The Complete P Oshop Manual 8 2021-01-23

The Complete
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Photography
Manual Manual Security Manual
Manual
The Complete
Photoshop
Manual
Your photo editing

journey starts here
Let us show you just how powerful
Photoshop is, while discovering a
range of tools and techniques that
can make excellent digital artists
of us all. Even if you are a beginner,
Photoshop is easier to learn than you
might imagine. This guide begins with
the various tools and editing basics
that can get you up and running in no
time. The second half concentrates
on some creative projects that will
expand on what you’ve learnt and
have you creating new images just like
a digital professional. Mark Frost, Editor
www.bdmpublications.com 3
Contents
Updates and Features
92 46
8 Remove background
8 Object selection tool
8 Properties panels
8 Zoom to layer
8 Type layer properties
9 Lens blur update
9 Pattern presets
9 Warp tool
9 Pattern - solid - gradient
10 Brush to eraser
28 10 The frame tool
10 Maths in number fields
10 Blend mode preview
11 The color wheel
11 Default text
70 11 Updated undo
11 Transform tool
11 Auto-commit
12 Select subject
12 Distribution spacing
12 Reference point
54 12 Scale UI
12 Double-click text edit
13 Content-aware fill
13 Locking the workspace
13 Go home
144
13 Symmetry
4 www.bdmpublications.com
Uncovering Photoshop Photoshop Mega Tips Putting it all Together
16 The history of Photoshop 92 Fantasy art creation
18 Keep Photoshop up to date 76 100 Neon effect
20 Main interface 106 Double exposure effect
22 Menus 114 Motion blur
24 The toolbar 122 Torn paper portraits
26 Keyboard shortcuts 128 Step and repeat
28 Using layers 136 Lego portraits
30 Adjustment layers 144 Using Photoshop and
32 Using layer masks Lightroom Classic CC
34 Selection tools
36 Making selections
38 Healing brush tools 76 Create specular highlights 128
40 Brushes, pencil and eraser 78 Any colour from anywhere
80 Black and white colour control
82 Advanced clone stamp control
16
84 Colour match your images
86 Combine adjustment layers
88 Precise lens flare placement
Exploring Photoshop 58
44 The clone stamp tool
46 Gradient fill and paint bucket
48 Modifying selections
What is Raw Mode?
50 Curves and levels
52 Cropping and resizing 152 Processing Raw files
54 Quick mask mode 154 Adobe Camera Raw interface
56 Content-aware fill and scale 156 Adobe Camera Raw menus
58 Adjusting exposure 158 Adobe Camera Raw workflow
Developing Your Skills

62 Contrast and saturation
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72
Updates
and Features
We take a closer look at some of the latest updates
seen in Adobe’s layer-based image editor.
Contents
8 Remove background 11 Default text
8 Object selection tool 11 Updated undo
8 Properties panels 11 Transform tool
8 Zoom to layer 11 Auto-commit
8 Type layer properties 12 Select subject
9 Lens blur update 12 Distribution spacing
9 Pattern presets 12 Reference point
9 Warp tool 12 Scale UI
9 Pattern - solid - gradient 12 Double-click text edit
10 Brush to eraser 13 Content-aware fill
10 The frame tool 13 Locking the workspace
10 Maths in number fields 13 Go home
10 Blend mode preview 13 Symmetry
11 The color wheel
UPDATES AND FEATURES
Check out these useful new features and tools

P hotoshop can be considered something of an
ever-expanding and complex beast. Since it
was first created, every, subsequent iteration of
fairly regular basis. Sometimes the updates are
subtle containing bug fixes and then there are
the major updates adding new features and tools
at the time of writing) and explore some of those
new features. Some are minor, while others are a
little more expansive and could be a real benefit
the software has added feature upon feature. If to Photoshop’s arsenal. We thought it was time to your digital editing workflow. We’ll list them for
you have subscribed to Photoshop CC, updates to take a look at the latest version of Photoshop you and give you an idea of what each has to offer
are a common occurrence and happen on a CC 2020 (which was in its 21.0.2 release version you, the end user.
Remove Background Object Selection Tool

This recent additional enhanced feature expands upon the Select The Select Subject Tool is a very useful addition that will automatically
Subject Tool. If you have an image on a layer and you want to let throw an active selection around what it thinks is the main foreground
Photoshop take a shot at removing the background entirely, image. However, what happens if there is more than one
then you can try this handy feature very easily. Our subject, and you only want to select one specific item?
example has two layers. The top layer is an image That is where the Object Selection Tool comes in and
with a boring background that we would like to saves the day. As our example shows, if you choose
remove. Below it, on its own layer, is a replacement Select Subject, all the text items are selected. If you
background for the subject above it to appear on. You want to select just one character, go to the toolbar and
can call up the properties panel of the topmost layer choose the Object Selection Tool (W) and from the Tool
and select the Remove Background option. Photoshop Options menu above, choose the selection Mode. In this
will analyse the image and automatically remove the case, you have either Lasso or Rectangle as your choices.
background. The subject remains, but now the background image We used the Lasso to encompass one numeral roughly and then the
below can show through to make the image more interesting. Object Selection Tool did the rest.
Properties Panels
The properties of the various layer types
have been upgraded to include many more Zoom to Layer
choices and options as to how you can
modify the properties of that layer. If you This is a very simple but effective tweak to the basic zoom functions
take the basic background layer properties available. Sometimes, if you have a number of image objects
as an example, now you have many more scattered around your document across a number of layers,
options including a series of Quick Actions navigating around and filling the screen with that particular item
for altering Image Size, Crop, Trim and for close inspection can be a bit of a process. It may require you
Rotate. A standard Pixel Layer properties to zoom in, then zoom out, locate the next item and then zoom into
also contains the Remove Background that. Now, as long as you have your items on separate layers, you can
and Select Subject Quick Actions as well simply press the Alt key and click on the layer you want to view and
as Distribution and Spacing options and fill the screen. Each layer you Alt-click on will scale to fit the screen
Transform controls too. as large as possible whilst showing all pixels on that layer.
Type Layer Properties

Another set of properties to get an overhaul are those of the Type
Layer. When you create a new layer of text in your document,
opening the Properties panel for it will reveal a much more varied
array of options that can make your workflow a little easier and puts
all the main options that you might need right at your fingertips. Apart
from Transform options, the Character and Paragraph properties
can be accessed here as well as more varied Type Options such
as Ligatures and Contextual Alternates. There are additional Quick
Actions included that allow you to convert your text layer. There are
options to Convert to Frame and Convert to Shape.
Lens Blur Update

This is a useful little option if you like
working with depth maps to achieve
selective focus effects. We have an
aerial image of a bridge and formal
garden area in the foreground on a
layer. We’ve gone to the Channels
layer and added a new Alpha 1 channel
with a black grad fading up to about
halfway into the frame. With your image
active, if you go up to the File Menu and
choose Filter > Blur > Lens Blur, it will take
you to the Lens Blur Tools. Under Depth Map,
select Alpha 1 as your Source and then click
the Set Focal Point button. Now you can
define where the Depth Map appears by just
clicking anywhere on the image. For instance,
if you click over the head of the lions on the
bridge, they become the sharpest part of the
image and the rest fades out to a soft blur
based on your Radius setting. You can use
the Blur Focal Distance slider, but clicking on
the image is much faster. Warp Tool
Pattern Presets
Adding a Pattern adjustment layer now
reveals a few more presets available
to you. We have an image with the
background removed and we wish
to add a pattern behind it. Pattern is
chosen from the Create New Fill Or
Adjustment Layer menu, and the new
Pattern Fill 1 layer is dragged beneath
the subject layer with the background Some new additions to the Warp Tool give it extra creative
removed. If you go to Window > clout and the ability to warp your images in even more
Patterns, you can see there are some interesting ways. Our example features a car, which we duplicated onto
new presets supplied under the a new layer ready to edit. You can press Cmd + T to activate the Free
headings of Trees, Grass and water. Transform Tool and then, when you right-click the image, you can select
If you have the Pattern Fill 1 layer the Warp option. You can add a 3x3, 4x4, 5x5 or Custom grid if you like,
thumbnail active, each pattern preset but if you right-click the image, you can choose Split warp Horizontally
you move your cursor over will be and add a warp point wherever you like on your image. Control Points
displayed in real-time. let you start the warping process after which more can be added and
warped to your heart’s content. Then, if you Split Warp Vertically, you
can add custom warps in the vertical direction too. And if you choose
Split Warp Crosswise, you can warp in both directions at once. Lastly, if
Pattern - Solid - Gradient you hold the Shift key, you can also multi-select mesh points and rotate
and scale that selected group in one go.
Taking a step on from the Pattern Preset function.
It is now very easy to change a Pattern Adjustment
layer to another kind of layer using a simple
drag and drop. What happens if you added a
Pattern Fill 1 adjustment layer but then decided
you preferred a solid colour instead? You would
normally have to delete the existing layer and add
a new Adjustment layer entirely. Now, if you go to
Window > Swatches and open the Colour Swatch
panel, you can simply drag and drop a solid colour
onto the Pattern Fill 1 layer and it will automatically
change it to a solid Colour Fill 1 layer instead.
Open the Gradients swatches, and you can drag
a gradient onto the Colour Fill 1 layer where it will
transform to a Gradient Fill 1 layer instantly.
Brush to Eraser
This is a simple one that lets you switch easily between
using a brush of a specific size, colour and properties,
to an eraser that uses the same properties but lets
you erase with the brush. While working with a chosen
brush, simply press the tilde key (~) and the brush
becomes an eraser.
The Frame Tool

This tool is great for the quick and easy
creation of rectangular or elliptical frames.
Simply go to the toolbar and click the
Frame Tool (K) then from the Tool Options
menu at the top of the screen, select your
choice of rectangular or elliptical frame.
You can then draw that shape on your
document and make an instant frame
ready for an image. You can easily
drag any image onto a frame
and it will automatically
be sized to fit the
frame you’ve made.
Any images that you
place are converted to
Smart Objects, so you can
edit them non-destructively. You’re
not limited to rectangles and ellipses
either. Any shape or text you make
can be converted into frames and filled
with your images. Right-click on the
layer that contains an item you want to
convert, and choose Convert To Frame Blend Mode Preview
from the menu.
The Blend Mode preview is a handy new time saving feature that
has recently been implemented. Up until now, if you wanted to know
what affect a particular blend would have on your images, you had to
Maths in Number Fields select one and apply it. If it wasn’t right, you had to undo that choice
or go back in, choose a new blend mode and apply that to see the
difference. Photoshop CC does away with Blend Mode guesswork.
An interesting one this, basically now you can use simple maths in
Now, if you click on the Blend Mode button and scroll through the
any numeric value input box or number field. As an example, if you
available options, each one you roll over will be applied in real time,
have an image on a layer currently at 100% Opacity and want it to be
so you can instantly see what effect it has. It will not commit the
exactly 1/12th the opacity (we're not sure who might find it useful),
blend you have chosen until you actually click the preferred blend.
you can type 100/12 in the Opacity input field and the Opacity will
This also works when viewing the Layer Style dialog panel too. A
be altered to 8% which is 1/12th the Opacity of 100%. If you have an
small change, but a welcome one nonetheless.
image and want the Canvas Size to be precisely 1/3rd the width, you
can call up the Canvas Size dialog box and add /3 to the Width value
of your image. So, if you had a photo that was 4000 pixels wide and
3000 pixels deep and wanted the canvas to only be 1/3rd the width,
adding that /3 will automatically size it 1333 pixels wide.
The Color Wheel Default Text

The Color Wheel is a useful new way to Placing a text layer within your document
visualise the colour spectrum and choose used to result in an empty box into
colours for your artworks and design which you would type your text and
projects. It can be accessed via the Color then format it with the correct font
panel fly-out menu or by pressing F6 and and type size. Now if you go
clicking the small Menu icon in the top to Edit > Preferences > Type,
right of the Colour panel. It operates by you can select the option to
letting you control the Hue, Saturation, and fill your new text layer with
Brightness of your colours. The outer wheel placeholder text
controls the Hue and the triangle within
controls the Saturation and Brightness of
the Hue chosen in the outer circle.
Transform Tool
Photoshop has now swapped the methods
by which you can proportionally transform
your images and other layer types. The Auto-Commit
previous method was non-proportional
by default. Meaning if you clicked and This is quite a simple one, but also one
dragged a control point, it would scale that does away with a potentially annoying
and stretch without maintaining its original trait of older versions of Photoshop, which
proportions. Proportional scaling was was to display a pop-up asking if you
achieved by holding the Shift key as you
Updated Undo dragged a control point. Now, in this latest
wanted to commit the change you just
made before you could move on to the
version, the transformation of most layer next part of your workflow. Your other
types, such as pixel and bitmap layers, text option was to hit the Enter key on your
layers, and Smart Objects is proportional keyboard to commit a change you had
by default. To transform non-proportionally, just made, or go up to the top options
you now have to press the Shift key. menu bar and click the Commit button.
Shapes and paths have recently been Now, if you crop or transform, Auto-
updated to transform proportionally too. commit will be applied when you
select a new tool, or select
anything outside the currently
active image or text.
No Shift key
The Undo function has been updated once

again, after a couple of odd functionality
changes. In older versions of Photoshop
you could press Cmd (Ctrl on PC) + Z to
step back and undo multiple steps. Then
they decided to change that and you had
to press Cmd + Z for the initial undo and
then press Cmd + Alt + Z to keep stepping
backwards. In the 2019 version, if you
press Cmd + Z now, you go back one
step each time you use that command.
Whereas pressing Cmd + Shift + Z, will
step you forward each time. Hopefully
Adobe will finally settle on which version
they prefer, so we can settle down and
memorise a keyboard shortcut that
remains unchanged from here on.
Select Subject
This is a new option available to you when
you select the Quick Selection Tool or Magic
Wand Tool. Before making any selections
with those tools, click on the Select Subject
button in the top options panel and then
wait as Photoshop analyses the image. It will
then automatically select what it thinks is the
main subject. The accuracy of the selection
may depend on how complex the image is
and how prominent your main subjects are.
You can still refine the selection afterwards,
if necessary.
Distribution Spacing
Reference Point
In previous versions of Photoshop, each time
you clicked on an image, or text item, to move or
transform it, you would see a small crosshair appear
in the centre of the image. This was the movable
reference point that would serve as the centre of
rotation, or scale, for the active item. Now, in Photoshop
CC 2019, Adobe has decided that it is hidden by default. If
you want the reference point to be visible on every active item, you
can go to the Tool Options menu and click the Toggle Reference
Although Photoshop already has the available options to distribute
Point button.
objects on layers by spacing their centre points evenly, if objects were
different sizes, the gaps between each item would vary. Now, if you have
a number of different sized items on layers and you want to have them
evenly spaced, you have two new options in the form of the Distribute
Spacing buttons. Choose between Distribute Horizontally and Distribute
Vertically. Select all the layers you want to distribute and then click on
the distribution method of your choice. All the items, despite being
different sizes, will be spaced with the same sized gap between them.
Scale UI
This is a chance to exercise some control over the Photoshop user
interface and scale it independently of your other applications.
If you go to Edit > Preferences > Interface, you will see the
new option to Scale UI To Font. You have several font sizes Double-click Text Edit
from which to choose, these are: Tiny, Small, Medium and
Large. When you choose a preferred font size, in order to see Adding a text layer to your document remains the same as ever, but
the changes you’ve made you will have to restart Photoshop. originally, if you wanted to edit a text layer, it meant having to select the
For example, if you have originally had the Tiny UI font chosen, Horizontal Text Tool and then edit the text box in question with the Text
when you select Large and restart, you will see how the UI has Tool active. Now you can simply double-click your chosen text with the
scaled to accommodate the larger font size. The toolbar and all the other Move Tool and you can begin to edit it without the need to switch tools.
panels will also be bigger to allow for the lager text sizes being used.
Content-Aware Fill
Older versions of Photoshop’s Content-Aware fill
option were originally accessed via the Shift + F5 Fill
option and had few options for you to tweak. Now
there is a brand new, dedicated Content-Aware
workspace that you can access with more tools
and functions available, as well as a live preview
of the fill results before you have to commit to it.
You can access the new fill tool by going to Edit >
Content-Aware Fill. The screen you are presented
with enables you to choose what areas of your
image can be targeted, and used as sampling
areas, for more accurate fill results. A mask overlay
can be modified, with the tools provided, for the
best seamless results. Each time you change the
parameters, the live view will update so you always
know what your end result will be.
Locking the Workspace
Go Home
While you are working in the Photoshop workspace, you will now see
that there is a small Home icon in the top right of the Tools options
menu. If you click this, you will be taken to Photoshop’s Home screen.
You can access it at any time while working on a current document,
or each time you start Photoshop. Using the Home screen, you
can quickly access current working documents, Click on the Learn
options and choose from an array of tutorials on the web or dig
deeper via Adobe.com. Also, if you are a Lightroom user, you can
view any LR photos you may have and import them.
Found under Window > Workspace > Lock Workspace, this feature
simply locks down all workspace panels so they can’t be dragged
and moved by accident while you are working. This appears to be
particularly useful if you are working with Photoshop via a tablet
and stylus and are in danger of dragging items around by leaving
the stylus too close to the tablet surface. One thing to note however,
is that if, for example, you currently have any floating panels, they
can still be dragged and docked with any locked panels and will be
retained there until you turn the Lock Workspace option off.
Symmetry
This feature has been implemented
to work alongside your Paint Brush,
Mixer Brush, Pencil, and Eraser Tools.
Click any of these tools and in the
top options menu bar, you will see a
Butterfly icon. If you click and hold it, a
small dropdown menu will appear and you
can choose from a number of symmetry options
including Diagonal, Wavy, Mandala, and Spiral.
Certain options let you choose how many lines
of symmetry are used and then, as you paint, the
strokes are reflected in each line of symmetry,
a bit like a kaleidoscope. Others, such as circle,
create a circular path along which your brush
strokes follow. You can make some very delicate
and intricate patterns with these options.
Uncovering
Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a very complex piece of
software. Even people who use it every day as part
of their profession may only use a fraction of its
capabilities and mastering its subtleties can take
time. We can teach you some useful skills and help
you to get more out of this fantastic program. Let’s
look at the main tools that Photoshop has on offer.
Contents
16 The history of Photoshop 30 Adjustment layers
18 Keep Photoshop up to date 32 Using layer masks
20 Main interface 34 Selection tools
22 Menus 36 Making selections
24 The toolbar 38 Healing brush tools
26 Keyboard shortcuts 40 Brushes, pencil and eraser
28 Using layers
UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP
UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP THE HISTORY OF PHOTOSHOP
The History
of Photoshop
Before we begin, here’s a little background information
T homas and John Knoll created Photoshop

in 1988 with the release of Photoshop
1.0 following in February 1990. It is a
the user to edit, assemble and compose
images using multiple layers and masks. It
is this use of layers and masks that are the
Photoshop’s Strengths
raster graphics editor and has become the core features of Photoshop’s power. Such Photoshop is a pixel-level editor. Where
predominant industry standard for digital layer-based editing means you can build very Lightroom allows you to adjust pixels
image editing. complex images and create incredible works in an image, Photoshop lets you move
At its heart, it has a suite of tools that allow of art using this method. them and manipulate them in a way that’s
nothing short of magical.
Photoshop allows multiple layers to be

applied to an image. You can keep images
and edits on separate layers and modify
them accordingly and independently. This
is the basis of non-destructive editing.
It’s huge. Mind-bogglingly huge. The

toolbox alone is the stuff of legend and
contains everything the professional
designer and photographer would ever
need from a piece of software.
You can record specific actions within

Photoshop, allowing you to apply those
actions to other images with a click of
a button.
You’re able to blend many different layers

together, masking areas of an image to
protect it from being edited, even down to
the pixel level.
Almost anything is possible in Photoshop.

If you can imagine a scene, then you’re
able to turn your wedding photos into a
dramatic space battle or have a picture
of the kids playing with a T-Rex. Remove
objects, add objects, touch up skin tones,
the list goes on and on.
THE HISTORY OF PHOTOSHOP UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP
Photoshop: The Power to Create
The Tools for the Job but a few of them can also act as stand-alone
image editing applications.
Photoshop also has a large variety of tools that
allow the user to edit their images in numerous Formats and Versions
ways. Broadly speaking, the tools cover areas
such as drawing, painting, navigation, content When a Photoshop document is saved, it
selection, text, masking and retouching. Many of creates a default file that has the .PSD file
the tools have additional variants that allow you to extension. This stands for Photoshop Document
perform different tasks and functions. and it contains all of the layers, adjustments,
As well as the ability to create pixel-based masks, transparent items and other content
images and art, it can also create and manipulate that make up the finished document. There is
text and handle a number of vector graphic another Photoshop file format known as .PSB,
formats, including EPS files and Adobe Illustrator which stands for Photoshop Big. This is a
files. Older styles of Photoshop had extended large document format that lets you use vastly
versions that allowed the creation and handling increased image dimensions and file sizes.
of 3D graphics, whereas Photoshop CC, the Throughout its life, the program has
cloud-based subscription service version, has 3D undergone a large number of updates and
capabilities built in as standard. It can also, to a version numbers. In 2003, the version numbers
limited degree, import and edit video files. were replaced with CS plus a number, to reflect
The program’s main functionality can be its current Creative Suite branding in use at the
enhanced with the addition of numerous, small time. It wasn’t until 2013, when Adobe changed
add-on effects and programs called plug-ins. its business model to subscription-based rental
Although Adobe has a number of plug-ins, such and the introduction of the Creative Cloud
as Adobe Camera Raw, it is mainly third party brand, that CS was replaced by the suffix CC.
companies that develop them. Most of the plug- At the time of writing, Photoshop is in stable
ins require specific versions of Photoshop to run, release CC 2019 (20.0.5).
UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP KEEP PHOTOSHOP UP TO DATE
Keep Photoshop
Up to Date
Reap the benefits of the most
current versions of Photoshop
N ow that Photoshop and a host of other Adobe products have

moved to the subscription model, you have an application
that can be continually updated, over time, without needing
to buy a new version. This is in contrast to older versions of
Photoshop where you bought a box containing a disk, installed
it and called it done. If a new version was released, you had to
purchase it or upgrade to the new
version. That has been superseded;
your computer now maintains an online
link with Adobe so each program you
have downloaded and installed can be
incrementally updated. Photoshop is a
good example, since you can have an
update appear that adds new features
and fixes bugs in the current version.
To make sure you are keeping your
versions up to date, there are a
couple of things you can do.
KEEP PHOTOSHOP UP TO DATE UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP
When you purchase a particular When you open the Creative Cloud app, In the case of Photoshop, if you click on
01 02 03
subscription plan through Adobe, you down the left side you are now presented its icon, you can view and overview any
download the Creative Cloud app which lets you with a menu containing Apps, Categories and key features page. There is an introductory video
manage your subscription, your apps, resources Resource Links. If you click on All Apps, you you can watch, along with links to courses and
and much more besides. The app itself has been can view everything installed as part of your examples. There is also a hyperlink to more help
updated, but its basic functions remain the same. subscription plan. pages available on the Adobe website.
Below All Apps, in the top left of the page, Staying on this page, if you look up to the If you click on the Three dots icon, it
04 05 06
is the Updates button where you can top right corner, you will see an Update All brings up a small window called Check
access any update info. This opens a page where button. This can globally update all apps marked For Updates. If you click this, you can force it
you can view what can be updated, has recently as having an update available. Next to that is a to rescan all applications and advise if there are
been updated and a listing of what’s new with small icon comprised of three dots which contains any new updates currently available. This can be
each updated application. a drop down list. automated and we’ll look at that next.
At the top of the page on the right are What interests us is the Apps button. Now your apps will automatically be kept
07 08 09
a series of icons. If you click on the Clicking on this calls up the Auto-Update up to date as and when Adobe release
gear-shaped Preferences button, you’ll see the window. Here, you can, not only turn on Auto- new updates for them. Further down the page,
various preferences that you can alter to suit your Update but also choose which of your installed you will see options for changing the default
requirements. The General pane has a link to your apps will actually be updated. You can also make installation location and what the default language
Adobe account and Cloud Storage status. sure previous settings are applied to the update. will be.
UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP MAIN INTERFACE
Main Interface
This is Photoshop’s
graphic user front end
P hotoshop has a great interface, with a

dark slate grey work area, slightly lighter
menu and palette bars and sharp white text.
It looks great and really makes photos stand
out from the background. Let’s see what it
has to offer.
Menu Bar
You’ll find all the menu options here and many
more nested menus to control all aspects of
Photoshop. Read on for more details.
Tool Palette
Here you’ll find your main editing tools. The
following pages look at the individual tools and
what you can do with them.
Tool Option Bar

For each tool on the palette there are options,
such as brush size or softness. You’ll find them
in this area.
Document Window
Each window you open will have its own tab
to identify it. It includes the document name,
current scaling and colour space being used.
Document Details
Here you’ll find the compressed and real size
of your document. You can also call up other
information such as document pixel dimensions.
USEFUL TIP
Active Image
You can set up your own workspaces to reflect The new interface provides a larger area
the way you work and save them so that you
to work on your images, with a darker
can quickly switch from one to another.
background colour.
MAIN INTERFACE UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP
Rulers Palettes Workspace Option

Use these to accurately measure positions There are a number of interchangeable Choose between preset workspace
on your image and drag guidelines from palettes available, which you can choose arrangements, including 3D workspaces
here to help line up text and layers. from the Window menu. and other user options.
Fly-out Palettes Layer Palette Layer Options

You can set up your own custom list of Here you’ll find the layers of the image you’re Here you can add effects, layer styles,
frequently used palettes and access them by currently working on. Layers at the top of the adjustments and other options to your
clicking on these buttons. stack will appear above those below. currently active layers.
UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP MENUS
Menus One look at the menus and you

begin to understand Photoshop’s
complexity and versatility
T he main interface of Photoshop has no fewer than eleven menus and a Help option, each with many options and with many additional nested
sub-menus. It’s vital to become familiar with the contents of the most important ones, because once you know where to look for everything
you’ll be able to work more quickly, efficiently and confidently. Let’s take a look at some of the key menu listings.
File Edit Image Layer
Image
The Image menu is where
File you come to make changes
The most important options here are to the whole image, including
New… to create a new document, Mode (colour type), Image
Open… to open an existing Size, Canvas Size and Image
document, Save to save your current Rotation, but the most
project in its default file format and important thing you’ll find here
location and Save As… which gives is the Adjustments sub-menu,
you the option to save in a different which Adobe could probably
format or location and to change the have made into a separate
file name. Also in the File menu are main menu in its own right. Layer
the important Automate and Scripts Edit Under Adjustments you’ll find Layers are a vital feature of
sub-menus, which provide advanced The Edit menu has many features all your main image controls, Photoshop. The most important
batch processing and automated you’ll find familiar if you use a such as Brightness/Contrast, options here though are New,
editing options. word processor, including Copy, Levels, Curves, Hue/Saturation which lets you create and
Paste and Cut functions and even and many more. You’ll find name a new layer and New
a spelling checker, although you’ll many of these duplicated on Adjustment Layer, which adds
probably find it quicker to use the Adjustment Layer palette. a non-destructive editing layer
the keyboard shortcuts for these. to your image. The Merge and
You’ll also find the useful features Flatten options can also be
Fill, Stroke, Content-aware Scale, found here along with Mask and
Puppet Warp and Free Transform, Slice options.
as well as the colour profiles and
Preferences sub-menu.
MENUS UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP
Type Filter View Window
Type
The latest version of Filter
Photoshop includes many new Photoshop CS6 and Creative
text presentation and handling Cloud saw a major overhaul of View
options. Most of these can be the Filters menu, with many new The View menu is home to
found in the fly-out Character options, including the amazing the basic viewing controls
and Paragraph panels on the
right of the screen or accessed
Adaptive Wide Angle feature.
There’s the ever-popular Liquify
such as zoom level, but again
you’ll want to control those
Window
This isn’t a menu you’ll
from the Panels option at the filter, automatic lens distortion using shortcuts to save time. be using constantly, but
top of the menu, but others correction, as well as a huge range You’ll also find the very useful it does hold some very
can be found here, including of other filters and effects. Don’t go controls for the Snap functions, useful features, such as the
3D text, warping and special too wild though, most of them are including guide lines, essential Arrange and Workspace
foreign language options. best used sparingly! when you’re laying out a design sub-menus, which allow you
or composing text on an image. to control the layout of tabs,
windows and the various
tool palettes and panels.
UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP THE TOOLBAR
The Toolbar
Let’s take a look at Photoshop’s main editing tools
T he main elements of the Photoshop Toolbar haven’t changed all
that much since the introduction of Layers and the Move Tool with
version 3.0, back in 1994. The shape has changed a bit, elongating
into a single column to take advantage of today’s larger monitors and
a few more tools have been added, but anyone who’s familiar with any
previous version of Photoshop will soon feel right at home.
Move Eyedropper
Used to move pixel information on The Eyedropper and its extensive
the active layer or selection. You list of alternatives provide you with
can also create multiple layouts tools that can tell you more about the
using the Artboard feature. image you’re working on, such as
colour values, sizes and object count.
Marquee
The Marquee is used to select an Spot Healing
area of the active layer. Alternative Another tool that has seen some
options include an elliptical shape changes in the latest version, the
and single row or column selections. Spot Healing Tool is for removing
small blemishes such as stray hairs
or dust spots from your images.
Lasso
The Lasso is also used to make
area selections from the active Brush
layer by clicking or drawing a line This is a basic but useful tool for all
around the area to be selected. types of image editing, painting and
drawing. Alternatives include the
equally useful Pencil Tool, as well as
colour replacement and mixing.
Magic Wand
This tool can select an area based
on its colour. The alternative option
is Quick Selection, which can Clone Stamp
be used to paint an area into the Clone Stamp is used to copy one
selection created. area of an image onto another. It
can remove any unwanted element
in your image.
Crop
The Crop Tool has seen a major
overhauls in the past, but it still does History Brush
the same job. Use it to select one The History Brush can be used to
area of an image and discard the rest. selectively restore certain areas of
an image to a previous state.
Frame Tool
The Frame Tool can be used to create Eraser
placeholder frames for images. You As the name implies, the Eraser Tool
can create any kind of shape and is a special brush that can delete an
drop an image into it. area of an image, layer or selection.
THE TOOLBAR UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP
Gradient Zoom
The Gradient Tool can apply a fill-in This zooms in to an area of the image.
to an area that fades gradually from Again it is most often used via a
one colour to another. shortcut, in this case CTRL + or CTRL -.
Smudge Edit Toolbar

The Smudge Tool and its options, This tool enables you to customise
can be used to blend and alter your toolbar to add or remove tools to
colours and details in the image. your specific requirements.
Burn Switch Colour

Burn and its alternatives Dodge and Clicking on the first icon sets the
Sponge, are based on photographic colours to their defaults. The other
darkroom techniques and are used swaps the background and
to selectively lighten, darken images. foreground colours over.
Pen Set Colour

The Pen Tool is used to draw Clicking here brings up the
smooth curves for lines or colour chooser palette, which
selections, using something lets you choose the foreground
called Bezier curves. They can or background colours.
produce great results.
Quick Mask
The Quick Mask mode is a
Type great way of making complex
The Type Tool is another area that selections using the drawing and
has continued to receive various painting tools.
updates and overhauls and is now
part of a powerful text system.
Screen Mode
Click here to switch between the
Path Selection current screen mode and a full-
Paths are used for many purposes screen view of your current image.
in Photoshop. Use this tool and its
alternative to select a path to use.
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Line
The Line Tool and its alternatives Most of the tools in the toolbar
are used to create shapes and have alternative options,
paths on your images. It is very denoted by the small arrow
below and right of the icon.
useful for graphics work and adding
Click and hold on the icon to
arrows and custom shapes.
see the pop-up alternative
menu. This diagram shows
the alternative menus for each
tool. You can move the toolbar
Hand around by dragging the border
The Hand Tool is used to navigate at the top, or switch back to the
around a large image. It is most old two-column look by clicking
often used via the space bar. the double arrow.
UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
Keyboard USEFUL TIP

Learning the keyboard shortcuts
Shortcuts
will speed up your editing and you
can also set up your own in the Edit
menu. Just be aware of creating
‘shortcut collisions’ where a custom
shortcut is the same as a current
default one.
There’s always a quicker way of doing

almost everything in Photoshop
O ne of Photoshop’s best features is its huge list of fully customisable keyboard shortcuts. Almost all of the program’s functions can be
accessed quickly by pressing various combinations of keys and once you learn those shortcuts your workflow will speed up immensely.
You can even make up your own for your most frequently-used operations.
Customising Shortcuts
You’ll find the Keyboard Shortcut preferences already have their own default shortcuts. You combination is already used by another shortcut
menu at the bottom of the Edit menu, although can easily change these, or even add your own you’ll see a notification warning you of this and
naturally it has its own keyboard shortcut, new ones. To apply a shortcut to an operation, asking if you want to proceed with the change. If
Alt+Shift+Ctrl+K. You’ll find an exhaustive list first locate it in the list and then click in the space you click Accept the new shortcut will be applied
of all Photoshop functions, broken down into to the right of the name. You’ll see a small text immediately. Take care when making your own
category headings matching the names of the window appear and the next key or combination shortcuts that you don’t accidentally overwrite
main menus. You’ll find that many operations of keys that you press will appear here. If the some useful defaults.
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP
Some Useful Default Shortcuts

Here are some of the more commonly-used shortcuts for image editing. There are many more of course, but it’s worth taking the time to
memorise these ones. You’ll work efficiently and they’ll make your life a whole lot easier.
CREATE NEW DOCUMENT REDO LAST STEP INVERT SELECTION PASTE FROM CLIPBOARD
CREATE NEW LAYER LEVELS ZOOM IN VIEW COPY TO CLIPBOARD
CLOSE CURRENT DOCUMENT CURVES ZOOM OUT VIEW CUT TO CLIPBOARD
CLOSE ALL DOCUMENTS INCREASE BRUSH SIZE FIT ON SCREEN FREE TRANSFORM
SAVE CURRENT DOCUMENT DECREASE BRUSH SIZE 100% ZOOM TURN SNAP ON OR OFF
SAVE AS BRING CURRENT LAYER TO TOP SHOW RULERS SELECT ALL ON CURRENT LAYER
UNDO LAST STEP MOVE CURRENT LAYER UP SHOW OR HIDE GRID DESELECT ALL
TOGGLE LAST STATE MOVE CURRENT LAYER DOWN SHOW OR HIDE GUIDES HELP
Important Note
On a PC the Ctrl key for your On a Mac computer the
shortcuts looks like this on a Ctrl key is replaced by the
standard Windows keyboard. Cmd key on a standard Mac
If you use a PC and you see keyboard. If you use a Mac
an instruction in this title to and you see an instruction in
use a Cmd key, then just use this title to use the Ctrl key,
Ctrl instead. just use your Cmd key instead.
UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP USING LAYERS
Using Layers
Understanding layers is fundamental to Photoshop editing
T he concept of Layers was first
introduced with Photoshop 3.0 in
1994, and has become the very core of
descending order. Since layers can include
transparency, lower layers can be visible
through higher layers.
or off and delete layers, without affecting the
others. Some people seem to have a hard
time getting their head around the concept
Photoshop image editing, as well as being Effects, adjustments and operations can of layers, so the best way to think of them is
imitated by every other image editing be applied to individual layers, or to all as a pile of glass panels with the elements
program on the market. Layers are exactly the layers at once. You can: move layers that make up the image painted onto them,
what they sound like; the elements of the around relative to one another, change the with you looking down on them from above
image are stacked up and displayed in order of layers in the stack, turn layers on to see how they stack up.
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MIDDLE
Layers have a number of advantages. For one work paths, and then there
thing, the ability to change one element on one are Adjustment layers, which
layer without affecting the other layers means contain embedded commands FRONT
that you can edit your image non-destructively. that affect the layer immediately
For example if you want to perform an operation below. We’ll look at Adjustment
on a layer but you’re not sure how it’s going layers in more detail on the
to turn out, just make a duplicate layer, set the following pages.
original to be invisible, then do your editing on the There is a downside to using
copy. If you don’t like the result, you can simply layers, and that is the file sizes
delete it and go back to the original. they generate. Adding layers and
There are four main types of layer. There are the information that goes along USEFUL TIP
Pixel layers, which contain the graphical elements with them massively increases the size of the file,
of the image. There are Text layers, which so when you’ve finished editing and you want Click on a layer, press and hold the Shift key
contain text information which can be edited to save the picture you’ve created, it’s usually a on your keyboard and click on another layer
to multi-select a number of layers.
and resized. There are Vector layers, which good idea to Flatten the image, which merges all
contain vector information such as shapes and the layers together into a single image.
USING LAYERS UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP
The Layer Palette

Knowing your way around the Layer palette is vital if you want to make the best use of this feature.
Blend Mode Opacity Layer Filters

Determines how the layer interacts with the Controls how transparent the layer is, and how Choose to display only one type of layer, or all
layer below it. Can be changed for every layer much of the layer below will show through. of them, and by selecting the drop-down you
one by one, or for a group. You can use the slider or numeric value. can select the order in which you show them.
Fill
Similar to Opacity, but only works on pixel
information, ignoring blending options and
layer effects.
Layer Locks
By clicking on these buttons you can lock the
layer from any further activity. Transparency,
image pixels and position can be locked
independently of each other.
Text Layer
There are several different types of layer. Text
layers, not surprisingly, contain text characters.
Background
The Background layer is the default bottom
layer, and always starts off locked when you
open a new Photoshop document.
Link Layers
Highlight a few layers and then click this
A B C D button to link the layers. Transform and
Move commands will affect all linked layers.
Visibility Layer Styles Layer Mask

Clicking on the eyeball simply renders the This panel lets you add effects such as Add a mask to a pixel-based layer, to reveal
layer and all its effects invisible. Also, Alt + drop shadow, bevelled edges, inner glow, or conceal information, using black to
left-click to view that layer on its own. gradient overlay and much more. conceal or white to reveal.
A Adjustment Layer B New Group C New Layer D Delete Layer

An alternative to the main layer Creates a new layer group, into Clicking on this button Does exactly what you’d
menu, and here you can add all the which you can drag and drop layers, creates a new blank layer expect it to do. Click to delete the
adjustment effects such as Levels, which helps you to organise layers in a directly above the currently currently active layer, or drag a layer
Brightness and Contrast and Saturation. big complicated composition. active layer. onto the button to delete it.
UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP ADJUSTMENT LAYERS
Adjustment
Layers
A great way to edit your images without damaging them
A lthough there are many editing options
in the Image > Adjustment menu, they
all have one thing in common. When you
Saturation, then add a Photo Filter effect,
that’s three operations that have discarded
information, each one degrading your
the damage done by these modifications
is to revert to an earlier version by using
undo or the History palette, but that also
apply them to an image the effect they image quality. If you apply an operation undoes all your subsequent editing as well.
have is destructive, because they discard repeatedly, such as multiple Curves This degradation is much worse with 8-bit
information from the original image. For corrections, you’ll actually be able to see than with 16-bit images, since there’s less
example, if you apply Curves, the Hue/ the degradation. The only way to undo information to start with.
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It’s impossible to avoid this image degradation merged when flattening the image.
altogether, but by using Adjustment Layers You can apply Adjustment Layers in several
we can reduce it as much as possible. ways. First, you’ll find a list of available layers
Adjustment Layers sit above the pixel layer in in the Layer > New Adjustment Layer menu.
the stack and their effects are applied in real Second, if you have the Adjustments palette open
time as the layers are displayed. That way (it’s open in the default interface workspace) you
if you change your mind about an effect, or can click on the button for the layer you want to
wish to change it after it has been applied, apply. Third, you can click on the middle button
your alteration doesn’t have any further at the bottom of the Layer Palette. All of these
effect on the layer below it and the image offer exactly the same list of options and produce
degradation isn’t applied until the layers are the same results.
ADJUSTMENT LAYERS UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP
The Adjustment Layer Palette

Click on any of these buttons to instantly create a new adjustment layer.
01 Brightness/Contrast Photo Filter 09

Edit image tonal range. Add custom colour cast to images.
02 Levels Channel Mixer 10
Adjust colour and tonal range. Adjustments Create tinted or greyscale images.
03 Curves Colour Lookup 11
Adjust points through the tonal range. Add an adjustment Add preset colour effects to images.
04 Exposure Invert 12
Adjust an images’ exposure range. Inverts image colours like a negative.
01 02 03 04 05
05 Vibrance Posterize 13
Enhance less saturated colours first. Adjust the number of tonal levels.
06 Hue/Saturation 06 07 08 09 10 11 Threshold 14
Alter Hue, Saturation and Lightness. Convert to black and white bitmap.
07 Colour Balance 12 13 14 15 16
Selective Colour 15
Add colour to shadows and highlights. Alter individual primary colours.
08 Black and White Gradient Map 16
Convert to monotone or greyscale. Maps an image to a custom gradient fill.
AFTER
BEFORE
Before and After

This wildlife photo was taken on a Modern digital camera. The subject was
photographed on a bright but slightly overcast day and is suffering from a little bit of
underexposure. By applying Levels, Saturation and Color Balance adjustments to the
image, the colours have been saturated, brightness and contrast enhanced to bring
back some punch, with detail and warmth also being increased.
UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP USING LAYER MASKS
Using
Layer Masks
Add effects non-destructively with Layer Masks
W hile the Quick Mask function is an easy way to selectively edit your pictures,
the more traditional method is to use Layer Masks. The advantage to this
method is that it is non-destructive, so if you don’t like the results you can just go
01 To start with, right-click on the thumbnail of the
photo in the layer palette and select Duplicate
Layer from the menu. Alternatively click and drag the
back and start again. It is also repeatable, because you can use the same mask for layer thumbnail in the palette onto the New Layer
multiple effects, saving you time and effort. For this quick tutorial we’ll use a Layer button at the bottom of the palette, which will also
Mask to apply a selective monochrome or colour extraction effect. We’ll start with duplicate the layer.
this bright image of a 3D rendered car. The red tones will remain in colour while the
rest of the picture will be changed to black and white.
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Next, activate the new layer by clicking on it in the

02
palette and then click on the Add Layer Mask button
at the bottom of the palette.
A white square will appear in the layer palette

03
representing the new mask. Double-click on this
and the Layer Mask palette will fly out. This palette lets you
configure the mask in a variety of ways.
USING LAYER MASKS UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP
Click on the Color Range button and you’ll Next we can apply the effect to the top 08 The Layer Mask can be used to produce
04 06
see a new window appear with a colour layer. For this one we’ll use the Black any kind of selective effect like this and
range picker and the cursor will change to an and White menu option, since it’s a quick the great part of it is that the original image is
eyedropper tool. Click on the red chassis of the and easy effect. You’ll find it in the Image > still intact in the background layer, so if you’re
vehicle and adjust the sliders so that as much of Adjustments menu. unhappy with the finished result you can just
the colour as possible is selected, but none of the delete the effect layer and start again. However
background. Click OK when you’re happy. as you can see, the effect is working well.
You can adjust the parameters of the

07
Black and White effect with the sliders
on the window that appears. The results
are a matter of personal taste, so adjust the
parameters until you’re happy.
USEFUL TIP
Always remember that layer masks do not
erase any of a layer’s detail, it just makes
certain details invisible without deleting
them. This is referred to as non-destructive
Now we’ve got a mask that covers the
05 image editing.
shape of the car but what we need is a
mask that leaves the chosen colour, while covering
everything else, so click on the Invert button
that swaps the mask and the background. This
effectively creates a hole in the layer through which
the background layer will be visible.
AFTER
UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP SELECTION TOOLS
Selection Tools
This fundamental technique allows multiple methods
for isolating specific areas of your image
T he ability to select discrete areas of an image and change them
in isolation is fundamental to Photoshop editing and to help
with this there are many different ways of making that selection.
you to select regular shapes such as rectangles, ellipses and lines. For
irregular shapes there are several Lasso Tools, which let you draw the
area to be selected. For quicker selections there are the Magic Wand and
The most frequently used are the Marquee Tools, which allow Quick Selection Tools.
Common Options
If you look across the top left of your menu bar,
you will see there are common tool options for all
of the selection tools. After the Home button and
the Tool preset picker are the selection options.
The row of four buttons are: New Selection,
which is the default setting; Add To Selection,
which can also be activated temporarily by
holding down the Shift key; Subtract From
Selection, also activated by the Alt key; and
Intersect With Selection, which selects only from
areas you have already selected.
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The next option is Feather, which softens the
edge of the selection based on the number of
pixels you enter in the Feather input field. This
is useful for gradual effects where you do not
want a hard edge around your active selection.
If you want even more control, the edge of the
selection can be further adjusted by using the
Refine Edge menu in CS6 or Select and Mask
in Photoshop CC, which uses sophisticated
edge-detection techniques to automatically
select around things like fine hair or soft and
blurred edges. You are given a number of
options and tools to control just how much
refinement and adjustment you want to apply to
your selection.
USEFUL TIP
You can use the Quick Selection Tool to
quickly paint a selection using an adjustable
round brush tip. As you drag, the selection
expands outward and automatically finds
and follows defined edges in the image. If the
tool isn’t visible in your toolbar, hold down
the Magic Wand Tool to see the fly-out menu
with the additional options that are available
to you.
SELECTION TOOLS UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP
Rectangular Marquee Single Column Marquee Elliptical Marquee
Make a selection of a rectangular area of any This option creates a selection of just a single Create a selection of an elliptical shape of any
size or aspect ratio. Just click and drag to the vertical column of pixels. This is useful for tidying size or proportion. Just click and drag to the size
right size. Hold down the Shift key to constrain up other selections or crops that are just a little and shape you need and hold down the Shift key
the selection to a square shape and use the too big. Click near the area you want to select to draw a circle. If you hold down the Alt key the
arrow keys to move the selection area. and then drag the marquee to the exact location. ellipse will be centred on the starting point.
Magnetic Lasso Lasso Single Row Marquee
This tool uses edge-detection to try to match your The Lasso is also used to make area selections This is the same as Single Column Marquee,
selection to the edges of the subject in the image. from the active layer, but this time the shape can be but this time it selects a single horizontal row
You simply draw a line as closely as possible to irregular, marked out by clicking or drawing a line of pixels. As with the Single Column Marquee
what you want and it should automatically snap to around the area to be selected. Join up your lasso option, click near the area you want to select and
the edge. Works best on high contrast areas. at the point you started to close the selection. then drag the marquee to the exact location.
Polygonal Lasso Magic Wand Quick Selection
The Polygonal Lasso lets you draw a point-to- This tool lets you make selections from areas of This tool lets you paint a selection and uses edge
point line around your subject. It can only draw the same colour and brightness and by adjusting detection to try to match the selection to the
straight lines, but by using very short sections it’s the tolerance and whether or not it will select nearest hard edge in the image. Again it’s often
possible to approximate a curved line. To draw contiguous areas, you can use it to do things like only an approximation and will have problems
curved lines you need to use the Pen Tool. automatically select all the sky in your image. with blurred or low contrast edges.
UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP MAKING SELECTIONS
Making
Selections
The ability to select and modify only part of an image is
fundamental to how Photoshop works
O ne of the most basic features of Photoshop is the ability to
modify only part of an image, leaving the rest unchanged.
The way that we do this is by using Selections, and there are
several tools and menu operations that we can use to help us
achieve this.
After the Move Tool, the next three icons on the Tool Palette
are all selection tools, giving you a wide range of methods for
isolating an area of your image. Some are fully manual, while
others use varying degrees of automation.
The most basic selection tools are the Rectangular and
Elliptical Marquee Tools. These both allow you to manually select
a simple shape of any size, or of a fixed size or aspect ratio. You
can select several areas, either separately or joined together,
and with a hard edge or a soft feathered edge. The various Lasso
This tutorial Tools let you select an area of irregular shape, again with the
content is option of a feathered edge. You can draw the area freehand, or
available for use point-to-point lines for greater precision.
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Let’s take a look at the process of making a selection, and
examine the various options that are available.
Elliptical Marquee Tool
The Elliptical Marquee Tool works in

01
much the same way as the Rectangular To draw an ellipse around your
03
Marquee, but draws a curved shape. selection, imagine that it’s actually a
rectangle, start from one corner and drag to
As with the Rectangular Marquee, the diagonally opposite corner. This can be
02
you can set the size or aspect ratio. A tricky to get right, so alternatively hold down
ratio of 1x1 draws a circle, other ratios draw the Alt key and start from the centre of where
ellipses of various sizes. you want your ellipse to be.
MAKING SELECTIONS UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP
Simple Area Selection
To make a soft-edged selection, type a

05
number into the Feather box. The higher
the number, the more blurred the edge will be.
Let’s start off with the simplest selection

01
tool, the Rectangular Marquee. This is To draw a square, click on a point where you
03
used, as the name implies, for selecting simple want one of the corners to be, then hold and
rectangular shapes. drag to the diagonally opposite corner. You’ll see
the “marching ants” line of the selection box appear
following the cursor.
This time if you draw a selection and fill it,

06 you’ll see that the edges are very blurred,
with the marquee “marching ants” line in the
middle of the blurred area.
USEFUL TIP
If you want to select more than one area or
You can draw a freehand rectangle, or fix add to the current selection, holding down
02 the Shift key will temporarily put the tool into
the size or aspect ratio by using the Tool If you use the Paint Bucket Tool to fill the
04 “Add to Selection” mode.
Options. Let’s draw a perfect square selection area you’ve selected you’ll see that the
by setting a ratio of 1x1. edges are very sharp.
Polygonal Lasso Tool
For selecting more complex shapes, the With the Polygonal Lasso, you A Polygonal Lasso selection is ideal if you
01 02 03
best option is the Polygonal Lasso Tool, click around the edge of the area want to cut or copy a complex shape out
or if you want to draw freehand, then the Lasso you want to select. When you complete of a background, for example to make it part of
Tool is the one to go for. Drawing freehand may the loop, or double-click, the selection is another picture. It is particularly helpful when your
be quite odd using a mouse, but with a little completed and you’ll see the “marching subject has lots of straight, regular edges that are
practice you can use it with confidence. ants” border. easy to follow.
UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP HEALING BRUSH TOOLS
Healing Brush
Tools
Clean up minor blemishes, dust spots and
stray hairs with the Healing Brush Tools
E ven with a modern digital camera, your

photos may have slight imperfections.
Maybe it’s just a stray hair or an unwelcome
USEFUL TIP
Spot Healing Brush Tool J
skin blemish in a portrait, or maybe some To get the best out of the
dust has managed to get onto your sensor, Healing Brush Tool J healing tools, you need
causing dark spots on your photo. to work with care and not
Whatever the reason, sometimes you Patch Tool J overdo the effect. The key to
need to remove some small features from success is to be subtle. There
your images and the best tools for this are
Content-Aware Move Tool J is also no reason you can’t
the Healing Tools. There are five Healing use several of the healing
Red-Eye Tool J brushes to make sure you get
Tools in Photoshop, which you can see
a perfectly healed image.
if you click and hold on the Spot Healing
Brush Tool icon in the tool palette.
Healing Brush Tool Content Aware Move Patch Tool
The Healing Brush is a legacy from older versions of The Content Aware Move Tool was introduced in The Patch Tool is used for repairing larger areas.
Photoshop. It does much the same job as the Spot Photoshop CS6. The idea is that you can simply It can be used in one of two ways; either draw
Healing Brush, but is rather less sophisticated. It draw a selection around an object and then drag it to around the area you want to replace and then
works in much the same way as the Clone Stamp another place. The program analyses the surrounding drag the sample to an area of matching clean
Tool. To heal a blemish, you first need to set a sample area and fills in the source with a matching texture. In texture, or sample an area of clean texture and
point by clicking on an area of similar texture while practice the Content Aware Move Tool is only useful then drag it over the part you want to replace.
holding down the Alt key, then painting the sample in very specific circumstances, when the object you Here, a patch of wooden floor can be used to
over the blemish. As ever, when it comes to healing want to move is surrounded by a uniform texture. You remove some bread crumbs from the shot. As
and cloning techniques, subtlety is the key. You may will find that the more even the texture, the better the you drag the patch, it will show you a real-time
find that it might take several attempts to get a good final result. Backgrounds such as grass and blue sky overlay over your target area so you can align it
texture that doesn’t stand out as being cloned in. are much more successful candidates for this. as best you can to ensure a good patch.
HEALING BRUSH TOOLS UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP
This tutorial
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ORIGINAL HEALED
Red Eye Tool Spot Healing Brush Tool
Red Eye is caused by light from a camera flash For removing small objects such as dust spots
reflecting off the blood vessels at the back of the and stray hairs, the Spot Healing Brush is the USEFUL TIP
eye when the pupil is wide open. It’s possible to most useful and effective tool at your disposal. In
avoid it by proper camera technique, but if you find some cases, you can even remove larger objects Camera sensors pick up dust spots over
it in one of your portraits, Photoshop has a quick and people. When you use it to paint over an time. Use the Spot Healing Brush to remove
unwanted sensor dust spots that appear
and easy tool to help remove it. Simply click on the object, the brush samples the area around it
on your digital images. As you can see
offending redness and the tool will automatically and replaces the object with a simulation of the from these examples, you can also remove
analyse how much redness there is in the subject’s background. The way that it samples can be larger objects as long as you have an even
eyes and remove it and replace it with a more selected and the most effective option is Content background behind it, otherwise the effect
natural-looking tone which is usually black or a very Aware sampling. The brush parameters can be might look fake.
dark tone. adjusted like any other brush.
UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP BRUSHES, PENCIL AND ERASER
Brushes, Pencil
and Eraser
Photoshop has many tools to
help you create images as well
as edit them
A lthough it is primarily designed and best known as an image editing
program, Photoshop also offers a range of versatile tools, allowing you
to create original artwork as well as adapting existing images. The brushes,
pencils and eraser are designed to behave as much like their real life
counterparts as possible, to make using them an intuitive process. If you
have a graphics tablet and a pen, this helps even more.
The Brush Tool

The most useful drawing implement is the You select the Brush Tool by clicking on its
Brush (keyboard shortcut B), which is a icon in the tool palette, but to get the most out
multi-purpose tool that can emulate almost of it you need to open the new Brush palette by
any type of drawing tool imaginable, be it a clicking on the little folder-shaped icon in the
fine pencil, a felt-tip marker pen, a soft-bristle options bar.
brush, an airbrush, or anything in between. When you take a look at the new Brush
The Brush Tool has received a major upgrade palette you’ll be blown away by just how
for version CS6 and now has more options customisable it is. You can adjust the shape
and more presets than ever before, giving you of the brush tip, the density, length, thickness,
unparalleled versatility for creating your own stiffness and angle of the brush bristles and
artistic Photoshop masterpieces. adjust or disable brush spacing. As well as
The Pencil Tool

The Pencil Tool used to be a separate
item from the Brush Tool, but with radical
expansion of the Brush in Photoshop to
include simulations of numerous types of
pencil, the Pencil Tool itself is now just a
variation of the Brush Tool and uses the
same options palette. It’s not without its
uses though.
The Pencil can be used as a secondary
brush, which can save time swapping
between pre-sets and can also be used to
apply a stroke to work paths. You can press
Shift + B to make it appear. By default it
uses the 1 pixel brush size. The Pencil Tool
is limited to hard-edged brush shapes of
various sizes.
BRUSHES, PENCIL AND ERASER UNCOVERING PHOTOSHOP
this there are many more options, allowing you There are preset brushes to simulate airbrushes, Many people will probably use Photoshop
to add random scattering, noise, texture, wet pastel crayons, big soft brushes, small stiff bristles, with a pen and tablet device, such as the
edge simulation, airbrush-like build-up and both pencils, felt pens, sponges and even template Wacom Intuos4 shown here. The Brush Tool
shape and colour dynamics. If this degree of brushes to quickly draw grass or leaves. The includes options for pen tablet users, such as
control is too time-consuming there are also options and adjustments can be applied to preset allowing pen pressure to control either brush
dozens of preset brushes, a small sample of brushes, so you can customise them for your size or opacity.
which you can see in the picture shown below. own specific needs. You can even make your own
brushes if you want.
As well as options for the appearance and
texture of the brush, there are also options for
how it interacts with the layer that you paint
on. These are called Blend Modes and you can
choose which one to use by clicking on the
Modes button in the Tool Options bar.
The Eraser Tool

The Eraser Tool (keyboard shortcut E) is a
specialised variation on the Brush Tool and uses
the same palette options. It differs from the
standard brush in that it can render pixels from
a layer transparent, allowing the layer beneath to
show through. If used on the background layer it
paints in whatever the current background colour
is set to.
As well as the Brush palette options, the
Eraser also has tool options including Opacity, There are two other Eraser options available if
Flow and one unique one, Erase to History, which you click and hold on the Eraser Tool. Background
can be used in conjunction with the History Eraser can, as the name suggests, erase parts
palette to selectively undo changes in layers. The of the background, but it does this by converting
Mode options for the Eraser are Brush, Pencil or the background into a layer. Magic Eraser simply
Block, which is a small square-shaped eraser of combines the Magic Wand Tool with the Eraser Tool
fixed size and full opacity. and selectively erases contiguous areas of colour.
Exploring
Photoshop
Okay, you’ve got the hang of the basics and now
you want to expand your skill base a little. This
is where you can begin to explore more of what
Photoshop can do for you with its extensive set
of tools and manipulation techniques. Let’s have
a look at how you can make some simple edits to
images such as cropping, cloning and masking.
Contents
44 The clone stamp tool 52 Cropping and resizing
46 Gradient fill and paint bucket 54 Quick mask mode
48 Modifying selections 56 Content-aware fill and scale
50 Curves and levels 58 Adjusting exposure
EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP
EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP THE CLONE STAMP TOOL
The Clone USEFUL TIP

Vary brush size by using the
open and close square brackets
Stamp Tool
keys and vary brush hardness
with the curly brackets.
Remove unwanted elements from your photos

T he Clone Stamp Tool (also known as the Clone Brush in some
programs) is one of the most useful items in your image editing
tool kit. Despite recent developments such as Photoshop’s Spot
elements such as dust spots, skin blemishes, lens flare, telephone
lines and other intrusive objects from your pictures. Because the
process is entirely manual it can be somewhat time-consuming,
Healing Tool and Content-aware fill, it is still the most precise and but the results are often superior to the output of the more modern
reliable way to retouch photographs, allowing you to remove unwanted automatic tools.
BEFORE AFTER
This tutorial
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The Clone Stamp works by copying (“cloning”) pixels from a selected target We decided it would be a good demonstration of the power of the Clone
area and placing them over the unwanted objects. Using the Clone Stamp, Stamp Tool to use it for one of its classic purposes. Since Photoshop has
it is relatively straightforward to remove even quite large unwanted objects been able to do it, retouching skin is one of those techniques that were
from a photo. Our example is a close up portrait photo, taken in a studio designed with the Clone Stamp Tool in mind. This girl's portrait reveals
setting, of a young girl. some blemishes that can be removed with this tool.
THE CLONE STAMP TOOL EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP
Go to your toolbar and select the Clone 04 Now move your cursor over the top of the Now that you know how to clone a
01 06
Stamp Tool (S). For the image we’re face and position it over the small blemish clean area of skin and use it to remove
working on, a brush Size of about 25 - 45 pixels directly below the area you just sampled. It is blemishes, you can start to work around the face
will be fine. You can make the brush Hardness shown as an overlay so you can see what you are and remove any other blemishes required..
anywhere between 0% - 40%. We’re going to about to clone on top of your figure. If you click
start with the blemishes under her left eye. your mouse over the blemish, the clean skin just
sampled will be cloned over the top of it.
Sampled
pixels
Sampled pixels
are copied here As you clone, watch out for any obvious
07
repeating patterns that give the game
away. These repeats appear because you have
You can now choose another clean a blemish in your original sampled area which is
05
target sample below her left eye and being stamped over the target skin. Patterns like
clone skin from that side over the blemishes just this highlight the fact that cloning has been used.
below her eye. If you notice any repeated areas If you see any patterns like this emerging, you can
that stand out as being cloned, or differences in press Cmd + Z and undo those steps and find a
brightness and skin tone, you can choose a new clean area of skin to sample and try cloning over
target area and clone in some new skin to keep your target area again.
Make sure that you have the Aligned the pattern random.
02
option ticked. This means that the
sampling area of your brush moves as your brush
does, otherwise you will clone the same sampled
area repeatedly until you alter it.
Find an area of clean skin next to the Another trick to help you, is to create a
03 08
blemish and then press your Alt key. A new transparent layer and clone your new
small target icon will appear. Anything under pixels onto that. Make sure you have Current And
this target will be your sample to be used as Below selected from the Sample: menu. You can
the starting point of the cloning. Left-click your then clone onto this clean layer, preserving all the
mouse to confirm this as your sample area. pixels underneath on the base layer.
This is your
clean target
pixel sample.
EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP GRADIENT FILL AND PAINT BUCKET
Gradient Fill &

Paint Bucket
Fill layers and selections with colours, textures
and gradients
O ne very useful facility that Photoshop
provides is the Gradient Tool. It can fill an
area of a layer with a gradual blend between
such as vignettes and centre-spot soft-focus.
Let’s take a closer look at how it works.
You’ll find the Gradient Tool about halfway
multiple colours. You can choose from a down the Tool Palette. It has its own unique set
selection of pre-set gradient fills or create your of options in the Tool Options bar, the main one
own. It’s a great way to add gradient filters for being the Gradient Picker, which lets you choose
enhancing photographs, or to create effects from a list of pre-set gradients.
This tutorial
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GRADIENT FILL AND PAINT BUCKET EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP
Photoshop comes with a selection of default Below are the main gradient types that you can
pre-set gradients loaded, but there are other packs choose from the Tool Options bar at the top left of
of gradients available. You can load in these other your screen.
packs via the Gradient menu. If you open the
Gradient Picker you’ll see a small icon like a cog
wheel. If you click on this you’ll see the menu, with
the list of standard gradient packs available to load
at the bottom.
Linear
Other Gradient Tool options include the overall
layer opacity, reversing the direction of the gradient
colour mix, changing the “dither” of the colour
mixing and toggling the transparency.
Next to this is a row of buttons that create different
gradient shapes. The default setting is a straight
Radial
linear gradient, but other options include Radial,
Angle, Reflected and Diamond shapes.
Angle
Reflected
Like the Brush Tools the Gradient has blend

modes that let you mix the gradient colour fill with
Diamond
the layer below it in various ways. This is a great way
to enhance landscape shots, by using an orange-
to-transparent gradient fill in Overlay or Soft Light
mode, as in the example seen here.
Paint Bucket Tool
BEFORE AFTER
If you click and hold on the Gradient Tool you’ll way as the Magic Wand Tool. To add a tint to a
find that one of its options is the Paint Bucket whole image, create a new layer then fill it with
Tool, which is used to fill an area, a layer, or a the colour. It will fill the whole layer and you can
selection with a solid colour. In combination then use layer transparency and blend modes USEFUL TIP
with layer transparency and blend modes it’s to achieve the effect you’re looking for.
a great way to add a colour tint or filter to a To get this vintage photo effect, we used Remember that the Paint Bucket uses the
same edge detection as the Magic Wand
whole image. a sand brown colour, at 100% opacity and
Tool. If you want to fill the whole screen, use
If you use the Paint Bucket on the a Colour blend mode, which combines the
a new layer.
background layer of your image it will fill in an fill colour with the tones and colours of the
area of contiguous colour in much the same background image.
EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP MODIFYING SELECTIONS
Modifying
Selections
Photoshop has sophisticated tools to refine selections
P hotoshop’s standard selection
tools: the Marquee, Lasso and
Magic Wand, are fine for making basic
selections of regular, well defined
shapes, but they’re not so good at
This tutorial
content is picking out soft-edged or very fine
available for shapes. One thing in particular, that has
download always been a problem, is the edge of
fine or untidy hair. Take the photo shown
here for example:
This image is representative of a typical
studio setting, with good lighting and
against a plain background. Photos like
this are used all the time for catalogues,
advertising posters and the like.
However, in order to fit these needs the
model will have to be separated from the
background. With a plain background like
this, it would be tempting to use a normal
selection tool such as the Magic Wand.
However if we try it, what we end up with is
something like this:
Modify Selection Border Smooth
Photoshop has other tools to modify a selection Border converts the single-line selection into a Smooth removes the kinks and wrinkles from
which you’ll find, appropriately enough, in the border of the specified width. You can use this the line of your selection. It’s useful when you’re
Select menu, under Modify. The options include: selection to create a border around your original selecting smooth-edged objects, but it will round
Border, Smooth, Expand, Contract and Feather. selection by using the Paint Bucket Tool. Be off the corners of any irregular shapes. The larger
They’re all relatively simple, but useful nonetheless. aware that the border extends an equal amount the value of Smooth Selection, the smoother and
We have some examples to show you. from either side of your original selection. less detailed the selection becomes.
MODIFYING SELECTIONS EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP
When you’ve been around all the edge

area that you want to refine, click OK and
then wait a few seconds while the program
recalculates the edge. As you can see here,
the result is a good improvement over the
first attempt.
Select and Mask is very easy to use. Starting

with a Magic Wand or Polygonal Lasso
selection as close as possible to the edge
of the hair, or any other soft edge, click on
the Refine Edge button on the Tool Options
bar. In the dialog window that opens, in Edge
Definition, check the box marked Smart Radius
and use the square brackets keys to set the
brush size so that it’s large enough to cover
the hazy edge area around the hair. Then
simply paint around the edge, overlapping both
the model and the background.
As you can see, the edge around the

model’s hair looks terrible. The automatic
Magic Wand selection has produced a very
jagged edge, because it can’t distinguish
between the fine edge of the hair and the
background. Fortunately the latest version
of Photoshop has a feature called Select
and Mask, which is capable of making
much finer distinctions.
Expand Contract Feather
Expand, as the name suggests, expands the Contract is the opposite of Expand. It shrinks We’ve looked at Feather before. It softens the
size of the selection by the specified number the size of the selection by the specified edge of the selection by the radius set in the
of pixels. The larger the value you expand the number of pixels. As with the Expand option, dialog box. It’s perhaps the most useful option
selection by, the more the detail and shape of the more you Contract the selection, the here, particularly if you’re trying to copy and
your original selection will begin to decrease more the original selection shape’s detail will paste the selection into a background. Unlike
as it enlarges outwards. become less well defined. Smooth, this creates a soft vignette effect.
EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP CURVES AND LEVELS
Curves
and Levels
The most versatile way to adjust brightness
and contrast in your digital images
Y ou’ll find the Curves function in the Image >
Adjustments menu, or use the keyboard shortcut
Cmd+M. The Curves dialog looks a bit daunting
at first; a graph with a diagonal line running up the
middle of it, like a difficult piece of maths homework.
It’s nothing to be scared of though and is in fact the
most useful and versatile tool for making adjustments
to the exposure and tonal balance of your images.
We’ll use this female portrait as the image to begin
with. What we want to do first is crop it down so we
just have the main part of her face and hair with some
trees beyond.
The Curves graph is a histogram showing the relative
strengths of different tones within the image. It shows the
input distribution along the bottom of the graph and the
output up the vertical axis. The straight diagonal line from
corner to corner indicates that there is a 1:1 ratio between
input and output at all tones; the output is exactly the
same as the input, as you’d expect. It is by adjusting the This tutorial
line and altering the ratio of input tones to output tones, content is
that we can achieve a number of effects. The left-hand available for
end of the horizontal axis represents the darker tones,
download
while the right-hand end represents the highlights.
The Curves graph can be manipulated in several

ways. You can move the line directly, by clicking
on it to place new anchor points and then dragging
these points into new positions. You can also use the
arrow keys to nudge a selected point up, down, left
or right. There’s no limit to where the line can start or
finish, or where it goes in between, which can lead to
some extraordinary results.
In later versions of Photoshop there’s an even
more useful way to use Curves. Just to the lower
left of the histogram you’ll see a button with a hand
and two arrows on it. If you click this button and
then move the cursor over the image you’ll notice a
point on the line move up and down as the cursor
passes over lighter and darker areas. Pick a spot
that you want to lighten, click on it and drag upward
and you’ll see the tone curve move to match. Using
this awesome feature you can selectively lighten or
darken pretty much every tone in the image.
CURVES AND LEVELS EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP
Boosting Contrast
Add two anchor points to the tone curve roughly
one-third of the way from either end. Drag the
shape of the line into a narrow S-shaped curve,
slightly raising the upper half of the curve and
lowering the lower half of it, leaving the mid-
point and both ends in the same positions.
This will brighten the lighter areas of the image,
while darkening the darker areas, increasing
the contrast while maintaining the same overall
exposure. It’s an excellent way to make very
precise adjustments to contrast. Mid-tone
lightness can be adjusted by moving the mid-
point on the curve up or down.
Emphasising Highlights Emphasising Shadows Brightening Mid-tones
To boost the highlights of an image move the Moving the lowest point on the curve to the right For images with very high contrast sometimes it is
highest point leftwards along the top horizontal will darken the shadows, but this will lose both necessary to boost the mid-tones to balance the
axis. This increases the brightness of the lighter shadow and mid-tone detail. This can be alleviated image. To do this, set three points on the tone curve
pixels and may cause the brighter highlights to be by moving the mid-point of the curve upwards at roughly equal positions along the curve and then
burned out, but the result can be quite pleasing slightly, flattening the upper part of the curve and move the middle one upwards to achieve the effect.
for the right kind of image. This technique works brightening the mid-tones. This emphasising of The other two points act as anchors, keeping the
well in monochrome, producing an ethereal high- shadows is very similar to boosting contrast, but shadows and highlights unchanged. Moving the
key image. can create a more extreme result. mid-point downwards has the opposite effect.
Levels
A quick, easy and accurate
way to adjust brightness
and contrast
In the Image > Adjustments menu you’ll also find

the Levels function, keyboard shortcut Cmd + L.
The Levels function is easier to use than Curves
and lets you quickly adjust the black and white
points and overall brightness of your image. It’s
particularly useful for images that contain a lot
of light or dark areas, such as dark objects on a
light background, because it provides a method
for fixing the lightest and darkest areas of the
image, while leaving the mid-tones free to be
adjusted upward or downward.
EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP CROPPING AND RESIZING
Cropping
and Resizing
Changing the size of a digital photograph
This tutorial
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available for
S ometimes a digital photograph
can be the wrong size. Maybe
you’ve got too much of the
download
surroundings in the picture, when

you wanted to concentrate on just
the main subject, or maybe the
whole image is too big, and you
need to make it smaller to send
via email or publish on a website.
Doing both of these things is very
quick and simple in Photoshop.
We’ll use this landscape shot of an
old shack and watermill as the image BEFORE
to start with. What we want to do
first is crop it down so we just have a
tighter view of the shack.
The best tool for the job is, not

01
surprisingly, the Crop Tool. You’ll find it
in the tool palette, fourth down from the top. It
looks a bit like two set-squares.
The Crop Tool is very easy to use. Simply

02
click near one corner and then drag a
box around the area you want to crop. Don’t
worry if you don’t get the size exactly right first
time, because you can adjust the size of the box
by using the drag-handles on each side and
corner. Press Enter to perform the crop.
Next we’ll resize the image to make it a In the Image Size dialog box, check
03 04
more manageable size. To do this you’ll the box marked Resample Image,
need to get to the Image menu and select and open the drop-down option panel below
Image Size, or use the keyboard shortcut it. We’re reducing the size of this picture, so
Alt + Cmd + I. select Bicubic Sharper.
CROPPING AND RESIZING EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP
AFTER
You’ll see the current size in pixels at

07
the top of the panel, with the width
as 800 pixels. In the lower window put in a
height of 600 pixels. If your main subject is
not in the centre of the frame, you can alter
the anchor point by clicking on the arrows
surrounding the box below. Click OK to
In the Pixel Dimensions panel, enter Next, go back to the Image menu, perform the resize. You’ll get a warning that
05 06
the width that you want your image to but this time choose Canvas Size, or you’re about to chop off part of the image,
appear. If we were preparing this picture for a use the keyboard shortcut Cmd + Alt + C. but just ignore it.
website, a width of 800 pixels would be ideal. Canvas Size will allow you to be able to extend Now we’ve resized the image to 800 x 600,
The height will change automatically to keep the dimensions of your current document by a convenient size for display on many mobile
the aspect ratio the same. Press OK to resize adding extra pixels to the image. Bear in mind devices, and ideal for uploading to a website
the picture. this is different than simply resizing the image. or sending via email.
EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP QUICK MASK MODE
Quick Mask USEFUL TIP

By varying the transparency of
the Quick Mask selection you can
Mode
alter the effect of the edit you
want to perform.
There’s a quicker way of editing selections and masks

O ften when editing in Photoshop it’s useful to be able to
block off certain areas that we don’t want to be affected.
For that we use masks and there are several ways of creating
them, but by far the easiest is Quick Mask, a fantastically
useful feature that was first introduced in Photoshop 7. Quick
Mask lets you create and edit masks and selections quickly
This tutorial
content is and easily using any of Photoshop’s pixel painting tools to
available for apply a brushed mask with freehand strokes of the mouse.
download It’s extremely simple to use, but it can produce a wide and
varied range of results. You’ll find the Quick Mask mode
button near the bottom of the Tool Palette. Clicking it will
toggle Quick Mask mode on or off.
The most basic way to use Quick Mask is with the Brush Tool. When you
switch on Quick Mask, you’ll notice that the foreground and background
colours change to black and white. Select a normal paint brush and start
painting in black. You’ll see that instead of black, the colour is a translucent
red. Paint this colour over the area you want to mask.
If you make a mistake and overlap your area, simply switch to the white
background colour. Painting white will erase the mask.
QUICK MASK MODE EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP
By using a combination
of the two you can mask
out even quite complex
shapes. If you then toggle
out of Quick Mask mode,
you’ll find that all but the
area you’ve masked will be
selected. You can now alter
very specific areas of your
image, such as just the
head band and metal talons
in this fantasy portrait.
Gradient Mask
There are other ways to apply Quick Mask. For example it can be used
with the Gradient Tool to produce gradual mask effects. Simply enter
Quick Mask mode, then select the Gradient Tool. Drag a gradient fill
over the area you wish to affect and when you release the Mouse button
you’ll see that the gradient effect is in translucent red, like the painted
Quick Mask.
BEFORE
AFTER
You can now use this gradient mask to produce graduated effects on an
image. For instance, on this picture we can darken the sky and leave the
foreground as it is by using a graduated Levels function. The gradient mask
ensures a smooth transition from the full effect at the upper edge to zero effect
at the lower edge of the picture.
EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP CONTENT-AWARE FILL AND SCALE
Content-aware
Fill and Scale
Photoshop contains image processing technology so
advanced it looks like magic
P hotoshop CS4 introduced the world to an
amazing new technology called Content-
aware Scaling, which can resize an image
Content-aware Scaling
If we resize the image vertically by 60 You’ll find Content-aware Scaling
while preserving the proportions of important 01 03
percent using the standard Photoshop in the Edit menu, but it will be
image elements. It works by analysing the
Image Size menu option, the tree and clouds greyed out unless you’ve converted the
image and removing lines of pixels that
will end up looking flattened and out of image into a layer.
contain relatively little information, so that a
proportion, since their height has also been
plain background will be affected before the
reduced by about 60 percent.
main subject. The best way to illustrate the
effect is with examples, such as this image of
a tree and clouds.
This tutorial
content is
available for However if we use Content-aware You use Content-aware Scaling in just
download 02 04
Scaling, the clever algorithm detects the same way as the normal Image
BEFORE that the areas that are just sky contain relatively Size option. Either drag the handles on each
little information and so this time when we edge in the direction you want, or directly enter
re-scale the image it deletes those pixels first, the proportions into the text boxes on the Tool
preserving the more information-rich pixels that Options bar. Content-aware Scaling works for
AFTER hold the details including the tree. As a result a both height and width and can also be used to
60 percent height reduction leaves the scene enlarge an image.
looking relatively unchanged, although the area
of blue sky has been reduced.
CONTENT-AWARE FILL AND SCALE EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP
Content-aware Fill and Move

Photoshop CS5 took the content-aware technology further with the introduction of Content-aware Fill. This extremely useful function can fill in blank areas
of an image with an approximation of the surrounding area, which makes it particularly handy for filling those triangular edges that are left after rotating an
image, for example when levelling the horizon line. Again it’s relatively easy to use.
Starting with an image that has just been rotated, leaving There will be a short pause while Photoshop analyses the
01 04
those empty triangles, take the Magic Wand Tool and select image, but then it will fill in the blank areas with a texture derived
the plain areas. from the content of the immediately surrounding area.
Next, go to the Select menu and click on Modify > Expand.

02
Increase the selection area by a decent amount; for this picture
10 pixels should do nicely.
Content-aware Move is a new feature introduced with
05
Photoshop CS6 and uses the same technology as Content-
aware Fill. The idea is that you can select an object on a background
and move it to a new area of the image. The Content-aware algorithm
should automatically fill in the area that you moved from and also
blend in the moved object.
In practice it’s not actually much use unless the object to be moved
is on a virtually plain background, in which case it’s often simpler to
use the Clone Stamp anyway, but some people may find it useful.
You’ll find Fill in the Edit menu. Click on it and you’ll see the Fill
03
options window appear. Content-aware should be selected by
default, but if not choose it from the drop-down menu.
EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP ADJUSTING EXPOSURE
Adjusting
Exposure
Correcting your exposure mistakes is easy with Photoshop
E ven with the sophisticated technology found in the light metering
systems of modern digital cameras, they are not infallible. Some
lighting conditions can confuse them, resulting in pictures that are over
or under-exposed.
All cameras have a limited dynamic range, levels of illumination at which they
record featureless pure white or featureless pure black. The tonal variation available
between those two extremes depends on the quality of the lens, sensor and image
processor that captured it, and the bit-depth of the file type used to record it. For
maximum bit-depth it’s always best to use Raw mode, since this will usually store
images in 42-bit or even 48-bit form, capturing greater dynamic range. We’ll look
at improving the exposure of the more common JPEG images from a compact
camera. JPEG images are usually only 24-bit, so have less latitude for any
exposure recovery.
Over-exposure tends to be more of a
problem than under-exposure, since
burned-out highlights contain no detail,
but the JPEG format is surprisingly good
at capturing detail in areas that might initially
look like featureless black. As a result it’s
often possible to rescue shots that are
quite badly under-exposed, although this
will also amplify any noise in the image,
so there is a trade-off for image quality.
Take a look at this shot. It was a
partial spot meter reading taken from the
This tutorial lights under the arch. The rest of the
content is shot is in darker shadow and under-
available for exposed. It would have been a better
download idea to use an average metering, but we
can still rescue this using an image
editing program.
Brightness/Contrast
The quickest and easiest way to brighten the
photo is to simply turn up the brightness. You’ll find
Brightness/Contrast as an adjustment layer in the
palette on the right, or in the Image > Adjustment
menu. The Brightness/Contrast function in recent
versions of Photoshop has been changed to improve
contrast and tonal balance when adjusting the
brightness of your images.
By moving the Brightness slider to the right, the
overall brightness of the entire photo is increased,
but the new algorithm retains a reasonable balance
in shadow tones. You can tweak the effect with the
Contrast slider, the result is reasonably acceptable.
ADJUSTING EXPOSURE EXPLORING PHOTOSHOP
Levels
Photoshop offers another way of altering brightness between represented by a spike on the graph. On and highlights points left towards the shadows. This
and contrast, but this time with more subtlety and the bottom axis of the graph are three points, the has the effect of bringing out a lot of the detail from
control, by adjusting the Levels histogram. You’ll left representing the black cut-off point, the right the shadow areas without burning out any more
find Levels in the same Image > Adjustment sub- the white cut-off point, and the one in the middle highlights. It also leaves the deeper shadow areas
menu as Brightness/Contrast. The Levels histogram representing the mid-tone point. intact. It is a far better way of adjusting the exposure
is basically a graph showing the proportion of As you can see from the graph our image is mostly of a photograph than simply altering the Brightness/
pixels in the image at each colour intensity. The shadows and mid-tones, with little highlights, so we Contrast, however it isn’t quite the best way.
far left-hand end of the graph represents black, need to brighten some of those shadows into mid- Adjusting the Levels mid-point is still strictly linear in
and the right-hand end is white, with every tone in tones. The way we do this is by moving the mid-tone its adjustment.
Curves
The Curves adjustment option, again found in the
Image > Adjustment menu and as an adjustment
layer option, is a method of changing the relative
brightness of specific tones and ranges of tones
within an image, giving precise control over
exposure. Learning to use it properly is a core
skill in image editing, and will enable you to make
precise and subtle changes to brightness and
relative contrast not just of the image as a whole,
but also of individual colour channels.
Drag the Curves output line around by clicking at
any point, then moving the handle that appears. To
improve this picture we need to brighten the shadows
and mid-tones, while simultaneously darkening the
highlights, so we should drag the lower side of the
curve upwards, and the upper part of the curve
downwards, creating an inverted S-shaped curve.
As with many Photoshop techniques, the key here
is subtlety. Push the curve too far and you’ll ruin the
picture, so keep an eye on it as you progress.
USEFUL TIP
As with most Photoshop editing techniques,
subtlety is the key. If you push the curves too
far you’ll lose detail.
Developing
Your Skills
Hopefully by now you will be feeling more
confident about using Photoshop and looking
to step up your game a little. With that in mind,
we have a few more essential editing techniques
which may prove useful. Get to grips with colour,
filter effects and even panorama stitching for
super-wide landscape images.
Contents
62 Contrast and saturation 68 Panorama stitching
64 Adding a graduated filter 70 Colour replacement
66 Correcting lens distortion 72 Soft focus technique
DEVELOPING YOUR SKILLS
DEVELOPING YOUR SKILLS CONTRAST AND SATURATION
Contrast
and Saturation
Using curves and blend modes to improve colour
saturation and contrast in your digital photos
W hen you take a digital photo of a scene,

you are relying on your camera to be
able to capture all the colours and tones that
you see. Unfortunately most digital cameras
simply aren’t capable of recording the full
range of colours and shades visible to the
the human eye, so your photo of what was
a bright and colourful scene may prove to
be a bit of a disappointment when you see it
on your monitor. Fortunately there are many
different ways to improve both contrast and
colour saturation, which might help to restore
some of the sparkle to your photos. Let’s
take a look at some of the alternatives.
As an example we’ll use this snapshot The simplest way to improve the saturation A much more controllable way to adjust
01 02 03
of a peacock. In reality the colour of the is by adding a Hue/Saturation adjustment both saturation and contrast is to use a
scene is much more intense than it looks here, layer. Like many other parts of the program, Hue/ Curves adjustment layer. We’ve already looked
but the digital camera that was used to take the Saturation has been improved in Photoshop, at Curves in the section on adjusting exposure,
photo was set to a neutral and flat colour mode producing a smoother result than previous but by using Blend Modes we can also use
to capture as much dynamic range as possible. versions. If you were to boost the saturation by Curves to enhance saturation. In Normal blend
This mode generally leaves images looking a about +70, you’d restore some of the missing mode the curve will change both contrast and
bit pale and lacking contrast and vibrant colour. colour, but it’s a scattergun approach and doesn’t saturation. We’re using the same S-shaped
This shouldn’t be a problem as the shot is well offer much fine control. It can also increase noise curve, which boosts brightness at the upper
exposed and contains plenty of detail that will in shadow areas in JPEG images. Let’s look at end of the scale and darkens shadows at the
suit the increase in saturation. more options. lower end.
CONTRAST AND SATURATION DEVELOPING YOUR SKILLS
AFTER
BEFORE
This tutorial
content is
available for
download
Another way to improve saturation is

06
a Photoshop function called Vibrance,
which can also be applied as an adjustment
layer. Vibrance is a difficult thing to quantify. It is
a saturation function, but it works on a graph,
affecting the least saturated areas most, and the
By changing the blend mode to most saturated areas least. On a picture like this
04
Luminosity, the curve will only affect Conversely, by using a Color blend it can help, but it has to be used with contrast
05
brightness, so an S-shaped enhancement mode, an S-shaped curve will alter enhancement for best effect, which may again
curve will improve contrast, lightening colour saturation without affecting brightness, cause an increase in noise. This option is less
highlights and darkening shadows without so shadows and highlights are unaffected. This intense than using Saturation. Vibrance is best
affecting colour saturation. is great to keep noise under control. used when processing a Raw image file.
DEVELOPING YOUR SKILLS ADDING A GRADUATED FILTER
Adding a
Graduated Filter
Graduated filters can improve photos by adding
depth and colour to the sky
P hotographers use graduated filters

placed in front of the camera lens
to selectively change the exposure and
sometimes the colour of part of a picture,
usually to darken the sky to bring out details
in the clouds and balance the exposure with
the landscape in the foreground. They come
in many different shapes, sizes and colours to
fit all types of camera system.
As with most photographic techniques, it’s
possible to duplicate the effect of graduated
filters using Adobe Photoshop and as usual
there are several ways to accomplish this. For
this example we’ll use a beautiful image of a
sunrise on some far-flung exotic location.
This tutorial AFTER

content is
available for
download
BEFORE
ADDING A GRADUATED FILTER DEVELOPING YOUR SKILLS
Graduated Filter in Camera Raw

Since this photo was taken using Raw mode, we can use the Graduated Filter Tool in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). ACR is the Raw processing
application supplied with each version of Photoshop and allows you to add the effect during processing. This is by far the best way to do it, since it
preserves the maximum amount of detail in the photograph.
When you open the image in Adobe To apply the filter, drag a line down from The red dotted line marks the lower, least
01 03 04
Camera Raw, you’ll see a row of tool the top of the screen to the horizon line. saturated edge of the gradient effect, but
icons across the top of the main image window. You’ll see a horizontal and vertical dotted line like an there is also a green line at the top of the frame. This
The Graduated Filter icon is to the right. inverted T. You’ll also notice that you can change the marks the top or most saturated edge of the effect,
angle of the line by moving the cursor left and right. with a smooth gradient between the two lines. If you
To constrain the line to the vertical, hold down the drag this green line down, more of the image will be
Shift key while dragging. at maximum effect and the gradient will be shorter.
When you click on the Graduated Filter

02
icon, you’ll see the control panel on the
right of the screen change. The filter can apply
many different effects, but the one we want to
use is a reduction in exposure. A setting between
-2.00 and -2.70 should produce a suitable effect
for this picture.
Graduated Filter in Photoshop
If your photo wasn’t taken in Raw Next, in the Tool Options bar, click To apply the gradient to the picture, start at
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mode, you can apply a graduated on the gradient editor and select the top of the frame, click and drag down
filter using the Gradient Tool. To set up the Foreground to Transparent, click on the button to the horizon line. If you hold down the shift key
graduated filter, first select the Gradient Tool, for Linear Gradient, set the Blending mode to it will constrain the line to the vertical. The blue is
then set the foreground colour to dark blue Overlay and the Opacity to 90 percent. Make blended into the sky making it darker. It’s always
by clicking on the foreground square and sure the boxes for Dither and Transparency a good idea to tailor the blend colour to match the
then using the colour picker. are checked. sky. Apply again if you want it darker.
DEVELOPING YOUR SKILLS CORRECTING LENS DISTORTION
Correcting
Lens Distortion
Correct the optical distortion of ultra-wide lenses
with Photoshop’s Adaptive Wide Angle
O ne of the new features introduced with Photoshop CS6 is

called Adaptive Wide Angle; this can warp and bend an
image to undo the optical distortion common to all very wide
angle lenses. We’ve all seen photographs taken with “fish-
eye” lenses. These lenses are called ultra-wide-angle, because
the angle of view that they can capture can be as much as
180 degrees. Naturally the ability to squeeze half a room into
the same shot comes at a price and that is extreme optical
distortion. Straight and parallel lines appear to be bent,
perspective is massively shortened and familiar objects take on
almost unrecognisable proportions. In the photo opposite, the
straight uprights of the pillars and floor seem to curve strangely,
everything appears to bulge outwards and the whole effect is
certainly quite disconcerting.
In the Adaptive Wide Angle interface,

02
first select the Constraint Tool from the
panel on the upper left of the main screen and The line will automatically warp the
03
select Fisheye from the Correction drop-down picture to make the curved line
Adaptive Wide Angle attempts menu. Pick one of the vertical lines, in this case straight. You’ll see that there is a circle
01
to correct at least some of these the pillars in the foreground, click near the top overlaid on the line, with two more control
problems and can warp the picture to undo of it and drag a line down the length of it. You handles where they intersect. You can drag
most of the optical distortion. Remarkably it should find that the line will automatically curve these handles, rotating the line to bring it
can do all this while still preserving most of to follow the line, but you can drag the control into a vertical position. If you hold down the
the detail in the picture. You’ll find Adaptive handle in the mid-point of the line to match it shift key it will automatically snap to vertical
Wide Angle in the Filters menu. up to the curvature. right away.
CORRECTING LENS DISTORTION DEVELOPING YOUR SKILLS
This tutorial
content is
available for
download
AFTER
BEFORE
Again, drag the handle on the circular

05
line to move the upright into a vertical
position. If you’ve done it right the vertical
curvature distortion of the image should now
be looking better. You may notice that the
correction isn’t quite perfect; there may still be
some slight curvature of the various uprights
and horizontals, but it’s certainly a great
improvement and the vertical structures are The process will have left some empty
06
04 Pick a line on the opposite side of the much straighter. You can carry on and try to spaces at the edges of the image, so it
picture and repeat the process by correct more of the curvature, but be aware will be necessary to crop the image to remove
dragging a line down the uprights of the pillars of how much warping is being applied to the these. This does mean losing some of the original
ranged on the right of the image. This too will image to straighten everything out. Click OK photograph, but the result is much less distorted
automatically straighten up the line. when you’re done to finalise the correction. than it was at the start.
DEVELOPING YOUR SKILLS PANORAMA STITCHING
Panorama
Stitching
Get the whole of the landscape
into one ultra-wide picture
This tutorial
content is
M any digital cameras have a feature
known as “Panorama Stitching” or
“Panorama Assist” mode. It’s there to
BEFORE
available for
download
help with a particular type of photograph, For the purposes of this tutorial we’ll use
or rather series of photographs, in which this example of a four-shot sequence
successive shots are taken as the camera taken down on the Devon coast.
is panned across a scene. After you take
the first shot, the camera shows the edge
of that shot superimposed on the monitor
so you can match up the position of
features in successive shots, producing a USEFUL TIP
long continuous photo showing an entire
panoramic scene. You can also shoot your If shooting a panoramic sequence manually,
pan sequence manually, especially if you always make sure that you have a large
enough overlap between each shot you take.
have a tripod handy to keep the camera
For best results, it is advisable to have about
level. When it’s done well the results can be
25% of the previous frame visible each time.
breathtaking, but getting a satisfactory result
isn’t as easy as it looks.
Having downloaded our panorama

01
pictures from the camera into a folder The Photomerge window offers
03
on the PC, it’s time to fire up Photoshop and a number of options for how to
stitch them together into a panorama. Locate arrange your panoramic shots. For a simple
the files on your hard drive and open all of landscape panorama like this the Auto
them in Photoshop. If you go to the Window option should work fine. Click on the Add
> Arrange menu you can view them all at Open Files button to add the five shots to
once in various arrangements. Not essential, In Photoshop you’ll find Photomerge in the Photomerge list and check the top two
02
but it gives you a chance to make a last- the File menu under Automate, along options and the bottom option to attempt to
minute exposure check. with several other automatic processes. fill blank areas with the Content Aware Tool.
PANORAMA STITCHING DEVELOPING YOUR SKILLS
AFTER
Once the Panorama has been

05
rendered, you’ll see that there are
areas where the program has had to warp
the pictures to correct for perspective.
Once you click OK the merging This is where the Content Aware Fill Tool
04
process starts and it is completely will have attempted to add something that You can also use the Crop Tool to
06
automatic. It will take a while to complete, looks a bit like sky and sea. Depending straighten out any slight tilt in your
possibly quite a long while if you have a slow on how well the fill works, you can always horizon, but hopefully you won’t need it. The
computer and/or very large image files. crop out these areas. finished result should look something like this.
DEVELOPING YOUR SKILLS COLOUR REPLACEMENT
Colour
Replacement
Swapping one colour BEFORE
for another
O ne relatively simple operation that you
can do in Photoshop is to replace one
colour with another. By using some of the
selection tools we looked at earlier, along This tutorial
with the Hue/Saturation controls, we can content is
change the colour of individual objects in our available for
photos, such as replacing the colour of the download
eggshells in this shot.
With the Magic Wand, it’s

02
best to add a bit at a time.
Click on an area that’s a mid-tone for the total
area you want to select, and you’ll find that the
Magic Wand Tool will select an area around
it. The size of the selection will depend on the
tolerance setting. By holding down the Shift
key and carefully clicking on areas around your
starting selection, you can add more areas.
If the wand selects part of the background,
Selecting large areas of the same use Cmd+Z to undo that step, and try again
01
colour is one of those few occasions more carefully, possibly adjusting the tolerance
where the Magic Wand Tool is actually downwards if it keeps happening.
useful, so we’ll use it as a starting point
here. With a tolerance setting of 20 it should
be able to pick out the eggshell without too
much trouble.
When you’ve reached the limit of

03
what you can usefully select using Again hold down the Shift key to add
04
the Magic Wand Tool, you can finish your more areas to your selection. If you
selection using the Polygonal Lasso Tool. By need to remove any areas from the selection,
setting the Feather to zero you can produce a such as any areas of egg white, you can
sharp-edges selection. Alternatively, use the subtract by holding down the Alt key and
Selection Brush Tool. going around it with the Lasso.
COLOUR REPLACEMENT DEVELOPING YOUR SKILLS
AFTER
Although there are several filters we You have three options under the
06 07
could use at this point, the most Hue/Saturation setting. Leave the
versatile way to change the colour of the Lightness slider in the middle position
selected area is the Hue/Saturation/Lightness to preserve the overall brightness of the
option. This is common to most editing object, but you can experiment by moving
programs. In Elements you’ll find it in the the Saturation and Hue sliders around.
Enhance menu. As you move the Hue slider, the colour
will start to shift through the spectrum of
colours, or you can produce subtle colour
changes with lower saturation settings, or
say to hell with subtlety and go for broke
with full saturation.
When you’ve selected all the bits you

05
want to repaint, you can save the
selection for later use, to save you doing all that
work again if you change your mind.
When you’re happy with the result, or

08
when your eyes start bleeding, you
can clear the selection by using the keyboard
shortcut Cmd+D, and then save the result.
When you save the final image as a .PSD file
in Photoshop or Elements, the selections are
saved as well, embedded in the file.
DEVELOPING YOUR SKILLS SOFT FOCUS TECHNIQUE
Soft Focus
Technique
With a few simple steps, you can add a soft focus effect
that will give your portraits a romantic feel
S oft focus is an effect used widely in
television and in the movies, as well
as in many commercial and advertising
photographs, for producing a dreamy
romantic look. It’s also a big favourite with
wedding photographers to give their images a
soft, dreamy look. In traditional photography
the effect is achieved with a special filter
fitted over the camera lens. Many digital
cameras now include soft focus as a digital
effect, but we can produce the same results
in Photoshop with ease, using Gaussian blur
and layer transparency.
This tutorial
content is
available for
download
BEFORE AFTER
SOFT FOCUS TECHNIQUE DEVELOPING YOUR SKILLS
The first step is to turn the picture into Next, go to the Filter menu, move down We don’t need very much blurring to
01 02 03
two identical layers. To do this, go to to Blur, and select Lens Blur. This is a produce the soft-focus effect, so for
the Layer menu and select Duplicate Layer. special type of blurring that can be adjusted this portrait shot, set a radius of 25 pixels.
Don’t worry about naming this layer, it’s the to produce certain effects. It most closely You may need a smaller radius for smaller
only one we’re going to make. resembles a photographic lens blur. images, but keep it subtle.
In the Layers palette, set the transparency We can further enhance the look of the Drag an elliptical marquee selection
04 05 06
of the blurred layer to between 80 - 60 picture by adding an elliptical vignette around the portrait subject. This may
percent. This lets the still sharp lower layer show of further blurring around the subject. This is a take a few tries to get right, so use Cmd+D to
through, mitigating the effects of the Gaussian technique that portrait photographers have been de-select if you get it wrong. When you’re happy
blur. If you feel it is too blurred, you can drop the using almost since the invention of photography. with it, go to Select > Modify > Feather. Set a
Opacity down to about 50 percent. First, select the Elliptical Marquee Tool. radius of about 50-60 pixels.
Next, select Inverse from the Select menu Now add a Lens blur filter to the selection, One final option is to use a soft eraser and
07 08 09
to change the selection so that everything giving it a much bigger radius than before; erase areas of the blurred layer around your
outside the ellipse is selected. around 80 pixels should do the job. subject’s face to keep it sharp if you prefer.
Photoshop
Mega Tips
Next, we have a number of more involved tips for
improving your Photoshop workflow. There are
many tools, techniques and features that you may
not have uncovered yet, so we thought we’d share
a number of them with you here. They range from
creating specular highlights on your images to
combining various adjustment layers.
Contents
76 Create specular highlights 84 Colour match your images
78 Any colour from anywhere 86 Combine adjustment layers
80 Black and white colour control 88 Precise lens flare placement
82 Advanced clone stamp control
PHOTOSHOP MEGA TIPS
76 78 82
84 86 88
PHOTOSHOP MEGA TIPS CREATE SPECULAR HIGHLIGHTS
Create Specular
Highlights
AFTER
BEFORE
A specular highlight is the bright spot

of light seen on a glossy or metallic
surface when brightly illuminated.
We look at a handy blending mode
technique to create strong highlights
where none exist.
This tutorial
content is
available for
download
CREATE SPECULAR HIGHLIGHTS PHOTOSHOP MEGA TIPS
We have a science fiction image of a sleek android in a futuristic setting. Create a new layer above your base image and name it ‘specular’.
01 02
Although it has been well lit and rendered at high resolution, it could do Choose a fairly soft white brush and place a brush mark where you
with a few extra highlights to create some stronger visual cues and enhance the would like a brighter specular highlight to appear. Choose a few to begin with. It
metallic look of the armour. is just a white daub at the moment, but we can enhance that.
If you double-click the ‘specular’ layer, you can open up the Layer Style It is subtle, but you will notice that the white brush mark, rather
03 04
panel. Under the main General Blending option, choose Linear Light than fading softly to transparent, now makes the pixels underneath
as the blend mode. At the moment, nothing will change until you uncheck the it much brighter and more vivid. Unchecking Transparency Shapes Layer
Transparency Shapes Layer button. now makes it behave more like a real-world specular highlight.
Use your Eraser Tool and shape the white brush mark a little, to look We continued to add a few more layers with white brush marks and
05 06
more like a large light is reflecting on the metallic surface. Since it is on then used them at different sizes and shapes to add more highlights to
its own layer, the highlight can be moved, scaled and rotated until you have it the armour and the mechanical parts. The Eraser Tool was used to remove any
looking just as you want it. unwanted excess and give the final image a little more zest.
PHOTOSHOP MEGA TIPS ANY COLOUR FROM ANYWHERE
Any Colour
From Anywhere
AFTER
BEFORE
When creating a Photoshop document,

you will sometimes need to be able to This tutorial
sample colours to use in your document. content is
available for
Do you know that you can sample any download
colour on your screen, whether it’s in

Photoshop or not? We show you how.
ANY COLOUR FROM ANYWHERE PHOTOSHOP MEGA TIPS
Let us say, for the sake of argument, that we are preparing an image If you go to the bottom of the Layer Palette and click on the Create New
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that requires a coloured background. The subject of the image has been Fill Or Adjustment Layer icon, you can choose from a number of layer
removed from its original background and you need to place a colour behind it to adjustments. In this case, choose Solid Color. When you do, the Color Picker
complete the document. (Solid Color) will open.
The default colour for Solid Colour is usually black, unless you have a Double-click the Colour Fill 1 thumbnail (not the mask) and the Colour
03 04
colour chosen which is the active foreground colour. The new ‘Colour Picker will appear again. Hover your cursor over any part of the
Fill 1’ layer will be placed above your cut out subject. Click and drag it so it sits Photoshop workspace and then left-click and hold. Wherever your cursor is, the
beneath the subject. Now your subject should be sat on a black background. colour directly beneath it will become the new background colour.
Move the cursor over the subject’s body and, in real time, the background While the Colour Picker is active, resize the Photoshop window and then
05 06
will become that colour. Hover the cursor over its fur and it becomes a open another window beside it. In this case, we opened Google and did
sandy brown colour. Place the cursor over an iris and the background becomes a a search for ‘colour swatches’. With the Color Picker active, hover your cursor
darker taupe colour. This is great, but you can go even further. over the contents of the other window to sample even more colours.
PHOTOSHOP MEGA TIPS BLACK AND WHITE COLOUR CONTROL
Black and White

Colour Control
AFTER
BEFORE
Black and white colour control may sound

somewhat counterintuitive, but in actual This tutorial
fact, with the adjustment layer and a content is
available for
particular blend mode, you actually have download
another quick, non-destructive method for

controlling the colour in your photographs.
BLACK AND WHITE COLOUR CONTROL PHOTOSHOP MEGA TIPS
A colourful portrait image provides a perfect example for this case Go to the bottom of your layer palette and click on the Create New Fill
01 02
in point. There are a number of strong reds, blues, yellows and Or Adjustment Layer icon. A dropdown menu will appear with a list of
greens, with which we can work. As mentioned already, this is a useful non- adjustment choices, click on Black & White. An adjustment layer, called Black
destructive method, so your base image remains unaffected. & White 1, will be added to the layer stack above your main image.
As you would expect, the image will be converted to black and white, Make sure the Layer Thumbnail is active. If it’s not visible, you can
03 04
but, bear in mind this is a non-destructive adjustment. Keep the ‘Black double-click the Layer Thumbnail to activate the Properties panel. We
& White 1’ layer active, click on the Blend Mode panel and choose Luminosity would recommend that you dock the Properties panel beneath your layer
from the menus. At this point, the image should revert back to colour. stack, since you are likely to be accessing it a lot when working in Photoshop.
The ‘Black & White 1’ properties panel displays a series of colour sliders. As an example, if you move the Yellow slider to the left, those yellow
05 06
One for each of the primary colours contained in a colour photo, from shades will get progressively darker. Move the slider to the right and
Red and Yellow, through Green and Cyan, down to Blue and Magenta. Moving the same shades will start to get lighter. Push the slider to the far right and the
these sliders will affect the brightness of any colour within their tonal range. colours will become white. It’s a great method for non-destructive editing.
PHOTOSHOP MEGA TIPS ADVANCED CLONE STAMP CONTROL
Advanced Clone
Stamp Control
AFTER
BEFORE
The Clone Stamp Tool is one of the most

important tools available in Photoshop.
With it, you can paint pixels from one
part of an image onto another. Let’s
look at some ways you can employ the This tutorial
cloning process with greater control. content is
available for
download
ADVANCED CLONE STAMP CONTROL PHOTOSHOP MEGA TIPS
We have an image of an aircraft at an airshow display. We can use the It is always a great idea to place any cloned samples onto a new layer.
01 02
Clone Stamp Tool to create more versions of the aircraft and place Create a new layer called ‘clone’ and select the Clone Stamp Tool from
them in the shot, but more than that, we can have a measure of control about the toolbar. In the Menu options panel, make sure that Sample is set to Current &
how the cloned copy is placed when you stamp it onto a layer. Below. This will clone from the Background layer onto the new layer, without issue.
Set a size for your Clone Stamp Tool. Our example is a brush 1300 Before stamping it into place, if you hold the Shift + Alt keys and then
03 04
pixels in size and Hardness is set to 50%. Next, press Alt and click press either the < (less than) or > (greater than) keys, you can rotate
over the centre of the aircraft to set this as your clone source. If you move the cloned source. The < key rotates anticlockwise and the > key rotates in a
your cursor, you will see a real time preview of the chosen pixels. clockwise direction. You can rotate 360° if you wish.
You also have the option to scale the cloned pixels before stamping it If you want to clear the Clone Source settings, open the Clone Source
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into place on your photo. If you hold Shift + Alt and then press either: panel, click on the small menu icon in the top right of the panel and
[ (left bracket) or ] (right bracket), you can scale the source pixels. The [ key choose Reset Transform from the list that appears. Your Clone Stamp Tool will
reduces the size and the ] key increases the size. be reset to its default state.
PHOTOSHOP MEGA TIPS COLOUR MATCHING
Colour Match
Your Images
AFTER
BEFORE
When you cut out one subject and

combine it with another background, This tutorial
you may notice that the colours don’t content is
available for
appear to match. We have a great download
method for matching your image

elements together.
COLOUR MATCH YOUR IMAGES PHOTOSHOP MEGA TIPS
We have here two example images. The first is of a forest scene The image of the girl has been cut out and placed on a layer above the
01 02
comprised of warm colours, which give it an overall orange colour cast. forest scene. Now you can appreciate the difference in the two images
The second image is of a young girl’s portrait taken in a studio. The tones in this and how much the warm image of the forest stands out against the cool tones of
image are much cooler with more of a blue cast by comparison. the girl. We need to alter her colours to match her environment.
With the girl’s layer active, click on the Create New Fill Or Adjustment Ensure that the ‘Curves 1’ thumbnail is active, not the mask. Click the
03 04
Layer button and choose Curves, from the menu, to add the adjustment Curves properties menu icon in the top right of the panel and choose Auto
layer above the girl. In the ‘Curves 1’ Properties panel, click the Clip To Layer Options. The Auto Colour Corrections Options panel will open. Make sure the
button so any adjustment only affects the girl, not the forest. Find Dark & Light button is checked and Snap Neutral Midtones is not checked.
Click the Shadows target colour picker and then choose the darkest colour Your portrait image might be a bit dark, but you can now click and drag
05 06
from the forest image. One of the dark trees should suffice. Click OK, then the Curves control points to add more contrast. We’ve simply created a
click Highlights and choose one of the lightest tones. The pale light through the very rough ‘s’ curve that both lightens the image a little and adds contrast. Now
trees is fine. Click OK to continue and click No to Target Colours As Defaults? if you compare, the resulting image better matches the background.
PHOTOSHOP MEGA TIPS COMBINE ADJUSTMENT LAYERS
Combine
Adjustment Layers
AFTER
BEFORE
Here is how you can combine multiple

adjustment layers and then combine This tutorial
them into one effect. That way, you can content is
available for
then use this combined adjustment on download
any other image, so it has the same look

and feel as your original.
COMBINE ADJUSTMENT LAYERS PHOTOSHOP MEGA TIPS
With your base image active, go to the bottom of the layers palette This example used four adjustment layers to get the final look that we
01 02
and click on the Create New Fill Or Adjustment Layer button. From the liked. Now, if you wanted to transfer that same look to a separate image, it
dropdown menu that appears, you can start choosing various adjustments to would normally mean having to replicate all the adjustment layers you’ve used for
alter the tone and colour of the original image. the original image and apply them to the new one.
However, we can actually combine all four adjustments and turn it into a Go to File > Export > Color Lookup Tables and type a filename for your
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single effect that can be applied to any other image without the need for combined effect. You can choose from a number of Formats and then
multiple adjustment layers. One thing to be aware of before you start, is that your click OK to save it to a folder of your choice. Then you’ll need to open up a new
current document must have a locked background layer. image to which you want your newly created effect applied.
Click on the Create New Fill Or Adjustment Layer button and select Color The image will now have its colours remapped by the ‘Color Lookup
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Lookup to add a new adjustment layer. From the ‘Color Lookup 1’ layer’s 1’ adjustment layer, using the CUBE file you selected as its guide. The
properties, select Load 3D LUT and navigate to where you saved your file in the image will take on a completely new look that will match the style of your original,
previous step. If you saved multiple formats, CUBE is a popular choice. without the need for many adjustment layers.
PHOTOSHOP MEGA TIPS PRECISE LENS FLARE PLACEMENT
Precise Lens
Flare Placement
AFTER
BEFORE
This is a handy tip for placing a lens

flare effect exactly where you want
it, on any photograph. The Lens Flare
Tool can be a bit hit and miss, but This tutorial
this lets you work non-destructively content is
available for
and with pixel precision. download
PRECISE LENS FLARE PLACEMENT PHOTOSHOP MEGA TIPS
Normally, to add lens flare you would go up to the File menu and choose Alternatively, create a new layer above your base image. In our example,
01 02
Filter > Render > Lens flare. This opens up the Lens Flare panel, from we have named it ‘flare’. Go to Edit > Fill and fill the layer with 100% Black.
where you can choose the Brightness and Lens Type for your flare effect. The Obviously, this will obscure your main image on the layer below. Now set the Blend
preview window allows you to drag the centre of the flare around. Mode for the ‘flare’ layer to Screen and your main image will be visible again.
To call up the information panel go to: Window > Info. You will see it With the Info panel visible, you can zoom in to your photo and place the
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displays both the X and Y co-ordinates of your cursor. Click the small cursor over the exact point you want your flare to appear. Make a note of
Crosshair icon next to the X and Y values and you can choose the units in which the X and Y co-ordinates (in this example, X: 1458 and Y: 705) and you are ready
the co-ordinates are displayed. In this example, we used Pixels. to add the lens flare to the ‘flare’ layer.
Go to Filter > render > Lens Flare, to open the Lens Flare panel. This time The flare will be moved to the precise position you placed your cursor
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hold the Alt key and click on the preview image to open a new panel on originally. Now you can adjust your Brightness and Lens Type as you
called Precise Flare Center. There are two boxes, where you can enter the X and would normally and then press OK to commit the flare to the ‘flare’ layer, on the
Y values. Type in the values you made a note of from your Info panel. exact X and Y values you chose. You can add more using this technique.
Putting it
all Together
Over the following pages are a number of slightly
more involved tutorials that build upon everything
you’ve learned up to this point. We’ve kept them
fun and varied, yet with enough detail to show
you more of what Photoshop can do. This may
be your first step into the world of layer-based
editing, but we hope it won’t be the last.
Contents
92 Fantasy art creation 128 Step and repeat
100 Neon effect 136 Lego portraits
106 Double exposure effect 144 Using Photoshop and
114 Motion blur Lightroom Classic CC
122 Torn paper portraits
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER FANTASY ART CREATION
Fantasy
AFTER
Art
Creation
BEFORE
Combine multiple image

This tutorial
content is
available for
elements into fantasy artwork download
I f there is a creative area that really helps artists to show off their skills,
it is in the creation of fantasy artworks. Websites like DeviantArt and
Pixabay are full of images that have been assembled in Photoshop using
fantasy image,
then Photoshop
is perfect. It lets you put
many disparate components to create a final, cohesive end result. Part of each image element on its own layer and
the attraction of those websites is that artists and photographers create with some careful editing and masking, you can blend them to
content and allow others to download their images and use them for their produce a final image worthy of any fantasy genre. So why don’t we
own artworks. If you find yourself wanting to create your own brand new have a go right now?
FANTASY ART CREATION PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
We are going to use Photoshop to assemble seven image elements We are going to start with a completely blank document. Go to File >
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and then combine them to create our very own fantasy artwork. The New (Cmd + N) and from the New Document panel, set a document
components have been downloaded from image sharing sites, where many width of 3000 pixels and a height of 4000 pixels. Under Background Contents
talented artists have made their wares available for free. select Transparent to create a blank layer to start. Press Create to begin.
Make sure you have the rulers in your document turned on; press Cmd Now we can bring in our first image element. Go to File > Place
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+ R if they’re not. Then left-click and drag down from the top ruler bar to Embedded and navigate to where your image elements are stored. We
position a guideline about one-third of the way from the top of the document. Then are going to place a sky image first by double-clicking on it. The sky image is
drag another one, so it sits one-third of the way from the bottom of the image. placed on the default layer, which is renamed to match the image’s filename.
Press Cmd + T to move and scale the sky roughly as you see in the Keep the 'fog' layer active, go to the Layer options panel and click
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example. Hit Enter to commit the transform. Then go to File > Place Add Layer Mask to add a mask to that layer. Make sure the mask is
Embedded again and select the next image component, which is of a foggy ocean active (not the layer thumbnail), go to the toolbar and choose the Gradient
and called ‘fog’. Scale this image, so the ocean’s horizon sits on the lower guideline. Tool (G). Then make sure the foreground colour is set as black.
Check that the Gradient Editor in the Tool Options panel above is You'll see that the foggy ocean now blends into the sky much more
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showing a gradient running from foreground to transparent. Left-click smoothly. Now we can get some interesting architecture into our scene
and drag the tool from the top guideline straight down to just above the by going to File > Open and selecting a photo of Mont Saint-Michel. This opens
bottom guideline. When you let go, a black to transparent gradient is drawn. in a new document on its own. We need to do a little work on this image.
Go to the toolbar and choose the Quick Selection Tool (W). Choose Press the Alt key and you can remove areas from the selection, such
09 10
a brush size of about 30 pixels and begin to select the sky all around as the main spire, by brushing over them. The selection doesn't have
the building. Once you have the main sky area selected, you can tidy up any to be super accurate since you can then go to the Select and Mask Tool to
parts of the selection that have spilled over into the building. refine the quick selection you just made.
Use the Refine Edge (R) Tool to brush over the main offenders, like the At the moment, we only have the sky selected, but if you go to Select
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church spire. Then in the Properties panel, move the Edge Detection > Inverse (Shift + Cmd + I) you can invert the selection, so the building
slider to the right (about 35 pixels). This makes the detection more aggressive and the ground are selected instead. Now you can press Cmd + C to copy
and the edges a little crisper. Hit OK when you're happy. those pixels to the clipboard.
Go back to the main document and press Cmd + V to paste onto a new If you think the outline of the building is still a little rough with bits of
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layer. Name the layer 'abbey' and make sure it sits between your 'sky' blue sky showing on its edges, you can always try Layer > Matting >
and 'fog' layer. You can use Cmd + T and scale and move the building, so it Defringe and choose a Width of 2 pixels to detect and remove more of the
appears to be rising out of the mist on the left. Hit Enter to commit the transform. cut out’s edges.
Now for some foreground interest, go to File > Place Embedded and Keep the 'rock' layer active and add a layer mask so we can blend it
15 16
choose the 'rock.png' file. Make sure the 'rock' layer is at the top of into the foggy ocean. Make sure the layer mask thumbnail is active (not
the layer stack and then scale it from the lower right part of the image. When the main image thumbnail), go to the toolbar and choose the Brush Tool (B)
you have it roughly like our example, hit Enter to commit the transform. with a brush size of about 300 pixels. Make sure the foreground colour is black.
Start to paint black on the mask around the bottom of the rock areas. We want to add some extra mist behind the cut out of Mont Saint-
17 18
As you do, those areas are concealed, allowing the ocean to show Michel. Create a new layer called 'mist' and place it between the
through from below. With some simple brush strokes, you can blend out the 'abbey' and 'sky' layers. Press I for the Eyedropper Tool and sample a grey-
rock and create a convincing image of a rocky outcrop in the sea. brown colour from the brickwork of the building.
Go to the toolbar and click on the Gradient Tool (G). Make sure you Go to File > Place Embedded again and choose 'magician.png'. Place
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are still using a foreground to transparent gradient and click and drag this character's layer between the 'rock' and 'fog' layers and then
the tool from the middle of the image straight up to the top guideline. When move and scale it so it appears to be standing atop the rocky outcrop. When
you let go, a grey-green mist is added that fades up to zero. you're happy with the placement, press Enter to commit the changes.
Go to File > Place Embedded yet again and choose 'birds.png'. Make Add a layer mask to the 'birds' layer and make the mask active. Choose
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sure this layer sits between the 'fog' and 'abbey' layers and feel free a hard, round brush of about 250 pixels and make sure the foreground
to move, rotate and scale the image to place the flock of birds in the top third colour is black. Use this black brush to selectively mask away any birds around
of the image. Hit Enter to commit the transforms. both the spire and the magician. Reduce Layer Opacity to about 60%.
Go to File > Open and double-click 'spell.jpg' to open it in its own Back in your main document, press Cmd + V to paste the selected
23 24
window. Use the Lasso Tool (L) to make a freehand selection around energy ball onto its own layer. Make sure it is at the top of the layer
the glowing energy ball of your choice then press Cmd + C to copy those stack. Set its Blend Mode to Screen, so any black areas are invisible. Move
pixels to the clipboard. and scale the image to it hovers over the hand of the magician.
Add another new layer called 'glow' to the top of the stack and set its Go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation (Cmd + U) and make
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Blend Mode to Linear Light. Select a large, soft, white brush of about Hue +190, Saturation +40 and Lightness -49 to make a blue glow that
700 pixels and dab a single, white brush mark over the hand of the magician. radiates outwards from the hand of the magician. Now we need to pull all the
We can turn this into a more magical glow. colours of the different elements together a little more.
Click on the Create New Fill Or Adjustment Layer button and choose Obviously, this heavy colour cast is too much for the image and needs
27 28
Photo Filter. Add this 'Photo Filter 1' adjustment to the top of the altering. Now set the Blend Mode of the 'Photo Filter 1' layer itself to
layer stack. Under its Properties, make the Density 100% and uncheck the Overlay. This adds a lot of contrast to the overall image. You can dial down
Preserve Luminosity box for a heavy colour cast. the effect by reducing the layer Opacity to about 50%.
If you wanted, you can go back to the Properties of the filter and Now we get into some final tweaks. Click on the 'magician' layer to
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under Filter: change it to Deep Emerald for a different colour effect or make it active and then click on the Create New Fill Or Adjustment
perhaps to Deep Blue to add a cooler colour cast. In the end, we settled on Layer button and choose Levels. A 'Levels 1' adjustment layer is added above
Sepia as our preferred look. the 'magician' layer. Under its Properties, click the Clip To Layer button.
This clips the 'Levels 1' adjustment, so it only affects the layer below The next items are optional, but if you wanted to nudge the colours of the
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it. Now you can move the right highlight slider to the left and increase 'abbey' layer, so they more closely match the sky, for instance, you can
the contrast of the figure in the layer below. Add a second Levels adjustment, go to Image > Adjustments > Color Balance (Cmd + B) and nudge the midtones
clip it to the 'rock' layer and boost its contrast too. Cyan/Red Slider to the Cyan side, making the image slightly green.
If you wanted, you can do the same to both the 'fog' and 'rock' layers We are getting close to finishing this composition. A little trick you can
33 34
and alter their midtones by nudging the Cyan/Red slider to the left employ to give an increased feeling of depth in an image is to add a
as well. There are other ways to colour match in Photoshop, but this is an certain amount of blur to background images. This mimics a shallow depth of
instructive hands-on way of doing it. field in a digital camera.
Click the 'abbey' layer and go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Add a Now click on the 'sky' layer and add a Gaussian Blur of about 6 pixels
35 36
Blur value of about 3 pixels to blur the abbey slightly. If you click the to blur the sky slightly more. You can also add a small amount of Motion
'abbey' layer first and convert it to a Smart Object, you can add blur non- Blur to the birds, if you want, for the final enhancement. With that, your epic
destructively, or you can just make a copy of the layer and blur that. Photoshop fantasy art creation is completed. Save it as a PSD and you're done.
Create and
inspire
Express your artistic side with fantasy art.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER CREATE A NEON SIGN
Create AFTER
a Neon
Sign
BEFORE
Transform plain text into

This tutorial
content is
available for
eye-catching lights download
N othing is quite as eye-catching as a neon sign. If you've ever been

around a metropolitan area after dark, you have no doubt been
bombarded with any number of high visibility signs in a host of gaudy
and in graphic
design in
different forms.
colours selling their wares. Although LED signs and even large digital Whether you want a
displays are now very commonplace, there is something about a glass realistic neon sign or more of a graphic
tube filled with gas, stimulated by an electrical current that can still representation, we have a fun guide that can show you
command your attention. That effect certainly carries over onto the web the basics of getting a good neon glow on the go.
CREATE A NEON SIGN PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Our example image is perfect for our neon effect. For your information, We start by going to the toolbar and selecting the Horizontal Type Tool
01 02
we are working in Essentials workspace. The image is 5000 pixels (T). Up in the Tool Options panel, you can select a typeface you think
square. All the settings we are going to use are based on this image size. If is suitable for being converted into neon. We are using a font called Beon,
you're using a different size image, you may need to alter yours accordingly. which is styled to look a bit like neon signage.
If you click the text colour swatch on the right of the Tool Options, Now you can simply click on your document and Photoshop
03 04
you can use the Color Picker (Text Color) to select a base colour for automatically places some default text on a new layer for you. Select
your text. We have gone for a bright blue, which should stand out against the the text and type the word NEON, or whatever text you want the sign to read.
darker brickwork. Click OK when you have a colour you like. If you press Cmd + T, you can scale the text to whatever size you want.
Now we have to create our neon effect. With the text layer active, We need to add some basic structure to the text. Under the Structure
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if you double-click it, you can call up the Layer Style menu. We will panel, choose Style: Pillow Emboss, Technique: Smooth, Depth
use this exclusively to make the neon effect. Start by checking the Bevel & 250%. Direction is Up, Size is 90 pixels and Soften is 15 pixels. The small
Emboss box; now for some layer style magic. preview on the right shows you've added some basic glow to the text.
Below Structure is the Shading panel. Make the Angle and Altitude 0°, Next, click on the Contour button out in the Styles list to activate it.
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Gloss Contour is Cove - Deep, selected by clicking the small arrow to Under Elements, make the Contour Cove - Deep again and set its
the right of the current contour shown. Highlight Mode should be Overlay white Range to 100%. The effect is subtle, but it makes the lettering more rounded
with 100% Opacity and Shadow Mode should be 0% Opacity. and three-dimensional.
Back in the Style listing on the left of the panel, check the Stroke Fill Type is more involved, click on the Gradient to open the Gradient
09 10
button. This is probably the main one to really get this effect working. Editor. The Gradient Type colours need editing. Note that above the
Under Stroke > Structure, make the Size 53 pixels, Position is Centre, Blend Gradient Preview you have what are called Opacity Stops and below it are
Mode is Screen and Opacity is 100%. Check the Overprint box. Color Stops. Click the left-hand Opacity Stop and make its Opacity 0%
Click the far-right Color Stop and under Color use the Color Picker In our case, the two new middle Color Stops are our blue text colour.
11 12
to make the right-hand colour a bright blue, like your text. Then click Click each Color Stop and change it to a much darker blue using the
midway along the gradient preview twice to add two more Color Stops. They Color Picker again. Now, you need to add two Opacity Stops directly above
will use whatever is currently set as your foreground colour. each of the two new Color Stops you've just added.
Make the Opacity of the middle left stop 0% and the Opacity of the Click on the Style button and change the style to Shape Burst. You should
13 14
middle right stop 100%. The Gradient Type preview should now now have what looks more recognisable as a neon glow effect. Keep
run from transparent, quickly fade up to 100% of the darker blue and then the Layer Style panel open as we have one more tweak to finish the effect. Now
smoothly fade into the lighter blue on the far right of the preview. check the Outer Glow button in the Styles list on the left of the panel.
Under Structure make the Blend Mode: Overlay, Opacity is 100% and You should now have an effect that turns your text into a reasonable
15 16
Noise is 0%. Make the Glow Colour the light blue used for your text. facsimile of a neon tube. You may find that thinner fonts may work
Keep the Gradient button unchecked. Under Elements make the Technique: better than wide, heavy fonts, but you are free to use whatever you think suits
Softer, Spread 4% and Size 250 pixels. Quality can be left as is. your project.
If you look at your layer palette, you should see that your neon text If it isn't already, click the neon text layer to make it active and press
17 18
layer now has the effects and styles you've just created added to it as Cmd + J to duplicate it. You can scale this copy and edit the text to
a small list. You can double-click these any time to go back in and alter the type a new word. We have simply typed 'effect' and placed the smaller text
values if you feel they are in need of tweaking. below the main neon sign. We have a few final additions to finish it off.
Go to the Layer options panel and choose Create A New Layer. Name Make sure your foreground colour is the same light blue you've been
19 20
this new layer 'glow' and make sure it sits above your background using and paint a stroke that covers the large main lettering. Then
image but below your two text layers. Go to the toolbar, select the Brush Tool reduce the brush size by pressing the minus (-) key to about 500 pixels and
(B), and choose a large, soft brush of about 1200 pixels. paint another stroke to cover the smaller lettering.
Now set the 'glow' layer Blend Mode to Overlay and the blue brush Keep the 'glow' layer active and click the Add Layer Mask button.
21 22
strokes are blended into the brickwork, adding to the glow effect Click the layer mask to make sure it is active and then use a black
we've made so far. It also adds more bluish light to the man's face, but we brush of about 250 pixels and paint on the mask. Brush along the right side
want to limit the glow to just the left side of his face. of his face to remove the bright blue cast.
The next step is optional, but it helps to finish off the effect. Add a Under Structure, make Style: Inner Bevel, Technique: Smooth and
23 24
new layer called 'wires' and make sure it sits between the background Depth 90 pixels. Direction is Up, Size is 20 pixels and Soften is 15
layer and the 'glow' layer. Double-click this layer to activate the Layer Styles pixels. Under Shading, the Angle is 90° and Altitude is 30°. Highlight Mode is
panel again and check the Bevel & Emboss button. Normal White at 100% Opacity. Shadow Mode is 0% Opacity.
Now check the Drop Shadow button in the Styles list and under Now click your foreground colour swatch and choose a dark grey
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Structure, make the Blend Mode Multiply and the Colour black. from the Color Picker. Go to the toolbar and choose the Brush Tool
Opacity can be about 85% and Angle is 54°. Distance is 0 pixels, Spread (B) and select a Hard Round brush of about 20 pixels. We are going to use this
15% and Size is 25 pixels. Quality can be left at its defaults. colour brush to add some wires that snake between the lettering.
Keep the 'wires' layer active. Now you can start painting wires that join
27
up the parts of the neon lettering. Note that as you add brush marks,
they are embossed with a small shadow under them as defined by the Layer
Style you added. With that, your neon signage is complete.
You’re good
to glow!
A bright idea for eye-catching lettering.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER DOUBLE EXPOSURE EFFECT
Double
AFTER
Exposure
Effect
BEFORE
A Photoshop makeover of a
This tutorial
content is
available for
classic technique download
D ouble or multiple exposure photography is another reference to the

more traditional methods of image capture where a photographer
would expose one frame of film more than once to achieve a surreal look
These days, of
course, we can
explore the creative
in the final image. A downside to this method was that you could never aspects of combining multiple images on
be certain of what effect you were actually achieving until the negative our computers with effects that can be edited and adapted
was developed and a print was made in the darkroom. An alternative precisely to suit our needs. For our example, we are going to combine a
method was to stack two negatives in the enlarger at the printing stage. graphic image of a woman and a city street.
DOUBLE EXPOSURE EFFECT PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
For this tutorial example, we are going to need our base images to These images have been chosen because they have specific properties
01 02
blend together. Fire up Photoshop and go to File > Open (Cmd + O) that work well for a double exposure effect. The street photo, in
and navigate to the folder that contains your images. We have a profile shot of particular, is a staple of this technique. The two rows of buildings with the gap
a woman and a sunlit street scene. Select both and press Open to proceed. down the middle will be quite effective. Read on to see how it works.
Our main image of the woman is 3333 pixels wide by 5000 pixels high. This figure has a grey background. For the double exposure technique
03 04
Any settings and brush sizes used are based on an image of this size. If to look its best, the figure needs cutting out so it is on a plain white
you are working with different sized images, then you may find that you need to background. Luckily, of course, Photoshop comes armed with several tools to
alter your settings and sizes to match the mage size. help us achieve this.
Go to the toolbar on the left of your screen and choose the Quick Selection As a side note, you can see that the Tool Options panel also has a button
05 06
Tool (W). With the Quick Selection Tool active, the Tool Options panel called Select Subject. This is an automated version of what we are about
above displays options for altering its parameters. Choose a brush of about 20 to do next. We are doing it manually as we would always recommend that you
pixels in size and check the Add To Selection and Auto Enhance buttons. give yourself the chance to get more 'hands-on' with Photoshop's tools.
The tool works by detecting contrasting edges in your image. The more Now start to drag the brush tip up slowly along her hair. The tool begins
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contrast your subject has against its background, the easier the tool will selecting areas it thinks are similar. Keep the brush within the confines
find it to detect them. Start by clicking and holding the Quick Selection Tool brush of the figure's outline. Don't worry if the selection is not super-accurate. This
on the tip of her ponytail. can be improved later on in the process.
Continue to work your way around the figure. If the selection starts Click the Quick Selection Tool on an area you want to remove and start
09 10
outside the outline of the figure, don't worry, you can simply go to the to drag the tool over the overspill areas slowly. As an example, the small
Tool Options panel above and click on the Subtract Selection button or hold area between her hands and her arm needs removing. Click on it, and the tool
the Alt key. You can now remove any overspill. removes that area from the active selection.
Once you have the figure selected, click on the Select and Mask button. Use this Refine Edge Tool to brush over any areas that need refining.
11 12
This opens the various tools you can use to refine the edges of the active The edges of the hair are the most obvious. The more you brush over
selection. Make sure you have the Refine Edge Tool (R) selected and choose a those areas, the better the refinement of those edges becomes. You can
small brush of about 50 pixels. usually keep the brush properties at their defaults for this.
Once you have refined the selection to your satisfaction, you can simply Make sure the selection is active, go to the Layer options panel and
13 14
click OK and return to your main document. The selection is now much then click on the Add A Mask button. A mask is added to the image,
more accurate and we can use it to remove that intrusive grey background which is now on a layer. Any area outside the selection is coloured black, which
before we move on. effectively conceals the grey background.
Next, we need to make a new layer. Go to the Layer options panel again Keep the 'base' layer active and go to Edit > Fill (Shift + F5), choose
15 16
and click the Create A New Layer button. Name this new layer 'base' and White as your fill colour and click OK. The 'base' layer is filled with
then click and drag it, so it sits beneath the layer containing the masked figure. white, so our figure now sits atop a nice plain background. Next, click the
You might as well name that layer 'figure' for the sake of good housekeeping. 'figure' layer to make it active.
Go back down to the Layer options panel and click the Create New Fill Or In the Properties panel for the levels adjustment, you can drag the
17 18
Adjustment Layer button. Choose Levels from the menu that appears. A highlights slider towards the middle of the histogram to increase the
new 'Levels 1' adjustment layer is created above the 'figure' layer. We are going contrast. Then go back to the Layer options panel and click the Create New Fill
to use this adjustment to add a little more contrast to the image. Or Adjustment Layer button again and choose Black & White from the menu.
A 'Black & White 1' adjustment layer is added to the top of the At this point, we have our figure removed from its background, converted
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layer stack, converting the image to monochrome. If you want, you to black and white and the contrast increased, ready for the next stage of
can move the various colour sliders or click on one of the Presets to affect the technique. This is where the second image we opened comes into play for the
changes to the contrast and grey tones in the image. double exposure effect.
Click on the document tab of the other image to view it. Press Cmd + A to Keep the 'street' layer active and change the Blend Mode of this layer
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select the entire image. Press Cmd + C to copy all the pixels to the clipboard to Screen. You'll see how the image changes. The darker areas of the
and then return to your other active document. Press Cmd + V to paste the image street image only appear when it is in combination with any dark areas of the
into your document. Make sure it is at the top of the stack and name it 'street'. 'figure' layer below it. This is the key to a double exposure effect.
Any bright areas of the 'street' layer now appear to punch a hole in After a bit of trial and error, we have arrived at a good composition. At
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the image of the figure below it. You can now press Cmd + T to scale, this point, the edges of the street image are quite visible, particularly
rotate and move the image of the street until you get a combination of the across her shoulder and arms. That is easy to remedy, but first, we need to
two images that looks good to you. convert this image to black and white too.
Add a new 'Black & White 2' adjustment layer above the 'street' layer. In many cases, a double exposure effect like this is done primarily in
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We want to make sure that this adjustment only affects the 'street' layer, black and white, but what happens if you wanted to bring some colour
so right-click it and choose Create Clipping Mask from the menu that appears. back into it? That is quite easy to do. Make sure your foreground colour is set
A small arrow, pointing down at the 'street' layer, tells you it is clipped. as black and then pick a large, soft brush of about 1500 pixels.
The 'Black & White 2' layer has a mask that you can click on to make it We just revealed a small amount of the yellow sunlit area of the street image to
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active and then use your large, black brush to paint on that mask. Each add some warmth to it. Make the 'street' layer active and click the Add Layer
dab of black hides that part of the black and white adjustment you applied. Mask button. This adds a mask to the street image so you can use a large, soft, black
Colour starts to reappear with each stroke. brush on this mask to conceal any of the unwanted edges of the street.
We've used the black brush on the 'street' layer mask to blend out the In the same way we allowed colour back into the image of the street,
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edges of the street image along the left edge of the figure's ponytail. we can do the same with the image of the girl, if you want. Click on
We've also masked the area around their face so it can now be seen. Finally, the 'Black & White 1' adjustment layer to make it active and use the large,
we masked the cobbled area so it blends into her shoulder and arm. black brush to conceal its effect in certain areas.
As you brush on the 'Black& White 1' layer mask, its effect is concealed With those tweaks in place, the double exposure effect is complete. These
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and the original colour of the figure is revealed again. We brought her kinds of images are often used as movie posters and can sometimes
face back to its original colour along with her shoulder and hands. This part of convey a sense of a memory revisited. In this case, perhaps our main character is
the process is purely optional, as is revealing colour in the street image too. remembering a happy time spent walking down a sunlit street as a child.
Are you
seeing double?
A traditional effect with a digital twist.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER MOTION BLUR
Motion
Blur
AFTER
BEFORE
This tutorial
content is
When you need the illusion of available for
download
speed in a static image
W e’ve all seen those glossy adverts with
an expensive new car zooming along
a country road, the city at night or some
end shoots like that with special camera rigs
attached to the car. Other times, it is shot from
another chase vehicle which keeps pace with
photographing our car and
achieving a similar result? Well, luckily,
industrial complex. The background is a blur the hero car. In both cases, shutter speeds are Photoshop has the answer. We can show you
of motion but the car is pin sharp, helping the low enough to reduce the moving background some of the newer blur features in Photoshop
car stand out and giving a powerful sense to a blur. Most of us don’t have access to this CC which can turn your static car photo into a
of speed. This effect is usually done in high kind of equipment. What happens if we fancy magazine hero shot.
MOTION BLUR PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Let’s begin by opening the image you need to work on. Go to File > The photo is 3000 pixels wide by 4500 pixels high. The settings
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Open and navigate to the image called ‘motion blur.jpg’. Click Open applied to the image in this tutorial are used on those pixel
to create a new Photoshop document with the image in it. In this case, it's a dimensions. Bear in mind if you are working on a different sized image, you’ll
photo of a truck parked in an alley. need to adapt your settings accordingly.
First of all, press Cmd + J to create a duplicate layer of the vehicle. The vehicle needs to be removed from its background. You can use
03 04
Call this new layer ‘cut out’ for the time being. You can use this your favourite selection method to do this, we went to the toolbar
duplicate layer to make the elements needed to create the illusion. You've still and chose Pen Tool (P) as our preferred method. With it you can draw a path
got your original just in case it's needed. around the edge of the vehicle.
You simply click a start point and then move along the edge of the Using the Pen Tool, proceed along the edge using a combination of
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vehicle and place another anchor point and proceed in this fashion point to point straight lines and curves on areas like the wheels. If you
around the outer edge of the vehicle. You can also drag your cursor and turn place an anchor point in the wrong place, right-click it and choose Delete
a straight line into a curve as needed. Anchor Point and place a new one.
Take your time and work all the way long the outside of the vehicle. Make sure the Feather Radius is set to 0 pixels and that Anti-aliased is
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When you join back up to your start point, it will create a path. Right- checked and then click OK. The path will be converted to a selection
click inside the path and choose Make Selection from the menu. It will call up denoted by ‘marching ants’. Choose the Lasso Tool (L) from the toolbar and
the Make Selection dialog box. then right-click the selection.
Right-click the selection and choose Layer Via Copy from the menu. Right-click on the ‘truck’ layer thumbnail and choose Select Pixels. A
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A new layer with just the contents of the selection will appear. The selection of the truck appears. Rename the ‘cut out’ layer as ‘alley’.
original image will be left unaffected by the procedure. Name the new layer Click on the ‘alley’ layer to make it active. You need to remove some evidence
‘truck’ and make it invisible for a moment. of the truck from this layer.
Go to Select > Modify > Expand. From the Expand Selection dialog Photoshop will then try to fill the area inside the selection with
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box, make Expand By: 5 pixels. When you click OK, the selection will textures from outside the selection. The result may well look a bit of
enlarge by 5 pixels. Go to Edit > Fill (Shift + F5) and choose Content-Aware a mishmash but its function will become more evident as we proceed. Press
as the fill mode. Check the Color Adaption button and click OK. Cmd + D to cancel active selections.
Press Cmd + J to create a duplicate of the ‘alley’ layer. Call the new Photoshop CC has provided new blur tools to play with. Go to Filter >
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layer ‘alley blur’ and make sure it is above the ‘alley’ layer but below Blur Gallery > Path Blur. This calls up the Blur Tools window. A default
the cut out ‘truck’ layer. With ‘alley blur’ active, you’re going to begin to path blur is in place in the shape of a blue line, so drag the end with the blue
create the sensation of speed. arrow to the far left of the image.
Drag the opposite anchor point to the far right of the image and you You can then drag another blue line across the image to the far left
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will see the default blur applied horizontally along the direction of the roughly matching the perspective of the building behind it. Click once
blue line. Click the right side of the image above the existing blue line and to place the end point of the path and again to commit the path. A small blue
place the start of a new path. arrow will appear to confirm this.
Imagining a distant vanishing point far off to the right of the shot, keep Once you have the blur working to your taste, you can alter the Speed
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adding new paths to control the direction and angle of the blur. The value to increase or decrease the amount of blur applied. For a scene
more paths you add, the more you can accurately dictate the direction of blur this size, a Speed value of at least 80-90% should produce enough blur for a
to match the scene’s perspective. good sense of motion.
In the top options panel, make sure the High Quality option is checked The ‘alley blur’ layer is now blurred and you’ll begin to get a sense
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and then click OK to commit the blur you have created to the image. of speed. Because you removed the truck and filled the gap with
The process is quite resource heavy on your computer and it might take a content-aware texture, you don’t have a ghost image of the truck appearing
while depending on the size of your image. where its edges have been blurred.
For the next part of the blur process, you need to go to the layer If you brush black onto the mask, you’ll begin to reveal parts of the
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options panel and choose Add Layer Mask. A mask will be added to un-blurred ‘alley’ layer below. This is optional but you can do this to
‘alley blur’. With the layer mask selected, choose a large soft black brush and suggest that areas further away are blurred less because of their distance
set its Opacity to about 25%. from the action.
Due to the blurring of the ground, the truck looks like it is floating Click the ‘truck’ layer to make it active (you'll see the corners of its
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slightly. If you add a new layer called ‘shadow’ and place it below the thumbnail highlighted), then press Cmd + J to make a duplicate of it.
‘truck’ layer, you can paint some additional shadows under each wheel to Call the new layer ‘wheelspin’. You can now address the issue of the fact that
anchor it to the ground more. the wheels themselves aren’t actually rotating.
Go to Filter > Blur Gallery > Spin Blur to open the Blur Tools again. You can then use the outer control points to scale and rotate the
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Spin Blur is a more advanced version of Radial Blur. A default Spin Spin Blur Tool so that just the sidewall of the front wheel is covered.
Blur is added to the image. You can click and drag its centre point over the Altering the Blur Angle increases the amount by which the image is rotated.
centre of the front wheel. Higher values equate to higher rotation.
You can then place a new Spin Blur over the back wheel and blur it in Now it’s time to add a little blur to the other moving part of the image
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the same way you did the front wheel. Once you are happy, you can which is the actual rubber tread of the tyres. Go to the toolbar and
click on the High Quality button in the top options menu and then click OK to select the Lasso Tool (L) and draw a rough selection around the tread of the
commit the blur settings to the ‘wheelspin’ layer. front tyre.
Next, go to Select > Modify > Feather (Shift + F6) and feather the Drag the default Path Blur, so the start point is at the top of the wheel
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selection by about 3 pixels. Right-click the selection and choose Layer and drag the end point with the blue arrow to the bottom of the wheel.
Via Copy. A new layer is created. Call it ‘tread 1’ and keep it active, then go You can now click along the blue line and add additional points that you can
to Filter > Blur Gallery > Path Blur. move to match the curve of the wheel.
You can add additional paths to make sure the wheel looks like it The ‘tread 1’ layer is now blurred in such a way to give the illusion of
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is rotating correctly. You can alter the Speed value to increase or rotation. Repeat the process by copying the tread of the back wheel
decrease the amount of blur applied. You can click OK in the top option from the ‘wheelspin’ layer to a new layer called ‘tread 2’ and apply Path blur
menu when you’re happy to proceed. to that layer as well.
You can also do the same for the left wheel. Copy it to a layer called Press Shift + Alt + Cmd + E to make a merged snapshot of all the
33 34
‘tread 3’ and follow the steps for the other two wheels. You should currently visible layers. Call the new layer ‘merged’. Go to Filter >
now have a fairly convincing image of movement and rotation. Select the Camera Raw Filter (Shift + Cmd + A). The ‘merged’ layer can be opened in
topmost layer to make it active. Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) for final tweaks.
Under the Presets tab, there are a number of creative one-click filters The image is passed back to Photoshop with the adjustments now
35 36
you can use. We chose the Cross Process filter. Under Effects, we in place. We added some lens flare on a new layer called ‘lights’ to
also added some Post Crop Vignetting to darken the corners. Click OK to round off the image. With that, you have taken a totally static image and
commit the changes. turned it into a dynamic scene.
New creative
blur tools
Your photos never need to stand still again.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER TORN PAPER PORTRAITS
Torn AFTER
Paper BEFORE
Portraits
Tear up the portrait
This tutorial
content is
available for
rule book for once download
P ortrait photos are one of the most timeless aspects of photography

and have been with us since the dawn of photography and long,
long, before that. Timeless as they are, sometimes it's nice to have a little
subject is easy to
pick out against
their background is a
play with a portrait and do something a little more creative and outside good candidate for this torn paper effect.
the box, as it were. That's what we plan to do with this tutorial. It's a cool The torn paper itself can be made from scratch if you are
way of changing up a standard head and shoulders photograph and feeling that way inclined, or an appropriate image from a stock
turning it into something more. Any portrait photo you have where the library is fine too.
TORN PAPER PORTRAITS PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
We start, as ever, by opening Photoshop with the Essentials workspace If we look at our torn paper example image first, its Image Size is 3000
01 02
chosen, going to File > Open (Cmd + O) and navigating to where your pixels wide by 2045 pixels high. We are using this as our base image.
two, main image components are stored on your computer. We have 'torn Therefore any settings and effects we use are based on an image this size. If
paper.png' and 'girl.jpg'. Both can be selected and then press Open to proceed. yours is a different size, then your settings may need to alter accordingly.
The torn paper image was originally a photograph that has since If you go to your subject and click on their document tab, you can
03 04
been edited to allow the gap left by the tear to be made transparent. view the image that will be used with the torn paper. It is a simple
This image could have been supplied as a layered PSD file, or in this case, a head and shoulders portrait in which the girl's outline is quite well defined
transparent PNG file that saves us additional editing time. against her background. This is great since we need to remove her from it.
In the case of our example, we are going to use the Magic Wand After going to the toolbar and selecting the Magic Wand Tool (W), you
05 06
Tool (W) to make a rough selection around the subject's outline and notice that the Tool Options panel across the top of the document
then use that to ultimately copy her from the photo and drop her into the window offers you a series of options to control the parameters of the tool
document containing the torn paper. you have active at that given moment.
We need to look at the Tolerance setting. This controls how well the You may need to experiment with your image, but a tolerance of 35 was
07 08
Magic Wand Tool detects edges in the image. A Tolerance of 50, for just enough to be able to pick out our subject against this background.
instance, may mean that the tool is unable to sense small changes in the Click on an area of background to select it and then press Shift, or choose the
contrast of edges in the image and select too many unwanted areas. Add To Selection option to keep adding areas of the background.
Once you have a rough selection of the entire background, if you go Keep the selection active then click on the Select and Mask button in the
09 10
to Select > Inverse (Shift + Cmd + I), you can invert the selection, so Tool Options panel. The Select and Mask properties are displayed, and
the selection encompasses just the girl's outline. Since this current selection you can use the Refine Edge Brush Tool (R) at a size of around 50 pixels to brush
is still quite rough, we need to improve it a little. over any rough areas around the edge of the girl.
You can keep the main properties at their defaults. As you brush over You are returned to the main document and the selection has
11 12
any problem areas, the selection should get more and more accurate been refined. Now, we need to get the subject removed from their
and refined. Just keep brushing over areas such as the hair until it looks as background. Simply go to Edit > Copy (Cmd + C) to make a copy of all the
clean as it is likely to get. You can click OK to proceed. pixels contained within the selection you've created.
Click on the document tab of the torn paper image to make it active Next, you need to scale the portrait to fit. We wanted the eyes of the
13 14
and then go to Edit > Paste (Cmd + V) to paste the copied pixels subject to match up with the tear in the paper. If you press Cmd + T to
from the portrait photo into this document. The image appears on its own activate the Free Transform Tool, you can move, rotate and scale the image until it
transparent layer above your torn paper base image. sits where the eyes are level with the tear in the paper.
Now we begin to create our final torn paper portrait. Rename the Make sure this new layer is placed below the 'girl' layer, then go to
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layers, so the new layer is called 'girl' and the torn layer is called Edit > Fill (shift + F5) and choose White as the fill colour. Hit OK and
'paper', just for the sake of good housekeeping. Makes sure the 'girl' layer is the new layer is filled with solid white. Next, we need to combine both the girl
active and then click on Create A New Layer in the Layer options panel. and the white layer into one layer.
Click on the 'girl' layer to activate it, then hold Shift and click on the Keep the 'girl' layer active and press Cmd + J to copy that layer. Left-
17 18
white layer to make that layer active too. Right-click these layers and click the new 'girl copy' layer and drag it, so it’s beneath the 'paper'
a menu pops up. Choose the Merge Layers option and both the girl and the layer. From top to bottom, you should have the 'girl' layer, then the 'paper'
white layer merge into one. It should keep its name of 'girl'. layer and finally the 'girl copy' layer at the bottom.
Now we can start the process of masking to create the final effect. Keep the selection active then left-click the 'girl' layer to make it active
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Click the 'paper' layer to make it active even though you can't see it at and, from the Layer options panel, choose Add Layer Mask. A mask,
the moment, right-click it and choose Select Pixels from the dropdown menu in the shape of the torn area of the 'paper' layer below it, is now added to the
that appears. Your selection is created around the image. 'girl' layer. The reason for this will soon be apparent.
With the 'girl' layer active, click the Create New Fill Or Adjustment Layer We want the part of the face inside the torn area to remain in colour.
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button and choose Black & White from the menu. An adjustment layer is To do this, make sure the adjustment layer is still active. Right-click it
created above the 'girl' layer called 'Black & White 1'. You'll notice that, for the and choose Create Clipping Mask from the menu options. The area inside the
moment, the entire document is converted to black and white. torn part is now in colour again.
The 'Black & White 1' adjustment is clipped to the 'girl' layer with Now for some simple tweaks. Keep the 'girl' layer active and change
23 24
the mask on it, so it only affects that layer. Its mask is hiding the eye its Blend Mode to Multiply in order to blend that layer into the paper
area of that layer and lets the colour version at the bottom show through the text below it. Adding a Levels Adjustment and clipping that to the 'girl' layer
transparent part of the 'paper' layer. too allows you to add some contrast to the image.
To create a sense of depth in the torn area of the paper, make sure The addition of the drop shadow creates depth, but it also helps show
25 26
the 'girl' layer is active and double-click it to bring up the Layer Styles off the torn edges of the paper a little more to highlight the transition
panel. Click the Drop Shadow button and make the Blend Mode Multiply, from a black and white image to colour. You can save the document in PSD
Opacity about 70%. Angle can be 135°, Distance 24 and Size 40. format now and, with that, this tutorial is complete.
Tear
it up!
Give portraits a whole new look.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER STEP AND REPEAT
Step
and
Repeat
AFTER
BEFORE
This tutorial
content is
available for
Create cool abstract download
backgrounds quickly and easily

W e would like to spend a little time getting you up to speed with
the step and repeat technique that allows you to quickly build
interesting patterns and shapes, which you can use on portrait photos
will start with the
basics to get
you underway
or artworks to spice up an otherwise plain or indeed boring background. and then we'll show
Photoshop has Align and Distribute tools that you can use, but we're you a tutorial that lets you combine your
going to show you a quick way to build up a repeating pattern, adapt it repeating pattern and, with the aid of some simple masking,
and then incorporate it into a portrait photo as the new background. We add some life to a flat background.
STEP AND REPEAT PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
First of all, let's create a plain document in which we can play around. Go to the Layer options panel and click Create A New Layer. Then go
01 02
Begin by opening Photoshop and going to File > New, to open the New to the toolbar and choose the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M). Draw a
Document panel. Specify a size of 3640 pixels wide by 3640 pixels high and square selection on the left side of your document on 'Layer 1’, which will have
choose White from Background Contents. Click Create when ready. the 'marching ants' around it to show it is active.
Go to Edit > Fill (Shift + F5) and choose Black as your fill colour. Make sure If you press Alt + Cmd + T, the square is ready to begin the step and
03 04
Preserve Transparency is not checked. Hit OK and fill the square selection repeat process. Left-click and drag the square, and you see that a new
with black. Press Cmd + D to clear the active selection leaving you with a black layer is automatically created containing a copy of the square. Move it right of
square on 'Layer 1'. the original square and then hit Enter to place the copy.
Press Shift + Alt + Cmd + T to start the repeat function. Each press creates There is a way that you can avoid generating all those extra layers.
05 06
a new square that moves the same amount to the right each time. You can Remove all the copies, so you have your original square on 'Layer 1'
create enough squares to stretch across the width of your document, but you’ll remaining. Before you start this time, right-click 'Layer 1' and choose Select
notice that you now have multiple layers in your layer stack. Pixels from the menu. You can also hold Cmd and left-click on the thumbnail.
With your square selected (outlined by 'marching ants'), you can now Move it to the right of the original and make sure you press Enter again.
07 08
press Alt + Cmd + T to start the process again. This time, when you drag You should see that the copy is still outlined as a selection. Now press
the selected square to the right, it doesn't create a new layer. Now it is a duplicate Shift + Alt + Cmd + T to place each copy on the same layer. When you have as
that stays on the same layer as your original. many as you need, you can press Cmd + D to clear the selection.
To duplicate the row of squares we've just made, right-click on 'Layer You have quickly created a square pattern that is contained all on one
09 10
1' and choose Select Pixels again to select all five squares. You can layer. All well and good, but now we want to add a little more into the
now press Alt + Cmd + T to start, then move a copy of the five squares down mix to show you more of the step and repeat function's abilities. Clear 'Layer 1'
the page, hit Enter and then press Shift + Alt + Cmd + T several times. so it is empty again and keep it the active layer.
Go to the toolbar and choose the Elliptical Marquee Tool (M). Draw a tall, Move the copy of the ellipse to the right and this time use the corner
11 12
thin ellipse on the left of your document and fill it black, just as you did with control handles to scale and slightly rotate the copy. Make sure you hit
the square. Make sure that the ellipse is still selected (Select Pixels if it isn't) and Enter. The new scaled and rotated ellipse is still selected. Now start pressing
press Alt + Cmd + T to start the process again. Shift + Alt + Cmd + T to notice what happens now.
The ellipse is copied, but each copy is scaled and rotated by the same With that introduction done, let's take what we've learned, apply it
13 14
amount. With each copy, the ellipse continues to reduce and rotate until to a portrait photo and make a background for it. Go to File > Open
it is not really visible any more. This is a great way to create even more abstract and navigate to a suitable picture in need of a more interesting background.
shapes and patterns if you wish. Double-click it or press Open to proceed.
Once again, we are in the Essentials Workspace with an image of 5000 Firstly, we need to unlock the image. Click on the Padlock icon on the
15 16
pixels square. It is a nice, bright fashion shot with a plain background that 'Background' layer to convert it to 'Layer 0' by default. We're doing
is perfect for the addition of a pattern. Since she is wearing a striped blue, let's this because we want to create more space around the picture in which to
create a pattern that works with that. work as we create the pattern.
Go to the toolbar and choose the Crop Tool (C). Drag the crop control Go to the toolbar, choose the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) and draw a
17 18
handles outwards, creating a larger document with a transparent border. thin rectangle in the top right of the document. Go to Edit > Fill (Shift + F5)
Now create a new layer called 'stripe' above 'Layer 0'. This is the layer that will and fill the rectangle black. Make sure the rectangle is still selected and outlined
contain the first part of the pattern we want to make. with 'marching ants'.
Rather than a flat rectangle, let's go for a chevron pattern; press Cmd With the shape selected, press Alt + Cmd + T. Then drag the copy directly
19 20
+ T to transform the shape. Rotate it, using the control handles, about downwards. You can hold Shift as you drag to constrain it. Make sure you
-22°. You can hit Enter to commit that transform, but make sure that once press Enter; the copy is still selected and ready to be repeated. Press Shift + Alt +
done, you Select Pixels again, so the rotated rectangle is selected. Cmd + T several times and copy/move the shape downwards.
You should end up with a series of angled rectangles that are copied down Right-click the 'stripe' layer and choose Select Pixels to select them
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the document. Next, go to the Rectangular Marquee Tool and drag out a all. Then press Alt + Cmd + T and drag a copy to the right, so it still
selection that encloses the ends of the rectangles. Press Delete to cut the ends, so touches the right side of the original. Right-click the copy and choose Flip
they are all straight. Repeat on the other side as well. Horizontal from the menu. This flips the copy.
You can press Cmd + D to clear all selections, but now we need to Pressing Shift + Alt + Cmd + T adds another chevron group that
23 24
choose Select Pixels again, so we have both sets of stripes selected. should fill the page. Press Cmd + D to clear all active selections, and
Now press Alt + Cmd + T to start another step and repeat. Move the copy to if needs be you can use Cmd + T to scale the chevron pattern, so it fits the
the right, so it still touches the original and then hit Enter. image more closely, or just centre it if you wish.
We can now use the Crop Tool to re-crop the photo back to its original Now to do some masking, for the moment make the 'stripe' layer
25 26
size and remove that border. Make sure the Delete Cropped Pixels invisible and make 'Layer 0' active. Choose the Quick Selection Tool (W)
button is checked and drag the control handles until they touch the edge of the from the toolbar and select a brush of about 100 pixels. Then click the tool on
yellow background. Hit Enter or click the Commit button to apply the crop. any part of the yellow background.
Use the tool to select all of the yellow background. If it strays inside With the background selected, you can refine it by clicking on the Select
27 28
the outline of the subject, press the Alt key, the symbol inside the tool and Mask button. Use the Refine Edge brush (R) and brush over areas
cursor becomes a minus (-) symbol that you can use to subtract areas. We such as her hair to refine the selection and make it more accurate. When you are
used it on a small area of her arm. sure it's ready, click OK to proceed.
Make the 'stripe' layer visible and active again. You should see the Any black part of the mask conceals the stripes, allowing the figure on
29 30
selection you've just refined as a 'marching ants' overlay. Go to the the layer below to show through. The white areas of the mask reveal
Layer options panel and click the Add Layer Mask button. A mask, in the the stripes. The rule in masking is quite easy to remember: white reveals and
shape of your selection, is added to the 'stripe' layer. black conceals.
At this stage you could call it done, but if you wanted you could alter The addition of a subtle drop shadow completes this example. We also had
31 32
the blend mode of the 'stripe' layer and change it to Overlay for a a go at some other portraits and used different shapes and patterns to make
different effect, or even Divide. We have simply reduced the Opacity of the those backgrounds more interesting. Now it's your turn to try out this cool little idea
'strip' layer to 50%. that produces significant results.
Cool
Patterns
Step and repeat is the way to go for abstract results.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER LEGO PORTRAITS
AFTER
Lego
Portraits BEFORE
An unusual and fun way to

enhance a portrait
I t’s a safe bet that most people have had an encounter with
Lego or by a few degrees of separation, knows someone
who has. Lego is the popular construction toy, consisting of
coloured interlocking plastic bricks for building just about This tutorial
anything you care to mention. With that as our inspiration, we content is
are going to create a portrait that looks like it was made out of available for
Lego bricks. download
LEGO PORTRAITS PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
First, we are going to make a basic Lego-shaped pattern. Go to your The document is very small but if you press Cmd + 0, it will fill the
01 02
File menu and select New (Cmd + N) and make a new document screen with the document so you can view it with greater ease. If
that is 50 pixels wide x 50 pixels high. Click OK when you are ready and the you also click the lock icon on the Background layer, you can release it and
document will be created. use it as Layer 0.
To help you work accurately, especially at large magnifications like The first step is to go to Edit > Fill (Shift + F5) and choose 50 per cent
03 04
this, make sure you go to View > Show > Smart Guides and also Pixel Grey as your fill colour. This will be the base of our Lego brick. The
Grid in the same menu. You can even drag in two guidelines from the rulers other Fill default settings can be left as they are. Click OK when you’re ready
to show you where dead centre is. to continue to the next step.
If you double-click the Layer 0 thumbnail, you will activate the Layer Next, create a new Layer (Shift + Cmd + N) and call it Layer 1. We
05 06
Style menu. Under Blending Options, click on the Bevel & Emboss need to add the stud above the base of the brick to complete the
button and replicate the settings we have used here. This gives us a bevelled familiar Lego shape. To do this, we need to select the Elliptical Marquee Tool
edge effect to our block base. from the toolbar (M).
If you hold Shift + Alt and drag your cursor from the centre of the When you let go of the left Mouse button the circle will become a
07 08
document, you can constrain the ellipse and maintain a perfect selection. Go to Edit > Fill and choose 50 per cent Grey again as your
circle. Draw a circle that is 3 pixels from the edge of the square on each fill. You will have a grey circle above a grey square base that you won't be
side (making the ellipse 44 pixels). able to see for the moment, but not to worry.
Double-click on the Layer 1 thumbnail and you will call up the Layer Then click on the Drop Shadow button and add the values we
09 10
Style menu once more. Click on the Bevel & Emboss button again have shown here. A small shadow is added to the stud, helping the
and use the same settings as you did for the base. The Lego block stud now illusion that it is a three dimensional shape on top of the base. Press Cmd
has some depth added to it. + D to clear the selection.
We have also gone to the Horizontal Type Tool and added a little If you go to Edit > Define Pattern, you can name your pattern ‘lego’
11 12
optional Photoshop logotype ‘Ps’. The text is also 50 per cent and it will be saved, ready to use as a repeating pattern when you
grey and we have added the same Bevel & Emboss and Drop Shadow need it. Click OK to save the pattern. You don’t have to save the document if
settings as the Lego brick. you don’t want to. It has served its purpose.
With our Lego pattern saved, we need to open an image that we The image we are using is 2100 pixels wide x 3300 pixels high.
13 14
can turn into our Lego portrait. We have a colourful, full face portrait Be aware that the size of your image needs to be divisible by
that has nice, clearly defined features and interesting shapes and texture. 50 to match the Lego brick size. That may sound a bit odd but all will
Name this layer ‘base’. become clear in the next steps.
It’s not essential but is useful to get in the habit of setting up guides. Now we can turn on the grid. Go to View > Show > Grid (Cmd + ‘).
15 16
If you go to your main Photoshop menu and choose Preferences Horizontal and vertical gridlines, 50 pixels apart, will be overlaid on to
> Guides, Grids & Slices and make Gridline Every 50 Pixels and make your image. Make sure that the base layer is active, then press Cmd + J to
Subdivisions 1. Click OK when ready. make a duplicate. Call this new layer ‘mosaic’.
With the ‘mosaic’ layer active, go to Filter > Pixelate > Mosaic to Click on the Create a new layer button to add another layer. A new
17 18
bring up the Mosaic dialog box. Set your Cell size to 50 and click layer will appear above the ‘mosaic’ layer. Call this one ‘lego’. This is
OK. We are simplifying the image so one block of colour in the portrait where we’ll apply our block pattern. Make sure the ‘lego’ layer is active. You
will match one Lego block, when it’s applied. can click it and its corners will be highlighted.
Next, you need to go to Edit > Fill (Shift + F5) to call up the Fill dialog The ‘lego’ layer is now filled with the brick pattern. Go to the Blend
19 20
box. Choose Pattern from the Contents list and under Custom Mode menu and select Linear Light. When you do, the bricks will be
Pattern, you can choose your Lego pattern created earlier. Click on your blended into the mosaic pattern on the layer below. You see how the bricks
pattern and then click OK to proceed. match the mosaic blocks exactly.
At this point, if you press Cmd + ‘ to turn off your grid, you will see Click on the ‘base’ layer to activate it and press Cmd + J to duplicate
21 22
the image more clearly. We could happily call this done but there is it. A new layer called 'base copy' will be created. With ‘base copy’
a little more we can do to enhance it further. For the moment, temporarily active, press G to choose your Gradient Tool and make sure your foreground
hide the ‘lego’ and ‘mosaic’ layers. colour is set to white.
Click the Gradient context menu at the top to open the Gradient Editor Click and hold the left Mouse button outside the document in the top
23 24
and choose the Foreground to Transparent preset. Click OK then set left corner and drag the cursor towards the bottom right corner, just
the Gradient Fill Opacity to 50 per cent. Make sure the ‘base copy’ layer is over half way. When you let go, a white gradient will be applied. Repeat this
active so we can apply our gradient. process from the bottom right corner.
Now we have a nice sheen that runs from 50% opacity at its start Make the ‘lego’ and ‘mosaic’ layers visible again and then make
25 26
and fades to 0% opacity on our ‘base copy’ layer that will help sure the ‘mosaic’ layer is active. Go to the layer options panel
differentiate it from the ‘mosaic’ layer above; its use will become clearer in and click on the Add Layer Mask button and that will be added to the
the following stages. ‘mosaic’ layer.
It is important that the ‘lego’ layer only interacts with the ‘mosaic’ Click on the ‘mosaic’ layer mask thumbnail so you can edit the
27 28
layer below. To ensure this, click on the ‘lego’ layer to activate it, mask. We want to remove random blocks to make it look like the
then right-click on it and choose Create Clipping Mask from the context portrait is not finished yet. You could do it brick by brick but this would take
menu. A small white arrow indicates it is done. an age. Here is a little trick to speed things up.
With the ‘mosaic’ layer mask active, go to the toolbar and choose Start to paint random blobs of black around the perimeter of the layer
29 30
the Brush Tool or press B to activate it and select a large medium mask; as you do, you will see it reveal the ‘base copy’ layer below.
soft brush of about 200 pixels from the top context menu. Make sure the Pressing Alt + left-click on the mask thumbnail will show it in isolation. Repeat
foreground colour is set to black. to go back to the normal view.
We have also changed the brush to a much smaller white one and With the ‘mosaic’ layer mask still active, go to Filter > Pixelate
31 32
painted white blobs in amongst the larger black ones. Pressing the > Mosaic and add the same mosaic Cell Size settings of 50
plus (+) or minus (-) keys will alter brush size. The addition of these random as before. The blobs of black now conform to the grid and blocks we
white brush strokes will help add to the effect we are after. already have, but the image fades in and out in places.
The ‘mosaic’ layer mask needs one more tweak. Go to Image > We have our random pattern of solid blocks, with some missing to
33 34
Adjustments > Threshold. You will see the mask change to solid show the image below. If you double-click on the ‘mosaic’ layer,
black or white blocks, which vary in number as you move the slider back you can call up the Layer Style menu again and add a small drop shadow
and forth. Click OK when ready. to give some depth to the blocks.
Reducing the Saturation of the ‘base copy’ layer helps add some
35
separation between the Lego blocks and the face. This small
adjustment is the final tweak, which means
this Lego portrait is complete.
Immortalise
someone in Lego
Who thought plastic bricks could be so artistic?
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER USING PHOTOSHOP AND LIGHTROOM CLASSIC CC
Using
Photoshop
AFTER
and Lightroom
Classic CC BEFORE
Bring the power of both Photoshop

and Lightroom to bear on your images
O ne of the great things about Adobe
products, particularly Photoshop and
Lightroom, is that they have been designed
This back and forth between the two
programs is sometimes referred to
as 'roundtripping'. This introductory
to seamlessly integrate. You can create a tutorial will show you how to process
workflow that begins in Lightroom, gets multiple images, send them off to This tutorial
manipulated in Photoshop and then be passed Photoshop, combine them and then content is
back to Lightroom and its catalogue system. process them further back in Lightroom. available for
download
USING PHOTOSHOP AND LIGHTROOM CLASSIC CC PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
We have two images that we are going to work on for this Lightroom We start with the example portrait image of Jamie. In the Basic panel,
01 02
and Photoshop round trip example. We have a Raw file of a portrait we did some simple adjustments to Exposure, Highlights and Whites
of Jamie and a bitmap image of a room that will be processed in the desktop to lift the dark image and reveal more detail without blowing out the brightest
version of Lightroom and then handed to Photoshop for further work. highlights, particularly those on the side of his face.
Next, we clicked on the White Balance Selector Tool in the top left Under Lens Corrections, the Remove Chromatic Aberration and
03 04
corner of the Basic panel. Jamie’s background was a neutral grey, so Enable Profile Corrections buttons are checked to remove any lens
we took the White Balance Eyedropper Tool and used it to click a target on problems such as barrel distortion and colour fringing for as clean an image
the backdrop for Lightroom to then neutralise any colour cast in the image. as possible. If working with Raw files, it is always a good idea to do this.
Next, it’s a case of going back to the Basic panel and under the The tools you need for sharpening your images can be found under
05 06
Presence section, boosting the Clarity and Vibrance to add both the Detail tab; as a precaution, it is worth zooming in full size so you
midtone contrast and a little more colour to the shot. Since the subject’s skin can see if you’re overdoing it. Increase the Amount slider until you have it
has lots of detail, you can bring it out even more with some sharpening. how you like it. The other sliders can remain at default if you wish.
Below Sharpening are the Noise Reduction tools. Luminance refers Under the HSL/Color/B&W tab, click on Color to adjust the Hue of
07 08
to the brightness of pixels versus Colour which are the obvious red, particular primary colours in your shot. Clicking on red, for instance,
green and blue pixels that show up in image noise. Don’t push the sliders too you can push skin tone from pink to more of a yellow tone. Increasing the
high as this can remove noise but reduce detail, resulting in a muddy image. Luminance value will lighten those same tones if you wish.
Another option to consider for exposure control is found under the Tone Now, adding a Radial Filter can be used to brighten the outer perimeter
09 10
Curve panel. Here, you can adjust targeted regions from Highlights, of the image slightly by increasing Exposure. To help keep the noise
Lights, Darks and Shadows. It behaves just like the Tone Curve you find in under control, reduce Sharpness to -10, Noise -100 and Moiré 59. Keeping the
Photoshop. You can use the sliders or click and drag on the graph itself. Invert Mask unchecked means the effect happens outside the filter.
An adjustment brush, using similar settings, can lighten the bottom The image of the room was next. It was given some basic adjustments
11 12
left and bottom right corners of the image. The need to keep the grey to alter Temp to a cooler tone and Clarity was boosted to enhance the
background as clean as possible, so the outline of the subject is well-defined will contrast of small details. The Saturation was also dropped to -30 to make it look
become apparent when this image makes its appearance in Photoshop. a little more monochromatic.
To ensure the move to Photoshop works well, it’s worth checking Right-click on your image. A menu will appear and you can choose
13 14
your Preferences. In the External Editing tab, you have options to Edit In > Edit in Adobe Photoshop CC. Make sure you choose to copy
choose when editing in Photoshop. You can use TIFF or PSD but make sure with Lightroom adjustments applied, otherwise you will end up your original
ProPhotoRGB and 16 bits/component are chosen for maximum colour depth. untouched image with no edits. Then you can click the Edit button.
Lightroom will now pass that adjusted photo over to Photoshop which Switch back to Lightroom. You can bring up the processed portrait image
15 16
will open the image as a new document. You can see it is full sized and in in the Develop Module and if you right-click on this one, you once again
16 bit colour per your settings. Do not close Lightroom, both programs need to choose Edit In > Edit in Adobe Photoshop CC. It will switch back to Photoshop
be running in order for them to work together. and the Raw file will be rendered out as another full size 16 bit image.
You are going to make a simple composite of the portrait and the You can use the Lasso Tool or the Quick Selection Tool to select all the
17 18
room image by copying the room file into the portrait document which grey background around the subject. Make the room layer visible and
will sit on a new layer above the portrait. For the moment, turn off the visibility active and you will see ‘marching ants’ in the shape of the section you created.
of the room layer and make sure the background layer is active. Now click the Add Layer Mask button to turn the selection into a mask.
We made some simple adjustments to the room image to make it darker Click on the room document and close it. When asked if you want to
19 20
and added some white brush strokes using the same mask to create the save changes, click on Save; do not choose Save As from the file menu.
sensation of light emanating from behind the figure. You can really go to town on You can shut the new composite of subject and room. Again, when prompted,
this if you like but just be aware of the file sizes you are creating. click Save. Both images have been passed back to Lightroom as TIFF files.
In Lightroom, if you look at your images in the Library Module, you will Now you can open the composite TIFF in the develop Module and
21 22
see your original images have been stacked with their newly created add more adjustments to it as you see fit. Using the Split Toning
Photoshop versions. These new versions are also part of the Lightroom tools effect to push yellows into the highlights and a turquoise tone into the
Catalogue now. You can right-click and choose to unstack them if you wish. shadows to give it a much cooler, cinematic feel.
We also boosted the flesh tones under the HSL/Color/B&W panel. The Then we went to the Radial Filter and used setting to boost brightness
23 24
Saturation sliders for Red, Orange and Yellow were boosted to offset the and added a yellow tone to the filter. The filter was placed over the lamp
cool colour cast created by the Split Toning effect. The Luminance of the same on the right in order to accentuate the light coming from behind him. You can
colours were tweaked to make sure the flesh tones stayed bright and clear. scale the size of the glow to your personal taste.
You can make as many new Lightroom adjustments as you need. Be Right-click the edited TIFF image in the filmstrip. A menu will appear.
25 26
aware that you are now adjusting the TIFF or PSD that was created for Here you can click Show In Finder and the folder where the images are
Photoshop by the original Raw file portrait and room image. When you are happy kept will be displayed. You will see your original files and next to it, with a -Edit
it’s how you want it, you can just click Done and commit all the changes. suffix, will be the Photoshop image that was passed back to Lightroom.
You have just done a round trip workflow between Lightroom, Photoshop
27
and back to Lightroom again. You never know quite when you might
need this but it’s good to know you have it there as an option when Lightroom
can’t quite do everything you need it to.
Making the
round trip
Lightroom to Photoshop and back again for cool photos.
What is
Raw Mode?
A Raw file is an image format for digital cameras
that offers a higher quality than standard jpeg
files. It is an uncompressed and unprocessed
readout of the camera’s sensor and is essential
in creating the best possible photos. Photoshop
offers you a digital darkroom where these files
can be processed.
Contents
152 Processing Raw files
154 Adobe Camera Raw interface
156 Adobe Camera Raw menus
158 Adobe Camera Raw workflow
WHAT IS RAW MODE?
WHAT IS RAW MODE? PROCESSING RAW FILES
Processing
Raw Files
For the best possible quality,
shoot in Raw mode
A ll digital SLRs and Compact System Cameras, and most of

the better compact cameras, have a shooting option called
Raw mode. You’ll usually find it in the menu as an option under
image quality. Raw mode offers greatly improved image quality
over the usual JPEG image file format, and is recommended
for all serious photographers. Let’s take a closer look at Raw
mode, find out how it works and see how it can help you
produce better photographs.
What is Raw Mode?

Lens Sensor Processor JPEG Output
Raw Output
Raw mode is a special image recording option captured by an electronic image sensor. This eye, so the signal from the sensor feeds into the
that is available on digital SLRs, Compact System sensor has millions of tiny photocells that produce a camera’s image processor, a combination of
Cameras, and other high-quality digital cameras. If charge when they are exposed to light; the brighter computer electronics and software which turns the
your camera has this option, you have access to the light, the higher the charge. Digital camera brightness data from the sensor, adjusted for the
much higher image quality than the standard JPEG sensors don’t record the colour of the light hitting colours in the Bayer filter, into a full colour digital
file format. them, just the brightness, so a special mosaic of image that you can view and print.
Essentially, Raw mode is just what it sounds coloured filters is placed in front of the sensor, Part of that process includes reducing the
like. It’s the raw data pretty much straight from called a Bayer filter. bit-depth of the basic image data (the amount of
the camera’s sensor. In a digital camera the Naturally, the image generated by the sensor and 1s and 0s used by a computer to describe each
photographic image is, as I’m sure you’re aware, filter wouldn’t make much sense to the unaided pixel), usually from 36-bit (12 bits per channel)
PROCESSING RAW FILES WHAT IS RAW MODE?
“LOSSLESS” COMPRESSED
USEFUL TIP
Modern cameras all come supplied with
Raw processing software, although if you
have Photoshop, it has Adobe Camera Raw
built in as part of the application. Try to get
used to always shooting in Raw mode on
your camera. The quality and processing
possibilities are much greater than JPEG
files. These days, even some camera phones
have the ability to shoot in Raw format.
They are larger file sizes than JPEGs but
the benefits become clear once you start
to understand how much more processing
ability you have. Your photos will see a
marked improvement when you use Raw.
or even 48-bit (16 bits per channel) to 24-bit (8 artefacts into some areas of the image. that the saved files are much larger, so they take
bits per channel), which makes a smaller and The main advantage of Raw shooting, apart from a lot longer to save to the memory card, and you
more easily processed file, but loses some colour the improvement in overall image quality, is that it can fit fewer of them on there. For a typical 16MP
depth because of the smaller palette that can be bypasses the in-camera image processing, such DSLR, a high quality JPEG file will be around
represented by that many bits. Other adjustments as white balance, saturation, sharpness etc. This 8MB, while a Raw file will be around 25MB, over
to the colour balance, such as unusual white sounds illogical, but it’s not really. The processing three times the size.
balance settings, can also reduce image quality, as that takes place in the camera is pre-set before the Many of the more recent DSLRs have the
will heavy noise reduction. shot is taken, and irreversible once the image has ability to record Raw and JPEG image files
In order to save space on the memory card, been converted to a JPEG file. By shooting in Raw simultaneously. This has the advantage of the
produce faster transfers and make it easier to mode, you can make the processing adjustments convenience of JPEG with the versatility and
display and print the photograph on a computer, after the shot has been taken, and if you need to quality of Raw, but takes up even more space on
the image is usually converted to a compressed change them you can do so as long as you have your memory card. Fortunately the price of very
JPEG file. Unfortunately JPEG compression also the original Raw file. large memory cards is falling almost daily, so this
reduces the image quality, and can introduce The downside to Raw file recording is of course needn’t be much of a problem.
WHAT IS RAW MODE? ADOBE CAMERA RAW INTERFACE
ACR Interface
Adobe Camera Raw isn’t as difficult as it looks
P hotoshop comes with Adobe Camera Raw,

usually shortened to ACR. It offers a range
of processing options that enable you to get
the best out of your photos, including exposure
adjustment, sharpening, noise reduction, colour
correction and automatic correction for lens
distortion. It is regularly updated to maintain
compatibility with all the latest cameras and
lenses. Like the rest of Photoshop, it’s easy to
get started. Let’s take a look at the interface
and see what it has to offer.
Toolbar
This holds all the main selectable tools, most of
which are similar to tools in the main Photoshop
interface, including Zoom, Hand, Crop, Straighten,
Spot Removal, Red Eye Removal, and a newly-
added feature that can add a graduated filter to
your picture.
Control Palette
This is the main dialogue palette, which contains
the controls for each tabbed section. Most of the
controls are sliders, and you can see the results
of each adjustment both in real-time on the
histogram and in the main image window.
Image Window
This is the main window displaying the image
you’re currently working on. All changes that you
make during Raw editing will be visible here. You
can zoom into the image using the magnification
controls at the bottom left, or use the usual CTRL
+ and CTRL - shortcuts. You can see what effect
your editing has had by checking and unchecking
the preview option at the top right.
Output Options
At the bottom of the screen you’ll find the controls
for when you’ve finished your editing. If you
click on the blue link you’ll see a range of output
options, since Adobe Camera Raw can process
your pictures in a range of sizes. You can also
save your edits back into the Raw file to keep
them for later.
ADOBE CAMERA RAW INTERFACE WHAT IS RAW MODE?
Control Tabs Information Palette Histogram

The Camera Raw interface breaks the The left side of this panel shows the RGB The Histogram shows you the number
workflow down into discrete sections, each colour values at the cursor position. RGB of pixels of each tone in your image and
with its own tabbed palette of controls represents the three primary colours of red, changes as you make exposure and colour
and adjustment sliders. You can switch green and blue, which combine to create a balance adjustments. The graph represents
between them by clicking here. The tabs final colour image. The larger right side of the colour in digital form, with levels from
are, from left to right: Basic, Tone Curve, the area displays the exposure information 0 to 255, with the darkest on the left and
Detail, HSL/Greyscale, Split Toning, Lens for the image, including the aperture, shutter the brightest on the right. The white area
Correction, Effects, Camera Calibration, speed, ISO setting and the focal length of represents the combined colours, but you can
Presets and Snapshots. the lens used. also look at each colour channel individually.
WHAT IS RAW MODE? ADOBE CAMERA RAW MENUS
ACR Menus
Adobe Camera Raw has a powerful set of features all
nested within a series of easily accessible control tabs
T he main interface of Adobe Camera Raw is comprised of ten menus,

each with a series of control sliders and some additional menu tabs
to access further features. Although you will no doubt spend most of
your time working in the Basic panel, when used in conjunction with
adjustments from the other control panels, you will be able to enhance
your images beyond what you thought possible in no time at all.
Basic Tone Curve Detail HSL

The Basic panel in ACR is probably The Tone Curve options in ACR The Detail section lets you handle The HSL panel, which is an acronym
the one you will spend the most behave very much like the Levels both Sharpening and Noise for Hue, Saturation and Luminance,
time in and also making the most and Curves Adjustments you can Reduction in your Raw files. is where you can get to grips with
important global image adjustments. make in Photoshop itself. The Sharpening is basically an increase the colours in your images and how
Apart from choosing the colour basic Parametric adjustments allow in the contrast of the brightest and you can affect them. The first panel
treatment, you can adjust Exposure, you to use sliders to individually darkest edges in your image. Too is Hue, which lets you alter a specific
Contrast, Highlights and Shadows adjust Highlights, Lights, Darks high a value and you may suffer range of colour values such as reds
as well as Clarity, Vibrance, and and Shadows. The Point Curve image degradation. The Detail and for example; then alter their hue to
Saturation. More recent additions adjustment allows you to place Masking sliders can effectively make them more magenta or make
include being able to apply a colour control points and create your suppress the halo effects of over orange more yellow or blue more
profile from a collection of presets own custom curves by moving sharpening. The Noise Reduction purple. The other panels allow the
and the Dehaze option to reduce the points around to your own settings help you reduce the adjustment of their colour intensity
haze in your photos. personal preference. amount of image noise and colour and brightness.
artefacts seen in high ISO photos.
ADOBE CAMERA RAW MENUS WHAT IS RAW MODE?
Split Toning Lens Corrections Effects Calibration

Split Toning is a particular effect you Throughout its life Adobe Camera The Effects panel allows you to Found in both Adobe Camera RAW
can apply to your images in order to Raw has been updated at regular add Grain to your image, with three and Lightroom is a module that
control how much of a certain colour intervals. Each new update brings values to control its impact. You can is more powerful than it may look
appears in the highlights or shadows the latest Lens Correction profiles specify the Amount, the Size of the at first glance. Mainly used as a
of your images. There are Hue and that can automatically assess your grains and the Roughness of the calibration for your camera it can be
Saturation sliders for both Highlights photo and determine what lens image grain you apply. The other a brilliantly creative tool. You could
and Shadows. Set a Hue value and was used on the camera that took effect is Post Crop Vignetting which think of it as a more refined Hue
then increase its Saturation amount. the shot. Once it knows what lens allows you to darken the outer edges and Saturation adjustment tool. You
When you do so, that chosen colour was used, it can apply a set of of the photo before and after you’ve can alter the Tint value found in the
will start to dominate the brightest corrections that can eliminate lens cropped the photo. You can control shadows of your image, as well as
and darkest areas of the shot. The aberrations and distortions specific the Amount, Midpoint, Roundness, adjust the general use of Hue and
Balance slider governs which is to that lens. It does also allow for Feather and Highlights. Saturation in the Red Green and
most dominant. manual adjusts as well. Blue channels of your image for
much finer control.
Presets Snapshots
This is another recent addition to Here is another more recent
Adobe Camera Raw. Normally, you feature that you normally find on
can save a preferred method of another Adobe product, Lightroom.
image adjustment as a User Preset Snapshots, as the name implies,
and that would have been that. allows you to create a snapshot of
Now, there are also a number of new a particular part of the adjustment
Presets added that mean you can process. If you have a set of basic
apply one-click adjustments to your edits you like, you can Snapshot it. If
photos. These presets range from you then make a series of edits that
High Contrast colour adjustments to you don’t like, you can always go
Cross Process effects and a number back to a previous state by clicking
of Creative and Black and White on one of the Snapshots you stored
options too. whilst you were working.
WHAT IS RAW MODE? ADOBE CAMERA RAW WORKFLOW
ACR Workflow
Getting the most out of your Raw files
This tutorial
content is
available for
download
A sk any five professional photographers

about the process they use to create their
pictures, you’ll get five different answers. The
the type of final image required, as well as
the type of camera used to take the photo
and the use to which the photo will be put.
process, so we’ll take a look at a common
general purpose workflow that will be suitable
for most types of photo. We’ll be using a
amount of processing and adjustment used There are certain operations that will be sunset shot of a small, abandoned, chapel in
will vary, depending on the job at hand and common to most photos that you’ll want to Torquay, Devon.
If you look at the histogram at the top While holding down the Alt key (Option We can spend a while carefully adjusting
01 03 04
right of the screen you’ll notice that the on Mac), move the exposure slider to the the various sliders by hand to try and
line at the right (brightest) end of the graph is right. With the key held down, all you’ll see will be equalise the histogram, but the quickest way to get
peaking compared to the ones in the middle. the over-exposed areas. You can do this with any close to the optimum result is to let Camera Raw
Ideally the graph should fill the area between the of the first six sliders and it’s a good way to make do the hard work. If you click on Auto the software
lightest and darkest ends of the range, so we adjustments without going too far. will automatically adjust the image to produce a
need to slightly reduce the lighter end of the graph good approximation to a perfect exposure. It’s
without causing under-exposure. probably not going to be ideal, but it will give us a
good starting point. You’ll notice that the sun and
the clouds around it are over-exposed, but that’s
OK. We’re looking for a good spread of tones and
that includes white.
To ensure that we don’t lose too much

02
detail to highlight clipping, click on the
arrow in the top right corner of the histogram
window. This turns on the highlight clipping
warning. Any over-exposed areas will turn bright
red in the image window. Clicking on the left
button turns on the shadow clipping warning.
ADOBE CAMERA RAW WORKFLOW WHAT IS RAW MODE?
The Auto adjustment has made a good One of the best things about Adobe
05 07
job of this particular picture, but for Camera Raw is its lens correction feature.
landscape shots a little bit of extra saturation The Tamron wide-angle lens used to take this
usually looks good, so we’ll boost the vibrance picture is a nice bit of glass, but it’s not perfect.
and the saturation to get the colours of the Although it’s hard to see at a glance, this wide-
sunlight, boat and sky to really pop out. angle shot does suffer from some pincushion
distortion and slight chromatic aberration.
Fortunately Camera Raw comes pre-loaded
with correction profiles for a huge list of popular
lenses, including this one. All you need to do
to automatically correct the optical distortion
caused by the lens is to check the box Enable
Lens Profile Corrections. You’ll see the change
happen to your image immediately.
The next step is largely a matter of

09
personal taste, but you can also choose
to use a preset profile for the colour calibration
too. In the Basic tab, click on the Profile panel
and from the drop-down menu select your
preferred profile. Choose Browse to see more.
There are now a number to choose from. This
sets the colour rendering profile to the preset.
Adobe Camera Raw also provides a

06
second method of adjusting contrast: by
altering the tone curve. Although it’s no more
accurate than using the sliders many people will
prefer it because it’s nice and simple and gives a
good visual representation of what we’re doing.
It’s also a lot harder to burn out the highlights
using curves. By boosting the highlights a lot
and then boosting the other sliders in decreasing
amounts we can quickly equalise the histogram
without losing too much quality. The chromatic aberration is just as easy
08
to fix. Click on the Color tab in the Lens
Correction palette and simply check the box
Remove Chromatic Aberration. You’ll need to
zoom in near the edge of the frame to see the
difference, but you’ll notice the effects at once.
WHAT IS RAW MODE? ADOBE CAMERA RAW WORKFLOW
For this particular image, the sky is a bit lighter than it needs to be,
10
but we can easily darken it down a bit by adding a high quality digital
graduated filter in Camera Raw. Click on the Graduated Filter button at the BEFORE
top of the screen and you’ll see the filter control palette appear. Set the
exposure slider to about -1.5 or -2, then in the image window drag down
from the top of the picture to just below the horizon line to apply the filter. If
you hold down the shift key while dragging, it will stay parallel with the top
of the frame.
Finally we have the output options. Camera Raw gives you the
11
option to output the processed image in a number of different ways,
but which one you use will depend on what you want to do with the finished
image. For most purposes the default settings will be ideal, but you may
need to select a different colour space and for maximum colour fidelity you
can output in 16-bit format. You can also choose an image size different
from the native resolution of your camera, but be aware that choosing a
larger size doesn’t magically create new pixels; the image will be enlarged
using Photoshop’s bicubic resampling algorithm. If you’re planning to print
the picture you might also want to look at the sharpening options. When
you’re happy with your choice, click OK and then Open Image. The picture
will now open in Photoshop, from where you can either carry out more
editing, or save the picture in JPEG or TIFF format.
You also have the option to save a particular group of adjustment

12
settings in order to use them later on other images. You can apply
a selection, or all the settings at once, if you wish. Once you have a group
of adjustments you want to save, click on the small icon to the left of the
Presets tab to call up the Settings options menu.
ADOBE CAMERA RAW WORKFLOW WHAT IS RAW MODE?
AFTER
USEFUL TIP
Any adjustments you make to your image
do not directly affect the Raw file. They are
added to an XMP file that is used to keep a
record of all your image modifications. When
you finally save your images, to preserve
as much detail as possible, try saving your
photos as TIFF files instead of JPEG, since
it uses lossless compression and keeps all
that detail in your images.
From the Settings options menu, choose Save Settings. This will Once saved, the Preset you created is added to the list of User
13 14
open the Save Settings dialog panel where you can specify which Presets. If you have an image to which you want to apply this Preset,
settings can be saved. You can choose to Check All or manually choose open it in ACR as normal and then scroll down to where ‘landscape 1’ is
by checking or un-checking your preferred adjustments listed in the panel. listed. A real-time display shows the effect it has on your image. If you click
Click Save and name your Preset. Our example is called ‘landscape 1.xmp’. it, the adjustments will be applied to the new image.
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The Complete

Expert Tutorials to Improve Your Skills

The Complete The Complete The Complete The Complete

Manual Manual Ove

Instagram WhatsApp Landscape

Your photo editing

Developing Your Skills

72 Soft focus technique bdmpublications.com/ultimate-photoshop

Check out these useful new features and tools

Remove Background Object Selection Tool

Type Layer Properties

Lens Blur Update

The Frame Tool

The Color Wheel Default Text

The Undo function has been updated once

Locking the Workspace

T homas and John Knoll created Photoshop

Photoshop allows multiple layers to be

It’s huge. Mind-bogglingly huge. The

You can record specific actions within

You’re able to blend many different layers

Almost anything is possible in Photoshop.

Photoshop: The Power to Create

N ow that Photoshop and a host of other Adobe products have

P hotoshop has a great interface, with a

Tool Option Bar

Rulers Palettes Workspace Option

Fly-out Palettes Layer Palette Layer Options

Menus One look at the menus and you

File Edit Image Layer

Type Filter View Window

Smudge Edit Toolbar

Burn Switch Colour

Pen Set Colour

Keyboard USEFUL TIP

There’s always a quicker way of doing

Some Useful Default Shortcuts

CREATE NEW LAYER LEVELS ZOOM IN VIEW COPY TO CLIPBOARD

CLOSE CURRENT DOCUMENT CURVES ZOOM OUT VIEW CUT TO CLIPBOARD

The Layer Palette

Blend Mode Opacity Layer Filters

Visibility Layer Styles Layer Mask

A Adjustment Layer B New Group C New Layer D Delete Layer

The Adjustment Layer Palette

01 Brightness/Contrast Photo Filter 09

Before and After

This tutorial BEFORE

Next, activate the new layer by clicking on it in the

A white square will appear in the layer palette

You can adjust the parameters of the

Rectangular Marquee Single Column Marquee Elliptical Marquee

Magnetic Lasso Lasso Single Row Marquee

Polygonal Lasso Magic Wand Quick Selection

Elliptical Marquee Tool

The Elliptical Marquee Tool works in

Simple Area Selection

To make a soft-edged selection, type a

Let’s start off with the simplest selection

This time if you draw a selection and fill it,

Polygonal Lasso Tool

E ven with a modern digital camera, your

Healing Brush Tool Content Aware Move Patch Tool

Red Eye Tool Spot Healing Brush Tool

The Brush Tool