The photoshop element book revised 2013 uk

PhotoshopElements

The®

®

TM

The ultimate guide to getting the most out of Photoshop Elements

Getting started • Amazing techniques • Creative projects

NEW tutorials forElements 11 inside

We’re very excited to have an entire book dedicated to this fantastic image-editing

software aimed at consumers, particularly as it’s often overshadowed by its CC sibling.

Sharing many of the features the professional version boasts, the revised edition of The

Photoshop Elements Book explores updates to Elements 11. Discover how to edit your

images, create digital art and share your projects with the wider world. Providing you

with an in-depth guide and step-by-step tutorials to fine-tune your techniques, this book

also comes with a free disc so you can follow along and experiment with free resources.

Welcome to

PhotoshopElements

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Photoshop is either a registered trademark or trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries and is used with express permission.

The Photoshop Elements Book Volume 1 Revised Edition © 2013 Imagine Publishing Ltd

ISBN 978-1909372726

bookazine series

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PhotoshopElements

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Contents

PAGE 154

08 Ultimate guideExplore all Photoshop Elements has

to ofer, from editing images, creating

projects and sharing masterpieces

6 The Photoshop Elements Book

PAGE 76

Clone objectsDuplicate people in your photos

26

Get started with selectionsManipulate your images

28

Master selections and maskingCreate the out-of-bounds efect

30

Retouch photosTouch up your portraits

32

Control colourImprove the colour of photos

34

Get to know GradientsMaster this essential tool

36

Rescue old photosRestore faded family photos

40

Use brushes effectivelyDiscover how to use the Brush

palette to its full potential

44

Make one-click fixesDiscover auto options

58

Top guided editsMake your editing easier

62

Make essential adjustmentsUse blend modes for this efect

64

Edit portraitsImprove your portrait shots

66

70 Add drama with Dodge and BurnAdjust lighting

Master HDR toningFake the HDR look

72

Fix images with curvesPush contrast as far as you can

74

Convert images to black and whiteFrom colour to monochrome

76

Get the Lomo effectPush colour limits

78

Edit colours with Photo FilterFix white-balance problems

80

Perfect macroAdd layered macro efects

84

Fix heavy shadowsBring back some light

88

Create exposure effectsMake a layered composition

90

Light up your seascapesCreate some atmosphere

94

Improve exposureBring life back into images

48

Make creative panoramasUse the Photomerge function

52

Sharpen your imagesRemove subtle blurring

46

Photo editing

Techniques

PAGE 26 PAGE 30 PAGE 36 PAGE 58

PAGE 166 PAGE 90 PAGE 140

The Photoshop Elements Book 7

Improve your landscapesAdjust colour and exposure

98

Create the Dragan effectGet creative with this efect

100

Retouch for classic effectsCreate a vintage portrait efect

Use the Lighting Effects filterAdd stunning lighting efects

110

Add emphasis to eyesApply a rainbow efect

114

Create a comic- book effectUse the Color Halftone filter

122

Use Elements for stunning effectsMake the most of Elements

126

Smudge your way to an oil paintingCreate an oil portrait with the

Smudge tool

130

Create a family portraitFake a painted-portrait efect

with your family snaps

134

Create an art-deco styleMaster the Mezzotint filter

140

Design an abstractControl the Custom Shape tool

for abstract artwork

144

Paint portraitsMix tradition with digital

148

Create instant pop artRe-create Andy Warhol's work

154

Make your own watercolourMerge traditional art efects

156

Turn photos to sketchesGet creative with your images

160

Customise brushesCreate eye-catching art

162

Create underwater scenesUse filters and blend modes to

create a photomontage

184

Play with PerspectiveCreate a miniature efect

188

192 Design your own holiday postcardSend a modern-day postcard

the digital way

194 Build a photo albumCreate your own virtual album

196 Compose a mixed-media pieceCreate a musical composition

with a variety of media

200 Create a panoramic planetMake a 360-degree planet

202 Compose surreal artworkCreate a bizarre composite

Achieve a retro photo effectSend your photos back in time

with a retro efect

206

Photo project

Digital art

Create splatter effectsCombine brushes and assets

166

Apply texturesAdd some texture to your shots

170

Make water effectsUse filters and blend modes

174

Design ancient patternsCreate some ancient designs

for use in a variety of projects

180

Selective colour creationsBring out the tones

116

104

Photoshop Elements


PhotoshopElements

The ultimate guide to

Explore Photoshop Elements and find out how it can transform your photos

The CS6 version of Photoshop is a wonderful program,

packed with tools, filters and advanced facilities for performing an enormously wide range of adjustments on your images.

However, though its breadth and depth is its biggest strength, it can be rather too much when you just want to do some simple image editing and create some straightforward effects. Sometimes, Photoshop CS6 is a bit more than you need.

This is where Photoshop Elements 11 comes to the rescue. It contains a large number of the features that

make its big brother such an impressive piece of software, but strips away some of the more complex aspects, resulting in a program that is both sleek and easy to use.

It’s still an extremely powerful program that can enable you to produce some incredible effects, so you’ll need to spend some time getting to grips with everything that it has to offer.

Over the next few pages, we’ve prepared an easy-to-follow guide to help you uncover some of the many ways in which Photoshop Elements 11 can help you to make the very best of your favourite images in no time at all.

Ultimate guide


Photoshop Elements


ToolbarAccess a range of very powerful editing tools via the Toolbar thatÕs on the left-hand side of the screen. How many tools you have access to will vary, depending on which editing mode you are using in Elements 11.

Main menu The top bar of the Photo Editor interface has the main menu options you might need to access during editing. Advanced features include image and canvas size adjustments, image adjustments, filters and view options.

Photo BinWhen working in the Photo Editor, the images youÕve opened to edit will appear in the Photo Bin along the bottom. This means you have quick access to images and can view a sequence of images easily.

Layers paletteWhen editing an image, you can use the Layers palette to build up the enhancements non-destructively. You need to be working in Expert mode in order to access the range of Layers options available in Elements 11.

Edit modeWithin the Photo Editor interface, choose between Quick, Guided and Expert editing modes, depending on your skill level and how in-depth the editing will be. Each mode functions very differently.

“Select between Full edit, Quick edit or

Guided edit depending on skill level and intent”

Ultimate guide


Share modeClick on the Share tab to explore the many ways of sharing your shots with family members and friends. You need to be in the Organizer interface to access this in Elements 11.

Tool adjustment panelWhenever you select a tool from the Toolbar, adjust its settings by clicking on Tool Options at the bottom of the interface. If youÕre using the paintbrush, for example, this panel will allow you to change brush-size settings and strength to suit your needs.

Create tabClick on the Create tab to output images into personalised keepsakes and products. YouÕll be able to construct and customise photo books, greeting cards, calendars and collages. There are extra Create options when you are working in the Organizer interface.

LayoutClick on the Layout button at the bottom of the interface in order to change the way the images are arranged within the Photo Editor. This is great if youÕre looking to replicate a specific effect across several images.

The OrganizerAt the bottom left of the Photo Editor, you can access the Organizer. The Photo Editor wonÕt close down; instead the Organizer will open in a separate window.

Photoshop Elements


When you load up Elements 11, you’ll see a splash screen that enables you to choose between

the Organizer and Photo Editor. These two main choices offer completely

different functions, but retouching your images and adding effects is one of the first things that you’ll want to do so we’re going to take a look at the incredible range of editing possibilities on offer in Elements 11. Simply click on the Photo Editor tab to start working on your images. Elements 11 will load up and you can begin to edit, enhance and add effects to your photographs. If you want to access the Organizer simultaneously, click on the relevant button at the bottom of the Photo Editor interface and you can have the two windows open up at once.

To make things as straightforward and user-friendly as possible, the Photo Editor provides you with three separate tabs to choose from at the top centre of the interface; the choice you make will be informed by the complexity of editing and retouching that you wish to carry out.

For very basic image touch-ups, the Quick tab is definitely the best option. Here, you are restricted to six quick editing tools at the left-hand side of the interface, with just the Quick Selection Tool, Red Eye Removal Tool, Whiten Teeth Tool, Horizontal Type Tool, Spot Healing Brush Tool and Crop Tool at your disposal. If you just want to remove a few blemishes from a family snap or make some very simple improvements to an image, the Quick tab will be all that you need.

The Guided tab, meanwhile, works very differently. In this tab, the Tools palette disappears from the left-hand side of the interface, but there’s actually a much wider range of options available for retouching your images than found in the Quick tab.

The image-editing tools in the Guided tab are divided into three subsections at the right-hand side of the interface. As the name implies, when you click on each of these, Elements 11 provides a clear set of instructions to ensure you know what each slider and control will do, allowing you to create some quite advanced effects with a minimum level of difficulty.

The Touchups menu allows you to perform a dozen different basic image corrections, some of which, like the Crop Photo facility and the Sharpen feature,

Edit Discover how you can transform your images using filters, frames, text and more, right in the Photo Editor in Elements 11

Ultimate guide


are fairly basic, but others are much more in-depth and powerful, like the Perfect Portrait feature and the Recompose option.

If you want to get creative with your images, the Photo Effects subsection has plenty of fun on offer. There are ten effects to choose from, including a feature to help create an Old Fashioned Photo, a Line Drawing effect and the ability to add Depth of Field, Tilt-Shift and Vignette effects.

Photo Play is the third and final subsection, featuring four fairly advanced effects that would otherwise be difficult to reproduce. Out Of Bounds allows you to create the illusion of a part of your image, such as someone’s leg kicking a ball, coming out of the bounds of the image. Picture Stack allows you to present your image as four, eight, or twelve individual tiles, similar to a jigsaw puzzle. Pop Art allows you to

choose from two different, Warhol-esque Pop Art effects, while the Reflection option allows you to create a reflection effect completely from scratch.

If you want to take things further, visit the Expert tab. This is similar to the main Photoshop interface, and offers significant levels of creative control once your image-editing confidence grows.

There is an extensive Tools palette at the left-hand side of the interface, with four different selection tools, six enhancing tools, eight drawing tools and four modifying tools. Over on the right-hand side of the interface, there’s a Layers palette. When combined with blending modes, this allows you to take very extensive control over your image adjustments, and it’s not too difficult to get to grips with after a little bit of experimentation.

Guided editsIf you’re a complete beginner to Photoshop Elements 11, use the Guided edits section to ensure you get the image results you want. Easy to access via the main Photo Editor interface, you can explore a whole range of semi-automated editing options. Elements 11 will guide you through the entire editing process, even showing you how to customise each effect’s result. Guided edits are a great way to get familiar with image editing and ensure professional-looking results.

QuickThe Quick edit tab restricts you to a very limited range of Tools, allowing you to make minor, simple adjustments with a minimum of fuss.

GuidedGuided editing allows you to produce some really great effects without even needing to be particularly experienced with Photoshop or even with Photoshop Elements.

ExpertUse this mode when you want to take full creative control of your images. You have access to the full range of Tools and you can also make use of Layers.

Use features such as Enhance Colors in Elements’ Photo Editor to improve the appearance of colours in your images.

The Perfect Portrait feature allows you to easily make the most of your people photos, taking you through the retouching process.

Add impact and get creative with your presentation by adding a frame around the edges of your images within the Expert editing tab.

Create incredible artistic effects using the Guided editing tab, including professional-looking treatments such as this Pop Art look.

Not just for beginners, you can use Guided edits to learn how to apply specific styles to a shot such as Lomo or Orton.

Photoshop Elements


The Create tab can be found in both

the Photo Editor section and the

Organizer section in Elements 11,

although the Organizer version features

two additional options: Instant Movie and

DVD With Menu. In both cases though,

the Create tab is designed to make it easy

for you to take your images beyond the

editing stage and incorporate them into fun,

creative and practical projects that you can

enjoy with friends and family.

As you start to explore the Create tab,

youÕll find that there are plenty of user-

friendly and powerful options for each

project, enabling you to make all of the

creative decisions when it comes to page

design, text and image layouts without the

need to be an experienced user. You begin

by first selecting a design theme or basic

template, which you can then customise

and develop as the project progresses.

Once youÕve selected a project, you can

then start to work on it to build it up until

you have produced the desired result. You

can select the Page tab to work with the

individual pages in your project or use

the Layouts tab to select from an array

of ready-made page template designs.

The Graphics tab provides options for

backgrounds and frames, allowing you to

add artwork onto the design for creative

background effects or photo framing,

and thereÕs even an option to include

customisable text. Drag and drop is all

thatÕs required to position images within

the project that you are creating.

Traditional photo prints can also be

prepared for home printing Ð and for extra

convenience ordered via online services Ð

using the Create tab. As with everything

in Photoshop Elements 11, the Create tab

offers plenty of guidance along the way so

whether you are making a detailed photo

book or a one-page collage, youÕll be able

to do so with absolute ease. In fact, itÕs

incredible how much you can actually

achieve with the Create tab in a relatively

short space of time.

Create Output your images to a range of fun creative projects using the Create section of Elements 11

Ultimate guide


Creating a photo bookA photo book is a fantastic keepsake that can take far less time to put together than a photo album, full of prints. Easy to design and customisable in the Create tab of Elements 11, you can decide on page layouts, design and text as you go. There are plenty of starter themes and optional book sizes you can select from before you begin too. To get started on your own photo-book project, select the Photo Book option from the available projects in the Create tab. You can now follow along with us as we take you through the basic steps of putting together your own personalised photo book in Elements 11.

Inside pageUsing the arrows along the bottom, scroll through to the inside pages. If text is not available on the layout but you would like to add some, go to the Create tab and text then click Add Text Block and apply anywhere on the page.

Create a photo bookClick on the Create button and locate the Photo Book option from the drop-down menu. In the dialog box select a Photo Book style that you would like, add in the page amount and then un-check ÔAutofill with Selected imagesÕ.

Design layoutYou can scroll through the Create tab options and add in additional artwork to your photo book design or alternatively change the page layouts by selecting a new page template from the Layouts tab.

Design your coverYou can now begin designing your cover. Drag an image from the Project Bin up or double-click on the space to open one from a separate file. Drag to the space allocated.

Add in pagesYou may need more pages than you originally intended. To add more into your photo book, go to Pages in the Create tab and select the + sign to add more in.

Add in textClick on the text space to activate and adjust the text font, size, style and alignment within the Create tab. You can also adjust colour here and warp text for more creative results. Now type in your photo book title.

Photoshop Elements


One of the joys of photography, and indeed one of the chief reasons for actually taking photos, is to share

the images you’ve captured with other people, particularly family and friends to whom the images may have a meaning.

Where once upon a time this was largely restricted to leafing through a family album, thanks to the development of the internet and social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr, there’s no longer a need to have our photos printed before we share them.

This instant process means all of us are sharing more images, more

frequently. To fulfil the need for this, and to make the shoot-edit-share process a fully integrated one, Elements 11 features a dedicated Share tab in its interface.

Once you’ve finished making all of your final editing tweaks, head to the Organizer interface where you can then simply click on the share tab to upload your images straight to the likes of Facebook, Flickr or Adobe Revel, Adobe’s own cloud-based storage, editing and browsing service.

You can also opt to share them via an online album, separately as an email attachment or alternatively, burn them

onto a CD or DVD. The Organizer allows you to add in keywords and tags to your images, which is an ideal way to keep track of your shots as you can specify who’s in them, where they were taken and at what event. Portrait and group-shot images can even be tagged using your Facebook friends’ names to save you the trouble of having to do it separately on the online social networking site.

Depending on how you’ve opted to share your images, the Organizer will take you step-by-step through the entire upload process. To share your images via the likes of Flickr and Facebook, you

ShareDiscover how to really enjoy your favourite images with friends and relatives using the Share tab in Elements 11

Ultimate guide


The big share

Email images ItÕs easy to attach or embed images into an email directly through Elements 11; simply follow the on-screen instructions for correct image sizes.

Share to FlickrKeep your online portfolio up-to-date by sharing and uploading edited images instantly onto your Flickr profile. You are able to add relevant image tags within the Organizer.

Share to Facebook You can share your images via your own Facebook account through the software. Go to the Share tab, choose Facebook and then tag people/places within the Organizer before uploading.

Online album Create an album that you can share online via the Create tab. Once completed, you can upload it to Photoshop Showcase. Alternatively, you can export the album onto a Hard Disk, CD or DVD.

will have to have already registered with either site and set up a viable account. You can then begin editing and adding images directly onto your online profile through the software. Sharing images by email is also easy, as Elements 11 gives you the option to either email shots directly or embed them within an existing email. You can adjust image sizes within the email preferences and even opt to create and send shots as a PDF. The

Organizer also enables you to set up a contacts book, which will allow you to input and then search for contacts so that you can send shots more efficiently. The online album-sharing option will enable you to export images onto a Hard Disk or alternatively share them via Showcase online. Photoshop Showcase is a media-hosting gallery site that lets users upload and share their images and videos directly through Photoshop software. Once youÕve

created a profile on the site, you can send family members and friends a link to your online gallery and share your latest Elements creations. Keen videographers will also appreciate the video sharing options within the OrganizerÕs Share tab. Here, youÕll be able to upload and share video files on YouTube, burn them onto a DVD or BluRay disc, and even upload them onto mobile phones or other portable video playing devices.

“Share precious moments and

memories with your friends and family”

Photoshop Elements


After shooting hundreds or thousands of images, it can be all too easy to upload images onto your computer

or portable hard drive and then just leave them there, disorganised in various folders without being edited or even correctly named. To help you get into the habit of managing your workflow, the Organizer interface in Elements 11 has been designed to make it easy to sort, rate, tag and keyword your shots before filing them away. You can use the Organizer to import images, edit down a shoot size, create an album, create personalised photo or video keepsakes and instantly share shots. To save you the bother of loading up the Photo Editor interface, the Photo Fix Options tab allows you to make minor corrections to photos. In fact, thereÕs so much on hand, thereÕs now no excuse for not keeping on top of managing your photo masterpieces.

ManageYou can sort, rate, tag and keyword your images in Elements 11

Importing imagesIf you have a batch of images to edit and enhance from a shoot, avoid opening them all in Elements 11 in one go. Unless you have a really powerful computer, this will cause a crash. First use the Organizer to help narrow down which shots are worth working with. This is also a time-saving way to import images into the software, as you wonÕt have to load them individually. YouÕll also be able to see them all clearly in one place; great if creating a series and you want to determine what images work together. If youÕre only looking to edit one or two specific shots, use the quicker File>Open process.

You can use the Elements 11 Organizer to import media from multiple sources, whether itÕs image or video files from a digital camera, USB, mobile phone device, CD/DVD, scanner or even a separate hard drive and so on. By importing a batch of images from a portable device, youÕll be asked to create a catalogue, which you can opt to save in an existing file location on your computer desktop or documents folder. This will ensure your shots stay together and that the selected few can go through to editing in Elements 11 software. If however, you have already uploaded images onto your computer, you can simply select to open them all with this interface to edit without having to create a catalogue.

Ultimate guide


Find imagesKeyword Tags

Photo Bin

Once youÕve built up a good image-management system with the use of keywords and tags, youÕll be able to search for and find specific shots quite easily. Photoshop Elements 11 features a simple search-and-find function for efficiency. To find tagged images, you can simply enter a keyword into the search bar or alternatively, select one of the active key words from the lists of Keywords and Smart Tags to bring up the right results.

Keywording is an essential part of managing your workflow and organising your images.

Once youÕve imported shots through the Elements 11 Organizer, you can insert relevant keywords using the Keyword Tag menu. This will help you to file and later find specific images on your computer. You can keyword tag people, places, events and other important things about the image, such as lighting style, effects or colours. Provided all of your keyword tags are relevant and useful they will help you to stay organised and make finding specific shots more efficient. To keyword your images correctly you need to focus on highlighting the most important elements within the shot. If youÕve got a portrait image for example, you can keyword tag the name and the word ÔportraitÕ. This will ensure the image appears in multiple portrait searches, including those that are not name related. The best thing about the Elements Keyword Tag system is that it then organises the rest for you. Searching for shots is much easier and results can be more specific, which makes the possibility of sharing images instantly more of a reality.

ItÕs worth noting that the keyword tag system is not only great for images, but you can also use it to manage and tag video files, audio clips, PDFs and projects.

Once youÕve imported images into the Organizer and selected the ones to edit, transfer them over to the Photo Editor in Elements 11. Your shots will appear automatically as thumbnails in the Photo Bin along the bottom of the interface. Just click the Photo Bin icon at the bottom left of the interface if the panel isnÕt visible.

This is a fantastic tool if editing a series of images as you can see how well they work as a collection. To change the order of your shots for a different view, simply click and drag them into a new position. To change your editing screen view and activate a shot to edit, double-click on a thumbnail in the Photo Bin, it should then appear large on screen. You can also action some adjustments in the Photo Bin via the drop-down menu in the right-hand corner. Here, you can get a view of any images currently active in the Organizer, print all of the Photo Bin files or save them as an album. This is a great way to process multiple files quickly, rather than having to trawl through loads of images and save them individually.

Search bar When searching using keywords in the search bar, you can enter multiple tags for more specific results. If youÕve tagged an image with a personÕs name and a place that the image was captured, you can search for both of these elements to get more accurate search results.

People recognition Once youÕve tagged a person within a portrait using a specific name, Elements 11 will attempt to recognise this person in other images. Once you open a shot it will ask you to confirm if itÕs correct.

Keyword Tags panel Another way to find specific photos is to click on the box next to the relevant tag in the Keyword Tag panel. Elements 11 will then automatically bring up all of the images that carry this tag.

Select the green + symbol to create a tag. In the dialogue box, you can select a category and add in a keyword and notes. Once you’ve created the tag you can drag the tag icon onto any other image that the keyword applies to.

Once Elements 11 is familiar with a face it will attempt to use people recognition in order to tag that person in multiple images. Simply click to confirm if it’s correct, as it saves extra tagging time.

You can opt to edit images through the Photo Bin by using the drop-down menu. Click Create to construct a project, Share to upload images online, Print to print all of the images within the bin, and Save to group all of the shots together in an album.

To activate an image in the Photo Bin to edit, you’ll need to scroll through the options and double-click on a shot to expand in the main screen.

Photoshop Elements


GalleryElements can help you achieve a wealth of different effects Ð here is a roundup of some of the possibilites open to you

Filter and auto effects

Just because something is easy doesn’t mean to say that it can’t be beautiful. The range of automatic efects in Elements is staggering and each one can be used to create something to be proud of. The obvious place to go for the auto options is the Filters menu. In here you can access filters to get a certain style efect or apply a set edit. You can enjoy a wealth of options here, from inky sketch efects through to getting creative with blur. The Artistic range of filters are a good place to start, as are the Render and Pixellate.

For complete beginners, pay a trip to the Guided edits. These will let you edit photos and apply styles with just a few clicks of the mouse. Simply run through the steps and enjoy results such as sepia photos or pop-art-inspired prints. And once you’ve made your images, use the Share workspace to create a presentation package or to ready the images for print.

Ultimate guide


Creative layersThe Layers palette is your best friend when it comes to larger edits, as it enables you to control elements and separate them from others. Layer masks were introduced in Elements 10, which enables users to enjoy even more control. The layer blend modes are great for building up collages such as the one above.

Paint effectsDigital painting is a fantastic way to turn your photos into something truly special, and with Elements you can paint even if you have no natural artistic talent. We’ve spoken about the filters, but the Smudge tool is also worth investigating. As you brush over a photo, it pulls up the colour information and uses it to make realistic brush strokes.

Photo editsBeing able to transform your ordinary photos into something to be proud of is at the heart of Elements. Each version comes equipped with a range of powerful editing tools, allowing you to perfect aspects such as colour, lighting and sharpness. If you don’t feel confident, most editing tools come with Auto options.

Traditional photo effectsIf you are a fan of traditional photography and want to bring some of the style to your own images, Elements can help. There are various options for bringing traditional efects such as depth of field or high contrast, in addition to colour and tone edits such as monochrome. These can be achieved through dedicated tools or through filters.

QUICK, GUIDED AND EXPERT MODES

01 The three modes in Photoshop Elements 11 have taken

centre stage. Edit images in either Quick, Guided or Expert

mode. Quick contains a few of the basic tools for enhancing

images, Guided guides you through some great creative effects,

and Expert features the entire program.

Ten reasons why Photoshop Elements is better than ever

Photoshop Elements 11 has been altered; not just in the way

that it looks, but also in the effects and tools it has on offer.

Here are ten improvements to the latest version of the

beginner’s choice in photo-editing software.

10 improvements to Photoshop Elements 11

GRAPHIC NOVEL

The Graphic Novel filter, new to version 11, gives images a sketched effect. There are options to alter the mood of the effect, depending on the scene, by using the Painted Gray, Fine Detail, Hard Edges and Twisted Plot presets.

LOW KEY EFFECT

New Guided Edits, such as this Low Key effect, provide quick ways of putting a creative spin on ordinary images. Low Key darkens the background and increases the overall mood of the image.

A NEW LOOK

02 The new version has been given a grey interface, which

is different to their traditional black interface. The whole

program has been refined to make it easier to follow, and effects

can now be applied to images faster and more effectively. Icons

and text are bigger and bolder, and the on-screen options and

menus are much tidier too.

Photoshop Elements


ONLINE ALBUM

07

There’s a new set of templates for printing and creating

Online Albums. This feature, specific to the Organizer,

lets you store images using a variety of layouts and creative

designs, categorised under Family, Occasions and Interactive.

ACTIONS

08 Actions are one-click solutions to creative effects. These

are new to Elements in version 11, and include borders,

resizing and cropping commands. They also include effects such

as sepia toning, faded ink and instant Polaroid.

PEOPLE, PLACES AND EVENTS

03

The Organizer is where images are collated and shared.

You can categorize and tag them depending on the

people involved, where they were photographed and when they

were created. People can be grouped quickly using the simple,

icon-based approach and faces can be tagged ready for uploading

straight to social networking sites.

SHARE VIDEOS

09

Photoshop Elements 11 lets you upload videos to online

portals Vimeo and YouTube. Since every digital camera

and mobile device has video capture available, there should be no

reason why sharing these is left out of the frame.

GUIDED EDITS

10

Unique to Photoshop Elements 11 is its range of Guided

Edits. They now include four new effects: Miniature,

Vignette, Low Key and High Key. Following step-by-steps, they

only take minutes to apply, and this is one reason why Elements 11

has proved popular with artists looking for quick, fun effects.

LOCATION SPECIFIC

you go, then the Places section of the Organizer will 04

If you’re a keen traveller and aim to capture moments as

prove invaluable. Photos and videos can be placed inside a world

map with details of their exact location. This is great for keeping

snapshots together and locating them at a later date.

BETTER REFINE EDGE

05

Reflecting Photoshop CS6, the Refine Edge command

now has more options. Selections can be controlled

using the full range of adjustments and sliders, including

Decontaminate Colors, which is useful for sorting out those stray

pixels between cutouts. Smart Radius makes selecting difficult

outlines such as hair a breeze, along with the feathering,

smoothing and contrast sliders for perfecting the overall area.

COMIC FILTERS

06 For more cartoon-like image effects, there are three new

Sketch filters that can give images a range of fun

finishes, including Comic, Graphic Novel and Pen and Ink. These

are useful for imitating drawn effects, with colour, line thickness

and shading all forming part of their adjustments.

Ultimate guide

ACCURATE

SELECTIONS

The improved Refine Edge is a blessing when it comes to selecting and cutting out tricky subjects. Plus, the Smart Radius comes with a brush that can be used to paint out unwanted areas around hair and other intricate subjects.

MAPS

It’s easy to remember where photos were shot by using Organizer’s new Places feature. It uses Google Maps and is perfect for travellers.


TechniquesPAGE 28 PAGE 30 PAGE 52

PAGE 26

Enhance your skills and improve your projects with these techniques


Clone objectsDuplicate people in your photos

26

Get started with selectionsManipulate your images

28

Master selections and maskingCreate the out-of-bounds efect

30

Retouch photosTouch up your portraits

32

Control colourImprove the colour of photos

34

Get to know GradientsMaster this essential tool

36

Rescue old photosRestore faded family photos

40

Use brushes effectivelyTips for using the Brush palette

44

Sharpen your imagesRemove subtle blurring

46

PAGE 150Improve exposureBring life back into images

48

Make creative panoramasGet to grips with the Photomerge function

52

PAGE 40


Techniques


Understand the effect Cloning subjects across your image

Set up the tool

01 Select the Clone Stamp tool from the

Toolbar, or press the S key for a

shortcut to take you straight there. Go to

the Tool Options bar and click on the Brush

preview thumbnail. Pick a soft-edged brush,

with a diameter that is just larger than the

subject you want to clone.

Clone objectsDuplicate the people in your photos using the Clone Stamp tool

Cloning is a feature that has been around since the early versions of Elements. It is a feature that is mainly used in retouching to remove blemishes,

freckles and wrinkles, but can be adapted for creative purposes too. In fact, you can clone absolutely anything onto anything, so long as the tool has the right settings in the Tool Options bar.

Using a soft-edged brush is fundamental when you are painting with the Clone Stamp tool, because this helps to blend the two areas together. There are other essential options to tick as well, such as Align, and we will cover how you can use masks in order to create a successful cloned subject.

“You can clone absolutely anything onto anything,

so long as the tool has the right settings in the Tool Options bar”

Add a new layer

02 Keep Opacity set to 100% and tick

Aligned. This enables you to paint the

cloned subject to any area of the image. Make

sure Sample All Layers is ticked to account for

any new layers. With this set, add a new layer

above the Background image.

Use Clone Stamp

03 To use the tool to create a clone of

the subject, press Alt/Opt and click

on the part of the subject you want to clone.

Release Alt/Opt and then paint the subject

back in to a different part of the scene.

Clone objects


Clone options Alter the settings and combine with other Elements features

What does it mean?

MODE When cloning objects, change the Mode setting (found in

the Tool Options bar) to alter the way they appear and interact with your

image. Overlay, for example, creates a high-contrast effect, whereas using Screen mode will reduce

the contrast and turns objects into ghost-

like figures.

Retouch clone

subject, add a layer mask 05 To smarten up the edges of the

(Layer>Layer Mask>Reveal All). Now use the

Brush tool set to black to remove the rough

edges and reveal the background around

the subject.

Flip subject

04 Once your subject has been

completely cloned to the new

position, go to Image>Rotate>Flip Layer

Horizontal to mirror it. Rotate it for variation

using Image>Rotate>Free Rotate Layer and

dragging the corner points.

PerspectiveCreate a new layer each time before the brush is applied, so the cloned area can be resized. We can use Image>Transform> Free Transform to shrink down the duplicate and stay in perspective.

Blur distant subjectsThe smaller cloned subject in the distance has been given a slight Gaussian blur (Filter>Blur). This is to match the rest of the background elements, which are a little blurry.

AlignedTick the Aligned box in the Tool Options bar so that the Clone Stamp tool continues to work from where you left off. Otherwise, the tool will reset its position.

No selection Subjects can be cloned and flipped around as many times as you like. The best thing of all is that no selection is needed to create duplicates.

Techniques


S

elections form one of the cornerstones of

Photoshop editing, and mastering the skills to neatly

isolate areas of your image opens up a host of

possibilities for creative editing. Photoshop Elements has

a number of built-in selection options ranging from the very

basic to the more complex. We’ll be looking at the more

simple options to get your selection skills up to scratch in

this tutorial.

Selection options are laid out in the Select menu

with Photoshop ofering some additional choices

to Elements that perform more complex functions.

However, Elements has some fantastic options on ofer.

The annotations walk you through the basic, need-to-

know features in this menu to give you control over your

selections from modifying, inverting and saving them.

The selection tools are purpose-built and each is suited

to a particular type of selection, from the Marquee tool

that makes selections based on shapes to the Magic

Wand tool which makes automatic selections based

on colour. The software realises that freehand drawing

is inaccurate but sometimes necessary, so a host of

magnetic and smart tools assist you in tracing outlines

and selecting only the part of an image that you need.

Learning the option menus that go with each tool will

help you better control it and get the most out of its

functionality. Above all, knowing what a particular tool

was built for will enable you to select the correct one for

the correct purpose and be able to make seamless and

accurate selections, time and time again.

Get started with selectionsStreamline your selections with our overview of tools and tricks to control and manipulate the elements of your images

Quick mode

Options for speedy editsPhotoshop Elements 11 has three edit modes: Quick, Guided and Expert. If youÕre new to editing and choose the Quick mode, selection options are limited to the Quick Selection and Selection Brush tools. With one click the Quick Selection tool will read pixels and guess selection parameters depending on how similar the pixels are to each other. The Brush Selection tool offers more accurate results as you control the selection yourself. Change the brush size to suit your selection. If you require more intuitive tools, switch between the Guided and Expert modes while working on an image.

Marquee tool

Shape-based selectionsMake selections based on shapes in your image with the Marquee tool. You can choose either the Rectangular or Elliptical tool to make a selection within your image. Begin at a point on the image and drag the tool across your target as you hold the mouse down. Hold down the Shift key to create a perfect square or circle with each tool respectively. Make the selection carefully, as you canÕt change dimensions once the selection is complete. This tool works best with simple elements in an image or to make precise and even selections.

Refine Edge and Feather This set of commands is available when using any selection tool and gives you options to change the edges of your selection. The Smooth slider removes bumps along the selection line, Feather softens the edges in a uniform blur and Contract/Expand either increases or decreases the selection edge.

Tool Options Each selection tool comes with its own settings. These include the Add to Selection command that enables multiple selections to be made on the same image. Subtract from Selection excludes the new area from the current selection and Intersect with Selection will let only areas in your new selection that intersect with

previous ones be highlighted.

Get started with Selections


Add to Selection

02 In the Magic Wand’s

Tool Options, select

Add to Selection (two

squares). With this selected,

click in the sky area to make a

second selection of those

same-coloured pixels to be

added to the first.

Lasso selections

Freehand and magnetic optionsThe Lasso tools include the basic Lasso, Magnetic Lasso and Polygonal Lasso. The basic tools enable rough freehand selections, good for situations where precision isn’t required. The Polygonal tool lets you add reference points as you draw by clicking the mouse, which is especially handy for drawing straight lines. The Magnetic Lasso traces along the edges of objects with strong colour contrast and, as with the Polygonal, you can create reference points as you draw, pressing the Backspace key to return to the last reference point. Finish back at your start point or double-click to complete a selection.

Magic Wand

Automatic selections by colourA single click and the Magic Wand makes an automatic selection within your image based on the colour that you clicked on. This tool gives fairly accurate results in images with strong, similar colours and varying accuracy in more complex images. To get better results with the tool, pay attention to the Tolerance level that appears in the Tool Options bar when the tool is selected. This determines how closely the selection will match the clicked colour. The higher the value, the wider the colour range.

Isolating elements within an image enables you to inject enhancements where needed without affecting the whole of your shot. In this image the greens, yellows and browns are dynamic but the blues seem washed out against them. By selecting the sky and the water, the colour can be adjusted to marry perfectly with the rest of the image.

Enhance selected colour

Use Elements to balance an image

Magic Wand

01 Select the Magic

Wand tool and make

a selection of the water by

clicking in a dark blue area.

Zoom in to ensure you select

the right shade rather than

the surrounding pigments

such as the boat or riverbank.

Enhance colour

03 Go to Enhance>

Adjust Color>Adjust

Color Curves and increase

the Midtone curve by half

the available value. The

adjustment will only be

applied to the two blue

selected areas.

Anti-alias and Tolerance Anti-aliased is used with the Marquee tool and automatically smooths out the edges of circular or elliptical shapes. Keep the box ticked to have the function on. Tolerance controls the degree to which the automatic selections recognise similar or different pixels and gives a greater degree of control when using the automatic selection functions.

Save selection Save selections for later use by choosing Select>Save Selection, naming your file appropriately and then

clicking OK to save. Access the saved data via Select>Load Selection and choosing it from the list. Your selection will then appear on your image.

Inverse and deselect The Inverse option enables you to choose the opposite part of the image from the selection you’ve made. This is useful when working with the Marquee tool to select borders. Deselecting is to come out of any area, and is the only command that can do this (Ctrl/Cmd+D).


The ‘out of bounds’ effect in Elements 11 is actually a Guided

Edit. This only goes so far, however, and restricts the level of

control that you have over the effect. To create our own version

of the effect, we need to look at layers more closely in Expert Mode.

With masking techniques, the water in our seascape can be made

to look like it’s spilling out of the frame, and by making a selection, a

part of the image can be made to emerge from the frame beneath

this. We can even expand this out of the image, to make it look as

though it’s coming right at us!

Selections can be made quickly using a number of different tools.

The first one that we use is the Polygonal Lasso tool, which draws

straight selection lines – perfect for selecting the frame. Also, since

the colour in the seascape is so vivid, we’ll remove colour from the

background to improve the composition and give it more impact.

Master selections and maskingExplore the potential of masking and selections by creating this out of bounds effect in Photoshop Elements

Before

Techniques

Source files available

Use the files on the site to re-create this: http://blog.photoshopcreative.co.uk/tutorial-files

Create the effectNine steps to out of bounds magic!

Create selection

02 Zoom into the image a couple of

times. Click on each corner of the

digital frame using the Polygonal Lasso tool.

Once all four lines are connected, a

selection area will appear.

New layer mask

03 Click on the Create a New Layer

button in the Layers panel, then on

the Add Layer Mask button. The selection

area will disappear once you’ve done this,

but will be stored as the layer mask.

Polygonal Lasso tool

01 Open ‘Digital frame.jpg’ from blog.

photoshop creative.co.uk/tutorial-

files. Enter Expert Mode. Grab the Polygonal

Lasso tool (L) then tick Anti-aliasing in the

Options panel. Set Feather to 0px.

Control opacity

08 Lower Opacity of the Eraser tool to

20% and reveal the water over the

table the further out it goes. Drag Layer 1

(between the Seascape and Digital Frame

layers) onto the trash icon to remove it.

Desaturate

09 Click Background layer and add

Hue/Saturation adjustment.

Reduce Saturation to -100 to remove colour

from the Digital Frame. You should be left

with just the colour groyne exiting the frame.

Water spillage!

07 Go Select>Deselect. Locate Eraser

tool (E) and set Size to 600px,

Opacity to 100%, choose a soft tip, and

make Foreground colour black. Paint over

the seascape layer mask to reveal spillage.

Quickly select

05 Use the Quick Selection tool (A), set

to Size: 40px and Auto-Enhance in

the Options panel, to select the part of the

groyne on the beach. Turn its layer on and

off to make sure the selection covers the

digital frame.

Combine masks

06 Click Add Layer Mask to apply this

selection as a new mask to the

seascape. Add the other mask by Cmd/

Ctrl+clicking on its thumbnail to reactivate it,

then pressing Cmd/Ctrl+Backspace.

Foreground colour must be black to do this.

Place image

04 Go to File>Place and upload

‘Seascape.jpg’ from the resources.

Move the placed image up so in line with the

top of the digital frame image. Holding Shift,

drag the bottom-right box to enlarge it so it

fits over the image. Press Enter to apply.


Master selections and masking

Techniques


Elements is the tool of choice for starting out with retouching. You

are given the same tools as the pros to give your own portrait shots

a desirable veneer. Before you flick past in horror, we aren’t going to

suggest you spend your life airbrushing through your family photos. Even

five-minute edits can suddenly bring a portrait to life and Elements users

will find a lot of automated options for retouching tasks. However, we

are going to look at the manual tools here and show you how easy it is to

create the maximum impact.

Common retouching tasks will focus on the face, whether it’s

smoothing out skin or doing a touch of spot or blemish removal.

Whitening the eyes or teeth is another easy edit that can really make a

Don’t be intimidated by the thought of retouching portraits – Elements has

a host of beginner-friendly tools that do most of the work for you

Retouch photos

“Even five-minute edits can suddenly bring a portrait back to life”

The camera was set incorrectly here, causing the image to be overexposed. This harsh light has accentuated the woman’s lines.

We have applied a colour correction as well as using the Clone Stamp and Spot Healing Brush to tame the lines and wrinkles.

diference. The most important thing to remember, though, is to keep

your edits subtle. Like it or not, wrinkles and wobbly bits give us character

and if you wade in with a virtual plastic surgeon’s knife, you won’t improve

an image. A light touch here and there is all you need for the best results.

We’re also going to be covering another Elements skill within the

‘retouching’ monicker, and that is restoring old photos. Similar skills

and tools can be transferred from something like removing wrinkles

to removing creases and tears in scanned images, so the two really go

hand in hand.

It’s also worth pointing out that some of the other tools we’ve looked

at can be called upon here. For example, if you want to whiten eyes

or teeth, use one of the selection methods we suggested and then

use the Color Curves command to target the highlights and brighten

things up. As you use Elements more and more, you’ll see these

repetitions pop up time and again.

BEFORE AFTER

Retouch photos


The major retouching tools

The toolbar delivers pretty much all you need

Clone Stamp is the king of ‘patching’ up unwanted areas but an easier option is the Spot Healing Brush.

Spot Healing Brush

Remove blemishes easily

Red Eye tool Even with fancy cameras, red eye is a really common problem that is thankfully very easy to fx. Simply pick the tool, place it over the ofending area and click. If it refuses to budge, go to Edit>Undo and use the Pupil Size and Darken Pupil settings to make adjustments and try again.

Healing Brush tool Like the Clone Stamp, this allows you to replace areas with information from other parts of an image. However, the Healing Brush also matches the texture, transparency, lighting and shading. This makes it easy to fx complicated areas.

Spot Healing BrushGood for smaller areas that need fxing. Again, you use a brush to dab over the area that needs fxing. Edits made with this tool should be made with one click.

Pick a brush size

01 Pick a brush size that’s

slightly larger than the

area to be edited. This lets you

perform a one-click fix, and gives

you the most accurate results.

Set the tool

02 There are various

options available.

Proximity Match uses pixels from

the edge as a Patch. Create

Texture uses all pixels in the

selection, while Content-Aware

will create magic replacements!

Use the lot

03 Achieve best results by

selecting Sample All

Layers from the Tool Options bar.

This uses information from the

whole image. To make the edit,

click on the area and Elements

will work its magic.

Final touches for better images

In addition to the tools mentioned below, there are some filters than can help you make the perfect edit. For example, old photos tend to be blighted by noise, so a blast of the Despeckle filter (Filter>Noise) can work wonders. If you want to soften areas to draw attention to others, apply a very low Gaussian blur to a selected area, or use the Blur tool from the toolbar to paint blur on. Finally, Unsharp Mask (Enhance>Unsharp Mask) is good for adding clarity to important areas such as eyes.

Useful filters

Clone Stamp tool The mother of all retouching tools, this allows you to sample parts of an image and transfer it to another part. This is achieved using a brush. Use the largest, softest brush you can and transfer the sampled area using small dabs.

Techniques


Colour is a vital part of any

image. If you have a photo with

weak colour, it doesn’t matter

how impressive the composition or

how sharp the detail – all anyone will

see is the flat colour.

As you should come to expect by

now, Elements has many diferent

options when it comes to adding and

editing colour and most of them are

really simple to use. For adding colour,

you will spend most of your time in

the Color Picker. This is activated by

clicking the two little colour squares

at the bottom of the toolbar. The top

square is for the foreground colour

(or the main colour) and the bottom

square is the background.

The Color Picker gives you access

to all the diferent colours you could

possibly want and selecting them is

really easy. Just click on the bar to pick

a colour and then position the little

circle over the particular hue that you

want. There are loads of other libraries

and settings you can use, but you don’t

have to go any further than clicking on a

colour to select it.

Editing colour in an image is also

easy. Elements has Auto Color options

(Enhance>Auto Color Correction).

This is pretty much the easiest edit

you can make and both flavours do a

good job of fixing problem images. But

there are plenty of alternatives if you

want to have a bit more control over

proceedings. Hue/Saturation is an

excellent choice, allowing you to alter

not only the colour of things, but also

the intensity of the colour. In a similar

vein is the Color Variations command.

This is suited to beginners in particular

because you click on preview images

to make the changes, so you always

know what the outcome will be.

The Replace Color alters a chosen

colour in your image, which can either be

a simple case of improving one colour, or

something more creative. Read on and

discover how these tools work, how you

can use them and how you can take your

first steps to conquering colour!

Being able to control colour is an essential skill for improving images

Control colour

The Variations command

The Color Variations command isn’t high on a lot of users’ lists when it comes to altering the colour properties of an image, which is a shame because it’s a very intuitive way of editing, especially for beginners. It allows you to target the shadows, highlights and midtones and set what colour you want them to be. You need to go to Enhance>Adjust Color>Color Variations. Once open, you see a range of small thumbnails showing the image with a certain colour applied. The intensity can be adjusted to suit and you just click to apply.

See how your edit will look

Hue/Saturation

Have fun with the Hue/Saturation command. It works using sliders, and enables you to alter the colour of an entire image or just target a specific colour to change. You can also use the Saturation slider to increase or decrease the intensity of a colour, proving particularly useful in photo edits and also converting to black and white. It is very easy to overdo the Saturation slider, though, so always keep the Preview box ticked to keep on top of things. You’ll find Adjust Hue/Saturation under Enhance>Adjust Color.

Go wild with your colour

Control colour


The edits

01 The Balance

command

adjusts the temperature

and tint of a photo, with a

slider for each. It’s just a

case of moving the slider left or right to increase

or decrease the effect.

Chosen colourThis is the colour you’ve picked.

HSB values HSB (or HSL) values describe the colour in terms of its hue (wavelength), saturation (vividness) and lightness.

RGB values These describe the colour as quantities of red, green and blue light, on a scale of 0-255.

# hex valueThe same RGB code expressed in hexadecimal, used for website design.

Spectrum bar Choose a hue from the spectrum here. Rather than the real spectrum, it represents a colour wheel, flattened out – that’s how red gets to be at both the end and the beginning.

Pick the shadeClick here to select the exact shade that you want. The colour gets more saturated towards the right and lighter towards the top.

Replace Color

Elements offers a quick way of replacing one colour with another and that is the aptly-named Replace Color command. Found in Enhance>Adjust Color, it works in a similar way to the Color Range command, in that you use an eyedropper to click on your image to select the colour to edit. There is a Fuzziness slider to control the selection and then it’s just a case of using the Hue, Saturation or Lightness sliders to make the new colour that you want to use. Thankfully the sliders make simple work of the whole process.

Don’t like a colour? No problem!

Edit skin tone

Elements makes it really easy to adjust skin tone to ensure the best portraits. Open the Enahnce>Adjust Color menu and pick Adjust Color for Skin Tone. Click on the person’s skin and Elements will adjust the whole photo to improve the colour. If you need more correction, you can use the Tan slider to boost/reduce warm tones or the Blush slider to boost/reduce redness.

Retouch with Adjust Color for Skin Tone

The Balance command lets you easily fix colour casts by adding complementary colour to an image. You will need to take a trip to the Quick mode to use the Balance slider.

In balance

A useful tool for adjusting hues

Warm up

02 The plan is to

warm this image

up. We pushed the

Temperature slider to the

right, towards the red part

of the slider. The colours underneath each

slider will let you know what the effect is

going to look like, so pay attention!

Balance out

03 Warm images

look good if the

shadows are contrasted

and therefore cool in

colour. We can do this by

moving the Tint slider to the left, which represents

the green end of the colour spectrum. This will

inject green into the image.

AFTER

Techniques


The Gradient tool can be a very exciting and underestimated feature. You shouldn’t be shy to

use them, but if you are just use these tips and tricks to get to know them a bit better. They can be used in numerous ways to achieve several effects within your work, and when used cleverly they can help you soften transitions from one image or colour to another. The Gradient tool can be used on its own to build

dynamic backgrounds and textures, and it can also be used to create masks and feathered edges. You can even fake depth of field through gradient masks for a photographic touch.

Here we’ll show off the tool in full colour, as we teach you how to create a rainbow using the Radial Gradient preset. We’ve chosen a holiday snap from Thailand for this example and you can download that from the website,

www.photoshopcreative.co.uk, but any image you want to jazz up with a beautiful rainbow will work. You’ll also learn how to use the Gradient tool to mask the cloudy sky, so let’s jump right in and explore some of the options.

Get to know gradients The Gradient tool can be extremely useful in all types of Photoshop scenarios so take a closer look

Use a gradient preset or load a new oneThe Gradient Editor

PLAY WITH VARIANTS

Adjust the colour stops to alter your gradient precisely. ThereÕs a lot of trial and error here, and playing with the variants can create different effects and outcomes.

GRADIENT PRESETS

Choose one of the gradient presets or load more via the toggle. They all create different levels and shading effects, so try them all out and get used to the many looks.

GRADIENT TYPE

Choose your gradient type here, or double-click to open the Gradient Editor.

BEFORE

Get to know gradients


Use the Gradient tool to create a simple rainbowMake a rainbow

Select the Gradient tool

02 Select the Gradient tool from the Toolbar, click the

drop-down arrow in the Options bar, then click the right

pointing arrow to see another menu. Pick Special Effects to see

new patterns appear.

Make a new layer

01 To explore the Gradient tool, creating a rainbow is ideal practice.

Download ‘Thailand.jpg’ from our site or use your own photo. Add

a new blank layer by clicking the New Layer icon at the bottom of the

palette and call it Rainbow. This will appear above the Background.

Russell’s Rainbow

03 Click on the Russell’s Rainbow

gradient. Hover your cursor over the

gradient thumbnail to find the correct one.

Radial Gradient option

04 Click the Radial Gradient option. This

works from the starting point to the

ending point in a circular pattern and makes

the rainbow appear as an arc. It is very

important that Transparency is switched on.

Final touches

realistic, adjust two simple settings. Set the 07 To go further and make the rainbow more

Rainbow layer to Screen in the Blend Modes menu,

then set the Opacity to about 45%. Play with these

options until you are happy with the result.

Create a rainbow

05 Click from outside the canvas on the

left and drag to the right while

holding down Shift to keep the angle straight.

Let go when you are happy – this will be trial

and error. Now position the rainbow where

you want it on the image.

Gradient mask

06 Select the Gradient tool again, but

this time use the first gradient in the

menu as shown. With the Rainbow layer

selected, click the mask icon at the bottom

of the palette. Click down and let go when

you are happy with the angle. Have a play

and if you make a mistake or are unhappy

with the result, just press Ctrl/Cmd+Z.

Expert tip

In the fast-paced world of creative design, it’s a good idea to get to know all the keyboard shortcuts. When the Gradient tool is selected (G), you can press the full stop or period key (.) to navigate through the gradient styles. To Help menu contains lists of shortcuts, or you can find them out by looking in menus or hovering over tools with your cursor. You obviously don’t have to use shortcuts, but they do speed things up with the tools and techniques you use the most.

Remember shortcuts

Techniques


Gradients explained

Blends from the starting point to the ending point in a straight line. Great for faking depth of field in a photo or adding in a blue sky.

Works outwards from a centre point to make a circle. Try a few different colours and see what happens with this popular effect.

Works in a counterclockwise sweep from a starting point. Good for creating fake metal. Add some noise to grade and texture.

Mirrors a gradient from the start point. Use it to Create metal bars/general metal effects and fake reflected surfaces.

Creates a diamond-shape gradient from the start point. As the name might suggest, this one’s perfect for diamond shapes and patterns.

The Gradient tool works by gradually blending different colours. To do that you begin by deciding what kind of blending effect you want – moving from the middle or the outer edges, for example. Choose an effect from the preset gradient fills or create your own. These are the presets most regularly used. Explore the options and be creative!

Linear Gradient

Radial Gradient

Angle Gradient

Reflected Gradient

Diamond GradientAlter the angle

04 Now click from the centre

of the canvas and drag to

the right holding Shift. Let go when

you are happy with the angle.

Change the colour

02 Alter the first colour of the

gradient by double-clicking

the bottom-left colour stop and

changing it to blue.

Finished radial gradient

05 You now have a radial gradient ready

to use! Play with more colours by

selecting a default gradient with more colour

options or play with the final effect by

adjusting the line and/or the angle.

Colours fading together

03 Double-click the bottom-right colour

stop and change it to red or a colour

you like. You should now see your two

chosen colours fading together. Click OK.

Gradient editor

01 Creating a gradient is often an essential trick for Photoshop users whether

it’s for graphic design or photo editing. Select the tool and tick Radial

Gradient. Click the Gradient Picker in the top menu to open the Gradient Editor.

Making a gradient from scratch is often the best way to achieve an effect – and it’s easier than you might think

Custom gradients

Get to know gradients


Techniques


Chop it upWhere the image has been permanently

damaged in the corners, it’s time to cut and paste surrounding areas over the top.

BEFORE AFTER

Images of the past are not only filled with

memories but can also give an interesting

insight into what life was like back then.

From the poses they made and the clothes

people wore to the activities they got up to,

these images deserve our care and attention.

Retouching and rescuing damaged photos is

quite simple. As long as you know which tool to

call upon, removing marks and blemishes should

be a breeze. Signs of aging come in the form of

specks; both black and also white ones. These are

commonly seen on images or negatives that have

been scanned in. Here we show you quick ways to

remove these artefacts and defects.

But image degradation can take the shape

of other kinds of marks, such as hairline

fractures, fading and damaged corners, and

much more. When you think an image is

beyond help, however, there is always a

technique that you can use in order to

rescue it. By using just a handful of the very

best tools that Elements has to offer, we

are able to reveal their original and

flawless states.

Rescue old photosHow to edit and reduce image defects in your archived collection

Dust & ScratchesAny spots or small marks will disappear instantly using the Dust & Scratches filter. It’s found in the

Filter menu under the Noise options.

Spot healing The Spot Healing Brush tool

is a fast way to get rid of specks – just stamp and

watch the mark leave the image’s surface.

Clone Stamp tool The Clone Stamp tool enables you to directly

place good pixels over bad ones. This is an effective feature for those slightly larger areas.

Rescue old photos


AFTER BEFORE

Why this tool?

01 If you want to be more accurate

when removing marks than a blanket

filter effect can be, use the Spot Healing

Brush tool. This is especially helpful for

retouching damaged pixels around people,

as details in other areas go unaffected.

Tool setup

02 Select the tool from the Toolbar

and go to the Options bar at the top.

If your image has a paper texture to it, tick

the Create Texture option. Otherwise, tick

Proximity Match. Zoom in by holding Ctrl/

Cmd and then tapping the + key. Open the

Navigator palette from the Window menu to

see how close you are.

Paint away marks

03 Adjust the size of the brush using

the [ and ] keys so that it’s just larger

than the size of the mark being removed.

Now it’s just a matter of clicking once over

each speck to remove it. For longer marks,

click and drag to paint over them and they

should disappear.

Spot Healing Brush tool Take control of images with a dedicated tool

Remove dust and scratchesMake light work of getting rid of unsightly marks

Use the Dust & Scratches filter if your image is speckled all over

with spots and scratches. What would otherwise be an arduous task

using a tool such as the Spot Healing Brush becomes a two-minute

job, and it’s all done for you!

ThresholdThreshold will bring back

image details that were lost after setting the Radius amount. A Threshold of 20px worked here. Start at 0 and work your way

up gradually.

RadiusFor this image the Radius

amount was set to 2px. Look to remove the majority

(ideally all) of the spots by increasing this slider. You may

only need a 1px Radius.

Your best betFor removing lots of tiny specks of dust in one go,

there really is no substitute option in Elements.

Dust & ScratchesElementÕs Dust &

Scratches filter works like magic on most old

images in order to clear up marks.

Techniques


BEFORE AFTER

Pick the Clone Stamp

01 Click on the Clone Stamp Tool in the

toolbar. Drag the Background onto

the Create a New Layer button to duplicate

it. This preserves the original.

Set opacity and hardness

02 Keep the tool’s Opacity in the

Options bar set to 100% to create a

solid stamp of pixels on your image. Click the

brush mark icon in the Options bar and then

select a soft-edged brush. This keeps the

results nice and smooth. Set the brush size to

slightly bigger than the area you want to clone.

Stamp with the tool

03 To use the Clone Stamp tool, hold

Alt/Opt and then click on a part of

your image that’s next to the damaged area.

Release Alt/Opt and click once over the

damaged pixels to replace them with your

sample. Repeat this process until the entire

area has been covered up.

Polygonal Marquee tool

04 For the corners of an image that

are completely destroyed, select

the Polygonal Marquee tool from the

Toolbar. This enables us to make a selection

of an area in the image to copy and paste

over the corners.

Copy and paste

05 Make a selection with this tool by

clicking and drawing lines over an

area of good pixels. Join the ends together

to complete the selection and then press

Ctrl/Cmd+C. Now press Ctrl/Cmd+V and

you should notice a new layer appear.

Transform to fit

06 This new layer contains the pasted

pixels. Use the Move tool to drag

this new patch over the damaged area.

Press Ctrl/Cmd+T to activate the Transform

command. Hold Shift and click and drag on

a corner of the area to enlarge it.

Clone, copy, paste

Restore damaged corners

Sometimes the corners and edges of an old

image can end up faded or even completely

destroyed, whether that’s because of the way

they were stored or just general wear and tear

over the years. We can restore these areas,

though, and to do so we need to combine the

Clone Stamp tool with the copy and paste

commands, which will cover these with

existing parts of the image.

What does it mean?DUPLICATE LAYERS ThereÕs no

limit to how times a layer can be duplicated. We can continually select, copy and paste parts of the image and

transform it until the damaged area has been covered. When using the

Polygonal Lasso, select different areas

for variation.

Rescue old photos


Duplicate patch

08 Drag the layer of this patched area

onto the Create a New Layer icon in

the Layers palette to duplicate it. Move the

area to a new position and erase any

obviously repeating pixels. By duplicating

layers and resizing them, you should end up

with a good section over the damaged area.

Merge layers

09 Each time you copy and paste a

selected area, it will be given its own

layer. Once this has been positioned and

blended in using the Eraser tool, you can

press Ctrl/Cmd+E to merge the layer with

the one below. By repeatedly merging these

areas, they’ll be included in the next

selection with the Polygonal Marquee tool.

Blend new area

07 After resizing and placing the new

area, select the Eraser tool. Pick a

nice, soft brush and then paint away the

hard sides of the new section to blend it into

the image for a seamless appearance.

Unsharp MaskReduce blurriness in an old image

Sharpening images is also an important part

of the retouching process and should be

done as the last few steps after cloning and

patching up areas. This is because if you

sharpen before you have completely cleaned

up the picture, you will end up sharpening

and enhancing the defects. With the help of

a selection over the main subject, you can

selectively apply sharpening to the image

and bring out what’s important.

New layerWhen you’ve selected

the subject for sharpening, place the area onto a new layer

by pressing Ctrl/Cmd+J.

“With the help of a selection… selectively apply sharpening to

bring out what’s important”

Quick Selection We used the Quick Selection

tool to apply a selection to the boy in this old image. The

Magic Wand tool is also handy for quickly laying down a selection.

Unsharp Mask By setting the Amount to 114 in the filter and Radius to 1.8, more edges are sharpened. Depending on the size of the subject, you’ll need to adjust

these two carefully.

SharpeningYou access the Unsharp Mask feature by going to Enhance>Unsharp Mask.

Click on the brush preview to access the

different brush tips.

Click this arrow to see more options and to load or replace the current brush set.

Use the slider to alter the size of the brush.

Techniques


What does it mean?

APPEND If you’ve selected a brush set beyond the basics, Elements will ask

if you want to append or replace. Appending keeps

the basic set visible, adding the new tips

to it.

Brushes are obviously linked with

digital painting, but they are also

vital to a lot of other Elements

tools. They are incredibly powerful and

thankfully enable you to create a lot of

different effects.

The Elements brush tips vary

dramatically. You have the choice of

simple round or square ones, all the way

up to ones that mimic the kind of

paintbrushes you’d find in an art shop.

It’s really easy to change which tip you

are using and the Brush options enables

you to control what they look like. You

can even make your own.

Here, we will show you how to select,

load and edit a brush to do whatever you

wish it to do.

Use brushes effectivelyBrushes crop up everywhere in Elements so it is important to understand how they work

Use brushes effectively


Load and go

01 With your Brush tool active, click the

right arrow in the Brush Picker and

select Load Brushes.

Pick it

02 Navigate to the brush file, click it and

then press the Load button. You are

looking for an .abr file.

Permanent fixture

03 The brush (or brushes) will appear in

the Brush Picker. To make it a

permanent resident, add it to the Brush

Support Files folder, found within the

Elements Applications folder.

Load brushes Add to the collection

Get to the sets

01 With the Brush tool selected, go to the

Tool Options bar and click on the Brush

Picker. Once it opens, click the Brushes

drop-down arrow and scroll down the brush

choices. Click one to pick it.

Your new brushes

02 The new brushes will appear in your

Brush Picker. Simply click on one to

pick it. If you hover over the brushes, a

descriptive name will pop up helping you to

decide exactly which to use.

Go back to before

03 If you ever get swamped in the

different brushes you have picked,

click the right-pointing arrows in the Brush

Picker and then select the Reset Brushes

option. This takes you back to the default.

Change a brush set Pick and choose

Pick a brush

01 The first step in picking a brush is

selecting the Brush tool from the

Toolbar. It is easy to spot – it looks like a brush!

Click the brush preview in the Tool Options

bar to select the brush you want.

Make a change

02 You can also use the Tool Options bar

to control how a brush looks. The

setting you will use most is Size, which uses a

slider. Simply drag left to make smaller and

right to make bigger.

More options

03 You have other choices for

controlling brushes in the Tool

Options bar as well. For example, you can

pick a blend mode for the brush to work in,

set the Opacity and also pick controls for

working with a graphics tablet.

Select and control brushes Show the brush who is boss

Techniques


Use two simple techniques in Photoshop Elements to remove subtle blurring

Sharpen your images

After sharpening up the image, the highlights have much more detail and the

outline of the bird is far more defined.

Blurred shot

✗ Without sharpening, the bird’s feathers

lack definition and the overall image is softer than it should be.

BEFORE

AFTER

Sharpen your images


Ways to avoid blurry shots

3 of the best

Duplicate the layer

01 The first and most important step when using this method is to make a

copy of the image’s layer. In Elements 10, find the Layers panel and simply drag and drop the Background layer on to the Create A New Layer button at the base of the panel.

Apply filter

the Filter menu at the top. Select 02 To apply the High Pass filter, go to

High Pass, which is found inside Other. The High Pass dialog pops up, and you need to adjust the Radius slider until you see strong definition in the edges of subjects.

Change blend mode

03 When you’re happy with the amount of Radius in the High Pass dialog, hit

OK. The photograph will be completely grey at this point. To apply this sharpening, go to the Layers panel and change the Mode from Normal to Hard Light.

Unsharp method

04 Another way to sharpen a photo is using the Unsharp Mask option.

With a blurry image open, in Photoshop Elements 10 go to the top of the interface into the Enhance menu. The Unsharp Mask is found at the bottom of this menu.

Set variables

05 In the Unsharp Mask dialog, tick Preview. Set Amount to 100%,

Radius to 2.0 pixels, and Threshold to 0 levels. This gives an average amount of sharpening for slightly-blurred images. For extreme blurring, push the amounts further.

Not every image you take will come out

the camera pin-sharp. The chances are

that they may still come out slightly soft,

or even with blurred subjects in some cases.

This is where sharpening comes in, bringing

back essential crispness to the shot.

Photoshop Elements 10 has some of the

best tools to counteract blurring. The two

methods described here require little to no

knowledge of the software, learned skill, or

artistic aptitude.

The best way to see how sharp your image

looks is by zooming in. Zoom until you reach

100% magnification, as this shows how each

pixel appears when printed out. When taking

your photos, be aware of over-blurring images

because sometimes the blurring is too severe

and can’t be rescued.

The techniques shown here use two

diferent filters and approaches. The High Pass

filter uses an extra grey layer on top of the

photo. This layer is given a blend mode and a

touch of filter to bring details into your images.

The Unsharp Mask filter is a similar method,

but instead, the filter is applied directly on to

the image, where you can see the results

straight away. So open an image and get

cracking with these quick steps.

Sharpening methods Easy ways to sharpen shots

“Some images might come out soft, but sharpening brings back crispness to the shot”

Keep steadyAvoid camera shake and keep your camera still by resting it on a hard surface or by using a tripod if you have one.

Use autofocusHalf press your shutter before you take the shot to ensure your camera’s autofocus has time to lock onto the subject.

Select the focusIf your camera has them, use your autofocus selection points to more accurately select what the camera focuses on.

Shadow areasAdjustments can help

lighten up areas steeped in dark shadow, such as the

grass in this image.

Techniques


Exposure is not easy to get right, and

even with your camera set to autopilot

it can still produce mixed results for the

final image. The term exposure is a way of

describing how much light has been captured.

For an image to looks its best, correct

exposure is key and there are a number of

ways to ensure this and create a better

balance of lighting throughout compositions.

Problems can quickly arise when images

have either too much light (overexposed) or

too little light (underexposed). There are even

images that can have both, which prove

difficult to adjust and turn into a normal-

looking shot.

The techniques we take you through in this

tutorial range from using a basic adjustment,

such as the Brightness/Contrast, to a slightly

more difficult method using multiple masks

We suggest giving all three a try and

experimenting in order to find out exactly

which one has the desired effect.

Whether you want to make the subject of a

portrait brighter or lighten up a landscape,

we’re sure there’s a technique here for you

that will put your exposure right. Take a closer

look and decide for yourself.

Improve exposureAdjustments and masks can produce stunning changes to images

Levels adjustment The Levels adjustment

shows the balance of exposure through your

image. Shadows are dealt with on the left and the highlights on the right.

Brightness/ContrastThe Brightness/Contrast

adjustment is split into two. Brightness first, then Contrast

second. This gives a quick boost to the overall exposure.

Shadows/Highlights

Use Shadows/Highlights to target specific areas and alter exposure. The results are more instant than the others, but it’s

harder to work with.

Improve exposure


Bring life back into imagesBrightness and contrast improved in no time

Load adjustment

01 Find the Brightness/Contrast

adjustment from inside the Enhance

menu under Adjust Lighitng. Usually, if an

image needs brightening up then it needs an

increase in contrast too.

Adjust brightness

02 The first thing to do is boost the

Brightness slider. This affects the

entire image in terms of exposure. Take this

slider up to a point where the highlights start to

lose detail, but not entirely.

Boost contrast

03 With the Brightness set, you’re now

ready to increase the Contrast slider.

Start by moving this to the same value. This

gives an even balance, but it won’t do it any

harm pushing it up more for extra impact.

Get off the ground Start with the Brightness/Contrast adjustment

Your first port of call for improving exposure should be

the Brightness/Contrast adjustment. Using only two

sliders, the adjustment provides the essential edits for

altering the strength of light and contrast of highlights

and shadows. It’s the easiest adjustment out of them

all, and results can be seen very quickly.ContrastThe Contrast slider changes

the intensity of the light that’s in the image.

ShadowsThe Contrast slider will darken

shadows. Look for the darkest part of your image and decide on how much

detail needs to be there.

BrightnessThe Brightness slider

determines how much light is added into the image.

Highlights Look to bring the highlights

in your image to a bright white, but not bleached out.

BEFORE

AFTER

Techniques


Select the person

02 Draw over the main person or object in

your image to form a selected area. The

tool will find the edges of your subject and

wherever you draw with the tool. Lower the

Diameter value for smaller parts.

The Quick Selection tool

01 The Quick Selection tool is available in

Elements 6 and above. Select the tool

and tick Auto-Enhance in the Options bar.

Diameter can be set to 50px to begin with.

Load Levels

the adjustment options. Pick on the 03 From inside the Layers palette, open up

Levels adjustment and you should see the

selection added to the adjustment mask.

Adjust Levels

04 The main subject should be singled out

and the Levels adjustment can be

edited. Move the far-right marker under the

graph to brighten the subject. Move the middle

of the three to boost brightness.

Masks and moreHave extra control over exposure

Load and flip selection

main subject, Ctrl/Cmd-click on the 05 To reload the selection around the

layer mask of the Levels adjustment. Go to

Select>Inverse to flip the area over to the

background, ready for the next adjustment.

Levels number two

06 With the background now highlighted

as a selection, add another Levels

adjustment. You’ll see a new adjustment layer

with a mask but this time the white areas are

black and vice versa.

Darken background

07 Darken or lighten the background parts

of your image using the Levels

adjustment layer. If it needs darkening, slide the

far-left marker over to the right, and the middle

marker to the right too.

Improve exposure with Levels and masks The Levels adjustment is ideal for balancing lighting in your image

There is absolutely nothing stopping you from

using two or more adjustments in one image to

alter lighting. In this portrait, the background

was considerably lighter than the person in the

foreground, so its exposure needed to be

balanced. By using a mask we were able to

darken the background and lighten the person

in separate stages.

Improve exposure


Open the command

01 To open up the Shadows/Highlights

command you need to visit

Enhance>Adjust Lighting>Shadows/Highlights.

Readjust shadows

03 Depending on how dark your shadows

are, boost the Lighten Shadows slider

up gradually to bring back details into the areas.

With Preview ticked you can see how the

changes will affect your image.

Highlight control

04 If the highlight areas of your image look

too bright as a result of the changes,

slide the Darken Highlights up to lower the

exposure and balance things out. This is usually

necessary to get the perfect look.

Better lightingDealing with difficult exposure

Instant effect

02 The adjustment goes to work

straightaway on your image by giving a

default effect. Assess the effect of this on your

shot as in a lot of cases it will suffice.

Recover underexposureRescue dull photographs

The Shadows/Highlights adjustment is

another one of Photoshop’s exposure-

correction features, designed to retrieve lost

details in under and overexposed parts of an

image. The adjustment works instantly to

adjust both the brightest and darkest areas.

This one’s a bit easier than the previous

method, but it’s worth trying out both to see

which works best.

Slider controlMake the edits using

the three sliders.

Control shadowsBecause there are lots of shadows across the

building as well as on the ground, this adjustment affects all these areas in one go.

BEFORE

AFTER


How many panoramas do you own? WeÕre guessing not very many. For some reason, people

either forget about the format or just donÕt think they can create one. This is a shame, as the format enables you to capture large scenes with the kind of detail not possible with a single lens.

A panorama is an image created by stitching together individual photos. There is a bit of thinking needed at the photo-taking stage, but if you can hold a camera steady you can take the necessary shots. Keep the same settings and then start to snap while slowly rotating. You need to keep the camera level and ensure thereÕs overlap on each image to be joined.

Once you have your images, open up Elements and use the Photomerge function. WeÕll show you how easy it is to do and since itÕs so simple, weÕll even make some colour adjustment to the final image for an extra bit of pop.

Make creative panoramasThe Photomerge function in Elements makes generating stunning panoramas a piece of cake

Light prep work

02 The Photomerge function blends

images together but check to see if

major edits are needed. Since the images

have been dragged into the workspace, just

cycle through each one. With these we’ll

use the Crop tool to cut a bystander out.

Gather your files

01 You can use images from a

designated folder, add them

individually or use those currently open.

This is our preferred method and it can be

done by dragging the images in.

Use Photomerge Transform individual photos to achieve lovely panoramas

Techniques


Panorama options

04 The Photomerge window is where

you decide on the type of

panorama you want and set photos to use.

Click the Auto option, select Add Open Files,

ensure Blend Images is ticked and click OK.

Wait and be amazed

05 Your images will be stitched

together. There will be lots of space

around the final image and you’ll be asked if

you would like Elements to fill this space. If

you prefer to use the Crop tool, just click No.

Enter Photomerge

03 The other photos are fine, so enter

Photomerge. Go to File>New and

you’ll see Photomerge options. The one we

want is Photomerge Panorama. Once you

select it, a new window will appear.

Original images

Make creative panoramas


Use the images provided to re-create this

Sunset effect

09 Hit Cmd/Ctrl+D to deselect, then

with the Smart Brush tool, pick the

Sunset brush from the Nature set. Sticking

with a large brush, click and drag over the

entire image once more.

Brighten up

10 Deselect, pick the Brighter brush

from the Lighting set and do the

same as before, clicking and dragging across

the whole image. This pulls the image out of

the dirge realm it was in.

Getting smart

08 It was a bright day when this photo

was taken, but we want some

drama. Head over to the Smart Brush tool

from the toolbar and pick the Blue Skies

from the Nature set. Now click and drag over

the entire image with a large brush.

Crop to the edges

06 Pick the Crop tool from the toolbar and then click and drag

to draw a rough rectangle. Now release this and use the

corner anchor points to click and drag out so as much of the image

is kept as possible, while all the white space is deleted.

Prepare for the edit

stop here or apply further edits (which is what we are going 07 Now the basic panorama has been created. You can either

to do). Go to the Layers palette and click the dropdown options.

Choose Merge Visible to work on just the one file.

Adjust the tone

11 Things are much fresher now, but we aren’t finished yet.

Deselect once more and click the New Adjustment Layer icon

in the Layers palette (the half black-and-white circle). Choose Levels,

then set the white slider to 210 and the grey to 1.11.

Final touchups

12 Take a last look at the image. You might notice areas with dark

lines – this is where an original overlap has been highlighted by

the colour tweaks. To fix this, merge layers as before, pick the Spot

Healing Brush set to Proximity Match in the Options bar and apply.


Techniques

Get the perfect panorama Combine several photos into one impressive result

Photomerge windowWhen you select the Photomerge function, you will be greeted with a

window. From here you can select the images, whether theyÕre the

currently open files or a folder of files. You also get to choose the type

of panorama you want. The Auto option will be fine most of the time,

but you can pick different finishes from the left-hand side. These show

a little preview of the effect. The bottom of the window holds three

options, the most important being Blend Images Together.

Create a manual panoramaIf you revel in panoramas, you may prefer to take the manual

route. Go to File>New>Photomerge Panorama as usual but tick

Interactive Layout as your Layout option. This opens another

dialog that enables you to manually move your source files

into the right position, as well as dictate the vanishing point.

Elements will still blend between the images and once you click

OK the panorama will open as a new file.

START THE

PANORAMA

Kick things off using the Photomerge Panorama option from the File>New menu.

LAYER CONTROL

Once the panorama is complete, the Layers palette holds each image so you can make any edits.

FROM MANY TO ONE

To make a panorama you need a series of overlapping photos, as our example shows here.

CROP THE EXCESS

The final panorama will have untidy edges. Tidy up by using the Crop tool to delete excess edges.

SMART MOVES

The Smart Brush tool makes it easy to add colour and lighting tweaks to make panoramas sing.


Make creative panoramas

PAGE 90

Photo editingPAGE 62 PAGE 66 PAGE 72

PAGE 110

Learn how to fix, edit and retouch your photos for better effects

PAGE 76


Make one-click fixes Discover auto options

58

Top guided edits Make your editing easier

62

Make essential adjustmentsUse blend modes for this efect

64

Edit portraitsImprove your portrait shots

66

Add drama with Dodge and BurnAdjust lighting

70

Master HDR toningFake the HDR look

72

Fix images with curvesPush contrast as far as you can

74

Convert images to black and whiteFrom colour to monochrome

76

Get the Lomo effectPush colour limits

78

Edit colours with Photo FilterCombat white-balance problems

80

Perfect macroAdd layered macro efects

84

Fix heavy shadowsBring back some light

88

Create exposure effectsMake a layered composition

90

Light up your seascapesCreate some atmosphere

94

Improve your landscapesAdjust colour and exposure

98

Create the Dragan effectGet creative with this efect

100

Retouch for classic effectsCreate a vintage portrait efect

104

Use the Lighting Effects filterAdd stunning lighting efects

110

Add emphasis to eyesApply a rainbow efect

114

Selective colour creationsBring out the best in your images

116

PAGE 58


Photo editing


Make one-click fixesGet to know the Auto options in Elements and improve images with just a click of the mouse

We will always encourage that you take some time to explore the different commands and techniques in Elements, as they give you all you need to create

outstanding images. However, time is precious for most, so the prospect of spending ages editing one image when you have a whole stack to get through could often mean you leave them as they are. Even a well-designed interface like Elements can be a bewildering maze of menus and tools.

So, thank goodness for the Quick Edit section of the program, where you have a complete environment in which to make all

the edits you need to improve most images. There are options for tackling exposure, colour, blurriness, colour casts and tone. Each edit automatically makes a series of corrections using different settings, then presents you with the result of each. What this means is that you have a kind of editing market, where you get to browse the final images and pick the one you want. Simply open the fix you want by clicking on the arrow next to its title, scroll over an option to see what it looks like and then click the one you want. This will be outlined in blue, so commit to the edit by closing the arrow.

COLOUR BOOST

The blues in the original were a little reserved, but a blast of the Color option has sorted this out.

SEE DETAIL

The distant hills were originally in deep shadow, but a Levels layer has brought detail to the fore.

SHARP EDGES

The original suffered from soft edges, which were easily fixed with the Sharpen option.

FINAL SWEEP

Once you have targeted certain areas, it doesn’t do any harm to treat the final image to a sweep of the Smart Fix option. This tidies anything you may have missed.

Make one-click fixes


REDUCE THE

SHADOW AREAS

The outer edges of the original photo were dark previously. This has now been fixed.

BRIGHTER TONE

The fixed image is bright, especially the white fur that was originally quite dull.

REVEAL DETAIL

The original image was very dark, meaning that the carving on the building was lost. Now you can read the text.

IMPROVED COLOURS

Because the original was underexposed, the colours were dull. Now they are cleaner and true to life.

TRUE COLOURS

Colours are much brighter in the edited version, especially the eyes and nose.

Auto Smart FixHand control to Elements and achieve impressive results fast

Auto ExposureOvercome troublesome light levels in a flash

The Smart Fix option sits at the top of all the Quick Edits and is a one-hit wonder. This puppy

enables you to automatically correct lighting, colour and contrast; essentially giving you most

of the Auto edits in one place. The differences between the edits are quite small, so make

sure you zoom in to get a good idea of the result.

Exposure is tricky to get right in-camera and

as a consequence is a common problem

with a lot of photos. We’ve all been there:

skies that are bleached or valuable detail

lost in deep, dark shadows. Once you add

limited light into the mix, you have little

choice but to make edits. The Exposure

option will automatically lighten or darken

areas, meaning you just have to pick the

result you like the best.

After

Before

Before

KEEP THE MOOD

Taken at twilight, the original had a sky moving into a sunset. Although the edited version is brighter, it hasn’t lost atmosphere.


SHADOWS FIRST

The shadows in the original were dragging it down, so we tackled these first. Foreground and background detail became brighter.

HIGHLIGHTS

It doesn’t cost anything to also test the Highlights tab, but in this case the whites were bright enough following the other edits.

MIDTONE

TWEAKS

A click on the Midtones tab revealed a whole bunch of edits here. Nothing too strenuous was needed, but the final effect has more zing.

Auto LevelsInstantly restore balance to your photographs

Auto ColorPump life back into your tones in a heartbeat

The Levels command enables you to alter the tones in an image, essentially the shadows,

highlights and midtones. The Levels Auto option is more intense than the others, in that you

can choose from edits for the three tonal ranges, but everything else is the same. Simply

click the one you want, pick the area that needs most work and then adjust the other two.

The Color option is where you can

have most fun and satisfaction.

The brightest of days can be

rendered dull by a digital camera,

so this edit will sprinkle some life

onto your images. There are three

types of edits: Saturation, Hue

and Vibrance. Hue alters the

actual colours, so start in

Saturation, then click on Vibrance

to squeeze out a bit more drama.

Before

Before

THE CHERRY ON TOP

When happy with the saturation, click the Vibrance tab. Things can go too far pretty quickly here, so stay with the small edits.

IMPROVE THE

SATURATION

Make Saturation the first edit. Our original had a dull blue sky and lacklustre bunting.

KEEP AN EYE ON THINGS

Ensure you look at the entire image when making the edit, otherwise you could miss some areas that become over-saturated and exhibit an unholy glow!

Photo editing


BACK ON TRACK

The original image was a lot cooler than the flowers were in real life, so we needed to sort that out.

TINT

A quick visit to the Tint tab offered an option where the flowers’ tones became dominant, forcing the green to recede.

SECOND PASS

A good technique is to make a small edit, commit to it and then open Sharpen once more to add another tiny edit.

EXPLORE THE OPTIONS

It’s best to keep edits small, otherwise you will end up with halos around the edges.

BACK TO PINK

The Saturation tab presented an option that was true to the original, with warm pinky tones rather than a cold purple.

Auto BalanceReplace original vibrancy and heal undesirable effects

Auto SharpenQuickly refine your close-up shots for quality results

The Balance option primarily sorts colour casts. If your image was taken under artificial light,

it will probably have a yellow wash over it, so use the Temperature tab in the Balance

command to counteract this and produce a neutral image. The Tint tab produces subtle

shifts in colours and can help restore any of the original strength.

Regardless of the type of camera you have,

or your abilities as a photographer, digital

images will suffer from softness. A lot of the

time this isn’t noticed, but when it comes to

close-up shots, those soft edges make

themselves known. The Sharpness option

tackles this and defines the edges across the

image. This may not work on extremely blurry

images, but it will sort out most.

After

Before

Before

ZOOM

Look at your image and decide on the area that you want to sharpen, which should be the point in the most focus. Use the Zoom slider to enlarge this.

Make one-click fixes

E

lements 11 has many guided edits, which

include an efect called Orton, named after the

photographer Michael Orton and his signature

editing style. This efect changes your photo in several

creative ways by saturating the colours and then

blurring the focus to achieve an artistic-looking dream

efect. Then there is the Depth of Field efect that

enables you to apply a blur or fake bokeh by selecting

and dragging with the Gradient tool and recovering the

area you want to remain in focus. Last but not least,

the Picture Stack edit takes a single photo and breaks it

up so that it resembles a collection of prints laid out in

front of you. This one is a lot of fun and works best with

group shots. You can choose to divide your photo into

four, eight or twelve prints, and pick the border size and

background. If you switch to Full Edit mode, you can

resize and reposition the frames.

These editing guides are a great way to easily add

some professional efects without buying any of the

special camera gear and require very little editing

experience, so let’s give them a try!

We explore three exciting guided edits in Elements version 11 that make life easier for those new to the photo-editing game

Top guided edits in PS Elements 11

BEFORE AFTER

Use discretion When doubling up on editing effects, it is a lot of fun to play around and see what you can come up with. However, use discretion and adjust the sliders under each effect with care. Sometimes all it takes is a slight adjustment to make your image shine, so don’t overdo it.

Start with a great image To get the best outcome with the guided edits, be sure to start with a good image. These tools are meant to increase the quality and enhance your favourite shots, but do not expect too much. The Depth of Field will not bring a blurry image into focus.

Orton effect

Add vibrance and funThe Orton effect is named after Michael Orton, as he is the

photographer who first made this style popular. It is an easy way

to add a dreamy, watercolour look to your portraits or landscapes.

Just open your image, click on Guided along the top and under

Photo Effects you will see the

Orton Effect icon. After you

choose the effect you can alter

the blur, noise and brightness of

the image by adjusting the sliders.

Here you see a before and after

of a portrait shot with the Blur and

Brightness at the halfway settings

and the Noise at 0.

BEFORE AFTER

Magical depth of field

Beautiful bokeh at your fingertipsHave you ever wished you could have the beautiful background blur that you see

in professional images, but can’t afford to spend a fortune on the right camera

lens for the job? Well now you can have the ability to apply beautiful bokeh to your

background while keeping

your model in perfect focus.

Just open your image and

find the Depth of Field

option in the Guided menu.

Click on Add Blur, then

choose the Gradient tool

and select the focal point of

your image with one click of

the mouse. Magic!

BEFORE AFTER

Photo editing


Know where to find it

This effect is great for group pictures such as sports or family shots. Just open your image in the Guided mode and you will see the Picture Stack effect in the list. Select it and then click on the number of prints you want to appear (we chose eight). You then have a choice of border and background styles. This effect is sure to be a great scrapbooking or poster choice, so have fun and experiment.

Which effect first? Sometimes it is important to add effects in the proper order. With this image, we used the Depth of Field effect first because the Orton image adds more blur.

The subject matters Both of these effects together create a dreamy and soft look, so be sure your subject matter is appropriate. For instance, this application looks great on our model and would also look pleasing on an autumnal landscape, but would not suit a male model very well.

Where to focus When using Depth of Field, be sure to study the image and choose the most important area to add sharpness to. This will usually be the face of the model. You will want to blur the background quite a lot to really add focus to the face.

Picture Stack effect

Separate the group with one click

Mix it up

Let’s try a few edits togetherHere we played around a little and

tried two of the guided edits on

one image. First we applied the

Depth of Field effect, focusing on

the model’s face, making it nice and

sharp and blurring the background.

We then added the Orton effect

and really made this model shine.

You don’t have to stop with one

effect, though. You can add as

many as you want to one image,

just remember to click Done before

moving on to the next one.

Create bokeh

01 Open your

image, select the

Depth of Field guided

edit and click on Simple

then Add Blur. There is a

slider at the bottom of

your view that says Blur,

so move this to the right

to increase the effect.

Define the area of focus

02 Now click on

the second

option, which is the

Gradient tool. Select this

and you can click your

mouse directly on the

area that you want to

bring back in focus.

More focus selection

03 Before closing

your image, try

out the Custom options

to choose other

important elements of

your image. Here we

selected the pet’s face.

The Depth of Field effect is wonderful, but there are a few things you need to know before just punching it in. We want you to get the best bokeh while recovering the important aspects of your image and maintaining sharpness in the right places, so follow these simple tips.

The Depth of Field edit

The effects can all be found on the right side under the Guided menu. Both Orton Effect and Depth of Field are under Photo Effects, and Picture Stack under the Photo Play options.

EEExxxpppeeerrrttt tttiiippp

Guided edits in Elements 11


Make essential adjustmentsSpruce up any image using these basic adjustments in Photoshop Elements

The following techniques can be practised on any type of image, although depth of field (the blurring on either side of a subject) works

particularly well on portraits. Photoshop Elements makes these essential edits very easy to apply. Using masks, brushes, filters and adjustments, we can vastly improve a photo’s exposure and general composition.

There are, of course, Guided Edits in Elements, which will perform these edits quickly and automatically, and version 11 has specific adjustments for portraits. However, Guided Edits can be restricting for some, so follow our guide and find out how we can make these improvements to our image manually and with more control.

AUTO

The fastest way to make changes to an image’s lighting is by pressing Auto in Levels – though this isn’t always the most effective way.


Photo editing

EYEDROPPERS

The three eyedropper tools enable you to choose, with precision, which parts of your image you want to be the darkest or the lightest.

LEVELS

Light is represented as a graph in the Levels adjustment, showing the spread of light inside the visible spectrum.

MANUAL CONTROL

Take control of the highlights yourself with the white marker and the shadows with left marker. Any part of the graph outside these markers will lose its detail completely.

Make essential adjustments


Mask away!

06 In the Layers panel, click Add Layer

Mask to apply a white mask to the

blurred layer. Hit D to reset Foreground

colour to black. Grab the Brush tool (B) and

set Opacity to 100% with a soft brush tip.

Custom depth

07 Start with faces and remove blurring

by painting over them repeatedly.

Get close to the edges to reveal the person.

Get creative with the blurring, so leave some

clothing blurred and shift the depth of field.

Give your photos an instant boostTake control of light and depth in an image to vastly improve its composition and impact

Depth of field

05 Click the Background layer and go

to Layer>Duplicate Layer. Go to

Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and boost Radius

to 27 pixels. This will blur the entire image,

but it’s the background we must look at.

Brightest spots

04 Select the White eyedropper in

Levels and click on a bright area of

the image. This should increase contrast of

the image significantly. If you need to undo

changes at any point, press Cmd/Ctrl+Z.

What does it mean?OUTPUT LEVELS In the Levels

adjustment, the Output Levels sliders control the lightness of the image, rather than the exposure.

Sliding the black marker will lighten and fade the image, whereas the white marker

has the opposite effect.

START PHOTO

The quality of this portrait is lacking in

exposure and contrast, and it needs a

stronger composition

Automatic start

02 Open up the Levels adjustment

from the black and white circle in

the Layers panel. ‘Levels 1’ should appear

above the Background layer. Click on Auto

inside the adjustment.

Shadows

03 If Auto hasn’t produced the ‘goods’,

hit Reset to undo. Click on the Black

eyedropper tool in the adjustment and click

on a dark part of your image, like a shadow.

This will darken the image’s exposure.

Crop for impact

01 Remove background parts of your

image and centre the subject by

using the Crop tool (C). Click and drag with

the tool from one corner to another, lining

up the central crosshairs with the person.

Photo editing


Edit portraitsGet creative and improve your portrait shots with these simple techniques

Whether you are looking to add an artistic effect to a portrait image, or are trying to capture a portrait of someone so it is as natural-looking as possible, here

are some rather straightforward Photoshop tricks to help you out in the process.

Here we will call upon Photoshop Elements and take advantage of some of its key effects that are ready to go. The Graphics and Effects sets of options contain some useful adornments that we’ll put to the test in these images. Once you have grasped the techniques, you will be able to apply them to any of your own shots.

Photoshop Elements should not be underestimated in terms of its editing power. The Smart Brush tool can enliven portraits and with adjustment layers, such as Photo Filter and Hue/Saturation, the possibilities are endless. From brightening up teeth and eyes, to adjusting the exposure, there is a list of ways to improve portraits.

We’ll also look at creating a grunge effect with a rough border, applying a texture to the image for a worn feel. Best of all, nothing is permanent in Photoshop, so each effect can be removed using layers. If you know where to look, these require little effort to apply.

GRAPHICS

Photoshop Elements comes equipped with many preset

effects. These can age a photo, tint colour and much more.

TexturesTextures can help to make

the image look like It’s printed on old rough paper. Combine

these with blend modes and the results will look more authentic.

Light controlPhotoshop Elements is

very handy for correcting light and colour in images.

Read on to find out how this is done.

Before

Edit portraits


Grunge portraits Get a duotone effect with

a border

Grunge it up

02 Now apply an authentic worn feel.

Select the Effects tab, move to the

Filter options and choose the Old Photo

preset. This may take a few moments to

apply the necessary adjustments.

Blend layers

03 Click the Layers tab. There’s now

another Background layer above

the first. Change the blend mode of the

Background Copy to Screen to lighten the

effect. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+E to merge the layers.

Crop to square

01 Open your image in Elements and

select the Crop tool. Locate the

ratios in the options and select 5x5in. Set to

a Rule of Thirds guide and crop the portrait,

placing the middle square over the face.

ART FRAMES

To apply the rough frame, go into the Graphics tab, apply Filter options by Style and Artistic and select Crop Shape 22 from the presets.

RESIZE

Free Transform (Cmd/Ctrl+T) was used to enlarge and shape the frame inside the composition.

NEW LAYER

In the Layers panel, Opt/Alt-double-click on the Background layer and drag it above the frame layer to reorder them.

EASY SHORTCUT

Hold Opt/Alt while clicking between the two layers to apply a clipping mask and to place the portrait inside the frame.

CLIP IT

Clipping masks are indicated by small arrows next to the thumbnail of the layer.


Tweak the Density

06 Reduce the Density slider to 0%

and increase until you see a better

colour cast. 45% works here, but this will vary.

Adjust your tones

the colour swatch in the 05 To remove the orange cast, click on

adjustment and set it to a light-blue (91a8ff).

Use the Photo Filter

04 Lighting has been fixed, but the

image still has an orange cast. Click

the Photo Filter adjustment layer.

Tweak exposure

03 After pressing Auto, the Midtone

ranges will be too dark, so click and

drag the middle arrow under the graph to

the left. Move this across until it reads 1.30.

Auto adjust

02 Inside the Levels adjustment, click

Auto to let Photoshop decide the

best edit. It should brighten up a lot at this

stage, but the result won’t be perfect yet.

Add a Levels adjustment

01 Open up the image you need to edit.

Firstly, let’s go ahead and improve

the lighting. Click on the black-and-white

icon in the Layers palette and choose Levels.

Before

After

Photo editing

Improve portraits When the light hasn’t come out right, Photoshop Elements comes to the rescue

Edit portraits


Focus on faces Use Photoshop Elements to enhance teeth and eyes, or even change the colour of hair

Start with adjustments

to add colourful highlights, start by 01 To change the colour of the hair, or

applying Hue/Saturation (Layer>New

Adjustment Layer). Hit OK in the dialog.

Shift the hue

02 Before tweaking colour, change the

blend mode of the Hue/Saturation

adjustment to Color to ensure the image’s

brightness isn’t affected by the changes.

Add new colour

03 Use the Hue slider to set a new

tone for the hair. Ignore the rest of

the image and just focus on the hair’s tone.

Edit with a mask

04 Flip the mask, select the Brush tool

and set white as Foreground. Pick a

soft brush at 300px and paint over the hair.

After

Brighten the eyesFind the supplied ‘Portrait_eyes and teeth.

jpg’ to follow these enhancements. The Smart

Brush tool in Photoshop Elements is designed

to make editing tasks easy to perform, so

select it by hitting the F key and change the

category to Portrait in the tool’s options. The

Brighten Eyes option should be listed inside.

With this setup, drag a selection over each eye

to boost the brightness. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+D to

remove the selection, then reduce the Opacity

to 40%.

Whiten the teethTo produce a whiter set of teeth, start in

Quick mode in Photoshop Elements. With

your image open, click on the Quick button

at the top of the interface, then select the

Whiten Teeth tool. This works by dragging a

selection over the teeth in your portrait and

an adjustment is instantly applied. This tells

Photoshop to brighten up anything inside the

selection, so be careful not to select the gums

or lips and to set the Size slider to just cover

the extent of the teeth.

Before

Get a new hair colour

What does it mean?

Use clipping masks Add a clipping mask to your composition to merge two layers together. These are ideal for framing an image, because the frame will hide the areas outside

the design. Once applied, this is much like having a window in

your Layers panel.

Photo editing


Anyone who has been using Photoshop

Elements for a while will know that

there are many ways of doing the

same thing. There are times when this feels like

a curse but, more often than not, it is a blessing

because if you can’t face a certain task you can

bet your bottom dollar there is a swift

workaround somewhere.

The Dodge and Burn tools offer such a

solution. Ordinarily, if you have a photo that

needs some areas to be darker or lighter, but

different strengths of light and dark, you would

be looking at making selections for the different

edits. This isn’t a problem if it’s an image made

up of simple shapes but not so great if it’s a bit

more complicated (like trees), or an image with

a lack of definition between colours.

The Dodge and Burn tools are useful in

cases such as this because you use

brushes to apply the effect. You can adapt

the size of brush to suit different areas and

can also adjust the Flow value to set how

intense the edit is for each of the parts.

Dodging and burning is a destructive

method in Elements, so always make sure that

you are working on duplicate layers or a copy

of your original image so that you always have

a backup. The prinicples covered here will

work on any image, or download our one from

kozzi.com, image number 24708757.

You don’t have to make a raft of selections, just use the Dodge and Burn tools to adjust lighting exactly where you want to

Add drama with Dodge and Burn

BEFORE AFTER

Add drama with Dodge and Burn


Strengthen shadows and highlightsImprove exposure with ease

Understand how the tools work

Dodge tool

Burn tool

Exposure: 25%

Exposure: 25%

Exposure: 50%

Exposure: 50%

Exposure: 75%

Exposure: 75%

Exposure: 100%

Exposure: 100%

Expert tip

It’s important to pick the correct brush size so you edit the areas you want. Do this easily using the [ and ] keys on your keyboard. The [ key reduces brush size while the ] key increases it.

Brush size

Start small

02 Go to the top Options bar and

set Exposure to 20% so the

intensity won’t be so huge. Select

Shadows from the Range drop-down

menu. We are going to brush over the

tyres, so pick a brush size to suit.

Select the Burn tool

01 The Burn tool lives with the Dodge

and Sponge tools in the Toolbar. If it

isn’t showing itself, click and hold whatever

tool is showing and then scoot along to it

when it appears in the fly-out menu.

Go bigger and more intense

03 The tyres will start to get darker. Increase

the brush size and set the Exposure to

50%. Brush over the foreground to darken it down

and make the car become the focal point.

Final touch

05 For a boost, pick the Sponge

tool, set the Mode to Saturate

and 20% Flow. Choose a big tip and

lightly brush over the sky and truck.

Highlights

04 With the Dodge tool (50%

Exposure) set a brush to go

over highlights. Set a big brush (20%

Exposure) for bright skyline areas.

The Dodge and Burn tools target specific areas of an image, either the shadows, midtones or highlights. You can decide which areas they edit in the top Options bar. You can also set how intense the effects will end up

with the Exposure slider. It is generally best to go for a low setting and repeatedly brush over the same area to build up the effect. See the table here for a guide to the intensity of the Exposure slider.

What Dodge and Burn do


The HDR effect has

gradually become more

popular as a creative

way to manipulate photos,

making them seem highly

detailed and more vivid than

before. This is especially easy

to do now that there’s the HDR

Toning adjustment in

Photoshop, which requires just

a couple of clicks to create

achievable HDR tones.

Just because there’s no

direct equivalent in Elements,

this doesn’t mean the effect is

out of reach. By carefully

applying adjustments to alter

colour and using filters to alter

focus, we can form an

eye-popping HDR effect.

Photoshop Elements 11 is

demonstrated throughout this

tutorial, but these steps can be

applied using earlier versions of

the program, too. You’ll learn to

take masking by the horns and

apply depth of field blurring to

really make this image jump off

the screen.

In this tutorial, you will also

be getting to grips with the

colour adjustments and light

enhancements that Photoshop

Elements 11 has to offer. As

well as these, we will be visiting

sharpening techniques using

filters, which will help to bring

out the finer details in this

dramatic sports moment. Read

on and have a go yourself.

Master HDR toningFake the HDR look using a combination of filters and adjustments in Elements

The fastest way to HDR colour and detail

Step by step Prepare your layers

Quick duplicate

01 Open up ‘bike rider.jpg’ from the disc in Elements. Start

by creating a duplicate of the Background layer by

pressing Cmd/Ctrl+J. ‘Layer 1’ should appear in the Layers panel

on the right.

Photo editing

Expert tip

The Hue/Saturation adjustment, set to Master, will affect the entire range of colours in the image. To target just one colour that stands out, change Master to Blue (for example) and adjust Saturation to either increase or decrease the strength of this particular colour. Use the bar below the slider to assign the exact range of colours that you want the adjustment to fix.

Target colours

Source file available

Use the image provided to re-create this

Sharpen details

05 Head to the Other filters through

the Filter menu at the top and

select the High Pass option. Set Radius to

6px and hit OK. High Pass sharpening targets

edge detail, enhancing the image so it looks

more HDR.

Overlay new layer

04 Duplicate Layer 1 by going to

Layer>Duplicate Layer, and in the

pop-up box enter the words High Pass. Hit

OK, then change the layerÕs blend mode in

the panel to Hard Light to prepare this image

for sharpening.

Improve colour

06 Colours could do with more life. Go

to Layer>New Adjustment Layer

and choose Hue/Saturation, then hit OK.

Increase the Saturation slider to 15 to see an

improvement in the blues and yellows on

the manÕs shirt.

Masked control

09 Click on the Add Layer Mask button

in the Layers panel, and select the

Brush tool (B). Set the toolÕs Opacity to

100%, Size to 500px, choose a soft edge tip

and set it to black. Carefully paint over the

man and bike to reveal the clear layers below.

Merge all

07 Press Cmd/Ctrl+Opt/Alt+Shift+E to

create a merged version of all the

layers, which appears at the top of the stack.

After making this layer, any edits made to the

Hue/Saturation adjustment wonÕt be visible.

Click the layerÕs name and rename it Blur.

Light levels

10 Add the Levels adjustment layer

(Layer>New Adjustment Layer) to

make the final tweaks to the lighting of the

image. Enter 15, 1.00 and 227 into the three

boxes under the adjustmentÕs graph. Save

the image as a PSD to keep the layers intact.

Alter focus

08 Head to the Filter menu and down

to Blur>Gaussian Blur. Set the

Radius to 14px. Look at the background

elements when applying the filter, because

this is designed to create a sense of depth in

the image.


Boost lighting

03 In the Shadows/Highlights

adjustment, set Lighten Shadows to

60%, Darken Highlights to 23% and Midtone

Contrast to 50%. This combination

dramatically alters the lighting in the image,

enhancing detail at the same time.

Shadows/Highlights

02 Go to the Enhance menu at the top

and down to Adjust Lighting>

Shadows/Highlights. The three sliders Ð

Lighten Shadows, Darken Highlights and

Midtone Contrast Ð will help us to create that

special HDR feel.

Master HDR toning

For many artists, Curves are the saviour of dull images. There, we’ve said it. We try hard not to have favourites in the world of

Elements tools, but if we had to name one, Curves definitely ranks pretty high.

It’s easy to see why they are so good the first time you use them. Curves enable you to make deft edits to contrast and help your images really sing. As the name suggests, the process takes place around a curve structure. Well, it

actually starts out as a diagonal histogram line, but by making it into a curve you get to make shadows nice and rumbly, while highlights reach the high notes.

The high-contrast effect is a great one to start with as it really adds pop to an image. You can use any starting photograph for this – the process is exactly the same. As you get more confident, try pushing the curve further for even more drama.

Fix images with Curves

Pull your images back from mediocrity by pushing contrast as far as it will go using the essential Curves command

On the web

Pick up a Curves learning pack onlinephotoshopcreative.co.uk

BEFORE

AFTER

Photo editing


Sort the highlights

the right. This increases the photo’s highlights. 02 Go to the Adjust Highlights slider and drag it to

The aim is to push as far as you can without causing

any blow-out.

Open Curves

01 Your first step is to get the Curves

dialog open. This is a quick trip to

Enhance>Adjust Color>Adjust Color Curves.

Shadow time

04

Our final stop is the shadows and darker

portions of you image. These are represented

by the Adjust Shadows slider. Your task is to drag the

slider to the left to enhance.

Once-click edit

05

Elements comes with preset styles that will achieve a certain look with

just one click. Open the Color Curves dialog as before but ignore all of

the sliders. Look to the left for a list of different styles. Simply click one to apply it.

Midtones

03

Turn to

the

Midtone

Brightness slider,

which sees to

the midtones.

This time you

need to drag it

to the left. You

are looking for

more

definition here.

Expert tip

The list of Color Curves presets is a great timesaver. Use them to not only fix photos with one click, but as a way to prep images for other creative projects. For example, before turning into digital art.

Take the cheat’s way

What to avoidAlthough the high-contrast effect is about pushing shadows and highlights to the maximum, you still need to be mindful of going too far. Whites can quickly blow and, if you have people in your picture, you can end up with some odd skin tones! Here is an example where we have gone too far with the midtones.

Fix images with Curves


Photo editing


Learn how to convert your captures from colour to black and white in Elements

Convert images to black and white

BEFORE

AFTER

Converting colour captures to black

and white is one of the quickest

and easiest things to do in any

photo-editing software. Removing colour

is simple, but adding depth and bringing

out contrasting tones requires a little

more technique.

In this tutorial we are going to show you

how to do just that. In only six very simple

steps for each, we will take you all the

way through the conversion process and

then we’ll show you exactly how you can

create your very own perfectly contrasted

monochrome masterpieces.

Working with your software’s essential

all-in-one conversion tools, we take you

through the ins and outs of black and white

image adjustments. For you Elements

people, this involves the Convert to Black

and White command. With this simple

mode of converting to monochrome, you

will be able to apply the steps to many of

your own photographs.

We will finish of the tutorial with some

extra black-and-white tips and adjustment

techniques in order to add a creative twist to

your conversions.

Convert images to black and white


Convert colour in ElementsUse the Convert to Black and White command

Prepare the image

01 Open your image in Elements.

Select it from the bar at the bottom,

ready to begin making adjustments. Click

on the Background layer in the Layers

palette and Ctrl/right-click to select

Duplicate Layer. Rename the new layer

Black and White.

Tonal enhancement

04 Adjust the Green and Blue sliders to

add more tonal contrast to the

image. Set the Green to around +39 and Blue

to +14. You can also use the Undo and Redo

buttons on the left if you make a mistake or

want to go back to a previous slider position.

Convert to Black and White

02 Convert your image by going to

Enhance>Convert to Black and White.

Your original colour photograph should now

appear in the command adjustment box

showing a before and after preview. Begin by

selecting the appropriate image style option;

Portraits in our case. You can preview

alternative adjustments for a comparison.

Control contrast

05 Now adjust the Contrast slider to

create a punchier result. Bring the

value up to around +7 and make sure you

preview the results as you go to avoid creating

an unwanted posterisation effect on the image.

Once you are happy with the results, click OK.

Channel adjustments

03 You will need to make further

adjustments to the channel

sliders in the Effects palette to increase

contrast and improve the effect. Slowly

increase the Red channel to around +43

which will add a punchier contrast result.

This will work particularly well on skin tones

and red lipstick.

Save it out

06 Finally you will need to flatten the

original and the black and white

layer in order to save your image. Select

Flatten Image in the Layer’s palette and

you can then go to File>Save As and save it

as a JPEG.

Monochrome in Elements

Understand the options

1. Select the appropriate style option to help save time when converting colour captures to black and white.

2. Use the Red, Green and Blue channel adjustment sliders to increase contrast and add more tonal definition to your image.

3. Punch up the tones using the Contrast adjustment slider, increase it slowly and preview the result.

4. Use the Undo and Redo buttons to correct any mistakes or return to a previous setting.

Photo editing


The Lomo effect has become something of a

classic style to emulate, and Elements has

alll you need to be the program of choice

for a do-it-yourself digital Lomograph. The original

Lomographic camera came out of Austria in the

early Nineties after the discovery of the captivating

Lomo Kompakt Automat, a Russian film camera of

the time. The style of this little shooter sparked the

inspiration for the hundreds upon hundreds of

photo effects that soon followed.

Through these steps, we show you how this

stylish and distinctive type of photograph can be

re-created. We’ve pulled out some of the finest

adjustments that Elements has to offer, with a few

brush techniques thrown in for good measure.

The strong and abstract mixture of colours in a

Lomo image can be made using a gradient map,

and this is really open to artistic interpretation.

The number of possible styles is endless, as it’s

an expression of creativity rather than an effect

that can ever be rendered correctly or with

precision. For inspiration for more effects, look up

www.lomography.com, the official website that

exhibits the creations of Lomographers and puts

the multiple cameras and films to use. The

combinations vary greatly, with effects including

overexposure, blurring, fisheye, distorted hues,

grain and a film negative frame. You can really let

your hair down on this project, with no

boundaries on what’s wrong, right, bad or good.

Follow our steps for an effective variant, but don’t

be afraid to experiment.

Digitally master the effects of Lomography using Elements as your darkroom

Get the Lomo efect

BEFORE

AFTER



Get the Lomo effect


Push colour limits for the Lomo lookTurn an image into an artistic and wacky version of itself

Expert tip

The Lomo effect can essentially be given any colour variations. Opening the Gradient Editor inside its adjustment layer, try out different coloured gradients with the layer set to Color Burn and 60% Opacity. Depending on your image, you may want to change the colours used from this tutorial.

Anything goes here!

Motion effect

02 For a moving, blurry effect, go to

Filter>Blur>Radial Blur. Set

Amount to 5, Blur Method to Zoom and

Quality to Best. Hit OK. The image will look

like it’s had zooming issues, but this is fine.

Add grain

01 Open up the

start image

provided for this

tutorial. Duplicate the

Background layer by

dragging it onto the

Create a new layer

button. Go to

Filter>Noise>Add

Noise and set Amount

to 10%, Distribution to

Uniform and tick

Monochromatic. Hit

OK for a grainy effect.

Apply vignette

06 Add a new blank layer at the

top of the stack above both

adjustments. Select the Brush tool,

set to black with a brush size of

approximately 600px and zoom out

of your image. Paint around the

corners of the image in a curved

fashion to apply a vignette.

Increase brightness

05 Apply a Brightness/Contrast

adjustment layer from

either the Layers menu or inside the

Layers palette using the black and

white button. Increase the

Brightness value to 40 to boost the

whites in the image, replicating

overexposure in your image.

Abstract colour

04 Choose the Green, Yellow gradient from the examples and

hit OK in the Editor. Select Reverse in the Gradient Map

adjustment to flip the colours. Change the adjustment layer’s blend

mode to Color Burn and lower its Opacity to 60%.

Gradient map

03 Head to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Gradient Map and

hit OK in the pop-up window. In the Gradient Editor (click

once on the gradient to open) load up the Color Harmonies 2

gradient set from the small arrow at the top.

Bleach out highlights

07 To exaggerate overexposure, select the

Background Copy layer and then the Dodge tool

with Midtones chosen from the Options bar and set to

80% Opacity. With a large soft brush, dodge the sky and

water’s surface to lighten the areas.

Photo EditPhoto editing

80 The Photoshop Elements BookAFTER

Edit colours with Photo Filter


Take a leaf out of traditional photographers’ books and use coloured filters to combat white balance problems or go further by using them to enhance your hues


Select your areasKeep editing zones separately for total control

Make a copy

01 It might be that you want to

apply one of the filters to the

entire image, in which case just open

up the command, pick a colour and

press OK. We want to be a bit more

selective, though. Go to

Layer>Duplicate Layer. Name this

layer ‘Copy’.

Select areas

02 Time to start carving up the image.

Pick the selection tool of your

choice (we plumped for Magnetic Lasso)

and select an area (in our case, the sky). Go

to Edit>Copy and then Edit>Paste and call

the new layer ‘Sky’.

The first edit

03 Repeat the selection process for

the other areas (ours were the sea,

the grass and the brickwork of the

lighthouse). Before making a selection, make

sure you click on the Copy layer.

BEFORE

Traditional photographers have long used coloured filters in front of the camera lens to improve

the colour balance and temperature of a photo. This is applied over the entire image or is graduated to concentrate on one area (such as the sky).

The Elements equivalent of this is the Photo Filter tool, which can be found lurking in Filter>Adjustments. This tool enables you to gently coax extra colour out of your image or push things further

for more dramatic efects. The easiest application of this tool is to make light work of dodgy white balance by reaching for the Warming Filter (80) or Cooling Filter (80) settings. These fix the two most common balance problems (too blue or too yellow, respectively), but if you have sufered a more unusual blight, just pick a complementary colour to tame things down.

However, we are going to concentrate on a diferent aspect of the tool, namely

that of editing colours. The beauty of using the Photo Filter over something like Hue/Saturation is that you are provided with a batch of ready-made improvements. This makes it less likely for you to create something that looks a bit fake.

There is no start image for this tutorial on the disc, but the technique can be applied to any shot. If you do want to use the same image as us, download it for free from http://tinyurl.com/63b8gmo.

Photo editing


Work through the layersClick on your areas and then have fun with colours

Pick the filter Use this drop-down menu to select one of the supplied filter colours. Most of these will do what you need.

Light show In most cases, the Preserve Luminosity option should be left checked, as this keeps the highlight detail in the image. However, if you have areas where you want to kill the highlight, simply uncheck the box.

Pick a colour If you need a colour that isn’t supplied in the Filter menu, simply click the Color setting to call up a picker and use that to set a colour.

Set the intensityYou control how aggressive the filter is by way of the Density slider. Left for less, right for might!

Expert tip

It doesn’t matter how you select areas and you don’t even need to be that accurate. However, if you find that the edges look false once you have applied the Photo Filter, flatten the images and use the Blur tool on a low setting to smooth the edges.

Smooth transition

Make the adjustment

04 Click on a layer and then go to

Image> Adjustments>Photo

Filter (Photoshop) or

Filter>Adjustments>Photo Filter

(Elements). We clicked the Sky layer to

boost the intensity of the blue a little.

Enrich the blue

05 Make sure that the Filter

circle is selected in the

dialog and then pick Cyan from the

drop-down menu. The Preserve

Luminosity option is usually best

left checked, as it keeps the

highlight information, but we are

unchecking it as we have white

areas. Move the Density slider to

set the intensity of the colour.

Land locked

06 We settled on a

Density setting of 44

for the sky. Click OK to exit the

Photo Filter dialog and then

click on another layer. We

picked our grass area. Open the

Photo Filter as before. This time

we picked Green and kept

Preserve Luminosity checked.

A setting of 50% sorted us.

Final edit

07 Now move on to the body of

the lighthouse. When making

the colour edits, try to enhance what

is already there. In the case of our

brickwork, we went for the Deep Red

filter at 29%.

Go your own way

08 We have concentrated on

the supplied colours, but if

you click on Color instead of Filter and

then click the coloured square, you will

see a picker. Simply click on the colour

you want to use as your filter. We used

this approach on the Sea layer.

Using the Photo Filter toolJust select options and watch the magic happen.



Red Cooling Filter (82) Orange Yellow Green

Blue Cyan Violet Magenta Sepia

Deep Blue Deep Red Deep Emerald Deep Yellow Underwater

Warming Filter (LBA)Warming Filter (85) Warming Filter (81) Cooling Filter (80) Cooling Filter (LBB)

The diferent coloured filters are perfect for quick colour corrections,

or to be used as the basis for a more intense image makeover. Here’s

a look at what they all do – each filter has been applied to the same

image at 70% Density with Preserve Luminosity selected.

Check out what’s on offer

Photo Filter options in full


Perfect macroM

ost digital cameras can capture macro images, with some

zooming as close as 1cm or less to the subject. But what do

you do when you want to convert an image to macro that

wasn’t captured using that effect?

Call upon Photoshop Elements! Here’s a way to apply the effect

quickly using layers and masks. Elements can create this effect with

just a few layers and the whole process is simple. Start off with the

right aspect ratio and you’re all set to make a close-up macro image.

Most of the blurring occurs in the background areas behind the main

subject. However, the subject is also blurred, though not to the same

extent. Using selections and masks, we’re able to isolate both parts of

the image and add depth.

Head to the last page of this tutorial for a quick look at the interfaces

of both Photoshop Elements and standard Photoshop, to see the

differences. The latest version of Photoshop Elements 11 has had some

big changes made to it, and looks very different to earlier versions.

Before

Use Photoshop Elements to add stunning, layered macro effects to your images

Photo editing




Blur background

07 Press Cmd/Ctrl+J to copy and paste the

flower onto a separate layer. Click on the

duplicated background layer (Layer 1) and go to

Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Set Radius to 45 pixels

to blur the areas behind the flower, then hit OK to

apply the filter.

Refine the selection

06 Remove areas of the selection on parts

other than the flower – such as the

background – by ticking the Contiguous box.

Increase the Tolerance to 80 to make this easier

and then click over these areas, holding Opt/Alt

to remove them from the selection.

Double up

03 Before any further edits are made to

the image, make a copy of your

image’s layer by pressing Cmd/Ctrl+J. Layer 1

should now appear in the Layers panel just

above Background.

Magic selections

04 Select the Magic Wand tool (W)

from the Toolbar (in Elements 11

this is hidden under the Quick Selection

tool). In the tool’s options, set the Tolerance

to 50 and untick the Contiguous box, so that

the maximum number of pixels is selected.

Expand the selection

05 With the Magic Wand tool ready,

click once on the flower to select it.

A selection should now appear over the

whole flower, but some parts may be left out.

Hold Shift and click on those areas of the

flower that were left out of the initial

selection until the entire flower is selected.

Crop to size

01 Open the

image

‘Flower.jpg’. Before

we begin to edit

the image, it needs

to be cropped to

look more like a

macro image.

Select the Crop

tool (C) and head

to the various

options assigned

to the tool. From

the list of preset

sizes, change it

from No

Restrictions to

8 x 10in.

Crop down

02 Click and drag with the Crop tool over the

flower in the image. Aim to leave a slight

gap between the top and bottom of the cropping

boundary and the edge of the flower. Place the

centre point over the middle of the flower. Click

on the green tick to apply the crop.

Expert tip

Photoshop Elements has a Refine Edge option that comes with all the selection tools. After using the Magic Wand tool, head to the tool’s options to find Refine Edge. Change the View to see how the area looks against various colours. Use the Shift Edge slider to adjust the position of the selection and tidy it up. For macro effects, selections don’t have to be perfect because the blurring hides any rough edges.

Refine Edge

Perfect macro


Add depth

09 To help add depth to the effect,

select Layer 2 and then go to the

Gaussian Blur filter again. Reduce the

Amount slider to 15px, so it’s not as blurry as

the background of the image, and hit OK.

Invert mask

08 Select the flower’s layer (Layer 2) and make a

direct copy of it by pressing Cmd/Ctrl+J. This

new duplicate will contain the in-focus flower. Click on

the Add Layer Mask button in the Layers panel, and

then press Cmd/Ctrl+I to invert it from white to black.

The Eraser tool

10 Select the Eraser tool (E) and set

your Foreground colour to black by

clicking on the front swatch beneath the

tools. Set the eraser’s Opacity to 100%, Size

to 250px and choose a soft edge brush.

Now select the layer mask on Layer 2 Copy.

Goodbye blur!

11 Work out from the centre of the flower

with the Eraser tool, removing the

blurry areas to reveal the in-focus flower

underneath. The layer mask in the Layers

panel should show the changes in white. For

areas surrounding the centre, lower the

eraser’s Opacity to 30% to give it a soft blur.

Flip selection

12 The background colours can be

reduced to draw more attention to

the flower. Cmd/Ctrl-click over the flower’s

layer thumbnail to activate it as a selection.

Go to Select>Inverse (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+I) to

flip the area, so the background is selected.

Adjust colour

13 With the selection showing around the background, go

to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Hue/Saturation. Hit OK

in the pop-up box and reduce the Saturation slider to -25. This

will reduce the green colours, making the reds seem stronger.

Expert tip

Opt/Alt-click on the layer’s mask to reveal a black and white overlay on your image. This indicates just how soft the transitions are between the blurred and sharp parts. From here, the Brush and Eraser tools can be used to paint or remove the mask. Opt/Alt-click on the mask again to return your image to its original, colourful state.

Visual clues

Expert tip

In this image, as with many macro images, the main focal point could do with sharpening. This feature in Photoshop Elements is under the Enhance menu and is called Unsharp Mask. Set the Amount to 100% and Radius between 2-10 pixels. For high Radius values, increase the Threshold slider gradually to around 5-10 levels to lessen the effects and prevent over-sharpening.

Sharpen it up

Photo editing


Developing the effect in this beginner’s choice softwarePhotoshop Elements

Using the more advanced features in PhotoshopPhotoshop

VERSION 11

This is the new Photoshop Elements 11 interface. If you’re using an earlier version then it’ll look very different. Additional panels are opened from the More button next to Favorites.

SMART FILTERS

Use Smart Filters (Filter>Convert for Smart Filters) for any layer, so that settings can be readjusted at any stage. Double-click on the Smart Filter’s layer and the options will open.

MASK A LAYER

A mask was added to the top layer, enabling us to use the Brush and Eraser tools for customising the effect non-destructively.

CHOOSE A CHANNEL

The Channels palette shows which areas of the image are found under the colours red, green and blue. Cmd/Ctrl-click over one of the channels to activate it as a selection.

BRUSH-LIKE

QUALITIES

The Eraser tool works just like a brush, with Size and Opacity sliders for adapting its shape. This was used on the layer mask to selectively blur parts of the image.

EXTRA CONTROL

The Color Balance adjustment (Layer>New Adjustment Layer) gives the freedom to tweak colours in the highlight, midtone and shadow regions for just the flower.

HISTORY STATES

The History panel comes in handy, as it lets you jump back to any point if you don’t like how the effect is looking.

ANY DIFFERENCE?

The final image is just as good as the one made in Elements. One big difference is that Photoshop contains more options for making selections and controlling colour such as Color Range from the Select menu.

LAYERING UP

After separating the flower from the background using the Magic Wand tool, different amounts of blurring can be applied for depth with the Gaussian Blur filter.

Perfect macro


Fix heavy shadowsDark shadows can ruin a portrait shot, but simple selections can help to bring them back to life

It’s hard enough to get the family to sit still long enough to get the perfect group photograph and it’s even more difficult to make sure that your composition, lighting and background

are just right as well. Here we have a lovely shot, but there are heavy shadows cast

across the faces of our subjects due to the bright window in the background. However, rather than resign it to the digital bin, we can use Photoshop Elements 11 to fix this.

We will have to delve into the world of selections to do this though, as we don’t want to simply brighten the whole image, or the already-bright background would blow out. This means we’re going to make a selection around just the people in the picture, so that we can lighten them and soften the shadows without affecting the background. We’ll also be sympathetic to skin tones, so that we’re left with a natural shot.

SHADOW LIFT

We used Levels to lift the shadows in our image so

that they’re less harsh.

TARGET YOUR

ADJUSTMENTS

The background didn’t need to be made

lighter, so we used a selection around just

the subjects. This enabled us to make adjustments in only

one area.

RESPECT SKIN

TONES

Brightening and using Levels on our image also

enhanced the orange glow on the subjects’

faces, so we had to correct the lighting for

their skin tones.

PROTECT YOUR ORIGINAL

All our adjustments were made on a duplicate layer. This means we

have the original intact in case we need it again in the future.

Before

Photo editing

Fix heavy shadows


Bring back the lightRemove harsh contrast in a few simple steps

Duplicate the original

01 Open Elements and go to Expert.

Make sure the Levels panel is open,

Cmd/right-click on the Background layer

and select Duplicate Layer. Ensure the new

Background copy layer is highlighted.

Refine the selection

04 At the bottom of the screen, in the

Quick Selection options, you can

make your brush add to or subtract from

the selection. Experiment until you get a

reasonable selection around your subjects.

Play with Levels

02 Go to Quick mode. In the View

menu, select Before & After –

Horizontal to see what you’re doing. Open

the Levels option and click the previews to

find the one that best improves the image.

Edit brightness and contrast

05 To tweak the figures go Enhance>

Adjust Lighting>Brightness/

Contrast and play with the sliders until

happy. We pulled the Brightness slider to

the right and the Contrast a little to the left.

More precise adjustments

03 Go back to Expert mode. Pick the

Quick Selection tool from the

Select category of tools. Begin to draw

around just the subjects in your image so

that they are surrounded by marching ants.

Perfect the skin tones

06 Go to Enhance>Adjust

Color>Adjust Color for Skin Tone.

Click on a skin tone and the image will be

adjusted. Use the sliders to perfect your

result, which should now look a lot better.

THE QUICK

SELECTION TOOL

Use the Quick Selection tool to isolate your subjects in the photo, so that you can edit just them and not the background.

ADD TO SELECTION

Make sure that this is selected at first to start adding to the selection area.

SUBTRACT FROM

SELECTION

If you include bits in the selection you don’t need, switch to Subtract mode to remove them again.

BRUSH SIZE

The smaller the brush size, the more accurate your selection, but the longer it will take. Adjust it as needed here.

Create exposure effectsAdd movement to subjects and double up on exposure with these techniques in Elements

Some artists refer to Photoshop Elements 11 as a condensed Photoshop CS6. To an extent this is true, but this shouldn’t lower your expectations of what can

be done. For effects such as these that involve exposure, Photoshop Elements performs just as well as its big brother. Masking, blurring and adjustment layers are all included in Elements, and in an interface that’s much friendlier for beginners.

Here, we show you three types of effects involving layering and blurring. The double-exposure effect creates a

two-in-one image, whereby details from one are overlapped onto another and then faded out. Any images can be used to create this, and the results can be quite abstract.

Following this, we show you blurring techniques for adding movement and rotation to objects such as water and an umbrella. These are the sorts of effects that photographers capture by adapting their camera’s settings, but, thankfully, Photoshop Elements lets us skip this difficult camera work and get straight to it!

What does it mean?

Layer masks – When a mask is applied to a layer, parts of the

image can be hidden by using the Brush tool. Masks offer the

best way to edit images without actually deleting

any of the important pixels.

PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 11This is how the Layers panel looks inside Photoshop Elements 11. Commands for adding new layers, masks and adjustments are featured at the top.

LAYERSLayers contain various effects that are stacked up, the order of which can be altered by dragging them up or down the panel.

EXTRA STYLETo add some distortion to the effect, the highlights were bleached out in this image by using the Levels adjustment.

LEVELS ADJUSTMENTThe Levels adjustment layer only

affects the layers underneath it. Pull the points under its graph

to the left and right to adjust the contrast in the highlight and

shadow regions.

Photo editing


Create exposure effects


Blend layers

05 Press Cmd/Ctrl+T to activate Free

Transform. Use the corner boxes

around the second image to resize it so it

fits over the first. Change the blend mode of

the second image’s layer to Lighten from

inside the Layers panel. Changing the blend

mode creates different effects.

Customise effect

06 Details can be removed by adding

a layer mask to the second image.

Use the Brush tool to hide areas of the

second image that cover up the subjects in

the first image. This will depend on the

images you use for the double-exposure.

Save As

07 As a multi-layered image, it needs to

be stored as a PSD to retain all

layers. Go to File>Save As and change

Format to Photoshop. Enter a name and

make sure Layers is ticked. Hit Save to finish.

Double up

04 Load up your second image by

going to File>Open. When it’s

loaded, head to Select>All and then

Edit>Copy. Turn to the first image by

double-clicking on its picture in the Photo/

Project Bin and then head to Edit>Paste to

insert the new image into the first.

Source images

Having contrasting images will make for a stronger

double-exposure effect.

Layer mask

02 Click the Add Layer Mask button in

the Layers panel. Select the Brush

tool (B) and set brush size to 700px. Set

Foreground colour to black and paint over

faces and central parts of your image.

Radial Blur

01 Duplicate the Background layer of

your image. Head to the Filter menu

and down to Blur>Radial Blur, then set

Method to Zoom and Amount to 10.

Boost contrast

03 Go to Layer>New Adjustment Layer

and add the Levels adjustment.

Increase contrast by sliding black and white

markers inwards. The adjustment layer

comes with its own mask for customising.

Create the double-exposure effect How to use Photoshop Elements 11 for creating a layered composition

Photo editing


Motion Blur

03 Go to the Filter menu and then

down to Blur>Motion Blur. Set the

Distance slider to around 100px. Alter the

Angle in the filter to match the direction of

the water in your image. If it’s falling straight

down then a setting of 90 degrees will work.

Make selection

02 Click on the water to apply a new

selection. Contiguous isn’t ticked,

so all water areas should be included. With

the selection active go to Layer>New>Layer

via Copy (Cmd/Ctrl+J). This places selected

water onto a new layer for further editing.

Magic Wand tool

01 Open an image with water and select

the Magic Wand tool (W) from the

Tools panel. Set Tolerance to 23 in the tool’s

options; this figure will depend on the

resolution of your image and may need

increasing if your image is high-res. Untick

the Contiguous box to finish setting up.

Long exposure effects are usually created using a camera set to a slow shutter speed. Using Photoshop, we can experiment with just how much blurring we need and also adjust where the blurring occurs in the image.

For water, we can select just that and then apply a level of blurring that suits. Follow the steps below to learn how the Motion Blur filter can be used in conjunction with the Magic Wand tool.

Fake movement in waterUse the Blur filters for a long exposure effect

MOTION BLUR

FILTER

This filter blurs subjects in a given direction. Used

with a selection of the water, we’re able to add

movement to otherwise static images.

USING MASKS

After the filter was applied, a black layer mask was used to hide parts of the blurring. The Eraser tool was then used to selectively bring blurring back through in certain areas.

MOTION BLURRING

The movement of the water can be captured using Photoshop’s filters and masks. It’s as if a long exposure was used at the time the photo was taken.

Source image

Create exposure effects


Eraser tool

03 Grab the Eraser tool (E) and set it

to a soft brush tip at around 400px.

With your Foreground colour set to black,

paint over the part you want blurry. Note

how white areas appear on the mask,

indicating changes being made.

Invert mask

02 Apply a layer mask to this duplicate

layer from inside the Layers panel.

Go to Filter>Adjustments>Invert to turn the

white mask to black.

Duplicate and spin

01 Duplicate the Background layer.

Apply Radial Blur filter. Set Amount

slider to 20 and Method to Spin. Ensure the

Blur Center box shows blurring around the

same location as your image’s main object.

The Magic Wand tool comes with the Refine Edge command, found with the tool’s options. Click and select a View mode such as On Black to see just how the selection looks and which areas have been included or excluded. Adjustments inside Refine Edge enable you to customise the selection and tweak it for a better Motion Blur effect.

This visual trick makes an object appear as if it’s spinning around quickly in a circle. This uses the Radial Blur filter and clever brushwork to make the object appear as though it’s moving quickly, without affecting the person or the background areas. This works best on round objects, such as umbrellas or wheels of some sort, as the filter uses a central point to rotate around.

Circular blur effects Use this quick technique for spinning objects

Refine EdgePreview the selection

SPIN BLUR

Movement was added to this umbrella by setting the Radial Blur filter to Spin.

AFTER EFFECT

This is a creative way to transform a

normal image with a blurring effect.

Add blur

05 Click the Add Layer Mask button then

press Cmd/Ctrl+I to invert the white

mask to black. The blurring should disappear.

Select the Eraser tool (E), then set its colour to

black, Size to 200px and Opacity to 50%. Paint

over and around the water to soften hard edges.

Duplicate Background

04 Click on the Background layer and

create a duplicate. Go to the Blur

filters and this time to the Gaussian Blur

option. Set the Radius slider to 12 pixels and

hit OK. The entire image will appear blurry,

but this can be fixed with a layer mask.

HIDING

LAYERS

Masks are crucial in

this effect to hide the

background and woman

from the blurry

umbrella.

Source image


Lighting is a strong dictator of the mood of an image. Learning how to adapt light in Photoshop is a very useful skill to have, as you’ll likely need to call upon this on more

than one occasion.Rays of light can be used to turn a normal seascape image into

something of a natural marvel. We explore how Photoshop

Elements handles the task of transforming an image. Elements has

many of the same controls as Photoshop CS versions, as the

essential adjustments and filters are all there. With Photoshop

Elements 11, the interface has changed considerably from earlier

versions, but the tools, panels and menus have (helpfully!) all kept

the same names.

Although this tutorial was performed in Photoshop Elements, it

can be done in Photoshop CS versions as well. Just follow through

the steps to discover how filters and layers can be used alongside

brushes and clipping masks to create shining beams of light.

Light up your seascapes

Shine new light into your seascapes with atmospheric rays of sunshine using Photoshop Elements

Photo editing






New layer

01 Open ‘Seascape.jpg’ from the

supplied files in Photoshop Elements,

then add a new layer to the image by clicking

on the folded paper icon in the Layers panel

(Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+N). A new layer called Layer

1 should appear above the Background.

Render clouds

02 Go to the Filter menu at the top of

Elements and then down to

Render>Clouds. An instant black and white

smothering of clouds should appear over

the image. As this is on a separate layer, the

main image has been left untouched.

Blend layers

blend mode of the Clouds layer 03 In the Layers panel, change the

from Normal to Overlay. This will reveal the

original image underneath. Also, lower this

layer’s Opacity to 80% to fade it slightly.

Before


Photo editing


Clipping mask

09 To make sure that the new Clouds

layer only affects the light rays, go to

Layer>Create Clipping Mask. This should

also help to remove a few of the darker parts

of the light rays coming down from the sky.

Levels adjustment

10 Add a Levels adjustment layer by going into the

black and white circular icon in the Layers

panel. Add a clipping mask to this layer to link it with

the Clouds layer below (this can be done by Opt/

Alt-clicking on the line between the two layers).

Expert tip

If you want to try a new angle for the light rays, go back to Layer 1 (containing the rays) and select Image>Transform> Perspective. Drag the bottom corner of the transform box to the left and the top corner to the right. This will reposition the rays so they’re more central and change the look of the composition. Alternatively, choose the Flip Layer Horizontal transform option to make the rays point in the opposite direction.

A new perspective

Boost effect

07 Duplicate the Clouds layer by

pressing Cmd/Ctrl+J. This will

strengthen the appearance of the light rays.

Press Cmd/Ctrl+E to merge both layers

containing the Clouds filter.

More clouds!

08 Add a new layer to the top of the

stack and apply the Clouds filter

once more. Lower this layer’s Opacity to

60% and then change its blend mode to

Screen. This will merge the new Clouds layer

with the rest of the image.

Soften clouds

06 To remove the hard edges of the

Clouds layer, go to Filter>Blur>

Gaussian Blur. In the filter’s menu, set Radius

to 12 pixels and hit OK. To remove some of

the layer overlapping the sea, use the Eraser

tool (E) at 100% Opacity and 700px.

Motion Blur

04 Apply the Motion Blur filter to the Clouds layer by going into the

Filter menu and to the Blur options. In the Motion Blur dialog box,

set Angle to 90 and Distance to the maximum setting. Hit OK to apply.

Transform rays

05 Hit Cmd/Ctrl+T to activate the Free Transform controls.

Using the corner boxes around the edges, shrink down

the Clouds layer and squash it to fit just under the main point of

the light in the image. Ctrl/right-click over the layer and then

select Skew from the list to slant the direction of the new rays.



Brighten rays

11 Inside the Levels adjustment layer, drag the

middle marker to the left until it reads 1.20. Then

drag the white marker inwards to around 200. These

Levels adjustments will brighten up the light rays and

make them stand out more.

Add definition

13 To create more defined rays of light,

select the Eraser tool (E) and then

click on Layer 1 to edit it. Click once over the

top of the rays and, holding Shift, click over

the point where they meet the sea to create

straight, cutaway lines between the rays.

Surface light

12 Select the Brush tool (B) and set the

size of the tip to around 370px and

Opacity to 10%. Be sure to have a soft-edged

brush selected, and then paint over the

parts of the sea which the light rays fall onto.

Save as PSD

14 To save a version of the composition

with all its layers intact, go to File>Save

As. Choose a location to store the file and

set its Format to ‘Photoshop’ (PSD). Tick the

Layers box and hit Save. The image can now

be opened at any time in the future if some

re-editing is required.

Compressed version

15 To save a smaller version of the

composition, after saving it as a PSD,

go to Layer>Flatten Image. This compresses

all the layers into one Background, instantly

making its file size much smaller. Save this

version as a JPEG, which is ideal for printing

or uploading to online galleries.

Expert tip

When editing light rays and the white glow seen on the surface of water, make sure that the Eraser tool is set to a large, soft brush tip such as 300px Round. In Photoshop CS versions this can be done with the Softness setting which Elements doesn’t include. Using a soft tip means that any areas of transition between layers are unnoticeable. The large brush makes it easier to mould the shape of the light to how you want it to look.

Editing light rays

When working with multiple layers, each with different opacities, it can be easy to get a mismatch of settings, especially if you’re focussing too much on the positioning and transformations. For instance, the surface glow on the sea needs to match up with the strength of the light rays that are coming down from the sky, or else you’ll lose the detail of the waves and end up with an unrealistic seascape. Keep an eye on the Opacity settings for both layers when painting and erasing to make sure that the layers are the same brightness. Lowering the Opacity setting will make a layer appear less obvious in the final effect, so it’s best to err on the side of caution.

Beware of imperfect blends

Wrong Right

Opacity mismatch

What does it mean?

Hue or saturation? – Hue controls the actual colour of an object. Saturation, on the other hand, deals with the intensity of

that colour. Setting higher saturation values gives

more vibrant colour.

Source image

BLURRY MOUNTAINSThe image’s brightness is quite low, so it could do with these essential adjustments

MISTY MOUNTAINSIt’s a combination of all these different edits and adjustments that make this landscape much more impressive to look at.

MIDTONE CONTRAST

This slider inside the Shadows/Highlights dialog box controls the contrast of the regions that fall between the brightest and darkest subjects.

LIGHTER SHADOWSShadows can be controlled separately from everything else using the Shadows/Highlights adjustment under the Enhance menu.

BRIGHTNESS/CONTRASTThe Brightness slider in this adjustment controls the overall exposure, and is our first stop in the editing process.

Photo editing





Improve landscapes

Improve landscapesAchieve better colour and exposure in landscapes with Elements

With any form of editing in Photoshop, the results can easily be overcooked. When editing landscape images, for example, the trick is to pick and choose

the adjustments carefully. Adjustment layers are ideal as they’re

not permanent edits, and can be changed at any point. When using

tools such as the Burn tool to adjust exposure, however, a duplicate

layer needs to be added. This enables us to backtrack any edits

and undo any mistakes more easily.

For this image, we’ve taken a look at improving the exposure,

contrast and colour, to make the grassy mountains in the

background and the cool water in the foreground stand out. The

Shadows/Highlights feature can be used to bring out the details in

poorly exposed regions of the image. If you have any images that

didn’t quite turn out the way that you had hoped, then try out

these techniques and inject some life back into them.

Better colour

05 Make extra improvements to colour

by clicking on the Create New Fill Or

Adjustment Layer button at the top of the

Layers panel. Select the Hue/Saturation

option and adjust the Saturation to around

+15 for extra colour throughout the image.

Darker mountains

06 To deepen the exposure of the

mountains in the background,

select the Burn tool (O) from the Toolbar.

Set it to Midtones in the tool’s options, then

set the Size to 1000px and Exposure to 23%.

Brush over the mountains to darken them.

Shadow detail

04 Go to the Enhance menu and to

Adjust Lighting>Shadows/Highlights.

The image will look lighter upon opening.

Lower the Lighten Shadows slider to 5% and

boost Midtone Contrast to 11%. The shadow

regions will have more detail now.

Improve exposure

02 In the Adjustment panel, boost

Brightness to 54. You’ll notice a

huge improvement to the exposure.

Increase Contrast to 14 to add punch to the

lighting. Close this adjustment via the ‘x’. To

reopen, double-click the layer’s thumbnail.

Smarter editing

03 We’re going to use the Shadows/

Highlights adjustment, which needs

to be applied to a duplicate copy of the

Background layer. Click on the Background

layer and go to Layer>Duplicate Layer. Name

it ‘Shadows/Highlights’ then hit OK.

Upload image

01 Find an image you have taken for

which you would like to improve

exposure and colour. We’re going to start off

by boosting the exposure here, so head to

Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Brightness/

Contrast and then hit OK.

Essential photo edits in Elements Bring out the colours in a landscape using the tools and adjustments in Elements

“Adjustment layers are ideal as they are not permanent edits, and can be changed at any point”

AFTER

Photo editing


The Dragan effect is sometimes referred to as Draganising images because it replicates the style of imagery from

photographer Andrzej Dragan. The renowned artist captures a person at their most natural, resulting in beautiful portraits. The style of his images involves lots of detail, sharpened edges and strong contrast. From the glints in a subject’s eyes to the wrinkles around their gleaming smile, there is a lot to get stuck into when re-creating this effect.

We will show you how to inject high levels of detail into your portraits and how to bring out the highlights in a controlled fashion. More emphasis is placed on the atmosphere of the

image, such as using a vignette to darken the background and making the main subject stand out with more distinction. Brightening up the highlights in the eyes is also an important feature we don’t want to miss out. Check out our tips for improving these aspects for a powerful Dragan-esque image.

There is no better way to capture the character of a person than a down-the-lens pose. Whatever the person’s mood may be at the time, using Elements we can exploit and enhance this unique moment with the techniques described here. The start image is provided on your free disc courtesy of Hector Landaeta (www.sxc.hu/profile/coloniera2).

Organise the Layers palette for non-destructive editing

Prepare your image

And again

02 Duplicate this for a second time by dragging the

Background Copy layer onto the Create a New Layer

icon (which you can find at the bottom of the Layers palette).

BEFORE

Create the Dragan effect

Give your photos a professional, high-contrast look using sharpening techniques and a mix of adjustment layers



Duplicate layer

01 Open up your starting image, go to the Layer menu and then

Duplicate Layer. The Duplicate Layer dialog will open and show

the name of the new layer as Background Copy. Hit OK to create it.

Set Radius

04 The Dragan

effect is known

for quite pronounced

details. The High Pass

filter should usually be

kept quite low, but for

this image it needs to be

used heavily. Push the

Radius slider up to 11px.

Add High Pass

03 Find the option

Other inside the

Filter menu. Here you’ll see

the High Pass filter. This

contains a preview of the

image with a grey overlay and

a Radius slider underneath.

You’re image should just be

visible under the grey.



New mode

05 When the High Pass filter is applied, a grey film is placed

over the image. To blend this with the layer underneath,

change the blend mode from Normal to Hard Light.

Boost contrast

06 It’s time to increase and control the lighting. Draganised images

have high contrast and focus on the face of the person. Go to

the Enhance menu and select Adjust Color>Adjust Color Curves.

Scurve

07 Inside the Color Curves dialog, click the Increase

Contrast preset and then move the Midtone Contrast

slider to the right. Move the Adjust Shdows slider to the left.

Keep details in the shadows, but make sure highlights are bright

and white.

Adjust the levels

08 Add a Levels adjustment from the New Adjustment Layer

options. Levels enables us to control the midtones in our image.

This is done using the middle marker under the graph. Push this to the left

until it reads 1.30. This should bring back more details in the shadows.

The key features to replicate this distinct style of imagery

Understand Dragan

THE FINE LINES

Look to exaggerate even the finest of lines and wrinkles in the face. This is controlled with Levels and Color Curves.

HIDE BACKGROUND

Reducing the impact of background elements is another trait of the Dragan effect. This draws attention to the face and makes for a more dramatic portrait.

SHARPEN EDGES

The High Pass filter lets you sharpen every edge in the image, making it pop. This is an effective way to replicate the original style in Elements.

BRIGHT EYES

The eyes in this were made brighter. This is one aspect of the Dragan effect that’s important to include if your model is lacking contrast.

THINK IN

CONTRAST

A balance between highlights and shadows is vital to get right. There needs to be detail in both areas, but enough contrast to really make the image sing.

Photo editing


Paint back details

10 Set the Brush tool to around 350px

Size. Press X to reset your

Foreground and Background swatches to

the default black and white.

Control highlights

09 Your image’s highlights may bleach white at

this point. Adjustment layers come with

masks enabling you to edit them so click on the white

mask of the Levels layer and select the Brush tool.

Perfect the effect

11 Paint over the bright areas in the face

and hair of the man to reduce the

brightness. Try to avoid sweeping over all of

the face and only touch on the bright spots.

Reduce colour

12 The colour in this image is too

saturated for the Dragan effect, so

add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. The

middle slider, Saturation, controls the

strength of the colour. Reduce this down to

-50 to see a significant drop in tone

throughout the image.

Final tweaks

15 Select the Eraser tool and lower its Opacity

down to 50%. Set its size to 600px and remove

the parts of the vignette that have spilled onto the

man’s face. You can lower the layer’s Opacity to 90%

to fade the harshness of the vignette.

Darken background

13 Add a blank new layer to the top of

the layer stack. We need to darken

the background to draw attention to the

face as it’s our focus. Select the Brush tool

with black set as your Foreground swatch.

Increase its Size to around 1,000px and

lower Opacity to 50%.

Add a vignette

14 By painting over the background of

the image with the Brush tool set to

black you can add a fake vignette. Cover

most of the wall and don’t worry about

painting over the man. Dab the brush over

the image to apply the effect carefully.

Expert tip

A Dragan image places strong emphasis on the eyes. To brighten them up in this or any portrait image, select the Dodge tool and set its Range to Midtones in the Options bar. Make its brush size just smaller than one of the eyes and then, using the duplicated Background layer, paint over the eyes to bring through their colour and highlights. This will help to make the person more engaging and also stay true to the Dragan effect.

Brighten the eyes

Expert tip

The photographer himself, Andrzej Dragan, produces not only coloured effects but monochrome ones too. You can still follow this tutorial for a black and white Draganised image but, when it comes to reducing the Saturation adjustment, you should move the slider to 0. You’ll now have removed all of the colour from the image. Adjustment layers can be re-edited at any point, so this isn’t permanent. For black and white Draganised images, even stronger contrast is a prominent part of the effect.

Black and white



AFTER

Photo editing


When it comes to creating a classic Hollywood-style portrait, the techniques here can get you half

way; the other half requires a little dressing up and some basic lighting.

The lighting popular for pinups in this period was typically high contrast and angled 45-degrees up and to one side to give depth to the face. If you don’t have a studio flash

light, a desk lamp held high and to the left or right will do the job. Position it around two metres away. A white sheet will be fine for the backdrop. A vintage dress and a Fifties wig is all that’s left – the rest is covered by us.

We will show you how to make the most of that strong lighting, to replace the background with something more fitting and to airbrush the skin for a professional look.

BEFORE

Retouch for classic effects

Get this great look by following our tutorial

Vintage portrait effects

Take a standard photo and turn it into a glamorous portrait using retouching tricks filters, colour and contrast control

Apply the crop

02 Click and drag

on the image

and draw a crop box

over it to suit. We’re

going to lose a little from

the left-hand side as well

as the top and bottom

to bring the model into

the centre of the frame.

You can use the grid lines

to help align the model in

the frame for the most

pleasing composition.

Press the tick icon to

apply the crop.

Change aspect ratio

01 Open up your start image. It’s taken with a 2 x 3 full-size

sensor, so the first thing we want to do is apply a more

suitable crop ratio for an upright portrait. Press C for the Crop

tool and enter 3 for Width and 4 for Height in the Options bar.

Make sure Resolution is empty.



Expert tip

If you don’t have the Refine Mask feature, we can use an alternative method. Ctrl/Cmd-click the layer mask on the subject layer to load it as a selection, then go to Select>Modify>Contract. Enter 4px. With the selection active, drag the layer mask to the trash can and add a new layer mask, which will be based on the new contracted selection. Go back in History and try a different pixel setting if the reduction is too much or too little.

Refine mask in earlier versions

Add a Levels layer

03 We want the

lighting to look

dramatic, so we need

to check that we have

the full contrast range

from black to white.

Add a Levels

adjustment layer using

the button in the

Layers palette.



Set black point

04 We can see detail goes all the way to

the right, so highlights are as bright

as possible. The shadow information doesn’t

reach the left, so we drag the left black slider

in to meet it and strengthen our blacks.

Adjust with Color Curves

andduplicate.GotoEnhance>Adjust Color>Adjust Color Curves. Push Adjust 05 The face has turned too dark, so we need to lighten it.ClickontheBackgroundlayer

Highlights to the right.

Lighten the eye

06 The right eye is a little dark so we

can lighten it by again. Select with

the Selection Brush tool and open the Color

Curves. Push Adjust Highlights to the far left.

Boost contrast

07 We want to increase the sense of

contrast further on the face, so we

deselect the eye and open the Color Curves

again. Push Midtone Contrast ever so slightly

to the right.

Leave the shadows

08 It’s often too much to darken

shadows and lighten highlights to

increase contrast. If you lighten highlights, for

example, shadows appear heavier anyway

and vice versa. Lighten the highlights slightly

and leave the shadows otherwise the image

would look too dense.

Photo editing


Zoom out

09 Although there is a preview

function in the Color Curves, don’t

rely on it. It is quite small, so the best way to

assess how a change is shaping up is to

press OK in the Curves dialog and then

return to full screen.

Experiment with skin tone

10 You can experiment with the

highlight point in the Color Curves.

Push harder if you wish. Our skin tones look

redder and more saturated now, but this

works well for a vintage finish.

Select the background

11 We wouldn’t expect a white backdrop

for a Hollywood shot, so next we’re

going to drop in a new background. Press A

for the Quick Selection tool and set it to

Sample All Layers in the Options bar. Click

and drag in the white background to select it.

Merged duplicate layer

12 With the top layer active, use Ctrl/

Cmd+Alt/Opt+Shift+E to create a

merged duplicate on top. Now click the Add

Layer Mask button in the Layers palette.

Invert the mask using Ctrl/Cmd+I.

Tweak the settings

15 Make sure View is set to On Black.

Increase the Smooth and Feather

slider. Decrease the Contract/Expand.

The white halo should be reduced. Click

OK when you are happy.

Bring in the pink

13 Make the next layer down active and

go to Layer>New Fill Layer>Solid Color.

Click OK on the dialog and pick a nice shade

of pink. We went for #CBAAAA, which you

can enter in the relevant box.

Refine Mask

14 We can still see some of the original

white background. Ctrl/Cmd-click

the top layer mask to select the lady and

then click the Refine Edge button in the top

Options bar.

Expert tip

A fairly warm white balance was used in processing this image. We’ve added pink to simulate colour spill in the skin highlights, and help give an overall vintage feel to the image. When you are adding a background colour, it is always important to ensure it works with the rest of the image. If you pick a colour that doesn’t work, your image will always look wrong. So choose wisely and if in doubt, stay neutral!

Improve skin tones



Brighter whites

18 Now we’re ready for some

beauty work. Lighten the eyes a

fraction by adding a Levels adjustment

layer on top and pushing it up a fraction.

Invert the mask with Ctrl/Cmd+I and

paint into the eyes only with a white

brush.

Remove skin blemishes

19 Create a new layer on top and

select the Spot Healing Brush tool

(J). Set it to Sample All Layers in the

Options bar and zoom in close. Adjust the

brush size so it is slightly bigger than each

blemish and click over them to remove.

Simulate colour spill

17 Some of the pink background would

most likely contaminate the skin

tone. To simulate this, add a Levels

adjustment layer to the top of the stack and

select Reds. Move the top white slider in to a

value of 245 to add red to the highlights.

On the final page of our

tutorial we use a technique for

smoothing skin in which

Gaussian Blur is utilised.

The Radius setting required

depends on the image size. A

high-resolution image might

require 10-15px, while a lower

resolution image will need less.

Use too little and the effect

won’t look strong enough, but if

you go too hard you’ll find that

the detail moves into the skin

as you approach the edges with

your work, darkening the skin

texture. If you work further away

to avoid this issue, skin problems

will become visible between the

smoothing area and edge detail.

The only solution is to go back in

the History states and try again

with a lower Radius setting.

Radius for smoothing

INCORRECT

CORRECT

What can go wrong

Darken the corners

adjustment layer above the Color Fill layer and 16 To burn the corners a little, add a Hue/Saturation

increase the saturation. Click the layer mask and with a large

black brush, brush into the corners.

Photo editing


Gaussian smooth

20 Now for a bit

of skin

smoothing action.

With the top layer

active, use Ctrl/

Cmd+Alt/Opt+Shift+E

to create a merged

duplicate layer. Go to

Filter>Blur> Gaussian

Blur and use an

appropriate Radius

value to blur the skin.

Realistic background

24 We can finish by adding some

noise to the background too,

which looks very artificial at the

moment. Select the Color Fill layer, hold

down Alt/Opt and click the Create a

New Layer button. Select Overlay

mode, check the box below and this

time add 20% Noise and blur by 5px.

Brush in the blur

21 Add a layer mask and invert it with

Ctrl/Cmd+I. Press B for the Brush

tool and, with white selected, brush

carefully into the skin tone, avoiding all

edge detail around the nose, lips, eyes,

hair and face edges.

Add skin texture

22 To simulate skin texture and prevent

it looking too smooth, hold down

Alt/Opt and click the Create a New Layer

button. Change Mode to Overlay and check

the box below. Click OK then go to

Filter>Noise>Add Noise. Select Gaussian,

Monochromatic and around 15% Amount.

Tweak the noise

23 The noise is a bit too sharp for skin

texture, so go to

Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and run just

0.5px of blur. Now hold down Alt/Opt then

click and drag the mask from the skin

smoothing layer to the texture layer to

copy it, so the texture is likewise only

applied where needed.

Expert tip

This image is lit with a three-quarter lighting setup, which normally results in a heart-shaped area of light on the far cheek surrounded in shadow. To soften things, create a new layer on top of the stack and take the Brush tool. Set it to Airbrush mode with 50% Opacity. Alt/Opt-click to source a midtone colour from the lower-right cheek and paint over the shadow area. Build up as required and apply noise to the layer.

Improve lighting



Photo editing


Big cats in general – and lions in

particular – carry a sense of drama and

regality other animals can only envy.

One of the benefits of being king of the jungle

is never having to pose for portraits. Lions are

naturally photogenic, but notoriously

uncooperative at photo sessions.

Photographers must take what they can get

and be happy with it.

In the following pages, we’ll show you how

to start with a photo of a lion in good lighting

and transform it into a dramatic scene worthy

of the venerable cat. Along the way you will

learn how to utilise image luminosity to make

highlight selections and the easiest way of

extracting fur from a background. There’s

even a few tools used in unconventional ways

to open up your creative abilities.

The starter image is provided on the disc

and is already quite impressive in itself. This

tutorial will walk you through the process of

extracting the subject from the background

and adding dramatic flair with the Lighting

Effects filter. We’ll present a technique that

enables you to paint realistic shadows onto

the lion and even brush backlighting directly

onto the edges of the mane.

Learn how to add stunning lighting effects worthy of a jungle king

Use the Lighting Effects filter

BEFORE

AFTER





Majestic effects fit for a kingLuminosity, filters and masks, oh my!

Feline facial care

01 Begin with the file from the cover disc called ‘Lion.

jpg’. Open it up, duplicate the layer and use the

Healing Brush to remove any unsightly blemishes or

distracting spots from the lion’s face.

Out of Africa

02 Use the Quick Selection tool to select the lion.

When you have all of the body and head covered,

press the Refine Edge button to activate the dialog box.

Now use the sliders to adjust the selection until it captures

the fur but leaves the background. Go to Layer>Layer

Mask>Reveal Selection.

Select and save highlights

03 Add a layer beneath the lion by creating

a new one and dragging it down, then fill

it with black (Edit>Fill Layer). Go to the top layer,

pick the Magic Wand tool and then click on the

bright highlights. Go to Select>Save Selection

and name it Lumin.

Merged layer

04 Switch back to the Layers palette and press Ctrl/Cmd+D to

cancel the selection. Now create a merged layer on top of

the stack by first making sure the lion layer is the focus and pressing

Ctrl/Cmd+Alt/Opt+Shift+E.

Lighting Effects

05 Go to Filter>Render> Lighting Effects. Begin with the default

spotlight and reposition it to suit your animal. Set the colour to

a pale yellow, Intensity to 37, Focus 3, Gloss 34, Material 14, Exposure -2

and Ambience 10. Set Texture Channel to Lumin and Height to 1.

Multiply merged layers

the duplicate layer version to Multiply. This enhances the 06 Duplicate the merged layer and set the blending mode of

lighting effect and deepens the colours. If the effect looks too

strong to suit you, reduce the opacity of the duplicate layer.

TipSquash the marching ants lineThis tutorial requires a lot of work with selections. If you find the way Elements displays the selection boundary (known as the marching ants) distracting, try turning it off. Ctrl/Cmd+H will toggle the visibility of the selection edge. Keep in mind the selection is still active and working, you just can’t see the edge. This can cause issues if you are not careful – if you forget you have an active selection and try painting outside of it you are in for some confusing times!

Photo editing


Nothing cowardly about this lionAdd the eye-catching highlights and shadows

Add different light modes to images with this filter

OUTER SHADOW

TipLighting workflowWhile we love

the power of the

Lighting Effects

filter, it does have

its drawbacks.

Chief among them

is the tiny preview

window. As a result

you may find a

setting that looks

spot on is rubbish

once applied at

full scale. Instead

of having to redo

all the settings all

over again, get into

the habit of using

the Save button

to give you an easy

way to get back

to where you left

your sliders.

Deeper shadows

07 Add a Levels adjustment layer and name it Face

Shadows. Move the central slider to the far right

to darken the midtones throughout the image. Once

again, the opacity setting for the layer provides another

level of control over the effect.

Painted masks

layer and fill it with black to essentially hide the 08 Click on the mask thumbnail for the adjustment

effect. Now use a large, soft edged brush with white to

carefully paint the darkening effect back onto the image.

Focus on the regions of the face that fall naturally into

shadows for a realistic effect.

Artificial backlight

09 Add another Levels adjustment layer for the

backlighting. This time pull the central handle over

to the far left to greatly brighten the midtones until they are

almost washed out. Switch to the layer mask and fill it with

black to hide the effect.

Selective highlights

10 Go to Select>Load Selection

and choose the Lumin

selection. Then use a large brush

with white paint at a low opacity to

softly add the backlit effect onto the

edges of the fur. The selection

restricts the application of the effect

to the brighter areas of the image.

Golden glow

11 Deslect and create a new layer.

Go to Edit>Fill Layer, select Color

from the Use drop-down menu and

pick a light tan. Set the blending mode

of this layer to Overlay. Reduce the

effect’s opacity as needed for a subtle

look. This touch provides a nice golden

light at the edge of the lion’s mane.

The Lighting Effects filter is home to a bewildering array of options, so much so that you can find a lighting solution to whatever image you have. The first port of call in using the filter is the Style drop-down menu. From here you can pick a light type and then use the adjustment points in the Preview window to set where the light actually falls in your image. But that’s not all. Each style has further control options covering aspects such as intensity and focus.

The sheer scale of options and possibility can also work against the Lighting Effects simply because it is so difficult to know where to start. But keep with it, and you’ll start to get a feel for how it works. Also, use the techniques in this tutorial to merge the effects in with your image, otherwise the results can be too strong.

Other lighting effects

FIVE LIGHTS UP FLOODLIGHT



Add the background and final touchesManufacture a setting for your subject

Color Overlay

Outer Shadow

Background Texture

Eye Highlights

Hue/Saturation

Backlight

Face Shadows

Merged Copy

Merged

Lion

Background

Layer structure

Understand the effect

Piercing gaze

12 Add a Hue/Saturation

adjustment layer to boost the

eye colour to a rich, golden hue. We

used a setting of Hue +11, Saturation

+50 and Lightness +7. Fill the mask

with black and gently paint in the

coloured effect where you want it.

The cat returns

15 Instead of cutting out the lion

with all its assorted layers, it’s an

easier task to just mask out the

Background Texture layer. Add a layer

mask and use a large, soft black

brushes to release the lion from

behind the texture.

Reverse halo

17 Ctrl/Cmd-click the lion layer

mask again and go to Select>

Feather, entering a value of 50px. Use

this selection to mask out the black

layer by going to Layer>Layer

Mask>Hide Selection. Alter the Outer

Shadow layer’s opacity as needed to

separate the cat from the

background texture, but not so much

so that he appears to have an outline.

Background texture

14 Add a new layer for the background texture. Set the

colours to orange and black and then go to

Filter>Render>Clouds. Follow this with

Filter>Render>Fibers and Filter>Artistic>Film Grain. Finally,

use the Gaussian Blur filter set to around 8px to complete

the background texture effect.

Eye of the lion

13 Add a new layer for the eye

highlights. Use a small round

paintbrush to dab specks of white over

the pupils then use the smudge brush

to gently blend the edges of the strokes.

Add these highlights opposite the

brightest portion of the iris as shown in

our image above.

Black out

16 Add a new layer for the outer

shadow. Ctrl/Cmd-click the

mask from the original lion layer to load

that selection. Go to

Select>Modify>Expand and enter a

value of 100px, then go to

Select>Feather and use a value of

50px. Finally fill the selection with black

and cancel the selection.

Splash of colour

18 Add a new layer at the top and

set the blend mode to Overlay.

Use the Gradient tool in Radial mode

with the Foreground to Transparent

preset. Add a deep red gradient to the

lower right and a dark blue gradient to

the lower left. Reduce the layer opacity

to finish.


Photo editing

Add emphasis to eyes


Whether or not you believe the

eyes are the windows to the

soul, there’s no denying that

they can make or break a portrait. Dull

and unengaging peepers make for a dull

and unengaging image, so you want them

to be the best they can be.

And if that want happens to be for

maximum effect, there is a really

impressive technique that involves calling

upon the gradients to wash a rainbow

sheet of colour over a selection before

using a Hue/Saturation adjustment and

blend modes to make the whole effect sit

together nicely.

You don’t have to stay with the rainbow

feel, either. Instead of using the gradient,

you can dab on whatever colours you wish

with a brush, and then apply a Gaussian

blur and blend modes to bring everything

together. This technique will work on any

image that you have to hand (even on your

pet pictures), however, you get the most

impact if applied to a black-and-white

shot. Just make sure it isn’t in Grayscale

mode otherwise your rainbow will be black

and white!

Use gradients and Hue/Saturation to apply a rainbow effect

Add emphasis to eyes

I can see a rainbowColourful effects made easy

Make the selection

01 You need to first select the eye area to apply the

effect. Using the Lasso tool (or any selection

method you prefer), draw around the inside of the eye.

Once the selection is made, click the New Layer icon from

the Layers palette.

Edit the colour

04 Go to Image>

Adjustments>Hue/

Saturation and use the Saturation

slider to tame things further; simply

drag it to the left to reduce the effect.

It might be that you want to go further,

in which case slide it to the right.

Alter the colours

05 Staying with Hue/Saturation,

you can also use the Hue

slider to alter the colours in the eye.

Simply move the slider left or right to

get the effect you want. This is such a

simple edit but makes a massive

different to the final result.

Gradient application

02 Pick the Gradient tool from the

Toolbar and then click on the

Gradient Editor area in the top Options

bar. Pick the Spectrum gradient preset

and then click OK. Drag across the

selection to add the colour. Repeat until

you get a pattern you like.

Blend mode

03 Things are too harsh at the

moment, so scoot down to

the Layers palette and click on the

blend modes drop-down menu. Pick

the Color mode to merge the gradient

with the photo.

Tidy up

06 Press Ctrl/Cmd+D to deselect the area you had

selected. Zoom in and check that the colours

haven’t seeped out anywhere. If it has, pick the Eraser tool

from the Toolbar and wipe away. Once happy, repeat the

process for the other eye.


Selective colour creationsBring out the tones of your image for beautiful results

Selective Color is a simple and widely used approach to

adding a stand-out effect to your photos. With this process

you can bring out the red in a snow-covered rose or the blue

in someone’s eyes, while keeping the rest of the image monotone.

The improved Smart Brush tool in Photoshop Elements enables

you to manipulate your images in a variety of ways, using just the

preset effects. The beauty of this process is that you can have as

much or as little control as you want over the tonal selections.

Over the next few pages we’ll be working in Expert mode. The

change in the interface when working in this mode may seem a

little daunting, but all we are doing is gaining access to the entire

catalogue of tools and effects available in Photoshop Elements.

Using the Smart Brush tool, we will be making selections as well as

setting up our own specific brush. From that point on we’ll explore

refining the selection using some of the very powerful yet simple

tools available in the software.

Original image

Photo editing






Selective colour creations

Brush Settings Get the right brush tip for the job

HARDNESS

Adjusting the Hardness will define how strong your brushstrokes are when making a selection. Set Hardness to 0 for softer edges and 100 for harder ones.

ROUNDNESS

The Roundness of a brush helps decide the kind of selection you are making. At 100% you have a perfect circle to make selections with. By lowering the selection you are able to make your brush much thinner.

SIZE

If you have a tablet that has a styles wheel, or is pressure-sensitive, you can use it to adjust the Size and Hardness of your brush selection by using this dropdown menu.

ANGLE

By clicking and dragging across the word Angle you can adjust the degrees your brushstroke will come from. You can adjust the Roundness of your brush here by moving the anchor points on the brush diagram.

SPACING

By changing the Spacing you can tell the brush how generous to be with its selection. Set the Spacing to a low number when refining your selection, but use a high one when selecting large areas.

Refine EdgeEdit the edges of the selections you make

VIEW MODE

Change the view style depending on your preference. For instance, Marching Ants will retain the selection, whereas Overlay will create a red mask over parts of the image that aren’t selected.

REFINE RADIUS TOOL

Use the Refine Radius tool to paint over your selection in the image, as well as to make tweaks to the changes made by your Edge Adjustments.

OUTPUT

Adjusting your Output will determine how the selection will function after you hit OK. For example, Output To Selection will retain a Marching Ants selection and Layer Mask will convert your selection into a layer mask.

ADJUST EDGE

Every selection will require different attention. Smooth, Feather, Contrast and Shift Edge can be used to refine a rough selection.

EDGE DETECTION

This option can be very useful when your selection is not quite covering the correct area. By adjusting the Radius you can edge your selection into the correct place. Checking Smart Radius can automate this process.

What does it mean?Feather refers to the transition

between selected and deselected areas in an image. Increasing the

Feather setting while using the Refine Edge option, for example, will soften

the harshness of the outline being made. Go through the menu Select>Modify>Feather after

you’ve outlined your selection.

Photo editing


Closer look Key toolsSelective colouring is simple when armed with the right tools

REFINE EDGE TOOL

A Smart Brush selection will never be perfect, so the Refine Edge tool will help to smarten up those rough edges. The interface may seem overwhelming, but as you adjust the different settings you will very quickly learn how easy-to-use and vital this tool is.

ADJUSTMENT LAYER

The moment you start making a selection using the Smart Brush tool, a new adjustment layer will appear in the Layers panel. We are not making changes to the actual image, but are instead overlaying an effect with this new layer to make it much easier for us to go back and change things.

THE SMART BRUSH TOOL

This option will be our best friend during this process and will do most of the work for us, but it’s our job to tell it what to do. Whether you want to remove colour, add contrast or overlay a texture, the provided presets will help you along the way.

SELECTIONS

The way that Photoshop Elements presents our selection is very important to how we work with the image. The Marching Ants selection will clearly define our working area when we make our rough selection, but Elements has a number of ways for us to view this.

There will be two main stages to this tutorial. First we’ll explore the Brush Settings and how

to make a brush selection. Second we’ll refine our selection using the Refine Edge tool.

Once you’ve mastered these tools you’ll be able to apply their effects in a variety of

different ways. The Smart Brush tool alone provides plenty of presets worth exploring,

which can help you manipulate your images in a limitless number of ways.

Selective colour creations


Brush tool basics Start with the right brush and the rest is child’s play

Check your edges

07 Go back to View mode. Click View>

Reveal Layer and the red overlay will

disappear and you can review your image.

Look at the edges and check if there is any

overflow in the selection. If there is, repeat

the process from Steps 5 and 6.

Final touches

08 Select the Background layer in the

Layers panel. Go to Enhance>

Adjust Lighting>Brightness/Contrast. Push

Brightness to 45 and Contrast to 30. This will

bring out the remaining colours in the image.

Go to Select>Deselect to lose the selection.

Expand the Selection

05 If the selection goes too far, select Subtract From Selection.

Go to Brush Settings and reduce spacing when working with

small leaks, then click and drag over areas you want to deselect.

Brush Settings

03 The division between colours in this

image is quite clear, so we don’t

need the brush to be too specific about the

selection it’s making. Go to Brush Settings,

set the Hardness to 100%, Spacing to 100%

and Roundness to 100%.

Create a selection

04 Focus on an area where you want colour, click once and a

selection will be made. Everything within the selection will

retain its colour, but everything outside will desaturate.

Apply Refine Edge

06 Once you’ve made final selections,

click Refine Edge in the Brush

Options. Deselected parts disappear. In

View mode go toOverlay. Under Adjust Edge

increase Smooth and Shift Edge until the

red overlay leaks into selected areas.

Make preparations

01 For this exercise, use a photo with

strong colours to see the full benefit

of the Smart Brush tool. Try it on the image

here by opening ‘Balloons.jpg’ from your

resources. Activate Expert mode, then pick

the Smart Brush tool in the Tool panel.

Select a brush

02 In the Tool Options tab at the

bottom of Elements, select the

Brush Picker tab then go to Presets>Reverse

Effects, then turn your image black and white

in reverse. Ensure Invert is selected and set

your brush Size to 7.

Digital artPAGE 126 PAGE 144 PAGE 154

PAGE 122

Create impressive digital effects using brushes, filters and much more


Create a comic-book effectUse the Color Halftone filter

122

Use Elements for stunning effectsMake the most of Elements

126

130 Smudge your way to an oil paintingCreate an oil portrait with the

Smudge tool

134 Create a family portrait Fake a painted-portrait efect

Customise brushesCreate eye-catching art

162

Create splatter effectsCombine brushes and assets

166

Apply texturesGive your shots some texture

170

Make water effectsUse filters and blend modes

174

Design ancient patternsProduce ancient designs

180

140 Create an art-deco styleMaster the Mezzotint filter

144 Design an abstractControl the Custom Shape tool

148 Paint portraitsMix media to transform photos

154 Create instant pop artRe-create Andy Warhol's work

156 Make your own watercolourMerge traditional art efects

160 Turn photos to sketchesGet creative with your images

PAGE 170


Digital art


Create a comic-book effect

We all love to display photos of

our nearest and dearest around

the house but let’s face it –

sometimes a normal photo can be a bit

boring. If you find you want to try

something different, take inspiration from

classic comics and add some POW! to your

family portraits. The beauty of this process

is that you only need some slider dexterity

– there is no drawing and certainly no

colouring. All of the information is taken

from your start photo and Elements does

the rest. Things kick off with some contrast

editing, courtesy of Levels. Think about the

classic comics (we’re talking early Marvel).

Colours are very intense, with clear

shadows and highlights. A bit of prep work

with Levels will sort this out.

In order to boost the halftone effect

produced by how the comics were originally

printed, a trip to the Film Grain filter is in

order. This lays the foundations for the star of

the show – the Color Halftone filter. A bit of

layer action will ensure that the perfect

combination between detail and creative

effect is struck.

You can choose to leave things there but if

you want to run with the comic theme, we

will show you how to create a suitable frame

and boxes for text to tell your story. The right

font is crucial to pull off the comic style with

any impact, so we’ll point you in the direction

of the best free ones that you can download

from the net. We will also take a look at the

supplied custom shapes, picking out which

ones will help you add that final BAM!

Add a fun twist to family portraits by using the Color Halftone filter to apply a comic-book effect

BEFORE

AFTER





Increase your photo’s contrastBoost tones for a dramatic style

Boost contrast

02 Levels are the next port of call to pump up the

contrast. Elements users need to go to

Enhance>Adjust Lighting>Levels, while Photoshop users

need Image>Adjustments>Levels.

A touch more highlight

04 The shadows are nice and dark but for improved

contrast we need something to contrast with! In

this case the highlights need attention. This is achieved by

moving the white slider (on the far left) to the right. Go for

around 229.

Duplicate for safekeeping

01 Open the start image for this tutorial (or your own

one) and duplicate the layer to preserve the original.

Do this by going to Layer>Duplicate. Double-click on the

new layer to make the name editable and call it Photo.

See to the shadows

03 We need to accentuate the shadows. Go to the

first line of sliders in the Levels palette and then

click-drag the black slider (on the far right) to the left. You

will see the shadows darken. The number underneath

the slider should be around the 58 mark.

Embrace the grain

05 Click OK to exit Levels. The next

port of call is Filter>Artistic>Film

Grain. The grain will help give the image a

grubby edge and achieve the desired effect.

Tweak the sliders

06 The Film Grain filter works within the

Filter Gallery, so this will open up. You

haven’t got to go too mad here, so we suggest

the following settings: Grain 6, Highlight Area 3

and Intensity 10. Click OK to exit and apply.

Halftone time

07 Duplicate the photo layer and rename

as before. Call it Halftone then go to

Filter>Pixelate>Color Halftone and enter 6 in

the Max Radius area. Leave everything else as

it is. Click OK to apply the halftone effect.

TipComic fontsand where to find themYou need to make

sure you have

the right font for

the comic effect

to work but you

don’t have to

search far to find

some fantastic

free ones on

the web. A quick

web search for

‘free comic book

fonts’ will return

loads of options.

Digital art


Install on a MacIn most cases, the font will download as a Zip file. Unzip it once the download is complete and in the case of Mac users, highlight all the fonts and double-click to install.

Install on WindowsThings aren’t so simple for Windows users, as methods change according to different versions. Consult your manual or look on the font site for help. In the case of MyFonts, you can get instructions from www.myfonts.com/support/help_install_win.html.

Extra touchesImprove results with embellishments

Border colour

10 Use the Canvas Extension

Color drop-down menu to

decide what colour your border is. We

have chosen Black but if you pick

Other, the Color Picker will appear for

you to choose whatever colour you

wish. Click OK to apply the border.

Draw the box

12 Zoom in to the top-right area of your image and then click and drag with

the Rectangular Marquee to make a text box. Go to Edit>Stroke

(Outline) Selection, enter a Width of 5px, set Location to Outside and keep

everything else the same. Click OK.

Text boxes

11 Comics need text and that text

needs to sit in a text box. There

are two types of boxes – one to

introduce a setting and one for the

story. Press D on your keyboard to

reset the Foreground and

Background colours and then create

a new layer. Name it Top Text Box.

Now pick the Rectangular Marquee

tool from the Toolbar.

Blend mode

08 Hmm, things aren’t looking

that great at the moment, are

they? No fear, a quick change of blend

mode will sort things out. Go to the

Layers palette and click where it says

Normal. This will open the blend

modes. Scroll down to Darken and

then click to apply. Much better.

Add a border

09 Comic strips usually have a

black border. Go to

Image>Resize>Canvas Size and

check the Relative box. Enter 1cm in

both Width and Height and this will

add a comic-style, 1cm box around

the entire image.

Installing fonts – get your comic text to work

Newer versions of Photoshop and Photoshop Elements will pick up on the fonts installed in your system and have these ready for you when you pick the Type tool. To access new fonts, you need to install them into your computer, rather than Photoshop. Here’s how it is done with a downloaded font.

Get your fontWhen you are using free web fonts, make sure you check out any limitations that apply. Some fonts are free for any purpose, while others can only be used for personal projects. If you are using a font depository site, such as www.myfonts.com, you usually see a sample of the font. Hit the download button to start installation.



Comic custom shapes

Adorn your image with these presets

One obvious comic-book

element that we’ve missed out is

speech bubbles, but even these

can be handled by Photoshop, in

the guise of its Custom Shape tool.

Select it from the Toolbar (possibly

behind the Rectangle tool) and click

on the top Options bar. Click the

right arrow to see the shapes and

pick Talk Bubbles. Click an option to

choose it and, making sure you have

the Shape layers icon pressed, click

and drag to apply the shape. Make

sure you set the colour you want

from the Options bar!

To add a border, repeat the

process used for the text box

border and type as you did before.

Layer structure

Be a comic-book hero

Apply some box colourMake your elements stand out

Bottom Box Text

Bottom Text Box

Top Box Text

Top Text Box

Halftone

Photo

Background

Gradient time

13 Select the Magic Wand tool from the

Toolbar and click inside your title box.

Now pick the Gradient tool, click Edit from

the top Options bar (double-click the

gradient if you are using Photoshop) and

then pick the Foreground to Background

option (it is black going into white). Click OK

to set the style.

The other box

15 Press Ctrl/Cmd+D on your keyboard to

deselect. Create a new layer called

Bottom Text Box and then repeat steps 12-13,

drawing a box in the bottom right of the

image. Instead of picking the Gradient tool, go

to Edit>Fill and choose White from the Use

drop-down menu.

Add text

16 Click on the Top

Text Box layer

and pick the Text tool

from the Toolbar. Go to

the font drop-down

menu and pick your

chosen font (see side

panel for how to install

these). Click in the box

and type text in the

new layer that appears.

Adjust text

17 If you need to make

any changes to what

you have typed, highlight

the text and then use the

top Options bar to play with

the type size and colour. If

you want to move the text,

hold down the Ctrl/Cmd

key and then click and drag

to move. Click the tick icon

when finished.

Set the gradient

14 Double-click the Foreground square in

the Toolbar and pick an orange. Click

OK. Now double-click the Background

square and pick yellow. Click OK. Now click

and drag from right to left in the text box to

apply the gradient.

Artiiistic

You can achieve the same results in Photoshop Elements as you can in Photoshop CS6, you will just need

a bit more patience and time as diferent tools are needed. Photoshop Elements works in the same way as

CS6 apart from missing the Pen tool, but don’t fear, this is easy to rectify.

Digtal art


Use Elements for stunning effectsPhotoshop’s little brother can be just as effective as the main CS suite

Use Elements for stunning effects


The difference is apparent

04 Photoshop Elements does not have the Pen

tool, so we have to change our tactics now.

Zoom in to your image using the Zoom tool (magnifier

icon). Click Create a New Layer and make sure it sits at

the top of the stack.

Fill your selection

07 Click onto the

first pointer

created. You’ll be left with

an active selection. Click

onto the newly added

layer in the Layers palette

and select the Paint

Bucket tool. Click the

middle of the active

selection to fill with your

sampled colour.

Select your colours and tools

05 In the Toolbar select the Eyedropper and click over a midtone colour in

the face to sample. This sampled hue will appear in the swatches. Now

select the Magnetic Lasso tool, which is hidden underneath the regular Lasso.

Trace the face shape

06 Use the

Magnetic Lasso

tool to select the face

shape as it’s attracted

to pixels of a similar

tone. Slowly trace the

shape. Keep clicking the

mouse to lay extra

anchor points so the

tool follows as closely to

the edge as possible.

Duplicate

01 Go to the Layers palette

(older versions of

Photoshop Elements may not

have this option) and drag and

drop the Background layer onto

the Create a New Layer icon

to duplicate.

Locate Posterize

02 To hide the Background

layer, press the eye icon next

it in the Layers palette. Posterise your

duplicated layer via the Options bar

– Layer> New Adjustment Layer>

Posterize – and hit OK when the

dialog appears.

Adjustments palette tweaks

03 A new adjustment layer will appear at the top of

your palette, so to alter the strength of the

posterised effect, bring up the Adjustments palette

(Window>Adjustments). Here you just move the slider

until you are completely happy with the effect. We have

used a Level of 7.

Digital art


Complete the selectionsUse the Marquee and Paint Bucket tools

Tidy edges

09 Tidy the edges of the shape to make it more

solid and vector-like. Use the Zoom tool to get

in close and make sure you are clicking onto the filled

face layer in the Layers palette. End the active selection

by hitting M and clicking within the selection area.

Colour swap

08 If the wrong colour has filled your selection,

double-click on the Foreground and Background

swatches to pick new ones. You can sample areas from

your source photo by hovering over the image once the

colour picker is open and clicking.

Erase any mistakes

11 Move your way around the edge of the face until completed. If

you make an error when painting, simply switch to the Eraser tool

with a hard edged chosen and a small brush tip to erase any flaws.

Brush set up

10 Select the Brush tool from the toolbar

and choose a hard edged, medium

sized brush at 100% Opacity. We now want to

fill in the wobbly edges created by the Lasso

tool. We will be placing a layer of hair on top so

it doesn’t need to be perfect.

Perfect circles

12 Hide this layer in the palette when finished by pressing the eye icon.

Select the Elliptical Marquee tool from the Toolbar and draw around

the coloured iris area of the eye. Double-click on the Foreground swatch

below all of the tools and pick a suitable eye colour by Ctrl/Cmd-clicking on

the source photo.

Build up the eyes

13 Add a new layer to the top of the stack and use the

Paint Bucket tool to fill in. Repeat this process for the

pupil and other eye. Select the Magnetic Lasso tool and

trace the rest of the eyes, add a new layer and fill with white.

Use the Eraser to get the right shape.

TipPaint vs marqueeYou may prefer

to use the Brush

tool to paint in all

of your different

coloured layers

as you can get

a much neater

effect. If you take

this creative route

instead of using

the Marquee

tools, always use a

hard edged brush

and make sure

you paint on

separate layers

for each colour.

You can edit layers

more easily and

delete them if

needed when

everything is

labelled correctly.

To do this, double-

click on the layer’s

name to edit it.

Another useful

piece of kit you

could use if you

wanted to paint by

hand is a Wacom

pen and tablet.

Using one of

these will give you

greater control

and it will feel

more natural than

a mouse.

Use Elements for stunning effects


Build the effect

Add an illustrative touchBring your artwork into the template

Hair

Nose

Lips and Mouth

Face

Eyes

Posterised Photo

Source Photo

Eyelashes

14 For the eyelashes, use the

Brush tool set to a black

colour. Keep the brush small with a

hard edge and work zoomed in. Alter

the brush’s size and opacity when

working and don’t be afraid to be

bold as you can always erase areas.

Add more features

continue to add on the lips, teeth and nose areas. 16 Your face should be taking shape nicely now, so

Keep zooming out and saving as you work, turning the

layer’s visibility on and off to keep track of your progress.

Hair

17 Using the Magnetic Lasso tool, trace around the main area of hair.

Once actively selected, add a new layer above the skin and fill with a

dark brown colour sampled from your photo. Select the Smudge too (it may

be hiding behind Blur in the palette).

Smudge for natural hair

18 Use this tool to pull

out more natural-

looking strands of hair from

the main bulk and use it on

the eyelashes too for a soft,

natural effect. Set it to 80%

Strength and vary the brush

size as you work quickly

using the [ and ] keys.

Build up the face

15 Click and hold on the Sponge

tool icon and select Burn from

the submenu. In the Layers palette

click onto the eye-filled layer and

press Lock. Use the Burn tool to paint

around the edges adding depth and

use Dodge for any highlights wanted.

Repeat on all areas of your image to

add more interest and depth.

Layer structure

Digital art


AFTER

Smudge your way to an oil panting


The Smudge tool is an easy way to try your

hand at ‘oil’ painting, so this lesson begins

with how to smudge directly over a scenic

portrait and paint the entire image using only the

Scatter brush.

You will work from background to foreground,

which is the same process as a traditional artist.

Working this way also enables you to paint over any

overflow as you move towards the foreground.

You will also use the traditional brush strokes

called ‘hatching’ and ‘cross hatching’ to create a

nice painterly effect. Towards the end of this lesson

we will switch to more difficult techniques using

the Stipple brush for the hair and the Soft Round

brush to paint ‘free form’ and add more hair,

extend the dress and add sunlight to the trees. I

know many of you will want to stop after the

smudging ends, but I want to urge you to continue!

There’s a lot of fun to be had with painting

freehand. You can make as many layers as you

need to experiment every step of the way. Anytime

you are not happy with the way things are going,

just use your Eraser tool or delete the layer and

start anew. The main objective of this lesson is for

you to experiment and practice to develop the

skills you need to feel satisfaction in the final

results. Once you’ve tried it a few times, we

guarantee you will be up all night painting!

Taking a traditional approachStarting with the background and working towards the foreground

A straightforward look at creating an oil portrait

Smudge your way to an oil painting

Get started

01 Open your original picture and make

a copy of the original layer by

dragging the image to the New Layer icon in

your Layer palette. Now make a new layer

by clicking on the layer icon and name this

one ‘Background Tree’. Make sure Sample

all Layers in the top menu bar is selected.

(The same brush will be used through the

whole lesson.)

Paint in the old hatch style

02 Now, working on the top layer, select

the Smudge tool and the # 46

Scatter brush (located in the Default

brushes and used with the default settings).

At 50% Strength paint with a traditional

‘hatch’ style which is moving the brush back

and forth in a consistent direction, (diagonal

here). Use this technique in all the

background area (except for the leaves) all

the way to the river edge.

Change directions

03 Keeping on the same layer, change

your ‘hatch’ stroke direction (using

the same brush and settings) while painting

the leaves so they are not completely lost in

the background. This will help define their

shape while still giving a nice oil painting look.

This method is called ‘cross hatching’.

BEFORE



Digital art


Express yourself with your strokesExperiment and make your painting your own

Easy water Painting water is quite simple, use a long swift stroke from left to right. Just be sure not to distort any nearby elements as you paint.

Realistic effects The Spatter brushes are a good choice for smudging as their effect changes with brush size and pressure and can master either skin , hair or nature. Experiment!

Follow form Changing to a circular stroke is essential in order to preserve the form of round objects.

TipUse the Clone toolSometimes

the Clone tool

is faster than

painting over

an unwanted

area. We used

the Clone tool to

remove the dress

bow. Sample a

nearby area as a

source and make

sure the brush

is a soft one so

there are no hard

edges. You can go

back and smudge

to remove

any repetition

of unwanted

patterns you find.

Paint with flare

04 We are now ‘cross hatching’

the river bank. Feel free to

express your self by adding more

pressure to your stylus or changing

stroke directions several times, but pay

attention to the forms and shapes and

keep them intact. Notice here that I

used an upward stroke to suggest the

grass on top of the bank.

Paint the skin

07 Create a new layer called ‘Skin’.

Decrease the brush Strength to

35% and use a smaller brush around 15

pixels. Carefully go over all the skin area

using small hatching and cross hatching

stokes, painting in the direction of the

facial planes and taking special care

around the features so as not to distort

them. Go slow! Repeat for the dress.

Paint water

05 Make a ‘water’ layer and zoom

in close with a larger brush. We

will now use our brush from side to side

in a horizontal stroke. We want to

smooth all the pixels and give a nice

painterly flow while making sure it stays

‘water’. It is important to do the water

before the rocks as we work towards

the foreground.

Rock painting

06 Make a ‘Rock’ layer and using

a medium size brush, zoom

and use hatching and cross hatching

strokes, making sure to preserve the

natural form of the rock and taking

care not to fuzz up the edges.

Paint in the round

08 For round objects do not use

the hatch stroke method.

Here is where you want to stop and

preserve their shape and paint using a

careful circular motion . The same idea

applies to the roundness of the lips, use

care and use curves!

On your way to a beautiful painting

Apply these techniques to your own photos

Smudge wonder An effective way to achieve an oil look is to use the Smudge brush. It is a quick way to get the look you want while being straightforward.

Keep it real ‘Hatching’ and ‘Cross Hatching’ is an effective brush stroke to use as it gives a nice painterly effect and can preserve form as long as care is used in changing directions.

Smudge your way to an oil panting


Layer structure

Painting with ease

Finishing up and changing brushesLearn to embellish your image with final details

Painted leaves

Dress paint

Hair highlights

Hair

Dress

Skin

Rocks

Water

Background trees

Original layer

Paint hair

09 Make a new layer called

Hair. Zoom in close at 50%

Strength and vary your brush size

as you work. Paint as you would if

you were actually brushing her hair.

Paint right over any background

edge spillage .

Paint and extend the dress

12 Go back to the Default brushes

and choose a Soft Round at

100%. Paint directly over the dress

extending it over the rock behind her.

Alt click on her dress to sample the

colours of the shadows and paint in the

folds , shadows and light to make it

more natural.

Switch from Smudge to paint

10 To bring some life to the hair,

change from the Smudge tool

to the regular paint brush and choose a

Stipple brush from the Natural Brushes

gallery. Set the Strength to 50% and

now click on the Brush icon at the top

to change the fade to 65%. Make a new

layer called Hair Highlights.

Sunlight in the trees

14 Make a new layer called Painted

Leaves. Bring up the color box

and choose a pretty yellow/ green. Use

the Soft Round brush at 50% to paint

sunlight over the existing leaves varying

direction and size. Adjust the layer for a

more subtle effect.

Paint the hair

11 Now, using the settings in step 10,

bring up the colour box and

choose a golden yellow-brown and

begin painting in highlights. Take care to

vary the colour , keeping the lightest at

the top. Swing your brush outward to

imitate the motion of hair in the

breeze. Decrease brush size for

thinner strands of hair.

Cast a skirt shadow

13 Go back to the layer called ‘Rock’,

choose the Burn tool and using a

soft round brush, burn the area around

the skirt so it looks as though there is a

shadow on the rock. This makes the

dress extension much more credible.

Digital art


Create a perfect family portrait


If you have had a difficult time capturing a great

family picture and don’t know where you are

going wrong worry no more, as we will solve this

problem as well as giving you a creative option to

edit the photograph afterwards. The most important

aspect is starting with a great picture. The key

ingredients include the location, pose, composition

and mood. After you’ve captured your wonderful

family portrait, we will take the image into Photoshop

Elements to explore what we can do to create a

fine-art portrait worthy of being printed and hung in

a frame. We will address options such as changing

the background scene for another shot to improve

the image, and will also be using a somewhat

misunderstood filter to begin the base-painting

process before finishing off with some default paint

brushes to give your piece a traditional, painted look.

We will show you how to easily add an extra element

to the portrait that helps create a story and much

more interest. We chose to place in a kite, which we

feel will enhance the mood and add some fun to the

final picture.

Family portraits are one of those things that people

tend to think are simple, but this guide will help you

spot common errors that you may have made in the

past, as well as make sure your next family outing

produces a treasure you will be proud to show for

years to come.

Create a perfect family portraitLearn the techniques to capture a successful family picture and fake a painted-portrait effect in Elements

BEFORE

AFTER



Digital art


Get the shot and get startedTake the picture and choose a new background

TipPaint in different tonesWhen painting

an image, the

shadows and

highlights are

very important

to the overall

success of the

portrait. Keep in

mind where the

light source is

and ensure that

the shadows

look natural. This

applies to every

element in the

image. The light

on the hair, the

fold of the T-shirt

and the contours

of the arms. If you

do not have a high

enough contrast

between these

elements, the

image will

lack depth.

Replace the background

05 Use the Lasso tool to select the tree area

around the family, getting as close as you can

but not touching them. Connect the Lasso tool in a

complete shape around and then hit the Backspace

key to remove the original scene.

Shoot the sky

02 If you don’t like the original background of your

image, you can change it. All you need is a

point and shoot camera set on Automatic and a good

eye. Look for a beautiful cloud formation or anything

you find pleasing. We chose a summery sky.

Layers

04 To ensure we keep our original images, click on

both the sky and the family and make a

duplicate layer for each. Drag them so they alternate

and name them if you want to by clicking on the text to

keep everything organised. It is always good to work

from duplicate layers in case of mistakes.

Composition

01 Plan your shoot

either for the early

morning or near sunset

to ensure there is no

harsh sun to cause

squinting or shadows. Ask

your subjects to cuddle

close and make contact

with one another. White

T-shirts are best because

they are easy to paint

over. Use an aperture

between f/4 and 6 for

good focus.

Start in Elements

03 Open Elements

and bring in the

files ‘PerkinsFamily.jpg’

and ‘SkyBackground.

jpg’. Drag your family

from the bin area onto

the sky image in your

working space.

Shoot the background

Choose your image carefullyChoosing the right background is extremely important to the overall look of the painting. You may want to go for a long drive with your camera and shoot the sky from different times of the day. A cloudy sky adds more interest to the composition. We considered both the skies shown, but decided on the one on the right because the large cloud formation enhanced the image as it followed the lines of the group shape. The blue sky also adds to the mood by suggesting a fun, sunny day.



Bring fun to the portraitLiven up the background and create a fake vacation

Paint natural eyes Zoom in very close and notice that the whites of the eyes are not quite white. To see this, Opt/Alt-click on them to reveal the true colour, and then go a little lighter.

Blot strokes When going from shadows to highlights it can be hard to get a natural look, so experiment with blotting your brush lightly rather than using strokes.

TipGet the hair rightWhen painting

hair there are

a few things to

keep in mind.

All hair is darker

underneath

and gets lighter

towards the

surface. This is

due to sunlight,

but is also a

matter of light

and shadow.

Understanding

this simple fact

will produce

better results.

Clean up the background

06 Choose the Eraser tool, a

soft round brush at 100%

Opacity and erase all the background

debris from around our subjects.

Zoom in close and take your time to

make sure you do not erase any part

of the people (if you make a mistake,

use Ctrl/Cmd+Z to undo). When

everything is tidy, flatten your layers.

Change clothes

07 To add colour to the T-shirts

and separate them from the

background, choose the Color

Replacement tool and click on your

Foreground swatch to select the hue of

your choice. Paint over the areas you

want to change as shown.

Underpainting

08 To add a quick underpainting

we are going to use an

unsuspecting filter called Surface Blur

(located in the filter gallery under

Blur>Surface Blur). Set both slider

options to 9. This will give you a nice

jump into the painted look.

Smudge painting

10 Duplicate the top layer and

name it Smudge. Set the

Smudge tool to Spatter and change

Opacity to 30%. Paint the entire

image, being sure to fuzz up the harsh

lines where the background was

changed, and follow all contour lines.

Create a colour palette

09 To append your portrait

colours to the default palette,

hold Alt/Opt on each colour of the

image and click the little white box

under the palette window to add them

one at a time. Now you to have all your

colours ready for the painting process.

Paint the hair Use loose brushstrokes for the hair and go outside the lines a bit to avoid the cut-out look. Steer clear of crisp lines by painting over or smudging them.

Top painting tips

Simple techniques for masterly brushstrokes

Brush types Explore the brushes in your palette – load another set and see how they respond. We liked the Natural Wet brush, but you may find that another suits you. There are no rules.

Take your time A good painting takes time, so slow down and pay attention to how you are applying the paint. It is best to use a low opacity and paint in glazes to build up the effect.

Digital art


Start paintingLoad a new palette and begin the effect

Share the love

When shooting the initial picture, ask family members to relax and try to be as natural as possible. Forced smiles don’t look great so the more comfortable they are, the better.

No soldiers Ask everyone to bend their arms and legs to create a nice, casual mood without any stiffness. These softer angles create a better composition as well for the right effect.

Background harmony Be sure to choose a background that is not cluttered and enhances the group shape of the family. Notice the cloud shape mimics their pose.

Clothes harmony Have the family dress in simple clothing with no graphics or patterns to ensure it does not distract from the mood of the image. Ours were in shirts which we have enhanced.

Prop connection When adding an external prop, make sure it adds to the story and complements the colour scheme of the entire image. The right prop will not distract.

The perfect picture

There are some very important aspects that make a family portrait come together and if you miss any of these then your final image could suffer. Pay attention to composition, poses, colours and added elements – it’s all about harmony.

Hair highlights

13 Make a new hair layer and paint

in highlights and shadows. Vary

the brush size and opacity and use a

loose, sweeping stroke to suggest

movement. Paint everyone’s hair this

way. Incorporate new colours if you

need to as well.

Paint faces

12 Make a transparent new layer

called Faces, zoom in and paint

shadows and highlights, paying special

attention to the eyes. Use the bracket

keys to adjust the size of the tip of

your brush to add detail.

New brushes

11 Load the Natural Brushes 2,

choosing one of the wet tips.

Duplicate new top layer called

Clothes and begin painting shadows

and highlights of their outfits using

your colour palette. Vary the opacity

of the paint for the best effect.

Enhance the sky

14 Make a new layer called Sky

and start adding colour to the

clouds using some of the T-shirt

tones such as lavender, pink and

yellow. Work the brush in semicircles

and a blotting motion, following the

shape of the clouds. Vary the opacity

and use a large tip.

Paint out jewellery

15 The watch on our dad is a bit

distracting, so let’s paint over it.

Zoom in close and Alt/Opt-click as you

paint, ensuring you match the skin as

close as you can. You can either use a

high opacity or paint over in stages until

the watch is gone.

Define the rocks

16 Make a new rock layer. Paint

over the rocks using the same

brush and define them by adding

more shadows under the family and

more highlights. You want the rocks to

have the same painted look as the

rest of the image.



Rocks and kite

Sky 2

Hair

Face and skin

Clothes

Smudge

Colour replace

Background 2

Sky 1

Background 1

Add a propIncorporate a kite and enhance the story

TipClothing shadowsThe same

advice we just

gave for the hair

also applies to

clothing. The little

girl’s shirt is deep

purple under her

arm, but appears

light pink where

sunlight is hitting

the surface.

Position the kite

19 Make sure you have the Move

tool selected and drag the kite

to a position that you feel is right in the

composition. We chose the upper-

right area with the top just over the

clouds. To rotate the kite, swing your

cursor out and you will see the curved

arrows enabling you to do this.

Delete white area

18 Pick the Magic Wand tool and

click on the white area around

the kite. Hold down your Shift key to

select the other areas until all of the

unwanted part is highlighted. Hit the

Backspace key to erase it and only the

kite will be left. Be sure to deselect

before proceeding.

Add a kite

17 To add a little more colour and

interest to the image, open

your ‘kite.jpg’ file from the disc and

place it in the sky. When you open it

up it will show in the project bin. Now

just drag the kite with this panel to the

layered image. Be sure that Show

bounding box is checked at the top.

Click the check mark to settle it in.

Flatten and finish

21 If you are happy with

all of your layers and

the overall painting, go to

Layers>Flatten. This will

compress your image, so

make sure you definitely

don’t want to make any

more changes at this stage.

To add that finishing touch,

we will incorporate a

canvas texture to make it

look like an authentic,

painted portrait. Simply go

to Filters>Texture.

Kite tails

20 Merge the layers down so that

the kite is now part of the rock

layer. Change your brushes back to the

Default gallery and choose the #32 Oil

brush. Paint in the kite tails by Alt/

Opt-clicking on the matching colour to

create long, loose and curvy tails by

stroking with the brush. Keep the

Opacity at around 80%.

Layer structure

Understand the effect

Digital art


Create an art-deco style


In these days of constant commuting and

endless traffic, we’ve lost our wonder of

travel. There once was a time when travelling

was an adventure.

Trains and ships were mysterious marvels of

engineering that could bring the horizon within

reach. These wondrous machines made the far

reaches of the globe accessible to anyone.

People saw travelling as an occasion, not a chore

Ð something worthy of wearing your finest

clothes and best hat. The destination didn’t even

matter as much as the journey itself.

Relive those days of wonder and amazement

by creating your own Thirties-style travel

poster. A style marked by bright, bold colours

and exaggerated perspective that was fun,

assertive and adventurous. This can all be

achieved in Elements.

Over the next few pages we’ll show you how

to use Elements’ native filters and tools to create

a fun advertisement that recaptures the spirit of

adventure from a bygone era. There are several

useful techniques included to show you how to

use a combination of filters and blending modes

to get the proper texture for the poster.

There is an illustration element to the project,

and we’ve provided a stock image of an old-style

steam locomotive to use as a reference. But since

the focus of the tutorial is not the illustration

tools, we’ve provided the finished illustration on

the disc for you to use if you don’t feel like

exercising your skills. It’s up to you if you want to

practise and have the time to do it.

So get ready to join us on a grand adventure

that might make you reconsider the doldrums of

your morning commute.

Create an art-deco styleLearn how to create this fun art-deco style that is reminiscent of the golden age of travel

All aboard the Elements Express!Turn a stock photo into a fun Thirties travel poster

Can’t draw? It’s okay, we’ll help you out

02 Start to draw around the major shapes of the train

with the Brush or Pencil tools. Put each on a new

layer and keep things geometric. Fill with colour. If you don’t

feel comfortable enough to draw, we’ve provided the

illustration for you on the disc. Look for the file called

‘OldTrain.png’.

Put things into perspective

01 Open the source image from

the disc and double-click the

background layer’s thumbnail to turn

it into a regular layer. Now go to

Image>Transform>Distort and drag

the corner handles out beyond the

canvas to create the exaggerated

perspective you see here.

Need more canvas

03 If you haven’t already done

so, merge the train shapes

into a single layer (Layer>Merge

Visible). Now extend the canvas by

going to Image>Resize>Canvas Size.

Set the Width to 240mm and the

Height to 300mm. You’ll get a warning

about clipping – just press OK.

Expert tip

Understand the Gradient tool. By default it’ll use the foreground and background colours. To create a single colour gradient that fades out, select Foreground to Transparent in the Options bar presets. Another important element is the shape of the gradient, as defined by the buttons in the Options bar. You will definitely use Linear/Radial gradients most.

Gradient control



Digital art


Adjustment layers are the hallmark of non-destructive editing. These Elements wonders work like a lens that the layers below it are seen through. They also allow you to readjust the settings or remove the effect completely at any time. In this tutorial we utilise several different adjustment layers. The quickest method of creating an adjustment layer is to use the icon at the foot of the Layers panel. It’s a circle that’s half filled along a diagonal line. Clicking this will bring up the menu of available adjustment layers. If you have a current selection, that selection will be used as a mask for the adjustment layer. If the adjustment layer thumbnail has a small down-facing arrow to the left of it, that means it is clipped to the layer beneath it and will only affect pixels on that layer. To add or remove the clipping, hold down Alt/Opt and click the line between the adjustment layer and the layer beneath it.

The classic filter-blend mode comboRecreate the old-time effect with an easy technique

TipLock itTo alter the fill colour of a layer that has a transparent area can be tricky if you try to do it by selections. The selection never seems to match perfectly. Instead, use the Lock Transparency button in the Layers palette. It’s the small chequerboard icon right at the bottom of the palette. With this enabled, it’s an easy task to fill the layer with a new colour and not have to worry about changing the transparency.

Golden age

07 Create the same selection again and add a Solid

Color adjustment layer. Select a golden hue (we

used b58003) and set the blending mode to Overlay. This

will give the train an orange tint that fits with the effect

we’re attempting to achieve.

Level out

05 To make the bottom area of

the train darker than the top,

add a Levels adjustment layer. Pull the

left slider handle in to about 28. Then

target the adjustment layer’s mask

and use a black to white gradient

(going from top to bottom) to fade the

effect away from the top of the train.

Go dotty

04 Duplicate the train layer,

then set the blending mode

of the duplicate to Overlay and

reduce Opacity to 75%. Now go to

Filter>Pixelate> Mezzotint. Set the

type to Fine Dots. This should give

the train illustration an antique, gritty,

print effect.

Watch those curves

06 Ctrl/Cmd click the train layer thumbnail to

create a selection in that shape. Open Color

Curves and push Adjust Highlights to the right and

Midtone Contrast to the left. Adjust the curves in a

gentle upward slope to increase the contrast to the

bright areas of the train.

Keep things grounded

08 Create a new layer beneath the train layers

called ‘GroundGradient’. Create a rectangular

selection of the bottom area of the canvas and fill with a

Linear gradient going from a burnt red (8e291c) to a dark

grey (140d08).

Non-destructive editingAdjustment layers

Create an art-deco style


Finishing touchesAdd the final flair to your poster

Make some noise

10 Create a duplicate of the

GroundGradient layer and

go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise. Set

the Amount to 75%, Distribution to

Gaussian and check

Monochromatic. Change the layer’s

blending mode to Overlay to give

the ground a textured effect.

Transparency lock

09 Lock the transparency of

the GroundGradient layer

and create the train-shaped

selection again. Go to Select>

Modify>Expand and enter a value

of 100px. Expand by 100px again,

go to Select>Feather and enter a

value of 100px. Fill with black.

Add some text

15 Finish off the piece by

adding appropriate

text in an Art Deco style

font. Be sure to arrange the

text so that it lines up with

both left and right sides of

the border. Now sit back and

enjoy your new Thirties style

travel advert!

Transform

12 Hit Ctrl/Cmd+Alt/Opt+T to

transform a copy of the

gradient shape. Rotate it, move and

scale it to just cover the right edge of

the original shape. Repeat to finish

the sky.

Vanilla skies

11 Create a new layer under the

GroundGradient layer called

‘BGshape1’. Create a vertical

selection along the left side of the

image and fill with a Linear gradient

from d29f00 to black. Add noise

with the Amount at 50%.

Easy border

14 Create a white rounded

rectangle almost to the edges

of the canvas but leave plenty of

space at the bottom. Switch to the

Shape Selection tool and pick the

Rectangular path. Change the mode

to Subtract From Shape Area.

Gradient in the sky

13 Add a ‘SkyShading’ layer

above the gradient shapes.

Set foreground to yellow. Choose

the Gradient tool set to Foreground

to Transparent and the Radial

shape. Make a gradient from the

vanishing point to the front.

Layer structure

Station to station

Text Layer 1

Text Layer 2

Border Shape

Colour Fill

Curves Adjustment

Levels Adjustment

Train copy

Train

GroundGradient copy

GroundGradient

SkyShading

BGShapes


Digital art

Design an abstract


The aim is to create an abstract image filled

with colour and fun. Brushes, duplicate

layers and custom shapes really come into

their own with this effect, so have a go at thinking

like an artist and be creative. Start with basic

shapes and build up the layers, adding whatever

you like. Creating an abstract can be easy if you

start with the right material and, with Elements,

those mesmeric shapes and impressionistic swirls

are only a bit of time and dedication away. You can

replicate this tutorial in Photoshop too, as the tools

and techniques are very similar.

Design an abstractUse Photoshop Elements to create a colourful and engaging abstract artwork with a little help from the Custom Shape tool

Create form

02 Select the Custom Shape tool, choose any form that

you like and draw it on your canvas. Go to Layer>

Simplify Layer to convert the shape to pixels. Duplicate this

shapes layer and scale it using Free Transform. Make another

duplicate and use the Hue/Saturation adjustment in order to

alter the colours. Place the two scaled layers creatively to

bring out the contrast.

Place in shapes

different colours and sizes randomly. Now on a new layer 01 On a new document, use a large solid brush to place circles of

(Layer>New Layer) use a brush from the Pen Pressure set (such as Paper

Mache) and add organic shapes. Overlap parts of the shapes, leaving

some background space.


Use the image providedto re-create this

Expert tip

With a selection active, you can use the Select menu to invert the area by going to Select>Inverse. This can be handy for large areas by selecting only the part you don’t need, and is doubly helpful when you want to edit an area of the image around the main focal point (the background in this case). With practice you can achieve a number of different things with the Inverse command.

Realistic results

Digital art


Stroke outlines can be used easily with selections. They can create patterns and you can set line width and colour for your strokes with a couple of clicks.

Stroke of genius

Stroke the outlineTo use the Stroke Outline function with any of the Selection tools, Go to Edit>Stroke Outline and set the parameters for the functions it will carry out when activated.

Set the line width In the Stroke Outline dialog box, you can set the desired line width and whether the line is on the inside, outside or centre of the selection. Now choose the line colour and how transparent or opaque the stroke will be.

Stroke outline ideasUsing Stroke Outline with hand-drawn linework (created with the Pen tool, for example) is possible if you select the original lines, delete them and then stroke the selection. This can lead to interesting effects with different line widths.

Compose the elements

04 Now it’s time

to compose

the different elements.

Choose Layer>Merge

Visible to flatten all the

shapes and their

adjustments into one

layer. This new

composite can then

be duplicated. Go to

Image>Rotate>Flip

Layer Horizontal, set

the duplicate layer to

Vivid Light and scale

and rotate it using

Free Transform (T).

Gradient and merging

05 Duplicate this

newly scaled

layer. Go to the Filter

menu and navigate to

Adjustments>Gradient

Map. Choose the

Transparent Rainbow

gradient or experiment

with the number of

different colour schemes

available. Now use

Layer>Merge Visible in

order to merge all the

layers and duplicate this

composite. Choose

Image>Rotate> Flip Layer

Vertical to stand it upside

down and set the blend

mode to Difference.

Revealing colour

06 Hide the bottom

layer by clicking

its eye icon and use the

Magic Wand tool to select

areas from the top layer.

Make sure Use All Layers

is unchecked and that

you vary the Tolerance

settings. As you select

areas, reveal colour from

the bottom layer by

pressing Backspace on

the keyboard.

Design an abstract


Paint bucket background

08 Click on the Paint Bucket tool and choose

a vibrant red. Create a new layer

(Layer>New Layer) and, with Use All Layers

unchecked in the dialog box, fill it with colour. Drag

this to the bottom of the stack.

Adjust the blend mode

11 Adjust the

gradient layer’s

blend mode to Hue

and smooth off the

Stroke outline with a

low opacity eraser.

Stretch a short

gradient with a

brighter colour from

the bottom-right

corner of the image.

This will work by

brightening selected

areas, lightening the

overall effect.

Stretch a gradient

10 Make a selection with the Magic Wand within the new stroke outlines and

use the Gradient tool to stretch a gradient across these areas. Try a

magenta-green-yellow blend, setting the layer blend mode to Lighter Color. You

can add another gradient by drawing one across the image on a newly created

layer in a colour you feel compliments the design.

Eraser tool edit

09 Using the Eraser tool, remove areas from the

abstract shapes’ layer below the stroke

outline. Erase shapes in a loose pattern. On a new

layer select the Magic Wand and, holding Shift, select

some of the shapes. Go to Edit>Stroke Outline and

stroke the selections as before.

Finishing touches

12 Set the new gradient layer’s blend mode to Color or, if you feel adventurous,

Vivid Light to bring a little sparkle to the lower parts of the piece. Now flatten

your image (Layer>Flatten) and save a copy to show off your new design.

Stroke selections

07 On a new layer choose Edit>Stroke (Outline)

Selection and select a contrasting colour to

stroke the selection indicated by the marching ants.

Choose a line width of 20px and change the blend

mode to Color Burn. Make all layers visible again.

AFTER


Digital art

Digital programs like Elements give us a lot

of creative freedom but every now and

then it is nice to remember the good old

traditional mediums and techniques. In this

tutorial we will start off by creating some painted

textures then transfer these into Elements by

scanning, which is where the genius takes place!

Element’s Layers palette and blend mode

options play a huge role in this project, enabling us

to join our scanned elements together to create a

final image that just wouldn’t have been possible

without a lot more time being spent on it (waiting

around for areas to dry) and a considerable

amount of mess being made.

So dust off those paints and get a start photo

ready or, alternatively, load all of the starting files

that are provided on your free disc. We’ve provided

a range of paint marks and the portrait.

Paint portraits

Begin the process by creating some paint marks

Unleash your inner artist

Transform your photographs by mixing traditional and digital mediums in this creative Elements tutorial

Set up your canvas

02 While you are waiting for the paint to dry (or whenever

you’re ready!), open the start photo provided on your

free disc. Double-click on the Background in the Layers palette

so that it is unlocked and editable. Increase the image size so

that it will be high resolution using Alt/Opt+Ctrl/Cmd+I, making

sure Constrain Proportions is checked.

Make some mess

01 To begin with we need to make a wide variety of different marks

to scan in. We have used a range of brushes, palette knives and

sponges to get some good splodges. Keep them varied and ensure you

pick complementary colours as we won’t be altering these in Elements.



BEFORE

Perfect size

04 Resize your start

photo if needed

so that it is positioned

within the canvas ready

to be transformed. To do

this press Ctrl/Cmd+T to

activate Transform,

holding down Shift to

keep perspective. Drag a

corner pointer in order

to increase or decrease

size and press Enter

when happy.

Scan the splodges

03 Scan in your paint marks and open up

Photoshop, however, if you do not have a

scanner then do not fear as all of the paint marks used

in this example are provided on your free disc.

Paint portraits


Digital art


Paper textures

textured paper that is used in the 05 Also provided on the disc is the

background. Open this up and simply drag

and drop into your new canvas. Position it in

the top left of the canvas. Go to the Layers

palette, click onto the paper layer to highlight

and press Ctrl/Cmd+J to duplicate.

Build up the background

06 With the Move tool selected, position this

duplicated layer in the top-right corner. Swap

to the Rectangular Marquee tool, draw down the side

of the duplicated layer to select the white paper edge

and hit Backspace to trim then nudge this layer so it

sits alongside the other paper layer.

Canvas complete

07 Shift-click both paper

layers in the Layers

palette and press Ctrl/

Cmd+E to merge. Press Ctrl/

Cmd+J to duplicate this layer

then go to Image>Rotate>Flip

Layer Vertical. With the Move

tool, position this new layer at

the bottom of the canvas

and use the Rectangular

Marquee to trim the

unwanted edge.

Blend mode choice

09 Click onto the photo layer in the Layers

palette and select Pin Light from the blend

mode drop-down. Add a mask to the photo layer by

pressing the icon at the base of the palette.

Layer order

08 Merge the two

paper layers

and select the Healing

Brush Tool from the

Toolbar. Alt/Opt-click

onto the paper texture

and paint over any joins.

This tool will blend the

two sets of pixels

together hiding any

unsightly lines. In the

Layers palette, move this

paper layer so it sits

underneath the photo.

Expert tip

Go to the Brush tool and use the Brush Picker to select your brush tip. In our case that was the Oil Medium Brush Wet Edges. Set whether you’re working with a mouse or tablet, as the opacity and flow will alter to simulate pressure accordingly. You can tweak the brush mark’s edges depending on whether you want a soft watercolour edge or a solid line.

Elements mark making

Paint portraits


We have used the Lasso tool to quickly select around a paint blob then drag and drop it into our canvas. The Multiply blend mode is applied then the Eraser tool used to tidy up any messy edges. A quick and efficient way to work on a multi-layered file.

If you opted to use the Magic Wand or Pen tool to cut out each paint blob before dropping into your canvas you would lose all of the lovely brush edges and the layers would not blend as well together. Your colours would be bolder if a Multiply effect wasn’t applied but at the expense of the textured end result.

Selection and blend mode choices

What can go wrong

Mask excess detail

10 Select the Brush tool, set to medium size with a hard

edge and make sure the Foreground and Background

colours in the Toolbar are black and white respectively. Click

onto the mask icon in the Layers palette then paint onto the

main canvas area masking all excess details, leaving only the key

facial elements and hair behind.

Creative placement

13 Repeat steps 11 and 12, building up the

paint layers, positioning and resizing

to suit. Try to pick paint splats that suit the

area you are placing them into, for example

jagged-edged splats match the fringe area

while circular blobs can fill the body of hair.

Transfer the paint

11 Select the Lasso tool and, working on your first paint splat scan,

draw around an area ending where you started to create an active

selection. Swap to the Move tool then drag and drop the selected area

onto your new canvas.

Layer scanned elements

photo’s opacity in the Layers palette 14 As your image takes shape, lower the

so that you can see your paint-splat colours

more clearly. Select the Eyedropper tool

and Alt/Opt-click on the paper texture to

sample the colour.

Position in place

12 Set this paint splat layer’s blend mode

in the Layers palette to Multiply. Press

Ctrl/Cmd+T to activate Transform and then

position in place. To rotate the layer, hover

over the corner pointers and, if resizing, hold

Shift to keep perspective.

Set up the Brush tool

15 Click on the Foreground colour

swatch and pick a lighter version of

the sample colour currently being displayed.

Select the Brush tool and, in the top Options

bar, lower the Opacity to 20%, pick a large

soft-edged brush and set to Overlay. Click

onto the paper texture in the Layers palette.

INCORRECT

CORRECT

Digital art


Add these extra effects to your image at the end to really finish it off and make the project look complete. Getting the layout and facial features spot on is essential, but if you don’t push your image to the next level you will always feel that it is lacking that certain something that transforms it from a nice piece to a magnificent piece of digital art. That certain something in this project is the use of the Dodge and Burn tools plus a little extra detail in the surrounding areas to the face. So read on and incorporate our advice once you have reached the end of the steps.

Brighter, bolder colours

16 Paint onto the paper layer, adding lighter tones under your paint blobs so

that the colours show through more brightly. Continue to build up the hair

and body with paint layers set to Multiply, but also try the Color Burn and Linear

Burn options as these can work well.

Facial features

are leaving ours natural along with the lips for a visual contrast. We are, 19 If you want to add some painted elements to the eyes then do so, but we

however, adding some shapes to mould the nose. Pick the shapes to suit, or if you

need help you can use Filter>Distort>Liquify>Warp tool.

Duplicate layers

17 To make some areas of paint seem

thicker, simply duplicate the layer. Try

to achieve a good variety of watercolour

wash and thick oil blobs. When the hair is

built up mask away any real strands from the

photo layer that may still be showing.

Eye development

18 The eyes are key so this is

why we are leaving some of

the original photo showing.

Working on the photo layer’s mask,

make sure the eyes are visible. We

have kept the photo layer at 50%

Opacity to retain the soft effect,

but keep it visible.

Finish off your image

Highlight the structure We have used some more paint scans that are a bit softer to add facial highlights where the cheekbones would be. Lowering the opacity means that the effect is soft and subtle but helps to add structure to the face.

Scatter effectTo add to the painted effect we have placed some more elements to the surrounding facial area. We have added a mix of soft watercolour and thick splats that we have duplicated and set the blend modes to Color Burn or Linear Burn.

Dodge and BurnUse these tools at a low exposure with a soft-edged brush to add depth into your image. Working on the paper texture layer, add shadows with the Burn tool to the edge of the canvas then around the edge of the face. Highlights are added with the Dodge tool to the cheeks and nose.

Paint portraits


Tidy the shapes

23

With everything now in place we need to tidy up

the paint splat edges. Due to the shapes being

quickly selected then dropped onto the canvas, some

of their backgrounds may be visible on the paper

texture, but this is easily fixed.

Blend them together

24 Select the Eraser tool and set it to a small,

soft-edged brush at 60% Opacity. Zoom in close

then just paint away the unwanted edges. While you’re

working around the image, erase any solid edges so that

all the shapes blend well together.

Less is more

21 The nose only requires

highlight shapes and the key

with pieces like this is to not

overwork them; less is sometimes

more. Keep adding elements and

zooming out to check your

progress, turning off layers by

pressing the eye icon to check

on the composition.

Link for order

22

With so many paint splats

we must tidy up the Layers

palette to make working quicker

and easier. To do this, Shift-click

layers in the Layers palette that

come from similar areas on your

canvas and check the Layers

option to Link Layers. This keeps

them together.

Warp

20

Click on the shape layer you wish to warp in the Layers

palette then go to Edit>Transform>Warp. A mesh will

appear over your shape enabling you to click on the inner lines

to pull and bend parts of it.

Marks that made this imageCheck your free disc for all of the scanned files we used


Y ou’ve no doubt seen a lot of pop-art-

inspired images and wondered how you

could do the same thing. Silk-screen

printing takes a level of skill, but the great thing

for you is that you don’t have to slave away and

get messy with wet paint… you can do everything

using Photoshop Elements.

We’ll show you a great way to add some fun to

your average portrait by replicating one of pop

art’s most famous styles in eight simple steps. You

can print your favourite design on T-shirts, photo

paper or canvasses to hang on the wall, give to

friends as a birthday present or just show the

world how you’ve created your very own iconic

piece of modern art.

In this demonstration we’ll be achieving the same

effect using the Lasso tool and layer blend modes.

The trick is to use complementary colours that are

high in contrast. It’s a good opportunity for you to

get experimenting with your colour palette and

testing what works best for the image you’re using.

Look up Andy Warhol’s prints for more inspiration.

Create instant pop art Re-create Andy Warhol’s print style using nothing but Photoshop, a portrait and a few minutes of your time



BEFORE

Digital art

Create instant pop art


Invert the selection

02 The drawing doesn’t have to be perfect – this

is all in keeping with the style. The Lasso tool

selects the inside of the face by default, so you need

to invert this by picking Select>Inverse and then

pressing Backspace on your keyboard. Ensure your

original layer below is hidden. Deselect the image.

Remove the background

01 Before we do

anything else,

we’re going to have

to cut out the

background. Open

up your chosen

image, duplicate the

layer and select the

Lasso tool from the

Toolbar. Choose any

starting point with

the mouse and

draw around the

outside of your

subject’s head.

Adjust the image

03 For the effect to work properly we

need to remove all the unnecessary

detail. Go to Filter>Adjustments>Threshold

and select a level that has a good balance of

black and white. Ensure there’s still some

detail left on the face.

Select the skin

04 Once this is done we need to Ctrl/

Cmd-click on the layer inside the

Layers palette. Create a new layer, click

Edit>Fill Selection and choose the colour

you want for your skin tone.

Eyes and lips

07 Create another layer,

setting the blend mode to

Multiply. Select the Brush tool and

paint in the eyelids and lips with a

high-contrast colour. Warhol

always made the eyes black and

white so, using the Eraser, select

the skin layer and erase the eyes.

Final touches

08 Create a new

layer above the

Background one and fill

with a dark colour. Repeat

three times using

different colours for the

face, hair and lips. Create

a document and paste in

the four versions. Now

you have your own

modern masterpiece!

Blend the skin

05 For the skin layer to work correctly,

you must change the blend mode

to Multiply (do this on the Layers palette).

The colour of the skin will now perfectly

merge with the black.

Fill in the hair

06 Select the Brush tool and

create a new layer as

previously, then fill in the hair.

Choose a suitable colour and start

brushing in. Don’t worry about

accuracy as Warhol originally used

block colours with hard edges.

Expert tip

The Lasso tool is one of the easiest to use to make selections of certain areas of your image – it’s almost as if you’re drawing on paper using a pen! The Lasso tool and Polygonal Lasso enable you to draw on your image freehand for unusual shapes or with straight-edged selections, while the Magnetic Lasso is perfect for edges that have highly contrasted backgrounds. Type L for a shortcut or Shift+L to toggle between the different options.

Use the Lasso tool


Digital art

Make your own watercolour


Do you admire the skills of traditional artists

who can use pen and watercolour to create

beautiful works of art? Well, you can come

very close to the look you admire by the clever use

of some simple Elements techniques. Here we will

show you how to take two photographs (in our

case of a parrot and a leafy background) and

combine them to create a pleasing composition

that you can be proud of.

You will use the Magic Wand to select unwanted

areas of the parrot background to instantly delete.

Then you will see how to use the Find Edges filter

to start you off in the right direction. Using custom

brushes you will create painterly blotches to imitate

the look of watercolour and see how varying the

opacity and direction of the brush creates a more

organic effect. You will learn how to work with

multiple layers and add blend modes for more

punch. Then get even more definition by using the

Poster Edges filter and finish with a rough

sandstone texture to re-create the look of fine

watercolour paper. You should enjoy learning these

valuable skills in an imaginative way, creating a

work of art to keep forever!


Cut out your subject and create a base composite

Image elements

Merging two traditional art effects like pen and ink with watercolour painting has never been easier

Magic Wand tool

02 We need to delete the white area surrounding the parrot. Select

the Magic Wand tool and click on the original parrot image. You

will notice that it also selected the white area around the eye. Hold down

Alt/Opt to subtract this part.



Add a background

01 We must start with all the right elements in the picture to

create the art we envision in our mind. The parrot

(courtesy of www.ingimage.com) has a white background, but

we want to add something richer. Open the ‘Background leaves.

jpg’ and ‘Parrot.jpg’.

BEFORE

Tweak leaves

04 Duplicate the

leaves layer, go

to Enhance>Adjust

Color>Adjust Hue/

Saturation and use the

Lightness slider while

decreasing the contrast

and colour of the

background. This will

ensure that the parrot is

the image’s main focus.

Delete and position

03 With the white

areas selected,

hit the Backspace key

on your keyboard to

remove all the white. Go

to the top menu to

inverse the selection

(Select>Inverse). Now,

using your Move tool,

adjust the parrot to the

most pleasing position.

Digital art


Find the edges

05 Go to

Layer>

Flatten Image and

then duplicate this

single layer. Now

go to Filter>Stylize>

Find Edges and

click OK. This will

create the distinct

inky look that we’re

after, and it will also

be the basic

foundation for

your artwork.

Brighten and define

06 To really make your pen and ink foundation stand out, go

to Enhance>Adjust Lighting>Levels to enhance the detail.

Finish the tree

09 Add one more transparent layer for

the background. Now choose a

cooler, darker green and use this colour to

define the edges and shapes of the leaves

by decreasing the brush size and building up

more colour, blotting to increase its strength.

Change the leaves layer’s blend mode to

Multiply to increase the contrast.

Start to paint

07 Now let’s start adding watercolour. Make a brand new

transparent layer and title it Leaves. Select a light green-

yellow and use a brush from the Wet Media Brushes (experiment

with brushes and see which you like the best). Vary the opacity,

leaving a lot of the white paper.

Painterly effect

10 Make a new transparent layer,

choose the Smudge tool at 40%

Opacity. Pick the Scattered Dry Brush and

using a small brush tip, zoom in and work in

circles to create a watery effect.

Continue the background

08 Make another transparent layer for

the darker leaves and continue

defining the background. Be sure to change

the brush size and opacity of the brush so

your strokes will be varied and more organic.

Expert tip

You can’t have too much of a good thing, so create as many layers as you need to feel comfortable in case you want to delete some or want the freedom to change small details. If you have each colour as a layer you can click on each one and adjust the contrast, colour, layer mode and so on. If you are a beginner this will make you feel even more confident.

Remember to use layers



When using custom brushes with a defined shape, it is extremely important to vary the size and opacity. If you do not, the pattern created by the strokes will be overpowering and can destroy your work of art. The best way to master these techniques is to use a blank workspace and simply play around with all of the choices until you feel that you fully understand the nature of the various settings available.

If you are feeling ambitious, you can also create your own brushes that are already scattered or have varied opacity. Then you just need to load these and start painting away. Adapt them for different media for the best results.

Learn to vary your brush

Paint the branch

11 Make a new transparent layer titled

Branch and use the same technique

as step 10. Keep the brush size small and

you can be a bit sloppy (like watercolour),

but don’t blur the lines or shape.

Bring back the lines

12 Flatten all layers and then duplicate

the background layer. Let’s punch up

the effect that has been smeared by going

to Filter>Artistic>Poster Edges and adjusting

the sliders for the most appealing look.

Canvas texture

15 Now that you are finished, flatten all the layers. Go to Filter>

Texture>Texturizer and use the Sandstone option to create a

rough watercolour paper look. Adjust the sliders to get the amount of

relief and depth you find most appealing.

Add more colour

13 Add a transparent layer called Colour

and, using one of the watercolour

brushes, start blotting in colour where

needed, such as the parrot’s beak and

anywhere you feel needs more punch.

Jungle hues

14 On the same layer start experimenting with some new

colours. Try purple and aqua, and add a darker red to

some areas. Play around and see what looks best to you.

Expert tip

If you feel that your final art needs more ink outlines then this is easy enough to add by drawing them in at the end. Select a hard brush at 100% Opacity and set the colour to black. Using a very small brush tip, zoom in and outline the areas that you feel need more details. How much detail you add is up to you. Have fun and don’t forget to sign your work of art!

More pen effects

Beware of repetition


Ways of creating breathtaking artwork are no longer limited

to the paintbrush and canvas. By combining a series of tips

and tools in Photoshop Elements, you can take your

photographs and turn them into line art masterpieces. In this tutorial,

you will learn how to work with the Colored Pencil filter to transform

your image into a work of art, and then give it an authentic coloured

finish through the use of layers and blend modes.

ItÕs important to explore and understand Photoshop ElementsÕ

powerful Filter Gallery and the custom controls that come with the

Colored Pencil filter. Once you master the process of applying the filter

to your photographs, you will gain complete control over the look and

style of the line art you would like to create. From strong thick brush

strokes to a pencil-drawn style, you will be able to use Photoshop

Elements to bring out your inner artist.

Turn photos into sketchesMaster the art of replicating a line drawing in Photoshop Elements

SUBJECT

Our subject stands out from the background quite nicely, so we won’t lose any detail once the effect has been applied.

CONTRAST

By adding contrast to your image, edges are better defined and allow your subject to really stand out.

COLORED PENCIL EFFECT

Photoshop Elements dramatically increases the sharpness of the image and also adds an artificial brush stroke, creating an authentic line-drawn effect.

BLEND MODES

By using blend modes you can combine two identical images with different attributes together. In this case, you can add colour using the Overlay mode.

Before

Digital artWhat

does it mean?EXPERT MODE Photoshop

Elements has three modes: Quick, Create and Expert. Don’t be

scared of Expert mode if you are not an advanced user; all it means is that you will have full access to

all of the tools available in Photoshop Elements, so

more options!


Duplicate layer

02 Go to Window>Layers. To the right,

you will see the Layers panel. Ctrl/

right-click the background layer and hit

Duplicate Layer. Name the duplicate ‘Layer

2’. Click on the small eye icon next to Layer 2

to make it invisible – we will come back to

this layer later.

Project setup

01 Open your image in Photoshop

Elements. Pick a photo with lots of

rich colours, where your subject stands out

from the background – the more contrast in

your image, the better the end result will be.

At the top of Elements, click the Expert

mode button.

Fake a sketch effect Use the Colored Pencil filter in Photoshop Elements

Add colour

05 Click the eye icon next to Layer 2 in

order to make it visible again and

then select it. Click the drop-down menu at

the top of your layer panel that says Normal;

this is the blend mode. Make sure Layer 2 is

stacked above your Background layer and

select Overlay.

Final adjustments

06 Select the Opacity dial (beside the

blend mode drop-down). Drag

Opacity down from 100% to decrease the

visibility of Layer 2, thus decreasing the

colour in your image. Try changing the filter

for different results. Filter>Sketch is a good

place to look.

Filter effect

04 Head to Filter>Filter Gallery>Artistic>

Colored Pencil. This will open the

Filter Gallery window. Adjust Pencil Width to

3, Stroke Pressure to 10 and Paper

Brightness to 50. Tweak the adjustment as

necessary (don’t lose too much image

information). Hit OK.

PENCIL WIDTH

Increasing your Pencil Width will make your brush strokes much bolder. Lowering the Width will retain more detail in the image.

PAPER BRIGHTNESS

Adjust Paper Brightness to darken or brighten your image without degrading the effects of the other two options.

FILTER GALLERY

Select a filter style and use the preview window to see how it effects your image. In this case, we are working with Colored Pencil.

PREVIEW WINDOW

Use the Preview window to scrutinise your image and the filter you’re working with. Zoom in to see how the effect works in different image areas.

STROKE PRESSURE

Adjust the Stroke Pressure to adjust the cross hatching in the image. The higher the Stroke Pressure, the thicker the brush strokes appear – intensifying the effect. Lower the pressure to lighten the image and effect.

Colour and contrast

03 In order to remove the colour, first

you must select the Background

layer. Go to Enhance>Adjust Color>Remove

Color. Next you must add a bit of contrast by

going to Enhance>Adjust Lighting>

Brightness/Contrast. Push the Contrast

to 100.

Turn photos into sketches

Digital art


To create this effect we will really need to put Elements’ brush-making ability to the test. The first hurdle in forming

falling words is making a brush of letters that has plenty of variation. To do this we begin with imitating the actual font of the book, typing the entire alphabet in lowercase and capitals, and mixing them up in order to form the new tip. Using the Brush Dynamics options, the new brush of jumbled letters can be scattered so that it is never repeated, giving

a far more realistic effect and a wealth of creative possibilites.

The Clone Stamp tool is one of Elements’ most versatile features. Its uses range from retouching skin in portraits to manipulating parts of photographs in order to deceive the eye. With it, removing the existing letters in the book is as simple as Alt/Opt-clicking and stamping. Access our starting file on your cover disc to begin creating your own falling-text effect.

Prepare a custom brush for scattered letters

Replicate the font

Choose a font

select the Type tool and set the Font to Times New Roman. The 02 We need to replicate the exact size of the font the book uses, so

book’s letters are roughly 30px, so enter this in the Options bar and pick

black as the font colour.

New document

01 To begin with we need to make a scattered letter brush.

Open up a blank document, setting its Width to 10cm

and Height to 7cm. Set Resolution to 300dpi, the mode to RGB

Color and hit OK.

Customise brushesBrushes aren’t just for painting – use them to create eye-catching photomanipulations such as this tumbling text effect



BEFORE

Type the alphabet

03 Click

once on

the canvas to

activate the cursor.

Type the entire

alphabet in lower

case with a space

between each

letter. Press the

tick icon to agree

to the text.

Simplify type

04 Repeat this on a new line but use all capitals.

Once complete, simplify the type layers by

going to the Layer menu and Simplify Layer. We need

to start separating letters randomly, so select the

Rectangular Marquee.

Customise brushes


Elements added to photos don’t always blend in as much as you might like. Here’s how to fix it

Scatter letters

06 Repeat this process of

selecting, moving and

rotating for each letter. Use the

whole canvas and mix up the

capital and lower case letters. Use

the tool shortcuts, such as V and M,

to speed up this process.

Reposition and rotate

05 Mark a rectangular selection around one of the letters. Press V to select

the Move tool and reposition the letter anywhere on the canvas. Before

removing the selection, press Ctrl/Cmd+T to activate the Free Transform tool.

Rotate the letter to a new angle and hit Enter to set its position.

Merge and select all

07 Once all the letters have been

scattered around the canvas,

select the top layer and press Ctrl/Cmd+E to

merge them onto one layer. To highlight all of

the letters, Ctrl/Cmd-click on the thumbnail.

Make the brush

08 To turn

the active

selection into a new

brush tip go to

Edit>Define Brush

from Selection.

Name the brush and

hit OK. Close this

document and

open up the image

of the book from

your cover disc.

Improve the effect

Add blurConvert the Letters layer for Smart Filters (Filter>Convert for Smart Filters in CS3 and above). Apply a subtle Motion Blur filter and use its layer mask to edit any fuzzy letters out.

Color pickerWhen using the Brush tool press Alt/Opt and click on the photo to select your Foreground colour swatch. The text in the book isn’t a perfect black, so it’s worth checking with your image.

Photo FilterAdd a Photo Filter adjustment layer and set it to Blue with 10% Density. This changes the image to a cool tone to remove the orange tint. It will create a sense of unity as well.

Darken the backgroundThe background area is not a vital part of this image. Darken it using the Burn tool set to Midtones and 40% Exposure so it doesn’t distract the viewer’s eye.

Straight edgeTo match the position of the letters on the table, use the Line tool to mark the straight edge of the table in the image. Move this line over the text for accuracy of perspective.

Digital art


As if by magic

09 In the book image, duplicate the

Background layer. Select the Clone Stamp

tool and set it to 100% Opacity. Start with the right

page and Alt/Opt-click on the top margin. Now simply

brush over the letters to remove them.

Break up words

10 Remove individual words from the

page using the Clone Stamp tool.

By lowering the size of the brush, letters can

be removed one by one from the page. Be

careful where you sample and try to match

brightness; the middle of the page is darker.

Brush settings

11 Select the Brush tool and set your Foreground colour to

brown (#0b0900). Go to the Brush Picker and choose

the brush tip you made earlier. Click the brush icon in the top

Options bar for the brush dynamics.

Erase overflow

14 Some letters will fall over the hand

and forearm, as well as spilling

across the table. Use a solid Eraser with the

same Diameter as the letters and remove

any that are overflowing. Keep fewer letters

at the top of the page than at the bottom.

Apply the brush

12 Set Scattering and Spacing to 50%. Create a new layer and paint

the letters over the page and onto the tabletop. Don’t worry if

some of the letters fall over the hand.

Enhance the effect

15 Use the Clone Stamp tool in the left

page of the book to remove blocks

of text. Pick the Brush tool but this time

increase Spacing to 50%. Add letters to this

page to finish the composition.

More letters

13 To create a heavier concentration of

letters on the tabletop, reduce

Scatter amount to 25%. Apply letters to the

table clumped together. Two or three clicks

should be just the right amount.

Expert tip

You can paint with the Clone Stamp tool to quickly remove entire lines of text at once. This is extremely useful when it comes to removing large chunks of the words from the original book photograph.

The tool looks at the pixels ahead from the point first clicked, so it’s important when painting that there are enough good pixels that flow in the same direction. On something like our evenly toned page this should be relatively easy.

Cloning made easy

Customise brushes



The following steps will outline all the necessary techniques

you’ll need to produce an awesome splatter text effect in

Elements. While a full CS version of Photoshop isn’t specifically

being used here, you can of course use one to get the same outcome.

Here we’ll show you how to work with brush sets and combine stock

images to create impressive results. You’ll also discover how to use

clipping masks and layer masks to quickly apply colours or hide parts

of your image.

These methods require close attention, as you’ll be working with

several layers that need to be placed and merged in order to get the

best results. You can freely download the images and brushes, then

simply use Levels adjustments and apply Surface Blur to edit each

image. When working with brushes, you can open the Brush Settings

for more options. Working with text isn’t too complicated, so hopefully

by the time you finish this process you’ll take away new skills for your

future Photoshop projects.

Create splatter effectsLearn how to combine brushes and assets to create a very cool text effect in Photoshop Elements

Before

Photo: Carolina Hernández at http://h-d-stock.deviantart.com

Digital art




Create splatter effects

Edit the Background

02 On the Background layer, grab the Gradient

tool (G) and open the Gradient Editor. Change

the first Color Stop to #05293b, the second to

#176d89 and click OK. Select the Linear gradient and

drag this outwards.

Create a new document

the New window, name it ‘Splatter’, set the Width to 235mm, Height to 01 To open a new document, go to File>New>Blank File or hit Cmd/Ctrl+N. In

180mm and Resolution to 300.

Place your images

06 Go to File>Place. Choose any milk splash image from

the supplied resources and place over the text layer.

Rename the layer ‘Splash 1’. Now right-click and choose Simplify

(Photoshop CS users should click Rasterize Layer).

Enhance the image

07 Go to Enhance>Adjust Lighting>Levels, change the Input Levels:

Shadows 20, Midtones 1.35 and Highlights 180. Now go to Filter>

Blur>Surface Blur. Set the Radius to 5px and the Threshold to 15 Levels.

Type your text

03 Grab the Horizontal Type tool (T),

choose a bold font (we’ve used the

Cooper Std font, Style: Black and Size:

150pt) and type each letter in its own layer.

Add a Wave filter

05 For the first layer, go to Filter>

Distort>Wave. Check Type: Triangle,

and Repeat Edge Pixels. Set the Number of

Generators: 3, Wavelength: 10 – 60, Scale:

15% - 15% and Amplitude: 5 – 35. Select each

layer and hit Cmd/Ctrl+F to apply the filter.

Simplify the layer

04 Drag a Horizontal ruler (Cmd/

Ctrl+Shift+R) to position each letter.

Hold Shift, select all the Text layers, then

Ctrl/right-click and choose Simplify (CS

users should click Rasterize Layer).

Digital art


Apply Free Transform

choose Apply Layer Mask (delete the extra layer). Hit 09 Ctrl/right-click again, this time on the splash’s mask and

Cmd/Ctrl+T and in the Tool Options bar select Scale, check the

Constrain Proportions box and set W: 40%.

Refine the edges

08 Grab the Magic Wand (A), set Tolerance: 40, select the backdrop

and hit Delete. Hold Cmd/Ctrl and click to select the layer. Go to

Select>Refine Edge, set Smooth: 100, Shift Edge: -20, check

Decontaminate Colors, Amount: 50% and click OK.

Load more brushes

13 Grab the Brush tool (B) and open the Brush Preset Picker

from the Tool Options. Click on the top-left menu,

choose Load Brushes, locate the folder and click Load. Create

a new layer, select any brush and paint around each image.

Merge the layers

letter. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+E to merge the layers, then hit Cmd/14 Hit Shift and select the text, splat and brushes layers from each

Ctrl+Shift+N. In the New Layer window, name it ‘Colour 1’, check the Use

Previous Layer box and change the Mode to Multiply.

Blend the image

10 Drag the layer on top of the first letter

set to 60% Opacity and Cmd/

Ctrl-click to select the letter. Grab the Eraser

(E), pick a soft brush and erase the edges.

Download Brushes

www.pervoibrushes.deviantart.12 Here we’ve used a brush set from

com. Open Splat 25 Brushes, download and

save them in your Splash Images folder.

Repeat the steps

11 Now add more elements to each layer,

repeating the previous steps. You can

tweak the sliders to get a bright tone and

drag each image onto its respective layer.

Create splatter effects


Add Colour

15 On a colour layer, grab the Paint Bucket (K),

choose a nice Foreground tone and click to fill.

Repeat this for different colours, click on Add Layer

Mask and add a mask for each colour layer.

Final step

16 Grab the Brush tool, set the default Foreground/Background colour (D),

grab Splat brush 96 and paint over the layer mask to hide part of the image.

Now select brush 149, hit X to switch the colours and create some splashes.

A snapshot of the main techniques used to create this effect

Closer look The main effects

MADE FROM MILK

The spalsh effects are made from photos of milk splashes, a spote of clever masking and nifty eraser tricks.

WORKING WITH FONTS

By hitting Ctrl/right-click on your text layer and choosing Simplify/Rasterize Layer you can edit and manipulate text as though it were just another image.

COLOUR IT UP

The effect looks great in white, but by simply using the Paint Bucket tool you can add a variety of colours.

BRUSHING IN THE EFFECT

By using splatter brushes you can soften the hard edges of the font, continuing the splattered effect.


Digital art

Apply textures Discover the secrets behind applying authentic texture to your images

Textures in Elements can be found in a couple of places. The Smart Brush tool lets you ‘paint’ texture onto your image. These textures come in the form of paper, bricks,

canvases, broken glass and satin effects, to name just a few.Texture can also be applied as a Filter, to make authentic

surfaces for painting with. Under the Filter menu is a set of texturising options for creating the more traditional surfaces and photographic effects such as grain. These can really enhance images in new, interesting ways; it’s just a case of setting up an image ready for the texture.

In this guide, you’ll learn all about the different tools and filters that can be used to texture an image. We show you how a wallpaper design can be added to a plain wall, by wrapping it around objects using selections and masks. You’ll also pick up a few good techniques for preparing an image for hand-colouring and using the Texture filters in Photoshop Elements.

We kick things off with a quick tutorial on making a traditional photo effect that uses the Grain filter to add a more tangible surface to a photo, and then show you some of the other secrets to textures.

SELECTIVE TEXTURE

The Smart Brush tool allows you to specify exactly where you want the texture to go – for example, around a person.

MASKS

A layer mask is automatically

created as soon as the Smart Brush tool

is used. The texture is represented with white on the mask.

CANVAS TEXTURES

In Photoshop Elements, there’s a set of filters called Textures.

These produce realistic surfaces and texture effects, such as a painter’s canvas or

photographic grain.

SMART BRUSH

Textures come as part of the Smart Brush tool (F), and are simple to use with just a click and drag of the mouse.

Before

NEW TEXTURES

The texture is placed onto a new layer so that you can make

changes easily. Replace a texture just

by selecting another from the Texture box.


Apply textures

Spice up images with photographic grain Create an authentic texture effect using Photoshop Elements’ Grain filter

DUAL LAYERS

Having two layers to work with in Photoshop Elements enables you to lower the Opacity of the overall effect.

VIGNETTE

To add more drama to the effect, you can add a vignette using the Brush tool (B) set to black. Apply these changes to a new layer.

MONOCHROME

To create a perfectly black and white

image, press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+U to remove

colour from the Background layer.

GRAIN FILTER

The Grain filter has a Stippled option for creating monochrome effects. Increase the Intensity slider for a busier, grainier photo effect.

Add grain

02 Head to the Filter menu then Filter>

Grain. Change Grain Type to

Stippled, set Intensity to 44 and Contrast to

52. Use the preview to assess the grain but

the image should now be monochrome. Hit

OK to apply these settings to your image.

Control effect

03 Head to the Layers palette and

lower the Opacity of the duplicate

to 50%. The strength of the grain effect

should look less imposing. The lower the

Opacity slider is, the more the colour will

show through.

Prepare layers

01 Duplicate the Background layer in

Elements by pressing Cmd/Ctrl+J or

by going to Layer>Duplicate Layer. The latter

enables you to enter a name for the new

layer in order to help you identify it, such as

‘Photo Grain’.

Traditional photo effects Three steps to texturing your photos with grain

There is a set of filters in Photoshop Elements dedicated to

creating textured effects. Be it canvas texture, patchwork patterns

or grain, they can be used to achieve authentic surfaces.

Learn to give images a dose of old-fashioned grain from the

manual photography days with these three quick steps below. Top

it off with a vignette for extra creative emphasis.

Digital art


A new design

06 Double-click on the left box inside

its layer to open the Pattern dialog

box. Click on the list in this menu and

change it to show the Color Paper options.

The one used here is called Blue Vellum.

Adapt Scale

07 Adapt the Scale of the new texture

to alter the size of the pattern and

hit OK. Lower the layer’s Opacity using its

slider in the Layers palette to weaken the

colour of the texture and help to blend it in.

Paint back detail

05 Look for parts of the texture that

have overflowed onto wrong

subjects. Select the Brush tool and click the

layer mask. Ensure the tool is set to 100%

Opacity and black. Zoom in to paint over

those areas and bring back the original.

Digitally decorate Learn to use the Smart Brush tool with layer masks

Undo errors

04 Drag the selection over every part

of the wall. If some of the texture

has spilled onto other subjects or parts of

the image, hold Opt/Alt and click over them.

Brush size

02 When adding texture to a wall, select

the Brick Wall option. This can always

be changed for a different texture later on.

Set the tool’s Size slider to 100px, but choose

a smaller size to cover a small area if needed.

New texture

03 Click and drag over an area of your

image in order to apply the texture.

After the first time this is used, you will

notice a new layer appearing in the

Layers palette, along with a black and

white mask.

Preset textures

01 We need to adapt the tool settings to

start off. Select the Smart Brush tool

(F) from the Toolbar. Head to the tool’s

options and click on the thumbnail of presets.

Select Textures from the drop-down list.

Ever wanted to change the wallpaper in a room? Photoshop

Elements can do just that using a few of its preset texture patterns.

The Smart Brush tool is a marvellously easy one to use, and has the

advantage of having a mask too. This lets you manually adapt the

filled areas, so that it can appear to be behind certain objects rather

than overlapping them.

The tool has a couple of textures that include a wallpaper effect,

but to get there we first need to make a few tweaks to the tool.

Apply textures


Texturise images ready for painting Convert a colour image to monochrome to apply a canvas effect

Canvas texture

03 Go to the Filter menu

and to Texture>

Texturizer. In the Filter, zoom to

50% using the controls. Set the

Texture to Sandstone, increase

Scaling to 150% and Relief to 7,

then hit OK to apply.

Boost brightness

02 After converting to

black and white, you

may need to boost brightness.

Go to Enhance>Adjust Lighting>

Brightness/Contrast and

increase Brightness just enough

so that the image lightens up.

Remove colour

01 Open an image in

Elements’ Expert mode.

Go to the Layer menu and to

Duplicate Layer. Then, go to the

Enhance menu and Adjust

Color>Remove Color to convert

your image to monochrome.

Paint new colour!

04 Select the Brush tool.

Choose a colour by

clicking the foremost swatch at

the base of the Toolbar. In the

options, set Mode to Color and

lower Opacity to 40%. Choose

a brush and blend a new colour!

This technique plays with the canvas textures in Photoshop Elements 11. Take any colour image and

then convert it to monochrome. From there, a texture is applied for creating a surface that’s ideal for

painting on. Pick up the Brush tool once all this is done, set a colour to use and begin painting!

What does it mean?

DETAIL SMART Brush – This tool uses the same effects as the Smart Brush tool but, instead of drawing on a selection, you paint

the texture for more control. This is ideal for applying

effects to small objects or parts of your image.

CANVAS OPTIONS

Sandstone is just one of the realistic textures available

– along with Burlap, Brick and Canvas – to prepare your

image for painting.

SCALING AND RELIEF

Balancing these two sliders will help balance the overall impact of your chosen texture. Increase Relief to raise the texture further off the surface of your image.

COLOUR ALTERNATIVES

Texture can be applied as either a colour or black and white version of your image. Converting it to monochrome lets you paint colour back in selectively for artistic effects.

ZOOM IN

Use the plus button in the filter’s menu to zoom in and

get a better idea of how much texture is being applied.

Digital art




Make water effects


You will be surprised at how much you can create in Photoshop Elements. From simple photo fixes to complex image compositions, the program has a range of

professional tools to get the job done. Here we’re going to turn reality on its head a little and make

water where there should be fire. Creating the actual effect can be a challenge at first, but with the right technique and a little creativity you can create a really nice composition. Just follow the steps and use a spot of initiative and creativity.

You’ll start by making the basic shapes and then work mostly with layers and filters to apply special art effects. You’ll learn how to use layer styles to quickly apply effects which create interesting results, how to change the Brush settings to help you create water droplets and how to use blend modes.

As ever, you can achieve this Elements tutorial in Photoshop CS versions, and by starting off small with a flame on a candle, you are able to apply the tools and techniques you learn on bigger projects.

Make water effects

Use a variety of filters and tools to generate a fiery water effect

Create a flame from water

Using filters and blend modes, make water effects from scratch

Define a gradient

the drop-down icon in the Options bar. Now create a four-stop gradient, selecting 02 Click on the Gradient tool (G) and then open the Gradient Editor by double-clicking

the colours #1f5668, # 4d889b, # c6dce3 and # 87b1bf. Choose the Reflected gradient

option, position the cursor, hold down the Shift key and then drag to apply the gradient.

Candle shape

01 On a new document, select the

Rectangle tool (U) and then, from the

drop-down menu, choose Fixed Size. Set

Width to 3 and Height to 6, then check the

From Center option. Click on the canvas and

a rectangle will appear. Click on Simplify.

Apply Liquify effect

03 Go to Filter>Distort>

Liquify. Use the

Forward Warp tool to create

melted areas on the top of

the shape, and then select

the Pucker tool. Hold down

the mouse button and drag

from top to bottom along the

candle to create some

volume. Click OK.

Expert tip

Adjustment layers are one of the most powerful tools in Photoshop Elements. You can apply them over any layer to enhance, repair and correct the colour and tonality without modifying any pixel in the original image.

You can remove or change the setting on an adjustment layer at any time without affecting the original image. Just double-click on the adjustment layer to change the original options or turn it off with the Layers palette.

Adjustment & Fill layers

Digital art


Shadows and highlights

04 Select the Dodge tool (O) and, keeping Exposure at 100%,

change the range to Midtones. Choose a hard brush and

paint the top of the shape. Now select the Burn tool (O), changing

its Exposure to 10% and setting the range to Midtones, and create

some shadows with a soft brush.

Create the wick

05 On a new layer, grab the Rectangular Marquee tool (M) and

draw a small rectangle. Change its foreground colour to a

light brown and its background colour to black, then go to

Filter>Render>Fiber. Set Variance to 1 and Strength to 40. Click OK to

apply these effects.

Light the flame

06 Select the Lasso tool from the Toolbox bar. Choose the

Add Selection option, leaving the Feather value at 0 pixels,

thenall you need to do is check the Anti-Aliasing box and draw a

freehand flame shape.

Plastic wrap

09 Now we need to accentuate the

surface details. Go to Filter>Artistic>

Plastic Wrap. Set the filter’s Highlight

Strength to 15, the Details to 15 and then set

the Smoothness to 10. Click OK.

Applying the Cloud filter

07 Now with the flame layer selected, click on the default

foreground and background colours (or simply press D on

the keyboard) and then go to Filter>Render>Clouds in order to fill

the selection.

Translucent effect

10 Add one more filter to create a

distortion on the flame. Go to Filter>

Distort>Glass, setting the Distortion to 10,

Smoothness to 9, Texture to Frosted and

Scaling to 160% For the translucent effect,

change the layer’s blend mode to Hard Light.

Create volume

08 Go to Filter>Distort>Liquify. Click on

the Forward Warp tool, change the

Brush Size to 200 and the Brush Pressure to

80. Start painting from the centre out to the

edges to create some details and volume.

Make water effects


Candle holder

11 Place the supplied image, ‘Base_

Candle.jpg’, over the Shape layer.

Check the Constrain Proportions box and

scale it up to adjust the size, then hit Return

to finish. Ctrl/right-click on the Layers palette

and then click on Simplify Layer.

Make a table

15 Create a new layer. Select the

Rectangle tool again, then choose

Fixed Size from the drop-down menu and

set both Width and Height to 5, checking the

From Center box. Click on the canvas and a

square will appear. Click on it to simplify.

Create the background

12 Select the Background layer. Grab the

Gradient tool from the Toolbox. Open

the Gradient Editor and define a new

three-stop gradient, selecting black for the

first stop, #22566d for the second stop and

then white for the third stop. Change the

Gradient to Radial and hit Apply Gradient.

Applying fibers

16 We can use the Fiber filter to create a

nice texture on the table. In the

toolbox, change the foreground colour to

#6d4b36 and the background colour to

#3e2b1f. Go to Render>Fiber, changing the

Variance to 5 and Strength to 35. Click OK.

Apply the texture

14 Before applying the texture, let’s

soften the image by using the Motion

Blur filter. Go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur,

setting the Angle to 90 and the Distance to

400 pixels. Now change the layer’s blend

mode to Multiply.

Create a texture

13 Now we need to add a texture to the

background. In the Toolbox, change

the foreground colour to white and the

background colour to a light blue. Then go to

Filter>Render>Clouds.

Droplets effect

01 To create the water droplet effect in Photoshop Elements it is

necessary to change the Brush settings, the layer style and the blend mode.

Layer style

03 The Bevel Style size will specify the bevelling along the inside

edges of the layer’s content. Depending on the size of the droplet, you will need to try different size settings and also change the Lighting Angle.

Brush settings

02 One important thing to change on the Brush settings is the

Roundness. Adjusting Roundness affects the shape of the brush tip. Set it to 65 to create an elliptical shape.

Brush tool

04 Vary the size and opacity of the Brush tool to create different

strokes and paint over specific parts. Change the blend mode to Multiply.

The right brush

Digital art


Add shadow

20 Create a new layer. Select the

Elliptical Marquee Tool (M) and draw

an ellipse, fill it in with black. Apply Filter>Blur>

Gaussian Blur and set the Radius to 80

pixels. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+T and then adjust the

shadow under the candle holder. Change

the layer’s Opacity to 80%.

Refine Edge

24 On the Shape layer, select the image.

Go to Select>Refine Edge, checking

the Smart Radius box and setting the Radius

to 50 pixels. Adjust Smooth to 100, Feather

to 25 pixels and then select Output to New

Layer with Mask. Click OK.

Set the ambience

18 Apply Filter>Render>Light Effects. Set

the Light Type to Spotlight, changing

the Intensity to 50 and Focus to -10. Under

Properties, set Gloss to 0, Material to 14,

Exposure to -10 and Ambience to 15. Hit OK.

Running water layer style

21 Create a new layer over the Shape

Layer. Select Layer>Layer Style>Style

Settings. Click on the Bevel box and then

change the size of the bevel to 25, setting the

Direction to Up. Then click OK. Change the

layer’s blend mode to Multiply and the

Opacity to 60%.

It’s all in the detail

22 To create the running water, select a

hard brush, changing its size to 40

pixels and the Opacity to 45%. Click on the

Brush settings and change the Spacing to

10%. Select a white colour and carefully draw

the water running over the candle shape.

Water on the table

23 Create a new layer. Select the layer

style, click on the Bevel box and

change the size to 30. Set the Direction to

Up and click OK. Now change the blend

mode to Multiply. Pick a hard brush, change

its Opacity to 70% and draw the water.

Light and dark

19 Press Cmd/Ctrl+L to open the Levels

palette. Increase the contrast on the

table to give it some shine by pulling the Dark

handle (the small black triangle found on the

histogram) slightly to the right.

Angle the perspective

17 Now hit Cmd/Ctrl+T to pick up the

Free Transform tool. Click on Scale

and adjust the size of the table, and then

click on Skew and drag the corners until you

get a nice perspective.

Going furtherRefine EdgesYou can fine-tune your selection by using the Refine Edge option. To do this, select the image and then choose Select>Refine Edges.

On the Refine Edge dialog box, you will find several options that will improve the quality of the selection edges, allowing you to extract complex backgrounds, create softer edges or refine a layer mask with ease. Choose Output to New Layer with Layer Mask, as it is easier to work with a mask.

Make water effects


Final touches


select Filter>Render>Light Effects.

Choose Spotlight for the Light Type,

changing the Intensity to 10 and the Focus to

56. Under Properties, set Gloss to 45,

Material to 0, Exposure to 10 and then

Ambience to 10. Click OK.

Droplets

27 Create one final new layer. Apply a

new layer style, selecting Bevel with a

size of 30. Change the blend mode to

Multiply. Now select a hard brush and

change the Fade to 10, Scatter to 20%,

Spacing to 165% and Roundness to 66%.

Now draw some droplets around the flame.

Create an adjustment layer

25 On the Layer palette, click the Create

a New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon.

Select Hue/Saturation from the drop-down

menu and then lower the Saturation to -40

and increase the Lightness to +10. Click on

Clip Adjustment Layer so that the correction

is only applied to the layer below.

A closer look at the key filters, tools and settings needed for this effectThe essential tools

Liquify filterThe Liquify Filter makes it easy to manipulate areas of an image as though those areas had been melted, or to create distortions which add a dramatic effect to the composition.

Cloud filterThe Clouds filter works with the foreground and background colours to produce a soft cloud pattern. You can use this filter to create clouds, water, droplets and even a dusk effect.

Brush settingsYou can control the brush strokes by specifying which options dynamically change over the brush flow. These options include Fading, Scattering, Size and Angle.

Lighting Effects filterThe Lighting Effects filter lets you add sophisticated lighting effects in your project. You can add multiple or individual lights and control each setting to create amazing effects.

Layer styleWhen you apply style to a layer an ‘fx’ icon will appear. To copy a style from one layer to another, just hold Opt/Alt, place the cursor over the icon and then drag to a different layer.

Burn and DodgeWhen you work with Burn and Dodge you need to be careful. Always lower the Exposure and try using different ranges, depending on the areas of the image that you want to affect.

Create a new document

02 For a perfect

square. Hit Cmd/

Ctrl+N to open a new

document. Set the width

to 400px and height to

400px, then click OK. Go

to View>Rulers. From the

top ruler, drag a guideline

to the 200px mark and

repeat the process for

the left ruler.

Download brushes

01 Grab the Aztec

Brushes from the

supplied resources. Click

on Edit>Preset Manager.

In the Preset Manager

window, select the

Preset Type Brushes.

Click on Append, locate

the folder where you

saved the brushes, click

Load and then Done.


In this tutorial, we will cover a few

techniques to show you how to create

interesting patterns to use in any design.

Patterns are easy to make, because basically a

pattern is an image that can be tiled

repeatedly and is an essential element of any

type of design.

Using the patterns will help speed up your

work as well as incorporate new intricate

elements into your composition, creating a

very appealing image.

We are going to use a beautiful brush set

from www.brusheezy.com (included in your

supplied resources) to create our design.

We’ll then apply a specific filter in order to

complete the job. You’ll also learn how to use

the Preset Manager to save your custom

pattern design to your own library. Finally, we

will show you how to use layer styles and how

to change the layer’s blend mode to give the

finishing touches to this design.

This tutorial will guide you through steps to

create your own custom pattern. Open this

tutorial’s resources from your free disc to find

an image to use in the final steps, but feel free

to use any image you like. Try to incorporate

other elements to give your personal touch.

Design ancient patterns

Learn how to create a beautiful ancient pattern in few simple steps

Digital art



Select the brushes

03 Set the Foreground colour to black and select

the Brush tool (B). Click to open the Brush

Preset Picker and choose any Aztec Brush you like.

Create a new layer, change the Brush size to 180px

and then click the brush inside one of the squares.

Fill up the canvas

04 Create a new layer, choose a new

Aztec Brush and fill up the next

square. Repeat until you fill them all up. Use

the arrow keys on your keyboard to move

the images into place. Select the layers and

hit Cmd/Ctrl+E to merge into a single layer.

Apply the pattern

07 Open the supplied ‘wall.jpg’ image. In

the Layers panel, click on the Create

New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon and

choose Pattern. Click on the Pattern Picker

window to select your Pattern. Scale it to size

and then click OK.

Create the pattern

05 Delete the Background layer. From

the Filter menu, choose Others and

click Offset. In the Offset window, set the

Horizontal to 100 pixels right and the Vertical

to 100 pixels down. In Undefined Areas,

select Wrap Around and then click OK.

Save the pattern

06 To save the new pattern, go to

Edit>Define Pattern, name your file

Ancient Pattern, then click OK. Go to

Edit>Preset Manager. In the Preset manager

window, select the Preset Type Patterns and

click on the pattern you just created. Select

Save Set, type the name again, and then

click Save.

Expert tip

Create a new layer and select the Brush tool (B), choosing a very large Aztec brush. Use white as the Foreground colour and draw on some figures. Go to Layer Style and click on Bevel. Set the Size to 10px and click on Stroke, then set that Size to 3px and lower the Opacity to 50%. Change the blend mode for the layer to Overlay. As a final step, hold Cmd/Ctrl and then click on the layer to select the whole image, and now click on the Pattern Fill layer and press the Delete key.

Add wall figures

Simplify layer

08 Duplicate the Pattern Fill Layer and

hide it by clicking on the eye icon in

the Layers panel. Ctrl/right-click the Pattern

Fill Layer and choose Simplify Layer. Apply

some styles and add depth to the layer.

Layer Style

09 Click on Layer>Layer Style>Style

Settings. In the Style Setting window,

change Lighting Angle to -150º, select Bevel,

change Size to 5px and Direction to Up.

Change the layer’s blend mode to Soft Light.

Change the colour

10 Click Create New Fill or Adjustment

Layer and choose Hue/Saturation.

On the Hue/Saturation panel, click the

bottom left icon to clip the layer, check the

Colorize box and play with the settings.


Design ancient patterns

PAGE 184

Photo projectPAGE 188 PAGE 194 PAGE 196

Take the next step and get creative with these advanced project ideas


Create underwater scenesCreate a complex photomontage

184

Play with PerspectiveCreate a miniature efect

188

Design your own holiday postcardSend a modern-day postcard

192

Build a photo albumCreate your own virtual album

194

Compose a mixed-media pieceCreate a musical composition

196

Create a panoramic planetMake a 360-degree planet

200

Compose surreal artworkCreate a bizarre composite

202

Achieve a retro photo effectSend your photos back in time

206

PAGE 202


Photo project

Source images

Image: Gabi Shimizu




Create underwater scenes


Creating an underwater scene is always

a challenge, as there are several

factors to consider when creating this

kind of composition. Water changes the way

that objects appear, altering the colours, the

perspective, the light. In a realistic water

scene, for example, objects that are far away

are less in focus than the objects closer to the

viewer. All these factors have an important

influence on the final result.

In this tutorial you will learn how to use

different blend modes to create transparency

and even change colours. We will work with

several filters like Plastic Wrap, Chrome and

Blur to create different water effects, and we’ll

also make a nice composition using several

images. You will be surprised how the Clouds

filter can be used in different ways to create a

totally new effect.

In your free resource pack you will find all

the files and images you need, so open it up!

Create underwater scenesDiscover how to use different filters and blend modes to create a complex photomontage with Photoshop Elements

Water reflection

04 Make a

new

selection and set

default fore/

background

colours. Apply a

Clouds filter and a

20px Gaussian Blur.

Go to Filter>Artistic>

Plastic Wrap. Set

Highlight Strength:

20, Details: 10 and

Smoothness: 15.

Set blend mode to

Soft Light.

Ocean floor

02 On a new Layer, grab Rectangular

Marquee tool and draw a rectangle.

Change foreground colour to #dbc5a9 and

background to #464545. Go Filter>Render>

Clouds and apply. Open the Filters menu, go

to Blur and apply a 10px Gaussian Blur.

Make some noise

03 To create a sand texture we simply

need to add a noise effect. So open

Filter>Noise>Add Noise, set the noise

Amount to 10% with Gaussian Distribution

and make sure you check the

Monochromatic box.

Linear background

01 On the Background layer, grab the

Gradient tool (G) and click on Edit to

open the Gradient Editor. Create a new

gradient using the colours #2196b3 and

#0eb52, set it to Linear and then click OK.

Now drag your gradient from top to bottom.

Photo project


Apply lighting effects

06 Grab the Rectangular Marquee tool

again and select the Sand layer.

Open Filters>Render>Lighting Effects and

select the Spotlight type. Rotate the light

Direction to around 90°, change the

Intensity to 30 and Focus to 45. Click OK.

Adjust the perspective

05 Hold the Shift key and select the Reflection

and the Sand layers. Right-click over the layers

and chose Merge Layers. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+T to open the

Free Transform tool. Hold Cmd/Ctrl and then use

each handle to skew and resize the image.

Place image

07 Now head to File>Place. Find Laguna_copy.

JPEG and click Place. Resize the image and

apply. Ctrl/right-click on the Laguna_copy layer and

click Simplify Layer. Grab the Quick Selection tool (A)

and, using a 150px brush, select and delete the sky.

Coral reef

10 Go to File>Place and add Coral-

Reef2.PNG. Click the Constrain

Proportions box and change Horizontal

Scale to 40%. Go to Image>Rotate>Flip Layer

Horizontal then Ctrl/right-click to Simplify

Layer. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+U and set Saturation: -15,

Lightness: -45. Add an 8px Gaussian Blur.

Select the rock

08 Now open

up the

Rock.JPEG image.

In the Toolbar, click

on the Quick

Selection tool (A)

and select only the

rock image. Hit

Cmd/Ctrl+C to

copy and Cmd/

Ctrl+V to paste it

into the project.

Use the Free

Transform tool to

scale the image.

Place divers

11 Now File>Place the Divers.PNG image

and scale it down to 70%. Ctrl/right-

click on the layer to Simplify Layer and then

hit Cmd/Crtl+U; lower the Saturation to -60.

Following the same steps, find and place the

Coral Reef.PNG image, scaling it to 60%.

Refine selection

09 Select the Rock layer and click

Select>Refine Edge. Check the

Smart Radius box, set Radius to 10px and

Shift Edge to -70%, then click OK. Now select

around a third of the image. Click Cmd/

Ctrl+U, change the Saturation to -65 and

Lightness to -40. Apply an 8px Gaussian Blur.

Expert tip

Download a new brush and move the file to a folder you can easily locate. To load the brush in Photoshop Elements 11, select the Brush tool (B) and click to open the Brush Preset Picker. Click on the arrow next to the Brush pop-up and choose Load Brushes. Navigate to your downloaded file, select the brush(.abr) you want to add, then click Load.

Load Brushes

Create underwater scenes


Create light Rays

12 On a new layer, grab the Rectangular

Marquee tool (M) and draw a

selection. Select the default foreground/

background colours (D) and apply Filter>

Render>Clouds. Now head to Filter>Blur>

Motion Blur, changing the Angle to 90º and

Distance to 998px. Change the layer’s blend

mode to Soft Light.

Chrome effect

18 Now let’s add the chrome effect to the water

reflection. Go to Filter>Sketch>Chrome, setting

Detail to 0 and Smoothness to 10, and click OK. Use

Cmd/Ctrl+T to scale and rotate. Go to Filter>Distort>

Liquify and use the Turbulence tool to create some

distortions. Change the blend mode to Hard Light.

Adding Nemo

13 In your resource pack, you will find all

the PNG files you need for this step.

Using the same techniques that you’ve just

learned, place each image onto a different

layer and then scale, invert and reposition all

around. When you’re finished, hold Cmd/

Ctrl to select the layers and then merge all.

Final step

19 Open Seagull.JPEG and pelican.JPEG

from your resources. With the Quick

Selection tool (A), select the images then cut

(Cmd/Ctrl+C) and paste (Cmd/Ctrl+V) into

the project. Use the Free Transform tool

(Cmd/Ctrl+T) to resize the images.

Create the sun

16 Click on the Background layer. Hit M

and then select the part above the

water. Grab the Gradient tool (G) and create

a Radial gradient using #ffffff to #2692b0,

then click OK and drag it outwards.

Bubbles

14 Download Bubble Brushes for

Photoshop from (www.brusheezy.

com/brushes/1283-bubble-brushes-for-

photoshop) Select the Brush tool (B) and

open the Brush Preset Picker. Now open

bubble #690. In the brush’s settings, pick a

small brush Size, then change the Scatter to

50 and Spacing to 175%. Draw the bubbles.

Water reflection

17 Add a new layer. Hit M and make a

selection, using default foreground/

background colours. Go to Filter>Render>

Clouds and then apply Motion Blur, setting

the Angle to 90º and Distance to 275px.

Open Levels (Cmd/Crtl+L) and increase the

contrast by moving the arrows left to right.

Transparent layer

15 Create a new layer. Using the

Rectangular Marquee tool (M), select

the underwater part of your image. Select

the colour #799bae and use the Paint

Bucket tool (G) to fill the selection. Change

the layer’s blend mode to Multiply – this will

create a nice transparent blue effect.

Expert tip

When you’re on step 16, you can add a nice silhouette over the gradient background. Create a new layer and click Shapes (U), then select the Ellipse shape, setting Color to white and Geometry Options to Circle. Check the From Center box and draw a circle over the centre of the radial gradient, then click on simplify. Finally, change the layer’s Opacity to 30%. Now we have a nice silhouette that shows more of the sun’s details.

Create a silhouette

Original images

Photo project




Play with perspective

In this tutorial, you will use Photoshop Elements to create a great

photo composition and learn a fun technique for playing with your

images. With very little effort, you can take simple photographs of

everyday scenes and then transform them into miniature models.

You will use the Transform tool to scale, rotate and skew your

photos, and then the Gaussian Blur filter to create the Tilt-Shift Effect.

You’ll use the Tilt-Shift effect to focus attention on specifics parts of

your image, while at the same time taking the focus away from other

things in your photo, thus causing the illusion of a miniature world.

The perspective is very important in accomplishing this effect;

photos taken from a top-down view will work best for miniaturisation.

In this tutorial, you will learn how easy it is to create a composition and

then place the elements that create this effect. Use the supplied files or

add your own elements in order to make your mini scene.


Have fun with your photos by creating tiny models

Shrink your friends

Learn how to use a few simple Photoshop Elements tweaks to create a miniature effect in your photos.

Load the background

01 First, open up the supplied ‘bg.jpg’ image, using Filter>Place to

add it into your project. In the options dialog, check the

Constrain Proportions box and drag the handle out to scale up the

image. Ctrl/right- click on the layer and select Simplify Layer.

Add a pattern

03 In the Pattern Fill window, click on the thumbnail. You now

have several patterns to choose from. (For this project, we

downloaded a new pattern from myphotoshopbrushes.com/

patterns/id/1010/. Click on the small right-arrow in the Patterns

window and choose Load Pattern.)

Make the placemat

02 Create a new layer. With the Rectangular Marquee tool (M),

draw a rectangle on the canvas. Go to Layer>New Fill

Layer>Pattern. On the New Layer window leave the default settings

and click on OK.


Angle the perspective

04 Ctrl/right-click on the layer and click Simplify Layer. Use

Cmd/Cttl+T to open the Free Transform tool. Hold the

Cmd/Ctrl keys and drag the corners until you get a nice

perspective, as if it were laid out on a table, then click to commit

the operation.

Photo project


Place the cupcake

05 Open the

supplied

‘cupcake1.jpg’ image.

Using the Quick

Selection Tool (A),

select the cupcake

and then copy and

paste in onto a new

layer. Rename this

layer Cupcake1. Click

on Simplify Layer.

Little people

10 Open the file ‘people.png’. Select

each image using the Lasso tool (L),

then cut and paste into your project. Name

your layers img1, img2 and so forth. Use

Cmd/Ctrl+T to resize the images. Move the

images around to create a nice composition.

Angle the shadows

11 Duplicate the images. Hold Cmd/

Ctrl+U and change the Lightness to

-100. Use the Free Transform tool (Cmd/

Crtl+T) to skew and resize the shadows.

Place the shadows behind each image,

apply a Gaussian Blur filter set to around 6

pixels and lower the Opacity to 50%.

Adjust the shadows

09 Place the Shadow1 layer behind the

Cupcake1 layer. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+T and,

in the Transform tool’s options, rotate the

Angle to 90º and resize the image. Go to

Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur, set the Radius to

10 and lower the layer’s Opacity to 50%.

Expert tip

You can make use of certain predefined effects, like the Tilt-Shift effect, using the Guided Edit mode in Photoshop Elements.

The Guided Edit mode provides detailed instructions and controls that will guide you through the most common photo editing and effects.

After you finish your composition in Expert Mode, just head into the Guided Mode to apply new and exciting effects and touch-ups to your pictures.

Guided Edits Panel

Refine Edges

06 Hold Cmd/Ctrl and click on the

Cupcake1 layer to select it. Go to

Select>Refine Edge. Check the Smart

Radius box and set Radius to 8, Smooth to

70, Feather to 5 and Shift Edge to -90. Check

the Decontaminate Colors box and click OK.

Add images

07 Open the supplied ‘cupcake2.jpg’

and ‘cupcake3.jpg’ images and then

repeat steps 5 and 6. Cut and paste each

image and place them behind the Cupcake1

layer. Use Cmd/Ctrl+T to resize each image

and then click on Simplify Layer.

Add shadows

08 Ctrl/right-click on Cupcake1 and

click Duplicate layer. Name it

Shadow1. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+U to open the Hue/

Saturation dialog. Change the Lightness to

-100 and click then OK. Repeat the process

for the Cupcake2 and Cupcake3 layers.



You can add other images, like a giant hand grabbing the people, or create a miniature world with your coworkers or classmates – the possibility are endless.

However, there are a few other things you can do to subtly enhance your photos. Take, for example, the Vignette. This interesting effect can help you emphasise the main theme at the centre of the photograph. Open your miniature people image and, in the Guided Edits panel, click on Photo Effects>Vignette Effect. Choose the Black colour and use the intensity slider to specify how intense you want the vignette to be. You can click Refine Shape to fine-tune the edges and click Done to apply the effect.

Enhance with a VignetteGo a step further

Caution

12 There are some images that you just can’t duplicate and skew in

order to create the shadows. On a new layer, use a soft brush (B)

to draw the shadows. Follow the image’s angle, then apply the Gaussian

Blur filter and lower the layer’s Opacity to 50%.

Refine the shadows

13 Hold Opt/Alt and click on the Create a New Layer icon. In

the New layer window, name it Refine_Shadows. Change

the blend mode to Overlay, keep the Opacity at 100% and

check Fill with Overlay-neutral color (50% gray). Click OK.

Tilt-Shift Effect

15 Hold and drag the Background layer

onto the Create a New Layer icon to

duplicate the layer. Now select the

Background layer and go to Filter>Blur>

Gaussian Blur. Change the blur’s Radius to

30 pixels and then click OK.

Grab a gradient mask

16 Select the Background Copy and

click Add a Layer Mask. Make sure the

mask is selected and grab the Gradient tool

(G). In the Gradient Editor, create two stops

(from white to black). Draw a line, starting at

the point that you want to keep in focus.

Burn tool

14 Grab the Burn tool (O). Change the

Range to Highlights, choose a soft

brush, vary the Size and change the

Exposure to 40%. Carefully, start painting

over the shadows, especially the areas close

to the feet and the bottom of the cupcake.

Final touch

17 To create a more ‘plastic’ feel, you can

increase the saturation. In the Layer

palette, select the first layer. Click on the

Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon.

Select the Hue/Saturation adjustment.

Change Saturation to 15 to give it a boost.


Photo project

Enter the digital age of postcards and send a message home

Design your own holiday postcard

Postcards are renowned for not

reaching their destinations on time,

and it’s because of this that they’re

losing credibility. It’s about time we throw

this traditional method out the window and

make way for Elements.

There’s great creative satisfaction in

designing your own personal messages and

sending them off to your loved ones.

Postcards usually show off just how beautiful

a holiday location is, but an Elements

postcard lets you use any images you like. So

why not show the not-so-beautiful bits too!

We will take you through how to use

Photoshop Elements in order to turn a blank

canvas into a well-composed holiday

postcard. It’s a simple matter of layout and

composition, combined with the right fonts

and messages. Learn how to manipulate

Elements’ Grid feature to accurately divide

your canvas into segments, then how to

snap your images to your desired layout.

Once you’ve chosen your images and

subjects, look at their movements and

directions. We made sure the man on the

bike is looking in from the edge, and that the

hot air balloon is placed on the opposite side

for balance. Once the front side is complete,

write a message on the back and email it to

friends and family. You can be sure they’ll

receive it before you get home! You can even

purchase blank postcard paper that you can

print straight onto – take a look online.

Design your own holiday postcard


A digital messageUse a grid to perfectly compose the layout

TipMake it 3DIf your postcard is looking flat, you can add a subtle edge to each image to make them come out of the design. Go to the Layer menu and to Layer Style. Click on Style Settings and select Bevel. You’ll see a shadow appear around the image. Increase the Size slider for that perfect finishing touch.

TipDon’t forget the backCreate a new blank document with the same dimensions (6 x 4 inches), and switch on the grid. Activate Snap (View>Snap To) and use the Line tool with a Width of 3px to draw a vertical line down the centre of the postcard. Add the horizontal lines on the right side for the address, and then write your message and send by email!

Transform to fit

04 Place your images onto the

postcard’s canvas, and for

each one hit Ctrl/Cmd+T to resize

them and make them fit into the

frame of the postcard. Using the

gridlines, place and resize the

images, allowing them to overlap the

grid and the edge of the canvas.

First selection

05 If not already done so, go to

View>Snap To>Grid to make

the gridlines turn magnetic. Select the

Rectangular Marquee tool and draw a

selection over one image, starting off

the canvas. Snap it to the desired

segments in the grid. Now zoom to

12.5% and nudge the selection twice

outwards using the Arrow keys.

Create borders

06 Go to Select>Inverse to flip

the selection, and with the

image’s layer selected hit Edit>Clear

to reveal the white canvas. Repeat

this with step 5 on every image,

remembering to zoom out to 12.5%

each time when nudging the

Rectangular Marquee.

From scratch

01 Create a new document of

6 x 4 inches with a

resolution of 300 pixels per inch.

Keep Background Contents set to

White. When the blank document

opens, head to View>Grid. This

makes it far easier to compose

your postcard.

Set your preferences

02 Go to Preferences>Guides &

Grids to customise the grid.

Enter a value of 33.3% for Gridline

Every, and set Subdivisions to 2. This

splits the grid into nine equal

segments and also shows the

horizontal and vertical centre lines.

Outside edge

07 Select the entire postcard

using the Rectangular

Marquee tool. Zoom to 12.5% and

nudge the selection four times out

of the frame. Go to Select>Inverse,

and for each image go to Edit>Clear

to make the border. Repeat this for

all sides of the postcard.

Place names

08 Hit the Background layer and go to Edit>Layer Fill. Set Contents Use to

Black and press OK. Using the Type tool, add place names and

postcard phrases. We used the fonts Kino MT and Journal in white, and placed

the name in the centre to complete our holiday postcard.

Plan the composition

03 Upload your images for the

postcard and assess their

composition and subject directions

to decide their best placement.

We’re using four images – three on

top and one panorama for the base

of the postcard.

Build a photo albumCreate your own virtual album spread to commemorate a joyous occasion, with the ability to swap photos in and out

Photoshop Elements can be used to create a commemorative

scene in which you can stage your treasured photos.

Photoshop users can join in with the celebration too, since the

techniques and tools are common between the two.

You are free to use the supplied album and photos but, for a

personalised image, you can prepare your own assets. You’ll need a

picture of an open photo album with blank pages and an assortment

of photos.

We’ll be using clipping masks as layout guides for our photos. This

is a much more flexible method than just placing images directly onto

the canvas and resizing. Once masks are laid out and photos are

attached to them, you can tweak the photo placement within the

masks without disturbing the layout. Plus, masks also facilitate taking

photos in and out, so they’re great for templates.

To finalise the image and help unify the various elements, we’ll use

a scanned envelope texture set to the Overlay blend mode.


Photo project


Use the files

at www.blog.photoshopcreative.co.uk/tutorial-files to

re-create this

Build a photo album


Try it yourself 6 steps to creative compositions

A closer look The tools needed to build a beautiful album

Free Transform

03 Press Cmd/Ctrl-T to Free

Transform the Dad layer. Cmd/

Ctrl-click the corner handles inward to

situate the image within the frame. Try to

maintain the aspect ratio. Once finished,

press Return to apply the transformation.

Clipping Mask

02 Go Effects>Styles>Drop Shadows

and double-click Low. Repeat

twice more on new layers. Select the mask

on the right. Add ‘Dad.jpg’. In the Layers

palette, Opt/Alt-click between the Dad and

Mask layers to create the clipping mask.

Masks

01 Open ‘Album.psd’ from the online

resources. Create a new layer. Using

the Polygonal Lasso tool, create the first

rectangular photo selection by clicking four

corners, then the first point. Fill with the

Paint Bucket, then press Cmd/Ctrl+D.

Texture

06 Let’s add a scanned envelope to

use as an overall texture to help tie

everything together. Use File>Place and add

‘Envelope.jpg’ to the top of the stack.

Change the layer’s blend mode to Overlay.

Photo corners

corner. Add a slight Drop Shadow 05 Place ‘Corner.png’ above a photo’s

and Bevel. Press Cmd/Ctrl-J to duplicate.

Use the Move tool to put it above another

corner. Repeat for the other photo corners.

Complete other photos

04 Repeat steps 2 and 3 to add ‘Baby.

jpg’ and ‘Flowers.jpg’ to the other

two photo frames. Now that you see how

easy it is to add photos, you can follow the

same steps to add new photos in the future.

CLIPPING

MASK

Clipping masks let you allot spaces for the photos, making it easy to add and swap photos.

PHOTO

CORNERS

Details like the photo corners help boost the realism of the scene.

DROP

SHADOW AND

BEVEL

The Drop Shadow and Bevel layer styles give a sense of depth. Don’t overdo it, though; subtlety is best.

TEXTURE

This envelope texture set to Overlay provides an overall vibe, helping to tie everything together.

Photo project


The word ‘composition’ can be an invitation

to create something melodic or visually

striking – let’s do both! We’ll start by

creating an interesting, gritty background. Ragged

streaks of paint on canvas will be the foundation

for this piece. A spiralling architectural form will

add some lines that roll hypnotically inward,

leading viewers to our main star… the electric

guitar! We’ll blend it in with layer masks and blend

modes, then make it pop with a touch of Levels.

Using the Polygonal Lasso tool to mimic the

limited finesse afforded by a pair of scissors, we’ll

cut out shards to use as elements, adding a

hand-created feel. Some meandering trails made

with a custom brush will also support this look.

Finally, we’ll use an old paper scan to help banish

the digital sheen inherent in computer creations.

We used Elements 11, but the techniques are

compatible with CS+. If your version doesn’t have

layer masks, carefully use the Eraser tool instead.

Compose a mixed-media pieceCreate a musical composition in the brilliant key of mixed-media

Add spiral form

03 Go to File>Place and add ‘Spiral.jpg’.

To blend it with the previous layer,

set the blend mode to Difference. This

mode is not used very often for everyday

editing, but it can really add a unique look.

The main act

04 Go to File>Place and add ‘Guitar.jpg’.

Press Cmd/Ctrl+T to open the Free

Transform tools. Hold Opt/Alt+Shift, then

click and drag a corner handle inwards to

scale down. Now hit Return to apply and

then set the blend mode to Hard Light.

Mask guitar

05 Use the icon in the Layers palette to

add a layer mask. With a soft, round

brush at 100% Opacity, fade the edges.

Zoom around to make sure it’s a clean fade.

Setting the stage

01 Go to File>New>Blank File, setting Width

to 235mm and Height to 300mm. Set

Resolution to 300 pixels/inch and Background

Contents to Transparent. Click OK. Now that the

stage is set, let’s start adding our photo textures.

Opening act

02 Go to

File>Place

and add ‘Paint.jpg’

from your resource

pack. This canvas

closeup is a great

foundation for our

piece, containing

both nice texture

and nice colours.

Learn how to compose mixed media pieces with soul

Make a gritty guitar

Source images




Compose a mixed-media piece

Photo project


Levels adjustment

07 Go to Layer>New Adjustment

Layer>Levels and click OK. Drag the

two outer sliders inwards, then fine-tune

with the central Midtones slider. Focus on

the guitar while making these adjustments.

Guitar duo

06 The guitar is the star, but it’s fading

too much into the background. No

worries – press Cmd/Ctrl+J to make a quick

duplicate of the guitar and set the copy’s

blend mode to Normal. Paint black in the

mask to reveal some of the first guitar.

Clipped adjustment

08 Adjustment layers affect all layers

below them, so our Levels layer

affects not just the guitar duplicate but

everything else too. To limit it, Opt/Alt+click

between the Levels and Guitar copy layers.

Jagged cutout

09 Go to File>Place and add ‘Sheet

Music.jpg’. Select the Polygonal

Lasso tool (L) and create a jagged selection.

Convert it to a mask by clicking on the layer

mask icon in the Layers palette. Add a soft

Drop Shadow via the fx button.

Flaming virtuosity

12 Go to File>Place and add ‘Fire.jpg’. Set

the blend mode to Lighten. Use Free

Transform to scale, rotate and position the

fire at the top-left of the guitar. Add a layer

mask and paint out the excess.

Free Transform

10 Press Cmd/Ctrl+T for Free Transform.

Hold Opt/Alt+Shift, then click and

drag a corner handle inwards to scale down.

Now hover outside the bounding box, then

click and drag to rotate. Position above the

guitar, then hit Return to apply.

Load brush

13 From the brush preset menu, load

‘MM.abr’, which can be found in your

resource pack. Set your foreground colour

to a light yellow and background to white.

Thunderous notes

11 Use the Custom Shape Tool to add

shapes like the Lightning and Eighth

Note presets in light yellow and white, and

adorn these with soft Drop Shadows.

Wandering lines

14 With the MM brush, creates lines that

flow in a meandering fashion, adding

subtle yet effective decor. You can use the

mouse to create these or, for better control,

use a graphics tablet if you have one.

Compose a mixed-media piece


Another jagged cutout

16 After confirming the type, press

Cmd/Ctrl+E to merge down. Use the

Polygonal Lasso tool to create a jagged

selection around the type, as with the sheet

music, and then click on the layer mask icon.

Envelope texture

18 Go to File>Place and add ‘Envelope.

jpg’. Set the blend mode to Overlay.

Apply a layer mask and then paint in black to

tone areas down as needed. Duplicate

(Cmd/Ctrl+J), set to Hard Light, drop Opacity

to 50% and then tweak until you’re happy.

Writing music

15 Create a new layer and fill it with white

using the Paint Bucket tool (G). Create

another new layer and use the Type tool (T)

to write ‘MUSIC’ in a plain font like Arial Bold.

Free Transform

17 Press Cmd/Ctrl+T for Free Transform.

Scale down, rotate and position

below the guitar. When finished with the

transforms, hit Return to confirm. Apply a

soft Drop Shadow, again via the fx button.

Closing act

19 To finish off, we’ll apply an image-

wide tonal adjustment. Go to

Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Levels and

click OK. Drag the Highlights slider inwards to

brighten. Counterbalance with the Shadows

slider and fine-tune with Midtones if needed.

The key is experimentation! Try out different blend modes, filters and start images as you build your composition

Alternative effects


Create a panoramic planetUse Elements to turn an image into a 360-degree planet

Create an eye-catching edit with this impressive but easy

effect. It works well with cityscapes, with skyscrapers

protruding outwards from the surface. Panoramic photos are

most effective, as there’s plenty for Elements to stretch out and use

for the surface. First we need to look at distorting the image to a

square to prepare for the filter being used. The Distort filters include

Polar Coordinates, which we can use to bend an image around in a

complete circle. Once the filter is applied it’s a matter of cloning out

the joined edge to improve the final planet effect.

Try this out on a variety of images, such as landscapes and

seascapes, and see what types of planets you can form. You’ll find

that the larger the trees or buildings are on the horizon the better

this effect will look. Follow the steps to find out how to transform

this panorama into something completely different.

What does it mean?

Constrain ProportionsIf Constrain Proportions is

ticked in the Image Size menu, the Width and Height values will change together.

For this effect, you’ll need this option

unchecked.

Photo project


Use the image at www.photoshopcreative.co.uk to re-create this

Create a panoramic planet


Give panoramic images a twist Use filters and resizing techniques to create a planet

Marquee selection

06 Crop off the distorted edges using

the Elliptical Marquee tool. Set

Feather to 0%. Holding Opt/Alt+Shift, click

and drag from the centre of the planet

outwards to form a circular marquee.

Delete edges

07 Invert the selection and Backspace

to remove distorted parts. Go to

Select> Deselect. Click the Foreground

swatch and select a blue from the image. Fill

in white space by going Edit>Fill Layer.

Choose Foreground Color and hit OK.

Retouch join

05 Where the two ends meet is a line.

Select the Clone Stamp tool. Set

Size to 90 pixels, Opacity 100%. Zoom in to

66% and Opt/Alt-click the image next to the

join. Paint the join to gradually fade it.

Straighten up

01 Open up this image ‘City Skyline.jpg’

from the resources (under the

Tutorials section) into Elements. Start off by

going to the Straighten tool (P). Click a

straight line across the entire image, from

where the water meets the land.

Apply filter

04 Use the Polar Coordinates filter

under Filter>Distort. Inside the

filter’s menu, set it to Rectangular to Polar.

There are no other settings in this filter, as

your image is pulled up and around. Zoom

in and out using the +/- controls to see what

the effect is like and hit OK.

Flip upside down

03 With the image now square, flip it

by going back to the Image menu

and to Rotate>Flip Vertical. This will turn the

image upside down, as the image will be

pulled upwards and connected end to end.

Resize image

stretch out the buildings head to 02 To make this image square and

Image>Resize>Image Size and tick the

Resample Image box. Under Document

Size, change Height to match the same

dimensions as Width (104.46cm).

Before

Photo project




Compose surreal artwork


You can achieve amazingly surreal photomanipulations in

Photoshop Elements using the right tools and techniques. Learn how to work with several images and manipulate

them into place before editing the image using filters and brushes.

We’ll start by working with the Free Transform tool to learn how

to resize, skew and rotate your elements. We’ll then work with

several layers and filters to produce this composition. Another

great tool you will learn is the Magic Extractor, which will help us

make accurate selections. This tool is only available in Photoshop

Elements, but you can achieve a similar effect using the Quick

Eraser tool (E) or the Quick Selection tool (W) in Photoshop CS

versions. We’ll also explore how to use the Lighting Effects filter to

apply shadows and inject more dramatic lighting in your scene.

You will find all the images and files you need to get you started

supplied with this issue, so don’t hesitate to open the PSDs to

check how the layers are distributed.

Compose surreal artworkLearn how to create a bizarre composite using several techniques and filters in Photoshop Elements

Set up your document

01 Begin by creating a new blank file. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+N to open the

New dialog box, name your project ‘Lightbulb’, then set the

Width to 235mm, the Height to 300mm and the Resolution to 300.

Confirm this by clicking OK.

Place the background

this (Cmd/Ctrl+J) and rename it ‘Background_copy’. Move 02 Go to File>Place and select ‘Background.jpeg’. Duplicate

(V) this layer down, tweak the perspective (via Cmd/Ctrl+T), hold

Cmd/Ctrl and drag the handles to skew the image.

Place the lightbulb image

03 Place ‘Lightbulb.png’. Click Constrain Proportions on the Tool

Options, set the Width to 60%, change the Angle to (-)10

degrees and click the green check mark. Duplicate the layer, name it

‘Lightbulb_copy’ and turn the Lightbulb layer’s visibility off.

Delve into your imagination to produce a bizarre photo composite

Build an abstract scene

Add a clipping mask

04 Ctrl/right-click on the Lightbulb_copy layer and choose

Simplify (for Photoshop CS choose Rasterize). Insert

‘GRAVEL.jpeg’, resize the image (W: 45, H:25), hold Cmd/Ctrl and

skew things a little. Now hold Opt/Alt, position the pointer between

the Gravel and the Lightbulb_copy layer and click.

Photo project


Apply the Brush tool

05 Keep the

Gravel layer

selected, Ctrl/right-

click and hit Simplify

(for CS choose

Rasterize). Grab a soft

brush (B), set the Size

to 500px and the

Opacity to 10%. Apply

around the image to

create shadows.

Insert more images

png’, ‘Rock.png’ and ‘LAMP.png’. 08 Go to File>Place, then select ‘TREE.

Now open the Free Transform tool to resize

and move the images around the

composition. Hold Shift, select the Tree and

Rock layers and then hit Cmd/Ctrl+E to

merge, renaming this new layer ‘Image’.

Boost the light

07 Hold Opt/Alt again, position the

pointer between the Grass and the

Gravel layer, then click to create a clipping

mask. Go to Filter>Render>Lighting Effects

and set the Light Type to Spotlight. Set the

Intensity to 25, Focus to 40 and Ambience

to 20. Now click OK to confirm.

Use the Elliptical Marquee tool

06 Open ‘LANDSCAPE.jpeg’, grab the

Elliptical Marquee tool (M), set the

Feather to 25 pixels, add an Ellipse, then

copy/paste (Cmd/Ctrl+C and V) into a layer

and rename it ‘Grass’. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+T, hold

Alt/Opt and resize the image.

Erase some areas

11 Select Lightbulb_copy, grab the Eraser

tool (E), pick a large soft brush at

around 200px, then set the Opacity to 30%.

Erase inside the lightbulb without going over

the borders and just reveal the background.

Refine your selections

10 Go to Select>Refine Edge, check

Smart Radius, change Radius to 4px,

Contrast to 35%, Shift Edge to +10% and

Decontaminate Colors to 100%. Ctrl/right

-click, select Apply Layer Mask and paste.

Break out the magic!

09 Open ‘Woman.jpeg’ (courtesy of

Marcus Ranum) and go to Image>

Magic Extractor (or Magic Eraser). Apply a

red Foreground brush on areas to keep and

a blue Background on areas to remove.

Expert tip

A clipping mask is a group of layers to which a mask is applied. The clipping mask enables you to cover the image below the base layer, which defines the visible borders of the entire group. For example, if you have text and you want to apply an image to create a nice texture, the clipping mask is the easiest way to achieve this effect. To add a clipping mask, hold down Opt/Alt, position the pointer on the line dividing the two layers and click.

Clipping mask

Compose surreal artwork


Bring in some shadows

12 Add a new layer below the Images

layer and name it ‘Shadows’. Apply a

hard brush at 10px while zoomed in, then go

to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur, set the Radius

to 5px and change the Opacity to 60%.

Merge your layers

15 Select the Woman layer, hold Shift,

select the Lightbulb_copy layer and

hit Cmd/Ctrl+E to merge. Pick the Burn tool

(O), set the Exposure to 20% and apply

around this to bring in more shadows.

Enhance the lights

13 Select the Background_copy layer

and Ctrl/right- click to Simplify (or click

Rasterize). Go to Filter>Render>Lighting

Effect, choose Spotlight, then change the

Intensity to 25 and Ambience to 10.

Finish with a lens flare

16 Select and merge all the layers (Cmd/

Ctrl+E), then hold Cmd/Ctrl, click the

merged layer and go to Image>Crop. Go to

Filter>Render>Lens Flare, set Brightness to

50% and pick Lens Type 105mm Prime.

Increase the blur

14 Select the Lightbulb layer, hit Cmd/Ctrl+U and set the Lightness to -100. Use Free

Transform to scale the image, then apply a 40px Gaussian Blur. Select the Eraser tool

with 30% Opacity to erase the back portion of the image, then set the layer’s Opacity to 80%.

Expert Edit

Apply the Magic Extractor

01 The Magic Extractor is a great tool to make accurate selections

in Photoshop Elements. Click the Foreground Brush tool and draw multiple lines to mark the area you want to select.

Pick the Background Brush

02 Select the Background Brush tool in the dialog box, then paint

across all the colours and textures you don’t want to select.

Navigate your canvas

03 To help get a more-accurate selection, use the Zoom or Hand

tool to magnify and find your way around the image.

Preview the selection

04 Click Preview to see the current selection or hit X to switch

between the preview selection area and the original photo. The Magic Extractor is a handy tool to select complex objects.

Use Foreground and Background brushes to enhance the effect

Original image

Achieve a retro photo effectInstantly stylised photo effects made simple using Photoshop Elements

Instagram is an example of how to take a normal

photograph and turn it into something artistically

appealing. The techniques behind this style involve

twisting colour and applying distortion using layer

masks and adjustment layers.

Here we put the Hue/Saturation adjustment to use

for distorting tones. There’s no set way to re-create the

Instagram effect, so we can get creative and mix it up.

After the colours have been distorted, we’ll add blur

effects to make sense of poor camera work, as well as

a subtle white vignette around the subject.

All this helps to portray a vintage photo technique

and aging process that degrades the quality of the

image. You can apply these effects to any type of

image, not just a portrait, so perhaps take a rummage

through your home to find a vintage item and apply

these steps.

What does it mean?

Gaussian Blur There are many Blur filters in Photoshop

Elements, but the Gaussian Blur creates an even and consistent

amount of blur across the image. It’s great for softening an image

and masking.

SUBTLETY IS KEY

It’s easy to go over the top with effects like these, so keep the amount of layers to a minimum.

HUE VARIATIONS

The Hue/Saturation adjustment is perfect for controlling the colour of an image, with a mask to help brush away certain areas.

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Vintage effects give us a glimpse into the past, but any colour can be applied for a

different meaning.

Before

THE SHOT

Start with a good exposure and then turn it into a vintage masterpiece.

FADE TO WHITE

The Brush tool set to white is

handy for fading edges of an image,

while controlling opacity in the Layers panel.


Photo project

Achieve a retro photo effect


The right adjustment

01 In Elements go to File>Open, select the supplied ‘Outdoor

portrait.jpg’, then add a Hue/Saturation adjustment to alter

the colour. Find this inside the Layers panel under the circular icon.

Selective brushwork

06 With a black brush, paint over the main subject to reveal the

in-focus layer beneath. Be sure changes are made to the

layer’s mask and click multiple times to leave blurry edges.

Instagram styles

02 Tick the Colorize box in the Hue/Saturation adjustment,

move the Hue slider down to 11 and set the Saturation to 31.

Increase the Lightness to +30 and set the blend mode to Screen.

White distortion

07 Create a blank layer for a white fade by clicking on the Blur

layer and then going to Layer>New>Layer. Select the Brush

tool set to white and apply around the corners of the image.

Duplicate the Background


go to Layer>Duplicate Layer. Name

this layer ‘Blur’, as we’ll be applying effects to

it. Hit OK and notice that a new layer has

been entered into the Layers panel.

Blur effects

04 Head to the Filter menu and locate

the Gaussian Blur filter under the

Blur options. Inside the filter set Radius to

27px, or whichever amount suits the image

you’re using.

Mask out

05 Apply a layer mask on the layer

being blurred by clicking the Add

Layer Mask button in the Layers panel.

Select the Brush tool with a Size of 1,600px,

Opacity set to 100% and a soft-edged tip.

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