Photoshop Elements 6 – First Steps

Lesson 1 Elements 6 – First Steps August 26, 2008 David Whisnant

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Photoshop Elements 6 – First Steps

Preliminaries Create a folder named “Elements” on your H: drive (e.g., “H:/Elements”). In an Internet Explorer web browser enter the URL below:

http://webs.wofford.edu/whisnantdm/training/elements/ImagesForLessons/

You will see a list of links to image files. Right click on the first link (Airplane.jpg) and select Save Target As … from the menu. Save the picture in the H:/Elements folder you created above. Repeat this process for all images in the list.

Editing Images with Photoshop Elements 6 Adobe Photoshop currently is the most widely-used graphics and image-editing software package. Photoshop also is expensive (around $300) and has a steep learning curve, neither of which make it useful in an academic environment. Luckily, Adobe also has created a lower-end program, Photoshop Elements, which has most, if not all, of the image editing features that the average users needs. The Photoshop Elements interface also is similar to other Adobe software, so learning Elements will help if you move on the full-blown version of Photoshop later. When you open Photoshop Elements 6, you will be given a choice of program modules. Select Edit.


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When you begin, you probably will see that the Palette Bin and Project Bin are open. These two bins take up space, so click on the “Hide Bin” buttons to close them. This will give you a larger image area to work with. The image area and other components of the Photoshop Elements screen are shown below

• Image Area: The area in which you place an image to be edited.

• Main Menu: Commands to help you manipulate images

• Options Bar: This bar permits you to change the properties of the tool you are using. The Options Bar is different for different tools.

• Toolbox: Tools that can be used to work on a picture


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The Toolbox We will work with almost all of the tools in the Toolbox. Tools that have additional associated tools are indicated by a small triangle in the lower right corner of the box in which they are located. Right-clicking on the triangle (with the mouse button you generally do not use) opens up a menu showing the additional tools. Clicking on one of the additional tools replaces the existing tool in the Toolbox with the additional tool.


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Different Image File Formats Digital images can be saved in different formats that use different types of compression. The file format is specified by the file extension after the period in its name (e.g., Old_Main.jpg is a “jpg” format file). Compression reduces the size of the file. If no detail in the image is lost during compression, then the scheme is said to be “lossless.” If detail is lost, then a compression scheme is said to be “lossy.” In the latter case, the smaller the size of the compressed file, the more the image has been degraded. There are two common file formats used for images on Web pages – .gif files and .jpg files. Both of these formats involve lossy compressions. JPEG (.jpg): Files with .jpg compression retain up to16 million colors, but do less well with detail.

If you are more interested in subtle variations in colors, a .jpg file is best. Pictures taken with digital cameras usually are .jpg images. The Old_Main.jpg image, which was taken with a digital camera, has over 200,000 different colors.

GIF (.gif): A .gif file only uses 256 colors, but does retain most of the sharpness and detail of the original image.

If you have a picture with text on it, a .gif file is the best to use, because the text often is blurry after a .jpg compression.

You should be familiar with one other file format that is very important in Photoshop image editing. PSD (.psd): This is the native Photoshop file format, which can be opened in either Elements or Photoshop. Photoshop files are not compressed and retain all of the Photoshop features.

You always should save files in the .psd format when you are working on them in Elements. When you have completed manipulating the image, you then can save it the format that fits your needs.


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Opening a File

If you need to find one image in a folder that contains several files (as is usually the case), browsing is the best way to find a file. Select File, Open from the main menu. Migrate to the Elements folder you created on your H: drive and filled with the image files. In the View menu, select Extra

Large Icons to make the images more visible. Double-click on the GreatOaks.jpg image to open it. This file has the JPG format, which you usually get with digital cameras.

Saving a File When we work with files in Photoshop Elements, we want to save them in the Photoshop format as PSD files. PSD files are not compressed and do not degrade when they are saved, even if they have been saved several times. To save the image as a PSD file, choose File, Save As from the main menu. Save the file as GreatOaks_1.psd, in the Elements folder. When you save the file choose

“Photoshop (*.PSD)” in the Format menu.


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Rotating an Image by 90o

To better frame a picture, you may hold the camera vertically rather than horizontally. In this case, the initial image will be on its side, like the image GreatOaks_1.psd.We need to rotate the image by 90o. Select Image, Rotate, 90

o Left from the main menu. This will orient the image properly. Save the image as GreatOaks_2.psd.


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Cropping an Image Open the image Old_Main.jpg and save it as Old_Main_1.psd, We will improve this image by cropping it – removing some of the top, bottom, and sides so that the image is more effective. We want to remove portions of the image so it looks somewhat like the illustration below. We need to remove the wet sidewalk, which detracts from the image. We also need to think about the composition of the picture. One important guideline is the Rule of Thirds.

• Generally the center if interest should not be centered in the picture.

• Think of lines dividing the picture into thirds horizontally and vertically. o For example, the red lines in the picture below.

• Place the center of interest at the intersection of these lines or lined up with one of

these lines.

If we crop the picture as illustrated here, the portion of the building not obscured by trees lines up fairly well with the right vertical line. The tower is close to the upper right intersection.

Lesson 1 Elements 6 – First Steps David Whisnant

To crop the image, select the Crop Tool

Holding the mouse button down, sweep the cursor over the image so it looks something like the illustration below. The bright portion will remain after the cropping and the dark portion will be removed. Position the edges of the cropping area as you want. You can “grab” the small rectangles at the corners or on sides and move the boundaries around. When you are ready, click on the check mark under the cropped portion of the image. Save the cropped image as Old_Main_2.psd

Freely Rotating an Image A not uncommon problem in photography is a picture tilted image usually is due to one of two things:

• The camera was not held quite at the correct angle

• A picture or slide was not oriented properly in the scanner when it was scanned. Luckily a non-level horizon can be corrected by freely rotating the digital image. Open Horizon.jpg, which is a rather extreme example of a tilted image. It is so badly tilted that it looks like the cars are going downhill and the trees all are slanted. We would like to rotate the image so that the horizon is level. Save this file as a .psd file with the name Horizon_1.psd.

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Crop Tool from the toolbar.

Holding the mouse button down, sweep the cursor over the image so it looks something . The bright portion will remain after the cropping and the

ping area as you want. You can “grab” the small rectangles at the corners or on sides and move the

Old_Main_2.psd.

A not uncommon problem in photography is a picture with a horizon that is not quite level. A tilted image usually is due to one of two things:

s not held quite at the correct angle when the picture was shot.

e or slide was not oriented properly in the scanner when it was scanned.

level horizon can be corrected by

, which is a rather extreme example of a tilted image. It is so badly tilted

it looks like the cars are going downhill and the trees all are slanted. We would like to rotate the image so that the horizon is level.

Save this file as a .psd file with the name

August 26, 2008

Holding the mouse button down, sweep the cursor over the image so it looks something . The bright portion will remain after the cropping and the

with a horizon that is not quite level. A

when the picture was shot.

e or slide was not oriented properly in the scanner when it was scanned.


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Before we rotate the image, we will superimpose a grid over the image so we can tell when the horizon is horizontal.Choose View,

Grid from the main menu. You will see a grid superimposed on the image. Choose Select, All from the main menu to select the entire image. You should see a dotted rectangle around the image at this point. Choose Image, Rotate, Free Rotate Selection from the main menu.


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“Grab” the lower right corner of the image and pull it down so that some empty gray area frames the picture. If you move the cursor close to a corner of the image, you should see the cursor take the shape of a curved arrow. While the cursor has the curved arrow shape, “grab” the image by depressing the left mouse button and slowly rotate the image by moving the mouse. Note that the grid does not rotate. Rotate the image until the street is parallel with the horizontal lines on the grid. The movement of the image may be a little choppy, so rotate it slowly. Click on the green arrow in a lower corner of the image to commit to the transformation. Uncheck View, Grid on the main menu so that the grid does not show anymore. Use Select, Deselect from the main menu to deselect the image.


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Use the Crop tool to crop off the white sections that were created at the corners during the rotation. You will have lost a bit of the picture, but the remainder will be level. Save the picture again Open WindowDisplay.jpg and save it as WindowDisplay_1.psd. Improve the image by rotating and crop it.


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Undoing Things That You Have Done If you do happen to alter an image and lose a previous version, you often will be able to use the “Undo History” window to jump back to an earlier state of the image. Click on Undo History in the Windows menu. You will see a floating window that displays the actions you have taken on the image. You can undo an action by clicking on an earlier one. For example, if you click on “Open” in the list in the picture, this will undo all the actions that follow. This is particularly convenient if you have a long list of actions and want to return to the state of the picture way up the list somewhere. You also can use the Undo and Redo icons to move back and forth through actions you have taken. Finally, you can use the Edit menu to Undo or Redo actions.

Lesson 1 Elements 6 – First Steps David Whisnant

Zooming In and Out on a Picture You can magnify or reduce the size of an image with the for the zoom tool is a magnifying When the Zoom tool has been selected, the cursor looks like a magnifying glass when it is over the image.

• Clicking on the image will zoom in on (magnify) the image

• Clicking on the image with the Alt key pressed will zoom out on (reduce the size of) the image.

Open the Old_Main_2.PSD image and try the Zoom tool. NOTE: The Zoom Tool does NOT change the actual size of the image file. It just magnifies or

reduces what you see on the screen. When you magnify an image, you longer be able to see all of it within the image area. You can use the Hand tool to move the image around within the magnified area.

When you have selected the Hand tool, the cursor looks like a small hand when it is over the image. You can “grab” the image by holding dowwithin the image area.

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Zooming In and Out on a Picture

You can magnify or reduce the size of an image with the Zoom tool. The icon for the zoom tool is a magnifying glass in the Toolbox.

When the Zoom tool has been selected, the cursor looks like a magnifying glass when it is over the image.

Clicking on the image will zoom in on

Clicking on the image with the Alt key pressed n (reduce the size of) the image.

image and try the Zoom

NOTE: The Zoom Tool does NOT change the actual size of the image file. It just magnifies or

reduces what you see on the screen.

When you magnify an image, you may no longer be able to see all of it within the image

When you have selected the Hand tool, the cursor looks like a small hand when it is over the can “grab” the image by holding down the left mouse button and moving

August 26, 2008

NOTE: The Zoom Tool does NOT change the actual size of the image file. It just magnifies or

When you have selected the Hand tool, the cursor looks like a small hand when it is over the n the left mouse button and moving it around


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Practice Problems Before you go on to the next lesson, plan how you would improve the following images and then make the improvements. 1. CountryChurch.jpg

2. Pisa.jpg

3. Lawrence.jpg

4. ChopWood.jpg (crop the photo to tighten up the image and put the man more in line with the Rule of Thirds)

Photoshop Elements 6 – First Steps

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