Adobe has pulled together an amazing amount of information in its new online help system (Appendix B), but despite all these efforts, it's geared toward seasoned Photoshop jockeys and assumes a level of skill that you may not have. The explanations are very clipped and to the point, which makes it difficult to get a real feel for the tool or technique you're learning about.
That's where this book comes in. It's intended to make learning Photoshop CS5 tolerable—and even enjoyable—by avoiding technical jargon as much as possible and explaining why and when you'll want to use (or avoid) certain features of the program. It's a conversational and friendly approach intended to speak to beginners and seasoned pixel pushers alike.
Some of the tutorials in this book refer to files you can download from this book's Missing CD page on the Missing Manuals website (www.missingmanuals.com/cds) so you can practice the techniques you're reading about. And throughout the book, you'll find several kinds of sidebar articles. The ones labeled "Up to Speed" help newcomers to Photoshop CS5 do things or explain concepts that veterans are probably already familiar with. Those labeled "Power Users' Clinic" cover more advanced topics for the brave of heart.
Note
Photoshop CS5 functions almost identically on Mac and Windows computers, but the screenshots in this book were all taken on a Mac for the sake of consistency. However, the keyboard shortcuts for the two operating systems are different, so you'll find both included here—Mac shortcuts first, followed by Windows shortcuts in parentheses. In a few instances, the locations of certain folders differ and in those cases, you get the directions for both operating systems.
This hefty book is divided into six parts, each devoted to the type of things you'll do in Photoshop CS5:
Part One: The Basics. Here's where you'll learn the essential skills you need to know before moving forward. Chapter 1 gives you the lay of the land and teaches you how to work with panels and make the Photoshop workspace your own. You'll also find out the many ways of undoing what you've done, which is crucial when you're still learning. Chapter 2 covers how to open and view your documents efficiently, and how to set up new documents so you have a solid foundation on which to build your masterpieces.
Chapter 3 dives into the most powerful Photoshop feature of all: layers. You'll learn about the different kinds of layers and how to manage them, the power of layer masks, and how to use layer styles for special effects. Chapter 4 explains how to select part of an image so you can edit just that area. In Chapter 5, you'll dive headfirst into the science of color as you explore channels (Photoshop's way of storing the colors that make up your image) and learn how to use channels to create selections; you'll also pick up some channel-specific editing tips along the way.
Part Two: Editing Images. Chapter 6 starts off by explaining a variety of ways you can crop images, both in Photoshop and in Camera Raw. The chapter then demystifies resolution once and for all so you'll understand how to resize images without reducing their quality. In Chapter 7, you'll learn how to combine images in a variety of ways, from simple techniques to more complex ones. Chapter 8 covers draining, changing, and adding color, arming you with several techniques for creating gorgeous black-and-white images, delicious duotones, partial-color effects, and more. You'll also learn how to change the color of almost anything.
Chapter 9 focuses on color-correcting images, beginning with auto fixer-uppers, and then moving on to the wonderfully simple world of Camera Raw and the more complicated realm of Levels and Curves. Chapter 10 is all about retouching people and is packed with practical techniques for slimming, trimming, and beautifying the faces and bodies that grace your pictures. It also explains how to use the Dodge and Burn tools in ways that won't harm your images. Chapter 11 covers all kinds of ways to sharpen images to make them look especially crisp.
Part Three: The Artistic Side of Photoshop. This part of the book is all about creativity. Chapter 12 explains the many ways of choosing colors for your documents, and teaches you how to create a painting from scratch. Chapter 13 focuses on using the mighty Pen tool to create complex illustrations and selections, along with how to use Photoshop's Shape tools. Chapter 14 teaches you the basics of typography and then moves on to how to create and format text in Photoshop. You'll find out how to outline, texturize, and place text, among other fun stuff. Chapter 15 covers the wide world of filters; you'll come away with at least one practical use for one or more of the filters in each filter category.
Part Four: Printing and the Web. In Chapter 16, you'll learn about printing your images, beginning with why it's so darn hard to make what comes out of your printer match what you see onscreen. You'll learn about the different color modes and how to prepare your images for printing, whether you're using an inkjet printer or sending your files to a commercial printing press. Chapter 17 focuses on preparing images for the Web, and walks you through the various file formats you can use, explains how to protect your images online, and shows you how to use Bridge to create Web galleries. Rounding out the chapter is info on using the Slice tool on a web page design, and step-by-step instructions for creating an animated GIF.
Part Five: Photoshop Power. This part is all about working smarter and faster. It starts with an entire chapter devoted to using actions (Chapter 18), which help you automate tasks you perform regularly. Chapter 19 covers installing and using plug-ins (small programs you can add on to Photoshop) and recommends some of the best on the market today.
Part Six: Appendixes. Appendix A covers installing and uninstalling Photoshop. Appendix B gives you some troubleshooting tips, explains Photoshop's help system, and points you to resources other than this book. Appendix C gets you up to speed on using Adobe Bridge to import, organize, and export your images. Appendix D gives you a tour of the mighty Tools panel. And finally, Appendix E walks you through Photoshop CS5's 258 menu items.
Tip
All the appendixes are available on this book's Missing CD page at www.missingmanuals.com/cds.
If you're relatively new to digital-image editing or you've always shot film and are taking your first brave steps into the world of digital cameras, you'll be amazed at what you can do in Photoshop, but there's a lot to learn. By breaking Photoshop down into digestible chunks that are most important to you, the learning process will feel less overwhelming. (There's no sense in tackling the whole program when you'll only use a quarter of it—if that much.)
The most important thing to remember is to be patient and try not to get frustrated. With patience and practice, you can master the bits of Photoshop that you need to do your job better. And with the help of this book you'll conquer everything faster than you might think. As you gain confidence, you can start branching out into other parts of the program to broaden your skills. Here's a suggested roadmap for quickly learning the most useful aspects of the program:
Read all of Chapters Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 (or at the very least skim them).
These two chapters show you where to find all of Photoshop's tools and features and explain how the program is organized. You'll learn how to open, view, and save your images, which is vital stuff to know.
If your photos aren't on your computer already, read Appendix C (online) about Adobe Bridge.
Bridge is an amazingly powerful image organizer and browser that can help get your images onto your computer. It takes care of importing, renaming, and even backing up your precious photos.
If you're shooting in Raw format (Working with Raw Files) and need to color-correct your images in a hurry, skip ahead to the section on editing in Camera Raw in Chapter 9 (Correcting Images in Camera Raw).
This chapter includes an entire section on practical editing techniques you can use in Camera Raw, and a quick reference that points you to where you'll find other Camera-Raw techniques throughout this book.
If you're not shooting in Raw and you need to resize your images before you edit them, read Chapter 6.
This chapter explains resolution and how to resize images without reducing their quality.
Proceed with Chapters Chapter 8, Chapter 9, and Chapter 10 to learn about color effects, color-correcting, and retouching people, respectively.
When you're ready to sharpen your images, read Chapter 11.
Finally, when you want to print your photos, read the section on printing with an inkjet printer in Chapter 16 (Printing on an Inkjet Printer).
This chapter walks you through printing your photos, and includes advice on how to print borderless images.
That's all you need to get started. When you're ready to dive more fully into Photoshop, pick back up at Chapter 3, which covers layers, and then move on through the book as time permits.
This book assumes that you know how to use a computer and that, to some extent, you're an expert double-clicker, drag and dropper, and menu opener. If not, here's a quick refresher:
To click means to move the point of your mouse or trackpad cursor over an object on your screen and press the left mouse or trackpad button once. To right-click means to press the right mouse button once, which produces a menu of special features called a shortcut menu. (If you're on a Mac and have a mouse with only one button, hold down the Control key while you click to simulate right-clicking.) To double-click means to press the left button twice, quickly, without moving the mouse between clicks. To drag means to click an object and use the mouse to move it while holding down the left mouse button. Most selection buttons onscreen are pretty obvious, but you may not be familiar with radio buttons: To choose an option, you click one of these little empty circles that are arranged in a list. If you're comfortable with basic concepts like these, you're ready to get started with this book.
You'll find tons of keyboard shortcuts along the way, and they're huge timesavers. If you see "Press ⌘-S (Ctrl+S on a PC) to save your file," that means to hold down the ⌘ (or Ctrl) key while pressing the S key. Press one and keep holding it as you press the other. (This book lists Mac keyboard shortcuts first, followed by Windows shortcuts in parentheses.) Other keyboard shortcuts are so complex that you'll need to use multiple fingers, both hands, and a well-placed elbow. Use them at your own risk!
In Photoshop CS5: The Missing Manual (and in all Missing Manuals, for that matter), you'll see arrows sprinkled throughout each chapter in sentences like this: "Choose Filter→Blur→Gaussian Blur." This is a shorthand way of helping you find files, folders, and menu choices without having to read through painfully long and boring instructions. For example, the sentence quoted above is a short way of saying: "At the top of the Photoshop window, locate the Filter menu. Click it and, in the list that appears, look for the Blur category. Point to the word Blur without clicking and, in the resulting submenu, click Gaussian Blur" (see Figure 1).
On the Missing Manuals website (www.missingmanuals.com), you'll find this book's Missing CD page, which includes links to downloadable images mentioned in this book's tutorials, in case you want to practice techniques without using your own photos.
A word about the image files for the tutorials: To make life easier for people with dial-up Internet connections, the file sizes have been kept pretty small. This means you probably won't want to print the results of what you create (you'll end up with a print about the size of a matchbook). But that doesn't really matter because the files are only meant for onscreen use. You'll see notes throughout the book about which practice images are available for any given chapter.
On the website, you can also find articles, tips, and updates to this book. If you click the Errata link, you'll see any corrections we've made to the book, too; if you find something in these pages that you think is wrong, feel free to report it by clicking that link. Each time the book is printed, we'll update it with any confirmed corrections. If you want to be certain that your own copy is up to the minute, this is where to check for any changes. And thanks for reporting any errors or suggesting corrections.
We'd love to hear your suggestions for new books in the Missing Manual line. There's a place for that on www.missingmanuals.com, too. And while you're online, you can also register this book at www.oreilly.com (you can jump directly to the registration page by going here: www.tinyurl.com/yo82k3. Registering means we can send you updates about this book, and you'll be eligible for special offers like discounts on future editions.
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