Table of Contents

Introduction 1


About This Book 1


Icons Used in This Book 3


Beyond the Book 4


Where to Go from Here 4


Part 1: Getting Started with Photoshop Elements 2018 5


Chapter 1: Getting Started with Image Editing 7


Before You Begin 7


Launching the Photo Editor 10


Making Basic Edits in Quick Mode 12


Sharing a Photo 14


Retracing Your Steps 16


Using the History panel 16


Reverting to the last save 17


Getting a Helping Hand 17


Saving Files with Purpose 19


Using the Save/Save As dialog box 20


Saving files for the web 21


Chapter 2: Basic Image-Editing Concepts 23


Grappling with the Ubiquitous Pixels 24


Understanding resolution 24


Understanding image dimensions 27


The Art of Resampling 27


Changing image size and resolution 27


Understanding the results of resampling 29


Choosing a Resolution for Print or Onscreen 30


Go Ahead — Make My Mode! 31


Converting to Bitmap mode 32


Converting to Grayscale mode 34


Understanding File Formats 37


File formats at a glance 41


Audio and video formats supported in Elements 42


Getting Familiar with Color 43


Getting Color Right 44


Color the easy way 45


Calibrating your monitor 45


Choosing a color workspace 46


Understanding how profiles work 47


Chapter 3: Exploring the Photo Editor 49


Examining the Photo Editor 49


Examining the image window 53


Uncovering the contextual menus 56


Selecting the tools 57


Selecting from the Tool Options 58


Playing with panels 60


Using the Photo Bin 63


Creating different views of an image 63


Viewing filenames 64


Using Photo Bin Actions 64


Finding Your Bearings in Guided Mode 65


Controlling the Editing Environment 67


Launching and navigating preferences 67


Checking out all the preferences panes 68


Part 2: Managing Media 73


Chapter 4: Navigating the Organizer 75


Organizing Photos and Media on a Hard Drive 76


Adding Images to the Organizer 77


Adding files from folders and removable media 77


Downloading camera images with the Elements Downloader 79


Importing additional photos from folders 81


Navigating the Media Browser 82


Using a Scanner 83


Understanding image requirements 83


Using scanner plug-ins (Windows) 84


Scanning on the Mac 86


Scanning many photos at a time 86


Phoning in Your Images 87


Setting Organizer Preferences 89


Chapter 5: Organizing Your Pictures 91


Touring the Organizer 91


Organizing Groups of Images with Tags 95


Creating and viewing a tag 95


Adding icons to tags 97


Working with custom tags 98


Working with default tags 99


Working with subcategories 100


Sorting photos according to tags 101


Auto Curating Images 102


Rating Images with Stars 102


Adding Images to an Album 103


Creating an album 103


Using albums for temporary work 105


Editing an album 105


Finding out more about sharing your albums 106


Adding People in the Media Browser 106


Placing Pictures on Maps 108


Working with Events 110


Chapter 6: Viewing and Finding Your Images 113


Cataloging Files 113


Using the Catalog Manager 114


Working with catalogs 115


Backing up your catalog 116


Backing up photos and files (Windows) 117


Switching to a Different View 118


Viewing Photos in Memories (Slideshow) 119


Searching for Photos 121


Using Search 121


Searching for untagged items 123


Searching captions and notes 123


Searching by history 124


Searching metadata 124


Searching similarities 125


Grouping Files That Get in the Way 127


Marking files as hidden 127


Stacking ‘em up 127


Creating versions 129


Part 3: Selecting and Correcting Photos 131


Chapter 7: Making and Modifying Selections 133


Defining Selections 133


Creating Rectangular and Elliptical Selections 134


Perfecting squares and circles with Shift and Alt (Option on the Mac) 136


Applying Marquee options 136


Making Freeform Selections with the Lasso Tools 138


Selecting with the Lasso tool 139


Getting straight with the Polygonal Lasso tool 141


Snapping with the Magnetic Lasso tool 141


Working Wizardry with the Magic Wand 144


Talking about Tolerance 144


Wielding the Wand to select 145


Modifying Your Selections 147


Adding to, subtracting from, and intersecting a selection 147


Avoiding key collisions 148


Painting with the Selection Brush 149


Painting with the Quick Selection Tool 151


Selecting with the Smart Selection Tool 153


Fine-Tuning with the Refine Selection Brush 154


Working with the Cookie Cutter Tool 156


Eliminating with the Eraser Tools 158


The Eraser tool 158


The Background Eraser tool 159


The Magic Eraser tool 161


Using the Select Menu 161


Selecting all or nothing 161


Reselecting a selection 162


Inversing a selection 162


Feathering a selection 162


Refining the edges of a selection 163


Using the Modify commands 164


Applying the Grow and Similar commands 165


Saving and loading selections 165


Chapter 8: Working with Layers 167


Getting to Know Layers 167


Converting a background to a layer 168


Anatomy of the Layers panel 169


Using the Layer and Select menus 173


Working with Different Layer Types 174


Image layers 174


Adjustment layers 175


Fill layers 177


Shape layers 178


Type layers 179


Tackling Layer Basics 179


Creating a new layer from scratch 179


Using Layer via Copy and Layer via Cut 180


Duplicating layers 181


Dragging and dropping layers 182


Using the Paste into Selection command 182


Moving a Layer’s Content 183


Transforming Layers 184


Adding Layer Masks 185


Flattening and Merging Layers 188


Flattening layers 188


Merging layers 189


Chapter 9: Simple Image Makeovers 191


Cropping and Straightening Images 191


Cutting away with the Crop tool 192


Fixing distortion with the Perspective Crop tool 194


Cropping with a selection border 196


Straightening images 196


Recomposing Images 197


Employing One-Step Auto Fixes 200


Auto Smart Tone 200


Auto Smart Fix 201


Auto Levels 202


Auto Contrast 202


Auto Haze Removal 203


Auto Color Correction 204


Auto Shake Reduction 204


Auto Sharpen 204


Auto Red Eye Fix 205


Editing in Quick Mode 207


Fixing Small Imperfections with Tools 210


Cloning with the Clone Stamp tool 210


Retouching with the Healing Brush 213


Zeroing in with the Spot Healing Brush 215


Repositioning with the Content-Aware Move tool 216


Lightening and darkening with Dodge and Burn tools 218


Smudging away rough spots 220


Softening with the Blur tool 221


Focusing with the Sharpen tool 222


Sponging color on and off 223


Replacing one color with another 225


Chapter 10: Correcting Contrast, Color, and Clarity 229


Editing Your Photos Using a Logical Workflow 230


Adjusting Lighting 231


Fixing lighting with Shadows/Highlights 231


Using Brightness/Contrast 232


Pinpointing proper contrast with Levels 233


Adjusting Color 235


Removing color casts automatically 236


Adjusting with Hue/Saturation 237


Eliminating color with Remove Color 239


Switching colors with Replace Color 240


Correcting with Color Curves 241


Adjusting skin tones 243


Defringing layers 245


Eliminating haze 246


Adjusting color temperature with photo filters 247


Mapping your colors 248


Adjusting Clarity 249


Removing noise, artifacts, dust, and scratches 249


Blurring when you need to 250


Sharpening for better focus 253


Opening closed eyes 256


Adjusting Facial Features 257


Reducing shake 258


Working Intelligently with the Smart Brush Tools 259


Part 4: Exploring Your Inner Artist 263


Chapter 11: Playing with Filters, Effects, Styles, and More 265


Having Fun with Filters 265


Applying filters 266


Corrective or destructive filters 267


One-step or multistep filters 267


Fading a filter 268


Selectively applying a filter 268


Working in the Filter Gallery 269


Distorting with the Liquify filter 271


Correcting Camera Distortion 273


Exploring Element’s Unique Filters 275


Creating a comic 275


Getting graphic 276


Using the Pen and Ink filter 278


Dressing Up with Photo and Text Effects 279


Adding Shadows, Glows, and More 281


Applying styles 281


Working with styles 283


Using the Graphics panel 284


Mixing It Up with Blend Modes 285


General blend modes 285


Darken blend modes 286


Lighten blend modes 287


Lighting blend modes 289


Inverter blend modes 289


HSL blend modes 291


Using Photomerge 292


Photomerge Panorama 292


Photomerge Group Shot 295


Photomerge Scene Cleaner 297


Photomerge Exposure 299


Photomerge Compose 301


Chapter 12: Drawing and Painting 305


Choosing Color 305


Working with the Color Picker 306


Dipping into the Color Swatches panel 307


Sampling with the Eyedropper tool 309


Getting Artsy with the Pencil and Brush Tools 310


Drawing with the Pencil tool 310


Painting with the Brush tool 312


Using the Impressionist Brush 314


Creating your own brush 315


Filling and Outlining Selections 317


Fill ’er up 317


Outlining with the Stroke command 318


Splashing on Color with the Paint Bucket Tool 319


Working with Multicolored Gradients 320


Applying a preset gradient 320


Customizing gradients 322


Working with Patterns 325


Applying a preset pattern 325


Creating a new pattern 326


Creating Shapes of All Sorts 327


Drawing a shape 328


Drawing multiple shapes 329


Specifying Geometry options 330


Editing shapes 331


Chapter 13: Working with Type 333


Understanding Type Basics 333


Tools 334


Modes 334


Formats 335


Creating Point Type 335


Creating Paragraph Type 337


Creating Path Type 338


Using the Text On Selection tool 338


Using the Text On Shape tool 339


Using the Text On Custom Path tool 341


Specifying Type Options 342


Editing Text 344


Simplifying Type 345


Masking with Type 346


Stylizing and Warping Type 349


Adjusting type opacity 349


Applying filters to your type 350


Painting your type with color and gradients 351


Warping your type 352


Part 5: Printing, Creating, and Sharing 353


Chapter 14: Getting It on Paper 355


Getting Pictures Ready for Printing 356


Working with Color Printer Profiles 357


Printing a photo with the printer managing color 358


Printing a photo with Elements managing color 363


Printing a picture package or contact sheet 366


Getting Familiar with the Print Dialog Box 367


Using Page Setup 369


Creating transfers, borders, and more with More Options 369


Chapter 15: Sharing Your Work 371


Getting Familiar with the Elements Sharing Options 371


Planning ahead 372


Understanding photo sharing in Elements 373


Using the Share Panel 374


Emailing photos 375


Working with Adobe Premiere Elements 377


Sharing your photos on social networks 377


Creating Facebook Cover Images 379


Chapter 16: Making Creations 383


Checking Out the Create Panel 383


Grasping Creation-Assembly Basics 384


Creating a Memories Video 388


Creating a PDF Slideshow 389


Making Additional Creations 390


Part 6: The Part of Tens 391


Chapter 17: Ten Tips for Composing Better Photos 393


Find a Focal Point 393


Use the Rule of Thirds 394


Cut the Clutter 394


Frame Your Shot 395


Employ Contrast 395


Experiment with Viewpoints 396


Use Leading Lines 396


Use Light 397


Give Direction 398


Consider Direction of Movement 399


Chapter 18: Ten (Or So) More Project Ideas 401


Screen Savers 402


Flyers, Ads, and Online Auctions 403


Clothes, Hats, and More 404


Posters 405


Household and Business Inventories 405


Project Documentation 406


School Reports and Projects 406


Blogs 406


Wait — There’s More 406


Index 407

About the Author

Barbara Obermeier is principal of Obermeier Design and a faculty member at California Lutheran University. Ted Padova has written more than 60 books on digital design tools including Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Illustrator, and Acrobat. Both are veteran professionals in graphic design.