Basic Photoshop Tools: First Acquaintance

Send

Many people want to look much cooler on their photos than they actually look. Photogenicity, "presence in the frame" are rare qualities. But thanks to modern image processing programs, practically anyone can have a small personal portfolio on which you can see your “beloved” in the image of a Hollywood movie star. Today, the best image editing software is Adobe Photoshop CS6. How to use photoshop cs6?

The main tools of the program that you have to master properly, if you decide to actively use Photoshop cs6, can be divided into the following groups:

1. Selection tools. Isolation is performed in various ways. For example, the lasso tool immediately selects entire areas of the image. "Feather" acts pointwise and requires careful movements, perseverance, painstaking.

2. "Drawing" tools. Something similar can be found in a wide variety of editors, including the standard Paint. Eraser, Brush, Pencil, Spray, etc.

3. Correction tools. This includes all kinds of effects, means of changing sharpness, brightness, contrast, gamma, etc.

4. Additional tools. This includes everything that was not included in the previous groups: changing the volume, typing, filling, and much, much more. Despite the availability, this program belongs to professional software and contains a huge number of functions and a wide range of tools.

You can learn to use cs6 with photoshop yourself, but you will have to take it seriously and devote a lot of time to it. The “trial and error method” is always good at mastering almost any program. But it’s foolish to neglect the advice of professionals. The initial refusal to study reference information and the lazy unwillingness to get acquainted with elementary publicly available free courses are the most common mistake of all beginners.

For a "tight" development of the program, you can use the video tutorials. Here you will find a wonderful free course, the author (or commentator) of which in an accessible language, using a good example, explains how to use cs6 Photoshop.

If you find it easier to read textual information, you will find a ton of useful tips here.

In any case, there’s a lot of detailed information on how to use cs6 in Photoshop. Choose!

Eyedropper Tool

Eyedropper tool activated by hot key "I"

We will need a pipette to determine the color of the object, its shade. For example, you like the color of the sky in a photograph. Clicking on it with a pipette, we will see this color. So you can do with any things in the open space of a photograph or image.

Where is Photoshop used?

Many users are wondering: “where to start learning Photoshop?” This is a great program that allows you to translate fantasy into reality. Here, for example, on Adobe Photoshop CS6 you can perform such manipulations:

No designer can do without an editor. Therefore, you can easily create various projects.
For most artists, Photoshop expands the space for creativity. Many talents who have adapted to the program create beautiful masterpieces and earn money on it. This category of people is called graphic artists.
If there is a fantasy, then you can do catchy advertisements. Booklets, posters, calendars and posters are made on the photo editor. To do this, you need to know the layout, color reproduction and color profiles.
All photographers process images in Photoshop and prefer only color correction. More advanced can eliminate excess fat and unnecessary fragments in the photo.

On the editor you can create comics, layouts, collages, drawing, retouching, make comics and infographics, optimize images and engage in format conversion. Now it becomes clear what Photoshop is for.

Core tools

How to learn Photoshop yourself and where to start work? The answer is simple: with basic tools. Initially, the installed Photoshop is launched. After the program opens, you should pay attention to the upper horizontal and side vertical. Here is the toolbar. They need to be studied first. Just point the mouse cursor over the icon and a tooltip will pop up.

To bring an instrument, for example: a brush, to an active state, it is recommended to left-click on the icon. With the selected tool the horizontal panel will change, and there will be many opportunities specifically for the brush - the pressure, transparency, color and much more. Professionals involved in professional photo editing already know the settings for certain manipulations, for example: retouching.

At the very bottom of the screen is an additional set of tools, so you need to pay attention to the triangle located there. When right-clicked, auxiliary options will open.

Photoshop CS6 menu is an essential element, without which it is impossible to perform photo manipulation. Originally you need to click on the menu and open the file. It contains a list of images to be processed. After the work done, do not forget to save. The function is also on the menu.

All other options are for editing photos. They begin after the “file” and end with a “help”.

The first steps of photo manipulation

The program is mastered only using the selected image. Everything is done simply - you need to go to the menu and click on the "file". Then the list of pictures will open and it remains to choose the photo you like. You should start working after adding a print to the Photoshop editing window.

To the right of the photo a small tabbed window is formedand. With each new action, for example: blending mode, it is recommended to create new layers. You should not perform editing only on the original photo.

It will not work right away to perform the manipulation, because the picture is blocked by default and is in the background. To remove the lock and make a “layer” out of the photo, it is recommended to double-click on the “background”, which is located on the right side of the window - the “layers” tab. After that, the photo will become active and you can begin to work.

Fill (Paint Bucket)

It is called by a hot key "G"

The tools of this group are used to fill the selected area with the main color or the selected pattern, as well as apply a gradient to a given surface.

Move tool

It is activated by a hot key "V"

This tool is needed in order to move layers, shapes, selected areas both on the surface of the canvas and for dragging from one object to another.

Rectangular and Oval Tools

Activated by pressing the "M"

Tools of this group are necessary to select any object or its part for further editing.

What are the layers for?

In Adobe Photoshop CS6, you cannot edit photos without using layers. The duplicated layer will serve as a backup version of the picture. All photoshoppers are faced with unsuccessful actions with the image, so it is very simple to make a repeating picture without harm to the source.

Layers help with applying new effects. For example, an inscription is made on a wedding photo and pigeons are created in a translucent form. To perform a similar manipulation is done A new layer that sits on top of the main image. Then two options will follow: pigeons can be drawn with a brush or selected from a photo file and pasted onto a new layer.

Layers can be given a translucent and transparent tone. It is enough to move the slider and set the “transparency” to 50%. Thus, the same pigeons will not be catchy. After inserting a translucent picture, you should give more detail, for example, make chiaroscuro and draw feathers with a brush.

Instruments of the Lasso Group

Activated by pressing the "L" key

“Lasso”, in contrast to the selection tools, the oval and rectangular areas allows you to select an arbitrary area by hand. Most often, this tool is used for manual selection and subsequent cutting of an object along the contour.

Magic wand tool

Called by pressing the hot key "W"

With the help of a magic wand, you can significantly speed up the work of highlighting a certain area of the object. That is, with this tool the whole image is analyzed and single-color pixels are selected.

Consider the Frame tool

Activated by hotkey C.

Through this tool, we crop photos and pictures.

Simply put, we crop the image around the edges or from a large image we cut out a fragment of a given size.

The difference between Photoshop CS6 and all versions of Adobe Photoshop

You can give the picture the desired effect and color only by using horizontal tools and tabs with layers that you should right-click on, and then “properties” will appear. All Adobe Photoshop programs are practically no different from each other and to a beginner, in fact, there is no difference on which of them to deal with.

For instance, Photoshop 5 or CS6 are almost identical. For this reason, for a non-knowledgeable person in the photo editor, any version is suitable. For example, the filter gallery and color mode are the same, these are standard features. In new generations of programs there may be additions, but minor ones.

Is Photoshop difficult to learn?

Often, many beginners are interested in: is it difficult to master the program? There is no exact answer to this question. It all depends on quick wits. Adobe Photoshop is a tool, like any other equipment, for example: “Washing machine” requires development. Therefore, the mechanism must be studied in order to understand all the possibilities. After a while, the beginner will become a specialist if he begins to delve into the essence of Photoshop. But there is one rule - you need to train from easy to hard. For example, a photograph needs:

discolor
crop
create an inscription
Mirror
perform color correction.

First you should experiment with such simplest functions, and in the future, learn to outline the image, create chiaroscuro, make collages and create truly unique drawings. With help graphic tablet can be drawn prints from scratch. In order to fully master the program, it will take a lot of time and be really diligent.

Important!The 64-bit version of Photoshop is more powerful, especially for RAM. You should be aware that Photoshop CS6 and CC are installed exclusively on x64 Mac O. S..

Photo Processing Example

It is important to understand how to work with photos in Photoshop, so you need to study an example of image processing. It’s not always possible to find a certain ideal picture in which it is possible to realize the conceived manipulation. For example, there is a desire to make a night landscape, but many photos have already been edited or too dark. There is always a way out. Using Photoshop, you can easily turn a daytime landscape into a night one.

The step-by-step process of turning a day shot into a night version:

You need to download the file and open it in the photo editor. A magic wand is selected from the tools with a tolerance of 100. With a high tolerance, it is easy to work with objects on earth and in the sky. It is necessary to highlight the sky.
To see the selection, select the "quick mask" mode. With a brush, only those areas that are not related to the sky are painted over. The main color of the instrument is black, non-selectable objects will turn red.
The background in the photograph should also be the color of the sky, for example: mountains. They also need to be highlighted.
Next, you need to exit the “quick mask” option and go to the selection menu to clarify the edge. It is necessary to select the desired effect and perform correction of this area.
Then put a daw on the "smart radius". The slider is dragged to the right side. It is important to achieve the desired result.
Now the transition to the menu "window" and "correction". Saturation and hue are selected.
At this step, the adjustment layer is cut off from the bottom layer, which is with the sky. The top of the photo is made dark, but not completely black. To do this, adjust the brightness slider.
Each layer contains its own mask. It is necessary to click on the mask and activate. The opacity is adjusted by painting the mask: if dark colors are used, then the areas will become invisible, with white - visible, and gray shades are used for translucency.
On the left, a “gradient” is selected. Color is white-gray.
The gradient extends from top to bottom and is superimposed on the mask. The top of the image will turn white and the bottom will be pale gray.
The background layer needs to be darkened. Therefore, you should go to the correction panel and find the “photo filter” button. Dark blue shades are chosen.
Then the daw is removed. Preserve the glow and enhance the effect with Preserve Luminosity.
The sky turns a little blue. A layer “photo filter” with more saturated and lighter colors is added. It is important to separate the layer where the sky is located.
The bottom layer is darker than the sky. Because the buildings are a bit darker than the sky. Duplication of the photo filter is done and the opacity is reduced to the desired level.

To give the sky a greater effect, you should make stars.

Process:

A new one is created on top of all layers. It is filled in black and the fill tool is used. Then the “noise” function is added, which is located in the “filter” menu. Amount is amplified by black and white.
In the filter gallery, select “linocut sketch”. For the desired effect, you need to play with the settings.
To correctly position the stars, the "move" tool is used.
On the star layer, you need to set the blending options (Blending Options).
Next, a mask is added for the same layer. The color of the gradient is black and white. The bottom is made invisible and, by adjusting, an increase in opacity is performed to a certain extent.

Object highlighting

For a better photo effect, it is advisable to make the windows highlighted.

Process:

Using the “straight lasso” tool, windows are selected. To make multiple selections without resetting previous selections, it is recommended that you hold down the Shift key.
Next, double the selected objects and set the copy on top of the layers.
Then select blending options (Blending Options). Put a daw on the color (Color Overlay). The object should acquire a light orange hue.
To improve the effect, it is recommended to look through the color overlay items in the menu and select a tone (Hue).
Opposite (Outer Glow), a check mark is set - this is the external glow.
You can play again with the overlay items and select the appropriate shade.

Clone Stamp Tool

It is activated by the "S" key.

Using the “stamp” tool, as well as using a conventional stationery stamp, you can transfer the image print from one part of the picture to another. That is, we copy a certain part of the image or transfer the whole object and paste it into another part of the image.

Using the "E" key, we activate the Eraser tool.

The tools of the eraser group as well as the tools of the brush group are quite functional and have a lot of their settings. The eraser, by analogy with the usual stationery, is used to erase unnecessary parts of the image.

Minor light sources

It is necessary to reflect the incident light from the windows to the ground and walls.

Process:

You need to select a “brush” and make the opacity 20%. A new layer is created.
Next, the window color is selected using the eyedropper tool.
The brush marks the shades on the ground and the walls. Light must be scattered.
Saturation is controlled by the opacity of the layer.

In order to properly distribute chiaroscuro, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with their reflexes. One must understand how light glides over one or another object. The metal is smooth and the wood is rough. This greatly affects the creation of high-quality realistic images.