1. Getting Started with Photoshop CS4

Introduction

Adobe Photoshop CS4 is a graphics design and image enhancement program that runs seamlessly on both Windows and Macintosh platforms. Adobe Photoshop comes in two editions: Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended. Photoshop CS4 Extended edition has all the same features included in the standard edition. However, the Extended edition contains additional features geared towards creating more sophisticated content. Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended are stand-alone programs, but they’re also part of Adobe’s Creative Suite of professional programs that work together to help you create designs in print, on the Web, or on mobile devices. All Creative Suite 4 programs also include additional Adobe programs—Bridge, Version Cue, Device Central, and Extension Manager—to help you manage and work with files.

Creative artists from Hollywood, brochure designers, as well as casual users turn to Photoshop for its proven ability to create special effects and image composites. Photoshop’s ability to manipulate digital images, restore old photographs, as well as create digital artwork from scratch, has made Photoshop the undisputed leader in the digital industry. When it comes to digital imaging, Photoshop is literally the best software the computer industry has to offer.

Photoshop accepts images created with any digital camera, or traditional photographic film images converted to digital format through the use of a scanner. Once an image is opened in Photoshop, the designer can manipulate the image thousands of ways, from correcting color, reducing dust and scratches in an old image, removing a tree, or adding a missing friend.

Installing Photoshop

To perform a standard program install, insert the Photoshop CS4 DVD into the DVD player on your computer or download the software online and start the setup program, following the onscreen instructions. Make sure to have your serial number handy because you’ll be asked to enter it during the installation process. If you’re updating from a previous version of Photoshop, you’ll be required to verify the older version by instructing Photoshop where to find the previous version on your hard drive, or by inserting the previous version’s install disk. Adobe, in an attempt to thwart software piracy, now requires online or phone activation of the program. The process can be postponed for 30 days. However, at the end of 30 days, the Photoshop program will shut down if it has not been properly activated. You can’t blame Adobe for attempting to protect their products, since some surveys suggest there are more pirated than purchased versions of Photoshop in use.

Install Photoshop CS4 in Windows

Insert the Photoshop CS4 DVD into your DVD ROM drive, or download the software online to your hard disk.

If necessary, double-click the DVD icon or open the folder with the downloaded software, and then double-click the setup icon.

Follow the onscreen instructions.

Install Photoshop CS4 in Macintosh

Insert the Photoshop CS4 DVD into your DVD ROM drive, or download the software online to your hard disk.

If necessary, double-click the DVD icon or open the folder with the downloaded software, and then double-click the setup icon.

Follow the onscreen instructions.

Did You Know?

You can create a shortcut on the Macintosh. Drag and drop the Photoshop program to the bottom of the monitor screen, and then add it to the shortcuts panel.

Photoshop CS4 System Requirements

Starting Photoshop

You can launch Photoshop like any other program. After you launch Photoshop, the program checks for updates to Photoshop and related CS4 software—including Adobe Bridge, and Adobe Help Viewer—using the Adobe Updater. If you want to access the Adobe Updater at any time, you can choose Updates from the Help menu. Once inside this dialog box, you can click on Preferences to set Adobe Updater Preferences options. You can choose to check for updates weekly or monthly and you can also specify whether you want Adobe to automatically download updates or ask before performing the download. See “Checking for Updates and Patches” on page 24 for information on using the Adobe Updater Preferences dialog box.

Start Photoshop CS4 in Windows

Click Start on the taskbar.

Point to All Programs (which changes to Back).

Point to an Adobe Collection CS4 menu, if needed.

Click Adobe Photoshop CS4.

If you’re starting Photoshop CS4 for the first time, perform the following:

  Enter your serial number, and then click OK to continue.

  Click OK to complete the activation process.

  Fill in the registration form, and then click Register Now.

Start Photoshop CS4 in Macintosh

Open the Applications folder (located on the main hard drive).

Double-click the Adobe Photoshop CS4 folder.

Double-click the Adobe Photoshop CS4 program icon.

If you’re starting Photoshop CS4 for the first time, perform the following:

Enter your serial number, and then click OK to continue.

Click OK to complete the activation process.

Fill in the registration form, click Register Now.

Viewing the Photoshop Window

Showing and Hiding Panels

Panels give you easy access to many task-specific commands and operations from color control to vector path information. By default, the main panel display is located along the right side of your window. You can use the Window menu or click a panel tab within a group to display it, and then select options on the panel or choose panel-specific commands from the Panel Options menu to perform actions. Instead of continually moving, resizing, or opening and closing windows, you can use the header bar with the panel tabs to collapse or expand individual panels within a window to save space.

Open and Close a Panel

Collapse or Expand a Panel

Working with Panels

The movable panels are organized into groups, such as Color/Swatches/Styles and History/Actions, to save screen space and help with workflow. You can also add or subtract specific panels within a group to customize your workspace. A panel appears with a header, which includes the tab titles and three options: the Collapse to Icons button, the Close button, and an Options menu. The Options menu provides you with panel commands. The entire set of panels includes a double arrow at the top you can use to collapse and expand the entire panel back and forth between icons and full panels.

Add a Panel

Subtract a Panel

Collapse and Expand the Panel Set Between Icons and Panels

  To collapse the panel set to icons with text, click the double arrow pointing right (Collapse to Icons) at the top of the panels.

• To expand the panel set from icons with text to full panels, click the double arrow pointing left (Expand Panels) at the top of the panels.

• To have an expanded panel icon automatically collapse or hide when you click away, right-click (Win) or Control-click (Mac) a panel, and then click Auto-Collapse Icon Panels or Auto-Show Hidden Panels (New!).

Use the Panel Options Menu

Working with Photoshop Tools

Photoshop has an abundance of tools that give a Photoshop designer tremendous control over any creative designing problems that may crop up. For example, the Photoshop toolbox contains 8 selection tools (you can never have enough selection tools), 10 painting or shape tools, 4 type tools, and 12 tools dedicated to restoring and retouching images. Add to that collection, slicing, sampling, and viewing tools and you have a total of 70 tools. When you work on a document, it’s important to know what tools are available, and how they can help in achieving your design goals. Photoshop likes to save space, so it consolidates similar tools under one button. To access multiple tools, click and hold on any toolbox button that contains a small black triangle, located in the lower right corner of the tool button. Take a moment to explore the Photoshop toolbox and get to know the tools.

The Photoshop toolbox contains the tools needed to work through any Photoshop job, but it’s not necessary to click on a tool to access it. Simply using a letter of the alphabet can access all of Photoshop’s tools. For example, pressing the V key switches to the Move tool, and pressing the W key switches to the Magic Wand tool. In addition, if a button has more than one tool available, such as the Gradient and Paint Bucket buttons, pressing the Shift key along with the tool’s shortcut lets you cycle through the tool’s other options. You can quicker move between tools using Spring-loaded keys (New!). Rather than go back to the toolbox when you want to switch tools, just hold down the shortcut letter key for the new tool, use the tool, and then let go of the shortcut key and you’ll be back using the first tool.

You can refer to Adobe Photoshop CS4 Keyboard Shortcuts (available for download on the Web at www.perspection.com) for more information on all the letter assignments for the various tools. To really get efficient in Photoshop, you need to learn to use both hands. Use one hand for your mouse or drawing tablet, and the other on the keyboard to make quick changes of tools and options.

Using the Options Bar

The Options bar displays the options for the currently selected tool. If you are working with the Shape Marquee tools, your options include Feather, Style, Width, and Height. When working with the Brush tools, available tool options include Size, Mode, Opacity, and Tolerance. The Airbrush mode of the Brush tool also includes Flow. The Pencil tool options include Auto Erase along with the standard Brush tool options. The Standard Shape tool Options bar includes Fill Pixels, Weight, Radius, Style, and Color. The important thing to remember is that the Options bar is customized based on the tool you have selected. For more information on these options, refer to Chapters 4, 6, and 9.

Creating a New Document

Creating a new Photoshop document requires more thought than creating a new word processing document. For example, there are resolution and color mode considerations to keep in mind. You can create as many new documents as you need for your current project. However, since opening more than one document takes more processing power, it’s probably best to work on only one new document at a time. Once a new document is created, you have access to all of Photoshop’s design and manipulation tools to create anything you can imagine.

Create a New Document

Selecting Color Modes and Resolution

Selecting a Color Mode

A color mode, also known as color space, determines how Photoshop displays and prints an image. You choose a different color mode (based on models used in publishing) for different tasks. You can choose a color mode when you create a new document or change a color mode for an existing document. The common color modes include:

Grayscale

Best for printing black-and-white and duotone images. This mode uses one channel and has a maximum of 256 shades of gray.

RGB (Red, Green, and Blue)

Best for online and multimedia color images. Red, green, and blue are also the primary colors on a monitor.

CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black)

Best for commercial printing of color images.

LAB (Luminosity, A and B channels)

Best for performing image correction. This mode puts all grayscale information on the L channel and splits the colors to the A and B channels.

For more information on color, see Chapter 8, “Understanding Colors and Channels.”

Selecting Image Resolution

Photoshop works primarily with raster documents. Raster documents are images composed of pixels. A pixel is a unit of information that holds the color and detail information of the image. Think of a Photoshop document as a brick wall, with the individual bricks in the wall representing the individual pixels in the image. Documents opened in Photoshop have a specific resolution. The resolution of the image, along with its width and height, represents how many pixels the image contains. Since pixels (the bricks in the wall) represent information, the more pixels a document contains, the more information Photoshop has to manipulate or enhance the image.

A typical 17-inch monitor displays pixels at a resolution of 1,024 × 768 pixels per inch. You can figure out how many pixels are present on a 17-inch monitor by multiplying 1,024 × 768, which equals 786,432 pixels on the screen. The resolution is equal to how many pixels fit into each monitor inch, otherwise known as ppi (pixels per inch). A typical monitor displays pixels at 72 pixels per inch.

To determine the size of an image in inches, we divide the pixels by the ppi. For example, an image 1,024 pixels wide at 72 ppi would be 14.2 inches wide (1,024 / 72 = 14.2). To determine the pixels present in an image, you multiple the size by the ppi. For example, a 3 inch image at 72 ppi would have a total of 216 pixels (3 × 72 = 216). As the image resolution drops, so does the output quality of the image. Pixelization occurs when the resolution is so low that the edges of the pixel begin to appear. The higher the resolution (more pixels), the sharper your image will be. However, the higher the resolution, the larger the file size will become. To optimize your image file size, you need to use the correct resolution for the specific task. Use 72 ppi for web pages, CD-ROMs, and multimedia; use 150 ppi for inkjet printers, 200 ppi for photo printers, and 300 ppi for commercial printing.

When working with images, it’s always a good idea to start with a larger image size. You can always reduce the size of the image (subtract pixels) without losing any quality. If you need to enlarge an image, you run the risk of losing image quality. When you enlarge an image, the number of pixels doesn’t increase as the image does, so the pixels become larger, which results in a rougher, or more pixelated, image.

Creating a New Document Using Presets

When you create documents for specific purposes, such as, web, film, video, or for use on a mobile device, you know the importance of creating documents that will perfectly match the output requirements of the intended file destination. The preset file sizes available in the Preset menu let you create images at a size and pixel aspect ratio that compensate for scaling when you incorporate them into various output modes. When you work with the Preset menu, the guesswork involved in creating compatible photo, web, mobile device, film and video documents in Photoshop is a thing of the past.

Create a New Document Using Presets

Working with Non-Square Pixels

Images displayed on a computer monitor are made up of square pixels. Conversely, an image displayed on a video monitor is not composed of pixels at all. Non-square pixels are most commonly used by encoding devices for video production. When importing an image created by a square-pixel graphics program into a video editing program such as Adobe Premiere, the square pixels are automatically scaled to non-square pixels for video encoding. This scaling results in a distorted image. By default, non-square pixel documents open with Pixel Aspect Ratio Correction enabled. This enables you to preview how the image will appear on an output device such as a video monitor, and see how it will appear when exported to an analog video device. In keeping with an ever-changing industry, Adobe includes the following Pixel Aspect Ratio options: DVCPRO HD 1080 (1.5) and HDV 1080/DVCPRO HD 720 (1.33).

Work with Non-Square Pixels

Opening Images

Photoshop lets you open image files created in different formats, such as TIFF, JPEG, GIF, and PNG, as well as Photoshop documents in the PSD or PSB formats. If you want to simply open an image or Photoshop document, the Open dialog box is the most efficient way. However, if you need to manage, organize, or process files, Adobe Bridge is the way to go. You open an existing Photoshop document or image file the same way you open documents in other programs. However, you have two Open dialog box display options: Adobe or OS.

Open an Image

Inserting Images in a Document

You can use Photoshop’s Place command to insert artwork into an open document. To increase your control of the new image information, Photoshop places the new image into a separate layer. Photoshop lets you place files saved in PDF, Adobe Illustrator, and EPS formats. When you first place a vector-based image into Photoshop, you have the ability to modify the width, height, and rotation while retaining the vector format of the file. However, since Photoshop is primarily a raster program, when you finalize your changes, Photoshop rasterizes the file information (converts the vector data into pixels), and saves it as a Smart Object, which means you can no longer edit the placed document as you would a vector shape or path. However, you can still open up the Smart Object in the original file, and make changes to update it.

Insert an Image in a Document Using the Place Command

Importing Raw Data from a Digital Camera

Raw image file formats are available with most mid- to high-end digital cameras and contain information about how the image was taken. The raw format turns off all camera adjustments, and saves the image information to a digital memory card. When you open a raw file, Photoshop opens Camera Raw, allowing you to adjust image details. If you’re not sure what to do, you can click Auto to have Camera Raw do it or drag color sliders to adjust options manually. You can adjust color tones, reduce noise, correct for lens defects, add post-crop vignetting (New!) and retouch images with the Heal, Clone and Red Eye tools. To adjust color tones, you can make changes to exposure, highlights recovery, fill light, brightness, contrast and saturation—with Vibrance and Saturation. Raw images are larger; however, the increase in file size is actually more information that can be used by Camera Raw. In addition, raw images can be converted into 16-bit mode, which provides more control over adjustments such as tonal and color correction. Once processed, raw images can be saved in the DNG (Digital Negative), TIFF, PSD, PSB, or JPEG formats. When a raw file is placed as a Smart Object, Photoshop embeds the raw data within the document, allowing you to change the raw settings and update the converted layer.

Import a Camera Raw File

Working with Smart Objects

A Smart Object is a container in which you can embed raster (e.g., PSD, JPEG, TIFF) or vector (e.g., AI, PDF, EPS) image data from another Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator file that retains all its original characteristics and remains fully editable. A Smart Object can be scaled, rotated, and warped nondestructively without losing original image data. Smart Objects store source data with the original object, so you can work on a representation of the image without changing the original—resulting in one file embedded within another. For example, when an Illustrator Smart Object is double-clicked in the Layers panel, Photoshop starts Illustrator and opens a working copy of the artwork. When you make changes in Illustrator and then save the file, Photoshop automatically re-rasterizes the file. If you duplicate a Smart Object, Photoshop stores only one copy of the source data while creating a second instance of the composite data, thus saving valuable disk space. When you edit one Smart Object, Photoshop updates all the copies. In addition, you can link Smart Objects to their layer mask (New!) so they can be move together. You can create Smart Objects by converting selected layers, pasting Illustrator data from the clipboard, using the Place command to insert a file, or using the Open As Smart Object command.

Work with Smart Objects

Changing Image Size and Resolution

You can modify the size and resolution of a document after opening. However, be aware that changing the size and/or the resolution of an image forces Photoshop to add or subtract pixels from the image in a process called interpolation. For example, when you change the resolution of an image from 72 ppi (pixels per inch) to 144 ppi, Photoshop must add more pixels. Conversely, if you reduce the resolution, Photoshop must remove pixels. The image interpolation method determines how Photoshop completes this process. You can use the Nearest Neighbor method for the fastest way, but it produces the poorest visual image. Or, you can use the Bicubic Sharper method, which takes the longest to perform, but produces the best visual results.

Change Image Size

Change Image Resolution

Checking for Updates and Patches

As time passes, Photoshop—like any other program—will change. There are two types of changes to a program: updates and patches. Updates are improvements to a program such as a new feature, option, or command. Patches are software fixes for problems discovered after the public release of the program. The good news is that both updates and patches are free, and once downloaded, are self-installing. Adobe gives you two ways to check for changes. You can check manually by going to the Adobe web site, or automatically through the Adobe Updater. The Adobe Updater Preferences dialog box allows you to set update options for Photoshop and other installed Adobe products, such as Bridge. You can set the update preferences to check for updates monthly or weekly and automatically download them, or have Adobe Updater ask before performing the download.

Check for Updates Directly from the Internet

Check for Updates from the Photoshop Help Menu

Getting Help While You Work

At some time, everyone has a question or two about the program they are using. Photoshop Help uses a Community Help site (New!) on the web at adobe.com (which is updated regularly) to help you find the information you need. When you start Photoshop Help, your browser opens, displaying a web site with Photoshop help categories and topics. You can search the Photoshop Help site by using keywords or phrases or browsing through a list of categories and topics to locate specific information. When you perform a search using keywords or phrases, a list of possible answers is shown to you from adobe.com, with the most likely answer to your question at the top of the list. Along with help text, some help topics include links to text and video tutorials. In addition, comments and ratings from users are available to help guide you to an answer.

Get Help Information

Search for Help Information

Saving a Document

When you finish working on your Photoshop document, you need to save it before you close the document or exit Photoshop. While this may seem like a simple task, there are questions that must be asked before saving a file, like What is the intended final output of the image? For example, if the document is destined for the Internet, you’ll probably save the document using the JPEG, GIF, or PNG formats. Each output device, whether monitor or paper-based, requires a specific format, and it’s best to know this information at the beginning of the creation process. Knowing the eventual destination of an image helps you create the design with the output in mind.

Save a Document

Using the Status Bar

To work efficiently in Photoshop you need information about the active document. Details about the document’s size, resolution, color mode, and current size all help in the design and preparation of the final image. Photoshop displays current information about the active document through the Status Bar, located at the bottom of the document window.

Use the Status Bar

Closing a Document

To conserve your computer’s resources, close any Photoshop documents you are not working on. You can close open documents one at a time (choose Close from the File menu or click the Close button on the Document tab (New!)), or you can use one command to close all open documents without closing the program (choose Close All from the File menu). Either way, if you try to close a document without saving, a dialog box appears, prompting you to save your changes.

Close a Document

Finishing Up

Now that you’ve decided how you want to save your document, it’s time to leave Photoshop. You’ll want to make sure that all of your documents have been properly saved and closed before you exit Photoshop. Photoshop performs a bit of memory management, saves the current location of the panels and toolbox, and then quits.

Exit Photoshop from Windows

Quit Photoshop from Macintosh