Adobe Photoshop CS6 Tutorial. Self-Paced and Easy to Follow

Explore the essentials of Photoshop, including sixty five new features and a top ten highlight, then examine the Mac–Windows connection, resolution, and bit depth.

Discover ten defining features of Photoshop CS6, including oil paint, content aware patch and move tools, the magic wand sampling option, and auto curves and levels.

Explore Photoshop CS6 interface improvements that consolidate adjustments and masks in the properties panel. Try auto brightness and contrast, and discover iris blur, perspective crop, and character and paragraph styles.

Explore photoshop cs6 interface changes, including essentials workspace, the option to switch to the traditional toolbar, and bringing systems together to reduce complexity and boost creativity.

Explore how Mac and Windows key mappings align in Photoshop CS6, with no difference across systems. See how the control, command, and option keys map to shortcuts to streamline tasks.

Learn why Photoshop is resolution dependent, how pixels shape image quality, and how it contrasts with Illustrator’s resolution independence, with 72–96 for screen and 300 for print.

Explore color depth in Photoshop, comparing 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit channels, and explain how bit depth affects color range, HDR possibilities, and color correction latitude.

Explore Photoshop CS6 fundamentals by configuring preferences, color settings and color sync management, mastering menus, shortcuts, panels, workspaces, screen modes, and the configurator to build custom panels.

Discover essential photoshop preferences that boost workflow and efficiency, from general settings and auto update to performance options like scratch disks, RAM, and graphics processor.

Set up color settings upfront in Photoshop and related apps to maintain color continuity from monitor to output. Use North American general purpose presets for web and pre-press.

Customize Adobe Photoshop CS6 menus by hiding unused items, color-coding frequent commands, and saving and loading personalized menu sets to streamline workflow and reduce on-screen clutter.

Learn how Photoshop shortcuts boost productivity and save about an hour per eight hours, then tailor a 12–14 key set and print a summary.

Organize Photoshop CS6 panels by rearranging essentials, moving layers, channels, and pads as a group, and using window to access, reset, or save customized workspaces.

Learn to create and customize user-generated workspaces in Photoshop CS6 by arranging panels, saving named layouts, adding shortcuts, and deleting unused setups to boost efficiency and creativity.

Enhance efficiency in Photoshop CS6 by mastering screen modes and the tab key to hide panels and switch tools, increasing focus and control with Shift+Tab to reveal tools.

Assemble and customize your own panels in Photoshop cs6 using the configurator, arranging frequent filters and tools, exporting and saving panels for quick access.

Explore how to open single or multiple images in Adobe Photoshop, manage file information in Bridge, save metadata as SMP, and use the navigation panel to control your document view.

Master several methods to open images in Photoshop CS6, including from desktop or folder, right-click open with Photoshop, file open, the application frame, and using Bridge or mini bridge.

Learn to open multiple images in Photoshop CS6 by dragging selections, using open with Photoshop, and using control and shift keys to select noncontiguous or contiguous files, plus Bridge options.

Learn how to read and enter file information in Photoshop, including IPTC metadata, GPS provenance, and history, to carry descriptive data with images and streamline workflow.

Learn to view and arrange multiple images in Photoshop CS6 with window and arrange options, tiling choices, and the ability to match zoom across tabs.

Explore changing image views with the zoom tool, including animated and scrub zoom, scroll wheel, center focus, and preferences like actual pixels and zoom all windows.

Explore the Photoshop CS6 navigator panel to control image zoom and panning without the zoom tool, using keyboard increments, the red box feature, and panel options.

Discover how to organize large image libraries with Bridge, from setting up workspaces and using thumbnails to manage favorites, folder sets, labels, ratings, and metadata across multiple images.

Explore how Adobe Bridge organizes your images with favorites, folders, filters, and collections, and learn to manage metadata, keywords, and exports to Flickr and Facebook.

Learn to customize Adobe Bridge workspaces by rearranging panels, choosing filmstrip or light table previews, moving metadata and preview areas, and saving a personalized workspace.

Explore how to tailor Bridge thumbnails for quick image decisions by adjusting size, sort order, and metadata visibility, and customize which thumbnail details appear in preferences.

Access favorites from the computer to quickly locate image folders for Photoshop CS6 projects. Enable favorites in preferences and drag folders into favorites for instant access.

Organize thumbnails in Photoshop CS6 by applying labels and star ratings, perform non-destructive rotation, and manage metadata in the SMP file with shortcuts 1-5 for ratings and 6-9 for labels.

Explore organizing photos in Photoshop CS6 using keywords and collections, filter by orientation and location, apply keywords like Amtrak and Chicago, and create smart and review mode collections.

Discover how to manage images in Photoshop CS6 using Bridge: move or copy files, batch rename with a sequence, search by name, preserve metadata, and undo deletions.

Tag large image sets with places keywords and apply a metadata template across multiple images in Photoshop and Bridge. Use append or replace to update metadata for easy searching.

Discover how to work with raw images in Photoshop, set raw preferences, sharpen, remove noise, sync edits across files, and save or transfer images into Photoshop for final editing.

Configure bridge's camera raw preferences to manage raw data, sidecar files, and previews, then apply sharpening and auto tone for consistent edits.

Explore the raw interface and camera raw workspace, mastering essential adjustments from white balance to curves, sharpening, and noise reduction. Practice nondestructive editing with presets, snapshots, and smart objects.

Learn basic image correction in the raw plug-in, adjusting color temperature, exposure, and contrast. Use the histogram, highlights and shadows, saturation and vibrance controls, and nondestructive snapshots to compare edits.

Sharpen images by adjusting amount, radius, detail, and masking in Photoshop after opening a JPEG in camera raw to reduce edge softness and improve focus.

Learn to remove image noise in Photoshop CS6 using the raw plug in, focusing on luminance noise reduction in the detail panel to smooth large areas in night photographs.

Open multiple images, select them, and synchronize white balance across all using neutral gray reference and eyedropper, or create and apply a custom white balance preset.

Move images from raw to Photoshop, compare 16-bit and 8-bit workflows, adjust in raw, then open as a copy to apply filter gallery effects like distort and pixelate.

Save raw images with the save image option, choosing location and naming. The DNG format provides future-proof raw preservation while enabling backward compatibility with the camera raw plugin.

Master selective image adjustments in Photoshop CS6 by using graduated filters and brush masking to target exposure in specific areas, with gradient control, feathering, and masks.

Explore how to use the raw plug-in's split toning to adjust hue and saturation for highlights and shadows, creating a cooler, sunset-like look.

Learn to age a photo in camera raw by sharpening with a mask, viewing in grayscale to see the effect, and adding grain, vignette, and subtle exposure tweaks.

This chapter covers color in Photoshop CS6, color sync, spider-based monitor calibration, and a color-friendly workspace. It also covers color balance, removing color casts, fading, tinting, and saturation.

Learn to set up color precision across Photoshop and the creative suite by configuring color settings, choosing Adobe RGB 1998, enabling perceptual intent, and synchronizing across Bridge, Illustrator, and InDesign.

Calibrate your monitor with a Spyder color calibrator to produce a calibrated profile for consistent print results in Photoshop cs6.

Calibrate and stabilize your color workflow by warming up the monitor, controlling lighting, and using neutral backgrounds to improve color correction; learn Mac and Windows steps to set neutral backgrounds.

Master practical color correction in Photoshop CS6 using the color balance adjustment to reduce blue and add green, with a before and after view to compare results.

Learn two quick methods to fix a yellow color cast in an image using color balance and levels, including how to use the neutral mid-tone eyedropper for color correction.

Explore saturation adjustments in Photoshop CS6 and compare destructive edits with adjustment layers on separate layers, using opacity and the properties panel to fade while preserving the original image.

Learn how to apply tints to a Photoshop image using several methods: black and white adjustments with colorize, hue/saturation, color fill layers with blending modes, and photo filter controls.

Apply hue and saturation adjustments to target specific colors, using color masks and eyedroppers to selectively change reds in the flowers while preserving other areas.

Master the layers panel in Adobe Photoshop CS6, learn to create layer groups, manage background versus layers, stack, copy, delete, merge, and craft a layer-based vignette.

Master the layers panel in Photoshop, explore the essentials workspace, use search to find layers, apply masks, and manage blending modes and opacity.

Align image layers by treating each object as its own layer, renaming layers, and using alignment and distribution tools, with shortcuts like control-click and auto select.

Learn to organize complex Photoshop CS6 projects by creating layer groups, moving and collapsing grouped layers, and applying group blending modes and opacity.

Understand the difference between backgrounds and layers in Photoshop, including why a background cannot support transparency and how to convert it into a layer.

Master Photoshop's layer stacking order, rearranging layers with drag or command bracket keys, copy with Alt or Command-J, and delete via the trash.

Learn to merge Photoshop layers to reduce complexity, using merge layers, merge down, or merge visible with Alt, while understanding name changes and text-layer limitations.

Design a traditional, non-destructive, layer-based vignette in photoshop cs6 by creating a new layer, an oval selection, inverse fill, blur, and optional color matching with the eyedropper.

Explore chapter 9 intro of Photoshop CS6, learn how blending modes merge two images, and master normal, dissolve, dark, light, contrast, invert, and tonal modes, plus brushes blending mode usage.

Discover blending modes in Photoshop CS6, using a blend color over a base color to create a result. Learn multiply and screen for additive and subtractive color effects and transparency.

Explore the normal and dissolve blending modes, how they work in dark and light groups, and how opacity, outer glow, and gazi and blur affect pixels.

Explore the difference between opacity and fill in Photoshop CS6, how each controls transparency and how fill preserves layer effects like bevel and emboss and outer glow.

Explore darken blending modes in Photoshop cs6, comparing darken, multiply, color burn, and linear burn on a base with gradients and colors to produce varied results.

Master the lighten blending modes in Photoshop CS6 to brighten images using lighten, screen, linear dodge, and lighter color. Duplicate layers and adjust screen to control overall lightness.

Explore contrast blending modes in Photoshop CS6, including overlay, soft light, hard light, vivid light, linear light, pin light, and hard mix, with practical hands-on blending demonstrations.

This lecture covers the invert and tonal blending modes in Photoshop CS6, explaining difference, exclusion, subtract, divide, and tonal options like saturation and luminosity through hands-on examples.

Experiment with blending modes on brush tools to see how normal, behind, and clear affect painting on a single layer, including behind’s handling of transparent areas and clear’s eraser-like behavior.

Explore non destructive editing in Photoshop using adjustment layers, layer masks, and gradients to apply precise adjustments, share edits across images, and leverage layer maps for controlled results.

Learn how to use adjustment layers in Photoshop CS6 to perform nondestructive edits, including saturation adjustments, color blends with solid color or sepia, via layers and properties panels.

Learn how to adjust exposure in Photoshop CS6 using adjustment layers, with tools like levels, curves, offset, and gamma, while working nondestructively and understanding 8-bit vs 16-bit images.

Learn to use adjustment layers with clipping groups to edit sky and land separately in a Photoshop cs6 document, controlling vibrance and saturation for each layer.

Apply adjustment layers with masks to isolate sky or buildings and adjust them without splitting the image, using quick selection and mask inversion to target specific areas.

Learn to share black-and-white adjustments between images by selecting two images and dragging the adjustment to create an exact replica, or save the adjustment as a preset.

Apply adjustment layers with masks and gradients to control image edits precisely. Use the gradient tool with black and white grayscale masks, adjust vibrance and saturation, and reveal selective effects.