One of the most powerful features in Photoshop Elements is its ability to manipulate a photographic image with filter. Photographers use the term photographic restoration to describe image retouching. Photo restoration describes the process of returning an image to its original state. For example, removing dust and scratches from an old image, using the Dust and Scratches filter, or repairing all the problems associated with working with old images. Since there are the same tools and filters that can be used to restore an image, you can use the various filters and tools to find out which ones will help you with your image restoration.

Photoshop Elements filters are a designer’s dream come true. With filters you can turn a photograph into an oil painting or a watercolor; even change night into day. The Filter menu includes no less than 105 highly creative filters, which can be applied once, reapplied, or combined with other filters to create any effect your imagination can dream up.

The possible combination of filters and images literally runs into the millions. This means that Photoshop Elements filters are truly an undiscovered territory. As a matter of fact, the Filter Gallery lets you view the effects of one or more filters on the active document. This level of power gives you unbelievable creative control over your images.

Take a moment to view some of the various filter effects that Photoshop Elements offers. Because there are 105 filters available, we can’t show you all of them, but I think you’ll enjoy viewing the selection at the end of the chapter.

The Filter Gallery maintains complete and total control over the filters. In essence, the Filter Gallery gives you access to all of the filters and lets you apply the filters to any raster image, while viewing a large preview of the results. The Filter Gallery dialog box is composed of three sections—Image Preview, Filter Selection, and Filter Controls. When you use the Filter Gallery to modify the image, you see exactly how the image will look; there is no guesswork involved. When you apply a filter to an image you are physically remapping the pixel information within the image. Photoshop Elements contains 105 filters and the combinations of those filters are astronomical. If you are a math wizard, there are over 100 million combinations available, and that means that no one has discovered all the ways you can manipulate an image in Photoshop Elements... have fun trying.

Not only does the Filter Gallery let you apply and view a filter effect, it lets you view the multiple effects of two or more filters. The Filter Gallery has its own Layers palette, and can have a lot of effect layers. The order of the filters influences their impact on the image. When you create a filter effect using more than one filter, drag the filter effect up or down in the effects stack. Changing the order of the filters changes their impact on the image, so experiment with different stacking orders to create eye-popping special effects.

When you apply a filter to an image, Photoshop Elements applies the filter equally to the entire image. Unfortunately, that might not be what you had in mind. For example, you might want to apply the Gaussian Blur filter to a portion of the image. In that case, the selection tools come to the rescue. The primary purpose of selection is to define a work area, and when you select an area before applying a filter, the only area impacted by the filter will be the selected area.

The Filter Gallery gives designers the ability to view the effects of multiple filters applied to a single image. While this changed forever how we apply filters to an image, there is one more creative way to work: Blending Modes. For example, make a copy of an image, then apply a separate filter effect to each layer, and then use the Blending Modes option to create a totally different image. While this is not a new technique, the results of combining two or more layers together, each with a different filter effect can produce quite stunning results.

The Color Halftone Pixelate filter simulates using a halftone on a layer. Halftones are created through a process called dithering, in which the density and pattern of the dots are varied to simulate different color shades. The filter divides the image into rectangles and replaces each rectangle with a circle, which is proportional in size to the brightness of the rectangle.

Use the Color Halftone Pixelate Filter

1. In the Editor, open a document.

2. Select the portions of the image you want to pixelate or leave the image unselected to apply the filter to the entire image.

3. Click the Filter menu, point to Pixelate, and then click Color Halftone.

   

4. Enter a value (4 to 127) for the maximum radius of a halftone in pixels

5. Enter a screen-angle value (between -360 and 360) for one or more channels.

   • Grayscale Image. Enter a value in channel 1.

   • Color Image. Enter a value in channel 1, 2, 3, and 4 for the CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) channels.

6. To return all the screen angles to default settings, click Defaults.

7. Click OK.

The Liquify filter gives you amazing control over an image. For example, you can distort the image pixels almost as if the image were an oil painting that had yet to dry. In addition, you can magnify specific areas of an image or reduce them in size. The Liquify filter lets you push, pull, rotate, reflect, pucker, and bloat any area of an image. The distortions you create can be subtle or drastic, which makes the Liquify command a powerful tool for retouching images as well as creating artistic effects.

Modify Images with the Liquify Filter

1. In the Editor, open a document.

2. Display the Layers palette, and then select the layer you want to liquify.

3. Click the Filters menu, point to Distort, and then click Liquify.

4. Select from the following Liquify tools:

   • Warp. Pushes pixels in front of the brush as you drag.

     

   • Turbulence. Smoothly scrambles the pixels in an image. Creates realistic waves or fire.

     

   • Twirl Clockwise. Click in an area to twirl the pixels (contained inside the brush tip) clockwise..

     

     Figure . 

   • Twirl Counter Clockwise. Click in an area to twirl the pixels (contained inside the brush tip) counter clockwise.

   • Pucker. Click and hold to move pixels towards the center of the brush tip.

   • Bloat. Click and hold to move pixels away from the center of the brush tip.

     

   • Shift Pixels. Drag to push pixels to the left of the brush tip and Alt-drag to push to the right. For example, dragging straight up pushes pixels to the left, and moving to the right pushes pixels up.

   • Reflection. Drag to copy pixels to the left of the stroke.

     

   • Reconstruct. Drag the image, using a specific brush size to restore previously modified areas of the image.

   • Zoom. Click to zoom in on a specific area of the image. Click and drag to define an area to zoom in on. Hold down the Alt key and click to zoom out.

   • Hand. Drag to move the visible image. Useful if the image is larger than the physical document window.

   

   Figure . 

5. Click OK.

The Liquify Tool options control the brush tip. Since all the Liquify commands are executed with a brush, it’s important to understand how you control the brush tip. When you apply the brush stroke, the faster you drag the mouse the less effect is applied to the image; if you drag slowly, you gain more control and the effect is more intense. Practice dragging the cursor over the image to produce different effects, and if you make a mistake, don’t forget the undo key—Ctrl+Z.

Work with Liquify Filter Options

1. In the Editor, open a document.

2. Display the Layers palette, and then select the layer you want to liquify.

3. Click the Filters menu, point to Distort, and then click Liquify.

4. Select from the following Liquify Tool options:

   • Brush Size. Select a value (1 to 600).

   • Brush Pressure. Select a value (1 to 100). Determines how quickly a liquify effect is applied to the image, when the brush is moving. The lower the value, the slower the effect.

   • Turbulent Jitter. Select a value (1 to 100). Controls how tightly the Turbulent Jitter tool distorts the image. The higher the value, the more distortion.

   • Stylus Pressure. Select the check box if you’re using a drawing table to allow pressure on the table to control pressure applied with the Liquify brush.

5. Click OK.

If you want to add professional lighting effects to an RGB image, the Lighting Effects filter provides everything you need. You can set up multiple lights with unique light properties, and move them around to achieve the results you want. In addition, you can also use textures from grayscale files called texture maps to create 3D effects. If you like your results, you can save your own styles for user later.

Use the Lighting Effects Filter

1. In the Editor, open a document.

2. Display the Layers palette.

3. Select the image, layer, or area you want to apply the filter.

4. Click the Filter menu, point to Render, and then click Lighting Effects.

   

5. Select the Preview check box to view the results.

6. Click the Style list arrow, and then select a preset lighting effect.

7. To adjust the light type, intensity, and focus, click the Light Type list arrow, select a light type (Directional, Omni, or Spotlight), and then use the sliders: Intensity and Focus.

8. To adjust any of the property settings, use the sliders: Gloss, Material, Exposure, and Ambience.

9. To add a texture for the image, select a color channel, and adjust the height (depth) of the texture (0 to 100).

10. Click OK.

Photoshop Elements includes several blur filters: Average, Blur, Blur More, Gaussian, Motion, Radial, and Smart. The Average, Blur, and Blur More filters soften color pixels next to hard edges using different degrees of smoothing without any user interaction. These blur filters blurs an image based on the average color value of neighboring pixels. The other blur filters (Gaussian, Motion, Radial, and Smart) allow you to set the blur options you want. The Motion blur filter blurs in a specific direction and at a certain distance to simulate a moving object. The Radial blur filter uses a spin or zoom blur method along with a radius blur amount to simulate a zooming or rotating camera to create a soft blur. The Smart blur filter uses radius, threshold, quality, and mode options to precisely blur an image. The Radius option specifies the size of the area sampled for the blur, while the Threshold option controls how much the tonal values of neighboring pixels must diverge from the center pixel value before being part of the blur.

Use the Smart Blur Filter

1. In the Editor, open a document.

2. Click the Filter menu, point to Blur, and then click Smart Blur.

   

3. Drag the Radius slider left or right to decrease or increase the amount of blur applied to the image.

4. Drag the Threshold slider left or right to decrease or increase the acceptance of the shift in brightness of the image information (the edges).

5. Click the Quality list arrow, and then select the quality level you want: Low, Medium, or High.

6. Click the Mode list arrow, and then select the mode level you want: Normal (entire selection), Edge Only (edges of color transitions), or Overlay Edge (edges of color transitions).

7. Click OK.

Use the Motion Blur Filter

1. In the Editor, open an image document.

2. Click the Filter menu, point to Blur, and then click Motion Blur.

3. Enter the angle you want for the motion blur.

4. Drag the Distance slider to set the distance amount of blur applied to the image.

5. Click OK.

You can also apply the Gaussian Blur filter which blurs an image, or a selection by a controllable amount. While not strictly a restoration tool, the Gaussian Blur filter can be used to add a sense of depth to the image. For example, you could select and blur the background of an image, while leaving the foreground object in focus. The outcome of the filter is to create a hazy, out-of-focus effect to the image.

Use the Gaussian Blur Filter

1. In the Editor, open a document.

2. Select the portions of the image you want to blur or leave the image unselected to apply the filter to the entire image.

3. Click the Filter menu, point to Blur, and then click Gaussian Blur.

   

4. Select the Preview check box to view the results.

5. Drag the Radius slider or enter a pixel value to increase or decrease the amount of Gaussian blur applied to the image.

6. Click OK.

Another filter, the Despeckle filter, detects the edges in an image and blurs the entire image except those edges. Of course, there are no real edges in an image document—the Despeckle filter works along areas where there is a significant shift in the brightness of the pixels. Since a shift in brightness usually signifies an edge, the Despeckle filter performs a very accurate blurring of the image, while preserving detail.

Use the Despeckle Noise Filter

1. In the Editor, open a document.

2. Display the Layers palette.

3. Select the layer in which you want to apply the Despeckle filter.

4. Click the Filter menu, point to Noise, and then click Despeckle.

   Photoshop Elements applies the Despeckle filter to the image.

When wanting to retouch an image, you can apply the Add Noise filter. The Add Noise filter applies random pixels to an image, simulating a grainy effect. For example, you would use the Add Noise filter to make an image look like it was taken using high-speed film. In addition, the Add Noise filter can be used to reduce banding in feathered selections or graduated fills or even give a more realistic look to heavily retouched areas. Experiment with the Add Noise filter in combination with other filters, such as Motion Blur filters, to create eye-catching special effects.

Use the Add Noise Filter

1. In the Editor, open a document.

2. Display the Layers palette.

3. Select the layer in which you want to apply the Add Noise filter.

4. Click the Filter menu, point to Noise, and then click Add Noise.

   

5. Select from the following options:

   • Amount. Drag the slider, or enter a value (0.10 to 400) to increase or decrease the amount of noise added to the image.

   • Distribution. Click the Uniform option to created a more ordered appearance, or click the Gaussian option to create a more random noise pattern.

   • Monochromatic. Select this check box to apply the filter to the tonal elements in the image without changing the colors.

   Timesaver

   The plus and minus signs, located directly under the image preview, let you increase or decrease the viewable area of the image.

6. Click OK.

The Reduce Noise Filter helps to remove the random noise that crops up in digital images. It’s called noise, but in reality is a pattern of distracting color or grayscale information that lays on the original image information. Noise can be generated by the Add Noise filter, but it typically comes from scanners and even digital cameras. Since there is a mathematical pattern to most noise, the Reduce Noise filter is designed to seek out and reduce the amount of noise in an image. The Reduce Noise filter works on individual layers, not the entire document. After applying the filter, you can use other restoration tools, such as the Healing Brush and Patch tool, to further clean up image problem areas.

Use the Reduce Noise Filter

1. In the Editor, open a document.

2. Click the Filter menu, point to Noise, and then click Reduce Noise.

   

3. Select the Preview check box to view the changes to the image.

4. Select from the following options:

   • Strength. Drag the slider to determine how strong to apply the reduce noise filter.

   • Preserve Details. Drag the slider to determine a balance between blurring the noise and preserving details.

   • Reduce Color Noise. Drag the slider to convert noise composed of colors into shades of gray (this may desaturate other areas of the image).

   • Sharpen Details. Drag the slider to determine where the details of the image exist, in terms of shift of brightness.

   • Remove JPEG Artifact. Check to help remove artifacts (typically noise within shadows) from severely compressed JPEG images.

5. Click OK.

Photoshop Elements provides a bountiful selection of filters, 105 to be exact. Take a moment to view some of the various filter effects that Photoshop Elements offers. The original image is shown to the right, and we’ve displayed some common filters on the following pages. A good thing to think about when using filters is your original image. Look at the background colors, and see if they will look good with some of the filters. The best thing to do is open an image that has a lot of various details, and then apply some filters to see what you like.

Various Filter Effects

Cutout

Fresco

Dry Brush

Palette Knife

Accented Edges

Diffuse Glow

Stamp

Glass

Note Paper

Glowing Edges

Grain

Mosaic Tiles

Graphic Pen

Spatter

Stained Glass

Plastic Wrap