Elements 9 offers much of Photoshop's power without the huge price tag. It's an ideal tool for most image-editing buffs -- including scrapbookers, photographers, and aspiring graphic artists. But Elements still doesn't come with a decent manual. This bestselling, full-color book will help you get the most out of the program, from the basics to advanced tips for both Windows and Mac. Quickly learn your way around. Customize Elements to suit your working style. Get to work right away. Import, organize, and make quick image fixes with ease. Retouch any image. Learn how to repair and restore your old and damaged photos. Add some pizzazz. Give images more zip with dozens of filters, frames, and special effects. Find your creative flair. Create scrapbooks, greeting cards, photo books, and more. Use advanced techniques. Work with layers, blend modes, and other tools. Try out your new skills. Download practice images and try new tricks as you learn.
Author(s): Barbara Brundage
Edition: 1
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 640
The Missing Credits......Page 15
Introduction......Page 19
Part One: Introduction to Elements......Page 31
Getting Started......Page 33
The Welcome Screen......Page 34
Organizing Your Photos......Page 37
Photoshop.com......Page 38
Editing Your Photos......Page 42
Panels, Bins, and Tabs......Page 43
Elements’ Tools......Page 49
Getting Help......Page 52
Escape Routes......Page 55
Getting Started in a Hurry......Page 58
Importing from Cameras......Page 59
The Photo Downloader......Page 60
Opening Stored Images......Page 65
Scanning Photos......Page 67
Creating a New File......Page 69
Picking a File Size......Page 70
Selecting a Color Mode......Page 71
Using the Organizer......Page 72
The Media Browser......Page 74
Creating Categories and Tags......Page 79
Albums and Smart Albums......Page 83
Browsing Through Photos......Page 86
Searching by Metadata......Page 87
Saving Your Work......Page 89
File Formats Elements Understands......Page 92
Backing Up Your Files......Page 96
Online Syncing and Backups......Page 97
Organizer Backups......Page 98
Making Quick CDs/DVDs......Page 101
Straightening Two or More Photos at a Time......Page 103
Rotating and Flipping Options......Page 106
Straightening the Contents of an Image......Page 107
Straighten Tool......Page 108
Free Rotate Layer......Page 110
Cropping Pictures......Page 112
The Crop Tool......Page 113
Cropping with the Marquee Tool......Page 116
Image Views......Page 119
The Zoom Tool......Page 124
The Hand Tool......Page 125
Changing the Size of an Image......Page 126
Resizing Images for Email and the Web......Page 127
Resizing for Printing......Page 130
Adding Canvas......Page 134
Part Two: Elemental Elements......Page 135
The Quick Fix......Page 137
The Quick Fix Window......Page 138
The Quick Fix Toolbox......Page 139
The Quick Fix Panel Bin......Page 140
Different Views: After vs. Before and After......Page 142
Fixing Red Eye......Page 143
Smart Fix......Page 145
Adjusting Lighting and Contrast......Page 147
Color......Page 150
Sharpening......Page 152
Touch-Ups......Page 153
Quick Fix Suggested Workflow......Page 156
Adjusting Skin Tones......Page 157
Making Selections......Page 161
Selecting Everything......Page 162
Selecting Rectangular and Elliptical Areas......Page 163
Controlling the Selection Tools......Page 165
Selecting with a Brush......Page 166
Refine Edge......Page 169
The Selection Brush......Page 170
The Magic Wand......Page 173
The Lasso Tools......Page 175
Removing Objects from an Image’s Background......Page 179
Inverting a Selection......Page 184
Making a Selection Larger or Smaller......Page 186
Moving Selected Areas......Page 188
Saving Selections......Page 191
Layers: The Heart of Elements......Page 193
Understanding Layers......Page 194
The Layers Panel......Page 196
The Background......Page 198
Creating Layers......Page 199
Adding a Layer......Page 200
Duplicating a Layer......Page 201
Copying and Cutting from Layers......Page 203
Adjusting Layer Opacity......Page 204
Locking Layers......Page 205
Blend Mode......Page 206
Rearranging Layers......Page 207
Aligning and Distributing Layers......Page 211
Grouping and Linking Layers......Page 212
Merging and Flattening Layers......Page 215
Layer Masks......Page 218
Adjustment and Fill Layers......Page 223
Adding Fill and Adjustment Layers......Page 224
Moving Objects Between Images......Page 227
Part Three: Retouching......Page 231
Basic Image Retouching......Page 233
Deciding Which Exposure Fix to Use......Page 234
Fixing Major Exposure Problems......Page 235
The Shadows/Highlights Command......Page 237
Correcting Part of an Image......Page 239
Controlling the Colors You See......Page 243
Calibrating Your Monitor......Page 245
Choosing a Color Space......Page 246
Using Levels......Page 250
Understanding the Histogram......Page 251
Adjusting Levels: The Eyedropper Method......Page 254
Adjusting Levels: The Slider Controls......Page 255
Removing Unwanted Color......Page 257
The Remove Color Cast Command......Page 258
Using Color Variations......Page 259
Choosing Colors......Page 261
The Color Picker......Page 262
The Eyedropper Tool......Page 263
The Color Swatches Panel......Page 265
Sharpening Images......Page 267
Unsharp Mask......Page 268
Adjust Sharpness......Page 270
The High-Pass Filter......Page 272
The Sharpen Tool......Page 274
Elements for Digital Photographers......Page 277
The Raw Converter......Page 278
Using the Raw Converter......Page 279
Adjusting White Balance......Page 284
Adjusting Tone......Page 286
Adjusting Vibrance and Saturation......Page 289
Adjusting Sharpness and Reducing Noise......Page 291
Converting to DNG......Page 295
Blending Exposures......Page 297
Automatic Merges......Page 299
Manual Merges......Page 301
Photo Filter......Page 304
Processing Multiple Files......Page 306
Choosing Your Files......Page 307
Renaming Your Files......Page 308
Changing Image Size and File Type......Page 310
Attaching Labels......Page 311
Fixing Blemishes......Page 315
The Spot Healing Brush: Fixing Small Areas......Page 317
The Healing Brush: Fixing Larger Areas......Page 320
The Clone Stamp......Page 323
Applying Patterns......Page 328
The Healing Brush......Page 329
Recomposing Photos......Page 330
Color Curves: Enhancing Tone and Contrast......Page 334
Making Colors More Vibrant......Page 337
The Hue/Saturation Dialog Box......Page 339
Adjusting Saturation with the Sponge Tool......Page 340
Changing an Object’s Color......Page 342
Replacing Specific Colors......Page 343
The Color Replacement Tool......Page 346
Special Effects......Page 347
Method One: Making Color Photos Black and White......Page 351
Method Two: Removing Color from a Photo......Page 354
Brushing Away Color......Page 356
Erasing Colors from a Duplicate Layer......Page 358
Removing Color from Selections......Page 359
Colorizing Black-and-White Photos......Page 360
Tinting a Whole Photo......Page 364
Photomerge: Creating Panoramas, Group Shots, and More......Page 369
Creating Panoramas......Page 370
Manual Positioning with Interactive Layout......Page 374
Merging Different Faces......Page 377
Arranging a Group Shot......Page 380
Tidying Up with Scene Cleaner......Page 381
Merging Styles......Page 383
Correcting Lens Distortion......Page 387
Skew, Distort, and Perspective......Page 392
Free Transform......Page 396
Part Four: Artistic Elements......Page 397
Drawing with Brushes, Shapes, and Other Tools......Page 399
Picking and Using a Basic Brush......Page 400
Modifying Your Brush......Page 404
Saving Modified Brush Settings......Page 407
The Specialty Brushes......Page 408
Making a Custom Brush......Page 409
The Pencil Tool......Page 410
The Paint Bucket......Page 411
Dodging and Burning......Page 412
Dodging......Page 413
Burning......Page 414
Blend Modes......Page 415
The Smudge Tool......Page 416
The Eraser Tool......Page 419
Using the Eraser......Page 420
The Magic Eraser......Page 421
The Background Eraser......Page 422
Drawing with Shapes......Page 424
Rectangle and Rounded Rectangle......Page 426
Polygon......Page 428
Line Tool......Page 429
The Custom Shape Tool......Page 430
The Shape Selection Tool......Page 431
The Cookie Cutter Tool......Page 432
Filters, Effects, Layer Styles, and Gradients......Page 435
Applying Filters......Page 437
Filter Categories......Page 441
Useful Filter Solutions......Page 443
Adding Effects......Page 451
Using Actions......Page 452
Special Effects in Guided Edit......Page 455
Adding Layer Styles......Page 456
The Gradient Tool......Page 460
Gradient Fill Layers......Page 463
Editing Gradients......Page 465
Saving Gradients......Page 469
Gradient Maps......Page 470
Adding Text to an Image......Page 473
Text Options......Page 474
Creating Text......Page 478
Editing Text......Page 480
Warping Text......Page 482
Text Effects......Page 484
Text Gradients......Page 485
Applying the Liquify Filter to Text......Page 486
Using the Type Mask Tools......Page 489
Creating Outlined Text......Page 492
Part Five: Sharing Your Images......Page 495
Photo Collages......Page 497
Customizing Your Project......Page 501
Creating Multipage Documents in the Editor......Page 505
Photo Books......Page 508
Greeting Cards......Page 510
CD/DVD Jackets......Page 511
Photo Stamps......Page 512
The Content Panel......Page 513
The Favorites Panel......Page 515
Getting Ready to Print......Page 517
Ordering Prints......Page 518
Printing at Home......Page 521
Making Individual Prints......Page 522
Positioning Your Image......Page 527
Additional Print Options......Page 530
Color Management......Page 531
Printing Multiple Photos (Windows)......Page 534
Contact Sheets......Page 535
Picture Packages......Page 536
Printing Multiple Images (Mac)......Page 537
Contact Sheets......Page 538
Picture Packages......Page 539
Image Formats and the Web......Page 543
Saving Images for the Web or Email......Page 544
Using Save For Web......Page 546
Previewing Images and Adjusting Color......Page 549
Creating Animated GIFs......Page 550
Emailing Photos......Page 552
Individual Attachments (Mac and Windows)......Page 554
Photo Mail (Windows only)......Page 556
PDF Slideshows (Mac and Windows)......Page 557
Online Albums......Page 559
Sharing a New Album......Page 560
Other Ways to Share......Page 563
Slideshows......Page 564
Full Screen View......Page 565
PDF Slideshows......Page 567
Using the Slide Show Editor (Windows only)......Page 568
Flipbooks (Windows only)......Page 579
Sharing Photos with Yahoo Maps (Windows only)......Page 582
A Few More Ways to Share......Page 586
Part Six: Additional Elements......Page 589
Graphics Tablets......Page 591
Free Stuff from the Internet......Page 594
When You Really Need Photoshop......Page 595
Beyond This Book......Page 596
Part Seven: Appendix......Page 599
Installation and Troubleshooting......Page 601
Installing Elements in Windows......Page 602
Installing Elements on a Mac......Page 604
Activation......Page 606
Troubleshooting......Page 607
Index......Page 609
Colophon......Page 641
