What this book covers

Chapter 1, Photoshop Elements Features Overview, firstly introduces the reader to what's new in this application – and there are several really useful automated AI features that everyone is sure to be impressed with.

This chapter also features detailed explanations on how the different parts of Photoshop Elements operate. This includes a clear examination of its Home Screen, the Organizer, the all-important Edit workspaces (Quick, Guided, and Expert), plus an overview of how Elements works with its video-editing sister application, Premiere Elements, finishing with a detailed look at how all the different Panels function.

Chapter 2, Setting Up Photoshop Elements from Scratch, helps you overcome the first hurdle of buying and installing the software. The next step is to learn how to set up the application to produce the quickest and most efficient results.

This chapter deals with how to prepare your camera (by setting the correct color space in its menu), the best practices for imaging computers (Windows and Mac), and understanding the differences between file formats. Once the computer is set up, we look at the importance of backing up your work effectively.

This chapter then describes the best ways to begin: by importing picture files into the Organizer, plus all the techniques Elements provides for organizing your media, such as keywords, albums, tags, and metadata.

Also, it describes how to use and manage its all-important catalogs, plus some ideas on the benefits of working with third-party plugins.

Chapter 3, The Basics of Editing, discusses the editing workflow and suggests a number of best practices. It illustrates how to get started with photo editing by covering a range of topics, including an in-depth look at the business of RAW file editing, understanding picture resolution (including the process of resampling files to make them larger or smaller), cropping images, straightening horizons, and using the Instant Fix feature in Organizer.

Besides getting up to speed with the basics, this chapter covers how to work with Version Sets and auto correction tools, as well as showing you how to master contrast, color, sharpness, clarity, skin tones, and black-and-white conversions using Levels, Hue/Saturation and the black-and-white conversion tool. Once you understand this, you are set up to create basic, but effective, retouching techniques, including using the fun Adjust Facial Features function and the surprisingly effective Open Closed Eyes feature.

Chapter 4, Image Makeover, helps you to learn photo editing by seeing it work in real-life examples.

In this chapter, we study several different image makeover examples that include fixing poor exposure (that is, poor contrast and brightness), how to get the most out of a RAW file, perfecting color inconsistencies, mastering the retouching (Healing) brushes, and how to combine multiple images to create one complete collage.

Chapter 5, Easy Creative Projects, looks at some truly impressive and highly useful features of Photoshop Elements. This application started life as a simple project-based program, but it has continued to expand its repertoire, both creatively and practically.

In this chapter, these features include finding additional inspiration through the Home Page, (including several new project display features) adding artistic effects, creating wide-screen panoramas, shooting and making random jigsaw panoramas, delving into Elements' amazing many-faceted Photomerge feature (particularly with its Scene Cleaner), putting together slideshows, and creating custom calendars and greeting cards. The chapter finishes off with how to create your own customized Facebook or blog page.

Chapter 6, Advanced Editing Techniques: Layers and Masking, focuses on the basics described in chapter 3 and the and the techniques practiced in Chapter 4 and Chapter 5, you'll be ready to turbo-charge your creativity using the power of layers and masking.

Despite being classed as advanced, layers and masking can be picked up quite quickly and used for a huge range of different photographic projects. Once mastered, these techniques will change the way you edit for good.

This chapter introduces you to the nuts and bolts of image layers, including layer Blend Modes, Adjustment Layers (for lossless editing), and quick and easy pseudo image masks. If that isn't enough, we also demonstrate how to combine pictures to make posters and flyers, how to correct perspective distortion, how to master full layer masking – the ultimate in controlled layer editing – plus the Eraser and the little-used Gradient tools.

Chapter 7, Advanced Techniques: Retouching, Selections, and Text, follows a step-by-step approach from the power of layers to fine-tune the use of retouching tools in examples of beauty retouching, using of the incredible Clone Stamp tool, the magical Healing Brush tools, and the highly underrated Burn, Dodge, and Sponge brushes.

We also tackle the complex world of selections, which, like layers and masking, once mastered, will change the way you view image editing forever.

And while learning all about selections, we also cover how to refine selections, save selections, and remove large objects from any scene. What most people never appreciate is that Elements also features some great graphics tools – this section highlights its drawing capabilities (brush, eraser and pencil tools), vector custom shapes, the Cookie Cutter, the Paint Bucket tool and everything to do with adding text and text effects to an image.

Chapter 8, Advanced Drawing and Painting Techniques, begins by highlighting the best ways to master the handy design and layout helpers located in the View Menu, the benefits of using a graphics tablet (over a mouse), how to use Elements' many brushes, and engaging you in some simple drawing exercises.

Amazingly, Elements ships with a wide range of very credible graphics and illustration tools, making it more of an all-round creative powerhouse than many give it credit for.

The chapter then shifts gear to highlight a range of features that include the Impressionist Brush, the Color Replace Tool, the Preset Manager, importing and using Custom Brushes, illustrative vectors, custom text effects, and finally, getting the most out of the program's many and varied effects filters.

Chapter 9, Exporting the Finished Work, encourages you to consider export options once your masterpiece has been fully edited.

In this chapter, we look at the various resolution requirements for different social media platforms, as well as how to prepare files for print. Because so many photographers are now so reliant on the internet, it's important to get a handle on how to prepare pictures for best display (using the Save for the Web feature), as well as how best to sharpen files for different print and online applications using the industry standard Unsharp Mask tool, the generic Sharpen filters, High Pass sharpening, and more, including how to use the amazing Haze Reduction tool.

Finally, this chapter takes a good look at how to export multiple instances of your work (with the Export as New Files feature), as well as how to bulk-process files using the effective Process Multiple Files utility.

Chapter 10, Best Practices, looks at how to fix all those things that can go horribly wrong when trying to manage a database of thousands, or tens of thousands, of images, when processing damaged or poor-quality files, or when dealing with images that are just not 100% sharp.

One of the best places to start is the powerful Find menu, which allows you to locate missing files based on a wide range of criteria, to how to adjust dates for different time zones, how to re-instate a lost or damaged Catalog, how to resize files (via the Image Size resampling feature), and to deal with gross over- and under exposure.

In this section, you'll also find information for fixing, or at least improving, less-than-perfectly-sharp files (using Levels, Contrast, Clarity, Unsharp Mask, Shake Reduction, and Haze Removal), how to extend your editing prowess using the amazing Photomerge Face and People Swap features, how to rearrange large objects around your image with the Content Aware Move Tool, or indeed change the composition using the impressive Recompose feature.

Appendix, Common Features, features a breakdown of all the features found in Photoshop Elements.