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How to Use Photoshop
Give Your Photos a Professional Finish With These Cool Adobe Photoshop Tricks!
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Learning how to use Photoshop has become an integral part of being a digital photographer. It's where you get to turn good photos into brilliant ones!
So I want to let you in on some of the Adobe Photoshop tricks that people use to lift their photos from 'almost there' to 'perfect'!
It's worth remembering that great photos are made in the camera, with correct exposure, originality and opportunism. But getting to grips with a few Photoshop essentials will help you close that gap between your shots and the pros'.
The aim of these tutorials is to get you clued up on the basics of Photoshop, so you can start to use it effectively. Also look out for some cool special effects to try out when you're feeling creative! (There's also a Lightroom series for thos of you who prefer this software).
Watch these Photoshop video lessons! If you enjoy learning through videos instead of written tutorials, these Photoshop lessons will be perfect for you. |
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Introducing the Layers System
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Photoshop can be a disorientating place to begin with! Everything works on a system called 'layers'. It's an incredibly clever and simple way of editing photos.
You'll be taking it for granted before long! But first let's make sure you understand what it's all about and how it works.
Introducing Photoshop Elements layers
It doesn't matter if you have the full version of Photoshop, this guide will make it clear to everyone how the layers sytem works.
Creating a layer mask in Photoshop Elements
Layer masks are so handy! They're a doddle to use in the full version of Photoshop, but you'll need this little trick to use them in Elements.
Some Photoshop Essentials
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Even the most basic Photoshop processes can be done horribly wrong! So don't get into bad habits and check out these step-by-step guides on how to use Photoshop for simple editing jobs. Once you've nailed the basics everything else will be easier.
No one likes an oversharpened photo! All those specks and colour halos around edges. Yuk! Let's make your photos crisp and clear with good sharpening techniques.
A guide to sharpening specific areas
Here's a tutorial on several Photoshop tricks for sharpening only certian parts of a photo. You'll use these a lot!
Adobe Photoshop tricks for making selections
Here are some Photoshop tips and tricks for making accurate selections. Most of the adjustments we make rely on good selections.
Deleting unwanted objects with the Photoshop clone stamp tool
How to use Photoshop to get rid of all intruders - large and small. Say goodbye to dust specks and telephone wires!
Converting Raw file format images in Photoshop
Started shooting in Raw yet? If not, read this introductory guide first, then check out the article above.
Create the best personalized Where I go, and why, when it comes to printing special personalized gift cards. |
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Popular Photoshop Tricks
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Got the basics sorted? Great! Now let's check out some popular Photoshop tips and tricks that you can try out on your photos.
These are handy processes that you'll use time and again when editing your images.
How to use Adobe Photoshop to improve portrait pictures
Here's how to use Photoshop to create professional looking portrait photos in just 5 simple steps.
Adobe Photoshop tutorial for blending multiple exposures
This Photoshop trick will change your photography forever! Get the perfect exposure in every part of an image - no compromises!
Cool Special Effects
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Photoshop doesn't just enable us to improve the quality of our photos, we can give them an entire creative makeover too!
So now let's have a look at some of my favourite little Photoshop tips and tricks for producing special effects.
Selective coloring Photoshop trick
You might have heard this called 'colour-popping'! It's a great way to add impact to colours in a photo. Here's a look at the different ways it can be used.
Cool photo effects: pop-art mosaics
I've made some really striking images with this Photoshop trick. Try out different photos to find the ones that it works best with.
How to use Photoshop to incorporate interesting textures into your images. One of my faves! You'll use this loads.
Free downloadable book, Getting Started With Photoshop, for all subscribers. |
Resizing Photos
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Not the most exciting topic, but important to get right! We'll look at how to use Photoshop to resize photos for storing, printing and displaying. How does resolution relate to image size? How can you work out the maximum print size for an image? How can you resize a batch of photos?
A simple guide to the do's and don't's of resizing your photos in Photoshop.
How to resize digital photos in a batch
The monotony of resizing large groups of pictures 1-by-1 is just too painful to not find a better solution. Here it is!
Quotable Quote: Oh, yes, I was a great retoucher. A retoucher is an aesthetic surgeon ! Man Ray |
Lightroom User?
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Lightroom is a wonderful alternative to Photoshop. Also made by Adobe, one of it's trump cards is to the ability to automate the organization of different groups of your photos.It has a clean, simple interface, which allows you to progress quickly from importing to editing to printing.
Pro landscape photographer and Lightroom whizz, David Fleet, talks you through his Lightroom workflow step-by-step.
Photoshop Books and Courses
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Once you're bitten by the Photoshop bug there's no turning back! So where to get the fix? Where to keep learning how to use Photoshop to create professional, exciting images? Well I want to share my own personal favourites here. Check out my reviews of these books and courses and decide whether they're for you.
The best Photoshop tutorials on the web
A much as I've learnt from my trusty Photoshop books, I have to say that my favourite way of discovering new Photoshop tricks is through video tutorials. Access these superb video lessons now!
I love both of these books. Scott Kelby's guide to Elements, in particular, is easy to read and always gets the points across quickly.
An honourable mention...
I've been a subscriber to Digital Photo magazine for ages now, and each edition comes with outstanding Photoshop video tutorials on a CD - Bargain!
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Have Your Say and Share Your Photos
Share your photos and show us your best Photoshop handiwork! Explain how to use Photoshop to achieve the great results in your picture(s).
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