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Here are some excellent ways to learn photoshop

by: DavidPeters
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Photoshop CS2's spot healing tool has more options than the version in Photoshop Elements 3. You can select a blending mode for the healing, and choose between proximity match or create texture. You can also sample all layers which allows you to use the spot healing tool on a new layer for non-destructive editing.

To begin, open your Photoshop program, then hold down Ctrl-Alt-Shift in Windows or Command-Option-Shift for Mac OS. This restores the default preferences. Click on "Yes," which resets, and then close the screen. Open an image file inside Photoshop, then make a duplicate layer to work on. This is one of the best habits you can develop for working with Photoshop; once you're used to editing only on a copy of the original, you will see that it's easy and worth it.

You'll see a variety of preset gradients displayed, from the default Foreground to Background gradient to the more complex Chrome gradient. All these preset gradients can be edited to create new gradients. You'll notice that some gradients have more colour 'stops' than others; the Foreground to Background gradient has two colour stops - black and white - while the Spectrum gradient has seven colour stops. You can modify a gradient by changing the colour of the stops - simply click on one and choose a new colour from the Color Picker. Alternatively, click on an image and sample a colour for your customised gradient using the Eyedropper Tool.

Layer Mangagement: Who needs to click icons or pull down menus when layer control is just a shortcut away? - Show/hide Layers palette.........Press [F7] - New Layer........................[Shift]+[Ctrl]+[N] - New Layer (from copy of selected layer)...........................[Ctrl]+[J] - New Layer (cutting selection from existing layer)...........................[Shift]+[Ctrl]+[J] - Group with previous layer........[Ctrl]+[G] - Ungroup from previous layer......[Shift]+[Ctrl]+[G] - Merge Down.......................[Control]+[E] - Merge Visible Layers.............[Shift]+[Control]+[E] - To hide non-selected layers......Press [Alt] and click on the layer's show/hide Eye icon. - To cycle between layers..........[Alt]+[ [ ]&[Alt]+[ ] ] - To bring a layer in the layers palette forward.........[Ctrl]+[ [] - To send a layer back.............[Ctrl]+[ ]m - To jump from the top to the bottom layer in the Layers palette..........................[Alt]+[Shift]+[ [ ] - To bring a layer to the top from any location......................[Shift]+[Ctrl]+[ ] ]

Photoshop offers blending options unsurpassed in the design industry in your "Layer Style" dialog box, you will first find "General Blending" options, which are often enough for any task. Experiment with the Blend Modes and their opacity to see just how incredibly flexible the normal Blending Options can be. To find your advanced blending options in Photoshop, double-click a layer or click the "Add a Layer Style" icon at the bottom left of your Layers palette, and then choose "Blending Options." Your "Layer Style" dialog box will appear. At the bottom of the Layer Style box, you will find, under "Advanced Blending," something called the "Blend If" tool. What is the Photoshop "Blend If" tool, exactly? Blend If is a "smart" blending tool. You can use it to blend images or create a more transparent image with almost infinite precision. This one tool is so flexible and handy it behooves any serios Photoshop designer to learn to use it, and use it well.

Hoping to get a jump on Google and other competitors, Adobe Systems plans to release a hosted version of its popular Photoshop image-editing application within six months, the company's chief executive said Tuesday. The online service is part of a larger move to introduce ad-supported online services to complement its existing products and broaden the company reach into the consumer market, Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen told CNET News.com. Chizen said Adobe laid the foundation for a hosted Photoshop product with Adobe Remix, a Web-based video-editing tool it offers through the PhotoBucket media-sharing site.

Inside bothe the Levels and the Curves dialog boxes, click "Options" and you will find another important dialog box called "Auto Color Correction Options." This box allows you to not only correct the photo's tone and set specific clipping percentages, but you can also set your color values for shadows, midtones and highlights. Experiment inside your Auto Color Correction Options dialog box to enhance monochromatic contrast, enhance per channel contrast, find dark and light colors and snap neutral midtones. Often an image comes out with an overall color cast, which is usually not desirable. To remove a color cast, use your Image > Adjustments > Auto Color functions. Inside the same Imagae menu, you'll find the Hue/Saturation and Desaturate functions. Use these to enhance colors or fine-tune the saturation of an image by reducing color (desaturating).

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Here are some excellent ways to learn photoshop

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