A visual introduction
to digital photography
Philip Andrews

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Book resources can be found
on the CD-ROM and at www.guide2elements.com
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INTRODUCTION

Adobe
Photoshop
Elements 6


This eBook does not include ancillary media that was packaged with
the printed version of the book.
ii

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 6
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK
30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA
First edition 2008
Copyright © 2008, Philip Andrews. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
The right of Philip Andrews to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or

iii

CONTENTS

Contents

1 The Buzz of Digital Photography

The beginning – the digital photograph
Making the digital image
Quality factors in a digital image
The steps in the digital process
Where does Photoshop Elements fit into the process?
Photoshop Elements 6

2 Introducing Photoshop Elements 6
Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 – new tools and features
The Photoshop Elements 6 workflow
The interface
The change continues
New tools and features
Revamped favorites
Menus
Tools
Tool types
Guided edits
The Quick editor (previously Quick Fix editor)
The Organizer workspace (Photo Browser or Date View)
Photo Creations become Create and Share options


37
Step 1: Getting your pictures into Elements
38
Organizer: File > Get Photos and Videos > From Camera or
Card Reader
38
Organizer: File > Get Photos and Videos > From Scanner 41
Ensuring enough pixels for the job
43
Editor: Image > Divide Scanned Photos
44
Step-by-Step to better scanning
45
Organizer: File > Get Photos and Videos > From Files
and Folders
46
How to multi-select the files to import
47
Organizer: File > Get Photos and Videos > From Mobile
Phone
47
Organizer: File > Get Photos and Videos > By Searching 48
Other options for getting your photos into Elements
49
Opening raw files
51
Creating new documents
53
Editor: File > New > Blank File
53

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79

Now four levels of editing
80
Setting up your screen for Elements
82
Popularity can be a problem
83
Before you start
83
Windows XP
83
Windows Vista
84
Brightness and contrast changes
85
Editor: Enhance > Adjust Lighting > Brightness/Contrast 86
Underexposed


Book resources can be found on the CD-ROM and at www.guide2elements.com

CONTENTS

Foreword vii
Introduction ix
Acknowledgements x

Editor: File > Import > Frame From Video
Step 2: Viewing your pictures
Organizer: Display > View Photos in Full Screen (F11)
First stop – View Photos in Full Screen
Organizer: Display > Compare Photos Side by Side (F12)
Comparing apples with apples
Editor: View > Zoom In and Zoom Out
Editor: Window > Navigator
Step 3: Image rotating
Step 4: Cropping and straightening
Cropping
Other rotation controls
Step 5: Automatic corrections
First some background
Organizer: Fix panel > Auto options
Version Sets
Undo, Revert and Undo History
Step 6: Printing
Step 7: Saving
Editor: File > Save
Editor: File > Save As


5 Hands on Techniques

100
100
101
102
106
107
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115
115
115

117

Better digital capture
118
So what is in a raw file?
119
Processing with Photoshop Elements and Adobe Camera Raw
(ACR)
122
Opening
122
Rotate, Crop and Straighten

Editor: Enhance > Adjust Color > Adjust Hue/Saturation 143
Editor: Enhance > Adjust Color > Color Variations
145
Editor: Enhance > Adjust Color > Adjust Color Curves 146
Sponge
148
Editor: Filter > Adjustments > Posterize
148
Editor: Filter > Adjustments > Invert
149
Editor: Filter > Adjustments > Photo Filter
150
High quality sharpening techniques
151
Editor: Enhance > Auto Sharpen
151
Editor: Enhance > Unsharp Mask
152
Editor: Enhance > Adjust Sharpness
154
Elements’ sharpening tools
155
Retouching techniques
156
Editor: Filter > Noise > Dust & Scratches
157
Clone Stamp
158
Spot Healing Brush
159

177
Drawing selection tool summaries
181
Color selection tools
182
Modifying drawn and color-based selections
183
The Quick Selection Tool (previously the Magic Selection
Brush)
185
Select > Refine Edge
187
The Magic Extractor feature
189
Selections in action
191
Advanced dodging and burning
191
Artificial depth of field
193
Filtering a selection
194
Selective saturation changes
194
Layers and their origins
196
The Layers palette
197
Layer types
198

Drawing Tools

Cookie Cutter tool
Painting tools
Paint Brush
The More Options palette
Airbrush
Pencil

Book resources can be found on the CD-ROM and at www.guide2elements.com

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222

223

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Step 5: Save the Photo Book
Edit an existing design
Adjusting the Frame and Picture
Adding, replacing and removing photos
Adding, moving and deleting pages
The Artwork panels
Create > Artwork > Content
Create > Artwork > Effects
Create > Artwork > Favorites
Bringing it all together

10 Photomerge Stitching

Photomerge Group Shot
Photomerge Faces
Photomerge Panorama
Photomerge Group Shot
Photomerge Faces
Photomerge Panorama
Taking images with Photomerge in mind
Image overlap
Keep the camera level
Maintain focal length
Pivot around the lens
Maintain exposure
Keep white balance consistent
Watch the edges
Producing your panorama
New Photomerge Panorama stitching modes
Editor: File > New > Photomerge Panorama

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Making panoramas that spin
Fixing panorama problems

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11 Preparing Images for the Web or
E-mail

283


Creating your own slide shows
Creating slide shows
Version 6 slide shows in action
Editing the slide photos

Printing the Elements way
Printing from the Organizer workspace
The link between paper type and quality prints
Making your first print
Making multiple prints
Contact sheets
Picture packages
Picture labels
Individual Prints
Balancing image size and picture quality
Getting to know your printer
Typical printing problems and their solutions
Web-Based Printing
Making your first online prints
Options for web printing

Photo projects
Photo Projects Workflow
Photo Book and Photo Collage
Greeting Card

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285
286
286

320
321
322
323
326
327
328
329

Book resources can be found on the CD-ROM and at www.guide2elements.com

332
334
334
336

CONTENTS

Paint Bucket
Choosing my paint colors
Painting tools summary
The Impressionist Brush tool
Color Replacement tool
Erasing
Smart erasing
Better with a tablet
Painting tools in action
Hand coloring black and white photos
Drawing tools
Even more shapes

345
346
348
350
351
352

14 Managing Your Files

353

15 Theory into Practice

375

Organizing your photos with Photoshop Elements
It starts in-camera
And continues when downloading
Organizing and searching features
Tagging your photos
Creating new keyword tags
New Face Tagging technology
Albums – the Elements way to group alike photos
Adding photos to an Album
Introducing Smart Albums
Creating a new Smart Album
Using Find to make Smart Albums
Converting Keyword Tags to Smart Albums
Album and Keyword Tagging strategies:
Using Album Groups

357
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Book resources can be found on the CD-ROM and at www.guide2elements.com

394
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405


FOREWORD

vii

FOREWORD

Foreword
In the mid-eighties a group of professional photographers, including myself, were invited to
attend an early demonstration of the Quantel Graphics Paintbox system in action at a digital
retouching house in Covent Garden, London. We all sat spellbound as we saw our scanned
images instantly transformed by the magic of this new computer system. This was my first
glimpse of the future of photography in a digital age. From that day forward I always wanted to
have my own computer retouching system and take control of the magic pen myself. However,
I was soon brought back down to earth when I was told how much one of these systems would
cost. Back in those days digital retouching services were the preserve of an elite number of
businesses such as advertising agency clients, as these were the only people who could afford to

The book is clearly illustrated throughout and you will find that Philip has thoughtfully included a number of practical tips on how to capture better photographs. On top of this, he shows you
more than how to operate the program – he also demonstrates how to use Photoshop Elements
with examples of practical assignments. In my experience I have found that readers always find
it much easier to understand a program when they are provided with project examples that have
a logical purpose to them. Philip’s book is in every respect refreshingly direct and easy to understand.
Whatever your interest, I am sure that you are going to get a lot of interesting use out of Photoshop Elements. Whether you are into manipulating photographs, wishing to build better
websites or producing better looking prints, this book will help you to master all the necessary
tools contained in the program.
The learning curve has just got shallower!
Martin Evening
www.martinevening.com, www.photoshopforphotographers.com

Book resources can be found on the CD-ROM and at www.guide2elements.com


INTRODUCTION

ix

Introduction

This task is not a simple one. It requires a good understanding of the product, the digital imaging
environment and, most of all, the user. Philip Andrews is unique in that he is an author who
possesses all these qualities. He has an ongoing professional photographic practice, lectures
at universities and colleges, holds a position as an Adobe Ambassador in Australia and has
authored over 300 articles and 30 books worldwide.
With these credentials you would imagine that his texts are informative but a little stuffy and
academic – not true! In this, the sixth edition of his best selling Photoshop® Elements book,
he again uses a very comfortable and easy-to-understand style that leads the reader carefully
through the basics and then onto the more advanced techniques needed to edit and enhance


Acknowledgements
Always for Kassy-Lee, but with special thanks to Adrian and Ellena for putting up with a
‘would-be author’ for a father for the last few months. Yes it is over…till next time at least!
Thanks also to the enthusiastic and very supportive staff at Focal Press whose belief in quality
book production has given life to my humble ideas – yet again! Special thanks to Marie Hooper,
Margaret Denley, Valerie Geary and Ben Denne for as everyone knows, but doesn’t acknowledge
nearly enough, ‘good book production is definitely a team effort’.
My appreciation goes to Jane Brady for her support and kind introduction, and cheers also to
Martin Evening, the ‘Guru of GUI’, and Don Day and Richard Coencas for their technical and
‘pixel-based’ guidance.
And thanks once more to Adobe for bringing image enhancement and editing to us all
through their innovative and industry-leading products, and the other hardware and software
manufacturers whose help is an essential part of writing any book of this nature. In particular
I wish to thank technical and marketing staff at Adobe, Microsoft, Sony, Canon, Nikon and
Epson.
And finally my thanks to all the readers who continue to inspire and encourage me with their
generous praise and great images. Keep e-mailing me to let me know how your imaging is
going.
Philip Andrews

Book resources can be found on the CD-ROM and at www.guide2elements.com


1
THE BUZZ OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

1

THE BUZZ OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

new features in version 6 as well as the tools common to the previous versions of the program,
you will learn the basics of good digital production from the point of capturing the picture,
through simple manipulation techniques, to outputting your images for print and web. To help
reinforce your understanding, you can practise with many of the same images that I have used
in the step-by-step demonstrations by downloading them from the accompanying CD-ROM. A
good selection of video tutorials can also be found on the disk, giving me the chance to guide
you through your skills building tasks. There is also a website for the book containing more
information and important links to other Elements sites (www. guide2elements.com). See Figure
1.1. Also, you will find a real life project in Chapter 15 showing you how to use your new-found
skills to enhance your own images and create a professional looking photo book. Source files
and comprehensive video tutorials for this project can also be found on the CD-ROM, giving you
the opportunity to practise your skills on a real world task. See Figure 1.2.

Figure 1.1 The book’s associated website and CD-ROM contain practice
images as well as video tutorials that are designed to build your skills and
knowledge. Look for the ‘On the CD-ROM’ icon through out the text. This
indicates that there are either associated practice images, or a video
tutorial available on the book’s CD-ROM, for the technique.

Book resources can be found on the CD-ROM and at www.guide2elements.com

THE

CD-

ON

THE BUZZ OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 6


ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 6

THE BUZZ OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

4

Figure 1.3 Continuous tone
images have to be
converted to digital form
before they can be
manipulated by computers.

Figure 1.4 A digital picture
is made up of a grid of
picture elements or pixels.

Book resources can be found on the CD-ROM and at www.guide2elements.com


THE BUZZ OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Digital files can be created by taking pictures with a digital camera or by using a scanner to
convert existing prints or negatives into pixel form. Most digital cameras have a grid of sensors,
called charge-coupled devices (CCDs), in the place where traditional cameras would have film.
Each sensor measures the brightness and color of the light that hits it. When the values from all
sensors are collected and collated, a digital picture results. See Figure 1.5.
Digital SLR camera

Figure 1.5 The CCD or


THE BUZZ OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

6

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 6

of colors needed for an image to appear photographic. In the early years of digital imaging, 256
colors (8 bits of color per channel) were considered the standard. Though good for the time,
the color quality of this type of image is generally unacceptable nowadays. In fact, new camera
and scanner models are now capable of 12 bits per channel (36-bit color altogether) or even 16
bits per channel (48-bit color altogether). This larger bit depth helps to ensure greater color and
tonal accuracy. See Figure 1.8.

Flatbed or print scanner

Hybrid or
combination
film and print
scanner

Dedicated
film scanner
Figure 1.6 Photographs and negatives, or slides, are converted to digital pictures using either film or flatbed
scanners.

Book resources can be found on the CD-ROM and at www.guide2elements.com


THE BUZZ OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

contrast settings. If your camera pictures are too dark, or light, adjust the exposure manually to
compensate. It is easier to capture the information accurately at this point in the process than
try to recreate it later.
Manipulation is where the true power of the digital process becomes evident. It is here that you
can enhance and change your images in ways that are far easier than ever before. Altering
the color, contrast or brightness of an image is as simple as a couple of button clicks. Changing
the size or shape of a picture can be achieved in a few seconds and complex manipulations like
combining two or more images together can be completed in minutes rather than the hours,
or even days, needed with traditional techniques. See Figure 1.10. Manipulation gives digital
illustrators the power to take a base image and alter it many times so that it can be used in a
variety of situations and settings. Once changed, it is possible to output this same image in many
ways. It can be printed, used as an illustration in a business report, become part of a website, be
sent to friends on the other side of the world as an e-mail attachment, or projected onto a large
screen as a segment in a professional presentation.

Figure 1.9 The digital
imaging process
contains three steps –
capture, manipulate
and output.

Book resources can be found on the CD-ROM and at www.guide2elements.com


THE BUZZ OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

9
THE BUZZ OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Figure 1.10 An image-editing

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 6

THE BUZZ OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

10

Figure 1.11 Photoshop Elements is built on
the same editing engine as its professional
cousin Photoshop.

Photoshop Elements 6
Rather than sitting back and basking in the reflected glory of the success of the first few releases
of Elements (versions 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0), Adobe has been hard at work improving what
was already a great product. Version 6, just like the releases before it, is a state-of-the-art imageediting program full of the features and functions that digital photographers and desktop image
makers desire the most. Far from being overshadowed by the power and dominance of its bigger
brother Photoshop CS3, Elements has quickly become the editing and enhancement ‘weapon
of choice’ by many who count picture making as their passion. Completely revised to cover all
versions of the program, this book will help you learn about the core technology and functions
that are shared by Photoshop and Elements, and will also introduce you to the great range of
features that are unique to Elements.

Figure 1.12 Elements is the center of the imaging process, providing the ability to import, manipulate and
output digital pictures.

Book resources can be found on the CD-ROM and at www.guide2elements.com


11
INTRODUCING PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 6


enhancement software worldwide. In fact, the tools, functions and interface that are now standard
to graphics packages everywhere owe a lot to earlier versions of Photoshop.
With the release of Elements, Adobe recognized that not all digital imaging consumers are the same.
Professionals do require a vast array of tools and functions to facilitate almost any type of image
manipulation, but there is a significant and growing number of users that want the robustness of
Photoshop but don’t require all the ‘bells and whistles’. This makes Elements sound like a cut-down
version of Photoshop, and to some extent it is, but there is a lot more to this package than a mere
subset of Photoshop’s features. Adobe has taken the time to listen to its customers, and has designed
and included in Elements a host of extra tools and features that are not available in Photoshop. It’s
this combination of proven strength and new functions that makes Elements the perfect imaging
tool for digital camera and scanner owners who need to produce professional-level graphics
economically.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 – new tools and features

THE
CD-

M
RO

ON

The release of version 6 of the program builds upon the firm foundation and user following that the
previous editions secured. The revision contains a variety of new tools and features that I predict
will fast become regularly used favorites. At the time of going to press this release is a Windowsonly version and builds extensively on the extra organization and management features that were
added in 3.0 and were originally part of the Photoshop Album package. Some of the new or upgraded
features can also be found in Photoshop CS3, others are only available in Elements. Table 2.1 details
some of the changes that are ‘New for 6’ and compares them with features found in previous versions
of Photoshop and Elements.

e-mail attachments). Understanding how the various components in the system fit together will
help you make the most of the software and its powerful new features. See Figure 2.2.
Book resources can be found on the CD-ROM and at www.guide2elements.com

INTRODUCING PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 6

using your pictures. For the first time Elements now includes a Project panel along with the
Artwork (Artwork and Effects palette in 5.0) designed to help create the many photo creations
possible in Photoshop Elements. The Artwork panel continues to house the very popular
graphics, shapes, frames options and even more matched graphical elements grouped into
project themes are now available. The new Photo Collage feature provides a free form workspace
for arranging and presenting your pictures, giving the user more control over the final results
than ever before. See Figure 2.1.

13


14

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 6
Table 2.1 Summary of features of different versions of Adobe
Photoshop Elements and Adobe Photoshop.
PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS

Feature
s¬Artwork panel (previously
Artwork and Effects palette)
s¬Quick Selection tool
s¬Photomerge Group Shot
s¬Photomerge Faces

s¬Flash galleries
s¬Adjust Sharpening control
s¬Advanced Adobe Photo
Downloader Utility
s¬Shared media collections with Viiv
technology
s¬Color Curves
s¬Automatic Red Eye Fix
s¬ Magic Selection Brush
s¬ Automatic Face Tagging
s¬ Magic Extractor
s¬ Straighten tool
s¬Order Prints pane

PHOTOSHOP

v6

v5.0

v4.0

v3.0

v2.0

v1.0

CS3


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Book resources can be found on the CD-ROM and at www.guide2elements.com