Photoshop Tips

For years, I used Photoshop at minimum capacity. Lately I decided that Photoshop illiteracy is not in the genes! I add "how to" tricks as I learn them. Many of the tricks here are summarized from Scott Kelby's Photoshop CS3 for Digital Photographers. These tips are for CS3; most should still work on CS4, no?

Getting started

Duplicate the background layer right away (Ctrl + J), if only for safety.
When I first tried to paint along a path, nothing worked until I duplicated the background layer.

Selecting

Going back with the magnetic lasso: press backspace.

Selecting with quick mask: press Q to enter mode. Press D to set color to black. Choose a hard brush with 100% opacity. Paint to area to select. Press Q to exit quick mask: the area is selected.

Cropping image while respecting proportions

Technique 1. Select all. Select / Transform. Shift-click and drag. Reposition. Crop.

Technique 2. Use marquee tool (M). In the tool options, select Style: Fixed Ratio. Indicate the proportions to keep.

Applying an effect to a region of the image without using selection tools

Create an adjustment layer. Apply the effect to the whole image. Hit Ctrl+I to invert how the layer mask operates (its color will flip from black to white). The image returns to its original state. Now take the paintbrush, select white for the foreground color, and paint the area where the filter should apply.

Can't see your brush tip

Sometimes, the brush tip disappears. Instead of it, all you can see is a crosshair. How to get your brush tip back? You've entered precision mode by hitting the Caps Lock key. Just disengage Caps Lock and you should be right. Or choose the long way home and reboot! :)

Painting along a path

For this example, we are making the left border of a picture blur to white along a straight vertical line.
Open a flat image file. In the layer panel, right-click the background layer (the image) then select duplicate (or save time with Ctrl + J).
Select the pen tool (P). In the new layer, click once above the picture, then shift-click below the picture to make a line (pressing shift forces the line to be vertical).
With the selection tool (A), select the path.
With the left arrow, nudge the path to the edge (or even a little outside for a smaller fade zone).
Select the brush tool (B). Set your brush size at about half the dpi (I use 166 for a 300 dpi) at 0 hardness. Set mode to Normal. Open the Brushes palette (F9), uncheck all presets.
Next to the layers tab, click the Paths tab. Click on the work path. At the bottom, select "Stroke path with brush". If the brush tool is selected, the result will appear. Otherwise, just select the brush. Voila!

Correcting colors

This is the general idea. For details see the next heading.
Start by duplicating the background layer (Ctrl + J).
At the bottom of the layer panel, click the button to create adjustment layers for curves, and color balance. The levels functionality is part of the curves adjustment so no real need for that one.

Apparently, it used to be a no-no to use the brightness/contrast adjustment layer as it could clip the darker and lighter pixels, but they made it safe with CS3.

You may want to add adjustment layers for hue/saturation, exposure, channel mixer, photo filter, black and white.

Color adjustment 2

Here is what I understood from reading Scott Kelby's Photoshop CS3 for Digital Photographers. He describes a process to select black, white and grey points in the picture.

Create a curves adjustment layer. Double-click the black eyedropper (left). Set the RGB values to 10, 10, 10. Double-click the white eyedropper. Set the RGB values to 245, 245, 245. Double-click the grey eyedropper. Set the RGB values to 133, 133, 133. Close the dialog box and save as default.

Reopen the curves layer. Alt-click the black slider, slide it to the right to see the darkest areas. Move the slider back where it was. Select a dark area with the black eyedropper. Do the same for white with the white slider.

To find gray tones, create a new layer. Edit / Fill, choose 50% gray, uncheck "preserve transparency". In the layer fusion mode, select "difference". Create a "Threshold" adjustment layer. Drag the slider all the way to the left, then back in until black appears. That's your mid-gray. Shift-click on a black area to memorize the cursor location. Trash the layer. Click on the "curves layer". Take the gray eyedropper (middle), click in the bull's eye.

Reinforce colors on faded picture

Image / Mode / Color Lab. Image / Apply Image. Mode: Overlay, experiment with the different channels. Lab is often best. Reduce Opacity to 80%, or try Soft light instead of Overlay.

Color Settings

For best printing results, Edit / Color settings, choose North America Prepress. Make sure your camera is set to RGB Adobe 98.

To make sure that a picture's colors will display properly on the web, select Edit, Convert to Profile, sRGB IEC61966-2.1

To calibrate, search for Adobe Gamma.cpl

Sharpening

Once you're done cropping, adjusting and especially resizing, you may need to sharpen the image. Filters, Sharpen, Unsharp Mask. Try the values below, then play with the Amount slider to make sure the picture stays sharp.
"Universal" setting: 85, 1, 4.
Landscapes: 120, 1, 3.
Portraits: 75, 2, 3.
Soft subjects: 150, 1, 10.
Blurry picture or picture with clear contours: 65, 4, 3.

Scott Kelby particularly recommends doing this work in Lab Color (Image / Mode / Lab Color), on the Lightness channel, using 85, 1, 4, then going back to RGB.

Sharpen a blurry image

Filter, Sharpen, Smart Sharpen. For "Remove", select Lens Blur. Check "More Accurate". Amount 100, 1 pixel radius.

Red eye

The red eye tool is hiding with the healing brush tools, just above the paintbrush. (To locate it, press Shift-J several times to cycle through the correction tools.)

Precisely straightening an image

Select the ruler (below the eyedropper tool)
Click drag along a line that should be straight but is not (such as the base of a building). Note that the angle appears in the tool's bar.
Image, rotate, arbitrary: the perfect angle is already selected.

Converting an image to true black and white to make a font

Filter / Distort / Stamp
Crop, make bitmap, import in Font Creator.

Moving someone in a picture

You could use the magnetic lasso tool. Here is a way with masks.
Make a rectangle selection around that person. Copy and paste in a new layer (Ctrl + J).
At the bottom of the layer, click the icon to add a layer mask.
In the layer mask, paint in black around the person to make the proper background appear.
Where the person was before, crop if you can, or cover with the surrounding scene using the clone stamp tool.

Fixing Exposure

Technique 1 (worst results?): Use an exposure adjustment layer.

Technique 2: Duplicate the background layer (Ctrl + J). For layer mode, choose Screen for an underexposed image, multiply for an overexposed image. Repeat if necessary, if you go too far reduce the opacity.

Technique 3 (best results): Image, Adjustment, Shadows/Highlights. Click "Show more options". Start with 28/50/185 for Shadows, 81/50/30 for Highlights, 20/0 for Adjustments. Save as defaults. Image / Adjustment / Levels, bring the white slider in to the left and the black slider to the right.

Technique 4 (same with layers). Image / Mode / 16 Bits. Filters / Convert for Smart Filters. Image / Adjustments / Shadow/Highlights.

Lightening and darkening areas

Technique 1: Dodge and Burn

Technique 2: Create a new layer, not with the "new layer" icon but with the layer local menu. Choose the Overlay mode, 100% Opacity, Fill with Overlay-Neutral color (50% Gray). Type D to invoke Black as foreground color. Set the brush's opacity to 20% max (you can go over the same area several times). Paint on the areas to darken. Reduce layer opacity as needed.
Type X to invoke White as foreground color. Paint on the areas to lighten.

Conversion to Black & White

Technique 1: Create a black & white adjustment layer. Click on Auto, then play with the sliders.

Technique 2: Create a gradient map adjustment layer. Click on the gradient and choose the one that moves from black to white. For further refinements, you can click on the gradient and add a slider underneath, in the middle. Clicking the slider, give it another grey level (same value for R, G & B, e.g. 133). You can then slide that slider left or right to adjust the midtones.
Variation at the end: Select the background layer, click Ctrl + Shift + U to desaturate the background.

Technique 3: Image, Calculations. Select the channels to be combined (e.g., red with green), then select mode (e.g., multiply). This creates a new channel (Alpha 1), with which other calculations can be made...

Technique 4: Image, Mode, Lab Color. In Channels, select Lightness. Image, Mode, Grayscale. This will discard the other layers. To adjust brightness, duplicate the background. Choose multiply, and play with the opacity.

Technique 5: Infrared. Create a channel mixer adjustment layer. Click Monochrome. Try -50, +200, -50. Try 0, 200, -100.

Enhance black & white through Quadtone

Open your image already converted to B/W. Image / Mode / Grayscale. Image / Mode / Duotone, Select Quadtone, Bl 541 513 5773.ado (you may need to search for it of for the Quadtones folder on your computer). Image / Mode / RGB.

For Tritone, try Bl 409 WmGray 407 WmGray.ado or Bl WmGray 7 WmGray 2.ado.

For Duotone, try Warm Gray 11 bl 2.ADO or 478 brown (100%) bl 4.ado.

Batch resizing

File, Script, Image Processor

Combine nearly identical images using small elements of one

Open both images, slide the layer of one image onto the other to create two layers. Select the two layers, select Edit / Autoalign layers. Place the layer with the element to be corrected on bottom, the layer with the new element on top. In the bottom layer, select the area to be switched. Select the top layer, create a layer mask.

Substitute a face on two nearly identical pictures.

Open both images, slide the layer of one image onto the other to create two layers.
Place the layer with the good face at the Top, the layer with the good picture and bad face at the Bottom. Select the top layer, take 50% opacity, move to align the face with the bottom layer (nudging with arrows), go back to 100% opacity. Move the top layer to the bottom. Select the top layer. Create layer mask. Paint in black on the face to show the good face below.

Reduce Chin

Lasso. Filter, Distort, Pinch, 15%.

Reduce Bags under the eyes

S for cloning tool, 40%, Lighten. Alt click on good texture then clone.

Reduce Wrinkles

Healing brush (J) in duplicate layer. Remove wrinkles, then reduce opacity to 45% to make it more realistic.

Whiten eyes

Technique 1: Creat curves adjustment layer, no adjustments. Select Overlay mode: the image is lightened. Ctrl + I to invert mask (the image reverts to original). X to select white. Paint in the cornea. Reduce opacity to 70%.

Technique 2: to lighten the image, this time, create a levels layer and slide the two right sliders to the left. Proceed as above. Try lighten mode with 60%.

Whiten teeth

Magnetic lasso the teeth. Select, Modify, Feather, 1 px. Copy to new layer. In that layer, Image / Adjustments / Saturation, select Yellow, drag saturation to the left.

Reduce nose

Filters, Liquify. On the left, select the fourth tool (Pucker). Position circle over the nose. Use { / } to get proper brush size. Click two or three times. Repeat over the nostrils if needed.

Lose weight

Filters, Liquify. On the left, select the first tool. Alternately, use the sixth (Push left); move the mouse from bottom to top to push the pixels to the left, from top to bottom to push them to the right.

Magazine-style portraits

Ctrl + J twice to duplicate the layer. Desaturate the first copy (Ctrl + Shift + U). On the second copy (top layer), for layer mode, select Overlay or Soft Light.

To show off a detail from the bottom layer (such as the eyes), create a mask on the top layer. B for brush, D for black, paint. Alt-click the mask and drop it onto the first copy, so that it goes all the way down to the original.

Optional: Filter, Noise, Add, 10%.

Shortcuts

Select Black for foreground: D (actually D brings the default foreground and background scheme, usually black / white)
Switch background & foreground colors: X (therefore D X brings white)
Step backward: Alt + Ctrl + Z
Duplicate layer: Ctrl + J
New layer: Shift + Ctrl + N
Deselect: Ctrl + D
Reselect: Shift + Ctrl + D
Feather Selection: Alt + Ctrl + D
Refine Selection: Alt + Ctrl + R
Show Grid: Ctrl + '
Hide / Show extras such as grid and guides: Ctrl + H
Decrease/Increase brush size: [ / ]
Decrease/Increase brush hardness: { / }
First brush: < (it's a one-pixel hard brush)
Brushes: F5
Fill: Shift + F5
Hide/Show all palettes (toggle): Tab (or Shift + Tab, keeping the toolbar)
Switch through the display modes: F
Quick mask toggle: Q (then paint in black to select)
Select inverse: Shift + Ctrl + I
Invert mask order (not sure if this is the right way to say it): Ctrl + I
Select around point: Alt as you drag
Constrain proportions as you select: Shift as you drag
Select more: Shift as you select
Remove from selection: Alt as you select
Transform smart object: Ctrl + T
Information: F8
Actions: F9
Image Size: Alt + Ctrl + I
Canvas Size: Alt + Ctrl + C
Ctrl + Alt + 0 zooms at 100%
Ctrl + 0 zooms the image to screen dimension
A Select tool
M Marquee
W Wand
H Hand
L Lasso
C Crop
B Brush
P Pen
T Type
I Eyedropper
Z Zoom
S Stamp
J Healing brush
G BuGGet (paint bucket)
O Dodge / Burn
R Blur / Smudge / Sharpen
U Shapes
V Move tool (selects entire shape, as in Illy)
Tools Below the main tool: Shift + the letter for the tool. For instance, Shift + B cycles through all the brush tools.
Activate move tool (from any tool): Ctrl
Activate hand tool (from any tool): Spacebar
Activate zoom tool (from any tool): Spacebar + Ctrl

Here's the best list of photshop shortcuts I've seen.

Warm regards,

Andy

ps: If you have enjoyed this page, I would be immensely grateful if you would link to it, bookmark it or share it. You can also comment using the form below.

Links

Not directly Photoshop-related, but Ian Fieggen has a quality site about graphics, well worth checking out.

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