Adobe Photoshop Elements 8: Arranging the image layers

In this first exercise, you’ll combine two images to act as a background to which you’ll add foreground figures later.

  1. In the Organizer, click the Find box next to the Lesson 10 keyword tag in the Keyword Tags palette.
  2. In the Photo Browser, Ctrl-click to select the images image_a.jpg and image_b.jpg: photos of a castle and an airplane. Click the Editor button at the top right corner of the Organizer window and choose Full Edit from the menu.
  3. In the Editor, choose Window > Images > Tile to see both image windows.
  4. Click the title bar of the image image_b.jpg—to make it the active window. Select the Move tool. Hold down the Shift key and drag onto the image image_a.jpg. Release the mouse button when you see a selection outline around the photo, and then release the Shift key.
  5. Close the image image_b.jpg (the one you just copied from).
  6. In the Layers palette, select Layer 1. Choose Image > Resize > Scale. In the tool options bar, make sure Constrain Proportions is selected, and then type 50% in the W (width) field. The image is scaled proportionally. Click the Commit button in the lower right corner of the bounding box.
  7. With the Move tool, drag the airplane on Layer 1 right into the upper right corner of the image. Drag the lower left handle of the bounding box to reduce the size of the image further.
  8. Release the mouse button, and then click the Commit button in the corner of the bounding box to accept the changes.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8: Removing unwanted intruders

The Photomerge Scene Cleaner helps you improve a photo by removing passing cars, tourists, and other unwanted elements. This feature works best when you have several shots of the same scene, and when the objects that you wish to remove were moving. In fact, when you’re sightseeing you should deliberately take a few extra shots of any busy scene so that later you can use the Photomerge Scene Cleaner to put together an unobstructed view.

Using the Scene Cleaner tool

In this first exercise, you’ll politely remove a tourist who walked into shot at just the wrong moment.

  1. In the Organizer, click the Find box next to the Lesson 10 keyword tag in the Keyword Tags palette. In the Photo Browser, Ctrl-click to select the images file_a.jpg and file_b.jpg. Click the Editor button at the top right corner of the Organizer window and choose Full Edit from the menu.
  2. In the Editor, Ctrl-click to select both photos in the Photo Bin, and then choose File > New > Photomerge Scene Cleaner. Wait while Photoshop Elements auto-aligns the photos.

    NOTE: You can use up to ten images in a single Scene Cleaner operation; the more images you use, the more chance that you’ll produce a perfect result.

  3. The first image in the Photo Bin, file_b.jpg (framed in blue), has been loaded as the Source image. Drag the image framed in yellow, file_a.jpg, into the Final pane. This is the image we will clean: the base image for your composite.
  4. Zoom in and use the Hand tool to position the images so that you can see the lower right corner. Scroll down in the Photomerge Scene Cleaner Guided Edit panel so that you can see the tools at the bottom.
  5. Select the Pencil tool in the Photomerge Scene Cleaner panel and drag a line through the man’s head in the foreground of the Final image.
  6. Move the pointer away from the image window and wait a moment while information is copied from the source photo to cover the unwanted area in the Final image.

    TIP: You can hold down the Shift key as you drag with the Pencil tool to constrain the movement to a straight line.

  7. Click the Fit Screen button above the edit window. You can see that the Source image has some information across the top and down the right hand side of the photo that is missing from the Final image. Make sure the Pencil tool is selected, and then drag a line through those areas in either image.
  8. Working with only two images, there’s not a lot more we can do. Click Done in the Photomerge Scene Cleaner panel, and then click the Fit Screen button above the edit window.
  9. You can see that there are small empty patches in both the top left corner and the bottom right corner of the photo. You can crop the image to remedy that. Choose Image > Crop and drag the corner handles of the cropping rectangle to maximize the image while avoiding the empty areas. When you’re satisfied, click the Commit button in the corner of the bounding box.
  10. Choose File > Save. Name the file your_file_Work and save it to your work folder, in Photoshop (PSD) format with the Layers option activated. Choose File > Close All and return to the Organizer.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8: Creating a composite group shot

Shooting the perfect group photo is a difficult task, especially if you have a large family of squirmy kids. Fortunately, Photoshop Elements offers a solution: a powerful photo blending tool called Photomerge Group Shot. The next exercise will show you how multiple photos can be blended together into one with amazing precision. Gone are those family photos where someone has their eyes closed, someone else has looked away at the wrong moment, and you-know-who has just made an even odder facial expression than usual. Photomerge Group Shot lets you merge the best parts of several images into the perfect group photo.

  1. If the Organizer is not currently active, switch to it now.
  2. In the Keyword Tags palette, click the Find box for the Lesson 10 keyword tag.
  3. In the Photo Browser, Ctrl-click to select the three pictures: file_a.psd, file_b.psd, and file_c.psd.

For the purposes of this exercise, we’ll use these three distinctly different source images to make it easier for you to learn the technique but you would usually use the Photomerge Group Shot feature to create a merged image from a series of very similar source images such as you might capture with your camera’s burst mode.

TIP: The Photo-merge Faces tool works similarly to the Photomerge Group Shot tool, except that it’s specialized for working with faces. You can have a lot of fun merging different faces into one. Try merging parts of a picture of your own face with one of your spouse to predict the possible appearance of future offspring. Choose File > New > Photomerge Faces, or click the Faces button in the Photomerge palette In Guided Edit mode to create your own Frankenface.

  1. Choose File > New > Photomerge Group Shot.

Photoshop Elements will load the Editor workspace and start the Photomerge Group Shot process.

  1. (Optional) If you want to work with photos not currently in the Organizer (or you want to avoid switching to the Organizer first), you can also open the photos directly in the Editor. Select the image thumbnails in the Project Bin, switch to Guided Edit mode, and select Group Shot under Photomerge.
  2. Photoshop Elements has automatically placed the first image (file_a.psd) as the source image. Drag the yellow framed image (file_b.psd) from the Project Bin and drop it into the Final image area on the right.
  3. Use the Zoom tool to zoom in on the image so you can see all of the girl in the Source image and at least part of the girl in the Final image. Use the Hand tool to reposition the view if necessary.
  4. In the Photomerge Group Shot panel, select the Pencil Tool.
  5. With the Pencil tool, draw one stroke from head to toe of the girl in the source image, as shown in the illustration below. When you release the pointer, Photoshop Elements will merge the girl from the Source image into the Final image—including her shadow on the stone! Seeing the magic of this tool in action will probably cause you some healthy mistrust whenever you come across an unlikely photo in the future. If necessary, use the Pencil tool to add additional image areas from the source. You can use the Eraser tool to delete a stroke—or parts of a stroke—drawn with the Pencil tool. The image copied to the Final image will be adjusted accordingly.

    NOTE: Sometimes it can be a little tricky to make the perfect selection—especially when you’re working with a more complex source image than our example. You may find you are copying more of the source image than you want. If you’ve switched several times between the Pencil and Eraser tools but you still can’t get the selection right, it’s better to undo the operation and start again. Try modifying the shape that you’re drawing with the Pencil tool and making shorter strokes.

  6. Double-click the green framed image (file_c.psd) in the Project Bin to make it the Source image. Use the Hand tool to move the Source image in its frame so you can see the girl, and then use the Pencil tool to add her to the Final image.
  7. To see which part of each of the three source images was used for the merged composition, first click the Fit Screen button above the edit pane so that you can see the entire image, and then activate the Show Regions option in the Photomerge Group Shot panel. The regions in the Final image are color coded.
  8. Click the Actual Pixels button above the edit pane, or zoom in even closer, and then use the Hand tool to position the image at a region boundary in the Final image. Toggle Show Regions off and on while you look for imperfections along the region boundaries in the merged image. If necessary, you can use the Pencil and Eraser tools to add to or subtract from the portions of the source images that are being merged to the Final image. When you are satisfied with the result, click Done in the Photomerge Group Shot panel.
  9. The merged image needs to be cropped slightly. In Full Edit mode, choose Image > Crop to place a cropping rectangle on the image. In Guided Edit mode, click Crop Photo in the Basic Photo Edits palette. In Full Edit mode, hold the Shift key as you drag the handles of the cropping rectangle to constrain the aspect ratio to that of the original photo. In Guided Edit mode, choose Use Photo Ratio from the Crop Box Size menu to maintain the original proportions. Click the Commit button at the bottom right of the cropping rectangle.

    NOTE: The menu command File > Close All is available only in the Full Edit mode. In the Quick Fix and Guided Edit modes you can close only one file at a time using the File > Close command.

  10. Choose File > Save and save the merged image to your My CIB Work folder as you_file_Work, in Photoshop (*.PSD,*PDD) format, making sure that the Layers option is activated. If you are not in Full Edit mode, switch to it now, and then choose File > Close All and return to the Organizer.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8: Creating a Photomerge Panorama interactively

The automatic layout options in the Photomerge dialog box usually do a good job, but if you need manual control over the way source images are combined to create a panorama, choose the Interactive Layout option in the Photomerge dialog box.

  1. With the files file_a.jpg and file_b.jpg still open in the Editor, choose File > New > Photomerge Panorama.
  2. Under Source Files in the Photomerge dialog box, select Files from the Use menu, and then click the Add Open Files button. Under Layout, select Interactive Layout, and then click OK.
  3. Wait while Photoshop Elements opens the interactive Photomerge dialog box.

    NOTE: If the composition can’t be assembled automatically, a message will appear on screen. You can assemble the panorama manually in the Photomerge dialog box by dragging photos from the photo bin into the work area, and arranging them as you wish.

  4. Explore the tools and controls in the Photomerge dialog box:
    • Use the Zoom tool or the Navigator controls to zoom in or out of the image. Drag the red rectangle in the Navigator to shift the view in the zoomed image.
    • Use the Select Image tool to select any of the photos in the work area. Drag with the pointer or use the arrow keys on the keyboard to reposition a selected image. To remove a photo from the composition, drag it from the work area into the light box strip above. To add an image to the composition, drag it from the light box into the work area.
    • Use the Rotate Image tool to rotate a selected photo.
    • Choose between the Reposition Only and Perspective settings.
    • With the Perspective option activated, you can click in the selected image with the Set Vanishing Point tool to set a new vanishing point—the reference around which the other images will be composed.
  5. When you’re satisfied with the result, click OK. The Photomerge dialog box closes, and Photoshop Elements 8 goes to work. You’ll see windows open and close as you wait for Photoshop Elements to create the panorama.
  6. If you like your new composition better than the one you created in the previous exercise, crop the image and save your work in the My CIB Work folder.
  7. Choose File > Close All to close all open windows. When asked whether you want to save your changes, click No.
  8. Switch back to the Organizer.

Vanishing Point

A vanishing point is the point at which receding parallel lines seem to meet when seen in perspective. For example, as a road stretches out ahead of you, it appears to grow narrower with distance, until it has almost no width at the horizon. This is the vanishing point.

You can change the perspective of the Photomerge Panorama composition by specifying the location of the vanishing point. Select Perspective under Settings in the Photomerge dialog box, and then click in the image with the Vanishing Point tool to reset the location of the vanishing point in reference to which the Photomerge Panorama will be composed.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8: Cropping the merged image

As the merged image has an irregular outline, you’ll use the Crop tool to create a uniform edge. The Crop tool removes those parts of an image that fall outside an adjustable cropping rectangle. Cropping can also be very useful for changing the visual focus of a photo. When you crop an image, the resolution remains unchanged.

  1. Choose View > Fit On Screen.
  2. Choose Image > Crop. A cropping rectangle appears on the image. Drag the handles of the cropping rectangle to make it as large as possible, being careful not to include any of the checkerboard areas where the image is transparent. When you’re happy with the result, click the Commit button in the lower right corner of the cropping rectangle.

    TIP: You could also select the Crop tool directly from the toolbox. In Quick Fix mode you can choose between the Image > Crop command or the Crop tool in the toolbox. In Guided Edit mode you’ll find a Crop Photo procedure in the Basic Photo Edits palette. In the Organizer, you can use the Crop button in the Fix pane.

  3. Choose File > Save and save the merged image to your folder as you_file_Work, in Photoshop (*.PSD,*PDD) format, making sure that the Layers option is activated. Saving your file in Photoshop format preserves the layers, so that you can always return to adjust them if necessary. If you save in JPEG format the layer information will be lost.

    Cropping ratio options

    Though you won’t need to do so for this exercise, you can set options for the Crop tool in the tool options bar.

    In the Aspect Ratio menu you can choose between several options. The option No Restriction lets you crop the image to any proportions. The option Use Photo Ratio retains the aspect ratio of the original photo. The menu also offers a range of preset sizes for your cropped photo, should you want your final output to fit a particular layout or a favorite picture frame.

    The Width and Height fields enable you to specify custom dimensions that are not available from the Aspect Ratio menu.

  4. Choose File > Close to close the file you_file_Work.psd, but keep the two source files, file_a.jpg and file_b.jpg, open in the Editor.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8: Merging photos into a panorama

How to create a panorama, having Photoshop Elements 8 do most of the work for you.

  1. If you’re not already in the Organizer, switch to it now.
  2. In the Keyword Tags palette, click the Find box next to the Lesson 10 keyword tag.
  3. Ctrl-click to select the two pictures in the Photo Browser.

    NOTE: If you don’t see the file names displayed below the thumbnails in the Photo Browser, choose View > Show File Names.

  4. Choose File > New > Photomerge Panorama.

Photoshop Elements will load the Editor workspace in Full Edit mode and open the Photomerge dialog box.

  1. Under Source Files in the Photomerge dialog box, select Files from the Use menu, and then click the Add Open Files button.

    NOTE: You can use more than two files to create a Photomerge Panorama composition.

  2. Under Layout, select Auto, and then click OK.

    TIP: Select Folder from the Use menu, and then click Browse to add all the photos from a specific folder on your hard disk. To remove photos from the selection, select them in the source file list, and then click Remove.

    Choosing a Photomerge layout option

    Auto Photoshop analyzes the source images and applies either a Perspective or Cylindrical layout, depending on which produces a better photomerge.

    Perspective Creates a consistent composition by designating one of the source images (by default, the middle image) as the reference image. The other images are then transformed (repositioned, stretched or skewed as necessary) so that overlapping content across layers is matched.

    Cylindrical Reduces the “bow-tie” distortion that can occur with the Perspective layout by displaying individual images as on an unfolded cylinder. Overlapping content across layers is still matched. The reference image is placed at the center. Best suited for creating wide panoramas.

    Reposition Only Aligns the layers and matches overlapping content, but does not transform (stretch or skew) any of the source layers.

    Interactive Layout Choose this option to open the source images in a dialog and position them manually for the best result (see “Creating a Photomerge Panorama interactively”).

    —From Photoshop Elements Help

  3. Wait while Photoshop Elements creates the panorama and opens it in a new image window.That’s really all there is to it! All that remains to crop the image and save your work. But first, let’s have a closer look at how good a job Photoshop Elements did of merging the two images. Depending on your source files, you might sometimes spot little problem areas, in which case you’d then need to try a different layout option to merge your photos.
  4. In the Layers panel, click the eye icon beside the top layer to hide it.In the edit window, you can now see which part of the image in the lower layer was used to create the panorama. The unused portion is hidden by a layer mask. You can see a black and white thumbnail of the layer mask in the Layers palette; black represents the masked area of the image and white represents the part of the image that has contributed to the panorama.
  5. Choose View > Actual Pixels, or zoom in even closer if you wish, and then use the Hand tool to move the image in the edit window so that you can inspect the edge of the layer mask. Click the eye icon for the top layer repeatedly to hide and reveal that layer while you look for irregularities along the edge between the two images. Look for pixels along the masked edge of one image that appear misaligned with pixels in the other. Use the Hand tool to inspect the entire edge of the mask.
  6. If your inspection does not reveal any problem areas, make the top layer visible and you’re ready to crop the picture and save it. If you do find problems in a merged panorama, close the file without saving it and repeat the procedure trying a different Photomerge layout option when you get to step 6. Later in this lesson, the section “Creating a Photomerge Panorama interactively” explains the interactive layout option, which gives you the most control over the way the panorama is put together.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8: Using the Straighten tool

With the Straighten tool you can manually specify a line in a tilted image that should be horizontal or vertical and Photoshop will straighten the image accordingly.

  1. In the toolbox, select the Straighten tool.
  2. For this image, the horizon is visible and can be used as a natural reference. With the Straighten tool, drag a line along the horizon from the top left to the right border.

    TIP: If you wish to straighten a photo relative to an element in the image that should be vertical—such as an architectural detail or perhaps a signpost—hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard as you drag with the Straighten tool. The image will be rotated so that your line is vertical.

  3. When you release the mouse button, Photoshop Elements straightens the image relative to the line you’ve just drawn.
  4. In the toolbox, select the Crop tool. Drag a cropping rectangle inside the image, which is now displayed at an angle, being careful not to include any of the gray area around the photo. When you’re satisfied with the crop, click the green Commit button in the lower right corner of the cropping rectangle.

    TIP: For some images, you may want to consider using the commands Image > Rotate > Straighten Image or Image > Rotate > Straighten and Crop Image, which perform straightening functions automatically.

  5. The straightened and cropped image is much more comfortable to look at than the tilted original. Choose File > Save As. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to your My CIB Work folder. Disable the Save in Version Set with Original option, choose JPEG from the Format menu, name the file you_file_Straight.jpg, and then click Save.
  6. Click OK in the JPEG Options dialog box to accept the default settings.
  7. Choose File > Close to close the file.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8: Fixing Blemishes

There are three main tools in Photoshop Elements for fixing flaws in your photos:

The Spot Healing Brush tool

The Spot Healing Brush is the easiest way to remove wrinkles in skin and other small imperfections in your photos. Either click once on a blemish or click and drag to smooth it away. By blending the information of the surrounding area into the problem spot, imperfections are made indistinguishable.

The Healing Brush tool

The Healing Brush can fix larger imperfections with ease. You can define one part of your photo as a source to be sampled and blended into another area. The Healing Brush is so flexible you can even remove large objects from a uniform background—such as a person in a wheat field.

The Clone Stamp tool

Rather than blending the source and target areas, the Clone Stamp tool paints directly with a sample of an image. You can use the Clone Stamp tool to remove or duplicate objects in your photo. This tool is great for getting rid of garbage, power lines, or a signpost that may be spoiling a view.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8: Removing red eye in the Organizer

The red eye effect is caused by the reflection of the camera’s flash from the subject’s retinas. You’ll see it more often when taking pictures in a darkened room, because the subject’s pupils are then wide open. You can have Photoshop Elements automatically fix red eyes as part of the import process.

For this exercise you’ll fix the problem without even leaving the Organizer. You can use a menu command to remove the red eye effect from one or more selected photos while viewing them in the Photo Browser.

  1. In the Organizer, click the Find box next to the Lesson 8 keyword tag.
  2. In the Photo Browser, click to select the file 08_02.jpg, a picture of a startled child staring straight into the camera. If you don’t see the filenames below the thumbnails in the Photo Browser, choose View > Show File Names.
  3. In the Fix panel of the Task pane, click the Auto Red Eye Fix button. If you prefer to use a menu command, choose Edit > Auto Red Eye Fix. Both commands trigger the same process.A progress window will appear displaying the progress of the red eye fix.

    When the fix is complete, the Auto Fix Red Eye dialog box may appear informing you that a version set was created. Version sets are identified by the version set icon in the upper right corner of the thumbnail. (See the illustration on the next page.)

  4. Click OK, to close the Auto Red Eye Fix Complete dialog box.
  5. If it’s not still selected, click to select the image 08_02.jpg in the Photo Browser. To view the results in the Editor, click the Editor button located near the top right corner of the Organizer window and choose Full Edit from the menu. Alternatively, click the Full Edit button in the Fix panel of the Task pane.
  6. In the Editor, click the Zoom tool in the toolbox. Select the Zoom In mode for the tool in the tool options bar, and then click the photo to view the results of the Auto Fix Red Eye fix. The red has been removed from the child’s eyes.
  7. Choose File > Close to close the file and return to the Organizer.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8: Refining the healing brush results

In this next exercise, you’ll use layer opacity and another texture tool to finish your work on this image.

  1. Use the Navigator palette (Window > Navigator) to zoom in to the area of the woman’s face around the eyes and mouth.Extensive retouching can leave skin looking artificially smooth, like molded plastic. Reducing the opacity of the retouched layer gives the skin a more realistic look by allowing some of the wrinkles on the original Background layer to show through.
  2. In the Layers palette, change the Opacity of the layer Background copy 2 to about 60%, using your own judgment to set the exact percentage.
  3. Select the layer Background copy to make it the active layer.
  4. In the toolbox, select the Blur tool. In the tool options bar, set the brush diameter to approximately 13 px and set the Blur tool’s Strength to 50%.
  5. With the layer Background copy selected and active, drag the Blur tool over some of the deeper lines around the eyes, mouth, and brow. Use the Navigator palette to change the zoom level and shift the focus as needed. Reduce the Blur tool brush diameter to 7 px, and then smooth the lips a little, avoiding the edges.Compare your results to the original, the version retouched with the Healing Brush, and final refined version below. Toggle the visibility of the retouched layers to compare the original image with your edited results.
  6. Choose File > Save to save your changes, and then close the file and return to the Organizer.In this exercise, you’ve learned how to set an appropriate source for the Healing Brush tool, and then sample the texture of the source area to repair flaws in another part of the photograph. You also used the Blur tool to smooth textures, and an opacity change to create a more realistic look.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8

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