How do you get the best out of Photoshop? It's a combination of knowing what you want and knowing how to do it properly: a mixture of creativity and acumen. As you learn more, you make fewer mistakes, your workflow becomes faster, and you have more time to explore creative possibilities. This book is dedicated to showing you the tricks of the trade, to sharing the insider's knowledge which will speed up your work, and to improving your understanding of Photoshop as a tool. The book is divided into eight chapters, in the first three we look at ways of improving your efficiency, good selection techniques, and how to use layers effectively. In the next three chapters we look at practical applications of Photoshop for retouching and correction, Web graphics and special effects. The final two chapters look at the practicalities of Photoshop's configuration and hardware. Throughout the book, we cover the new features of Photoshop 7, so if you're not yet up to speed with the latest version, we'll show you the way. You've mastered the basics of Photoshop and you're ready to move on to the next level - this book is jam-packed with the hints, tips, and advice from four Photoshop experts that you need to take you there. To get the most information out of each of the authors that we possibly could, we used a collaborative method of writing. Each of the four authors chose two subject areas to be the main writer on, and once they had finished writing the sections, they were passed on to the other three authors for them to add their own tips and tricks to. All these parts then went out to review, and the reviewers (themselves Photoshop users) added their tips to the tip-tank. All of these tips then came together in editorial, where they were ordered and polished. In this way, we hoped to maximize the amount of insightful and essential information, and to give you the greatest benefit.

An exciting collection of tips and tricks to help you make the most out of this amazing low-cost piece of software. We'll help you uncover some of the secrets hidden in Adobe Photoshop Elements 2, as well as nifty shortcuts - you'll work more effectively and have more time to play You can learn a lot by experimenting, but it would take you a very long time to pick up the tips and tricks we show you in this book. We've pooled the knowledge of some highly experienced professionals to help provide this handy reference, and ordered them in a clear, logical way - keep this by your side and you'll certainly save time, as well as discover interesting and surprising new ways to manipulate your images. Whether you're just getting to grips with Elements or a more experienced user, this a great addition to your library, that you'll find you want to refer to time and again. From the Publisher We've packed this book full of tips on a wide range of subjects - from making selections to effects and filters - it's all here Hundreds of hints come thick and fast, from half a page to two pages, every one designed to be used in a variety of situations.Each tip comes with a picture and information about how and when it's likely to be useful, so you'll know when to put it into action

Written by pros, including the latest features from Photoshop 7, the authors of Professional Photographic Techniques will reveal not only how to recreate darkroom techniques without turning out the lights, but also how to create images well beyond traditional barriers. Of course, you don't need to be a pro to benefit from the knowledge in these pages; this is the perfect handbook for anyone who cares about photos. Fully illustrated in color throughout, the text is organized into a series of examples that provides a comprehensive guide to image manipulation on Photoshop 7 - everything from the glamour of magazine retouching, through restoration work to the nitty-gritty of color reproduction. Because the authors remember the days before Photoshop existed, they can show you how to achieve chemical-free equivalents for all the old tricks as well as plenty of new ones. All these methods are revealed with before and after examples that you can actually follow and apply to your own work. These include coloring, restoring and aging images, removing unwanted parts of the image, depth of field changes, useful techniques for creating works of art and how best to display your work for the rest of the world to see. The emphasis is on techniques that will help you produce work that stands head and shoulders above the crowd, with clear step-by-step instructions. All this, of course, combined with publisher friends of ED's commitment to providing fast, friendly and free technical support, via our website. Our aim with this book is to show you how to replicate techniques and effects that professionals use rather than advanced Photoshop skills. By the end of it, you should be confident enough to use themin your own images; blending these techniques with your own creativity and inspiration. As one of the authors, Janee, recently said: "While people do like my work and I'm always striving to improve it, I think that my goal has always been to show my reader what s/he can do, rather than to show what 'I' can do." Table of Contents Introduction to the Book Chapter 1 - Color and Calibration Chapter 2 - Color Correction Chapter 3 - Removing or Adding to Images Chapter 4 - Restorations and Repairs Chapter 5 - Toning and Aging Images Chapter 6 - Hand Coloring Techniques Chapter 7 - Magazine/Retouching Techniques Chapter 8 - Creating Works of Art Chapter 9 - Infrared Imaging and Cross-Processing Chapter 10 - Special Effects Chapter 11 - Preparing Images for Print and Optimizing for the Web