Photoshop® Elements 6 for Dummies®

Photoshop® Elements 6 for Dummies®

by Barbara Obermeier, Ted Padova
Released December 2007
Publisher(s): For Dummies
ISBN: 9780470192382

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Book description

Want to get more fun from your photos?   To edit and enhance your pictures, fix flaws, and create greeting cards or cool photo projects to share? What about turning out some really professional prints with simply stunning color? Photoshop Elements can handle it, and Photoshop Elements 6 For Dummies gets you up and running on Elements in a hurry.

Photoshop Elements 6 is a reasonably priced, full-featured, powerful image-editing program for Windows (Adobe stopped supporting Elements for Mac with version 4.) This colorful guide helps you make the most of all its coolest features. You'll quickly get familiar with the work area and all the tools; be able to find, organize, and manage your images; correct common mistakes; and explore fun ways to share your photos. You’ll discover how to:

  • Acquire images from your camera or scanner

  • Organize your files and photos you so can quickly find what you’re looking for

  • Crop and straighten pictures, fix exposure, and clean up dust and scratches

  • Create sharp and colorful images for printing

  • Correct color, contrast, and clarity

  • Combine multiple images into creative collages

  • Use filters to create different effects

  • Turn your photos into slide shows, movie files, or Web-hosted images

Elements has something for everyone, from beginning dabblers to serious photo hobbyists to professionals. With plenty of full-color illustrations that show what you can achieve, this friendly guide will help you use Elements to make the most of your digital photos.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. About the Authors
  3. Authors' Acknowledgments
  4. Publisher's Acknowledgments
  5. Introduction
    1. About This Book
    2. Conventions Used in This Book
    3. How This Book Is Organized
      1. Part I: Getting Started
      2. Part II: Getting Organized
      3. Part III: Selecting and Correcting Photos
      4. Part IV: Exploring Your Inner Artist
      5. Part V: Printing, Creating, and Sharing
      6. Part VI: The Part of Tens
    4. Icons Used in This Book
    5. Where to Go from Here
  6. 1. Getting Started
    1. 1. Getting to Know the Work Area
      1. 1.1. Getting Around in Full Edit Mode
        1. 1.1.1. Jumping to Full Edit mode
        2. 1.1.2. Examining the Image window
        3. 1.1.3. Moving through the menu bar
        4. 1.1.4. Uncovering the context menus
        5. 1.1.5. Using the Tools panel
        6. 1.1.6. Playing with panels
        7. 1.1.7. Selecting tool options from the Options bar
        8. 1.1.8. Juggling all your interface options
        9. 1.1.9. Looking at Shortcuts
      2. 1.2. Changing Workspaces
        1. 1.2.1. Using Quick Edit mode
        2. 1.2.2. Using creation tools
      3. 1.3. Using the Project Bin
        1. 1.3.1. Creating different views of an image
        2. 1.3.2. Hiding the Project Bin
        3. 1.3.3. Using Bin Actions
      4. 1.4. Retracing Your Steps
        1. 1.4.1. Using the Undo History panel
        2. 1.4.2. Reverting to the last save
      5. 1.5. Getting a Helping Hand
        1. 1.5.1. Using Help
        2. 1.5.2. Using PDFs from the installation CD
        3. 1.5.3. Using ToolTips
      6. 1.6. Taking Charge with Shortcuts
    2. 2. Getting Ready to Edit
      1. 2.1. Controlling the Editing Environment
        1. 2.1.1. Launching and navigating Preferences
        2. 2.1.2. Checking out all the Preferences panes
      2. 2.2. Controlling the Organizing Environment
        1. 2.2.1. Understanding the Photoshop Elements Organizer
        2. 2.2.2. Navigating Organizer preferences
        3. 2.2.3. Setting preferences in all the panes
      3. 2.3. Customizing Presets
      4. 2.4. Getting Familiar with Color
        1. 2.4.1. Introducing color channels
        2. 2.4.2. Understanding bit depth
      5. 2.5. Getting Color Right
        1. 2.5.1. Calibrating your monitor
        2. 2.5.2. Choosing a color workspace
        3. 2.5.3. Understanding how profiles work
    3. 3. Working with Resolutions, Color Modes, and File Formats
      1. 3.1. The Ubiquitous Pixels
        1. 3.1.1. Understanding resolution
        2. 3.1.2. Understanding image dimensions
      2. 3.2. The Art of Resampling
        1. 3.2.1. Changing image size and resolution
        2. 3.2.2. Understanding the results of resampling
      3. 3.3. Choosing a Resolution for Print or Onscreen
      4. 3.4. Go Ahead — Make My Mode!
        1. 3.4.1. Converting to bitmap mode
        2. 3.4.2. Converting to grayscale mode
        3. 3.4.3. Converting to indexed color mode
      5. 3.5. Saving Files with Purpose
        1. 3.5.1. Using the Save/Save As dialog box
        2. 3.5.2. Saving files for the Web
        3. 3.5.3. Understanding file formats
          1. 3.5.3.1. Photoshop (*.PSD, *.PDD)
          2. 3.5.3.2. BMP (*.BMP, *.RLE, *.DIB)
          3. 3.5.3.3. CompuServe GIF (*.GIF)
          4. 3.5.3.4. Photo Project Format (*.PSE)
          5. 3.5.3.5. Photoshop EPS (*.EPS)
          6. 3.5.3.6. JPEG (*.JPG, *.JPEG, *.JPE)
          7. 3.5.3.7. JPEG 2000 (*.JPF, *.JPX, *.JP2, *. J2K, *.JPC)
          8. 3.5.3.8. PCX (*.PCX)
          9. 3.5.3.9. Photoshop PDF (*.PDF, *.PDP)
          10. 3.5.3.10. Photoshop Raw (*.RAW)
          11. 3.5.3.11. PICT File (*.PCT, *.PICT)
          12. 3.5.3.12. Pixar (*.PXR)
          13. 3.5.3.13. PNG (*.PNG)
          14. 3.5.3.14. Scitex CT (*.SCT)
          15. 3.5.3.15. Targa (*.TGA, *.VDA, *.ICB, *.VST)
          16. 3.5.3.16. TIFF (*.TIF, *.TIFF)
        4. 3.5.4. File formats at a glance
        5. 3.5.5. Audio and video formats supported in Elements
  7. 2. Getting Organized
    1. 4. Getting Your Images
      1. 4.1. Digital Cameras versus Scanners and Film Cameras
      2. 4.2. Grabbing Images from Your Camera
        1. 4.2.1. Choosing a file format
        2. 4.2.2. Using the Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard
        3. 4.2.3. Using Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 – Photo Downloader
        4. 4.2.4. Resizing images from digital cameras
      3. 4.3. Using a Scanner
        1. 4.3.1. Preparing before you scan
        2. 4.3.2. Understanding image requirements
        3. 4.3.3. Using scanner plug-ins
        4. 4.3.4. Scanning many photos at a time
      4. 4.4. Getting Files from Storage Media
      5. 4.5. Using Online Services
      6. 4.6. Phoning In Your Images
      7. 4.7. Creating Images from Scratch
      8. 4.8. A Basic Primer on Camera Raw
        1. 4.8.1. Understanding Camera Raw
        2. 4.8.2. Acquiring Camera Raw images
    2. 5. Viewing and Finding Your Images
      1. 5.1. The Many Faces of the Organizer
        1. 5.1.1. Adding files to the default Organizer view
        2. 5.1.2. Changing the Organizer display
          1. 5.1.2.1. Import Batch view
          2. 5.1.2.2. Folder Location view
          3. 5.1.2.3. Date view
          4. 5.1.2.4. Show Map
        3. 5.1.3. Viewing photos in a slide show (Full Screen view)
          1. 5.1.3.1. Setting up your images for viewing
          2. 5.1.3.2. Working with the toolbar
      2. 5.2. Moving Around the Image Window
        1. 5.2.1. Zooming in and out of images
          1. 5.2.1.1. Zoom by clicking
          2. 5.2.1.2. Zoom to a selection
          3. 5.2.1.3. Using the Options bar
        2. 5.2.2. Viewing multiple documents
        3. 5.2.3. Using Pan and Zoom
        4. 5.2.4. Using the Navigator panel
      3. 5.3. Sorting Your Photos
        1. 5.3.1. Using sort commands
        2. 5.3.2. Sorting media types
      4. 5.4. Using Search Options
        1. 5.4.1. Searching by date
        2. 5.4.2. Searching for untagged items
        3. 5.4.3. Searching collections
        4. 5.4.4. Searching captions and notes
        5. 5.4.5. Searching metadata
        6. 5.4.6. Searching by history
        7. 5.4.7. Searching faces
    3. 6. Organizing and Managing Your Photos
      1. 6.1. Organizing Groups of Images with Keyword Tags
        1. 6.1.1. Creating a new keyword tag
        2. 6.1.2. Working with keyword tags
      2. 6.2. Cataloging Files
        1. 6.2.1. Splitting a big catalog into smaller catalogs
        2. 6.2.2. Importing photos to a new catalog
        3. 6.2.3. Switching to a different catalog
      3. 6.3. Creating Albums
        1. 6.3.1. Rating images
        2. 6.3.2. Adding rated files to an album
          1. 6.3.2.1. Creating an album
          2. 6.3.2.2. Creating a Smart Album
          3. 6.3.2.3. Creating an Album Group
      4. 6.4. Hiding Files That Get in the Way
        1. 6.4.1. Stacking 'em up
        2. 6.4.2. Creating versions
      5. 6.5. Sticking Digital Notes on Your Photos
      6. 6.6. Automating Your Organization
        1. 6.6.1. Automating common tasks when you export
        2. 6.6.2. Renaming files
      7. 6.7. Protecting Your Photos
        1. 6.7.1. Backing up your catalog
        2. 6.7.2. Backing up photos and files
  8. 3. Selecting and Correcting Photos
    1. 7. Making and Modifying Selections
      1. 7.1. Defining Selections
      2. 7.2. Creating Rectangular and Elliptical Selections
        1. 7.2.1. Perfecting squares and circles with Shift and Alt
        2. 7.2.2. Applying marquee options
      3. 7.3. Making Freeform Selections with the Lasso Tools
        1. 7.3.1. Selecting with the Lasso tool
        2. 7.3.2. Getting straight with the Polygonal Lasso tool
        3. 7.3.3. Snapping with the Magnetic Lasso tool
      4. 7.4. Working Wizardry with the Magic Wand
        1. 7.4.1. Talking about tolerance
        2. 7.4.2. Wielding the wand to select
      5. 7.5. Modifying Your Selections
        1. 7.5.1. Adding to a selection
        2. 7.5.2. Subtracting from a selection
        3. 7.5.3. Intersecting two selections
        4. 7.5.4. Avoiding key collisions
      6. 7.6. Painting with the Selection Brush
      7. 7.7. Painting with the Quick Selection Brush
      8. 7.8. Working with the Cookie Cutter Tool
      9. 7.9. Eliminating with the Eraser Tools
        1. 7.9.1. The Eraser tool
        2. 7.9.2. The Background Eraser tool
        3. 7.9.3. The Magic Eraser tool
      10. 7.10. Using the Magic Extractor Command
      11. 7.11. Using the Select Menu
        1. 7.11.1. Selecting all or nothing
        2. 7.11.2. Reselecting a selection
        3. 7.11.3. Inversing a selection
        4. 7.11.4. Feathering a selection
        5. 7.11.5. Refining the edges of a selection
        6. 7.11.6. Using the Modify commands
        7. 7.11.7. Applying the Grow and Similar commands
        8. 7.11.8. Saving and loading selections
    2. 8. Working with Layers
      1. 8.1. Getting to Know Layers
        1. 8.1.1. Anatomy of a Layers panel
        2. 8.1.2. Using the Layer and Select menus
          1. 8.1.2.1. The Layers menu
          2. 8.1.2.2. The Select menu
      2. 8.2. Working with Different Layer Types
        1. 8.2.1. Image layers
        2. 8.2.2. Adjustment layers
        3. 8.2.3. Fill layers
        4. 8.2.4. Shape layers
        5. 8.2.5. Type layers
      3. 8.3. Tackling Layer Basics
        1. 8.3.1. Creating a new layer from scratch
        2. 8.3.2. Using Layer via Copy and Layer via Cut
        3. 8.3.3. Duplicating layers
        4. 8.3.4. Dragging and dropping layers
        5. 8.3.5. Using the Paste into Selection command
      4. 8.4. Moving a Layer's Content
      5. 8.5. Transforming Layers
      6. 8.6. Flattening and Merging Layers
        1. 8.6.1. Merging layers
        2. 8.6.2. Flattening layers
    3. 9. Simple Image Makeovers
      1. 9.1. Cropping and Straightening Images
        1. 9.1.1. Cutting away with the Crop tool
        2. 9.1.2. Cropping with a selection border
        3. 9.1.3. Straightening images
          1. 9.1.3.1. Using the Straighten tool
          2. 9.1.3.2. Using the Straighten menu commands
        4. 9.1.4. Using the Divide Scanned Photos command
      2. 9.2. Employing One-Step Auto Fixes
        1. 9.2.1. Auto Smart Fix
        2. 9.2.2. Auto Levels
        3. 9.2.3. Auto Contrast
        4. 9.2.4. Auto Color Correction
        5. 9.2.5. Auto Sharpen
        6. 9.2.6. Auto Red Eye Fix
      3. 9.3. Editing with Quick Edit
      4. 9.4. Cloning with the Clone Stamp Tool
      5. 9.5. Retouching with the Healing Brush
      6. 9.6. Zeroing In with the Spot Healing Brush
      7. 9.7. Lightening and Darkening with Dodge and Burn Tools
      8. 9.8. Smudging Away Rough Spots
      9. 9.9. Softening with the Blur Tool
      10. 9.10. Focusing with the Sharpen Tool
      11. 9.11. Sponging Color On and Off
      12. 9.12. Replacing One Color with Another
    4. 10. Correcting Contrast, Color, and Clarity
      1. 10.1. Adjusting Lighting
        1. 10.1.1. Fixing lighting with Shadows/Highlights
        2. 10.1.2. Using Brightness/Contrast
        3. 10.1.3. Pinpointing proper contrast with Levels
      2. 10.2. Adjusting Color
        1. 10.2.1. Removing color casts automatically
        2. 10.2.2. Adjusting with Hue/Saturation
        3. 10.2.3. Eliminating color with Remove Color
        4. 10.2.4. Switching colors with Replace Color
        5. 10.2.5. Correcting with Color Curves
        6. 10.2.6. Adjusting skin tones
        7. 10.2.7. Defringing layers
        8. 10.2.8. Correcting with Color Variations
        9. 10.2.9. Adjusting color temperature with photo filters
        10. 10.2.10. Mapping your colors
          1. 10.2.10.1. Equalize
          2. 10.2.10.2. Gradient Map
          3. 10.2.10.3. Invert
          4. 10.2.10.4. Threshold
          5. 10.2.10.5. Posterize
      3. 10.3. Adjusting Clarity
        1. 10.3.1. Removing noise, artifacts, dust, and scratches
        2. 10.3.2. Blurring when you need to
        3. 10.3.3. Sharpening for better focus
  9. 4. Exploring Your Inner Artist
    1. 11. Playing with Filters, Effects, Styles, and More
      1. 11.1. Having Fun with Filters
        1. 11.1.1. Applying filters
        2. 11.1.2. Corrective or destructive filters
        3. 11.1.3. One-step or multistep filters
        4. 11.1.4. Giving a filter an encore
        5. 11.1.5. Fading a filter
        6. 11.1.6. Selectively applying a filter
      2. 11.2. Working in the Filter Gallery
      3. 11.3. Distorting with the Liquify Filter
      4. 11.4. Correcting Camera Distortion
      5. 11.5. Dressing Up with Photo and Text Effects
      6. 11.6. Adding Shadows, Glows, and More
        1. 11.6.1. Applying layer styles
        2. 11.6.2. Working with layer styles
      7. 11.7. Mixing It Up with Blend Modes
        1. 11.7.1. General blend modes
        2. 11.7.2. Darken blend modes
        3. 11.7.3. Lighten blend modes
        4. 11.7.4. Lighting blend modes
        5. 11.7.5. Inverter blend modes
        6. 11.7.6. HSL blend modes
      8. 11.8. Using Photomerge
    2. 12. Drawing and Painting
      1. 12.1. Choosing Color
        1. 12.1.1. Working with the Color Picker
        2. 12.1.2. Dipping into the Color Swatches panel
        3. 12.1.3. Sampling with the Eyedropper tool
      2. 12.2. Getting Artsy with the Pencil and Brush Tools
        1. 12.2.1. Drawing with the Pencil tool
        2. 12.2.2. Painting with the Brush tool
        3. 12.2.3. Creating your own brush
        4. 12.2.4. Using the Impressionist Brush
      3. 12.3. Filling and Outlining Selections
        1. 12.3.1. Fill 'er up
        2. 12.3.2. Outlining with the Stroke command
      4. 12.4. Splashing On Color with the Paint Bucket Tool
      5. 12.5. Working with Multicolored Gradients
        1. 12.5.1. Applying a preset gradient
        2. 12.5.2. Customizing gradients
      6. 12.6. Working with Patterns
        1. 12.6.1. Applying a preset pattern
        2. 12.6.2. Creating a new pattern
      7. 12.7. Creating Shapes of All Sorts
        1. 12.7.1. Drawing a shape
        2. 12.7.2. Drawing multiple shapes
        3. 12.7.3. Specifying geometry options
          1. 12.7.3.1. Rectangle and Rounded Rectangle geometry options
          2. 12.7.3.2. Ellipse geometry options
          3. 12.7.3.3. Polygon geometry options
          4. 12.7.3.4. Line geometry options
          5. 12.7.3.5. Custom shape geometry options
        4. 12.7.4. Editing shapes
    3. 13. Working with Type
      1. 13.1. Understanding Type Basics
      2. 13.2. Creating Point Type
      3. 13.3. Creating Paragraph Type
      4. 13.4. Specifying Type Options
      5. 13.5. Editing Text
      6. 13.6. Simplifying Type
      7. 13.7. Masking with Type
      8. 13.8. Stylizing and Warping Type
        1. 13.8.1. Adjusting type opacity
        2. 13.8.2. Applying filters to your type
        3. 13.8.3. Painting your type with color and gradients
        4. 13.8.4. Warping your type
  10. 5. Printing, Creating, and Sharing
    1. 14. Getting It on Paper
      1. 14.1. Getting Pictures Ready for Printing
      2. 14.2. Working with Color Printer Profiles
        1. 14.2.1. Understanding how Elements uses color profiles
        2. 14.2.2. Converting color to a printer profile
      3. 14.3. Printing to Epson Inkjet Printers
        1. 14.3.1. Automatic profile selection for Epson printers
        2. 14.3.2. Selecting a printer profile
        3. 14.3.3. Printing with a custom profile
      4. 14.4. Printing to HP Inkjet Printers
      5. 14.5. Printing to Canon Printers
      6. 14.6. Submitting Files to Service Centers
      7. 14.7. Using Online Printing Services
      8. 14.8. Exploring Other Print Options
    2. 15. Showing It Onscreen
      1. 15.1. Getting Familiar with the Elements Sharing and Printing Options
      2. 15.2. Creating a Slide Show
        1. 15.2.1. Creating a project
        2. 15.2.2. Exporting to slides and video
        3. 15.2.3. Opening multipage PDF files in Elements
      3. 15.3. Writing Creations to CDs and DVDs
      4. 15.4. Showing Your Files on the Web
        1. 15.4.1. Creating an Online Gallery
        2. 15.4.2. Become a blogger!
          1. 15.4.2.1. Getting started with a blog site
          2. 15.4.2.2. Adding photos to a blog site
          3. 15.4.2.3. Taking screen shots
      5. 15.5. Flip 'Em Over with Flipbooks
    3. 16. Making Creations and Sharing
      1. 16.1. Getting a Grip on Assembling Creations
      2. 16.2. Creating a Photo Book
      3. 16.3. Greetings!
      4. 16.4. Creating Calendars
      5. 16.5. Creating Personal Postage Stamps
      6. 16.6. Creating CD and DVD Labels
      7. 16.7. Spreading the Love through Sharing
        1. 16.7.1. Ordering prints online
        2. 16.7.2. E-mailing creations
        3. 16.7.3. Using Photo Mail
  11. 6. The Part of Tens
    1. 17. Ten Tips for Composing Better Photos
      1. 17.1. Find a Focal Point
      2. 17.2. Use the Rule of Thirds
      3. 17.3. Cut the Clutter
      4. 17.4. Frame Your Shot
      5. 17.5. Employ Contrast
      6. 17.6. Using Leading Lines
      7. 17.7. Experiment with Viewpoints
      8. 17.8. Use Light
      9. 17.9. Giving Direction
      10. 17.10. Consider Direction of Movement
    2. 18. Ten More Project Ideas
      1. 18.1. Wallpaper and Screen Savers
      2. 18.2. Flyers, Ads, and Online Auctions
      3. 18.3. Clothes, Hats, and More
      4. 18.4. Posters
      5. 18.5. Household and Business Inventories
      6. 18.6. Project Documentation
      7. 18.7. School Reports and Projects
      8. 18.8. Wait — There's More

Product information

  • Title: Photoshop® Elements 6 for Dummies®
  • Author(s): Barbara Obermeier, Ted Padova
  • Release date: December 2007
  • Publisher(s): For Dummies
  • ISBN: 9780470192382