Book Image

Mastering Adobe Photoshop Elements 2020 - Second Edition

By : Robin Nichols
Book Image

Mastering Adobe Photoshop Elements 2020 - Second Edition

By: Robin Nichols

Overview of this book

Adobe Photoshop Elements is a raster graphics editor for entry-level photographers, image editors, and hobbyists. Updated and improved to cover the latest features of Photoshop Elements 2020, this second edition includes focused coverage of Adobe's new AI-powered features that are designed to make the editing process more efficient, creative and fun. This book takes you through the complexities of image editing in easy-to-follow, bite-sized chunks, helping you to quickly recognize the editing challenge at hand and use suitable tools and techniques to overcome it. You’ll start by learning how to import, organize, manage, edit, and use your pictures in a format that’s designed for creative photography projects. Throughout this Adobe Photoshop Elements book, you'll discover how to fix different photographic problems using an extensive repertoire of commonly applied solutions. Common processes such as applying artistic effects to creative projects, custom image makeovers, processing images for social media, and other file export methods will also be covered. By the end of this book, you’ll have learned about the impressive tools available in Photoshop Elements 2020, and how it is designed not only for photographers who’d like to dip their toes into the editing world, but also for those wanting simple but effective ideas on how to expand their creativity while remaining time-efficient.

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Mastering Adobe Photoshop Elements 2020 - Second Edition
Robin Nichols
Apr, 2020 | 544 pages
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Table of Contents (13 chapters)
Preface
Preface
Who this book is for
What this book covers
To get the most out of this book
Conventions used
Get in touch
Reviews
1
Chapter 1: Photoshop Elements Features Overview
Chapter 1: Photoshop Elements Features Overview
What's new in Elements 2020?
The Home screen
The Organizer
The edit modes
The Guided edit mode
The Expert edit mode
The Create and Share menus
Working with video and Premiere Elements
Working with panels and the Panel Bin
Summary
Free Chapter
2
Chapter 2: Setting Up Photoshop Elements from Scratch
Chapter 2: Setting Up Photoshop Elements from Scratch
Color spaces
File formats – JPEG and RAW
Setting up a photo-editing computer
Media backup
Reviewing the media
Organizing your work
Backing up your media and the Catalog
Managing Catalogs
Working with plugins
Additional resources – keyboard shortcuts and working tips
Screen calibration
Summary
3
Chapter 3: The Basics of Image Editing
Chapter 3: The Basics of Image Editing
The editing workflow and best practices
Ten ways to open a photo for editing
Editing RAW files
Understanding picture resolution
Cropping for better composition
Instant photo-fixing in Organizer
Using autocorrection tools
Mastering contrast, color, sharpness, and clarity
Adjusting color using Hue/Saturation
Creating high-impact black and white images
Perfecting skin tone color
Skin smoothing
Simple retouching – spot removal
Modifying facial expressions
Eyes wide shut
Additional resources
Summary
4
Chapter 4: Image Makeover
Chapter 4: Image Makeover
Basic edit workflow
Creative edit workflow
Makeover example one
Makeover example two
Makeover example three
Makeover example four
Makeover example five
Makeover example six
Summary
5
Chapter 5: Easy Creative Projects
Chapter 5: Easy Creative Projects
Finding inspiration on the Home Page
Adding artistic effects
Exploit the easy stuff
Colorize – AI-driven creativity
Creating widescreen panoramas
Panoramas the easy way
Advanced panorama techniques
Making a jigsaw panorama
Using Photomerge Scene Cleaner
Making a simple slideshow
Creating custom Photo Calendars
Creating custom greeting cards
Making a custom Facebook page
Keyboard shortcuts
Summary
6
Chapter 6: Advanced Techniques – Layers and Masking
Chapter 6: Advanced Techniques – Layers and Masking
Introduction to layers
Adjustment Layers
Adjustment Layer masking
Pseudo layer masks
Combining pictures – posters and flyers
Correcting perspective with Transformations
Correcting skewed perspectives
Keyboard shortcuts
Summary
7
Chapter 7: Advanced Techniques: Retouching, Selections, and Text
Chapter 7: Advanced Techniques: Retouching, Selections, and Text
Beauty retouching
The Burn, Dodge, and Sponge tools
The selection tools
Removing large objects
Working with graphic elements
Custom Shape tool
Adding text to images
Keyboard shortcuts
Summary
8
Chapter 8: Advanced Drawing and Painting Techniques
Chapter 8: Advanced Drawing and Painting Techniques
Illustration – drawing and painting techniques
The View menu
Using a graphics tablet
Using brushes
Drawing a sphere from scratch
Impressionist Brush
Color Replacement tool
Working with Brushes
Adobe vectors
Effects filters
Keyboard shortcuts
Summary
9
Chapter 9: Exporting the Finished Work
Chapter 9: Exporting the Finished Work
Resolution revisited
Online – web and blogging
Print resolution
Save for Web
Sharpening
The Haze Removal tool
Export as New Files
Keyboard shortcuts
Summary
10
Chapter 10: Best Practices
Chapter 10: Best Practices
Finding lost or disconnected files
Using the Find menu
Adjusting dates for different time zones
Reinstating your catalog
Resolution problems – resampling or adding more pixels
Dealing with gross overexposure or underexposure
Fixing blurred images
People and face-swapping
Content-Aware Move tool
Recompose tool
Using the Help menu
Summary
11
Chapter 11: Feature Appendix
Chapter 11: Feature Appendix
Home Screen
Organizer – Import (button)
Panels overview
Create Menu (Organizer and Editor)
Share Menu (Organizer and Editor)
12
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Screen calibration

Another important technique for ensuring that what you see onscreen is accurate is to calibrate your monitor with a hardware calibration device.

These third-party sensors plug into the USB outlet on the computer and hang over the screen. Run the associated software and the sensor will determine whether the RGB colors displayed onscreen really are 100% red, green, blue, white, grey, and black. If the screen is different to the known value for these colors, the software adjusts the brightness and color to make it display correctly. This is a far more accurate method of color management than using the human eye to gauge the settings. As a general rule, screens need calibrating every 6 months or so, especially if they are used a lot:

Calibration is done by attaching a USB-powered hardware calibrator to the laptop or desktop screen, as shown in the preceding image, with the ColorVision Spyder 5. This process needs to be done probably once every 6 months or so, just to ensure that what you see onscreen is a realistic representation of the original image.

Organizer keyboard shortcuts

I always provide my students with a list of 10-20 keyboard shortcuts. I can usually see that most are not happy with having yet more stuff to remember. But if you limit yourself to using some of these, instead of relying on the mouse all the time, you'll not only reduce the risk of RSI, but you'll find many repetitive tasks so much safer and faster to execute. Two hands are always better than one:

Here are some Windows/Mac keyboard shortcuts for specific operations:

  • Undo last operation: Ctrl/Cmd + Z
  • Redo last operation: Ctrl/Cmd + Y
  • Copy: Ctrl/Cmd + C
  • Paste: Ctrl/Cmd + P
  • Select all: Ctrl/Cmd + A
  • Deselect: Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + D
  • Rotate image 90 degrees left: Ctrl/Cmd + Left arrow
  • Rotate image 90 degrees right: Ctrl/Cmd + Right Arrow
  • Adjust date and time: Ctrl/Cmd + J
  • Edit in Expert Edit Mode: Ctrl/Cmd + I
  • Edit in Premiere Elements Editor: Ctrl/Cmd + M
  • Zoom in: Ctrl/Cmd + '+'
  • Zoom out: Ctrl/Cmd + '-'
  • OK: Enter
  • Cancel: Esc
  • Display metadata properties: Alt + Enter
  • Add caption: Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + T
  • Update thumbnails: Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + U
  • Set photo as desktop wallpaper: Ctrl + Shift + W (Windows only)
  • Open Color Settings dialog box: Ctrl/Cmd + Alt + G
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