FREE DESIGN TIPS

Is Photoshop driving you up the wall? Here are 15 simple tips to make using Photoshop easier.

1. When working on a colour image, you can use the Paint Brush tool to selectively “paint away” colour to black and white. It can make one portion of your image really stand out. In the Paint Brush Options palette, change the blend mode to Colour, and paint away the colour

2. When using your magic wand tool you can press your Shift to add more to the selection, or press your Alt to take away from the selection.

3. If you have a lot of images to display, use Photoshop’s image gallery to build a webpage of images that are thumbnailed for you. FILE > Automate > Web Images Gallery

4. Double click on the ‘T’ on a Type layer in the Layers Palette to automatically select the entire text layer. There are at least two ways to switch between the various measurement units that Photoshop displays.

5. One is to change them in your Preferences by going to the Photoshop menu under Preferences and choosing Units & Rulers (in Photoshop 7 under Mac OS 9, Preferences is found under the Edit menu). From here you can change the ruler units and click OK.

6. The second way is to open the Info Palette (go to the Window menu and choose Info) and click on the small triangle next to the cross in the lower left quadrant. This will bring up a menu that will allow you to change units on the fly.

7. To cycle through different screen modes, simply press the F key

8. You can select only the pixels and not the transparency area of the layer by holding the Cmd/Ctrl key and clicking the mouse on that layer in the Layers palette.

9. Do you have a layer style you like to use a lot? You can save that layer style as a style that will show up in your styles palette. In the Blending Options, just under OK and Cancel you’ll see ‘Save Style’. Name it and save it. You’ll then find this new style in the Styles palette. Note: the style must be in its own layer.

10. Sometimes when you combine multiple images, there will be a bit of fringe around the edges of the composite images. Often you can hide this by going to Layers > Matting > Defringe. At the dialogue box, choose the default setting; it that doesn’t work, undo it, and try Defringe again at a setting of 2.

11. Got too many layers? Simply select the right layer by using the move tool ( V ) Right click the mouse over the layer and a drop down list will come up. Alternatively, you can put your layers in layer sets. On the bottom of your layers palette, click the create new layers set (looks like a folder), name the new layer set, and just drag the layers you like in that set. Great for coping a set too. Highlight the set right click and copy.

12. If you want to toggle between Photoshop and ImageReady, press Shift-Command-M (Mac)/ Shift-Control-M (PC).

13. To access the Save for Web dialogue quickly, press Shift-Command-Option-S (Mac)/ Shift-Control-Alt-S (PC).

14. If you want to duplicate your current layer, press Cmd/Ctrl J.

15. To bring up the Extract dialogue box, press Command-Option-X (Mac)/ Control-Alt-X (PC). Within the Extract dialogue box, switch to the Extract Edge Highlighter tool by pressing the letter “b.”, the Fill tool by pressing the letter “k.”, and change the Edge Highlighter’s brush size by holding the ] key to make it larger and the [ to make it smaller.

Adobe Photoshop is one of the most popular imaging software packages around, but it’s expensive! Here are five ways you can earn money using Photoshop or Photoshop Elements — either as a business enterprise, for some extra money, or just to recoup your investment.

1. Offer a Photo Restoration Service. I’m sure just about everyone has a photo or two that hasn’t stood the test of time all that well, especially really old ones. Using the Healing Brush, Spot Healing Brush, and Patch tools, you can make old or damaged photos look like new again.

2. Become a Photograph Doctor. Whether it’s “red eye”, “pet eye”, poor exposure, or “finger over the lens syndrome” Photoshop can transform a ruined image into a pristine one. You can also use Photoshop to make a colour photograph look like a black and white one, or colour tint a black and white one to make it colour. Not everyone is a good photographer, so you need never be short of “patients”.

3. Design Greetings Cards. With the photo enhancement and graphic design qualities of Photoshop, designing greetings cards has never been easier. You can enhance photos, make them into drawings or paintings, combine photos for humorous cards, the possibilities are endless. Birthday cards, get well soon cards, condolence cards, Christmas cards or cards for other holidays like Mothers’ Day, the list goes on and on. You can easily find card blanks and envelopes from specialist suppliers.

4. Design T-shirts. Ever seen something and thought “that would look great on a T-shirt”? Well, you’re not the only one! With Photoshop you can make it a reality. You can get transfers from stationery shops, and plain, cotton T-shirts can be purchased from low cost suppliers and even some supermarkets.

5. Web Design. Whether it’s a full website, or just a few buttons or banners, web design is a skill that’s in demand right now. You could take commissions, or design some generic “boilerplate” designs that people can download from a website and customise themselves.

Of course, you may need to get some extra equipment — like a colour printer, scanner, and digital camera — but you can usually pick this type of equipment up inexpensively on eBay or other websites. A DVD of royalty free images is also a must — although check the terms and conditions to make sure you’re allowed to sell products derived from them.

Word of mouth is always the best form of advertising, so ask friends, relatives, work colleagues, and other acquaintances if the need (or know anyone who needs) your products or services. You could also approach retailers with a portfolio of your work, and offer them commissions on any work they send your way.

We are currently in an economic depression. Many people are being laid off and losing their jobs and their income. It is very difficult for most people to continue to pay the bills and the mortgage when this happens. Having a part time hobby with which you can make a part time or even full time income if necessary, can be the difference between making ends meet or filing for bankruptcy.

You can make a good income with wedding photography. It can be a very lucrative part time of full time option. In the United State alone, wedding photography is approximately a $5 Billion per year industry. That’s a sizable market. And with some know how and a decent digital camera, you can be a part of this industry. I have designed a course that includes everything you need, including business forms, technical discussions, sample ads and business cards, and even tips on using Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Apple’s Aperture. You can see more information and order at my blog or website.

Using Adobe Photoshop will be essential to making a good income with photography as many of the photos you take will require some kind of manipulation, even if it is just a small brightness or contrast adjustment. However, if you can master some of the trickier tools, you will be able to create some stunning photos. You will also be able to contract to other studios for work. Mastering Photoshop is still something that not everyone can do. But id you enjoy creating images on the computer, then you can could be in great demand by others looking for help.

On my blog, you will see images of a cabin in the snow country of Arizona. The client wanted an image that they could frame and put on the wall. They were very proud of their cabin, but to make a really good image required some extensive Photoshop work. The main tool I used was the Clone tool. I think that the Clone tool and the Pen tool are the two most powerful tools in Photoshop. If you master these tools, you will be able to create some really great images.

As you will see, by astute use of the Clone tool, the overhead power lines were eliminated, so we have a nice clear view of the beautiful blue sky. Next, we smoothes out the snow covered road, and deleted the car by Cloning the snow over the car. Next, the sidewalk was smoothed out and the footprints were removed. Then, some Cloning of the snow on the roof to make the roof line look better. Finally, judicious use of the curves and a selection on the cabin itself, brought the warmth and texture of the wood walls to life. These kinds of techniques will enable you to earn money, even in a down economy. Just be sure to practice as often as you can.

One of the first questions I am asked when shooting with a digital camera (after the “which camera do you use, question), is, what format should I shoot? Tiff, High Res. JPEG, RAW etc. And the answer is very simple. RAW! There is NO other option. And you need to make sure that you are using the highest resolution (mega pixels) available on your camera.

You should only be using a digital SLR (DSLR) camera, with the most powerful (expensive) flash you can afford, available for your system. When you shoot a wedding, you will need to use flash for basically every shot you take. Indoors and out, even in bright sunlight. The flash will light dark subjects inside and when you are outside, it will fill in the shadows of your subject, and make the resulting photos look their best.

A very important point to remember when you photograph the bride, is to make sure that there is lots of detail in the brides dress. With digital cameras, the sensor cannot record as wide a range of light to dark as with traditional film cameras, and whites in particular, can be very challenging to record with detail. This is where you need to be able to balance the flash with the available light to get acceptable results. Otherwise, you may have some angry people calling you after the event. And you cannot arrange a do-over for a wedding, it is a one shot deal. So, make sure you do lots of practice before your first real, paying event. A good way to practice is to have you wife/girlfriend/kids dress up in white clothes and take lots of shots and note the settings you need to get detail in the dress, and good even skin tones on the brides face.

Photos of kids at the wedding can help make you a lot of extra money. Whenever possible, set up the kids in the bridal party by themselves. These kinds of photos will sell to the parents, the bride and groom and many other family members, especially the grandparents. Part of your job is to not just take good photos, but to take photos that will sell and keep you in a job and allow you to buy more equipment as you need it. You should always take individual shots of each kid and have the parents help to get them comfortable so you can get some good shots. Always try to choose an interesting background where possible. In order to focus attention on the kids (refer to the photo on my blog, listed at the end of this article) and not the background, I have made a selection around the kids in Adobe Photoshop, and darkened the background a little, so the kids will stand out and be the center of attention in the photo.

Photoshop is a multipurpose software, which is leading the graphical and designing industry as the software incorporates thousands of effects, has range of functions and facilities and can be use to create razor-sharp images and eye-catching graphical illustrations. Further more Photoshop is designed to be very user friendly and beginners will not find the software too hard and complex to master. Professional designer readily make use of Photoshop for proficient designing and illustrations. Photoshop has colossal capabilities and you can use it to create business cards, greeting cards, and posters, screen savers, web pages templates and for an assortment of other designing purposes. To get you acquainted with the use of this tool the following Photoshop tips and tricks are very useful. Not only the following tips and tricks are easy to implement but they will also help you to understand the essential logistics of using Photoshop.

Create a bold, dramatic text effect

Using the following tip you can create simple text effects, which can be deployed on websites and presentations.

·Open a new file in Photoshop (file-> new). Create simple text by using the type tool. Right click on the “T” icon in the layer palette and select the render option. Select the transparency checkbox before applying the gradient. Now double click on the gradient tools option. Make sure that you change the background color to black and the foreground color to gray. Double click on the option palette, which would take you to the option palette. Set the type of gradient to liner and select the gradient to background. Apply the gradient from top to bottom of the text choice while holding down the Shift key. Using the Shift key with the Gradient tool restrict the gradient to an even upright blend. Now you need to duplicate the layer. Select the duplicate layer options and drag this duplicated layer vertically to 3 or 4 pixels using the arrow key on your keypad. Make sure that the transparency text box is selected on. You would get a dramatic text effect and further more you can use this same tip for clip arts as well!

If you would like to get into the webmaster industry, you should know that Photoshop is the perfect tool for making your very own website.

Photoshop will allow even the beginning webmaster the ability to create an entire web template from scratch. After you’re done, you can easily use

Image Ready to cut up the template image and spit out the HTML code for you – simple and easy. If you have something more specific within your

webpage you want to alter, like the navigation or certain images for example, Photoshop can helpyou with this as well. It doesn’t matter what you are utilizing Photoshop for, it willdefinitelybenefit the overall image and smoothness of your website.

In the old days webmasters had to resort to coding their webpages by hand. This was a long and tedious process which was very drawn out –

testing and altering the code could take hours. With Photoshop on your side you don’t have to worry about spending vast amounts of timecreating your website. You can create the overall look of your site and then transfer it to Image Ready, which will then slice the image into smaller HTML elements. After this, all you will have to do is insert your webpage content into the white space that you left for yourself in the template. After you have placed the content on your site, it will be ready to

go.

You should be concerned with load times when you are working with images. With Photoshop you can optimize all the images you work with so that you can make sure your visitors are getting the fastest load times

possible.

You will also be delighted to know that Photoshop can help brighten up your navigation bar. Using Image Ready, you can create superblookingrollover effects that will make your visitors want to click to other pages within your site. Instead of having to fiddle with Javascript to get this done, Image Ready will make sure it’s already done for you, giving you more time to work on other things on your site.

As you can see Photoshop is one of the best weapons a webmaster has – so take full advantage of it!

Online photo sharing with sites like ‘flckr’ and ‘facebook’ are very popular these days. But are you one of those people who haven’t unraveled the mysteries of organizing, editing, and sharing images? Let me help you out. Photoshop helps you tell interesting stories with your photos and videos. Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 and Adobe Premiere Elements 7 software combines the number 1 selling consumer photo- and video-editing software products.

The software was introduced as an alternative to Photoshop CS4. Complete with new tools, such as Smart Brushes, Scene Clean, and Play Actions, and offered at a lower price, it’s a steal. Through this software, you can showcase your photos with a wide range of artwork and templates, clean your image of unwanted elements and more. The 2-in-1 Smart Brush performs the selection and edit in one step. You will not lose your treasured memories. Keep your photos safe with automatic online backup.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 is more powerful than the older version and use-friendly. Elements 7 is arranged in four main components.

1. Organizer- Organizer helps you locate, mark, and sort your images.

2. Fix- Fix component gives you access to the most common adjustments you will make to your images.

3. Create- In the Create panel, you will find slide shows, calendars, templates for scrapbooking, and more.

4. Share – Web albums, email, CD/DVD copying, and other similar outputs are available in this component.

Apart from the standard tagging options and the album system at its core, the Organizer program has a new text search feature that searches metadata and keywords.

Finally, what are the system requirements for the software? For Adobe Photoshop Elements 7, you will need a processor that is 2GHZ or faster as well as Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or 3 or Windows Vista. In addition to a hard disc of 1.5 GB and a memory space of 1 GB, you will require a color monitor with 16-bit color video card.

For Adobe Premiere Elements 7, you require a processor with 1.8 GHZ with SSE2 support. The operating system required is almost similar to that of Adobe Photoshop Elements. A hard disc capacity of 4.5 GB is required, while the memory space needed depends on the operating system used. It is 512 MB RAM for Windows XP and 1 GB for Windows Vista.

So, with Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 and Adobe Premiere Elements 7, you can relive and share memories with your family and friends.

People often ask me: What image file formats will Photoshop open or save in? What are the advantages/disadvantages?

Photoshop has the capability to open and save many different graphic files. Here are some of the most popular ones.

Note: When you open an image file other than a Photoshop one, that image will default to the background layer.

.psd, .pdd, .eps

Photoshop File. This format preserves the information in all the layers. If you’re going to continue working with a picture, this is the best format to use. File size can be quite large, however. Note: It is advisable to save your work in the most up to date Photoshop format available. For example: if you have Photoshop CS and are sent a Photoshop 7 file, you should save it as a Photoshop CS file to preserve any elements that may not be supported by Photoshop 7.

.jpg, .jpeg .jpe

This format compresses the images, so that information (details and colour subtleties) are lost. You can choose how much you want to compress the image. Good format for use on the web. Small file sizes. Millions of colours.

tif, .tiff

Common in use with early scanners. Will produce high quality images, but very large files. Not for use on the web.

.gif

Pronounced both “Gif” and “Jif”, this file is one of the most popular for web graphics as it loads quickly. 8 bit format (256 colours max.). It has possibilities for transparent colour and animation.

.png

New format for use on the web that is intended to replace both gif and jpeg. Compressed, millions of colours, transparencies. It compress in a different way than jpeg, and has advanced possibilities, such as alpha channel (opaque or partly transparent colours).  In 8 bit (256 colours) mode it compresses better than gif.

.bmp

Windows bitmapped image. Used by Microsoft Windows applications. Good quality, large file size. Not for use on the web.

.wmf

Windows MetaFile. Useful for clipart, and can be used to make large area, small sized background files.

.pcx

Older general purpose format. Practically obsolete now. Not for use on the web.

.psp

Internal format for Paint Shop Pro, useful if you want to swap files between these two applications.

.pcd

Kodak PhotoCD format, used with Photo Developing – although most photo processors will save your photos as jpegs if you ask them to.

.pdf

Portable Document File. Adobe’s file system that allows electronic cross platform sharing of documents.

So what’s the best format for web graphics: gif or jpeg?

The general rule of thumb is to use gifs for diagrams, line drawings, illustrations, and images that contain large areas of flat colour, and jpegs for photographs and images with continuous colour tones. The jpeg format has a very good compression rate, but compression reduces the quality of the image, so it’s best to experiment with the tools in Image Ready until you have the optimal quality/file size. The gif format, on the other hand, has a smaller file size – but a limited range of colours.

You make images on Photoshop and save it nicely in a specified folder. But due to some unforeseen conditions such as Computer bug, Virus Attacks or Application error you find that your Photoshop image files had got corrupted. Many users got worried by seeing the damaged Photoshop image files. But now you don’t need to be. To recover all the corrupted image files you should use the Photoshop PSD Repair. This Repair tool can efficiently recovers your entire ruined pictures and images. This is one of the advanced repair tool.

Due to any above said reason if your Photoshop images cannot be opened than use only Psd Repair Tool for recovering all the corrupt image files. This is the great software for recovering all kinds of PSD and PDD Files. This constitutes most advanced and modern repair technologies that permit you to transfer corrupt psd Files into readable ones with ease and comfort. The Psd Repair extracts as much data from all damaged image files as it is possible.

Features of Psd Repair

Recover Your PSD, PDD files from each version of Adobe Photoshop. Recovers Images as well as Separate Layers. Images with color mode bitmap, grayscale, indexed, RGB, CMYK, mutlichannel, duotone, lab are easily recovered. Recover PSD, PDD files from all corrupted Media as Floppy, CD, and Zip Drives etc. Uncompressed and RLE Compressed images are recovered. Easily scans corrupted or deleted PSD PDD files on your computer. Batch of Photoshop Image files are easily recovered. Support integration with Windows Explorer, so you can repair a Photoshop image file with the context menu of Windows Explorer easily. Supports Command line parameters. Easily Drag and Drop Facility.

The Photoshop repair Tool is one of the best recovery software for recovering all your images. This recovers all data in less time, for the purpose of minimizing the corruption. So Download the Psd Repair Software. It has been recommended by many users to each and every one for giving their images a better look.

As an aspiring digital photographer, I’ve always enjoyed uploading my photos to my computer and playing around with them in photo editing software. I’ve found that I can make my good photos even better, and often times I can salvage a boring, hum-drum photo into something that’s really worthwhile. There are a lot of different photo editing software suites out there, from the ultra-basic programs bundled with Microsoft Windows to professional-level software programs running hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Though there are a lot of options, Adobe Photoshop software has become the standard for many photographers, both amateur and professional, for good reason.

Though it’s sometimes tough to keep track of all of the different versions of Adobe Photoshop software (there have been more than ten), all of them share some of the same characteristics. This is especially true after Photoshop 7, since most later generations of the software have focused mainly on fine-tuning the software suite without introducing any major, earth-shattering changes. One of the key aspects of Adobe Photoshop software is that Photoshop makes it quick and easy to take care of most of the common tasks people want their photo editing software to do. Cropping a photo takes a couple seconds, as does adjusting the light levels, brightness, or contrast within a photo. Even my parents, who describe themselves as being inept with computer software on the whole, manage to crop and adjust their photos quickly and easily. They’re also fond of the different filters or effects Photoshop can apply to photos, from lithograph effects to embossing to solarization, almost any visual effect is only a couple clicks away.

Though many other photo editing programs make simple photo manipulation easy, what really sets Adobe Photoshop software apart from other photo editing programs is the ease of using its more advanced features. Selective color allows the user to home in on one particular color range, be it blues, greens, yellows, etc., and adjust its relative intensity. Editing levels, saturation, and even color curves is also a snap, and Photoshop renders the colors of photos so well it’s often nearly impossible to tell that the photo has been altered when comparing shots before and after editing, aside from the fact that the “after” photo is usually sharper, better balanced, and more colorful.

Though Adobe Photoshop software is usually expensive, especially for the most recent version, past versions of the software can usually be tracked down for a reasonable price. Whatever it costs, Photoshop’s cost can be easily justified when looking at the great photos it eventually produces.

Now here I will talk about some of ways you could make money on the internet using Photoshop, and why Photoshop you may ask? Well for me its Photoshop, for you it may be another software or subject you thing you have an advantage in, Adobe Photoshop was just a thing I thought I had a talent for.

So for you, if you don’t know anything about Photoshop then drop it, find another niche and do as it did, I wrote a list of ways to make a living on the internet with the use of my skills.

The first and most obvious way to make money with Photoshop for me was to get some freelance jobs making graphics and sell them. Now how do you find freelance jobs? Well there are a lot of forums on the internet where firms and people request for help and post job offers, you could be lucky to get some great deals like making a piece of graphic in about an hour and get 50$ other times you may settle for a lower pay. The most important thing is to have some stuff online you can show potential customers, something that would impress them.

You could also try participating in some of all those contests floating around the internet. Yes I know this would never be a stable income, but it could be a good bonus, as you may be a very good artist there may be a good change of you winning some good prizes.

Make a Photoshop blog. This is very popular right now, write news, graphics, or tutorials in your blog and get some traffic to your site, then put in some ads and you could make some money this way. I must say I have heard this is very hard to make the big money from, because it demands a whole lot of work, not only in Photoshop, but also promotion you site.

Now you could also sell your graphic at several image stock websites. I did this for a while, this way are not that popular or have not been enlightened enough yet, but you could make some decent money posting and selling your artwork in those websites.

Just make a search on Google for image stock site.

Remember I did not say it was easy to make money using Adobe Photoshop on the internet, but if you like it and love spending time in Photoshop, this might be worth a thought or two.

Also keep in mind there is a lot of competition out there, a lot of very good graphic artists to compete against, but if you keep trying and you have a talent for it then you may have a change, but I would recommend you not quit your day job before you have tried it to see if you could success.