Photoshop key points

1. PHOTOSHOP Key Points
[Bridge]
Use the [camera raw] plugin in Bridge (or in Photoshop Filters) to fix or straithen an image before using
it in Photoshop.
[To open many images in one photoshop session]
in <Bridge>, select all the photos you want to open and go "Tools>Photoshop>Load Files into Photoshop
Layers"
Or open each and drag and drop them from one tab to another
[Drag and drop photos]
Press shift when moving images from a tab to another tab to let Photoshop drop it in the center.
Shift+drag (from tab1 to tab3) and drop
[Open as Smart Object]
If we open camera raw and press Shift in Bridge, the “open image” button turns into “open object”
button. It will open the photo as a smart object in Photoshop. So if we then go to smart object content,
we can change and distort without changing the full resolution of the original photo. We are just like
adding adjustment layers on top.
[Must know]
Convert raw files to DNG (digital negative graphics)
Use Adobe RGB for better resolution and print projects
Use sRGB for internet projects.
Vibrance is a subtle saturation.
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B for brush tool
D assign paint brush to black and white
X reverse black and white to white back
Ctrl+Opt+drag up/down or left/right (to scale and make the brush go hard or soft)

2. [Crop]
c will crop,
h will hide/show the deleted area
Moving handles outside the photo creates a background, if we Uncheck "delete dropped pixels";
transparency will be added to the photo.
Shift+move (move photo in flat canvas)
[Straighten image]
Crop or Ruler can do it
Click and drag horizontally a line
Perspective crop:
Example: photo of windows and walls: click and drag a crop marquee and redefine the extremes of the
window in the picture as guide... then stretch the whole marquee to the area you want to fix.
We can use the [camera raw] and press the perspective button at the top and set it as auto or by guiding
it. Check the guiding button and select 2 horizontal and 2 vertical lines in the photo to straighten it.
[Content aware]
When straightening an image with the cropping tool, you can delete extremes of the picture or check
the "content aware" which let photoshop fill in all that missing areas that were created as we rotated
the image.
[content aware fill]
You can press L for lasso, select an area you wanna correct and go "image>fill" and set it to "content
aware" and press okay.
[content aware scale]
You can even skew or (scale vertically) an image with content aware while keeping the objects with
higher frequency in the image respectively intact. (Edit>Content aware and scale image) check the
“amount scale” slider to see the before and after.
If you still want to do it while preserving one object A (approx 100% intact), select the object A with a
lasso and save the selection by going Select>Save Selection (it will save it as an alpha1). Deselect and
select Alpha1 in “Protect” (in the upper menu). Now Scale the image and object A will be saved for any
distortion.

3. [Scaling an image]
Hold Shift key to maintain the aspect ratio
Hold Opt/Ctrl key to scale it from the center
[Smart Object]
[edit content]
Select for example 2 layers (logo and bg) and convert them to smart object and Wrap it on a bottle
image. You can now change the logo in that smart object by going to “Layer>Smart object>Edit
Content”, change the logo, and save to document.
[Open as smart object]
In Photoshop, go File>Place Embedded to open a file directly as a smart object.
[Copies of smart object]
Copy pasting smart object that have the same photo: if we change the photo in one, all others would
change as well.
Use “New smart object via copy” to insure every smart object has different photos. Go “Layers>Smart
Objects>New smart object via Copy”.
[smart filters]
Smart Filters is adding Filters to a Smart Object - Even when using Filters on photos, it is better to them
on a Smart Object containing the photo. This way, no change will affect the original photo after we save
the session – so use Smart Filters to add filters to Smart Objects.
[Vanishing Points]
Tracking surface perspective. Example putting an illustration (photo1) on a wall (photo2)
1. Copy illustration
2. Go to second picture (with the house walls)
3. Create New layer
4. Go “Filter>vanishing point”
5. The Vertical plane: Estimate the perspective by drawing a perspective marquee.
6. The Perpendicular plane: Press cmd/ctrl while extending the marqee. You need to fix the upper
or lower extreme for a clean perspective.
7. Paste the illustration and make it smaller into the vanishing points.
8. The illustration stretches out along the walls
9. Change layer blending mode (example to Linear light)
10. Delete excess details

4. [Mask Layers]
To blend photos for example Lo L1 L2 (Lo bottom, L2 at the top)
Press mask layer on L1 and draw what you wanna see, what you want visible in the photo (white to
show grey to show 50% and black to hide)
Press Options + mask layer on L2 and draw what you wanna hide
Remember: white shows, black hides.
Option+click on mask layer to see the mask
Cmd/ctrl+click on mask layer to load as selection (We can invert the selection to mask or change the
color of the background fast)
[Histogram]
To see the areas being affected by the sliding triangles, press Options + dragging.
[Levels]
To use the non destructive auto levels, Add adjustment layer and choose levels - there is the auto level.
You can even check the hidden enhancement options by clicking Option+click the auto levels. You can
set any of the enhancements as default to always use when pressing auto levels.
[clipping mask]
Making the adjustment layer affect only the layer beneath we press: ctrl+alt+g or layer>make clipping
mask
[color conversations]
In any of the Hue, Selective Color, or Black and White adjustments, you can select and drag left or right
the color on the image to add or remove saturation.