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Transform your images from ordinary to extraordinary in Photoshop Elements
Great for non-professional photographers and designers, Adobe's Photoshop Elements is packed with all the photo editing tools you need to turn your images into showstoppers. And with the help of Photoshop Elements 2023 For Dummies, you'll discover the ins and outs of this affordable, beginner-friendly photo editing software. Learn all the tricks for simple, one-click fixes, before leaping into more advanced editing features. Work with layers, brighten colors, add filters, and make your images pop!
This book is for you whether you’re new to Photoshop Elements or an experienced user needing a refresh on the latest features. You’re in good hands with Dummies.
Barbara Obermeier is principal of Obermeier Design and the Chair of the Visual Arts Department at California Lutheran University.
Ted Padova has written more than 70 computer applications aftermarket books primarily on Adobe Creative Cloud programs.
Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Icons Used in This Book 2
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go from Here 3
Part 1: Getting Started With Photoshop Elements 2023 5
Chapter 1: Getting Started with Image Editing 7
Getting Familiar with the Home Screen 7
Launching the Photo Editor 9
Making Basic Edits in Quick Mode 10
Sharing a Photo 12
Retracing Your Steps 14
Using the History panel 14
Reverting to the last save 16
Getting a Helping Hand 16
Saving Files with Purpose 17
Using the Save/Save As dialog box 17
Saving files for the web 19
Chapter 2: Basic Image-Editing Concepts 21
Grappling with the Ubiquitous Pixels 22
Understanding resolution 23
Understanding image dimensions 25
The Art of Resampling 25
Choosing a Resolution for Print or Onscreen 28
Working with File Formats 29
JPEG (*.jpg, *.jpeg, *.jpe) 29
PNG (*.png) 31
TIFF (*.tif, *.tiff) 31
Getting Familiar with Color 32
Getting Color Right 33
Color the easy way 34
Calibrating your monitor 34
Choosing a color workspace 35
Understanding how profiles work 36
Chapter 3: Exploring the Photo Editor 37
Examining the Photo Editor 37
Examining the image window 41
Uncovering the contextual menus 46
Selecting the tools 46
Selecting from the Tool Options 49
Playing with panels 49
Using the Photo Bin 53
Creating different views of an image 53
Viewing filenames 54
Using Photo Bin Actions 54
Using Some Creative Features 55
Using Guided Edits 55
Searching Guided Edits 56
Controlling the Editing Environment 56
Launching and navigating Preferences 57
Checking out all the Preferences panes 58
Perusing preset libraries 60
Part 2: Managing Media 63
Chapter 4: Navigating the Organizer 65
Organizing Photos and Media on a Hard Drive 66
Adding Images to the Organizer 68
Adding files from folders and removable media 68
Downloading camera images with the Elements Downloader 70
Importing additional photos from folders 72
Navigating the Media Browser 73
Using a Scanner 74
Understanding image requirements 75
Using scanner plug-ins (Windows) 75
Scanning on the Mac 77
Scanning many photos at a time 77
Phoning in Your Images 78
Setting Organizer Preferences 80
Chapter 5: Organizing Your Pictures 83
Touring the Organizer 83
Organizing Groups of Images with Tags 87
Creating and viewing a tag 87
Adding icons to tags 90
Working with custom tags 91
Working with default tags 92
Working with sub-categories 93
Sorting photos according to tags 94
Auto Generating Tags 95
Working with Auto Creations 95
Adding new Events 96
Rating Images with Stars 96
Adding Images to an Album 98
Creating an album 98
Using albums for temporary work 100
Editing an album 100
Finding out more about sharing your albums 101
Adding People in the Media Browser 101
Placing Pictures on Maps 103
Working with Events 105
Chapter 6: Viewing and Finding Your Images 107
Cataloging Files 107
Using the Catalog Manager 108
Working with catalogs 109
Backing up your catalog 110
Backing up photos and files 111
Switching to a Different View 112
Viewing Photos in Memories (Slideshow) 113
Searching for Photos 115
Using Search 115
Searching for untagged items 117
Searching captions and notes 117
Searching by history 118
Searching metadata 118
Searching similarities 120
Grouping Files That Get in the Way 121
Marking files as hidden 121
Stackin’ ’em up 122
Creating versions 123
Part 3: Selecting and Correcting Photos 125
Chapter 7: Editing Camera Raw Images 127
Launching the Camera Raw Editor 127
Understanding Camera Raw 128
Learning Raw file format attributes 129
Opening images in the Camera Raw Editor 130
Getting Familiar with the Raw Editor 131
Getting Familiar with the Panels 135
Using the Basic panel 136
Sharpening and reducing noise 139
Using the Calibration panel 142
Working with Filmstrips 142
Working with Profiles 144
Looking at the Adobe Camera Raw profiles 144
Managing profiles 146
Creating a Favorites list 147
Opening Non-Raw Images in the Camera Raw Editor 147
Changing Image Defaults 148
Working with XML Files and Preferences 148
Changing program defaults 149
Using Save Options 150
Using sidecar files 151
Chapter 8: Making and Modifying Selections 153
Defining Selections 153
Creating Rectangular and Elliptical Selections 154
Perfecting squares and circles with Shift and Alt (Option on the Mac) 156
Applying Marquee options 157
Making Freeform Selections with the Lasso Tools 159
Selecting with the Lasso tool 159
Getting straight with the Polygonal Lasso tool 160
Snapping with the Magnetic Lasso tool 162
Working Wizardry with the Magic Wand 164
Talking about Tolerance 165
Wielding the Wand to select 165
Modifying Your Selections 168
Adding to, subtracting from, and intersecting a selection 168
Avoiding key collisions 169
Painting with the Selection Brush 169
Painting with the Quick Selection Tool 171
Selecting with the Auto Selection Tool 173
Selecting Your Subject 175
Fine-Tuning with the Refine Selection Brush 176
Working with the Cookie Cutter Tool 178
Eliminating with the Eraser Tools 180
The Eraser tool 180
The Background Eraser tool 181
The Magic Eraser tool 183
Using the Select Menu 183
Selecting all or nothing 183
Reselecting a selection 184
Inversing a selection 184
Feathering a selection 184
Refining the edges of a selection 185
Using the Modify commands 186
Applying the Grow and Similar commands 187
Saving and loading selections 187
Chapter 9: Working with Layers 189
Getting to Know Layers 189
Converting a background to a layer 190
Anatomy of the Layers panel 191
Using the Layer and Select menus 194
Working with Different Layer Types 196
Image layers 196
Adjustment layers 197
Fill layers 200
Shape layers 201
Type layers 202
Tackling Layer Basics 202
Creating a new layer from scratch 202
Using Layer via Copy and Layer via Cut 204
Duplicating layers 204
Dragging and dropping layers 204
Using the Paste into Selection command 205
Moving a Layer’s Content 206
Transforming Layers 207
Adding Layer Masks 208
Flattening and Merging Layers 210
Flattening layers 211
Merging layers 212
Chapter 10: Simple Image Makeovers 213
Cropping and Straightening Images 213
Cutting away with the Crop tool 214
Fixing distortion with the Perspective Crop tool 216
Cropping with a selection border 218
Straightening images 218
Recomposing Images 219
Employing One-Step Auto Fixes 222
Auto Smart Fix 222
Auto Smart Tone 222
Auto Levels 224
Auto Contrast 225
Auto Haze Removal 225
Auto Color Correction 225
Auto Shake Reduction 226
Auto Sharpen 226
Auto Red Eye Fix 227
Editing in Quick Mode 229
Fixing Small Imperfections with Tools 233
Cloning with the Clone Stamp tool 233
Retouching with the Healing Brush 235
Zeroing in with the Spot Healing Brush 237
Repositioning with the Content-Aware Move tool 239
Lightening and darkening with Dodge and Burn tools 241
Smudging away rough spots 243
Softening with the Blur tool 244
Focusing with the Sharpen tool 245
Sponging color on and off 246
Replacing one color with another 248
Chapter 11: Correcting Contrast, Color, and Clarity 251
Editing Your Photos Using a Logical Workflow 252
Adjusting Lighting 253
Fixing lighting with Shadows/Highlights 253
Using Brightness/Contrast 254
Pinpointing proper contrast with Levels 255
Adjusting Color 258
Removing color casts automatically 258
Adjusting with Hue/Saturation 260
Eliminating color with Remove Color 261
Switching colors with Replace Color 262
Correcting with Color Curves 263
Adjusting skin tones 266
Defringing layers 267
Eliminating haze 269
Adjusting color temperature with photo filters 270
Mapping your colors 271
Adjusting Clarity 272
Removing noise, artifacts, dust, and scratches 272
Blurring when you need to 273
Sharpening for better focus 276
Opening closed eyes 278
Colorizing a photo 279
Smoothing skin 281
Adjusting facial features 282
Reducing shake 284
Moving Overlays 284
Moving Photos 286
Moving Elements 287
Working Intelligently with the Smart Brush Tools 289
Part 4: Exploring Your Inner Artist 293
Chapter 12: Playing with Filters, Effects, Styles, and More 295
Having Fun with Filters 295
Applying filters 296
Corrective or destructive filters 297
One-step or multistep filters 297
Fading a filter 298
Selectively applying a filter 298
Working in the Filter Gallery 299
Distorting with the Liquify filter 301
Correcting Camera Distortion 303
Exploring Elements’ Unique Filters 305
Creating a comic 305
Getting graphic 306
Using the Pen and Ink filter 308
Dressing Up with Photo and Text Effects 308
Adding Shadows, Glows, and More 311
Applying styles 312
Working with styles 313
Using the Graphics panel 314
Mixing It Up with Blend Modes 315
General blend modes 315
Darken blend modes 316
Lighten blend modes 317
Lighting blend modes 319
Inverter blend modes 319
HSL blend modes 321
Using Photomerge 322
Photomerge Panorama 322
Photomerge Group Shot 324
Photomerge Scene Cleaner 326
Photomerge Exposure 327
Photomerge Compose 330
Chapter 13: Drawing and Painting 333
Choosing Color 333
Working with the Color Picker 334
Dipping into the Color Swatches panel 335
Sampling with the Eyedropper tool 337
Getting Artsy with the Pencil and Brush Tools 339
Drawing with the Pencil tool 339
Painting with the Brush tool 341
Using the Impressionist Brush 343
Creating your own brush 345
Filling and Outlining Selections 347
Fill ’er up 347
Outlining with the Stroke command 348
Splashing on Color with the Paint Bucket Tool 349
Working with Multicolored Gradients 350
Applying a preset gradient 351
Customizing gradients 353
Working with Patterns 355
Applying a preset pattern 356
Creating a new pattern 356
Creating Shapes of All Sorts 357
Drawing a shape 358
Drawing multiple shapes 360
Specifying Geometry options 361
Editing shapes 362
Chapter 14: Working with Type 365
Understanding Type Basics 365
Tools 366
Modes 366
Formats 367
Creating Point Type 367
Creating Paragraph Type 369
Creating Path Type 370
Using the Text On Selection tool 370
Using the Text On Shape tool 371
Using the Text On Custom Path tool 373
Specifying Type Options 374
Editing Text 376
Simplifying Type 377
Masking with Type 378
Stylizing and Warping Type 381
Adjusting type opacity 381
Applying filters to your type 381
Painting your type with color and gradients 383
Warping your type 384
Using Text Overlay Templates 385
Part 5: Printing, Creating, and Sharing 387
Chapter 15: Getting It on Paper 389
Getting Pictures Ready for Printing 390
Working with Color Printer Profiles 391
Printing a photo with the printer managing color 393
Printing a photo with Elements managing color 395
Printing a picture package or contact sheet 396
Getting Familiar with the Print Dialog Box 396
Using the Prints options 396
Creating transfers, borders, and more with More Options 398
Outsourcing Printing 399
Chapter 16: Sharing Your Work 401
Getting Familiar with the Elements Sharing Options 401
Planning ahead 402
Understanding photo sharing in Elements 403
Using the Share Panel 404
Emailing photos 405
Working with Adobe Premiere Elements 408
Sharing your photos on social networks 408
Chapter 17: Making Creations 411
Checking Out the Create Panel 411
Grasping Creation-Assembly Basics 414
Creating a Quote Graphic 418
Creating a Memories Video 421
Creating a PDF Slideshow 422
Making Additional Creations 422
Chapter 18: Creating and Sharing on Elements Web 423
Launching Elements Web 423
Uploading files from the Organizer 424
Uploading files from the Share menu 425
Uploading files from the Photo Editor 426
Sharing Photos 427
Sharing to Facebook 428
Sharing on Elements Web 431
Getting familiar with the Elements Web interface 432
Managing images 433
Making Creations 436
Working with slideshows 436
Viewing mp4 video files 438
Making photo collages 440
Part 6: The Part of Tens 441
Chapter 19: The Ten Best Guided Edits 443
Correct Skin Tone 443
Sharpen 445
Object Removal 446
Perfect Portrait 448
Replace Background 451
Remove a Color Cast 453
Levels 454
Resize Your Photo 456
Recompose 457
Move & Scale Object 459
Chapter 20: Ten (or So) More Project Ideas 463
Screen Savers 463
Flyers, Ads, and Online Auctions 464
Clothes, Hats, and More 466
Posters 467
Household and Business Inventories 467
Project Documentation 468
School Reports and Projects 468
Blogs 468
Wait — There’s More 468
Index 469
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