Photoshop Elements SIG 11-19-08

Creating something different

1. Open an image
2. With image open > Change Background to a Layer
3. Rectangle Marquee select a rather small area in the center
4. Copy selection to a new layer using Control+J
5. Double click the new layer and change the name to top and
6. Change Blending Mode to multiply to be able to see it.
7. Make 3 more selections on the layer “0”, the bottom, each one a little larger and
8. Copy each to a layer using Control+J
9. Name the layers from top under the Top layer, Green, Gold. & Brown
10. Make Drop shadow for each starting from top by first
11. Creating a new layer under the Top layer by pressing the Ctrl key and
12. Clicking on the New Layer Icon then
13. Ctrl+click the Top layer to add the selection of the top layer and on the
14. New blank layer fill with black using the Paint Bucket tool, make sure the default colors are selected
15. Deselect and blur using Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Adjust the amount to suit.
16. Do the above on the Green, Gold and Brown layers
17. On the Top Layer press the Alt key and Click and hold the Adjustment Layer Icon at the top of the Layers palette.
18. Select the Hue/Sat Adjustment layer and click in Group with Previous box
19. Adjust Saturation -80%
20. Brightness 10
21. Paint with black on the Hue/Saturation Mask in the center to reveal some full color
22. Ctrl click the top layer to create a selection and then
23. Edit > Stroke the Selection with white
24. 5 px inside for the top layer
25. Do the same on the bottom layer with a 10 PX white stroke
26. On the Green, Gold. & Brown layers add an Adjustment layer as you did on the Top Layer, Alt + Click on Hue/Sat and Group with Previous checked.
27. Instead of adjusting the Hue, click on colorize and then adjust the color for
28. Green, Gold. & Brown respectively on each layer.
29. Select the bottom layer and
30. Ctrl+click on the New layer icon to add a New layer under bottom layer
31. Image > Resize > Canvas - Increase the Canvas by 1” Width and Height check Relative.
32. On the new layer on bottom add a Foreground to Background Gradient with the Foreground color – 4a3300 and the Background color – b40000
33. On the top layer choose the Burn tool with a brush size about ½ the size of the top layer.
34. 50% Exposure and Midtones
35. Drag along the top and sides to darken
36. Rotate the middle layers Using Free Transform (Ctrl+T) and click and drag outside of a corner.
37. You can use the Text tool to add your name on the bottom.
    

Photoshop SIG 11-10-08 - Photoshop CS4

OpenGL 2.0

For Photoshop to access the GPU, the display card must contain a display driver that supports OpenGL 2.0 and Shader Model 3.0 and has enough Graphics RAM to support Photoshop functions, at least 128 MB (256 MB is recommended).

Information on the GPU accelerated features and on Adobe tested and supported graphics cards can be found at http://tinyurl.com/6rdxql.

The Accelerated Features can be turned on or off in the Preferences > Performance.

New Tabbed image window - To move a selection from one image tab to another, make the selection in one image and Ctrl + Drag to the other image until it opens and then drag the selection down into the image.

Photoshop CS4 Features and Shortcuts

Hide Panels - Shift + Tab

Change the Brush Size by pressing the Alt key and right click and drag to change the size. There will be a visual appearance in red of the brush. The color is set in the Preferences > Cursor. To change the Hardness press Shift +Alt and drag.

Spring Loaded Tools - with a tool selected press and hold the shortcut tool for the 2nd tool. This tool will be active as long as the key is held. You will return to the selected tool when you release the shortcut.

Zoom - For continuous zooming, choose the Zoom tool - shortcut Z and click and hold. Release the mouse when you reach the desired zoom level. Press the H and click again to fit in the screen and get a navigation square that can be moved in image to a different point in the image.

Content Aware Scaling - Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C - Must be on a layer. Double click background to change the background to a layer.

Select an area that you want to protect and save as a channel. In the Options pick the Alpha channel in the Protect box to protect the selected area or the People Icon to order to protect skintones.

Bridge in CS4 - Change thumbnail size - press Ctrl and use the mouse scroll wheel.

New Tool - To increase the tonal range of an image take two photos of the scend, one exposed for the highlights and the other for the shadows. Use the same f-stop and change the shutter speed to do this. In Bridge select the two images and choose Tools > Photoshop > Load Files into Photoshop Layers. On the top image add a Layer Mask and blend the two images together.

Increase Depth of Field - Take multiple images with different focus points and in Bridge select these and then choose Tools > Photoshop > Load Files into Photoshop Layers. In Photoshop select all layers using the shift key and in the Edit menu > Choose Auto Align Layers > Auto. Next choose Auto Blend Layers > Stack Images and make sure Seamless Tones and Colors is checked.

In Bridge to get a Full Screen Preview - Press the Space Bar

Stack like Images - Ctrl + G. To open the stack, click on the number in the upper thumbnail corner.

Adjustment Panels - Add a new Adjustment layer by clicking the left arrow in the lower part of the panel.

For Targeted adjustments click the icon at the top of those on the left that looks like a hand. Drag in the image. This is available in the Curves Adjustment where dragging up lightens and down darkens; in the Hue/Saturation where dragging to the right increases saturation and to the left decreases saturation. Ctrl dragging changes the Hue; in the Black and White panel, clicking in the image and dragging to the right lightens this tone and to the left darkens this tone in the image.

Clone and Healing brush live previews - To get a live preview of what you are cloning or healing make sure Show Overlay is checked in the Clone Source Panel. This should be checked by default.

For excellent tutorials on Photoshop CS4 go to http://www.lynda.com/cs4u/ All of the tutorials on this site can be accessed for a fee of $25 per month. I received a free month when I purchased the upgrade from Adobe.