction
          3. Color Noise Reduction
        4. HSL / Grayscale Tab
          1. Hue
          2. Saturation
          3. Luminance
          4. Convert to Grayscale
          5. Tone and Color Adjustments After Grayscale Conversion
        5. Split Toning Tab
        6. The Lens Corrections Tab
        7. The Camera Calibration Tab
        8. The Presets Tab
      2. Adjusting Multiple Images
      3. Finishing Touches
      4. Closing Thoughts
    6. 9. Color Manipulation
      1. At the Core Is the Color Wheel
        1. Hue = Basic Color
        2. Saturation = How Colorful
        3. Brightness/Lightness/Luminosity
      2. The Hue/Saturation Dialog Box
        1. Isolating a Range of Colors
        2. Saturating Your World
        3. Enhancing Skies
        4. Color to Grayscale
          1. Tinting
          2. Presets
        5. Colorizing Grayscale Photos
        6. Digging a Little Deeper
      3. Replacing Color
      4. Variations
      5. Color Balance
      6. Levels/Curves
        1. Auto Color
      7. Selective Color
      8. Match Color
      9. Red Eye Tool
      10. Color Replacement Tool
      11. Channel Mixer
      12. Gradient Map
      13. Closing Thoughts
    7. 10. Adjustment Layers
      1. Two Methods For Adjusting An Image
        1. Direct Adjustments
        2. Adjustment Layers
      2. Using Adjustment Layers
        1. Stacking Order
        2. Before and After Views
        3. Dragging Between Documents
      3. Photo Filter Adjustments
      4. Blending Modes
        1. Empty Adjustment Layers
      5. Adjusting Isolated Areas
        1. Layer Masks
          1. Working with Selections
          2. Using Quick Mask Mode
          3. Disabling the Layer Mask
          4. Viewing the Layer Mask Directly
          5. Viewing the Layer Mask as a Color Overlay
          6. Moving or Copying the Mask to Another Layer
          7. Masking Multiple Adjustment Layers
      6. Limiting The Brightness Range That’s Affected
      7. Limiting Which Layers Are Affected
        1. Adjusting a Single Layer
        2. Adjusting a Limited Number of Layers
      8. Histograms and Automatic Adjustments
      9. Potential Problems
      10. Limitations of Adjustment Layers
      11. Closing Thoughts
    8. 11. Sharpening
      1. Removing Film Grain and Scanner/Camera Noise
        1. Gaussian Blur
        2. Despeckle
        3. Median
        4. Dust & Scratches
        5. Reduce Noise
          1. Advanced Mode
        6. Reclaiming Detail with the History Brush
      2. How Sharpening Works
        1. Sharpening an Image
        2. Using Smart Sharpen
          1. Advanced Mode
      3. Tricks of the Trade
        1. Sharpen Luminosity
        2. Sharpen the Black Channel
        3. Sharpen Channels Separately
        4. Control Highlight and Shadow Separately
      4. Closing Thoughts
  8. III. Creative Explorations
    1. 12. Enhancement
      1. The Battalion of Blending Modes
        1. Dissolve Mode
        2. Behind Mode
        3. Clear Mode
        4. Darken Blending Modes
          1. Darken Mode
          2. Multiply Mode
          3. Color Burn Mode
          4. Linear Burn Mode
        5. Lighten Blending Modes
          1. Lighten Mode
          2. Screen Mode
          3. Color Dodge Mode
          4. Linear Dodge
        6. Contrast Blending Modes
          1. Overlay Mode
          2. Soft Light Mode
          3. Hard Light Mode
          4. Vivid Light
          5. Linear Light
          6. Pin Light
          7. Hard Mix
          8. How to Tell Them Apart
        7. Comparative Blending Modes
          1. Difference Mode
          2. Exclusion Mode
          3. Hue/Saturation/Brightness Blending Modes
          4. Hue Mode
          5. Saturation Mode
          6. Color Mode
          7. Luminosity Mode
      2. Closing Thoughts
    2. 13. Advanced Masking
      1. The Key Is to Choose the Right Tool
      2. The Background Eraser
        1. Tolerance
        2. Protect Foreground Color
        3. Sampling
        4. Limits
        5. Tips and Tweaks
      3. The Extract Filter
        1. Start with the Highlighter
        2. Fill with the Paint Bucket Tool
        3. Zoom In and Fine Tune
        4. Clean It Up
        5. Use Force Foreground for Intricate Images
        6. Using Extract to Make a Selection
      4. The Blending Sliders
      5. Channels
      6. The Pen Tool
      7. Layer Masks
      8. Closing Thoughts
    3. 14. Collage
      1. Four Techniques to Choose From
      2. Clipping Masks
        1. Blending Sliders
        2. Layer Masks
        3. Vector Masks
        4. Clipping Masks
        5. Changing the Stacking Order
        6. Limiting Shadows
        7. The Magnifying Glass Trick
      3. Blending Sliders
        1. “This Layer” Sliders
        2. “Underlying” Sliders
        3. Understanding the Numbers
        4. Using Color Channels
        5. Enhancing Clouds
        6. Making the Changes Permanent
      4. Layer Masks
        1. Creating a Layer Mask
        2. Switching Between the Layer Mask and the Image
        3. Hiding Selected Areas
        4. Paste Into
        5. Disabling a Layer Mask
        6. Viewing a Layer Mask
        7. Shades of Gray
        8. Filling Areas
        9. Using Gradients
        10. Applying Filters
        11. Interesting Edges
        12. Adjusting with Levels
        13. Image as Layer Mask
        14. Using the Move Tool
        15. Copying to Another Layer
        16. Load as Selection
        17. Masking Layer Styles
        18. Converting the Blending Sliders into a Layer Mask
        19. Removing a Layer Mask
      5. Creating a Panoramic Image with Photomerge
      6. Vector Masks
        1. Adding a Vector Mask
        2. Disabling the Vector Mask
        3. Using the Move Tool
        4. Transforming the Vector Mask
        5. Using Vector Masks with Layer Masks
        6. Removing the Vector Mask
        7. Saving Vector Data
        8. Clipping Paths
      7. Smart Objects
        1. Creating Smart Objects
        2. Multiple Instances
        3. Nested Smart Objects
        4. Editing Smart Objects
        5. Smart Filters
        6. Smart Objects Tips & Tricks
        7. Camera Raw
          1. Painting and Adjustments
      8. Warping
      9. Creating Complex Collages
        1. Creating the Fan of Leaves
        2. Adding The Head
        3. Adding the Camera Lens
        4. Adding Type and Logo Treatments
        5. Creating the Background Texture
        6. Final Tweaks
        7. Creating a 3-D Cover Mock-Up
      10. Closing Thoughts
    4. 15. Retouching
      1. Patch Tool
      2. Healing Brush Tool
        1. Layers
      3. Spot Healing Brush Tool
      4. Clone Stamp Tool
        1. Cloning Around
        2. Clone Aligned
        3. Clone Non-Aligned
        4. Opacity Settings
        5. Straight Lines
        6. Patchwork
        7. Lighten/Darken
        8. Automatic Sharpening
        9. Cloning Between Documents
        10. Clone Source
      5. Vanishing Point
        1. Defining Planes
        2. Duplicating Areas
        3. Cloning in Perspective
      6. The Dodge and Burn Tools
        1. The Dodge Tool
          1. Color Images
        2. The Burn Tool
          1. Color Fixes
      7. The Sponge Tool
      8. The Blur and Sharpen Tools
        1. The Blur Tool
          1. Layers
        2. The Lens Blur Filter
        3. The Sharpen Tool
          1. Reflected Highlights
      9. Lens Correction Filter
        1. Remove Distortion
        2. Chromatic Aberration
        3. Vignette
        4. Transform
      10. The Liquify Filter
        1. Real-World Retouching with Liquify
          1. Retouching Eyes
          2. Retouching Mouths
          3. Digital Liposuction
      11. Retouching and Restoring Real-World Photos
        1. Fixing a Faded Image
        2. Plastic Surgery
      12. Closing Thoughts
    5. 16. Workflow
      1. Step 1—Image Capture
        1. Digital Cameras
          1. Resolution
          2. File Formats
          3. Histograms
        2. Scanners
      2. Step 2—Initial Rough Crop & Straighten
      3. Step 3—Spotting
      4. Step 4—Color Correction
      5. Step 5—Global Tonal Adjustments
      6. Step 6—Global Color Adjustment
      7. Step 7—Reduce or Remove Noise/Grain
      8. Step 8—Local Tonal Adjustments
      9. Step 9—Fine-Tune Localized Colors
      10. Step 10—Interpret Colors
      11. Step 11—Double & Triple Check Masks
      12. Step 12—Retouching
      13. Step 13—Creative Effects
      14. Step 14—Save Master File
      15. Step 15—Create Output-Specific Files
      16. Closing Thoughts
      17. Keep in Touch
  9. CD-ROM Licensing Agreement
  10. 1. Line Art Scanning
    1. Avoiding the Jaggies
      1. Resolution Is the Key
    2. Photoshop Can Fake It
    3. Straightening the Image
    4. Improving Definition
      1. Taking a Snapshot
      2. Sharpening the Image
    5. Converting to Line Art
      1. Adding a Threshold Adjustment Layer
      2. Refining Areas
    6. Minimizing File Size
    7. Converting to Bitmap
      1. Choosing a File Format
    8. Closing Thoughts
  11. 2. Channels
    1. Channels Are Worth the Pain!
    2. Three Varieties of Channels
      1. Color Channels
      2. Spot Channels
      3. Alpha Channels
    3. Navigating the Channels Palette
    4. Understanding Color Channels
      1. Choosing a Color Mode
      2. How Channels Relate to Layers
      3. The Composite Color Channel
      4. Viewing Channels in Color
      5. Editing Multiple Channels
      6. Applying a Filter to a Single Channel
      7. Black-Only Grayscale Images
    5. Understanding Spot Channels
      1. No Layers Support
      2. Creating Spot Channels
      3. Painting with Spot Colors
      4. Proofing on a Desktop Printer
      5. Saving the Image
    6. Understanding Alpha Channels
      1. Loading and Saving Selections
      2. Deleting Alpha Channels
      3. Viewing Individual Channels
      4. New Channels
      5. Feathered Selections
      6. Shades of Gray
      7. Selections Within Channels
      8. View with the Image
      9. Saving Channels with Your Image
    7. Closing Thoughts
  12. 3. Shadows
    1. How to Think About Shadows
    2. Four Shadow Types
      1. Drop Shadows
      2. Cast Shadows
        1. Isolating the Subject
        2. Filling with a Gradient
        3. Distorting the Shadow Layer
        4. Blurring the Shadow
        5. Achieving Proper Brightness
      3. Reconstructed Shadows
        1. Isolating the Subject
        2. Tracing Shadow Edges
        3. Rebuilding the Shadows
      4. Natural Shadows
        1. Isolating the Subject
        2. Finding Edge of Shadow
        3. Cleaning Up Unwanted Grays
        4. Refining the Result
        5. Controlling the Shadow’s Color
        6. Overprinting the Shadow
        7. Creating a Truly Transparent Shadow
    3. RGB Versus CMYK
    4. Closing Thoughts
  13. 4. Type and Background Effects
    1. No More Jaggy Text
    2. Entering Text
    3. Editing Text
    4. Type Layers
      1. Type on a Path
      2. Type in a Shape
      3. Type Warping
    5. Layer Styles
      1. Beveled Edge Type
      2. Textured Type
      3. Jelly Type
      4. Wild Type
    6. The Styles Palette
      1. Intertwined Type
    7. Backgrounds and Textures
      1. Filters That Can Create Something Out of Nothing
      2. A Simple Texture
      3. Moon Texture
      4. Stucco Wall
      5. Painterly Wall
      6. Sponged Stuff
      7. Artificial Map
      8. Patchy Paint
      9. Brown Reeds
    8. Repeating Patterns
      1. Using Tileable Filters
      2. Creating Your Own Pattern
      3. Using the Pattern Maker Filter
    9. Closing Thoughts
  14. 5. Resolution Solutions
    1. Understanding Pixel Size
    2. Printing
      1. Resolution and Line Art
      2. Resolution and Grayscale or Color Images
        1. Inkjet
        2. Laser Printer/Printing Press
        3. Dye-Sub Printers
        4. 35mm Slides
        5. Multimedia/Internet
        6. Digital Cameras
        7. Video
      3. Resolution and File Size
        1. Resampling
      4. Other Resolution Tricks
        1. Scanning with Maximum Resolution
        2. Res Versus PPI
        3. Print Size
    3. Closing Thoughts

Product information

  • Title: Adobe Photoshop CS3 Studio Techniques
  • Author(s): Ben Willmore, Ben Long
  • Release date: December 2007
  • Publisher(s): Adobe Press
  • ISBN: 9780321549976