Adobe Photoshop CS6 Top 100 Simplified Tips and Tricks

1 Make Photoshop Work for You

#1 Select the Color Settings for Your Projects 4

#2 Choose Your Preferred Color for the Interface and Screen Modes 6

#3 Set the Preferences for the Way You Work 8

#4 Create Your Own Customized Workspace 10

#5 Change Your Window Views 12

#6 Customize Your View of Bridge 14

#7 Save Time Finding Your Images with the Mini Bridge 16

#8 Add a Keyboard Shortcut for a Favorite Filter 18

#9 Create a Custom Action to Increase Your Efficiency 20

#10 Design a Custom Brush with Your Settings 22

#11 Load Optional Brush Sets for Better Painting 24

#12 Customize a Gradient to Suit Your Design 26

#13 Make Photoshop Take Notes for You 28

#14 Calibrate and Profile Your Monitor for Accurate Editing 30

#15 Turn On the Full Power of Photoshop with a Pen Tablet 32

2 Work with Layers, Selections, and Masks

#16 Edit an Image with Added Layers and Blending Modes 36

#17 Organize the Layers Panel with Names and Colors 38

#18 Use Layer Filters to Quickly Find the Layer You Need 40

#19 Modify a Photo with an On-Image Adjustment Tool 42

#20 Add Layers as Smart Objects for Flexible Changes 44

#21 Apply Filters as Smart Filters for Dynamic Adjustments 46

#22 Make a Selection with the Quick Selection Tool 48

#23 Paint a Quick Mask to Make a Detailed Selection 50

#24 Select Just Skin Tones and Adjust Only the Faces 52

#25 Adjust a Selection with the Refine Edge Tool 56

#26 Blend Two Photos Together with an Automatic Layer Mask 58

#27 Use a Gradient Fill Layer to Improve Your Image 60

#28 Use Auto-Align and Auto-Blend Layers to Combine Photos 62

#29 Create Photographic Designs with Vector Layers 64

3 Straighten, Crop, and Resize

#30 Crop Your Images Using Guides to Improve Composition 68

#31 Easily Level a Crooked Horizon 69

#32 Expand the Canvas with a Reverse Crop 70

#33 Crop Creatively for a Diptych, Triptych, or Quadriptych 72

#34 Change Your Perspective with the Crop Tool 74

#35 Correct Geometric Distortion with the Lens Correction Filter 76

#36 Improve the Field of View with the Adaptive Wide Angle Filter 78

#37 Assemble a Panorama Using Photomerge Automation 80

#38 Resize Your Image with Minimal Visible Loss 82

4 Retouch Portraits

#39 Improve the Skin with the Spot Healing Brush and Layers 86

#40 Reduce Wrinkles for a More Youthful Appearance 90

#41 Soften the Skin Naturally 92

#42 Remove the Glare from Eyeglasses 96

#43 Change Eye Color Digitally 98

#44 Lighten the Irises with a Gradient Layer 100

#45 Brighten the Eyes by Lightening the Whites 102

#46 Add Depth to the Eyes and Lips to Enhance Them 104

#47 Make the Eyes Come Alive with a Digital Catchlight 108

#48 Selectively Sharpen Just the Eyes to Add Focus110

#49 Improve a Smile by Whitening Teeth 112

5 Enhance Colors, Tone, and Sharpness in Photos

#50 Improve a Photo with an Auto Setting 116

#51 Improve an Overexposed Photo in Three Steps 117

#52 Improve Contrast with a Curves Adjustment Layer 118

#53 Remove a Colorcast to Improve the Overall Color 120

#54 Hand-Tint a Black-and-White Photograph 122

#55 Convert a Color Photo to a Black-and-White Photo 124

#56 Add a Touch of Color to a Black-and-White Conversion 126

#57 Improve Exposure with a Dodge and Burn Layer 128

#58 Increase Saturation Subtly Using a Vibrance Adjustment Layer 130

#59 Change the Highlights and Shadows Nondestructively 132

#60 Sharpen the Photo to Correct Digital Softening 134

#61 Apply High Pass Sharpening to Increase Edge Sharpness 136

#62 Alter Depth of Field with a Digital Blur 138

6 Process Photos in Camera Raw

#63 Set the Preferences to Open Any Image in Camera Raw 142

#64 Open Camera Raw Files as Smart Objects Automatically 143

#65 Recover Blown Highlights with Camera Raw 144

#66 Synchronize the White Balance for a Group of Images 146

#67 Visually Adjust the Tone Curve with the Targeted Adjustment Tool 148

#68 Improve a Sky with the Camera Raw Graduated Filter 150

#69 Create a Split Tone in Camera Raw for a Special Effect 152

#70 Add Creative Adjustments with Camera Raw 154

7 Make Magic with Digital Special Effects

#71 Apply a Photo Filter for Dynamic Adjustments 158

#72 Add a Vignette Effect to Focus on the Subject 159

#73 Remove Unwanted Elements with a Content-Aware Brush Stroke 160

#74 Use the Patch Tool to Clone Contents to a New Area 162

#75 Recompose a Photo with the Content-Aware Move Tool 164

#76 Scale an Image without Distorting the Subject 166

#77 Blend Separate Photos for the Best Group Shot 168

#78 Merge Multiple Photos into an Image with High Dynamic Range 170

#79 Use a Puppet Warp to Alter Perspective 172

#80 Apply HDR Toning to Just One Photograph 174

#81 Increase Depth of Field with the Auto Blend Tool 176

#82 Maintain Perspective when Adding Text to an Image 180

#83 Erase Architectural Structures with the Vanishing Point Filter 182

#84 Use the Clone Stamp Tool to Simulate a Reflection 184

#85 Apply a Shape to a Wrinkled Surface with a Displacement Map 186

8 Design with Text Effects

#86 Create a Custom Watermark to Protect Your Images 192

#87 Make Text Wrap around a Subject 194

#88 Warp Text for a Fun Effect 196

#89 Add Perspective to Text and Keep It Sharp 198

#90 Create a Photo-Filled Title 200

#91 Create a Realistic Colored Shadow 202

#92 Design with Text and Graphics 204

#93 Format Text with Your Own Paragraph Style 206

9 Create Digital Artwork from Photographs

#94 Make Any Photo Appear Sketched on the Paper 210

#95 Add Your Own Signature to Any Artwork 212

#96 Simulate a Painted Effect with a Filter 214

#97 Convert a Photo to a High-Contrast Stylized Image 216

#98 Control the Colors to Posterize a Photo 218

#99 Set Up the Brushes and HUD for Your Art Projects 222

#100 Sketch Traditionally with Digital Brushes 224

#101 Create a Digital Pen-and-Ink Drawing 226

#102 Create a Pastel Drawing from a Photograph 228

#103 Change a Photograph into a Pen-and-Colored-Wash Drawing 232

#104 Turn a Photo into a Hand-Painted Oil Painting236

#105 Paint a Digital Watercolor 240

10 Give Your Images a Professional Presentation

#106 Add a Quick Matte to a Photo with a Frame Action 246

#107 Make a Simple Line Frame from within a Photo 247

#108 Apply a Filter to Give a Photo an Artistic Edge 248

#109 Create a Realistic Matte to Frame Your Art 250

#110 Make a Photo Look like a Gallery Print 252

#111 Make a Contact Sheet of Your Photos 256

#112 Create a Slide Show Presentation 258

#113 Create a Web Photo Gallery 260

11 Plug In to Photoshop

#114 Enhance Colors and Light Selectively with Nik Viveza 264

#115 Colorize a Black-and-White Photo with Akvis Coloriage 266

#116 Convert a Photo to a Pencil Sketch with Akvis Sketch 268

#117 Create a Gold Logo with Alien Skin Eye Candy 6 270