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How to Use Photoshop to Make Your Photos Look Great

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Technology  |  Web Design  |  Software  |  Photography  |  How Tos

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  • Introduction

    • Photoshop's popularity among professional designers makes it an industry standard. But this doesn't mean that Photoshop has no meaning for amateur photographers as well! Even if you're not breaking new ground in the world of graphic design and just want to make your personal photo collection look better, Photoshop can be a powerful tool.

  • Before You Edit Your Photos

    • Before you start editing photos, you'll need to learn the basics. Familiarize yourself with the Photoshop interface and how to get your photos into the program.

  • Photoshop Interface

    • If you're unfamiliar with Photoshop, now is the time to get the lay of the land.
    1. Menu Bar: This is located at the top of your screen. It has no graphical buttons, just the words File, Edit, Image, Layer, Select, Filter, View, Window, and Help. In this guide, we'll only use the first four.
    2. Toolbox or Toolbar: This is a palette that usually appears on the left side of the screen, but can be dragged to any location. It contains various tools, including brushes, zoom, marquee select, and the foreground and background color pickers.
    3. Layer Palette: This window can usually be found in the lower right hand corner of the screen. It contains the layers in your image. Layers are like cellophane sheets on top of one another, and the Background Layer is like a sheet of opaque paper underneath them. It's ok if this concept isn't 100% clear yet, all we need to know for now is where to find the layer palette.

  • Opening Photos With Photoshop

    • Now that you're getting comfortable with what's on the screen, it's time to learn how to get your photo in there so you can start editing!
    1. If your photos are in digital format already (i.e. taken with a digital camera), consult the camera's documentation to learn how to transfer them to your computer.
    2. If you have photo prints, you can still edit them with Photoshop! Use a scanner to move the photos onto your desktop.
    3. Once the photos are on your computer, group them in a folder. To make it easy, call the folder something simple like "Original Photos."
    4. Then copy the folder's contents into a new folder. You may want to call this "Edited Photos."
      • Making this duplicate set of photos to work with means that if you make a mistake at any point in the editing process, you'll always have an original copy of your photo to go back to.
    5. Now start Photoshop by double-clicking on the program.
    6. Go to the File menu and select that you want to open an image.
    7. Navigate to your "Edited Photos" folder (or to whatever you called it) and choose a photo.
    • Now you're ready to begin!

  • Adjust Levels in Your Photos

    • It's always a good idea to check a photo's levels before you do any other editing. When photos are backlit, lit poorly, or overexposed, the colors may not look quite right. Sometimes this is very obvious, but other times it's hard to tell, so always check your photo's levels. This will help you make the colors in your photos look their best.
    1. With your image open in Photoshop, find and click Edit in the menu bar.
    2. Point to Adjustments > in the drop-down menu and leave the cursor there for a second.
    3. In the menu that pops up (usually to the right), click on Auto Levels.
    4. Save your work by hitting Apple + S in Mac OS X or CTRL + S in Windows.
      • Alternatively, you can press Shift + Apple + L on a Mac or CTRL + L on a PC to use the Auto Levels function.
    5. You should notice a change in the appearance of your photo. If you don't see a noticeable difference, it's okay. It just means your photo looked good right from the start.

  • Reduce Red Eye in Your Photos

    • We all know the bane of red eye in photos. This culprit has ruined more photos than goofy grimaces, poorly timed blinks, and crying babies combined. Getting rid of red eye is easy with these instructions.
    1. With your image open in Photoshop, make sure your Layers Palette is visible.
      • Usually the Layers Palette is visible by default in the lower right hand corner when you open Photoshop.
      • Check Before You Edit Your Photos' Figure 1 to see a screenshot of Photoshop, with the Layers Palette clearly indicated.
    2. If you do not see the window, just click Windows in the menu bar, scroll to Layers, and make sure Layers has a check mark next to it. If it doesn't, click it once and the Layers palette will appear.
    3. In the Layers palette, go to the adjustment layer button.
      • This button is at the bottom of the window. It contains a half-black, half-white circle and displays a yellow box that says "Create new fill or adjustment layer" when you move your mouse over it.
    4. Click the adjustment layer button.
    5. Select Channel Mixer from the menu that comes up.
    6. A box called Channel Mixer will open. Set the Red slider to 0%, and the Blue and Green sliders to 50%. Click OK.
      • Now the people in the photos look like bluish-gray-skinned ghouls. Don't worry, they're supposed to! They'll soon look like their regular selves again.
    7. At the bottom of the toolbar (the long thin palette on the left), set the foreground color to black.
    8. In the toolbar, select the brush tool.
    9. If the red eyes are hard to see on your monitor because they're too small, go to the toolbar and select the zoom tool.
    10. Zoom in on the eyes in the photo by clicking on them.
      • Select the brush tool again when you're done.
    11. Go back to the Layers palette. There should be a Background layer and a layer called Channel Mixer 1. Make sure the layer Channel Mixer 1 is selected by clicking it once.
    12. Paint the parts of the eyes that looked red before item #4. They should turn red again.
    13. In the menu bar click on Image. Move your mouse over Adjustments in the drop down menu just like last time. Click Invert in the menu that comes up on the right. We fixed the red eye!
    14. Save your work by hitting Apple + S in Mac OS X or CTRL + S in Windows.
    • If you see a red ring around the newly-fixed eyes, we can fix that too.
    1. First make sure the Channel Mixer 1 layer is selected (click it once).
    2. In the main toolbar, make sure the foreground color is set to white.
      • You will have to change it, since it was set to black a second ago.
    3. Select the paintbrush tool from the toolbar, and carefully paint the red ring. You should see it change to the correct eye color as you paint.
    4. In the menu bar click Layer. Click on Flatten Image at the bottom of the menu.
    5. Save your work by hitting Apple + S in Mac OS X or CTRL + S in Windows.

  • Crop Your Photos

    • Sometimes you frame a photo perfectly. Other times you have a photo that would be perfect, if it weren't for that strange event happening in the lower right corner. Here are two easy ways for beginners to keep the good portion of a photo and cut out the rest:

  • Crop with the Crop Tool

    • Using the Crop Tool is an easy way to delete a portion of your photo.
    1. In the toolbar, choose the crop tool. It should be the fifth button from the top.
    2. Now click and drag the mouse across the area of the image that you want to keep.
      • A dashed rectangular border with small boxes in the corners and the middle of the sides should appear. The inside of the box will stay the same, and whatever is outside will turn a little darker.
    3. Click and drag any of the little boxes to change the area that the dashed border encompasses. The area inside is the part you will be keeping, and the area outside is going to be cut off.
    4. When you're satisfied with the area, either double-click inside of it or press Enter.

  • Crop With the Marquee Tool

    • Using the Marquee Tool is a little more complex, but it also gives you great precision results when you want to crop photos.
    1. In the toolbar, choose the selection tool. It should be the second button from the top.
    2. Make sure the selection tool has a rectangle made out of dashed lines.
      • If it has an ellipse or vertical or horizontal line, or anything that isn't the rectangle, click the selection tool button and keep your mouse button down. After about a second, a small menu of options will appear. Select the one with the rectangle that says "Rectangular Marquee Tool."
    3. Now click and drag the mouse across the area of the image that you want to keep. A moving dashed line will appear around the area you selected.
    4. If you try it and are not happy with the area you selected, press Apple + D in Mac OS X or CTRL + D in Windows. This will make your selection border disappear. Click and drag again around the area you'd like to keep.
    5. Once you're happy with the area you've selected, you're ready to crop the photo. In the menu bar click on Image. In the drop-down menu, click Crop.

  • Resize Your Photos

    • Is your image as big as a house? As small as a thimble? Do you want to change its size without losing a piece of it? No problem! Photoshop can easily resize your photos in one of two ways:
    1. Resize by pixels or percentages.
      • Recommended if you want to display your photos on the Internet.
    2. Resize by inches or other measurements.
      • Recommended if you want to print a hard copy of your photos.

  • Resizing by Pixels or Percentages

    • This is your best option if you intend to use your photos strictly on the computer or on the internet.
    1. In the menu bar, click on View, then find and click on Actual Pixels.
      • If your image is very large, some of it won't show on the monitor. That's fine for now, so don't worry about it.
    2. In the top menu, click on Image.
    3. In the drop-down menu, find and click on Image Size. A window will come up.
    4. Make sure that the Constrain Proportions checkbox at the bottom of the window is checked. This way you can make adjustments and keep the picture in proportion.
    5. In the window, the top section specifies the dimensions of your image. You can edit in either Pixels (the number of dots that make up your image on the screen) or Percent. For now, change the box to read Percent.
    6. The number in both the width and height boxes should now be 100. You can now change the number to adjust your image's size. If you want your image to be twice as big as it is now, enter 200. If you want it to be half the size, enter 50. If you want it to be a quarter of the current size, enter 25.
      • This is only if you set the Percent option. If you used the Pixels option, set either the height or the width to the exact number of pixels you'd like.
    7. Click OK when you're finished to see the resized image.
      • If you made your image too large or too small (especially too small), DO NOT simply repeat the process to change the size back. Instead, click on Edit in the menu bar and then click Undo on the drop-down menu. Your image will be restored to its original size. Start again at item #3.

  • Resizing by Inches (or Other Units)

    • Use this option if you'd like to make sure your photo fits into a 4x6 inch frame. Of course, if you're just more comfortable working with measurements like this, you're welcome to use this method no matter what you're resizing your photos for!
    1. In the top menu, click on Image.
    2. In the drop-down menu, find and click on Image Size. A window will come up.
      • We're going to work in the Document Size section in the Image Size window.
    3. Notice the bottom line that says Resolution.
      • This number (often called dpi or dots per inch) represents how many tiny dots of ink or toner your printer will write into an inch of paper. By default it should be set to 72.
    4. Change the number to at least 200; anything less will result in a printed image that doesn't look very good.
      • Bear in mind that most personal printers are not capable of a very high dpi, so it's a good idea not to exceed 300 dpi.
    5. Now in the Document Size section, look at the height and width. By default they are set to be measured by inches, but you can change these to centimeters, milimeters, picas, or other units of measure. Pick the one you feel most comfortable with.
    6. Set the width and height to whatever size you want printed. If you want a wallet-sized photo, for example, set them to 2" by 3". If you want a large 8" by 10", set the height to 10 inches.
    7. When you're satisfied with the dimensions you've chosen, click OK. Your image will change size.
      • Again, if you made your image too large or too small (especially too small), DO NOT simply repeat the process to change the size back. Instead, click on Edit in the menu bar and then click Undo on the drop-down menu. Your image will be restored to its original size.
    • Congratulations! You've successfully made your photos look great!

  • Resources for How to Use Photoshop to Make Your Photos Look Great


 


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