Introduction to Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop CS5 is an image-editing program that allows you to create and modify digital images. CS stands for “creative suite.” You can create original artwork, or edit existing images, adding filters, changing colors, adding images or shapes, retouching photographs, etc.

A digital image is a picture in electronic form.

Photoshop includes many tools that you can use to manipulate images and text. You can also add text and format it.

How do you open or import an image (picture) in Photoshop?

1. You can open the Photoshop (Adobe Photoshop CS5) application by going to Applications (Finder Window) and double-clicking the Photoshop icon. Then go to File - Open and find the image (wherever you have it – on the desktop, or in My Pictures, etc.) You can also click Command-O to Open and find the image.

2. By clicking the Photoshop icon on the dock (if you already have it there). Then go to File > Open and find the image (wherever you have it – on the desktop, or in My Pictures, etc.)

3. By dragging the image directly onto the Photoshop icon on the dock.

4. By launching the Mini Bridge on the Photoshop Toolbar and finding the image. While not as powerful as the Bridge, the Mini Bridge can be used to easily filter, sort, locate, and open files from within Photoshop. (Click the launch Mini Bridge button on the application toolbar).

5. By launching the Bridge on the Photoshop Toolbar and finding the image. The Bridge allows you to see all your images and can be used to rate, sort and label your images. There are four views in Bridge (Essentials, Filmstrip, Metadata, and Output).

First tools to learn:

Move Tool

Magnetic Lasso Tool

Crop Tool

Brush Tool

Paint Bucket Tool

Rectangular Marquee Tool

Eraser Tool

Eye Dropper Tool

First Keyboard-Shortcuts to learn:

Command-O (open a document)

Command-J (create a layer)

Command-S (save)

Command-Z (undo)

Command-T (Free-Transform, to resize objects)

Command-D (deselect - after making a selection with the magnetic lasso tool)

Command-U (Hue/Saturation window, to change colors, saturation and lightness)

Command-Shift-U (desaturate - to change a picture or layer to black and white)

Friday, October 28, 2011:

You already started to learn the "basics" of the Adobe Photoshop CS5 application. You created a couple of exercises, learning how to import an image in Photoshop, how to duplicate layers, add filters, change the color of images, use the Magnetic Lasso Tool, change the sizes of images ("Great Rose and Fairy" exercises), etc. I must be able to find in the Server, in the Digital Applications Folder for your class and under your name a DA Second Quarter folder with at least two JPEGs of this exercise (with two different colors of the rose). You already learned how to create JPEGs from a Photoshop document (File - Save As and select JPEG under Format). The next exercise is the "Magical World" exercise.

Please remember that if you need these instructions, you can find them in the Server (Labserver) under iLife06-1, in the PHOTOSHOP folder - 2nd Quarter Exercises. You can get very creative with this exercise. You can pick your choice of background, change the color, add filters, and later add at least six images into your background (placing them wherever you want). Use the Magnetic Lasso Tool to select the images (if you want, you can change the "feathering" - look on the Toolbar, and before you make the selection with the Magnetic Lasso Tool, change the 0 to 1 or 2, then select the image and move it to your background with the Move Tool, the edges will be a little lighter). Look at some of the samples under Students Work in the 2nd Quarter Exercises' folder, or look online for some interesting images, and check the following site for inspiration: surreal (click on this word for the link). Some of the instructions in this tutorial are too advanced, but you can start getting some good ideas of the interesting work you can create using Photoshop. You can also check: tutorial (click on the this word for the link).

DON'T FORGET TO PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR LAYERS - CHECK WHICH LAYER IS SELECTED BEFORE YOU MAKE ANY CHANGES.

When you complete this exercise, you will save it in the Server as a Photoshop file (with the .psd ending) to preserve the layers. I want to be able to see which layers you added. Get creative and have fun!