Evaluate Your Channels

Layers is a very interesting and useful tool in Photoshop, but slightly complicated.

Press F7, you can see the Layer window appears on your screen. Let’s try something. Open a picture, select Channel from the Layer window, which is next to the Layers. Now, you can see the same picture appear in an RGB channel, red channel, green channel, and blue channel. In RGB channel, the picture still with full color, but it changes black and white in different range in other channels. These images will be useful when we want to have some special effects.

Windows In Photoshop

As a beginner user of Photoshop, sometimes, I feel lost that I don’t know where can I find the toolbox or tool window. It’s not funny. Because there are too many function in the Photoshop. You just cannot remember that which is the right button to click even you already practice last time. Please don’t laugh at me that there were some time I spent more than 20 minutes to figure out where to find the useful tools.

Now, I found an easy guide to find out the tools. Click on the Window which on the top row, then to select the tool window you wanted.

There are many useful shortcuts:

Action Alt+F9

Brush F5

Color F6

Info F8

Layers F7

Want to have more ideas of the tools? Try each button yourself.

Over- and Underexposure (Part 4)

If you are using Photoshop CSII, then you will have a very power tool to correct the over- and underexposure matters.

Press on Image>Adjustment>Exposure. Simply drag the exposure sliders to adjust the photo’s exposure. Try each button -- Exposure, Offset, and Gamma, which can make very different styles and effects.

Further, you also can choose to use the Set White Point eyedropper and click somewhere on the photo that would highlight the details. Yap, either way will give you more excited photos. It is just a piece of cake!

Over- and Underexposure (Part 3)

Hi, here is one more method can help to adjust the over- and underexposure problems – Curves.

Press Image>Adjustment>Curves (Ctrl+M). The bright part of the picture is defined along the top half of the diagonal line. You can try to click in different parts of the curves line to know the different effects. Thus, you can adjust you photo more gently.

However, I have to admit that it not so easy to master this tool without a lot of practices and experience. Let’s work together and share with each other.

Over- and underexposure (Part 2)

Today, I learnt another method to change the brightness of the picture, which is commonly used by the most Photoshop professionals. It provides more control of the tonal level with sliders to adjust the black, gray (in other term is gamma), and white.

Now, let’s try it together. Open a photo, and then click on Image>Adjustment>Level (Ctrl+L for level). You can see a big palette box. By drag white or black sliders, you can adjust the brightness of the photo. The gray slider in between white and black can help to adjust the gamma point. Using this slider can make fine adjustment to the brightness without dramatically affecting the extreme bright or dark area. Then the light of the picture will be more gentle and fine. Try yourself.

However, we may feel difficulties on adjust certain photos. Did you notice the AUTO button in the palette? Just one press, the Photoshop will let it done!

Over- and underexposure (Part 1)

Over- and underexposure is a very common problem that we encounter in photographing.
This may due to the weather, camera function, personal skills and other reasons.
However, we can quickly solve this problem while using the Photoshop!

Today, I’d like to show you the easiest way to solve the over- and underexposure.

First, open the photo that you need to adjust in Photoshop. Look at the top row, click on Image>Adjustments>Brightness/Contracts. The small toolbox will be appeared on your screen, just adjust the Brightness & Contract by drag the slider to left (darker) or to right (brighter).

But, there is something that needs your more attention. When you increase the brightness of the photo, contract will start decrease. So for the best result, you need to increase the brightness and contract at the same time in different degree depending on your judgment.

Look at my cat’s photo on top, the second piece definitely shows more of his charms.

Practice make thing perfect! Try it and learn from your experience.

Details of Selection Tool

Today, I discovered many way to using selection tools.

• The Marquee Tool

You can drag to draw a selection border around the image that you needed by using Elliptical Marquee tool. If you intend to reposition the selection border while you're drawing it, just hold the spacebar and drag the selection border into a new position. When you want to move the selection border after it's created, click anywhere inside the border and drag.

• The Lasso Tool

The Magnetic Lasso tool makes free-form selections even easier. It works best when you have a clearly defined edge, such like clock. This tool places anchors while you drag. At first time, you may feel difficulty to control it. After trying, I learnt that can remove anchors while dragging by pressing the Delete key, and to click the starting anchor point (or double-click) to finish the selection border. If you’ like to move the selected image that can be done by the Move tool (the one located on the right side of the Marquee Tool).

• The Magic Wand

We can select well-defined shape image from the photo, and change the background. First, I’ll select the image using the Magic Wand tool, and then click anywhere in the background. The background is surrounded by a marquee and is now editable. Now you can try to design the better background without touch the whole image.

On another hand, we also can redesign the image but not the background. Take the New Selection by the Magic tool, next click Select and choose Inverse. Then you'll see the selection border change to only the image inside of the photo. Following, we could make any designs without disturbing the background of the image.

Isn’t it interesting? I love photoshop!

Photoshop Basic Tools

Indeed, I feel it is really not easy to learn Photoshop by myself. That’s why today I’ll practice some basic tools of Photoshop.

1. The Marquee Tools

Look at the tool bar on the left side of the screen, it is the first logo that shaped as a rectangular. Right click, you can see Rectangular/ Elliptical/ Single Row/ Single Column Marquee tool.

2. The Lasso Tool

It is the 2^nd logo under the Marquee tool. Right click, you can see Lasso/ Polygonal Lasso/ Magnetic Lasso tool.

3. The Magic Wand

It is on the right side of the Lasso tool, which includes New Selection, Add to Selection, Subtract from Selection, and Intersect with Selection.

4. Color Range

Click Select on the top tool bar, and then choose Color Range. By using this magic tool, you can simply change the color in any part of your image, increase or decrease the range of color. Easy and fast!

5. Layer Mask

It is a very useful and interesting tool. You can find it from Layer that on the top row. After open a picture, then apply a new layer. You can choose the shape of the layer by using the Marquee and Lasso tool (square, circle, or irregular shapes). Further, you also can change the color of the layer, and add special effect and text on the new picture.

How to master these tools? Practice and practice! The picture of candle is my first work by using layer. Hope you enjoy the process of learning!

Say Goodbye to Red Eye

Red eye is a very common concern in photographing. How to get rid of red eye? Let’ s do it step by step.

First, look at your Adobe Photoshop tool bar on the left hand side of the screen. There is a small sign like a plaster, which called Healing Brush tool (J). Right click on this button, you can see three functions come out. One of it is an eye and a pen—Color Replacement Tool. Yah, this is the one needed when you want to correct the red eye.

After choose this button, make sure you use the right color. In fact, black is the most common used color to correct red eye. Then estimate the diameter of the eye that can be changed from the top of the screen—Brush from 0-2500px. Now, one more thing need to be select is Sampling that at right site of the Brush button. Generally, we often choose “once”.

Finally, you can open the photo that you want to change from File button on the top left hand side. Just be gentle, slowly change the red eye to a normal color. That’s it! Don’t forget to save the photo you have been adjusted. Try it today!

Hi, everyone! Here, I am going to make a Blog of my learning dairy of Photoshop. Since 1 year ago, I am very interested to learn Photoshop. However, because of many reasons I cannot make the time, mainly due to lazy that I have to say.

Today, I read some basics of Photoshop. First of all, it’s all about workstation. In early years, professional uses hellish Chromacom system, which is terribly expensive costing in excess of a million dollars. Following the time, technologies, machines and systems are keep on changing. Today, profession has many choices of hardware and software. But, to us—beginner learners, we can simply install Photoshop software to implement all function.

Basically, we need a high-speed computer, that I prefer a 56k modem. You also need to invest a grapy card. To be honestly with you, I haven’t noticed a huge difference between G4 computer and a top-of-the-line G5. Besides, we need a monitor and printer. Now, I don’t think these are too important to me. Further, if you have a DVD/CD burner and FTP software for transferring files is very convenience to send you work to anyone in the world.

Anyway, I have to say that to master anything is not easy at all. Let’s work hard together for our dreams. Enthusiasm is an unstopping force and essential ingredients for starting a hobby or even a business successfully.

Yah, I love Photoshop. Please come and share your experience or question of using Photoshop!