Adobe Photoshop - Mastering CORE Concepts

Building Blocks of Computer Images
Introduction - Defining the Pixel
How Computers Store Color Info - Lesson 1
How Computers Store Color Info - Lesson 2
Looking at Color in Real World Images
Creating Shading with Pixel Dithering
Creating Colors with Pixel Dithering
Hue / Saturation and Brightness
Tonal Range: Highlights-Midtones-Shadows
What's Next

Types of Raster Images
Introduction
Characteristics of Bitmap Images
Characteristics of Grayscale Images
Characteristics of True Color Images
Characteristics of Indexed Color Images
Characteristics of CMYK Images
File Sizes of Raster Images on Disk
Summary and Observations

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Monitor Resolution and Aspect Ratio
Introduction
Determining Monitor Resolution
Observations
When to Change Your Screen Resolution
Resolution of On-screen Images
Monitor Aspect Ratio
Summary

Calibrating and Profiling the Monitor
Introduction
Setting the Screen Resolution
Setting the Color Quality
Setting the Refresh Rate
Setting the Desktop Color
Calibrating with Adobe Gamma - Lesson 1
Calibrating with Adobe Gamma - Lesson 2
Calibrating with Adobe Gamma - Lesson 3
Calibrating with Adobe Gamma - Lesson 4
Creating a More Accurate Monitor Profile
Summary

Image Color Management
Color Management in Photoshop Elements
Color Gamut
Elements - Additional Options
Color Management in Photoshop CS
Color Management Policies
Summary

Scanning Fundamentals
Introduction
Scanning Resolution - The Magic Number
How a Scanner Works
Hardware Installation and Drivers
What is TWAIN
Determining Our Magic Number - Lesson 1
Determining Our Magic Number - Lesson 2
The Importance of Optical Resolution
The 72 spi Scan
Naming and Saving the Test Scans
Comparing the 50 spi and 200 spi Scans
Printing the Test Scans at High Quality
Evaluating the Test Prints
The Magic Number for Other Media
The Magic Number for Commercial Printing
The Magic Number for Web Graphics
Image Restoration and The Magic Number
Scanning Line Art
Summary

Resizing Digital Images
Introduction
Viewing On-screen Images
Resizing Images by Rescaling
Resizing Images by Resampling
Sharpening with the Unsharp Mask Filter
Why 72 ppi is Irrelevant on the Screen
Quick Summary of Rescaling - Resampling
Using Both Rescaling and Resampling
Image Resolution and Viewing Distance
When not to Resample an Image
Summary

Color Calibrating the Printer
Introduction
Calibrating a 4-Color Inkjet Printer
Updating the HP1200 Printer Driver
Obtaining a Printer Calibration Image
Disabling Windows Color Management
Disabling Automatic Driver Settings
Examining the Calibration Test Image
Making the First HP1200 Test Print
Evaluating the First HP1200 Test Print
Correcting the HP1200 Output Settings
Calibrating a 6-Color Inkjet Printer
Printers on My Computer
Installing the Epson R340 Inkjet Printer
Configuring the Epson R340 Printer
Calibrating the R340 in Photoshop
Making the First R340 Test Print
Evaluating the First R340 Test Print
Correcting the R340 Output Settings
Evaluating the Second R340 Test Print
Setting New Defaults for the R340
Summary

Calibrating the Scanner
Introduction
What to do with Your Perfect Print
Scanning in Automatic Mode
Evaluating the Automatic Result
Correcting the Automatic Scan
Switching the Scanner to Manual Mode
Scanner Configuration Settings
Scanning the Calibration Target
Evaluating the First Manual Scan
Adjusting at the Scanning Stage
Evaluating the Manually Adjusted Scan
Scanning with Image Color Management
Evaluating the First ICM Scan
Manually Adjusting the ICM Scan
Evaluating the Manual ICM Scan
Summary of our Test Scans
Saving the Color Corrected Scans
Which is Better - Color Controls or ICM
Printing our Calibrated Scans
Evaluating the Prints
Scanning with No Color Correction
Evaluating the No Color correction Scan
Adjusting the Scanned Image
Saving the No Color Controls Scan
Saving Calibrated Settings
Scanning with a Calibrated System
Summary

From Pixels to Printer Dots
Introduction
Gray Shades from Black and White Printers
How Inkjet Printers Work
How Laser Printers Work
The RIP - Raster Image Processor
How Halftone Spots are Created
Halftone Spots from a 2400 dpi Printer
256 Shades from a 1200 dpi Laser Printer
Scanning Resolution and Line Screen
The Shape of Halftone Spots
Halftone Screen Angles
How Color Images are Converted to Printer Dots
Analyzing CMYK Ink Contributions
Taking a Closer Look
Color Halftones and Screen Angles
Summary
My Philosophy on Terminology
What’s Next

Making Selections
Introduction
Making Rectangular Selections
Simple Circular Selections
The Lasso Tool
The Magnetic Lasso Tool
The Polygon Lasso Tool
The Magic Wand Tool
The Magic Selection Brush
Masking with the Magic Selection Brush
The Color Range Command - Lesson 1
The Color Range Command - Lesson 2
Compositing into Another Image
Masking Images in Photoshop CS
The Extract Filter - Lesson 1
The Extract Filter - Lesson 2
The Extract Filter - Lesson 3
Compositing the Llama and Zebra - Lesson 1
Compositing the Llama and Zebra - Lesson 2
Extracting with Elements - Lesson 1
Extracting with Elements - Lesson 2
Summary

Straighten - Crop - Color Variations
Introduction
The Straighten Tool
The Crop Tool
Correcting Color with Variations
Resizing to Make a 4 x 6 Inch Print
Adjusting the Canvas Size
Making a Photo Quality Print

Fixing Keystoning
Skewed Poster – A Case History
Working with a Keystoned Image
Using Ruler Guides
Transforming a Selection with Distortion
Cropping the Poster
Resizing the Ad
Sharpening with the Unsharp Mask Tool
Summary

Adjusting the Tonal Range
Evaluating the Faded Photo
Adjusting the Tonal Range using Levels
Defining the True Shadow Areas
Defining the True Highlights
Combing - How to Compensate for Combing
Using a Levels Adjustment Layer
Adjusting the Midtones
Restoring Details with a Layer Mask
Summary

Red Eye Removal - Tonal Range - Hue Correction
Evaluating the Digital Photo
Using the Red Eye Removal Tool
Using a Levels Adjustment Layer
Using a Hue-Saturation Adjustment Layer
Creating a 4x6 Inch Photo Quality Print
Summary

Dealing with Difficult Highlights and Shadows
Examining a Difficult Image
Failure to Adjust with Levels
Multiply Blend Mode to Darken Highlights
Screen Blend Mode to Brighten Shadows
Adjusting Shadows Using a Layer Mask
Toggling the Layer Mask Off and On
Viewing the Mask in the Image Window
Rubylith Overlay Inside the Layer Mask
Adjusting Highlights Using a Layer Mask
Reactivating Unmasked Areas
Adjusting the Hue in Unmasked Areas
Straightening the Horizon
Cropping to a Preselected Size
Summary

Photo Restoration and Retouching
Scanning at Very High Resolutions
Comparing a 200 spi to a 600 spi Scan
Mechanics of the Clone Stamp Tool
Mechanics of the Healing Brush Tool
Using the Spot Healing Brush
Fixing Tears with the Healing Brush Tool
When to Favor the Clone Stamp Tool
When to Favor the Healing Brush Tool
Techniques for Professional Retouching
Summary

Removing Dust and Scratches
Introduction
Assessing the Flawed Image
Impracticality of the Clone Stamp Tool
The Dust and Scratches Filter
Adjusting Radius and Threshold
Removing Scratches and Larger Flaws
Cropping with a Fixed Size Marquee
Making a Photo Quality 4 x 6 Inch Print
Saving the Retouched Image

Portrait Perfection
Assessing the First Flawed Portrait
Working Non-Destructively with Layers
Sample All Layers with Cloning
The Lighten Blend Mode with Cloning
Reducing Corrections with Opacity
Sample All Layers and Healing Brush
Saving the Perfected Portrait
Assessing the Second Flawed Portrait
Correcting the Color balance
The Merit of Auto Color Correction
Making Teeth Whiter
Removing Skin Blemishes
Saving the Retouched Portrait
Comparing Before and After
Summary

Optimizing Images for the Web
Introduction
Saving Images in the JPG Format
Examining the Color Profile
Cropping Out Unnecessary Image Areas
Resizing the Image for the Web Page
Sharpening the Resized Image
Saving Images with Save for Web
Image Optimization with JPG
Determining Download Times for Images
Color Profiles in Optimized Images
Web Images and Computer Environments
Resizing Images in Save for Web
Previewing Optimized Images
Saving the Optimized File
Review - Saving Photos for the Web
Optimizing Artwork Images - Lesson 1
Optimizing Artwork Images - Lesson 2
Examining Browser Dither
Previewing the GIF Image
Saving the Optimized GIF Image
Images on Colored Web Pages
Images on Textured Web Pages
Creating a GIF Image with Transparency
Viewing the Transparent GIF in Explorer
Color Fringes in Transparent GIFs
Evaluating a Matted GIF Image
Eliminating the Color Fringe
Optimizing Gradients
Summary

Actions and Automaton
Introduction
The Actions Palette
Disabling Color Management Policies
Default Actions - Lesson 1
Default Actions - Lesson 2
Creating an Action from Scratch
Applying an Action as a Batch Job
Converting PowerPoint Presentations - Lesson 1
Converting PowerPoint Presentations - Lesson 2
Applying Our Action as a Batch Job
Preparing Photos for Tribute Videos
Preparing Images for Digital Video - Lesson 1
Preparing Images for Digital Video - Lesson 2
Preparing the Horizontal Images - Lesson 1
Preparing the Horizontal Images - Lesson 2
Batch Process - Contact Sheets
Batch Process - Web Sites - Lesson 1
Batch Process - Web Sites - Lesson 2
Additional Batch Operations
Automation in Photoshop Elements
Summary

Preparing Files for Commercial Printing
Introduction
Starting Photoshop with its Default Settings
Configuring Photoshop's Color Settings
Advanced Mode Color Settings
Configuring the CMYK Working Space
Saving Custom CMYK Settings
Accessing Color Settings
Configuring the Scratch Disks
Preparing the Image - Open the File
Soft Proofing - Gamut Warning
Correcting with Adjustment Layers
Additional Proofing Options
Review - RGB to CMYK Preparation
Converting from RGB to CMYK
Saving the CMYK File
Summary

Adobe Photoshop - Mastering Core Concepts
Overall Summary

Credits
About Myron Achtman