Introduction to

Adobe PhotoShop
Introduction
 Photoshop’s primary strength is as a pixel-based image editor, unlike programs such as
Adobe Illustrator, Inkspace or CorelDraw, which are vector-based image editors.
 However, PhotoShop also enables the creation, incorporation, and manipulation of
vector graphics through its Paths, Pen tools, Shape tools, etc.
With Photoshop, you can manipulate your picture, either scanned or imported, to such
an extent that you would sometimes forget which picture you started off with.
Document Setup Dialog box
 Document Setup Dialog box
Page Size and Orientation
Change the page size by typing in new values for width and height. Page size represents the final size you want after bleeds
or trimming other marks outside the page. In the Preset dropdown menu you can find such common sizes as letter, legal,
tabloid, etc. Typing in exact values for Height and Width gives you more control over the size and orientation of your page.
Resolution
Resolution is the number of pixels on a printed area of an image. The higher the resolution, the more pixels there are on
the page, the better the quality of the image. However, high resolution increases the size of the file. The standard
recommended resolution for printed images is 150-300, for Web images it is 72.
Color Mode
Choose a color mode that will best fit your project. For example, when making a graphic for a web site, choose RGB. When
making an image for print choose CMYK.
Background Contents
Choose the background: white, color or transparent. When you have entered all of your document settings, click Ok.
PhotoShop
Environment/WorkSpace
 PhotoShop Environment/WorkSpace
Menu Bar
If you look at the top of the screen you will see the Menu bar, which contains all the main functions
of Photoshop, such as File, Edit, Image, Layer, Select, Filter, Analysis, 3D, View, Window, and Help.
Toolbar
Most of the major tools are located in the Toolbar for easy access.
Image Name
The name of any image that you open will be at the top of the image window.
Palettes
Palettes contain functions that help you monitor and modify images. By default, palettes are stacked
together in groups. These are the palettes that are usually visible: Color, Adjustments and Layers. If
none of the palettes are visible, go to Window in the Menu bar and choose the palettes you need.
Toolbox
Toolbox
Toolbox
Toolbox
Toolbox
Toolbox
Layers
Layers let you organize your work into distinct levels that can be edited and viewed as individual
units.
Every Photoshop document contains at least one layer. Creating multiple layers lets you easily
control how your artwork is printed, displayed, and edited.
 Layers Palette
 Layer Visibility -The eye shows that the selected layer is visible. Click
on or off to see or to hide a layer.
 Layer Locking Options -Click the checkered square icon to lock
Transparency, click the brush icon to lock the Image, click the arrow
icon to lock the Position, and click the lock icon to lock all options.
 Opacity -By typing in a value or dragging the slider, you can specify
the transparency of the entire layer.
 Layer Lock -The icon shows when the layer is locked and disappears
when it is unlocked. Double-click the icon to unlock the layer.
 Layer Mask -Allows you to hide certain parts of the layer, which can
then be revealed by using the paintbrush and the white paint color
to expose portions of the layer.
 Create New Layer -Click this icon to create a new layer.
 Delete Layer -To delete a layer, select a layer in the Layers palette
and drag it to the trash can icon, or select a layer and click the icon.
 Color Modes
A color model describes the colors we see and work with in digital images. Each color model,
such as RGB, CMYK, or HSB, represents a different method (usually numeric) for describing color.
In Photoshop, a document’s color mode determines which color model is used to display and
print the image you’re working on.
Photoshop bases its color modes on the color models that are useful for images used in
publishing.
You can choose from RGB (Red, Green, Blue), CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black), Lab Color
and Grayscale. Photoshop also includes modes for specialized color output such as Indexed Color
and Duotone.
Color modes determine the number of colors, the number of channels, and the file size of an
image.
HOW TO CHANGE THE COLOR MODE: Image > Mode > [Image mode]
Basic Color Modes
1. RGB (3 channels)
2. CMYK (4 channels)
3. Index (256 colors)
4. Grayscale (256 grays)
5. Bitmap (2 colors)
Color Channels
Every Photoshop image has one or more channels, each storing information about
color elements in the image.
The number of default color channels in an image depends on its color mode.
By default, images in Bitmap, Grayscale, Duotone, and Indexed Color mode have one
channel; RGB and Lab images have three; and CMYK images have four.
Color Panel
The Color panel (Window > Color) displays the color values for the current foreground
and background colors.
Using the sliders in the Color panel, you can edit the foreground and background
colors using different color models.
You can also choose a foreground or background color from the spectrum of colors
displayed in the color ramp at the bottom of the panel.
Convert an image to another color mode
You can change an image from its original mode (source mode) to a different
mode (target mode).
When you choose a different color mode for an image, you permanently
change the color values in the image.
For example, when you convert an RGB image to CMYK mode, RGB color values outside the
CMYK gamut (defined by the CMYK working space setting in the Color Settings dialog box) are
adjusted to fall within gamut. As a result, some image data may be lost and can’t be
recovered if you convert the image from CMYK back to RGB.
What affects file size?
File size depends on the pixel dimensions of an image and the number of layers it
contains.
Images with more pixels may produce more detail when printed, but they require
more disk space to store and may be slower to edit and print.
You should keep track of your file sizes to make sure the files are not becoming too
large for your purposes.
If the file is becoming too large, reduce the number of layers in the image or change
the image size.
Selection tools
A selection is an area of a photo that you define. When you create a selection, the area
is editable (for example, you can lighten one part of a photo without affecting the rest).
A selection isolates part of an image so you can work on that area without affecting
the rest of the image.
Adobe Photoshop Elements provides selection tools for different kinds of selections.
For example, the Elliptical Marquee tool selects circular and elliptical areas, and the
Magic Wand tool can select an area of similar colors with one click. More complex
selections can be made with one of the Lasso tools.
Selection tools
Rectangular Marquee tool: Draws square or rectangular selection borders.
Elliptical Marquee tool: Draws round or elliptical selection borders
Lasso tool: Draws freehand selection borders, best for precision.
Magic Wand tool: Selects pixels of similar color with one click.
Quick Selection tool: Quickly and automatically makes selection based on color
and texture when you click or click-drag an area.
Soften the edges of selections
You can smooth the hard edges of a selection by anti-aliasing and by feathering.
Anti-aliasing
Smoothes the jagged edges of a selection by softening the color transition between edge pixels
and background pixels. Because only the edge pixels change, no detail is lost. Anti-aliasing is
useful when cutting, copying, and pasting selections to create composite images.
Anti-aliasing is available for the Lasso tool, the Polygonal Lasso tool, the Magnetic Lasso tool, the
Elliptical Marquee tool, and the Magic Wand tool.
1 Select the Lasso tool, the Polygonal Lasso tool, the Magnetic Lasso tool, the Elliptical Marquee
tool, or the Magic Wand tool.
2 Select Anti-aliased in the options bar.
 Soften the edges of selections
Feathering
Blurs edges by building a transition boundary between the
selection and its surrounding pixels. This blurring can cause
some loss of detail at the edge of the selection.
You can define feathering for the Marquee tools, the Lasso tool,
the Polygonal Lasso tool, or the Magnetic Lasso tool as you use
the tool, or you can add feathering to an existing selection.
Choose Select > Modify > Feather.
Enter a value for the Feather Radius, and click OK.
Choose Select > Inverse
Select Color, then press ALT key with Backspace.
Deselect Marquee(Ctrl+D)
Working with Images
 Resize Images
• Choose Image > Image Size.
• Enter values for Width and Height. To enter values in a different unit of
measurement, choose from the menus next to the Width and Height text boxes.
Working with Images
Duplicate an image
• You can duplicate an entire image (including all layers, layer masks, and channels)
into available memory without saving to disk.
• Open the image you want to duplicate.
• Choose Image > Duplicate.
• Enter a name for the duplicated image.
• Click OK.
Working with Images
View images in multiple windows
The document window is where your images appear. You can open multiple windows to display
different images or different views of the same one. A list of open windows appears in the
Window menu. To bring an open image to the front, choose the file name from the bottom of
the Window menu. Available memory may limit the number of windows per image.
Choose Window > Arrange > New Window For [Image File Name].
If you want to arrange the windows, choose Window > Arrange and then choose one of the
following:
Cascade
Tile
Float in Window
Consolidate all to tabs
Working with Images
Select the image areas in focus
Photoshop lets you easily select the areas/pixels
of an image that are in focus.
Do the following:
1 With the image open in Photoshop, choose
Select > Focus Area. In the Focus Area dialog box,
you can make changes to the default selection.
2 Adjust the In-Focus Range parameter to
broaden or narrow down the selection. If you
move the slider to 0, the entire image gets
selected. However, if you move the slider to the
extreme right, only the parts of the image in
clearest focus remain selected.
Working with Images
Improve shadow and highlight detail
The Shadow/Highlight command does not simply lighten or darken an image; it
lightens or darkens based on the surrounding pixels (local neighborhood) in the
shadows or highlights.
Adjust image shadows and highlights
◦ Choose Image > Adjustments > Shadow/Highlight.
◦ Adjust the amount of lighting correction by moving the Amount slider or entering a value in
the Shadows or Highlights percentage box. Larger values provide either greater lightening of
shadows or greater darkening of highlights. You can adjust both Shadows and Highlights in an
image.
Working with Images
Rotate or flip an entire image
The Image Rotation commands let you rotate or flip an entire image.
Choose Image > Image Rotation, and choose one of the following commands from the
submenu:
180° : Rotates the image by a half-turn.
90° Clockwise : Rotates the image clockwise by a quarter-turn.
90° Counter Clockwise : Rotates the image counterclockwise by a quarter-turn.
Arbitrary : Rotates the image by the angle you specify. If you choose this option, enter an
angle between -359.99 and 359.99 in the angle text box. (In Photoshop, you can select °CW or
°CCW to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise.) Then click OK.
Flip Canvas Horizontal or Vertical : Flips the image along the corresponding axis.
Working with Images
Scale, rotate, skew, distort, apply perspective, or warp
Select what you want to transform.
Choose Edit > Transform > Scale, Rotate, Skew, Distort, Perspective, or Warp.
Convert a color photo to Grayscale mode
Open the photo you want to convert to black-and-white.
Choose Image > Mode > Grayscale.
Click OK. Photoshop converts the colors in the image to black, white, and
shades of gray.
Retouch and Repair photos
Retouch with the Clone Stamp tool
Retouch with the Spot Healing Brush tool
Patch an area
Remove red eye
Reduce image noise and JPEG artifacts
1 Choose Filter > Noise > Reduce Noise.
2 Zoom in on the preview image to get a better view of image noise.
3 Set options:
◦ Strength: Controls the amount of luminance noise reduction applied to all image channels.
◦ Preserve Details: Preserves edges and image details such as hair or texture objects. A value of
100 preserves the most image detail, but reduces luminance noise the least. Balance the
Strength and Preserve Details controls to fine-tune noise reduction.
◦ Reduce Color Noise: Removes random color pixels. A higher value reduces more color noise.
◦ Sharpen Details: Sharpens the image. Removing noise reduces image sharpness. Use the
sharpening control in the dialog box or use one of the other Photoshop sharpening filters
later to restore sharpness.
◦ Remove JPEG Artifacts: Removes blocky image artifacts and halos caused by saving a image
using a low JPEG quality setting.
Blending modes
The blending mode specified in the options bar
controls how pixels in the image are affected by a
painting or editing tool. Think in terms of the
following colors when visualizing a blending mode’s
effect:
The base color is the original color in the image.
The blend color is the color being applied with the
painting or editing tool.
The result color is the color resulting from the blend.
Some of the blending modes in Photoshop are
Normal, Dissolve, Darken, Lighten, Hue, Saturation,
Soft Light, Color, Luminosity, Lighter Color, and
Darker Color
 Blending Modes Examples (with 50% opacity
Original Normal Dissolve

Lighten Overlay Saturation

Change the color of an object or area
Change the color of an object or area
Select part of the image.
Select the Lasso tool.
Click+Drag along the part of the image.
Adjust the color of the selected area
Go to Image> Adjustments> Hue/Saturation. The hue value swaps a range of colors, and the
saturation value increases the intensity of the colors. Adjust Hue and Saturation and click OK.
Working with Layers
Create a new layer or group
Do one of the following:
• To create a new layer or group using default options, click the Create A New Layer
button or New Group button in the Layers panel.
• Choose Layer > New > Layer or choose Layer > New > Group.
• Choose New Layer or New Group from the Layers panel menu.
Show or hide a layer
Do one of the following:
• Click the eye icon next to a layer, group, or layer effect to hide its content in the
document window. Click in the column again to redisplay the content. To view the
eye icon for styles and effects, click the Reveal Effects In panel icon .
• Choose Show Layers or Hide Layers from the Layers menu.
Working with Layers
Group and link layers
Grouping layers helps organize your projects and keeps your Layers panel uncluttered.
By linking layers, you establish a relationship between them, even if they aren't next to
each other in your layer order.
Group and ungroup layers
◦ Select multiple layers in the Layers panel.
◦ Do one of the following:
◦ Choose Layer > Group Layers.
◦ To Ungroup the layers, select the group and choose Layer > Ungroup Layers.
To link layers
o Select the layers or groups in the Layers panel.
o Click the link icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.
 Working with Layers
Mask layers
You can add a mask to a layer and use the mask to hide portions of the layer and reveal the layers below. Masking
layers is a valuable compositing technique for combining multiple photos into a single image or for removing a
person or object from a photo.
Mask hides everything except what you selected.
Add layer masks
When you add a layer mask, you can hide or show all of the layer, or base the mask on a selection or transparency
Merging layers
When you have finalized the content of layers, you can merge them to reduce the size of your image files. When
you merge layers, the data on the top layers replaces any data it overlaps on the lower layers. The intersection of
all transparent areas in the merged layers remains transparent.
Select the layers and groups you want to merge. Choose Layer > Merge Layers.
How to change the background
Select the background you wish to replace.
Select the Quick Selection tool. You can change the brush settings to change the Size and
Hardness of the tool. The Size adjusts the area of the selection, and the Hardness adjusts the
sensitivity of the selection.

Add a mask to hide background

Click the Add Layer Mask Icon in the Layers panel.

Add replacement background

Click the Eye Icon box of the layer to reveal the new background.
How to change the background

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The Smudge Tool
The Smudge tool can be used for smoothing.
You can use it on tiny areas of an image to soften the edges of objects in a way that
often looks more natural than blurring tools.
The Smudge tool can come in handy when retouching images to create a soft, almost
painted look.
Dodge and Burn Tool
The Dodge tool and the Burn tool lighten or darken areas of the image.
These tools are based on a traditional darkroom technique for regulating
exposure on specific areas of a print.
The more you paint over an area with the Dodge or Burn tool, the lighter or
darker it becomes.
Apply the Brightness/Contrast adjustment
The Brightness/Contrast adjustment lets you make simple adjustments to the tonal
range of an image.
Moving the brightness slider to the right increases tonal values and expands image
highlights, to the left decreases values and expands shadows.
The contrast slider expands or shrinks the overall range of tonal values in the image.
Do one of the following:
o Click the Brightness/Contrast icon in the Adjustments panel.
Choose Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast. Click OK in the New Layer dialog
box.
o In the Properties panel, drag the sliders to adjust the brightness and contrast.
Dragging to the left decreases the level, and dragging to the right increases it
Filters
Automated ways to alter the look of an image—for instance, to make it look like a
mosaic, add unique lighting, apply distortions, and so on.
You can use filters to clean up or retouch your photos, apply special art effects that
give your image the appearance of a sketch or impressionistic painting, or create unique
transformations using distortions and lighting effects.
Filters are applied to the active, visible layer or a selection.
Filters cannot be applied to Bitmap-mode or indexed-color images.
Some filters work only on RGB images.
HOW TO APPLY FILTERS
Filter menu
Filter > Filter Gallery
Filters
The following filters support 16-bit/channel and 32-bit/channel documents:
All Blur filters (except for Lens Blur and Smart Blur)
All Distort filters
The Noise > Add Noise filter
All Pixelate filters
All Render filters (except for Lighting Effects)
All Sharpen filters (except for Sharpen Edges)
The following filters under Filter > Stylize:
◦ Diffuse
◦ Emboss
◦ Trace Contour
 Distortion tools
Forward Warp tool: Pushes pixels forward as you drag. Shift-click with the Warp tool, the Push Left tool, or
the Mirror tool to create the effect of dragging in a straight line from the previous point you clicked.
Reconstruct tool : Reverses the distortion you’ve already added, as you hold down the mouse button and
drag.
Twirl Clockwise tool: Rotates pixels clockwise as you hold down the mouse button or drag. To twirl pixels
counterclockwise, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you hold down the mouse button or drag.
Pucker tool: Moves pixels toward the center of the brush area as you hold down the mouse button or drag.
Bloat tool: Moves pixels away from the center of the brush area as you hold down the mouse button or drag.
Push Left tool: Moves pixels to the left when you drag the tool straight up (pixels move to the right if you
drag down). You can also drag clockwise around an object to increase its size, or drag counterclockwise to
decrease its size. To push pixels right when you drag straight up (or to move pixels left when you drag down),
hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you drag.
Distorting an image using Liquify filter
The Liquify filter lets you push, pull, rotate,
reflect, pucker, and bloat any area of an
image.
The distortions you create can be subtle or
drastic, which makes the Liquify command a
powerful tool for retouching images as well as
creating artistic effects.
The Liquify filter can be applied to 8-bits per-
channel or 16-bits per-channel images.
Choose Filter > Liquify. Select Advanced
Mode to access more options.
Smart Objects
Smart Objects are simply layers, like any other Adobe Photoshop CC layer, except they
contain raster and vector image data.
Additionally, they always retain the original data used to represent them, regardless of
how you alter them.
◦ For example, if you shrink a high-definition photo embedded as a Smart Object down to a
thumbnail size, you can enlarge it again later without losing its original quality.
Advantage: The original data and image quality aren't lost when you manipulate Smart
Objects, and they don't have to be rasterized to apply most effects to them.
File formats in Photoshop
Graphics file formats differ in the way they represent image data (as pixels or vectors), and support
different compression techniques and Photoshop features. To preserve all Photoshop features (layers,
effects, masks, and so on), save a copy of your image in Photoshop format (PSD).
Like most file formats, PSD supports files up to 2 GB in size. For files larger than 2 GB, save in Large
Document Format (PSB), Photoshop Raw (flattened image only), TIFF (up to 4 GB), or DICOM format.
The standard bit depth for images is 8 bits per channel. To achieve greater dynamic range with 16- or
32-bit images, use the following formats:
Formats for 16-bit images (requires Save As command)
Photoshop, Large Document Format (PSB), Cineon, DICOM, IFF, JPEG, JPEG 2000, Photoshop PDF,
Photoshop Raw, PNG, Portable Bit Map, and TIFF.
Formats for 32-bit images (requires Save As command)
Photoshop, Large Document Format (PSB), OpenEXR, Portable Bitmap, Radiance, and TIFF.
Photoshop format (PSD)
Photoshop format (PSD) is the default file format and the only format, besides the
Large Document Format (PSB), that supports all Photoshop features.
Because of the tight integration between Adobe products, other Adobe applications,
such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects, and
Adobe GoLive, can directly import PSD files and preserve many Photoshop features.