Photoshop lessons for beginners - step-by-step course. Simple techniques for working with photos in Adobe Photoshop

Chapter 1

To make portraits look more catchy and attractive, retouchers often resort to additional lighting adjustments after shooting. If you need to further darken or, on the contrary, lighten some area, use the so-called “Dodge & Burn” technique. This is nothing more than “highlighting and darkening”. And where the curves fail, they resort to this technique.

Let's look at the tools that will help us with this. First, we will emphasize volume in a destructive way; it has its advantages, which you will now see. And I highly recommend getting at least a simple graphics tablet for such retouching. Make your life much easier.

Since the technique is destructive, let's first duplicate our portrait layer using the Ctrl+J key combination.

Now we select the first tool that we will use - DodgeTool. It is located on the toolbar in this list. We already became superficially familiar with it when we retouched the eyes, now it’s time to look at it in more detail. Its settings have absolutely standard settings brushes, as in other similar tools. For our work we will use a brush with soft edges. Next comes the area of ​​application, we can choose shadows, midtones and highlights.

In each area, corrections occur differently. If we highlight the shadows, the color will fade and the contrast will decrease, but this way we can pull out details from some of the shadow areas of the photo. If you highlight the midtones, the color remains virtually unchanged and the image is softly highlighted. If you influence the light, the saturation and brightness in light colors will greatly increase. This is best used for the eyes. We set a small Exposure value to have more control over the changes, set the brush size to match the edited area and make a few strokes. If necessary, reduce the Opacity of the layer a little.

Now let's edit the midtones a little. Copy all visible information to new layer using the key combination Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E. Switch to the BurnTool. We can do this either on the toolbar, or we can not switch from DodgeTool and simply temporarily enable BurnTool by pressing the Alt key. It will work with the same settings and in the same brightness range. We set the area of ​​mid-tones and walk a little along the contour of the face, nose, eyebrows.

Let's lower the Opacity a little.

I would add a little more highlights to the hair. Copy everything to a new layer using the combination Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E. And now let's switch back to DodgeTool and work in midtones, highlighting the highlights on the hair. And again let's lower the space a little. With constant adjustments, the eye can become blurred and it is very easy to go too far.

Therefore, if you have gone too far somewhere, then simply lower the Opacity parameter of the adjustment.

At the very end, it is better to merge all the layers on which we adjusted into one. This is the main drawback of the method - the file becomes large size and you have to reduce the number of layers with adjustments to reduce the size. Well, that's a plus this method not automated in any way. And the advantages of this method are that you don't have to worry about the tonal range of adjustments, if you only need to adjust the highlights, then just select Highlights and go ahead.

Let's now tint our portrait according to any convenient scheme that we discussed in previous chapters. I chose cold shadows, warm lights.

Chapter 2

The previous method was good for creativity, but what if we don't have time for it? We need to somehow automate the process. Then we will have to work with the information that is already in the image. Pushing away from it we will build masks.

We will edit this image based on the fact that it lacks volume.

How to add this volume? It’s very simple - you need to enhance the highlights and darken the midtones. The same thing we did manually, but now masks will help us.

Let's first go to the Chanels tab and see on which channel the skin looks the most detailed and contrasty. In most cases, when the skin in the image is presented in the shades in which we are accustomed to seeing it, the blue channel will have the highest contrast.

This is exactly what we need to create a glare mask. Remember this and go back to Layers, where we create a ChannelMixer adjustment layer. For now, all we need to know in the settings of this layer is the list of presets. We need Black&WhitewithBlueFilter.

This will just make the blue channel visible. Based on this image we will build a mask. Let's adjust. Create a Levels adjustment layer and adjust the black point until only the highlights remain. We also press the white point a little so that the mask has more contrast.

Now create a new empty layer using the key combination Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N. And with a brush with soft edges, we paint over the unwanted areas with black, so that only the skin in the plot-important parts of the photo is highlighted. And now what we got needs to be converted into a selection. Go to the Channels tab and hold down Ctrl key Click on the RGB channel.

Now go back to Layers and create an adjustment layer with curves. Now we combine all the auxiliary layers into a group using the Ctrl+G keys and hide it. A mask is automatically created for the curves layer. Select it while holding down the Alt key. And edit the Feather parameter to blur the boundaries.

Now let's raise the curve in the midtones, but not with one point, but with two. We will raise the black point and press the white point so that our curve rises parallel to the neutral line, which is at 45 degrees. This way the color saturation will not change and the adjustment will look more natural.

Lower the Opacity a little.

Now it's the turn of the midtones. Let's now leave only ChannelMixer from the adjustment layers. The desired preset has already been selected there, we only need to select the midtones.

We will do this using the already known GradientMap. Create an adjustment layer. And select the third preset.

Under the gradient, click anywhere, a slider with black color is created. Swap the white and black sliders so that the white one is in the center.

He will highlight the average ones. We adjust so that the areas we need are highlighted with white, we can use the black sliders to tighten them from the edges.

Now we need to turn this into a selection in the already known way. Create a new layer with curves and again blur the mask a little. Now we simply darken the midtones using the same principle - we press up the black point and lower the white point.

The steeper the curve, the more saturated the color will be; the flatter it is, the more the color will tend to gray. Let's reduce the Opacity parameter.

We can now combine the layers with the correction into a group and adjust the Opacity slider if you think the result is too striking.

Chapter 3

Let's now learn how to use the DodgeToot and BurnTool non-destructively. To do this we need to create a layer filled with a medium gray color.

Let's create a new layer using the key combination Ctrl+Shift+N, only in the options we will select the blending mode not Normal, but SoftLight. And check the box to fill it with gray.

SoftLight is a contrast blending mode, in which if the brightness of the pixels is lower than 50% gray, then this layer will darken, if higher, then it will lighten. If the brightness of the pixels of this layer is strictly at the level of 50% gray, then there will be no changes. Therefore, if we want to somehow increase the volume, emphasize the shadows and highlights, then we need to take the DodgeTool, already known there, and set its range of midtones, since you will be painting in mid-gray, and these are the midtones. And set the exposure to no more than 50%, and choose a brush with soft edges. Now we just draw on this layer where the highlights should be.

Yes, this method is not automatic, it does not work with the information that is in the photograph and you need to draw all the volumes manually, but it is used more likely to adjust the lighting. To add additional highlights that were not previously found on these surfaces. This technique and its variations are used by almost all the most popular retouchers.

Now it's time to draw the shadows. Let's create a new SoftLight layer with a fill of 50% gray. Take the BurnTool, set the brush to soft edges, the range is also mid-tones and the exposure is no more than 50%. And we begin to draw the shadows. It is always better to separate the drawing of shadows and highlights, since you can always edit them separately later. When we're done, lower the Opacity a little.

This method is a little inconvenient in that if you have overdone it somewhere, you cannot simply remove the adjustment with an eraser. Since the layer itself will be erased and you will no longer be able to darken or lighten it. To cancel the adjustment, you need to take a brush, select 50% gray as the color and paint over this area.

There is another method. It allows you to draw volume on an empty layer, but instead of the DodgeTool and BurnTool tools, we will need to use a brush with black and white colors. But in my opinion it is even more convenient.

Let's create a new layer, select the SoftLight blending mode, but we won't fill it. Now take the brush tool and select the preset with soft edges. Use the D key to reset the colors to black and white. And using the X key we will switch them. Set the opacity of the brush, not the layer, to no more than 20%, and often even less is required. And let's draw volume.

I wouldn’t recommend drawing both shadows and highlights on one layer, although if you’ve already gotten good at it, the X key will help you a lot. fast switching flowers. The advantage of this method is that we can cancel the adjustment with a simple eraser, we don’t need to do anything additional, we just erased the unwanted place and continued drawing.

The advantages of these methods are obvious. Firstly, this adjustment is not destructive and can be easily undone and edited. Secondly, it does not increase the file size at all and does not load RAM, therefore it will work faster and without lags. Plus, you don’t have to rely on the light pattern that was originally present in the portrait, but draw new highlights and shadows yourself.

Chapter 4

We have already learned enough technical things and corrections to now direct it all into creativity. Let's try to give our photo more expressiveness and atmosphere by redrawing the light on it, adding local toning and fog.

First, create an adjustment layer with curves and the first point we lower the lights enough so that the shadows plunge into black. Then use the second point to align the dark tones so that there is no clipping. And with the third point we adjust the darkening of the midtones so that the curve is smooth. This way we evenly darken the entire important information no gaps in the shadows.

Now all we need to do is take the brush tool, set soft borders and paint on the mask of this layer with black to bring back the light.

It's better to do it on graphics tablet, but if there is none, then it is better to set the Opacity parameter lower in order to have more control over our actions. It is better to paint where there was already light in order to further create the feeling of radiance in these areas, thereby increasing the contrast. Of course we draw the plot important objects, here you can make the brush size smaller. And a little about the surroundings too. Try not to touch the very corners of the photo, it will look more compositionally pleasing. It turns out to be a kind of vignette.

Now we need to paint the surrounding background a cool color. This will separate the foreground from the background and create color contrast. You, most likely, can already guess how this can be done through levels or curves, so we will go a different way. Create a new layer and set its blending mode to Overlay. Roughly speaking, this is the same as SoftLight, only stronger in impact. Select the brush tool, set soft edges and Opacity to 100%. We set the color to saturated blue, with a slight shift to cyan. And draw on our layer.

Don't be alarmed that everything is so acidic. This is for more control. Now, when we finish outlining, we will clearly see where we need to correct the boundaries. When finished, select the eraser, set soft edges and erase unwanted areas. You can’t erase it very meticulously, since the borders won’t be so clearly visible anyway.

Now lower the Opacity parameter of the layer itself to about 20%.

And, if necessary, we can adjust the color and tone using Hue/Saturation. We will edit destructively, press Ctrl+U and edit.

Now let's add some smoke. In the brush presets, select this one. And increase the diameter. Lower the Opacity parameter and carefully draw in the foreground layer by layer. We draw so that the haze thickens towards the edges. Use black to slightly correct the fog using the mask.

Now let's add some glow to the sky. Create a new layer and set the blending mode to Screen. It works in such a way that any tone different from black highlights the underlying layer. Black is a neutral color for this mode. With the brush tool selected, hold down the Alt key and use an eyedropper to take a color sample from the clouds. Set the Opacity lower and draw glows.

As a finishing touch, create a layer with curves and slightly darken the midtones, and also slightly raise the black point, creating a LowContrast effect. Which, by the way, is very popular among wedding photographers.

Chapter 5

Let's now work on creating a little collage. If the sky hadn’t been knocked out in the picture, we could have gotten by with just one photograph, but this is even more interesting.

Let's copy the original layer by pressing Ctrl+J.

Now let's mirror it, to do this, press the key combination Ctrl + T and right-click on the layer. Select Flip Horizontal from the drop-down menu. Then click on the checkmark.

And now we will mirror these two layers along an axis that will pass through the center of the image. In Photoshop, unfortunately, there is no tool that is designed specifically for this, but we can do it using masks. We lower the opacity of the top layer and see that the shapes of the houses intersect along the central axis.

Select the RectangularMarqueeTool for rectangular selection and outline half of the photo. Then create a mask and increase the opacity of the layer.

It already looks cool, but let's now click on the mask and invert it using the Ctrl+I key combination.

After clicking this several times, we will choose the option that we like best.

Now let's replace the white embossed sky with a more attractive one. To do this we need to select the white spot. Let's create a mask. Let's try slightly different methods than we did before. Create a Black & White adjustment layer. And in it we move the sliders of all colors all the way to the left.

Now create a Levels adjustment layer. In it we strongly press the black point and slightly the white one.

Now all that remains is to get rid of the small white areas inside the black one. To do this, create a new empty layer and quickly draw a selection using a polygonal lasso without going beyond the contours of the black area. Now we reset the colors with the D keys and use the X key to set black as the foreground color.

Then press Alt+Backspace and the mask is ready. Then go to the Channels tab. Ctrl-click on the RGB channel, return to Layers and turn off auxiliary layers.

Click on the top visible one, press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E and copy the entire visible area to a new layer. Please note that the selection is not yet deselected. Now click on the mask creation icon and use the Ctrl+I key combination to invert it. Now we can remove the auxiliary layers.

It's time to replace the sky. Open the second image and copy the contents to the clipboard Ctrl+C. Switch to our main document and press Ctrl+V. Place this layer under the top one.

Now let's make the sky cold. Create a Levels adjustment layer and move it above the sky layer. Lower the gamma of the red channel and slightly increase the gamma of the blue channel.

Now let's darken the sky and the tops of the houses using curves. We lower the middle tones and paint on the mask with a black soft brush at the bottom. And lower the Opacity parameter.

Let's finish by adding a little vignette using a LassoTool selection with a high Feather setting. Darken with a Levels adjustment layer.

Working with layers. Photoshop for the photographer: Lesson No. 2 Color correction and toning in Photoshop. PHOTOSHOP FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHER: LESSON No. 4

If you want to become a true Photoshop pro, you'll have to master non-destructive techniques, which offer significant benefits in flexibility in the design process. Instead of becoming irreversible, all your changes and manipulations at any time will be available for editing and correction. This is very useful when working with clients if anyone requests any changes to the final result. And you don't have to redo everything all over again.

Previously, we have already published a similar article with other 5 techniques for non-destructive work.

Today I present to you another 5 non-destructive Photoshop techniques. I myself use them very often to optimize my workflow, so I hope they will be useful to you too.

1. Apply Layer Styles to Multiple Layers
Setting up and applying the same layer style to multiple layers can be a tedious process. Although this process can be speeded up by right-clicking on a layer with a ready-made style, selecting “copy layer style”, and then applying this style to several desired layers.

Even more quick way– Convert your layers into a smart object.

Let's look at a specific example:

Let's say you need to apply a Shadow layer style to multiple text layers. You have a background layer and several layers containing text. Your layer structure looks something like this:

Select all the layers you want to apply the layer style to.

Below you can see how your layers will look after being converted to a smart object:

Now, right-click on this smart object in the layers palette and select “blending options”. Apply the desired layer styles and see what happens to your text layers. In this particular example, I applied the Shadow layer style:

2. Non-destructive cloning
Previously, when working on photo retouching, I always experienced difficulties in cloning areas, and I did not know how to do this non-destructively. I had to create backups in case I made a mistake. As it turns out, there is a more effective - reversible way of using the stamp tool.

Look at the portrait below. Here is a good reason to use a cloning stamp to get rid of an unwanted mole:

Create a new layer and name it “Stamp Tool”. Activate the clone stamp tool, then, in the options bar at the top of the program window, find and check the box for “Align. Sample” (aligned sample). After it there is a drop-down menu. By default, it is set to “Current layer”. Change this value to “All layers”.

This way, your tool will clone the pixels below the underlying layers, but these cloned pixels will only appear on a new layer, in our case the “Stamp Tool” layer.

Below you can see your cloned pixels isolated with the original portrait layer hidden. This is what the cloned area looks like on a separate layer. This allows you to edit, delete and manipulate the area as you please, giving you greater freedom when retouching.

You can also use the “sample all layers” option when working with other tools, such as the healing brush.

3. Edge Refinement Tool
This tool appeared in Photoshop versions CS5. With its help, you can perfectly adjust the edges of your images separated from the background. This method is also reversible (non-destructive), since you can copy your refined faces to a new layer with a mask.

For example, open a photo in a new document. Create a selection of the area you want to separate.

With the selection tool active, click on the “Refine edge” option in the panel at the top of the program window.

This will open the edge refinement settings window. As you can see, the area you intend to extract is displayed on a white background. Enter the parameters you need.

Here it is important in the “Output to” item to set the value “New layer with layer mask” (new layer with layer mask):

By clicking OK, you will notice that your selection will be copied to a new layer, and the background will be masked.

This is a great technique to incorporate into your non-destructive workflow. Thanks to it, using a layer mask, you can adjust areas of the faces at any time.

4. Masking smart filters
Many Photoshop users have already used Smart Filters. If you haven't come across them yourself, I can assure you that this is also one of the great tricks for applying filters to your image.

Selective areas of smart filters can now be masked.

For example, you need to blur the edges of a portrait. A typical destructive process looks something like this:

1. Open a portrait photo
2. Duplicate the portrait layer
3. Apply a Gaussian blur filter to the duplicate
4. Erase the central part of the duplicated layer, revealing the original, non-blurred layer
5. Your portrait with blurred edges is ready, but its central part is too sharp

All this can be done non-destructively using smart filters. How? The great thing is that you only need one single layer - the portrait layer.

Open a portrait photo:

Go to menu Filter>Convert for smart filters. Click OK. This will convert your photo into a smart object, allowing you to apply filters non-destructively.

Now go to the menu Filter> Blur> Gaussian blur (filter>blur>Gaussian blur). Apply a Gaussian blur with a strength of 10 px:

Now click on the mask icon associated with your smart filter. Using a soft black brush, mask out the central part of your photo, just like you would with a regular layer mask.

The central part of the blurring filter will be hidden under the mask, and attention will be focused on this sharper area.

This technique can be applied to any filter, giving you a lot of flexibility. You can experiment with textures, colors, lighting, effects, etc. by applying filters in the same way as above, and working with one single layer.

5. Non-destructive photo cropping
Crop is another Photoshop tool that we don't usually consider in the context of non-destructive work. Completely in vain!

Select the crop tool from the toolbar. Then, in the options bar at the top of the program window, turn on the “Hide” option instead of installed by default“Delete” (delete).

This will simply hide the areas outside the frame, rather than permanently removing them.

Below you can see the correct framing settings and the preliminary result:

This is the beautiful, neatly cropped image you will end up with:

Now, if you want to show back areas that were hidden during cropping, you have two options. Or through the menu Image> Reveal all:

Or, activate the Crop tool again and expand the edges of the crop frame. Once you apply this new larger frame, previously hidden areas will become visible again.

Here is a series of lessons that teach you how to use graphic editor Photoshop is an incredibly popular and indispensable tool in web design, with the help of which not only buttons, banners and logos, but even entire layouts are created for the site. The design of almost any website you visited was originally drawn in Photoshop, so knowledge of this program will definitely be useful for a webmaster, although the skills of image processing and creating your own drawings will also not harm a simple PC user. Digitizing photographs, retouching old photographs, creating postcards and collages - this is only the beginning of a long list of useful actions that the editor allows you to perform, and a series of lessons will help you get used to it.

Add this page to your bookmarks so you don’t lose the table of contents and consistently study article after article, learning more and more new techniques for working in Photoshop.

But what will you learn in these lessons?

• 1 Getting started in Photoshop - quick selection and fill

  Here you will get acquainted with the program interface, find out what the main interface elements are for, learn how to create documents and save them, and master selecting areas on the canvas. Also from the lesson you will understand how to fill areas with color, and you will understand the principles of working with the program. After mastering the information, you will learn how to perform simple actions and will be able to independently explore other editor tools.

• 2 Layers and text
  

  All Photoshop images are built on layers. This is why editing in the program is so convenient. The lesson will tell you what layers are, why they are needed and how to work with them. In addition, it describes techniques for creating and processing inscriptions, as well as moving objects located on the canvas. After completing this lesson, processing multilayer documents will not be a problem for you.

• 3 Filters
  

  You will get acquainted with a huge library of picture-changing scripts. The editor's filters can not only give the finished image a particular effect, but even create new objects and frame the photo.

• 4 Working with images
  

  The article provides the basics for processing existing graphic files. Editing several images at once, moving objects from one picture to another, changing sizes and removing unnecessary parts - this is just an incomplete list of lesson topics.

• 5 Transformation
  

  The lesson will teach you how to scale image elements, change proportions, tilt, distort and deform them

• 6 Drawing - brush and pencil
  

  The first in a series of articles talking about tools for creating your own masterpieces. For a long time now computer technology have evolved to the point that they can simulate drawing on paper. You will learn to create using a virtual pencil and brush - sketches and watercolor paintings can now be easily drawn and shared on electronic media, making an unlimited number of copies and without worrying about the safety of your work.

• 7 Drawing - shapes
  

  Creating objects by hand is one thing, but accuracy and speed are sometimes paramount. The lesson talks about tools with which you can create perfectly smooth images in just a few clicks. geometric shapes specified sizes. From a simple square to an ellipse, a star, and even a musical note, the article covers everything.

• 8 Drawing - outlines and bitmaps
  

  You will remember once and for all how a vector differs from a raster, what the pros and cons of both approaches are, and you will also learn why shape contours are needed in Photoshop and what the pixel mode does.

• 9 Drawing - Pen tool
  

  Continuing to work with contours, we study the tools of the Pen group. Purpose, method of application, description of parameters, and as a result you will learn to draw atypical contours and create complex geometric objects.

• 10 Drawing - Magnetic pen tool
  

  The Magnetic mode of the Freehand tool has become so popular that it is called the Magnetic Pen, although there is no such separate tool in Photoshop. What this function allows you to do, why users love it so much and how it will help you personally - read the article.

• 11 Image Retouching Tools
  

  To use these editor functions for the Internet, you don’t need to be a layout designer, a designer, a webmaster, or anyone at all. It is enough to be an active user of social networks. How to make your face more beautiful, remove moles and freckles? How to process an old scanned photo so that the colors become brighter, and scratches, stains and specks of dust are not so noticeable? How to carefully cut an object, move it or clone it? Where is the tool that will help you remove the red-eye effect from a photograph in just a couple of minutes? Find answers to these and other questions in the article.

• 12 Image correction tools
  

  You already know so much that learning new tools is not a problem. All I had to do was make a review describing the possibilities to improve the quality of pictures - lighten where it is too dark, darken where it is overexposed, blur and add sharpness, mix and smear colors. All in all, additional information How else to make an image better is waiting for you in the lesson.

  The pinnacle of creativity for the web is drawing website templates. When you have mastered most of the tools, and have enough skills to draw dividers with shapes, buttons for menus, logos, and beautiful inscriptions, nothing prevents you from creating a good, complex layout. The article explains what it consists of standard template, describes the principle of creation, and also teaches how to cut the layout using tools previously unfamiliar to you.

By paying attention to each of the lessons, analyzing practical examples and experimenting on your own, as you master the course you will go from beginner to advanced user Photoshop programs and you will be able to delve deeper into it on your own, moving to a new level of development, and a strong and reliable foundation laid by a series of our articles will help you in this.

As mentioned in the first Photoshop Mastery tutorial, you never stop learning new things in this program. There are always new methods and tools available for use. We decided to collect 25 more Photoshop tricks and tips that every designer needs.
Sit down, read carefully and enjoy the unknown!

Master manipulation using the Puppet Warp tool.

This tool is not used as often as other Photoshop tools, but when it works, it turns you into a design star! Puppet Warp allows you to set points (pins) on a layer and then manipulate and bend the object in a realistic manner. In other words, a kind of frame is created that allows you to control changes in the object, like a puppet.

Below is an image of a snake that I extracted from the background and placed on its own layer.

Using Puppet Warp I added some control points onto the object and changed the position of the snake on the surface. Great, isn't it?

One-click editing using sets of adjustment layers (Adjustment Layers).

You're all familiar with adjustment layers and know the incredible results you can get using them. But what you may not notice is that some of the adjustment layers contain some very interesting and useful settings. In my example below, I opened the Curves adjustment layer (Layer-New Adjustment Layer –Curves) and at the top of the options dialog box opened the drop-down menu of the settings already specified.

I especially like the set of adjustments inside the Black and White adjustment layer.

Did you know?

You can use an adjustment layer as a clipping mask to a specific layer if you click the two rings icon at the bottom of the adjustment dialog (Clipping Mask). Otherwise, the correction will affect all layers below.

Full control over paths in the Paths panel.

If you spend time drawing paths in Photoshop, then the Paths panel is a must-have for you. The Paths palette in Photoshop is essentially the same as the Layers palette, but only serves to create outlines.

In this panel, you can create new paths and delete them, load their selection, stroke and fill them with any color.

Create and edit your own keyboard shortcuts.

Have you ever wanted to change the default keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop or create your own? It's easy to do. Go to the Edit | Keyboard Shortcuts menu.

In this panel you can change the default settings and even add your own.

Perfect control over the Type Tool with the Character palette.

The Character palette contains all the necessary options for editing text and paragraphs. The palette is accessed through the Window-Character menu or, with the Type tool active, click on top menu the extreme icon on the right.

Optimize your workflow using the Workspace feature.

Photoshop presents five working window settings. One each for 3D images, design, motion, drawing and photography. By selecting one of the workspaces, you will see that Photoshop opens the most necessary panels for working in this area, organized in such a way that the necessary functions become easily accessible.
The selection of the working environment is carried out through the Window | Workspace (Window-Work Environment).

You can also create and save your own workspaces. Go to the Window menu | Workspace | New Workspace (Window-Workspace-New Workspace), assign a name to the workspace. This is a very useful tip if you have multiple workflows.

Bending reality with the “Liquify” filter.

My favorite filter in Photoshop is Filter | Liquify. You can create interesting deforming effects here, but still look realistic.

In the example below, I used a brush in the Liquify filter to enlarge the girl's eyes and twirl her hair to give the look a little crazier.

Eliminate confusion when working with the Showing Layer Edges function.

The feature of showing the edges of layers as you work is very useful. It is useful if you are working in a document with many layers and it becomes difficult to tell where (at what level) a particular layer is located. This function is accessed through the menu: View | Show | Edges Layer (View-Show-Layer Edges).

Now, when you click on a layer or several layers, they will be selected in the working document window.

Highlight specific colors and shades with the Color Range function.

A huge part of working in Photoshop is selecting objects. And the “Color Range” function will help you do this quickly and efficiently. It allows you to highlight any color or shade.

Access via menu: Select | Color Range (Selection-Color Range).
At the top of the dialog box, you can select any color or range of highlights, shadows, and midtones.

Once you click OK, your selected area will be highlighted. In the example below, I selected a range of highlights from the photo to highlight.

Organization and classification of documents.

In the most top panel The program contains a file organization icon with a drop-down menu. This is very useful feature in case you have many documents open or if you are working with one or more documents at the same time.
The working area of ​​the screen will display the number of files you select from the list.

Set Photoshop's default menu.

If you need absolute rationalization of the process, then you can customize the default program menu. Remove what you don't need while working. To make settings, go to the Edit | Menus (Edit-Menu).
To remove unnecessary parameters, simply click on the eye icon in the settings dialog box.

Did you know?

You will also be able to highlight certain menu items in any color on the menu bar. Simply click on the word “None” in the column and assign any color from the drop-down list.

Editing and customizing your brush.

The Brush Settings panel (Window-Brush or F5) gives you complete control over how your brush works. Here you can make any changes to existing tool parameters or create your own brushes and save these adjustments as a new brush.

Using the Masks palette.

Layer masks provide incredible non-destructive editing of layers. But if you've never explored the options this method, then you don’t know half the flexibility inherent in this tool.

A layer mask is added by clicking its icon at the bottom of the layers panel (Add Layer Mask). Open the “Masks” palette (Window | Masks). When you select a mask that you created on a layer, all functions in the mask panel are immediately activated. Below I created a mask with a copy of the Red alpha channel in the photo.

By adjusting the Feather function in the Mask panel, I can create a soft focus effect on the photo. The effect is completely preserved and can be edited without damaging the original photo.

Knowing these parameters gives much more flexibility to the masking process.

Editing JPG images in Camera Raw.

There are a number of great tools found in Camera Raw, and they are not limited to native camera formats. You can open any JPG images in Camera Raw. Open Bridge (the icon in the top menu), select the image and click on it with the right mouse button, selecting from the menu – Open in Camera Raw (Open in Camera Raw).

One of my favorite tools with Camera Raw is the Adjustment Brush. Below is an example of image editing using this tool. You can watch a tutorial on using the adjustment brush.

Use Alpha channels for more precise selection.

An often overlooked method is to isolate an object from the background to a mask using alpha channels.

For example, we have a bird on a white background that needs to be removed. Open the Channels Palette and select the most contrasting channel for our image. In this photo, the Blue channel is the most contrasting.
Copy this channel by dragging its thumbnail onto the new channel icon at the bottom of the palette.

If desired, we can remove the remaining black areas on the bird using a white Brush. Next, load the selection of this channel (Ctrl+click on its icon), return to the Layers panel and hide the background on the mask by clicking its icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.

Embossed design with Texturizer function.

This is one of the program's small filters that can inspire experimentation from time to time. Load this filter through the Filter | Texture | Texturizer (Filter-Texture-Texturizer).

I used a photo of a tree to create the texture.

In the filter dialog box, select the canvas texture (Canvas). The effect is not bad, but not particularly interesting.

The real fun will be using your own textures. You can load them into the filter by clicking on the arrow next to the "Texture" section. The only requirement is that the uploaded texture format must be PSD.

In the example below, I loaded the original image of this tree as my texture, which creates an interesting effect in the painting.

Creating GIF animation in Photoshop.

Making Gif animations is not something I do often, but when I have the opportunity, I take it. Making animation frames in Photoshop is not only incredibly easy, but also interesting. Open the animation panel (Window | Animation) and create a new frame by clicking its icon at the bottom of the panel. You can edit, add and rearrange the document on a frame-by-frame basis. Then select the frame display time by clicking the arrow at the bottom of the frame thumbnail. To view the animation, use the player keys at the bottom of the panel. To save the animation in Gif format, go to the File | Save for Web& Devices (File-Save for Web & Devices). Select Gif as the file format.

Clarification with the Info panel.

You may be wondering what this Info panel is and why it's taking up screen space. I've asked myself this question many times too, but the truth is that the Info panel contains a lot of useful information for your work.

Look at the screenshot below and you will see what data is reflected in this panel.

Working with color schemes through the Kuler extension.

If you were interested color schemes in addition to the default programs, you probably know about the Adobe’s Kuler project. This is an online community dedicated to flowers with a huge number of interesting options and color ideas. The Kuler extension is accessed through the Window | Extensions | Kuler (Window-Extensions-Cooler). Using the Cooler panel, you can search and view any color options, and you can also visit the site page. Once you find colors you like, you can add them to your Swatches palette for further work.

Video editing in Photoshop.

I bet you didn't know that video can be modified within Photoshop. It's very easy to do. You can import video through the menu: Layer | Video Layers | New Video Layer From File (Layer-Video Layers-New video layer from file). All video frames are edited as a regular layer. To access individual frames, you need to open the animation timeline (Window | Animation). Additionally, you can make global changes to your video by adding adjustment layers in the Layers panel.

A quick video tutorial on using video layers is provided.

Create a vignette using adjustment layers.

I recently discovered a way to create a vignette using a Gradient Fill adjustment layer. I love adjustment layers, so I added this method to my repertoire of tricks.

Open any photo of yourself. I used the photo you see below.

Now add a “Gradient” adjustment layer (click on the adjustments icon at the bottom of the layers panel and select Gradient Fill from the list). Set the direction of the gradient color from white transparent to black. Change the blending mode of this layer to Soft light(Soft Light).

Next, on the “Gradient Fill” layer, open the layer styles (click on the “Add” icon Layer Style") at the bottom of the Layers panel and add a Gradient Overlay style, but with a radial style. Again we use a color from translucent white to black.

This method is good because the vignette always remains editable and the adjustment layer can be moved to new document with automatic resizing.

Ideal placement when using alignment objects.

This tip may be obvious to some, but you'd be surprised how long I was using Photoshop before I noticed these tools.

When you activate the Move Tool (V), alignment icons appear in the top panel. When you select many layers (Ctrl+click on the layer thumbnails), then try clicking on any of these icons and see what happens.

Knowing these functions can save a lot of time in your workflow.

Using the Offset filter to create a repeating pattern.

Often you need to create your own textures and patterns, so the Offset filter function is necessary.

To create a repeating pattern, you need to select a square from your texture file. Preferably one that has a uniform tone. Copy (Ctrl+C) the selected square to new file size 500x500 px.

Now go to the menu: Filter | Other | Offset (Filter-Other-Shift) and set the shift to the right and down horizontally and vertically to +250.

I entered the value +250 because my document size is 500 px, i.e. shift by half the document size.

Now, using the Clone Stamp Tool (S), we delete the lines in the center of the document. This file can be saved as a repeating pattern and will appear as a seamless 500px file.

Organize your layers panel using grouping.

You can know this feature of the program well, but there are some nuances. I don't usually do layer flattening, so the result of my projects can consist of dozens of layers. To maintain order in my work, I group the layers into structural parts. This important point at work, because grouping allows you not to get confused in details when exchanging files and working in a group.

Did you know?

Within groups, you can create new groups to further organize layers in the panel.

Typically used for working with photographs. professional editor images Adobe Photoshop. This is a rather complex program, and learning all the intricacies of working with it will take long time, but for simple and efficient processing of your photos, you only need to master a few basic techniques. Let's look at the data techniques working with photographs.

Dodge Tool/Burn Tool

The main function of this tool is to lighten or darken certain areas of the image. In other words, this tool “draws” darkening or lightening. There are only two main tool settings

"Range"

This tool can be used on dark, light and neutral areas of your photo. If you need to lighten dark areas when processing a portrait, then set the mode « Shadows" V « DodgeTool" and apply the tool to the desired area, lightening only the dark areas. In this case, light areas are not affected.

« Exposure"(Power of influence)

When processing photographs it is important correct installation impact forces. Should not be used « DodgeTool" at 100% - try an application strength of 7-10% for shadows and 10-20% for neutral areas. IN in this case, the application of impact force is selected individually for each image.

Scope of application "Dodge/Burn" very wide. With its help, you can lighten the iris of the eyes, focusing the viewer’s attention on the eyes. The tool is also used to darken the lines of the face shape, especially in male portraits, to add volume and contrast to the lines of the cheekbones and chin, which makes male face more strong-willed and tough. Brighten backlit areas with "Dodge Tool" will make your photos look more vibrant and contrasty.

Clone Stamp

This tool can be called the most effective means retouching images. The main function of the tool is to copy a specific area of ​​the image. With its help, you can retouch wrinkles in a photo, replacing them with copies of areas with smooth skin. The main parameters of the tool include the following:

« Mode"(Mode)

The operating modes of the stamp are very diverse. For example, mode "Lighten" will replace only the darker areas of the image, and the mode « "Darken" vice versa. To determine how each mode works, you should conduct some experiments with them.

« Opacity"

This mode allows you to set the transparency or opacity of your retouch (100% – opaque, 0% – completely transparent). For photo retouching, use 10 – 30% to avoid obvious retouching.

This tool is actively used to retouch wrinkles, swelling and bruises under the eyes. With its help, you can even simply remove an unwanted object from your photo.

Black & White

You can find this wonderful tool by clicking « Image–>"Adjustments", or simply by creating an adjustment layer ( Adjustment layer).

The main function of this tool is to correctly convert a color image to black and white. In this case, you can change black and white image each color, giving your photos originality and unforgettable beauty.

This tool also provides a unique opportunity to obtain a very interesting solution for color photography. After applying the “ B&W", just turn on layers mode "Overlay" and, controlling transparency and color modes " B&W", create your own unique photo. And turning on the checkbox "Tint" makes it possible to tint the image in the desired color.

Shadow/Highlights

This tool is also found on the tab "Image->Adjustments" and is designed to darken overexposed areas and pull light out of shadows. It also does a great job of creating a sense of greater depth in a photo.

By the way, here’s how it’s created in !