The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers

Book description

"Derrick shows that Photoshop can be friendly as well as powerful. In part, he does that by focusing photographers on the essential steps of an efficient workflow. With this guide in hand, you'll quickly learn how to leverage Photoshop CS4's features to organize and improve your pictures."-- John Nack, Principal Product Manager, Adobe Photoshop & Bridge

Many photographers -- even the pros -- feel overwhelmed by all the editing options Photoshop provides. The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers pares it down to only the tools you'll need most often, and shows you how to use those tools as part of an efficient and enjoyable workflow. This book explains an easy method for processing your images using the new user-friendly features that come with Photoshop CS4, including Adobe Bridge, Photo Downloader, and Adobe Camera Raw.

A perfect fit for your laptop bag, this guide is designed to help you process photos in the field. Professional photographer and bestselling author Derrick Story teaches you how to quickly and efficiently organize and edit your photos without compromising the originals. With this book, you will:

  • Import your images and apply metadata with Photo Downloader
  • Rate your images and add keywords with Adobe Bridge
  • Make basic (and reversible) edits with Adobe Camera Raw, such as cropping, color balance, and tonal adjustments
  • Use advanced ACR tools for black & white conversion, spot removal, batch processing, and more
  • Refine your images with Photoshop using adjustment layers, masking, and smart objects
  • Apply advanced Photoshop techniques for retouching portaits, swapping colors, correcting lens distortion, and much more

To use Photoshop effectively, photographers must know which tools they really need and which ones they don't. The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers gives you the knowledge to create your own efficient path to great-looking photos.

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Table of contents

  1. The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers
    1. SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly
    2. Introduction
    3. 1. The Quick-Start Road Map
      1. Your Digital Darkroom
      2. The Basic Steps
      3. Let's Get to It!
    4. 2. Importing Your Images
      1. Before You Start Downloading
        1. Creating Your Personalized Metadata Template
        2. Launching Photo Downloader
        3. Time to Choose Your Backup Strategy
      2. Importing Photos from Your Camera
        1. Basic Options in Photo Downloader
        2. Advanced Photo Downloader Options
        3. Applying Metadata During Download
      3. Where to Go from Here
    5. 3. Rating and Keywording Images
      1. Setting Up Your Workspaces
        1. Creating the Overview Workspace
        2. Creating the Photo Edit Workspace
        3. Setting Up the Keywording Workspace
      2. Organizing Your First Batch of Images
        1. Step 1: Reviewing Your Shots in the Overview Workspace
        2. Step 2: Photo Editing: Sorting Your Pictures
          1. Round 1: Basic Thumbs Up or Down
          2. Round 2: Refining Your Ratings
      3. Rating and Sorting Tips
        1. Tricks for Comparing Two Photos
        2. Using Smart Collections
        3. RAW+JPEG
      4. Introduction to Keywording
        1. Tools for Searching by Keywords
        2. Adding Keywords to Your Images
      5. Where to Go from Here
    6. 4. Basic Image Editing in Camera Raw
      1. The Benefits of ACR
      2. Working on Images in ACR from Bridge
        1. Setting Your Workflow Options
        2. A Quick Tour of the Bottom Buttons
      3. Your First Image Edit
        1. Start by Cropping
        2. First Edits in the Basic Tab
          1. Tone adjustments in the exposure slider
          2. Color adjustments
      4. Fine-Tuning Your Image
        1. Fine-Tuning in the Basic Tab
        2. Fine-Tuning Tonal Adjustments in the Tone Curve Tab
        3. Fine-Tuning Color in the HSL/Grayscale Tab
      5. Finishing Touches in the Detail Tab
        1. Input Sharpening
        2. Noise Reduction
      6. And These Were Just the Basic Tools
    7. 5. Advanced Camera Raw Techniques
      1. Batch Processing in ACR
      2. Black-and-White Conversion in ACR
        1. The Convert to Grayscale Approach in the HSL Tab
        2. The Desaturate Approach in the HSL Tab
      3. Spot Removal in Adobe Camera Raw
        1. Cloning with the Spot Removal Brush
      4. Localized Corrections with the Adjustment Brush
      5. Tonal and Color Adjustments with the Graduated Filter Tool
        1. Types of Graduated Corrections Available
        2. Adjusting a Sample Image with the Graduated Filter Tool
      6. Where to Go from Here
    8. 6. Refining Your Image in Photoshop
      1. Touching Up Imperfections with the Clone Stamp Tool
        1. How to Save Photoshop Files
      2. Adjusting Tone with a Levels Adjustment Layer
        1. Creating the Levels Adjustment Layer
      3. Adding a Mask to the Adjustment Layer
      4. Nondestructive Sharpening with Smart Objects
        1. Back to Nondestructive Sharpening
      5. Where to Go from Here
    9. 7. Photoshop Recipes for Photographers
      1. Portrait Retouching Techniques
        1. RECIPE 1: Brightening Teeth
        2. RECIPE 2: Touching Up Blemishes
        3. RECIPE 3: Darkening or Lightening Facial Features
        4. RECIPE 4: Softening Skin
        5. RECIPE 5: Brightening Eyes
        6. RECIPE 6: Sharpening Eyes and Eyebrows
        7. RECIPE 7: Softening Dark Circles Under the Eyes
        8. RECIPE 8: Bumping Up Contrast with Unsharp Mask
        9. RECIPE 9: Stamping Layers to Pull Your Adjustments Together
      2. Adjustments in the World Around Us
        1. RECIPE 10: Correct Architectural Distortion
        2. RECIPE 11: Retrieving a Blown-Out Sky
        3. RECIPE 12: Applying a Color Wash to an Object
        4. RECIPE 13: Changing the Color of an Object (More Flexible, but More Elaborate)
        5. RECIPE 14: Changing the Hue and Saturation of an Object (The Easy Method)
      3. Finishing Touches
        1. RECIPE 15: Creating a Virtual Custom Matte
        2. RECIPE 16: Automating Panorama Merging
        3. RECIPE 17: Extending Depth of Field by Stacking Images
        4. RECIPE 18: Optimize Images for the Web Without Losing Copyright Information
      4. You're a Photoshop Artist; Now What?
    10. 8. Printing
      1. Calibrating Your Monitor
        1. Calibrating on Mac OS X
        2. Calibrating on Windows
        3. Calibrating in General
      2. Dedicated Photo Printers
        1. Ten Steps to Making a Beautiful Print
      3. A Word About Printer Profiles
      4. Success! A Beautiful Print
      5. Improving Your Photography Through Printing
      6. Reference Tables for Printing
      7. Final Thoughts
    11. A. About the Photos in this Book
      1. Cover Images
        1. Opening Ceremonies, Beijing Olympics
        2. Woman
        3. Flower
        4. Young Woman
        5. Butterfly
        6. Aquatic Center, Beijing Olympics
      2. Frontmatter Images
        1. Title Page Opener
        2. The Table of Contents Opener
      3. Chapter Openers
        1. Introduction Chapter Opener
        2. Chapter 1 Opener
        3. Chapter 2 Opener
        4. Chapter 3 Opener
        5. Chapter 4 Opener
        6. Chapter 5 Opener
        7. Chapter 6 Opener
        8. Chapter 7 Opener
        9. Chapter 8 Opener
        10. Opener for This Section
      4. Special Thanks to Those Who Helped Me Make These Images
    12. Index
    13. About the Author
    14. SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly

Product information

  • Title: The Photoshop CS4 Companion for Photographers
  • Author(s): Derrick Story
  • Release date: October 2008
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9780596554194