Adobe Photoshop for Photographers

Explore converting film photos to Photoshop by using scanners to capture continuous-tone images, convert to grayscale, and optimize print quality without exceeding a scanner's optical resolution.

Master scanning terminology and how pixels per inch, color spaces, and bit depth shape image quality. Apply these concepts in Photoshop and optimize 8-bit versus 16-bit workflows for print.

Explore how to exceed a scanner's optical resolution by adjusting scanner settings or using Photoshop interpolation, compare results, and decide which method yields sharper upscaled images.

Start with a full color image from your scanner, then convert to grayscale in Photoshop to achieve retro looks, since scanning to grayscale can discard detail.

Use a 10-step gray wedge to restore the image exactly as scanned, avoiding color correction and matching density with white and black point eyedroppers in Photoshop.

Select saving formats with print in mind, prioritizing TIFF or PSD for quality and layers, avoid JPEG for scans destined for print, and consider EPS for high-end service bureaus.

Organize thousands of photographs with Adobe Bridge by adding keywords and metadata, enabling fast search and a powerful, file-cabinet style archive.

Organize your photo library with a consistent folder structure and descriptive date-based names using year-month-day to keep files easy to locate and alphabetically sortable.

Organize your photography workflow with Adobe Bridge favorites to quickly access essential folders, drag and drop items to customize the favorites pane, and open files in Photoshop.

Use Bridge to organize photos with collections and smart collections, set favorites, and filter by camera model, file type, and bit depth.

Discover how to access photographs quickly with mini bridge in Photoshop, double click to open from the essentials workspace, preview larger images, and launch them directly into Photoshop.

Learn how metadata travels with digital images in photoshop bridge, revealing f-stop, shutter speed, iso, dimensions, resolution, and color space, and contrast it with scanned photos lacking capture data.

Learn to create jewel case contact sheets in Photoshop, using Bridge or Photoshop CS5 Automate, with 4x4 grids, 150 dpi, file name captions, and templates.

Calibrate your monitor and establish a color workflow to ensure what you see in Photoshop matches the camera capture, with monthly profile updates for accurate color reproduction.

Calibrate your monitor and set color settings to ensure true color, then resize images for quality in your digital darkroom.

Set up photographic color profiles and convert images to the working space to see how color management affects output, comparing no-profile and profile-converted results and print device decisions.

Explore image interpolation in Photoshop, resizing for web or print, and how turning off resample preserves pixel data; save as Photoshop or TIFF to preserve originals.

Calibrate your monitor with a spider device to achieve consistent color in Photoshop, ensuring gamma 2.2, white point 6500 K, and rgb color space for true on-screen results.

Master bit depth and color for richer images, learn the correct way to resize digital photos, measure and straighten with tools, and choose the right file formats for Photoshop.

Discover how bit depth and color channels work in Photoshop, from 8-bit RGB with 256 values per channel to 16-bit with 65,536, and why color correction benefits from 16-bit work.

Apply the 110 percent rule in Photoshop to upsize images by 10 percent with bicubic enlargement, and automate the process with an action for consistent, print-quality results.

Explore why shooting in raw preserves image information and lets you control the final look, using raw workflows and plug-ins to manipulate the image toward the perfect photograph.

Discover how raw images preserve detail by bypassing camera processing, compare raw to tiff and jpeg, and use the Adobe raw plugin or the DNG converter for universal 16-bit support.

Move a raw Nikon image from Bridge into Camera Raw, then open it in Photoshop to begin edits. Set 16-bit Adobe RGB 1998 workflow and save as needed.

Explore camera raw basic operations to adjust white balance and temperature, exposure, and recovery, using histogram, clipping indicators, fill light, and shadow detail while preserving color space and camera-specific defaults.

Learn initial color correction in camera raw using color temperature adjustments, white target selection with an eyedropper, exposure refinements, and selective brushes, then refine with spot healing in Photoshop.

Convert an image in camera raw to greyscale and adjust exposure and contrast. Add grain and a subtle vignette to mimic a 1940s film age, tweaking reds, yellows, and greens.

Learn to manipulate multiple images quickly by using Bridge to synchronize white balance and exposure, create presets, and automate corrections before opening in Photoshop.

Learn to fix common photographic mistakes in Photoshop, from removing red-eye and avoiding onboard flash to precise image straightening, customized print sizes, and fill flash techniques.

Create customized photo sizes in Photoshop using presets, such as four by four inches at 300 dpi, RGB 8 bit, square pixel aspect ratio, and save printer-specific presets for reuse.

Open the work folder via bridge, use the crop tool to set an eight-by-ten frame and the rule of thirds, then set resolution to 300 for print-ready output.

Master two methods to straighten tilted images in Photoshop: align with rulers and free transform, or use the ruler/measure tool and arbitrary rotation, then crop to remove blank areas.

Photographers learn to correct glare from a flash by using gradient masks on adjustment layers, levels, and radial gradients to selectively darken highlights while preserving details.

Learn to add fill flash in Photoshop by making precise alpha selections, duplicating layers, and using screen and multiply blending modes to brighten the foreground and subtly darken the background.

Learn to fix red eye in Photoshop using the red-eye tool, adjust pupil size and darken amount, with quick two-click corrections, noting flash causes red-eye and off-camera flash helps.

Learn to create natural selections in Photoshop to make precise color changes to items like ties, shirts, hair, and eyes, using refining edge and channel selection techniques.

Master selection in photoshop using the magic wand to isolate skies and other elements, tuning tolerance and edge with gaussian blur via masks and adjustment layers to create believable composites.

Learn to use the quick selection tool to extract skies, refine with add/remove brushes, apply gaussian blur, and create alpha channel masks to blend layers.

Learn to use the magnetic lasso for precise edge selections around objects. Explore options like anti-aliasing, edge softness, contrast thresholds, and smart filters with nondestructive edits via adjustment layers.

Learn to use refine edge to make realistic selections, compare quick selection, magic wand, and lasso tools, and apply color adjustments with layer masks for believability.

Discover how to use the pen tool to create precise mathematical selections and work paths in Photoshop, turning them into masks and adjusting light with levels.

Learn to create precise selections in Photoshop using channels, contrast adjustments, and threshold, then refine edges with smart radius and decontaminate colors to place a model onto a new backdrop.

Explore color correction in Photoshop, convert raw images to DNG, create color masks, and batch process with droplets for efficient, consistent color across photos.

Convert raw images to the digital negative (DNG) format to improve workflow compatibility across Photoshop and other applications, using the Adobe Digital Negative Converter for batch processing.

Fix color problems in photos by applying a levels adjustment on an adjustment layer, tweak red and green sliders to match histograms, then copy the layer across many images.

Apply a color correction workflow in Photoshop by using curves to create an S-curve, record an action, and turn it into a droplet for batch processing of many photos.

Balance colors in photos by using levels with the gray point dropper to neutralize gray tones. Edit nondestructively and apply a neutral area for a one-click color temperature correction.

Use a math-based color correction method in Photoshop, selecting a light area with the eyedropper, averaging RGB values, and adjusting levels to balance white and gray for accurate color.

Learn to match color between photographs using the match color tool in Photoshop, selecting a source image and adjusting luminance and fade to align flesh tones and overall tones.

Explore how photography isn’t an exact science and learn to remove unwanted elements—such as acne blemishes—to enhance your images.

Remove unwanted information from photos using a clone stamp on a new layer and, alternatively, content aware fill to seamlessly blend the background.

Learn how to remove photographic blemishes in Photoshop using the clone tool, healing brush, and spot healing brush across new layers for non-destructive editing.

Use the patch tool in Photoshop to reduce dark circles under eyes through a two-step workflow: patch with flesh tone, then refine on a new layer with the history brush.

Punch up contrast in photographs using Photoshop curves on an adjustment layer, shaping midtones, highlights, and shadows with control points for a punchier image.