Excerpt from Dynamic Learning - Photoshop CS3
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What you’ll learn
in this lesson:
- Creating panoramic images
- Using Smart Filters
- Making more accurate selections
- Creating vector shapes and text
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Exploring Adobe Photoshop CS3
In this lesson, you’ll dive right into Photoshop CS3 and create a composition using the new selection tools, layers, masks, and text. All these features and tools are also covered in detail in later lessons, but, in this lesson, you’ll get up and running quickly, and discover the possibilities of Photoshop CS3.
Starting up
Relax and have fun with this lesson. You will complete a fast-paced exercise that incorporates many of the new features in Photoshop CS3. Use this lesson to discover the many possibilities Photoshop CS3 has to offer. Don’t worry about absorbing all the information about these features right away, as they are covered in more detail in the following lessons. You don’t have to be an expert to complete this lesson, but you won’t be bored if you are.
Before starting, make sure that your tools and palettes are consistent by resetting your preferences. See “Resetting Adobe Photoshop CS3 preferences” on page 4.
You will work with several files from the ps02lessons folder in this lesson. Make sure that you have loaded your pslessons files onto your hard drive from the supplied DVD. See “Loading lesson files” on page 3
Viewing the completed lesson file
You will now have an opportunity to examine the finished lesson file.
1 If you don’t have Photoshop CS3 open, launch it now. Note that Photoshop CS3 Extended is used throughout this book, but, unless noted, all lessons can be completed in both Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop CS3 Extended.
2 Choose File > Browse. This launches Adobe Bridge, a stand-alone application that can be accessed using the File menu in any of the Creative Suite 3 applications, or via the Go to Bridge button ( ) that is found on the options bar or control panels of most of the Creative Suite 3 applications. Navigate to the ps02lessons folder inside the pslessons folder you have copied on to your desktop.
3 Locate the file named ps0201_done.psd and double-click to open it in Photoshop.
A composite image appears.
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The completed lesson file. |
4 The ps0201_done.psd file is the complete file that you will make in this lesson. You can close it now by choosing File > Close, or keep it open for reference.
Creating a panorama
In the first part of the lesson, you’ll use tools available in Adobe Bridge to take three images and merge them into one. These images were created by taking several shots while moving at a constant pace along a path. Most people have had grand ideas of shooting images like these and then piecing them back together, but not everyone gets that far. Now is your chance to take advantage of the newly enhanced Photomerge feature. Using Photomerge not only saves you hours of time blending images together; it is also likely to do a better job than you can do by hand.
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Take several images and combine them, using the Photomerge feature. |
1 To access the images for the final panoramic image, choose File > Browse or select the Go to Bridge button () in the options bar. Navigate to the ps02lessons folder inside the pslessons folder you have copied onto your desktop.
2 Hold down the Ctrl key (Windows) or Command (Mac OS), and select the images named ps0201.psd, ps0202.psd, and ps0203.psd. By holding down the Ctrl or Command key while selecting, you are able to select multiple files.
Note that there are tools for several applications built into Adobe Bridge; you will work only with the Photoshop tools in this lesson.
3 Choose Tools > Photoshop > Photomerge. The Photomerge dialog box appears, with the three images you selected as the source files.
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The Photomerge feature offers many possibilities when combining images. |
Photomerge options |
When merging files or layers together, you have multiple layout options from which to choose. Here is what each option can do:
Auto: Analyzes the source images and applies either a perspective or cylindrical layout, depending on which produces a better final Photomerge result.
Perspective: Creates a consistent composition by designating one of the source images (by default, the middle image) as the reference image. The other images are then transformed so that overlapping content across layers is matched.
Cylindrical: Reduces the distortion that can occur with the perspective layout by displaying individual images as if they appeared on the surface of an unfolded cylinder. Overlapping content across layers is still matched. The reference image is placed at the center.
Reposition Only: Aligns the layers and matches overlapping content, but does not transform (stretch or skew) any of the selected layers.
Interactive Layout: Allows you to open the source images in a dialog box and position them manually. |
4 Leave the Photomerge settings at their default and press OK. The Photomerge process takes some time as it goes through its calculations, but in the end it produces a merged file created from the original three images.
Notice that your images are now on three separate layers. This is helpful if you need to make any minor tweaks, but in this instance, you will choose to combine, or merge, them into one layer. Before you merge these layers together, take a look at the layers that Photomerge has just created.
5 Click on the visibility eye icons ( ) to the left of the layer names, one at a time, to see the edges of the images and how they were created to provide you with the best merged image possible. Click where the eye icon was on each layer to turn the visibility back on. All layers should now be visible.
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The Photomerge feature builds layer masks automatically. |
6 Select the layer named ps0201.psd, and then Shift+click to select ps0202.psd and ps0203.psd. All three layers are now selected.
7 From the Layers palette menu, choose Merge layers, or you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+E (Windows) or Command+E (Mac OS). The three layers become one layer.
8 Double-click on the text ps0201.psd to activate the layer name text field. When the layer name becomes highlighted, type forest.
9 When you used the Photomerge feature, a new file was automatically created, named Untitled _Panorama1. Choose File > Save; the Save As dialog box appears. In the File name text field, type ps0201_work, then navigate to the ps02lessons folder and choose Photoshop in the Format drop-down menu and press Save.
10 Leave this image open for the next part of this lesson.
Placing another image into the file
In the next part of the exercise, you’ll add another image to this document and apply some filter effects to the image, using the new Smart Filter feature.
1 Choose File > Browse, or press the Go to Bridge button () in the upper right of the options bar.
2 Navigate to the ps02lessons folder, and double-click on the image named ps0204.psd to open it in Photoshop. The image of a bicycle rider appears. Position the image so that you can see both the panoramic image and the bicycle rider image at the same time.
3 Select the Move tool ( ), then click and drag the bicycler image over and on top of the panoramic image. Do not release the mouse until you see an outline, or border, appear around the ps0201_work.psd document.
If a Paste Profile Mismatch box appears, leave it set to convert (preserve color appearance) and press OK. The image of the bicycler is now added as a second layer (Layer 1) in your file.
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Drag and drop one image to another. |
4 Using the Move tool (), click and drag to position Layer 1 so that it is on the right side of the image. The exact location of this layer is not important.
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Use the Move tool to reposition the bicycler image. |
5 Double-click on the layer name, Layer 1, to activate the name text field, and type bicycler.
6 Choose File > Save. Keep this file open for the next part of this exercise.
7 Choose Window > ps204.psd to bring that image to the front, then choose File > Close to close the file. If asked to save changes choose No.
Using Smart Filters
By using filters in Photoshop, you can dramatically change the content of an image. You can change a photograph to make it appear as though it was hand-drawn with a pencil, or even painted with watercolors. You can add depth of focus, blurring parts of an image to attract the viewer to a main focal point, and apply a neon glow, if that is the type of effect you want. Up until this version, filters have changed the original image data; with Photoshop CS3, you can convert a layer to a Smart Object before applying a filter. The Smart Object is actually a copy of the original image that becomes embedded in the file. This allows you the freedom to experiment, without worrying about destroying the original image data. Read more about Smart Objects in Lesson 11, “Using Smart Objects.” This new feature is referred to as “Smart Filters.” In this next section, you will discover the benefits of using Smart Filters, and how you can take advantage of the filter masks for more creative effects.
1 Select the bicycler layer to make sure that it is the active layer.
2 Choose Filter > Convert for Smart Filters. A warning message appears, informing you that this layer will now be converted to a Smart Object. Press OK.
A Smart Object icon ( ) appears in the layer thumbnail, indicating that it is now a Smart Object.
3 Select Filter > Blur > Radial Blur. A rather long warning message may appear, informing you that the newly added filter will not preview. Press OK. The Radial Blur dialog box appears.
You will now use the Radial Blur filter to create motion and excitement in the image.
4 In the Radial Blur dialog box, type 30 into the Amount text field. Blur Method should be Zoom and Quality should be Best.
5 To have the blur center generate from the area where the bicycler is, click slightly towards the right in the Blur Center pane. Press OK to apply the Radial Blur to the bicycler layer.
6 Choose File > Save. Keep the file open for the next part of this lesson.
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Click in the Blur Center pane to determine where the canter of the radial blur will occur. |
Result. |
Applying a second filter
You can have multiple filters applied to one layer. In this part of the lesson, you will add the Mosaic filter to give the image a digital look.
1 Select the bicycler layer to make sure that it is the active layer.
2 Choose Filter > Pixelate > Mosaic. The Mosaic dialog box appears.
3 Type 25 in the Cell Size text field, and press OK. The Mosaic filter creates square blocks of color, producing a pixelated effect.
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Applying the Mosaic filter. |
Result. |
You can change the results of a Smart Filter by changing the stacking order in the Layers palette.
4 Select the Mosaic Filter (under Smart Filters) and drag and drop it under Radial Blur. Don’t release the Mosaic filter until you see a dark line appear under Radial Blur. Notice that by changing the order of your Smart Filters, you can change the affect they have on your image.
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Changing the order of
the filters. |
Result. |
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