Photoshop elements 9 : the missing manual ; [covers both Windows and Mac versions

Elements 9 offers much of Photoshop's power without the huge price tag. It's an ideal tool for most image-editing buffs -- including scrapbookers, photographers, and aspiring graphic artists. But Elements still doesn't come with a decent manual. This bestselling, **full-color** book will help you get the most out of the program, from the basics to advanced tips for both Windows and Mac. * **Quickly learn your way around.** Customize Elements to suit your working style. * **Get to work right away.** Import, organize, and make quick image fixes with ease. * **Retouch any image.** Learn how to repair and restore your old and damaged photos. * **Add some pizzazz.** Give images more zip with dozens of filters, frames, and special effects. * **Find your creative flair.** Create scrapbooks, greeting cards, photo books, and more. * **Use advanced techniques.** Work with layers, blend modes, and other tools. * **Try out your new skills.** Download practice images and try new tricks as you learn. The Missing Credits......Page 15 Introduction......Page 19 Part One: Introduction to Elements......Page 31 Getting Started......Page 33 The Welcome Screen......Page 34 Organizing Your Photos......Page 37 Photoshop.com......Page 38 Editing Your Photos......Page 42 Panels, Bins, and Tabs......Page 43 Elements’ Tools......Page 49 Getting Help......Page 52 Escape Routes......Page 55 Getting Started in a Hurry......Page 58 Importing from Cameras......Page 59 The Photo Downloader......Page 60 Opening Stored Images......Page 65 Scanning Photos......Page 67 Creating a New File......Page 69 Picking a File Size......Page 70 Selecting a Color Mode......Page 71 Using the Organizer......Page 72 The Media Browser......Page 74 Creating Categories and Tags......Page 79 Albums and Smart Albums......Page 83 Browsing Through Photos......Page 86 Searching by Metadata......Page 87 Saving Your Work......Page 89 File Formats Elements Understands......Page 92 Backing Up Your Files......Page 96 Online Syncing and Backups......Page 97 Organizer Backups......Page 98 Making Quick CDs/DVDs......Page 101 Straightening Two or More Photos at a Time......Page 103 Rotating and Flipping Options......Page 106 Straightening the Contents of an Image......Page 107 Straighten Tool......Page 108 Free Rotate Layer......Page 110 Cropping Pictures......Page 112 The Crop Tool......Page 113 Cropping with the Marquee Tool......Page 116 Image Views......Page 119 The Zoom Tool......Page 124 The Hand Tool......Page 125 Changing the Size of an Image......Page 126 Resizing Images for Email and the Web......Page 127 Resizing for Printing......Page 130 Adding Canvas......Page 134 Part Two: Elemental Elements......Page 135 The Quick Fix......Page 137 The Quick Fix Window......Page 138 The Quick Fix Toolbox......Page 139 The Quick Fix Panel Bin......Page 140 Different Views: After vs. Before and After......Page 142 Fixing Red Eye......Page 143 Smart Fix......Page 145 Adjusting Lighting and Contrast......Page 147 Color......Page 150 Sharpening......Page 152 Touch-Ups......Page 153 Quick Fix Suggested Workflow......Page 156 Adjusting Skin Tones......Page 157 Making Selections......Page 161 Selecting Everything......Page 162 Selecting Rectangular and Elliptical Areas......Page 163 Controlling the Selection Tools......Page 165 Selecting with a Brush......Page 166 Refine Edge......Page 169 The Selection Brush......Page 170 The Magic Wand......Page 173 The Lasso Tools......Page 175 Removing Objects from an Image’s Background......Page 179 Inverting a Selection......Page 184 Making a Selection Larger or Smaller......Page 186 Moving Selected Areas......Page 188 Saving Selections......Page 191 Layers: The Heart of Elements......Page 193 Understanding Layers......Page 194 The Layers Panel......Page 196 The Background......Page 198 Creating Layers......Page 199 Adding a Layer......Page 200 Duplicating a Layer......Page 201 Copying and Cutting from Layers......Page 203 Adjusting Layer Opacity......Page 204 Locking Layers......Page 205 Blend Mode......Page 206 Rearranging Layers......Page 207 Aligning and Distributing Layers......Page 211 Grouping and Linking Layers......Page 212 Merging and Flattening Layers......Page 215 Layer Masks......Page 218 Adjustment and Fill Layers......Page 223 Adding Fill and Adjustment Layers......Page 224 Moving Objects Between Images......Page 227 Part Three: Retouching......Page 231 Basic Image Retouching......Page 233 Deciding Which Exposure Fix to Use......Page 234 Fixing Major Exposure Problems......Page 235 The Shadows/Highlights Command......Page 237 Correcting Part of an Image......Page 239 Controlling the Colors You See......Page 243 Calibrating Your Monitor......Page 245 Choosing a Color Space......Page 246 Using Levels......Page 250 Understanding the Histogram......Page 251 Adjusting Levels: The Eyedropper Method......Page 254 Adjusting Levels: The Slider Controls......Page 255 Removing Unwanted Color......Page 257 The Remove Color Cast Command......Page 258 Using Color Variations......Page 259 Choosing Colors......Page 261 The Color Picker......Page 262 The Eyedropper Tool......Page 263 The Color Swatches Panel......Page 265 Sharpening Images......Page 267 Unsharp Mask......Page 268 Adjust Sharpness......Page 270 The High-Pass Filter......Page 272 The Sharpen Tool......Page 274 Elements for Digital Photographers......Page 277 The Raw Converter......Page 278 Using the Raw Converter......Page 279 Adjusting White Balance......Page 284 Adjusting Tone......Page 286 Adjusting Vibrance and Saturation......Page 289 Adjusting Sharpness and Reducing Noise......Page 291 Converting to DNG......Page 295 Blending Exposures......Page 297 Automatic Merges......Page 299 Manual Merges......Page 301 Photo Filter......Page 304 Processing Multiple Files......Page 306 Choosing Your Files......Page 307 Renaming Your Files......Page 308 Changing Image Size and File Type......Page 310 Attaching Labels......Page 311 Fixing Blemishes......Page 315 The Spot Healing Brush: Fixing Small Areas......Page 317 The Healing Brush: Fixing Larger Areas......Page 320 The Clone Stamp......Page 323 Applying Patterns......Page 328 The Healing Brush......Page 329 Recomposing Photos......Page 330 Color Curves: Enhancing Tone and Contrast......Page 334 Making Colors More Vibrant......Page 337 The Hue/Saturation Dialog Box......Page 339 Adjusting Saturation with the Sponge Tool......Page 340 Changing an Object’s Color......Page 342 Replacing Specific Colors......Page 343 The Color Replacement Tool......Page 346 Special Effects......Page 347 Method One: Making Color Photos Black and White......Page 351 Method Two: Removing Color from a Photo......Page 354 Brushing Away Color......Page 356 Erasing Colors from a Duplicate Layer......Page 358 Removing Color from Selections......Page 359 Colorizing Black-and-White Photos......Page 360 Tinting a Whole Photo......Page 364 Photomerge: Creating Panoramas, Group Shots, and More......Page 369 Creating Panoramas......Page 370 Manual Positioning with Interactive Layout......Page 374 Merging Different Faces......Page 377 Arranging a Group Shot......Page 380 Tidying Up with Scene Cleaner......Page 381 Merging Styles......Page 383 Correcting Lens Distortion......Page 387 Skew, Distort, and Perspective......Page 392 Free Transform......Page 396 Part Four: Artistic Elements......Page 397 Drawing with Brushes, Shapes, and Other Tools......Page 399 Picking and Using a Basic Brush......Page 400 Modifying Your Brush......Page 404 Saving Modified Brush Settings......Page 407 The Specialty Brushes......Page 408 Making a Custom Brush......Page 409 The Pencil Tool......Page 410 The Paint Bucket......Page 411 Dodging and Burning......Page 412 Dodging......Page 413 Burning......Page 414 Blend Modes......Page 415 The Smudge Tool......Page 416 The Eraser Tool......Page 419 Using the Eraser......Page 420 The Magic Eraser......Page 421 The Background Eraser......Page 422 Drawing with Shapes......Page 424 Rectangle and Rounded Rectangle......Page 426 Polygon......Page 428 Line Tool......Page 429 The Custom Shape Tool......Page 430 The Shape Selection Tool......Page 431 The Cookie Cutter Tool......Page 432 Filters, Effects, Layer Styles, and Gradients......Page 435 Applying Filters......Page 437 Filter Categories......Page 441 Useful Filter Solutions......Page 443 Adding Effects......Page 451 Using Actions......Page 452 Special Effects in Guided Edit......Page 455 Adding Layer Styles......Page 456 The Gradient Tool......Page 460 Gradient Fill Layers......Page 463 Editing Gradients......Page 465 Saving Gradients......Page 469 Gradient Maps......Page 470 Adding Text to an Image......Page 473 Text Options......Page 474 Creating Text......Page 478 Editing Text......Page 480 Warping Text......Page 482 Text Effects......Page 484 Text Gradients......Page 485 Applying the Liquify Filter to Text......Page 486 Using the Type Mask Tools......Page 489 Creating Outlined Text......Page 492 Part Five: Sharing Your Images......Page 495 Photo Collages......Page 497 Customizing Your Project......Page 501 Creating Multipage Documents in the Editor......Page 505 Photo Books......Page 508 Greeting Cards......Page 510 CD/DVD Jackets......Page 511 Photo Stamps......Page 512 The Content Panel......Page 513 The Favorites Panel......Page 515 Getting Ready to Print......Page 517 Ordering Prints......Page 518 Printing at Home......Page 521 Making Individual Prints......Page 522 Positioning Your Image......Page 527 Additional Print Options......Page 530 Color Management......Page 531 Printing Multiple Photos (Windows)......Page 534 Contact Sheets......Page 535 Picture Packages......Page 536 Printing Multiple Images (Mac)......Page 537 Contact Sheets......Page 538 Picture Packages......Page 539 Image Formats and the Web......Page 543 Saving Images for the Web or Email......Page 544 Using Save For Web......Page 546 Previewing Images and Adjusting Color......Page 549 Creating Animated GIFs......Page 550 Emailing Photos......Page 552 Individual Attachments (Mac and Windows)......Page 554 Photo Mail (Windows only)......Page 556 PDF Slideshows (Mac and Windows)......Page 557 Online Albums......Page 559 Sharing a New Album......Page 560 Other Ways to Share......Page 563 Slideshows......Page 564 Full Screen View......Page 565 PDF Slideshows......Page 567 Using the Slide Show Editor (Windows only)......Page 568 Flipbooks (Windows only)......Page 579 Sharing Photos with Yahoo Maps (Windows only)......Page 582 A Few More Ways to Share......Page 586 Part Six: Additional Elements......Page 589 Graphics Tablets......Page 591 Free Stuff from the Internet......Page 594 When You Really Need Photoshop......Page 595 Beyond This Book......Page 596 Part Seven: Appendix......Page 599 Installation and Troubleshooting......Page 601 Installing Elements in Windows......Page 602 Installing Elements on a Mac......Page 604 Activation......Page 606 Troubleshooting......Page 607 Index......Page 609 Colophon......Page 641 Introduction to elements. Finding your way around elements ; Importing, managing, and saving your photos ; Rotating and resizing your photos -- Elemental elements. The quick fix ; Making selections ; Layers : the heart of elements -- Retouching. Basic image retouching ; Elements for digital photographers ; Retouching : fine-tuning your images ; Removing and adding color ; Photomerge : creating panoramas, group shots, and more -- Artistic elements. Drawing with brushes, shapes, and other tools ; Filters, effects, layer styles, and gradients ; Text in elements -- Sharing your images. Creating projects ; Printing your photos ; Email and the web ; Online albums and slideshows -- Additional elements. Beyond the basics -- Appendix. Installation and troubleshooting