Adobe Photoshop tutorials - Mastering Photoshop CORE Concepts Online

Adobe Photoshop – Mastering Core Concepts

Program Overview

Building Blocks of Computer Images

Introduction - Defining the Pixel

How Computers Store Color Info - pt. 1

How Computers Store Color Info - pt. 2

Looking at Color in Real World Images

Creating Shading with Pixel Dithering

Creating Colors with Pixel Dithering

Hue / Saturation and Brightness

Tonal Range: Highlights-Midtones-Shadows

What's Next

Types of Raster Images

Introduction

Characteristics of Bitmap Images

Characteristics of Grayscale Images

Characteristics of True Color Images

Characteristics of Indexed Color Images

Characteristics of CMYK Images

File Sizes of Raster Images on Disk

Summary and Observations

Monitor Resolution and Aspect Ratio

Introduction

Determining Monitor Resolution

Observations

When to Change Your Screen Resolution

Resolution of On-screen Images

Monitor Aspect Ratio

Summary

Calibrating and Profiling the Monitor

Introduction

Setting the Screen Resolution

Setting the Color Quality

Setting the Refresh Rate

Setting the Desktop Color

Calibrating with Adobe Gamma - pt. 1

Calibrating with Adobe Gamma - pt. 2

Calibrating with Adobe Gamma - pt. 3

Calibrating with Adobe Gamma - pt. 4

Creating a More Accurate Monitor Profile

Summary

Image Color Management

Color Management in Photoshop Elements

Color Gamut

Elements - Additional Options

Color Management in Photoshop CS

Color Management Policies

Summary

Scanning Fundamentals

Introduction

Scanning Resolution - The Magic Number

How a Scanner Works

Hardware Installation and Drivers

What is TWAIN

Determining Our Magic Number - pt. 1

Determining Our Magic Number - pt. 2

The Importance of Optical Resolution

The 72 spi Scan

Naming and Saving the Test Scans

Comparing the 50 spi and 200 spi Scans

Printing the Test Scans at High Quality

Evaluating the Test Prints

The Magic Number for Other Media

The Magic Number for Commercial Printing

The Magic Number for Web Graphics

Image Restoration and The Magic Number

Scanning Line Art

Summary

Resizing Digital Images

Introduction

Viewing On-screen Images

Resizing Images by Rescaling

Resizing Images by Resampling

Sharpening with the Unsharp Mask Filter

Why 72 ppi is Irrelevant on the Screen

Quick Summary of Rescaling - Resampling

Using Both Rescaling and Resampling

Image Resolution and Viewing Distance

When not to Resample an Image

Summary

Color Calibrating the Printer

Introduction

Calibrating a 4-Color Inkjet Printer

Updating the HP1200 Printer Driver

Obtaining a Printer Calibration Image

Disabling Windows Color Management

Disabling Automatic Driver Settings

Examining the Calibration Test Image

Making the First HP1200 Test Print

Evaluating the First HP1200 Test Print

Correcting the HP1200 Output Settings

Calibrating a 6-Color Inkjet Printer

Printers on My Computer

Installing the Epson R340 Inkjet Printer

Configuring the Epson R340 Printer

Calibrating the R340 in Photoshop

Making the First R340 Test Print

Evaluating the First R340 Test Print

Correcting the R340 Output Settings

Evaluating the Second R340 Test Print

Setting New Defaults for the R340

Summary

Calibrating the Scanner

Introduction

What to do with Your Perfect Print

Scanning in Automatic Mode

Evaluating the Automatic Result

Correcting the Automatic Scan

Switching the Scanner to Manual Mode

Scanner Configuration Settings

Scanning the Calibration Target

Evaluating the First Manual Scan

Adjusting at the Scanning Stage

Evaluating the Manually Adjusted Scan

Scanning with Image Color Management

Evaluating the First ICM Scan

Manually Adjusting the ICM Scan

Evaluating the Manual ICM Scan

Summary of our Test Scans

Saving the Color Corrected Scans

Which is Better - Color Controls or ICM

Printing our Calibrated Scans

Evaluating the Prints

Scanning with No Color Correction

Evaluating the No Color correction Scan

Adjusting the Scanned Image

Saving the No Color Controls Scan

Saving Calibrated Settings

Scanning with a Calibrated System

Summary

From Pixels to Printer Dots

Introduction

Gray Shades from Black and White Printers

How Inkjet Printers Work

How Laser Printers Work

The RIP - Raster Image Processor

How Halftone Spots are Created

Halftone Spots from a 2400 dpi Printer

256 Shades from a 1200 dpi Laser Printer

Scanning Resolution and Line Screen

The Shape of Halftone Spots

Halftone Screen Angles

How Color Images are Converted to Printer Dots

Analyzing CMYK Ink Contributions

Taking a Closer Look

Color Halftones and Screen Angles

Summary

My Philosophy on Terminology

What’s Next

Making Selections

Introduction

Making Rectangular Selections

Simple Circular Selections

The Lasso Tool

The Magnetic Lasso Tool

The Polygon Lasso Tool

The Magic Wand Tool

The Magic Selection Brush

Masking with the Magic Selection Brush

The Color Range Command - pt. 1

The Color Range Command - pt. 2

Compositing into Another Image

Masking Images in Photoshop CS

The Extract Filter - pt. 1

The Extract Filter - pt. 2

The Extract Filter - pt. 3

Compositing the Llama and Zebra - pt. 1

Compositing the Llama and Zebra - pt. 2

Extracting with Elements - pt. 1

Extracting with Elements - pt. 2

Summary

Straighten - Crop - Color Variations

Introduction

The Straighten Tool

The Crop Tool

Correcting Color with Variations

Resizing to Make a 4 x 6 Inch Print

Adjusting the Canvas Size

Making a Photo Quality Print

Fixing Keystoning

Skewed Poster – A Case History

Working with a Keystoned Image

Using Ruler Guides

Transforming a Selection with Distortion

Cropping the Poster

Resizing the Ad

Sharpening with the Unsharp Mask Tool

Summary

Adjusting the Tonal Range

Evaluating the Faded Photo

Adjusting the Tonal Range using Levels

Defining the True Shadow Areas

Defining the True Highlights

Combing - How to Compensate for Combing

Using a Levels Adjustment Layer

Adjusting the Midtones

Restoring Details with a Layer Mask

Summary

Red Eye Removal - Tonal Range - Hue Correction

Evaluating the Digital Photo

Using the Red Eye Removal Tool

Using a Levels Adjustment Layer

Using a Hue-Saturation Adjustment Layer

Creating a 4x6 Inch Photo Quality Print

Summary

Dealing with Difficult Highlights and Shadows

Examining a Difficult Image

Failure to Adjust with Levels

Multiply Blend Mode to Darken Highlights

Screen Blend Mode to Brighten Shadows

Adjusting Shadows Using a Layer Mask

Toggling the Layer Mask Off and On

Viewing the Mask in the Image Window

Rubylith Overlay Inside the Layer Mask

Adjusting Highlights Using a Layer Mask

Reactivating Unmasked Areas

Adjusting the Hue in Unmasked Areas

Straightening the Horizon

Cropping to a Preselected Size

Summary

Photo Restoration and Retouching

Scanning at Very High Resolutions

Comparing a 200 spi to a 600 spi Scan

Mechanics of the Clone Stamp Tool

Mechanics of the Healing Brush Tool

Using the Spot Healing Brush

Fixing Tears with the Healing Brush Tool

When to Favor the Clone Stamp Tool

When to Favor the Healing Brush Tool

Techniques for Professional Retouching

Summary

Removing Dust and Scratches

Introduction

Assessing the Flawed Image

Impracticality of the Clone Stamp Tool

The Dust and Scratches Filter

Adjusting Radius and Threshold

Removing Scratches and Larger Flaws

Cropping with a Fixed Size Marquee

Making a Photo Quality 4 x 6 Inch Print

Saving the Retouched Image

Portrait Perfection

Assessing the First Flawed Portrait

Working Non-Destructively with Layers

Sample All Layers with Cloning

The Lighten Blend Mode with Cloning

Reducing Corrections with Opacity

Sample All Layers and Healing Brush

Saving the Perfected Portrait

Assessing the Second Flawed Portrait

Correcting the Color balance

The Merit of Auto Color Correction

Making Teeth Whiter

Removing Skin Blemishes

Saving the Retouched Portrait

Comparing Before and After

Summary

Optimizing Images for the Web

Introduction

Saving Images in the JPG Format

Examining the Color Profile

Cropping Out Unnecessary Image Areas

Resizing the Image for the Web Page

Sharpening the Resized Image

Saving Images with Save for Web

Image Optimization with JPG

Determining Download Times for Images

Color Profiles in Optimized Images

Web Images and Computer Environments

Resizing Images in Save for Web

Previewing Optimized Images

Saving the Optimized File

Review - Saving Photos for the Web

Optimizing Artwork Images - pt. 1

Optimizing Artwork Images - pt. 2

Examining Browser Dither

Previewing the GIF Image

Saving the Optimized GIF Image

Images on Colored Web Pages

Images on Textured Web Pages

Creating a GIF Image with Transparency

Viewing the Transparent GIF in Explorer

Color Fringes in Transparent GIFs

Evaluating a Matted GIF Image

Eliminating the Color Fringe

Optimizing Gradients

Summary

Actions and Automaton

Introduction

The Actions Palette

Disabling Color Management Policies

Default Actions - pt. 1

Default Actions - pt. 2

Creating an Action from Scratch

Applying an Action as a Batch Job

Converting PowerPoint Presentations - pt. 1

Converting PowerPoint Presentations - pt. 2

Applying Our Action as a Batch Job

Preparing Photos for Tribute Videos

Preparing Images for Digital Video - pt. 1

Preparing Images for Digital Video - pt. 2

Preparing the Horizontal Images - pt. 1

Preparing the Horizontal Images - pt. 2

Batch Process - Contact Sheets

Batch Process - Web Sites - pt. 1

Batch Process - Web Sites - pt. 2

Additional Batch Operations

Automation in Photoshop Elements

Summary

Preparing Files for Commercial Printing

Introduction

Starting Photoshop with its Default Settings

Configuring Photoshop's Color Settings

Advanced Mode Color Settings

Configuring the CMYK Working Space

Saving Custom CMYK Settings

Accessing Color Settings

Configuring the Scratch Disks

Preparing the Image - Open the File

Soft Proofing - Gamut Warning

Correcting with Adjustment Layers

Additional Proofing Options

Review - RGB to CMYK Preparation

Converting from RGB to CMYK

Saving the CMYK File

Summary

Adobe Photoshop - Mastering Core Concepts

Overall Summary

Credits

About Myron Achtman